Mirikon
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Freezing Shadows, Chapter 9
🕑 Added 2024-12-02 01:24:05 +0000 UTCSo, I've decided that I will actually be sending this story to Amazon, so commissioned some cover art. Will see what it looks like when it comes in.
Chapter 9: Shots in the Dark
I spent an hour going over the site, making sure I didn’t miss any hidden surprises. Twilight was still at things for another two hours after I returned to my body, but when she finally came back to her body, we learned that not only had she gotten into Cozi’s home system, but she now had administrator access, and was in the process of going through everything on his home node. When it came time to make our play, she would be able to make sure the security never saw us, and no alerts went out from the house to the Red Knights, or any other security company.
While I’d been out of body, Babydoll and Shadowgirl had gone over the area with her spy drone, and came up with a rough map of the site. Their main concerns were the security fence and the gate, but with Twilight owning the systems, we could just open the gate and roll straight in. Combined with the floor plan the hacker had snagged, we had enough to plan our raid.
First, the gun collection was confirmed. There was a whole folder on the home node with the authentication papers, as well as the frequency codes for the RFID tags on each gun. Twenty guns total, with the two oldest being a Thompson SMG, like our Ms. Johnson had told us, and a Colt 1911. Valuation on the paperwork put the entire collection at just over two hundred and fifty thousand nucred. So, even if the slush fund was empty, we had a pretty good payday coming, once we moved the guns.
The slush fund was not mentioned on the home node at all. Not surprising. Last thing someone like Mel would want to do is leave evidence of a spare bank account where the wife he was cheating on could find it. Well, the fact that he only had a biometric lock on his commlink while with his mistress was pretty stupid, but putting things on the home node was extra stupid. That was just begging for trouble.
The big thing was that there were only four guards on site at night. Not the same crowd as the day group, but they looked similar in build, and the pictures Twilight pulled off the security system suggested they had the same type of augments as the ones I’d spotted. Humans, moving at human speeds. The guards were from the company, not a private contractor, which meant that Cozi didn’t have to foot the bill, which was great for a cheapskate like him, but it meant that the guards were just nicely dressed corpsec, instead of elite guards or worse, which was good for us.
On the way back, Twilight had us swing through a bank in Puyallup. A whisper to the ATM, and we now had a stack of 40 certified credsticks, each of them blank, but capable of holding up to 100k nucred. Meaning that, if we filled them all, we’d be sitting on four million nucred. That ought to be more than enough to store whatever was in the slush fund, and break the datatrail so we didn’t have angry corpsec at our doors looking to collect. Thinking along the same lines, I picked up a disposable commlink, so that Ms. Johnson could call us without using her commlink.
Suffice to say, Ms. Johnson was thrilled to hear that the gig was a go, and there was a good chance she’d be getting paid. She’d been good, and not shown her face or ordered anything, with her commlink off the whole time. The prospect of having even the shitty disposable commlink to help her pass the time buoyed her spirits, too. Obviously, she couldn’t go accessing her old accounts just yet, but at least she’d be able to do more than watch whatever was on the flatscreen trid bolted to the wall.
By this point, it was just after four PM. Sure, we’d paid for a few days at this motel, thinking that we’d maybe have to do some heavy planning to make it work. The fact that Twilight owned their security system and cameras, and there were no magical protections in place meant that this should go smoothly. Idea was that we would attack tonight, after dinner.
We took the two vans. Babydoll and Twilight in her van, with the drones, and the rest of us in Berzerker’s van. It was just after 10PM when we hit Cozi’s neighborhood, and Babydoll launched her spy drone, to make sure that we had eyes in the sky. Good thing, too, because one of the guards was walking the perimeter.
Shadowgirl’s Gymnastics test: 8d6 = 5 Hits, 2 Misses
Shadowgirl’s Infiltration test: 10d6 = 6 Hits, 3 Misses
Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Guard): 13d6 = 3 Hits, 4 Misses
Guard’s Defense: 4d6 = 0 Hits, 2 Misses (3 Net Hits)
Semi-Auto: 9P, -2 AP
Guard’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Misses (7P)
Guard: 7/10 Physical Monitor
Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Guard): 13d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Misses
Guard’s Defense: 4d6 = 1 Hits, 1 Misses (2 Net Hits)
Semi-Auto: 8P, -2 AP
Guard’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Misses (4P)
Guard: 11/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)
Shadowgirl slipped out of the van when we stopped at a stop sign, and put her Chameleon Suit to work, the optical camouflage helping to make her even harder to see than normal. The only reason we could track her was because her commlink was in the team channel. The guard didn’t have a prayer of seeing her as she silently parkoured over the security fence, and landed inside the perimeter. Two shots from her suppressed pistol, and he was down. I smiled as she announced her success by subvocalizing into the team channel.
Shadowgirl: Clear. No sign of alarm from the house.
Twilight: Security is blind. Looping cameras and sensors. All calls from the home node routed through me. Gate will open as we approach.
Babydoll: No sign of other interference. Pulling in now, lights off as we make the turn.
Berzerker: Following you in.
Silently, we pulled up to the front door of the house, with the lights off. At least a few alarms should have been tripped by now, but Twilight was on top of them. As quietly as possible, the four of us going in broke into two groups. Shadowgirl and I went around to the back, moving as quickly and quietly as we could, while Berzerker and Sexkitten made their way to the front. A minimap showed up in our AR view, showing the house, with five dots, which were quickly tagged with IDs.
Twilight: Five total in residence. Two upstairs. Cozi in study, wife in bed. Three guards downstairs. Two in foyer, full view of front door. Third by rear door in living room, near the stairs. Doors unlocked, alarms down.
Iceblade: Back door in position.
Berzerker: Front door in position.
Babydoll: No signs of other vehicles or security.
Iceblade: Twilight, give us a three count. Drop the lights on one.
Twilight: Got it. Wait one. Cozi leaving study. Ok, looks like he’s going to the upstairs toilet.
I watched as one of the dots moved from the upstairs study, and then went to a bathroom, right next to the stairs. Guy probably didn’t want to wake up the wife with whatever ‘business’ he was doing.
Iceblade: Give him a sec to sit down, then start us off.
Twilight: All right. Three. Two. One. Go, go, go!
As I asked, the lights went out on one. Didn’t matter to us, since we were already prepped with different kinds of senses to let us see in the dark, or mostly dark. I opened the door, and rushed in quietly, katana in hand.
Initiative
Iceblade’s Initiative: 9d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Misses (Init 12, 3 passes)
Berzerker’s Initiative: 9d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 12, 3 Passes)
Sexkitten’s Initiative: 9d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Miss (Init 11, 3 Passes)
Shadowgirl’s Initiative: 9d6 = 4 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 13, 3 Passes)
Guard 1’s Initiative: 7d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 9, 1 Pass)
Guard 2’s Initiative: 7d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 10, 1 Pass)
Guard 3’s Initiative: 7d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss (Init 10, 1 Pass)
Mel’s Initiative: 8d6 = 4 Hits, 2 Miss (Init 12, 1 Pass)
Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Guard 3): 13d6 = 2 Hits, 4 Misses
Guard 3’s Defense: 4d6 = 0 Hits, 1 Misses (2 Net Hits)
Semi-Auto: 8P, -2 AP
Guard 3’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 1 Hits, 3 Misses (7P)
Guard 3: 7/10 Physical Monitor
Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Guard 3): 13d6 = 6 Hits, 4 Misses
Guard 3’s Defense: 4d6 = 2 Hits, 0 Misses (4 Net Hits)
Semi-Auto: 10P, -2 AP
Guard 3’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Misses (7P)
Guard 3: 14/10 Physical Monitor (Dead)
Shadowgirl moved just that little bit quicker than the rest of us. Gun in hand, she put two shots into the guard, and he went down, just like the other. No chance to even respond.
Shadowgirl: Guard 3 down.
I didn’t respond with words. I just moved past the guard, and up the stairs. Right next to the bathroom door. Ready and waiting for Mel to come out.
Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Guard 1): 10d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss
Guard 1’s Defense: 4d6 = 1 Hits, 1 Miss (2 Net Hits)
Burst Fire (Short, Narrow): 8P, -1 AP
Guard 1’s Damage Resistance: 8d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (6P)
Guard 1: 6/10 Physical Monitor
Berzerker’s Attack Roll (Guard 1): 10d6 = 2 Hits, 3 Misses
Guard 1’s Defense: 4d6: 1 Hits, 0 Miss (1 Net Hits)
Burst Fire (Short, Narrow): 7P, -1 AP
Guard 1’s Damage Resistance: 8d6 = 1 Hits, 0 Miss (6P)
Guard 1: 12/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)
I heard two quick bursts from Berzerker’s SMG. The tight quarters were too much for a machine gun, after all. Still, I knew just how precise she could be with that weapon, so I wasn’t surprised to hear her in the chat.
Berzerker: Guard 1 down.
Iceblade’s attack roll (Mel): 13d6 = 6 Hits, 2 Miss
Mel’s Defense: 3d6 = 0 Hits, 0 Miss (6 Net Hits)
Winter’s Breath: 11P, -1 AP
Mel’s Damage Resistance: 3d6 = 1 Hit, 1 Miss (10P)
Mel: 10/10 Physical Monitor (Unconscious)
Cozi opened the bathroom door, pants still around his ankles, and a Predator IV in his hand, pointing to the stairs. He couldn’t see me in the semi-darkness, but I could see him just fine. One cut from my blade, and he was on the ground, bleeding bad.
Iceblade: Cozi’s down. Not dead yet.
Sexkitten’s Suppressive Fire: 9d6 = 2 Hits, 2 Miss
Guard 2’s Defense: 6d6 = 0 Hits, 3 Miss (2 Net Hits) (Critical Glitch)
Suppressive Fire: 5P
Guard 2’s Damage Resistance: 3d6 = 0 Hits, 1 Miss (5P)
Guard 2: 5/10 Physical Monitor
There was a long, loud rumble of fire from downstairs. The classic sound of spray and pray, which, to be honest, was about what you could expect out of Sexkitten’s borrowed gun, anyways, especially with only regular ammo loaded. Still, it sounded like she made the best of it.
Sexkitten: Guard 2 took one in in the groin from spray and pray. Down but not out.
Berzerker: Looks like Guard 2 is too busy holding his wounded gun to think about using his other one. HA!
Shadowgirl’s Defense: 7d6 = 2 Hits, 2 Miss (0 Net Hits)
Shadowgirl’s Attack Roll (Guard 2): 13d6 = 2 Hits, 4 Misses
Guard 2’s Defense: 3d6 = 1 Hits, 0 Misses (1 Net Hits)
Semi-Auto: 7P, -2 AP
Guard 2’s Damage Resistance: 7d6 = 0 Hits, 1 Misses (6P)
Guard 2: 11/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)
Glancing back downstairs, I saw Shadowgirl dart into the cone of suppressive fire Sexkitten laid down, but she wasn’t even touched by the bullets. Another shot from her pistol, and it was done.
Shadowgirl: Guard 2 down. Status of wife?
Twilight: Cowering in master bathroom. Bedroom door and bathroom door are locked, with mechanical locks.
Iceblade: She have a commlink with her?
Twilight: No, she panicked, and left it on the nightstand.
Iceblade: Then leave her. Come on in, so we can get the slush funds. I’ll keep watch on the master bedroom. Babydoll, take over watching the security cameras, and also keep watch on the surrounding houses. This was loud, so someone might get curious. Assume they’ve called the Knights, and keep watch. Everyone else, start loading the guns, like we’re on a timer. And don’t forget to use a tag eraser on them!
Babydoll: Will do.
Shadowgirl: Got it, boss.
Twilight: On my way.
Comments
Iron Akela
As I said, a benevolent GM :oD Though it’s been a while so I can’t remember if 4e had surprise tests as a mechanic. Either way, you’re kinder hearted than I would have been that’s for sure :o)
Stuart Grosse
Actually, this is the third series I have with an MC named Iceblade, and the fourth series where a character named Iceblade shows up. Iceblade is the MC of Memoirs of a Supervillain and System Supervillain, and he shows up in City of Champions Online. ;)
Stuart Grosse
I decided that they weren't completely surprised. What with them killing the lights and all. Different from a sniper shot out of nowhere.
Iron Akela
You’re a very benevolent GM Stuart - allowing surprised guard’s ranged defence rolls :oD
Iron Akela
Yeah that’s a good shout
Robert Gardner
TFTC
Nancy Schneider
Just a thought here. If you plan to release to Amazon. Change the name of Iceblade. You already have an Iceblade in another storyline and it could be confusing. I look forward to the story of this one. Different.
