Here’s another playthrough of my solo-game Scalphunter
Things did not go quite so smoothly for Eddie Lawson this time.
OPERATION: CHIMERA
Mission – High level decryption (ANALYSIS)
Complexity 8 Urgency 6
TASK 1
Silent neutralisation of enemy figure (Action)
Roll 6, Complexity track 1
Eddie is on the trail of a KGB asset named Stefan Krämer, who has been sent to into Marseilles to contact a cell of Soviet illegals operating there to take possession of their cache of encrypted intelligence documents. Krämer is a well known butcher responsible for violent assassinations across Eastern Europe and his presence here is a blessing for Eddie. It means he won’t have to feel bad about what he has to do. Take Krämer’s place and make the meeting.
The hit is quick and as clean as these things can be. Krämer never suspects his life is about to end as he walks down an unlit riverside path toward his meeting. Lawson is quick with a garotte, and a dozen slain agents can sleep a little easier in their graves tonight. He hides Krämer’s body, dons the dead man’s overcoat and cap and continues toward the rendezvous – a stinking slum apartment where Krämer is due to meet with a cut-out code-named WALLFLOWER
TASK 2
Pass as someone else (Tradecraft)
Result 1 Exposure 1 Urgency +1
The door of the slum apartment is opened a crack and a pinch-faced man looks out. Lawson exchanges code-phrases with him, hoping to hell that the briefing from the Intelligence team back in the embassy was accurate and up to date. The pinch-faced man, WALLFLOWER, lets him in.
“Christophe,” he introduces himself. “Have a drink. I’ll take you to meet the others soon.”
Something cold runs down Lawson’s spine, a chill of instinctive fear. Something’s amiss here, but he can’t put his finger on what.
Enemy Action – Intimidation
Result 4 Complexity increases to 9
As Eddie sits, Christophe, standing behind him produces a pistol and puts it to his head.
“I met Krämer in Bonn last year,” he says, “You’re no more him than I am. You have five seconds to tell me who you are or I decorate the walls with your brain.”
Lawson keeps his cool, unflinching, not even allowing his voice to betray any emotion at all.
“Krämer’s dead. I was sent instead. I have proof. Can I reach into my pocket?” He gestured carefully at the inside pocket of his jacket.
“No,” Christophe said, “No false moves.” Keeping the gun on Lawson he himself reached around and into Lawson’s jacket. Lawson threw himself backward into Christophe with all his strength and speed, slamming him into the wall behind him. Christophe’s gun dropped to the floor and both men grabbed for it. Christophe was faster and as Lawson realised this he kicked the man in the side and dashed for the door of the apartment.
TASK 3
Evasion/Escape (Action)
Result 6 Complexity track 2
Lawson scrambled out of the slum building hearing the pounding feet of Christophe in hot pursuit. The French agent was armed and Lawson was not, so this was far from ideal. The night was dark though and the street lamps in the area were mostly out. He knew he couldn’t simply flee though. He had to make sure Christophe didn’t report the incident to his group or the whole mission was blown. As Christophe hunted Lawson through the drab streets, so Lawson hunted his pursuer in turn seeking an opening to act.
TASK 4
Close Quarters Combat – Action
Result 5 Complexity track 4
And the moment came. It was clear that Christophe was on the verge of giving up the hunt. Lawson saw him hesitate beneath one of the working street lamps and look around, haloed by the glare and the rain visble around him. He’d reached the conclusion that the imposter must have fled and the most important thing now was to report back to his handler. His guard down for a moment too long he was taken by surprise as Lawson struck from the shadows with a sharp kick to his knee with the steel toe-caps of his boots. Christophe fought back and the two men grappled and exchanged sharp blows in the darkness.
TASK 5
Another assassination – Action
Result 5 Complexity Track 3
Lawson wrestled Christophe’s gun from his hand at last and turned it on him, pressing it hard into the man’s neck and pulling the trigger. It was messy and loud but it was over.
TASK 6 – Pass as someone else
Result 6 thank goodness – things have been getting out of hand so far! Complexity Track 5
The murder weapon went into the river and Lawson knew that he had to keep his cool. The noise of the gunshot would draw attention and quickly and he could not trust that he had not been seen by someone who would be able to identify him later. He was prepared though. He discarded the stolen overcoat (the cap having been lost in the struggle) and pulled off his own jacket, turning it inside out to reveal the paler reversible side. From the pocket of that he produced a pair of wire-framed spectacles and a colourful scarf which he donned as he walked. Behind him he heard the hue and cry that meant that body had been found. If anyone had seen the cap-wearing man in the dark overcoat they would now be giving a totally different description to the police than any that would lead to the bespectacled academic in the brightly checked jacket and garish scarf. He took a long route back to the safehouse, changing his appearance twice more en route.
TASK 7 – Resist Internal Delays (Standing)
Result 3 Eddie has to justify the violence Complexity track 6 Oversight 1
“I’m closing this down!” snapped Lawson’s handler, an SIS officer named Turner from the local embassy. Two dead. For God’s sake, Lawson. You need to get out of the country. I wish I could join you.”
“We need those files,” Lawson said calmly, “Call D.Ops. Tell him I’m going back out there. I need to meet with REPTILE.” That was the codename of the inside-man in the enemy group, the one who had tipped Lawson’s department off to the existence of the files in the first place.
“REPTILE won’t meet you. Won’t meet anyone. The risk is too great.”
“Call D.Ops,” Lawson insisted.
Turner glared at him and picked up the scrambled telephone to place a call full of cryptic phrases back to the British Embassy. They would contact London. And London, Turner thought, would order Lawson back home on the next plane, leaving Turner to pick up the pieces. The two men made overly polite small-talk over a half-bottle of whisky but were no more than a glass each through it when the phone rang. Turner snatched it up.
“Understood,” he said after a few moments of listening, “Pick up the washing at once.” He hung the phone up with enough force that Lawson knew what the message had been. He was magnanimous in triumph though and filled Turner’s glass again, while he himself stood up and prepared to get back out there.
TASK 8 – Contrive a meeting (Interaction)
Result 4 Complexity Track 7 Stress 1
REPTILE, as the case file had revealed, was an unemployed dock worker named Thierry Michel. And he was a hard man to reach. It took most of the rest of the night to track him down and convince him to believe that Lawson (or Griffiths as he introduced himself) was indeed a colleague of Knight (the false name used by an SIS handler whose real name was Robbins) who had recruited Michel and coaxed, cajoled and encouraged him to change sides.
“And nothing will lead back to me?” Michel asked finally, “You promise. Knight promised nothing like this would happen.”
“He’d tell you himself if he was here,” Lawson said, “this is vital. Nothing will lead back to you, but i need to know now. Where is the group hiding their material.”
Michel shuddered and seemed to sag, and then spoke an address very quietly.
Griffiths thanked REPTILE and assured him that Knight would be very grateful.
Lawson left Michel behind, and wondered if Robbins would forgive him for risking his asset’s anonymity by forcing a meeting.
TASK 9 – Forced entry (Action)
Result 4 Harm 1 Complexity Track 8
The address. Not yet dawn. It looked like a small old workshop, in poor condition but with very good locks Lawson noted. He saw no signs of light or movement and REPTILE had been almost sure it was just used as a storehouse, with no permanent inhabitants. He hoped not. This time he had come prepared with a short but strong crowbar and after checking that the street was deserted he set to work snapping open the door by the lock. It gave after a few moments and the crowbar slipped and cut a deep wound in Lawson’s left hand. Cursing quietly and binding it with a handkerchief he stepped inside. REPTILE had described an old desk, with drawers where-
Task 10 – Close Combat (Action)
Result 4 Harm 2 Complexity Track 9
The place was not uninhabited at all. A sudden obscene oath in French heralded the sudden arrival of a bearded man in a thick sweater, clearly just roused from sleep but awake enough to make good use of the machete he was brandishing. Lawson dodged and ducked for his life and finally managed to get inside the man’s swing and overpower him with a choke-hold that put the man to sleep at first briefly and then after maintaining the hold for a little longer… permanently. Lawson had taken a few punishing blows himself but thankfully not from the machete, and he limped, blood dripping from his cut hand to explore the interior of the old workshop. REPTILE had been as good as his word. The desk. The locked drawer. The folder of files.
End Game
Decrypt the files Eddie extracted – Connie’s doing that of course
Ally roll: 5 Full success
He had been back in London for twenty four hours. Four of them had been spent in a sharply conducted meeting with “C” while Lawson’s immediate supervisor, the Director of Operations had been tactfully defending his actions. Four more had been spent drinking heavily. He’d slept for the next twelve and then returned to the office, his hand now properly bandaged, and writing his report. The empty desks of his fellow operations team were no great company and he was as bored as he always was at times like this, but the interview with “C” had left him wanting to keep his head down for a while.
When the door opened he looked up, glad of the interruption even if it turned out to be another summons to the top floor for a final judgement from the chief. It was not. It was Connie bearing the superior expression she always had when she’d been triumphant.
“The cypher?”
“Child’s play,” she said, “a brilliant child of course, but child’s play all the same. D.Ops said to keep you in the dark and let you sweat for a while, but he’s a silly old fool. He’s pleased with you not that he’d ever tell you. How’s your hand, poor dear?”
“Sore,”
“Well you need to get over it. From what I heard you’re flying out to Tunisia tonight.”
Long Term Consequences
+1 Burnout (rolled 5 on 3d6 from Harm & Stress)
+1 Blown (rolled 6 on 2d6 from Exposure & Oversight)
2 EP
He now has 8 Experience Points
He spends 3 to gain a new Ally – this one to help him with departmental politics (STANDING 3) and fight his corner with the bureaucracy. This new ally is Patrick “Paddy” White a rather intense and experienced member of the Department who retired from active operations a decade ago but knows the machinations of the intelligence community inside out.
He then spends 2 Experience points to gain a new Speciality – Shadowing
He has 3 EP left
Otherworlds 