9. ESTUDIO ORGANIZACIONAL
9.3 Visión
A lot of young runners out there think playing with ex- plosives and demolitions is exciting or exotic, or some- thing they want to do just because it looks like hot drek from the trids or they just get a hard-on for making “big booms.” They don’t take into consideration that work- ing with explosives is dangerous, and it takes a lot of skill, patience, precision, focus, and a steady hand to get the job done right. Demolition work is very much a science, and you simply must have a head for it. Being a quality demolitions expert takes as much dedication and street smarts as does being a skilled spellslinger or a wiz decker, especially if you like living. It isn’t some- thing you can become an expert on overnight or do as a part-time hobby; to excel at it, you must devote a good part of your life to it. And don’t even get me started on all those slots out there who think all they need to know about explosives can come from skill- softs they can buy on the streets. Most techniques in the demolitions field come from firsthand experience that develops over time, not from an optical chip writ- ten by Lofwyr-knows-who. The last thing you want is to make a mistake with your explosives just because the person who wrote your knowsoft got something wrong and passed their mistake to you. I have heard too many horror stories of would-be demolitions ex- perts accidentally blowing themselves up in their own safehouses because they didn’t know what the fuck they were doing or they relied on error-laden know- softs. Even one simple mistake can prove deadly. And even if these dubious knowsoft authors had some sem- blance of an idea of how to shape and set a charge, they often didn’t take into consideration all the para- noid precautions necessary to purchase, make, and store explosives. They were simply too careless and left trails for others to find. Because of that, they found law-enforcement agencies charging through their front door, or they found other opportunistic runners gun- ning for them, trying to steal their stash of explosives. Oftentimes this gets said runner killed.
explosives in particular, especially in great quantities or higher grades, can do a lot of damage to a government’s or a corporation’s interests—not to mention killing or maiming countless innocent bystanders. Explosive devices on the streets tend to be hotter than any other stolen commodity on the black market, and if you don’t know what you are doing, you will get burned.
Fences and runners who regularly deal with explosives always have to be wary of sting operations designed to nab those who sell and buy illicit explosives. If you ever pay attention to the news, you know security corporations and other law enforcement agencies love to publicize their efforts in going after those who illegally possess and traffic in explosive material. It’s great PR: it makes them look competent and makes the masses feel safer. The only thing you might hear about more on the news is drug busts and the closure of betameth labs. If you intend to buy explosives and you absolutely need to use a SIN, use a fake SIN and use it only once. Consider it burned after that, and use a brand new fake SIN for your next purchase of explosive materials. The last thing you want is to accumulate a datatrail for all of your explosives-related purchases on the SIN and have law enforcement agencies actively start tracking that fake SIN back to you. If they start looking for you, you’re already in trouble. Yes, ditching fake SINs that frequently will get expensive, but the anonymity is well worth it.
Next, if you are in the market for explosives or the compounds to make explosives and a fence is offering you too good of a deal or is promising to get you large quantities quickly, walk away. They could be trying to dump their inventory because they know someone is actively looking for it, and they simply don’t want to be caught. Sure, it may seem like a good deal now, but it might not be such a good idea a few days later, especially if you find yourself facing down a dozen Knight Errant cops.
Also, the fence presenting you a “too good to be true” offer may be trying to pull off a sting for Knight
Errant or Lone Star. The seller may not necessarily be an undercover cop, but chances are he’s already been pinched by the fuzz and is trying to get leniency by rolling over on his buyers. Knowing who you’re working with, what explosives should generally cost on the streets, and how your contacts operate is crucial to avoid acquiring materials that can bite you in the ass. And keep track of the news. Be street smart.
If there are a lot of incidents dealing with explosives in your area from other runner teams, you can bet Knight Errant or Lone Star are taking steps to end it, which means stepping up sting operations. So don’t start putting out feelers for explosives immediately after an incident; wait for the heat to die down first. This usually happens within a month or two at most, as most metahumans tend to have very short memory spans and are easily distracted by the latest news net headlines. I wish I didn’t have to keep repeating this message, but runners keep getting caught by these bogus offers and sting operations by being stupid, so I guess the advice is still needed.
If you happen to be a brand-new runner team trying to acquire explosives, plan for initial difficulties and delays in getting your first batch. Your contacts want to avoid jail just as much as you do, so they will be cautious with any new business coming their way, especially if you seem like a deal too good to be true and don’t have the street cred to back up your claims. Trust issues run both ways, chummer. So my advice to any new runner team is this: When starting out with your career in the shadows, work toward obtaining your first batch of explosives—a small batch that won’t raise many red flags—as soon as you can. Your team may not initially need any explosives, but months later you might. And it will be a lot easier on your team if you already have a small stockpile of explosives as opposed to having to pay unfamiliar people for large quantities of untested explosives and risk becoming the target of a sting operation. Always plan ahead. That’s the sign of a good demolitions expert. And once you’ve established reliable contacts to buy explosive material, greater quantities and greater variety of materials will become available to you. As they say, good things come to those who wait.