LOOPHOLES

A Shotgun Scenario for Delta Green

## Preface

The goal of this scenario is to introduce players to a competitor organization (Program, Outlaw, PICES, MAJESTIC, etc…), for brevity, I will be referring to the organization to which the players belong as ORG1, the competitor as ORG2. Written here is an outline for the scenario, written in such a way to keep it flexible to fit your unique campaign. Credit for the seed of this scenario goes to S1E8 of the podcast *Archive 81*, the first 8 minutes of the episode can be used as the recovered tape in the briefing.

## Act I

### Introduction:

At this point in your campaign your agents should have an understanding of when and where their briefings usually are, this scenario is a good opportunity to throw them off. If they've done something recently which could get them in trouble or are keeping a secret from ORG1 play up the paranoia as they go through unusual layers of security and have their weapons/electronic devices confiscated. These measures are in place due to the elevated risk of outside espionage in this particular case, the briefing itself even being given on an overhead projector with transparencies, audio evidence delivered on reels.

### The Brief:

How much nervousness the handler shows is dependent on the rapport between them and the handler previously, either way it should be made clear that this situation is weighing on the handler. The players were chosen for this job because ORG1 is confident that they haven't been brought under the influence of ORG2. The reason for ORG1’s confidence and if that confidence is well-placed should be tailored to the individual table.

Late last night ORG1 agents encountered ORG2 assets while investigating the suspicious collapse of an apartment complex in Queens, a shootout followed, ORG1’s agents came out alive if just barely. The dead are ghosts, the only thing sure about them is that someone in a high position went through great effort to give them all clean fake identities using systems usually reserved for the most important foreign intelligence assets. One among them carried a briefcase, the contents of which have moved the investigation into the apartment complex’s collapse from suspicion to full on containment.

Another team is responsible for managing the collapsed building though, the player’s job is something else, something more sensitive. Among the items in the briefcase was a recording of a conversation between presumably the owner of the briefcase “Mr. Davenport” and the head of the board of directors of the conglomerate “Seallie Co.” that owns the apartment complex, identified as “Iris”. The content of the tape is a negotiation of sorts, perhaps blackmail may be a more appropriate word; Seallie has in its possession 34 bodies, 34 bodies that should not exist, as if the residents of the complex have seemingly been wiped from the collective memory. Davenport describes them as having fallen through a “loophole” in reality. This information is something Iris believed only her company knew about, but Davenport seems to know even more about the loopholes than she does, and implies that there are more of them than just the one Seallie has been studying. In return for not exposing Seallie’s experiments and their cover-up of the deaths of the residents, Ivy agrees to arrange a handover of the bodies and research materials to Davenport.

First priority is to recover or destroy the bodies and recover research, second is to get any information about ORG2 that they can find, and if members of ORG2 show up preferably capture, otherwise terminate them. Trust no one, not even NPCs previously trusted. Terminate anyone that may be compromised by ORG2 or could expose ORG1’s involvement.

## Act II

There are two main approaches players can take for this scenario, one is to run a traditional heist, get in, steal the goods, escape. The other approach is to pretend to be the ORG2 team there to make good on the deal in the tapes. Both coming with their unique challenges.

### The Heist:

The warehouse has multiple layers of security, plainclothes lookouts and perimeter guards with pistols, more security inside armed with submachine guns. There are three entrances, a loading bay directly into the climate controlled storage where the bodies are stored, it can only be opened from the inside; the main entrance door is to where the researchers are processing the research materials, digitizing boxes of tapes of interviews with the residents of the complex; and a front loading bay leading to the same space.

Seallie wants to keep things quiet, so luckily the number of guards should just barely be manageable by the players if they strategize and try to keep things contained. They should be able to requisition any equipment they want of a standard expense, unusual and major expenses with appropriate rolls, as well as two vehicles that won't cause a panic if seen in public.

The research will take 3 trips to collect, while carrying it only one-handed weapons can be used with a 20% disadvantage. The bodies will take one trip each, almost impossible to collect during a firefight. Some high explosives or a fire can take care of them more efficiently.

### The Con:

Should the players decide to take a more covert approach to the situation they should be greeted by Iris at the front door, she is a little suspicious that Davenport isn’t among the recovery team but not suspicious enough to call the player’s bluff unless they begin to ask too many questions. If the players bring a semi or other appropriate vehicle her people will help load the bodies into it, if the vehicle is not refrigerated this will raise her suspicions further. As for the research she will hand over three boxes, saying it’s “everything they’ve asked for, right?”, if the players agree with her suspicions will raise further. Her agreement having included handing over the main researcher along with the research, if they interact with the researcher they can learn this beforehand. If her suspicions are raised too high she will call Davenport who is in fact still alive, being someone more on the level of the handler, not the players. This gives the players a short amount of time to either get out of dodge or go loud. Otherwise she will only make the call as the players are leaving to confirm the handoff.

## Act III

### Going Sideways:

Should the players take a loud approach or Davenport be called by Iris before the players are on their way out they’ll need to fight ORG2 to escape, being intercepted right when they think they are home free. The enemy is heavily armed, attempting combat would be a losing battle, escape is a more realistic plan.  If they manage to get away without being made, move the combat to the drop-off point, a public parking structure to dead-drop the vehicles for pickup. Since this is a more public place, ORG2 can’t afford to send a full assault team, instead sending a team to pretend to be ORG1’s recovery team picking up the dead-drops, have them mention some information they should not know about the heist or the research and if the players pick up on it give them a more manageable combat with the fake recovery team.

### Conclusion:

   ORG1 appreciates the player’s discretion in this matter, but that does not mean it’s any more likely to give them details on the complex or ORG2. A protective detail will be put on them for an indeterminate amount of time, whether to protect them from ORG2 or to make sure the players don't reach out to ORG2 for answers themselves isn't clear. For whichever character has shown the most willingness to go against ORG1 in previous operations have them take a plane or some other form of mass transportation to get home. During this travel have them approached by Mr. Davenport personally, there to give them some sort of dirty laundry on ORG1 or even better to answer some question they have about a previous operation ORG1 refuses to tell them. Davenport will insist that this comes with no strings attached and gives them his number, calling the information a “peace offering”. This whole ordeal was between ORG1 and ORG2, not Davenport and the player. Davenport compliments the players for their work, suggesting that they’re doing good things as cogs in a bad machine if only because they thought that ORG1 was the only option. If one day they come to the same conclusion, his number is always open. Before leaving he wishes them luck, hoping the next time they meet will be under better circumstances. If he leaves behind forensic evidence (used coffee cup, fingerprints, etc…) have them come up as something impossible, a long dead president perhaps, a small show of power to imply that he isn’t lying, ORG2 does have resources like ORG1. There is more than one game in town.

## Credits

LOOPHOLES was written by jan Juta for the 2022  Shotgun Scenario contest. Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19ZIDUvp67bysZajLIsek2ScToz0MGSRrJxKjN2W2XZg/edit#.

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 © jan Juta, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

LOOPHOLES is not available here under CC-BY-SA.

For preservation purposes, a PDF version of the original submission can be found here.