IC - 20 - The Church - Everyone

[Philulhu]

As Kris waited for Jocelyn to finish examining the door, he looked about warily. He thought he saw something at the edge of his vision but it wasn’t there when he turned for a clearer look. He was beginning to wish he’d bought Lindsay’s shotgun with him…

[Mephistophilis]

Much like the warehouse it is difficult to see anything through the thick wooden door on the front of the church but as far as Jocelyn can see there's nothing untoward. The darkness does feel oppressive. For some reason the streetlights aren't working near the church and it is only lit by the flashing lights of the police cars. It's hard to know if there's something moving in the shadows or whether it is just the effect of the alternating and overlapping lights.

There's still no sign of anyone within the church itself, at least, any flickering of illumination or movement is probably due to the blue emergency lights.

[Mr. Handy]

"I feel like there's something out there in the darkness, watching us," says Jocelyn, "but the door looks safe to open."

[Philulhu]

Kris looked at the door. “I don’t particularly want to have break this door,” he said. “Shall we have a look for a side entrance?”

[Silver Priest]

"Be on the lookout for a mat or potted plant, something of that sort," Simon advises. "Most people keep a spare key in easily reachable places."

[Philulhu]

Kris had heard of that approach for houses, but less so for public buildings like a church. Nevertheless, he did as Simon suggested, looking around the front door for anywhere a key may have been hidden.

Spot hidden (40%) 1d100

[Mr. Handy]

Jocelyn expands her search to check for a hidden key.

[Mephistophilis]

There is no evidence of a hidden key but Kris is able to locate a small side-door opening onto the rear carpark. It is a wooden frame with thick frosted glass panels. Kris looks closely at the panels and notices that one of them seems to fit very loosely so he attempts to slide it from the frame with a view to reaching inside and unlocking the door from the inside.

Slowly he edges the glass panel sideways and manages to grip the edge and pull it...as he does so part of the wood cracks and splinters, he loses his grip on the glass and it twists and slips through the hole to smash onto the ground in thousands of pieces that scatter across the floor inside the church. He pauses for a second, was that someone moving inside the church? But after the loud crash of the glass the night remains silent.

That was a fumbled Spot Hidden so something bad had to happen!

[Philulhu]

”Shit!” Kris swore, annoyed with himself.

He looked around and beckoned Olly Grey forward. “I thought I saw someone in there,” he said. “I can’t be sure but stick by me as I try to open the door and go inside.”

Having given Olly his orders, Kris reached in through the broken window to try to locate a key in the other side of the lock.

[Mephistophilis]

There's no key in the door when Kris reaches his hand through.

[Philulhu]

Is Kris able to open the door in any other way?

[Mephistophilis]

There's always the old favourite, the big red key

[Mr. Handy]

\

"If anyone's inside," says Jocelyn, "we've already lost the advantage of surprise, so that leaves us speed. Let's break it in." She glances at Olly.

[Silver Priest]

Simon subtly takes a step back, just in case someone was inside and armed.

[Philulhu]

”Over to you, Olly,” said Kris. He stepped back to give him room to work, waving forward one of the other AFO’s to provide tactical support if required.

[Mephistophilis]

Ollie makes short work of the door and it swings inside. The other two AFOs enter the doorway, feet crunching on the thousands of glass fragments. 'Room clear,' says PC Babcock as he and Wisniewski advance further into the building flicking the lights on as they go.

Stepping in through the shattered door Kris and Jocelyn find themselves in a small office-like room. There are a number of religious books in a bookshelf, a desk with some kind of large handwritten ledger beside a copy of the Bible and The Book of the Passover Angel, and a black gown hangs on the back of the door which leads into the main body of the church.

Following the AFOs into the hall they find it to be a very sparsely furnished room with rows of pews on either side of the central aisle, enough to seat maybe fifty people. At one end is the main entrance door with a couple of bathrooms off to the side. At the other end is a slightly raised area with a lectern and behind that an altar. On the wall hangs a plain wooden cross.

It takes a few moments for Kris and Jocelyn to place why they suddenly feel so uncomfortable, it is because they recognise that the interior of the church, particularly the raised dais, as where the footage on the DVDs was filmed.

[Silver Priest]

The ledger catches Simon's eye, and he heads over to it to inspect it further.

[Mr. Handy]

"Good idea," says Jocelyn. "Always follow the money." She checks the desk drawers.

[Philulhu]

Kris walked carefully in the direction of the dais, circling around to see if there was anything of note, but taking making sure he didn’t set foot on the dais itself.

Can I try a spot hidden (40%)? 1d100

Edit: Probably not going to find much with that…

[Mephistophilis]

The ledger seems to be Balfour's sermons, the usual fire and brimstone stuff. The last few entries talk about being prepared for Tuesday when The Passover Angel is prophesised to come. There's mention of anointing the doors with lamb's blood, the need for a great sacrifice, and being prepared for the scorn and hostility of the unbelievers.

The drawers don't contain much except hymnals, pens, and other ephemera.

Pacing around the dais Kris doesn't see anything of note, just the wooden lectern which seems to have an open Bible sitting on it. The wooden altar has an altar cloth but nothing else on it.