Play@YSDC

You feel the tension as you lay down to sleep. What will happen tomorrow? Will you have to battle the cult again? Where will this new trail lead you? The questions float around in your head, turning sleep into an harder task than usual - even for the standard of these last troubled days. As if to mirror your thoughts, the weather takes a turn for the worse during the night, and in the morning the sun has disappeared behind a curtain of clouds, as the temperature drops a few degrees.

You make a quick stop at the airport, where you leave Clarence to catch his plane back home. "It's not farewell", he says, as he shakes your hands, "I'll be seeing you again. Just don't die until then". And then he's off. Perhaps your roads will cross again, perhaps not. But now it's time to focus on the task at hand, so you head back to the cars and make for the address Victor gave you.

Victor himself mutters and protests, clearly unhappy of having to accompany you, but a couple of glares from Cam silence him. Then you get close to your target. It's a street in Coyoacan, with bungalows on both sides, each one more or less the same as those near it: one floor, one door, a little front garden and a couple of windows on the front and the back.

As it starts to slowly rain, you plan your next moves.

"Let's see if we can spot anyone watching the place," says Holly. She takes a good look around through the car's windows.

Huang Yan also took a good look around through the car windows.

Sense Trouble,[dice]0[/dice]

If there's anyone watching the house, Holly can't tell.

OOC,Sense Trouble roll: [dice]0[/dice]

Sense Trouble Roll "Maybe we should have someone watch the back," says the Professor.

Christopher Fontana

Christopher tries to observe the street from within the car; he's all too aware that the rain might betray their presence if they start walking along the street rather than stay in cover...

Sense Trouble:,[dice]0[/dice]

The Professor whispers: "We've been spotted. There is a tattooed thug in the garden near Victor's flat...probably watching the place."
"We might have trouble. Be on your guard."

“Unfortunate, but if we leave now, it will only serve to arouse more suspicion. I think we’ll need a quick discussion on how to prepare against the stanger’s attacks if and when a confrontation is inevitable.” Huang Yan said, looking around.

"We could try to get the drop on him, like we did with Pizner back in L.A.," says Holly.

"Unnecessary, at most, the man is an observer, he would have no reason to suspect the worst our intentions, as far as he knows, we are doing an impromptu drop-in. There is no reason to immediately perform a full-out assault as that will not only incriminate us, it will bring us up against a man of unknown background with unknown strengths and talents. Furthermore, just because we had spotted one man...it does not mean there is just one man observing the house." Huang Yan said, "If I may, I would suggest that we circle around the house first, to assess all possible sources of threats, communicate our findings separately, and then conduct our original plan with one of us watching the person of interest outside of the house, no? We need a clear picture."

"By all means, we should check to see if he's alone - more discreetly than the way you suggest," says Holly, "but if he is, turning the tables on him could be useful. You weren't in Los Angeles with us, but Christopher and I were able to handle a PI named Pizner who was hired by the opposition to watch us all by ourselves. Of course, it helped that he underestimated us. We managed to capture him, and I injected him with truth serum. We got a lot of useful information about his bosses out of him, and we were able to neutralize him as a potential threat by setting him up and getting him arrested."

"A logical method, I agree. But I doubt the same trick will work twice, and I doubt the people here will underestimate you. The men I see roaming the streets...they have a job to do, and I do sincerely believe that they are competent enough to survive comfortably. Prudence is key." Huang Yan said, looking straight at Holly.

"How is he to know what happened in Los Angeles so that he'd be ready for it?" asks Holly. "But let's see what the others think."

"It is unlikely for him to have intimate details of your past dealings with the organisation, but the point I'm making is that you can't expect to subdue every man you meet and inject 'em to the truth serum and think that it'll go off without a hitch, I am suggesting we try work around the complication and find ways to divert his attention, if possible, and avoid a confrontation at all costs." Huang Yan said, looking slightly anxious as he rubbed his hands.

You can hear Cam growl as he stops the car a few hundred meters past the house: "That's enough talking for a whole month. Perhaps they know about us here, perhaps not. But I don't think they'd be waiting for us, at this house, right now. So we should hurry, as long as we still have the initiative. I'll try to get my hands on the watcher, but I need someone to cover my back".

"You've taught me a lot about fighting," says Holly, "but I'm still a rank amateur. Someone else would be a better choice, though I'd make a good distraction if one is needed. If I walk up to the building, that'll get his attention."

"Indeed, if we are still on the path of trying to, ah, physically subdue the watcher, then I would suggest getting some rope and a gag ready. I'll help get the restraints ready, eh?" Huang Yan said, trying to make the best of a somewhat bad situation.

Christopher Fontana

"Yes, that would probably work" Christopher replied to Holly "I don't think you should put yourself in danger though, if you'll allow, I think we should both go and approach Victor's residence and act as a distraction to allow Cam and Jonathan to sneak up and overpower whoever is watching?" There's a hint of a question in his voice, Christopher knew that Cam was up to the job but was he suggesting to much for Professor Cornwall to take on, or was this just the test the newcomer to their investigation needed in order to fully mesh with the group?

"If we give you five minutes to get into position?" Christopher asks Cam.

Ian Morin

"I think it can work. I know I failed you once, but I think I can help you reach our watcher without us being noticed, Cam." He says with confidence.

Overlord,[ooc]Shadowing would work for this kind of thing, right?[/ooc]

"All right, sounds like a good plan," says Holly. "I'll have a sedative ready to use. We'll need to take him somewhere else for when we question him, and at that point I can use the scopolamine I picked up in L.A."

"All right, let's get on with it then" whispers the Professor. "if things go sideways, we can always shoot the bloke."

"I'd highly advise against such an action, very unsubtle and easily traceable. Furthermore, guns are notoriously unreliable and loud. It will cause a commotion." Huang Yan said, looking uncertain.

Cam nods as he says to Holly and the others: "Give us a couple of minute, then start walking towards the house. If things go sideways, just run for cover", then he turns towards Jonathan and Ian: "Let's go". You quickly run past the garden of one of the small houses, then slow down as you reach the back and start walking parallel to the street. You have no idea where the man went, and the last place you saw him is half a dozen bungalows ahead.

1-point Streetwise Spend,If it were up to you, you'd just climb up to the roof of the bungalow in front of [b]Victor[/b]'s house. It would give you a good view on the street and the house itself.

Meanwhile, Victor is clearly uncomfortable: "Can I wait here, please? I don't want to be shot at. Once you're inside...", then he hands you a key, "Here, the key for the front door. Once you're inside, find the kitchen. You'll find the matchbook there, the one from El Cochinillo. The address for Brooks's apartment is written inside".

Holly prepares a syringe with a dose of sedative while she waits for the others to get into position.

"Right, keep in mind that it is a priority for the target to be unable to identify any of us, so I would suggest that some disguises would be in order. I know of a few places around that wouldn't ask a lot of questions so long as we deliver them enough money. We question him there, dump him in a back-alley without his wallet, and shove in a calling card for one of the nearby gangs..and I would reckon the worst possible outcome could be deflected elsewhere." Huang Yan said, bringing the rope and gags, showing a disturbing amount of familiarity with how to handle himself in a situation like this.

OOC:   Huang Yan spends a point in Streetwise for being able to 'conveniently' recall an safe location to take a potential hostage to undergo interrogation and an identifying aspect of a local street gang prone to shady tactics. Is this possible?

Professor Jonathan's Stealth Roll

Ian Morin

"Well... Looks like our friend doesn't want to talk. Should we follow him?"

Stealth,[b]2[/b] http://orokos.com/roll/624376

Christopher Fontana

Christopher takes he key from Victor "That's fine, we'll be in and out pretty quickly."

Christopher surreptitiously checks that his pistol is to hand in his jacket pocket while waiting for the others to get into position as per the plan.

Christopher looks to Holly "Right... are you ready to go?" he asks, reaching for the door handle.

Holly nods, patting her own gun which is in a holster strapped to her thigh, under her skirt where she can reach it quickly. "Yes, let's go," she says.

Holly, Huang Yan and Christopher start walking along the street towards Victor's bungalow. Meanwhile, Cam and the others scout the backyards, without finding any trace of the man. They reach the point where the man disappeared from sight, and try to track his movement from there, but with little success. At least, they see no trace of other thugs, meaning the man was probably alone after all. A lone watcher.

As Holly and the others reach the entrance to the bungalow, Ian stumbles upon a rake left abandoned on the ground, falling to the ground. Cam immediately draws his gun, looking around for any hostile who might have heard the sound, but the danger comes from above. The mexican you were looking for appears on the roof of the bungalow in front of Victor's, and immediately takes a shot towards Ian. The bullet luckily hits the ground next to the man's foot, as Cam returns fire, only to see his target take cover and disappear from sight.

Huang Yan,Yes, you can make a Streetwise spend that way.

Everyone,[ooc]it's funny how Ian always seems to mess things up lately :D (well, sort of, poor Ian). In this case it was the Stealth roll. Still, it might be interesting if he manages to turn things around later on. Everyone can post their actions for the first round of the fight.[/ooc]

Holly takes cover herself, hiking her skirt enough to draw her pistol. She keeps it trained on the roof in case he shows himself again.

Professor Cornwall says,
"Well, so much for sneaking in quietly"
"Shall we get in Victor's place quickly before more trouble arrives?"

Christopher Fontana

Christoper runs forward, the shot spurring him into action, he fishes around in his pocket for the front-door key intent on getting the door open and taaking refuge inside.

Christopher,No roll needed. You open the door without trouble.

As Christopher opens the door, the man appears again on the roof, this time on the street's side. He sees Holly holding a gun and quickly aims for her.

Holly,You can immediately roll Firearms to shoot at him before he shoots you.

Holly doesn't even think, she just reacts. Instantly she aims for the center of mass, squeezing the trigger and sending a bullet right into the man's chest!

OOC,Firearms roll (2 points spent) shooting at the goon: [dice]0[/dice] Damage to goon from pistol: [dice]1[/dice]

“Is...the good senõr dead? ¡Ay dios mío!” Huang Yan said, raising an eyebrow.

The man on the roof falls back as the bullet hits his chest, possibly piercing a lung. He still manages to fire back, but the shock from the wound makes him inaccurate, and he misses the shot. He then falls back and disappears from sight again. It seems like he is gravely wounded, but not lethally so - or at least, he's not kicking the bucket just yet.

Holly stays behind cover, keeping her gun trained on the roof in case he's foolish enough to reappear.

Christopher Fontana

Christopher ducks in through the front door as another shot rings out. Realising that time is of the essence now he pulls his pistol from his jacket pocket and heads for the kitchen, intent on retrieving the match-book with Brookes's address written on it.

Professor Cornwall follows Fontana into the bungalow with his pistol drawn.

Christopher and Jonathan run into the bungalow, discovering that it has been ransacked and vandalized in the past, probably by Brooks's thugs. On the wall of what was once the living room, someone has written the words SeeYou with some kind of orange greasy liquid. In the kitchen, they immediately notice a large glass jar on a shelf, full of matchbooks - at least fifty of them. They take the jar out of the shelf and on a table, then start to frantically sort through the matchbooks, scattering them around on the floor as they look for the one with Brooks's address on. And at least there it is, a bright yellow matchbook with a pink piglet on it, and the writing El Cochinillo in colorful orange and red letters. A quick check confirms that the address is, in fact, written on it.

Outside, Cam and Ian join Holly and Huang Ian, guns pointed towards the roof. "Come on, motherfucker, show me your face", mutters Cam with a hard look on his face.

Christopher,You think the orange liquid is probably nectar, although this would mean that it is of a different kind than the one you interacted with in Los Angeles.

Evidence Collection or Forensics [those inside the house],The words on the wall were written by hand, like fingerpainting.

Holly remains in cover, her gun still pointed at the roof, ready to help cover the others' retreat when they're done inside the house.

Huang Yan remained in the background, observing how the situation would turn out and was prepared to either run away or to help depending on how things went.

Christopher Fontana

"Excellent work Jonathan!" Christopher exclaims as the other man holds up the match-book that Victor had told them about.

"I would like to get a sample of that orange liquid that has been painted on the wall" Christopher waves back towards the wreck of the living room, "I believe it is a type of Nectar but it is different from the Nectar I have previously seen."

Christopher rips off the covers of a couple of the discarded match-books, take up the now empty glass jar he proceeds to scoop up some of the greasy orange goo with the match-book covers and places them into the jar. "Yes, I am sure this is Nectar but the colour and texture is different, perhaps it has been produced by a different process. Well hopefully Dr. Chastain will be able to deduce exactly how it differs from the other sample we have." He says as he finished his task, making sure that he doesn't come into direct contact with any of the foul substance. "Now that is interesting.." he says just as he's finishing collecting, "This was written by hand.. I mean literally, I can see finger prints in this goo." Christopher stands and looks directly at Jonathan "I think we should leave now, let's get back to the others and make out 'get away'."

"Agreed. I'm tempted to look for fingerprints on the wall, but we probably don't have time for that," says the Professor as he glances about the room looking for anything interesting or useful. He places the matchbook in his coat pocket.
"Let's make a run for it!" and with that Prof. Cornwall dashes out of the bungalow to join the rest of the group.

Jonathan and Christopher run out of the bungalow, signaling that they've found the matchbook and they're clear to go. At the same time, the man on the roof starts shooting again. Without showing himself, he's just pointing the gun downwards and sending bullets flying more or less in the direction of the house. He hits a wall, then a window, sending shards of glass flying on the grass of the garden.

Holly stays behind cover while the shooting is going on, carefully counting the shots and trying to figure out when he'll have to reload.

Ian Morin

"Jesus Christ, wasn't he dead??? Everybody down!" He shouts, deciding to find a gun at the first opportunity.

Cam fires back at the man, even though he's behind cover. "Let's get out of here!", he growls. "Run to the cars! Go! Go!"

When Cam lays down covering fire, Holly sprints for the car in a crouch to present a smaller target, and in a zigzag to make it harder to draw a bead on her.

The Professor runs for the cars, a grim smirk on his face as the adrenaline pumps through his body. He hasn't felt this much excitement since the natives attacked his dig site in the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley.

Christopher Fontana

Reaching their waiting car, Christopher takes a moment to place his jar of 'evidence' in the trunk, securing as quickly as he can. He then holds open one of the car doors so that the others can pile into the car as quickly as possible as they arrive. Whilst holding open the door Christopher scans the street looking out for anyone reacting to the gunfire, half expecting the watcher to have companions nearby.

OOC:   Sense Trouble: 2 pt spend [dice]0[/dice]

Everybody starts sprinting for the cars, with Cam covering you as he runs away from Victor's house. The shooter on the roof reappears again, trying to land some hits before you escape. One bullet flies harmless over your heads, but another finds its way into Huang Yan's shoulder, a clean hit passing through, but painful nonetheless. Cam fires back and you hear the man screaming, hit again, hopefully this time done for good.

As you reach the car and get ready to depart, it takes you a few seconds to realize that there's no trace of Victor. Did he run away? Was he taken? You can't say.

Huang Yan,You lose 3 Health. Also, roll for Stability.

Christopher,You don't notice anyone suspicious around, and no hint of what could have happened to Victor.

"Someone else can drive," says Holly, getting in the back seat of her car and making room for Huang Yan next to her. "I'll take a look at that wound. It's a shoulder wound, and the bullet went straight through, so it shouldn't be too bad."

Ian Morin

"You can fix him, right doctor?" Says Ian, scared with the blood stain getting bigger and bigger. He looks around, noticing they're one man short. "Where's Victor? Did he run away? Damn fool! He was in the car the last time I saw him!"

"Don't worry, I can patch him up," says Holly. "I'm guessing Victor ran away, probably as soon as the shooting started. We all had more pressing concerns at the time than keeping track of him. I'm surprised he hadn't tried to run away earlier."

Professor Cornwall
"I've got Brooks's address on the matchbook. Let's get the bloody hell out of here!" says the Professor as he jumps in one of the cars.

You can now hear police sirens coming from the distance. "Well, no time to search for the damn fool", says Cam. "Gotta go. Brooks apartment, I guess. Let's go".

"Somebody drive," says Holly. "Normally I'd do it, but I'm with a patient."