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Tangled Currents - Grunt

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Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #180 on: <04-30-16/1704:00> »
The man gets a serious look at his face and walks off toward the rear of the stage area as he pulls out a small badge and shows it to you.  He is apparently one Joseph Hill, a senior operative of the UCAS Federated Security Services.  "So, do you know anything about an organization called Shadow Land?"
"Speech"  *Thought*  <Matrix>

PRabel

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« Reply #181 on: <05-01-16/0442:25> »
*At least I now know who this guy is.*

"So, a federal agent, huh? I must get my hand into something big, it seems. Anyway, I think I've heard it mentioned a few years back, but I really can't recall who said it and where. Why, is it something I should know about?

Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #182 on: <05-01-16/1047:27> »
"Well, it might be.  The group used to be a bunch of college radicals that vowed to change society, claiming that music and public dancing was destroying the fabric of society.  Yeah, crazy, I know.  Anyway, the most attention they ever got from us was intercepting their communications.  Just in case they actually tried to carry out any of their goofball stunts.  Three years ago they went dark.  As if they had never existed.  The bosses decided that they had just grown up and left the tirade business.  Then performers started dying.  It was small numbers and the deaths were put down mostly to accidents, that is until some guy with more letters after his name than I have IN my name started looking at the deaths as something else and realized that perhaps they were not just coincidental.  It seems that right now, there are some crazies out there that are really interested in killing musicians, and they have progressed enough in skill and attitude to actually carry out the original manifesto of Shadow Land.  No real proof of a connection yet, since there have been no claims of responsibility.  But we have uncovered enough evidence to believe that someone has assumed the mantle of the organization and reorganized it for something more sinister than simply filling the airwaves with noise.  The bomb here could have been meant for any specific person or perhaps any of the performers in general.  We do not know.  But you were quick enough on the uptake to recognize something was wrong and smart enough to do something about it, both of which impress me.  And I am hard to impress."
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PRabel

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« Reply #183 on: <05-01-16/1145:46> »
"Wow, that some really crazy and stupid claims. I mean, a lot of cultures were actually centered around music and dancing. However the other part is disturbing. I assum you already tried to track down the original members. It is also possible, that someone with actual brainpower and experience took over the "organization". A group of fanatics can be a powerful tool, if one can control them. In time, that leader can twist their ways to match his own agenda. It is a matter of patience and manipulation skills.
You mean taking out the guy, who placed them? It was suspicious enough that he was wearing an arena employee uniform and dispite there was no power outage, he walked around with a flashlight. It was the fact, that he raised that flashlight to blind me, while he reached behind his back, that convinced me, that something was not OK. After I found the suitcase, there was no more doubt. My bet was on a sniper rifle, wich would have been only good against a single performer. Now that we know it was a bomb and that there are six more of them, it is almost  certain, that whoever planned the thing, wanted to target more "artists"...and an arena full of people. It would have drawn a lot of attention to their cause. Do we know anything specific about the bombs? I'm also pretty concerned that the security stuffed so many people into one small building. One of these bombs could cause a lot of casualties."

Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #184 on: <05-01-16/1812:59> »
The man nods his head.  "Some good questions there, son.  Unfortunately, I cannot tell you too much.  Either because I do not know anything, or because you are part of a private security detachment and spilling too much is against protocol.  I can tell you that we are looking into the members of the original group, that the bomb materials are being looked at, and that I am frustrated as hell that nothing is making sense.  Yet.  I am pretty good at this and will get to the answer, but I hope that I get there before other people die."

He shrugs.  "Got nothing to do with where the locals put you guys.  Can't say I do not agree with your assessment, but nothing I can do about it.  I am not here officially.  That is why I was hoping to catch your attention back there.  Are you..............and your partner................willing to help me?  Are you guys willing to take that chance?  Can't promise any real recognition.  No real reward.  All of that stuff.  But would it be worth it to you to save a life or three?"
"Speech"  *Thought*  <Matrix>

PRabel

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« Reply #185 on: <05-02-16/0315:37> »
He carefully listens to the man and says:"I see. So we have pretty much nothing on our hands. We might be able to help, but I don't know if we have the time to spare. We have our hands full with the protection of our client, now more, than earlier. Our boss probably want us to keep an even closer look on everything. I can't say anything until I have talked to my partner. Give me a minute."

He turns around and asks Cinn over the comm:"Well, you've heard everything. What do you think about the guy and the situation? Should we help him? Or can we help him?

Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #186 on: <05-02-16/0931:32> »
The man nods and turns to light up another cigarette, the smoke blowing away in the slight breeze.  Cinn responds quickly, >>Not sure, G.  My gut says that Nova is our primary concern, but doing this might help save her life.  Saving other lives is a good secondary objective, too.  I have no idea if he is legit or just scamming us.  Anyone can get a badge printed up.  What is your feel on that?<<
"Speech"  *Thought*  <Matrix>

PRabel

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« Reply #187 on: <05-02-16/1145:02> »
"Yeah, Nova is our primary concern and I think, if we help him with his investigation, our focus on her might suffer. And you're right about his identity. There is no way, that we can verify it now and he was too interested, if I know anything about you. I think the best we could do, is ask for time to decide. Meanwhile we can run a background check, to see if he and his story are legit. Even if he is, we should protect Nova above all else and if we discover something, we can feed him the info. Do you agree or have some other ideas?

PRabel

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« Reply #188 on: <05-02-16/1318:56> »
Mercy Merchant:

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>>No, I think that you are absolutely correct.  I am always leery of such men.  I think that your line is the best we can use right now.  Tell him to give us a comm. code so we can reach him if we come up with anything.  I will get Stella onto him to check out his ID.<<

PRabel

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« Reply #189 on: <05-02-16/1339:40> »
>>Allright, I'll tell him. See you inside.<<

He turns to the guy and tells him: "Thanks for the offer Mister Hill, but we need to take a lot of things into consideration before we can decide. In the meantime, we can send you any useful info we discover, if you give us a comm code. You have to understand, that our primary concern is the safety of our client."

After the man gives him the comm code, he says goodbye and returns to the building to Cinn and Nova, checking for anything suspicious on the way back.

PRabel

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« Reply #190 on: <05-03-16/0123:14> »
Mercy Merchant :

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He smiles and nods.  “I figured that.  Here is a code that you can use to get me any time, day or night.  Let me know if you find out anything about the Shadow Land connection.  I might be able to get you some sort of reward.”  He continues to smoke his cigarette as he turns to walk out to the stage.  On the way back to the building, you get about twenty feet away from it when a message comes in from Cinn.  >>G.  Something’s wrong here.  The Sec Chief is talking to some guy and is all excited.  I cannot make out everything, but it looks like the bombs are all dummies.  Real explosives on top, but no means of detonation…………Oh God, no.  G, I just received another transmis………………….<<
The call is interrupted by a roar as the security building disintegrates in a massive explosion that throws chunks of rock and debris into the sky and all around this part of the arena.  The force sends you flying thirty feet to land in a crumpled heap on the ground.  Momentarily knocked unconscious by the blast you shake your head and look towards the rubble that is all that remains of the building.  Blood is dripping into your left eye from a cut on your forehead and, strangely enough, you hear no noise, even as chunks of debris rain from the sky, some hitting quite near you.  You see movement to your side and turn to note a severed arm flopping about as if it were still connected to a body.  Other body parts seem to be scattered about as well.  As you stand on wobbly feet, you grimace in pain and realize that one or two ribs might have been cracked.  Part of your hearing returns but still the area is grimly silent for a few seconds, then the roar of flames and screams from survivors fills the air.

PRabel

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« Reply #191 on: <05-03-16/0245:04> »
*Holy drek...* That's all he can think of as he starts to stumble toward the burning rubble.  *I know there is little chance,  but I have to check them. One of them may have survived somehow.*
He goes into the ruins, looking for either Nova and Cinn or at least what remained of them. As he searches the place he calls Roger:>>Boss, something terrible happened. Someone blew up the security building with everyone inside. I survived only, because a federal agent questioned me outside. I send his name and badge number to check him. I'm looking for Nova and Cinn, but don't get your hopes up. <<

PRabel

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« Reply #192 on: <05-03-16/1356:52> »
Mercy Merchant:

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The smell of burning building materials vies with that from burning bodies.  You spy several people that must have been near the edge of the blast all crumpled together in a motionless heap and on fire.  You think one might have been the chief of arena security and another the KE officer that had been in charge of the investigation.  You are the first on the scene, although you can see several others making their way towards the site of the explosion.  Oddly enough, you hear people moaning and crying out for help.  You recognize one as the drummer of the noise band that had been on the stage earlier.  He is missing both arms and has severe burns on what you can see of his body.  Even as you walk towards him, he goes into a seizure from shock, twitches a few times and dies in front of you, calling out for his mother.  The building is mostly rubble, but there are sections of one wall still standing.  There are sounds from that area and you start moving the rocks and debris you can and soon others are joining you, using bare hands to move small and large boulder-sized chunks of debris.
 
A cheer goes up as someone in another area calls out that he has a survivor and others go to help.  Soon a picture begins to emerge of people helping others.  The pretty girl from the band and the guy she had taken into the bathroom with her emerge, naked but alive.  One of the people digging takes his torn and dirty shirt off to cover the girl, who looks shell shocked.  Two people are uncovered next to the wall you are working at and someone calls out that they are still breathing.  Looking over, you see Cinnamon laying on top of Nova.  Both are unconscious when they are pulled out and placed to the side where someone with EMT experience is looking after people.

PRabel

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« Reply #193 on: <05-03-16/1441:56> »
*I never get used to the smell of burning bodies, no matter how many times I smell it. Poor boy, he was barely more than a child. Good to see that at least some people survived the blast. I hope the girls are among them.*

As he helps moving the rocks and debris, he turns to see Cinn and Nova alive. He goes there and help carry them to the side. Since he cannot help tending to the wounded, he decides to go back and helps to uncover the survivors, but he send a message to Roger:

>>Good news, Boss! We found them. They are alive, but I can't tell anything about their condition. I hope DocWagon gets here fast and I can tell more. You should send Larry and Leroy here. We need them to watch over Nova and Cinn.<<

Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #194 on: <05-04-16/0149:47> »
By the time you get back to the rubble, there is a certain amount of organization to the rescue operation.  You jump in where needed and assist in moving the rubble and the bodies uncovered.  By the time the Doc Wagon Airbuses started arriving, there were a total of five people pulled out alive and twenty-three dead, but the last was an estimate based on body parts found.  There was no clear count of who had been in the building as anyone with any records had died in the blast. 

During a break, you see that you have a text and open it.  >>G.  Roger.  Hold as you can, son.  We are being told that the arena is in lock down and no one except emergency personnel are being allowed in.  I have been in touch with Sisters of Mercy hospital and we are headed there instead.  See if you can catch a lift there with the DW.  I will send Marco back with the car after we get to the hospital if you cannot fly there.  Glad you are safe.  Stella is already working on the stuff you sent over.  Later.<<

From where you are sitting you can see that they are getting ready to put Cinn and Nova on the air lifter.
"Speech"  *Thought*  <Matrix>

 

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