Shadowrun: The Wages of Sin

[Cynical Cat]

Data on the run and the Johnson is scanty. The only clue in your possession at the moment is a parking ticket in Chicago on a vehicle registered to one of Mace's cover IDs.

[B4UTRUST]

Chase grabbed the list from Gil and glanced over it.
"Nope. Nothing. Either an outside player or a cover. Either's entirely possible."

Chase began going back and rereading it for something.
"But, I do have an idea about this. I've never heard of this guy so I'd say that anyone who I run with or talk to will probably not have heard of him either. So I can't really do much here with this. But it looks like we've got a copy of a parking ticket issued to a Mr. Ryan O'Reilly in Chicago."

Chase slid the papers back across the desk towards Gil and looked up at him.
"May I make a suggestion? I don't think this is where we need to be. Every bit of data we're pulling together says this was an outside job with outside players not from this neck of the woods. Hell I hadn't even heard a peep of this drek till you chummers came along. Now what we're looking at is this. A local team from this area who were good got wacked in their local safe house after a run. Now while it's very easy that I could have not heard of this run going down before, during, or even after I'm going to go out on a limb and say that something deserving of this was a fairly big or major hit which would have stirred a wave or two. The preverbial pond isn't rippling.

"But we're looking at two pieces of the puzzle here and while yes they both say this area we've got other data that's pointing elsewhere, or more specifically nowhere. We've got a parking ticket in Chicago. That aint drek to go on really but see if you could pull a name off of Shadowland. I'll make a few calls to some local chummers and see if I can find anything out but I'm gonna be honest here. I'm thinking we're gonna pull blanks on this one. I say we look elsewhere because this isn't going anywhere. That safehouse was our big lead and that's picked cleaner then a dragon's nether regions.

"But again, this is just my looking at it. If Whisp can get anything that's great. Like I said, I'll make some calls and see what I can find out but I think we better start considering picking up shop and heading west."

[Josh]

"And the longer we chase phantoms, the colder the trail gets," he agreed. "Chicago, then."

[Josh]

And so it began. Fortunately, they didn't have to do a lot to shift the procession toward Chicago. A dumpoff message was left for Geryon to get in touch with them. The safehouse was cleared and the cost covered, and the team began making their way toward the Windy City.

[B4UTRUST]

After everyone had piled into the MPUV and stowed their gear Chase started the engine once more and headed out of town towards Jersey. They place they were heading to was just over the line, a town called Teterboro. The airport there housed his other vehicle, in which the team would fly out to Chicago in. Though one thing was troubling him as he drove.

A short time later they arrived on the outskits of Teterboro and took the exit leading towards the airport. Back in the day Teterboro airport had served as the home of Indigo Airlines, a small private company that did daily hops from Teterboro to Chicago's Midway Airport. The irony was not lost on Chase.

After several more miles of driving past winding fences topped with barb wire surrounding the runways and taxiways Chase turned onto a small service road. It lead up to a gate that had a small keypad installed next to it.

Chase jacked out of the vehicle, annoyed as always that he had to physically press the buttons to open the gate instead of sending a code out. But it made sense for security reasons. Harder to pick up a key press then a RF signal. He tapped in his code, the green LED flashing twice as the gate slid smoothly back on well oiled tracks. He got in the MPUV and buckled his seatbelt. He contemplated jacking back in but decided against it seeing as it was only about a mile to the hanger. He smoothly accelerated through the gate, pausing to make sure it closed tightly behind him before driving down the access road.

A few minutes later he pulled to a stop in front of a mammoth set of double doors. He put the vehicle in park and killed the engine and stepped out. Walking over to the doors he glanced back at the vehicle and frowned again. He walked over to a normal sized door set into the massive hanger doors and again tapped in a code into the keypad before turning the knob and pushing the door inward. He disappeared inside, the door closing behind him. A moment later a loud klaxon alarm sounded and strobing lights began to flash on doors themselves as they slowly slid apart, parting down the middle and sliding back to reveal the interior of the hanger. Chase walked slowly next to the door on the right, a pair of hearing protectors visable around his ears.

As the doors finished opening he released the button and pulled the breaker switch, the klaxon dying and the lights going dim. He pulled the hearing protectors off and let them drop around his neck to rest and then motioned the others into the hanger before turning and walking further in.

Seated in the center of the hanger was a helicopter, an Ares TR-55 T. The photovoltiac paint glimmered in the sunlight. Chase tenderly ran his hand across the nose. A lot of time and nuyen had gone into this baby. Turning to the team he again motioned them over towards him.

[Josh]

He whistled appreciatively, looking the bird over.

Chase was a good hire indeed. Their options for making this hit had just multiplied considerably when they brought him on board.

Not bad for an East Coast runner...

He walked over.

[B4UTRUST]

Chase walked over to Gil and stoppe beside him.
"Hey chummer, got a minute? Got something I want to talk to you about."

[Josh]

He nodded, stepping aside with Chase. "What's up?"

[B4UTRUST]

"See we have a small issue here, just a tiny one you understand," Chase began, holding up his hand, thumb and index finger spaced slightly apart to indicate his meaning.

"The issue being this; We have two of my vehicles here. Now having the helo will be useful regardless but flying it around constantly is going to cost us an arm and a leg in fuel to begin with plus it's gonna be harder to get around to some places. So I think we're going to need the MPUV as well. Now this wouldn't normally be an issue since I could slave it to the helo as a drone and stick it on auto pilot.

"But the issue is I can't get it through check points or get it refueled without a driver. And the helo doesn't have the capability to be slaved to the MPUV. The guidance and drone control systems on it just can't handle it.

"So I guess what I'm getting to is this. We need a driver. I can fly this thing and truthfully I think I'm the only one here qualified to fly this thing, so that rules me out of driving it. So that leaves two people here, Whisp and you. You two have jack ports, but between the two of you... Well out of the two of you I think you're more qualified to do this. I'd like for you, if you're willing, to drive the suv out to Chicago. I can even slave it into the helo's systems for guidance so all you'd really have to do is be there to keep it in gas and get it through the checkpoints.

"So what do you think?"

[Josh]

He raised an eyebrow.

A rigger trusting his wheels with someone was like him trusting his deck with someone. It was like dating somebody's daughter.

He looked at the SUV, then back at Chase.

"I'll take very, very good care of it," he assured him.

[B4UTRUST]

Chase nodded, somewhat relieved.
"I know what you're thinking. And trust me, under normal circumstances I wouldn't let someone drive one of my rigs but well... this isn't what you'd call normal circumstances.

"I'll have to go over a few things with you before we leave but nothing to big. Now lets get our gear stored and this bird warmed up. Besides, I think you'll have the more comfortable of the rides when it comes down to it."

[Josh]

He nodded, the picture of respectful attentiveness. "I'm sure I will," he said. "I haven't run a current SOTA rig. It's been a few years since I did anything like this, so don't mind just giving me the full run-down like I was a total scut at this. That way I'm a lot less likely to mar the paint and wake up dead someday from a missile through the window, neh?"

[B4UTRUST]

"Actually you're likely to have to worry about forgetting to activate the stabelizers and rolling it when you fire the suv's missle instead."

Chase walked over to the side of the Ares and slid open the door, revealing the interior of the helo. He climbed in and stepped into the cockpit, flipping several switches and pushing in a few circut breakers. The lights flared to life, flooding the cargo area with a halogen glare.

Red canvas sidestraddle seats with contact harnesses lined the sides of the interior, leaving a large center area open. The floor was lined with D-rings to strap equipment down to during flight. About half of the visable cargo compartment was cut off by a metal partition. Two small windows were installed into the partition as well as a door. Inside the partition was visable a EMT unit complete with bio-bed and freezer units stored with medical supplies. The walls next between the cockpit and cargo area had AV units set into them. A few data ports were placed at intervals along the walls.

"Well let's get started. I'll start going over some of the features on the MPUV as we go along."

Chase walked back out to the suv and popped the trunk and started grabbing bags.
"Might as well start here. This is something you won't have to really worry have to worry about. Back here you've got two drones, a Winters Systems Steel Lynx and a Ferret RPD-VI. Unless you can do drones you don't have to worry about them. The Ferret had two medkits and a holdout gun in its storage compartment."

Chase slung a bag over his shoulder and hefted another bag before walking back to the helo and dropping them in.
"Since you'll be using the captain's chair mode, assuming you're lacking a VCR, you won't have access to everything but you'll have everything you need. It's equipped with two Ares Vengeance miniguns in rollout panels. You've got your standard MPUV light armor and the panels are reinforced with another layer of concealed armor. The photovoltaic paint finish and a morphing liscense plate are tied into the transponder faker and an up-to-date transponder library. You've got a standard issue 50k lb-test steel tow cable and winch on the front which you can obviously see, and in the back you've got a smoke projector and six loaded canisters for it, three regular and three IR-smoke. A set of run-flats and a internal tire inflation system rounds it out.

"That should cover a general overview of it. There's a few specifics but most of it you won't need. The engine's been overhauled so you'll get a lot more torque then a standard off the shelf, and it's got almost three times the base horsepower. But you won't get a lot of extra speed just from that due to the extra weight and length for the drone storage. You've got a ram air intake and a turbo on the engine which boosts up to 27psi and a 200 shot of nitros.

"If we were staying in the area I'd tell you about the autonav for the safe houses but those will be useless where we're going till I set them up for the local area. The vehicle termination has been circumvented and rewired. It's got a different set of codes on it now that will respond to a remote connection or a cellphone code that I have. The entire system is encrypted so I'll have to set up a temporary access code for you on it. That, I think, should be it. Any questions?"

Chase climbed into the helo and began to strap down the bags to the D-rings, pulling the cargo straps taunt and securing them.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Polynome looked over the SUV.. Jesus, this thing took the term Suburban Assault Vehicle a bit literally... SHit, Satan probably holds the certificate of title, and it was only on loan at the cost of someone's soul

[Josh]

He watched Chase walk away without waiting for an answer, letting him get a few feet away before answering. "That should about do it," he said cheerfully.

He flashed a grin at Poly. "God, some days you gotta love this job."

[Comrade Tortoise]

He watched Chase walk away without waiting for an answer, letting him get a few feet away before answering. "That should about do it," he said cheerfully.

He flashed a grin at Poly. "God, some days you gotta love this job."

"Yeah i know, only in this line of work would I get to see an SUV which is on lease from the Hell's Army Surplus" he said witha grin.

[B4UTRUST]

Chase's ears perked up at the sound of excitement, the same type of sounds that most deckers used when looking over the latest deck specs with whispered mutterings of wishing it to birth their children. He peeked his head out the door and glanced towards Poly and Gil.
"Hey now you two! If you're going to have a joygasam the bathrooms are at the back of the hanger. Don't do it near, on, or in my rigs damnit! I just had them detailed!"

Chase ducked back in the helo and finished strapping down the last of the bags, making sure the cargo straps were secured tight. He then grabbed a couple of sets of hearing protectors and jumped out again, walking over to the others.
"Here, you guys are gonna need these in a second. I'm going to start up the APUs and get ready to taxi out. We'll get clearance from the tower then for take off and we'll be set. Any final questions before we do this?"

[Josh]

Gil folded his arms and shook his head. "All good, omae, all good."

[B4UTRUST]

"Good good. I'll set up the codes for you now."

Chase walked over to the SUV and slid into the drivers seat, hand instantly grabbing the data cord that hung from the dash, a natural reflex gained over thousands of repititions. He slid the jack in and shifted his mind into the machine. With a few commands he set up another user account and set it to recognize the next user, record and store. He jacked out again and pulled the cord free, leaving it to dangle.
"There you go. First time you jack in it's going to do a few scans and log some data to make verification checks. You'll be good to go from there. It'll accept you as an authorized user now."

Chase walked back towards the helo and hoisted himself up onto the wing right next to the rotor drive assembly. He carefully pulled free a few pins with red streamers on them bearing the words 'Remove Before Flight'. He lowered himself carefully back down and hopped inside, tossing the pins into a small bin set by the door.

He climbed into the cockpit and engaged a few more switches, turned a few levers and fired up the engines. The turbines kicked in, echoing off the walls of the hanger, creating a deafening roar. Chase put his hearing protectors on, grabbed slid on a flight helmet that was resting on the dash and took the data cord from the console and jacked in.

With mental commands he released the brakes and gently began to taxi the helo forward out of the hanger, the rotors perfectly still. As the helo slid out of the hanger he disengaged the flap and rudder locks and began warming up the rotors, letting them spin at a slow idle speed. He keyed up the radio and signaled the tower.
"Teterboro Tower, this is Ghost 2-7 requesting runway clearance for takeoff in 15 minutes. Over."
"Ghost 2-7, this is Tower. Clearance granted along runway 1-19, utilizing taxiway K. Confirm, over."
"Tower, this is Ghost 2-7 confirming. Takeoff on 1-19 using taxi K. Over, out."

Chase set the brakes again and jacked out. He got up and got out of the helo once more, ducking low just to be safe. He walked over to the others.
"Alright, we're ready to go. I'm letting the engines warm up and then we're out in 15. You might want to go ahead and get a head start. I'll update your nav systems once I'm in the air. There's a box near the gate on the way out with a button on it. Press the button and the gate will open for you. After that you're on your own. Everyone else, lets load up and strap in."

[Josh]

Gil leaned back in the seat, plugging in.

It wasn't the same as plugging into a cyberdeck, especially not his cozy old rig that he knew all the nuances of by heart.

Plugging into an active vehicle was an entirely different matter. He felt around the system, getting acquainted with it.

"Got it," he said back through the radio.

He'd manage.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Poly and whisp climbed into the Helo, and strapped themselves in. As the engines warmed up, they quietly yammered back and forth about god knows what

[B4UTRUST]

Chase climbed back in and slid the door shut, locking it in place. After climbing into the cockpit he jacked in again. His mind moved and the helo moved to follow his commands. He had ceased to be a seperate entity and had instead merged to become something different, an amalagam of man and machine.

He taxied further out onto the taxiway and throttled up, the rotors spinning up to speed. He finished taxing out and crept to a stop. He continued to throttle up and the rotors spun up to speed, generating lift. The helo rose upwards steadily, the landing gear retracting upwards.

He felt the sensation of the air rushing over his skin, the sense of weightlessness and the freedom of flight. He turned the helo in a tight circle and dipped the nose slightly, the helo shooting forward. He banked right and flew over the fence, turning the nose west almost dead straight towards chicago.

As he passed over the road he saw the suv driving below him. He dropped down to just over a hundred feet and hovered over it, remaining stable. He accessed his network and found the MPUV and sent an updated autonav file to it showing the quickest route to the midway airport in Chicago. After the file finished loading he pulled the helo up again and nosed down, hitting it full throttle. He radioed back to Gil.
"There's the updated autonav, just follow it. We're heading to the Midway airport, meet us there. Radio me if you have any problems."

[Josh]

He settled into the joy of interfacing with the machine.

And unfamiliar or not, this was one well-tuned ride. Taut and responsive, he could tell that he could make it dance.

He could only imagine what a pro like Chase could do with this baby.

Back in his meat body, his lips skinned back in a toothy grin as he goosed it.

[Cynical Cat]

The trip to Chicago was pretty easy. There wasn't a whole lot of people going to the city though. The Windy City might be officially bug free, but property values weren't exactly sky high.

[B4UTRUST]

A few hours later Chase manuvered the helo towards Midway. He tried calling the tower but recieved no response. Whether it had been abandoned during the bug attacks or before he didn't know but no one was answering his hail now. That bothered him a little bit.

He broadcast over the PA system, his voice coming over monotone and lifeless.
"Listen up, we're above Midway airport, we're in Chicago. But no one's answering me in the tower. So this might not be a long stay alright? I'm going to try to get us as close to a good fuel supply and cover as possible and from there see if I can get us refueled and ready for takeoff if needbe. I don't want to have to worry about running out of fuel suddenly."

Chase made another pass over Midway, scanning for movement. He didn't find any apparent and took that as at least a not-bad sign. He located the fuel storage and found a hanger close to it. Hopefully it would be empty. If not...well there was probably a tow tug around here somewhere...

Sensors in full active scan he set down on the runway and began to taxi towards the hanger he had selected, throttling back slowly.