IC-Chapter 1-Never Get Old(Rawlings/Yeager/Bill Johns/Jim)

[Mr. Handy]

"Braithwaite did seem shady to me," said Yeager. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's in this. I wouldn't know where to find him, but as a foreign national, he would have had to give an address where he's staying. You might want to check with immigration and customs. Professor Anderson would no doubt do anything to protect his son, but I don't think Brian would go running to daddy unless he's desperate; the two of them aren't exactly getting along. At any rate, we can't actually arrest Brian Anderson unless he tries to skip out on his bail or commits another crime, but I'd damn well like to know where he is and what he's doing. Hendricks can do fine keeping an eye on the girls by himself until end of watch when he's relieved. If you want to follow up on one or more of your leads, feel free to do it."

[Philulhu]

Bill confirmed that he'd do that and hung up. He picked up the receiver again and and dialled zero for an operator. He asked to be put through to Immigration and Customs and he stood idly looking around the lobby until someone picked up the phone. "This is Detective Sergeant Bill Johns, Philly PD," he said to the voice on the other end, "I need to find an English national called Bernard Braithwaite - presumably residing in the Philadelphia area. Have you got an address of where he's staying?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Hold on, please," said the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent at the airport to whom Bill was connected. "I'll go pull his file." He was on hold for a few minutes. In his own time, the information could have been pulled up in seconds on a computer, but in these days people had to do things the old-fashioned way, presumably using a filing cabinet. "Yeah, I got the information here, Sergeant. Bernard Braithwaite, age 26, from Manchester, England. He's been in the States for five years now. Previous address was in San Francisco, currently residing in Philadelphia at 3701 Spruce Street. Says here he's a musician and independent filmmaker who owns something called Mindstorm Entertainment."

[Philulhu]

"That's him," said Bill, jotting down the details in his notebook, "Thanks for your help." He hung up and studied the address, trying to work out how far it was from the dorm.

OOC,Is it walking distance or further afield?

[Mr. Handy]

The address at 37th and Spruce was nearby in University City, only a few blocks away. It made sense, as Bernard had been using one of the libraries on campus. Bill could probably walk there in five or ten minutes.

[Philulhu]

Bill walked back up to the girl's dorm to have a quiet conflab with Jim. He apologised to the girls saying he had a lead to follow up and assured them that Jim would look after them until he got back.

Bill made his way down the street to University City, found the address and knocked on the door.

[Mr. Handy]

3701 Spruce Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7:00 PM - Thursday, July 17, 1969

Bill arrived at the building on the corner of 37th and Spruce Streets, a small studio with a white plaque on the door that read "Mindstorm Entertainment." He knocked on the door and waited, but there was no answer.

[Philulhu]

Bill glanced at his watch and sighed. He shouldn't really have expected anyone to be here at 7pm.

He looked up and down the street to see if he was being observed and then tried the handle to see if the door was locked.

[Mr. Handy]

There were a few people walking around in the area, as the weather was nice and it was still light out at the height of summer. However, nobody was particularly looking at Bill as he tried the door. It was indeed locked.

[Philulhu]

With the handle still depressed, Bill casually pushed the door, checking to see if there was any give between the lock and the jamb. That done, he went for a look around the building to see if there was a back way in.

[Mr. Handy]

The door was fairly sturdy. A man of his strength might be able to force it open, but he would surely be seen by passersby while it was light. He went around to the alley behind the studio and found a back door there. It was locked too, but it wasn't as strong as the front door. Even better, there was nobody else around.

OOC,If you want to force the door open, you will need to make a STR vs. STR roll on the Resistance Table. Your STR is 14, and the door has a STR of 12. This gives you a 60% chance.

[Philulhu]

Bill leaned against the door and placed his ear carefully against the surface to see if he could hear anything before he tried to force it.

OOC,I made the roll (Bill's listen skill is 25) but I don't know if you're applying modifiers: [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3466719/]Bill's listening at the door. (1d100=14)[/url]

[Mr. Handy]

Bill listened at the door, but everything was quiet inside.

[Philulhu]

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3472170/]Bill tries to pop the door. (1d100=17)[/url]

Bill put his shoulder against the door and heaved, giving it just enough to pop the door without flying into the room behind.

[Mr. Handy]

The door gave way to Bill's strength, and it opened up as if it had merely been stuck. Behind the door was a hallway that immediately led around a corner to the right. It continued for the length of the building, with a few doors in the left wall of the hall. At the end of the hall, it turned around a corner to the left, leading towards the front of the building.

[Philulhu]

Bill closed the external door quietly behind him and walked carefully down the hall. He stopped at the first door, listened for noise then pushed it open.

OOC,[i]If there's noise from within, [b]Bill[/b] will listen further to see if he can determine what's being said and/or the source of the noise.[/i]

[Mr. Handy]

Bill heard nothing and tried the first door. It opened to reveal a storage room. A rack contained multiple film canisters, and there was various video equipment.

OOC,[b]Bill[/b], please roll Photography to see what you know about the equipment.

[Philulhu]

Bill studied the video equipment but electronic stuff was never his forte so he restricted himself to pushing buttons more in hope than expectation.

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3493012/]Bill takes a picture... (1d100=64)[/url] Nope... :(

[Mr. Handy]

Bill had no idea how to use the video equipment because it was too primitive. In his time, digital cameras were so easy to use that anyone could pick one up and start shooting, though there was no guarantee that the footage would be any good. The traditional cameras stored in this room took film, either 8mm or 16mm. The equipment looked relatively inexpensive, like something an amateur might use.

[Philulhu]

Bill shook his head and left the room, moving quietly down the corridor to the next door, listening to see if he could hear anything from the other side.

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3510309/]Bill listens at the door (part II). (1d100=45)[/url] Umm, is there a 'Hear noise' skill? :?