[M&M 2E] Dawn of a New Age (IC)

[Sorceress]

Note: Feel free to look at other people's spoilers, they're here only for organizational purposes.

The prelude scenes begin now!
Juliet:
It was a beautiful day, and the park was filled with sunshine and laughter. Juliet was there with her mommy and Steve and today was definitely one of the good days. Steve and Mommy were sitting on a blanket with a picnic lunch spread out, while watching Juliet playing on the playground equipment with the other kids at the park. There were a few other groups of parents present and there were good times to be had by all. It seemed as if nothing could ruin the perfect day.

"Hi, my name is Chris," said a raven haired little boy with pale skin and creepy blue eyes. "We just moved here. I live over there." He pointed vaguely toward the housing project nearby. "Will you be my friend?"

"You're dumb!" Karl, a kid who was big for his age interjected, stepping between Juliet and Chris. He was the playground bully and right now his focus was on Chris. "This is my playground. Go away!"

Steve and Mommy didn't seem to notice anything amiss yet, nor did the other parents. Chris looked like he was going to back down, but Karl was still deciding if he wanted to hit him anyway.
Lucien:
"You've poked your nose where it doesn't belong. I'm going to cut it off so you learn not to do it." Appropriately enough, the pock faced middle-aged man looked like his own nose had been broken a few times. The two thugs who held Lucien's arms while the pock-faced man hit him seemed like they'd been in their own share of fights as well. A college-aged Lucien was on the verge of getting the evidence he needed to clear his father's name, but it looked like it was all going to come to and end here and now.

"You thought you could just look through the Boss' office without anyone noticing? You ever heard of silent alarms, kid? The Boss likes his privacy." The two goons threw Lucien back up against the desk, knocking some papers on the floor. Not just some papers, but papers that connected the organized crime lord with the Deputy Mayor -- reaching back all the way to when he was the DA, all the way back to the incidents for which Lucien's father had been framed.

"It's really a pity," said pock-face. "You could have had a career in politics with a mug like yours. Now you'll be lucky to get your own tent at a freakshow." With a flick of his wrist, the razor-sharp blade of his 4-inch curved pocket-knife popped open, and as he held it up, it gleamed in the flourescent light of the office.
Anderson:
The corporate headquarters of Upton-Webber had just relocated into the gleaming modern tower that towered over the city like a modern palace -- a fitting upgrade from the tradition gothic style stone and mortar building that it had been located in almost since its founding at the turn of the 20th century. Now, in the 21st century, it was a whole new world, and a whole new Upton-Webber. The Company had shifted its primary focus from industrial/farming chemical production to pharmaceuticals and medical technology, but it still had branches involved in every form of industry -- from energy to defense to computer technology.

"I got your memo on the inconsistencies in the GSDL budget, Anderson." Kirk, the head of accounting, leaned against the cubical entrance. "Listen, that stuff could be embarassing for the department. I think it would be best to just let this drop. Mr. Lomax has enough to worry about following the restructuring. A few million dollars being moved around without the proper paperwork isn't worth bothering the old man about."

The money hadn't gone missing. There were invoices for all the money being spent. But it had been spent not by the Genetic Systems Development Laboratory in Chicago, but rather the books showed it was being spent by the lab's contracted security company -- which also was owned by Upton-Webber. But it was fully half the small R&D lab's budget being spent on security -- weapon systems, personal armor, armored vehicles, training, etc.

[ChaosLord29]

Lucien should have known better. It had all been too easy, too simple; The opportunity to find the information to exonerate his father, right where he knew it would be was too good an opportunity to pass up, and had unfortunately also been too good to be true. He'd been roughed up before, received threats from various street toughs and the like, but this was different, these men were real enforcers, and if they were here, it meant their boss was through letting Lucien get away with nosing around in his business. 'C'mon think,' He chided to himself, gritting his teeth in concentration, narrowing his eyes at the blade as he did his best to remain stoic in the face of his attackers. 'You're too close to give up now, there's got to be some sort of way out of this . . .'

Glancing about the room, he tried to look for something that might be able to save him . . . but he needed to buy time first. "Bet this is a real break for you, huh? You get to go back to your boss and tell him that he won't have to worry about me poking around Deputy Mayor Morrison's business anymore?" He had to keep them talking, had to stall them, find another way to get the information he needed and escape.

Bluff check to Fascinate:
[roll0]

[Lizard Lord]

That was mean! Chris was trying to be nice and Karl was picking on him. After thinking about what her favorite heroes would do Juliet spoke out.

"Leave him alone! He didn't do anything."

[betafin]

"...Yes, ...sir. I understand. However, there is no real way to..."

Anderson trails off midway through, his mind skimming around. There really is no need to care about this issue above all others, it's not his responsibility or his name on the sheets (Kirk's was on those, ironically). But this was just so annoying. He makes a mental note to remember and/or keep an eye out for anything noteworthy on Kirk's connections to the security contractor; it would be very good to have an idea if there was a personal stake in this or if it was directions from higher up. Once Kirk leaves he can get his thoughts in order and try to remember anything, or do a quick check on some of his account calculations. If he reported it over Kirk's head, even as anonymously as possible, and it was actually a directive, he may be traced to it. After about two seconds, he continues.

"...there are many parts of the financial accounts that are system-hardwired, while most of these minor issues are... ignored, there are, err, "aspects" and traces of it that will appear."

Anderson starts typing on his keyboard again, hoping that the conversation lecture is done. He wasn't lying, most of these will be suspect to a critical eye. As so happens, though, he has the closed-book records in the middle of a large stack of other paperwork. He now isn't sure if he should accidently keep it among the entire pile when he submits them to Internal Review-- Oh God, he's already starting to think like Ki-... that... person, for lack of a better word.

Can't stand this... He inwardly sighs. Might be better to wait and see. Possibly get a tape recorder for the next eventual 'discussion' on this, to cover himself.

Investigate (Kirk): [roll0]

[Sorceress]

Lucien:
Pock-Face has a +0 Will/Sense-Motive; he is Fascinated.
"Yeah, a real big break, kid. And speaking of breaks, when I'm done with your nose, I'm going to break your fingers. One at a time." His scary curved knife blade continued to gleam menacingly as he twisted the handle a little bit to one side and then the other. He was reflected the light into Lucien's eyes to improve the drama-factor. But he didn't start cutting or anything yet. Lucien's fast talking had him distracted for the moment.

There didn't seem to be much in the room to help Lucien, however, so perhaps it was for nothing. If he could break free from the two goons who were holding him, he might be able to put up a fight with a chair or even a computer monitor as an improvised weapon. Then there was the smoke alarm/sprinkler system, which was automatically connected to the fire alarm. If he could set that off, it might spook the goons, or summon building security.

Juliet:

"He's a dummy. And so are you." Karl shoved Chris who stumbled, and then fell backwards, hitting his head on a bar of the jungle gym as he lost his footing.

"Ow!" Chris whimpered and grabbed his head.

Karl turned on Juliet. "Now what are you gonna do about it?"

Chris started to whimper, then his eyes welled up with tears.

None of the adults seemed to notice anything yet.

Anderson:

"Just lose the memo and any associated paperwork you've got, Anderson. People really like you here -- I wouldn't want to have to transfer you to a subsidiary office. There's an opening at GTM's West Virginia office." Geo-Tech Mining corporation was another Upton-Webber subsidiary. They were always having trouble with safety issues in West Virginia. As a result, the local union people were making things really hard on corporate. There had been several injuries lately among corporate staff -- the sharp increase in worker's injury compensation payments had crossed Anderson's desk, so he was more than aware of the implied threat.

Kirk went back to his office. A quick check on Anderson's part revealed no obvious conflict of interest between Kirk and the security company.

Something was obviously going on here, but what could it be? Was it even worth getting involved?

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet hesitated. If she started a fight Steve would get mad.

Deciding she needs to help somehow Juliet will try to move between Karl and Chris and will stretch her arms out.

"Just leave us alone, okay?"

This will work. Juliet heard that boys don't hit girls. Steve does, but Steve is a grownup . Grownups are different, right?

diplomacy [roll0]

[betafin]

#$%^$^@#%#$$@...

Anderson leaned heavily on his desk, mentally gurgling. This probably meant the company higher-ups were involved, and it was one of those underground projects you hear about all the time in books and rarely in news reports. He would rather be as far away from this as he could, it's not like he's passionate enough about this to want to be dragged in further. But if something happens, he just knows that he could somehow be blamed for this...

Anderson resolves to get a small, easy to turn on recording device. He may not care much about this entire business but he has enough instincts to recognize this could be headed nowhere good and try and come up with a way to cover his own ass. ...He mentally notes to buy it using cash.

As for the paperwork... Anderson glances over at the several-feet-wide mass of files and papers wedged between two large weighted file holders. It was technically lost, even he wasn't exactly sure where it was in all that. He opts to do nothing for now, maybe if he holds his hand some new cards will come up.

I never thought I would miss high school... I really never did.

[Sorceress]

Juliet:
POW! Karl hit her right in the mouth. She saw stars and everything went topsy turvy around her. Karl knocked her down the ground, and climbed on top of her to administer a beating. Before he could do much damage, though, Steve was there, yanking Karl off of her and throwing him aside like rag doll.

Chris was still standing aside crying, tears in full force, running down his cheeks.

Steve stood over Karl. "You little bastard, gonna pick on my girl are you?" He kicked Karl with a steel toed boot. Mommy ran up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, and he elbowed her and shoved her away like she was nothing.
Anderson:
It was two fiscal quarters later when the government auditors showed up. It wasn't unusual to have them show up -- with a huge company like Upton-Webber, they may as well have an office in your building. What was unusual was that they were poking around your files looking for some misappropriated millions.

It was the securities and exchange commission; because Upton-Webber was a publically traded company, they had certain responsibilities in reporting their fiscal activity and a keen young agent, Lisa Orwell, had discovered that several million dollars that was assigned to GSDL was never spent.

Agent Orwell was dressed in a pants suit, with her black hair back in a tight ponytail. Her government issued mirrored shades were hanging from her lapel almost like a flourish.

"Any help you can give me in finding the missing money would, of course, be appreciated."
Note:
No post from ChaosLord yesterday. Hope everything is ok!

[ChaosLord29]

"Yeah, a real big break, kid. And speaking of breaks, when I'm done with your nose, I'm going to break your fingers. One at a time." His scary curved knife blade continued to gleam menacingly as he twisted the handle a little bit to one side and then the other. He was reflected the light into Lucien's eyes to improve the drama-factor. But he didn't start cutting or anything yet. Lucien's fast talking had him distracted for the moment.

There didn't seem to be much in the room to help Lucien, however, so perhaps it was for nothing. If he could break free from the two goons who were holding him, he might be able to put up a fight with a chair or even a computer monitor as an improvised weapon. Then there was the smoke alarm/sprinkler system, which was automatically connected to the fire alarm. If he could set that off, it might spook the goons, or summon building security.

"Boy, I'm really shaking in my boots now." Lucien said, adopting a more arrogant tone, even beginning to snicker a little. "I mean seriously, you're such a big bad scary man, I don't even know what I'm going to do! Of course, I'm sure the police have their own ideas about what to do with the likes of you . . . " He let the vague threat hang in the air, even as he began to maneuver his feet into position, setting a ready stance and shifting his weight for his next move.

"What? You guys didn't think I'd come here alone did you? Of course, I couldn't exactly call the police with them all bought up by your boss, but I managed to find a few honest cops who were willing to put in a few hours on their off day for the chance to take down your boss and the other corrupt cops. That, plus the fact that my cell phone has been on in my pocket this whole time, means you've probably got only a couple of minutes. If they haven't surrounded the building already. Go ahead, check the window if you don't believe me."

Bluff:[roll0]

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet stayed down on the ground, her head turned away from Steve, her eyes shut tight, and tears dripping through her closed eyelids and down her cheeks.

She was wrong, boys do hit girls and grownups aren't different.

[betafin]

Really? Anderson mentally looks up towards the sky. I'm really not going to be allowed to just stay out of this?

This entire job has been gradually grating at him, very incrementally more and more as of late. The politics, the petty expectations, endlessly doing the same freaking types of calculations every financial period, this incident... It's probably considered as worth more than his life too, if his suspicions are correct, and he doesn't even care about the damn thing. On the other hand, him just going along with it doesn't necessarily mean he shouldn't do something. Well, that and Kirk very unsubtly threatening his safety pissed him off, and yet he didn't do a thing in response and just let it happen. He's suddenly overcome by a surge of contrariness that he already knows he will inwardly doubt himself over immediately after this.

"I'm afraid I can't really help you on this," he says, very, very subtly putting an emphasis on "afraid" to send a signal that he's not sure about the depth this may reach. "There are many files that come by my desk alone, not to mention the others, I'm really not sure where I could start you at even if I was sure what you were talking about."

On "start" he directs his focus slightly past her at the middle of the large row of papers and files, where one folder is at a slightly different angle, the corner sticking out towards the wall behind. In a rare streak of hostility he couldn't bring himself to dispose of it, so it's been there like that ever since Kirk's warning. He's fairly sure that there's not really anything that would point it at him, even if someone took it off his hands and away from him so he could be left alone in this place... His only worry is that he may have been too indirect and subtle.


(To get the message across)
Bluff: [roll0]

[Sorceress]

Lucien:Pock-Face continued to hold the knife up to Lucien, even as one of the goons released Lucien and moved ot the window to look out.

"There's a van parked in the lot that looks suspicious." The goon said.

The second goon moved to the window next to also look out. "I don't think there are any cops out here." He noted.

Pock-Face took his attention off Lucien for a moment, to glance toward the two goons who were behind him. "He's bluffing, you idiots, get back over here and hold him while I start cutting!"
Juliet:Steve kicked Karl another time, and Karl tumbled and rolled over into a little ball. Karl was screaming like his life depended on it. Maybe it did. Steve just sneered down at him.

"Where's the big man now? Not so fun when you're the one being hit is it?" Steve managed to snarl without the slightest hint of hypocricy in his voice.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Another man, about Steve's size -- maybe a little smaller, grabbed Steve by his upper arm and pulled him sharply away from Karl. "What are you, some kind of psychopath? Stop kicking the kid."

Chris sniffled. "Daddy." He ran to the second guy and grabbed onto his midsection, pulling close and clinging. The man protectively put his hand behind Chris' head in a comforting gesture.

"Listen." Said Steve. "I'm just teaching the punk a lesson he won't forget."
Anderson:Unfortunately, Anderson was a neophyte when it came to courtly intrigue. Orwell didn't seem to pick up on his hints. She just pursed her lips sharply when he seemed to make excuses about not helping her. She lightly guided him aside and moved into the cubicle to start taking a look around all his files personally. It was quite a mountain of paperwork that the applicable files were lost in, and it would probably take her at least a day to find it on her own.

As Anderson was trying to formulate another plan, since intrigue didn't seem to be working, Kirk arrived at the cubicle.

"Agent Orwell." He said with a smarmy smile.

She looked up at him. There was something about him that didn't seem quite right, but Kirk had been completely helpful since she noticed the discrepency. He had even directed her to Anderson as the person who handled those sorts of things. "What can I do for you?" She asked him.

"I'm just really disturbed by the accounting discrepency." He started. He glanced to Anderson momentarily. "I've been looking scouring my memory since our conversation this morning and I do recall noticing some strange transactions. I asked Anderson here to look into them for me, but he didn't find anything out of order. It's not possible that you missed anything, is it, Anderson?"

[ChaosLord29]

Released by the thugs momentarily, Lucien seizes the opportunity and steps towards the pock-faced enforcer and slips inside his guard while he is distracted, past his knife and attempts to strip the blade from his hand and disarm the burly foe. With any luck he'd be able to get the knife for himself, and then hopefully escape with the files . . . assuming none of the other thugs were armed with guns . . .

Disarm Attempt:[roll0]

[Lizard Lord]

With tears still in her eyes Juliet will get up to hug her mom. "I'm sorry mommy."

If she didn't get in a fight with Karl Steve wouldn't hit mommy or be yelling at Chris's dad.

[betafin]

"Umm... well... Anything's possible, I do mostly end up being right in the end..."

At this point Anderson is running off of a small high of rebellious instinct. A very small amount, but more than he's used in a long time. Something about Kirk's recent smarminess seems to have rubbed him the wrong way.

I'm sure this would be less stressful if he would just go away... Doesn't Kirk have some meeting soon? He haults for a second waiting for an answer before realizing that he thought that last part instead of saying it. He then nods at Kirk.

"...I probably can handle any further questions Ms. Orwell has, but I heard you had an appointment, though, and this is holding you up... sir..." Anderson has gotten fairly good at not straining or gritting his teeth while calling Kirk 'sir.' He nervously organizes a few things on his desk, making sure everything is in reach, his passivity already starting to get the better of him after he said that.

[Sorceress]

Lucien:Lucien struck swiftly. Pock-Face had his wrist grabbed and the two struggled for several moments. Lucien was younger and more desperate and that made up a lot for is lack of any fighting experience. However, before Lucien could disarm him, one of the other goons shot a pistol straight up into the ceiling as a warning shot.

It seemed as if time itself had slowed down. Debris tumbled down in a shower from the ceiling panel above. The goon who shot the gun winced a bit as the debris lightly hit him on the head, leaving it covered in pulverized dust. But the message had been sent. This fight was over, or else.

The good news was that Lucien had bought himself a handful of extra nose-filled moments.
JulietMommy gave Juliet a big hug, and then a comforting caress.

Steve was facing down Chris' Daddy. The two were having some sort of physical confrontation while Juliet was busy getting hugs from her Mommy. Steve was trying to intimidate Chris' Daddy, but Chris' Daddy wasn't backing down.

Steve moved to Mommy and Juliet and he grabbed Mommy's forearm breaking the hug and pulling her along with him. "You need to keep your brat in line. Let's go before the cops get here."
Anderson:Kirk casually lounged at the entrance of the cubical for a few moments after Anderson tried to dislodge him. Then he stepped inside fully and put his hand on Anderson's shoulder. He put on a rather fake looking expression of sympathy and concern.

"Actually, kid." He began. "I cancelled all my appointments so I could deal with this personally. Why don't you go talk to Montgomery about the latest GTM numbers. He could use some help." He patted Anderson's shoulder in a gesture that was meant to come across as comforting.

"I think," Agent Orwell said, "that unless you know where the files I'm looking for are, you both may as well find something else to do so you can stay out of my way."

"I think I may have an idea about what is going on, Lisa. Can I call you Lisa?" Kirk was laying it on thick. Then he looked to Anderson. "You heard the lady, you can go."

[ChaosLord29]

Lucien paused, not quite able to wrest the knife out of the pock faced henchmen's hand, and now the other goon had his pistol out, which was not a good sign. Glancing briefly from the armed thug back to pock-face his mind raised with potential options till all at once a sense of resolve filled him, and a smirk began to slowly spread across his features. He began to laugh, quietly till all at once, he glared straight into Pock-Faces eyes, "What the hell, it's not like I've really got anything left to lose." He said, will all the bravado he could muster, trying to shake the thug's own confidence by presenting himself with an absolute lack of fear, of the knife, of the gun, of any of them.

He then swung his leg around behind Pock-face, and used his hold on his arm to attempt to throw the goon onto the table towards his compatriots, counting on the fact that they might not be so ready to fire on their boss while he was entangled with an opponent.

Bluff Check to demoralize (Taunt; -5 for move action):[roll0]
Trip Attempt (Throw: opponent uses lower of Dex or Strenth): [roll1]

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet will follow Mommy and Steve with her head hung low.

Tears stream done the girl's face. She knows what will happen when Steve and Mommy get home and she blames herself.

[betafin]

"...Ah, right. I'll be right on it, then."

Anderson does not trust Kirk whatsoever. Regardless of what he's aiming for, it can't be positive. Anderson shuffles off to help, but stops just before he leaves the cubicle and turns around, finger in the air and spins on a dime, heading back to his desk. "Cell phone."

He knows corporate espionage is not exactly his thing, but it's not like he has a lot of options at the moment. On the way back, after he passes Kirk, Anderson gives one last-ditch attempt to convey that there is something going on. As he walks towards his desk and picks up his phone, he throws a look at Orwell, tensing his eyes, then without moving his head darts them away towards where Kirk is behind him, then back to Orwell with a very direct almost-worried unsubtle 'watch out for him' expression on his face. Turning around as he puts the phone in his back pocket, he heads out again, nodding politely towards Kirk as though it were a small bow.

Jesus Christ, if she can't figure out that he's up to something after all this, forget it. I'm too damn good of a person... He leaves, figuring she'll at least suspect things more than she already did, and also thinking he did way too much in this situation and seriously considers drinking this off like a baaaaaad dream later. At least there's a nice chance he won't be drawn in any more, since Kirk seems to want him to stay away from this and Orwell seems to be willing to ignore him.

(Conveying Signals, Episode 2: The Un-subtlety)
Bluff: [roll0]

[Sorceress]

Lucien:"Help me you imbeciles!" Pock-Face shouted to the goons.

The goon with the gun was aiming. He muttered in a suprisingly high pitched whining tone. "I can't get a clear shot."

The other goon joined the fray, making things even more complicated.

Pock-Face shouted with irritation. "Shoot him! Just shoot him now, will yas!"

BANG!

A hot sharp pain ripped through Lucien's side. It was like a wasp sting. at first, but then the wound had been lit on fire. Lucien had been shot.

Pock-Face grunted and slumped to the ground. The bullet had gone through him first, and the wound seemed much more grievous.

"Damn, damn! Now what do we do?"

As Lucien gasped for breath that he just couldn't quite seem to catch, the goon with the gun stepped closer and raised the pistol, aiming right at Lucien's temple.

BANG!

The goon with the gun collapsed to the ground. A security guard -- a rent-a-cop -- stood in the doorway to the office, holding a smoking pistol.

The third goon put his hands up and shouted, "Don't shoot, don't shoot!"

The rent-a-cop held his gun at the ready, but didn't point it at anyone. "I knew working security here was a mistake." He stepped into the office, his gun at the ready. He moved with professional grace, well beyond that of a simple security guard. "You ok, kid?"Juliet:The Department of Children and Families would pay them several visits in the following months, and Steve just seemed to simmer. He blamed Juliet and her mom for the trouble that followed, but since social workers kept checking on them, he held it in. He held it all in, and it was only a matter of time before he exploded.

We fast forward to her metamorphosis scene.

Juliet had her arm in a cast. She was on a school field trip into the city, where all her class was at the natural history museum. Something was going on outside and all the adults were beyond nervous, they were scared. Ms. Parker, her teacher, addressed the class.

"I need you all to stay away from the windows. Let's all just stand over here by the dinosaur bones."

There were sirens outside, and the sound of helicopters. It sounded like fireworks were going off in the distance.Anderson:Orwell gave Anderson a strange look at his theatrics and didn't seem to quite get what he was doing. As Anderson left, he had the distinct feeling that somehow this would come back to bite him on the rear. He heard Kirk start talking in a lower, almost conspiratorial, tone.

Later that day, Kirk called Anderson into his office, and Kirk, Agent Orwell, and Mike Tate, the vice president of finances, were waiting for him.

"So it seems that the SEC has turned up some discrepencies in the budget for the GSDL project. We found a memo written by you, but Kirk claims when he spoke to you personally you told him it was just a formality and that he didn't need to worry about it." Mr. Tate's silver hair was impecable, and yet he ran his fingertips along his temple checking that every lock was in its place.

Agent Orwell tugged at her suit jacket, anxiously, as she looked between the parties. She had apparently found what she was looking for.

Mr. Tate continued. "Is that a fair representation of things?"

Kirk gave Anderson a look that clearly said, take one for the team.

Another person lurked by the office entrance, waiting just outside.

[ChaosLord29]

Lucien's mind erupted with pain as he felt the bullet wound, but he knew he had to stay focused. Pock Face was down, which might give him enough time to . . . No, the feeling of the second goon's pistol against his temple told him too much. His human shield had only been good enough to stop the first bullet, and even then he'd only been half decent. This was it, this was the end, he closed his eyes with a smile still plastered on his lips, resigned as he was to his fate, when the report of the gun across the room made him jump. Or at least, it would have, if he hadn't already been bleeding, short of breath and in no condition to be making sudden moves.

"Well, I've been shot." He wheezed, managing to draw in enough breath.
"It's kind of a new experience for me, but I'm prepared to say at this point it makes me a little worse than 'ok'." He did his best to smile at the guard, "But considering I can draw enough breath to make smart remarks, it can't be all bad. Also means I'm well enough to thank you for saving my ass." He tried to extend a hand, but wound up having it fall to his side as his other arm clutched the bullet wound in his side.

"Thanks," He said, after wincing again at the pain. "Who are you anyway? You don't seem like just any old security guard." He commented, his eyes trailing off of the man towards the scattered papers on the ground. This man had saved his life, but there was no telling whether he'd be amenable to Lucien's cause once he found out that this kid was taking on the Lt. Mayor and one of the city's most notorious crime bosses.

[betafin]

Anderson... wasn't exactly surprised. Ok, he was in practice, but not in the analytical sense. Funny, when he thought about it, how willing Kirk was for someone else to take one for the team. Whose team, anyway? Goddammit. If he didn't go along with Kirk, his life would be miserable and this company would have problems because of him. If he did go along with Kirk, every effort everyone made to put him here would have failed, they would all be disappointed, and everything that added up to this would be miserable.

He looked... not surprised, but somewhat flabbergasted, back and forth between Mr. Tate and Kirk, his mind flipping back and forth between choices trying to figure out what to do. Without really thinking, he tried what he had always done, what he was familiar with -- retreat himself from the conflict.

".........No. No, it isn't. I don't know what's behind anything that's going on. All I do is run my numbers, I pass my papers where I am supposed to, I submit reports to my superior. That's all I do. I don't really know, or want to know anything, or be transferred to West Virginia, or even take sides." His voice slowly changes from a dull, even tone to a louder, shaky pitch. "I just... want to do what I was hired to do, without being involved in these things! To not be forced to go outside of my damned job regulations! No, I don't have a clue what is going on! I'm just trying to avoid trouble!"

He was shaking from something, hell if he could tell what. Anger? Fear? Nervousness? Stress? I shouldn't have to deal with this! I shouldn't have to take stupid sides! Just let me be, leave me to my own damn side!

[Lizard Lord]

As Juliet walked towards the dinosaur bones she tried to catch a glimpse though one of the windows to see what was going on. She imagined that Wonder Bunny would keep her safe if it was something bad. She knew it wasn't true, but it felt nice to imagine such things.

[Sorceress]

Note:Sorry in advance for the bad post. I am having a rough day, and this is the best I can manage!Lucien:The security guard kept the goon covered as he moved in. He had the goon cable-tie himself while he covered him, and then he shoved him down face first into the ground, with enough force that it looked like it might be seriously painfully. The goon, however, was thankful enough just to be alive so he didn't complain much.

"I'm just a security guard, kid. I saw some action in Iraq, but that's it."

He moved to Lucien. "You don't need to explain anything to me, so you can just relax. The cops are coming now. I'm guessing they're going to want a statement from both of us. I'd appreciate it if you impressed upon them how I was saving your life when I shot him."Anderson:There was kind of an awkward silence as Anderson seems to have a little meltdown right there in Kirk's office, in front of the SEC agent and the VP. They were all looking at him.

"So what you're saying," Mr. Tate finally broke the silence, "Is that you don't know anything."Juliet:Juliet saw a helicopter zoom by, flying low to the ground. It didn't look like a news helicopter. It looked like one of those cool matte black sloped futuristic ones from the video games that the military uses.

There were more fireworks sounds, and then one went off really close. A bit of dust came down from the roof. The children and several of the adults started to panic, with little shrieks and covering of their heads.

[betafin]

"Thank you!" Anderson exclaims, adrenaline still a factor. "You are the first person in this entire situation to figure out what I've been trying to convey to them! These people" --he throws an irritated look at Kirk and Orwell-- "could not understand a subtle signal or underlying message to save their lives!"

At this point, he seems to recollect himself and calm down, breathing out deeply as he slightly slumps forward, his voice leveling. "Those papers have everything that you'll need, without... 'reframing' the situation. I only got that far before I... had to stop. Do you require anything from me, sir? Otherwise, I think I need to rest for a little." He feels incredibly exhausted and drained, and thinking about what comes next is already making himself regret the outburst.

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet will cover her head cower with the other students. "Whats going on Ms. Parker? Why is the army here?"

[ChaosLord29]

Lucien blanched at the mention of the cops. Odds are that at least one of the units being sent over would be on the Deputy Mayor's pay roll, and that was if he was lucky. That was assuming that these offices weren't under more direct scrutiny from the mob and their allies in the police department, and considering how Lucien's luck had been so far this evening, the detective to be assigned to investigate the scene would be the same one who'd been harassing his mom this whole week about his father's whereabouts now that he had 'escaped' from prison.

These documents were the only thing he could use to prove his dad's innocence, that the Deputy Mayor had been manipulating this whole situation and the only way he was going to get his father released from wherever the mob was holding him, he couldn't afford to have even a well meaning but blundering cop go nosing through them or arrest him for breaking and entering. "I doubt you'd appreciate it as much as I appreciate you actually saving my life. But . . . " Looking the security guard in the eyes for a long minute Lucien weighed his options, and tried to get a read on the ex-soldier. "Look, I'd be happy to vouch for what you did, but I need something from you as well." A sudden pain in his side caused him to cringe, "I know I don't have any right to ask anything more, but there might be more than my life on the line here."

Sense Motive check to see just how trustworthy the guard is: [roll0]

[Sorceress]

Anderson:The three of them continued to watch Anderson quietly for a few more moments. Mr. Tate cleared his throat with a bit of a harumph. Agent Orwell folded her glasses up and tucked them neatly in the crook of her cotton blouse. Kirk just sighed and shook his head a bit.

"I don't think there'll be a problem if you need to rest. We have your paper work." Agent Orwell announced. "The stress is obviously too much for you to handle."

Mr. Tate agreed, "Yes, go ahead. Why don't you take the rest of the week off. We'll call you if you're needed for anything."

Kirk just shook his head some more.

The man who was waiting outside came into the room. "Go ahead," he said to Anderson. "Nobody is going to get in trouble here. Take some time for yourself." He flashed some ID to Agent Orwell. From the brief look at the ID it appeared he was an officer in the AFSOC, whatever that was.Juliet:Ms. Parker ushered Juliet into the mass of other children. "Sssh, honey. Don't worry. We're all going to be fine." She couldn't answer the question, in fact, her mind couldn't even comprehend the possiblities so it was as if she simply didn't acknowledge it.

A group of young men in their early twenties, maybe even late teens, ran into the dinosaur hall. They were taking cover in the building as it was clearly dangerous outside. One of the men was at the window, shouting to the others.

"I can see the Upton-Webber building from this window, but I can't see where the helicopters crashed! I can see the smoke though!" He paused and then moved back from the window and crouched. "Woah! The terrorists just shot another rocket! How many of those do they have?!"Lucien:Lucien studied the man's features for a moment, and time seemed to stand still. The security guard seemed to be pretty laid back for someone who just killed a guy, but Lucien noticed while studying him that he himself was being studied.

The security guard seemed like he was just trying to do what was right, and could be trusted as far as that goes. Unfortunately, he also didn't seem like had Lucien's angle figured out.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure they know you were unarmed and just defending yourself. If its something else you're worrying about ... well, forget about it. Honestly, kid. You've been shot. We need to make sure you don't bleed out before the paramedics get here. Nothing else is as important as that."

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet is scared and confused. What is going? Who are these men? If they are fighting terrorists that means they are the good guys right? And what Upton-Webber?


Sense Motive on the young men:[roll0]
This might be a long shot, but knowledge (popular culture) on Upton-Webber. [roll1]

[betafin]

"......Sure."

Anderson cricks his neck, trying to get rid of some of the tension - though admittedly there is a lot less than before, the nagging worry about what will happen after this is building. He leaves the room, intending to make a beeline to his car (nothing particularly necessary is at his cubicle) and go home. The stairs seem like a kinda nice option, given the nervous energy he has.

He really does not feel good about his outburst, why did he do that he could have just held it in and resolved this with reason and... come to think of it, he's fairly sure there's that unopened bottle of Irish Whiskey a friend gave him when he graduated and was immediately hired. He didn't bother with it at the time and forgot about it, but it suddenly seems like a nice thing.

He's utterly convinced Orwell is, if not a fool bumbling around in a straight line, then... let's say "unperceptive" to be kind. His signs and hints were perfectly obvious, if not in meaning then that there was more to the situation than he could reveal around Kirk, at least as far as he sees it.

He did drop that he was being threatened in his outburst, though. By his standards of dealing with sides of a conflict, it's the equivalent of directly throwing Kirk under a bus. You know that bad feeling in your stomach you got when you were young and you knew when you got home you knew your parents were going to be furious at you? Or when they were fighting and you didn't know what to do? It's like that.

[Sorceress]

Juliet:To Juliet, it seemed that the young men were excited by chaos, and thrilled by action -- yet smart enough to have taken cover when the proverbial feces hit the fan. They were typical urban thrillseeker types, they probably would be base-jumping right now if not for the explosions going on outside.

She has heard of the Upton-Webber building before. Steve did some work there during its construction, before he lost his job (again). That's about it.

One of the young men was talking to Ms. Parker. She was being unresponsive and the young man was getting frustrated with her. "We need to get these kids out of here. You guys came in that bus parked out on the side lot, right?"

Another of the young men crouched next to Juliet and smiled to her. "Broke your arm, huh?" He motioned to her cast. I just got my arm out of a cast myself."Anderson:We fast forward through the aftermath of the investigation. Kirk was given a sideways promotions out of the corporate headquarters and another douchebag replaced him. Anderson was "highly recommended" for some therapy, but he kept his job. The SEC dropped their investigation because of undisclosed "national security" issues. Mr. Tate pretended like he didn't recognize Anderson when they crossed paths in the lobby and elevator.

There were more inconsistencies with the GSDL budget, and Kirk's replacement didn't act shady about them -- a definite improvement over the previous situation. He simply forwarded all the associated paperwork up to the VP's office, where it was dealt with behind closed doors.

It's been almost two years since the GSDL SEC investigation, and Anderson's unfortunate outburst had long since been forgotten. Security on the Upton-Webber building was at an all-time high -- there were government and military people visiting the building for a meeting with the top brass, including Mr. Tate. There was some sort of demonstration taking place on the upper floors, and there were guys with M16s riding up and down on the elevators to make sure the demonstration wasn't interrupted. Agent Orwell was going through files again, but thankfully that was someone else's problem this time.

Anderson was in the employee lounge, microwaving a food item of his choice. He was looking out the window when he saw some action on the roof of the building across the street. Maybe they were filming a movie over there -- or maybe it had something to do with all the security on the Upton-Webber building.

Before he could really comprehend what was going on, a grapple line shattered through the window he was looking at -- the tempered glass shattered into solid granules rather than dangerous shards as it was designed to do when under immense stress -- Anderson was nearly impaled on the oversized harpoon-like grapple anchor that crashed into the concrete reinforced structual wall behind him.

Some sort of carbon-fiber cable was stretched out from the anchor, across the street to the roof of the opposite building, and the cable tightened with a hollow twanging sound.Lucien:No post. Hope all is well.

[Sorceress]

Note:There's sometimes a bug where the first post of a new page doesn't show up until another post is made.

[ChaosLord29]

Lucien looks down at his wound, realizes he has indeed lost quite a bit of blood. He definitely won't be walking out of the building like this, even if the security guard would let him go. "You would be surprised," He says, "By what is more important to me than just my life. You see . . . " He gauges his words carefully, finally letting his eyes fall upon the papers scattered on the ground. "I broke in here because I needed to get to those papers. They're incriminating evidence that link the deputy mayor to the crime syndicate who has been threatening my family. I can't do that in an ambulance, but you could."

He moves closer to the guard, "I need your help, if you take those files, stash them in your office and get them to this address," He takes up a scrap of paper and begins to scribble furiously on it, "Then I and what support I have can use them to finally get some justice."

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[betafin]

"......"


Broken glass = break-in.
Rope =/= destruction.
Rope = mobility.
Mobility = human presence.
Break-in = unfriendly human presence.
This is happening even with guards armed to the teeth swarming the building.
Why am I still thinking about it?
GO.
After about half a second of just looking at the rope going taunt, things click. Anderson crouches to the floor, heading to the door, ignoring the rice that just finished cooking. Nobody will eat it, probably. Out of all the stuipd things to worry about. Making a break for it, he feels almost.. wrong... just getting out without doing anything. But what could he do, other than die stupidly? Seeing a fire/security alarm on the way out, he goes slightly out of his way to trigger it passing by. He then moves... wait, not to the stairs. Bad escape route.

They'll be heading up to the top, all the security is for that, if this is happening on another floor those ones will head up too. Safer to find a spot to hide. Having pulled the alarm, he now almost considers turning around and heading back in to hide in one of the cabinets below the sink. Not an option, on second first thought. Doesn't matter which thought, stay focused, can't panic, don't blindly run, instead escape, what is going on, get somewhere first then stress out.

Where is somewhere so unimportant and obscure no attacker in a hurry would bother combing over... a lot of gaps, view blockages and out-of-sight spaces... where where where where the records storage! It's close, too! He speeds in that direction.

[Lizard Lord]

"Yea...I was climbing a tree and I fell." Juliet's eyes shifted to the floor as she replied with the conditioned lie for broken bones.


As she listens to the sounds outside, Juliet sits on the ground and wraps her good arm around her knees as she brings them to her chest. "Do...do you know what is going on?"


Bluff check for the arm thing. [roll0]

[Sorceress]

Lucien:"That sounds like a plot to a movie or something." The security guard noted as he continued to take care of Lucien's gunshot wound. "I suppose the reason you don't want to just give the papers to the cops is that they're involved in this conspiracy too?" He raised his brow a bit, inquisitively. "No, don't answer that. Of course they are." He sighed with a bit of a chuckle mixed in there.

He looked at the paper with the address, then he sighed deeply again. "Damn it. You're going to owe me for this, I hope you realize that." He started to pick up the indicated paperwork.Anderson:BOOM! Small explosion. A part of Anderson somehow realized it was a breaching charge of some sort. BOOM! BOOM! More. From this floor, and floors above and below. This wasn't some rag tag band of extremists or a fringe militia. These guys were professionals. There were shouts in the hall outside the records storage.

"Get down, get down!" THUD! "I said get down." A pause. "Sarge! There are civilians here!" The voice was muffled. Maybe it was a gas mask or something.

"They're accountants. Gather them up in the lounge. Shoot them if they cause you any trouble."

More breaching charges, gunfire coming from the levels above. It was like being in the middle of a war zone. It quieted down momentarily. There were voices outside the records storage room.

"Why don't we just destroy the prototype and recall."

"They'll just make another one. We can't turn back progress. But we can help it along."

"If we didn't come back to destroy the Chrysalis Engine, why go through all this?"

"The Major is going to overload it. He's going to let the genie out of the bottle . . . . " The voices were quiet for a moment. "I think I heard someone in here." The door started to open.Juliet:The young man nodded a bit. He was very distracted by what was going on outside to pay too much attention to Juliet's explanation, or lack thereof.

"There are bad people fighting out there. We need to get you away, to someplace safe."

Ms. Parker and the other young man were talking. The young man seemed to get frustrated. "There's a lot more danger in staying than in trying to leave!"

[ChaosLord29]

Lucien would have been overjoyed if the excitement didn't cause him to start to lose at a higher rate. "Please, you just have to believe me that this one of the most important things you will ever do for anyone. No pressure." Lucien said, only half-joking as he reminded himself to continue applying pressure to his own wound. "And if you ever need a favor, look me up in again when I'm DA . . . " He laughed and managed to cough up a small amount of blood.

[Lizard Lord]

"I'm scared Ms.Parker. Can we please leave?"

[betafin]

Anderson looks around, trying not to panic or hyperventilate. Nobody else in the room... He heads to the outbound section to the largest, messiest bunch of paper he can see (probably copies, memos, etc. yet to be properly sorted and collected for storage, disposal or recycling for this entire quarter), and yanks all of it to the same spot the ground, making a very small mountain of papers.

Almost as it is falling, Anderson dives underneath the paper as though it collapsed on top of him, possibly from the explosions' vibrations, covering every exposed spot of himself with paper as well as he can. He then plays dead, as though knocked silly by a paperlanche, in case he wasn't thorough enough and they see through it. Maybe they'll ignore him or at least not shoot him. Some part of him in the back of his mind is fully aware of how stupid this is, but it's not like he's swimming in options or very calm at the moment.

(not sure if stealth or disguise check, same modifier regardless)
Stealth/Disguise: [roll0]

[Sorceress]

Note:I have failed to complete my post on time. It'll be up first thing tomorrow. My apologies to everyone!

[Sorceress]

Lucien:And that was the story of how Lucien got the evidence he needed to implicate the deputy mayor, which eventually led him to clear his father's name. And we fast forward through graduating law school, through the bar exam, and through finally being chosen as the city's new assistant district attorney.

Lucien learned that despite having the notoriety of being "the kid who cleaned up the city", the city was, in fact, not cleaned up at all. There was a power vacuum and people were fighting over it. Even in his own office, half the staff blamed him for being a "hotshot" who made everyone's life more difficult, and the other half were busy trying to profit from the power vacuum in upper-level corruption that was left behind when the deputy mayor was disgraced and put in prison.

But the public, the public on the other hand loved him. That made it hard for his superiors to just get rid of him. But they tried, in other subtle ways. Like today.

The protestors were out again, this time outside the Upton-Webber building, and the police were planning to do another round of trespassing arrests. And they liked to have someone from the DA office to advise them in the arrests, considering all the media attention that the occupiers were getting these days.

The protestors were scattered in their complaints -- animal testing was a big one, but there were a quiet a few people who said that Upton-Webber was involved in dangerous biological weapon design, and that was why the air force was present today -- for some sort of demonstration of their latest technology.

The protestors were on the steps that led into the lobby, which was technically private property. The U-W management made it clear they were willing to press trespassing charges, so the police riot squad began moving in, with Lucien in their midst.Juliet:Ms. Parker looked to Juliet for a moment and the girl seemed to snap her out of her shock long enough to realize that the young men were right. She needed to get these kids to safety. She looked to the young man who had been trying to convince her and she nodded.

"What do we need to do?"

"Your bus is in the parking lot. We need to get the kids to the bus. If we can't find your driver, I'll drive, I don't have my class 1 one license but I've been co-piloting my dad's rig since I was 8.

"Alright. Come on kids. Follow me! We're going to get back on the bus." She gathered the kids around, did a quick head count, and then moved the mob out of the dinosaur area. Another explosion went off overhead, and a chunk of the roof came down, smashing into the triceratops' skull, crushing it.Anderson:Anderson's eyes started to burn almost immediately after the door opened. They must be using some sort of tear gas or something. That would explain the gas masks. He squirmed a bit from the discomfort which gave away his ploy. One of the intruders, terrorists -- heck, they probably thought of themselves as freedom fighters -- whatever you wanted to call them, crouched down.

"Hey you. You need help? I need to get you into the lounge with the others. or I could shoot you if you really want to stay here."

"Just shoot him. He's too weak to move." Said the other. By the tone, it sounded a little like a joke. But it definitely was inappropriate!

"Relax, we're not going to shoot anyone."

There were sounds of a helicopter flying really close. Then a huge explosion and the whining roaring sound of a crashing helicopter. They obviously were shooting people.

They two intruders were wearing matte black combat outfits, tactical vests with lots of pockets and hooks for equipment and the like, very sci-fi looking gas masks, and their guns were some exotic bullpup design with fancy scopes that looked like something Anderson had seen late night on one of those "Future Weapons" type shows that occassionally popped up on the History Channel -- or was it Discovery? Maybe it was the Military Channel. One of those. One of the intruders was a man, the one with the bad sense of humor. The other one, the one crouching next to him trying to help him up, was a woman.

[betafin]

"...Just a [cough] paperslide."

Anderson will take the fact that he rigged the paperslide onto himself trying to hide to his grave. He struggles a little trying to push himself up, but the combined slipperiness of tens of layers of paper and the tear gas make it a little difficult to coordinate properly and he keeps slipping. He feels that in no way is the mini-mountain of paper too heavy for him, it's just really slippery and there's tear gas. Without that he'd be perfectly fine!

"Yeah, sure." He raises one hand up for help in resignation. It's not like resisting will lengthen his lifespan at this point.

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet gasped as a bit of the museum ceiling collapsed. Staying was definitely not a good idea. She made the run to the bus with Ms.Parker and the students, using her good arm to cover her head.

[Sorceress]

Anderson:The woman released her gun to help him up to his feet, but the tactical sling kept it in a ready position. Between the gas mask and the space-age weapon design, it was kind of like being helped to his feet by a stormtrooper or something.

"Good boy. Now let's get you safe and sound with your co-workers."

The man moved in to nudge him out. The air was more burny outside the room, the gas was still lingering strongly despite the building's ventilation system.

"It's just an irritant, don't worry,you're gong to be ok." The woman consoled him, even as, bleary eyed, he arrived at the lounge with the other members of the accounting team. They seemed relieved to see him.Juliet:The run to the lot was the most exciting moment of her life. Not far up the street, a pair of main battle tanks, the size of trucks but with treads and huge artillery style cannons on the front, rolled forward, crushing a few unfortunately vehicles that were in the way. As the kids were getting aboard the bus, the tanks stopped. They were close enough that the vibration from their massive diesel engines could be felt in the bones.

"We can't go straight up the street that way." The young man noted as he started up the school bus with a push of a button. "Looks like things are going to get worse before they get better." The Upton-Webber building was the other direction. There was flaming debris that way, but it looked like a couple of the side streets that way were open if the bus could make it.

The young man who was driving looked to Juliet. "You're going to be my good luck charm. I want you to wish really hard, with all your might, for us to be able to get through that side street up there."

And then they were off.

[ChaosLord29]

Trying his best to muscle his way through the crowd of Police Officers, Lucien was having little luck, and was already more than a little nervous about what was about to happen here. These protesters were obviously peaceful, even if they were technically trespassing and there was no reason the Riot Squad had to be called in. He had already phoned his superiors several times but apparently they wanted their hands clean of this whole affair, which meant that if things did turn wrong, Lucien would be taking the blame alone. 'Guess I'll just have to make sure things work out best for everyone.' He thought to himself somewhat glumly, wondering if all his work with the newly polished and pure DA's office would be like this.

"Sergeant!" He began to call over the crowd, seeking to use the chain of command to his advantage, "Sergeant, a word!" He didn't actually know the head of this precinct's riot squad but he had more than a few contacts now in the PD, and was about to see just how well he could put those into effect. "I need to speak to the officer in charge! On Behalf of the DA's office!" he began to shout quite loudly and was even managing to draw some attention away from the protesters themselves, seeing as he was in the middle of the police group.

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet closed her eyes and wished hard, as the man said. She wished that her imaginary friend was real and that he would protect. She wished Wonder Bunny was there to get them all up that side street. She wished for someone to protect her from Steve, and the terrorists, and all the bad people in the world. She wished to be able to feel safe for the first time in a long time, and that her imaginary protector was there to give her that feeling.

[betafin]

Anderson chuckles dryly to himself as he lifts his hand in a 'hello' to the group as he is shuffled towards them.

Really, why did I even bother trying? He wonders. I would have been here with a lot less hassle, stress, embarrassment... tear gas... if I hadn't done a damn thing.

He sighs inwardly. He wanted to try to find a way to get the hell out of here, but oh well. May as well see where this goes and hope for the best. Something in the back of his mind twinges at this, but it's shrugged off.

[Sorceress]

Lucien:Lucien was referred to a guy in a white dress shirt uniform, Lieutenant Graves. He was an arrogant excuse for a man in charge. He was on the radio, directing what he called his "mobile cavalry" team, who were in a pair of unnecessary armored personnel carriers, to act as rapid response reinforcements if these hipsters that they were about to arrest had some sort of organized armed resistance.

As he was explaining to Lucien his plans for sweeping all the kids up and into the waiting paddy wagons, the protestors rushed right into the line of police, like some sort of kamikazi attack. Their shouts were like a roar, as their charge was countered by batons and riot shields. Lucien was quickly forgotten as Graves' suspicions about the "true motives" of the protestors suddenly were justified.

Not being directly involved in the melee, however, Lucien had a bit more perspective. These kids weren't attacking. They're running from something.

There were mournful cries that they've been tear gassed -- but Lucien has seen enough action like this to know that tear gas has smoke added to it so that the area affected can be easily seen. But there was no smoke. Still, irritated eyes, coughing. Graves denied that there was any gassing going on, and that the kids were full of bull-pucky.

The personnel carriers are called forward to aid in arresting the struggling protestors, and just as Graves is about to gloat about his foresight, another wave arrives. This time, employees from the Upton-Webber building, fleeing something from inside the building.Juliet:The young man who was driving smiled a bit as Juliet seemed to be concentrating really hard. Juliet wished, wished so hard, and deep inside she knew that somehow, her imaginary friend would protect all of them. The engine roared, the young man was somehow able to urge some serious performance out of the school bus. A couple of jet fighters flew by low overhead, their engines screaming, but they didn't unleash their firepower on the building under siege, it was just a show of strength.

The turn onto the side street showed a scene that wasn't entirely encouraging. Two armored personnel carriers had been flipped onto their sides and were burning from within. A group of police and civilians were crowded into a nearby building for cover.

The young man who was driving said words that shouldn't be said in front of children and pounded the steering wheel. One of the people who was holed up in the building ran out to wave them down, standing in the narrow path between the two wrecked vehicles and waving his arms desperately. He probably wanted to get on the bus to get out of there. But there was no way the bus was going to stop for them. The bus was full of people from the museum, mostly children. And whatever blew up those armored carriers -- the young man driving didn't want to stop and find out.

He glanced to Ms. Parker. "I need everyone to close their eyes. Now. Make it a game or something!"

Ms. Parker was confused for a moment and failed to pass it on fast enough, but one of the other young men stepped in. "Listen up everyone!" He bent down to pick Juliet up, turning her away from the front of the bus. "On the count of three, everyone close your eyes. 1, 2, 3."

On the count of four there was a loud, kind of smushy thumping sound.

Ms. Parker cried.Anderson:"Heads up." The man in the gas mask said to the woman who was guarding the accountants in the lounge. "Just got word, the Major has the Chrysalis Engine over-charged. He's going to set it off. Things are about to get weird."

She grinned behind her mask as the man went back into the hall. She said to no one in particular. "The future is about to change, and you all get to have a front row seat."

If the fabric of the universe were stretched tight like the skin of a drum, someone just hit it with a big old mallet. But instead of hearing the thud, you could only feel it at the base of your being. A wave rippling from nearby, stretching the space inside atoms just a little -- letting some sort of sub-atomic energy rush in from nothingness -- the scientists would call it zero-point energy, or dark energy -- before snapping back. And everything felt more charged, more full of potential.

That's what everyone in the world felt at that instant. Anderson felt it millions of times stronger than pretty much anyone else. Why did it affect him more? Was it some sort of genetic predisposition? Was it his proximity? Was it something different about his mind that enabled him to feel that moment and surf the literal cosmic wave that rolled out over the world from the top floor of the Upton-Webber building?

The woman took off her gas mask. She had red hair. She lowered her weapon onto its tactical sling and she held her hands out, looking at her palms, and then turned them over to look at the backs of her hands. She looked at her palms again and then held them out as if she was some sort of wizard trying to cast a spell. She seemed a bit surprised that nothing happened.

"It didn't work." She said. "So many lives. So many. For nothing."

[ChaosLord29]

Finding the sudden onset of this gas just a little too convenient an excuse for Graves' charge, the sudden out pouring of employees from the very building being protested suddenly set Lucien's mind ablaze. 'The rumored chemical weapon . . . ' he thought as he reached into his blazer and pulled out a handkerchief covering his mouth and nose, for what little good it would do. 'It couldn't be, though . . . ' Looking around however, the evidence of his eyes suggested exactly that fact. Whatever the case, these people needed to be gotten out of here now.

"Sergeant Graves!" He called out, rushing through the crowd and seizing the officer by the shoulder of his fancy dress uniform. "We need to evacuate these people and your men immediately! Are your Mobile Cavalry teams equipped with gas masks?" He demanded, before he began to cough and splutter with the rest.

[betafin]

Hgh! Anderson was doubled over, not just in a literal sense. He really hadn't known or cared beforehand that it was possible to double over on nonphysical levels, across every aspect that made up a person, but there you have it. Perhaps in the future this would be described in words, with poetic flair worthy of it. Someday, someone could write about a cosmic pulse, the expansion of total potential, the gentle tugging of humanity's thread among the greater Oneness.

What they would fail to mention is that, at least in Anderson's experience, a primarily three-dimensional being does not mix with the merging, pulsing and coasting of universal depth across and through totality very gracefully. Other people may have found this sensation quite pleasant, or simply had a smoother ride or took a different path along it. Anderson, not as much.

His mind and earthly senses attempted to convey the sensation of being stretched along with the cosmic pulse on a level where time had no meaning in less than a second, then snapped back into the center of the combined package that made him him, which was followed by an aftershock akin to being mentally and emotionally gut-punched on a quantum level (as close as he could interpret it) as he instantly re-synched to himself. Suffice to say, it took him a moment to adjust while he metaphorically picked his pieces up and put him back into his box.

He remained silently doubled over for as many seconds as it took for him to remember who, what and where he was. His body would have wondered if it should throw up just because of the suddenness and shock of the whole thing, but that required much more cognizance as an integrated being than he was capable of at that moment, and that potential issue soon faded. Apparently something had happened and it was, indeed, a thing, was as far as his conscious thought processes could decipher as they came back online. He didn't actually feel damaged or anything of the sort, aside from that instantaneous momentary everything.

[Lizard Lord]

Upon hearing her teacher's crying Juliet opened her eyes. Something bad just happened. Juliet just knew it. Her eyes lingered on the scene of the upset Ms. Parker before she turns around towards where she heard the thumping sound.

[Sorceress]

Lucien:"That's Lieutenant Graves to you." He shouted back. He and his men were putting on their own gas masks. As much of a bastard as he was, he was right there on the front line, calling on his men to keep calm. And even though, for a moment it seemed like he might order his men to hold back the Upton-Webber people for arrest as well, he quickly shifted gears into providing assistance. "We all have gas masks. We're ready for all eventualities!"

The personnel carriers pulled up to the front of the building. Graves climbed up on one for a better vantage point. "We're pulling in the paddy wagons to help transport people too blinded or shocked by the gas. I need squad 3 to triage. Squad 4, organize the walking wounded and get them the hell back to D Street. Squad 1, I need you to ...."

Graves' body tumbled off the top of the personnel carrier. There was a mist of blood still in the air where his head used to be.

An instant later the rolling thundercrack of a high caliber weapon was heard.

"SNIPER!"Anderson:Things were eerily quiet for a few moments. Everyone was looking around as if to figure out what the heck had just happened. Anderson had more of a clue than the rest of them, an inner sense that he had just changed beyond anything he could imagine. As he looked around he could see in the eyes of others that they had no sense of the totality of what had just happened. It was just a tingle, an odd deja vu for everyone else, whereas for him it was a complete paradigm shift.

The redhead spoke into her tactical radio. "I felt the overload like a tingle in the air, but nothing happened. Over."

There was a moment, then a voice over her radio. "The Chrysalis engine is destroyed. The overload was a failure. Everyone activate your recall devices."

The redhead pulled her sleeve up and revealed some sort of computerized armband device. She tapped a code into it, and then crossed her arm over her chest. Nothing happened. She did it again. Nothing. She seemed dismayed.

A voice came over the radio. "My device failed, is anyone else out there?"

Several other voices agreeing. Finally a man's voice spoke singularly. "We're stuck, we'll address the repercussions later. For now we need to get out of here. Hansen, Gomez, Carpenter, Espinoza, Ruiz, Castillo, Hall. I need you to stay in position for now and watch our backs. Everyone else, regroup on the Lobby level. We're going to fight our way out."Juliet:She saw the windshield wipers come on, brushing aside some rust colored chunky bits with dark red smeers from the windshield. The young man who was driving was white knuckled and looked a little sick.

Ms. Parker was struggling to get herself pulled together.

[betafin]

F$cking A "nothing happened?" Are they kidding me?? Don't tell me they didn't feel that...

Although he doesn't have a clue what is going on right now or what just happened, Anderson surmises that apparently that wasn't a universal thing. Ok, then. Now that he's capable of abstract thought again, his first one is to wonder, what will happen to everyone now?

These attackers seemed to want something to happen. And yeah, something happened. To him instead. They appeared nice enough so far, but he's not sure how they would react if they found that out. It's in his best interests to keep silent, he can try to figure out what the freaking hell that was after this. Preferably being alive and well and all that.

Anderson stays where he is and pays attention to what is going on as best he can. To be perfectly honest, he doubs he'd be able to willingly move immediately anyway, as he's still collecting himself.

[Lizard Lord]

Horrified by the scene on the windshield Juliet's young mind begins to piece things together. Desperately hoping it was anything else Juliet looks around at the various adults on the bus before asking "Wha-What happened?"

[Sorceress]

Anderson:"If any of you try following me, I'll have to kill you." The redhead warned the accountants a moment before she backed out of the lounge. The door was shut behind her, leaving the accounts in stunned silence. Was this over? Could this whole thing finally be behind them?

"So how long do we . . . ." A pair of helicopters flew right by the window outside, the force of their passing causing the window to break into little tempered chunks of glass. Everyone scattered to take cover.Juliet:"I ... we've got to keep going." That was all the young man could say. Ms. Parker continued to cry in the background.

The bus was forced to take another turn due a traffic jam of abandoned vehicles up ahead. It seemed like the best they were able to do was circle around the block. Finally, the young man aimed toward a wall of jammed vehicles and sped up. "We're going to ram it."

Kids started to scream. Ms. Parker covered her eyes and sobbed. It looked like they were going to hit a wall of jammed vehicles at high speed. But the young man hit the brakes and the bus came skidding to a stop, hitting the vehicles lightly sideways and rocking a bit before finally becoming motionless.

"We weren't going to make it." He noted. Another young man jumped up and shouted. "Everyone stay close, we're going to take shelter in that theater!"

[ChaosLord29]

Lucien stared wide eyed as the Lt's head erupted in a brief flash of gore, the reality of what had just happened not quite sinking in until he heard the scream. 'This is not good . . .' He thought to himself, dropping to ground, despite the suit jacket and slacks he was still wearing. They still needed to get everyone out of here, but if he began to organize things himself he would likely make himself a new target. The overarching question of course was what the hell was the sniper's purpose except to make sure that all these people got exposed to whatever the chemical gases were . . .

Lucien tried to think quickly, but there seemed to be a limited number of options at present. Firstly, he took a brief view of the surrounding buildings. He wasn't hopeful, but if he could spot the sniper, he might be able to get out of the field of fire and start organizing survivors.

Notice Check:
[roll0]

[betafin]

Everyone else is already closer to what existing cover there is, forcing Anderson to scramble closer to the door where the attackers exited. Like hell he'll go through it he has any other choice, but he shrinks down and flattens himself as close to the wall by the door as possible.

[Lizard Lord]

Scared and confused, Juliet silently follows the adults into the theater. None of this makes sense. Why is this happening?

[Sorceress]

Lucien:Lucien scanned for the sniper. As he took time to examine the scene, he realized several things.

That someone has assaulted the Upton-Webber building from high above, using grapples and slide lines to enter the building. That a handful of snipers are in position to shoot at any organized counter-assault -- which is why they took out the leader of the riot cops -- mistakenly believing that they were a counter-assault team.

Which explained the continued fire from above. Countless civilians perished when one of the armored personnel carriers detonated from a rocket launched from above, even as the group was falling back.

Radio commands from the Mayor requested that they hole up and wait for the National Guard to arrive to help.

And so they took shelter. Helicopters soon arrived and everyone grew nervous. The radio said that the national guard was moving tanks into the city. Then the rockets started to take down helicopters and the street was aflame with wreckage.

The police didn't know what to do. Should they try to get out of there, or just stay in their position. The Mayor wasn't any help.Juliet:

Everyone moved quickly and safely into the theater. It wasn't in any better shape than the museum was. It seemed that everything they had done, everything they had risked, was for little to no benefit to get here.

One advantage. The seats in here were more comfortable than the benches at the museum.Anderson:There was gunfire coming from the higher levels. And even more coming from below. The fight was still on. And it was getting even more desperate. The people who had attacked, whatever plan they had to escape had failed. They were trapped like rats, and they were going to fight their way out.

The accounting staff stayed under cover, doing exactly as they were told. They would wait to be rescued like good victims.

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet will look up at her teacher. "What do we do now Ms. Parker?"

[betafin]

So what are we supposed to do now? Huddled against the wall, Anderson racks his mind, trying to figure out the next step. It keeps his mind off whatever the hell that was.

Gunfire above and below, and they're all accountants. With the possible exceptions of Orwell (fairly sure she was in the area), the secretaries (know some were in the area) and any security guard who surrendered and made it out alive (that one's doubtful), but he has no idea who is where, or even here, out of the entire staff. Not the time or place to do a head count.

...So, any organized movement to the exits is out of the question... The windows are broken so they can't write a signal that they're trapped... Only an idiot would reveal themselves in front of a window in this situation, but it wouldn't hurt to consider that so at least he wouldn't freeze on the spot and be useless again if someone tries it... Thinking things like this keeps his mind occupied as the seconds pass by, but he's not thinking clearly, everything that goes through his head seems stupider and more useless until--

...The simplest method is usually the best...! Struck by inspiration, he hisses towards the people in the (crowded) spots of cover nearest to him, trying to keep his voice down just in case. "Anyone have a phone? Call police or news or someone, let them know we're trapped!"

[Sorceress]

Juliet:Ms. Parker tried to lead the group of children in a fun game of Hokey-Pokey. But she kept sobbing which took most of the fun out of it.Anderson:Someone got on their phone and tried to reach 911. The call was put on speaker phone so everyone could hear it. But the volume was kind of low.

"You've been connected to an US Armed Forces negotiator."

"We need help, we're in the Upton-Webber building on the 14th floor. We're trapped."

"Hold your position there. Take cover. Try not to call attention to yourselves. We're doing our best to gain control of the situation and as soon as we do, we will begin rescue operations."

[ChaosLord29]

Following the explosion, Lucien knew what he had to do. Someone was going to have to get these people to safety and it sure as hell couldn't be a cop at this point. Shedding his sports coat he began to wave it above his head, trying to attract the attention of those around him, heedless of what it might do to also bring him under the sights of the sniper. "Everyone! This way! Everyone Clear the Street!" He cried out, beginning to jostle those around him into the same direction, trying desperately to get everyone moving down the street away from the building, even as he mounted the steps and began to shout. His eyes were peeled for a bullhorn, either one the protesters had been using or the police might have had.

The biggest problem was that they couldn't use the trucks at this point, and anyone trying to enter the building would almost surely be shot at, if not killed. He needed a way to attract everyone's attention, and firing wildly into the air sure wasn't going to cut it at this point.

[betafin]

Anderson crouches against the wall for a little while more. He then sits against the wall. He's still scared, but it's just really hard to stay in the same crouching, huddled position for long periods of time, regardless of a state of panic.

So, he figures, as long as there isn't anything that forces them to move, it's safer just to wait here. Everyone else seems to have the same idea, from the lack of movement, given that from the sounds of it this floor is probably one of the safer ones. The heroic type would go up to the top and see what happened, or go down and try to secure a passage. The heroic type would also get shot eight ways over within a second before he could do anything. People aren't bulletproof, after all.

[Lizard Lord]

In no mood to play Hokey-Pokey, Juliet leans against a wall in a cradle position. It seems there is nothing left to but wait and hope someone saves them. She is just a small 7 year old girl with a broken arm, what else can she do but wait?

Juliet imagines Wonder Bunny is sitting next to her with one arm wrapped around her, as she waits for either salvation or destruction.

[Sorceress]

Lucien:Lucien got everyone under cover in a nearby building, and the cops had secured it pretty well. The protestors were the least of the worries now, and it was odd seeing the riot cops and the protestors working side by side to secure the building from the threat of nearby explosions and sniper fire.

Lucien had his hands on a bullhorn and had taken charge of the situation, giving it the order that it needed to avoid a complete breakdown.

There was an incident when someone ran out to try to stop a school bus that was coming by, in the hopes of getting away -- the bus didn't stop.Anderson:Agent Orwell entered the room, crouched low. Her weapon was drawn and aimed down and to the side. The door shut behind her and she moved toward the window cautiously. "I'm glad you're all ok. There are snipers still operating on the upper levels."

She ducked back quickly. "Army infantry is being held back." She took out back up pistol and checked the clip. "Any of you know how to shoot? I could use some back-up. I'm going to take out a sniper."Juliet:As she sought solace through daydreaming, there was a distant pop. It was like the universe was a bucket of water, and someone just drop in a brick. The bloop sound couldn't be heard, but it could be felt, rippling forth from the top floor of the Upton-Webber building. Juliet felt it to her very core. It was like everything she had stuffed deep down inside her was turned inside out. All her dreams and hopes, her wishes, came flooding forth into the universe.

The people around her all started to rub their eyes or their temples. They felt something too. Juliet didn't need to rub hers though. Wonderbunny was right next to her, rubbing her shoulders and neck. She could feel it, like he was really there. And a part of her knew it was true now.

Nobody else could see him, because she didn't want them to see him. But she felt his soft fuzzy hands.

[ChaosLord29]

Lucien took a quick tally of the civilians, making sure the remaining officers were doing their job to keep them under cover. His next priority was to try and get a message out to city hall or the mayor's office in order to apprise them on the situation. To do that, he needed to know what their options were and that meant finding the next highest ranking officer and doing it subtly. Trying to pick out in the crowd the late Lt. Grave's second in command, he checked his cellphone, doubtful that there would be any kind of signal.

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet stands up, smiling widely and filled with renewed hope. Her guardian angel has arrived. "Ms. Parker, we can all leave now. We have a super hero to help us!"

With that said Juliet will have Wonder Bunny walk in front of her and reveal himself to the others.

[betafin]

Oh great. A hero. Of course.

And nobody replies. "...We're accountants." Anderson says after a long silence. He shrugs slightly, still sitting against the wall. This entire thing has been an ordeal, and they have a hope at getting rescued soon. He's almost relaxed, except for being in this entire situation and everything that happened.

"The army got in touch with us earlier, said not to do anything to get their attention." He glances at her gun. "They're much better equipped."

[Sorceress]

Note:I'm sorry I missed Friday's post. We had an outage before work and I didn't get a chance to put it up. I'll have one up for Monday. Again, my apologies.

[Sorceress]

Lucien:Lucien spotted Sergeant McCleary, he was a tough talking no-nonsense sergeant who he'd had the displeasure of working with in the past. The guy was on the take, certainly, but right here, right now with those civilians, he was a hero. He ran out in the sniper-infested street to haul in a no-good hippy protester when she was paralyzed in fear behind a dumpster. And that was just the first heroic act of many.

Did it mitigate the fact that he probably acted as an enforcing in the unfortunate "justified homicide" against an enemy of the guy who had been paying him off for years? Probably not.

Cellphones this close to the Upton-Webber building were jammed, but the police band radio still was working for whatever reason.

As Lucien was peering from behind a barricade, up at the Upton-Webber building he saw a flash of light coming from the top floor level. The reinforced and tempered glass shattered into tiny chunks that scattered out into the air, catching the flash itself and refracting it into the most beautiful scintillating rainbow of colors. Time seemed to slow down for him, stretching out toward infinity.

To live a hundred perfect lifetimes in that one moment. The universe revealed all of its secrets to him. To others, it might have seemed like a single pulse, a single ripple stretching out from that one point in the Upton-Webber building in an instant, reformatting the hard drive of the universe. But to Lucien it was an event as sublime as the Big Bang itself.

It was as if the voice of the heavens above spoke directly to the world "Fiat Lux."

Everything returned to normal and he was left with a rubber band effect feeling in his stomach. Others seemed to have felt something also, but what it was they felt, it could not possibly equate to that feeling that Lucien experienced. They had looks of confusion, of fear, of disbelief.

Lucien possessed, by definition, pure faith that what he had fault was the complete and unadulterated truth. The world had changed, he had changed, this was the Dawn of a New Age.Juliet:The kids ooh'd and ah'd as Wonder Bunny became almost complete real. Juliet had never felt so alive as when she was somehow able to show her imagination to the world. This, her champion, could finally heed her calls.

Ms. Parker continued to cry. She thought she had slipped completely into madness.

One of the young men pointed at Wonder Bunny. "Holy %$#@!"Anderson:One of his fellows looked like he was thinking about volunteering when Anderson chimed in. That cooled their collective jets. Agent Orwell waited a minute than she sighed a bit.

"Fine, you all stay here and stay safe." She crouch-walked to the door and checked it open a crack. Then she slipped out in the hallway, toward the nearby stairwell.

"She's going to get herself killed." One of Anderson's coworkers observed.

[Lizard Lord]

Juliet will walk towards Ms.Parker, confused and sad to see her teacher crying at what should be a happy moment. "Don't cry Ms.Parker. Wonder Bunny can clear the road and keep you safe."

[betafin]

"..............." Anderson looks at the door incredulously.

What the hell just happened there? That... freaking idiot! Never seen an intelligent move from her. What the hell kind of standards are they down to over there to have hired her, anyway? And now people are looking at the door or at him as though waiting to see what will happen. Why is he the defacto leader, anyway? This kind of crap isn't his role or jurisdiction!! But she'll get killed otherwise and she can't have gotten that far if she's trying to stay silent and that would involve him leaving the room and becoming a target and not doing that would end up leaving blood on his hands somehow and people are looking at him and he's still not feeling very stable from that... thing... he felt and doesn't know what to make of it and why does he have to keep doing things he shouldn't have to and if he doesn't move soon it will be too late.

RRRrrrrrggghh! Feeling very frustrated, scared, annoyed and resentful towards the universe in general, not to mention towards Orwell, Anderson sighs exasperatedly and says "Oh all right... One second, I'll drag her back down, she can't have gone anywhere yet..." and, staying low, quickly moves out the door and into the stairwell.

[Sorceress]

Juliet:Ms. Parker was clearly having trouble accepting the mere existence of a thing called "Wonder Bunny" despite his presence made manifest before her. She just started to stare.

"Hey Wonder Bunny! I don't know who you are or where the %#@# you came from, but if you can get those guys with the sniper rifles and rocket launchers in that building over there to stop shooting, we'll throw you a parade." This of course, was one of the X-Treme young men.Anderson:As his frustration started to build up, it seemed that the whole building started to shake. Everyone thought it was just something related to the fighting, but Anderson could feel it coming from inside of him. It would feel so good to just -- let it loose.

What happened to him?

The stairwell revealed its secrets. Orwell was creeping up slowly, her gun ready as she made it up first one flight, then the other. When she noticed Anderson was coming up behind her, she stopped to let him catch up if that was his plan.

[betafin]

"Bad! idea! Consensus was that you're going to die. We've met them, they were much better equipped! Now we need to head back, the army said to stay put and not draw attention to any of us while they deal with it."

Anderson tries to convince her to go back in a hushed voice, ineffectually tugging her arm towards the downstairs area in an indication to head back. As she begins to continue up into the next floor landing, he unconsciously moves in tandem, placing himself on the opposite side of the stairs parallel to her. Close enough so as not to have to raise his voice, but far enough where he feels safe about not accidently doing that... shaking thing to her by accident. He doesn't know what the hell that was, but he's afraid to think about the pressure he feels "behind" him and what it could do. He needs to calm down and think about it, but this is not a good situation.

Just go back already. None of us will get hurt, everyone will be fine and nobody will have anything to regret. Could you just WORK with me already?? How the hell am I supposed to convince her!! For the love of God I just don't want someone to die!

At this point I should probably mention that if he genuinely thinks he's going to die or be hurt from something -- ie rubble or one of the attackers spotting them and shooting in his direction -- his power would reflexively trigger as he flinches away from it. Probably in the cone form. So consider that as a prepared action for if he's in actual danger. And apparently area attacks don't need attack rolls, I forgot about that.

[Lizard Lord]

Wonder Bunny flickers out of existence as Juliet looks away and glances towards the building the man was pointing at. Wonder Bunny reappears as Juliet looks back towards the group. Juliet scratches her head as she tries to figure out how to explain something she is does not entirely understand herself. "Do you think you could point them out for me? I...don't really know how this works but, I think because he is my imaginary friend Wonder Bunny can't see them unless I can see them."

[Sorceress]

Anderson:"Fine, you don't want a gun, great. But if you just came along to try to drag me back to the secretarial pool, you're wasting your time."

Before he could respond, the door a couple of flights up opened and a grenade like device tumbled down, bouncing off a wall before rebonding down the flight of stairs toward them.

*BOOM*

A chunk of the building was suddenly missing, a corner right out of the stair well. Agent Orwell was dangling off some wire-debris that was hanging from the side of the building, too many stories up to possibly survive.

The grenade was long gone, though.

Agent Orwell dangled there in the wind, slipping more and more each passing moment.Note:Out of time right now, busy busy day.

[betafin]

Jesus Christ what the F- They're using missiles?!

He's briefly in shock from the completely inexplicable and, most importantly, unrelated... "disappearing act" the grenade, walls and stairs just did. Then, seeing what else happened, Anderson quickly snaps back. Having notice someone right next to him was about to fall, he quickly lies flat, reaches out and grabs her arm, very, very aware that he's becoming more and more overbalanced keeping her from slipping further, let alone pulling her up. But you know what, something in him just doesn't care about that. Keep going, it says. Just do whatever. Everything you do be made to work.