Sunday 11/09/61, Location: 22.16513, 113.58226, Time 17:00
"Kai, I've got a list of the top ten merc corps here, who their public reps or booking agents are, and where to find them – they're all in hotels, not their corporate HQ." Hunter called out as he unjacked from his deck and climbed out of the co-pilot seat.
"Mmmmhm." Kai gave a generic hum of approval, which the two helipad agents took as directed at themselves. "Excellent indeed. Well. After a greeting like this, I have high hopes for our time here."
"Very good, sir. Do you have a limousine booked, or can we arrange that for you?"
"A limo? No, we don't have one booked. Mind you, we're not sure where we're going to stay yet. Do you have any recommendations?" Kai saw a look between the two men, then one of them gave a little head bow to him.
"Yes sir, we do. We actually have a recommendation for The Parisian. A very good hotel, with many fine services. If you wish I can call for a limousine to take you there, and call our contact to be aware of your arrival?"
"That would be very good. But tell me… the services there. We might be after some… specialist information. Unusual activities. Things that require some discretion…" Kai pulled out his credstick and waved it around airily with his hands as he 'illustrated' his words. One of the two man smiled a little, his eyes tracking the credstick.
"Oh, I know a man that can help. Very discreet." Kai smiled back and stopped his arm, then lowered it to the other cred-reader which had appeared in the man's hand. He keyed over two thousand Nuyen and authenticated the transfer from the certified cred-stick. "Very discreet indeed. Please excuse us, we will arrange for your transfer at once!" He turned and headed back over to the service vehicle, his friend on his heel, leaving the team alone at the foot of the steps, standing on the red carpet that had been laid out for them.
"Alright – what hotel are we going to?" Hunter demanded.
"The Parisian. At least that's what he said. Why?"
"Well, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But that's not one of the hotels that any of the merc contacts are at."
"Probably a good thing. Means we're not doing biz where we're sleeping." Aswon noted. "Who's where then?"
"Well, the info I have is for the main merc corps we're looking into. Combat Inc have their rep, a 'Zu Ling' based in Studio City. MET2000, Hans Wolfgang, in the Grandview Hotel. Tsunami, fronted by Aragoshi Mutahama from the Grand Hyatt. The 58th Battle Brigade is Lieutenant Wu Jung, at the MGM Cotai. BrightEdge have Jean Baptise in The Palace Gardens, but so does Task Force Magus, with Sir Stephen Colbert. The Venetian Hotel has both Ten Thousand Daggers with Slavomir Rawciz and Bravo Company with Staff Sargent Terrage. The Wynn Resort has two in it as well - Tiguan Oolowamba for the Free Marine Corp and Professor Jenny Lindstrom for Team Zero."
"All of those are well known merc corporations. Active trans-nationally. Well resourced, and funded." Aswon nodded. "Any of them would have the capability to do a well-planned and executed attack on something as big as a power station, and involving multiple skillsets."
"Something to bear in mind. This is a gambling city, with a lot of money moving through it. All of those hotels are likely to be secure locations, and very difficult to spy or eavesdrop on. We will encounter significant technical defences, most likely." Marius noted.
"Do we need to eavesdrop on them, though?" Tads asked. "I mean, sure, someone might say something. But aren't we here to just investigate them, and find out the information the old-fashioned way?" She saw a couple of the team looking at each other and blinking, and gathered that they hadn't been thinking along those lines at all. "I just thought that if we met them, and talked to them, we might get them to drop some information in passing conversation, was all. I mean, if we get the opportunity for Hunter to steal a way into their computer – then I'm sure that will help. But if we can get what we need by just talking with them, then it doesn't matter how high-tech the security is in their hotel, does it?"
"No, that is correct, technically." Marius paused for a moment. "But we are outsiders to the industry, and this city. No doubt we will attract attention by our actions, and we must remember that. The same people we might be interested in buying information from, will also be gathering information on us. In fact trying to find an information broker was going to be a suggestion – but that is a double-edged sword."
"I agree. Whatever info-broker we might find, we're just as likely to find data about what we were looking for sold on, as we are to get the info we want. Unless we pay a substantial amount for their discretion, and even then it's very questionable." Aswon looked over at Marius, nodding in agreement with the pilot.
"Well, we can use our 'in' with the magic group to maybe get something…" The rest of the team looked at Tads with visible confusion. She paused, just long enough for them to wonder if she was going to say anything before she hit them with the punchline. "Well, their contact was a Sir someone, so he's tied in with the aristocracy right. Probably a druid. We just have to tell them we have the rightful king of England with us, and they're BOUND to help us." She smiled sweetly at Hunter who just extended a gnarly and callous middle finger to her, ignoring the smirks and chuckle of laughter that ran round the rest of the group.
"Wishful thinking, Tads. Unless he was actually there – I think most druids won't actually believe you. And I'm not sure how widely that tale will have spread."
"Bringing us back to the matter in hand." Marius cleared his throat, waiting for the others to be quiet. "And thinking about what Aswon said a few minutes ago. I am not sure that the skill ceiling for this job is actually that high. For something like a power station, they are very large installations, but they actually work on fairly simple processes. A reactor makes heat, that turns water to steam, which drives a turbine, to make electricity. The specifics are complicated, and the engineering is to a very high level – but the fundamental process is very straight-forward."
"Meaning…" Aswon frowned, not sure yet where Marius was going with this.
"Meaning that planting some C4 on the heat exchanger will kill the operation. Or knocking a turbine blade out of alignment will take it down. Or any one of a number of other simple things. The scale and complexity may be high, but the damage need only be simple to cause a fail-safe situation. They are intrinsically designed to be as safe as possible, and the systems will try to shut down whatever reaction or part of the process is involved, in the event of trouble. Causing the trouble is always going to be simpler than fixing it, and if these are reactors supplying energy to the state, no doubt there is still at least some government oversight. Nucor would have to be certified as safe before they can run their facility again. So while having a highly-skilled team might be more efficient and allow a more high-tech sabotage, it is not essential. Even a brute force approach will still be very effective. I do not believe that it is necessarily what we are looking at here, but we should keep it in mind. Sometimes a simple approach is best."
"Ahh… I see. But what about the situation you dealt with back in the facility?"
"That appeared to be a complex and well executed matrix attack, disabling a number of the safety systems. It WAS a high-tech assault, I will grant you that. However, that virus may have been written in safety thousands of kilometres away. It would only take a few moments for someone to wander past a workstation and insert a data chip to upload it. The virus was complex, but the delivery method could again have been a very simple and low-tech assault. Or at most have required a modicum of skill with moving stealthily or with disguise."
"I think I see where you're coming from… and yeah, to a certain extent, I agree. It's always simpler to break stuff than fix it. And if you're talking big infrastructure, then sabotaging something can make you question the rest. You only need to make a few bolts snap on a bridge and make the rest look like they might before people get twitchy about using it – even if there's no actual risk." Hunter rubbed his chin, the raspy sound of his calloused skin grating across the rough texture of his chiselled jaw making Tads shudder slightly.
"That's kind of what happened with Dekita Oil, wasn't it?" Kai clicked his fingers as he remembered events. "After we sabotaged the pipeline, it was claimed that their massive oil silo was contaminated. Sent their stock price plummeting and the price of fuel went through the roof – at least for a short time, until they re-ran the tests and proved the oil was ok." Kai then remembered how much money they'd made speculating on the share price, knowing exactly how much damage they'd caused and how quickly it could actually be fixed. "Ahh, good times. But yeah, I see your point, Marius."
"And that can be as much about the perception of safety as the actual safety itself." Shimazu added. "Particularly when you mention nuclear energy. If word gets out that a nuke plant has been bombed, then that is probably one of the things that can be counted on to make the common peasant or factory worker pay attention and raise their concerns. They don't understand how it works, but they know the dangers, and even a powerful corp can't ignore the kind of media storm that a story like that can cause. It could be as much about a psychological warfare attack as it is the actual danger or disruption."
"I wonder…" Hunter jacked in for a moment, running a quick search, then sending off some of his primitive data-gathering bots to look into the situation further. "I'm not sure that the average person on the street is going to have any idea that a dragon is on the board of Nucor. I'm not sure if that's good or bad… but they're probably just seen as another faceless organisation, run by soulless corporate bastards. And people are probably going to be willing to believe any story they hear about corporate cost-cutting or safety oversights. Yeah… psy-ops could be a big thing here."
"The impression I get from our assignment was that we do not need to find the individual assets or teams used to carry out these missions. We need to find out what organisation they work for – and perhaps the details of the job, but then pass that back to Yat Gwan."
"Yeah… that's the vibe I got. She doesn't need us to fix the problem, just find out who's causing it. No doubt she's got connections all over, maybe she just needs to have a word with the CEO of whichever corp it is and tell them to stop. Or tell Lung, and he tells them to stop. Or this could all just be a wild goose chase to get us out of her hair for a while, while she figures out what's actually going on with the kid!" Aswon sounded a little frustrated as he got to the end of his rant, and they watched him take a deep breath, calming himself down and willing his heart rate to slow.
"A genuine question – this sounds more like the action that a team of Shadowrunners would take. Not a mercenary outfit. The strike against a power plant, I mean."
"Generally yes, Marius. But every merc corp has a team that do 'unconventional missions' or conduct 'asymmetrical warfare'. It's called different things, but even in a legal, above-board mercenary contract there's always going to be times when you need something doing that crosses a line, and a team of people that are loyal enough to the outfit to get it done, even if it's less than legal. They don't advertise those services – but just like the runners that infest every metroplex, they're there – and they're kept busy. Even people like MET2000 or Ten Thousand Daggers where they run entire cities – they still have some disreputable types lurking in the background for when you need shady drek doing. I mean, they're not above hiring runners to do their questionable stuff, just like any other corp – but sometimes you need to get something done, and it needs to be handled by trustworthy people. Or it's just a strike against a rival, and it's part of the contract." Aswon shrugged. "All part of the game… but the internal teams that do that kind of stuff, they tend to fly under the radar as much as possible, for obvious reasons. So getting information on them, on their operational status would be hard. Nothing against you, Hunter, but I'm not sure you're ready to go on a matrix run against a host that well defended, to try and extract that info."
"Surely that's another argument for just setting Kai on them, get them talking and just get the info directly from the corp?"
"I am very much in favour of that idea." Shimazu added quietly. "He can be very persuasive when required. And if he can keep them talking, I can analyse their body language to determine additional data. No doubt these people are skilled negotiators, used to brokering large deals with lots of risk. But so is Kai."
"Well, we could always meet up with them and say 'hey, we're looking for a merc team to strike at a nuclear reactor' and see what their reaction is like! See if we spot any eye-rolls or feelings of deja-vu, or if they suddenly come out with a plan that indicates that this is something they've already gamed through."
"That would probably work." Aswon responded. "Especially if you can work out a game plan in terms of questions, try to keep them off-balance, or shifting the topic of conversation around. Anything you can do to keep them focussed on you gives Shimazu a better chance of getting a read on their emotions and responses. Especially if there are some more of us there to add complications or other questions. I don't know… maybe Hunter could ask them about engineering stuff, or Tads could question them on magical defences. Stuff we all know about. Make them forget Shimazu is there, just watching them. I mean, they might even just dismiss him as 'just the bodyguard' – and if they do, well, that's their fault really…"
"If we're going to be doing this with a mob of us, that means leaving the Broadsword here, unguarded. And it's a stupid plan to leave it outside. Can you ask those guys if we can get space in a hanger?"
"I agree with Hunter. The onboard power will keep the polymers going for a while, but not for an extended time. If they shut off, then everyone would be able to see the aircraft, and the type – and that will lead to questions. Questions that are much better not asked."
"Hello! Hello there! It seems we have additional requirements!" Kai wandered over to towards the vehicle, where he was quickly met with a smile – unsurprising after the large 'tip' received for his services so far. They watched Kai talk to him for a minute or two, before heading back. "Yeah, they have hanger space. It's a bit pricy, mind – five thousand a night! So I've only booked us in for two nights to start off with. But one of them is called for something called a follow me now?"
"It is a small tractor unit, designed for towing aircraft. That is fine. And if they are taking it to a hanger, they can provide an external power connection – that will keep the internal systems topped up." Marius tapped a few quick controls on his deck, popping open the external coupling port so they would be able to plug in the power feed. "There. Now there is no reason for anyone to see the aircraft fully."
"Good stuff. I also asked them about carrying weapons and stuff, and they told me the local police are on them like wasps on jam. So we might want to pack light…"
"That doesn't surprise me at all, Kai. If this is a massive gambling location, they'll want people to feel safe, especially carrying or spending money."
"Indeed. The island is not that large, but in the vicinity of the casino and major hotel chains, I would expect security to be omnipresent and overbearing. We should consider this like a corporate zero-zone." Marius looked over at Tads. "I suspect that magic will be highly regulated or outright forbidden as well. The idea of letting someone into a game of roulette that can use a spell to move the ball around…well, nobody is going to like that."
"So I need to be careful."
"I'd say you need to be more than careful. This isn't going to be like a small hospital or clinic. And I don't think a curtain rod would cut it here!" Aswon warned. "You need to be not detected at all. All of us do." He swept a finger around the magical members of the team. "It's just going to be more hassle than it's worth, to deal with magical permits and examinations and whatever other legal hoops they want to run through."
The team saw a limo entering the helipad compound, and slowly turning to head towards them as the two employees flashed the lights of their vehicle, and quickly filed back up the steps, divesting themselves of their weapons and outer armour. Shimazu even unfastened his scabbard, safely stowing his sword in the cabin. There was a frenzy of movement as they stripped off their travelling clothes and changed into their smart suits, clothing being thrown onto the seats to sort out later. Two minutes later they were looking considerably smarter and presentable, and headed towards the doorway to head out to the now waiting limousine. Shimazu paused at the top, a brief look of consternation on his face, before he took a few steps back in, opened his kit bag and grabbed one extra piece of kit, before turning to head out, quickly jamming the vibro-knife down the inside pocket of his suit, smoothing the fabric out to hide the lines.
He saw Tads waiting with her staff and gave her a look, wondering what she'd say.
"Walking stick. Old injury." Shimazu nodded. He wasn't sure how well that would fly if they were stopped by the police, but they could at least all be prepared to support her story. Looking up, he saw the two employees of the heliport were once more standing by the side of the red carpet, standing stiffly at attention.
"My friend would be alright with her walking stick in the city, right?" Kai asked.
"I'm not sure sir. They don't like weapons… and well, it does look like that."
"It's just a walking stick, though. She has an injury."
"Ahh, well. That seems like a good excuse." The man looked around, then paused, making sure that the limo driver was opening the doors on the far side of the vehicle. "I would advise a note from the doctor, sir. The police here – they like procedures. Very strict with compliance. But they don't question authority."
"Ahh… useful. Thank you." Kai nodded. "I'm sure we do have a note from her doctor saying that she needs a walking aid." He glanced over at Hunter, who gave a tiny nod and tapped his briefcase with a finger. He turned back towards the heliport greeter. "Thank you again for your warm welcome. I'll look forward to seeing your friend at the Parisian."
"Very good sir. Enjoy your stay in Macau."
The team headed over to the limousine and filed into the back, sliding into the large compartment and sinking into the luxurious leather seats. The driver waited until they were settled, then closed the doors and headed back to his driver's compartment. A female voice sounded from the concealed speakers, welcoming them to the journey, and then proceeded to give an approximate journey time, informed them how to operate the complimentary bar and most crucially, gave them the option of engaging the privacy measures built into the limo. Marius checked the controls, then activated what appeared to be a combination jammer and white noise generator – causing a quiet combination of running water, waves and static to emerge from the speakers, as well as sending a quiet pulsing tone out that blocked their commsets.
"We should be safe to talk." He confirmed. "But better to remain discreet still, just in case."
The limo pulled out of the helipad through the security gates and started to gently roll down the road, the driver keeping it to a steady twenty kilometres per hour while the active suspension on the vehicle made it feel like they were gliding over ice.
After about a kilometre of service roads they met up with a larger highway, and the limo sped up, merging into traffic heading south. Shortly after they joined the main road, they spotted a huge onramp that was thronged with traffic – nearly all of which were other limos or high-end cars. As a plane streaked overhead on final approach, it was clear that this was the airport access route, and it certainly appeared that this was the primary route in to the area for most people. They slowed slightly as the traffic levels increased, finding themselves nestled in amongst three lanes of vehicles that were either rusted and ancient jalopies or state of the art modern vehicles – there appeared to be nothing in-between, pointing towards a crushing and enormous financial gap between the rich and the poor in the area.
Marius pointed towards the front of the vehicle as they left the airport, and the others turned in their seats, craning to look through the limited area to the side of the driver out of the front. The sky was light, not quite daylight, but certainly lit up brighter than sunrise or sunset, with a warm and diffuse light. Another kilometre south, they reached a large traffic island, a huge gyratory system that split traffic between the two halves of the Cotai strip, it seemed, and the source of the light was revealed.
The Cotai strip was a monument to excess. Lining both sides of the road were huge towers, enormous mega-casino hotel complexes, adorned with lights and screens, each seeking to outdo its neighbours. Huge water jets shot twenty metres into the air, illuminated by hundreds of multi-coloured lights while music accompanied the display, fireworks screeched overhead, huge holograms floated in front of buildings, and there were people everywhere. The pathways down the sides of the road were wide, almost wide enough for two lanes of traffic – but were thronged with people, milling about, taking photos or wandering with beer or food in their hands, gawping at the various displays.
The limo slowed, giving them time to examine the hotels as they passed, matching up some of the names to the ones Hunter had already discovered, and finding others to add to their maps. They passed enormous decorative bridges festooned with lasers crossing massive artificial lakes, populated with pleasure craft packed with tourists, saw mascots and street entertainers performing for the crowds, and everywhere there was motion, lights, gold trim and sparkles, designed to give people a constant rush of dopamine and excitement.
But after the first impressions crashed over them, their experienced and cynical eyes looked further, and they spotted the swaying palm trees littered with lights that concealed the stem of security cameras, focussed on the pedestrian movements. Staring into the sky, once their night vision recovered sufficiently from the glare of the buildings they could see the hovering drones high above, sensor suites focussed down on the crowds below, hovering over key locations. The archways of flowers and bright decorations that arched over the walkways were suspended on a metal frame that was sized just right to hold a weapons detection scanner, isolating each block or hotel frontage into different zones. And wandering throughout the crowd in their pristine uniforms were sharp eyed police, wandering along with broad smiles plastered on their faces that were entirely superficial. Their pistols were in secured holsters, strapped firmly down but looked to be very lightweight – but no doubt the most dangerous weapon they carried was the radio mike that hung from their harness, ready to call in reinforcements at a moment's notice.
"Is that Big Ben?" Kai asked, pointing out the familiar landmark that strangely seemed to be located outside of another large hotel, with letters three stories high proclaiming it to be "The Londoner".
"I would assume so." Marius gestured ahead of them and to the right. "Because that appears to be the Eiffel Tower, so presumably our hotel behind it." The team swapped their attention around, and sure enough there appeared to be an exact representation of the famous French landmark located at the front of the hotel. It was bathed in pink and purple lights, glistening in the night sky – and this structure was no small scale homage to the name of the hotel. The tower soared high above them, and according to Hunters laser rangefinder was at least a hundred and sixty metres high – making it about 50% scale to the original.
The limo swept around a few gentle turns, taking the two lane entranceway to the hotel, before pulling up beneath a massive glass canopy that covered the entranceway. There was room for at least two dozen or more limos to arrive here at once spread out over the five lanes, but when they pulled to a halt, only one other vehicle was here, already unloading a Chinese family. A small cohort of greeters or bellboys were waiting, but one man in particular seemed to make a bee-line for their vehicle, barely waiting for them to stop before he opened the door.
"Bonsoir! Français ou anglais?" The man's voice was deep, and carried throughout the car.
"De l'anglais s'il vous plaît, pour ces paysans." Hunter replied with a grin, already heading out of the car to stand underneath the massive glass and steel structure that arched overhead, looking like the roof of a Victorian era railway station.
"Very good, sir. Welcome to the Parisian. My name is Bertrand, and I was asked to come and greet you personally and assist you with your stay." As more of the team clambered out of the back of the car, they got to size him up. Human, he was a tall man of decent proportions, clearly not a local, looking far more European – and they wondered if the hotel had made efforts to import native French speakers for an extra layer of authenticity. "I understand that you may have some…special requirements?"
"Ahh, wonderful. I'm glad our friend at the heliport was able to arrange something. Yes, that's right." Kai grinned at him.
"Very good, sir. May I get your bags taken up?" He raised his left hand and clicked his fingers, somehow making a sound that sounded almost like a suppressed gunshot. Four bellhops came scurrying towards them in answer to his summons.
"We just have what we're wearing – we may need to purchase some toothbrushes or other items. But no baggage." Kai responded. Bertrand's hand suddenly extended with all the authority of a policeman controlling traffic, then flicked twice, and the bellhops skidded to a halt and then scurried away, all while Bertrand maintained eye contact with Kai.
"Very good, sir. I'll be happy to assist you with whatever supplies you need. Toothbrushes will be no problem of course, as will any other hygiene requirements. If you need anything more unusual, we shall do our best to accommodate you. This way, please." He led them across the open area towards the front entrance of the hotel, where a dozen double-doors lay waiting for them, deep brown oak doors in heavy frames contrasting with highly-polished brass fittings. Bertrand led them to the doors, which were pulled open by waiting staff and sailed through into the sparkling white marble corridor beyond, which soon opened up into a fabulously appointed room. Six metres high and probably sixty metres long, it was painted a deep red with a golden trim, while huge oil paintings of French chateaus and landscapes hung on the wall, flanked with gold sconces and plants. The ceiling was decorated with a pair of enormous friezes that must have been fifteen metres long each, decorating the space between three equally large chandeliers.
The reception desk stretched most of the way along the back wall, and there were a number of people queuing, waiting to either check in or out, or maybe to seek assistance. Bertrand however swept past them and cut straight to the front of the line, beckoning Kai and the team over with polite gestures.
"Hello, Qi. These are some special guests to book in, just arrived from the heliport." He announced to the slender employee behind the desk, who most definitely did look local. The people at the front of the queue who should have been next frowned a little, but then sighed, apparently resigned to the fact that people with more money got seen first here… "They have no baggage, and I'm afraid their bookings might have been somewhat garbled. I'm not even sure if we have their reservations on file… alas." Bertrand turned towards Kai for confirmation.
"Yes, that's right. Something about a matrix error. But we're after three double rooms, for a couple of nights, please."
"Of course sir. Let me just check." She stared at Kai for a moment, not seeming to do anything, then gave him a brief smile. "We have three Aristocrat rooms on the 27th Floor available, all adjacent, for the dates specified. Will those be acceptable?"
"Of course, thank you."
"If I may have your IDs then please sir, and I'll get you booked in."
While she was speaking to Kai, Hunter eased over to the counter and carefully leant over, as if he was examining the paintings and decorations on the wall behind her. His eyes dropped down though, and he saw the fibre optic cable linking her waist to the matrix terminal barely visible in the shelf under the broad marble counter-top. Presumably she had a datajack in her hip rather than the more normal neck or wrist locations, which let her jack in more discretely and present an image the hotel favoured of more natural-looking staff. He snorted briefly, then watched as she checked the credsticks containing their SINs.
"Ahh, these sticks appear to be configured incorrectly. May I enable the communication features, sir? It will allow full use of the hotel amenities that way?" She looked over to Kai, having taken him to be the leader of the party and when he nodded, she started to slot the sticks into her reader and ran a series of commands. One by one she worked through them, turning on the ID beacons and cross-linking features, enabling the short-range broadcast of their IDs and making them available to receive information. He frowned a little – not that most people would have known from the set of his face. With the beacons on, their movements would be tracked by the sensors built into every shop front, and every till they passed, profiling them and sending them targeted advertising and pop up displays, offering them shopping 'advice' and otherwise being a pain in the ass. But, while the team generally had their beacons turned off for that exact reason, it would also have made them stand out to any security forces or monitoring – making them six null zones that wandered around without any IDs and no doubt attracting far more attention. Probably better to deal with the weeks of spam and offers they'd get afterwards than run the risk of standing out from the crowd…
They were booking in very quickly, and Kai didn't check the amount on the reader when he authenticated the payment for the rooms – not wanting to know how overpriced they were. But moments later Bertrand whisked them off to the left and through another large archway into another brilliant white marble corridor. When they emerged, he stumbled a little as he took in the sight before him, impressed despite his best efforts.
The central rotunda for the hotel was built in a classical style, and gave the vibes of being designed after some famous French opera house perhaps. A circular dome capped the central area with an atrium at least twenty-five metres high, surrounded by balconies from the floors above. Paintings that appeared to be vaguely related to Christian mythology decorated the roof, held aloft by the fourteen giant pillars that formed the grand hallway. Gold sculpting contrasted with the white marble, and a large onyx fountain filled the centre of the room, the sound of rushing water fighting with the sounds of hundreds of people moving about as they toured the corridors examining the boutique shopping locations that lined the sides of the large passageways that radiated outwards.
Bertrand had slowed, allowing them to gawk around the area, clearly expecting at least some kind of reaction, before he sped up again and led them down one of the passages. His gait was swift, and he called ahead politely but firmly to ask people to make way, his height over most of the locals and fancy uniform carving a path through the crowds. He led the team towards a bank of elevators that led up into the main accommodation tower, pulling up at the first one and waving his hand over the touch-panel to summon a cab.
Their journey up to floor twenty-seven was swift, and at least once they were in the corridor leading to the rooms, the décor calmed down a little. It was still stylish and well designed, but wasn't handled with quite the same sense of excess as so much of what they'd seen so far. Bertrand bought them to rooms 27-08 through to 27-10, opening the doors to each with their SINs before passing back the IDs to their respective owners, letting them know who was in each room. They congregated into the first room however, and Bertrand beckoned them over to him, forming a small circle facing inwards. His voice lowered, and he held out his commlink, broadcasting his virtual card to them to pick up. When he spoke the French accent disappeared, leaving a very bland and generic English speaking tone.
"This is my personal comm code. Call it, tell me what you need, and I can try to arrange it."
"Good. First thing – we were advised not to carry weapons. My friend her has a walking stick – is that going to be an issue? Our man at the heliport said to get a doctor's note?" Kai let his voice rise as if he was questioning the logic.
"Yes, that's a good idea. Any kind of note from a doctor about a disability, or requiring it as an aid. Not just the police, but the staff at other hotels, or the casinos, or even the busses and tourist attractions. As soon as there's a permission slip from someone that sounds like they're in a position of authority, they probably won't question it. There's a lot of rule-following and compliance baked into the culture, and if you play into that right, you can get a certain amount of latitude. But don't ask permission – it'll be denied. You need to act like you've already been given the permission."
"What about security in here. I notice we're all speaking quietly…" Hunter raised.
"All of the rooms are routinely monitored. It's the same in all the hotels. But, if you have…confidential matters to discuss, I can obtain a device for you. I presume to rent, rather than to purchase?" He glanced around and got several nods. "Very well, I will put that at the top of my list. In the meantime, the bathroom is probably the best place for a quiet conversation."
"With the taps running and the shower on, I guess." Aswon grinned, then continued. "We're here to speak to a number of the mercenary companies, looking to get a contract filled, but we're first time visitors to the city. We have a list of companies, agents and their locations in various hotels. But we don't have a lead on any information brokers or handlers. That would be useful to us."
"I can make some enquiries. Is there anything else I can help with?"
"Well, we'd love to sample some of the local cuisine – I assume it's all good here."
"Ahh, a more regular enquiry. Then yes, the restaurants here are very fine, with excellent service and choice. But if you wish to stay discreet, then most of the food could also be ordered as room service."
"I'd love a wheel of Brie as it goes. And some decent bread." Hunter smacked his lips together in anticipation.
"That would be no problem. If there is nothing else then, I will go and start making arrangements, and will return later here – to this room, when I have news or things for you."
"Thank you, Bertrand. You've been enormously helpful." Kai pulled out his credstick and held it out, letting Bertrand touch his reader to it, then offer the keypad to Kai. With barely a moment's hesitation, Kai transferred over another two thousand Nuyen and authorised with a thumbprint. With a quick muttered thank you, Bertrand bobbed his head and then backed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
"Well, let's get some food ordered for starters, check out the rooms, and do some tourist stuff. Might as well look the part!" Kai suggested. With that the team did as he said, ordering a vast array of food – as much for Tads to sample as wide a selection as possible for reproduction later. While they were waiting, Tads went out for a quick walk, retracing steps down to the central atrium and having a quick and subtle look around in astral space, before returning. When she got back, she found all of the others back in the first room, having explored their suites and claimed beds already, examined the furnishings and checked their exit routes.
"The hotel does have wards up, but they're very low force. One over the main entrance doors, around that big central atrium. Lift shaft has several, one every couple of floors. They're all strong enough to stop someone uneducated, or unable to mask their magic, but we've certainly got no issues spoofing them. At least in the public areas. I'm sure the private areas or if they have business rooms might have more powerful defences."
"Yeah, they do say that in the brochure." Hunter sounded a bit distant, and as she looked over, she noticed that his deck was hooked up to the satellite phone, positioned facing the large glass doors leading to the balcony. "Just searching for information, and they do have some secure conference rooms that they say are magically protected. Don't go into details though."
"Are we fine discussing stuff without the thingy?" She asked. "The jammery thing?"
"It is not ideal, but it is not actively dangerous, as long as we do not discuss specifics." Marius informed her. "I believe that the rooms are monitored through the cameras and pickups on the trideo units – it makes sense to leverage the technology already in the room and already connected to the network. But this hotel has over two thousand, seven hundred rooms. They could be running surveillance programs, but even with a very powerful host, looking for specific keywords, that is still a lot of data to trawl through. My expectation is that they record the data and hold it for thirty days. If an incident happens, they can replay whatever they have to determine facts or plans – after an incident, to try and determine what really happened. Or if they get a tip-off about someone, or a request from the police or their corporate owners, they could monitor actively. But otherwise, it will almost certainly just end up in a massive data lake and be held until it gets overwritten. Probably."
"I think I understand." Her conversation was cut short by a knock at the door and the arrival of the first wave of dinner. Four shining silver trolleys were pushed into the room and soon the team were tucking into a weird fusion mix of traditional French dishes and local Chinese cuisine. Hunter did get his wheel of Brie, along with an entire stick of freshly baked, still slightly steaming bread, and was soon back with his deck, a look of bliss spreading across his face.
Nobody had any objections as Tads worked around the dishes, grabbing a few forkfuls of every dish they had, chewing the food slowly and committing the taste, texture and ingredients to memory. They knew full well that it would pay off in the long term – and was far better than a bowl of porridge oats!
They were still eating when another knock at the door interrupted them – with Bertrand returning and silently handing over a pack of cigarettes to Kai. As Kai took them, Bertrand silently pointed to a small and subtle button that made up part of the logo on the side of the pack, miming to push it in. He was gone just as quickly, and Kai passed over the disguised device to Marius for examination. When the button was pushed, they once more heard the gentle whooshing noise of static over their ear-pieces as the jammer went to work, along with an audible noise from the device, which apparently used the outer 'carton' as a speaker grille, sounding like a mournful wind that rose and fell in an irregular fashion.
"It is not that powerful, but it should be good enough. If we try to remain discreet, then this should protect us from any later investigations."
"Good. Sounds good to me, Marius. Well… I think we should keep a low profile tonight, eat, drink, be merry and generally chill out. We can make a start on contacting these reps tomorrow, and see what our friend comes back with. But for now – relax. Make the most of these rooms – we're probably paying through the nose for them, and we're going to have to do some sketchy shit to pay for them – but we're here now, and nobody is trying to kill us. Let's make the most of it!"
With that the team did relax – or as much as they could. Hunter stayed online doing more searches, but stretched out on the luxurious bed as he did so, munching his way through the entire one and a half kilo wheel of cheese and the stick of bread, spreading crumbs and greasy finger-stains everywhere. The rest of the team, apart from Aswon, chilled out in the comfortable lounge area and watched the trid, catching up on the news, watching some random talk-shows, and stuffing themselves to the point of bursting with the excellent food. Whatever the chefs were earning here, they were definitely worth it was the general consensus – the ingredients were all excellent, but they had been expertly cooked and prepared, and put all the meals in their recent history to shame.
Aswon headed down the lift, looking for a bar and set himself up at the end, ordering a drink and just relaxing – or at least appearing to, letting his exceptionally acute hearing go to work. The clientele was nearly all Chinese, and those that weren't were definitely all from south-east Asia – so he drew a fair few glances over the course of the evening. He was used to that though, but he listened in and was surprised to find out how many of the guests had at least a smattering of French and were using it (or possibly abusing it) to talk to the staff, and in particular the barkeepers. They responded in kind, and Aswon found himself soon picking up a remarkable amount of the conversations as his magical senses went to work, grabbing the language kernel and assimilating the knowledge.
Unlike the hotel in Shanghai, there was no sign of 'alternative lifestyle' people to be found here – everyone appeared to be regular tourists here to spend some money, and a little after eleven in the evening, he headed back upstairs to rejoin the team.
By midnight, they were all back in their rooms, taking advantage of the enormous bathrooms, comfy beds and luxuriously soft towels to relax in a way they simply couldn't in the Broadsword. Outside the city was still illuminated like a concert performance, and though the crowds thinned, the area was still busy with tourists. But on the twenty seventh floor, there was at least a little bubble of quiet, as the six team-members crawled under their duvets and stretched out, getting a good night's sleep.
Apart from one, of course. Anyone who had managed to creep into Tads' room without waking her, would have been amused to have seen a tiny bundle of rucked up covers curled up around a pillow, snoring quietly, occupying the top right corner of the bed, while the rest of the snowy-white sheet looked like an abandoned plain…