Ok, I don't usually condone this type of think, but sometimes, it just has to be done....
This is what I call a "F**K over Waldo" run <evil grin>
1) The run is simple, they are to raid a corporate office and make off with a gizmo (don't care what it is). However, you have something near the run zone that you KNOW the player will grab (with him making off with servers and such, this should be no problem). A high end data store, Commlink, or other info device is best.....
2) They go back to the Johnson and get paid.... no big deal.... till the Johnson turns up dead by a horrific means. (in my game, the Johnson was peeled with a potato peeler, with large amounts of antiseptic and coagulate used on him... to keep him alive as long as possible) Most runner will go "huh tough break.... lets look over our loot!" This is when they find out that the info device is HIGHLY encrypted and a host to multiple databombs, black IC and other levels of nasty. (Most greedy players see this and see dollar signs! they will spend a lot of free time trying to crack the sucker open... or looking for someone to crack it)
3) At the same time, if any of the players get in touch with a contact, ASK them to make a loyalty roll. If they succeed, the contact tells them some ominous like "Hey, there was a large man in a black suit asking about you" or, "Man is you handle generating a lot of traffic on the matrix right now!" or "Hey, why did you rape/brutalise/murder/torture that <insert vulnerable member of society here>?? you didn't have to do that!!"
If they fail the loyalty roll, the contact acts panicky, nervous, scared, and is not much help. (loyalty 3+). Or they act like character is their best friend, and his happy to see that and glad they called... and drops several lines about how they should "hook up real soon for beers and what not!"(loyalty 1-2)
LOYALTY 3+:
If they check on the contact (physically) they find the poor contact's home has been trashed and the contact is barely holding onto life. Once he has recovered to the point of talking, he tells them that several men showed up asking about the character! How they knew, he knew them, he doesn't say. but they are really insistent that up with the character like RIGHT NOW! The Men in black even took his wife/child/girlfriend/dog/cat/hamster hostage and expect the characters to contact them ASAP (the contact has the number....) If they do call, proceed to #6
LOYALTY 2-
The contact will set up a meeting for the get together someplace the characters have never been before.... a Bar, club, or restaurant (or, from the outside looks like a bar/club/restaurant. As the character(s) enter, they soon find the contact, Dead. And men in black armor come in blazing after tossing flash bangs (Ambush rules time!) there should be the same number of men in black as to characters +2.... if more then 4, then one will be a mage. if more then 6, then 1 will be a mage, 1 will be an adept. The goal is to capture the character(s), not kill, so they will be using mostly stun ammo and weapons.
If they get their hands on the character(s), when they wake up, they are alone in a white room with VERY bright lights shining down from the ceiling, and mounted on the walls. They are strapped to a chair, nude. (if they are a mage, they have been outfitted with mage restraints. If they are a social adept they are gagged). A little man comes into the room pushing a cart loaded with medical instruments, and a few odd items. Notably several large books, and gas powered "hotplate". he begins to speak to the character(s)
5) "Do you have any heart or respitory problems I should be made aware of before we begin? A history of seizures? or allergies? No? good. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Dr. <insert simple name here> and I am here to over see your vivisection. We will be starting off with 200cc adrenaline to keep you from blacking out, so you will remain awake while I ask you a question. We will only stop when you answer the question. Do you understand? Good. First we will start with the removal of the dermis, then the epidermis, followed by soft tissues, tendons, then muscle tissues and fibers, then bone tissue. We will be avoiding organs, nerve tissues and fibers, and process functions of the brain. To do this removal, we will be relying of the 4 elements of interrogation. Hot, Cold, Sharp, and Blunt. Which one would you like to start with?"
The question is always the same "Where is the <insert stolen device>? Who has it? how is it guarded? have you cracked it yet?"
Now, most players can not play fear at all, they will passively sit there while horrible things happen to them, happily spitting in the Doctors eye. THIS is what "composure" tests are for. let them roll. then have the doctor remove some skin. then have them roll again with a modifier.... and the doctor removes some more.... then roll again with a bigger modifier... and so on. Until they fail 3 times and the doctor is satisfied with the answers and is sure they are telling the truth. Even if they answer right off the bat, he still removes several sections of skin/muscle/tissue/bone, (just to make sure)
*****if they are all captured I recommend using notes between you and the players to keep the other players from knowing exactly what happens to the others, and who talks first.***
*IF only 1 runner was captured, its only a question of how much damage is done before cracks (if its not the offending character, Hope that it is not too much!). The men in black then dispatch a drone to the location to recon the area. if it spots the runners that are still on the loose, it drops down to deliver a message: (see #6, but modify it to reflect that it is one of their team they have)
*IF the entire team has been captured and it is simply a matter of picking up the device, the players will remain in custody until the device has been picked up. Once it has been the runners will be drugged and then dropped nude in some part of their neighbourhood close to where the device was picked up. The runners, missing their equipment that they went to the meet with and most likely several patches of skin (or worse!!) should consider themselves lucky the men in black didn't just finish the job and kill them off.
But hey, good shadow talent is hard to find! If the players have a good reputation, then before they got dropped off, they actually underwent some "un" elective surgery... in the way of a Cortex bomb! When they are dropped off, they also have a commlink with them. Once the awaken the Commlink goes off and Doc whats-his-name starts talking: "Good to see that you are awake, Do you have full sensation of or limbs? no tingling? good, I hate opening the skull of a patient, so many things can go wrong. Let me be straight with you. inside your head is a cortex bomb with a 18 month battery supply. Keep this commlink with you, on occasion I will have assignments for you that I expect you to carry out for us. If you refuse, we detonate the bomb. If you try to remove the bomb, we detonate the bomb. If you require headware implantation you will contact me through the link. If you try to have any headware installed without us, we will assume you are attempting to disable the cortex device and detonate the bomb. Am I clear? good. Rest up. You will have a busy future ahead of you. And welcome to <insert Corporation name here> I am sure you will prove yourself to be a valuable member of our team!"
6) If they call the number provided by the contact, a person picks up after the 2nd ring. and says the following:
"Hello, you can call me Mr. <insert simple name here>. Am I dealing with amateurs? or professionals?"
If they say Professionals:
"good then this will be easy. I have something you want back, and you have something I want back. A simple exchange. Once I confirm that the <insert stolen device> is correct, intact, and uncracked, you can have what we took from your friend. The verification of goods and exchange will take place at <insert address for underground parking lot>, middle level in 3 hours. please do not be late. This number will not work after we hang up, there will be no second chances on this exchange. If you are late, the item in my possession expires. And we start again from square one. Do you understand? Good"
If they say they are amateurs:
"Hmm, then this will be difficult. I know you will not believe I am serious unless I send you so choose. Hand or Foot? Go to this matrix address in 5 minutes, enter in this passcode, view the film, then call me back"
If they go to the matrix address in 5 minutes, there is a freshly loaded and sanitized video file that shows the terrified hostage strapped down to a table. A man approaches with a bone saw, and promptly removes the agreed upon appendage, while the hostage screams and writhes in pain and fear.
If they call the number back repeat basically what is said up top, but modified to reflect the fact that they are amateurs and the man will brook no nonsense from them.
7) At the parking garage, the area has been blocked off with construction tape. the characters can either drive down, or walk down. On the middle level they spot the hostage tied to a chair in the middle of area. strapped around the waist is a large device with many blinking lights. A small drone hovers nearby, as the players enter the area, the Drone begins to speak.
"your property has an explosive device attached to her. If you attempt to remove it, it will detonate. Under the chair is a commlink, please retrieve the link. One you have placed our property in the drone, we have recovered it and verified that it is uncracked and correct, well will transmit the code to release the bomb."
*IF the players shoot the drone, the bomb goes off, killing the hostage. The men in black will simply start again by grabbing an other contact and going through the procedure again (and be more displeased with the players)
*IF they tampered with the stolen device, or cracked the encryption, or placed a substitute device in the drone, the bomb goes off. The men in black start again with another contact.
*IF they try to hack the drone, they find it is controlled by a rigger who knows his stuff. He gives them a warning to leave. If they don't the bomb goes off. the men in black start again.
*IF they place the device in the drone, it has not be tampered with and is uncracked, the commlink under the chair beeps with a code to enter into a keypad to release the hostage. NOTE: if they have gone through this procedure before, the players decide to co-operate, the bomb goes off!
*****
While there are many ways to mess with and actually track down the men in black, by the time they do so, they should be down several contacts. As well as have their reputations run through the mill simply because their greed started this blood bath. The men in black turn out to be corp special operations from the corp that they stole the device from. Apparently the runners missed some survailance drones/equipment on the original run and it captured they appearances on film as well as their profiles, and anything they said during the run. Using that, and the corp's network of fixers, fences, and contacts they were able to get a partial tracking on the runners. Not enough to know where they are/were but enough to get a line on some/all of their contacts.
IF they managed to crack the encryption what they find is......... nothing of real import! there is some progress reports, some projection reports, and status reports of various divisions with in the Company. If they look really hard, buried in the Emails they find some correspondence between a Manager and his mistress. It would seem that this manager (a basic nobody in the company) has sent the special operations team after the runners to keep his little love affair a secret from his wife! He feared that the runners were going to attempt to blackmail him with the emails and end his marriage (and ruin him financially, since most of his money goes to either the wife/lifestyle or to maintain his mistresses lifestyle, he has no money to pay for the blackmailing! he figured he would tell HR that the device contained "sensitive Corporate secrets" and had to be recovered quickly.... hence the Special Operation team.