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

[KitanaVorr]

Local Police Precinct
Fifth Ward
1:40pm

The police cruiser pulls up to the ratty precinct, the same one Misty Morning had exited yesterday after her arrest for lewd behavior. It looked just as busy and just as dingy as before. The officers parked the car, slamming the door shut with such a bang that the car shook the two boys in back for a moment.

Then finally one of the cops opened the door to let them out. Officers Stokey and Renkin grudging hustled them into the police station toward the back where they kept the interrogation rooms...and right into one of those nasty hot airless rooms with seats hard enough to make anyone's butt fall asleep.

"Sit yer butts in here. The detective's coming," Stokey tells 'em. Then as an afterthought he glanced at his partner then back at them. "You boys want anything to drink?"

OOC: LAMAR, MALCOLM

 

[Keia]

Local Police Precinct
Fifth Ward
1:40pm

"That would be great, sir. Excuse sir, do you know how long this will be. If it's going to be a while, we should call work and tell them that we'll be late." Malcolm asks in his most respectful tone.

Malcolm looked at the room and the surroundings and smiled as best he could after everything that had happened the past day. Probably be better off standing than sitting on one of those

 

[KitanaVorr]

Local Police Precinct
Fifth Ward
1:40pm

Officer Stokey glanced at his partner then back at Malcolm before making his decision. "Ask the detective when he comes," he grumbled as they both shuffled outside.

So the boys wait....

And wait....

And wait....

2:15pm

The door opens and a ruddy faced rather pudgey man comes in. His grey suit looks like its been wrinkled more times than its been ironed. Faint blonde hair peeked over the top of his head and squigly blue eyes.

"What the f#ck have we got here," the voice drawled out slowly with an accent that sounded like something out of hicksville. "A bunch of coke heads looking to get themselves shot?"

The man pulled out two chairs, the shrill screeching noise against the floor was enough to raise the hackles on anyone's skin. "Why don't you two take seats here and tell me what acid trip you must be on to come up with a story that takes me outta my nice cushy office to hear two teenagers flapping their guns?"

Lighting a cheap cigarette he managed to find somewhere in his pockets, the man sat heavily on the chair across from them. For a long moment, he just blew smoke in their faces before speaking again. "Names, Barton, but you call me detective. Whatdaya gotta tell me, boys? And make it good."

OOC: MALCOLM, LAMAR

 

[KitanaVorr]

Ben Taub- Carlos' office
Texas Medical Center
12:30am

Beep...beep...beep...beep...

"Goddamn!" a man's voice booms through the office. "Shut that piece of techno-crap OFF!"

As Carlos greets yet another cheery lunch hour with his surly office mate, Jack Marks, a ruddy ex-football player whose muscles had managed to turn extra soft all these years. Usually stuck with the late night shift, it looked like Jack was going to be here for another few hours yet filling in for Carlos' missed shifts...and he wasn't too happy about it.

The huge man had himself squeezed in the only other cot in the room, the whole thing creaking dangerous as if the cot would just collapse any minute.

OOC: CARLOS

 

[Velenne]

Ben Taub- Carlos' office
Texas Medical Center
12:30pm

Carlos snaps awake. Turning himself upright and wiping the sleep out his eyes, he'll finally reach over and hit the button on the PDA that shuts its alarm off.

"Sorry. Get some sleep Jack."

Carlos grabs his things, opens the bottom drawer of the desk and pulls out a yellow pages from under the stack of other papers, then walks out of his office.

He'll find a private place and crack open the yellow pages, jotting down several numbers. First, the HDHHS (Houston Department of Health and Human Services), then Harris County Mesquito Control, and finally the Bureau of Epidemiology.

He's trying to find out if anyone else is onto the same thing that Amy and Shashi are, and/or if they'd be interested in having a look at the evidence, and/or if they would be willing to let someone use their lab equipment.

One way or another, Carlos was going to make it up to Amy in a way he hopes she would appreciate more than a stupid niknak. Hell, last night at Fu Kim, West Nile was all she could talk about. At least she can't blame a guy for trying. Waitaminute this was Amy, of course she could...

*ring ring*

 

[Keia]

Local Police Precinct
Fifth Ward
2:15pm

While waiting, Malcolm will take a piece of paper from his daypack and fold it into a paper football and play football on the table while waiting for the detective. "At least we can have a little bit of fun while we wait," Malcolm grinned as he tried to keep the mood light.

The door opens and a ruddy faced rather pudgey man comes in. His grey suit looks like its been wrinkled more times than its been ironed. Faint blonde hair peeked over the top of his head and squigly blue eyes.

Malcolm looks wide-eyed at what can only be a cop straight over of a Warner Brothers cartoon. An NC-17 cartoon - but a cartoon none the less. And I though it couldn't get any worse than the two that brought us here.

Malcolm tries but can't help snickering just a little, thinking of Roger Rabbit and this guy as the detective. What a pitiful man. He must have seen it all to talk like that to those who are trying to help. Well, I'll try and make his life better. Who knows it might help.

"Well, ya see, Detective Barton, my name is Malcolm Winters and this is Lamar Watson. Really, Lamar saw what happened and could probably tell it better, but here it goes. . ."

Malcolm will explain what he heard happened, letting Lamar interject wherever he wanted.

When he is done, Malcolm asked, "Detective, both Lamar and I have work at 3:00pm, is there any chance that we could give work a call to let them know we'll be late. I'd hate to loss my job in addition to everything else that has happened."

 

[garyh]

Local Police Precinct
Fifth Ward
2:15pm

Lamar will add to Malcolm's recounting when appropriate.

Boy, Lamar thought, this is not my day...

 

[KitanaVorr]

Local Police Precinct
Fifth Ward
2:30pm

Barton listened to the two of them without much interruption, other than to blow fistfulls of cheap cigarette smoke into their faces and interject with a "f#ck that" and "sh#t" as if the recounting needed flavor. When the boys were done and Barton had finally started on his second cig, the detective just looked at them for a minute.

"Where you boys working at 3:30?" he asked them suspiciously before snorting contemptuously. "I knew your brother, Watson, and he was a no-account drug-snorting gang banger for the Panthers. And Winters, your little sh#t of a brother is on the fast track to Sing Sing...with what you both are telling me."

Inhaling a lovely puff of carcinogenic air, he grinned at them. "Well then, we'll just have to bring that little punk in for questioning. Get him to roll over on Dog Man and we'll finally have the bastard for sure this time."

OOC: LAMAR, MALCOLM

 

[KitanaVorr]

Ben Taub, Empty Patient Room 316
Texas Medical Center
2:30pm

A couple of frustrating hours full of calls later, Carlos comes up empty, but even so it was strange at that with most of the calls running like this with some nasally annoying voice on the other end.

HDHHS (Houston Department of Health and Human Services)
Harris County Mosquito Control
Bureau of Epidemiology

CARLOS: Hi, I'm Carlos Munguia and I would like to know if you ran into West Nile...
PERSON: No Comment at this time. There is no reason to worry.
CARLOS: Yes, but I'm a doctor at Ben Taub and...
PERSON: Everything is contained, just prescribe the usual treatment for the virus.
CARLOS: But...
PERSON: Shouldn't start an unwarrented panic, sir.
CARLOS: (getting irritated) If you let me finish...
PERSON: Have a good day, sir. *click*

Oddly enough...it seemed each place he called came up with that response. It was definitely weird. Whatever it was, people didn't seem to want to talk about it...or listen to anyone else talk about it as well. Of course it could be that today wasn't his day to be particularly good at fleshing out help or information either...

Then his cell phone rang.

"Dr. Munguia?" a worried voice spoke softly. "This is Shashi...from the virology lab...you have to come quick...its bad...very bad."

OOC: CARLOS

 

[Keia]

Local Police Precinct
Fifth Ward
2:30pm

Malcolm coughs on the latest burst of cigarette smoke. Definitely trying to kill us (at least at some point in the future). Gotta love tough guys that blow smoke at you. At least you can relish with each breath of smoke they're taking, they're dying.

"We've got to be at Johnson's Garage by 3:30pm. I'm working on a Ford that we promised would be fixed by the end of the day," Malcolm explained.

Malcolm feels his blood pressure rise as Barton digs on his brother. I'd rather try and keep this to ourselves and try and save Jeffrey, but . . . we're in a pickle now Malcolm thinks as he looks Lamar's way. Can't imagine what he's going through - to run to the principal who then called the cops. But he's almost my brother, too. . . . Man, mom is gonna kill me.