Honor Amongst

[The_Codfish]

That might be a bit too straight forward. I don't think we really want her to pay too much attention to our group. Especially since the Iron Cossacks are apparently working for/together with the Mayor right now?

Ask her about Janissary and any other group that contracts mercenaries for work for another organization, then screws them over/betrays them for another organization.

[Wimdit]

I burst out laughing when I saw the big red City Hall.

Ask her what the zoning law thing is, and then ask her about The Mayor's plans on Roderick's Island and why he's working with the Cossacks. The wisdom of asking too many questions about The Mayor's plans while inside City Hall might be a little questionable, but you live life on the edge, don't you Johnny?

Might as well ask about Jannissary, while you're at it; if you find anything out, you can taunt Yellowjacket with it.

[Andorxor]

"At least someone who don't wants Project Prometheus,you wouldn't guess how many interested parties contacted me to retrieve it for them"

[Curris]

Johnny => Flirt with Allison. Flirt shamelessly. "Well, aside from my rugged charm and strong chin, I can distract you from the finer points of " *looks at placard* "Zoning law. . . How's that going by the way? Legislate many Zones today? A fine lady like you, I'm sure can handle all her zones, if you know what I mean."

Allison => Give Johnny the info he needs. It's - It's not like you help him because you like him or anything - You'll just never get a moment's peace until you help him. Yeah, the info is the only way to shut him up.

Both ==> Begin donut & chat.

Johnny => Push her buttons. Literally, Like type on her keyboard and help her out with Zoning Law paperwork. You'll save her hours of busywork and can chat whilst you read Prometheus files while you sort documents.

Allison => Yeah, he's a pest, but hey, free food, and free help is fine for an information leak. You're salaried anyway.

[suomynonAyletamitlU]

Ask her what the zoning law thing is

Alison Lensing, she’s technically a legal counsel at City Hall, but you’re pretty sure she’s got something to do with the Priority Investigations Taskforce, The Mayor’s personal spook squad.

I assume that's her front. If you're running a spook squad, things have to seem on the up and up most of the time to most people. That requires being opaque to the right people, namely, anyone who has to ask.

> Not selling, but there are a few things you could tell me that might be valuable to me, and put some pressure on certain problem people we're both familiar with...

Actually wait, Johnny, how does she know you--by name and face, even? It's one thing to know (as a sly person of the streets like you are) who she's involved with--it's another thing entirely for a person like her to know YOU. If the P.I.T. are as scary as you suggest, I can't imagine you met in an official capacity. Old girlfriend, maybe?

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Maybe I'm mixing up "lion's den" with another kind of large predatory cat... and also, that might make her even scarier...

Curris: He said brownies, not donuts

[Bloddyredcommie]

Hey guys, swamped with work, so here's a thing I've been working on for a while,
The Priority Investigations Taskforce

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“Ideally, one is both feared and loved, but since the two rarely coexist, it is much safer to be Feared”. - Machiavelli, the Prince.


To be Mayor of Caper City is to be either a Puppet or a Predator, and having personally orchestrated the downfall of the previous mayor, Keith Astorway knew that he had to take the offensive if he was ever to realize his dream of breaking the city free from the control of the Four Families. He couldn’t trust the CCPD, which had long since grown fat from graft and corruption. While in the employ of Robin Winters, he had been the one in charge of much of that Graft.
Shortly after his election, Astorway snuck a provision into a routine bill that was largely a bureaucratic reorganization of the police department, calling for the creation of a Priority Investigation Taskforce, made up of men handpicked by The Mayor himself: In order to prevent anybody gaining leverage over the Task Force members, P.I.T agents worked under pseudonyms. Conveniently, this allowed Astorway to fill the ranks with whoever he wanted: Officers who refused bribes, Family triggermen and freelance criminals looking for a pardon, retired soldiers and intelligence agents looking to get back in the Action, officers from other cities seeking a better paycheck, and anybody else who had the right combination of skill and motivation. The city at large first became aware of P.I.T when they raided a performance of Macbeth in order to arrest notorious Kingpin (And Astorway’s former patron) Robin Winters. What followed was a series of lightning raids on the most intelligent and ambition Family leaders. The ensuing infighting crippled the Families, buying The Mayor time to purge some of the corruption in City Hall and help orchestrate the rise of the Knights of Llewellyn in Juncton.
For the Families, P.I.T agents are known as the “Showstoppers”, due to the nature of their first raid. The Police force, perfectly aware that P.I.T. exists because they can’t be trusted to do their jobs calls them “Pit Bulls”, for the rest of the City’s criminal population they’re simply “The Eyes”, after an old joke about a Blind Man’s Eyes. Equipped with technology from Hivemind, and armed with an extensive network of spies and informants, P.I.T serves as The Mayor’s personal enforcers. Their philosophy is to accumulate and archive evidence on everybody, so that if any individual threatens The Mayor’s goals P.I.T. has a considerable backlog of evidence they can use to justify an arrest. P.I.T. exists on just this side of legality, the Anonymity clause means that P.I.T. records are sealed; allowing them to hide much of their actions, and a vague mission statement of “Focusing special attention on high-priority cases” allows them to interfere with any case the CCPD handles, from a murder investigation to tax fraud. Though most P.I.T. agents are investigators and analysts, usually hiding behind a title like “Archivist” or “Legal Aide”, what most people think of are the intimidating P.I.T. Troopers When not on raids, P.I.T Troopers work security for City Hall and other important government buildings, a constant reminder of their presence and The Mayor’s power.
Technically, P.I.T is a branch of the police force, and anybody arrested by them goes through the same procedures as any other guests of Caper City’s justice system. However, P.I.T rarely moves without having acquired more than ample evidence, and they’re not above using the Families old courtroom tricks to ensure convictions. Plus, anybody targeted by The Eyes has attracted The Mayor’s personal attention, and it’s not unusual for the people P.I.T brings in to find a deadly shiv waiting for them on Llewellyn’s Island.

[Bloddyredcommie]

Actually wait, Johnny, how does she know you--by name and face, even? It's one thing to know (as a sly person of the streets like you are) who she's involved with--it's another thing entirely for a person like her to know YOU. If the P.I.T. are as scary as you suggest, I can't imagine you met in an official capacity. Old girlfriend, maybe?

No, nothing like that, you met a while back when she hired you to do some PI work in Gambler’s Row, of course you didn’t know she worked for City Hall then. Once you got her real name, it was easy to realize she works with P.I.T. (Why else would a lawyer with the City Planning Office be hiring freelancers to snoop around the Mafia). You’ve made a point to build a mutually beneficial relationship; it’s always good to have a contact at City Hall. She doesn’t exactly like you, but she’ll work with you.
She and Henri DID go out for a while, but it didn’t work out.

"At least someone who don't wants Project Prometheus,you wouldn't guess how many interested parties contacted me to retrieve it for them"

Johnny: Not selling anything, just looking for information.
Allison: Of course you are.
Johnny: What do you know about Project Prometheus?
Allison: Where did you hear that name?
Johnny: Around. Do you know what it is?
Allison: I know the name, but no details. Hivemind and the Orange Lotus have both been mentioning it a lot recently. All I’ve picked up is that the Lotus wants it and Hivemind wants it back.
Johnny: What about the Cossacks?
Allison: They’re talking about it quite a bit, and they want it more than anybody but –
Johnny: Keeping it secret.
Allison: Not quite. It seems like most of their officers already know about it.
Johnny: And so they don’t stand around describing it in detail?
Allison: As useful as that would be, no, no they don’t. At least not when we’re listening.
Johnny: Stupid Russians, don’t they know that standing around describing your plans in detail when you think nobody is listening is part of the job description.
Allison: Apparently not, they seem to prefer competence to Cliché.
Johnny: No style. What the hell are they doing with the power plant anyway?
Allison: Well-
???: I’m sorry to interrupt your meeting Miss Lansing

The Mayor : But do I smell brownies?

[siguard]

>well shit, keep calm and quiet and maybe he won't ask you too many questions. offer him a brownie though. you got brownies to spare right?

[Lankey]

Don't Panic, remember to smile as blind people can tell by the sound of your voice if you're smiling or not and pray he doesn't smell the load you dropped in your pants out of shear terror.

[Gnauga]

I'm sure there's nothing to be concerned about regarding the Mayor. He probably already has a good idea of what you're up to anyway. He might be especially dangerous to career criminals, but he wouldn't burn you without a good reason. You're a useful talent, after all. The Mayor also probably knows better than to try to get important answers out of you face-to-face. He'd do better eavesdropping. Tell him you'd offer him a brownie, but that you've already relegated their ownership to Miss Allison.

[Curris]

Let's face it. Johnny is Allison's Contact as much as the reverse. By extension, this means that Johnny is the Mayor's contact too.
Just remember your policy of information being a two-way street and negotiate.

Flirt. Flirt Shamelessly with the Mayor (I just realized that the Mayor is immune to Johnny's Flash hat - argh! Using his weaknesses as strengths!)

Johnny ==> offer a job to the Mayor. Promise to get inside information from the Iron Cossacks power plant. You can get cameras inside much easier than the PIT force.

[DairunCates]

Flirt. Flirt Shamelessly with the Mayor (I just realized that the Mayor is immune to Johnny's Flash hat - argh! Using his weaknesses as strengths!)

Clearly we need to let him feel the hat and describe how nice it is. Also...

>Johnny: SHARE THOSE DAMN BROWNIES! NOW!

[aattss]

Well, that wasn't what I expected.

>Meetings can wait, but sharing is caring.

[ParadoxTurtle]

offer brownies!!

[Andorxor]

Oh no,its the dreaded brownie tax and ask them about the ninja janitor conspiracy

[Wimdit]

The Mayor in the flesh.

Yes, it would be an excellent idea to ask him about Armistice's janitors.

So, why is he working with the Cossacks? He's setting up a base of operations for them, and almost certainly getting the Knights to leave them alone. A Paladin wouldn't get involved with Kostya unless Kingston was involved, and Kingston knows better than to cross The Mayor.

Does he plan to make Caper City home to yet another faction of dangerous criminals? He probably wants them around so he can play them off against the Lotus or something. Or maybe he just figures that one more can't hurt.

And as for what The Mayor gets in return for letting the Cossacks in... Was it him who tipped them off about Claudia? Does he want whatever Prometheus is for his own purposes? Does he want Cossack cyborg technology to extend his own lifespan or consolidate his grip on the city? This guessing game is hard.

The full implications of The Mayor collaborating with the Iron Cossacks are kind of scary, come to think of it. Cyborg enforcers answerable only to the scariest man on Earth are probably not good news for anyone. It's stuff like this that makes me glad that The Mayor is a benevolent dictator rather than a tyrant.

[The_Codfish]

Why would Johnny even ask him about the janitors? We're here on business! Iron Cossack business!

I don't think the Iron Cossacks are working for/with the Mayor, though (not to the extent the Knights are). What they're doing right now seems more like a collaboration. But yeah. Ask him about what's going on at Roderick's island?

[Curris]

Kingston is in the Mayor's pocket for being prison bars affairs. He has clout on the Lotus & Triads for street activities, and weight on Hivemind & other Corps through legal means.

Pulling the Cossacks into his net lets him reach beyond the city, into foreign markets, as it were.

Mayor's going to be be President one day, you know?

[Andorxor]

He would ask about the Janitors to mask which infos he is really searching and which questions are decoys

[DairunCates]

Why would Johnny even ask him about the janitors? We're here on business! Iron Cossack business!

I don't think the Iron Cossacks are working for/with the Mayor, though (not to the extent the Knights are). What they're doing right now seems more like a collaboration. But yeah. Ask him about what's going on at Roderick's island?

Making conversation. Building him up to bigger topics.

"You like the brownies? Yeah. Man. What IS up with the Janitors over at armistices. I had this one buddy..."

[Bloddyredcommie]

>well shit, keep calm and quiet and maybe he won't ask you too many questions. offer him a brownie though. you got brownies to spare right?

Allison is already on it.

I'm sure there's nothing to be concerned about regarding the Mayor. He probably already has a good idea of what you're up to anyway.

Okay, Logically you’ve got nothing to be afraid of. If the Mayor wanted you gone, then P.I.T. would have grabbed you on your way in. He’s kind of bulky, but after hanging out with Eddie it’s not all that impressive. Really, he just looks like a friendly blind guy in a pink tie.

No, what you’re afraid of is the stories. This is the guy who betrayed Robin Winters and sent the Families reeling. He engineered the civil war that took down the Scorpion Cartel, broke up Judge Randle’s network of corrupt cops. The Chartensky Brothers were legends before they crossed him and ended up dead in an alleyway. The Red Beserker got run over by a bus, The Shadowman: Thirty years on Llewellyn’s Island, The Machinist died resisting arrest; Father Domavoy found himself in a psych ward. Alderman Phillips tried to stop him and was found in a hotel room with a dead prostitute, a massive amount of exotic narcotics, and no memory of either. Everybody who has ever crossed him as been taken down in some way or another, between his intelligence, his ruthlessness, and his political power, he is the single most dangerous person in Caper City.

Although it’s a little hard to remember that right now.

The Mayor : Thank you Miss Lansing, so who is your guest?
He asks, already knowing the answer.
Allison: Johhny Rouge, sir, he’s a freelance consultant.
The Mayor : Ah! Mister DeRouge! I was just listening to one of your mother’s books! She says hello by the way.
Wait, What-
The Mayor : Now, you were asking Miss Lansing about Roderick’s Island? Do you know what a Cylclonic generator is Mister Renard?
He’s calling you Renard now? That’s your grandfather’s name, you didn’t think that name showed up anywhere besides your birth certificate and a couple old report cards from when you were a kid.
Johnny: I assume it’s some type of generator?
The Mayor : Yes, that is about as far as we got too, and by “We” I mean some of the best energy specialists in the world. The Iron Cossacks have been using the damn things for decades now, but nobody else can make head or tail of them, and the Cossacks aren’t talking. Roderick’s Island had been a mess for years, and all the new tech firms in the city want more and more power, it’s a piece of junk, and Armistice was redlining it to meet the demand, so I sought an outside solution.
Johnny: Wait, you invited the Iron Cossacks into the city because you were worried about utility costs?
The Mayor : No, I invited Borealis Energy to make use of their unique technologies to meet the growing demand for power in the city. I must say, where did you get these brownies Mister Redmont?
Johnny: Fleet Street Bakery.
The Mayor : Ah,I should have known, a fine example of the type of small-business spirit that makes Caper City great. As for the Cossacks, well, I firmly believe that, when properly motivated, anybody can work to benefit the Community. Now, Mister Reese-
Reese? When the hell did you go by-Oh right, during that mess in Istanbul.

The Mayor : What can I do for you?

[kd7sov]

Stay out of my past! No, that wouldn't be a productive thing to say.

...Yeah, I got nothing.

[siguard]

Hold it Johnny. this guy is angling to get you to do what he wants. keep your goals straight before he steers him. accept no "side-jobs" until you've had time to go over them with someone you trust.

>"I've been hired to investigate the the arson incident last night, you know the one with the Jane Doe? If ya got anything for that case that I can use that would be wonderful."

[Gnauga]

His basic message is that he's backing the Iron Cossacks for the moment. He also hints that tech companies (like Hivemind) aren't on his short list. He probably knows why we're interested in the Iron Cossacks, given our little stunt with the bikes and the trucks and the flying drones, and he wants to let us know that sabotaging the Iron Cossacks will put us on his naughty list.

1. Let him know that Borealis Engineering has been looking for a particular piece of technology.
2. Let him know that you're looking to find out who actually has it.

[Lankey]

We might want to debate telling him that our entire goal for this is to clear Claudia of something she didn't do since he is after all backing some of the people that are after her.