[NBA] - (S)Entry

[Kaodi]

Mace's meeting with Russian arms dealers does not go quite as smoothly as Persephone's, but when he arrives back at the hotel with two well-used PBs he is not too much worse for wear (unlike the other guys who thought they could rough him up a bit). After cleaning up he dozes off in bed before being awoken by Persephone's text. He does not bother with a reply and instead just shows up several minutes later.

The con man slides into the chair across the table from Persephone, a bottle of some local brew in hand. Grinning slightly comments, "The local businessmen have a great sense of hospitality, I must say. Any thoughts on the sort of welcome we will be getting tomorrow?" He then takes a swig from his drink.

 

[mudbunny]

Hung-Ke

It doesn't take long for Hung-Ke to find a route from the hacker IRC channels that he normally frequents to the ones frequented by local hackers. Once in the room, he starts interacting with the members. After having succesfully stopped a number of intrusion attempts that were obviously done to separate the script kiddies from those who actually know what they are doing, the people in the channel open up to him a bit. Asking about Rudek gets a bunch of laughs about his almost comical incompetence in the digital world as several of them share recent stories about Rudek looking for some sort of program that would erase data from a Serbian laptop that isn't connected to the net. More digging around and chatting turns up nothing of consequence.

Gabriella

Walking around shopping is not all about the shopping. Well, maybe it is, but what better way to get the lay of the land *and* improve the local economy some. It's not your fault if all of the best stores that you just *have* to visit are located on the side streets and are scattered across the city. Luckily, a couple of local footballers offer to show her around. By the end of her shopping, Gabriella has pretty much picked up the local rhythm and speech patterns common in the various shopping districts as well as a decent idea of the streets around the city. One of the sights they show her is the various border crossings. They seem competently manned, with no obvious ways around at a first glance.

Persephone

OOC: The war is recent enough here that you do not need to spend any Network points to get weapons unless you are going for heavy weapons, grenades or other things like that. Shotguns, pistols and machine pistols/uzis are common enough that you can get what you need with only a little bit of effort.

OOC: Let me know if you want to make any preparations for the meeting. You know the meeting room that it is in, and you have all been given access cards as well as notification that you will be able to get intot he room tomorrow morning, should you need to prepare anything for the meeting in the afternoon. The staff at the hotel are not treating you any different than any other hotel staff that you have interacted with in any chain hotel across the world. A level of competence tempered by a desire to not have to do more than the minimum effort.

 

[Hypersmurf]

OOC: Ashcan's spent most of today at the hotel, and watching the traffic on the Promenade outside. Given the meeting room location, he'll take a little time to figure out if there are obvious locations to set up for observation or sniping - the building across the street with a window that looks into the meeting room, the room opposite the meeting room across the hotel's indoor courtyard, that sort of thing. (Maybe Architecture, or using the Surveillance general ability in an Investigative capacity?) If he finds anything that looks like a prime choice for someone interested in surveilling the meeting, he'll pass the information on to Hung-Ke - suggest he put together a couple of bugs or mini-cameras and get Gabriella to plant them so we know if anyone sets up a stakeout position. With plenty of the usual Ashcan commentary about how well those two always work together...

 

[mudbunny]

Asking the hotel staff for permission for a quick look into the room beforehand yields rapid results, with several perfunctory apologies for it not being cleaned yet.

"The cleaning staff will be in and working on it overnight sir. Please excuse the disorder."

It is an inside room, with no windows. Other than that, it looks like any generic modern conference room you would find in a hotel. They have a ceiling-mounted projector, wifi, telephone, laser pointer. Pretty much any modern convenience you would find. It is clear that the previous party had just finished using it. Ashcan looks around, mentally noting where *he* would plant explosives were he tasked with doing so and makes a mental note to check them out in the morning.

 

[Piratecat]

We'll set some audio and video bugs with motion sensors; they can ping us if anything weird is going on. Standard locations, including above the ceiling panels (ie "everywhere we'd put bugs or explosives if we were trying to sabotage a meeting.") That said, Gabriella doesn't expect trouble. No one tries to kill you perfunctorily unless they have no other choice. Professional courtesy.

 

[Hypersmurf]

We'll set some audio and video bugs with motion sensors; they can ping us if anything weird is going on. Standard locations, including above the ceiling panels (ie "everywhere we'd put bugs or explosives if we were trying to sabotage a meeting.") That said, Gabriella doesn't expect trouble. No one tries to kill you perfunctorily unless they have no other choice. Professional courtesy.

Ashcan's not expecting betrayal from Rudek - he can't think of any unfinished business from last time that would necessitate a complicated revenge. But Rudek could have any number of enemies out there, and Ashcan doesn't want to end up as collateral damage from an attempt on someone else's life!

Plus, if one of Rudek's hypothetical enemies is spying on the meeting, he's almost certain to be a lead on whatever the job is if we catch him...

 

[Piratecat]

Gabriella is expecting the trail to lead across the border. Not a big deal, other than they'll need to do a quadrotor drone-drop of some supplies once they're there. Hung-Ke and Ashcan probably have that well in hand.

OOC: I'm happy to fast-forward to the meeting.

 

[mudbunny]

Given the limited time available to set things up, it is understandable that the video bugs only manage to cover about 90% of the room. The audio bugs, on the other hand, easily cover the room. A quick software analysis of the audio data shows no anomolous sounds that would not be expected in the cleaning and setup of a conference room. The video data also shows no suspicious activity going on.

Upon entry into the room, approximately 45 minutes prior to the meeting time, the team splits up and checks the room out. Ashcan and Mace (under Ashcan's supervision) do a quick check for explosives, focussing on the areas that were not covered by the video bugs. The remainder of the team pull out their detection equipment of choice and, once their bugs have been temporarily deactivated and their equipment calibrated to eliminate cross-interference, sweep the room for something foreign that may have been placed there overnight, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

5 minutes prior to the meeting, a rather large and intimidating man enters the room and takes a quick look around. He examines all those present with a professional air and pulls out a hand-wand typically used in airport security lines. As he walks towards Persephone, a booming Russian voice can be heard coming from the hall.

Vladmir!! We are dealing with professionals here, not criminals. There is no need for such a show of mistrust. Besides, I suspect that you would not like what you would find should they allow you to scan them in the first place.

Georg Rudek enters the room and takes a quick look around. Seeing Hung-Ke, he smiles broadly and quickly walks over to see him. A broad hug and the european tradition of a kiss on each cheek is bestowed upon Hung-Ke.

"Hung-Ke my friend!! How are you doing? Did you have any problems getting out of Trieste? How many different departments of their government were looking for you? I hope that the distraction I provided was of use to you."

After being introduced to the rest of the team, shaking the hands of the men, and kissing the back of the hands of the ladies, he opens up his briefcase and starts putting together a piece of electronics. As he does so, Vladmir pulls out a bug detector and runs it around the room. You hear it beep a number of times as he runs it over the various bugs you have placed. Vladmir confers with Rudek, who confirms that the bugs he found are yours and gives you the option to leave them there are remove them as he finishes setting up his electronics and pushes a button.

"There we go, my own portable little white noise generator that should prevent any wireless signals from getting out of this room. If you wish to leave your devices there, you may.

Before we start, is there anything you would like to drink or eat? I can have Vladmir provide it for us."

 

[mudbunny]

Rudek continues.

“My principals … whom I suspect are not our ultimate employers in this matter … need something from this NATO Officer. Specifically, his laptop computer.”



On Rudek’s laptop, the screen shows a sixtyish man in a uniform

“Brigadier-General Malcolm Lennart has just completed his NATO tour and is returning home to Canada from NATO HQ Sarajevo next week. He commands a logistical planning unit; I suspect he’s been looking into some purchasing records or political deals that don’t stand close inspection. “But whatever it is, he doesn’t seem to have filed any reports on it, which implies that he’s keeping the evidence close to him. A quick black-bag job on his office in Naples didn’t turn up any relevant paper files; my principals believe that he keeps everything on that laptop … which, in defiance of security regulations, he removes from his office and takes with him to his personal quarters every evening.”

“Let me be clear: merely getting copies of the data on the laptop will not be considered success. The general must not retain his own copies, and he absolutely must not take those files out of Bosnia in six days. Your job is to secure that laptop, and to make sure that no backup exists for it. For that, you will be paid €100,000 apiece; half now in any account of your choosing, and half on delivery.”

 

[Hypersmurf]

Before we start, is there anything you would like to drink or eat? I can have Vladmir provide it for us."

Ashcan declines the offer of refreshments, eager to get down to business.

“Let me be clear: merely getting copies of the data on the laptop will not be considered success. The general must not retain his own copies, and he absolutely must not take those files out of Bosnia in six days. Your job is to secure that laptop, and to make sure that no backup exists for it. For that, you will be paid €100,000 apiece; half now in any account of your choosing, and half on delivery.”

"Told you a hundred US wasn't the real rate," Ashcan says, nudging Persephone with an elbow. (One of these days, she'll appreciate his jokes. It's a gradual wearing-down process.)

"So... is this bona-foide NATO data we're supposed to pinch? Or has this Lennart been working extra-curricular, loike?"