Exit 23

[ErichDragon]

Ben will search the rest of the store for any other likely combustions, while the rest look around the magazine rack. If no one finds anything Ben will suggest, "Why don't we go back to the Donut shop and brainstorm about what is going on here. I know I am lost and most of you look the same way. If we put our heads together maybe we can shed some light on the subject."

 

[Sixchan]

Nick nods to Ben. "Alright. I'll do a quick look around in the rest of the place first, just to make sure there's nothing else strange going on." Nick checks the other parts of the rest stop, (returning to the group shouting if anything unspeakable attacks him), and heads back to the donut shop (assuming everyone is there) to report his findings, if any.

 

[Jarval]

The convenience store:

John and Ben continue sifting through the charred remains of the magazines. On closer inspection, John finds a fragment of burnt cloth shoved in amongst the sludgy pulpy remains of several incinerated newspapers.

Nick's just heading out the door, when there's a loud BANG from the donut shop, instantly recognisable as a shot. It's immediately followed by Anne's voice shouting "Look out, he's got a gun!"


The donut shop:

BJ again takes Riley's pulse, noting with satisfaction that it's stabilized at something not too far from normal. Looking up from his patient, BJ notices the truck driver standing from his seat. Nothing out of the ordinary there... until he pulls a small automatic pistol from his pocket and fires into the cafe's ceiling.

"Look out, he's got a gun!" Anne the waitress screams, perhaps a little redundantly. Mabel ducks down behind the counter, while everyone else freezes still in their seats. The trucker levels his pistol at Anne, and snaps at her.

"Stay quiet, you stupid girl!" His voice has a faint trace of a French-Canadian accent to it. "You!" He turns to BJ. "Give me that briefcase, or I will start shooting people. Understand?"

 

[Sixchan]

"What the--" Nick spins round, and heads back to the donut shop. He's a few steps away from the door when he stops. If the beats the others to the door, he motions for them to stop as well. If he has stopped them, he'll try to get over to Ben (assuming the doors between the lobby and the Donut Shop are closed or are of the heavy swing-both-ways type, and taking care to avoid any windows in the doors). He speaks in hushed whispers. "Going in there is likely to get us killed. We need to help them somehow from out here. If we listen, maybe we can find out what's hapening in there."

 

[loxmyth]

Daunte jumps slightly at the sound of the gunshot, then reflexively ducks behind something. His eyes furtively go to the ranger. "Looks like your perp is back," he says with a rueful shake of his head. He doesn't envy the sole member of law enforcement present in this crazy little place.

"... We need to help them somehow from out here."

"Ah, hell no," Daunte grumbles to himself. "I aint' no hero." Let the cop deal with this punk. Hopefully he'd hit him this time.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Hearing the gunshot, John jumps into the air, clutching his chest and panting. "Jesus Christ what was-" and then more quietly, "Oh." John follows behind all the others reluctantly.

ooc: Just FYI, the snow globe is not in the breifcase, it's on the table.

 

[ErichDragon]

"They don't pay me enough for this ", Ben sighs as he draws his revolver for the second time tonight, more than in the rest of his career, not counting the qualification range.

After loading the cylinder to full capacity he crouches low and moves nearer the donut shop.

~Nick is right, going in there now would just provoke a stand-off. I have to find out what is going on first and maybe I can get the jump on this guy.~

Ben will move as close as he can to the Donut Shop without being seen or heard. He will try to overhear what is happening inside. If the man fires again or if it appears that anyone is going to try and be a hero and get shot, Ben will rush in, drop to one knee and fire at the trucker, assuming that he does not have a hostage.

Listen +4, Spot +5

 

[tmart]

BJ frowns at the man. He closes his medical kit, trying to palm a scalpel from behind the kit's lid. He then grabs the briefcase with both hands, the scalpel hidden behind it, and walks over to the franco. He nervously blinks a little too rapidly, readying himself to swipe at the wrist arteries in the man's gun hand when the case is taken.

 

[loxmyth]

Daunte was a ball of conflicting ideas. He didn't want to follow the others out there. Like he said, he wasn't no hero. Even worse, he'd probably just get in the way and end up shot. On the other hand, he didn't want to stay by himself in a room that some psycho had tried to torch. Said psycho who was likely in the diner, no doubt, but Daunte could still smell the gasoline fumes. And he saw more than enough horror movies to know that he wasn't getting seperated from the rest of the group so that he could turn up dead. No, he wasn't playing that game either.

So a compromise of sorts - he would move to be close to the door, though not too close - let the ranger work and all. If need be, he could dash into the diner. But he wasn't about to charge in ahead of anyone else.

 

[Jarval]

Outside the he donut shop:

You all quietly move closer to the shop, Ben and Nick flanking the door. From inside you can hear...


The donut shop:

BJ picks up the scalpel, keeping it hidden from the gunman's view. He takes the briefcase with both hands, and starts towards the trucker.

"Stay there, and slide the case over here!" The trucker says sharply, turning the pistol to face BJ. "If you do anything stupid, you will be the first to die."