[d20 Modern] Gangs of Texas [PG-17] IC

Please do not post here unless you are in the game.

Feel free to post your comments in the OOC thread.

Here are profiles of the cast members and any NPC's.

Gangs of Texas Theme Song

Current Cast Members

Houston Chronicle - Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Houston Chronicle - Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Business

Newly released documents show Enron Corp. planned to duck Canadian taxes and report higher earnings on its paper and pulp business in 2001, lawmakers said Tuesday. The chairman of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said an Enron deal known as Slapshot was created solely to evade taxes. At a recent hearing on the issue, J.P. Morgan said the lawyers who reviewed the deals said they were legal. It said it put up $1 billion for one day to help the Canadian division of Enron's paper and pulp business create an elaborate deal; that ultimately allowed it to deduct interest and principal on a $375 million loan. The deal produced $60 million in Canadian tax deductions and boosted Enron's bottom line by $65 million.

Metropolitan

Area Gangs have become more active lately. Today a six year old child was accidentally shot at playground just outside of Fifth Ward when tension between two gangs, the Lobos and the Panthers, erupted into violence. The child is in Herman hospital with critical wounds. The child’s mother declared to reports that she would seek help to move out of this neighborhood immediately. “It’s just not safe here anymore,” one resident declared in tears when he heard the news. “We just got to get out before we can.” Fifth Ward a very proud neighborhood with an incredible history wracked with both tragedy and triumph has seen the latest in the series of gang outbreaks in the last two weeks.

Health

More outbreaks seem to be happening around the bayou area where the mosquitoes are breeding on the Bayou River. West Nile is now a round-the-clock threat to Harris County residents after the discovery of the virus in a hard-to-kill mosquito that bites during the day, often chasing down its prey. The potentially deadly virus was previously found in Texas only in the meek, nighttime-biting Culex mosquito. It's now been detected in a pool of Asian tiger mosquitoes trapped south of Hermann Park. The discovery is particularly worrisome because people are 100 to 1,000 times more likely to be bitten by an Asian tiger mosquito than a Culex mosquito, said Ray Parsons, head of the Harris County Mosquito Control Division. The Culex more or less drifts from one meal to the next at night, but the Asian tiger aggressively zeroes in on its victims during the day. In addition, conventional spraying methods that control the Culex don't work against the Asian tiger. Pesticide-spraying from trucks or planes is impossible because high daytime temperatures force the chemical mist to float up, not down where it can reach mosquitoes. Spraying for Culex occurs at night.

Sports

The Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets square off tonight at Compaq Center with the Pacers coming to the game after a disappoint loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Film

The Lord of the Rings sequel debuts today with much anticipation.

FU KIM Restaurant
Bellaire Chinatown, DIHO Mall
3:20pm



The noise in the restaurant was almost deafening. Plates clanking, glasses clinking and the drone of musical languages echoed throughout the small café nestled in the heart of Bellaire Chinatown. It was the afternoon and in the corner a few seniors from Saint Agnes Academy, a private prep school just a couple blocks away, were giggling about school work and who knows what else.

All kinds of smells drifted over the tables, exotic and mundane, aromatic spices, and the hint of ice tea. On one corner, a young man sat with his father, the father apparently digging in the food set before him with relish.

“It gets better every time I come here,” the older man declared to his son stuffing another chopstick full of rice into his mouth. He indicated with his chopstick at the giggling high school girls, especially at one really cute red head, that were whispering and pointing their way. “I think they recognize you, Mike.”

Two tables away another older man sat patiently awaiting his meal with his dinner companion, a young Vietnamese woman with a serious expression on her face that never seemed to vanish. They could be heard talking about their work while obviously waiting for someone to join them.

“Carlos, I know this isn’t your area, but I really think that Dr. Harrison was wrong about this one. The outbreaks are getting worse. I’ve never heard of anything like that,” the woman was saying in an agitated voice. “If you would step into the emergency room, you would know what I’m talking about.”

Over at another table, another young man had just started dumping the empty dishes and wiping down a table. Beside him a darker-skinned young man with a smile that never seemed to leave his happy face winked at his friend. “That lady is pretty, Ferris-o, no?” he spoke with strong Latino accent as he gestured to the young woman just entering the café.

Striking in more ways the one, the woman bore a strong resemblance to the female physician sitting at the table. An exotic tilt to laughing eyes and a friendly mouth, she waved to the physicians, heading their way.

OOC: Gwolf, Jemal, Velenne, all three of you are up. Please post the (location/time) at the top of your post when you do. I’d like a good description of your characters and what they’re currently thinking plus anything else you’d like to do.

EDIT: Sorry, realized I had the wrong time on there. Its the afternoon, right afterschool.

Johnson's Neighborhood Garage
Fifth Ward
3:20 pm

The whole place stunk like oil and grease. But then it was supposed to, being a garage and all. However, interspersed in all that, the smell of pizza wafted over the grimy tools and the grunt of exertion to reach hungry nostrils.

An old man tottered back and forth in the small kitchen built into the back of the garage. Unlike the three other men in the building, he had on grease-free clothes and a relaxed expression. Whistling to himself, the owner of Johnson’s garage began to avail himself to a slice of pizza.

“Come and take a break, boys!” he called out to the men currently working on the few scattered cars they had in the garage. “Or T-Bull is going to finish it all off for you!”

His eyes though grew sad as he caught sight of the morning newspaper lying on the table. “Such a pity…such a pity…” he murmured, sitting down with his slice of pepperoni.

OOC: Krizzel, Garyh, Keia you’re up. You three don’t know the little girl who got shot personally but you knew who she is just by neighborhood reputation. It’s Lindsey Mayes, daughter of one of the landlords five blocks away.

FU KIM Restaurant
Bellaire Chinatown, DIHO Mall
3:20pm

Ferris picked up the plates on the table, wiped them and put them into his grey bin. He carefully wiped the insides of the glasses out and placed them top down in the bin.

"What boring work...At least I do it good and get payed for it" Ferris thought as he wiped the table down with his white soapy rag in small circular motions.

His friend next to him mentions a pretty girl entering the resturant. He looks up to the girl. "Now my friend that is what I call a knock out." Ferris says standing up straight and grinning along with his friend.

FU KIM Restaurant, Front Room
Bellaire Chinatown, DIHO Mall

“Ferris, Hector,” a sharply accented voice barked at them from the back. A tough old lady frowned at them gawking at her customers. Pei-Pei Zhan never smiled much in her hard life and she wasn’t about to start now. “Clean tables now.”

Hector Morales rolled his eyes, carefully out of sight of who the two of them secretly called “the old she-dragon”. Gathering the bins from his own tables, he started lugging them into the back of the kitchen. “Why don’t you go help the girl find her table, man,” he whispered mischievously before disappearing into the back.

FU KIM Restaurant, Front Room
Bellaire Chinatown, DIHO Mall

Ferris puts the bin down, wipes his hands on his pants and heads toward the lady. "Now this is a good way to have some fun on the job"

He bows to the lady. "bonjour jolie dame," Ferris says to her smiling, "This way to your table." He leads her to her table.

Johnson's Neighborhood Garage
Fifth Ward
3:20 pm

T-Bull sat back from the old brown card table in the kitchen, tossing his half-eaten slice of pizza down on his plate with a frown. "I told Mayes he needed to kick those punks outta his building. The Lobos are gettin' outta control!"

The big, dark-skinned man looked like he could snap the folding chair he sat on in two. He wore faded blue work overalls, without a shirt underneath, his muscled arms and upper chest glistening with sweat and grease. A faint hint of stubble was just starting to show on his smooth-shaved head and chin, giving a slightly darker cast to his warm, red-chocolate skin. Dark brown eyes focused on the city map that hung on the wall, scribbled with notes and circles, while thoughts of expanding the 'neighborhood watch's' territory outward ran through his head.

FU KIM Restaurant, Front Room
Bellaire Chinatown, DIHO Mall

Although she wasn’t particularly tall, the young woman had soft delicate features, full lips and exotically tilted almondine eyes that glowed a warm chocolate brown. There was intelligence in those eyes and they sparkled for a moment when she first saw her sister. Long black hair that reached down to her waist, she was dressed comfortably in jeans and a red cashmere sweater but Ferris could tell that those clothes had the mark of Banana Republic, the shoes of Prada, and the simple leather purse of Coach…all quite expensive labels.

“Oh,” the young woman spoke glancing at Ferris with wide clear eyes. “Thank you.” She smiled at him, walking beside him as he led her to the table.

“Ferris!” Mrs. Zhang barked from the back, clearly wanting him away from the customers. “Come in back. Bring dishes.”

Johnson's Neighborhood Garage
Fifth Ward
3:20 pm

Malcolm pulls his head out from beneath the Ford hood at the sound of the boss's voice, eager to get something to eat before it's all gone. He looks down at the engine to remember where he left off and jogged to the lunch area, avoiding vehicles and tools like they were would be tacklers.

Upon arriving, Malcolm hestitated. (Eat the pizza now with greased up hands or in a minute with clean hands), Malclom thought. Manners won out, and he went to the sink for a healthy glob of degreaser.

"What's that T, who's out of control now?"