A Time For Secrets -

"I am open to a consideration of re-negotiation. However, you can't really expect me to give you any more than the broad-strokes description before you all agree, now can you?" The "Johnson" asked, although it isn't really a question...

OOC: Negotiation roll.

Caper listened to the banter for a moment, "I'm in." he paused to take another sip of his water, "I shall leave the negotiatin' to my companions for the moment, assuming they are in as well."
As he arranged some of the food on his plate he tapped out a message to Uncle Lou on his commlink.

To: Uncle Lou
From: Vincent

Uncle Lou,

This is my first run, there seems to be military involved. Hefty payout, a chunk upfront. What do I need, and do you have any advice.

V

PS I likely will not be home for supper, but I have already eaten. Maybe when done I can treat you to a meal here.

Uncle Lou got back to Caper almost immediately.

Vince:
Military should not be messed with if you can avoid it. They carry the big guns, literally! But if you have to, get some good armor, and keep your meat out of the line of fire.

The "Johnson" looks back and grins at the negotiation efforts.
"For your efforts, I suppose I could come up with a bit extra. Mind you, this is because I respect your attempts. But if I really needed a dump and run team, I would simply have supplied a ganger group with one third of what I offered you. Please accept, as my final offer, an additional 5000 nuyen, which I will pay entirely up front. And keep in mind that we have already offered to cover all damages; as long as you are all decently skilled, you shouldn't have anything to fear." The "Johnson" says with a pleasant smile.
"Now, as I discussed, your methods and timing are entirely up to you. However, if you can put yourselves together fast enough, you have a window of oportunity right now where you may be able to accomplish this with minimal effort. That is up to you, but unless you have further questions, I will leave you all to begin your planning. Also, feel free to request anything you may need from the available services of this establishment. The food and alcohol, as I am sure you are now aware, is of the highest quality available."

I'm in. Let me review the data and see just what I got myself into. He held out his hand for the datachips with the mission specs in them. He needed to know what base they were hitting, at the very least. And after that he can see if he can do this on the fly or if he'd need to some time to prepare. He hasn't had to hack a milspec node in quite some time, and that was... an unpleasant experience.

Caper leaned back and read the message Uncle Lou sent. Ain't no help for it now, I already agreed. he thought to himself.

"Well I have two questions: First, which military are we up against exactly? And Second, anyone know a good place to get quality armor?"
He looked around at each of them, including the Johnson before downing the last of his water.

"That out there, let's hear the details."

"Very well. You shall have your details now. I will remain while you review them, so that you may ask questions as needed."
The young woman who served the food returned with a tray with data chips on it.
"This will contain all the information you should need if you will be heading straight to the base. If you choose to wait, the deployment numbers will very likely change, and I cannot guess what they will change to. There are also detailed area maps of the base, including the current fixed fortifications, as well as a detailed layout of the one building on the base. This is all courtesy of the group currently ensconced there." He says with a smile.
"Also, I believe it would be perfectly appropriate for me now to introduce myself. I am Watashi."

Review of the chips reveals that the information is as detailed as he stated. The base's coordinates, as well as area photographs taken probably only minutes before, show a current gun battle underway.

"alright i can agree 9,000 nuyen up front and 15,000 after we finish." look to the matrix guy... "seriously though if we can get to one of their contractors that deals with the handling of stuff like this i could get in and out without raising suspicion." looks uncomfortable "or i could rig my truck here and we could leave now..." looks around the room "what autosofts do you have for your drones? i could apply mine to your drones if you want the upgrade... i will be able to use them to get this done quickly if you dont mind me borrowing them also..."

Alright, do what you want with my drones. I'm going to need about maybe an hour, then we can get underway. He wiped his mouth and put his napkin on his empty plate. Alright, I'm going to see if I can grab a hold of the building plans for the base. He then slumps in his chair, as if he just fell asleep instantly.

As he slipped into the matrix, he took a moment to admire his icon again. It was a gangster type, with medium sized blond hair, amber eyes, and pretty slim. He wore a fedora hat, a pinstripe suit, a red undershirt a white tie, and a pair of circular shades. The nails were painted black, and he had a ring on almost every finger.

Spoiler:

He then got to work. Making his way through the matrix, he looked around for any information on the military base.

Browse 6+ Data search 4+ 2VR Looking for military building blueprints. (12d6=32)
Ugh, 1 hit.

The one hit is enough, since it is a matter of semi-public record. The actual blueprints nearly match the recreation sketches based on the observational data gathered from the other team.

To: Uncle Lou
From: Vincent

Uncle Lou, there is no help for it now, I agreed. I think we may be leaving soon. Do you think you know anyone who can get decent armor modified for me on such short notice? I have perhaps an hour or two before we leave. If need be I can rely on my magic to some degree, but I would hate to put undue strain on my capabilities.

-V-
After sending the message, Caper turned to the others. "I will require some protection on this run, thusly I will probably need a share of our up front payment to purchase armor. I am not sure my coat will withstand Military armament." he paused a moment and then continued, "Assuming, of course, that it comes to the worst. Better prepared than dead."

I flick my fingers deftly on my comlink and announce to the room "my truck will meet us some distance from here anyone mind giving me a ride to it? We can take sheila to the base and do a quick snatch and grab." then looks at the Watashi "we aren't gonna have to pick up vehicles are we? if we are im gonna need a vehicle trailer for my truck... and I can't just pick that up at the bloody corner store..."

"Well, yes and no. The car has a driver already, but the driver is quite unable to break out of the gates on her own. Directly in front of the car are two bikes. Those you will have to pick up and take with you. But, of course, those are considerably more maneuverable than a car...
"One of them can be driven off site, or into the van, as I have the keycode. The other one has a sophisticated biometric lock on it. It will likely have to be manually lifted into the van, or whatever you will be arriving on site to remove it with." He smiled, looking directly back. It is somewhat unnerving to have an interactive hologram which can interface with each person directly.
"As I have stated already, provided you are all up for it, a "snatch and grab" job is likely the simplest way to take care of this situation, since the "distraction" has already been arranged. However, I will reiterate that you all are the experts, and your judgement will be the overriding consideration in this case. Your first counter idea seemed quite reasonable."

Caper finished up his order at Walmart. One Urban Explorer jumpsuit with helmet, tailored to fit his dwarven stature.

"I can probably lift the bike into the van," he looked around, "If need be. Unless you guys want me astral."

He hopped off the chair and smoothed his shirt before grabbing his coat. "I am going to go pick something up, shouldn't take long. Unless you want to give me a ride so as to stick together."

"Well I guess I can have Sheila swing by and pick us all up" I look around absently "And just so you know Sheila is a semi truck not a van she don't quite handle like a van... Know what i mean?" I flick a couple buttons and I reroute sheila to stop right in front of the building and get her to shift the license plate in route. "If we hurry we can probably get this done A.S.A.P. and I can find us a decent safe house for the night... More likely a good back road..."

To: Bender
From: Samuel

Hey I might need a place to hide me and some compratiots... any ideas and just a good clear back road would be fine we'll have Sheila

End Transmission

To: Samuel
From: Bender

Well, I can find you a couple of good clear back roads heading out of the City. I can also suggest some Truck Stops that are frequented by pass-through truckers. Sheila should fit in just fine in one of those. I have attached the coordinates to my favorite over-night spots. Let me know which you're using so I can stay clear.

End Transmission

Almost as if he were waiting for a note, his response flashes into Sam's commlink immediately.

"I'll be back in a bit, or you can pick me up at Walmart." Caper paused at the door, "Oh, here his my commlink code. Maybe we should all get set up for comms. I'll keep mine open for your numbers. Keep me filled in and if you move from here send coordinates where I should meet up with you."
With that, he headed out to find his scooter and zoom over to pick up his Jumpsuit.

"Well i think we should all meet on a major road where I can park Sheila" slips on his VR gloves and starts typing away. "Alright lets share com codes so we can start a tac-net. I should be pinging everyone's coms now" pulls out the cords and plugs myself in to my comlink and then dive into sheila "I'm moving Sheila into a decent walking distance so we can all meet at her. sound like a plan?" I absently reply as I move her through the traffic of the city.

After picking up his new gear, Caper checked his commlink.

I'm on my way to ...uh Sheila now. How we doing this. I mean...what is the final plan?
As he drove his scooter toward the rendevous point, Caper found himself becoming a bit more....nervous? No, it wasn't nerves, it was anticipation.

The drive is uneventful, and easy enough. You both arrive at relatively the same time. The road seems a somewhat desolate, tree-lined, dirt road. Chosen, of course, for those very qualities, both of you realize that this is just about perfect for your purposes. As soon as you arrive, you both recieve a mail.

From: Watashi
Good evening.
I am wondering, if you are interested in replying to me, whether you have chosen to assault the base this evening, or if you will be pursuing a more extended plan.
Thank you,

Watashi.

The message comes with a reply code embedded.

To: Watashi
From: Samuel

I believe its a form of hit and run... I'm gonna bash in the gate and get to everything as fast as possible. Sheila has about the best armor I can get for now. and so long as I got my help here we should be in and out in less then 10 mins so long as you or my buddy here can cause some kind of diversion far away from where we are so we dont have to much opposition... We ought to do just fine.

"So what all do we know about this gate we're crashing?" I look at my riding buddy "you about ready or you got something you need to do first?"

"Just need to know how much the bike I am moving weighs, approximately. Where am I moving it to? Who is getting the other two vehicles or do I need to do that also?"
He looked around and then checked the ammo in his guns.

"Oh yeah, and what kind of cover-slash-backup can you give me? I am not fond of putting holes in my brainpan, if you get me."

He thought over his spells a moment. "Basically I am going to levitate the bike that we can't move into something we can move. I might be able to hold up a barrier at the same time if need be, but I don't want to tax myself too much. I need to stay focused for any strays who wander our way."

He checked his guns one more time before pulling on his helmet.

"I'm basically point and click at this time, other than levitating the bike I planned to just play it by ear."