3A - To Heir is Human

Sato nods curtly to the woman in the suit.  

"I appreciate your promptness.  We are looking for a room for up to 20 people.  May we see an example of the secure area?"

As they proceed to the room, Sato sends a DNI message to Chougou.  "I need some technical security mumbo-jumbo to ask about.  Can you provide me some questions to ask that will help uncover some of the facility security?"

Once they reach the room, Sato paces the room, inspecting the details as he asks questions.  

"We are interested in conference facilities to accommodate 4 VIPs, 6-to-8 staff and 6-to-8 personal security personnel for a delicate negotiation which requires utmost discretion."

He uses his Three Dimensional Memory adept power to record up to 36 cubic meters of the room for later closer inspection.

"

"Of course," she says and takes you to a room about half the size of a typical classroom. There is a conference table and chairs in the center with some sort of gadget sitting atop it. The walls are covered with a tessellation of foam triangles. As you all step in and the woman closes the door, things seem to get instantly quieter. Your commlinks immediately lose all signal, severing your connection with Chougou.

She says, "This is the basic security room. It is soundproofed to prevent anyone outside from hearing and, for those who wish to be extra certain that they are not being recorded, it comes equipped with a white noise generator." She pushes a button on the gadget in the center of the table and it begins making static noise. She adjusts the volume a bit then eventually shuts it off. The room itself is a faraday cage that blocks all signals to prevent any transmitting in or out of the room, though a team sweeps the room for recording bugs prior to every meeting, just to be safe. The door has a top of the line maglock and is reinforced so as to withstand even heavy weapons fire. In the event of a power failure, the room has a battery that can power the locks and any other devices you may have activated here for about 3 hours.

"As you can see, there are no cameras located in the room for your privacy, though there are several hidden outside to record any potential criminals in the event of an intrusion. We also have an expert security team capable of handling any potential criminal situation that may arise.

"Including magical. You cannot see it, but the room is surrounded by a powerful mana barrier to keep out evil spirits, nefarious mages and any other magical threat to the safety and security of your meeting.

"We also have a variety of aids such as trideo projectors, speaker systems and projection boards available, should you need them."

((what do I see when I examine the room? Is there a window? ))

At first Sato thinks the room has windows, but he quickly realizes that the "windows" are actually just screens displaying the outdoors so as to appear to be windows. Sato notices nothing more than the woman has mentioned so far.

“What if we wish to hold this meeting over dinner? Is there a room with similar security that has accoutrements for cooking? Perhaps your penthouse?”

She says, "Unfortunately, the penthouse is reserved, and is usually reserved for many months ahead of time. It is also a suite and not really designed for conferences. However, if you wish a meal to be served here, we can have food be brought here from our kitchens. None of our rooms are set up for food preparation though."

Torpor walks around the room, looking at angles and visage from the door as well as looking under the table at various places moving chairs to look under, "Is the penthouse suite as secure as this room? Would it be worth planning ahead and reserving it, or is this the better option?"

((Merry Christmas to everyone in this party!))

"It is unfortunately that the penthouse is occupied at the present. Perhaps there is a virtual tour of that option so we can get a sense of the space?"

The woman says, "I'm sorry, but it will be some months before the penthouse will be available if you reserve it now. As for how secure it is here verses there, we use as much security as the client desires. Not everyone requires our highest security package which is both expensive, and restricting. For every bit of freedom one wishes to enjoy, they must give up some security and vice versa. Please note that, for security reasons, we cannot give you every detail about our security packages, but we do provide quite extensive services if they are required. For privacy reasons, I cannot name any of our past clients, but I can tell you that some of them have been quite high risk clients and our security detail has yet to encounter a problem it could not handle."

Chougou panics a little bit as he loses contact with the team. He assumes that they have entered into some area that cut them off on the tour, but his fear is not rational at the moment and he loses some focus while his heart starts to beat faster.

“But how can a client choose between the levels if you don’t explain what they are?”

((Should I make some sort of roll as part of this? Sato is much more slick than I am, but I hope our goal is clear - if we can get fairly detailed descriptions of each package, further scouting might yield enough i information to know which one we are facing))

She says, "We give you a broad idea of what you will be getting without going into the details behind it. Our lowest package merely provides you with the room and its standard security features. Then you pay extra for unarmed guards, armed guards, magic, sentries, et cetera. If there is something specific you wish, we can arrange for it as well, provided we have enough time to prepare. One client demanded his event be guarded by basan. That was a particularly difficult request, but we managed to fulfill it."

"So just so we have a basis to compare our options in our report to our superiors, can you fill us in on what 'standard security features' means?  Is this the same maglocks, soundproofing, white noise generator and faraday cage that you mentioned was standard on this room?"

She nods and says, "Yes, for one of our secure rooms. We have normal rooms available for those who have little in the way of security needs."

Sato clicks his tongue, opens his briefcase and removes a leather-bound notebook.  The suit jacket pin is visible for a few moments as he pauses to select a very fancy pen from a row of options.  

"Forgive me for not being clear up front, but it appears establishment of trust on both sides requires us to be a bit more transparent.  I work for a corporation with very high standards for quality and safety."  

"We are expanding our location in Mingmei which will require numerous negotiations with parties we are collaborating with, including some of the local blue-collar grounds crew ((implying Yakuza-controlled)) which may not be fully aligned with our purposes.  This behooves us to establish a suitable neutral location for such negotiations for the foreseeable future where both sides feel safe and secure.  This of course could present a considerable revenue stream for your company, but also requires a certain level of trust and certainty from our side."  

"Due to the sensitivity of these negotiations,  my supervisors have requested that I conduct an investigation and submit a complete report of the options and I've found that hard paper is is the most secure.  Your hotel is new and still establishing its reputation, but we think this can be an opportunity for both sides - we can given you a revenue stream, but you will also gain a major corporation as a reference...discreetly of course."  

He skillfully flicks the pen to activate the inkwell and begins writing.  

"Now, with your permission, I'd like to go through the options in more detail, starting with floorplans and security lists of your options for conference rooms as well as the penthouse, should we need to conduct meetings a few months from now.  I understand that you cannot reveal all the details of how, but you must understand that we cannot make decisions if we do not know precisely what we are buying."

"Can we start with the floorplans of the different options of conference room as well a the penthouse option?"


((social limit is 9 so he keeps all of them))

She looks a bit nervous and says, "I see. Well, to be honest, I am not in charge of security, I just arrange for it to be provided. I do not really know all of the details by design. They do not wish such information to become public so if I do not know it, I cannot accidentally give such secrets. I could try and get our head of security to talk to you, but he's pretty wary about talking to customers. I do not think he would talk to you, but I can try and see what he says if you insist...

"Floor layouts are available on our matrix site though. Emergency exit routes are detailed there. Most rooms also have similar maps in them as a safety requirement." She gestures to a map near the door.

Chougou is getting more nervous the longer that he doesn't hear from the team. He tries to activate his drone fruitlessly and feels an anxiety attack coming on...

Sato establishes a DNI connection with Torpor and dashes him a quick message."

"Are you OK to meet this security guy?  It's a risky gambit, but if we can bluff him enough we might learn something.  I'll ask his name and maybe we can step out to the rooftop bar for a smoke and connect to Chougou to do some background research before we meet him. I wanted to ask you because it will put us both in more danger. What do you say? "

Torpor looks to Sato then nods, " Indeed, if it helps."

Torpor looks at the fire escape plan on the back of the wall and takes a picture with his comm. "Would you mind seeing if he would meet with us, please. I would see if I could discern the level of usefulness of the room, I understand your lack of knowledge for security sake."

Sato finishes writing and smoothly caps his pen.  

"Yes Miss, we would like to meet your chief of security.  What is his name?  Perhaps he is an old military friend of one of my colleagues in our security arm."

Sato snaps shut his notebook and stows it again in his briefcase.  He stands up and makes eye contact with the woman.

"In any case, while we wait, may we visit your rooftop bar?  Since you mentioned it will be closed in advance of the upcoming storm, we would like to see it before it becomes impassible.  Please send me a message on my commlink when he is available."

Sato strides to the door.

Before Sato leaves, the woman says, "I am not sure what you were told, but the bar is already closed and will be until after the storm. Apologies for the inconvenience but it takes time to secure all the tables, chairs and other loose items up there and, for the safety of all our guests, only staff is allowed up there at the moment. There is a bar on the bottom floor of the hotel that is currently still open for business. It is not on the roof, but it still has a marvelous view of the city."

Once you leave the room, your commlinks reconnect to the matrix.

She then says, "The head of security is a Mr Ando Noguchi. I will contact you if he agrees to a meeting but, as I said before, I cannot promise anything."

Maintaining his persona, Sato gives a curt nod - the way a corporate executive politely acknowledges the help of a servant.  

"Thank you.  I will go out later evening.  If he is available soon this afternoon or tomorrow would be best." ((gotta save Carl))  "I respect your efficiency and preparation for the storm.  I will go upstairs and see if I can make out an idea of the rooftop bar through the windows upstairs.  Are there other smoking areas in the hotel besides the roof?"

He strides towards the elevators and keys in the roof deck.  

As the elevator rises, he reconnects with Chougou (re-slaving his deck) and brings him up to speed.

"Hey Chougou, we have determined a bit about the security present in the hotel, but there are significant a-la-carte options that it will be hard to predict ahead of time...including paranormal creatures.  In the meantime, can you anonymously download the layouts and any photos for the roof top bar and the penthouse?"