Play@YSDC

The next few weeks pass by uneventfully. MAJESTIC seems to have made enough trouble for now, and contacts none of the agents. All three of them try to resume their day jobs, and they perform them adequately enough that no one comments. Jose is shaken by recent events however, and at home he realizes he's being somewhat neglectful to TUM. The dog is empathic enough to realize it, and it gives him more than one sad stare. Jose tries to repair the relationship, but he still finds his pup a little less willing to play with him. A few vigorous scratching sessions and plenty of belly rubs gets his tail wagging, but there's a distance there's that's a little wider than it was before.

But there's little time to think about it before he gets another phone call.



The three agents receive messages instructing them to go to a certain bench at Central Park. The messages are addressed to their Delta Green code names but are otherwise sparse with information, perhaps leading to fears that this is another MAJESTIC ploy. But when they show up, they find McRay at the designated meeting place. He is bundled up in a heavy coat and sipping a coffee. He's left plenty of room on the bench for all three agents.

When the first one approaches, he speaks. "Sit down and look ahead. Do not interact with me." Once all three agents have done so, he continues. "Bullshit security measures, not that it's liable to help much. But we're not supposed to meet at headquarters until further notice. Something has the highers ups spooked... best as I can determine, there was an incident between our two agencies. We're not expecting full hostilities, but things are safer if we meet in public until all this is sorted out."

"We've got a new job for your cell. Could be nothing, could be something. A woman by the name of Abigail Wright was reported missing on Saturday. A Friendly on the local police thought it seemed weird and passed me these pictures." He removes a beige folder from his coat, and removes a set of pictures before passing them over, still without looking at the agents.

The pictures themselves seem to show a modest apartment unit, but one that is a hoarder's dream. Every available surface is covered in junk, glued or taped to the walls. Only the floor remained clear, the rug yanked up to reveal a battered linoleum surface. Among the junk was sets of dentures, partial dentures, a 1940s wheelchair, some modern and antique artificial limbs, dozens of shirts, shoes and briefcases, assorted radios spanning several decades of various eras, and all manner of jewelry, earrings, rings, and necklaces, and thousands of papers. Various photos of the room show that every angle is covered in random junk-- there is not a single empty space in the room.

"This freaked out our Friendly, and they reported that several of the papers had symbols on them related to Demonology and the Occult. We've pulled some strings to get the case assigned to the feds; Wright's credit card was recently used down in Maryland. Police have already investigated and we suspect it's a dead end, but it's enough to allow us to take over this case as a possible inter-state kidnapping. You've all been assigned to be the FBI task force investigating this case. You're to go to Wright's apartment. Catalog the evidence and determine if any of it is Unnatural. If it is, collect those items and report them to me, then deliver them to a storage unit an hour upstate. Determine if Wright had her hands in anything Unnatural and if it was responsible for her disappearance. If it was, locate the threat and ensure that it's taken care of or can't harm anyone else."

"Questions?" He asks, taking a long sip of his coffee.

Nik shrugs.

"Looks straightforward enough. I presume you don't have anything else on this Abigail Wright?

"With whom did she associate?" asks Vanessa. "Who reported her missing?"

José nods in confirmation to McRay. 'I got my car here and im ready-packed' he pats his fanny pack at his waist and pats his shoulder holster from outside his coat. 'Haven't left home without all my gear either on me or very close by'

Looking at vanessa and Nick 'you guys need picking something up?'

"Not too much. Wright's 27,and some sort of artist in the city; I don't know the specifics. She was reported missing by her father, Thomas. He apparently hadn't heard from her for a few weeks and called the police to do a welfare check on her. They did, and found her apartment in that state. As for associates, you'd have to figure that out for yourself. Ask her father, or perhaps her neighbors-- from what I heard the entire building is some sort of subsidized housing for artists, so some of them may be close to her.

He hands over a paper that has her address scrawled on it. It's someplace called The Macallistar Building and located in the Rose Hill section of Manhattan. Along with the address are keys to the building and Abigail's unit in particular. Finally, he offers the agents a Polaroid picture of a young brunette woman. It's a little blurry and out of focus, but writing on it indicates it's Abigail Wright, taken a little over a year ago.

"Hopefully this is just a run of the mill mental collapse and she took off to parts unknown, but we need to be vigilant. Good luck on this one, Agents."

Silver Priest wrote:"Not too much. Wright's 27,and some sort of artist in the city; I don't know the specifics. She was reported missing by her father, Thomas. He apparently hadn't heard from her for a few weeks and called the police to do a welfare check on her. They did, and found her apartment in that state. As for associates, you'd have to figure that out for yourself. Ask her father, or perhaps her neighbors-- from what I heard the entire building is some sort of subsidized housing for artists, so some of them may be close to her.

He hands over a paper that has her address scrawled on it. It's someplace called The Macallistar Building and located in the Rose Hill section of Manhattan. Along with the address are keys to the building and Abigail's unit in particular. Finally, he offers the agents a Polaroid picture of a young brunette woman. It's a little blurry and out of focus, but writing on it indicates it's Abigail Wright, taken a little over a year ago.

"Hopefully this is just a run of the mill mental collapse and she took off to parts unknown, but we need to be vigilant. Good luck on this one, Agents."

José grabs the address, photo, and keys from mcRay.

"Thank you, sir," says Vanessa. "We'll get to the bottom of it." She nods to Jose. "I brought my usual equipment to the meeting. I knew something was up. I don't think there's anything special I'll need for this, so I'm ready to get started now."

"Let's get going, then" says Nik. "I want to pick up a digital camera from the office on the way, and some cartons."

"All right," says Vanessa. "After that, we can go right to the apartment."

After retrieving the tools they want for this assignment, the Agents head to the Macallistar Building Just after 1 in the afternoon. The building itself looks to be rather old, though none of the agents are well versed enough in architecture to tell the exact era when it was constructed. It is a classic three-story and basement
brownstone structure with a faux-castle design. A fake portcullis hangs above the large double doors, artificial ramparts encircle the windows and ledges, and cheap
concrete gargoyles watch from the rooftop. Attached to the front door is an intercom system that allows visitors to be buzzed into the building. Of course, the agents have the keys for it so this may not be necessary.

Outside the front door is a man, dressed in a crisp suit. He's in his early 40's, tall and well built, with classically handsome features and an approachable air. When he sees the agents approach he moves to meet them and offers his hand.

"You the feds here about the Wright case? Detective Graham Giuradanda, NYPD. I'm in charge of the investigation on our end. If there's anyway I can be of assistance let me know." He pauses. "Sorry to call you all in on this, but it's a damn strange case. Never seen anything like it."

Nik shakes.

"Nice to meet you Detective" he says. "I'm Siivasluo; this is Marchand and Lopez". He hopes Jose's lack of credentials will escape notice.

"Why don't you tell us about it, and then we can take a look? We really only have the basics of the case right now."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," says Vanessa, shaking the detective's hand.

Detective Giuradanda appears not to notice Jose's lack of credentials, or at least does not chose to comment on them.

"Right. This is a strange one. I'll show you the crime scene-- if that's what this is."

He leads the agents inside to a hallway enveloped in a plush burgundy rug. To the left are a set of 12 mailboxes for each of the 12 apartments within the building.

Alertness roll,Only 5 of the mailboxes have names written on them.

In the middle of the hallway is a staircase leading up to the next floor. Down either side of the hallways are two apartments, one on each side of the wall.

"Place has four floors. Basement is down below, and seems fairly bare bones; not much down there. Then there's the ground floor. Ms. Wright's unit is on the first floor." He leads the group up to the first floor, and heads down the west part of the hallway before taking out a key and unlocking one of the apartments. "Just a warning-- it's weird in here." Then he opes the door.

The pictures were not lying. The apartment is a mess of random junk and objects. The walls and ceiling are covered in layers of materials: papers, small items, and larger things epoxied in a bizarre and seemingly meaningless pattern of strata. There's everything from random sheets of paper and pencils glued to the walls and other objects, up to radios and work desks . A few minor parts of the walls have casting removed, as though someone tore off an object or two before giving up.

"It was like this when we found it, more or less. We removed a few items to try and trace the serial numbers and see if there was a connection, but nothing's turned up so far. Then we got the word you were taking over, so," Giuradanda shrugs. "What we have confirmed is that all of Ms. Wright's furniture is gone. Maybe she took it with her. But from what we've seen none of this was registered to her.

"There's four other tenets in the building currently. One's on the other side of this floor, Two upstairs, and one down on the ground level. All of them reported Ms. Wright seemed friendly enough and showed no sign of trouble. They all said they heard no signs of racket when she was putting all of this up, and reported seeing no one else enter or exit her apartment. None of them could give an exact last time they had seen Abigail, but we're thinking it's been more than a week since anyone has seen her. She was reported missing three days ago, but we think it's likely to have been longer, since her father was trying to get in touch with her for a few weeks before then and could not, which is apparently unlike her."

"In addition to the main room of the apartment, there's a modest bathroom to the left. Oddly, that room's still in working condition; the furniture is still in there, and nothing seems out of place in there. She seemed fixated on this particular spot."

He points out a small cardboard box on the floor, the only thing to mar its surface. It's labeled “EVIDENCE, FBI WHITE PLAINS, WRIGHT-A, 5-
SEP-2000." Inside it are four polaroid cameras and 100 packs of film, which allows them to take 800 photographs( apparently Delta Green had also seen the wisdom of taking photos). In addition, there are latex gloves, evidence bags, stickers, and seal-tape, along with a notebook to identify everything within the apartment.

"Frankly I really appreciate you taking this off our hands," Giuradanda continues. "Cataloging all this stuff would take a hell of a lot of manhours. I know it's not the most exciting job, but if there's a needle in this haysack, we have to find it. Just let us know when you need us to pick some stuff up, and we'll come and collect the evidence bags and bring more, if required. If you need anything at all, here's my card. I'm your liaison on this case, and whatever I can do to help I'll be glad to, but we're overworked in the city and I unfortunately can't spend my full time on it.."

OOC:   Please excuse the very long post. If you'd like you can make a bureaucracy roll to see just how long it will take to catalog all of this evidence.

Alertness,Alertness 54: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/781271]Alertness[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]86[/b]

Nik sighs as he surveys the room.

“Looks like we have our work cut out for us” he says. “Thanks Detective”.

He takes the proffered card and shakes the man’s hand again.

“This is gonna take a week” he complains, but secretly he’s glad the assignment appears so mundane.

Bureaucracy,Bureaucracy 14: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/781272]Bureaucracy[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]32[/b]

"Then we'd better get started," says Vanessa. "We'll also want to see what's in her mailbox. Maybe someone was communicating with her."

OOC,Alertness roll (53% skill) entering the building: [dice]0[/dice] Bureaucracy roll (44% skill) cataloguing the evidence: [dice]1[/dice]

Alertness 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

José stays quiet and follow the cues of Nick and Vanessa

Looking at all this stuff, it's impossible to determine how long it will take to catalog everything in Abigail's apartment. The agents do realize that this is likely to be more than a day's affair. It's already a little after 1 in the afternoon. they've been given no timeframe the job needed to be done in, and the agents day jobs are over at 5. They could finish up then and return early tomorrow to continue it, or opt to work through the night.

The question must also be asked if all three agents intended to catalog the room. There were other leads they could follow-- Abigail's father, her neighbors in the building, or other avenues of research they could think of. Of course, that would mean more work for the other two.

OOC,If any of you chose to work on cataloging the apartment, One of you should please roll 1d3 to determine how many hours you work. Then[i] all of you[/i] can roll search to determine if you find anything of note.

"I'll definitely start going through this stuff," says Vanessa. "I'm good at finding needles in haystacks. The trick is to sit on the haystack. You'll find the needle, all right. If either of you want to help, or if you have other leads you want to pursue, that's up to you."

OOC,Hours spent searching: [dice]0[/dice] Search roll (57% skill) cataloguing the evidence: [dice]1[/dice]

"No, I want to help" says Nik. "I bet there's some interesting stuff in all this junk".

He starts to prepare the equipment left for them.

Search,Search 44: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/781436]Search[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]15[/b]

1hr search with extreme success roll,hrs: [dice]0[/dice] search 20%[dice]1[/dice]

Jose says nothing and just gets on with it.

OOC:   Actually Anatomist, the search roll only needed to be done by one of you, so it still takes 3 hours. And your search roll is only a normal success, crits and fails in DG are on double normal successes or fails respectably.

Three hours pass as the agents begin the process of sorting through Abigail's apartment. It's tedious work; most of the stuff is pure junk. They find candy wrappers, empty containers, and broken medical equipment. None of it seems Unnatural, but all of it is decidedly unusual. What's worse is that most of the junk found has junk underneath it glued onto the wall. By then end of the first three hours they've made depressingly little progress.

They two however find two things of note. Nik locates a set of two thick paper napkins which have writing on them, likely from a ballpoint pen. They seem like hand drawn diagrams of some sort of odd mechanical creature that is not readily identifiable. The first is labeled leão, the second, escriba. The diagrams are extensively drawn out, but none of the agents can determine their exact purpose. The diagrams have gold initials in the corner labeled GBR, and both sets look rather old but well maintained despite it.

Jose,The writing is Portuguese. I'm unsure if Jose would recognize it well enough to know the translation, but if you think he would feel free to translate for the group.

Jose meanwhile finds a large map that looks to be of the Macallistar Building. Vividly drawn, it was clearly the work of some sort of artist. The floor plan is odd, however; Some closets are marked up with scrawled notes such as: “Door on 7/12,” “Roses and butter,” and “Man with briefcase and white shoes,” In addition, doors have been drawn in on the edges of the map in pen next to the roof access door, with markings such as “Mr. Castaigne,” and “The Parlor.” They seem to make little sense. The third-floor landing is marked “NIGHT FLOORS” with a big red X drawn in (and a small notation reading “dead guy in mask”).
On the third-floor landing in the back is a picture of a noose.

Nik clears a space on the floor and lays the items out to photograph them.

"What is that language?" he asks. "It looks like Portuguese to me, but I don't know for sure."

He looks over the floor plan.

"This is interesting, but to be honest I'm not getting any occult vibes from any of this stuff. Maybe the neighbours can shed more light on it. We could show it to them, and see if it provokes any reactions."

"I was thinking Spanish, but I think you're right," said Vanessa. "Let's check her mailbox first before we talk to the neighbors. There may be important information in there. Someone could have been communicating with her to set her off. Remember the case with the numbers? It could be like that."

"Why don't we finish looking through this crap first?" says Nik. "You never know. Maybe we'll find Jimmy Hoffa. The bureau would love that".

OOC,Rolling Search in anticipation: Search 44 [url=https://orokos.com/roll/782051]Search[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]60[/b]

"Portuguese for sure" José replies to Nick and Vanessa. It's close enough to Spanish that i can translate it.
José reads out loud the translation

"'Lion?' 'Scribe'? echoes Nik."Pretty meaningless right now. This stuff is more like an art project than anything else. Come on, lets get through some more and take a break to eat."

"It seems like it will take forever, but we can look a little more first," says Vanessa. "Jose, maybe you'd like to see what's in her mailbox."

OOC,Hours spent: [dice]0[/dice] Search roll (57% skill) cataloguing the stuff: [dice]1[/dice]

Mr. Handy wrote:
"Jose, maybe you'd like to see what's in her mailbox."

'Straight away' José goes and checks the mailbox

Jose heads off to Abigail's mailbox. He finds most of the contents to be junk; ads for local shops or restaurants. But there are a few bills that she never opened. The mail here dates back to mid August, suggesting she had not checked her mailbox for at least half a month. Was she missing that long?

OOC:   I presume Jose wants to go back to the apartment now, since the trip to the mailbox will not take 2 hours. If so, go ahead and roll search since the others failed. And everyone, just for fun please give me a San roll.

Vanessa's mind is able to handle all of this stuff. She just finds it boring.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 66) in the apartment: [dice]0[/dice]

fail Search 20%,[dice]0[/dice]

Once back in the department José starts searching again.

Nik has been attempting to remain serene, but is becoming frustrated.

"Why the hell does she have so much crap!" he shouts suddenly.

Jose returns and reports on what he found, then assists the other agents in doing a little more cataloging.

The work remains tedious, and they spend the next two hours performing the slow process of taking junk down from the walls and identifying it. To the agents frustration, by the time two more hours have passed they've found nothing useful or even all that interesting.It all seems like standard trash-- nothing even as interesting as the diagrams or map of the building.

It's around 6 in the evening now. The agents are getting hungry, and after 5 hours of tedium tired as well. They could call it a night and head home, or they could pass for a brief break and get back to work if they wished to pull an all nighter.

Nik,Near the end of his cataloging, Nik suddenly senses eyes on him coming from the other side of the room. If he turns around however, no one is there. Try as he might to dismiss the occurrence, he can't shake the fact that someone is inside the room and watching him. He cannot pin down the location of the feeling; it seems to almost be coming from the entire room. Neither of his partners seem to notice, and after a few minutes the odd feeling passes. But it's still leaves him a bit shaken. Take 1 san loss for Helplessness, please.

Nik is feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the room. He suppresses a shiver.

“Let’s call it a night, huh? I can barely register any of this junk anymore. We can meet back here in the morning.”

"Yeah, the rest of it can wait until tomorrow," says Vanessa. "Let's just grab some dinner and go."

Let's get something to eat 'fajitas maybe?'
He grabs 3 protein bars from his fanny pack and hands out 'just to suppress the bad temper'

Nik declines the protein bar, and the invitation. He takes another look around the room, and rubs his eyes.

"I think I could use some time at home, thanks. Let's do it another time" he tells Jose.

The agents can leave the apartment and building unmolested. Their first day of the investigation was done,and they had little to show for it. But perhaps that was a good thing? After fighting aliens and haunted houses, maybe a mundane cataloging of a mentally ill woman's belongings was just what they needed to readjust.

Yet the feeling still nagged-- DG had activated them for a reason. Was there something more going on here? At the moment it was impossible to tell. After a quick dinner the agents head home and spends the rest of their night in peace.

September 6th, 2000


The team returns to the Macallistar Building at 8AM sharp, ready if not eager to continue their work.

OOC:   Same plan as before guys, or are any of you planning to do something different? In the interest of making this not quite so tedious, if you want to do more than one search roll you can, one of you should just roll a 1d3 to determine how each collective search takes you to find anything of interest. Everyone who searches can roll search rolls equal to the number they decide to undertake. If anyone goes and does something else rather than search with their time, I'll deal with that and work to keep the timeline aligned. Somehow. Sorry for the slow start on this one btw, but I'm hoping it gets more interesting as we proceed. Of course, your agents may grow to appreciate the tedium.

Nik looks apprehensively around the apartment after he arrives, but so far doesn’t experience the unpleasant sensation from the day before. Taking off his jacket, he gets to work looking through the mess.

Search,Search time [url=https://orokos.com/roll/783310]Search[/url]: [u]1d3[/u] [b]2[/b] Search 44: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/783314]Search[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]2[/b]

Vanessa spends a couple of hours going through the material, but none of it makes any sense to her.

OOC,Search roll (57% skill) going through the stuff again: [dice]0[/dice]

Searching 20%,searchtime [dice]0[/dice] search 20% [dice]1[/dice]

José puts in solid 2 hrs of work, but just minutes into it all can hear he finds it frustrating as he doesn't find much to talk about.

The next two hours pass uneventfully. Of the agents, only Nik finds anything of interest. Behind a pencil sharpener he discovers an elegant page of cream-colored stationary glued to the shrine wall. It is crumpled, but new. The heading reads HOTEL BROADALBIN in an art-deco font. Scribbled in pen is a rudimentary map which shows a large building and various rooms that would be commonly found in a hotel. One elevator is specifically marked marked with
an X on the map, though no reason for the emphasis is given.

Off on the far end of the map, away from the hotel drawing itself, are various tunnels seeming to stretch out into some sort of maze. The path leads to a smaller X which simply reads, “bottle.”

Nik notices one more thing that is interesting. The address of the hotel matches up to that of the Macallistar Building. Despite this, the two buildings look nothing alike.

OOC:   Everyone can make a Forensics roll if they like to examine the paper.

On a success,The paper used and concealed press marks points to the map being printed in the early 1930's.

"More art" Nik says, unmoved by his find. He lays it with the other pieces and photographs it.

Forensics,Forensics 10: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/783526]Forensics[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]86[/b]

Vanessa has no idea what to make of the paper.

OOC,Forensics roll (80% skill) about the paper: [dice]0[/dice]

As the agents examine the paper there comes a knock on the door.

If any open it they find a man standing there. He looks middle aged and is dressed in slacks and a dress shirt that seem badly in need of ironing. He adjusts his crooked glasses and attempts a smile that comes out looking pained.

"Good afternoon. I'm hoping you can keep the sound down. I'm working on something very important, and there's been quite a bit of racket these past few days."

"Oh!" exclaims Nik, surprised by the request. He looks the man over.

"What sounds are you talking about? I wasn't aware we were making so much noise."

"Has there been noise in here for the past few days?" asks Vanessa. "We've only just started yesterday."

The man frowns.

"Well, no. The noise started yesterday. I had tried to ignore it, given Ms. Wright's ...situation, but when it continued today I had no choice but to come over. My work requires peace and quiet, and you are disrupting that."

The agents had spent the last two days pulling things from the walls of the apartment, some of the objects being quite large. It was entirely possible that some of the sounds would be amplified in the mostly empty apartment building.

"Yes, well," the man continues. "I assume this is official police business or some such, and I don't wish to disturb that. But if you could at least let me know how long this will take before you're done I would appreciate it."

Nik

“I’m sorry about the noise, we’re attempting to finish as soon as we can. While you’re here, sir, is there anything you can tell us about Ms. Wright and her situation?”

"I appreciate it," says the man, giving a hint of what might be a smile. If you squint.

"Well truthfully I did not speak to her much," he explains, readjusting his glasses which somehow still remain crooked. "She was quiet mostly, kept to herself. We saw each other from time to time and nodded, that sort of thing. I think in all the time I knew her we had two, maybe three conversations. She annoyed me a bit last Christmas, had a loud party here and I had to come over and get her to turn the music down. Other than that incident we had no issues. Her leaving so abruptly was a surprise, of course. Especially after her debut show apparently did so well some months back. But artists can be flaky people." The except me is unstated but implied.

"Have you ever seen her artwork?" asks Vanessa.

"Hmm," The man stokes his chin. "I believe she showed me a painting she did once. Central Park in Winter, or some such. It was nice. I'm not sure if she specialized in landscapes or if it was a one off piece but she had some degree of talent from what I could recall. She once asked me if I would be willing to take her on as an illustrator for my books, but I told her I had one and she laughed and told me she was joking. But her career seemed to have been taking off, so I suppose it's all a rather strange story." He can see into the apartment and seems to not be shocked by the state of it, perhaps indicating the police had already revealed it to him.

The man seems about to be about to leave, unless the agents have anything else to ask him.

“Actually, sir” says Nik. “We found some of her artwork. It doesn’t mean much to us, so maybe you might be able to give us an insight as to the meaning. Do you mind taking a look?”

Nik regards the man closely to watch his reactions.

"Please, sir," says Vanessa. "Your artistic instincts might give us some clue as to what happened to her. We're no artists, so we're not able to properly interpret her work."

OOC,HUMINT roll (57% skill) about the man: [dice]0[/dice] Persuade roll (73 - 20 = 53% skill) to convince him to look at the art: [dice]1[/dice]

"Well, I suppose if you really require my expertise, a moment cannot hurt. Fair warning however that I may not be able to tell you what she was getting at; paintings and literature are two different fields." It's quite obvious the one he views as superior.

Vanessa gets the feeling the man is slightly annoyed by the request and really wants no part of it, but will support a law enforcement investigation in whatever way he can.

OOC:   Assuming you guys show him everything:

The man looks over the map first. " Seems to be a map of the building. Some of the notes are odd though. 'Roses and Butter?` 'Door on 7/12?' I don't know what any of them mean." He seems genuinely perplexed. "Perhaps it's a type of code."

He looks just as confused by the Hotel Broadalbin map. "Seems to be of a hotel, I suppose? The address matches here, perhaps it used to be here before this became The Macallistar Building? I'm afraid I don't know much of the history of the area before I moved in five years ago. I'm from Virginia, originally."

The agents go to show him the odd diagrams they found that were labeled in Portuguese, but quickly realize that they are gone from wherever they were placed.

"Thank you, sir," says Vanessa. "One more thing: who else was at her party? What sort of people were they, and did you recognize any of them?"

"Seemed like most of them were her artist friends. I also saw Mr. Post and Mr. Manuel, two of the other tenets. Mr. Manuel might know her circles better, I believe they dated some time back."

"Thanks for your help, sir" says Nik. "What is your name, by the way?"

"Indeed. I hope I provided some assistance. My name is Roger Carun." From the way he says his name, the agents get the feeling he expects them to have heard of him.

OOC,Any agent who is a sci-fi fan has heard of Roger Carun's work. He writes the [i]NightSea [/i]series of novels, about human settlers who struggle to build a functional society on a hostile aquatic world. The books are reasonably popular and have a fervent fanbase, though as of now they straddle the line between niche title and more widespread literary appeal. Four of them have been written already in the last six years. The 5th was due to come out last month, but was delayed for unknown reasons.

Know,Know 60:[url=https://orokos.com/roll/784483]Know[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]41[/b]

Nik has heard the name, although he hasn't read any of his books.

"You're the science fiction writer, aren't you? Say, there are a lot of artists in this building! I can see why you'd want peace and quiet, Mr. Carun."

José will stand in the background following Nik's and Vanessa's lead

"Oh, of course!" says Vanessa, who is a fan of niche fiction such as Outlander. "I do enjoy the NightSea series, and I'm looking forward to the next book. Speaking of which, we'd better let you get back to working on it. Thank you for your time, and we'll be careful to keep the noise down."

OOC,INT x 5 roll (55% stat) to recognize [b]Roger Carun[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

"Indeed I am," Replies Carun, and the agents see the first genuine smile out of him. "As for artists, that's not so surprising. ArtLife owns the building and provides it to artists at a subsidized rate. I quite appreciated it when I first moved here. Now I don't see a reason to leave-- anywhere else in the city would cost three times this much."

But his true affection is reserved for Vanessa. "So good to meet a fan! Young lady, if you'd like I'd be happy to sign any of your books once you're done with all of this. Just stop by my unit. As for the next book, it should be out soon. The ending is proving a bit difficult to make exactly right." Indeed he does look a bit tired, with circles underneath his eyes; he seems to have been working hard.

If there's nothing else, he takes his leave, leaving the agents alone once again.

OOC:   Next steps for our agents?

“What an asshole” says Nik, when Carun has gone. “He couldn’t give a shit about Wright. Remind me never to buy his books.”

He looks around.

“What the hell happened to those Portuguese drawings? Did we lose them? This place is driving me nuts!”

OOC:   Can we keep on searching?

"Thank you, Mr. Carun," says Vanessa. "Take all the time you need to get the ending right. I'll be patient." After he leaves and is out of earshot, she responds to Nik. "Never meet your heroes, I guess. They'll always disappoint you." She looks around to see if she can locate the Portuguese drawings.

OOC,Yes, let's keep searching.

Vanessa resumes her efforts, this time taking more care not to make noise.

OOC,Hours spent: [dice]0[/dice] Search roll (57% skill) cataloguing stuff: [dice]1[/dice]

Nik resumes searching, keeping an eye out for the diagrams, but cannot find anything.

Search,Search 44: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/785093]Search[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]85[/b]

Search 20%,[dice]0[/dice]

José gets at it, but this place just confuses him he ends up looking at stuff they already have been trough finding nothing new.

The team continues to work. They're actually starting to make some progress-- they've managed to clear away the junk from a small part of the wall entirely, and a window looking out into the back of the building can now actually be seen. But at best they seem about half done.

They're almost done this part of the cleanup when two of the agents notice something:

Jose,Near the end of his cataloging, Jose suddenly senses eyes on him coming from the other side of the room. If he turns around however, no one is there. Try as he might to dismiss the occurrence, he can't shake the fact that someone is inside the room and watching him. He cannot pin down the location of the feeling; it seems to almost be coming from the entire room at once, as if there are dozens of eyes on him. Neither of his partners seem to notice, and after a few minutes the odd feeling passes. But it still leaves him a bit shaken. Take 1 san loss for Helplessness, please. Remember that if you take san loss from 3 helplessness sources without going insane in between you become hardened to it.

Nik,Nik suddenly hears voices in the hallway. It sounds like two people, one man, one woman. They sound muffled and he can't quite make out what they are saying, though the woman appears to be laughing-or crying. Neither of the other agents appears to hear it.

Vanessa meanwhile manages to stumble upon something. Removing more junk that had obstructed the position, she finds a a torn sheet of old linen parchment inscribed with a symbol in golden ink tacked to the wall.

The Symbol,[url=https://postimages.org/][img]https://i.postimg.cc/GthrT3wL/020-Seal-of-Purson-q100-500x500.jpg[/img][/url]

Nik

Ignoring Vanessa's find for now, Nik walks out into the hallway to see who is there.

"Now this looks interesting," Vanessa says, showing whoever will look what she found. "I wonder what it means?"

OOC,Occult roll (10% base skill) about the symbol: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik,Nik makes his way out into the hallway, the voices still sounding muffled. He opens the door and looks out-- Only to discover the hallway is empty. The sounds as well abruptly cutting off. There was not enough time for anyone to have left the hallway in the time it took him to open the door. [ooc]Nik loses 1 san point to the unnatural.[/ooc]

Vanessa can't figure out what the symbol could mean. Perhaps it's another art piece? It certainly looks important, however. It hung loosely to the wall.

Vanessa and Jose can see Nik get up and go to the door. He opens it and looks out.

"Who's there?" asks Vanessa.

José shrugs and talks out loud "what a freaking feeling i just got, like all the walls or sometinhg inside here was watching me" he turns hs head towards Vanessa "is that book guy back? and what the heck is that you found Miss.Marchand? Let me take a look at that."

failed Occult 20%,[dice]0[/dice]

Nik tries not to, but he visibly shivers.

"Fuck" he says. He turns around when Jose speaks.

"I had the same feeling yesterday" he tells the other two. "Someone is watching us. I thought I heard two people talking out there just now. I know I did."

He looks around, frowning.

"This place is definitely off. I hoped there wasn't anything here, but there is. I can feel it".

"I didn't notice anything myself," says Vanessa, "but that's definitely a bad sign. What were the voices saying?"

Nik shakes his head.

"I couldn't make anything out."

He walks over to the symbol and looks at it closely.

"This doesn't mean anything to me, but maybe our friend Dr. Wu might be able to help. Why don't I call him and see if he's around?"

He takes out his phone and dials the museum.

Occult,Occult 10: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/785614]Occult[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]31[/b]

Dr. Woo answers. "Good to hear from you, Agent Siilasvuo. It has been some time. Of course I will assist in anyway I am able."

Nik describes the symbol to the best of his ability.

"I believe I recognize it. In Demonology It's the mark of Purson, a great lord of hell. In mythology he is served by twenty two legions of demons. His talents include knowing of hidden things, the finding of treasures,and the knowledge of past, present, and future. Taking a human or aerial body he answers truly of all secret and divine things of Earth and the creation of the world at the behest of Bael. Purson is depicted as a man with the face of a lion, carrying a ferocious viper, and riding a bear. Before him there can be heard trumpets sounding."

Nik scribbles notes to show the others.

“Lion, huh?” He shivers again.

“Why might someone want to communicate with Purson, Doctor? We’ve found some odd drawings which indicate imaginary rooms in this building, and a whole different building, a hotel, at this address. Have you ever heard of this building, the MacAllister? And does the word Broadalbin mean anything to you?”

"Well, I suppose there are many reasons. You have your run of the mill occultists, but a more serious follower would likely be seeking to find the truth of something; or perhaps they want answers, be it from the past or future. I doubt that narrows it down all that much, I'm sorry. But I'd suggest figuring out what the worshiper may have been seeking-- once you know that, you'll have a better understanding of what Purson would offer them.

"I should specify that so far as I know what we consider demonology is all mythology. In all my research I've never stumbled any of it having truth behind it. There's a possibility it may be being used either as a front or cover to something deeper, or is being used by an occult dabbler. But there's also the possibility that it's entirely legitimate; I don't believe I have a solid understanding of every sort of legitimate occult phenomena, if you will."

"As for imaginary rooms and the like, I have heard tales of magi-- ah, hypergeometry that can have that effect, though it's a diverse field. It could be the building you're seeing is an illusion, or there are gateways to the hidden building located within it.Or it could have a more mundane explanation. I'm afraid the building's name means nothing to me, nor the hotel. But if you're in New York it shouldn't prove too difficult to track down the history of the building."

"Be careful, Agent. It sounds like a fascinating case, but also one that could be much more than meets the idea."

“Thanks a lot, Doctor.”

Nik finishes the call and turns to the others. After summarising the rest of the call he says,

“Maybe one of us should check out the history of the building. It could be that similar things have happened here in the past. Shall we search some more before we break for lunch?”

"Good idea," says Vanessa. "Jose, do you want to research the building's history? If not, I can do it, but I'm getting better at sorting through all this stuff."

As soon as one of the agents removes the sheet the symbol is engraved to, their comes a loud and harsh racket of noise from outside. Any agents who rush to the window see a taxi driver is holding down on his horn as an ill kept man in dirty fatigues slowly stumbles across the street as if in a daze. He holds a large snake around his neck that appears to be sleeping. Before the agents can react, the man crosses the street and the cab drives off.

Even for New York, it was not a usual sight.

OOC:   Jose or anyone else, feel free to continue with researching the building, though do note that may take some time depending on what leads you chase down and how good you roll.

Nik begins searching through the room again.

Search,Search 44:[url=https://orokos.com/roll/786355]Search[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]96[/b]

Vanessa helps with the search.

OOC,You'll probably have to go somewhere else, like a records office or library. Since you're doing that, I'll search. Hours spent: [dice]0[/dice] Search roll (57% skill) going through the stuff some more: [dice]1[/dice]

'This is some weird shit i tell you, I think i got a better chance on pulling some history on this building as you suggest Vanessa. im going over at City Hall' He tosses his keys to Vanessa 'car keys, ill take a cab'

Once in City Hall José will request blueprints and history of the building

Bureaucracy 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

Jose,Jose makes his way to city hall and asks to see records. He's led to a very large room with hundreds if not thousands of boxes, most of which are only scarcely organized. He gets to work looking up the history of the Macallistar, but finds nothing. It quickly becomes obvious this could take awhile. Not as long as cataloging the apartment, but he still might be here for a few hours. [ooc]Sadly Jose finds nothing now on specifically what he is looking for. Once the other characters do another search roll you'll be able to make another bureaucracy roll, but until then we can assume he's searching through the records unsuccessfully. I'll let you know when you can take an action. :)[/ooc]

Vanessa and Nik continue to work. Nik finds nothing, but Vanessa isn't working for too long before she finds something of interest. There's a piece of paper lodged into the space between two objects on the wall. She tears it off, discovering that it's a page out of what appears to be a play. It's triple spaced and the writing is sparse.

SCENE: The Smoking Lounge, a large parlor on the fourth floor. In the room are THE
DOG, THOMAS, MICHELLE, ROGER, MARK and LOUIS.

THOMAS: Today's the big day.

MARK: I always enjoy a good going away party.
He sips his drink.

MICHELLE: You enjoy any excuse to get hammered, you worthless drunk.

THOMAS: Come on guys, not today. Abby wouldn't want us to fight.
Enter ABIGAIL.

THOMAS: Abby!

MICHELLE: Are you sure you want to go upstairs?
ABIGAIL nods. MICHELLE appears disgusted.

ROGER: Give them our best, will you? With luck I'll be joining you soon.

POST: Abigail is special, Carun. You could never hope to grasp the hidden face of reality. None of you can! At best you'll end up here with Mark.

MARK: It's a living.

POST: I'll be along soon, Abby.
ABIGAIL says nothing. Suddenly, something makes everyone jump. the DOG barks.

MICHELLE:Is that him?

ROGER: Obviously.

THOMAS: I'm going to miss you, Abby. I-- never really got the chance to say it, but I wanted to let you know that--
Enter the ENCYCLOPEDIA SALESMAN. ABIGAIL approaches him. The rest of the group applaud her, except MICHELLE. He takes her arm and they ascend the stairs.

MARK: She was special. The salesman doesn't take too many upstairs.

MICHELLE: Shut up Mark.
MARK puffs on his cigar, seems about to say something, but instead turns to look directly at the audience. He holds their gaze unblinking for exactly 36 seconds.
End Scene.

"She's written this play about herself and the other artists in the building!" says Vanessa. "Look, there's Roger Carun. The others must also be her neighbors. We should talk to the rest of them after lunch, once Jose returns. We can also check out the smoking lounge on the fourth floor, presuming this building has one. I'm curious about the dog. And whoever this encyclopedia salesman is, he took her upstairs. She must have been writing about her departure before it happened."

”Whoa, slow down a moment!” says Nik. “We need to compare the handwriting.”

The text seems to have been written on a typewriter, and is different from any other evidence the agents have found.

"It's typed,' says Vanessa. "Is there a typewriter among all this junk? Maybe we'll find more pages from the play in here somewhere. I'd really like to know what happens in the next scene. It would give us some clues as to what has happened to Abigail. From the sound of it, Post is next. We need to talk to him first before he disappears too."

The one typewriter the agents have pulled off the wall was already broken. Thus, comparing the writing was difficult. But they could continue to search and see what they find. It would likely still take some time, however.

OOC:   If you'd like to search for more pages of the play or more typewriters in all of the junk please make the usual search roll.

"Okay then, let's find Post and see what he can tell us" says Nik.

Anatomist,An hour has passed, and Jose can make another bureaucracy check to try and find information.

The two agents head upstairs to Louis Post's apartment. It takes three knocks on the door before it opens, revealing a tired looking man in his twenties who resembles nothing so much as a large toad. Unkempt and with a pox ridden face and a thick pair of glasses, he looks confused to see them.

"Hey. -Can I help you?" He's blocking the doorway, preventing either agent from seeing into the apartment.

Nik holds up his badge.

"We're with the FBI, investigating the disappearance of Abigail Wright. Are you Louis Post? We'd like to come in and talk to you."

A bit discouraged José takes a chocolate from his fannypack and gets a coffee in the reception after a small rest he goes over the papers again.

hard success Burocracy 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

Jose,The treat gives Jose the burst of energy he needs,and he gets to work once again. This time, he has more luck, and he finds documents pertaining to the Macallistar Building. It was constructed in 1921, beginning life as a private residence for a Henry M. Lundine, of who no further detail is included. An addendum to the file indicates that the building was upgraded in 1953 and became an apartment building, which it has been until today. The architect is listed as an A. Darabondi. It's a short time after that to find blueprints for the building. They seem to check out based on what Jose had seen, and little seems of amiss. But within the blueprints he finds a small cream colored note that reads HOTEL BROADALBIN. A small scrawl to the side of the file reads "Tonight I saw the rooms at dusk." No other information is found on the paper, including an address for the hotel. Jose recalls that the Hotel Broadalbin had been listed as having the same address as the Macallistar Building, but according to the records said hotel has never excited at this address. Did Jose want to look through the records further to find any trance of the Broadalbin? Or did he want to return to the apartments?

"Oh, of course. Come in, please." He opens the door and lets the agents follow him in.

As soon as the agents enter It becomes apparent what Louis was trying to hide; his apartment is a mess, with empty pizza boxes, paint cans, and dirty clothing covering the floor. Garbage sprawls out from under the sink and now covers most of the kitchen floor. Louis at least has the good grace to seem embarrassed. "I uh, apologize about the mess. I've been hard at work on a few projects recently, and things have gotten a bit out of hand."

Other than the mess, the apartment appears normal. In place of paintings are framed covers of comic book covers, a few famous but most not."

Successful Alertness roll,Post's name is listed as illustrator on most of these.

"I saw Abigail a few times, but not recently before she disappeared. It's a shame; she was nice and I hope she's found. But I don't really know anything about her movements, we're all artists in here and mostly keep to ourselves.

"Can I get you guys a drink or anything?'

OOC:   If anyone wants they can make a HUMINT roll.

Vanessa enters the apartment, careful to avoid the garbage. "No thank you," she says, not wanting to put anything that's been in here in her mouth. "Were you at a party in Abigail Wright's apartment, Mr. Post?"

OOC,Alertness roll (53% skill) in the apartment: [dice]0[/dice] HUMINT roll (57% skill) about [b]Louis Post[/b]: [dice]1[/dice]

Nik shakes his head at Post's offer, and waits for him to answer Vanessa's question.

Alertness,Alertness 54: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/787794]Alertness[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]87[/b]

Post looks surprised. "A party? Not since Christmas... Abigail invited everyone in the building, and I stopped by. She showed us some of her recent works, I showed her a few of my comic covers, we drank a little. It was alright, but I'm not really a party person to be honest, so I left early.

Vanessa gets the sense that Louis is being honest-- he seems anxious to even have them in his apartment, but it seems more related to general social anxiety than him actively hiding anything.

"Do you remember who else was at the party?" asks Vanessa.

"This was nearly a year ago... Um, a few of Abby's friends, but I don't remember any of their names. Thomas was there, Thomas Manuel, he lives in the building. Roger Carun showed up briefly to complain about the noise. Maybe ten people were there? It wasn't that big.

He moves to the refrigerator, taking a carton of milk out of it, and searches around for a glass that's only slightly smudged.

OOC:   Both of you can make Alertness rolls again.

Success,The agent spies the expiration date-- that milk suggested "sell by" date is over a month ago.

Alertness,Alertness 54: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/787950]Alertness[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]8[/b]

Nik spots the expiry date on the carton.

"You may not want to drink that, Mr. Post" he tells the illustrator. "Do you know anything about a play Abigail was writing?"

"Are you sure you're all right, sir?" asks Vanessa. "How much of that milk have you already drunk?"

OOC,Alertness roll (53% skill) in [b]Post[/b]'s apartment: [dice]0[/dice]

Post pulls the carton back and looks at the date. " Huh. That's interesting, but the milk's still fine." He takes a large gulp of it and seems to have no trouble digesting it. "See?" He offers the carton to the agents if they wish to have some.

"You know, I'm really not sure. I went shopping a few weeks ago, I think? Must have gotten it there. I've had a few glasses here and there, but most of it's still left, so probably not as much as I thought I had."

"A play?" He looks back confused at Nik. "No, you must be confused. Abigail was a painter. She never expressed interest in plays."

Nik sighs, but decides to press on.

“Mr. Post, did Abigail ever tell you about anything strange? For example, did she complain about hearing voices or the feeling of being watched? Has anyone else in this building, for that matter?”

"What are you working on, Mr. Post?" asks Vanessa after he has answered Nik's question. Whatever it is, it seems to be have become an obsession for him if he hasn't gone shopping in weeks and has let his place become a sty.

"Not to my knowledge. Though honestly I keep mostly to myself, so if something was going on in here I doubt I'd really know about it. But I can't recall anything unusual happening around here." Vanessa can tell that he seems genuinely confused by the question.

"Ah, I'm a comic book illustrator!" He gestures to the covers illustrated around the room, and now that he pointed it out the agents can see that his name is listed on most of them. "I'm doing the run of FoxBoy now. You heard of him?" Unless the agents were big comic book fans, they hadn't. "Really big opportunity for me. My deadline's coming up in a few days; still have some final inking on it to finish, so I've been sequestered here while I'm trying to make it perfect. If either of you were interested I could show you some of what I've done, give you both a sneak peak."

"Thanks, I'd like that," says Vanessa with a smile.

José digs deeper into the papertrail

crit fail Burocracy 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

Jose,Jose spends more time looking for traces of the hotel, but to his frustration he cannot find anything. He could continue to try, but he's aware it's difficult to prove a negative. If the Broadalbin did not exist, there may well be nothing to find. But if it did, it may be worth it to keep searching.

"Sure, I'd be glad to," Louis' face lights up with a bright smile. He leads Vanessa, (And Nik if he was interested.) over to a working desk. Unlike the rest of the apartment it was clean. Well relatively so, and lacked any piles of random junk placed on it. He slides a series of completed papers over to the agents. "Here's what I've done so far. The dialogue's not my job so they edit that in afterwards, but you should be able to get the basic plot."

The main character of the story seems to be FoxBoy, who is basically a human with large ears and a long tail.He seems to be a hero of some sort, venturing through a forest and fighting monsters along with his companions, a female barbarian type in ridiculously implausible armor, and an older wizard. The colors are bright and cheerful, and the action scenes really pop-- Louis clearly has some talent.

But as the pages continue the colors grow a bit more subdued, the character's facial expressions a bit more reserved, then haunted. The fighting scenes as well become a bit more realistic, and FoxBoy and his companions sustain wounds that they retain from one page to the next. The final page has their faces morph into sheer horror as they stare at something off into the distance-- the final panel reveals this to be a strange symbol carved into a tree.

The Symbol,[url=https://postimages.org/][img]https://i.postimg.cc/3RTxSN5n/The-Yellow-Sign.jpg[/img][/url]

OOC:   Vanessa and Nik if he joins, please make a San roll for seeing this symbol, 0/1d4.

"Nice continuity," says Vanessa as she peruses the comic. "Their wounds remain in future panels. In so many comics, the heroes just miraculously get better after a while. Although I think the barbarian wouldn't be so badly hurt if her armor were anything near practical, but I guess you have to market this to teenage boys. Wow, this is getting dark...whoa!" Vanessa's jaw drops when she sees the symbol, reacting to it much like FoxBoy and his companions do. "What is this symbol? Where did you get the idea for it?"

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 66) for seeing the symbol: [dice]0[/dice] Sanity loss: [dice]1[/dice]

Nik

SAN,SAN 61: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/788480]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]25[/b]

Nik looks at the illustrations, wondering why they are becoming so dark, and if Post is even conscious of this. The strange symbol means nothing to him, but it has obviously created a strong reaction in Vanessa. He eyes her with concern while he waits to see what Post has to say about it.

"Oh. Well, her armor is magical and protects her," Louis explains.

He seems almost impressed by Vanessa' reaction. "It's powerful, isn't it? I'm not really sure where it came from. The deepest reaches of my subconscious, perhaps. A dream, of some sort. But I had a feeling it would really impact the reader!"

Vanessa,Vanessa can't say why the symbol bothers her so much. It just seems utterly disturbing to look at. Something about it sends chills through her and impacts her on an internal level. She almost feels like she's looking at reality laid out onto a page, and it feels realer, more vivid than the room she finds herself in right now. For a second the symbol seems to wiggle in front of her, but when she next blinks the feeling is gone, and the supernatural pull with it. It's just a drawing on a page now. Butt he experience still leaves her shaken, and she feels different somehow. [ooc]Vanessa can add 4 to her Unnatural Skill.[/ooc]

Nik just sees an odd symbol. It does nothing for him. Certainly he can't understand why the characters or Vanessa seem to react with such horror towards it.

"What's wrong, Marchand?" Nik asks. "What effect is it having on you?"

"It sure does!" says Vanessa, still in awe. "It almost feels...alive, somehow, if you know what I mean. It's like the symbol is more real than the real world. I'm okay now, though, Nik."

OOC,May I make an Unnatural roll?

Vanessa,Sure. Though bear in mind there may be consequences for success.

"Yes, exactly! Louis declares. "That's what I was going for with this! I'm not exactly certain where this inspiration came from, but it seemed like the perfect symbol to convey the effect I was going for here! The heroes understand the immense power it holds!" He seems more passionate about this than anything else the agents have seen in him before.

"Who else have you shown it to?" asks Vanessa. "Has anyone else understood it like we do?"

OOC,Unnatural roll (15% skill) about the symbol: [dice]0[/dice]

"No one," Louis responds. ."Though your reaction gives me hope this will be a really impactful issue. I want to finish it first before I send it out to my editor. Speaking of which, I really must get back to work. If there are no further questions I really must ask you both to leave. I hope you find Abigail-- and if I hear anything I'll certainly contact you."

Unnatural,Unnatural 12: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/788590]Unnatural[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]59[/b]

Although the symbol is meaningless to him, Nik senses that it might be quite powerful.

“I want to take a photo of that symbol, Mr. Post” he says firmly. “I need to show it to one of our experts”.

José is convinced another snack will help him working trought the pile of papers. He gets another coffee and another chocolatebar in the reception.

fail Burocracy 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

After w while of not finding anything he returns to Nik and Vanessa

"Thank you, Mr. Post," says Vanessa, giving him her card with her cell phone number.

Jose,[ooc]So close mate, sorry. :([/ooc] Jose spends another hour looking through the records. As best as he can tell, there's nothing about a Hotel Broadalbin ever existing. He has many other stacks of records to go through, but he's beginning to tire of research and decides to head back to the others, content to write this off as a dead end. [ooc]The others are just a little behind you, I'll let you know when you can come back in. Should be soon. :)[/ooc]

Post looks a bit confused. "Well, I don't see what good that would do. I came up with this symbol. You're not trying to steal my work, are you?" For just a moment a suspicious look envelops the illustrator's face, before he shakes it off. "I mean, if you want, be my guest, but I'm not sure what they could tell you about it."

He takes the card and promises he'll call if he remembers anything.

It's a little after 3 in the afternoon now. The agents could try another search of Abigail's apartment, see if they can locate any further pages of the play or anything else of interest. After that they may want to think about getting lunch and calling it a day, unless they were intending to work through the night.

Of course, there were other things they could do as well. They had yet to talk to two of the neighbor's, and Nik could try to find more information out about the symbol.

"Let's get that picture to Dr. Wu and see if he knows anything about the symbol," says Vanessa. "Then we should break for lunch."

"Why don't we drop in on him while we get lunch?" says Nik. "Bring the other stuff we found too in case it gets lost."

"All right," says Vanessa, grabbing their finds. "We'll call Jose on the way and tell him to meet us there if he's done with his stuff."

Jose,Jose can reenter the apartment building and rejoin with the other agents anytime he likes after this post.

As Vanessa and Nik return to Abigail's room, they collect the belongings they believe Dr. Wu would be interested in and prepare to leave. It is then that a piece of paper catches Vanessa's eye. It's pined up to the wall, nearly blending into the background. She goes over and inspects it and discovers it's another part of the play Abigail was apparently writing.

***

SCENE: The Smoking Lounge, a large parlor on the fourth floor. In the room are THE
DOG, THOMAS and MICHELLE.

ENTER MARK ROARK.

MARK: Abigail is gone, she moved upstairs today.
THOMAS: And?

MARK: I miss the kid.

MICHELLE: Her dad, that pig, came around. She doesn’t like you Mark, no one likes
you. Anyway, she ran off with that salesman, everyone knows it.

MARK: Fuck you, you cunt.

THOMAS: Come on guys...come on...

THE DOG BARKS. Someone is heard coming up the steps, a loud racket reverberating up and down the
staircase.

MARK: Who is that?

Everyone stops to listen.

MICHELLE: Who could be down there? Who is that?

MARK steps to the doorway and leans to look down the stairs.

MARK: Hello? Hello?

ENTER FBI AGENTS.

MARK: Who are

(The scene cuts off here.)

***

It's a disconcerting scene to read, but before Vanessa can fully process it, she spies some sort of small scrap of paper that must have been behind the page on the wall. She leans down and picks it up.

Vanessa,It's some sort of receipt. The store name reads Bargain Books. The receipt seems to be for a text called The King in Yellow. Vanessa's never heard of it, but it apparently cost just over twenty five dollars. A scrawled signature here reveals [b]Abigail Wright[/b] is the alleged buyer.

"Okay, that's weird," says Vanessa. "Are we supposed to go to the smoking lounge now, then? I really hope this isn't like the one with the numbers. I'm still trying to sort out the whole predestination versus free will thing, but people have been trying to do that for millennia with no success. Also, I found this." She shows Nik the receipt. "It's from a place called Bargain Books. She bought one called The King in Yellow for a little over twenty five bucks."

José enters the department again talking out loud.
'Man there's a LOT of papers to go trough yet, but i got some insight of the building now' he grabs a protein bar takes a bite and starts talking with his mouth half full... 'Constructed in 1921 as private home for a Henry M. Lundine, upgraded in 1953 to apartment building, the architect was a A. Darabondi. AND i find this note and a scrawl to the side of the file: "HOTEL BROADALBIN. Tonight I saw the rooms at dusk.", this Hotel has been listet at this samme address, the Macallister Building, but i did not find any records saying the Hotel Broadalbin was ever here!' he takes another bite 'isin't that weird?, and what does this even mean? "see the rooms at dusk"?'

Nik barely registers Jose’s commentary, deeply shocked at what Vanessa has just said.

“Oh shit” he finally manages. “Oh fuck. This is on me. This is my fault.”

He bends down, holding his knees.

"What do you mean?" asks Vanessa. "How could it be your fault? Was that book involved in one of the favors you did for Alzis?"

SAN,SAN 61: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/788945]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]10[/b] Now 60

Nik nods sadly.

“Yes, after I asked him to help us with those kids. He had me drop off the book at that store. That son of a bitch! He must know what’s going on.”

Composing himself, he stands up and takes out his phone to call Club Apocalypse.

The phone is picked up after two rings, and Nik hears a familiar voice, full of warmth and charisma.

"Agent Siilasvuo, good afternoon! How may I be of service?"

Nik controls his voice with an effort, wasting no time on small talk.

“That book you had me put in the bookstore, The King in Yellow. What is it exactly?”

"Ah, yes. I assume this is concerning the situation with Abigail Wright?

"First, you must understand that I am an observer... a facilitator, if you will. I perform my role as needed, as do us all. And the fact is Ms. Wright needed to find that book at a certain time in a certain place for events to transpire as they should. But I won't bore you on the details.

"Put in terms you can comprehend, The King in Yellow is a play that invites another plane into the mundane reality we presently inhabit. Those who read it and prove susceptible to its pull are inexorably drawn into this new reality, eventually leaving their own behind. That is what has happened to Ms. Wright, and indeed may happen to the entire building she had resided in; eventually the pull may be strong enough to make the Macallister vanish entirely, becoming part of somewhere else entirely. Artists, you see, feel the impact of the play far stronger than most. You've no doubt already observed some unusual things during your time there-- this is your reality being invaded by another realm. Corrupted, if you like, though really it is more of an evolution. But it is likely a distressing process for most of you.

"The question now must be what will you and your team do, Agent Siilasvuo? Will you pursue Ms. Wright? She may have vanished, but one's journey to the world of Carcosa is likely to take some time. There may yet be a chance to save her before she is lost forever, but is it worth it? She is already likely to be tainted by her exposure to the play, and unless she possesses tremendous will, she will be a carrier for Carcosa and its intrusion into our reality at best. You may wish to instead focus on sealing the gaping hole in reality you now find yourself dealing with. But perhaps you wish to see it for yourself. It is a wondrous realm-- in every definition of the term. Just be careful not to fall prey to exposure yourselves.

"One last bit of friendly advise; do be careful with what you tell your superiors. They tend to wish to kill everyone and everything who they believe has been infected by Carcosa,and that has included more than one agent. I would hate to see you or your team lost, Agent Siilasvuo. Especially when you still owe me a favor."

“Facilitator” Nik repeats angrily. “Who for? Purson? Why would Abigail Wright want to contact him?”

"Oh no, nothing of the sort. Ms. Wright herself had no conscious desire, but fate is a demanding master. Her role in all of this was dictated long before anyone could have known of it. To put it in crude terms, something about her was exceptional enough to make her contact with the play necessary. I-- and you, for that matter-- were only responsible for ensuring she did so. As for who dictated it, those who cling so tenaciously to your reality could never truly comprehend it, so I will spare you the knowledge. But if you would care for a hint; even Kings can at times be pawns for greater forces still.

"I have to go now, i am afraid. But one final piece of advise for you and your colleagues; If you wish to follow after Mr. Wright return to the building after dusk. Just be aware that returning is not as easy as entering can be, and those marked by the King are rarely given back so easily."

The call terminates, and Nik and his teammates are left with more questions than answers, and an uncertain next step. What would they do?

"I think our first priority needs to be to find the entrance to Carcosa in the building," says Vanessa. "Once we've done that, the safest option seems to be to find a way to seal it. We have to treat this thing as a disease. First we'd better consult with Dr. Wu. We'll need his expertise and advice."

Nik is silent as he tries to process what he has just learned.

“Now you know what “see the rooms at dusk” means, Jose” he finally says. “My guess is that in this other place, the Macallister is the Brodalbin Hotel. Maybe it becomes that after dark, and that map we have is what this building becomes.”

He looks at Vanessa.

“I agree, but I want to find Abigail. I got her into this mess, and I need to try to get her out of it. If that means entering this Carcosa place, so be it. I don't expect you two to follow. Maybe this play that we found might be a way to facilitate that? We can add to the story, see what happens. But I’d like to run it all by Wu first, get his perspective.”

He gathers the things they have found together, cursing Alzis all the while.

“Lets hold off on showing DG this stuff for now, hey?”

"Agreed," says Vanessa. "We have nothing conclusive to report yet anyway. We'll do what we can to get Abigail out of there before we seal the entrance. First we'll talk to Dr. Wu, and if he agrees, we can go to the smoking lounge and act out our parts in the play."

A plan forming in their minds, the team leaves the Macallister and heads out to meet with Dr. Jensen Wu, DG friendly and researcher.

***

Dr. Wu works at the Museum of Natural History, though none of the agents had met him in person before. By the time they get there it's after 5, but the museum is open to the general public until 6. They head inside and pay for admission (13$ a ticket) and then inquire with the front desk as to the location of Dr. Wu. A security guard is called and leads them downstairs into the basement of the museum, away from the parts of it that the average guest sees every day. They go down corridors, past unused exhibits and flickering lights, before eventually reaching a door that is labeled D-Stacks. The guard tells them Wu is just through there, and that he'll wait outside until they're done with him. Those agents more skilled in reading people briefly wonder if he's DG, but it becomes apparent this is likely to be more of a security issue; non museum employees probably had to be escorted past all exhibits to prevent theft.

Inside the door is a medium sized of stacks filled nearly to the brim with strange curios. Masks, small clay figurines- gems-- many of these items looked no different from what you would normally find in a museum, but something about this room's items made the agents think this room was designed for cataloging the type of items they found in their line of work.

Before they can explore with more than a cursory glance,a man comes out of an open doorway further in the stacks. He's Asian, in his early 40's, with a slim body and conservative outfit. His graying hair has been pulled back in a ponytail.

"Agents." He holds out his hand. "I believe I've consulted with a few of you before, but I don't believe we've been properly introduced. "I'm Dr. Jensen Wu. It's fairly irregular for me to meet face to face with members of your organization, so I presume you require some further consultation. Is this related to that demonology angle you asked me about earlier?" He asks Nik.

"Forgive me, let's talk in my office." He leads the group in. It's small, but the desk and cabinets are packed with papers and a few more exhibits, ones Wu is presumably spending the most hours on at the moment. A modern computer completes the picture. He clears a space and sits down , offering a seat for the agents at tone-- then remembers there aren't any and smiles apologetically. "Ah, forgive me; I really don't see my colleagues all that much down here, for, ah, obvious reasons. So. What have you got for me?"

OOC:   We’ve been here to meet Wu before in See No Evil

“This is...” Nik begins. Just then he hesitates, remembering Alzis’ warning about Delta Green and Carcosa. He decides that it’s unavoidable to tell Wu, but goes about it carefully.

“We have some information which states that our missing person has a copy of a play called The King in Yellow. Are you familiar with it?”

He watches Wu closely to see how he reacts.

OOC:   Funnily enough I specifically checked the thread and could only find when you spoke to him via phone. Oops. Side note, we played that scenario back in 2017. How time flies...

Wu's action is unfamiliar to Nik. He strokes his chin for a moment and shakes his head.

"No, I can't say that I am. Plays are not really my area of expertise, I'm afraid. I could do some research into it and see what I can dig up, but I'm afraid I'm in as much of a lose as you here."

"How about Carcosa?" Nik asks.

Vanessa shakes Wu's hand when she arrives. She lets Nik do the talking for now, realizing that he wants to reveal no more than necessary at this time.

There's a pause, before Wu again shakes his head. "I'm sorry, it doesn't ring a bell.Forgive me; I really do wish I could be of greater help. And if you would like as I've said I will look into it. It would take a few days at least, if time is critical."

"Okay, Doctor" says Nik, disappointed.

He reaches into his jacket pocket and takes out the photo of the symbol drawn by Post.

"There's one more thing. I apologise in advance, as this symbol seems to cause a strong reaction in some people. Brace yourself."

He shows the picture.

Vanessa watches Dr. Wu for his reaction, wondering if he'll have a similar experience to her.

Wu takes the symbol and carefully examines it. After a moment he hands it back to Nik.

"Well, whatever powers it has seem not to affect me. It's interesting, but I can't say I have any really strong feelings towards it, or recall seeing it for that matter. I am sorry, agents. I wish I could be more help, but here I am as much in the dark as you. Perhaps more so. "

OOC:   Anyone can feel free to make a HUMINT roll.

Success,He's telling the truth-- he has no idea what the symbol means and appeared to be unaffected by it.

HUMINT,HUMINT 75: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/789790]HUMINT[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]97[/b]

“Okay then” says Nik, somewhat relieved. “Please let us know when you find something. But you still might be able to help us. This Carcosa seems to be something like an alternate reality or dimension, which has been opened up. We need to try to close it. Have you ever heard of such a thing happening before?”

"It had a strong effect on me," says Vanessa, "but not everyone reacts the same way. We believe our missing person is in this alternate dimension, but it may not be too late to bring her back. Whether we succeed or fail in that effort, we have to find and seal the breach."

OOC,HUMINT roll (57% skill) about [b]Dr. Wu[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

"I certainly will."

"I've never dealt specifically with something along those lines, no. I know a few binding or summoning rituals for specific creatures, but nothing insofar as closing a gate to another dimension. I would imagine the first step would be determining where the other realm was leaking into this one from. Then you would have to determine how best to deal with it. Can the opening be blocked, buried under rocks or isolated in some way to stop the infection? Can people and places touched by it be restored or must they be destroyed? Just a few things to keep in mind. I'll do what digging I can but do keep in touch. If I hear anything, I will of course contact you immediately. But if you want a first step, I would suggest identifying the bridge between realities and focus on severing it."


"I wish you luck with finding this missing person. Just be careful that you don't end up missing as well. The prenatural can very easily swallow one up." He gestures around his office. "Sometimes, it helps to know when to dig deeper and when to back off. But I have faith in your abilities." He smiles and seems to mean it.

Nik thanks Wu and shakes his hand. As the investigators leave, he says,

“I think the play you found is key, Marchand. Perhaps we can use it to seal the breach to Carcosa. But first I have to try to get Abigail back. Lets get some food and get back to the apartment.”

"I'd like to rescue her too," says Vanessa. "I don't think I should set foot in Carcosa, though. The way I reacted to that symbol...I think the place might have some influence over me. After we get back, we can try visiting the smoking lounge on the fourth floor. That's where the play's next scene takes place."

Nik

"Yeah, let's check it out."

The team stop at one of NYC's excellent local restaurants for a quick dinner that may take just a little longer than necessary as they delay their return. But they make their way back to the Macallistar Building, reentering it at just before seven. The lobby looks no different from usual, but the agents notice that the doorway down to the basement was now open. A dim light signs from within. Meanwhile, the forth floor--and smoking lounge-- waited upstairs.

Nik glances at the others.

"We should take a look" he says, and moves through the doorway.

The stairway down to the basement is dimly lit, but the agents are able to cautiously make their way downstairs. They find themselves in a cramped space that seems to be a storeroom for supplies for the building, perhaps for the maintenance staff. In the center of the room is a man with their back to them. He seems to be having a conversation with someone else, but no one is present. In front of him is a canvas which he appears to be working on, but his body blocks a solid view of it.

"Yes, I agree." He lets out a laugh, loud and ragged. "It does!"

He appears not to notice the agents.

Nik clears his throat.

"Excuse me sir" he says.

"Hello, sir," says Vanessa.

The man jumps and turns around suddenly. The agents see a young, thin, Hispanic male with messy dark black hair and wide brown eyes. His t-shirt and jeans are covered in several different splotches of paint, and he wears an unplugged pair of headphones over his ears. He's barefoot, a questionable choice given how dusty the floor is.

'Don't sneak up on me like that, please." He tilts his head and looks at the trio. '''I've never seen any of you around before. Are you from upstairs? I'm very busy, working on my great work for the exhibition. You should leave."

“What do you mean, ‘upstairs’?” Nik asks him curiously.

"Upstairs." The man looks at them like they're idiots. "You know, the forth floor." There are only three floors in the Macallastar building, at least from the outside. "I thought you might have come down, though that's pretty rare, I guess. Mark likes to stay up there, and I haven't seen Abby since the going away party." He sobers briefly, then turns back to his work.

The agents can see it better now. It's a blank canvas.

Nik takes a breath before choosing his next words.

"Is that where the exhibition is going to be? I'd like to go. When is it being held?"

"When was the going away party?" asks Vanessa. "Where did Abby go after she left?"

The man shrugged.

"Maybe. It's different for everyone. Most people just can't get it, y'know? But Abby could. She introduced it to everyone. Still, it's probably going to take some time until I can follow her. It's why I really must get this piece done, to prove I'm worthy of going upstairs after her.

"The party was held at the smoking lounge on the 4th floor. I don't really remember what day." He seems untroubled by this. She moved upstairs after that. I tried to follow her a few times, but you can't get up there without a clear vision. You have to prove you're special. You can go up and see the smoking lounge and apartments if you want. They're good for inspiration, as you can see." He gestures to his blank canvas, then reconsiders. "But yeah, you need to leave! It's not done yet-- and I can't have others stealing my ideas."

Nik looks at the blank canvas.

"I don't think you need to worry about that" he says.

He gestures to Vanessa and Jose to leave.

"Thank you for your help, sir," says Vanessa. "By the way, what is your name?" she adds as she leaves with Nik.

"Good."

"My name is Thomas."He tells Vanessa, but seems uninterested in further conversation.

OOC:   Where too now? Visiting another of the tenets, or heading directly to the 4th floor?

"I don't think he has to worry about anyone stealing the idea for White on White Number One," says Vanessa once they're out of earshot. "Some experimental artist has probably already done it decades ago. Shall we head up to the fourth floor?"

"But there isn't one, strictly speaking" says Nik. "Let's just go up anyway and see what happens."

"Let's go, then," says Vanessa, heading for the stairs.

The agents make their way back up the apartment building, encountering no other oddities. Soon enough they come to the third floor exit. According to the building layout this should lead up to the roof. But perhaps the Delta Green agents have all seen enough to suspect they would see something else entirely.

They open the door and instead of finding themselves outside, they discover themselves in a large, inviting area resembling a turn-of-the-century men’s
club. The walls are covered in velvet wallpaper, and overstuffed armchairs of burgundy leather dot the floor. A large hearth and fireplace rests against one wall, constantly burning. A wet bar resides in one corner, filled to bursting with snacks and unmarked liquor bottles. In the opposite corner, a large walk-in humidor
contains a wide assortment of the finest cigars.One wall is covered in floor-to-ceiling bookcases made of rosewood, with a rolling stepladder attached to a rail that runs at the midpoint of the shelves. The hardcover books and folios are of many different sizes.

Only one other person is in this room-- A large overweight man in a seersucker suit. He's wearing an obvious wig, a
comical lump of red hair which sits on his head with all the grace of a dead animal. There's a glass of whisky next to him and a cigar hanging out of his mouth. Seeing the newcomers, He gives them a leery grin, the cigar remaining in.

"Look what the cat drag in; more visitors. Grab a seat, have a drink or two, and relax. That's why you've come here, isn't it?" He puffs away.

OOC:   Please make a san roll for discovering the lounge, 0/1d3 Unnatural. It seems like a nice place, with the small drawback that it shouldn't be able to exist.

SAN,SAN 60: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/790659]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]20[/b]

Nik looks around, fascinated by what he sees. Trying to focus on what he needs to do helps cope with the mind-bending nature of the situation.

“Actually, we’re looking for Abigail Wright. Is she around?” he asks the man.

Vanessa looks around in shock. "What?!" she says. "How?!"

OOC,All right, I'll take the hit now. My new Breaking Point is 50. It's amazing that my luck with Sanity didn't run out sooner.

The man's face morphs into a scowl. "Oh. I see. Of course, Abby Wright. No one ever stops by to see how I'm doing. They're here to drink, or smoke, or see Abby Wright. Bunch of ingrates."

He settles down. "I admit that Wright's quite a looker though, ain't she? Got the Greta Garbo charm, eh? That why you lookin for her, pal?" He takes his cigar out and points it at Nik, sharing with him a conspiratorial wink. "She went upstairs. Went to live with that salesman on sixth. She could have done better frankly, but who am I to judge? These artsy types never know what's good for 'em."

He downs his glass of whisky, then refills his cup. "Most of them folks who go upstairs don't come down here much anymore. She's probably busy, them artsy types always are with one project or another. The kids downstairs yap my ear off with their nonsense. It's all about their 'great works' and 'the play' and all that. Give me a break." He seems disgruntled again, as he puffs away. "Abigail was a good kid though. A damn good kid."

Noticing Vanessa's distress, he frowns, gesturing to Nik and Jose with his cigar. "Your dame need a drink or something? Dames-- either they're too absorbed in their work to be interesting or they're pitching a fit. Reminds me of my first three wives!" He cackles.

Nik turns to look at Vanessa. Seeing her distress, he takes her by the arm and talks to her quietly so that the man won’t hear.

“I think you should sit this one out. Why don’t you wait outside with Jose? Work on how to shut down the breach between the worlds. I’ll go look for Abigail.”

"I think I'm okay to at least talk to this guy," says Vanessa, "now that I'm used to this room being here. But I'm not going upstairs from here."

"Okay" says Nik. "But can you keep it together? We need to work out how to shut this place down. My bet is on writing more to the play that Abigail started. What do you think about that? See what our new friend over there says. Make him a Tom Collins or something."

"Sure," says Vanessa, collecting herself and returning to the lounge. "Hello, my name is Vanessa Marchand," she says to the man. "I don't believe we've met before. What is your name? Can I get you a drink?"

The man looks Vanessa up and down appreciatively, and makes no effort to hide it.

"Well hello there, little lady. I'm Mark Roark. Pleasure to meet you. Get me a Jack Daniel's, would ya doll?" He holds out the glass for her to take.

"How long have you been here, Mr. Roark?" Jose asks. He is met with a fierce glare in response.

"That's none of your business. All you newcomers coming in here, trying to yack my ears off, yack, yack, yack! Just get me my damn drink already." He grumbles and smokes his cigar, sulking.

"Jack Daniels? Who the hell drinks that piss?" Nik thinks.

"I'm on my way out, Mr. Roark" he says calmly. "You don't mind pointing me in the direction of upstairs while my friend fixes you a drink, do you?"

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Roark," says Vanessa, pouring the drink. "One Jack Daniels, coming right up. What do you know about the salesman up on six?" she adds casually, hoping that he'll be more willing to talk to her, as she is of the female persuasion.

"You don't know the way upstairs? You must be drunker than I am!" Roark cackles. "It's just out through that door. Keep going up and you'll eventually find it. I don't remember the room number-- I don't have cause to go there much, you see. I live on the seventh floor of the hotel. You could ask the Hotel Manager though. Fellow by the name of Castaigne. He's alright. For a Dago," He whispers this last word.

Roark takes the drink from Vanessa like a man stuck in the desert and half dead of thirst. He gulps it down, and it seems to calm him somewhat. "Thank you, baby doll. I don't know much, I'm afraid. He only deigns to come down here when it's time for him to take someone up to the higher floors. He's taken several people up with him in the time I've been here to go live with him, but they're never seen with him again. You could do better than him, you know. Especially because I think he's a bit--" He makes an effeminate motion with his hand. "He took some fellows up with him too. But hey, if you ever want some company, you can visit me. I can tell you about my salesman days myself. Those were the days!" He looks morose for a moment before taking another swig of his drink.

"Where might we find Mr. Castaigne?" asks Vanessa. "I've no desire to go upstairs with that encyclopedia salesman. So you were a salesman too, before you moved into the Broadalbin? Those were the days, you said. Which days were those?" She is curious as to just how long ago Roark ended up in this strange place. From the way he talks, he sounds straight out of the 1940s.

"He's upstairs," Mark responds, making a vague motion with his hand. "You can't miss him." Beyond that he does not elaborate.

"Good choice. Guy's a prick. Young impressionable girls like Abigail fall for his act though. She probably thought he'd lead her to her bottle-- damn fool of a girl."

He brightens up considerably when Vanessa questions him, however. "The 30's, of course. I worked for Fuller Brush as a door to door salesmen. The job wasn't as exciting as some of the other things I've done-- I was an alligator wrangler down in Louisiana for a time. A carnival barker in Nevada. But it was a consistent paycheck, something I needed after President Smith imploded the economy. But what do you expect from a Papist, eh?"

"It's good to relax, but I'll be getting back to work soon. Just need to finish a few things up here before I go."

"President Smith?" asks Vanessa, knowing that there was never an American President with that most common of surnames. "You mean Al Smith?" He's not just a product of another time, she thinks, he's from some sort of alternate history. "Was he elected in 1928, then? It's a bit before my time. What brought you here?"

Nik doesn’t waste any time.

“If I’m not back in hour, don’t wait for me” he tells Jose. “Both of you get going and use the play to close the breach. Write the ending to what Abigail started.”

He moves off to the door, heading for the upper floors.

"Of course Al Smith! Goodness, and they wanted to give you gals the right to vote. What do you mean what brought me here? I needed a place to stay in New York, and the Broadalbin was cheap enough. Nice place." He gets up to grab another cigar. "Few of the tenets are a bit noisy, the bastards. But what can you do?"

As Nik gets up to leave, Jose follows up. "No way buddy. I'm not letting you venture up there alone. Who knows what you'll find? Vanessa seems safe here-- I don't think this guy is dangerous. But there's no telling what's up there, and I don't think this salesman will let Abigail go without a fight."

Vanessa likes the alternate history even less now that she knows that women didn't get the vote, at least not by the 1940s. "What can you tell me about the other tenants here?" she asks. "Who do you think the salesman on six will take upstairs next?"

Nik hesitates.

"Alright, come on then" he eventually says.

"Only that there's a lot of them, and they come and go. Nature of a hotel, I suppose. Most of them keep to themselves, don't talk much. You get used to it." He plucks an olive into his mouth, chews it and spits it out.

"He only seems interested in the artsy types. Maybe that Manuel kid, he's going on and on about his deep work. Or Post. Happened to look in on one of his paintings--" He suppresses a shudder. "I don't really understand art, but maybe it's to the salesman's taste." "They all seem interested in going up to sixth though, down there. Little do they know that most folks never make it up that far!" He cackles and puffs away.

Nik and Jose leave the lounge, their departure not seeming to be noticed my Mark. They follow a wide hallway north, the only direction it goes. The furnishings remain upscale,with a wine red plush carpet and walls made of dark oak. Eventually they come across another door, a placard on it having faded away, preventing the agents from learning who-- or what-- resided inside. A little ways further down the hallway sat a spiraling staircase, stretching up as far as the eye could see. Presumably more units lay above.

"So what next, bossman?" Jose asks, chomping on a wedge of cheese. Apparently he had helped himself at the snack bar when no one was looking. "We know Abigial was last seen on sixth, but we also know there's a manager around here somewhere. Want to look for him first, or go straight for her?"

Nik thinks for a moment.

"I don't think we have time to spare. Let's head upstairs."

"Why don't they get that far?" asks Vanessa, growing concerned. "What stops them?"

Vanessa,"[color=#0000FF]The Broadalbin is a big place[/color]," says Mark. "[color=#0000FF]Even I've not seen all of it. It's very easy for people to get lost in it, enter in one area and come out somewhere entirely different. Randomly wandering around in it won't do you much good. Besides, you need a certain drive to get beyond a certain point, I guess. [b]Abby[/b] had that-- none of the rest of these jokers do. But maybe they're surprise me[/color]," he snorts.

Jose nods. "Sure, lead the way buddy."

The agents ascend the staircase. The next floor landing is quickly discovered, but unless Nik wants to stop here they head up one more floor to the sixth floor. At least they would assume it was-- there's no marking indicating it is, and the steps continue upwards. In front of them is a long hallway with roughly a dozen doors on each side of it. Ahead of them the hallway splits left and right, though what is down these passages is impossible to see at the moment.

"That's a lot of doors," Jose says. "How are we going to find her?"

OOC:   Nik, please roll San. No gain or loss will be apparent at this time.

"Shit."

Nik lets out a sigh of frustration.

"You're on the right track. Let's go back and see if we can find that manager. We gotta narrow this down."

SAN,SAN 60: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/791673]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]15[/b]

"There's nothing dangerous up there, is there?" asks Vanessa.

Vanessa,"[color=#0000FF]It's a big place[/color]," [b]Mark[/b] says with a shrug. He looks over and seems to notice for the first time the other agents have left. "Y[color=#0000FF]our pals went upstairs? Fools. Doubt you'll be seeing them again. It's very easy to get lost up there. Stick with me, doll. Cigar[/color]?"

Jose nods,and the pair return down two flights of stairs.

But things are different here. The one door that stood out and hallway leading to it and back to the smoking lounge is gone. Instead both agents find themselves faced with yet another path with dozens of doors spread out in front of them, before it branched off to the left and right once again. It looked almost exactly like the place they had just been-- yet Nik notices a few of the doors have different markings on them then the ones upstairs had, meaning it was not a perfect replica. Regardless, there was no sign of where they had come from; the only other visible pathways was the staircase that led up and down as far as they could see.

"Uh oh." says Jose. "Maybe it was down another floor?" He sounds unconvinced but starts to head down the stairs to check.

OOC:   Nik, please lose 1 san for witnessing this.

"Fuck" Nik mutters, mentally kicking himself for rushing too far ahead.

"Yeah, see if we can go back down."

OOC,New SAN 59

"Right," Jose says, and leaves, walking down the stairs and vanishing from sight.

A moment later he rushes back up. "It's right down here!" Presuming Nik follows him down one set of stairs, they find themselves on the ground floor again. The single door is visible a short distance away, as is the hallway they left the smoking lounge from.

"Phew!" Jose looks relieved, then unsure. "Did we count the steps wrong or something? I thought we went up two flights, but it took three coming down. This place... I think it's messing with my head, man."

“No shit Jose” says Nik. “Look dude, you should stay with Marchand. This is too fucked up. But I’m going to check out that door over there. Try and get a lead on Wright.”

"No thanks, I don't smoke," says Vanessa. "Who else has gone upstairs recently, aside from Abby? Have any of them come back?"

Jose looks torn. "Look man,are you sure? Vanessa's with someone. I don't want to leave you alone here. What happens if you get lost looking for Wright? Without me you may not have found your way back, man.." But if Nik insists, he seems willing to head back to the smoking lounge, though it's equally apparent he really doesn't want to.

OOC:   Regardless of what you decide, I assume Nik will next knock on the door.

The door opens, though it takes almost a minute after the first knock for it to do so. Nik finds himself face to face with a very short man with a shock of white hair and a cheap, ill fitting grey suit. He appears to be in his seventies, though he could be even older then that. He looks up at Nik with droopy eyes.

'Yes, you need something?" He speaks so softly Nik can barely hear him,and his voice seems to carry an accent with it, maybe Russian or Ukrainian. "You are not tenant, you are here to rent unit?'

***

"You talk too much," Roark complains. But he still responds. "Asa, that young fella, think he said his name was David... A lot of folks go up. Sometimes they come down, but never if they go with the salesmen. His apartment must be a mess! Or maybe they decide to move out on their own. There's a lot of units up there. Abby seemed to want to meet some king fella. But like I said, the Broadalbin's a big place. Even has caverns underneath it. I was there, once. G-Men almost got me. I was so close to, but now I don't even remember the way back." For the first time, Mark appears genuinely distressed. But the moment soon passes and he blinks back, his unfocused eyes looking at Vanessa.

'If you're not going to join me in a drink get out. I'm off the clock, and tired of answering questions," he grumbles quietly to himself.

Nik insists on Jose returning. He doesn’t want to lose the other agent in this strange place.

“Actually, I’m hoping you can help me” Nik tells the old man. “I’m looking for Abigail Wright. Do you know what apartment she’s in?”

"Actually, I think I could use a drink right about now," says Vanessa, going over to the bar to see what the choices are. Given everything that's happened, some alcohol is probably exactly what she needs. "Being a chatterbox is thirsty work."

Jose nods and heads off.

The elderly man regards Nik silently for a moment, before sighing and shuffling in. "Come in, I check for you." He seems to walk with a pronounced limp.

Inside is a far cry from the grander of the smoking lounge and the hallways Nik has seen so far. The space is small, cramped, and seems to resemble an eastern bloc apartment out of the cold war better than anything else. The walls are covered in old black and white photographs-- Nik sees that many of these seem to be images of bombed out cities, some familiar, others not. There are also pictures of impoverished groups of people walking though charred battlefields. Some of the photos are labeled, but with strange names like Downtown Tulips or Sovereign Carriages, never with an exact description. In addition to the photos, the agents sees many newspapers and magazines, yellowed with age and wear and tear. A door rests on the north wall, currently closed.

The old man heads to his desk and starts going through a large book that seems to be well over 1000 pages. He hovers over it, (preventing Nik from seeing what he's doing unless he gets very close) his fingers scanning as though for something. Finally, he taps twice, nods, and looks up.

"Yes, Ms. Wright lives in unit 647 with The Salesman. I hope that is helpful."

***

"That's the spirit," Mark slurs, going back to his own drink.

Vanessa can see there's a wide selection of beverages, though all seem alcoholic in nature. She could have wine, brandy, beer, bourbon... whatever stuck her fancy.

OOC:   If Vanessa intends to have a drink and relax for a few minutes, please roll cha*5, just to see how well Roark regards her.

“That’s very helpful, it’s much appreciated” Nik says.

“Tell me sir” he continues, “This Salesman, do you know him well?”

Vanessa pours herself a shot of whiskey. It burns really good going down.

OOC,CHA x 5 roll (40% stat) to see how [b]Roark[/b] reacts: [dice]0[/dice]

"Glad to hear it," says the man, his tone not really selling the emotion but not quite approaching sarcasm either.

"I know all the tenants, yes. I'm the Night Manager here at the Macallistar. He and Abigial are quiet, complain little. They pay the rent on time, every month. Very respectable-- the Super likes him. He runs the building." He explains.

***

Vanessa does indeed find the drink very refreshing. She detects nothing in it that alarms her. She soon joins Mark back on one of the seats. It quickly becomes apparent the man is an absolute drunkard. He rambles about nothing, starting one anecdote and losing his trail halfway through. Vanessa gets the sense he won't tell her anything more useful. She could explore the room further, or go back down into the Macallistar. Or she could try and go after Nik and Jose. And of course, this break had been nice. If she wanted to, nothing seemed to be stopping her from staying here for awhile longer.

“Okay, thanks” Nik replies. “Is 647 on the next floor up?”

Vanessa looks around the mysterious room, wondering what else she might find here.

"Yes, it upstairs," The man says. "You here for unit as well? We always have vacancy."

***

Vanessa finds that besides the wet bar, fireplace, and humidor, there's several bookcases that span the floor to ceiling, and step ladder that allows easy access to all of their contents. The hardcover books and folios are of many different sizes, and offer no hints as to their contents.

"No, just for Abigail" Nik replies.

He says goodbye and heads back upstairs to search for the unit.

Vanessa takes down one of the books at random, not having any way to tell them apart or know what they are about otherwise. She sits down in a chair, cracks open the book, and looks inside.

Nik heads upstairs a floor, only to find the same confusing series of doors and hallways he had before. He can't see a 647 from here, but one of the other doors near him reads 623, so maybe he's on the right floor? did he want to go down the line and examine more of the doors, or did he want to try another floor, go back to the night manager's office, or go back to the smoking lounge?

***

Vanessa's not sure what she was expecting to find, but it probably wasn't this. The insides of the book consist solely of dozens of antique pornographic pictures. All of the participants in these scenes wear masks, and many are staged in elaborate costumed tableaus. The range of activities is breathtaking. Some of the pictures also include individuals with rather severe deformities the likes of which would have been found in a circus freak show in less enlightened times. These deformities are being used in creative ways that nonetheless are rather disturbing to look at. A staggering assortment of strange equipment is in evidence, as well, with people suspended from odd contraptions or imprisoned within labyrinths of leather sheeting and gauze curtains. There's no text or identifying information within the book. The pictures speak for themselves.

"Erm, no thanks," says Vanessa, shutting the book and putting it back on the shelf where she found it. She isn't too keen on examining the other books at this point. She takes a look at the fireplace.

Nik moves down the corridor, searching for the right unit.

Vanessa finds the fireplace to be old fashioned, perhaps from the middle of the century. It provides real warmth and does not seem anymore harmful than any other fireplace. She does notice that the wood looks as though it was just placed within the fire. But she had been in this room for a fair amount of time, and it occurs to her that the wood should have been consumed by the flames at least somewhat by now. It's an unsettling reminder that for all of this place's apparent comfort, there was something unsettlingly weird about it.

From his chair, Roark drunkingly begins to hum. He does not sound very good.

OOC:   Vanessa, please make an unnatural roll 0/1.

***

Nik begins to travel down the hallway, paying careful attention to each room number. None of them however seem to be the one he is looking for.It occurs to him that this could be a long search. Even worse, there's no way for him to really track the doors-- he had passed by 627, but a door three lengths down was labeled 543.

He's about halfway down the hallway when one of the doors opens and a man steps out. He's a tall, balding, and bulky man in a short-sleeved button-down shirt and a Boston Red Sox windbreaker. He briefly glances at Nik before heading further down the hallway at a fast walk, his hands in his pockets.

Nik's search is becoming frustrating. A he sees the man leave his unit, Nik calls out to him.

"Excuse me, sir? I'm looking for 647."

"Well, that's weird," says Vanessa. She turns to Roark. "Does anyone ever come in and put fresh wood on the fire? It looks fresh, though it's been burning for a while."

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 59) about the fireplace: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik's question goes unanswered. Indeed, the man does not even look back. He continues to walk at a fast pace down three more sets of doors, before stopping at one near the end of the hall. He looks around briefly, not seeming to take in anything in particular, and speaks.

"Twenty Seven."

Then he opens the door and slips inside, preparing to close it as soon as he does.

OOC:   If Nik wants to try and reach the man before he closes the door, please roll Athletics.

***

Vanessa's question makes Roark stop humming, thank God. "Huh? Oh, I don't know. I'm not always here, you know. Someone probably comes in and keeps it going. Maybe the Night Manager."

Nik watches the man curiously, making no attempt to interfere with him. He then goes to the door the man left from to look at the number.

"Who is the Night Manager?" asks Vanessa. She can practically hear the capital letters.

The man closes the door and all is silent within the hallway once more. Nik goes to look at the room-- it has no obvious numbering on it,and looks no different from most of the other door he passed by.

***

Roark lights another cigar. "Eyetalian by the name of Castaigne. He maintains the apartments, handles any problems the tenets has, fixes things. At least,that's his job, but you know how his people are-- lazy and shifty. He works for the Super-- never seen him, but he's upstairs. Having a party tonight, I hear, but it's very exclusive. I've never been invited." Vanessa can tell Mark feels a bit sore about this.

Frustrated, Nik walks up to the other door the man entered.

"Twenty-seven" he announces, and waits to see what happens.

"Who did get invited to the party?" asks Vanessa. "Are the salesman and Abby going?"

The door does nothing, even if Nik says something else. He could try to open it and track down the man, or he could ignore it and press on-- there were a lot of doors yet to search. But could he find the one he was looking for?

***

"Bah," Roark says. "All sorts I'm sure. I've never been invited, and the list is very hush hush. I'm not sure I ever met anyone who attended his parties. I doubt the Salesman would have gone, though-- he'd not still be here if he had been allowed to move upstairs. Abigail might, though. That kid's got talent. Perfect for parties!"

The door out to the hallway opens, and Jose returns. Roark seems to pay him no mind, but the agent looks to Vanessa and seems relieved.

"Nik made me come back. He's gone to look for Abigial on his own. He found The Night Manager's room and is asking them where she is. I think he wants us to get out of here... but I'm going back to loo for him. We have no idea what's up there, and I don't want to leave him to face it alone. But I know you've been taking all of this hard, Vanessa. If you want to leave, you should. If the worst happens, at least one of us can report in."

In the end, the choice was Vanessa. Would she leave this strange world and do what she could from the other side, or try and pursue Nik in it?

"Fuck this" Nik curses.

He returns to the stairs and heads back down towards the manager's office, hoping to persuade him to show where 647 is located.

"I'm not too bad now," says Vanessa. "I think I can manage. The whiskey helped. Nik and I have been through a lot, and I can't leave him to face it alone, either. Besides, he should know what I've found out. I'll come with you. Let's see if we can report in first, though." She takes out her cell phone and tries to call McRay,

Nik finds his way backstairs. To his relief, the night manager's office is still there. He knocks on the door but there is no answer. But the door opens if he applies the least bit of pressure.

Inside the room is much the same as before, but the old man is absent. Nik notices a hardcover book lying open on the desk. Did he want to look at it, or did he prefer to wait for the man to come back?

***

Jose frowns, but nods. "Alright. I can respect that. I don't want to leave him either. I haven't known him as long as you, but he has a cool head on his shoulders. If he hadn't talked me down last operation, I think we'd all have died when we met those aliens. I'm coming with you."

Vanessa takes out her phone and dials McRay. After two rings, someone picks up.

"Hello?" The voice does not sound like their case officer. It sounds younger, like a boy who has yet to go through puberty.

"This is Special Agent Marchand," says Vanessa. "Is McRay available?"

"Are you looking for my mom?" the kid says. "She's at work, sorry."

Nik walks into the room. Maybe he can find a map or something. He looks at the book on the desk, starting his search there.

"I'm sorry, I must have the wrong number," says Vanessa, and she disconnects the call. "I'm sure it's the right number, we're just in the wrong reality. McRay's probably a bank manager or something in this one, if he even exists." She fills in Jose about what she's discovered about the alternate history. "The point of divergence is at least as far back as 1920. Women never got the right to vote nationwide then, and as a result Al Smith won the Presidential election in 1928, not Herbert Hoover. I don't think walking out the front door would help. We might still be stuck in this other timeline. We need to find Nik and finish the job. Where did you see him last, and where was he going?"

There's no map that Nik can see-- the paper clippings on the wall feature headlines, many of them not making much sense to the agent. RUSSO-GERMAN PACK CRUMPLES-VIENNA LIBERATED. LONDON WIPED OUT BY A-BOMB. It seemed from a cursory glance that these headlines were describing another history-- or multiple ones.

The book itself was confusing. It seems like some sort of hereditary tree, names being traced back over dozens of generations to a Yellow King. All lineages seem to have traced back to him, but marks are put under certain names for inexplicable reasons. Nik notices one name has been circled on the page he's on, and a tiny crown was drawn over it. Henri de Calvados Castaigne . He recalls that Roark had mentioned Castaigne was the Night Manager, though there was no guarantee this was the same one.

"What are you doing in here?" demands a voice. Looking up, Nik sees the old man, presumably Castaigne, entering the room as well. He looks at Nik and then to the book, and looks furious. "That's mine! Get away, the crown is mine!" The man has a letter opener in his hand and is holding it up threateningly. Nik doubts it would do much damage, but who the hell knew in this place?

***

"Oh man, my head." Jose says. "One reality is complicated enough.I just say we forget about the girl, grab Nik, and run, but I don't think he'd be willing to-- he blames himself. So we might as well help him and get the hell out of here as fast as possible. He went to go see the Night Manager. I'm not sure he's there now, but it's just up the hallway. I hope; we've had some trouble navigating this place. So we need to stay together. I hope Nik hasn't gotten lost. I don't think we'd be able to find him again...

"You won't!" Cackles Mark Roark.

"But he insisted I go back to you. That's Nik though, selfless to the end. But I'm not going to leave him behind. Let's go." He opens the door to the hallway and waits for Vanessa to follow.

"Then let's start with the Night Manager," says Vanessa. "No matter what, we don't get separated." She goes with Jose, following his directions.

Nik holds his hands up, the palms facing outwards.

“I’m sorry” he says. “I was waiting for you, I was just curious about the book. I didn’t mean any offence. I need your help to find unit 647.”

The man's eyes narrow,and Nik can tell he's not yet sure if he believes him.

OOC:   Can Nik please give me a persuade roll?

***

Vanessa and Jose leave the smoking lounge and begin to make their way to the night manager's apartment. "It's just up ahead," Jose says. "Or at least it was."

OOC:   A ssoon as events with Nik occur, I'll give you another update.

"It's true, sir" Nik insists earnestly. "I could really use your help."

Persuade,Persuade 73: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/793251]Persuade[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]59[/b]

The old man sighs, and puts the letter opener away. "Yes, well, stay away from that. I thought you were an agent of one of my rivals. I have so many..." He begins to mumble in a foreign language.

"It is often difficult for one to find their way around these floors, at first. You must have a clear vision in mind, and be willing to disbelieve what you see in front of you. It can be hard to find what you are looking for, but that's alright. You find what you need to, and it gets easier over time as you adapt to this place. I never get lost. Not anymore."

I can't guide you today, unfortunately. I have a large list of things to repair, my job keeps me so busy, and there's hardly any time to construct the list... but soon, hehehe... Yes, well, if you wish to find 647, keep the destination in mind and sooner or later it will turn up." He hobbles past Nik and goes to one of the pictures, touching it fondly. "Oh Anna..." He seems to pay no further attention to Nik.

Nik thinks he has a general idea of what the man is saying. Evidently this place does not operate on the same level of reality as the real world. A set of stairs or door might not lead him to where he was intending to go. But at least it seemed to allow him to never truly get lost, either. So long as he had a destination in mind and was patient, he should find what he was looking for. In theory. But what would he find in the meantime? And for that matter, how long would he have to search?

"Oh, before you go," Castaigne hobbles over to Nik and offers him three tickets, yellowed with age and with no identifying text. "For the puppet show."

***

Vanessa and Jose continue, but Jose stops suddenly, putting out an arm as if to shield her.

The sight in front of them was not the usual horror. A large St. Bernard lay in the middle of the hallway, its head down. It glances up at the agents with an unreadable expression. Its fur is mangy and it looks like an older animal, but otherwise seems normal. And it looked like it was getting enough to eat.

"Be careful, Vanessa. I came through this exact area and didn't see this animal before. I think we should just go past it. Slowly. Honestly, I've always been more of a cat person."

The door to the night manager's office could be seen not too far past the dog. They should be able to squeeze past the creature, but would it let them?

Nik turns the tickets over in his hand. He doesn't think he'll be going though, not if he can help it.

"Thanks" he says. "Why did you give me three, though?"

"I'm a dog person," says Vanessa. "I've got a big German Shepherd named Rex. He acts tough, but deep down he's a big softie." She crouches in front of the dog and smiles. "I bet you're just like him. What's your name?" She checks to see if it has a collar with a nametag.

"Hmm?" The man says. "I don't know. Now please, leave me be. And if you see any others who claim to be the king, kill them for me. You will be well rewarded when I reclaim the crown." He goes back to looking at the picture, seeming to forget Nik was even there.

OOC:   You can roll HUMINT if you like.

Success,Best as [b]Nik [/b]can tell, he's being honest. He doesn't know why he gave [b]Nik[/b] the tickets. Actually, he had a moment of brief confusion when asked, seeming to forget he had just handed them over.

***

There's no collar on the dog. It looks up at Vanessa then sniffs her, showcasing no aggression. It seems to like what it smells, as it's tail begins to wag. Vanessa knows dogs well enough to know that it's asking for something to eat. Though it would also enjoy being scratched.

"I dunno, gives me the creeps," Says Jose. "How would a dog even get up here? Though I guess that guy back in the Lounge did. Did he seem normal?"

"Normal except for the fact that he seems to be from the 1940s and that the history he remembers is quite different from ours," says Vanessa. "And if he's been here for over half a century, it doesn't quite seem normal that he apparently hasn't aged that much since coming here. And he's seemingly not disturbed by how this place works, at least not any more. Otherwise, yeah, he's normal." She gives the dog a scratch behind the ears, knowing that Rex likes a good scratch. Then she takes out a doggie treat from a bag in her purse that she always carries so that she has some for Rex and gives one to the dog.

HUMINT,HUMINT 75: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/793408]HUMINT[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]56[/b]

Nik quietly leaves the room, shutting the door. He tries to clear other thoughts from his mind, and focuses on 647.

The dog waits for Vanessa to give him the treat. He gobbles it up and stands up, and sniffs Vanessa bit more. Deciding she's okay, he licks her. He's big enough she has to push him back a bit to keep him from pushing her over, but he seems entirely friendly.

Nik meanwhile exits the office and spies Vanessa and Jose a few feet down the hallway. Vanessa is currently being licked by a big St. Bernard. Jose watches the scene with a wary eye. Then he sees Nik, and relief flashes across his face.

The trio are reunited.

"Good boy!" says Vanessa, giving the dog another scratch. "Why don't you come along with us?" She stands up and smiles at Nik. "Glad you're okay. The three of us need to stick together from now on. No more splitting up. And don't ask us to leave the building. The world outside probably isn't the one we left." She explains what she's learned from talking to Roark.

Nik is not happy to see Vanessa and Jose.

“Why the fuck are you here? This place isn’t like anything we’ve seen before. Nothing makes sense. Get out and start seeing about closing the link between this place and our reality. What good does it do if we’re all stuck here? Christ!”

"Like I said, I don't expect we'll be back in our world if we step out the front door," says Vanessa. "I already tried to call McRay, but the phone was answered by some kid whose mom was out. In order to get home, I think we're going to have to do it from inside this building. I really don't want to live in a world with an alternate history where we're fighting Soviet-backed guerrillas in Canada or something crazy like that. We have to set things right, and it's going to take all of us."

“Okay” says Nik grumpily. “But you’re both making a mistake.”

He takes a breath a tries to relax himself.

“I’ve been going nuts trying to find the room. You can’t find it by just looking. The manager guy said that you need to put the place you want to go into your mind, and then you can do it. So just think about finding unit 647. Keep it as your main thought, and maybe we have a chance.”

The dog seems more than willing to follow Vanessa, as long as she continues to feed and scratch him. He sticks close to her.

"I was hoping you could tell her to ditch the dog, man," Jose tells Nik. "I'm not sure this is a place we should be picking up strays."

Nik fills the team in on finding the room, and they head deeper into the seemingly endless floors of the Macalister Building. Vanessa can see that a spiral staircase leads up. Perhaps this time they would find the room they were looking for?

OOC:   Whoever posts first, please roll 1d100. As I imagine all of you are trying to focus on finding room 647, I am giving you a bonus for this, but you won't know if you succeed or fail immediately.

Vanessa concentrates on finding room 647 and Abigail Wright as she heads for the staircase.

OOC,Die roll: [dice]0[/dice]

The agents set off up the stairs, the dog trotting after.

Once they get up the first flight of stairs, the team sees a hallway of doors, leading down to a hallway that branches off two ways. Nik and Jose can see something different this time, however-- the rooms are clearly labeled, starting at 600 and seeming to go up in a logical order. 647 cannot be seen from here, but it would seem to be on this floor. Which was odd, since this should technically be the 5th.

The only other thing of note is a man standing outside one of the rooms about midway down the hallway, 614 or thereabouts. He's dressed like an usher at a movie theater. When he sees the agents come up the stairs he waves at them, seeming to want them to come closer. The team will need to go past him to get to 647.

As they approach the man, Nik nods a friendly greeting.

“Hi” he says. “We’re looking for Abigail Wright. Do you know her?”

The man returns the friendly greeting.

"Good evening, fine sir! Do you have your tickets? The show is about to begin!" He waves his hands dramatically ."Tonight only, we are proud to present a performance of The Vanishing of Abigail Wright for our audience to enjoy! It's sold out, I am afraid, but if you're here I assume you have tickets?" He waits.

Vanessa follows Nik and lets him do the talking for now.

Nik steps back involuntarily when he hears the man's announcement. He reaches into his pocket and takes out the tickets.

"Will Abigail herself be at the performance?" he manages to ask.

"She's the star of the performance!" The man says brightly. "You better head in, the theater's packed, and the show's just about to start!" He looks at the dog. "I'm afraid pets must stay outside, however-- we're trying to maintain a classy atmosphere."

Jose looks at Nik. "Your call, man."

"I mean the real Abigail" Nik insists. "This is a puppet show, right?"

The man just continues to smile. He either does not understand or chooses not to answer.

Nik sighs.

"Okay, I'm going if you guys want to come."

He enters.

"Stay," Vanesa says to the dog before following Nik through the door.

The dog yawns and pees on the rug. Then it lays down a few feet away. It does not seem to be going anywhere in a hurry.

The usher takes their tickets, stamps them, and gives them back. "Your seats are listed on there. Enjoy the show!" He opens the door, and the agents step inside.

They find themselves in a theater. Several rows of plush red seats fill up the room, most of them already having a guest sitting in them. These guests are wearing outfits from various time periods-- some look like they just stepped out of the 30's, but others could easily be passed on the street today. There's a pleasant undercurrent of chatter that fills the room, and the crowd is eagerly anticipating the performance. The stage itself is large, and the curtain is currently down.

"Wow," Jose says, seeming unsettled. "There's no way this is in the same place, right? This is way too big to be a room in an apartment building, or a hotel, or wherever we are." Indeed, the agents can see that there is even a balcony, and several doors leading backstage. It seems like an actual theater.

Their seats are right next to one another, in the seventh row. Most of it has not been filled up yet. Did they want to take their seats and wait for the show to begin?

OOC:   San rolls for Unnatural, 0/1 because there's no way this theater is connected to where they just were.

"It's bigger on the inside," says Vanessa in wonder. "Well, we're here. We might as well watch the show. We could learn something important from it." She takes her seat.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 59) for the theater being too big to fit here: [dice]0[/dice]

SAN,[url=https://orokos.com/roll/794706]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]10[/b]

Nik barely notices the unreal proportions of the room. He anxiously scans the faces for signs of Abigail.

There's no sign of Abigail among the crowd, far as Nik can see.

As the agents sit down, a man sitting next to them leans in. "This is an exciting play. I have heard the reviews for it are quite good."

Jose does not recognize the man, but Nik and Vanessa do. It's Mangos Colorados, the sheriff of the San Carlos Native reservation, the sight of the case that first exposed them to the hidden horrors of the world and brought them into Delta Green.

Problem is, he was dead. The papers had said he had shot himself, but Majestic was a more likely culprit. Yet here he is, smiling and looking like he's ready to enjoy a play about the subject of their current investigation.

OOC:   San rolls for Nik and Vanessa, 0/1d3 unnatural for seeing a dead man.

Vanessa manages to keep it together somehow. "It's been a while, Sheriff," she says. "It's good to see you again. You're looking...healthy."

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 59) for seeing a dead man: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik’s face goes white when he sees Colorados.

“I thought you were dead” he says bluntly.

SAN,SAN 59: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/794801]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]90[/b] SAN loss: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/794802]SAN loss[/url]: [u]1d3[/u] [b]3[/b] Now 56

Colorados smiles, but his eyes hold great sadness. "I am. I believe so, at any rate. The first thing I remember after dying is waking up here," he gestures, and the agents get the sense he does not mean just the theater. "So quite possibly I am dead, and this is the afterlife. I'm unsure if it is heaven or hell. I suppose it does not matter, though. You're all alive, I assume, yet you found yourself here. So perhaps life or death really makes no difference in the end. Maybe this is all that matters. All that will ever matter."

He's not the only familiar face. A few rows away the agents spy Thomas Dengler, the teenager who had been summoning the monster known as the Glenridge Chiropractor before it took him away into space. And there's Sarah Comix, the FBI mathematics expert who fell prey to an unnatural equation and murdered the family of her FBI supervisor before killing herself. There's even the Nazi sorcerer Nik remembered killing in their first operation back in New York. All of these people seem relaxed and waiting for the play to start.

"All these people in the audience are connected to us," says Vanessa. "That can't be a coincidence. This whole thing is for our benefit - or detriment, possibly. Still, we need to watch it."

“What the fuck is going on here?” Nik whispers to himself.

“Colorados, do you know Abigail Wright?” he asks.

Colorados sighs. 'I don't know. But it hardly matters, It's the same story here every time. The particulars are a little different, but it always ends the same way." He seems ready to say more, but a sudden hush falling over the crowd lets the agents know the play is starting. The curtain begins to rise...

The stage is set up to look like an apartment, and it's similar to the units the agents had seen down below. A woman stands in the middle of the room. She bares a resemblance to Abigail Wright, but its impossible to tell for sure if it's really her or merely an actress playing the role. She approaches an easel and paints for a moment,h er back to the crowd. When she moves away,a pastel landscape can be seen; it's nicely done, pleasant if unremarkable. The woman gives a light smile and the lights dim for a moment.

When they resume, Abigail is hosting an art exhibition at a local shop. Patrons appraise her works, some buy them. An older African American woman comes up to her.

"It's only 9:30 and you already sold out. The show was due to run for another hour. Well done, Abby!"

"Thank you Ms. Lachance. I'm really happy people like my work," Abigail's voice is soft-- it's clear she's shy and humbled by the good fortune.

"Don't be so modest, Abby-- this is a really promising beginning for an artist of your caliber. I look forward to seeing more of your work! You have a bright future ahead of you!"

The scene shifts again. Things go on like this for the next few scenes. Abigail speaks to her father-- a gruff NYPD detective. It emerges her mom had died last year. Her father is proud of her but also wants her to come back home and leave the city, especially after a recent mugging. She reassures him she's fine, and gives him a kiss on the head. It's quite clear they're close.

Then she's back in her apartment building, and she runs into Thomas Manuel. It quickly becomes clear that they used to date, and while things ended both seem to still carry an attraction for the other. After a moment of small talk Abigail leaves,and it emerges Thomas was going to ask her out for coffee.

(The audience laughs, seeming to enjoy this scene.)

The next scene is Abigail walking on the street. Almost by accident, she spies a bookstore and goes in. She aimlessly browses the shelves for a few minutes before looking in the used book bin. She pulls out a copy of a book. The King in Yellow.

Nik,Nik recognizes the title, but the book itself seems different. He gets the feeling it's a prop and not the actual text.

She leafs through it and buys it, taking it home. Day turns to night as she is absorbed in reading it, and the actress sells Abigail shifting from mild interest into enraptured obsession with whatever is in the context of the book. She paces around, quoting lines that mention places or things like Carcosa, Lake Hali, and Cassilda.

The scene shifts again. She is knocking on Thomas Manuel's door. As opposed to earlier in the play her outfit and hair is disheveled and unkempt. Thomas answers and seems concerned, but she begs him to read the play. Tells him it will change his life. After a brief argument, he humors her and takes the book.

The next few scenes follow Thomas. Like Abigail, his story starts ordinary enough-- he calls his parents and has a brief and uninteresting discussion. But then he reads the play, and his behavior too begins to change. Days seem to pass. He ignores calls. He wanders the building and stumbles upon Abigail, and they quote lines to one another with unreppresed passion.

Then they both give the book to Roger Carun, then Louis Post, then finally Michelle Vanfitz. All three are changed by it-- they becomes far more excited and manic, but allow their professional and private lives to suffer. Soon they're all ignoring rent overdue notices, calls from their editors,and so forth. They find the forth floor and the smoking lounge, meet Mark Roark( who's arrival in the story is met with applause as though he were a fan favorite) and all celebrate. Their dialogue grows more and more incomprehensible, seeming to consist solely of quotes and references to the play they have all read. It becomes more difficult to tell what time events are happening in.

Post calls a cable repairman, telling him the TV is off. He and the other tenets share a laugh. When the man arrives, all the tenets seem to go back to normal. But it soon becomes apparent it is an act, because through a series of misdirection they lure him up to the roof just as the sun goes down, and he too stumbles into the Night Floors. His final fate is left vague, and he does not appear again.

Abigail is seen, her apartment now appearing very similar to the one the agents had seen and surveyed themselves. She is alone, putting more junk up on her walls, looking frantic, moving and repositioning things while speaking in a voice only she can hear. The agents can see that she goes back and forth rapidly between a state of exuberance and despair. She seems very close to a breakdown. She collapses on the floor sobbing, and then after a moment gets to her feet, rushing out the door. She gathers up the others, tells them that at long last she is "going upstairs!" They seem to understand what she means and are excited for her, though all but Thomas also seem jealous.

The next scene shows the smoking lounge. The agents have already read this scene, and it follows the same format-- Abigail goes up the stairs with the Encyclopedia Salesman. As her last action, she turns and looks at the crowd-- and Nik can swear that her eyes our on him for a second, with an unreadable stare that the man find sit impossible to decipher. Then she is gone. The others frantically speak to one another for a moment before they are cut off in midstream, and the lights dim once again.

And then the play is over. The entire cast comes out and bows, offering a curtain call to thunderous applause, Colorados included. He has a broad smile on his face and seems to be enraptured by what he has just seen. "Marvelous! Bravo!"

The only person missing from the cast is Abigail Wright herself.

ooc,Sorry this was so long guys, got a bit carried away, but hope it was not too much to read through. Everyone can give me a san roll for helplessness 0/1d4. Vanessa is adapted and doesn't have to roll, though chances are she still feels pretty deppresed after seeing Abby's story play out. Also let me know if you want to get up and applaud as well. Th entire play felt like it took a very long time to get through, though there's no clocks in here, and none of the agents feel biological urges.

Vanessa rises to her feet and applauds, tears in her eyes.

At the scene where Abigail picks up the book, Nik is wracked by guilt, which grows steadily worse as he sees the affect it has on her and the other residents.

SAN,SAN 56 [url=https://orokos.com/roll/795356]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]74[/b] SAN loss: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/795357]SAN loss[/url]: [u]1d4[/u] [b]2[/b] SAN 54

At the play's conclusion, he stands up. Not seeing Abigail, he dashes towards the stage.

Jose looks rather shaken as well, but he gets up and starts clapping as well.

Nik runs to the stage. He makes it there, but when he gets up on the stage, the cast instantly transform in the blink of an eye. What had once been seemingly living and breathing people are now marionettes. They look extremely lifelike, and each are recognizable as being based off one of the actors.

Vanessa and Jose also turn to see that everyone else in the audience has become a marionette. Wires stretch down from somewhere up above, holding each of them up. But now those who they knew before mimic their deaths-- Colorados' marionette has a good chunk of its head missing. Thomas Dengler's face has gone white, as though he suffocated. Sarah Comix skin is charred and black, like she was badly burnt.

All of the marionette's are smiling, and all sway rather awkwardly, manipulated by their strings as they perform a poor intimation of the clapping the audience had just been doing. Despite this, the applause continues from places unseen.

OOC:   One more SAN roll for Unnatural please, 0/1d2.

Vanessa manages to keep it together somehow. She looks up to see from where the strings are coming and if there's any way to get up there.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 59) for seeing the puppets: [dice]0[/dice]

“What the fuck?” Nik looks around him frantically. “What the fuck is going on here?”

He begins to shout.

“Abigail! Abigail Wright! Are you here?”

SAN,SAN 54: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/795737]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]31[/b]

"Woah," Jose says, looking around in confusion. "This is too much, man." He seems a little unsettled but remains calm.

Vanessa cannot see where the wires come from. They seem to stretch into the darkness of the ceiling without end. But someone-- or something-- did seem to be operating them, and the marionettes continue their clumsy applause. There's no ready path up there, it seems like.

Nik's cry goes unanswered, but the agent spies the gleam of something on stage. It's a key, encased in a small baggie. Written in marker on it is 647.

Vanessa follows Nik onto the stage and looks around for any way backstage.

Nik bends down and grabs up the key.

“Now we might get somewhere” he says. He shows the key to the others.

“Put unit 647 in your heads guys. Nothing else. We need to get there.”

Vanessa nods, focusing on finding room 647. "Let's go," she says. "Maybe the dog can sniff the key and track down the apartment too."

The agents leaves the theater, the applause following them out.

The usher is gone, but the dog is still there, head on the floor. When it sees Vanessa it rises again, seeming willing to follow her anywhere. If she offers the key, he sniffs it but seems uninterested in doing much else. Lassie he was not.

The numbers do still continue to go in order, so if the agents want they can follow them to the end of the hallway, and then to the right. It should take them directly to the room.

"I know that you feel responsible for her Nik, but are we sure this is a good idea?"Jose asks. "I hope we're not being led into a trap."

As he says it, the agents find themselves in front of room 647. Answers, perhaps, would be found here.

"Let's try the key," suggests Vanessa.

"Jose, you don't have to be here" Nik tells him. "I've already said, I'd prefer to do this myself."

To Vanessa he says, "If no-one answers, we go in."

He knocks at the door.

Vanessa has her hand on her gun, ready for anything.

Nik notices Vanessa's posture and smiles.

"Relax, I just meant I'll try the key."

He looks at the other agents, and makes a decision.

"Tell you what, if she's not here, lets just get out of here."

Vanessa nods. "No arguments from me," she says.

"I'm with you both to the end," Jose says. "However this ends."

There's no answer to Nik's knock, so he tries the key. The door opens. Inside is an apartment, but it's in a state of disarray. A lamp lays broken on the floor , and the rug is torn in several places. The walls are covered in drawings, paintings of alien landscapes and melancholy. Of strange non euclidean buildings and winged creatures, one of which Vanessa and Nik recognize as being the creature that they had briefly spotted in their first New York investigation.Of mechanical clockwork children and a figure wearing a tattered robe and yellow mask. These scenes seem separate from one another, but all have that same yellow shape scrawled somewhere within them, almost like a signature.

Abigail is visible as soon as they come in. She's continuing to paint one of the murals, seeming distressed or disgusted as she views it. She briefly glances over at the agents, her stare dead.

"Hello, Nikolas. They told me you'd be coming."

“Abigail” Nik begins, shocked at her appearance. “We’re going to leave now. Will you come with us?”

"There are people who love you and miss you," adds Vanessa. "That's why we've come to find you."

"Who told you we'd be coming?" Jose says. In response, the young woman gestures to the paintings.

Abigial offers a mirthless smile when the agents try to convince her to leave. "It's too late for me to go back. Once you read that play, once you realize how little of reality is reality, you can't hope to coexist in it for any longer. Perhaps there is still hope for the others, but not me. I paint for the king, and someday soon I will attend the ball in Carcosa and meet them all." She does not seem enthused by this prospect, rather resigned for it.

"You should leave. Go back to reality, while you still can. Beware that this place is designed to lure you in and absorb you. Most of its kind are like Mark Roark, doomed souls that endlessly repeat the same actions and never progress. But few of us are able tog rasp the truth-- and it is something no sane mind can bare."

"This is my penance. I exposed the others to this. Even now, even now, I loathe and worship it in equal measure. Leave while you can. Before he returns."

"I thought you might says something like that" Nik says.

OOC,Nik is going to restrain and handcuff her. Do I need to roll?

Nik quickly moves on Abigail, trying to catch her wrist, but doesn't connect.

Unarmed Combat,Unarmed Combat 62, [url=https://orokos.com/roll/796393]Unarmed Combat[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]65[/b]

Seeing what Nik is trying to do, Vanessa also tries to restrain Abigail from behind. "We're sorry," she says, "but this is for your own good."

OOC,Unarmed Combat roll (61% skill) to restrain [b]Abigail[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

Abigail barely dodges Nik's first attempt, her expression changing to that of a skittish animal. "No, you don't understand! It's too late for me!" Her passion proves to be her undoing, as Vanessa is able to grasp her from behind. The young woman struggles, but she is not a fighter, and in short order she has cuffs placed on her. She continues to protest and sob, but it shouldn't be too difficult to drag her out of the room, and perhaps out of this place.

"Let's go," says Vanessa, gently guiding Abigail. "While we still can."

The agents guide Abigial out of the room, who has gone limp, no longer putting up a struggle.

They make it to the end of the hallway and turn to go back towards the stairs. They're halfway there when two doors open up in front of them and out walk--glide-- two marionettes. One of them is dressed like a soldier out of The Nutcracker, while the other strongly resembles actor and comedian Oliver Hardy. complete with the top hat. Both's expressions are blank yet somehow accusatory. In unison, they jerkily lift their arms and point them at Abigial.

"They're not going to let me go," Abby explains.

Both marionettes seem to wait for a response from the agents,and are blocking further passage down the hallway.

Nik speaks out.

"Whoever doesn't want Abigail to leave, you better come out and explain why. Don't send your puppets."

He waits for an answer.

Vanessa draws her pistol. She can't see any strings to cut, but she has to hope that if it comes to a fight, these marionettes will go down if shot.

Vanessa can see that both marionettes do have strings above them-- but they're not attached to anything. Somehow, they appear to be moving themselves.

At Nik's words the puppets lower their hands, and start to move towards the party. They bumble about, legs and arms flailing, feet rarely touching the ground. Despite this, they move forward surprisingly quickly. Down at Vanessa's feet, the dog begins to growl at them, but this seems to not deter their movement.

OOC:   We are now in combat. All three agents get to attack first. Nik and Vanessa have the same dex, so if it's alright with you guys whoever posts first gets to lead us off.

Vanessa shoots the soldier marionette first, as it seems more dangerous to her.

OOC,Firearms roll (72% skill) shooting at the soldier marionette: [dice]0[/dice] Damage from 9mm bullet: [dice]1[/dice]

Nik pulls his pistol and starts firing at the Hardy figure.

Firearms,Firearms 71: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/796869]Firearms[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]54[/b] Damage [url=https://orokos.com/roll/796870]Firearms damage[/url]: [u]1d10[/u] [b]2[/b]

Seeing the marionettes approaching, the agents unload on them. Vanessa shoots first, hitting the nutcracker soldier squarely in the head. It's a decent blow that blows a large chunk out of its head, and it would certainly kill a normal man that possessed a brain. But being a puppet, the marionette does not seem so easily thwarted.

Nik shot hits Hardy in the chest, blowing out a small chunk of it but likewise not slowing it down.

Jose shoots at the soldier, hoping to finish it off, but his shot just misses his target.

And then the two marionettes are upon them. Their arms jerk upwards again-- but this time, their hands open up, revealing a razor sharp blade that lies within the puppets. The soldier aims for Jose, The Hardy, for Vanessa.

Attacks,[dice]0[/dice] [dice]1[/dice] [dice]2[/dice] [dice]3[/dice][/dice]

The strikes are more coordinated than their clumsy gait suggests they should be, but both agents are able to dodge them. A good thing, too-- those blades look sharp.

The dog, seeming to have warmed up to Vanessa, growls and lunges at the marionette who attacked her. He grabs onto its leg and bites down hard, but the marionette hardly seems to notice.

Nik fires again at the Hardy, wishing he had a more powerful weapon.

Firearms,Firearms 71: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/796949]Firearms[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]16[/b] [url=https://orokos.com/roll/796950]Firearms damage[/url]: [u]1d10[/u] [b]4[/b]

Vanessa shoots the Hardy figure, unless Nik's shot brings it down, in which case she adjusts her aim to the soldier instead.

OOC,Firearms roll (72% + 20[point blank] = 92% skill) shooting at the Hardy marionette (or the soldier if it went down first): [dice]0[/dice] Damage from 9mm bullet: [dice]1[/dice]

OOC:   Thanks Mr.Handy for reminding me, all gun shots are point blank so everyone gets a+20 bonus to their skills. Sorry for any confusion.

Nik's shot blows a big hole in the Hardy figure. The creature wobbles but continues to advance, somehow still standing. Its blade comes out again.

And that is when Vanessa shoots it and blows its head clean off. The hat goes flying and the marionette collapses on the ground, another nice mess the agents have made. But the Soldier is still a threat. Jose scores a glancing blow on its arm, but it pays him little heed, instead deciding to attack the dog. The canine just barely manages to dodge its attack, moving faster than any of the agents had thought possible. Then it leaps at the Marionette and chomps down on its leg, its original target having crumpled to the ground. It clamps down and shakes vigorously, managing to actually pull the leg off the marionette. But once again the creature hardly seems to notice. It remains functional-- and deadly.

Relieved that the dog is okay, Vanessa shoots the soldier marionette. Having seen one go down, she knows that the other can be destroyed too.

OOC,You're welcome. I'm just glad I remembered. Firearms roll (72% + 20[point blank] = 92% skill) shooting at the soldier marionette: [dice]0[/dice] Damage from 9mm bullet: [dice]1[/dice]

Nik also switches targets and fires at the soldier.

Firearms,Firearms 71 + 20[point blank] = 91: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/797121]Firearms[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]79[/b] [url=https://orokos.com/roll/797122]Firearms damage[/url]: [u]1d10[/u] [b]3[/b]

Vanessa's shot blows off the marionette's left arm, and it too collapses on the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Jose asks. The dog continues to chew on the leg but soon grows uninterested in it, dropping it to the ground and coming to stand by Vanessa.

But the moment of peace is short lived. From behind the agents four more doors open, and each one reveals a marionette. Slowly, they too begin to lumber towards the agents and Abigail.

And then there comes the sound of trumpets,a disturbing cacophony of sound played by a chorus without skill. Abby's eyes go wide. "The King is coming! You need to flee-- if he catches you their will be no escape !"

OOC:   The marionettes are down the hallway in the direction the agents already came from. They're a round away, meaning you'd have two turns to attack them before they got close enough to target any of you. You can also run for the stairs-- if you run as a full action you'll reach there this turn and can start descending, though keep in mind you are not guaranteed in going where you want to go.

“Everybody, go for the stairs, back to the men’s club!” shouts Nik. “Put the room in your mind. Marchand, take Abigail! I’ll bring up the rear.”

Vanessa hustles Abigail down the hall to the stairs, focusing on the room they want to reach.

Everyone makes it to the stairs and begins descending them. For just a moment they seem endless, leading the agents to wonder if they are trapped in another loop. But then it seems to pass,and they emerge on the first floor. The night manager's door is open, and screaming can be heard from inside. It sounds like a young man. And then there is insane laughter, and the sound of a voice Nik recognizes as being that of the manager's.

"I am the heir to the King! Death to all pretenders!"

Then the screams start up again. Did any of them want to investigate what was going on-- or would they keep heading for the smoking lounge, and hopefully the way back to the real world?

“Shit” says Nik. “Keep going! I’ll deal with this.”

He enters the room, weapon raised.

While she's reluctant to leave Nik and split the group, Vanessa knows she needs to get Abigail out of here, so she proceeds toward what she believes is the smoking lounge and hopes that he'll catch up with them.

Nik enters the room, finding no one inside it. But the other door that had been closed last time he was here was wide open, and getting closer to it he can see that it leads into a bedroom. Mr. Castaigne has his back to him, but Nik would recognize the diminutive old man anywhere. He's hovering over the bed, where a man is restrained. Castaigne reaches out and slashes him across the chest with a small knife, and he lets out another anguished scream.

"It's mine! The crown is mine!"

***

The rest of the group continue to run, soon making it to the smoking lounge. The door is locked.

"He doesn't want us to leave," Moans Abigail.

OOC:   If Vanessa wants to force down the door, please give me a Str*5 roll.

"Too bad for him," says Vanessa, smashing the door open with her shoulder. "We're leaving anyway."

OOC,STR x 5 roll (40% stat) to break open the door: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik opens fire at Castaigne without warning, but the single shot goes wide.

Firearms,Firearms 71: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/797622]Firearms[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]95[/b]

Castaigne turns around, his eyes mad. They widen as they see Nik.

"I knew it! You're after my throne as well. I'll kill you, swine!" He rushes forward on unsteady legs, holding the knife high.

OOC:   I'll count that as a surprise round, so we're now in combat. To perhaps no surprise, a trained FBI Agent armed with a firearm gets to go before an elderly man armed with a knife. Nik can act again-- but do keep in mind he's being chased.

Nik fires again, and hits.

Firearms,Firearms 71+20: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/797623]Firearms[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]77[/b] [url=https://orokos.com/roll/797624]Firearms damage[/url]: [u]1d10[/u] [b]6[/b]

Vanessa, not feeling like being trapped in this nightmarish realm, lets out a mighty kick. The door gives reluctantly, but gives it does, and the team finds themselves back in the Smoking Lounge.

Mark Roark looks up in alarm, halfway through his glass of whisky. "What the hell's all this racket,then?" His eyes widen in surprise as he sees Abigail, and a lecherous grin appears. "Abby! Didn't think I'd be seeing you anytime soon. Come sit down, have a drink with uncle Mark."

***

Nik's shot explodes into Castaigne's thigh, destroying bone and muscle. The little man lets out a pitiful yelp before he collapses on the ground. Nik can see that he's still breathing, but it's a grievous wound; if the agent does not bother to take the time to stabilize him, he is almost certain to die.

The man on the bed's restraints are easy enough to undo. Nik can see that his chest is covered in cuts. None of them seem to go very deep, but the fear in his eyes suggests the experience had been incredibly painful.

"Oh God man, get me out of here please! This guy's crazy! This whole place is!" He looks like he can walk, at least.

OOC:   Nik, please roll luck.

"I'm afraid there's no time for that, Mr. Roark," says Vanessa. "We're leaving, and you really need to come with us. It's too dangerous to stay here."

"Come with me" Nik tells the man. "Quickly!"

He goes to the door to check the corridor.

"Why would I leave?" Roark asks. "I'm booked at the Broadalbin for the next week. No no no, can't leave not before I finish my business," He lights another cigar. "Now get lost, I'm very busy." He continues to mutter under his breath.

Abigail shakes her head, as if to signal that Roark is a lost cause. He seems to have grown attached to this place, for good or ill. The doorway out of here was still open, and stairs led down. But did the agents want to leave without Nik?

***

The man does not need to be told twice. He follows, crying and mumbling words of gratitude. "My name is David Langford, I've been trapped in here for months! I had to eat stale hors d'oeuvre and flat champagne, and there were all these weird people! And then I happened upon this room-- the guy was nice at first, but he went crazy when I saw a book he was reading! He's been keeping me here for God knows how long and mutilating me!"

Nik exits the room with the newcomer in tow, and is relieved to see that none of their pursuers have caught up with them yet. But he spies two of them on the stairs and rapidly descending. They'll have caught up with him in seconds, so he knows his time is short.

"Nik, you coming?" calls Vanessa back the way she came, ready to lay down fire to cover his retreat if needed.

Nik pushes Langford in front of him towards the stairs.

"Head down to the lounge!" he shouts. "Move your ass!"

Langford does not have to be told twice.He and Nik soon join the others. The terrible music is getting louder, but the group waste no time in running down the stairs that had brought them to this place. The last thing they experience is a brief inescapable moment of doom, and the sight of a tattered figure in yellow rags in their peripheral vision, before everything goes black.

***

And then they find themselves on the second floor of the Macalister Building. The entrance to the stairway that led up is closed. Perhaps it now leads to the roof, like it should-- or perhaps the Night Floors were still there, waiting. Did any of the agents dare to find out?

David Langford collapses on the floor, weeping with joy. He now has a shirt back on, advertising him as a worker for a local cable company.

The dog puts its head down on the floor and looks like it's planning to take a nap; it seemed like that was the most exertion it had in sometime. But it seems otherwise unharmed.

Nik and Vanessa both find themselves gripping one of Abigial's hands. But when they turn to her, they find a marionette in her place. It looks exactly like her, and her expression is a mix between sadness and acceptance. Whether through her own power or something else, Abby Wright stayed behind.

Both agents find that a note had been slipped into the marionette's hands, and they can read them.

Nik,The note is simple, written in steady, careful handwriting. [i]I'm sorry. Don't blame yourself-- I saw that all paths led here. Please give the other note to my father and grant him some peace It's better he thinks I'm dead then this I don't want to see him condemned either. Thank you for trying. -Abby.[/i]

Vanessa,Before [b]Vanessa[/b] can read the note the horrors of what she experienced hit her. The way a simple play had corrupted this entire building and destroyed the lives of its residents was something she couldn't shake. It reminded her of the equation-- but at least that had to be understood by people well versed in math. This seemed able to be grasped by everyone-- and anyone could be a vector. [ooc]It's time for Vanessa indefinite insanity to hit. It's fear and hostility to The King In Yellow and all aspects of the unnatural related to it. Vanessa has a choice here-- she can chose to let her fear overpower her and decide that her response to all of this is to flee the building. In the future this means unless and until she's cured she would need to make a check everytime she encountered something alone these lines, or she'll need to escape from the yellow king related oddity. Or she can decide that her insanity manifests in a hostile reaction, in which case, she decides to destroy everything related to the "infestation." This means she would want to kill all of the others tainted by the play (thankfully not yet including the agents) and maybe destroy the building as well. You should decide on how the insanity manifests now, but if you like Vanessa can try to resist it. In that case, roll willpower, 1d4, and subtract that much from your total. As long as you have at least 1 WP left, then describe a bond you are projecting onto and how they are helping you maintain a hold of your sanity during the current situation. Reduce the bond score by the same amount as the WP roll. Then, lastly, make a sanity roll. If it succeddes, you can act normally-- otherwise you give into your disorder and need to let it dictate your actions.[/ooc]

OOC:   Nik and Jose can make san rolls for helplessness 0/1d3. Vanessa's broken enough she does not need to roll, luckily for her.

Nik looks in despair at the marionette, despair both for Abigail and for himself and the role he played in causing this. As he reads the note, his sadness turns to anger and he makes a grim resolution to himself.

“I’m going to take that bastard down. Whatever it takes.”

SAN,SAN 54: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/798887]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]61[/b] [url=https://orokos.com/roll/798890]SAN loss[/url]: [u]1d3[/u] [b]2[/b] Now 52

OOC,I thought it was Night Floors! ;)

Mr.Handy,No, Willpower is its own stat, though it's equal to your POW score. So you have 9 POW so you would now have 9 willpower. Willpower is used when you try to project onto a bond or suppress an incidence of insanity. If it goes to 2 or below your agent begins to lose motivation and is unable to do as much, but willpower comes back every time you get a full rest at a rate of 1d6 points. So there's really no risk from you deciding to try and suppress the insanity now on the willpower front since you will get those points back. The bond you use will suffer though, and you may want to just deal with the insanity episode so you don't harm them. Hope this helps. I've posted about this in the rules thread, but if you have anymore questions let me know and I'll try to answer them for you. :)

HoneyDog,Just curious, but have you been keeping track of Nik's san losses due to Helplessness? If he's lost san from Helplessness 3 times without going insane he's now hardened to it, which means he takes min. damage from those sources of insanity in the future. This also means you lose 1d6 points of Pow as your agent 's personal drive suffers.

Vanessa can't take it any more, and she finally breaks. She flees from the building as fast as she can.

Nik is startled by Vanessa’s flight.

“Stay with him!” he tells Jose, indicating Langford. He runs after Vanessa.

OOC,Yes, Nik lost lots of SAN. I think he will now become more interested in taking down Stephen Alzis than anything else. [url=https://orokos.com/roll/799245]POW Loss[/url]: [u]1d6[/u] [b]3[/b]

OOC:   I can already tell this is going to have some interesting repercussions!

Nik takes off after Vanessa, who is screaming her head off and fleeing.

OOC:   Okay, I would like both of you to make athletics roll. If both of you fail, Vanessa wins. If both of you succeed, the agent who rolled a lower success or a crit wins.

Panic gives Vanessa more speed.

OOC,Athletics roll (52% skill) fleeing the building: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik puts his head down and soon catches up with Vanessa, and grabs her arm.

"Marchand!" he shouts. "It's me!"

Athletics,Athletics 37: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/799566]Athletics[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]3[/b]

Nik is able to catch Vanessa as she reaches the stairs leading down. Turning the other agent around, he sees her eyes are wide with panic. She seems to want to get as far away from this place as possible.

Vanessa for her part recognizes Nik as a friend, but she finds it very difficult to do anything other than continue to flee.

OOC:   You both can make Str*5 rolls. As before, if you both succeeds, the one with the lower success wins. If you both fail, Nik wins. Nik can also attempt a persuade roll to calm Vanessa down for a time.

"We have to get out of here!" screams Vanessa, struggling to get free.

OOC,STR x 5 roll (40% stat) trying to get free: [dice]0[/dice]

Vanessa's mania gives her a strength Nik cannot compete with.

Strength,[url=https://orokos.com/roll/799743]Strength[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]96[/b]

"Vanessa!" he implores. "Don't go!"

Persuade,[url=https://orokos.com/roll/799744]Persuade[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]87[/b] Fail!

Vanessa wrenches herself away and starts to flee once again, nearly toppling down the stairs as she runs down them, screaming.

Nik's phone begins to ring. Did he want to answer it or chase his partner?

OOC:   It will take Vanessa three "turns: to exit the building, provided Nik or no one else stops her.

Vanessa keeps running and screaming.

Nik pursues Vanessa, ignoring his phone for now.

Nik

Athletics,Athletics 37: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/799965]Athletics[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]38[/b]

Vanessa keeps running, but she's starting to get exhausted.

OOC,Athletics roll (52% skill) fleeing the building: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik's not as fast as he wishes, but Vanessa is even slower. He's able to catch her again, though he finds her in just as much panic now as she was a moment ago. There's on the first floor now, and Vanessa is looking towards the entrance and seeming to want to bolt for it.

OOC:   For opposed rolls, whoever fails worse generally loses, so Vanessa is slower here. You both can make str*5 rolls again, and Nik can attempt to persuade her. Otherwise, she'll have to continue to run. Sorry for calling for so many rolls btw, but I don't think this scene will last too much longer.

Vanessa is too tired to put up much resistance.

OOC,STR x 5 roll (40% stat) trying to get free again: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik is too tired to get much of a grip on Vanessa. The day's events have taken their toll.

Strength,[url=https://orokos.com/roll/800517]Strength[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]78[/b]

"Goddamit Marchand!" he protests. "Stop running! It's over now, there's nothing to fear. You're safe!"

Persuade,Persuade 73: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/800519]Persuade[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]50[/b]

Nik can barely keep hold of Vanessa, but she's thrashing about too much-- and too ineffectivitly-- to throw him off. He forces her to look at him and tells her she's safe. Their long relationship bears fruit, and the FBI agent calms down. She's still very frightened and wants to do nothing more than run out of the building and get away from this infestation of the Unnatural, but she knows if she really wants to she'll be able to handle it for a short time. The choice was hers.

Vanessa takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'm with you," she says. "What do we do now?"

Nik breathes a sigh of relief.

"We're gonna need to figure out how to spin this. But not here. Let's go to the car."

He opens his phone to get Jose and the cable guy to meet them.

Jose appears shortly after Nik calls him, Langford in tow. They both seem relieved to leave this place.

The team and their straggles follow out to the car. All four can get in it, but there's not enough room for the dog Vanessa picked up-- though it can perhaps sit on her lap if she is willing. It weighs well over 100 pounds however, so this may not be the most viable of options in the longterm.

As the team plan to discuss their next move, it occurs to them that having a civilian around for it may be problematic. But perhaps they could swear him to secrecy, or deal with him in some other way. After all, he did not seem like he was eager to explore the strange realm he had stumbled into further.

"We need to be sure we're really out of that place," says Vanessa. She allows the dog to sit on her lap for now, not wanting to abandon the poor thing. "A quick search on the Internet should be able to confirm that history is what we remember, not what Roark did."

Nik checks the time and date on his phone to see how long they had been inside.

A quick check of his phone informs Nik it's the same date as when they went in, but only around 15 minutes later in the evening. They had felt like they had been in there for hours.

The dog settles on Vanessa's lap. It's rather uncomfortable, but he seems happy.

Nik's phone rings again.

"Time works differently in there," says Vanessa, petting the dog. "Roark sounded like he was straight out of the 1940s, though a different 1940s. Who knows how long he's been stuck in there?"

Nik answers the phone.

"This is Siilasvuo".

"It's McRay. What have you found so far And why the hell are you letting a kid answer your phone?"

"What the hell are you talking about? What kid?" Nik asks irritably.

"That's what I'd like to know! I called you ten minutes or so ago and a kid is on the line asking if I wanted to talk to his dad. Don't let anyone else answer your phone, Agent. It's a security breach waiting to happen."

“Yeah okay” Nik replies testily. “Look, we’re in the middle of something here. We’ll report when we can.”

He closes the phone, cutting off McRay before he can protest. Pausing a moment, he switches the phone off, then puts it in his pocket.

He looks at Langford, trying to get a read of the man.

“Mr.Langford. My colleague here is a paramedic.” He indicates Jose. “Can he look you over?”

"Wai--" But Nik terminates the call before McRay can finish. Thankfully, he does not call back immediately.

Langford stares straight ahead. Nik has to address him a few times before he seems to hear him. Mutely, he nods.

Jose gets to work, giving him a cautious once over. "He's okay, physically he seems to be in perfect health. But he seems to be in a state of shock or something. Honestly I think he'll need some sort of therapy. But, uh..." He trails off, and the others know why. If Langford started spouting off on what he experienced that might be a problem.

"I'm going to need some therapy myself," says Vanessa with a shudder. "Do we know anyone friendly who might be able to help with that?"

Nik regards Langford silently for a moment, ignoring Vanessa's question.

“He’s probably been missing a few days. No-one’s gonna believe his story. He doesn’t know who we are. Marchand, why don’t you drive him to an emergency room and leave him there? We need to check on the other residents, see if they’re okay. And make sure that whatever’s going on in there is finished. You can’t go back in right now. When you get back, wait outside for us.”

"All right," says Vanessa, "if you think that's for the best."

Vanessa had been with the organization long enough to know that Delta Green could probably put her in contact with a therapist in the know or at least was a Friendly who at least knew some hints of the Unnatural. But she also knew that the process would take time, and certainly would take longer than the rest of the mission. For now she would have to be careful to avoid triggering her anxiety or having another episode, so maybe taking Langford to the hospital was the best bet.

It's then that Vanessa realizes she was still holding a letter Abigail had given her when they had passed through the worlds-- a quick glance shows it was sealed and addressed to her father.

Jose meanwhile seems willing to stick besides Nik, and the two exit the car as Vanessa drives away to the hospital. The large dog takes up half the back seat, finally happy to curl out.

Langford still says nothing. Did Vanessa want to say anything to him before they reached the hospital?

**

Nik and Jose prepare to reenter the Macalistar building, uncertain as to what they'll face.

"We know the others are under the spell of this--play, or whatever," Jose says. "Do we call McRay and ask what we should do, or try to talk to them? Maybe they're not as bad as Abby was, they did not move on like she did, right? But I dunno, they all seemed pretty weird to me, man. I really hope there aren't any more of those puppet things."

"Let's go see if that guy is still painting in the basement" says Nik. "Then we should check on the other tenants."

"People will think we're crazy if we tell them what happened in there," Vanessa tells Langford on the way to the hospital. "It would probably be best if we don't give any details about it to anyone who wasn't there for now. Maybe we should claim amnesia about it."

OOC,Persuade roll (73% skill) to convince [b]Langford[/b] to keep quiet: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik's almost at the door when he sees it. Something falls from the sky and hits the ground just to the right of where he was standing. Turning around he sees it's a person, dressed in fancy clothing that best resembled a medieval noble. The face gave it away as Thomas Manuel.

But wait, on second glance, that's not his face. It's a mask that bore a striking resemblance to Thomas, but had been carefully stapled and glued onto the face beneath.The figure-- Nik is pretty sure it's a man, and it does resemble the build of Manuel-- is clearly dead.

"Oh God!"

Jose's words cause Nik to look up to the roof, where he can see three more figures dressed in similar costumes and wearing the same eerie and lifelike masks. One by one three more bodies plunge from the sky and hit the New York City street, none of them making a sound as they fall. But all make the same sound when they hit the pavement.

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

OOC:   Nik, please make a San roll for Unnatural 0/1d3. Something about the macabre scene makes it clear this is more than a standard suicide.

***

Langford is quiet for a moment, but he finally shakes his head. "No way, I need to tell people what happened! You don't understand-- I could lose my job if people think I just wandered off, and I have two alimony payments to make anyway, I can't afford that. I can't just ignore it. I need to tell the police, let them handle it. Or Phenomen-X. People need to know what's out there!" He's worked himself into a manic state, and Vanessa gets the feeling that any warnings she gives him were going to fall on deaf ears. That left her with less polite options. Delta Green's main mission was to prevent the exposure of the innocent to the Unnatural. Langford was going to talk. His story sounded crazy, and maybe no one would believe it. But she had no idea how the organization would cover up all of the tenets falling under the sway of a strange play, and if that became a major news story, Langford's claims, absurd as they may sound, would attract attention.

She had to make a choice. She could let him talk and hope his own words discredited him, but risk the organization's ire. She could threaten him, or she could silence him permanently. Or maybe there was another choice on how to deal with the matter. Whatever she chose, she would have to move quick.

SAN,[url=https://orokos.com/roll/803228]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]25[/b]

Nik stops and looks at the scene, shocked into silence by the macabre spectacle. He quickly pulls himself together.

“Jose, get out of here now. You can’t explain your presence here. I’ll call this in. No arguments!”

Without waiting for a reply, he pulls his phone to call for paramedics as he heads to check on the bodies.

"In that case, I know a couple of people who would perfect for you to talk to," says Vanessa. "One's a medical doctor, so he can also help with your physical injuries, and the other's a psychiatrist who can help with the other kind." She recalls the earlier visit to "Frasier," as well as Denton Shaeffer of Saucerwatch. He could run his mouth in front of either of them without alerting anyone who wasn't already an insider. She was reluctant to involve Frasier, as he probably wouldn't appreciate her bringing in Langford, but Dr. Shaeffer might be able to help by hypnotizing Langford. He might even be able to suppress his memories of what happened to him and replace them with false memories. She pulls over to the curb. "I'd better stop driving. It's not safe to drive and talk on a cell phone at the same time." She takes out her phone and calls Denton Shaeffer.

For once, Jose does not argue. He nods and scurries off, leaving Nik with the unenviable task of covering this all up.

The other bodies are in similar shape as Thomas'; that is to say, unpleasant. But one of the bodies has its arms outstretched, pointing to him. The mask gives it the face of a woman-- Michelle Vanfitz, he recognized her from the play. She holds out her hands in death, and in her grip is a book, looking entirely unaffected by the fall and to all accounts the same as that night last year when he had delivered it to the bookstore.

The King In Yellow.

***

Dr. Shaeffer answers on the second ring. He exchanges bland pleasantries but sounds tired. The answers he had found in Groversville had apparently not satisfied his crusade for the truth.

"How can I assist you, Agent?"

OOC:   Normally I'd not have you play this out, but I'm curious how much Vanessa plans to say in front of Langford. She could leave the car, though it's hard to gauge how he'd reach to that.

"I'm with a young man, a Mr. Langford," says Vanessa into the phone. "He's been abducted, but I don't think it's by aliens. I think he could benefit from a session with you, and I think your hypnotherapy may really help him come to terms with his traumatic experience. If you can do this over the phone rather than in person, that would be great. I'd like to give the phone over to him so he can give you his account of what happened to him, and then you can place him under hypnosis and tell him he can only hear your voice. Once he's under, he'll probably drop the phone, so I'll pick it up at that point and hold it so you can talk to him and bring him around when you're done."

OOC,My plan is that once [b]Langford[/b] is under hypnosis and can only hear [b]Shaeffer[/b]'s voice and not mine, I'll then explain to [b]Shaeffer[/b] that I need to suppress [b]Langford[/b]'s memories of what happened to him.

Nik takes the book and puts it in his pocket.

"I can certainly try." Dr. Shaeffer says, apparently unperturbed by the request. "Put him on."

It takes a bit of prodding, but Langford takes the phone. He eases up almost immediately, which may be a bit surprising given his ordeal. But maybe he wanted a calm, authoritative voice to tell him that everything would be okay. Regardless, within five minutes he's in a trance like state, and his head falls down as the phone drops from his hand.

OOC:   Scaeffer scored a critical success.

Once Vanessa speaks with him, she can tell he's not entirely sold on the idea.

"I'm afraid hypnotherapy is not like the movies. I usually cannot just replace memories wholesale; the mind very rarely truly forgets, the subconscious always remembers. That said, he was rather susceptible to my instructions, suggesting he may prove willing to have his memories modified to a less stressful experience. But I'm not certain I can perform this in good conscience; I got into this field to help people process their trauma and learn what happened to them. I have worked with hundreds of individuals who were desperate to process their trauma and uncover their repressed memories. I have seen first hand the negatives effects from repressing trauma. What you are asking me to do could very well end up harming this man as much as or even more than what he just went through."

OOC:   Vanessa, please make a persuade roll.

***

As soon as Nik places his hands on the book he feels a strange feeling.

OOC:   Nik, please roll pow*5. A success means the feeling immediately passes and you can proceed with your action. Failure means something else happens.

"I understand that," says Vanessa, "but it will cause him much greater harm if you don't. He's determined to tell all and sundry everything that happened to him, and I can't talk him out of it. If he does, they'll think he's insane and commit him to a mental institution. They'll load him up full of drugs and bombard him with therapy in an attempt to convince him that what happened to him is just a delusion. He may be sane going in, but he sure won't stay that way for long under those conditions. This will happen to him for years, perhaps decades. Either he'll stick to the truth and remain there for the rest of his life, or they'll eventually convince him that what he knew to be true is a lie. Keeping his memories suppressed is not as bad as the alternative."

OOC,Persuade roll (73% skill) to convince [b]Shaeffer[/b] to suppress [b]Langford[/b]'s memories: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik,No sooner does [b]Nik[/b] touch the book than a strange feeling overtakes him. It starts like an itch, steadily growing in intensity. He realizes that this book was a trap; it had ensnared an entire apartment building, and who knew how many other unfortunate souls. And yet he is overcome with a nagging desire to open it up and read it. What horrible truth had enraptured so many people? Led them to abandon family, friends, even life? What could be worth that devotion? A voice-- not his own or maybe it was-- tells him that all the knowledge he wanted could be found in the play. All he had to do was read it. Attempts to suppress the desire work when he actively did so, but as soon as he focused on something--anything-else, the temptation came back. It was an obsession. One he did not have to obey. But one he somehow knew would remain with him until he broke down and read the damn thing. But he couldn't do that. Could he? [ooc]Nik has developed an obsession with The King In Yellow. No matter what he's doing or where he is, a part of him will always desire to read the play, and he somehow knows that the only way to rid himself of the obsession is by reading it.He cannot bear to destroy the book himself, though he can still give it away to someone else and let them do it-- though it is an action that distresses him to think about, and one that would require considerable willpower. In game terms until Nik reads the play he will need to make a San roll everytime he tries to sleep. A normal Failure won't cost him San, but he'll wake up and be unable to go back to sleep for awhile (Unless he's able to force it someway, such as through pills), which will prevent him from regaining willpower and could lead him to take exhaustion penalties. There's nothing stopping Nik from calling McRay now and handing the book over as per his original plan. Except the knowledge that this compulsion won't leave him unless and until he gives into it. And because Nik's so unlucky, please make an Unnatural san roll, 1/1d3.[/ooc]

"Fine." Denton sighs, clearly unhappy. "I don't like this at all, and please don't make a habit of it, but I understand this is an exceptional circumstance. And there's a limit to what I can do. But I'll do what I can."

Sure enough, he does. Vanessa puts Langford onto the phone once again, and the man begins to relax, voicing his affirmation to several things Dr. Shaeffer says. Vanessa has no idea what story he's being fed, but he seems less agitated as the phone call ends. Langford looks considerably refreshed, but looks at Vanessa with unfocused eyes.

"Wait, what day is it? Dammit, I really went on a bender this time." He rubs his face. "I had a good job, was getting my life back together, then I just went and blew it all up. Maybe it is time I start therapy. You said you knew someone, I think? I don't really remember..." He looks troubled, but only briefly. "I need to pick up the pieces of my life, figure out where I went wrong." He seems troubled, but in an entirely mundane sense, and seems eager to believe whatever Shaffer told him. If only to forget what really happened.

"You don't remember anything about what happened?" asks Vanessa. "I'm afraid I don't know the details either, it was my partner that found you. I can see you're hurt, so I'm going to take you to the hospital now." She resumes driving him to the emergency room.

SAN,SAN 52: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/804732]SAN[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]71[/b] [url=https://orokos.com/roll/804994]SAN loss[/url]: [u]1d3[/u] [b]3[/b] Now 49

The book feels like it is burning a hole in his pocket. Nik knows now that whatever ensnared Abigail and the others is in him too.

He closes his phone and walks to his car. He has only one destination and purpose in mind - returning the book to its owner.

He heads for Club Apocalypse.

Vanessa drives Langford to the hospital, and her badge would help her get him examined. There's nothing physically wrong with the man, though he has been missing for several days, and the fact that he remembers little of what happened but chalks it up to a drunken bender leads to him being released. He tells Vanessa he plans to call the company he works for and beg to keep his job, though he does not sound optimistic, and it was hard to blame him. He had an unexplained work absence and did not remember where he parked the company truck he had been using. But while he may lose his job, Vanessa can take some small comfort in the fact that unlike Abigail, he had been saved-- and thanks to Dr. Shaeffer seemed to remember little of the horrors he experienced.

OOC:   This will likely take a few hours,so I'm going to finish up with Nik and get him caught up in the timeline. If there's anything else pressing Vanessa wants to do in the meantime feel free to post it.

***

There's a long line to get into Club Apocalypse, but Nik does not even have to show a badge before he's ushered in. Apparently he was on 'the list." Inside the club is only half full, but it's still early in the evening. Frankly there was enough room here to let in everyone waiting outside, but apparently Alzis catered to an exclusive clientele.

The music is loud,dark and ambient. These on the dance floor gyrate to it with reckless abandon. It looks like something out of a religious epiphany, and Nik recalled one of Alzis' assistant had admitted it's purpose was as much. It was tempting perhaps to lose himself in it-- would that remove the itch lurking on the corner of his mind ever since he had touched the book?

If Nik wants to, he finds his way up on the second floor of the club, the security flanking both sides of the staircase allowing him to pass without issue. Amongst the mostly empty tables up here he spies one that two people are sitting at. One is a young man in dark clothing and gothic makeup, speaking with a beautiful young woman. Nik recognizes her as https://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/pbp/viewtopic.php?f=399&t=6105&start=220#p200261 who he and Vanessa had briefly spoken to the last time they were here. Presently she's smoking a cigarette and looking down at the crowd below. But as Nik approaches, her eyes widen, and her blank expression acquires a smile.

"I remember you! You're one of Stephen's friends. Well, this is a pleasant surprise, isn't it, Anton?" She turns to the man, who shrugs and continues to nurse his drink, hardly glancing over at the agent.

"It's uncommon for your type to show up here, but you have a lifetime pass, as you've probably ascertained. Sit down, darling. Can I get you a drink? What brings you into the spider's den today, hmm?"

Vanessa calls up Langford's employer as requested and explains that her partner found him in an injured and confused state. She says that she believes he was the victim of a crime and is suffering from amnesia as a result of the trauma, and that his absence was not his fault.

Nik doesn’t even glance at the woman, and keeps moving, looking for where he can access further inside the club.

OOC:   Vanessa, please roll persuade for me.

***

Megan's playful tone turns offended as Nik ignores her- clearly she was not a woman used to being treated such.

"Hey, what are you doing? You can't just--"

But Nik keeps walking, right up to the red doors at the end of the hallway that led into Alzis office. He pulls them open and steps into the large room. Inside he finds the man himself, wearing the same green money colored suit he had been wearing last time Nik had seen him. He's playing golf, looking down and lining up a shot, but Nik's entrance causes him to glance up just as he hits the ball.

"Agent Siilasvuo! A pleasure to see you again." The ball still manages to find the hole, entering it with a soft clatter.

Megan storms in, looking affronted. "Stephen, I'm sorry, but he just--"

"Hush, Ms. Brennen. The agent clearly is eager to chat. Leave us."

Reluctantly, she does so, but Nik feels daggers in his back as she walks out. He had made an enemy by not playing along with her games, but it felt oddly satisfying.

"So, Agent. What brings you here this evening? I hope your case is going well. Of course, if I can be of any assistance... all you need to do is ask."

Nik pulls his sidearm and fires.

OOC,Can I do that with one roll? Please tell me if I need to edit. Firearms 71: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/805449]Firearms[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]33[/b]

Vanessa is convincing, which relieves her. She didn't want Langford to lose his job through no fault of his own. He had been through too much already.

OOC,Wow, a critical success! :shock: I'm not sure whether [b]Alzis[/b] will be more amused or annoyed. ;) Persuade roll (73% skill) to convince [b]Langford[/b]'s boss: [dice]0[/dice]

Nik can't miss at this range. He puts two bullets into Alzis.

Firearms Damage,[url=https://orokos.com/roll/805487]Firearms damage[/url]: [u]1d10[/u] [b]8[/b] [url=https://orokos.com/roll/805488]Firearms damage[/url]: [u]1d10[/u] [b]1[/b]

Langford's boss very reluctantly says he'll reconsider his termination. It seems as though he's afraid to get on the FBI's bad side. Langford himself seems most grateful for her interference. "Thank you so much. I can't remember anything, it's frustrating... but I have a feeling I owe you guys a great debt. So, thank you."

Vanessa has a feeling that he'll be okay. Regardless of anything else, they had given him another chance. Hopefully he would never remember what happened to him. But he seems content on not knowing-- perhaps having enough of an instinct to know that looking for answers would only lead to ruin.

***

OOC:   Actually a crit would still mean Nik only put one bullet into Alzis. He'd have had to declare he was firing twice before his attack, which would have had him fire at a penalty. But it's still a very nice shot.

Nik has only met Stephen Alzis three times, but he has never seen him without that Cheshire smile on his face.

For once though, he looks shocked. He looks down, spying the large hole that's now been made in his chest. Nik had hurt him.

But then he looks at the agent, and the smile comes back.

"I have to say, I'm disappointed, Agent Siilasvuo. "Not that you tried to kill me-- though that's also unfortunate, given I've been nothing but helpful to you. But I realize most of your organization would love to put me in the ground. But no, I'm disappointed that you did it in so lazy a manner. Did you really think that would work?"

As he speaks, Nik sees the hole in Alzis' chest slowly begin to close, and feels his own skin burn and tear as it slowly and agonizingly opens. The wound he had caused Alzis was being reflected back onto him. His eyes water, and it takes everything he has not to drop to his knees. Alzis meanwhile continues to speak.

"Or maybe you were hoping to, what is that expression? 'Suicide by cop,' as it were? It won't be that easy, my friend. You still owe me a favor! Well, two now. I'll need you to buy me a new suit. This one is ruined. But I think that's very reasonable, given your disrespect.

Now put down the gun and let's discuss this like gentleman."

OOC:   Nik takes 9 damage, and can make a san roll 0/1. Sorry, getting ride of Alzis is not that easy.

Nik whimpers with the pain, and tears come to his eyes as he sags to his knees. He didn’t think his plan would work, but he had to try.

"You don't get to own me Alzis" he says.

He puts his gun to his own temple and pulls the trigger.

Firearms,[url=https://orokos.com/roll/805498]Firearms[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]62[/b] [url=https://orokos.com/roll/805499]Firearms damage[/url]: [u]1d10[/u] [b]8[/b]

OOC:   Nik did not need to roll for that-- though I'm very amused at the image of him making a badass quip then missing.

Nik puts the gun to his head. The last thing he sees is Alzis frowning. He dies with the satisfaction of knowing that he had done it on his terms.

***

Vanessa is just leaving the hospital when she receives a call.

"Good evening,Agent Marchand. It's Stephen. I regret to inform you that Agent Siilasvuo came into my office and, after an attempt to kill me, blew his brains out all over the shag carpet. Would you be so kind as to swing by? We need to have a conversation."

"I'll be there," says Vanessa, though she's not about to take Alzis at his word, nor is she about to go there on her own. She disconnects the call and then immediately calls McRay to fill him in on what Alzis told her.

McRay answers.

"Report in. Has the threat been neutralized? Actually, I'm glad you called. We've gotten reports of a mass suicide at the Macalistar Building. I can't reach Nik and this is going to be a bitch to cover up. We'll probably have to go with some sort of sex cult angle."

"If you can't reach Nik, sir, then he may really be dead," says Vanessa, trying not to accept the fact yet. "If the threat had been neutralized, I don't think there'd have been a mass suicide, but hopefully it has died with them. This is the first I've heard of it. We did find Abigail Wright and tried to remove her from the premises, but she transformed into a marionette. Nik found another missing person, a repairman named Langford. He had apparently been trapped there after making a service call. We did get him out, and I made sure he won't tell anyone what he experienced. He won't even remember it himself thanks to Dr. Shaeffer's talents. Langford proved especially susceptible to hypnosis. The threat is something called Carcosa that infects the minds of those exposed to it. The source of the threat was a book of a play called The King in Yellow. Abigail Wright had purchased it at a bookstore. Nik discovered that this was the same book that Alzis had him deliver to that same bookstore as a 'favor.' That must be why he went after Alzis. Alzis just called and told me that Nik had gone into his office and tried to kill him, then killed himself. He wants me to come by for a conversation. I'll also need to retrieve the body."

"Slow down.

"First of all, you shouldn't have gotten anyone else involved, friendly or not, without consulting me first. In the future make sure you don't do that. And keep a close eye on Langford. He may seem normal but maybe this madness has not infected him yet, or maybe he's just good at hiding it. We can't afford to be burned by this.

"I'm not familiar with this play or this phenomena, but I'll contact who I can and see if any of them have heard of it. Retrieve the book if you don't have it and place it in a green box upstate." He gives the address.

"Wait, Agent Siilasvuo did Alzis a favor? Why the hell would he do that? I specifically told you all not to get involved with him! What did he do for all of you that made Nik owe him this favor? And what about you-- did you do anything for him? I need to know, agent. Siilasvuo's foolishness may have just brought about open war between us. A war we won't win. Do you understand?" McRay is shouting now, near frantic. Vanessa recalled that he had been involved in a past operation to kill Alzis and was the only survivor in his cell; it seemed likely if the peace fell apart he'd be one of the first targets.

"Shit shit shit. Okay, go to Alzis. I'll try to call him, though likely as not he won't take my call. If he wanted me to know about this he would have called me two. Go to him and grovel. I don't like it either, but he has us over the barrel, especially if an agent tried to kill him. It's likely we're going have to do a few things for him to keep the peace, but we don't have much of a choice. Do not mess this up." He terminates the call.

Vanessa calls Jose to let him know what happened and instructs him to collect and take the book to the green box address she was given. Then she goes to Club Apocalypse to talk to Alzis.

Before Vanessa can call him Jose comes by, apparently having tracked her and Langford down at the hospital. "There you are! Things were crazy..." He tells Vanessa about the mass suicide, and how Nik had left him to clean up the scene himself. It's obvious he has no idea what had happened to their fellow agent.

When Vanessa tells him he is stunned, and looks close to tears. Perhaps the gravity of their work had hit him. "Why would he do that? We could have, we could have helped him! This Alzis guy, he's weird, right? He saved Nik once. Maybe we can make a deal with him to bring him back again!"

"I don't know if he'll do it," says Vanessa, still numb from losing him. "At this rate, we'll be lucky to get out of this without going to war with Alzis, and McRay made it clear we can't win one. Even if he does agree to do it, the price may be too high. Everything that happened at the Macalistar Building was a result of a favor Nik did for Alzis, including his death, so think about that before making a deal with Alzis. We're going to have to do some things for him anyway just to smooth things over. I'll see if I can convince him to throw in bringing back Nik. Apparently Nik still owes him one from the last time he brought him back, and he can't repay his debt if he's dead. Of course, Nik probably doesn't want to be brought back. If he killed himself, he'll be very upset if Alzis brings him back again. I'm not going to ask you to go see Alzis with me. I'll need you to clean up the mess. McRay says we might be able to spin the mass suicide as a sex cult. He also wants that book, The King in Yellow, locked up in a green box." She gives him the address. "Do you know what happened to it after I left?"

"No, I'm going." Jose says. "We saw what happened with Nik when went to this guy alone, I' don't think you should. We're a team, Vanessa."

"Nik must have had the book, which means it's probably with Alzis now. I hope so, anyway-- the Macalistar must be crawling with first responders and media by now, and it might be difficult to get back into it. I hope we don't have to deal with that on top of all this!"

OOC:   If Vanessa does want to go alone Jose will protest but ultimately agree to it. But he's made it clear he'd prefer to go,a psychology roll or just good sense tells vaenssa he likely feels some responsibility for Nik getting killed.

***

Club Apocalypse is busy, but Vanessa (And Jose if he accompanies her) are waved right in when they show up. Inside the foyer waits Megan Brennan, the woman who had first greeted the agents last time they were here. She's wearing a red cocktail dress and looks smug and self assured, as if the universe has righted itself.

"Good evening, agents. Mr. Alzis has been expecting you. Follow me, please."

She leads them across the dance floor and up the stairs to the second floor, right to Alzis' office. Opening the door, she guides them both in.

Nik Siilasvuo's dead body lays out on the carpet. It's a grizzly scene; part of his head is missing, and blood and brain matter have pooled next to him on the ground. His firearm is discarded a few feet away.

"Good evening," Stephen Alzis says, offering a polite, empty smile. "We have much to discuss, so why don't you have a seat. Please excuse the mess, but I felt it best to illustrate the unique situation we now find ourselves in. Can I have Ms. Brennan bring you a drink?"

OOC:   Seeing Nik's body requires a san roll, 1/1d6. It's Helplessness, which Vanessa is hardened to, so she would normally take minimal. But given Vanessa worked with Nik on this from the start if you'd prefer to roll for san loss here that's fine as well.

Vanessa allows Jose to accompany her. She doesn't like the idea of going alone anyway. She slides into a seat before her legs give out on her. "Thank you, but I'll pass," she says. "I don't think I could keep it down. I'm ready to get right to business. First of all, let me apologize for what happened. Agent Silasvuo acted entirely on his own, without the knowledge or approval of anyone in the organization. I think I understand why he did it, but I wish he hadn't. We want to make things right."

OOC,I'll just lose the 1. HUMINT roll (57% skill) about [b]Jose[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

Vanessa can tell that Jose is really shaken by Nik's dead body. He sits down as well but he does not take his eyes off his friend's corpse. He looks a little like Vanessa had felt that day back when they were investigating the equation and entered the apartment to find one of its victims had killed her boyfriend. Something had broken in Vanessa that day, something she had yet to get back. It looked like the same thing had happened to Jose.

"I appreciate that reassurance." Alzis says. "Really. For what it's worth, I am sorry things ended the way they did with Agent Silasvuo. He had a lot of potential. But it is not uncommon for those in your line of work to become unreliable, as it were. Agent Silasvuo did not air his grievances with me, but I suspect it had something to do with the book I had him deliver. Yes, I arranged for Ms. Wright to come into contact with it, which clearly upset him. But I am a facilitator first and foremost. My purpose is to ensure things happen the way that they should.

"Now, onto business. Agent Silasvuo owed me a debt. As you are the other agents in his cell, I am afraid I must pass it on to you. Fulfill my request and I will consider our matters resolved with no future action needing to be taken concerning this... unpleasantness. Of course, should you desire my services in the future, I am always happy to assist." He smiles. "I'll even throw in the book. Agent Silasvuo should still have it on him. But allow me to have it giftwrapped for you first. This is for your own protection; as you have seen, it can have quite the effect on people." He chuckles.

"So what do you want us to do?" Jose's voice is full of resentment, and Alzis looks at him for the first time.

"I don't believe I've met you before."

"Just answer my question."

Alzis' smile grows a bit wider. "An understandable reaction, I suppose. Very well." He slides over a piece of paper. An address is written on it.

"Go to that address and kill the individual who answers the door. My associates will take things from there. Do this for me, and I will consider your debt paid."

"Who lives at this address?" asks Vanessa, picking up the piece of paper and reading it. "If we do this, could you also please restore Agent Silasvuo to life?"

"Someone who you've never met, I assure you. In my business one occasionally needs to take a piece off the board to send a message, as it were. This is one of those times. Normally I would not have you perform such an unpleasant task, but the one slated to do it has sadly expired. Once the deed is done you can leave the body for my associates to take care of-- I only require their termination to consider your debts paid.

"But you're asking us to kill someone!" Jose protests. "We don't even know their name!"

Alzis chuckles. "Come now, I'm sure this is not the first time you had to bend the law given the other organization you work for. I am sorry, but debts must be paid-- no matter how unpleasant they may seem.

He leans back once Vanessa asks, his hands arched in front of him. "You want me to bring back Agent Silasvuo? He did shoot me, and then he chose to shoot himself... I don't imagine he'd be terribly interested in receiving my aid again. There's also the matter to consider that I cannot afford to show mercy every time one asks me too-- I don't want my associates to think I've gone soft, after all.

"That being said, perhaps this disagreement can be overlooked. Every now and again one should offer a kindness to a potential business partner. Perform this task for me and I'll think about it."

"Thank you," says Vanessa. "That's all I can ask. While we do bend the law, that's different than breaking it. Is there any alternative favor we could do for you that doesn't involve killing someone?"

"I'm afraid not. This has become a rather urgent development that needs to be addressed.

"Now, I of course won't force you to do it. I do try to be reasonable, and I'm beyond being crass. Of course, if you decide not to, things will sadly have to escalate. A cost will have to be paid for Agent Silasvuo's actions. Examples will be made. Do you perhaps need a moment to discuss on whether you'd like to accept my offer? I do realize this must be a dilemma for you both."

"It would help our decision if we knew who it was you want killed," says Vanessa. "Of course, we'll also need approval from upstairs, but I don't think that will be an issue."

"You're that curious? Fine. A woman by the name of Deborah Ann Gomez. I doubt you recognize the name-- she's not involved with either Delta Green or your day jobs. My reasons for requiring her termination are my own. I'd just like it done." He looks with amusement to Vanessa. "You're planning to tell Delta Green? That's none of my business, but I'd caution you to be careful. They tend to frown on their agents working for me, and they might feel you have been compromised. But perhaps honesty is the best policy?' His smile grows wider. It's unnerving.

"Yes, I think it's best," says Vanessa. "Believe it or not, my boss does want peace between us. He doesn't want us to do any further work for you beyond what it takes to make us even. Agent Silasvuo's moonlighting has brought us to this point, after all. I think he may be amenable to this, though, provided it ends there. We'll run the deal by him and see if he agrees."

"Mr. McRay and I are dear friends. Once our little misunderstanding was cleared up, at any rate. I'm sure he'll be quite amenable to our deal; he's always been able to sacrifice for the greater good." He smiles as if enjoying a private joke.

"Very well, I'll leave you to it. Give Mr. McRay my regards. " He rises, giving a clear indication as far as he's concerned the meeting is wrapping up. But the agents are still left with a choice to make.

"Thank you, Mr. Alzis," says Vanessa, also rising. "I'll be sure to relay to him what you said." Once outside of Club Apocalypse, she calls McRay to fill him in on the terms of the deal.

McRay listens. "Do what he wants. I'm not happy about it either, especially if this person is an innocent-- I don't recognize the name as being involved in any of our investigations, at any rate. But he has us over a barrel here, and by doing this you save us from a war we cannot afford to fight. "

A pause. "I'm sorry, for what it's worth. I know this is what neither of you signed up for. but in its own way, doing this helps us protect more people. If we got involved in a war with The Fate, even if we somehow won we'd take so many loses that we'd be unable to respond to many of the threats lurking out there. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good." He echos the line Alzis had spoken.

"Understood, sir," says Vanessa. "I don't like it either, but I also don't see any alternative. It'll be done."

An hour later finds the agents across from the house of Deborah Ann Gomez. It's a modest brownstone dwelling, connected to other units on both sides. The sky is dark, quickly losing the last traces of the day's light, and the pedestrian traffic has trickled to near zero. If they were going to do this, now would be the best time.

Jose had been quiet since the call, but he looks over to Vanessa now, perhaps suspects it's time. "So we're going to do this, then? Just go in there and murder an innocent woman?" He sighs. "I'm sorry, Vanessa. You're as much wrapped up in this as I am, I don't want to make you feel more guilt for what we have to do.

"So, how are we going to do it? Shoot her as soon as she opens the door, or get her inside and do it in there? Should we ask her questions? i mean, she has to know Alzis, right? He wouldn't just be sending us to kill a random woman he never met!"

OOC:   A HUMINT roll from Vanessa makes it fairly evident that Jose hopes there's a connection. He'd likely feel better if the woman was arrival to Alzis in someway and desperately wants her to be guilty of something.

"Anyway, I guess we don't have a choice. Are you ready?"

"I guess it's better to get her inside if she's alone," says Vanessa, "but if she doesn't, that would complicate things, and it would be better to do it at the door in that case. The problem is that we don't know which is the case until we knock. I'd like to ask her some questions first and find out more about her, if we can. I can flash the badge if we need her to cooperate, presuming she has any respect for the FBI. There's a third possibility too: we can get her to come with us to another location and do it there, if possible."

OOC,HUMINT roll (57% skill) about [b]Jose[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   I forgot Vanessa had the dog in the car! If it's alright with you we can do a small retcon and say she took it home or something; I don't imagine she'd feel comfortable leaving it in her vehicle this entire time or bringing it along now. Regardless of what you do, the dog is behaved and spends the entire time dozing.

Jose nods."I just want it over and done with, personally. If I find out she volunteers at the soup kitchen every weekend this is going to be even harder."

The pair exit the vehicle and cross the street , knocking on the door. It's a moment before anyone answers. The door opens to reveal a woman in her mid 30's. She's pretty, with shoulder length black hair and hazel eyes.She gives the investigators a slight smile and inquisitive expression.

"Yes?"

Jose's hand goes to his side, and lingers there.

"Are you Deborah Ann Gomez?" asks Vanessa. She wants to be sure she has the right person, but she's beginning to agree with Jose that it's best to just get this over with as soon as possible.

OOC,Yes, I'd have left the dog at home.

"Yes?" The woman raises an eyebrow, curious but not yet cautious.

Vanessa tries another question. "Have you ever heard of a Mr. Stephen Alzis?" she asks.

"No, not that I know of?' Is this a religious thing? Because if so, I'm sorry but I'm not interested." She looks ready to close the door.

HUMINT,She's telling the truth, best as Vanessa can determine.

"I'm sorry," says Vanessa, and she truly is, as she draws her pistol and shoots her.

OOC,HUMINT roll (57% skill) about [b]Deborah Ann Gomez[/b]: [dice]0[/dice] Firearms roll (72% + 20[point blank] = 92% skill) shooting [b]Deborah Ann Gomez[/b]: [dice]1[/dice] Damage: [dice]2[/dice]

Vanessa knows as soon as she shoots the gun that's it's not a good shot. In her haste and hesitation she fired at Deborah's elbow, likely causing only a painful flesh wound but nothing that would kill her. Yet somehow the bullet moved as if it had a mind of its own. It struck the woman dead in the chest. For a long second, Deborah looked confused. Then she clutched her stomach and fell to the ground.

"Why..." She asked, and Vanessa saw she was looking straight at her, Into her, as if she could explain why this happened.

Jose pointed his gun at fired, ripping out a large chunk of her scalp. He turned towards Vanessa. "We need to go!"

If Vanessa does not resist, they race back to the car and drive away.

"I don't think anyone saw us." Jose says. But it feels like cold comfort. A few minutes later, Vanessa's phone rings.

"Well done, Agent. Consider your debt paid in full. Unfortunately, Agent Silasvuo will be unable to return to the land of the living. He refused my offer. Headstrong even in death, I suppose. You can return the book to your organization and declare this mission a success. And remember, if you ever have need of my organization, all you have to do is call ." He hangs up.

"All that... And we didn't even get him back."

Vanessa doesn't waste any time getting away from there. "Alzis didn't even really need us to do that," she says. "He adjusted my aim somehow. I hadn't really wanted to kill her, so it wasn't a great shot, but the bullet got redirected to her chest. Otherwise, it just would have winged her. I'd prefer to have no more dealings with Alzis in the future. Nothing good ever comes of it. One day he'll have to answer for this. There must be some way to turn the tables on him, but I have no idea what it is."

"Yeah. You and me both," Jose says. "But if the time ever comes that we can take Alzis down, I'm all in."

***

They head to the Greenbox, turn over the book that had caused all of this. In a debriefing, McRay tells the the situation is being dealt with and arrangements will be made to ensure the Macallistar will not pose a risk to anyone else. He doesn't elaborate.

Vanessa goes home. Her new dog waits there for her, and it hits her that she may have to explain the situation to Malcolm. He loved Rex, but having another dog suddenly show up might be an issue for him. Then again, like her he was a soft hearted when it came to animals. And she'd have to make sure it was up to date on its shots and take it to the vet. Then there was where she found the animal; could she trust that it was safe for her to have around? She knew what Delta Green would say, if they knew. But they don't.

***

Regardless of the resolution with the animal, Vanessa finds herself curled up on the couch, watching television with Malcolm later that evening. He was telling her about his day, sharing an amusing story of one of his coworkers that Vanessa was really only half able to focus on. If he had picked up on her discomfort, he had not commented on it, but maybe that was just proof she was getting better at hiding it.

The evening news came on, the two stern faced anchors throwing it to a reporter. They covered the Macallistar suicides, as they were already being called. Malcolm shook his head.

"I'll never understand artists."

Vanessa recalled they had the suicide note Abby wanted them to give to her father, if she wanted to bother doing so. Perhaps it was better to let sleeping dogs lie.

The scene went back to the studio. The male anchor began to speak. "We're also following a developing story tonight. A brutal shooting leaves a young woman dead-- but what police find inside her home makes the scene even more chilling."

Deborah Ann Gomez's face flashes on the tv. The news reporter details how she had been shot twice when coming home, her body left right at her front door. Neighbors rushed to help but nothing could be done. Police soon arrived on the scene and found her live in boyfriend dead inside the house.

"Police say the boyfriend, Nikolas Siilasvuo, thirty two, left a note confessing to the killing before turning the weapon on himself. Siilasvuo's employers at the FBI have no comment at this time, pending an internal investigation."

"Huh," Malcolm said, looking over at Vanessa. "Did you know him? What a monster, to do that to someone you purport to love."

"I thought I knew him," says Vanessa. "I just can't believe it." She says this in a tone that indicates that this is just a saying, not that she actually means it.

Vanessa explains that the new dog is a collarless stray that she found, and that he befriended and followed her. Reasoning that the dog may have actually wandered into the MacAlllistar Building when it turned into the Broadalbin, or belonged to one of the dead artists, and going through the motions regardless, she reports that she found the lost dog and puts out a notice with a picture of him in case his owner recognizes him and decides to reclaim him. Of course, there's always the chance that the dog really did belong to that other world, but she has her doubts. In any case, if nobody claims the dog, she'll gladly adopt it if Malcolm is okay with it.

Malcolm agrees to keep the dog, provided no one comes for it. And no one does; Vanessa takes it to the vet a few days later, and it's given a clear bill of health. It's an older animal, likely to only live a few more years, if that, but hopefully they can be good ones. The still unnamed dogs gets along with everyone, and Rex learns to tolerate it in short order, though seems a little dissapointed that it's not as energetic as he is.

In other news, Vanessa's wedding is coming up-- they're planning for one in middle January. Malcolm seems excited about it, but whether she was is up to her to decide. At work she is interviewed about her late partner and asked the same questions over and over again. Had he changed recently? Had he ever expressed violent tendencies, etc.No suspicion had fallen on her, at least. McRay was terse about the whole thing, merely telling her this was why one did not make a deal with Stephen Alzis. But any attempts to figure out a way to deal with the man are quickly cut off-- it's quite apparent he's not interested in doing anything that could risk a conflict starting.

So it's a bit of a surprise a few days later when Vanessa walks out to her car after a long day of work and finds a note attached to her windshield.

We have a mutual enemy in A. Dinner at Heisenberg's tomorrow, 9 pm. Reservation for Mr. Green. This is a one time offer.

A quick call confirms Jose received the same message. He's torn on whether they should go, having seen the sort of retribution Alzis favored. But he also wanted payback for Nik. The question was if Vanessa felt this was worth the risk or she would prefer to be cautious.

"I'd like to go, but this could be a trap," says Vanessa. "Let's run this by McRay first and see what he thinks."

McRay's reaction is rather vehement.

"No way. Don't even think about going to this meeting. We just avoided war with Alzis-- I'm not about to let you pull us into a new one. Don't go to the meeting. In fact, take the note and give it to Alzis. We need to show him good faith, and that we had nothing to do with it."

"Will do, sir," says Vanessa. She turns to Jose. "Feel like going with me to see Alzis again?"

Jose frowns. "I understand the danger, but this could be our only chance to get justice for Nik. And not only are we not doing it, we're helping the man who killed him? But I guess we don't have a choice now, do we?"

OOC:   Vanessa is planning to take the note to Alzis, then?

"All right, let's go," says Vanessa. "No, there's no choice. This person just claims to be an enemy of Alzis and doesn't necessarily have any means of bringing him down. It could even be Alzis himself who left us the note to test us. He's one of the few people who actually knows what we have against him, after all. Let's go."

OOC,Yes, that's the plan.

The pair return to Club Apocalypse,and are quickly let inside. Alzis seems happy and vaguely amused to see them.

"I did not expect after our last meeting you would be returning here so soon. But it's not unwelcome. Please, what can I do for you today?"

Once the note is handed over, Alzis scans it. Then he looks up at the agents with a smile.

"It would appear my organization requires a bit of restructuring. Thank you for bringing this to my attention-- I will deal with it. Really, you offer people everything and it's still not enough for some. But this too can be an educational opportunity. But you don't care about any of that, I'm sure. You brought this to me as a show of good faith after our recent difficulties, which I appreciate. So I believe a small token of my gratitude is in order.

"I can either offer you a weapon that may be of use in your missions, or a favor, free of charge, to be called in sometime in the future. The choice is yours."

"I'd like the favor, please," says Vanessa without hesitation. They have weapons of their own already, though his would undoubtedly be special, but a free favor could be used for anything, including bringing back the dead. A weapon would just make someone dead, and there'd been enough of that.

"A wise choice. Though I must caution you,I offer my favor within reason. Even my abilities have limits. But anything I and my organization can do for you that does not negatively interfere with our own operations is yours.

"If there's nothing else, it has been a pleasure. And I thank you, once again. This show of faith is rather pleasing to see. Here is to many years of fruitful cooperation."

The unnerving smile is back.

OOC:   And that's the end of the scenario. If you have any questions about things or comments feel free to put them in the ooc thread. San rewards and penalties. Let's start with the penalty. Vanessa loses 1 point for murdering an innocent woman in cold blood. (It would be more, but she's hardened to violence. While it may upset her, she's mentally in a space where she can do it without most of the trauma associated with it.) She can gain 1d3 for resolving the Abigail Wright situation, and another 1d3 for locating the book that started all of this. I'll also roll these for Jose. In the ooc thread you can decide what you'd like to do with your two downtime activities. The next scenario will likely start in a few weeks,s o if you want we can play these downtime scenes out or you can give a brief summary of them.