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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Batcathat's Avatar

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    Default Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery



    The message had little information and left even less choice. You have been selected as Auxiliary Law Enforcement Investigator in investigation V85-961438: Death under suspicious circumstances (3). A vehicle will collect you at your registered home address at 10:00. Payment will be 3.0 Standard City Salaries per day. Failure to comply can be prosecuted under Civil Service Code § 998/49. Thank you for your service.

    As promised, individual autonomous cars had picked up everyone from their homes and delivered them to an address in southern San Danos, not the worst part of town but far from the best. It was an anonymous building on an unremarkable street, or at least it would have been if not for the bright tape labeling it a crime scene and the dozen drones hovering around it, ready to stop anyone who got closer than they should. Below them was the only living being in sight, a middle-aged man with thinning red hair and a bushy mustache.

    "Ah, there you are." He waved at the group to come closer. "I'm ASM Samuel Waters and I will be your contact for this investigation. Let's get the formalities over with..." He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a stack of metal cards and handed one to each investigator. The cards were barely thicker than paper, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and blank metal aside from the familiar eyes of the Argus logo etched into one side.

    "There. As of now, you are officially Auxiliary Law Enforcement Investigators in service of the Argus System and the city of San Danos." He pointed to the card in Cindy Bradbury's hand. "These will open any door in the city... well, almost any... and if you push the eyes, you have a priority line to the System and access to its resources. Show them to anyone not cooperating, as far as they are concerned you speak directly for Argus Panoptes."

    He smiled joylessly. "That's about it for the warm welcome. Do you have any questions or do you want to take a look at the first crime scene?"

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    When the message came, Jack was already outside, trying to make some quick cash selling to the early risers. It wasn't looking to be a particularly successful morning, so he didn't begrudge the need to head home and wait outside for the car. His neighbourhood was one of the rougher parts of the city, but Jack hadn't felt threatened walking the street for a few years, not now Warhound, his canine drone companion and bodyguard, walked by his side and rested (mostly a simulated behaviour, but it did allow certain systems to operate at low power until needed) as he waited for the car.

    The investigator doesn't inspire much of a reaction in Jack right away - middle aged, probably was a cop back before the drones took most of his job and many of his coworkers away, hence the joylessness. Could've been a lot worse, he supposed, than having someone like this to deal with.

    When the cop asks for questions, something does come to mind. "Sure, what are we here to do that you and Argus couldn't?" It was a question that he frequently found useful, but he rarely relished asking - normally, if someone wanted to buy something and he wasn't sure why, he didn't worry too much, and encouraged the view that his gear or his services were useful - but where murder and Argus were involved he was a little more careful, and it's not like they were going to turn him away nor let him leave anyway. He could smell trouble a mile away, and this felt like trouble. Decently paying trouble, though.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Samuel Waters nodded at the question, though whether it was in approval or just confirming something he had expected was hard to say. "Argus Panoptes is in many ways a marvelous system, capable of seeing almost everything, making connections and recognizing patterns no human could ever hope to spot. But sometimes there are outliers — sometimes there is chaos — and that's oh so confusing to the ones and zeroes of Argus' big brain. So it prefers to unleash some chaotic people on the problem." He smiled, this time looking actually amused. "Trust me, you're not even close to the weirdest bunch I've seen."

    He paused briefly before continuing. "As for me, I am an Argus System Magistrate. I enforce the will of the System, I do not investigate."

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Dwarf in the Playground
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    9:55 A.M. The old-fashioned grandfather clock, an heirloom from the Steel family recovered and restored at great expense, ticked down. Five minutes, the cyborg warrior thought, already donned in full battle gear. Plenty of time. He picked up and embraced the young child, lifting him up high and spinning him around as the child laughed and his servos subtly rumbled, adding their strength to his own. He smiled, holding him with all his heart. He wanted this moment to last forever. He thought of his woman, of giving her everything he got, of taking her places and building things with her and the family he was creating. He already gave her everything this morning; she understood, as she cared for the new baby now. Pride swelled within as he nodded, and with a gentle yet firm pat of his head put his child back down on the ground.

    For he had a mission that was more important than life itself. Together, his wife and him fought their way out of poverty. Together, they made a home in the North Side and got busy, birthing their first child four years ago. And together, they would raise a whole family to maturity, with better conditions than they came from, and build up the neighborhood around them. It was worth it all. The bullets, the screams, the agonizing wounds; the cold metal digging into your body, replacing weak flesh with superior implants, the brutal training that broke most men. The long hours of work, the steadfast service, the signing of his life away to Augus, just another body in the machine.

    And I'd do it again, he thought, as the vehicle came to park beside his home. Without a further word, he marched forth to the task at hand.


    It was a long ride there, as the driverless vehicle headed south, towards the town where he came. Almost by instinct, his training and algorithms scanned the streets, searching for danger, but there was none. They stopped not far; it was alright enough here, you could live if you were careful and worked hard, but it was by no means thriving. The stench of garbage, the people huddled down, and the gang signs he recognized hidden in corners made it clear this was NOT a good part of town. It only got worse further down. One day, he thought, I'll lift places like this up. But for now, the task at hand.

    He stepped over the red tape, walking in slowly, surely, body held tall and strong and with hands not quite at, but close to his guns, with a firm, watchful expression, taking in everything. A stance that anyone trained to survive, fight and kill would recognize. His posture relaxed, ever so slightly, as he recognized an agent of the law. Nodding briefly to Jack, who was already there, he accepted the card and listened intently. He recognized that joyless smile only too well, many of his fellow men wore it sooner or later; he knew, if he didn't have a purpose keeping him going, he'd suffer the same fate.

    As he finished his statement and requested any questions, as Jack asked his and it was answer, Grayson entered with one of his own, wearing a wry, and slightly vicious smile:
    'Fortunately, chaos is my specialty.' He paused to weigh the next question. 'So why such a concentration of force? Do you suspect something bigger? And do you expect things will get ugly?' He chuckled coldly, almost anticipating the answer.

    Spoiler: OOC:
    Show

    Grayson will use Dark Blue.
    Most posts won't be this long; this was an introduction. I took liberty with a few details while remaining true to your post; let me know if you want anything changed.

    Also, rolling Insight to get an idea of what's going on here. (1d20+10)[23]
    Last edited by +5 Vorpal Bunny; 2021-01-10 at 12:19 PM.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    So not a cop, huh. Sounded more like a true believer in the almighty System. Interesting. As Jack looks at Waters, trying to figure him out, another question presents itself from the answer he got. "What kind of chaos and confusion, exactly?" The amount of 'ware, not to mention that look, on the next guy to speak made him a little nervous. People like that weren't hired if they were weren't potentially necessary. "Yeah, is this going to be the kind of work that gets bullets sent our way sooner or later?" He wasn't incapable of defending himself, being a pretty good shot with the machine pistol hidden away in his coat and the sheer power he'd put into Warhound's jaws, but he still preferred to not get shot at if he could help it.

    Spoiler
    Show

    Insight to evaluate him: (1d20+15)[35]

    Opened the post page before Bunny posted, hence not acknowledging it initially. Edited to fix that.
    Last edited by Volthawk; 2021-01-10 at 12:28 PM.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    GreatWyrmGold's Avatar

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Quote Originally Posted by Batcathat View Post
    You have been selected as Auxiliary Law Enforcement Investigator in investigation V85-961438: Death under suspicious circumstances (3). A vehicle will collect you at your registered home address at 10:00. Payment will be 3.0 Standard City Salaries per day. Failure to comply can be prosecuted under Civil Service Code § 998/49. Thank you for your service.
    "Well, this is new." Amika was already sending messages to her contacts, canceling and rescheduling appointments, making sure that she could get to her registered home by 10. Once her schedule was made more flexible, she took a moment to google the investigation. "The guy that killed John and Namera? Well."

    "Ah, there you are." He waved at the group to come closer. "I'm ASM Samuel Waters and I will be your contact for this investigation. Let's get the formalities over with..." He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a stack of metal cards and handed one to each investigator. The cards were barely thicker than paper, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and blank metal aside from the familiar eyes of the Argus logo etched into one side.

    "There. As of now, you are officially Auxiliary Law Enforcement Investigators in service of the Argus System and the city of San Danos." He pointed to the card in Cindy Bradbury's hand. "These will open any door in the city... well, almost any... and if you push the eyes, you have a priority line to the System and access to its resources. Show them to anyone not cooperating, as far as they are concerned you speak directly for Argus Panoptes."

    He smiled joylessly. "That's about it for the warm welcome. Do you have any questions or do you want to take a look at the first crime scene?"
    Ami smiled and nodded, studying the ASM and her fellow investigators to see if they were people she recognized, someone she'd met or heard of.

    Spoiler: Well-Informed
    Show

    When encountering an individual, group, or organization for the first time, Amika Bellamy can make an immediate Investigation or Persuasion skill check to see if she has heard something about the subject.

    Cindy "Gn0me" Bradbury: (1d20+12)[25]
    Gato: (1d20+12)[30]
    John "Wolf" Joseph: (1d20+12)[23]
    Grayson Steel: (1d20+12)[22]
    Jack Thompson: (1d20+12)[15]
    Samuel Waters: (1d20+12)[32]

    This is going to be a bit of a dead end until I see the rolls and the GM decides what quantity of information is appropriate. If I'm reading the RAW correctly, they say a 10 would be enough to get general information about anyone, but I assume it should be easier to identify a public figure than a skulking crook. (Rules for Well-Informed are on page 89, but it points to the Investigation skill rules on pg 70-1.)
    I'm leaving details up to GM discretion, whether that's as involved as "Here's a list of what you know" or as simple as "You rolled well enough to know everything on X's character sheet". But I would like to know what I know about the others.

    And in case the GM decides to bend the rules and let me potentially know something about a place or event as well as an individual/group/organization:
    Unremarkable building on an anonymous street: (1d20+12)[21]
    Investigation V85-961438: (1d20+12)[32]


    Quote Originally Posted by Batcathat View Post
    "...Sometimes there is chaos — and that's oh so confusing to the ones and zeroes of Argus' big brain. So it prefers to unleash some chaotic people on the problem." Sam Waters smiled, this time looking actually amused. "Trust me, you're not even close to the weirdest bunch I've seen."
    One of them is a cat. Uplifted animals weren't unheard of in the modern age, but they certainly weren't common. Beyond that thought, Amika wondered idly whether "chaotic" and "weird" could be anything but an insult from a literal agent of the system.


    "Is there anything you know about the crime or scene that could inform what we see within?" Amika wondered why they hadn't been given any meaningful information on the case before being dragged to the crime scene. If Argus trusted them enough to have them investigate, why wouldn't it trust them with the information that had already been dug up? Were they summoned by Argus proper, or by some middle manager who wanted extra hands on deck but didn't have clearance to tell them anything? Was it some kind of glitch? Or was this a trap?
    As far as Ami could tell, Waters's badge looked legitimate. She couldn't imagine anyone setting up a trap like this. If they were trying to trick her into trespassing on a crime scene, leaving an electronic trail and having her escorted by an Argus magistrate would effectively clear her of all charges against any but the most vindictive juries. Perhaps they were planning to shoot her...but who would be willing to shoot her here, but not at home, especially with that e-trail making it clear why she'd have been here? Too much effort for too little benefit.
    Ami didn't quite trust the situation yet, but her conclusion remained the same. Investigating was the safest, most profitable option.
    Quote Originally Posted by The Blade Wolf View Post
    Ah, thank you very much GreatWyrmGold, you obviously live up to that name with your intelligence and wisdom with that post.
    Quotes, more

    Winner of Villainous Competitions 8 and 40; silver for 32
    Fanfic

    Pixel avatar by me! Other avatar by Recaiden.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Triskavanski's Avatar

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Gato blinked as the message came in, with a long sigh. "Once again a souls dance ends in the darkened city of neon lights and cheap thrills. A metallic siren cries out to lure me down the path but to what purpose?" Moving to the door, a large robot came and open it with its own robotic hand as he made his way towards the front of the building to reach the car. "I pondered to myself.." he paused, "Were they going to have a truck for me, or just a simple car?"

    His answer came in the form of a normal every day average car. It sat there for a while and Gato glanced over to the drivers seat, and then to the passengers seat, before letting out a cough. "It may appear that I'm not but just a cat, but I don't open car doors. Not since the incident. " Finally the door opened and he hoped into the back seat, with the robot closing the door behind him. "Really could have just given me the address and I'd have gotten there fast enough."


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

    At the scene, "Well I'm glad to see we have the powers of observation. Though I'd have to wonder on these cards. " the robot had followed in after them, its size barely larger than a human, with legs that allowed some limited walking abilities, but anything more than a slow walk, it was going to use the wheels in its heels. It reached out and took the card for the cat. What doors the cards couldn't open, he had ways around himself. hoping up into the **** pit of the robot to be head height with everyone else. "So, we've got a murder case then? I suspect its something very strange if that computer couldn't solve it. We had to get rid of the computer system in to show to have any cases in Meowder she Wrote. Otherwise even the Doctor's head would explode."
    Animated Spellcards from the Deck of Many Things
    A game I found interesting Aegis: Innocence

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Orc in the Playground
     
    Flumph

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    John "Wolf" Joseph
    Spoiler
    Show

    Name: John "Wolf" Joseph
    Birthplace: San Danos
    HQ: Southside San Danos
    Age: 30
    Gender: Male
    Appearance: African-American male, 6', 240 lbs., shoulder-length brown dreadlocks, red eyes
    Occupation: Private detective
    Motivation: Justice
    Complications:
    • Addiction (cigarettes and alcohol)
    • Enemy (local criminals and local politicians)
    • Hatred (those living 'above the law')
    • Obsession ('cleaning up' his city)
    • Prejudice (he's non-White)
    • Quirks (he doesn't like "Corporate Culture")
    • Relationship (Shanna Tate, cab driver and girlfriend with a two-year-old son)
    • Responsibility (new teammates)
    • Weakness (electrical attacks)
    PL/PP: 8/120

    Fighting: 5
    Agility: 0
    Dexterity: 4 (10, right arm)
    Strength: 2 (5, right arm)
    Stamina: 4
    Intellect: 0
    Awareness: 4
    Presence: 0
    Cost: 38

    Toughness: 7/4, flat-footed
    Fortitude: 5
    Dodge: 6/0
    Parry: 8/5
    Will: 5
    Cost: 2

    Hero Points: 0
    Condition: Normal
    Move: 30'
    Initiative: +12

    Powers:
    • Bionic Right Arm: Enhanced Trait 9; cybernetic; +6 Dexterity, +3 Strength, limited to right arm [9pp]
    • Optical Implants: cybernetic; Senses 3; visual; Darkvision, Extended [3pp]
    • Slap-Patch: chemical; Healing 10; restorative, easily-removable, unreliable 3 (one use daily) [3pp]
    • Wired Reflexes: cybernetic; Enhanced Trait 9; +6 Dodge, +3 Parry, linked to Enhanced Advantages: Defensive Roll 3, Improved Initiative 3, Uncanny Dodge [16pp]
    Cost: 31

    Advantages: Benefit (Ambidexterity), Connected, Contacts, Diehard, Equipment 6, Grappling Finesse, Improved Grab, Jack-of-All-Trades, Skill Mastery 5 (Insight, Investigation, Perception, Persuasion, Vehicles), Well-Informed
    Cost: 19

    Skills:
    • Athletics 8 (+10)
    • Expertise: Military 4 (+4)
    • Expertise: Law-Enforcement 4 (+4)
    • Expertise: Streetwise 4 (+4)
    • Insight 6 (+10)
    • Investigation 10 (+10)
    • Perception 8 (+12)
    • Persuasion 10 (+10)
    • Vehicles 6 (+16)
    Cost: 30 (60 ranks)

    Equipment:
    • Car: STR 5, SPD 6, DEF 4, TGH 12, alarm, computer [13]
    • Handgun: Damage 4; ranged, penetrating 4 [12]
    • Flashbangs: Affliction 10; vs. Fortitude, Impaired (Awareness, Dexterity, Fighting)/Stunned, limited degree, ranged, diminished range 3, Sense-Dependent, burst-area [1]
    • Chest-Cam: button-sized video recorder [2]
    • Commlink [1]
    • Handcuffs [1]
    Cost: 30ep

    History: An orphan adopted by a cop/paramedic couple. His upbringing led him to join the Marines, and after several campaigns overseas, he discharged to join SDPD. Responded to a late-night call that resulted in his right arm being ripped off by a superhuman foe! The trauma led to a nice settlement and PTSD. In order to resume activity he bought a few cybernetic upgrades and became a P.I. He's now looking for a nice payday to retire from the business.

    Having arrived moments after the others, Wolf surveyed the scene noting the swarm of surveillance buzzing the area. As he caught the conversation between ASM Waters and the other investigators he realized they were asking all the right questions. At least, the same ones he'd ask. Without a glance at it, Wolf pocketed the credential-card and introduced himself, "John Joseph. Guess we'll be operating as a unit, which means either this gets solved quick and easy, or goes FUBAR even quicker." He gave the group a welcome nod, raising his eyebrows at the cat before gazing over at the crime-scene. He started walking for the taped area, "Might as well take a look." Wolf immediately began scanning the vicinity for possible evidence ----

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Batcathat's Avatar

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Waters shrugged at Grayson's question. "We don't know what to suspect and that's kind of the point. Do you have any idea of how rare it is for a serious crime to be committed in this city and Argus not even having a suspect? Someone has killed three people and as far as Argus is concerned, it might as well have been a ghost. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe y'all will solve it in an hour's work." He sighed, clearly not putting much faith in that possibility. "But we don't know, so we don't want to take any chances."

    "But there are some things we know", he said to Amika. "We prefer to keep our auxiliary investigators unbiased until the investigation has started." He sighed again. "But I suppose the order doesn't really matter much here, so I might as well show you what little we have."

    He pulled out a tablet from his coat and held it up for the group to see. After Waters had carefully eyed the street for anyone looking over their shoulders, a video started playing.

    It showed what was clearly the same building they were standing in front off, filmed by a camera across the street. "This is last night, at about half past eleven." After a few seconds, a man came into frame, walking along the sidewalk towards the door to the crime scene. "That's John Brown, janitorial overseer and our first victim at this scene." Before Brown could even reach the door, something red and blurry floated into frame, blocking everything else from view. "And those are some damn balloons, we think the perpetrator put them up to..." He caught himself. "Well, we don't know for sure. But they blocked the camera entirely until after the murders."

    The recording cut to a different camera, this one inside a room. John Brown came into view from the bottom of the frame but before he got very far the screen went dark. "Spray paint. The camera's right over this door." Waters nodded towards the door behind him.

    The screen changed again, now showing what appeared to be some sort of office, with desks and screens. A man was working by one of the desks, after a few seconds he twitched and turned towards a door behind him, where the previous room was visible. "This is surveillance manager Christopher Lankin, our second victim." What appeared to be a rifle barrel was briefly visible in the door frame before the screen went black again. "Paint again. Some sort of paintball rifle, this time. There's another camera in the room, buuuut..." He clicked the tablet and the screen showed Lankin from the opposite direction before going dark. "More spray paint."

    He put away the tablet. "And that's about it for surveillance here, we think this is actually the second crime scene, I'll take you to the second one – well, first one – after we're done here. Anyway... tracking data shows no one anywhere near the scene, except for Lankin and Brown. No witnesses, seemingly no perp."

    Spoiler: Insight (Grayson and Jack)
    Show
    Since it's a little vague what Grayson's using Insight for, I'm just assuming it's on Samuel Waters, so the information below is for both him and Jack.
    Samuel Waters seems to be considerably more nervous than he wants to appear, but other than that he seems to be honest.


    Spoiler: Well-Informed (Amika)
    Show

    I tried to estimate what's reasonably known about each party member but let me know if you feel like something's too secret for Amika to know about.
    Cindy Bradbury: Amika knows a lot about both socialite Cindy Bradbury (though nothing after she went off the grid) and mysterious hacker Gn0me, though she's not aware they are the same person.
    Gato: Amika knows most about Gato as he's quite famous, though probably not the specifics of his background.
    John Joseph: Amika knows the basics about John, especially the events surrounding the loss of his arm (I'm assuming something like that would get a fair bit of media attention).
    Grayson Steel: Amika knows of Grayson as a mercenary and some of the basics about him.
    Jack Thompson: Amika has heard of some of Jack's more dramatic past adventures.
    Samuel Waters: Since the Magistrates are fairly few in number, Amika has heard Waters' name but little else about him. Though the fact that he's still working as an ASM suggests that he's competent and has no (known) scandals to his name.
    The building: The building appears to be one of the Argus System's data analysis substations, one of countless throughout the city where the System's massive amount of surveillance data is processed.
    The investigation: Amika hasn't heard anything about his particular investigation beyond the initial message and Waters' information.

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    "So we're looking for some sort of paintballing clown. Shouldn't be too hard to find one of those in the city. Though.." the cat said rubbing a paw on his chin. "People die when they are killed, What is the report on the autopsy of how they were killed?"
    Animated Spellcards from the Deck of Many Things
    A game I found interesting Aegis: Innocence

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Dwarf in the Playground
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Grayson nods firmly, and just a bit grimly. The investigator's anxiety was clear enough. He nodded slightly in agreement with the cat (giving a brief curious look) as he added: 'I would like to know too. And an observation - This does suggest someone of considerable skill. Perhaps worse. He clearly knew how the surveillance worked. And he's a good shot too.' The soldier's sharp, penetrating eyes stared at the perpetuator with a cold, almost predatory gaze. 'Someone resourceful. Skilled with infiltration. Perhaps, even, someone with inside knowledge. My first guess? Special forces.'

    Then his gaze and face softened subtly as he turned to the rest of the team, nodding briefly to each in turn. 'But I'm only one voice, and perhaps I only see what I want to see. Do you notice anything else?'

    Spoiler: OOC:
    Show

    Expertise (Military) - Do I recognize anything familiar about this man, or the way he is carrying this out? On that line, do I recognize the make of the rifle? (1d20+4)[24]

    Insight and/or Perception - Observing the way he's moving and acting, does he just seem like someone hired for some coin or a professional? (1d20+10)[15]

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Batcathat's Avatar

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    "No autopsy yet, the bodies are still in there", Waters said, pointing towards the door. "You have no idea how annoying some auxes get if we mess around too much with the scene before they get to take a look." He rolled his eyes. "The uniforms sprayed some antidecomp on the bodies and they'll be picked up after you're done here. It's a priority case, you'll have the results in an hour or two."

    "The drones did some basic scans, though, and it's pretty obvious how they were killed. Brown got his throat cut from behind, probably never saw it coming. Lankin seems to have put up a bit of a fight, several stabs in the chest."

    Spoiler: Expertise & Insight/Perception (Grayson)
    Show

    The murderer is never actually seen on the recording. The balloons block the sight from the external camera and the inside cameras are painted over (from directly below for the camaras facing into the rooms and with the paintball gun for the one facing out of the inner room). The rifle is a paintball gun (perhaps I made that unclear in my description), not a military one so Grayson's expertise presumably doesn't cover those. However, he is able to spot a camsight mounted on top of it, which is basically a small camera allowing the user to see around corners. Basically, it's a sci-fi version of this thing).


    Spoiler: Map of the crime scene
    Show


    Last edited by Batcathat; 2021-01-14 at 12:03 PM.

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Waters' nerves made sense to Jack - there's nothing scarier for someone who believes in something like Argus like he seems to than seeing it fail. "I suppose if who did it isn't clear, there's always why he did it. What is this place, anyway? You mentioned surveillance, so is it Argus related? What would having some time here with no cameras looking at you and nobody alive to stop you allow someone to do? Way I see it, only reason you'd kill the janitor is if you wanted to be sure of no interruptions when doing something."

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    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    "This is one of the Argus System's substations", Waters explained. "The System reviews most data itself but sometimes it requires human evaluation or review which is done in places like this, there are dozens throughout the city." Foreseeing their next question he added: "As far as I know there's nothing special about this particular station. All data is randomly assigned to different stations, I have no idea what this one might've had at the moment."

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    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    "Can you find out? Surely Argus keeps track of where it puts its data at what time, it keeps track of everything else." Jack shrugs. He wasn't sure whether this was one of those things they'd just give him, but it was worth asking. "Feels important to know that. Better to have an idea on the guy's motive rather than no clue."

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Cindy Bradbury, or that is to say, Gn0me for all intents and purposes had already been analyzing the data on the cameras this whole time. The footage played clearly visible on her visor with her eyes darting back and forth watching it. In her hand she idly fingered the Argus business card running her thumb over the etched engraving. She’d arrived a few minutes ago in a car just like everyone else, which she didn’t think much about, just another garbage job in a long line of them. Gn0me briefly amused herself by thinking she should change her official title to garbageman.

    While Gn0me was almost four foot nothing she dressed ostentatiously enough that it was hard to miss her even in the over-sized chair she sat watching the data. Her hair was dyed blue and shaved on one side while her face had no shortage of piercings. She was a little bit chubby, stubby, one could say, with a nearly skin-tight grayish body suit covered in lit-up blue lines and retro lights among other bits and bobs. It was difficult to fully see under her rumpled canary yellow detective trench coat. Her visor attached to a device on one side of her head from which emitted a projection of a visor made of light which covered her eyes but even when it was a different color than transparent you could still see her eyes through it. She was currently chomping on an over-sized cigar from which smoke puffed.

    Probably should have asked if I could smoke in here.” Gn0me said in a near deadpan taking moving the cigar from one side of her mouth to the other but making no effort to put it out. She wordlessly stared at the cat for a long few moments before pulling a flask out of her coat pocket and taking a long swig before sighing contentedly. In another two seconds four long metallic tentacles erupted from the top and bottom of her trench coat and moving her into a standing positing. She moved on two of the arms which each had claws on the end closer to the crime scene before sitting back in a reclining position on the two arms.

    Jesus wonder what the hell happened to that guy. Oh god. Okay. Don’t let it show. Keep it together.” She thought before visibly shuddering as her eyes briefly roamed over Grayson’s body. Gn0me cleared her throat.

    Thank god everything is recorded these days.” She said not bothering to hide her obvious venom and sarcasm.

    Now we know the killer is an avid paint ball enthusiast when he’s not slicing innocent folks. Case closed. Nothing there to even tell us if this clown had an agenda or if they were just some psycho looking for their jollies.

    Gn0me let her eyes linger appreciatively on Anika for a few moments. “Nice headgear, dollface.” Gn0me quipped, indicating Ami’s own visor. But her eyes didn’t stay on the visor part of her for long.

    Finally, Gn0me pressed a few buttons on the side of her own visor allowing her to see both in Infravision and, microscopically, dust-sized objects. It was probably a long shot but she checked to see if she could track a warm heat trail using her Infravision, but if it worked she wouldn’t have to be embarrassed later when she didn’t check. She followed the natural trail which was going inside the building to the scene of the first murder they had just witnessed on video where the janitor John Brown fell and seeing what she could see.

    Spoiler
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    Microscopic Senses (Dust Sized), Infravision, and Tracking were used in this post.

    Investigation Check: (1d20+9)[14]
    Last edited by Phobia; 2021-01-14 at 03:38 AM.

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    "You can check for yourselves", Waters said in reply to Jack's question. "The station's been in lockdown since the murder was discovered, no data in or out." He turned towards the door and opened it with a show of his own Argus card.

    "Let's take a look, shall we?" He waved at the group to follow him as he entered. Inside was the entryway shown in the recording, mostly empty with the glaring exception of John Brown's body in the middle of the room. He was lying with his open eyes towards the ceiling and a pool of coagulated blood centered around a cut straight across his throat.

    The victim appeared to have been in his mid-40s, his brown hair starting to go gray and his pale skin showing some wrinkles. He was dressed in what appeared to be a maroon uniform, with the logo for Sunny Services — a smiling sun — printed on his chest.

    "John Brown", Waters said, with a nod towards the body on the floor, barely slowing down as he passed. "He was found like this. Let the System know once you're done with the scene, and he'll be picked up for autopsy."

    Waters continued into the room on the left, the only open door from the hallway. "Second guy's in here", he said and pointed towards the remains of Christopher Lankin, lying curled up on the floor between the door into the room and the desk he was working by in the recording.

    Christopher Lankin looked both older and richer than the first victim and was wearing most of a suit — the jacket hanging by his desk. Next to him was the shattered remains of a tablet — seemingly identical to the one Waters' used to show the recording as well as the tablets lying on most of the desks around the room.

    "That's about it", Waters said. "We've searched the rest of the building, of course, most of it looks like this and there's no sign of anyone or anything on any of the cameras. But feel free to look around, it'll be locked down for at least a few days."

    Spoiler: Investigation (Gn0me)
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    Cindy sees no thermal trace, nor anything out of the ordinary on a microscopic level.

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    As Waters opens the door, the canine drone which had previously been sitting by Jack's feet leaps into action, running inside and beginning to sniff around, looking remarkably like a real dog, a remnant of its original programming as a substitute pet. Jack strolls in behind him, watching the drone work with a proud expression.

    "I got hold of some pretty good forensic and sensor gear a while ago and put them in him. Figured it would help him keep me safe and sniff out opportunities, but my boy should do pretty well here too."

    Spoiler
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    Warhound has Skill Mastery allowing for a flat 25 in Investigation and Perception, and Analytical Extended Olfactory senses (and tracking infravision, but that's not useful here as I understand the situation).
    Last edited by Volthawk; 2021-01-12 at 03:28 PM.

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Gato jumps a little at the appearance of the canine drone, still sitting in the cockpit as he listens to everything going on so far, thinking. "Well based on the fact that the killer was able to target every camera so well that they're not seen, I'd have to think they've been in here before to the point they're familiar with the location. Was there anyone fired from here recently or quit?"
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    In response to Gato's question, Samuel Waters pulled out his Argus card. "Let's check. Full system access, remember?" He tapped the eyes on the card.

    "Priority line Alpha Gamma active. Please state your query clearly", said a voice from the card.

    "Has anyone been fired or quit from this substation in the last... let's say six months?"

    The reply came a few seconds later, with the same vaguely pleasant but somewhat apathetic voice. "There has been no personnel changes at data analysis substation AW0421 in the last eleven months."

    Spoiler: Investigation (Jack/Warhound)
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    After searching the crime scene, the dog drone indicated a spot on the floor where a closer inspection revealed a partial foot print in blood. Not enough to tell much about the shoe or even the size, but enough to possibly compare it to a shoe or another print.
    Last edited by Batcathat; 2021-01-13 at 05:00 PM.

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Quote Originally Posted by Phobia View Post
    Gn0me let her eyes linger appreciatively on Anika for a few moments. “Nice headgear, dollface.” Gn0me quipped, indicating Ami’s own visor. But her eyes didn’t stay on the visor part of her for long.
    "Thanks," Amika replied. "Same to you."
    Amika felt she had a good idea of why the others were chosen for this. Her own connections, Wolf's law-enforcement experience, Steel's combat skills, Jack's drone. Even Gato—an uplifted cat brought unique talents to the table, even if she was only trained as an actor. Cindy, on the other hand? As far as Amika knew, she was just the Bradbury family's metaphorical red-headed stepchild. Guacola's no Argus, but they likely have the resources to put an agent on this sort of mission, if they had a motive. Perhaps it would be worth looking for connections between Guacola and our suspects...once we have some, at least.


    Quote Originally Posted by Batcathat View Post
    The reply came a few seconds later, with the same vaguely pleasant but somewhat apathetic voice. "There has been no personal changes at data analysis substation AW0421 in the last eleven months."
    "Then we either have a contractor, someone who worked at a sufficiently similar facility, or someone who gained that information through an illicit channel. Should be easy to check the first two, and I can think of some people to call, but some channels would be nigh-impossible to check.
    "Well, I can think of one thing. Does this facility have any way of detecting or stopping intrusions by drones?"
    Amika nodded towards Warhound. "Not all of them are that obvious. And speaking of obvious..."

    As she spoke, Amika began tracing the path the murderer took, trying not to disturb anything that looks like evidence. The cameras weren't too obvious, but someone with a decent eye and a good angle could see them without too much hassle—possibly from outside their field of vision. It would take just a minute to check whether this was a mystery at all.
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Listening to the drone's finding through an earpiece (it seemed for whatever reason he didn't have more sophisticated cybernetic drone control sysems), Jack shrugs. "There's a bit of a footprint - you still call it a footprint if it's a shoe, right? - so if it was a drone it's one that either has human feet and wears shoes, or has feet built to look like shoes. Don't think I've seen any of them around, although the drone makers could have something fancy they're keeping from public knowledge - you do always hear people saying that, but then again fifty years ago people were saying the corps had secret humanoid robots doing dirty work for them, so it's probably just one of those fun ideas that hangs around." He shrugs. "You never know, though."
    Last edited by Volthawk; 2021-01-13 at 05:27 PM.

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    "Just because someone walked in here with shoes doesn't mean there wasn't someone who came by without shoes," Amika replied. "Especially if the drone could fly. Plenty of spy drones do."
    Last edited by GreatWyrmGold; 2021-01-13 at 10:44 PM. Reason: I originally said that plenty of flying drones fly. Which isn't wrong...
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Samuel Waters pondered the question for a few seconds before answering. "Against drones specifically? I don't think so. But there are no windows, the doors lock automatically and can only be opened with a card and all air is checked for contaminants before getting in through the vents." He paused. "Though as our killer proved, it's possible to slip in after someone else opens the door. I suppose a drone could do that too."

    After examining the rooms, Amika came to the conclusion that the cameras mounted over each door — that the murderer spray painted — was visible to someone standing right under them, careful not to step into their view. The camera on the further side for the room where Lankin had been murdered, on the other hand, could not be seen from outside the room, though as the recording showed, the murderer had used a camsight to hit it without entering the room.

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    'Nice camera. Wonder where he got it.' Grayson mulled for a moment before moving throughout the building, briefly taking in each person along the way. This was certainly an interesting collection of people, clearly all well-skilled in their respective vocations. Inwardly, he chuckled - this had 'danger' written all over it. Bring it on, be thought as he stopped to survey each room.

    His cybernetic eye glowed subtly as he took inspiration from the woman with the visor, searching not just for heat but subtle blood trails, things best seen under UV light and perhaps something easily missed in the shadows. Particularly, he focused on the two bodies, not on the way they were killed, but on signs of profession, environmental cues, and other subtle signs that may have shown where they may have been hours before death. Then, he went towards the area where the killer likely escaped - perhaps he was careless and dropped something, although he highly doubted it.

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Investigation check: (1d20+10)[18], and Perception if needed (1d20+10)[25] assisted by Infravision, Low-Light Vision, Tracking, Ultravision and Analytical Vision from his Ocular Implants. I'll likely get similar results to Gn0me, but let's see if Analytical pulls up anything.

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    "And those gams ain't bad, either." Gn0me said watching after her, probably meaning it like a compliment. Upon entering the room and seeing the first body, John Brown, Gn0me wrinkles her nose. "What a damn mess." She sighs, two of her tentacled arms working as legs to propel her forward. "So if there was no personal vendetta, perhaps a hired hand?" Gn0me mused out loud to the fact that no one had been fired lately.

    Approaching the body of John Brown she lowered down further to give it a good once-over. "Poor bastard." Gn0me muttered, pulling out another cigar and lighting it with an old-timey looking flip-lighter. Brutal and ruthless. Why would someone do this to the janitor? That was the million dollar question, and she had debts to be repaid.

    Spoiler
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    I'm wanting to roll a Treatment check to check out the body. Giving him a diagnosis.
    Last edited by Phobia; 2021-01-15 at 07:38 PM.

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    Spoiler: Investigation (Grayson)
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    The UV light revealed some additional traces of blood around both of the bodies, but nothing unexpected or noteworthy as far as Grayson could tell. Though he does note that there is some blood underneath the remains of the broken tablet next to Lankin's body, suggesting it was broken after the murder.

    Besides his uniform, the one thing that stands out the most about John Brown's clothing is his very worn shoes, suggesting that he walks a lot and/or has owned them for a fairly long time. The only thing in his pockets is a personal tablet and what seems to be his working equipment, meant to interface with or service the maintenance drones he oversees.

    Christopher Lankin's pockets are also mostly empty, containing only a metal card with the Argus eyes – identical with those given to Grayson and the others – and a physical photograph – something of a rarity in these days – of a woman and two kids together with a younger version of Lankin.

    Spoiler: Treatment (Gn0me)
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    Although an autopsy will be necessary to say for sure, the cause of death is almost certainly the deep wound across Brown's throat. As she looks closer, Cindy notes a similar but much shallower wound right below the deep cut, suggesting the killer might have fumbled a bit or hesitated. There is also a wound on his forehead, suggesting he fell on his face after being killed.

    Aside from the obvious injuries, Brown appears to have been in good health and decent physical shape.
    Last edited by Batcathat; 2021-01-16 at 05:33 AM.

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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Quote Originally Posted by Batcathat View Post
    After examining the rooms, Amika came to the conclusion that the cameras mounted over each door — that the murderer spray painted — was visible to someone standing right under them, careful not to step into their view. The camera on the further side for the room where Lankin had been murdered, on the other hand, could not be seen from outside the room, though as the recording showed, the murderer had used a camsight to hit it without entering the room.
    "Hm. Prior knowledge of the layout would have helped, but it doesn't look like it would be necessary to do what the killer did." Amika sighed. "So it's something to keep in mind, but not something that can prove anything one way or the other."

    This sort of crime scene investigation wasn't Amika's strong suit, but she still had eyes. She poked around in the eastern(?) room, making sure the team didn't miss anything while focused on the bodies. [Investigation] Meanwhile, she considered things she could ask about.

    The first thing would, of course, be to ask if any of her contacts who'd been in this part of town at the right time saw anyone with a becamera'd paintball rifle and some balloons passing through and where they went or came from; with luck, she could ask someone else close to where the first contact's testimony left off the same questions and trace the perp's movements forward or backwards in time to another lead.

    Then there was motive. Even if any idiot with balloons, a paintball gun, and an ounce of caution could pull this off, the fact that they brought all three to the murder meant this was about as far from a crime of passion as murder can get without contracting it out. Why would someone go to such effort to end a couple of lives? It probably isn't just a personal matter, Amika decided. I doubt this is the least secure place these two frequented.
    The only reason they'd kill the victims here would be to get at Argus's data...or maybe because they knew it would have a skeleton crew? If this was a personal crime, and the target lives in a noisy apartment or crowded house or something, this might be the closest they come to being alone.
    Another thing to check, then. It would be nice if it was just some personal vendetta backed by forethought, ingenuity, and luck.

    If it wasn't...well, they'd have to check the data, figure out if anything had been tampered with or overlooked, check anyone who would benefit from that manipulation and be able to find out where the data was being processed, and somehow investigate this without the paintball clown being sent after them. Which could be difficult if one of them was a mole...
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    Gato sat on the top of his Drone, thinking, while the others did the investigations. In all honestly, I haven't got a clue so far. Our plots would normally have someone in the facility who was working there and upset. Perhaps a janitor from a cleaning company that worked here. But then again, we're only connecting two out of three murders.." his head tilted side to side as the drone crossed its arms, tilting to the side as well. "What was the connection from these two, to the third? And then maybe we can find our connection to the fourth person involved in this mystery. "
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    Default Re: Argus Panoptes: A Murder Mystery

    "Good question", Waters said to Gato. "To be honest, we're not even completely sure there is a connection, though it happened less than 24 hours before these murders and just a couple of blocks away from here. The murder weapon might have been the same too, though we'll probably know for sure after the autopsies." He paused and looked around the room. "Not to mention that that murderer seems to be as much of a ghost as this one. No one caught on camera, no one besides the victim at the scene according to tracking data. According to Argus, there's a ninety-eight point something probability of the murders being connected, but don't ask me what that's based on."

    Spoiler: Investigation (Amika)
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    The second office looked almost identical to the first one, filled mostly with desks with a tablet laying on each one. The cameras — placed identically to the other office — showed no evidence of being painted or otherwise tampered with and their recordings showed no one in the room at the time around the murders.

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