Hotaru Hoshiko |
If whip doesn't tell Pulse the numbers on the phone after the conversation Aegis will
"So what do I, or don't I tell him?" Pulse asks, as she takes the phone from Aegis, after she's told the number, not bothering to keep herself from frying it, for once, in fact, running a little pulse of electricity through it on purpose.
Saffron "Aegis" Sinclair |
Aegis shrugs."they're move of an annoyance than a threat, we want them to know enough to help us but not enough to find the meta first."
Hotaru Hoshiko |
"Right, so... how's 'My ex-military friend recognizes the guy we think it is. He's really bad news. I don't have a name yet, but he goes by 'Snowjob'.' Followed by a short description of where we found everything, and a run down of what we found?"
Saffron "Aegis" Sinclair |
"I'd leave anything about other people being involved out, just tell him we think it was snow and if they know anyone that looks like him."
Hotaru Hoshiko |
"Right." Hotaru says with a nod, before giving them a call. She'll talk out loud while she transmits, and try to remember to say whatever they say out loud, leaving people able to yell no, or make suggestions as she has the conversation - all while not being heard.
Ring Ring.
The Rocket |
"Aegis, remember if we're going to stop at Alif's for Falafel, you'll want to turn right at Center instead of at Harper." Rocket volunteers as the bus starts to move.
mdt |
Just to point out to Rocket, it's 2AM. Nothing in St. Louis except for Taco Bell is open at 2AM for food
The phone rings 3 times, and then picks up. "Da, eto Ivan , eto kto i chto vy khotite?"
Hotaru Hoshiko |
"Ring."
"Ich verstehe nicht was Sie sagen." Pulse immediately replies. "I speak English. Do you?"
I can't remember whether Ivan was the one that spoke to Pulse, or the one that pointed a gun at her.
Hotaru Hoshiko |
I understand that, Pulse does not.
There's a pause as Hotaru groans, and informs the group that he speaks German.
"This is the girl you picked up earlier. I don't speak German either, it's just the only language I know how to tell a speaker I don't speak. Except English. I'm the one that didn't stare daggers. We've found some information we wanted to go ahead and relay before we call it a night."
mdt |
"You should not use language you not speak. Repeat. YA ne govoryu po-Russki , ya govorit' po-Angliyski. YA ne govoryu po-Russki , ya govorit' po-Angliyski. YA ne govoryu po-Russki , ya govorit' po-Angliyski." He repeats the phrase over and over until Pulse manages to send it back in a semblance of coherent structure.
"I am Ivan. What do I call you? What information do you have?" He finally says, sounding mildly put upon.
Hotaru Hoshiko |
Pulse jumps through the additional hoop, wincing slightly each time. Never again. Whip is treated to -very poorly- imitated Russian for a few moments.
"That's Russian, right?" she finally asks, figuring that that was important to know as well. "Go with Pulse. We found a purse with several credit cards with the name Svetlana A Korovich, and a driver's license with her middle name - Adorina. They left cash, ear rings, rings with diamonds and emeralds, and a charm bracelet in the purse, I don't even think they opened it. We also found a space that looks like it was blown up, and the cell phones looked like they were detonated as well. Oh, and a ton of keys and a ruby-eyed pink unicorn." Pulse adds as the collection catches her eye. "We also got a description of a man who followed the pair when they left the bar. The suspect goes by the Alias Snowjob, and he's extremely dangerous."
mdt |
"Da, Rossii." The voice responds. "Hold, Pul's."
The phone goes silent for several minutes. Then a different man's voice comes on. "You found Svetlana's purse and phone. I would take it as a personal favor if you'd give it to friend of mine. You say this, Snowjob, was involved? I have heard of this name. If this is true, there is long discussion to be had with this man." The man on the phone sounds like he could freeze air with his voice, it's so cold. "My friend, Ivan, will be in a car at the Love's Truck Stop, exit 246A, in 20 minutes. Again, I would consider it personal favor if you could bring the information and purse and phone to him. Spasibo."
Hotaru Hoshiko |
"One moment, please and thank you."
Pulse relays all of the information, once again, mispronouncing the Russian, but since there's so little, it's more understandable. She was definitely gonna Rosetta Stone when they got home.
"It's a little worrying that they recognize the name. If they also recognize what the name means, it means they know more than we'd like them to, already... and may have already guessed what we can do if they -do- know that."
The Rocket |
Rocket--already glum from realizing that Alif's must of course be closed--looks alarmed at the conversation.
"So they know you're Pulse now, and they know about Snowjob. I'm pretty nervous about going down this road...but as long as you're talking to them, is there anything we can ask them, before agreeing to this exchange? I'd think at minimum, what do they know about Snowjob, and why might he be involved. If we've shown good faith, maybe we can get that out of them. Otherwise..." he glances nervously at Whip, very much wanting direction from someone more seasoned in all of this. Rocket's superspeed seems to have kicked in (despite sitting on a bus) making him look extra fidgety.
Hotaru Hoshiko |
Hotaru can't help but roll her eyes and grin. "Yes, they know that my pseudonym, the very same pseudonym that around ten people in the entire world know of, is Pulse. I don't know about negotiating on this, we either should or shouldn't do what they ask. I don't see the harm in giving them back their family's stuff. And I am curious about what they know about Snowjob. I can make it clear to them that that's the way we're most interested in being paid, information on Snowjob and his allies, though."
Project Violet |
Violet puts her hand on Rocket's arm and smiles, hoping to calm his fidgeting.
Everything's gonna be okay, she thinks at him.
Looking at Pulse, she raises a hand. "So, um, in the future? I can understand any spoken language... and a few that aren't?... so maybe we can do that cool thing they do in the movies where they speak a language at you and I help you reply in English. It could work, maybe?"
Violet points out the window.
"Denny's, ten o'clock high."
There's a Denny's on Hampton!
Project Violet |
Touche! But remember their motto: "Denny's: Because It's Late."
Hotaru Hoshiko |
Hotaru nods. "I could also probably just learn a bit from you, maybe. It's easier to read and write a language than to hear and speak it... by far. So... so far the only contingent I'm hearing is 'as long as the truck stop has good food..?" she says, looking between the three who haven't spoken up just yet.
Whippoorwill |
Briana rubs her eyes as she thinks. Finally, she offers, "Okay, playing nice with the Russian mob might get us more information. They may know about metas, which is nice, in a way, since there's less of a reason to hide our abilities if we have to make a show of force. I'm halfway tempted to just show up, wings and all, and see how they react."
She shakes her head in frustration. "Anyway, I don't want them IDing our bus, so we need to leg it the last mile or so, or maybe Rocket can give you a boost. Pulse and Aegis should go in, with everyone else staying close enough to intervene if it goes pear-shaped. I'll be in the sky and stay quiet and overhead. Most surveillance cameras point down, assuming that the Russians will allow an operational camera near them."
She looks at each of them, waiting to see if they have any problems with the plan.
Her last look is at Rocket. "And food afterwards."
Hotaru Hoshiko |
Hotaru nods. The consensus was definitely to swing by the truck stop, barring a stellar argument from Aegis. "Alright, we're on our way. Make it twenty-five in case we run a little late." she briefly considers asking how the food is at the truck stop, but decides against it. The only good truck stop food she'd ever had was a Slim Jim.
Whippoorwill |
If I go airborne, can I spot a secluded spot for the bus to park that's not too far away? Preferably a truck stop area where lots of other buses and other large vehicles can provide camouflage. Hopefully, I won't lose track of the bus. :)
Hotaru Hoshiko |
If we do stop early, my vote is Rocket takes us to within walking distance. It will look sketchy as all get-out for the pair to just walk in, and it definitely removes the 'get-out-fast' option. But it works. Hotaru has no arguments against it, short of 'The bus changes colors!'
Saffron "Aegis" Sinclair |
Rocket is probably their best bet if he'd take them but Aegis would hate it.
"Parking near by then walking the rest of the way?" Aegis tried to get the story straight and head towards an area with a reasonable distance to the meeting place.
Whippoorwill |
Briana puts on her hands-free headset and moves to the roof hatch of the bus. "I'll look for someplace close," she says, then takes flight when the bus hits a patch of road without streetlights and climbs into the sky.
Perception 13-: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 2) = 6
or Navigation 13-: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 5) = 8
The Rocket |
Rocket smiles as Violet's gesture, though his adrenaline still seems to be running high. Rapid-fire, he says "Oh, if it's not too late, should we just suggest somewhere near the Arch? If that moment has passed... I don't mind giving a lift but if we don't know what to look out for, well, anywhere too close to being the bus is also probably too close to have me running fast. And you probably don't want to be in my arms when I'm running at real blur speeds. I guess you two could catch an Uber, or a cab. And I can still be nearby.
"Oh! Pulse, did you hear Snowjob talk? Could he have had an accent himself? I wonder... do they have their own metas? Could SJ be one of theirs, gone rogue?"
He then pauses to recheck his pockets... Reconfirming that he already ate his last power bar.
Hotaru Hoshiko |
The vibe I got was Urban. Hotaru would likely be better at picking out an accent than I am, though. I'll supply when mdt does. If he had an accent, it didn't come through beyond 'average'.
Project Violet |
"Any reason why some of us couldn't zip over on the Rocket Express, get there early, and be backup in the booths? The more of us that are there, the overall safer you two might be, don't you think?"
Violet looks from Aegis to Pulse and back again. "I worry about things going south. And if I can hear them, I can tell what they're saying, if they decide to start speaking Russian."
The Rocket |
Rocket asks if anyone has a rough location/address for the Russians' base.
If they do, he'll check Google Maps for how long it should take Ivan to drive to that truck stop. If it looks like there's time for him to shuttle folks before Ivan could arrive (at speeds they'll be able to ride at), he'll happily agree to do so.
Hotaru Hoshiko |
If there were any names posted on the place we were taken to, Hotaru will share, of course. :)
Hotaru Hoshiko |
Cool, then Whip's idea will work, and maybe Rocket will notice those things on his map while he's trying to find a suitable location. :)
Whippoorwill |
Well, I'm in the sky, so I should be able to spot them. I'll choose the most secluded/deserted truck stop, then head to the appointed location.
Hotaru Hoshiko |
"Roger, Overwatch, I'll lead Aegis to the designated drop point." Pulse responds.
Hotaru Hoshiko |
"It's called a 'Messenger Bag'." Hotaru says with a mock eye-roll. "Which is good. Because it's a lot more spacious. Does that even matter for you? Don't get my books wet. Or eat my books." She opens the bag all the same.
Whippoorwill |
Whippoorwill stays low overhead, circling just above the streetlights. She watches the others disembark, then speeds over to the designated meeting spot to watch the Russians' arrival.
Project Violet |
Violet will make sure that she gets a good booth in view of wherever Pulse and Aegis set themselves up. She'll order what passes for prime rib for Rocket so that it's ready when he finally has everything (and every one) in order.
The Rocket |
At the mention of books, Rocket cranes his neck toward Pulse's bag. "Whatcha reading?"
...
After helping everyone get into place, Rocket arrives at the booth with Violet and just about starts to salivate at the overcooked meat sitting in front of her. "Could I--?" he begins. When she pushes it toward him, he starts to tear into it. "Thanks!"
After a minute, he looks around. Between mouthfuls he says, "So, I totally picked out those (chew) Russian guys waiting in the shadows outside the bar, trying to look (chew) casual. Do you suppose we'll (chew) do any better?"
As he asks he attempts to casually look around.
PER 15-: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 1) = 8
Acting 8- (to look casual): 3d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 5) = 11
mdt |
When Vi and Rocket arrive in the small restaurant attached to the truck stop, Rocket notices that they are sitting in a booth next to 3 guys sporting elaborate tattoo's on their necks and hands, who are drinking coffee and talking in low tones in a foreign language while watching a blue car that's parked in the parking lot with the lights on and engine running.
They are not talking loud, but Vi get's the general drift of the conversation. Two are talking about how the boss is about ready to start shooting people if they don't find the girl. The other doesn't talk, but keeps his eyes on the car outside. From the way the two are talking, they seem to think the 'urody' (which translates roughly as 'freaks') might be needed to deal with the 'led urod' (ice freak).
mdt |
Aegis and Hotaru get to the truck stop. Looking around, they notice the same blue car that drove them to the meeting sitting in the parking lot with the lights on. There's a single driver sitting behind the wheel. It sounds like there's instrumental music of some kind on, either choral music or possibly opera or classical. The language isn't english.
Project Violet |
Violet talks to Rocket about how much she hates working the graveyard shift at the 911 center, but how happy she is that they get to have "lunch" together. She keeps conversation light, and every once in a while leans in to touch his arm or his hand, playing the affectionate girlfriend.
Acting 13-: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 3) = 11
Keep the talk of Russians just between us, here, she tells him telepathically. They're right next door. They're surly. And they would appear to know that at least Pulse and Aegis are Meta.
Multi-tasking, she keeps Rocket informed about what's going on in their conversation the best she can, while periodically feeding him french fries off of her plate and asking when they're going to California and Disneyland.
Hotaru Hoshiko |
Hotaru slows for just a moment as she continues to walk alongside Aegis, picking up on all of the obvious hints of who she was supposed to be talking to... as well as delivering things to.
Whippoorwill |
Perception 13-: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 2) = 10