Heading them off at the Pass - HtR

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: telephone

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"I can't, I had my roommate call the cops. I have to wait until they get here at least." She chewed her lip "Maybe you can get over here?" She wasn't sure about it, given the fact they barely knew each other, but hell a FBI agent would certainly calm her down, and probably get Tony to not worry about rushing back to town to check on her. If he agrees she gives the address. planning to send Tony a text that a friend in law enforcement was going to stop by to calm him.

[GunnDancer]

Spoiler: Telephone

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Hesitating for just a moment, Stone sets his jaw without realizing it.

"Give me the address and I'll get there as quick as I can."

[Erasmas]

Spoiler: Hooks

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Wade does exactly as he is instructed, slowly unbuckling his belt and sitting it down on the edge of the road. He then heads over to the police cruiser and removes his license and places it on the hood before putting his hands in a spread out fashion. Then... he waited, casting his eyes up the street to see if he could even Charlene's lights anymore.

F^ck!n' b^llsh!t, man... he thought to himself as he slowly shook his head and sighed quietly.

[pife]

Spoiler: Hooks

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The cop pats you down rather perfunctorily, almost like he doesn't know exactly how to do it, or doesn't do it often. He checks your wallet, but doesn't call in your license. Stay right here, he commands sharply, I don't want to see those hands leave the hood of my car. Compared to the chilly air, the hood of his car is actually nice and warm. He crunches through the gravel and bits of broken glass on the side of the road back to your bike. You can hear him open your saddlebags, and rummage through what is there. Stealing a glance over your shoulder, you do see a lone headlight a couple of blocks up, but it's too dark to tell if it's Charlenes bike, or a one-eyed car.

Oho! The officer exclaims in unrestrained delight, and you can't help but look back at him. He's pulling a large rectangular object out of your saddlebags, about a foot long, six inches wide, maybe four inches tall. It looks to be wrapped in cardboard, or brown wrapping paper, and taped heavily. What have we here, Mr. Hoffman? Turn around. He waits for you to comply, and stands there, with his right hand on the butt of his pistol, and his left hand full of the package. Care to save me the time of opening this? What is it?

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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You send Stone the address, and you wait. And wait. And wait.. Finally, there is a knock at the door, but, it isn't the police. It's Stone. Looking at the time, it's been over twenty minutes since Tony texted you that he had called the police. Still no sign of them, but the wind is kicking up outside, and the temperature is falling into the thirties. Stone shivers slightly as he stands in your doorway.

[Erasmas]

Spoiler: Hooks

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Wade had turned around as he was instructed and felt a rock drop into the pit of his stomach. Somebody f^ck!ng planted sh!t on my bike?! I bet it was that little b!tch Tommy or his brother...

He sighed, his breath making a burst of steam with the verbal gesture, "Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. You ain't gonna believe me, but that sh!t ain't mine, man. If it's what I think it is... I don't touch that sh!t, never have. But like you saw, it ain't hard to get into my sidebags. No telling what punk-@ss could've put that there."

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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Alex looks through the peep hole in the door and sees Stone out in the hallway. Moving the chair out of the way she opens the door and gestures inside, bat still in her hand, "Hey, come on in, I'm glad you're here. I don't know where the police are, it's not the best neighborhood but they usually have a better response time than this." She closed the door behind him, clicking the pair of deadbolts back into place. "Can I get you anything? Or should I just go straight into explaining the crazy? Or, well, what did you call about I guess? Must have been important to call at this hour.". It was obvious her nerves were frazzled, but the concern about what he needed to talk about was genuine.

[pife]

Spoiler: Hooks

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The cop looks rather pleased with himself as he bounces the package on his palm. 'Fraid I'm going to have to arrest you for possession of narcotics with intent to distribute. Turn back around, and put your hands on the car. He comes up behind you, and you can hear the handcuffs in his hand. Instead of putting the package down, he is attempting to handcuff you with only one arm. He chuckles evilly at you as he snaps the first cuff on your left wrist. He speaks, almost in your ear, and almost as though he doesn't want to be heard by anyone, though there is nobody around Nice of you to cooperate there, Mr. Hero. The Boss thought it would be a lot harder to bring you to him than this

[Erasmas]

Spoiler: Hooks

Show

Something here wasn't adding up. Something wasn't right about this guy and the way that he was acting; what he was saying. He wasn't acting like any cop that Wade had ever come in contact with before. 'The Boss?!?!' And then it hit him like a bucket of cold water to the face. Silk Suit... oh hell no!

As the man was leaned in close to him, Wade brought his head back sharply, aiming for the cop's face... preferably his nose. He then tried to spin himself around and deliver a hard kick to the man's groin.

[GunnDancer]

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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Stepping into her apartment, Stone listened as she started speaking a mile a minute. Letting her finish, the agent gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"Deep breath... let's get you something to drink..."

Allowing her to lead the way to the kitchen, Stone wanted her to get a drink, not because it would help but because the act of doing something typically helped in situations like this.

"Let's start from the top. My information can wait."

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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Alex stepped away from the attempt to reassure her, she'd had too much of that in the past weak even if this time she needed it, She did walk in to sit at the kitchen table though, 'I'm fine, really. Woke up from a nightmare, same one about that kid and the creepy **** I've been having. It seemed like, at the end there, he saw me." She shook her head, "I know it's just a dream but I'm out of my element here. I sent you a text, wanted to see if it meant anything, then I get one from Tony, my roommate. He's pissed, wondering why I haven't been answering my phone or e-mail whe I haven't been getting anything. Then he says he called our landline and some guy answered, said something about giving me the message. So I told him to get the cops over here and tried to find the guy." She shudders as she remembers this next part, " Well I found him, grey skin, bald, Red-yellow eyes, and teeth that look like they belong on jaws. Thing just smiles and freaking disappears. Or turns invisible or something 'cause te door opens and slams shut and I hear someone running down the hall." She stood up and started to pace nervously, she noticeably hasn't put down her bat the entire time, "First the accedent now this? What the heck's going on?

[pife]

Spoiler: Hooks

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The cop is a little more savvy than you hoped, and notices you tense right before you lashed out trying to take him by surprise. He jumps back, avoiding your assault, and is able to react more quickly than you. By the time you spin to face him, he is already swinging a fist at you.

Spoiler: When Cops Attack!

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Dex + Brawl (5d10)[1][2][1][4][10](18)
Damage (6d10)[4][8][5][3][5][2](27) (Only 3 D10 are from his strength, the other three are IN CASE he gets extra successes on the attack roll)

If he hits, you can roll your STA (diff 6) to soak any of the damage

**EDIT** A: the good news! He missed entirely. but, I did shortchange you. You could have sacrificed your action to block or dodge, sorry, forgot to mention that. But, he completely missed, so no harm no foul!

The cop's neck tattoos are clearly visible as he winds up to swing. Obviously, this man is not a Golden Gloves candidate, as the blow he throws comes with sufficient force, but poor control. A slight shift of your body sees the fist swing wildly past your head. The man threw a wild haymaker and is very off balance.

It's your action

[Erasmas]

Spoiler

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It's almost old routine at this point, Hooks falling into his boxing stance as second nature. His boots are heavy in the roadside gravel, but he bounces a bit in them all the same. His left hand comes up in a protective ball before his face, the handcuff dangling from his wrist like a strange piece of jewelry. Wade's right fist floats just below and behind the left, closer to his own chin. He rolls his left shoulder forward a little in a feint as his body winds up for his signature punch - a mean right hook that had earned him his nickname a few times over. Hopefully, it wouldn't let him down tonight.

Spoiler

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Dex+Brawl - (5d10)[9][1][5][8][3](26) (also spending a Will Point on this one!)
Damage - (6d10)[7][5][2][5][10][7](36)
Extra, if Needed - (4d10)[4][2][10][2](18)

The attempt here is to knock him unconscious, not to kill.

[GunnDancer]

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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As she speaks, Stone rubs his scar anxiously. A monster with teeth like Jaws... Was that something he had run into or read about? Grey skin? Red-yellow eyes? Shaking his head slowly, the agent couldn't recall running into anything like that before in his studies. Taking a deep breath, he leaned against the wall and frowned a bit.

"Okay.. so issues with the phone and then your roommate calls and some guy answers. And then you see this... guy, if you can call it that... and he runs out of your apartment?"

Stone's mind races as he tries to puzzle this out.

"I think that there may be more going on then we first realized. I had wanted to show you something I thought was important, but now I think it's more important than ever..."

Trailing off, he tosses the manila folder on the table for her to look at.

"After you read that, I think you'll agree that this might be more than a coincidence."

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: Stone and Alex

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She shakes her head before clarifying" Not just runns out, disappears, as in I can't see him, then runs out. Ho is that even possible?", she settles down and looks at the folder, opening it up and reading the contents carefully. She frowns a bit as she reads on, "So he's got friends in high places? On top of freaking superpowers?" She stood up for a moment and started to pace a bit, trying to work it all out in her head, the woman, the woman inside her, the boy, this man, her late night guest, " Ok so he's some kind of freaky serial killer, he killed that woman, and her son... found him somehow? And she took over that poor woman and tried to get back at him. But why would that... thing show up here? I mean it wasn't to do anything to me, I was asleep and when it saw me it just smiled and did that... Houdini thing."

She remembered her phone then and pulled it out. opening the unidentified text and showing it to him, "Any idea what that means? Or what that note in the file meant?"

[pife]

Spoiler: Hooks

Show

Your right hand arcs around the officer's guard, closing in on his temple. He attempts to reverse his overbalancing, pulling back just a bit, and your blow lands solidly on his cheekbone, rocking his head to the side. He is made of fairly stern stuff, however, as he shakes off the blow, his dark eyes spiteful in the halogen glow of the headlights. Shadows dance wildly as you and your opponent scramble for position near the front bumper of the car. He thumbs a drop of blood off of his cheek where you split the skin. He growls angrily as a car passes by, honking it's horn. Two teenagers are hanging out of the passenger windows of a beat up sedan, Kick that cop's ass dude, Woohoooowooo!!!

Seeing your boxers stance, and witnessing personally the speed of your attack, the cop changes tactics, diving for your knees, trying to place his shoulder directly on the kneecap.

Spoiler: Tackle Maneuver

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Str+Brawl (4d10)[5][2][8][9](24) (Diff is 7 for this maneuver)
Damage (6d10)[9][4][5][4][1][2](25) (3 minimum, the other three are potentially going to be used if his attack succeeds exceptionally)

With a Tackle, if he succeeds, you take the damage, AND, both of you must roll Dex + Athletics (Diff 7) or suffer a knockdown. Even if the Athletics roll succeeds you (and he) are unbalanced, suffering a +1 Difficulty for your actions the next turn.

Here is his Dex + Athletics (5d10)[9][10][4][1][7](31)

If he hits, and successfully rolls damage, you can soak, Sta roll diff 6.
If he hits, you will need a Dex+Athletics Diff 7. Fail, and you will go to the ground

I will edit in his portion of the results, pending yours.. \

Synopsis: He had two successes on the attack, translating to one extra die on the damage.. Only came up with 1 success for damage on the first four dice. You can attempt to soak the 1 point. Also, he does not fall, but will be at a +1 Difficulty to any action he takes until his next turn.

AFTER your soak and Dex check, you will also be at +1 Difficulty until after this action.

Spoiler: Stone and Alex

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The front window of the apartment begins to glow with the alternating red and blue lights of a police-cruiser's turret-lights. Within a few moments, you hear the squelchy sound of a radio and the beeps and squawks that so often accompany it. There is a firm three knocks at the door.

Miss Wallace? Miss Wallace, this is the Denver Police Department, Officers Hood and Williams. We're responding to a disturbance call. Three more knocks.

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: Stone and Alex

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Alex looks to Stone for a moment before standing up and moving to the door and looking through the peep hole, Hello, yes I'm here. Would you mind just showing me your badges before I open the door? It's been one of those nights." She might be acting paranoid but you can be paranoid and someone still be out to get you. Assuming they check out she opens the door and gestures them inside, " Thank you for coming by, this is Nick Stoneham, he's a friend who was in the neighborhood and stopped by to wait until you got here, anyway. My roommate sent me a message earlier saying he called our landline and got a man answering and saying he'd give me a message, only I didn't let anyone in. I've had some trouble with a stalker in the past, this wasn't him, he wasn't tall enough." No reason to drag someone unrelated into this, "But that's what made me have him call you. I caught a glimpse of him in the living room over in that corner there, I didn't get a good look but might have been bald, about (OOC:rough estimate height/build). When he saw me he bolted out the door pretty quick so I didn't get a good look at his face. He didn't look like a junkie or gang member though from what I could see." Realizing this might seem like an odd thing to know she added, " I'm an EMT, I've worked the bad neighborhoods a lot and know a few of the tells." by way of explanation. She could tell she was giving the impression of someone scared out of there wits and babbling, which to be fair was true, just not for the reasons she hoped the officers assumed.

[Erasmas]

Spoiler: Hooks

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Hooks attempts the deflect the incoming tackle.
Awaiting the results of the rolls and editing of the post to edit in the reactions.

Spoiler

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Stamina (to soak) - (4d10)[1][2][6][6](15) (I also have Tough as Nails as a Specialty; not sure if that applies)
Extra, if needed - (6d10)[1][1][1][10][7][2](22)

Dex+Athletics - (2d10)[4][3](7) (I will spend a Will Point on this roll too... leaving me with 3)

[pife]

Spoiler: Hooks

Show

The police officer lowers his shoulder and attempts to plow into your knee, causing it to twist slightly, causing a twinge of pain, but no lasting damage. He curses, and plants his hand on the ground, pushing, and attempts to lunge back to his feet, coming up once again off-balance, but you are slightly off center as well. The back of your plant leg is touching the front bumper of the police cruiser, and the cop is unfolding back to a standing position directly in front of you. The handcuff still jangles painfully from your wrist, and another car whizzes by, an elderly woman looking out of the passenger side window with her hands and face pressed up against the glass, her features aghast at seeing a 'thug' assaulting a police officer.

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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Through the peephole you see two appropriately dressed tall men, one burly in a bearish way, the other chunky, in a bear-clawish way. Both men reach for their badges without comment, and hold them up to the light mounted next to your front door. You've seen a fair number of police badges, and these pass muster. They look legit. In fact, you're fairly certain that the officer who knocked, Officer Hood, is the same officer you worked a TC for a few weeks past. Feeling comfortable that these are, in fact, the actual police, you open the door. One of your neighbors, Emma Samms is peeking out of her front door, eyes wide with interest. A prototypical 'cat-lady', Emma is harmless, and actually rather sweet, but she is known as a busybody. Word of this visit will definitely be on everyone's lips by this time tomorrow.

The gentlemen enter your apartment, Officer Hood retrieving a pen and pad of paper from the metal compartmentalized clipboard he's carrying. Officer Williams looks around, his eyes sharp, but with placid features. So, Ms. Wallace, you say you don't recognize the intruder. Do you have any idea how he got into the house? Do you leave your door or windows open? Were there any signs of forced entry? Is anything missing? He asks a few more questions about the description of the intruder, and sends Officer Williams to speak to the landlord, wanting to determine if there are any cameras in the hallways or parking lots. He doesn't pay much attention to Stoneham, though he does look at him a few times. Looking at your door, he notes that there is only one deadbolt and no chain. Ms. Wallace, I can recommend that you get a chain to put on this door, and you should probably purchase window locks, if you haven't already done so. He inspects the doors and windows. There doesn't seem to be any sign of forced entry. When was the last time you saw your roommate, Ms Wallace? And do you have a name, and a picture that we can see of him? About this time, Officer Williams comes back, catches Hood's eye, and nods meaningfully. Excuse me, he apologizes, then goes to speak with his partner.

A few moments later, both officers return to you in the living room. Officer Williams spke to the landlord, who was happy to show him the video from the hallway. We are going to take the tape back to the precinct for review. We'll let you know if we find anything. If you are feeling nervous, might I suggest going to Hunter-net.org a friend or relative's house for a few days. There isn't a lot of crime in this neighborhood, but occasionally a house will be burgled. It looks like you might have surpised the guy doing it. But, we'll look into this, and compare it to other recent and local crimes to see if whis person has a history of unlawful entries.

Both Alex and Stone heard an impossibly deep, gravelly voice which whispers the out-of-place website name in the middle of the officer's sentence. The two cops don't seem to have noticed at all.

But, Ms. Wallace, if you don't have anything more for us at the moment, we'll get out of your hair. We'll be in touch if we find anything out.

[Erasmas]

Spoiler: Hooks

Show

Grimacing, Wade started to have that hint of anxiety creep in as he saw the old lady's reaction. He knew that, despite what was really happening, that perception meant everything to most people - and it was likely that she (and others) would be calling the real police about what they saw. That meant that he had a finite amount of time to end this b^llsh!t and get the hell outta here... and that time was dwindling down.

The large biker took to opportunity of the other man getting back to his feet to attempt an uppercut, leaning down and bringing the same right fist up and towards the underside of the man's chin.

Spoiler

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Dex+Brawl - (5d10)[6][9][9][6][5](35)
Damage - (6d10)[8][4][6][9][10][7](44)
Extra, if Needed - (4d10)[6][8][1][7](22)

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: Stone and Alex

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"I never leave them unlocked, but the one for the bathroom needs to be replaced, it pops open but doesn't really break if you pull hard enough. I guess I should move that up the to-do list then." She tried to put on a self deprecation smile, Not wanting to seem like someone that would fall to pieces so easily. "Nothing big at least, but I haven't had a chance to check everything, I mostly checked the big ticket things, tv computers, Medicine cabinet." She was definitely a little flustered at the implication that she wouldn't have locks, even if mistakes might happen on using them every time.

"He's been on a business trip in Des Moines. Anthony Shultz is his name. Ummm, here, the one on the left." She pointed out a picture from their last camping trip with some friends last summer. "Thank you, I'll make sure to replace the locks again. I'll let you know if I find anything missing. Stay safe." She tried to ignore the out of place voice until she'd escorted the officers out the door, closing and locking it once more before turning to Stone, "You did hear that right?"

[pife]

Spoiler: Hooks

Show

Your rising fist catches the 'cop' squarely, rocking his head back and lifting the man bodily off of the ground. Arms and legs splayed, Hooks can tell that the man is unconscious already. His feet sail up over his head, and the first thing to hit the ground is the back of the cops head, which smacks to the ground with an audible Crunch. Hooks recoils his arm, resetting in case the man rises. For the first time, you really feel the cold, as the chill breeze finds the gaps where your jacket can't protect. A numbing realization begins to set in, and the adrenaline fades just a bit. The cop doesn't seem to be breathing. His eyes are slightly open, as is his mouth, though it appears that the left side of his jaw might be broken or dislocated. But no warm, steamy breath can be seen issuing from the cop's mouth, though it fairly billows from yours at this point, and you realize that you are panting, not from exertion, but from the cold, the shock, and the adrenaline.

[Erasmas]

Spoiler: Hooks

Show

Wade goes over and checks the guy over as best he knows how, trying to determine if he's still alive or not.

"F^ck.", he concludes after a brief second. He hadn't meant to kill the bastard... and again he found himself in a familiar situation that he'd rather not have. "F^ck.", he repeated to himself.

And then he sprang into action. He took the handcuff keys and undid the one attached to his left wrist, stuffing both the cuffs and the keys into one of his pockets. He then went to the patrol car and searched for anything that he could wrap around this guy's head to keep the blood off of himself. Then, upon doing so, he carried the body and placed it into the back of the black and white. He then rummaged through the stuff in the front, looking for anything that seemed to be of interest, especially pertaining to Wade. He then nabbed the ticket pad and a pen and wrote down the "officer's" badge number and name from his uniform, as well as any of the identifying details about the tats he could easily get to. Wade then took the handgun and the radio off of the guy's corpse and clipped the latter underneath his own jacket. With the former, he removed the magazine and emptied the chamber into his hand, stuffing both into another of his pockets. The biker then wiped down all that he had touched with a section of the man's undershirt that he had torn off and closed the cop cars' doors. On the way back to his bike, he wiped down the gun and, holding it with the section of cloth, started the engine back up. He then rode off down the street and, once he was passing any area of overgrowth, he hurled the gun as far as he could off of the road. A few blocks later, he pulled over at a residential trashcan out on the street for morning pick-up and stashed the torn piece of shirt into it.

Then, and only then, he headed to Estalia and Dragonfly - Charlene's place.

[pife]

Spoiler: Hooks

Show

Betruger, is the name on the cops shirt, badge number 43244. Of course, that doesn't match the license in his wallet, which says "Smithhart, John J". Only a few more cars pass as you are 'sanitizing' the scene. In the front seat of the car, there is a crumpled up bag from Jack in the Box, a small beverage from the same location in the drink holder. On the passenger seat you find several pictures, 8x6 glossy's. There's you, your bike, the bar, there's even one of Charlene. She's wearing the same outfit she was tonight. There are also photos of your brother's house. That accounts for almost half of the pictures. The others are of the FBI Agent and the ambulance driver, and what you assume to be their homes.

You leave your victim in the back of the squad car, head wrapped in a Denver Police rain slicker. The radio you filched squawks quietly, but not with police traffic. Alpha, check in. Report your status. The voice is deep and slow, sounding older, and with perhaps a touch of a British accent.

You dispose of the pistol, and the shirt, but still have the magazine and ammunition in your jacket pocket, along with the handcuffs and keys. You retrieve your knife from the pavement, and head to Charlene's house. It's a well maintained little place, the paint new, and the hedges well maintained. She's standing outside her orderly and well stocked garage, breath misting in the cold night air. Her bike is already wiped down and there is room for yours beside it. She looks worried. I'm soo sorry, she gushes. That was all my fault! If I hadn't been going so fast, you wouldn't have been trying to catch me. Did you get a ticket? She's rubbing your arm and looking up at you with concern, as though she thinks you might be angry with her.

Spoiler: Question

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What, if anything, did you do with the drugs?

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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The cops leave, leaving Alex and Agent Stoneham standing in her living room. It's nearing two in the morning, and you still can't find how this person got into Alex' house. Nor can Alex justify the man's appearance, nor the manner in which he faded out of sight. Every attempt to explain the situation rationally falls flat on it's face. You share all of the details with each other, but more questions than answers keep popping up.

[Erasmas]

Spoiler: Hooks

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Wade also took the "officer's" wallet and all of the photos, tucking them all into the saddlebags on his bike. The brick of drugs, he stuffed into the Jack in the Box bag and left sitting inside the car where he had found the trash.

The biker then sped off towards Charlene's, making sure not to draw too much attention to himself through the busier parts of town. Once he pulled up in her driveway, he was happy to see that she had made room for his motorcycle in the garage. If they had pictures of his baby, then he didn't want it sitting out on the street announcing where he was. He parked the bike and killed the engine, dismounting and then kissing Charlene on the forehead as a means of easing her concern. Then, removing everything he had gathered from his bike's bags, he smiled weakly.

"You can say that. Let's talk inside."

Wade then looked around for a way to close the garage up and watched out the opening until it touched down upon the ground. He then locked it and moved to follow or usher Charlene inside... whichever was needed.

[GunnDancer]

Spoiler: Stone and Alex

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Rubbing his face in exasperation, Stone shakes his head a little bit.

"I think... we need to get in touch with that biker. I have no idea how to reach him but he's the only other person who was present that wasn't a... monster." The agent forces the word out. Though he had suspected something like this for the longest time, to now be in the thick of it is a lot to bear.

"I did hear that voice too. Should we check it out?" Heaving a deep breath, he pursed his lips in thought.

"Alex... do you have any weapons? I think we might be in for a fight if things go the way I think they're going to go."

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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"Well there was the girl too, but I don't think she saw what we did. But I did talk to the biker, he gave me an address of a garage to ask around for him if I needed to." She chewed he lip for a moment before nodding " Sure, listening to disembodied voices telling me to go on websites isn't the weirdest thing that's happened to me this month."

She raised an eyebrow when he asked about weapons, "Sure, I have an uzi in the back that's why I came to the door holding a baseball bat." It was said jokingly, if a bit forced. But seriously? No, I have a high end first aid kick in case one of emergencies, but that's about the only thing I have that might come in handy in a real fight." She shook her head and sat down, " I've never been in a serious fight before, Slugging a few people that got way out of line, rugby, restraining a few uncooperative patients, but nothing... Life or death. I'll do it though. That guy, that thing, David Tannenhaus, he needs to pay for what he did to those women and that little boy." It wasn't right, he was the cause of everything that happened that night.

[pife]

Spoiler: Hooks

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Charlene looks slightly mollified, now that you have arrived, and don't seem to be particularly angry with her. She leads you into her house, which is extremely well kept. The place would pass a Marine Corps white glove inspection. It is decorated tastefully, and isn't particularly girly. Make yourself comfortable, she offers, and wanders into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator. large living room is separated from the kitchen by a tiled countertop. Near the center of the wall to your left as you walk in the door is a darkened hallway, and a sliding glass door at the back of the kitchen/dining room provides a 'back door' to the small house.

You are reminded how nice Charlene's figure is as she stands with her head in the refrigerator, but she quickly straightens and turns, with a beer in one hand, and a bottle of Scotch in the other. Guests choice, she chirps with a smile. After you pick your poison, she invites you to sit on the couch with her, and wants to hear all about your traffic stop, and how you came away without even a ticket. Even I wouldn't have been able to talk my way out of going that fast, no matter what I was wearing, she teases. By the way, haven't seen you around the bar very much lately, everything okay?

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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Hey guys, you mentioned a couple of things, but didn't really say that you were going to do anything. Will you be checking out the Hunter website, trying to contact that garage this late at night, or taking any other kind of action tonight?

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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(OOC:I assumed we'd be checking the site since trying to contact a garage that late at night would probably be a bit pointless. Sorry.)

[pife]

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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As the small clock on the wall clicks over to three-a.m., you pull second chair up to Alex's small desk, upon which sits a slightly outdated Hewlett-Packard Computer. Booting it up, machine whirs to life, lights blinking lazily and a semi cluttered homescreen facing you. Alex opens up trusty Internet Explorer, and enters www .Hunter-net.org, presses enter, and, thanks to the magic of cable internet download speeds, you are welcomed almost immediately by a full screen picture of a middle-aged and paunchy man in a tree, with a sunburned face, a huge wad of tobacco in his cheek, and a rifle, wearing camouflage. Small icons scattered around the periphery of the page offer links to "Duck Hunting", "Elk Safari", "Bear Season", a section titled "Take only pictures and leave only footprints", and another, labeled "Survival Tips".

Thinking that this whole endeavor was likely a waste of time, and that you have just come upon the home-page for Redneck Bob's personal hunting page, you almost shut the whole thing down and call it quits. However, both pairs of eyes are drawn to a slight glow around the "Survival Tips" link. Funny thing is.. the glow does not appear to be originating from the screen. It appears that the entire link is pulsing, almost flashing at you, but it's almost like it's one of those funny optical illusions on some baseball and collectible cards, where you see one picture if you look at it straight on, and another picture entirely if you look at it from an angle.

You look at each other, as if questioning whether or not the other sees the same effect. Without a word, Alex clicks on the Survival Tips link. From that point, it's almost like chasing something down a rabbit hole. One link leads to another, which leads to yet another, always prompted by a bizarre glow that the two of you can tell isn't.. 'normal'. After about a dozen links, leading you through all manner of websites with varying topics, you finally come to a nearly blank screen. There is a lonely cursor blinking in a relatively short text box. Immediately below it are simple instructions, paraphrased below..

If you have found your way here, you are probably scared out of your mind and questioning your sanity. I wish I could tell you that it was something as simple and relatively reassuring as "only" your sanity. It's not. Things are much, much worse than you think. This website does not offer absolution, nor even any definitive answers. It does, however, give you confirmation that you are not alone, and you might even be able to find enough information here to stay alive for a little while longer. Secrecy is key. NEVER tell anyone about Hunter-net. Nobody from Hunter-net will ever ask for your name or password. If they do, they do NOT have your best interests at heart. To register, choose a one word descriptor of yourself. Examples include; "Cop", Deliveryboy, Firestarter, Treeclimber, Potbelly, etc. (Yes, all of these are taken. No, you cannot use them). You will be prompted to enter a new descriptor if the one you choose has been used before. We are a fairly small community, however, so this shouldn't be too difficult. Once you're registered, you will automatically enter the site, and your eyes will really start to be opened. Good luck, and I'm sorry- Dataminer98

[vonpenguin]

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

Show

As the small clock on the wall clicks over to three-a.m., you pull second chair up to Alex's small desk, upon which sits a slightly outdated Hewlett-Packard Computer. Booting it up, machine whirs to life, lights blinking lazily and a semi cluttered homescreen facing you. Alex opens up trusty Internet Explorer, and enters www .Hunter-net.org, presses enter, and, thanks to the magic of cable internet download speeds, you are welcomed almost immediately by a full screen picture of a middle-aged and paunchy man in a tree, with a sunburned face, a huge wad of tobacco in his cheek, and a rifle, wearing camouflage. Small icons scattered around the periphery of the page offer links to "Duck Hunting", "Elk Safari", "Bear Season", a section titled "Take only pictures and leave only footprints", and another, labeled "Survival Tips".

Thinking that this whole endeavor was likely a waste of time, and that you have just come upon the home-page for Redneck Bob's personal hunting page, you almost shut the whole thing down and call it quits. However, both pairs of eyes are drawn to a slight glow around the "Survival Tips" link. Funny thing is.. the glow does not appear to be originating from the screen. It appears that the entire link is pulsing, almost flashing at you, but it's almost like it's one of those funny optical illusions on some baseball and collectible cards, where you see one picture if you look at it straight on, and another picture entirely if you look at it from an angle.

You look at each other, as if questioning whether or not the other sees the same effect. Without a word, Alex clicks on the Survival Tips link. From that point, it's almost like chasing something down a rabbit hole. One link leads to another, which leads to yet another, always prompted by a bizarre glow that the two of you can tell isn't.. 'normal'. After about a dozen links, leading you through all manner of websites with varying topics, you finally come to a nearly blank screen. There is a lonely cursor blinking in a relatively short text box. Immediately below it are simple instructions, paraphrased below..

If you have found your way here, you are probably scared out of your mind and questioning your sanity. I wish I could tell you that it was something as simple and relatively reassuring as "only" your sanity. It's not. Things are much, much worse than you think. This website does not offer absolution, nor even any definitive answers. It does, however, give you confirmation that you are not alone, and you might even be able to find enough information here to stay alive for a little while longer. Secrecy is key. NEVER tell anyone about Hunter-net. Nobody from Hunter-net will ever ask for your name or password. If they do, they do NOT have your best interests at heart. To register, choose a one word descriptor of yourself. Examples include; "Cop", Deliveryboy, Firestarter, Treeclimber, Potbelly, etc. (Yes, all of these are taken. No, you cannot use them). You will be prompted to enter a new descriptor if the one you choose has been used before. We are a fairly small community, however, so this shouldn't be too difficult. Once you're registered, you will automatically enter the site, and your eyes will really start to be opened. Good luck, and I'm sorry- Dataminer98

Spoiler: Alex and Stone

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After the long string of links they finally reached something useful, Alex sat still for a moment thinking, not saying anything before turning to Stone and shrugging, "Well we've come this far." she said and typed in a short descriptor "Tomboy", accurate, and not a direct mention of her job. holding in her breath she pressed enter, half expecting her computer to explode on her.