[Shadowrun] Chapter 1 - An Unexpected Request

[Mysticsage]

[info]roll to resist drain from summoning
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 4, 5, 1, 6, 5, 2, 4, 5, 1, total 33[/blockquote][/info]

Zephyr at this point was beginning to get a headache and decided to  let his hair down now that he was inside and out of the rain. He figured that his somewhat bright appearance would be a marker over anything. He ordered  a bowl of noodles since they were one of the few foods which the soy substitute actually tasted fine and tried his best to act as casual as possible to try and not draw any unwanted attention. People in places like this liked to keep to themselves anyway so long as he didn't do anything to flashy he doubted anyone would pay him much mind in the scheme of things

[Oath]

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http://youtube.com/v/uHQZNNajxOk&autoplay=1
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After a little bit, your bowl of noodles came. To your surprise, it tasted as if the ingredients were real, and not just soy imitations. You knew better than to ask about the secrets of a chef so you just enjoyed your food in relative silence. While you were in the middle of it, a man in a suit slid into the booth. He was wearing sunglasses so you couldn't see his eyes clearly. He looked to be Chinese, had a shaggy mop of hair. The suit was well maintained, he looked used to wearing it. He seemed to be looking you over from behind the sunglasses. "Guessing you're Zephyr?" He smiled, and offered a handshake.

[Mysticsage]

"Maccy boy I presume? Good to finally put a face to a name." Zephyr smiled bringing the man into a hug and clapping him on the back with a broad smile. Richard liked physical contact it gave him a better sense of a person how they moved their build, their mannerisms, and how there aura displayed their inner hearts. As he moved apart from his friend he chuckled, "Sorry I'm not better dressed for this occasion I didn't have time after my Johnson came knocking on the door." As his friend took a seat opposite he told him of how he found his friend and the approach of the old man.

He slid the Datachip and the Credstick out of his jacket pocket, "Bennett was working for Aztechnology so no doubt whats on these need to be handled with care. So I figured I'd ask you if you would be willing to throw in with me for this job. Where dealing with a megacorp here so no doubt things will get dicey, but I'll owe you for this. And right now I need someone in your area of expertise." Zephyr did not now how much Mac knew about him if anything at all. They had mostly talked over chat versus voice even with friends it was better to stay isolated if possible in the shadows. Especially if one did not have a fixer or a team for support. Zephyr did his best to tell him the state of things as clear as possible.

[Oath]

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http://youtube.com/v/uHQZNNajxOk&autoplay=1
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You could see Machiavelli's face sort of contort as you said Maccy. He was fairly quiet as you slid the datachip over to him, he listened to your story with his full attention. He picked up the chip, twirled it between his fingers and put it into his pocket. "Before committing to anything, we'll have to look at the content of this chip. Assuming it is something that you will need my help with, I have a guy that owes me. He's pretty reliable. Good at getting things places. You'll owe me double. But we can figure that out when we get there. For now, we should just have a nice evening out. It's a little too late at night to get everything we'll need going." He waved to a waiter, and a few minutes later, a bowl of soup and a large glass of beer appeared on the table. He ate slowly with a smile on his face.

"I know you're surely in a hurry, Zephyr, but good things come to the man who can wait. After we're done here, we can head to another location and check out the data. Then go our separate ways from there for the night. It's best to be safe after all." He slurped his noodles and gave you a thumbs up.

[Mysticsage]

" I might have a place we can go If we you don't mind spending a bit of money If you don't have a place in mind already that is. There is a lounge and gambling parlor run by the Yakuza It is an underground auction house that helps oversee many of the high end black and grey market deals in the city. Its run by an organization that acts as a kind of third party insuring the validity of the goods and deals. I have a good standing with the boss there she has a code to keep things clean and doesn't allow any really bad drek into her network." Zephyrs affliation with organized crime was a strange thing.

He didn't take any oath's directly but due to the friendships he fostered was known to most of the high ranking bosses of the various families. He made a note to only openly talk with those who had his certain brand of common sense and decency, But he had gathered someone of a name for himself in those circles as a reliable asset if not a bit stuck on his own morality, That was the biggest problem with finding jobs in the shadows Zephyr liked to avoid bringing any kind of pain in the world as possible. Seeing peoples emotions and mental states like a second skin meant he was all to aware of what happened when he was forced to kill on the job.

[Oath]

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Richard
Machiavelli quickly finished eating. "I have a better place. We need somewhere safe, and secure. I have just the place in mind." After he finished eating, he left some cash on the table and got up, motioning for you to follow. After leaving Ling's Noodles, he walked up to a van and hopped inside. "Much more secure than any building, if I do say so myself." He slotted in the chip, and after a few moments looked shocked. "Zephyr, you'll want to know what's on here, but I want to talk about it once. I know a guy, he owes me a favor. I'm gonna call him because we'll need his help. He's a good guy. You'll like him." You sat in silence as Machiavelli got on his comm.


Roland

It was a relatively quiet night, there hadn't been many jobs lately. You were getting a bit stir crazy, needed something to do. Your comm started to ring. It was Machiavelli, a decker you had known for some time. He did some forgery on the side and you would often run stuff around for him. In return, he would take care of your decking needs. You picked up. "Firecracker. I need your help. Meet me at the usual place in an hour?" He hung up before waiting for your response, clearly something was afoot. Something to break up the monotony that you were currently facing. You knew the place, it was where you regularly met your fixer, Shinji Konoe. A small Yakuza run hostess club, Negi's. It had plenty of privacy from prying eyes. A private room was easy enough to get, especially for business. It'd take you about 15 minutes to get there from your place, so you have time to pack whatever you want to take with you.

[info] You guys can decide if your characters know each other already or not. [/info]

[pringerbeam]

     Roland craned his neck to look from his couch to find his gun lying on the end table.  "Clothes...."  He looked down at his cargo pants and T-shirt.  "Eh.... fuck it."  He grabbed his favorite red synthleather jacket and slung his concealable holster around his shoulders so his gun rested snugly at the small of his back.  He pulled his arms through his jacket sleeves as he headed out into his garage to hurdle over the door of his jeep and into the driver's seat.  "Whoops, ammo..."  Roland patted his pockets for the spare magazine that wasn't there.  He flipped open the middle console storage compartment to see the contents of 3 spare loaded magazines as well as some spare credsticks.  ([blockquote]Rolled 4d6 : 2, 1, 3, 4, total 10[/blockquote] x100 nuyen from middle lifestyle starting cash) "Jackpot!"  He smiled at his fortune of not having to go find some place to draw some nuyen from his account into hard credsticks.  He reved up the engine as the garage door opened and then got on his way to visit Shinji's club.

     Roland pulled up to Shinji's club and parked down the street.  Whoop whoop.  The car's security system sounded its activation.  he walked past the small line of corp citizens waiting to get inside. "Hey Shiro, how's the evening going?  Any of the wageslaves give you trouble?"  The bouncer cracks a small grin.  "Just one but his compensation for the incident has been arranged already."  "Sounds fun.  Anyways I need to meet someone here and wanted to get a drink with Shinji before they get here."  Shiro nodded and pulled aside the velvet rope to let Roland in.  As he entered the hostess club he heard the whining of the next group in line cut short by a growled retort from Shinji.  He walked across the busy room careful not to run into any of the waitresses quickly darting from the bar and kitchen to the tables.  He nodded to the made men when they turned their watchful gaze from the customers to him as he moved for the stairs marked with a VIP sign and guarded by a yakuza sitting on a bar stool.  The yakuza looked him over as he approached.  "What are you packing?"  He asked.  "Nothing out of the ordinary.  Just the usual kept somewhere out of sight.  You know if anyone has come in to meet me?"

[Oath]

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Roland

You walk into Negi's and its clear you're a regular. Aside from the preferential treatment, a ton of the people around you are greeting you with warm smiles, or at least nods of respect. The goon sitting on the stool nodded as you mentioned your usual weapon. He then shook his head. "Nope you're the first one here. Should be here shortly, he called ahead of time." You were let into the usual room. No cameras, which was nice. The couches were comfortable, the tables were fancy, and soon after you entered, a waitress brought you a drink. After about 5 minutes the others showed up.

Richard
Machiavelli made a second call, letting his establishment know he was on the way and to prepare the usual room. The streets were pretty quiet despite it being the weekend. You gazed out the window as rain streaked down it taking in the sights of the city. You'd seen them all before, but Machiavelli was quiet, contemplating something. He pulled into a parking space and turned on his security system. You followed him over to the entrance, A red neon sign parked above the door read "Negi's". A line of people were waiting to get inside. He exchanged quick words with the bouncer, and in you went. The people outside looked upset but a grunt and threatening gesture from the bouncer quieted the crowd. You walked into the club. Women in dresses were sitting at tables with men that looked like they had just gotten off work. laughter filled the room. You were walked over to a VIP door with a single thug sitting on a stool. Your buddy's already inside. He seemed to be friendly with Machiavelli. He then looked at you. "You're new. If you got a weapon on ya, please give it over. We'll keep it safe for ya until your business is done."

Everyone

Machiavelli led Richard into the room where Roland was waiting, drink in hand. "Zephyr, this is Firecracker. He can be act on impulse from time to time, but he's a good guy and he can get you where you need to go. Firecracker, this is Zephyr. He's a magical fellow and he can get the job done. After a few moments, more drinks came in. The waitress smiled "Shinji sends his regards, Regrettably he's a bit tied up at the moment so if you'll want to see him you'll have to come back another time." Machiavelli sighed after the waitress left. "You guys get to know each other a bit. I need to unwind with a couple drinks before I get into the nitty gritty of this meeting." He pounded back his drink and picked up a phone in the room to order another. It was going to be a long night.

[info]Mystic, your gun is being held by the goon at the door.[/info]

[Mysticsage]

[spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/v/_3YqjMR3pyA&autoplay=1[/spoiler]
Zephyr took a moment to nod at Mac, taking his jacket off in the process and moved to the other man. He was wearing slim cut jeans and a black shirt that Zephyr was an elf of good stature and dashing good looks. His alabaster complexion playing off the shocking acid green main of hair which he had currently tied in a small ponytail. "Zephyr, nice to meet you." He said with a small nod and extended his hand in greeting. If you take the handshake you would realize that his grip revealed a hidden strength that the elf hid behind at first glance was what appeared to be a wispy appearance. In fact as he moved closer you would be able to tell that he had the body of a well trained street fighter.

It's doubtful you would have heard much about the elf while he was somewhat experienced running in the shadows he tended to maintain little presence out side of those circles that he ran in on the regular. He had never been to this particular club for instance but he had heard of it from others like Sakura and his usual fixer contacts. He wondered how much they knew about him. His specialty in magic and close and mid range combat did very little without a proper team making sure he didn't get killed so besides those few runs where others like Maccy or his other contacts needed him he stayed on the dark and sidelines. Some may call him a small timer but it would be best to not let your guard down with this charming elf or else get caught in his web.

"So Firecracker is it?" He asked as he sat down looking at the man as he sat down nearby. "I fear I've gotten you involved in my personal business I apologize. I realize it's bad form, but if you end up lending a hand I promise to repay the trouble. I'm a valuable asset to have at your back if you don't mind me saying."

[pringerbeam]

"Well personal business is still business so don't feel too bad about it."  Roland took up the offered hand shake with his matte black cyber arm.  "Besides, as you can see, my hand doesn't mind wandering away on loan."  With this he let his hand disconnect from its firing system mid-handshake before sitting back down and letting the cable play out as the hand remained in the grip of the elf.  "So what can I do foryou? I owe Machiavelli a bit of a favor and if there is one thing i have learned it's that quickly paying one's debts is a good way to go."

[Mysticsage]

Zephyr stiffened slightly as the other man's hand detached. Not from discomfort but worry that he had some how broken his cyber ware. He was never more then a novice with such things and often had bad luck. Once he realized the joke was intentional he laughed light heartedly.

"I need help with a friend who got geeked he probably go to close to something while working for Aztech." He took the time to quickly give a run down of the nights events while leaving out names and such. "If the corp is involved in some kind of death or blood magic then I have no doubt they've called up other methods of removal. I can handle the Magic. A trained strike team would be a different matter. So I asked if Mac over there might lend me a hand from the digital world, and you were the first name that came to his mind in terms of physical security." Zephyr kindly waved away a waitress looking to give him a drink he preferred to remain sober on the clock.

"To be at the top of Maccy boy's book is quite the accomplishment I must say I'm impressed. I'm sure your skills are quite the help." He wondered just how deep he was in with the yakuza considering how at home he seemed. He knew from his own experience not just any outsider would get that treatment. The thought helped reassure him of the quality of the man.

"Mac said it would be best to let it go for tonight and relax, I'd normally go gamble or read or something but this is not that type of place, so if you don't mind chatting you got my curious about your story I'll answer any question's you have in kind of course."

[pringerbeam]

     "My story?  Not much to tell.  I found myself in a bit of debt to Shinji's clan and had to work my way out of their black book and into their good graces.  Wasn't too bad, I started out smuggling and the yakuza always seem to need people that don't look like a yakuza to move all their stuff without being noticed.  Most everything else I have learned has come from that: learned to shoot people that try to jack your cargo, learned to sneak by checkpoints.  You know, all the usual things.  These days I don't really owe them anything anymore but I tend to work for them anyways.  I never tried to fight them on my debt and they never really treated me too bad considering the circumstances so these days I usually only run independent stuff when I need to make rent and the clan doesn't have anything for me."  Roland let his hand reel back into its socket and swilled his whiskey around in its glass.  "As for your friend...  I have never had much of a knack for the mojo so I don't really know much about the blood magic stuff.  I hear all the rumors but have never seen any of it myself.  What did your friend do for Aztecnology?"

[Mysticsage]

"I don't yet know what he did but I plan to find out." Zephyr said as he rubbed his forehead its already been a long night and the process of digging in further was daunting. But he was going to dig all the way into the middle of whatever trouble he had fallen into. He listened to the music from the club proper for a bit the synthesizer and heavy base running through his entire core. He wondered just what fate had in store for him next. Maybe it would be worth going to get a reading from Anders at the Holly and Mistletoe. If anyone could also shed some light on the encounter with the old man it would be the Talismonger. Zephyr would normally be sleeping right now to get ready to help out at the store in the morning. Well it was not worth dreaming about. Leave the dreams to Owl and simply follow the trail of secrets and lies to the source and all will be revealed/

[pringerbeam]

     "I see..."  Roland turned his gaze to Machiavelli.  "So... doing protection on an actual person isn't usually my gig but if you need a wheelman I can cover that.  Hopefully after this we can call it even on that SIN I needed."  He finished off his drink before turning his head back to the decker.  "So I'm guessing since we are all here in person you have something to say yourself.  Usually you don't leave your cave until it's business time and as fun as it is to play 20 questions we seem to be in need of some info."

[Oath]

[info]Each of you gain 1 Karma, for making an enjoyable introduction/exchange.[/info]

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Machiavelli finished his second drink with a sigh. "I suppose its that time now, huh." He projected some files for the two of you to see. "Now I'm not well versed in magic or any of this other astral stuff, but it sounds to me like they've been performing some sort of experiment to enhance blood magic. And well, you guys know what happens when that type of stuff goes out of control. Nothing but trouble. You guys know about the Great Ghost Dance, yeah? Hundreds of Native Americans sacrificing themselves to make volcanoes erupt all over the place. That's the kind of stuff blood magic can do on a large scale, and it looks like your buddy Bennett stumbled into this stuff, or was a part of it or something. Clearly they didn't want him to have this data, or he wouldn't be dead. And now WE have the data. I don't even know what to do with it. Its bigger than me, bigger than us, and if we try to sell it the trail will be easy to follow. If we go to the authorities, probably the same thing. Aztechnology has buckets of nuyen, and we have three guys and a jeep." He burried his head in his hands, looking like he had hit rock bottom.