The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
[IC][Dresdenfiles RPG][TwinCities]
skyybahamut
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
"Well, that's that then." was all the time for thought that Sven Johanson had after being hurled from the top floor of the IDS tower in downtown Minneapolis. 57 floors is a long way to fall but way too fast for the guy without a parachute.
The burning did not help in the least either. At least that's what Winter Tam thought to herself. When you throw a guy out of a window from that many stories up the burning just seems like overkill. Better throw up a quick [Glamor] to cover up for the mortal authorities and we should be all set.
"Shit! Argh! Summer Fire!" "Oh, somebody's gonna have to pay the piper and it sure as shit ain't gonna be me! I can't even touch the bastard 'cause of that fire. Better call in somebody to help out. Good thing I know that Russell human to give me a hand, after all, he's that [Fixer to a Dragon].
Ring Ring. Ring Ring. I know it's just after Midnight but somebody'd better pick up. I got a body that needs disposing of and I have a few questions that need answering.
The burning did not help in the least either. At least that's what Winter Tam thought to herself. When you throw a guy out of a window from that many stories up the burning just seems like overkill. Better throw up a quick [Glamor] to cover up for the mortal authorities and we should be all set.
"Shit! Argh! Summer Fire!" "Oh, somebody's gonna have to pay the piper and it sure as shit ain't gonna be me! I can't even touch the bastard 'cause of that fire. Better call in somebody to help out. Good thing I know that Russell human to give me a hand, after all, he's that [Fixer to a Dragon].
Compel
I wonder if that bitch Ember had anything to do with that? Everybody knows [She's Got Her Father's Fire]. I hate to call an ally of Summer, but what can I do? If this doesn't get resolved soon, Maeve might get involved and I do not want that psycho tart in this city. She can have Chicago.Compel
Ring Ring. Ring Ring. I know it's just after Midnight but somebody'd better pick up. I got a body that needs disposing of and I have a few questions that need answering.
This signature is for SCIENCE!
skyybahamut on
0
Posts
"No, this isn't Ember. This is Madison, you frosty bitch."
"Yeah, my friends call me Ember."
"Whatever. The hell you want, anyhow?"
"Riight, just because a body is on fire, you come to me? You think I'd kill someone?"
"Oh, fuck you. Fine, I don't have a show this weekend anyway."
Ember groaned as she got off the couch, kicking off her sweatpants as she changed into something slightly more appropriate for going to the Crystal Court. As she headed out the door, she hit speed-dial for her best friend, Jasmine.
"Hey, Jazzy! Guess who just fell out of a building while on fire!"
She sat straight up when she heard the name. "Can you pick me up? I can be ready in twenty minutes. Yes it has to be twenty, you should know as a great rock star that being seen in public not at your best is absolutely out of the question. I'll see you in twenty, love."
Jasmine slammed the receiver down and sat up with a stretch. She reached down and picked up one of her Boston albums, pulled the record out and slid it onto the turntable.
--
Thirty-five minutes later Jasmine plopped into the passenger seat of Ember's Camaro.
"Well then, what are you waiting for? We have an appointment with a dead guy in front of the IDS building, yeah?"
The noise seemed to come out of no-where, shattering the tension that had been building up.
"AwwwWW, Freak Out!"
The moment was ruined and a few annoyed sighs raised up from the others around the table, echoed their frustration.
"Sorry Guys," he replied, excusing himself from the table for a moment.
--
"This better be important..."
"A Barbecue? Sounds Exciting, but I don't see how its my problem."
"Really? But my services don't come cheap you know..."
"Alright, Alright! I'm on my way..."
--
The phone closed with a sharp click as Russell turned back to the table.
"Sorry guys, I have some business to take care of."
He turns to head out of the door, but as he prepares to walk, he pauses and heads back to the table.
"Just to put you out of your misery."
He flips his cards over revealing a full house, Aces and Kings.
"Nice playing with you guys," he says, grinning at the others. "We should do this again some time."
With that, he picks up his coat and walks out the door.
"Any of you know a wheel-man? Or woman? Gotta be politically correct in these times, and the human HR department here is ready to trim anybody to get rid of a potential lawsuit these days."
The smell entices you a little closer as what you know what it is makes you want to pull away. There looks to be a small fountain of fire at the base of the building.
"Oh, let me take care of that Glamor for you dearies." With a wave of the hand Winter Tam seems to take down the Glamor for you and for the 1st time you get a look at what's cooking. It smells a little like cooking bacon, and a Christmas ham, and burnt hair all rolled into one. The corpse is still on fire and it's roaring quite nicely. Crackling is the term that comes to mind.
As your gaze drifts upwards, you notice there's a hole near the top of the building and that's on fire as well. Which is odd considering that there are no firemen here to put it out.
FOOM! FOOM! You look over and see Winter Tam with a fire extinguisher and remarkably the fire is still going strong. "It's Summer Fire after all and I and the Mortal authorities cannot seem to put it out, so I canceled the fire fighters coming, all that that could do is get the carpet and walls a little wet and I would worry about mold later."
"Ember, would you do the honors of removing that fire or maybe you can little miss 'I Didn't Catchername.'"
"Russell, I need you to figure out who or what did this to my lovely building and poor Sven here. As is, I owe the family a Wereguild as the poor fellow died while in my employ."
"Also if any of you know of a fellow who can get rid of this quickly and quietly I would greatly appreciate it."
Then again, what sane man could keep asleep with his schedule. Granted, the last week had been fairly quiet, but things had been getting... wierd lately. Charlie couldn't stop thinking about that woman, Madison was her name, and some of the crazy things that went down around her. He had seen junkies do some crazy things, but some of those toughs, how fast they moved, there must be some deadly concoctions on the street he didn't know about.
And the explosions...
Must be an explanation for it, things don't just catch on fire. Maybe mini-molotovs? Gonna have to look into that when there is time.
Luckily he had gotten a friend to cover his shift tomorrow, so tonight would be the ideal time to catch up, drink a beer, enjoy his large Caprese pizza and recover. His contacts said things were quiet now, lots of big shipments got moved last month, must be keeping folks covered, so who could possibly need the Wheelman tonight?
Ember paused, looking at the fire as she considered calling up her magic. A brief mental image of all of the people in the area screaming horribly as they burst into flame crossed her mind, and she shook her head.
"Jazz, I think this is something you're going to be better at than me. Speaking, uh... from experience."
She turned to Winter, glaring just a little bit. The two of them had a somewhat antagonistic relationship, although it had never quite come to actual blows. "So, the building is on fire too? Have you gone up there yet? I doubt this corpse is going to tell us a whole lot, you know."
Her eyes moved to Winter. "And what's this treating us as we owe you a favor, love? I mean, I suppose I could help you out, but you know that will put you in debt to the old W.C..."
She shrugged and cracked her knuckles, already moving around the man baking in the bonfire.
"As is Ms. Burr, you happen to be my number one suspect what with you being the daughter of the troublesome Fire Lord of Summer. I do hope that you have an alibi and a credible witness. There might otherwise be a...misunderstanding."
"Your interest here is also part of why I summoned you here Russell. Well your handler's interest is the actual reason. You might want to ask HIM about Mr. Sven Johanson and what your handler owed him and his family. You'll soon see that your interest here is paramount."
"As for the building being on fire," Winter Tam started to say, Crash! Boom! Vrooooooom! a figure, male as best as you can tell, also on fire looking like the Human Torch, sprinted by faster than a speeding car on I-94, right out the front door and right on down the street leaving a trail of flaming footprints in the asphalt. "Ms. Madison," Winter continued, "you're off the hook. and One of Winter would be indebted to you for helping me in this instance."
He walks towards the corpse, his hands waving the putrid smell away. Couching down, he takes a look around for anything that may have survived the fire.
Satisfied he stands, turning back towards . “First things first, we need to get this body out of here. I don’t know how long you can maintain this Glamour but the authorities will be here sooner or later.” He pauses. “Luckily I know just the right person.”
----
“Charlie? I’ve got a job for you.”
"Russell? That you man?" Charlie blinks a few times, bringing the world back into focus, had he fallen asleep? What time was it anyway? Part of him just wanted to let this one go, but Russell had done right by him in the past and it just didn't do to let a friend down.
"Right, what's up? Delivery? Sure thing, but... What do you mean this one is hot? Isn't that everything we do... uhh, sure man, ok. I get it. Be there in ten"
Pulling his work clothes on, Charlie tucks his lucky blade in his boot, makes sure the gun is properly tucked into the lining of his jacket, grabs a big bottle of water and heads to his ever-dependable jeep cherokee to pick up Russell.
"Good thing I got Mark covering for me tomorrow."
Ten minutes later, Charlie pulls up at the meet up point and leans casually out the window to wave at Russel when the small crowd gathered around the building causes him pause. Isn't that...
"Madison, good to see you again... and your friend, I don't think I caught your name last time." Probably because they were being shot at and things were exploding, though its impolite to bring that sort of thing up.
Shit. This didn't bode well. Russell dealt with some big players, but business stayed pretty straight forward with him. These two though, these two brought some strange memories to the forefront, stuff Charlie had carefully thought into a nice, rational little box.
Ember blinked twice, making sure she wasn't seeing anything as the figure faded off into the distance, footsteps still burning bright on the ground.
"And people call me a pyro." She lit a cigarette, looking at Winter with a raised eyebrow. "You're going to put yourself into obligation to me, just like that? Works for me. Hey, Russell! Get your wheelman and let's go!"
As Charlie drove up, she flicked the butt of her third cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out, brushing past Russell and walking up to the car. "Charlie, it's nice to see you again. Care to drive me around town? I've got to see a man about a fire, and, well, my Camaro's way too nice for this sort of business"
Still, nothing a little Wizardly Water wouldn't fix.
"L'eau," she said once and flicked her hands. Sparkling waves of magic coalesced from her fingertips onto the Summer Fire which seemed for a moment to actually recoil; the motion was brief as the magic turned to water that worked quickly to douse the blaze and turn to steam.
"Well, I hope we're not treading upon the toes of any big players. The bloke obviously made a powerful enemy on Summer's side."
She looked to Ember and at the other arrivals and then finally to Winter Tam. "And I don't know if said powerful enemy would take kindly the meddling of outside parties."
"Fire, eh? Sure, what the hell, hop in. Anyone else coming along?" Charlie leans out of the driver seat, inhaling the scene, "What in the world is that smell?"
Well, this sure is hotbox, all of us standing around outside this building like this. A patroller is gonna come cruising by out of curiousity any minute at this rate. And is that building... on fire? What the hell...
For the first time, Charlie looks past Madison and the others to get a good look at the figure of a beautiful woman he is unfamiliar with. She has an allure he can't quite place, and suddenly Charlie finds himself quite enamored. Maybe its the lack of sleep, or maybe its just been too long, but his eyes fixate on the trim figure, made all the all the more provacative by the well fitted business suit. Something about professional looking women just set off whistles inside Charlie's head.
"Who is that?"
Ember slid into the vehicle as she stopped, beckoning Jasmine over. "Come on, you think I'm going to lose an opportunity to make this bitch owe me a favor?"
"'Ello love," she said to Charlie.
There actually were little spots of fire that looked like footsteps on the ground...
"Umm, right, h-heya Jasmine. So... after the burning... footsteps?"
Deep breaths, in and out. They were just messing with him, something must have left a napalm trail or something... yeah, that makes perfect sense.
"A bunch of fire shouldn't be too hard to keep track of and traffic isn't bad." Charlie had already started the car forward, accelerating quickly, focusing on the job, the drive, shifting into his role as the Wheelman. Somewhere, deep down, Charlie new this was going to get worse before it would get better, and it would be easier to deal with if he just focuses on getting the job done.
"Thought this was a delivery job, do we need this guy in one piece or...?"