ShadowRock, Chapter 12 (Patreon)

Chapter 12: Factory

Of course, taking all our rides on this little road trip was a stupid idea. Especially since most of us hadn’t really invested in the pilot skills you needed to make real use of vehicles beyond going A to B. Seven vehicles all in a convoy was something that drew attention, even when you weren’t doing anything overt. And getting more attention than we wanted before the job even started was just a bad idea.

That said, everyone piling into Lioness’s vans wasn’t terribly smart, either. See the old adages about putting all one’s eggs in one basket. Especially with the second van not being armored, yet. So, more than just the vans, but not the whole convoy. Which is why Tigress, Cougar, KittyKat, and Lioness were split between the vans, while TechKat and I drove our Tsarinas.

Why those two vehicles? Well, TechKat’s ride was chosen because she’d upgraded it with a rigger cocoon, which gave her a safe space to hack from, and included Valkyrie Module, which would automatically get to work healing her if something happened. Which was obviously a good thing for someone who was often going to be stuck with her mind in the Matrix.

And my ride was chosen because only three of our group’s vehicles had weapons. Tigress’s bike had an LMG, but the enclosed monocycle was not exactly protective, if someone came at her from the side. Same problem with Cougar’s bike, except that it was a chopper, which left her even more exposed, and she currently had the rear-facing grenade launcher armed with oil slick grenades, for creating some ‘nonlethal’ road hazards. My Tsarina, at least, had the whole ‘fighter cockpit’ look going on, so there was at least some protection, and my LMG was loaded with APDS ammo, which would tear through armor.

Having the four vehicles also allowed us to drive in a way that we weren’t obviously a convoy. We spread out a bit on the highway, heading up to Kennesaw, sliding off the I-75 in Marietta to slide over to the NCSA 41, which took us almost the rest of the way there, until we turned off into some side roads. We weren’t far from the Cobb County Airport, now, so we were careful to not look too threatening, or too interesting. People started asking a lot of questions when you had a convoy of vehicles driving around airports.

Pussycat’s Atlanta Gangs Knowledge Skill: 6d6 = 3 Hits, 2 Miss

So far, so normal. Except I noticed a few tags on road signs that started sending up alarm bells. We were in Fleshtearer territory. Or, at least no one had cleaned the tags since it was Fleshtearer turf.

See, the Fleshtearers were an all-ghoul bike gang. They didn’t have set territory so much as ‘hunting ranges’. They roamed the highways around Georgia, and would pick off a few people who wouldn’t be missed everywhere they went, to keep fed. Everyone at street-level knew it, but the gang was smart enough to keep mobile, and to never target anyone who was important enough that someone would keep looking for whoever made them disappear.

Basically, as far as the corporations, governments, and ‘law-abiding citizens’ were concerned, if a few SINless individuals wound up missing then that was just less of a burden on their tax dollars dealing with the ‘leeches’. Of course, people started clutching their pearls if certain types of people disappeared. If a pale-skinned human kid wound up on a menu, they would try and tear a district apart, looking for the killers, but a black-skinned ork? Probably deserved it. And the Fleshtearers were smart enough to play along.

Of course, not everyone was terribly happy with the Fleshtearers. The cops weren’t the real reason that the gang kept moving around. The real reason was because the two mega-gangs in the area, the Blacksuns and the Cutters, were not happy that people in ‘their’ demographics were getting hunted as ghoul chow. And while ghouls might be tough, they still died when you shot them enough.

Pussycat: Heads up, everyone. We might be in Fleshtearer turf.

Lioness: I think the highway department cleans the tags before every Liberation Day. Which means the tags are less than a month old, since we had that Liberation Day gala with the Congressman.

TechKat: So, we may be looking at some outside interests interfering with our job?

Cougar: Maybe. One of my contacts is a gang leader for one of the local ‘franchises’ of the Cutters. Part of the reason my fake SIN has a permanent place to sleep is because when someone is ‘terminated’ from the gang, I’m their ‘exit interview’. Anyways, my contact mentioned in passing that the Fleshtearers have started trying to set up safehouses in various areas around their normal circuit of the state. Apparently, they got a new up-and-comer, who has some ideas about ‘recruiting’ small businesses, like our Ghostronics, and having them set up areas where the gang can crash while they’re in town.

KittyKat: Well, that’s going to be a problem.

Pussycat: Everyone make sure to arm up. This may have been billed as a milk run, but we don’t take chances.

KittyKat: Got it. I’ve got my Increase Reflexes spell already running through my Sustaining Focus, so I can move at the same speed as the rest of you.

Cougar: Just remember that human ghouls typically start with a 6 in Body and 4 in Willpower, so your spells are going to have to work harder to overcome their resistances. Especially if they have anyone in the crowd who can use Counterspelling.

Pussycat: Fortunately, from the information I can remember, most of the Fleshtearers aren’t mages. Some adepts, but most would be mundane, if they hadn’t gotten Infected.

TechKat: Makes sense. Magic is rare enough that even a ghoul Magician could find work with a megacorp, if they wanted to, and an adept would be able to, as well, depending on how their powers were set up.

KittyKat: Very true. Which means we can probably expect most of them to be mundanes. Tough mundanes, armored up, and maybe with some cyber, depending on their resources.

Pussycat: Expect cybereyes, at least. That’s one thing they’re famous for, all of their people having matching red cybereyes that glow in the dark. Helps with the fear factor.

Tigress: Also helps paint a nice target for anyone to shoot at.

Pussycat: They’re gangers, after all. If they were smart, they’d at least be Shadowmen, or with a syndicate.

TechKat: So, what’s the plan, bosslady?

Pussycat: If it is a ghoul and isn’t Cougar, it gets one chance to back off, and then we put them down.

Cougar: Works for me. Can’t have any of you stealing my schtick as the band’s ghoul in disguise.

That got a round of laughs from everyone, which told me that the girls were loose, and ready. That was good. If they’d been tense, then there was more of a chance someone would flinch, or hesitate, or do something that would frag us all. Sure, being loose wasn’t a guarantee that everything would go well. We were on our reroll characters, after all. But being loose before a job eliminated some variables, and made success more likely.

We were going into this without much research, but that was a risk versus reward thing. Honestly, the signs that this was currently Fleshtearer turf were a good thing, in my mind. It was obvious that whatever we fought at the Brotherhood of Unity building was some kind of spirit, or spirit-related. And spirits did not always take kindly to ghouls. Probably because the ghouls could rip into them with their claws, easily as can be. Losing that whole resistance to nonmagic weapons thing was a gamechanger for them.

Point being, anywhere that ghouls were comfortable enough to tag as their turf probably didn’t have those bug things running around. Ghouls were much easier, compared to that lot. Just shoot them, and they go down. Sure, they were tougher, and could wear more armor than a normal person, but that was still a lot easier to deal with.

The factory was hidden from the road by a stand of trees. Landscaping and noise reduction for the area, no doubt, but it also meant that any cars parked in the lot at night likely weren’t going to get noticed by anyone who happened to be driving along the nearly-deserted access road. Well, not unless they did something to catch people’s eyes. Setting a building on fire was going to get some attention, no matter how thick the trees were.

At any rate, it was obvious that we were not going to be alone, here. Three vehicles in the lot. One was a sedan marked with the logo of Kennesaw Private Security, and the other two were Bulldogs with the Ghostronics logo. Company vans, most likely.

Cougar: Rent-a-cop on site. At least one, but probably no more than four. Two is best bet. Either they’re both inside, watching cameras, or one will be on patrol walking the perimeter.

Lioness: Sending drones to check.

Lioness launched her three drones as we pulled into the parking lot. The Steel Cougar and the Doberman started spreading out to do a quick search of the perimeter, while the Stormcloud blimp drone began ascending, its chameleon coating shifting to match the night sky. Without instruments, our eye in the sky would be nearly impossible to see from the ground. Which was exactly how Lioness liked it to be.

Lioness’s attack roll (Guard): 11d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss

Guard’s Reaction: 4d6 = 0 Hits, 0 Miss (3 Net Hits)

Short, Narrow Burst: 12P, -2 AP

Guard’s damage resistance: 7d6 = 2 Hits, 1 Miss (10P Damage)

Guard: 10/10 Physical Monitor (Unconscious, Stable)

Three shots rang out from the side of the factory where the Doberman had gone. Just three shots, and then nothing, which told me that whatever had gone down, she ended it quickly. Probably the night watchman.

Pussycat: Lioness, whatchya got?

Lioness: Security guard. Armor vest, Mars Predator. Took three rounds to the chest, and went down. Finish him, or what?

Tigress: I’m already heading that way to check.

Pussycat: Stabilize him, if necessary. And while you’re checking on him, look for keycards and the like. The longer we go without setting off alarms, the better.

Lioness: If necessary, I did pick up the First Aid skill after our last run. Realized that no one on the team actually took it. Having KittyKat for magic healing is nice, and the medkits have some auto-assist, but they’re better if you can actually use the skill they go with.

KittyKat: Good call, Lioness.

Tigress: Guard is down, looks stable. I have key to the KPS car, keycards, and an unlocked commlink. Open file on the link has a combination for the alarm keypad. Code is 993957. Guard’s gun is loaded with regular ammo. Don’t catch a round with your forehead, but not likely to be a big problem.

TechKat: He had the alarm code on an open file on his unlocked commlink? Really?

Cougar: We’re not talking about hardened corpsec, here. These guards are basically the personnel equivalent of a generic deadbolt lock. If someone wants in, they’re getting in. But it keeps random junkies from breaking in to steal any copper they can pry out of the machines, for instance. Between having a guard physically on site, and an alarm? That’s more than enough security for a place that doesn’t have high-value merchandise. Plus, more competent security comes with more questions.

Tigress returned to the front of the factory, along with Lioness’s two ground combat drones. The door had a basic maglock, with a card reader next to it. There were two steel roll-up garage doors to the left of the door, but those would be loud, obvious, alarmed, and likely physically locked from the inside. But the main door is where the keypad to disarm the alarm would be, because that’s where people came into the building from.

Cougar readied her compound bow as Tigress swiped the card she’d taken from the guard. The light on the reader turned green, and Tigress pulled open the door, and Cougar slipped inside.

Cougar’s Attack Roll (Guard): 16d6 = 6 Hits, 1 Miss

Guard’s Reaction: 4d6 = 1 Hit, 1 Miss (5 Net Hits)

Explosive Arrowhead: 14P

Guard’s Damage Resistance: 9d6 = 3 Hits, 1 Miss (11P Damage)

Guard: 11/10 Physical Monitor (Dying)

“Terry? What’s going on? I heard shots out-ack!”

Cougar: Guard down. Need to get a medkit to him if you want him to keep from bleeding out. Think I blew out part of his throat.

Tigress: Alarm disarmed, by the way. We’re clear, for now.