October proved to be a very quiet month. While the break may be appreciated, it’s not long before the team’s wallets start to get thin again. Luckily, October does not leave without a job opportunity.

October 30th, 2037

A woman calling herself “Ice” approaches Riptide. She has a one-night security job that she would like to hire the team for. She learned about the team from Hand. She wants to meet the team before she discusses the details of the job. Riptide agrees to arrange a meeting on Saturday meeting morning between Ice and the team. They agree to meet at the Golden Saloon.

October 31st, 2037

Saturday morning, the team meets at the Golden Saloon. It’s closed, but Riptide has a key. Ice arrives and lays down the details. The team is to provide security for the metal band Vengeance World when they perform this evening at the Metalstrom. The venue’s security and the band’s security are good at handling unruly crowds but Ice is concerned about professionals.

It seems that the band’s front man, Rory Murchison, has a habit of speaking out against the IEC corporation, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by IEC. Ice does not explain Rory’s reasons for the animosity, nor does anyone on the team press the issue. The important thing is that since IEC has a major office here in Night City. She is afraid IEC may make a move against Rory while he is here.

The team is to meet Rory at his hotel and go with him to the venue. They are then to watch over him until the end of the show. The team agrees to take the job for a fee of $4,500. She gives them a map of the venue so they can start planning immediately.

The team reports to the Night City Hilton at 8:00 PM. They meet the members of Vengeance World, including Rory, Styx the drummer, Slow Leg the bassist, and Kenny G the guitarist. They also meet Cavanaugh the band’s manager. The team notices the strong resemblance between Rory and Ice. They are obviously brother and sister, possibly fraternal twins.

At 9:00 PM, they pile into three SUVs and head to the Metalstrom. They arrive at 9:30, a half an hour prior to the doors opening. They post the band’s security at the front and back entrances. An additional three are in front of the stage while one is posted on each side of the stage.

Saito perches himself up on the light rigging. Zen and Helios station themselves on each side of the stage. Riptide begins the evening at the front entrance. As the doors open and the crowds begin to poor in, Riptide closely watches the crowd and takes pictures of anyone he thinks is suspicious.

At 10:00 PM, Vengeance World goes on stage and begins their set. The team continues their vigilant watch. Riptide moves from the entrance to the front of the stage.

During the fourth song, Saito becomes aware of a light rigging access hatch opening up. Someone prepares to throw a grenade-sized object out the hatch and onto the stage. Saito scrambles toward the hatch. When the person moves in front of the hatch Saito takes a shot with his M-16. The person is rocked back but not before releasing the grenade.

Riptide leaps onto the stage as the grenade drops. With perfect timing, he bats the grenade up into the upper balcony. It explodes, shredding the chairs in the empty upper level. Most of the crowd thinks it part of the pyrotechnics.

At each side of the stage, Helios and Zen are startled as the security guards they are paired with are hit by gunfire. The guard with Helios goes down, but the one with Zen is saved by his armor. Both turn to see a pair of armored and armed men descending steps from the upper level.

On Zen’s side, she and the guard begin to open fire. On Helios’ side, he charges one of the men and the two begin a hand-to-hand fight. The second attacker on his side bypasses him and runs to the stage entrance. Up on top, Saito and the grenade dropper exchange fire. Saito is missed, but his own shots find their mark as the attacker goes down.

Suddenly Rory yells out in pain and collapses to the ground. Everything goes quiet as everyone is in stunned silence. Riptide rushes to Rory’s aid as he sees the man who bypassed Helios standing at the stage’s side entrance. Saito fires from up in the light rigging, driving back Rory’s would be assassin. At this point, the crown realizes what is happening and panics. Chaos reigns as the crowd heads for the doors. Riptide finds Rory’s Trauma Team card and breaks it. The tiny transmitter inside sends out a signal that will hopefully summon a Trauma Team medical team.

Helios and the attacker on the stairs have reached a stalemate as neither can gain an advantage over the other. Things turn against Helios when the attacker who shot Rory comes up behind him. It’s now two against one.

On the other side of the stage, Zen and the security guard continue their firefight with the two attackers that came down their side. One of the attackers goes down and the other is forced to retreat back up the stairs. Zen runs after him in pursuit.

Saito abandons his post on the rigging and runs down the upper hall. He descends the east stairs behind one of the men that Helios is fighting. He grapples the man and locks him into a headlock.

As Zen reaches the top of the west stairs, she comes under fire from the attacker at the top of the stairs. She drops to the floor and return fire. Her opponent is using cover around the corner while she is pinned on the stairs. Realizing that he has the better position, Zen changes tactics. She drops her gun and charges him hoping to take him down with her gang jazzler. Unfortunately she realizes that the electrical charge in the implant will not penetrate her opponent’s armor. She draws her pistol and attempts to get a shot in a point blank range.

Down on the stairs, Saito attempts to choke out his opponent. Unfortunately, despite having the chokehold locked on for nearly a full minute, his opponent won’t go down. Saito changes tactics and attempts to break the man’s neck. He has to put all of his weight into it and it takes several attempts, but eventually the man’s neck snaps with a loud crack.

Outside, sirens can be heard as the police and the Trauma Team arrives and burst into the front door. On the upper level, Zen’s opponent turns tail and runs down the hall. Zen pursues as he runs up a small flight of stairs that leads to a roof access. The team had missed that access point during their set up leaving their perimeter vulnerable. Zen attempts a flying tackle, but she is out run as her opponent throws himself off of the building. He drops 50 feet to the ground below, but seems to be unfazed and immediately takes off running.

On the stairs, the fight is again two-to-one, but this time in the team’s favor. Saito and Helios work together trying to grapple the remaining assassin. Each grabs hold of an arm. Suddenly, a jolt of electricity zaps both of them. They realize that their opponent has two cyber-limbs. Both also survive the shock and continue the fight. Helios torques on the man’s wrist, his grafted muscle straining against them man’s reinforced metal wrist. Helios wins as the cyber-wrist shatters. Realizing that he is outmatched, the assassin surrenders.

The Trauma Team carries off Rory. The team soon receives a report that he will need some surgery, but he is likely to survive. Much to their surprise, they are still paid their full fee for the job despite failing to prevent harm to Rory. While they get the cash, its clear that their reputation will take a hit for what was clearly a less than successful job.