In the living room- Murray, Erin, Ali, Lori, and Samir folllowed the others downstairs. "It wasn't a satellite," said Ali as he descended the stairs. "They broadcast the signal directly into space, to the alien spaceships or whatever. They just used the satellite dish to do it. Satellites haven't been working all day."
In the basement-
"I certainly don't," said Erin, her frown deepening. "And I know there's no way either one of those weapons is legal! Tariq, where did you even get them?!"
"I could use the AK-47," said Samir. "I'm a good shot with a rifle."
"I'm not much good with a gun," said Lori. "I'll just stick with my knives."
"Arf!" barked Murray, clearly unable to use a gun.
"Woah, cool!" said Ali, peering around his father at the cache of weapons. In addition to the Uzi and the AK-47, there were boxes of ammo containing 20 full magazines for each as well as nearly a hundred magazines of .32 ACP ammo designed for a handgun, though there was no gun visible to go with them. There was also another box labeled "DANGER" - as if the other contents of the secret compartment weren't dangerous enough.
Tariq al-Tikriti,The box contains the explosives, timers, and detonators. All but one of your .32 magazines are here as you specified - that one magazine is loaded in the Sig. You didn't say where the suppressor for it is, but I'd guess it's with the Sig too. There's a suppressor for the Uzi too, inside a box of ammo.
OOC,Note that when firing the Uzi in single shot mode, you use Handgun skill (base of 20%). Submachine gun skill (base of 15%) is used when firing bursts, though it's easy to get bonuses when doing so by firing extra bullets. The AK-47 uses Rifle skill whether firing a single shot or a burst. I'll post the stats in the weapons section of the Locations and Weapons thread.
"Actually, both of them are. I bought them at gun shows."
OOC-Mr. Handy Only,I am pretty sure about this. At the present (2009), fully automatic weapons are legal in the U.S. Since ZA is set in the nebulous near-future, it is possible that a ban will be enacted, but as of now Tariq could own much worse without a problem. And I really can't imagine he smuggled them with him when he immigrated to the U.S., which gives him a choice between having acquired them via expensive, difficult, and illegal means or cheaper, easier, legal means, and he isn't an idiot.
"The box holds some demolition equipment. I know it says danger, but modern explosives are actually very safe - without the detonators, you could whack the C-4 in there with a hammer, or even light it on fire, and it wouldn't explode, just burn."
OOC,I'm not sure who gets the AK-47. [b]Tariq[/b] will have to specify to whom he's giving it.
Tariq al-Tikriti,Technically, you are correct. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does specify that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The use of the word "arms" means that this extends beyond just firearms; it refers to any weapon in use at the time. In that sense, you'd also have the right to own explosives, a machine gun, a howitzer, or even a tank. However, there are a number of federal, state, and local laws that do infringe on these rights that the courts have allowed to stand. [b]Erin[/b] is a good lawyer, but she knows how the system works too. The suppressors are blatantly illegal under the National Firearms Act of 1934, as are what are classified as "machine guns." This is legally defined as any firearm that can fire more than one bullet per trigger pull (i.e., any fully automatic weapon, even if it has a burst limiter). Both the Uzi and the AK-47 fall under this definition. There are some loopholes (they would have to have been imported into the USA prior to 1968, for starters), but this is a very murky legal area, and the system would not look kindly on an Iraqi who was found to possess these weapons, as [b]Erin[/b] well knows.
OOC,Mr. Handy Only: Funny - I haven't actually researched this (web searching for information on how to acquire illegal weapons might give someone in the government the wrong idea), but I have seen both print and television news articles about the legal sale of automatic assault rifles to licensed U.S. citizens. Are you sure the laws haven't changed in the last few years?
OOC,Sorry I forgot to say who gets the AK-47. I was thinking about it and then I had to get off in a hurry.
"Ali, these are not cool. These are tools for self-defense that I wish I had never needed."
Tariq places the Grease gun on the old wooden table he uses for a basement workbench. It stands out against the cheap tools and other evidence of inexpert fumblings at DIY projects. He follows it with the Uzi, then takes down the AK-47 and loads it.
"You have combat experience, Alvin?" he asks.
OOC,Tariq is now holding the AK-47. He does not intend to give it to anyone yet.
Alvin smiled and said, "I was a recan specialist and a sniper back in Nam from 1965-1969. If you let me use the weapon I can teach others how to use it or any other weapon as well. I have killed my share of men."
Tariq al-Tikriti,I didn't use web searches. All I did was use knowledge I already had combined with looking at pages describing gun control legislation on Wikipedia and following a few links. The laws have changed in the last few years, but they changed to make the sale of automatic weapons easier. The "Assault Weapons Ban" of 1994 not only prohibited AK-47s by name (though knockoffs were developed specifically to bypass the ban), it also for the first time prohibited many varieties of merely semiautomatic weapons. The ban expired in 2004, however, so it is no longer in effect. While the 1934 NFA does ban gun ownership among certain classifications of people (surprisingly, [b]Tariq[/b] would not have been excluded before he became a U.S. citizen, though he would have been had he entered the country illegally) and the 1968 GCA puts more restrictions in place, it is possible to legally purchase fully automatic weapons under certain circumstances. If a weapon was imported prior to 1968, or if it was manufactured domestically before a certain date in 1986, then it falls outside of the various restrictions. Both the AK-47 and Uzi are old enough to have been imported into the country before 1968, and [b]Tariq[/b] could very well have purchased them legally. They would be expensive, but not as costly as they'd be on the street. Many returning veterans brought back captured AK-47s from Vietnam, so there would be some available on the market. I'll have [b]Erin[/b] make a Law roll to see what she knows about the relevant legislation.
"Sorry, Father," said Ali, lowering his head.
"I have killed my share as well," said Samir to Alvin, "as Tariq well knows, and I've done it more recently. Your enemies used the AK-47 against you, but I've used the AK-47 myself in the war against Iran."
Erinthought a little. "I guess it is possible that you could have purchased them legally," she said, "but I'm still upset that you kept them from me. And explosives too! How long have these been down here?"
Handy,I noticed something here. With his age only being 58, either Alvin lied about his age to enlist in Nam or lied about ever serving in Nam as there is no way he would have been able to serve as he was too young, unless the events of this game took place around 2006 which you have said that the game is sometime in the near future. Am I correct in this speculation and if so can I play with it like maybe having him make some mistake some time in talking on the war? But if so then where did he serve as he does have combat experience right?
Alvin Drummond,If you remember, it was 2006 in the real world when the game started, but there's no problem with [b]Alvin[/b]'s age. If the game takes place in 2010, for example, he could still have been born in late 1951. This would make him 18 in 1969, and the U.S. was in Vietnam until early 1973, which is plenty of time and still allows the timeframe to be moved further out. [b]Alvin[/b] could simply have gotten the years during which he served wrong. Yes, he does have combat experience.
"I got them after we bought the house, and I knew I would have a safe place to keep them. You have every right to be upset at me for this. If we ever get back to normal."
"I think I too have had more than enough experience with an AK-47, as you well know, Rashad. I'll hold on to my own gun for the moment. I'm afraid I don't have either .357 or.38 rounds, but you can take the Uzi. I have plenty of ammo for that. There is also the Grease gun. I have a handgun I keep upstairs, where I can get at it faster - I'll pick it up when we're done here, which should be soon. If there really is something as strange as living dead occuring, I'm not too sure how long I want to be underground."
After a moment, Tariq produces a large kitchen knife and sets it on the work table.
"I grabbed this when we were almost attacked in the school kitchen. I suppose I won't need it now."
Then he starts taking the ammunition for the AK-47 and the handgun.
Mr. Handy Only,Has Tariq taught Ali how to use anything other than a handgun?
In the basement-
"Looks like we had the same idea," said Erin, showing the knife she had taken from her own kitchen. "This was all I had. That's another reason you should have told me about the guns. If these two guys hadn't been here...well, I guess I probably would have been trapped on the roof all the same, but I could have been killed easily. Why do we even need all of these weapons? Isn't it over, at least locally?"
"Mom, not everyone out there is going to be peaceful," said Ali. "There are desperate people out there, and there isn't going to be enough food and water for everyone for long even after all of the deaths today. Farms aren't going to be producing much food, and there's no easy way to get it to market. We already had some incidents at school, and that was while we were still under siege."
"You'd think people would realize there's been enough killing. Are you all right, Ali?" Erin gave him a hug.
"I'm fine, Mom. I wasn't anywhere near that stuff when it was happening. I was helping the scientists."
Tariq al-Tikriti,[b]Ali[/b] only has points in Handgun, not in other types of firearms. He didn't know about the weapons cache either.
OOC,Once you've taken whatever stuff you want from the basement, you can move back to the ground floor this turn.
"It isn't mine, but on loan from Erica at the high school - and I don't have any ammunition for it. I don't have a problem with you using it until we meet her again."
After Tariq takes the ammunition, he heads upstairs.