Z-Day - 5:05 PM Central Time - Chuck's Auto Body Shop, Omaha, Nebraska In the convenience store- Emily Lubachek frowned as she emptied the can of dog food into Tiny's bowl, thumping the bottom of the upended can to get it to come out. Tiny circled around her legs as she did so, looking up at the food eagerly and licking his lips, enjoying the scent but longing even more for the taste. The electric can opener hadn't worked, and it had taken Emily some time to find an old-fashioned mechanical one.
In the auto body shop-
Next door to the convenience store, Emilio Montoya was in Chuck's auto body shop, in the garage. Chuck's old 1965 Mustang had started up when he had tried the spare key, and it now had a full tank of gas, as well as some jerry cans filled with more gas and some gallon containers of water on the floor next to the back seat, with some old blankets on top of them. Yet the tow truck, which only dated back to the 1990s, had refused to start at all. There was a diesel-powered generator in the shop, but it wasn't working either - it still contained electrical components that had apparently been damaged by the pulse. At the back of the shop, underneath a large black mat and concealed behind a counter, was the trapdoor he had discovered previously. It was still locked, and none of the keys he had would fit it. He was very curious about what might be underneath it, but also wary of Emily discovering he had been inside. The lock was a good one, and he wasn't skilled at picking locks. If he was going to get inside, it didn't look like he could do it in a subtle manner.
OOC,[b]Emilio[/b], roll Know to see if you can figure out why the tow truck didn't start, but the Mustang did. If you want to try to break open the trapdoor, there's a crowbar you can use to pry it open. This will require a STR x 5 roll.
Emilio deduces that the ignition problem, is a mechanical versus electrical issue with the ignition rotor, but he isn´t sure. He puts the thoughts aside and starts to work on the trapdoor. He gets perfect leverage and something in the lock mechanism snaps. Something worth hiding and locking away must be worth bringing along for the ride...
Knowing that Chuck´s mother probably is unaware of her son´s shady business Emilio is intent on keeping her out of the loop till he knows what is what. Better to apologize for improper behaviour than to be foolish enough to ask for permission to act improperly.
Hopefully he would not regret this action.
In the convenience store- Emily opened up the back door and let Tiny out into the scrapyard behind both the convenience store and the auto body shop, following him outside with the dish in her hand.
In the auto body shop-
As Emilio located a crowbar and set to work prying open the trapdoor, he realized why the Mustang had started but the tow truck had not. His knowledge of all things automotive included the fact that all cars from around the 1982 model year onwards had a computer chip installed in their ignitions, and that the car would not start if the chip were not functioning. The electromagnetic pulse would permanently wreck all semiconductors, including those essential chips. No modern car that had been in the pulse's area of effect would start again, and in fact any car that had been running at the instant the EMP had hit might have shut down as well. Only classic cars using older technology, such as the 1965 Mustang, would still operate within range of the EMP device. The tow truck, which Chuck had bought in 1999, would not.
With a loud crack, Emilio forced open the heavy bolt that had been securing the trapdoor from underneath. Now that it was no longer locked, he was easily able to flip it open. A metal ladder led down into darkness. He realized that if there was a light bulb down there, there would no longer be any power for it. Fortunately, he did still have his lighter. He could hear Tiny barking loudly in the scrapyard behind the shop.
Not hesitating Emilio moves down the ladder and lights the zippo when he touches bottom. Tiny´s bark is quite audible but Emilio decides too continue snooping till he uncovers something of use. Then he´d leave the shop and ask Emily and Tiny to come along to the school. No point in staying here should the plague of zombies came in a second wave.
In the scrapyard- Tiny growled at the back door of the adjoining auto body shop and strained at his leash.
"What?" asked Emily. "What is it?" Tiny barked insistently, refusing to let up. "It's just Emilio busy working. Now shut up and eat your dinner."
With a whimper, Tiny did as he was told.
In the secret room- Emilio reached the bottom of the ladder, lit his zippo, and looked around. He found himself in a large underground room, a square about fifty feet on a side. Most of the room was filled with crates resting on pallets, though there was also a desk in one corner.
"Em? I´m down here! Can you come down and help me down here? What is this stuff? Preparing for the bomb, or what?"Emilio tries to remove a lid from one of the boxes.
In the auto body shop- John Lee walked through the shop, tire iron in hand. He looked around and noticed an open trap door when he looked behind the counter. It captured his attention so much that he didn't hear Emily and Tiny enter. The rottweiler barked at him, straining at his leash, and the angry old woman looked about to release it. She leveled her gun at him. "Hold it right there, you little chink thief!" she shouted.
In the secret room- Emilio tried to open one of the crates, but it was nailed shut. He would have to try to pry it open with the crowbar in order to open it. Just then, he heard Emily's shout from inside the store.
In the auto body shop-
"No, no, no, no!" shouted John Lee, raising his hands. "I'm no thief! I came in here looking for people - I heard a noise!"
"Right, and that's why you broke open the trapdoor!" shouted Emily, pulling back the hammer on her revolver.
"It was like that when I got here! That must have been the noise I heard. There must be someone else down there!"
Emilyrelaxed a little and uncocked the hammer. "Emilio! Where the hell are you? You down there?"
In the secret room- Emilio could hear Emily's exchange with the new arrival as he tried to force the crate open. He had loosened it a little, but it was still stubbornly sealed.
OOC,[b]Emilio[/b], if you want to try again, you'll now roll against STR x 6 to pry open that crate.
"Yeah! I´m down here! What´s going on up there? I found this stash.... What´s this stuff? Preparing for the big bomb, or what?""I´m bugging out of this place and need provisions to get by for a while and you´re coming with me, Emmie! Don´t shoot that guy... He will probably be more use to us alive. I´m coming up in a second..."
He puts some muscle behind the crowbar and the lid gives way a bit more. Emilio takes a look at its contents and starts up the ladder.
OOC,[b]Emilio[/b], there wasn't enough time this turn to both open up the crate and climb the ladder, so you're still down there. This turn you can climb up and talk to [b]Emily[/b] and the new arrival.
In the secret room- Emilio barely managed to pry open the crate. Removing the lid, he looked inside and saw dozens of pairs of what were either designer jeans or very good counterfeits. A very strange thing to find in a crate in a secret storeroom beneath an auto body shop, that was for certain.
In the auto body shop-
"You broke open that trapdoor, Emilio?!" called Emily, loud enough for him to hear. "What the hell did you go and do that for?! Get your ass up here! And we're not going anywhere without my son! I don't know who this guy is: some Chinese kid." She looked John over. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm John Lee," he said. "I'm a journalism student. I just came in here looking for other survivors. There's people at the school across the street. I saw a lady on the roof."
"Yeah, I just came from there. My son's there right now."
Montoya leaves the jeans and whatever might be hidden under them. He gets up to the workshop-floor and faces the two up there.
To the man, he says, "Emilio Montoya, I work here. Just behave yourself, will you, and there´ll be no trouble. We could actually need someone to keep a look out. Will you see that no one is coming in from outside. That is someone infected, I mean. I need to speak to Mrs. Lubacheck.""We´re going to get your son, Emily. No worries. We just need to have the right stuff with us. What´s down there? Jeans? And what else?"
In the auto body shop-
"I'm John Lee," said the young man with Chinese features. "I don't want any trouble. I'll go stand outside. All the infected just fell over earlier, I don't know why. Do you think they might get back up?" Nervously, he stepped back out the front door.
Once he was outside, Emily turned to Emilio, still frowning. "I don't know what all Chuck keeps down there," she said, "but I do know it was none of your business to go forcing open the trapdoor and poking around without permission. How did you even find it?" She pursed her lips in thought, fingering Tiny's leash. "Chuck will know everything that's in there. Maybe he'll even tell you if you help get him out of that lockup where they've put him on that trumped-up murder charge. That Jamaican kid already tried to kill him - he's clearly not safe in there. Chuck's got some friends around town who might help us if we could round them up, but we don't know if they're even still alive. Plus, by the time we do that, they could have moved Chuck somewhere else. We may need to just go in quick and pull him out. What do you think?"
