Plotlogs
The Pied Pire Singapore Sr Alexandra 240328
In a complex and twisted narrative set within the sophisticated backdrop of the National University of Singapore, a group comprising members from various orders - the Temple, the Order, and those Seeking Redemption, find themselves embroiled in a precarious situation involving Zeng Jian, the Red Scythe, a demigod associated with the Jade House and accused of heinous crimes by the Dynasty.
The team, initially assembled with the aim of hunting down an entity known as the Pied 'Pire, a shadowy orb accused of kidnapping children, finds their mission taking an unexpected detour. A proposition from the Dynasty leads them into a morally ambiguous confrontation with Zeng Jian, discovered in a state that suggests he's a perpetrator of gruesome violence against women.
Amidst the gravity of their discovery, the team grapples with the moral implications of their task. Despite the incriminating scene, some members, driven by a sense of justice and a need for truth over mere compliance, argue against outright execution without understanding the full context. Even as they struggle with their conscience, the appearance of formidable Dynasty ninjas escalates the situation, forcing the team into a dire decision.
Tabitha's spiritual invocation, alongside her teammates' readiness, facilitates a desperate escape back to Haven, with Zeng Jian in tow. This maneuver spares them from an immediate deadly confrontation but not from the ominous promise of pursuit from the Dynasty. Their return, however, is tainted by the unsettling realization that their knowledge of the Pied 'Pire remains as elusive as ever, coupled with the sinister grin of Zeng Jian, suggesting layers of complexity yet unveiled.
The narrative pauses on this cliffhanger, leaving the readers pondering the true nature of justice, the depths of treachery within the Dynasty, and the genuine intentions of Zeng Jian. It teases the intertwining of moral dilemmas, political machinations, and the unyielding quest for truth in a world where allegiances are as shadowy as the entities that lurk in the dark.
(The Pied 'Pire: Singapore(SRAlexandra):SRAlexandra)
[Wed Mar 27 2024]
In the National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a prestigious research-intensive university located in Singapore. Established in 1905, it is the oldest and largest university in the country, consistently ranked among the top universities globally. NUS offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs across various disciplines, including arts and social sciences, business, engineering, science, and medicine.
Renowned for its cutting-edge research and innovation, NUS collaborates with leading institutions worldwide and attracts top faculty and students from around the globe. The university's campus is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, fostering an environment conducive to learning and discovery.
NUS is deeply committed to nurturing future leaders and contributing to society through education, research, and community engagement. Its diverse and vibrant campus culture encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and fosters a spirit of entrepreneurship and creativity.
With a strong emphasis on global perspectives and interdisciplinary learning, NUS prepares its graduates to excel in an increasingly interconnected world. It serves as a hub for intellectual exchange, innovation, and excellence, driving Singapore's growth as a knowledge-based economy and making significant contributions to the advancement of society.
It is about 50F(10C) degrees.
The party manages to sync up somewhere in Singapore and make their way to the National University of Singapore. The campus landscaping boasts generous greenery, including many trees and grassy areas. The building itself features modern aesthetics, with plenty of large windows, open-air walkways, and curved edges, all but looking like an ocean wave in the sea of green. The conference room the group received invitations for is on the third floor in an area that lacks outside windows, and even the door lacks a portal to the outside world. The door is heavy, wooden, and reinforced to the discerning eye. Magnetic locks and an entry pad require assisted entrance, which the group receives from a nearby security guard. Once inside, the group is left with a long, metal table, polished to a high shine with a glass covering on it. The glass has recently been cleaned in recognition of having visitors. A dozen or so comfortable office chairs surround the table. A projector system hangs from the ceiling above the table, though it is currently not displaying anything but is warming up.
[OOC: Welcome to The Pied 'Pire: Singapore. If you have any questions, feel free to use STalk or replies via Tells. Please make use of the Think, Internal, Feel, Recall, and Attempt commands on this adventure. These will greatly enhance your experience and immersion, while also speeding things up for others. I try to do one post per person rotations, but if you want to do short bursts of rapid banter in appropriate situations, feel free. Text that is all colored in this color will be private, for you to act upon ICly. Buckle up, and we will begin shortly. Thank you for letting me be your SR for this evening's festivities.]
Meridith could be involved for any number of reasons, if anyone wants to claim to have invited her
It wouldn't be unusual for Miles to have suggested that Meridith and Tabitha join them on this particular task, after all, they're both capable and close allies. What is unusual, however, is the ill-fit of their clothes, and the more feminine slant to their features. It appears that Miles has been whammied by something or other, and they can't help but near constantly run fingers through their hair in a self-soothing sort of gesture. "I think a summary would serve everyone well." They note to Ryan.
Meridith gazes at Miles, still not used to the shift in appearance it seems. Or perhaps it's something else. She came along with the two of them, dressed up in fancy garb it seems she's become quite fond of. "A recap is nice, I got the lowdown on what we're hunting, but more intel is always appreciated."
Tabitha looks between Meridith and Miles for a few with a twist of her lips and a hmmm escaping her.
Tapping on his phone, Ryan pulls up his notes and research, "So there's this dark...kind of a shadowy orb entity that has been using mind control on children. It's kidnapping them on their seventh birthdays. It has nabbed seven of them so far, at least locally, and it keeps on finding new places to float to attempt and pull them. Mostly graveyards. Last time ritual magic worked, so if you have any sort of magic, it would be appreciated." he looks around at Meridith and Tabitha as well as Viktorin, and then his eyes land on Miles, "I don't know if we've met. I'm Ryan Harris, Head Librarian of The Order."
Turning his eyes towards Miles, Viktorin blinks. Owlishly so. Probably from the familiar look, familiar clothes. Hesitantly, he asks, "Mil- The hell is the feminine form of Miles? Mila?" The Czech himself is accompanying his fellow Orderite, Ryan, standing beside him. Towards Meridith and Tabitha, he gives a brief nod. Not much else however.
Meridith snorts quietly, then ahems covering her mouth. " No magic on my end, but I pack one hell of a punch," she offers to Ryan dutifully.
There's a waver to Miles's lips at Ryan's introduction, as if they aren't quite sure if they intend to grin about this situation or grimace. There's a lot of new feelings to process after all. "Mmm." They rumble in the back of their throat, "We've met, Ryan. It's me. Miles. Just Miles." The later is added for Viktorin, who gets a bit of an in turn, Miles's green gaze flicking up and down the taller fellow.
Tabitha says "I can cast anything you need, Ryan."
Ryan squints as he looks at Miles and takes a few moments, "Huh. That's odd. Well, good to have you uh...Miss Miles." he turns to the rest of them and says, "So our intel has gathered that The Dynasty here in Singapore has more information about the entity, so we're here to gather information and see what they want for it. They don't like any of us, so it'll be...well...probably difficult."
Tabitha smiles vaguely at Ryan and Viktorin. "Thanks for the recap. Miles asked me to come with because he thought I could be if some help." She spreads her hands outward then wiggles her fingers to Meridith.
"I'd highly suggest you not cast magic or whatever here," Viktorin tells Ryan, gesturing towards their surroundings. "Dossier biz, remember. Don't wanna be nabbed," and the Czech takes a moment to lower his voice not-so-subtly, "The ninjas."
The feminine form of Miles is Miley, for reference.
As Ryan finishes his summary however, the electronic click suggests the lock to the door has been activated. Shortly after, it opens up and several men in business suits file into the room and take a stand in front of a seat on one side of the long table, leaving the center seat empty. A few moments later, a woman in a much nicer skirt suit enters, letting the door fall closed behind her. She takes a position in front of the center chair on her team's side, then gives a small bow. The rest of her side bows further than her. Then she sits down, followed by a chorus of the men sitting down. She folds her hands together on the table, looking across at each of the members before her, silent, expectant, and waiting.
One of the men produces a laptop and opens it, taking control of the projector. It starts to display to the head of the table closest to the door. It shows a man, with brown hair and dark eyes, obvious Chinese features. He is in armor that looks a lot like might have been worn in feudal China, but his weapon is that of a large, wicked red scythe. The woman finally speaks once the picture is up and the visitors have had a chance to view it, "This is Zeng Jian. He is a Jade House Demigod, also known as the Red Scythe. He is here in Singapore. And he needs to be eliminated. If you do this, all of the Dynasty's information on your Pied 'Pire will be given to you."
"Just-Miles-is-fine-thank-you." Miles attempts to squeeze a sentence into the space of a word as he notes the honorific used by Ryan, their thick brows twitching a little. Though, really, Miley would serve, wouldn't it? Though Miles quickly falls into silence as the presentation begins, their gaze ticking over each person who enters the room.
Meridith isn't sure if she's supposed to take Tabitha's hand or not. Or she's casting a spell. She's unsure. She enjoys Miles introduction but does no more teasing. She knows this is a serious scenario. She's mostly here for if it goes poorly. She turns to the woman, studying her, then bows in response, polite and proper. And she gazes at Zeng Jian's form
Giving a bow and sitting down himself and glancing to the others, Ryan nods as he listens, "Thank you for seeing us today. I am Ryan Harris, Head Librarian for The Order, and we've been following this entity for some time. Can you give us some information regarding Zeng Jian? We'd like to know what we're up against, and if there are crimes he's committed."
Tabitha was, in fact--- waving.
"It is an honor to meet with you now," Viktorin starts, with a bow. "I am Viktorin Teptic, Head Shield for the Order." He seems fairly nonplussed about what they're asking for, though he glances to Ryan for reassurance as he seats himself.
Meridith tips her head politely, but doesn't speak otherwise, right now.
Tabitha tilts her head to the speaker in a respectful and polite way, remaining quiet as the laptop is produced and the details are given about who they may be up against this evening. She takes a seat, as Ryan has and folds her hands together.
"He is an embarrassment, and that is all anyone need know of him from this moment on. I would like it to be his epitaph, in fact," the woman says to Ryan, all business and straight forward it seems. "While he is outside his House's influence, the Dynasty would like him gone. That is all you should need, if you wish to have our information," she concludes with a glance along the other side of the table to see if anyone else wants to comment. "We have some information about him we can share. You can perform the task any way you choose. When you're done, your little task force will receive all files we have on the Pied 'Pire," she explains a little more forcefully than the first time.
One of the men produces a file folder from a brief case and slides it across the table toward Ryan. "If there is nothing else, we will not need to see you after it is done," the woman says, and the man with the laptop puts it away. The projector remains on so everyone can see Zeng Jian still. She pauses long enough to give anyone a chance to speak, but she seems ready to leave it to the team.
Meridith shifts, turning a concerned gaze to Tabitha and Miles. She looks a little displeased but says nothing else. The 'little' task force remark earns and raised brow from Meridith, and he stares intently at the woman following it. She turns to study their target one last time.
"Well, I'd suggest we'd need to know a mite bit more about your little problem than that." Miles quips up after a few moments, having slipped into a seat beside Tabitha as the Dynasty members speak. He's quick to use 'little' right back to them. "I'm sure that what you're providing will include information on where we might find him, and what tricks we should expect him to pull out of his sleeve?"
Opening up the file, Ryan gives a glance over it for last known locations, aliases, contacts and allies, and any useful intel as he flips through them, then passes the folder to the other folks as he nods to the woman, "Thank you for this. We've been trying to save the lives of children, and we'll help you resolve this conflict with Mr. Jian and be on our way. We don't want to interfere with the normal operations of The Dynasty, as you all probably want us out of your hair as well."
Tabitha remains quiet, thoughtful, taking in the words of the woman with a slight twist of her lips, too. She puts her hand upon Miles's now effeminate one when they sit. She nods to them, in silent agreement.
"Life is nothing without some surprise," the woman says toward Miles. She stands, then all the men on her side stand. She glances around the table once more and says, "As long as that resolution ends with him dead, you will face no problems from us during your visit," she tells Ryan, then she bows slowly. The men bow deeper in response, then they all turn to leave through the door.
The file Ryan received contains a short dossier, which has the usual information, height, weight, age, nick names, mannerisms, and such. All the information one would need for a proper assassination. Including the address where he is staying for his visit to Singapore, along with some brief info on his contacts in the city as well as who and where he is expected to be while visiting.
The projector stays on for about fifteen minutes after the Dynasty reps leave the room and the door clicks to re-engage the lock behind them, giving the task force time to talk and consider their options. How and whether or not they perform the expected assassination is apparently up to them, though as with many situations, all actions have consequences.
Viktorin stays silent, letting Ryan do the talking. However, he winces at Miles, quirking his lips into a gradual frown. Turning his face towards his fellow Orderite, he asks, "What's in the dossier?"
It's only once they're alone that Miles responds to the woman's comment, mostly to themselves, and under their breath, "I've got a gutful of surprise," They claim, and afford Tabitha's hand a squeeze for some mild comfort. They produce their phone with their other hand, raising it up and taking a photo of the projected image, ensuring they've got something to reference later before tucking it away again. "Do you have any contacts on the line that you can hook in to look into this fellow? Anyone back in Haven?" They query of Ryan then, while raising a hand to rub at their bottom lip thoughtfully.
Passing around the pages of the dossier as he lays them all out on the table, Ryan says, "Looks like we have all the intel they have on this guy. He's associated with The Jade House, so there's some potential complications there. Plus there's the subject of murdering a guy. I think we'll need more to go on, at least Vik and I. I don't know if I can pull the trigger on killing a supernatural just because The Dynasty says so."
Glancing to Miles, Ryan says, "Mostly myself and our Order scouts." he pulls out his laptop and powers it up, looking through his digital archives to see if there's anything, "Let's see what we can find on this guy, or the Jade House to see if there's maybe some enemies of theirs that we can tap into."
"They are seeking some other person to do it so they are not facing the consequence of it with the Venetian Council, I'd say. Dirty someone elses hands." Tabitha remarks. "I am only coming to speed on this, but why would they not handle their internal affairs by themselves, since--well..." She gestures to Ryan and Viktorin, then Miles, indicating Order and Temple.
Meridith stays uneasily and uncomfortabley. She gazes at Viktorin, then Miles, then Tabitha, then finally Ryan. "I've no problem fighting them," she declares. "But I won't participate in murder without a reason. Could we simply take him elsewhere? Falsify it?" she notes.
Meridith's voice is low of course
"Sad that we can't hand him over. They'd be able to see justice by their own hands. Though... this smells like the type of situation where, we're the opportunity." He doesn't clarify further on the subject, frowning quietly. "A pawn." Then he states towards Miles, "We're in their territory, not the other way around. Pretty sure these guys don't care about Venice." Viktorin pauses, glancing back towards Ryan.
Viktorin means Tabitha.
"Let's not assume justice has anything to do with this." Miles murmurs in response to Viktorin with a mild quirk of the lips, as if pulling away the comfort of the thought from the man. They continue to tap at their lower lip thoughtfully, leaning closer to Ryan to peer over his shoulder and at his device.
Dynasty politics remain enigmatic as ever, but for clarity, the Dynasty and the House of Jade are absolutely not allied in any fashion. Given members of the task force come from both the Order and the Temple, it may simply be the Dynasty's prerogative to have both of the larger, better funded, more powerful organizations take the heat for them instead of facing internal strife from directly crossing the geographical demigod neighbor. Not that any of the members of the Dynasty said that, merely the context involved in these sorts of situations.
The woman's parting shot might be a little troubling though, as she only said the task force would not have problems as long as the situation ends up with Zeng Jian dead. Any solution that does not end that way has the implied threat of trouble. And also, likely, having information withheld from the group.
The projector goes off, and a few moments later, the lights go out as well. A suggestion perhaps to get things moving along, even if they are no longer in the room. Or perhaps the lights are just automatic.
Meridith says "Let's get out of here first."
Meridith nods to Tabitha. "Then let's find him, take him, and deal with it from there?" she offers to Ryan.
"Helps that he's just some demigod, right?" Meridith says to Miles somewhat testily.
Ryan nods as he packs up his things and heads for the door, "All right, who wants to help navigate. I'll drive and we'll keep a lookout for his whereabouts. I've never been to Singapore, so I'll need some help with the streets."
Meridith doesn't look amused, gazing away and sticking her hands around her waist.
Viktorin says "Oh Oh! Me! I want to navigate! My nickname is the Mighty Captain Socks, after all."
"You mean this one? It's worked out pretty well for me...sorta." Ryan says as he puts it back in his bag, "Either way, you're the magical power here, so that's on you, Tabby."
Viktorin suddenly, and perhaps, a bit unprofessionally asks Miles, "So... what's it like being a chick?"
Meridith says "Focus. "
Meridith says "That's why I told you to focus."
"Vik, stop hitting on the Commander until after the mission." Ryan jokes as he gets into the car and starts it up, stowing his weapons behind the driver's seat as he slips on his armored vest. "Okay, Vik...shotgun. Let's get on the road and see where this leads."
Blinking, Viktorin informs Miles, "That's weird." And then he turns towards Tabitha, asking, "How- wow. That sucks." Apologetically he glances back towards Miles, murmuring softly, "Sorry. You'll be back to regular Miles one day." Following Ryan, the Czech mentions, "I'm not hitting on anyone! I'm curious! I swear!"
Meridith nods. "Maybe we'll try it on you later," she notes, gazing at Tabitha then blanching.
Perhaps because the task force being used to driving in the United States, traffic in Singapore appears to be a nightmare. First, because they drive on the left side of the road, one of very few places left in the world where they do that. Second, because it is also rush hour for morning work traffic. The team gets some time in the van for continuing to flirt/not flirt and discuss the mission. So that gives them a fair bit of time to consider their options and how they want to proceed. The location where Zeng Jian is staying is about half an hour away in this steady stream of rage-inducing traffic.
Zeng is apparently living it up a bit in Singapore, as he has selected the Marina Bay Sands as his place to stay. [Words can barely describe this location, so your friendly neighborhood SR is just going to supply a picture:
]
Meridith lobs her backback into the van. Her eyes are focused now, she's otherwise quiet and seated in the back, checking over her gear.
Tabitha piles into the van, and from the back, begins to be curious herself, rummaging through things. "You have extras in the way of armor. I've my bag of tricks on me but Solomon stole my armor from me a few days ago." The fist shake from Viktorin is met with a light bob of her brows, and an extended finger toward him in a threat of touching him.
Meridith says "I suspect I'm the most capable fighter at present? Baring the coffer draining styles of Miles."
"You should've mentioned that earlier, so much earlier." Miles laments aside to Tabitha, clicking their tongue softly, and shaking their head. They raise their hands to pull their salt and pepper locks out of their manbun. Womanbun? Bunbun. Out of their bunbun, and start to fingers through the locks in a self-soothing gesture.
Like many of those from former British colonies, Miles learned to drive on the left, and Ryan may feel the sheer weight of their gaze against his back as they silently, but definitely internally, backseat drive.
Ryan nods, "Probably. I'm mostly in finance and business." he grumbles as he drives through the terrible traffic, honking his horn alongside the rest of the Singaporean traffic. "Well shit. Looks like he's staying in an expensive ass hotel. That'll be really dangerous for us to do anything in, unless we go undercover. Do you all have an idea of how we can sneak in? I've done a little bit of covert work for The Order, but I don't have any disguises. Also I'm not asian."
Meridith gazes at Ryan. "We could simply use the Nightmare," she notes.
Tabitha shrugs, palms up, at Miles. "I'm not sure that it matters does it?" she ask Ryan. "Singapore is a big tourist area isn't it?"
"Yeah, but we could sneak in as the staff, and I'm pretty sure none of us would pass." Ryan notes.
[This is a good place to take a 10/15 minute break. It gives everyone time to consider how to attack this famous hotel, but also to get any water/food/bio breaks that might be necessary. When we come back, we can arrive at the hotel and start moving forward. Everyone be back by 20:40 Haven time.]
[20:50, sorry!]
"We could always knock out a few of the hotel employees and wear their clothes." Tabitha offers as solution, eyes gazing from Ryan to Meridith, to Viktorin and then Miles. She rests her hand on the unfortunate femme's thigh.
Meridith snorts. "What, why not just Nightmare into his room?" she repeats
"I wonder, does Clairvoyance allow you to see into the Nightmare? Or no?" Viktorin asks curiously, mulling over his thoughts. "If so, then no Nightmare."
"We do not know that it is warded," Tabitha says to Meridith. "And that," she points at Viktorin.
Meridith says "We'd find out easily, and the point is to step out of the nightmare and ambush him at night."
Tapping on his phone, Ryan furrows his brows, "I don't know, there isn't a lot of documentation on it, at least that I have. I know Clairvoyants are able to see Ghosts, but Ghosts are...well...sort of in this weird in between place that isn't quite The Nightmare."
"I figured that Vik meant sensitives." Tabitha nods to Ryan.
Viktorin says "I'm not sure though. Demigods can see ghosts though if they train hard enough. And hear them too."
Viktorin also tells Ryan, "And... pray he's not ancient. Because if he's ancient, he's going to beat our asses instead."
Meridith scoffs. "If he's ancient, we should be getting his help, not theirs," she notes.
There's a raise of the brow aside toward Meridith at that comment, though Miles elects not to get involved in the discussion for the time being.
Meridith rolls her eyes.
"Depending on his crimes, if any, wouldn't asking for his help be like asking Mister Inigo for his? Granted, he is not ancient. But he has his eye on that prize." Tabitha says, still plucking through things that could come in handy for whatever it is they are going to come up against.
Viktorin says "Why don't we call him Solomon? Why call him Mister Inigo? That's an undeserved respect."
"I'm fond of Solly, or Grundy, for the son of a bitch." Miles murmurs in mild agreement with Viktorin, gazing out the window and toward the passing city as the van rumbles along the streets.
Meridith says "Good ol' small dick Inigo"
Meridith says "We've proven exactly zero crimes, yes?"
"He still has a name that carries weight in town. Sometimes treating someone with respect makes them a little more compliant to social norms." Ryan notes.
Meridith says "Frankly, an enemy of these guys seems like they'd probably be pretty good."
Tabitha looks out the window to do some touristy scenery watching as she rides along with the others. She nods lightly to Meridith, rubbing a knuckle across her still faintly swollen eye. It's barely even noticeable unless one looks very very close.
"That's a little bit of a naive take, sweetpea." Miles opines aside to Meridith, turning away from the window to afford her a gentle turn of the lips, and reach over to pat at her hand. "Sometimes even the bad folks don't get along with one another. It's a monster eat monster world out here."
Current evidence indicates that Zeng Jian is not old enough to have silver or gold eyes, which suggests he is not even a century old yet. Or the photo could be old. It is likely not beyond the Dynasty and its twisted agenda to send the group after a much older demigod than they have presented. Not as if Photoshop could not be used to change eye color too. But all of those things operate from a flawed position: That the Dynasty wants the task force killed instead of Zeng Jian. The disgust in the Chinese woman's words clearly indicate her opinion of Zeng, and it is unlikely she harbors any desire to kill the task force, directly enough to invite them to Singapore to make it done. Murder is usually an intimate affair between known parties, not something committed against unknown strangers for no other reason than simple enjoyment. OUtside of the Fae. They don't count. At least not for this.
As the team pulls up, only valet parking is available, and the young men and women in the valet area are eager and happy to help get the large van out of the area. It is unsightly compared to the other vehicles in the area, so they try to rush it into the garage and hiding. That leaves the task force out in front of the amazing construction of the Marina Bay Sands. He is on the 45th story in the third tower of the 2600 room hotel. Suites are placed on that particular floor, so there should be a decent amount of space between rooms. Though it will still be very open based on the window plan of the building. Thankfully, it is still morning in Singapore, so perhaps the task force can catch Zeng unawares before he has woken up from whatever celebrations he might have taken part in last night.
Checking over his duffel bag of weapons, Ryan looks back at the others as the van gets parked, standing there with his baggage. "I guess we can try and get a room near his, or look like couriers or something for delivery. I think I can pop the lock on his hotel room."
Meridith wags a finger. "Well, I think..." She muses. "It's just worth keeping in mind, our desire is to make him worthy of our objective. I am not going to compromise what's right just to make this easy," she insists. "I'm not much for sneaking about, loud and proud." She notes to Ryan. "You point, I punch," she explains.
"There's a place for both." Tabitha says to Meridith, waiting for Ryan to take the lead. "I thought my idea of overtaking a few employees and stealing their clothes was a great idea. You see that a lot in all the covert spy movies."
Meridith makes a face at Tabitha.
Ryan nods, "Lets see if we can hit the Laundry then. we may not even need to knock anyone out. get some out of some lockers or some used uniforms we can wear. Should be around the back." he upnods to the rest as he begins heading that way.
"The less knocked about people we leave in our wake, the better." Miles opines as they move to follow Ryan's lead, snaking a hand out for one of Tabitha's in order to give it a squeeze. They adjust their weapons and armour beneath their jacket, buttoning it closed to help hide it from curious eyes.
"Eh, let's just bag him... If we catch him unawares, it'll be easier on us," Viktorin murmurs quietly.
Tabitha takes hold of the feminine hand of Miles when it is offered to her. "I think maid service is the way to go. Would also give us a chance to see if he's not alone."
Viktorin glances towards Ryan, "Well, most of our team is made up of chicks. Maybe that'd work. And then I can bust through the wall, like the koolaid man!" Mischievously the Czech quirks his lips into a toothy grin at his fellow Orderite. And then his eyes flicker over towards Tabitha, Miles, and Meridith.
"That's not true," Miles insists to Viktorin with a little huff of air from their nose, and their free hand raising to rub at the back of their neck. There's a pause and a glance aside to Tabitha then, "Maid service." They repeat.
Finding the laundry room is simply a matter of following a few signs while off of the beaten path. The facility is not exactly tiny, and it seems each tower has its own to help keep up with the throughput necessary to maintain such a large establishment. Unfortunately for the team, the laundry room is meant for things like towels, bed sheets, pillow cases, and wash clothes, not really uniforms or anything of that sort. The group earns some odd stares from the workers there, but if no one pushes further into the room, the staff is likely to just think guests were lost and go about their business. Perhaps some hotels with uniforms likely make their employees do the uniforms themselves, not using the facilities of the hotel to do so.
Meridith is playing support, lingering like some much too cool foreign tourist, backpack slung over her shoulder, on her phone, waiting for trouble and keeping a lookout.
Looking around, Ryan approaches one of the workers and pulls out some large American bills, "Hey." he says quietly as he makes sure they're somewhere out of general line of sight, waving the lady over as he murmurs quietly. "Me and me wife love this hotel, and we have this thing, you know? is there any way I can buy three maid outfits? It's kind of a roleplay thing, you know. If you have any extras, that is."
Miles very much allows Ryan to do the speakng, and the attempted bribing, and just sort of awkwardly raises a hand to wiggle fingers toward the woman that he's approached, attempting to play his role of, well, part of the roleplay 'thing'.
Viktorin just blinks and confirms, almost jokingly, "I'm the wife."
Staff in the laundry room mostly gives Ryan some disdainful, scoffing looks. Especially when the group behind joins in on the joke. The woman blinks at the group then shoos them out of the laundry room with rushed comments that are in a mixture of Chinese and English but which basically amounts to, "This is not a place for guests. See the concierge, or they will have to call security. They do not want their insurance premiums to go up if a guest gets hurt in the laundry room."
The concierge desk is closer to the entrance and clearly marked. And for Ryan's particular ploy, it is far likely easier to get handled there.
Tabitha plays the role now of a young American tourist, caught up in the lifestyle of Singapore, and the rich sugar-daddy that Ryan is. She shifts from one foot to the other, a light twist of her red hair given in circles as she watches the scene between him and the other worker with a flush.
Straightening his tie, Ryan nods to the lady as he moves more towards the Concierge desk, attempting the same ploy as he leans over the counter, reaching up to slick back his shaggy, beach blonde hair as he gives his most winning smile and asks the Concierge, "My good friend, I'm here in Singapore on business and I'm looking to have a little bit of fun." he slides a few folded large denomination American bills across the counter as he leans in closer and murmurs quietly, "Me and the lady are looking to have a little bit of roleplay, so I was wondering if we could rent three of your maid's outfits for a few days?"
Viktorin, impatient as ever, throws upon a voice. A particular silky voice. "Give us the uniforms," Viktorin states. He needs no eye-locking for this bit. Just the power in his voice. And logic. "Surely, you can spare us a few outfits. And surely, you can look the other way. What's a few uniforms compared to money, especially when it's returned at the end of the day?"
The concierge looks a bit bewildered by the request, but after looking over his shoulder a couple of times, he focuses back on Ryan and Viktorin. "You are not doing something that is illegal here in Singapore, I hope. I would have to report you to the American authorities," he says with a narrowed gaze, without a lot of details for the request. "If you need maid uniforms, there are shops where they are sold. Our uniforms are for our staff only," he insists to the pair of men with the women behind them. A glance is given toward Meridith, Tabitha, and Miles for a moment, then he says, "Besides, it looks like you already have some costumes." Probably in reference to Miles, given the badge and all.
Tabitha looks about the place, pinching her thighs together. "Is there a bathroom nearby?" she asks the man behind the counter. She ticks her head to the side a moment, looking like she might really -need- it.
Miles raises a hand to rub at the wrinkles about their eyes, and then pinch the bridge of their nose, "Let's just go knock on his door, yes? We know which room they're in." They suggest to the others, "I don't know if we need a key to operate the lifts, but.." There's a slightly louder question afforded to the concierge then, "Alright there, sir? My compatriots and I are looking to visit a friend, we can make do without uniforms. Do we need anything to get to his room? We're trying to surprise him with.. something that is legal, but very much a fantasy." There's a beat, "It's his birthday, you see." They explain in a knowing tone.
Meridith is hanging back, doing her best to pretend she does not know these people.
"I can call up to his room and have him buzz you in, if you would like," the concierge offers helpfully, moving over to pick up a receiver from a phone nearby. "What is his room number?" he asks curiously. The query about the bathroom is met with a quick point of his fingers toward the nearby bathroom sign indicating it is around the corner. "Just take a left and follow the wall. On the left, miss," he answers helpfully, given that is his job. To be helpful to guests. Within the policies of the establishment.
Grinning as he slides the folded bunch of bills to the Concierge as he says, "That wouldn't be a surprise then, would it, sir?" he asks as he glances to Viktorin and then back to the man, "I'm sure you understand that he's going to have just the -best- birthday, I'm sure." Ryan says with a grin.
Tabitha starts toward the way of the restrooms, digging into her tote for a few things. Womanly things, probably. Subtlety rules here, but if someone looks closer, the object she pulls is not a tampon. She looks behind her. "Anyone else need to use the bathroom?" Girls, and thier need for going in a group.
Meridith waves over from the side to Tabitha, moving to join her.
Meridith nods faintly and moves over to Ryan, giving him a little elbow and jostling
Ryan gives a big grin to Meridith as he slides his hand in his pocket and palms something to Meridith.
Meridith moves back to follow Tabitha to the bathroom
"I'm.." Miles isn't quite sure if they should be following the girls to the holy land, or not. Which is to say, the women's restroom. They cant a glance back toward Ryan, and nod in agreement with the point he'd make. Surprises do need to be surprising, after all.
Tabitha steps into the bathroom, and enters one of the stalls.
Meridith plays sentry, waiting for people to depart before fetching the 'undergoing maintenance' sign or the Swiss equivalent
While Miles misses their chance to visit the promised land, Tabitha and Meridith get into the bathroom, presumably locking it and preparing for a quick ritual. Between the pair of them, it should be easy enough to knock out in about fifteen minutes, though a couple of knocks come during that time. Not insistent knocks, more curiosity knocks after the door does not open.
The concierge slowly backs off of calling Zeng's room, because he does not know the room number. "I am afraid I cannot really help you bypass our security features, even for a surprise. If you would like, I can just call and ask him if he is expecting guests. That is the best I can do, I am afraid. We take our guests' security very seriously here," he explains apologetically, giving a small bow, but prepared to be done with the conversation if no one presses further. He does not even look at the money. One might get the impression that this hotel is the kind that would run security drills against its own staff to ensure strict moral adherence to their policies.
"I bet your soul is biege." Miles accuses of the concierge, which is the meanest insult they can come up with that won't result in them being thrown out of the place. They groan and lean away from the desk, slinking closer to Viktorin and Ryan, "We're making this harder than it needs to be, boys. Let's just get ourselves a room in the same tower, same floor if possible, and wander over and up there, eh?"
Sliding the money back across and into his pocket, Ryan nods to the concierge, "I think we'll catch him for lunch, then. Would probably make for a great story, you know?" he says with a big smile to the man, "You're doing a great job, bud. Tell you what, if the party goes all night, we'll probably need a room, so...do you have anything on the 45th floor of the third tower? I've heard those suites are just magnificent, and you have to be up high to see all across the skyline."
Tabitha gathers up her things, and soon she is stepping out of the bathroom looking all sorts of awkward and blushing as she does, and meets a couple of waiting patrons outside the door. She scoops up Meridith's arm in hers and heads back to the group.
Tabitha motions to them a few paces away from the concierge.
"Certainly, sir. Whose name should I put this reservation under?" the concierge asks in a way that hints whatever answer Ryan provides will be used against him in a federal court of law back in the United States.
Meridith walks arm in arm with Tabitha.
"One moment, I believe I'm being summoned, my friend." Ryan says as he gives a big smile and wanders away from the desk to Tabitha, "Yes?" he asks as he lowers his voice, raising his eyebrow as he confers with Tabitha and Meridith.
Meridith says "That explains your reaction..."
"What do you mean?" Tabitha asks.
Meridith reaches up to poke her cheek. "All ready faced."
Meridith says "Err...read faced."
Meridith says "...red faced"
"I was acting embarrassed by hogging the bathroom..." Tabitha says. "I've seen panties before. I've seen sex before too!" She gives Meridith an amused laugh.
Meridith gasps, as if this is the most audacious thing she's ever heard.
Playing the part of the annoyed sugar daddy, Ryan rolls his eyes as he wanders back to the desk, "I'm so sorry, my friend. Seems like my..." he motions towards Meridith, Tabitha, and Miles as he shakes his head, "They're hungry from the trip, so I'll have to come back later as they're quite insistent. Thanks for use of your bathroom as well, the hospitality has been fantastic." he claps his hands as he glances over at Meridith and Tabitha seemingly gossiping with each other, "Ladies, let's go. No dawdling."
The concierge has let the group off the hook for the moment, but he watches them warily as they pow wow a distance away from the desk. He does not call security, but he looks like he wants to really badly. Or perhaps there is a hidden button that does this for him without too much notice. Either way, the group seems to have touched on a different plan for getting up the tower. Though if security is as tight as the concierge indicated, it might be more difficult than just stealing any old key. Likely, those keys are set to allow travel to specific floors. Which could be problematic for the group.
Miles purses their lips for several long seconds, nearly doing a duck face. They turn then, and march away from the concierge, and towards the general check-in desk, frumping against it with a beaming sort of smile, "Hello there, I'd like a room, please. Forty-fifth floor. There's memories attached." There's a forwardness to this, as if Miles were adopting the persona of someone used to getting their way.
"Which tower, sir?" the reception desk lady asks. "Can I get a name and a form of ID for the reservation?" she asks a moment later, while typing on the keyboard. She makes a couple of clicks with her mouse, then asks, "Ocean view or no? Or did you have a specific room you desired? Do you recall?"
"Third tower." Miles indicates with a twitch of the lips, not seeming to mind being called sir. They cant their head to the side at the request for identification, and gestures Viktorin closer, "We'll give the paperwork a miss, and we'll charge the room to Inigo & Wilson, business account." The femme wryly intones, pausing then and playing up considering the last two questions, "Ocean view sounds appropropriate, that's the most important part to me."
Viktorin slinks forth, gliding over towards Miles, curiously tilting his head. "Mm?" he murmurs questioningly. And then "Mm!" he blinks as he hears Inigo and Wilson being mentioned.
There's a private look afforded to Viktorin from Miles, and when it becomes apparent that he may not have picked up on why he was being gestured over, Miles clears his throat, and makes a jedi mind trick gesture with a hand.
"Here..." Tabitha says, and digs through her tote for her wallet to pull out some identification to use. She leans into Miles, giving them a hipcheck. But all the while, holding out her id, she's looking about, watching tourists such as themselves wander about and where.
Viktorin sighs and flicks his gaze over to the concierge, throwing upon the silky voice from before again. Once more, no need to lock eyes. Just ooze power into his voice. Logic. "Surely, identification isn't needed. Where is discretion in the matter? I'm rather well known back home, and if the tabloids catch hint of anything rather scandalous, still legal, mind you, but scandalous, I'll have my face -plastered- over the front pages. Surely, you don't need to check our ideas. Surely, you can 'accept the reservations without checking identification'..."
"Oh, Inigo and Wilson? Certainly," the young lady says. "Which family? And your first name, please?" she asks thoughtfully. She does not even need any additional palm greasing with those sorts of names floating about, though perhaps the Jedi mind trick helps move things along a little quicker. Soon the reservation is sorted, and a couple of gold-plated keys are slid over to Miles. "Thank you for staying with us, Miss Inigo. Enjoy your stay," she says, apparently figuring out Miles was a woman somewhere in the middle of it. The subtlety of making the Jedi mind trick gesture in public might draw some scrutiny from the Dynasty if they are watching and the team does not succeed with their mission.
Viktorin says "Glorgo Inigo. It's a family name. Passed down."
Even better, Tabitha slides her card away.
There's a gimlet eye afforded to Viktorin at the choice of name, Miles was mulling over something more ironic or fun. Something like, 'Justice', or 'Chastity', but Glorgo will have to serve, "Thank you, darling." Miles leans closer to pat Viktorin's chest, with a thump, before reaching over to pluck the card from the attendant, "We appreciate your acquiescence." With prize in hand, Miles leads Viktorin and Tabitha back to the others, and extends it toward Ryan, deciding he gets to be their elevator guide.
Ryan nods, "Right this way." he mentions as he leads them to the elevators with their bags.
Tabitha walks to the elevators, unraveling her scarf from around her neck, a sigh issuing forth from her.
Meridith follows along with them, eager to get the show on the road.
Gliding forth once more, Viktorin clasps his hands behind his back, stoically following Ryan.
The elevator ride to the 45th floor does not take very long. And the team arrives with a BING! Their room is right next to Zeng Jian's, courtesy of Inigo and Wilson's law firm. And all of the potential consequences of that little bit of fraud and supernatural mind control. The key obviously only works on the door to their room, but between that and the nightmare, getting into Zeng's room should be a piece of cake. In no time really, the task force has moved to the hotel room of their slumbering target. Even from the nightmare though, it is a bit ... messy.
While the view from Zeng's bed to the picturesque, floor-to-ceiling windows is beautiful and only disturbed by a bra on a chair and a pair of high heels on the floor, the scene on the other side of the room looks like a blood bath. At least three women were involved, as there are three bodies. One is bent over a sofa, covered in bruises that were inflicted before she died, along with some cuts and scrapes all over her body. Another woman is bound hands to feet, but left kneeling. She died in that position and has been left there, her back arched backward, her head fallen back, and dried semen all over her face and chest. The third victim is died much more straightforward, though likely still mid-coitus, based on the hand print bruising around her throat. And there, covered in blood and other bodily fluids, Zeng Jian slumbers peaceful as a baby in the stained bed.
Getting in their room and taking a peek in the nightmare, Ryan heads towards the bathroom to lose his lunch, crouching down by the toilet to let it all out as he shakes his head, one hand holding his shaggy blonde hair as he grimaces, "Holy shit, that's gruesome. We'd be doing the world a favor by taking this guy out of the picture. Three women in there, murdered."
Meridith twitches faintly, her eyes focus, sharp. She draws one quiet breath and moves to emerge from the nightmare, reaching for her blade.
Assuming that they all journey into the room, then, through the nightmare? Miles would attempt to stay Meridith's blade, not quite willing to risk the brief element of surprise by striking against someone who might have skin thicker than concrete. The other hand reaches into their jacket, and produces a small, silver ball. A particular type of grenade.
Meridith does not appear to be willing to stay her blade from such a casual gesture.
Tabitha glances around, and while outwardly it may seem he's been the the antagonist and left three dead, she is not ready to just jump. But her hands do make fists. tight. So tight. Her nails dig into her skin. "It's possible this is staged..." she says quietly, though it is certainly not looking good for the man.
Pulling out his staff, Ryan glances over at Meridith and Tabitha as he nods to Miles, "If we can neutralize him and then beat him unconcious, we can maybe tie him up and drag him out."
Embarrassment can mean different things to different people and cultures. In this case, perhaps the Dynasty was just tired of having to help cover up indiscretions like this. Overindulgence, purely for the sake of enjoyment, even in a monstrous world might strike a cord with the wrong people. And in this case, a supernatural who likely used powers in order to make a situation like this come to fruition would certainly be on their hit list. That only really begs the question of why have the Order and Temple do the deed instead of themselves? Plausible deniability. And siccing the House of Jade on the Order and the Temple as a bonus.
Or, as Tabitha suggests, it is all staged by the Dynasty to make Zeng Jian look bad enough to get murdered by virtuous societies like the Order and Temple without looking at it too much. With the motley crew that is the task force, tempers running high, and the desire to remove monsters bubbling up to the surface, it may be easy to make the snap judgment.
Zeng Jian is currently very much asleep. Binding him would not be difficult. Unless he wakes up during the exchange. His red scythe is propped up beside the bed. Likely an item he never leaves home without, given his nick name.
Rage. Rage is all that's expressed upon the demigod's face. Into the bathroom he goes, zipping out of the nightmare. He may be unarmed, but, this isn't his first rodeo. A murmur, "I'm throwing him out the fucking window." His muscles are tense, his jaw, clenched. Viktorin's eyes dull a bit. A different sort of hate.
Rage. Rage is all that's expressed upon the demigod's face. Into the bathroom he goes, zipping out of the nightmare. He may be unarmed, but, this isn't his first rodeo. A murmur, "I'm throwing him out the fucking window." His muscles are tense, his jaw, clenched. Viktorin's eyes dull a bit. A different sort of heat. (revis)
Tabitha says, lowly, her own despise bubbling up as she looks more closely at the state of the women, likely seeing her face on them, each and every, "If you wake him, before you simply beat him, I can see if I can get him to speak his truth. Whether it is he did this. Or if this was purposeful..." She begins to remove a few items from her bag, including a little hoodoo doll made of burlap.
Meridith notes that she is definitely going to commit a murder, if someone doesn't do more than quietly conversate.
That's a good point that Tabitha makes, and Miles pays it with a nod of agreement. She really is more than just the pretty face he may've suggested she was while under the effects of a curse some time ago. Their other hand is filled with a tranq gun, as they elect to take a non-lethal response, at least immediately. A thumb is pressed into the activation button for the silver neutralizer, and he tosses right on at the sleeping man, then raising the tranq to shoot him - attempting to beat Meridith to the punch.
"Wait ..." Tabitha says when the neutralizer is thrown.
Ryan frowns, "I don't know..." he says as he white knuckles his staff, "We need to do this properly." he steps in front of them, holding his staff sideways as he blocks them all from the door to the suite, "I think if we get his scythe first and we all pile on, we can make sure he's overwhelmed and...oh shit!"
Tabitha tries to back away in the room, out of the circumfrence of the neutralizer. She is swift of feet, but time will tell.
Defenestration is a great way to murder someone. As long as they cannot fly, can actually be killed, and cannot shape shift into something with wings at least. Those are rarely considerations in TV shows and movies where people get thrown out windows though, often most famous from older westerns where stunt techniques involved having padding on the other side of the window for the victim to fall into. In this case, a 45 story fall would probably work if he does not wake up and have a way to stop it. He may still be old enough to be immortal, in which case, the fall will only delay his annoyance at the task force when he gets back up and hunts them down.
But before anyone can follow through on the excellent execution by defenestration, a neutralizer flashes, bathing the hotel room in the light of the explosion and the expansion of the gas within to cancel out most abilities. Following up with a tranquilizer is just mean, but it certainly makes sure Zeng does not awaken from his no longer quite peaceful slumber.
Meridith lingers back, exhaling softly. "You have a way out, Miles?" she asks, tensely.
Rushing into the room, Ryan dives for the scythe, picking it up and making sure the man can't get to it if he -does- awaken, letting out a long sigh as he glances back at the people, "Well...uh...now what do we do? We're going to want to move quick and clean up any evidence of us being here."
"We're going to want to bind this fellow, and slap him awake." Miles points out to Meridith and Ryan, raising an eyebrow aside toward the former. They reach into their jacket then, producing a pair of silvered handcuffs that hum with a quiet sort of energy. It's a modified neutralization collar, and they go about slapping them about the wrists of the unconscious man, and power them on - should he remain sleepy during such.
"Start a fire," Viktorin suggests, gliding forth, investigating the bodies. He seems angry at their existence. But not too perturbed. Instead it's cold, calculating. However, he isn't into forensics. "Wait. Died... like this. Think he drained them? Let's check for bruises."
Meridith stares at the collar, a glance given and lingered.
"Well." Tabitha says, holding the doll in her hand, and unsure now what it is she can even do. "A good question. Isn't he demigod. If they are drained..."
Viktorin stares at the bodies, definitely covered in bruises, but he's more-so checking their locations. Of course.
"You can't just start a fire in a hotel like this, all of these sprinklers will pop off and the whole place will go on alarm. Best that we just put the 'do not disturb' sign out there and hope that it isn't found quickly, at least before we get this all out of here. The Dynasty or someone local will have a cleanup crew for this kind of thing." Ryan notes.
There is plenty of bruising, cutting, scrapes, abrasions, and other signs of 'rough love making' as they call it in the cool corner at school. Each of the girls has semen somewhere in or on them, dried by now if it is external. One girl is bent over the couch, one is kneeling on the floor between the bed and the couch. The third is laying on the bed next to Zeng.
Zeng only starts to stir as he is cuffed, and then he starts to struggle, trying to break loose. Without his powers though, he is really not able to do so. He grunts out a scoff and asks, "What do you want?" At least he knows English. That will help some.
Letting out a long sigh, Ryan crouches down next to the man and takes in a deep breath, closing his eyes as he centers himself before opening them and nodding. "Heya, bud. Look, we're on the hunt for something real bad. Something that hunts kids. Do you know anything about something called the 'Pied 'Pire?"
Viktorin gestures to the girls, pointedly, "What's with that shit?" He's closing in by the bed, gazing harshly at the man before him.
Tabitha seeks to take a little of that semen, to smear it along the coarse fabric of the doll, and as she does this, she speaks, a call to the Crone: "Purification, I do conjure, so that thoughts be spoke, and not be pondered. Passions to red, set to the fire. Let the truth be said, as is my desire!" She removes a lighter from her bag of goodies, and so as she speaks, sets the doll aflame.
Meridith says "What did you do to these -fucking- women, you animal."
Then, Tabitha waits.
Miles slinks slightly to the side, allowing Ryan and the others the chance to speak. There's a wary eye afforded to Meridith, and her itchy sword hand. A less wary glance is afforded to Tabitha, as the neutralizing mist fades away in short order. "If you intend to do a little magic, Tabs, this is-" He doesn't finish the thought. She's already on the ball.
There's a grimace as Miles notes Tabitha's semen gathering actions. Yucky.
One does, as one must, is the look that Tabitha gives Miles. Lessons to be learned here, maybe?
"You want pies in a fire? What?" Zeng asks Ryan a bit incredulously, looking more confused by the question than his situation, which says a lot, because his situation is kinda bewildering to wake up to. Zeng glances over to where Viktorin is looking and says, "Huh. Crazy party. Looks like someone had fun." He turns his dark eyes back to the group and listens to the spell Tabitha casts. The spell goes off and presumably, someone, somewhere, be it Zeng or someone else, now wishes to speak the truth. Zeng just blinks at her for a moment. "Now what do you want, exactly?" he asks again, keeping a little calm at least in the situation. Or maybe just not certain of what he should be feeling just yet.
Is it true, if the cum was not his, somewhere somewhere else must speak the truth. "Someone..." Tabitha says to Zeng. "You have three women in your room, dead, and you sleep soundly next to one." She gestures to the woman, perhaps just to see if he will look and if the woman brings some sort of reaction.
"So you can see that you're in kind of a precarious position. I'm from The Order if you recognize the logo." Ryan says as he shows the society symbol. "And you're here with three dead women and we're going to need some answers. Someone wants you dead...very dead, but we're looking for Intel on this being, so if you could help us out, then we'd be more apt to..." he motions around himself, "Figure out who is framing you, or if you wish to confess."
Zeng, perhaps wisely, despite his embarrassment status, chooses to exercise his right to remain silent. If he has been hexed to speak the truth, he certainly could, but speaking nothing removes the potential of lies or incrimination both. He just grunts and shakes his head at Ryan. There is no denial, no confirmation, he schools his face toward neutrality and slowly glances toward each of the members in his room. If it even is his room. If that even was his semen. So many questions in this one little room, and he clams up on giving answers. With the people involved, he may have already presumed his guilt is assumed. He finally closes his eyes as if ready to accept fate as honorably as he can.
Meridith says "Fine, lets cut off his head, he won't speak to his defense, so he did it. He'll go down as a murderous woman raping animal."
Quirking his eyebrow upward, Viktorin peers into the man's eyes, attempting to discern their color. It would, at the very least, put forth a general estimate of what he may or may not be capable of. He doesn't speak anymore for the moment, at least until someone clams up. "Listen, bud. Here's how this is going to go. You open your mouth to speak, I'm going to remove your dick first. You still refuse, one eye. A finger. Then some toes. Still not talking? You're gonna have that scythe buried so far up your ass, you'll be able to taste it. Talk now. Or we can play the game my way." There's finality in the statement, his eyes flicking over towards Ryan, a hand extended.
Quirking his eyebrow upward, Viktorin peers into the man's eyes, attempting to discern their color. It would, at the very least, put forth a general estimate of what he may or may not be capable of. He doesn't speak anymore for the moment, at least until Zeng clams up. "Listen, bud. Here's how this is going to go. You open your mouth to speak, or I'm going to remove your dick first. You still refuse, one eye. A finger. Then some toes. Still not talking? You're gonna have that scythe buried so far up your ass, you'll be able to taste it. Talk now. Or we can play the game my way." There's finality in the statement, his eyes flicking over towards Ryan, a hand extended.
"Won't you speak, Zeng Jian?" Tabitha asks, putting her hand on Meridith's arm to try to stop her from lashing out. "I could still make you." It is a light threaten, but she calms her voice enough to sound the least insane of them.
"Uh...so I guess we're doing this the hard way, aren't we?" Ryan asks as he hands Viktorin the scythe, "Hey, man. I just want to let you know we could totes be cool with this if you help us."
Zeng lets out another grunt of a scoff as everyone starts to press in on him. He starts to speak then, but it is in Chinese, perhaps presuming no one in the room speaks it. He keeps his eyes closed as he does speak, perhaps a bit reverently, like a prayer maybe. The offering of being cool from Ryan offers little comfort to the already condemned man. Also, good cop, bad cop only works as a technique when torture and death are not already on the table from the jump. As interrogation techniques go, avoiding head damage and ensuring the target knows there is a way out with cooperation, even from the bad cop is handy. Those options are not available after a certain point.
"Fuck." Ryan says as he looks around the room. "Why are you doing this, man? Are the people you're protecting that important? Why don't you talk!"
Unlocking his phone, Viktorin turns on Google Translate, holding it up. "I'd rather you speak in English, but okay, have it your way."
While Miles largely remains silent for some time, he does eventually break this with a shake of the head. Should Viktorin attempt to assault the man, they'd try to prevent it. "We've been tasked to kill you, and unless you work with us, that's what the end result of this situation is going to be, Zeng. Worst case scenario? You're going to die, but there's no reason you can't have your chance to save yourself, or, hell, get some measure of revenge through us," The deputy muses, slinking closer toward the handcuffed, and neutralized man, reaching out to prod a finger into his chest. "Why do the Dynasty want you dead?"
Tabitha nods to Miles then, a momentary lapse into quietude herself. "That is what I want to know. And ... if you are guilty of the heinous actions here. Either way..." She purses her mouth together, stiffles herself this way. Her gaze drifts to one of the women.
As Viktorin breaks out a phone, Zeng peeks his eyes open, then starts speaking more quietly, whispering really, luring the other man to have to lean closer if he wants to use the phone to help with the translation. Zeng shakes his head at the party then presses his lips tightly together. He closes his eyes once more to let the dice fall where they may. Without a confession though, odds are, no one in the room will actually know what happened here. Without a trial, he is guaranteeing no one will know what actually happened here. If he dies here, the story gets spun however it will get spun. The truth will assuredly die with him.
Tabitha walks a little closer to the group. Having distanced herself from them so she could cast her spell. On ... someone. Somewhere. Maybe Zeng. "If it is a set up, we can help exonerate you. But you don't speak, then it will be your head. You seem to be contenting yourself to that fate, and I suppose that is honorable. Assuming that it is a set up." She looks to the woman on the bed. She suggests to Miles, "If you hold out his hand, I could draw some of his blood and ensure that his tongue loosens?" Information, afterall, is what they did come for. And his head. "Why would the Dynasty want you dead?"
Miles does as bid, reaching over to grasp the chain of the handcuffs and drag the man's hand toward Tabitha, that she might pinch some of his blood.
Could it all just be an act? With knowledge of the Temple, the Order, and possibly even Those Seeking Redemption, he must know that Murderers are not tolerated in two of those three. Meaning without good reason, none of them would kill him themselves. Not while risking the ire of their respective HQs. Of all those present, the only one Zeng seems to have any real fear from might be Miles, for his affiliation with the Temple, well known for being perfectly ok with murderating supernaturals. Perhaps he is hoping for a democratic solution. Perhaps he is waiting for someone to lose their temper ant make a move. Or maybe he is biding his time for something. A closer inspection of the man might reveal something. He is naked from the waist up, but as the blanket gets moved to get the blood, his pants are still on. Who fucks three women to death and then puts on their pants to go to bed?
Squinting, Viktorin flares his nostrils and takes a whiff. Then he backs away, scythe in hand. Like some blood-hound, he sniffs about, first stepping near each of the deceased to inhale their particular scent. And then Zeng himself. Keeping the scents in mind, he traces back towards the doorway to the room, his nostrils once more flaring. As if sorting through mental files. Then he moves around the room, carefully stepping as to not mix his own scent trails. "Careful where you step. There's still possibly room for other trails in the room."
Tabitha does take note of the pants Zeng is wearing. And there is a moment that she nods. The knife then is pierced through his normal flesh to draw up just enough blood for her to catch it up on the blade. "The truth will be known to me, as I will... So mote it be!" She places the blade to her fingers and smears his blood there, which are then angled to and onto Zeng's lips, clamped as they are, as as much as he might fight it to happen. "So as it is willed by Veritas. By Maat..."
Ryan squints as he searches the room, looking for the man's phone, "Hmm, let's see. Maybe we can look through his phone and see if there's anything there. This doesn't add up."
Tabitha says "By Laozi.... Speak."
"Mm. Nightma- they would've also had to enter the bathroom then if the did enter without Zeng's knowledge. Of course, he could've killed them, but... something is off." It's a cold admittance, and now, the man is heading to the bathroom to sniff it out, trying desperately not to heave up his meal from earlier in the day. Nose wrinkled, nostrils flared, he sniffs and sniffs. "Please... evidence. Please." Viktorin mostly ignores the goings-on in the next room, electing to continue as he is.
"Keep an eye on him." Miles requests of Meridith, stepping away from Zeng then and joining Viktorin in investigating the room. Though, while the godling uses his preternatural abilities, Miles focuses more upon good ol' fashioned investigation, and observation both.
Meridith keeps a stoic eye on Zeng. Arm folding, hand touching the hilt of her rapier
No phone is forthcoming, though that is to say it is certainly not on his person. There is a charger plugged into the nightstand, but no phone attached to it. The only phone present is the hotel phone on the nightstand.
The bathroom has been hit with some form of bleach or disinfectant that has rendered most of the smells in there indiscernible from the rest of the room at large.
Zeng remains quiet, stoic, eyes still closed, and lips pressed into a thin line. Hearing people starting to back away from his guilt though, he peeks open his eyes and starts glancing around.
As everyone breaks out to start looking into other avenues of determining Zeng's guilt, he lets out a quiet sigh, perhaps thinking he has made it through the worst of his situation. The spell from Tabitha lands with the direct conduit of his blood involved. He does begin to speak, but in case anyone starts trying to translate it, he begins oscillating between Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. Which would definitely mess with Google Translate if it is not prepared for multilingual shifts like that.
"In English," Tabitha says.
"Fuck..." is all Viktorin says as he opens the toilet and begins retching. The god awful scents are too overpowering, at least for him, and the god awful mixture of it all has sent the demigod reeling. "No scents... except the worst ones," he calls to the room between bouts of heaving. "Oh my gawd." Another statement issued. Eventually, of course, he'll make his way back, scythe in hand.
Meridith just quietly records it with her phone for later
There's a low, quiet sigh that boils up and out of Miles as they inspect the bodies, their brow growing furrowed over time, only adding to the wrinkles on their forehead. Then they're reaching into their duty belt, gathering some evidence taking kits, and taking samples from each of the bodies. Hair. Blood. The semen. Each is plucked up, noted and stored away for further testing later. "This isn't as simple as we'd hoped." The deputy intones, speaking what may be obvious to the group at large at this point. "Vik, if you don't mind? Would you take some photos of the place. I think that-.." They shake their head, "We're going to take old mate in. Back to Haven, or Boston, at least, I don't quite care if it's Temple or Order, but I don't think this is as cut and dry as the scene was made to be. If he isn't talking, then we'll let the evidence do the talking for us."
Meridith scowls. "If we're taking him to investigate later, let's do so. But plan for reprisal, we need to get out of the country with him."
Ryan nods, "Sounds good. I think we should knock him out again and pretend like he's drunk from our party story earlier. Wait until late in the day and then sneak him out at night so we only have to deal with the front hotel staff. We'll just look like a bunch of drunks. As for getting out, we can charter a private plane through one of our societies, should be pretty easy to do to just get us at least out of The Dynasty's domain."
Mind control is finicky, and some times you get exactly what you want with it. Other times, you get a rambling bit of jubberish, that while true, is not really all that helpful. Such is the case when Zeng is asked to speak in English again. Certainly, the sky is blue, the sea is vast and deep, and the mountains are majestic and wonderful to climb. None of which is truly relevant and hardly pertains to the situation at hand. But it might make good poetry later for Meridith to listen to the recording of. He certainly gives it a lyrical quality as he speaks.
When Miles mentions going back to Haven or Boston, Zeng shakes his head and says, "My place is in China. I belong there. I will not be dragged halfway around the world to be tried by puppets." He genuinely and honestly seems to believe that last one, if it made it out through the truthful enchantments Tabitha has hit him with.
As if on cue with Meridith mentioning reprisal, a half dozen black-clad figures leap out of the bathroom mirror, ready to do some damage to the task force. The Dynasty has been listening this whole time!? Le gasp!
"Being taken by the Temple is a death sentence for most criminal supernaturals, or at least, that is the general perception." Miles explains aside to Meridith, before pausing to glance between her and Viktorin, "Please tell me that one of you can at least path us out of here."
Meridith shakes her head. "Mundane is the least of our problems. And...fuck seriously, is that our only way out?"
Of course, the question posed by Miles is interrupted by the sudden appearance of the ninjas.
"I did not think it was all cut and dry to begin with," Tabitha says to Miles, pulling her knife across the already bloodied sheets to clean it off and put it away. "But I can't try another spell or you will be carrying me out..." She sighs at Zeng, and then she is moving away from him with a look about the room again to see if she can tell anything more. "You forget though ... that if we ---" Then. Ninjas.
Meridith oh's, Ninjas.
"The fuck?" Ryan says as he gets startled, holding up the staff in his hand as he steadies himself against he new entries into the room.
Viktorin says "God damn it"
Meridith is truly shocked, SHOCKED, that the Dynasty was listening. Well, no, she isn't even a little surprised. She lets out a whistle and rushes to them. "Figure out a fucking plan!" she notes to her...less battle ready companions.
"Take my hand... and form a link..." Tabitha says. "We are a long way from Haven, but I might be able to get us through. If my ritual is still powerful enough."
One hand on his staff, holding it out in defense in front of them as he grabs the handcuffed man's arm, Ryan nods, "Someone grab his other arm in the link, Meridith and I can hopefully hold them off as the front line."
Miles moves to cover Tabitha with their body, while grasping one of her hands with one of their own, and then grabbing at the bound man with their other, trying to finish the link formed by Ryan.
Meridith scowls. "I can fight them fine! But not if I'm covering for you guys!" she insists. "Get him clear and I'll follow after!"
Viktorin growls, "I am -not- going through all this bull-shit without answers. We came for a reason!" With rage, the man acts, slamming his hand against Zeng's arm, dragging him forth from the bed with all the strength he has. One handed it seems. Then he's slapping his other hand into Tabitha's. "Hurry up, grab his arm, complete the circle when Tab's all ready," he tells Ryan and Meridith.
Time always slows down in situations like this. The heat of battle always carries adrenaline with it, which definitely affects the human brain in a myriad of ways. Tabitha has offered a solution and a way out. The better part of valor is certainly the prerogative of the group today. Six ninjas versus 3.5 combatants at best. And that's before the woman steps through the mirror. She is still dressed as she was. The ninjas form a defensive barrier between her and the task form. She speaks simply and plainly, "If you take him, we will hunt you. Make no mistakes in that. Are you prepared for that? Simply kill him and be done with it."
If everyone touches in the link, Tabi can potentially get everyone out... If not... Meridith might be facing certain death, if not torture followed by certain death.
Meridith tries to summon her mastery of telekinesis, sending a wave of mental force towards the group as she pivots to take her hand in the circle
"I can't path, so I need to go with them!" Ryan yells to Meridith as he looks over at the woman, "If he is guilty, then he will see his Trial from The Order, or his Death at the hands of The Temple. Rest assured, he will find justice."
Meridith says "Let's GO!"
Tabitha closes her eyes. "Meri, grab hold of someone now!" She begins to chant in Latin. Thrice times. "Non est similis domus." There are no ruby slippers though.
Meridith HAS ALREADY!!!!
"Meri! Grab someone!" Miles adds to the chorus of people telling her to do as much, even though she already has.
"Justice?" the woman says with a laugh. "Did you think we were interested in justice?" she asks before laughing. "Kill them all. We'll sort it out once they cannot talk," she says and the ninjas start to surge forward toward the task force, weapons drawn, though one gets slammed back into a wall by telekinetic force. As soon as Meridith gets her other hand into the mix, the spell goes off. And POOF! The team is back in Haven with a one Zeng Jian, the Red Scythe, safely taken with them, for better or worse. As Sanctuary covers him though, he grins briefly, in a sinister fashion. The expression disappears before he thinks anyone notices though.
[I think that will bring us to a close for this one. While the team does not get any intel from the Dynasty, they did manage to do something potentially good, perhaps? At least Zeng did not die. Yet. He is, unfortunately, unaware of the Pied 'Pire however. Was the Dynasty even offering anything useful for the investigation? The task force may never know. Tune in next month for the next episode of the Pied 'Pire, and perhaps we will find out. (Next month as in during April, not waiting 4 weeks). Please STalk or Reply with any rewards you may wish to collect while you have me here. Otherwise, I need a couple minutes to finalize everything. Then I can start summoning people back to the grid. Thank you for letting me entertain you with tonight's version of 12 Angry Men.]
The team, initially assembled with the aim of hunting down an entity known as the Pied 'Pire, a shadowy orb accused of kidnapping children, finds their mission taking an unexpected detour. A proposition from the Dynasty leads them into a morally ambiguous confrontation with Zeng Jian, discovered in a state that suggests he's a perpetrator of gruesome violence against women.
Amidst the gravity of their discovery, the team grapples with the moral implications of their task. Despite the incriminating scene, some members, driven by a sense of justice and a need for truth over mere compliance, argue against outright execution without understanding the full context. Even as they struggle with their conscience, the appearance of formidable Dynasty ninjas escalates the situation, forcing the team into a dire decision.
Tabitha's spiritual invocation, alongside her teammates' readiness, facilitates a desperate escape back to Haven, with Zeng Jian in tow. This maneuver spares them from an immediate deadly confrontation but not from the ominous promise of pursuit from the Dynasty. Their return, however, is tainted by the unsettling realization that their knowledge of the Pied 'Pire remains as elusive as ever, coupled with the sinister grin of Zeng Jian, suggesting layers of complexity yet unveiled.
The narrative pauses on this cliffhanger, leaving the readers pondering the true nature of justice, the depths of treachery within the Dynasty, and the genuine intentions of Zeng Jian. It teases the intertwining of moral dilemmas, political machinations, and the unyielding quest for truth in a world where allegiances are as shadowy as the entities that lurk in the dark.
(The Pied 'Pire: Singapore(SRAlexandra):SRAlexandra)
[Wed Mar 27 2024]
In the National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a prestigious research-intensive university located in Singapore. Established in 1905, it is the oldest and largest university in the country, consistently ranked among the top universities globally. NUS offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs across various disciplines, including arts and social sciences, business, engineering, science, and medicine.
Renowned for its cutting-edge research and innovation, NUS collaborates with leading institutions worldwide and attracts top faculty and students from around the globe. The university's campus is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, fostering an environment conducive to learning and discovery.
NUS is deeply committed to nurturing future leaders and contributing to society through education, research, and community engagement. Its diverse and vibrant campus culture encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and fosters a spirit of entrepreneurship and creativity.
With a strong emphasis on global perspectives and interdisciplinary learning, NUS prepares its graduates to excel in an increasingly interconnected world. It serves as a hub for intellectual exchange, innovation, and excellence, driving Singapore's growth as a knowledge-based economy and making significant contributions to the advancement of society.
It is about 50F(10C) degrees.
The party manages to sync up somewhere in Singapore and make their way to the National University of Singapore. The campus landscaping boasts generous greenery, including many trees and grassy areas. The building itself features modern aesthetics, with plenty of large windows, open-air walkways, and curved edges, all but looking like an ocean wave in the sea of green. The conference room the group received invitations for is on the third floor in an area that lacks outside windows, and even the door lacks a portal to the outside world. The door is heavy, wooden, and reinforced to the discerning eye. Magnetic locks and an entry pad require assisted entrance, which the group receives from a nearby security guard. Once inside, the group is left with a long, metal table, polished to a high shine with a glass covering on it. The glass has recently been cleaned in recognition of having visitors. A dozen or so comfortable office chairs surround the table. A projector system hangs from the ceiling above the table, though it is currently not displaying anything but is warming up.
[OOC: Welcome to The Pied 'Pire: Singapore. If you have any questions, feel free to use STalk or replies via Tells. Please make use of the Think, Internal, Feel, Recall, and Attempt commands on this adventure. These will greatly enhance your experience and immersion, while also speeding things up for others. I try to do one post per person rotations, but if you want to do short bursts of rapid banter in appropriate situations, feel free. Text that is all colored in this color will be private, for you to act upon ICly. Buckle up, and we will begin shortly. Thank you for letting me be your SR for this evening's festivities.]
Meridith could be involved for any number of reasons, if anyone wants to claim to have invited her
It wouldn't be unusual for Miles to have suggested that Meridith and Tabitha join them on this particular task, after all, they're both capable and close allies. What is unusual, however, is the ill-fit of their clothes, and the more feminine slant to their features. It appears that Miles has been whammied by something or other, and they can't help but near constantly run fingers through their hair in a self-soothing sort of gesture. "I think a summary would serve everyone well." They note to Ryan.
Meridith gazes at Miles, still not used to the shift in appearance it seems. Or perhaps it's something else. She came along with the two of them, dressed up in fancy garb it seems she's become quite fond of. "A recap is nice, I got the lowdown on what we're hunting, but more intel is always appreciated."
Tabitha looks between Meridith and Miles for a few with a twist of her lips and a hmmm escaping her.
Tapping on his phone, Ryan pulls up his notes and research, "So there's this dark...kind of a shadowy orb entity that has been using mind control on children. It's kidnapping them on their seventh birthdays. It has nabbed seven of them so far, at least locally, and it keeps on finding new places to float to attempt and pull them. Mostly graveyards. Last time ritual magic worked, so if you have any sort of magic, it would be appreciated." he looks around at Meridith and Tabitha as well as Viktorin, and then his eyes land on Miles, "I don't know if we've met. I'm Ryan Harris, Head Librarian of The Order."
Turning his eyes towards Miles, Viktorin blinks. Owlishly so. Probably from the familiar look, familiar clothes. Hesitantly, he asks, "Mil- The hell is the feminine form of Miles? Mila?" The Czech himself is accompanying his fellow Orderite, Ryan, standing beside him. Towards Meridith and Tabitha, he gives a brief nod. Not much else however.
Meridith snorts quietly, then ahems covering her mouth. " No magic on my end, but I pack one hell of a punch," she offers to Ryan dutifully.
There's a waver to Miles's lips at Ryan's introduction, as if they aren't quite sure if they intend to grin about this situation or grimace. There's a lot of new feelings to process after all. "Mmm." They rumble in the back of their throat, "We've met, Ryan. It's me. Miles. Just Miles." The later is added for Viktorin, who gets a bit of an in turn, Miles's green gaze flicking up and down the taller fellow.
Tabitha says "I can cast anything you need, Ryan."
Ryan squints as he looks at Miles and takes a few moments, "Huh. That's odd. Well, good to have you uh...Miss Miles." he turns to the rest of them and says, "So our intel has gathered that The Dynasty here in Singapore has more information about the entity, so we're here to gather information and see what they want for it. They don't like any of us, so it'll be...well...probably difficult."
Tabitha smiles vaguely at Ryan and Viktorin. "Thanks for the recap. Miles asked me to come with because he thought I could be if some help." She spreads her hands outward then wiggles her fingers to Meridith.
"I'd highly suggest you not cast magic or whatever here," Viktorin tells Ryan, gesturing towards their surroundings. "Dossier biz, remember. Don't wanna be nabbed," and the Czech takes a moment to lower his voice not-so-subtly, "The ninjas."
The feminine form of Miles is Miley, for reference.
As Ryan finishes his summary however, the electronic click suggests the lock to the door has been activated. Shortly after, it opens up and several men in business suits file into the room and take a stand in front of a seat on one side of the long table, leaving the center seat empty. A few moments later, a woman in a much nicer skirt suit enters, letting the door fall closed behind her. She takes a position in front of the center chair on her team's side, then gives a small bow. The rest of her side bows further than her. Then she sits down, followed by a chorus of the men sitting down. She folds her hands together on the table, looking across at each of the members before her, silent, expectant, and waiting.
One of the men produces a laptop and opens it, taking control of the projector. It starts to display to the head of the table closest to the door. It shows a man, with brown hair and dark eyes, obvious Chinese features. He is in armor that looks a lot like might have been worn in feudal China, but his weapon is that of a large, wicked red scythe. The woman finally speaks once the picture is up and the visitors have had a chance to view it, "This is Zeng Jian. He is a Jade House Demigod, also known as the Red Scythe. He is here in Singapore. And he needs to be eliminated. If you do this, all of the Dynasty's information on your Pied 'Pire will be given to you."
"Just-Miles-is-fine-thank-you." Miles attempts to squeeze a sentence into the space of a word as he notes the honorific used by Ryan, their thick brows twitching a little. Though, really, Miley would serve, wouldn't it? Though Miles quickly falls into silence as the presentation begins, their gaze ticking over each person who enters the room.
Meridith isn't sure if she's supposed to take Tabitha's hand or not. Or she's casting a spell. She's unsure. She enjoys Miles introduction but does no more teasing. She knows this is a serious scenario. She's mostly here for if it goes poorly. She turns to the woman, studying her, then bows in response, polite and proper. And she gazes at Zeng Jian's form
Giving a bow and sitting down himself and glancing to the others, Ryan nods as he listens, "Thank you for seeing us today. I am Ryan Harris, Head Librarian for The Order, and we've been following this entity for some time. Can you give us some information regarding Zeng Jian? We'd like to know what we're up against, and if there are crimes he's committed."
Tabitha was, in fact--- waving.
"It is an honor to meet with you now," Viktorin starts, with a bow. "I am Viktorin Teptic, Head Shield for the Order." He seems fairly nonplussed about what they're asking for, though he glances to Ryan for reassurance as he seats himself.
Meridith tips her head politely, but doesn't speak otherwise, right now.
Tabitha tilts her head to the speaker in a respectful and polite way, remaining quiet as the laptop is produced and the details are given about who they may be up against this evening. She takes a seat, as Ryan has and folds her hands together.
"He is an embarrassment, and that is all anyone need know of him from this moment on. I would like it to be his epitaph, in fact," the woman says to Ryan, all business and straight forward it seems. "While he is outside his House's influence, the Dynasty would like him gone. That is all you should need, if you wish to have our information," she concludes with a glance along the other side of the table to see if anyone else wants to comment. "We have some information about him we can share. You can perform the task any way you choose. When you're done, your little task force will receive all files we have on the Pied 'Pire," she explains a little more forcefully than the first time.
One of the men produces a file folder from a brief case and slides it across the table toward Ryan. "If there is nothing else, we will not need to see you after it is done," the woman says, and the man with the laptop puts it away. The projector remains on so everyone can see Zeng Jian still. She pauses long enough to give anyone a chance to speak, but she seems ready to leave it to the team.
Meridith shifts, turning a concerned gaze to Tabitha and Miles. She looks a little displeased but says nothing else. The 'little' task force remark earns and raised brow from Meridith, and he stares intently at the woman following it. She turns to study their target one last time.
"Well, I'd suggest we'd need to know a mite bit more about your little problem than that." Miles quips up after a few moments, having slipped into a seat beside Tabitha as the Dynasty members speak. He's quick to use 'little' right back to them. "I'm sure that what you're providing will include information on where we might find him, and what tricks we should expect him to pull out of his sleeve?"
Opening up the file, Ryan gives a glance over it for last known locations, aliases, contacts and allies, and any useful intel as he flips through them, then passes the folder to the other folks as he nods to the woman, "Thank you for this. We've been trying to save the lives of children, and we'll help you resolve this conflict with Mr. Jian and be on our way. We don't want to interfere with the normal operations of The Dynasty, as you all probably want us out of your hair as well."
Tabitha remains quiet, thoughtful, taking in the words of the woman with a slight twist of her lips, too. She puts her hand upon Miles's now effeminate one when they sit. She nods to them, in silent agreement.
"Life is nothing without some surprise," the woman says toward Miles. She stands, then all the men on her side stand. She glances around the table once more and says, "As long as that resolution ends with him dead, you will face no problems from us during your visit," she tells Ryan, then she bows slowly. The men bow deeper in response, then they all turn to leave through the door.
The file Ryan received contains a short dossier, which has the usual information, height, weight, age, nick names, mannerisms, and such. All the information one would need for a proper assassination. Including the address where he is staying for his visit to Singapore, along with some brief info on his contacts in the city as well as who and where he is expected to be while visiting.
The projector stays on for about fifteen minutes after the Dynasty reps leave the room and the door clicks to re-engage the lock behind them, giving the task force time to talk and consider their options. How and whether or not they perform the expected assassination is apparently up to them, though as with many situations, all actions have consequences.
Viktorin stays silent, letting Ryan do the talking. However, he winces at Miles, quirking his lips into a gradual frown. Turning his face towards his fellow Orderite, he asks, "What's in the dossier?"
It's only once they're alone that Miles responds to the woman's comment, mostly to themselves, and under their breath, "I've got a gutful of surprise," They claim, and afford Tabitha's hand a squeeze for some mild comfort. They produce their phone with their other hand, raising it up and taking a photo of the projected image, ensuring they've got something to reference later before tucking it away again. "Do you have any contacts on the line that you can hook in to look into this fellow? Anyone back in Haven?" They query of Ryan then, while raising a hand to rub at their bottom lip thoughtfully.
Passing around the pages of the dossier as he lays them all out on the table, Ryan says, "Looks like we have all the intel they have on this guy. He's associated with The Jade House, so there's some potential complications there. Plus there's the subject of murdering a guy. I think we'll need more to go on, at least Vik and I. I don't know if I can pull the trigger on killing a supernatural just because The Dynasty says so."
Glancing to Miles, Ryan says, "Mostly myself and our Order scouts." he pulls out his laptop and powers it up, looking through his digital archives to see if there's anything, "Let's see what we can find on this guy, or the Jade House to see if there's maybe some enemies of theirs that we can tap into."
"They are seeking some other person to do it so they are not facing the consequence of it with the Venetian Council, I'd say. Dirty someone elses hands." Tabitha remarks. "I am only coming to speed on this, but why would they not handle their internal affairs by themselves, since--well..." She gestures to Ryan and Viktorin, then Miles, indicating Order and Temple.
Meridith stays uneasily and uncomfortabley. She gazes at Viktorin, then Miles, then Tabitha, then finally Ryan. "I've no problem fighting them," she declares. "But I won't participate in murder without a reason. Could we simply take him elsewhere? Falsify it?" she notes.
Meridith's voice is low of course
"Sad that we can't hand him over. They'd be able to see justice by their own hands. Though... this smells like the type of situation where, we're the opportunity." He doesn't clarify further on the subject, frowning quietly. "A pawn." Then he states towards Miles, "We're in their territory, not the other way around. Pretty sure these guys don't care about Venice." Viktorin pauses, glancing back towards Ryan.
Viktorin means Tabitha.
"Let's not assume justice has anything to do with this." Miles murmurs in response to Viktorin with a mild quirk of the lips, as if pulling away the comfort of the thought from the man. They continue to tap at their lower lip thoughtfully, leaning closer to Ryan to peer over his shoulder and at his device.
Dynasty politics remain enigmatic as ever, but for clarity, the Dynasty and the House of Jade are absolutely not allied in any fashion. Given members of the task force come from both the Order and the Temple, it may simply be the Dynasty's prerogative to have both of the larger, better funded, more powerful organizations take the heat for them instead of facing internal strife from directly crossing the geographical demigod neighbor. Not that any of the members of the Dynasty said that, merely the context involved in these sorts of situations.
The woman's parting shot might be a little troubling though, as she only said the task force would not have problems as long as the situation ends up with Zeng Jian dead. Any solution that does not end that way has the implied threat of trouble. And also, likely, having information withheld from the group.
The projector goes off, and a few moments later, the lights go out as well. A suggestion perhaps to get things moving along, even if they are no longer in the room. Or perhaps the lights are just automatic.
Meridith says "Let's get out of here first."
Meridith nods to Tabitha. "Then let's find him, take him, and deal with it from there?" she offers to Ryan.
"Helps that he's just some demigod, right?" Meridith says to Miles somewhat testily.
Ryan nods as he packs up his things and heads for the door, "All right, who wants to help navigate. I'll drive and we'll keep a lookout for his whereabouts. I've never been to Singapore, so I'll need some help with the streets."
Meridith doesn't look amused, gazing away and sticking her hands around her waist.
Viktorin says "Oh Oh! Me! I want to navigate! My nickname is the Mighty Captain Socks, after all."
"You mean this one? It's worked out pretty well for me...sorta." Ryan says as he puts it back in his bag, "Either way, you're the magical power here, so that's on you, Tabby."
Viktorin suddenly, and perhaps, a bit unprofessionally asks Miles, "So... what's it like being a chick?"
Meridith says "Focus. "
Meridith says "That's why I told you to focus."
"Vik, stop hitting on the Commander until after the mission." Ryan jokes as he gets into the car and starts it up, stowing his weapons behind the driver's seat as he slips on his armored vest. "Okay, Vik...shotgun. Let's get on the road and see where this leads."
Blinking, Viktorin informs Miles, "That's weird." And then he turns towards Tabitha, asking, "How- wow. That sucks." Apologetically he glances back towards Miles, murmuring softly, "Sorry. You'll be back to regular Miles one day." Following Ryan, the Czech mentions, "I'm not hitting on anyone! I'm curious! I swear!"
Meridith nods. "Maybe we'll try it on you later," she notes, gazing at Tabitha then blanching.
Perhaps because the task force being used to driving in the United States, traffic in Singapore appears to be a nightmare. First, because they drive on the left side of the road, one of very few places left in the world where they do that. Second, because it is also rush hour for morning work traffic. The team gets some time in the van for continuing to flirt/not flirt and discuss the mission. So that gives them a fair bit of time to consider their options and how they want to proceed. The location where Zeng Jian is staying is about half an hour away in this steady stream of rage-inducing traffic.
Zeng is apparently living it up a bit in Singapore, as he has selected the Marina Bay Sands as his place to stay. [Words can barely describe this location, so your friendly neighborhood SR is just going to supply a picture:
] Meridith lobs her backback into the van. Her eyes are focused now, she's otherwise quiet and seated in the back, checking over her gear.
Tabitha piles into the van, and from the back, begins to be curious herself, rummaging through things. "You have extras in the way of armor. I've my bag of tricks on me but Solomon stole my armor from me a few days ago." The fist shake from Viktorin is met with a light bob of her brows, and an extended finger toward him in a threat of touching him.
Meridith says "I suspect I'm the most capable fighter at present? Baring the coffer draining styles of Miles."
"You should've mentioned that earlier, so much earlier." Miles laments aside to Tabitha, clicking their tongue softly, and shaking their head. They raise their hands to pull their salt and pepper locks out of their manbun. Womanbun? Bunbun. Out of their bunbun, and start to fingers through the locks in a self-soothing gesture.
Like many of those from former British colonies, Miles learned to drive on the left, and Ryan may feel the sheer weight of their gaze against his back as they silently, but definitely internally, backseat drive.
Ryan nods, "Probably. I'm mostly in finance and business." he grumbles as he drives through the terrible traffic, honking his horn alongside the rest of the Singaporean traffic. "Well shit. Looks like he's staying in an expensive ass hotel. That'll be really dangerous for us to do anything in, unless we go undercover. Do you all have an idea of how we can sneak in? I've done a little bit of covert work for The Order, but I don't have any disguises. Also I'm not asian."
Meridith gazes at Ryan. "We could simply use the Nightmare," she notes.
Tabitha shrugs, palms up, at Miles. "I'm not sure that it matters does it?" she ask Ryan. "Singapore is a big tourist area isn't it?"
"Yeah, but we could sneak in as the staff, and I'm pretty sure none of us would pass." Ryan notes.
[This is a good place to take a 10/15 minute break. It gives everyone time to consider how to attack this famous hotel, but also to get any water/food/bio breaks that might be necessary. When we come back, we can arrive at the hotel and start moving forward. Everyone be back by 20:40 Haven time.]
[20:50, sorry!]
"We could always knock out a few of the hotel employees and wear their clothes." Tabitha offers as solution, eyes gazing from Ryan to Meridith, to Viktorin and then Miles. She rests her hand on the unfortunate femme's thigh.
Meridith snorts. "What, why not just Nightmare into his room?" she repeats
"I wonder, does Clairvoyance allow you to see into the Nightmare? Or no?" Viktorin asks curiously, mulling over his thoughts. "If so, then no Nightmare."
"We do not know that it is warded," Tabitha says to Meridith. "And that," she points at Viktorin.
Meridith says "We'd find out easily, and the point is to step out of the nightmare and ambush him at night."
Tapping on his phone, Ryan furrows his brows, "I don't know, there isn't a lot of documentation on it, at least that I have. I know Clairvoyants are able to see Ghosts, but Ghosts are...well...sort of in this weird in between place that isn't quite The Nightmare."
"I figured that Vik meant sensitives." Tabitha nods to Ryan.
Viktorin says "I'm not sure though. Demigods can see ghosts though if they train hard enough. And hear them too."
Viktorin also tells Ryan, "And... pray he's not ancient. Because if he's ancient, he's going to beat our asses instead."
Meridith scoffs. "If he's ancient, we should be getting his help, not theirs," she notes.
There's a raise of the brow aside toward Meridith at that comment, though Miles elects not to get involved in the discussion for the time being.
Meridith rolls her eyes.
"Depending on his crimes, if any, wouldn't asking for his help be like asking Mister Inigo for his? Granted, he is not ancient. But he has his eye on that prize." Tabitha says, still plucking through things that could come in handy for whatever it is they are going to come up against.
Viktorin says "Why don't we call him Solomon? Why call him Mister Inigo? That's an undeserved respect."
"I'm fond of Solly, or Grundy, for the son of a bitch." Miles murmurs in mild agreement with Viktorin, gazing out the window and toward the passing city as the van rumbles along the streets.
Meridith says "Good ol' small dick Inigo"
Meridith says "We've proven exactly zero crimes, yes?"
"He still has a name that carries weight in town. Sometimes treating someone with respect makes them a little more compliant to social norms." Ryan notes.
Meridith says "Frankly, an enemy of these guys seems like they'd probably be pretty good."
Tabitha looks out the window to do some touristy scenery watching as she rides along with the others. She nods lightly to Meridith, rubbing a knuckle across her still faintly swollen eye. It's barely even noticeable unless one looks very very close.
"That's a little bit of a naive take, sweetpea." Miles opines aside to Meridith, turning away from the window to afford her a gentle turn of the lips, and reach over to pat at her hand. "Sometimes even the bad folks don't get along with one another. It's a monster eat monster world out here."
Current evidence indicates that Zeng Jian is not old enough to have silver or gold eyes, which suggests he is not even a century old yet. Or the photo could be old. It is likely not beyond the Dynasty and its twisted agenda to send the group after a much older demigod than they have presented. Not as if Photoshop could not be used to change eye color too. But all of those things operate from a flawed position: That the Dynasty wants the task force killed instead of Zeng Jian. The disgust in the Chinese woman's words clearly indicate her opinion of Zeng, and it is unlikely she harbors any desire to kill the task force, directly enough to invite them to Singapore to make it done. Murder is usually an intimate affair between known parties, not something committed against unknown strangers for no other reason than simple enjoyment. OUtside of the Fae. They don't count. At least not for this.
As the team pulls up, only valet parking is available, and the young men and women in the valet area are eager and happy to help get the large van out of the area. It is unsightly compared to the other vehicles in the area, so they try to rush it into the garage and hiding. That leaves the task force out in front of the amazing construction of the Marina Bay Sands. He is on the 45th story in the third tower of the 2600 room hotel. Suites are placed on that particular floor, so there should be a decent amount of space between rooms. Though it will still be very open based on the window plan of the building. Thankfully, it is still morning in Singapore, so perhaps the task force can catch Zeng unawares before he has woken up from whatever celebrations he might have taken part in last night.
Checking over his duffel bag of weapons, Ryan looks back at the others as the van gets parked, standing there with his baggage. "I guess we can try and get a room near his, or look like couriers or something for delivery. I think I can pop the lock on his hotel room."
Meridith wags a finger. "Well, I think..." She muses. "It's just worth keeping in mind, our desire is to make him worthy of our objective. I am not going to compromise what's right just to make this easy," she insists. "I'm not much for sneaking about, loud and proud." She notes to Ryan. "You point, I punch," she explains.
"There's a place for both." Tabitha says to Meridith, waiting for Ryan to take the lead. "I thought my idea of overtaking a few employees and stealing their clothes was a great idea. You see that a lot in all the covert spy movies."
Meridith makes a face at Tabitha.
Ryan nods, "Lets see if we can hit the Laundry then. we may not even need to knock anyone out. get some out of some lockers or some used uniforms we can wear. Should be around the back." he upnods to the rest as he begins heading that way.
"The less knocked about people we leave in our wake, the better." Miles opines as they move to follow Ryan's lead, snaking a hand out for one of Tabitha's in order to give it a squeeze. They adjust their weapons and armour beneath their jacket, buttoning it closed to help hide it from curious eyes.
"Eh, let's just bag him... If we catch him unawares, it'll be easier on us," Viktorin murmurs quietly.
Tabitha takes hold of the feminine hand of Miles when it is offered to her. "I think maid service is the way to go. Would also give us a chance to see if he's not alone."
Viktorin glances towards Ryan, "Well, most of our team is made up of chicks. Maybe that'd work. And then I can bust through the wall, like the koolaid man!" Mischievously the Czech quirks his lips into a toothy grin at his fellow Orderite. And then his eyes flicker over towards Tabitha, Miles, and Meridith.
"That's not true," Miles insists to Viktorin with a little huff of air from their nose, and their free hand raising to rub at the back of their neck. There's a pause and a glance aside to Tabitha then, "Maid service." They repeat.
Finding the laundry room is simply a matter of following a few signs while off of the beaten path. The facility is not exactly tiny, and it seems each tower has its own to help keep up with the throughput necessary to maintain such a large establishment. Unfortunately for the team, the laundry room is meant for things like towels, bed sheets, pillow cases, and wash clothes, not really uniforms or anything of that sort. The group earns some odd stares from the workers there, but if no one pushes further into the room, the staff is likely to just think guests were lost and go about their business. Perhaps some hotels with uniforms likely make their employees do the uniforms themselves, not using the facilities of the hotel to do so.
Meridith is playing support, lingering like some much too cool foreign tourist, backpack slung over her shoulder, on her phone, waiting for trouble and keeping a lookout.
Looking around, Ryan approaches one of the workers and pulls out some large American bills, "Hey." he says quietly as he makes sure they're somewhere out of general line of sight, waving the lady over as he murmurs quietly. "Me and me wife love this hotel, and we have this thing, you know? is there any way I can buy three maid outfits? It's kind of a roleplay thing, you know. If you have any extras, that is."
Miles very much allows Ryan to do the speakng, and the attempted bribing, and just sort of awkwardly raises a hand to wiggle fingers toward the woman that he's approached, attempting to play his role of, well, part of the roleplay 'thing'.
Viktorin just blinks and confirms, almost jokingly, "I'm the wife."
Staff in the laundry room mostly gives Ryan some disdainful, scoffing looks. Especially when the group behind joins in on the joke. The woman blinks at the group then shoos them out of the laundry room with rushed comments that are in a mixture of Chinese and English but which basically amounts to, "This is not a place for guests. See the concierge, or they will have to call security. They do not want their insurance premiums to go up if a guest gets hurt in the laundry room."
The concierge desk is closer to the entrance and clearly marked. And for Ryan's particular ploy, it is far likely easier to get handled there.
Tabitha plays the role now of a young American tourist, caught up in the lifestyle of Singapore, and the rich sugar-daddy that Ryan is. She shifts from one foot to the other, a light twist of her red hair given in circles as she watches the scene between him and the other worker with a flush.
Straightening his tie, Ryan nods to the lady as he moves more towards the Concierge desk, attempting the same ploy as he leans over the counter, reaching up to slick back his shaggy, beach blonde hair as he gives his most winning smile and asks the Concierge, "My good friend, I'm here in Singapore on business and I'm looking to have a little bit of fun." he slides a few folded large denomination American bills across the counter as he leans in closer and murmurs quietly, "Me and the lady are looking to have a little bit of roleplay, so I was wondering if we could rent three of your maid's outfits for a few days?"
Viktorin, impatient as ever, throws upon a voice. A particular silky voice. "Give us the uniforms," Viktorin states. He needs no eye-locking for this bit. Just the power in his voice. And logic. "Surely, you can spare us a few outfits. And surely, you can look the other way. What's a few uniforms compared to money, especially when it's returned at the end of the day?"
The concierge looks a bit bewildered by the request, but after looking over his shoulder a couple of times, he focuses back on Ryan and Viktorin. "You are not doing something that is illegal here in Singapore, I hope. I would have to report you to the American authorities," he says with a narrowed gaze, without a lot of details for the request. "If you need maid uniforms, there are shops where they are sold. Our uniforms are for our staff only," he insists to the pair of men with the women behind them. A glance is given toward Meridith, Tabitha, and Miles for a moment, then he says, "Besides, it looks like you already have some costumes." Probably in reference to Miles, given the badge and all.
Tabitha looks about the place, pinching her thighs together. "Is there a bathroom nearby?" she asks the man behind the counter. She ticks her head to the side a moment, looking like she might really -need- it.
Miles raises a hand to rub at the wrinkles about their eyes, and then pinch the bridge of their nose, "Let's just go knock on his door, yes? We know which room they're in." They suggest to the others, "I don't know if we need a key to operate the lifts, but.." There's a slightly louder question afforded to the concierge then, "Alright there, sir? My compatriots and I are looking to visit a friend, we can make do without uniforms. Do we need anything to get to his room? We're trying to surprise him with.. something that is legal, but very much a fantasy." There's a beat, "It's his birthday, you see." They explain in a knowing tone.
Meridith is hanging back, doing her best to pretend she does not know these people.
"I can call up to his room and have him buzz you in, if you would like," the concierge offers helpfully, moving over to pick up a receiver from a phone nearby. "What is his room number?" he asks curiously. The query about the bathroom is met with a quick point of his fingers toward the nearby bathroom sign indicating it is around the corner. "Just take a left and follow the wall. On the left, miss," he answers helpfully, given that is his job. To be helpful to guests. Within the policies of the establishment.
Grinning as he slides the folded bunch of bills to the Concierge as he says, "That wouldn't be a surprise then, would it, sir?" he asks as he glances to Viktorin and then back to the man, "I'm sure you understand that he's going to have just the -best- birthday, I'm sure." Ryan says with a grin.
Tabitha starts toward the way of the restrooms, digging into her tote for a few things. Womanly things, probably. Subtlety rules here, but if someone looks closer, the object she pulls is not a tampon. She looks behind her. "Anyone else need to use the bathroom?" Girls, and thier need for going in a group.
Meridith waves over from the side to Tabitha, moving to join her.
Meridith nods faintly and moves over to Ryan, giving him a little elbow and jostling
Ryan gives a big grin to Meridith as he slides his hand in his pocket and palms something to Meridith.
Meridith moves back to follow Tabitha to the bathroom
"I'm.." Miles isn't quite sure if they should be following the girls to the holy land, or not. Which is to say, the women's restroom. They cant a glance back toward Ryan, and nod in agreement with the point he'd make. Surprises do need to be surprising, after all.
Tabitha steps into the bathroom, and enters one of the stalls.
Meridith plays sentry, waiting for people to depart before fetching the 'undergoing maintenance' sign or the Swiss equivalent
While Miles misses their chance to visit the promised land, Tabitha and Meridith get into the bathroom, presumably locking it and preparing for a quick ritual. Between the pair of them, it should be easy enough to knock out in about fifteen minutes, though a couple of knocks come during that time. Not insistent knocks, more curiosity knocks after the door does not open.
The concierge slowly backs off of calling Zeng's room, because he does not know the room number. "I am afraid I cannot really help you bypass our security features, even for a surprise. If you would like, I can just call and ask him if he is expecting guests. That is the best I can do, I am afraid. We take our guests' security very seriously here," he explains apologetically, giving a small bow, but prepared to be done with the conversation if no one presses further. He does not even look at the money. One might get the impression that this hotel is the kind that would run security drills against its own staff to ensure strict moral adherence to their policies.
"I bet your soul is biege." Miles accuses of the concierge, which is the meanest insult they can come up with that won't result in them being thrown out of the place. They groan and lean away from the desk, slinking closer to Viktorin and Ryan, "We're making this harder than it needs to be, boys. Let's just get ourselves a room in the same tower, same floor if possible, and wander over and up there, eh?"
Sliding the money back across and into his pocket, Ryan nods to the concierge, "I think we'll catch him for lunch, then. Would probably make for a great story, you know?" he says with a big smile to the man, "You're doing a great job, bud. Tell you what, if the party goes all night, we'll probably need a room, so...do you have anything on the 45th floor of the third tower? I've heard those suites are just magnificent, and you have to be up high to see all across the skyline."
Tabitha gathers up her things, and soon she is stepping out of the bathroom looking all sorts of awkward and blushing as she does, and meets a couple of waiting patrons outside the door. She scoops up Meridith's arm in hers and heads back to the group.
Tabitha motions to them a few paces away from the concierge.
"Certainly, sir. Whose name should I put this reservation under?" the concierge asks in a way that hints whatever answer Ryan provides will be used against him in a federal court of law back in the United States.
Meridith walks arm in arm with Tabitha.
"One moment, I believe I'm being summoned, my friend." Ryan says as he gives a big smile and wanders away from the desk to Tabitha, "Yes?" he asks as he lowers his voice, raising his eyebrow as he confers with Tabitha and Meridith.
Meridith says "That explains your reaction..."
"What do you mean?" Tabitha asks.
Meridith reaches up to poke her cheek. "All ready faced."
Meridith says "Err...read faced."
Meridith says "...red faced"
"I was acting embarrassed by hogging the bathroom..." Tabitha says. "I've seen panties before. I've seen sex before too!" She gives Meridith an amused laugh.
Meridith gasps, as if this is the most audacious thing she's ever heard.
Playing the part of the annoyed sugar daddy, Ryan rolls his eyes as he wanders back to the desk, "I'm so sorry, my friend. Seems like my..." he motions towards Meridith, Tabitha, and Miles as he shakes his head, "They're hungry from the trip, so I'll have to come back later as they're quite insistent. Thanks for use of your bathroom as well, the hospitality has been fantastic." he claps his hands as he glances over at Meridith and Tabitha seemingly gossiping with each other, "Ladies, let's go. No dawdling."
The concierge has let the group off the hook for the moment, but he watches them warily as they pow wow a distance away from the desk. He does not call security, but he looks like he wants to really badly. Or perhaps there is a hidden button that does this for him without too much notice. Either way, the group seems to have touched on a different plan for getting up the tower. Though if security is as tight as the concierge indicated, it might be more difficult than just stealing any old key. Likely, those keys are set to allow travel to specific floors. Which could be problematic for the group.
Miles purses their lips for several long seconds, nearly doing a duck face. They turn then, and march away from the concierge, and towards the general check-in desk, frumping against it with a beaming sort of smile, "Hello there, I'd like a room, please. Forty-fifth floor. There's memories attached." There's a forwardness to this, as if Miles were adopting the persona of someone used to getting their way.
"Which tower, sir?" the reception desk lady asks. "Can I get a name and a form of ID for the reservation?" she asks a moment later, while typing on the keyboard. She makes a couple of clicks with her mouse, then asks, "Ocean view or no? Or did you have a specific room you desired? Do you recall?"
"Third tower." Miles indicates with a twitch of the lips, not seeming to mind being called sir. They cant their head to the side at the request for identification, and gestures Viktorin closer, "We'll give the paperwork a miss, and we'll charge the room to Inigo & Wilson, business account." The femme wryly intones, pausing then and playing up considering the last two questions, "Ocean view sounds appropropriate, that's the most important part to me."
Viktorin slinks forth, gliding over towards Miles, curiously tilting his head. "Mm?" he murmurs questioningly. And then "Mm!" he blinks as he hears Inigo and Wilson being mentioned.
There's a private look afforded to Viktorin from Miles, and when it becomes apparent that he may not have picked up on why he was being gestured over, Miles clears his throat, and makes a jedi mind trick gesture with a hand.
"Here..." Tabitha says, and digs through her tote for her wallet to pull out some identification to use. She leans into Miles, giving them a hipcheck. But all the while, holding out her id, she's looking about, watching tourists such as themselves wander about and where.
Viktorin sighs and flicks his gaze over to the concierge, throwing upon the silky voice from before again. Once more, no need to lock eyes. Just ooze power into his voice. Logic. "Surely, identification isn't needed. Where is discretion in the matter? I'm rather well known back home, and if the tabloids catch hint of anything rather scandalous, still legal, mind you, but scandalous, I'll have my face -plastered- over the front pages. Surely, you don't need to check our ideas. Surely, you can 'accept the reservations without checking identification'..."
"Oh, Inigo and Wilson? Certainly," the young lady says. "Which family? And your first name, please?" she asks thoughtfully. She does not even need any additional palm greasing with those sorts of names floating about, though perhaps the Jedi mind trick helps move things along a little quicker. Soon the reservation is sorted, and a couple of gold-plated keys are slid over to Miles. "Thank you for staying with us, Miss Inigo. Enjoy your stay," she says, apparently figuring out Miles was a woman somewhere in the middle of it. The subtlety of making the Jedi mind trick gesture in public might draw some scrutiny from the Dynasty if they are watching and the team does not succeed with their mission.
Viktorin says "Glorgo Inigo. It's a family name. Passed down."
Even better, Tabitha slides her card away.
There's a gimlet eye afforded to Viktorin at the choice of name, Miles was mulling over something more ironic or fun. Something like, 'Justice', or 'Chastity', but Glorgo will have to serve, "Thank you, darling." Miles leans closer to pat Viktorin's chest, with a thump, before reaching over to pluck the card from the attendant, "We appreciate your acquiescence." With prize in hand, Miles leads Viktorin and Tabitha back to the others, and extends it toward Ryan, deciding he gets to be their elevator guide.
Ryan nods, "Right this way." he mentions as he leads them to the elevators with their bags.
Tabitha walks to the elevators, unraveling her scarf from around her neck, a sigh issuing forth from her.
Meridith follows along with them, eager to get the show on the road.
Gliding forth once more, Viktorin clasps his hands behind his back, stoically following Ryan.
The elevator ride to the 45th floor does not take very long. And the team arrives with a BING! Their room is right next to Zeng Jian's, courtesy of Inigo and Wilson's law firm. And all of the potential consequences of that little bit of fraud and supernatural mind control. The key obviously only works on the door to their room, but between that and the nightmare, getting into Zeng's room should be a piece of cake. In no time really, the task force has moved to the hotel room of their slumbering target. Even from the nightmare though, it is a bit ... messy.
While the view from Zeng's bed to the picturesque, floor-to-ceiling windows is beautiful and only disturbed by a bra on a chair and a pair of high heels on the floor, the scene on the other side of the room looks like a blood bath. At least three women were involved, as there are three bodies. One is bent over a sofa, covered in bruises that were inflicted before she died, along with some cuts and scrapes all over her body. Another woman is bound hands to feet, but left kneeling. She died in that position and has been left there, her back arched backward, her head fallen back, and dried semen all over her face and chest. The third victim is died much more straightforward, though likely still mid-coitus, based on the hand print bruising around her throat. And there, covered in blood and other bodily fluids, Zeng Jian slumbers peaceful as a baby in the stained bed.
Getting in their room and taking a peek in the nightmare, Ryan heads towards the bathroom to lose his lunch, crouching down by the toilet to let it all out as he shakes his head, one hand holding his shaggy blonde hair as he grimaces, "Holy shit, that's gruesome. We'd be doing the world a favor by taking this guy out of the picture. Three women in there, murdered."
Meridith twitches faintly, her eyes focus, sharp. She draws one quiet breath and moves to emerge from the nightmare, reaching for her blade.
Assuming that they all journey into the room, then, through the nightmare? Miles would attempt to stay Meridith's blade, not quite willing to risk the brief element of surprise by striking against someone who might have skin thicker than concrete. The other hand reaches into their jacket, and produces a small, silver ball. A particular type of grenade.
Meridith does not appear to be willing to stay her blade from such a casual gesture.
Tabitha glances around, and while outwardly it may seem he's been the the antagonist and left three dead, she is not ready to just jump. But her hands do make fists. tight. So tight. Her nails dig into her skin. "It's possible this is staged..." she says quietly, though it is certainly not looking good for the man.
Pulling out his staff, Ryan glances over at Meridith and Tabitha as he nods to Miles, "If we can neutralize him and then beat him unconcious, we can maybe tie him up and drag him out."
Embarrassment can mean different things to different people and cultures. In this case, perhaps the Dynasty was just tired of having to help cover up indiscretions like this. Overindulgence, purely for the sake of enjoyment, even in a monstrous world might strike a cord with the wrong people. And in this case, a supernatural who likely used powers in order to make a situation like this come to fruition would certainly be on their hit list. That only really begs the question of why have the Order and Temple do the deed instead of themselves? Plausible deniability. And siccing the House of Jade on the Order and the Temple as a bonus.
Or, as Tabitha suggests, it is all staged by the Dynasty to make Zeng Jian look bad enough to get murdered by virtuous societies like the Order and Temple without looking at it too much. With the motley crew that is the task force, tempers running high, and the desire to remove monsters bubbling up to the surface, it may be easy to make the snap judgment.
Zeng Jian is currently very much asleep. Binding him would not be difficult. Unless he wakes up during the exchange. His red scythe is propped up beside the bed. Likely an item he never leaves home without, given his nick name.
Rage. Rage is all that's expressed upon the demigod's face. Into the bathroom he goes, zipping out of the nightmare. He may be unarmed, but, this isn't his first rodeo. A murmur, "I'm throwing him out the fucking window." His muscles are tense, his jaw, clenched. Viktorin's eyes dull a bit. A different sort of hate.
Rage. Rage is all that's expressed upon the demigod's face. Into the bathroom he goes, zipping out of the nightmare. He may be unarmed, but, this isn't his first rodeo. A murmur, "I'm throwing him out the fucking window." His muscles are tense, his jaw, clenched. Viktorin's eyes dull a bit. A different sort of heat. (revis)
Tabitha says, lowly, her own despise bubbling up as she looks more closely at the state of the women, likely seeing her face on them, each and every, "If you wake him, before you simply beat him, I can see if I can get him to speak his truth. Whether it is he did this. Or if this was purposeful..." She begins to remove a few items from her bag, including a little hoodoo doll made of burlap.
Meridith notes that she is definitely going to commit a murder, if someone doesn't do more than quietly conversate.
That's a good point that Tabitha makes, and Miles pays it with a nod of agreement. She really is more than just the pretty face he may've suggested she was while under the effects of a curse some time ago. Their other hand is filled with a tranq gun, as they elect to take a non-lethal response, at least immediately. A thumb is pressed into the activation button for the silver neutralizer, and he tosses right on at the sleeping man, then raising the tranq to shoot him - attempting to beat Meridith to the punch.
"Wait ..." Tabitha says when the neutralizer is thrown.
Ryan frowns, "I don't know..." he says as he white knuckles his staff, "We need to do this properly." he steps in front of them, holding his staff sideways as he blocks them all from the door to the suite, "I think if we get his scythe first and we all pile on, we can make sure he's overwhelmed and...oh shit!"
Tabitha tries to back away in the room, out of the circumfrence of the neutralizer. She is swift of feet, but time will tell.
Defenestration is a great way to murder someone. As long as they cannot fly, can actually be killed, and cannot shape shift into something with wings at least. Those are rarely considerations in TV shows and movies where people get thrown out windows though, often most famous from older westerns where stunt techniques involved having padding on the other side of the window for the victim to fall into. In this case, a 45 story fall would probably work if he does not wake up and have a way to stop it. He may still be old enough to be immortal, in which case, the fall will only delay his annoyance at the task force when he gets back up and hunts them down.
But before anyone can follow through on the excellent execution by defenestration, a neutralizer flashes, bathing the hotel room in the light of the explosion and the expansion of the gas within to cancel out most abilities. Following up with a tranquilizer is just mean, but it certainly makes sure Zeng does not awaken from his no longer quite peaceful slumber.
Meridith lingers back, exhaling softly. "You have a way out, Miles?" she asks, tensely.
Rushing into the room, Ryan dives for the scythe, picking it up and making sure the man can't get to it if he -does- awaken, letting out a long sigh as he glances back at the people, "Well...uh...now what do we do? We're going to want to move quick and clean up any evidence of us being here."
"We're going to want to bind this fellow, and slap him awake." Miles points out to Meridith and Ryan, raising an eyebrow aside toward the former. They reach into their jacket then, producing a pair of silvered handcuffs that hum with a quiet sort of energy. It's a modified neutralization collar, and they go about slapping them about the wrists of the unconscious man, and power them on - should he remain sleepy during such.
"Start a fire," Viktorin suggests, gliding forth, investigating the bodies. He seems angry at their existence. But not too perturbed. Instead it's cold, calculating. However, he isn't into forensics. "Wait. Died... like this. Think he drained them? Let's check for bruises."
Meridith stares at the collar, a glance given and lingered.
"Well." Tabitha says, holding the doll in her hand, and unsure now what it is she can even do. "A good question. Isn't he demigod. If they are drained..."
Viktorin stares at the bodies, definitely covered in bruises, but he's more-so checking their locations. Of course.
"You can't just start a fire in a hotel like this, all of these sprinklers will pop off and the whole place will go on alarm. Best that we just put the 'do not disturb' sign out there and hope that it isn't found quickly, at least before we get this all out of here. The Dynasty or someone local will have a cleanup crew for this kind of thing." Ryan notes.
There is plenty of bruising, cutting, scrapes, abrasions, and other signs of 'rough love making' as they call it in the cool corner at school. Each of the girls has semen somewhere in or on them, dried by now if it is external. One girl is bent over the couch, one is kneeling on the floor between the bed and the couch. The third is laying on the bed next to Zeng.
Zeng only starts to stir as he is cuffed, and then he starts to struggle, trying to break loose. Without his powers though, he is really not able to do so. He grunts out a scoff and asks, "What do you want?" At least he knows English. That will help some.
Letting out a long sigh, Ryan crouches down next to the man and takes in a deep breath, closing his eyes as he centers himself before opening them and nodding. "Heya, bud. Look, we're on the hunt for something real bad. Something that hunts kids. Do you know anything about something called the 'Pied 'Pire?"
Viktorin gestures to the girls, pointedly, "What's with that shit?" He's closing in by the bed, gazing harshly at the man before him.
Tabitha seeks to take a little of that semen, to smear it along the coarse fabric of the doll, and as she does this, she speaks, a call to the Crone: "Purification, I do conjure, so that thoughts be spoke, and not be pondered. Passions to red, set to the fire. Let the truth be said, as is my desire!" She removes a lighter from her bag of goodies, and so as she speaks, sets the doll aflame.
Meridith says "What did you do to these -fucking- women, you animal."
Then, Tabitha waits.
Miles slinks slightly to the side, allowing Ryan and the others the chance to speak. There's a wary eye afforded to Meridith, and her itchy sword hand. A less wary glance is afforded to Tabitha, as the neutralizing mist fades away in short order. "If you intend to do a little magic, Tabs, this is-" He doesn't finish the thought. She's already on the ball.
There's a grimace as Miles notes Tabitha's semen gathering actions. Yucky.
One does, as one must, is the look that Tabitha gives Miles. Lessons to be learned here, maybe?
"You want pies in a fire? What?" Zeng asks Ryan a bit incredulously, looking more confused by the question than his situation, which says a lot, because his situation is kinda bewildering to wake up to. Zeng glances over to where Viktorin is looking and says, "Huh. Crazy party. Looks like someone had fun." He turns his dark eyes back to the group and listens to the spell Tabitha casts. The spell goes off and presumably, someone, somewhere, be it Zeng or someone else, now wishes to speak the truth. Zeng just blinks at her for a moment. "Now what do you want, exactly?" he asks again, keeping a little calm at least in the situation. Or maybe just not certain of what he should be feeling just yet.
Is it true, if the cum was not his, somewhere somewhere else must speak the truth. "Someone..." Tabitha says to Zeng. "You have three women in your room, dead, and you sleep soundly next to one." She gestures to the woman, perhaps just to see if he will look and if the woman brings some sort of reaction.
"So you can see that you're in kind of a precarious position. I'm from The Order if you recognize the logo." Ryan says as he shows the society symbol. "And you're here with three dead women and we're going to need some answers. Someone wants you dead...very dead, but we're looking for Intel on this being, so if you could help us out, then we'd be more apt to..." he motions around himself, "Figure out who is framing you, or if you wish to confess."
Zeng, perhaps wisely, despite his embarrassment status, chooses to exercise his right to remain silent. If he has been hexed to speak the truth, he certainly could, but speaking nothing removes the potential of lies or incrimination both. He just grunts and shakes his head at Ryan. There is no denial, no confirmation, he schools his face toward neutrality and slowly glances toward each of the members in his room. If it even is his room. If that even was his semen. So many questions in this one little room, and he clams up on giving answers. With the people involved, he may have already presumed his guilt is assumed. He finally closes his eyes as if ready to accept fate as honorably as he can.
Meridith says "Fine, lets cut off his head, he won't speak to his defense, so he did it. He'll go down as a murderous woman raping animal."
Quirking his eyebrow upward, Viktorin peers into the man's eyes, attempting to discern their color. It would, at the very least, put forth a general estimate of what he may or may not be capable of. He doesn't speak anymore for the moment, at least until someone clams up. "Listen, bud. Here's how this is going to go. You open your mouth to speak, I'm going to remove your dick first. You still refuse, one eye. A finger. Then some toes. Still not talking? You're gonna have that scythe buried so far up your ass, you'll be able to taste it. Talk now. Or we can play the game my way." There's finality in the statement, his eyes flicking over towards Ryan, a hand extended.
Quirking his eyebrow upward, Viktorin peers into the man's eyes, attempting to discern their color. It would, at the very least, put forth a general estimate of what he may or may not be capable of. He doesn't speak anymore for the moment, at least until Zeng clams up. "Listen, bud. Here's how this is going to go. You open your mouth to speak, or I'm going to remove your dick first. You still refuse, one eye. A finger. Then some toes. Still not talking? You're gonna have that scythe buried so far up your ass, you'll be able to taste it. Talk now. Or we can play the game my way." There's finality in the statement, his eyes flicking over towards Ryan, a hand extended.
"Won't you speak, Zeng Jian?" Tabitha asks, putting her hand on Meridith's arm to try to stop her from lashing out. "I could still make you." It is a light threaten, but she calms her voice enough to sound the least insane of them.
"Uh...so I guess we're doing this the hard way, aren't we?" Ryan asks as he hands Viktorin the scythe, "Hey, man. I just want to let you know we could totes be cool with this if you help us."
Zeng lets out another grunt of a scoff as everyone starts to press in on him. He starts to speak then, but it is in Chinese, perhaps presuming no one in the room speaks it. He keeps his eyes closed as he does speak, perhaps a bit reverently, like a prayer maybe. The offering of being cool from Ryan offers little comfort to the already condemned man. Also, good cop, bad cop only works as a technique when torture and death are not already on the table from the jump. As interrogation techniques go, avoiding head damage and ensuring the target knows there is a way out with cooperation, even from the bad cop is handy. Those options are not available after a certain point.
"Fuck." Ryan says as he looks around the room. "Why are you doing this, man? Are the people you're protecting that important? Why don't you talk!"
Unlocking his phone, Viktorin turns on Google Translate, holding it up. "I'd rather you speak in English, but okay, have it your way."
While Miles largely remains silent for some time, he does eventually break this with a shake of the head. Should Viktorin attempt to assault the man, they'd try to prevent it. "We've been tasked to kill you, and unless you work with us, that's what the end result of this situation is going to be, Zeng. Worst case scenario? You're going to die, but there's no reason you can't have your chance to save yourself, or, hell, get some measure of revenge through us," The deputy muses, slinking closer toward the handcuffed, and neutralized man, reaching out to prod a finger into his chest. "Why do the Dynasty want you dead?"
Tabitha nods to Miles then, a momentary lapse into quietude herself. "That is what I want to know. And ... if you are guilty of the heinous actions here. Either way..." She purses her mouth together, stiffles herself this way. Her gaze drifts to one of the women.
As Viktorin breaks out a phone, Zeng peeks his eyes open, then starts speaking more quietly, whispering really, luring the other man to have to lean closer if he wants to use the phone to help with the translation. Zeng shakes his head at the party then presses his lips tightly together. He closes his eyes once more to let the dice fall where they may. Without a confession though, odds are, no one in the room will actually know what happened here. Without a trial, he is guaranteeing no one will know what actually happened here. If he dies here, the story gets spun however it will get spun. The truth will assuredly die with him.
Tabitha walks a little closer to the group. Having distanced herself from them so she could cast her spell. On ... someone. Somewhere. Maybe Zeng. "If it is a set up, we can help exonerate you. But you don't speak, then it will be your head. You seem to be contenting yourself to that fate, and I suppose that is honorable. Assuming that it is a set up." She looks to the woman on the bed. She suggests to Miles, "If you hold out his hand, I could draw some of his blood and ensure that his tongue loosens?" Information, afterall, is what they did come for. And his head. "Why would the Dynasty want you dead?"
Miles does as bid, reaching over to grasp the chain of the handcuffs and drag the man's hand toward Tabitha, that she might pinch some of his blood.
Could it all just be an act? With knowledge of the Temple, the Order, and possibly even Those Seeking Redemption, he must know that Murderers are not tolerated in two of those three. Meaning without good reason, none of them would kill him themselves. Not while risking the ire of their respective HQs. Of all those present, the only one Zeng seems to have any real fear from might be Miles, for his affiliation with the Temple, well known for being perfectly ok with murderating supernaturals. Perhaps he is hoping for a democratic solution. Perhaps he is waiting for someone to lose their temper ant make a move. Or maybe he is biding his time for something. A closer inspection of the man might reveal something. He is naked from the waist up, but as the blanket gets moved to get the blood, his pants are still on. Who fucks three women to death and then puts on their pants to go to bed?
Squinting, Viktorin flares his nostrils and takes a whiff. Then he backs away, scythe in hand. Like some blood-hound, he sniffs about, first stepping near each of the deceased to inhale their particular scent. And then Zeng himself. Keeping the scents in mind, he traces back towards the doorway to the room, his nostrils once more flaring. As if sorting through mental files. Then he moves around the room, carefully stepping as to not mix his own scent trails. "Careful where you step. There's still possibly room for other trails in the room."
Tabitha does take note of the pants Zeng is wearing. And there is a moment that she nods. The knife then is pierced through his normal flesh to draw up just enough blood for her to catch it up on the blade. "The truth will be known to me, as I will... So mote it be!" She places the blade to her fingers and smears his blood there, which are then angled to and onto Zeng's lips, clamped as they are, as as much as he might fight it to happen. "So as it is willed by Veritas. By Maat..."
Ryan squints as he searches the room, looking for the man's phone, "Hmm, let's see. Maybe we can look through his phone and see if there's anything there. This doesn't add up."
Tabitha says "By Laozi.... Speak."
"Mm. Nightma- they would've also had to enter the bathroom then if the did enter without Zeng's knowledge. Of course, he could've killed them, but... something is off." It's a cold admittance, and now, the man is heading to the bathroom to sniff it out, trying desperately not to heave up his meal from earlier in the day. Nose wrinkled, nostrils flared, he sniffs and sniffs. "Please... evidence. Please." Viktorin mostly ignores the goings-on in the next room, electing to continue as he is.
"Keep an eye on him." Miles requests of Meridith, stepping away from Zeng then and joining Viktorin in investigating the room. Though, while the godling uses his preternatural abilities, Miles focuses more upon good ol' fashioned investigation, and observation both.
Meridith keeps a stoic eye on Zeng. Arm folding, hand touching the hilt of her rapier
No phone is forthcoming, though that is to say it is certainly not on his person. There is a charger plugged into the nightstand, but no phone attached to it. The only phone present is the hotel phone on the nightstand.
The bathroom has been hit with some form of bleach or disinfectant that has rendered most of the smells in there indiscernible from the rest of the room at large.
Zeng remains quiet, stoic, eyes still closed, and lips pressed into a thin line. Hearing people starting to back away from his guilt though, he peeks open his eyes and starts glancing around.
As everyone breaks out to start looking into other avenues of determining Zeng's guilt, he lets out a quiet sigh, perhaps thinking he has made it through the worst of his situation. The spell from Tabitha lands with the direct conduit of his blood involved. He does begin to speak, but in case anyone starts trying to translate it, he begins oscillating between Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. Which would definitely mess with Google Translate if it is not prepared for multilingual shifts like that.
"In English," Tabitha says.
"Fuck..." is all Viktorin says as he opens the toilet and begins retching. The god awful scents are too overpowering, at least for him, and the god awful mixture of it all has sent the demigod reeling. "No scents... except the worst ones," he calls to the room between bouts of heaving. "Oh my gawd." Another statement issued. Eventually, of course, he'll make his way back, scythe in hand.
Meridith just quietly records it with her phone for later
There's a low, quiet sigh that boils up and out of Miles as they inspect the bodies, their brow growing furrowed over time, only adding to the wrinkles on their forehead. Then they're reaching into their duty belt, gathering some evidence taking kits, and taking samples from each of the bodies. Hair. Blood. The semen. Each is plucked up, noted and stored away for further testing later. "This isn't as simple as we'd hoped." The deputy intones, speaking what may be obvious to the group at large at this point. "Vik, if you don't mind? Would you take some photos of the place. I think that-.." They shake their head, "We're going to take old mate in. Back to Haven, or Boston, at least, I don't quite care if it's Temple or Order, but I don't think this is as cut and dry as the scene was made to be. If he isn't talking, then we'll let the evidence do the talking for us."
Meridith scowls. "If we're taking him to investigate later, let's do so. But plan for reprisal, we need to get out of the country with him."
Ryan nods, "Sounds good. I think we should knock him out again and pretend like he's drunk from our party story earlier. Wait until late in the day and then sneak him out at night so we only have to deal with the front hotel staff. We'll just look like a bunch of drunks. As for getting out, we can charter a private plane through one of our societies, should be pretty easy to do to just get us at least out of The Dynasty's domain."
Mind control is finicky, and some times you get exactly what you want with it. Other times, you get a rambling bit of jubberish, that while true, is not really all that helpful. Such is the case when Zeng is asked to speak in English again. Certainly, the sky is blue, the sea is vast and deep, and the mountains are majestic and wonderful to climb. None of which is truly relevant and hardly pertains to the situation at hand. But it might make good poetry later for Meridith to listen to the recording of. He certainly gives it a lyrical quality as he speaks.
When Miles mentions going back to Haven or Boston, Zeng shakes his head and says, "My place is in China. I belong there. I will not be dragged halfway around the world to be tried by puppets." He genuinely and honestly seems to believe that last one, if it made it out through the truthful enchantments Tabitha has hit him with.
As if on cue with Meridith mentioning reprisal, a half dozen black-clad figures leap out of the bathroom mirror, ready to do some damage to the task force. The Dynasty has been listening this whole time!? Le gasp!
"Being taken by the Temple is a death sentence for most criminal supernaturals, or at least, that is the general perception." Miles explains aside to Meridith, before pausing to glance between her and Viktorin, "Please tell me that one of you can at least path us out of here."
Meridith shakes her head. "Mundane is the least of our problems. And...fuck seriously, is that our only way out?"
Of course, the question posed by Miles is interrupted by the sudden appearance of the ninjas.
"I did not think it was all cut and dry to begin with," Tabitha says to Miles, pulling her knife across the already bloodied sheets to clean it off and put it away. "But I can't try another spell or you will be carrying me out..." She sighs at Zeng, and then she is moving away from him with a look about the room again to see if she can tell anything more. "You forget though ... that if we ---" Then. Ninjas.
Meridith oh's, Ninjas.
"The fuck?" Ryan says as he gets startled, holding up the staff in his hand as he steadies himself against he new entries into the room.
Viktorin says "God damn it"
Meridith is truly shocked, SHOCKED, that the Dynasty was listening. Well, no, she isn't even a little surprised. She lets out a whistle and rushes to them. "Figure out a fucking plan!" she notes to her...less battle ready companions.
"Take my hand... and form a link..." Tabitha says. "We are a long way from Haven, but I might be able to get us through. If my ritual is still powerful enough."
One hand on his staff, holding it out in defense in front of them as he grabs the handcuffed man's arm, Ryan nods, "Someone grab his other arm in the link, Meridith and I can hopefully hold them off as the front line."
Miles moves to cover Tabitha with their body, while grasping one of her hands with one of their own, and then grabbing at the bound man with their other, trying to finish the link formed by Ryan.
Meridith scowls. "I can fight them fine! But not if I'm covering for you guys!" she insists. "Get him clear and I'll follow after!"
Viktorin growls, "I am -not- going through all this bull-shit without answers. We came for a reason!" With rage, the man acts, slamming his hand against Zeng's arm, dragging him forth from the bed with all the strength he has. One handed it seems. Then he's slapping his other hand into Tabitha's. "Hurry up, grab his arm, complete the circle when Tab's all ready," he tells Ryan and Meridith.
Time always slows down in situations like this. The heat of battle always carries adrenaline with it, which definitely affects the human brain in a myriad of ways. Tabitha has offered a solution and a way out. The better part of valor is certainly the prerogative of the group today. Six ninjas versus 3.5 combatants at best. And that's before the woman steps through the mirror. She is still dressed as she was. The ninjas form a defensive barrier between her and the task form. She speaks simply and plainly, "If you take him, we will hunt you. Make no mistakes in that. Are you prepared for that? Simply kill him and be done with it."
If everyone touches in the link, Tabi can potentially get everyone out... If not... Meridith might be facing certain death, if not torture followed by certain death.
Meridith tries to summon her mastery of telekinesis, sending a wave of mental force towards the group as she pivots to take her hand in the circle
"I can't path, so I need to go with them!" Ryan yells to Meridith as he looks over at the woman, "If he is guilty, then he will see his Trial from The Order, or his Death at the hands of The Temple. Rest assured, he will find justice."
Meridith says "Let's GO!"
Tabitha closes her eyes. "Meri, grab hold of someone now!" She begins to chant in Latin. Thrice times. "Non est similis domus." There are no ruby slippers though.
Meridith HAS ALREADY!!!!
"Meri! Grab someone!" Miles adds to the chorus of people telling her to do as much, even though she already has.
"Justice?" the woman says with a laugh. "Did you think we were interested in justice?" she asks before laughing. "Kill them all. We'll sort it out once they cannot talk," she says and the ninjas start to surge forward toward the task force, weapons drawn, though one gets slammed back into a wall by telekinetic force. As soon as Meridith gets her other hand into the mix, the spell goes off. And POOF! The team is back in Haven with a one Zeng Jian, the Red Scythe, safely taken with them, for better or worse. As Sanctuary covers him though, he grins briefly, in a sinister fashion. The expression disappears before he thinks anyone notices though.
[I think that will bring us to a close for this one. While the team does not get any intel from the Dynasty, they did manage to do something potentially good, perhaps? At least Zeng did not die. Yet. He is, unfortunately, unaware of the Pied 'Pire however. Was the Dynasty even offering anything useful for the investigation? The task force may never know. Tune in next month for the next episode of the Pied 'Pire, and perhaps we will find out. (Next month as in during April, not waiting 4 weeks). Please STalk or Reply with any rewards you may wish to collect while you have me here. Otherwise, I need a couple minutes to finalize everything. Then I can start summoning people back to the grid. Thank you for letting me entertain you with tonight's version of 12 Angry Men.]