Play@YSDC

The office of Luz Records is in a small street relatively far from city center. As you drive through you can see on the right side four similar buildings: two-storey stucco buildings with wrought-iron railings and colorful decorative tile work surrounding Spanish arches and small windows. One of them hosts the Luz Records, and it's an easy task to spot a sign with the name on the second floor of one of the buildings. It seems Luz Records occupy the whole second floor of the building, where windows are barred to make trespassing harder. At a quick glance, you don't notice any sign of activity from the inside.

Access to the second storey is via an outdoor stairwell, rather like a motel, except only two doors access the whole of the second storey’s indoor offices.The area looks relatively sleepy even at this hour, with few peoples moving around. You guess the buildings on your right are all offices or similar, while on the left there are just a few shops: a mechanic's shop, a taqueria and a shoe-repair.

"How do you want to play this?" Holly asks Christopher. "We could pretend to be potential investors. That's probably the best way to get them to give us information. The only thing we know about them is that Felipe investigated them and found that they weren't doing anything, at least not any more. We could ask if anyone else has shown any interest to see if Felipe used a similar ploy."

Christopher Fontana

Christopher considers Holly's idea, "I suppose we could pose as investors but wouldn't it be unusual for investors to turn up unannounced?" Christopher can't help but feel that they don't need to over-think or over-complicate things. "Can you sing?" he asks with a smile.. "Let's see if we can 'bluff' wanting to make a record. Posing as potential customers might have a more believable ring to it, no?"

Christopher looks about scanning the street and the people, remembering that their adversaries has been one step ahead of them in LA.

OOC,what are the options for a 'sense trouble' spend?

"Why, yes, I can," says Holly. "I think you're right, that's the way to go. I'll be an aspiring singer, and you'll be my manager."

OOC,I do have a point of Art. Sense Trouble roll (no points spent): [dice]0[/dice]

Christopher Fontana

"That's exactly what I had in mind!" Christopher says smiling, "Now, let's go get you a record deal.." he finishes, offering Holly his arm before crossing the street.

"Yes, let's make me a star," says Holly with a grin, taking his arm.

You boldly walk upstairs to the door with the writing "Luz Records" on it, smiling and flamboyant. You cast a quick glance inside from the windows, as you pass, and are quite surprised to look into an empty office. After knocking, your suspicions are confirmed: there's no one working inside.

"Could they be having a siesta?" wonders Holly. "Or maybe they're just closed today. Or they could be closed for good. Do you want to try to get in and take a look around?"

Christopher has a friendly chat with Miguel, the waiter from the taco joint in front of the Luz Records building. Born in Madrid, he has traveled to North America before moving to Mexico and settling here. He speaks a decent English, and tells you: "I'm sorry amigo, no one has been around the office since about ten days ago. They used to yell and play music until all hours. It was nice, except for the occasional headache", he laughs.

You head back to the hotel, where you discover that the others have not returned yet. This makes you feel a little worried, but then again, they know what they're doing, and even in the worst scenario, Cam and Clarence should know how to handle a fight. Also, there is no news from Boston, so you decide to just spend a couple of hours walking around the city, taking in the lively atmosphere and the most interesting views, from the impressive cathedrals to the weird Templo Mayor. For academics like you, there's much to love in this old city, and for a moment you almost feel like you're on holiday and not as someone who's about to go breaking and entering.

But time flies and soon you're back in the little street where Luz Records is. The offices are now empty, and shops are closing up. Most likely, it will be desert around here in less than an hour.

"I have surgical gloves for both of us," says Holly, "but how are we to get inside? I know I can't pick the lock. If you can't, maybe we're better off going back to the hotel and seeing if the others are back yet. If they're not, that's worrisome in its own right. If we force the door, it'll be obvious that there's been a break-in, and Miguel might remember the gringo asking him questions about Luz Records earlier."

Overlord87 wrote:

OOC:   Yeah, I actually forgot only Mr. Handy had spent his "experience" points. Ok, fine for this time, although you should have chosen them earlier. I'll update your sheet.

OOC:   I appreciate that, thanks.

Christopher checks the lock and get to work, still surprised at how quickly Cam managed to teach him the basics of lockpicking. He had always thought being a thief was hard, but then again, in that case, there wouldn't be so many criminals around. The lock looks like an old, sturdy one though, and it seems hard to open it without leaving a trace of the work.
Meanwhile, Holly looks left and right along the street, trying to spot anyone that might see them.

Christopher,You might make a 1-point spend to leave the lock with no evidence of tampering.

Holly,Roll Sense Trouble.

Holly looks around alertly while Christopher is busy with the lock.

OOC,Sense Trouble roll (3 points spent) outside Luz Records: [dice]0[/dice]

Christopher Fontana

"Ahh yes.. I think I can get us through the door .." Christopher says quietly and with more confidence than he felt, Cam had only given him, what seemed, a brief primer into 'lock-picking' and this was Christopher's first real try at putting the lesson into practise. Taking two thin strips of metal he starts .. "Cam said it was all about setting the tension... making sure the pins would bind ..." he gives one of the small tools a slight twist and slips the other tool, thin and hooked at the end, into the lock and pushes it back and forth a few times.

Nothing seems to happen for a little while.. "Whoops... I need to turn it the other way..." Christopher realises that he's applying pressure in the wrong direction, his cheeks colour slightly at his 'gaff'.

Christopher tries again.. slowly, anxious not to make another mistake.. then the resistance is gone and the lock turns.. "There we are..." he says, trying to keep the relief out of his voice. "OK.. it's open.."

OOC:   I'll take the 1 point spend (as hesitancy) not to leave any marks or scratches on the lock.

"Nicely done," says Holly with a smile. She makes sure the coast is clear before they head inside, and that they're both wearing gloves.

Holly doesn't notice anything suspicious, and once sure that no one has seen them, she leads the way inside the office. It's a single large room, with wood-and-glass separator walls dividing the space into four separated offices. It seems like the place was cleared out: the filing cabinets stand open and empty, and a safe in the back office is ajar and clean. Desk drawers are open and empty save for stray staples. You notice a few stray papers and abandoned catalogs on the desks, and a full garbage can.

"I think we're most likely to find something in the trash can," says Holly. "Looks like they didn't bother to look through it when they cleared out, so it's our turn. Now I'm doubly glad I'm wearing gloves." She begins to search through the garbage.

Christopher Fontana

"I'll collect all these other papers... let's take everything with us, we don't want to hang around here any longer than we have to." Christopher says as he starts to gather up the stray papers that were left behind by the previous occupants.

OOC,We're really exposed here, we ideally wanted another person as lookout. So I think it's best to 'hoover' everything remotely of interest and sift through it back at the car (to see if there's anything of immediate interest) and keep all the pertinent pieces to show the others later on.

You pick up anything even remotely interesting inside the office and run to your car, then you drive for a few minutes before stopping to check what you've found. First of all, you discover one small album, containing one record with a simple label: "De la Luz, test number 12". It's a standard record of the period, with each side containing two or three minutes of music. Additionally, among the paper you found over the desk, there are programs for several four-, five- and six-records productions. Clearly Luz Records had ambitious production plans.

Sifting through the garbage, Christopher discovers a wadded up invoice, half-wrapped in greasy paper streaked with some kind of repulsive red sauce. The invoice, in Spanish, reports the names of Jonathan Brooks and Leticia de la Luz, and it appears to regards the use of Estudio del Mañana, in 1220 Morelos Avenue.

"That could be where they moved after they closed up shop," says Holly. "We'll need to get that translated once our trusted guide arrives. I'd also be interested in hearing the album. In the meantime, let's get back to the hotel and see if the others are there."

You get back to the hotel around 8 PM, and discover that your friends have not returned yet.

"Okay, now I'm really getting worried," says Holly. "We'd better head over to the Victoria Hotel and find out what happened to them."

As you head out, you meet with the other three, just returning to the hotel.

OOC:   Continues here: viewtopic.php?f=352&t=6176&p=201698#p201698