You make the plan, and split up and spread out.
23:00
The team regathers are the agreed time, some safe distance away from the taxi center. The truth is out there, as they say.
You sneak to the office building. Entering from the main entrance would be too obvious, so you check if there's another way in to the relatively small building. And there is, in the back. "Staff only" says the sign, but the inexpensive lock says "burglary cannot be stopped".
Milo takes a deep breathe and get's to work
Will glances to the others in the room for a moment.
"Nice to speak with you Mr. Wyatt. My name's Maxwell Wesson. So, an explanation? At the moment, I'm working with an agent of the FBI, who, I'm sure you can guess wants to stay anonymous. We're trying to learn what we can about Mr. Lewis Herring. We are also given to understand that the police have followed proper procedures to close the files on Mr. Herring. I don't want to dig into the mans personal history, of course, but simple info like his address would be extremely helpful to us."
He stops mid-way, his hands coming to a complete halt. When the others ask what's wrong Milo explains that the lock is more complicated than previously thought. If he makes any wrong moves, it will trigger an alarm. Not "may" trigger an alarm: it will. He may be able to quit now if he's careful about this.
On the other hand, if Milo has the courage to keep going, there's a possibility that he can still pick the lock without triggering the alarm.
"A couple things, Mr. Wesson. I just find it odd that an FBI agent would like to remain anonymous about this. I also find it odd that FBI wouldn't have the necessary files, like knowing the address."
He wasn't quite fooled by you, and will no doubt talk to the police about you. You can only hope the fake first name is enough to throw them off.
"I have said files right here in front of me. Let's see... Herring's address was 138 Fatman Street. Anything else I can do for you?"
Adrien realizes that Mr. Wyatt remains wary of Will, but he probably doesn't have the guts to lie to someone affiliated to FBI. The address is very likely true.
"What is the problem?" Artemiy almost hisses as he asks the question, and his brow furrows when Milo mentions the alarm. "Blyad'. Let me finish, Milo Halden." The Russian steps forward and resumes the lockpicking, with the kind of precision and deftness that only comes from practice--possibly with professional training to accompany it.
"More than one of you can pick a lock? What do your parents teach you kids?"
Will certainly doesn't let Wyatt's suspicions cause his voice to waver. "Good question. Going through other agencies causes an extra layer of paperwork we don't have the time to deal with. But no sir, I think that's all we need for today. Have a good day sir. I'll be in touch." And with that he hangs up.
...I'm sure everything's fine.
"So, we have what we need I believe."
"Sorry, still getting used to having an audience when i do these kinds of things" he say's letting the angry Russian get to work, he turns to Jake to explain himself.
My dad and mom were in business, banking to be specific...Halden Banking...they taught me a lot before they were incarcerated. But hacking computers, locking picking those are all thing's i learned on my own...I get bored easily.
The team enters the office building. It's quiet, and the lights are out. Now, one would assume the corporation keeps the cars of former employees like Parks. Somewhere in here is the information about which of the taxi cars outside was used by the victim, and the keys to said car. When they have both of those, the team can move on to investigate the actual crime scene.
But where to begin?
)
"-As for his personal history... Hmm. Well, I didn't know him personally, of course. We have literally thousands of people here. But anyway, we have a note on him. It seems Herring sometimes skipped work for two or three days, each month. The company took notice, and notified us. Go figure. "
After the phone call, Will and Adrien hop in Will's car, and drive to Fatman Street, where Herring lived. Freeman's car, with Freeman and Delgado in it, follows right behind them.
Fatman Street is a long street a few minutes from the central area, full of apartment buildings. Clearly a place for a lower and middle class.
"So, you two. How should we do this?" asks Delgado. "Should we pose as Herring's creditors? It wouldn't surprise me if this Rob the Builder had debt." She references the known children's cartoon. The mean-spirited joke tells of her attitude towards blue collar workers.
Adrien frowns at Will mentioning Will's true lastname, but say nothing about it.
================
Jake gives the place a good look around, glad to finally have something he's good at to do.
So, we have arrived. Any and all recommendations would be welcome. We can't very well simply walk up to the front door and expect much. Ms. Delgado? Ms. Freeman? Mr. Adrien? Who has ideas?
Artemiy aids Jake in searching this first section, looking around methodically, if not with an overly keen eye.
i'm gonna take a look around, and check the building. Milo goes quiet, wandering off to look around
Let's try first to talk with the concierge first, perhaps we can gather some information that let us think in a convincing ruse to tell to Herring's family
It won't take long for Jake to find the most important thing: employee records, lying around open on some secretary's desk. It seems that it has been in recent use — unsurprising, given that the company just lost an employee. Mr. Sewick finds his way to Jake and the desk, too.
It seems that Parks drove the cab number 43498, license plate UYA 777. Makes a superstitious person wonder, doesn't it. In any case, now all the team needs is the car keys. Jake can say, with enough confidence, that the company probably keeps their keys on the second floor.
In the mean time, Milo ascends to the second floor. He doesn't get far before he sees a ray of light, moving, around the corner. He silently takes a peek, and sees that there's someone walking in the corridor. Fortunately for Milo and the entire team, the guard seems to be walking away from Milo, and quite clearly hasn't noticed the intruder.
23:15
As per Adrien's suggestion, you decide to speak with someone who works for the block. The team quickly spots someone you can safely assume to be the caretaker — the work clothes and cleaning equipment tell as much. He stops his current cleaning-related activities when you approach him.
"Hm?"
Artemiy looks over the info with Jake, and pulls out a small notepad to jot down the details so he won't forget. "Now we should join Milo Halden upstairs?" He whispers the question, still moving with that professional attitude. "Unless you think there is more to find here."
Will offers an easy, subtle smile to the caretaker. Nothing overt, but noticeable.
"Evening sir. My name's John Ada. I was wondering if we could speak with you about one of the residents around here? A Mr. Herring?"
"Why, are you his friends?" You get the impression he's had conversations like this before, and is both weary and wary of them.
"Well boys, I'm not really much of a sneak-thief. If you think you can grab those keys without getting caught, go ahead. I think I've got a wire hanger in my car though if we want to just leave."
"Either way, I'm making my way out of the building. Don't want my creaky knees giving you away."
On the second floor, Milo is thinking about how to move around without alarming the guard (or whoever the person moving around with the flashlight is). Artemiy reaches the top of the stairs, and it just so happens that the guard turns his flashlight in his direction. There is nothing the Russian can do to avoid the ray from illuminating him completely.
Artemiy has a split second time to curse his luck. "HEY! STOP!" the person shouts, predictably. Because of the blinding light currently pointed at Artemiy, he has trouble seeing.
Milo stays in the shadows, undetected. He's at the position to observe the situation as he has a relatively unobscured view of both the guard and the Russian. The person with the flashlight is, as suspected, a night guard. Uniform, cap, and everything. He doesn't look that menacing, physically speaking, and could be overpowered. But perhaps Milo is more suited for outsmarting. Right now the night guard is reaching for his radio phone.
The "hey"-shout was distantly heard on the first floor, and it does not go unheard by Jake, who has his senses attuned for things like this.
"That would be the man. I'll be frank with you, we're still recovering from the news. Ahh, do you happen to know his family's address? He left a few things behind I think they'd want." Will casts his eyes downward as he speaks.
Adrien's accent might cause suspicion in the caretaker. The french guy prefers to stay quiet for now.
Jake thinks anything he does will only make things worse, particularly if the guard notices he's armed. He continues out of the building.
Hate to say I told you so boys, but I did. he thinks to himself.
Hopefully you can talk your way out of this.
Artemiy freezes for a moment as the light hits him, and he brings a hand up to try and block some of the glare from blinding him. As the guard reaches for his radio, the Russian brings himself up to his full size and points a threatening finger his way. "I would not do that if I were you," he growls. "Not if you value your health." The threat in his voice is clear, and Artemiy does cut a dangerous figure when he chooses, but the effect is somewhat dulled by his clear discomfort from the blinding light.
Will uses his lawyer-honed silver tongue, trying to get more out of the caretaker. At first it looked like the old man doesn't get paid enough to care, but he's surprisingly sharp:
"Now I don't think I should be telling anyone these resident's private info. Sorry for your loss. Now please excuse me."
The caretaker returns to his work. Which is cleaning the windows. In retrospect, the man probably didn't know that much about the victim, anyway.
Adrien notices two men in suits on the opposite side of the street. The way they keenly observe your team is unnerving. Delgado seems to have noticed too.
"...How long have those guys been standing there?" she speaks quietly.
Milo only puts his finger to his mouth, motioning for quiet is his only response. He let's his companions handle themselves as he leaves to go find a security office or abandoned computer that he can hack to find the information they need.
...yeah, how long?
Adrien try to remember when was the first time he saw those two
The Russian man, despite the pressuring lights, shows his tough and fierce side. The night guard freezes for a quick moment, perhaps out of instinctual fear. And who could blame the man: he's been patrolling a supposedly-empty building in the night and then comes face-to-face with a man like Sewick.
Milo oversees this encounter, and decides to sneak off, to find a computer to use. He quickly finds the perfect room for this task: it looks to be some boss's office. It's hard to tell in the complete darkness. Fortunately the door has no lock, and Milo slips in.
Milo is now in his element: with a computer in front of him.
Meanwhile, Jake casually but hurriedly walks around the parking lot. UYA 777... UYA 777... This would be a lot easier with a flashlight, but that would draw attention. UYA 777... There. Jake's found the victim's car. It was closer to the office building than expected.
They're just standing there, not even leaning against a wall or anything, heads turned towards your team. How suspicious. Their faces are unremarkably "basic": one has short black hair and the other has short medium brown hair.
Jake looks at the car. Is it a newer model, or older? And what kind, specifically?
It's a bit dated model, about 5 years old. Americab-Rosh is a small business that cannot afford new taxicabs too often, it seems.
Artemiy uses the opportunity of the guard freezing to rush forward and attack, his hand knifing in to strike the man in the throat, hopefully dropping or at least silencing him.
"Understandable sir. Thank you for your time." after the caretaker has gone about his business Will turns to the others, oblivious to the suits.
"Well shoot, I've had some poor luck so far. The others must be faring better. Should we continue?"
Jake grabs a coat hanger from his car, unwinds it, and jimmies the cab's lock.
Milo sits down at the computer and gets to work.
Adrien turn his back to the two suspicious men and say to will and the others
It seems that someones have kept an eye on Mr Herring's family. Maybe somebody wants to know if anyone investigate Herring dead.