Play@YSDC

Maria's house is located in a block, which runs along the canal. The main entrance is a renaissance-style portico with a small staircase overlooking the street. There´s another entrance which leads directly to a small pier on the canal. There are two fascist soldiers who guard the two entrances. It's nine in the evening and one of the rooms in the house has the light on.

"Let me approach the front door and try to talk my way past them," whispers Felicity. "I'll tell them I'm here to see Maria, which is true. If they let me past, come out of the shadows and follow me. I'll tell them you're with me."

The soldier is a young boy of just over 17 years old. He responds with a harsh voice. Someone who is forcibly building his sense of authority within a rigid hierarchy. He can't let anyone in. What he can do is call Lieutenant Rossini at the door.
When Rossini notices Felicity at the door step, he quickly heads towards her with his gun in his hand. He stops at the doorway, saying nothing, looking at Felicity in a threatening way, waiting for her to justify the disturbance.

Andrew holds back, keeping to the shadows but ready to spring into action if he senses Felicity is in any danger.

"I'm a good friend of Maria's, Felicity Hayward," says Felicity in Italian with a smile. "I need to talk to her. Go ahead and ask her, she'll tell you. It's good to see that such brave, strong men are protecting her. I'm sure she'll be safe in your capable hands. But I'm not a threat."

Using Flattery.

Rossini snorts, then looks closer at Felicity...
"I remember you. You went to pick her up at the station..."
The man tries not to be rude to a lady. But he speaks firmly.
"Listen, I have serious and urgent things to talk about with Maria. If you want to talk to her I'll give you five minutes. If you have more to say, you'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon."
Said that, he lets Maria in and closes the door.
Six Blackshirts loiter down-stairs, one at each entrance and four in the kitchen. They are eating a hearty meal. They look up with angry eyes, like mastiffs snarling over a juicy bone. Rossini seats at the table with his pals. A maid is serving them with a markedly prune-like expression on her face.
Rossini voice thunders as Felicity climb the stairs.
"Remember! Only five minutes! "
Upstairs in the morning room, two Blackshirts stand on with Maria Stagliani who sits stonyfaced on her divan, twisting her rings nervously between her fingers. The soldiers get out to give the two ladies some privacy. However, they leave the door ajar, just enough to peek inside. They were ordered to always keep an eye on Maria.

“Well.” Mutters Clarence as he hides in the shadows with Andrew and Archie. “Felicity’s on her own but she’ll be the best one to talk to Maria anyhow, hmm. “

With time of the essence, Felicity hurries over to Maria, sits down beside her, and whispers to her: "I came to ask about the whereabouts of the statue of Saint Isidore, which your late father was having restored, but I can see that you've got problems here. My friends are outside, and we can get you out of here." She tells her where they are hiding. "I have a plan, but we must act fast. If we swap clothes, I can quickly make us pass for each other. We look enough alike to fool people, especially since it's dark. And when most men look at me, it's not my face they focus on. My hat will obscure your face too. You can then walk out pretending to be me, and I'll stay here pretending to be you. You'll go to my friends and tell them, and once you're safe they can work out a way to get me out. I just need to convince the guards to close the door first, so they don't see us changing."

Felicity usually takes a long time to change clothes, but this time she knows she has to hurry. She swaps outfits with Maria, making sure to exchange rings and jewelry, as well as put her hat on Maria's head so that the brim hides her face. She borrows Maria's mourning veil and puts it on to hide her own face. Some hasty hairstyling and makeup complete the illusion. "Say nothing on your way out," whispers Felicity. "Your voice could give you away. I'll stay quiet too and buy you as much time as possible."

Disguise roll (3 points spent), difficulty 4:
1d6+3

Archie has also been outside in the shadows with the others, watching the door to see if any other soldiers show up or anyone suspicious. When he sees the six others arrive, he pats his pistol self-consciously, making sure it's there and ready if needed. He hopes he never has to use it again, but he's glad it's there.

Awkward and shaky, Maria listens to Felicity and does everything she's told. Within a few minutes, the two women exchange clothes. Maria walks quickly down the stairs and out the front door. The Blackshirts sitting at the table turn to her with a quick glance. They don't suspect anything, quite eager to see the undesired visitor to leave the house as soon as possible. Felicity remains in Maria's room, alone, but for how long...
The other investigators see a figure resambling Felicity leaving the house at a rapid pace. She takes a different route than the one they are on. When the group reaches her, they find out she is instead Maria, the girl they met on the train. She looks scared and anxious. Apparently, she´s wearing Felicity's clothes.

Are the Blackshirts still watching me?

After the guards finish looking in the room, Felicity explores it, under the guise of pacing around nervously in case they look in unexpectedly, checking for any potentially useful items or possible exits, such as a window. Before the five minutes are up, she sits back down on the divan where she had seen Maria sitting, twisting her rings nervously as Maria had done.

'While some of you take Miss Stagliani to safety, the rest of us had better wait here for Miss Hayward. I do hope a daring rescue is not needed, or I'd have worn my other suit.'

"There's Felicity now..." Archie stepped out of the shadows, but she headed the wrong way. Once they had caught up with her, Archie was stunned at the likeness.

"You and me, both," Archie said softly. "I became a doctor because I wanted to save lives. I would prefer not to take one, even a fascist."

There is a window in the room. Felicity can reach it and open it while she is not seen. The window overlooks the street. By climbing down from the window, Felicity would end up ten feet from the front door, where a soldier stands guard. On the desk there is a small letter opener that can serve as an improvised knife.

OOC:   Climbing down: Athletics roll diff4, Trying not to be spotted by the guard: Stealth roll diff5

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maria gets scared when she sees the investigators shadows approaching, then relaxes when she notices that they are familiar and friendly faces. She has no intention of running away without knowing that Felicity is safe too.
"Your friend... she's in there in my room... they think she's me. You have to help her..."

Felicity hides the letter opener on her person. She still has her pistol too, but it can be noisy. She puts out the light and gets in bed, then waits for the guards to check on her. Once they're done and they're no longer looking, she hides the pillows under the covers to make it look like she's still there, then goes over to the window and opens it. Once outside, she closes the window behind her. Climbing down is fairly easy for someone with her natural athleticism, and she tries to sneak past the guard near the door.

Athletics roll (3 points spent) to climb down:
1d6+3
Stealth roll (3 points spent) to not be seen by the guard:
1d6+3

“I could escort Maria back to the hotel whilst you rescue Felicity.” Clarence quietly offers to Andrew and Archie.

Felicity manages to climb down and finds herself on the street. Quickly, she moves out of sight of the guard at the door. Archie and Andrew approach the house again and meet up with Felicity. Meanwhile, Clarence accompanies Maria to the hotel. In the end, within half an hour, the group gathers at the hotel together with Maria. Maria explains that Rossini is forcing her to marry him. She is immensely grateful for the help she received from the investigators. She wants to take the next train back to Milan, but first she must locate her boyfriend, Giorgio, and convince him to leave Venice with her.

"That's a good idea, Maria," says Felicity. "We'll help you find him and get both of you lovebirds on a train. I'm glad I was able to help. Before you go, can you please tell us what you know of the statue of Saint Isidore that your late father was restoring, and where it is now?"

"That sounds like a good plan to me," I say. "We will happily pay for the tickets for you. The name of the statue would be a great help."

'Where might we find Giorgio?' asks Andrew. 'I'm not sure it is wise for you to be going out in public Miss Stagliani, not with the Blackshirts roaming the streets.'

"Yes, perhaps you should stay disguised as me for now, Maria," says Felicity, "though I may want to change clothes so I'm not mistaken for you any longer." She giggles. "Can you just imagine two of me? I'd be beside myself!"

Being deeply grateful to the investigators, Maria is willing to help the investigators with pleasure.
"I remember, it was some years ago. My father brought that tacky sculpture home. A few days later, Nanni, a sculptor in Venice, came to get it to restore it. Nanni was in desperate need of money and the pay that the church would give for the restoration was a pittance. Nanne wanted to sell it. My father was doubtful, but in the end he decided to help Nanne. My father donated the staute to Nanne, for him to do what he wished. My father would get away with the church somehow. Nobody liked that statue and even the church wanted to get rid of it."

Maria can tell Nanni's address. It is an apartment on the island of Giubecca. It is the same one provided by the priest.

"Giorgio, my boyfriend... I don't know where he is right now. He also has problems with the black shirts. So.. it´s complicated. But... Nanni, when you find Nanni, he will be able to tell you where to find Giorgio too. Surely. Threy´re close friends. "

Maria asks for a sheet of paper at the hotel reception and quickly writes a message. Translated from italian, the message reads:

My love, please listen to what these English people tell you. They helped me when Rossini tried to do what I feared. I'll wait for you at Palazzo Gritti. We must leave soon. Please come quickly.
Your Maria.

"Thank you," says Felicity. "We'll go see Nanni once I'm looking more like myself. I suppose it's for the best that I'm not really twins. The world couldn't handle two Felicity Haywards. It can barely manage one."

Clarence looks at his watch,
"I imagine it would be hard to find a ferry at this time of night. Shall we start first thing? We can hope the black shirts will be having a lie in in the morning."

"Tonight," says Felicity. "It's only a matter of time before they notice Maria's gone, and then they're going to come looking for her. They know we're staying here, and they know I was at her house last night right before she disappeared."

'By morning the Blackshirts will know what we have done and we will be watched much more closely, if they don't do something more...drastic.'

"Yes, tonight. The sooner, the better," Archie said. "I sure could use some caffeine, but I learned to soldier on late at night at the hospital. We should push on."

"I'm also used to late nights, doing...the things I do," says Felicity, "and a good cup of tea goes a long way toward keeping me going, but if there's no time, let's go at once."