House Call
| House Call | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
| ShadowHaven | Shiawase | ||||||||
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Fed Up Scrappenny Sanjuro Pell | Oliver Hernandez | ||||||||
Summary
A low threat bounty hunt done on behalf of the information broker and restaurant owner Trelawney. The team consisted of the MysAd fashionista Pell; ex-ganger and swarm rigger Scrappenny; bearded smuggler Fed Up; and cycling StreetSam Sanjuro. The objective was to retrieve one of Trelawney's unwilling assets, a Shiawase server tech named Oliver Hernandez, from the megatower apartment that he had holed himself up in. The team found and extracted Hernandez through a combination of cosplay, spirit summoning, and generous bribery, delivering him to Trelawney with only a minor concussion. A job well done, the team celebrated by getting drunk and watching pirated Steven Segal trids. Except Scrappenny; she went home and ate frozen pizza.
Background
On a secluded street in western Renton sits the Cornerside Diner, a pleasant restaurant known for its mushroom omelets and insufferable clientele. A favorite of corporate middle managers, the resturant's cozy Americana conceals its true purpose as a front for the information broker Trelawney. Dealing in information started as a side business for the mousy-haired old woman, but through her ruthlessness and business savvy she's built networks in several of Seattle's megacorps, particularly Horizon and Shiawase.
The run was put together to capture and return Oliver Hernandez, a Shiawase server technician that ran up a debt while using Trelawny's services to dig dirt on his ex-wife. Once Hernandez's money ran dry, Trelawny began using him to steal paydata from Shiawase. Hernandez is a fantastically mediocre decker, but was able to give Trelawny's people access to the Shiawase host. That is, until he got cold feet. Fearing the potential consequences of spying on a megacorporation, Hernandez cut contact with Trelawny and moved across the city hoping to shake her. He failed, and Trelawny was able to track him to an apartment in Auburn's Megabuilding 4. Believing Hernandez's capture to be too important to be left up to average bounty hunters, Trelawny hired a team of shadowrunners to retrieve him.
The Meet
It was a muggy and grey afternoon as the runners pulled into the Cornerside's parking lot. Between the obvious ganger and the troll in a samurai costume, the group drew no shortage of attention from the restaurant's customers. Pell, a fantastically dressed elf, looked over the people who she'd been hired to work with; her eyes flashed with arcane light as she assensed the group's auras. Fed Up, a scraggly elven rigger, glowed with satisfaction as he sipped on a large Baja Blast. Sanjuro, the group's street samurai, brimmed with poorly-contained excitement at her first real shadowrun. Scrappenny, the group's other rigger, was mostly just relieved to have found something to do. As the four made their introductions, they were guided around back by a neatly dressed orkish waiter.
The group met with Trelawney in the back of the restaurant, and were served soykaf as they learned the details of the job. Payment was agreed at 8,000 nuyen per person, and Trelawny retired to her office. The group was left to finish their soykaf and discuss the plan. As the team talked, Pell took notice of one of the restaurant's cooks: an acne-faced teenager who had been staring since the group walked in. Gawking at people is awfully rude, and so Pell decided to remind the kid of his manners. By summoning a force nine water spirit in front of him. The air around Pell thrummed with energy as the steam rising off the stoves curled into a swirling, humanoid form. The kid's jaw dropped open, his knife slashing his finger and clattering to the floor as he clambered back. Then, just as quickly as it had formed, the spirit dissipated into vapor. The rest of the cooks turned at the commotion and saw the kid stricken pale, clutching at his cut finger. "For gods' sake, Kevin," one sighed, "it's just a cut".
The Plan
The party finalized their plan as they pulled into the megatower's parking garage, Sanjuro's bike stashed in the back of Fed Up's car. Hernandez himself wasn't a threat. By all accounts he was a massive coward, and unlikely to do anything more than run. It was finding him that presented a problem; Hernandez's apartment could be anywhere in the megatower. Sanjuro suggested going around and knocking on doors until they found him, but Pell decided on a more elegant solution. She called once again upon her water spirit, its vapor rising from the cracks in the concrete, and held up a picture of Hernandez; a thoroughly unimpressive elf in a severe mid-life crisis. The spirit gazed for a moment, sightlessly, upon Hernandez's Urban Brawl shirt and greasy fauxhawk. With a faint hissing sound, it dissipated and set off towards the megabuilding.
As Pell's spirit searched, the rest of the team set about solving their second problem: the megatower's security. The apartments were equipped with break-in alarms, and they guessed that Hernandez wouldn't be too keen on letting them in. Scrappenny called up one of her contacts, hoping to procure a shape-shifting jacket for a pizzaman disguise, but was informed that it would take several days to ship. Plan B, then. As the best talker of the three Fed Up smoothed his beard and set off towards the building office, Sanjuro in tow, hoping to figure out the code for the room's lock. Scrappeny stayed outside to keep the car running, just in case.
The Run
Megatower 4 was built around a massive, open shaft, similar to a concrete chimney. Rusted elevators whirred up and down the walls, and a bustling market lay at the bottom of the shaft. The air was filled with the smell of street food and the sound of vendors hawking their wares. The building's office was at the north end of the market, plastered in banners advertising a special for 25 nuyen off the first month's rent. Sanjuro waited outside, about as subtle as a troll in a samurai outfit can be, while Fed Up went to go chat up the receptionist.
The conversation started off poorly. Fed Up posed as Hernandez, pretending to be locked out of his room in the hopes of getting the door code; the receptionist could not care less. "Take it up with maintenance.", she said, barley even looking up from her commlink.
"Oh, okay. Where's the maintenance office?"
"Closed." There was a moment of silence, broken only by the hum of the cheap AC unit.
"So... I'm just locked out of my room for the night?" said Fed Up, turning his charm up as high as it would go, "There's really nothing you can do?". The receptionist looked him over for a long moment, pushing up her glasses. Before she could answer, her eyes were drawn to the office door.
Sanjuro, worried that their teammate was taking too long, had poked their head inside. At the sight of the troll, the receptionist's stony face lit up. "Oh my god, I love your cosplay! Fallen Enshin from Chromeblood Hashiro, right?"
"Yeah!" , replied Sanjuro, "Their season 14 outfit!"
"It's so good! The robe is spot on, and the sword! Is that vintage?"
"It is! I got it online."
"Okay, look," the receptionist said, bringing her voice down, "I'm not supposed to do this, but I can't leave fellow Chromeblood fans sleeping on the street. Your room code is 3456. Write it down this time."
As the pair said their goodbyes, Pell's spirit finally located their target. He was watching trid inside a barren apartment, sitting on a fold-out lawn chair in the middle of the room. Pell, Sanjuro, and Scrappeny headed for the elevator, while Fed Up stayed outside to keep the car running. The rent-a-cop standing by the elevator considered saying something to the three armed shadowrunners. When Scrappeny shoved a five hundred nuyen credstick in his hand, a silent understanding was reached. The team found Hernandez's room without too much trouble, and quietly punched in the code. Scrappenny got ready to breach, reeled back, and kicked the door as hard as she could. It didn't budge. Pell turned the handle and swung it open.
Hernandez scrambled out of his lawn chair, making a dash for the balcony. What his escape plan was, we'll never know; Sanjuro's hammerhead arrow knocked him out before he cleared five feet. He didn't even have a chance to scream. Their target captured, the team threw a cloak over his body and tossed him over Sanjuro's shoulder. Despite the fact that they were obviously kidnapping someone, the rent-a-cop let them pass without a work. Five hundred nuyen is a hell of a bribe when you're working minimum wage. They stuffed him into Fed Up's smuggling compartment, and drove off to meet with the Johnson.
Aftermath
The drop off point was a warehouse in southern Auburn. Hernandez bargained and pled as the trunk was popped open, promising the team money that he absolutely didn't have. Scrappeny knocked him out with the butt of her rifle. As the orcish waiter dragged Hernandez inside the warehouse, Trelawny congratulated the team on a job well done. The money transferred and the Johnson satisfied, the team did the only logical thing: going back and looting Hernandez's apartment. After all, he might not have been lying about that money. Turns out that he was, but the group did manage to loot a box of vintage Steven Segal trids. Scrappenny went home to partake in her post-run beer and frozen pizza, while the rest of the team hit up a bar. The rest of their night is lost in a haze of alcohol and C-tier action movies.
Rewards
8,000 Nuyen
4 Karma
A box of Steven Segal trids
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Sanjuro
Oh boy! What a run! Bicycled down to the meet site and met some very cool shadowrunners! Everyone was so cool and good at shadowrunning. We got a job to find a 'cockroach' (elf, i was confused too) and bring him in alive. He had 'debt' or something. He found the complex, our wizardy friend did some spirit magic to find him. FedUp and I charmed our way past the guards and the receptionist and we found his apartment. I shot him down with a hammerhead arrow and we were home free! Just a wonderful job, start to finish.
Pell
Well, that was a very simple job, all things considered. The other 3 runners were competent, and I would rely on them to at least be professional about doing the job, from what I've observed.