You now have a place to rest, arm, and prepare. Next you have to find the mark and the ground they cover.
Odds are the basics are in your briefing when you get the job, but the real research you’ll have to do on your own. And the first thing to do is to scout the territory.
Before all else, think about the nature of the terri- tory. Depending on your skillset and circumstances, it can make the job a little easier, a bit harder, or even impossible. Consider a contract on a biochemist on Ares’ Daedalus Station. Just getting there is going to be a nightmare of bribes, fake SINs, and a great deal of re- liance on a lot of moving parts to do their job, likely Mr. Johnson. You’ll be very, very vulnerable, and every mil- ligram of weight is calculated on your trip up. You’ll be subject to a full biological screen. You will not be able to smuggle gear up there. You will not be able to slip poisons past them. You’ll arrive, and your only options will be to kill the mark with an improvised weapon or hand to hand. And the moment they find out the mark is dead, the place goes on lockdown, with no possible escape egress.
In other words, don’t take physical jobs in space.
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Why does that only make me feel somewhat safer?>
Orbital DK>
It comes up later.>
GlitchOther places that can present similar problems are aquacologies and even particularly secure arcologies. Closed-in and highly regulated, you need a lot of pull, planning, and guile to achieve the kill and make a clean getaway. Wilderness is good for its isolation, though it can leave you exposed with no crowd to blend into, other faces for the enemy to analyze and consider while you fade away.
By far the best location is urban. The blend of crowds, blinds, megacorporate borders and available technology offers options, and options let you orchestrate events in a way best for you. Always make the situation fit you.
Most of the research is pattern recognition. Obser- vation of the mark determines their habits, their securi- ty, and the layout of the places they frequent. Patterns
are weakness. The more you can predict their move- ments, the better you can find the vulnerable point in their security. A sniper can find the optimal roost. A poisoner can discover a mark’s favorite coffee shop or restaurant or a way into their home kitchen. Exercise routines can reveal jogging routes, gyms, or personal trainers to subvert. Are they online? Where and how? Do they have bodyguards, and are they ever isolated from them? What are their sleep patterns? Do they sleep alone? Is there anyone you can substitute with disguises to get close? Does their job or hobby put them in a compromising position? Visits to a bordello, masseuse, doctor, tailor, anywhere they are isolated. Learn the terrain, and make it work for you.
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There are a lot of ways to gather this intel. Hacking local public surveillance and records can work well for the basic foundation. Drones, spirits, and live tails give you the details on-demand. You can get word on the street in person, though finding the local info-broker can save a lot of time, if you’re willing to pay for the data.>
NetcatYou’re going to have to take particular note of every person the mark has regular contact with. This includes the people who are around him that he never notices. If it’s a corper or politician, security might include redun- dant teams that cover each other, including those the mark doesn’t know about. This can happen for a few reasons: the mark might let details slip or could be mind probed, they are deep cover, or a secondary party has an interest in the mark’s safety. This last one is of par- ticular note, because it means that the mark may be an extraction target. More interestingly, it means the pri- mary security detail may not be in contact with them, and may therefore not be coordinated with them. Watch them carefully to see if there are unified actions, or if the second team takes pains to remain unnoticed. Hack ra- dio feeds and watch astrally to find any contact, and use facial recognition scans to dig up records on any of them you can in order to uncover any possible connections.
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It’s a good idea to look up details on the individual members of the detail, anyway. The chink in their armor may be as easy to exploit as a bribe or blackmail, and you can find out what their training and skills are to best prepare for them.>
Fianchetto>
It’s usually possible to find their identities because they have real lives, complete with real SINs. Plenty of data to be dug up, as long as you don’t get too sentimental looking through someone’s life knowing you plan to end it.>
Netcat>
Oh, spare me. What kind of hitman gives a damn who gets in the way of the job getting done?>
Clockwork>
A professional, for one. Asshole.>
Balladeer>
It’s the security that doesn’t have a record that you should worry about. If they’re as SINless as you are, they might be other runners, or more likely black-ops spooks, complete with all the superior training and equipment that entails.>
ThornIf the mark is a criminal or military professional, they will probably have a second or even third team, and you should bet that they are all coordinated (check anyway, you never know). These teams will work with their asset, instead of corralling them like a liability.
Note how the mark interacts with their security. If the security is hidden or undercover, do they seem aware of it? Scientists and other delicate types are usually kept calm with the illusion of a safe life, with undercover overwatch maintaining that happy fantasy for them. It makes the initial intel more difficult to plot out, but the kill itself can be a lot easier. It’s likely there is one agent assigned to their detail that is, as far as they know, a col- league, friend or even lover. If you’re going in for a close kill, that’s the one you’ll have to get through. They can be tough to spot, but the same rules apply as usual: They