Operation SkyfaceMore interested in the DARPA model than any more easily acquirable commercial models, Operative Bisharid gets back to work. The type of database he's looking for can be found in the US embassies of most countries, [
Dagger 17+5+9, Success!] such as, it seems, Switzerland. Non-secret but still prohibited data can be accessed from there. More high-security centres exist inside the United States, and, possibly, select military bases around the world, but the information the team is looking for can most likely be found in the lower-level databases as well.
Surprisingly, though, the actual location of these tests isn't hidden. It appears - or, rather, DARPA claims that the project is being developed in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also known as MIT, most likely in the government-owned Lincoln Laboratory. The embassy database could still yield useful information even outside the project itself, especially if it was bugged or hacked discreetly.
Operative Bisharid: +6XP!Level I [8/50XP]
3 Dagger Dice, 1 Hammer Die
Name/Callsign: Mikail Bisharid
Health: 30/30 HP (0/0 AP)
Inventory: Agency Communicator, Basic Commbead, Basic Surveillance Gear, Agency Sidearm Mk In [15], Agency Combat Knife Mk I, Fake ID
Traits and Effects:
-UAE Contacts
-Spymaster (+1 Dagger dice to Agents under your control.)
Current Mission: Operation Skyface
Level I [0/50XP]
3 Hammer Dice, 1 Dagger Die
Name/Callsign: Laura 'Sledge' Williams
Health: 40/40 HP (20/20 AP - Armor I, Protects Body)
Inventory: Agency Communicator, Basic Commbead, Agency Combat Knife Mk I, Agency Sidearm Mk I [10], Agency Protective Vest Mk I
Traits and Effects:
-Heavy Weapons Specialist (+2 combat dice when using machineguns, missile and grenade launchers and other heavy weapons)
-Assault Expertise (+2 Hammer dice when assaulting)
Current Mission: Operation Skyface
Agent El-Amin and Narang
*HP 10/10 (AP 0/0)
*Basic Commbead, Fake ID, Agency Sidearm Mk In [10]
The other Taskforce team proves once again better at teamwork. Unlike Sledge, Graves is ready to do the more discreet side of the profession despite his proficiencies. While Operative Graufreund heads out to the central police station, Operative Graves and two Agents scour local sources for intel on the drug trade situation.
Graves' [
Dagger 2+3+6, Success!] afternoon proves profitable enough. Getting through idle speculation, sensationalism and outright lies, he forms a good grasp of the situation. Though there are few locations, numbers or precise explanations of the drug lords' power struggles, all which would come useful, and the Spanish slang and local dialects used go past him sometimes, the names and relative strengths of the big players becomes clearer - as much as he can trust this kind of information.
Graves and the Agents prepare files and summaries of the situation to wait for Graufreund when he gets back.
The big players in the Bolivian drug trade are Galo 'Machado' Orellana, the Brazilian Luciano Gouveia and a relative newcomer Jacobo Viteri, of whom there was frustratingly little information available. Orellana has been involved in the drug trade for decades, evading government attempts to capture him mostly with his powerful friends. His powerbase is stable, his reach long and he's held a crime empire together for over thirty years with an iron fist.
Gouveia is a Brazilian citizen operating near the border, shipping enormous amounts of drugs up north despite attempts of both governments to take him down. He's known for fighting with the other two often and at the slightest provocation and probably possesses the highest amount of military hardware and arms. There are even claims he owns several tanks looted from government bases. He's been attacked by anti-drug forces time and time again, but always seems to survive to emerge again from the depths of the rainforest to reclaim his empire.
Jacobo Viteri is the enigmatic newcomer. Little is known about him, though he's said to be as cold and pragmatic as Orellana, given him the nickname 'Machado Júnior' or 'Little Hatchet'. An unnamed 'government source' has stated Viteri has foreign support and is little else than a puppet propped up to weaken the Bolivian government.
There are plenty of minor powers in the drug trade, ranging from corrupt (or so the sources say) government officials and police to would-be drug lords usually loosely affliated with the major powers. In the city, two rival gangs, one supported by Gouveia, one by Viteri, have been fighting for months over control of the drug trade there.
Overall, the drug trade has fallen from past figures due to new markets elsewhere and anti-drug action by the government. Several countries have supported the Bolivian government in fighting the drug trade, though as many are accused of supporting and profiting from it instead. It's still very profitable and very bloody out in the countryside, sometimes spilling over to the cities.
There's not much more information to be gained from these sources. Even these 'facts' may be outdated or simply false, many of Graves' sources contradicting eachother.
Operative Graufreund spends his time in more direct action. He spends some time trying to get the accent right, [
Dagger 6, Failure!] but still finds himself slipping on key words as he enters the police station. He goes over his invented cover story in his head and strides over to report the 'attack'. Despite his incomplete accent, [
Dagger 13, Success!] the police he speaks with seem to take him at face value, if somewhat indifferent to his plight. His requests [
Dagger 15, Success![/color]] for information about the gangs are first ignored, but soon he finds an officer who seems to take a liking to him and obliges.
Though a part of the information he gets has already been dug out by his partner, the policeman's explanation is somewhat more thorough. The two biggest gangs Graves also found out about, the Devils and the Street Knives, are embroiled in a war over the lucrative drug trade inside the city, a conflict that has claimed a dozen police officers and plenty of suppliers and other drug world personnel already. The former are backed by a Brazilian drug lord, the latter by a Bolivian called Viteri, and both supply them with weapons and money. The smaller gangs in the city have mostly gone underground so not to get caught in the crossfire, or been pressured into joining either side. The police warns Graufreund not to get involved.
After getting this information, the Operative gives his thanks and heads out. His wandering about inside gave him an alright look at the layout of the building for another visit in the evening...
Graufreund's Agents return in the afternoon, three of them having [
Dagger 4+1+6, Success!] went through the city as tourists, participating in some opportunistic eavesdropping when possible. They come back with much of the same information. The gang war has made several places not safe for tourists, and several info points and tourist helps suggested hiring bodyguards if it was necessary to enter those areas. Much of the normal population seems tired and worried, but the conflict has still remained contained to the 'bad neighbourhoods', only spilling over occasionally. The same old problems you could find anywhere fill most of their private conversations otherwise.
Agent Ruan is assigned to rent a lodging and start up a radio room, [
Dagger 3, Success!][
Dagger 4, Failure!] but while he finds a suitable lot on the outskirts of town, he proves somewhat hopeless with actually setting up everything. He reports late at night he still hasn't fully gotten the system up and running. Still, the lodging should be more useful as a base of operations than a hotel room for a team of this size.
Finally, as night falls, Graufreund returns to the police station. The front doors are locked and security cameras line the walls, [
Shared 5, Success!] but moving around the building, the Operative finds a blind spot near an inviting window which he decides to attempt to climb to. Physical exercise and climbing near-sheer surfaces hasn't been the focus of the man's training, [
Hammer 4, Success!] he makes the jump and latches onto the windowboard with a few tries, only slightly bruising his body against the wall. The window slides open quietly.
Once inside, Graufreund put his stealth training to use, [
Hammer 9, Success!], moving silently through the mostly empty complex, [
Shared 18, Success!], avoiding the watchful eyes of security cameras and alarm triggers. He enters as many rooms as he can, slipping listening devices and bugs into every hidden corner and innocent object he can find. To his surprise and dismay, he's not the first to get the idea. A staggering amount of bugs await him already, some filling the good spots. Looks like nothing in here goes unheard by someone in the outside world. Unsure of what to do in the situation, Graufreund sneaks back out without being detected - an excellent two-part infiltration, really - and [
Hammer 6, Success!] making the jump to street level without any problems. Graufreund makes sure he's not being watched and returns quickly to the rest of the team.
Operative Graves: +3XP!
Operative Graufreund: +24XP!Level I [28/50XP]
3 Dagger Dice, 1 Hammer Die
Name/Callsign: Robert Graufreund
Health: 30/30 HP (0/0 AP)
Inventory: Agency Communicator, Basic Commbead, Basic Surveillance Gear [50% Remaining], Agency Combat Knife Mk I, Agency Sidearm Mk I [5], Fake ID
Traits and Effects:
-Stealth Training (+2 Stealth Dice)
-Infiltraitor (+1 Disguise/Infiltration Dice)
Current Mission: Operation Razor
Level I [5/50XP]
3 Hammer Dice, 1 Dagger Die
Name/Callsign: Alex Graves
Health: 40/40 HP (20/20 AP - Armor I, Protects Body)
Inventory: Agency Communicator, Basic Commbead, Agency Combat Knife Mk I, Agency Sidearm Mk I [10], Agency Protective Vest Mk I, RUS HI600 Automatik [10], Basic Frag Grenade [2], Fake ID
Traits and Effects:
-Sniper Expertise (+2 combat dice when using Long-Ranged weapons)
-Martial Artist (+2 combat dice in unarmed melee)
Current Mission: Operation Razor
Agents Ebner, Baum, Ruan, Paredes, Nazarian, Araullo
*10/10 HP (20/20 AP - Armor I, Protects Body)
*Basic Commbead, Fake ID, Agency Sidearm Mk In, Agency Protective Vest Mk I
---
In this turn: Dragor's terrifying luck makes the GM cry. I'd triple the difficulties of all tests but I know Dragor would just magically gain extra dice and still succeed (but always just barely) in everything.
Author
Topic: The Agency [Taskforce #11] - Week I, Turn 3 (Read 12320 times)