london ♔ this is a bad town for such a pretty face

[wynn]

WHO || Wynn, Val'drin, Helen, Francesca, Eric, Lila,  Tia, Grant Peterson, Audrey Peterson, Peter Jayson, various others [closed]
WHAT || A mission gets personal when a cult takes a member of the Knights hostage
WHERE || London, England
WHEN || April 2nd, 10:30 AM  [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam or prose

This is exactly the kind of mess that the Knights like to avoid, and having two missions become very public spectacles in the course of less than a year is not doing much to keep Wynn's hair from turning... oh, wait.

It's already a media circus when the team flies out there in a helicopter that carries Francesca, Eric, Tia, and Lila. Across the street, Wynn has usurped the top floor of an office building to keep an eye on the situation. He watches the screens broadcasting the video taken by the three going on with a tense eye, along with Val'drin and Helen, who are here to consult. Below, the police have blockades of cars, officers, and police line keeping the civilians and reporters back, under orders of Chief of Police Jared O'Keefe.

The Bell 212 chopper hovers for a minute above the building, enough so that Eric can toss a long rope down to dangle over the top floor balcony in the southeast corner. He looks back over his shoulder at Lila, giving her an encouraging but grim nod, and then pulls his SWAT helmet on and grasps the rope, turning around and then hopping back as he slides down. (climb 12) the dc is 10 to climb down, and you are allowed to "take 10" (assume a roll of 10) if you don't have a negative strength score.

Comments

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the archway opens into a small parlor furnished with plush chairs and a handsome sideboard. it also affords a view into the large marble-floored foyer. one commando stands there with his back to them, facing the front doors. he seems to be guarding a person who is tied to a chair. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ she darts back to francesca to relay the info and as she does so slides the safety from no pew to pew. just in case. ] One guard, one hostage tied in a chair.

[socialgraces]

[ francesca nods, responding very quietly: ] There's probably more out of view.

[ she then sneaks very carefully into the parlor (hide 30; move silently 26), taking cover behind the north wall at the archway to the foyer for just a moment before making her way along the west wall that separates the kitchen from the foyer. it's a bit too far for her to move all the way to the man at the door on this turn, but she should have a better view of the room from here in the shadows (spot 19). ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the woman tied to the chair is also gagged and neither she nor the guard seem to take any notice of francesca ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila moves back to her spot by the archway (move silently 23 & hide 23) so she can keep her eyes on the woman in the chair. she hesitates slightly, because eric was pretty clear this was her big chance so so far she's been trying to listen to the senior knights (e.g. everyone else) but she knows she has a shot.

balls to the wall. she takes it. (atk 28, dmg 15) they were going to have to fight him anyway, hopefully lila just caught him off guard. ]

[socialgraces]

[ at the sound of shots being fired, francesca turns invisible (ninja: ghost step) and moves the fifty feet to the guard, her rapier striking with great precision, all the while the guard's still attempting to deduce where said shots are even coming from (att: 34; dmg: 13 + 19 precision dmg = 32). she remains invisible until her next turn. ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ that attack is over twice his con and he fails his fort save, so the damage causes him to pass out with a grunt and slide to the floor. since francesca is invisible, the woman in the chair's eyes go wide and she screams against her gag, rocking in place slightly as if afraid the gunshots will hit her next. ]

[socialgraces]

[ welp, francesca snaps back into invisibility, then, and sheathes her sword, looking over at the woman immediately. she moves to untie her hands, waiting on the gag until last so she has a chance to calm her down first (dex 17). ] Shh. It's alright, we're here to help. We're with the Knights. [ and here's her chance to rock her epic diplomacy as she moves to the gag (diplomacy 41), assuming this is grant peterson's wife. ] Can you help us find your husband?

[mislabeled]

[ when the gag comes off, she lets out a sigh of relief ] Oh thank heavens, Wynn sent someone. I can't thank you enough. You've no idea what an awful ordeal this has been.

[she looks around, disoriented, as she stands, moving one hand woozily to her brow] They're-- they're probably in the safe room. I heard gunshots coming from that way. Was that--?

[socialgraces]

[ francesca narrows her eyes ] That was us, yes, but we've yet to locate your husband. Nor have we found the terrorist running this operation.

[ she shoots a look back to lila, concerned, and obviously ready to head back to tia and eric in case more trouble has erupted there. if audrey can walk, she can follow, and francesca motions such, wasting no time. ]

[mislabeled]

There's a passcode, to get inside it. 4-9-2-1. [ she doesn't move to follow, however, looking back towards the doors to the outside hall ] I'm feeling rather lightheaded from all this. Is it safe to leave?

[bittersweeter]

[ lila glances at her with narrowed eyes like woman, your husband is in danger and you want to bounce? (sense motive 30) hopefully this is some stiff-upper lip british pride thing and not just some uncaring bitch who doesn't care about other hostages. ] It's best you stay with us, if they see someone leaving they could push forward their plans for the hostages, and none of us want that. [ she attempts a reassuring smile to accompany her potential veto (bluff 44, diplomacy 40) before focusing on what is more important, turning away slightly. they had these coms for a reason. ] Eric, are you good?

[sirstickuphisass]

Sort of. We took down the commandos, but they screwed up the electronic lock on this safe room door. We're trying to break through, but it's a mess.

[ lila's announcement, however, garners a very brief frown from audrey, a hint of frustration in her eyes. in fact, lila gets the distinct impression that despite her display of panic when they came in, she's lucid, relatively calm, and not as scared as she was pretending to be. ]

[socialgraces]

[ audrey's frustrated look catches francesca's eye, and now she's on the same page with lila (sense motive 35). she hides her suspicion expertly, however(bluff 55), and says to audrey: ] I really will be safest with us. Perhaps you could give us a hand with this safe, especially if that is indeed where they're keeping your husband.

[mislabeled]

I've given you the passcode. I'm not about to throw myself back into the line of gunfire again. I'm not a Knight, I'm a research assistant. [ francesca's able to tell that not only is she less afraid than she seems - she's not afraid at all. in fact, it seems that she knows something that makes her feel perfectly safe in all this. ]

[socialgraces]

[ welp, apparently their suspicions were warranted, then. francesca takes a chance of drawing suspicion (because they're the ones with guns, after all) and assumes this woman probably doesn't speak drow, muttering into the headset in drow: "She's not afraid - she's keeping something from us."

she'll leave it to val'drin and wynn and maybe helen to translate over the comm to everyone else. ] There's five of us, well armed and trained. [ which is partially intimidation right there ] We can protect you, but we need to find your husband.

[bittersweeter]

[ while this chat is happening, lila crouches down next to the unconscious body and just takes all his shit like she's playing skyrim. :) now they're very armed. mostly she's poking around to see if he has a comm system like they do. it would be so handy. ]

[mislabeled]

[ the commando has an akm/ak-47, a beretta 92f, and is wearing a tactical vest. he does not have a comm.

audrey stares francesca down with a frown on her face, displeased, but nods. ] Of course. I just assume he's locked up safely where they can't get to him.

[socialgraces]

If that's the case, then why weren't you locked up with him? [ they can walk and talk back to tia and eric, but francesca's still on high guard, drawing her gun in case someone sneaks up on them (spot 34) ] And why were there several guards surrounding that door?

[bittersweeter]

[ yay, toys! she's just going to take both the guns. presents for eric. such a good squire. luckily francesca is leading them back to the safe room so lila doesn't shoot the disabled guy in the face. because she was thinking of it. he's still alive, it goes against her nature to leave him that way.

but she follows, keeping an eye on audrey. while holding an automatic weapon. like really. follow francesca, it is in the best interest of staying alive. ]

[mislabeled]

I assume they thought anyone coming in would try to come through the front door. Having someone there to use a hostage could only work to their advantage. [ she shakes her head at the other question, putting her hand to her temple again. ] Don't ask me what they're up to.

[socialgraces]

[ francesca wants to call her out on it now, but as long as her team is all the same page, she feels no need to start a confrontation in the middle of a much larger confrontation.

she'll just keep walking, glancing around every so often, but mostly keeping her attention on miss audrey here. ] Let's hope we can get that safe open.

[bittersweeter]

[ the way audrey touches her temple makes lila's mouth set in a line. maybe it's just a nervous tic, but tia does the same thing. and tia is a telepath. (and the only one lila can stand, ftr. no one else is allowed in lila's brain.) so on a whim... /abuses comms. ] Tia, can you recognize people like you if you're close enough?

[telekinection]

Telepaths? Not instantly, but if I make an effort to get inside their head. Of course, they're likely to know that I'm trying, unless I'm substantially more powerful than they are.

You think there's a psion here?

[bittersweeter]

I think there could be. Better safe than sorry. [ and lila sure would like to know exactly what they're dealing with here. it just twinges as skeevy and she would rather they rule that out than surprise! telepaths! when they least expect it. #reasons she is the mafia princess and anton is dead. ]