The Found Arcana – Chapter 5 [IC]
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The Found Arcana – Chapter 5 [IC]
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Bobby frowned. How did the Mayor know about there cases? SIS certainly hadn’t advertised the stuff with the cards or that they had geeked the Killer of Runningbird.
Then he remembered the chimpanzee vs. Crimson Crush incident. Had that made it to the mayor’s ear?
Despite his best intentions, he spoke up: “If you want us to agree to working for you, you should either tell us what it is about or what you are offering to pay – preferably both. Some of us have bills to pay – and to deal with the results of a gang war and a black out.”
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She says to Bobby peacefully “We’ll get there Bobby”
AM tries to remain within what she feels is the right etiquette for a meeting like that. “You got the right people Sonja, we prefer to keep it subtle if we can. Jawsey is quite a speaker, I am a tech-specialist and a Shaman, while Bobby can infiltrate many places undetected.”
Answering Sonja’s question, she pauses and continues politely …but we will have to know what you want us to do before we can commit.
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The Mayor nods to AM. “Yes, of course. I simply wished for you to know that your reputation precedes you, and that I would like to hire you on the strength of that reputation. I think you’ll find the work easy – even, dare I say it, fun – and the compensation generous.”
She pauses for a moment – likely for dramatic effect – and leans back against her desk.
“Backing up for a moment, I think that we all agree that the level of violence in Redmond is intolerable.” She raises her hand toward the shoot-out in front of K-E headquarters next door. “I understand that it affected you directly last night. That’s unacceptable.
“The reason for violence is somewhat counterintuitive, if you’ll hear me out. It’s because the gangs are getting along too well. Not from the Brain Eaters’ perspective, certainly. But when the Crimson Crush make friends with the Halloweeners, have an understanding with the 162s, make an alliance with the Rusted Stilettos, and reach a detente with the Red Hot Nukes, then that gives them the freedom and confidence to throw all their weight against the Brain Eaters. The same story is happening all over Redmond. Instead of small skirmishes here and there that largely preserve the status quo, we have full-scale turf wars and scorched earth campaigns. You can see the resulting pain and suffering for yourselves.
She holds up a finger as she reaches her point.
“What I want you to do is to go to a party tonight at the Funhouse. It’s open to everyone, and all the gangs will be represented. There’s a strict policy of non-violence, and it’s at parties like these that the gangs realize that they have more in common than they have differences.
“While you’re there, I want you to sew some discord. Generate some dissension, disagreements, disputes. As subtle as you can. If you inspire open violence, that’s only effective in the short term because it’s snuffed out quickly.” She snaps her fingers. “But something that lingers and festers – something that colors things beyond tonight and into the weekend, into next week and next month – will be the most effective. I want you to fracture some of these relationships, so that everyone feels that they have to watch their back. That lessens their bandwidth for overt violence, as they go back on the defensive.
“If you’re up for it, I’ll pay your agency ¥30,000. Good pay for one night’s work, wouldn’t you agree?”
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“Do you have files on the people that will attend that party? Would be nice if we could prepare some leverage beforehand.”
Bobby replied business like.
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Jawsey couldn’t help but look at the ‘man’ in the corner to see if he could read any reaction there to the mayor’s proposal.
Smiling like a fool, Jawsey rephrased the job “Got it, the job is to go into Urubia’s club, and try to undo some of the work she has done with the gangs. A simple night’s work with just a few possible downsides. Does the pay cover possible death benefits? “
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The Mayor answers Bobby’s question first.
“Some, yes, but not as much as you might think. Knight-Errant – following Lone Star’s precedent – has largely written off most of the district as a Z-zone. That means that they don’t dedicate much of their resources to the gangs of Redmond, especially since turnover is so high amongst the gangs themselves. The Gang Intelligence Unit is seeking inroads on the Halloweeners since so much of their criminal activity is outside of Redmond, but even that’s been a challenge. Nightmare, the leader of the Halloweeners is almost a complete mystery. We don’t even know if it’s a man or a woman or something else entirely! There are rumors Nightmare could be a free spirit. I’m told that the aura is masked and looks like it’s on fire.”
Jawsey examines the man in the corner, who has a magnificent poker face. His features change about as much as a statue’s. While Jawsey studies him, he seems to study the team. His expression could best be described as dark. Possible interpretations could be frustration, doubt, or condensation.
The Mayor turns to Jawsey to answer his question.
“As long as you don’t personally participate in a fight, you’ll be fine. The Funhouse is considered neutral ground and Urubia does not allow for any violence within the property. It’s the safest place in the district by far.” She says this factually. If it bothers her, she doesn’t show it.
“You don’t even have to meet Urubia if you don’t want. She often spends the night dancing, usually in dracoform. Sometimes she even lets people ride on her back. Don’t want to meet her? Just don’t go to the dance floor.
“Besides, part of the reason you were selected is that – if meeting her is necessary or unavoidable – she’ll be naturally inclined to like you. Urubia appears to enjoy the company of metahumans, especially the Awakened. About a hundred people live at the Funhouse on a full-time basis and almost all of them are Awakened, like yourselves.
“So, I very honestly do not expect you to be in danger. If adding a death benefit helps ease your mind about the job, I will do so.”
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AM remains quiet and observes the mayor intently. When she speaks it is not about the price or the dragon, these things they would figure out, and decide if they are up to it. The thing is that ‘sowing discord’ is hardly a measurable thing, so is “a feeling of mistrust”.
She waits for her turn and then asks Sonja
“How are you going to measure success? What I am actually asking is – what kind of outcome would make you happy, and on what conditions do you intend to pay us for this task. “
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“I appreciate the re-assurances.” Jawsey thought he delivered the line without sounding sarcastic, which under the circumstances he thought was impressive. Being hired to invade a dragon’s lair … with the connivance of another dragon? Everyone knew you didn’t want to deal with any dragons, two was a multitude too many!
Jawsey briefly closed his eyes and astral vision, to start thinking about how this could down, and within seconds he realized what would be far more practical than a death benefit. “I was not serious about the death benefit, I was just highlighting that this is not entirely a walk in the park. One thing that would make it easier, from what I understand, is a willingness to gamble, especially to gamble without too much fear of losing some money. A thousand each should help us move in the circles where we have the best chance of achieving your objectives.“
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“Done,” the Mayor tells Jawsey so quickly that he strongly suspects that he should have asked for more. “That’s a good idea. From CI reports we know everything from drugs to prostitutes are available at below street price, and we also know that Funhouse casinos pay out generously at a rate contrary to statistical probability. Speculation is the Funhouse operates as a loss-leader; attracting people to Urubia’s turf and giving them lots of reasons to feel good about being there. Puts anyone she’s negotiating with in a malleable mood. You might even be able to earn a little extra yourselves that way; just don’t fall into her trap: complacency.”
The Mayor then turns to AM with an approving look. “The short answer is that we have some informants. The CIs I just mentioned, for one. We do have some magical resources available to us as well. Are you familiar with the Thought Recognition family of spells? They can verify if a target is actively thinking about a particular thing. Law enforcement investigators use these spells to determine if a target has knowledge of something without violating the subject’s Constitutional protection against self-incrimination. (Sioux and NAN law have no such restrictions, but you’re vaguely aware that this amendment was part of both Canadian and US law before being rolled into the UCAS Constitution.) “In this case we can use them to determine whether you’ve succeeded. As I said before, I’m looking for thoughts of dissension, disagreement, and disputes.”
“Go to the party tonight. Have a good time, but not so good that you can’t do your job. Come back here after you wake up tomorrow and by then we should know enough to say whether you’ve succeeded.
“I’m playing the long game here. I don’t expect you to grow crops overnight; I simply want you to plant and water the seeds. Whether the plans come to fruition will be my job.”
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Seeing that Jawsey is overly eager to take the job despite the warning signs she tries to assert dominance on the situation. She did not trust dragons, and she trusted politicians even less. These had a tendency of using people, especially the SINless for their needs. She did not mind playing the pawn – but she wanted to make sure that they do not get scammed .
“With all due respect Sonja, this is a poorly defined task that we have no way to verify ourselves. There are additional risks as we live between these gangs, and there is a dragon that we may irritate. We’ll need some more assurances to consider such a risk. You already placed us at a disadvantage by sending us to meddle in gang politics right after your cops publically took us infront of the entire neighborhood. Criminals do not trust the police.
She continues in a non-confrontational tone.
The payment terms are problematic as we have no means to dispute your assertion about the success or failure of the job. In this specific case, we would require a significant portion of the payment in advance – or some other assurance.” She looks at Jawsey, and Bobby and says in Sioux sign language “I am uncertain about this gig.” partly to express her concerns, and partly to show that they are in some disagreement in order to compel Sonja to walk a step toward them.
Spoiler: -
Bobby, always the diplomat, added: “Yeah, the fee you offer is for our effort and risk, not the success of the mission. As you already know and heard, we live in that neighborhood and have a vested interest in getting it back to the status quo with the Braineaters as the more civilized alternative. So we’ll do our best in any case, but we risk our hoops here somewhat fierce. After all, even when we manage to stir up drek between the gangs perfectly, your theory could be totally backwards and the whole of Renton declines into total war as a result.
What I want to say: You are paying here for effort, not for results.
That’s our offer – and if we are to go there tonight we’ll have to do a lot of legwork in a short time. So better decide quickly.”
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The Mayor seems to consider AM’s words.
“I can have the cops lead you out of here in handcuffs, if you think it will help your credibility.” You’re not sure if she’s joking or not.
“Which would look worse, you coming here voluntarily or coming in the back of police cruisers? I could have arrested you to preserve your street cred, but that would have started our relationship off on the wrong foot. Plus you might have resisted. I chose the middle way.”
She thinks about AM’s request for payment in advance along with Bobby’s objections.
“My hesitation is that the Funhouse is a place that – by design – is full of temptations. We’ve lost more than one CI to a hot streak at the blackjack, or to a prostitute that looks like Gary Cline. Urubia corrupts because that’s what she does. So sending agents in with several thousand nuyen in their pockets is a risky proposal.
“But, on the other hand, I appreciate your need for reassurances. I’ll pay you ¥3,000 each in advance in addition to the ¥1,000 seed money for the gambling tables – that’s ¥4,000 each, ¥12,000 total – to compensate you for your efforts.” She looks at Bobby to confirm that she’s using the term that he did.
“When you come back tomorrow, you can provide a report about what you saw, what you heard, and what you did. That gives you an opportunity to make your own case, so that we know what to look for when we cross-check the effects. That way we can better pay your efforts, not the end results.” Another look at Bobby. “I’m looking for three good wedges, to be planted as you see fit. I assure you that I wish to pay you and am not looking for a reason to withhold payment or otherwise backtrack on our agreement. I have my reputation to consider, and a public reputation at that. As I said, I’m playing the long game, and part of that is identifying and cultivating valuable assets such as yourselves.”
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Bobby shrugged: “Sounds fair to me. We’ll do our best?” The last sentence is more a question and directed at his companions.
“We better get started, asking around who’s going to be at the Funhouse tonight. I hate not knowing who I’m dealing with.”
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AM holds herself not to lash at the mayor when she mentions the option of arresting the team. Has that arrogant prick never heard of the Matrix? or of the Astral? I can figure out numerous ways we could have met her without being seen. She takes a deep breath, and masks her despise of politicians and a lifetime of forcibly being on the wrong side of the law.
“For the record Sonja, getting places without raising suspicion is kind of our bread and butter. We are private detectives after all.”
AM chuckles bitterly when the mayor mentions getting seduced by the vices of the place. She never considered physically bringing so much money to a party. The most profitable move was always to give the money to TJ, and she thinks hard on every economic decision knowing that it may end up poorly.
She looks at the terrible fate of their negotiation, everyone seems out of place. Jawsey is overly eager, Bobby is negotiating, there is so much she can do to help. At least she got them a little more upfront in case that arrogant politician use them and then away.
She looks at Jawsey, with a subtle hand movement implying “I am okay”.
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Jawsey seens AM’s hand signal, and wonders what the sign gesture is for “there is a fragging dragon in the room.”
The mayor knows something about them, so Jawsey knows about the dragon, the mayor knows about the dragon, the mayor knows that Jawsey knows .. and so she knows that they are caught being pissing off the dragon in the room or risking pissing off the dragon in the proverbial bush…
Jawsey shrugs at AM, and says to the mayor “Sounds like we are in. Anything in particular we need to do to arrange the de-brief after?“
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“Great,” the Mayor says, although without as much warmth or enthusiasm as you might have expected.
“Mostly I’m looking for a recap of the evening, and anything that updates our understand of who is at the Funhouse, what happens there, and what might happen next. Gangs teaming up, plans they might execute, that sort of thing. The things you are trying to disrupt.
“Given that you are private detectives” – she looks to AM – “I considered requesting audio and video. But those are not priorities, and I don’t want to jeopardize the task at hand, which is far more important.
“My assistant will provide credsticks with the funds we agreed to. I’ll also have Knight-Errant provide dossiers. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow.”
And with that, you understand that you’re excused. The double doors open and the elven assistant waits for you by her desk, with three silver credsticks lined up side-by-side.
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Bobby stood up grabbed the two remaining pastries, nodded toward the Mayor and left without another word. He stopped to give the assistant a chance to give them the sticks and the files before leaving the building. Only when they were out of earshot he said to his colleagues:
“What a bitch – I’m certainly not going to vote for her. Let’s go to a burger joint, eat something and go through the files.”
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“Was she? I didn’t really notice … I was distracted by the other presence in the room.” He glances around to make sure nobody is near — aware that he’s probably attracting more attention that way but not able to stop himself in time — and then hints “In the corner? Same sort of presence that we may find slumming it on the dance floor tonight. At least, from what I could sense. Frag me, that wasn’t something I ever wanted to asense, I’m going to have nightmares about that. “
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“You mean to say that guy looked like a dragon on the astral? Relax.
It could just be a high initiate who can disguise his aura – hell it could just be a mage with the right illusion spell. I’ll give you, the guy looked like a predator of one kind or the other and we have to watch our step, but I’m pretty sure we aren’t in any danger above agreeing to this gig.
Just remember, it may not be easy money but it certainly is very quickly earned money.”
Bobby tried to calm his colleague and friend. -
The “files” that Bobby collects are obviously incomplete. The assistant apologizes and says that it will take a bit to get things from Knight-Errant, especially on a holiday.
What holiday? Oh, didn’t you know, it’s UCAS Thanksgiving. (Of course not, you’re Sioux citizens.) The old US version, at least. That’s why it’s so quiet around City Hall. Bobby’s burger joint is closed too. What is this madness? One would think that corps would have steamrolled this holiday long ago. At least the noodle vendors and hot dog carts of Touristville are still open, because people without SINs don’t get holidays.
After a while, the Mayor’s assistant transmits heavily redacted files for you to review.
The major gangs involved with the Funhouse seem to be the First Nations, Halloweeners, Rusted Stilettos, Crimson Crush, 405 Hellhounds, and the Death Heads, but those are just a few major players, with smaller gangs every bit as involved.
Ancients: It’s rare for the Ancients to be at the Funhouse. When they are, it’s usually just a handful of them and none of the power players, just low-level goons looking to party. Most of the Ancients avoid the place for some reason.
First Nations: First Nations used to be in bed with the Yakuza but, flush with profits from the tempo trade, First Nations filed for a divorce with bullets, bombs, and beast spirits. Since then they’ve hooked up with the Komun’go Ring and the Dogmen to form a proto-syndicate of their own based on their shared hatred of the Japanese. (The Seoulpa Rings were formed from the Korean remnants that were exiled from the Yakuza, and the Dogmen are made up of Haida nationals who hate what Mitsuhama did to Tsimshian.) They still rumble with the Crimson Crush from time to time. The fact that the First Nations are so formidable might be what’s driving the Crimson Crush to look for allies with other gangs, like the Halloweeners.
Halloweeners: The most complete portion of the dossier. Knight-Errant notes that they are particularly feral and violent, with a side of fire damage. They’re psychotic pyromaniacs who are more organized as you go up the chain. The leader is Nightmare, who wears black leathers, a glowing skull mask, and orange bandages on his/her arms. His/her aura is masked and looks like it’s on fire on the astral. Absinthe is the second-in-command who runs the day-to-day operations. Lieutenants are called Ragers, and each squad has a Halloween “theme”, like demonic clowns, ghouls, demons, mythological beasts, etc.
They used to be thrill seekers, but now they sell drugs, violent BTLs, vandalism/arson, plus intimidation/murder. Oh, and protection from all of the above, natch. They make most of their money in the other districts, like Downtown, so they’re fine with the Crimson Crush taking over Touristville.
Rusted Stilettos: The Rusted Stilettos are a gang in the Glow City area of the Redmond Barrens. Composed of Orks and Trolls, the members are horrifically mutated and nigh-on psychotic from their exposure to radiation and heavy drugs.
The gang is into smuggling, BTL trafficking, and protection rackets. Because nobody wants pursue them back into Glow City, raiding other communities is a profitable enterprise for them. Members deal heavily in BTLs and successfully managed the transition from dealing chips to being involved in the direct download trade.
Few organizations want to work with them because they’re afraid of radiation poisoning, but lots of gangs have a vested interest in making sure that they don’t get raided by a bunch of mutated orks and trolls.
Crimson Crush: You know about the Crimson Crush. The historically-ork gang has started letting Trolls and ork-posers into the gang. They seem to have obtained many new BTL chips from the Triads. The “Kong-Chips” sell like hotcakes, to the great displeasure of the Mafia and the Yakuza.
405 Hellhounds: This isn’t even a Redmond gang. It is one of the biggest go-gangs in the sprawl and it’s turf is along route 405. The members operate in packs of 6 members or more each. It’s a thrill gang whose primary interest is getting into fights, terrorizing travelers on the highway, and racing.
While the gang is involved in smuggling, it’s purely to pay the repair bills, to keep them supplied with ammo, and of course entertainment. The gang also makes money providing security to the bunraku boys/girls that operate at various sex parties. They recently purchased a small stable of working boys/girls, hosting parties at a number of flophouses. It’s possible that they’re providing some of the prostitutes that work at the Funhouse.
Members are often augmented with such enhancements as balance augmenters, muscle replacement, dermal plating or orthoskin, and bone lacing.
Death Heads: The Death Heads is a new go-gang which was originally founded in Downtown Seattle to challenge the Ancients. It grew rapidly in the early 2070s, getting into drug-running and smuggling. When the Ancients came down on the gang hard in retaliation for their activities, the survivors relocated to Redmond. Now it is led by an Ork female rigger named Fusion and runs protection rackets along the 520 freeway in Redmond in addition to its previous type of criminal activities.
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