Dick's Last Resort is a well-known, seedy bar that makes no pretence to being more. It is dark, dingy and everything has a worn took about it, particularly the patrons. If the Cell appears in an official capacity, they will be treated with grudging respect but no one will have anything to say. The patrons of Dick's don't talk much to outsiders.

The bartender will say that Grant and Borland usually show for dinner and drinks around 6:30pm. If the party goes as customers and tries to "blend," they find it impossible. Again, no one is rude, but everyone keeps their eyes on the Cell members. Any time spent in the bar reveals the presence of a back entrance leading to an unadvertised rear parking area. It seems to be used only by regulars.

Grant and Borland waltz in around 6:45pm from the back way, appearing jovial and relaxed. The party's appearance changes all that. The two detectives refuse to comment on the murder investigation citing police department policy, and refer the Cell members to Boch. Heavy-handed tactics will not work here, and some patrons may want to get personally involved. Diplomacy is also difficult as Grant and Borland refuse to talk to the party in private, and revealing information with the whole bar listening is foolish.

Grant gets very interested if the Cell mentions his daughter Beth. Initially, he wants the details at the bar ("nothing you can't say in front of my friends"), but relents after a few tense moments, if the party mentions her death. The bartender ushers Grant, Borland, and the party into a back storage/office area for some privacy.

If the party convinces Grant and Borland to talk, they run down the case. Grant's daughter called him at 11:30pm on October 30th. She was very upset and claimed to have seen a body outside work. Sam Grant rushed over and recognized Justin Chin's son. He knew this was big, and had to be handled carefully. He called the desk sergeant at the local precinct and was put through to the Chief at home.

Taken aback, Grant explairied the situation. The Chief told him to gather a small team, work the crime scene thoroughly but quickly, keep anyone from identifying the body, bring the whole thing over to police HQ, and sit on it until he sent someone over. Grant called Borland, who stopped by the local precinct and grabbed Herb White, the technician on duty that night and a forensics van. They finished the crime scene analysis by 3:00am by cutting some corners, and headed off to the police HQ. They sat around police HQ for two hours waiting for someone to take charge. They didn't speak to anyone about their find as ordered.

Grant and Borland expected Peters and Johnson to show, and were surprised when Boch arrived to dismiss them and give them several days off. Grant is very suspicious of the whole situation and hasn't decided how best to cover his butt. He and Borland decided to visit a different golf course today "just in case," then figured they were just being paranoid and headed to Dick's for dinner as usual. If the party can convince Grant that Boch had something to do with his daughter's death (this will be difficult as no direct evidence links Boch to Beth Grant), he will move to confront Boch. He is willing to listen to, and work with, any plan that takes down Boch.

At 7:30pm, or some crucial time before then, Boch's assault squad arrives.

If the party is present, ask them to make DR Perception tests. Anyone who succeeds notices a faint sound of tires squealing and a car accelerating. They have four combat rounds to act. Otherwise, the front glass of the bar dissolves in a hail of gunfire and three rifle grenades fly toward the back of place. Unless the party members act quickly to get Borland some cover, they are both severely wounded.

Cell members present must roll Luck. Good Luck m e character takes Fw3, Normal Luck Wn3, and Bad Luck Sp3. Normal staging rolls may be applied except the Sp3 wounds do not stage up.

The party has two combat rounds to get Borland and Grant out the back door. Otherwise, three heavily armed and armored soldiers enter the bar and kill a number of wounded patrons, in particular Grant and Borland. One of them shoots the bartender or waitress in the knee and speaks through his mask, "Tell everyone there is a new boss in town and protection money must be paid."

This is total window dressing, but Boch believes it will at least raise some questions about the purpose of the assault. If Grant or Borland is not present, the team rushes out back. The assault team driver waits out front with the motor running. If they survive the assault, Grant and Borland spill their guts.

The Chief

Chief Winston Sanders is a very important person and is nearly impossible to see at the office. A party without reasonable law enforcement or media credentials cannot get past the receptionist, and even then they need to appear very important. Again, the FBI team is welt known, and a similar cover only leads to uncomfortable questions and credential checks.

If the Cell mentions the child murder case, they are ushered into a deputy chief's office who explains that the department is devoting every possible resource to the case. When the proper time arrives (he has no idea when that will be), a statement will be given.

Little short of dropping Boch's or Chin's name gets them in to see the Chief. Once inside, the Chief is brusk and to the point, and expects the same of the Cell. He cannot be intimidated, and does not suffer fools gladly. There are dozens of officers within earshot who respond quickly to any odd or awkward noise.

The Chief leaves for home around 7:30pm. He lives in a large house in a ritzy neighborhood. A wall and electronic gate guard the property. The party can call from the gate to the house for admittance.

During the day, Linda Sanders and the housekeeper are home. Linda may be entertaining important city official wives or sponsoring a fundraiser for a local charity. Linda is a savvy and entirely political creature and she is well aware of her station in San Diego society. Like her husband, she cannot be bullied or impressed by credentials. Even if convinced to speak, she knows nothing about her husband's current condition. Linda can say that Detective Boch arrived early in the morning on October 30th with a young woman who Boch identified as Theresa Adkins, a forensic scientist. They wanted to discuss a top priority case. The three closeted themselves in the Chief's home study/office.

Boch emerged about a half an hour later and told Linda he had pressing business at police HQ. The other two finished up hours later and, after a quick breakfast, both set off for police HQ. The housekeeper, if cornered alone, will be far easier to get information out of, but only knows that the Chief and a young woman left his study around 9:00am and headed to the police station. The Chief has spent most of his time at the office dealing with the dreadful murder case since then.

The Chief sees no need to explain his actions, but if somehow convinced to, he speaks highly of Boch abilities and rank. He tells the party that such a serious investigation must be handled by the best, and Boch is the best. No slight to Peters or Johnson but they are junior officers to Boch. Any Celt member with the Hypnosis skill may detect a certain rote nature to the Chief's speech. If the party can get the Chief into a trance (perhaps using a MHIC-EDOM), it will take a DO Hypnosis test and a couple hours to get him to reveal his session with Adkins and Boch.

Luther Boch

Wil4 Per4, other attributes 3, Luck 5/12

Skills: Autofire 2, Brawling 3, Computer Use 2, Diplomacy 4, Drive 2, First Aid 2, Forensics 2, Forgery 2, Hypnosis 1, Lockpicking 2, Melee Weapon 2, MHIC-EDOM 1, Shadow 3, Small Arms: Pistol 3, Stealth 3, Tracking 3, UFOlogy 2

Trainings: Awareness: Criminal Activity, Investigation, Politics, Savoir Faire, Surveillance

Traits: Combat Experience, High Pain Threshold, Notoriety, Photographic Memory, Quick Draw

Equipment: Auto pistol with two full clips, detective's shield, handcuffs, cell phone/HERMES link, MHIC-EDOM

Boch's Men

All attributes 3, Luck 2/12

Skills: Autofire 2, Brawling 2, Drive 2, First Aid 2, Forensics 2, Shadow 3, Small Arms: Pistol 3, Stealth 2, Tracking 3

Trainings: Investigation

Equipment: Auto pistol with two full clips, officer's shield, handcuffs

Both Boch and his men will have Kelvar vest on under their clothes if they have time to prepare.

Justin Chin

Wil 4, Int 4, all other attributes 3, Luck 4/12

Skills: Computer Use 3, Cryptology 2, Diplomacy 4, Drive 2, Forensics 2, Forgery 2, Humanities: Law 4, Martial Arts 3, Meditation 3, Pilot 2, Research 3, Small Arms: Pistol 2, Stealth 3, UFOlogy 3

Trainings: Investigation, Politics, Savoir Faire

Traits: Greater Bio-PK, Greater Telepathy, Lesser Telekinesis, Watched

Notes: While it may not arise during this mission, Chin's Psi Points regenerate in 24 hours.

Luther Boch is the mastermind behind the whole coverup. His primary objective is to make sure the identity of the child is not disclosed. He initially hoped to accomplish his mission with Adkins'help in order to keep the cover-up itself hidden.

The first order of business was to get control of the investigation. That accomplished, Boch's major early concern was the body and evidence. He took care of that by instructing a team on how to get past the night watchman at the morgue and steal the body. Their operation was a complete success and they left an autopsy report indicating that the child's remains could not be identified. The coroner may yet prove a problem, but for now seems covered. It was time to brain scrub the witnesses.

The botched brain washing at Beth Grant's house ended the subtle plan. Boch had to act fast to eliminate the Grant and Adkins bodies, and neutralize Sam Grant, Toby Borland, and Herb White. Boch realized that it would no longer be possible to keep the fact of the cover-up quiet. He just hoped to complete it, and blame it for the lack of answers to his investigation.

Boch made a crucial mistake at Grant's apartment by grabbing Adkins' cell phone thinking it was her HERMES link. He tossed it in a nearby river and assumed he could deal with any fall-out from Aegis. Boch is confident that Aegis will not get wind of his actions, but, like any good agent, is extremely paranoid. Any indication that another team is asking questions will arouse his suspicions. Boch is also tipped off by the failure of any assault team to check in shortly after their mission. He will phone Chin immediately, and tell him to return home and prepare to leave town in a hurry.

Unless the party makes some serious efforts to arrange a meeting with Boch, they do not encounter him by chance. They definitely find him at Chin's residence by 9:00pm, if any of his teams has been stopped.

Chin's Residence

District Attorney Chin is at the office most of the day and the night. Three of Boch's men lounge around the office area, keeping a look out. Again, the party must be very good, lucky or clever to get past Chin's secretary and Boch's men. If confronted, Chin attempts to bluff his way out, then attempts to bargain and finally attacks with his psychic powers. The District Attorney is smooth and very bright. He will do anything to save his skin and escape. Only under extreme duress does he reveal his genetic background, but he does not hesitate to use it to preserve his life.

Chin leaves the office only if Boch warns him to prepare to flee town. He lives in a luxurious mansion in La Costa. This should appear incongruous for a young city civil servant, but Chin has always seemed to have money. A sophisticated security system complete with motion detectors and infra-red cameras is now manned by two Black Book agents on a 24hour basis.

Chin usually lives with his wife and three-year old son. Since he turned his son over to Athox, he tells those who ask that the mother and child are out of town with relatives in San Francisco. In truth, Rebecca Chin has been spirited away to a local Grey base until the situation stabilizes.

If Boch learns or suspects the party's investigation, he calls and warns Chin. He arrives at Chin's house roughly an hour later (9:00pm at the latest) and the two await a black stealth chopper to take them to the nearby Grey base.

Final Puzzle

At some point after Boch or Chin have been neutralized or have escaped, a phone in Chin's office or home rings. If a party member answers it, a vaguely familiar and gravelly voice on the other end speaks.

"The packages arrived safely in Tijuana. You will pass on your investigation to ?? in ?? [This should be whoever is running things in the Mexican town where the third part takes place.]" The party should think to call a contact they know in that area (a member of the Delta Green team, perhaps).

Conclusion

The ultimate outcome of this mission depends largely on the Cell members' actions. They will have to decide what to reveal and what to keep hidden. Compromising Chin, turning him into a double agent, and getting him to Groom Dry Lake for lab tests would be the best possible outcome for their careers in Aegis. Mostly likely they will be left with several unanswered questions. This is the nature of conspiracies. This is the nature of Conspiracy X.

Halloween Scenario 2: Conspiracy X All Saint's Day

Introduction
A Change of Plans
The Coroner
Dick's Last Resort