Operation Traitor's Gate

Agents must drop everything and get to Wenatchee, Washington, where case officer HOLBY has requested immediate assistance. HOLBY is under arrest, held at the county lock-up. Normally this would be her problem – but she claims to have urgent information about a threat that could bring down the Conspiracy.

## **TRUTH**

Anna Schultz (HOLBY) is a retired DEA agent and case officer, in the game since the Cowboy days. Yesterday she got pulled over on what she thought was a routine traffic-stop. Instead, she was slapped in cuffs and read a litany of charges – practically every crime she’d committed in the last 30-years. Now the Feds and a dozen state attorneys are fighting over who gets her first.

Schultz knows this turn of events is because she was investigating a mole in the Conspiracy. She discovered that mole’s name. And they bit back. She also knows once she’s in Federal custody she’s going to disappear into a black site. Her objective is to escape, personally hand the mole’s name to A-Cell (or the Director) and then flee the country.

Who is the mole? Maybe it’s…

**March Tech:** March has gone far too far (probably in cahoots with the Russians). Schultz is going to blow the lid off the whole rotten mess. This time it seems the Conspiracy will listen.

**Russians:** GRU SV-8’s attempt to grab an occult wonder-weapon in Syria was foiled by the Conspiracy, so it’s no more Mr. Nice-ski Guy-ski. Infiltrated assets are woken, agents turned (by fair means or foul). The Cold War is officially hot. Schultz has the skinny on a mole.

**Yithians:** having infiltrated the Conspiracy, the Great Race works to some alien plan on an unknowable timescale. Schultz realized. Now they need to get rid of her. Use **Mr. Block**’s Great Race stats.

**The Other Conspiracy:** the Program or Outlaws move to take down their irritating twin once and for all. A bunch of agents are ready to switch sides. Schultz refused. Civil war brews.

**Blowback:** Schultz is mistaken – there’s no mole. Instead, someone in government has worked out the Conspiracy exists. Schultz is actually being brought in to testify. It’s the Conspiracy gunning for her, in case she spills the beans. She’s lying to Agents in order to get to Mexico.

**Nobody:** Schultz is lying or insane; her arrest is because the law caught up with her. There is no hit-squad or sorcerer. But she claims there is, which means she’s on a hair-trigger, ready to kill anyone threatening her escape. Will Agents work out the random people she accuses as spies, or the gas-station attendants she murders, are innocent before it’s too late?

## **MEETING SCHULTZ**

Schultz is in isolation (1-hour a day in the exercise yard) at Chelan County Regional Justice Center, the Wenatchee city lock-up (next to the Sheriff’s Office). She isn’t allowed visitors, but clever Agents can meet her in an “official” capacity as federal agents or by pretending to be her lawyer. Only the latter allows for truly private communication.

Schultz is tough, stoic but paranoid. She explains the situation, tells Agents there’s a mole in the Conspiracy. She refuses to give the name to Agents – it’s for her to tell the top-brass, in person. She’s got a day, maybe two, before she’s transferred to Federal Detention Center, SeaTac in Seattle. Then she’ll be gone. Forever.

She requests Agents:

1. Get her out of custody. Easiest when she’s being transferred to SeaTac.
2. Drop by her Green Box and collect her gear so she can leave the country.
3. Bring her to a meeting with the Boss.
4. Not, under any circumstances, inform their case officer what they’re doing. She’s putting her trust in the Agents not being with the mole.

## **TATTLING ON SCHULTZ**

If Agents squeal to their case officer, orders come from the top to ignore Schultz’s claims and ensure the Feds get her to FDC SeaTac.

Players torn whether to help her? Hit them with the STRIKE TEAM at their motel that night.

Goody-two-shoes Agents leaving Schultz to her fate exit the scenario. A week later, the Agent who made the best impression on Schultz receives a package. It contains a piece of paper: “My last Opera, love HOLBY”. The sender’s name is the mole’s…

## **BREAK-OUT**

Busting Schultz out of jail is near impossible without a small army. Or paranormal assistance – like a Gate spell.

Grabbing her en route to SeaTac is messy but easier. It’ll be a 3-hour drive to Seattle in US Marshal custody, locked in an armored truck (fitted with tracker). Four Marshals – two in the cabin, two in the back with her. Can Agents do it fast enough, or somewhere isolated enough, to get away?

The Deputy Marshals aren’t suicidal; if outgunned or civilians are threatened, they down weapons and let Schultz go. They can always catch her later.

Agents with high **Law** and interpersonal skills might even be able to *pretend* to be the Marshals, getting her out before the real deal arrives.

Reward lateral thinking, give bonuses for clever planning and preparation.

Once authorities know Schultz is on the run, her details go out to all local, state and federal agencies. Hopefully Agents packed some wigs and dark sunglasses for her. And didn’t leave any fingerprints or evidence at the scene…

## **THE GREEN BOX**

Schultz’s Green Box is in a lock-box in the crawlspace between the living and dining room walls of her Wenatchee home. Punching a hole in the wall is easy.

It contains a bundle of fake passports, $6,000 in large bills, a 9mm shell-casing, and a small bronze spinning-top that, if spun, never stops (1 SAN).

During the day, cops and Feds search the house for evidence. If Schultz escaped, an easily spotted patrol-car is parked out front at night. The STRIKE TEAM might also be waiting.

## **ON THE RUN**

Schultz wants to get out of town and lie low for a few days. If Agents haven’t already got to her Green Box, they’ll need to stop there too. She makes some coded calls, sets up a meeting.

The meet is at a vineyard in Napa County, a not inconsiderable drive of some 14-hours south through Oregon – not including stops for fuel, bathroom breaks etc. Planes are faster but security at airports will be tight.

Every hour of long-distance driving saps 2WP from the driver. Best switch at regular intervals.

Anna’s paranoid. She demands they only move by night, regularly switch cars (hot-wiring), and sees tails that might not exist. Roll **Paranoid Assumption** every hour to see if she jumps at shadows – **Alertness** if it’s a real problem.

Agents should remain low-key. Easier said than done, with your face on the news and the cops, the Feds and the opposition all on your tail…

## **STRIKE TEAM…**

If Schultz escapes, a hit-squad is sent to take her down. Who are they? They might be hired March Tech mercenaries; a Conspiracy team in-league with the mole; a Russian wet-works squad or – if Schultz is lying – Special Operations Group Deputy Marshals sent to bring her into custody.

The strike team are canny enough to try a quiet hit first, survivors ramping-up violence as Schultz and company get closer to California. The first time they lose one or two guys, they retreat. The next time they’ll be better prepared.

There are two strike team members per Agent – more if Agents blow through them without trouble.

While the strike team are only interested in Schultz, collateral damage increases with each attempt.

If Schultz dies, with her last breath she tells the mole’s name to an Agent.

## **… AND MR. BLOCK**

MR. BLOCK is a hypergeometricist (or Yithian) leading the STRIKE TEAM. He guides them toward Schaltz using magic/alien-intelligences.

Block isn’t present at the first hit-attempt but shows up when Agents prove they can hold their own.

Block is either a hired-gun or mole asset. He’ll track Schultz and try to get the lie of the land; Agents probably bump into him at a rest-stop, spot him at their motel, etc.

He seems friendly enough, until he catches Agents somewhere quiet. Then he starts slinging magic/super-science. He won’t fight to the death, but it’ll be close.

## **THE MEETING**

If the Conspiracy doesn’t want Schultz dead, the meeting with the chief is at night, at a vineyard. Guards patrol the grounds. This may be where Block and the Strike Team make their last-ditch assault to keep Schultz quiet forever.

With Agents present, Schultz tells the mole’s name to the Director. He thanks her. “Be seeing you,” she says, leaving for parts unknown. No one puts a bullet in her head.

If everything was a lie, Schultz is astonished (or pretends to be) that the place is just a regular vineyard and the boss doesn’t show. She blames the Agents for being in cahoots with the mole.

Either way, she’s leaving for Mexico.

As for the mole-hunt… well, that’s another story.

## **STATISTICS**

### **ANNA SCHULTZ (54), Case Officer HOLBY**

**STR** 10, **CON** 12, **DEX** 11, **INT** 13, **POW** 13, **CHA** 11

**HP** 11, **WP** 13, **SAN** 43, **BP** 38

**Disorders:** Paranoia

**Skills:** Alertness 50%, Criminology 60%, Drive 40%, Firearms 50%, HUMINT 40%, Melee Weapons 40%, Occult 50%, Paranoid Assumption 60%, Persuade 40%, Unarmed Combat 40%, Unnatural 4%

**Attacks:** Unarmed 40%, 1D4

Melee Weapon 30%, varies

Firearms 50%, varies

**Rituals:** Withering\*

\* Schultz’s one-shot self-defense ace-in-the-hole

### **TYPICAL COP IN A CAR**

**STR** 12, **CON** 12, **DEX** 10, **INT** 10, **POW** 10, **CHA** 10

**HP** 12, **WP** 10, **SAN** 50, **BP** 40

**Skills:** Alertness 40%, Drive 40%, Firearms 40%, HUMINT 40%, Law 20%, Persuade 40%, Unarmed Combat 40%

**Armor:** 4-points of reinforced vest

**Attacks:** Unarmed 40%, 1D4

Baton 30%, 1D6

Service Pistol 40%, 1D10

Shotgun 40%, 2D6

### **TYPICAL FED IN A SUIT**

**STR** 10, **CON** 12, **DEX** 10, **INT** 12, **POW** 10, **CHA** 10

**HP** 11, **WP** 10, **SAN** 50, **BP** 40

**Skills:** Alertness 50%, Criminology 50%, Drive 40%, Firearms 50%, HUMINT 50%, Law 30%, Persuade 50%, Unarmed Combat 50%

**Attacks:** Unarmed 50%, 1D4

Service Pistol 50%, 1D10

AR15 Rifle 50%, 1D12

### **STRIKE TEAM**

**STR** 12, **CON** 12, **DEX** 11, **INT** 10, **POW** 10, **CHA** 10

**HP** 12, **WP** 10, **SAN** 50, **BP** 40

**Skills:** Alertness 50%, Athletics 50%, Drive 50%, Firearms 50%, Heavy Weapons 50%, Melee Weapons 50%, Stealth 40%, Unarmed Combat 50%

**Armor:** 3-points of Kevlar vest

**Attacks:** Unarmed 50%, 1D4

Pistol 50%, 1D10

Assault Carbine 50%, 1D12 (no lethality)

One-shot RPG 50%, lethality 30%\*

\* only available if Agents fail LUCK roll, only used as last-resort against vehicles and hard targets

### **MR. BLOCK THE MAGICIAN (50?), Twisted Firestarter**

**STR** 10, **CON** 10, **DEX** 11, **INT** 14, **POW** 15, **CHA** 14

**HP** 10, **WP** 15, **SAN** 48, **BP** 45

**Disorders:** Totemic Compulsion (ornate walking stick)

Mania: Pyromania

**Skills:** Alertness 50%, Drive 40%, Firearms 40%, HUMINT 50%, Navigate 80%, Occult 50%, Persuade 50%, Unnatural 6%

**Attacks:** Unarmed 40%, 1D4

Walking Stick 30%, 1D4 (held against target drains 1D6WP for spells – currently holds 10WP)

Firearms 40%, varies

**Tome:** Pocket journal (*Coded English – halved-SIGINT to read, weeks, Occult +4%, Unnatural +3%. SAN loss 1D4. Spells:* Fugitive’s Bane, Kiss of Ke-Tuqa, Whispers of the Dead: Qu-Tugkwa)

**Rituals:** Exaltation of the Flesh, Fugitive’s Bane, Infallible Suggestion, Kiss of Hurakan, Whispers of the Dead: Qu-Tugkwa

### **MR. BLOCK THE TIME-JUMPER, Yithian Wetworks**

**STR** 10, **CON** 11, **DEX** 12, **INT** 20, **POW** 20, **CHA** 08

**HP** 11, **WP** 20

**Skills:** Total Knowledge of any Skill 70%

**Attacks:** Electric-gun 60%, 1D6 or 2D6 or 15% lethality (disguised as TV remote)

2x Temporal Mine 60%, freezes anything within 2m for 1D6 rounds (disguised as cell-phones)

**Tome:** Pocket journal about how interesting humanity is (*English, weeks, History +5%, Occult +5%, Unnatural +5%. SAN loss 1D4+2. Spells: Message to the Past*)

### **FUGITIVE’S BANE**

AKA: *Coppa-Fella-Finda, Tracing the Bloodlines, Artemis’ Eyes*

*Complex Ritual.* Study time: *days*. 1D6 SAN. Activation: an *hour; 6WP, 1D3 SAN*

Allows the caster to ascertain the direction and relative distance of a living human being. While the individual sought does not need to be personally known to the caster, all variants require the caster have seen the target (even if it’s just from TV or a photograph) and have something physically from them (hair, nail clippings, blood etc.).

Block’s variant also requires a map (the smaller scale the map, the more accurate the reading), the target’s picture and a trilling chant. The personal effects are placed on the map, which is set on fire. The map is consumed by the flames, save for a scrap where the target is located. This cannot be more accurate than to within 10-miles. All physical material used in the ritual is lost and cannot be reused. Certain protective rituals hide the target from tracking, as is the case if either caster or target are underground or on any body of water deeper than 3-inches. If the map fails to burn but instead crumbles to dust, the target is not on this map.

### **KISS OF HURAKAN**

AKA: *Spontaneous Combustion, Honou-mahou, Holokautein, Spleen’s Bile Riseth*

*Complex Ritual*. Study time: *weeks*. 1D8 SAN. Activation: *one turn, 8WP, 1D6 SAN*

Causes a human target to combust internally, without damaging their surroundings (including clothing). A caster must gesture and shout three guttural, barking sounds at a target within hearing range. An opposed POW roll is made. Upon success the victim begins burning from inside, suffering 1HP damage next round. The following round they suffer 1D6 damage, the third 2D6, the fourth onward 10% lethality. All skill rolls are at a 40% penalty while ablaze.

The fire cannot be put out externally, though killing the sorcerer or forcing him to revoke it ends the spell. Each round the victim is combusting after the first, a SAN roll at -20% can “will” the fire away. On a success, that round’s damage drops by one level (e.g. from 2D6 to 1D6, or 1D6 to 1), remaining at that level. Multiple successful rolls can dissipate the fire, but inflicted damage is only healed by **Surgery** at a hospital or recuperation (per *Agent’s Handbook*). Seeing someone combust is 1/1D6 Unnatural; being a victim is 1D8.

### **MESSAGE TO THE PAST**

*Elaborate Ritual.* Study time: *weeks*; *1D10 SAN; +1 Unnatural*. Activation: one hour

Not so much a spell as deliberately throwing wrenches in the time-line to attract the Great Race’s attention. This might include posting about Yithians online, causing newsworthy events, or leaving messages that will be found in the future. It costs 15WP and 1D6 SAN to do this – but rather than spending POW on a failure, a caster (or assistants) can choose to lose 1D10 HP from their shenanigans (instigating a multi-vehicle pile-up then babbling to the cops about time-lords is a sure-fire Yithian attractor). Handler’s choice whether the Great Race is intrigued, concerned or bored enough to send a time-agent to meet the caster. You’ll know it worked because they arrive mere moments after casting. If they don’t want to meet up, all WP lost (but no SAN or HP) is returned.

## Credits

Operation Traitor's Gate was written by Agent Obtuse for the 2020  shotgun scenario contest.

Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are © Agent Obtuse, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

Operation Traitor's Gate is not available here under CC-BY-SA.