Game Log Oct 3rd-4th

Johnny spent some time over the last couple of weeks having fliers for his band printed up while GW worked on expanding his social network. Maxwell scavenged his junkyard for bits and pieces to build planting trays.

On October 3rd, Thane called Johnny, worried about his friend Liz. Thane said she had called him several days ago, worried about being followed. He'd told her not to worry - it was probably nothing. Now he can't reach her and he's worried. He asked Johnny to head over to her place and check on her.

GW and Maxwell went along, GW drove. When they arrived in Little Italy and parked near the run-down, red brick apartment building, a local vendor named Adam yelled offering them samples of the new Sarah Lee cake. He sold the snack cakes to the characters for 1eb apiece. Adam had wrapped the cakes in brightly colored origami papers after being taken from a box. Johnny asked Adam if anything was written on the paper and Adam replied, "Yes! Ancient Chinese proverb for good luck in invisible ink!" Johnny and GW eat theirs, but Maxwell gives his to Johnny.

The characters then entered the apartment building and went to Liz's place and knocked. After no answer, they knocked louder and got the attention of her nosy neighbor, an old lady in the apartment next door. She takes a dislike to Johnny but tells them she saw Liz snatched in the parking lot next to the building below her window a few days ago. The men who snatched her wore suits and drove a dark blue sedan.

Johnny found himself unable to lie to the old lady when questioned about who he was and why he was there (the snack cakes were laced with a truth drug). She finds out he's Thane's son and trying to help Liz out so she uses a key Liz gave her and lets them into the apartment. The characters search the place for clues, finding 21eb stashed in the sofa bed, 12 bottles of beer in the fridge and several cut crystal salt and pepper shakers on a shelf around the kitchenette.

They don't find any small hiding places where Liz may have stashed something related to the kidnapping or anything else, including any signs the place was ever searched before by anyone else or any clues that she meant to move soon.

Maxwell goes down to the parking lot and searches the area, finding an orange piece of origami paper on the ground behind a car tire. Meanwhile, Johnny goes across the street and intimidates the food vendor into admitting he couldn't have seen Liz sntached by anyone as the parking lot isn't in sight of his cart.

Maxwell fails to find any working security cameras that might have taped the incident and takes the orange paper to Adam, who remembers that it was on the first cake he'd sold. He hadn't used the color orange again until today, when he'd sold an orange-wrapped cake to Johnny. Adam got an order from the man who'd bought it for a delivery Thursday and gave the characters the man's business card. The goon worked for Roche Pharmaceuticals and had a building address.

Johnny calls Thane to tell him what happened and Thane offers them the job of finding and rescuing her for 300eb each. They agree and as they head for the car to find the Roche building, 4 gang members start hassling Adam. Johnny gets into a shouting match with one, who pulls a gun. The characters fight it out and kill 3 of the gangers, the 4th running away at the end of the combat. Maxwell shoots him in the leg, disabling him so GW can question him about what happened to Liz.

GW stops the bleeding in the ganger's leg but he doesn't know anything and falls unconscious. The players leave and head for the junkyard so Johnny can rest a bit, since he was hit in the head in the firefight.

In the morning, the party heads over to the Corp Center of Night City and find the Roche building. The area is clean, shiney and crawling with cops and security. Shooting their way in doesn't seem to be the best option so GW heads in, fills out an employment application and asks the receptionist some pointed questions.

The questions, which are being observed on camera, prompt an exec named Mr. Johnson to call down and instruct her to send GW up to a conference room on the 4th floor so they can speak of the matter. GW collects Maxwell and Johnny from the car and in the ensuing discussion with the exec, determine it was a case of mistaken identity. Mr. Johnson learns just how much the group has learned to hate Genentech and might even have work for them at a later date.

On Liz's release, she takes them clubbing as thanks and attaches herself to Johnny for the night.