Play@YSDC

Police Headquarters, Franklin Square - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3:00 PM - Friday, July 18, 1969

John Yeager drove back to HQ with Bill Johns in the Mustang. They parked in the lot and proceeded upstairs to the first floor, where they returned to the office. Charlie, Harry, Amy, Detective Jim Hendricks, and Detective Gus Stoker were all present. They saluted when he walked in.

"Right," said Yeager. "Let's all have a conference and share what we've learned today, see what we can come up with. That experiment starts tonight, and we may have more than Harry on the inside. With luck, we can stack the deck completely and get to the bottom of all of this."

Bill pulled up a chair and sat down. He pulled a pad of paper over from a nearby desk and took a pen from his pocket, ready to make notes. He started by jotting down some of the names, drawing lines between them as he pondered their relationships. Dr. Anderson, Brian Anderson, Mary... ...

He looked up. "Any news about Brian Anderson?" he asked.

OOC,[i]Sorry for my absense, real life stuff got in the way :( Hopefully back to normal now.[/i]

"I put Stoker and Hendricks on locating Anderson," said Charlie. "Only fair, since they lost him in the first place."

"It could have happened to anyone!" protested Hendricks. "The twerp got a buddy of his to dress up like him, with a baseball cap to make his face hard to see. He-"

Stoker raised a hand, and Hendricks stopped speaking. "Look, we don't want to make any excuses," said Stoker. "We just want to find this guy again. It's like he's dropped off the face of the Earth. So far, he hasn't surfaced. He cut all of his classes today and nobody's seen him at the frat house - at least nobody who'll admit to it. We did corner Gary Brown, his friend who decoyed us, but he said Brian asked him to do this because he thought there were some dangerous characters after him. Brown didn't break any laws, so we can't really lean on him."

"Damn straight there are dangerous characters after Anderson," said Yeager. "Me, for one! Dropped off the face of the Earth my ass! He didn't hitch a ride on Apollo 11. He's somewhere, and I want him found!"

"We'll track him down. Someone must have seen him, that's for sure. Someone's sheltering him. It doesn't look like he skipped bail and split town. No sign of him at either of the airports, 30th Street Station, or the bus terminal."

"Have we got anyone on his father's house?" asked Bill. "We can't discount the possibility that he's gone home and he's being sheltered there."

"First place we checked," said Detective Stoker. "He wasn't there at the time. Sergeant Rawlings did assign someone to keep an eye on the house."

"So far, no sign of Brian there, either," said Charlie. He got a glint in his eye. "The professor left the house this morning, probably to go to campus. He hasn't returned either, and with that experiment of his tonight he's not likely to. His wife just left the house half an hour ago. Which means it should be empty right now..."

"We gotta warrant?" asked Bill, thinking of his most recent experience, "Or are we 'responding to the call of a concerned neighbour who saw some people hanging around the house' if anyone happens to come home?"

"The second one," said Yeager. "We don't have time to get a warrant, we don't have a basis for it, and we don't want the professor ever knowing we were there. That means we're going to have to be subtle about this. This guy isn't some street punk we can toss around. That's his son. We'll need someone who's good with locks. Hendricks, you're with us."

"I'm not that good, sir," said Detective Jim Hendricks.

"Well, you're what we've got. Go get some tools. Anything else before we get started?"

"Nope," said Bill, "I'm good to go." He stood up and checked his shoulder holster. He didn't think he'd need it but you never knew.

"Right, let's go," said Yeager, leading the way out to the parking lot where he had left the Mustang.

Dr. Gregory Anderson's Home - Pine Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3:35 PM - Friday, July 18th, 1969

Once again, Bill and John arrived near Dr. Anderson's house on Pine Road, only this time Detective Jim Hendricks was in the back seat and it was daytime. Now Bill could see the house more clearly. The walkway to the front door was lined with stones of a variety of colors on either side. The door itself was flanked by a pair of bushes. John Yeager parked the Mustang behind an unmarked black Buick. Detective Daniel O'Hara sat behind the wheel, munching on a jelly donut.

The three men got out of the Mustang and walked up to the driver's side of the Buick. "Anything to report, O'Hara?" asked Yeager.

O'Hara chewed and swallowed, a bit of jelly dripping down his chins. "Nothing new, sir," he said.

"All right, keep an eye on the place and alert us if Mrs. Anderson or anyone else comes home. The three of us are going in." He glanced at Bill and Jim. "Front door or back?"

"Well, we ain't gonna win any prizes for subtlety," said Bill, looking at the line of cars pulled up outside the house, "So we might as well go in the front."

He paused and looked down the side of the house. "We have got someone watching the back, haven't we? Just in case Anderson is holed up inside and makes a break for it..."

OOC,Apologies for my absence. Just got caught up in real-life stuff and haven't found the time of late. Hopefully I'll be a bit more on the ball from now on.

"Not yet," said Yeager, "but that's good thinking. O'Hara, go watch around back. Hendricks, stay with us for now. Once we get the door open, you'll sit in O'Hara's car and watch the front."

O'Hara reluctantly opened his door and got out, carrying a box from Dunkin' Donuts in one hand and the half-eaten donut in his mouth. He waddled around behind the house while the other three men approached the front door. Yeager slipped on a pair of gloves and tried the door. "Locked," he said. "Not surprised. Hendricks, go to work."

"Yes, sir," said Detective Hendricks. He took a folded length of leather from his inside jacket pocket and opened it up, revealing lockpicking tools of varying length and shape. He tinkered with the lock for a while before withdrawing and shrugging his shoulders. "It's no good, sir. It's too good a lock for me."

OOC,That's okay, and welcome back! [b]Bill[/b], please roll Idea.

Bill realized that the back door might prove easier to get through than the front door. It also occurred to him that sometimes homeowners hide a spare key near their doors in case they lose theirs.

Bill stepped back, studying the door and it's surrounds. Nothing looked like an obvious place to hide a key and most people wouldn't leave one on the street side of the house anyway.

"Back door?" He asked, and following Hendricks directions, found himself by the back door. "It's an invitation to get burgled," he said to O'Hara who was standing by the door, "But you'd be surprised how many people leave a key outside..." He knelt by the door, moving any stones or plant pots before standing and running his fingers along the top of the door frame.

"O'Hara, back around front and watch there," said Yeager, following Bill. "Send Hendricks to the back when you get there."

Bill looked around the back door, but there weren't any plants behind the house, and there was nothing on the door frame. There had been those bushes and stones out front, however.

Hendricks arrived and started working on the back door. "This one's as good as the one in front," he said, frowning. "This guy really takes his security seriously."

OOC,[b]Bill[/b], if you want to try to search for a spare key in front, please roll Spot Hidden.

OOC,Nope... [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4058605/]Bill goes looking for keys. (1d100=89)[/url]

Bill gave up, returning to front of the house. There wasn't any obvious place to look so he randomly started turning over rocks in the rockery by the door.

"Keep working on it," Yeager told Hendricks. He followed Bill around to the front and began to poke around as well. However, his search was fruitless too. After a while, he checked his watch. "It's past 4:30 now."

OOC,If you want to keep searching, please roll Spot Hidden again.

Yeager began poking around in the dirt by one of the bushes. "Hmm, this looks like it was turned more recently," he said to himself. He dug in it and immediately found a small, unlabeled key. "Bingo! Right, let's head inside." He led the way to the door and tried the key in the lock. It fit perfectly, and the door opened to reveal a vestibule with a white tiled floor containing an empty canister used to hold umbrellas and a hat rack, also bare. Beyond it, the living room opened up before them. It was elegantly decorated, with a brick fireplace in the right wall, a large red rug in front of it, a leather couch and matching armchairs, a large television set, and a tall brass torchiere lamp, which was not lit. He recognized the Escher print and the Dali painting he had seen the last time he was there. A wide staircase led upwards, leading to a balcony above. A hallway with a few doors was visible on it from down here. There was a door in the near wall of the living room on the left side of the vestibule that probably led to a closet. An archway at the back led to the dining room.

Bill pushed open a couple of the doors, looking for a study. He'd been in the property before but his memory of the inside of the property was vague.

"You go ahead," said Yeager as Bill entered. "I'll just nip round the back and let Hendricks know we got inside. Then I'll catch up with you."

Bill recalled the way to the study from when he had been here two nights ago. It was through the dining room and then the door on the right. He returned there and found it unchanged. Two black leather armchairs sat on either side of a small reading table. Bookshelves lined most of the walls, filled with books of various sizes. There were medical journals as well as popular fiction and books on mythology. A writing desk also sat against one wall, and there was a liquor cabinet.

OOC,I'd forgotten that you'd already been here before, and that I'd already described part of the house. I edited my description above to make it consistent with the initial description I'd given three years ago, so you may want to reread it.

Bill started with a methodical search of the desk and the desk drawers, looking for anything that had a reference to Morpheus, its effects or anything to do with the Government agency bankrolling the experiments.

Bill found that one of the drawers was locked, but he was able to go through the others with ease.

OOC,[b]Bill[/b], please roll Spot Hidden. If you want to try to pick the lock, it will take a Mechanical Repair roll. There are plenty of implements on the desk that you could use to help you jimmy it.

Bill sat down in the chair behind the desk, methodically going through the contents of the open drawers to see what he could find.

OOC,A successful Spot Hidden roll: [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4087390/]Bill checks the desk. (1d100=4)[/url]

That done, he turned his attention to the locked drawer. A letter opener was sat next to an old-fashioned desk jotter and Bill used that to try to open the drawer and find out what Dr. Anderson was hiding from prying eyes.

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4087441/]Bill tries to pry open the locked desk drawer. (1d100=42)[/url] Nope - that's some skinned knuckles right there, or worse! :(

Bill couldn't get the locked drawer open, but he was able to do a thorough search of the rest of the desk. There were a number of papers in there that mentioned Morpheus, but they were technical and scientific in nature, and way over his head. Nothing referred to the government except for one paper that mentioned that his research project was funded in part by a grant from a government agency called the ARPA.

"Here, let me try," said Yeager, taking a paper clip from the desk and unbending it. He fiddled around in the lock, only for the end of the clip to snap off inside it! "Dammit! Now I've really gone and screwed things up. He's bound to notice that the next time he tries to open the drawer."

OOC,[b]Bill[/b], please roll History.

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4090080/]Bill Johns, professor of history, does some thinking... (1d100=37)[/url] Yup, got it :)

"See if you can find a magnet," said Bill absently, "You might be able to fetch it out with that..." He sat back in the chair in front of the desk, racking his brain and trying to think of where he'd heard of 'ARPA' before.

"I don't know," said Yeager. "It's jammed in pretty good. Maybe there's a magnet on the fridge or something. I'd better go get Hendricks. Maybe he can sort this out. I'll cover the back while he's in here." He headed out of the study.

Bill recalled that ARPA stood for Advanced Research Projects Agency, which the government created in 1958 following the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik the previous year in an effort to spur technological research. ARPA was best known for creating ARPANET, a computer network that was a precursor to the Internet, in the 1960s, but it had worked on many other projects. A lot of them did not have direct military applications, but this gradually changed starting in the late 1960s. In 1972, it was renamed DARPA, where the D stood for Defense, and in 1973 Congress restricted it only to projects with a military use.

Bill rattled the drawer vigorously one more time then turned his attention to the bookcase while he waited for Hendricks to come through and get the drawer open. He carefully examined the tops of the books, looking for those that were dusty and those that looked as if they had been handled recently.

Hendricks came in while Bill was examining the shelves. "Hey, Sarge," he said, kneeling down in front of the desk and taking out his tools. "My brother told me he met you down at the range yesterday."

OOC,[b]Bill[/b], please roll Spot Hidden.

OOC,Nope! Shouldn't have tempted fate! [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4131952/]Bill's all seeing eye... (1d100=62)[/url]

"Yeah," replied Bill, "He showed me the ropes down at the range. Seems like a good man." He sighed and stepped back from the bookshelf to study it at a distance. "If you were going to hide something in a bookcase, where would you put it?" he asked Hendricks.

"Yeah, Dave's a great guy," said Hendricks, poking around inside the lock. "Let's see, if I were going to hide something in a bookcase, I'd put it in a book. If it's something thin like a piece of paper, I'd just slip it into one of the books and remember which one and which page it was on. If it's bigger, I'd hollow it out and stash whatever it is inside. Seen that before on a narcotics bust." He frowned. "That piece of metal's in there pretty good. This might take a while. The magnet didn't work, either."

Bill looked over the bookshelves carefully, but he couldn't tell which books had been handled recently. The titles were largely scientific, mostly to do with the medical field, though there was a shelf of books on mythology and another with popular fiction.

OOC,[b]Bill[/b], if you want to try to help dislodge the obstruction from the lock, please roll Mechanical Repair.

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4142795/]Bill tries the drawer again (Mechanical Repair = 20) (1d100=47)[/url]

Bill knelt down next to Hendricks and half-heartedly jiggled the drawer, without result. With a hand on the desk, he pushed himself up. "Over to you," Bill said as he turned back to the bookcase. He studied the books on mythology, looking for any reference to Morpheus, the god of dreams.

Hendricks continued fiddling with the lock. He checked his watch. "I hope I can get this thing fixed before someone comes home," he said. "It's already past five." He kept trying while Bill perused the books.

OOC,[b]Bill[/b], please roll Library Use.

Bill swore. "This is hopeless!" he grumbled, "it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. This guy needs a catalogue!"

OOC,I've not checked against my stats but something tells me this is a fail: [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152560/]Bill searches for a book. (1d100=96)[/url] PS. How heavy is the desk?

Bill spent the better part of an hour leafing through the mythology books, but he didn't find any references to Morpheus. Meanwhile, Jim tried and tried again to repair the lock, without success. It was now past six.

"Maybe we should just force the lock and be done with it," said Jim.

OOC,The desk is pretty heavy, but the two of you together could most likely move it.

"Do you reckon if we tip the desk we could shake the piece free?" asked Bill, studying the desk, "I can't really think of anything else that's going to get it outa there."

"I doubt it," said Jim. "It's jammed in pretty good. Besides, if we tip the desk, everything on top of it will slide off. We could memorize where it all goes, take it off, and put it back later, but it probably wouldn't be exactly right. The whole point of getting that bit of metal out is to make sure he never knows we were here."

"Got any gum?" asked Bill, "Put some of that in the lock and we might be able to snag that missing piece. If not, I'm all outa ideas."

OOC,Apols for the lack of posts. Got caught up in holidays and other stuff :(

"Gum?" said Jim, frowning. "That would just jam up the lock even worse. Well, I'll keep trying." He tinkered for another half hour. "I think I'm getting closer. If I keep at this, I think I'll get it eventually, but I don't know how much time we've got before someone comes home. Do I keep at it, Sarge, or should we just pry open the damn thing?"

"I thought that a touch of gum on the end of a screwdriver might have done it but you're the expert," said Bill. He glanced at his watch. "I've no idea what time Professor Anderson will be back," Bill said to Hendricks, "But if you think you're nearly there, let's give it a few more minutes".

"It might take longer than that," said Jim. "I've been at it for well over an hour now. A screwdriver with gum on the end might have worked, but this lock is too damn small. The hole's just a tiny slit for the key, and a screwdriver wouldn't fit."

OOC,It will take about another half hour before [b]Jim[/b] gets to make another roll.

"Ok, stick at it," said Bill. "I'm going to talk to the LT."

He went in search of Yeager, quickly checking through the house until he found him. "Hendricks is trying to the desk open but all we've done so far is get something stuck in the lock," Bill explained. "You think we should just bust it open? He reckons it could be another half hour or more before he can get it open and we don't know when the wife will return."

Bill found John Yeager out behind the house, where he was standing watch.

"Well, I doubt she'll stay out all night, even though her husband will be away," he said. "With the lock messed up, there'll be no way to disguise the fact that someone's been here messing with it once someone tries to open the drawer. That probably won't be until morning and might not even be for days. Forcing the drawer would be more obvious, but there's still the chance it won't be noticed for a while. If Hendricks can't fix the damage in time, there's nothing to lose by jimmying it open and taking a look at whatever he's so eager to hide. Problem is, we don't know how long we have." He shrugged. "I'll leave it up to you."

Bill made his way back to Hendricks. "The LT says he's know idea how long we've got. I reckon you give it another fifteen minutes and if we haven't got it open by then, we jimmy it open and worry about the consequences later".

Hendricks kept working at it for another fifteen minutes, but he remained unable to repair the lock. "I know I'm close to getting this, Sarge," he said, "but I can't say for certain how much longer it would take. Do you want to force it now, or give it a little longer?"

OOC,If you force open the drawer, there's no need to roll anything. The two of you are easily strong enough to manage it.

Peering under the desk, Bill could see that the base of each of the bottom drawers, including the one that was locked, wasn't too sturdy. They could easily break their way into the locked drawer from beneath without the damage being immediately apparent.

Bill swore. "We've been going about this the wrong way!" he said, the exasperation clear in his voice. He tapped the underside of the desk and looked at Hendricks. "Can you pry this off so we can get at the desk contents and then we'll try and fix it back on again so it doesn't look like we've been?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" said Hendricks. He slid headfirst under the desk and pried loose the bottom of the locked drawer. Something fell out of it onto his chest. He pulled himself back out and showed it to Bill: it was a large, odd-looking electronic device:



"What do you make of this, Sarge?" he asked.

OOC,[b]Bill[/b], please roll Idea.

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4221624/]It's a head-scratcher - Bill studios the gizmo! (1d100=52)[/url] Success - Bill's idea roll = 60.

Bill took the gizmo from Hendricks and studied it carefully, looking for clues as to what its function might be.

Bill examined the device and saw that it seemed designed to interface with a telephone, such as the one on the desk. It looked like something he had seen once on Mission: Impossible or The Man from U.N.C.L.E., or some 1960s spy show. It might have been a scrambler, used to have a secure telephone conversation with someone on the other end using a similar device.

Bill picked up the phone receiver and tried it for size with the device. "It's a scrambler," he said to Hendricks, turning the item over in his hands, looking for any identifying marks or numbers.

"Is there anything else in the drawer? Paperwork, perhaps?"

The device was a perfect fit. It had a serial number on it, but there were no identifying logos or names on it to indicate who had manufactured it.

"I don't see anything else," said Hendricks. "Wait a minute...this isn't tall enough to be the entire drawer." He laughed. "It's got a false bottom! By getting in from underneath, we found what he was hiding."

"Great stuff," said Bill, clapping Hendricks on the shoulder, "Let's see what he was so keen to hide."

"The scrambler was underneath the false bottom," said Hendricks, "so I think he wanted to hide that the most. But whatever's above it might be important too." He slid out the false bottom, and a pistol and box of bullets fell onto him. The pistol was in a holster that looked designed to clip onto a belt. "Ah-hah. It's an M1911A1, .45 automatic. Standard issue, looks like."

Bill whistled slowly and took the holstered weapon from Hendricks. He drew the automatic and turned it over, checking it for markings. That done, he placed the gun on the desk and checked the holster, again looking for any markings that might identify where it came from.

"Any paperwork in there?" he asked Hendricks as he made his inspection.

Bill found a serial number on the weapon, as well as markings indicating it had been manufactured at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts. Other than that, it seemed standard. The holster, which was sleek and made of black leather, had markings to indicate it was also made in Springfield. The clip was positioned so that the holster could be clipped to the inside of a belt, thus allowing it to be easily concealed underneath clothing.

"No, no papers," said Hendricks. "There's nothing else in that drawer."

Bill made a note of the serial number in his notebook then handed the gun and holster back to Hendricks. "Better get that back where it came from," he said.

OOC,Were there other locked drawers in the desk?

"Yeah," said Hendricks, taking the pistol and holster back and placing them back in the drawer above the false bottom, which he slid into place. "What about the scrambler, Sarge?"

OOC,No, that was the only locked drawer.

"I'm not sure," replied Bill, "I don't know what we can find out from it..." He looked at Hendricks, "Anyone down the station like messing around with electronics?"

"Yeah, I do," said Hendricks. "My partner, Gus Stoker, is pretty good with electronics. Hey, I bet I know what you're thinking, Sarge. You want to put a little listening device in this thing. Then, when Anderson hooks it up and has his super secret conversations with whoever's on the other end, we'll be able to hear and record everything they're saying! Not exactly legal without a wiretap warrant, but I won't tell if you don't."

"Just what I had in mind, though we'll need to get back in here later to get this back in the drawer," said Bill. "You finish up here and I'll go talk to Yeager."

Bill went off to find the Lieutenant. "Hey LT," he said when he caught up with him, "Hendricks got the bottom off the desk drawers and we found this." Bill gave him the device and continued with his explanation, "It's a scrambler - probably military or CIA issue - so Prof. Anderson can make his secret calls. There's an automatic and some ammo in there as well."

"Hendricks reckons Gus Stoker is good with electronics so I'll run us both done there when he's got the desk sorted and we'll see if Gus can't get a signal from this thing when the Prof makes a call. Anything you want me to pick up from the station while we're down there?"

"I'll try to repair the bottom of the drawer," said Hendricks as Bill left, setting to work, but his progress was slow.

"We'll just need a microphone so we can plant a wire inside the scrambler," said Yeager. "Stoker should be able to handle that. If we can get that done tonight, we can try slipping back inside the house. We know Anderson won't be back until morning. Wifey will probably come back at some point, but we can go back in when she's asleep. Then maybe Hendricks can fix that damn lock. If we can set everything back the way it was before we got in, the prof should be none the wiser. If he figures out we've been messing with that drawer, this might not work."

The sound of a car horn came from the front of the house.

"Think that's our cue to leave," said Bill, looking out the window. "Secure the bottom of the drawer and let's get out of here!" He took the scrambler headed off to find Yeager.

OOC,Oops... :oops:

"What was that?" said Bill to Yeager. "Have you got someone acting as lookout?"

"Yeah, that must be O'Hara out front," said Yeager, "letting us know the wife's coming home. Wait here, I'll go get Hnedricks." He hurried back inside. Before long, both of them returned, and Hendricks closed the back door behind him.

"I couldn't fix the drawer in time," said Hendricks. "I tried to hide the damage, but it was a rush job. We'll just have to hope she doesn't go in there or at least doesn't notice it, then come back tonight and fix it up."

"No sweat," said Bill, "You gave it your best shot." He lead the way down the side of the house, looking out for Mrs. Anderson's car.

OOC,How close is the wife's car? Is there time to get to our car before she gets there or are we scooting down the side of the house as she makes her way her way in through the front door? :|

The three of them made their way along the side of the house towards the front. As they neared the corner, they were able to see that a car that wasn't there before, a blue Ford sedan, was now parked in front of the house, and O'Hara's car was gone. They heard the front door of the house opening and closing, so presumably Mrs. Anderson had gone back inside. Sure enough, nobody was out in front of the house. Shortly afterwards, O'Hara drove down the street and parked next to the Mustang, where they all met him.

"I had to pull out and circle the block when I saw her coming," he explained. "Had to be moving so it looked like I had a good reason to toot my horn."

Yeager nodded. "You keep an eye on the house while we're gone," he said. "Hendricks, you'll come back to HQ with me and Sgt. Johns, and we'll give Stoker a call."

"Right, boss," said Hendricks.

"Let's go," said Bill, heading for the car. "Presumably Anderson will be coming home at some stage to report to his backers so the sooner we get the bug planted, the better!"

Police Headquarters, Franklin Square - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7:30 PM - Friday, July 18, 1969

Yeager, Bill, and Hendricks returned to HQ in the Mustang, where Hendricks called Gus Stoker at home and asked him to come in. "He'll be here in half an hour, with his tools," said Hendricks after he got off the phone.

Back at the station, Bill found his thoughts returning to Mary. "Any news from the sleep trials?" he asked, sat on the edge of his desk, his leg swinging nervously.

"They won't start for another half hour," said Yeager, "but Harry should be on his way over there now. I've given him instructions to report in tomorrow morning as soon as they're done for the night."

"Ok," replied Bill shortly. "You don't think we're taking too much of a risk letting the experiment go ahead?" he said.

"I don't see what choice we've got," said Yeager. "Professor Anderson isn't some punk we can toss around - that's his son, if we can find him again. We have to tread carefully around him, especially if he has the connections we think he does, until we get the proof to put him away. Then we can toss him around! Anyway, the first round of experiments went all right, and we've got Harry on the inside keeping an eye on things. He even took the stuff once already, and he's no worse for the wear."

"If he's got those connections, we may not be able to put him away," said Bill. "I've read how those things work. Slush funds, black budgets, those sorta things. It's going on and most people aren't even aware of it..." He caught himself, forgetting again he was a man out of time, mentally reviewing his comments to see if he'd said anything that wasn't common knowledge.

"If that's the case, he'll just have to get shot resisting arrest," said Yeager. "Few people have any loyalty to a dead man."

Bill shook his head, wondering what his future libertarian self would have made of the conversation had he not lived through the last 48 hours. It reminded him of the books he'd read by James Ellroy, with crooked cops and the CIA and FBI trampling their rule of engagement underfoot.

"So, what's next?" he asked. "Once we get the bug in place is their anything else we can do or have we just got to sit and wait?"

"Well," said Yeager, "we can keep looking for Brian, and those two guys we rousted outside the prof's house the other night. Other than that, once we get the bug in place you'll be on your own time. It's the weekend, so enjoy it. I can let you know if anything turns up."

OOC,Is there anything else you'd like to do or say before [b]Gus Stoker[/b] shows up with the tools?

While they waited, Yeager requisitioned a listening device - and some dinner for everyone, Chinese takeout food. At around 8:00 PM, Gus Stoker showed up, carrying a toolbox. "What have you got, Lou?"

"This," said Yeager, placing the scrambler on the desk.

Gus whistled. "Is that a scrambler?"

"Right the first time. We need you to open it up, plant a bug inside it, and put it back together. The device has to remain functional so we can listen in on the suspect's secure conversations, and we can't leave any visible evidence of tampering."

"Leave it to me." Gus set to work as he chowed down on Lo Mein. It took him a while, but he managed to plant the bug as required. They tested it to make sure it worked, and they were able to listen in on the microphone inside the scrambler. By this time it was 10:00.

"Well done, Stoker! Now we've just got to put this back without leaving anyone the wiser - and fix that damn drawer!"

"You got everything you need to fix the drawer?" Bill asked Hendricks, kicking himself for not thinking to ask sooner while they were waiting for Gus Stoker.

"I do," said Gus Stoker, patting his toolbox. "I know how to use 'em too. I should be able to help with that drawer."

"All right," said Yeager. "Once the wife goes to sleep, we'll have to sneak in there. The back door should still be unlocked. We'll need to repair both the bottom of the drawer and the lock, and make it look like nothing ever happened to them, before she wakes up - so we'll have to be quiet about it. Everyone ready?"

"I guess so," replied Bill, feeling really apprehensive about returning to the Professor's house in the middle of the night, particularly given that Mrs. Anderson would be there. He wanted to ask if all of this was legal but was pretty sure that the answer would be 'no'! He tried to rationalise it that whatever he was doing would get him home but it didn't make him feel any more comfortable about the situation.

The four of them left the building and got in the Mustang, and Yeager drove back to the house through the darkened streets.

Dr. Gregory Anderson's Home - Pine Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
10:30 PM - Friday, July 18th, 1969

Yeager pulled up next to O'Hara's car, where he remained watching the house. There were no lights on within. O'Hara got out and came over.

"Anything interesting happen?" asked Yeager.

"Nah, Lou," said O'Hara. "The last light to go out was in one of the front upstairs windows, probably the master bedroom. That was about an hour ago. She's probably asleep by now."

"Ok, let's get it over with," said Bill as he climbed out of the car. Joining Hendricks he said, "You get the device back in the drawer and fix the bottom of the desk and I'll keep lookout. If anyone turns up, we tell them we had reports of a prowler and we found the door open. If you just carry what you need, we should be able to get in and out without causing a fuss."

"Yeah, good idea," said Hendricks.

"I'm going inside too," said Gus Stoker, hefting the toolbox and the scrambler. "I'm the best suited to fix the drawer, but I'll need Jim to repair the lock. Good thing we left the back door unlocked. We'll just have to lock it after we leave."

"O'Hara, keep an eye on the front of the house," said Yeager. "Sergeant Johns and I will stay outside the back door in case we're needed."

The chubby detecive nodded, and the other four men circled around to the rear of the building. Hendricks and Stoker disappeared inside, creeping through the house.

Yeager and Bill waited for about half an hour, and the time passed uneventfully so far.

Bill stayed in the shadows by the back door. He was acutely uncomfortable with the whole set-up and he just wanted the job over and done with. His mind kept wandering the Mary, wondering how she was getting on with the experiment.

Another half hour passed before Jim and Gus emerged from the back door with the toolbox, locking it behind them. "All set, boss," whispered Gus. "It was a piece of cake for me to fix the bottom of the drawer good as new with the scrambler inside the secret compartment, and Hendricks fixed the lock. They'll be none the wiser."

"Nice work," said Yeager quietly, squinting at his watch in the gloom. "Half past eleven already. Well, the weekend's here. Not too late to get some drinks to celebrate. First let's let O'Hara know the good news. He can continue stakeout duty until he's relieved at midnight."

Bill felt tired. He'd had a rough night the night before and a long day but he wasn't ready to give up yet. Stifling a yawn, he asked, "Where are we going? I reckon I could manage one before I fall asleep."

"There's a cop bar in South Philly called McCord's," said Yeager. "We hang out there all the time. You'll like the place. First round's on me. Let me just call into HQ first." He got behind the wheel of the Mustang. Bill rode in the shotgun seat, and Hendricks and Stoker climbed into the back seat. Yeager got on the radio and called in to headquarters. "It's Yeager. We're done out here. You can send the van with the recording gear over to relieve O'Hara. We're going 10-10 now."

"10-4, Lieutenant," came the reply.

Yeager pulled out and started heading south.

Bill relaxed into his seat. Hanging around the house had been tense and the space between his shoulders ached.

"What's the plan for tomorrow, LT?" he asked Yeager, "Debrief those who were at the experiment tonight and then listen in on Professor Anderson and see what he says to his paymasters?"

"You got it," said Yeager. "We'll also see if we can track down Brian, pick up his trail again. We know he's supposed to meet those mob guys from New York on the riverfront Saturday night, but we don't know exactly where. We'll have extra patrols around the piers, but that's no guarantee we'll find them. Tomorrow and Sunday are your days off. You don't have to come in, but I'd appreciate your help - and it's a good chance to earn some overtime pay."

Bill yawned but nodded. "Yeah, I've not made any plans so count me in. As long as you don't want me in too early in the morning." Working the extra hours would be tiring but the sooner he sorted out whatever it was that had caused Brian to come after him, the sooner he could get home.

"Do we know anything about the gang members that Brian's meeting on Saturday?" he asked Yeager.

"Just what the NYPD told us when you called them on Wednesday," said Yeager.

OOC,Please see [url=http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/pbp/viewtopic.php?p=83881#p83881]the section starting with this post[/url] and [url=http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/pbp/viewtopic.php?p=84686#p84686]the posts from this point onwards where you called New York[/url] (it continues onto the next page).

"Yeah, yeah," said Bill, rubbing the back of his neck where he could feel a headache coming on, "I definitely need to catch up only sleep!"

OOC,Gosh, has it been four years since we did that part of the investigation....? :o

Yeager drove into South Philly and parked near a bar with a neon sign that said "McCord's," where he parked the Mustang and led the way inside. The bar seemed like a bit of a dive, but it looked clean, at least in the dim lighting. The bartender, a bald man in his late fifties, stood behind the counter wiping it with a rag. There were about a dozen patrons seated at the bar and at a couple of tables, all of them men and a few of them in police uniforms. A clock on the wall indicated that it was nearly midnight. There was a pool table, which nobody was currently using, as well as a dartboard. A jukebox stood against one wall, but it wasn't playing anything at the moment.

"Hey, John!" called the barman when Yeager entered. He nodded to the other two men with him and Bill. "Gus, Jim. Who's the new guy?"

"This is Bill Johns, my new sergeant," said Yeager. "Bill, this is Henry. He makes a mean Manhattan."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Henry said to Bill. "First drink's on the house. What'll you have?"

"Hi Henry," said Bill, taking a seat at the bar. "Nice to make your acquaintance. I'll have a beer, thanks."

He looked around the bar, scoping the place out.

"One beer coming up," said Henry. He took an empty mug and held it under a tap at a 45 degree angle, then filled it. Once it was full, he was easily able to pour off the head because of the angle and then topped it off from the tap before sliding it across the bar to Bill.

Some of the patrons of the bar had been looking at Bill initially, but after a minute they had gone back to their business. Two of the guys went over to the billiards table, and one of them began to rack the balls.

Bill took a drink of his beer. "You come up against the Mob before?" He asked Yeager. "Any idea what to expect? I hear some of them can be real dangerous guys to go up against."

"No, never been up against the mob before," said Yeager. "There's usually an arrangement where we stay out of each other's way. But these guys are out-of-towners, which makes them fair game. And, yeah, they can be real dangerous...but so can I." His mouth widened in a fierce grin.

"So are we going well armed?" asked Bill. "You don't want to turn up with a knife to a gun fight." He looked at Yeager, realising that the Lieutenant wouldn't have heard that quoted before. "It's a line from 'The Untouchables'...''

"I used to watch that show all the time," said Yeager. "Shame it's not on any more. I can't remember what episode that line is from. But, yeah, shotguns all around, definitely. Of course, first we have to find out which pier the boat's landing at, and we'll have to find that out from Brian once we track him down."