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Post by skybright on Sept 24, 2008 22:14:26 GMT -5
The motel Daws had booked for the evening's activities was a ramshackle, borderline-condemned place on the outskirts of Queens, nestled between an abandoned warehouse and a vacant lot full of trash and rusting car parts.
Daws had contacted Vance to let him know the location of the place and the room number, and they'd arranged for her to meet with one of Vance's more nondescript men at a payphone just down the block. From there, Vance's man could collect the key and he and Daws could secure the room as much as possible. The others -- including their prisoner -- would hopefully follow soon after.
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 24, 2008 22:28:19 GMT -5
A few minutes after eleven o'clock, the mutant known as Shroud came furtively down the sidewalk. He was still sporting a small bandage over his left eye, thanks to a nasty gash he'd sustained in the battle at Mount Bliss, but there was nothing else about him that would attract undue attention.
As he approached Daws, he raised a hand in rather diffident greeting. "Major says hello, Miss Dawson."
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Post by skybright on Sept 24, 2008 22:34:01 GMT -5
Daws nodded in return. "Evening, Shroud. Any trouble on you guys' end so far?"
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 24, 2008 22:40:49 GMT -5
Shroud shook his head. "The Major picked two of those lab creeps for the Patsy of the Week contest. He sent a coupla guys to watch each of 'em, and report back on what they do and how hard they'll be to hit." He checked his watch. "Any time now, he's gonna hear back, and make a final decision on which one wins the prize."
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Post by skybright on Sept 24, 2008 22:48:05 GMT -5
"Lucky him." Daws replied dryly.
She shrugged and gestured down the block, to where the sign for the Valiant Motel leaned haphazardly over the parking lot. "Guess we'd better get the place checked out, then. It's room fifteen. The reservation is for 'Doug Jones' -- and there's no way they'll care about seeing an ID."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 24, 2008 22:56:17 GMT -5
"Join the mutant underground and see the world," Shroud remarked acerbically, falling into step beside Daws.
He patted his jacket pocket. "Just in case, I've got a gun."
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Post by skybright on Sept 24, 2008 23:03:20 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "So have I. Like they say -- better to be prepared than sorry."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 25, 2008 21:11:04 GMT -5
Shroud followed Daws to the door of room fifteen. When she inserted the key into the lock, his hand slid into his pocket, and he watched alertly as the door swung open.
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Post by skybright on Sept 25, 2008 22:33:57 GMT -5
After a momentary pause to listen for movement in the room, Daws reached for the light switch and flicked it on -- grimacing at the decrepit state of the place. "It's not exactly the garden spot of Queens," She muttered.
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 26, 2008 22:07:02 GMT -5
"The guys we're looking at bringing here don't deserve the Ritz," Shroud murmured, stepping disdainfully into the room. He made a sweep of the place, looking under the bed, checking the window and the battered furnishings, examining the inside door lock.
"Seems solid enough," he declared laconically at last, standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips.
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Post by skybright on Sept 26, 2008 22:33:54 GMT -5
Daws nodded andf -- after giving the sagging bed a disgusted glance -- leaned one shoulder against the wall. "Solid enough for our purposes anyway." She remarked. "I guess now we just wait for the action to start."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 26, 2008 22:38:25 GMT -5
Shroud gave an indifferent shrug, and slouched into one of the two chairs at the table.
"So how'd you dig up a place like this? Some old detective case?"
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Post by skybright on Sept 26, 2008 22:46:46 GMT -5
"Yeah." Daws nodded. "Lot of the people I get hired to find hole up in places like this. Mostly they don't have the money for anything better."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 26, 2008 22:56:22 GMT -5
"Rough." Shroud frowned thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand.
"You wouldn't think it now, but I came from a pretty rich family. Even after my mutation showed up... well, there were some rough patches, but they dealt with it pretty well. I'd already planned on going in the Army, and that was where I saw the hard time guys like the Major got. My speaking up about it--that was what my family didn't like.
"Lucky I'd been smart enough to put some money away. I did alright, till I met the Major. Signing on with him wasn't exactly the way I'd imagined helping mutants, but..." He shrugged. "It's a living."
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Post by skybright on Sept 26, 2008 23:02:50 GMT -5
"Yeah." Daws murmured wryly, "I don't think any of us ever really forsee where we'll end up."
She chuckled. "Well, I guess I figured on the detective part all along. The guerrilla warfare, not so much."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 26, 2008 23:16:47 GMT -5
"I don't know how you civilians do it," Shroud murmured. "Us guys that follow the Major--ticked-off ex-soldiers, drifters, ex-cons--we've got more from doing this than we'd have otherwise. Even if all we've got is some pride. But people like you and Rosenstein... you've got an awful lot to lose."
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Post by skybright on Sept 27, 2008 23:15:38 GMT -5
Daws shrugged one shoulder. "I can't speak for anyone else." She said quietly, "But the City, the world, the rest of the people like us . . . they've all got a lot more to lose than I do. That's how I do it -- and why."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 28, 2008 22:12:05 GMT -5
"Too bad more people don't feel that way," Shroud murmured.
His cellphone chirped then, and he answered it. After listening and giving a few terse answers, he shoved it back into his pocket and glanced at Daws.
"That was the Major. He's decided which guy to kidnap, so it'll be going down in just a little while now. Then they'll head for here." He paused. "The Major asked if you'd call Proteus and let him know."
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Post by skybright on Sept 28, 2008 22:35:06 GMT -5
Daws nodded and moved to the phone, quickly dialing the number of the cell phone Vance had loaned to Proteus. She left a brief message letting Proteus know the location of the motel, then replaced the receiver with a shrug. "Might take him a while to get out here -- but I guess that'll give Vance and the others time to arrive."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 28, 2008 22:48:02 GMT -5
Shroud nodded. "The Major won't be getting here too quick. Not the easiest thing wrangling hostages..." He grinned slightly. "But I've heard you know that."
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