[Spycraft] Delta Green: Rebirth (Dead Letter)

[Andrew D. Gable]

Alex's examination seems to suggest that, despite earlier events, this man, unlike the dog, is dead. There's no obvious wounds, but nor is there any of the almost-reflex action displayed by the dog's head. And as he leans in to examine closer, he detects a faint whiff of almonds. He quickly recognizes it as the odor of cyanide.

((OOC: Cyanide *is* the one that smells like almonds, right? Too bad if it's not. ))

 

[Davechan]

"He's worm-bait. For real, by the looks of it." He turns side-on to the van, so he can see the others, but still has the driver in his peripheral vision. "I suppose we'd better start the clean-up." Alex walked towards Pike and the others, and lowered his voice so that onlookers couldn't overhear. "Looks like it was a suicide capsule, he must have been serious. Do we want to involve the locals in this, or should we pull rank? I think we could feasibly pull this off as an interception of a potential terrorist - germ warfare. We can probably get the area sealed, and that'll help us get the head and body out of here."

 

[Synchronicity]

Benjamin Pike

Pike nods in agreement at Alex's words. "Whoever he was working for, they know about us. That means we keep this in the family, so to speak. Terrorism's a good catch-all. Alright! We've got lots of things to do. Taszyck, you're accompanying Santiago to perform tests on that head. Watch his back, make sure nobody makes a play for our evidence. Rose, you and I are paying a visit to Miss Lin-Wei and see what we can get out of her. Gordon, you're liasing here at the scene with the police. Let them know it pertains to an ongoing federal case and hence is our baby. Trying to keep the cops out of it would take too much in the way of resources at the moment; just let them do their thing and get a copy of it all."

Pike turns away slightly, taking out his cell phone again, when something seems to occur to him, and he spins, holding a hand up in the direction of Gordon. "Oh, and if any suits turn up, flashing badges, saying they're g-men, and trying to get a piece of the action, call me immediately. It's very important." 'All we'd need is those guys poking their noses in. They can't be happy we're on the books again.'

Pike turns away again, resuming the phone call he so abruptly curtailed earlier. "Pike again. Sorry about that - bit of a scuffle. Somebody's watching us, and they know who we are. Taszyck stopped their observer escaping, but he commited suicide rather than be caught. Possibly professional. Yeah, I know it's hard to tell the difference between professional and fanatical. We're locking down the scene and claiming terrorism. Anyway, the reason I was calling's that I wanted to get some lab time to examine the data we've acquired. About..." Pike turns and calls to Alex "Santiago! How much time d'you think you'll need to analyse that head?" Pike nods at Alex's response and relays the information. "...yeah, about that long. Preferably somewhere close. Let me know."

Pike comes back to the group. "Right, you've all got your tasks. Any questions?"

Andrew: [sblock]((OOC: I'll make a favour check for the lab time if required. Favour check +5.))[/sblock]

 

[Davechan]

"Call it a couple of hours. Chemical analysis could take forever, but once I've got the samples, that can go at its own pace." Alex replied to Pike's question. When he got off the phone, Alex continued. "It might be an idea to canvas the witnesses here before the locals turn up. With correctly worded questions, we can make sure the witnesses got a clear picture of what happened - the driver shot at Elz firs, she returned fire. It's amazing what you can make people think they saw with the right suggestions. I can write up a few suitable questions if you would like?"

 

[Synchronicity]

Benjamin Pike

"It might be an idea to canvas the witnesses here before the locals turn up. With correctly worded questions, we can make sure the witnesses got a clear picture of what happened - the driver shot at Elz first, she returned fire. It's amazing what you can make people think they saw with the right suggestions. I can write up a few suitable questions if you would like?"

A small and appreciative smile made its way onto Pike's face at Alex's words. "That's not a bad idea. Alright, form some questions. We'll spend a bit of time making sure the witnesses have...remembered events correctly, then you all have your tasks. Let's get to it."

 

[Bobitron]

Taszyck, you're accompanying Santiago to perform tests on that head. Watch his back, make sure nobody makes a play for our evidence.

Elz nods her agreement, blood still pumping in her ears from the excitement. She hadn't fired a weapon in anger for nearly a year, and her suspicions that this would end up being a desk job were quickly being washed away. "You got it, Pike."

Pike comes back to the group. "Right, you've all got your tasks. Any questions?"

She nodded towards the van, then addressed Pike. "I think I want to grab Alex and Gordon and start by tearing through this van. I don't want a detail left behind for the police to miss. Can you guys run crowd control for 20 minutes or so while we search it? Also, we need to exchange cell information."

Once everyone seperates, she comes in closer to Pike. "Hey. Sorry if I... overreacted there. I didn't want to loose a lead. This Criminal Investigation stuff is new to me. I took a Military Intelligence course recently in Gdynia, but my strength lies in action. I did the same thing I would have done in Poland, but I'm not sure if it is protocol here to fire on a running suspect." She said the last part with the hint of a smile.

 

[Synchronicity]

Benjamin Pike

She nodded towards the van, then addressed Pike. "I think I want to grab Alex and Gordon and start by tearing through this van. I don't want a detail left behind for the police to miss. Can you guys run crowd control for 20 minutes or so while we search it? Also, we need to exchange cell information."

Pike looked sour for a moment, though he didn't say anything immediately. 'I must be getting old. The commotion made me completely forget about cell phone details.'
"You'll get your 20 minutes. And you're right, we need to swap numbers."

Once everyone seperates, she comes in closer to Pike. "Hey. Sorry if I... overreacted there. I didn't want to loose a lead. This Criminal Investigation stuff is new to me. I took a Military Intelligence course recently in Gdynia, but my strength lies in action. I did the same thing I would have done in Poland, but I'm not sure if it is protocol here to fire on a running suspect." She said the last part with the hint of a smile.

Pike grunted in acknowledgement, his eyes impossible to see behind the sunglasses. "You did good work. It worked out OK this time, but you should be more careful in the future. I told the others inside about rule one, and now I'm telling you. It's a straightforward rule: nobody does any investigating by themselves if they can help it. In our line of work, you've got to watch each other's backs - I've lost too many colleagues because they went charging off on a lead by themselves." Pike's face takes on a hardened intensity at his last words, making his previous stony expression look positively welcoming. After a moment, his face smooths out again, returning to his usual impassivity. He begins to walk over to the people which are beginning to appear so that he can turn them away from the van, but leaves Elz with a strange comment. "One piece of advice, soldier. Bravery and swift action aren't always assets. In our line of work, you've got to know when to fight...and when to run."

 

[Bobitron]

"One piece of advice, soldier. Bravery and swift action aren't always assets. In our line of work, you've got to know when to fight...and when to run."

Elz nods agreement. "I'll take that to heart, Pike."

Turning to the rest of the team, she says, "Gordon, Santiago, let's start on the van. Take your time, we have 15-20 minutes. I don't want to miss anything. Pike, maybe I should run in and grab Rose to help you work the crowd?"

OOC: Get Rose if Pike wants the help. Then start serching the van. Use the cooperation action to help Gordon and Santiago. Roll for cooperation: 13+2 for 15, giving a +2 bonus to the team's take 20 search attempt.

 

[Synchronicity]

Benjamin Pike

Turning to the rest of the team, she says, "Gordon, Santiago, let's start on the van. Take your time, we have 15-20 minutes. I don't want to miss anything. Pike, maybe I should run in and grab Rose to help you work the crowd?"

Pike agrees to having Rose come and give him a hand, and then proceeds to begin warning off the crowd, pulling out anyone who actually witnessed the incident for future questioning.

OOC:
[sblock]
((OOC: I'll make Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate checks, so take whichever you think's relevant. Pike'll use the threat of his federal agent status, polite requests and whatever else he needs to do to convince people not to disturb the scene and to keep any witnesses on site. Basically, whatever works.))

Bluff: 14 (skill) + 13 (roll) = 27 (total)
Diplomacy: 18 (skill) + 8 (roll) = 26 (total)
Intimidate: 17 (skill) + 14 (roll) = 31 (total)[/sblock]

 

[Davechan]

Alex took out a notepad and pen, and sucked on the end of the pen thoughtfully for a moment before quickly writing a few lines on the pad. He tore the sheet off, and passed it to Pike. "There you go, these should help with the witnesses. I'll go and look into the van, see what I can dig up."
The notepad had a few lines written in a neat, methodical hand:
Did you notice the shooter prior to his exchange of fire with the Agent?
Did the shooter open fire on the agent before or after she declared herself a federal agent?
Did you notice the shooter drop anything before he got into the van?
Did you hear the shooter say anything at any point?
Did you notice anyone suspiscious meeting with the shooter?

Alex nodded to Elz, and headed for the van. He took a pair of rubber gloves out of his pocket, and slipped them on. He drew his gun and then carefully opened the back door of the van, making sure he wasn't blocking Elz' line of fire.

((OOC: Not being a psychologist myself, those probably aren't the most subtle questions ever, but I#m sure Alex could come up with something better. ;-) I'll proceed to search the back of the van, assuming nothing leaps out))