Chapter 6: Snatching Ace. Section 1: Setting Up the Ambush

[kennethboyd69]

Tears

"I didnt see any threats in the astral or real paranormal threats. we should be good on that unless there is something i ddint see or catch."

flexes her shoulders and back to limber up before having to jump someone

[Juramenta]

{Headstone}

Headstone checks his secretary.
''I haven't received a message yet from El Cid on where the target's car is parked or the route he is planning on taking with him.
It might still come in, since it's early. If it doesn't, I'll send him a message about it, give or take 30 mins before they are expected to walk out. We could try to search for the car on our own, but driving around might raise suspicion. We could also choose for a drive by when they get out, if the information doesn't come in. Anyone got a preference? he suggests to the people in the minibus.

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

"We know his make, model, and license plate, and we got another couple of hours before they're finishing, right? I can go for a walk," says Baby Blue. "See what I see."

[Juramenta]

{Headstone}

Nods at BB.
''Want to go alone or have someone with you? Headstone responds already assuming she means going solo, but feels he should at least offer.

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

"Probably best to have someone with me," says Baby Blue. "A little slip of a girl is a target, no matter how confidently she walks. I could probably outrun anyone looking for trouble, but might be a while before I can safely circle back around to the van. Better to avoid that problem."

[Juramenta]

{Headstone}

Headstone looks around to see if anyone wants to stretch their legs for a bit, but he's happy to do it himself if needed.

[kennethboyd69]

Tears

"I can tag along if ya wish or one of the big strong men" chuckles

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

Baby Blue shrugs, and her lips quirk. "So long as you're big and orcish, I don't particularly care your gender. No offense Revs."

[Charybdis Richelle]

Baby Blue will leave her binoculars in the car, though she'll keep her goggles on, and hop out. She'll head south first.

{GM}

Checking both sides of the street where Revs has parked, Baby Blue sees no signs of Ace’s Landrover. The street perpendicular to the one where BB started has fewer vehicles. It’s more of an alley than a street, designed for delivery trucks to bring goods for the stores on the main street and to hold dumpsters and the like.

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

Baby Blue eyes the alley warily. She double checks to make sure Tears is with her, then heads south to the main street before swinging east. She's checking the cars, eyeing the local alleyways, gauging escape routes, keeping half an eye on anyone showing her interest, and counting quietly under her breath as she walks, measuring her steps.

[Charybdis Richelle]

{GM}

Baby Blue and Tears walk past the alleyway, continuing south. They do spot a Landrover, but it is the standard model, not the long-wheelbase model that Ace has. A small gaggle of joygirls and boytoys lounge on the corner. Spying two women heading that way, one of the boytoys, a slender Caucasian human in skin tight booty shorts and a muscle shirt saunters up to them.

“Evenin’, ladies,” the boytoys purrs. “Seems like yer lookin’ fer somethin’. If yer searchin’ fer a good time, ya just found it…”

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

"Sorry, not my type," says Baby Blue as she keeps walking, barely sparing a glance at the boytoy (though she does keep an eye on him in her peripheral, juuust in case he tries anything).

[Charybdis Richelle]

{GM}

The boytoy nods in resignation and sidles back to the group. As Baby Blue and Tears go around the knot of sex workers, a Japanese elf in a clinging blue floral dress breaks off to try her luck.

“The boys never know what a girl really needs, neh,” the joygirl says. “Takes a woman ta really get ya goin’, am I right? I’ll do ya both – one at a time ’r tagether. Anythin’ ya want, ladies.”

Looking forward, none of the vehicles on this first eastern block are vans or SUVs.

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

Baby Blue shakes her head and keeps moving east.

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

Once she's away from the boytoys and joygirls, Baby Blue checks the time and thinks a bit. Closing isn't for a while yet, but the last thing she wants is for them to leave earlier than expected, and for her and Tears to be on some random street when things get hot. Plus, they need to conserve their strength. So, no more than an hour out here. She'll head east to Murphy's Law. Then she'll swing south two blocks, then east two blocks, head four blocks north, then west two blocks. That should put her two blocks north of Murphy's Law. Then she'll go west towards the van three blocks, before heading south two blocks and finally west a block to get back to the van. If at any point, she starts getting close to an hour, she'll head straight back to the van.

Finding Ace's car itself is frankly pretty unlikely, but at least this way she'll have some sense of the lay of the land for a couple of blocks in every direction El Cid and Ace might go.

[Charybdis Richelle]

{GM}

Baby Blue and Tears walk up and down the major streets closest to Murphy’s Law, avoiding the dark, narrow alleys. Doing so, they find no sign of Ace’s Landrover. They do get propositioned by sex workers of every sex, gender, age, and metatype in various places. BTL dealers approach them several times, and drug dealers try to sell them the latest street drugs twice. In addition, once they are offered the chance to browse the latest ‘discount items.’ The walkabout affords them a pretty good overall layout of the area and a good idea where to find most common illicit items should they need them in the future. They return to the minibus around 1 AM, giving them about an hour before the expected message from El Cid at last call around 2 AM.

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

Once Baby Blue gets back to the van, she gives the others an update on their failed attempt to find Ace's van, but also gives Revs a rundown on the blocks around Murphy's Law, focusing on any street intersections or alleys that might be good places to bring the van up to depending on the direction Ace and El Cid go. In particular, she focuses on spots that seemed to have the smallest number of boytoys, joygirls, and dealers.

[Charybdis Richelle]

{GM}

Most of the streets have some sort of action, but Baby Blue makes a note of the areas with the lightest action and where the various street folk paid her and Tears the least amount of attention when they passed. She has a good idea for a route to Murphy’s where the minibus would remain largely ignored at least, even if it does involve several turns on a block-by-block basis. Given what they have seen, BB’s best guess is that either Ace’s van is parked in one of the alleys or that he walked.

[Tay-Dor]

At 2 am, the team gets a misspelled text from El Cid.

>>lass call. target drunk. might be 3th party in toe. wiz - enchanter. not runner. don hurt im<<

[archolewa]

{Baby Blue}

Baby Blue's eyes narrow a little when she sees the message. "You want me to run interference on the wizard, Headstone?"