Author Topic: Shadowrun Chapter Six - Once More With Feeling (Read 103757 times)

LadyJallyn · « **Reply #25 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:16 pm Snake Pit -Ice

Ice sat perfectly still through out the presentation and let the men talk as she tried to calm her heart rate. Normally she felt very little for much of anything but she had paled some in the past few minutes as her heart hammered in her chest and her palms broke out into a sweat. The bitter taste of bile and fear rose up but Ice fought to keep it down.

It must have been terrifying.... She understood too well. Years of abuse had left Ice damaged goods emotional disconnection had been a coping mechanism. She too had participated in her own 'movies' but they were more of a low production and had been home movies for personal use or so she had always expected except for that one time she had traveled down with her 'father' to central america, that had been a ball game entirely different and when she had gone from being daddy's little girl to netting her father no doubt a decent sum of cash as he met up with other like minded aficionados.

She suddenly felt unsure of herself, something that never happened with her or hadn't since she was a child, before the days she had awakened. Why had Yurei been silent on this? Some warning would have been nice. What was his angle for making her come out to this job. Was it innocent and just another case of him finding work and figuring she would get the job done as per norm? Or did he think that this sort of thing might be therapeutic? Or perhaps it was a test to see if she would buckle under pressure?

A slow anger began to dissolve the fear and shock and she didn't fight it. Anger even cold calculated anger felt better than fear and helplessness. She could not give much input into the tape before her. She would have a chat with Yurei later and find out why he had dangled this job out for her. For his sake she expected honesty.

"How did you come across this recording?" Ice asked her how had sounded a little shaky but porn of this nature usually had its own rules of engagement. "Stuff like this isn't usually filmed in areas around here." She felt her voice calm even as she forced herself to breathe deep. She still hadn't moved and forced herself to take a breath and lean back in the chair as she closed her eyes. "This sort of thing you would normally expect to find produced in places Mexico and south of it or across the seas Asia, Africa, places that turn more of a blind eye to this sort of thing. White children tend to pay out more for that reason. The production is very elaborate. Even if the kids were drugged they have been doing this for sometime. Theres no hesitation the drugs might have been used to help with anxiety but they don't look very fearful. Such participation could mean several things. They have given up hope on being rescued their owners have managed to strip away at their personality and through brainwashing, drugs, or magically adjusting their actions they comply quite perfectly. There is also the potential that they have been conditioned to like it. The participants in this production are of an age where hormonal levels are sufficient and they could enjoy the proceedings. A streetlevel drug could have been provided to make the experience more sensual. Whatever the case this is material which collectors would pay handsomely for a vid of this caliber would likely fetch easily a grand a pop rather than the normal couple hundred new yen that a home brewed forced vid would fetch. I don't know of what use I can provide but I would like to try and assist in this job however if you know the origins of where this came from perhaps visiting the distributor could bear fruit."

Trellin · « **Reply #26 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:18 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

It was impressive to watch Shroom operate, the man was very, very good. The amount of information he acquired starting with just a handful of clues in just a few minutes was astounding. For a moment he wondered what it must feel like to be able to do that in the matrix. He couldn't even jack in to watch the news without a headache.

Stalker glanced at the other two and as he was about to reply Ice spoke. This was extremely personal for her. For whatever reason this hit way too close to home. Maybe she had a younger sister. In any case she was asking the right questions and he wouldn't want to be the one who had anything to do with that film when she finally caught up with them.

Stalker nodded, "She's right", He looked at Pepper, "You or, your employer, are willing to commit to spending a small fortune in order to kill a number of people. Moral outrage alone rarely motivates people in such a fashion. Who was given the tape and why?"

Maxx · « **Reply #27 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:19 pm Snake Pit - Pepper

"This video comes to my hands from the evidence vaults of the Federal Bureau of investigation," Pepper answered. He pulled out his watch. "It is due back in those same vaults in less than twelve hours. There are those who feel that any punishment meted out by the courts, should these men be brought to trial and convicted will be insufficient. They have authorized me to pay you a non-negotiable fee of fifty thousand nuyen, plus a bonus of five for each confirmed kill that can be verifiably linked to the production of this video."

"I'm in," Shroom said. "I'll pass on he bonus though. Head bounties usually inflate the body count."

"I can only guess at the motivation for filming this type of movie here," Pepper continued, looking at Ice. "Seattle is host to over one hundred extra-territorial corporations. in most cases, they have no extradition treaties, so anyone breaking the law is safe from UCAS prosecution as long as they can manage to get inside and stay inside one of the corporate compounds. Additionally, given your comment regarding the greater appeal of Caucasians, we have two Barrens that are overflowing with people who have no official existence. How hard would it be to collect new blood?"

LadyJallyn · « **Reply #28 on:** »

Wednesday June 11 2053 8:20pm

Ice nodded as she slid her glasses off and rubber her eyes. The large wrap around shades helped hide how young the girl actually was. Most would place her at sixteen years of age at most. "Point taken." She replied as she slid the mirrored shades back into the place. "The fee is acceptable. Where do you guys wish to investigate first? Shroom? You were the one that has the know how on which locations would be most likely tell me what you have."

Maxx · « **Reply #29 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:20 pm Snake Pit - Shroom

"The closest one is at least a two hour drive and they don't exactly line up for easy access. It will likely take us until morning to check all four unless we get lucky," Shroom answered. "My gut tells me it's the one closest to the MacDonnell-Douglas factory. They build the Raven. The others are closer to Fort Lewis, who test fly the Raven. All are equally isolated. If you want, I can take another dip into the matrix and see what happens when I follow the money trail associated with all four properties. It shouldn't take long but if this guy is ballsy enough to pull this drek this close to Seattle, he's smart enough to hide the money. I mean really, who buys illegal goods with cheques?"

LadyJallyn · « **Reply #30 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:20 pm Snake Pit - Ice

"Makes sense. I'm just saying don't get your hopes up. It might have just been an convenient place to film where they would be ensured some privacy but we may not find any trace of the baddies so to speak. However its what we have to go on for now. Do what needs to be done." Ice turned her attention back to the Dwarf. "Mr. Pepper if that is all we will be underway. Please leave me a contact number to reach you at in case we have further updates and I have to inform you that I do ask for 1/4 of my payment upfront to assist with expenses. If I cannot finish the job it will be returned to you minus transportation and basic equipment fees."

Maxx · « **Reply #31 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:21 pm Snake Pit - Pepper

While Shroom dove once more into the matrix, Pepper answered Ice's questions. "You needn't worry about the contact number, Ice. I will be coming with you. You also don't need to worry about your payment. The full amount will be deposited wherever you want it sent, as soon as you given me that information. You also don't need to call me Mr Pepper. It is just Pepper. If you must use an honourific, might I suggest calling me doctor?"

Trellin · « **Reply #32 on:** »

OOC: NOW you have a post flurry?? You couldn't do it while I was out of work? :P

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:22 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

Stalker mulled over the response Pepper gave him. Red man working for UCAS, just fuckin wrong. On the plus side, I'd have been tempted to do this for free.

"Alright, I'm in, Pepper. Before I say yea or nay to the headcount, whats the expected number of targets; Verifiably linked is awefully vague. By way of example, this kind of thing, with this amount of effort could very easily be a commisioned work. That gives me personally at least three probable targets off the top of my head. The cameraman, the trigger-man and the man who commisioned the work, who would be least wealthy and possibly with political connections that the UCAS might not like having popped. I'd also like to get get a copy of that piece of evidence if possible."

"To address Ice's concern, do we know how long ago this was made? Unless they are willing to throw money, manpower or technology all of which will draw attention, its still damned hard to forensically clean up a site. This kind of thing doesn't come out of the blue, it takes practice. Odds are that whoever made this has previous work out there and they're already thinking about making another one. You don't make something like this in a vaccum. The trail is out there. Its only cold because we haven't started looking in the right place yet.

Maxx · « **Reply #33 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:22 pm Snake Pit - Shroom

It was Shroom who answered Stalker, his voice once more coming from the computer. "Cameraman, shooter and possibly one or two more at a minimum, with an infinite expansion possibility, if there is a full crew," he said. "No previous recordings of the narrator's voice that I'm able to find with a quick search. Going global on it could take more time and more computing power than I have at the moment. He's using very sophisticated equipment to record, process and duplicate this scene, so I might be able to track training records but I'm thinking that might be a fools errand. There is an interesting little subroutine hardbound into the video. You can't copy it easily and you can't upload it into a deck or a matrix file. I might be able to analyze the program and see if I recognize the designer. Likely he had nothing to do with the video itself but he'd know who he sold it to. As far as when the video was made, we have a window of about two weeks last August. That is when the Raven flights took place."

Shroom once more sat up, joining the conversation in person, rather than virtually. "One of our four is a licensed breeder of paranormal security animals. Two of the others are involved in experimental farming and the last one is a mechanic who does custom work. Does any one sound more likely than any other? They've all got legitimate cover stories and reasons to keep the public out."

OOC: Luck of the draw that I found a run that caught your attention this time....

LadyJallyn · « **Reply #34 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:22 pm Snake Pit

Ice mulled over the choices. "The mechanic isnt doing anything for me. Breeder might be likely... Animals can be trained to do all sorts of things, control, guard protect... You need a large space to breed animals and it would be a good spot to keep kids. Same goes for the farms the key to keeping your captives and getting them to co operate is to keep them isolated. My bets on the breeder or one of the farms. Can you tell me more about the farms? "

Trellin · « **Reply #35 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:23 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

After a brief moments thought he spoke, "Pepper, I'll take the headcount bonus but I won't pull the trigger on anyone until I'm personally certain."

He looked at Shroom, "Did you cross-reference the images from the interior against the blueprints of all the buildings on the property? Given the quality its probably a real house but it could be someplace easily converted into a very nice set. Real research or breeder farms won't be likely to have something like that unless its high profile that VIP's stay on regularly."

"A private mechanic that does custom work in his own shop on a large patch of land in the middle of nowhere? I bet most customers are regular and prefer a low profile. I can see a private residence there. It would also limit the risk of exposure and background noise. You wouldn't want twenty-four hour farm equipment or animal noises getting into your background noise", he looked at Ice, "With what we know so far that would be my bet but I can be persuaded if we find out anything new."

LadyJallyn · « **Reply #36 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:23 pm Snake Pit - Ice

"So we are likely looking for something out of the city limits but still close to corp headquarters. Your movie could very well of taken place in a barn on private property. Not all of them contain livestock if they are older. And there is more than enough room to convert a barn into a studio. However a garage could also prove likely but my bet is on the farm." Ice said as she fished a piece of paper out of her jacket and slid it across the table to Pepper. "There you go that account information should be enough for you to wire the funds into it."

Trellin · « **Reply #37 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:23 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

"You're right. We can also narrow down the search by checking for two barns and Shroom should be able to check the placement based on the location of the reflection and condition of the sun. In fact we know that we are searching for a house or potential studio building in a pretty specific relation to one another."

He stopped and looked at Shroom, "Crap, I'm an idiot. You already did that, didn't you", he shook his head and said, "So what are the possible buildings like? Anything else that we can compare that might narrow it down? Security on that specific building? Number of employees working in the building, employees with an interesting past, distance from pens or equipment, assuming its a house are there any likely architectural or decorating styles?"

Maxx · « **Reply #38 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:24 pm Snake Pit - Pepper

Pepper typed Ice's information into his pocket secretary and the telltale sound of a financial transaction taking place followed shortly. He handed the paper back to her. "I think you must be misunderstanding," the dwarf said to Stalker. "The video was shot in a corner of the barn, rather than outside the barn. It is the interior that is reflected in the mirror, not the exterior. If we were able to see the exterior, it would make our job that much easier. Unfortunately...." Pepper gave a typical Gaulic shrug.

"Running down employee lists," Shroom said, plugging back in. "Y'all may have the market cornered on magic by I'm thinking you like having a chiphead on staff."

Trellin · « **Reply #39 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:25 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

Stalker blinked as he felt like an idiot. How had he missed that?

"Not going to do my reputation a lot of good making mistakes like that, am I", he muttered to himself.

He grinned at Shroom, "I typically run solo and I can tell you that nobody I've farmed out deck work to has had anything like your skill. I didn't realize how much easier it would be having a talented and experienced decker around. Speaking of employees, none of those places would normally have any reason to keep the kinds of props needed for that recording on their property. Someone would have had to deliver it. Any chance we can check delivery records and see if something of the appropriate bulk was delivered to or from any of those places from around the time of the filming from places that might supply that kind of thing? Furniture stores, rent to own places, home decor stores, that kind of thing."

OOC: Total player bad. I went back and read the description of the video and Shroom's analysis to get a better idea of where the barn was and somehow got the impression that the reflection in a mirror was through a window. Maybe because of the mention of the get outside the window. Oh well.

Maxx · « **Reply #40 on:** »

OOC: No probs. Only the sound of the jet's engine was detectable. The jet itself was never seen. Good thing the Raven had such distinctive engine sounds....

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:25 pm Snake Pit - Shroom

"Unfortunately, there are literally hundreds of thousands of these units currently on the market and that is just considering original purchaser," Shroom said, sounding mildly annoyed that Stalker's request might prove an impossible task. "As far as bulk deliveries, each of the four businesses has a reason to have large packages dropped off. I'd have to check all the couriers, ranging from Fed Ex down to Joe's Cartage, check for deliveries to each location and match each one up with an invoice from the shipper. I haven't got a time frame to work with either, except prior to August of last year." The decker chuckled. "Stalker, at this kind of stuff, I'm second rate. There are guys who can run circles around me in the matrix when it comes to digging through files. My forte is killing other deckers in straight up combat and fighting my way in to places where they need a decker to jack in because they can't hack in from the outside. If these guys have this stuff stored in an stand-alone system, you'll need me to break through the encryption and pull it out as proof. I'm your man for that kind of job as well. There are better but they'd never make it over the fence, let alone past any countermeasure who shoots back."

Once more he popped out of the matrix. "Each of them has somebody shady working for them, ranging from felons on work release right up to dishonorably discharged ex-military," he said. "Anybody else have an idea for narrowing our search or do we start knocking on doors?"

"Perhaps an astral search?" Pepper suggested. "Something like this would have left quite the astral signature. Unfortunately, projection is beyond my capacity, so I will have to ask Ice to do the honours. For that we would need to be on site, so unless either of you have an additional idea, we need to take this to the next stage."

Trellin · « **Reply #41 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:26 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

Stalker grinned, "Hey, Shroom, what you've done so far is magic as far as I'm concerned. I won't count the horses teeth when its already been so beneficial. I'd be surprised if they left evidence unless they wanted blackmail material as insurance or extra income -", a blank look came over his face and he glanced at Pepper, "Don't take my comment personally but blackmail would make a lot of sense for these to suddenly come to light and have a shadow team assembled to deal with it permanently. Just something to think about since I'm planning on going for the buyer if this was a commissioned piece of work."

He shook off the thought and decided, against his better judgement to give benefit of the doubt for now. "If we can get close enough for an astral signature, I'm all for it. I can track a pet by astral signature if I have the time to study it but unlike Ice, I can't project which makes things fuck all faster if we can give her something to zero in on. In order to do any of that though, we need to find the place as soon as possible. Even something like that might fade given that the shooter didn't seem too upset by killing the kid and the kids were out of it enough to stop a normal emotional reaction. But you know what?", a feral grin grew on his face, "The person filming it was almost certainly screwed up and he might even have gotten off on it and that would linger for a while."

"OK, last minute ideas on narrowing the search. Was anyone convicted of anything resembling related crimes, have skill with video or related work, and Shroom, which site was your favorite pick and why?"

Maxx · « **Reply #42 on:** »

"My gut tells me it's the one closest to the MacDonnell-Douglas factory," Shroom said. "But that's just a gut feeling. No real evidence to back it up. If I'd been able to actually see the plane rather than just hearing the engine, maybe I could have narrowed it down all the way. Unfortunately...."

"In my experience, those involved in experimental farming are either clinically detached or very fluffy bunny," Pepper added. "And mechanics of this sort tend to be passionate, volatile people. Breeders generally think more of their animals than of their customers, assuming they are not puppy milling. In any case, further discussion is pointless. Shall we hit the field? I have room for four."

"By the way, it's not a commission piece, Stalker," Shroom said, closing up his computer case. "There is an identification code built into the video by the same programmer who wrote the copy protection. That way, if it is ever copied and distributed to a secondary market, the person doing it could be identified by the original maker. I don't know about you but I know what I'd expect somebody involved in kiddie snuff porn to do if they caught somebody reselling their work." He drew his finger across his throat and began vigourously finger fucking the imaginary opening. "I've got an e-mail in to the guys who I think might have written the program. No idea if or when they will answer or if they will even cough up the information. In the meantime, I think we should saddle up."

Trellin · « **Reply #43 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:28 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

Stalker nodded to Shroom, "Wosiliyagle", he said with dsigust, "I don't know which answer is more disturbing. One person knowingly commisioning that act or enough people willing to watch a 'movie' of it that theres a real market. The good news is that if its not a commision piece we have more avenues of investigation. If there's a market, there's a distribution and production arm of it and that means more trails. Not to mention we may be able to bring them to us if they think we're cutting into their business. You might even be able to get a trace when it phones home if it ever comes to that."

He stood, stretched languidly and nodded to Pepper, "Your show Pepper, which one first?"

Maxx · « **Reply #44 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:29 pm Snake Pit - Pepper

"You assume it phones home immediately, rather than waiting to be noticed," the dwarf said. "I suggest we go for the mechanic first, mainly because it will be the first one we come to. I'm reluctant to take on the paranormal breeder. Security there will be rather problematic, don't you agree? Likely it is the most secure of the four and I'd rather not burn out by trying to check it first and leaving nothing for the rest."

Trellin · « **Reply #45 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:30 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

Stalker raised an eyebrow, "Not really, I'm just confident that whoever is monitoring the other end will behave like anyone else protecting their illegal income and come looking once they realize someone has been dealing their product in a decent quantity. I make no assumption how long it will take them to come looking. However, I do think placing ourselves in the role of sacrificial lamb is a strategy of last resort."

He nodded and said, "I agree, we want to run this as silently as possible, for as long as possible to keep from alerting the quarry, given that it could be any one of the four places that Shroom has found. I would recommend saving the breeder for last. The mechanic works just as well as the farms. Besides, if he turns out legit, I might be interested in his work", he said with a grin.

Maxx · « **Reply #46 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:35 pm Snake Pit Parking Lot

The four reassembled in the parking lot, with Pepper pausing only long enough to shake Conner's hand. Even Stalker's keen eyes were unable to see any kind of hand off but the bartender's reputation as a sleight of hand artist made it unlikely that anyone would have seen anything. There was a marked change in his aura, however and he was suddenly all business, even behind his genial appearance.

The dwarf made his way towards a large pick-up truck with a well used trailer hitch. In the driver's window was a marina pass. "All aboard," he called out, in a voice that sounded amused.

"I'll be taking my own wheels," Shroom said, slipping under the dome of an Volkswagen Electra. "Makes it easier to scatter if need be and it would take too long to transfer all my gear. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it."

LadyJallyn · « **Reply #47 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:35 pm Snake Pit Parking Lot

"I'd prefer to take my own if that is fine." Ice replied. "We can meet up and I'll do the astral reckon. You drive to the designated spot and I will follow."

Trellin · « **Reply #48 on:** »

Wednesday, June 11, 2053 8:36 pm Snake Pit - Stalker

Stalker weighed the options briefly and although he always preferred to take his baby, this needed to be quiet and something like his bike would stand out like a sore thumb and the sound would travel a long way in a quiet area. If they needed to scatter he was more than comfortable taking to either alleyways or the countryside. Both would remind him of his younger years.

He nodded at Pepper, "I'll take you up on the ride, just give me a moment to pull my bike around back and let Conner know that he'll be keeping an eye on her."

LadyJallyn · « **Reply #49 on:** »

Wednesday June 11 2053 8:37pm Snakepit parking lot

Ice made her way back to the parking lot to find Kujo sitting in the front seat of the car his tongue lolling out of his mouth he wagged his non docked tail happily as the girl made her way back to the car.

She slid behind the steering wheel and patted the dog before she started the car.

It was time to work.