IC - 29 - The Alpha and Omega

[Mr. Handy]

Kevlar vests wouldn't go amiss either.

[Silver Priest]

I doubt Simon would be given a gun. He likely has never even touched one. but he'd gladly take a vest and some self defense spray.

[Mephistophilis]

DI Malone authorises all of them to be issued with body armour. Kris has his CS gas and baton, he isn't firearms trained so won't be given a handgun or a taser. As a civilian Simon doesn't get given anything - even pepper spray is restricted in the UK. As Jocelyn has firearms training and pre-existing authorisation from the Chief Inspector she is issued a Glock 17 handgun.

Before they leave, Malone calls Jocelyn into his office. He points at the gun holstered on her hip. 'You use that without explicit authorisation Thames Valley Police will deny all knowledge - you understand? It will be MI5's pile of shit to clear up, you understand?'

-----

Kris selects the unmarked car that looks the most like it belongs to the police, it just so happens that's a white BMW 3 series foolishly left in the car park by the roads policing unit. He roars off in a cloud of smoke, leaving Simon and Jocelyn behind in the hire car. He's soon motoring down the A413 before the others have even left the streets of High Wycombe.



They've identified a social services building on the outskirts of Aylesbury, a family visitation centre that Malone has had cleared out before they arrive. Kris does a few laps of the town, ostensibly looking for any signs of Balfour or anyone else from the church while he waits for Jocelyn to catch up. Then he rolls into the car park and up to a rear garage that seems to be used for deliveries. He parks up for fifteen minutes while Jocelyn and Simon lurk outside.

There's no sign of anyone tailing you or hanging around outside the visitation centre.

[Philulhu]

Spot hidden (40) 1d100

Edit: I’ll hold off spending luck until I know what everyone else has got.

[Silver Priest]

1d100

I'll also hold off on spending luck if possible until I see if Handy passes.

[Mr. Handy]

"Understood, sir," says Jocelyn, securing her pistol. "I hope I don't need to use it. I didn't during the rescue. But if lives are at stake, I'll do what I have to do and worry about cleaning up the mess later."

When she arrives, she parks and waits for Kris to finish pretending to pick up Regina. She notices nothing out of the ordinary.

Spot Hidden roll (61% skill) outside the building:
d%

[Silver Priest]

OOC:   Okay then, Simon will spend the two luck.

"No sign of the Reverend or his men," Simon reports.

[Mephistophilis]

Kris slowly rolls out of the garage and across the forecourt of the visitation centre. The windows in the BMW are heavily tinted and he's put a pile of blankets in the back of the car in case someone looks inside, hoping they'll pass for a sleeping child. There's been no evidence of anyone else loitering in the area. He checks his watch, 4pm precisely. Kris knows the traffic will start getting heavier as people begin to leave work. Ordinarily it would only take about half an hour to get to Oxford but he reckons that in the run up to rush hour traffic it could even be as long as an hour to get there. Making it tight to get back to the church service in High Wycombe for 6pm.

[Philulhu]

Not liking the look of the traffic, Kris clicked the central locking on, hearing the ‘clunk’ as the locks engaged. He’d look pretty foolish if the car was stationary and someone just walked up and opened the doors.

[Mephistophilis]

Driving soberly through the streets of Aylesbury, Kris leaves the town and pulls out onto the A418, Jocelyn and Simon following a few cars behind. There's no trouble so far and no sign of anyone following them. Traffic is beginning to get a bit thicker and the road is busy, making it difficult for Jocelyn to maintain the distance she would like. Kris starts to open up the BMW a bit, hoping to make up some time on the journey over to Oxford but his overtaking just makes it more difficult for Jocelyn.

The sky is overcast and the afternoon takes a gloomy turn. It isn't raining but there's definitely threats of it in the dark clouds overhead. The air has a slightly ionised feel to it, like you sometimes get with thunderstorms. The drivers on the road seem particularly bad tempered today and there's a fair bit of horns blaring and flashing of lights.

I'd like everyone, including Simon, to roll Drive Auto

[Silver Priest]

1d100

[Mr. Handy]

"Bloody hell!" cries Jocelyn, expertly handling the wheel.

Drive Auto roll (50% skill) in the traffic jam:
d%

[Philulhu]

Drive Auto (26%) 1d100

[Silver Priest]

OOC:   Their seems to be an error with the above post; Philulhu somehow passed one of their drive auto rolls.

[Philulhu]

OOC:   The car is handling smoothly and Kris hasn’t hit anything for five minutes. He’s beginning to doubt his sanity…

[Mephistophilis]

Kris revs the BMW - he gets a little thrill as he's pushed back into his seat with the acceleration - pulling out onto the other side of the road and overtaking several irate commuters. Jocelyn does her best to keep up behind in the Focus. It's trying work for Jocelyn but Kris does seem to be able to pick just the right spots to overtake and even finds a neat little shortcut that gains them a bit more time. In fact they're well ahead of schedule when the A418 begin to slow down again around Thame. There's no spaces to overtake and the traffic coming in the opposite direction is getting busier. Both Kris and Jocelyn can see that something is going on up ahead. Kris thinks he might even see some cars turning around in the road in the far distance and there's the sound of people honking their horns impatiently. Kris reckons there's some kind of obstruction up ahead.

[Mr. Handy]

Jocelyn maintains her position behind Kris's car, keeping her eyes peeled. "Maybe Balfour was able to arrange something in our path to slow us down," she says.

[Silver Priest]

"I wouldn't put anything past him," Simon declares. "Be vigilant."

[Philulhu]

Keeping sufficient distance in front of him to allowing for braking and manoeuvring, Kris allows the car to ghost up to the white line, giving him a better view of what lay ahead.

Spot hidden (40%) 1d100

Edit: Normal dice rolling has resumed… I’m beginning to wonder whether Kris has any appreciable skills after all.

[Mephistophilis]

Kris drifts out over the line, onto the other side of the road for a few seconds, between oncoming cars. In the far distance it looks like there's a vehicle across the road, blocking both lanes. A small lorry maybe. There seem to be people standing about in the road. On his side the traffic is queued all the way back and most of the cars ahead are beginning to try and turn around when they can, obviously deciding the road is going to be impassable for the forseeable.

I'll let you have that one with your good Drive Auto roll!