Medallions d20 Modern (Update Wednesday 09-20-06)
- Thread starter Old Drew Id
- Start date
Thomas Hobbes
First Post
"I've got you... under my skin...."
Old Drew Id
First Post
Episode II – Session I - Commotion
Episode II – Session I - Commotion
The hallway erupted with noise and movement. It seemed like every door in the hallway opened up at once, and guards poured in from every direction. The security escort was still barking orders into his radio as Guyzell took a couple of slow steps away from the woman. Guyzell felt the wall at his back and wondered if the door to the lobby was locked.
Joe was frantically shoving at Miss White, trying to get the woman to let go of his arm without hurting her, and trying to avoid completely panicking. “What?! What’s in your head?!”
Two burly guards shoved Joe aside and pulled Miss White back a foot and held her arms back, but she maintained her death-grip on Joe’s arm. She yanked Joe towards her face again, and sprayed blood from her lips as she croaked into his face, “IT’S…MR…WEAVER!!!”
Joe wiped the droplets of blood from his face and pried the woman’s hand off of his arm. Another guard pulled him back from her, and then Dr. McGovern was there with a syringe in his hand. He hastily injected something into the poor woman, and she let out a loud gurgling rasp before passing out.
Guyzell took a deep breath and clutched the King James still in his hand a little tighter, “Good Lord! What is going on here?! Is she alright? I thought you said this aneurysm thing wasn’t catching?”
A guard made up of three-hundred pounds of muscle shoved Guyzell hard into the wall. Two more guards grabbed Joe. All eyes were on Dr. McGovern. He looked up at them, a mixture of anxieties on his face, and barked, “Put them in Observation Room Seven.”
The guard holding Guyzell to the wall grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back down the corridor, while ordering through clenched teeth, “Please come with me, sir.”
Guyzell pawed at the man’s hand for a moment fruitlessly, while calling out to McGovern, “I don’t want to be here! I want to leave! If this is catching--”
Joe was being dragged down the hall by three guards, his feet flailing the whole way. “We should all get out of here! I don’t want your SARS! Dr. McGovern!! What's in Room Seven? Is that a checkup room? Because I have to go to my primary care doctor to get any referrals, it's not in my health plan! Wait! I've got another delivery to make!!”
The first guard pulled Guyzell back a few more feet. A second guard grabbed Guyzell’s other arm. Dr. McGovern looked up from where he was tending Miss White on the floor. “Go easy. I need to question them about Mr. Weaver.”
Joe was now halfway down the hall, being pulled around a corner. He reached out and grabbed the wall at the corner and pulled his head back around, against the efforts of the three guards pulling him back, “Hey! I don't even know a Mr. Weaver! Wait! Is that like a code for "inject stuff into us"?! Can i at least get something out of my car? Some reading material or something?! Last time you did this, we had to talk to five different people!! Dr. McGovern? Dr. McGovern!?”
Guyzell decided to avoid further resistance, but the guards maintained a tight grip on him anyway as the lead him down the hall. They rounded the corner and shoved him through a doorway into a small room. Inside the room were a handful of chairs all lined up against the right wall. Along the left wall was a thick grey curtain. Inside the room, they had stationed a single guard, along with Joe, who was standing in front of the guard, trying to look intimidating, and failing at it.
Guyzell took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Finally, he shrugged and sat down in one of the chairs, flipped open his Bible, and started reading.
Joe stepped closer to the guard, and sniffed him. The guard was a muscular forty-something man with a crew cut, who looked like a caricature of a gym coach. Joe looked the guy in the eye distrustfully, “Do you have SARS?”
The guard responded in an even tone, “No, sir.”
Joe nodded thoughtfully, “Mmm-hmmm…how about monkey-pox?”
The guard maintained his even tone. “No, sir.”
. . .
Willie sat back against the building, hidden behind the bushes, and brought out his binoculars to scan the perimeter. He watched Taylor cruise through the area again, two blocks away, and noted that he was driving a little too fast for Willie’s tastes. He better not mess up that car.
A moment later, Willie saw Crystal coast up the street, her motorcycle’s headlight off and her engine silent. She rode up behind a dumpster and stopped in the shadows a block away.
Willie’s pocket began to vibrate. He tucked the binoculars back into his bag, and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. He looked at the number readout on the tiny illuminated screen. The caller ID said “Griffon Comics.”
Willie answered the phone in an angry whisper, “Joe! Why don’t you got your radio on?”
Joe’s voice was oddly calm on the other end, especially considering how Willie had just used Joe’s real name over the phone. He apparently ignored Willie’s question, and responded quickly with, “Yeah, hey, sir. That delivery I was coming by with? It’s going to be late, because I’m slightly delayed…”
Willie’s back straightened and his free hand went straight to his holster, “Are you being detained against your will?”
He could hear the fake smile in Joe’s voice, “I think so, sir.”
Willie thought quickly, “Okay, you should have that radio in your pocket. Lock the transmit button on so I can hear what’s going on. I’ll be coming in if---”
Willie heard Joe’s voice on the other end, “Hey, give that back! I was just calling my next client to tell them I am running late. Wait until Dr. McGovern hears about this---” The line went dead.
Willie cursed. He tucked the phone back into his pocket and keyed his radio: “Crystal, Taylor, get ready. I may be about to do something stupid…” With that, Willie climbed up out of the bushes, clipped the radio into his belt, and stepped over to the door. He pressed the button on the intercom.
A moment later, a male voice answered: “Can I help you?”
Willie put every bit of annoyed authority he could into his voice. “You damn well better! This is Wilson Lamar. I’m here to see Dr. McGovern.”
The voice paused for a moment, then responded, “You have an appointment?”
Willie growled back into the intercom, “No, but he’s sure as hell gonna want to talk to me! Now let me in!”
. . .
Dr. McGovern entered Observation Room Seven casually, as though he were simply attending a staff meeting. Even the bloodstains on his lapel and the presence of the security guard next to him did little to defray from the general impression of cool command that he conveyed as he sat down in one of the chairs next to Guyzell.
Guyzell attempted to appear calm as well. He indicated genuine concern in his voice, “Is Miss White okay?”
Dr. McGovern nodded. “She’ll be fine. Tell me, Brother Cooper, can you tell me anything about the location of our employee, Dr. John Hudson?”
Joe, still fuming over the fact that the security guard took his phone away from him, sat down roughly on Guyzell’s other side, asking, “”Is that your doctor? Do you have the SARS?”
Guyzell attempted to redirect the question to ask another of his own, “Wait, so are you telling me that you have one employee missing, one in a coma and a third that just nearly dropped dead in the hallway. You don't seem significantly worried about this.”
To Guyzell’s eyes, of course, McGovern did seem worried, but he hoped to push the man’s buttons to get him to speak more freely. However, in classical interrogation fashion, he had shifted his attention back to Joe at the moment. He asked Joe, “Mr. Empire, you seemed to have a moment of recognition when i mentioned Dr. Hudson’s name?”
Joe nodded, then stopped and shook his head emphatically, “Um…nope…never heard of him.”
McGovern continued, “Do you know what Dr. Hudson was working on?”
Joe smirked, “Jeez, you worked with the man, don’t you know?”
Guyzell interrupted, mostly to keep Joe from giving anything else away, “Excuse me Doctor, but do you normally interrogate all the delivery people that come into the building?”
Joe grinned, “Yeah, imagine the pizza guy…Look dude, I’m tired of all this stuff. All I wanted to do was make a delivery, and now I gotta make another delivery. If you don't mind, you take your SARS workers, do whatever you want with ‘em and let me go. I got six kids to feed!”
McGovern seemed to consider their story for a moment, “Perhaps if you'd be willing to submit to a quick polygraph test, I would consider---“
Guyzell stood up sharply, “A lie detector test?” He feigned outrage as best he could.
Joe stood up too, probably just to mimic Guyzell, “Yeah! Are you crazy? I've got five kids at home waiting to be fed!”
Dr. McGovern remained seated. He sighed and ran his hand through his graying hair. Guyzell could see that the man was getting tired. The doctor turned back to Guyzell, “As you said, I have been having some trouble with my staff lately, and I am concerned for their well-being. And I am not used to late night comic-book deliveries at my lab. On top of that, your friend here seems evasive with his answers. I am simply trying to find a way to assuage my own concerns while speeding you on your way.”
Guyzell countered, “You’re saying you don't trust me? I’m a man with a bible in my hand.”
Dr. McGovern rolled his eyes. “I’m afraid that is not good enough.”
Guyzell decided he was not getting anywhere with this negotiation. It was time for a new tactic. He stepped across the room to get some distance from the guard, and pulled out his cell-phone, flipping it open and putting his thumb on the keypad. “I’m tired of being here, Doctor, and I want to leave. I am now calling my attorney, and after that, I will be calling the police.”
The crew-cut guard started to move to grab Guyzell’s phone. Guyzell used his free hand to flip open his jacket, revealing his .44 Magnum. Guyzell looked the guard straight in the eye, “You don’t want to do that, mister.”
The guard stopped and looked at Dr. McGovern. The doctor stood up and held his hands out, palms up, to Guyzell, “Please hang up the phone, Brother Cooper.”
The guard cocked his head and put his finger to his ear. He listened to his radio earpiece for a minute, then reported to Dr. McGovern, “We’ve got a visitor…a black male up front…wants to speak to you.”
Joe grinned from ear to ear, “That’s my bodyguard.”
Dr. McGovern tensed up further. Guyzell could see the man trying to determine an appropriate reaction to a situation that was rapidly spinning out of control. Guyzell saw his moment now, to take control of the situation for everyone. He calmly closed his jacket back up again to hide the gun, flipped his phone closed with a smile, and offered his directions in a soothing voice, “Dr. McGovern, you should go speak to your new visitor. He will be able to back up our story, and then this can all be taken care of.”
The doctor seemed completely unsure now of what to do. He nodded silently, took Guyzell’s directions, and left the room.
. . .
Willie bristled at the security around him, but tried to act more annoyed than worried. Two guards behind him, and one in front lead him out of the lobby and down a hallway. They passed a janitor mopping the floor. Willie noted that the mop water was pink, and he wondered if the man was cleaning up a blood stain, but decided not to say anything yet.
The entourage stopped at a small break room with a table and a snack machine. After a moment, a grey-haired man in a lab coat entered after them. Willie immediately noted what looked like blood stains on his lapel.
Willie took the initiative. He extended his hand warmly, “Dr. McGovern, I presume?”
Dr. McGovern nodded, with a confused look on his face, “Yes, may I help you?”
Willie nodded. “I believe I can help you, sir. My name’s Wilson Lamar. I work for you.”
Dr. McGovern’s brow creased, “You work for me?”
Willie nodded again and smiled. “I’m a private investigator. Your company hired my firm in regards to the matter of Dr. Hudson?” When the doctor slowly nodded in response, Willie continued, “I just wanted to keep you posted on my activities and share a little information with you.”
Dr. McGovern seemed completely lost, “Wait…so you are not here with the other two gentlemen?”
Willie decided to make a gamble. Really, he was flying by the seat of his pants here. He answered, “Two other gentlemen? Oh…the preacher and the fat guy in the trench coat? Yes I am acquainted with them. They are associates of mine. But really, Doctor, I’d like to focus on Dr. Hudson. I was hoping you could fill in some blanks for me---”
Willie got interrupted. From somewhere down the hall, a man was screaming.
Episode II – Session I - Commotion
The hallway erupted with noise and movement. It seemed like every door in the hallway opened up at once, and guards poured in from every direction. The security escort was still barking orders into his radio as Guyzell took a couple of slow steps away from the woman. Guyzell felt the wall at his back and wondered if the door to the lobby was locked.
Joe was frantically shoving at Miss White, trying to get the woman to let go of his arm without hurting her, and trying to avoid completely panicking. “What?! What’s in your head?!”
Two burly guards shoved Joe aside and pulled Miss White back a foot and held her arms back, but she maintained her death-grip on Joe’s arm. She yanked Joe towards her face again, and sprayed blood from her lips as she croaked into his face, “IT’S…MR…WEAVER!!!”
Joe wiped the droplets of blood from his face and pried the woman’s hand off of his arm. Another guard pulled him back from her, and then Dr. McGovern was there with a syringe in his hand. He hastily injected something into the poor woman, and she let out a loud gurgling rasp before passing out.
Guyzell took a deep breath and clutched the King James still in his hand a little tighter, “Good Lord! What is going on here?! Is she alright? I thought you said this aneurysm thing wasn’t catching?”
A guard made up of three-hundred pounds of muscle shoved Guyzell hard into the wall. Two more guards grabbed Joe. All eyes were on Dr. McGovern. He looked up at them, a mixture of anxieties on his face, and barked, “Put them in Observation Room Seven.”
The guard holding Guyzell to the wall grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back down the corridor, while ordering through clenched teeth, “Please come with me, sir.”
Guyzell pawed at the man’s hand for a moment fruitlessly, while calling out to McGovern, “I don’t want to be here! I want to leave! If this is catching--”
Joe was being dragged down the hall by three guards, his feet flailing the whole way. “We should all get out of here! I don’t want your SARS! Dr. McGovern!! What's in Room Seven? Is that a checkup room? Because I have to go to my primary care doctor to get any referrals, it's not in my health plan! Wait! I've got another delivery to make!!”
The first guard pulled Guyzell back a few more feet. A second guard grabbed Guyzell’s other arm. Dr. McGovern looked up from where he was tending Miss White on the floor. “Go easy. I need to question them about Mr. Weaver.”
Joe was now halfway down the hall, being pulled around a corner. He reached out and grabbed the wall at the corner and pulled his head back around, against the efforts of the three guards pulling him back, “Hey! I don't even know a Mr. Weaver! Wait! Is that like a code for "inject stuff into us"?! Can i at least get something out of my car? Some reading material or something?! Last time you did this, we had to talk to five different people!! Dr. McGovern? Dr. McGovern!?”
Guyzell decided to avoid further resistance, but the guards maintained a tight grip on him anyway as the lead him down the hall. They rounded the corner and shoved him through a doorway into a small room. Inside the room were a handful of chairs all lined up against the right wall. Along the left wall was a thick grey curtain. Inside the room, they had stationed a single guard, along with Joe, who was standing in front of the guard, trying to look intimidating, and failing at it.
Guyzell took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Finally, he shrugged and sat down in one of the chairs, flipped open his Bible, and started reading.
Joe stepped closer to the guard, and sniffed him. The guard was a muscular forty-something man with a crew cut, who looked like a caricature of a gym coach. Joe looked the guy in the eye distrustfully, “Do you have SARS?”
The guard responded in an even tone, “No, sir.”
Joe nodded thoughtfully, “Mmm-hmmm…how about monkey-pox?”
The guard maintained his even tone. “No, sir.”
. . .
Willie sat back against the building, hidden behind the bushes, and brought out his binoculars to scan the perimeter. He watched Taylor cruise through the area again, two blocks away, and noted that he was driving a little too fast for Willie’s tastes. He better not mess up that car.
A moment later, Willie saw Crystal coast up the street, her motorcycle’s headlight off and her engine silent. She rode up behind a dumpster and stopped in the shadows a block away.
Willie’s pocket began to vibrate. He tucked the binoculars back into his bag, and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. He looked at the number readout on the tiny illuminated screen. The caller ID said “Griffon Comics.”
Willie answered the phone in an angry whisper, “Joe! Why don’t you got your radio on?”
Joe’s voice was oddly calm on the other end, especially considering how Willie had just used Joe’s real name over the phone. He apparently ignored Willie’s question, and responded quickly with, “Yeah, hey, sir. That delivery I was coming by with? It’s going to be late, because I’m slightly delayed…”
Willie’s back straightened and his free hand went straight to his holster, “Are you being detained against your will?”
He could hear the fake smile in Joe’s voice, “I think so, sir.”
Willie thought quickly, “Okay, you should have that radio in your pocket. Lock the transmit button on so I can hear what’s going on. I’ll be coming in if---”
Willie heard Joe’s voice on the other end, “Hey, give that back! I was just calling my next client to tell them I am running late. Wait until Dr. McGovern hears about this---” The line went dead.
Willie cursed. He tucked the phone back into his pocket and keyed his radio: “Crystal, Taylor, get ready. I may be about to do something stupid…” With that, Willie climbed up out of the bushes, clipped the radio into his belt, and stepped over to the door. He pressed the button on the intercom.
A moment later, a male voice answered: “Can I help you?”
Willie put every bit of annoyed authority he could into his voice. “You damn well better! This is Wilson Lamar. I’m here to see Dr. McGovern.”
The voice paused for a moment, then responded, “You have an appointment?”
Willie growled back into the intercom, “No, but he’s sure as hell gonna want to talk to me! Now let me in!”
. . .
Dr. McGovern entered Observation Room Seven casually, as though he were simply attending a staff meeting. Even the bloodstains on his lapel and the presence of the security guard next to him did little to defray from the general impression of cool command that he conveyed as he sat down in one of the chairs next to Guyzell.
Guyzell attempted to appear calm as well. He indicated genuine concern in his voice, “Is Miss White okay?”
Dr. McGovern nodded. “She’ll be fine. Tell me, Brother Cooper, can you tell me anything about the location of our employee, Dr. John Hudson?”
Joe, still fuming over the fact that the security guard took his phone away from him, sat down roughly on Guyzell’s other side, asking, “”Is that your doctor? Do you have the SARS?”
Guyzell attempted to redirect the question to ask another of his own, “Wait, so are you telling me that you have one employee missing, one in a coma and a third that just nearly dropped dead in the hallway. You don't seem significantly worried about this.”
To Guyzell’s eyes, of course, McGovern did seem worried, but he hoped to push the man’s buttons to get him to speak more freely. However, in classical interrogation fashion, he had shifted his attention back to Joe at the moment. He asked Joe, “Mr. Empire, you seemed to have a moment of recognition when i mentioned Dr. Hudson’s name?”
Joe nodded, then stopped and shook his head emphatically, “Um…nope…never heard of him.”
McGovern continued, “Do you know what Dr. Hudson was working on?”
Joe smirked, “Jeez, you worked with the man, don’t you know?”
Guyzell interrupted, mostly to keep Joe from giving anything else away, “Excuse me Doctor, but do you normally interrogate all the delivery people that come into the building?”
Joe grinned, “Yeah, imagine the pizza guy…Look dude, I’m tired of all this stuff. All I wanted to do was make a delivery, and now I gotta make another delivery. If you don't mind, you take your SARS workers, do whatever you want with ‘em and let me go. I got six kids to feed!”
McGovern seemed to consider their story for a moment, “Perhaps if you'd be willing to submit to a quick polygraph test, I would consider---“
Guyzell stood up sharply, “A lie detector test?” He feigned outrage as best he could.
Joe stood up too, probably just to mimic Guyzell, “Yeah! Are you crazy? I've got five kids at home waiting to be fed!”
Dr. McGovern remained seated. He sighed and ran his hand through his graying hair. Guyzell could see that the man was getting tired. The doctor turned back to Guyzell, “As you said, I have been having some trouble with my staff lately, and I am concerned for their well-being. And I am not used to late night comic-book deliveries at my lab. On top of that, your friend here seems evasive with his answers. I am simply trying to find a way to assuage my own concerns while speeding you on your way.”
Guyzell countered, “You’re saying you don't trust me? I’m a man with a bible in my hand.”
Dr. McGovern rolled his eyes. “I’m afraid that is not good enough.”
Guyzell decided he was not getting anywhere with this negotiation. It was time for a new tactic. He stepped across the room to get some distance from the guard, and pulled out his cell-phone, flipping it open and putting his thumb on the keypad. “I’m tired of being here, Doctor, and I want to leave. I am now calling my attorney, and after that, I will be calling the police.”
The crew-cut guard started to move to grab Guyzell’s phone. Guyzell used his free hand to flip open his jacket, revealing his .44 Magnum. Guyzell looked the guard straight in the eye, “You don’t want to do that, mister.”
The guard stopped and looked at Dr. McGovern. The doctor stood up and held his hands out, palms up, to Guyzell, “Please hang up the phone, Brother Cooper.”
The guard cocked his head and put his finger to his ear. He listened to his radio earpiece for a minute, then reported to Dr. McGovern, “We’ve got a visitor…a black male up front…wants to speak to you.”
Joe grinned from ear to ear, “That’s my bodyguard.”
Dr. McGovern tensed up further. Guyzell could see the man trying to determine an appropriate reaction to a situation that was rapidly spinning out of control. Guyzell saw his moment now, to take control of the situation for everyone. He calmly closed his jacket back up again to hide the gun, flipped his phone closed with a smile, and offered his directions in a soothing voice, “Dr. McGovern, you should go speak to your new visitor. He will be able to back up our story, and then this can all be taken care of.”
The doctor seemed completely unsure now of what to do. He nodded silently, took Guyzell’s directions, and left the room.
. . .
Willie bristled at the security around him, but tried to act more annoyed than worried. Two guards behind him, and one in front lead him out of the lobby and down a hallway. They passed a janitor mopping the floor. Willie noted that the mop water was pink, and he wondered if the man was cleaning up a blood stain, but decided not to say anything yet.
The entourage stopped at a small break room with a table and a snack machine. After a moment, a grey-haired man in a lab coat entered after them. Willie immediately noted what looked like blood stains on his lapel.
Willie took the initiative. He extended his hand warmly, “Dr. McGovern, I presume?”
Dr. McGovern nodded, with a confused look on his face, “Yes, may I help you?”
Willie nodded. “I believe I can help you, sir. My name’s Wilson Lamar. I work for you.”
Dr. McGovern’s brow creased, “You work for me?”
Willie nodded again and smiled. “I’m a private investigator. Your company hired my firm in regards to the matter of Dr. Hudson?” When the doctor slowly nodded in response, Willie continued, “I just wanted to keep you posted on my activities and share a little information with you.”
Dr. McGovern seemed completely lost, “Wait…so you are not here with the other two gentlemen?”
Willie decided to make a gamble. Really, he was flying by the seat of his pants here. He answered, “Two other gentlemen? Oh…the preacher and the fat guy in the trench coat? Yes I am acquainted with them. They are associates of mine. But really, Doctor, I’d like to focus on Dr. Hudson. I was hoping you could fill in some blanks for me---”
Willie got interrupted. From somewhere down the hall, a man was screaming.
