Dark*Matter, Discovery: A Quiet Little Assignment

[iwatt]

"No problem Officer. Never been a fan of small town's myself, I'd rather be back in Chi-town." Larry interjects before any of his companions get prickly over the unsubtle unfriendliness. "If we leave now, we can beat the rush hour into the city." Larry had no intention of leaving. Something stank, but they would have to stay out of sight of the cops, who clearly were in on it. Whatever "it" was, it had peaked his curiosity.

He texted Cade. "Leev bug. maybe grl not safe ?"

[sblock]Never used writetn a text6 mesage liek that in my life...[/sblock]

 

[Friadoc]

After acknowledging Larry's text with a nod, Cade says, "I'll get things packed up, boss."

Cade then uses the cover of packing up the gear to place a pair of bugs, if possible. One bug will be in the common area that connects the kitchen and dinning room and the second bug will be in the living room. If need be, Cade will use a bathroom break to cover his need to go through the living room. With the quality of the technology used, Cade figures that this should give them the best covered of the house, in general, and the two most used areas within the house.

Once he's done, Cade wraps up the last of the gear and helps get it loaded up on the van.

 

[Shayuri]

In the van, one eye on the cop, Meredith says in a low voice to Cade, "We need to go into the forest. I mean, I know it sounds obvious but we really do." She paused, then emphasized, "I really do. There's something...something in there. I can feel it pulling me or...calling me or something."

She looked out to the forest and rubbed her forearm where the mark from the broken sword lay livid on her skin.

 

[Falkus]

Cade packs up the gear, and the agents head out. He manages to plant the two bugs without being noticed as he leaves, getting them in optimum positions for maximum audio reception.

The officer watches to the Institute team leave, staying behind once they're outside. Listening in on the bugs reveals that he's asking Megan just what precisely she was asked and what she told. She's telling the truth. After a few moments, the cop leaves as well, getting back in his patrol car and driving away.

 

[Friadoc]

"Normally I get along with LEOs," says Cade, once he's in the van. "But that small town $#!^ gets old almost instantly."

"Anyhow, I've got 'Z' looking into him a bit," adds Cade as he nods to Merideth. "But, something's not right around here...that's for sure and the forest is a good next step as anything we've got, so far. Any other ideas, folks?"

OOC
Sorry, folks, I didn't mean to hold things up on my end...for some reason, I thought we were waiting on something else, first.

 

[iwatt]

"The copper is in on it, as well as the plant manager." He turned to Meredith and added. "Trust your feelings, Luke. If you say the forest, it's the forest. In any case, Cade, have Z check the plant manager out as well, and see what secret project has them all riled up." He looked down at his high priced italian leather shoes and bemoaned. "Now I have to walk in the forest in these. These don't actually fall off the back of a truck all that often."

 

[Falkus]

The forest on the edge of town is one of the many deciduous forests of oak, hickory, and maple that occupy Illinois. The trees, berefet of leaves and covered in snow and ice make for an eerily beautiful view.

The road itself is a small, curving road that makes it way through the forest towards the chemical plant. It's a little longer than the more direct road, but it's certainly more scenic. The speed limit's low and at this time of day, there's no traffic whatsoever in sight.

About after about a mile on the road, the team spots something at the side of the road. A circle a few feet off the side of the road that's been burned into the earth, melting the snow around it. It's about five feet in diameter, and police tape decorates the trees around the area.

kinem, iwatt
[sblock]Larry and Diego can feel the faint residue of psionic activity in the area as they approach the circle[/sblock]

Shayuri
[sblock]In the distance in the snowy forest, Meredith can see an old man standing, watching the burned circle and the group as they arrive. After she spots him, he steps behind a tree, and Meredith loses sight of him.[/sblock]

 

[Shayuri]

"There's someone watching us," Meri reported tersely, eyes fixed on a point out in the forest. "Stop the car." She undid her seatbelt.

The moment the vehicle slowed down enough to be safe, Meredith opened the door and sprang out, running ahead and cutting across towards the tree the old man had hidden behind. She was sure she'd kept her eye on it all this time...there was no way he could have gotten away.

 

[iwatt]

With curse, Larry ran out as well, calling out to Diego. "Come on Mace, let's watch her back." He turned on his radio and earset, and called Cade. "I'll keep you updated, Joker."

 

[Falkus]

Rushing at a breakneck pace into the forest and slogging through the snow, Meredith, followed by Larry and Diego, reaches the tree where she saw the old man as fast as she can. But when she arrives, there's no one there. It seems impossible that he could have slipped away, she had her eyes on it the whole time and there's no way he could have moved away without being seen.

Then, she notices something else. There's a foot of snow covering the forest floor.

But the only footprints present near the tree are the ones she, Larry and Diego have made.