The Sprawl, Team Chrome #2 Play Report
A one-shot play report for The Sprawl designed by Hamish Cameron. This was re-devised by Sue for a bunch of chromium-twerps. Team Chrome return, leaner, meaner and Germanically cleaner.
...Here Be Spoilers (and a slight amount of artistic licence)...
Near-death experiences have a way of focusing the mind, ...
...but a mind like Ivan's just focuses on the next target in front of him. Ivan, Badger and Bang are sitting opposite Mrs Johnson and taking in mission #2, Bang fiddles with his Rubiks beneath the table - without looking Ivan puts an arm on his shoulder to stop him. On the surface, this mission feels like it was ready-made for the group - given the previous mission - messy, danger, blood, gore and sanctioned killing - what is not to like?!
 |
| Bang's Rubiks |
+++++++++++MISSION BRIEFING++++++++++++
Target: Andreas Williams, Head of R&D, Maximum Mortality
Target is to be publicly and summarily executed, the messier, the better and it is to be made clear that Funorinaations is responsible, this is a warning to all but especially to Maximum Mortality, after their blatant finger in the air to Funorinaations, see Mission #1
Location: Williams is located at Neihei Industry owned apartments and rarely leaves, he employs his own private security.
 |
| Mission #2 |
Bang heads off to his iso-crib to hack in and get some juice on Williams. He logs in to Neihei's building security, Red ICE (Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics) is invoked in the form of a laconic, noir dick. "I'm not gonna give you the skin off a grape, bud.", he drawls. Bang frantically tries to call up a damsel in distress to distract the P.I. but fumbling through his routines he instead materialises a small zebra. "Scram!" shouts the P.I. and the Zebra rears up and charges off, Bang frantically jacks out, beads of sweat on his forehead, his heart pounding, he thinks of Ivan, that emotionless stare, as he sits across the coffee table from Bang... ...it doesn't help.
 |
| Red ICE proves too much for Bang |
Bang feels he may have compromised himself and takes off to a secondary location, he tries a few simpler, safer internet trawling routines but there is no real gossip on Williams. Williams has that lone fish vibe.
About to log off, Bang catches some breaking news, Neihei industries are planning to upgrade the security on their buildings after an earlier failed hacking attempt. Bang gulps and hopes Badger has had more success, he picks up his mini Rubiks and heads out to face the music.
Badger, meanwhile, has been physically staking out Williams' apartment, she has noticed during the day, additional security has been added and judging by the proliferation of trombone cases, they are now toting assault rifles. Things seem to have gotten more serious in the few hours they've been on the job. Badger notices a number of companies coming and going and a plan has started to form in her head. She also sees that Williams vulnerability is his isolation, if they can get to him, he's trapped in there with them.
The group have arranged to meet back at the coffee house to share the intel, on the way, Ivan talks to Jen Bonito, his long-suffering HR contact at Funorinaations, some relatively polite chit chat ensues and for some reason, Jen decides not to write him up again and instead weakens and says, "Firstly, you know I hate you? Ok? So don't read anything into this, but a word of advice, this new job, the gorier the better, got it Ivan! This Williams is on the Funorinaations shittiest of shit lists!"
The group quickly form a plan, well Badger forms the plan and the others fall in line with it. The laundry company, SpickundSpan: GmbH is the entry point. The group will hijack one of their vans, and Bang will hack in and replace IDs. The group then proceed to Williams' apartment, enter and find their way up, the premise? A Mattress needs replacing. Good enough, time to roll.
Team Chrome are riding along the highway, pulling alongside a SpickundSpan van, Ivan leans out and points to their tyres, shaking his head. A curly-haired, buck-toothed fellow with pebble glasses looks back, grins and gives him the thumbs up. The SpickundSpan van pulls over and Bang manoeuvres the team's van right behind the cleaners, they both come to a stop.
Ivan is edging along the side of the SpickundSpan van, Badger and Bang are giving instructions, "Wait...", "Go, oh no, in a minute, then Go.", "They're on the phone, give them time, ah, should have gone. Now!" ...Ivan grits his teeth, cracking can be heard and then strides forward, points his Rimsky Needler through the open window and there are three quiet puffs followed by three SpackundSpan employees sighing and collapsing.
As the team get changed, Bang dons his headset and hacks into the SpickundSpan corporate network, an alert has been triggered and ICE is activated, this time in the form of a middle-aged hausfrau with a mop and axe, she smiles sweetly as she runs a finger over the blade of the axe. Bang whimpers and pushes in an icebreaker code, he mentally crosses his fingers. A whirlwind of dirty dishes, plates and cups starts spinning up around the hausfrau, she leaps up in the air, trying to catch them and swipe at them with her mop, she dances off into the distance, the plates orbiting her head as she goes.
 |
| SpickundSpan ICE, don't mess |
Bang continues to grope around in the SpickundSpan systems, disabling their alarms, setting up the mattress order to Williams and linking their likenesses to the three drones now lying comatose in the back of the van.
Chrome arrives at the back of Neihei Industries luxury apartment complex, it's named Edgbaston Elevations, it's on the less lethal side of town. They park and their IDs allow them access to the service entrance, they find a console and lookup Williams' address, he's on the top floor, penthouse suite. They find a service elevator and head on up.
Badger looks out of the lift door, she assesses the scene, lots of camera's but the lift and narrow path to the door of the suite are in a blind spot. But, next to the door, is a panel. Creeping forward through the blind spot, Bang reaches a service panel and attempts to hack into the building's security, "Get eyes on the prize.", whispers Ivan. Bang nods, he jacks in and immediately is confronted by Black ICE, a rottweiler with slathering jaws and burning red eyes. As the beast faces him down, he activates a new ICE breaker routine - this is an experimental one but he's feeling more confident now; A Dog Pound van comes round the virtual corner and a peak capped employee pulls out a large net, he then starts to chase the whimpering dog down the street as some light, bouncy circus music plays in the background.
Bang takes control of the cameras in the penthouse, the group can see on the screen a chaotic apartment strewn with disused Chinese takeaway boxes and hanging from the ceiling an impressive gun turret. Badger moves the others aside and starts looking through the bank of cameras in more detail. There is more, an electrified floor, a number of blind spots in the kitchen and behind the sofa... something, but it's small, should be okay. Lastly, curved scratches near the far wall, the shape of them suggests a hidden door, perhaps a panic room opens out of the wall. Bang confirms this, he can deactivate the locked door if needed.
The group prep and Badger calls out through the intercom, "Mattress replacement for Williams." At the same time Bang pops open the entrance door, Ivan pads across the floor, followed by Badger, Bang stays at the door, still jacked in. A voice comes through on the intercom, "Mattress, I didn't order that. Now piss off!"
Ivan has come skidding to a halt, just behind the sofa is a smaller but more deadly looking turret gun, it swivels towards him, a light shines out scanning him and then many things happen at once...
 |
| Nimbus 9000 Home Defence |
...firstly, the turret starts flashing red and klaxons start going off, secondly, there is a blur as Ivan launches himself towards the Panic Room door and Bang, pushes through the final routine to unlock it, whilst bringing up a new routine to disable the smaller turret. Badger looks forward at Ivan disappearing through a door that has suddenly appeared in the wall and then back at a turret that has stopped aiming at Ivan and is spinning round to aim at her.
Inside the Panic Room, Ivan is breathing hard, lying on his back and looking up at a rotund, dishevelled man, with curly brown hair and a t-shirt with a wide and varied collection of stains across it. Ivan carefully brings up his SpickundSpan ID, "The Mattress... health hazard, has to be disposed of, but we have a new one, Dreamy Time special, outside in the hall?" The man continues to point the rifle at Ivan's forehead, but he nods slowly. Ivan turns and starts to drag and push the soiled mattress out of the panic room, he winks at Badger and imperceptibly nods his head back at Williams. Badger looks around, she notices a whine from the small gun turret as it shuts down, Bang has his thumb up at the door.
 |
| The luxury Bag-End Panic Room |
Badger picks up a large gold inlaid vase, dropping it crashing on to the floor, "I'm sorry, I voz de klutz! Dummkopf, dat ist mein... meen!" Williams looks over the top of Ivan at Badger and in the commotion, Ivan flicks the Needler into his palm and fires it through his legs at Williams, it hits him square in the head, he lurches backwards and as he falls the assault rifle goes off peppering Badger and Ivan with a stream of bullets.
As the two of them lie bleeding and bullet-ridden, Bang stumbles in, panic-stricken, he looks at Ivan and badger groaning in pools of blood, he pulls out a flechette and points it at Williams's face, he looks away, he covers his eyes, through his fingers he sees Ivan giving him the thumbs up and grinning like a loon, Bang pulls the trigger. Bang then vomits loudly onto the wood inlaid floor.
The group are patched up as best they can but they will need some serious medical expertise in the next few hours, for now, it should be enough to get them out of the building. Williams is wrapped in a mattress and they exit with little fuss.
"1!", they drive past the Sleaze Cutz (purveyor of only the most obscene of news stories)... the mattress is shoved out, a juggernaut rides over the top of Williams, sending the mattress, body and a shower of gore, flying out behind it and across the faces of the commuters standing at the velo stop.
On the way to meet Johnson, Badger rings through to Dr Singh, Badger is pale and shaking and Ivan is lying unmoving in the back of the van. "Dr.,", whispers Badger, "two for the slab, make sure your knives are clean.".
"Oh my god, Ivan!" Badger and Bang are inspecting the work on Ivan's face, his chrome-plated eyes have been replaced by a network of wires and a large cyclopean retina in the centre of his forehead. "Doc said my eye was infected, said he could do me a deal, full cyberware, super cheap.... ...I like it, it's stylish.", replies Ivan, somewhat on the defensive, he's hoping the blinding headache and flashes will soon subside.
A little while later and they are collecting their pay from Johnson and going their separate ways, Johnson suggests that they may want to lie low for a few weeks, retaliations are likely and some of the companies are starting to take notice of Team Chrome.
 |
| Scores on the doors |
Comments
Post a Comment