Being Tracked

Image

Encounter Conditions

Only while helping Hawk in the VIP Room
Passed Torch occurs instead if you have the Vigilante's Mask
This will show up in:

• VIP Room
• Southside Park
• Waterfront

Initial Text

(If in the VIP Room)

At a far table, you can see a giant of a man, sipping a Metros light and watching you. He's bristling with cybernetics and carrying a massive hammer, so if he's your trail, it's hard to say why you haven't noticed him before.

He's definitely showing an unhealthy interest in your activities, though.

(Otherwise)

As you move through a particularly abandoned stretch of <location>, you can see a large man following after you. He's about six feet tall, bristling with cybernetics, and is carrying a sledgehammer.

He must be tracking you more than keeping an eye on you directly, because you couldn't have missed him.

Note: You can go in circles forever in the choice encounter. See letters in green for loops back around on itself.

Summary of Choices

1. Go up to talk - If not received Ruptured Organs Fight The Hammer, otherwise:
   1. A. Who are you? - information
      1. Why me? - go to B
      2. What about Dr. Thomas - go to C
      3. Let me go - go to D
      4. We'll talk later - go to E
   2. B. Why are you after me? - information
      1. Tell me more about her - go to D
      2. Who are you then - go to A
      3. D. Let me go
         1. You already gave up - information
         2. Why'd you start, then? - go to B
         3. Alright, violence then - fight the Hammer
         4. Walk away - go to E
      4. Let's talk later - go to E
   3. C. What's up with Dr. Thomas? - information
      1. What about you? - go to A
      2. Why me? - go to B
      3. Let me go - go to D
      4. We'll talk later - go to E
   4. Charge him - Fight The Hammer
   5. E. It's okay, bye - Walk away
2. Throw him off - If this is at least your second attempt and you have a signal analysis circuit and 1 First Aid, get rid of your tracker implant, otherwise. gain 10-15 HP
3. Ask Hawk - (Only in the VIP Room) information
4. Charge him - Fight The Hammer
5. Ignore him - Walk away

Choice Text and Results

Go up to talk

(If not received Ruptured Organs)

You approach cautiously and display your open hands. He laughs callously. "I'm not here to chat! I'm here to make sure you don't do anything stupid!"

He pats his hammer into his other hand with a flourish, giving you the chance to draw your own weapon. "Turns out you can't do anything stupid if you're dead."

(Fight The Hammer)

(Otherwise)

He looks at you as you approach, your hands empty and reaches for his hammer. After holding on to it a moment, he lets his hand drop and sighs.

"Sorry about the organ thing. It's just the only way I know to keep me down."

Throw him off

(First time)

You slip him pretty easily around a corner and hide while he wanders past, looking at his comm. You give him a while and take a breather before heading back onto the streets.

A minute after you're done, you can see his shadowy form trailing you far in the distance again. Damn it! How did he do that?

You stop for a second and think… it seems almost impossible he could trail you without some help. He's a cyborg carrying a sledgehammer, for crying out loud.

He must be tracking you electronically somehow. A quick check doesn't reveal any bugs, but there must be something like that.

You regain 10-15 hit points!

(Subsequently, if you have a signal analysis circuit, know the recipe for making it, and have at least 1 First Aid)

You duck out of the cyborg's path again, buying yourself some time. A physical search doesn't find the bug, so you move over to electrical means.

You quickly tune a signal analysis circuit to pick out the bug's frequencies. It flickers faintly as you move it around your body, brightest near your head.

You're ready to make a cut, if need be, but push the circuit past its limits trying to find out where. Looks like the bug is under the skin of your forehead, right against the bone… although how it got there, you'd rather not think about. As you contemplate whether to cut into yourself, the circuit dies, releasing a whiff of blue smoke.

Taking one final glance around to make sure the cyborg is out of sight, you make a quick cut and peel a small, flat disc away from the skull. Whatever it was, it tore in the removal process.

You hear a harsh voice not far off. "No signal? What the hell do you mean, no signal? That's not even possible!" A long pause follows. "Damn it, the weavers are gonna be pissed."

You give him another minute, letting the footsteps fade into memory before you come out of your hiding place.

You receive 3-5? damage.

(Otherwise)

You slip him pretty easily around a corner and hide while he wanders past, looking at his comm. You give him a while and take a breather before heading back onto the streets.

You search yourself for bugs again while you wait, but don't find anything. It's either too small or too well hidden to find with a pat down. You heard Zaibatsu implants tracers in their employees' hearts or brains. Probably an urban legend, but who knows these days.

You regain 10-15 hit points!

Who are you?

"Me? I'm the Hammer."

He stops for a moment, staring at you so intently you can see the circuitry behind his irises. "I'm a vigilante. Not the Vigilante, but one. I hunt people like Dr. Thomas and like you."

"The Vigilante would call us Freaks. They say we're immortal. I'm not so sure… but you seem to stay together better than me. Maybe you're the new model year." He opens his mouth like he's about to start laughing, then winces and closes it again.

Why are you after me?/Why'd you start, then?

"You? Because you're there." He laughs bitterly.

"You're Thomas's front line now that the Fangs are off the scene. We need to keep her in check somehow… or at least make sure she doesn't do anything rash."

He pauses for a long while, leaving only the sound of breathing and the low buzz of cybernetics. "Just… I'm sure you won't listen… and I can't explain why you need to, but stop associating with her. The only thing worse than being meat in her world is being valuable meat… and we're all meat to her."

Let me go

He shakes his head slowly, then sighs heavily. "No… I can't give up the trail. It's… not in my nature."

You already gave up

He slumps a bit, his cybernetics whirring to accommodate the strange posture. "Yeah, you're right… go. Just go."

He turns around, pointedly letting you walk away while he types something into his comm. You feel a sharp stab of pain in your forehead, although you're not sure what that might have to do with the situation.

You can hear his voice drifting after you as you walk. "Yessir… noticed the trail… terminated… thank you sir."

Alright, violence then

He sighs heavily and looks almost reluctant to attack you, but brings his hammer around anyway. "It shouldn't have to be like this."

(Fight The Hammer)

What's up with Dr. Thomas?

He sighs. "Dr. Thomas? She's… you know drug lords? She's the one that gives the drug lords their product. Not sells, gives."

For a moment, he seems to weigh two different responses. "There are more of them. Thomas is just the most desperate. With the Fangs operation broken up… she's losing power."

"It's not worth playing with that. If you're going to work for a crazy person, there are plenty of powerful crazy people to work for. She's desperate and crazy."

It's okay, bye/Let's talk later/Walk away

He nods. "Yeah, I guess I'm not stopping you."

You notice a while later that he's still following you from a distance, just less energetically than before.

See Walk Away

Ask Hawk

You make your way over to Hawk's table and point towards the cyborg while hiding it with your body. Hawk nods.

"Yeah, he goes by 'The Hammer.' You'd never guess why. He busts a lot of gangs, but never gives us problems."

"I asked him about that once, if we had an understanding. He just said he works for a higher power. Some of the boys started calling him 'preacher man' after that, but I don't think that's what he meant."

Hawk taps his finger next to the tattoo on his forehead.

Charge him

You pretend to be distracted by something and let him get a little closer, then turn around and charge. He brings his hammer lower into a combat position and grins broadly.

(Fight The Hammer)

Ignore him

You pretend you didn't notice him. He keeps following you as though nothing had happened.

See Walk Away

History

First noticed Jan 13, 2015 (but who knows how long ago this was changed) (or maybe it's something to do with how you dealt with the Fangs — I got the "broke up" message after killing the gang boss).

• "gone" was changed to "off the scene" below:

"You're Thomas's front line now that the Fangs are gone. We need to keep her in check somehow… or at least make sure she doesn't do anything rash."

• "being gone" changed to "operation broken up":

For a moment, he seems to weigh two different responses. "There are more of them. Thomas is just the most desperate. With the Fangs being gong… she's losing power."