Walk the Line, Chapter I: Tipping Point

[sirpercival]

The woman hesitates, smile faltering for the first time -- then recovers smoothly.  "We sell entertainment and companionship, my dear.  Discreetly, of course."

[Shiki]

"Oh, that kind." simply said IA. She then stood there and after a few seconds she nodded saying "Can I meet "the boss"?"

[sirpercival]

"Oh, that kind." simply said IA. She then stood there and after a few seconds she nodded saying "Can I meet "the boss"?"

"Of course."  The woman glides across the floor and presses a small button, then murmurs into a hidden intercom.  "I'll show you downstairs.  My name is Mara, by the way."  She heads to the back of the room and opens a recessed doorway, revealing a richly-carpeted spiral staircase going up and down.

[AyeGill]

Jack calmly reaches into his bag, retrieving a case of cigars. He removes one, stuffs the case back in his bag, retrieving a lighter, with which he lights the cigar. "So, you police guys need me to do anything else, or can I leave?"

[Flay Crimsonwind]

Roy quickly kicks away the man's gun, before scolding the interceptor. "Don't kill him! We need him alive! Get him to station, and call for a cleanup and forensic at the diner!"

Roy then turns to the others. "Unfortunately, no. You all witnessed the killing, and the escape. They'll want full reports from the lot of you. Damned if I know why, they wont match up anyway. Still, if we can get them done quick, you can go about your business."

[Jackinthegreen]

Radon got a quick look at the perp getting skewered and knew that'd be the end of the fight.  He turned his attention to the dead changeling and rubbed his arm a bit where he'd been hit with the acid blast.  "So, this is the other one who took that drug?  I wonder if we should inform the hospital just in case that girl's in danger.  Don't care for my clients dying, even if it was their own damn fault for getting mixed up in the bad side of the underground."

[sirpercival]

Roy quickly kicks away the man's gun, before scolding the interceptor. "Don't kill him! We need him alive! Get him to station, and call for a cleanup and forensic at the diner!"

Roy then turns to the others. "Unfortunately, no. You all witnessed the killing, and the escape. They'll want full reports from the lot of you. Damned if I know why, they wont match up anyway. Still, if we can get them done quick, you can go about your business."

Roy's seen enough action during his short time with the force to know that the perp is a lost cause.  It'll be tough to get any information out of him at all -- speaking with the dead directly is notoriously unreliable, particularly in the case of someone trained to resist it, as most contract killers are... and since the Interceptor made the kill, the guy would have to be raised or rezzed on the force's budget, which is practically nonexistent.  Plus, the perp took out an unknown changeling, and the amount of paperwork those things generate is unbelievable, if you can even track down who it really is (which, for the best ones, you can't).

The Interceptor disengages the cable and begins to retract it, leaving the Staple in the perp's body.  The target has perished.  This unit will return to base.

[Flay Crimsonwind]

Under his breath, Roy mutters a number of foul curses. "Fine, dismissed. Return to base, and drag the perished perpetrator with you for filing with ops and the morgue. And request a damn cleanup at the diner... for the same..."

[Jackinthegreen]

Radon sighed heavily upon noticing the interceptor killed the man.  "Damn machines can't even bring a perp in properly."

He furrowed his brow for a couple seconds in thought before walking over to him and casting Detect Magic then doing a thorough search.  It was unlikely he could get any of the magic items since those would most assuredly be confiscated, but knowing what was on him before others got to him meant a proper report could be made in case someone screwed up.

(click to show/hide)

Taking 20 on perception to search perp, total of 30.  Posted in the Divhead thread about whether this would take a full round like a room search with the sensor, or if it's the usual rules for searching a volume of goods.

[sirpercival]

"Oh, that kind." simply said IA. She then stood there and after a few seconds she nodded saying "Can I meet "the boss"?"

"Of course."  The woman glides across the floor and presses a small button, then murmurs into a hidden intercom.  "I'll show you downstairs.  My name is Mara, by the way."  She heads to the back of the room and opens a recessed doorway, revealing a richly-carpeted spiral staircase going up and down.

Mara leads IA down the staircase to a plain wooden door, upon which she knocks once and then enters without waiting for a reply.  "Here she is, Sir.  She says she wants a job."

Inside the room, a short and corpulent, but well-dressed, man stands at a bar inset into the wall.

(click to show/hide)

He turns at Mara's entrance and smiles expansively.  "Ah! Welcome, my dear.  Please, come in and make yourself comfortable.  Mara, you may go."  The man gestures at a chair covered with thick cushions, while the pretty woman slides back out of the room and shuts the door.

"I guess we could send something to the address, not like I have anything better to do for the moment." Lilly sighs a moment, takes a drag on her cig and leaves the shop.

Outside, the air is crisp and cold, and the sky remains dark.  There's a ratty-looking 24hr diner down the street that Lilly remembers seeing.  It should have a public access terminal to the Oracle.

(click to show/hide)

Taking 20 on perception to search perp, total of 30.  Posted in the Divhead thread about whether this would take a full round like a room search with the sensor, or if it's the usual rules for searching a volume of goods.

The Interceptor whirs and flies back toward the station.

Radon goes through the guy's pockets and finds:
~the Launcher & partially-used crystal
~a masterwork knife
~a magical anklet
~a photo of the changeling, sitting next to Jack at the diner a few minutes ago

[Jackinthegreen]

(click to show/hide)

Taking 20 on perception to search perp, total of 30.  Posted in the Divhead thread about whether this would take a full round like a room search with the sensor, or if it's the usual rules for searching a volume of goods.

The Interceptor whirs and flies back toward the station.

Radon goes through the guy's pockets and finds:
~the Launcher & partially-used crystal
~a masterwork knife
~a magical anklet
~a photo of the changeling, sitting next to Jack at the diner a few minutes ago

Radon noted the Launcher required special training to use.  Some could of course get that training through personal means, but he bet that this guy had received a nudge in that direction from someone.  The anklet was probably what let him do that quick teleport and was something Radon pondered nicking but decided against it for the moment.  Since the knife was only well made but not magical, Radon didn't think much of it other than noting it was a poor backup since the perp used his launcher in melee instead.

The photo was his main interest.  The perp must have been in the bar with Jack and the changeling, which means others almost certainly saw him.  "Hey, Roy!  Got a photo here of Jack and the changeling inside the bar.  If this guy took it, there are witnesses.  We should go in and ask around a little."

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I rolled a Gather Information: 1d20+12=30 intending on using it right then via DivNet, but thought more about it and realized it would be prudent to go inside the bar and ask around.  Toss the roll, or keep it for the likely Gather Info check inside?

[Flay Crimsonwind]

Roy's ears perked up, and he turned slowly with a smile. This encounter might not have been a total loss after all. "Well now, we really should recruit you. You're fairly competent as a detective." Roy analyzes the photograph, then looks over the man's body slowly. "Hmmm, a transporter unit? I've got one of those myself... Anyone else use crystal-powered weaponry?" He picks up the launcher, ejecting the partially spent crystal, and turns it over in his hand. The launcher would be fun, even if not used as intended.

[Jackinthegreen]

Radon ignored the recruitment offer since he'd already answered it earlier.  "I figure he'd need special training to use that launcher.  Given the circumstances I'd bet someone nudged him to pick it up." 

He had given the crystal a cursory glance.  "The perp probably use Grade 3 crystals for this weapon but might have gone for the cheaper stuff.  If it's the Grade 3 then it won't work in our guns.  As for that Anklet, I've been eying one for my own use actually.  Let's take care of that business once we've gotten statements from the diner's occupants.  Shall we?"

[littha]

Lilly enters the diner, looking for a terminal to use. She had no idea what to actually send but finding the thing is the first step.

[AyeGill]

Jack knelt next to the downed perp, taking a whiff of his cigar. "Wolf. Come." The wolf obeyed, darting to his side, looking hungrily at the corpse before him.
He took another whiff, slowly inhaling the smog of the cheap cigar as he tapped the corpse with his hand, twice. The wolf put its nose to the man's chest, sniffing in the odor with its animal senses, catching his scent.

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My wolf is gonna use its scent ability to try to retrace this guy's path back to wherever he came from.
Standard DC to track something by scent is 10 + 2 per hour that passed, but tracking backwards might be more difficult, all up to you.
1d20+8=15
For the rest of my post, I'm assuming it succeeds.

As the wolf raised its snout to the air, beginning to follow the track upon the air, Jack exhaled, butting his cigar on the corpse as he stood up. "We could do that. On the other hand, we could follow his track right back to his hangout while it's still hot. That's just, you know, my humble suggestion. I'm sure y'all, being professional crimfighters and all, are way better at this than me"

[sirpercival]

Lilly enters the diner, looking for a terminal to use. She had no idea what to actually send but finding the thing is the first step.

There's an old, beat up Oracle kiosk in the corner.  It has a privacy curtain.


((Roy/Radon/Jack AFAIK haven't come to a consensus on what you're doing, so I can't update yet...))

[Flay Crimsonwind]

Roy smiles at the smartass suggestion. "Well, think the scent is sturdy enough that your wolf can track it? I would assume that the urban landscape would mess with the scent, but if it's an option, I'm sure my coworkers can interview and cleanup at the diner..."

[Jackinthegreen]

Radon coughed slightly when he smelled the cigar smoke.  "Having your wolf track would be faster than questioning people at the bar, even for us."

He furrowed his brow in contemplation for a bit while rubbing the acid wound on his arm.  "Might want to take the guy's jacket with us in case your wolf needs a refresher.  Roy, I'll take the anklet and turn it in to your guys once we've done what we can for tracking this guy's whereabouts and contacts."

[littha]

Lilly does what she can to find information on the address, failing that she sends a message to it explaining how she came across it and what happened to the kid.

[sirpercival]

Toonces the wolf finds the scent on the other side of the building without too much difficulty, and leads Roy, Radon, and Jack around the snowy streets of North.  The trail is recent, and direct -- it heads right for the nearest Port Nexus Terminal.

Lilly does what she can to find information on the address, failing that she sends a message to it explaining how she came across it and what happened to the kid.

Almost immediately Lilly gets an automated response.  Hi! Thank you for contacting Thom Whippet.  I'm currently on a job right now, but I'll be sure to contact you as soon as I get back!

When you search the name, you find a profile on the Courier Registry.  The photo attached to it matches the kid's face, though it was obviously professionally retouched.  There's a physical address on the Registry as well.