Short Recap:

You risked your life and a little over half your savings in a mad race down a mountain. You won, but your opponent crashed. You rescued him and then volunteered to take his place in an upcoming underground racing competition in return for what would have be his share of the winnings.

Making your way to work, you were briefed on a simple mission by your boss (clear a basement of muta-rats) and then sent on to speak with Vice-Executive Rebecca Shan, whose husband you recently discovered to be a serial killer. You set your phone to discretely holo-record the meeting, hoping to gain some leverage over her to avoid having to kill your boss as a favor to a group of Chinese who currently posess your sonfu, Jeremy Yu.

“Ah, Esperanza. I was wondering when you’d decide to show up.”

Rebecca (Mrs. Shan) is in a relaxed pose when you walk into the office, leaning on the left arm of her office chair with fingers carefully interlocked. Her suit is milk-white with thin vertical pinstripes, making her seem leaner than she actually is. Her lips are curled superciliously, clearly expectant of a response.

“I hope I’m not late,” you muster, already uneasy.

“Not at all. I realize you have daily obligations to GEC and as part of our labor conversion program, little choice in the matter. However, everything discussed in this meeting is purely facultative.”

“Of course it is,” you respond, displaying your cultivated talent for false sophistication. You’re not sure if she buys it.

“I assume this is about yesterday?”

Her mask of confidence falters for a split-second, so quick that person with lesser skill at reading faces might have missed it.

“That’s the penultimate item on our agenda, Esperanza. But first I’d like to ask, why exactly did you turn down our generous offer of Elite training?”

“I didn’t reject it outright, Vice-Executive,” you reply, using her formal title with flattering care, “I simply wanted more time to think.”

“And you think time is a commodity that GEC can spend in bulk, do you?”

“I wasn’t aware of any great urgency.”

“Vincent,” she says, her voice softening as she uses your first name, “Let me show you something.”

She traces a finger over the pristine glass of her desk in an arcane gesture, clearly an intricate tactile password of some sort. A vast directory of files sprawls over the desk and as she scrolls through them, you count your lucky stars that the holo-recorder is on because you would never be able to re-create that from memory. If you can just get a hold of her prints at some point, you’d almost certainly be able to break in…

[1/2]

File: hongkongmap.jpg (166 KB, 466x350)

166 KB JPG

>>43675167
[2/2]

“You know my boss could really use something like that.”

The Vice-Executive giggles girlishly and catches your eye.

“I offered it to him already. But he’s so darn… pigheaded about doing things the old-fashioned way.”

“I can only imagine.”

“Now,” she says, suddenly reassuming her professional demeanor, “look at this.”

A file blows up on the surface of the desk. You recognize it immediately as a map of Hong Kong. Her finger flits across the map and presses down on a location right in the middle of it. A green-headed virtual pin lands in the place she pointed at.

“That’s our HQ. Now, ‘database, insert Scyth and MedCorp locations in Hong Kong’”

About two dozen more pins pop up on the screen.

“Those orange ones are for Scyth outposts and HQs and the reds are MedCorp hospitals or labs, Vincent.”

“I-”

“Don’t interrupt just yet. ‘Database, insert proposed Scyth and Medcorp locations over the next two years.’”

The red and orange pins triple in number.

“Isn’t that impressive, Vincent? That’s what happens when the people at the top see opportunity. Do you want to see what they see?”

There seems to be little point in declining.

She swipes aside the map, relegating it to the margins of the desk.

“Database, please graph the monthly counts for unique specimen reports going back to January 2035.”

A graph appears almost instantly, showing a long curve that seems to have upticked exponentially over the last year.

“Cross-reference to monthly GEC invoice counts.”

An even steeper curve overlays the old one.

“It looks like GEC is getting more calls than ever.”

“And stumbling across more mutations than ever. Hong Kong is experiencing an explosion of biodiversity.”

>And why are you showing this to me?
>Which has what to do with me becoming an Elite, exactly?
>I could have told you that.
>Write-In

>>43675189
>I could have told you that.


Captcha, I still don't really know what a patio is.

>>43675308

Without looking it up... I want to guess a small deck? Or flat extension of the house?

Not sure, but I'm a long way from owning a patio regardless of what it is.

Putting the trash out while I wait on votes.

>>43675189
>I could have told you that.

>>43675308
>>43675368

>I could have told you that.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that the local wildlife consists of Satan and Darwin’s lovechildren. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Okay. ‘Database, remove GEC invoices, overlay with specimen counts from the top GEC branches on each continent.’”

Several more graphs overlay the first, all sloping upwards. They’re well over Hong Kong’s count until late 2036, where they are universally surpassed. In context, the current count for Hong Kong is now triple the nearest “competitor”, which looks to be somewhere in Australia. Something drops a little in your stomach.

“So… we’re a growing market.”

“Not just a growing market, Vincent. We’re already the biggest and fastest market by far. But the higher-ups in the States have been dragging their feet on expanding our operation here. They’re afraid of going head-to-head with the Scyths and MedCorp.”

“But you’re not. And that’s why you want me to be the branch’s first Elite.”

“Exactly.”

>It looks like it’ll be a lot of work honestly.
>Does that mean I’d be coming into conflict with, er, competing company representatives?
>Sounds interesting. I’m somewhat more inclined to accept now.
>But why is the species count exploding here? What makes Hong Kong different?
>Write-in

>>43675449
>>Does that mean I’d be coming into conflict with, er, competing company representatives?
>Write-in
I remember last Tuesday night, I nearly ran into some operators operating operationally. Not sure which corp.

>>43675449
>>43675507
Sounds fun.

Trank the Scyths, corp war now

>>43675642
>>43675507

Writing.

>>43675642
>>43675507
>Does that mean I’d be coming into conflict with, er, competing company representatives?
>Write-in

“So I’d be potentially butting heads with my “peers” at ScythCorp.”

“Or MedCorp. They do dispatch field teams from time to time, though most of their work comes to them.”

“Yeah, I actually almost ran into a team last week. Not sure if they were Scyths or MedCorp but they were pretty rapidly dispatched by a group of specimens.”

“Yes, I recall that from your record. You distinguished yourself with that task and Devlinson was right to gamble it on you. But the fact that they were chasing the same quarry only proves my point: they see our weakness as their chance to swoop in and gain what should rightfully be GECs.”

“On the assumption that you won’t be sharing any of this information beyond my office, we would usually expect you to fly under the radar of rival corps but there is a chance you would be called upon from time to time for… house calls.”

>I see. I’ll continue to think on it, seems like a lot of personal risk honestly.
>I like the sound of that. Put me down for the Elite program.
>I have other questions… but I’m not going to get them answered right now, am I?
>I won’t participate in this. I’m no assassin.

>>43675827
>I like the sound of that. Put me down for the Elite program.
All that inflation-adjusted moneys.

>>43675972
>I like the sound of that. Put me down for the Elite program.

"House calls and quadrupling my pay... It's a hard offer to turn down."

"You'd have to be an idiot to do so."

"Do I look like an idiot to you?", you say and grin broadly, exposing your badly mutilated ear.

"If you are, you're a lucky one, Vincent. And I love a lucky man... I'll put you down for the promotion but we should move on to our second item... my little favor."

[1/2]

>>43675827
>I have other questions… but I’m not going to get them answered right now, am I?
Slow out of the gate like an Elevon the thread is.

>>43676070

[2/3]

“Read this. Don’t say anything.”

She pulls up a different file on the desk, sliding aside the graphs. You notice she’s careful not to use any voice commands this time. It’s a piece of text, flat in appearance but jarring in content.

>Effective immediately, I am invoking clause 97-B of your contract with GEC and enlisting you in an action of supreme importance to the company. Compliance is mandatory, as circumstances have been deemed exigent by an individual of Vice-Executive status or higher or by an individual acting in their stead post obitum. Non-compliance will result in immediate spinal cauterization.
>The objective of this invocation, which will be sealed or destroyed at the invoker’s prerogative following completion or failure of said objection, is the immediate termination of Robert Shan and the retrieval of Jessica Shan, the Vice-Executive’s daughter.
>Failure in either objective will also result in spinal cauterization, as per company policy regarding “black ops” recorded in [CLASSIFIED]. As a reward for willing cooperation, converted labor may be offered a sentence reduction, a promotion, or compensation not exceeding $50,000. GEC reserves the right to cauterize converted labor that may be compromised by the completion of their given objective or at the discretion of the individual who invoked 97-B. GEC also reserves the option to cauterize individuals who discuss 97-B with individuals who are not involved with the invocation of the clause.

“Nod if you understand.”

You nod.

“Good. Remember this stays between us.”

>>43676092

[3/3]

She pulls up another file of text, explaining that her husband essentially kidnapped their youngest child once he realized his secret was out. The last GPS coordinates transmitted from the family car show that is was abandoned on the outskirts of Lion’s Rock.

“This takes priority over your usual tasks and I’ll speak to Devlinson about being lenient with today’s assignment. Now, I promised that would be our penultimate topic…”

The Vice-Executive of the Hong Kong branch thoughtlessly undoes the top two buttons of her shirt beneath the suit jacket. The golden crucifix dangles in the interstice of her bosom.

“There are rumors that your apartment was recently… dismantled. I simply want to extend some basic hospitality to one of my top employees, in case he needs a place to stay.”

>I’ll find my own place, thanks. I’ve got some… things on my mind now.
>That sounds nice actually.
>write-in

>>43676073

It's alright. There's a lot to absorb in this thread anyway, so I figure there's a tendency to lurk tonight.

>>43676124
>That sounds nice actually.
More blackmail material gaining, if the basement isn't already scrubbed?

Reminder.

We need an antidote to tranking from Silver Pete. Some cyberpunk smelling salts.

In case we subdue and trank mr. Shan and need to wake him up for recorded confession. Or accidentally trank someone else valuable like Vince did Mrs Shan.

Also, at least he only kidnapped one child? He actually came home before panicking. I thought he might just never come home that night, knowing about the scrutiny, and take the kids elsewhere.

>>43676124
While being around you is very relaxing and comforting I don't think it is very wise for it to happen right now?

I don't know. Just somethings that came to mind that turning her down would be very bad?

>>43676124
>outskirts of Lion’s Rock.
We can't stop here without sonfu, this is Bug Country.

>>43676124
>>That sounds nice actually.

>>43676124
>I’ll find my own place, thanks. I’ve got some… things on my mind now.
Well, we can go for a sentence reduction for this, but if we get caught recording this we could die. Let's not take the risk.

>>43676328
We can just make exceptions like "might not be home tonight" a lot, and get a new, more discreet shady apartment ASAP.

Vince should find the Darkweb app on his Illegal and look for good apartments for those on the run like sonfu. One that isn't a honeypot anyway.

Access to her house is nice though.

>>43676403
Man we can't hide were we live, we have a chip in our neck that lets them track us.

>>43676328
It can just be for one night.

>>43676124
>That sounds nice actually.

>>43676217
>>43676398
>>43676442

>let's spend the night

>>43676328
>>43676402

>decline as politely as possible

>>43676403

Not sure if this is seconding SleepyAnon's post.

I'm going to write for spending the night.

>>43676440
I don't mean hiding that.

I mean the building security has no cameras and doesn't ask questions about who lives there as long as they're paid.

>>43676461

>That sounds nice actually

"Sure, why not. We had fun last time, right?"

"We certainly did... and I'll be happy to throw in a little bonus if you're willing to give me a hand again."

"I'll give you more than a hand."

"Hush, or I’ll file a harassment report with HR. I'll see you back here after your work is done today. And make sure that it's done. Dismissed."

She bids you to leave her office with a sweep of her hand, as though you were cluttering her vacant desktop.

Back outside, you make your way to the bathroom and end the recording on your phone. You replay it once to see what you have and are dismayed to find that the soundwave-based recording failed to depict anything displayed on her desk. Still, you have the unlock gesture and perhaps you can find something to lift her prints from…

>go to the garage, reunite with all your gear
>go see Silver Pete
>go down to the labs, try and find Clarissa so you can get your hands on one of those Queens
>Write-In

>>43676402
We're already getting the promotion. That's the secret reason.

>>43676517
>>go see Silver Pete
Trank antidotes. Or something to wake up someone that got taser'd.

And maybe some GPS tracking darts?

>>43676517
>>go to the garage, reunite with all your gear
Then
>>go see Silver Pete
Try to get medpacks or something to use on humans but not from Pete. Never know what state the girl would be in.

>>43676517
>go see Silver Pete

>>43676517
>>go to the garage, reunite with all your gear

>>43676517
>>Write-In
Look up that VTOL crash on the Internet.

>>43676517
Did, did Vince just spend that whole meeting still holding his bag of cocaine?

>>43676567
>>43676596
>>43676606
>>43676608
>>43676654

Going to call it for Silver Pete. Sorry for the delay, I was eating quickly.

>>43676654
Starting an international incident is probably the reason Lopez is mad at us.

We've mistreated copfu so badly, life is so chaotic.

>>43676681

You head directly for the quartermaster's office, realizing that you're going to have to supplement your gear even more following the previous assignment.

Silver Pete is sleeping when you walk in, his gaunt chest barely rising and falling as he breathes. Were it not for that slight movement, you'd certainly think he was dead.

A few quick raps on a nearby shelf wake him from his slumber.

"Hrgh... Wha! Who's there?"

His beady eyes settle on you.

"Oh, Esperanza. What is it this time?"

>tranquilizer antidotes
>tracking darts
>med-kits
>write-in (most things from your inventory are available)

>>43676793
>>tranquilizer antidotes
>med-kits
Not enough time to shop at the MedCorp giftshop. We have a loli to rescue.

>>43676793
>>tranquilizer antidotes
>>tracking darts
>>med-kits
Buy more med-kits from a store

>once he realized his secret was out.

...how did he find out?

How long was she asleep?

>lost termite queen
We have to micromanage everything Vince does apparently.

You keep one tranked-out queen in your pocket inside your hazmat suit.

>>43676793
>tranquilizer antidotes
>tracking darts
>med-kits
Let's see if the tracking darts can be slaved to the Illegal, or if they always also send a signal back to GEC.

>>43676859
>>43676884
>>43676974
>>43676935

"I'm in a hurry, Pete. I need something that will wake somebody up on short notice from those tranquilizers you gave me and a couple of med-kits. A few tracking darts wouldn't hurt either."

"Alright, alright. Give me a minute."

He hobbles away and returns with an assortment of self-contained aid kits and two types of darts.

"These are trauma kits, They come with coagulant spray, anti-bacterial wound sealant, a twenty-minute oxygen feed, defibrillator, and a couple of small surgical tools you're probably not qualified to use. They're $200 a pop but you probably won't need more than one."

"These two darts, the ones with black fins are for tracking. The red fins shoot concentrated antidote for our proprietary tranks into the blood stream of whatever you hit. Two bucks per dart."

>I'll just take 1 kit and 20 of each dart type. I need to leave.
>Write-in

>>43676935

No, your QM needs to git gud. On the bright side, having them go to the lab is producing useful knowledge on how to care for and breed them. I won't penalize you for retrieving them.

>>43677020
>>I'll just take 1 kit and 20 of each dart type. I need to leave.

>>43677020
>>I'll just take 1 kit and 20 of each dart type. I need to leave.

>>43677020
2 kits and 20 of each dart.

I say two kits because Vince gets hurt a lot and he is going to be doing elite jobs soon.

>>43677055
>>43677059

You hand over the cash quickly and hurry out, the medkit heavy in your hands.

You should probably drop by the lab later today to see about your termite queens, as time is of the essence right now.

With that as your motto, you head down to the garage and summon your van. All your equipment is still sitting in the back and, in an act of unrequested kindness, it seems like everything has been neatly organized and cleaned for you.

Maybe the unloaders were the bastards who sampled your cocaine...

>put all this stuff in the van and go
>move over what you think you'll need into the Elevon (should get you where you're going faster)

>>43677044
Oh, well that's a relief. We should get that sweet sweet data and a termitat or something.

Though I wonder what other data we can get Clarissa to blab about, like about Nessie, salamanders, giant mantises, blue Man Group, and Yu.

>>43677145
>>move over what you think you'll need into the Elevon
But this depends.

How much room for prisoners, children, or giant mantises does the car have in the back?

>>43677145
>>move over what you think you'll need into the Elevon (should get you where you're going faster)

...we didn't get Mrs Shan's number. For the phone in her brain.

I wonder if it could have kept stealth recording while seeming to be inactive if we took the phone out.

>>43677179

Moving over everything you have would probably fill the trunk of the Elevon and some of the back seat. It would be time-consuming to move every little thing but you'd still have room for at least two passengers, though one would be very cramped.

>>43677259
Well we probably don't need the big sniper, poison spray.

And can't we remote control the van with our new phone over the Internet?

>>43677203
>>43677179

>move what you think you'll need

You grab a selection of the essentials from your van and rapidly cram them into the Elevon.

As you grab the fireaxe, your damaged brain has an epiphany. You have a phone with a wide variety of illegal apps and that probably includes... ah.

>Chaffeur

You could have the most important stuff in the Elevon but you could also have the van follow an automated route behind you!

That is, you should be able to if you can rig up this app....

>Roll 3d6-1! I'll make an exception and reveal the DC, it's 8.

In the meantime, Vince is putting the most urgent stuff in the Elevon.

Rolled 2, 3, 2 + 1 = 8 (3d6 + 1)

>>43677405
INTELLIGENCIA MUY BUENO

Rolled 4, 5, 6 - 1 = 14 (3d6 - 1)

>>43677405

Rolled 3, 5, 3 - 1 = 10 (3d6 - 1)

>>43677405

>>43677448
Mate ya need to +- to subtract.

>>43677405
>>43677448
>>43677458
>>43677473
>7,14,10
>Definite Success!

You put the following items into the Elevon:

>fire axe
>brass knucks
>trank gun
>wrangling stick
>all your darts
>haz mat suit
>pepper spray
>dual chinese specs
>sniper rifle
>screecher box
>motion sensors
>thermal goggles
>tranquilizing grenades
>smoke grenades

The rest you leave in the van and, with your free-hand, you navigate around the Chaffeur app. It's a little tricky, but you manage to slave the van to an autopilot that subverts the built in requirement for an actual driver. Then you plug in the coordinates of the abandoned car in Lion's Rock.

As you watch your faithful van take off on it's own, you get into the driver's seat of the Elevon. The tank is still pretty full: Luca's must have gifted you some gas he had lying around.

>RACE to Lion's Rock! 3d6+2, boostable up to two times with Nerves and the Speed Demon modifier can be applied if you're willing to risk yourself (seeing as you're racing through "normal traffic" that risk is relatively low)

Rolled 4, 2, 2 + 3 = 11 (3d6 + 3)

>>43677633

It was never specified when those GPS coordinates were last transmitted.

That informs whether arriving early would really make a difference at this point.

Rolled 1, 3, 6 + 2 = 12 (3d6 + 2)

>>43677633
Boost once?

File: 1444090353914.gif (921 KB, 585x242)

921 KB GIF

Rolled 5, 5, 5 + 2 = 17 (3d6 + 2)

>>43677633

>>43677702
No boost.

We need to conserve. it's morning. And you can just Speed Demon instead.

>>43677706
>trip 5s

Goddamn.

>>43677699
>>43677702
>10,12,17

Arriving earlier will indeed make your fugitive easier to find, you can boost or apply speed demon now if you like.

>>43677758
just Speed Demon.

Also don Thermal.

>>43677758
Speed demon

There may be a standoff with a hostage.

It would help if we could call Mrs Shan and record it and ask about their relationship, family, any leverage that could convince him that we really, honestly aren't here to kill him, totally.

We'd have to call GEC and ask them to patch us through at this point. And talk circumspectly so no one but us knows what we're talking about.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>43677758

The roar of the Elevon's engine echoes through the concrete parking structure. You pull out of your parking spot and make your way out onto the streets of Hong Kong.

The sky is a homogeneous grey but everything seems to be dry for the moment. Accelerating as rapidly as the Elevon will allow, you're soon overtaking traffic on your way to Lion's Rock.

Swelling with confidence in your own abilities, you decide to push your luck a little.

>>43677779
>>43677826

>rolling for speed demon, anything other than a 1 is good in these conditions.

>>43677866
Oh it's a second roll, not using the same driving roll?

>-Speed Demon: +1 to Driving Rolls where you put it all on the line (failures become more severe)


It was entirely unclear what 'failure' meant.

>>43677866
>dry for the moment.
Okay getting there before rain washes away footprints is probably a speed advantage.

Now see if the Illegal can hack the tracking rounds.

>>43677866

You press down hard on the gas pedal, quickly overshooting posted speed limits. The flames on the dash rise higher and higher as you squeeze the Elevon into openings no sane man would dare attempt.

A combination of good luck and twitch reflexes see you through your risky manuevers and ultimately you arrive at Lion's Rock far ahead of your van.

You manage to find the abandoned car without too much trouble... it's just sitting on the side of the road with the doors open. Thermal goggles reveal more wildlife activity than you're comfortable with in the surrounding woods but no immediate signs of the father and daughter.

A trail of footprints leads deeper into the woods and you decide at this point to arm yourself.

>see post >>43677633 for current equipment and assemble a basic loadout. Take two "medium sized items" (examples: Wrangling stick, sniper rifle, both chinese specs) and up to 4 small items (examples: pepper spray, screecher box, two grenades, brass knuckles)

Lastly, choose whether to retain your thermal goggles or change into your hazmat suit. Remember that the suit has a built in flashlight and will reduce your scent signature but the goggles will make your targets much easier to find.

>>43678064
>Trank gun
>Chinese spec
>Pepper spray
And keep the thermal goggles

>>43677926

That was extremely predictive, anon.

>>43677897

I realize that. I kind of came to the conclusion that a second roll was necessary because the modifier would only be used in situations where you had already rolled well otherwise.

Also, I like the idea of making you guys double down on the rolls you've already made.

>>43678064
So balance between nonlethal capture of the humans, and fast takedown of wildlife.

Was there nothing about Mr Shan being armed? He'd be in danger from the woods creatures too.

>dual chinese specs
>trank gun
>darts
>smoke grenades
>screecher box
>pepper spray

>>43678064
Don't forget wearing the helmet and armor.

...wait Vince didn't pack the helmet or armor?

But brought the knuckles and the AXE?

>>43678113

This would be equivalent to just two medium items, you can take up to 4 more small items, with the trank gun and specs being your primary if you like.

>>43678135

This is a full loadout with no errors. You would only take two of the smokes though.

>>43678173

Do you want to chase someone in body armor?

>>43678064
Does the Illegal come with GPS overhead photos of the area?

He must have a destination, going to ground here. Innawoods.

>>43678212
Are the screecher box sounds at all detectable by humans?

>>43678224
Also, either Shan or his destination might have electronics on him.

maybe the phone can notice that. There shouldn't be too many electronic things in the woods.

>>43678292

You would probably be aware of it, if only because it's impressively loud and you might feel it in your ears. However it would be "silent" noise and you probably wouldn't know what was happening unless you were intimately familiar with the device.

>>43678224

>Under One Country Two Systems, legislation in mainland China does not apply in Hong Kong and Macau SARs and there are no similar restrictions in the SARs. Therefore, the GPS shift problem does not apply. However, at the border between the SARs and mainland China, the data shown by online maps are broken [38] when the shifted data and correct data overlaps. This poses problems to users travelling across the border, and particular confusing to visitors not aware of this problem.

I'm relieved and will try and find you an actual photo if you want to reference the phone. Otherwise I can just describe it.

>>43678344

Also a viable possibility.

>>43678382
>reference the phone.
you mean consult the phone for guidance?

>scrambling to wikipedia things live

>>43678456

Or... refer to it.

>to have recourse or resort; turn, as for aid or information:
to refer to one's notes.

You're making me doubt my word choice, anon. Whew.

We''ll use the loadout from:
>>43678135

Finishing up the next post.

File: lionsrocksatellitenotes.png (744 KB, 1135x622)

744 KB PNG

>>43678619

Consulting your phone, you're able to find both yourself and figure out which direction the footprints are heading: Northwest.

It looks like Robert is trying to take a route parallel to the Wilson trail but to what end? You quickly zoom out.

>>43678684
>Northwest
So west is upward in Chinese satellite map here?

>>43678726
kek.

File: lionsrock zoomed out.png (328 KB, 358x652)

328 KB PNG

>>43678726
...yes. fuck.

>>43678684

A bigger picture makes his objective much clearer. He's obviously selected this relatively non-elevated section of the park to try and cross over into Tsok Pok Hang where he might have a hideout or ride waiting. It's not a terribly brilliant plan and there's always the possibility he might have some part of the park itself in mind but it gives you the back up option of running over to Tsok Pok to try and cut him off if you can't find him here.

>roll 3d6+4 for the initial leg of the search.

Rolled 6, 1, 2 + 4 = 13 (3d6 + 4)

>>43678795
dat bonus. Awareness plus something.Did Vince have coffee?

Rolled 6, 4, 4 + 4 = 18 (3d6 + 4)

>>43678795

>>43678849
>Fastidious- attention to detail drives you to be precise and look your best. +1 bonus to rolls in social situations where you've prepared yourself and +2 to rolls involving attention to detail.

Rolled 3, 1, 6 + 4 = 14 (3d6 + 4)

>>43678795

Rolled 6, 2, 2 + 4 = 14 (3d6 + 4)

>>43678795
inb4 the kid is carrying a nintendo handheld we can hack and weaponize.

>>43678849
>>43678862
>>43678876
>13,18,14

pretty decent rolling.

Writing.

File: 1441861406357.jpg (124 KB, 320x452)

124 KB JPG

Fuck tornados. I might drop out soon boss, I'm getting power surges like every 5 minutes where I am at. So pre-emptive thanks for running.

>>43678966

Stay safe, anon.

>>43678905

The trail of footprints leads on for a good while but eventually the prints are muddied by the creeping undergrowth. From that point on you subsist on other clues, like bits of ripped clothing and trampled fauna.

It looks like they made their way through this area in great haste...

You put two and two together and begin watching your surroundings more carefully through the thermal goggles. Finally you spot the gang of muta-rats stalking you from a distance, their bodies unusually lithe.

>turn and confront them with (pistols, trank gun, pepper spray)
>try and outrun them
>set off screecher box

Roll 3d6 regardless, I'll roll the modifiers and offer to let you boost accordingly (guns would use nerves, running would be STR/STA)

Rolled 3, 2, 5 = 10 (3d6)

>>43679081
>>turn and confront them with (pistols, trank gun, pepper spray)
Pistols

>>43679081
>>turn and confront them with (pistols,
We can collect specimens on the return trip for fun and Crusty.

>>43679081
>roll the modifiers

Add them, obviously.

I'm slipping a lot tonight, aren't I?

Rolled 1, 1, 4 = 6 (3d6)

>>43679081

Rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16 (3d6)

>>43679081
>turn and confront them with (pistols, trank gun, pepper spray)

Pistols
pew pew pew

>>43679081
Has vince rubbed his braincells together on what was amiss in that wedding photo yet?

>>43679103
>>43679137
>>43679145
>>43679117

>12,8,18

You relax your entire body and flew your fingers, keeping the muta-rats carefully in your peripheral view.

When you're confident that they're close enough, you turn suddenly and fire a tight hail of bullets into the undergrowth, striking three of the rats outright and sending the rest scurrying away. Well, most of them.

One rat, foaming at the mouth, charges towards you, glassy eyes flashing and baring its frontal incisors, which have fused into huge monofangs. You execute it with a tidy cap to the head before it can attempt to leap at you.

Not today, rodent.

Continuing your journey, the signs of your quarry become more obvious. There are carelessly tossed candy wrappers laying on the margins of the path with fresh residue still attached.

A flash of lighting penetrates the canopy and the rumble of thunder follows, only a few seconds later. Huge leathery wings flap overhead as creatures out of view take flight, presumably to escape the coming storm.

You best find them soon.

>roll 3d6+4 for the second leg of your search

Rolled 4, 6, 6 + 4 = 20 (3d6 + 4)

>>43679374

>>43679164

No, he might when "fuzzed" wears off.

Honestly, it's not too hard to puzzle out on your own and won't tell you much you don't already know, other than giving you a potential lead to investigate.

Rolled 3, 5, 5 + 4 = 17 (3d6 + 4)

>>43679374
holy shit we tracked the shit out of them.

>>43679428
>>43679405

No, *now* you've tracked the shit out of them. Goddamn. I'll start writing now, another anon can make a roll if they like but it will only help determine the power level of your success.

Rolled 6, 3, 2 + 4 = 15 (3d6 + 4)

>>43679374
We should start holo-recording probably.

>>43679405
>>43679428
>>43679490

Fucking Vince the Bloodhound.

So Vince had to find the car without the actual GPS coordinates being shared with him whatsoever cuz muh data security?

>>43679480
>>43679490
>>43679428
>>43679405
>>43679549

>20,17,15

It hasn't even started to drizzle when you find the empty water bottles. That's enough to tell you that "Robert" is clearly an amateur outdoorsman; anyone who spent 5 minutes in the goddamn boy scouts oughta know how important even an empty water bottle can be.

The forest opens up into a sloped clearing, covered in yellow-green grass. That's where you spot them slogging awkwardly onward, obviously exhausted. Their obvious enervation speaks of desperation to you, especially as Robert is now carrying the girl his arms. It also reminds you that you're in much better shape than you were when you started this career; you're barely winded.

You switch on the holorecorder and creep forward towards the clearing. Drizzling or not, the sky has blackened threateningly and arcs of lightning are followed by increasingly intense thunderclaps that seem to pass right through you.

It wouldn't be hard to take advantage of the mediocre lighting and try to creep closer through the grass.

Then again, you could just shoot the bastard with your trank gun from here and finish the job up close... maybe after you've sedated the kid.

>creep through the grass, shoot from up close
>shoot with the trank gun from here
>write-in

Okay, trank the kid, the guy...

wait fuck. we should have bought bindings to manacle him with. All we'll have is the wrangling stick back at the van.

We do want incriminating confessions from him. Specific details about the bodies in the sub-basement. Where they were taken from. How many.

>>43679707
>creep through the grass, shoot from up close

Trank darts are gonna be light as shit and relatively low velocity. Shitty in bad weather at range.

>>43679705
>The last GPS coordinates transmitted from the family car show that is was abandoned on the outskirts of Lion’s Rock.

?

>>43676124

>>43679775
Which he could only see visually. He didn't get them digitally in any devices.

>>43679791

He remembered them though. He plugged them into Chaffeur for the van to give it a destination. And he likely used the phone while in the Elevon.

>>43679707
>>creep through the grass, shoot from up close

>>43679707
>>shoot with the trank gun from here

>>43679707
>>creep through the grass, shoot from up close

>>43679769
>>43679750
>>43679904
>>43679907
>>43679957

>creep closer

You creep up through the grass, trying to stick to swathes that have already crushed down. You grow anxious of being exposed each time the wind gusts and pushes the long blades down around you but despite this nerve-wracking aspect of your approach, you manage to get close without being spotted. Some experience with the ups and downs of being sneaky mitigates the anxiety.

>Nerves:12/13 - You're pretty much fine.

Robert has sat down now, resting Jessica on the ground for a moment, and you have a clear shot at him with the trank gun or your pistols.

You pause and realize you also have your pepper spray, though with the wind conditions the way they are, you would have to get even closer to use it.

>shoot him (tranks, pistols)
>get even closer and then pepper spray him
>write-in

>Roll 3d6 regardless of choice here.

>>43679971
>tranks

We'll have to go full boyscout to tie him up with vines or shit.

>>43679971
>shoot him (tranks, pistols)

We The End now.

Rolled 4, 5, 2 = 11 (3d6)

>>43679993
>>43679971
Tranks, my bad.

>>43679971
>>shoot him (tranks

Rolled 4, 5, 3 + 3 = 15 (3d6 + 3)

>>43679971

>>43679971
>>shoot him (tranks, pistols)
Tranks

Rolled 3, 5, 5 + 3 = 16 (3d6 + 3)

>>43679971
Like taking candy from a baby killer.

>>43679990
>>43679993
>>43680012
>>43680023
>>43680031

Definitely tranks, gonna need one more roll.

>>43680042
>>43680023
>>43680008
>14,15,16

Solid all the way through.

Writing.

Well, first order of business.

If the kid is still conscious. We'll have to get their whole story somehow. Of what's been going on since yesterday. What lead up to Dad taking off with her and what Dad said along the way.

Rolled 2, 5, 2 + 3 = 12 (3d6 + 3)

>>43680044

>>43680023
>>43680042

>rolling more than once.

Shamefur dispray.

>>43680068
Well, that'd have to be in a way so that when the kid mentions being asked questions out of concern by the rescuer, it doesn't seem too suspicious.

>>43680103
Maybe if everybody remembered
>Roll 3d6 regardless of choice here.
to roll the first time when they voted, other people wouldn't have to take up the slack to stop the quest from slowing down, yet again.

Time to strip his clothes and see what he has on him, after the kid is unconscious.

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>>43680132
>take up the slack
You really think that, don't you?

Hey, we'll finally find out if he was the one who used the giant bats and left that skull behind.

>>43680061

You take a deep breath and gauge the wind by how it flows over the grass.

Without warning, lightning strikes a tree bough at the nearest edge of the clearing and it explodes, the sap inside boiling instantly. Tiny shards of wood fly everywhere but Robert immediately goes down to cover the kid with his buddy. You reflexively shift your aim and hit him squarely in the back with a dart.

He doesn't get up. Beneath him you can hear the pinned girl crying and you quickly rush up to free her. She won't stop bawling, especially when she sees your trank gun but she's quickly drowned out by a sudden downpour of rain. Additional lightning strikes hasten your fleeing of the clearing with her in tow, though Robert is too heavy to move at the same time as the kid so you have to leave him for a moment.

>put the kid in the safest place you can for the moment and go grab the dad
>trank the kid, put her in a safe spot, grab the dad
>trank the kid, put her in a safe spot, execute the dad. You'll be done and the muta-rats will take care of the rest.
>write-in

>>43680200
>with his body*

There is no... buddy.

>>43680200

You could probably also choose to try and wait out the storm.

>>43680184
There are numerous times in this quest and others when there are literally fewer players than there are required dice rolls. How else would you frame "x must be done y times, it has not been done enough times."

RNGs are RNGs. There's nothing personal about rolling imaginary dice.

>>43680200
>trank the kid, put her in a safe spot, grab the dad

>>43680200
>>put the kid in the safest place you can for the moment and go grab the dad

Clearings are horrible lightning death traps right.

>>43680200
>immediate termination of Robert Shan
Put a bullet in Roberts head and take the girl.

>>43680200
>Without warning, lightning strikes
Goddammit what. We still weren't fast enough to get weather'd?

>put the kid in the safest place you can for the moment and go grab the dad

>>43680270

Very much so. You'll obviously be running a risk the longer you take getting back beneath the forest canopy (which still isn't very safe, since you are on a mountain but it's something).

>>43680200
>>trank the kid, put her in a safe spot, grab the dad
Sorry girly.

>>43680270
Changed my mind.

>>43680200
>trank the kid, put her in a safe spot, grab the dad

Can't let the kid see us make efforts to keep dad alive longer than necessary.

>>43680260
>>43680283
>>43680299
>>43680338
>>43680342

>3 for tranking the kid, grabbing pops
>1 for merciless execution and GTFO
>1 for put the kid somewhere safe and grab pops

Writing for tranking.

>>43680376

Pulling a single dart from your bag, you pin the poor child against a tree and jam the injector into her arm, pulling it right back out before it's able to empty even half it's dose.

She swoons in your arms anyway and you nestle her on the ground in the crook between some fallen trees. Then you turn your attention to father and dart out into the clearing...

>make 3 separate rolls of 1d25, pray your final result doesn't add to 19

Rolled 21 (1d25)

>>43680437
Damnit overdosed the kid

>>43680454

Well, that pretty much eliminates the need for further rolls. I just needed something with a 1% chance over three rolls...

Writing, the rest can roll if they want. I'll adjust the intensity based on their numbers.

File: sweatingcopyrightedmouse.png (54 KB, 600x846)

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Rolled 7 (1d25)

>>43680437
> pray your final result doesn't add to 19
19 exactly?

That's an oddly specific dice system.

Rolled 12 (1d25)

>>43680437

Should... should we just give Mr. Shan over to Crusty alive, and let them get answers and blackmail material out of him?

But, that would leave us with no leverage at all, we might want personal copies to ensure our own neck doesn't explode.

>>43680484

You do your best to avoid stumbling too much on the slick grass as you make your way to Robert's prone form.

The din is deafening but you can still hear the wet squelch after you pull the dart out and roll him on his back. You're careful to put the "evidence" back into your bag.

Dragging him back is no easy feat and lightning is striking visible targets down the slope. Nothing as close or dramatic as the initial strike but your back aches when you finish hastily dragging him back beneath tree cover.

>STR/STA: 9/10 - You've expended the smallest part of your reservoir.

Now that you've knocked out 2/5ths of the Shan family, you allow yourself a moments rest on the driest piece of ground you can find, which is not very dry at all. You can think about what you want to do now and how you want to do it...

>use Robert's own clothes to tie his limbs, wake and interrogate him
>execute him now, without wasting time. You saw what he was keeping in the basement, there's no need for questions.
>wake the kid first, interrogate her
>write-in

>>43680631
>use Robert's own clothes to tie his limbs, wake and interrogate him

5 bucks on Mrs. Shan being the killer.

>>43680631
>>use Robert's own clothes to tie his limbs, wake and interrogate him
We have a bullshit-ometer just for this.

He can say what bodies he's disposed of and where, and who his victims were, how many.

Although, to convince him we aren't just gonna kill him anyway...

we gotta pretend to be Scyth somehow? That we want a showy trial. Hide GEC evidence.

>>43680671
Robert is pretty protective and selfless of his own kid.

But that doesn't really mean anything.

>>43680631
>>use Robert's own clothes to tie his limbs but don't wake him. See if the kids alright.

>>43680671
I'm feeling it too, anon.

>>43680671
That would be the best outcome. We would have all the blackmail material we could ever want.

>>43680631
Yeah this is starting to seem like>>43680631 wake the kids first we have some questions( functionally identical to post number 3 but with more pretty language)

>>43680671
That might not mean much unless Robert knows somebody who can get the explosive out of our neck

>>43680671
>>43680674
>tie up pops, interrogate him
>>43680730
>tie up pops, don't wake, check the kid
>>43680788
>wake the kid first

Unless I'm misinterpreting something, you're tying up and waking pops.

>>43680671
That would raise the question of how a busy executive who works during the day managed to dig out that super crude basement,

when the house-husband is home all day.

>>43680813
It would be a damn shame if those termites in the Shan house happened to be randomly cultivating a super infectious strain of brain fungus, kinda like that one type of ant, that Mrs. Shan just so happened to contract. A crying shame.

Whatever blackmail is gotten, Vince will need a dead man's switch to make sure it gets out if he disappears.

One that doesn't trust Crusty to do it, since they'd still want to have the leverage even after Vince is gone.

We can feign ignorance,asfar as he'sconerned he got knocked out by lightning.

Why are you running away?

Also, we gotta review what he has in his pockets first.

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>>43680671
>>43680674
>>43680693
>>43680730
>>43680743
>>43680759
>>43680788
>>43680813
>>43680846
>>43680883
>>43680893
>>43680942

You strip Robert Shan of his clothes: a blue collared shirt and black slacks. In the front pocket of the shirt you find his container of pepper spray and in his pockets, in addition to his wallet, you find an sleek folding knife.

He surprisingly muscled under the dainty stay-at-home dad outfit and he struggles mightily after you inject him with the tranquilizer antidote. Fortunately, you tied your knots tight enough to hold even in this shitty weather. After a little while he grows silent and stops struggling, staring at you and the pistol you hold in your right hand. Finally, he asks:

“What are you waiting for?”

His voice… is surprisingly reedy. You’re not sure why, but you sort of expected something more… Liam Neeson-esque.

>I’m waiting for you to own up to what you did.
>I want to know the absolute truth here, do you mutilate and kill children?
>Why did you kidnap the girl, Robert? What about the boys? Do they not interest you?
>Tell me about your wife
>Remove the silencer from your gun, wait for a loud, long roll of thunder.
>write-in

>>43681004
>>Why did you kidnap the girl, Robert? What about the boys? Do they not interest you?

>>43681004
>>Why did you kidnap the girl, Robert? What about the boys? Do they not interest you?
You sick fuck

>>43681004
>>Why did you kidnap the girl, Robert? What about the boys? Do they not interest you?
The perfect baiting question.

If he's innocent, he'll realize this assassin was lied to.

>>43681004
>>Why did you kidnap the girl, Robert? What about the boys? Do they not interest you?
>>Tell me about your wife

>inb4 "too old."

>>43681124
>"Ewww my daughter is 6 that's wwwwaaaaayyy to old buddy"

Vince should try and use his moron brain to learn how to use encryption and flash drive backups that no one without his key can read.

>>43681004
Suddenly my money is on Robert being that guy Lopez wants us to finger in court

>>43681021
>>43681049
>>43681096
>>43681105

>Why did you kidnap the girl, Robert? What about the boys? Do they not interest you?

"Why kidnap the girl, Robby? I thought you got your rocks off on chopping the cocks off little boys!"

"Fuck you!"

"Answer the question, Robbo!"

"I didn't kidnap her, fuckhead!"

His voice cracks and squeaks when he curses at you.

"Then what do you call this? A father-daughter nature walk?"

"I was trying to get her away from her Mother, dammit."

>bullshit check
>shoot him
>why would you want to get her away from her mother?
>Just admit what you did.
>I saw what was in the basement.
>Remove the silencer from your gun, wait for a loud, long roll of thunder.
>Write-in

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>>43681197
That's literally the opposite of where your money should be.

That guy's in the news and already arrested. They found his porn stash.Don't you think lady executive would already be disgraced by now?

This is the guy who actually did it, not the framed one.

How do you be this wrong?

>>43681208
>>bullshit check

>>43681208
>why would you want to get her away from her mother?

>>43681221
This statement is technically true. It's functionally the same as kidnapping.

We should find out if the reason is bullshit.

>>43681208
>>why would you want to get her away from her mother?

>>43681221
>>43681253
>>43681238
>>43681303

>2 for bullshit check
>2 for why are you trying to get her away from her mother

Roll 3d6+3 for the bullshit check, then we'll roll with the mother question as your follow up.

I have been puzzling how this fit into the serial killer puzzle.

>>43167046
>>You tried to win him back by having another kid? Are you nuts?

But it doesn't make sense for a serial killer to disappear their own kids, they couldn't get away with that like they could a stranger's.

Rolled 2, 6, 1 + 3 = 12 (3d6 + 3)

>>43681313
I hope we don't have a finite number of bullshit checks.

Rolled 5, 5, 5 + 3 = 18 (3d6 + 3)

>>43681313

>>43681353

Nah, you can boost it with Nerves though. I left that out of the prompt here for some reason.

>>43681313
Who do we trust. Who do we blackmail?

Rolled 3, 1, 6 + 3 = 13 (3d6 + 3)

>>43681313

Rolled 3, 6, 1 + 3 = 13 (3d6 + 3)

>>43681313
Sorry had to take care of some things.

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>>43681411
>>43681378
>>43681353
>>43681421

>12,18,13

Good enough, writing.

>>43681407
>>43681321

Hmm.

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Ooh.

>>43167442
> Ugh, it’s just a stupid wedding photo in front of a stupid church. You don’t really know why you were so interested in it anyway.

Ohhh.

>>43679414

Well figured that part out anyway.

>>43681475
Although, duh, obviously the GEC executive would be the one to know about the locations of ravenous bats before they're exterminated.

Although the house husband could read into wife's files somehow to nab that info too.

You just have to confirm somehow who visited that church in the time since they reported the infestation to GEC.

>>43681426

Having watched his reactions closely and gotten a solid "lie" out of him about the kidnapping, you come to the conclusion that he's being sincere about wanting to get the girl away from her mother.

There's still something shifty about him though, and you pointedly avoid dropping the bad cop facade.

"What's wrong with the woman you love, Robert? Afraid she'll turn you in?"

"No..." his denial trails into a whimper before flaring back up again.

"She's a monster, you've got to believe me!"

>Roll another bullshit check (3d6+3) and select one of the following (we'll just assume you use the checks while you're in interrogation mode).

>I don't believe a word out of your putrid mouth.
>Just admit what you did, asshole. I'm waiting.
>I've heard enough. (Remove the silencer from your gun, wait for a loud, long roll of thunder.)
>She's the monster? I saw your basement. Saw the body... and the table.
>Rough him up.
>Fake believing him, try a little honey
>write-in

Rolled 6, 3, 4 + 3 = 16 (3d6 + 3)

>>43681564
>>Just admit what you did, asshole. I'm waiting.

>>43681564
>>She's the monster? I saw your basement. Saw the body... and the table.

Rolled 2, 4, 1 + 3 = 10 (3d6 + 3)

>>43681564
>Just admit what you did, asshole. I'm waiting.
There is 'something' shifty here. Maybe not murder.

Rolled 5, 3, 2 = 10 (3d6)

>>43681564
>Just admit what you did, asshole. I'm waiting.

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>>43166070
>Boy, what a babe. Mrs. Shan’s got the body of a woman half her age (plus seven or so, just to be on the safe side). Hard to believe she’s had what? Two kids? No, looking at the framed photos in the china closet there’s at least three and the oldest is maybe ten. Crunching the numbers in your head… Three kids in ten years is one kid every three years. That seems difficult to manage alongside a high ranking GEC job like Vice Administrator of the Hong Kong branch but it seems like her husband pitches in a lot if his frequent solo appearances in the photos are any indication.
Really youthful, maintaining with plastic surgery? Keeps maintaining that 'girlish' appearance. Married a much younger husband.

>>43675189
>The Vice-Executive giggles girlishly and catches your eye.

>>43681426
And yeah, the password Lepidoptera meant butterfly/moth, in some Buffalo Bill shit.

>>43166070
>“I grew up in the dirty part of Kowloon, Mr. Esperanza. I quashed my fear of insects at a young age.”
>Her expression, previously girlish, has become cold and stony.

>>43167231
> God, she’s kind of crazy, isn’t she?

Genital mutilation.

Robert made a point of rescuing the sole girl, not the boys.

Kept having kids until they had a daughter.

Butterfly, transformation, rebirth.

Is this Chinese Elizabeth Báthory? Using virgin girls to prolong her youth?

>>43681634
Yoou forgot the modifier.
>16,10,13

Phew. 13.

Vince is Catholic americlap, he knows confession is good for the soul.

If, if, the executive is behind it.

How will you get hard solid evidence on your holo-recorder? You have to go back into the dragon's cave.

And you have to bring the princess into the grasp of the dragon, in order to avoid suspicion. While Robert is in husband protection program with Crusty.

Then fuck the dragon.

Or possibly trank the dragon.

Then record all the evidence of the dragon's victims in the sub basement while they're out.

And you need a fast encrypted uplink to Crusty so that you don't have the only copy of the blackmail ASAP, so even if you get caught you have something to prevent being popped.

Then you rescue the princess again.

>>43681597
>>43681614
>>43681634

>16,10,13

Just want to check back in and let you know I am writing. This is just a long one. At least two posts.

hey, if after Vince fucks her and goes to bed.

He can have a trank dart in his pants to make sure she actually stays asleep while he investigates.

And while she's tranked out, he has her fingerprints by just moving her hand for her! He can do what he wants with that gesture password.

>>43681951
>>43681597
>>43681614
>16,10,13

His denial is an obvious lie, you can see the shame on his face as he tells it. He's complicit in something alright.

Is she a monster though? She's been nice enough to you... You're on the fence, disinclined to fall one way or the other in regards to Mrs. Shan until you hear more.

"Just tell me what you did."

"Nothing!"

"Try again."

"Nothing."

"No."

"What do you want me to say, you stupid fucking hitman? Just kill me, these questions are worse than death!"

"I saw the chamber in the basement. Lepidoptera and all that."

He flinches visibly at the mention of the pass phrase, obviously recognizing it.

"You know it. You know the word."

"...yes."

He's cracked. He admitted he knew the passphrase. You raise the gun up and then lower it.

Why?

He's scum, he deserves death. Why does your arm grow heavy? Maybe the rain is affecting your muscles.

Robert rolls over on the ground, squelching it beneath him until he's on his back, staring at the shivering crack of darkness between the leaves of the trees.

You sit in silence with him for a moment, nervously fingering your own gun. The rain has settled down into something calmer and warmer.

"Tell me the rest."

"Years ago... we made a deal. We had... similar interests. So we got married. It was the only thing to do really. It's the only thing you can do when you feel so similar to another person. We loved because we saw how alike we are..."

"You both fucked kids."

"You're really awful, you know that. This is the last thing I'm probably ever going to say and you have to interrupt like that."

The haughtiness in his voice reminds you of Rebecca in her office chair. How she told you not to interrupt.

"I... I had passion for the boys. She always wanted a girl. We looked for girls. We found her girls. She was the one who started the cutting then, not me. She turned me onto it, the viscerality of it all, the feeling of someone's innermost places between your fingers."

[1/2]

>>43682079

Your stomach roils at the thought of someone like him reaching inside you or inside anyone for that matter. But you let him talk. He seems content to talk himself to death, you think.

“When we had Jess, Rebecca was so happy. You have no idea. She went to work every morning in a state of manic glee. Every hour spent at GEC, Jess got a little bit older. A little closer to the cusp of being a young woman. She hungered for that dawn more than anything in the world.”

“And you?”

“I already had the two boys. I was spoiled. But I was the one who raised Jess, not Becca. I came to adore her in a platonic way. I… became a father.”

“You disgust me.”

“I know. But-”

“No real father would molest his sons. You’re just a monster who thinks he’s a father because he finally met something he didn’t want to fuck.”

“No, no, please!”

He cringes as you raise up the gun barrel and aim it at his head.

>shoot him. You need to kill him to fulfill your 97-B.
>trank him again.
>fake his death on the holorecorder
>ask one last question about the skull in the church
>write-in
>trank him again.

>>43682104
>>ask one last question about the skull in the church

>>43681767

I was thinking more in terms of folding symmetry regarding the butterflies but the rest of this is very good.

>>43682146
Well it figures I only put the pieces together when it was pointless to figure out anyway.

>>43682152

You'll get credit anon, don't worry.

It may not be worth anything, but you'll get it.

>>43682104
>ask one last question about the skull in the church
But we should definitely fake his death and hand him to Crusty.

He's too useful.

Also ask him about what did you do with the bodies? Where did they go? In general.

Not just the church.

And hey vince, no one says he can't be a father to one kid and a villain to the others!

>>43682104
Also, we need the identities and locations of their victims.

Where did they "find" the kids from? That's important.

I mean none of this proves that his wife was in on it, only him, we still need proof of that.

We need, after he's tranked again, to take out the phone so that it gets full color imagery, not just holo-shapes from echolocation. To fully identify him and the little Shan.

>>43682104
>got a little bit older. A little closer to the cusp
So Jess wasn't touched yet because not old enough?

>“I already had the two boys. I was spoiled.

But he started with the boys when they were way younger?

>>43682104
>>ask one last question about the skull in the church

>>43682138
>>43682173
>>43682264

You lower the gun once again, pleased by his cringing. The power you wield here gives you a little rush, the rush of being in the right and having the lethal means to enforce it in your hand. And the villain right in front of you.

"Before we wrap this up, I need to know about how the bodies were disposed of."

"Why?"

"Don't stall. This is your last chance to get back at her."

He sneers, smug contempt bringing new life to his desperate expression.

"You really think I'd give her over to you? I'd rather have you live and know you'll never find them."

>Is that really what you want?
>She's going to go on without you, Robert. She sent me here.
>And that won't bother me at all. (attempt bluff, cold blooded acts in your favor, making it a 3d6+3 roll)
>write-in

Is Shan genuinely an androphile as well as a loliphile though, or was she faking it with Vince and all those other ostentatious affairs with male employees?

Vince needs to use his bullshit-ometer to detect fake orgasms.

>>43682288
>>She's going to go on without you, Robert. She sent me here.
Technically a violation of the order, telling the victim. But it's not like Vince's neck has a recording device.

>>43682258
>“I don’t understand either. He’s younger than I am and when we married he was so… full of energy. Then we had Conner and everything died down for a bit while he got parenting down… But he got back to almost normal after those first two crazy years. But then we had William and the same thing happened. Jess was my attempt to win him back but… I think maybe I drove him away for good.”

Jess was the youngest, there were about three years between each child.

Rolled 3, 2, 5 + 3 = 13 (3d6 + 3)

>>43682288
>>And that won't bother me at all. (attempt bluff, cold blooded acts in your favor, making it a 3d6+3 roll)

>>43682288
>>She's going to go on without you, Robert. She sent me here.

Rolled 1, 6, 4 + 3 = 14 (3d6 + 3)

>>43682288
>>And that won't bother me at all. (attempt bluff, cold blooded acts in your favor, making it a 3d6+3 roll)
You think I'm here for moral righteousness's sake?

Rolled 6, 2, 3 + 3 = 14 (3d6 + 3)

>>43682288
>And that won't bother me at all. (attempt bluff, cold blooded acts in your favor, making it a 3d6+3 roll)
We can always try not-violating the order first here.

Also, yeah, why did he flee even? What did she tell him exactly?

he should tell us the events of yesterday since he got home to now, really.

>>43682330
Why did Vince have that instinctive fear of Shan'd dark tunnel?

>>43682324
>>43682333
>>43682346
>>43682352
>>43682304
>>43682401
>13,14,14

We have three on two for bluffing and one wondering about the extent of Mrs. Shan's sexual perversions.

Writing.

...Is copfu mad at us because he somehow got wind of the Shans.

Once we're alone again. Vince can look up the voice distortion and identity obscuring features in the phone for anonymizing himself in the footage.

>The objective of this invocation, which will be sealed or destroyed at the invoker’s prerogative

We just have to make sure, once blackmail begins, that Mrs. Bathory here destroys all records of what Vince's objective was in his 97-B, so that proof that he didn't kill Mr. Shan can't be used against him.

>>43682415

"Do I look like I'm here for justice, Mr. Shan?"

"Isn't that what Americans are always after?"

"Don't get philosophical with me, pops."

You attempt to wipe the gun dry on the leg of your pants. It's ineffectual, as your pants are also drenched. You're a little tempted to shoot him right now.

To slake your thirst, you put a round into the space just above Robert's head. He cringes, so you aim a little lower. You wing the edge of his ear ever so slightly and as you watch the water carries the blood into the canal at the center of it all.

"You know how I lost this piece?" you ask, tugging at the ragged scrap of flesh on the side of your head.

"No, why would I care?"

"I killed a man with an AR in a club bathroom. Stabbed him with his own knife. I could have done it the easy way. I suspected he had to die."

"But?"

"But I had to piss first."

"You.. what?"

"I had to piss. I mean, I really did."

"What the fuck?"

"You've got to die. I kill things. I kill things all day long, in the hundreds of thousands, Robert. I killed a couple of people just yesterday. My job is to remove the living garbage from this world, everyday."

"That kid with the AK, at the end of the day, adding him to my body count was less important than killing the itch at the back of my dick."

"If you die here, you won't be worth shit. I'll probably forget about you tomorrow. Everyone who ever knew you will forget about you too, Rebecca will make sure of that. Do you want that?"

"...no"

"Then tell me where the bodies are."

"Honestly... it was her thing. I went along once or twice. Sometimes she hid things, had me wall them away in the basements of condemned buildings, that sort of thing. Usually she fed them to something instead. I know she gave one girl to some bats that were living in our church. But usually she was more thorough. She would toss them in Tseung Kwan O harbor and let them dissolve in the acid sometimes. If you were brave... you might find some remains there."

File: Laughing dog.jpg (23 KB, 441x228)

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>>43682726
>I suspected he had to die."
>"But?"
>"But I had to piss first."
Ah yes, what decisionmaking skills.

>>43682726

"Could you take someone back to those buildings?"

"...Maybe."

"Do it, or I'll kill you right now."

"Alright! Okay, I'll do it. But now what-"

The trank hits him in the center of the chest and he's out like a light again. He didn't even notice you bringing the trank gun to bear...

The rain is lightening up, you probably should get a move on now. You don't have to kill him here... but you could.

>kill him, take some proof, get the girl out of here
>wake him back up, make him carry the girl out with your trank gun in his back
>leave them both tranked, carry them out one by one
>write-in

...Man, if we just hadn't rescued sonfu Monday, we could have gotten blackmail on Shan and rescued him this way.

...but would we have ever been selected to purge the Shans' house of termites if we weren't already in the hotseat, and thus expendable if we stuck our nose somewhere troubling?

Paradoxes.

>>43682800
>>wake him back up, make him carry the girl out with your trank gun in his back

We'll also have to defend them from anything that isn't afraid of the rain storm.

>>43682800
>>leave them both tranked, carry them out one by one

>>43682826
Oh, on the way back, he can explain where he was gonna run off to.

And what happened yesterday, what did Mrs. Shan tell him that made him run off.

Also before he wakes up, make sure the camera gets visual-light shot of him and the kid.

>>43682800
>>kill him, take some proof, get the girl out of here
He's not very useful anymore

>>43682852
Are we willing to waste time making two trips?

Time is sensitive if we're gonna spend it drivin the Elevon--the one without GPS tracking-- to various burial sites.

Also he might not survive being left here helpless in the time it takes to come back for him.

Uh, how long a walk is it from here to the road? What time is it, what time did we leave?

>>43682800
>>write-in
Experiment with the Illegal and the tracking darts.

Can it slave them? Are the darts going to report back to GEC, or to us?

If it's just to us, inject tracers into Mr. Shan and the kid.

>>43682880

The walk took approximately an hour.

thinking about the times involved... you probably left around 8:30 from Kowloon and with your speed racer status, arrived around 9. Which would make it a bit after 10 now, with all the chitchat.

So you'd arrive back at the Elevon at 11:15ish, AM.

>>43682800
>wake him back up, make him carry the girl out with your trank gun in his back

>write-in
Are those flash drive still in Vince's pockets from yesterday?
He should make some encrypted backups of the footage he got so far.

And anonymize himself from them.

>>43682941
And obscure the parts of conversation about americans and having to piss anecdote, identifying parts I guess.

>>43682905

It should be an easy intelligence check to slave them to the Illegal. And despite the tracer itself being in the break-off head of the "pilum", it could be removed with a bit of amateur surgery.

>>43682990
Oh, well just Robert Shan then.

>>43682826
>>43682852
>>43682867
>>43682905
>>43682941

With only 2 for waking him up and having him carry the girl out, it's not exactly a majority but it's what I'm going to go with.

You'll also stick a tracer in Robert Shan while he's knocked out.

Writing.

>>43683053
Yeah, that and the other 19 tracers aren't transmitting current location to GEC, are they?

Give us answers Illegal.

Oh, man, we forgot the one thing that he cared about that could be leverage.

He doesn't want his daughter to go back to Rebecca who gets off scot-free, does he?

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>43683053

You grab a tracking dart from your bag and approach the prone form of Robert Shan. Lifting his right arm (you think he's right handed... that's the side all the stuff in his pockets was on.) you stick the long-needled dart into his armpit and snap it off. That's the most inconvenient place to remove a tracker from that you can think of, even if you wouldn't ever want to do it again.

The Illegal picks up and starts tracking the activated dart's signal almost right away.

Then you inject him in the same spot with the tranquilizer antidote and he jerks back to life.

"I thought I was dead."

"Not yet. I had to do a little thinking."

"I..." he squirms uncomfortably.

"Did you stab that thing in my armpit?"

"Maybe.", you reply, putting the empty antidote dart into your bag.

"Crazy..."

"Listen, you're going to carry the girl out. That's the only reason you're alive right now."

"What's to stop me from running off?"

"This." you say, waving the tranquilizer gun at him, "Once false move and you'll be faceplanting in the mud faster than I can say boyfucker. And I can say boyfucker pretty fast."

You repeat a few times for emphasis. He seems unimpressed.

"I can't carry her out while I'm all tied up."

You spend the next five minutes cutting him loose with your knife in one hand and the tranquilizer gun in the other. It's an awkward process but eventually you're able to start marching out into the clearing.

The thunderstorm has subsided and all that's left is to make it back to the Elevon and the van.

>roll 3d6+2 awareness for what you're able to perceive on your way out.

Rolled 5, 3, 6 + 2 = 16 (3d6 + 2)

>>43683196
uhoh bugs. no wait they're nocturnal.

Rolled 3, 1, 4 + 2 = 10 (3d6 + 2)

>>43683196

Rolled 1, 5, 4 + 2 = 12 (3d6 + 2)

>>43683196

Rolled 1, 4, 6 + 2 = 13 (3d6 + 2)

>>43683196

>>43683196
Boost twice?

There are chill pills back in the van.

>>43683236
>>43683260
>>43683275
>16,10, 12

>>43683318
You could definitely boost here if you wanted. Would just need a second vote.

>>43683339
Boosto then.

Does GEC restock those chill pills for us or?

>>43683339

You're about halfway back when the ground erupts from under you in a spew of rocks and dirt and a blur of brown and black lunges at your face. You manage to push Robert and Jess out of harms way but it costs you precious tenths of seconds.

>Roll for a very difficult dodge, 3d6+2, nerves to boost.

Rolled 1, 6, 1 + 2 = 10 (3d6 + 2)

>>43683399
sandworms. get tranked.

>>43683393

:| Sorry about missing your vote there, anon.

Rolled 3, 4, 6 + 2 = 15 (3d6 + 2)

>>43683399
difficult dodge.

>>43683437
dammit i was too late to boost the perception?

Rolled 4, 6, 1 + 2 = 13 (3d6 + 2)

>>43683399

>>43683445

It didn't load until I had already made my post. The autoupdate grows a little long when you leave it on all night.

>>43683428
>>43683445
>>43683447

>10, 15, 13

Okay, so we'll be more organized here.

Vote:

0: No boost
1: Boost
2: Double the boost

>>43683482
2

>>43683482
2

>>43683482
2

>>43683482
1

>>43683511
>>43683533
>>43683535
>>43683543

3 for 2, 1 for 1.

Pretty solid. Writing rapidly.

>>43683196
No intelligence check needed after all?

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31 KB JPG

>>43683553

>12,17,14

You don’t dodge exactly, but you do effectively deflect the creature by whacking it rather strongly between the the fangs. It lands on its back and frantically wriggles its eight legs in an attempt to right itself. You don’t give in the chance, hitting it right in the bloated, furry abdomen with a tranquilizer dart. It stops moving almost immediately.

>pick it up, carry it with you
>leave it there, you need all your hands free

>>43683585

It seemed too trivial. I have to sleep very soon anyway.

>>43683598
>>leave it there, you need all your hands free
Hit it with another tracking dart?

Either we can hunt it later, or hunt whatever ate it.

We can make so much more money hunting specs on our spare time for Crusty.

>>43683598
>>leave it there, you need all your hands free
Nope nope no spiders. God no!

>>43683624
spiders are our friends.

They eat cats.

>>43683632
Sorry nope I hate spiders bigger than a daddy long leg.

>>43683598
>>leave it there, you need all your hands free

>>43683598
>>pick it up, carry it with you
300 dollary-doos?!

>>43683619
>>43683624
>>43683632
>>43683655
>>43683673

You quickly shoot the tarantula with a tracking dart and get back on your way. Nothing harasses you and the relief you feel when you emerge from the woods onto a nice paved road is incredible. As soon as Robert gets in the car, you trank him again. It can't be good for his health but you honestly couldn't be asked to give a damn at this point.

You have bigger things to worry about.

>End thread

Whew. Gonna archive and hang around as usual.

I haven't mentioned the twitter at the end of a thread in a while, it's @QMsimmons if you want to follow the quest on the regular.

We may resume a twice a week schedule some time soon but idk.

>>43683689
So DOES GEC restock chill pills in the van for this high stress job?

We should take them in the Elevon.