new orleans ♔ there's always a siren singing you to shipwreck

[dragonsclaw]

♫ Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse

WHO || Buffy, Alainn, Rose, Sam, Dean, Faith, Felicity, Isabella  [closed]
WHAT || The Ex-Knights of Failboat head off to interrupt an auction for Rafael Giovanni's life...
WHERE || New Orleans, LA
WHEN || A couple weeks post-LA
HOW || Actionspam

Held in the grasp of the Knighthood's enemies for a stretch of time that has been an aching splinter in the heart of the ones who love him, Rafael Giovanni's life now stands up for auction.  Having made a number of powerful enemies in his days as the vigilante assassin The Black Scourge, including the secret Vatican police known as Iscariot, Draken Crombe's organization sought to capitalize on the many who sought revenge by sending out word that Eterna Jade was not, as his trial had seemed to prove, the Black Scourge at all, and offer the chance to kill or torture Giovanni to whoever would pay the largest sum.

The Knights, being made aware of this, did what they could to stymie this auction from coming to pass, and Buffy Summer and Jack Chessing managed to at least thwart it several times, leading to its cancellation and inevitable rescheduling elsewhere.  However, none of this led to Giovanni's actual location. 

The capture of Draken Crombe finally allowed them to learn of the latest plans for the auction - to be held at a location in New Orleans, a temple of some sort.  It seems that Crombe's other followers still intend to follow through with ridding themselves of Rafael, making it clear that even with Crombe in Knights' custody, the villains still have some organization or leadership.  Tia Ellison rattled out the plan by invading Crombe's mind, learning of the way that he had been psychically manipulated by the Mind Master for years, and doing what she could to start to heal his shattered psyche.  

Jack Chessing, eager to see Rafael rescued after their many efforts, cautioned however against sending too many on what might be a mission from which there is no returning.  To that end, they've tried to split the forces of their magic-users, fighters, and researchers.

Now, it's up to a few to save their friend... without losing any more.

Comments

[romanticidal]

[ and in a timely manner, there's suddenly a bunch of flashing lights that cast red and blue streaks throughout the interior of the car, painting both of their faces in alternating colors. he turns to look at her with slightly widened, and a bit guilty eyes ] ... I suppose there is that.

[slay]

I don't suppose you have your license with you.

[ She addresses this with the dry air of someone who has had a Too Long Day. Then she looks back over her shoulder at the police car behind them and sighs. ]

Pull over. We can trade seats. [ She doesn't have a driver's license--like, at all--but at least she has an ID with her. ] It's just a ticket.

[romanticidal]

Except that this is not our car. [ it is, in fact, a stolen one. ] ... I can outrun them.

[slay]

[ Oh.

Shit.

Buffy, unused to having to actually worry about the police, now realizes the full extent of the problem. The one that she has opened them up to by not having it in her to say 'no' to injured Rafael. Some part of her brain is firing off that Isabella would have never allowed this to happen if she'd been watching him, but that's neither here nor there. ]

That sounds like a bad idea. High-speed chase doesn't exactly scream low profile. [ She doesn't have a better one, however. ]

[romanticidal]

Neither does a celebrity pulled over in New Orleans who has not been seen in so long, si? [ juuust pointing that out. and he's going to... slam on it. with a 31 drive check, this does not seem to be his first police chase, and the driver behind is clearly not expecting that, so they get a little bit of a lead as they tear down the streets ]

[slay]

[ Oh, christ. He's just going for it. Buffy grabs onto the handle of the door a little bit tighter now and turns to look over the seat back at how far they are from the cop car.

It's not as far as she would like. ]

We need to ditch the car. If we don't, they'll use the license plate and track us back to the hotel.

[romanticidal]

[ rafael does a quick and dirty turn down a street to the left at the very last second, and the cop behind them goes flying through the intersection, not anticipating the maneuver. there's a screeching sound as he slams on his brakes too fast, and the car starts to fly towards a fence along the ditch.

unable to regain control of his car, the cruiser hits the fence and rolls, the local sound of collision making it impossible to miss, and raf's head swings back to look, eyes widening further ] Ah--

That was probably not going to help. [ hope that guy's... okay... ] It might not be a good idea for us to leave this car around anywhere. [ what an ominous statement that is ]

[slay]

Why?

[ She looks over suddenly, deeply concerned about this new development more than she is about the potential dead cop in the rolled car. Gotta stay in the present for now. ]

[romanticidal]

If the car were destroyed, they would have a harder time to trace it to us. By the time they did, we will be gone. [ gettin' the drift... hopefully... ]

[slay]

You want to blow up the car?

[ this is a terrible idea, which Buffy's tone spells out in no uncertain terms. ]

[romanticidal]

If it helps, I have done it before. [ no raf. probably doesn't ]

[slay]

Actually, in most circles, we call that the opposite of helping.

[romanticidal]

Trust me. [ he slows down, bringing the car to a stop and surveying their surroundings. the road ends ahead, and sports one of those "left / right" only signs. ] It is probably best if you get out now.

[slay]

I don't think that sounds best at all.

[ Buffy looks deeply perplexed by this. She's not going to just let ?? ? Rafael commit suicide in an exploding car?? What kind of Giovanni Dramatic Nonsense is on the menu today what the fuck. ]

[romanticidal]

I will roll out with plenty of time. Like I have said... I have done so before.

[slay]

[ She holds his gaze for a long, stubborn moment. Rafael, known suicidal maniac, does not have a great track record with this. She glances behind them again, huffs, then opens the passenger door. ]

You've done it many times before when you had your strength. You're injured. Be careful.

[ And then she climbs out and shuts the door and looks like an impatient hitchhiker. ]

[romanticidal]

I promise. [ it's the last thing she hears before her door shuts. his, on the other hand, opens, as he starts the car rolling, keeping one hand on the open driver's side door. the car starts accelerating towards the end of the road, although it looks... unstable, veering wildly from side to side, the vehicle bucking against the force of sudden speed. ]

[slay]

[ She can't watch.

Instead of looking to wait for him to bail out, she turns around and watches for the police cars, trying to maneuver into a nearby space where she can hide (hide 30). ]

[romanticidal]

[ the road is eerily clear, actually, as she tears her eyes away, slipping into the shadows of a nearby tree. it's the sounds that are impossible to ignore - a sudden shriek of tires turning in a way that they shouldn't, and then a horrific crunch, as the car hits a fence and rolls once, twice, another half turn into the ditch off the road ]

[slay]

[ Even knowing he should have bailed out of the car, she can't stop the war her stomach drops. Buffy pushes down the panic, uses it to fuel her, and sprints the rest of the way up the road to try and find where he'd jumped out. ]

[romanticidal]

[ so, about that.

as she gets closer to the car, which is starting to smoke, she'd seen no sign of rafael anywhere. and the door to the car doesn't look like it's open. ]

[slay]

[ ... This dumb suicidal idiot. Panic rises up in her throat. Suffocating. She tries to fight it down, to remain calm and sensible until there's more solid proof one way or the other. She races for the car and tries to get the door open. ]

[romanticidal]

[ the door seems stuck, although she can make out rafael slumped in the driver's seat backwards. the smoke seems to be pouring out faster and faster at this point ]

[slay]

[ Buffy holds her breath against the smoke and pulls at the door with all her super strength can muster (str 19). Panic and fear later -- action now. It keeps her head steady in the face of it. ]

[romanticidal]

[ the door strains for a moment before being yanked open, where she can now tell that rafael is completely unconscious, whether from his wounds earlier or from a combination of that and the crash. either way, he is out for the count, and she can feel heat gathering in the vehicle ]