A Simple Repossession

A Simple Repossession
Date 2082-06-19 GM Archtmag Location Downtown, Seattle Status Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Agustin Diaz	Knight Errant
Ace Milliam Strobe Spider

Summary

The runners steal art from a gallery, so the J can get an upper hand in a matrix feud.

Background

Agustin Diaz, artist and corp kid, has been following his passions. Working on transcending the limitations of his skill, becoming a greater artist, he has been trying to increase exposure for his work, applying to galleries, networking, and posting on the matrix. Over time, he and another artist, Karl Becker, developed a bit of a rivalry. While both are admittedly talented, animosity grew as they trade barbs back and forth. The final straw for Agustin came when Karl narrowly beat him out for an amateur exhibition spot, in a local art gallery. Furious, both at being passed over and his rival's mocking, he swore to get revenge.

The Meet

The runners gathered in a dusty parking lot in Tacoma, waiting for the J to arrive. As the arranged time, came and past, they became slightly confused. Were they in the wrong spot? Or had something happened to the J? Milliam, instead of thinking about that though, played with a squirrel. Eventually, about 15 minutes after, a limo pulled into the parking lot, a figure casually emerging.

Agustin, stepping out of his vehicle, surveyed his team, offering cursory greetings, not even mentioning his lateness. As his familiar level of disinterest and condescension began to approach the runners, Strobe vaguely remembered this J. She had worked for him on her first haven run ever. His behavior hadn't seemed to have improved since then.

Telling the team that he needed certain art stolen from a gallery in Downtown, he gave a brief explanation, lacking his personal connection to the issue. Mentioning offhand that there would be security, he assumed at this point that everything important had been shared. The team obviously having more questions, began to interrogate him in more detail. Asking about the security, repeatedly, his embarrassment beaten down by Strobe, a story began to unfold.

Angered by being passed over by the gallery, Agustin had gone on a rant on the matrix, including threatening the gallery. Not settled with that, he hired a shadowrunner team to steal the artwork. A different one. A cheaper one. They infiltrated the museum, only to be repelled, the run a failure. The museum thankfully thought they were targeting the most valuable exhibit on display, not the one they were hired to steal, but several security officers died defending the gallery. While he couldn't say for sure, he felt it would be likely that they would remain on heightened security for as long as they valuable exhibit remained.

The teams respect, if any, dropped after learning all of this. Still, Agustin promised quite a bit of money if they could get him his rival's pieces, so that he could move on to a mysterious "stage two". The team ultimately agreed, deciding to do the J's dirty work.

The Plan

To start with Spider search the matrix for information, using her mastery to dig up information that they really really didn't want to be found. In her searches, she found out multiple tidbits of information that seemed promising. First, she managed to find a floor plan of the gallery. An older building, public as well, finding the documents wasn't too difficult, but it would be a helpful aid in an infiltration. It also hinted that there could be a potential link to the Underground. Many buildings from its era were contiguous with it in some form or another. Verifying this, and finding the connection, would take some physical work though, or a connection with someone more knowledgeable about the tunnel systems. In a more worrying discovery, she learned that the gallery had contracted a special response force from Knight Errant. Though the details available online were sparse, they apparently cut some sort of deal for extra protection in response to the failed attack. The team, still needing to look into things further, split into two tasks, casing the gallery and finding the Underground entrance.

Milliam, often roaming around the tunnels, and with many connections in the Skraacha, felt confident that she could find a way, if she looked hard enough. To provide a bit of additional protection, Ace decided to accompany her, so together, they entered the Underground, looking for an entrance to the art gallery. Wandering around for quite a while, vaguely trying to follow the direction of the target in the twisting maze, the duo noticed a large figure in the dark distance. Cautiously approaching, wary of a fight, they realized that they had come across a large earth spirit, passively watching them.

After a moment, the duo asked the spirit if it could help them find the way. It communicated agreement, and started walking away. Hesitantly, the team followed, as the spirit lead them through a winding path. Eventually, the spirit stopped gesturing at the wall ahead of them. Closer examination revealed an old rusted grate, drywall on the other side. It seems that the gallery at some point in the past built a wall over a connection to the Underground. It's uncertain if the people in charge even remembered that it was here. Thankful to the spirit, when asked if they wanted anything in return, they asked for steel. Not exactly what the pair were expecting, they promised to find them some metal from a junkyard regardless. Ace broke the grate on the tunnel side, leaving the drywall untouched for now. This would give them a possible entrance or exit, depending on the ultimate plan.

Meanwhile, the other two members of the team, Strobe and Spider, focused on gathering intel above ground. Strobe, pretending to be a normal member of society, decided to buy a day pass to the gallery and check it out. Spider, at the same time, would peek inside the host and mess around. The plan immediately met a snag. At the entrance to the building were rather sophisictated scanners. Apparently the DA's movement had arranged an upgrade in their detection hardware. Slightly panicking, Strobe asked Spider for help. Thankfully, Spider is pretty good at this matrix thing.

Avoiding sight of the host and the security spider, Spider hacked the SIN scanner, allowing Strobe access into the museum. Walking around, Strobe checked out the art in the various exhibits, noticing security guards monitoring the crowds. She managed to not stick out, and eventually worked her way to the target exhibit. Located on the second floor, directly next to the works of Marty Smith, it didn't seem to have enhanced security for it directly, but the nearby display clearly did, a small, vaguely disguised checkpoint being manned by security guards. Aftering making a loop around the two floors of the buildings, Strobe decided to leave while she could, and Spider hacked the scanners again to allow her an exit.

Spider though was doing more than hacking SIN scanners in the meantime. Poking around in the files, she found the number of guards on shift, the rotations of the guards, and the company that the gallery contracted janitorial services from. She found a few more hints about the special Knight Errant force, as well, something about them staying in the "loft" with the decker. Not really sure what that meant, considering there was no loft on site, she filed that away for later. After Strobe left the gallery, Spider eventually jacked out of the host, not wanting to alert the security just yet.

Recombining, the team started to put together a plan for entry. They could pose as janitors, enter, steal the paintings from the target exhibit, and exit through the basement tunnel to the Underground.

Rewards

32k Nuyen (16 RVP)

2 CDP

Optional Contact: The Dweller of the Tunnels as a 2/3 (4 RVP)

For non-Strobe Players, Optional Contact: Agustin Diaz as a 2/3 (4 RVP)

For Strobe, Optional Contact: Agustin Diaz as a 2/1 (2 RVP)

Agustin comes with 1 chip if taken.

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.