Strange Things Are Afoot At The Tenner Hut

 My son runs a weekly online cyber-punk style game on Roll20.net called Æstas.  Any post with that tag is a storynote from my character, Ezekiel Kai, crossposted here for possible entertainment value.

Game date: 6/25/2020

Responded to a message from one "Jane Doe," a pseudonym to blatantly advertise itself, asking for my presence at a certain time and place with the offer of employment. As I have gone to extravagant expense to set myself up specifically to obtain clandestine employment, I cannot afford at this time to turn down the very first such offer. Still, as I have not yet advertised my services, I took certain precautions. Set up the crawler drone (Maggy) on the wall as a lookout, took a peek at the place ahead of time.

It's a simple convenience store; a hole-in-the wall really. I did see someone else doing much the same thing. So, our Jane is hiring en masse. I do hope she's not looking for a low bidder.

Quite a large troupe at the Tenner Hut tonight. Doesn't take a discerning eye to tell the casual shoppers (and casual looters) from those who are obviously expecting to see someone. Problem is, the "someone" doesn't seem to be there. Everyone who isn't looking expectantly for an unknown face, is very wrapped up in their own little worlds.

Then she stepped through the door. A single woman, nothing too extraordinary about her, save a hunted expression on her face. Every seeker's eye met hers. She seemed startled, as the crowd was too much. This confused me: Didn't the invitation come from her?

Before any question could be answered, or even asked, the storefront caved in and buried her, with a sound very much like a controlled detonation. I'm familiar with that sound, having controlled a few such myself. TekKnight Security immediately announced themselves, ordering everyone to stay where they were. Ha. When you've been set up, the last thing you want to do is stay where you are.

I sincerely hoped that my Maggy was unhurt, and asked for a status report as I headed for the back door. I should have set an auto-report, and berated myself to remember that lesson next time. If I got a next time.

Three Enforcers on bikes, two heading inside. Scratch that -- one of them's already walked through the broken rubble that was once a wall, and noticed me right away. So much for a clean getaway. I froze in place.

Nobody knows what to do. The store's lone employee, and our erstwhile employer, seem to be the only actual casualties. Even now, though, I can still tell the civvies from the professionals. Two people look like they're numb with shock, one girl is wailing like a siren from one of those cycles outside, and one lone wirehead seems to be crawling into the ice cream freezer. Everyone else, though not yet taking much action that I can see, seems to be alert and ready. No, wait. One is jockeying for position. Another is headed for the buried newcomer. So. These are the players. But what's the game?

As if I'd asked in a VR game, an answer was provided in short order. One of the Enforcers calls out for Jane Doe to surrender. But he does in a general way, not to any one person. He doesn't know who he's looking for! Now, this explains much, and I am relieved. And intrigued. It means, that this little trap wasn't for me, nor for any of this little group -- it was for the person who called for the meeting. And that makes her interesting. I want to know more, and that will be very difficult if these TekGoons have their way.

But it also presents a tidy little problem. I know nobody here. I do not know what they will do. So, what can I do?

Well, you buffoon, isn't this what you spent thousands of credits preparing yourself for? Subvocalizing, I send a command to my Virtual Person. "Parker," I say. "Take control of the Owlet. Drive by the Tenner Hut storefront, and taunt the Enforcers. Use a female voice, say something like, 'You'll never catch Jane Doe!' Laugh at them. Then evade their pursuit as best as you can. Don't let them get my bike."

She did her best. Problem is, I haven't had much of a chance to enhance her programming yet, so she doesn't have a wide array of voices to choose from. I'll have to remedy that. The challenge and the laugh sounded very tinny, and it wouldn't have fooled me. She apologized. Can you believe it? I swear, if she's not AI now, she will be. But there was no need - the Enforcers bought it. Two of them chased her, and I could hear the announcement that "Target has escaped the scene."

Better yet, the commotion caught the attention of both TekGoons inside the store, and I was able to slip out the back door, into a hallway leading into the back offices. I searched for an exit, which was nearby, but then I heard the remaining Enforcer ask the group in general for any volunteers to step forward with information about Doe. Well now. If he wasn't going to question individuals one by one, there was a chance this could end without further incident. I held off leaving the building.

"Parker, status?"

"I believe the appropriate acronym is SNAFU, Zeke. But I am outpacing them for now."

"Tell me if anything changes."

I set Maggy searching for any more exits, and started looking for the circuit breakers. I truly didn't expect to have to use them. The Enforcer sounded tired, as if this wasn't the first time this Jane Doe had escaped his clutches. Which made her Even More Interesting.

The sound of an LP pistol firing took me completely by surprise. It meant that something had gone horribly wrong, but I had no idea what it could have been. So I pulled the power. My priorities here: 1. Escape with my life. 2. If possible, see that Jane Doe got out so I could learn what in the wilds was going on here.

I headed back to the storefront, opening the exit to the alley on the way out. A rush of people were going the opposite direction, I provided what guidance I could to those who seemed to need it, until I spotted a couple of individuals helping a woman with plaster in her hair and clothes. These I followed out.

The Enforcer was dead. Not good. Everyone who could be traced to this store tonight will now be a target. A gnomish woman was screaming about it. I tried, without a lot of success, to silence her.

Tonight I've risked my freedom, my identity, and a damn good racing bike, for a mystery. I will damn well solve it.

..::Kai::..