In a light burst of static, all of you receive a feeble transmission: "...Six to Delta Two, figures three additional Tangos on perimeter Jaguar, confidence is..." the background whisper is clobbered by Tiny's voice: "Looks like Reggie is either late or having a really bad time finding anything." The background chatter fills in, "...unknown vector, probably just a vagrant..." and his voice returns, "You guys might want to perform a sweep towards the park, just on a stroll. Strolling isn't illegal yet, is it?" He finishes the question and the channel goes clear, no background chatter.
The neighborhood seems quiet, expectant. Like that calm before a storm.
Ace: The parking lot is apparently no longer metered, as you note a recently-removed section of concrete where the meter/charge block used to sit - the faded discoloration of the meter block's shape looks somehow obscenely pale in the middle of the rest of the aged concrete surrounding it. Even the safety poles are gone (the ones to keep people from "accidentally" backing into them, of course), so maybe they're gone for good. The "Parking for Pioneer SuperMart Patrons ONLY" sign is still there, just no metering. So parking tonight shouldn't be an issue. You notice that - for the moment - the only faces wandering nearby belong to Block and X, but that's not a bad thing. You guys sort of fall into a small mob, generally wandering in the same direction.
Block: Your paranoia of the shadows proves false; nothing jumps out to grab you, and astrally there's nobody there. You suspect you may be having challenges assensing, because X also appears to be mostly missing - it's like he's somehow out of tune with the astral or something. But he really doesn't show up very well at all. But you can SEE him, now, so maybe... ...but there doesn't - for the moment - appear to be anyone else nearby.
X: ... ...okay, so from what you can gather, there are several rogue groups out here, and nobody is supposed to see anybody. If you're lucky and Tiny is on his game, everything should go smoothly. In a few seconds you hear - on a different channel - "Command channel test! Command channel test! Alpha, Bravo, Charlie..." immediately interrupted by "Just so you know," it's Tiny's voice, apparently stepping all over someone nearby's frequency, "We're going to have to stay as invisible as possible. This is your command channel - I hope you know what that means." "...smaller groupings into the outer perime..." the other voice persists, "Nobody else has it - but if I have trouble hitting everybody at once THIS is where I'll get you. Operational security, Capiche?" the channel goes completely silent.
...the cool night stirs with a light breeze, and again goes still. Overhead white curtains attempt to fill in the holes through which starry night peaks in, spreading themselves thin in the process. The neighborhood seems otherwise normal, and as you look around you don't see a lot of foot traffic. On the opposite corner a threesome arrives, loitering at the [Columbus Av/w 75 St] bus stop, connecting the M7 and M11 routes. The Pioneer Supermarket seems to be all but deserted tonight - there are a few patrons lazily strolling down the aisles, but only two checkouts are open - another Monday night already in progress. For the moment things seem serene, peaceful, calm. In the distance the honk of a horn is heard, even further away some tires screech, and it seems that there is almost always a siren blaring somewhere, out there. But these noises are always there - the chaotically animated backdrop of ever-present sound that spells "normal" here. But that backdrop isn't on this block right now, isn't immediately threatening, so things still somehow manage to seem peaceful. At least, for the moment...
...and as neighborhoods go, this is more of a "used to be Luxury lifestyle, but fell into the disrepair of High Lifestyle somewhere in the last decade or so". You can see the evidence of advanced security measures here and there, and most of the area is well-lit by streetlights; dark shadows are few and far between. The housing units (these are all large-ish, at least three or more floors tall (aboveground; you have no idea how deep their basements may go - if they have them), and have rather nice appointments on their fascias. you don't exactly see doormen or armed guards on patrol, but it doesn't look like the bottom end of Queens, either... ...makes you wonder why anyone would take on the challenge of hunting Ghouls around here - besides the Park, which is off limits on this hunt perimeter, there really doesn't look like a lot of places where you'd *find* a Ghoul. Apparently this Reggie guy is one of the best - he's going to have to find a needle in a haystack *before* he can even bag it, and he'll have to do that *THREE* *TIMES* just to Show! Makes you wonder about these contests, doesn't it? ...or maybe this guy Reggie is just that good... |
