new orleans ♔ now that you've found another key | what are you going to play

[shootfirst]

♬ Baby, You're a Rich Man - Beatles

WHO || Thomas, Gar, Kat, Dumage, Mark, Myri, Buffy, Finnick, Spike, Rafael, Des, Elena Gilbert, Burt, ??, ??, ?? [Closed]
WHAT || The Knights begin a three-prong recon mission to push forward their intelligence operations on NOVA Records
WHERE || NOVA Records HQ, New Orleans
WHEN || Monday, Oct 15th [Forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order!!

[[ Towering above our heroes is the fifteen-story NOVA Record Headquarters, an L-shaped structure tipped with a winged roof, covered in reflective window linings that paint a portrait of the New Orleans skyline across its panels. Foot traffic streams in and out, a parade of Bluetooth wearing suits, women in nine-inch heels, and extravagantly dressed stars surrounded by guards and entourage members.

But the lavish exterior hides a dark secret or two, and the Knights have sworn to shine a light on all of them.

Why is a record company funding a church that supports Shadowkind slavery? What are the 'experiments' for which they're buying up Shadowkind DNA, and how does it relate to the mysterious behavioral-control chip found in the displacer beast released in the museum? And, of course, what do they want with Jade, and what do they know about the Lazarus Talisman's current location?

Answers are rarely straightforward on their journey, and it looks like another complication or two are on the way.... ]

Comments

Pre-Mission

[rationalizes]

[ Disguise is the rule of the day, according to new mission leader Sir Bancroft. Considering that NOVA appeared to be tracking their movements the last time that they were here, and knew the faces of those involved in originally contacting Jade, it might be a good idea not to skimp on that step. Particularly because the couple months away might have alleviated some of the surveillance, if NOVA's come to believe the Knights have given up on their lead here...

So break out those Disguise checks and come talk strategy, bitch about mission partners, and help each other with makeup and hair.

Gar sits on the common room couch at the moment, dressed in a striking black outfit that's entirely uncharacteristic of her usual conservative wear, complete with dark, smoky make-up and tousled hair that make her resemble a total stranger to someone who doesn't look twice. She's fretting with a tube of lipstick and a hand mirror at the moment. ]

[slay]

[ buffy's gone balls to the wall on this disguise check -- with the way thomas had been pushing it, and the knowledge that they'd hacked into the drakenet made it hard not to stress. so, with a disguise check of 20, she opted past the makeup and clothing stage and was currently working at stuffing blonde hair under a short black wig that matched her short black dress. she grimaced as the netting pinched, but got it under control well enough, then hurried over to take the lipstick from gar. ]

Go any darker, and you'll be trying out for Suicide Girls. You look fine. Great, even. And very much not-you. [ beat. ] Not that ... you don't usually look great. Just, y'know, a different kind of great.

[rationalizes]

No offense taken. [ she sets the lipstick on the stand beside her and gives buffy a once-over ] An entirely different Buffy. Very effective! Perhaps I should have gone with a wig...

[slay]

Believe me, you're not missing out. I give it an hour before I start itching like Baloo, scratching my head on whatever trees are nearby. [ she checks it in the mirror, adjusting. ] You don't think it's too much?

Backstage Pass // Finnick, Myri, Dumage

[postergirl]

[ it's the front door for team backstage pass, and there's a definite buzz in the lobby that follows their entrance, as befits finnick's newfound star power. strolling along on one of his arms is dumage, who looks a bit too smug about it, and is definitely enjoying having all eyes on her.

it's within seconds that a green-looking aide rushes up, looking nervous as hell.

"M-mister Finnick, sir, Mr. Becksworth's been waiting for you. Th-they need you on set." ]

[65]

[as always, finnick is not remotely fazed by this. it's more of the same old song and dance he's been doing since puberty. he's all about smiling and waving at people -- until aide-chan comes up.]

Has he? Well, I wouldn't want to keep him waiting.

[postergirl]

[ the aide looks super!relieved and turns around with a smile to lead them past the desk. dumage leans up to whisper to finnick: ]

Set? Making the leap into movie stardom already? Kiss of death, you know.

[witchwoman]

[Dumage can take on the smug act. Myri will rely on being a total babe with her new look. She ends up accidentally taking on that 'starstruck' vibe. Luckily, staying close to Finnick is part of the job description today, so she is perfectly fine acting like an extension of his arm. When Dumage leans in to whisper to Finnick, Myri tenses but she's also curious. She's seen a good chunk of movies by now, so the idea is intriguing.]

But I thought you were here for music?

Man Behind the Curtain // Buffy, Gar, Kat, Rafael

[romanticidal]

[ in order to help eliminate the appearance of having anything to do with one another, rafael and his entourage arrive a little while later, entering the large, white lobby of nova for the first time. a large square pool dominates this side of the room, the NOVA label emblazoned on the tiles below the water. A side staircase leads to an upper balcony, but most traffic seems to be to and from the elevator banks on the right side of the room, and into the hallways back behind the large black front desk. at the desk sits a redheaded secretary, with perfectly curled long hair and too-red lipstick. a security guard stands against the wall behind her, staring straight ahead, a gun visible on his hip.

no one gives them a second look when they enter, and rafael stands there a moment, eyes raised to the balcony as he surveys the scene. ]

[slay]

[ buffy's donned big kathryn merteuil sunglasses to go with her wig, because there's nothing that says i belong in a snazzy record company like oversized shades. she pauses to glance at rafael as he surveys, then marches on up to the woman at the desk. ]

We're here to see Mr. Becksworth. [ there was an air of entitled expectance to the way she said it - the way she didn't bother introducing rafael like she expected the receptionist to know him, the way she arched her eyebrows from behind her sunglasses, peering down at her critically, that way she didn't ask if he was in, just made their intentions clear. (diplomacy 24 or intimidation 23 i wasn't sure which it'd be.) ]

[shootfirst]

[ kat stands off to the side, blowing a huge pink bubble that she releases with a loud SNAP

the secretary glances at her, then back up at buffy, looking unaffected by any of this.

"Which Mr. Becksworth?" ]

[slay]

Chad. [ this time, with an air of 'duh.' ]

Duct Divers // Spike, Thomas, Mark

[bancroft]

[ so thomas failed to mention something essential in his planning meeting, and spike and mark got to find out just now. in order to get into the building without being detected, thomas wants to go in via the roof. in daylight. which puts scaling the building right out, for many reasons.

luckily for him, the knights have autopilot on their secret planes... so these three are going to be jumping out and landing on the roof. yep.

thomas grins at them as mark puts on his mini-chute, and he hands spike something that looks like a brown potato sack. he looks kind of pleased with himself. ]

This is for you, Blondie.

[bigbad]

[Spike looks at it skeptically and wonders why he thought anything ever about this mission was a good idea.]

That's supposed to be my parachute, is it?

[bancroft]

[ he lets out a loud chortle and points behind him where the parachutes hang ] Course not! Right there, mate. That's for your head. Don't need you getting a nasty case of sunburn out there. [ wink ]

[bigbad]

You want me to put a sack on my head. [He hates absolutely everything by the way.] What about the rest of me? That's flammable too.

What the Water Gave Me // Elena

[behindcloseddoors]

[ ♬ what the water gave me - florence + the machine

it's a strange quality of our human perception of time that allows a moment to both happen too quickly to react, and to seem to stretch on for infinite moments, allowing the strangest observations to creep in and swallow up some corner of the mind.

the span of time between matt's truck careening off the bridge and the inevitable impact with the water was one of those moments, and despite having no opportunity to take action, there was enough time to process the seemingly trivial appearance of a thick mist coating the surface of the water, obscuring the dark surface that would have to be rising up to meet them beneath it.

the strange displaced sensation in her stomach as they fell through that mist was easy to mistake for horror in those last seconds. and then impact, reality vanishing around to be swallowed up by darkness that consumed the view, the truck, everything around her.

gone.



entirely gone. she awakes under water, dark spots swimming in front of her eyes, but nothing strapping her to a seat... because there is no seat. no truck. no matt. just water in and around her, choking up her lungs, slogging down her movements... ]

[notaroundme]

[It's takes her a long, precious moment to regain any kind of sense. Her chest is burning, her first instinct is to inhale in an attempt to fill her lungs with air, but water hits the back of her throat when she tries, causing her to cough and push with her limbs against the water surrounding her.

It occurs to her, briefly, that she should not be able to move so freely, that she should be strapped into a seat, which is also missing. It's only her, floating alone in the dark.

And then the thought is gone and she is thinking only of her survival. Her soaked clothes weigh her down, and her thoughts are dragging as her brain screams for oxygen, but she manages to kick her legs and pull her arms toward what she can only hope is up and toward the surface.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ as a throbbing pain sears through her forehead, her hand bursts out of the water, feeling a chill rush of air, and comes down on a hard, cold surface. it's slick from the water, but seems sturdy enough to try and pull herself up (if she can roll a strength check of at least 9 [d20 + str mod]). it feels much more like a man-made ledge than anything natural, with its hard, smooth, straight lines. ]

Interrogation

[bancroft]

[ when thomas arrives in the purple auditorium, kat shows him the secret backstage entrance that leads into the mysterious bedroom -- where mark has bound mr. gilbert's hands, and everyone gathers to ask some questions of chad becksworth's ~personal assistant~. ]

What's all this then?

[nothingsodivine]

Found this guy while we were snooping. Kat nearly gave him a new hole where he really doesn't need one. And now you're here. The end.

[Des is the best at explaining.]

[bigbad]

That's a matter of opinion. [Spike thinks he could use a few more holes, okay.] Personally, I hope he puts up a bit of resistance before he talks.

Trackers

[bancroft]

[ so thomas leads them down a merry maze of ducts, following some invisible clues that only he can see. there are no demons this time around, at least...

when he finally gets to where he was intending, he slowly pushes out the grate, and turns with a finger on his lips to signal them both to be quiet, as he emerges.

they are in a very small, dark practice room, equipped with a piano. the door has a tiny strip of glass window to either side of it, and a hallway is visible through there - along with another practice room on the opposite side of the hallway. a shadowy figure is barely visible moving over there.

thomas moves quietly towards the door (move silently 21), and presses himself flat against it, peeking just once through the window ]

That's him, alright.

[bigbad]

[Spike follows him like a shadow (move silently 24) and glances past him, trying to get a better view of the figure (view 11).]

Who?

[slay]

[ with a move silently of 14, buffy's the loudest of them, but still pretty effectively sneaky. she leans forward to try and get a look through the window at who thomas means, but falls with a smack to the ground when she leans over too far (spot 1). ]

I'll take your word for it. [ it's quietly grumbled as she pushes herself back up to her hands and knees. ]