- Group contacted through a "professional intermediary" named Breaker.
-Given LTG by Riley. - Riley: "The two who I know are still alive because they contacted me call themselves Seek and Ash. The others who were initially hired are known as Pollux, Mao, Trance, and Furnace."
-Given LTG's of Seek and Ash by Riley
-Previous team possibly still in possession of vial w/ material evidence. - {Bulldog's info}You have heard the street name Furnace in the in the shadow circles once or twice. You cannot recall any details other than having heard the name. You have also heard the name Mao. He is rumored to be a competent magician, but from what you hear, there is something strange about his magic. You have actually run with Ash once before on a quick, simple throw down run a few years back. The shadows of Seattle are pretty small after all, you think. Ash is a hard line, ex-military street sam who impressed you with his level-headedness and his focus.
- {Al'addin's info}Dr. Riley nods, takes a small notebook from his pocket, and jots down a number from memory. Glancing at it, you can see that he has given you only the LTG, not adding the name to go with it. Thinking about the names, you realize that you have heard of Seek before. He is a competent decker. But what stands out more in your mind is the fact that he actively participates in and promotes Matrix Theater and other virtual arts. You have also heard of Breaker before. He is reputed to be a honest (if such a word fits), high-end fixer.
- Seek hangs out at the Electronic Sheep -- hasn't been seen in a few days.
- We've contacted Seek and Ash. Ash is willing to provide information and his aid to track down the target. We will meet to discuss details.
- Seek and Ash willing to try for another go. Seek will be providing overwatch, Ash is coming with us.
- Dr. Riley: "There really isn't much else that I can share with you about Shouts-at-Stars. I mean, a simple Matrix search will tell you that he was arrested a few years ago, but that he was not convicted... Other than the fact that he was one of the 1000 SINless people who was granted a SIN under the terms of Dunklezahn's will, I really can't think of anything else of interest to you."
- To your question about the statue, Riley shakes his head. "It's a tribal artifact, valuable more for it's historical and cultural import than anything else, but it is unique enough to attract Shouts-at-Stars attention."
- To the latter question[re: why Riley wants to set up thief], Riley gives you a tight-lipped smile and answers in one word: "Research." [How do I know he isn't here to set us up for more research?]
"Mr. Shouts-at-Stars is part of a long-term, longitudinal study," Dr. Riley says. [Long term enough to include us?]
- -Given holocube w/ "recent" holopic
- "His address is 346 B North Yamima Avenue," an address in Tacoma, not far from Garfield Park.
- At the house, he's got a secure house. Inside, a good collection of artwork with safes hiding behind some wall pieces. Also file cabinet with information: "One filing cabinet is completely filled with architectural information. There are blueprints and floor plans for everything from single dwelling houses and apartment buildings to supermarkets and hospitals to bus stations and banksto shopping malls and schools. Another cabinet holds what seems to be civic information. It contains maps of various North American cities and details the power, water, and sewer lines as well as gas mains, Matrix hard points, and phone lines. There are hard print out computer files on wattages, water pressures, temperatures and the like. The final filing cabinet contains assorted, for lack of a better term, commodities information -- the value of gold, silver, diamond, etc. It also has detailed drawings on several pieces of jewelry and artwork. The files also contain histories and mythologies associated with the items. It also lists the insurance values of these."
- A flute of note was found by Zora: "file on this flute. According to the file, the flute is one of a trio that was crafted by Michael Stormdancer, one of the survivors of the Great Ghost Dance. The first, a garnet red glass flute, the file notes, is owned by Lofwyr, who bought it at auction for just over 350,000 nuyen. The second, a crystal clear flute is listed as the property of the Catholic Church. A handwritten note in the file mentions that the flute was stolen from the Jesuit Monastery in Tallahassee, and that its current whereabouts are unknown. This flute, the third, is listed as being the property of a Lawrence W. Wellington, a professor of Magic Theory at MIT&M. The file notes that it is insured for 275,000 nuyen."
- "His LTG is 5206 (13-7765)"
- Has another address which Riley does not know.
- Running Shouts-At-Stars' name on message board returns In one of the hiring halls, several discreet references to him. From what Al'addin can piece together, he is an accomplished cracksman. He is well known for doing high end burglary of specialty items.
- There is another big section on him from trial three years ago. Following the thread, it becomes clear that the prosecutor, David Grimes, missed the ball on the case. Shouts-at-Stars was proven to have been framed and set free. The running joke on the board is that Grimes brought Shouts-at-Stars to trial for the only crime of that sort in the city that the thief actually didn't do.
- The next section deals with Shouts-at-Stars getting another fifteen minutes of fame when he became one of the lucky 1000 to win a SIN from the Draco Foundation as part of the bequest from Dunklezahn's will.
- The most recent bit of posting you've seen is from Shouts-at-Stars himself. Nothing in the last three weeks or so, but before that, he was quite active. He has spent much of the time since inheriting his SIN throwing his voice and his money in the direction of SINless rights. He's argued a lot for enfranchisement of all people. From his comments on the board, it seems that he associates with Tableau Rosa and some of the other CISS big-wigs. He's also active in the free Michael Decon movement. [Who's Micheal Decon???]
- Dr. Riley nods. "Alright," he says. "Two days ago I hired another team to do what should have been a simple job. They were simply to watch a house at a certain address and wait. I had information that there was going to be a break in there, and I had something that I wanted left at the scene afterwards. They were to go into the house after the thief had left the house and leave it."
- Previous team was to watch and leave a vial behind of Tony Shouts-at-Stars' "material evidence" with samples of blood, hair ect. Previous team possibly still in possession of vial.
"But as things turned out, everything pretty much fell apart. The house was hit by ... someone else... The thief was taken... and the team called to ask for instructions. I told them just to follow, without being seen. I wanted to know where the thief was being taken. They lost him, but were able to find him again. They reported that he appeared to be being interrogated. Once more, they asked me what to do, and I told them to just observe. But they were unable to follow even these simple instructions and went in to try and secure the thief themselves. Which lead to two of their team being hospitalized and the third disappearing... And to me having no idea what has become of the thief."
"Now ladies and gentlemen," Dr. Riley says. "What I want is the thief back -- alive."
Riley: "The address [of the home robbed] is 2047 Rainforest Way in Auburn," he says. "He was [to retrieve?] a specific object of art, a statuette of Navajo origin." . . . "And I knew he was going to be there because I hired him, through an intermediary, to steal said item..."
Pay 25,000 with successful return of Tony Shouts-at-Stars ALIVE with 5,000 up front. 5,000 bonus if successful within 24 hours.
-Given Riley's business card with LTG and contact info
Updates
- Bulldog's located target via Astral Ritual at Nelson's Corner in Everett Data is about 10 minutes old.
- From what you pick up in the 'Trix, Nelson's Corner is almost entirely residential. Most of the addresses are for independent, stand-alone houses. There are a few small apartment complexes, separate sprawled buildings, not high rises. In addition there are a few Stuffer Shacks and small strip centers, but those commercial zones are few and far between. You do find two elementary schools and a middle school in Nelson's Corner, as well as a branch library, a Lone Star station, and a fire station.
- Message board reply from Al'addin: "Nelson's Corner? Up
in Everett? Frag, chummer. Not a good place to do biz if you have a choice.
Does the phase "sleepy little bedroom community" mean anything to you?"
"It's the sorta place where the neighbors actually call in lease
violations because the fraggin' red wagon your kids left on your lawn clashes
with the trim on their siding. No frag! They actually had a case go to court
outta there on whether or not some guy could fly a UCAS flag on a pole that
was too tall for the "community standards." Haven't heard much about that
case in a while, though. It kinda got lost in the military police action. Never
heard how it turned out."
"If you have to do biz there, and if you have to go in armed, do it discreet. Your big guns and any armor that ain't concealed will make you stick out like a sore thumb. And while Nelson's is not is bogged down with private security as say, Bellevue, the Star's response time is pretty fraggin' good there -- even with all the fallout from CISS and the like. And the neighbors there *will* fraggin' call it in. Noise violations, and all that. It might hurt their azaleas or some such drek."
