Meeting With Your Johnson

So you've got a call for your mission. What do you do?

Well, first of all, if you trust your Johnson, this might not be a concern. But then, they are hiring you to commit crimes, it stands to reason they can't be completely trusted. Plus, it might not be them actually calling you, but an imposter. How can you keep your team from walking into an ambush.

Face Time: This is a great opportunity for your face to earn his pay, even if he does little else during the mission. By going in "alone", he protects the rest of the team from a trap, and has no one standing in his way when it comes to negotiating or learning mission parameters. He takes all the risk up front.

Backing up the Face: There are plenty of ways to provide back-up to the face without all walking in at once.

Sniper Support: Having a hidden sniper (or mage) watching over the face can provide him cover fire if things go bad.

Spy Tech: Having a hidden character with shotgun mics or other equipment can get you the dialogue and make sure everyone's aware of what's happening in there.

Getaway Driver: Riggers (or even normal drivers) can have a car just out of the area to pick up the face if things get hairy. (Or bring in a prepared extraction team!)

Magic: Whether sending spiritual guards, astrally projecting nearby, or even watching though his eyes with certain spells, a mage can provide actual protection, or at least tell the rest of the team what's going on in there.

Hacker: Whether doing the pre-research on the johnson, or watching through the building cameras (or controlling things in the building), a good decker can help make sure your face makes it out alive.

Leave the Troll at Home: When negotiating, it may be a good idea to leave that giant ganger with the heavy machine gun and the uncouth, attack-anything-that-pisses-me-off attitude at home- or at least in the truck in case an extraction is needed. We don't want the johnson questioning your professionalism, do we?

Cyberbomb: Who ever puts this in their own head? Well, like it or not, the big ones can provide your face with a Mutually Assured Distruction pact. If he dies, they die too. A good trigger is the death of the face, though this might cause more trouble than it's worth. If the face doesn't plan on going into combat (ever), this might be a good way to ensure that the bad guys don't take too many liberties with him. Even better if the face (or someone he really, really trusts) can deliver this payload manually, in case of capture, torture, etc.

Tracing: Having the face with (cyber) tracing beacons can be helpful if he's ever kidnapped or anything. Sure, it can be jammed, but jamming can be a pain on city streets.

You Came Alone?
Some Johnsons might ask this question, either to learn about you or out of surpise, but if they know you have a team, they might be foolish to assume you came alone. Of course, you may really have come alone, but a good bluff might lead them to believe you're being protected, even if you aren't. Faces should be good at bluffing too!