Play@YSDC

”Do not lecture me about racism, Mr Balfour! An Asian man in the police force? I experience it, from the public and colleagues every single day!” shouted Kris, who stabbed his finger in Balfour’s direction to emphasise every single word.

”What is it that you’re not telling me about Regina?” he continued. “I can see the looks you’re giving each other. There’s something going on that you’re hiding. You tell me that and I’ll go and get on with my investigation! Otherwise, you’re the ones preventing us from finding her!” Kris looked at Mrs Balfour as he spoke.

Keeper rolls,0, 1

John Balfour stops talking, he steps back from Kris and smiles. 'So that's what this is about, you think we're keeping something from you. Some secret involvement in Regina's kidnap because Newman was a member of our church.' He reaches into his pocket and takes out a mobile phone. 'I can assure you Detective, we have no idea what motivated Zac Newman, but I cannot stand for this behaviour, I cannot stand for it at all.' He makes a few presses on the phone and then holds it to his ear, 'Sergeant Bates, it is Reverend John Balfour here, I have a very serious complaint to make about Officer Sapru.'

Sarah Balfour links her arm with her husband and stands beside him. Her previously distressed and angry expression now replaced with one of resolve.

Kris stood up wearily. “I don’t know what your motives are, but you’re keeping something from me. For the record, I don’t think you’re involved in the kidnapping but I do think that whoever was involved, was motivated by a concern for Regina. Understanding that could be a key to solving the case and getting her back, but...” He shrugged. They weren’t about to tell him about their plans involving the girl.

He walked out of the house and headed down the road towards home. He was dog-tired and he was sure to be facing a shitstorm of trouble in the morning.

"I'm terribly sorry," says Jocelyn. "We're all on the same side. We all want to find Regina. Anything you can tell me about this social worker may help. Time is of the essence, so it's better for your daughter if you say something now. If not and you want to talk later, you have my card with my mobile number."

Simon approaches Kris as the officer leaves the home. He smiles at him somewhat sheepishly, hoping to convey he's not really taking the Balfours side in the matter.

OOC:   If possible I'd like to talk with the others on the drive back and plot out our next moves, though this can wait until morning if preferred.

”You shouldn’t have interfered,” said Kris bluntly. “I appreciate you were trying to help but first and foremost, this is a police investigation. Sometimes you need to put people under pressure to get information from them, even if they are the victims...”

He stopped and waited for Jocelyn to pick them up and take them back to the station, where he bid them goodnight and drove home without bothering to check in first.

He got back to find a note from Bina to say she was pulling in an extra shift to cover for a colleague, so he poured himself a drink and wandered into the spare room to switch on the computer. As he waited for the updates to finish loading, he pulled a notepad towards him and started making notes about the subjects he wanted to research.

OOC,Kris is looking for an online Bible, so he can read up on the the Passover. Computer Use (65%) - 0

Sarah Balfour looks conflicted for a moment, 'Lindsay Peale was her name' she says to Jocelyn and then exchanges a glance with her husband. 'Please leave now' says Rev Balfour and escorts Jocelyn to the door.

The three drive back to the station in a tense silence, Simon clearly straining to speak further while Kris broods sullenly. Jocelyn drops off Kris who picks up his own car.

Jocelyn and Simon,What do Jocelyn and Simon want to do? Go back to the hotel, get a feed, and go to bed? More research, the book maybe? Discuss the case?

Kris,Kris easily finds an online Bible, the King James version since that is the one used by Balfour. He looks up Exodus 11 ([url]https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2011&version=KJV[/url]) and Exodus 12 ([url]https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2012&version=KJV[/url]) which recount the story of the Passover.

Sat in front of his computer, Kris applies the cream to his arms as he read the passages from Exodus on the screen. He wiped his hands dry and pulled out his phone, typed out a message and sent it to Jocelyn and Simon.

Do you think B is planning something like the plague in Exodus? LP takes R because she’s his first born. If he doesn’t get her back by Tuesday and they go ahead, then she dies...’

As they head back to the station Simon responds.

"I understand, but respectfully think you pushed too much," he tells Kris. "We have fairly strong circumstantial evidence that John Balfour is planning some sort of Biblicaly inspired attack. But no one else believes it, and if he gets us taken off the case to find his daughter, we'll have no way of stopping it. I'm sure you will face discipline, but if we can find out Balfour's plan and put a stop to it, you should be fine-- and Jocelyn and my position should be safe, at least.

"I believe our objective at the moment must be finding Lindsay Peale; hopefully she can give us more information to go on, and of course Regina is still in danger regardless. From my research Balfour has some reluctance with performing what he sees as God's will, and I intend to play on that. I had hoped to tell him of a dream I have of his Passover Angel. A hallucination brought about my obsessive study, but I'm sure he'd think it was divinely inspired. Once we find Regina, I hope to impress upon him that the Lord favored us bringing his girl home; hopefully he will trust at least myself and Jocelyn enough to reveal his plan. Maybe we can convince him to stop it; even if not, we can go to the proper authorities and have them deal with the matter."

Back at the hotel, he'll ask Jocelyn if she has any plans for research. Failing that, he'll look up Red Trumpet online to see if there's been any study of the group, its aims, and its tactics it has used to achieve them.

When Kris' message arrives, he considers.

It's entirely possible. It would explain the allergic reaction we all had, as well as why Exodus 11;6 was skipped, the part indicating the plagues would not affect the earth once again; Balfour must intend to bring them back.

"You're right, we need to find Lindsay Peale and Regina post haste," says Jocelyn. "The problem is, we're running out of leads on her. I hope she replies to the email we sent, but I'm not holding my breath. I can't think of anything to research other than Red Trumpet. I'd imagine there's more in the MI5 files than there is in open sources."

Jocelyn searches MI5's electronic files for information on Red Trumpet, but she can't find anything.

OOC,Library Use roll (20% base skill) looking up MI5's records on Red Trumpet: 0

Library Use 80%,0

Simon searches for any shred of information, particularly from Kenyan media sources.

There is not a lot to be found online about the Red Trumpet. They seem to be associated with the Nandi people of the Rift Valley but there's nothing concrete. The name is mentioned in connection with an uprising against the colonial government in the 1920s.

Jocelyn accesses the MI5 computer system but there is not much recorded beyond the flag on the name from MI6. This confirms what has been found online but also notes that there has been sporadic violence since the 1920s attributed to the Red Trumpet. However it is all very vague She wonders if she could get hold of someone in the Foreign Office with access to more records.

OOC,You could push Jocelyn's roll, perhaps take longer to search less obvious search terms, but then maybe she wouldn't get enough sleep and would take a deficit tomorrow from that. We established she doesn't know anyone in the Foreign Office but maybe she could try calling them directly, maybe they have a duty desk, she could probably give them her credentials but she'd need to pass a social roll to sweet talk them to give her the information. Failing it could annoy the powers that be, maybe bring their attention in an unhelpful manner

Simon takes note of the writer of any articles mentioning Red Trumpet, seeing if he can find a name or contact over in Kenya he could ask about for more information.

Simon finds really very little about the Red Trumpet but most of what he gets comes from the site of Kenyan 'citizen journalist' and fringe blogger Rose Madawa. Her website gives an email address.

OOC,Unless there are any objections/further things you want to do I'm going to try and get posts ready for starting the next day. Hopefully I'll get them done in the next day or so.

Deciding it's worth a shot, Simon shoots Rose a quick email.

Dear Ms. Madawa,

My name is Simon Eagleton. I am a consulting Psychologist with the London police. A recent investigation of ours has led us to an individual with ties to Red Trumpet, A group I notice you have mentioned in one of your insightful articles. Information on this group is scarce however; do you happen to know anything more about them, or could you point me to a source that details more of their history, organization, tactics, and goals? I believe this would help immeasurably.

Happy to answer any and all questions I am able. Hope to hear from you soon.

Then he retires for bed.