Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 2:10 PM Central Time - In Hangar 1, airfield 10 miles SW of Kearney, Nebraska

Hangar 1 was the largest of the five hangars at the airfield, situated 100 yards north of the control tower currently occupied by the National Guard. Within the hangar rested a crop duster, and the only reason it was still there was that it was broken down and awaiting repairs. Lucy Armstrong, a mechanic who worked at the airfield, walked around it and inspected it. The small plane would hold the four of them - barely - but getting it back in working order would be no easy task.

Dr. Bernard Smith stood nearby, talking to the two Nebraska State Troopers also present in the hangar. Trooper Rick Brenner was a handsome pilot and the only one there who knew how to fly the plane. Beside him stood Sergeant Diane Ford.

"We've got a tough job ahead of us," she said. "Even if we can get this kite up and running, those National Guardsmen will take notice. I wouldn't put it past them to try and take it for themselves. We don't have rifles, and they do - and that sniper of theirs is downright deadly. There's also the matter of fuel. All the fuel is stored in those warehouses east of the tower, and the National Guard keeps them under lock and key. Without fuel, we're not going anywhere. So, Lucy, think you can fix her?"

(Anyone who wants to help fix the crop duster, roll Mechanical Repair on 1d100 at Invisible Castle as explained in the Rules and Guidelines thread. You need to get less than or equal to your Mechnical Repair skill to succeed. If you roll higher, you fail, but you'll still be able to try again later unless you roll really badly. If you do not have Mechanical Repair on your character sheet, you have the base skill level of 20%.)

(OOC: I feel the need to roll twice, once to look it over and see what I can do, the other to start working on it. Now i'm not really sure what the skill would be for it, but i'de imagine it's still probably Mechanical Repair. So i'm going to roll twice, the first for the inspection, the second for repair attempts. If thats not how this works, just take the first roll and i'll edit out the second one.)

Lucy takes another slow walk around the duster before answering, still studying the plane.

"I'de say with a bit of time, we could probably salvage the old girl."

Inspection roll (1d100=46)

"Now lets see what I can do..."

Repair Roll (1d100=59)

(Only one roll is necessary for each person. Lucy already inspected the plane before the start of the chapter anyway. It will take a long time to complete all the repairs, but once you've succeeded at your roll there is no need to roll again, even if you stop to do something else and then resume work. I'll give the other players a chance to join in before advancing this thread.)

Lucy knew that working alone, she'd be able to make the crop duster airworthy again in three hours. The problem was with the engine, but there were enough spare parts in the hangar to effect the repairs. With help she could accomplish the job faster, but anyone assisting her would not be able to do other things at the same time. With one assistant she could finish in two hours, with two she could get it done in ninety minutes, and with three it would only take an hour. Any more helpers than that wouldn't speed things up any further.

"That's good to hear," said Diane, coming over to examine the plane.

Dr Smith walked over the join the others by the old plane.

"Well if it's going to take some time to get this thing airborn we should probably make sure this hangar is secure, we wouldn't want one of those things to creep up on us now would we? I'll take a look around and see how safe this place actually is."

With that Bernard turns to walk away and check the hangar. As he does so he turns back and says...

"It might be wise for someone to make themselves useful and check if that plane has a working radio too, could prove useful."

OOC: Dr Smith goes to look around the hangar, checking for places something (or someone) could get in, being careful not to stray too far from the group. Whilst he does so he keeps his eyes open for something he can use as a weapon, deciding his small scalpel may not cut it against the living dead.

(Laraqua hasn't logged in for a week, so I'll run Rick Brenner as an NPC until she checks in.)

"You're absolutely right about that, Doc," said Diane. "We need to secure this hangar on both the inside and the outside." She looked over the crop duster. "Yeah, I can help out here too. Why don't you patrol around the hangar? If there's trouble outside, call for us and Rick and I will come running to help. You need a weapon?"

Trooper Rick Brenner also started on the plane, working with amazing skill and efficiency. Lucy could tell that the three of them working together could have the crop duster up and running in as little as an hour.

Bernard saw that there were two exits from the hangar: the main doorway on the south side, which was wide open, and a smaller, person-sized door on the north side, which was already locked. The main exit was big enough for the crop duster to taxi through - once it was repaired and refueled. He also found several lengths of steel pipe, about four feet long each. They could easily be swung as a club. While he had no skill in using one, if they hit they could do a lot of damage.

(OOC: The steel pipes are considered large clubs. The base skill for using one, if it's not on your character sheet, is 25%. They do 1d8 damage plus any damage bonus if you hit.)

Dr Smith slowly made his way towards the large hangar door, being careful to stay near the walls so as not to be seen from the airfield through the huge opening.

As he made his was towards the entrance he noticed some lengths of steal pipe on the ground and took one from the pile. Deciding that although he's a bit old to be swinging large pieces of metal around, the pipe would prove a more serviceable weapon than the scalpel he'd had clamped permanently in his fist.

As Dr Smith approached the opening with his new found club he looked for a way to close the doors and with some luck a way of locking them from the inside.

OOC: Bernard considers using the lengths of metal pipe to wedge between the door handles if that's at all possible. Providing their isn't a move obvious locking mechanism that is.

The hangar doors on the south side were huge sliding doors with handles that jutted out from them. A pipe could be slid between the handles either from the inside or the outside, but it would not lock them by itself. The doors could simply be slid open. There was a lock, but it wasn't very sturdy. It required a key to lock or unlock it, and Lucy had one. However, Bernard had also seen some lengths of chain in the hangar. If the chain were tied around the handles it could help keep the doors sealed, especially if a pipe were also wedged between the handles.

Peering outside, Bernard could see the tower a hundred yards to the south, rising about fifty or sixty feet off the ground. Four more hangars stood in a line to the east of this one. To the east of the tower (on the left) were a collection of other buildings that Lucy had mentioned earlier were warehouses where fuel and other supplies were stored. The row of warehouses came pretty close to the row of hangars at its northern end. To the west and south, runways stretched off into the distance. The lake to the north was not visible from this direction, but it was about fifty yards north of the hangar.

(Dr. Bernard Smith, roll Spot Hidden and Listen. The base level for each of these skills is 25%. If you make either roll, I'll let you know what you see and/or hear.)

Dr Smith is too busy concentrating on locking the doors to see or hear anything.

Dr. Smith was able to secure the main doors and lock them shut while the others continued to work on the crop duster. He could still exit the hangar through the back door on the north side, as it could be freely opened from the inside. However, it would lock behind him if he left, so if he needed to get back in he would need to borrow Lucy's key or knock on the door and have someone let him in.

(Everyone roll Listen. If it's not on your character sheet, your base score is 25%.

Lucy, if you don't anything else I'll assume you just continue working on the plane. Feel free to talk to the others while you work. You can also take a steel pipe without slowing down your repairs. It uses your Large Club skill, which is 60%. It can be used to parry in hand-to-hand combat as well as attack, and can even do both in the same round. Parrying is done by rolling against your skill with the weapon, and if you succeed you block the attack with it. Scalpels cannot parry, but nightsticks and combat knives can.)

Dr Smith breathes a sigh of relief after managing to secure the doors.

"We should be relatively safe for now, but we've still got the problem of getting this old crop duster airborne. We have two options, either getting the fuel to the plane or the plane to the fuel.
Does anyone have any idea what volume of fuel this thing holds and how long it will take to fill her up? I don't like the idea of standing in the open for too long whilst we refuel.

He's too busy contemplating the problem of refueling to hear much of anything.

With a grunt of annoyance, Lucy rolls out from under the plane and walks deliberately over to the pipes, briefly considering giving the good doctor a swat in the face if only for him to stop talking for a moment. Hefting the pipe in her hand, the familar weight and size reminding her of the old baseball bat back home.

Home... She pushed it out of her mind, no time for happier days.

Lucy sighed, cracking her neck and knuckles just to block out everyone around her. She focused on her own breathing for a few long breaths.

Listen (25 or less) (1d100=40)

On the way back to work on the plane, Lucy idly wonders the best way to holster this shiny new club of hers.

Lucy realized that she could strap the pipe to her back diagonally. That was probably the best way to carry it when she wasn't holding it in her hands, as the thing was four feet long and rather unwieldy.

"About two barrels full of fuel should be enough to fill up the tank," said Trooper Rick Brenner as he worked. "The tank was emptied prior to it being stored here awaiting repairs, but there's probably enough left to taxi over to the warehouses to the east where the fuel is stored on fumes - once the repairs are complete that is. There was also a small flatbed truck parked by the warehouses that would be ideal for moving the fuel. It'll take about twenty minutes to fuel her up, but we have to finish the repairs before we start that process - the fuel pump is faulty too." He paused, thinking for a second that he might have heard something, but decided he was mistaken.

Diane Ford nodded, then held up a hand. "Did you guys hear that?" she asked, then stopped speaking and cocked her ear. "Yeah, I definitely hear something. It sounds like a helicopter, and it's getting closer! Doc, you want to take a look outside?"

"Take a look? One my own, not likely! Aren't you troopers supposed to 'Protect and Serve'? I don't even have a gun!"

After a seconds though Dr Smith realises this helicopter could be his way out of here.

"Maybe one of you troopers and I should go and investigate together?

"You can borrow my pistol if you like," says Diane. "If one of us goes, it'll slow down repairs. I can't spare Rick, as he's far too good at this, but I'll come with you if you're sure you need backup."

"Fine, fine, I'll go and see whats happening. Let me have that pistols of yours, and I'll need to key too. I would want to get locked outside now would I."

With that Dr Smith places the pipe he found earlier on the floor, nervelessly grips the pistols and taking a deep breath opens the door...

(I'll assume Lucy lends Dr. Smith the key to the hangar door.)

Diane handed Bernard her Ruger and two spare magazines. "If you run into any trouble, come back and get us," she said. "Shout for us too, so we'll get there faster. If the National Guard or whoever's in the helicopter turns on us, I doubt that pistol will do much good, but it may help if you run into any of those things out there. Be careful, and don't take any risks, just see what's going on."

Bernard slipped out through the rear door on the north side of the hangar. Diane Ford's police cruiser was parked right near the door. Fifty yards to the north the lake sat, its waters still and calm. He could now clearly hear the sound of the helicopter's rotors winding down. When he reached the corner, he looked around it and got a good look at the situation.

The helicopter had landed on the pad twenty yards west of the control tower. Julio Alvarez, the National Guard medic, and Harry Flynn, the Air National Guard pilot, had stepped outside the tower and were walking towards the helicopter. Alvarez carried an M-4, but Flynn had only a pistol. A huge man stepped out of the co-pilot's seat of the helicopter and watched the two men, a pair of pistols on his belt.

(Dr. Smith, roll Spot Hidden.)

Dr Smith tries to find somewhere he can stay out of sight and watch what's happening on the landing pad.

The best place Dr. Smith could find to hide was right where he stood, at the northwest corner of the hangar. It gave him a good view of the helipad, but nobody in or on the tower could see him with the building in the way.

(Dr. Smith, roll Hide. The base skill level is only 10%, but even if you fail there's a good chance nobody at the helipad will see you or even look in your direction.)

Dr Smith pulled himself tight against the hangar wall, trying to keep out of sight. He waited to see what would unfold on the heli-pad in front of him, remembering to keep an eye out for any 'thing' that may get too close.

In the hangar-
Diane and Rick continued to help Lucy work on the crop duster, keeping their ears peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

Outside the hangar-
Dr. Bernard Smith observed a big, strong man in a Nebraska State Police uniform step out of the rear passenger side of the helicopter and join the co-pilot. He also noticed that the chopper had Nebraska State Police markings much like Diane Ford's cruiser. Alvarez waved, and a blonde woman with a computer on her lap in the middle passenger seat waved back.

(Dr. Smith, roll Listen if you want overhear the conversation. Also, roll Spot Hidden again.)

Bernard's hearing is fading with old age and the heli-pad is too far away for him to overhear what is happening. Something does however catch his eye as he struggles to eves drop on what appeared to be the police.

Outside the hangar-
Dr. Smith watched as the two big men from the helicopter conversed with the National Guardsmen, but he could not overhear what they were saying and didn't know how to read lips. The State Trooper carried a Marlin rifle slung on his back and a Mossberg shotgun in his hands. The helicopter pilot was also wearing a Nebraska State Police uniform. She was a woman, and a strikingly beautiful one. He was able to see into the passenger compartment, where two women sat. The one on the left, with auburn hair, had her arm in a sling. The other woman, the blonde with the laptop, had on a white lab coat. Suddenly he recognized them. The woman with the broken arm was Dr. Brigetta Hausmann, and the one in the lab coat was her assistant Stephanie Bridges! He had met them at the medical conference in Cheyenne the other day, and now they were here with a police escort.

Dr Smith was shocked to see Dr Hausmann and her assistant in the helicopter, however he decided not to give himself away just yet. Instead he attempted to stay hidden and continue to watch the exchange.

Outside the hangar-
As Bernard watched, the two men from the helicopter followed Alvarez and Flynn to the east, back towards the tower. Soon they vanished from his line of sight, the edge of the building preventing him from seeing them any longer. The three women remained in their seats in the helicopter. If any of them had seen him, they gave no indication.

In the hangar-
Diane, Rick, and Lucy continued their repair work on the small airplane. Rick did amazing work, impressing even Lucy with his efficiency. They had been working for five minutes so far.

Outside the hangar-
Bernard remained where he was, watching the helicopter. After about a minute, Corporal Anthony Gardner walked into view from the east and approached the helicopter. Gardner looked around, but didn't show any sign of having seen him. He stopped in front of the chopper and began to speak to the pilot.

(Bernard, roll Listen if you want to try to overhear the conversation.)

In the hangar-
Diane smiled, pleased at the progress the three of them were making. "Good work, Rick," she said. "At this rate, we won't be stuck here long."

Bernard crained to try and hear what was being said by the helicopter.

Outside the hangar-
Bernard couldn't hear very much, but he did make out a few words.

"...Erica...beautiful..." said Gardner.

The pilot said something back, but Bernard couldn't make it out.

Gardner then looked past the pilot to Dr. Hausmann and Stephanie, who were in the back seats, and said something else.

"...fuel..." said Dr. Hausmann, "...Omaha...Every minute counts!"

Stephanie nodded and typed rapidly on her computer. "...important..." she said.

Gardner said something unintelligible.

In the hangar-
The two State Troopers and the mechanic continued their work.

Outside the hangar-
As Bernard watched, the helicopter's rotors began to spin and he could hear its engine powering up. Gardner then raised his M-16 and pointed it at the pilot.

(edited)

Dr Smith tried to study the soldiers actions but his panic and the sheer distance made it difficult

(You're going to need to edit your post above. Dr. Smith is standing over 100 yards from the helicopter, which is well out of pistol range. The base range for the Beretta is 15 yards. With precision aim you can double this to 30. Between 30 and 60 yards you would use half your skill, between 60 and 90 yards you would use a quarter of your skill, and between 90 and 120 yards you would use 1/8 of your skill. This means that you would have needed a 5 or less to hit. Gardner has a rifle, however, and Bernard is within his base range. Further, the Beretta only gets 2 shots per round, not 3, and Gardner would have a chance to return fire between the first and second shots. In light of this, you can take back your action and try something else instead. Also, roll Psychology to try to discover something about Gardner's intentions. If you succeed, you may want to wait for my response before acting.)

In the hangar-
"Even if we can get the plane fixed and fueled," said Rick, "we need to think about where we're going to go. We can go a few hundred miles on a full tank, but we can't land an airplane just anywhere like we could a helicopter."

(Everyone inside the hangar, roll Listen.)

Outside the hangar-
As Dr. Smith continued to watch, he saw the helicopter blades gradually stop spinning, the engine's whine dwindling to nothing. Then the pilot placed her weapons on the empty seat beside her. When Gardner motioned with his rifle, she got out with her hands raised. Dr. Hausmann and Stephanie emerged from the rear seat, Stephanie still carrying her computer. The pilot stepped forward, faced the helicopter, spread her arms, and rested her hands on the glass. Gardner slung his rifle across his back, drew his pistol, and searched her. She took off her helmet, her flight jacket, and the Kevlar vest she wore beneath it, and then she placed all of them on the seat she had just vacated. Underneath the vest she had on an olive green tank top. Gardner continued to search her and took several small items from her person. The two scientists appeared to be pleading with him.

(Roll Listen if you want to try to overhear what they're saying.)

In the hangar-
"We'll worry about that later," said Diane. "We'll have time to plan our route while we're refueling - assuming we can finish the job and get the fuel." She cocked an ear. "Did you hear that? It sounded like the chopper's engine started up and then shut down. I wonder what's going on out there. The doc's been gone a while."

Outside the hangar-
Dr. Smith watched as Gardner taped the pilot's wrists and arms together behind her back. Then he pushed her over to where Dr. Hausmann stood and motioned for Stephanie to come forward. She obeyed, and after an exchange of words she took off her lab coat and placed it slowly on the chopper's back seat. Beneath it she wore a pair of gray slacks and a sleeveless black V-neck blouse. It was the same outfit she had worn when she and Dr. Hausmann had given their presentation at Cheyenne, except without the jacket.

Gardner searched Stephanie next. He found a pistol concealed beneath her blouse and slipped it into his belt. She continued trying to plead with him as he finished searching her. Then he taped her arms behind her back too and began taking a bunch of small objects from her pockets and her discarded lab coat, loading them into his pack.

In the hangar-
"Well, I guess he's okay," said Rick as he kept working. "I mean, we'd have heard something if there was a problem."

Dr Smith Decided he had seen enough. He was disgusted at the sight of Dr Hausmann being held prisoner but knew he was in no position to help on his own.

Reluctantly he turned away from the heli-pad and made his way back inside the hangar, hoping he could enlist the help of the others inside.

In the hangar-
Diane looked up from her work when she heard Bernard enter. "We've got nearly 20 percent of the work done," she said. "So, what did you see outside?"

Locking the door behind him Dr Smith breathed a sigh of relief at returning to the relative safety of the hangar.

Walikng towards to group he answered Diane's question.

"I'm not too sure what I saw to be honest" Said Bernard.

"A helicopter landed on the helipad. I don't quite believe it myself but onboard was a prominent doctor I met in Cheyenne. Her name is Dr Hausmann and she's a leader in the field of disease control, which may prove somewhat useful to us all do you not agree? Well anyway, she seemed to be under police escort, colleagues of your if I'm not mistaken. Well, thats not all you see, after landing they tried to take off again but a soldier from the control tower stopped them and now has Dr Hausmann and all on board held prisoner."

"We simply must help Dr Hausmann, he expertise could be the answer to this whole mess!" Pleaded Dr Smith.

(Dr. Smith's first name is Bernard, not Harry.)
In the hangar-
"Yes, we've got to save them!" said Rick Brenner.

Diane Ford nodded grimly. "I agree," she said, "but how? If we try to approach the tower, that sniper could take us out before we get close. A couple of the others have rifles too, and we don't. We could take my cruiser and get close quickly, but then we can't use stealth. We have to treat this as a hostage situation. If we go in half-cocked, we'll only get the hostages killed - and maybe us too. One wrong move could spell disaster. This will mean the end of our little truce, but we can't simply stay here and ignore it. We have to rescue the doctor and back up our fellow State Troopers, but we need a plan before we go in. Any suggestions?"

Dr Smith paced the hangar, deep in thought.

"Well I'm quite sure we can move up to the end of the Hangar without being seen, no-one shot at me at least. After that...well I'm not so confident."

"A diversion may prove useful. What about your cruiser Diane? We could jam the accelerator down, perhaps with one of those steel pipes, then send if off down the airfield. With luck on our side they may send someone out to investigate, drawing at least a few of them out of the the tower. On the downside that leaves us without transport."

Frustrated by their predicament Bernard fingered the pistol still frimly in his grip. He was obviously worked up over the capture of Dr Hausmann and the troopers.

"This old plane won't be much use to us if we are succesful, it will barely hold the four of us as it is. Rick can you fly a helicopter? We may need that as our way out of here. As for the Sniper, I just don't know. Possible he'll focus in on the cruiser, giving us chance to get to the tower, but that's taking a rather large chance."

In the hangar-
"I can fly a chopper or a plane," said Rick. "I'm not sure what kind of helicopter they've got. If it's small, it won't hold all of us and the people who came in on it too."

"The sniper's a woman, as it turns out," said Diane. "There's only four of them in all."

"Plus Kathryn McCoy," said Lucy. "We can't be sure whose side she's on."

"Anyway, using the cruiser as a diversion would be risky. If they see it approaching, they could react by killing a hostage. Our best bet is to use stealth. We're 100 yards north of the tower, but the warehouses on the east are only 50 yards east of the tower. If we could approach from there, we'd have less ground to cover. The line of hangars meets up with the warehouses east of here, so we might be able to slip around without being detected. Even if they notice us, hostilities haven't officially broken out yet and the warehouses are neutral territory. We have as much right to be there as they do. What if we went down there in my cruiser, driving behind the line of buildings? That'll get us in position quickly. I'll take it slow to avoid attracting attention. If they do see us, three of us could get out behind the warehouses while the fourth drives back to the hangar and draws their attention."

"The helicopter had Nabraska State police markings" Stated Dr Smith. "So I assume it's a standard police helicopter, how many would that hold?

Thinking it over Bernard decided Diane was right.

"Lets go with your plan. You're right, wrecking the cruiser is a bad idea. Lucy could head back here after we're at the warehouse, continue working on the plane. This old crop duster could still prove useful."

In the hangar-
"How many does it hold?" wondered Rick aloud. "It depends. An NSP patrol helicopter can hold up to five, but a medevac chopper is pretty big and can seat nine."

The helicopter that Dr. Smith had seen was fairly small and looked like it would only seat the five people who had arrived in it.

"Oh, I can make this baby fly," said Lucy. "And I'm sure Rick can fly it. The plan sounds good to me."

"Me too," said Rick. "Give Lucy the keys to the hangar so she can get back inside if she has to come back. Let's go."

In the hangar-
The four people in the hangar gathered their things and left through the back door.

(I won't be updating your characters' locations on the thread that keeps track of them for now, so the others don't know where you are. Repair work has stopped temporarily, but those who succeeded at Mechanical Repair rolls won't need to roll again when you resume. You've been working for 13 minutes so far, and it will take all three of the mechanics about another 47 minutes to finish if they work together.)

Outside the hangar-
Lucy locked the hangar door as Diane Ford fished out the keys to her cruiser and unlocked it. She got into the driver's seat, Rick got in the shotgun seat, and Bernard and Lucy got in the back. Diane started up the car and began to drive to the east.

"You two are now officially deputies of the Nebraska State Police," she called back, "so I'd better swear you in quick. Do you swear to uphold the laws of the State of Nebraska, to serve and to protect, yada yada yada?"

(Everyone roll Listen.)

"Deputy Smith? I'll stick to Doctor thanks all the same" joked Bernard nervously. "Maybe we...." started Dr Smith, but he froze, thinking he had heard a something he held his hand up to the others in a gesture requesting silence.

East of the warehouses-
Dr. Smith heard the sound of a truck's engine to the south, coming from the approximate location of the helipad. The truck was just idling, however, and was not moving anywhere.

"The truck?" asked Diane as she drove eastwards. "Yeah, I heard it too. They must be using it to transport the fuel." She rounded the corner and headed south behind the row of warehouses. As they drove a rifle shot rang out, and after a pause a second one. She brought the patrol car to a halt behind Warehouse 1, the southernmost building. There was a small stretch of ground between it and Warehouse 2 to its north. The tower stood fifty yards west of the buildings.

Just then, everyone heard the sound of a fire alarm starting to ring. It was coming from the tower.

(Everyone roll Spot Hidden and Listen.)

Dr Smith was sure he heard another noise, but looking around he couldn't see anything.

Outside Warehouse 1-
Over the sound of rifle shots coming from the tower roof, Dr. Smith could hear voices coming from within the warehouse as the car approached. A deep male voice said: ""Did you hear that? Sounds like a car. It's coming from the north, slowly. Now it's stopping, right behind this warehouse."

Diane Ford peered out to the east across the open ground. "I see eight infected people about a mile east and closing fast!" she called. "There's also a dead one a ways back." Her eyes bulged. "Damn that sniper's good to be hitting them from this far out. She fired five shots so far, killing three and wounding a fourth! There's only six left, and one is lagging behind. At this rate there won't be any left to keep her distracted long. If we're going to rush the tower it's now or never. We've got less ground to cover from here, but she could see us if she looks down. Alternatively I could drive us back to the hangar and we can come at the tower from the north, but she might finish shooting before we reach it."

Behind the buildings-
Diane Ford took one last look at the rapidly approaching figures from the east, then pulled out and sped away to the north. "That sniper just missed the last two shots," she said, "so I think we've got time to get around the hangars and approach from the north. She won't hear this car over that fire alarm and the noise of her own shooting. I wonder why the alarm went off." With expert precision, she rounded the corner at high speed and shortly reached the north side of Hangar 1. "Shall we drive up to the base of the tower quickly, or do you want to approach on foot so we don't risk losing the advantage of surprise? She could hear the car, though that's less likely with that alarm, but she might also spot us if we run and have a chance to pick some of us off."

North of the tower-
"I say we take the car," said Rick. "With that fire alarm going off she's unlikely to hear us, and we haven't a moment to spare."

Neither Dr. Smith nor Lucy had chimed in with a suggestion, but Diane wasn't about to wait around any longer. She put the cruiser into gear and swung around the northwest corner of the hangar, heading south towards the tower. As they approached, they saw the flatbed truck parked near the helicopter, its engine running. A barrel of jet fuel rested beside the chopper, hooked up to its fuel pump. Dr. Hausmann and Stephanie Bridges stood not far away. Both of them had their mouths sealed with duct tape, and Stephanie had her wrists taped together behind her back. Dr. Hausmann didn't, as she had a broken arm in a sling. In her good arm she carried a laptop. Nobody else was visible on the ground near the tower.

West of the tower-
Diane Ford pulled up right outside the main entrance to the tower without incident. "Okay, we're here," she said. "The sniper can't see us now. Let's all get inside fast. Rick, you and I will lead the way."

West of the tower-
Diane and Rick threw open their doors and sprang out, guns at the ready. "Stay behind us!" called Diane. "We're at the base of the tower now, so the sniper can't see us."

Rick waved to the women standing nearby. "Come on, get inside!" he called. "It's okay, we're here to help you, ladies!"

Stephanie hesitated and glanced up at the roof, but she couldn't tell if the sniper was watching. Dr. Hausmann looked too, then nodded to her assistant. Both of the scientists ran over to where the police car was parked. Diane and Rick entered the tower.

(Diane Ford and Rick Brenner are moving to this thread: Storming the Castle.

Everyone else, if you want to follow them, join them in that thread. If you remain outside the tower, keep posting in this one instead.)

West of the tower-
Stephanie tried to wriggle out of the duct tape binding her arms as she and Dr. Hausmann ran to the base of the tower, but she couldn't quite manage to loosen it.

Dr. Smith and Lucy got out of the car. "Come on, gals," said Lucy, "let's get inside fast!" They all entered the lobby through the shattered front entrance.

(Everyone is moving to this thread: Storming the Castle)