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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 12, 2010 12:49:24 GMT -5
I made it to my office bright and early the next day but it wasn't until noontime that I got a couple of what looked like mid-corp level Johnson's in my office. Wanker wanted to urinate on one of them immediately. That should have clued me at once but I was thinking custotmers and shiny pieces of NuYen and I ignored the signs. I hate it when I get too greedy to survive.
My second hint was they were dressed all in black with dark glasses and had no smiles at all. The lack of a sense of humor, unless someone was in dire pain, should have rang alarm bells in my head. See what being a pillar of the community does to you? You lose that sense of self preservation.
Yep, they were pigs and I don't mean the Prestigious International Gourmand Society either.
They started out by calling me Mr. Gobwit. That's not even the name I'm currently using. Then they showed UCAS government badges. Bright and shiny they were too. Then they told me they knew I was an escaped criminal/terrorist and they were ready to escort me back to my cell.......unless.
I've gone through this routine so many times it's getting down right boring. Can't these guys ever come up with something new?
Bored, borfed, and barfed, I looked at PigONE. "You guys want to cut to the fragging chase? You really should get a new act. If you wanted me back in prison I'd already be there after being jumped and pummeled or even shot by some enthusiastic Lone Star guards. You already know I was framed but there's something you don't want to wallow in drekwise because your too stupid to live and so you graciously decided I should be the one to do it. After I save your pork fried bacon going through whatever nether region area that smells and feels like a yeasty codpiece deal, you'll then promptly hire, kill, or betray me back to prison and congratulate yourself on how smart you are. What's my guarantee? A FREE PARDON? Don't make me laugh."
PigTWO, "He's got an attitude and a big mouth on him."
PigONE, "It said that in his file." He looked at me like I was a bug he hadn't hit yet. "You want to shut up and listen to the deal. Maybe you ain't as smart as you think. We are going to offer you a free pardon. That's the only thing you got right."
That will be the day, I thought, but I leaned back in my chair to listen to the tail of woe. I didn't offer them chairs or refreshments from the sideboard. That didn't stop them. They took them without the invite. I felt like I was back in the old home mines.
PigONE, "What do you know about the missing people lately?" I started to open my mouth and ask if they had any clue as to how many people go missing in this block in one day and I could care less. Why not weed out the genetically challenged? He continued, "That's a rhetorical question so close your fat ugly maggot gagging mouth before you draw flies and next time use a mouthwash first." I gassed in my chair in response and tried to look innocent.
PigTWO, "We're talking about rich socialite SIN people. All old. All wealthy. All of good moral character." I looked bored. I dislike that type even more than your average street thug. Right now there are over 8 million people in the Greater Seattle area and that's only the ones with SIN's. Even for the sharpest eyed so-called lawman to keep tag on that eight million alone, not counting another 12-14 million of roving SINless who are generally unattached and not linked to any specific domicile. It is equally difficult to place another couple of million who have a place of residence but limit their social interaction through personal preference.
PigONE, "Miss Elver went away to Switzerland last year. She was a largely unknown middle aged spinster living comfortably on her families modest wealth. She went away, locked up her house and never came back. It's like she vanished into thin air. Her money or house have not been touched. We tracked her to the airport where she got on the plane. We interviewed the passengers. No one saw her. She never got off at Switzerland. Yet the stewardess insists she was checked on board and actually sat down. The matrix files and sensors back her up. The Flight Engineer confirms this but the passengers she was supposed to have sat next to insist the seat was empty when they got on and no one sat there. Forensics find no trace of her on the seat when we tried to match DMA samples."
PigTWO, "Then there was a Mr Charles Boyson an eccentric and nasty old codger always fighting with his neighbors about their noisy children. Two years ago, he too went away. He told no one where he was going. He lived alone with his three cats in a rather grimy looking apartment. He also was considered to be well off and reputed to be a miser. Like the all the other clients he was well off comfortable without being considered to be tastelessly wealthy. He too has not returned."
I wondered what happened to the cats but I wasn't to get that answer.
PigOne, "Six months ago Mrs Athbell Marting a dour widow living with her drudge of a niece. She did have a habit of leaving on trips suddenly but usually returned within the week. She went out and this time She never came back. We tracked her buying a ticket to Paris but she never boarded or used the ticket according to all the witnesses and scanner/matrix files. So what do you make of these disappearances?"
I shrugged, "I don't see anything in common in these cases. Three people in two years in a city the size of Seattle seems like just a statistic to me. That's a pretty low average. Maybe the gators in the sewers got them. Maybe they croaked and the devil rats or ghouls ate them. Maybe cultists grabbed them. The possibilities are endless."
PigTwo, "Actually it's been 54 SIN people in the past two months. We are just starting to dig back two years and so far we have over 800 possibles that fit the same pattern. They were all people with a little money. All were drawing a fairly large income which was paid into their accounts in certified credit sticks and bearer bonds. None of them had any personal friends. Beyond these points, none of them had any other points of connection."
I got a sinking feeling. "You want me to find out what's happening to them."
"PigTWO, "You're smarter than you look."
Time to hire some runners. Maybe.... or run like I never ran before...
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 13, 2010 11:43:58 GMT -5
OOC: Now for the third time today I will try to post without getting a blue screen of death.
"Let's say I decide to take the job....." I began, but I was cut short by the sarcastic laughter."
PigTWO, "Hey sport, there ain't no IF to it. You got no choice. You already took the job when we walked in the room. The only other choice you got is lot's of pain followed by a gruesome slow death."
That didn't sound to good, but maybe I could do a fast fade. That had worked before.
PigONE, "If you think you can just walk away and hide in the shadows, don't. It's not going to be worth the effort. Ain't going to be no statute of limitations on you champ if you don't come through. If you think you can duck behind that pardon I have a holo flash for you. We've cataloged every illegal thing we know about you and filed it with the UCAS Justice Department. The pardon only covers what we currently know about you. So we can still catch you on anything we either don't know yet or the crimes you commit later, For you breathing is almost a crime so it won't be hard for us to nail your little hide to an outhouse somewhere. That is unless you want to make a full and spontaneous confession right now so we can add it to our list?"
Drek all. That was like being back with my mammy and pappy dwarf. You know the routine. They found out something you did and ask the age old question, Do you know what you did? As your head spins trying to figure out what of the 100 things you did that they found out about they wait for you to cut your own throat.
Rest assured that whatever of the weakest crimes you pick to give up it will be a worse one than the one they REALLY know about. However, I have learned in a long an totally useless career that usually the one they really know about is something you did so long ago it's not really on your conscience map anymore or it's something so minor you didn't even consider it a crime in the first place so it didn't even make the top 100.
I have learned to cope with this though the first involves looking totally stupid and asking them what it was you did and acting all surprised when they bring it out. You can then, if it's minor heave an internal sigh of relief and innocently act like you forgot or whatever works. If it's something major, be consoled with the the fact that it's all they know and offer your excuses. The second involves looking stupid and saying nothing. As you can see STUPID has always worked for me.
I looked stupid and said nothing. PigTWO laughed.
PigOne, "I didn't think so."
I decided a change of subject might be beneficial. To bad Widow or Freddy weren't still around. I could have 'narc'd' on them and diverted attention. Well you use the tools you have.
"How much of a cash advance do I get and how to I collect for expenses?"
PigONE, "None. You're working on your own resources. WE ain't paying you a thing not even for expenses. You see we've looked at your record. We make a huge outlay and get NOTHING for it back but grief and misery as you bull-in-the-china-shop around. We are not going to work like that. You either perform or the pain begins. You spend your own 10th NuYen and you work gratis. So when you screw up and knowing you, you will screw up, we won't have wasted anything on you. So to cut costs you may decide to do this job On Time and ON TARGET. Besides in this economy and the way you been ripping off the tax payers and government over the last decade why should we feel we owe you?"
My fellow dwarf-kind, it don't get no more basic than that. Do it yourself to save your own skin, or else. This was going to hurt. Normally, I consider gold more important, in some instances, than my skin. If I'm taking a long trip to Pain-ville though and not likely to come back to SPEND said gold then survival has to be priority one. I suddenly thought of a way I might quickly get out from under and save a few NuYen to boot.
"Well you said you had an investigation going with all kinds of forensic information, matrix records, interviews and such. Maybe I can find some clues in there, so when to I get access to all the background and info?"
PigTwo, "Give you access? You have to be joking. You get nothing. Why should we risk you in our files or with information we have? Right now, you don't know what we know. You claim to be a runner, then going in cold and blind and should be old home-week to you. I've seen your commercials about what a great runner you are and how you'll help others to become rich. Well let's see if your lying. Get out there in the cold and dark and show us your guts. Since you don't know what we know we will know if you really are making an effort by where you go and what you do. Just one more thing, hero."
PigONE, "We want regular reports but don't worry. We'll find you and get them verbally. You won't know when we're coming so you better have something when we do or you get a very small taste of the treatment we have planned for loafers. You see we REALLY do know you. On most of your runs you go out and mess around and sometimes you might run across something your employer can use but most of the time you get rich and he gets the shaft. Well this time you're going to go out and goof around and we won't tell you what we want, therefore the odds arfe with us that you'll find what we want to know and won't even know it. A win/win for us. "
They got up, leaving an empty bottle of my best booze and dirty dishes on my desk. They were smiling when they walked out the door. Now my instincts were screaming, just a little too late. It's fragging depressing being a pilliar of the community. Expensive too.
I was in the deep drek again. FRAG IT ALL!
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 14, 2010 7:30:02 GMT -5
So where to start?
Well, I have several options.
1.) Roll over and wait for the ax to fall. Make sure my last will and testament is in order and find someone who wants a dog that urinates on cops legs. I think not.
2.) Go hire a bunch of newbie, head up their bums, street runners with all the tact and finesse of a bulldozer and wrecking ball? Not when it's my hoop on the line. Besides I'm on a budget, remember? If I'm going to spend my hard earned it's going to be someone competent enough to actually have the brains and skills to pull my todger out of the glass lined vice.
3.) Run like the WIND! Not even an option. Somehow, stupid me, I believed those goons from the pork roost are ready for just such an eventuality. Besides I've used that trick a bit too often in the past few years and it's become part of the play book. Everyone knows it. Time to look at doing something new and different. (Like actually making an effort to save my own hoop.)
4.) Now just off the top of my head. I know I'm going to have to hire a team. I just don't have all the skills I need to do it all myself. So lack of a good team is my major liability here. I have an immediate need for a skilled decker. I need a mage. I need a rigger. That's right off the bat. I don't have enough contacts in the right area. Most of my info is street info and I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm going to need to run lines into the more affluent areas of this burg. Which is why I know I'm going to have to hire outside the sprawl. Why? Think it through, if the UCAS is involved they are going to have their meaty hooks into anyone worth drek in the local area just to be able to keep tabs on me. I'm going to have to go after talent that is not UCAS related and has a proven track record. So the team is my largest danger in all this. Chose wrong and I'm someones pleasure toy. Chose right and I might live to lie about it.
I do have a few major assets. I have the lair to work out of which was originally designed to handle covert work and has all the hookups and equipment I need. I do have a pretty good sized nest egg and with my skills, I'll have no problem getting more NuYen if I really need it. I have a good supply base and lots of access to the items I need. I don't lack in material assets.
Now how to get a team I can trust?
I'm going to have to think about that one.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 15, 2010 9:22:46 GMT -5
I feel like someones watching me.
They probably are. The enemy, namely the UCAS, isn't exactly stupid you know and they do have more assets than I do. I'm not going to be able to pull the bag over their heads any time soon. The best part of that is I don't have to. They are going to be expecting me to do exactly what it is I have to do. Hire a team.
They know I won't be dumb enough to hire top talent in the sprawl. They will cover that anyway just in case I am that stupid, they just won't count on it. The problem they have is who will I go to out of sprawl? With the eye they have on me, they figure they'll know as soon as I start to make a move. So the trick is not for me to contact a specific person. The trick is to have lots of people contact me on their own. So I smile and place a comment to the Denver data-haven. It reads something like this.
"TOP PAYING JOB. Expenses, hospitalization, Death Benefits paid. High RISK job involving JOHNSON monitored by UCAS Dept of JUSTICE. Use extreme CAUTION in making contact. Contact Honest Pelchy, SEATTLE."
I smile. The ones who manage to contact me in really brilliant ways without alerting either myself or the UCAS before hand are the salty dudes I want. I have just created a weeding out filter. Anyone that just walks up to me will be spotted and tagged. Anyone that does the obvious will be spotted. I just turn them down.
By placing this advert out in the Shadow Matrix outside of SEATTLE it should become the type of interesting and possibly lucrative news anyone can pick up. The fact that I'm warning them in advance and counting on them shows why the rewards are so high. The message alerts them that the JOHNSON is being watched. The smart ones will be well aware of the UCAS elite forces and will take steps to insure they can get to me without being discovered. Sometimes, I'm so bright I scare myself.
Time to put up the Lair Security, sweep the place for bugs and telltales and check myself and anything I use as well. It's a waiting game now. UCAS watching and waiting and the people who want big money and a challenge proving their skills by making the UCAS look like chumps. I smile. The UCAS ain't the only ones that can play nasty.
Meantime? I start getting the stuff I need. Stuff to keep the UCAS looking and expensively watching but stuff that I obviously have to do anyway. I place a call to Corndork. I'm going to want to have a good supply system set up for all those articles I may need. This will satisfy the watchers that I am going all out and with the message in the data-haven?
Oh they UCAS will most definitely see it, be aware of what it means and know it word for word, but they'll have to stay passive. Even they don't have the manpower to cover everywhere. Sure they'll watch for movers and shakers to contact me. They're going to miss some. At the moment time is on my side.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 15, 2010 15:38:43 GMT -5
Servelan received the latest reports from the men assigned to contact Gobwit. The little fragger was proving as irksome and surprisingly clever in the usual devious ways, once again.
In the last year she had not changed much. She was still working for the UCAS enforcement arm. It was she who had arranged the fire at Gobwits old house and the arrest and incarceration for a so called attempt to rob the UCAS depository. Then she had arranged for the little fragger to purchase the Z street facility and at a 'hard to resist' price. The greedy little twit had fallen for it hook line and sinker. She smiled a bright smile. The plan was coming together.
Now it was time to put the little tosser back to work. Regimentation hadn't work nor had money or prestige. She had recognized that some types of Lone Wolf people just could not work together. So why not give him incentive to put his own group together and then give him a reason to get in gear doing something she needed done.
She looked on the screen at the latest intercept. It read:
"TOP PAYING JOB. Expenses, hospitalization, Death Benefits paid. High RISK job involving JOHNSON monitored by UCAS Dept of JUSTICE. Use extreme CAUTION in making contact. Contact Honest Pelchy, SEATTLE."
The Denver datahaven. The little fragger hadn't forgotten his trade craft. If you're under observation don't try to hide what you're doing. Sure he had to do it but this way made it fragging impossible to predict who he would get. She couldn't even round up and send people like BB, Freddy or Fangs to make contact.
Already he was doing the normal Pelch thing when under pressure. He was moving fast and performing a lot of actions to tie up assets to see how good the cover was on him. The little fragger figured some of the watchers might give themselves away tracking him around. He was trying to see how much room he had and where the holes in cover might be.
She sat back in her chair thoughtfully. The cover she had on him was more than sufficient. Once he had a decker he would raid the UCAS Justice Department for two things.
1.) To check out the clues he was already given on missing persons. He was meant to get all that info if he got that far. He wouldn't stop there though.
2.) No Not Gobwit. He would try to find out who was behind the Pardon and who was pulling the strings. He would find nothing there except a big trap. Simply because there wasn't anything there but a nice looking data package that was a trap. If his decker was really incompetent, he was going to lose a decker. This would tell her just how good the team was.
Never move to soon. Let's wait and see, If anyone was ready to join him, she would be watching to see if they were good enough to stay off her radar.
Welcome back to the spy world. She smiled.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 17, 2010 13:45:15 GMT -5
"TOP PAYING JOB. Expenses, hospitalization, Death Benefits paid. High RISK job involving JOHNSON monitored by UCAS Dept of JUSTICE. Use extreme CAUTION in making contact. Contact Honest Pelchy, SEATTLE."
It was plastered in the bulletins in the Denver Data-haven. Lot's of speculation going round about. High Risk and top pay. A friend of mine that monitors this kind of job thought I might be interested. I don't deck well. You know how it is, magic and tech just don't fragging mix.
The information was a little thin. How much did this fragger consider as top pay? 10,000 NuYen was considered pretty well the top of the scale but it wasn't unheard of to go a bit higher. Depending on how tight his hoop is in the vise....he might go higher. A tidy sum. Especially when he's also doing expenses.
Let's say at the very least 10,000 + with benefits. Next? High Risk and then he spells it out. Someone is in the deep drek with the UCAS Department of Justice. Caught between organized crime and the UCAS Justice? Highly Likely. That meant possible multiple teams with multiple back ups all striving for something. I could guess all day as to what is happening but that's a fools game. It just means that I'm likely to get blindsided by multiple groups or gangs.
The place to go is Seattle and the contact is someone known as Honest Pelchy, which usually means the guys a crook that lives on the edges of the shadows. Whoever the frag he is, its trouble on the hoof. He might or might not be the Johnson but you can bet your feathered hoop he'll be watched just as closely now even if he isn't. You got to start someplace.
Trouble for me, that means major magical resistance. At the very least watchers and possibly astral shadowing on even the contact. Just to contact and deal with this guy is going to be a major effort. The UCAS is going to be following the play book and they wouldn't even have a play book if it didn't work. The technique they use on the guy will be things that work. They'll have flashes of brilliance too looking for alterations in what the criminals try. They won't make many mistakes. That means the guys on the otherside of the fight will be just as wary and just as adept. At least two groups of top notched professionals, looking for someone to out finesse themselves.
It would help to know how the UCAS is using this Johnson. Is he a squeal on some crime boss? Triads have certain ways of doing things. So does the mob. Corp's another. I got no clues there. The Johnson may not have either, but I have to contact him to find out. Use extreme caution? You bet your hoop. Even the contact technique is going to have to be untraceable to me.
The next question I need to consider is, do I really want this nasty job? Want? NO! Probably have to take it anyway? Yes. Why? Well, I'm an elf. Magic is an expensive business and pays well, but it definitely has a cost. Especially when one likes to live high and fancy and play the D'Guni races. What are D'Guni races? Water spider races. You place them in the middle of a large pool and the first one that skitters to shore pays off big time. I have not been lucky lately.
I'm into the Chicago Kingpins debt to the tune of about 10,000 NuYen. If I don't get me some cash fast, I'm going to be sucking sewage. It is a good time to get out of town and they say Seattle is nice in the spring.
I've worked Shadows before and people call me 'THRILLS". I like the action and I've been trained by some of the best in the biz. Till the gambling made me a liability.
If this guy's legit on the money, then I'm going to run up expenses like crazy just getting to him. He's going to get every one of them and few extra to boot. I'll also want my money up front. That way I can pay off Benny the Book. For the right money, I'll take on the UCAS and worry about the payback later.
I got ready to book my flight to Seattle. Time to check out the landscape and get a feel for the local scene.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 18, 2010 12:14:06 GMT -5
I had no problem arriving in Seattle on the sub-orbiter. Half and hour trip and I was having the porter collect my luggage. I was on expenses. I tipped well. It's my station in life. A limo was waiting to pick me up. The chauffeurr, immaculately dressed holding the flashing holo sign with my traveling name on it.
The Rolls Phaeton was well stocked. I had the Bollinger RV.
Just to the North of Westlake Center Mall is the luxurious Mayflower Park Hotel at 405 Olive Way. Built in 1927, the classic Mayflower Park Hotel has been lovingly restored with crystal chandeliers, gleaming brass and period antiques that offer an inviting European elegance.
The hotel is ideally located steps away from Seattle’s most exciting attractions, including the famous Pike Place Market, Seattle Waterfront, and Space Needle. A full array of museums, theaters, shops and restaurants are very close by while Washington State Convention and Trade Center is only 4 short blocks away. The hotel opens directly into Westlake Center, with 80 specialty shops and direct access to the Monorail and Light Rail, which offers guests transportation within the Seattle area with especially to and from transportation to the SeaTac Airport. The flagship Nordstrom and Macy’s are one block away.
I had retained a suite there. I had the chauffer check me in and have the luggage taken upstairs to be unpacked. I went into Oliver's Lounge to have a cocktail. "I’m not talking gin splashed over ice. I’m talking the elegance of Fred Astaire in a glass; fire and ice; pure liquid crystal; insight and comfort; redemption and absolution; and a shared savor of solitude. I’m talking a Martini."
Namely the Fortunella. Like I said I live well.
Opened in 1976, Oliver's Lounge, located off the lobby of the historic Mayflower Park Hotel, has grown to become one of Seattle’s favorite establishments and is home to the renowned "International Martini Classic Challenge”. Oliver’s holds the title for Seattle’s “Best Classic”, as well as having won the titles for Best Specialty Martini and Best International Classic Martini.
During prohibition, the site which is now known as Oliver's was occupied by one of the city's first Bartell Drug Stores. In 1933 a company that would come to be known as Westin (Western International) bought the hotel and later put in the lounge that was to become one of Seattle’s favorite night spots. The Carousel Room had a circus theme, complete with antique carousel horses.
Today you can relax to the sounds of contemporary jazz and the sights of the bustling city, while enjoying delicious light meals and your favorite beverages.
Later I would sample the cuisine at the Andaluca Restaurant and Bar which is a nationally recognized culinary oasis. Resonating with the romance of the Mediterranean, its food and design have been a winning combination since 1996. Throughout the handsome space, mahogany mill work, hand painted murals and plush, deep-toned fabrics work together to conjure up a sun baked Mediterranean grotto. I felt like I was home.
The first interesting things I learned was that Gobwit seems to have become fairly well known in Seattle. Why? He has posters and commercials all over the place. The guy was not going to be hard to find. Which made my job easier. If he was so far back in the Shadows I would have had to ask around or made matrix queries. As it was I could bring up his name in casual conversation and get loads of info free without arousing any suspicion at all.
"Who is that irritating dwarf with the Abe Lincoln style hat? I asked the bartender as it played a holo of him over the bar.
"Him? Honest Pelchy. You don't want no part of him, Sir." The bartender confided with a look of distaste to me, He was trying to let me know that this slime was not the right KIND of people and when you talk dwarf, orc or troll I tend to quietly agree. Their a blighyt of ugly on the world. It was all doubtlessly due to the large tip I gave him when I came in. Another expense. Dwarves always have deep pockets.
"Word amongst the knowledgable staff has it that he used to do low level scut work for Mayor Krass back when he and his cronies were running things in Seattle. Then suddenly Krass dives out of Seattle, things went to hell pretty fast, and old Pelchy suddenly gets stinking rich."
"He's 'New Money' and lacks even the rudiments of breeding or class. Word is also out that the UCAS is all over his hoop, maybe tax evasion, maybe crooked deals, but so far they haven't actually caught him with anything big. A couple of fines and a slap on the wrist or two, a couple of times in court. Most smart money thinks he's paying off someone big. Probably got criminal connections which is why he seems to get away with so much."
I thanked the bartender for my time. In that vein, I asked around to the other staff members. They would be discreet because I tipped well. It seemed that my possible future employer, Honest Pelchey was also one cheap SOB. I was going to have to have a rock solid contract if I was going to deal with him. I could get no sign why he should be willing to pay so much but I at least now had reason to believe that Pelchey was the actual Johnson.
Now I would have to contact him. Luckily I now know where he hangs out. It appears he's HQ'd down on Z Street in the heart of city. At least that spoke of money. Expensive place to live and own a building that size. I could walk to the place. What most people called the ACE Tomato building. I was going to have to scope out the job a bit more. Luckily, there is enough scenic attractions in the area that I could go by Honest Pelchey's several dozen times without exciting any interest.
As for tonight. I was going to eat well, get a little gambling action and maybe pickup a joy girl. I would charge it to making contacts. All on the expense account of course.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 19, 2010 14:07:07 GMT -5
I had a restful and lucrative night. I won at craps making my rolls like the angels were guiding my hand. It wasn't enough to pay off the crime kingpin but it was a enough for me to live on while I was making my contact. No need to hurry to much. I got up around ten showered, dressed and had a light breakfast. I then went out to a small deli in Westlake Mall and had them make me a special box lunch so I could dine wherever I might be. I continued to walk south toward Z street stopping occasionally at little shops. Just another tourist out seeing the sights.
Honest Pelchey's place was fairly tall. About 110 stories I would estimate. It was a pretty standard type building for the area, all glass and plasteel. I wandered the area at random to examine the place from all sides. Security cameras, guards and the building were pretty well covered. It soon became obvious to my astral sight that it had been treated against mages. My guess was Fab IV.
It had an Underground garage but I didn't go in there. I walked up to the the front door and went inside the main lobby like I had business. The place was set up like a hotel lobby. I went to the front desk and talked to the clerk. Sometimes, its better to be bold. I was just one more person coming in with questions or business. I would be watched if what Johnson told me was true and not a drug chip dream, but I was going to seem pretty ordinary to any watchers. They had a lot to watch.
"Is this a hotel?" I stated looking confused.
The clerk looked bored. "No Sir." He said taking in the richness of my clothing and general air of wealth. "We do rent living space rooms, we also rent conference and teaching rooms. We have some business offices. We don't usually do leases for less than a year but we are adaptable. We have several suites available if your interested."
"Not at the moment, I currently staying at the Mayflower but it does seem to be a good idea if I decide to move here and set up business long term. If a hotel overbooks or a corp needs extra space you lease to them. How much a foot?"
"The going rate runs from the starting rate of 125 Nuyen per square foot to 500 NuYen a square foot depending on where you want to set up. Business rentals get a discount. You a mage?"
I laughed, "The mage geek shows through a bit I guess, Yes, I'm a mage. My best spells are in the healing field and I have Doctorate in Medical Magical research. Is Seattle in need of mages? Are you renting by the month or the week? You get much business?"
"Doctor huh? Man you could make a pretty good living out here. Always call for Doctors especially ones that can do magical healing. Hi-powered professional mages with SIN's are always welcome and Doctor's most off all. There's always a shortage of professional mages and the corps pay pretty well, but an independent can make pretty good moneytoo. The UCAS and Seattle city tax is pretty steep but for a Doctor there are loop holes. Still, I can give you a good discount on living and office space and we do have businesses here that can handle the setup and tax structures for you right in house. We lease by the month at the moment. NuYen is pretty tight right now. We get reasonable business when there is a special event in town. It's kind of seasonal. We're actually making more renting the cheaper living spaces than we are on the fancy room stuff.
I had deliberatly let them know I was a Doctor, although it's more a sideline than my regular field. My current SIN though showed I was indeed a member in good standing and that I only practiced on less well known cases. If the UCAS was checking me out they would find no hint of any shadow. They'd go back to watching others once I cleared there databases. Then I would be free to go to the next step. Now to give them plenty of time to check. "Is the building corp owned?"
"You see the garish lights at the top? Honest Pelchy owns the place. As long as you pay on time the dwarf don't care what you're doing. Of course he'll frown on damages unless you can make good. That should be no problem for you, Doc."
I smiled in surprise. "That irritating dwarf from the vids owns this? He looked like a real sleaze to me. People tell me he's a criminal. I'm not so sure I want to live in a building with some gangster."
"If you live in this burg you're going to be rubbing elbows with criminals when you walk the street. The building is protected. We have a good Security force, Templetons. No Union, so you don't get those kind of troubles. Believe me in this place you could do worse. The staff is good and since money is tight most are pretty thankful to have a job. We have almost any kind of service you want."
"Gambling?" I asked curiously.
"Yes Sir." He replied with a knowing smile. "We have several locations for off-track betting, several suites for private games and business areas that cater to adventurers like yourself."
"I'll have to think about it a bit. It's getting near lunch time, is there a place I can sit and eat while I think about it?"
"Right this way Doc, and if you decide to move in my name is Vulpine. I get a little extra bonus if you do decide to jopin us and you need anything, anything at all I'm your man."
It turns out there was several places where one could picnic. I sat and observed, the flow of traffic it also allowed me to take quick astral peaks while being safely hid by the midday lunch crowd. I just peeked around I didn't leave the old home meat. If Honest Pelchey stayed inside here and never went out I would have a real difficult time contacting him. I stayed frosty and just watched both ways. I might see an opening.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 20, 2010 13:40:22 GMT -5
The lady known as Janie Andrews looked at the latest report. The Gobwit situation was on her mind. The dwarf seemed to be making an honest attempt to make the run, but the unusual thing was that the runners were all of low caliber. All that had arrived had been rejected. She could not fault that in Gobwit. It showed he was serious.
Her best man was on the case. They knew all about every person that the dwarf had seen. They had tapped into the buildings matrix system by bribing Gobwit's own security force. They had no problems watching things inside the building as well as out.
She looked over the days possible applicants who might be scoping out the job. Petty criminals, workers and such. The only one that might have any application for Gobwit was this one, Dockery. Magical Medical Researcher and Mage. A cursory check of his background made it pretty clear that this one wouldn't be looking at anything like this.
Magical Medical Researchers were the elite in their field. They commanded huge fees. 10,000 credits plus expenses and medical? That would be like pennies in his pocket. According to her records he had never been a Shadow Runner or even performed any major illegalities. It appeared highly unlikely that he was here for the Gobwit job. She looked at the transcript of his conversation with the clerk searching for clues.
It seemed strange to her that Dockery would leave a lucrative business in Chicago. It appeared that he was out here on vacation and was just making conversation. A man of his prestige could do well here. She flagged it for a request for investigators to look into it more on the Chicago end. She didn't have enough background to decide at this time. It appeared unlikely that he would become involved, but anyone of this power should be investigated. He was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She decided to put a team of deckers on the Data Haven to see if the mage had decked into the bulletin board. Her answer came back almost immediately. The mage didn't use decks. Of course it said so in the report. It made himsick and affected his magic. Of course he would avoid it. That made sense. Did someone do it for him? Possibly. In Chicago he would have access to many professionals. It could have been anyone if he was using someone else.
In espionage things were not always as they seemed to be. She also didn't believe in coincidence. Not when the stakes were so high. She wouldn't have Dockery followed or trailed locally yet. She was going to have his background checked in Chicago very carefully. Maybe it would give her more information.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 22, 2010 8:50:39 GMT -5
I left the building shortly afterward. Just on the off chance I was being followed I stopped off at several more places and asked about space and cost and possibilities . Just in case. If someone was paranoid enough to check me out it would look like I was trying other sites as well. If you can't hide what you're doing, give them ten times the amount of extraneous information they need. It will take them forever just to sift through it.
As far as them checking me out on the Chicago end, under this alias? They weren't going to find anything but a boy scout. Friend of politicians, keeps all the charities well supplied and loved by millions. I watched for the tails of course without being too obvious about it. You know the routine, look into windows and use the reflection. Take sudden unexpected side trips. Move in one side of a building and out the other. All the little things that would keep trailers working hard to keep me in sight. The guys were good enough that I didn't catch a one or I wasn't being followed.
I did a few more 'touristy' things and then headed back for supper. I had gotten fairly close today. I had set the stage for me to logically go back. The problem is close didn't count. I had no real excuse or method yet to actually get to Honest Pelchey. Seattle wasn't built in a day, chummer. I would hang a bit more, give the investigators a chance to see I was harmless and a normal part of the background, then I would wait patiently;y for opportunity to knock. Sometimes people get to impatient. You have top know when to move fast and sometimes you have to know when to stop and wait for a change in circumstance. That's what makes a top runner.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 22, 2010 9:13:16 GMT -5
I found this in the Denver Data-haven. It was causing quite a stir. It was also being monitored by UCAS people. They didn't see me but I saw them. They tried to trace me back and ended up finding a little old granny woman in Saginaw Michigan. Last I looked they were going through her deck trying to find out what kind of criminal she was. I had wiped the back-door in that system out as I came back through. I'm very careful. I never use the same route twice.
"TOP PAYING JOB. Expenses, hospitalization, Death Benefits paid. High RISK job involving JOHNSON monitored by UCAS Dept of JUSTICE. Use extreme CAUTION in making contact. Contact Honest Pelchy, SEATTLE."
New York, scum capital of the world. It's like being in prison. Every low life scum sucking baby raper is here. None of them are in jail because the judges keep letting them go. The good people have move somewhere else to avoid the taxes and crime. I hear they are all much happier somewhere else. I think a lot about moving somewhere else myself. Anywhere else. They tell me Hell is nice this year.
This could be my out if the deck don't fail me now. Seattle all expenses paid and a good payout could set me up a long way from here. After all what's a girl to do if she don't want to sell her hoop on the street for 20 NuYen a pop? You become a decker of course. I have a SIN and I have a street name. I'm called 'Glide'. I have a good way to get in. I don't start the hard way by trying to break in from the outside.
I usually get hired as a wage slave in some big corp. I stick around and let them give me low level access. I study the system. I gather other workers passwords, especially bosses. Bosses are always the worst about security and they have a lot of access. I strike up a relationship with the computer geeks. When I know enough then I deck in from outside and rob them blind.
I was planning to move out soon, but most of my funds are illegal. It takes time to launder them. I could sell most of my stuff, get rid of anything incriminating, and get an expenses paid free trip to the West Coast. I'd have to re-outfit myself out there and get set up but I could charge that to expenses. I couldn't be expected to take an illegal deck and warez on a flight where I would be searched.
Especially since the UCAS would be watching for just such an occurrence. All they would see on my fly in is another wage slave flying in for the jobs market and leaving New York? It would be a pretty good reason for anyone that knows New York.
Right now I was between jobs. It seemed like a good time to go.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 25, 2010 11:12:50 GMT -5
I got to the West Coast. The flight was two hours by sub orbital. The customs check was an additional four hours. There I was ready for fun and sun. It was fragging raining. People were supposed to be happy and polite. It was like I never left. The prices and taxes were the pits in old NY, the Rotten Apple. I thought at first someone had pulled a prank and they had turned around midway and taken us all back. Sorry, no refunds. WE just felt like you should stay and pay your fair share of taxes. That's what the hoops say when they really mean we want to squeeze your hoop until you look like an old prune. It was really fragging depressing.
I had paid all that cold hard, just to put myself in the same place. When you're a tourist all the local fraggers got you by the hoop. Especially if no one is meeting you. You got to have a place to stay. The luggage marks you for the predators right off the bat. You don't know your way around and if you are like me, a poor sod, you don't have a fragging reservation. No soft cushion for you to land in. Sure you can pay for that and the more you pay the more secure you can get. If you ain't got the money and you're a girl? You're a fragging target. I don't care if you are ugly or pretty, someone wants to stick something in you anyway. Depressing isn't it.
They'll kill you, strip you and possibly eat you faster than a herd of ghouls. Speaking of which it appears Seattle has an infestation of the nasty blighters. If things don't work out I may have to take up a sideline. I'll need a good machete. The guy I'm supposed to meet, Honest Pelchey was advertising about becoming a ghoul hunter and the city was offering bounties by the head. To me I didn't see much difference between the ghouls and the citizens and I'm betting the fraggers paying the bounties wouldn't either once I offerred themn some kickbacks.
After the Security goons got done checking me into the fair city of Seattle, armpit of the world, I collected my luggage and put it in the guarded locker area. They had of course taken liberties pawing me in my private areas but it doesn't pay to get angry. In the old days they probably would have asked for my green card. Now? Who cares. After they got enough of rubbing on me I had to go get a drink and maybe a cigarette.
Instead, I bought one of those old aluminum cans of Krass Cola. I dumped the thing out in the ladies john and watched it eat through the porcelain. Only the brain dead would drink that stuff. Maybe that's what made the ghouls. I then took a few minutes to turn the empty soft can into a knife. I had some experience at it and it didn't have to be a work of art. I hid it where I could get to it easily.
The price for a locker and a toxic cola? High. Still it was a lot cheaper than a warehouse or hotel and a lot safer for me. Then I grabbed the Metro towards the heart of the city. I was used to NY prices. I didn't go into shock.
The sharks took a look at my old ersatz runner clothes and went after the marks. Sure a couple of bottom feeders tried to make a move on me. The predators will try to eat anything just once. The first one ran when I just screamed in his face. Low level rat and not poor enough or hungry enough to work for it yet.
The second was young, stupid and on the drug dejour. That made him doubly stupid. He got the business end of the Krass Cola. I'm unsure what killed him first. The sharpened can entering his guts or the toxic poisons on the can from the Cola itself. That stuff is deadly. I got a few credits back, the last of his drug stash to sell later and a nice new vibro-blade to replace the can. It was a fair trade. He left some blood on my clothes. It became a warning flag for other minions of freelance larceny.
I headed downtown. Now that I had some blood on me and a dead body near my feet. I was golden for a bit. I had time to think.
Welcome to Seattle. The Gem of the West. Playground for the rich and famos.
Everyone lies.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 25, 2010 11:41:54 GMT -5
Never underestimate the efficacy of prayer.
Not that I use it much myself, but when you're up against it, well, it doesn't hurt.
I had lost a bit at the local crap game. I was going to need some money soon. It had been two days since I had left the Z Street and I hadn't gone back for a bit. I did sample the finest in Seattle cuisine though.
If I didn't find a way to contact Honest Pelchey soon though my bills were going to come due and things would go from good to bad real quick. I had decided to set up office in the building and was on my way to discuss it with the Vulpine guy. As we sat down at the table a small Azzie looking girl with blood all over the front of her glided through the door. She wasn't screaming or acting like she had been the joy toy of a bunch of go-ganger's. On the contrary, she looked hard, bored and very unlikely to take drek off anyone.
As a medical professional I was of course asked to give aid. Being gallant and rich I could hardly refuse.
I have to admit, old Honest Pelchy had not hired a bunch of imbeciles to staff his building. The girl's clothes at first glance looked like ordinary street drek gear. She had no luggage. I figured they would just toss her out. When I got closer though, I quickly changed my opinion. The clothes were fake Runner clothes. They were made with good tough cloth and the leathers weren't fake. Do you have any idea how much leather is worth now? She had a hidden data jack, small and petite, well disguised in her long fluffy black hair. I was intrigued.
The staff took us to a back room. It appeared they did have a medical staff but the doctor was certainly not of my caliber. They were professional of course but they didn't let that get in the way. While performing examination and treatment I made small talk with the girl. Her name was Isabella Del something or other. Let's face it she spoke so fast in that clipped New York accent sprinkled with Spanish that I was soon lost in the dust on her. It seemed like it was endless.
She was a secretary looking to locate outside of New York looking for a better life. I've been to New York. I can understand why she left. She had worked for a couple of the largest corporations and her background seemed excellent. The best part was that she was not from Seattle. I let her know I was in the market for a good personal secretary. She acknowledged she might be interested.
The medical staff had cleaned her clothes nicely. I asked for that fine gentleman Vulpine.
I'm at my best when I'm working three way deals.
This could turn into a party.
I'll bill it to Pelchey later.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 26, 2010 9:34:58 GMT -5
Who would have thought it? I finally find my way to Honest Pelchey's place and get a job with some class Doctor. He looked like he had style and money. I immediately suspected something.
So here I am in my freshly laundered clothes getting a low level secretary job while the Doc is negotiating for the space. He may be rich but he's a good bargainer. He's even getting rooms for us on the premises. I had to admit the guy had style. He even had them send a couple of guys for my luggage and his luggage and to check him out of some high class joint called the Mayflower. He had no problem making the down payment of various fees either. Soon we were, at discount prices the proud holders of a group of rooms for a business that adjoined separate living quarters for both of us.
While I enjoyed a light lunch, courtesy of the Doc, he was discussing with some guy named Vulpine how the business should be advertised and decorated and what Medical Equipment would be installed. It appears he also hired Honest Pelchey's people to handle the advertising to get his business rolling. I was impressed with how fast he was making this happen but NuYen talks and Guano walks as the saying goes.
It appears I was getting closer and closer to making contact with Honest Pelchy and maybe the Johnson with the juice.
I enjoyed the dinner. I was going to need a new deck and some warez. That would be done privately. Later.
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on May 26, 2010 9:51:04 GMT -5
It had become obvious to me over the last couple of days that I was going to have to increase my chances of meeting the Johnson. To do that I had to get closer. It also meant I had to do that most horrendous of things, go to... work.
What a revolting development.
I got a real good discount by making a few offers , like I would be available to take care of accidents and I'm sure they think they will save on medical insurance. It's all about kickbacks and making things look good. Pelchey can provide what he will call top notch medical care for his people and of course will charge higher rates for the same. Then he gives me a discount on my set up. I did insist of course that he would have to be available to sign the contracts once the work was completed.
A stroke of genius. You see I finally understood the idea of sending me to Pelchey. The guy is involved in all kinds of business. He has to see some people. Especially high flyers. Guy has to do it everyday. Well by now if the UCAS was on the job they would know all about my white knight status. Just another business man setting up.
I suspect my chance to meet Pelchey will be soon. I'll need to be ready.
I must admit I do have a nice apartment now. They better keep the bar stocked.
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