Ties That Bind: Operation GREEN DAWN
Synopsis:In October 2002 (a month after the Program was officially established) Agents receive a mission to find and eliminate their former Handler – Agent Marcus (or other Handler that the agents have history with). How they handle this assignment will decide if they are inducted into the Program, recruited by the Outlaws or eliminated as compromised assets. This operation is best played in the middle of an ongoing campaign to signify the end of the Cowboy era and transition to the Program.
Mission Briefing:
Agents receive an encrypted email titled “You are invited to a Night at the Opera.” Instructions lead them to a dead drop in Central Park with a burner phone with one saved contact and instructions to call after the mission has been accomplished (if Agents call early and say anything but report on the success of the mission, the call will immediately end), a photo of Agent Marcus, and a note:
Welcome to a Night at the Opera. Agent Marcus, real name, Dr. Marvin Bloom, has been compromised. There is a strong possibility that he has in his possession materials pertaining to the unnatural. Orders are to eliminate the risk and destroy all materials in his possession. It is vital that no one, including the Agents responsible for seizure and destruction, become aware of the content of said materials.
Address:
1192 WALTON AVE APT A6 BRONX NY 10452-8411.
Key NPCs:
- Agent Marcus (Dr. Marvin Bloom):A veteran Delta Green handler, Marcus has a reputation for caution and paranoia, which has now been fueled by suspicion toward the Program’s intentions. He believes Delta Green’s original mission is threatened by the Program’s tactics, a sentiment that appeals to the Outlaw faction. If cornered, he’ll hint at dark secrets within the Program's past (Project ARC DREAM and other MAJESTIC assets now controlled by the Program) and challenge agents to examine their own loyalties.
- Patty Bloom (Wife):Unaware of Marcus’s involvement with Delta Green, Patty has recently grown suspicious of his long absences and weird behavior. Agents questioning her will learn that she suspects him of infidelity, having recorded one of his calls. They have been fighting a lot recently and the marriage is strained.
- Victor Gonzales (Agent Malcolm): Marcus’s former M-Cell comrade, an IT specialist who recently died under suspicious circumstances.
- Dr. Eleanor Hopkins (Agent Margaret):Another former M-Cell Agent, Eleanor, is a molecular biologist working in a private biotechnological company.
Key Locations and Clues:
Marcus’ Job
Dr. Marvin Bloom is a model FBI Agent. He joined the FBI only a year after earning his psychology doctorate and worked there ever since. He has an impeccable record, but his coworkers describe him as a loner who doesn’t socialize a lot and has been more nervous than before recently. He took a vacation a couple of days ago. If Agents ask his wife Patty, she will not know anything about a vacation and will say that Marvin told her he was going away on a work assignment. That will only exacerbate her distress.
Marcus’s Home
Located in an apartment complex in the Bronx, Marcus’s home is secured with a high-end alarm system and rigged traps. If Agents establish surveillance they can find out about Marcus’ strained marriage through his wife’s phone conversations.
- Security System and Safe: Agents must bypass a security setup to access a safe hidden behind a panel in the wall in Marcus’ home office, which contains misleading documents marked as Project CATALYST. The safe is booby-trapped to explode if opened improperly. If the room is searched thoroughly, debris from a destroyed computer can be found.
- Listening Device: Patty’s suspicions led her to record his calls, one of which captures him discussing a “safe place” with someone called “Margaret”. Patty keeps the tape in her bedside table drawer.
Marcus’ Car
Abandoned in Staten Island, Marcus’s old sedan appears hastily vacated. It can be located through traffic cameras or police data. The car appears to be broken in, no useful items inside. If the Agents ask locals, they will find out that Marcus has left the car in haste and taken a cab to an unknown destination. According to the locals, he looked very stressed and frightened. If the cab route is investigated, it will lead to the Motel.
Motel Room Trap
Following leads from Victor’s files or investigating the cab, Agents can trace Marcus to a rented motel room outside of NYC, where they encounter:
- Hypergeometric trap: Agents who succeed in an Alertness check can notice small inscription made with what looks like blood in the corner of the door. The person who opens the door will be hit with a blast of fire causing 1D10 damage.
- Room: A standard motel room, empty. It is in disarray, hinting that whoever was here has left in a hurry. Search or Forensics 40% or a successful roll can reveal a dropped business card of a storage facility with an address.
Investigating Former Cellmates
The agents can investigate Marcus’s former allies for additional clues:
- Victor Gonzales: Victor works as an IT specialist in a medium-sized IT company in Manhattan. If inquired, Agents will find out that Victor was found dead in his apartment several days ago, presumably shot during a robbery. Victor’s workplace computer will reveal that Victor was very good at cleaning up his trail but became sloppy in the last few days before his death. He used a third-party email server to communicate with Marcus and sent him an email: “They are onto us. I warned Margaret. Run.” They also find an address to a motel outside of New York City.
- Dr. Eleanor Hopkins: Dr. Hopkins is a molecular biologist working for a biotechnological research lab. If questioned, her co-workers will tell that she hasn’t come in to work for several days and her phone is off. Her apartment looks hastily abandoned, debris from a broken computer and phone can be found. SIGINT or Computer Science 60% or a roll with -20% will reveal a fragment of a message with a name of a storage facility.
Optional Outlaw Faction Contact
If agents express distrust toward the Program or spend time investigating Marcus’s files, the Outlaw faction may take notice. An Outlaw operative may casually slip the agents a burner phone number with a message: “There’s another way to fight the darkness.” If Agents call, they will be given an address to a safe house. If recruited by Outlaws, their mission will change to helping Marcus escape and securing the documents that he has in his possession for the Outlaws.
Optional Route: Program Mole
A Program mole embedded within the team monitors the agents for any signs of sympathy toward Marcus or curiosity about the Outlaw faction. It can be a more experienced player. The Handler will need to work with the player separately to establish the cover story. The mole may:
- Discourage Investigation: Suggest the agents “stick to the mission” and not dwell on Marcus’s accusations.
- Foster Paranoia: Subtly point out irregular behavior among team members, heightening distrust.
- Report Unauthorized Contact: If agents accept Outlaw contact or investigate Marcus’s files, the mole reports this to the Program, triggering potential disciplinary actions.
- Eliminating Marcus: If agents find Marcus and show sympathy, the mole will kill him and destroy the documents.
Confrontation with Marcus
Tracking Marcus leads the agents to a storage facility. Staff can be easily persuaded via flashing a badge or a bribe. If shown a photo, they will point to a specific storage container. Marcus can be found hiding inside. He is armed with a medium pistol and has a folder with documents on Project ARC DREAM (The Conspiracy, page 103. If this book is unavailable, it can be replaced with a different document containing information on MAJESTIC’s unethical projects)
Depending on how Agents approach him, Marcus can fight back or try to appeal their past connections and claim he possesses evidence of Program corruption (he considers Program’s taking over MAJESTIC’s assets to be unacceptable) and warns the agents to reconsider their loyalty. Marcus asserts that Delta Green’s original mission is at risk, accusing the Program of betraying its founding values in favor of strict, often unethical control and trying to take advantage of the unnatural instead of eliminating it. If the agents show sympathy, Marcus may attempt to sway them toward the Outlaw faction.
Conclusion:
Mission Success:Agents who eliminate Marcus without engaging in unauthorized contact or retaining files are commended and officially inducted into the Program. However, if they encountered the Outlaw faction, doubts may linger about their allegiance to the Program.
Mission Failure:Sympathizing with Marcus, retaining documents, or entertaining Outlaw offers risks repercussions from the Program, potentially resulting in surveillance, reassignment, or termination.
Aftermath:
Agents face long-term consequences based on their choices. SAN loss may apply to those who accept Outlaw offers or investigate Marcus’s files, as well as to those who chose to comply and kill their former Handler.
STAT BLOCKS:
Dr. Marvin Bloom, aka Agent Marcus
Psychologist, FBI agent, age 42
STR 9 CON 11 DEX 12 INT 12 POW 12 CHA 13
HP 10 WP 12 SAN 42 BREAKING POINT 30
BONDS: Patty Bloom (Wife), 7
MOTIVATIONS: To protect the innocent from the unnatural. Save the remainder of his cell.
DISORDER: Paranoia
SKILLS: Alertness 51%, Anthropology 5%, Athletics 35%, Bureaucracy 45%, Computer Science 25%, Criminology 49%, Dodge 35%, Drive 55%, First Aid 20%, Firearms 53%, Forensics 44%, History 20%, HUMINT 60%, Law 32%, Medicine 15%, Occult 15%, Persuade 50%, Pharmacy 58%, Psychotherapy 50%, Science (Biology) 40%, SIGINT 10%, Search 55%, Stealth 15%, Unarmed Combat 48%, Unnatural 4%.
ATTACKS: Glock 22 pistol 53%, damage 1D10. Unarmed 48%, damage 1D4-1.
RITUAL:
Fire wall
Simple ritual. Study time: hours; 1D4 SAN. Activation: minutes; 1D10 WP; 1D4 SAN.
An inscription in Aklo drawn with one’s own blood and a minute-long ritual chant puts a protective barrier on a door or window. Attempts to open it will summon a wall of fire dealing 1D10 damage to the person touching it.
Credits
Ties That Bind: Operation GREEN DAWN was written by Yeldar Zhurgenov for the 2024 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16dJZYM2MD6oib57E-p6ICRt3iJKDukgjzF9_IlEOCe4/edit