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

[Blaine]

Blaine is flexing his shoulders and testing the bandages as he methodically presses rounds into a growing stack of clips for his gun.

"...so from there 8-Ball moved up from racketeering to bootlegging. Kind of like a snake gettin' legs y'know? Still a snake. He was a natural for it. Got a real mean temper, able to get them hicks and hillbillies to give up their moonshine and bathtub whiskey at criminal prcies, and then sell him for 4 times as much at his shitty watering holes. He still did the protection racket though, and loan sharking, in his blood, couldn't let it go. That's what got 'em caught more than anything. If he dropped the loan sharking he might have snuck by a bit longer."

"But he's mean as a snake, and twice as ugly. You don't get where he is bein' a nice guy. His men fear him a lot more than me or the cops, which is saying something. The ones he keeps close to him ain't likely to give him for any reason. Shoot to kill, I'll clean things up with the cops later. 8 Ball though, he goes back in the joint, maybe they'll finally shine up ol' Sparky and fry his sick ass. So we try to take him alive." Blaine's head jerks to the side his hand hovering over his gun as he picks up Locky's mouse-like footsteps. He puts his hand back and smiles a half-smile.

"What'd I tell ya' 'bout sneakin' up on me kid? So what'd you see?"

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson glances at Blaine as he check his gun belts for ammo. Thirty rouns in each belt for 5 complete reloads. He then adjusts the heavy flak armor a little shifting the weight and adjusting a couple of straps for comfort.

As Locky comes over he picks up his Winchester rifle and checks the scope mount, lenses, and silencer before feeding some of the large .30-06 rounds into the internal magazine. When completed he throws the rifle over his shoulder by its strap.

"How's the view from the roof kid?"

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos remains silent for most of the time, seeming to settle into a pre-battle state. As Blaine lays out the mission and the most likely course of action, he nods. If the idea of slaughtering all the other men inside bothers him, it hardly shows.

As Locky comes up, Janos asks Jameson,

"Have you spotted any of their vehicles? It would be best that none of them escape."

[Locky McKenzie]

"What'd I tell ya' 'bout sneakin' up on me kid? So what'd you see?"

Locky smiles at the first comment, but recovers quickly as he replies, "The entrances they're using've got men on them, despite what they look like. The entrances they're not using they're not using for good reason - the locks are messed up in a serious way. I've seriously got the wrong tools here - You'd wanna bolt cutter to get through 'em, you couldn't pick them. Well, not without destroying the entire damn lock anyway." He smiles in a certain prideful way. "I could give it a try, but there's gotta be better ways."

"How's the view from the roof kid?"

"Empty - It looks like they only got heat on the doors. I heard some voices from the offices in there - I'd bet that's where Mr. Crazy Eight is."

"Have you spotted any of their vehicles? It would be best that none of them escape."

Locky shrugs. "There's a car in there, but that's about it. Doesn't look beat-up or anything"

"Now, I gotta ask, anyone got rope? There's a water pipe going up, but I wouldn't trust it to hold you guys. The roof looks like the better place to get in though. It's a pretty neat spot too - you could probably pick off a good deal of them from the roof before they figured it out if you kept it quiet. I can get up with the rope and secure it so you guys can get up with it."

"Actually getting in through the roof's a little iffy, but if we got rope, we could just untie it and use it to get in - it's not looking like they're paying all that close attention to the inside of the place, and there's plenty of hiding space inside."

[Alex Craft]

(elsewhere)

A company car drives through the cold, thin rain, the wheels hissing quietly as it slows and pulls up to a curb. The vehicle parks in front of Baltimore's Maryland Casualty Auditorium - the city's only real venue for the operatic arts. An attractive, pleasant-faced woman climbs out from behind the wheel, handing the keys over to an attendant as she is joined by her companion.

Rhiannon manages to look dressed for the opera, partly due to the dressiness of her cheongsam and partly due to a personal ability to make whatever she wears look good. Surprisingly, John does much the same with far less to work with, managing to make his oft repaired suit and jacket come across as the garb of a recently upper-class man down on his luck. All those years on the stage must've done him some good.

Anthony King has been ridiculously difficult to track down. According to the office, he has been entertaining a selection of the previous night's guests all day - apparently dealing with a cross-section of regional supervisors, department heads, and other company big fish.

King has drastically deviated from the day's schedule (something Rhiannon recognizes as characteristic), and Rhiannon and John have only just now caught up with him at this, the only firmly scheduled event of the evening. The Martinet School of Opera is putting on some show or another, and unlike Rhiannon and John, King wouldn't have been late - the recently constructed Auditorium derived a lion's share of its funding from King's desire for Baltimore to have a native opera house.

A lack of tickets could have been a problem, but our heroes don't have time to waste on the doorman, so Rhiannon slips him a generous amount of company money to get in the door. The office had King's box number, and John and Rhiannon now make their way through the carpeted halls to the box in question.

Opening the box's door, the two look out onto the auditorium. The space has fallen dark, and John and Rhiannon can just see the stage from their location. A spotlight has illumined a man standing just before the lowered curtain, and the man is singing something Italian. The box is filled with about eight men, and the light from the entrance is enough to make out a few faces glancing back toward the open door.

This includes Leslie Cornish, who fixes our heroes with an irritated look before turning back and whispering something to the person beside him - King, to judge by the man's somewhat remarkable size.

[Andrew Murphy]

"Now, I gotta ask, anyone got rope? ..."

"Not a bad idea kid I was thinking the roof would be the better way to go myself. I should have some rope in the trunk of my car, I'll be right back."

Jameson jogs over to his car and pops the trunk open rummaging around among the tools and other odds n' ends until he comes up with a length of rope a good 60 feet long.

"Yeah this ought to do nicely ..."

[Blaine]

Blaine nods at the information and suggestions and finally holsters his gun, along with pocketing five extra clips.

"OK, how's this. We get two entrances going. The sneakier ones head on up to the roof, and get into position. Once there we start a second entrance. That'll give the ones up top the distraction they need to get close and maybe take Crazy 8 without all of his guards. We do a big gang busting entrance near some of the guards, take 'em out, and draw some fire. Meanwhile the guys on the roof can provide a bit of support but most importantly get to him. Much as I'd like to be the one that busts Crazy 8, I ain't so much the stealthy type, besides if he knows I'm at the front door, I can draw more heat away from you guys.

"How about Locky and Bradford up top? Me and Janos will come through on the ground. Brigitte, if you don't mind gettin' this tank of yours a little dirty, you could make a hell of a skeleton key with it on them bad locks. How's that sound?" says Blaine as he adjusts his bandages one more time, and then proceeds to put on the light armor and heavy trench coat he often wears.

[Brigitte Lefevre]

Brigitte leans against the door of her car, glancing to the left to watch Jameson loading guns, checking ammo and body armour and then sling a rifle over his shoulder. She then glances right to eye Blaine and his pile of clips as he loads them and checks his fire arms as well.

“I have a question. Am I to understand that we are getting ready to burst into that hideout and muder the people inside? Or are we here to apprehend them?”

[Andrew Murphy]

“I have a question. Am I to understand that we are getting ready to burst into that hideout and muder the people inside? Or are we here to apprehend them?”

Jameson smirks and a very boyish grin crosses his face. "We're going to apprehend them with extreme prejudice my dear!"

Jameson chuckles a bit, "But seriously, I've no intention of killing these men in cold blood, but I do not intend to allow them to harm myself or any of you. I'm a deadly accurate shot, and I'm not just tooting my own horn."

He pauses and glances down at the pile of munitions before him and Blaine. "I'll be targeting their weak spots, weapons, hands, knees. Shooting to disable but not kill, ideally we'll have a paddy-wagon full of neer-do-wells to hand over to the police. That's my intention, I can't speak for Blaine or Janos, and I'm assuming that Locky here is going to be the prudent one and stay out of the firefight.

"Actually Locky I was thinking, if you are up to it, maybe you can get under that getaway car of theirs real quiet like and cut the fluid lines so it can't run."

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos raises an eyebrow at Brigette's question. At Jameson's response his face hardens, but he nods.

"The leader inside has sworn to kill Blaine here and Mr. King. If Blaine here wants this Crazy-8 alive, so be it. I will give him this chance to prove his way works. As for the rest, if you feel it is better to hand them over to the authorities, I will do my best to take them alive."

"So is the plan that Blaine, Brigette, you and I ram through one of the doors and make our way to Crazy-8 while Jameson and Locky provide coverfire?"

"I would also point out that Brigette's point is sound though. We are going into a fight were they will certainly feel forced to try and kill us. People are going to die at our hands, with malice of forethought. This is not a case of us defending ourselves."

[Blaine]

Blaine adjusts the brim of his cap as he eyes Brigitte, considering his answer to her question.

"Let me put it this way. They'll have more warning than we got this afternoon, than I or Bradford got last night. They'll have a chance to give it up, it's up to them to take that chance. They know me, they know how I operate. I play rough, but no rougher than the cops. And..."

He pauses and reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet and flashes his badge and takes a deep breath. "I do have authority on this. This is what's called 'Clear and Present Danger' combined with reasonable suspicion. Under the Uniform Authority act of 1921, I am duly licensed and ennabled to counter and thwart criminals and criminal acts and/or enterprises, and use appropriate force in the apprehension of said criminals, and the cessation of their activities. This combined with the Posse Comitatus statutes allows me to employ likeminded individuals to aid me in this endeavor, provided they are fully aware of the law regarding such. You have been thus made aware. Accordingly, I am responsible for actions committed today, unless members of the group deviate from the lawful actions I condone and have outlined. Such individuals will then be held responsible for their actions, and not unduly jeopardize other law abiding members of the group." he lets out what remaining breath he has in a slight gasp and smiles as he observes everyone's reaction to his very unBlaine-like speech.

"In other words, we follow my plan, don't get overly sadistic or start really screwing up public property, like say firing cannons at a blimp over New York..." he smiles and gives Bradford a camaraderie-like nudge in the ribs. "And we should be OK. Tell them to put their guns down and surrender, or let me do the talkin'. They know what to expect from me. I might bend 'em a bit, but they ain't gonna get killed unless they need to be. OK? That good with everyone?" he says as he puts his badge away.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

"Pardon me," Rhiannon says with one of her dazzling smiles, "I didn't mean to interrupt anything, gentlemen, but important business has brought me here."

She waits for King to acknowledge her while surreptitiously keeping an eye out for trouble.

[Locky McKenzie]

"Actually Locky I was thinking, if you are up to it, maybe you can get under that getaway car of theirs real quiet like and cut the fluid lines so it can't run."

"That brings up the question of getting down without a sound, 'cause the catwalk above's not gonna do it. Too rickety, even for me."

"That said, there's always a way. If you're willing to spot me, I can work my way done from the roof supports - I've been practicing a bit, I think I can do it..."

[Andrew Murphy]

That said, there's always a way. If you're willing to spot me, I can work my way done from the roof supports - I've been practicing a bit, I think I can do it..."

Jameson eyes Locky up and down, "Kid I'm guessing you don't weight too much, spotting you should be easy enough with the rope we have.

"Once Locky is down to the floor of the warehouse, I'll put the hurt on the gents by the doors with my rifle here ... nothing too deadly but they'll be too busy crying in pain to help Crazy 8 much. Blaine, I can signal you three from the roof once I've incapacitated the guards and you can start your assault. Whaddaya think?"

[Brigitte Lefevre]

Brigitte slips off her cap, scratches her haed and slips it back on.

"It seems you are doing things the hard way and taking needless risks. You are aware that I will be -in- the building with my car. Thier car is not going to go anywhere, I can make sure of that easily."

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos thinks about it for a second then nods.

"Why don't we make use of the moving fortification ... Brigette's car. She claims it's bullet-proof and so far it has been. We use it."

"We put one or two people up on the roof. The rest of us go busting in with Brigette's car, weave through the machinery, take out their vechile then hunt down Crazy 8. Once the car is inside, the roof people break in and start sniping at anyone stupid enough to be firing at the people downstairs. Once we have Crazy 8, we give the others a chance to surrender."

"Blaine, Brigette, and myself in the car. Jameson and Locky up top."

"Let's get this over with," Janos adds and heads toward the car.

[Dr. Mystery]

John stands solemnly with Rhiannon, hands folded behind his back, glancing around the room. At the look from Cornish his eyes darken, eyebrow raised, his irritation with the man shows.

"It is, ahem, rather important, sir"

[Alex Craft]

(Maryland Casualty Auditorium)

The clownish man before the curtain finishes singing something sad and poignant while the curtain rises, and the mood on the stage brightens as the scene is set - a group of travelers being welcomed by what would appear to be a group of peasants or villagers.

Pulled away by Leslie's whisper, King cranes around to see Rhiannon and John. Nodding, he stands carefully and pads out of the booth. The door closes behind him, and he offers our heroes a questioning look.

[Alex Craft]

(Stadler Beef, Inc.)

The group splits up to handle their separate tasks, with Locky and Jameson heading for the plant and the others piling back into Brigitte's car.

Locky and Jameson move quickly and stealthily through the gentle rain - their hair and clothing already fairly sodden, despite the little bit of shelter they've been using while staking out the plant. Staying low, they circle around to the side of the building. They reach the building and pause to make sure they haven't been noticed. Nothing happens, so Locky carefully scales the drainpipe with the coiled rope slung over a shoulder - the pipe slippery with rain, but nothing he can't handle.

Reaching the top, Locky ties the rope off on a vent duct leaking heat from the meat lockers below. Below, Jameson waits for the rope to lower, then grasps the rough cord to rappel up. He makes fast progress, but should have taken it a little more carefully - while reaching for purchase on the wall, his boot slips on rain-slick brick and strikes the nearby drainpipe.

The pipe rings dully, and a few of its rusty bolts tear free of the wall with a louder screech. The sound is somewhat deadened by the falling rain, but is nonetheless quite audible. Jameson curses under his breath and scrambles the rest of the distance to the roof - pulling up the rope as quickly as possible. Seeing and hearing the slip-up, Locky heads for one of the skylights, drops to his belly, and sneaks up to the windows to check on the guards.

One of the two gunmen below is making a silent gesture to the other and getting to his feet. The other stands as well while the first begins to circle the room, examining corners and windows and checking on the satellite rooms around the operating floor. Locky rolls away from the skylight when the guard casts his gaze upwards, signaling to Jameson that they were heard, but probably not compromised.

Back at the car, Brigitte figures she's given Locky and Jameson enough time. Starting up the car again, she pulls out of the parking lot and back onto the street. The only entrance large enough for her car is a pull down garage door facing onto the street - probably intended to accept large shipments of meat or whatever. It's steel or tin or something like that, but the settings are pretty old and will probably give way before enough of an impact.

Brigitte advises everyone to keep their hands and elbows inside the vehicle as she guns the engine, quickly putting the block or so of wet street between the meeting point and the plant behind her. Reaching the front of the plant, she breaks and hauls on the wheel - stopping and turning on with heart-stopping suddenness, then really gunning the engine.

She lets the engine and the brakes fight for just a moment, then lets the car leap forward across the street. The wheels spin on the slick pavement, the find their footing - accelerating across the plant's short setback and slamming into the garage door. The metal door screams as it twists partially out of its track, contorting around the front of the grill as the car pushes forward.

For a moment, Brigitte grinds to a stop with the engine working steadily against the door. Then the door tears off all of a sudden - the tracks giving way entirely and ripping clean out of the wall. The car jumps forward again, and Brigitte breaks to clear her windshield, sending the twisted garage door flying forward and crashing to the floor.

As the vehicle jumps into the plant, its passengers can see a gunman sidestepping the entrance (having been forewarned as the car ground against the resisting door). He is packing a Thompson, and he slowly walks backward along the wall while opening fire on the car's side. Inside, the passengers can hear the bullets ricocheting of the vehicle's armor - metallic 'spangs' from the car's flank, and heavy thuds from the armored cover and bulletproof glass.

The warehouse is mostly dark, with the exception of a light emanating from row of offices on the opposite side of the operating floor. The floor itself is covered with equipment - multiple assembly lines laid out to move, check, and pack beef. Some of the machinery is massive and firmly fixed to the floor, but much of it is just relatively lightweight rows of conveyer belts and rollers. Brigitte could probably plow through a few of these, though they would drag her down before long.

A space has been cleared immediately in front of Brigitte for a long, black sedan facing the entrance she just rammed in. Aside from the man currently peppering the car with bullets, there is another gunman (also with a Thompson) off across the operating floor. From above, Locky and Jameson check in on the scene, figuring that it's just about show time.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhiannon gives King a rueful smile and speaks quietly. "To be blunt, sir, our Italian friend has sent a killer named the Monk after you. However, I believe that the others are dealing with said Italian, so it falls to myself and Doctor Mystery to keep an eye out for said gunman."

Her green eyes gleam like agates. "I think that between you, I and Doctor Mystery, we may handle him. But it's the civvies around us that worry me."

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson unslings the old Winchester as he stand over the skylight. The sound of the Thompson below hammering through the air he takes extra careful aim and sends a .30-06 sized helping of justice down and through the Thompson's firing chamber.

He quickly scans to the plant through the skylight looking for anybody else with the audacity to shoot his friends.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

"Brigette, if you would be kind enough to take out the black sedan before backing out, I am sure one of our snipers will remove the current pest peppering us."

Janos prepares to make a crouching run out the opposite door from the current rain of bullets and says,

"Blaine, care to make your law enforcement speech before we bail out and go to locate this Crazy-8 individual of yours?"

[Blaine]

Blaine is holding onto the handle on the door with one hand, his other hand has his gun and is pressed firmly on his hat to keep it from flying off. Once the chance is there, he looks over at Janos and makes ready to jump out.

"Blaine, care to make your law enforcement speech before we bail out and go to locate this Crazy-8 individual of yours?"

"Yeah I..." Blaine is in the middle of adjusting himself for the leap, and in doing so he moves his gun hand, his hat flies off and is likely lost amid the spilled machinery and general debris. "Sonuvabitch! Now I'm really pissed!" he shouts and jumps out of the car. [spends Inspiration on the leap and roll to make it safely to the ground]

He lands and rolls springing up to his feet, trying to gain what cover he can.

"Alright you Dego bastards! You got one chance! Just one! Put down your guns and give up now! You don't, all of you are gettin' closed casket send offs! Don't follow Crazy 8 down! He's got nothin' for you left but a lot of bullets and a cheap burial!" he trains his gun on the man with the Tommy gun.

[Locky McKenzie]

Locky looks towards the offices, realising this was going to get messy.

"Catch ya when ya get down!" he says as he grabs the edge of the open skylight, and swings under.

Looking around, he finds the closest roof beam and swings over, grabbing the beam with his legs, and quickly working himself into a stable hold. With that, he begins to descend down the beam to the walls...

[Dr. Mystery]

John chuckles deeply at Rhiannon's comment.

"I think perhaps we may be able to handle ourselves. Where would you suggest we move to get away from civilians, Mr. King?"

[Alex Craft]

(Stadler Beef, Inc.)

Using some of the inertia from her entrance, Brigitte rides forward slightly, then taps the gas and hauls the wheel to the right while pulling the emergency brake. The car spins sickeningly, skidding a foot or so on wet tires, while Brigitte grins broadly - running on the adrenaline rush. She lets up on the break and jerks her wheel back to the left in time to avoid slamming her nose into the wall, and the car darts forward toward the nearby gunman.

In mid-maneuver, as the car spins toward the gunman, Blaine leaps free of the vehicle - throwing himself through the air and hitting the ground rolling. He times it perfectly, coming to a crouch beside the end machinery for a conveyer belt. Using part of the equipment as cover, his gun searches out the nearer of the two gunman.

Casting a glance over his shoulder, Blaine sees that the other gunman doesn't have a line of sight on him, and - given the angles involved - that gunman probably didn't even see him jump from the car. Of course, everyone in the plant can probably hear his shout, but the echoes probably prevent him from being easily pinpointed. The nearer gunman can see him, with part of the machinery giving Blaine some cover.

With breaks and tires squealing and slipping, Brigitte stops short of the guard, coming to a halt about a foot away from where he was standing. He didn't seem to want to play chicken, though - throwing himself to the side (Brigitte's left) and landing sprawled out on his stomach with his Thompson still clutched in his outstretched hands.

Two stories above the floor, Jameson kicks down on the skylight - the fragile glass and rusty metal framing giving way to send a panel falling to the floor. Resetting his feet, he fires through the gap almost before the panel hits the ground with a clang and the sound of breaking glass. The gunman by the car is pulling his Tommy gun closer when it flies from his hands, knocked well away by Jameson's shot.

With the car at a stop, Janos throws open his door (back, passenger-side) and runs in a crouch for good cover, finding an empty wooden bin to hunker behind. Behind him, Jozsef slides along the back seat to take up Janos' vacated position. Hauling shut the door, he rolls down the window and brings up his automatic pistol trying to get the more distant of the two gunmen in his sights.

Closer to home, the gunman on the ground rolls over and pulls a pistol from inside his coat, starting to scramble to his feet as he waves the gun in the general direction of Blaine and Janos. Across the operating floor, the other gunman lowers his Tommy gun (perhaps in concern for spraying bullets in the direction of his associate) and also produces a pistol, crouching beneath the cover of row upon row of conveyers to raise his gun and take aim up through the skylight toward Jameson - outlined against the overcast sky.

Fortunately, Locky has already swung inside, and he can easily avoid being seen in the darkened plant. Carefully and quietly, he works his way along a heavy wooden truss toward the walls - the timbers damp and slippery with condensation and mildew but providing easy enough handholds and footholds. Getting to the ground is a bit trickier to do stealthily, but Locky thinks he can make it down the wall opposite Brigitte's flashy entrance (the same wall with the office).

An old ladder is set into the wall there - one of a few ways to get up into the neglected catwalks - and he could probably reach it and climb down from his truss. Unfortunately, he judged incorrectly. The distance from the truss to the ladder is a little too much to step across, and Locky attempts to jump the couple feet of distance. He makes the jump easily, but hits the ladder to heavily - ripping old bolts out of the wall and causing the top end of the ladder to fall away from beneath him.

Locky falls about a story, hitting an edge of a packing crate on his way down, being knocked off to the side by the impact, and colliding with the floor with barely the presence of mind to duck, cover, and roll with it a bit.

[1B damage to Locky]

[Locky McKenzie]

Locky rolls behind the packing crate he had unfortunately hit, and shakes his head to clear the cobwebs out.

He takes a quick check to see if anyone had been distracted enough from his fall to get away from the firefight to investigate.

(If it doesn't look like it, Locky takes no chances, doing his best to stealthily walk across the floor to the entrance to the offices)

(If it does look likely, Locky waits for the goon to look around the investigate, and very carefully circles around the crate, ensuring that by the time the goon reaches Locky's resting point, he's already way out of sight...)

[Alex Craft]

(Maryland Casualty Auditorium)

Tony frowns, then tells John and Rhiannon, "Just a moment - I need to smooth some ruffled feathers."

He ducks back into the box and steps back out about a minute later, closing the door and suggesting quietly that they adjourn to the lobby. The three head back downstairs to the lobby - a large, somewhat grandiose room arranged primarily for serving the audience during intermissions.

Satellite facilities (coat room, toilets, and a partially separated wet bar) radiate off the room, as well as the main foyer and the entrances to the opera hall itself. Sweeping stairs and balconies ring the room, providing access to the boxes and balcony seating, but also creating plentiful locations for the audience to people watch from between acts.

The lobby isn't entirely empty - employees are working the doors and bar, and a handful of audience members dawdle for one reason or another. Even as the three K.I.S. people reach the lobby, a late arrival in a black overcoat and a workday putty-colored suit enters and crosses quickly toward the opera hall doors.

Tony leads the others down from one of these balconies to the luxuriously carpeted floor and drops some coin on half a glass of whiskey, asking if Rhiannon or John wants something. The three then drift over to a spot against the wall away from anyone else in the lobby, and Tony begins to question his people.

"Alright ... what do you want to do, then? I'd rather not leave this group right now - particularly not with Leslie, to be honest - but I could if truly necessary. I don't think I've ever heard of this 'Monk' character, so I leave that decision to you."

"It certainly won't be the first time someone has started shooting at me, regardless, but it would probably be best to relocate if there is risk of any of our guests upstairs getting killed - they would all be rather difficult to replace if that happened. If we need to leave, we should return to the mansion. I don't have any security there, but there wouldn't be any bystanders if I sent home the servants."

"Hm ... are you sure this is Sapetti? I don't believe I've given him any reason to want me dead. Really, I can't see this doing him any good."

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson quickly levers a fresh round into the rifle's chamber and sets his sights on the second gunman. Seeing the man throw his Tommy gun away for an automatic pistol Jameson decides to disarm this man as well.

Carefully lining up his sights Jameson once again aims for the gun itself just above the gunman's hand. Taking a deep breath, Jameson exhales slowly and squeezes the trigger sending another bullet down into the fight below.

[Dr. Mystery]

in response to the question about a drink

"I wouldn't mind a gin and tonic, sir."

,,

Quote:

I'd rather not leave this group right now...

John removes his hat, wiping the small amount of sweat from his head, setting the hat down somewhere convenient.

"I have a hunch that the fellow I encountered near Ms. Lefevre's hotel room is most likely this Monk. His abilities are at least somewhat similar to mine. This in mind, I suggest a relocation to somewhere without a lot of people."

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos shoots the closer of the two gunman center-body then sweeps past him to retrieve the fallen Tommy Gun.

"Should have listened to Blaine," he mutters as he does so.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

"Water, please," Rhiannon answers to King's offer for a drink before pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Sir, it's my opinion that Sapetti is the tool of another... Like that Chinese gentleman I mentioned to you earlier."

Rhiannon looks thoughtful for a moment or two and adds, "Do you think that our Chinese friend could have been behind that mess in Egypt?"

[Alex Craft]

(Maryland Casualty Auditorium)

Nodding to the barkeep, Tony listens to his people - tensing up again at the mention of Li Wan-Kin. He responds shortly, answering, "Not likely."

Tony seems to want to skirt the issue, but continues, "I dug up information on Mr. Luqmani's employer, and my suspicions were correct - Zorbo was responsible for the business in Cairo. Li Wan probably wouldn't have worked with someone like that, and that generator isn't his cup of tea, anyway."

"I am also fairly certain that Wan wouldn't try to have me killed. However ... I suppose I don't know that. It's been a long time, and people change. The sad thing, though, is that there's probably a fairly long list of people who would take a shot at me, given the right motivation. I suppose we'll have to ask Mr. Sapetti some questions once he is brought back to heel, hm?"

"In the meantime ... I bow to your judgment. Let's go."

Suggesting that Rhiannon and John get their coats, Tony grabs the doorman and has his driver called and told to bring around the car. Then, before getting his own coat, he has an attendant take down a message for the box of company men upstairs to receive upon intermission.

He is still engaged when Rhiannon and John turn away from the coatroom, outer garb in hand. Tony is across the lobby, explaining the matter to an attendant at the base of a flight of stairs, and the doors onto the opera hall proper are off to the left - equally far away, though the lobby itself isn't gigantic (about twenty meters across).

This is relevant because both Rhiannon and John see something amiss as they turn from the coat check. In one smooth, casual gesture, a man in a black overcoat is stepping through one of the doors into the audience and raising his arm toward Tony. A snatch of song is heard (lower, tenser than before) as the man strikes a gunman's stance - metal gleaming in his fist.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhiannon draws her gun and barks at the Monk (who else could it be) to drop his weapon, moving across to put her body between him and King.

(Command Voice)

[Dr. Mystery]

John drops his coat as he turns toward the action. Smoke pellets and flashbangs fall from his hands as John runs, full tilt toward the Monk. He pulls his cane from his pocket, carving a path through the light and smoke as he grimaces, growling in a hideous voice.

"Halt, Damn you, Monk, or you will be nothing but fodder for the loa, your soul consumed by Limba, of stone and death, and your blood taken with thirst by Pannan!"

[Blaine]

"I knew they wouldn't listen." grumbles Blaine as he snaps off two shots at the man on the ground who's drawing his pistol.

[Alex Craft]

(Stadler Beef, Inc.)

Jameson and Blaine both reflexively fire a couple of shots into the nearest gunman as he struggles to his feet brandishing a pistol. All four rounds hit squarely, and he jerks backward - his pistol falling as he tumbles to the ground. Janos breaks cover to sweep forward and snatch up the man's Tommy gun from where it fell. A quick glance shows that Jameson's disarming shot didn't cause major damage to the weapon, though it might now jam a little more easily.

Across the operating floor, the other guard crouches under cover while aiming upwards at Jameson's silhouette, but before he can fire, his pistol is knocked from his hand by Jameson's own gun. The weapon clatters to the floor not far from his feet, and he pauses for a moment, dumbfounded. Then, quickly gathering his wits, he brings up his Thompson again and fires upward in a quick, wild burst before dropping to the floor and ducking under a nearby roller belt for cover against falling glass, retaliatory fire, and - once gravity takes over - his own bullets.

The grimy skylights explode around Jameson as the glass and corroded metal fails under the spray of bullets. He shields his face against the broken glass, feeling shards snapping against his body. A couple rounds from the Thompson hit as well, but only glancingly - the broken glass and plucking bullets failing to actually penetrate his lightly armored clothing.

Inside, the lights switch on over the dim operating floor - a dozen incandescent bulbs hanging from the ceiling popping and flaring as they flicker on. Janos and Blaine feel somewhat spotlighted as the show really starts, with many of the doors leading off of the operating floor banging open.

It seems that the other guards (previously watching the other entrances to the building) are getting on the ball, bursting into the main room more-or-less en mass. As Blaine and Janos' eyes adjust, they get enough of a look at the newcomers to see that they are about the same type as the guys that were waiting here - professional gunmen, most wielding Tommy guns (exception being a guy playing cowboy with a pair of pearl-handled revolvers).

There are six newcomers, all told, which comes to seven gunmen including the guard that just let loose a spray of gunfire at Jameson. A couple of the dumber newcomers simply stop and start spraying Janos and Blaine with their Thompsons, but the others either use their doorways as shelter or break into a run for cover (plentiful on the cluttered operating floor).

Blaine is still under cover, and the automatic fire pings and ricochets off the pieces of machinery he is tucked between. Janos, however, is now in the open, and he throws himself for cover as the couple of gunman already firing unload on his vicinity. Covering several meters with a tremendous leap and a quick roll, he slides behind a conveyer belt - removing himself handily from the enemy's field of fire.

Already well sheltered in the car, Jozsef takes aim at one of the more exposed gunmen and snaps off a shot with his pistol. The man staggers, and his stream of gunfire cuts off for the moment as he pats his arm to gauge the seriousness of the wound.

If anyone noticed Locky's fall, they are now plenty distracted, and he darts quickly toward the office doors - hoping to cover the ground before anyone notices him in the sudden light. His footfalls are silent as ever (not that they really need to be with the Thompsons roaring in the background), and he drops to a crouch as he passes by the windows of the offices.

The windows have blinds drawn across them, but Locky can hear sounds of people talking animatedly - no doubt regarding a response to the situation in the main room. Locky reaches the door, and pauses to quickly decide what to do. (Nobody is going to notice him for at least a few moments with the other guys tying up their attention.)

He knows that there are at least two people in the foreman's office on the other side of the door, and he can't see the layout of the room. If he were lucky (and so inclined), he might manage to slip in and hide effectively ... but if his luck failed, he'd be in trouble.

[Alex Craft]

(Maryland Casualty Auditorium)

The Monk (for that must be who it is) seems unaffected by Rhiannon and John's respective shouts, instead taking his shot. King, hearing Rhiannon and John, half turns and attempts to dodge - too slow.

The silenced gun makes no sound when it fires, and King jerks in mid-movement, catching the bullet in his shoulder instead of his chest. His landing is still controlled, though not as graceful as it might have been, and he rolls quickly behind the risers of the nearby staircase.

John cuts through the smoke, closing on the Monk quickly. However, immediately upon taking his shot the Monk steps back into the opera hall, letting the door slowly swing closed behind him. John catches the door and hauls it open, stepping though into the opera hall in an attempt to catch the other man.

But the Monk is nowhere in sight. On stage, there is a breather while the majority of the cast is heading for the wings to leave a single woman on stage, and most of the audience is watching attentively. Some of the back row patrons peer backwards at John in confusion or irritation, but the rest of the hall seems to be completely undisturbed.

The Monk has disappeared (probably literally), and strain as he might, John can't penetrate the other man's invisibility.

Behind John, Rhiannon has reached Tony, who is already getting to his feet while lightly touching his wound. His clothing (jacket, vest, and shirt) is torn through in a single rip across the top of his left shoulder, exposing the skin beneath. The wound is odd, looking like no bullet injury Rhiannon has ever seen.

Instead of a puncture, Tony has a long, deep scratch from the front of his shoulder and across the top - it really looks more like he was hit with a hurled stone, instead of a flying bullet. One might even think that the bullet simply skittered over his skin without ever really penetrating.

Noting Rhiannon's concern, he waves it off, saying, "It's nothing - though it looks like you're right about that assassin."

[Locky McKenzie]

Locky, hearing the voices inside, suddenly has a great idea.

Being a Locksmith, Locky knows many things - including many ways to ensure a lock never works again. Considering the door opens inwards, Locky hopes that what he's about to do will keep them locked in for enough time for everyone else to finish up. It's better than barging in, and at any rate, they only want to ensure that Crazy-8 is arrested.

Quickly grabbing some tools, he ensures that, indeed, the door is locked. Locky then grabs a stick of gum out of his kit, and begins chewing very fast, grabbing the now pliable wad out of his mouth and sticking it in the lock, ensuring that it's quite completely in there.

Locky then retreats to a safe vantage point. If they want to get out, they won't be able to do it without him knowing about it, and causing more than a little stir...

[1 Inspiration for the Door opening inwards, if necessary, 1 Inspiration for the Gum]

[Andrew Murphy]

Deciding that there's no way out of this without making some business for the local mortician Jameson swings his rifle up and over his head the strap, now crossing his chest on the diagonal holds the rifle to his back.

Jameson backs off two steps and takes a two step start as he runs and jumps through the now shattered skylight. He aims himself for the nearest catwalk. Landing (hopefully) with a heavy thud on the open steel walkway Jameson rolls into a crouch and pulls the Beginning and the End from their holsters.

He brings the weapons up as he scans the floor below for targets. His guns ring out four times at four targets. Each time breaking into the rapid staccato of the Tommy guns below.