Silver Bullets Chapter 1:L'Arruolamento

[Lichtenhart]

Monique

The man flips over a five of spades as he talks to Monique. "People have told me that before. Who I am is unimportant, but my organisation is called the Silver Bullets. As for you...well, I could find out an awful lot about you if I wanted to."

Monique carefully decides not to insist about what this man knows or not about her.
"Mmm, the Silver Bullets. Fascinating, though I think it's the first time I hear them. You spoke of adventure. What kind of adventure do you propose me?"
She relaxes for a moment. In fact she really loves adventure. And Montecarlo's nights don't give her the same thrill anymore. Maybe something new? She leans towards the mysterious man, to whisper in his ear, checking if his eyes will follow her curves.
"Something about werewolves?" she says with her most charming voice in his ear, then leaning back she winks at him, before asking for another card. She already got 15, but decides not to stay. She notices the croupier raising imperceptibly an eyebrow. It's not a wise move. Sacré Bleu, living wisely is so boring...

 

[reveal]

"Pretty high amounts of money, given the typical danger level of the jobs," the stranger responds. He declines a drink, and continues. "Although you will most likely have to travel, home base would be in Rome.

"Rome, eh?"

James goes over to the espresso machine and pours himself a small cup of especially strong coffee. Sleep never came easy to him and it didn't seem it would start now.

"You throw around terms like 'organisation' and 'home base.' You sound an awful lot like paramilitary. Why would I, a scientist, want to join a paramilitary group? I'm sorry friend, but you'll need to make it more worth my time. Money is not the only thing in life."

He turns, smiles warmly and starts to drink his coffee, welcoming the answer. Although he is excited at the opportunity of adventuring with this group, he is also wary of joining any organisation with as rigid a structure as this one seems to have. There was a reason he had a reputation as a jet-setter...

 

[DrZombie]

Jean-Jacque

"Actually, I've come to offer you a job." He pauses, seeming to consider something. "Not that we aren't impressed with what you do here. In fact, it is because of your skill that we are questioning you. Would you be interested in helping some mercenary work along."

"Hmm, and naturellement you expect me to drop evrything, close mon etablissement and leave my clients waiting untill I return, that's if I'm not killed for whatever it is you need my assistance for."

 

[Jarval]

Andrew

Half a minute after Andrew sends his reply, another message pops up.

I am an employer interested in your abilities. Would you be interested in doing some "freelance" work?

Andrew raises an eyebrow at this. Huh, well timed job offer, that's for sure.

Maybe. You know my rates? I don't come cheap.

After sending the message, Andrew turns his attention to trying to trace the locations of his mysterious would-be employer.

Although if they've got any idea what they're doing, they'll have laid down a false trail. Let's see if I can spot which breadcrumbs are for real...

 

[Awakened]

Cyrus
Cyrus recognizes the Silver Bullets as one of the more famous mercenary organizations, encompassing a large number of skilled agents. He does not recognize the man.

The man pauses for a minute to cope with Cyrus's questions. "Although the head of the organisation is a man named Jack Knowles, you will be ultimately be working for the current customer. Your teammates are still being arranged. If you take the job, you'll be asked to go to Rome, Italy as soon as possible. Don't worry about the money, we'll reimburse you there. Jobs will vary, but given your field, you'll usually be asked to do infiltration work, stealing, or occasionally combat. It's really a bit of a mixed bag." He sounds a bit bored as he says this, as if this is a regular thing for him.

Cyrus paces to the end of the room and gazes out the cellar window while he lights up a cigarette. He pauses for a long while and appears in deep thought before he responds.
"I've heard of you guys before. Got quite a rep, around here. I'm glad that you came by, although I must say you creep me out more than a little. But yeah, I'm real interested. Real interested." Cyrus turns away from the window and exhales a cloud of smoke that becomes tinged with orange light as it lingers near the lamp light of the room. "What time do I start?" Cyrus asks as he furrows his brow. "Or is there some kinda catch? I'm not flying out to Rome to hear a sales pitch on Silver Bullet shampoo or some s***."

 

[Imerak]

Roger

The stranger digs around in his pocket for a moment before producing a folded piece of paper. "When you get to Rome, report to this adress for more information. I won't say who you'll be reporting too, mainly because I don't know, but it really isn't that important. Go as soon as possible."

Monique

The stranger seems unresponsive to Monique. "What kind of adventures do you want? Given your talents, we will probably assign you to undercover or persuassion assignments, but if something else fits your fancy you can have it." He chuckles at Monique's werewolves comment.

Monique flips over a five of hearts, while the stranger gets an eight of diamonds.

James

"Paramilitary?" the man says, seeming strangely amused. "We could be described that way, but it really would be not that accurate. A scientist is appreciated around here as much as a soldier. We really do not have a military style of organisation, although there is a somewhat large gap between administration and mercenaries. Personally, I would not consider it different than any other job you would take to earn money, with the exception of the danger."

 

[reveal]

"Paramilitary?" the man says, seeming strangely amused. "We could be described that way, but it really would be not that accurate. A scientist is appreciated around here as much as a soldier. We really do not have a military style of organisation, although there is a somewhat large gap between administration and mercenaries. Personally, I would not consider it different than any other job you would take to earn money, with the exception of the danger."

"You apparently need a scientist; one skilled in my 'wiley' ways. I'm sure there are other scientists in my field of study with more talent than I have. Heck, I could name you a few right now."

"Let me just come out and ask it bluntly: Why do you want me? What do I bring to the table others do not?"

 

[DrZombie]

"and what's more, if you want to "hire" me, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, you better make sure I've got the gear to work with, because " he waves his arms around "all this can't be moved." "I could always prep a car here, but something tells me that's not what you're after".

 

[Lichtenhart]

Monique

The stranger seems unresponsive to Monique. "What kind of adventures do you want? Given your talents, we will probably assign you to undercover or persuassion assignments, but if something else fits your fancy you can have it." He chuckles at Monique's werewolves comment.

Monique flips over a five of hearts, while the stranger gets an eight of diamonds.

Monique smiles as the man chuckles.
"Oh, so you are alive. Mmmm... Persuasion. I like the sound of it. Tell me more. Where do you work? Will..Would I be in a team?"
Quiet, Monique, it's no good to sound too eager.

She motions the Croupier she needs no more cards, not much interested in the game anymore.

 

[Imerak]

Jean-Jacque

The man shrugs. "Trust me, this job would pay much more then any of your customers probably do. True, there is some danger, but if you're as good as you're supposed to be you should live. As for your equipment, we do have some gear you could use at our headquarters."

Andrew

A reply quickly pops up.

I know your rates, and I'm willing to meet them. You may be in some danger, though. You interested?

Andrew finds some simple location protection, but he easily gets past it. The sender's location seems to be in Rome, Italy.

Cyrus

"Trust me, this is the real deal," the stranger says. "You can start as soon as you want." He pauses, and scribbles down an adress on a nearby notepad. "Contact me at this location. Any other questions?"

James

"You seem awfully suspicious," the man says, amused. "As for why we want you? We pride ourselves on having a multitude of answers available...we think that your field would be worthwhile to have an expert in. You seemed to be the most eligible candidate."

Monique

"You would be working in a team, unless you chose more solo-intended missions. Still, you would be working with a unit of other mercenaries between missions at least." The man signals the dealer as well, turning around to face Monique. "You will be working in Rome, although your missions may well take you other places."