IC - 1 - Beginnings - Simon

[Mephistophilis]

7.05pm Thursday 11th March 2010, London, England.
It has been a bright and crisp spring day in the nation's capital. The last few brilliant rays from the setting sun colour the sky with a rosy glow.

Simon,Where is Simon, what is he doing right now? Currently he knows nothing about the Balfour case.

[Silver Priest]

Simon is teaching his psychology class at Middlesex University, finishing up a lecture he's giving on criminal psychology.

"So, in closing, the Erskine case continues to pose many interesting questions to our society. To what degree does mental illness reduce culpability? And how can we balance our desire with justice with our commitment to treat everyone with respect. Your papers are due next week, do not forget!"

After his class is over he puts on his coat and prepares to head back to his office, to catch up on some work and enjoy a few moments of blessed relaxation. Lectures were always challenging; especially the introductory courses. So few students were truly interested in the material.

[Mephistophilis]

Simon glances at his phone which has been set to silent during his lecture. There are five missed calls from withheld numbers. It starts to ring again.

'Dr Simon Eagleton?

The Dr Eagleton who consulted on the Thorndike murder last year?

My name is Giles Munro, I work for the Security Service, I believe we have a little problem that would benefit from your particular expertise.

It won't be on the news yet but thirty minutes ago a child was abducted from a shopping centre in High Wycombe. The child's father, one Reverend John Balfour, is the founder and leader of a millennial Christian sect called the Church of the Passover Angel, a somewhat...fringe religious organisation that I think would be right up your alley.'

Rather darkly he adds, 'We don't know whether the religion angle is relevant at this stage, but as you will recall from the unfortunate Thorndike affair, time really is rather of the essence in these abduction cases if a suboptimal outcome is to be avoided.'

His tone brightens again, 'I have one of our best officers assigned to the case, Jocelyn Leigh, she will meet you at the Eden Shopping Centre where the abduction took place.'

Simon,You can ask Giles any questions you want now but he doesn't know a lot of details and bear in mind it is going to take about an hour to get from London to Wycombe by car

[Silver Priest]

"Yes," Simon responds. "A most fascinating case, Thorndike. To think one man could be stabbed that many times."

"I am always happy to assist on matters that require my particular skill set. I'll be there at once." He hangs up, figuring he will learn more at the scene rather than badgering the officer; after all, if he knew everything they'd not require him, would they?

Along the way he tries to think if he's heard of this church before.

[Mephistophilis]

Simon,Roll Occult, how is Simon getting to Wycombe?

[Silver Priest]

Simon will take his car, a model that's a few years old but relatively well maintained.

Occult 75%,[dice]0[/dice] Is this something I could push?

[Mephistophilis]

Heading out of North London on the A40 Simon tries to remember if he has ever heard mention of the Church of the Passover Angel. He can't recall anything but it sounds like hundreds of other apocalyptic or millennial Christian sects which centre around interpretation of the Book of Revelation.

Leaving the suburban fringes of London his car joins the M40 motorway which threads through the greenery of the Colne Valley.

He turns over the Thorndike case in his mind, that started like this one, with an abduction, the poor guy probably never stood a chance but, well, perhaps if they'd moved more quickly, if he'd only appreciated the depths of the killer's religious delusion earlier...

For a moment the diffuse pink haze on the skyline takes on a richer hue and Simon glances up to see a blood red moon hanging in the night sky before it is rapidly eclipsed by the gathering clouds.

Simon,you can spend luck but I was looking for an extreme success, you could also push the roll, perhaps looking at a mobile phone while driving (which could obviously end badly), we're going to have to wait for the other threads to catch up before everyone meets

[Silver Priest]

The information proves surprisingly elusive, which wounds Simon's pride-- he tends to know these things. This suggested whatever fringe group Balfour was involved in was really obscure-- surely he'd have heard of it otherwise. He considers attempting to do some research, but reasons it's better to get to the scene before he does that.

Then he looks up at the moon. That was rare. He tries to puzzle out if he heard anything about such an occurrence on the news. Astronomy is not a subject he's ever considered himself an expert on, but he feels as though he should have.

OOC,Not going to push the roll, but can i make anything to determine if he has heard about the blood moon and how odd this would be if not? Also, I promise I won't try to make rolls every post, but Simon is an inquisitive sort. :P

[Mephistophilis]

Simon,Roll Occult and separately roll Natural World or some kind of physical science like Physics or Astronomy

[Silver Priest]

Occult 75%,[dice]0[/dice]

Natural World 10%,Simon has no science skill, so I believe this may be the most equivalent. [dice]1[/dice]

[Mephistophilis]

Simon knows that a blood moon is caused by a lunar eclipse, making the moon appear red. It occurs in many different apocalyptic prophesies including the Book of Revelation 6:12:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood

There are usually only a few lunar eclipses a year but Simon doesn't know if one was forecast for tonight. However, he doubts it and suspects he was mistaken about the blood moon, probably just glare from the tail lights ahead he tells himself.

[Mephistophilis]

I must be tired Simon mutters to himself and he dismisses thoughts of blood moons. It starts to rain, coating the car with a diffuse spray. His mind returns to the subject of the Thorndike murder.

The view of the road starts to blur and Simon squirts the windscreen with screen wash. The hazy glare of the lights ahead dazzles him again and, for a moment, gives the screen an unpleasant reddish hue, like a film of blood dripping down the windscreen, smeared by the wipers.



Really tired.

Eventually Simon arrives in the outskirts of High Wycombe.He can see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles from a long way off. The Eden centre itself seems to consist of several separate buildings linked together with covered walkways. The flashing police lights illuminate the transparent plastic awnings like a tacky Christmas tree.

Police cars are parked haphazardly around the entrances. Uniformed officers patrol a cordon with cones and tape. A lone ambulance sits among the police cars.

Several news vans are parked in front of the cordon, Simon recognises the BBC, Sky, ITN, and some other local news outlets. There is also a van marked 'GNS', which is not a brand he recognises.

The approach to the Eden centre is crammed with cars and pedestrians craning to get a look at the goings on beyond the police cordon. Simon can see it is going to be difficult getting close to the centre.

Simon,Roll Drive Auto, if there's anything you wanted to do prior to arrival just say

[Silver Priest]

OOC:   Sorry, missed the update.

Simon knows well how present things can bias someone, and so he assumes the sight of a blood moon is due to him musing on Apocalypticism and its relation to the case. He chuckles in amusement, knowing that even he is not fully able to withstand irrational thoughts.

His smile dims as he sees the rain, but only for a moment before he reasserts control.

Due to idle curiosity, he turns on the radio as he enters the centre, on the off chance someone is reporting a sighting of a blood moon; and whether it was expected.

Drive Auto 20%,[dice]0[/dice]

Though he's not the best driver, luck is with him and he finds himself able to navigate the car park with some degree of skill.

[Mephistophilis]

Simon tunes the radio in to a local station, 'this is BBC Three Counties Radio at eight o'clock on Thursday the Eleventh of March. Our reporter is on the scene at the Eden Centre in High Wycombe awaiting a press conference by the police which is due to start shortly. Unconfirmed reports indicate that at least one person has been killed in an incident earlier today.'

Navigating through the crowded streets he manages to park near the centre, just outside the police cordon. As he reverses Simon feels something squish unpleasantly under the back tyre. He steps out of the car and walks around to the passenger side where there are legs poking out from under the wheel like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz. It looks to be a frog or toad, the unfortunate creature's bloody viscera oozing out onto the road surface.

There is a light rain so Simon pulls on his jacket and approaches the police lines where a cluster of emergency vehicles sit, lights flashing in the gloom.

His path is blocked by the GNS van. He can see that GNS stands for 'Global News Service' with the trite slogan 'Bringing Your Story to the World'. A reporter emerges from behind followed by a cameraman. She has coiffured blonde hair and overdone makeup.

She rushes up to Simon and breathlessly shouts 'Julie Thomas, GNS, can you confirm there has been a terrorist attack here in the Eden Centre? How many people were killed?'

[Silver Priest]

Damn it. Simon looks at the frog's remains with displeasure. His celebration of his driving prowess had been too soon.

He looks at the reporter with thinly concealed disdain, moving past her without saying a word. Vultures.

Whenever he makes it to someone who looks to be in charge, he clears his throat and speaks. "Simon Eagleton.I'm to consult on this case."

[Mephistophilis]

OOC,We're moving to this thread [url]https://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/pbp/viewtopic.php?f=469&t=7113[/url]