Rat Race

The runners are contacted by another runner, Drunken Panda, with an emergency. A really big score is taking him to the UK, but his pets cannot be left alone, on account of some currently undergoing an antibiotics treatment. He wants to hire the team to housesit in Riverplex and take care of his pets. The twist? The pets are Devil Rats. Twenty-eight of them. Only three need antibiotics, though.   Drunken Panda has done well for himself, owning a big house with an even bigger fenced-in yard. The rats are allowed to run free both inside and outside, though special curtains hang over the yard, preventing the rats from getting out. At the same time, the curtains help block out sunlight, which Devil Rats are mildly allergic to. A swarm of drones takes care of the feeding and cleaning.

Drunken Panda

Metatype
Troll
Gender
Male
Birth Year
2047
Awakened/Ware
Adept
Type
Shadowrunner
Personality
Mischievous
A troll adept who is a practicer of the martial arts style Drunken Boxing. Drunken Panda is an animal lover, heavily fond of both pandas and devil rats. The first he has many statues of, the second he maintains an entire herd of all-females of. He is incredibly protective of his swarm, making sure they get excellent care and have a lot of space to play around in.   Recently, three of them escaped the yard. While he managed to track them with the help of a Shaman ally, the three escapees caught a cold so are in need of antibiotics. However, Drunken Panda's team is working on a big score, with a total expected reward of over two million. And drones lack the finesse to take care of the treatment. As such, he needs some reliable ratsitters that can handle the swarm in his stead.

The Run

Drunken Panda will be gone for a week, but the rats only need antibiotics for four days. The drones can handle feeding and cleaning, so all the runners need to do is give three of the rats antibiotics twice a day. Furtunately they have some unique markings, so it's doable to tell them apart. For this, the runners will get a grand each a day. Not bad for a theoretical milk run.   Unfortunately, while the rats are supposed to actually like the antibiotics, one of them has decided that nope, she no longer wants it. When the syringe gets near her, she tries to run off. With a creature that can turn invisible, that can be quite annoying. Especially since all the other rats do like the smell and taste, so the runners have to prevent them from stealing the syringes.
Johnson
Drunken Panda
Job Type
Protection Detail
Opposition
Killer drones
Base Rewards
¥4,000
7 Karma

Word on the street

"Look, we really need you on this run. Find someone to take care of them, we'll even contribute to the costs, alright?"
 
"They're all sweethearts, I promise. They are rather tame and will even eat out of your hand. Just a figure of speech though, I've got drones taking care of the feeding."
 
"Confidence level 94.7%. Target still insufficiently clear. Continue investigation for now."
 
"Intruders detected. Engaging full lockdown protocol. Exterminate. Exterminate. EXTERMINATE!"

The Complications

When the three rats escaped, they stumbled upon a nearby hidden corporate site. There they ended up gnawing on some datacables, damaging an ongoing experiment and causing damage to the point of a six digit price tag. As a result, the security AI has sent out dozens of drones in an attempt to track down the responsible party.   By the fourth day, the drones manage to track the rats down and a swarm of killer drones begins invading the house. Asides from the rats, the runners are also assumed to be guilty and become targets as well. Fortunately some of the panda statues are security drones in disguise.

The Aftermath

Once the runners take down enough of the security drones, the AI gets overruled by management and the rest is withdrawn. They do have to put more effort into giving the rats their last dose of antibiotics, as the critters have temporarily become rather skittish due to the invasion. Afterwards, it is their call if they want to stay until Drunken Panda returns, enjoying the pool and library as the only rat-free areas.   As for Drunken Panda, his team managed their big score, though with a decent bit of medical costs. He is very grateful to the team and gives them a business card to call if ever they need a hand for a fair price.

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