Dark*Matter: Discovery, The Chicago Ripper

[industrygothica]

Nick takes the magazine of blessed bullets, but doesn't load them just yet. He'll save them for when he knows he needs them, and stick with the normal rounds for the time being.

"Nick, we're going to need to know everything about this ritual. How many people are involved, anything unusual about timing...what sort of things can interrupt it."

He opens up his laptop after he gets into the van and starts running his search criteria. He'll hit the most obvious places for information first, trying to find out whatever he can before they get to the location.

[sblock=ooc]research +17 (15 +2 for computer use). Hopefully there will be enough time to get some information before we get there.

Also, I just realized that any research Nick does through a computer he gets a +2 synergy bonus for his ranks in Computer Use, so my earlier check should have a result of 37 rather than 35... if that matters. [/sblock]

 

[iwatt]

Larry had met some FBI agenst once. A Fed was one of those easy things to spot, once you knew what you were looking for. The badly concealed weapon, the shades, the uncool car. And the most important, that smooth tone of voice that shouted arrogance and competence, as if those weeks at Quantico made you a supercop or something. Donning his clothes, Larry used blessed ammo on the Glock and regular ammo on hi Sites M9 he was careful to hide in an ankle holster. He helps out the others with there "disguises", giving them advice on how to act around the locals.



Disguise +10
Sleight of hand DC 23 to spot the ankle gun.

 

[Falkus]

OOC: Shayuri, could you update your character sheet in the rogue's gallery? Thanks.

You pull out of the parking lot of the Hoffmann Institute facility, and make their way to the latest crime scene of what the media is calling the Chicago Ripper. The screaming sirens and flashing lights let you bypass traffic with ease, and ignore most traffic laws, resulting in you getting there in record time.

The crime scene is typical of its type. The street around the alley has been cordoned off with police tape, and several police officers are keeping the rather large crowd from getting anywhere near the scene. There's reporters, cops, paramedics and the usual gawkers. The flashing lights of the police cars and ambulance lend a surreal red glow to the scene. From your position, you can't actually see the crime scene.

"You the FBI agents?" a uniformed officer says, walking up to the driver's side of the SUV. "The Lieutenant's expecting you. Follow me. Hope you haven't eaten yet. This one's ugly."

shayuri
[sblock]At the edge of the crowd, next to the police tape, you recognize some of the reporters from the newspaper you work at. They're trying to get a police officer to answer some questions, with little success.[/sblock]

industry
[sblock]Unfortunately, you don't have enough information to determine the precise ritual, though you do manage to determine a few things. First, that the time must be important, given that each murder so far has occurred at six PM. Second, the location of the sacrifices must be important, or the killer very careless, since the murders are committed in fairly public areas, rather than a hidden area. If you can get more information on the specifics of the ritual, you may be able to determine which one it is.[/sblock]

 

[iwatt]

Flashing his badge, Larry nods at the uniform. "Yes, we're the FBI. Let's go see your Lieutenant. On the way, you can answer some questions." Getting out of the car, Larry is still shaky from Cade's breakneck driving, although he hides it well enough.

"Has time of death been established already?"

 

[industrygothica]

Nick will take lots of pictures (assuming there is a camera in our equipment somewhere); of the crime scene; the body; the markings, both individually and as a group; and of the surrounding area. He'll transcribe the symbols on a piece of paper, along with the others from the other murders, in order. He'll compare photographs to see if there is anything common about the area in general--why is he killing them in public, and how is he doing it in the daylight? Lastly, he'll look for patterns of six. Six murders, all at six pm. Everything is a six.

 

[Friadoc]

Simply put, Cade is going to look busy and imposing. He'll assist Nick in his investigation, lending his own skills to augment those of others, but for once he just quiet. If anyone, aside from the FBI, nay Hoffmann Institute agents, ask him a question, he'll simply fix them with a look until they direct it to someone else.

OOC

Basically, Cade is focusing on the investigating part of things, aiding where he can and doing his own thing where he can, while letting Larry baffle the cops with BS.

 

[Shayuri]

Meredith quickly buries herself in a notebook, sometimes even using it as a shield apparently. She whispers to Cade, "Some of those reporters over there are from my paper...they'll recognize me if they see my face!"

That said, she keeps her back or the laptop towards the press, all the while trying to sneak peeks at the body, and write notes on the laptop about what the crime scene looks like.

 

[Falkus]

The officer clears his way through the crowd, and lifts up the tape to let you in. He doesn't answer any questions, but directs you to the mouth of the alley, where another officer is standing guard, holding his hat in his hands, and looking distinctly green around the gills.

The murder scene is in the alley. It's almost exactly like the other's. This victim has been nailed to the wall with some spikes, and his chest is a bloody mess. There are more hieroglyphics burned into the wall, and the word Kafele written in blood. A few burnt out candles are in a semi-circle against the wall below the body. The victim's a young, Latino male. His clothing and tattoos suggest that he was a gang member. Aside from the method of death, there isn't much in common with the other photographs.

There's a group of detectives and police officers gathered around the body. The apparent leader, a uniformed red-headed woman, looking to be in her middle thirties, turns to face you as you approach. "As if I didn't have enough to worry about, what the hell the you want?" she snaps.

kinem
[sblock]You recognize the victim. Ricardo Viez. Not a friend or an enemy, but an associate you knew from one of the street gangs in the city. He never got out of the criminal life. The last you heard, he'd just gotten out of jail for car theft a few months agoo.[/sblock]

 

[iwatt]

"As if I didn't have enough to worry about, what the hell the you want?" she snaps.

In a cold tone and looking the officer straight in the eye, Larry introduces himself. "I'm Special Agent in Charge Higgins, from the FBI's Behavioral science Unit. We're hear to collaborate with the Chicago P.D., if you want to turn this into a turf war, we can do it. You'll loose."

In a calmer tone, Larry gestures the cop closer and speaks in a lower voice. "Look, this is the third murder with the same M.O. in the same number of days. Unless we get all our butts in gear, we'll be facing another of these scenes tomorrow. Anyway, I got orders from the director to get this solved as soon as possible. So I'll tell you what we're going to do. You will give me your complete cooperation on this, and in exchange you get all the glory in the investigation. I'll let you handle all public statements to the press, and all you have to do is say that thanks to the valueable cooperation of the Bureau you were able to solve this crime. But I kid you not: if you obstruct my investigation in any way, you're boss is going to get a call from my boss, and we all know who's going to win." Hopefully the combination of carrot and stick would be enough to get the cop cooperating.

Once again in a louder voice, the con man points to Cade. "This is Agent Black. I'd appreciate if you're department could get whatever info you have to him, as well as answer any question he or anybody else of my team may have." Turning to Nick he adds, "This is Professor Wells. He's an expert in ritual markings, and I'd like for him to have complete access to the crime scene."

"So, is any of this going to be a problem."


[sblock=GM]

Larry has a sudden insight.

How similar is July Harper to Meredith
How similar is Jon Simpson to Nick
How similar is the Latino to Diego?

[/sblock]

 

[Shayuri]

Safely away from the reporters, Meredith folds the laptop. On seeing the crime scene, it feels like she's splitting in half. One half screams and gibbers and does all the theatrics that she migh have done once. The other half looks at the scene as if it was a picture or movie. Most of her attention on the scene, she starts putting on a pair of rubber gloves, and produces some tweezers from her pocket.

(Investigate +11 to look for clues or oddities in the crime scene)