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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Golden Bee" data-source="post: 9384242" data-attributes="member: 7041055">Music in the Hills.“An’ yew haf pictures of that?” asked that editor, changing his eyepatch from one eye to the other… Neither of them damaged.1935, Miami Beach. Far from a massive hotel district, it was considered a sleepy part of the city…But the party was hopping in Bert "the Beast" Wilde’s office. The record executive was throwing a party in honor of the returning Florence Zee, with Prof Winston Callahan, sniper photog Javid Kulfi, and reporter Trudy Truman in attendanceWhile everyone’s here, how about a small favor? Hillbilly music was big… But as a black man, Bert was not inclined to go out and record it. The group had done a fine job in Jamaica, how about Appalachia?***The train stopped along Cumberland River. It was a minor station, but the railroad bulls were out in force, eager to crack the skulls of all the freeloading hobos. Florence was ready to stand up for the dispossessed (having rode the rails herself), when Javid noticed something interesting… All the hobos had the exact same face.All the railroad cops did too. Which meant this was a scheme by an outlying branch of the March clan! (For more of them, read up on the "Wives of March" adventure by Caleb Stokes. In brief, they’re a man and woman cursed in prehistory to conquer death by constantly reincarnating whenever either procreates. Vengeful, mad, and manipulative are the Marches.) The players knew the brawl was part of a political set up… But didn’t want to be there for the aftermath. They were joined by a backwoods barbie named Loretta DePraw, who had a wonderful voice and the brainpower God gave crayons. She was everything Florence wanted in a mentee: talented, naïve, gay, and eager to give her attention.A brief investigation revealed that the rail yard incident was politically motivated. The March clan were running one of their own as governor. ‘Tough on crime’ posturing was easy when you can controlled the crime. Unfortunately, the investigation got too hot, sending the players fleeing with their luggage down the twisted back roads of Tennessee. Trudy had the bright idea of staying near the train tracks, since at least they would be clear… Professor Cal had a more ambitious idea. He drove until he found a suitable embankment and ramped the car onto a passing steamboat! The passengers and crew were amazed that he only slightly dented one of the railings… But Trudy couldn’t bribe her way out of this one, ending up with the tiny cabin next to the boiler.The boat was luckily free of enemies. While Florence recorded some songs with Loretta, the group tried to ingratiate themselves with the captain…and found someone even more verbose than Trudy! Every time they tried to argue for access to the boiler, or a cabin upgrade, they’d get a long story about the history of river travel in America. After turning the cabin into a dark room, Jav and Tru got the crew to honor their request: do you see these railroad bums? Don’t let them, or anyone who looks like them, onto the boat.***Nashville was the place to be. Not only was the Grand Old Opry recording its favorite radio show… There was a Century Club presentation at Vanderbilt, showing off the world's first jetpack, mastered by centurion Jet Black! Of course, Callahan couldn’t keep his hands to himself… And with Javid’s help, ‘improved’ the pack and took it for a test flight. Jet chomped a cigar angrily, and when he got a chance, made sure to one-up the professor. By the way, had they met Jet’s friend… The Gray Gargoyle?!***Across town, Florence tried to make the case for two last-minute additions to this show. It wasn’t working, until Trudy noticed the station manager staring at her purse…she said as Australians, they’d love to learn more about American "tipping culture". Palm sufficiently crossed with silver, the manager welcomed to them to the Opry family.Trudy and Flo managed to extract their male companions from the Century Club kerfuffle. And soon, it was evening, with Miss Zee brought on stage at the premiere theater of country music. It took her a while to get her bearings (mostly deciding between her Australian accent and an affected southern twang), but she got her applause and introduced Loretta. Unfortunately, Loretta started singing a song in a language older than civilization. Javid knew it for what it was… Lo was giving the Marches their marching orders! She was adopted by the clan, and not nearly as stupid as she looked.The audience didn’t know any better and started clapping along. Backstage, identical thugs grabbed Florence and tried to trap her in a dumpster… She pretended to be unconscious, making them forget to lock the top. While everything seemed normal on stage, behind the curtains it was utter chaos. Not wanting to pull out his rifle, Javid hurled lightbulbs and glass bottles. Trudy cut the radio feed, then kept the stage crew distracted with intense blather. The party dropped a sandbag right on Loretta’s head, dazing her… And when she fled, Florence grabbed the microphone and demanded an encore. A riotous performance.The villains nearly escaped… Until the players made a call to the Gargoyle. Their nemesis crashed into, and knocked over, the getaway car…but executing their foes wasn’t great behavior for downtown Nashville. Javid poured out some old Kentucky bourbon. And then some more. And then some more, right next to Jet Black."See you later buddy, we’ll take it from here!" Said the Afghan. ‘Hey, his jetpack watches with a burst of flame, right? Maybe near a liquor trail, leading to the upturned car?’</blockquote>***Back in Miami, Bert was pissed. They hadn’t gotten him a new singer.[/QUOTE]

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