Miles takes a second to think out of sight of the guys with guns. I can fight them both, but not quietly. I’d win but there would be a lot of noise. I can come back lantern but this is obviously not a 24/7 guard situation.  Whatever I want to find out is in the room, now. I could leave the building, then come around the outside and hope that that room is near a window, but I have no equipment and there’s some foot traffic. What to do? what to do? Maybe go ahead and blow the Trojan Horse?

---

So I think what I want to do here is roll a preparedness to say that somewhere along the way to the hotel, I got a small statue of the Eiffel Tower and implated some sort of mic into the base of it. I put that in an envelope that I’ve had on me so far, for a situation just like this.

13:49, Today: Miles Coldwater rolled 2 using 1d6+1 ((1)).

Well I rolled a 2, lol.

---

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Health

5/5

Infiltration

8/8

Mechanics

8/8

Athletics

8/8

Conceal

2/2

Surveillance

8/8

Shooting

8/8

Disguise

1/2

Preparedness

2/2

Hand to Hand

8/8

Notice

2/2

Shrink

4/4

Medic

5/5

Weapons

4/4

Cover

10/10

Network

11/15

History

1/1

Diagnosis

2/2

Interrogation

2/2

Military Science

1/1

Occult Studies

1/1

Flattery

1/1

High Society

1/1

Streetwise

2/2

Tradecraft

2/2

Electronic Surveillance

1/1

Forensic Pathology

2/2

Notice

2/2

Pharmacy

1/1

Photography

2/2

Urban Survival

2/2

---

Miles pulls out an envelope with a small statue of the Eiffle Tower taht he had brought with him.  Getting ready for anything and with a loose plan, he walks up to the men guarding the door.  Speaking French he says “Hello my friends.  I have come from France to visit my cousin. The Imam here has turned his whole life around. I just wanted to give him this infinitesimally small token of my thanks and appreciation. Could I please go inside.”.

Miles does his best to pick up on the men’s microexpressions and body language to put the men at ease and make himself seem as small and harmless as possible.  He’s hoping he can be allowed inside because obviously he’s no threat to anyone...

I’ll spend 2 points of shrink to try to fast talk these guys into letting me poke my head in there.
Got a 6.
I’ll also spend a Notice to pay as much attention as possible, either eavesdropping or in the room.

The two men eye Miles as he approaches and visibly straighten up as he gets within a few feet. One steps forward to put a meaty hand forward in a blocking gesture and the other stays back and moves his hand less than subtly to his gun.

The guard, for no other title seems to fit, hears Miles out but is shaking his head before he finishes his sentence. In halting French he replies, "Imam isn't in here - it's a private meeting. Try the prayer hall...friend." He then remains blocking the hallway. There's very little subtext or micro expression to pick up on - this man has been told to keep people out of that room and this is exactly what he is doing.

From behind the door you can make out the murmurs of hushed conversation but little more than that.

OOC: I'm not sure shrink is the right skill here. It relates to "You can restore
panicked characters to a state of calm, and treat any long-term mental illnesses they accrue in the course of their operations" and that kind of thing. These guys aren't going to get into a heart-to-heart. Not at the moment at least. To fast-talk you'll want one of the interpersonal investigative skills - whichever you can fit into the situation. I haven't deducted any points as a result.

Outside the mosque Wayne's vigilance is rewarded by noticing the arrival of an unmarked white van which parks up a short distance away. There's no obvious reason why it should cause alarm but, nevertheless, something about it just seems...off.

Wayne spoke serruptiously into his com mic, “Miles white panel truck out front.” He will take a pic of the license plate and text it to Sydney to run for ownership.

Spend a point of streetwise. Using Criminal etiquette to manipulate these guys.

Miles holds up his hands with the package. His voice changes a bit but not so much that it’s weird. “Ok. Ok. Look, we both know who is in there. We both know they need something or else that meeting wouldn’t be happening here of all places. They didn’t tell you a man would come by with a package for them? I mean, I know we play fast and loose with the rules, but to not even trust their bodyguards with the info I’m coming? Listen, either let me or get one of them to come out and accept this. Either way, I’m gonna stay here because MY boss trusts me to get the job done. “ his voice gets louder and louder, still polite but bordering on loud enough to draw attention.

Sydney runs a check on the van which comes back almost immediately confirming it as a rental from a local firm. A few minutes later she confirms the current renter; one 'Mohammed Hussein' a name so common in these parts that there is little further she can take it.

Inside Miles' scheme seems to pay off. The men exchange a look, clearly not paid enough to make that kind of decision. Then the one closest to you makes a gesture at his colleague who disappears into the room where you can hear quiet murmuring before emerging and waving you in with a hand. The first man steps to one side to let you pass and you enter into a small meeting room.

The room is dominated by a large circular table upon which sits an open briefcase and a selection of papers spread liberally across the wood. One other door leads out of the room off to the right as you come in. Three men sit around the table presumably having been deep in discussion until your interruption. Two are in local dress and appear to be the owners of the briefcase. The other is a rakishly thin man in a leather jacket with a shaved head and a greasy short beard. He stares intently at you as you enter but your eyes are drawn to the automatic pistol laid almost casually on the table in front of him, barely an inch from his hand and pointing directly at the door.

Tapping the handle of his pistol almost idly with one finger the man speaks in a low voice in English with a distinct Turkish accent, ”I don't know you and I'm not expecting you, so what the fuck are you doing here?” at the barely concealed threat and the expletive his two companions seem distinctly uncomfortable and unconsciously edge away from the table...

Pretending to take pics of the mosque, Wayne tried to get a look inside the rear of the truck. “Gorgeous architecture...simply beautiful.”

I’ll spend a point of flatter. Is there a window in the room.

---

Miles holds both hands, one with the package, up in a peaceful harmless manner. He tries to memorize the faces in the room before the situation escalated and begins to get dire. Trying to flatter the men and seem like he’s just following orders or he’ll die, he modulates his voice and body language. These are bosses after all not just peons like the men in the hall.

 He opens his comm channel so Wayne can hear and then Miles says “Sorry to bother you, sir. My boss sent me to deliver this to you as a token appreciation for allowing him to leave peacefully. He says it is small and certainly not enough, but worth more than a Jenga set. He said you’d know what that means... This is to go to Hassan.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:14, Wed 05 Aug 2020.

OOC: There is a window, a large one facing out onto a small garden which would be to the right of the building as you face it from the street.

The man with a gun looks initially confused but Miles' fast talk seems to assuage some of the concerns and he holds out his left hand for the gift whilst gripping the pistol in his right - clearly he isn't overly well endowed with trust, "I'm Hassan, give it here. Who is your employer?"


Outside Wayne sidles up to the truck but the windows are all blacked out, denying him a look inside. As he moves closer the driver's window winds down and a man's face, clean shaven but nearly entirely concealed by large sunglasses, pokes slightly out and grunts, "Can I help you?" in a way which makes clear he has absolutely no desire to help you at all...

Wayne pretended he hadn’t noticed the driver. He put on his “clueless American tourist” persona. ”Oh hey yea, buddy. Can you click one of me in front of this church thingy? I would really appreciate it.” He was passing off the cellphone to the guy, hoping to get his finger prints.

After offering the envelope up, Miles snatches back. Alright. I’m getting him. When in doubt, double down.

“They said that Hassan would understand... I’m sorry. I’m not sure if you’re Hassan or not, not calling you a liar, but you understand. Orders are orders. This is for Hassan and for him only. “ Miles starts backing away to the door. “I’m sorry to interrupt and waste you guys’ time. “ He keeps moving harmlessly to the door and out unless someone stops him.

The man who claimed to be Hassan looks genuinely puzzled by events as Miles backs out of the room. He makes no attempt to stop Miles and neither do the goons on the door but as Miles reaches the end of the corridor a voice rings out, "Stop!. Hassan is framed in the doorway to the room, still looking puzzled, and as Miles turns he holds out his hand again , "I'm Hasan, give that to me now." There is no sign of the gun he had in the room and his voice has lost any of the menace it had previously. He's clearly playing nice in the public areas.


Outside the driver of the van stares at Wayne through his shades and, even unable to see his eyes, you know he's looking at you like he might have just trod on you. At Wayne's request he holds out one hand for the phone and, as it is placed into his palm, holds it for just a second before dropping it on the floor at Wayne's feet and slowly rolling the window back up...

Wayne bent down to pick his phone up. While down he quick coms, ”Van is very suspisious. Might need to engage.” He got both of the steel ball bearings out of a pocket. He stood and flipped the driver off, and saying in Arabic, ”You milk the goat you homosexual.”

NOTE: This is said to insult the Muslim, not to insult homosexuals. Milking the goat refers to beastiality. These are insults worse than calling a Muslim man a woman or a pig. They are meant to provoke the man to coming out of the van.

He slipped the balls into the pockets of his pocket scarf and readied to take the driver out.

Miles will keep walking out the Mosque and ignore Hassan. To Wayne and the people at HQ, he says “I’ve had eyes on Hassan. He’s here at the mosque. I’m hoping we can tail him to our target.“
If he gets outside, he’ll try to surreptitiously look for Wayne but not join him.

He’ll duck into another alley and remove the disguise to try to lose any tail.

Miles leaves the mosque unmolested though Hassan shouts after him at least once more. Once outside it is no issue at all to slip into the crowd and find a quiet place to lose the disguise. As far as you can tell you aren't tailed and there isn't even an attempt at one.

Locating Wayne isn't a problem as his description of the van narrows down his location nicely.

Wayne's insult doesn't seem to rile the driver as the window doesn't lower itself again though you can hear movement in the back of it and what might be low voices.

Wayne motioned for Miles to come to him in a place where they couldn’t be seen. ”I heard voices in the back of the van. The driver is a cocksucker. I am pretty sure I can break through the passenger side window. I also think I can take him out before he can get to his gun. It will cause a big commotion. Your call, Miles.”

Miles nods. “Hassan is inside so we at least know what he looks like. So we should skeddale soon.  But if this is the target... Let’s find out. I’ll take cover the back of the van. “

Miles gives him a fist bump, then gets into a position to cover the back of van. Praying that the person they are here to escort is in there and they aren’t butting their nose into someone else’s shady business.

Wayne bumped fists with Miles. When he was in place Wayne moved around back to the Driver’s side, swinging the weighted sash at his right side. He made sure to be at minimum five feet from the window beside the man’s head and at most ten feet. The sash whistled as the heavy steel ball bearing inside it and it moved so quickly it was little more than a red blur. With an expert motion Wayne used his elbow to throw the weapon...

Using my MOS once per mission to break through the window and knock the driver unconscious.

He yanked the silk back when it had done it’s job, using it’s momentum to wrap it around his forearm. He ran at the door, unlocked and opened it, pulling the driver out...

The van window explodes inwards and Wayne's aim is true - the weight cracking into the side of the driver's head through the shattered window and knocking him out cold. As Wayne makes it to the door to open all hell breaks loose in the back of the van.

You can hear the shouts of several men, it sounds like "it's the Turk" spoken in English, and then the rear doors of the van burst open to reveal four figures in smart black tactical gear, all with faces covered and holding immaculately maintained submachine guns. Three immediately drop out of the back and start to move to fan out with well ordered precision. The other goes the other way, moving towards the front of the van presumably to check on the driver.

The presence of heavily armed, black clad figures outside a mosque causes exactly the kind of panic in the still milling crowd that you might expect. Within seconds shouts and screams are ringing out as people begin to flee the area in every direction.

Wayne pulled the driver out of the van and spun so that his body was between Wayne and his attacker. He called to Miles, ”Get in the van!”

Plan: get them both in the van and drive away...

Miles was luckily on the driver’s side of the van when the men poured out. Luckily because it was only one man he’d have to fight instead of 3. This wasn’t a time for flair and flourish, so as soon as the man came around the corner, recklessly rushes him throws a high Kyokushin Karate sidekick to his throat.  What Miles and other experienced fighters know, is that if you can’t breathe, you can’t aim, fight, it’s even hard to pull the trigger. So he puts as much speed and momentum and bodyweight behind the kick as he can.

---

So we’re doing a reckless attack and spending 3 points here, reducing the enemy HT by 3, but doing a called shot to the throat, which increases the enemy HT by 2, so a net -1 adjustment to the enemy HT.

I’m spending 3 points of athletic (reckless attack) and 2 points for Hand to hand.

15:12, Today: Miles Coldwater rolled 8 using 1d6+2.  Damage called shot.

15:09, Today: Miles Coldwater rolled 3 using 1d6+2.  Called Attack on armed guy +2 point spend vs HT-1.

---

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Health

5/5

Infiltration

8/8

Mechanics

8/8

Athletics

5/8

Conceal

2/2

Surveillance

8/8

Shooting

8/8

Disguise

1/2

Preparedness

2/2

Hand to Hand

6/8

Notice

2/2

Shrink

2/4

Medic

5/5

Weapons

4/4

Cover

10/10

Network

11/15

History

1/1

Diagnosis

2/2

Interrogation

2/2

Military Science

1/1

Occult Studies

1/1

Flattery

1/1

High Society

1/1

Streetwise

2/2

Tradecraft

2/2

Electronic Surveillance

1/1

Forensic Pathology

2/2

Notice

1/2

Pharmacy

1/1

Photography

2/2

Urban Survival

2/2

---

Miles manages to take the man by surprise and delivers a perfectly executed kick to the throat. The armed man is fast, almost fast enough to get a block up in time, but not quite fast enough and goes down heavily wheezing and spluttering. He squeezes one shot out of the gun but it goes hopelessly wide and only serves to terrorize the crowd even more. Sadly it does draw the attention of his friends...

Wayne manages to successfully haul the driver bodily out of the vehicle; he's dressed in a lighter version of his comrades equipment save for the fact he's lacking a balaclava and only carries a handgun in a shoulder holster which he never even got the chance to draw before being so rudely subdued.

OOC: I think you only have to burn one point of athletics. My reading of the rules is that one point spend of athletics lets you pick the reduction to HT of between 1 and 3 depending on what you think you need to hit. So you're two points of Athletics better off!

That’s great. Thanks.

Miles tries to dive into the van close the doors.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Health

5/5

Infiltration

8/8

Mechanics

8/8

Athletics

7/8

Conceal

2/2

Surveillance

8/8

Shooting

8/8

Disguise

1/2

Preparedness

2/2

Hand to Hand

6/8

Notice

2/2

Shrink

2/4

Medic

5/5

Weapons

4/4

Cover

10/10

Network

11/15

History

1/1

Diagnosis

2/2

Interrogation

2/2

Military Science

1/1

Occult Studies

1/1

Flattery

1/1

High Society

1/1

Streetwise

2/2

Tradecraft

2/2

Electronic Surveillance

1/1

Forensic Pathology

2/2

Notice

1/2

Pharmacy

1/1

Photography

2/2

Urban Survival

2/2

---

Wayne will drop the driver's limp form and make a dash for the van. If he succeeds he will drive Miles and himself away. "Yeeehaw! The terrible twosome strike again. I think this calls for a celebratory fist bump with fireworks..." He held up his fist for Miles.

It seems that whoever they are, and whoever they think you are, the last thing these men expect was that you would steal their transport and drive away!

As they take up defensive positions the van, idling throughout your encounter, starts swiftly and moves away with a screech of tires and a spray of small items and litter rolling out of the still open rear doors and into the street. A hail of gunfire follows you down the road, punching a score of holes along the sides but not close enough to give either of you too much cause for concern.

As you turn a corner and move onto a main road the last you can see, in a now almost completely empty square, is two of the men dragging their incapacitated comrades into a side street while the other covers them in case of any aggression from what's left of the patrons of the mosque. It's a well coordinated maneuver and cements your earlier view that these guys were professionals - that still leaves the question of who they were and what they were doing...