Dateline: September 19, 2050, continuing directly from last session.
After an intensive interrogation of a harried client, the Edgerunners went soaring off into the unknown, chasing after the mysterious sister of the client, apparently kidnapped on the streets of a once-middle-class, now decaying, urban zone. The Edgerunners have searched her hotel room, finding little but a well-defended ‘hide-out hotel’ room, the entire floor empty. A wireless video camera lay upon the television, with a nice view of the bed – and there was a strange drug and a medical-quality applicator in the mini-refrigerator. The team found little in the way of answers – only more questions.
Now, the team has congregated at the location of the firefight where the target, Eleanor Sanders, was likely taken. A dilapidated building that once contained a convenience store sits in front of the team’s parked vertol, the van is just pulling in to a neighboring parking space. Bloodstains cover the asphalt under the vehicle’s chassis – if the bodies hadn’t already been moved, the vertol likely would be sitting upon one right now. Across the street is an Amon Zero archive – a church for the Amon Zero cult, and the location of the sole witness that the team knows about.
The archive’s building is a renovated Catholic church, with understated decorations replacing the extravagance of the original owners. The archive has a wrought-iron fence surrounding its carefully-maintained grounds. The heavy double doors leading into the chapel are shut, and not a living soul is in sight.
Garrion steps out of the van as Pacoy pulls up. “What have you guys found out here so far?” “There was a firefight,” says Wormwood, deadpan. Pitbull rolls his eyes, but Wormwood continues, “Other than the blood, though, there doesn’t seem to be all that much out here. Maybe we should ask across the street.” Pacoy shuts down the van, double checks his gear, and joins the rest of the team as Mei checks the rest of the street – more of the same as the old convenience store – a few run-down storefronts and abandoned buildings, a soft discord against a backdrop of well-maintained residences and commercial properties. She speaks softly on the quiet street, “The lack of anything worth visiting here other than Amon Zero makes it pretty plain why she was here. Candy, do you have access to their records to see if she’s been visiting them?” “Good call, Mei,” Wormwood says, “They’ve got to know something. Wait…Candy, you actually know these weirdoes? Don’t they, like, freeze people’s heads or something?”
Candy puffs up, “They are not, as you put so cruelly, weird. We have all lost family in the course of our lives – Amon Zero seeks to make Ghosting a viable option for all people. I respect and support, financially even, their goals and aspirations. In regards to my access – I’m a new member and the archives are priceless…but I may be able to get down there. I’ve been before.” “From the slot misunderstanding with the Toes straight to getting mixed up with a cult trying to find a little head… Sounds like Candy!" Pacoy says with a wide grin. Candy rolls his eyes at the joke with a grunt, but can’t hide the slight smile at his lips. Pitbull scoffs and growls. “The dead should stay dead.” Candy looks to Pitbull, “It would make your job a lot harder if death was not so final – Ghosts don’t particularly fear bullets do they.” “"That, and its just not right,” the gruff soldier replies, “Wouldn’t it cheapen life if death was just a slap on the wrist?" He grunts a laugh. “That was profound. Quote me if ya’ like.”
As the others discuss things, Garrion has been scanning the area quickly. The scene doesn’t appear to have been professionally forensically treated – even modern forensic methods would typically leave some evidence that they had been here, and they’d definitely have cleaned up a bit more. Specifically, Garrion notices a few shell casings – actual shell casings! – on the ground near the convenience store entrance. He steps over and using a pen picks a few up and slips them into a bag for testing later.
