IC: Andrei's Apartment

[imme]

Once the lawyer has climbed into the taxi the driver asks, "Where now?"

Elizabeth looks at the others questioningly.

[Raiko]

[OOC: oops, all that police corruption stuff was supposed to be in a PM]

[Decrepit]

"If they've found Thomas's office, they've no doubt found my apartment," Caroline says. "Seems like a hotel none of us is associated with or some highly public place would be the best place to 'hole up' for the evening. What we do after that, I don't know.

"Just a thought. I'm not really experienced with all of this, as you all know."

[warhammer]

"What about the others?" asks Thomas as he lights a smoke. "I take it you just shared a similar experience? Do you have any idea where the others are? Chances are the cultists are on their backs as well."

[coffee demon]

"We only went past my place. There was a car waiting outside with some dark-skinned men in it, and I could see flashlights in my window. I agree, we should call the police immediately. I was thinking, though.. who would know your address? The assassins may have found mine after seeing my name in the papers with Ellie, but yours..?"

(To the driver, Andrei impatiently says, "Just keep driving for now. Just anywhere - until we decide. Thank you.")

"If we call the police, I don't think we should tell them where we're going to spend the night. I don't think we can trust anyone now. Maks and Timour and Johnny said they were going to cruise downtown..." Andrei shifts around, and pulls the sheaf of notes and cards out of his pocket, flipping through them.

"I think they were going to look for the Stumbling Tiger Bar. Cabby, have you heard of that bar? Or a 'Lantern Street'?"

[OC: Assuming he hasn't heard of it]: "Well, they're going to return to my apartment eventually. Do you think these people will be waiting for them? We could keep an eye on my apartment and wait for them, I suppose. Or we could drive to the Downings, and wait for them there. Let's stop and call the Downings right now, actually, and... warn them."

"Cabby, can you drive into a busier area and stop near a phone booth, please?"

Andrei is talking more than usual - he even interrupts Thomas at one point when Thomas tries to interject. It sounds like he's talking faster than he's thinking.

[OC: Andrei was already suspecting the police, and if Thomas' place was being searched, it verfied his suspicions. Didn't have anything to do with the supposed-to-be-Private Messages!]

[imme]

Elizabeth will agree with Caroline's suggestion that they find a hotel and then Andrei's suggestion that they call the Downings. At his mention of the bar, she says, "Wait, there's no Lantern street in this city, and I've never heard of a Stumbling Tiger Bar."

Elizabeth is obviously out of her element, and will go along with any reasonable suggestion.

[coffee demon]

"I'd love to see what would happen if we called the police, and told them we were staying somewhere.. and see who showed up..." Andrei mumbles.

[warhammer]

Thomas is secretly pleased to finally see Andrei get a grip on himself instead of allowing himself to be a victim; so much that he lets it go when Andrei interrupts him, something for which he would normally make a comment.

"Calling the cops and giving them a phony location to see who shows up ain't a bad idea", says Thomas, "the only problem I see is that the police telephone could be tapped. There was a white guy amongst the cultists back at the Chelsea, so we can assume the cult has a local branch here. We don't know how organised they are. Our priority should be to find the others. And this time, we'll stick together. Driver, please drive around Chinatown."

[coffee demon]

"Thomas, lets stop and make a quick call to Downing Manor, if you don't mind. I think they should be warned before we start looking for the others."

Andrei watches his breath misting the cab window, lost in thought for a minute.

"I don't care who shows up if we set a trap somewhere", he finally says. "We need to get some answers, and if we can't trust the police..." After a second's thought, he looks at Elizabeth apologetically, "Excuse my brutish thoughts, dear, but this is too much. They're going to ruin our lives. We're going to have to lock ourselves up, like Mrs. Carlyle, I suspect - unless we decide to do something about it."

[Raiko]

[OOC: The taxi hasn't set off again yet, so you're still parked by the payphone that Thomas was heading for.]

[Decrepit]

All this talk about relatives and friends in danger makes Caroline suddenly realize that her office helper, Hazel, may be in danger too. And she could probably just forget about seeing clients again for ... ever? For the foreseeable future, anyway. She cast a hard glance at Beth then stops. No use getting mad at her, Caroline thinks. It's not as if she knew what was going to happen, that she's not in as much danger as the rest of us.

Privately, Caroline had agreed with Andrei's sentiment. Action was better than being passive, waiting for something terrible to happen to them or to someone they cared about. She just felt inadequate to the task, was all. With some of the police potentially wrapped up in this, with Elias dead, there hardly seemed anyone they could turn to, no recourse.

[coffee demon]

[OC: I thought we were just around the corner from Thomas' office building, I'll assume its far enough to be safe to make a call.]

"Ellie, lets quickly call your parents, OK?" He helps her out of the car, noting her uncertainty.

As she waits for the operator to connect her, Andrei says, "It might be best to tell them exactly what happened. Tell them the people have guns." He swallows hard, trying not to think that the worst had happened. "Maybe you can suggest they stay at a hotel for now."

[imme]

"Ellie, lets quickly call your parents, OK?" He helps her out of the car, noting her uncertainty.

As she waits for the operator to connect her, Andrei says, "It might be best to tell them exactly what happened. Tell them the people have guns." He swallows hard, trying not to think that the worst had happened. "Maybe you can suggest they stay at a hotel for now."

Elizabeth nods and climbs out of the car, pulling her coat more tightly around herself. As she stands there, waiting for the operator to connect her, she nervously glances around the street, feeling more vulnerable out of the car.

[Raiko]

After a few seconds, that seem like an eternity, the ringing telephone is picked up by one of the Downing House staff.

They quickly put Elizabeth's father on the line for her, «Hello Elizabeth, what's the matter?»

[imme]

"Hello father. Are you okay?" Elizabeth pauses, and then quickly says, "The men who were responsible for killing Jackson now seem to be after us. We're not sure how they found out our names, but there are suspicious people searching Andrei's apartment and Thomas' office. We're fine, we're going to go stay at a hotel somewhere, but I wanted to make sure that you and mother are okay, and know to be careful, because dangerous people might show up at the house."

[Decrepit]

As they wait for Beth to finish her call, Caroline says to Andrei, "How do you think she's bearing up? I sometimes worry about her, but I've also sometimes been surprised at how tough she is underneath the surface."

[coffee demon]

Andrei talks to Caroline while scanning the streets, hands in his pockets, touching the sheaf of notes. They're standing next to the cab, getting a bit of a stretch after sitting in the cramped vehicle for the last 20 minutes.

"I think she's doing fine," he says, and falls silent for some time. Police sirens and the sounds of the city drift over from busier streets. Caroline thinks he's not about to say anything else when he glances at her and asks, "What are you going to do? About your practice? It's probably not safe for any of us to be in public by ourselves until these villians are caught."

[Decrepit]

"Ah, well, that," Caroline says. "I need to let my assistant Hazel know that we won't be in business for ... well, for a while, anyway. I'll miss the work, really, but I can't very well risk my life or other people's lives just to keep my work going.

"Besides, I owe my practice to Beth, really, so it's fair enough that I give it up for her." It's clear that Caroline isn't entirely resolved to that, but she's doing her best to be a good sport.

[coffee demon]

Andrei nods, and falls silent again, scanning the streets and sidewalk.

Amazing, Caroline thinks she's just helping Ellie. Is it just me who thinks all our lives are completely changed now? We're either going to have to wage a war on these assassins, or leave New York entirely, before our lives go back to normal. I don't even know if leaving New York will help - it seemed like Jackson knew the assassins were after him, even before he headed back to New York.

Andrei imagines different resolutions to this mess. Foremost on his mind is tracking the assassin's ringleader in some dark Brooklyn basement, tying him up at gunpoint, delivering him to the police, and finally living their lives again.

He also wonders about dealing with the police. Should we trust them? Try to trick them and weasel out anyone who's giving the assassins information? Or not talk to them at all...?

[Raiko]

"Hello father. Are you okay?" Elizabeth pauses, and then quickly says, "The men who were responsible for killing Jackson now seem to be after us. We're not sure how they found out our names, but there are suspicious people searching Andrei's apartment and Thomas' office. We're fine, we're going to go stay at a hotel somewhere, but I wanted to make sure that you and mother are okay, and know to be careful, because dangerous people might show up at the house."

«Good grief Elizabeth, what has that man gotten you into? You really must call the police at once, and then return here to Downing House, you’ll be much safer at home.»