The Persistence of Memory
| The Persistence of Memory | ||||||||||
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| Factions Involved | ||||||||||
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ShadowHaven Argent | First Nations | Koshari | ||||||||
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Alkali Saint Stacy |
First Nations Gangers First Nations Shaman | Jenson Acouthley | ||||||||
Summary
In which the runners recover a stolen shipment of laés.
Background
Argent oversees shipments of laés from Tír Tairngire to Seattle, with the drugs hidden within cargo trucks operated by Blue Crow LLC, a small shipping concern run by the Laesa Syndicate. One of those shipments was recently stolen by the First Nations, who hijacked one of the trucks and found the laés. Argent, correctly assuming that the gangers didn't know about the drugs and seeking to avoid conflict with the gang (since he occasionally does business with them), decides to hire a small team to discretely recover the product without violence.
The Meet
The runners are contacted individually by their fixers and told to meet with their prospective employer at a bar called Silver Linings in Loveland - everyone manages to make it to the vice district of Puyallup without attracting any issue. Inside, Argent greets them and invites them to his office for a private chat, explaining the situation (as above). Telling them he wants the shipment of laés recovered quickly and cleanly, he asks they avoid violence against the First Nations and offers the team 8000 nuyen each; Alkali and Stacy manage to negotiate him up to 10 each, plus a good word with his bosses in the Laesa. Upon request, Argent shows them a photo of the truck and the package, and gives them the last known location of the tracker chip (in Spokane, SSC).
The Plan
While Saint, the only person with their own vehicle, retrieves her Dodge Stallion so that the team can make their way east out of the sprawl, Alkali calls Optimal Squid and asks about go-gangs en-route to their destination. Meanwhile, Stacy contacts Helena Iscariot to ask if she knows anyone involved in the smuggling game who might have been involved in the theft. Unfortunately, Helena's Cursed Luck negative procs with a critical glitch, and her asking around alerts those responsible that someone is asking questions about the theft. For a small fee, Helena puts Stacy in contact with John Manuelito - the two meet up on the Matrix, where Stacy explains that she's a "concerned citizen" who is trying to make sure that dangerous drugs stay off the street. Manuelito is skeptical, but Stacy sells the lie well, so he agrees to look into the matter for her in exchange for a modest bribe; however, once he discovers the nature of the theft he sells her out (thanks Cursed Luck).
Once Saint returns with her vehicle, Argent points them towards an Ancients smuggling route out of the sprawl south of Tarislar - since they have the right codes to fly and a charming face to smooth things out for them, the team have little issue leaving the metroplex. Stacy and Saint come to an amicable compromise on the music during the road trip, and after the sun sets Alkali summons a very curious spirit, sharing his secrets in order to convince them to help look for the team's quarry.
The Run
Upon arrival in Spokane, the team head to the last known location of their package - a warehouse in an industrial park near the highway on the edge of the city. Alkali astrally projects into the complex and employs a clairvoyance spell to get a better view of the area, mentally mapping it out and noting the position of the guards, as well as the First Nations tags on a warded warehouse that has a watcher spirit observing it. Not wanting to test out the astral security, he instead returns to his body and fills the team in on the situation. Stacy, concocting a long con, asks Saint to drive her into town so that she can buy drugs, seeking out a dealer of pixie dust (correctly assuming anyone who has it should have ins with people who sell laés). Locating one, she charms them with Silver Tonged Devil into telling her about the gang's call signs and phrases before tricking him into taking his own pixie dust to wipe his memory of the event. With this intel, she manages to con her way past the guards.
By posing as a "problem solver", Stacy is able to convince the gangers to let her into a meeting - however, she discovers that the Koshari rep (one Jenson Acouthley, who the First Nations intend to sell the drugs to) has already arrived, and is aware that someone has been snooping around about the stolen shipment. Initially highly suspicious, Stacy manages to parlay this attitude by spinning a story about a diviner who got a tip from a KE mole about the shipment and how she just wants to make sure nobody gets hurt when the drugs owners come looking. It's all bullshit, naturally, but she's able to make it sound convincing enough for Acouthley, who admits the drugs aren't at the warehouse. While he remains suspicious, Stacy convinces him that the deal is hot enough for him to consider pulling out - when he asks for proof, Stacy makes up a story about a man outside of Bellingham who told her where to find the missing truck, so the First Nations send their shaman to confirm her story.
On Stacy's request, Alkali and his spirit friend astrally project and intercept the shaman - while the spirit uses its fear power to bully him, Alkali follows his astral trail back to his body at a gang-run trap house across town, where he finds a ward like the one around the warehouse. Stacy spins the trouble the shaman runs into as evidence that the drugs owners are on their trail, which is enough to convince Acouthley to pull out of the sale. The First Nations are naturally upset, but Stacy is able to ameliorate their anger and convince them she's helped them avoid a bunch of unnecessary trouble - while she's allowed to leave, the gangers figure they'll still be able to unload the drugs. Unbeknownst to them, the team have learned the location of their safehouse in town and quickly proceed there to snatch the laés.
With Alkali playing astral spotter, Saint puts on her chameleon suit and hides a backpack with a dog spirit summoned by the maid mage under an RPC cloak. After some recon to identify the security at the trap house, Saint sneakily makes her way up to the rear of the building, using her gecko gloves to climb up to the third floor (where the drug dealers and their stash are located) and in through a window. After a bit of struggle, Alkali's spirit manages to get through the ward and use its search power to locate the drugs in a nearby floor safe; Stacy provides a distraction that occupies the ganger lookout's attention while Saint picks the lock and sneaks into the safe room, planting a sensor tag within view of its keypad and hiding behind her cloak in the corner. Stacy enters and purchases a large amount of drugs with cash, necessitating a visit to the safe - Saint is able to remain unseen, and the hidden tag records the ganger imputing the combination. Once he leaves, Saint opens the safe and Alkali's spirit uses its super-nose to distinguish the laés package from the novacoke ones; snatching it and tucking it into her bag, Saint makes a quick and stealthy escape.
Aftermath
Returning from Spokane to Seattle, the team bring the package to Argent, who weighs and tests its purity to confirm that neither the First Nations nor the runners tampered with it. Satisfied, he gives the team their promised payment along with some of the product as a bonus (being convinced by Stacy to throw in an offer of second-hand B&E equipment from the Crime Mall so that Saint acquire a sequencer to deal with future safes).
Rewards
10,000 nuyen (5 RVP) 8000 nuyen worth of laes/lael wine OR second-hand B&E equipment (2 RVP) 3 karma (3 RVP) 6 CDP (2 RVP + 2 base) +3 Laesa Syndicate rep Optional Contact: Argent (C1/L3 Laesa Fixer) for 3 RVP or 6 CDP
For Alkali: +1 Choson Ring rep (for extending an offer of co-operation to the Laesa)
For Stacy: +1 Koshari rep (for saving them from losing a significant sum of money)
Narrative Consequences: -The stolen laes is recovered from the First Nations before its sold to the Koshari without violence, avoiding bad blood between the gang and the Laesa in the future. -Argent continues achieving good boy points with his boss for being an efficient problem solver, and as promised mentions the names of his assistants in this matter.