Introduction
Doc Freeman has bought a controlling interest in the Morgan’s Harbor Hotel in Port Royal, Jamaica. The Disney Corporation also holds a major stake in the enterprise and the hotel serves as the closest accomedations available for visitors to Disney’s Port Royal Historical Park, which they run in cooperation with the Jamaican government. William Eller, the major domo to United States Senator Thomas ‘Roy‘ deChartier (and member of the Consortium), also owns a modest 10% of the hotel. Eller will be joining the Team because Kyle’s quest has attracted the attention of the Consortium. The ex-C.I.A. operative has been on their radar since the Romanian Campaign.
Besides Doc Freeman, two characters from Atlantic City have joined the new Team: Allison Cole and Nip Lacey, both of which just graduated from Atlantic City High School and are Cat’s best friends. Nip is also Kyle’s niece (by adoption). Sharin Vaduva, Kyle’s mother, has gotten a house close to the hotel and that is where Nip will be living. DOc Freeman has a house on the hotel’s property as does Kyle and Cat. William Eller has a penthouse at the hotel.
They have recruited three more operatives. The first is Randall ‘Randy‘ Shugartt III, grandson of Randy Shugartt, the famous Medal of Honor winner. Young Randy is also an eight year veteran of Delta Force, who has been recently maneuvered out of the service. The second is Roger Blackmore, a former SAS commando, who left that service under a cloud of suspicion over alleged weapons smuggling. The third is Zahra Baudin, a 29 yearols veteran of the JDF (Jamaican Defense Forces). She found promotions and oportunities lacking due to the macho nature of the Jamaican military.
All have official ‘jobs’ at the Morgan Harbor Hotel. Kyle is a ‘security consultant’, Cat is Director of Special Events, Randy and Roger serve as guardians of the nearby ‘crocodile reserve’, Nip is the hotel’s NET security consultant, Zahra is on the hotel security staff and Allison is Doc Freeman’s personal secretary. Disney has agreed to extend ‘corporate immunity’ to the group in exchange for the right to call on them. Also, the wish to keep Doc Freeman as an ally and are courting Nip Lacey as a future employee!
What is happening with the Team (and, yes, one has been forged here) has no effect on the greater questions and decisions that affect the world situation. Still, it is the background and perhaps foreshadows where the campaigns are headed. Kyle and Cat dropped off the grid for almost two years. In that time the two prepare (along with Doc Freeman) to find the people that “burned” the former C.I.A. spy. Kyle now has a copy of his burn file. It contains highly edited but damning ‘evidence’ about his various ‘treasons, murders and other crimes’. There is a cover letter signed by a LawDiv deputy director of intelligence with twelve specific cases cited. Some of these cases occurred ‘in game’. The main problem is the file is marked “Top Secret” so even having it is a crime. Oh, well, such is Cyberpunk.
When we resume play in 2044 a number of things have happened in the world. Here they are:
Timeline
2042:
June: The EU space docks at the L-2 point are finished being overhauled. Construction commences on the EUS Bismarck, a large battlecruiser. President Whindham condemns the hypocrisy of the EU as it continues to forge ahead with its military space program.
September: In the EU space docks at the L-2 point construction starts on a second space vessel: a new deep space exploration vessel, the Vasco de Gama.
2043:
February: The EU Fleet arrives off the planet Mercury and brushes aside a few haphazardly armed robotic shuttles. Vice Admiral Ernst Rolf is promoted to full admiral in honor of this “victory”.
March: The EU launches an invasion of the planet and overrun the now abandoned main base. Sweeps of the surface of Mercury find no trace of the rebel cyborgs.
May: A bomb rocks the main base on Mercury and cripples all EU ground operations. Casualties are enormous, but the true number is kept from the public. The base is repaired and a ground force is left in a defensive posture.
August: The EUS Charlemagne and the EUS Aachen leave Mercury orbit to return to Earth.
2044:
January: ‘Citizen’s Groups’ around the United States gather a petition to have the Senate ban President Whindham from running for a fourth term.
March: A petition with 1.3 million signatures is presented to the Senate and rejected after a week’s debate. The Citizen Group Petition Committee gets a local Federal Judge to declare President Whindham ineligible to run again for President again. The case goes right to the Supreme Court.
May: Supreme Court rules that President Whindham may run for President again.
July: Of much lesser historical note: Kyle Vaduva and Catherine Fisher turn on phones in their own name in Port Royal, Jamaica. This is a message to those who burned Kyle and that is: Game On!
Episode 23: An Easy Security Job
While waiting on their first big job, the Team does a favor for the wife of a Disney executive and backs up a small security force at a corporate contract signing at the wife’s friend’s mansion. It is an easy job where not much could go wrong. Of course, it all goes to hell!
Background
The new Team is almost assembled. Cat Fisher, Kyle Vaduva and Doc Freeman along with William, a highly respected operative of the Consortium have put together a (hopefully) world class edgerunner team to 1) track down the people who have burned Kyle from his C.I.A. career and 2) make a “shitload” of money in the process. William has not yet arrived in Port Royal, Jamaica, the Team’s new home and Kyle is in Trinidad gathering some intelligence on his case when an “unofficial” request for help comes in from the wife of a local high level Disney corporate. One of the wife’s friends is married to the owner of a small corporation operating out of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
This friend, Christy Morse, is worried that something is not right with an impending buyout of her husband’s company. She wants some people to back up her husband’s security at the signing of the buyout agreement, which is to occur this coming weekend at the couple’s mansion in the Grenadines. The problem is that her husband’s security chief, Claude Villiers, feels this is totally unnecessary. Still, the wife has gotten her way, to a point. The Team has been asked to forgo their usual six figure minimum by the Disney executive’s wife and just “keep an eye” on the coming transaction. The Team agrees as long as nothing goes too wrong. Christy tells them, “I am sure everything will be fine. Your Team can have the use of the mansion for the week after the signing and may use the boats at the dock.”
Dramatis Personae
The client du jour:
Mrs. Christy Morse: The wife of Justin Morse, owner of Morse Communications, who is selling his company to a consortium of Caribbean businesspeople. She has “a bad feeling” about the upcoming contract signing. Her husband has allowed her to get additional security people for the signing as long as they stay out of Claude Villiers’, the security chief, way.
The Team
Allison Cole: 16 yo kleptomaniac sex pot and one of Cat Fisher’s best friends from Atlantic City High School. She just graduated from that school and followed her friend to Jamaica when she became a suspect in a recent heist in Atlantic City. Perhaps not yet “world class”, her skills as a Prowler are formidable.
Cat Fisher: Officially she is Sam Fisher and the late Maria Ortiz’s 18 yo daughter. In actuality she is a full memory clone of late Caitlin Jones, a biogenetic construct built as an assassin by the now defunct BioWorks Corporation. This is known only to Kyle Vaduva. Some on the Team know she used to be Dominique Vadim, a Caitlin and an agent for the Mars Ministry of Communications Special Branch, but that person is also “known to be dead” for some six years now.
Doc Freeman: Former professor at UNLV, former assistant coroner and (formally) disgraced cyber researcher. He is the inventor of the “cyberbrain” with which he claims to have cured death itself. Although courts around the world are now looking into ramifications of his work, Disney Corporation has honored their agreements with the man and he is now rich beyond his wildest dreams. The Team bases out of his Morgan’s Harbor Hotel which he operates in cooperation with the Disney Corporation’s Port Royal Historical Theme Park and Museum.
Nip Lacey: 15 yo girl with neon green hair, has amnesia. She was adopted by Tyne Lacey 4 years ago. She is a NET savant, classmate of Allison Cole’s, and the other of Cat Fisher’s best friends from high school.
Fred: ferret and imaginary friend of Nip’s.
Randy Shugart III: He is the 28 yo grandson of CMH winner, Randall Shugart of Blackhawk Down fame. He is himself an eight year veteran of Delta Force and has recently been maneuvered out of the military.
Roger Blackmore: Is a 28 yo former British SAS commando and demolitions expert. He was forced out of the service under a cloud of accusations of weapons smuggling.
Zahra Baudin: She is a 29 yo veteran of the JDF (Jamaican Defense Forces). Born of a Jamaican mother and a Haitian father, she is a trained “intrusion” expert.
The NPCs
“Bibi” Morse: Justin and Christy’s spoiled 14 yo daughter who would rather be anyplace in the world but at her parent’s “boring” mansion for the weekend.
Claude Villiers: An older well-known and respected French solo, who is chief of security for Morse Communications. He is planning to retire after the contract signing.
Danny Johnson: A 22 yo “geek” netrunner in charge of NET security for Morse Communications. He will be running NET security for the meeting.
Donald Thompson: A chief negotiator of the group buying Morse Communications.
Gerald Beckwith III: The lead attorney of the group buying Morse Communications.
Justin Morse: Husband of the “client” and owner of Morse Communications, who is selling his company to a consortium of Caribbean businesspeople.
The Action
Wednesday, 13 July 2044:
Cat calls a meeting of the Team. She apologizes for the meager contract, but explains this is a “favor” (OK, a 20,000 eb favor) for an important Disney official. No one has to go, but there will be a small “honorarium” for the job. Of course, they do get to play in the mansion for a week after the signing so all assembled agree to go. They view the plans for the site of the meeting, but Claude Villiers has included NONE of the security details. They will have to be briefed on scene. Departure will be tomorrow morning aboard the Team’s C-23 Sherpa.
***
Thursday, 14 July 2044:
At 9 am the Team lifts off from Norman Manley International Airport for the five hour flight. About 1 pm the plane lands at La Pompe Airport where a van and a car are waiting to take them the two and a half miles to the estate just south of St. Hilaire. About 100 meters SSW from the main gate is the main house. The front of the mansion faces west to the water about 50 meters away with a dock and a couple of boats. The drive comes around the north end of the house to the front door. Waiting on the porch is Claude Villiers, the security chief. His English is very good and he greets the Team courteously but coolly. They enter the foyer and are led straight back to the Grand Room where Justin and Christy Morse are waiting for them.
“I am so glad you have come,” Christy says. “It will make me feel so much better about tomorrow morning’s ‘business’.”
“We really don’t expect any problems, but Christy’s concerns are important to me,” adds her husband. “Serena, our housekeeper, will show you to your rooms, and then Claude will go over the security arrangements with you.”
At that Claude gives a slight cough.
“Yes, Claude?” Justin asks.
“I am sorry, but I thought we had agreed that the security details would remain confidential until after breakfast tomorrow?”
“Yes, quite right, but I think you should probably show them around, have them meet young Danny and get a feel for the place,” replies the client’s husband.
“Excellent idea, sir, I will see to it immediately.”
Justin Morse continues, “We will be heading out tonight for dinner and drinks with some friends, and will see you in the morning then.”
With an imperious gesture Claude directs the Team back out to the foyer where Serena shows them to their rooms. Zahra and Allison get the bedroom in the basement. Nip and Cat take the first floor bedroom, which will serve as the Team’s HQ. The men are all housed in the front right bedroom on the second floor. They then meet Danny, the netrunner, who is a twenty something geeky little nerd, who should pay more attention to his complexion. Danny seems a little nervous around the group, but relaxes as he meets Nip. The two seem to share a love for video games (no surprise there), but Claude nixes any gameplay for Danny.
The Team settles in and checks out the mansion, but they are denied access to the master suite, the daughter Bibi’s room and, of course Claude’s room. Nip is disappointed when Claude also denies her access to the security computer room. That will have to wait until tomorrow. Nip starts to refer to Claude as “Frenchie”. The name sticks and the Team begins to use it. Well, not to his face anyway.
Nip is wandering around on the second floor when she hears the sound of a familiar video game coming from one of the bedrooms. Curiously she opens the door and sees another teenaged girl (“Bibi” Morse) playing on a video game console.
Being an extremely friendly person (with little recognition of personal boundaries) Nip walks in and says, “Hi, would you like to play?”
Bibi turns to Nip and almost shouts, “Who the fuck are you? Claude!”
“I thought you might want someone to play your video with,” replies Nip.
Bibi gets up and crosses the floor towards Nip staring at her multi-colored hair and eccentric clothing as Claude enters the room. “Why the fuck would I want to game with a freak like you?” Then as Nip turns to see Claude, Bibi spits on the young netrunner and shouts, “Get out of my room!”
For an instant Nip is stunned, but then she spits right back at the spoiled little rich girl. Unfortunately, Claude chooses that moment to step between the warring kids and the spittle lands right on the solo’s expensive dress shirt. The room goes immediately silent. Claude looks down at his shirt, then over and down to little Nip and says, “You should leave now.” Nip quickly turns on her heels and leaves. There is some muttering under her breath about Bibi’s rudeness as she walks down the corridor. Claude just sighs and thinks, “Only two more days, two days (to retirement).”
Just after dinner about an hour before the sun goes down, Cat is sunning herself by the beach as Allison and Nip play in the water. Claude comes up and informs her that everyone must be inside by sunset.
Cat tries to make peace. “I know you were not in favor of us being here, but I would hope that at least we could give each other a little professional respect.”
“Professional respect?” mulls the French solo. “May I speak plainly?”
“Of course,” Cat replies.
“I am a twenty year veteran of the French Army, and I spent sixteen of those years in the Brigade des Forces Spéciales Terre. I have worked in the private sector for almost another twenty five years and I believe I have established a good reputation.”
“Yes, I looked into you, and it is an honor to be working with someone of your stature,” Cat says.
“I inquired into you too.” Claude looks at Cat and a hint of disgust crosses his face. “So, you come here with an ex-Delta Force sniper, a former SAS commando drummed out of the service for weapons smuggling, a Jamaican street rat with barely any military training, a doctor who makes Dr. Mengele seem like a saint, this Allison, is she someone’s plaything? Oh, and Nip, whatever she is. If I had my way I wouldn’t let her near a pocket calculator. And you, the rich, spoiled daughter of some South American secret police official and a criminal felon American father. What does he have—three years left on his sentence? Your Team does not inspire any confidence in me. This is serious business and not for a rich, spoiled teenaged girl with little to no training.” Claude lets loose a rueful snicker. “You want my respect? Come back to me in twenty years when you have earned it!” With that the French solo turns on his heels and stalks away. Cat sits there stunned. This is not going to be a fun job.
***
Friday, 15 July 2044:
Morning
After breakfast the Team is finally briefed on the security procedures. It seems that Claude had provided only for himself and Danny to be on hand. This signing is just a formality and all the negotiations had gone fairly well. There had been no major hang ups or disputes. Danny, in the NET security room, has a 360 degree view of all approaches to the house.
The other side will arrive in one to two cars around noon. Donald Thompson, the chief negotiator for the group buying Morse Communications, and Gerald Beckwith III, the lead attorney of that group, will enter the premises with no more than two guards. They would also be allowed to bring two other security people who would remain with the vehicle(s) outside.
Claude feels that they will probably bring only half of the security force they had been allowed. Mr. Morse and his two guests will then go to the living room for a brief “social interlude”. After this the three and the security detail will enter the library where the signing would take place. Afterwards the group will retire to the back porch for drinks and a catered lunch.
Claude assigns the whole Team to wait in the guest bedroom on the first floor and watch the proceedings from a monitor station he had set up in the large closet of that room. “Danny wanted to do the set up, but I have done it personally,” continues the French solo.
As he studies the map, Randy points to some hills about a half a kilometer away to the northeast and asks, “What if they put some sniper up here and picked off Mr. Morse on the back porch?”
Claude looks at Randy for a second before replying, “Why kill him after the signing? They already have the company.”
Zahra points out that they could send in divers from the west and strike from 50 meters away.
With increasing annoyance Claude retorts, “Yes, and they could launch an AV assault or perhaps orbital bombardment.”
There is silence.
Finally, Cat asks, “I would like Nip to be in the NET security room. It would be prudent to have two sets of eyes there rather than one.”
Claude considers this for a moment and then looks to Danny who just shrugs his shoulders. “She will be only an observer; Danny will be running the show.”
“Of course,” replies Cat.
“There is one more thing,” Randy adds. “We should have sniper coverage on the second floor not only to watch the approaches, but have them covered from the start.”
Claude looks at the map and nods his head.
Cat turns to her former Delta Force operative and says, “Randy take charge of that and you and Doc Freeman set your positions to cover all the approaches you can. Also, I would like to have Allison be with Bibi and Mrs. Morse upstairs while the signing is taking place.”
Claude looks dubiously at Allison but says. “All right, she could be useful doing that. Now, if there are no other suggestions, everyone should check out their posts and get ready.”
Everyone gets ready for the coming meeting. Nip is given little to do since Danny feels like he has things covered. Well, that left Nip just checking the camera coverage. Funny thing is that she notices a gap in the coverage and points it out over the com link. Claude comes to check it out and yes, sure enough, there is a hole in the surveillance. The French solo gives Danny a withering stare and has the Team redirect the cameras to cover the gap.
Noon
About 11:50 am two cars appear at the main gate. One is a non-descript sedan and the other is a Limousine. The limo pulls down the drive and the sedan does not enter the property. Outside the main door, Claude waits as Donald Thompson, the chief negotiator, and Gerald Beckwith III, the lead attorney of the group buying Morse Communications, exit the vehicle with two well-dressed security men and approach the main door. Two other security people also exit the limo, but they wait by the car.
Claude greets the visitors and brings all four into the living room to meet Justin Morse. There the group chats for a while. Cat, Zahra and Roger watch the proceedings from the closet of the first floor bedroom. Finally the group retires to the library for the signing. Donald Thompson and Justin Morse sit opposite each other at the desk. Justin signs the documents and slides them over to Donald, who looks at them briefly, reaches into his coat, pulls out an Armalite 44 and blows Justin Morse’s brains all over the back wall of the library. At this point a lot of things happen.
In the basement NET security room, Nip notices that Danny seems a little nervous. What she didn’t notice was that Danny had switched on a pre-prepared program that looped the exterior cameras to cover the rest of the hit team running across the lawn to the house from the main gate and the two other assassins getting out of the limo in front. Their job is to kill everyone else in the house.
Danny draws his 9mm but Nip is not surprised and pulls her two paintball pistols loaded with knock out drugs (sleep). Danny rolls a “1”, but it is just a miss. Nip looses a pair of 3 round bursts and hits with three shots. Danny staggers but is still up. Danny fires twice more and hits both times. Nip’s armor holds up and stops the rounds. Nip remembers she is studying Gun-Fu and fires 4 more sleep rounds into Danny. The geek drops his 9mm and his eyes roll up to the back of his head as he falls to the floor.
In the first floor guest bedroom, the cry goes out over the com, “It’s a hit!” Roger charges into the library with his assault rifle, followed by Cat with both her Enfield Spitfires ready. Zahra remembers the two other men outside. She runs out the other door thru the living room towards the front door to stop the men outside from coming in. In the library, Claude quick draws his 14 mm Malorian Arms 3516 and shoots Donald Thompson right in the head. The corporate’s head rocks back, but he just smiles as torn up metal and plastic pokes through the hole left by the large 14mm bullet. BORG!
The Gemini turns his gun on Claude and he puts a fatal round in the center of the French solo’s head. Now his retirement is permanent. At this moment Roger comes through the door and pours hordes of 7.5mm flechette rounds from his Enfield LPN-1 into the two enemy security guards. Cat follows and puts four more 12mm rounds into the Gemini’s head. Cat is using SAS anti-personnel rounds which tear into the borg’s workings. This disables the cyborg’s head and blinds it. The cyborg swings and fires wildly, but concentrated fire by both Roger and Cat bring him down. On the floor, Gerald Beckwith III raises his hands in surrender. Roger considers briefly just blowing him away, but wisely refrains.
Upstairs, Randy tells Doc Freeman to go to the west side of the house and shoot the guards by the cars. Randy himself heads to the stairs and takes position at the second floor landing looking down on the front door. Zahra has now reached the door between the living room and the foyer and makes ready to receive the charge. Upstairs, Doc Freeman sees one of the security/hitmen heading towards the front door. He fires his Essence and the window explodes out as the round is preceded by a large gout of flame. The charging solo is blown almost clean in half. Allison gets Christy and Bibi Morse into a closet, pulls her Sternmeyer 35 and sits on her charges, literally!
In the front hall, the outside doors are kicked in by the two charging solos. Randy puts two 7.62 rounds in the first one’s head, and Zahra puts a burst of 7.5 flechette rounds into the second. Both go right down. The last enemy steps through the door. With his right hand he cuts loose a burst from his SMG at Randy, but misses. The solo’s left cyberarm then levels at Zahra and bathes her with a flamethrower. Now on fire, the woman screams and runs for the kitchen. Randy wins initiative and drops the last enemy in the front hall with his M-21 EBR.
As Zahra is putting out the flames, she looks out the back window and sees two more attackers on the back porch leveling weapons at her. The Jamaican drops behind the heavily reinforced sink as the two rake the room with automatic weapons fire. The last two attackers now enter the house. Roger, who has heard the fighting in the kitchen, enters and cuts one of the men down. Both Zahra and Cat kill the last man.
Doc Freeman is sent to watch the gate with his 30mm Essence and the Team calls the police. Well, the lines are “down” and the radio/cell service is jammed. Since the “enemy” controls the main gate, Cat tells everyone to get ready to leave by boat. They tie up both Gerald Beckwith III and Danny and load them into the boat. Just as they are about ready to leave, a police car arrives at the front gate with another “civilian” vehicle. The Team’s hope of rescue vanishes as the police step back and let the two vehicles move on the house. Doc Freeman blows out the engines on both vehicles before they get half way down the driveway. Then the doctor heads for the boat.
The distance to the airport is about two miles across the water. As they approach the airport, the Team spies a police car racing for the airport. Doc Freeman looks at the distance and judges the waves. He doesn’t think he can make the shot so he hands the Essence over to Randy. The sniper takes careful aim and puts a round right in the engine block. The police car slows to a halt.
“Great!” Doc Freeman sighs, “Now, I have a round from my gun wedged in a police car. It won’t take much of a forensics search to pin this on me.”
“I don’t know,” replies Randy. “There won’t be much left of the round after going through the car.”
At the airport dock the Team rushes to their plane and starts it up. Then an airport official comes up and tells Cat that the police are on their way and she cannot take off. He turns to an airport worker and tells him to move the fuel truck to block the runway. Cat cold cocks the official and tells the worker to forget the fuel truck and help get his boss inside. She “suggests” he take a long break after that. The employee agrees. The C-23 heads down the runway and lifts off. Ten minutes later the tower orders them to return to the airport, but the Team does not hear the order due to “atmospheric interference.”
Cat gives Christy Morse access to the radio on the flight back to Jamaica. When the Team and their rescuees arrives, Morse Security and the company lawyers are waiting. The executive’s widow tells the Team not to worry about the “police car”. Christy is one tough woman who is very skilled in the corporate battlefield. Danny cracks like an egg and implicates the group buying Morse Communications. After a little “persuasion” by Christy’s people, Gerald Beckwith III confesses and the Commonwealth and St Vincent authorities start to pick up the plotters. The corrupt police who were involved “confess” to avoid the death penalty. Already people are dropping out of office windows over this botched take over. Christy authorizes a 100,000 eb payment for the Team, and there is no legal blowback from the firefight. In fact the Team comes out well and their reputation is starting to be made.
Episode 24: Not As Advertised!
The Team goes to Bolivia to retrieve two “stolen” children from their “Drug Lord” father and return them to their mother. The mother is insistent that the Team does NOT harm the man. He is the father of her children after all. Their intelligence looks good, but the situation is not as expected. There is a lot of fighting and the Team must run for their lives as their extract goes awry. They end up rescuing more than they bargained for!
Background
For their first ‘big job’ the Team is hired by the custodial parent (the mother) in an international divorce case. The father, a sitting Bolivian senator from a family with a history in the drug trade, has taken the two children he had with the mother back to Bolivia and refuses to return them. The United States State Department can do nothing so the mother decides on a little direct action of her own.
Dramatis Personae
The client du jour:
Collette Sabatini: The American ex-wife of Bolivian Senator Enrico Sabatini. Collette won custody of their two children Julia, aged 10, and Raymond, aged 8, but her ex-husband had them kidnapped and taken to an old family plantation in the hills of southern Bolivia. One of Collette’s security guards was killed in that incident.
The Team
Allison Cole: 16 yo kleptomaniac sex pot and one of Cat Fisher’s best friends from Atlantic City High School. She just graduated from that school and followed her friend to Jamaica when she became a suspect in a recent heist in Atlantic City. Perhaps not yet “world class”, her skills as a Prowler are formidable.
Cat Fisher: Officially she is Sam Fisher and the late Maria Ortiz’s 18 yo daughter. In actuality she is a full memory clone of late Caitlin Jones, the original biogentic assassin construct built by the now defunct BioWorks Corporation. This is known only to Kyle Vaduva. Some on the Team know she used to be Dominique Vadim, a Caitlin clone, but that person is also “known to be dead” for some six years now.
Doc Freeman: Former professor at UNLV, former assistant coroner and (formally) disgraced cyber researcher. He is the inventor of the “cyberbrain” with which he claims to have cured death itself. Although courts around the world are now looking into ramifications of his work, Disney Corporation has honored their agreements with the man and he is now rich beyond his wildest dreams. The Team bases out of his Morgan’s Harbor Hotel which he operates in cooperation with the Disney Corporation’s Port Royal Historical Theme Park and Museum.
Kyle Vaduva: Former C.I.A. agent now burned by the agency over incidents that he did not commit. He is now reunited with his lover from the Romanian Operation, whom he now learns is the full memory clone of the late infamous bio-genetic assassin, Caitlin Jones.
Nip Lacey: 15 yo girl with neon green hair, has amnesia. She was adopted by Tyne Lacey 4 years ago. She is a NET savant, classmate of Allison Cole’s, and the other of Cat Fisher’s best friends from high school.
Fred: ferret and “imaginary” friend of Nip’s.
Randy Shugart III: He is the 28 yo grandson of CMH winner, Randall Shugart of Blackhawk Down fame. He is himself an eight year veteran of Delta Force and has recently been maneuvered out of the military.
Roger Blackmore: Is a 28 yo former British SAS commando and demolitions expert. He was forced out of the service under a cloud of accusations of weapon’s smuggling.
William Eller: This is a cover alias for Thomas Rifkin, an operative for the Consortium, a group of powerful and wealthy business and political leaders who cooperate to “make things go their way”. Thomas/Max/William is a 10% owner of the Morgan’s Harbor Hotel.
Zahra Baudin: She is a 29 yo veteran of the JDF (Jamaican Defense Forces). Born of a Jamaican mother and a Haitian father, she is a trained “intrusion” expert.
The NPCs
Senator Enrico Sabatini: former husband of the client and scion of the Sabatini Drug Cartel. The Senator claims he has nothing to do with the drug business and actively opposes it. He was appointed to his senate seat almost two years ago after the death of his uncle Senator Manuel Sabatini, who was the reputed drug boss of the cartel. Enrico has been defeated by a challenger from his own party for the upcoming election for the senate seat. Enrico then surprised everyone by supporting his former rival and not running as an independent for the seat.
Cordila Estefan: This woman is the Sabatini governess. She is married to Raoul Estefan, the caretaker, and the two live in the children’s house on the estate. She is devoted to the children and the Team is under specific orders not to harm her. She and her husband are basically non-combatants, but she will defend the children.
The Action
Thursday, 8 September 2044:
The Team meets and hears the plan. Their plane departs Jamaica at 9:00 am EDT tomorrow for flight to northern Paraguay. There will be a HALO insertion of Team into Bolivia at 11:00pm AST. They will head overland to the mansion which is in the hills on National Road 4. The Team will be in position by 2 am to watch house. They will spend Saturday day examining perimeter, watching the target and preparing strike. On Sunday, September 11 at about 1 am a truck with delivery to airport will drive by the guard post. This is the Team’s exit vehicle. As soon as the truck is positioned down National Highway 4 about 20 minutes later, the Team will strike. They will quietly move on the compound and take the children from the “Children’s House” on the grounds. They then will head to the truck and go to the airport in Robore which is 45 miles away. It will take an hour and a half. If they have NOT killed any garrison members then it is smooth sailing. They lift off aboard a Mexair Maria and jump out over Paraguay.
If they have killed some security troops at the mansion, then the airport may be overrun with soldiers and they must go around Robore and head to a back-up extraction point. If they do not make the back-up extraction point in time, then the Team will be running for the border with Paraguay.
Allison suggests they bring two IR ponchos to wrap the children up in, and bring some lollipops for them. She also puts forth that she can handle a gun, or even a heavy weapon. This draws a quiet but snide comment from Randy. Roger requests an Opium Streetsweeper 12mm SMG with an underbarrel 25mm grenade launcher (the company standard SMG) instead of his usual rifle. William tells the Team that he has bought two battlegloves and a pair of Rostovic Wrist Racates for fire support and requests a first aid kit. Cat thinks the kits are a really good idea and has one issued to every team member.
With their plans set, the Team gets ready for the mission.
***
Friday, 9 September 2044:
At 9:00 am EDT the plane departs from Jamaica for the flight to northern Paraguay. The trip is uneventful, and at 11:00pm AST they perform their HALO insertion into Bolivia. The target is the center of a field about 100 meters wide on the back side of the mountain across the National Road 4 from the Sabatini Plantation. Most hit their marks right on the spot, but Nip drifts and lands a few meters from the tree line (and certain disaster). The Team rallies and moves out.
***
Saturday, 10 September 2044:
Early Morning (dark):
By 2 am the Team is in position to watch the house. Cat sends Randy and Zahra to sneak up to the southern edge of the outer perimeter of estate to 1) clip into security system and 2) let Randy locate sniper positions. The camp is set up by the others and Doc Freeman’s gun position is prepared. The 30mm Essence is set up in a gun pit on a hill 420 meters from the main gate across the road. A natural cover is built over the length of the weapon which narrows its field of fire to the gate house. This will also conceal the huge muzzle flash from all but the gate house and anyone on that visual line of sight.
Randy and Zahra cross the highway unnoticed. A car is seen coming south and is stopped at the entrance of compound. This civilian car is diverted into the compound and escorted by the patrolling security vehicle. This is not unusual as the militia checks out strangers driving in the area and often solicits bribes from travelers that the troops feel can afford it.
Zahra searches the plantation perimeter looking for its electronic frontier and finds it. As she is attempting to splice in a tap for Nip to ride in on, Randy is on overwatch. The patrol vehicle and the civilian vehicle the Team saw earlier pull up behind the barracks. Some militia troops come out of the barracks. There the occupants of the civilian vehicle (a couple and their two young teenaged daughters) are pulled out. The two girls are dragged into the barracks as the parents are pushed towards the trees. Randy watches as the two parents plead for their lives and then are shot by a ragged makeshift firing squad. The two bodies are brought to the tree line and are tossed in. Their fading thermographic signatures disappear as there is some kind of low point in the terrain there. Randy reports this immediately.
Cat asks if the drones are ready to launch, and Allison has just finished with that. Cat tells Nip to drop into the security system as soon as Zahra has finished her tap. The biogen then drops into the NET and launches a Bell Mini-bee. A close examination of the grounds by the drone finds dead bodies here and there. Behind the main house, a corpse of a woman is hanging by her neck, or rather most of her body is. She has been partially dismembered. There is a communication antenna near the main house and it has been destroyed. This close examination reveals that there has been some kind of fire fight recently.
By now Zahra has installed the tap on the system (outer) and Nip has no problem running it. This system is crippled and all communication circuits (except for local security) are gone. Most of the security cameras are off line except for a few at the back of the estate, the front guard house and the NET security room. In that room, two soldiers are playing cards and the netrunner is dead on the floor with a bullet in his head and his brains on the back wall. Most of the security equipment appears to have been damaged in the fire fight. Nip easily takes over what is left of the system.
When Kyle hears these reports, he orders the Team to prepare for an immediate strike. They will hit the children’s house first and hope they are not too late. Cat, Kyle, William and Roger Blackmore move across the road and up to the perimeter as Zahra and Nip complete the neutralization of the electronic defenses. Randy spies a good sniper location that covers the approaches to the rear of both the Main and Children’s houses.
The strike team crosses the outer perimeter, and Randy moves to the tree in the orchard he has selected for his sniper position. Cat, Kyle, William, Zahra and Roger Blackmore penetrate the inner perimeter and move to children’s house. There they find one of the guard dogs shot to pieces close to the front door. Cat moves to the barracks to cover them. Zahra checks the door for alarms and finds none. Kyle runs his mini-camera on a snake under the door and looks around. He finds the last guard dog dead on the first floor just inside the door. Roger opens the door and enters the darkened children’s house at the head of the Team.
Just inside the door we have our first Awareness/Notice botch and Roger steps on a cat (probably attracted by the camera snake that was shoved under that door). The ex-SAS trooper puts down his weapon and strangles the cat. Kyle is horrified. Upstairs, a male voice is heard in Spanish. He is promising to kill that cat once and for all. Kyle sees a naked man with a cyberarm and buzz saw hand, a bottle of booze in the other hand and an embarrassingly large hard on appear at the top of the stairs. Kyle puts two silenced shots right between his eyes. Kyle and Roger move upstairs quickly and Zahra and William sweep the (empty) downstairs.
Upstairs in the sitting area hangs the dead mutilated corpse of Raoul Estefan, the caretaker. In the master bedroom is his wife, Cordila Estefan, the children’s nanny. She is naked, tied to the bed and has been ravaged. Kyle cuts her free and convinces her that they are there to help. She tells them that the militia has revolted and gone insane. She begs them to rescue the three children. She tells them that Pietro, the bodyguard, got the children to the safe room in the basement of the main house. The kids are safe, but not for long. They move the nanny to a closet and help her hide after giving her some medical treatment.
Kyle, Roger, Zahra and William move to the main house and Cat prepares to move on the barracks herself. Nip is now out of the NET and has launched the Team’s spytech Bumblebee with is carrying a 12mm SMG loaded with anti-personnel rounds. Doc Freeman and Allison have finished his gunpit and the Doc starts taking aim at the guard on top of the gatehouse manning the SAW emplaced there. Randy keeps his eyes open for the patrolling Hummer and the ground patrol that is supposed to be out.
The four man strike team moves up to the back of the main house from the south. The front of the house is located on the top of a rise so the front door is at ground level (as normal), but at the rear it is the basement that is on ground level. They look into the basement guest suite and sitting room but only see some light coming from the next room. The Team moves north along the basement wall which is at ground level in the back of the mansion. In the billiards room they will see Enrico Sabatini, the ex-husband, hung from the ceiling in a “stress position” being tortured by a man in flak vest, pants and a nylon helmet with 4 soldiers sitting around watching. He wants to know where the “cash stash” is. (There isn’t one here actually, but they do not believe Enrico.)
Randy and Kyle slide under the main window to check out the next room. In the family room there are also two more soldiers in the kitchen area, but they are on opposite sides of the room from each other. The Team briefly considers firing through the windows but realizes that it is armor glass. Zahra and William move up to the family room and they discover the double doors are unlocked.
Three Team members come through the door quickly and surprise the two groups. William and Kyle cut down the two men in the kitchen area. Roger steps into the archway between the family room and the billiards room and cuts loose with his 25mm underbarrel grenade launcher. He fires two ten gauge slugs at the head of the heavily armored militiaman. The first misses, but the second blows the torturer’s brains all over the room. The Team quickly sweeps into the billiards room and cuts down the militiamen as they go for their weapons. The battle is on.
Out of the hall to the left of the stairs up, three troops pour out. There is another brief firefight and the Team takes some hits but drops the attackers. Zahra moves into that hall and sees a safe door (the safe room) and some equipment to crack the door. A grenade then comes through the other door to that hall and washes over the Jamaican solo. The Team responds with grenades back, then rushes and kills (the remaining) two men on the level.
Roger meanwhile has taken down the Senator’s body and has gotten him out of the line of fire. As the Team is securing the level, William hears people on the stairwell. He fires a couple of 30mm grenades from the wrist racate and impacts them on the back wall of the landing. Unknown to the party, this first blast goes up the stairs and sends four troops into critical and one officer to serious. This stops the first attempt to retake the basement.
Outside, Doc Freeman has by now his maximum pluses to hit for careful aim, when the grenades announced the start of the fight. He looses a 30mm round at the SAW gunner on top of the guardhouse, and misses (a botch!). The guards do not see the first shot although they certainly hear it. Doc again fires and blows the SAW gunner right out of his perch. The three remaining men at the gate start firing with their FN-FALs, but they are at extended range and score no hits. The Essence barks again and the soldier at the gate post dies from having his leg torn from his body and sent flying into the grass across the road. The remaining two guards then run out of sight behind the armored gatehouse!
Randy is watching the back of the complex and catches sight of a soldier coming out the window of the barracks where Cat had gone. It clearly isn’t her and he is armed. It is a corpse that reaches the ground outside that window. A turn or two later, the ex-Delta Force sniper thinks he sees people (or a single person) intermittently through the trees. He tracks him through his instincts and the occasional sighting. His first shots knock the militiaman out of cover. The last hits him in the head. Randy then waits but thinks he hears something off in the distance by the guardhouse.
Back on the hill, Doc gets a shot or two off at the remaining men, but can’t get a hit. Then he hears an odd sound followed by a short whistle and an explosion about forty meters in front of him. The enemy has a mortar! Doc turns to Allison and says, “Time to move.” As they finish breaking down the weapon, another shell wizzes overhead and lands twenty meters behind them. The next round lands right beside the gunpit, but Allison and Doc Freeman are already running down the backside of the hill to the small camp where Nip is running the remotes. For the next 30 seconds eight 60mm mortar rounds plaster the top of the hill.
Nip has been crisscrossing the estate keeping everyone informed of enemy positions. On the Team’s video imager, she had upgraded the combat programs Cat had given her and she keeps a real time map of the estate and all enemy movements. It is only Nip who sees a man moving through the trees towards the main house. She puts this target on Randy’s map. The sniper gets another Awareness/Notice roll and now identifies his target (unknown to Randy this is the enemy sniper). The M-21 EBR turns the enemy off like a switch.
As for Nip, at about this time she sees the SAW armed Hummer racing from the back of the grounds towards the main house. She alerts Randy and brings the Bumblebee in closer. Randy gets a good shot on the gunner from his flank. The first shot is wide, but the second hits. His armor absorbs most of it and he swings the turret around and fires back. At first Randy is astounded that the gunner could have spotted him, but it becomes quickly clear that he is just firing wildly into the trees. Still, the gun shield is now facing him so he has no shot.
Nip thinks, “This is just like a video game!” She swoops behind the gunner, lines up her shot and fills him full of 12mm holes. “Whee, 10 points!” she cries! The girl continues to follow the Hummer.
In the main house, Kyle tries to coax the children into opening the door, but it is most likely that Pietro will have none of it. William keeps peppering the stairway with his 30mm grenades. The militia would roll a few of their own downstairs, but the Team is now well “dug in”. Then the Hummer comes screaming up to the back and cuts off the strike team’s retreat. Three men jump out, and Nip shreds one of them. The remaining two turn and one spots the remote. A burst from his FN-FAL destroys it! These two then take cover. William fires one of the two Team’s light LAWs and manages to shoot right through the vehicle and have it burst four meters behind it!
(GM Note: Sometimes I just hate the Maximum Metal vehicle rules! But I have to admit it was funny.)
Cat gets on the com and tells Randy to move and take out the gate house, but it is clear that it would take him too long to get there safely. She goes herself, now that the barracks has been “cleared”. The biogen reports that she was able to save one of the girls from the car earlier. The other had already been killed.
Inside the mansion the Team is starting to get worried. Finally, there is a four man rush down the stairs by the guards. A 30mm grenade drops one and wounds the others. Zahra catches the militia officer with defilade fire and cuts him down. The remaining two guards wound William but he takes them down. Roger steps into the open door to draw fire from the two remaining men outside and is lit up. This identifies where the two are and William detects the glow of their IR signatures just behind the lip of the rise at the rear of the house. His 30mm grenades take care of those two.
By now, the Senator has come around and told Kyle how to get into the safe room. Inside they find three frightened children and a dead Pietro. The third child is Enrico Sabitini’s older daughter, Consuelo, aged 14 by a previous marriage.
The Team quickly gathers some vehicles. A BMW 2040 in the barracks garage is equipped with a water cannon in its turret. They take the SAW equipped Hummer and a four wheel drive camper (the South American equivalent of the Armadillo). Cat brings the surviving teenaged girl from the barracks and they load everyone up. The senator asks if they have neutralized the garrison in the nearby village of Laguna. Cat has Nip fly the Bell Mini-bee there quickly.
When she arrives over the village, there is quite a sight. Over 50 men are getting in a series of trucks, jeeps, home-made armored cars and one Marder IFV (wheeled version) with 20 mm cannon, LATGM and VSAM. They are almost ready to move out.
Cat orders her column to hit the road. At the children’s house they spot Cordila Estefan. They stop and pick her up. Yes, she very much wants to get out of here too. The three Team vehicles hit National Road 4 and head southwest. Cat contacts her people in Paraguay for an extraction, but Bolivia has closed its airspace and is patrolling the Brazilian and Paraguayan border with jet fighters. Surprisingly the Bolivian Army is taking no action. The Team must drive to Paraguay.
Just after Dawn:
As soon as the Team gets out of the hills they head due south to the border. Cat again contacts her people and no they still can’t make it. In fact, they inform the Team that their satellites show the pursuing column is right behind them and catching up. Nip activates her deck and detects an active remote in each vehicle. When she tries to turn them off they just turn back on so she can only suppress one.
The Team looks at their map and sees an old bridge up ahead over a gulch. It seems to be the best place to make the now inevitable stand. Nip gets out and quickly looks for the Lo-jack on the Hummer. She takes it out with its signal still transmitting. Kyle uses Cat’s cyberdeck and locates the remote on the motor home. He just smashes it.
By now Roger has the six kilos of home-made plastique and the explosives kit out of the vehicle. He and Cat head under the bridge and get to work on the charges. Roger calculates that he has enough explosives to bring the bridge down only if the Marder is on it when it blows. They will have to time this right. Randy moves the Hummer behind the rise and sets up with his M-21 EBR and the last light LAW at the crest of the hill overlooking the bridge. The remaining 2 vehicles with the rest of the Team and their “packages” continue south with the Lo-jack transmitters still operational.
The enemy column appears with a home-made open top armored vehicle in the lead, followed by the Marder and about eight other vehicles. The pursuing militia drive right over the bridge. Roger hits the detonator, and the charges go off. The bridge sways as the lead vehicle makes it across. The Marder falls into the gulch along with one then two of the following vehicles. Randy pulls out the light LAW and moves to look down into the open top vehicle. He lays the warhead right in the opening. That armored car explodes and rolls to a stop.
A fire fight erupts immediately, but the Team now heads out. They jump in the Hummer and join the retreat. The Hummer quickly catches up to the other two and they stop to get rid of the rest of the Lo-jacks. In two hours they are over the border and in Paraguay. There they are picked up by an AV and flown to a Collective base where the senator and his children’s nanny are treated. At about 6 pm the Team lifts off for Jamaica in their C-23 Sherpa.
***
Sunday, September 11, 2044:
The C-23 touches down in Jamaica’s Manley Airport at 11 am. There are soldiers, police and diplomats waiting. Collette Sabatini, the client, is there with passports, lawyers and a check. The Bolivian consul is there and asks Senator Enrico Sabatini what happened. The senator claims that the Team is working for him! He is effusive in his praise and thankful that they saved him and his children. Consuelo Sabatini hangs back at the airport until her ex-step mother sees her and goes to her. Collette Sabatini welcomes her ex-step daughter and wraps her arms around her. Apparently she actually does care deeply for the girl.
***
Postscript:
It seems also that the Senator is a man of honor and gratitude. The Senator matches his wife’s fee to the Team for a total of 600,000 eb. As it turns out the Senator was not aware of the magnitude of his Uncle Manuel’s operation. The uncle had turned to the manufacture of synthetic drugs. Senator Enrico Sabitini had tried to close the operation down quietly, but the Militia, whose livelyhood depended on this trade decided that Enrico had to go. The militia had taken to sampling their own wares so their take over quickly got bloody and out of hand. Also, more good news, Bolivia will not press charges. In fact, the Team get a letter of thanks from the Bolivian government.
World News Service – Flash
PRESIDENT DAVID WHINDAM ELECTED TO FOURTH TERM
Tuesday, November 8, 2044:
History was made in the United States of America as Noble Prize winner, David Whindam, was elected to a fourth term as President tying Franklin D. Roosevelt for that honor. The day was divided between wild celebrations by the President’s supporters and demonstrations against what the President’s opponents call his creeping dictatorship. In Washington and business circles Whindam’s reelection has soothed jittery nerves that the pro-business administration would be ousted and the democratic liberal administration of his opponent, Senator Joseph Kennedy V of Massachusetts installed in its place. Senator Kennedy called President Whindam to congratulate him on his victory.
Around the country Senator Kennedy’s supporters were not as gracious as rioting broke out in a small number of cities as cries of ‘dictatorship’ and ‘fraud’ was heard. There have actually been few reports of electoral fraud among the neutral poll watchers, and international observers have called the election relatively ‘Fair and Open’. President Whindam brushed off the demonstrators as ‘sore losers’, but promised that he would serve as “everyone’s President, even to those who oppose him.”
Messages of congratulations poured in from leaders around the world. President Whindham promised that his administration would continue to work for world peace and understanding. “The world is now too small to let our petty disputes bring it to the edge of destruction.” In the spirit of greated toleratio and understanding the President announced the appointment of Marine General Pershing as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Pershing is the first full conversion cyborg to be accorded that honor. Conservative Christian and Islamic religious group have expressed “concern” over this.
(GM Note: Ah yes, President David Whindam. I was amused when he became president in Cybergeneration. What a wonderfully slimy villian. He was a fixture in our early Night City campaigns and befriended a couple of the PCs. Most of the party just wanted to get him alone and put two behind his ear. So, when I was looking to go beyond the Fourth Corporate War I needed a figure to hang national politics on. Hey, if he was good enough for Cybergeneration, then he was good enough for us!
Our David Whindam matured from just a greedy corporate to a power hungry politician who would stop at nothing to get his way. He is also NOT stupid. In out world the Carbon Plague happened, but it didn’t transform children into little anime superbeings. It just killed you. Under his administration the CDC came up with a cure and he distributed it around the world for free! Not the actions of a power hungry villian you say? Well, it got him a Noble Prize and made him invincible at the polls. David is also in his fifth term as President (he served out the remaining 22 months of his assassinated predecessor’s term and has been elected four more times). Look for his support to be waning in the next few years, but he has no intention of giving up power!
Well, we are on to Season Two of our campaign. The last two episodes were basically single adventures to allow the Team to work out systems and the characters to get to know each other and their abilities. Now we go on to a (probably) five episode mission. This is not a job that can be solved with firepower, although the occassional application of it will prove helpful here and there. At this point we have actually completed four of the episodes and hope to finish up this Saturday. Its been fun and we hope you all enjoy it too!)
Episode 25: The Runaway Heir
Kyle and Cat feel the Team needs a little more firepower so they hire a Natasha Kerensky (yes, we are all also fans of Battletech!). She is an ex-Spetznaz operative, who has also run up against the ‘glass ceiling’ of that organization.
The Team boards the mega yacht S.S. Admiral Miklos Horthy, which will be their H.Q. as they search for an elusive Euro banking heir and his girlfriend who have been sighted on the island of Grenada. Nip does a great set of NET researches and gives the Team a lot of information to use. Zahra makes friends with Michael, a steward on the yacht, who helps “fluff up” her pillow at night. Allison attracts the captain’s gaze, but frightens him off eventually. The Team starts to run down leads on the island and discovers a missing friend of their target. Unfortunately he is wrapped in security.
Background
Otto Krieger, president and CEO of the Vienna Credit Bank, is dying of degenerative brain cancer. His grandson and heir, a young man with a history of mental illness, has run off with his teenage girlfriend, the daughter of two imprisoned Europe 3000 terrorists, and plans to turn the venerable bank into a progressive and socially responsible institution whose primary concern will be to help the “people.” The Team has six weeks to find the heir and return him to his grandfather (and the institution that was treating him). The fee is enormous and the perks are luxurious.
Dramatis Personae
The client du jour:
Otto Krieger: He is the 82 yo President and CEO of the Vienna Credit Bank, a major Euro investment banking house. He sits on the EuroBank board of directors. The man is dying of degenerative brain cancer. His grandson and heir, Ernest Krieger, has run away with his teenaged girlfriend and is off his meds. The old man wants him back.
The NPCs
Captain Istvan Vadas: Captain of the super yacht, SS Admiral Miklos Horthy. He is also a reserve officer in the Hungarian Navy. He likes young women; very young women.
Daniela Gaspard: The 16 yo girlfriend of Ernest Krieger and daughter of two imprisoned Europe 3000 terrorists. She has run off with the young heir.
Ernest Krieger: The 17 yo grandson of Otto Krieger and target of the Team’s search. He has a history of mental problems and is off his meds. The young man has run away with his girlfriend, Daniela Gaspard.
Friedrick Van Schoonhoven: A 21 yo European Goldenchild who knows Ernest Krieger.
Michael Szekere: A young 20 yo steward on the SS Admiral Miklos Horthy who will bend over backwards (and any other position you would like) to make the female Team members “comfortable”.
Magda Berchtold: The 38 yo third wife of aging patriarch Otto Krieger, and sister of Count Johan Berchtold, the Hungarian Foreign Minister and one of that country’s wealthiest men.
Otto Krieger: Our client is the 82 yo President and CEO of the Vienna Credit Bank, a major Euro investment banking house.
The Action
Wednesday, 9 November 2044:
The Team load up in their small air fleet (an AV-3, Crystar Falcon Spinnercoupe and an Avanti Sportspinner) and head out to sea to rendezvous with the mega yacht S.S. Admiral Miklos Horthy, a 110 meter long vessel the size of a navel frigate. The crafts land on the ship and fill its small hanger. All are seen to their new quarters on the ship. Allison in particular is astounded by the luxurious furnishings of her stateroom. Her fingers start to twitch and she moves anything portable and of value in her room out of sight. The Team is then summoned to the main salon to meet their employers.
The client, the aging patriarch 82 year old Otto Krieger, is waiting with his third wife, Magda Berchtold 38, sister of Count Johan Berchtold, the Hungarian Foreign Minister and one of that country’s wealthiest men. The count owns the yacht, the SS Admiral Miklos Horthy, which the Team is on.
The old man explains that seventeen year old Ernest Krieger has suffered from a history of mental illness for a number of years. It is documented and the Team is provided with a psychological study (written in German) by Doctor Karl Schroder of the Halberstadt Institute in Vienna done when Ernest was fifteen. There is also a follow-up study by Dr. Emil Morin of the Budapest Psychiatric Hospital (written in Hungarian) dated six months ago. The Team is also given an order from a Hungarian court committing young Ernest to the Budapest Psychiatric Hospital. They are also given a letter from the Vienna Credit Bank naming the Team as acting on their behalf. (This does not grant the Team any sort of corporate immunity. It just asks whomever to help the Team with their mission.)
The Team has six weeks to find the young man. They will be paid 50,000 eb up front to help cover expenses. If they discover the boy is dead and can prove it, they will get another 50,000 eb. If they can produce the body, then the fee goes up to an additional 150,000 eb. If they bring him in alive, they will get 450,000 eb more (for a total of 500,000 eb). If at the end of six weeks they have not found him, the contract may be extended by Herr Krieger solely at his discretion.
Ernest and Daniela’s last known location was the island of Grenada eleven days ago (Saturday, October 29). He had rented a car the day before in his own name and had gotten a parking ticket on that Saturday at a club called Zanzibar’s. The rental car was returned by an unknown male on Monday morning. The Team is also given some pictures of the couple, but one is special. It is of the two in a large building and there is some sort of celebration going on around them. This picture was taken in Grenada. The grandparents have no idea why the couple would be on Grenada and do not know anyone that the two young people could possibly be visiting.
Otto has procured a mansion for the Team to operate out of in Grenada. It is on the south shore and has a private AV pad. The ship will head to Grenada at flank speed. Tomorrow the Team can use the communications center on the ship to commence their research. On Friday morning the Team will launch in their AV and spinners for the then short hop to Grenada.
A ship’s officer brings out a secure case and opens it. The old man remarks that it contains thirty thousand Euro and thirty thousand Commonwealth Pounds as per agreed. Otto Krieger then asks the Team if they have any questions.
Randy asks, “What about the girlfriend, Daniela? Do you want her too, or….” The ex-Delta Force sniper makes a quick cutting motion with his finger.
As old man Krieger ponders this for a few seconds, his wife, Magda, turns to her husband with a disturbed look and says something brief is Hungarian. Otto Krieger quickly tells the Team that they do not want the girl, but she is NOT to be harmed.
(GM Note: Both Kyle and Cat speak some Hungarian and tells the party later that Magda said, “For God Sakes, she’s only 16 years old!”)
The old man then reflects, “Well, she does have a gun.”
Magda says to the Team in very broken English, “Very small, .22….hard skin, no hurt.”
“It is a 5mm,” Otto adds, “It probably couldn’t even puncture the lightest skinweave.”
Zahra inquires about the boy’s parents. This obviously hits a painful memory with the old man. The Team is informed that his parents passed away some time ago. The client and his wife apologize for not knowing a lot about their grandson’s life, but they explain that he spent a lot of time at boarding school as his father wished. The old man regrets this.
Nip looks at the meager information on the young man and listens to the old couple. She then botches her human perception roll and thinks she has the whole situation scoped out.
Doc Freeman inquires as to the old man’s deteriorating brain condition. Otto Krieger smiles and says he is well aware of Doc Freeman’s work. His deterioration is too far along for a cyberbrain transplant. Still, Doc Freeman offers to examine him.
“Thank you for your kind offer, but I have looked into this and I don’t want any more false hopes. I have been poked and prodded now for years and I have had enough. I will have my medical file sent to you, and you can take a look for yourself.”
The old couple retires for the evening and the Team settles in and prepares for the search. Doc Freeman receives Otto Krieger’s medical file.
***
Thursday, 10 November 2044: (12 Days behind their Quarry)
As the ship slices thru the waves heading southeast, Nip (now an ATTR 9 fifteen yo Cyber-Goth) lays out on the deck catching some rays while jacked in to her deck. She spends the day learning all things about Daniela Gaspard. By the end of the day she had this summary:
Daniela Gaspard
(Library Search Results)
Daniela Gaspard was born in 2028 in Paris, France to Robert Gaspard, a radical from Europe 3000, and Sali Samake, a student from the country of Mali who was attending the Sorbonne. The girl maintained a dual nationality and often visited her mother’s country. At 13, she began showing a great interest in a Sufi branch of Islam that is popular in Mali. With the rise of the New Jihad and the Voice of the Desert, she was investigated by Interpol, but they found that she was not at all attracted to radical Islam. It was the comparative gentleness and emphasis of personal mysticism that fascinated her.
In 2042 when the girl was just 14, her parents were arrested in an Interpol raid in response to a Europe 3000 attack in Berlin that year. Her brother, Jean, was then a student at the University of Berlin. The young man was shot and killed in another Interpol raid connected with the attack. The agent, Rupert Hiedler, had mistaken a cell phone for a gun in the young man’s hand. The agent suffered a departmental reprimand and resigned. Both parents were convicted and sentence to life imprisonment. It is clear that Robert Gaspard was a member of Europe 3000, but his involvement in the plot was minimal. There was only circumstantial evidence connecting her mother, Sali, and no evidence that she was a member of Europe 3000. Still, she was convicted and sentenced to life. After this Daniela went to live with her great grandmother, Helena Gaspard, just outside Paris until the old woman’s death early this year.
Daniela has a brilliant mind and attended an elite high school in the French capital. It was in Paris she met Ernest Krieger, who had been a friend of her brother. She had earned a full scholarship to the Sorbonne, but disappeared with young Ernest Krieger. While she is not wanted for any crime she was briefly on Interpol’s “persons of interest” list. Her phone has gone dark and she has not touched any of her limited funds in banks. She did however make a large withdrawal just before she disappeared.
Cat, who prefers the comfort of her bed to run the NET from, starts looking into Ernest Krieger. By the end of the day she had this summary:
Ernest Krieger
(Library Search Results)
Ernest Krieger was born February 20, 2027 in Vienna, Austria. He is the only son of Christina von Freiburg (2001-2030) and Manfred Krieger (1998-2037) and the grandson of Otto Krieger, the client and CEO, President and chief stockholder of the Vienna Credit Bank. Ernest’s mother died in childbirth with Ernest’s sister, Eva Krieger, three years after the young man was born. The boy was raised by a series of governesses as the father buried his grief by “jet setting” around the world with the rich and useless.
His initial education was by personal tutors, which probably accounts for much of his social alienation. This is confirmed by both psychiatric reports the Team possesses. At the age of twelve he was sent to a series of private boarding schools (5) from which he was expelled for undisclosed reasons. These schools are elite private institutions. You only have the names of two of them. They have no records on the NET. At fifteen, he ran away from home for the first time which was just after his grandfather married Magda Berchtold. He fell in with a group of young Berlin radicals who called themselves “Menschen für Freiheit und Recht“ (People for Freedom and Justice) and soon developed his “plan” to restructure the Vienna Credit Bank to turn it into a progressive and populist institution. Of course, this meant ending a lot of the bank’s most lucrative business activities. An extraction team sent by Otto Krieger scooped up the young man and sent him to the Halberstaht Institute in Vienna. The young man spent six months there and was released. He attended a “less prestigious” school in Vienna but was graduated quickly. The donation of a library to the school may have had something to do with his quick graduation, but records indicate that Ernest is actually very intelligent and well read.
Ernest then went to Paris and attended the Sorbonne where he met Daniela Gaspard, a high school senior in that city who hung around the university there. The two quickly became lovers and soon Ernest stopped going to school altogether. Otto went to Paris to confront his grandson. The two argued and soon afterward the two young lovers ran away.
Doc Freeman begins to translate and study the large medical file of Otto Krieger. It will take him a good two days to make sense of it.
The clients leave early in the day so the rest of the Team enjoys the attractions of this luxury vessel. Zahra in particular noticed the “attractions” of one of the stewards, a Michael Szekere.
The Captain, Istvan Vadas, takes particular interest in young Allison. It seems that the voyage is heading for an episode of the “Love Boat”, but Allison brazenly gooses the Captain in front of his officers. This scares the old pervert away, for now.
After a brief meeting in the evening, Allison is the first to walk away from the table. Like a gentleman, William stands as she leaves to which Kyle responds with, “I only thought you stood when a lady leaves the room.”
There is much snickering, but the night isn’t a total loss. Cat decides all work and no play makes her a dull kitty, and besides, there is a Jacuzzi in her and Kyle’s suite. Oh, yes, and Zahra has her pillows “fluffed” by the helpful steward, Michael.
***
Friday, 11 November, 2044: (13 Days behind their Quarry)
About an hour before dawn, the solos awake as they feel the ship start to maneuver violently. The rest of the Team awakes as the sound of heavy gunfire is heard. As they spill out into the corridor, a crewman tells them to return to their cabins. They do, but look out the port holes. Several smaller vessels surround their ship, but all are damaged. The sound of multiple 20mm gatling cannons reverberate thru the ship as one of the smaller pirate vessels disintegrates. They now hear the sound of larger cannon. The solos think it is about a 4 inch (100mm) gun. As the Horthy moves hard to starboard, they see the largest enemy vessel yet. It has a few fires on it. Then the 4 inch gun starts firing and that larger vessel is ripped apart by explosions. Soon the firing stops and the sea around them is filled with burning wreckage and wailing men. It seems the Horthy is something akin to a “Q ship”.
They are let on the aft deck about ten minutes later. The ship has some superficial damage. The crew suffered three lightly wounded. The entire ship’s company is flush with victory. An officer comes to the Team and points out the last fleeing pirate vessel in the distance. “Just watch,” he says.
Flame and smoke erupt with a roar from right behind the Horthy’s bridge. The team watches as a large missile launches, arches over the ship and heads towards the fleeing buccaneer. It strikes amidships and the target vessel is engulfed by a fireball. They never had a chance.
Breakfast this morning is very upbeat. Many of the ship’s officers appear in dress whites. The Team notices that most of the uniforms are Hungarian Navy issue (yes, they have a navy, who else patrols the Danube and such). It seems most, if not all the officers here are in the naval reserve. There is much toasting as the officers revel in their victory (slaughter) of the pirates.
The captain informs the group that after launching the Team’s air vehicles, he will be heading to the bay at the north end of Ronde Island in the Grenadines to repair the cosmetic damage from this morning’s attack. Communication protocols are established and the Team launches in their AV and spinners for the trip to Grenada.
An hour later the Team touches down at their new mansion on the southern tip of Lance Aux Epines in Grenada. As per arrangement, a couple of local officials are waiting to rubber stamp the Team’s passports and permits. They are going from one Commonwealth country to another and the wealth that has hired them for the job has smoothed the way with the local government. Also waiting for them is a rented sedan and SUV. Everyone is told to settle in and there will be a meeting in the early afternoon.
At the meeting Cat again makes the assignments. Roger, Natasha and Zahra will go to St. George and Granville to search for the location where the picture they have of the two teenagers was taken. William and Allison will go to the Club Zanzibar and check it out. Cat will watch them by flying remote. Kyle and Randy will go the car rental office and see what they can find. Nip will begin researching the group People for Freedom and Justice that Ernest and Jean Gaspard, Daniela’s brother, used to belong to.
Club Zanzibar is in the hills outside St. George. Most of the club is open to the sky and it is a combination dance club, rave and social happening. All social classes come here and violence is strictly forbidden. Even the island’s organized crime figures recognize that Zanzibar’s is neutral ground. William and Allison don’t find anything directly useful, but get a good feel for the place and begin to work on their cover story. He is a middle aged businessman and Allison is his young, bored mistress.
(GM Note: Club Zanzibar is the creation of Ted Salonich and served as the central watering hole for the group in our Grenada Campaign (2022). None of these characters participated in that campaign so it was all new. It would make a great addition to any campaign and I hope that Ted will someday post it here. Hint, hint.)
Kyle and Randy try to get information about Ernest’s car rental, but hit a brick wall getting any further information. They call on Nip, who runs the rental office computer and pulls copies of all the relevant paperwork. There is one new piece of information. The car was delivered to an apartment in the Lime, a residential area south of the capital of St. George that is now known as a crime area. They plan to check it out that night.
Roger and Natasha discover where the picture was taken. It was at the Maurice Bishop Convention and Sports Complex. As to when was taken and by who, they do not discover.
At the meeting that evening, the Team compares its findings for the day. Nip has finished her research on the People for Freedom and Justice. Her work is complete with dates and photographs:
Menschen für Freiheit und Recht (People for Freedom and Justice)
(Library Search Results)
This organization consisted of seven mostly young people. Some were of wealth and means, others attended or taught at the University of Berlin. The group was led by Dr. Manfred Schmidt, a leftist economics professor at the University. He was trying to develop an economic system that used private capital in a socially responsible way while keeping the incentives of profit to drive this system. He was assisted by Associate Professor Ingrid Berger of the University. There were three students in the group. Two were graduate students: Peter Moreau from Brussels, Belgium and Jean Gaspard of Paris, France. Gerhart Zoller was an undergraduate student from Hamburg, Germany. There were two young heirs involved in the group. The first was Friedrick Van Scoonhoven , a “trust fund baby” from the Netherlands and the second was Ernest Krieger.
In 2042 the group published its Manifest von Freiheit und Recht (Manifesto for Freedom and Justice). It was surprising well received by the academic community, but caused considerable discomfort in EU economic circles. Soon after publication, troubles seemed to dog the group. Dr. Manfred Schmidt and Peter Moreau were killed in an accident on the autobahn while on their way to an economic symposium in Munich. Professor Ingrid Berger was charged with morals offences when it came out that she traded grades for sex with some underage male high school students, who were taking courses at the university. She committed suicide soon afterwards. Jean Gaspard was killed in a raid by Interpol on a reported cell of the terrorist group, Europe 3000. Gerhart Zoller was killed during a street mugging and robbery in Berlin. Ernest Krieger returned to his grandfather, and Friedrick Van Scoonhoven disappeared. This effectively ended the Menschen für Freiheit und Recht.
While going over Nip’s report both Allison and William stop at one picture. Allison points to the picture of Friedrick Van Scoonhoven and says, “He was at Zanzibar’s this afternoon.” The two remember him. He was sitting at what they assumed was a private booth overlooking the dance floor. He was with a well-dressed, elegant young black woman. They had at least two bodyguards.
The team decides that Zanzibar’s needs more coverage. Allison and William will move into another hotel and continue their charade of the middle-aged businessman and his mistress. This might be a way to approach Van Scoonhoven when they see him next. Tomorrow night there will be a major event at Zanzibar’s. A popular island band will be playing and a number of dance contests will be held sponsored by local businesses. The Team decides to put most of tomorrow’s efforts there. However, Zahra will go in the morning to the Maurice Bishop Convention and Sports Complex and try to find out when the picture was taken.
For the rest of tonight Zahra, Kyle and Cat will go to the Lime and check out the address where the car was delivered to Ernest two weeks ago. Nip will fly high cover with a remote, and Randy will be standing by with a spinner to get the Team out. Kyle and Zahra move on the house and Cat hangs back to cover them. The building has two apartments. One is upstairs and the other is downstairs.
As the Team moves in, they notice figures with long guns on the roof of a couple of nearby buildings. Their coverage does not seem very coordinated. The two check out the first floor, but there is only armed males inside packaging what looks like some kind of (illegal) drugs. They get a peek into every room and see nothing that would lead them to believe their targets are here. Kyle moves and climbs the outside of the building to check the apartment above. It is apparent that it is just a local family that lives there.
As Kyle is finishing his second story job, a shot rings out and hits the side of that building right by Kyle’s arm. He has been spotted. The ex-spy drops to the ground and starts to run. Zahra, who is still hidden, also pulls back. Heavily armed men boil out of several houses. Cat throws a smoke grenade to cover their retreat. This stops most of the pursuers. A few continue after the Team, so Cat tosses a flash-bang grenade at them. That finally stops the pursuit. The three fall back to Randy and the spinner. The Team pulls out successfully.
***
Saturday, 12 November, 2044: (14 Days behind their Quarry)
In the morning Zahra heads down to the Maurice Bishop Convention and Sports Complex. There she tries to get more information about when the picture was taken. The people in the ticket booths are less than helpful. They don’t know and don’t care. Undaunted, Zahra gets a few minutes with the manager of the facility. Well, he doesn’t want to be here on Saturday, and Zahra starts asking him questions on when this picture could have been taken. Here a hefty bribe (or even not so hefty) might have brought him around or at least his interest. Instead, he tells her he is a busy man and she should check out their website and look at the pictures posted there to figure it out.
So, all prepare for the big stake out at Zanzibar’s. The entire Team is there in small groups except for Nip, who is flying remotes from the mansion to the south. Their targets do not show up all afternoon, but the group is patient. Finally, in the early evening Friedrick Van Scoonhoven shows up with the same elegant young woman as the previous night. He also has two bodyguards in tow. The Team tries to work up several plans to approach him, but none are viable. Kyle thinks about approaching him directly, paying off his female escort to make herself scarce, and working him that way. They decide he will probably just tell Ernest they are after him. Zahra tries to catch one of the guard’s eye. It sort of works. He comes over and tries to surreptitiously pick her pocket. Zahra notices that he gets her wallet, the guard notices her noticing his action, so he bends down and makes like he is picking it up off the ground to return it to her. Of course it flips open and he gets a look at her name. The bodyguard smiles and says, “I believe you dropped this.”
Zahra does not want to make a scene so she thanks him. No one is fooled.
Around midnight Friedrick Van Scoonhoven and his “date” leave with their bodyguards. She goes with her bodyguard in a limo and he and his bodyguard in a sports car. The Team has only one remote up, so Nip follows Van Scoonhoven. He stops at the Maca Bana Villas, an executive class hotel near the Team’s mansion.
The Team heads home and settles down for the night. Progress is slow, but tomorrow may bring something new. Doc Freeman finishes studying Otto Krieger’s medical file. Yes, he is too far gone for a cyberbrain transplant. In fact, that he is alive at all is a miracle. The man should be checking out any day.