Play@YSDC

The morning after, you receive the answer you was waiting for from Mrs. Winston-Rogers, instructing you to contact a man called Huang Yan Liu, at a local clinic with a strange oriental name. You should explain the situation and try to enlist his help. He is described my Mrs. Winston-Rogers as 'trusted'.

Meanwhile, thanks to the conciergie making a quick phone call, you locate the P.O. box 1629 at a downtown post office in central Mexico City, not far from the hotel or the clinic. The Studio del Manana is instead in Coyoàcan, one of the delegaciones of the city whose name translates to "place of the coyote", as the conciergie tells you with a laugh. You should be able to get there in 15-20 minutes, by car.

Huang Yan was discreetly increasing his medical consultation fees by five percent on the price charts before he heard the shuffling of feet at the front door. Quickly, he placed out some incense and thrown on his Hanfu before placing a hand over his carefully crafted beard, which was dyed white and attempted to appear mysterious as he purposefully spoke English with an accent that only be described as 'stereotypically Chinese', “Hallo, hallo. Good day, yeah? You looking for acupuncture? Or some good herbal tea for sores?"

Ian Morin

Ian takes a quick look around before he answers the man. "Good day, sir. Thank you, but no. In fact we came here in the name of Ms. Winston-Rogers, from Boston."

Huang Yan immediately changed his posture and started speaking English with a Bostonian accent and gestured to the back door. "Ah. So you're the guys she said I'm supposed to take care of? Well, then, come to the back area, just in case if there's any eavesdroppers or an hidden dangers. I believe she said it's going a dangerous mission? Please, maake yourself feel at home, and I'll brew some tea in the meantime."

"Thank you," says Holly with a smile, extending her hand in greeting. "I'm Dr. Holly Chastain. This is an interesting place you have here." Some of the medical paraphernalia are familiar to her, but others are exotic and unknown to her.

Huang Yan shook her hand. He could tell that she was a doctor, and flashed a small smile. "Would you like to have a tour of the place, señora?"

"I'd be delighted," says Holly. "And it's señorita."

Huang Yan tripped up slightly, and his smile warmed slightly before responding. “Well, first we have the Acupunture needles here, and it is used to stimulate the pressure points along the meridian to harmonise the inner qi within the body and here we have an extremely accurate chart of where all these pressure points are.” He said with a mysterious drifts tone, as his scammy habits resurface again and he couldnt help trying to make the place sound a bit more exotic. He pointed to a box full of extremely long needles and a chart of an androgynous body with many dots and point along it as he spoke. As soon as he finished, he quickly turned his face away in shame and ducked into the safe cover of the back rooms.

Cameron

"Why don't we get to the post office? We can explain more on the way."

"I'm not very familiar with Eastern medicine," says Holly, "though I have heard good things about acupuncture. While I'm a medical doctor, my true specialty is treating the invisible hurts of the psyche."

"Ahh. An...what is the word, an alienist? Well, I'll have the pleasure of meeting you. Explaining on the way is fine, I suppose. I'll try and keep up." Huang Yan said to the two in front of him and closed his store.

The remaining two members of the group introduce themselves as Christopher Fontana, a parapsychologist, and Clarence Llanalor, a private detective who doesn't seem to talk much. You head to the cars, reaching the post office after about fifteen minutes. It's a cloudy day, and the weather fits perfectly with the gloomy story that has brought the group to Mexico City, on the tracks of a drug-dealing cult. By the time you have told the general story, you already are at your destination.

The post office itself is a big art deco affair - new construction, with shining stone and metal work. There's a large crowd walking in and out of the building, mostly well-dressed in suit-and-tie. It's not hard to track the section of the building where the postal boxes are kept, although the space is guarded by a postal employees that controls all who access.

OOC:   Let's assume the investigators have done a comprehensive summary of the story so far to Huang Yan, although possibly leaving out some details and perhaps Ian's past addiction (I'll leave that to leonardolad and the group to decide).

Cameron

“I’m going to go in and check it out. There may be someone watching the box so I’ll see if I can spot any characters. I also want to see what exits there are. Once we know its clear Huang Yan can ask about the box. How does that sound to everyone?”

Huang Yan nodded and smiled. “Sure. Sounds good to me.”

Cameron gives Huang Yan the handgun he took from Felipe's body.

"Do you know how to use this?" he asks.

Huang Yan peered at the handgun, before replying, “I’d say I do. I would rather appreciate it if I could, ah, ‘borrrow’ this for a time should the need arises, no? Though I’d say I could get some info without having the need to pull out the gun but you never know...”

Cameron

"No, you never know."

He climbs out of the car. "I'll be back soon."

He heads off into the post office.

Huang Yan also heads towards the Post Office.

Cameron turns around.

"No Huang Yan, I'll check it first and see if anyone is watching the box. That was the plan. It's better if no-one sees us together. Please wait in the car."

"It's enough of a problem that people may remember seeing you," says Holly. "It will have to be you, though, as you're the only one of us who speaks Spanish. But yes, let Cam make sure it's clear first."

Huang Yan nodded amicably. "I see your reasoning. However, my Spanish isn't...how do you say it, excepcionalmente bueno. Senõra, I barely get by when it comes to the more complex stuff. I've only been in Mexico for three years."

Ian Morin

Ian lights a cigarette and looks around, searching for any suspicious movements around the car and the post office. He's been quite lately, probably due to his "episodes", but he's trying to catch up. "Well, Mr. Yan, it surely sounds excepcionalmente bueno to me." He says with a smile.

Cam heads inside the post office and scouts the area.

OOC:   Make a Sense Trouble roll.

As Cameron enters the post office, he scans the room, trying to look like a tourist who is deciding where he needs to go. He pays careful attention to the occupants.

OOC,Okay, He spends 3 points. [url=http://orokos.com/roll/566523]Sense Trouble[/url]: [u]1d6[/u] [b]1[/b]

Cam doesn't notice anything strange. Just a normal post office on a busy working day.

Cameron returns to the car.

"It looks clear. Huang Yan, I'll come back in shortly after you enter and watch your back. Remember the box details and try not to take too long. Grease a few paws if you need to, but you already know how it works don't you? Let's go."

Huang Yan nodded with confidence, and went towards the post office.

OOC:   Do I also need to make a sense trouble check?

Instinctively, Huang Yan had scanned his surroundings in case there's anything suspicious within the Post Office that he would need to watch out for. He walked in with a confident swagger and a sunny smile.

Sense Trouble,[dice]0[/dice] I'll add 1 point from the points pool to the result.

Cameron waits a couple of minutes and then returns inside the post office. Keeping a surreptitious eye on Huang Yan, he picks a postcard from a rack and locates a spot where he can watch the location of the boxes. He begins to feign writing a message.

"¡hola! I'm here to enquire after a P.O. Box under serial code PO1629. I don't suppose any of you mind giving some more information to your paying customer, eh?" Huang Yan said, wriggling his eyebrows with an astounding dexterity as he approached an employee.

The man looks with a bit of surprise at the strange chinese man in front of him as he answers: "Well senõr, we can't really disclose information to just anyone, but of course, paying customers are a different matter", he says with a particular emphasis on the word paying.

Huang Yan gently slid over a stack of banknotes valuing at around $8. He looked at the man with a small smile and said, "Say, would this be enough to compensate your time?"

The man widens his eyes as he sees the money, then quickly makes it disappear inside a pocket. "Box 1629,
you said? Let me check... Yes, it is rented by Mr. Jonathan Brooks of Luz Recording Company. We have a forwarding address here: 33 Morelos Avenue, Coyoacán".

Huang Yan quickly scribbled down the notes, made a tiny nod, and left through the front door.

Cameron swears under his breath, and after a moment,follows Huang Yan outside back to the car.

"...Alright, I think that went well." Huang Yan said.

"Any luck?" asks Holly when they return.

"You didn't check the box. He wouldn't let you?" Cameron asks Huang Yan.

Huang Yan shooked his head and...dodged the question. "I got an address, a name, and a pretty good idea of the things going on. I'd say that went well."

Cameron sighs. "Okay, what's the name and address, and what's going on?'

Huang Yan shrugged, and decided to point out the obvious. “The P.O box was rented by Mr. Jonathan Brooks of Luz Recording Company. They had a forwarding address here: 33 Morelos Avenue, Coyoacán. Which, I assume, probably has something to do with the Luz Recording Company. Just making a guess here, but that may or may not be the case. I think something illegal may be going on.”

Cameron is silent for a while as he regards Huan Yan. “Something illegal?” he finally says. “Did you pay attention at the part about the murderous cult and the drug dealing that we’re investigating?”

He leans closer. “We’re going back in now. You find that guy you talked to, and tell him I’m Jonathan Brooks and I want to look in my box. Then we’re going to look at the contents of the box. Don't take 'no' for an answer. How much money do you have?”

“I have about ‘nother twenty dollars on me. Had a few big clients a while back. Alright. Sure. Let’s do it.” Huang Yan said, shrugging still looking very nonchalant.

Cameron

"Come on then, let's be quick, before anyone else shows up".

He leads the way back into the post office.

Huang Yan doubles back.

The clerk looks surprised and slightly worried when he sees Huang Yan coming back, especially as he's accompanied by the dangerous-looking Cam. Upon hearing their request, he frowns, but doesn't really seem to care much as he says: "Senõr, you can check your box anytime you want", gesturing inside to signal you're free to go.

Cameron goes inside to check the box.

OOC,Does it require a key, Overlord?

Huang Yan shuffles to the back, in a protective position, pretending to be the man's body guard. Eyeing the people here with an exaggerated glare.

Cameron scans for the number of the box. He speaks without turning around.

“Huang Yan, we don’t want people to remember us, so we need to be as discreet as possible. We already stick out ‘cause we’re foreign, and you’re just going to attract more attention if you behave strangely. Please try to think more carefully about what we’re doing here, before you get us all killed”.

Huang Yan looked lazily at Cameron, but reluctantly slunk into the background and did advice he was told.

It's not hard to find the box number 1629, but it's locked. You could probably easily pick it, but with so many people coming and going in this area, it would be risky.

"Damn it. I don't want to risk opening it ourselves" Cameron tells Huang Yan."Tell the man that I forgot my key and I need to get into my box now. Pay him if you need to."

Huang Yan looked at Cameron weirdly, "Hey now, I'm not to spend any more money than I need to. I'll have you know that money's a precious resource.
"

However, he stilled turned towards the man at the counter and gave what he had presumed to be a charming smile. "Mil disculpas, señor. My boss seemed to have forgotten his keys today, this doesn't usually happen. I don't presume you would be so kind as to be willing to assist us in opening it?"

OOC:   I don't suppose I could spend a point in flattery here to get him to open it for us instead?

The employee is clearly getting more and more suspicious: "For sure, senõr, but I'll need to see some ID".

OOC:   Sure. another 1-point reassurance spend it is.

Huang Yan quickly reassures the employee with gentle words and misdirection, discreetly pivoting the conversation elsewhere as he perceived the smidgen of suspicion.

Huang Yan's quick tongue works wonders on the employee, that finally accepts to open up the box for you. "Take your time, Señor", he adds with a smile before leaving.

You quickly search the inside of the box. There are, in fact, three letters inside.

One is a power bill for the Luz Records office in 33 Morelos Avenue.

Then there is a postcard from Mérida, Mexico. It is sent by Dominguéz, dated one week ago. It says: "Departing today for the site. Will write again when back in Mérida".

Finally, there's an unopened letter from Samson Trammel, dated five days ago. "Anticipating another update soon. Where is our product? Where is the new record? Do tell. Hurry. Waiting".

Accounting on the power bill,The office has not been using much electricity in the last few weeks.

Cameron

“Good work Huang Yan” says Cameron. “You saved yourself some money. Try to remember the contents of these, its better if we don’t take anything.”

He fetches some glue to reseal the envelopes of the letters. “With luck, no-one will notice. Alright, return the key to the man and let’s get out of here.”

Huang Yan smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. Remembering the contents of the envelope will be a piece of cake. “I believe it’s time to leave. Who knows, I might even get a few more customers by the end of the day. Did we miss anything else? Any other ‘clues’ to latch onto?”

Cameron

"I don't know. It's interesting that Trammel mentions the new record. Let's see what the others think."

OOC,I'm hoping that they reach the car without incident!

"Sure. Let's go." Huang Yan said, his mind already wandering back to his store. A grin rose.

You return to the car safely.

Back in the car, Cameron relates what they learned to the others.

“It seems that your instincts about that record are right” he says to Holly. “There’s definitely more to it. That makes our visit Estudio del Manana even more vital. I’m sorry to be so cautious all the time, but we’ll need to tread very carefully when we go there, as it’s likely just a front for something else.”

He pauses.

“We’ll have to find out about this Dominguez. Where is Merida? And what is ‘the site’? Lots of questions, and not many answers.”

"Indeed. The streets of Mexico isn't exactly filled with sunshine and rainbows. We will need to be cautious. The worst case scenario is me and Cameron over there gets identified. You guys...I don't know, but we'll need to cover our tracks." Huang Yan said to no one in particular.

Christopher Fontana

Christopher listens as Cam and [Huang Yan[/b] recount what was in the PO Box . "Mérida .. that's the capital of Yucatan, there's a lot of archaeological sites there.. Mayan. So 'site' could very well mean one of those.. but that would be hard to pin-point unless we had more information."

---
"Well, Holly and I have already been poking around Luz Records, we worked up a 'cover story' we can continue with that ... perhaps we had better see what Manana Studio is before we decide , if it is connected to the music industry then we can revive that 'story'." turning to Holly "After all we need to get your dining career under-way.." he winks.

Cameron

“What would they want with a Mayan site?” says Cameron. “Could it be related to their rituals, I wonder? I really don’t know anything about this stuff. But maybe we should get over to the Studios now. I want to find out more about these ‘records’”.

"Of course. Pursuing nearby clues seems to be a logical course of action." Huang Yan said.

"I'm ready to become the next singing sensation," Holly says to Christopher with a grin. "You can take me out of Hollywood, but you can't take Hollywood out of me. When we do head to the Mayan site, I'm your girl there too. I've been studying up on archaeology."

Ian Morin

After a long silence Ian nods in agreement. "I agree. We should go to this studio next."

He lights a cigarette and continues. "Sorry, I was here thinking about the letters we have and looks like something is not working so well between our friend Trammel and his buddy Brooks, right? I mean, first we have Felipe's letter to Roberto, where he says that "Brooks has lost control of things" and "selling is not going well". Also, Roberto had asked Felipe to investigate Luz Records. We get here and Felipe is dead, murdered, with a note in his pocket where he's asked to check if anyone is picking up the mail at the PO Box and, again, asking about Luz Records. At the PO box, which is registered under Brooks' name and Luz Records address, we have a letter from Trammel himself, asking about their product and "the new record", and looking somewhat worried with "Do tell. Hurry. Waiting". We know for a fact that Luz Records is closed so... what's happening? Did Brooks disappeared on Trammel? Maybe he's dead and we have another player here, but... What if Brooks killed Felipe when he started investigating Luz Records and the PO Box? In any case, friends, we're in danger."

"Hey. No one said otherwise." Huang Yan shrugged. Dying seems like a real possibility.

Cameron

"That's a pretty good theory, Ian" admits Cameron."Whatever happens, I think we'll be encountering Mr. Brooks at some point. But if we're cautious, they won't realise that we're down here in Mexico, at least for a while. Now, why don't we head over to the Studio before they close for lunch?"

“Alright, but at least me to be home in time for dinner.” Huang Yan sighed in resignation.