Episode 45 – The Fluffy the Cat Caper

 

The GM seat is now being occupied by Mike deFevers, Rose’s player from the Killer Bees. He will be running an arc dealing with experienced characters involved in the madness and violence in the furnace of the Hot War. We have rolled back time to August 1, 2025 to give this group more time in the actual Hot War. A fixer’s Fixer, Jack Smith who lives in Jacksville, North Dakota (yes, the town is named after him) has assembled a group of Edgerunners for a series of personal followed by corporate assignments. They gather at Jack Smith’s ranch for the promise of 10,000eb and a round trip ticket to listen to his proposal. The first eleven people show up.

Monday, August 1, 2025:

That morning is the first meeting of the ‘Team’ at Jack Smith’s Ranch outside the town of Jacksville, North Dakota. In the room is a large round table with placards in front of each seat.

(Caitlin) The first to enter the room is an (ATTR 10) young woman well groomed in an expensive, black, high fashion backless dress. She has that undermined youthful quality of those teen/twenty something models you see in the vid ads. She kicks off her high heeled shoes and curls up with a glass of milk in the comfortable chair behind the sign that reads “Sniper”.

(Hisoka) An attractive (ATTR 8) young red-haired white man in about his mid-twenties enters next. His dress is neat but casual. He looks at the girl briefly and without acknowledgement is led to the chair next to her behind a sign that reads “Stealth Ops”.

(Izaac) Caitlin’s staring at Hisoka is broken by the entrance of a tall, short haired man in his late thirties to early forties He carries himself with the assured ease of a seasoned professional. Jeeves leads him to the chair on the other side of Caitlin behind a sign that reads “General Combat Operations”.

(Bill – npc) Next to enter is a white man with a short gray hair with an expensive suit. He sits down next to Izaac. His sign reads “Goods and Services”.

(Azoth) A good looking young man in his twenties follows next. He sits down next to Hisoka. In front of him is a sign that reads “Demolitions and Electronic Warfare Specialist”.

(Peter) A handsome (ATTR 10) man in his thirties enters next. His measured gait exuded an aura of quiet confidence. The man’s dress is simple and he goes barefoot carrying only a rucksack and a bamboo flute. He is sat next to Azoth behind a sign that simple reads “?”.

(Damien – npc) After Peter enters, another dark haired, white man enters looking about thirty years old. He is dressed in business casual with khaki pants and the constant ubiquitous shades. Jeeves leads him to the chair the chair next to Bill and behind a sign that reads “NET Ops”.

(Michael – npc) A short red haired man (ATTR 6) in his late twenties enters next. He looks around and mutters something under his breath. Jeeves leads him to the chair next to Damien behind a sign that reads “Vehicle Support”.

(Onyxia) A bipedal Dragon exotic enters next. She (although it is kind of hard to tell and this made for some humorous interplay later) is lead to the chair behind the placard “Medical Support”. The Dragon sits down and switches her sign with the one that reads “Pistoleer”

(Thor & Fenris ) A heavily modified Sampson FCB carrying what looks like modified Slamdance Power Hammers carried one in each hand enters next. At his side walks a robotic mastiff, which looks like it has been optimized for combat. No flesh is visible on the ‘dog’. The Sampson sits behind the sign that reads “Close Combat Specialist and Technical Support”.

(Tex) Finally, a four-armed man dressed in garb suggesting a western gunfighter strides through the door. All players rolled a reputation roll. Only Caitlin remains clueless, as everyone else recognizes him as Tex, a member of the famous Edgerunner Team, the Firemen. [When we started playing Cyberpunk in the early 90’s, our group is the Firemen. We have incorporated much of what they did into the canon of the game we play. As we are now at the time (campaign time) when we stopped playing them (years ago real time), they are now available for play and the player (who now lives a fair commute away) has decided to come back (work permitting) and finish the Fourth Corporate War.] Tex walks up to the table and looks at his placard. He then picks up the “Pistoleer” sign in front of the Dragon and scratches it out. His corrected sign now reads, “Tex”.

When all the Team is assembled, Jack Smith, the man that has brought the group together enters to address them. Jack Smith is bald with a small beard, looking for all the world like Jeff Bridges’ character from Iron Man. He thanks everyone for coming as Jeeves put 10,000eb in cash in front of everyone. The money has been promised (along with a round trip ticket) to anyone who would come to hear Jack Smith’s offer. The offer is basically this.

“With the world and corporate situation in such flux, there are many opportunities to make good money in this environment. With the exception of Tex, who already has an international reputation, most of you are on the cusp of breaking out to a more worldwide fame in your chosen occupation. I would like you to work for me. I need the group for at least two months and maybe longer. I will provide an HQ for you to operate out of, and I will pay cash for each job. To my friends I am a generous man, who likes to spread his good fortune to those you loyally serve him. If you work for me, I will make you rich. It’s as simple as that. If you are interested stay, otherwise you can take your 10,000eb and leave now.”

No one leaves.

Jack Smith continues, “I have only one major rule, and that is I need your complete loyalty.”

Jack then makes an almost word for word recitation of Al Capone’s speech in (Kevin Costner’s old movie) Untouchables. The Team will soon learn that Jack is a rabid film buff. Instead of using a baseball bat, he then uses his cyberarm to smash Michael’s head through the table, killing him and making a bloody mess. Jack informs the group that they no longer have a vehicle specialist because this one has been sent by one of Jack’s enemies to infiltrate the Team. Mr. Smith has made his point.

Tex makes a proviso on his participation. He insists would not target children on any job. Jack thinks for a second and agrees to that term since Tex is the man he wants to build this Team around. Tex brings this group the instant credibility it needs to attract the best paying jobs. There are a few murmurs about avoiding ‘innocents’ from a few, but most just listen silently.

Jeeves places mission folders in front of the rest of the group, and the first job is laid out. The local trucking firm in nearby Harrisville is having negotiation problems with the union. A strike vote is set for Saturday, August 7th, and this will also impact Jack Smith’s business dealings. The owner of the trucking company, a Mr. William Robinson, is not being reasonable in his demands. He lives in an old limited access neighborhood with his family and four Militech bodyguards. The small mansion is away from the other houses (all have big yards), and are surrounded by a four foot fence. The Team is to enter his home while his family is there, and capture him, his wife, the children, and their pet cat, Fluffy. They are to tell Mr. Robinson that Jack Smith wants the issue settled before the strike vote or else. Then they are to brutally kill the beloved pet, Fluffy, in front of his family. None of the family is to be in any way harmed, although the Militech Security Team is expendable.

“Why bring in a world class team to kill a cat?” asks Thor.

Jack responds, “New Teams always need a shakedown run to get to know each member’s abilities. This will help you learn to work together. You will be doing the first few jobs for me, and then when you are ready, I will be sending you out to do work I have contracted. I want to make sure you are all up to speed and don’t embarrass me in any way.”

The Team is also informed that Mr. Robinson has an extended security contract (body alarm) with an elite Militech Team in an AV ten minutes away. An additional 25,000 eb in cash is placed in front of every member, who has not had his head stove in by the new employer as payment in advance. Jack Smith then wishes the Team luck and tells them to order lunch and then they will be transported to their new digs in town.

Jeeves appears with menus, but Onyxia, the Dragon, points to Michael’s corpse, and asks that part of it be prepared for her lunch. This is only heard by a few party members at first, but they are as disturbed as Jeeves and the chef who prepares the grisly feast. It soon becomes apparent to everyone that the Dragon is having ‘long pork’ for lunch. Limousines are waiting to take the Team to their new house on a dead end street on the outskirts of Jacksville, North Dakota. As the group approaches the house, Tex walks alongside Onyxia and puts a top arm around her shoulders. Tex’s duster conceals the lower arm on that side with one of his custom made Malorian Arms pistols pressed against where the Dragon’s heart would be. In a friendly but firm voice he quietly informs her that he will kill her if she ever eats another human being in his presence. Only party members with amplified or advanced hearing pick up on this.

The HQ is a three story building with an additional attic level floor and a basement. The first floor has three large vehicle bays with an office. One of the vehicle bays has a large lift. These bays are large enough to service tandem tractor trucks. Thor and Fenris take over one of the corner bays and Tex makes the downstairs office his room. The second and third floors each have four bedrooms, two baths, a living room, dining room and kitchen. Hisoka, Izaac, Bill, and Azoth each take one of the rooms on the second floor. Caitlin, Onyxia, and Damien take bedrooms on the third floor. Peter moves into the attic.

Some of the Team are a little surprised when Caitlin disappears into her room and twenty minutes later emerges looking a bit different. Gone are the flowing brown locks, high fashion clothes, and impeccable make-up. What remains is just post pubescent teen (ATTR 8) with a short, black punk haircut in a tee shirt and jeans, smoking a cigarette. The rest of the day is taken up by the Team breaking into smaller groups and heading into town to buy furniture, food and other things for the new HQ. Tex and Caitlin buy (mostly at Tex’s behest) enough fixings for a cookout that night. Tex has noticed a cook out grill in the Team’s new backyard.

The evening is spent with good food and good times as the new Team gets to know each other. The only wrinkle is a young man dressed like an old western gunfighter, who comes around the building looking for Tex. The young man calls Tex a “yellow bellied coward,” and prepares for a gunfight. Tex, who is cooking, asks if he is hungry. The brash young man is taken aback by this reception. He identifies himself as “Billy” Kidd, and that he is a member of the OSG. Someone runs a quick check on what the OSG is and comes up with a poser gang, the Old School Gunfighters. Billy lightens up when offered some barbeque and receives Tex’s acceptance of his challenge. Billy is a little confused by his friendly reception, but joins the Team for dinner. It is a pleasant and informative meal broken only perhaps by Caitlin asking Billy if she could have his car (a shit box metro car out front), when Tex kills him. Perhaps it is her totally guileless approach, Billy says that would be fine, but he adds that it is Tex who is going to die, so there will be no car in her future.

The two finally get to it. During that time, Tex puts specially made rubber bullets into his custom side arms. When they line up for their “gunfight”, Tex notices a possible weak spot (armor-wise) on the young man’s chest. Well, rubber bullets or not he guns down young Billy, and kills him dead. Caitlin cheerfully fishes out his car keys, but as she starts to pocket the cash from his wallet, Tex objects, so she gives Tex the wallet minus his legal paperwork on the car. The experienced gunfighter puts the wallet with the young man’s possessions, which he eventually sends to the Billy’s next of kin. Caitlin gives the car’s paperwork to Damien, the netrunner, and asks him to get it registered in her name. She then puts her new car into one of the garage spaces.

There is a little communal clean up, and then most everyone pulls up a piece of floor or gets in a sleeping bag. The rest of the night is uneventful.

***

 

Tuesday, August 2, 2025:

Most of this day is spent cleaning up the new place. People go into town for more things. The furniture truck arrives followed by the appliance delivery vehicle. A large van is delivered off a flatbed. Slowly, the new house starts to take shape. Finally, they hold a strategy meeting in the afternoon. It is decided to send some ‘stealthy’ types over to watch the house for the night. Caitlin, Hisoka, Izaac, Peter and Azoth are driven to the gated community by Tex and dropped off. The five spent six hours examining the house’s perimeter and defenses. The guard shift changes at 10:30 pm, and they change in pairs so there is no weak moment on the change. There are people up (the guards) all night (or lights left burning) on the first and second floor. Shadows are noticed at different times in those windows, so it is assumed that the guards have made them. The back four foot fence has electric wires running through it. There are motion sensors on the top of the wall (not on the NET). Motion sensor lights double covering the yard (controllable by Control Remote). There are unidentified sensors on the house that can’t be contacted by using the NET. So they are assumed (correctly) to be on a closed system.

***

 

Wednesday, August 3, 2025:

The stealth team from last night rests as people get ready for the night’s mission. Enough communication equipment is gathered and bought for the night’s mission. A large number of matching mastoid communicators are ordered for later missions. More things are ordered for the house, and for individuals as their needs become clearer. Early that night the Team sets out. The closest high point from the target house that overlooks the one entrance to the development is just less than two kilometers away in the country. Caitlin sets up her electro-thermal M-90 sniper rifle on a tripod there. Tex who is driving the van enters the development and drops off the rest. He then parks but can’t get completely out of sight. The Team makes it to the back fence where Izaac uses his Electronic Security to shut down the fence. Here the GM asks him to think about exactly what he wants and say it again. When he repeats the same request the roll is made and the fence is shut off. As they prepared to deal with the sensors on the top of the fence, Caitlin, who is watching the window upstairs sees shadows move quickly across the pulled shades just after Izaac had announced shutting down the fence. As it turns out the security chief has looked outside and seen Thor. Azoth begins his Electronic Warfare jamming. The Team has by now located and put a tap on a sensor attached to the closed house system. Damien, the netrunner, enters and takes over the cameras. He announces that the family is being hustled into the basement by the Militech Security Team. The shut off of the fence (before the security computer could be penetrated) has alerted the man on the console. The alarm is up. Damien announces he now has company in the NET as a Militech runner appears.

The ‘intrusion’ group now changes into an ‘assault’ group and just charges the house. Thor bursts through the door to face a man in a suit wielding a 14mm Big Government. The guard mutters, “Oh, f*ck”, just before the rocket propelled hammers turns him to jelly. A search of the house finds no family, no guards, no Fluffy, but only a big armored door in the basement. The man has a panic room. Thor uses the rest of the fuel for his hammers, but only dents the door. Explosives and four Light LAWs are fetched from the truck.

Meanwhile, the last security shift, which was five minutes away, when the alarm went out arrives. Tex tells Caitlin to wait till they are driving by him and then to shoot the driver. He will finish off the rest. The Militech security men didn’t do that though. They put their car in the gate opening, and go to the trunk to get out assault rifles and body armor. Caitlin blows the head off the front seat passenger. The remaining three scramble for cover behind the car. One Militech man tries to slip through the grass towards the house, but Caitlin sees and tags him too. The remaining two men hide behind the guard houses, which provide more cover than the car. Tex easily comes up on them and finishes off the last two.

In the basement, Thor fires four LAWs at the door, and while it damages it severely (compromising the life support), it doesn’t break. The blast radius of this HEAT weapon does light the basement on fire. Azoth briefly considers approaching the panic room door to try and blow the door, but standing in the flames and electrical sparking of the collapsing power system of the house is not a smart idea. Anyway, time is gone, and the Militech airborne response team is only two minutes out. The Team retreats. They don’t pick up Caitlin, who steals a car later to return to Jacksville. She dumps the wiped down car out of town. It is a quiet ride home as people contemplate their inability to ‘whack’ a cat.

***

 

Thursday, August 4, 2025:

The morning brings better news on that front, but worse news on another. By the time that the fire department is able to put out the fire and open the now damaged panic room Fluffy had expired. Unfortunately, so had two of the three remaining Militech security people, William Robinson, his wife, and all his children. Opps!

It is reported as a gas main mishap. Jack Smith pays the Team a visit that morning and he is not real happy. Jack says it isn’t a total disaster, the board will now make the decision and he has enough influence there to get the outcome he desires. There is a problem though. Mr. Robinson’s death has emboldened the union, who has now upped their demands. Jack has sent people to ‘ask them to settle’, but the union officers will not “listen to reason”. The strike committee will meet tomorrow (Friday) and again the following day at a warehouse in Harrisville, before the strike vote later on Saturday. The job is to kill all the union officers before the vote. Jack feels that the Team owes him a little from the last fiasco, so the pay will only be 5000eb apiece. Jeeves then hands out the cash. Jack leaves the house to let the group begin its planning, but informs them that he had contracted some more help. The new people would be there directly.

 

 

Episode 46 – Labor Negotiations

 

Thursday, August 4, 2025:

An hour after Jack leaves, Jeeves comes back with two new team members. The first is a young Japanese girl who appears to be in her mid-twenties. She sports a disheveled punk rock haircut. Her name is Airy Massoon. The last is a goateed man with eyes of blue steel in his thirties wearing khaki pants and his hair high and tight. He carries himself with the assuredness that comes from years of martial experience. This man’s name is Edward.

Introductions are made and the two are told that there is only one room to share. The two prospective roommates look at each other and say, no. Edward lets Airy have the room to herself, and he goes up and joins Peter in the large attic. A tactics meeting is then held. The two-story warehouse is at the north end of the industrial park. Built on the side of the warehouse is a two story office complex. It is decided to send in a recon team that night on the light third shift and check the place out.

***

 

Friday, August 5, 2025:

Two teams are chosen. The first is made up of Hisoka and Airy. The second team is Caitlin and Izaac. Damien, the netrunner, moves to within 400 meters necessary to check the complex with his Find Remote function of his deck. Tex drives the five out to the Harrisville industrial park just after dark. The four spend several hours independently scouting the outside of the complex at range. They then gather at the back fence and scale the razor wire topped barrier easily. Team One goes to the truck bays where one truck is backed into the warehouse, and Team Two goes around the other way to the front of the building.

The truck’s trailer is locked on to the loading bay so that team can’t gain access to the warehouse that way. A driver comes out and steps into the cab. That team waits for him to pull out so they might be able to get in, but he disconnects the cab from the trailer and the tractor drives off leaving the trailer locked in place. Team One then finds a way on to the roof out of sight of the cameras. Here they find a roof hatch with a keypad. Good electronic security rolls are made to disable the simple alarm on it, and Hisoka and Airy are able to break the key code and gain access to the top of the warehouse.

Team Two moves around the front to find that the office section has no windows on the first floor. There are, however, four windows on the front facing on the second floor. Caitlin climbs up and finds the first two windows overlooking the stairs and the upstairs reception area. They have no alarms and only simple window locks that are not very accessible from the outside. The third window has an alarm on it and is a guardroom that could support four to eight guards. The last window is the local union’s president’s office. It has a more sophisticated alarm system.

Meanwhile, Team One checks the warehouse from the rafters above the lights, which faces down. There is a light crew working, and a guard in metal gear with an assault rifle that is guarding a locked bay. Hisoka and Airy make note of it. They come down to the warehouse floor, and move into the first floor of the office section. There they find a number of offices, a reception area, and the main entrance to the building. In the downstairs are a couple of rooms that might be big enough to hold the meeting that the group is to disrupt.

The other team gains access to the inside by picking the window lock in the upstairs reception area. Caitlin uses most of her Luck to make a Very Difficult Pick Locks roll. Both she and Izaac move into the room. Both teams avoid discovery when a Metal Geared guard from upstairs relieves the guard downstairs.  The recon mission then continues. Izaac and Caitlin find the security buzzer on the upstairs’ secretary’s desk. They take off a desk panel and put a radio tap on the security feed to give Damien, the netrunner access to the building’s security computer. Damien checks the tap then shuts it down until it is needed. Team Two then searches the upstairs rooms except for the (occupied) guardroom. In addition to the rooms already mentioned are two more executive offices and a meeting room (with no exterior wall or window, which backs up on to the warehouse wall. The meeting room is set up for tomorrow’s meeting with the agenda and talking notes from the president of the local. A copy is made and all the rooms are left as they are found. The two Teams then pull out making sure to leave everything exactly as they had found it. The group then returns to Jacksville to rest and review the intelligence gathered.

The Recon Team spends the morning catching up on sleep, while the others prepare for the night’s mission. Around noon the Team gathers for a planning session. From the notes taken last night it seems that the union leader is going to recommend that the union accept the contract offer. Caitlin calls Jack and tells him of the local president’s plans and if he wants the group to continue the mission. Jack replies that it is up to the group, but if they DO strike against the recommendation of the president that Jack will be VERY disappointed…..in the Team! Caitlin hangs up and summarizes the conversation in three words: “Kill them all!”

Actually, the planning session goes very well, with pretty much everyone contributing to the “Plan”. It is decided that Thor, Izaac and Airy will sneak in tonight and hide up above the lights in the warehouse opposite the wall between the warehouse and the conference room, where the meeting will be held. A detcord is prepared to breach the wall and Izaac holds the detonator. Using the tap already in place, Damien books an appointment for one of the officers on Saturday afternoon during the meeting. Bill will be the man the meeting will be with, and Peter will be his bodyguard, and will just carry his sword. In the morning, part of the Team will ambush a UPS driver picking up at an established drop off box and impersonate the delivery man dropping a package off at the same time as the meeting. A note is put on the secretary’s computer console to be expecting it. The package has to be signed for in person by one of the officers. Azoth will set charges on the main telephone trunk line out of the industrial park and run the jamming equipment during the operation. Damien will take over the security computer and destroy any security footage. Caitlin will set a demolition charge on the local cell tower, and then put herself on the roof of the business next door, that is empty and for rent. Her sight lines will be the main doors and all the loading bays. Edward, who has some skills flying a helicopter, will fly the aging Huey that is rented from the local Jacksville airport. (If we are caught, the owner is covered by our paperwork. If we got away, then the rental will never have happened, and the numbers on the chopper will be changed back from the false ones we are going to use.) Tex will ride in the vehicle to provide fire support for the extraction after the hit went down. Everyone settles down, and prepare their equipment in the afternoon. That night, Tex and Peter drive most of the Team to Harrisville, and everyone gets set up for the next day’s action.

Thor, Izaac and Airy set up hidden in the top of the warehouse above the lights, and next to the common wall to the conference room. They set a specially made DetCord charge by Azoth to breach the conference room wall. Azoth and Caitlin set their outdoor charges and settle in. Azoth is out of sight north across the field where Damien is set up behind the tree line. Caitlin is set up 240 meters away from the planned egress points, which is near the doors and parking lot.

***

 

Saturday, August 6, 2025:

In the morning Peter picks up a suit to play the role of bodyguard. Just after noon, Tex and Hisoka ambush the Federal Express driver at the planned pick up site. He is incapacitated and taped up in the truck unconscious. Edward, who brings the helicopter on station by 2 pm, picks up Tex. Caitlin checks the faces of the arriving people and by 2:10 pm the last of the targets has arrived. Before the Team can act, a limo pulls into the parking lot and out steps an important looking man with two bodyguards and chauffeur. Thermo determines that one of the bodyguards is a Gemini Borg. The driver remains outside watching the car as the other three go in. Bill (as the ‘appointment’) shows up with Peter as his sword-wielding bodyguard. The flustered secretary checks her boss’s calendar and yes, he (Bill) has an appointment. Now, the Fed Ex Guy (Hisoka) walks in with his (well forged) paperwork.

The “Word” is given.

Caitlin says, “Click!” {Boom!}

Azoth says, “Click!” {Boom!}

Izaac says, “Now?” {no boom}

Thor launches himself at the (not blown) back wall of the conference room. Well, he bursts through the wall anyway; followed by the DetCord charge burning wildly in the room. The flesh and blood bodyguard grab “the Important Looking Man” and rush him out into the reception area. The Gemini closes with Thor, who is dual wielding two Borg pistols. The Gemini goes down followed by six officers immediately after. Outside, Peter stands as to help defend the “Important Looking Man” and then runs him thru with his sword. Peter dances the Martial Arts Mambo with the Gun Fu using bodyguard, but Peter and Hisoka finally take them down. The last of the targets go down quickly to Thor, Airy and Izaac, but then the off duty guards (in metal gear) start to come out of the guardroom. The first is dispatched and the Team calls for extraction. They retreat thru the conference room and into the warehouse.

Outside, the round after the cell towers and transformers blew as Azoth jams all but the Team’s transmissions in the area. Caitlin drops the gate guard and the chauffeur before either knew they are under attack. As the party egresses the building three men in metal gear with assault rifles are chasing them. Caitlin drops all three in a round and a half with her Arasaka WSSA 3.5mm sniper rifle. The chopper lands in the field and picks up most of the Team. Edward hops the chopper over the fence as Caitlin jumps down from her perch and scampers aboard. It is a short low-level flight (to avoid radar) back to Jacksville, as the owner of the craft immediately starting taking off its false markings and changing the color scheme back to its original.

Back at the group’s safe house they watch the news they have just made. The “Important Looking Man” turns out to be the Regional Vice President of the AFL-CIO. He had come to make ‘sure’ that there is a strike! Well, it is a slow news day coming three days after Arasaka’s disastrous assault on the Heywood Testing Center outside Night City. The national union interprets the attack as being directed against the Regional VP, and not against the local officers who they consider to be ‘loose ends’. Well, at least the authorities will start looking in the wrong direction.

Jack Smith comes by and is very pleased. He asks the group if they feel ready to do a ‘real’ job. This is a contract for an outside party. Failure here at this level is not an option. The Team says yes, so Jeeves produces the briefing for the next mission. It is an unwilling extraction. There is a young teen music star, Felicity, and we are to extract her at the end of her current tour at the end of three and a half weeks. Felicity’s father is her manager and has just arranged for his daughter to sign with DMS. That entertainment megacorp will be taking over security at the end of the month when Felicity’s current contract runs out and DMS take over. The young star will be in Seattle, Washington, next weekend. San Francisco is set for the next weekend. Finally the show will end its tour in Night City, with a series of Battle of the Bands Shows to pick her opening act for the Night City shows. The last performance will be on August 30th. Jack offers the Team 300,000eb to do the job. Everyone is very excited except for Tex, who turns down the job. He states that he has done this type of work and 300,000eb isn’t nearly enough due to the heavy security that the briefing outlined. Jack smiles and Jeeves produces another 300,000eb for a total of 600,000eb. All agree to do the job. The team sits down to make its preliminary plans.

 

 

 

Episode 47: On the Road

 

Saturday, August 6, 2025:

A pre-planning meeting is immediately held. Caitlin, who is staring lovingly at the two suitcases full of cash, suggests the first order of business should be to divide one of the suitcases up among the team, and use the second one as a fund to do the job. This is quickly approved and each member (PC & NPC) gets 25,000 eb cash.

“Felicity” is a sixteen year old ‘teen’ music star, whose real name is Janet Lewis. She is the daughter of former U.S. senator, Jack Lewis. Ex-senator Lewis did not run for reelection to manage his daughter’s meteoric career. Felicity is one of the biggest independent artists in the country with a clean, wholesome image, but a reputation of being very anti-corporate. She (and her father) have recently shocked their fans by signing with DMS. Her contract with DMS kicks in at the end of August, when DMS security will take over. Until then her security for the end of the tour (which happens in Night City) has two components in addition to various event and hotel security forces. There is a group of ten men in dark suits with shades, which are a completely unknown group. They form an outer ‘perimeter’ around Felicity. Her personal security is handled by a (formally down on their luck) team who call themselves the Unlucky 8. The Unlucky 8 are:

1) Leon Lefevre (Covert Op) – Leader
2) Carl Whitehead (Solo)
3) “Texx” (Solo) Has an Endorsement Arrangement with Winchester Arms
4) Misty River (Solo) She also works as a backup dancer in the show.
5) Zachary Thompson (Netrunner)
6) Marisa (Media)
7) “The Ghost” There are no confirmed pictures of him or what he really looks like.
8) Roger Dempsey (Medic)

The immediate question is how to get to Seattle. It is suggested that the Team buy some vehicles and drive, since they are too far north for any transatlantic railroad, and local air traffic has been grounded due to the AV gas shortage brought on by the Fourth Corporate War. However, if any of these vehicles is ever identified, they might be traced back to North Dakota and this would provide any pursuers with a lead that isn’t necessary to give them. So it is decided to ask Jack Smith, our employer, to help in getting a job guarding a convoy heading west to Seattle, as he seems to have a lot of connections in the shipping trade. We are quickly hired to guard a convoy leaving on Monday, August 8th going to Seattle along the Interstate 94 & 90 route.

People taking care of any final business and purchasing supplies occupy the rest of the afternoon. That evening most stay home while Tex, Caitlin and Airy go out to the local roadhouse for drinks and dancing. The girls are hit on multiple times but neither seems interested in more than dancing. Still, there is no trouble as the men at the place take the girl’s refusals in good humor. The fact they are sitting with a world-renowned four-armed gunfighter may have had something to do with their good manners.

***

 

Sunday, August 7, 2025:

Most of Sunday is spend packing for the trip and studying the intelligence provided by Jack. Edward in particular goes over every piece of information carefully. By the afternoon a list of subjects to research is assembled and turned over to Damien. The building where the Team is now located will remain for their use and as a place to store any item they wished not to bring with them.

***

 

Monday, August 8, 2025:

The group is ready at the jump off point an hour early and is briefed by the convoy leader. There are three tractor trailer rigs marked “biohazard”, an old deuce and a half, a couple of Hummers, and some motorcycle outriders. Tex is placed in one of the more comfortable Hummers while the rest of the Team is assigned to the old truck. Bill is seen slipping the convoy leader something, and then suddenly he is moved to a more comfortable Hummer. The convoy jumps off at 6 am heading west. They reach the Montana border and pay their fees. A few hours later the Montana State Police stop the convoy for an ‘inspection’. The convoy leader says this is usually just to check if they have paid the road use tax, which they have. Curiosity got the better of the police and they demand that one of the trailers be opened and inspected. After the police sign a release (the containers are sealed), they open the first one. The stench that emanates from the barrels in the trailer would gag a maggot! The police quickly tell the leader to seal it back up and the group is sent on its way. They had hoped to make Bozeman by nightfall, but the police and bad roads force them to stop at a fortified truck stop outside Laurel, Montana. The stop has a perimeter fence, four guard towers with heavy weapons, a motel, fuel area, repair shops, and a small saloon. There are three other small convoys there. Most everyone gets rooms in the motel, but four guards are posted in rotation on the trucks (2 NPCs & 2 PCs).

That evening, Tex, Airy, Caitlin, Izaac and a few others go to the ‘saloon’ at the truck stop. The saloon turns out to be a strip club that offers other ‘special’ services. Tex gets a drink and sits in the corner. Airy watches for a while, and seems to take a great interest in the dancers. Caitlin just sits there and stares wide eyed at the strippers. Some of the others amused themselves with a lap dance, but Izaac avails himself of some of those ‘special’ services.

***

 

Tuesday, August 9, 2025:

At 2 am on the second to the last watch it is Airy and Caitlin with two of the regular convoy guards. The truck park is near the fence at the north end of the complex. It has two rows of trucks. The group’s convoy is parked in the southern line and the east end. Airy spends the entire time hiding. Caitlin spends half the time walking perimeter and half the time hiding amongst their trucks. It is close to the end of shift when Caitlin notices that the gunner on the .50 caliber MG in the closest tower is slumped over his weapon. She blends into the shadows and alerts everyone (who is awake) of this. The two NPC guards confirm her observation and the four guards on the convoy in the northern truck line across from the groups notice it too. At this point only Edward, who is on the next watch, has gotten up to get some time to eat to be ready for his rotation with time to spare. Only Izaac and Peter, who have been asleep, hear the call on the communicators.

Outside, the four guards on the other convoy level their silenced SMGs on our two visible guards and fire. One goes down, but the other remains conscious. He is shot in the head by a sniper before he can react. Caitlin judges the approximate direction the sniper is (NNE) by the impact on the head of the guard (she is a trained sniper herself), and both she and Airy keep part of the trucks between themselves and that direction. Caitlin has her Arasaka WSSA and drops two of the SMG attackers with headshots. Airy tosses a grenade at the other two, which kills one. The remaining guard rushes Airy, but is cut down by Caitlin. While this is going on the sides of one of the opposition’s trucks falls away revealing a small helicopter, which deploys it blades and starts take off procedures.

Upstairs, in the motel, Peter is up and throwing some clothes on, but Izaac just grabs his Arasaka 12.7 WSSE/R then runs out into the hall to a window that overlooks the battle. Below he notices a figure in stealth gear sliding across the ground to the east of the party’s convoy closing in on it. Peter comes out of his room and notices Izaac in his pajamas at the window with his 12.7, and recognizes him. Peter heads downstairs. Caitlin, who has been sneaking between the trucks, notices two more figures in stealth gear at the north perimeter fence that have almost cut through. She drops both of them with headshots. Izaac then shoots his target killing the infiltrator instantly. Unfortunately, the chopper is now airborne. It is a modified civilian vehicle with a 5.56 minigun. It turns on the motel. Izaac sees the chopper turn towards him and fire. The building takes much of the damage, but it sends him diving into the room with Azoth. The chopper cores a hole in the second floor where the shot had come from. Five men in full combat assault armor moved up to the hole in the fence. A headshot from Caitlin rings one of their helmets with a little damage so it mostly just annoyed him. Airy hurls a grenade at the coming three but it just washes off their armor. In the motel, Azoth decides to put on his armor so he is out of the action.

The Team now notices that the other (attacking) convoy’s tractors has disconnected and is coming around with the intention of hooking the Team’s trailers. Airy comes out from under one of the trailers right by the three assault troopers. They beat her down so as not to give their position away to Caitlin, who is becoming a major annoyance. Caitlin starts shooting at the fuel tanks on the approaching trucks. After a couple of shots the frag flechette ammunition detonates one of the enemy trucks. That is too much and the chopper now turns on the hummer she is hiding behind. Caitlin dives under the truck next to the Hummer, as the chopper shreds her former hiding place. That flushes her to the waiting sniper who hits her, but between her armor and a crappy damage roll she just sustains some light damage. The chopper now explodes. A bazooka round hit it fired by Tex from the corner of the motel.

Meanwhile down in the lobby, Edward notices a man sitting trying to look like he is reading a newspaper. Another folded newspaper sat on his lap, which he believes might contain a gun. Edward jumps over the front desk and drags the young female desk clerk to cover as bullets hit the wall above him. A motel security guard drops the attacker from behind and asks the desk clerk if she is all right (and implies the question, “Should I kill the man behind the counter with you?).

The clerk replies, “He (Edward) just saved my life, I think.”

Another attacker then shoots the motel guard dead. Edward responds by shooting the new attacker, and despite the fact that only one point of damage got thru, the man fails his stun save. Edward goes over and finishes him off. At this point Peter makes it to the lobby and picks up a commo off the dead attacker. Unfortunately, the enemy’s conversation is in Japanese, and he doesn’t speak that language.

The assault troops have by now disconnected the trailers, and exploded small charges on the Team’s tractors so they can pull them away from the trailers to hook up to them. Caitlin again makes her presence known as one of her frag flechette rounds ignites the fuel tank on the second of the incoming trucks. The regular convoy guards now come bubbling out of the backside of the hotel so Caitlin moves to try to get the sniper that had shot her. The two play a waiting game for a while, as each is too wary of the other to make the first move.

Edward, who is now free from the lobby firefight, runs across the ground to one of the towers. He discovers the enemy has a sniper on the south side of the complex and takes a light hit before making cover. Peter doesn’t see the shot and follows Edward a round later, and he too is hit. Edward climbs the tower ladder, which is covered and armored without too much trouble.

Tex steps out again and uses his bazooka to destroy the last truck. At this point the attackers have lost the ability to haul away their prize.  They have only succeeded in the part of their plan that crippled our trucks. The attackers retreat as the truck stop is now on full alert. Edward is now manning one of the .50 caliber machineguns in a tower, and is smart enough not to expose himself to the snipers. The truck stop’s remaining guards and the guards from the other convoys are now in play. The Team has a couple of wounded, and Airy’s beating was mostly been impact damage, which will heal quickly. Many of our convoy’s regular guards are dead or seriously wounded leaving the Team as the main protector’s. The rest of the day is spent repairing the damaged trucks, treating the wounded, and talking to the police who descended on the truck stop to write their reports.

***

 

Wednesday, August 10, 2025:

The convoy gets a late start, and that coupled with the bad roads allow them to only get as far as Missoula, Montana. A few go dancing that night, but the evening is pretty much uneventful.

***

 

Thursday, August 11, 2025:

The roads of Washington State are in better shape, so the convoy makes it by evening to a “Waste Recycling Plant” outside Seattle. It is very heavily guarded for that type of facility. But the Team is paid (4000 eb cash apiece), and check into a Motel 6 outside of central Seattle.

(Note: The “Waste Recycling Plant” is an Arasaka Bio Fuel facility, and our cargo was the concentrated raw materials used in the process of turning the sludge into AV gas. The attackers, who were outfitted with Arasaka equipment, were actually in the pay of Militech. Of course, this is totally unknown to the Team.)

***

 

Friday, August 12, 2025:

Edward got a camera and began to hang around with the paparazzi following the tour. He noticed that some of these ‘Men in Black’ are leaving the hotel in different clothes so he followed them discretely. The group goes to the airport where Edward discovers that the unidentified security team that is escorting the tour are off duty secret service agents. This presents a real problem as their death (in any extraction attempt) could bring a large federal investigation. Edward comes up with a plan to get rid of them. As Felicity’s father is a former U.S. senator, the use of federal agents (even off duty) to protect a private musical tour gave at the very least the appearance of impropriety. That night several members of the Team (mostly in disguise) attended the concert to check out the concert (and enjoy the show).

***

 

Saturday, August 13, 2025:

Damien has not been able to find out which hotels Felicity will be staying at as that is information that is not in any way public or accessible in the short time he has working on it. Instead he looks at the type of hotels the tour have been at, the preferred floors they liked, and the number of rooms they had rented (the entire floor). Using this information he runs a check on the hotels in the upcoming cities on the tour. From the hotels identified he runs a check in the low security sections of the hotel’s reservation systems for similar booking patterns. He is able to bring down the possible locations to two hotels in each city, and get a room at each hotel for our use either on the top floor (penthouse) or on the floor underneath the tour floor.

Damien starts working on a blog accusing the ex-senator of using his influence to get governmental help for his personal gain (his daughter’s career). It will take a few days so for Damien to get this project going and unleash it. A number of party members attend the show that night (in different disguises for the most part). Felicity ends her show with a song, Spanish Eyes by Madonna. This is so against her wholesome image that DMS has signed but they can’t do anything, as they will not take over direction of her career until the end of the month. Seattle helps the Team gather direct intelligence and allows the group to start to formulate a plan.

***

 

Sunday, August 14, 2025:

The Team collates the information they have obtained, and prepares to move on to San Francisco. They finally decide against attacking her convoy on the road to San Francisco as they can’t be totally sure of the route, and that security will be set to defend against just such a move. Also, there is no way to confirm that Felicity would be traveling with the tour buses.

***

 

Monday, August 15, 2025:

Damien arranges the group’s travel to San Francisco on a commercial zeppelin flight. They go first class. The Team spends the day on a luxurious flight and checks into a (moderate) motel in San Francisco.

***

 

Tuesday, August 16, 2025:

In the morning Caitlin goes to Golden Gate Park for some private time, but while she is there she sees Marissa, the media from the Unlucky 8. She follows media at a discrete distance, who goes up to a small service building in the park. A shadowy figure who is wearing a sneak suit ‘de-cloaks’ and picks the lock on a small building. Marissa enters. A short time later she exits the building. Caitlin checks the building and finds that it contains an access to the park’s public address system. There is now a radio tap on the line capable of receiving a signal and broadcasting it across the park. Damien is notified, who discovers the frequency of the tap, and he prepares an override for the new set up.

***

 

Wednesday, August 17, 2025:

Damien’s blog explodes on the NET and he keeps the story alive despite DMS attempts to squelch the story.

That afternoon part of the Team moves into the rooms Bill has rented on the floor under the one rented for Felicity. Without informing the party, Airy goes into the stairwell, and walks up past Felicity’s floor (and right past her security camera) and to the roof access, which is locked. When she comes back down, the ‘Boys in Black’ intercept her and ask her what she is doing there. She gives her name, and says she is staying downstairs. They check their PDAs and tell her that no room is rented in this hotel under her name. They then summon hotel security. Airy leads them back to the Team’s room and lets them in. Damien (under whose pseudonym the room is rented) is there along with Bill and Peter. Bill turns away quickly so they don’t get a good look at him. Hotel security arrives and confirms that this is ‘Damien’s’ room and the netrunner says Airy is his guest.

Here is where blind luck and back story help. Part of Airy Massoon’s history is that she is an artist (Paint & Draw 9) who specializes in cityscapes. Airy is also lives in San Francisco where she has a loft, and a reputation as an up and coming artist. When Felicity’s people check out her story it makes perfect sense, and they pry no further.

***

 

Thursday, August 18, 2025:

Meanwhile, later that afternoon, Felicity throws a surprise free concert in Golden Gate Park using the park’s own sound system that her advance person has laid. A large, enthusiastic crowd quickly gathers as the music begins. The Team decides to shut it down using their override. Damien accomplishes this using an icon of a Netwatch weasel. Zachary believes this and starts his own blog against government attempts to block ‘free speech’. The shutdown of the sound system has the desired result as a riot ensues, blackening Felicity, but more importantly, creates a security nightmare. It is hoped that this will strain the already fraying tensions between the freelancing feds and her own person security team, the Unlucky Eight.

***

 

Friday, August 19, 2025:

Damien keeps his blog alive as the major news organizations start to notice. Any DMS stations ignore it, but NET 54, sensing an opportunity to discredit an asset about to join the DMS family, announces that they are looking into it. Edward continues to smooze with the other paparazzi, and keeps the ‘story’ of possible political corruption helping the tour alive. Azoth unleashes his caterpillar remote into the hotel air ducts and uses it to collect more information, and watch the routine of the tour security. Whenever their security begins their electronic surveillance sweeps, the caterpillar remote would just move out of range. The Team also learns that Felicity has planned something ‘special’ for the Saturday night show.

The concert goes off as normal that night until it gets to the end. The aborted Golden Gate Concert helped to reestablish Felicity’s ‘rebel’ credibility with her fans. The tour is getting more press. Later that night, the caterpillar listens in on a conversation between Felicity and her father. It seems that this girl here is NOT the original Felicity. Something had ‘happened’ to Janet Lewis, the original Felicity. This person is Jillian Lewis, Janet’s 13-year-old sister. There is definitely something going on. Caitlin calls Jack Smith, their employer, and informs him of this turn of events. He says he will get back with them, and calls a short time later. The mission is still a go.

***

 

Saturday, August 20, 2025:

The Saturday show is fabulous. Felicity ends the show with another Madonna hit, Justify My Love. As she is singing the last song, the real Madonna (in her seventies but still looking great thanks to cyberpunk plastic surgery is lowered on to the stage and finishes the song as a duet! The crowd goes insane! The Team (especially the younger members) get caught up in the moment. Madonna and her security joins Felicity at her hotel, which made the Team happy they hadn’t planned the extraction for that night.

 

 

Episode 48: Felicity’s Snatch, err…….I mean, Snatching Felicity

 

Sunday, August 21, 2025:

Bill, the fixer, books a dirigible ride from San Francisco to Night City from the Team. They assemble in one of their day cabins, sweep the room and have a meeting. The decision is to extract her on the night after the first or second performance in Night City. Since they will be staying at the High Court Plaza Hotel an escape by AV is essential. The Night City Police Headquarters is diagonally across the street. They have rented a small suite on the floor below, so there is a one in four chance of being under Felicity’s bedroom. If they aren’t then they will have to take over that suite. The plan is to do a precision demolition drop; Felicity’s bed into our waiting arms below. Someone snatches her off the bed and then we blow the floor and drop the whole thing into the floor below. It will be quite a surprise when someone jumps in to follow. Felicity will be drugged and everyone falls back to our suite, where Caitlin will be waiting with an AV-4 with a big rear hatch hovering outside the window. Hop, jump, throw and away we go!

After the Team settles into their ‘No Tell’ motel rooms, Tex takes Izaac, Caitlin and Edward out to a place where he likes to go. He takes them down to the Hades level at the Afterlife. Izaac and Edward recognize the danger but kept cool. The fact they have come in with Tex counts for a lot. Someone does walk up to the table, and everyone (but Caitlin) recognizes Jason Westmoreland, a world-class sniper and member of the Fireman with Tex. Introductions are made and Tex excuses himself for a moment. It seems that most of the Fireman are in town and having a meeting. Tex has to leave with them for the night.

Caitlin wants to dance. So the remaining three go to the Rainbow Nights, but the line is around the block. They finally settle on the Outer Limits. Caitlin is hit on all evening there, but she doesn’t seem interested. Izaac finally tells her something to the effect that a lot guys here want to take her home. Caitlin looks at him blankly and asks why? When it is explained to her, she seems surprised that anyone would want to have sex with her and laughs.

***

 

Monday, August 22, 2025:

This day begins with Peter and Airy Massoon leaving for Stateline to set up the AV rental, a safe house and transportation out of state after the extraction. Edward is up with them before dawn but he heads down to the press pool forming at the Highcourt Plaza Hotel, where Felicity’s tour is going to stay. In the morning Edward notices a trio of solo types alight from a Hummer and check into the Red Door Inn across the street from the High Court Plaza (this is a sniper team as they later find out). At 10 am Felicity arrives at the hotel ahead of schedule. Also, there is a press conference at 10 am. A Mr. Aaron Johnson announced that no laws have been broken by the Secret Service with their protection of Felicity. Eighteen months ago he and four other retired agents had formed a security corporation that they named “S2”. These retired agents along with active agents who are ‘on vacation’ are providing bodyguard services for the wealthy and powerful. No one has ever heard of them because they don’t advertise. All business is by “word of mouth”. The press stories have forced them to announce their service to the world. S2 offers three levels of protection. Level One is one agent. Level Two provides five to ten agents. Level Three they call their “Presidential Service”. With this level they promise the same security that the President of the United States gets. Their first Presidential Service is protecting the end of the Felicity Tour.

At this point S2 agents bring down ten men in handcuffs and under arrest. The group is loudly claiming corporate immunity. This is a DMS extraction team that has been sent to grab Felicity before she can self-destruct her squeaky-clean image that DMS has bought. The DMS team is ‘perp walked’ by the press followed by the hordes of illegal weaponry that they possess. They have been staying in a suite on the floor under where the Felicity Tour is staying. (As a note, they were diagonally across the hall from our Team’s suite.) That now empty suite is immediately rented by S2 who posts four heavily armed S2 agents there.

Our Team takes over our suite and a hotel staffer brings a ‘complimentary’ lunch to the room. A sweep of the room detects not only some normal active bugs, but also some VERY high tech ‘sleeper’ devices. The group from that point on takes very good care to sweep regularly and ‘perform’ as the business party they claim to be in unsecured areas.

Once they are sure they are ‘clean’, Azoth sends a caterpillar remote through the hotel’s air vents and listens in on various conversations. One is a tactics meeting by S2. From this they learn that there are twenty-five agents in and around the hotel. There are also another ten agents in an AV-4 with a thirty second response time, and another Blackwater AV with ten of their operatives with a one minute and thirty-five second response time. They also have three sniper teams in place around the hotel.

The Team hears the report on the bugging of their suite, and are confident that their cover is so far intact. The Team also learns that S2 is losing money on this job due to the increased security they are now providing in part due to the fact that they are only a second line of security. Felicity insists that the Unlucky Eight remain as her personal bodyguards. The speaker feels that the publicity of their ‘successful’ protection of Felicity will be well worth the added cost. One of the last orders is to sweep and monitor the air ducts, so the caterpillar is withdrawn immediately.

The Team starts to examine area maps to calculate the best places for the S2 sniper Teams to be. Caitlin researches NOE flight routes from Night City to Stateline. Airy and Peter settle into Stateline and begin preparing the Team’s exit strategy.

***

 

Tuesday, August 23, 2025:

In the morning, Marissa, the media from the Unlucky 8, announces that all of Felicity’s transportation in Night City is going to be by AV. There will be NO more photo opportunities, but everyone gets copies of the pictures that are offered on Felicity’s website. Edward is there to hear the announcement and looks around (for a picture). He locates what he believes might be a sniper position across the street and up near the top of the Red Door Inn. Team members examine maps of the surrounding blocks. They calculate where the best positions (and second best positions) to cover the hotel with the remaining two sniper teams are. Damien is turned loose checking new rentals and increased power consumption in the vacant office buildings. Our netrunner also runs his locate remote in our suite and finds cameras hidden in the hall outside. These can be easily grabbed just before the extraction and looped. The plan only requires one sniper position to be neutralized. Hisoka says he will take that job on alone. Caitlin spends most of the day rewriting programs into (Complex Computer Languages).

***

 

Wednesday, August 24, 2015:

The Team spends the day keeping their surveillance up at a good distance. Peter and Airy work on arranging transport to Las Vegas after the job. Caitlin rewrites another netrunner program to use on her computer. Izaac (in disguise) attends the Battle of the Bands Concert that night to watch Felicity.

***

 

Thursday, August 25, 2025:

Azoth makes the six demolitions. The first is a large mine charge that will trigger when the four man S2 Team in the SW suite on the twenty-fifth floor comes thru their door as the extraction goes off. The second is the charge that would blow the floor under Felicity’s bed and drop it to the floor below. The third charge will drop the bed down further into the room below. Azoth’s fourth creation is a wall breaching charge to allow the Team to exit the commandeered suite directly into their own. The fifth of Azoth’s charges would melt the glass in their suite to allow them access to the hovering AV. The last charge will destroy Azoth’s caterpillar remote, which he has parked outside the sensor range of S2’s detectors, but close enough to listen in to Felicity’s room.

***

 

Friday, August 26, 2025:

The Team starts to close, wipe down and Nano-scrub their motel near East City. Caitlin, Onyxia, Azoth, Thor and Fenris go to Stateline to get ready for the extraction. At the show that night, Izaac (in disguise) has a front row seat (thanks to Damien). The show is great, but he realizes that the woman sitting next to him really “looks” like Madonna. Well, what to do? He asks her discretely if she is, and a ‘friendly man with no neck’ put his arm around him and says, “No one by that name her.”

Well, he sits back and enjoys the show. He chats with the woman in the seat next to him and has a great time. After the show, Izaac is outside the stadium, and he sees Madonna get hustled into a limo. The man from the audience walks up and hands him two back stage passes to any show on her upcoming tour, and she signed these with a thank you (for not making a fuss over her and letting her enjoy the show).

***

 

Saturday, August 27, 2025:

This day starts as the Team in Night City begins wiping down and cleaning their suite at the Highcourt Plaza Hotel. Edward has prepared ‘nano-cleaner’ bombs for use when they plan to flee on Sunday, but a general cleanup is a good and responsible idea. Caitlin calls Jack and informs him of the extraction time. Jack gives her coordinates just over the SoCal/Nevada border in Nevada for delivery. People get a lot of rest and go over their part in the operation.

That evening Izaac goes to the show (in yet another derivative disguise). The show is not particularly inspired and Felicity does a few of the ‘new’ songs that she has received from DMS. Their reception is OK, but nothing particularly exciting. For her closing number she announces she has a new song to sing. As it begins, four large translucent panels on wheels roll out on stage and surround her. She can be only seen in shadow. The panels spin around as she sings then they move to a straight line across the stage and each has a shadowy figure behind it. All of the security is getting very nervous. The panels do one final turn to reveal FOUR Felicities each in a risqué costume! The panels then move off to the side of the stage. The basic theme of the song is “I am tired of all this shit!” The song’s last line is “….so I’m outa here!” All four then do a stage dive into the audience, who starts crowd surfing her to four individual exits. Security goes nuts!

Izaac has one of the Felicities surf over him and he notices it isn’t the real one. He looks back stage and sees a person in worker’s garb step out of one of the panels and walk quickly towards the exit. Izaac sets off in pursuit. Meanwhile, one of the Felicities doesn’t make it to the door, and starts getting gang raped by the crowd. Gunfire erupts from up in the lights and the “Ghost” starts mowing down the attackers. All hell broke loose then. Izaac makes his way out of the stadium and manages to keep up with the fleeing ‘worker’. The “worker” grabs a cab and Izaac gets one too that is able to keep up at a discrete distance. About a mile and a half from the McCartney Stadium two AVs, one a S2 one and another from Blackwater stops the cab and takes Felicity out. That gives the Team confirmation that she is somehow ‘marked’ for tracking. The group has anticipated this, but now has confirmation.

Felicity is returned to her hotel. The Team can hear arguing coming from her room, but the caterpillar is too far away to make out the exact words. What is important is that the group has a confirmation that she is in that room and going to bed. The Team settles down for the 4:10 am extraction.

***

 

Sunday, August 28, 2025:

At 2 am Caitlin, Thor, Azoth and Onyxia board the rented (from the SoCal part of Stateline) AV-4, go to Night City and drop off Airy, who makes her way to the High Court Plaza Hotel. Hisoka moves to the office building across the street to neutralize the sniper team. Bill and Peter monitor the news and communications to and from the AV rental company. Tex, Damien, Izaac, Edward, and Airy prepare to strike from inside the hotel.

This is where the first cracks in the plan occurred. The extraction team forgets to put the charges on the wall shared by them and the family (of rich Europeans), who are under Felicity’s room. Damien loops the cameras in the hall. Izaac sets the large booby trap demolition on the door with the four heavily armored secret service agents. Edward, Izaac and Airy then quietly enter the next-door suite, drug the family, and move them to an out of the way room. They set the demolition charges on the ceiling under Felicity’s bed, and then one on the floor to send the whole thing to the room below. Damien makes a NET call to the front desk to make it look like it came from another room and informs the hotel front desk that an AV is coming to pick them (the people from the ‘other’ room), and then disables those people’s ringer on their phone.

Hisoka finds the office with the sniper team in it, and runs a mini-camera on a snake under the door. It is hard to push it through because the people inside have tried to seal the space to prevent a gas attack. Inside the door he sees a 7.62 minigun on a tripod pointing at the door. Hisoka then goes to the office suite next door and breaks in. He opens a window and free climbs to an office in the target suite. He is able to get to the office that contains the sniper team. As the Team launches the extraction, this draws the snipers’ attention to the High Court Hotel across the street. Hisoka then steps through the door and puts both of them down.

Izaac sets off the charge and Felicity (and her bed) fall right into their waiting arms. Fortunately (for the Team), she has already been drugged so she wouldn’t try to flee again. Izaac scoops Felicity up with both arms and then jumps to safety. Problem is that he had to put the detonator in his pocket, and now his hands are full. He can’t set off the second charge to send the now empty bed to the floor below. So when Marissa and Misty jumped in the hole after Felicity instead of ending up two floors down they end up facing the Team with weapons ready for action. They fire at Izaac’s legs so as not to hit Felicity. Edward puts a round into Marissa’s head ending her, and lights up Misty. Carl Whitehead (wearing Metal Gear) appears above looking down with an assault rifle. The hotel is then rocked as the four heavily armed Secret Service agents exit their room and are killed by the blast set on their door. Our Tex immediately goes into that room to take care of the AV preparing to lift off from police headquarters next door. Izaac finally gets to the detonator switch and sends Misty and Marissa’s body to the floor below (killing the occupants of that room). With Felicity over his shoulder Izaac has to flee into the hall (since he failed to set the charge for an easy exit into their own suite). An electro thermal .50 caliber round comes through the window. It has been fired from the east tower of the hotel. The “Ghost” makes his presence known. He hits Izaac in the leg (called shot), but Izaac’s heavy armor and a poor damage result allows him to keep going.

 Meanwhile, Caitlin is on final approach with her AV when she hears all hell break loose. She tells Azoth NOT to jam communications yet. Caitlin then notifies the hotel that there is gunfire coming from the upper floors. She quickly follows her report with a “May Day” call, and says her craft is hit and going down. Then Azoth begins his jamming. At this point she ‘misses’ the roof-landing pad and brings the AV down opposite the Team’s suite on the north side of the hotel out of sight of all but the one sniper that Hisoka has already neutralized. Damien uses the thermite charge to cut the glass and pulls the glass piece into the room. The ‘grab’ team engages in a brief firefight with Carl. Tex puts a bazooka round into the engine of the S2 AV preparing to lift off from the NCPD HQ roof and cripples it. Edward is almost to the door when “Ghost” fires and hits him in the leg. The shot cripples Edward and he goes down. A very successful Athletics roll allows him to roll out the door. A small rocket (from Tex’s bazooka) flies over Edward’s head and out the now shattered window. It impacts in the “Ghost’s” room sending him diving for cover. Tex then snatches up Edward and joins the retreat. As Tex secures their suite door, Secret Service reinforcements pour off the elevator. Izaac tosses Felicity to Thor and the Team boards the AV. A botch or failure here is death for any who does not succeed.

Caitlin calls for everyone to sound off (in code, of course), but Hisoka doesn’t reply. The door on their suite blows open and the Team pours fire through it, but no one is there. Caitlin pitches the AV forward then cuts the front jets a second before the back, and the AV drops like a stone right out of sight of the window opening as the Secret Service rushes the room. She slams the throttles wide open and roars away over the top of the Piper Memorial Sports Arena. Anyone in Club Atlantis gets quite a show. Even though they are behind schedule, they are still forty seconds ahead of the Blackwater AV. What the Team didn’t know is that they have just missed being picked up by a police chopper by ten seconds. Onyxia checks Felicity for any type of transmitter, but finds none. Then Edward suggests that maybe she has been mildly irradiated and that is how they are tracking her. The doctor checks and sure enough she is. This can’t be jammed by Azoth, and even though they might outrun the Blackwater short-range detectors, it will not take the Secret Service long to have a satellite re-tasked and then they could be caught. As they go over the short list of things that can block it, it seemed as if they have nothing that will work. Then Caitlin mentions she has a “spytech” body suit underneath her clothes. That will work, so she puts the AV on autopilot, strips down to her panties and gives up the suit, which they stuff Felicity into.

The decision is made to forego Stateline and fly right to the drop off point where the pickup people are already waiting. This will cost an additional 50,000 eb in AV gas. The pickup team is informed of the radiation tag and will be ready with their own suit to block it. The drop off is made, and the Team returns the AV to Stateline after a thorough nano cleaning. The search for the AV has not gotten through the interstate chain of command by the time they return it. In fact, the first avenue of investigation is directed at DMS, since four of the Secret Service agents killed had been in the room that the DMS extraction team had been using, and they were known to be planning an extraction. Peter and Bill have transportation ready and the Team is on its way to Las Vegas. Caitlin calls Jack to report a successful job. Jack is very happy and said he is working on a new job for them. He has booked rooms for everyone at a small non-descript motel on the edge of Las Vegas. The Team rolls into the place that evening, and all go right to bed. It has been an exhausting week.

 

 

 

Episode 49: Massacre in the Desert

 

Monday, August 29, 2025:

From the safety of their motel rooms on the outskirts of Las Vegas the Team watches the news reports of Felicity’s extraction. Seven current and/or retired Secret Service agents working for S2 along with Marissa, the media of the Unlucky Eight, are dead. Night City is in an uproar, and DMS is the prime suspect. The Team has made the worldwide news feeds, and their exploits have knocked the struggle between Arasaka and Militech off the front pages twice in the same month. While some are pleased, others are a little worried. Onyxia checks to see if the bone glue has helped Edward’s shattered leg and it has. Edward is still in critical (Mortal 0 in game terms) condition. Both the doctor and Bill try to get some rare nanotech healing drugs, but can’t find them. The consider Speedheals but they want to avoid any even temporary Reflex loss. Tex makes a call to the Fireman and they have some of these rare drugs. They send a few doses to them to Las Vegas, but they will not be there till tomorrow.

Most of the Team relaxes for the rest of the day. Thor leaves for a few days to take care of some personal business. Caitlin reworks the last netrunner program she has bought into a language that her PC could use (Expert: Complex Computer Languages), and looks up dance studios in Las Vegas. Peter goes out and buys the full Scholar Home Learning System, and a fist full of chips. He starts on the Electronic Security skill, and spends the rest of the week getting his skill up to level two.

***

 

Tuesday, August 30, 2025:

The package from the Fireman arrive and Onyxia starts the treatments on Edward. Caitlin starts taking dancing lessons, and asks Azoth that evening if he could teach her the skill Expert: Structural Architecture (from his Covert Tech package). She also goes out and surreptitiously rents two small secure storage places to hide her long guns, Big Government pistols, and other suspicious gear she has. Airy goes out to the local art supply store to buy some supplies and starts on a new painting.

***

 

Wednesday, August 31, 2025:

Edward continues to heal, and the rest of the Team chills and watches the news not only about the struggle between Militech and Arasaka that is reaching new levels of violence, but the controversy surrounding the ‘kidnapping’ of Felicity. DMS is being put under enormous pressure, as they are still suspect number one!

(Note: The party is informed, out of game that, in all likelihood, the new security corporation, S2, founded by the retired Secret Service agents will go bankrupt in the next month or so. Their reputation is destroyed, and its founders humiliated. The combined lifesavings of these men (and a lot of their friends and investors) will be gone. Presidential security will go under a complete review and revamp. Maybe years down the road the founders of S2 can put together enough funding to recreate their dream, but for now it is collapsing around them. The Team has earned themselves another “Hunted”. Well, they would have to find out who we are, and then get in line with all the rest.)

That evening Tex asks Airy and Caitlin if they would like to accompany him to a casino for the evening. They both respond with an enthusiastic “yes”. He then quietly asks Caitlin if she could make herself appear any older (She looks about 15). She says yes, and gets all dolled up. Tex is satisfied that she now doesn’t look like jailbait, and won’t start any rumors of him “robbing the cradle”. A couple of the male Team members seem a little miffed that they aren’t invited and tell him so. Tex responds that he isn’t going to show up with a guy on his arm. He isn’t gay or bi-sexual. If he goes out, the press will pick up on it and he wants to convey the right image with two young, attractive women on his arms. If they want to come along, they can. No one is stopping them.

Tex makes his grand entrance, and the paparazzi start to snap their pictures as he enters. As they go by a newsstand, only Airy notices Tex’s picture on the cover of the magazine, Edgerunner Now. She goes over and buys a copy. The title of the article is “Does Tex Have a New Team?” During the evening they get a chance to read it. The basic story picks up the Team’s trail in Montana from the truck stop battle, and follows their progress to Night City. There is nothing directly incriminating, but it is full of pictures of the Team at the various dirigible ports they used. It comments that their recent travels have coincided with the last stops on Felicity’s tour. The key part of the article is two pictures. The first is four-armed Tex firing his (rare) bazooka at the motel in Montana. Then second is a photo from the extraction of Felicity. It shows a two-armed man in combat armor leaning out of the window in the High Court Plaza Hotel firing an identical bazooka at NCPD Headquarters. The caption reads, “Is this the same man?” Most of the Team is aghast! Tex, however, takes it well, and Caitlin is very excited that her picture is in a national magazine. The identities of the Team (except for Tex) is not mentioned, but the magazine promises that the next issue will contain more details. Still this news doesn’t put a damper on the whole evening. Tex goes around to the tables with his two ‘dates’ and actually wins a little money (he does have the Gambling skill). All have a fun evening.

***

 

Thursday, September 1, 2025:

Most of the morning is taken up by the discussion of Edgerunner Today article and the possible danger it represents. Tex contacts his lawyer from Night City. The attorney has seen the article and is already working damage control with the rest of the Fireman. The authorities have been notified that any attempt to pick up Tex and his ‘friends’ on the shabby, yellow journalism of a magazine article, that is put out only to sell ‘their cheap rag’ will be met with legal action against all concerned. The discussion among the Team makes an impression on Caitlin who quietly gets another room in a different motel (at her own expense). She wipes her old room clean and nano scrubs it before she moves. She tells Tex where she will be and takes the battery out of her phone when she gets anywhere near her new digs.

Airy works on her new painting, Caitlin takes her dancing lessons. Peter finishes with his Electronic Security training. The Team continues their tour of the Las Vegas casinos having a wonderful time. This outing Tex isn’t so lucky and loses several thousand euros.

***

 

Friday, September 2, 2025:

This day is more of the same as the Team enjoyed their stay in Las Vegas.

***

 

Saturday, September 3, 2025:

The daylight hours are more of the same, but when it comes to night, the Team decides to try some low life action. Most are itching for a fight, so they go to a club near the Junction and pick a bar fight. Tex warns everyone before going in that no guns or lethal weapons are to be used. They get their wish. They tear the place up. No one takes the fight to a lethal level and everyone (Tex, Izaac, Hisoka and Airy) takes a point or two of damage. Caitlin goes but doesn’t get involved in the fight. She loyally cheers them on from the sidelines.

Edward is now up and almost completely healed. Thor comes back that evening, but doesn’t participate in the evening’s “fun”.

***

 

Sunday, September 4, 2025:

In the morning Jack calls and has the next job. On this coming Tuesday, September 6th in the evening there is going to be a meeting about ten miles north from Las Vegas in a fortified ‘warehouse’. The meeting is being hosted by the Janos Corporation, a company that specializes in arranging safe meeting places for groups, corporations and/or nations to meet in a secure, neutral location to work out their differences. We are to kill everyone in attendance with no questions asked and no exceptions. The pay will be 10,000 eb per corpse. The briefing sent contains aerial photos of the warehouse and the immediate area. Damien, assisted by Caitlin using her newly acquired skills, researches more information on the area around the target building for a couple of miles paying close attention to the elevation of the various terrain features.

That night they decide to send Airy, Peter, Izaac and Caitlin in on a stealth reconnaissance. Tex drives them out with Thor to help Tex watch the rented (under a false name) vehicle. Airy moves close to the building which is a square heavily constructed structure about two stories high. The roof corners are raised in what looked like an ornamental feature, but are quickly identified as a parapet for defenders to fire from. A one hundred foot girder tower rises from the roof and has a large round ball at the top along with antennas and other communications gear. Thirty meters from the building is a security fence with razor wire on top. It appears to have the capacity to be electrified. The fence has a concrete foot, which joins the asphalt parking lot to prevent digging under it. There are security lights that cover out to about 10 meters beyond the fence, but they are dirty and so the light isn’t carrying as far as it could. There is a single large security door in the center of each wall. On the south side of the building, there is a large glass double door that seems to lead to some sort of office area. On the north side are two old loading docks flanking that side’s security door. There are no windows in the building so no one can tell if there is light inside. The glass office doors have some very dim light, but do not illuminate enough to tell what is beyond them. Airy notices that the main gate, which slides back and forth on a track, has jumped off one of the tracks. This leaves a small space that someone of Airy’s size might slip through. After some radio discussion, Airy decides not to enter.

Peter moves around the building on a circuit farther out that Airy. He finds nothing that Airy hasn’t discovered. Izaac and Caitlin look for sniper positions on elevations that can look down on the roof. Izaac finds a spot about 500 meters to the northwest of the complex. Caitlin picks her spot 1500 meters to the southeast. From those positions they can cover the entire complex and the roof. The almost full moon will illuminate the area. After many hours, the Team returns to the vehicles and goes back to the motel.

***

 

Monday, September 5, 2025:

After getting some sleep the Team gets together to go over the recently gathered intelligence. The decision is to form into three teams. It has already been decided that Caitlin and Izaac will be snipers and their positions have been chosen. The assault team will strike from the south. It will consist of Tex (in his custom four armed assault armor), Thor, Onyxia (in her special medical armor), and Edward in his military battle dress with inserts. Azoth and Caitlin prepare breaching charges as he continues her Structural Architecture lessons. A stealth team will come from the west and consist of Hisoka, Peter and Airy. Azoth will bring his electronic warfare suite to within 100 meters of the fence (with a battery pack) and jam all communications except the Team’s, when the attack starts. Bill and Damien will guard the vehicles with the netrunner ready to go into the NET if the Team can install a radio tap on the obviously closed system. They further decide to have Airy do another close reconnaissance that night. Until that evening the Team prepares.

Airy goes out with some sniper support that night to check the facility again. By now the parking lot is swept, all the exterior lights are replaced or cleaned leaving no dim spots in the perimeter. The gate has also been repaired. More importantly there are six cybernetic enhanced attack dogs prowling the compound. Only once does someone come out (in heavy armor) and calls the dogs with a silent whistle. He then replaces chips in their chip sockets and sends them back on patrol. There will be no in depth recon this evening.

***

 

Tuesday, September 6, 2025:

During the day the Team prepares for the mission. They head out into the desert before nightfall and park about 2 miles away. Izaac and Caitlin move to their sniper positions, while the others wait for nightfall. Caitlin arrives first and sees two men in sneak suits and sniper rifles climb the tower and take hidden positions from which they can cover all approaches. Other people come up on the roof and start installing 7.62 mini-guns on tripods at each corner of the building. These weapons have no crew and are plugged into preinstalled boxes. Caitlin watches as each weapon is test rotated, and she makes note of the location of the unarmored pivot points on the assembly. Izaac arrives in time to make note of it to. Caitlin describes the positions of the hidden snipers she saw, but Izaac can only find one of them. It doesn’t matter though, because between the two of them they can take out both. Finally, a guard brings out the six cyber hounds and lets them loose outside the fence. The dogs start moving in a staggered outgoing spiral away from the building. As the rest of the Team moves into position, four vehicles come at staggered times and one parks by each face of the building. The people go inside using the security doors. The Team moves into position and the snipers are able to guide them safely around the expanding circling dogs. Both the assault and stealth groups get in position and waited.

The attack commences with Izaac and Caitlin firing in unison, and killing the opposing snipers. Thor rises up to throw his satchel charge at the fence. The southern mini-guns turns to fire on him but both are taken out by fifty caliber ET shots from the Team snipers. The assault group charges the hole in the fence. The stealth team is spotted, but Caitlin takes out the northeast mini-gun before it can fire. Izaac fires at the ball on the top of the tower, which he (correctly) thinks might house a camera and sensor array. The stealth team throws their charge and then sprints through the hole in the fence. Caitlin takes out the last auto gun, and Peter (firing explosive arrows) and Izaac with his Arasaka 12.7 WSSE/R put more rounds into the ball. Caitlin finally joins Izaac and their combined fire takes out the sensor array. While running across the parking lot Tex uses his 40mm Auto GL and blows up the parked limousine. By now the Assault Team has reached the building and uses their breaching charge to blow their way into the warehouse. They then enter.

The four find themselves in a long corridor, and move down two by two. Thor and Tex lead the way, and Onyxia with Edward bring up the rear. Edward keeps his eye on the group’s rear so they won’t be hit from behind. Tex approaches the door and unleashes a hail of gunfire ventilating the door and the unlucky soul behind it. At this point six men in heavy armor with assault rifles crashed through the walls and into the corridor. A major firefight develops. Four of the attackers go down quickly. Onyxia is splattered with gore, and sends her dragon tongue out a hole in her helm to lick up the blood. Yuck!

Then a Commando ACPA suit comes out of the ceiling and joins the fight. Several party member are wounded. Onyxia, the Dragon Exotic doctor catches an assault rifle shot in the head and that kills her instantly. Edward (in his soft armor) realizes that he might be in the wrong fight, and steps through one of the holes that the trooper made. He then turn around and lights up the trooper that has just come through that hole. In the room is a guard lounge with large red “X”s painted on certain parts of the wall. It is quickly apparent to him that they marked weak spots that the troops here could break through to ambush attackers. Thor turns on his cyber steroids and brings his 30mm auto cannon to bear on the Commando. It makes short work of the ACPA suit. With the enemy disposed of, the group continues through the complex and finds an armored door. Thor tries to batter it down. Then a voice comes over an intercom in the room. It is whoever is in this ‘safe’ room. He identifies himself as “Omega”, and offers to surrender for free passage out of the fight. This Omega has recognized Tex, and tells him his word on safe passage will be sufficient. They contemplate the offer, and decide to deal with it later. The armored door is jammed and, whoever Omega is, is trapped in there. The sound of fighting from the west side of the building indicates that the “stealth” team is in a firefight. The assault team heads off on different routes towards the fighting.

Yes, the stealth team is in trouble. They had thrown their satchel charge that punched a hole in the fence, and made it to the security door. Their next charge gains them entrance to the building and that is where the trouble starts. Both Airy and Peter tell each other, “You first.” Well, the attack stalls as nobody will move through. Finally, Peter goes in and steps to the left side, Airy follows and steps to the right side. Hisoka, who has been protecting the rear of this ‘advance?’ also enters and steps left. There this group stops as they debate who should go first…..again.

Peter finally leads the way with Airy moving second, but quickly coming up to move down the corridor together. Hisoka takes up the rear as they go down a similar corridor as the assault had. Of course, three assault troopers break through the left wall and one enters from the door ahead at the end of the hall. The Team is ready. Hisoka shoots the rear attacker dead. Peter, who has a cratering arrow, shoots his in the chest. Airy puts a round into his target. The stealth team gets initiative. Peter finishes his off with another cratering arrow. Airy drops her opponent. Hisoka runs through the hole in the wall and using his blinding speed comes up behind and kills the last assault trooper as a dual mono-sword wielding combat alpha drops through the ceiling to face the swiftly moving Hisoka. Peter, however, gets his attention by rolling one of his EMP grenades at the borg’s feet. The borg’s systems are shielded, and Peter becomes his target. Peter fires another cratering round on a called shot head to the charging borg. It doesn’t stop it (or slow it down much). Only Peter’s Shaolin training saves him from being cut to pieces, but he is still driven right to critical. Airy steps through one of the empty holes and out of sight of the combat alpha. Hisoka fires and “re-agroed” the borg. They fight and Hisoka is sent into critical. Tex arrives and fires on the borg. The alpha botched his sword swing, and cuts off one of his own legs. Hisoka then puts it down. Peter calls for the doctor but gets no answer. He calls again and Edward tells him he is busy. If dead is being busy, then I guess that is the truth, but a little more detail would have been better since Peter is now the best medical person they have. Airy has no first aid skill and doesn’t want to make the situation worse. Hisoka uses his first aid to help Peter and then Peter returns the favor and bandages Hisoka.

Meanwhile, Thor continues to search the building. He opens quietly a door, and inside he sees 8 men in assault armor, a Commando and another combat alpha cyborg led by two people in Viper suits clustered around their jump off point preparing to counterattack. Thor has surprise since they are about to charge out another way.

(Note: Now, at this point most of the players thought, “Opps, we are toast!” Even the look on our GM’s face read that. Then Thor’s player walked over to where the GM was sitting, opened his Maximum Metal and said, “I throw this.” The GM read, laughed and said, “OK.”)

Thor threw a BOM wire obstacle, which dropped in the middle of the formation. Well, that stops them for the moment. Thor follows that up with our last 5 kilo C-6 satchel charge. Well, it clears the wire, and frees
the assault troops and viper pilots not only from the obstacle but also from their mortal coil. It also blows out most of the interior walls and ceilings too! Lucky for them, the outer building shell is hardened. The Commando and alpha are damaged, but still standing. Thor and Tex solve this last problem, when they reenter the room guns blazing and down the last two heavily damaged opponents.

With the exception of Omega in the security room, who isn’t going anywhere that pretty much cleaned out the building of defenders. In the center of the warehouse is a large vault-like room, which is the conference area. It is locked and sealed from the inside.

While all this is going on inside, the two snipers inherited the outside defenders. Caitlin is scanning the area outside the complex when she notices (on a 32 Awareness/ Notice roll), one of the cyber hounds heading right for her. She informs Izaac and takes aim. She missed (on a “1”, a confirmed botch, but with just a missed final effect). Caitlin sits there in shock for a second she has never missed before. (In fact, the GM made her make a COOL check not to burst into tears.) She recovers and blows the hound away. Finally, Izaac, who is much closer to the warehouse (500 meters vs. 1500 meters) spots a cyber-hound bearing down on him and puts it down. Caitlin keeps looking and finally notices another hound on her left closing in (but still at a range). She dispatches that one, and then tells the GM, “OK, one came from the front, another from the left, I’ll check the right.” Sure enough, there he is, and down he went.

Izaac kept looking but didn’t see any more at first. He finally made a high enough awareness/notice roll and HEARD something on his left. It is a cyber-hound at a full charge 30 meters away. He decides not to try and bring his rifle around, which is a good choice as it turned out, because he had miscounted his shots and his rifle is empty! He pulls his 14mm Big Government and drops the dog at his feet. Unfortunately, the one charging from the right latches on to his gun arm. That is not the worst. As the hound hung there the sound of the dog’s cross cutting powered jaws start to make short work of his arm. Fortunately, Izaac has an orbital steel endo-skeleton, or his arm would have been severed right there. Izaac pulls his mono katana with his off hand and kills the hound before it can tear off his arm. The jaws are locked on, however, and he can’t pry the animal off, so he decapitates it. This leaves him with the cyber hound’s head latched on his arm.

As the Team gathers around the vault door, voices from an intercom start offering large sums of money for their freedom. The Team realizes that they have used all their prepared demolitions. Again, Thor comes to the rescue. He has brought two BLP Breech Spray mini packs. Azoth comes in and advises him (with his high Demolitions and Expert: Structural Architecture) on the best places to spray it. Thor uses five of the six kilos, and that severely damages the door, but doesn’t breech it. The last kilo is then used. The door comes loose, but is still leaning, blocking the entrance. Tex sticks the business end of his 40mm Auto GL through one of the openings and pours a burst of grenades in the ‘panic room’. Tex then uses his gun camera to look in and sees everyone has been pretty much turned to hamburger except for a Commando ACPA which has the door covered. Whoever went in first is probably going to die. At that point Peter produces his three remaining EMP grenades. They toss them in one at a time, and look again. The ACPA suit hasn’t moved. They rush it, and it still doesn’t move. Its pilot is trying to restart. They quickly pound it to scrape metal.

Now, all that is left is the security room. Omega offers 250,000 eb for his safe release. Thor punches a hole in the door, and Tex follows it up with another 40mm Auto GL burst. They then enter the shattered room. No one there! Oh, wait, a Wiseman borg drops from the ceiling and the battle is on. Well, a brief struggle ensues. They do pull a functioning biopod from the heap of scrap metal. Tex takes it outside and asks Damien if he had heard of Omega.

Oh, yes, a world-class netrunner is the reply. Kill him! As the Team stands outside with the biopod, a ‘spirited’ discussion ensues as to accepting the bribe and letting him go. Letting Omega go is clearly in violation of the contract with Jack, but the lure of a quarter of a million euro is too great for most. A vote is taken, and it is clearly going in favor of accepting the bribe. The biopod explodes as Caitlin votes with her M-90 ET sniper rifle. Many on the Team are NOT happy.

Clean up commences immediately. Onyxia is wrapped up and the body taken for disposal. Edward gathers up all the functioning A-80 Assault rifles and what ammunition remains. The security room is checked for any surviving footage of the assault. Bodies are checked for cybereyes and recording devices. The remaining nano cleaners are used on the blood from the Team’s wounds. Thor’s arc welder burns the pools that are too big for that. The Team covers their trail as they return to their vehicles and go back to their hotels. They have killed seventy-eight. That represents a payday of 780,000 eb.

***

 

Wednesday, September 7, 2025:

In the morning, the news is alive with the story. It is the biggest mass murder in Nevada history. The Team also learned the identity of their victims. This was a meeting of the Mob bosses of Las Vegas organized by Jesus Menendez, the leader of the Hispanic mob to make peace with the Yakuza, who had been slaughtered by Militech when that corporation had destroyed the Italian Mob as part of a deal with Jesus. Now, Jesus, Dimitri (head of the Organitskaya & over boss of the city), the local leader of the Triads, and the Yakuza head (who came back when Arasaka drove out Militech) along with some of their chief lieutenants are dead. The news also spoke of strikes that occurred all over the city against these groups last night. The Team is shocked, and Tex is furious. While most of the group is very happy about this large payday, Tex rightly feels that they have been used. At 65,000 eb apiece before deductions for supplies that is a pittance for a hit of this magnitude. Unknown to the group he leaves for North Dakota to have a ‘talk’ with Jack.

(GM Note: Those who have been reading this for a while may have noticed our convention of putting PC names (and groups) in Bold type, and NPC team members names in Italics. If a PC is being used as an NPC the name is both Bold and Italic.  Yes, Jesus Menendez, the head of the Hispanic mob in Las Vegas is (err, rather was) the personal PC of the current GM. We were all shocked that we killed his character or that he would put it in harm’s way. Actually, he stated that he never thought we would actually get as far as we did, especially without reconning the inside of the building. Anyway a fair kill is a fair kill and he sacrificed Jesus on the alter Role Playing, and we are all impressed. Many of us also took the lesson that if he would do that to his own character… well, anyone who f*cked up now knew what to expect.)

Jack is very happy when he contacted the Team, and had a new job for them. At the Las Vegas Convention Center this weekend from the eighth to the twelfth a convention is going to be held. We are to kill one of attendees. This convention is a Furry or Furvel convention. Yes, this group liked to dress up (or undergo exotic modification) to appear like their ‘special animal’. This would be an undercover assignment. The Team has reservations for Thursday, and the information on their target, Dr. Jonathan Stevens, is very thin. The payday is 150,000 eb.

 

 

Episode 50: Fun and Fury at the Furry Convention

 

A Short Glossary of Terms
Before you read this you might want to be familiar with a few terms used in this subculture. (From a Furry Glossary courtesy of Furry Grand Central 2000)

Fur
(n.) One who takes part in spiritual therianthropy, anthropomorphics, or the furry fandom. Also a character in an RP situation that exhibits anthropomorphic characteristics.

Furry
1. (adj.) To be heavily covered with fur, a natural fuzzy substance known to grow on animals for warmth and protection.
2. (adj.) Of or having to do with anthropomorphics, especially furridom.
3. (n.) One who partakes in the anthropomorphic or furry fandom.
4. (n.) A character of anthropomorphic stories, legend, or fact.

Scritch
(v.) A gentle scratching of oneself or another, commonly a form of affection.

Yiff
1. (n.) Yiff is said, in furry legend, to be the sound an excited fox makes, especially when mating with a fine vixen. Thus, yiff has drawn many sexual connotations in the furry world. Yiff can be the act of sex, sex itself, or simply an expression or exclamation as in “Yiff!”
2. (v.) The act of yiffing, mating, lovemaking, etc. Also, to make the sound “yiff” as an onomatopoeia.

 

Wednesday, September 7, 2025:

The Team looked over their new briefing. Dr. Jonathan Stevens is a psychologist of some renown, who worked out of Dallas, Texas for the past ten years until he disappeared two Aprils ago. It is rumored that he came into the wrong information, and is running for his life. The only public place he has been seen is the annual Furry Convention in Las Vegas. Jack is hoping he will come again. The doctor has been to the last 15 annual conventions. A picture is enclosed with the briefing showing Dr. Stevens face and his ‘furry’ persona, an owl. From the briefing and some independent research by Damien and Caitlin, the Team learns that there are four levels of costuming. The first is masks with small bits of fur (and such) over body paint or spandex. The second is full suits with strategically placed flaps for …. well, use your imagination. The third is suits that can be plugged into your neural processor, and has certain cyber organs (such as a Midnight Lady or Mr. Stud). The fourth is full exotic conversion. The convention’s schedule of events is also enclosed (and reproduced below).

 

United Furry Association Convention 2025 in Las Vegas

Thursday, September 8, 2025:

1:00pm: Check-in

2:00pm: Informal Mixer in Convention room A
-Furry dress optional

4:00pm: Buffet Style dinner Banquet Room B
-Furry dress optional

6:00pm: Miss Kitty’s Playhouse opens in Convention Room D (24/7 all weekend)

7:00pm: Informal Mixer in Convention Room A
-Furry dress optional

9:00pm: End of formal day

 

Friday, September 9, 2025:

10:00am: A big Furry welcome Convention Room A
–Dr. Elizabeth (Lizzy) Kranton (President United Furry Association)

11:00am: Buffet Style Lunch in Courtyard (weather permitting)

1:00pm: The Furry Life, a presentation by Dr. Francis (Big Bear) Fortin, Room A

2:00pm: Are you a Furry? A candid look at your life, great for the first timer, Room A

3:00pm: A Cats Life, Feline only mixer, Convention Room A

3:00pm: A Dogs Life, Canine only mixer, Convention Room B

3:00pm: Under the sun, Cold blooded only mixer, Convention Room C-1

3:00pm: A Wild Life, Non-Domestic only Mixer, Convention Room C-2

3:00pm: A Home Life, Domestic only Mixer, Convention Room E-1

3:00pm: Outer Limits, Mythic only Mixer, Convention Room E-2

5:00pm: Buffet Style Dinner Convention Room B

7:00pm: Dance for Everyone Convention Room E

9:00pm: End of Formal Day

 

Saturday, September 10, 2025:

10:00am: Unshaved, Sex and the Furry, Dr. Victoria (Lil Pussy) LeFevers, Room B

11:00am: Buffet Style Lunch, Courtyard (weather permitting)

1:00pm: Furry Olympics, Courtyard (all Day Event)

2:00pm: Rabbit Race, Speed Dating, find your soul mate or your one night stand Room C

2:00pm: A Look at your Soul, a Furry introspective, Dr. Michelle (RR) White Room A

3:00pm: Mixers by breed part 2 (see Friday Schedule for details)

5:00pm: Buffet Style Dinner Convention Room B

7:00pm: Leet Skillz, a Furry Talent competition Convention Room E

9:00pm: Laughing Your Tail off, Furry Comedian F’d up Fox Room A

11:00pm: End of Formal Day

 

Sunday, September 11, 2025:

10:00am: The Next Level, Furry Stages 1-4, by Dr. Terry (Big Dog) Logan

11:00am: Buffet Style Lunch (courtyard)

1:00pm: Furry Olympic awards and closing ceremony

2:00pm: Level “5” spiritual or physical by Dr. Debbie (Doggie Style) Blondin courtyard

3:00pm: Mixers by Breed part 3 see Fridays schedule

5:00pm: The Last Supper (this Year) Farewell Fare (buffet style) Courtyard

6:00pm: A Final Word, Dinner Speaker Dr. Jonathon (Big Eye) Stevens

7:00pm: Farwell Mixer Room A

9:00pm: End of Formal Event

**Note Check out is by 10:00am Monday Morning, Late Checkout by Noon

Damien arranged for the wounded to see a ripperdoc, and found 3 places for the Team to buy costumes for the convention. It is decided that they should split up and buy from all three stores at staggered times that day. At 2 pm two new members of the Team will be arriving. Also, at 2 pm is the ripperdoc appointment. Peter and Izzac go to see that doctor, but Hisoka waves off the opportunity, despite his wounds. Izzac also purchases Enhanced Antibodies and Nanosurgeons at that time. Those shots damage him even further, and it will take a little time to fully help him recover, but he still deems it worthwhile.

At 2 pm, a text message arrives on Azoth’s phone. It is a string of numbers. Then two people show up at Azoth’s door with a locked briefcase. All of the team that is not at the doctor’s come into the room. After a bug scan by Edward (better safe than sorry), Azoth uses the numbers to open the briefcase. In it are the materials for Damien to complete the false IDs enclosed for the Team members, and 150,000 eb for the mission. The Team divides up the money and Damien takes the IDs. He also requests the briefcase, which no one objects to. Edward stops him for a second and scans the case. Yes, there is a tracker in it, and that is disposed of. Damien asks that everyone get on the disguise they are going to use for the mission, and come down to his room so he can finish the false IDs. These will hold up to casual inspection, but not to a serious investigation.

The two new members introduce themselves. The first is Frank Martin. He is a vehicle specialist to replace the one Jack had killed on the first day. The second is a dark haired Japanese girl (appearance 10) of about fifteen years old licking an oversized lollipop looking for all the world like some hentai wet dream. She says her name is Yoruichi Kuukaku. Yoruichi sees the TV in Azoth’s room and immediately puts on cartoons. Most of the Team is a little taken aback by this new member. All but Caitlin, who walks right up and introduces herself. Yoru offers her a lollipop, which she accepts, and the two start to yak away like old friends talking about cartoons, music, boys etc. The adults listen for a minute and most retire to the bar for a drink (or three). Before breaking up they decide to meet again that evening so everyone can see what each other will look like in their furry costumes.

That evening the Team reconvenes in Azoth’s room. The difficulty of identifying their target in a costume is discussed. Everyone gets a copy of the doctor’s picture, and they make an estimate as to his height with his costume on. Only registered handguns and knives are allowed in the hotel, but the Convention has a strict no weapons policy. Claws that are part of a costume (or exotic modification) are the exception. Finally it is time for the ‘costume parade’.

Edward has a level two fox suit. It is a good fit, and one could only wonder if the costumes people are choosing reflected some part of their personality.

Thor astounds everyone as the borg walked in as a crinos werewolf. No part of his metal is showing, and any doubts about his being able to “fit in” vanish. Thor wears shredded outer clothes as if he has just shifted and torn them. At his side is his robo hound, Fenris, in the costume of a wolf. The group is astounded!

Yoruichi shows off her spandex and fur black house cat attire. Her costume seems to accentuate her sensuality. As the male members watch her they can only wonder how someone so young could have such large ‘personalities’.

Caitlin also chooses a house cat costume. Hers, however, consists only of a tiny fur thong (with ‘access’ points), bits of fur on her shoulders and down her back to cover the interface cable that controls a prehensile tail. She explains that the rest of her costume is going to be body paint and whiskers, but she didn’t have the time to put it on yet. Most of the Team just stares at her, but not at the costume.

Hisoka walks in as a penguin. The room fell quiet as he stood there. Yeah, OK, a penguin. Someone points out that it isn’t very furry, but it is a bird. Sort of.

Azoth comes in with his level three bear suit. His movement in the suit is fluid and natural, and demonstrates the superiority of the plug in suits to control and convey the animalistic nature of the costume.

Peter shows off his level one spandex and fur Siberian tiger suit. As a Shaolin monk he is able to immediately channel his chosen animal. This may have something to do with the tiger brand on one of his inner fore arms.

Izaac shows off his level three snow leopard suit. Again, the plug in suit seems to move with a more natural grace than the level two costumes. He fails to notice that the two ‘house cats’ in the group stop their little ‘whisper party’ to admire him. Yoruichi still expresses her opinion that he is too old.

Damien comes out in a satyr costume. Yes, perhaps the group’s choice of costumes is a hint at their inner personalities.

Bill shows off his snake suit. The group is a little taken aback, but he is, after all, the group fixer.

Airy is next, and surprises everyone by appearing as a turtle. Kind of strange, but then again, so is she.

Frank, our new transporter doesn’t have a costume, and feels that he can best serve the Team by being ready to pull the group out on a moment’s notice. It is obvious that he is a little put off by this freak show.

It is decided that the Team should meet back at their motel every night at around midnight to exchange information and plan. All then retire to their rooms (or other motels) to pack and get ready for check in the next day.

***

 

Thursday, September 8, 2025:

The members of the Team check in separately. All attend the Informal Mixer in Convention Room A. Most don’t wear their costumes except for Thor, who is quite the hit. He is the only crinos, and has checked in IN costume. The party pretend not to know each other except for Caitlin and Yoruichi, who quickly hook up and begin to pal around like old friends.

Thor, Azoth, Hisoka, Peter and Izaac get right down to business looking for owls. Edward first gets to know other members of his ‘breed’ there and quickly insinuated himself into that clique. Caitlin and Yoruichi get into costume in time for the Buffet Style Dinner in Banquet Room B. One free drink comes with the meal, but since Caitlin doesn’t drink alcohol, she gives hers to Yoruichi and orders her usual milk. She is asked glass or bowl? Bowl. Would she like that warmed up? Her eyes light up. She sits at the table and laps it up with her tongue like she has been doing it all her life. All attend the buffet and get to know the layout of the hotel. Many hit the dealers’ room and find someone who is selling ‘animal language chips’. These are a form of crypto chip that allows you to ‘speak’ like your animal. Now, it doesn’t allow you to speak with a real animal, but the ‘language’ sounds like the vocalizations of that animal and can be understood by someone with a similar chip. Most of the Team who have a Chipware socket buy one. From then on Caitlin and Yoruichi don’t speak with anything else unless they have to communicate with someone who doesn’t have their chip.

At seven PM all but the two house cats attend the informal mixer in Convention Room A. The Team begins to associate with the other attendees, and find that each ‘animal’ group generally hangs only with each other. The dogs and the cats don’t ‘get along’ as might be suspected, but this is all role-play. They learn that many don’t feel that the ‘Mythics’ are really animals, and there is a little friction. Thor is the only crinos werewolf, and is quite admired by the other mythics. No non-mythic gives him one bit of grief though. Hisoka is the only penguin and becomes quite the source of curiosity. Hisoka is for the most part taciturn, and says little. He is trying to hold back his initial reaction to this crowd, which is to kill them all! Edward smoozes like he has been doing this for quite a while. The others try their best to fit in while watching for owls. Airy, true to her turtle, keeps to herself.

Yoruichi and Caitlin decide to check out Miss Kitty’s Playhouse. It turns out to be a furry strip club! Yoruichi asks if she could dance, and is told, yes, this is ‘amateur night’. She is a little nervous, so she talks Caitlin into coming onstage with her. Well, the dance studio Caitlin has been taken her lessons from while in the city is for showgirl/strippers. The two get up and wow the crowd. The front row fills quickly with dirty old animals/men. They earn 75 eb apiece. When they are done, a cat named Fritz (the manager) asks if they would like a regular performance slot for the weekend. If they do lap dances they can earn more, but anything further will be between them and their ‘clients’ and will have to take place up in a hotel room. Money can’t change hands, but it is clear that this is just the formal ‘disclaimer’ so they won’t share in any liability if there is trouble. Both agree and are given the coveted 9 pm time slot on Friday and Saturday night. Yoruichi does some lap dances and earns another 300 eb, but Caitlin politely declines all requests and watches the other dancers with great interest.

At midnight the Team meet back at the motel to compare notes except Yoruichi and Caitlin who call in to say they are busy. The rest of the Team begin to assemble a list of the owls in attendance. None seem to be their target, but they have not yet seen all of the other attendees and many will be arriving tomorrow.

***

 

Friday, September 9, 2025:

The day began with the official welcome in Convention Room A by Doctor Elizabeth Kranton, the President of the United Furry Association. Her speech covered the furry lifestyle and the activities of the association for the past year. There is also a slideshow of last year’s convention, and Dr. Jon Steven’s picture is up there. It ends with a plea for donations, which gets Caitlin to donate 100 eb cash.

The next event is another buffet style lunch in the front courtyard by the main entrance. Groups have been arriving all morning, so the sight of a bus pulling up with bullet holes in it doesn’t arouse much notice. About a dozen furries come out with their duffel bags. Their costumes have more than a few bullet holes and spots of blood can be seen on them. One has his costume arm being held on by tape. It looks like they had a rough time getting here. Or maybe not. On a signal, the dozen outside the bus pull out assault rifles backed up by a couple of more assault rifles from the bus windows and empty their clips into the crowd. A voiced booms over the mayhem shouting, “Die, you f*cking furry freaks!”

The rifles are tossed aside along with their costumes and a dozen members of the Blood Razors pop their wolvers, rippers and such, then wade into the crowd. The taped on arm is pulled off to reveal a big rip chainsaw, and the slaughter commences!

Most of the attendees run along with the Team except for Thor, Peter, Azoth and Hisoka. Thor in his crinos costume charges the incoming boosters. His double kick boosted by cyber steroids sends over seventy points of damage (after armor and BTM) into the first Blood Razor, who crumples like a used candy wrapper. Another Blood Razor punches a bear (NPC) that moves forward to engage. The booster’s wolvers bend as it hits the borg bear’s armor. The ‘bear’ rises up and both his claws come down on the hapless ganger with all the force its hydraulic rams can muster. It turns him into bloody goo. Thor wades through the Razors heading for the bus howling like his “spirit” animal. This, of course, gets the attention of the boosters in the bus who have now reloaded.  They pour all of their fire on Thor. The shots puncture his costume, but ring off his armor. They are so intent on the crinos that the Razors in the bus fail to notice the borg bear charging. His panzerfaust attack allows the bear to go right through the side of the bus. Inside is heard the screaming of boosters as they are being torn apart. One manages to get out the door, but he runs right into Thor’s arms, or rather legs. The ganger expires messily.

Hotel security begins to leisurely hand out heavier weapons to their staff, and gathers their forces. They don’t seem to want to risk their lives defending their freakish guests. Some of the attendees fight and are able to hold off the Blood Razors a bit, but many “guests” go down in a horrible death. Hisoka just stands there. He isn’t going to run, and seems to have no objection to the gang slaughtering these deviants. A Blood Razor finally charges him. Hisoka pulls his arm out of his flipper and (unseen by anyone else) point’ something out his “crotch’ flap. A massive spray of blood erupts from the booster and he falls backward with his stomach torn open. It looks as if Hisoka didn’t even move. The other Blood Razors nearby decide to pick on other victims.

Azoth, in his bear suit, also just stands there. One booster charges him and Azoth grapples and throws the booster. Enraged, the ganger gets up and charges again. It is a bit comical as Azoth just stands there and keeps up his grapple-throw routine as if the Razor is no more than an irritating child. Finally, the attacker accumulates enough damage and no longer stands up.

A Blood Razor with a sword is trying to carve up a defenseless furry. Peter intervenes and strikes the ganger. The Razor turns his weapon on Peter. The Shaolin monk then disarms him, grabs the sword in midair, and strikes the booster back with his own weapon all in the same round. Another strike from Peter sends the booster running away. Peter’s honor will not allow him to kill an opponent running away. The fleeing booster does however run right by Thor who has no such scruples and kills him dead.

Inside the bus the screams of the boosters have died away, but the roar of the cyber bear echoes inside it. The vehicle rocks back and forth for a while and finally splits in half. A very satisfied looking bear walks out of the wreckage.

Peter then looks around and sees the Blood Razor leader with his big rip arm carving up another defenseless furry. The monk intervenes to save the booster’s victim. The sword can’t get through the booster’s armor, but the booster can’t seem to hit the monk. Peter just continues sweeping him, and keeps him down. Peter’s costume is slowly getting covered in blood from his first opponent and the splatter from the accumulated gore on the big rip. The monk finally calls for help, and Thor comes over. The leader turns on Thor but quickly realizes he can’t really hurt him as the big rip just scrapes against the crinos’ armor. The Razor turns his fury back on the monk, who steps out of range, and the borg bear moves up to engage this last booster. Thor’s next kick sends the Blood Razor leader’s head up into the air. The borg bear goes for it, and sets it up like a volleyball. Thor jumps and spikes it into the fountain. The two borgs then jump into the air and high five each other.

Hotel security now enters the courtyard just in time to miss all the action, and begins to help the victims. The sounds of the police sirens close on the hotel. The borg bear is Dr. Francis (Big Bear) Fortin, a cyber-soldier, who normally pilots a dragoon. This is his ‘off-duty’ body. He should be cyber-psycho, but he has so attuned himself with his ‘spirit animal’ that we is (fairly) normal in this body. The doctor invites Thor to the bar for a beer, and the two go there to get acquainted. Dr. Fortin told Thor that he had always wanted to shred a bus and cut it in half. The 1 pm forum (which Dr. Fortin is to give) is cancelled due to the incident. The police collect the few boosters who are not yet dead and take them into custody. All die of their wounds before booking.

Hisoka, Peter and Azoth give a statement to the police. Two very nervous young officers, who have obviously ‘drawn the short straw’, come up to Thor and Dr. Fortin and ask if they can come outside and give their statements. The two borgs say they would rather do that here, and the two officers are quite agreeable to that. The police turn down the offer of a beer VERY politely as they are on duty. The statement they give is: “The Blood Razors attacked our friends, so we killed them.” The police write it down, thank them and leave as quickly as possible.

Hisoka and Peter buy nano scrubbers to clean their costumes. Thor has his costume cleaned and patched. Thor’s actions have raised the Mythics’ status amongst the furries there. Those who fought are the heroes of the hour.

At 2 pm is the next major event is the forum: “Are you a Furry? A candid look at your life.” Many in the party attend. Those that don’t continue to make notes on the various owls that are in attendance.

At 3 pm there are various mixers. Damien and Thor attend the Outer Limits, which is a Mythic only affair. Thor basks in the adulation of the crowd. His actions in Blood Razor attack have raised the status of this sub group, which is generally treated like a bastard stepchild. Who knew that he would become a hero to ‘his’ people?

Bill basks “Under the Sun” with the other reptiles in Convention Room C-1. Caitlin and Yoruichi go to Convention Room A for A Cat’s Life. The two young girls attract a large group of admirers mostly due to their performance at Miss Kitty’s the night before. Caitlin gets herself another bowl of warm milk, but before she can lap it up another male feline comes over to her and offers her some of his bowl of milk. She sniffs it a little suspiciously, and her olfactory senses detect ground up catnip. Caitlin eagerly laps it down as the new cat sits down and introduces himself. His name is Felix, of course. Caitlin starts rubbing herself all over her new friend and the two begin scritching. She seems a natural at this.

Most of the Team attend the forum: The Wild Life in Convention Room C-2. Here the owls are gathering. Peter, Hisoka, Azoth, Airy, Izaac and Edward surreptitiously check nametags and heights of the various owls. They try their best to locate the various owl’s rooms in the hotel and their intended target. None of the name tags matched Doctor Stevens, but a few are close to the right height.

The buffet style dinner is upgraded to a major banquet by the hotel due to the Blood Razor Affair. Steak, lobster or chicken is the fare, and more free drinks are served. The Team takes advantage of the offering. Pretty much everyone attends the dance that follows and the owl hunt continues. Hisoka decides to have some fun and would waddle up to groups of furries who are talking together and just stare. His presence has an unnerving effect and each group breaks up rather quickly. This works till he tries it on a group of lions. They aren’t intimidated and tell him in no uncertain terms to f*ck off. Oh, well, he sticks to the prey ‘species’ after that.

Yoruichi and Caitlin (with Felix in tow) head to Miss Kitty’s Playhouse for their 9 pm dance slot, and again excite the crowd with their routine. Caitlin brushes off all requests for lap dances to scritch with Felix. Yoruichi pulls in an addition 320 eb for a few lap dances. After refusing a number of (monetary) offers to go upstairs for a private ‘session’, she agrees to take an old furry pervert up on his offer of 2000 eb. Caitlin hangs out with new friend late into the night, but Felix ends up going home alone.

Meanwhile, the Team gathers back at the motel for another briefing. As usual, the two house cats call in their regrets. Hmm, maybe some people are getting lost in their parts. The group has positively identified about a half a dozen owls, but is not sure that any of them is their man. They want to bag him before the closing speech. Since the rooms of many of the owls have been identified, Azoth says he will send his caterpillar remotes through the ventilation system and check their rooms early in the morning. It is decided to continue their search tomorrow, and hope Azoth can narrow down the field.

***

 

Saturday, September 10, 2025:

The day began early for Azoth as he sent his caterpillar remotes to check out the rooms of six owls they had identified and matched with rooms. Although some are obviously not the target, the Team has learned that each ‘species’ often know each other in real life and some information might be gained. Alas, this is not the case this morning, but at least all six of these owls can be eliminated from the list.

The 10 am forum: Unshaved, Sex and the Fury by Dr. Victoria (Lil Pussy) LeFevers is well attended by the Team. A few actually look for an owl. Peter is going over the schedule of events and notices that the last speaker of the convention is going to be Dr. Jonathan Stevens, the intended target. He sees Caitlin and goes over to tell her. Now he is a tiger and she a house cat so a pair of cats talking to each other doesn’t arouse any reaction. Caitlin then goes over to talk to Edward, who is among his fellow foxes. She does her very best ‘cat walk’ and sensually suggests that they talk. As Edward leaves, the rest of his fellow foxes bombard him with all kinds of friendly abuse. When Caitlin passes on this information, Edward replies that, yes, they all read the schedule, hadn’t she? Maybe if she would attend a meeting once and a while she might be up to speed.

The courtyard had been cleaned up so the buffet lunch is held there. As soon as the meal is cleared the Furry Olympics begin there. The Team all watch at least the opening, and many stay for the whole event. While no one directly participates, Hisoka, the penguin, caused a humorous ‘scene’ during the ‘egg toss’. He stands close to the action, and every time an egg is dropped, he flaps his wings and makes distressful noises. His antics become as much a part of the event as the actual participants!

Peter leaves the Olympics to participate in the “Rabbit Race”. The GM asks him, if he is looking for Ms. Right or Ms. Right Now. The answer is Ms. Right Now, and the Monk gets some firsthand experience in “Yiffing”. Caitlin leaves to attend “A Look at Your Soul, a Furry Introspective”. She sits there rapt by the speaker.

Azoth actually keeps on mission and continues running his remotes, checking the rooms that they hasn’t gotten to or learned about since early morning. His persistence pays off as he overhears a conversation in one of the owl’s rooms. This owl is a friend of Dr. Stevens and tells the other owl in the room that the Doctor is going to arrive by limousine the next day to give the closing speech. The speaker also says that the doctor has given him a file, which is to be sent in case anything ‘happens’ to him, while he is here.

Everyone who is not still watching the ‘Olympics’ attends their species mixer at 3pm. Edward hangs with the foxes and the ‘friends’ he has made there. Another crinos werewolf attends the Outer Limits mixer, and comes up to Thor. He thanks the borg, and tells him that his actions during the Blood Razor’s attack has allowed him to find his true ‘inner spirit guide’. Caitlin and Yoruichi run into Felix again. Caitlin and Felix share some more warm milk. This is followed by more scritching, and Caitlin curls up in his arms and starts to purr.

By the time the dinner buffet comes around, most on the Team have the new information on their target. This leaves everyone to enjoy the rest of the convention. The Leet Skillz competition is well attended and most go to see the furry comedian, F’d Up Fox. Caitlin and Yoruichi do their 9 pm slot at Miss Kitty’s Playhouse to their growing crowd of fans. Caitlin finally consents to do some lap dances along with Yoruichi, who is now sporting a much darker skin tone. Yoruichi finds another dirty, old pervert, who is willing to pay 3000 eb for her company. Felix finally makes his move with Caitlin, who so wants to, but she feels that she should attend at least one daily debriefing. She asks for his room number, and tells him she might come by later. Felix leaves, tail down, feeling blown off again.

Only Yoruichi is not at this final meeting. Peter, the monk, is chastised for attending the speed dating, and taking a “Ms. Right Now”. He reply is, “Hey, I’m a Shaolin monk, celibacy is one of your Christian hang-ups.” His order obviously has a more ‘enlightened’ view towards sex. The Final Word, which is to be delivered by Dr. Stevens, will come at the end of the dinner buffet outside in the courtyard. They know the seating arrangements, and where Dr. Stevens will give his speech. Damien and Caitlin research the locale and the elevations. There is an eight story, low security apartment building 500 meters away that has a view between two other tall buildings. This view covers the head table and speaker’s podium in the courtyard. They decide to have Izaac and Caitlin set up there with their sniper rifles. Two shots are better than one. Caitlin asks Bill to get two set of rappelling gear so she and Izaac can quickly get off the top of the building. Frank will have a getaway car in the alley behind. The rest of the team will place themselves at strategic points around to cover all approaches and exits.

About 2 am, Felix hears a knock on his hotel door. The disappointed feline opens it to find Caitlin there with a “come hither” look in her eye. His frown turns into a smile and he lets her in. The sounds of their caterwauling (and breaking furniture) would normally create a stir, but not at a convention like this. Caitlin finally experiences yiffing.

***

 

Sunday, September 11, 2025:

The Team continues to attend the various events of the convention. Most go to Dr. Terry (Big Dog) Logan’s talk. At the buffet lunch in the courtyard, they are able to confirm the location of the speaker’s podium for the closing talk. A surprise waits everyone at the Furry Olympics’ closing ceremony. Hisoka wins a trophy for “Most Entertaining”! No one saw that one coming, but it guarantees his picture will be used in next year’s retrospective slide show. Caitlin, who has spent the day with a (bruised but happy) Felix, tells him that she has to leave early to get back to her ‘day job’. Felix gives her his e-mail address, and she gives him a false one. She ‘cleans’ out her hotel room and checks out. Izaac also slips away, but doesn’t move out his things or officially check out.

At the species mixers Edward says good-bye to his new ‘friends’. Thor continues to enjoy the admiration and respect of his fellow Mythics. Oddly enough he has done more to gain this group acceptance in the Furry community than any of his ‘breed’ has before. Frank gets a convertible as a getaway car to which Caitlin expresses her disapproval. Izaac and Caitlin make a stealth approach to their firing position and then lay in wait for their moment.

As everyone is getting ready for the final events, Hisoka and Airy go to the room of the owl friend of Dr. Stevens. They confront him, and use intimidation to get the location of ‘the file’ from him. It is in a safe deposit box in Night City. The owl gives up the key to the box. They then kill him, put him back in his costume and stuff him in the closet. A “Do Not Disturb” is hung on his door.

Just before dinner a limousine pulls up to the hotel. A squirrel, an owl and a dog stepped out. The three passed by Hisoka, who overhear the following snippet of conversation from the squirrel to the owl.

“This thing has a short range so you will have to stay within 10 meters of me during the speech.”

Hisoka communicates this to the Team, and most interpret it to mean that the Doctor is really the squirrel. Izaac and Caitlin aren’t too sure so they decide to both fire their first shot at the squirrel. Izzac will put his second shot into the dog, which looks like he is ‘acting’ as a bodyguard. Caitlin will then shoot the owl just to be thorough. Since they have no information on whether the Doctor is a borg or not, they decide to aim center mass, which should kill a human or cyborg (bipod or not). Caitlin will use her M-90 Barrett ET, and Izaac will use his Arasaka 12.7 WSSE/R.

Time for Dr. Steven’s speech comes and both the squirrel and dog are within 10 meters. Izaac and Caitlin aim and fire in unison. Both rounds hit the squirrel in the chest. Caitlin notices that the squirrel pitches forward on to the table instead of flying backward. There is also no blood on his back, so she quickly realizes their rounds haven’t gone through. Instead of the owl, she fires at the squirrel again. The owl then pulls the squirrel out of sight. Izaac shifts and shoots the dog. Caitlin realizes it will take time to acquire the target using thermo graphic vision, and the roar of the cyber bear, Dr. Francis Fortin catches her attention. The second shot has allowed him to lock on to their location, and he is at a full charge towards them. It will take him a while to get there, and this hit has a two shot limit, so the snipers dash to the waiting lines and repel down right into the waiting convertible.

All hell breaks loose in the courtyard. People are running and screaming everywhere. The call goes out for a doctor, and Peter, who has positioned himself close for such an eventuality calls out that he has first aid. He almost gets to ‘treat’ the wounded Dr. Stevens, who is the squirrel, when a real doctor comes and identifies himself as such. Peter is pushed aside as the real doctor starts to administer aid. The target has survived (total damage 38 out of his 40 points), and makes his first death save. Peter’s offers of help are rebuffed, so he attempts to ‘fall’ on the treating physician, but doesn’t succeed in damaging anyone. Peter is pushed back away from the wounded Dr. Stevens, but the monk still remains in close visual contact of the scene. Dr. Stevens expires ten seconds later (his next death save), but they keep working on him. Someone says that Trauma Team is incoming.

Meanwhile, Izaac and Caitlin reach the waiting getaway car, and start to speed away. She asks for a kill confirmation. Peter is able to tell her that Trauma Team is incoming to save him. She shouts for Frank to stop the car. Because the top is down she is able to see the Trauma Team AV 500 meters away starting to descend for a landing at the Convention Center. The two snipers pick the engine, wait for the vehicle to pass (so they will be out of the arc of the forward mini-guns), and take aim for a called shot. At 700 meters they both fire. The increased penetration of the hits due to success of the hit numbers take out the engine and the AV begins to smoke. The pilot makes an attempt at a controlled (crash) landing.

Back in the courtyard, Peter sees the people around the wounded doctor scatter. There is his opportunity. But wait. If everyone is running away? He turns and runs too. Good thing because the pilot failed his emergency landing roll. The AV crashes in the courtyard, runs over Dr. Stevens (turning him into so much goo), and slams into the hotel. No it isn’t over. The AV then explodes into flames, and the hotel catches fire. In the confusion one of the Team saw the dog bodyguard being treated for his wounds. They have his costume off, and on the dog’s belt is a badge. It is very familiar. The bodyguard is a Secret Service agent working for S2! Wow, S2 has now lost two clients in seven days. We are just making them all sorts of happy.

Back in the getaway car Frank puts the roof up and turns to Caitlin to say, “Now are happy I got a convertible?”

She gives him a big lick on the face, and rolls into the back seat and gives Izaac the same. Izaac then says that he needs to go back to the hotel to clean out his room. The two others in the car are aghast! No, there is no going back now. The hotel will be filled with police and fire department personnel. Caitlin calls the problem in. Airy makes her way into Izaac’s room and gathers up his things. There is no time to wipe it clean, so she uses her last “nano-scrubber bomb”.

At this point many of the Furry attendees have had enough and packed up to leave. The rest of the Team joins them. Some nano clean their rooms others do not. There are too many leaving for the police to question, and the shots have not come from hotel anyway. The Team gathers their things and boards a 10 pm private flight from a small strip outside Las Vegas. They are on their way to San Diego where a new job awaits them. Thor had asked Jack if collateral damage is acceptable, and he had said yes. What Jack thought is if a few other people got killed that would be OK. Shooting down a Trauma Team AV, crashing it into the hotel and lighting it on fire is not even at the back of Jack’s mind. Azoth informs Jack about the key and the file and it is sent to him. Jack will take care of that detail.

The Team checks into another “No Tell” motel on the outskirts of San Diego early the next morning. A briefing awaits them there, but that is for the next episode.

(The players have realized it is probably not a good idea to have used a jury-rigged nano-cleaner bomb to clean Izaac’s room. They had used a couple of them at the Highcourt Plaza Hotel during the Felicity extraction. These devices don’t “explode” but scatter the nano-agents all around the area. It leaves the used device almost intact. That may have been in a different (free) state, but S2 is involved with both incidents. Everyone realizes that it is only a matter of time before S2 puts these two pieces of evidence together, and then they will know that the same Team did both jobs. This will put them another small step towards finding us. Successful investigations are made up of these small steps.)