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

[Fanog]

T-Bull's Mom's House - Kitchen
Fifth Ward
6:40pm

Kia took the bowl and started on the potatoes. She brought an elbow to her face and wiped away a few of the braids that had come loose and hung before her eyes.

"Yeah Momma, she's been real good to me, T's real lucky to have her. I really think I got a wonderful place at Simtex. I don't know what I'm gonna be doing exactly, but Jess somehow got me a place on Business Development. That's where all the exciting stuff is happening; new policies, that kind of thing.
I don'know, I don't think I should get all excited yet, should I? After all, it's only an internship, right? I don't really know how much they'll let me do..."

Kia thought about all the preparation work she had done for her internship, she could feel herself get nervous again at the thought of it.
Full year of study, already done. Exams were okay, but this is like my first real job, is it? Really got to prove myself, I gotta make Momma proud, and T. Oh, I hope I'm going to do well...

A small shiver ran up her spine as she thought of all the things she wanted to accomplish, all the things that she would still have to do. Determined not to let it get to her, Kia turned her thoughts upon the cooking, an excellent way to clear the head, though not quite as good as playing the piano.

Kia gave her head a shake to return some of the braids to their correct position, and continued mashing the potatoes in a steady motion, until they were just right.

 

[Catulle]

Ben Taub Hospital - Parking Lot
Houston Medical Center
6:30 pm

Amy's forehead creased in annoyance as the thoughts wended their way through her head. No doubt about it, matters were in total dissarray and she could only see them getting worse before anything improved. Jessica's professional opinion would, she reasoned, be the best place to start, perhaps the only thing she could do was to ask her sister's advice. Before dinner, if she wasn't late and could be persuaded to prioritise, Amy decided. Maybe she could pry out the source of Jess' sudden interest in virology.

The heavy, yet still distant tread brought Amy out of her determined analysis. The synchronicity of the beat, step for step in time with the fall of her own soles only emphasised the trepidation she was feeling grow in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps this was adrenaline-jitters; the day's frustrations had to have taken their toll, logicaly, and this could just have been her mind running away with her. Or not.

Tap-tap tap-tap.

She paused, before quickening her pace a little, Amy strained her hearing to catch any disparity in the rhythm. The slightest echo that could set her racing imagination at rest. The next time she shivered, it wasn't entirely from the cold.

Tap-tap tap-tap.

Casually, Amy hoped, she reached into her shoulder bag, one questing hand alternately finding the portable alarm, pepper spray and mobile phone. Torn with indecision, caught between fight and flight, instinct and reason, she stole a single glance over her shoulder, back towards what she thought to be the source of the noise. Eyes peering into the gloom, she risked a few moments' delay to amass more data. She could feel the hot prickle of sweat forming on her skin and the blood flushing her cheeks, a natural panic reaction that uncomfortably reminded her that she was not so in control of herself as she was accustomed to being. Her hand settled on the alarm.

 

[KitanaVorr]

Unknown Location
Unknown Time

It was cold.

ing cold.

William Devries could feel himself shaking like a leaf in a torrential rain. There was certainly enough of his sweat to soak him and whatever cold surface it was he laid on.

No clothes.

Bare-ass naked like the day he was brought into the world. And feeling just as blind. His eyes blinked but all he could see were fuzzy dark shapes moving around him. All he could hear was murmured noises buzzing in his ear, punctuated by sharp mechanical hissing that played his spine with sharp staccato notes - echoing and shaking.

Still, he was helpless.

OOC: TCW

 

[Dvang]

Unknown Location
Unknown Time


William.. yes, that's my name..yes.. what's going on?.. what's happening?

He tries to look, to see. Nothing seems to be working. His body isn't responding. Only the blurred images through his eyes, and the cold, sweaty feeling of his naked body even made him think he was alive.

Who's there? he tries to call out, but the words don't reach his immobile lips. Powerless, he lays there.

Well, if I can't move, at least I can feel... he tells himself. William lies still, trying to feel and hear where he is and what is happening. How many movements around him? Mechanical inplements? Trained to gather information and use his senses in the bush, William hopes it will help him now.

Damn me. Lord help me outta this mess. Please don't let Charlie have me... wait, that's not right, is it?...

 

[KitanaVorr]

T-Bull's House - Downstairs
Fifth Ward
6:50pm

Carlos started downstairs with Lamar following right behind him. As his fingers played with the pen, he realized that it had an odd weight to it. The doctor could see T-Bull talking to Mike but the guy didn't seem to be saying much back at the moment. His heavy footstep echoed down the stairs and even Kia in the kitchen could hear him come down.

"Kia, you go tell them boys that dinner is ready!" T-Bull's mom called out from the kitchen where a plethora of banging plates and pots could be heard. "And to get their butts to the table right away...and make sure they scrub their hands clean!" she added for good measure.

OOC: MIKE, CARLOS, KIA

 

[KitanaVorr]

Ben Taub Hospital - Parking Lot
Houston Medical Center
6:40 pm

Amy moved closer and closer to her car, every step inextorably drawing her toward the end. Frequent glances behind her served no purpose, whoever was making the noise didn't want to be seen just yet.

Her finger played over the panic button, echoing her own feelings curling in her belly. But her focused attention on the threat behind her did not prepare her for the one right before her.

Two men stood by her car - it looked like they had been waiting for her. Both were dressed in those eerie black suits, like the men who had torn apart the virology lab and taken her research. Each of them had some sort of radio hooked up to their right ear.

OOC: AMY

 

[KitanaVorr]

Malcolm's Tenement Building
Fifth Ward
7:00pm

Rosa nodded, pressing her lips to his just as she pressed her body. After a long moment she drew away. "Thanks, Malcolm." Her brown eyes glistened slightly. "Ya the nicest man I know. Though considering the heads I know, that' ain't saying much."

"You be careful, eh? I know the Locos don't like your friend Lamar much cuz of his brother. Becareful when you around him, ok?"

OOC: MALCOLM

 

[KitanaVorr]

Bourbon Street - Alleyway
Fifth Ward
6:45pm

"," his sargeant suddenly said allowed, the radio pressed to his ear. "This is Nguyen's kid sister. . . Nice guy, too." His face looked ten years older in that moment. "I met her once. Nice kid."

Behind him, a few more squad cars pulled up, more blue uniformed men exiting with their flashlights and weapons. One of the yelled at the cop duo. "You guys ok there? The morgue and CSI both coming." They headed toward the gruesome scene, a few of them looking paler as they got closer to the congealed blood.

"Morgue? There ain't no body." Yet was the unspoken end to that statement.

OOC: TOMMY

 

[KitanaVorr]

Bourbon Street
6:45pm

The world seemed to fade in and out for him. A dance of fuzziness and mumbled voices - either way it remained cold for a Houston night. That is until his eyes opened and all he could see was the brick wall across from him and the flash of lights from the cruisers not too far away in the distance.

Willy found himself lying in the alley - dressed in his usual filthy clothes that carried a scent uniquely his. In one hand an empty bottle of his favorite alcoholic beverage of choice, in his other a fist full of dirt.

His body ached in ways that redefined suffering. Every night it had gotten worse since the beginning of this week. Every night the fuzziness and mumbling would come and his body would hurt and burn. Then he would wake up smelling like vomit and liquor.

OOC: TCW

 

[Catulle]

Ben Taub Hospital - Parking Lot
Houston Medical Center
6:40 pm

Her throat was dry, now, and Amy could feel herself starting to shiver slightly, even as she assessed the situation. She took a few deep breaths and tried concentrate on the rhythm, pushing panic aside. The footsteps were barely registering now. Fear subsided somewhat and gave way once more to reason: she hadn't done anything wrong. Except pass confidential information to Jessica... Not that they could know about - so they had to be there for a purpose related to someone or something she knew.

Carlos' show of resistance earlier in the day came to mind and she frowned at the memory; they needed reasons, didn't they? They had let Carlos make trouble for himself - goaded him into his rash action, but the paperwork was clean. Well, she figured, Amy Nguyen was not one to rush hastily into trouble. She had nothing to worry about.

Her hand cradled the alarm in her bag.

Amy paused a little distance out from the car, enough that she could keep them in view, and in as much open space that the poarking lot could afford. She glanced about nervously, looking for a security camera that might afford another layer to her illusion of security.

"Can I help you?" Her voice sunded too loud to her, and she heard the croak of nervousness in her tones. Amy kept a wary ear open for the third man at her back, ready to... ready to react. What else could she do?