Audrik
Explorer
Night Floors - Session 2b
Two of the speakers had the same names as tenants of the building, and they seemed to be talking about Ms. Wright. That was a little odd. Then RIVER realized the scene was set on the fourth floor, but the Macallistar only had three floors unless you counted the basement also. That was odd, too. It must be set in a different building. Then the last line caught her attention: “ENTER FBI AGENTS.” That sent a chill down her back.
RIVER handed the page to REINHARD after carefully removing it from the wall. The other agents all agreed that it was a bit disturbing, but given all the other things they were seeing, it wasn’t exactly out of place.
They got back to work, and a little while later, REDOX arrived with the solvent and stepladder. His first order of business was to get that damned wheelchair off the ceiling, and while he did that, ROMEO told him about the page from the play. The agents decided that no one was going anywhere in the building alone. This might have seemed like an unnecessary and paranoid decision if it weren’t for the fact that this was a Delta Green op sparked by an occult picture. This was as good a time as any to break for the day, so the agents all left the building and agreed to meet back at 9:00 the next morning.
The night passed uneventfully, and R-cell returned to the Macallistar right on time to get a fresh start. No sooner had Agent RIVER entered the building than she felt watched once more. She already disliked this place, and Agent ROMEO’s half-joking suggestion that they just torch the building and catalog the ashes was sounding more desirable every hour.
By noon, the tedium of methodical cataloging was even getting to REINHARD. Day two. It was only day two, and by the looks of it, they had at least a week left. And it was so disheartening to remove the fourth or fifth layer of newspaper articles and magazine covers only to find a laminated maple leaf, and under that another newspaper article. When REDOX finally got down to plaster, the agents decided to break for a celebratory lunch.
Agent ROMEO didn’t particularly want to go back to cataloging, so he placed a call to ARTLIFE and spoke with the building manager, Cynthia Lechance. He told her he had a few artist friends who were hoping to find an inexpensive place to live in the city, and as he was in town on business, he thought he’d look around. A chance encounter had led him to her.
Ms. Lechance was happy to tell him all about the Macallistar, and how ARTLIFE managed to keep rent so affordable. ROMEO casually steered the conversation around to the tenants of the building, and the woman didn’t even seem to notice she was giving out more information than she probably should. She told him none of the tenants had paid rent in over a month, no one returned calls, and eviction notices had been sent out. She mentioned almost to herself that she’d never had to evict an entire building before. Agent ROMEO thanked her for her time and said that he’d have his friends get in touch.
When he returned to the apartment, the other agents were examining what Agent RIVER felt might be a breakthrough. She’d found a hand-written receipt on what looked like very old pre-printed receipt paper. It indicated that Abigail Laura Wright had paid $850 for July rent on apartment 0B. According to the building’s numbering scheme, she thought that had to be in the basement. She also thought that apartments like these in New York City had no business going for any less than $1,500. It didn’t matter if the company that owned it was non-profit. Agent ROMEO mentioned that either the receipt was fake, or it was from an earlier year. None of the tenants had paid rent since May.
Everyone wanted out of the apartment, and it looked like they had a couple excuses. ROMEO and REINHARD were going to see about interviewing some of the tenants, and the others were going to check the basement apartments. ROMEO knocked on the door across the hall, and a clean-shaven man in his late 20s answered. He only opened the door enough to look out, so consequently, the agents had difficulty seeing in. What they could see seemed to be a clean apartment, and there was a plastic tree in a pot next to the door. As the man didn’t speak first, ROMEO opened the conversation.
“Mr. Manuel? My name is Phillips, Howard Phillips. My partners and I are looking into the disappearance of your neighbor Abigail Wright.”
“Ah, yes. I’m not sure what to make of it. Laura’s a good kid, but she’s such a free spirit. She must have just left because New York just couldn’t hold her.”
“Excuse me. Laura?”
“That’s right. Laura’s her middle name, but that’s what I always called her.”
“Then you knew her well?”
“Oh, yeah. Well, she just lived across the hall. We talked a lot.”
Agent REINHARD asked if Manuel would mind if they came in, but Mr. Manuel said that he didn’t think that would be a good idea. The place was something of a mess. From what they could see over the man’s shoulder, the agents felt it was clean by most standards, and especially in comparison to Ms. Wright’s apartment. ROMEO asked if he knew a Mark Roarke, but the man said it didn’t ring a bell.
“Did Ms. Wright know the other tenants? Did they get along well?”
“I don’t think she ever really talked with anyone else except Penny.”
“Penny MacLaren, you mean?”
Mr. Manuel indicated that was indeed who he meant. When the agents asked for an introduction, the man was happy to take them upstairs.
Two of the speakers had the same names as tenants of the building, and they seemed to be talking about Ms. Wright. That was a little odd. Then RIVER realized the scene was set on the fourth floor, but the Macallistar only had three floors unless you counted the basement also. That was odd, too. It must be set in a different building. Then the last line caught her attention: “ENTER FBI AGENTS.” That sent a chill down her back.
RIVER handed the page to REINHARD after carefully removing it from the wall. The other agents all agreed that it was a bit disturbing, but given all the other things they were seeing, it wasn’t exactly out of place.
They got back to work, and a little while later, REDOX arrived with the solvent and stepladder. His first order of business was to get that damned wheelchair off the ceiling, and while he did that, ROMEO told him about the page from the play. The agents decided that no one was going anywhere in the building alone. This might have seemed like an unnecessary and paranoid decision if it weren’t for the fact that this was a Delta Green op sparked by an occult picture. This was as good a time as any to break for the day, so the agents all left the building and agreed to meet back at 9:00 the next morning.
The night passed uneventfully, and R-cell returned to the Macallistar right on time to get a fresh start. No sooner had Agent RIVER entered the building than she felt watched once more. She already disliked this place, and Agent ROMEO’s half-joking suggestion that they just torch the building and catalog the ashes was sounding more desirable every hour.
By noon, the tedium of methodical cataloging was even getting to REINHARD. Day two. It was only day two, and by the looks of it, they had at least a week left. And it was so disheartening to remove the fourth or fifth layer of newspaper articles and magazine covers only to find a laminated maple leaf, and under that another newspaper article. When REDOX finally got down to plaster, the agents decided to break for a celebratory lunch.
Agent ROMEO didn’t particularly want to go back to cataloging, so he placed a call to ARTLIFE and spoke with the building manager, Cynthia Lechance. He told her he had a few artist friends who were hoping to find an inexpensive place to live in the city, and as he was in town on business, he thought he’d look around. A chance encounter had led him to her.
Ms. Lechance was happy to tell him all about the Macallistar, and how ARTLIFE managed to keep rent so affordable. ROMEO casually steered the conversation around to the tenants of the building, and the woman didn’t even seem to notice she was giving out more information than she probably should. She told him none of the tenants had paid rent in over a month, no one returned calls, and eviction notices had been sent out. She mentioned almost to herself that she’d never had to evict an entire building before. Agent ROMEO thanked her for her time and said that he’d have his friends get in touch.
When he returned to the apartment, the other agents were examining what Agent RIVER felt might be a breakthrough. She’d found a hand-written receipt on what looked like very old pre-printed receipt paper. It indicated that Abigail Laura Wright had paid $850 for July rent on apartment 0B. According to the building’s numbering scheme, she thought that had to be in the basement. She also thought that apartments like these in New York City had no business going for any less than $1,500. It didn’t matter if the company that owned it was non-profit. Agent ROMEO mentioned that either the receipt was fake, or it was from an earlier year. None of the tenants had paid rent since May.
Everyone wanted out of the apartment, and it looked like they had a couple excuses. ROMEO and REINHARD were going to see about interviewing some of the tenants, and the others were going to check the basement apartments. ROMEO knocked on the door across the hall, and a clean-shaven man in his late 20s answered. He only opened the door enough to look out, so consequently, the agents had difficulty seeing in. What they could see seemed to be a clean apartment, and there was a plastic tree in a pot next to the door. As the man didn’t speak first, ROMEO opened the conversation.
“Mr. Manuel? My name is Phillips, Howard Phillips. My partners and I are looking into the disappearance of your neighbor Abigail Wright.”
“Ah, yes. I’m not sure what to make of it. Laura’s a good kid, but she’s such a free spirit. She must have just left because New York just couldn’t hold her.”
“Excuse me. Laura?”
“That’s right. Laura’s her middle name, but that’s what I always called her.”
“Then you knew her well?”
“Oh, yeah. Well, she just lived across the hall. We talked a lot.”
Agent REINHARD asked if Manuel would mind if they came in, but Mr. Manuel said that he didn’t think that would be a good idea. The place was something of a mess. From what they could see over the man’s shoulder, the agents felt it was clean by most standards, and especially in comparison to Ms. Wright’s apartment. ROMEO asked if he knew a Mark Roarke, but the man said it didn’t ring a bell.
“Did Ms. Wright know the other tenants? Did they get along well?”
“I don’t think she ever really talked with anyone else except Penny.”
“Penny MacLaren, you mean?”
Mr. Manuel indicated that was indeed who he meant. When the agents asked for an introduction, the man was happy to take them upstairs.
Last edited: