Episode 25: The Erasure Job, Part 2 - kaseido/NeoTokyo GitHub Wiki

19-20 Moskva

The Team is reluctant to take on the Exanic corporate offices directly. Paragon checks to see what’s on the floors directly above and below: there’s a biomedical testing lab below, an import/export data analysis firm above. She can’t find anything out on the bio firm: only thing public is name and address. The data firm is trend forecasting for arcology businesses.

She thinks she needs to hit the corporate server, as files will be backed up there from the R&D lab. Vir suggests creating confusion by Paragon claiming to be an intern in the data center, and get in from there – but Paragon remembers the extender drone Carbide built. It’s designed to work in vent systems. Star suggests elevator shafts as an entry point, though Carbide notes that plumbing is too small. WHY DIDN’T YOU BUILD A TOILET SNAKE DRONE! Star also suggests the fire stairs.

Carbide wants to go with renting an office: there’s a rentals office on the ground floor of the building. “Well, that sounds like a people job!” They suggest Star go in, looking to punish an assistant by sequestering them in a boring office like a bad puppy – sit there and trade stocks and think about what they did. Or grind a game character to level cap for her promotional tie-in.

But actually, Star’s biomedical prosthetics division is looking for local partnerships for manufacture, for reals. She meets with Trinity Sarratt, Terabase Express Corporation – the rental agent. Trinity readily fills out an NDA off the stack on her desk and slides it over. Star’s working with a uni on a proprietary replacement organ. They’re going to need manufacturing, and the arcology seems like a good idea. Star asks many annoying questions, aimed at security, infiltration, etc. Trinity gives her everything, convinced she’s got a whale on the hook.

Star examines the list of available properties: the one that meets Carbide’s specs is the largest available, at NB 332/month for a year lease. Star hustles Trinity hardcore on benefits. She really could set up manufacture here! Or at worst sublease it later! She negotiates for the first month comped and a right of first refusal on neighboring offices. If a cash deal today. Done! $3652 NB for a year prepaid.

She asks Trinity for contact info for office furniture: she’s going to want delivery today. Trinity offers to arrange anything, but Star wants to do it herself. Trinity recommends Armiger Global Logistics.

Given monsoon season, there’s a temp labor shortage. They’re definitely looking for non-contract labor they don’t have to pay time and a half during the monsoon. Liz Jeckle has a great record at Sekushina Meido! She had to quit for family reasons, but her programming is still fresh, and she gets itchy if she’s not a cog in some capitalist machine… (Carbide editorializing).

The movers take one look at Paragon and assign her to assembly – just hand her an Allen wrench for when they get the boxes in the room. Especially after Liz reminisces about how good she was getting at flower arranging. Two big hulking guys, one lifer and one who was press-ganged from the docks. “And you applied for this job on purpose?”

She builds the drone right into a credenza, and nobody ever sees it. She’s fine after a day of actual physical work: the yoga classes Vir insisted on have been paying off. She leaves with the crew, to maintain Liz’s cover.

Paragon knows from her corporate days that there’s a window there won’t be much of anybody there. She returns to the rental office around 10 to wait for the magic empty hour of 3-4 AM. She doesn’t imagine there’s a netrunner living there, but likely two or three trading off shifts, but will leave defenses to a demon in the dead hours. The demon can’t do a thing to her if she’s not in its sights.

Vir’s going to come with their stims, as well as weapons. Star won’t be there, but will be hanging at the nearest bar, because deciding to check out her new office drinks after a few drinks is completely reasonable, and she has every right to be in the building. Carbide adding to the party would make it more suspicious. He may hang out in the bar with Star, or a nearby but crappier bar. He could go as her bodyguard – but then he’d have to dress up. Nah, he’ll be in the bar down the street.

Vir suggests Star drop them off, early enough that it’s not hugely unusual to find traffic into the building. Star actually drives – for the first time – and does the rockstar glide up to the curb, and they exit, shaky: “Go make it presentable, I want to get started early, byeee!”

Paragon plays cards with Vir, and naps on the sofa until 3 AM. And then she’s in! She rolls through the network defenses and turns off security alarms. She creates a virus to not prevent defenses from respawning, but erase traces of her presence: data logs and security alerts. No problem. She’s gotten a floor plan of R&D, and memos indicating that all data is kept secure on-site. There’s always at least one tech monitoring live tests and one security guard, with staffing up to a dozen or so, depending on time of day and number of projects running.

No turrets at the lab, but fake decorative bushes around the building on the corporate campus. No external access to the network, though.

Paragon’s going to wear a fat suit with a hollow for Dino, then a groundskeeper uniform over it. Sometimes you have to go in and replace branches, from the acid rain pitting. Carbide and Vir will be going in through the dock.

Their employer would be more impressed if this was non-lethal.

They’ve just sent Allspice to the getaway boat: she won’t be in on the heist, which is looking pretty straightforward right now.