[nWoD] Campus Vigilantes 2: Halloween

[-Sentinel-]

OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251645)



Maxwell College, RPG Club room
October 25, 10:30 AM


It was one of the last warm, sunny days of the season; were it not for the brown leaves all over the ground and the looming mid-term exams, it would feel like September. The brave defenders of Maxwell were taking it easy for once, passing the time in their headquarters in the basement of one of the student dorms. All classes had been cancelled for the day and campus security had been strengthened in anticipation for the rare visit of the Governor of Illinois, who was supposed to arrive in half an hour. If anybody wanted to cause trouble, this was not the best day for it.

Today was almost the second anniversary of one of the worst tragedies in the history of Maxwell - the school shooting that students remembered as the Halloween Massacre. It was also the inauguration of the memorial to the four students who had died in it. The unveiling was originally supposed to take place on October 31, the day of the killing, but today was the day the Governor had time in his schedule to come in person and pronounce a speech in front of the media.

Almost two years ago, at the school's yearly Halloween party, a student wearing a Nixon mask and draped in an American flag had pulled a handgun and begun firing into the costumed crowd at random, causing panic and confusion. The rampage ended with four students dead and eight injured. Among the casualties was the gunman himself, one Ian Keating, who blew his brains out in the restrooms after the deed.

The inevitable media circus blamed the usual suspects: the Second Amendment, video games, rock music, politicians, teachers, social rejection, economic inequalities, incompetent psychiatrists, the divorce of Ian's parents four years prior, religion, secularism, liberals, conservatives... No one managed to conclusively make sense of it, as the perpetrator had no history of violence or mental illness. Out of respect for the deceased, last year's Halloween party was tacitly cancelled.

Two years later, Maxwell University was finally starting to heal. One of the most obvious signs of that healing was the large poster that had been pinned on every bulletin board of the school, including the one in the RPG Club's room:


Return of the Halloween party!

We, at the Sigma Kappa Phi society, believe it is time for one of Maxwell's most cherished traditions to make a comeback after a one-year hiatus. Everyone is invited! Extra security will be provided.

Where? Tyler Hall, main room
When? October 31, at 8 PM
How much? $10 if you're in disguise, $20 otherwise.

For more information, email me at [email protected].

(Needless to say, it would be in bad taste to wear a Nixon mask.)

Zach Lewis was the wealthy, hard-partying, womanizing head of the Sigma Kappa Phi fraternity. He had been a student at Maxwell for longer than many doctoral students and still did not have a degree to show for it, but he did not seem to care. Given that he was himself a survivor of the Halloween Massacre, his decision to bring back the Halloween party was hard to criticize; if even he could move on, so could everyone else.

The inauguration of the memorial by the Governor was set to begin at 11 AM. Many students and faculty staff were converging towards the still-veiled monument, near the center of the campus. The media were already there, waiting patiently.


OOC note:
Alright, I'll give the characters some time to discuss before we get into any serious plot.

I already told Savior Indra about the Halloween massacre to help him with his background; we decided that Kale's girlfriend was among the victims. I was originally supposed to mention the massacre in the recruitment thread, but the Aurora massacre happened shortly before I was to open recruitment, so I decided it could wait for a bit. (And now there's been yet another shooting rampage (http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/05/us/wisconsin-temple-shooting/index.html), this time in Wisconsin... *sigh*)

You're free to add the Halloween Massacre to your character's background if they were present in it.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah is sitting in the corner of the RPG club room, idly reading a small book. He's sitting in one chair, and has his feet propped up in another, leaving his lanky form stretched out. He's clad in plain black pants, a white shirt, black vest, and plain black shoes. Some people would call him a hipster. He'd call himself a scholar, and then call them an idiot.

The scholar is currently skimming through a collection of Gothic short stories, idly doing research for both a paper, and his new extracurricular activities. He had no intentions of attending the governor's speech. He didn't really care much about it, and the idea of standing or sitting with hundreds of other people held absolutely zero appeal to the shy introvert. He'd much rather spend his afternoon sitting in his little corner, avoiding people.

He didn't mind the RPG club, though. They all seemed pretty cool. Introductions had been kinda awkward, though. He'd just quietly walked in, said hi, briefly introduced himself, and quickly found his corner. He'd muttered some stuff about liking DnD and Star Wars. He'd wasn't sure how to mention of his real interests, or why he had decided to really join in the club. A little bird had told him that this club had... other interests... besides RPGs. But he didn't know who to actually talk to about that, or even how to bring it up. One does not normally just walk up to somebody and say 'yo dawg, I heard you like to shoot vampires with silver bullets. Wanna go with me to melt down some cutlery into buckshot, then get somebody to baptize and bless it?'

But it hadn't been long before they'd struck up conversation with Jonah about the club's real interests. Jonah had been a bit hesitant to tell the whole truth. He'd just said some stuff about having a bit of experience with the paranormal, and that he'd been pointed in the direction of this club by a 'benefactor.' Nobody had to know he was a member of Ashwood Abbey. Granted, none of them probably knew what it was, but still. Loose lips sink ships, or in this case, probably get you fed to a werewolf.

At any rate, for the time being Jonah perfectly content in his corner, reading about vampires and contemplating whether baptized buckshot would actually work. He'd have to ask his professor about that tomorrow...

[SurlySeraph]

Semira sits on the floor in a circle of review notes, twirling a pencil in one hand. She's been rereading the same page in a heavy textbook for several minutes. Finally, she grimaces and closes the book with a dull thump. "I can't take any more. Having an exam the day after a holiday is bullsh:t. With any luck everyone will be hungover and the curve will be generous."

Sem stands up and stretches, cracking her back. "Who's planning to go to the SKP party? I wouldn't be comfortable there if it's all, ah, 'bros' and nobody I know."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon lounged in one of the chairs, his feet up on another that he had dragged over. His head is down on his chest, his eyes closed, and he would seem to be sleeping to anyone who didn't know him. To those around him, however, it was perfectly obvious that he was awake and cognizant of what was going on. "We should probably have at least an honor guard there. Think about it, everyone disguised, probably drunk, lots of music, lots of bodies, loud, dark. Just Rasputin's was, and that was a feeding ground for bloodsuckers. I mean, yeah, we took two of 'em out and closed the place down, but I know there were others." Leon righted himself and looked at the rest of the group. "Did I tell all of you about the autopsy results? I tell you, vampires are weird. Most of the myths about them are wrong, too. Silver does jack-all, same with running water and UV light. There's something about pure sunlight that does 'em in quick. Burns 'em to a bizarre, greasy ash. Same with fire."

[Odentin]

Adam was, until the book was dropped, lightly napping on a couch against the wall. He usually tends to nap in the club room, so as to avoid traveling. His archery practice and classes aren't scheduled in the best way.
He snaps awake at the thump and shakes his head to ward off sleep, "Half the myths out there they probably started themselves. I always preferred stake-and-bake. It's easy and quick."

He yawns and sits back up, stretching his neck, "I was gonna go. I have a costume, or I can play eye-in-the-sky. Whatever."

[savior indra]

Kale sat at the table, the lower half of his face hidden by his armored hand. His brow furrowed in concentration as his glazed over, lost in the memories of the past. His katana rested on the table in front of him, the blade gleaming like ice, as his free hand slowly and carefully polished any stains from it.

Two years. It had been just two years; and yet, it felt like a hundred. If he hadn't thrown himself into his... work, Kale was sure he would've gone insane by now. Satisfied with his care for the blade, Kale reverently slid it back into it's sheath.

"Doesn't matter, cut off their head, beat them hard enough, they go down just like anyone else. Semira, I don't think I'm going tonight. Not really in the mood. I might go out on patrol though. Bound to be some scum out tonight, human or otherwise."

[SurlySeraph]

Semira nods, then starts stuffing her notes into a messenger bag leaning against the wall. "Leon, have you tried one of those therapy lamps? Shining UV light in someone's eyes won't increase their serotonin levels, but sunlight or a full-spectrum lamp will. Maybe normal levels of serotonin are poisonous to the things."

She cracks her knuckles against the mopey face on the front of the textbook, then drops it in the bag as well. "Anyway, if we're working tonight I'm happy to be bait. Though I've been too busy reading about the history of stupid neurasthenia, which isn't even a thing, to work out a costume."

Semira runs a finger along the hem of her camouflage-patterned skirt. It's completely impractical, of course. Makes her stand out more than jeans would. Which means... "I've got a tank top that matches this. Screw it, I'll go as a soldier. Camo face paint should count as being in disguise, right?"

[McGonigle]

Jaime looked up from the book she was reading, having mostly ignored the discussion about vampires in favour of finishing the chapter on the phony war. She closed the book just as they were finishing the discussion on Serotonin.

“I was planning to be there anyway,” she commented in the matter of fact tone that had won her few friends. “Depending on how terrible it actually is it might make it into my next opinion piece. Although I was less preparing less for vampires more for the usual despicable frat behaviour, compounded with tactless humour about the shootings. Still I'll be there, I actually had a Lady Sybil costume prepared for last year, before I heard about the shootings. It will be nice to actually get to use it.”

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"I hadn't thought of a therapy lamp, no. It's a moot point at the moment, though, as I don't have one, neither do the labs, and I'm out of tissue samples anyway." Leon leans back once more, resuming his prior position. "I could probably pull together a Dr. Stein costume before the party."

[Lycan 01]

Jonah shrugs, continuing to read his book. "Parties aren't really my thing..." he idly observes. "Especially frat parties. Not really the best place for a guy like me." He pauses his reading to sweep a few locks of messy brown hair out of his eyes. "As for vampires... Um..." he mutters, falling quiet. "I, uh, don't have much direct experience. Well, unless you count that ghoul. Does that count? Um..." he shifts awkwardly.

He then lowers his book, and looks over at Leon. "But, uh, I do know another trick. Besides UV light, I mean. You're right, silver and garlic, stuff like that doesn't work. But I've found some pretty reliable sources... They say fire works. Fire works good," he states. A small smile forms on his face. This was something he could talk about comfortably. He was in his element here. "It burns them worse than humans, according to some of the websites. One of my more reliable sources says they're terrified of it. Like, makes them totally frantic. But yeah, if you can catch one on fire, it ain't a pretty sight. I actually found this one video, where..." he pauses, and realizes he's starting to rant. Shutting up would probably be a good idea.

"Uh, nevermind," he mutters with a sheepish smile. "Long story, you don't want to hear it. But yeah, fire totally works. On vampires. Don't know about werewolves and stuff..." he says with a shrug, before concealing his face with his book once again.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"You're talking to a guy who dissected two of the bloodsuckers. Fire sends 'em up like flash paper. Damn near caught my sleeve on fire testing that one. As for ghouls, I'm not entirely sure what those are. Lesser vamps? Or do you mean humans that are addicted to vampire blood? The ones we took down had some people with them. Totally enslaved to the vampires' will, and absolutely addicted to the blood. Speaking of which, the blood's weird as hell, too. Black, thick, it's more like some foul ichor than actual blood. I'm not sure how they move it through their bodies, though, because the hearts were atrophied as all get out. I can't speak for any animate reactions the things might have, because I didn't have any animate subjects to study."

[Lycan 01]

Jonah doesn't look up from behind his book. "Yes. Enslaved human. Ghoul is... commonly accepted term," he mutters. Leon's reaction seemed to imply Jonah had been stating the obvious, and made himself look like an idiot. Great. Back to H. P. Lovecraft, before he says anything else stupid.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"One thing that I couldn't figure out: are there any serious withdrawal effects to partial ghouldom? One of the vampires we took down at the beginning of the semester had partially enslaved a hostage. I was able to harvest a decent amount of the black blood from the bodies, but we're running low and we've been concerned about what might happen if she were to suddenly be cut off from a supply."

[Lycan 01]

"Oh well it depends on how long they've been a ghoul," Jonah offhandedly remarks as he turns the page. "Typically the ghoul just loses the perks that come with such a station in life. Extra resilience, immunity to aging, et cetera... all gone. If they've only been a ghoul a few months, there shouldn't be a problem. If they've been a ghoul for a century or something..." he pauses to lower his book and arch an eyebrow. "You've seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, right? That bit where the guy drinks from the wrong cup and ages a bazillion years in three seconds? Yeah, something like that will happen."

He then goes back to reading, before lowering the book three seconds later and deadpanning: "Wait... what was that about cutting someone off?"

[SurlySeraph]

Semira winces. "Karen still drinks that stuff? If she doesn't get off it, she'll try to find a new source, and that will not end well. I don't want her selling us out to a blood-drinker."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"I've been rationing her doses, but at this point she's got maybe a week left of it. If there are no major withdrawal symptoms, I can water it down and ween her off. So that's a bit of good news."

[Lycan 01]

Jonah lets out a small sigh, and raises his right hand to massage his brow. "Um... How often have you been giving it to her? Because, erm, certain sources indicate that it takes, uh... about a month for the withdrawal effects to kick in," he says with a sheepish smile. He hated to be the bearer of bad news. "So, while the may psychologically need it within a few days, she can physically go without for a month."

Jonah's first quarry with the Abbey had been a ghoul. He'd done ample research into them before the hunt, using everything from Inquisitorial guidebooks from the 1500's to various underground Hunter websites. After the successful hunt, the other members of the Abbey had caught him up to speed. Much of what he'd researched and learned had actually been true, but there were plenty of blanks to fill in. And firsthand accounts from the senior Hunters had been rather eye-opening. Though he probably could have done without the stories and jokes about strapping ghouls to a table with a jar of vampire blood in front of them, and watching them go crazy with hunger... for weeks on end. And then giving them the blood - whether they wanted it or not - the moment the ghoulification wore off, so the process could begin anew.

Jonah shuddered involuntarily at the thought of it all.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"A month from the last dose before withdrawal kicks in? Even better."

[Lycan 01]

"Before the withdrawal physically kicks in," Jonah warns him, raising the book back up in front of his face. "Mentally, that's a different story. She may be fine for a few weeks, or she may flip out after a few days. That information, I'm afraid, I don't have. It probably depends on the strength of her resolve. But... considering some of the stories I've heard, you may want to prepare for trouble after she misses her normal dose, just to be safe..." he mutters.

[Odentin]

"Seratonin? Doubt it. Their blood doesn't pump, and sunlight burns their skin. Outside in, not the other way around."

Adam leans back again and yawns, "Kale, I'll join you on patrol tonight. Just wake me up, alright?"

Without waiting for a reply, he lays his head back and begins dozing.

[savior indra]

Kale nods as he tested how the sap gloves fitted on his hands clenching and unclenching his fists and throwing mock jabs until he was satisfied with them. He then slid a knife into the concealed holster of his left boot and another into the holster of his right foot. Two knives in holsters on his lower back, and another knife strapped to his right forearm. He rotated his body checking to see if the knives were secured properly, when he was satisfied Kale looked around.

"Anyone else want to come along for patrol? We should probably have three on patrol. Two in my Gallardo for reconnaissance and backup while I go in the shadows."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon cracks one eye open, focusing it on Kale. "I'll pass. What's with all the knives?"

[Lycan 01]

Jonah looks up from his book. "I don't know how useful I'd be on a physical patrol. But I can be on the line with you, and feed you information. Directions, news reports, potential identities for whatever creepy-crawlies you find, stuff like that," he shrugs.

[McGonigle]

She sat silent as they were discussing the addiction, part of her wanted to quip up about some statistics she had pulled for a recent discussion on the topic. Yet she understood how little she really knew on the subject, and while that was better than being unknowingly incompetent in theory it still left her with a queasy feeling listening to them talk about an addiction to blood of all things.

The knives weren’t much better to be honest she couldn’t help watching with a strange fascination as Kale slid the knives into various holsters. She still wasn’t used to this club and she had to keep quashing the little voice inside her that kept starting on the bullet points she had prepared for a debate against the second amendment. It probably counted as a reasonable exception, but still she wished there was a way to oppose the horrors of the night that didn’t seem so illegal and bordering on the immoral.

“Depending on how long these chapters take me to finish I might go do some advanced recon on the Tyler Hall, tonight. I’m not particularly familiar with it, and if something does go south I would prefer if everyone knew the layout.” She finally spoke up again. "If I catch anything on the news that doesn't add up I'll ring Jonah." The last bit was refering to the fact even before last summer she had been following the news excessively, now she was just listening for something different.

[savior indra]

Kale smiled a little as he looked at Leon.

"Never hurts to be prepared. I've had to use them all more than once. I usually try to subdue with non-lethal force and if that doesn't work then I resort to lethal. If you guys aren't comfortable with me carrying them I'll leave them and the katana behind. If anyone asks I'll just say I'm dressed for Halloween as a ninja. Jonah that sounds good, I'll have my HUD Contacts on, just send me emails and I'll get them. I'll have a wireless headset on as well if you want to talk."

[SurlySeraph]

Semira shrugs. "Sure, I'll tag along. Might not want to get too close to the memorial, though, in case the governor's security staff is antsy." She's reasonably sure that American politicians' bodyguards do not, as a rule, shoot armed people on sight. But she certainly doesn't want to give them a reason to.

[savior indra]

Kale leaned back in his seat his hands behind his head. He forced himself to relax, it was never good to go into action stiff, it generally ended with you getting yourself injured or killed.

"Don't worry about that, they won't see me coming if we need to get that close. But I was going to focus on patrolling around the party tonight. Vampires are bound to be in there or around it, easy feeding."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon's eye slides shut once more. "That being what I said 10 minutes ago. Though the party's not tonight; it's in 5 days. Speaking of things today, though, the governor's speech is pretty soon. Anyone gonna bother going? Preferably not carrying a half-dozen felonies and reasons for our club to be investigated and shut down?"

[SurlySeraph]

"Kale, think you could handle looking around with no backup? It's not like anything's very likely to be going on. I wasn't here when the shooting happened and no one seems to discuss it much, so I'm curious about what the Governor will say. And especially about how the audience will react."

Plus I might get good material for my social psych essay out of it, Semira thinks, knowing how callous it would sound to say so out loud. But with that damn Historical Psych quiz tomorrow, the big party on the 31st, the Historical Psych midterm on the 1st, Karen running out of blood the day after that if not sooner... it's going to be a very long week. Planning ahead is the best way to make sure she won't be frantically searching for something to write about next Thursday.

Besides, she'd much rather do her research in a crowd at noon than alone at midnight. Fewer things that gorge on raw flesh around, less likely for any that are around to select her.

[Lycan 01]

"Meh," Jonah shrugs. "I'm not big on crowds. Governor's just gonna be all 'bla bla bla unity and community and vote for me next election,' anyway. If he's got anything really important to say, I'll hear about it from somebody else over the next few days. Besides..." he pauses to turn the page of his book, before smirking and stating: "I'm busy studying."

[savior indra]

Kale snorted. "Hell, I think I'm expected to attend. Sophia was my fiancee. Why the bastards can't just let the families mourn in peace I'll never know..."

Kale leaned back with a sigh before sadly starting to unsheathe his knives. He looked at each one as if he was saying goodbye to a part of himself before putting them away in his pack. When he was finished he looked over at Leon trying to glare but unable to.

"There. No felonies or anything. Just a secret military grade body armor that I can pass off as a really good costume unless the Governor has a military developer in his entourage. I'll head on scope it out I'll be on my headset, get information to Jonah, before it starts. I'll scope out potential kill zones, bird's nests, security detail, how well armed they are."

Muttered Kale as he secured a wireless headset to his left ear. He put the HUD contact lenses into his eyes before sliding on his carbon fiber full face mask completing the 'ninja' costume.

[Odentin]

"Find me a good bird's nest." Adam mumbles sleepily as he shifts slightly and goes back to snoring gently.

[-Sentinel-]

OOC:
Lycan, if Jonah is really not planning to be at the inauguration, you should give him something to do. Just warning you, without spoiling anything, that the plot starts here.

Savior Indra, this is a rather formal event, similar to a funeral, except with TV crews... Going there in disguise may get you kicked out :smalltongue:. No worries, there will be time later to wear your stuff.

@ everyone: Last chance if you want to establish your character as a survivor of the massacre.




Maxwell University, Halloween Massacre Memorial
October 25, 10:50 AM


The inauguration ceremony was the event of the week. Most students had come, even those who were not at Maxwell yet at the time of the massacre, if only to put on a show of solidarity in front of the media. (The promise of free snacks and coffee had definitely helped.) Several TV vans were parked nearby. Police officers and some of the Governor's bodyguards stood around the edges of the crowd with an eye out for trouble. The new monument's broad, low shape was still covered with a large brown tarp that gave little hint as to what it looked like.

The three front rows were reserved for people who had survived the massacre or lost a loved one in it. There was an empty seat for Kale. To his right was Zach Lewis, organizer of this year's Halloween party; a handsome young man in his early thirties, with wavy brown hair and an expensive suit, who lounged lazily in his chair with a cup of coffee in his hand. To Kale's left was Michelle Warner, head of the student council, a stunning redhead in a black mourning dress. Michelle had lost her boyfriend Gavin and taken a bullet in the leg during the massacre. She had since become something of an unofficial spokeswoman for the victims and survivors. When she saw Kale, she gave him a nod and a half smile; they had gotten to know each other well during PTSD therapy, two years ago.

“You're late,” noted Michelle. “I was wondering if you'd come. Hey, you got a speech prepared? They'll let us say a word or two after the Governor.” There was a folded sheet of paper in her hand. Of course, she had a speech, probably a well-rehearsed one.

Almost all other survivors were there as well. Most were known to Kale, and some had achieved a certain level of fame in the aftermath of the shooting. Mark Edwards, star of the football team, whose broad shoulders barely fit into his tuxedo. Wayne Borden, a tattooed skinhead who was running a controversial campaign for the right to be armed on campus for self-defense against mad gunmen. Sara Crawford, confined to a wheelchair after taking a bullet in the spine while shielding her boyfriend with her body. The boyfriend in question, Soong Ye-jun, now engaged to Sara. Jamie Price, Zach's bored-looking best friend, who had graduated some time ago and appeared to be here only because it was expected of him. Marco Alvarez, who had found Jesus after the tragedy and was now well on his way to priesthood. Ellen Dobson, editor of the school newspaper and Jaime's superior, who was working on a documentary film about the massacre. And dozens of others.

The Governor had not arrived yet, but pretty much everyone else was there. Mr Thompson, the overweight, grey-bearded principal of Maxwell University, was standing in front of the monument and talking quietly with the parents of Sophia, Kale's late girlfriend.

Ellen Dobson spotted Jaime quickly, strode over to her and shoved a video camera in her long-suffering peon's hands. “Where were you? Don't miss anything. You film, I take notes.”

Meanwhile, Leon was rather abruptly accosted by Karen Turner, who was very pale and had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. As usual, she wore her Harley-Davidson leather jacket, which drew suspicious looks from the nearby cops. “Hey, man. You got any of it on you?” she whispered urgently, her hand closing around the vigilante's arm like a vise. “Been trying to hunt them myself, but the motherf*ckers aren't easy to find.”

[Lycan 01]

Jonah sighs as some members of the club start to head out to the speech. "Guess I might as well go. I could use a snack; think I heard something about free food."

That was only partially true. His main reasons were his hope that he'd see his professor, or one of his Ashwood Abbey buddies, and could possibly arrange a meeting to discuss certain... private matters. And he was sure he could find a seat in the back where he could read in piece, and drift in and out of attentiveness during the speech.

When Jonah gets to the event, he quickly scans the area for any sign of his professor or his colleagues. He'll give them a nod of acknowledgement, then scurry off to find a seat in the back.

Unless of course he spots Karen grabbing Leon's arm. Then he'll make a beeline over to them, hopefully getting there before they make a scene.

[Odentin]

After having been (presumably) awakened by the others, Adam follows them to the ceremony. Thankfully, archery practice had been cancelled for the occasion. Ironically, it was archery practice running late that had kept him from being at the party when the first shots rang out. Adam sighs and looks around, thinking about how easily it could have been him that night, gunned down at the start of his freshman year...

As the others disperse to their own little corners of social pressure, Adam finds his way to a seat in the back row (and next to an aisle if possible). He feels naked and exposed, having only his knife concealed on him, but takes at least SOME comfort in being out in the sunlight. Not much, but some.

[SurlySeraph]

Shiiiiit. While Semira's too far away to hear Karen, the look on her face says it all. Sem forces herself to walk slowly and calmly in her direction. She stops in front of the cops nearest to Leon and Karen and starts chatting up the youngest one, trying to block their view and distract them from the wild-eyed boxer.

[McGonigle]

Jaime purposefully made sure didn’t leave the building with any other members of the RPG society. It worked well enough as a cover on the university records but she still found it easier to just avoid public associations. She didn’t think the research she had done into RPG’s was enough to pass careful inspection, and it didn’t fit well with her general avoidance of normal social activities due to the pressures of course, newspaper and complaining. It was a lot easier to justify not going to the parties when people didn’t think she was spending hours in a dark room rolling dice. Not to mention if her editor found out she was sure Ellen would dump more grunt work on her.

The caution paid off when she had the camera thrust into her hands the moment her editor spotted her. She calmly smiled, deliberately taking off the lens cap immediately. She didn’t even need to force the smile, the memorial service would be the headline piece and she was glad her name would be attached to it. She hadn’t expected to get the opportunity, she hadn’t been at the university at the time and she had been perfectly willing to let someone with more connection to the tragedy take precedent.

“I was getting another camera back of the Neanderthal of our ‘sports correspondent’ team. He still hadn’t returned it from the last football game he covered.” At the slightly baffled look on the editor’s face. “I’m taking the initiative and trying out one of the more competent freshmen, it’s an easy first assignment and even if they leave the lens cap on the entire time we will still have my footage. Besides he has promise.” She didn’t expand that considering how smoothly the new kid, (Mark, Max something like that anyway) had handled the camera when she had gave it him last night that she was sure her footage would be worse. Still the paper didn’t honestly have enough talent to squander good recruits for an entire year.
“That and I needed to go through who had consented to us filming them, well aside from Michelle of course. Still we all know he’s hardly the human interest section of this story is she? All in all it took longer than I was expecting”

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon had been a student at Maxwell when the massacre happened, but he hadn't been at the party. Too busy missing his girlfriend and being antisocial because of it to go.

When Karen appears, Leon reaches into his breast pocket with his free arm and pulls out a small, opaque vial. "You're in luck; I made sure to grab today's dose before I left my room. We need to talk later, though. I told you we don't have an unlimited supply, remember, and the fact that you've been going looking for them alone concerns me," he whispers back, slipping the vial into her pocket. "You need to sleep. Staying out all night looking for trouble is going to get you killed. Have you been keeping up with your check-ups with Vishaka?"

OOC:I figure that, since Vishaka volunteered to help patch the Vigilantes up if we got hurt and couldn't go to the hospital for fear of questions, she'd also be willing to perform regular check-ups on Karen, to see what effect the black blood is having on her. Leon would be interested in that not just for Karen's sake, but also for the sake of research.

[savior indra]

Kale nodded at Michelle, there were few people he respected for their mental strength and grit and Michelle was one of them. Going through PTSD therapy with her had shown him just how strong she was.

Kale smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles from his suit. He was wearing a John Varvatos wool-cashmere suit with the traditional black and white dress shirt with a black tie. While he had many better suits, Kale felt it wouldn't be tactful to dress better than even the Governor.

"What me?" said Kale with a bark of laughter, shaking his head. "'Eccentric Billionaire speaks at late girlfriend's memorial'? The press'll have a field day. I have some things I want to say."

Kale's features softened as he looked around at the mostly somber crowd before refocusing on Michelle.

"I'll talk to you after it's over. Take care, Michelle."

Kale slowly made his way over to Sophia's parents taking a couple deep breathes as he did. He nodded to Mr. Thompson before cutting in.

"Mr. Neveux, Mrs. Neveux how have you been?" said Kale trying to smile, but unable to.

Kale is wearing his armor underneath his suit, no gloves or boots but all the other pieces. He has his gloves in his inner suit pocket.

[-Sentinel-]

The hapless young officer Samira had set upon was either the not-chatty sort, the happily-married sort, or the gay sort. Thankfully, his colleagues' old habits of racial profiling led them to keep an eye on the Eritrean. They missed Leon when he slipped a vial into Karen's pocket.



"You're in luck; I made sure to grab today's dose before I left my room. We need to talk later, though. I told you we don't have an unlimited supply, remember, and the fact that you've been going looking for them alone concerns me," he whispers back, slipping the vial into her pocket. "You need to sleep. Staying out all night looking for trouble is going to get you killed. Have you been keeping up with your check-ups with Vishaka?"
It seemed to take Karen a massive effort of will to resist grabbing the vial and gulping it down in public.

“Vishakha tries her best, but there's not much she can do,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Her medicine courses don't cover vamp blood addiction. That's why I must find my own supply. Don't you worry about me, you know I could break you in half. And sleep is for the weak, I can go forty hours straight without it. Anyway, thanks for the blood.” She turned to leave. “Just... don't pity me, alright? If I ever see pity in your eyes, I'll tear them out.”

Her friendly tone sounded a bit forced. She looked closer to physical and mental breakdown than she pretended. From up close, Leon realized she needed not only sleep, but also a shower and a change of clothes. Maybe some actual food, too... She had lost some muscle mass since last time.



Kale slowly made his way over to Sophia's parents taking a couple deep breathes as he did. He nodded to Mr. Thompson before cutting in.

"Mr. Neveux, Mrs. Neveux how have you been?" said Kale trying to smile, but unable to.
“Kale.” Sophia's father, David, nodded soberly. His hair was quite a bit greyer than it was two years ago and he had gained weight. “I must say, I regret that we only ever meet at funerals and commemorations since Sophia's death.”

Both of Sophia's parents had a liking for Kale. They had met him several times while he was dating their daughter, but they had not learned of his wealth until after the Halloween Massacre, when the news mentioned a rich heir among the survivors. Kale might have effortlessly earned their respect as a match for Sophia if he had told them about his millions, but he had refused to take the easy way and had sought to gain their approval like any other boyfriend, that is to say by being a nice, considerate, intelligent guy whose love was genuine. They seemed to appreciate his honesty and humility, even now that the point was rather moot.

“You're a good young man, Kale,” said Mrs Neveux who, contrary to her husband, had lost weight. “I hope you can move on. David and I won't ever really get over it, since Sophia was our only child and we're too old to have others. There will always be an empty room in our house, and we'll never have grandchildren. But you, you're young, and you didn't deserve to go through this. So tell me you haven't stayed single for two years, have you?” She tried to smile, but her eyes remained sad.


Meanwhile, Ellen was only half listening to Jaime. She nodded absent-mindedly from time to time, busy watching everyone and scribbling notes about what she saw.

“Oh... There's the Governor!” she exclaimed, pointing at the black limousine coming their way.

The limousine stopped at the edge of the crowd and the Governor came out, followed by two more bodyguards and a harried-looking aide. The politician was a tall, thin fiftysomething with greying black hair, handsome for his age, who had apparently left his trademark white grin in the glovebox for the duration of this sober ceremony. He walked over to the front of the monument and shook hands with Mr Thompson. Most people still milling about and talking began to sit down in silence.

[savior indra]

Kale offered a sad smile to Sophia's parents as he shook Mr. Neveux's hand and hugged Mrs. Neveux. They were the closest thing to parents he had since everyone else in his family died. He hated how they suffered since their daughter's death. He hated how he was unable to change it.

"Sophia was my life Mr. and Mrs. Neveux. Both of you know that. She was, is all I have left. I've tried moving on and I... I just couldn't."

A loud commotion distracted Kale as he turned to see the Governor arrive. With a sigh he turned back towards Sophia's parents.

"It looks like the Governor finally decided to arrive. I hope we can talk after all this is over. I would love to catch up."

After hearing the Neveux's response Kale sits down dividing the room into sections that he scans for anything out of the ordinary, silently noting security, any extreme nervousness, the exits to the room and the location of the press.

[McGonigle]

Jaime, couldn't even pretend excitement as she swept the camera up to start filming the limo that was heading towards them. She had more than enough grips with the local government to be able to muster any enthusiasm. Still she dutifully captured the entrance on film, even if she did pan out to the crowd's reactions more than she should. Still having a second camera gave her some liberties, and weirdly she appreciated how much Ellen took her for granted. The hand's off leadership style suited her.

As people took their seats she remained standing, the combination of the simple, respectful outfit and just knowing where to stand to not draw attention meant she doubted she would draw attention, even the bored would be more likely to look at the various bodyguards. Still she felt like she was intruding on a tragedy she never truly experienced, and it wasn't an aspect of journalism she enjoyed.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

As Karen walks away, Leon shakes his head. "Break me in half, sure," he mutters under his breath. "But one of them? Maybe, maybe not. No matter. She'll do as she pleases until we break her of this. Which could take some time. Maybe I should see if I can synthesize a replacement, instead of just watering it down..." Leon continues muttering as he finds a seat. When the governor arrives, he stops muttering and turns to pay attention.

[SurlySeraph]

Semira slips into an open seat behind Leon. "Karen doesn't strike me as the type to hide her problems," she says, pulling a pen and thin pad of sticky notes out of her back pocket. "But even so, she's not coping well."

Semira glances around the crowd to her sides and behind her, getting an overview of postures and expressions as they react to the governor's appearance. She scribbles down something in shorthand, then continues in a low voice. "As a stopgap, we might be able to set one vice against another. Get her too drunk to wander out and put herself at risk, for example. It's not safe, but it's safer than trying rapid detox or trying to lock her up would be."

Semira keeps looking around as the governor walks to the front of the monument, and jots down the number of seconds between his handshake and the last murmurs from the crowd.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon shakes his head. "This isn't like other vices. With other addictions, you can try distraction and other means to avoid the psychological aspects," he says, keeping voice low. But this stuff is actually used to suborn people's minds. It's more than a physical or psychological addiction. I don't think pitting vices against each other will help in this case. If we get her drunk, we'll just have her being drunk when she goes out. That's going to cause more problems than it solves."

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick burst onto the scene. Exhausted after running all the way in an attempt to make it on time. Patrick wished he could say he was fashionably late, but he wasn't. He in fact made a mess of slipping quietly into one of the back rows by making a loud noise as he sat in his seat. He looked nervous as everyone glanced his direction. He quietly smiled and looked nervous. He really hoped someone he knew noticed him. So he could find where they were seated. Patrick as usual chose the best times to arrive late.

Patrick was relatively new to this school. His family moved from Ireland before he was born. He was studying history, with a major in anthropology. His main focus was on religious and occult groups in archaic civilizations. Searching for any knowledge or mythology on supernatural threats. It was safe to say he was a busy student. His work life meant he had to do many "errands". But, he more or less managed to keep up his school life. It was tough but, he was just coping... Barely...

Patrick fired off a text to the "RPG group". Hoping they had their phones on vibrate.

"Sorry I was gone so long. I was ill. Did someone grab my homework for me. I've missed a fair bit."

Sorry I came in late. I thought I had subscribed to this thread. But, I hadn't. Please forgive me for my tardiness.

[Odentin]

Adam gives Patrick a disdainful look as he slams into the seat next to him. He says nothing, but shakes his head and returns his gaze to the stage.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah misses the exchange of words between Leon and Karen, but he sees enough to know things aren't going well. He makes in to take a seat next to Leon, and frowns. "I didn't quite catch what was said," he says in a low voice. "But judging just from her appearance, body language, and general behavior... I'd say we have a problem, yes?" he asks gravely.

He looks up whenever the crowd starts to murmur and react to the governor. "Oh goodie, the show is about to begin!" he sarcastically snarks with feigned enthusiasm. He then pulls out his book and deadpans: "Now what page was I on?"

[-Sentinel-]

Mr Thompson cleared his throat for attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “we are here to commemorate the grave tragedy that we remember as the Halloween Massacre. It is a time of grief, a time of anger, a time of remembrance... but also, two years after the event, a time of hope and faith. Hope that we can move on, grow stronger... Faith in ourselves and our future. Tragedies show the best and the worst in all of us. We saw horror and violence, for sure, but we also saw courage and unity. We saw the bravery of Sara Crawford, here, who took a bullet for her boyfriend...” Cameras turned to Sara, who blushed a little, uncomfortable with the attention. “...and we were able to stick together in the face of adversity. Our monument here is not only for the dead... Namely, Gavin Wade, Nathan Rosenberg, Sophia Neveux and Ian Keating...”

At the killer's name, Michelle Warner emitted a low hiss, as if objecting to his inclusion in the list.

“...but also for the living,” continued Mr Thompson. “Us all. Friends, family, survivors. The people we lost are in a better place, but here we remain, and we must go on without them. We still remember, and we still care, as this memorial can attest. I wish to thank everyone who donated to build it.”

The principal turned to the Governor. “Will you do us the honor of unveiling it?”

“Of course,” answered the Governor. He solemnly bent down, grabbed a corner of the huge tarp covering the memorial, and pulled on it.

The crowd fell very silent. Not an impressed silence – a shocked one.

The monument consisted of a Greco-Roman fountain of white granite, currently dry, with a wide square pool. At each corner of the pool was a low pillar, similar to a tombstone: one per dead student. Each bore the student's name and dates of birth and death, a bronze reproduction of the student's face, and a short poem underneath. It was a nice memorial, elegant in its simplicity.

And it had already been desecrated.

Somebody had spray-painted HA HA HA HA HA in red all over the stones, along with little smiley faces. The pillar commemorating Sophia was covered with crude sexual imagery and a misogynistic four-letter insult. The one for Nathan, who had been Jewish, had red swastikas all over it, and a black Hitler moustache was drawn on his bronze face. The poem carved on Gavin's pillar had been utterly smashed with a blunt instrument like a hammer. On top of the fountain's spout, in the center, hung a Nixon mask, similar to the one worn by the gunman. The only part of the monument that had escaped profanation was Ian's pillar, at the base of which a single, perfect white rose had been reverently put. Under the killer's name, the vandal had written in elegant letters: Hero and martyr.

An outraged whisper rose among the spectators. The Governor was about to say something that started with “Fffff...”, but caught himself when he remembered he was being filmed. Zach was a bit more eloquent: “Dude, not cool!” he noted helpfully. Michelle's face twitched with rage. Sophia's mother burst into sobs. Ellen scribbled frantically in her notepad with a strange light in her eyes, as if she found this turn of events more exciting than shocking. TV crews tried to get their cameras closer to give their public a better view of the desecration.

Mr Thompson was brick-red in anger and shame. “This... this is monstrous,” he managed in a strangled voice. “I promise you that whoever did this will be severely punished.”

[Lycan 01]

Jonah ignores most of the governor's speech, tuning in and out. When the statue is unveiled, he's too distracted by an interesting passage in his book to look up and take notice. However, when he hears nothing but silence, he realizes something's not quite right. It is then that he looks up, and promptly goes wide-eyed in shock. "Oh... oh wow..." he mutters. "That's... oh... damn..."

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick felt anger bubble up inside him, but quickly subdued it. He was better than that. Certainly better than this scum. He was almost certain that the Halloween party would be canceled thanks to this.

"Atrocity" he whispered under his breath.

This was particularily heinous. But, this person was just a vandal right now. Their was little evidence to suggest he was a copy cat murderer... Yet.

[Odentin]

"Oh, no."

Adam sighs and buries his face in is palm, shaking his head as he averts his eyes from the atrocity. This is about to get ugly, really ugly. Especially once Kale reacts...

[savior indra]

Kale saw red. He had only felt such fury once before in his life, and that was when he was holding Sophia in his arms. He had wanted with every fiber of his being in that moment to reduce Ian Keating to utter nothingness. That fury returned.

He calmly stood and walked over to Sophia's stone. He knelt before it, pressed his forehead to the bronze representation of Sophia's and whispered.

"I'm sorry about this Sophia. I'll be right back."

Kale then turned, grabbed his chair, pushed past anyone that tried to stop him and smashed the chair into the representation of Ian Keating's face over and over again until it was unrecognizable. Then he grabbed the Nixon mask , laid it on the ground and stomped on it before pushing past Thompson to the mic.

"WHERE ARE YOU!?! COME OUT YOU COWARD! I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL MAKE YOU BEG FOR DEATH. WHERE ARE YOU!?!" roared Kale into the mic, his teeth bared in a feral snarl, his eyes burning with fury and hatred, his deep voice booming into the room.

EDIT: Grammar, and more description.

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick didn't want to step in the way of such rage. He certainly didn't want to presume he could understand the feelings going through his mind. He hoped for Kale's sake no one stepped in his way. He was sure under all that wrath and pure hatred. There was just sadness. Kale needed this in Patrick's books. Kale needed to rip apart that mask and destroy that statue. No one should take that away from him. It would not be fair on him.

[SurlySeraph]

Semira drops her pen and gapes when the tarp falls. Then she sinks down into her seat as if trying to avoid notice, snatches her pen up and starts writing furiously. A haphazard pile of sticky notes builds up on her knee as she looks around the crowd, trying to jot down a shorthand description of anyone and everyone who doesn't look shocked.

[Lycan 01]

"Oh s***," Jonah moans softly as Kale stands up and starts to walk towards the monument. He cowers down in his seat, lowers his head, and raises his hands to his eyes. "Oh I can't look..." he mutters weakly.

And then the resounding clangs of folding chair on concrete, as Kale unleashes his fury on the "face" of the killer. Jonah flinches with each impact, and a steady stream of whispered curses and swears begin to flow from his lips. "Oh crap, oh s***, damn, damn, damn..."

The crunching and stomping of the mask soon follow, and Jonah still doesn't look up. Jonah knows Kale has every right to react this way. It doesn't make it any less painful to watch, though. Whether he could call Kale a friend or vice versa was questionable, but Jonah knew he was a good guy, and didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be seen like this, either. Stripped down to his bare emotion, his heart and pain exposed for all the world to see. Cameras rolling. All those eyes upon him, watching him, judging him.

And then Kale starts screaming into the microphone. Jonah says nothing. He just wants this moment to end as soon as possible, preferably without Kale being hit with a tazer by the governor's bodyguards...

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon looks on as the monument is unveiled, and as people see the vandalism, his face an unreadable mask, except a tiny upward twitch at the corner of his mouth. His face never changes as Kale further vandalizes the monument, before shouting into the microphone. "Well," he says to no one in particular. "This turned out to be much more entertaining than I expected."

[-Sentinel-]

his deep voice booming into the room.
We're outside. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

While Kale's chair was too light to cause significant damage to Ian's bronze face, his outburst certainly got attention. "Jeez, man," murmured Zach under his breath. Michelle watched Kale with an expression of fierce satisfaction, as if she was tempted to join in. Ellen redoubled her note-taking and glanced at Jaime to make sure she was still filming. Somebody unplugged the microphone, not that it made much of a difference since Kale shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

Three burly cops converged on Kale. Two of them grabbed him firmly by the arms, while another rested his right hand on the butt of his pistol and reached for his handcuffs with his left.

"Hey, man, cut him some slack," intervened Jamie Price, Zach's best friend, who like Leon had been snapped out of his boredom by the desecration of the memorial. "Sophia Neveux was his girlfriend."

The officer with the handcuffs hesitated. He clearly did not want to be the one to arrest a grieving survivor on TV, but he had a job to do. "Can he behave? If he doesn't calm the f*ck down at once, we'll need to arrest him for disturbing the peace."

Sara Crawford rolled closer in her wheelchair. "Kale, listen," she said calmly. "That was just some douche trying to cause a reaction. You're giving him exactly what he wants."

[McGonigle]

Looking though the camera, Jaime missed the unveiling, Max, Nathan, whatever his name was would catch it, instead she had her camera trained on the front row. She had caught the his from Michelle at the mention of the killer's name, she had to say she was happy with that one, that meant she was probably the last person in the area to realise what had been done.

She expected the tears from the parents, but not the rage that was suddenly being expressed by the rest of the front row. Still she didn't look, the first reactions were too important this had to be captured before she could fine out what mess they had made of designing the memorial. She was guessing there was some portrayal of the Nixon mask

When Kale left his seat she didn't particularly want to follow him, but it was a public display and people would talk even if the paper didn't cover it. That's when she begins to see the vandalism, she zooms in on the Nixon mask, moving even closer to get it to take up nearly the entire screen as it is pounded by Kale. Partially since it keeps Kale out of as much as possible, mainly since it's a symbol. Well maybe not now, but she is sure it can become one, the imagery is simple.

While the cops were moving to restrain Kale she had a chance to see how the monument had been defaced and she shivered, only just moving onto Sara again after she started talking. She felt guilty at how excited she was getting, there was no way that Ellen was going to cover the entire of this story any more. It had blown up from a touching remembrance piece into something that would take up most of the issue. She knew that wasn't really the reaction she was meant to be having, as she panned back over the audience again. She let the camera hover on Zach for perhaps a moment too long as she contemplated the party after this she hoped it would be cancelled. If they didn't mind vandalising a monument they wouldn't stop at a party, or even worse. She just had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she continued to film.

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick, wanted more than ep anything to leave. He however would be arousing suspicion if he did. He turned to Adam, and asked in a soft Irish accent.

"Who would do this."

Patrick pulled a pen and paper out and started making a list of potential suspects. He wanted to figure out possible motives and try pinning this person down. The scene ahead was turning into a disaster. He hoped more than anything that Kale's wrath wouldn't destroy critical evidence. The memorial was officially a crime scene after all and stomping on the mask was not helping. He had a right to do so though and Patrick was sure the police would find something regardless.

[Odentin]

Adam lowers his hand and sits shock still, glaring at the front,"Someone seriously asking for trouble."

He and Kale may not always get along (hell, neither of them are the most SOCIAL people in the world), but he can barely stand to see a teammate manhandled as such, and it takes all of his willpower not to rush the stage to aid Kale. He doesn't take his eyes off the scene, "This can only end in flames."

[savior indra]

Kale took a deep breath before suppressing some of his rage. He pulled free of the cops before stalking away. As he passed Mr. and Mrs. Neveux, Michelle, and the members of the RPG club, he muttered to each of them.

"I'll be at the RPG club if you want to talk. I'll understand if you don't. I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

He strode towards his Lambourghini determined not to show anymore outward signs of rage. As he clambered in he felt glad that he had brought some of his private vintage from New York. He would need it tonight. He drove in the direction of the club, ready to open his $8,000 bottle of Pinot Seurat when he arrived.

He would have to cancel his plans to go on patrol tonight. he wouldn't be focused enough, and the last time he had gone out while distracted he had almost died. No, his best plan of action would be to refocus tonight, and murder whoever had desecrated the memorial tomorrow.

[-Sentinel-]

OOC:
Savior, do you have something for Kale to do while events keep unfolding here? You can still retcon your departure from the scene if something in it grabs your interest.


The Governor had the camera crews film his speech with the crowd as a background to avoid showing the desecrated monument on TV. It would no doubt have a very nice speech in other circumstances – it was about hope, peace, healing, God, American values, and blah blah blah. But he pronounced it without passion, and the applause at the end was rather subdued. The desecration of the monument had changed the mood of the ceremony.

The survivors' speeches were little better. The normally charismatic Michelle was unable to muster any fervor and just read her sheet (a homage to her late boyfriend Gavin) in a dead tone. Wayne Borden improvised a speech citing the presence of a deranged Ian Keating fan as reason enough to loosen self-defense laws, but the reaction was rather cold and he ended it mid-sentence before people started throwing things. Marco Alvarez tried to lead a prayer, but the spectators were not very receptive to his talk of love and forgiveness. Soong Ye-jun got to one knee and asked his girlfriend Sara Crawford to marry him, but even her “Yes” got only a half-hearted acclaim from the crowd. All emotion had gone out of the event, save a gloomy bitterness. People were glad to see it end.

“No worries,” Mr Thompson told the assembled mourners, “we'll have this memorial cleaned and repaired in a few days. And we'll take steps to make sure the culprit is found.”

When the ceremony was over, the Governor was the first to leave, off to do more important things like running the state of Illinois and making sure he got reelected. The journalists, police officers and university staff left not long afterwards. The remaining students and parents lined up to bring flowers at the foot of the memorial. All of the dead except Ian got their share of flowers in a silent reminder of who, despite the state of the monument, was really being mourned today.

A slight, blond girl of about twenty appeared at the edge of the scattering crowd, drawing whispers and glares from many. She wore glasses, was dressed in black and carried a dozen red poppies. She eyed the other mourners warily, hesitated, then put on a determined face and strode forward. Semira and Adam both recognized her; Semira from her psychology classes, and Adam from the archery club.

“Is that... Allison Keating?” said someone near Jaime.

“Yeah,” Ellen confirmed. “Ian's little sister. Been trying to interview her for two years, but she's not interested.”

The newcomer arched an eyebrow at the sight of the vandalized monument, but did not comment or ask about it. Ignoring the crowd, she headed straight towards the pillar dedicated to Ian Keating. At first the crowd parted... until Michelle Warner quite deliberately placed herself in Allison's path and folded her arms across her chest, as if daring her to advance further. The students fell silent. Some of them joined Michelle in blocking Allison's way, while others like Ellen stayed out of it and watched, as if expecting violence. The two girls just stared at each other for a moment.

Allison was the first to break the chilly silence. “I'd like to pass, please,” she said in a neutral tone, waving her flowers under Michelle's nose.

“No,” said Michelle flatly. “Go away. No way you're honoring your psycho brother in my presence.”

Allison's jaw tightened.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Seeing Allison's path blocked, Leon get up from his seat. He strode forward and placed himself next to Allison. "If you don't want to see her mourn, you're welcome to leave. She has as much right as you do to honor her fallen loved one. Hell, she's probably got more right to mourn. You mourn a victim of a tragedy, yes. She mourns the cause of that tragedy. While you get to blame someone, get to say to yourself, 'That's the guy who took Gavin away from me,' but she doesn't. She doesn't get to blame anyone, she doesn't get to hate. Those are luxuries she doesn't have. All she's left with is asking, 'Why,' and mourning her brother, and you want to take that away from her? You monster. You despicable, hateful, spiteful monster. Let the girl mourn. Let her place her flowers, say her prayers, shed her tears." Leon turns to Allison. "Do what you need to do. If anyone wants to object, they'll have to deal with me. I'm sorry for your loss, and for this." Turning back to Michelle, he continues his tirade. "You're going to stand aside, and let a young woman mourn the brother she lost in some of the most tragic circumstances possible. You're not going to object, you're not going to degrade her, her family, or her brother. She's going to leave her flowers, and I'll be sticking around to make sure they stay left. And I'll come back later, too, to make sure they're still there then. Anyone who's got a problem with this has a problem with me, and I am the last person you want to have a problem with."

[Odentin]

As Leon flies off the handle, Adam approaches the stage, arriving at the end of the tirade, "Michelle, don't take out your anger at the vandal on Allison. She's not her brother."

[SurlySeraph]

Semira bites her lip and follows Leon up. It would have been optimal if he hadn't said anything to piss Michelle off at all, but good cop-bad cop would serve. "Exactly. Michelle, Ally's brother is dead. It's not her fault - do you realize how much he took away from her? He hurt her as much as he hurt you, but she has had no one to support her the last two years."

Semira pauses and evaluates Michelle's face. Nope. Time to get personal.

"Do you remember that motherfµcker who said it was your fault Gavin died because he was trying to protect you? For the last two years, everyone Ally knows was that guy. Everyone. And instead of shouting him down, people shrug. And instead of one old man at a free newspaper, it's her professors, her roommates, her classmates, everyone.

"She finally has a chance to put this all behind her, to see people acknowledge she lost someone. I know you're a better person than this."

[Lycan 01]

Jonah stays in his seat. He's not really one for confrontation. Though whether or not anybody notices, he nods along in agreement as Leon and the other defend the girl.

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick scrawls down Alison's name. Their personal connection is enough to suspect her. He sat up and did something that would make him incredibly unpopular. His soft gentle voice puncturing the sad rage.

"It's okay Alison. Do what you need to. If you want later, I'll take you out for a pint and we can honor your loss. The way the Irish do it"

Alot of the people in school considered Patrick a foreign outsider. He was a loner and the only people he hung out with was the RPG group.

Tearing off a piece of paper with his mobile number on it. He offered it to her, unsure of if she would take it. He knew there would be a witch hunt out for her and an offer of friendship lumped him in the same boat. Besides, he wanted to gauge wether or not she actually had any motivation for doing this.

"Take it, please. Even if you don't plan on using it. You can consider me a friend, if you ever need someone to talk to or hang out with."

[savior indra]

OOC
Thanks but my character's decisions should have weight so I'll just stick with what I have planned. More realistic that way.

Kale locked his Lambourghini as he entered the building the RPG Club's room was in. He had decided against bringing the Pinot Seurat into the building. It was a school building and alcohol wasn't allowed. Instead he had brought all of his gear.

He made sure there was no one else in the room before setting up his laptop and running a sweep of his computer to make sure there were no traces or bugs. Then he bounced his signal of three different proxies in four different countries before pulling up maps of the school, everything on Ian Keating's past, and trying to access video records from any cameras near the memorial within the past 2-3 days.

Computer + Wits?

If so, that is 2 + 3.

[roll0](ignore typed dice roll in wrong)

5d10


As he was searching he switched to his HUD contacts so that he could continue to work while he donned his sap gloves and armored boots, wireless headset, and carbon fiber full face mask. He quickly sent a text to the members of the RPG club.

Pulling everything on Ian Keating/security footage from around the memorial in the past 2-3 days. Anything develop?

EDIT: wrong way to type in dice roll

[-Sentinel-]

Leon's lecture caused a few gasps here and there... mostly scandalized gasps. Allison discreetly threw him a grateful look, while Michelle's face twitched with rage.

“You... you call me a monster?” snarled Michelle. “You know what's monstrous? Massacring innocent people. I won't stand by while someone insults my Gavin by bringing flowers to the one who murdered him.” She whirled to face Semira. “You. Shut the hell up, you didn't lose anyone in that massacre. So what, nobody except Allison weeps for the poor, sweet little murderer? Who cares? If he wanted people to bring him flowers, he would have had the decency to just shoot himself at home, not take with him three people he barely even knew. He deserves nobody's grief. You said it yourself, he hurt her as much as he hurt me.”

This was no longer the stoic, strong-willed Michelle everyone knew, the one who had appeared on national TV last year to pronounce an inspiring speech about peace and unity. The desecration of the monument had scraped off her layers of polish, revealing the bitterness and spite she had been trying to hide for two years. Some of the students nodded along as she spoke, but others took their distances, wanting nothing to do with either side.

Allison remained calm, but her face hardened with steely determination. Leon's and Semira's support seemed to give her strength. She accepted Patrick's number without otherwise acknowledging him; her attention remained focused on Michelle.

“Ian's my brother,” said Allison through clenched teeth, “and it's my right to mourn him. Just because I still love him doesn't mean I approve of what he did. I'm sorry for your Gavin, but I didn't kill him, and neither did the brother I grew up with. I'm bringing flowers to the Ian I knew, not the Ian he became.”

“The Ian you knew is a lie,” Michelle grated. “Keep your flowers, or give them to someone who actually deserves them. You don't need flowers when you're burning in hell.”

That last sentence silenced the crowd entirely; it sounded like the last straw, the one thing Michelle should not have said. Everybody's attention was on Allison. Many, no doubt, expected (hoped, even) that the confrontation would turn physical here and now. But Allison's reaction was only one of icy contempt, as if her rival was not even worthy of her anger.

“Now,” she said in a slow, scornful tone, “I'm sure it would be very entertaining to stay here and watch you lose what little dignity you have left in front of everyone. But out of respect for your grief, I'll do you a favor and pretend that you won. Good day.” She turned to leave. “I never knew Gavin, but I'm sure he was too good for you,” she threw over her shoulder.

“Aw crap, no catfight,” Zach complained.

Michelle stared at the departing Allison, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to find a snappy retort; her reputation did not allow her to let a rival have the last word. The best she came up with was: “Fµck off. You were never welcome at Maxwell.”

An uncomfortable silence settled. Although Michelle had succeeded in driving off Allison, she somehow came across as the loser of the confrontation, and she knew it. People would suddenly respect her a bit less now that her mask of quiet strength had cracked. Muttering under her breath, she stalked off in the opposite direction, her posse of devoted followers in tow.

Ellen was still scribbling in her notepad, obviously delighted by the exchange. “You filmed it all, Jaime?” she asked breathlessly.

1

Kale

Kale's simple Google search turned up a map of the university (http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6913/maxwellmap.png) and a certain amount of information about Ian Keating. The media frenzy caused by the massacre had dug up a few things about the perpetrator, but he remained something of a mystery because there was very little to make him stand out. Pictures of him showed a thin young man of about twenty with light blond hair, blue eyes and a serious face. His Catholic, Irish-American, upper-middle class upbringing had nothing exceptional. He was the son of a dentist father and an accountant mother, who had amicably divorced four years before the massacre. He also had a sister, Allison, who was about a year and a half younger and was now a second-year psychology student at Maxwell University. Since the massacre, his parents had both moved out of state; his father to Florida, his mother to Seattle. Only Allison had remained in Chicago. It seemed that she had consistently refused to give any interviews about her brother or the killing.

Ian himself was a quiet, introverted sort, described as “a nice guy” by his few friends and his high school ex-girlfriend Jennifer Bale. He had always been an A- and B-student with an interest in science, cinema, punk music and video games. At the time of the massacre, he was a civil engineering freshman, described as serious and hard-working by his teachers and classmates. All who had known him expressed surprise at his act. A politically moderate agnostic, he had never gotten in trouble with the law nor been diagnosed with any mental illness. Several armchair psychologists had tried to establish the motive for his crime, but there was no consensus.

The massacre was committed with a Beretta 92 with serial numbers filed off. It started at one end of the dance floor in Tyler Hall near 11 PM and ended two or three minutes later in the restrooms at the other end, where a SWAT team found Ian dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound under the jaw with his Nixon mask and American flag still on. Witnesses reported that Ian was dancing to the music even as he fired at fleeing students - Kale remembered that detail, and it was an image that still haunted his nightmares.


(OOC: Are my updates too long? Don't be afraid to tell me so.)

[Odentin]

“The Ian you knew is a lie,” Michelle grated. “Keep your flowers, or give them to someone who actually deserves them.”

((Adam is going to step in here, interrupt the narrative a bit, sorry.))

Adam steps straight up to Michelle and interrupts her tirade, standing less than a foot in front of her face, and speaks in a low forceful tone, "Back off, Michelle. She's been blamed enough for something that she had no impact on, everyone taking out their anger on her." He narrows his eyes, glaring straight into hers, "She wasn't around then, but I was. I knew Gavin. Do you HONESTLY think that this is how he'd want you to act? Blaming an innocent for someone else's actions? Do you think he'd want to see you like this?"

He doesn't blink, doesn't glance away from her eyes.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah watches the exchange in horror. When his phone buzzes, he gives it a cursory glance, only for his eyes to go wide when he sees Kale is the sender. "Uh..." he stares for a moment, before typing back a quick response.

Ian's sister showed up to leave flowers. Michelle and some other folks tried to stop her, and a few other folks tried to defend Ian's sister. Lots of insults, and now she's leaving. He purposefully names no names, because he doesn't know if Kale would respond well to his friends defending Ian's sister.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"No, Michelle," Leon says to the departing girl. "Monstrous is hurting innocent people. The massacre was evil, yes, but stopping Allison from mourning the brother she lost, the brother that everyone hates? Adding to her pain because you're stuck in the past? That's just as monstrous as anything Ian did." Lowering his voice a little, he adds, "I miss Gregory what's-her-face. At least they were honest about what they were. Pity that people like you can't see what you're becoming." He then turns and goes to catch up with Allison. "Are you alright?"

[savior indra]

Kale quickly went to several social networking sites, and looked up Allison Keating trying to figure out where on (or off) campus she lived. He pulled out his cellphone and cursed when he saw the message. He then texted Michelle

Are you okay? Do you want to talk? I have a friend that would like to meet you. He's looking into the memorial as a favor to me. He's asking if you know where Allison Keating lives.

Before stowing his lockpicks in one of his armor's pockets and hefting his climbing gear around his shoulder. He then slid two of his knives into their holsters, one on his right forearm and another on his left boot.

The only lead I have right now is Allison. If she doesn't know anything I'll actually have to go to that party in case anything happens.

Kale leaned back in his chair as he continued to search the web for information about Allison Keating's whereabouts and hoping either the web or Michelle would have the information he needed.

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick shook his head in disappointment, as the verbal battle continued. He felt as though it was a bad idea to include Ian in this memorial. It was too late to change that.

"Michelle, you aren't a monster. You're just a child."

Patrick left before she had a chance to dignify him with a response. Talking to her right now would be like talking to a brick wall. Patrick had alot of school work to catch up on anyway. He decided to do it in the RPG room. Hopefully Kale would be there. Patrick decided against updating him on the disaster, unless he pressed for more info. He was unsure of Kale's feelings on the matter and didn't feel like enduring another out burst.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah decides to go ahead and slink off, hopefully avoiding notice. He makes a beeline straight back to the RPG club.

He knocks twice, before entering. If Kale is still there, Jonah will give a small nod and a timid "H-hey..." before skulking over to his seat in the back of the room. "You, uh... You find anything useful?" he asks awkwardly. He doesn't want to say anything stupid, or something that might come off as rude or offensive. So he just tries to skip straight to the point.

"So, I'm... kinda worried. Like, suspicious. Like... that we may have a potential copycat..." he mutters, averting his gaze to the floor. "I mean, you've probably got the same conclusions, but I'm just sayin'... Vandalizing and calling the guy a 'hero' is shock value. Calling him a 'martyr' is... troubling," he murmurs. "Like, it's more than supporting his cause. It's agreeing with his cause. So..." his voice trails off, before he shrugs and quietly says "Sorry, I'm probably stating the obvious, aren't I?."

[savior indra]

"No your fine. I've considered it, and the problem is that it is likely. If it was just an admirer they wouldn't go this far. It's likely someone who believes in what Ian Keating did, and if they went this far, then they have no qualms about killing the way Ian did. We can't cancel the party because they'll just go underground and wait until people forget. No this has to end here. Do you know where Allison Keating lives? She's our only link to Ian at the moment and we need to find this person before he starts killing." said Kale without looking up from his laptop. He continued to search before realizing that Jonah was far better at research than he was.

"Jonah I need you to continue searching for Allison Keating's whereabouts, I'm going to go out on patrol in case the this person decides to make a move tonight. I have my headset and HUD contacts on, you can keep in contact with me through those. Is that alright?"

Kale waits for Jonah's response before deciding to leave or not.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah shrugs. "Um, I could take a stab at it. I'm willing to bet she's taken steps to secure her privacy, though. A simple Google search may not be enough. Buuuuuut, I might be able to find something. Maybe a former employer's website with contact information, or something..." he mutters, before pulling out his smartphone. "After I get done with that, I'll also see what I can dig up on recent crimes and stuff in the area. Vandalisms, assaults," he pauses, before darkly muttering: "Missing pets."


Internet search for info on Miss Keating should be, unless I'm mistaken...

Intelligence (3 dice) + Computer (2 dice) + specialization (1 dice) + Smartphone (2 dice, IIRC) = 8 dice.

Search: [roll0]

In case of 10 again(s): [roll1]

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick stepped in the door, as Kale and Jonah started talking. He took a glimpse at what they were doing and quickly spoke up.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna make some calls and make sure the Halloween party is canceled. I don't think we should take the risk of letting it go ahead as planned. Oh and Kale, let me grab my stuff and I will come with you. It's a bad idea to go alone. It's better if someone watches your back."

Patrick unzipped his bag and put on his hoody and concealed his guns, fixing silencers to them. He grabbed his cell phone and quickly started calling the necessary people to make sure the party is canceled. There would be a time, when Maxwell could have a Halloween party, but it wasn't this year.

[savior indra]

"Patrick I'm not sure if cancelling the party is a good idea. Whoever this person is, it's clear they want exposure. If we cancel the party it'll either drive them into hiding until we relax our guard, or they'll ramp up their efforts to grab attention to this Ian Keating affair. Neither scenario is especially inviting. This party may be our best chance of trapping whoever did it." explained Kale as he tossed Patrick some climbing gear.

"Alright. I'll take point, I have the better protection anyways. We shouldn't resort to your guns unless absolutely necessary. Don't want police involved. Remind me to grab everyone in the club a wireless headset next time I go shopping. It makes communication so much easier."

[Odentin]

((I'll leave this section open in case Sentinel decides to have things differ thanks to Adam interrupting Michelle.))

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

Adam arrives back at the RPG club room as the others prepare for patrol. He catches the climbing gear mid-throw and lops it over his back, "I'll be the eye-in-the-sky. Let me grab my bow from my jeep. I'll text you if I spot anything."

((What's the highest point on campus?))

Adam drives his jeep to the closest he can get to the highest point on campus, and, after making sure the coast is clear, begins climbing it, to get the best view to keep tabs on his team...

[-Sentinel-]

"She wasn't around then, but I was. I knew Gavin. Do you HONESTLY think that this is how he'd want you to act? Blaming an innocent for someone else's actions? Do you think he'd want to see you like this?"
Michelle clenched her teeth. "I'm not blaming Allison, I'm blaming Ian. And when she brings flowers to that sicko, she's not much better than the vandal. Hell, for all I know..." She cut off her sentence and paused. Then she added: "If she wants to bring flowers, she'd better do it when she's alone. But no, she had to do it now, when she knew everyone would be there. Almost like she's mocking us, or trying to make a statement."



[Leon] then turns and goes to catch up with Allison. "Are you alright?"
"Thanks, but I'm sort of used to it," said Allison a bit brusquely, walking faster. "I don't need your..." She turned to him and recognized him as the first one who had come to her defense. Her voice softened. "Look, I appreciate this. But I'm not looking for a shoulder to cry on. I've known a lot of people like Michelle, and also a lot of people like you who'd defend me, but none who could understand what it was like to love a dead murderer. The worst were the well-meaning ones who tried to get me to move on by pointing out how Ian wasn't worth my grief. Yeah, like reminding me of what a bastard he was would help me get over it all. And then those who said: Oh yeah, I'm sure he was a good brother, but I could tell they didn't mean it and tried to humor me, as if deep down they were thinking I was deluded and would figure out the truth about Ian if I was given time... like a child who learns that Santa doesn't exist. They all pretended to respect my love for Ian, but hoped that I'd one day take off my rose-colored glasses and start seeing him the way everyone else saw him: a monster. And it would be a good thing. Because, see, my love for my brother is a disease to be cured."

She let out a deep breath, as if saying it all had taken some weight off her heart.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm just tired of all the pity, judgment and condescension. Thanks all the same. ...What's your name?"


1

Kale and Jonah

Some research later, including a few emails to a guy who knew a guy who knew a gal who knew a guy, Jonah found out that Allison lived in one of the cheap dorms north of the science department. Building 2, room 37. For someone from a well-off family, she was either frugal or had to scrape by without her parents' assistance.



OOC:
Lycan, if you want to make an Internet search about crimes like vandalism and assaults, it will have to be a secret roll from me.


Odentin, the highest point on campus is the concrete chimney of the science department, but access is forbidden, the climb is difficult despite the ladder (some Athletics will be needed), and it's a very exposed spot where you can see well but also be seen. A better, more accessible spot to see without being seen is the belltower of the library (part of the library used to serve as a church, back when Maxwell was a religious university).

I'll get back to you in a little while. You're getting ahead of the others.

[Lycan 01]

"Bingo!" Jonah exclaims with a grin. "I've got her address. Cheap-o dorms north of the science department, Build 2, Room 37. Thank you, thank you..." he says with a grin while taking a mock bow.

"Now..." he states, narrowing his eyes and steeling his expression, "We move on to the hard stuff."

He then makes himself comfortable, and starts trying to pull up anything and everything he can regarding local crimes and questionable occurrences, starting from most recent to the time of the original shooting.

He's gonna be here awhile...


Secret rolls, awaaaaay! :smallbiggrin:

[Odentin]

"She's had it harder than you, Michelle, and you have no right to tell her when and where she can mourn the loss of her loved one."

He turns and looks at Allison's back as she walks away, then back to Michelle, "You're no better than Ian was. No better than the vandal. If there's anything human left in you, you'll apologize to her."

Without waiting for a reply, Adam turns and walks away, towards the RPG Club room.

((And yeah, he'll take the bell tower, once we get around to it.))

[Sir_Gabes]

"Trapping this guy is a great idea, but in a crowded group I could shoot several people before being taken down. That's not a risk I'm taking. I'm working from the assumption he or she is better than me. That will ensure I don't underestimate my enemy. Let's not forget that this person may even try to out do Ian. Using bombs or automatic weapons and that might make innocent casualties more dramatic. I say we have it canceled."

Patrick contemplated this idea for a moment.

"Admittedly even if we convince the host to cancel the party, people will throw their own parties and that will gives us less control of where a potential copy cat will go."

Patrick frowned as he pointed flaws in his own idea.

"As far as we know, this person is just a vandal and the potential is there. Even so, we should be cautious. I do not feel using people as live bait is a great idea."

Patrick put down his cell phone.

"Fine, we play it by ear. But if we don't find enough info, we make sure the event is canceled. I'm not protecting all those people, with no insight into who the copy cat could be."

[savior indra]

"That works for me. I'm heading to Allison's place. Time for some questions to be answered. Patrick you coming? Lockpicking isn't exactly my specialty?" said Kale quietly as he tossed his lockpicks to Patrick. He was garbed from head to toe in his black Dragon Skin armor. He had his wireless headset connected to Jonah so they could relay information back and forth and his HUD contacts hooked up to his phone so he could recieve texts without having to check his phone.

EDIT: for Continuity.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah looks up from his research. He seems visibly uncomfortable with all the talk of weapons and breaking into people's houses. "Um, you guys sure walking around with all those weapons and stuff is a good idea? And are you really going to go breaking into the girl's house? I mean, I could see asking her a few questions or something, but seriously, B&E? Seems like a lot more risk than reward..." he mutters, worry audible in his voice.

[savior indra]

Kale stopped as he left in order to answer Jonah.

She won't answer to me as Kale, there would be psychological issues involved if I directly questioned her. Even if one of you guys ask her. She could still be holding something back. We would have to persuade her or intimidate her. Plus if it is her, there would likely be evidence at her place. What other options do we have?" asked Kale.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"...What's your name?"

Leon smiles. "The name's Leon. I'm not offering pity, though I do offer my sympathies. I just can't stand seeing someone act like Michelle was. Makes me wonder who the real monsters are, sometimes. Where are you heading next? Would you like some company on the way?"

[Odentin]

Adam freezes at Allison's name, and he turns to Kale, blocking the door, "Kale, no. Leave Allison alone, at least for now. She's gone through too much for your brand of tact."

As he speaks, he draws his phone from his pocket and sends Leon a text, Keep Allison away from her place. Kale's found her.

[savior indra]

"Adam what should we do then? She's the only lead we really have at the moment. I won't go if you think it's not the right tactic but someone has to get answers from her. " said Kale as he acquiesced to Adam and moved away from the door.

Kale then started pulling up maps of Tyler Hall up looking for the exits and trying to decide how many people it would take to safely cover it. He also sent an email to Zach asking what type of security and how much they were packing would be provided.

Have to remember to check out Allison's daily schedule, see if anything suspicious comes up... thought Kale as he continued to try and determine what risks the party would pose.

[Odentin]

"Then let someone with a gentler touch handle it. I see her at archery practice tomorrow, and Semira might know her. She's a psych major."

He sighs and loosens his posture, "Michelle went off on her, earlier. You questioning her would probably send her over the edge."

He shakes his head and leaves his position at the door, walking towards a chair and slumping into it. Twice in one day. Allison, you'd better not be the one behind this...

[savior indra]

"Thanks for reminding me. I need to meet with Michelle. I hope she's alright," said Kale as he dialed her number into his cellphone, while taking off his gloves and boots and putting his suit back on.

"Michelle, it's Kale. Are you alright? I have a bottle of wine if you want to talk," said Kale forcing his voice to be light and joking.

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick took the lock picks gratefully and deftly pocketed them. He grimaced at the idea of Kale breaking into her home. Patrick thought carefully, he wasn't willing to visit her face to face today. She needed at least a day before it would tactful to visit in friendly circumstances. Patrick took out the book he was scrawling in earlier.

"There's no harm in doing a stake out, I suppose. Keep an eye on her and see what she gets up to. I also want to check out Michelle. She seems to resent the idea of Ian having a memorial and while unlikely to be our vandal, she acted... Out of character... Also there is Ellen and Jaime, she seemed delighted when she got her "big scoop". Who knows this could be an elaborate ruse, thought up for the sake of providing an awesome story. I also want to dig up Ian's grave, if he has one and check it for supernatural tampering. Let's face it guys, we know what's out there. Double check Zach, he's too "uninvolved" but it can't hurt and lets not forget who wanted the haloween party. Does anyone have contacts or favors with the police. I wouldn't mind if we got a chance to analyze the crime scene ourselves or at least see what evidence they pick up. Anyone have any objections or anything to add?"

Patrick spoke excitedly and quickly. Patrick was thinking with cold logic now. No person would escape his scrutiny if he had a say. Patrick felt a little excitement bubble up inside. He wasn't trying to lead or be the boss. But, he thought he came up with some pretty good ideas.

[SurlySeraph]

Semira stays at the defaced memorial as the crowd begins to leave, looking it over. She sits down in the front row, thinking carefully about how Michelle and Allison acted. After a moment, she writes down "R spray paint," "mask," "W rose" and "hammer?", then steps over chairs to make her way to the front row.
First, Composure + Empathy rolls to try to figure out if there was anything strange about Allison or Michelle's behavior, if one of them had more in mind than it seemed. (Pool's 6, 7 if Motives specialty applies).

Then, Wits + Investigation roll. (Pool's 5). If the police don't cordon the memorial off, I'll take a closer look. If they do, I'll just do the best I can with what I can see from the seats, pretending to be writing down my thoughts, then leave to go find any local florists. I'm specifically interested in checking how fresh the rose is and whether the damage is indeed consistent with a hammer or with something shaped differently.

[McGonigle]

“No I stopped filming right around the bit when Michelle broke down, and probably the most Alison has ever said in public.” She commented to Ellen her voice dripping with sarcasm. “It’s all on there, not sure how smooth the transitions are but the audio will be fine at least and the rest can be tidied up.”

“I’m try to get some wider reactions, mainly for the podcast but I’ll make sure you get a transcript quickly. Oh and give me an e-mail when you decide what angles the main piece is covering, it will help with the editing.” She didn’t mention that she was pretty sure she would be talking about it in her column and wanted avoid topics covered well in Ellen’s main article.
“Anyway I have work to do I barely have any footage of the memorial itself, on the basis that it isn’t moving anytime soon, so I need to film that and some reactions.”

Still she sat down for a few moments, it wouldn’t hurt to let anyone in a rush depart people still milling around would be easier to question and sent off a text to Semira.
“Assuming we are looking into this, it might be worth meeting up so I can show you some of the footage of the crowd I have.”

With that sent, she rose, adjusted the microphone slightly, and moved towards the students who were still milling around, she was mainly looking to see what they thought of the confrontation between Alison and Michelle, but she wouldn’t start on that question, she would ask some safer question like ‘what did you think of the ceremony,’ then move onto the question she really wanted to ask.

I'm not entirely sure what roll would make sense for the gathering of opinions, but I’m pretty sure it’s manipulation + something (Either investigation or Persuasion so I’ll go with the lower one.)
[roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll]

Also a wits +Investigation roll [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] as she is also going to get a good look at the damage to the monument, as well as filming and taking pictures of the damage.
I thought I should roll it now on the basis that she’s going to be doing it after she talks to the students, and it may as well be resolved at the same time.

Oh and some extra dice for possible explosions [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll] [roll]1d10[roll]

[Odentin]

Adam pulls his cell again and sends another text to Leon, Safe now. Any info you can get is appreciated.

Once sent, he rubs his eyes with his fingers, slumping a little more, mentally exhausted.

[-Sentinel-]

Leon smiles. "The name's Leon. I'm not offering pity, though I do offer my sympathies. I just can't stand seeing someone act like Michelle was. Makes me wonder who the real monsters are, sometimes. Where are you heading next? Would you like some company on the way?"
Allison hesitated. A slight smile appeared on her lips. "Okay then. I was just going to the library though... The way's not long." Indeed, they were already halfway there. "You know, Michelle was a bit bitchy, but I can't blame her for being in a bad mood over the vandalism. Who'd do something like that? That's just sick."

1

Semira and Jaime

Based on what Semira knew of Allison, she was being her usual self – quiet, determined, touchy where her brother was concerned, but willing to back down if it was just not worth it. Michelle, though, was showing a new face... certainly not the face of a student council president. Semira suspected that side of her had always been dormant underneath all the layers of dignity and poise. Michelle had always been an obstinate and confrontational person, used to having her own way; it was part of what made her a natural leader. She had just pushed it one step too far today.

Knowing Michelle, she would be holding grudges towards everyone who had defended Allison.

Semira and Jaime both took a close look at the desecrated monument. The white rose was not quite fresh – possibly bought or cut yesterday. The spray can of red paint was lying in the middle of the still-dry pool of the fountain. It was empty if the weight was any indication. Strangely, the vandal had chosen water-soluble paint, easily washable. As for the damage to Gavin's pillar, it was impossible to tell what instrument had caused it. It could have been any sufficiently heavy blunt object, possibly with the help of a chisel.

Jaime's poll about the vandalism yielded predictable results – mostly disgust and anger, though a majority seemed to think it was only an assh0le trying to shock people, not a genuine threat. A couple expressed suspicion towards Allison: “I mean, who else brings flowers to that bastard?” Another suggested Wayne Borden, the skinhead pushing for looser gun laws: “Seriously, that guy's a real wingnut, he's always complaining about immigrants and gays. Wouldn't surprise me if he'd drawn those swastikas.” One implied that Ellen might have done it for her documentary film. Another mentioned Eric Leigh, an artist who gauged the success of his works by how much of a scandal they caused; he had been expelled from the art department last year for skinning a dead dog and hanging it from the library's belltower, and his next project supposedly required an aborted human fetus. Zach was mostly concerned about his Halloween party: “Hell, for all I know, the vandal could be someone trying to get it cancelled. We can't let them win.” His friend Jamie Price had no suspect in mind, but seemed very interested in finding out who it was; he listened attentively as Jaime polled students.

Views about the confrontation between Michelle and Allison were mixed. Many said that it was stupid and insensitive of Allison to come with her flowers just after the ceremony, but added that Michelle had overreacted and could have been more diplomatic about it. Even Michelle's usual supporters did not condemn Allison too harshly, for the most part, but their comments were somewhat patronizing: “Poor girl, she still believes her brother wasn't so bad...” Not many outright took Allison's side, at least openly, but there were a few, including Sara Crawford and Marco Alvarez.

1


"Michelle, it's Kale. Are you alright? I have a bottle of wine if you want to talk," said Kale forcing his voice to be light and joking.
Michelle's voice was weary. “Thing is, if I start drinking now, I won't be able to stop. Thanks all the same, Kale. Hey, uh... don't do anything stupid, alright? It was... kind of scary, the state you were in. People will talk. They already think you're a bit... unstable.”

1

Jonah

According to Jonah's search, a number of crimes had happened recently around Maxwell University, but the same could be said any other day in this neighborhood. Two assaults against gang members; enemy gangs suspected. Attempted rape; culprit rushed to hospital in critical condition. Convenience store robbery; culprit arrested. Carjacking; culprit not found, a masked male with a foreign accent. Bar trashed; drunken fratboys blamed. Some graffiti around Adams Boulevard, mostly gang signs. Burglary; TV and computer stolen, culprit not found. The usual cases of domestic violence, DUI and drug possession. Only one unsolved case of animal disappearance reported in the past few weeks: an old lady's African grey parrot.

Seriously though... All the crimes in the last two years is a bit ridiculous. Maxwell University is in a crime-ridden area, which is why the vigilantes were set up in the first place.

[SurlySeraph]

Sem thanks Jaime for her help, and goes off to find the nearest florist.
If this is relatively easy to do, she asks the cashier "Hey, do you keep customer records? Somebody left me a rose and a note last night, and I'm trying to find out who."

Semira reaches across the counter and lightly touches the cashier's arm. With a playful grin, she adds "It wasn't you, was it?"
Manipulation + Persuasion (flirting) + Striking Looks: [roll0]

Rerolls in case of 10s: [roll1]

[Lycan 01]

Jonah groans, and lets his head fall forward onto the RPG club's table with a loud thunk. "Ow..." he mutters. "Well, crap. That turned up jack," he muttered out loud to no one in particular. "Nothing concrete, nothing that screams psychopath..." he mutters. "I mean, what kind of psycho steals a freaking parrot? Bah..."

He then looks down at his smartphone for a moment, before shrugging. "Okay, lets get non-traditional."

He then starts searching for recent reports of paranormal or occult activity. Strange happenings, supernatural occurrences, rumors and speculation. In particular, he's looking for anything that may have to do with cult activity, demonic possession, or other things that could possible be associated with a lunatic killer.


Secrets rolls again, I assume.

[Misaat]

The front door to the RPG club opens with a loud push as a student comes barging in. His long brown hair is really from his mouth hangs a half eaten doughnut and his arms are occupied with a bunch of pieces of wood and lead pipes. He also carries a small toolbox on his right hand and a laptop on his left.

" FEFFO EFRIFAFY! "

He says as he rushes towards the small "stand" on the corner of the room. He throws everything behind the counter and licks his fingers as he finishes the doughnut.

" Saw you guys on the news... That was quite something... Did they catch the one who did it?"

[Odentin]

Adam instinctively reaches for his trenchknife as the door bursts open, but relaxes once he sees who it is, and slumps back into his chair. "No," he says in his usual soft tone, "Jonah's looking up information on possible suspects."

[Misaat]

" Is that so? I'll see what i can get as well "

With that says Matthew starts to search through the campus forums and news sites about people that left comments that supported what the killer did.

Computer Skill:[roll0]

He also sends a message to Mr X which just says " Seen anything interesting on the news lately? "

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Allison hesitated. A slight smile appeared on her lips. "Okay then. I was just going to the library though... The way's not long." Indeed, they were already halfway there. "You know, Michelle was a bit bitchy, but I can't blame her for being in a bad mood over the vandalism. Who'd do something like that? That's just sick."

Leon notices his phone buzzing, but opts to ignore it for the moment. He nods in agreement with Allison's assessment as they begin walking again. "Agreed. It's probably just somebody doing it for shock value. Which they seem to have succeeded at, so good job to them for that. Could have been a bit more subtle, though. Full disclosure, I've been a bit concerned about the Halloween party coming back this year, that we might see somebody try to capitalize on it. Either a copycat, or..." He lets his voice trail off, not wanting to say too much about his real suspicions. He shakes his head as if to clear it before continuing. "Anyway, the vandalism of the memorial just makes me more concerned. What about you? You think we should be worried about the party?"

[savior indra]

Kale sighed as he rubbed his face. The whole situation was not anything near what he had been expecting. He looked around the room before asking. He need to relax and take his mind off the situation.

"Anyone want a drink? I've got an $8,000 bottle of Pinot Seurat that I don't want to finish myself."

[Odentin]

Adam looks at Kale quizically, an eyebrow raised, as if not sure what to think. He shrugs his acceptance after a moment.

[-Sentinel-]

Leon


"Anyway, the vandalism of the memorial just makes me more concerned. What about you? You think we should be worried about the party?"
“If a copycat killer were serious about it, why'd he try to alarm people?” Allison pointed out. “It would only mean more security at the party, and less targets to kill if people were too scared to come. No, I'm pretty sure it's nothing to worry about. I do hope the vandal's caught, though, if only for the vandalism and hate speech.”

They had almost reached the entrance of the library.

1

Semira

The cashier, a pimply young man with glasses, blushed at Semira's touch. For a moment he seemed tempted to answer yes to her question.

“Uhh... I don't know you, sorry,” he said apologetically. “We been selling lots of roses lately, what with the second anniversary of the Halloween Massacre. As for customer records, um... I only have the names of those who paid by check or card, and I'm afraid it's not something I'm allowed to share except in a police investigation. Sorry. But if someone's in love with you, I'm sure he'll show up again.”

He smiled politely.

1

Jonah and Matthew

It turned out that Maxwell's Esoteric Club was planning a Halloween séance to communicate with the dead, but the RPG Club had already investigated them and found them to be little more than a bunch of long-haired dilettantes who randomly amalgamated the most fashionable New Age and pseudoscientific trends into an inconsistent mess. They could not even agree among themselves over the existence of UFOs, the efficiency of homeopathy, the spiritual value of pot smoking and the validity of L. Roy Howard's Temple of Dianeticology. The séance would likely consist, as usual, of strange rituals from a dozen different religions, prayers in mangled Latin and Gaelic, drug use, group sex, and a conspicuous lack of anything remotely supernatural.

Other than that, there was a fundamentalist mother looking for an exorcist to cure her teenage son from his desire to become a woman, a clearly schizophrenic man seeking police protection from the Freemason conspiracy, and a homeless street magician threatening to unleash the Black Death upon the city if he did not receive $100,000 in cash by December 21.

Matthew's search of forums and social networks yielded nothing but scandalized reactions to the vandalism and creative suggestions to punish the perpetrator. Even Wayne Borden's far-right Twitter account had an tweet condemning the desecration of Nathan Rosenberg's pillar, claiming that “Jews should be shown the error of their ways, not hated”. Some insensitive idiot had already posted on YouTube a techno remix of Kale's I will make you beg for death shout.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah groans in frustration. "Damnation, I can't find anything..." he laments. He then pauses to look at the thing about the street magician. "Actually, I've got something we should look into later on, but it's a totally unrelated matter. Something about a homeless street magician threatening to unleash the Plague."

The scholar looks up and raises an eyebrow. "You guys know much about wizards? Just curious..." he shrugs.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

“If a copycat killer were serious about it, why'd he try to alarm people?” Allison pointed out. “It would only mean more security at the party, and less targets to kill if people were too scared to come. No, I'm pretty sure it's nothing to worry about. I do hope the vandal's caught, though, if only for the vandalism and hate speech.”

"Eh, you're probably right. I'm still concerned about a copycat, but that's probably just me being paranoid." Leon looked up at library building as they reached the entrance. "Well, here we are. It was nice talking to you, but I should probably get going. Gotta catch up with my friends, check on Kale, check on Karen..." He sighed. "It's gonna be a busy afternoon. Anyway, if you need anything, someone to talk to, someone to hang out with, help studying, help dealing with trouble, let me know."

[savior indra]

"Alright i'll go grab it from my car. Be right back." said Kale as he rose from his seat and headed out to his car.

Kale returns shortly with a bottle of Pinot Seurat and some plastic cups in his backpack.

"Not the classiest of drinking implements but they don't break during reckless driving." explained Kale with a shrug as he started pouring a cup for himself and Adam.

Kale is currently dressed in a suit again, without the gloves or boots. He took them off earlier in the scene.

[SurlySeraph]

Semira sighs and runs a finger along the cashier's forearm. "Come on, it's not like you'll get in trouble. One white rose, sometime yesterday. I'll just take a picture of the names with my camera phone and figure out if any of them are in one of my classes. It'll take ten seconds, and - " she clasps his hand " - I'll be really grateful."

It takes Semira a little effort to sound sweet and pleading rather than detached and slightly irritated that the cashier is showing any spine at all - but not much.
Same roll. [roll0]
[roll1]

[Sir_Gabes]

Occult + Intelligence = 5 for any relevant surface knowledge.

"I know a fair bit about magic and the mythology that surrounds it. I study anthropology after all and I'm a hunter. Let me find some of my research material."

Patrick grabbed some heavy books from his bag. Some of them were for college others were inherited from his mentor. The college text books described old beliefs and ancient societies. The one's inherited from his mentor was a variety of poorly organized notes detailing supernaturals he encountered and what he knew.

academics + intelligence + willpower = 7 I'm specifically looking for rituals that actually work that a group of eccentric college kids could find, with persistence.
Occult: 5d10
Academics: 7d10

[-Sentinel-]

"Anyway, if you need anything, someone to talk to, someone to hang out with, help studying, help dealing with trouble, let me know."
Allison considered the offer. "I'd like to ask you a favor." She handed Leon the red poppies she still held. "Can you bring these to the memorial? Michelle's no longer there to stand in your way. I'd really appreciate that."

(assuming Leon accepts)

Allison took a deep breath. She seemed to be gathering her courage. "One more thing. Are you free Saturday the 27th in the evening?" she asked quickly, as if eager to spit it out.

1

Semira

The cashier blushed even harder. "Uh... alright. But I could lose my job over this. Come over here."

He showed her his computer screen. "Yesterday, you said? Here's the list of transactions. It doesn't include the name of anyone who paid in cash, though. And most people would pay in cash for just one rose."

1

Patrick

There were a lot of rituals in Patrick's books, but Patrick could not figure out which were most likely to be found about by college students. None, certainly, mentioned anything about desecrating monuments to the dead.

1

Matthew

Mr X's terse answer did not take long to come; he was almost always online.

Can you be more specific? A place, a time, a type of event?

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Allison considered the offer. "I'd like to ask you a favor." She handed Leon the red poppies she still held. "Can you bring these to the memorial? Michelle's no longer there to stand in your way. I'd really appreciate that."

(assuming Leon accepts)

Allison took a deep breath. She seemed to be gathering her courage. "One more thing. Are you free Saturday the 27th in the evening?" she asked quickly, as if eager to get it out.

Leon takes the poppies and nods. "I can, and I am. Why do you ask?"

[SurlySeraph]

Sem nods. "I know, but it's at least a place to start." She takes a picture of the screen with her camera phone, warmly thanks the cashier, and begins to leave. Then she turns back and adds "You didn't see anyone particularly creepy buy a white rose with cash yesterday, did you?"

Semira sends the picture to Jonah along with a text message: "names of people who bought a white rose w/ check or credit yesterday. could you check if any are students, have arrest records, and/or wrote anything questionable about Ian Keating?"

[Misaat]

" This morning at the Maxwell University Massacre Memorial."

He quickly typed.

[-Sentinel-]

Leon

"I'm looking for a Super Smash Bros. Brawl opponent," Allison said with a shy grin. "I'm living in room 37 of dorm 2. Say, 8 PM on Saturday. Dibs on Link."

1


"You didn't see anyone particularly creepy buy a white rose with cash yesterday, did you?"
"I wasn't there yesterday, sorry," said the cashier.

Closer examination of the list showed Semira that none of the customers who had paid by check or card had bought for less than 8 dollars worth of flowers. Among them, half a dozen had bought a number of white roses, including Sophia Neveux's father and one Elizabeth Wade (a relative of Gavin's?). The other names were unknown to Semira.

1

Matthew

Mr X paused. He came back after a minute or two:

Just looked it up. The memorial was vandalized. Nothing suggests there's supernatural stuff involved, though. Do you have any reason to think so?

Besides the fact that this is a nWoD game. :P

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon

"I'm looking for a Super Smash Bros. Brawl opponent," Allison said with a shy grin. "I'm living in room 37 of dorm 2. Say, 8 PM on Saturday. Dibs on Link."

Leon smiles warmly. "Room 37, dorm 2; Saturday, 8 PM. Got it. I'll see you then." He turn heads back to the memorial. Once he reaches it, he leaves the poppies, saying as he does so, "A gift from your sister. I never knew you, Ian, and I don't why you did what you did. But something was obviously wrong, something obviously troubled you. I hope you've found peace, wherever you are now." That said, Leon turns and heads back to the RPG club, marking down an appointment on Saturday in his phone. Once that's done, he finally responds to Adam's texts. Sorry I didn't respond sooner, was checking on Allison. She's doing fine, as near as I can tell, and she's as disgusted about the memorial as anyone. I don't think she had anything to do with it.

[Odentin]

Adam takes the cup of wine with a smirk, "Cheers."

He takes a drink of the wine, though doesn't notice anything that makes it worth the ridiculous price Kale claimed it was worth. He shrugs, but doesn't say anything. After all, Kale's giving it away for free...

He paces a bit, looking over at the computer nerds, "Found anything?"

[Misaat]

" Im not entirely sure but its certainly the most interesting thing to happen on this days. Know anything about the Massacre from a few years back? Heard it was quite the thing "

Then he turns away from the computer for a bit to ask one of his teammates.

" Yo can someone please toss me a Mountain Dew from the fridge? "

[Odentin]

Adam obliges, tossing the can underhand to the hacker as he restates his question, "Find anything?"

[McGonigle]

Jaime had to admit she was amused that people thought she was ruthless enough to have done the vandalism herself. Still she had spent enough time at this memorial, it was pointless filiming it if she didn't have the time to put it together, and there was no way she was going to let someone else take the glory of editing it together.

Just as she was getting close to the doors she suddenly had a thought, about the 'RPG' club she hadn't really said a word to any of them since, and while she wanted at least 2 degrees of separation from Kale's investigation. She should check in with the others, especially since she was sure they would get involved so sent the same text to Leon and Jonah.

“I'm looking over the footage at the moment in C421, how is your investigation going?”

Jaime only slowed down when she had reached one of the smaller computer rooms, that the newspaper had managed to get permission to install some video editing software on. It took the lights a few minutes to flicker on as she entered and she selected the seat nearest the window, both to make advantage of the slim natural light and because it was the only place in the room with half reliable signal.

Still before she started the task of editing together the footage she had an e-mail to send off, she wasn't quite willing to stoop to desecrating a monument but that didn't mean she wasn't above creating news articles. Journalistic integrity wasn't really her strong point, even more since she had joined the vigilantes.

************************************************** *

Email addressed to the secretary of Mr Thompson
Dear Mr Thompson

I was wondering if it might be possible to be informed when the police have finished the investigation of the monument and restoration can begin. I firmly believe that it would be possible to put together a community work group from student societies to at remove the spray paint from the statues.

As well as saving the cost of hiring professionals, I dealing with this as a community effort would give a positive outlet for those offended by the horrendous act. As well it would be good publicity for the university and a boost to campus moral.

Yours sincerely
Jaime,
Maxwell Feminist Society

not really expecting a reply from the Principal's office any time soon but putting the dice roll in anyway.[roll0] Man+Per +BN
[roll1]

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon's phone buzzes again just before he reaches the RPG club headquarters. He checks it, sighs, and quickly types out a response. Not really an investigation, but Allison's doing fine. I don't think she had anything to do with the memorial, she seemed just as disgusted as anyone else there. Well, almost anyone else. He hits send as he steps into the club. "Hey guys, so Allison isn't connected to the vandalism at the memorial, and she doesn't think whoever did it has any plans for the Halloween party. I still think we should have people there, just in case, but-- Oh hey! Matt's finally here! These guys fill you in on what happened? And how's everyone holding up?" His eyes fall on everyone present in turn as he speaks.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah shrugs and takes an offered cup of fancy wine from Kale. "Thanks..." he nods, before taking a ginger sip. "Hm. Not bad..." he muses. Wine wasn't really his thing. Alcohol in general wasn't really his thing. Slowed the mind, dulled the senses... and for some odd reason, it made his ears itch.

When he gets Semira's text, he fires back a simple: "On it."

When Adam asks if he's found anything, Jonah groans. "Nothing concrete. A missing parrot and a crazy homeless guy, but I sincerely doubt those have anything to do with our dude, even remotely. Semira just sent me a list of folks who bought flowers at a local store yesterday, though. I might be able to pull something off of it. Maybe. Hopefully. Probably not..." he grumbles.

And then he gets a text from Jaime, asking the same thing. Jonah sighs, not really feeling like repeating himself, even over text. So he replies with a simple yet informative text: "I got squat. Still working, though."


"Alright..." he mutters, looking at the picture(s) Semira sent him. "Let's see, looks like most of these folks bought bunches of roses. No single white ones. BUT, it's possible that they bought a bunch to throw off suspicion," he ponders aloud. "Lemme see what I can dig up."

Jonah then begins to do research on the people who bought white roses. College enrollment, criminal records, connections to Ian, et cetera.


Secret roll again, I assume? :smallconfused:

[Odentin]

Adam finishes his cup and sits down on the couch where he was napping earlier, "Was anyone in the club two years ago? When the shooting happened? It was investigated, right? Was there anything supernatural about it?"

Adam hadn't joined the club until a month or so afterwards, when he and the group crossed paths on a mutual hunt. If the original shooting spree had been investigated, he knows not about it.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon shakes his head. "I joined up middle of last year, after I saw that... thing... when I got back from Christmas break."

[Lycan 01]

"I just joined like a week ago," Jonah shrugs. "I wasn't enrolled here at the time, either."

[savior indra]

Kale poured himself another cup as he finished his first one. He knew that he shouldn't drink much more but he really didn't care at the moment. The whole memorial affair had left a bad taste in his mouth and the alcohol was washing it out.

"I was around during that time but... I didn't pay much attention. I was too busy making funeral arrangements with Sophia's parents. Didn't really talk to anyone other than them for a month or two after it happened." said Kale as he drank deeply from the cup.

Kale paused in thought for a second as an idea came to him. It wasn't a very pleasant one but it was worth mentioning.

"Humor me a second. Do we know if Ian Keating have any connection to Zach Lewis? Zach organized the last party, and he's organizing this one. He would have knowledge about any blind spots his 'security' had and allowed Ian to get in without getting caught."

[Odentin]

Adam nods, "So, is there any way to figure out if there was supernatural influence that night?"

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"I doubt it. Allison might know if her brother knew Zach, but it's entirely possible that he had walled her out completely. I suppose I can ask the next time I see her, but I don't really want to bring up a potentially painful subject." Turning to Adam, he adds, "I doubt it. The closest thing to 'records' this club has had for my whole time with the group is the charter, and the occasional proposal for a "club-sanctioned activity," like Christian taking the others paintballing. Outside of that, unless someone is keeping a journal, there aren't any records of our hunts that I'm aware of."

[Odentin]

Adam furrows his brow, "Data should still exist, though, right? News, police reports, that kind of $hit? I just want to know if we might be dealing with mind control or glamour or something..."

He frowns and gets up to see if he can get any more wine...

[-Sentinel-]

Jaime


Email addressed to the secretary of Mr Thompson
Dear Mr Thompson

I was wondering if it might be possible to be informed when the police have finished the investigation of the monument and restoration can begin. I firmly believe that it would be possible to put together a community work group from student societies to at remove the spray paint from the statues.

As well as saving the cost of hiring professionals, I dealing with this as a community effort would give a positive outlet for those offended by the horrendous act. As well it would be good publicity for the university and a boost to campus moral.

Yours sincerely
Jaime,
Maxwell Feminist Society
Dear Mrs Aaron,

The school wholeheartedly welcomes any volunteer help to restore the monument, as the harm this highly-publicized act caused to the reputation of our establishment is difficult to overstate. Professional assistance will still be required to repair or replace the pillar dedicated to Gavin Wade, but removal of the paint can begin now.

Unfortunately, we cannot have the police conduct a full investigation for a mere case of vandalism, no matter how despicable; as you well know, the officers in this neighborhood are already spread thin. We are mostly counting on a confession or testimony. The board will discuss a reward for any information leading directly to the perpetrator.

Sincerely,
Owen Thompson
Principal

1

Jonah

One of the six white rose buyers, Samuel Burton, was a former Maxwell student who had been friends with Nathan Rosenberg, one of the victims. Elizabeth Wade turned out to be Gavin's grandmother, and there was little reason to suspect either her or Sophia's father. The other three buyers proved hard to track down; how to tell the customer called James Adams apart from the other 41 people with the same name (http://findlinks.addresses.com/results.php?ReportType=34&qc=Chicago&qf=James&qi=0&qk=10&qn=Adams&qs=IL) in the Chicago phone book? All in all, none of the people on the list stood out as a likely suspect.

Of course, the list did not include people who had paid in cash, or gone to any other florist.

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick flicked through his books. He wasn't sure if any of these things were possible. He wasn't even sure the vandalism was a result of supernatural means.

"Alot of these rituals are applicable. I'm wondering if Ian could posess somebody and do these things himself."

He flicked to a creepy page on posession. While he never saw a possession, his mentor swore that plenty of supernatural beings had methods of controlling bodies and minds.

"Kale is right, Zach is the person in the best position to let a massacre happen. Like I said earlier we should try and match those two dots."

Patrick looked at Kale drinking his expensive alcohol. He wondered if Kale was okay to drive. Patrick stood up and threw his bag on his back.

"Could someone to drive me to the place where Ian rests. If he's buried in a public cemetery, I want to check out his grave and find evidence of any rituals being performed. Most rituals in my book require a piece of the person in question, bones, hair, blood, stuff like that."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"Do we even know where he's buried? For all we know it could be the opposite side of the country. ...Or he could have been cremated." Leon drops his gaze momentarily. "I... may be able to get in touch with someone who knows ghosts and stuff better than we do. It's... what, 1 o'clock here? I'll give him a call around 5 o'clock our time, see if he's willing to help."

[McGonigle]

Jaime was multitasking, and taking up two computers, although in the unlikely event this tiny dark room looked close to filling up she could apologise and log off one of them. Part of her was doing the first listen though of the video, jotting down the times when the interesting bits were happening, and occasionally pausing an making notes. It wasn't going as quickly as it could do but on the other hand it wasn't dragging out like it normally did.

On the other computer she was reading though the research materials she had collected on the shootings, but this time instead of concentrating on who would she should approach about requests to film, and which of them would be likely to express strong emotional responses (or at least had in the past.) Now she was correlating information on the killer, she wasn't quite sure if she was more interested in him, or trying to understand how Alison would have seen him. Still when the recording ran out she was still busy looking at articles and jotting notes down.

It was then she realised that the office had been far more rapid in getting back to her than she expected, trust Maxwell to be efficient only when the promise of free labour was involved. Still it would be an impressive gesture, ignoring how good an article it would make, if she sent it off right it could make the local papers.

She pulled out the phone and sent a text to the President of the feminist society.
“Hey it's Jaime, I was wondering if it would be possible to send out an e-mail to the rest of the feminist society. I was planning to volunteer to help remove the misogynistic graffiti on the monument, and I wanted to see if any other members would be willing to help.”

Not bothering to wait for a response she started drafting an e-mail:

“By now most of you have probably heard of the vandalism of the monument, another insult to those who have already been though so much, and a terrible display of prejudice and bigotry.

So I propose we do something about it, a show of solidarity with those who have suffered greatly. A clear sign that the students of Maxwell do not stand for such prejudice and hate. I plan to be at the monument with soap and water at 5:15pm, and while I appreciate it is short notice I would appreciate any assistance.

Help me show that this world can be a better place.”

As long as she got the go ahead to send it to the feminists she planned to e-mail it round a few of the other campaigning societies she occasionally protested with. She also would use the feminists face book account to make an event and do some mass invites, probably link it to some campus groups that were likely to be particularly offended., and nagging some of her 'friendship' group as well in person.

Finally after she had the ball rolling she sent a text to Kale “I was wondering if you might be able to invest in some discreet security camera's for the monument, I'm trying to get together a group to clean it, and lightning actually does sometimes strike the same place twice.”

I'm guessing the researching Ian is a secret roll.

Other than using Allies and contacts (Feminist society and Preasure groups) to try to get a group together to clean up the monument
E-mail with link to face book group: Manipulation +Expression
Facebook group: Manipulation +Expression + WP [roll0]

If she gets a decent group she'll rope someone from the newspaper into take some photos, probably see if someone can arrange for Michelle to be walking past close to the end as well. Then continue doing things like the pod-cast, and writing the coverage of her own protest.

[Odentin]

Since no one else seems to be doing it, Adam pulls his smartphone from his pocket and begins searching for public records about the Massacre. News stories, police records, anything out of the ordinary...

"I really need to invest in a laptop with my next sponsorship check..." he mutters to himself.

((Secret rolls, I presume? Int 3 + Academics 2. -2 for using a phone. 3 dice total...))

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"How have you been handling your classes without one?"

[Odentin]

"Pens and paper for notes, computer lab for research papers, and you guys for hunting." he says with a slight grin.

[Misaat]

"Nope. Nothing yet..."

Matthew answers as he takes a zip from the can of Mountain Dew

[-Sentinel-]

Thanks to Ian's notoriety, Patrick was able to find the location of his grave on Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com). It was in a small cemetery on the other side of Chicago. Placing it well away from where he had committed his massacre was probably deliberate...

Jaime's call for cleaning up the monument received a favorable response from both the president of the Feminist Society and other students. It did not take long for many volunteers to write back to Jaime, assuring her they would be there. Michelle and Marco were among them.

Adam was easily able to obtain much of the publicly-available information about the massacre, as Kale had done before him:


The massacre was committed with a Beretta 92 with serial numbers filed off. It started at one end of the dance floor in Tyler Hall near 11 PM and ended two or three minutes later in the restrooms at the other end, where a SWAT team found Ian dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound under the jaw with his Nixon mask and American flag still on. Witnesses reported that Ian was dancing to the music even as he fired at fleeing students...
The first casualty was Nathan Rosenberg, shot point-blank in the back of the head. Panic started immediately and Michelle was shot in the leg. Gavin Wade threw himself at the shooter, took three bullets to the chest for his attempted heroics, stumbled and never got up again. The other wounded and Sophia Neveux were shot as they fled. The killer spent four full clips and saved his last bullet for himself.

(OOC: Anything more specific you want to know, Odentin?)

[Odentin]

((Crime scene or media photos primarily and a psychological assessment of Ian BEFORE the massacre [not that I believe one exists or would be public record, but he'd search to cover the bases].))

Adam keeps looking, trying to find images, in case the police might have missed something...

[Sir_Gabes]

"Can someone drive me to Ian's grave. I'll look for any evidence of rituals around the grave. Anyone who wants to come is welcome to. I don't think I will need to dig up the corpse, but if we do for any reason we'll come back later tonight."

Patrick points at the computer screen, indicating he found the location of Ian's grave. He prepares some of his equipment. Making sure he has everything he needs. He would drop by the maintenance shed later and grab a shovel. Hopefully he wouldn't need it, but he wouldn't know until he saw the extent of any tampering. (if any)

[Lycan 01]

Jonah sighs. "Still got nadda. Nothing useful, at least. Um... Okay, gonna try one more thing."

Jonah then does a quick internet search to see if there are any forums, blogs, chatrooms, or other web sources where Ian has been portrayed in a favorable light. And if there are any dolts out there who are posting supportive information or feedback, he tries to see if he can dig up anything that indicates their proximity or involvement with the college.


Secret rolls again? :smalltongue:

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"I'd offer to drive you, but my car's back out East. Not much need for a car when you live on campus and your family lives 1500 miles away."

[savior indra]

"If you're willing to wait an hour or two I'll drive you." offered Kale as he corked the bottle of wine and set it aside.

"Besides I need to get away from the campus for a bit anyways."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"You sure you'll be okay to drive in just a couple of hours? And that you'll be okay going to Ian's grave?"

[savior indra]

"I've only had two cups of wine. It's not like I'm about to pass out or anything. And I can take a walk while you do your thing. It's bound to be better than staying here."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon shrugs. "If you say so. Anyone else coming?"

[SurlySeraph]

Semira slumps through the door, looking as if she was about to fall asleep but was suddenly perked up. "Ian's grave, you said? Sure."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"Just to be clear, we're not defiling it. We're only looking for, what'd you say, Patrick, signs of tampering?"

[Sir_Gabes]

"We're searching for any signs of supernatural involvement. If Ian's ghost is a part of this, a visit to his grave could confirm it. Certain talismans or mojos could stir his ghost or even certain rituals. If Ian is restless, he will likely try to hurt or scare away people he distrusts. Kale will have to come to the grave as that could provide perfect evidence."

Patrick studied his book further. Making sure he didn't forget anything.

"He could be possessing people. I don't know a whole lot about posession. I do know it's easier if the vessel has a strong connection with the controller. Allison would be a likely suspect if that were the case."

Patrick seemed satisfied. There was no guarantee any of this was the reason, but it would be good eliminate the possibility.

"If we're waiting for Kale to sober up. I'm going to go check out the monument and it's surrounding area. You guys can come if you want. There could be quite a bit evidence to yield from that."

[Odentin]

Adam sighs and puts his phone aside for now, vowing to finish his research later, "I'll go, too. I can fit a couple in my Jeep, if we need more seats."

[-Sentinel-]

Adam found several pictures of the scene of the massacre, all taken about half an hour after Ian's suicide. A few of them showed blood splattered all over the wooden dance floor of Tyler Hall, Maxwell's most venerable building. The three victims still lay where they fell. Another picture, made famous by the newspapers, showed Ian Keating lying in a dried pool of his own blood in the men's restrooms, still in disguise, his empty handgun on the floor next to him. Nothing in the pictures suggested anything but a regular school shooting, if such a thing existed.

Ian had left no suicide note or anything of the sort. No pre-massacre psychological profiles appeared to exist. He had had a bout with depression and burnout at age fifteen, during which his grades briefly dropped from A to C, but nothing noteworthy in the past five years. Ian seemed to confuse many psychologists, who found little in common between him and most school shooters. In most cases, there had been warning signs, but not in Ian's. Yet the crime was clearly premeditated, as he had gone through the trouble of buying a gun on the black market from an as-yet unknown seller.

Searching through the old issues of the school newspaper, Jaime ended up with a similar assessment of Ian. While he was not well-known, having been in Maxwell University for only two months and being the introverted sort, several of his classmates and teachers said he was a nice guy... A bit shy, but quite intelligent and hard-working. He certainly did not look violent or depressive.

Jonah visited Facebook, Twitter and several other social networks and forums and found what he had dreaded – comments supportive of Ian Keating. A user by the name of IanFan, whose many accounts had all been created today, had several posts along the lines of:

They deserved to die. If they didn't, Ian wouldn't have killed them :)
Ian is not dead cuz heroes live forever!
Oh Ian, we need more brave, fearless people like you.

As expected, a flame war erupted wherever these comments appeared. It was surely a matter of time before a moderator banned IanFan and removed their posts. But IanFan was a careful troll; on all forums that required a publicly available email address, they used [email protected].

Semira visited the nearest costume shop, the one that supplied most of the Maxwell crowd, and asked if anyone had bought Nixon masks. She was informed that this particular shop no longer sold them since the Halloween Massacre.

“No one would buy them anyway,” said the manager. “Maybe it was ordered over the Internet.”

Kale's drive to the cemetery took most of the afternoon due to Chicago's size. By the time they arrived, the sun was already setting, basking the leaf-strewn cemetery in a reddish glow. As it turned out, the trip had been in vain – Ian's grave, modest despite his parents' wealth, remained untouched. No vandalism, no traces of digging, but no flowers either.

The cleanup of the memorial led by Jaime did not take long, as the vandal had been using a type of paint that could be removed even without soap. The Hitler moustache on Nathan's bronze face was a bit harder to take off, but they managed with some scrubbing. Soon, the only trace of vandalism remaining was the irreparable damage on Gavin's pillar.

The next day (Friday), Kale began shadowing Allison. She left her dorm at eight in the morning, attended a Psychopathology exam in the Arts & Humanities building, and was one of the first students to leave the classroom. She ate an early lunch at the cafeteria and went to the library, where she shared her time between her laptop and her psychology books for most of the afternoon, ostensibly studying or doing her homework. Around 4 PM, she went to the sports building, where she practiced archery with Adam without talking much. She shot skillfully at targets for nearly two hours, looking very focused while doing so and never pausing long. She then went back to her dorm, stopped at the lobby office to pick up a shoebox-sized package she had received from Amazon (it appeared to be rather lightweight), and stayed home for the rest of the evening. As far as Kale could see, she always ate and studied alone and never hung out with any friends. Allison's Saturday was not much more interesting. She stayed inside the student residences for most of the day, except to go buy some groceries for a few days and have her archery practice. At eight in the evening, she got a visit from Leon, who stayed until eleven.

Leon, glad to take a break from the lab where he worked with some success to make his remaining vampire blood more potent, spent the three hours in Allison's room getting the crap kicked out of him at Super Smash Bros. Brawl. They chatted a bit while playing, but both carefully avoided any topics that might lead to Ian or the massacre. Yet, Leon realized, these things were probably never far from Allison's mind; her bookshelf held such titles such as Psychology of Murder-Suicides, Spree Killers: Twenty Profiles, and Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold: An Analysis. There was no fiction on Allison's shelves, as if she lacked the time or the taste for it. She did, however, appear to enjoy her video games. There was a large pile of them (mostly adventure and fighting games) next to her Wii, as well as several Legend of Zelda posters on her walls. By the end of the evening, Allison looked quite contented and asked Leon to come again anytime.



Meanwhile, on the Internet, IanFan kept spewing hate on various sites, no matter how many times the accounts to their name got deleted – they quickly registered under a slightly different name like IanFan2 or IaanFaan. The messages were starting to turn into threats:

Another Halloween party this year. Will history repeat itself? XD
4 dead. No offense Ian, but surely it's possible to do better.
I have a very nice disguise for Zach's party! But it's a surprise... You'll love it! :P
Glock or Beretta? Choices, choices. Ian had a Beretta, right?


On Monday, in response to these threats, Zach emailed a message to everyone:


In order to ensure everyone's peace of mind at the Halloween party this year, security has been increased by popular demand. JAMIE PRICE, former member of the Sigma Kappa Phi society and now a Chicago Police Department officer, has volunteered to serve as a security guard. He is trained in personal combat and has been authorized to be armed on campus for the duration of the party.

In addition, METAL DETECTORS will be placed at the entrance of the ballroom, so make sure your disguise includes no metal accessories that might be mistaken for weapons.

We need you to come in great numbers! Remember, if the Halloween Party ceases to exist, Ian Keating and his mysterious fan will have won.

-Zach Lewis.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

((OOC: Assuming we're back in the club room on Monday.))

Leon lounged in his usual spot, resting up. He had gotten the rest of what he needed for his Dr. Franken Stein costume on Sunday, and was now relaxing between classes. "I've had some success with the blood; Karen's supply should be extended by a few days. That's a little more time to come up with a fix for the psychological aspect. Anyway, you guys see that e-mail from Zach? Who gave him a "Send All" button?"

[Lycan 01]

Jonah is in his usual spot in the corner. As usual, he's clad in his typical dapper scholar attire - black pants, white shirt, grey vest, and some canvas shoes with a variety of doodles etched on them (the product of boredom).

Rather than reading a book, though, he's tapping at his smart phone, a look of annoyance on his face. "Trolls need to burn and die..." he grumbles.

He then pauses to look up and add: "Internet trolls. Not real trolls. Though fire is supposed to work just as well. Actually, I need to do some research into them later. Now I'm curious. Might make for a good paper. Hmmm..."

He seems slightly more... chipper, than usual. His speech is more speedy and clipped. There's a bottle of Mountain Dew on the floor next to him. There are only a few sips yet. Stress and sugar do weird things to Jonah, apparently.

"Oh!" he suddenly exclaims, and his head snaps around to look at Leon. "Idea! For the party! What if you wore a small spy camera, and I watched it from my desktop via live feed? Then if things go south, I can keep you up to date on what you're dealing with. I mean, if it's just a bozo with a gun... I won't be much help, besides moral support. But, uh, if they start shooting lightning out of their eyes or crawling on the ceiling while gibbering in Latin, I might be able to tell you what you're dealing with and how to handle it. Exorcism on the fly, or something like that," he cheerfully suggests. "Thoughts?"

[Sir_Gabes]

Patrick looked at the note shaking his head. This was stupid, there is no way one cop would be enough. Naturally the Maxwell vigilantes would have to show up. Still, Patrick wanted to avert this potential disaster. Ianfan was disturbingly persistent. He now felt quietly confident that this was unlikely to be supernatural. At the very least they knew what they were dealing with. A disturbed man or woman desperate for attention. It could just be a particularly cruel troll.

Patrick whipped out his phone and fired off a group text to the group.

"I want the cop's name and history. I will look into it, but I might need some help. Considering he's allowed to be armed on Maxwell premises, we have to be prepared for the chance he's our guy. We'll also look into Zach. Our host might be setting up an elaborate trap."


Patrick pocketed his phone and started searching for Zach. He would follow him around for a bit and see what he got up to. Patrick needed to check is locker and maybe search his room. Zach was too keen on this party. He may be a dangerous idiot, but Patrick needed to find out for sure.

[McGonigle]

Jaime looked up from her clipboard where she was in the process of re-working her article on the rapid student response to the vandalism. She still wasn't happy with the wording of the second paragraph. That being said her pretense that she actually got work done at this meeting wasn't going well. She had started reworking one line, before having been distracted, and while she made a show that she was still busy, she wasn't getting any work done.

"As much as I am always for promoting suspicion of the police, I reckon if the shooting is an in-house job we would have heard less about it. No point in setting up an elaborate trap and then risking springing it with internet posts.
I would be mainly worried about people entering from through the library, it seems the most obvious route in. I wouldn't put it past the fratboys to forget that the library exists at all to be honest. The windows are also potentially problematic, and we can't ignore the possibility that someone has hidden the weapon in the hall before the party starts."

[SurlySeraph]

Semira nods, looking up from the couch. "Especially that last one concerns me. Corners, under the stage, above ceiling tiles... my dad kept a gun in a plastic bag in the toilet tank. We could try to search the building beforehand, but it would take very long and we couldn't be sure we found everything."

She stretches and then stands up. "Can I borrow someone's computer? I want to email ianfan@gmail, see if I can lure him out. Or at least find out more about him."

[savior indra]

"I can see if I can scrounge up some kevlar for you guys for the party. It's better than nothing if there is a shooter. And can everyone fight without a gun or a knife? With the metal detectors it'll be difficult to get any weapon in. And I'm going to go buy some headsets for you guys so we can stay in contact at the party over the noise." said Kale as he looked around the room.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon shakes his head. "I'm only handy with my knife. Besides, if somebody does start shooting, closing's a bad plan anyway, with or without weapons and kevlar."

[Odentin]

Adam paces the room, far from calm (or asleep), "I know a little, but I'd rather not." He chuckles and shakes his head, "My bow could probably pass a metal detector, but there's no way to hide it through the checkpoint. And unless I can get up high, I don't want to shoot into a crowd."

Adam looks down at his phone and sighs, grabbing his pack on teh way towards the door, "Someone should talk to Zach, make sure he knows to keep security on the library entrance. I'll be at practice."

Having finished he leaves the room and heads to the locker room, where he changes into his practice gear, strings his recurve bow, and heads out onto the field for practice. He looks out for Allison during practice, hoping to get a chance to talk to her.

[Misaat]

" Maybe they'll let us in with guns if we go dressed up as SWAT hehe "

Matthew jokes while searching on the net about ways to make firearms out of ceramic.

[-Sentinel-]

Patrick

There was a lot that Patrick already knew about the legendary (some would say notorious) Zach Lewis. If you looked up fratboy in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Zach next to it. He was born in New York in an old-money business family, and had decided that the whole working for a living thing was for proles. So he just spent his life in college; socializing, drinking, gambling, seducing every pretty girl who came along (single or not), and occasionally pretending to study. As far as anyone could tell, he had no goal in life beyond the next party. He had survived the Halloween Massacre, but had recovered from the trauma more quickly than just about anyone else. In the day he tended to sleep late or grudgingly go to his classes, while in the night he would be found in the most trendy nightclubs of Chicago. Zach was said to have a condo in the Trump Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Tower_Chicago), but its address was not common knowledge. If his reputation was to be believed, though, quite a lot of girls from Maxwell University had seen the inside of it.

Manipulation + Socialize to find one such girl. I know it's not your strong suit, but others can help. Or you can get Semira to do the original research. :P

I don't know about American universities, but at mine in Canada, there are no lockers. Students just carry their stuff.

How will you go about researching Jamie Price in detail? Any specific places you want to go or people you want to ask?
Jamie Price was known as a former Sigma Kappa Phi member and Zach Lewis's closest thing to a real friend. He was widely acknowledged as a member of the cool clique, but he was more low-key than Zach. Like Zach, he was present at the Halloween Massacre; Patrick remembered seeing him at the memorial, a gangly young man with bleached hair.

1

Matthew

The more Matthew searched about improvised weapons on the Web, the more he realized that making anything elaborate before Wednesday night was a laughable idea. He could reasonably be able to fashion some knives out of wood or bone, but any sort of gun was too complex.

1

Adam

Adam found Allison at target practice at the end of the afternoon, as usual. She was armed with a short and lightweight bow that suited her small frame. As he watched, she loosed an arrow at the target, her face tense with concentration:

Damage bonus from the bow not included – this only determines if she hits the target.

[roll0]
Any 10's: [roll1]

5 successes. o_O
Thud. Bull's-eye. It was a masterful shot, even by Adam's standards. Allison was getting good for a relative newbie.

“Hey, Adam. So. Uh. What's up?” she asked absent-mindedly. She was never very good at small talk.

1

OOC, everyone:
Okay, so the timeline is pretty loose here, but it doesn't matter all that much. I'm not expecting to roleplay this whole day in detail, just a few scattered scenes.


"Someone should talk to Zach, make sure he knows to keep security on the library entrance."
I'm going to ignore any “Someone should X” suggestions until someone actually sets out to do it.

SurlySeraph, you can assume someone lends you a computer. Feel free to write the email.

Savior Indra, roll a Manipulation + Streetwise test to find Kevlar. Bonuses from a cell phone and such are applicable.

McGonigle, roll an Intelligence + Expression test to write that article. It won't really matter plot-wise, but I just like to make my players roll tests. :smallwink:

[SurlySeraph]

Semira nods to Adam as he leaves. "Sure, I'll go find him and tell him. Pretty sure I can get him to listen to me."

But first, a more likely lead.

Semira words her email to ianfan carefully: she needs to sound stupid, just not implausibly stupid. She looks up some of the letters Ted Bundy received in prison to get ideas. After finishing the first draft, she rereads it while chewing on a pencil, altering word choices and changing every capital letter to lowercase.

"hi ianfan. i hope you actually check this email. lol.

im really impressed by your moral courage. most people don't admit that killers are impressive. you say what you feel and i bet you take what you want. people fear what they don't understand. you're no common man and i care about that more than anything.

i don't know if i can help you but i'll try if i can, and i definitely want to hear more about your philosophy. u have your life figured out and i really don't...

pleeease email me back. or we can meet up in person if you prefer."

After careful thought, Semira rules out attaching a picture of her face (crazy), on her knees with her face cropped out (trying a little too hard), and just her lips (not quite blatant enough). She stands against a wall with no identifiable features and uses the webcam's timer to take a picture of herself from behind, her hair down and hands in front of her so the viewer can see the shape of her body but not even her skin color, and attaches it to the email. Finally, she adds

"i know which i prefer. :)"

After checking that she's using the newly-set-up [email protected] rather than her normal account, Semira hits send. She shivers, not sure whether to hope for a reply or silence, and goes out to find Zach. He might leave her feeling terrible about herself if she's not careful, but at least talking to Zach won't make her feel like she needs to scrub all her skin off.

[Odentin]

Adam

Adam found Allison at target practice at the end of the afternoon, as usual. She was armed with a short and lightweight bow that suited her small frame. As he watched, she loosed an arrow at the target, her face tense with concentration:

Damage bonus from the bow not included – this only determines if she hits the target.

[roll0]
Any 10's: [roll1]

3 successes.
Thud. It was a decent shot, even by Adam's standards. Allison was getting good for a relative newbie.

“Hey, Adam. So. Uh. What's up?” she asked absent-mindedly. She was never very good at small talk.

"Nice shot, kid. I'm just wondering how you're holding up. With the threats...hope no one's giving you too hard a time..."

Adam is going to be gauging her reaction as they speak, trying to see if she's hiding anything. Composure +empathy, right? [roll0]
Possible exploding dice: [roll1]

[-Sentinel-]

Semira

Zach was a hard person to find most of the time, but at night, there were only so many bars and nightclubs cool enough for him to visit. It was just a matter of finding which ones. He tended to always know where the best DJs would be working or where the best bands would be playing at any given time of the week.

I'll put the part about seducing Zach on hold, because this would put you hours ahead of the others and you might have other things to do today. To know ahead of time where he'll be tonight, make it Manipulation + Socialize to find those in the know and to learn rumors from them.

1

Adam

"I'm alright, thanks," said Allison. "People avoid me, but they don't bother me."

She looked preoccupied... tense. As she nocked another arrow, Adam noticed that her fingernails were even more ragged than usual from persistent chewing. Of course, a lot of students were the same during mid-term exams...

"Hey, grab your bow. First one to score twenty points wins." She forced a grin. "Not that I hope to beat an Olympic prospect... but just to see how close I'll get, it's worth a shot. No pun intended."

If you accept the challenge, roll a series of archery tests and I'll do the same for Allison. One success equals one point. The one of you who needs the fewest shots to reach 20 points is the winner. There is no time for aiming.

The bow's damage bonus is not added to the roll. All shots are at short range.

[Odentin]

"Heh. You're on."

Adam picks his bow off of the stand and takes up the lane next to Allison, nodding to her his readiness, "Go."

Shot 1: [roll0]
Shot 2: [roll1]
Shot 3: [roll2]
Shot 4: [roll3]
Shot 5: [roll4]

Possible 10's: [roll5]

[Lycan 01]

"Eh, might as well give it a shot..." Jonah mutters to himself. He then proceeds to try every little internet trick he knows to find any legit information on IanFan's name, address, or anything else like that.


I'm guessing another secret roll?

[Odentin]

That's 14.

Shot 4: [roll0]
Shot 7: [roll1]
Shot 8: [roll2]
Shot 9: [roll3]
Shot 10: [roll4]

Possible 10's: [roll5]

Edit: 8 shots, 24 seconds.

[-Sentinel-]

Adam

Allison loosed her arrows every bit as fast as Adam, using the moves the Olympic archer had taught her over the past year. She looked incredibly focused, as if the only things in the world were herself and the target.

So Adam needed 8 shots... Let's see if Allison can beat or tie that. (Doubt it.)

Shot 1: [roll0]
Shot 2: [roll1]
Shot 3: [roll2]
Shot 4: [roll3]
Shot 5: [roll4]
Shot 6: [roll5]
Shot 7: [roll6]
Shot 8: [roll7]

Any 10's: [roll8]

...holy...

To Adam's astonishment, she shouted "Twenty-one!" while he nocked his eighth arrow. There were seven green-shafted arrows stuck in her target and, as Adam could see, they did add up to twenty-one points.

"Wow," Allison breathed, obviously surprised by her own victory. "You didn't hold back, I hope? You know I hate when you do that."

1

Jonah

IanFan was cautious and left no publicly available information except the account creation date and the email address. As far as Jonah knew, the only useful bit of info would be their IP address, and no one but the forum admins would be able to see it.

[Odentin]

Adam still lets the eighth arrow fly, watching as it lands, making his score 22, "Heh, one arrow. Nicely done, kid."

He smiles at Allison, obviously embarrassed by his poor showing, "Nah, no holding back. I guess I'm just unfocused today."

[-Sentinel-]

Adam

Allison shrugged dismissively, almost as if embarrassed by her victory. "Smaller bow. Less time to draw, more time to aim. To me, anyway, archery will never be more than a hobby." She studied him. "Is there something on your mind, Adam?"

[Odentin]

Adam tries to smirk, "Just worried about the upcoming invitational, if that's how I'm shooting." he says dismissively, nodding to the targets, and an arrow of his far enough outside the target to not net him any points at all.

He stares at the target a long moment before sighing and shaking his head, "I'm also worried about the halloween party."

[SurlySeraph]

Sem spends twenty-odd minutes hanging out with a couple Sigma Kappa Phi members, fending off advances and trying to cajole them into telling her where Zach'll be.
Manipulation + Socialize: [roll0]
In case of 10s: [roll1]

She also searches for Wayne Borden. If she finds him and he's willing to give her the time of day, she'll simply ask "I heard there's going to be a metal detector at the Halloween party. What do you think about that?" and hope something interesting slips out in his inevitable Second Amendment rant.

[-Sentinel-]

Adam

Allison's face betrayed no obvious emotion that Adam could see.

"I believe everyone's worried about that, what with the vandalism and that IanFan sicko... If there's another maniac, I don't think a metal detector and a rookie cop are going to stop them. On the other hand, it's pretty dumb to announce a crime in advance..."

She hesitated. "You know that rich kid, Kale? The one who went crazy at the ceremony? I think he's suspecting me for the vandalism thing. He's getting really creepy, but I'm not sure what to do about him."

[McGonigle]

The article may be pointless but I'm spending WP on it regardless:p
[roll0]
[roll1]

Sorry my posting is a bit minimal at the moment, the internet in Turkey isn't really great, and I'm slightly busy.

[Odentin]

Adam nods solemnly, "He probably does, and there're probably others, too. Wait, creepy how?"

[savior indra]

Kale opens the door walking into the RPG Club's room carrying three kevlar vests in his arms, absentmindedly humming a tune as he sat them down on the table before cracking open a bottle of water and taking a long swig.

He glances around the room before saying to anyone there, "So what have you been up to?"

[McGonigle]

Jaime smiled at the latest draft, and she was actually quite happy with it. To be honest it might even be a portfolio piece, although that was partially just it being more juicy than some uni papers got to cover. It wasn't her normal style it was more perky, and less critical but it was still her voice. It still needed a quote from one of the survivors, preferably Michelle she knew how to give good sound bites, but it was finished enough that she would have someone have a look over it.

“It is so easy to be cynical in the wake of tragedy, to focus on what is negative, and reporting in the anniversary of such a tragedy and such a terrible desecration it seems like the only option to report.

Screw that, I refuse to let one bigot cast a shadow on my life, to shake my faith in how humanity can be. Have you walked past the monuments recently? Those bigoted words are no more the only trace of their existence photos from the day. Yet it was not the principal who arranged such but a student, and not professional cleaners but the population of Maxwell. Within a day the students had gathered in numbers to clean the memorial. The atmosphere at the work was generally optimistic, there was still sadness and anger as there is right to be. Yet there is something inspiring about so many coming together to do good honest work for a valuable cause.

The name of the student, is to remain anonymous however they did give a brief statement, “It would be wrong for me to claim credit, that should be shared among all those who did the hard work. I am not the only one furious at the state of the memorial, I just came up with a channel for that sentiment.”

So as easy as it is to focus on the negative, to see a world filled with suffering and evil, the reason this was a tragedy is all of the victims were good people, who deserved better. This world can be a better place, and sometimes all it takes is a nudge in the right direction.

To the survivors, to the real hero's of the Maxwell shooting, this sends a sign just how alone and isolated the sad little bigot who did this really is.”

***********
Jaime looked at Kale "Just writing an article for the paper, it might prove helpful it might not. Look I hate to beg but I don't suppose I could have your assistance with a security issue, the memorial has been significantly cleaned up and I was wondering if we could install a camera or two there. It may not work, he may not go there again, but anything that gives us a shot of catching him before we get a repeat has to be worth it. Not to mention any camera's brought could be reused later."

[-Sentinel-]

Adam

"Creepy as in, has been watching me," Allison confided. "I haven't seen him today, though... Maybe he understood how boring my life really is. I understand his anger, but really... suspecting me just because I'm Ian's sister? So, murdering people is in the Keatings' blood?"

She sighed.

1

Semira

As Semira had expected, Wayne Borden was not happy about the security measures.

"We'll all be defenseless!" he complained loudly. "I mean, is a gunman going to go home when he sees a fµcking metal detector in his way? The only way to be safe is to have this party off campus, where everyone can pack a gun. Would you attack a party where everyone's armed? Fµck no. More guns, less crime... it's time those stupid liberals and commies understood that. This nation was founded by men with guns, not by fµcking hippies, or we'd still be under British rule or hiding from Indian raids. I swear, when we get rid of those wimpy Democrats and put a man with real balls in the White House, or better yet, get rid of the whole fµcking UN-controlled federal government, we'll..."

He went on for quite a while before Semira could politely slip away.

She had better luck with Zach's whereabouts. She easily got in contact with his exclusive clique of pretty, rich, lazy friends, which he led because he was the prettiest, richest and laziest of them all, and learned that he would be spending much of his evening at the Skyreach, the new, super-trendy, insanely expensive nightclub occupying the 90th story of the John Hanc0ck Center.

1

Jaime

Within minutes of emailing her work to the school newspaper, Jaime received very positive feedback from Ellen, who assured her that this text would be on page 2.

You'll make a great editor when I graduate :) , Ellen's answer concluded.

[savior indra]

"That stuff isn't exactly my forte but if you need help I'm free. Also based on the previous couple of Halloween parties do we have a rough idea how many people will show up? And what the ratio of students to security is?" said Kale as he leaned back in his chair drinking more water.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah waves at Kale. "Oh, y'know, chasing my tail on the internet and trying not to throw my phone in frustration. The usual," he shrugs.

"I have an idea, though. I tossed it out earlier, but I don't think Leon heard me. I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to physically be at the party. Rather, what if I pulled something like an 'eye in the sky' sorta role? Maybe one or two of you can have small surveillance cameras on you, and the footage can stream to my computer? If I see something fishy, I can let you know. And if somebody starts crawling on the wall or something, I can tell you what you're probably dealing with, and how to hopefully deal with it."

He pauses, seemingly pondering something for a moment. "Or we could call the cops halfway through the party, and report underage drinking or something. Crazy guy might think twice if a bunch of Blues are on the scene before he has a chance to do anything."

[Odentin]

Adam shakes his head, "People need something to lash out against. You're an easy target. You remember your brother from childhood, and people see that fond remembrance as support for what he did. It's not fair to you..."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"I didn't say anything before for the same reason I didn't bring up Matt's old PVC blunderbuss idea: it's bad. Actually, no, that's not fair, it's good in theory, but in practice, it's not. I see two major issues, right off the bat: 1) You're not likely to see anything we don't, and are arguably less likely to see something than if you were there, and 2) Getting our hands on these cameras, which, given the sudden presence of Kevlar on the table, Kale might be able to work around, so change that to avoiding raising suspicion while we have them. Which brings us to a bit of a Catch-22. If the cameras are good enough to actually let you see what's going on in better detail than we'll be able to, they'll either be too expensive for even Kale to get his hands on, or they'll be really conspicuous and suspicious-looking, and if they're small enough to not arouse suspicion, you probably won't be able to see." Leon actually sits up now, turning and facing the others in the room.

"Frankly, it'd be better to have more people on hand. Zach's e-mail implied that security is going to be pretty light, what with a metal detector at the door and only a single cop, so that means security, short-term, at least, falls to us. We wouldn't have been able to take down Gregory and what's-her-name if someone had been staying behind to play mission control, and I don't trust everything to go according to plan at the party, regardless of if someone's playing mission control or not. More people present means more eyes and ears scanning independently, more rapid response from whoever sees something, speedier transmission of warning, and better containment until the police arrive, assuming it's not something supernatural." He sighs. "Look, if you really think it'd be better for you to stay behind and try to feed us information, then fine. I just think it'd be more useful to have everyone on the field. ...Where'd you get the armor, anyway, Kale?"

[Misaat]

" Maybe we could divide ourselves in various groups. One at the doors two inside the party and one at the bathrooms..."

Matthew suggests

[savior indra]

"Black market. Took me awhile to even find these three, and I got lucky. I don't think I'll be able to grab anymore before the party so we should decide who gets them carefully." said Kale.

[-Sentinel-]

Adam shakes his head, "People need something to lash out against. You're an easy target. You remember your brother from childhood, and people see that fond remembrance as support for what he did. It's not fair to you..."
"Can't really complain," said Allison. "I'm the one who chose to remain in Chicago, and even go to Maxwell like my bro. I could have taken the easy way out and fled, like my parents did."

There was sadness in her eyes. "Even they all but disowned me, you know, because of my loyalty. First, they cut off all their links with Ian. They didn't go to his funeral, they barely paid for a halfway decent burial, they moved out of state to escape the public view, and my mother took back her maiden name, something she hadn't even done when she divorced my father. They refused to say any good things about Ian when people tried to interview them. But I kept admitting I loved him, in public, even to the media, and they became ashamed of me. They left me two choices; shut up about Ian, or live by my own means..."

Her voice trailed off. Abruptly, as if to change the subject, she said: "One more chance to regain your honor, okay? One arrow each, and this time you take all the time you need to aim."

She nocked an arrow and aimed for a good fifteen seconds, then loosed.

OOC:
This time we'll count the Damage ratings. With the max allowed aiming bonus (+5), Allison's dice pool is 14.

[roll0] - 3 successes.

Any 10s: [roll1]

The arrow did not hit that far from the center, but Allison pursed her lips. "Meh. Yeah, for the sake of your career, I really hope you can do better."

[Odentin]

((Adam gets 19, since he's not using his compound bow, in which he would have 20.))

Adam nods and takes a single arrow, takes a deep breath to center himself, and draws the arrow. He takes his time, bringing the target into the proper sighting and steadying his arm before giving the arrow the final centimeter of draw. The draw gauge snaps against the bow, and Adam instinctively releases the arrow...

[roll0] - 5 successes
Exploding: [roll1]

...and watches as it lands, a near-perfect center shot, "Heh. Looks like I've still got it."

[-Sentinel-]

Allison grinned. "I certainly hope so. Don't worry, I'll tell no one you got beaten by a girl in a speed-shooting contest."

Thankfully, they were alone in the gymnasium right now. Most members of the archery club were still up to their ears in studies and exams and had no time for practice.

"I think I'll go home now." Allison unstrung her bow and retrieved her arrows from the target. "Got to finish an essay for tomorrow and keep that nice line of A's unbroken. Thanks for lending an ear, Adam, I really appreciate that."



((I thought max allowed was 3. But hey, I'll take it.
Oh, quite possible, I don't have my book at hand.

[Odentin]

Adam smiles and nods, "Hey, no worries. What are teammates for?"

He takes a moment as he goes to retrieve his own arrows, ""Hey, you've got my number, right? Gimme a call if you ever need to talk, alright?"

[SurlySeraph]

Semira opens the door to the RPG club with a spring in her step. "I couldn't find Zach around campus, but I know where he'll be tonight. Which does have an advantage, in that if something more than laziness accounts for his bad security plans there's good odds it'll be laying around his apartment."

She takes a deep breath and adds "I could have a look around while he's asleep. Or, riskier, I could text you the address and make sure the door's unlocked so you can search while he's, um, distracted." Sem makes brief, pleading eye contact with Jaime, as if to say Please don't judge me.

Finally, she adds Anyway, Zach'll be at Skyreach. Kale, you know expensive places a lot better than I do. Could you lend me some money to get an outfit that'll fit in there, and for a cover charge if there is one?"

[McGonigle]

"I can give you details of the cameras, but it's more my budget can barely stretch to cover an unexpected bus journey, let alone electronic equipment." Jaime commented, she didn't like mentioning her financial problems, especially in front of Kale. She felt slightly exposed sitting there after saying it, as if everyone was looking at her and judging.

So she was very glad off Semira entering the room. She met Semiras eyes, then after the other woman had finished speaking she piped in. "Guard any drinks you have at the club very carefully, it's a pity its probably too upmarket to drink out of a bottle" She responded her words practiced but the one implied concern rather than judgement.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah shrugs. "Alright, I was just tossin' out ideas. I mean, I guess I could try to attend the party, but... uh... No costume?" he smiles meekly. He didn't really know how to explain the whole 'I'm an introvert and I'm terrified of big social situations' thing without looking like an idiot.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"There's a costume shop two blocks from campus. We can fix the lack of a costume in 10 minutes, tops. Don't worry, man. It's just a party, we'll all be there, and, with a bit of luck, nothing will go wrong. And if something does, we'll all be there to fix it."

[savior indra]

"Sure you should be able to find something that'll get you in for under $300, $500. And Semira, your a girl, more importantly you're attractive. You won't need to pay cover most likely. And if you do just slip the bouncer a $50 and he'll let you in." explained Kale as he stifled a yawn, clearly tired from having searched for kevlar all day.

[-Sentinel-]

Adam

“Sure,” said Allison. “See you at the party.”

Humming under her breath, she packed her things and left Adam to train alone.

1

Everyone

In the late afternoon, the library announced by email that it would close more early on Halloween for security reasons. Like any place with computers, it probably had motion sensors to prevent theft, making it difficult – but not impossible, of course – for a gunman to go through it undetected.

Semira checked her email box often, but IanFan had not responded to her message. Either they sensed a trap, they were not serious about their threats, or they were simply not interested in having an accomplice. It occurred to Semira that, given the fuss caused by the hateful forum posts, she was probably not the first one to contact IanFan.

1

Semira

John Hanc0ck Center
October 29, 9:30 PM

Semira swallowed to unplug her ears when the super-fast elevator dinged and opened at the 90th story out of 100 of the John Hanc0ck Center, fourth tallest building in Chicago and sixth tallest in the United States. The Eritrean student was dressed better than she had ever been in her life and had spent nearly two hours putting on makeup. She had noticed the longing gazes men gave her as she made her way through the building, and she knew that even the hard-to-impress Zach would not fail to notice her in a crowd.

The entrance of the Skyreach nightclub, at the end of a short hallway, was guarded by a handsome bouncer in a tuxedo who looked more like a presidential bodyguard than a thug for hire. He smiled politely at her, but as she reached for her wallet, he said:

“You're not a member, are you? Who's inviting you?”

Semira's mouth opened and closed. Nobody had told her the Skyreach was for members and invitees only. She was spared embarrassment when Zach Lewis happened to pass behind the bouncer and recognized her at a glance despite rarely talking to her.

“Oh, Semira!” he said cheerfully. “Come in. No, don't pay from your own pocket. I insist.”

He slipped the bouncer a hundred-dollar bill as if buying a beer, and just like that, Semira was allowed in. The Skyreach took up most of this level and had large windows on three sides. From a height of roughly 1000 feet, the view of the illuminated city was stunning. Soft techno music was playing in the background. Among the fifty or so guests, Semira thought she recognized a few people she had seen on TV and in magazines, mostly actors, singers and athletes. She was surprised by how informally clubgoers were dressed despite the place's steep prices. This was not a club for champagne-sipping CEO's and politicians, but one for rich, idle young people. The insane costs for admittance and drinks were probably meant to keep out any uncool wannabes with an income under six figures. People like Semira.

Zach led the international student to his little group of friends and acquaintances, only a few of whom went or had gone to Maxwell. Jamie Price was among them. Semira sank into one of the leather armchairs near a window and somehow found herself with a can of imported beer in her hand with no idea where it had come from. She was greeted with smiles and niceties from most of Zach's friends, but a jealous glare from the tall, sexy brunette sitting next to Zach. The lady, introduced as Kelly, had evidently singled Semira out as a romantic rival. Just to let Semira make no mistake as to who would come back with Zach tonight, she leaned closer to him and cuddled him.

[McGonigle]

"Trust me social gatherings become a lot more enjoyable when you have something else to do other than seek the approval of the popular and well dressed. I mean after all who cares if they think if you make a social fo par we stop another massacre." She commented with a slight smile.

"Still not saying it might not be tedious and dull, but given the alternative, I'll take that."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"Have we figured out what we're doing about being armed? My knife isn't going to get through a metal detector. Unless there's some way of tricking the metal detector. Or whoever's manning it, I suppose."

[Odentin]

Adam continues practicing for a while longer, specifically for the upcoming invitational. After a while, he packs up and heads back to the RPG room. He checks his watch on the way, a few hours til his late class, and he should probably get some sleep...

Once he arrives, he takes his usual couch and lays his head back, quickly dozing off.

[SurlySeraph]

Semira answers Kelly with a bemused smile, and winks before she tracks down from Kelly's face to Zach's. Sem crosses her legs and leans back. Zach wouldn't have gotten his reputation if he just sat back and waited for girls to come to him. The thrill of the chase - Kelly's already lost the chance to offer that temptation. Her first mistake.

And that temper may be her second. Semira looks Kelly over with a slight smirk on her lips and then asks "Is it your first time here too?", all sweetness and light.

Semira knows the answer, of course. But making Kelly think she can be mistaken for an ingenue will rile her up, and Semira's too new to the social group for an apparent wrong assumption to make her look bad.

[-Sentinel-]

Semira

Kelly's brow creased with annoyance, but the rich girl quickly recovered and smiled at Semira. A smile of contempt. She had immediately understood that Semira did not belong here, and was determined to drive that point home in front of everyone present.

"No, I'm a platinum member, as we all are here. Poor girl, it must have cost you quite a lot to get in..."

"Actually, I paid for her," said Zach off-handedly, either oblivious to the rivalry or trying to encourage it.

"Ah, that's... nice," said Kelly, her tone almost cold enough to freeze the beer in her hand.

The small group's conversation resumed. Over the course of the evening, Semira played up her outsider status and her innocence, which only irritated her rival further. Kelly's jabs, subtle at first, became increasingly petty and mean-spirited, to the point that Zach stepped in at some point to say: "Come on, Kelly, that wasn't cool." Kelly started to drink more and to lose her composure as Semira got deeper and deeper under her skin. She became increasingly aggressive in her seduction of Zach.


Contested seduction roll!

Kelly uses her Presence (3), being the blatant sort. She has Persuasion 4 and the Seduction specialty, like Semira, but her better clothes can't make up for the fact that she's not quite as pretty (Striking Looks 1). And since she's getting irritated and catty because of Semira's exceptional success at annoying her, she suffers -2 to her test. Dice pool: 7 dice. (I'll ignore the suggested equipment such as alluring clothes (+1) and perfume (+1), because both Kelly and Semira have them anyway.)

[roll0] - 2 successes. Surely Semira can do better.
Any 10's: [roll1]

[Lycan 01]

Back at the RPG club, Jonah sighs. "I guess you're right. I can just find a nice quiet corner to hide in, or pretend to be puking in the bathroom," he says with a bemused smirk. "As for a costume... Well, Guy Fawkes or a Plague Doctor could be fun. Gives me a mask, anonymity, and less chance a drunk frat guy will think I'm a hipster and give me crap for it," he grumbles. He may or may not be speaking from experience.

On the subject of weapons, he shrugs. "All I own is a butterfly knife. No way that's getting in there, and even if it did... well, you know what they say about knives in gun fights."

[SurlySeraph]

Sem makes sure to dance within Zach's line of sight whenever possible and lets him come to her, sprinkling in a few innuendos whenever they talk. She has to bite her tongue a couple times to keep from laughing as Kelly gets desperate.
[roll0]
Also, especially since stealing someone's guy and making an enemy is likely to count as indulging Greed, I'll spend a Willpower as well. [roll1]
In case of 10s: [roll2]

EDIT: :smalleek: Damn good thing I spent Willpower. Another roll, or is Zach going to respond to the tie in an excessively frat-boy-ish manner?

[Odentin]

After dozing for barely a couple of minutes, Adam sits bolt upright, eyes wide, and looks at the others, "I think I might know how to get a bow into the party. If I unstring my competition bow, take off the counterweights and sights and all that, they might let it in."

He shrugs, "No string, can't be used, right? Someone else smuggles in my string and stringer, and I can put it back on inside..."

His face falls once he finishes, though, as if realizing... "Arrows pose a problem, though. Guess I'd only need one, under ideal circumstances, but..."

He trails off, hoping that the others understand his point.

[Misaat]

" I could fashion some knives out of Bone or wood but i dont think they would be very effective..."

Matthew says shrugging

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"They'd be better than nothing, and at least we wouldn't be unarmed. How long would that take? Could you have them ready for the party?"

[-Sentinel-]

(Second seduction roll in the OOC thread.)


Semira

Over the course of the evening, Zach started to lose interest in Kelly as Semira grabbed all his attention. He sat closer to her, laughed more at her jokes and began to brush her "by accident". By midnight, when Zach started to feel like taking Semira to someplace more comfortable, the Eritrean was very glad to go; she was getting tired of these shallow people with nothing useful to do and nothing intelligent to say. Even Jamie Price looked bored by his own friends, but then again, he almost always looked bored. Cheerfully ignoring Kelly's deadly glare, Semira clung to Zach's arm and followed him out of the Skyreach. Jamie left at about the same time, as he had a long day ahead of him to prepare security in Tyler Hall.

Babbling incessantly about his wealth, the Halloween party and all the semi-famous people he knew on a first-name basis, Zach led Semira to his red Mercedes-Benz SLK convertible and drove her to the Trump International Hotel and Tower, the gleaming, majestuous skyscraper on the bank of the Chicago River.

http://opypumpindotcom.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/trumptowerchicago.jpg

As they went up to his million-dollar condominium on the 56th floor, Semira realized how impossible it would have been for her friends to infiltrate this place. There were security guards in the lobby and cameras in every hallway and elevator. Zach needed a keycard to get inside his place.

And what a place it was. Situated on a corner of the building, it had windows in two directions, offering an impressive view. Zach showed her every room; the richly furnished living room (http://www.condohotelcenter.com/images/trump-chicago-night.jpg), the bathroom of white marble with a spa, the dining room, and a lavish bedroom (http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/trump-tower-chicago-interior-12.jpg) with, of course, an immense bed. The kitchen was conspicuously absent – people like Zach did not cook.

Wasting no time, Semira glued her lips to Zach's and began undoing the buttons of his shirt. To make sure he slept soundly enough for her to search the condo in peace, she first had to tire him out.

It took her nearly two hours.

By the time Zach snored in his bed, Semira was thoroughly exhausted too and had made use of just about every trick she knew (learning a couple more in the process). But now she more or less had the condo to herself.


(OOC: Any specific things you want to look for? Or did you want to ask Zach questions? Tell me if I'm going too fast.)

[McGonigle]

"Has anyone thought of the other approach, look it might look suspicious if one of the guys walks in with a can of hairspray, but it's something they expect to set of the metal detectors. While also being a reasonable item to take to a haloween party, well not reasonable but there are girls who will, and they will be let in." She smiled and paused, probably from the look of puzzlement on everyone's faces.

"Now it you carefully remove the top of one of them, sellotape a knife to the interior, bluetac the lid back on, and made sure the lid was firmly attached and they are unlikely to find it. The extra weight of the knife won't be as obvious with the liquid removed. Especially if in handbag is large and filled with unnecessary feminine hygiene products."

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"Certainly a valid option, though that only gets one knife in. Two or more would make the one can suspiciously heavy, and multiple cans would be suspicious as well. Course, my costume has a big, metal screw as a headpiece, so if I can pry the thing open, I might be able to slip my knife in there."

[Odentin]

"Getting knives in is all well and good, but we're dealing with the possibility of a GUNMAN here. How close are we going to be able to get if someone opens fire and everyone else starts running? We should be talking about how to identify the shooter BEFORE he starts shooting. Maybe check the hall out in case he's stashed a gun somewhere..."

[savior indra]

"I mean, no offense but unless he has a sawed off shotgun or a 50. cal sniper, I'll be able to close distance to him for hand to hand combat. Considering both are highly illegal and extremely difficult and conceal, we should be alright. Three of you will have Kevlar too so that will help. If there is an untrained gunman there, they'll aim for the biggest thing possible. Your torso. Which; luckily, is where the kevlar is. If he is trained, then he will haven been trained to aim for center of mass, also torso. It's too hard to aim for a specific body part in a large mass of people." said Kale as he rejoined the conversation, casually cleaning his armor.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"Besides, call me paranoid, but I'm not so worried about a gunman; that's police work. I'm concerned about threats of a more supernatural bent. A ghost, perhaps, or something else like one. Something ritually summoned, perhaps, it wouldn't surprise me. That's a thing I am concerned about."

[Misaat]

" There's not really much we can do at this point other than aiding with police work. And as for the Ghost thing. Nothing so far points this towards any kind of supernatural activity. Just because we have dealt with this sort of stuff before doesnt mean there will always be something like that behind everything. "

Matthew states as he begins to carve a wooden knife out of a plank.

[Odentin]

Adam sighs and shakes his head, "Kale, when everyone starts running away from the shooter, it's going to be a lot harder to get close than if you had a clear run, which you probably won't have."

"This guy is threatening to bring a gun and shoot. Only three ways I can see that that'll happen: Either it's Jamie, Jamie is going to let someone past the metal detectors, or the guy is going to hide a gun in the hall beforehand."

"I think we should search the hall, see if a gun is hidden, and have someone watching Jamie outside, in case he is involved."

[SurlySeraph]

Semira rolls out of bed and quietly goes about searching the apartment for weapons, Nixon masks... anything suspicious. She also checks his inbox and browser history.
Wits + Investigation pool is 5.

Also, in the morning she'll ask Zach about the security for the event, perhaps suggesting clamping down the library and having someone search for prepositioned weapons beforehand, and ask if he's managed to find out anything about IanFan.

[-Sentinel-]

(OOC: Moving on to the next morning, but don't let that stop your current conversation. As I said earlier, time is not all that important at the moment.)


Semira

Trump International Hotel and Tower
October 30


The condo was large and there were many places to search. Zach owned a lot of audio and video equipment, an impressive collection of music and DVDs, a bookshelf filled with nothing but adult magazines, a copious reserve of liquor, and possibly every sex toy in existence. He also had an elaborate pirate costume for the Halloween party, with plastic cutlass and flintlock pistol. Semira eventually found a gun (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/GLOCK_29_10mm.jpg) in a bedroom drawer; a compact, small-caliber, low-capacity Glock pistol with only one clip.

Zach's Mac computer was protected by a password.

Semira had to wait until eleven in the morning for Zach to wake up. He seemed surprised when she decided to linger for some talk, but he just shrugged and called room service for breakfast. While eating, Semira told him her concerns about the library and the possibility of guns being hidden in advance.

"Hey, relax," said Zach lazily, pouring brandy in his coffee and offering her some. "The library will close early tomorrow night, and they've got alarms and stuff. As for hidden guns, you can trust Jamie to find them. He knows his sh!t, Jamie."

He shrugged. "No idea who IanFan is, but if they're planning something, they're doing it wrong. I mean, what kind of dumbass criminal announces the time and place of their crime?" A scowl appeared on his face. "Bet there's a lot of people who'll be afraid to come, though. I think IanFan just wants to fµck up my party. Maybe it's some dude who's planning his own and doesn't want the competition... My security measures are really just there to put people at ease. I'm not worried."

[SurlySeraph]

After returning to her dorm for a shower and jeans, Sem heads back to the RPG club. She lays her notebooks out on the floor as she talks, hoping to get plenty of studying done today so she doesn't have to do any tomorrow night. "Didn't find anything particularly worrying at Zach's. He does own a gun, but not much ammunition, and nothing else suspicious. And I don't remember him saying anything terribly worrying."

Frowning slightly and flipping through her notebook, she adds "Actually, I'm a bit worried about Jamie. Zach trusts him a lot, but Zach's Zach, and he'll be the only person armed there. I mean, I don't really buy into Wayne's 'blah blah self-defense good authority bad' stuff, but what better way to get a gun in than to be allowed to carry a gun in?"
Can I assume I made a Composure + Empathy (motives) check to see if Zach seemed to have any untoward motivations related to the party?

[-Sentinel-]

Chapter 2

Maxwell University, Tyler Hall
October 31, 8:00 PM


By the time the Halloween party rolled around, the desecration of the monument had been largely forgotten. IanFan's Internet posts had caused more outrage than worry and done little to discourage party-goers. Zach Lewis was the big man on campus, and any party he threw was the big party on campus – the one all students concerned with their popularity made a point to attend. Most of the protests that the party was “too soon”, or that it should be cancelled just in case, went largely unheard. Even Michelle Warner planned to go, and as the unofficial voice of the survivors, her decision had a lot of weight. We need to move on, she wrote in the student newspaper that week. We can't let a two-year-dead madman keep the world from spinning.

It was a cool but clear night. Tyler Hall, the 120-year-old building of red brick near the woods, was lavishly decorated and illuminated for the occasion. A long line of costumed students waited to be granted access through the metal detector manned and watched by Jamie Price. Jamie's costume was sober; just a tuxedo, a bowtie and a “007” tag. Zach stood by his side in his pirate attire to greet everyone personally with a broad grin and a compliment on their costume. Excitement was palpable in the air as the students were allowed in one by one. The sound of Knife Party's Bonfire (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-IWRmpefzE) filtered from inside the ballroom of Tyler Hall, where the fun was already beginning.

Mark Edwards, the taciturn quarterback of the football team, would not be winning any originality contests in his football player “costume”. Wayne Borden was dressed as a Confederate soldier and proudly carried the Southern flag, but his authentic 19th-century revolver had to be confiscated at the entrance despite his protests that he had no bullets to go with it. Michelle Warner was absolutely stunning in her sexy Cleopatra costume and had even dyed her red hair black to fit her theme.

Ellen Dobson, school newspaper editor, was a vampiress. Thankfully, the still wan-looking Karen Turner, who had not even bothered with a costume unless you counted her usual biker's jacket, made no attempt to stake her and drink her vitae. Vishakha had opted for her traditional Sikh garb, that she usually eschewed to better blend into the crowd. Soong Ye-jun, a huge Trekkie, was wearing Spock's uniform, ears and eyebrows. His girlfriend Sara Crawford was in a Grim Reaper costume with a plastic scythe. The metal detector beeped like mad when she drove her electric wheelchair through it, but Jamie ignored it, as he could obviously not tell a paraplegic to get up and walk.

Allison Keating was dressed as Link from The Legend of Zelda, complete with nerf sword, a bow and a quiver. She spotted Adam and Leon and flashed them a grin, then passed through the metal detector without setting it off. Jamie stopped her all the same and picked one of the half dozen arrows from her quiver to see it up close. Its head was made of polystyrene.

Allison smiled. “See, if I shot that arrow down someone's throat, it could choke them to death,” she said with dripping sarcasm.

Jamie smiled back and returned the arrow to the quiver. “Okay, you're clear. Next.” His smile faded when he saw that Karen was next in line. “Oh, hi. What are you doing here?” he said coolly.

Karen arched an eyebrow. “Same as everyone. Partying.”

“Really? You look a bit unwell to be going to parties. I'd even say you have the same look in your eyes as a junkie who needs a dose. And believe me, I've seen plenty of those.”

“Is my well-being any of your concern?”

“I know your reputation, like anyone in the police department,” replied Jamie. “So I'll keep an eye on you. There'll be no trouble on my watch.”

Karen shrugged and passed through the metal detector. “See? No metal on me.”

Jamie snorted. It was widely known that Karen needed nothing but her bare hands to break every bone in someone's body. “Whatever. If anything happens, you're suspect number one.” He turned to the rest of the line. “Next.”

[Odentin]

Adam smiles at Allison and gets in line. His outfit consists of loose green leggings (hiding 6 wood-point arrows duct taped to his thighs), a loose green tunic (hiding a bulletproof vest), a pointy Robin Hood hat, and a quiver holding a few arrows with the target points removed (blunt, no tip). He carries his hunting bow at his side and wanders through the line towards the door.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon follows Adam into line. Dressed as Dr. Franken Stein, he has made certain to apply his sutures to his body, coat, shirt, and pants exactly as Stein has them. His false glasses have a clear reflective coating on the front, allowing him to pull off the Scary Shiny Glasses (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScaryShinyGlasses) look if he wants. Stein's trademark loose screw is affixed to his head. The screw has numerous metal parts and is sure to set off the metal detector, making it a perfect place to stash a folded knife, which is what Leon has done. He can even demonstrate where the metal pieces are (all affixed to the head of the screw, conveniently enough), meaning, he hopes, that the knife won't be noticed. He doesn't plan to need it, but if he does... Leon pats his breast pocket. Karen has already had her dose of Vitae for the day, so he doesn't expect her to need more. Still, he always keeps a vial handy.

As he advances with the line, he absentmindedly turns the loose screw, attempting to tighten it. It makes a satisfying series of clicks as he does so, just like in the anime. He also notices that the seam to access the otherwise hollow interior of the head of the screw is imperceptible under his fingers. This better work...

[Misaat]

Matthew approaches the others looking completely normal.

" Hey guys. Nice costumes! "

[SurlySeraph]

Sem follows, shivering a little in her hilariously ineffective camouflage tank top and skirt. Her face is slightly numb under the black, green, and tan greasepaint. "Hey Matt. Decided you'd rather pay for admission than come up with a costume?"

[Lycan 01]

Jonah, clad in eerie Plague Doctor attire (with a kevlar vest under the outfit) and carrying an old medical bag, slinks in. If searched at the entrance, the bag will be revealed to be carrying nothing - it's just for decorative purposes. (And stashing snacks!)

Once inside, Jonah will find a nice corner that doesn't have too many people in it, and idly lean against the wall listening to the music and watching the other partiers make fools of themselves.

[Misaat]

" What are you talking about? Im doctor Who! "

He responds

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"First of all, it's The Doctor, not Doctor Who. Second of all, no scarf? No replica sonic screwdriver?"

[Lycan 01]

"Must be a new Regeneration!" Jonah quips from his corner, though he may not be heard over the din of the party.

[McGonigle]

Jaime as a rule was punctual, even to events where no one really expected punctuality at all she had a tendency to turn up ion the dot. Even if she turned up, looking rushed and finishing a meal, or still writing on the clipboard. That she was joining the back of the line after the start of the event, slightly unusual and showed how little she actually wanted to be here.

She didn’t as a rule like parties, and she had been to more frat parties than she had wanted to in her entire life while she was working on the piece on campus security. Not to mention she found Halloween parties particularly aggravating mainly to do with the costumes. Glancing ahead in the line she noticed with amusement that Semira had went down the more traditional approach. Still she really should be here, even if the only enjoyment she was likely to get out of the night was explaining her costume choice. Her costume was a tan military uniform in the style worn by the female volunteers in WW1, it didn’t really fit right, but it looked reasonably realistic in comparison to most of the costumes. She had pretty much prepared her spiel on how important it was historically and its role in women’s suffrage.

If the evening went well she could expect , awkwardly standing around occasional conversations she could hardly hear, however she now longed for the party where all she had to worry about were over friendly frat boys. She knew how to deal with them, she didn’t know how to deal with walking onto the scene of a potential shooting. She took a deep breathe to calm herself as she waited in the queue, she just wanted the evening to be over, and she wasn’t even in the party yet.

[Misaat]

"First of all, it's The Doctor, not Doctor Who. Second of all, no scarf? No replica sonic screwdriver?"

" Would they believe im from the latest seasons? "

Matthew says smiling and shrugging

[savior indra]

Kale shuffles forward in the line his face masked by his costume. He had gotten a couple comments about how "authentic looking" his costume was already and he hadn't even entered the party. It was going to be a long night.

[-Sentinel-]

Jamie had Leon remove the screw before passing through the detector, but did not examine the screw itself – either routine had set in after the fiftieth student, or Leon looked too much like a geek to be considered dangerous. The biology student gave the requisite ten dollars to Zach, who put it with the others inside the small treasure chest he carried around as part of his pirate disguise.

Adam's competition bow looked perhaps a bit too modern to fit the rest of the Robin Hood disguise. Jamie showed some initial suspicion, but gave the headless arrows a cursory glance and decided to let him in. “Arrrr,” said Pirate Zach. “Come t' plunder me booty an' give it t' those scurvy poor, have ye?” His attention then turned to Matt. “An' what be you costumed as, matey? It be twenty pieces o' eight for wearin' these moth-eaten rags.” When Kale arrived in his ninja costume, Zach exclaimed: “Shiver me timbers, this be me sworn enemy! I'll be keepin' an eye on you, lad.”

His smile widened when Semira's turn came. “Now this be a dangerous lass, Jamie,” he warned. “You'll be wantin' t' do a strip search.” He grinned as if he thought himself very funny. Jamie's brow creased with annoyance; he was obviously growing tired with Zach's pirattitude. Semira passed through the detector without setting it off, as did the other members of the RPG Club before and after her.

The broad dance floor of Tyler Hall was basked in an orange light softened by fog from fog machines. The music was on, but the dancing had not started yet. On the right side of the room, as far from the nearest loudspeakers as possible (which was not very far), tables and chairs had been laid out to allow people to rest and talk. Free punch, chips and Halloween candy were available in various bowls. At a small bar near the stage, students of the Sigma Kappa Phi fraternity were selling shooters of vodka, rum and gin and cans of beer, for two dollars each. They had to deal with competition from grad students of the biochemistry department, who sold their traditional homebrewed beer that easily beat any Coors or Budweiser but cost six dollars a glass.

There were already over three hundred guests, but that was still less than one could expect, even given Maxwell's relatively small size. Perhaps some students were intimidated by IanFan's threats; the midterm frenzy of exams and essays was pretty much over by now and most students would have wanted to celebrate, but clearly some had chosen to do it elsewhere.

Zach stepped on the stage with Jamie, had the DJ turn off the music and grabbed a microphone. “Thank you for coming,” he said, dropping his pirate accent. “As you all know, we had to put some security measures in place. I apologize for that. Some parents and college staff actually called for heavy police presence, but we can't be having a real party with cops around, right? Anyway, I don't believe there'll be trouble. If there's anything wrong, Jamie here will handle it.”

He stepped aside to let Jamie talk. “Good evening, everyone,” said Jamie. “So yeah, as Zach said, we don't think anyone wanting to cause trouble would be announcing it, but it doesn't hurt to be careful. If you see anything suspicious, you report it to me, okay? I'm armed and I have police training. My job here is to keep an eye out, but for that, I'll need your collaboration. I was at the Halloween Massacre, and it's not something I want to see again. Not that I think there's any real risk, of course,” he added quickly. “But I'll show zero tolerance for any drunk students who think causing fake scares is hilarious. Thank you very much.”

Ellen cleared her throat. “You mean like coloring the water of the toilets red? Or was that all part of the Halloween theme?”

Everybody's attention turned to her. Some whispers arose. Jamie frowned. “Uh... what? Girls' restrooms? Must be someone's time of the month or something...”

“No it wasn't,” said Ellen. “It turned red when I flushed. The stuff must have been put in the tank.”

“Were the other toilets like that?” asked Jamie.

“I didn't check.”

“See, that's exactly the kind of thing I want you to tell me about,” said Jamie hurriedly, giving the mic back to Zach. “I'll go check this out. And whoever did this, it's not funny at all.” He strode off towards the restrooms. A few curious students followed him to have a look, trying to look casual.

“Um... thank you, Jamie,” said Zach, eager to change the subject before too many people followed Jamie out. “Allow me to introduce our DJ for the evening, Mike 2.0 – you might have heard of him.”

“Yo,” grinned Mike from his DJ table behind Zach, on the stage.

He was a handsome thirtysomething with light-brown skin, long black dreadlocks and a soul patch. He wore sunglasses, an immaculate white suit and enough ostentatious jewelry to pay back the national debt. Most regular party-goers of Maxwell University knew him at least by reputation; he was one of the most sought-after DJs in Chicago, and his hourly charge was in the three figures.

“So yeah, I'll be your DJ tonight,” said Mike 2.0. “I'm open to requests, if there's a particular song you'd like to hear. But let me start out with something that fits the Halloween theme...”

He pressed a few buttons here and there, and Deadmau5's Ghost N Stuff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ArUgxtlJs) began to play.


OOC:
Song suggested by Lycan. :smallwink:

I've been busy, so this update took longer than expected.

The map of Tyler Hall is here (http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/6113/tylerhall.png), if you need it.

[Odentin]

Adam tries to laugh off the modernness of his recurve by wondering aloud if he should have brought his compound hunting bow. He does smile and tip his hat to Zach's comment, however, and enters.

After Jamie heads off, he tries to look for one of the female members of the group, hoping SOMEONE is going to go have a look. Tanks? Most public toilets don't have tanks...

Once the music starts up again, he goes to the bathroom on his own and very slowly removes the tape (and a portion of hair) from his legs, gritting his teeth the whole time. I should NOT have used gaffers' tape. Ow.

Once he has them, he places the sharpened arrows into the quiver along with the blunted ones, leaving a small length difference to alert his touch to which to use in case of an emergency...

Considering he's trying to be quiet about it, getting the arrows is going to take a while...

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon stands near the others as Zach, Jamie, and Ellen said their pieces. He tightens the screw absently as Ellen and Jamie talk about the toilets flushing red. "That's just lovely. I wonder if it's the same way in the boys' room." He turns and heads in that direction, and when he arrives flushes all the urinals and each unoccupied stall, noting which, if any turn red.

[SurlySeraph]

"I... huh. Sneaking in dye packets or something to put in the toilets sounds like more of a hassle than the entertainment value would be worth for, uh, anyone. I don't think the pre-party searches were very thorough..."

Sem stops working her way toward a short man wearing a green suit and a top hat made of dollar bills (an obvious person to ask to buy her a drink) and joins the small group following Jamie towards the bathroom, glancing around to see if she recognizes any of them.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah stays behind. As his friends go to check out the bathrooms, he hastily pulls out his phone and fires of a quick - and slightly paranoid - text message.

What if the toilets are a distraction?

In the back of his mind, he can't help but be amused. Talk about text messages you never expect to send...

[McGonigle]

Jaime would normally have started moving to the toilets as soon as it was mentioned. She even started moving before realising that Ellen probably had snapped a photo and she didn’t have a good quality camera on her. Which meant she was still standing awkwardly on the side of the room when she received Jonah’s text.

Point, if he’s there, whose watching the doors? She sent back as she started moving towards the doors, and couldn’t believe that they had missed that, smokers. The 2008 act had meant that it was illegal to smoke inside the hall, on the other hand she knew smoking was hardly uncommon.

She doubted the security measures were going to get any better as the evening went on, each check would get less stringent if the shooter had an accomplice, which was possible they could get the gun while smoking and then it might not be spotted. She paused as she approached the main doors, sending off another text, this time to the whole RPG group.

Do any of you guys actually smoke? I think that may be the hole in the security.

[Lycan 01]

Jonah fires back a quick text. Nope, don't smoke. Perhaps somebody should watch the door? The scholar gives a few furtive glances at the entrance, his worried features masked by his masque.

[-Sentinel-]

The small crowd Semira blended into included Ellen, Allison and Wayne, among others. Jamie showed a bit of annoyance when he saw he was being followed, but there was not much he could do about it. He flushed all the toilets in the women's restrooms, but only the one used by Ellen flushed red. He searched the garbage bin and found a small, empty pouch of powdered red dye.

"Did you see someone leave the restrooms just before you went in?" Jamie asked Ellen.

"There were lots of girls going in and out," replied Ellen. "Y'know, making sure their costume and makeup were alright before showing up on the dance floor... stuff like that. We were, like, six in front of the mirrors. Could have been anyone."

"So if it was crowded, it can't have been a guy, right? He'd have been noticed."

"Yeah." Ellen paused. "Unless... unless it was a guy in a costume. There was someone in a ghost costume while I was there... I guess anyone could have been wearing that."

"Right. Thanks, uh, vampire."

"Ellen."

"Yeah, thanks, Ellen."

Jamie had to flush the red toilet three more times to get the water completely clean. Then, a bunch of curious onlookers still in tow, he checked the men's room; Adam barely had time to put his last sharpened arrow in his quiver before Jamie entered. Leon was already flushing all the toilets and urinals, and none of them flushed red.

"Thanks, Frankenstein," said Jamie with an edge of irritation, "but leave that stuff to me, please, it's kind of my job." He turned to the students following him. "Move along. Nothing to see here."

They began to disperse, whispering among themselves.

1

Meanwhile, Jaime found the metal detector at the entrance manned by another frat student; a player of the football team, if Jaime was not mistaken, who wore a Fidel Castro costume and chewed on an unlit cigar. Much like Jamie Price, he wore a telephone headset, so if trouble came, he could call for help quickly. At least, in theory. In practice, he looked rather bored and not very attentive to his surroundings, as if he would much rather be at the party itself.

1

On the dance floor, Ghost N Stuff ended, soon to be replaced by Michael Jackson's 1987 classic Smooth Criminal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBrWNbjw3RA). Michelle Warner, a determined light in her green eyes, made a beeline towards Kale and took him by the arm. With her black-dyed hair, her purple eyeliner and her elaborate red-and-gold Cleopatra costume that emphasized her long legs and willowy figure, she was easily among the most eye-catching girls in the room.

"Hey, Kale. I've decided to stop going to parties just out of habit and then stay alone because I miss Gavin. We both lost someone, but Gavin would want me to move on, and I'm sure Sophia would feel the same about you."

If Michelle's breath was any indication, she already had at least one beer in her. She did not look tipsy yet, but she definitely was in I-wanna-have-some-fun mode.

"So. You want to dance with me?"

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon tightens his screw some more as Jamie leaves. As the door swings shut behind him, he mutters, "Bite me; I'm not convinced you guys know what you're up against," under his breath. He exits the bathroom and rejoins the party, checking his phone and sending off a couple of quick responses.

To Jonah: Girls' toilets, only, it seems. I don't think Jamie appreciates my help. Distraction or not, it's done.

To Jaime: Never have, never will. That ****'s bad for you. What makes you think it's a security hole?

[Odentin]

Adam nudges Leon on the way out, nodding to his comment about Jamie's ignorance.

Once out in the party proper, Adam gets a drink of something non-alcoholic and seeks out Allison Keating. Adam still suspects that she may be or become involved somehow. If she's the shooter, or the shooter's first ("ironic") target, then he wants to be nearby.

Also, he may or may not have been harboring a crush on her for the better part of two years.

Once he finds her, he approaches with a slight smirk on his face, "Cross-dressing now, are we?"

[-Sentinel-]

Once he finds her, he approaches with a slight smirk on his face, "Cross-dressing now, are we?"
Allison smiled. "Well, Link is sort of androgynous, don't you think? My brother was the hardcore gamer, but I always had a major thing for Link. You wouldn't want to read the Legend of Zelda fanfics I wrote when I was fourteen."

She sipped her Diet Coke. "Nice costume. I should have guessed you'd find an excuse to show off your bow. Those aren't real arrows, I hope?"

[Odentin]

Adam chuckles, "I didn't game much as a kid. Dad never allowed it... Fanfics, huh? How bad were they?"

In response to her question, he draws one of the blunt arrows and shows it to her, "You think Jamie would have let me in with tipped ones?"

He replaces the arrow and turns to stand next to her, looking out over the party. He keeps his eyes sharp for any signs of trouble, but tries to look casual, "Decent turn out."

[Lycan 01]

Jonah pretends to stare off into space, and idly nod and bob his head along to the music while leaning against a wall with his arms casually crossed. In reality, his eyes are scanning the room around him, watching his friends get dragged into various conversations and flirtations. He checks his texts, and sees Leon's text, to which he quickly replies. Setting them all up would have been too time consuming and drawn attention to themselves. One is probably all they needed. I got a bad feeling about this.

[McGonigle]

Jaime offered a brief smile, as she stood a little way back from the metal detector. She glanced at her phone, and then looked out of the door trying her very best to affect an air of anxious and irritated at the same time. She started slightly tapping her foot just in case, not enough to make a noise but enough that anyone who was looking at her could tell she was waiting.

Due to the glancing at her phone regularly, her response to Leon’s text was faster than normal.
‘How many cigarettes does a smoker have on a night out? Really think they are going to check bags as hard the fourth time around’

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon, continuing to sweep the party, absently turning his screw as he looks around, responds just as quickly. Anywhere from 0-a full pack or more, depending on habit.

[SurlySeraph]

Sem drifts through the party, dancing occasionally, keeping an eye out for the person in the ghost costume that Ellen mentioned.

[-Sentinel-]

"I didn't game much as a kid. Dad never allowed it... Fanfics, huh? How bad were they?"
Allison chuckled. "Decent grammar and spelling, if you can look past the total Mary Sue who steals Link's heart, exposes Princess Zelda as a conniving bitch and kicks Ganondorf's ass."


"Decent turn out."
"Not bad. But not as many as Zach hoped, I'm sure. He won't make much of a profit on this party." Allison glanced at the students selling alcohol near the stage. "I think I'll do my part, then, and put some rum in that Coke. I can't have fun in social situations when I'm sober. See ya," she said, walking off.


Semira found the "ghost" sitting at one of the tables with two girls and two guys, apparently involved in some sort of raucous drinking game. While the costume obscured the student's face, the voice underneath was definitely female. Semira thought she recognized some of the ghost's drinking partners by sight, but she did not know their names.


Near the entrance, Jaime was largely ignored by the student in charge of the metal detector. The arrival of guests had slowed to a trickle. It was starting to get quite chilly outside, and it seemed likely to Jaime that the first freezing point of the season would be reached tonight.


OOC, everyone:
Even if there are no leads you want to pursue, I encourage you to blend in the crowd and have fun, if only for the roleplay value and the fun to write casual conversations. I can create new NPCs if you look for someone to dance with or buy a drink to... The world is in no way limited to what I have outlined this far, and I'd like an opportunity to flesh out the student crowd of Maxwell.

Trust me, new elements will come up as the evening goes on.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

OOC: If you insist, as Leon's got no idea what he's supposed to be looking for anyway. He's only concerned about supernatural threats; he's perfectly content to let Jamie handle any mundane threats. Vindictively so, even, if only so he can gloat when something goes wrong because he was "leaving that stuff to [Jamie]."

Leon heads for the bar and orders a glass of rum. Straight. He pays and takes the drink to one of the corners of the room, as far from the loudspeakers as possible. "If something does go wrong," he muses to no one in particular, not that anyone would be able to hear him over the speakers, No one will know about until it's too late. It's so loud in here."

[Misaat]

Once inside the Party Matthew took out his cellphone and quickly marked Vishaka's number.

" With this many people there's no chance of finding that guy unless he does something... Might as well see if Vish is coming... "

He thinks to himself

[SurlySeraph]

Semira sways over to the table, pretending to be drunk. Then she staggers/ collapses onto the ghost's lap, giving her an aggressive hug. "Erica! I bet I could recognize you, you owe me two beers!" She sweeps her arms down the girl's sides and back from armpits to waist to feel for any hidden weapons.

[-Sentinel-]

Semira

In her surprise, the girl in the ghost costume spilled most of her brown beer all over Semira and herself. Her drinking partners were already tipsy enough to burst out laughing at the scene. Semira had no time to feel for weapons before she was unceremoniously shoved away.

"Hey, you crazy?!" the ghost protested. "I'm Val! And now you owe me a fµcking beer!"

Val took off her beer-stained ghost costume, revealing a tall girl with long dark hair in a ponytail. Semira knew her by sight as well; she was from the music department and had played piano at last year's Christmas talent show. Beneath her ghost costume, she was not wearing any obvious weapon and her clothes had no noticeable bulge that might suggest a gun.

"Christ, and I'll have to go wash this now," Val complained, glowering at Semira.

1

Matthew and Leon

It did not take long for Vishakha to answer Matthew's call.

"Hello?"

Apparently she was already at the party; she was speaking loudly to be heard over the music. Matthew scanned the room for her and found her in the northwest corner, sitting with Karen and shyly holding her hand. She was wearing her traditional Sikh clothing.

Meanwhile, Leon's quest for the most eardrum-friendly spot in the room had brought him just one table away from Vishakha and Karen. Karen looked pale tonight, as usual, but she had not yet pestered Leon for more vampire blood. Leon suspected that she downplayed her addiction when she was around Vishakha... just as he suspected that Vishakha was not fooled.


OOC:
Remember, the rules for alcohol drinking are on p. 177 of the core rulebook. Leon can have two more drinks this hour before he starts suffering negative effects (and a positive Social effect).

I'll wait a couple more days for an answer from Savior before I move on. If I get none, I'll assume Kale declines the dance.