GREY'S
                                      Anatomy of a Seattle Bar
                                                  by LLWardIII

ANGLE

Contrary to popular belief, the name of this bar does not refer to 
it's owner, or any other person named Grey. In fact, there is no 
Grey working at or associated with the bar. Instead the name is 
supposed to convey the message "colors mean nothing here."

Grey's was started by three gang-members-turned-Shadowrunners as a 
neutral ground for the gangs of Redmond. The driving idealism of 
the bar is that the interaction of gang members will help cut down 
on violent acts between gangs.

Although there were some problems initially, Grey's has become 
accepted by most of the gangs in Redmond. The three founders have 
shown to be more than a match for earlier opposition, and gangs 
that don't frequent Grey's leave it alone.


STYLE

The first thing noticed about Grey's is that there are no places 
to park. Vehicles that have been left in front of Grey's (against 
the advice of signs saying no parking) are moved or destroyed by 
Grey's employees. By now most patrons know to avoid parking near 
Grey's.

Grey's takes a somewhat novel approach to weaponry: if you are 
found clean by a weapon scanner, you get 30% off your bill. This 
system works for two reasons 1) gangs like to save money, and 2) 
in past instances, as soon as someone drew a weapon (gun, knife, 
broken bottle, anything) within the confines of the bar, he was 
immediately killed by Grey's employees. There are signs to this 
affect posted in the entry way (for legal reasons). By now most 
patrons know to avoid bringing weapons into Grey's.

Grey's employees come down hard on brawlers as well (but generally 
let them live). If possible, this is done from a distance with 
stun magic from Erik (see below). By now… (you get the idea).

In spite of that, Grey's can still get pretty wild. Grey's 
employees have no objections to patrons dancing naked on tables or 
more carnal activity on the dance floor (although in such cases, 
Erik usually astrally confirms that the involved parties are doing 
so voluntarily.) Grey's turns a blind eye to drug use [which will 
NOT go away by 2050] but asks patrons actively using chips in the 
bar to stop or to leave (BTL fantasies usually don't involve 
purchasing Grey's alcohol.) Grey's is NOT known for checking age 
very carefully.

>>>[Actually, my son says Grey's is known for not checking age 
very carefully. A minor semantic distinction, but he says it's an 
important one.]<<<
-- Silver Cianide (13:24:36/05-23-52)

The public portion of Grey's is divided into two sections. First 
reached from the entrance is the main bar room. It contains many 
tables, more private booths and the bar itself. A wall insulates 
the room from most of the volume generated by the second half of 
the room, the dance floor. An archway leads into the dance floor 
room. It contains a standard recessed dance floor -- surrounded by 
elevated booths and tables -- and a stage.

The booths overlooking the dance floor are open to all, but those 
in the main bar room are usable only by those who pay for them 
(the tables in the main bar room are free, however). Additionally, 
Grey's has two small private rooms a dressing room.


CLIENTELE

While the founders of Grey's use the bar to stop violence, Grey's 
patrons have different ideas. Apart from relatively safe 
entertainment, Grey's provides a perfect venue for deals and 
alliance agreements. (Most notably the temporary alliance of 
Redmond's big four to annihilate Xenon, a group who was 
interfering in all of their business seemingly at random.)

Grey's also serves as a place for smaller gangs to posture 
themselves and show what they got. This has the effect of also 
showing what they have worth taking, but that's gang life. Elven 
women (especially those from rival gangs) seem to be the Thing 
Worth Fighting Over this month. A gang member surrounded by female 
elves (or enslaving female elves) has Status. That's also gang 
life.

Grey's has also made possible the Cranes, a small gang bent not on 
gaining territory of drug markets, but on acquiring information. 
No one knows if this group has a headquarters, for they are only 
seen at Grey's. Members always wear masks (not unusual for Grey's) 
and a white crane sick pin. While they are still up and coming, 
they fill a welcome niche at Grey's.

There are almost no non-gang (or ex-gang) people to be found at 
Grey's, including the employees. Organized crime is not welcome, 
which has caused some problems in the past. The Yakuza is rapidly 
learning the lesson the gangs did in the early days: interference 
in the operation of Grey's will not be tolerated. The owners have 
quite a bit of power — in terms of both influence and 
physical/magical strength — and at this time generally have 
support of a few gangs who don't like the Yakuza interfering with 
their territory. However, Grey's is careful not to take an 
offensive stance against the Yak, figuring that a "don't mess with 
us, we don't mess with you" strategy is more financially sound.


EMPLOYEES

Employees of Grey's, of both sexes (65% female) and all races, 
wear gray suits (complete with gray shirt, gray tie, etc.). Most 
are usually gang members or ex-gang members, so can usually handle 
themselves. All have been trained to some degree by Thane (see 
below). Most employees serve drinks, but each night a half dozen 
are exempted from serving drinks to provide wandering security 
(which half dozen are chosen is determined by a rotating 
schedule.)

In addition, five men and three women have been highly trained by 
Thane and serve as security every night. It is these people that 
usually deal with troublemakers (see above). Naturally, if a 
serious problem emerges, all employees are expected to do their 
part.

The door is guarded by one of Thane's well trained cadre and two 
bouncers: Bob, a big troll, and Mucus, an even bigger Orc. If 
prospective customers pass through two weapon detection systems 
(ratings 5 and 7, in that order) they are given some sort of token 
indicating so (it changes nightly). They are not required to wear 
it. If they present it with their bill, they receive 30% off. 
Weapons are not taken from those who have them (but see above).

There are four bartenders, three on duty at any given time: April, 
a rather plain elf; Wax, a handsome human with gold eyes; a 
middle-aged (although still in good shape) human man named Juan; 
and Karen, a surprisingly attractive Orc woman (if that's 
possible).

>>>[My, my. Showing our true colors?]<<<
-- Brian Qen-Xin (04:32:11/05-23-52)

The owners of Grey's were all part of a very successful 
Shadowrunning team (so successful that most people have never 
heard of them). All grew up in gangs in Redmond, but severed their 
gang affiliations long ago.

Thane started as a Warrior in the now defunct Priests. His Orkish 
strength and high intelligence made him very successful. Thane is 
fast (very fast), calm and deadly. His success as a runner allowed 
him to install some high quality cyberware. He is of two minds 
regarding violence: he would much rather see violence never occur, 
but when it does, it should be handled immediately with excessive 
force.

Erik is a mage of considerable ability. It is he who usually 
demolishes vehicles who park in front of Grey's. He was given a 
full ride scholarship to Seattle University. He became the first 
dwarf to receive a Masters in Magical Theory and Arts at the top 
of his class.

Mithral is a telepathic telekinetic. (Actually, she is a sorcery 
adept, but she doesn't know that.) His considerable abilities have 
helped to overcome some legal problems in the past. Mithral 
handles most of the financial aspects of the Grey's operation.