[Interceptors] Zombie Powder is a Helluva Drug [IC]

[Dr Archeville]

"I'm workin', I'm workin'!" a two-headed, four-armed Vince squealed.

The tattoo shared by the out-of-place victims -- the ones that looked like they were trying to blend in with the other lower-to-middle class students -- appeared on one of the large monitors. "Bloody skull with light blue crosses in the eyesockets, with the cross in the left eyesocket inverted. Sign of Los Diablos Rojos, the Red Devils, a gang coming up from Mexico. Guns and drug running, mostly, some prostitution; word is they've come to Freedom to try and score some Max."

"Their most prominent rivals are Il Diavoli Neri, the Black Devils, an Italian gang that the mafiosi see as young rebellious punks. But rumor is some of the rebels are rebelling and going further back in their history books, taking cues from some obscure Venetian traders who used necromantic skill to provide a business edge. Could be just for added intimidation, but if they've got some real ju-ju, say, by allying with some of the Voodoo gangs..."

A "get to the point" glare from Jack made Vince gulp nervously.

"Since many of the kids had IDs from Joseph Clark or FDR high, the gangs are probably operating near there, or near popular hangouts like the Youth Center. Places where it'd be easy to recruit. Lincoln's the best place to check, it's where Joseph Clark High and one of the biggest youth centers; I'll upload coordinates for the known and suspected gang hangouts there to the MAVERIC's computer."

"And f you see Sonic, one of Lincoln's protectors, work with him on this!"

[quotemyname]

"Now I reckon we got what we need." Colt began to walk past Jack, "That ain't so hard, naw is't, Jack?" Colt went to lay a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder. But remembering how the last time he had done that he'd nearly gotten it bitten off, and considering the electric machete in Jack's other hand, Colt thought better of the gesture and simply let his hand drop.

"Let's git goin'."

[Heritage]

"Let's git goin'."

Grim said nothing, merely nodding as she followed the others to the MAVERIC; at this point, she was too angry to add anything useful, and would more than likely just further sour Jack's already toxic mood.

This is so not cool; how did our team get to this point? Maybe I should talk to Doc about this...unless he already knows somehow... :shock: :?

Warily eyeing the walls of the Underground, she kept her troubled thoughts to herself.

[Dr Archeville]

Time: 8:30-ish pm, Sat night

Crossing the Mona-Glen bridge over South River to Lincoln, the team was unusually silent. No witty banter, no puffed-up bravado, just a grim pall settled over everyone. Especially around Jack, whose powers were subconsciously draining a bit of the light around him and making the area a few shades darker.

The Lincoln Youth Center, which lay about 3/4 of a mile northeast of Joseph Clark High School, seemed perfectly normal. Teens were playing basketball in the attached fenced court, lit by several large streetlights. They moved freely in and out of the building. They laughed, the ate snacks, they did all the things teens should be doing; from the MAVERIC all looked copacetic.

[Heritage]

Grim sighed as she sank even deeper into her seat; she really wanted this case to be over now, both for the kids' sake and on a more selfish level to put all this behind the three of them. But sadly, the only way to achieve both forms of closure was to work as a team and just get the job done.

"So how do we want to work this? Do we want to approach the kids directly as the Interceptors, or do we want to go all low-key and undercover? I see good and bad either way, to be honest; as the Interceptors, we might spook 'em, but undercover with teens is hard. They can smell a fake a mile away."

[quotemyname]

"I reckon I see another problem." Colt replied, still gripping the steering wheel of the MAVERIC. "Jack'n I ain't no teens no more. You on'th other hand c'n pass fer't.

Colt turned to look at Grim. His eyes and his mouth were sending two different messages. His look said, I'd do anythin' ta be able ta go in with ya., but all he said was, "Yer th'only one what's able ta do this. Jack'n I'll be right here. An' y've got yer commlink, anyhow." Colt lifted his shoulders apologetically, at a loss for anything else to say.

[Gizmo]

"Hmph, speak for yourself," Jack replied dryly. "We're not all weathered by long hours spent on the open plains, or whatever you did back home." Although his expression was still sour, the swordsman's overall disposition seemed to have improved noticeably now that they were actually out and working toward their goal, and the jibe carried an undercurrent of camaraderie, although bringing up Colt's home dimension was pointedly callous. As usual, the temperamental masked man was bouncing back from his outburst of anger more quickly than his more moderate teammates. He looked over at Grim. "No point in distracting them with my boyish good looks, though. Have at it." The sweeping gesture indicated the youth center and managed to convey a subtle sarcasm.

[Heritage]

"No point in distracting them with my boyish good looks, though. Have at it."

Grim sighed, then stepped out of the MAVERIC into the cold night air; the temperature didn't bother her, but she wasn't looking forward to this little mission. Most of her life Lynn preferred the company of adults to people in her own group or younger, unless they were little kids, who could be lots of fun; based on her own experience, teenagers were the cruelest living things on Earth.

In the shadow of the vehicle, the shapeshifter chose a new look; she'd never really been up on so-called 'urban' culture, so she didn't even try to go hip-hop, so instead she figured she just play the hot chick card and pray. She quickly settled on low-heeled boots, tight jeans, inexpensive leather jacket and long black hair, and chose features suggesting a multiracial household. The shapeshifter crunched across the snow-covered sidewalk on her way toward the center.

Dear God, let this work; I've never felt more white in my life.

[Dr Archeville]

The inside of the youth center was equally normal looking. A few video and pinball games in one corner, a martial arts sparring mat in another, computers in another, and in the center of it all, a concessions stand offering an assortment of snacks and beverages, split fairly evenly between health food and junk food.

There were plenty of teens present, and Grim found they offered little resistance or hesitation in talking to her. Even the adults working there were all too eager to help, and since she was reasonably certain a place like this ran thorough background checks on their staff, she didn't feel in much danger of being perved on by anyone twice her (apparent) age.

From them she learned of all the coolest hangouts (even the ones the parents wouldn't approve of, since they were, of course, the coolest), all the kids who knew where to score drugs (none were present at the moment, and they rarely came by this particular youth center anyway), and the latest word on teen-related gang activities. Seemed the biggest thing was a small gang wars that might erupt into a big gang war if things go bad, and things almost always went bad. This particular rumble was started, rumor was, because one side had stolen a big shipment of money, guns, and drugs from the other.

The two gangs involved? The Red Devils and the Black Devils. Or, as they were known amongst themselves, Los Diablos Rojos and Il Diavoli Neri, the same two Vince mentioned.

[Heritage]

A few minutes later, Grim reappeared next to the MAVERIC and clambered into the back seat. "Whew! Well, that was enlightening." She flipped open her phone and started scrolling through the directory. "I got a lot of numbers and was invited to no less than five parties this weekend, but that stuff is mostly background noise; if none of the other leads pan out, I guess I could show up and ask some more questions."

She closed the phone up and tucked it into her waistband

"The Red Devils and the Black Devils, AKA Los Diablos Rojos and Il Diavoli Neri, are definitly currently at war; word on the street is one side ripped off a big shipment from the other, but it's not clear who ripped off who. Supposedly it was guns, drugs and money, so no doubt they're pretty pissed off about it."

The changeling flicked her fingers and a white embossed business card appeared; she leaned over the front seat and passed to Jack.

"And here are three addresses in Lincoln where I was told I could score; I guess we just check 'em all."

[quotemyname]

"Red Devils'n Black Devils, eh?" Colt fired up the MAVERIC's engine as Jack punched the first of the addresses into the navigation system. "Reckon I better load up on holy water bullets, eh?"

Thankfully, younger kids in this neighborhood were used to the sound of squealing tires. None of them notice the nearly tank sized transport peeling out of the end of the parking lot.

"Really gotta work on'a dogone cloakin' device fer this here hunk'a junk."

[Gizmo]

Jack let Colt's firearm-themed humor go with no more than an annoyed glare as he finished entering the coordinates. "Hrrm... I don't like it," he noted, rubbing the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "It's not like these type need much excuse to go at it, but this whole 'not sure who ripped off who' thing feels like somebody's getting played." His mouth compressed into a thin line. "If you were gonna go to the trouble of getting a loud of Zombie Powder on the streets, you'd want to make sure there was a steady supply of dead gangbangers, right? Starting a war over the drugs is two birds, one stone."

[Heritage]

Jack let Colt's firearm-themed humor go with no more than an annoyed glare as he finished entering the coordinates. "Hrrm... I don't like it," he noted, rubbing the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "It's not like these type need much excuse to go at it, but this whole 'not sure who ripped off who' thing feels like somebody's getting played." His mouth compressed into a thin line. "If you were gonna go to the trouble of getting a loud of Zombie Powder on the streets, you'd want to make sure there was a steady supply of dead gangbangers, right? Starting a war over the drugs is two birds, one stone."

Grim nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that could well be true, but it could also just mean the folks I talked to didn't have all the facts. Just sayin'."

The shapeshifter leaned back in her seat, stroking he lower lip. "But yeah, if you just wanted to make, like, an army of zombies, getting two gangs hopped up on ZP and tricking them into going at it would be a pretty good way to start."

She frowned.

"We need to find out where this stuff is coming from; if it's coming in from outside the country, we could have a major operation going on. Plus all those guns and money? This could be big."

[quotemyname]

"We need to find out where this stuff is coming from; if it's coming in from outside the country, we could have a major operation going on. Plus all those guns and money? This could be big."

"Don't think fer a second it ain't. We got kids dyin' in th' streets." Colt's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel for a moment, "I reckon in my book that's big's it gets."

Colt turned and glanced at Jack. "There's'n easy way'ta find out, though. We just ask'em separately who their supplier is. If'n they tell'us the same place, then we know right where'ta look."

[Dr Archeville]

A short drive into the "Little Mexico" part of West End later, the trio arrived at... what looked to be an abandoned two story house. Its best days were far behind it -- large boxes/small crates lie strewn about an unkempt (and, in places, scorched) lawn, Los Diablos Rojos tags were sprayed on the steps leading up to the small porch, and all the other signs of a gangbanger hangout -- but the open front door and busted windows indicated that it was empty, and possibly had been for some time.

No one else was around -- the street was clear, and the other houses either empty or their resident tucked in tight.

[quotemyname]

Colt killed the engine of the MAVERIC about half a block away. He shifted into neutral and allowed the vehicle to coast to their destination. Halting out front of the house, he turned to the others. "What'aya think, Jack? You c'n hit the front hard'n fast, while Grim here sneaks around back? I reckon I c'n keep the both'a y'all covered from out here."

[Gizmo]

"Heh." Jack's mouth turned up in a smirk, then a grin and finally a he burst out laughing, an honest, tension relieving sound. "Woo. Sorry, it's just... we actually make a pretty good team when one or more of us isn't being a feral spazz monkey, huh?" He shook his head ruefully. "Sounds like a good plan. Front door's mine." The swashbuckler swung himself out of the MAVERIC, cracked his neck and and knuckles and began striding purposefully towards the house.

[Heritage]

"Sounds like a good plan. Front door's mine."

Grim also nodded and gave a thumbs up. "Perfect! I concur." With a wink and a wave to her boyfriend, she stepped out of the vehicle and faded from sight, little more than an occasional smudge in the atmosphere. Yet somehow Grim's voice appeared over the team's comlinks!

"Can you guys still hear me? if so, your the only people in the world who can!" The changeling chuckled before continuing. "Okay, I'm gonna move into position at the rear, and wait for Jack to hit the front door."

Quieter than a ghost, she slipped around the back, waiting for her more-flamboyant teammate to do what he did best: make an amazing entrance.

[quotemyname]

"Read ya loud'n clear, Grim." Colt responded as he swung himself up onto the roof of the MAVERIC. He pulled Marlin out of it's holster on his back. He slid the custom made scope onto the barrel of the rifle and raised it to his eye. The scope was a wonderful thing, because it allowed him to actually gaze through obstacles. This would let him identify targets behind walls. The gun couldn't fire through walls all that well, but he had ways around that...

Colt looked over the house with his specially designed scope trying to get a look at what was inside. He'd give the signal once it was safe, or at least safe enough for his team to advance on the building. "Get ready to attack on m'mark."

[Gizmo]

With a lazy flick of his wrist, Jack's lighter tumbled into his hand from somewhere up the sleeve of his greatcoat, lighting with a faint click in the same fluid motion. The swashbuckler stopped his swaggering stride as he stepped onto the lawn in front of the house, several meters back from the door. The flickering flame danced back and forth restlessly in complete disregard for the wind, but didn't leap to his flexing right hand just yet. Cracking his neck and narrowing his masked eyes, he called softly back to the gunman perched on the vehicle behind him, "Call the play, cowboy."

[Dr Archeville]

From his vantage point atop the Maveric, and his x-ray scope, Colt saw... nothing. The house was empty, there was no one -- alive, dead, or undead -- inside. His eagle eyes spotted the remains of rudimentary barricades at the windows and doors, broken in from something outsids the house. Such as the somethings which had left lots of tracks in the snow and mud all around the house. There was also lots of bullet holes inside the house, and he could make out something that looked like old blood splattered at some of them, as if the bullet had passed through something long-dead.

The easiest way for Grim to avoid leaving obvious tracks in the snow would be to shift to Pixie form to fly around back. Given her inhuman agility, though, it wasn't that much more difficult for her to leap from street lamp post to tree to wall to storm gutter and shimmy across it to the back of the house. As she moved, she also noticed signs that there had been many people here, and not terribly long ago based on the depth & freshness of the shoeprints. More crates and fire-gutted steel barrels littered the back yard, she also saw signs of burst-in barricades. Something large, perhaps a reclining chair, had been burned outside, near the back door, not very long ago (an hour, maybe two). Peering in through the smashed windows (or the smashed back door), the remains of a smashed homemade drug lab greeted her.

Jack of All Blades also saw the prints, and the busted-in barricade remains. His senses did, after some concentration, pick up faint traces of necromantic juju, same as what was in the zombie powder and the zombies they'd dispatched earlier this night. He was sensing it in the shoeprints in the snow, and the fist-prints in the house.

[quotemyname]

"That's it, strike's off, gang." Colt lowered the rifle as he spoke into his communicator. "I reckon somone'er a lotta someone's gon'n beat us'ere. G'won'n check'n 'side th' place. I'll see if'n I cain't find where thems gon'n made off ta."

Colt lifted the rifle to his eyes once more. This time, he focused on the foot prints. He used the distance the scope gave him to see where they might have been leading to in the distance.

[Gizmo]

Jack stomach turned as he caught the faint traces of necromantic magics. "Hnn, too late..." he grumbled to himself, teeth grinding as he clenched his jaw. "This look familiar to anyone else?" he drawled into his comlink. "It's just like the last lab, torn up by a batch of not-so-satisfied customers." The swordsman flipped his lighter across the knuckles of one hand irritably. "Did they just loose control, or are the zombies actually targeting the drug makers?"

[quotemyname]

"That there's'a good question, Jack." Colt responded, jumping down off the MAVERIC, "I'll be there'n a jif. Gonna try'n dig some ballistics outta them holes'n th'walls. See if'n we cain't git some info on what type'a heat they're packin'n if'n any'ts been registered'er not."

Colt strolled toward the house with his rifle held loosely at his side.

[Heritage]

Grim surveyed the damage and shook her head sadly; this was not good, not good at all.

"Did they just loose control, or are the zombies actually targeting the drug makers?"

"That's a real good question, Jack. I think if we poke around her, we better do it fast before the army of the night has a chance to hit the next address. I'm going to hop inside for like a minute, tops, and then hop back out."

In a flash, the changeling let her body collapse into a pool, and the shiny gloop arched through the air and right through one of the smashed windows, quickly reforming back into Grim. Her eyes darted about, her pointed ears twitched this way and that, and her nostrils dilated as she vigorously sniffed the air.