(IC) New Bedford by Night: WtF II

[Bennosuke]

“What do we want to do with the gangs, eventually?” Blaze asked, “we can’t go kill them, or at least we shouldn’t, right? But they’re not good for anyone.”

James, who had mostly been silent up to this point, crosses his arms over his chest and mutters, "I don't see why not. Isn't that what Uratha are supposed to do, like, protect their territory and all?"

“If the Diagonals are in league with Idigam, then that means they’re at least partly responsible for what happened to Juno so, you know, I’m less inclined to go easy on them.”

Kara hiccups and with a look of befuddlement says, "Diagonals? Oh, I get it!"

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Well they’re over a hundred people man,” Blaze replied, “what if only the top ten or so are involved and the others are just kinda following along and drinkin’ the kool-aid? I kinda don’t wanna kill a few hundred people for no good reason you know?”

[Daishain]

"Pretty sure he meant killing off the gang rather than the church people. I doubt there's any truly innocent people among them." Bear shrugs, "But it's still not quite that simple. We could go and slaughter them all right now, and believe me I wanted to after the last time they shot at us. But I settled for dealing with those who held the guns. A couple of gang members here and there can disappear without anybody raising a fuss, but if they all show up torn to pieces one day there's going to be a huge mess. Even if we manage to do it quietly, the humans will bring in their best to find out who or what was responsible, and a likely outcome of that is us deciding whether to abandon our territory and flee with our tails between our legs, or ending up on camera revealing our secrets to the world while fighting off the National Guard."

"I mean, if you have an idea to deal with them without causing a huge fuss, by all means let's hear it. But we need a good plan. As to the church thing, what if we made it look like a burglary gone wrong? Couple of people in gang colors break into the church to steal the donation box and whatever other valuables are in there. Oops, it turned out the priest was there too. I wish Solo was still with us, he could pull something like that off easily I'm sure."

[Bennosuke]

"Make it look like Gang on Gang warfare," James offers, though you can tell that even as he says it he realizes it's not a great idea. He shrugs then replies, "Fine, I guess I like your idea better." James grins ruefully and adds, "And I suppose we'll have to take a few purple bandannas off of some UFP gangsters for disguises first."

[Daishain]

Bear looks down, considering, "Okay, if we're doing this, we'll need two or three people to look like gang members. I'm probably out for that, I stand out too much. I haven't seen any women among them, so you're out too Kara."

"We could probably ambush some gang members for their clothes, but they'd need to disappear so they don't talk about getting stripped. Or we could probably just steal or buy them somewhere. Any suggestions?"

[Bennosuke]

Excitedly, James steps forward and says, "I'm in. I mean, I don't think I look the part... if you know what I mean, but with the right costume and makeup... Anyways, I'm easy. Blaze, what do you think, should we mug ourselves a couple of hoodlums?"

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

"We don't need to rob anyone man, just go shopping at a thrift store and buy some cheap threads," Blaze replied, "you saw them Bear, what were they wearin'?"

[Daishain]

Bear describes the outfits as best he could recall, "Probably ought to be careful where we get it, the locals probably know the colors well, might pay attention and remember if they notice several outfits going through checkout."

[Thundercracker]

Bear describes the outfits as best he could recall, "Probably ought to be careful where we get it, the locals probably know the colors well, might pay attention and remember if they notice several outfits going through checkout."

"Makes sense, so who's going?" Blaze asked.

[Bennosuke]

"Shopping?" Kara asks with an almost comically new wind of energy, "I'm always up for some shopping."

James raises a hand like a student in class and adds, "I'm in," dutifully.

[Daishain]

Bear nods, "There is one other thing we ought to look into before it gets too cold, Brown Tail pointed me to a human that appears to have died the same way Juno did. I have his name and address. I'm not sure what if anything we'll be able to learn, especially with the cops sniffing around, but the things he's been up to lately might give us a better idea on what to look for with this Idigam."

[Bennosuke]

"Divide and conquer?" Chris Wentworth asks, both hands wrapped around a mug of coffee as if it were the only source of heat in the entire room. He takes a long noisy slurp then adds, "I'm happy to try to look into it... but I'd probably want some Uratha back up, if you know what I mean."

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Do you need me for either of those jobs?” Blaze asked, “I want to take a look at that island...”

[Daishain]

Bear thinks, "Well, we could split into three groups for the moment. Kara, if you can take a few of the wolfblooded and handle the shopping, maybe James can back Blaze up at the island, and I can help Chris with the investigation. Then we can group back up and get things set up for the thing at the church. Sound like a plan?"

[Thundercracker]

“Works for me,” Blaze said.

[Bennosuke]

"Sounds good," James says with a youthful but hungry grin. He turns his attention to Blaze as if for approval. Kara just slowly nods her head. Chris Wentworth shrugs and says, "Sounds like a plan. Let's divide and conquer."

The pack begin to divide up into their teams to discuss and plan.

Now standing to the side with Blaze, James says, "I don't know if there is another way onto Cuttyhunk, but some of my classmates always talked about taking the ferry out that way. It's probably the easiest thing we could do, though maybe not the most secretive." He shrugs at Blaze, clearly eager to get her approval.

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

Chris Wentworth drains the last of his coffee, and retrieves a box of cigarettes from his pocket. He lazily pulls a yellowed stick out and lights it. He shrugs at Bear and says, "So what's the plan? You said you knows were the guy lives? I mean lived?"

[Thundercracker]

“We ain’t tryin’ to make a secret of it,” Blaze said, “let’s take the ferry, do some sightseeing.”

[Daishain]

"Oh, you made it sound as if you had an idea and just needed some backup..." Bear says a bit weakly, "Yeah, I overheard a few of the cops at the scene of his death. They mentioned the guy's name and address. They probably have people there now checking things out. If we're careful we might be able to pick up a few details ourselves, but I don't think we want to be get associated with this mess."

[Bennosuke]

James pulls out his phone and says, "I'll get us some tickets." After a few moments of typing and scrolling he looks up with a grin. "Well it looks like there's tickets for the next ferry in about an hour. Plenty of time to get whatever we need to and get to the ferry terminal. My phone says it's like, only a half mile away, straight shot."

(OOC: Will move things on to boarding the ferry unless there is anything you want to do first)

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

Chris shrugs, looking a little sheepish. "I just offered to help. I mean, I'm happy to take the lead," he says, a small hungry grin starting to play across his sallow face, "I mean, you're the big bad werewolf, but ya, I can be alpha on this if you want to back down. I assume we want to go in all sneaky like then..."

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Well all right man, let’s get over to the terminal,” Blaze said.

[Bennosuke]

James and Blaze head not far down the road to arrive catch their ferry. The terminal's office is not much more than an imposing concrete slab of a building, it's white painted façade fading into strips of grey. A warped and rotting wooden sign hangs above the terminal entrance, reading, "Cuttyhunk Ferry Company". Below the sign is a blown up photograph of a noble and modern looking two story ferry, painted in white and aqua, loaded with happy looking passengers all waving to the camera.

It smells heavily of sea salt and briny fish rot, somehow more oppressive and displeasing then the sea breeze by the warehouse. It burns in the nostrils and makes the eyes almost water.

Entering the ferry terminal is no relief from the smell, in fact it might be worse inside. Yellow lights glare down on dirty brown carpet, the entrance leading up to small que that stands empty before a single man sitting at a small folding desk. He lifts his bald almost neckless head up from a game of solitare to stare at James and Blaze with round rheumy eyes. In a lippy voice he asks if the two are here to take the ferry. There is curiosity, perhaps even suspicion in his voice as he studies Blaze and James.

The younger Uratha gives a sideways dubious glance to Blaze, inviting him to take the lead.

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Yup,” Blaze replied, “two please.”

He glanced around for any brochures or timetables.

[Daishain]

Bear's face twitches at Chris' choice of words, but he merely states, "Yes, we want to go in all sneaky like. But I know my limitations, and that's not what I'm good at. What do you have in mind?"

[Bennosuke]

James hesitantly pulls out his phone to show the ticket taker the barcode of the digital tickets he purchased. As James' phone is scanned, Blaze quickly looks around, spying a small plastic bin that is nearly empty except for a pair of yellowed looking pamphlets advertising the ferry, and with a map of Cuttyhunk Island.

The ticket man retrieves a wheel of off-lime green carnival tickets and separates a pair for James and Blaze, handing them over in a dirty stubby fingered hand. In his lippy voice, he directs the duo to the back of the building where they can board the ferry. The back wall has ceiling high glass windows through which the ferry can be seen, though they are quiet dirty to the point of being almost opaque. Though the ferry is clearly the same vessel as in the pamphlet and on the poster outside the terminal, it is weathered and run down. The white paint is nearly stripped from the bottom sides of the boat, it's rusted metal hull blistered with barnacles and patched with strips of metal in places. A skeleton crew of workers mill about the ferry, clearly preparing the boat for departure.

(OOC: Along with whatever it is you want Blaze to do, please give me a perception roll; Wits + Composure)

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

Chris shrugs and says, "Well you know me, I'm pretty good at getting myself into and out of tight spots. Without knowing the place ahead of time, I say we head down there and scope out the house. If police are there, we just have to find a place to listen in on." Chris gives Bear a confident grin, which broadens when he adds, "And I can even try to chat up one of the cops if their around. I find I'm pretty good at getting people to talk when I want them to." He says this all without too much pride or boastfulness, knowing that Bear already knows this about him as well.

[Daishain]

Bear nods, "Sounds like a plan. Let's go."

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

Blaze would take the opportunity to alternate looking out across the sea and alternate between mundane and Hisil sight, to see if there’s anything else to see. Does the ferry actually drop us on the island? Look through the pamphlet to see what’s there first.

“Keep your eyes open for anything weird,” Blaze muttered to James.

Spoiler

Show

wits + composure: (4d10)[7][1][3][2](13)
10 again: (4d10)[3][9][6][7](25)

[Bennosuke]

Chris and Bear drive out, following the GPS to the address that Bear had overhead. The sky was now starting to run with cool blues and ripples of crimson as the sun set. Mother Luna hung low in the sky, gracing Bear with her sickle shaped presence, bone white against the colorful night's sky.

The now deceased Richard Taylor's home was located on the Western boarder of New Bedford, nearing the township of Dartmouth. This far inland, the properties are all cookie-cutter commercial flats, built to be put together like jigsaw pieces. Separated by low chain link fences, many of these low income houses were boarded up. Like everywhere else in New Bedford, the sidewalks and street were practically empty; giving an abandoned sort of feel to the neighborhood that was perhaps more off putting given how residential everything was. Despite being so far inland, there was still the slight smell of sea salt in the air.

They were driving in Chris' beaten up Honda sedan, covered in bumper stickers advertising a number of smalltime punk bands from Maine, and touting slogans such as, "No one is free when someone is oppressed". As they turned onto the block of Richard's home, a pair of cop cars passed by, slowing down as if to observe Chris' Honda with suspicion.

As Bear suspected, as they drove by Richard Taylor's home, they saw an older woman standing out on the porch, clutching her hands to her chest and clearly struggling to fight back tears. The woman did not seem to notice the car rolling by, lost in her grief, and Chris turned to Bear and said cautiously, "I think we should pull up and talk to her. It's up to you, but I don't know what we are going to find by casing the place."

(OOC: Also just for RP context, how is Bear dressed right now? I.E. if he is decked out in punk leathers, it might lead to some entertaining interactions with Richard's widow.)

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

Blaze does not pick up much more with his observations in the world of Flesh. Quickly perusing the pamphlet it his hands, Blaze saw that the ferry did indeed drop passengers off on the island, and it looked like it would be a direct trip of about thirty minutes. The sun was just starting to set, filling the sky with colors, and the moon was already visible in the sky, smiling down at Blaze with her crescent form.

But he was wise to cast his vision into The Hisil. This land was a faintly glowing rocky sea shore. Dark waters rolled up in waves on the pebble filled sand. Scavenger spirits flit across the ground, the less powerful and therefore formless ones little more than balls of glowing Essence, while the more realized creatures scrabbled on many segmented legs, dark pearl eyes peering about from tentacle like stalks. The waters of the bay rippled with schools of fish spirits, and the sky was filled gusting wind and soaring bird spirits. The Hisil was teeming with an abundance of spirit life, almost as if there was a nearby Locus. Given how rundown and lifeless the Ferry Plaza was, this was a strange, almost unnatural dichotomy. And there was maybe even something, off about how the spirits were behaving.

(OOC: Please give me Wits + Occult or Composure + Empathy to assess the behavior of the spirits.)

As Blaze and James were waiting, a boat hand walked down the dock to enter the building. He stared at the two Uratha, giving them a most unwelcoming scowl for a long few seconds before announcing, "The ferry is now ready for passengers to boards!" After giving his announcement, the man simply turns and walks back down the dock towards the ferry.

[Daishain]

"Yeah, might as well. But what's our story? Why would us random strangers be asking questions?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Knowing that he was poking around an active investigation area, Bear wouldn't want to stand out too much, so he's wearing pretty casual and unpunkish clothing, at least by his standards.

[Thundercracker]

Blaze paused for a moment to observe the spirits before boarding the ferry.

Spoiler

Show

wits + occult:
(7d10)[2][9][5][3][8][5][7](39)
9 again : (7d10)[5][4][7][3][2][3][9](33)

[Bennosuke]

Chris grins at his companion, his dark eyes catching a certain fire from the setting sun. Opening his passenger side door he offhandedly replies, "We're dock workers, relatively new but fast friends with Mr. Taylor." Stepping out of the door, Chris gives Bear a wink. "Just let me do the talking," he adds.

(OOC: Will give you the chance to react or disagree)

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

Blaze watches the Hisil for a moment longer as something niggles at the back of his mind. It takes a few moments of study before he realizes it. The spirits in this area were moving with a frantic nervous energy. Normally lesser spirits would be involved in the most base of activities; feeding and fleeing, but even the spirits of scavengers and hunters seemed to rushing through this land, most of them pushing away from the shoreline inland.

Blaze's study is interrupted by James' hand clasping him on the shoulder. "Hey man," he says after a moment's hesitation, "I uh, I think we have to board now man."