Construction Fraud

Construction Fraud
Date 2087-06-28 GM Dawnfire Location Redmond Status Threat Level: Medium
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven	Finnigan Family
Plug Knack Epsilon Mordred	Meryln Rookie Mafia Goons
Casualties and losses
	2 Dead, 3 Injured

Summary

A construction manager is being scammed, extorted, and threatened by a shady supply company wanting him to pay more than agreed for materials, and sends runners to secure the truckload of construction supplies he's already paid for. The company is a Finnigan front, and infiltration of the warehouse devolves into a shootout.

Background

Douglas Church, project manager in charge of restoring a pre-Crash apartment building, was desperate to secure materials after his usual suppliers backed out due to the ongoing gang wars. He found a shady company willing to deliver, but when the truck arrived they refused to unload unless he paid a second time. Church found that the invoices and contracts for the delivery were wiped from his employer's host, but refused and threatened to take legal action, causing the truck to speed off.

Afterwards, unmarked vans began stalking his construction site and he received threats of magical violence and curses against the work site if he sued or called the cops, but that they'd still be willing to deliver if he paid, this time demanding double the initial payment. This was well outside Mr. Church's budget for the project, so he figured shadowrunners might be a cheaper solution.

Unbeknownst to Church, this was a Merlyn-led fraud scheme by the Finnigan Family.

The Meet

The runners are directed to Bob's Beer Factory in Redmond, where their Johnson is drinking away a stressful day of being extorted and threatened. He explains the above to the runners, and offers to pay them in exchange for stealing the truck full of materials that he needs. Church isn't too worried about the team getting violent, but does ask that they let him know who these conmen are so he can request that his bosses increase security appropriately after the job is done.

As negotiations come to a close, Knack noticed a watcher is spying on their Johnson in the astral, and they all make a performance of pretending the deal went poorly and storm away, hoping to trick the astral construct.

The Plan

Church didn't know much besides the name of the company he purchased supplies from (ABC Supply Company Incorporated) and that they possessed some magical skill if the threats were to be believed. Epsilon does some Matrix research and determines that the address Church had wasn't actually for a warehouse, it was for an office rental. The company's incorporation records were tied to a lawyer named Seamus O'Sullivan, and the same man owned a real warehouse in Hollywood, Redmond. The team heads that way, and start scoping things out.

The team notices another watcher in the warehouse's yard, a ward around the place, a pair of armed guards outside lacking any obvious corporate affiliations, and a set of garage doors big enough to park a truck through. Knack shrouds most of the crew in invisibility and concealment (except Plug, magic is scary).

The plan is for Plug to sneak in, locate the goods, disable what security he can, and get the truck ready to go for the team...

The Run

Plug narrowly avoids setting off the pressure mesh around the warehouse's fence, climbs in via a broken window, and spots a pair of trucks, one of which must be their target. He makes a detour to the warehouse's office, chokes out the Merlyn mage inside, disables what security devices he can from the monitoring station in the office, and finds some documents that clue the team in to the fact that this whole operation is likely a mafia front.

The rest of the team head up through the same window, except Mordred, who's unable to make it up. He instead makes his way to the front door, and Plug tries crossing the warehouse to pick it open for him. Unfortunately, a sharp eyed interior guard spots him sneaking about, pulls a gun on Plug, and demands he surrender or be shot. Plug refuses, and a gunfight through the warehouse begins.

Plug runs towards the front of the warehouse while returning fire with gel rounds, Mordred brute forces the lock and starts blasting with his flechette-loaded carbine, Epsilon rips a made man in half with a shotgun, and Knack has an air spirit disable a guard with noxious gas. The guards switch to lethal when it's clear some of the runners are shooting to kill, but after several are taken out the remaining Finnigans flee before the invisible runners out for blood can put them down.

Mordred finds a suspicious gas canister installed beneath one of the trucks (anti-theft neurostun), the team disables it, and they load into the truck to haul ass before reinforcements can arrive.

Aftermath

The runners meet their Johnson just outside Touristville, and he has some of his employees load the goods into a different truck. During the handoff, after payment, the team tells him that they believe the Finnigans were responsible for this whole situation, and Church goes white at the realization that he just paid people to rob the mafia. To make matters worse, the team further reveals that Mordred and Epsilon both killed a member of the family. Church is horrified at what he thinks will happen to him because of this, he hurries away from the scene to try to find a way out of Seattle immediately.

Unfortunately, he never makes it out of Seattle. Church is found, captured, tortured, and questioned within the next hour or two. He folds easily, and spills everything he knows to the Finnigans, including exactly which runners were responsible for the deaths. The angry, embarrassed Merlyn force feeds him Lot's Curse, shoots him through the heart right before he fully petrifies, and dumps the body in Church's own construction site.

Rewards

10,000¥ (5 RVP) + 2,000¥ Bonus

4 Karma (4 RVP)

4 Bonus CDP (2 RVP)

2 Default CDP

Consequences:

Following "advanced interrogation" of Mr. Johnson...

Mordred, Epsilon: -10 Finnigan Family Faction Rep for splatting mafia boys

Knack, Plug: -4 Finnigan Family Faction Rep for injuring and robbing mafia boys

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.