Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to The Verse Online. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Locked Topic
Episode 1.4: Briefing and Fact Finding
Topic Started: Jul 3 2011, 02:09 AM (18,114 Views)
abbey
Member Avatar
Administrator
Crew came from here.
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Skye MacKenzie
Member Avatar
"Mac"
7/25/10

Mac had made an effort to look at least semi-presentable for the morning's briefing, although there was no hiding the fact that she hadn't slept at all. But it was an effort and by the time she arrived at the conference room, the meeting had been adjourned. Which was probably just as well; she didn't feel like facing anyone this morning.

She slipped off to the galley, intending to grab something to eat, but looking around at the selection, there was nothing that appealed to her. Everything was grey and flavourless and she had no appetite for that.

She still needed something to do, though, so she pulled out her comm.

"Captain, got anything on your to-do list for me?" she asked, but without much enthusiasm.
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Cooper Mandrake
Member Avatar

7/25/10

A little Vice 101. I tracked down Delano as fast as I could. He knew me as the new Higher Class Collector of the Flats. I shoved my badge in his face this time. "Get em out of their Hutches, we're doing a walk through. Business is going to be bad if at all until we get some cooperation. We've been nice, we asked with sugar on top. Now it's like you don't have a license or health inspections regular and you could go to jail if I don't find someone that knows something."

We'd been at it backwards. Hookers don't have a life to protect. They wouldn't speak up to save something they had no value to put on. So it would be the old stand bye. Roust em out and keep them standing in the outside. No workee, no payee, no kickin' it up the chain. It'd be like deputizing the whole district. No butcher, no hooking.

I hadn't asked Hutch about it, I figured if nothing else he could be good cop and put a lid on it. If someone helped. Maybe they'd all go cryin' to Lily and bawl about something or someone.
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Delano
Member Avatar
Collector of Lower Midtown
7/27/10

Delano was surprised to see the new Collector from the Flats and Upper Midtown down in his area. He was about to be friendly when the guy shoved his Allied Law Enforcement badge at him.

"You're a lawman? Ink hired a lawman?" he asked. He thought about it for a moment. It was a pretty good deal. If he was crooked, then this was right up a bad cop's way. If he was an honest one, he would make sure that the Boss' cut got delivered.

But Delano's mood soured quickly when Cooper ordered him to interrupt business.

"Get em out of their Hutches, we're doing a walk through. Business is going to be bad if at all until we get some cooperation. We've been nice, we asked with sugar on top. Now it's like you don't have a license or health inspections regular and you could go to jail if I don't find someone that knows something."

"Get them out of their hovels like a big line-up?" Delano scoffed. "I don't think so. It's bad for business. A order like that would have to come from Ink or the Boss himself."

He looked at Cooper and didn't back down.

"So unless I see Ink issue this decree personally or have the Boss walk himself down here, that ain't gonna happen," Delano told him firmly. "As for health inspections or licensing? This isn't the Guild. There ain't anything that needs doing that ain't done. We're in good standing."
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Captain Jeremiah Hutchins
Member Avatar
Hutch
7/27/10

"Captain, got anything on your to-do list for me?"

Hutch looked at her. She looked awful. Obviously, sleep was something that Mac did not do last night.

"You and Jelani had backstory, didn't you?" he asked. "He hadn't been here long enough for a bond this tight to develop between strangers."

Hutch knew what it was like to lose someone you care about. He knew it all too well. It wasn't something he wanted to share.

"He's still alive, Mac. He's getting the best care available. You still have a chance. It might be slow going, but the chance is still there."

Hutch knew that this 'limbo' that Jelani was in was actually worse. You could grieve for someone who was killed. You could help the survivor make a road to recovery. But this middle ground? It must be agony.

"I know that doesn't mean much for you right now. It wouldn't be if it were me too," he added. Then he turned back to business at hand. "We need some help talking to these girls. Someone that has trust throughout the District. Someone on their level. Not one of us. Not their Collector. Not a client."

He thought for a moment before he got an idea.

"Go see Kiki. She's one of the older whores there. She's been at all stages. Been a Dockie, a Stepper and a Gem. She knows everyone. Pay her a visit. See if she can help us out."
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Skye MacKenzie
Member Avatar
"Mac"
7/30/10

It was kind of Hutch to try and make her feel better, even though it didn’t work. Mac had been on his side too often during the war to know just how empty anything the words were at a time like this. But, she couldn’t blame him for wanting to do something, so she tried a weak smile of her own just to let him know she appreciated the effort. Hopefully, he’d understand that the twitching at the corner of her lips was supposed to be a smile.

She probably also owed him an explanation, not that she really wanted to talk about it.

Hutch wrote:
"You and Jelani had backstory, didn't you? He hadn't been here long enough for a bond this tight to develop between strangers."


“We served together during the war. We… well, you develop a bond with your teammates that goes beyond anything you could find anywhere else.”

There wasn’t much more she could add that he hadn’t already figured out, so she didn’t add anything more. The rest was too raw anyway. Maybe someday she could talk about it, but by then she’d be used to Jelani’s absence and wouldn’t need to. Funny how life was like that.

Hutch wrote:
"Go see Kiki. She's one of the older whores there. She's been at all stages. Been a Dockie, a Stepper and a Gem. She knows everyone. Pay her a visit. See if she can help us out."


Mac wasn’t sure that she’d get very far with Kiki. This was the tightest-lipped little community she’d ever run across. But, she’d rather be doing something than sitting on her hands. It beat staying in her quarters being morose until Hutch took her off the case.

She paused for a while gathering her words. She didn't really want to bring this up either, but Hutch had the right to know.

“Look, I’ll understand if you want to dismiss me. I admit I’m not much more than dead weight right now. But, if it’s a choice between working and not working, I’d rather be doing something.

“I’ll go talk to Kiki. Anything else?”
she asked as she swallowed the last of her coffee. But, she made no move to get up from the table.
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Captain Jeremiah Hutchins
Member Avatar
Hutch
8/1/10

“Look, I’ll understand if you want to dismiss me. I admit I’m not much more than dead weight right now. But, if it’s a choice between working and not working, I’d rather be doing something."

"Dismiss you? Why would I go and do something like that?" Hutch asked. "I know you feel like go se right now, but you are a damn fine investigator. If you didn't feel any emotion after what happened with Jelani, then I'd be worried."

He put his hand on her shoulder.

"So you have your assignment," he told her with palpable empathy. "Go forth and investigate."

He gave her a slight smile, wanting to encourage her.

“I’ll go talk to Kiki. Anything else?”

"If there is, I'll comm you."
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Adria Stark
Member Avatar

8/1/10

Adria got in a little exercise after the briefing...which mostly consisted of slow-motion martial arts moves and a lot of stretching. She was trying to keep her ribs from stiffening up too much and inhibiting her movements later. It hurt like hell still, but the pain was lessening a bit.

When she'd finished, she thought over some things that needed to be done, but wasn't sure if Hutch had anything specific in mind. "Hey, Hutch...you got any plans for me for today?" she said over the comm while she was pulling her clothes on again after washing up. She wasn't worried that he'd have her do a whole lot on the physical side of things--she'd manage somehow if he did and she wouldn't complain or try to wriggle out of it, but he knew she was still pretty banged up so it wasn't likely.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Captain Jeremiah Hutchins
Member Avatar
Hutch
8/1/10

"Hey, Hutch...you got any plans for me for today?"

"Yeah... Why don't you go along with Mac. Keep her company?" he told her. "Two eyes and ears are better than one."
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Adria Stark
Member Avatar

8/1/10

"Right...will do" she replied.

Adria strapped on her weapons and went in search of Mac. "Hey, Mac" she said when she found the other woman. "Looks like we're partnered up for now. What's the plan?"
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Skye MacKenzie
Member Avatar
"Mac"
8/1/10

Adria wrote:
"Hey, Mac. Looks like we're partnered up for now. What's the plan?"


Adria interrupted Mac’s internal dialogue, not that she’d had a good one going yet. It had been mostly a way to keep from having to deal with the outside world and other people. Clearly unenthused about the prospect, whether that was talking to Kiki, working with Adria, or something else, Mac sighed, looked up at the other woman and spoke.

“Hutch wants us to interview Kiki. We need to get information from the whores here.” The contempt Mac felt about the residents of the District showed, although she made an effort not to let it overwhelm her. It wasn’t for what they did, so much as frustration over her inability to work with them. Mac just couldn’t understand why they were so resistant to helping out. The Butcher was picking them off one by one and they wouldn’t do anything to stop that. Was life really so cheap here? If so, Mac would be very glad to wrap this one up and move on.

“What we want is not so much information from Kiki herself, but to see if she’ll be a sort of liaison between us and the rest of the women. They won’t talk to us, but they will talk to Kiki. So, it’s our task to ‘cultivate’ her, I guess.

“So, the plan is to find her. Then we get her to start talking, get her to find out what she can from the other women and tell us.”


It all sounded like a good plan. But they’d had several good plans already and none had borne any fruit thus far. Mac would reserve her opinion on this one.

She stared into her empty mug, half wishing she could use the excuse of a second cup to keep from facing the world. But it couldn’t be put off forever, so with a reluctant groan, she got up from the table, checked her weapon, automatically checking her pocket to make sure the other bullet was in there, and turned to Adria.

“Well, shall we?”
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Cooper Mandrake
Member Avatar

8/1/10

"So unless I see Ink issue this decree personally or have the Boss walk himself down here, that ain't gonna happen," Delano told him firmly. "As for health inspections or licensing? This isn't the Guild. There ain't anything that needs doing that ain't done. We're in good standing."

"Don't back the wrong horse here Delano. Inkspot's got a felony warrent for assault on a federal officer."
O.K. so technically she wasn't under federal umbrella at the time of the assualt and kidnapping, but no difference. His goose was on the way in the oven. The Boss would be in trouble for that too. Heavy influence from above wouldn't help on charges against federal personnel. So I hoped. As the way this thing was going, it would just me one more chalk mark in the Cooper has no idea column. Which never mattered much to me. Chalk washes off. Dead vics never walk again. As warped as my brain was trying to crawl around in the killer's head and how the entire investigation was like an episode of the Chaos Cops show I still ought to be able to walk over some smug street pimp.

"And things look to go all the way to the top." I tilted my head a little, suggesting I hope that Delano could figure the angles well enough for himself. He could join them in lock up or fill in the openings as they developed.
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Delano
Member Avatar
Collector of Lower Midtown
8/1/10

"Don't back the wrong horse here Delano. Inkspot's got a felony warrent for assault on a federal officer."

"And things look to go all the way to the top."


Delano cracked a smile.

"All the way to the top?" he asked. "It should be obvious that I'm not at the top. I'm just a lowly collector in Lower Midtown."

He folded his arms and looked directly at Cooper.

"And if you look a little closer, you'll notice that you are higher up on the food chain than I am, so if they started at the top and worked down or at my level and worked up, you would still be in the middle of any take down.

"And don't think that being a cop will carry any weight there,"
he added. "I am quite sure that Ink would have some way to include you in the mess."
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Adria Stark
Member Avatar

8/2/10

"Kiki..." Adria said thoughtfully. "Not sure I've met her yet." In her experience, few whores were willing to talk to cops...mostly out of fear of being arrested. It was difficult to get them to talk even when you were just a private investigator. Adria didn't hold out any real hope for this plan to pan out, but they needed to try something. "Well...let's go see if we can convince the whores that we really are trying to help them" she said and let Mac lead the way.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Kiki
Member Avatar

8/2/10

Kiki opened the door of her hovel letting her gentleman friend out. She wore only a pink satin robe. She kissed him on the way out and he gave her a generous tip for her talents.

"Thanks you, Mr. B.," she said as he put his head down and shuffled off as fast as he could go without causing undue attention to himself.

She took her time getting cleaned up, knowing that whatever else she made tonight was her own coin. When she did, she dressed in a sexy dress, just not as flashy as some of the things the younger whores would wear.

She thought she'd go on a nice stroll. She would be looking for customers of course, but she was going to be a little more on the picky side tonight. Maybe she'd even go to the Cabaret Royale for a little nostalgia from her younger days.

In the meantime, she would just stroll through the market area. Perhaps some ice cream would be nice.
Posted Image
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
ZetaBoards gives you all the tools to create a successful discussion community.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Episode 1.4: Butcher of Eavesdown · Next Topic »
Locked Topic

Top RP Sites
Finding Serenity The Vow
ALL Firefly, Serenity material including characters, Firefly/Serenity photos & graphics belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, and Universal Studios. The 'Verse Online is NOT affiliated with any of the above. We make no profit, nor do we ever intend to.
Created by Vocal. of Zathyus Networks