Futuristic Shadowrun: Exotic Enterprises IC

[Fenris]

Shadowrun OOC​

Mr. Johnson:
While the synt- leather couch was torn in numerous places it was cushioned enough to be comfortable which probably indicated his arrival to the 'Howling Banshee's' backroom. It was a clear step up from the main area which boomed with the live performance of an upstart Trog Rock band; whom fully subscribed to the credo of being loud to cover any gap in talent. Resting back into his seat the man sighed and wished himself back into the comfort of the companies luxurious Mitsubishi Nightsky limousine waiting a few block away, alas it was time to work. He brushed through his short crop of brown hair, adjusted the collar of his gray suit and impatiently starred at the AR clock hovering at the edge of his vision. In a few minutes the first runners would drift in. After all most of his day had been spent getting the word out. He needed a team on short notice for a little trip across the Atlantic. Just who would his contacts be able to dig up within time?


[The 'Howling Banshee' is a club near the edge of the barrens, its customer base consists of a fair number of orks and trolls and it certainly caters to the stereotype by offering young but not necessarily talented bands a venue on most weekdays. A pair of obviously cybered bouncers guard the entrance, relieving all patrons of obvious weaponry; though they don't always take their job too seriously. The interior shows the wear and tear of numerous fights but is usually patched up to usable levels. There's a door behind the bar leading to the backroom and the bartender, a burly Troll who goes by Connor, has a list of whom to expect and the instructions to invite them in when most of the team has assembled. It's still early in the evening and people are slowly trickling in, the racket within preferable to the gathering clouds outside. Looks to be another rainy night in the Emerald City.]

Scene:
Dalamus Ulom DigitalEcho animegirl20 ThatGuyWithSouvlaki VasiliasMellow ValkyrieRose

 

[VasiliasMellow]

Scud sat in the driver's seat of his van parked next to the building across from the club, he pulled down the sun visor and checked his teeth. With a confident smirk, he lifted the visor and zipped up his navy blue jumpsuit. He grabbed the submachine gun and magazine on the passenger seat and placed it into the bottom of the toolbox on his lap. He grabbed the tray with the tools and placed it over the gun and closed the lid.

He opened the van door and hopped out. Scud crossed the street and eyed the bouncers. He marched towards the door, whistling a tune. "Water leak," he said over the music flooding out of the club. He lifted his arms as they patted him down. One of the bouncers raised an eyebrow at the toolbox, Scud opened the toolbox and showed the tools inside. After a nod, Scud walked into the club looking around. He headed towards the bathroom and found a stall. He took the gun from the toolbox and loaded the mag. He stuffed the gun into his suit and left. Noticing the Troll behind the bar he walked over placing the toolbox at his feet and ordered a beer. "Scud is here."

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Among the many cars in the lot, Lumina had chosen one that appeared to be expensive, but not much more so than those around her... just enough to leave the impression she might be of a higher class than those around... she wanted to make herself attractive without going too over the board. More than once she had been hit on for her selection of vehicle alone, and more than once that had led to some...entertainment. Doubly so since the people she was with usually got so drunk or enraptured that they would give her everything, and wake up to find nothing. Well... such was the game. Lumina just knew how to play it better.

Stepping out of her car, she looked around. The Howling Banshee was at the edges of the area, which made it a good haven for those seeking to work outside the law... still, she preferred finer places. usually when people had a job for her, they asked at a fancy place and buttered her up with expensive food. That usually worked. She walked past the guard with a wink and casual flirt, walking over and giving her name ot the bartender. Ordering a drink, she sat down, blending in to the area around her, opening her ears. IT was time to gather information, go in as armed as she could. What was going on in the area? Who else was coming? The more she knew, the more she could work with, and she was ready for anything.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Elara rubbed her forehead in a sigh as she stood near the Howling Banshee Club. The headache was due to the bar living up to its name but the screetching sound that for some reason people call music. The music was almost enough for her to question the wisdom of coming here, what does it say about the client if he picks such place for a meeting? She knew the need for discretion and such the Barrens are the best place for that but there must be better clubs out there. She sighed in resignation thought, she couldnt afford to be picky at the moment.

She forced a smile as she approuched the troll bouncer by the door. The bouncer eyes her briefly before allowing her to let her pass without a word. As she passed him and entered the dark, cramped neon lit club with the music the loudest it could be. That combined with smell of sweating troll amongst other sickeing smells mad her wish the bouncer refused entry. Well she was here now, she approuched the bar next a red head humans, she made her self known to the barmaid and ordered a beer. She noted the human and looked at her curiously. "Well i wondered what was making this place remotely bearable." She commented flirtatiously."What would bring a human in a place like this?"

 

[Dalamus Ulom]

He moved as though he were gliding across the ground, movements perfect. Flawless. In many ways, he was like the predator hunting it's prey, taking long, silent strides across the asphalt, eyes locked on the troll bodyguard, with a dark, fanged grin on his face, and had one of the bouncers near convinced that he was face to face with a real banshee, an elven vampire, the irony of the location seeming to escape him.

The elf could smell the two trolls' fear across the lot, the rapid release of that chemical coded sweat causing the other to get spooked as well and do the same, all of it more pungent, vivid to him. More so than wny if those stale examples to be found inside. A few more moments of pacing on the edge of the lights, and with his grin growing even larger, it was then when he finally decided to make his way to the bar's entrance, causing the first fear ridden troll to widen his eyes to the point that the elf wondered if they'd simply pop out of their sockets before he even got there.

But no, they didn't. Saddly.

Pulling up to the more fearful of the two bouncers, the elf would finally come to a stop, and was boring holes into his opposites own, their pupils miniscule due to the shining strobes of the club behind him, but the elf didn't even so much as squint his eyes in his transition into the bars light.

After a moment, the troll noticed the near constant tremors and twitches running across the lef's body, almost as though he were scared or cold, yet the face did not seem to fit with such a narrative, still showing that fanged grin. Move-by-wire. This was a cybered up asshole, not a bloody vampire thing, the troll would realize, with a little less fear in him than before.

Eyeing Twitcher, the troll would realize that the elf was completely hairless. No brows, no lashes, no body hair. Nothing. Just smooth bare skin that seemed uncanny no matter how far away you were, and even more so up close. A sleeveless black shirt and a simple pair of jeans was all Twitcher wore, and a brief moment later, the bouncer realized the elf was completly barefoot, showing his surprisingly prehensile feet.

"I need to check you for any weapons," The second bouncer said. It wasn't really a command, more a matter of fact statement, tinged with a bit of nervousness. The second troll had realized Twitcher wasn't some vampiric monster the moment he spotted him, but the man's odd visage still left the bouncer a bit on the edge.

"Kiddo, you're not gonna get anything out of me. I mean, the only fucking weapon on me IS me. So I'd suggest you step aside and let me through. Now." Twitcher demanded, his tone dark yet surprisingly whimsical, accompanied by the loud snick of hand-razors extending from his fingertips to ever so gently brush against the trolls gut.

A few quick nods, some brief movements to either side, and that distinct snick later, that was all it took to leave the two bouncers alone in the night.

 

[DigitalEcho]

Greynet vetted the advertisers and linked them with "contractors", trust was hard to come by online.


With the meeting set so close, Malakai had needed to work quickly. Social media tagging lit up the regulars like a Christmas tree though. From there it was a short skip to a bulk email offering free drinks on the night. A little knowledge was a dangerous thing... those who fancied themselves tech literate were just the sort to root their phones to get out of their walled off app stores. People imagined serious hacking started at peoples online accounts but by far the most readily accessible tended to be end point subversion followed by the logging of online logins.


He'd have felt bad for doing such a shitty hack if it weren't for how effective it was. It wasn't long before it had been forwarded to a number of the staff who'd asked, incredulously, to see it. That had gotten him into the local network. The online table order system ran on an old version of java for which exploits were well documented. The firmware on the CCTVs was even sillier. Why did they even need wireless? Internet of (very silly) things...


What was a little newer was the composite imaging program he was using to sew the camera visuals together. There was a slight delay and the occasional hole when the cameras had a dead spot that would shift as they moved. Standing there in the image was the next best thing to being there and presumably smelled alot better.


He regarded the low res face of the Johnson and let his imagination fill in the gaps.


Within the image he reached out to the tables icon which already responded to his command. The side scrolling add for shots took markup input so he set it to strobe and switch through rainbow colours. The text directed Johnson to open the menu which now served as a simple text pad. The speech to text ordering used a table mic that he'd be able to use to reply naturally as well as feeding the general conversation back to Malakai. The thumping bass made things a little choppy but it was all there.


"What the?!"


It seemed the Johnson had finally noticed Malakai as being the first to arrive...

 

[Fenris]

Matthew O'Connor 'Connor' - Troll Bartender
Connor, one of the Howling Banshee's regular barkeeps didn't even cast a second glance at the dwarf in the blue jumpsuit who was approaching the bar. Some maintenance around the club was far from unusual and you couldn't fault a guy for grabbing a drink after work; only when the handyman introduced himself as Scud did a flash of realization cross the trolls face. “Eh? Oh yeah, the suit's getting settled in and what not... drink while you wait? He's opened a tab.”

While waiting for an answer the large bartenders attention was drawn to the two shapely figures that had taken their seats a little ways away. He began making the ordered drinks with more dexterity and gusto than most would expect from a meta of his proportions and actually bothered to move from his spot at the bar to personally deliver the order. Giving the pair a wink and informing them that their friend had also recently arrived, shooting a nod toward Scud, but this time claiming the drink where 'on the house' failing to mention the Johnson's running tab. A nearby table of regulars where discussing the latest urban brawl league at a near screaming volume to contest the music. Here and there small groups where forming or loner's where trying to drown their sorrow in cheap synth alcohol.

Connor's good mood seemed to last a few moments longer as he sauntered back over toward his spot and Scud, thinking of perhaps indulging his curiosity and trying to pry a few answers out of the dwarf. Alas, as he maneuvered the bulk of his weight to lean back on the counter two messages reached him, neither of them good news. The first alerted him to another newcomer, this one decidedly less pleasant than the others. The fact that the drums tempo had lapsed into a slower pace combined with the strobe lights only made Twitcher's entrance all the more haunting. Over eight feet of muscle tensed at the sight and he addressed Scud with a low rumble, “One of your friends? ...anyhow, suit says you're good to go on back now.” A quick motion toward the door behind the bar and a word to have a waitress pass on the word to Lumia and Elara followed.

–
Mr. Johnson
Meanwhile the well groomed man in the backroom was still dreaming of luxuries beyond his current predicament when he noted the sudden burst of color. “What the?!” Getting over his initial astonishment Johnson quickly tapped a few commands into his own device, sincerely hoping the decker hadn't gotten to it yet, and followed the instructions. Features kept carefully neutral he gave the slightest of nods, “Perhaps I should have expected as much... Jessie, I presume? It seems a good a time as any to summon your colleagues. If I could just ask for a minute of your patience.” A few more taps on the comm sent a prepared message to the barkeep up front, asking him to invite the rest of the runners in.

As the runners enter Mr. Johnson seems to be distracted for just a moment, likely comparing the faces to his database and offers a polite nod and gesture towards the bench across from him.

Scene:
Dalamus Ulom DigitalEcho ThatGuyWithSouvlaki VasiliasMellow ValkyrieRose

 

[VasiliasMellow]

When mentioned, Scud looked over to the ladies. He gave a nod and raised his beer. People were here and he figured it was almost time. He drained his beer, tipped the Troll, and stood up. He barely heard the Troll and looked back after his toolbox was in hand. He didn't know what the fuck was coming his way but he figured he should leave before it reached the bar. Scud let out a burp and headed in.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Lumina watched the people come and go, thinking about everything that was happening. Who was present and, more importantly, who was entering. She doubted everyone who walked in was also on the job, but it helped to get a decent idea, Lumina couldn't have been the last one to arrive. They would have sent her immediately to the back if that was the case. No, if anything, more information was needed.

It was as she was witnessing a troll man enter the bar when a woman sat next to her, talking to her with a flirtatious smile. She took a moment, decided what persona to go with, what set of words to reply to the woman that would establish as a first impression. Thinking of an equally flirty type, she adopted a more flirtatious vibe, giving a wink of her own. "Well, sometimes when a girl wants some fun, they should try something.... altogether less ...human." She said. It was perfect. Answering the woman charming,s leaving it vague and inviting for more interest... ah, sometimes Lumina impressed even herself.

It was beginning to hit it off as one of the waitress' flagged them over, telling them they were good to go inside. "Ah....and here we go... the fun.... tingling part of the job." She says with a slight whisper, getting up and dusting herself off, leaving a decent tip at the bar as she proceeded into the back room.

MM, a cautious type. She could see the person that had called them here, looking a bit pensive. Well, that was natural. In this room were killers, thieves, liars... everybody most people would rather avoid at all cost. ."A pleasant evening to you. though i expect the haste which i was contacted means... it isn't going to be a quiet one." She says, taking a seat with a smile. With this, the dance with devils had begun... she hoped she had a good lead.... the most foolish ones were the ones making the first steps, after all.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Elara smirked at the girls flirtation back finding it amusing and liking the girls sharpness. Still though flirtatious she had no design or greater interest in the girl than curiosity. "Certainly you picked the right place, though I would be more careful were you said that some men here would be happy to provide what you seek whether you want it from them." She warned though she doubted the girl wasn't capable of handling herself.

Than the waitress waived them over towards another room, leading her to guess that her assumption was correct. Being set aside could only because of the job. She had to be careful of the pretty face and flirtatious manner of the girl, appearance could be deceiving. The thought of the girl was quickly set aside as curiosity filled her of the prospective job.

 

[CerpinTaxt]

Robin's shoes let out an audible clicking with each step as he approached the entrance of the loud, booming club. One of the two bouncers extending a hand outward to signal the human the come to a stop. "We need to check you before you enter the establishment sir." He spoke firmly, watching as the human calmly removed his coat and handed it to the other bouncer, who took it with a look of confusion, before raising his arms to shoulder level and allowed himself to be searched. A few moments later and he was cleared to enter the club, taking his coat back from the bouncer and putting it back on. "Bit strange, seeing a guy with threads like yours coming to a place like this." The bouncer who searched him commented as he moved to the side and opened the door for Robin.

"I'm awaiting the arrival of a few co-workers. They insisted we come here to continue a company meeting." Robin was his only reply as he entered the club, reaching inside of his coat to grasp the small Colt that been placed in one of the inner pockets. The best place to hide something from a person was sometimes right under their nose. With care, he slid the Colt into his shoulder holster that was under his pinstripe suit jacket, gently placing his coat onto an empty coat hanger nearby. He would have preferred not leaving his rifle behind a dumpster in the back of the building, but getting a full length rifle was more trouble than it was worth for what this was. A business meeting. Robin wasn't even sure if his 'co-workers' even existed, but judging by the few people he'd observed enter just a short time ago then he had to guess it wasn't a one man job.

The hairless man nearby caught his attention the most out of anyone in the club. He stuck out to Robin like sore thumb, and looked as attractive as one. Calmly, Robin approached the troll who manned the bar, a gloved finger tapping the bar table. "There was a business meeting scheduled at this time that I am here for. Is that where they're headed?" He made a small gesture to the small group of people who had slid off towards the room at the back of the bar.

 

[Fenris]

Mr. Johnson
The dwarf entered first, his jumpsuit had him look the part of contracted maintenance personnel. It seemed a good fit which brown haired Johnson spend a split second wondering whether or not Scud was actually a handyman when not working the shadows. The moment of contemplation was swept aside by the stunning red head which followed Scud. Thanking his ware, which was kicking in to keep him from acting like a blushing schoolboy, Johnson courtly nodded in response to her greeting and replied, “There's a chance it might be, though its significantly slim to warrant hiring a team.” Elara was the last of this wave to enter, her height and comb of purple hair making the mage stand out a bit within the room, though she would have no trouble at all blending with the rest of the establishment.


Matthew O'Connor 'Connor' - Troll Bartender
Connor was still feeling unnerved by the pale specter hardly taking his eyes off of the man to address his newest guest. This one was either lost or part of the group that was walking into the back room right now. In response to Robin's question the large troll gave a gruff snort, “Aye business, but maybe not the type you're looking for?” Connor gave the well dressed man a quick glance and then shrugged, “But suit yourself lad; straight on through.


Mr. Johnson
The brunette cleared his throat giving everyone a moment to settle before announcing his offer. “I appreciate your appearance here and apologize for the short notice situation of the job, but we all must make do with what we have. As I'm sure you're aware of.” He gave a measured shrug showing no indication of remorse and continued, “The job itself is not to unusual though it will take about a week to complete and include overseas travel, if either is an issue you may depart and I will have a small token of appreciation transferred to your accounts for making the effort.”

The brunette paused to gauged the reactions before carrying on. “A acquaintance of mine will need a team to assist him in producing a documentary about the Lagos Black Market. Run full security, man a few camera drones, work out a few interviews with locals. Shots don't have to be professional, just clean, editors can take care of the rest.” A hint of amusement played across his features, “Of course we don't expect you to make the trip by your own means, though you are welcome to do so. I have organized a T-bird flight leaving 0530 tomorrow with enough room for a team and their gear. All the pilot wants in return is a little assistance selling his wares at said market.” It was a bit sketchy but not a terrible deal, he'd talked people into worse jobs though of course those dregs hadn't been of the same caliber. Folding his hands Mr.Johnson ended his little presentation, “Trip and Hotel paid in full, 1K per head a day and a percentage of the sold ware; a paid vacation of sorts...”

Bar: Dalamus Ulom CerpinTaxt
Backroom: ThatGuyWithSouvlaki ValkyrieRose VasiliasMellow DigitalEcho

 

[VasiliasMellow]

Scud sat back as the man spoke, looking around at the team for this run. He listened to every word the Johnson spoke but his eyes never left the others in the room, the Elf, the Orc, and the Human. Scud had crossed his arms, partly because it always looks cool but mostly to try and hide any evidence of the submachine gun under his jumpsuit.

After a detail was given he would nod in acknowledgment/agreement until he remembered the twitchy guy that entered the bar. He shuddered and glanced at the door. Sure four people could pull off this job but Scud was sure there would be more. He just hoped he wouldn't see that pale elf.

Scud had to force himself not to sigh when he heard it wasn't a local job. A long-distance job meant no van and no backup scooter. Now he had to worry about the vehicle they would be using.

"What about transport once we get there? If you called me then you knew you were getting yourself a not so ordinary driver. The vehicle doesn't need to be special apart from being Scud compatible. As long as it is equipped for runners and has enough space to fit us, I don't see a problem. Just addressing a concern."

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

She entered with the others into the back room and was surprised at the sight of their contact. The gentleman was neither orc or troll as a place like this would suggest, also though he looked wealthy he did not look like the usual class of people that hired runners. Scud though was something else all together. Never seeing someone so packed up with cybernetics, she wondered if he was even still human.


Attention returned to the gently man and she listened intently to the job offered. They are hiring shadowrunners to provide security and act as a crew to a documentary?it seemed too legit to be legit in her eyes, something was up here. "I am more curious though is: why hire us? There must be some security firm to provide protection even in an black market." She commented curiously.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Lumina thought about the job after she heard it, her mind working out the details of what everyone was saying. Elara had the right of it mostly, this seemed a little too...easy for people of Lumina's caliber. From what the man known as Scud said, he was a driver of some sort.... unless it was that dangerous the second you arrive, you wouldn't need a Shadowrunner as a driver. You certainly wouldn't need a skilled grifter to sell items, presuming that was exactly what Lumina was needed for, even if it was black market goods. Then again....

"If this is a documentary of some sorts, it poses the risk of not feeling realistic enough if a person was standing around with a squad of professional guards... well, the markets would be wary of selling to such people. Usually people rich enough to hire guards have contacts that get the stuff for them, and never show up to such seedy areas themselves... that is like asking to be blackmailed. That is one reason i can think of. The other being... we are being tested for something bigger."

She let that sink, then sat back in her seat, taking her drink and swirling it. "That said... I was getting rather bored. I will go and assist with this job. test or no test, getting paid to sell things plus commission IS like a holiday for someone like me."

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Elara had suspected what Luminara had said just after she spoke, something that happened to her several times. Still she was curious to see what the answer the contact would give if it wasnt for Luminara blurting the answer making the attempt pointless. She thought about it for a moment, the test could still lead to trouble not another job. However she needed the money and what else did she have apart looking for that damn mage which she had no leads at all.

"I suppose i could leave after the first job." She commented finally.

 

[DigitalEcho]

Malakai stood in his digital construct, taking in the audio. He was loath to actually comment but it seemed a number of things had skipped under his apparent compatriots radar.

05:00 in the morning and it was already evening. Security tended to be worked out in advance. Either something had happened to this guys plans or to his security. Also close protection didn't blend well with filming duties though it could act as something of a disguise.

The short window left little choice but to use the transport Johnson had arranged for them which meant physically entering his controlled environment, he was not a fan. Speaking of which T-birds were not cheap. He had to wonder what the pilots requirements stacked up to.

There needed to be more information on who they were protecting and whether or not there was a specific threat or just an "environmental" one.

Considering the goods being sold represented a portion of their pay a rough street value and exact percentage needed to be discussed.

He mentally arranged the questions into text form and then allowed the strings to roll out across the text pad.

"Why the short notice? Security ought to have been arranged well in advance."

"You realize that close protection doesn't mesh well with distracting duties, what's more important, the ward or the tape?"

"Do you know what the pilot wants to shift?"

"Who is the ward and what sort of threat do you expect? Also, why is he making this documentary"

"What percentage of sold wares do we get and what sort of wares are we talking about?"

and there they sat, silently inviting an answer.

Backroom: ThatGuyWithSouvlaki ValkyrieRose VasiliasMellow Fenris

 

[CerpinTaxt]

Robin cleared his throat once the man had confirmed his theory, his right hand going to the tie that was wrapped around his neck and adjusting it slightly as he walked his way to the room he'd been guided to. His ears picked up a few words from the group that was already inside, something about defense detail, and a documentary in a black market. The other's in the room that commented seemed to confirm what exactly this job was. Not really the kind of job he was used to either. But one of them had mentioned this potentially being a test of sorts. Whoever it was, they had raised a fair point.

He took up a spot near one of the walls, his eyes focusing on the others in the room to get an idea of just who was what. A dwarf in maintenance clothing, with his arms crossed and commenting about the vehicle for the job. By what he was saying, it seemed he went by Scud as well. Then his eyes went to the red-haired woman sitting with a drink in hand. Flashy clothes, and an obvious taste in everything high-class. Robin couldn't criticize her however, seeing as he was wearing a tailored suit that cost an ungodly amount of money. The Ork woman and what looked to be Mr.Johnson looked to be last. Well-dressed, and official looking clashing with the purple hair and intimidating height of the other.

Questions were shot at the man from left and right, with Robin staying silent. Extending his hand outward slightly as he raised it, he turned his palm towards him and pulled back the jacket of his suit to see the antique watch that was strapped around his wrist. He wasn't sure why that had become a sort of habit for him, but it helped to block out the chatter as he began to think of a question of his own.

It was a simple question, and Robin assumed the answer he was going to get before he asked. "Is there a map of the area?" His raspy voice coming out once there had been a break in the discussion.