This BPN introduces low SCL characters to a little corporate corruption. Not everyone who works for SLA is on their side, but at this stage the players should still think that the company, at least, is. It's not my favourite BPN but I like how it serves as an introduction to the idea of the squad being a small fish in a very large pond.



As usual, the squad can get details of the BPN either by ringing their contact or by pulling up the ref number on a terminal. Either method reveals that they will be required to recover a FEN 400 rifle from the San Angel sector of Downtown. Files say that it was being used illegally by Armando Benitez, a Point package Operative in the Red Ride squad. During a BPN in San Angel, Benitez was killed by the Kiestas while trying to infiltrate a gang bar. Failing the BPN and fearful of reprisals from SLA, Red Ride reported the loss of the illegal weapon.

The trail starts with Red Ride squad. The PCs, at SCL 10, can only find out the address of the squad leader. Luckily for them this is in Suburbia and all members of the squad have been placed under house arrest pending an investigation by Cloak Division.

The leader of Red Ride is an Investigation package human called Niall Ferguson. Ferguson will co-operate any way he can with the Ops as he knows he should have reported Benitez straight away, but at only SCL 9 he was glad of the extra firepower. He tells the squad that they were on an investigation into the flow of DarkNight weapons into the sector and that Benitez, being of Kiestas background himself, was trying to get inside information. He was seen entering a bar called Maria’s two nights ago, and two hours later he was seen by their scout being carried out of the back door with around a dozen 10mm gunshot wounds to his torso. Benitez had insisted on stripping his weapon and taking it with him inside his coat, and though his body wasn’t recovered it was safe to assume that it was now in Kiestas hands. Ferguson warns the Ops that the Kiestas in the area are strong and well armed with DarkNight weaponry.

Should the squad think to investigate Benitez, they can find that he still lived in Upper Downtown. Streetwise of 4 or above will reveal that the sector he lived in has a slight allegiance to the Kiestas, and Computer Use of 4 or above will reveal that Benitez was recruited from the same sector and was a Kiestas member before he went to Meny.

The next logical step is for the squad to start investigating in San Angel sector. There are plenty of Kiestas here, cruising around the upper levels in dilapidated cars and hanging around the streets wherever there’s a dry spot. The Shivers seem to let them go about their business and the Kiestas make a token gesture of not making any trouble with them. If the Ops try to talk to the Kiestas on the streets as Ops they’ll get a wall of silence. Most of them don’t know anything anyway, but even though they don’t want any trouble, they’re not going to help SLA. If they manage to pull off being a civilian they’ll be warned to keep their nose out or they might find themselves in trouble.

The Kiestas in Maria’s know what happened to Benitez though. Benitez had been in contact with his old gang buddies for a while, and it was them who put him onto where he could get his 400 from. Of course, once they knew he had it they started leaning on him to use it to their advantage. After a few hits for them Benitez decided it would be safer for him to just go underground, and so he arranged to fake his death. The body carried out of Maria’s that night wasn’t Benitez – he’s safe and well in a Kiestas safehouse, with his 400.

The Maria’s Kiestas are jumpy since the Benitez incident. They know SLA will come sniffing around and have planned to blame a scapegoat for his death. Anyone, whether appearing to be SLA or not, asking about Benitez will be cautiously told about this scapegoat after a little bribery or light threats. If threats get too heavy the gangers might just retaliate though, but only as a last resort as they don’t want to draw any more attention.

Their Scapegoat is low ranking DarkNight civilian convert called Isandro Martinez. He’s not really anything to do with the arms trade that’s rife in San Angel, just a low rate drug dealer, but he likes to think he’s the big man. The Kiestas will send the squad right to his front door, and upon realising what’s happened he will fight like a cornered rat. He genuinely knows nothing about Benitez, and will protest his innocence to anyone who will listen. He will also lie and claim not to be affiliated with DarkNight, that he is just a small-time drug dealer with a black market handgun. He will even offer to help the Ops in return for his freedom. Should they take him up on this offer he will stand true to his word and after about 6 hours (4 at a push) can tell the Ops that Benitez is still alive and running with the Kiestas.

If the Shivers are told about Benitez they will pull up his record and put out an APB for him, but seeing as hunting Ops is a job for Cloak Division all they’ll do is tell the Ops if they see him. This should only be used as a last resort if the players are really struggling to get anywhere with the investigation. Of course they could try to pass the BPN on to Cloak themselves, but without proof they won’t be interested.

If the Ops go back to Maria’s and start letting on that they know (or suspect) that Benitez is still alive they’ll start getting a reaction. The local Kiestas bosses will by now know that there are Ops on the case and have come up with a contingency plan. They don’t want a war with SLA here and the squad’s persistence will make them sweat. They’ll try and set Benitez up so that the squad can find him and remove him before he becomes a problem. He’s already caused a stir with neighbouring the KT gangs and if he quietly disappears then they hope that KTs won’t find out and will continue to think that they have the weapon.

So, if they rattle a few cages at Maria’s they will be told that they must meet with one of the captains, Samuel Lourenco. The Ops should feel nervous about this, as they know that the gang is well armed, but they have little choice. Lourenco will meet them (or any number of them) in a large garage several blocks away. The garage is more like a scrap yard in reality, as a working car is uncommon in Downtown. He will have six gangers with him, all armed with DN ARs, and outside the building will be a further twenty armed with DN and CAF pistols.

Lourenco has no intention of starting a fight with the Ops, but isn’t about to go to a meeting unarmed. He will tell them the location of Benitez’s safehouse and offer to let one of his men take them there, stating that he is not a Kiesta and that he wants a stable relationship with the Company. Meanwhile, Benitez has got wind of this (he’s not stupid and hasn’t set foot in his safehouse, preferring to melt into the crowds for safety). If the squad accept Lourenco’s offer a car will pull up and a man will start to enter. Late to the party, and thinking the man is Lourenco, Benitez will blow his head off with the 400. If the squad decline or end up in a firefight Benitez will try and take them down when they leave. If they have set up a scout around the building they can make an active detect roll to spot Benitez. If they fail this he will give away his position when he opens fire, but will try to flee afterwards if he takes out the man in the car. If he shoots at an Op they will probably be killed, and he will try to relocate for another shot, but since the objective here isn’t to bring a 17mm weapon to bear on the squad Benitez will only take down the big targets if the Ops are dithering in the line of fire. He will take out gangers nearby the squad in the confusion, which should be enough to get them moving.

If Benitez manages to escape after killing the man in the car the squad will struggle to find him again and will most likely fail the BPN, as he will flee Kiestas territory and go to ground. If they recover his weapon they will get a 1000c bonus between them, however if they kill him without him firing first they will get the bonus but no SCL increase or CBS payment as punishment, as they have no extermination warrant and so would not be authorised to shoot.

If it looks like Benitez is about to get a clear shot on an Op while they’re pursuing him you have the option of having Ferguson bail them out with a FEN 204. Ferguson realises what Benitez has done and follows the squad’s footsteps (as an investigator with considerably better speed), arriving where he suspects Benitez would be just in time to unload his 204 into him. Dramatic timing huh?

If you’re unsure about using a Surekill (limited to higher SCL in my campaign) you could use a FEN 93 or 30-30 and have him have bought it on the black market. The 400 will kill any character it hits.

Kiestas member / Isandro Martinez / Samuel Lourenco:
STR: 7
DEX: 8
COOL: 7
Hits: 16
Phase: 2, 4
Pistol: 5
Rifle: 4
Sneak: 3
Hide: 3
Detect: 4

DN74 pistol
Clip: 20 ROF: 3/1 RCL: 3 Range: 12m
Dam: 5 Pen: 4 AD: 2
DN100 AR
Clip: 25 RAF: 5/1 RCL: 8/2 Range: 20m
Dam: 8 Pen: 5 AD: 2

Armando Benitez:
STR: 9
DEX: 15
Hits: 21
Acts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Speed: 0.5, 4, 4.5
Detect: 10
Martial Arts: 7
Climb: 7
Rifle: 10
Sneak: 8
Hide: 7
Acrobatics: 5
Weapons Maint: 4
Marksman: 6

FEN 400 rifle (8000m sights, bipod, recoil baffling, UV sight)
Clip: 5 ROF: 1 RCL: 9 Range: 540m
Dam: 32 Pen: 21 AD: 3
SLA Climbing gear
IR goggles
Padquil flak vest (PV 3 to chest)