The Red Eagle
After holding up in the mountains for a month, the team has put together a plan of action. They intend to interrogate Brigovic to see what he knows and who responds. To help with the manpower they bring in Guy, a wheelman and smuggler, who used to work with John when he was with the CIA.John looked into Madison after he split from the others in Italy. His mentor, the Chessplayer, informed him about a rogue operation in Germany that might be related.
Of important note here is Heat rolls. Last time they were in Serbia they left a trail of dead bikers across 30 miles of highway. So there is a search underway for them. The difficulty is 1 (murder of criminals) +1 for the sheer numbers +1 for the conspiracy putting pressure on this investigation -2 for time. That's a total Difficulty of 2 (adding in the base 1 for being ex-spies). They roll a 1.
Once back in Belgrade, John and Robin slip on board the mobster’s party barge, the Red Eagle, under the guise of a rich heiress and her bad boy date. Guy waits in the harbor for a fast escape.
High Society to gain entrance.
After staging a fight with her "boyfriend", Robin gains Brigovic’s trust and interest. He takes her up to his room for some privacy.
I charged a 2 point Flirting spend to get the mobster alone without dealing with his goons.
She spends 1 point of Interrogation to break him.
She learns The Bride and Madison are the same person. She and another operative, Talbot, help over see the human trafficking operation here in Belgrade. The laptop theft was not the normal sort of operation and was authorized by the Bride herself. Robin also extracts info on the defenses of his warehouse where the human trafficking operation keeps people while in Belgrade. She then robs his safe and takes his phone and laptop.
Outside John scouts the defenses. Brigovic’s door is guarded by his personal bodyguard. Once Robin alerts him that she is done, he distracts the guard by approaching aggressively. The bodyguard warns him off, giving Robin a chance to slip away.
John spends a point of Intimidation to give a 3 point Infiltration refresh to Robin.
The pair then slip aboard Guy’s boat before anyone is the wiser.
Of course this means Brigovic is alive and livid. The group is about to have a lot of Heat dropped on them.
John gets a call from the DOD. Serge Milic is dead. John goes to the morgue to check it out. With Guy driving the getaway car and Robin on overwatch, he pretends to be a cop and checks the corpse.
Serge however reanimates and attacks him. John shoots him through the left temple (blasting open the opposite one as well). Black slime oozes from the wound as Serge throws him across the room.
Time for my first vampire attack. The plague bearers are incredibly tough. Bullets do only 1 damage to their dead bodies. Also they are very strong. Luckily they are slow...for vampires.
John manages to escape Serge to the street. As he leaps into Guy’s car, Serge jumps on the back. Guy shakes him and they toss a Molotov at him for good measure.
John wins the quick chase of Athletics rolls. After this I start boosting Aberrance to account for how rapidly I spend down. I only barely catch the car. An easy Drive roll shakes Serge as he's exhausted his Aberrance. The molotov (obtained via Preparedness) actually does hurt him but they don't stick around to see how badly.
The team reassembled at the hotel. John showers. Examining some of the dirt from the corpse, they learn he likely was at Brigovic’s warehouse. Also the black slime seems to be a bacterial mass, specifically containing the black plague.
More clues, revealed via Chemistry and Diagnosis. John also makes a hard Health roll to avoid the plague.
At that point the hacked lobby cameras alert them to the authorities arrival.
A straightforward Electronic Surveillance spend for the minute's heads up. This is the fallout for the failed Heat roll earlier.
As Robin and John sneak out the window, they notice Madison and her allies waiting for them. A rooftop chase ensues. They climb up the fire escape and jump to the rooftop next door, slide down a storm drain and race through a market, then grab some bicycles and head for the meet site.
We have a full chase this time. I handle some of the options poorly, I think the players were looking for more refreshes than swerves.
They lose Madison early on by dropping a Molotov on top of her. as she puts herself out, her goons chase them down until they lose them on bicycles.
Another Preparedness roll, this time from John.
Guy meanwhile simply wanders out, trying not to attract attention. He triggers the wiping of the hotel security video and then races to meet the others, just missing them at the market.
Guy uses Preparedness to retroactively set up a device to erase the existing security footage. Since he just hired on, no one recognizes him as one of the agents. He manages this feat for quite a while.
Racing to the meet site, he instead finds Madison waiting for him. He drifts his Audi into her. Instead of sending her flying she end up under the car.
Again I missed player intent. Guy intended to hurt her and knock her away. The first worked out but I misunderstood the later.
John point to the car, just as it begins to lift from the ground. Guy puts the pedal to the metal with no effect. Madison slowly lifts the car above her head as Guy deftly slides out, slicing the fuel line along the way.
As Guy calmly walks away, John fires a single shot at her, igniting the gas and killing Madison.
Another explosion! Guy spends Athletics to avoid any damage by being blown clear. Madison however is too close and dies instantly.
Robin snatches Madison’s phone from the wreckage. She pulls an ax from her coat and lops off an arm for good measure.
Another Preparedness roll, this time for a cutting tool and heat-resistant clothing. Giving the preponderance of explosions, the later isn't that much of a stretch.
Then team escapes into the city.
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