Trollick begins moving with Hawkeye. He takes no further aggressive action at this time, but, mystically, dampens any sound that he might make, while heightening his own hearing. He will also stimulate his body to be able to move faster, though he knows he is not very effective at such yet. He is prepared to bend mystical waylines to hinder the movement of any new enemy. He does not really want to use any loud pulses of air or generate heat within the confines of the building. He comments to Hawkeye.
"Hang onto that slag. We may need to use him as a bargaining chip. Since someone has entered after us, the chump-Johnson-want-to-be may have triggered some kind of personal alarm. Whoever is coming in is likely to be working for him. I think I am looking for a fight anyway."
Syd thinks Trollick is right. No leader, whether Mob, Corp or Gang, goes without protection unless they're "working" on the side. Syd gets the Child ready. This could get ugly --- for them.
The group has a moment before reinforcements arrive. Hawkeye finds Stripe Suit easy to move, pulling him back as he keeps his revolver ready. It is difficult to hide behind him since Hawkeye is a giant, and Stripe Suit is human. Trollick manipulates Way. Syd waits.
The Runners hear an impact and the door blasts open with a smoke screen. The Runners are far enough away to not be effected, but cannot see through the door.
First One, then Two members of Private Security come leaping through the door, wearing black suits of medium armor with matching helmets and firing auto-rifles. One shoots at Syd, but the experienced Runner spins to the side, and the shot hits the wall.
One: 90+62=152, Syd: 77+89=166
Two gets a shot off at Hawkeye. The Runner ducks his head to keep from a headshot, but exposes his side. Two shoots him in the torso, rocking him back with the impact. His Heavy armor holds, keeping any damage from getting through.
Hawkeye levels his Ruger and fires back at Two, shooting her in the head. The medium armor keeps the bullet from blasting her head open, but the wound is serious. Two rocks back, barely on her feet.
Hawkeye: 66+100(+51)=217, Two: 80+24=104, 33 damage, Deflect 25-33=-8 Body, 10-8=2 Body, 8 damage = -40 Speed of Action, 124-40=84, loss of action
Trollick had thought to only slow the opponents, but with them equipped with rifles, he must change his tactic. He engages in close combat to keep from getting shot at again. He grabs the rifle of Three and pulls it aside it as he manipulates Way.
Trollick: 81+88=169, Three: 70+75=145, success
169-145=24, 2 damage, Mind: 10-2=8
One shoots at Syd again and misses.
One: 90+13=103, Syd: 77+68=145
Syd shoots back again, but the constant movement of both fighters keep the bullets missing.
Syd: 88+78=166, One: 90+74=164
Three lets go of the rifle and draws a knife to attack Trollick, but the attempt is so clumsy the giant easily sees it coming. As soon as Three releases the rifle to reach for his knife, Trollick hits him in the helmet with the rifle hard enough to crack the visor, but not enough to damage Three.
Trollick attacks again using the butt of the rifle and lethargy. He is keeping Three off balance and unable to strike back, but not doing much damage on his own.
114-99=15, 1 Mind damage, 8-1=7, Speed of Action 68-5=63, no change
Syd shoots again and barely misses, again.
Syd: 88+25=113, One: 90+22=112
Trollick continues to bash Three using his own gun. With the Lethargy attacks having already weakened his Mind, the repeated blows by the stock of the rifle knock Three unconscious. He slumps to the ground, incapacitated.
Hawkeye shoots at Two again, but she lunges out of the way, back through the smoky door, and the shot misses.
Hawkeye: 66+45=111, Two: 80+93(+72)-40=205
One now stands alone against the Runners, but refuses to quit. He shoots at Syd again and misses badly, chewing more rock from the wall.
One: 90+64=154, Syd: 88+93(+61)=242
After One’s last shot, Syd twists and brings his Magnum Foster around, stitching a bloody line across One's torso, and the last opponent crumples against the wall.
Syd: 88+99(+72)=259, 90+80=170, 35 damage, Deflect 25-35=-10, Body 10-10=0
The Runners can still hear Two crawling away, but they pay her no mind as they make their exit from this level.
Stripe Suit can not resist your direction, but it will be hours before he is coherent enough to answer any questions. You may exit the casino without further incident, or keep Stripe Suit here. No one else comes to rescue him.
State actions for what you do before you begin to question Stripe Suit, and then state any questions. Questions will be answered in the order they are received.
Having damaged clothing, albeit, uninjured, Trollick bashes his fallen opponent one more time with the butt of the rifle, for good measure. He keeps the rifle to dispose of it later, since he touched it with his bare hands. He bends the air to his will in a similar manner in which he would do so to shove a person but with less force and over a larger surface area. He sends the air outward through the doorway to clear the smoke from the enemies' grenade.
"Let's make an exit. If you want to talk to this guy, elsewhere would be better."
Hawkeye nods in agreement, "Yeah, agreed, we should question him in a secure location. I'll call Shatterframe and see if she can set one up for us, and provide transpo to and from. While he's still out, we need to check him for fetishes and augments; if he's like you, Trollick, then he doesn't need to be armed in order to be dangerous. We're not going to take any chances. But I'm an amateur at all of this; I can feel the powers in the air around me, and I can use them to some extent, but nothing like the way you can. I will defer to your judgment on this. Knowing he's a bender, what other precautions should we take before he regains his full senses? I have a sneaky feeling that he might have some contingency we haven't thought of."
The Video of the Striped Suit Man said:
Striped suit man: “I have more work for you. There are three mechanical engineers I need snuffed, Abraham Zuebrini, Tess Milkner, and Pauline Barnes. I’ve sent you the file with their information. They all have spouses, so do them too, home invasion type stuff. I don’t want anyone looking into this, so I’ll make the usual arrangements with HPD to put minimum effort on the case. There won’t be any heat for this. Make it messy, and take whatever you want, but I want your best killers. I need all three engineers dead before next week.”
1. The hit that you arranged on the engineers last year: what corp was it for? Who was behind it? Be specific. I want names of individuals. The ones at the highest level of involvement.
2. What was it they were trying to achieve? Or, what secret were they trying to protect? What was the purpose of killing these engineers?
This last question won't be asked unless the whole crew agrees to it. We need to have a group discussion about this.
3. I get the whole "fixer" gig, and I realize that you're the go-between. I'm willing to go easy on you if you cooperate. If you're straight with us, you get to live, and we'll make sure that nothing connected to this comes back to bite you. But if you mess with us, and try to sic your friends on us in revenge for this little unexpected rendezvous, believe me, you'll live just long enough to regret it. Your friends won't, but you most definitely will. You get my drift?
As an afterthought, Hawkeye will use the VR to perform research on Abraham Zuebrini, and Tess Milkner. If there are newspaper articles or trade publications that mention either name, Hawkeye will download it. He will also look for police records on the two names as well. If security is too strong, he will ask Shatterframe if she knows anyone who can get access to the records.
Trollick purses his lips and furrows his brow. "If this guy is a magic user, once he regains consciousness, I know of nothing that can prevent him from using that talent. No movement is necessary, only consciousness. I can give his mind another bend if necessary. We do not want him cognizant."
Stripe Suit Snuff
With their adrenaline pumping from their one-sided fight, the Runners push and shove Stripe Suit through the empty casino, and outside to where Shatterframe is waiting. Trollick tells the group that it will take Stripe Suit hours to regain his Mind enough to speak coherently. As they drive away, Shatterframe assures the three that VR chatter is non-existent about this event. No one except those involved know about it.
A quick discussion decides that a car would not be best for an interrogation. Shatterframe drives to where skyscrapers being renovated rent out their rough rooms for clandestine meetings. A small fee is paid, and the three Runners have Stripe Suit secured to a chair without much fuss.
Syd Vicious stands guard while Hawkeye and Trollick question their quarry in an empty room. While they wait for Stripe Suit’s Mind to come back enough to question, they search him for trinkets. They find nothing interesting on Stripe Suit until they pull off his oversized designer shoes. He has six toe-rings, three each on the inside toes, that grant +1 augments to Health, Motility, Cohesion, Confluence, Persona, and Will. These rings are specifically designed to fit on toes, but will function if tied to another body part.
While he waits, Hawkeye will use the VR to perform research on Abraham Zuebrini, and Tess Milkner.
Information about Zuebrini and Milkner is public VR knowledge. They were engineers, contracted out like Pauline Barnes, to work on specific pieces of projects without knowing what corporation they worked for, or what the end project would be. This was the standard role of engineers in Helton not wishing to be involved in corporate espionage or weapon design. Both engineers were killed, along with their spouses, during home invasions on consecutive nights. Hawkeye knows the dates of their deaths are a night after the death of his parents, but no official connection between the deaths is discovered. Hawkeye digs a little deeper and can not find any information on which project Zuebrini, Milkner, or even Pauline Barnes, was working on when they died.
After an appropriate amount of time, Trollick tells the Runners that Stripe Suit should be able to answer questions, without remembering why he would want to keep that information from anyone.
Question One: The hit that you arranged on the engineers last year: what corp was it for? Who was behind it? Be specific. I want names of individuals. The ones at the highest level of involvement.
Stripe Suit’s head sways as he listens, and then he drools as he smiles. “I’m the real leader of the Hudu Krew. Me, just me. I tell those little gang-hoe’s what to do and they do it. Heh. Mess with me and I’ll smoke their little Hudu’s to bits.”
Question Two: What was it they were trying to achieve? Or, what secret were they trying to protect? What was the purpose of killing these engineers?
Stripe Suit seems to focus on Hawkeye’s face for a moment before he answers, “Money. No one does drek in Helton unless it’s for money. Barnes, Zuebrini, and Milkner were working on a new water pump to expand the city. Old water pumps couldn’t let Helton grow. More water needed new pumps. They made the parts, and I was project manager for Mars, put all the information together. They live, I get $100,000 credits. After they died, I cleared $700,000 credits, even after paying off my dumb gang to snuff those workers. Heh, I did it a lot. Made a lotta bank.”
Question Three: Never gets asked as Hawkeye realizes he’s not dealing with a middle-man, but the scag that actually ordered the hit that took his parents. The Barnes’, Zuebrini’s, and Milkner’s were not killed to fulfill some nasty conspiracy, but to fill a greedy man’s pockets.
Hawkeye lets no tears fall from his eyes, as he levels his Ruger at Stripe Suit and pulls the trigger, snuffing the corporate stooge.
Any more investigations reveal that Hawkeye has killed the only culprit left of his parents’ murder.
Receive 4000 credits each for the contract with Gibraltar.
Hawkeye says, "Did he have a credstick anywhere on him? 700K would go a long way towards establishing us in a proper fashion. Think of the gear and the resources we could acquire with 700K..."
The look on Hawkeye's face is one of mixed emotions. Everyone can tell that he is, at the moment, a veritable powder keg. But the idea of the 700K seems to have given him at least a small measure of focus.
Hawkeye will search Stripes' corpse for hidden credsticks; false shoe heels, sub-dermal implants, etc. If he finds nothing, he will talk to his Uncle Jimmy, to see if the bank assets could be confiscated; he will, of course, offer Jimmy a cut if such a thing is doable.
Trollick nods at Hawkeye after he plugs the greedy bastard then texts Syd. "We're cool. Questions terminated. Tidying up a bit."
Smiling at the convenience of the site location, especially concrete floors, Trollick bends thermal waylines, repeatedly if necessary, to incinerate the man, wanting to leave no evidence of his identity. He then pulls on the air in the room to generate a breeze to disperse any fumes or smoke.
"Just one more societal stain to be bleached from the concrete during renovations."
