The Mafia Job Starter Kit

Author: Kristian de Valle (kris@cxa.com.au)

Situation: The Italian Mafia is looking at expanding their operations across to the City Center and the North, and down through the Arts District and the University. They seek to re-establish the old stranglehold that the Italian families held on much of N.C. They hire the characters on as a specialized ‘strike team’. This is deliberately ambiguous as the mob will use the edgers as anonymous hitters and errand boys and everything in between.

Much of the expansion will be light at first, such as protection rackets, drug dealings, black market gear of all sorts. Recruiting both manpower and prostitutes; they will also be into pimping and meat puppet rackets. They already have their fingers in a number of small Corp pies and have OS interests. They have a lot of goods tied up at the docks and marina warehouses. This ranges from luxury items to black market gear.

Gangs will be a problem; such as the Bozos, and especially the Voodoo boys, who will employ the black arts and ugly drugs to fuck around with anyone who threatens their turf. The Uni will be a no-go zone, and this will make it especially hard to catch any of the V-boys.

Cops, of course, will choose to obstruct any advances the Mob tries to make. Since NCPD Precinct One is in the neighborhood, they should expect to see many police, get quite personal with some of them, and perhaps spend quite a bit of time in the cells or questioning rooms. However, the Police in Little Italy are almost as crooked as the day is long, and many are already in the Mob’s ’employ’.

The problem of the rival ‘organizations’, such as the Triad, the Yakuza, and the Cuban and Brazilian drug trade will vary on the district and diversity of the citizens. These people, however, are the sensitive targets. If any retaliation or pre-emptive hit is to be made, the attackers must be anonymous in order for the Mafia to deny responsibility. Full-scale war is to be avoided, at least in the early days, to let the Mob solidify their power base.

Warning: Angering any of these organizations or leaking them knowledge of Mafia movements and plans is to be avoided. Right now the situation in N.C. is that each gang has their own little niche in the city. So far nobody has disturbed this comfy setup. The extending tendrils of the Italian underground will disturb this niche industry. Prepare for big-time mob war.

Game Notes: This ‘starter’ kit is good for a combat-oriented bunch with a number of subsidiary skills. The group it was designed for consisted of two solos, a fixer, tech and med-tech. Both the tech and med-tech came out of the military life-path and thus had a wide variance of skills at fairly low levels. One solo was a bio/cyberfreak teetering on the edge of psychosis, the other a slick Italian bodyguard who’s links to the Mafia got them the job.

During their stay with the Mob, they will be annoyed by little things. The tech will have enforcers coming in with busted guns and imagined glitches in c-ware, broken toasters from home. The med-tech will patch bulletholes, grazes and wounded pride and the fixer will be hassled for drugs, since the enforcers are meant to be clean but heck, everyone’s got some sort of habit.

Note: The Agora. As covered in WildSide, the Agora is a vast underground blackmarket that is protected very viciously by the conglomerate of Fixers, Solos and smugglers that run and sell at the Ag. Entry into the ‘Ag Club’ is by invitation or contact; such as the dealer you buy off who can’t handle your orders so he lets you into the ‘club’. More info in the sourcebook.

Of course, N.C. has its own Agora down on the edge of South-East N.C. with underground/water access to Del Coronado bay. Security is tight; take it anyway you want but suffice to say only a Raven Spider or a surgical strike with a Paveway will get inside uninvited.

The fixer I ran with was ‘inducted’ into the Agora and had no idea that Mob plans would disrupt the running of the Ag. It is a moral/business decision which will probably wrack the fixer with indecision when all his blackmarket affiliates are hurting because his team just wasted the supply.

A bar features heavily in my campaign and is mentioned in a few of the scenarios. This is ‘Escobar’s’, and is the shoebox on the corner of Zelazny and 2nd in Little Italy. It is a bulldog of an establishment and is primarily a drinking bar. The link in my game was that the fixer part-owned it, having inherited it from a deceased team-member. It is small but defensible and the clientele are hard and quiet. Until provoked…

This whole setup is designed to get quite ugly. Flak starts from the fixer underground and then other organized crime families will begin to slug it out with the Mafia chaps. Hopefully the team will be able to help the Mob get powerful before the families react.

If they decide the heat is too much, or decide to swap sides, then let ’em. Fighting on the side of the Ag boys will mean access to lots of cool equipment but not much manpower. Plus the Agora managers do NOT want publicity. But it will probably take some time before the team goes,

‘Do you think this Mob thing was a good idea?’

Jobs and Work:

These jobs are able to be run in any order, but the low-key jobs and groundwork should come first, interspersed with those exciting ‘blamblamblam’ jobs that all ‘punks love. Some of them are on-going jobs which may take some time, others are half-hour easies. Be sure to overlap so things get hectic, and don’t forget their private lives (girlfriends, friends, drinking buddies) that always intrude at correctly the wrong moment.

Intelligence: Rendezvous with the Black Queens. Make them an offer they can’t refuse. Drugs or a certain amount of money are available but threats will work good too. The Queens are widespread and a good intelligence network. They have people in Little China and Japantown, as well as around the City Centre. Good Info Brokers and bad fighters. This is predominantly a fixer job but he has to be able to hold his own.

Stakeout: Basically for blackmail material, this involves staking out a Chief Owen’s ‘other’ apartment at some apartment blocks up in Little Italy. This is to catch him with the dominatrix he keeps on ‘retainer’. Hopefully the talent will be able to get some decent shots. This could involve getting into the place somehow, or hiring a prowler to do it. Otherwise, flatcams, infra-red or drones will do the job. Once the job is done, a copy of the footage is to be delivered to his office with a little message and a number to call. The management will handle the rest.

Quick Strike: There is a ship coming into Del Coronado bay full of arms and armament. It’s been organized by some of the high-level fixers that sell at the Agora and who supply to ‘Cisco (the ex-CIA dude who runs Guevarra’s). The Mob want people to come to them for guns and ammo, so are going to kill the source. They need someone to hole the boat with an RPG or similar item from the Marina front as the ship comes in. It’s simple. Make sure the boat sinks then cut and run. The boat is fairly heavily armored but will not be expecting them.

If they pop it, the Harbormaster will probably get real pissed but wonder why the boat got popped. He might get the AV cranked and go looking in the park for them. As with the cops when they realize what is happening.

Of course, this may rebound onto the fixer because of his association with the Ag and with ‘Cisco. Start dropping hints. One week later they will be asked to do the same thing. The boat will have people sweeping the shore with sniping rifles and low-light. If they take it again, it will financially cripple the operation for two weeks until the conglomerate get together and organize a mini-sub.

Gang Sweep: Voodoo boys are the problem. Pushing North into Italy and West Hill, they sell to some Juliard, Bozos (Bozos on drugs!) and are putting the hard word on Mob affiliates. The West Hill Corp security should handle the Boyz but Little Italy’s outward facade is one of quiet placidity. All the Mob toughs and enforcers are ensconced in bars and apartments, and only venture onto the street for work. It is around here that the Boyz will start to settle in. They must be warned, and well.

There is to be NO venturing onto the Campus and on-street slaughter is to be avoided. If the Voodoo Boys hook up with the other gangs in Northside or the City Centre, there could be more trouble. The Boys are good with thrown blades, hand blades and pointy things with slow-acting poison on them like biotoxin and hallucinogens. And there are a lot of Voodoo Boyz. This problem will not be a quick fix as there is no central point for the Boyz.

Rescue: This one is a rush job. There is a pack of Mob enforcers pinned down by cops in Northside. There are five Mafia enforcers on their way back from a collection; they were pulled over by Police and could not afford for the car to be searched. They were not counting on a two-car patrol and are now pinned by gunfire behind their car.

Your mission, team, should you decided to accept it; is to penetrate the police blockade and get those boys out. Personnel first, cargo second but the cargo is definitely a priority. The situation should be that three enforcers are left, behind their BMW 2020. They have SMG’s and pistols and light armorjacks. In the car is one million in eurodollars and two briefcases full of Blue Glass.

This job is going to be messier the longer they take. Airborne could be called in, but Max-Tac is a much likelier proposition. If the extracting team gets pinned, they are completely fucked on. This one is a cop-killing job. If anybody comes up with some whiz-bang idea to get the boys out without too many cop casualties, IP shall ensue.

Recovery: This is a matter of personal revenge and petty-singlemindedness. But the players won’t know that. One of the higher-up mob heavies has lost a puppet-girl to a Tong ranker and wants her back. The guy’s name is Henry Sabulio, the puppet is ‘Lacy’ and the Tong meathead is Hang Lion.

He keeps her in one of the premier hotels in Little China and there are at least three goons hanging around at any one time. It’s a big suite with a meeting room and a lot of biz goes down here. There’s always the chance a meeting is happening and there are plenty more goons to fire at. Otherwise, depending on the time of day, he could be engaging in the wall-bang, eating, sorting money or drugs, making a sale, anything. Use the standard Tong goons from P&S and don’t make it too hard. Cake-walk, in fact.

The girl is another story. She has been sculpted in the short time since the snatch and is running another chip so she’s not sure who she is. Her real name is Jody Lisle but she probably won’t know that until someone tells her. This girl is a prime example of what level joygirls are on now; owned by the Mafia, tricked out with the right puppet gear and/or sexual exotic mods, generally stoked on whatever drugs make her happy, this girl is in a zone of her own. White slavery.

If anybody raises a ruckus, let ’em do what they want but no IP. Why save one when they’ll take five tomorrow?

Tech Job: Get into the Night City Harbormasters Office (underneath, really) and tap the phone lines so the boys will know what’s doing with Capt Mahan Jones and the Harbor Patrol. This means wading through sewers with a technician. The hardest part is finding access to the sewers then getting down undisturbed. Once down there, they will run into the fore-runners of trogs, sewer urchins that flit away and seem to know every corner and nook. They fit places that adults can’t. There are also REALLY big rats (you gotta see these) and the whole place stinks to high heaven. Gas masks or sick rolls.

When they get there, the phone lines have already been tapped, by the Fixer conglomerate that run the Agora. All the gear is very high tech and bears no identifying marks; a decent tech roll will make the connection that this gear is custom. Done for the job. It is up to them whether or not to remove the tap, or just lug theirs on with it. IF: they piggyback off this gear and make some mods, good for them. IF they remove the gear or tap again, the system will pick it up. In fact, there will be ‘people’ down there in under fifteen if they fuck with the wiretap. BIG people who are good at killing other people.

The Briefcase: The enforcers come in with a briefcase full of apparent ‘sensitive’ documents. It’s an Arasaka Exec case with the NachtJager gas trap. They want the techie to disable it so they can get the case open. This is pretty hard (check Chrome2). The problem is that the case is a plant by suspicious Tong lieutenants. Chemical sniffers will detect three kilos of plastique inside the case. A techscan will show up the detonator, too.

If anybody does anything wrong, half the building will go up. This does not exclude the characters.

Secure the Zone: The Management wishes to secure a warehouse in South East Night City. Deep Combat Zone Hell. Also one of the most secure areas when it comes to Police or Corps. The only problem is the amount of crazies that roam around there, and the Blood Razors. When it comes to Blood Razors, a deal would be better because of the sheer size. A godly supply of drugs or cash could have them as nearly-allies.

The warehouse picked is pretty large and infested with all types of vermin. Including the local mustering point for the 50-strong Inquisitors. With homage to Pondsmith, they all have Nelspot wombats. One third have acid, one third have incendiary and the last third have sleep rounds. Thanks Mike. Be sure to fire the acid first.

Driving through the C-Zone will engender petrol bombs, random shots from windows, corpses thrown from overhangs and general abuse. Flying in will result in a warning from NC Air Traffic Control and more flak from bored gangers. If the Inquisitors aren’t there, then a pack of wild dogs are. And if anything real big goes down, like grenades and explosions, Max-Tac might do a fly-by.

Kid Gloves Duty: Time to put on the suits, fellas. Bochi Escalia, an important Mob relation from Italia, the homeland, is in town with his entourage. He wants to see the town with a pack of real U.S. edgerunner/cyberpunks, and THE TEAM IS FIRST PICK!! They are ordered by Spats to give him a good time and ‘not to get him fucked up or anything like you people do after midnight’.

Bochi is in town with his partner, Alexis, who is one of those babes who latches onto shrimps with money and bleeds them dry while providing passionless (not to him) sex. She, of course, will be attracted to at least one of the slick edgers and create some sort of unneeded tension. Bochi will also have Totem, his ultrally biosculpted Eurosolo bodyguard who EVERYONE WILL HATE.

This night could go any way depending on the players. Bochi Escalia seems like a shit at first but is easy with his cash and spreads it about once the players are nice to him.

To Come: Well, more to come as soon as I’ve run this stuff myself. ‘Twould be interesting to get reports on anybody else using this ‘starter pack’ and to find out which way the game goes. So if you go off on a tangent and my next set of missions are completely inapplicable, too freakin’ bad. Make sure N.C. erupts in a horrible firestorm. Or not.

The Mafia Job Starter Kit – Characters
a campaign for Cyberpunk 2020 by Kristian de Valle (kris@cxa.com.au)

MAFIA AFFILIATES:

‘Spats’ D’Angelo: A stolid but easygoing guy once you get to know him, Spats is the one of the ‘lieutenants’ in charge of a quadrant in Little Italy. He commands a motley team of around twenty enforcers and associated techs, fixers, spokespersons. Tall, always in a grey sharkskin suit, he likes chocolate cigarettes.

Louie Metigna: Spats’ right hand man, Louie has a taste for fast women and is often seen frequenting the Job Assistance Centre behind Escobar’s. Packs twin Eastwoods and likes to show off down at the Range. Has a small hatchback for city cruising and is always busy.

Don Scallione: Actually an Ex-Don, he is working with Don Skiv in the progression of the Mob into other areas of the city. A rotund, well-dressed yet ageing man, he welcomes friends and is brusque with unproven strangers. Packs an IMI Gamad in his pocket with API rounds. Holds a commanding view of Lake Park in his West Hill penthouse.

Don Skiv: This guy is THE Don. Big, knows what he wants and orders everyone around like he owns them. Fingers in every pie in Little Italy. Always flanked by two or more bodyguards. Actually lives in North Oaks and commutes every day for the ‘biz’. Starts the day with a shave at Guido’s and lunches a lot at the restaraunt.

Ferrigno: Nobody but the Don knows this guy’s first name but he is a killer shot with a pistol. Expert marksman. Does a lot of crowd hits and is pretty stealthy too. Quiet normally, unless after a hit. Dressed in black, shades and leather boots. Hangs at Escobars a lot and Keegan does not like him.

Gino Scallione: Son of Don Scallione, this slimy piece of cheese was the agent for Escobars and does a lot of ‘protection’ work. Likes leather suits and trenchcoats. Fancies himself as some sort of edgerunner. No actual likable qualities. Errand boy.

Joey Total: Expert driver. Sometimes used by Don Skiv himself, but often available for work out and about. Drives an armored Bensen Cascade and humps it. Likes Blue Glass and snapcoke, and drives like a maniac on Glass and F1 driver on coke. Keeps a zip-gun in the map compartment.

Big Jimmy Heller: Really big mob enforcer who likes trying to fit assault weapons under his trench. Tricked out on cheap bio and it’s gonna drop him soon. Friendly, and likes sinking the piss. Should be valuable help since he has done a heavy weapons course. Big dumb lug.

Harry ‘Airborne’ Riscella: An ex-marine in the Italia Armed Forces, he is good at insertion work but is a bit slow now due to a bad gas incident which fragged his nerves. Still hardcore and very lethal at close range. Wears singlets and braces. Has had a lot of experience and will probably help out in any situation.

Angeline: Beautifully sculpted girl in charge of public relations and assigning girls/boys to visiting business relations, PR damage control and hosts insane dinner parties, often at Don Scallione’s in West Hill. Known to have a close connection with Skiv. Her job means she must be friendly and accessible, but she never shows her true self.

Ms. Leguizamo: The stately Italian lady in charge of the ‘ladies house’ behind Escobars. She is in charge of roughly eighteen women and tries her hardest to match girls with clients. Makes most of the new girls into proper ladies, with carriage and bearing. Still pro’s, but.

Cory Branca: Don Skiv’s main accountant, she is often at his side most days, whispering in his ear, conversing at restaurant tables. Always dressed well and tries very hard to distance her private life from her mob relations. It’s a rough job but it pays well, and if she wasn’t doing it, someone else would get the money. May be swayed by Agora pressure.

Candy, Michelle, Adriana, Sophie: Some of the girls under Ms. Leguizamo. In various states, drug-addicted, exotic, rigged for puppet work, but the girls under the Ms. are still the best out of the lot. If the characters start using them like puppets to get a quick fuck, IP will slowly drop. They gotta have some morals.

GANGS:

Sixer: Head of the Black Queens, this guy may not be big but he is canny. Knows the value of information and uses it wisely. While some members of the gang pissfart about, Sixer is co-ordinating while keeping up the Goth-like image.

Jayce: Chief scout for Sixer, expect this young dude to pop up anywhere. Knows the city innately, above and below. Knows the Trogs and the first incarnations of arcorunners. Consider him a prowler or sniffer, and he knows names and faces too. It’s his life.

Captain Kangaroo: Chief Bozo. Use as need arises. Absolutely Grade-A Barney Rubble Wacko.

James Morisot-Boa: Part of the group of Five that run the Voodoo Boyz. Morisot-Boa is leading the push into West Hill with a team of about fifteen but could muster fifty in less than twenty minutes. Uses a Malorian Flechette Gun with paralysis drugs and is a good shot. Wears Haitian gear with a blood-red Eji cloak with black panels. Also has a straight razor.

Chiama: Boa’s compadre, this man is completely sick with both hand-held and thrown blades. Puts hallucinogenic drugs on most of his blades and is tricked for speed. Looks like a rat with chicken feathers in his greasy black hair. Always a slight spatter of blood on his clothes or face.

Bizane: One of the Voodoo Boyz who is heavily into the ‘curse’ and magical side, he also has cyberlegs with heel spikes. Carries a lot of the gear and he can run pretty fast too. Slightly psychotic and likes bleeding girls. Not to death, just bleeding them. Collects the blood.

Siacolo: One of the Boyz who is a girl. Has more to prove than the rest so carries machetes, spawnblades and spring-knifes. Uses a drug that induces paranoia and the sweats. Wears tight, worn leather and blood-spattered leather strips and straps about her torso.

Bone Joe: Lanky Voodoo Boy who handles much of the Ratskellar/Hababas customers. Usually flanked by a number of bladeboyz. Has many bones through many parts of the body.

Double-A: A street artist belonging to the Juliards. Juggles and breathes flame. Crack shot with anything thrown and also has a chainsaw. Shock of red hair and often rides a board. Works around the West Hill area.

Tully: A tech with the Brainiacs, she is probably the most accessible. She does all the c-ware work for the gang and is a type of unofficial member. She can hold her own in intellectual contest and wears a blue NC Slammers cap backwards. Surfie girl without noticing it.

POLICE CONTACTS:

Sgt. Calvin: Cop in charge of foot patrol in Little Italy. On the mob payroll. Big, buzz-cut wearin’ all-American who likes the money but hates the slime that pays him Perhaps he will buck if pressed or fed up.

Lieutenant Jericho: The Mafia’s inside man when it comes to police procedure and proposed crime-fighting incentives. Will clue the Mob into stings and strikes. Real slime himself, likes to hold out for more money. Has his own holdouts too, twin .357 snub Pythons in ankle holsters with titanium rounds. 5-shots.

Officer Singh: A quiet Indian cop, he lives in Italy and is exempt from the protection vice because he is in charge of evidence. As long as he keeps ‘misplacing’ sensitive items and slipping stuff under the counter, he stays exempt. He knows how the city works and accepts this quietly as long as he is in no danger.

Detective-Sgt Helver: A new outsider, Helver has just been transferred to the Little Italy district. Actually working for Special Investigations, he is working under the guise of Vice and acts like a bumbling fool. This guy is totally sharp and will play the characters for what he can. If he can bust them wide open during his Organized Crime operation, he will.

Sgt. O’Hannon: Compadre to Sgt Zender (616), he is also on the Mafia payroll but Zender does not know this. He knows that the Mob maneuvered Zender into psyche-eval. Tough but a slave to the money. If Zender finds out O’Hannon is on the payroll, he is dead.

Sgt. Zender: Body-replacement cop working for Max-Tac. Gave the gung-ho solo an ultimatum; get out of the city before you go down. The mob has taken care of him for a few weeks at least. This brain in a box has a vendetta on the solo you choose.