Cyberpunk Red - Session Seven - "Appetite for Destruction"

A roleplay session in the world of Cyberpunk Red

This session was written up by our Gamesmaster Matt and formatted for my blog by me.

Previous 'Gigs'

Story Arc One - 'The Outfit'

(0) Spydar's Web, (1) Big Trouble in Little China, (2) Eye-Spy, (2a) Raven, (3) Death's in the Family, (4) A Hot Minute, (4a) Hunter's Hunted, 

Story Arc Two 'Reputation'

(5) Talk Isn't Cheap, (6) Grand Theft Auto.

'The Outfit'

The Players

Our players were all started at Rank 4

Garreth as Avery Hicks, Exec 5, Fixer 1

Phil as 'Holliday' Nomad 5, Solo 1

Martyn as 'Klink', Medtech 5

and Exec Crewmembers 

'Jasmine' - Netrunner

'Lizza' - Technician

Gamesmaster

Matt as everyone else.

Scene introductions and 'speaking to the players' bits are written in Blue to distinguish them from the roleplayed parts of the scenes.

Session Seven: "Appetite for Destruction"

Introduction

The flames rising from the parked vehicles licked hungrily at the warm desert air. The heat was only just bearable, prickling at the sweat soaked skin of Avery and Klink as they stood amongst the carnage their assault had caused. 

Out in the desert, Holliday trudged back towards the compound, the back of his head itching as he imagined the number of automatic weapons covering him from behind.

 

The mercenaries that had seized their prize, hurriedly secured the disabled Mizutani with a hoist and the AV lifted it into the air and flew towards the city.

An Offer They Can't Refuse

As the dust and sand billowed in its wake, Avery’s phone rang. He didn’t recognise the number, not sure what to expect, he accepted the call.

“Hello?”

Raphael Gidatta - 'Don'
Gidatta Crime Family

“Good evening Mr Hicks. My name is Raphael Gidatta.” Said the voice. He sounded cultured but powerful. “At the moment, you are standing in my quarry, having disagreed with associates of my organisation. It may come as a surprise then, that I am offering you a hand of friendship in what must be a very trying time. We have both been played by The Widow. I think that we should discuss our grievances face to face before we decide what each of us will do next.”

“Considering the circumstances we are meeting under, you’ll understand if that doesn’t fill me with comfort.” Said Avery.

“Yes, I can understand that.” Said Rapheal. “I am inviting you to attend my restaurant, Il Ristorante Di Raphaello, Raphael's for short. It’s in Little Europe. You and your associates will be my guests to discuss working together to redress the balance. As my guests you can be assured that I am affording you some measure of protection during the meeting. I have some more friends of ours are on the way to the quarry now to clean up the mess. They will no doubt, hold your argument with their colleagues against you, so it would be best if you weren't there when they arrived.”

“There are, I assume still members of your organisation here. I am not in the habit of turning my back to armed men who might be holding a grudge.” Said Avery. “Tell them to throw down their guns and leave first.”

Night City Police Department

“They are under strict instructions not to engage you from now on. Believe me, if they refused that order, things would go badly for them. They must remain on site.”

“ I have it on good authority that the NCPD may also be paying a visit so time is of the essence to ensure we are best suited to welcome them.”

Begrudgingly, Avery accepted. “Fine, we accept your offer. Obviously we are some way out and are not exactly presentable. We will freshen up and join you as requested.”

“I’m sure I look forward to it Mr Hicks.” Said Gidatta. The phone went dead.

Avery turned to the others as Holliday arrived. “We have been invited to dinner.” He said.

Night City 2045 - Little Europe

“Who by?” Rumbled the Nomad.

Avery sighed. “The gentleman who employed the people we just killed.”

“God Damn.” Said Holliday. “When?”

“Tonight, they have people on their way here so we are to leave and attend a reservation at a restaurant in Little Europe.”

“Well is that’s the case, we might need to be able to make a quick getaway. I’d rather swap back to my truck before we go.”

“Well so this isn’t a total bust, let grab whatever we can before we leave.” Said Avery, picking up a discarded shotgun.

“Those mercs were wearing some kinda kabuki stylised masks.” Said Holliday picking up an assault rifle from a dead gangster. “The big fuckers looked more ornate. They seemed to defer to him. They were geared for CQC, I reckon they were aiming to pinch the car before it left the compound.”

“What about the AV?” Said Avery.

Militarised AV-4 Aerodyne

“AV-4” Said Holliday. “It shouldn’t have been able to keep up with the car, even on loose surface. It looked to be running hot, like they were overcharging it a lot using some sort of fuel additive. That puts a strain on the engine so I’m guessing that was a backup plan for if the car got out.” He wiped the sweat off his brow. “Anyways, by my reckoning that’s going to need a service after being pushed like that. It’s not designed for it.”

“Well that’s something I guess.” Said Avery.

“The pilot seemed competent too.” Said Holliday. “Could be nomad, could be military. Maybe we can ask around some.”

The three of them trudged back to the waiting van and Avery’s Budget Arms agents. “It seems that our mission was unsuccessful.” Said Avery to Lizza and Jasmine. “We have been invited to a dinner reservation with the head of the Gidatta crime family. I would rather not risk you both by leading you into the lion’s den so to speak.” He gave them each 250eb. “This is for your time this evening, but now, once we get back to the Glen, please stay safe while we try and solve the problem.”

The drive back to the Glen was pensive as each of the edgerunners contemplated what the evening had yet in store for them. After a quick freshen up, the three of them met at Holliday’s car and made the journey into Little Europe.

Il Restorante Di Raphaello

Il Ristorante Di Raffaello
Gidatta Crime Family 'Business Interest'

It was early evening when they reached Little Europe. The district was one of the many developing urban zones that had seen investment and as a result had better housing and a number of businesses catering to the more well off of Night City's population. 

The restaurant itself was busy and well lit. The front of the building was presentable with classy signage on the large windows that named it as "Il Ristorante Di Raffaello". Inside the gentle hum of polite conversation and the occasional clinking of cutlery and glasses mixed with the classical music played over the restaurants sound system. 

Though they had tried to tidy themselves, the edgerunners still looked slightly ruffled but despite this didn’t appear to attract any attention from patrons. They were met by a polite waiter who directed them to a booth to the back of the dining area. 

Il Ristorante Di Raffaello - Map

Another waiter stood ready to seat them opposite three well-dressed gentlemen. On the right was a young, slim dark haired man, on the left an older handsome and stern figure.  Between them sat an older heavier set man. His shoulders were broad and his face is wide but strong. He gestured for them to take a seat. 

"Thank you for accepting my invitation. Please feel free to order whatever food you would like. It's on the house, you’re here as my guests."

Avery acted on instinct offering a hand which Raphael shook. “Mr Gidatta I presume.” The edgerunners took seats at the table.

Raphael gestured to the man to the right. "This is John Moreno, his business was impacted by your recent actions." He gestured to the left. “This is my friend Adam Perez.” At the name, Klink paid attention. As a resident of Little Europe himself, he had heard of Perez and knew of him as a prominent figure in the community. 

John Moreno - 'Caporegime'
Gidatta Crime Family

The waiter placed cutlery and glasses of wine on the table “Thank you for the invitation.” Said Avery. “These are my companions, Holliday and Klink. We are glad of the opportunity to resolve this unfortunate disagreement peacefully.” He turned to Moreno. “I apologise for the disruption of your business.”

Moreno looked to be unhappy about the situation but accepted the apology in good graces. “Thank you. I’m sure it was just business.” He said.

Klink looked extremely pleased with himself as he ordered a platter of cold cuts and a house salad, seemingly forgetting he had just shot up Gidatta’s business. Holliday, uncomfortable with the situation ordered something light, while Avery considering it might be his last meal if the meeting went badly, ordered something exotic with expensive wine.

Raphael leaned in. "It occurs to me, that we have something of a common enemy. The Widow has made some effort to draw you and I into conflict. This has cost me somewhat and I suspect has left you out of pocket too."

Adam Perez - 'Consigliere'
Gidatta Crime Family

Avery grimaced slightly. “Yes, we had invested in this job somehow I will need to cover the expenses.”

“An unfortunate predicament.” Said Raphael. “So, the Widow, what do you know of them?”

“Only what has been reported in the scream sheets.” Said Avery.

A waiter brought the ordered meals out to the restaurant. The smell of perfectly prepared real food was almost intoxicating. Gidatta gestured for them to begin eating. 

"To our knowledge, the mercenaries have been active for less than a month.” He said “The Widow had been operating under that alias for little longer though rumours of their activity had been in the screamsheets going further back. Their true identity is a mystery. They are, by all accounts leading the mercenaries which raises some other questions. How did they fund starting up a corporation and buying an AV in a month?”

“That had occurred to me. Clearly they have significant resources that I can’t compete with.” Said Avery.

Dinner for the Condemned?

Raphael continued “There are rumours that Widow was part of a gang in the South Night City District. They fell afoul of some corporation or other and they were the last survivor. This is unconfirmed though and the information that has been set out officially seems to imply a more mythic origin." He became serious. “You have to ask, why you?” He asked. “Why have you been targeted? So I am asking you, what did you do to antagonise them?”

“So far as we know, we have never had an interaction with them before.” Said Avery. “I have no idea why we were singled out.”

Gidatta looked at him for a moment deciding whether the Exec was telling the truth. Satisfied, he moved on. “Let’s talk about the unfortunate business at the quarry. Who hired you?”

“A man called Nano Dallister, he said he worked for Mizutani.” Said Avery

Nano Dallister
Agent of 'The Widow'

“Nano Dallister? It's not a name I'm familiar with.”

“He came to the office with his offer. He explained the car had been stolen and gave us permission to investigate the garages.”

A patron from the restaurant stood up and handed a data slate to Gidatta. “It seems this was a pseudonym. Dallister doesn't exist.” He said.

“He provided us with garage passes.” Said Avery, holding his pass up. Moreno took it and studied it carefully. “He was average height, dark hair with a tanned complexion.” Avery passed over a memory stick, “I have a sound recording of the meeting.”

“Interesting.” Said Gidatta, passing the memory stick to Perez. “We will investigate that. How did the mercenaries know you were at the quarry?” He asked.

“I can explain that.” Cut in Moreno holding up the garage pass. “This is a forgery.” He pulled the lanyard apart to reveal a homing tracer. “I’ve seen some exactly like this. I have a contact who is somewhat of an expert.”

“Can you reach out to them for more information?” Asked Holliday.

“I intend to investigate.” Said Moreno. “I suggest we use burner phones to stay in contact over this matter. We don’t know who might be keeping tabs.”

“It occurs then, that the Widow hired us just to make themselves look good.” Said Avery.

Concealed Tracking Device

“If we’ve been tracked here, I’d rather be outside watching for unwelcome guests.” Said Holliday “Could you excuse me?”

Raphael nodded and the nomad headed for the door.

“Onto the next business.” Said Raphael. “Your intervention at the quarry has cost my organisation considerably. It would sour the taste of our future cooperation if I were to hold that against you but I'm sure you appreciate that there is a degree of image and reputation to uphold.”

 

“Reputation is everything in Night City.” Agreed Avery.

“We have suffered another recent loss. Someone murdered my associates, stole 50,000eb of a valuable product and a vehicle belonging to our business.”

“I suggest a minor task as a show of good faith. I would ask of you to locate and return the stolen vehicle and remove the thieves so that my organisation need not hunt for them anymore. I think it is important that any bad blood between us is put to bed in an official capacity.”

Realising that the Gidatta knew that the outfit had stolen the car, Avery’s mind raced. His pride stung. Not only had his last job been ruined, but now he was being strong armed into returning the last score too. 

'Quadra 45' - High Performance Ground Car

“It occurs that the near future might require an element of speed, especially considering the Widow’s use of an AV. Were we to find the car, would it be possible that we loan it for the duration of the operation?” He said.

“Well that would require it to be returned first. Then we could discuss the possibility of a loan.” Said Raphael.

“No.” Said Avery abruptly. “I’m not returning the car, even if I knew where it was, which of course I do not.”

Perez pulled a tablet from his coat and started to bring up a file. Raphael caught his eye and subtly shook his head. “We will pay you to recover the car. Call it a finder’s fee. 2400eb.” Putting his pride aside, Avery considered the situation. Did he imagine the eyes on the back of his head or not? “Fine. We will take the job.” He said through gritted teeth.

GM's Note - He was in a restaurant full of mafia soldiers. That fight would have gone one way, possibly down to the soundproofed room in the basement...

Raphael stood and offered a hand. “Then it is a deal. Thank you for accepting my invitation tonight, but now I think is a good time to end.”

Avery shook hands with Raphael, Perez and Moreno again while Klink negotiated a takeaway bag for his meal. “Thank you, he said. We will be in touch if we learn anything new.”

Holliday turned as Avery and Klink exited the restaurant. “What’s going on?” He said.

'Lizza' - Team Member - Avery's Executive Crew

“We have been tasked to locate and return a stolen family car.” Said Avery dryly.

Holliday grunted to himself. “Yeah I guess we should have seen that coming.”

“We should drop these trackers off back at Budget Arms,” said Avery “they were handed to us there, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if anyone is still monitoring them. Hopefully Lizza and Jasmine can pull something useful from them.” He smoothed back his hair. “At the moment, the Gidatta need us, we only need to worry when we are no longer useful.”

“Well, we need to be as useful as possible during this operation then.” Said Holliday. “Those guys were chromed up!” Said Klink excitedly.”Cyberaudioware, subdermal armour, all preem stuff.”

“Well that’s good to know.” Holliday muttered under his breath.

“Either way, I have an unpleasant report to make with Silverman.” Said Avery, heading for the car.

A Bitter Pill

Riker Blue - Silverman's P.A.

It was now getting late but the tower was still busy. Avery attracted a couple of looks as he walked through the lobby and headed for the elevator. Though the operation had been secret, unsurprisingly, rumours got around and the evening’s screamsheet story had almost certainly been read by some of the staff. Holliday and Klink split off to drop the tracker to Jasmine and Lizza while Avery headed up to the offices.

Riker Blue, Silverman’s assistant showed him up to the Executive Offices that they had left a few hours before. Rather than the conference room from before, Avery was directed to Silverman’s office. The Head of Acquisitions was waiting for him as he entered. He looked mildly concerned and gave off a sense of urgency that suggested that he might have been leaving the office before the night’s events bought him back to business.

Avery accepted the offer to sit, only too aware of the fatigue from the night’s events. Silverman began the conversation.

“So, your project collapsed? Tell me, what happened?”

Avery took a breath. “The investigation went flawlessly, it took a matter of hours to track down the car and the thieves. It turned up in a quarry belonging to the Gidatta organised crime family. We infiltrated and recovered the car quickly and were leaving the site without a complication.” He signed ruefully. “I was probably the best operation we have carried out. However it seems someone else had eyes on the prize and sent a unit of heavily armed mercenaries to hold us up. We were outnumbered and outgunned, so we had to back down.”

Dom Silverman - Exec.
Budget Arms, Acquisitions Dept.

“And the advance you requested?”

“Wasted, but I will pay it back in full.”

“Hmm, it wouldn't be looked favourably upon that you wasted company funds.” Silverman lent back in his chair. “I said before that I can see your potential. When the Screamsheet broke, I made some changes in the system and covered the losses personally. Let’s keep this... Mishap quiet. You owe me though now, not the Corporation.”

Avery barely hid his surprise. “I appreciate that, thank you.”

“I would rather your reputation remain as intact as we can keep it.” Said Silverman. “We both need to see this as a learning opportunity.  I will continue to support you as long as you are discreet. Needless to say my hands will be tied if this happens again though.”

“I understand.” Said Avery rising to leave. “I won’t be caught out again.” As he left he made a phone call, it was time to consolidate his power. He was also now well aware that he was now quite considerably in Silverman's debt.

The Forlorn Hope

Holliday was aware that there were a few dive bars around the city that catered to the needs of the many freelancers who called it home. The Forlorn Hope is one such dive bar. Crammed in between apartment blocks, the bar is low key and unassuming. Quite by chance, Holliday had found it during a job in a past life. The bar itself didn’t advertise itself and the clientele were mostly only those that knew where it was.

'The Forlorn Hope' - Notorious 'Solo' Bar

It was quite busy but the atmosphere was sombre and quiet. People sat together in the booths hunched over glasses and speaking in hushed tones or perched on the high stools at the bar. A man quietly polished glasses at the till, seemingly giving his patrons privacy. He nodded at the three men wordlessly as they entered.

"Tequila at the Forlorn Hope"

Holliday and Klink grabbed an empty table while Avery went to the bar. He eyed the top shelf half-heartedly for a minute. “Can I get a bottle of tequila and three glasses?” he looked over his shoulder at Klink “And some snacks please.” He dropped the snacks on the table and sat down. “We need to talk about what happened. Silverman has covered for us but now we are in the pocket of the mafia. If this, Widow, is truly out to get us, we can’t compete with an AV and heavily armed militants. Gidatta seemed to imply we were targeted deliberately. Who have we upset?”

“I don’t know about who we riled up some.” Said Holliday “We have clashed with a lot of people in the last month or so. Widow suggests they lost a partner. Maybe we killed her husband?”

“We have killed a lot of people.” Said Avery “It’s possible. We haven’t left many alive though.”

'Media'

“That’s true, we haven’t had much choice most of the time. The only one I can think of was the girl we let go in the first job we did. The Widow started showing up in the screamsheets a few weeks ago, we could look into the medias who are writing about her.” Said Holliday “Maybe they can give us a lead?”

Avery pulled up the articles on his agent. “Hmm, I’m not an expert but these are all similarly written. If they weren’t signed by different authors, I’d think they were written by the same person.”

“Could be they have a dedicated media wing then? Maybe we can trace them through the screamsheets, there’s got to be contact between the author and the publisher right? I’m planning to talk to the Prylors about the AV pilot anyway, maybe Spydar can dig into that while I’m there.”

“Well that’s a lead to start with” said Avery.

“Why don’t we just get one of those masks and sodomise a dog or something?” Cut in Klink.

“What? No!” Said Avery.

“He has a point though.” Said Holliday “I might look into those masks, maybe we can chip away at the Widow’s credibility in other ways.”

“Speaking of dogs. We should get a guard dog in case someone comes after us.” Said Klink “No! A Pig! A cyberpig! With rocket legs!”

Night City 2045 - Little China

Ignoring him, Avery pressed on. “Who was Jove Kardin? The screamsheets implied that killing was a personal one. Someone who had wronged her too?”

“That happened just after we recovered your arms shipment. Is it a coincidence that both the arms shipment theft and Kardin were in Little China?” Said Holliday.

“So it’s worth looking into him too then.” Said Avery. “I’m going to ask around the bar and see if I can pick up any rumours.”

“I’ll do the same.” Said Holliday refilling his tequila.

The three men spread out talking to whoever was willing to talk. After a while they came back together to share what they had found.

“There have been a few jobs that have come up in the last few weeks.” Said Holliday. “The sources haven’t been clear but the guys that have gone on them have stayed quiet since. They haven’t divulged anything about it. I get the impression they are contracted into confidentiality.”

“I heard there was a solo, Spark, that took a job and turned up dead. Nobody is sure whether the job went bad or if he disagreed with his sponsor.” Said Avery “Maybe he was competition and was eliminated for business reasons?”

'Spydar' - Netrunner, Prylor Nomad 'Caravan'

“I asked about AV pilots” said Holliday, “There was some guy called Huey who used to be around but he hasn’t turned up in a while. Apparently he worked for Constitutional Arms in the past, wasn’t that who sponsored Spydar when we captured him?”

“Yeah, maybe he knows about that then.”

“A missing AV pilot might relate to our current predicament.”

“Maybe the Widow hires people for jobs and then flatlines them and takes credit for their work?” Mused Avery “I won’t be surprised if this Huey turns up dead too.”

Holliday stood up. “I’m going to give Spydar a call, then I think we crash and pick this back up tomorrow.” He strolled outside, dialling the number for the rogue netrunner.

GM's Note - There was a lot of great roleplay here as the players dissected everything they had done over the last few weeks. This write up doesn’t do it anywhere near enough justice.

Emersyn Prylor - Nomad
Matriarch of the Prylor 'Caravan'

“Spydar here.”

“Hey, It’s Holliday, how are things going?”

Spyday answered cheerfully “I’m back in business. I’m keeping a low profile but I can broker information for the Aldecaldos and keep an eye out for business opportunities. The work Budget Arms has really helped the Prylors get back on their feet. It’s still a bit hand to mouth but at least they can be self-sufficient again.”

“That’s good, that’s good. We really wanted to help get the caravan back on its feet. You got to look out for family.” Said Holliday “Listen, the unfortunate incident that first brought us into contact so to speak, you were backed up by a gang right?”

Yeah said Spydar. “The Red Mandible Gang were the ones I paid to watch my back before you raided me. Hecto Berkeley was their leader. Obviously, I left through the window so you know better than me what happened to them.”

“Well we didn’t kill all of them. One of them I let go. A woman. Do you remember them much?”

“One of the women? That would be Plasma or Comma then.”

“I see, what did they look like? Were any of them involved with other gang members, maybe with Berkeley?” Asked Holliday.

The Badlands - Domain of the Nomad Families

“Comma was grungey, kind of tall, white with purple hair. Plasma Steele was slight, good shot err black girl with braided hair. I don’t think either of them were with Berkeley.” He said “She might have been with one of the others, Bing maybe.”

“Ok, thanks very much.” Said Holliday. “I’m coming to the camp soon to ask about a pilot. I guess I’ll see you then.”

“Looking forward to it Holliday.” Said Spydar, hanging up. He walked back into the Forlorn Hope. “I have a name.” He said to the others. ”The survivor from the Red Mandible gang was called Plasma Steele. I know a guy I can ask to look into her, he’s good at that.”

“Excellent.” Said Avery. “Well that’s a job for tomorrow I guess. It’s getting late now.”

The three men walked out into the cooling night air. Suddenly Avery’s agent rang. The caller ID said it was Jasmine

“Good evening dear, isn’t it a bit late for a call?”

“Hi boss, Lizza and I have managed to reverse engineer that tracker signal. It was complicated but I’m pretty certain we can track it back to the source. It’s live still, there’s someone still using the signal.”

To Be Continued in 'The Misaki'

GM's Roundup

After having the rung pulled from under them last session the players were unsurprisingly on the defensive. Faced with help on the wrong side of the law and the threat of further interruption by the Widow in future, they have some difficult choices to make. Despite the set-back and the borderline adversarial nature of the last session they all rallied and started planning some truly genius (and devious) counter attacks. I can’t wait to see them come in to play.

Originally this was part of the last session but has ended up being split over three. The next write up will conclude the events of one very long and tiring night.

Acknowledgement's

I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Avery Hicks is Tom Ellis, 'Holliday' is Wes Chatham, 'Klink' is Mackenzie Crook, Jasmine is Dichen Lachman, Lizza is Eiza Gonzalez, Raphael Gidatta is Ray Liotta, John Moreno is Gerard Butler, Adam Perez is Michael Douglas, Nano Dallister is John Krasinki, Riker Blue is Matt Smith, Dom Silverman is George Clooney, 'Spyder' is Joe Pantoliano and Emersyn Prylor is Linda Hamilton.