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During the Deadly Game of Chess run, one of the runners, Isabella, dumped the rifle she used to snipe at Lone Star prowl cars, in parts, in several dumpsters in alleyways close to the scene of the crime. Naturally Lone Star found the parts and analysed them only to find skin cells on the barrel where she accidentally burned herself when it was still hot. They used these cells to reveal her identity and then to trace her down. She was apprehended and she brokered a deal with Lone Star in return for protection from the rest of the runners, and immunity.
Now, Van Zant wants her taken care of. He figured it would be in the runners best interest to take care of it, and he would bankroll most of the operation. He provided some information in the form of Bark, who, apparently, is on Van Zant - or the Morian's - payroll.
She has been released into the custody of the Lone Star witness protection division and set up in the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel in Everett. The hotel - 3105 Pine Street, Everett, Washington - is a large, relatively luxurious hotel that has worked with Lone Star on numerous occasions as a safe house, and grants all of its resources and accommodations to Lone Star in return for an upgraded response time in the case of emergencies.
.: Friday October 12th, 2057
The runners decide to meet up one last time at downtown McHughes franchise to go over the details of their plan before executing it the following night. On their way over, some of the runners spot newscasts about an explosion and possible gunfire at a prominent hotel in Everett. After hectic calling backwards and forwards, as well as rigorous verification of the facts, they find out that the Howard-Johnson Plaza Hotel was attacked only half an hour before their meet at McHughes, by as of yet unknown assailants who allegedly fired a rocket with a highly explosive tip from a shoulder-mounted platform, right outside the hotel, causing enough distraction and confusion to send a small group of armed men into the hotel to retrieve Isabella. Isabella was seen being dragged out of the hotel by several gunmen, towards the car from whence they came, where one of the men was standing guard after shooting the rocket into the side of the hotel.
The runners decide to find out as much as they can regarding the attack, as well as who was behind it. Proteus, Six and Roadblock decide to check out the hotel, to see if they can find some more information regarding the attackers. The rest of the crew starts milking various sources of information.
At the hotel, the three are scanning through the considerable crowd of onlookers when Roadblock is suddenly wrestled to the ground by three Lone Star officers, who stuff him into a Lone Star prowl car before Six and Proteus can react. Later, Roadblock shows up being severely beaten up, telling the runners that Lone Star spotted his pistol and tried to arrest him. He resisted arrest and was taken to an alley somewhere and severely beaten by the officers before they found out that Roadblock wasn't SINless. They took him to a precinct and cut him a deal; they'd let him go if he wouldn't file charges. He took the deal and was out on the street before nightfall. However, he felt like he was compromised, and decided to back out of the action until the heat died down, drawing curious and suspicious attention from some of the other runners. Proteus and Six fully trust Roadblock, considering what they have been through together, as does Maximilian, who, together, manage to convince that Roadblock is no threat to the security of rest of the runners, or the assignment.
Meanwhile, Wedge calls David, who manages to deliver some security footage of the streets surrounding the hotel during the attack. Through some of their contacts the runners find out that th leader of the group - the man left behind in the street and the one who fired the rocket - is Boris Andrenov (a.k.a. Borya), a well known Russian mobster for the Vory v Zakone. Wedge and Jin manage to narrow the trace of the vehicle of the attackers down to three possibilities. Max and Jin decide to scope out the neighbourhoods they were stolen from, trying to find some connections. They find "Ivanov's Recycled Steel", a small caryards compound in Tacoma. And make note of the Russian connection.
Later that night, the runners decide to meet up to discuss recent events. They try to organise a get-together in an airport hotel, but Joy doesn't show up, having not been reachable for the better part of the day, since the runners departed the McHughes. Conspiracy Theories are running wild, and Max and Jin go to check up on Roadblock to see if he hasn't skipped town. Roadblock recovering from the beating he got from Lone Star is residing in his apartment, so everyone's relatively calmed down. But where is Joy?
Cronos, Six and Proteus decide to go down to Joy's apartment and find it empty, except for Sergei, a thug for the Vory who controls that part of West Seattle. He informs them that Joy has been kidnapped, and that they also have Isabella. He also says that the group will be contacted shortly to negotiate the return of both Isabella and Joy.
Around 22:00 that night Cronos gets a phonecall from Joy, who aparently woke up in the back of a van, parked inside the Ivanov's Recycled Steele compound. She seems unharmed, but she's bound, and can only speak by virtue of her cybernetically linked phone, and implanted subdermal microphones. Isabella is sitting across from her, and seems severely beaten but otherwise okay. She tells them that she's being guarded by Borya, Sergei, and another by the name of Sasha, as well as indirectly by several armed guards in the compound. The runners move to check out the compound while Wedge tries to get some surveillance feeds into the compound. The only thing he finds is a real-time FBI feed, as the place seems to have be under surveillance for some time.
Joy decides that it's taking too long, and threatens the runners with bringing in Fuchi. She's confident that ever since she escaped Fuchi, that they would come blasting their way into the compound to salvage her, as well as the significant nuyen-value attached to her cybernetic implants. The runners don't know what to make of it, and decide it might be best to blow up the van from a distance, taking out Joy and Isabella in one go. They call Van Zant who tells them that there've been some change of plans. It seems that Lone Star is very keen on getting Isabella back, and have agreed to drop all investigations into possible accomplices and pursue the maximum penalty against Isabella, instead of using her as a witness. Isabella is to remain alive, at least until Van Zant can hear out the demands of the Russians.
A strange, well-dressed, Japanese man approaches the runners outside of the compound, asking for a light for his cigarette before walking further down the road. Everyone's paranoid as hell and decide to get out of there.
.: Saturday October 13th, 2057
After a quick phonecall from Van Zant, telling the runners that he wants to meet up to discuss the Russian demands, everyone decide to meet up in the basement of the Wastelands at midnight. Van Zant tells the runners that the Russians want to meet, and that Van Zant was allowed to name the place. Proteus advises to meet soon - at 2:00 am - at a public place, giving the Russians the least opportunity to plan and make arrangements - and offers the suggestion of a fastfood place, like the McHughes the runners had met at before. After some searching they find a good McHughes franchise along the I-5, south of downtown, which would give them good access to major throughways should anything go wrong during the meeting. Van Zant arranges the meeting and the runners start planning.
It is decided that Max and Jin would stay in the area but not show their faces. They would be able to come in if things would go wrong, but otherwise would not reveal their Triad connections. The same would go for Lou with the exception that Lou would not remain in the area and instead not be present at all. Everyone agreed that Lou's skills and talents would not be helpful unless he was directly involved in the discussion with the Russians, but considering Lou's Mafia connections, it was decided against it. Wedge would remain in his van in the parking lot, only revealing himself if it was necessary. Grind would recieve a clean Ranger Arms from Max and take up position close by, with a good view of McHughes and its parking lot. Six would stay with Grind and would keep an eye on the group and the meeting with her Awakened awareness.
When the time arrived, Van Zant, his bodyguard, Proteus and Cronos were in the parking lot. Max and Jin in the McHughes and Grind and Six further down the street, on an elevated walkway between two buildings. Sergei came out of the McHughes, carrying a large soyburger and a big cup of soda. He mentioned for the others to follow him. Confused, the runners did so, not wanting to pass up the opportunity to get Joy and/or Isabella back. He led them down the street and around the block, out of sight of Grind. Max and Jin left the fast food place and followed the group at a safe distance, blending into the considerable crowd. Sergei took them to a ramp leading down to a cargo truck loading bay in the side of luxury hotel. Wedge parked across the street from the entrance, and Max and Jin remained to the front of the hotel. Grind was unable to reposition himself properly, so he didn't move, instead making sure that Six - while her consciousness had left her body - was safe and protected and able to keep an eye on the meeting.
The loading bay had several trucks stuck, ass-first up against large electrical garage doors that seemed to be closed. There was a maroon coloured van sitting in the loading bay, too, with it's rear doors open, and an intense looking Elven heavy and a huge Troll bruiser sitting in the back. Sergei joined Borya and Sasha who were standing close to the van. Borya looked relaxed and ready for business. Sasha was chain-smoking and looked disinterested. Borya told the runners - not Van Zant, who kept himself relatively at the back, not engaging in any of the negotiations - he wanted someone found, and in return they'd "get their women back." With "women" he meant both Joy and Isabella. The person he wanted found was a chip-dealer by the name of Lenny...
Continued in Finding Lenny.
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