Play@YSDC

Posted: **Sun Sep 03, 2023 11:18 am**

The traffic is stop-start on the way back to Guildford (continuing camera repairs on the A3 according to Sgt. Dhillon), so you are still in transit when Nightingale replies to Izzy's message.

'I have just received a similar missive from my superiors. Mr. Grimes has quite the following among people of certain political leanings - Britain First, English Ordnance and the like. The powers that be are worried he'll expose us. Be careful. Act against Grimes only if you have concrete evidence. I'll prepare the way as best I can.'

By the time you reach Lime Grove - a nondescript 1960s housing estate - it is around 4pm. Barry's flat is on the upper floor of a modest end-of-terrace house, reached by metal steps up the side of the building. Knocking on the frosted-glass door elicits no response.

Posted: **Sun Sep 03, 2023 11:58 pm**

"That website had a mobile phone number," says Jordan. "Let's give him a call. Maybe he's out. Or maybe there's trouble."

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 12:22 am**

”… or p’raps someone could open de door?” suggested Des, looking pointedly at Leo and Izzy, who were, as far as she was concerned, the group’s actual magical practitioners.

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 1:23 am**

"I'm not a constable," says Jordan, "but I've seen enough cop programmes to know that they need either a warrant or exigent circumstances. Plus, we need to be careful. Remember the greenhouse. There could be all sorts of nasty plants inside."

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 2:02 am**

Skipper is industriously checking the lock, checking under the doormat, under any pot-plants or other hiding places for a spare key. As he does so, he chats amiably.

"Can I just say, most of this Folly voodoo has been your psychological, creepy movie kind of strangeness. Well, aside from DC Napalm, obviously."

"But that nursery, finally we had a moment straight out of Harry Potter. I am well pleased."

Is it a standard lock? Is the door actually locked?

Is there any way to climb to a window, or balcony, or skylight, without risking a broken neck?

Any handy ladders about nearby?

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 10:56 am**

On receiving the reply from DCI Nightingale, Izzy passes the info on to the others.

"Going by what the guv'nor said, I'm wondering just who it is that's worried about us being exposed. Met Commissioner... or maybe Tyburn?"

Izzy's thoughts lean in the direction of Lady Ty, knowing that the river goddess is well acquainted with the ins and outs of Whitehall politics and the upper echelons of the Metropolitan Police. Her own relationship with Tyburn, from their few encounters on Folly related business, has tended to be a bit more cordial than Tyburn's relationship with Peter - perhaps because she doesn't allow her personality to clash with Tyburn's as much, or maybe because of the help that Izzy's been able to offer Ty's daughter in her own coming out process... but in any case, she can definitely see those perfectly manicured fingers all over the instructions from on high.

"Jordan's right", she adds, when faced with the locked door of Lime Grove. "Legally, under PACE we can't enter without a search warrant, unless we're arresting someone or have good reason to suspect they're in danger. Or after they've been arrested."

Referring to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, of course.

Izzy makes a point of looking at the innocent-seeming Skipper as she speaks, her eyes being all the warning he should need to not do what she suspects he's about to do.

OOC: As a player, I'm all for it! As a copper, Izzy's dead set against it!

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 1:59 pm**

The door and lock are pretty standard, if rather cheap-looking. There are also windows within easy reach.

If you want to try the door, please give me a group Luck roll (ie roll against the lowest Luck value).

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 4:01 pm**

OOC: My Luck score is 35 at the moment, anyone lower than that?

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 10:16 pm**

Posted: **Tue Sep 05, 2023 2:39 am**

Posted: **Tue Sep 05, 2023 8:41 am**

Skipper has an air of innocent exploration as he peers about for hidden keys, with all the enthusiasm of a child in a lolly shop. With fractional reluctance and a slight sigh, he looks back at the others.

"There was some mention of an allotment I believe, where Barry might operate his business from? We could just head over there quick sticks and surprise the little Vulcan before he has time to hide his naughty produce."

"The old allotment can't be far, right?"

Posted: **Tue Sep 05, 2023 10:52 am**

While mooching around the door, around which hang some lush hanging baskets, you knock over a plastic garden gnome. Inside it, something clinks.

Upon closer inspection, you discover that the head unscrews and inside is a door key.

Posted: **Tue Sep 05, 2023 3:45 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 651 times

"I haven't burned down a building in several weeks now," Leo says, as he catches up to the group.

When he sees what they are planning, he almost wishes he hadn't. While he knew sometimes you had to break a few eggs to make an omelette, he was never going to be comfortable playing the "Lawful Stupid" alignment.

"Let's ask the SIO to get us a warrant first. See what happens. Then..." he gestured at the incipient crime scene.

Posted: **Tue Sep 05, 2023 7:24 pm**

Des rolled her eyes. ”We bin tol’ to back off. Why dafuq u tink we’ll get a warrant?!” she snapped at Leo.

Posted: **Tue Sep 05, 2023 10:11 pm**

"We were told to back off of Grimes. This isn't his place. This is Barry's, and nobody said not to investigate him..."

Izzy stays calm and patient as she explains, but she can't avoid a mild sigh of annoyance as they find the key. Now she knows there's likely no chance of the group doing this the legal way, since a warrant is needed with or without a key, but she perseveres anyway.

"Leo's right, we still need a warrant. We should be able to get one sent across, but it can't hurt to try the phone number in the meantime. If Barry's home and not answering the door, then we can corner him. If he's not in to begin with, at least then we can try and trace him. Or, you know, try the allotment as Skipper said..."

Left unsaid is the other, slightly more worrying option. If they can't get an answer by phone, then they can always enter with the key under the reasonable suspicion that Barry is inside and in danger, or even dead. Nice and PACE compliant... though not so great for Barry...

Posted: **Tue Sep 05, 2023 11:48 pm**

”Still investigating’ de same case,” muttered Des sullenly, annoyed at having made a mistake and been lectured by Izzy like she was thick.

Posted: **Wed Sep 06, 2023 4:28 am**

"Well spotted," says Jordan. "Good plan, Izzy."

Posted: **Wed Sep 06, 2023 8:42 am**

Skipper looks over at Izzy with sage-like benevolence.

"Voodoo Child, as one who has spent more time avoiding the Met's attention than aiding it, can I suggest a different course to sail?"

"We know where the house key is now, but Barry doesn't seem to be home. Let's imagine he is well supplied with wicked drugs instead of weird magic flower juice and it's in his allotment shed. If you ring him and say we'll be around in ten, he's going to spend that ten minutes fertilizing the neighbour's tomatoes with his naughty product. And you may have no evidence to barter with to extract his customers' names."

"Or we surprise him at the allotment, up to his neck in well wicked horticultural-ness. If he doesn't have the Harry Potter spray there, we bring him here, by which time you have obtained your PACE section 8 warrant in His Majesty's Name. Meantime, perhaps the excellent, not to say well fit, sergeant here can rustle up a couple of uniforms to guard this place."

"Of course, if you want a bit of unofficial and extra-legal intel on what's in Barry's gaff before we leave, just say the word."

Skipper carefully puts the gnome back, head on right, but minus the key.

Posted: **Wed Sep 06, 2023 9:02 am**

Although Izzy would never admit it, she's actually quite impressed by Skipper's deductive reasoning there. She nods, and agrees.

"Sounds like a plan then. I'll sort the warrant out now and hopefully it'll be ready to go before we get to the allotment."

With that, she drafts a quick text to the relevant officers, chats to the Sergeant, and goes about the process to obtain a PACE search warrant...

Posted: **Wed Sep 06, 2023 3:27 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 610 times

As Izzy is sending her text, a grin spreads across Leo's face. He pulls up the Wikipedia app on his phone, and does some quick research before putting it back in his pocket. "You know, 'Griffin Juice' might be a better appellation for this concoction, given that was the name of Herbert George Wells' scientist in The Invisible Man."

While still standing there with the others, he slowly turns in place, scanning the neighborhood. He shudders as he realizes that someone using this could potentially be standing out there watching back. The previous smile slowly disappears; this time, Leo does not share his thought with his friends.

Posted: **Wed Sep 06, 2023 6:47 pm**

Calling Barry's number results in a recorded message, spoken in a high-pitched, nasal voice:

“This is Greenthumb Gardening Services – please leave a message.”

Applying for a search warrant is easily done, with a promise that you will get a decision within the hour.

As for Barry's allotment - there appears to be such a one behind Barry's house. Whether the fellow tends to a plot there remains to be seen.

Posted: **Wed Sep 06, 2023 11:18 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 475 times

"Hmm. Allotment in the back, you say?"

After getting knocked down twice by vestigia in the course on only a few hours, it will take a little courage for him to make his way to the back of the house, but he didn't stick around at The Folly because he was made of weak stuff. Just the menu there daily tests your mettle.

"Let's check the back then. And watch your step. Izzy, I know you know the stories about demon traps, and something about this whole business makes me think Barry would be able to do something at least as nasty."

Posted: **Thu Sep 07, 2023 4:28 am**

Jordan follows the others to the allotment, keeping his eyes open.

Posted: **Thu Sep 07, 2023 4:12 pm**

Skipper is happy to remain outdoors because it means he can light up another fat cigar. He happily stalks into the allotment, looking about, trailing an aromatic cloud of slow moving nicotine based death.

"Right, Met's finest ectoplasm bloodhounds, do your stuff."

Posted: **Thu Sep 07, 2023 10:43 pm**

Des ’harummphed’ and rolled her eyes. She was still mad at Izzy for telling her off.

Posted: **Sun Sep 10, 2023 7:54 pm**

Sharp eyes and an even sharper vestigia sense quickly pick out Barry's plot among the others that make up the allotment.

If the vague sense of the now-familiar tropical scent and exotic chirping wasn't a big enough clue, the rectangular plot of lush greenery marks out Barry's area from the other plots.

Like the other plots, there is a small greenhouse and a battered-looking garden shed.

Please make a Science (Botany) roll if you have that skill (or one of you can spend 10 Luck and roll against half your INT if you haven't).

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2023 3:41 am**

Jordan can't make any sense of the plants. "Let's check out the shed," he says.

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2023 7:03 am**

Following quietly behind the rest, just watching the group interact with each other, watching the power dynamic within and also liking Leo's H.G Wells reference.
Eli notices that something seems odd in the allotment buy can't quite put his finger on it. Looking over at Jordan he sees the same reaction on his face. I agree, lets give the shed 'a once over' as they say."

Posted: **Tue Sep 12, 2023 12:05 am**

Skipper double checks his phone is off, pulls out the film camera and stalks off.

"Call me if it looks like there's going to be a scrap," he says with the smoking stogie clenched in one corner of his mouth.

Skipper starts circling around towards the rear of Barry's presumed allotment, careful not to step on the neighbours' tomatoes or other foliage. He takes a few snaps of Barry's plot for posterity, but is more focused on catching people legging it out the back.

Posted: **Tue Sep 12, 2023 12:27 am**

Des mooched over to the area of Barry’s allotment. Clearly he was doing better than anyone else. She knew a few people who would give their right arm - well, someone’s right arm, anyway - to be as good as growing as Barry was.

She looked around. Was there anyone else about? Could they get any jealous tongues wagging?

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 5:15 am**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 358 times

"Other than the fact that they are magical, like the ones in the greenhouse," Leo winced as he rubbed his burned arm. "Same vestigia... I can't make heads or tails of them either."

"Yes, the shed. Again, I have a sinking feeling about this place, mate. Like this would be something that he would want to booby-trap. Against other practitioners. Take care. We need a ten-foot pole to prod the ground like in old school D&D."

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 9:44 pm**

Looking around, you see that no-one else is tending to their plots (not surprising, given the fading light). The only sign of life is a white van, which pulls up at the allotment gate while you're poking around.

The shed is unlocked, so it is easy to peer inside without entering. Strewn around haphazardly are piles of worn, second-hand gardening tools. Pinned to one wall is a calendar (advertising a national seed merchant).

On casual inspection from outside, the greenhouse appears to be empty, save some vacant seed trays on a shelf.

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 11:43 pm**

Izzy enters the greenhouse with caution, remembering what happened to Leo back at the garden centre.

"If this Barry fella's set up demon traps, then he can forget about Belmarsh, he'll be lucky if Nightingale doesn't get to him first..."

Of course Izzy's heard the stories. She's not encountered one yet, but she's nothing if not careful - while she may have a tendency to put her foot in her mouth in her general life, she's nothing if not professional when on the job. And it shows. Although her lack of a ten foot pole is slightly alarming, to her at least...

"Looks empty, but maybe something's hidden in here..."

Taking the chance to look around, rubber gloves on of course (to avoid contaminating evidence with her fingerprints, if any turns up), she scans the interior of the greenhouse to see what she can see. Catching sight of the white van out the corner of her eye, meanwhile...

"Hey, can someone keep an eye on that van over there? Don't look like you're watching it, be subtle, but you know... watch it. Might be nothing, but it might be Barry. Or one of his customers."

Observation - 60%:

1d100

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 11:55 pm**

Des was already giving the van the eyeball, looking for any signs of Barry or his customers…

… but it was too far to get a good look.

Posted: **Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:16 am**

"I'm on it," says Jordan, watching the van.

Posted: **Thu Sep 14, 2023 6:06 am**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 312 times

"Well, not a Demon Trap necessarily, but something nasty. Something to protect his stash. You would think..." Leo's voice trails off as the van approaches; the thought remains unfinished.

Posted: **Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:07 am**

Eli pokes his head into the shed, not wanting to encroach on Izzy's space, casually casting an eye over the shed. Deciding that it looks totally unremarkable and turns his attention to looking at the other allotments while keeping the van in his periphal vision.

Posted: **Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:20 am**

Skipper stalks towards the van, taking a few photos on max zoom (such as it is) as he does. Then he stashes the camera away, still moving, and gives the van a friendly wave and a cigar-eating grin.

Fail.

Posted: **Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:23 am**

Posted: **Thu Sep 14, 2023 1:00 pm**

Posted: **Fri Sep 15, 2023 2:09 am**

OOC: And my success barely made it.
/ooc]

Posted: **Fri Sep 15, 2023 5:27 am**

Posted: **Fri Sep 15, 2023 3:19 pm**

In the burgeoning gloom, it's difficult to pick out the occupants of the van, although Leo can perhaps see the brief glow of a cell phone screen.

It's also difficult for Izzy to see where she's treading in the shed...

Izzy, a DEX roll please.

Posted: **Fri Sep 15, 2023 3:21 pm**

DEX - 60%

1d100

Oh damn, oh damn, oh DAMN!

And that's three 'oh damns'...

Posted: **Fri Sep 15, 2023 5:34 pm**

Des squinted at the van. It definitely felt suss! ”We doin’ anythin’ ‘bout dat?” she asked.

Posted: **Sat Sep 16, 2023 4:34 am**

"We're keeping an eye on it," says Jordan. "At least it's visible, unlike certain other motor vehicles. There's not much else we can do until the occupant or occupants either get out or do something. What more can we do? A dog might go chase a van, but what would it do if it caught it?"

Posted: **Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:53 am**

Skipper continues stalking towards the van, not running but moving with purpose. He looks relaxed, aiming to project an air of: "I'm here to buy fresh celery sticks." He gives the van a friendly wave.

Posted: **Sat Sep 16, 2023 9:21 am**

”Bite de tyres?” Des suggested snarkily to Jordan.

Posted: **Sat Sep 16, 2023 6:46 pm**

Walking around the allotment, noting that Barry's certainly shows a lot more variety of plants than the others, Eli stops and stretches his arm up, grabbing his neck as he turns towards the van hoping to get a glimpse at the occupants. He blinks looking at the van,opening his eyes as his head is pointing to the sky, cursing his bad timing.....

Posted: **Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:50 pm**

Izzy practically waltzes around the chaotic stack of tools, avoiding sharp shears, treacherous rakes and other trip-hazards.

Intriguingly, hidden behind a pair of spades, is an unfamiliar device - a square metal hopper-like chute connected to a metal channel. Protruding from this device is a handle. Is this some kind of pulping machine? At any rate, the vestigia emanating from it is very strong.

You've guessed it - the smell of tropical flowers, the feeling of strong sunlight and the chirping of exotic birds.

Outside, whether it is due to the investigators' non-too-subtle observation or not, the van pulls away before Skipper can make out the occupants. It turns the corner that leads to the front of Barry's flat and disappears from sight.

Posted: **Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:55 pm**

" Dont suppose anyone got the licence plate?" Eli asks hopefully.

Posted: **Sat Sep 16, 2023 10:35 pm**

"Sorry, couldn't make it out," says Jordan.

Posted: **Sun Sep 17, 2023 6:49 am**

Skipper starts legging it fast towards the front of Barry's gaff, hoping to catch the registration or spot the occupants of the van if they decided to head for said gaff themselves.

Posted: **Sun Sep 17, 2023 8:12 pm**

Skipper, it's getting dark and you're running through someone's vegetable patch. Please furnish me with a DEX roll.

Posted: **Mon Sep 18, 2023 1:23 am**

Fail!

Darkness, mud and tomato plants do not aid Skipper's cause.

Posted: **Tue Sep 19, 2023 7:00 am**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 454 times

Leo watched the van drive away, shaking his head. He'd gone soft with all the magic practice and time out of the field. He should have handled that approach a little better.

"I guess we could have put a werelight inside the van if we had thought of it," he said to Izzy. "After giving the obligatory protect yo' electronics warning."

Posted: **Tue Sep 19, 2023 8:55 am**

Inside the shed, Izzy can barely hear the others talking outside, save a muffled noise, and so she remains unaware of the van's premature exodus whilst investigating the contents of the place. After dancing merrily through the half-visible shapes of tools and equipment, she takes out her phone. Instead of wasting time warning everyone to protect their devices and casting a werelight, she instead turns on her mobile's torch feature, to get a proper look inside.

Sometimes the mundane methods are the best.

"What the hell is this?" Izzy scans the device with the hopper, thinking it looks like something out of Minecraft...

Posted: **Wed Sep 20, 2023 12:02 am**

Des shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She yawned. Not even Skipper falling on his arse was enough to lift her spirits.

”Are we done ‘ere?” she asked. ”’m gettin’ bored now!”

Posted: **Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:23 am**

Looking to Leo, Eli asks, " Is it possible to do some sort of check on Barry? To aee what kind of veicle he drives?"

Posted: **Wed Sep 20, 2023 10:43 am**

However splattered with mud and crushed tomato plant he was, Skipper continued battling his way towards Barry's gaff, cursing all the way.

Posted: **Wed Sep 20, 2023 8:31 pm**

Skipper - by the time you've picked yourself up from the cabbages and staggered round the corner, the white van has pulled up on the street opposite Barry's flat. The side door slides open, revealing a pair of skinheads. Trying to look nonchalant, they walk towards Barry's place.

Izzy - please make an INT roll if you're not sure what the device is.
Everyone else - what would you like to do?

Posted: **Wed Sep 20, 2023 11:30 pm**

Des nodded in the direction that Skipper was headed. ”D’ya fink ‘e might need a ‘and?” she asked.

Posted: **Wed Sep 20, 2023 11:42 pm**

Despite the mud and the fact his cigar stub had been left behind in someone's leek patch, the Skip came to a nonchalant halt, grinning. Now this was a world he understood all too well. And the spare key to Barry's gaff was in his pocket.

Doing his best to remain in the shadows, he pulled out the camera again and took a few shots of first the van rego, then the skinheads.

I love skinheads. No matter what you do to them, you don't feel bad.

Regular success.

Fail.

Regular success.

Posted: **Thu Sep 21, 2023 5:13 am**

"He just might," says Jordan, making his way - more carefully - after Skipper.

Posted: **Thu Sep 21, 2023 9:07 am**

INT roll: 80%

1d100

Nice, hard success!

Posted: **Thu Sep 21, 2023 10:23 am**

Observing the skinheads making towards the flat Eli mKes his way to shed. " DC Cooper, er... I think we may have a situation brewing here......" hesays with an air of urgency. " We may need back up."

Posted: **Fri Sep 22, 2023 4:21 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 463 times

Leo gets out his phone when Eli asks about the Barry's car. "Yes, it would easier if I could connect to HOLMES 2 on my laptop, but I can probably talk someone into looking it up over the phone. I know a bloke that probably wouldn't mind."

Posted: **Sat Sep 23, 2023 7:11 pm**

Izzy - With a little inspection and some educated guesswork, you realise that the device is indeed a plant pulping machine, albeit a rather old, hand-cranked one. Judging by the vestigia in the hopper, this one has been used to pulp Demon Flowers. As you come to this conclusion, Eli pokes his head round to air his concerns.

Eli - You find izzy inspecting a strange mechanical device as the familiar tropical vestigia hits you.

Leo - You remember you've a mate in the Case Progression Unit who owes you a favour (something about a weekend in Brighton, a broken window and a feather boa - it's all still rather hazy to be honest).

Skipper - Despite your little tumble, you are still able to keep to the shadows (maybe the mud acts as camouflage). You manage to get a decent snap of the van, including it's number plate, but the skinheads are moving too much in the gloom for your camera to pick out their features.

They climb the steps to Barry's door. Finding it locked, they pick up the now empty gnome, unscrew it's head and give it a shake. There then follows a short, puzzled, conversation, before one of them, quickly scanning around for onlookers, puts his shoulder to the door.

The door flies open with a bang and the skinheads pile in.

Des and Jordan - As you round the corner, you hear a door banging open and the sound of boots thudding in.

Posted: **Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:52 pm**

"Sounds like breaking and entering to me," whispers Jordan. "No need to wait for a warrant now." He approaches the house as stealthily as a big man like him can.

Posted: **Sat Sep 23, 2023 11:43 pm**

”I ‘ate skin’eads!” scowled Des. She followed Jordan - not because she thought she’d be much use, but rather to see them getting a kicking!

Posted: **Sun Sep 24, 2023 4:16 am**

"Me too," says Jordan. "Maybe they'll give me a reason to beat them up."

Posted: **Sun Sep 24, 2023 9:07 am**

Skipper grinned from ear to ear. "I love it when a plan comes together."

He looked over to Jordan and Des. "If you two are happy to slow down Adolph and Werner up in Barry's gaff, at least until the magic Bill catch up, I'm going after the van. Time for some mayhem."

Skipper stashed his camera again, replacing it with the "Leatherman" multi-tool concealed in his right hand. Aiming to be a "grey man", blandly unremarkable and unnoticed, he strolled up the street in the general direction of the van, just another Londoner out and about in the evening gloom.

Extreme success. Stealthy as Aylesbury Duck.

Posted: **Sun Sep 24, 2023 12:32 pm**

Eli slightly rocked by the waves of Vestigia emanating from the strange object in Izzys hands stops mid sentence, hearing the door shatter and the others running off. "What in the world[.....?.....er Miss Cooper[/b the situation is escalating quite rapidly, sounds like the flays been compromised!"]/color]

Posted: **Sun Sep 24, 2023 11:10 pm**

Des felt her palms go clammy and she swallowed hard. Despite her bravado, if she were on the streets, she’d be making herself scarce right now!

She looked at Jordan. What was he going to do? ”I’ll let u go first…” she said.

Posted: **Mon Sep 25, 2023 12:52 am**

"I'll block the door," whispers Jordan. "I'm big enough that they can't go or see past me, and that way they'll only be able to come at me one at a time."

Posted: **Mon Sep 25, 2023 9:06 am**

"Damn it... he really is pulping the Demon Flowers." The light from Izzy's phone torch makes it a lot easier to see the device properly, and the vestigia is the final clue to confirm what she's looking at.

"We should confiscate the pulper. Get it back to the station, as evidence. And we need to find Barry, now."

As she finishes speaking, Izzy hears the commotion outside, and turns to Eli, a look of concern in her eyes. "Shit."

She immediately begins to remove the battery from her phone in a practised and swift move, making it clear to Eli that he should do the same, a precaution lest he end up with an expensive rectangular building material, and starts to rush out, heading for the flat to back up her colleagues...

Posted: **Mon Sep 25, 2023 3:40 pm**

: 1d100; DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 381 times

Leo steps away from the rest of the party for a moment as he looks up the contact on the phone. Even through there is no one to watch, he flushes deep red as he remembers that weekend that he met Brody Owen in Brighton. He and his friend, Clive, from the Gay Men's Chorus took the train up to Brighton so Leo to see a drag show. He'd never seen so many boas and feathers and sequins in his life, and he was having a blast.

He and Brady had struck up a conversation with Brody during the show, discovering they both had Met ties, with Leo still working a beat at the time. After one drink too many, Brody threw an empty glass against the mirror in the back, breaking the cheap tumbler, but the mirror was intact, thank goodness. Leo and Brady successfully talked the owner down from pressing charges to just paying for the glass and helping clean up. Staying after hadn't been all that bad; Leo and Clive ended up with multiple sets of lipstick imprints on their cheeks from the drag queens.

"Come on, mate..." he says as the phone rings. "Hey, sexy..." Leo says softly. "I need a favor..." Leo shares their current dilemma and Barry's details.

Posted: **Mon Sep 25, 2023 7:14 pm**

Skipper - Taking advantage of the shadows cast by the streetlights, you sneak up to the van undetected.

Please make an Observation roll.

Leo - Luckily for you, Brody is working late.

"Oh hey you!" he says, clearly pleased to hear from you. "Hmm... Barry Flowers... No, no vehicle registered. Nearest I've found is a 2002 Fiat Tipo registered to a Maud Flowers, but that's it."

Jordan and Des - How are you approaching this? Jordan going up the steps first and Des following behind? Are you attempting stealth or making your presence known?

Eli and Izzy - If you're rushing to Barry's flat, please make a DEX check (as Skipper discovered, running through a vegetable patch at dusk isn't easy).

Posted: **Mon Sep 25, 2023 7:45 pm**

DEX roll: 60%

1d100

Damn, between that and the 1 rolled for the initial shed visit, Izzy's dancing like a ballerina through all these hazards! Apparently playing for the school hockey team has given her supernatural dexterity!

Posted: **Mon Sep 25, 2023 8:12 pm**

Eli makes his way through the allotment.....like a trout on a bike......

Posted: **Mon Sep 25, 2023 11:33 pm**

”Wot u gunna do?” Des asked Jordan. ”U gunna sneak up on ‘em an’ ‘it ‘em when they ain’t watchin’?”

Posted: **Mon Sep 25, 2023 11:42 pm**

Regular success.

Posted: **Tue Sep 26, 2023 12:58 am**

Jordan nods. He approaches the door as quietly as he can.

Posted: **Wed Sep 27, 2023 4:48 am**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 599 times

"Thanks, luv..." Leo replied as he wrote the information down in his notebook. "It's wonderful to hear your voice, as always, too. Oh, and I met a guy today. You'd love him!" Leo looked up and some of his colleagues headed into the house. "Sorry, I hate to cut this short, but a bunch of skinheads just showed up, and if I don''t get a chance..."

"I knew you'd understand. Ciao!"

Leo turns and looks back toward Barry's flat. While he's still a safe distance from the flat and the cars, he engages the jury-rigged battery apparatus to separate the his phone from the battery, slips the battery in one pocket, his phone in the other. Then, still on the sidewalk, he casts Shield, just in case. Nice and low powered. Then he walks cautiously toward Des and Jordan.

Posted: **Wed Sep 27, 2023 7:10 pm**

Izzy almost skips through the allotment, nimbly dodging Eli as he flounders amid the cauliflowers, earning himself some muddy knees and a damp sleeve.

They round the corner to find Jordan and Des sneaking up to the external metal staircase that leads to the door of Barry's flat. Here, a group of skinheads (around 5 by your reckoning) are trying to surreptitiously break in.

Slightly behind Jordan and Des, Leo can be found. Those sensitive to such things detect a wheezing, groaning sound; a waft of dank air, and a feeling of hot steam as he starts casting a spell.

Leo, please spend 2 Magic points and make a Magic roll.

Meanwhile, skulking around the skinhead's van and preparing to knife the tyres, Skipper suddenly pauses, catching the light of a phone screen in the driver's wing mirror. Someone is clearly sitting in the driver's seat, using their phone.

Posted: **Wed Sep 27, 2023 7:17 pm**

”Did u bring yur truncheon?” Des whispered to Jordan. ”Or ‘ave u got a machine gun?”

She mimed gunning the skinheads down…

Posted: **Wed Sep 27, 2023 7:34 pm**

OOC: Failed the Magic roll, and I am going to pass on Pushing it. I'll proceed without the Shield.

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 569 times

Posted: **Wed Sep 27, 2023 8:27 pm**

Oh dear… Leo, you’re still Impaired from the magic greenhouse, so a 95 means a fumble…

You have a few options;

Spend enough luck to improve the result to less than 90 (the fumble figure for impaired characters).

Spend 10 Luck and describe how you managed to shake off Impairment (I’ll let you do this retrospectively, as I haven’t mentioned this mechanism before).

Keep your luck and make a POW roll to see if you suffer from hyperthaumaturgical degradation.

Posted: **Wed Sep 27, 2023 10:11 pm**

OOC: Leo will spend 5 luck to negate the Fumble. Current Luck is 63, so the new score will be 58.

Would Pushing the Roll also override it?

Posted: **Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:36 am**

Jordan shakes his head. "My body is a weapon," he whispers back. He was never issued a truncheon, though he can see how it would be useful. Seeing Leo approach, he pops the battery out of his phone so it doesn't become an expensive paperweight now that he has decided to start slinging spells.

Posted: **Thu Sep 28, 2023 5:04 am**

Leo - yes, you could also push the roll.

Posted: **Mon Oct 02, 2023 7:57 pm**

Leo's spellcasting fails, his shield shimmering slightly before disappearing with an audible 'pop'.

"What was that?" one of the skinheads grunts.

"What was what? I didn't 'ear nuffink," answers another. "C'mon, let's get his stuff and get out of 'ere.

"Yeah alright."

There follows a 'thunk' as the door to Barry's flat is forced open and the skinheads pile in.

Posted: **Mon Oct 02, 2023 11:55 pm**

”Go on! Do sommat!” whispered Des, simultaneously elbowing Jordan and digging her phone out to pop the battery before it got bricked….

Posted: **Tue Oct 03, 2023 4:55 am**

"The important thing is to make sure they don't leave," whispers Jordan as he sneaks closer to the door. "If they're messing around in there, they're distracted. Let them find the stuff for us, and then we'll stop them when they try to leave. Then it's evidence and we can confiscate it. We need to buy time for the proper coppers to get here too."

Posted: **Tue Oct 03, 2023 8:17 am**

Hoping the driver was distracted playing Candy Crush or swiping right on a hook-up app, Skipper paused a moment near the rear passenger side tyre, diagonally opposite the driver and the least visible point, so he hoped. Skipper locked open the frighteningly sharp 'Leatherman' knife "tool", crouched down and drove it into the tyre then wrenched it back out.

Posted: **Wed Oct 04, 2023 1:49 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 499 times

Looking around at the building the flat is in, Leo thinks about the sign in the lobby of the atrium saying "42 days without burning down a building! Only you can prevent skittles fires..." and rules out a fireball.

By this time, Leo is close enough to hear Jordan and nods silently. And they're doing all the hard work for us, he thinks silently. Just like in the Indiana Jones movie.

After having been knocked on his arse a couple of times today and having a spell fail, Leo was feeling much more Rincewind than Harry Potter, but he cleared his mind and prepared to cast Impello, or as Leo preferred to call it Force Push.

Posted: **Sat Oct 07, 2023 10:50 am**

Cursing under his breath, Eli slowly makes his way up the allotment, his jacket sleeves covered with mud and vegetation, his feet sinking into the mud, a schlup, achucking noise accompanying every step as he attempts to escape the quagmire, heading towards the flat.

Posted: **Sat Oct 07, 2023 11:32 am**

Seeing the others, Izzy quickly takes out her Airwave, which unlike her mobile, has been jury rigged to avoid any magical sanding (she silently thanks Peter for showing her how), and, around the corner and out of earshot of the skinheads, requests backup from the nearest station to an attempted break-in by potentially armed thugs at the address the group are present in.

She doesn't exactly feel too guilty about suggesting the skinheads might be armed - for all she knows, they could be... and she's seen plenty of them trying to pick fights at London Pride, both when she's been on duty and off. Not to mention the lingering feelings of resentment to the late Karl Chichester and all his misogynistic ilk.

"I've just called for backup," she says to the others, meeting them just as Leo is about to cast his next spell. "Don't know how fast Surrey response teams are though, so we need to think quick. At least we don't need a warrant to prevent a robbery in progress."

She looks around, noticing an absence. "Where's Skipper?"

Posted: **Sun Oct 08, 2023 5:26 am**

"When we make our move," whispers Jordan, "I can block the front door and prevent any of them from leaving that way. But are there any other exits? Skipper's gone after their van."

Posted: **Sun Oct 08, 2023 10:32 am**

"It's a first floor flat, so I doubt there'd be any other exits up here. No back door anyway, no other stairs that I saw and you'd just have a five metre drop to the ground. Break your legs trying that."

Then Izzy realises what Jordan said before, and lets out a slight huff of indignation.

"Excuse me, Leo and I are proper coppers! Well... I am, anyway. Didn't go through two years at Hendon for that, thanks..."

Posted: **Sun Oct 08, 2023 8:05 pm**

Skipper plunges his knife into the tyre, which deflates with a ‘hiss’. There is no response from the driver, who is obviously engrossed in his phone.

After piling into the flat, the rest of the skinheads disappear out of sight for a few minutes. All that can be heard is the occasional thud and muffled curse.

Eventually they come back out again, one of them struggling with a bulging bin-bag, one carrying a pile of magazines and another with something wrapped up in a leather jacket.

So what’s your plan? Are you hiding, or making yourself known?

Posted: **Sun Oct 08, 2023 8:20 pm**

Posted: **Sun Oct 08, 2023 9:33 pm**

OOC: Fair enough! I realise that but Izzy doesn't, I think her looking a bit like a put-out toddler is funny anyway

Posted: **Sun Oct 08, 2023 9:58 pm**

Des just smirked at Izzy’s huff…

Posted: **Mon Oct 09, 2023 1:22 am**

Casually, Skipper stood up, closed up the Leatherman and stashed it in a back pocket, then took a moment to finally note on the palm of his hand what the van rego was.

Skipper ambled around to the driver's side of the van. Standing a couple of metres back (out of door swinging range), he called out to the driver. "Oi! Guv! You got a flat tyre. For a pony I can change it for your spare."

Posted: **Tue Oct 10, 2023 2:46 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 400 times

Leo nods at Izzy. "You never know how busy proper coppers can get, he said softly, and grimaced when Des mentioned the truncheon. He didn't bring his baton or stab vest. Not that he would have had time to run to the car to get either.

Leo pats his pocket with his warrant card, making sure it's in place. It will probably make things worse with the skinheads, but if things get ugly, he wants to be able to protect himself and his friends by following procedure.

He readies an impello, just in case.

OOC: Originally, I also wanted us to trap them in the flat, but then windows came up. Now I think we should let them get out and into their partially disabled vehicle and then surround them, while Izzy and I disabled the electronics but I don't know how we pull that off now. I guess we trap them in the flat and wait for backup.

I guess we can still preemptively disable their electronics.

Posted: **Tue Oct 10, 2023 5:01 pm**

No worries. If there’s something you want to do, by all means post it. I’m happy to rewind slightly and keep the thugs in the flat if need be.

Posted: **Tue Oct 10, 2023 9:30 pm**

"Whatever we are going to do we had better make it quick. It looks as though they've emptied thw whole flat!!" Eli says,pointing towards the leaving skinheads.

Posted: **Wed Oct 11, 2023 4:40 am**

"I meant you and Leo," Jordan whispers back to Izzy, "as opposed to Des and myself. Hadn't seen you come up behind me." When the skinheads are finishing up inside the flat, Jordan blocks the door with his massive bulk and takes a defensive stance once anyone else in his group who wants to gets inside. With a booming voice, he bellows: "NONE SHALL PASS!"

Posted: **Wed Oct 11, 2023 4:22 pm**

Is anyone going in ahead of Jordan?

Posted: **Wed Oct 11, 2023 6:34 pm**

Izzy heads to the door and takes position behind Jordan, happy to let his larger frame act as a bulwark against the tide of skinheads inside the flat. However, she makes certain to produce her warrant card and flash it at the thugs to identify her, and by extension, her colleagues, as police.

"Good news, you've just entered yourselves into a free sweepstake for a holiday at His Majesty's pleasure! Backup's already on the way, so whoever wants to try something, they'll be the first to be arrested. Alternatively, you can sit tight right here, and things might go a lot better for you. In the meantime, what have you got there?"

She gestures to the binbag and magazines, and silently prepares a Candano spell in her mind, not casting it yet, but being ready to fire it at the first thug to try and push past if they're dumb enough to ignore sound advice...

Posted: **Thu Oct 12, 2023 7:20 pm**

The skinhead in the van looks up sharply from his phone and exits smartly from the van, pulling a pair of Airpods out of his ears as he does so.

"Aw for Christ's sake!" he grumbles. "Thanks for the offer mate," he says to Skipper. "But I ain't got a pony on me - I'm strictly contactless nowadays. It's alright though - my mates'll be out in a sec and they can-"

Suddenly, Jordan yells 'NONE SHALL PASS!' from the direction of the flat.

"What the-?" he exclaims, looking extremely bemused. "Soz mate, I've gotta go."

He slams the driver's door shut and starts to walk towards the flat.

Up at the flat, alerted to the investigators' presence by Jordan's yelling and Izzy's follow-up, the remaining thugs, crammed into the tiny entrance area, stop in their tracks.

"Nuffink..." one of them mumbles. "Jus' pickin' some stuff up fer a mate."

Read Person rolls please.

Posted: **Thu Oct 12, 2023 11:11 pm**

Des eyed up the skinheads, wondering what they were going to do… …

Posted: **Thu Oct 12, 2023 11:25 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 341 times

"Fire in the hole," Leo says quietly. "Cover your eyes."

Suddenly, it sounds like the TARDIS is materializing on the porch, and a gust of dank hot air hits the party as Leo lets loose with a boosted Werelight inside the flat, hoping the spell will both take out everyone's phone and stun them momentarily.

"That should help you make up your minds...' he adds as the interior of the flat flashes brightly for a second and then is dim again.

Posted: **Fri Oct 13, 2023 3:18 am**

Jordan covers his eyes temporarily, making a mental note to pick up some dark sunglasses. He doesn't know what makes these guys tick, but he hopes they're suitably terrified.

Posted: **Fri Oct 13, 2023 5:03 am**

… but on hearing Leo’s warning, she ducked and raised her arm to cover her eyes… …

Posted: **Fri Oct 13, 2023 6:51 am**

"What in the..." Eli exclaims upon hearing Leo. He still gets a good bead on the skinheads and picks up on their dubious story. All the years of students and tales of dog eating assignments have honed his lie detecting to a fine point.

EXTREME!!!

Posted: **Fri Oct 13, 2023 7:03 am**

Fail.

That was not how Skipper had expected events to play out. He had been expecting to be attempting a vascular neck hold about now. Oh well...

Skipper gave the driver a relaxed wave and started ambling away. Once the driver was out of sight, Skipper doubled back to try the van driver's door, see if old mate had remembered to lock it.

OOC: Is there anything to be seen through the driver's window?

Posted: **Sat Oct 14, 2023 6:58 pm**

Before we carry on, let’s decide who is where. Inside the flat we have Jordan up front with Izzy behind, while way back by the van is Skipper.

Is Leo next to Izzy with Eli behind him? Is Des skulking on the steps behind Eli?

Posted: **Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:08 pm**

Posted: **Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:18 pm**

Posted: **Sun Oct 15, 2023 5:27 am**

Posted: **Sun Oct 15, 2023 8:48 pm**

Those of you who are skilled at reading a person's intent brace yourselves, for it is clear that the skinheads are about to charge.

However, their demeanour swiftly changes into puzzlement and fear when Leo casts his werelight.

"What the f*ck!?"

Illuminated by the eerie light of the spell, they fight among themselves as back away...

...only to rally.

"It's just a bleedin' torch!" one yells. "Get 'em!"

They surge forward, fists swinging!

Leo, please make a DEX roll to see if you get to react before they reach you. Anyone up the steps who passed a read Person check and wishes to do something, forewarned is forearmed; you may also step up if you wish. Eli, thanks your Hard success (alas there's no such thing as an extreme result in RoL), you get a bonus die on your next roll.

Meanwhile, across the road at the van, Skipper finds said vehicle unlocked.

Inside, the seats and footwell are graced with empty crisp packets, sweet wrappers and takeaway containers. A SatNav is suckered onto the dashboard, next to which rests a crumpled copy of The Sun newspaper.

"Oi!"

Looking up, Skipper can see through the opposite van window as the skinhead he was talking to is clambering up the steps towards his colleagues, soon to be within striking distance of whoever's at the back - Des, I believe...

Posted: **Sun Oct 15, 2023 9:29 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 680 times

OOC: My plan was to pop the boosted Werelight like an old school flashbulb in their eyes and then kill it immediately so their eyes would take a moment to adjust. It's normal light again inside. I guess I should have been clearer with what I wanted to achieve.

Posted: **Sun Oct 15, 2023 9:48 pm**

Read Person - 60%:

1d100

Posted: **Sun Oct 15, 2023 10:38 pm**

Oops, my bad, Jordan’s in front, so needs to make the DEX roll.

Posted: **Sun Oct 15, 2023 11:30 pm**

Posted: **Mon Oct 16, 2023 1:51 am**

Jordan thought he was ready, but he is caught flat-footed and will have to rely on his toughness to absorb the first blow.

Posted: **Mon Oct 16, 2023 6:41 am**

Des, please make an Observation roll.

Posted: **Mon Oct 16, 2023 7:12 am**

Skipper sighed. Just when he's got into the van and it was getting interesting.

He straightened up, took a deep breath, and bellowed for all he was worth, "OY!! TEAM FOLLY YOU'VE GOT INCOMING!!"

Skipper paused to pull out the satnav (if he could), stuffed it in a jacket pocket then sprinted off after the skinhead van driver.

Posted: **Mon Oct 16, 2023 8:28 am**

Des was oblivious to the skinhead approaching her from behind…

Posted: **Tue Oct 17, 2023 7:55 pm**

Up at the entrance of the flat, Jordan is too slow to anticipate the skindhead's incoming punch!

Further down the steps, Des is only alerted to the van driver's approach by Skipper's warning shout. Spinning round, she sees his calloused hand reaching for her...

Okay, let's try to run some combat!

Turn order is this:

Skinhead 1 - attacking Jordan
Skinhead 2 - grabbing Des
Skinheads 3 - 6
Jordan
Izzy
Leo
Eli
Des
Skipper

Round 1

Skinhead 1 swings a punch at Jordan

Hard success! Jordan, what's your response? You can dodge or run away, combat manoeuvre or fight back (any combat reaction can only be taken once per turn, unless you have Fast Reactions, in which case you can react twice). Either way, a Fighting roll is required.

Skinhead 2 attempts to grab Des

Regular success. Des, how do you react? (See above)

The other thugs, crowded in the narrow hallway and blocked by their mate, shout words of encouragement. Their language is coarse and, alas, racist in character.

What are the rest of you going to do?

Posted: **Tue Oct 17, 2023 11:32 pm**

Alerted by Skipper’s warning cry, Des tried to jump out of the way of the grubby little skinhead who was trying to grab her…

Posted: **Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:43 am**

Well, Izzy did have a Candano spell prepared, so she'll cast it on her turn, after Jordan acts, against the closest skinhead. She's also going to point out in no uncertain terms that she does have the power to arrest literally any and all of them, and she's not picky on who it is, but that will be as much a reminder to Leo as a warning to the thugs...

Posted: **Wed Oct 18, 2023 3:39 am**

Jordan has the presence of mind to twist himself away from the powerful blow, which very nearly hits him. "NONE SHALL PASS!" he bellows again as he lashes out at his attacker, though the strike fails to connect.

Posted: **Wed Oct 18, 2023 8:09 pm**

On Eli's turn, he would like to help Des against the skinhead.

Posted: **Wed Oct 18, 2023 9:32 pm**

The first skinhead's punch glances across Jordan's cheek. The blow might have hurt less burly folk, but Jordan is sturdy enough to take it.

Jordan retorts with a punch of his own; smartly delivered on the nose of his opponent. The blow is a hard one and the skinhead staggers back, falling unconscious into the arms of his stunned comrades!

Back at the bottom of the stairs, the van driver grabs Des, trying to pull her away so that he can get up to his mates.

Meanwhile, Izzy concentrates on her spell.

A Magic roll please Izzy.

Leo, what are you doing?

Eli turns and rushes down to Des.

A DEX roll Eli please.

Des, you're grabbed. What do you do?

Skipper. what are you doing?

Posted: **Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:03 pm**

Eli turns and attempts to help Des.

Hard Success!

Posted: **Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:32 pm**

As the skinheads charge, Izzy focuses on the closest, and lets loose the Candano spell that she had prepared. Also known as the 'Tanglefoot', the idea was to trip up the front skinhead, and cause enough of an impediment (unable to escape thanks to magic), that the others would be unable to escape without tripping over their friend as well...

Magic: 60%

1d100

Success! The spell works, and the target has an opportunity to make a Hard DEX or STR roll, whichever is higher, to escape, or else they are entangled by a magical bolo for 2 rounds. If they attempt to move when entangled, they will fall and become prone...

"Just a word of warning," she says to the assorted idiots currently causing trouble, "I'm not exactly picky about who I arrest, and I doubt you're all loyal enough to each other to take the fall for your buddies. So you may as well stop fighting and wait for our backup to arrive, or you can all add 'assaulting a police officer' and 'resisting arrest' to the charges."

Posted: **Wed Oct 18, 2023 11:11 pm**

”GET OFF ME!” shouted Des, as she was enveloped from behind, and she slammed her heavy Dr. Marten boot down her assailant’s shin and onto the top of his foot…

Posted: **Thu Oct 19, 2023 7:26 am**

OOC: Not sure how the combat rules fully work but I assume Skipper can attempt a hold as a combat manoeuvre. I hope.

Skipper raced up behind the skinhead van driver and attempted a BJJ [#] wrist lock, pulling the gent's arm behind his back.

Skipper spends 4 Luck to make that a success.

Skipper grunted at his skinhead victim. "Listen, we're not interested in you!! We need to find Barry, because his juice is poisonous. You and your lads are not our targets!"

"Oy, Sweeney twins, no flamethrowers!! And no one maim anyone!"

[#] Brazilian Jujitsu.

Posted: **Thu Oct 19, 2023 2:28 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 646 times

Leo utters "Impello" under his breath as his hands work the other portion of the spell, and he attempts to push the hindmost skinhead backwards, hopefully to fall, trip over something, or get his breath knocked out of him.

Posted: **Thu Oct 19, 2023 2:53 pm**

With one skinhead out cold, Izzy’s spell wraps around the legs of the next one.

Unfortunately, the thug is strong enough to kick himself free, assuming maybe that he's somehow tripped over his own feet!

Thankfully however, the delay, plus Izzy’s repeated call of ‘police’, is enough to make him pause and reconsider his options.

A Social roll with a bonus die please Izzy.

Leo concentrates his spell onto the hindmost thug. There is a whoosh of air as the force bashes into him, but is it enough?

A POW roll please Leo

Moving at speed, Eli deftly avoids slipping down the steps and reaches the van driver, just as Des and Skipper makes their presence felt…

What do you want to do next Eli?

The van driver squirms as Des’ boot descends…

But the boot connects, causing him to howl as it scrapes down his shin!

Des, please make an STR roll to determine damage.

To compound his woes, Skipper comes in from behind.

He howls again as his free arm is pinned behind his back.

“Gerroff me!” he yells.

Posted: **Thu Oct 19, 2023 4:18 pm**

Social roll: 60%

1d100

Bonus die: 1d10

Result of 53 on 60%, success!

Posted: **Thu Oct 19, 2023 9:31 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 633 times

Leo frowned as the force push completely missed the thug.

Posted: **Thu Oct 19, 2023 10:46 pm**

Posted: **Fri Oct 20, 2023 12:53 am**

Skipper yells at the back of his skinhead's bald noggin. "You're their boss, right? No one's hurt yet. Just call time! Give us thirty seconds to do you a deal. If you're not happy, we ring the bell and return to manly fisticuffs."

"As I said, we're not really interested in you, just Barry and this poisonous plant juice stuff. If your lads are carrying it right now, it could be doing some grievous to their brains, mate."

Posted: **Fri Oct 20, 2023 10:30 am**

By the time Leo's Impello spell reaches the rear skinhead, it's force has reduced to nothing but a slight whiff of air - barely noticeable.

At the front of the queue, the skinhead stops, flustered by his stumble and clearly rattled by Izzy's challenge.

"We ain't doin' nuffink wrong!" he mutters. "We're jus' collectin' some stuff for a mate an' you lot come bustin' in. Can't blame us fer gettin' a bit defensive."

He nods at his unconscious colleague.

"Weren't no need to knock 'im out."

Back down the bottom of the steps, Des' heel causes a nasty scrape down the van driver's shin.

That's 1 damage dealt to the driver, Des.

He struggles against Skipper's grip and, also seeing Eli approaching, noticeably droops, defeated.

"L-look mate, I ain't no boss! We're just 'ere to pick up some stuff. I-I'm sorry I grabbed you miss, but I saw a bunch of people goin' up to my mates an' thought there might be trouble, that's all."

Posted: **Fri Oct 20, 2023 11:28 am**

Izzy raises an eyebrow.

"You literally broke in, we saw it happen. Unless you want to rationalise the damage from your shoulder to the door." She gestures towards the front door and the frame, where it's rather obviously broken from the force of someone barging their way though the lock.

"Look, if you're willing to come quietly and answer our questions, then this can all be sorted much more smoothly. The CPS aren't going to bother with a broken door and nothing actually taken."

Not now we've stopped you from getting away with whatever you were trying to take, she thinks.

"They are, however, going to care a great deal about officers and staff being attacked. So, the easy way, and you can all go home without having to pay bail for the privilege. Okay? First question - who exactly is the 'mate' you were collecting stuff for?"

Posted: **Fri Oct 20, 2023 9:15 pm**

Seeing the skinhead locked on Snappers arms Eli attempts to slow down, seeing the situation has resolved itself.

Posted: **Fri Oct 20, 2023 11:44 pm**

Des shook off the skinhead. ”Fink urself lucky I ain’t brought my truncheon!” she scowled.

Posted: **Sat Oct 21, 2023 4:56 am**

"No, there was no need for him to hit me first," says Jordan. While he had taken an oath to do no harm, he feels the exception was justified. "He'll live. I'll even patch him up when we get to the station."

Posted: **Sat Oct 21, 2023 9:01 am**

Skipper sighs. "Gimme a minute," he says to the back of the skinhead he currently has in a hold.

"Oy! TEAM! We're not actually here to catch acts of minor anti-social behaviour, remember. We might have an opportunity to do a deal, here and now. Not in a more formal, Sweeney-esque setting."

"And, for all we know, these lads might have permission to break into this gaff."

"As I see it, we want the location of Barry and his poisonous plant juice, and a bit of an explanation as to what the Aylesbury is going on."

Posted: **Sat Oct 21, 2023 8:28 pm**

Up in Barry's flat, the skinheads mumble apologies, casting nervous glances at their unconscious comrade.

"Yeah, 'e shouldn't've swung a punch, but you gave as good as you got," says the next thug in line. "Better in fact!"

Despite his predicament, he smirks.

"Got 'im good an' proper - that's police brutality that innit? Look, can't we sort this out amicably like? I know it looks suss, but we broke in 'cos we couldn't find the key. Our mate said it was in the gnome by the door. but it weren't. We couldn't jus' turn 'round an' leave without our mate's stuff. Poor bloke's been the same clobber for weeks."

The skinhead behind lifts up the bulging bin bag.

"'is clothes and that."

Further down the steps, the van driver, letting go of Des, winces as Skipper yells by his ear.

"Yeah! Baz gave us permission!" he wails. "'e's stayin' at the farm and wanted a changes of clothes, 'is leather jacket and some motorin' magazines - nuffink dodgy, honest!"

Posted: **Sat Oct 21, 2023 11:25 pm**

Looking towards the ne'er do well next to Snapper, Eli asks, "how do you know Barry and why couldn't he come himself for his clothes?"

Posted: **Sun Oct 22, 2023 4:38 am**

"Where is the farm located?" asks Jordan.

Posted: **Sun Oct 22, 2023 10:49 am**

Skipper lets go of the skinhead driver and retreats two steps, open hands up in a gesture of non-violence.

Posted: **Sun Oct 22, 2023 2:55 pm**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 548 times

Leo listened to the skinhead's explanation, relieved that that the blokes seemed to be alright after all. A few years of working security at at a lot of football matches to boost the crappy Met pay had caused him to lose a bit of faith in humanity, and he was disappointed that appeared to be affecting his professional decisions when he apparently immediately assumed the worst here. But its skinheads, he told himself. Who wouldn't?

Leo showed his warrant card and identified himself. "Do you mind if we take a look in the bag," he asked in a genuinely professional, polite tone, but he just couldn't tack "mate" on the end.

Posted: **Sat Oct 28, 2023 5:07 pm**

The van driver flexes his shoulder gratefully as Skipper lets go.

"Baz is busy workin' for the boss," he explains to Eli. "'e ain't allowed out 'til 'e's finished. Least that's what I 'eard - I jus' drive the van."

Up the steps in Barry's flat, one of the skinheads opens the binbag for Leo to inspect. Inside are indeed various items of clothing.

"'ighcombe," he says in reply to Jordan's question. "Jus' outside 'indhead. Nice gaff - overlooks that Devil's Punch Bowl place."

Posted: **Sat Oct 28, 2023 5:53 pm**

Izzy sighs in exasperation. She would love the chance to nick a few skinheads... but she has better things to do, and doesn't want the associated paperwork.

"Alright, fine. You know, you really did this the hard way... would have been so much easier for you to just call your man up and ask if there's another way in when you couldn't find the key..."

She doesn't mention the fact that the team had already purloined the key from the gnome to begin with.

"So, who's this 'boss'? And why isn't Barry allowed out?"

She wonders if Barry is being held against his will... and she wonders too, if the 'boss' could maybe be a particular individual. One who the group have been expressly ordered not to investigate, with friends in high places...

Posted: **Sat Oct 28, 2023 9:54 pm**

Jordan does an excellent job patching up the man he knocked unconscious. "There you go," he says. "No hard feelings."

Posted: **Sat Oct 28, 2023 10:53 pm**

Des scowled (for a change). ”Is dat it?” said Des. ”Why ain’t u lockin’ ‘em up?”

Posted: **Sun Oct 29, 2023 2:37 am**

"They probably haven't done anything wrong, Des, and even if they have, we've done a jelly with them now, a trade. That's the rules. What kind of roadman streets do you actually live on?"

Skipper pulled the GPS or of his pocket and waved it at the van driver. "I just grabbed your GPS, mate. Didn't want any kids nicking it, and I'll give it back in a tick. Is the address on here?"

He turned the GPS on and looked for recent addresses and movements.

Success.

Posted: **Sun Oct 29, 2023 9:25 am**

”’im grabbed me and dat’s assault!” Des snapped back, pointing to the skinhead nursing a bruised shin. ”Or is dat alright? U tinkin’ dat it’s ok jus’ to grab sumwan whenever u want to?”

Posted: **Sun Oct 29, 2023 10:14 am**

"You knoe, she does have a pont, tou cant just go around acosting young ladies just because you feel like it!, There has to be some consequences!" Eli says agreeing with Des.

Posted: **Sun Oct 29, 2023 12:23 pm**

Skipper rolled his eyes. "Well, fair play to him, I'm fairly certain he was just trying to get past you all to back up his mates, not inflict any grievous. And Des did him far more harm than he did her. As did Jordan to his mate."

"And in the heat of the moment, given how she looks, he probably thought Des was a young lad. No offence Des, and we support you, whatever gender you choose to appear as."

"But let's not forget this is all beside the point. We need to get to Barry."

Posted: **Sun Oct 29, 2023 1:20 pm**

”Is dat ‘ow it is? Grab sumwan and den say it wos jus’ a mistake?!” snapped Des, clearly getting more irate by the minute.

”’im tried to touch me up an’ u coppers need to arrest ‘im!”

Posted: **Mon Oct 30, 2023 3:47 am**

Jordan says nothing yet, waiting to see what the police say.

Posted: **Wed Nov 01, 2023 2:50 am**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 599 times

"Thank you," Leo said as he quickly inspected the bag's contents before nodding politely. "As my colleague said, this certainly could have gone a little easier for you. For us all..."

It only takes a moment to catch up with what's playing out in front of him. "She just reported the crime," he said to the skinhead who grabbed Des. "Two officers of the court witnessed it. I think you're sunk unless you can convince my colleague otherwise."

"Des, would you accept an apology? That would allow us to go after Barry."

Posted: **Wed Nov 01, 2023 8:35 am**

Skipper couldn't quite believe he was watching the deal collapse before his eyes. He looked at Leo in frustration and wondered once again how the Met ever accomplished anything.

He looked back at the deal-breaker. "Des, can you please, this once, accept an apology from the guy. I know you're well unpleased but you're unhurt and he's going to have a decent bruise on his foot."

"Do this and I will owe you one, properly."

Posted: **Wed Nov 01, 2023 11:38 am**

The driver takes a step back, somewhat perplexed as you argue.

“Look, I admit I overreacted, but the boss told us not to take any shit from anyone. I-I’m sorry, alright?”

Inspecting the GPS, two addresses crop up frequently: Highcombe Farm: situated on a hill overlooking Hindhead and the Devil’s Punch Bowl, and an unnamed address on Down Lane: located just off the A3 south of Guildford.

The unconscious thug groans as Jordan treats his bruises. Coming round, he starts at the sight of the burly medic leaning over him, but a warning from his comrades stops him from lashing out.

In response to Izzy’s question, the skinhead um’s and ah’s before answering.

“The boss? Um, we’re not supposed to say, but it’s Grimesy. Y’know, that bloke off the telly.”

“Barry couldn’t come ‘ere ‘imself ‘cos ‘es busy working’ on the farm.”

Posted: **Wed Nov 01, 2023 11:41 am**

" And what exactly is Barry doing on the farm? What work is soo important that he could not come home and get some clean clothes?" Eli asks.

Posted: **Wed Nov 01, 2023 11:56 am**

"..Damn it."

Of course. It made too much sense. Of course it would have to be Grimesy. And the group had already been told not to go after him, since he had friends in high places... Izzy shakes her head.

"Thanks for that. See, this is what we mean when we say people are 'helping the police with their enquiries...'."

She turns to the others with a slight grimace, and leans in close. Her voice is low enough for the group to hear without the skinheads also hearing.

"How much longer before backup gets here? We can't just let these guys go and warn Will Grimes that we're on the way, or phone him and tell him. The CPS won't prosecute, not enough evidence and these guys have explicit permission from the homeowner. And sorry Des, but there's no actual evidence on your complaint either except for our word. Nothing physical and nothing that will stick in court, the CPS won't even bother reading the statement. But we can have them held in custody at least long enough to give us a window to visit this farm."

Posted: **Wed Nov 01, 2023 1:00 pm**

Absolutely fuming, but seeing which way it was playing out, Des scowled. ”I see u again an’ it won’ be ur foot i’s stamping’ on!” she growled.

Posted: **Thu Nov 02, 2023 3:31 am**

"What sort of work do you do for Grimesy?" asks Jordan. "Does he pay you well?"

Posted: **Thu Nov 02, 2023 5:10 am**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 559 times

"Sorry," Leo mouthed to Skipper. Trying to help...

He whistles sadly at the mention for Grimesy. "England's most popular homophobe."

"I would take her seriously on that," Leo assured the thug that hit Des. "They never found that last guy that crossed her," he says with a straight, deadpan voice.

When he leans into the huddle, he nods and also lowers his voice. "If we decided to leave now and let them go, I fried all their electronics, so that would potentially slow down that contact. And that van is going nowhere fast," he fist-bumped Skipper for slagging the tires. "Best case scenario... they convince a neighbor to let them make a call. Otherwise, they have quite a walk to the nearest little red booth."

Posted: **Thu Nov 02, 2023 8:12 am**

Skipper turned his smartphone back on and took photos of the two addresses on the GPS before handing it back to the skinhead, politely returning Leo's first-bump somewhere in the midst of this activity.

Curious, he had a look on his battered phone at the standard mapping "satellite view" and "street view" options for both the Highcombe Farm and the second address on Down Lane.

"We thinking a bit of covert obs? With a view to Potter and Grainger conducting an urgent search pursuant to PACE section 17 to rescue one captured Vulcan grandson?"

Posted: **Thu Nov 02, 2023 9:48 am**

"Sounds like a plan. Or at least, the beginning of an idea of one."

Considering an actual plan hasn't yet been submitted, although the concept of something covert is a decent start. And she hates to admit it, but Izzy is quietly impressed at a civilian knowing his PACE terminology and specific sections.

"Although... I always saw myself more as mostly Luna, with a hint of Ginny..."

Posted: **Thu Nov 02, 2023 8:04 pm**

Blue lights suddenly pierce the evening gloom, as if summoned by said magical personage.

The skinheads groan - a collective 'oh no, not again.'

"Look, Grimesy's got Barry growin' some stuff in his new polytunnels - don't fink it's weed or anyfink like that, before you go jumpin' to conclusions. He ain't keen on 'him leavin' either, which is why we was sent 'round," one of them laments.

"Yeah - we're jus' errand boys an' that," says the driver, casting a wary glance at Des. "Deliverin' stuff, pickin' up stuff - nuffink dodgy like."

Any further explanation is interrupted by the arrival of Sgt. Dhillon, accompanied by a couple of burly fellow officers.

"Sorry about the delay - the A3's still snarled up due to camera repairs, and we got reports of some idiot in a Range Rover trying to ram a Ford Focus off the road. The driver was so shaken up he reckoned he didn't see the miscreant until it drove away. Of course with the cameras playing up, we've got nothing to go on."

She looks at the skinheads and frowns.

"Got a spot of bother have we?"

Posted: **Thu Nov 02, 2023 8:28 pm**

Looking towards Jordan and Des , "Do you think our Mr Grimes has press ganged Barry into growing more of invisble ju-ju plants?" Listening to what Sgt Dhillon was saying Eli said "Another unprovoked violent attack? Is it just me or has there been a spike in those kind of incidents today?"

Posted: **Fri Nov 03, 2023 1:14 am**

Des just scowled. Why should she care who was growing what for whom?! She was always being told how the police were there for her protection and the first time she actually needed them, they’re bargaining it away for information on a case!

Posted: **Fri Nov 03, 2023 4:19 am**

"I think you're right," says Jordan to Eli. "Barry probably doesn't have any choice, so we're going to have to help him. I'm pretty sure the incident with the Range Rover is connected too."

Posted: **Fri Nov 03, 2023 7:15 am**

: DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 460 times

"I am okay being Potter. I am totally okay with that," Leo grinned as he also re-powered his phone. Of course he'd always seen himself as Harry. "We are missing one cloak of invisibility, though, for that plan to work. And Nightingale already told us invisibility magic was a no-go."

"You're probably right about Grimesy and Barry," he replied. "Based on what our informants just said about him not leaving. The Range Rover has to be connected."

"Ah, Sgt Dhillon. It's always a pleasure, but especially so now. These...err...fine examples of humanity broke into the flat, and then decided to assault a couple of officers of the court and our respected colleagues. I don't suppose you could take them off our hands?

Posted: **Fri Nov 03, 2023 8:14 am**

Eli noticing Leo adjusting his phone, gingerly takes out his phone."Bugger" He says under his breath, rembering the first rule regarding being around magic use....disable your phone. He pushes the button, hoping that he may have been out of range when it was pinging off.

Posted: **Fri Nov 03, 2023 10:34 am**

Oops, missed a bit.

Looking on Google Maps, Skipper can see that Highcombe Farm is a large farmhouse, with outbuildings ringing a rear yard and a large walled garden to the side. The whole estate appears to be ringed by a fence with of some kind and is approached by a narrow lane.

The address at Down lane is less interesting: a patch of hardstanding with some kind of rectangular structure - a barn perhaps. Not too far away, the lane merges onto the A3.

Posted: **Fri Nov 03, 2023 3:19 pm**

"Ah, Luna, definitely destined to be a minx..." Skipper realised he was speaking out loud and paused. "Is that wrong?" He looked guilty.

Once the skinheads were the uniforms' collective problem, Skipper discreetly motioned Team Folly over to show them the two sat-map views.

Speaking quietly, he gestured to Down Lane. "I know the other address is our main target, but this might be worth a visit first. It looks like it wouldn't take long to check out, and our friends over here must have been visiting it for some nefarious reason."

"Maybe we'll find some more juicy evidence that your guv'ner can use as ammo to say we go into the second place? Just a thought."

OOC: Will visiting Down Lane first take the team a long way out of their way if Highcombe Farm is the next destination after?

Posted: **Sat Nov 04, 2023 2:33 am**

"I agree. It's also right off the A3," says Jordan. "Sergeant, can you find out where exactly on the A3 that incident with the Range Rover was, and which cameras weren't working?"

Posted: **Sat Nov 04, 2023 4:22 am**

Izzy is pretty certain she's following Jordan's train of thought fairly well.

"Damaged cameras might mean magic used nearby. We can track the area of worst effect by marking off on a map, every camera and electronic device that's stopped working, and find the centre point of the area. That's likely the point where the magical effect originated, if that's what happened. And chances are it's related to the plants that Barry was cultivating..."

As for Skipper, she nods her head, as she addresses both him and Sergeant Dhillon.

"Down Lane might be storage, or testing, or it might be nothing, but it's worth a look. The more evidence we can gather, the stronger a case we have to go after Grimesy. Sorry, Sarge, but whatever your bosses told you about not pursuing Will Grimes, it's gotten beyond that now. These," (she gestures to the skinheads being rounded up by the uniformed officers) "can explain more in a custody suite."

"Wouldn't say it's wrong," she mutters to Skipper. "Definitely a minx... but don't forget, you'd be barking up the wrong tree... I always thought Luna and Ginny should have ended up together anyway. Forget Harry, those two were perfect for each other..."

Posted: **Sat Nov 04, 2023 9:16 am**

”Can we stop wit all dis Harry Potter crap?” grumbled Des. ”It’s worse dan school… …”

She was still angry at being manhandled by the skinhead and everyone else’s apparent lack of concern.

Posted: **Sat Nov 04, 2023 3:24 pm**

Skipper looked taken aback. "Hang on, what? Luna is gay? I really wasn't paying enough attention to those movies, obviously." He sighed, yet another dream crushed.

Posted: **Sat Nov 04, 2023 4:36 pm**

" I dont think Grimesy would keep Baz and the skinheads close to.his house. He gets nore plausible deniability if he has them down the road." Eli chips in.

Posted: **Sat Nov 04, 2023 5:17 pm**

Taking charge, Dhillon orders the skinheads to be taken away. Amid grumbles of police brutality and harassment, they are bundled into a police van for processing.

"Des, you'll need to give a statement if you want to press charges," she says.

The distance between Down Lane and Highcombe farm isn't too bad, the former being just south of the A3/A31 junction near Guildford, the latter just north of Hindhead, overlooking the Devil's Punch Bowl. Although, traffic being as it is, it might take longer than usual to get from one to the other.

If you were near Leo and had forgotten to turn off your phone, please make a Luck roll. Failure means it's been sanded by magic.

Posted: **Sat Nov 04, 2023 10:36 pm**

Jordan is glad he'd had the foresight to remove his phone's battery.

Posted: **Sat Nov 04, 2023 11:30 pm**

Again Eli pushes the buttons on his phone...
And breathes a huge sigh of relief as the screen lights up. "Dodged a bullet there me old chap" He whispers under his breath.

Posted: **Sun Nov 05, 2023 12:35 am**

Des nodded to Sgt. Dhillon. ”Soon as I get back to base,” she said, and she gave the driver the finger as he was bundled into the back of the van…

Posted: **Sun Nov 05, 2023 1:52 pm**

“Please don’t take too long,” Sgt. Dhillon replies. “It’s their word against yours and given your, um, ‘unofficial’ position, we might not be able to make anything stick. It’s not as if they’ve come out with a plasma screen and X-Box.”

She looks up at the entrance to the flat.

“Was there anything of interest in there?”

Posted: **Mon Nov 06, 2023 1:25 am**

"We were a bit occupied with the skinheads that got in the way, haven't had a chance to roll the gaff. But now we've scored a prior, or two in fact, that we need to get to."

OOC: Everyone happy to go to Down Lane first? Skipper is but will go with the majority or the suggestion of the team's Met reps.

Posted: **Mon Nov 06, 2023 3:42 am**

"One of them assaulted me as well," says Jordan, "because I blocked his path when he tried to flee. He barely bruised me, though, and I laid him out."

Posted: **Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:06 am**

OOC: I'm good with Down Lane first.

Posted: **Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:55 pm**

Des shrugged. She didn’t care either way.

Play@YSDC

Statement 4: Lime Grove

Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove

Re: Statement 4: Lime Grove