"Let's say you're going to owe us one, since I was coming to talk to you about some bets." [ Awareness roll to see if Tai Ling panics. 4,5 so 2 successes. ] Eddie is hurting (and bleeding), but he's not going to let that stop him from asking pointed questions. Tai Ling will probably prefer this variety of pointed questions instead of Eddie's big frakking blades...
Seeing that Mr. Tai-Ling is alive and relatively healthy, immediatly Amyah focused on Eddie's wounds, extracting Her Emergency Medikit from the posh big backpack-purse that She carried. . . While still wary of the Bikers, tried to assess quickly the situation, by putting Her trusty Light Shotgun on the floor just in reach of HERSELF. . . "Careful Boys, the Yujing Brass is arriving and there could be ALSO Biker Reinforcements abroad ! Let's decide if stay put or skedaddle !!!" A quick Diagnostic-Scan of the Comlog Ololith was quickly put over the handsome Chimera injuries and the gorgeous Haqqislamite Woman started to do a very rapid, if albeit thorough, Check-Up of Vitals and Pressure Levels, when unwrapping a Nano-Staunch@TM anti-bleed tissue !!
[I've spotted the biker / hacker on foot running from the scene - I'm staying in the van but be advised she is on her way. Cops will probably be here soon]
[Let's try out something new for a second...] Officer Chong-Ho was enjoying the nice view of the rolling hills towards the southern section of Sibai island. He could see some of the flood lights for the racing event peeking over some of the hills to the right. He could watch the shadows of the clouds travel over those hills all day. His partner, Altan, could care less about the view. His attention was fully in Maya checking in on social media and general surfing. It didn't matter all that much as the two were just on backup duty. No patrol, no special assignment, just waiting for a call. The island had been pretty quiet even with the big race bringing in five times as many people that were on the island at once. Some drunk and disorderly, a few muggings by the bosozuko gangs, and some domestic calls from resorts and hotels. It helped the ISS was one scene do to the influx of outsiders and the size of the Human Sphere Grand Prix Circuit Two Championship. Being a beat officer Chong-Ho wasn't privy to what the ISS was packing but rumor was that it had four quick reaction teams with their own VTOL aircraft. One team was rumored to be some Wu Ming and someone else said they saw two Su Jians being offloaded at the airport. They also had plenty of ground teams as well. Whatever they had they had it in spades and weren't afraid to use them if needed. Even with that level of deterrence something was bound to happen and it did... a shots fired call came ringing over the comlogs of Chong-Ho and Altan. Karaoke Central at the Garden Pavilion which was right by the track. The two weren't far at all and called in that they were on their way. Chong-Ho, Atlan, and four other officers were first on the scene. Two officers secured the perimeter while the other pressed on inside with their guns drawn. The swept through the place until the came upon the room where a small firefight must of taken place. There they found 3 foreigners, 2 bosozukos, one bloodied and another unconscious, and a citizen. The foreigners and citizen seemed to be taking it easy while the conscious bosozuko seemed to fear for his life. The officers were quiet apprehensive with two of the foreigners do to tags on their social halos. They were heavily modded... especially the male Nomad. He could rip right through them without a second thought if he wanted. However everyone cooperated without an issue. Everyone was stripped of their weapons and handcuffed. [If you were in the karaoke bar... you can kiss your weapons goodbye.] Back outside they sat the foreigners on the curb while the conscious bosozuko and citizen were taken elsewhere. The unconscious bosozuko was coming to but he was already being loaded up in an ambulance. Chong-Ho and Altan watch over the foreigners as a sergeant comes over and takes a look at them, "Look at what we have here. A Nomad, a Haqq, and..." he looks at Konrad, "Whatever you are. You are all in a world of shit." ++++ Impi, smartly, moved the SUV away from the place before the police arrived. He parked it on the other end of the lot and got out to join the gathering crowd of onlookers to help blend himself in. He can see his team on the curb and also spots the bosozoku and Tai Ling getting grilled in the back of some cruisers.
"Yes, this is quite a mess, Sergeant. Please contact Pheasant Agent Lan, we have information she will want to have. Those bikers attempted to murder Tai Ling, and this is connected to the case Agent Lan is working on. They even had hacker support sophisticated enough to take down my comlog, and my comlog has Nomad police-grade barrier programs on it." Eddie is doing his best to not appear threatening to the Imperial Service troops. It's not easy, what with Eddie towering over them by a good 45cm or more, and that's without that tag in his Social Halo that says Eddie is illegally modified for Yu Jing. Though I'm sure the blood on his suit isn't helping matters. "I came here to place a few bets with Tai Ling, but while I was chatting up his receptionist I heard a gunshot. A silenced gunshot, at that, and my old training kicked in. I was an undercover officer back on Bakunin, you see. Go ahead and ask Tai Ling if we did anything to threaten his life, he should confirm my statement." "Also, my assistants' comlog will have a recording of what happened." Eddie nods towards Aaliyah and Konrad. "Those bikers managed to take my comlog down shortly after the mess started, but it should have a recording of what happened before the hacking attack." "We will give further statements to Agent Lan."
Konrad keeps it to himself. He had been there more than one time with different authorities. Name them and they had payed a visit in the fringe settlements of Human Edge and enforced their will. Keeping still, friendly and helpfull will help to avoid unwanted attention.
[Lan isn't a Pheasant. She's just a Zhanying.] "Agent Lan..." the sergeant mutters then it hits him. He's on his radio seeing if someone can get a hold of the agent. It was around another twenty minutes until Agent Lan showed up. Two black SUVs rolled into the parking lot. Saito had just gotten to the lot as well. Good timing for Impi as the crowd he was using for cover had depleted. So he took refuge inside Saito's car and escape the prying eyes of the police. A team of Celestial Guards exit from trailing SUV. Agent Lan comes out of the lead SUV and starts talking to the sergeant. It's a short and quick conversation. The sergeant isn't putting up much of a fight as he knows its one he'll lose every time. So he releases Konrad, Eddie, and Amyah into Agent Lan's custody. The cuffs come off and the team of CGs escort them to Agent Lans SUV. They load them up and Lan joins them. ISS SUV "Your story has been verified by Tai Ling and your comlog footage. Thanks to me you don't have to go down to the local precinct and give statements. Tai Ling will be doing that." She leans back into her car seat (the seats face each other), "Quite coincidental that a Nomad business man and his associates visit two crime scenes in one day. I'm getting the feeling that you aren't exactly who you say you are Mr. Calverson," she looks at Amyah and Konrad, "and company." Saito's Car Saito and Impi watch as the remainder of the team are loaded up into the ISS SUV. Trying to look at what's going on over the tac-net just reveals distorted images and audio. Those SUVs must be kitted out with some serious jamming gear.
"Well, Agent Lan-daren, I am a little more than a pretty face." Eddie smiles in admission. "As this wonderful tag in my Social Aura indicates, I am a Chimera. More to the point, however, I was an Uberfallkommando. An undercover officer for the Sport Crimes division of Bakunin Vice, whose specialty was chasing down fixed fights and the people responsible. And in addition to openly plastering Tristeryon decals on bikes and recruiting riders, well, I've been requested to quietly take a look at the races. Someone is rather suspicious that certain riders never seem to finish in the Top 5, despite their performance over the course of the season, and even in qualifying at the races here." "And I have noticed a pattern to some of the betting pools. A small set of very long-shot pools always win. Timmy DeLassi, where we first met, and Tai Ling were the ones handling those pools this year. Someone killed Timmy before I could talk to him, but we managed to catch up to Tai Ling before he could be killed." Eddie pauses for a moment, then says, "I'd check the weapon of the bosozoku I took down with the blade, he may be the same one who killed DeLassi. Anyway, seems the bosozoku are cleaning up loose ends for someone. My experience is that organized crime types like to play the long odds, and are certainly not above fixing the races to ensure they win." "Those bosozoku are far more competent than I had expected. Not least for being able to hit me," Eddie shifts in pain, "but their hacker was good enough to take down my comlog, through Nomad police-spec barriers. That's a rather high level of skill and/or equipment." "Unfortunately, the hacker ran off, instead of trying to back the other two up. So I suspect that whoever hired the bosozoku knows this hit didn't go down the way it was supposed to. Well, Tai Ling should be relatively secure in police custody, but Imperial Service custody should be much more secure." Eddie suddenly jumps, "Oh, damn, and Tai Ling really needs to be checked for delayed viral ammo aftereffects as soon as possible, which I doubt the police have the ability to do." "While I really want to talk to Tai Ling, I can understand why you wouldn't necessarily want me to. So, how about we register a contract with the Imperial Service as undercover bounty hunters? This gives you a legal handle on us, and gives us a bit of a legal shield, too. It would also make it much easier to share information."
Nodding as Impi jumps in the car. Saito extends a hand in greeting. "Hello. This is the first time we meet." Impi notices the the plain, uneventful look of a man you'd forget. Although, Impi does notice the undercover, inconspicuous light body armour favoured by those stealthy types. "I really wanted to avoid having to meet with your team face to face......" Saito sighs. "But it can't be helped half the time." Saito backs the car off to give the ISS vehicles some space while still being close at hand. Leaning on the wheel, the only tell that he's nervous comes from the steady tapping of his finger on the dashboard. Suddenly out of no where. He says to Impi. "I really, really hope none of them are stupid enough to reveal my presence here to those ISS." Leaning back into the driver's seat. "Cause that will open up an even bigger shit storm then any of them could imagine."
Impi gives Saito a firm handshake back and a quick smile. "Nice to meet you on the other side of the Tac-Net. I wouldn't worry about the other 3 giving too much away, they are all old hands and none of them will be spilling their guts to the Imperials in a hurry. Not sure about our next move, not like we can bust them out. If I know Eddie he'll be trying to get official sanction or at least stay out of a gulag until some bigwig decides they'd rather have a chimera shot up than one of their own. We could tail them but the ISS probably wouldn't appreciate it - might be best to lay low until we hear from them"
ISS SUV Agent Lan frowns, "Interesting. Sports rigging falls outside our purview at the Imperial Service unless organized crime is involved. From your visits to Tai and Timmy I'm assuming they're involved in your investigation in some way. If so... in what capacity? You owe that answer for getting you out of those cuffs and custody." When those questions have been answered she informs them about Tai Ling. "Tai will be in my custody after he gives his statement. He's also been cleared of any injuries. Just a head wound he suffered before you showed up. Those bosozuku weren't armed with any viral rounds. Who ever killed Timmy was someone different." Lan shakes her head at the request of becoming authorized bounty hunters, "That's above my rank and even if I could I can't do it on the spot there's a lot of red tape and paperwork before any of that could happen." She stops and thinks for a second, "However, I can put you all in as informants. No legal shield but if your caught up in anything I'll be informed and we can share information freely."
"Working as recognized informants should work. I really prefer to not have to shoot and/or stab my way through trouble. Too much paperwork." Eddie says dryly. "As I mentioned, I was an Uberfallkommando, which means I was investigating Aristeia! Underground fights for being fixed." Eddie starts his explanation of the how the two bookies were involved. "If you go back and look at the historical data, coding for fan favorites versus up-and-comers versus long shots, patterns can jump out at you. Different groups will have different priorities in who they want to win, of course. The race league as a whole will tend towards fan favorites, as that gives you returning viewers next season. The networks carrying the races will want the up-and-comers, it makes for better drama and ratings, more people watching the actual race. Sometimes, the race league and the networks can collude, which gets really ugly when the two want different competitors to win. The organized crime types like the really long odds for big payouts." Eddie is showing all this on AR displays. "This pattern has held true for over 200 years, and across every competition type from chess to Aristeia!, surprisingly." "But year after year, a pool of these super-long-odds keep winning." Eddie highlights that set of pools in the AR window. "Now, whoever is doing this is being sneaky about it." Eddie actually sounds grudgingly impressed. "Instead of fixing the overall winner, which can get really obvious, they are going after smaller pots. Fastest lap of the first place winner, the guessing which racer places in 16th. All relatively small bets, but with excellent payouts. Also, the bookies and even the betters are different each year. But someone went a little too lazy after all the other smokescreens they threw out: The bookies names each year started with a different letter of the alphabet, starting from C, the next year D, and so on. This year it's T. Tai Ling, Timmy DeLassi, and a gentleman named Tao Shen. A local contact has cleared Tao Shen, and Timmy DeLassi is dead, so that leaves us with Tai Ling to ask pointed questions about the people placing bets with him." "At the Sponsor Party last night, I got the name of a very big-money bookie, someone who makes enough money that fixing the races or being involved in fixing the races is unlikely. I visited him this morning to place a few bets, and the small talk revealed that he is also ... deeply suspicious of the race outcomes, how bad luck doesn't have a pattern. His pools gave me a good idea of what the legitimate race odds are, for comparing to Tai Ling and Timmy DeLassi's pool odds." Eddie pushes all the AR windows towards Agent Lan's comlog, to download all the overlays he's added to the records. Including a sanitized copy of Chao's betting odds (meaning that there shouldn't be anything on it to identify where it came from). "What we," Eddie carefully stresses the word "really need from Tai Ling is the identity of everyone playing the really long odds on the races. Now, I suspect that the better's identities are false, but that shouldn't be a problem to crack, even for my team. It should be utterly trivial for someone with the resources of the Imperial Service." "That will give us the names of the people rigging the race. Though I'd also want to look at any deals that bousouzoku gang has had, I suspect that they're simply hired muscle without a long-term relationship with the group rigging the races." "What that doesn't give us is how they are rigging the race. My mechanical expert is of the opinion that the regulation chips are rigged, and that gives us a single point of access. Bo Ryan is the man who gives the teams their supposedly randomly-assigned regulation chips. Leaning on him to get him to swap chips between whoever is on Tai Ling's Fastest lap time for the winning rider pool and, say, Rebeca Morgan would prove this."
ISS SUV Agent Lan digests all the info Eddie gave her. "I'll definitely have more questions for Tai now. I'll inform you of any names and who they really are if he gives them up. I will stress though that if we get hits on names with organized crime affiliations the case becomes a lot bigger and that means Pheasants and maybe a Crane getting involved on the ground. They will want to talk to you." Lan pops open the rear door, "However, I won't be interviewing Tai for a few more hours. So you can keep pressing your angle and see what you turn up. Just try to avoid trouble if possible. I can't be everywhere at once." Lan motions for them to leave, "You're all good to go. I have no charges to hold you on." Outside The teams steps out of the SUV. Impi and Saito can see that as well. The police are packing up. They've gotten what they've needed it seems and don't pay any attention to the foreigners. A Celestial Guard hands Konrad his duffel bag. He can feel that its a bit heavier. He looks inside and spots the teams weapons that were confiscated by the police. [Everyone gets their weapons back.] The ISS vehicles then depart. The team reconvenes at their SUV to talk about their next move.
[ Well, that was a little more exciting that I wanted. Looks like the bookie gets to answer some pointed questions from the Imperial Service. Agent Lan will then forward the names to us, but if she recognizes any Triad types we can bet on higher Agents talking to us. We are being treated as informants, so not a known associate of the police or Imperial Service. Otherwise, we are who our IDs say we are. Let's try not to get into any more firefights today, shall we? I'm going to need to clean up before I show my face at the track and we talk to Bo Ryan, a bloodstained suit reeking of gunsmoke is not what the shiny people are wearing at the track these days. ] [ Eddie is sharing this across the comlogs, assuming that the team's ninja is not in the car. ]
[Well, let's hope we don't face any more Yakuza Goons / Triad Hitters / Biker Gangers. . . I concur that is best to head for the Hotel, where I could check on the wounds of anyone in a calmer environments and treat any damages in the proper manner. . . We should check again for Bugs, Virtual or Otherwise, as our enemies are quite well organized on the Surveillance Department. . .!!]
The team moves off back to their hotel to clean up and get patched up. [If anyone was hurt you're all healed up. Amyah has enough time to treat injuries so no need to roll.] Local Time: 1600 [Momentum: 8, Heat: 12] The Pits Qualifying is over. It's been over for 2 hours now. For the curious Rebecca Morgan had the best qualifying time and would lead from the front to start the race. Right behind her will be Ziad Fares of Team Druze Society. Since the end of qualifying the track is more quiet. Some fans are here and the pits have been opened to VIP autograph signing and showing off the bikes. A few sponsors mingle around as well. For the team their sponsor passes let them slip through security without an issue. It was nice having something official to let into places most couldn't get to. Eddie spots a Stetson hat poking its way above some fans swarming around a table. He then looks to the bikes just off the left and sees the red and white Coca-Cola colors and logo. Impi sees Team Draco and can see a technician whisper into their mangers ear as he points over at the team. The manger briskly makes his way over with a big smile and arms out. "Ah, our Tristeryon sponsors I missed at the Bear Den. Hear you might have an interest in decorating our bike with your decal?" He looks at Eddie, "I'll let someone take our backup for a quick spin around pit lane if that sweetens the deal." The man is Hindi with a slight accent. Impi remembers that his name is Eric. [Team Draco placed 7th in qualifying for those that check.] Gated Community Saito continued his work away from the team. He was the deniable asset after all. The Triad had been on his mind for quite sometime. He had met him behind the bar where the Druze team and Red Vipers had an exchange. Then again at the Red Vipers club house. Whoever he was he was well connected and seemed to be up to something with those two groups. Not knowing a name Saito dug around for anything that the Triad group Crescent Eagles owned. They were the only active Triad group on Sabai and it only made logical sense this guy was one of them. Saito had pinpointed a house that some of its members used. Unfortunately if was in a gated community. Saito sits in his car a block away looking at the gate and guard house. The whole community is walled in with a 15 foot (4.5 meter) wall with security cameras dotting it every 10 feet (3 meters).
[ Team Draco, is that the Japanese team riding the same bikes as the Aragoto? ] "Yes, I am Lawrence Calverston, Tristeryon VP of Marketing." Eddie hands the man his business card. "And I'd love to take an actual race bike out for a lap or two! I do ride, but race bikes are a different beast altogether. We may have to get ... creative for a riding suit, though." "If you have some good rides at this race, I might even have job offers for courier riders. Tristeryon is always looking for riders with the talent to always finish the race, regardless of difficulties." Eddie gives his 'professional' smile, the one that implies he's ready to talk business. Not as much teeth as he's been showing lately, it's not the smile he wears when he's ready to end someone. Think lawyer, or maybe politician. "So, let's see this bike of yours, see where I can put a sticker on it."
[ Gentlemen, could you keep an eye on Rebeka Morgan, make sure she doesn't wander off before I get a chance to talk to her and her team today? ]
[I'll mingle and keep an eye on her - I'll give you a prod if it looks like she is on her way out] Impi moves through the crowd with a drink in one hand, buiness cards in the other and a quick grin on his face. He strikes up small conversations here and there, throwing out gratuitous compliments and comments on racing form and positions. All the while keeping and eye on Rebecca Morgan and not letting her out of his sight.
At the moment Amyah staid at Her usual "Arm Candy" place at the side of Eddie, ready to intervene at any moment. . . She was not so good of a spotter, as Her best skillset laid elsewhere, but another pair of eyes was good anyway. . . That Social Arena was totally out of Her depth, but the gorgeous Haqqislamite hoped to be able of contributing the utmost to the group investigations. . . . .!!!
