Track Three: A Whiter Shade of Pale

[jp1885]

Tony's ego deflates at the words 'you remind me of my father.' He watches as the young kids run off with their ball; their carefree lives ahead of them.

"Ah well, je ne regrette rien..." He turns to the others. "This outlet is the only common point to the attacks. Take a look around, up the pipe and such. Let's see if the embalmer has left anything."

"This will sound crazy, but keep an eye out for splashes of milk."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"That was pretty tuff," Zara says of the golf cart ride. "So where's this Aragon place?"

Someone in the group recalls that it is located just outside Pacific Ocean Park, and that it is being currently renovated to transform it in a rock 'n' roll venue. During the daytime, it's full of construction workers.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Tony's ego deflates at the words 'you remind me of my father.' He watches as the young kids run off with their ball; their carefree lives ahead of them.

"Ah well, je ne regrette rien..." He turns to the others. "This outlet is the only common point to the attacks. Take a look around, up the pipe and such. Let's see if the embalmer has left anything."

"This will sound crazy, but keep an eye out for splashes of milk."

"I don't think I can remember what milk looks like, boss," Ratface says. "I don't suppose you'd settle for beer."

"I'll look, I'll look," Turkey says.

The three bikers search the area for anything of interest. Mostly it's just the usual collection of litter; cigarette butts and such.

Spoiler:

three npc's with average wisdom (9) searching[dice]0[/dice]

"Not a danged thing as far as I can tell," Sailor says.

[jp1885]

"Hmm, I was convinced we'd find something..."

Tony joins in the search.

Wisdom,Wisdom 10+1[dice]0[/dice]

But also finds nothing of interest.

Unless Lew has better luck, Tony wonders whether his new friends would be able to get them into the POP without alerting any guards. He wants to take a look at Natasha's lair. If not, he will return to base and await the return of the others, charging the gang members to keep an eye out as previously instructed.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Ratface grins. "I'm always up for a little breaking and entering. Just say the word, chief."

[Rooter]

At the JPL:



"Maybe better to wait until the construction workers are done for the day before checking out the Aragon," Carson says. "In the meantime I'll make a few phone calls, see if I can find out if the place is owned by any persons of interest."

[jp1885]

"If you can get me into the Westinghouse Enchanted Forest without being spotted by anyone outside or in, then, Mr. Ratface, let's roll."

[Starspawn338]

On the off chance that they missed something, Lew looks around too.

OOC,Wisdom 10 [dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

"I don't know if we can wait that long," says Liz. "That Venus probe may be lost for good if communications aren't restored quickly. We can at least take some more readings from closer to the Aragon and pinpoint the source of the interference more precisely."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

At the JPL:


"Maybe better to wait until the construction workers are done for the day before checking out the Aragon," Carson says. "In the meantime I'll make a few phone calls, see if I can find out if the place is owned by any persons of interest."

All records indicate that the Aragon Ballroom is operated by the same company which has owned it for many years, and that they have a clean record. They even pay their taxes.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"I don't know if we can wait that long," says Liz. "That Venus probe may be lost for good if communications aren't restored quickly. We can at least take some more readings from closer to the Aragon and pinpoint the source of the interference more precisely."

It takes most of the day to get some good readings without drawing attention. The broadcasts are coming from about the middle of the Aragon Ballroom, and from beneath the ground; deeper than the basement of the place.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"If you can get me into the Westinghouse Enchanted Forest without being spotted by anyone outside or in, then, Mr. Ratface, let's roll."

"Easy as taking candy from a baby, chief. Just watch."

When the group arrives at the entrance to the abandoned park, a pair of cops are on patrol.

"OK, Turkey, do your thing."

Turkey runs past the cops yelling.

"Dirty pigs all stink!"

This has the desired effect. The cops chase after Turkey, catching up with him a little later. Meanwhile, Ratface and Sailor lead the rest through the turnstiles, breaking open the ineffectual locks and chains that held them shut.

"Turkey'll cool his heels in jail for a while. Nothin' new about that. We bust the place open, they lock it back up. Kind of a game. The cops would rather have us in here raisin' Hell than buggin' the squares."

The Westinghouse Enchanted Forest is equally easy to enter. Unlike before, its conveyor belt is not currently operating, nor are there any other obvious signs of life.

[jp1885]

Tony suspects that Natasha and her cronies split after being discovered by Carson and Zara, but is on is guard nonetheless. he switches on his flashlight.

"Take a look around, but be careful. This is the lair of a Soviet agent, so there's no telling what traps have been left lying around."

He turns to Lew and shrugs apologetically.

"This might not be related to the Embalmer case I'm afraid, but if you help me you'll be doing a great service to your country."

He begins to mooch around, starting off with the submarine and then the apparently blank wall that Carson said Natasha came out of last time.

[SunlessNick]

"If it's from that far down, maybe the way to get in there isn't in the building," Zara suggests.

[Mr. Handy]

"That's a possibility," says Liz. "Perhaps we could gain entrance via the sewers. There've got to be plans on file."

[Starspawn338]

"You never know what you will find when you start digging around." Lew replies as he helps search for clues.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

Searching with two WIS of 9, one of 10, one of 11 respectively[dice]0[/dice]

It seems apparent that the former occupants of this place left in something of a hurry, as they have left several items behind. Empty vodka bottles and tins of caviar are scattered about, as well as old copies of Pravda and Izvestia. There is also a sheet of paper with a series of numbers on it, which appears to have been transmitted by teletype. The meaning of this is not apparent.

_________________________________________________________________________________

City records provide detailed diagrams of the sewer system, which goes back to the previous century. A determined person, properly equipped, could reach just about any part of the city through its tangled labyrinth, with some effort.

[jp1885]

Tony studies the numbers on the sheet of paper - some kind of code no doubt. He shows it to Lew.

"Perhaps the delectable Dr. North could take a look, or maybe our chum Agent Carson has a few codebreaker friends in his organisation. Failing that my Aunt Maud used to do something hush-hush with numbers during the war..."

He carefully folds the paper and slips it inside his jacket.

"While we're here, shall we continue to look around old chap? Ratface, could you get us into, say Neptune's Kingdom?"

He grins.

"Maybe our killer has delusions of grandeur."

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Bletchley Park's existence didn't become public knowledge until 1974, though it's possible Aunt Maud told her family - though she sure wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Incidentally, I had it in mind that [b]Liz[/b]'s father was at Bletchley during the war too. [b]Liz[/b] could also take a crack at the code.

[jp1885]

OOC,Fair point. Post edited accordingly :D