Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

The year is 1999. A group of agents with the FBI quickly discover a routine case is anything but. Thrust into a world that's as incomprehensible as it is deadly, can this team hope to hold back the darkness?

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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Vanessa and Nik,[ooc]Okay, Vanessa loses one san. Do you want to project that onto a bond? To do so you would roll 1d4 and spend that many willpower. If you have at least one WP left after the roll, reduce your San loss by that amount, to a minimum of zero. Also pick one bond and reduce it by the same amount, as your Agent reacts in some way that distances themselves from one of them. Personally I don't recommend you do it for one point of SAN loss, but the choice is yours. Also, make a check that Vanessa has made one violence check without going temporarily insane or hitting a breaking point. If she's able to do two more, she becomes adapted to Violence.[/ooc] Colorados nods and does so, barking into his radio for backup. John Rope shakes his head at Nik's question, but speaks in English once again. "[color=#0040FF]I do not. I cannot imagine a man doing such depravity to the Begays. They were loved by all[/color]." Nik detects some avoidance in his reply though. He's telling the truth, in so far that he does not seem to have any idea who could have done this. But he also seems to be holding something back.
Stanyard and Edmund,Edmund and Stanyard finds it difficult to learn much more about the body, both the sight and smell distracting them. Twice the men have to take a break to avoid further vomiting. The only thing they is able to determine is that Braverman died from massive abdominal trauma, likely the splitting open of his belly by some sort of knife. Stanyard gets the Houston PD and explains the situation. The desk jockey, a gruff older man with a chain smoker's voice, perks up as soon as he hears the name. "[color=#0040FF]Braverman? You got that sick son of a bitch, did you? A lot of us will be sleeping better tonight. "No, no case, but we've been looking for him. He was our chief suspect in a string of prostitute murders here in Houston. The things he did to those girls... "We raided his house but the bastard gave us the slip. Left us a present though. Both his children were dead in their beds. The evil fuck had been eating them, likely for at least a few days. We've got a few officers still in therapy from the experience. His wife Elaine was also gone, we're presuming kidnapped. She's not with him? I wish the man had suffered. He had us all fooled. Seemed like a pleasant guy, but I've taken down hardened criminals whose crimes paled in comparison to this. They were simply evil for the sake of it. [/color]."
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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OOC,No, I'm not projecting it onto a Bond. I'll take the hit myself.
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Nik thinks that Rope may know more than he realizes. He softens his tone.

Mr. Rope, these are your friends laying here, slaughtered like sheep. You may not know who killed them, but I’m sure you know that something very very wrong is happening on your reservation. Please tell me honestly what you think about all this.”
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Image
On the phone with Houston-

"I hear you, officer. I didn't catch your name, sir. Wait, did you say he was a suspect? I got the idea that he was working for you. Did the victims show punctures in the hearts and lungs as from injections of some sort? We've had a string of murders up here with that MO. If so, I might have to get my superior to send for a courier."
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Vanessa and Nik,John Rope looks conflicted, but Nik's words win him over. Softly, he sighs. [color=#0040FF]"Look at the tracks. They all vanish after at most a few hundred feet. And a coyote would not have gone to the effort of digging the corpses up if something were wrong with them. "Our people have a Spirit that has long looked after our Tribe. Coyote. Should any harm the Apache Coyote Spirit will haunt them, disrupting their work at every turn. I believe that it was He that dug up the bodies[/color]." He does not seem to expect either of the agents to believe him.
Stanyard and Edmund,"[color=#0040FF]I'm Detective O'Leary. "Yes,our main one in fact, We have him on tape with several of the women, and eye witnesses match he sought several of them out for 'services.' For a cop he was very sloppy, almost like he wanted to be caught. Lucky break for us I suppose, since otherwise more people would have died before suspicion fell on him. "As a matter of fact, most of they did. Some kind of paralyzing agent, though I'm not sure we ever got a full ID on what exactly it was. We suspect Braverman pricked his vics and then fed on many of them while they were still alive and fully conscious but unable to move a muscle. A real sicko. "So Braverman killed more up near Phoenix? Shit. Well at least he's dead now. A lot of us will be glad to hear this nightmare is finally over[/color]."
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Image
On the phone-

"Detective O'Leary, I have Major Sherriff Garrett of AZ State Police here." Stanyard hands his phone to Garrett, "I believe this is for your credit, Sir." He stands sheepishly and waits for the trooper to get the bulky cell.
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Frustrated, Nik snorts derisively. “Goddamn Apache mumbo-jumbo” he thinks.

He abruptly turns away from Rope and accosts the Sheriff.

“Do you know of anyone on the reservation who could have done this Sheriff?”
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Image

"It is strange that the tracks just disappear," muses Vanessa. "Normal coyotes don't do that, nor do they refuse to chew on remains even without flesh on them, yet these are coyote tracks. It sure does seem like the coyotes revealed both the graves and the car at this time, just when we arrived, so that we'd find the bodies. It's hard to imagine that being a coincidence. I can't think of a better explanation."
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Stanyard and Edmund,Garrett takes the phone with enthusiasm , offering Stanyard a respectful nod as he does so. He begins to assure O'Leary that they'll both be cooperating to the fullest extent in order to solve the case.
Vanessa and Nik,Rope shakes his head sadly, as Nik conforms his suspicions. "[color=#008000]If I had any idea who was responsible for all this, I wouldn't need your help, would I[/color]?" snaps Colorados. Then the man sags, and he just looks defeated. "[color=#008000]I'm sorry. I knew the Begays. Something like this... it's a real shock[/color]." Rope approaches Vanessa. "[color=#0040FF]If you truly believe, I know a Shaman of my people that can aid you in connecting to Coyote Spirit. Palmer Valor has often communed with him. If anyone can aid you, it will be he[/color]." "[color=#008000]Indeed, he knows much of Apache lore[/color]," Colorados admits. "[color=#008000]I'm loathe to think this the work of spirit animals, but I know of few other conclusions. Unfortunately, Mr. Valor is currently away on a spiritual retreat. He is due to return early tomorrow morning. If you'd like I can send one of his apprentices and inquire about a meeting.[/color]."
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Image

"Thank you, I'd like to talk to him," says Vanessa.
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Later that night, the team regroups at their hotel.
Spoiler:
Image
Unlike the rest of the reservation, the Apache Gold is clearly designed as something of a tourist trap, and is kept in far better condition because of it. Though it's not Vegas, it has enough distractions to keep any tourist busy for a few days. Plus it's air conditioned and has a nice sized bar, which the agents may need after their long day.

As Garth Brooks jams on the radio and a pretty young waitress smiles and brings them drinks and refreshments, the team now have a chance to pick each others brains about what they witnessed today. The bodies unearthed at the Begay ranch had been sent to Phoenix for testing, and the team would soon receive the case files on the murders Braverman was said to have committed. Hopefully they could find something useful in all that.
OOC:   Just a quick scene to toss ideas around and for roleplay purposes. Once you're good to move on we'll begin the next day.  
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Nik

"That sure was a shitty day" grumbles Nik as he sips his vodka. He stares gloomily around at the casino. "I guess we'd better decide what we're gonna do next. Shall I summarise what we have so far?”

“A bunch of dead sheep, stolen from a farm, all with injection marks in the hearts and lungs, partially consumed and buried. Followed by their owners, a family of four, all found in the same condition. The sheep were killed over the space of a couple of months, the family most likely were killed at the same time. I’m guessing that they knew their killer as there is no sign of struggle or violence at the house. However our Apache friends don’t seem to be able to imagine that a local could have done this, and spout off a bunch of mystical coyote crap.”

“We also have a Houston cop, wanted for murder, whose m.o. would fit the details of what happened to the Begay family. However he’s dead too, but his wife is missing. Who’s liking her for the killings? Although she must have an accomplice, perhaps someone who knows the area. Braverman must have upset them somehow, so they offed him. Some kind of goddam serial killing team.”

He pauses and downs the rest of his drink.

"Please fill in any details I missed."
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Image

"Braverman sounds like a better fit for our killer than anyone else," says Vanessa, turning to Chad and Edmund. "There's something I've been wondering. How did you two identify the body in the car as Braverman? Can we really be sure that body is him and not one of his victims?"
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Stanyard sips on a Lager and replies, "We don't know for sure until the prints come back for comparison. The driver's license and his face did match quite well, but he was in a pretty bad shape. I just assumed that the likeness was good enough. His car, his driver's license. Hmm. Edmiund, did Garrett get prints of Braverman?" "The files of the case he was a suspect in are arriving tomorrow, I think. They might help us out."
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Spoiler:
OOC:   Prints were collected from the car and are currently being analyzed.

I'll let Cearlan catch up with us before moving on.  
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Edmund purses his lips and blows through them, softly whistling a single note.

"As the prints and other identifiers such as dental records are either being analysed or beyond our reach at present, no we cannot be 100% certain that it is Braverman, though the facial features body is very similar and match the I.D. found on the vic. We need to see the autopsy and the files from his home station to help us clarify the situation some more I believe. We made a leap of faith that the body and I.D. matched."
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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January 13th, 1999

OOC:   I'm assuming you have two rooms next to one another for your investigation. I'll let you guys figure out the sleeping arrangements.  
Despite the bad dreams of some of them, the team wakes the next morning ready to continue the investigation.

Any of the agents who check in with the home office find that the first analysis of the substance injected within the bodies and the sheep have been performed. Due to the sudden seriousness of the case, it was rushed to completion. Grant, The fed in charge of the analysis speaks to them over the phone.

"Based on what we're seeing here, whatever these bodies were injected with was some sort of tranquilizer or a muscle relaxant. In essence it shut down the bodies almost immediately upon being injected. We're still unsure of the exact means of delivery.

"Here's the odd part. Well, odder. We weren't able to identify the chemical used in the tranquilizer. I reran the tests and found that whatever the tranquilizer is, it's unknown to science. As far as I can determine it exists nowhere in nature. Some of the elements in its makeup appear to be unidentifiable. Frankly, I'm baffled. I've sent it up the ladder. Hopefully someone has seen it before, but I'm not optimistic.

Anyway, try and catch this guy alive. Finding out whatever this was would be a great boon to science. Anyone who did so would achieve great fame
." It's clear what Grant in particular was hoping for. The man already saw a Nobel in front of him.

After the call ends and the agents get ready to leave, they discover something odd. Right outside Vanessa's room is a package. It's a small brown box, devoid of any writing.
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Image

Vanessa frowns at the package. "Either someone's trying to help us, or someone's trying to hurt us," she says, "and I'm not sure which. My first instinct is to call the bomb squad, but I'd rather not destroy evidence if that's what this is. It would be great to get a look inside this thing without opening it, with X-rays maybe, but moving it could be dangerous."
OOC,How small is the box? Does it look too small to contain an explosive device?
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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The box looks to be a shoe box, or at least the size of one. Big enough for a bomb. But there does not seem to be any sound coming from it, and changing a quick shake of the container reveals no clanking of metal coming from inside. The only sound seems to be some sort of paper shuffling about.
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Re: Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays

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Nik talks to Vanessa. "Do you want to chance it? Or maybe we can find a dentist in town and give it a quick x-ray".
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