IC - 29 - The Alpha and Omega

[Mephistophilis]

'We have the station in Aylesbury. If that's not a long enough drive there's here in Wycombe. Tring, Waddesdon, Thame are all out, no cover to do anything without being seen.' Placing his fingers together, he frowns and takes a deep breath. 'A bit further afield there's plenty of room in Bicester, St Aldates in Oxford, Abingdon.'

[Mr. Handy]

"We'll have to time this carefully, so that he has a chance to make an attempt," says Jocelyn. "If the destination is also in Aylesbury, that doesn't leave him much time. Oxford may be a good choice. Some of us know our way around there already, and it's big enough to be plausible. We just have to make sure that Balfour has enough time to make it there and back in time for the ritual barring unforeseen events, and then make sure those unforeseen events happen. Alternatively, we could simply use the station here in Wycombe. That's also plausible, and he won't be worried about not making it back in time."

[Philulhu]

Kris looked at the map of the area. ”We need somewhere that minimises Balfour’s ‘loiter time’, as it were. The less time he has to plan, the more likely he is to make a mistake,” he said. ”Which of these works best for that?”

[Mr. Handy]

"That's a good point," says Jocelyn. "If the destination is here, that gives him too much time. Maybe Oxford would be better."

[Philulhu]

Kris glanced at DI Malone. ”I don’t suppose we’ve got a safe house there, have we?” he asked.

[Mephistophilis]

Someone roll Luck to see if there's a safe house available in Oxford

[Philulhu]

Kris will defer to Jocelyn, whose luck is slightly better…

[Mr. Handy]

"We do have connections in Oxford," says Jocelyn. "We'll sort of have home field advantage there."

Luck roll (46% stat) to see if there's a safe house in Oxford:
d%

[Mephistophilis]

Malone frowns. 'I shouldn't really be telling you this, but yes, we do have a house in Summertown in North Oxford. Mostly used for witness protection work. It's empty right now.'

[Philulhu]

”That’s the one,” said Kris quickly, not giving Malone time to back track. ”If we can have the keys, we”II be on our way.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, that sounds excellent," says Jocelyn. "Does it have a garage?"

[Mephistophilis]

Malone blusters, 'It...I...oh alright. Yes, it has a garage attached to the main house. It's detached, big screening hedges, a garage to the side big enough for two cars.' He scrabbles around in his desk and eventually produces some sort of plastic chit. 'Take this to the stores and give them this, they'll give you the key. Don't say what it's for. We need to keep at least some security in this place.'

He starts searching his desk again and eventually pulls out the police radio. 'So what do I say?' he asks, holding his thumb over the radio, ready to broadcast.

[Mr. Handy]

Jocelyn looks to Kris, who is more familiar with police procedure.

[Silver Priest]

Always thinking he knows best, Simon pipes up. "We're moving Regina into protective custody to keep her away from her father. Best to be direct even if it is rather on the nose. This will feed into his paranoia and hopefully he'll take the bait."

[Philulhu]

”Agreed,” said Kris. For once, Simon was right.

He took the chit from Malone. He’d get the keys and his tactical gear and then they’d be on the road.

[Mephistophilis]

Malone keys the radio to transmit. 'I say again, all units, all units, this is Romeo Mike. Be advised we are moving witness from social services emergency care to protective custody, witness is at risk from her father. Witness, last name Balfour, first name Regina, age zero-five years, sex female. Father, last name Balfour, first name John, age four-four years, sex male. Moving at time one-six-zero-zero hours, from location in Aylesbury to address two-two Wentworth Road, Oxford. Repeating, two-two Wentworth Road, town name Oxford. Be aware that hostile elements may try and intercept the transfer. All units in areas of Aylesbury, Oxford, and roads alpha-four-one-eight and alpha-four-zero be alert, over.'

He turns off the radio.

'The trap is set. It's up to you now.'

[Mr. Handy]

"Right, let's roll," says Jocelyn. "We need to get to Aylesbury before Balfour gets the jump on us and tries to spring her before we pretend to move her...and before Julie Thomas inevitably shows up."