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Paige ... ... ... Paige can't do it yet. She knows what this thing can do. She herself has already been using it for what could be interpreted as nefarious purposes. But at the same time, he ordered it, and he's been nice to her so far. Maybe, just maybe, if she puts a little faith in him... "I w-would like to ask you one more thing..." She says as she hesitates to open her hand. "If you have a particular gift, it's your responsibility to do the right thing with it, right? S-so, um...Well, I-I know what this can be used for. Vehicles, buildings, possibly even a safe or something even more dangerous. I don't know what you hope to accomplish with it, but...I don't want a repeat the the murder case. I want to believe you'll do the right and responsible thing with this. If you can look right at me and tell me you will..." She slowly starts releasing her grip on it. "Then I'll believe you." Bonding!: 2d6+4 11
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Dec 11, 2015 20:48
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Natali Alexander Greger. Alexander Greger. Alexander Greger. She lets the name into her mind, lets it bounce off every wall, contour, and seep into every fissure. It's a name she'd probably never forget. Unfortunately, his name was about all the useful information Petra had, other than the fact that he, at some point, was at their school. A chilling thought. What was an occupation sympathizer doing in an East school? Natali had thought that she would at least be safe within those walls, relatively speaking. Did he know who she was? Did he have plans beyond shutting down one concert? She takes a second to breathe, inhale and exhale; let the emotion out, and then, "That's alright. Just knowing his name will help me out a lot. Petra? Before I hang up, I've gotta say this. This Greger guy...he's dangerous. He might come after you or I if he knows that we were there, or at least played a part and didn't end up like the others. If you need any help, or whatever, I'm here." After hearing Petra's reply, the two hang up. What has she gotten herself into? She stands up, walks around for a bit. Not that there was a lot of room to walk around, but it helped a little. It's hard to calm down again. Even deep breathing doesn't seem to work, at least not for a while. She fiddles with the guitar, and that seems to help a bit more. Something calming about it. Sort like a mother's gentle embrace. So, she has a name to match the general description, and Petra suggested asking teachers. Natali digs out a phone book and trawls though, looking for any last names she recognizes from teachers at their school. Somewhere around the late M's, she hits a name. Müller. What would she even ask her, assuming she was home? 'Hi Fräulein Müller, I'm looking for this guy I have a personal vendetta against, can you help me find him?' She shakes her head, grinning at the thought. Some sort of activity, was Petra's explanation. Fostering cooperation, perhaps? Some kind of short-term exchange? Most importantly, where did the students/teachers, Greger included, go once it was done? Where are they now? Picking up the phone and dialing, glancing back at the open phonebook a few times, she thinks: that would have to be her route to the information she needed. "Guten tag, Fräulein Müller, this is Natali Haas. I wanted to ask you about last week's activity. Something about placing new students or teachers in classrooms? Can you tell me any more about that? I asked Petra about it, but I need more information, if you have time to answer some questions." Her tone was even, businesslike, professional. Probably not something a teacher hears from a young student very often. Hopefully she wasn't too brusque. She didn't really have time for pleasantries. Who knows what this Greger could do if she let him run amok for too long...
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Dec 11, 2015 21:31
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Paige "Murder Case? Oh, that. Look, girl, everything gets misused. Are you aware of the history of dynamite? It was supposed to be a superior mining explosive, one which didn't have the risk of exploding when being transported. Did you know what it ended up being used far more often? Killing people. It's inventor never intended this, but it happened anyway. People called Alfred Nobel the merchant of death, even. All because he wanted to make mining safer. He was so disgusted by this that he established the whole concept of the Nobel Price." He paces around you, calm and steadily, with his arms behind his back. "Where I'm getting at? At least I'm up front of what I will use your work for. Look, I can get into any place I want anyway. What you're holding right there? It just makes it safer for the people I have to pass by for my work. And if that's not enough, I promise not to use it to kill someone. Is that enough for you?" Not enough to bond, sadly. Natali "I'll keep it in mind. ... Thanks for letting know." Petra says to finish the conversation. After a few rings, Ms. Müller picks up the phone. "Müller speaking. Oh, hello Natali! ... Uhm, sure. What do you need?" Yami Fenrir fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Dec 11, 2015 |
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Dec 11, 2015 21:36
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Paige "...No." Even if it was true, that her pieces would be misused no matter what she tried, she would not allow it. This person...She can't trust them with this kind of power, but at the same time, what was she to do? She had to get out of there, but how...And then she remembered something. That fee she took for the items...She never did give it to Friedrich. The money never went into the forge's coffers, ergo the job was never formally accepted. She has just justified her next act to herself and can only hope all will work well. "...I am sorry, but your commission was never approved by the forgemaster. This contract is...n-n-null and void! Here's your refund!" She proceeds to produce the same sizable sum that he paid with and, with as much strength as her working girl arms can muster, chucks it at him before running in the opposite direction. ???: 2d6o6+4 24 However, as 6s don't explode on normal attribute rolls, oops, that's a 15.
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Dec 12, 2015 15:34
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Ilyana Yurievna Leskova Eating German food isn't that unusual... how does the saying go, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'? Why not eat German food in Germany? It's not like it's bad... mostly. Though if they started eating it in particular because my father enjoys my sandwiches so much, well... I can't lie, that makes me feel very proud of myself! Of course, that's nothing compared to seeing my father happy to see me! "School was good, nothing special in particular. How's work?" I can't help but glance nervously at the mountain of paperwork, and his tired expression.
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Dec 12, 2015 21:21
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Paige The coins hit him flat in the face, and due to the amount of them, actually knock him over. Somewhat dazed, he mutters "Ah, to be young again..." as you make your 'escape'. Now you're with Gretchen, waiting for Clara. Ilya "It's... alright. We just got a major breakthrough in getting hiding dissidents behind bars. Managed to get just about an entire warehouse' worth. Of course that means the paperwork is massive. It just doesn't seem to get any smaller." He takes out the sandwich and takes a bite. "It tastes great, as usual. Hmm... I may have to stay at work a bit longer today, so feel free to stay out for longer. But come back before it's dark, yes?"
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Dec 12, 2015 21:54
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Ilyana Yurievna Leskova I barely avoid wincing when he mentions dissidents, since some of my new friends would certainly qualify as such... Ever since I met them, I never could hear the word the same way as before. "Of course, father!" I say with a little too much enthusiasm when he's done, both because of his praise and the convenient alibi that will let me go meet the others and maybe work towards my wish! I give him a hug, and then unless he has more to say, I excuse myself and leave. I'd love to talk with him all day, but I can't be selfish, he's too busy for that. The brief moments are the best, anyway. Bond 2d6o6+5=20 Raising relationship level to Four Now, I just need to find one of the others... and I have a guess where to start. Obviously Gretchen will be at that bar she always spends time at, right? If not there, then Paige will obviously be at her workshop. They're both on the West side of the wall, but I have enough connections to cross, and if father asks why, I can tell him that I needed to go see some historical building in the West for a school project or something! Ilya will aimlessly and fruitlessly wander until something happens to her/she runs into someone by complete chance
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Dec 13, 2015 01:45
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Gretchen "Ah! Paige! I, uh, kinda got the notebook by just crying. I signaled Clara, but she hasn't come back yet." I look back and forth from Paige back to the corner. "Did something happen to you?"
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Dec 13, 2015 03:51
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Clara I've come this far. I can't turn back now. At the very least, I can provide a distraction so that Paige has an easier time getting in. I'm already halfway in the window when Gretchen turns the corner and caws at me. What the...? Uh oh. Abort! I leap away quickly and start running. I'm sure whoever was there got a good look at me, but hopefully the fact that I live in East Berlin will keep them from tracking me down. “Gretchen!" I exclaim as I come up to her and Paige, though still on the balls of my feet, ready to move. "Do you have it? If you do, we should probably vamoose. I might have gotten spotted.”
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Dec 13, 2015 04:24
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Natali (1 Overcharge, Magic/Support) The good news is that she has Müller on the phone. The bad news is she needs to figure out how to get her talking about Greger without revealing her true intentions. "Well, I guess I should start by asking this: did you get to meet any of the participants, or whatever they were called? There's one in particular I need to find, a young man named Alexander Greger. Did you meet anyone with that name, or hear about him?" She'll leave it at that for now. If she asks why she's after him...she'll make something up. Hopefully, she doesn't. To be honest, this is probably a bit weird. A student calling up a teacher, asking her about some random activity the school did last week? Furthermore, why would she ask about one student, or whoever it was, that was involved? Definitely suspicious, if maybe only because it's so weird. Hopefully she'll be honest and forthcoming in spite of the strange circumstances.
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Dec 13, 2015 04:50
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Paige "I-I-I...0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21...Okay...Um...S-so, um, this?" She holds out the sun-shaped object. She removes one of the prongs and reveals what seems to be a car key. She does it again, this time with a building key. "I u-um...kind of m-made this at the request of s-s-someone...they offered good money and I t-thought they'd just wanted it as a n-n-novelty piece or emergency tool. B-but they want to use it for bad purposes, so I...I gave them a r-refund and ran off and w-we should get going...before they get back up. It was only approximately f-fifteen pounds of currency, mostly nickel and c-copper, s-so it shouldn't cause any permanent damage, and d-dizziness will subside in a few minutes."
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Dec 13, 2015 05:24
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Gretchen "Okay, both of those are bad, and we gotta get outta here. Let's head towards the Dog, maybe Fritz has opened the place back up!" I wrap my arms around the both of them and, as the Americans say, amscray!
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Dec 13, 2015 05:33
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The... Fatal Four? The terrible trio now has a fourth member: Ilya! She just showed up at the bar as you arrived. And no, it's still closed. On the way there, you realize that quite a few shops have closed today. Huh. Natali "Alexander Greger? Uh, why so specific? Uh... Oh yeah, he was here on behalf of some company. Let me guess, you forgot the name of the company. It's... Gate Security. Do you want to send an application here? Before you do that, you should probably let a teacher see it, you know."
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Dec 13, 2015 20:57
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Clara “That was fun, right girls?" I say, putting my own arms around both of them too. "Nothing like a good struggle for justice to get the blood pumping.” Then, along the
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Dec 14, 2015 01:14
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Paige Paige holds the object out to her friends and demonstrates the different keys that can be removed one at a time. Including the final super-key. "It is a set of keys of various shapes and sizes. It's not actually gold. It's actually aluminum bronze. I could make it gold if I wanted to, but I would have had to charge more for it, and they did not specify the materials, so I went with a gold-like appearance. The keys can conceivably be used for any lock in the city, and m-mister Zagadka said he just needed them to make getting in and out of places easier. But he also told me about how everyone will m-misuse my tools and my art...s-s-so I couldn't give this to him. I will n-n-not let my metal become the next d-dynamite." She begins placing the keys back in one at a time, in the order they are meant to be reinserted. "I-it's not right to use someone else's w-work to c-commit crimes easier...I-if he wants a set of keys h-he'll have to just go get them from a f-factory!" Unknown Quantity fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Dec 15, 2015 |
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Dec 15, 2015 17:49
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Gretchen I sigh at the Dog's continued state of closedness and flip through the notebook of mostly itineraries, trying to find any clue as to what happened when she disappeared. And then there's Ilia! "Oh guten taaaaaaaag~!"
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Dec 15, 2015 17:53
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Clara “That's so cool!” I say to Paige, then a light bulb goes off over my head. “You know, we could really use something like that. None of the hexenkinder would be able to hide from us if we had keys that could go anywhere!” Then, as I notice Ilya standing in front of the bar, “Hey Ilya! What brings you here? Don't you live on the other side of the wall too? That thing is such a pain, am I right?”
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Dec 15, 2015 20:04
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Natali Thankfully, while she was pacing listening to Müller, she realized how lucky she was that Mr. Greger had been there for job reasons. She had her out. "Oh, that's okay, Frau Müller, but you're right. I was really interested in Gate Security after hearing about what they do. Could you tell me any more about them? Like say, for example, where they're located...?" So, Natali lies and plays dumb for a bit while she tries to summarize everything that's happened so far: 0. At some point before last night's concert, Alexander Greger was at her school on behalf of this Gate Security. 1. Last night, she was at a particularly crowded concert, along with, unbeknownst to her, Greger as well. 2. At some point between the end of the concert and today, Greger ratted out the other attendees, probably to either Soviet police or his own company. 3. Today, Greger is potentially still on the East side of the wall, but could also be on the West side, and she needs to find him. Once she learns where this Gate Security is, or any other information she can gain about it, she'll have her link to Greger. Hopefully. Hopefully this conversation isn't being tapped. Natali bites her lip at the thought. Has she asked too much already? Is she implicating Müller, along with Petra, in this potential wild goose chase?
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Dec 15, 2015 20:26
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Ilyana Yurievna Leskova: Aha! What luck! Not just one, but three of them are here! What a coincidence! "Privye-" I begin to say, then cough. Right! Not on the Soviet side anymore! "Guten tag!" My German is obviously not as good as my Russian, but hopefully it's not embarrassingly bad! "What brings all of you together here? Is there something important going on?" To Clara in particular I look a tiny bit embarrassed. "It's not too difficult for me to get across, benefits of being a Soviet official's daughter, but yes, it would be better for us all if the wall came down, I think..."
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Dec 15, 2015 20:55
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Natali "They have an office building next to the gate to west berlin, on our side. You can't really miss the giant white letters. But why is it so important?" Everyone else Nothing yet! Talk with each other, discuss what you know, decide upon your next move, or so on.
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Dec 15, 2015 21:13
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Clara “Yeah, but it's a lot more fun now that I can jump the wall like a pole-vaulter though.” I grin and do a couple jumps up and down. It feels so good to be able to use my legs for what they were meant to do. Then I start craning my neck to look at the rest of the stores on the street. “So, maybe this is just me, but it seems like the bar isn't the only place closed. Not only here, either. It was like that on the east side too. Am I crazy? Is there some holiday I forgot about?”
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Dec 17, 2015 05:45
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Paige "Wouldn't have to jump or sneak through wall if you went through the door. There are locked doors set along the wall. Reinforced steel. Very thick. But with a key lock. Locks itself after you close it again. Four-sided key lock behind a panel with a tubular lock..." And then she remembers friends are here. "O-oh! R-right! H-hello! We just g-got done with some investigation. Doors are locked everywhere. Could open them. But don't want to. Still have deliveries to make. Currently 4 minutes 28 seconds behind schedule. 29. 30." She keeps counting, albeit quietly.
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Dec 17, 2015 20:57
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Gretchen I hold up Heidi's notebook. "I found a lead in my friend's disappearance. This has to have her last whereabouts in it. It's funny, I'm a magical girl, but even finding a person is difficult for me."
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Dec 17, 2015 21:08
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Natali 'But why is it so important?' What a question. How about 'because Greger ratted out my friends, people who are trying to fight a corrupt and unjust system?' How about 'because he's an rear end in a top hat?' How about 'because I'm going to do something drastic when I see him?' Instead of any of those, Natali says, "Well, I just want to see what it's like. Maybe, if I go, I could even meet Mr. Greger himself! Wouldn't that be exciting! Anyway, Frau Müller, you've been very helpful. Auf Wiedersehen!" Had she been, though? Now she knows more about Greger. He works for Gate Security, a company on this side of the wall. Does he live on this side? Could he potentially have gone to any concert? How did he know that a concert was happening? Too many questions, Natali thinks. Not enough answers. Now she knows where to go. Only one thing to do, she supposed. Picking up her guitar case, she heads out. Pausing at the door, she has an idea. She scrounges up some bread, meat, and cheese, makes a lunch, puts it into a brown bag. Now she's ready. -- Sometime later, she finds herself close to the gate separating the two sides of the wall. To an average person, they might as well be two different planets. To a magical girl...to one who is afraid to meet others on the other side, it's about the same. She shouldn't be so afraid to cross over. But she dismisses the fear. She won't have to go over there to find Greger. She turns her attention to Gate Security's building. Frau Müller was right. You really can't miss this place. So, she's here...now what? She had a plan. Not a great one, but it was at least something to try. Heading inside, Natali quickly finds and approaches what she assumes is a receptionist's desk. Probably there for directions or other related questions. Natali puts her plan into action. "Excuse me, I'm Alexander Greger's sister, Heidi Greger. He forgot his lunch at home! How embarrassing. Is he available? Wouldn't want him to go hungry!" She says, flapping the brown bag through the air back and forth. Convincing? Probably not. But if it gets her face to face with Greger, she has to try.
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Dec 18, 2015 00:10
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Ilya Yurievna Leskova Now that she thinks about it... "Yes, there are a lot of closed down places, aren't there? Today is such a peculiar day!" But her sandwich problems pale in comparism to Gretchen's dilemma! "Well, we are friends, yes? Surely four magical girls can find your friend? Just tell me what you need, and I'll do whatever I can! Or..." she thinks for a moment. "I could see at my father's workplace if they have records, maybe?"
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Dec 18, 2015 18:07
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Paige "Four magical girls? W-well I mean....I still have work to do but...this does sound very important to you...A-as long as I get these done before sundown, it should be okay. N-now, I c-could always ask around, or, well, um...W-which direction are we going again? We seem to have just been...making suggestions instead of g-going for them. O-oh! And um...G-gretchen? Have you tried, w-well...reading the last entry?"
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Dec 22, 2015 15:19
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Clara "It'll be okay, Paige!" I say, folding my arms. "The deliveries are just stuff. Objects. We gotta find Gretchen's friend. That's what's really important. Anyway, if the notebook doesn't say anything useful, I like Ilya's suggestion. Those creepy Soviets probably have all sorts of records about everybody. Um, no offense." I clear my throat a little and scratch a sudden itch on the side of my head. "So, yeah. Does the diary have any clues?"
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Dec 22, 2015 20:32
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Gretchen "Let's see..." I flip open the book to the last page. "It looks like she met with someone downtown. That's not like her..."
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Dec 23, 2015 00:05
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Natali "Oh! Is that so? Let me check if he's actually here... no, he's not. He's currently out on a job in Sesame Str. 4. You should be able to find him there. He'll be right at the entrance as a bouncer." Detective Squad That's not all, actually. Given that the book is filled literally to the brim, she probably got a new diary somewhere. Maybe that person downtown has it? Anyway, it seems to be the best lead for now. Ilya You suddenly get a tingly feeling. Yami Fenrir fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Dec 24, 2015 |
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Dec 24, 2015 00:25
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Ilya Yurievna Leskova: A tingly feeling? Is that a good tingly feeling or a bad tingly feeling? What does it mean...? Ilya starts looking around to see if something is causing it, even blocking out the discussion about Gretchen's friend. Is someone watching them, some enemy?
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Dec 28, 2015 23:59
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Clara "Then there is only one thing to do, my friends. Let's find this fiend and see what they know!" I don't exactly shove the other girls along, but if our group hug happens to turn into me herding them toward downtown, then my strength and eagerness can't be helped, I guess.
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Dec 30, 2015 08:08
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Gretchen "Let's go! Maybe somebody will be in business down there!"
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Dec 30, 2015 22:36
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Natali The bag stops mid-flap as Natali hears the news. "Okay, I'll be sure to get this to him then. Thanks!" She says, running out the door. Hopefully she gave the impression she genuinely cared and was in a hurry, as opposed to just looking like a crazy person. On the way there, Natali ponders all this. A bouncer? She knew he was big, but bouncers also have to be intimidating. Not every big guy can stand in front of a club, say 'no way, man,' and have it stick. In other words, this Greger guy is about as scary as she thought he was, maybe even more so. The question for her now is this: what will she do when she faces him? He'll be right there, out in the open. But it'd be too risky to use her powers in public, even concealed. Did she want to hurt him? Kill him? Not necessarily. Murder's grisly, and wouldn't be easy to swallow, in terms of her conscience. There's got to be something else she can do. As she enters an alley near the building and peeks around a corner, she gets her priorities straight. Answers to some questions. That's all she needs. What was he doing there that night? Did he know about other events of their nature? Did he actually rat out the attendees? Who is he working for? Questions, questions. There's more important questions for her to ask right now. What does the building look like? Where exactly is Greger? What does he look like? Is there a line to get in? Scope out the situation, and then make a plan. For now, it was Natali's best answer. Her only answer. What had she gotten herself involved in...? PurplieNurplie fucked around with this message at 06:32 on Dec 31, 2015 |
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Dec 31, 2015 05:59
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Paige "T-this will add another twelve minutes twenty three seconds to the time I need to make up!" But it was too late. She was already being urged along, and she wasn't exactly great at the whole "resisting a shove" thing. Still, she starts mentally recalculating her map. She can make this work! She just...has to improvise a little!
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Jan 1, 2016 00:15
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Detective Squad Nothing notable happens. Ilya gets a few strange looks, but other than that you arrive without issue. As you knock on the door, nobody opens... as before. Ilya It kind of feels like something is tickling you, even inside. That kind of feeling seems to come with an urge to move in a specific direction - curiously enough, exactly where you're going. Natali The building is one of the more intact buildings around, seemingly prettied up a lot. It was probably something like a sports hall or whatever before. Anyway, there seem to be multiple bouncers, and they all fit the description of Greger somewhat. It's going to be impossible to tell who exactly he is with just looking. The line is pretty large, with multiple rows and a bouncer with a checklist each at the end. Very likely you're going to attract attention, walking up to him and asking him questions. At the very least, it's certain people will be able to listen... and that's not a good thing in East Germany.
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Jan 1, 2016 20:10
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Clara I knock louder and louder, then add a kick for good measure. "Grr. Stop getting in the way of our investigation!" I growl to the door. Once the knocking goes on long enough to make it clear nobody is going to open up, I try to open it. Is it locked? If not, I'm barging in like a genius.
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Jan 4, 2016 06:43
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Paige "O-oh! Is no one there? Are you looking for someone's specific location? Well, um...I've never tried it before, but I may have a means of finding someone if they're nearby. It's a bit loud, though... But at the same time...Have we tried just stepping inside? I-it may be more prudent to do so."
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Jan 9, 2016 15:24
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Gretchen "We've got to get in! Heidi might be in there and in trouble!"
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Jan 10, 2016 20:37
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Detective Squad After a while of knocking, someone does open the door. It's... Heidi?! "Hello. Come in." she says, in an emotionless voice.
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Jan 17, 2016 13:03
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 08:12 |
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Gretchen "HEIDI! It's you! Oh mein Gott, I'm so happy to see you!" I'm almost in tears as I grab her and hold her in a close hug. "You should have called me, dummkoff!"
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Jan 17, 2016 20:06
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