The ST Guy's page

Okay, is everyone going on the stakeout? How many vehicles are you taking? Ferrano's estate is located within a gated community (really, it's a gated community almost in and of itself) but Garabina can get inside the gates with a wave of her badge if she wants to potentially blow her cover like that. Otherwise, you can remain outside the gates and watch the gate entrance, but you won't really be able to see the front door of the house itself.

Okay, in the interest of keeping things moving:

After some brief discussion of how to proceed, the group eventually settles on a nighttime stake-out of the Ferrano estate. Garabina returns with Anu to the station shortly after the coffee shop meeting and Anu provides an accurate description of Dahlia for the sketch artist who is, naturally, quite talented and manages a nearly-perfect likeness. Only a few minutes later, Garabina is again visited by the junior detective who brings her the file she requested on Allison Ferrano.

Garabina:

*checks vital signs* You guys have some discussing to do, methinks.

Okay, I can't think of a good reason for Hank to show up at the Starbucks unless contacted by someone else.

Hank cleans his guns one at a time while keeping the others loaded and ready.

Adrian:

"Looks like I've got some home video to watch tonight. I'll bring some popcorn and we can all watch how I got knocked out." Grinning slightly as she speaks. "Was Mr Ferrano at his house? He'll need to make a statement."

'I'm sure I can wait. Don't exactly have anything planned..' She says a little sheepishly. 'Have any cops gone round to Ferrano's house yet?'

'Hmm. Could you pull up Mrs Ferrano's file, along with the file on that crash.. if you're free that is. I just find it odd that her shoes would show up there, you know? Maybe she had a friend or someone who'd have got them... there's a thought. Was her will public?'

Jon:

Garabina's booking of the suspect proceeds as normal. Nothing particular to report. Assume the evening passes and morning comes. Because I'm a kind soul, we'll say Garabina is off-duty today. :) At some point during the day, Anu is called in to provide a statement and give a description to a police sketch artist to identify Dahlia. We can assume that (if you want), you're all meeting up at a Starbucks across the street from the police station.

Garabina:

We'll assume, with his utter lack of resources, that Anu has one of those pay-as-you-go cellphones that has certainly seen better days, but manages to work most of the time. (I reserve the right, however, to have it malfunction at precisely the WRONG time. >:D) The rest of you have the Resources Merit, so you have serviceable cellular phones and can exchange numbers accordingly. Where are we going from here?

Okay, Uzzy is apparently on-board and I've seen nothing from Kiioro, so I'll be working out a way to write Gabriel out of the picture in a suitably dramatic fashion. Everyone else has expressed their interest so.... GAME ON!

We'll just pick up exactly where we left off as though nothing happened. You guys were in the middle of a conversation, so by all means, please continue.

Aha! I'd heard that you'd resurrected this from Ithuriel. I know Kiioro has basically disappeared and I haven't heard/seen anything from Uzzy in awhile. I'll give them until the end of the week to check in here or on the OOC thread. If I haven't seen them by the 10th, I'll NPC them and we'll move forward without them.

She rises, carrying the shoes by the heel, heading back to street. Once there she sticks the shoes in an evidence bag, then heads over to Sergeant Matthews. "Sarge, we need to put out an APB for Julio Ferrano.. if you've not already done that. Also, we need to stick this guy.." Motioning to Anu. "..Down with a sketch artist. Seems he chased the woman, called Dahlia, who organised this whole thing."

I'm going to assume you're all out in the alleyway, and thus Anu can see the dagger.

Anu:

Everyone else:

Anu leads the policewoman to the alleyway and, sure enough, kicked off to one side is a pair of shoes. Prada black pumps, size 8. Easily $1000 shoes. Seems unusual that they'd be so casually discarded, considering their value.

Assume Jon is finished eating and you can go where you like. A simple shopping trip can be glazed over. Assume you find a Wal-Mart, spend about 15-20 minutes shopping, and are (relatively) cleaned up. You could probably still use a bath, but that's hardly a major concern. Assume you wash the blood off your face and hands in a bathroom somewhere... probably at a gas station where no one sees you.

"Shouldn't this whole building be burning down right now if there was a flame of three thousand degrees here? I mean, I saw the flames come out the building too." She stops a moment, looking rather quizzical about the whole thing.

"For that matter, if there was a fire at three thousand degrees, I should have felt something going into the room, right? I only got into the place like ten, twenty seconds after."

The explosive expert furrows his brow and scratches his stubbled chin before turning to his assistant. "Go check the maintainence closet and see if there are any flammables missing. Maybe someone dumped a bunch of... hell, I dunno, paint thinner or something out and lit it up. That wouldn't explain these burn markings though... but it would explain why our crispy friend outside couldn't put the flames out if he was covered in fuel."

He taps his temple, thinking intently as the assistant scurries off. "The fact that you heard no explosion doesn't surprise me. If there was an explosion, the change in air pressure would've blown out all the lightbulbs and glass in the room, but that's not the case. This looks like a wash of flame... but it had to be super hot to do this kind of damage. Like... if someone had put a little tiny sun in the middle of the room, y'know?" the man smirks slightly, shaking his head. "The kind of damage inflicted on the furniture and these bodies suggests temperatures in excess of three thousand degrees farenheit. That kind of s##* just doesn't happen without a major fuel source."

Aido and Gabriel:

Gabriel:

"You guys needing a hand? I could tell you what I saw and heard if you need it."

Meanwhile, back at the museum......

The museum is riddled with bulletholes. The coroner has arrived on the scene and has begun to cart away the burned and perforated corpses of the victims, investigating each one in time. The displays in the front area of the museum are completely ruined, shattered bits of Native American pottery scattered on the ground, priceless paintings scorched or torn. The crowning horror, however, is the auditorium. The stands up on the stage have been completely burned to a crisp, along with many of the audience in attendance. The gunfire seems less prevalent here, with only a few scattered shots evident in the walls and the bodies of the victims.

Further investigation locates what appears to be the epicenter of the explosion in this room, a scorch ring located near the edge of the stage. The hardwood stage floor is crisped and blackened at it's edges but the center of the ring is unblemished. The explosives experts seem to be baffled, Garabina and the others hearing them discuss all manner of possibilities.

A few relics of the auction still remain, though many are scorched or warped by the heat. A single dagger, however, remains in pristine condition, hidden by the heat and destruction within a metal case behind the podium. It is intricately carved with various sigils and pictographs, forged from a solid, single piece of what appears to be silver. This item does not match the styles and compositions of any of the other auction pieces, and thus is highly perplexing...

It occurs to you collectively that... Ferrano is a multi-millionaire. The auction items were up for sale. If Ferrano wanted them, he would've bought them himself. And it's very unlikely that someone with that much wealth would commit insurance fraud and risk his livelyhood.

Jon:

A few moments later, Mama places the styrofoam meal boxes out on the window shelf and takes the payment from them. Steam rolls out of the sides of the boxes as the group finds a table to sit around. The food is of good quality, though the fish is a bit tough. Hank's jambalaya is quite spicy.

Converse as normal. Nothing unusual is going to happen here. Assume that the other diners keep their distance from you and mind their own business.

"Why don't we go ahead and get some food to go then? A nice big order of steak and potatoes sounds incredible, if you've got it." he says as he smiles charmingly at Mama Otis.

Hank leads the group to a 24-hour Cajun dive on NE 1st Ave, less than a mile from the museum. Despite the fact that it was now after midnight, a half dozen black men occupied the tables outside the restaurant's pick-up window. They eyed the approaching group wearily, but seemed to back off a bit and mind their own business once Anu came into view, the bloodstains on his clothing still clearly visible. Inside, a wizened old black woman peered out of the window and slid it open to greet them.

"How's ya'll doin' tonight?" the woman rasped cordially. Then, upon noticing Anu's appearance, her eyes widened a bit. "Hoo-wee, boy! You look like you done wrassled wit a gator out in da bayou! What kin Mama Otis getchya'll this evenin'?"

The door to the inside of the establishment was clearly locked. It was an streetside-only kind of place. There were still several unoccupied tables available, especially with the loiterers having given the group a bit of shoulder room now. Even at this hour, cars routinely passed by every minute or so and foot traffic was not entirely absent.

Garabina checks with Sergeant Matthews that it'd be alright to invite Aido and Gabriel into the museum, given their apparent knowledge of the stuff inside. Assuming it's given, she'd wait for them to get back and invite them inside.

Aido and Gabriel return to Aido's apartment in order to peruse his occult volumes while Garabina awaits the arrival of a police photographer.

Aido and Gabriel:

By the time the pair returns, the police photographer has taken the requested photo and has entered the establishment to catalog the damage to the building and victims. One of the department's explosives expert has begun his examinations to discover the source of the explosion.

Assume it's been 15 minutes or so. Jon, Anu, and Hank are more than capable of being long gone by now.

As the officer prys the amulet away from the corpse's hand, a few flakes of burned flesh crumble away, revealing the palm beneath. The skin appears to be relatively undamaged beneath aside from one of the gold-etched runes on the amulet being burned into it from the metal heating up.

Gabriel and Aido have seen the rune somewhere before... but neither of them can place it.

Assume that the three of you are able to meet in the parking garage without difficulty. Jon notices that the parking garage guard he had seen when he left is missing, possibly taken for questioning by the police.

The paramedics exchange glances and one shrugs. "Let me just check you out completely before we release you. There's no evidence of injury, but you've got a cold sweat and your skin feels cool. Have you been sick lately?"

The paramedic shines a penlight in Anu's eyes to check his dilation and does a quick check of reflexes and pokes his fingertips with a pen to make sure he's got full sensation. Satisfied with his responses, the paramedics let him go.

"Officer," the chief medic says to Garabina, "This man seems to be okay. No evidence of recent drug use or injury aside from a minor bruise on his right rib. My guess is he's just gotten over a fever or something and all this physical exertion has aggravated his condition." He looks at Anu. "Go home, drink as much fluid as you can stomach, and try to stay off your feet as much as possible."

The other officers begin taping off the museum with police tape and a few enter the building, some leaving quickly afterwards with a horrified expression on their faces.

Anyone sticking around for anything else? Garabina is the only one permitted to go back into the museum, but of course anyone with Stealth could try to sneak in if they really wanted. Otherwise... all we all heading to the hospital? The police department?

Garabina:

Anu:

The sergeant nods, scratching his chin a moment. Then he turns and regards Jon, still carrying the unconscious Anu. "Put him down, sir." He then calls back over his shoulder. "Daniels! Get over here! We got a man that needs medical!"

A younger caucasian officer jogs over to the group, holstering his pistol. I'm going to assume Jon complies and sets Anu down. He examines the unconscious body, checking him for injuries and verifies his pulse.

"Pulse is a bit weak and he's cold... but his breathing is normal and I'm not getting an erratic heartbeat. What happened to this guy?" he glances up to the group around him. "I'm pretty sure he'll be fine... just needs to get a lot of fluids and a good meal to bring his system back up to speed. I don't see any injuries on him, sarge."

The sergeant nods and looks to the others. An ambulance approaches from the far end of the street, still a few minutes away. "Vasquez, you get some statements from these folks. I'm gonna take the boys inside and have a look around."

The two police cruisers arrive on scene a moment later, one parking on each side of the street, one of them directly in front of the parking garage. Two officers pile out of each cruiser, all males. One of them, a tall black man (Garabina knows his name is Barry Matthews, a sergeant) approaches the gathered group while the other officers move to take cover and aim their weapons into the blasted museum.

"Vasquez," the black man says as he approaches. "What's the situation? What the hell happened to that guy?" He indictates the unconscious Anu being carried by Jon. "And... Jesus Christ..." he looks at the blackened corpse in the street with wide eyes, then turns back to Garabina. "What the f#~& happened here?"

What time of day is it?

Aido and Gabriel:

As Garabina heads out the front entrance of the museum, she spies the two men from the street carrying the man who had attacked the machinegunner on the other side of the building. It was unclear if the man was unconscious or dead, but the group turned to notice her as she made her way down the front steps.

Hustling down from the east road where the van incident had occurred, Aido and Gabriel round the corner just in time to see the same thing... and the approaching police cruisers far at the end of the road. The still-smoking corpse of the ganger that had been immolated lies in the intersection nearest them, his weapon melted and warped by incomprehensible temperatures.

Jon and Hank are just getting to the parking garage with Jon carrying Anu on his shoulders. Garabina is exiting the museum's front entrance and Gabriel and Aido have come running down the street to meet up with everyone. The police cruisers are still probably a minute away, far down the street.

Garabina is completely unprepared for the sight she bursts in on. Standing near the auditorium stage was a middle-aged man dressed in a very expensive business suit. She recognized him as Julio Ferrano, a local celebrity and the host of tonight's auction. His hand was outstretched in a murderous claw, reaching out towards one of the ganger thugs from the street positioned towards the back of the room. The room was littered with bodies that had been burnt beyond recognition or riddled with bullets. At least twenty by the look of things.

The ganger was held aloft by an invisible force, floating fully six feet off the ground and grasping at his throat as though unseen ropes sought to hang him in the air. The air throughout the room felt practically alive with energy, causing the officer's hair to begin standing on end of it's own volition. Garabina's outburst had distracted Julio, however, and the thug promptly fell from the air with an audible thud. Julio's face twisted in a look of annoyance and he lowered his hand at his side.

"I'm terribly sorry officer, but I haven't the time for a statement at the moment," the man flashed a charismatic smile. "Goodnight."

Garabina immediately crumpled to the floor, her consciousness evaporating almost instantly. Her last image is that of the plush red carpet rising up to meet her face.

Time passed, though she had no idea how much of it. When she picked herself up off the floor, both Julio and the thug were gone. Backup had still not arrived, however, but the sirens grew increasingly close.

Coughing in response to the smoke and lowering her head a little in a vain attempt to keep her head out of it, Garabina headed to the doors of the auditorium, putting her ear up against it to see what she could hear while keeping an eye on what's going on around her.

Inside, Garabina could hear a voice tinged with malice as well as the sound of another person struggling, perhaps being strangled.

"Tell me... who sent you..." the malicious voice spoke forcefully, clearly exerting some kind of effort.

The other person gasped and choked, muttering something she could not hear.

Attempts to shake Anu awake.

begins searching for the tote bag.[/i]

Hank encounters greater difficulty than Jon in surmounting the chain-link fence. By the time he manages to heft himself over, Anu is long gone and Jon is rounding the corner. Hank lands clumsily, spending a moment to recover as he watches the policewoman run towards the front of the building. More machinegun fire clatters out into the night from within. The police sirens seem to be getting closer.

A moment later, Jon races up to the alleyway where Anu had gone. He finds him lying on his back, apparently unconscious. His face seems pale and his skin is slightly cool to the touch, though he is clearly still breathing, if a bit shallow. He does not appear to be injured, however. There is also no sign of the woman in black. After examining him, Jon hears Hank's noisy approach, the young man short of breath.

Garabina rounds the front of the building, hearing shots ring out from within. Though her shoulder was still sore from the altercation with the man at the apartment complex, she steeled herself to glimpse the inside. The entire glass entryway had been shattered by gunfire, numerous pieces of safety glass scattered all over the front steps like diamonds. The reception area was peppered with bulletholes and a security guard lay dead in a slowly-expanding pool of his own blood. Smoke poured out from a room off to the right, the doorway scorched black. Further down the hall, Garabina could see the blackened, smouldering corpse of some unindentifiable person. What sort of weapon could do such a thing? What was going on here? As she pondered this, she heard hushed whispers from within the scorched room. Someone, possibly multiple people, were still within the auditorium.

As Anu glimpses inside the bag, he sees several pieces of jewelry that had been on display in the museum as well as an ornamental dagger, still tarnished from centuries beneath the ocean.

In an instant, though, the darkness around him almost seems to animate. He feels a sudden pinch on his neck followed by an extreme sense of soothing calm. He feels the press of lips at the side of his chin and a chill shoot up his spine.

As her hair cascades down around his face, Anu feels blissfully faint and slowly fades from consciousness. His last image is one of Dahlia's crimson-stained lips blowing him a kiss as she stands, picking up her bag and walking further into the alleyway.

After that, darkness...

You're unconscious, having suffered 4 levels of bashing damage in the form of blood loss. You'll wake up in a few minutes.

Persistant, Anu continues his pursuit of the woman in black. She quickly rounds yet another corner, seeming to dart back into another dark alleyway. Sprinting hard to make up the distance, Anu rounds the same corner a bit short of breath, his pulse pounding in his ears. Just a few feet into the alleyway, leaning against a dumpster, was the overstuffed tote bag. Dahlia was nowhere to be seen.

Lacking a proper holster to stash the SMG, Jon encounters some difficulty scaling the chain link fence. While he has fully put the van between himself and the police officer for the moment, he watches Anu reach the end of the alleyway before he even manages to struggle his way over the gate.

Garabina hears the shots echo out as the man cries out his affiliation with security. She thought it highly unusual that private security would be armed with submachine guns, but the shots are clearly directed AWAY from her.

Anu climbs over the fence with adept skill, landing solidly on his feet in the alleyway and sprints off after the woman. He gains on her quickly, but she rounds the corner to the right just a few seconds ahead of him. As he follows pursuit, he notices that her lead has grown considerably in the moment she was out of sight. Her high-heel shoes lay discarded on the side of the street and she sprints barefoot down the street.

She glances over her shoulder, and flashes him an almost playful smile, her dark hair trailing behind her.

As the small group kneels over the corpse, they hear the rear door of the museum open up (in the alleyway between the museum and the unnamed brown building on the map). Exiting hastily, they see a striking young woman in a black dress (Dahlia, the one Anu had met) carrying a large black tote bag.

Anu:

The woman makes eye contact with Anu for an instant, her face betraying an expression of extreme surprise, perhaps at seeing him covered in blood. She immediately begins running in the opposite direction. (There is a chain link fence separating you.)

Anu:

Garabina's radio squaks to life and relays the message that two units are en route. Almost simultaneously, the distant sounds of police sirens can be heard. It would still take a minute or two to reach the location, however.

Suddenly, a massive gout of flames erupts from the museum entrance, though there is no tell-tale explosion. Horrified screams follow a moment later and one of the thugs runs screaming out into the street, his entire body covered in roiling flames. He falls to the ground, rolling madly but the flames consume him utterly, seemingly unextinguishable.

Anu: