Adventure! RPG: Heroes of Our Time - episode 4: Killer in the Rain (part 2)

[Blaine]

Blaine heads for the pillar where Rhiannon is at, keeping his head low and his gun training for anyone not accounted for already. Once he reaches her he grabs her by the arm again and hustles for the door.

"C'mon let's go!" he says as he pulls her along, again keeping his body covering her as much as possible as they head for Janos. He points his gun at any people that move or seek to get in his way.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhiannon allows Blaine to lead her, following his example.

"Let's go, people!" she orders to the team clearly over the ruckus.

[Dr. Mystery]

John heads out quickly, following Blaine and Rhiannon as he tucks his cane into his jacket pocket. On his way out the door, he makes an aside to Blaine.

"So, That certainly went well- Smooth as silk, eh Blaine?"

John chuckles good naturedly, breaking into a grin.

[Blaine]

Once outside Blaine tries to pinpoint the getaway that Janos said is waiting for them, as well as keeping an eye out for any more gun men.

"A bit worse than I figured. I didn't think even 8-Ball would have the guts to pull something like this off. A hit in broad daylight in a train station. That dog's really off the leash."

[Brigitte Lefevre]

Brigitte sits behind the wheel of her automobile, idly going over a few ideas in her head when she spots Janos’ signal. With well practiced fluidity she brings the car fully to life and speeds over. As she nears she gives the wheel a sharp jerk to the right, putting on the parking break at the same time to cause the back of the automobile to swing around, bringing the passenger (left) side of the car towards the doors to allow easier access for the group to the vehicle. She leans over and pops the passenger door to the silver automobile.

“Need a lift?” she asks with something of a gleeful smile before straightening back up and resuming her place at the wheel, checking the mirrors and looking all around and over her shoulders of any suspicious activity.

[Blaine]

Blaine doesn't need any further prompting. He throws opens one of the doors and hustles Rhiannon in.

"Stay down! Let's get everybody else in there. Janos! Who else is in inside?"

Observers might notice that the back of his coat seems to have a hole in it, and that there is a dark stain spreading on his left armpit, and a slow trickle of blood drips out his left sleeve.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos gives a battle-bright smile to Brigette then replies,

"Brigette, I think we've taken out most of the gunmen, but I'm not absolutely sure."

Answering Blaine,

"Waiting on Jameson and Josef."

Then,

"Rhia, Blaine's been hit."

"Brigette, do you have a first aid kit?"

All the while Janos remains in the doorway, sword swept down and pistol pointing up.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

"I bloody well know that," Rhiannon snaps under her breath to Janos, "he took a hit for me."

She tears a strip from her coat and hands it to Blaine to hold over his wound.

[Alex Craft]

The fleeing man almost reaches the door before his right thigh and left knee burst apart under the attention of the Beginning and the End. He continues to move with his momentum and the force of the shots, tumbling forward into the doors onto the street. Flailing, an outstretched arm punches through a pane of glass in one of the doors as the man falls against it and forces it open with the weight of his body.

Outside, Brigitte sees the disarmed gunman falling through the doorway - his arm becoming even more mutilated as his body twists and drags the arm back out through the raggedly broken glass as the man falls to the ground. Janos almost immediately steps through a neighboring door, weapons drawn as he stands in the door. Blaine, Rhiannon, and John quickly follow through the doors, with the first two quickly taking Brigitte up on her offer.

From his position in the door, Janos can look back to see Jozsef making his way down from the balcony and across to the street exit, slowed down by his limp. Across the room, the Angel is being taken deeper into the station by Luca and Cassidy - probably heading for some less exposed exit. Jameson is not following the others out of the building, instead pausing to scan the station lobby and reassure himself that there are no more enemies waiting to immediately jump out of the woodwork.

Several car-lengths ahead of Brigitte's car, a pair of men are waiting with a grey sedan - one behind the wheel, and the other outside smoking a cigarette. The car had pulled up some five or ten minutes earlier and let three men out at the station. Brigitte had figured them for simply giving their buddies a lift, but there really wouldn't seem to be much of a reason for the remaining two to loiter around if that were the case (now that she thinks of it).

As some extremely crude first aid is applied in the back seat, Brigitte notices the standing man hurriedly drop his smoking cigarette butt and swing into the car, gun metal gleaming briefly as he draws a weapon. This coincides exactly with the last gunman's collapse on the sidewalk, and Brigitte is already fingering the two to be a gunman and a wheelman as the smoking man slams the door shut.

Moments later, the other car's engine roars as it accelerates rapidly - peeling away from the curb and tearing off down the road. Blaine and Rhiannon are occupied with battlefield medicine, but John and Janos realize the nature of the fleeing car quickly enough (but still a step or so behind Brigitte).

Brigitte glances over toward John (on the sidewalk next to the car) and Janos (still holding the door). If she wants to give chase, she can probably wait another moment or two to pick up the boys - but too much delay will let the other car get away. Brigitte's car is naturally much faster, but that doesn't do much good if the other vehicle is already out of sight.

[Blaine]

"Wait, it's not that bad...ow! Dammit! I'll be OK!" grumbles Blaine as fumbling attempts at First Aid are attempted in the cramped car. The wound is a bit of a bleeder, but otherwise not too bad, just one more scar on a veritable road map of old wounds.

"Look! Those mooks over there! We can't let 'em get away! They'll warn Crazy 8! Punch it Brigette!" shouts Blaine as he pulls out his gun again.

[Brigitte Lefevre]

Brigitte closes her eyes and sighs softly, pulling down her goggles and commenting (in French) to herself about American impatience before addressing Blaine.

“Oui, I see them. I have been watching them for the past ten minutes.” Brigitte says as she shifts gear and presses on the accelerator, bringing the engine revving to life once again as she pulls away from the curb to give chase. Brigitte is careful to not overdo it for them moment, being careful to conceal her automobile’s true capabilities. She does open up the car enough to make it seem to be as sporty as it appears.

“I am willing to bet that they are next expecting my kind of speed, acceleration and handling. Is should be able to lure them into some false security and then pass them with ease. When I do, I you need to be ready. I will not pit my brakes against theirs, but I will pit my engine against theirs. Hold on and get ready.”

Brigitte then adds, “And watch the leather. I just conditioned it.” as something of a afterthought.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

"Verdammt!" Janos exclaims as the engine reves up. He hurls himself at the back door of the car, swinging his gunarm inside the car, as there are no running boards for him to steady himself on.

{{providing he pulls himself into the car}}

"Do you realize you have a wounded Blaine and Anthony's assistant going up against men who more than likely have those damnable small machineguns?"

He looks over to the front seat.

"What's the plan?"

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhia looks helplessly at Janos, then glances at Brigitte. "If those sons-of-bitches get away, this Carlos fellow will know we're onto him. If they don't... That could be a tactical advantage."

She sighs. "We have no choice, damn it."

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson stands up fully and scans the room for any remaining threats. Seeing that the situation has resolved itself he holsters the End and begins to reload the Beginning as he walks to the fallen gangster at the door. He takes note that Jozsef is also making his way to the exit.

Completing the reload of the Beginning Jameosn begins reloading the End as he hears a car's tires squeal outside. Jameson gets to the station doors as Brigitte's car peels out and races away. Must be important Jameson thinks to himself as he holsters the End.

Looking back down at the mauled gangster Jameson sees that the man is mostly conscious and gives his a light kick in the side to get his attention. "Friend, I suggest you tell me exactly what the hell that shit you pulled was? Who hired you? Oh and where can I find your boss? If you answer me I may just make sure that you don't bleed out right here and now."

Jameson squats down next to the man listening for a response and casually fingering the polished grips on the End. He reaches into his coat and checks his pocket watch, noting the time and trying to determine how much time he has before the cops show.

[Blaine]

"Don't worry about me Count, it's just a scratch." grunts Blaine as he tries to re-don his heavy jacket, minus the armor, it's just too bulky at this point. In the process 'the scratch' opens again a little, depositing more blood on the leather seats. "Shit. Sorry Brigitte. I'll leave the driving to you, the Count and me will take our shot once we got an opening." Blaine pulls out his gun and loads in a fresh clip. "You ready Janos?".

Blaine looks down as they speed up, and a strange scratchy noise is heard even over the precision purr of the souped up engine. It's the sound of Blaine's teeth grinding, and when he looks up, his left eye twitches in barely controlled rage. "My shoes...got blood on 'em...and they're scuffed with glass!" he finally manages to say through clenched teeth. His left hand closes in a tight fist causing the knuckles to pop grotesquely. "Never mess with a man's shoes..." he mutters as they catch up to the fleeing men.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

"Ja, Blaine, I'm ready, but I think it would be better if Brigette could force them off the road, or at least away from civilians."

"Besides, are you sure you don't want me to jump to the other car, just like Cairo?" Janos says, half-jokingly with a wolfish smile on his face.

[Dr. Mystery]

John flings himself in after Janos (if there's any room), scrambling as he pulls himself into the car.

"I certainly wouldn't prefer a repeat of Cairo" states John, gingerly rubbing his shoulder.

[Alex Craft]

John clambers onto the back of the car as Brigitte shifts gears, dodging over Rhiannon and Blaine and dropping into the passenger seat next to Brigitte. Janos is close behind, making the leap as Brigitte peels away from the curb and dragging himself into the back as the wind of motion begins to pluck at him.

Settling himself, Janos is crouched awkwardly on the back seat, keeping down as best he can to minimize his profile - both with regard to air resistance and the size of the target he makes. With Blaine and Rhiannon both in the back, there isn't room for Janos to do better than this.

Opening the throttle enough to give a good show, Brigitte tears off after the sedan. She is spotted quickly enough, and the other driver begins to play hard to get - flooring his gas and beginning to duck and cutting a corner with admitted skill. Her wheels scream as Brigitte fights to follow suit (abstractly noting that the tires aren't giving her quite as much traction as she might like - might be time to move on from rubber).

The chase continues like this for a few minutes, with the two cars darting in and out of Baltimore's back streets. The other driver isn't as skilled as Brigitte, and his vehicle doesn't hold a candle to the Lefevre. He does, however, have a much greater understanding of the streets and puts that knowledge to use - cutting corners suddenly and taking advantage of nearly invisible alleyways.

Finally, Brigitte gets some space as the chase tears through a narrow alley - garbage, laundry, and some stray chickens (chickens?) sent flying as the two vehicles leave the alley and burst out onto a main drag. Brigitte hasn't been pushing the Lefevre too hard, so perhaps the other driver hopes to get some space and outpace her. His mistake.

Now that she's out of alleys and back streets, Brigitte has room to pass the sedan, and she takes advantage - putting the pedal to the metal. The Lefevre leaps forward, rapidly eating the several car lengths between the vehicles. However, as Brigitte gets close enough to start to shift lanes, the gunman in the other car's passenger seat leans out the window and begins snapping off shots from his pistol.

His intention seems to be to put a few rounds into the engine block, but the bullets glance off Brigitte's armor - the only damage being done to the previously perfect paint job. Giving up as Brigitte closes with and begins to pass his car, he ducks back into the vehicle for the moment.

Brigitte slides past the other car, swerving to dodge the other driver's attempt at forcing her off the road and flooring it to force her way to the front. This sequence only takes a couple of seconds, and she is almost immediately cutting in front of the sedan. As she does so, however, a new problem comes up - the gunman kicks open his door and stands half out of the sedan, bringing up a Tommy gun to train on the back of Brigitte's car.

* * *

Back at the station, Jameson speculates that he may have around five minutes before the cops show up. Of course, this assumes nothing is keeping the police away - it wouldn't be a surprise if one or both of Crazy 8 and the Angel spread some cash around to delay police response.

Squatting down just inside the door, Jameson rolls the man on the floor over onto his back. The man stares back at him with grim determination, mouth sealed in a thin line. In response to a prodding, he spits a gob of bloody saliva in Jameson's direction, but - as messed up as he is - the saliva doesn't even get near Jameson, just dribbling onto the man's chest.

Glass crunches as Jozsef finally reaches the door, glancing out to confirm that the others are gone. Shrugging, he turns to Jameson and the crippled gunman, saying in a thick Hungarian accent: "That's not how you interrogate a man - give him a little something to concentrate on."

Stepping forward, Jozsef plants a heel on the man's mangled hand. He shifts his weight for a moment - the gunman screaming weakly as his bones grind against one another. Jozsef steps back and eyes the gunman with a hostile gaze.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

As the chase continues, Janos whispers,

"Good job, Brigette."

He keeps his eyes on the opposing car's occupantants and when the man steps out, Janos takes careful aim with his pistol and squeezes off a well placed shot.

[Blaine]

Blaine has been holding on for dear life the whole time, keeping a heavy arm on Rhiannon to help keep her in the car also. He's plucking the last of debris and chicken feathers out of his face as they pass the car when he sees the Tommy Gun come into play. Mirroring Janos's reaction, he turns as best he can and Blaine's gun is brought up in a flash. He drills the man three times with his automatic, the multiple shots fired so quickly they almost sound as one.

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson rolls his eyes as Jozsef steps on the wounded man's hand then crouches down beside the man. He reaches over to the door and fingers the broken pane glass, quite sharp and 100% lethal if it cut the right (or wrong depending on your view) part of the body.

"Listen ... There's at least one or two of your buddies out there how are hanging on to life. Now, I particularly don't give a damn if you live or die and I may be inclined to speed your journey if you don't co-operate." Jameson taps the shattered glass for emphasis.

"On the flip side if you help me out me and him," Jameson indicates Jozsef with a thumb, "We may take a liking to you and decide to patch you up all nice. You'll probably end up in prison but you'll be alive. The choice ... as always ...is yours. Who sent you? Where can I find him? And why does he want my friends and I dead?"

Jameson is being quite honest here, he's got no reason to not help the man keep alive until an ambulance arrives so long as he gives him the information he requested. He puts as much sincere emphasis into his voice as he can muster.

Jameson turns to Jozsef as the goon mulls his options. "Did you see if any civilians got hurt? There was a great deal of machinegun fire and I think we should try and help any innocents that we can while we have the opportunity." Jameson begins to scan the lobby floor for any innocents who may have been caught in the cross-fire, especially women and children.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

"I hate car chases," Rhiannon says vehemently as she keeps herself low. The situation is more or less out of her hands, and she loathes that feeling even more.

[Dr. Mystery]

John grimaces, ducking down and holding onto whatever he can find.

"I concur, Ms. Lewis."

[Alex Craft]

The Tommy gun opens up in a brief roar, underscored by the sounds of bullets pinging off of the Brigitte's car's armored flanks and thudding into the leather backs of the front seats. Janos and Blaine return fire as the others hunch down - braving the gunfire as they train their pistols on the gunman. A bullet catches Janos, drawing a long, shallow cut across his left side before flying on down the street.

[1L damage to Janos]

One or two bullets from Janos and Blaine's concentrated fire connect, throwing streamers of blood off the man with the Thompson. His finger tightens spastically on the trigger as he falls off the running board, and the sedan's windshield shatters as he accidently sketches a line of lead across it. The gunman loosely somersaults backward, falling almost gracefully until he hits road and is snatched away by the rapidly receding pavement.

The sedan's windshield erupts into flying glass, and the blinded (and mildly lacerated) driver loses control of his vehicle. Brigitte, cutting in front of the sedan, is fast enough to avoid a collision - flooring the gas and dodging the other car. The sedan swerves wildly, almost stabilizing before it runs up onto a curb and clips a city mailbox. Thrown into a spin, the car rotates three quarters of a circle before broadsiding a lamppost further down the street.

The car's driver side is almost folded around the securely planted pole, with the driver neatly clipped in place by its crumpled frame. Brigitte, having leapt a good way down the road, slows and cuts a sharp U-turn - returning cautiously to the site of the wreck. From a lesser distance, it is clear that the driver lucked out, apparently taking no major injuries despite the damage to his car. He is stunned, but not unconcious - groaning muzzily and he tries to get off the wheel and sit up in the twisted vehicle.

* * *

Jozsef replies to Jameson, saying after a glance around the (empty) lobby, "We didn't miss much, and these idiots were mostly shooting up into the balcony. There must have been plenty wounded by falling glass, but they must have all been well enough to walk or be dragged out of here."

It seems to be true. There could be a few victims who have dragged themselves off through one of the exits from the lobby, but the room itself is surprisingly clear of civilian casualties. Jameson and Jozsef turn back to the maimed gunman, who glares back at them, saying, "I ain't squealing. Know what happens to a stoolie in the can?"

Still, the glinting glass seems to catch his attention, and he seems to decide to put off more trouble until later - pausing for a moment, then scrambling into an about face, saying:

"Damn, ok, ok, whatever. I don't know nothing anyways. I'm from up in Jersey. My boss owed Sapetti a favor and sent me an' a couple other boys down here. Sapetti sent us, but I don't know details. The old man was stabbing him in the back, and the other guy had something to do with that. We just got pictures and orders is all. He's at some meat factory in the stockyards - you want him, it's no skin off my nose."

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson runs a finger across his chin as he ponders the man's information. "I'm not so much worried that you are lying but you do seem to be holding back. Perhaps Jozsef here can convince you to remember specifically which meat factory? And perhaps a little more?"

Jameson turns thoughtfully toward Jozsef and whispers into his ear, "I'm inclined to think he's full of crap but we'll take the chance. Work him over a little and see if he doesn't remember anything else, I've a phone call to place."

Jameson fishes a nickle out of his pocket and wanders to a phone booth. He drops the nickle into the slot and asks the operator to connect him to McKenzie and Son Locksmithy. "Good Afternoon I'm looking for Locky please, tell him it James ... Thank you." As he speaks over the phone he turns and watches as Joszef works on the goon.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

"Got in Himmel," Janos whispers harshly as the bullet grazes him, but he actually seems even more upbeat.

After the car spins around and they get back to the other car, Janos hops out.

"Fantastique!" he exclaims as he lands. "Now that is a car chase I wouldn't mind repeating. Great job, B!"

Then as his exuberance fades back into a predatory state,

"Rhai, is there anything you can do, or do we need to get this man and be gone before the authorities arrive?"

[Locky McKenzie]

Ian takes her ear off the phone and yells out "Locky! Phone Call from a James!"

In the back of the shop, Locky is working on "improving" the store's money safe, by mostly standard means. "OK sir! I'm coming!"

Locky runs to the phone, taking it off his father's hands. "Hello? Jameson, is that you?"

[Andrew Murphy]

"You got it kid. Listen you know what was going down today right? ... Good, problem is the shit hit the fan if you know what I mean. I'm down at the train station with a bakers dozen of corpses and almost corpses. The others drove off in pursuit of a couple other goons.

"I got the location of this dirtbag's hideout and I could use some help from somebody more skilled at sneaking than myself, that's why I called you. I don't wanna make an assault but I think we should get as much information together so we can get it back to the others. Joszef and I are leaving now and can pick you up, are you in?

[Locky McKenzie]

Locky stayed silent for a moment as he looked around the quiet store. "I think I can get some time off. I'll be ready in about 15 minutes or so, I should really... finish up what I'm doing now..."

[Rhiannon Lewis]

"Let's grab him and go," Rhia answers grimly, "I'm not minded to wait for the bobbies to arrive and we need to find out where the bastard behind this is."

[Blaine]

Blaine hops stiffly out of the car, keeping his gun on the downed man, as well as checking up and down the road for witnesses or back up for the man. He approaches in a quick shuffle step, and then begins climbing over the wreckage to get to the man.

"Here let me help you..." says Blaine when he arrives and then reaches in suddenly and slams the man's head into the dash board. "Woops! How clumsy. Here let me try again." he offers to the punch drunk goon as he grabs the man's collar and begins hauling him out of the car through the broken window. "C'mon tough guy, we need to get you some help, and you need to give us some answers." he grunts as he finally clears him of the wreckage and begins checking him for any remaining weapons. "Stupid goombah...got blood on my shoes...when will you guys learn?" he mutters as he pats him down and turns him over.

[Brigitte Lefevre]

Brigitte hops out of the car and runs around the back, popping the trunk and removing her and John's spare clothing. Stuffing it under a arm she tells Blaine, "This should do for him." as sie stands by the opened trunk, offering it to store the driver.

"Mes amis... What about the fellow with the machine gun?" she asks as she begins scanning the area for him.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos will help Blaine store the man in the trunk.

To Brigette, he responds,

"We will leave him for the authorities to worry over, B. I don't think he will be of much use to them."

With the body safetly stored away and the bonnet slammed down hard.

Janos turns to Blaine,

"Why don't you direct B. to your offices where we can have a chat with our newfound friend?"

[Andrew Murphy]

"... I'll be ready in about 15 minutes or so, I should really... finish up what I'm doing now..."

"OK, Joszef and I will be leaving shortly I hope." Jameson hangs the phone up and saunters back to where Joszef and the goon are near the entrence to the building.

"Well I hope that Joszef here didn't hurt you too much, he's not technically in my employ." Jameson says affecting a lack of real interest in the goon's current state of pain. "Regardless are you still convinced taht you know nothing else?"

[Brigitte Lefevre]

Takes this opportunity to nip something in the bud, Brigitte corrects Janos.

"Brigitte. My name is Brigitte." she says as she looks at him over the trunk before turning to slips back into the driver's seat.

[Dr. Mystery]

John observes the events involving the goon in the car, helping where he can.

"You certainly are a fantastic driver, Ms. Lefevre, I commend you."

He smiles widely at the rest of the group.

"I am going to make sure I throroughly frighten any information out of that criminal. I do have a bit of a talent for frightening others...Shall we carry on?"

[Count Janos Rakozi]

At Brigette's comment, Janos gives a hearty laugh.

"My apologize, Ms. Lefevre. That was my rather pathetic attempt to keep a level of anonymity towards our identities. It occured to me we are breaking a few laws, and the constabulary may come looking for us."

Turning to Frederick,

"Let's get out of here first, then you can have a few quiet moments with our new friend."

[Dr. Mystery]

John laughs deeply, smiling a wide, friendly grin.

"I had imagined as much, Count Rakozi. Shall we head out then?"

[Alex Craft]

(later)

The clear skies of midday have closed up over the last few hours, giving way to a low ceiling of leaden clouds. A thin, cold drizzle falls, casting a blurry veil over Baltimore's streets. Despite the rain, a small crowd gathers in front of a narrow stone building - three men and a woman filing out of the aging stack of offices and glancing up at the weeping sky.

Stubbing out the odd cigarette on the wet pavement, the four enter a car parked out front - a convertible, but with the top up against the weather. Judging from inexpertly applied bandages, the two of the men are mildly wounded, and neither appears to be in a forgiving mood. The woman, sliding behind the wheel, waits for the men to settle and peels away from the curb - perhaps showing off a little more than necessary.

Riding shotgun, Blaine directs Brigitte to the meat packing district, on the edge of the Baltimore stockyards. The day has become grey and gloomy, tinted darker by the cold rain. The captured wheelman eventually sang like a bird under the care of Rhiannon and John, revealing that Crazy 8 is just about on his last legs. With so many of him men dedicated to the hit at the train station, he is left with relatively few still with him - leaving him weaker than ever.

The car's tires crunch over gravel as Brigitte pulls into a parking lot a little down the street from the Stadler meat packing plant - the purported hideout of Crazy 8 and his drastically shrunken gang. As our heroes step out cautiously, Jameson steps out of the shadow of a nearby building, approaching the others without much urgency. Pointing up the street toward the Stadler plant, he mentions that Locky is doing reconnaissance. Jameson has been staking the place out for hours now, but he hasn't seen any activity in or around the building.

[Alex Craft]

(half an hour ago)

Locky stands across the street from the Stadler meat packing plant - the side of a warehouse hiding him from direct view and shielding him from the rain. He and Jameson have been staking the place out for hours now, with absolutely no evidence of activity inside. Still, this has to be place, since both the Angel and Crazy 8's gunman reported this as the mob boss' hideout.

It seems a closer look is needed. Signaling his intent to Jameson, Locky slips across the street to reconnoiter - the falling rain and gloomy sky greatly aiding him as he circles around to case the building. The plant is old-style construction, dating back to well before the turn of the century. It is mostly masonry, rising up to a squat two stories. The walls are covered with windows, but the glass has been rendered nearly opaque by years of unminded grime.

Many of the entrances have been long since locked up, leaving only enough doors to do business. Whoever did that probably was having issues with vandalism or thieves, but it looks like he didn't show the greatest discretion when solving his problem. The padlocks on many of the doors are of decidedly substandard quality, and weathering has caused them to rust to the point of uselessness.

There are still cores of steel strong enough to prevent the locks from being torn off, but the mechanisms themselves are completely shot. Locky would need a bolt cutter to get in though these entrances. Keeping well below the window line to avoid casting a silhouette for anyone inside, Locky creeps along to one of the few doors still usable (all of which are clustered around the loading/unloading areas).

He waits quietly outside the door. The first thing to tip him off is the smell of burning tobacco. Someone is smoking a cigarette nearby, and the smoke is filtering through the door and reaching Locky's senses. A few more moments and he can confirm the occasional sound of movement - someone shifting around on the other side of the door.

A careful circuit of this part of the building is enough to tell Locky that someone is posted at every useable entrance, and they're trying to be subtle about it. The windows are a possible entry, but the ones on the ground floor aren't designed to open. After some thought, Locky decides to try a climb and begins looking for a means of scaling the walls - discovering a solution in the form of a drainpipe attached into the building by a series of rusty bolts.

It doesn't look very secure, but Locky is lightweight - climbing the pipe without ripping anything out of the wall. He takes it all the way to the roof, finding something even better than a second-story window: banks of skylights lining the roof of the building. Electric lighting is expensive, so this kind of operation probably gets most of its light naturally. Thus, the windows all over the walls and a roof full of skylights - one of which Locky takes the liberty of prying open as quietly as possible.

Immediately below Locky is a sparse array of catwalks - probably intended for little more than fixing leaks and repairing broken panes of glass in the skylights. Just below the catwalks is the operating floor. This is covered in machinery and a network of conveyer belts, all of which would probably be swarming with workers if the plant were currently active.

Instead, the operating floor is mostly dead - the exception being a pair of men standing (well, sitting) guard near the couple of exterior doors. The operating floor is lined with interior walls punctuated by the occasional door. Locky would guess that these lead to store rooms or sorting rooms of some kind, and - if he recalls correctly - the other exterior doors (locked and otherwise) must lead into these rooms.

The only light beyond the weak, grey illumination trickling down from the skylights is emanating from a couple of interior offices, matched by the faint sounds of voices. It looks like Crazy 8 and some of his men have set up shop deep enough inside the building that their activity can't be spotted from the street.

Locky considers examining more closely, but he has second thoughts - he can see the anchor points of the catwalk from here, and they look none too steady. They would probably support his weight, but there is no way he could drop down there without setting up an unholy racket of stressed metal noises. He opts to return and report, slipping back down the drainpipe and making his way away from the plant.

He reaches the parking lot where he left Jameson to find some of the others already arrived - Janos, Brigitte, Blaine, and a forth man Locky doesn't recognize. Janos and Blaine are both lightly bandaged - apparently having run into trouble in the day's earlier events.