Tiffany Korta Posted September 26, 2013 Posted September 26, 2013 (edited) As the two detective’s looked around the crate Lucy had also been wandering around the deck hold below seeing if she spot anything they’d missed. She was hoping that with her experience of more preternatural event’s she had an eye for something they wouldn’t even had considered. Whilst she hadn’t some of the sense’s that some of the other mystical heroes she did occasionally get strange feelings when around supernatural event’s. She’d always supposed it was a gift from her supernatural father, not that he’d ever answer a direct questions if she’d asked. She called up to the two above her. “Hang on one moment I think we should have just one more look around, just in case we missed something important. And see if we can get a shipping label for the crate, if it’s still about, it might contain important information.†Edited September 26, 2013 by TiffanyKorta
Thevshi Posted September 27, 2013 Author Posted September 27, 2013 In order to get the shipping label for the crate in question, Lucy had to climb up the stack of cargo containers to the one that had been ripped open. She was able to find the label attached to part of the wooden crate that still barely hung onto the base, but quickly found that it was in Chinese. Now that she had taken the time to climb up to there the statue had been taken from, she took a few moments to look around, both in the ripped open container and the scene below. Given her new vantage point, Lucy felt rather certain that whomever was behind the theft had never even been down on the deck of the Jin Tian, coming in from above instead, be that by flight, teleportation, or some other method of travel. Glancing up, Lucy could see the other stacks of cargo containers up above her, but also visible a few dozen yards away was a large cargo crane that was on the docks and would eventually be used to unload the ship's cargo.
Tiffany Korta Posted October 15, 2013 Posted October 15, 2013 “You should come up here the view is lovely.†Lucy shouted down with a laugh. “It would be possible to reach our Fu Dog without touching the ground, plus they have this handy crane for moving crates. Might be worth coming up here Harry and seeing if you can pick up our assailants scent?†She looked down at the label she’d picked up on the way up for now she’d have to wait for someone to translate the label. Whilst she didn’t mistrust Mr Chen it wouldn’t hurt to get someone else to translate the label.
Supercape Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 Harry craned his neck and looked up at the Crane. "Up there? Are you joking? Have you seen how high it is?" he asked, a rather pointless question as Lucy clearly had. "How the hell do you think you are going to get me up there?" he asked, indignant at the thought of the peril. "I'm on it partner!" said the Mess, flexing his muscles, gathering up the shrieking Harry, and bounding away - one - two leaps over containers and then a might boom into the air, to land at the top of the Crane. "What the hell!" screamed Harry, green with fear. "That was a metaphorical question you lug!" he said, punching his partners chest with both fists completely ineffectually. The Mess just shrugged and grinned sheepishly. Still, as he was up here, he let his heart beat away full of adrenaline and terror, and opened his nostrils to any scent he could catch...
Thevshi Posted October 16, 2013 Author Posted October 16, 2013 Doing his best to keep from panicking now that he and Freddy were up on the top of the crane, Harry began to sniff around. It took a few moments, but he was able to catch a whiff of the perfumed scent, but it appeared to be out on the long arm of the crane, somewhere that Harry was certainly not willing to go. Being the braver (or more foolhardy depending on who you asked) of the pair, Freddy climbed out onto the crane's arm. Though he was not able to smell the scent that Harry was detecting, he did find more of strands of long brown hair caught onto crossbeams of the crane's arm.
Supercape Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 The Mess unwound his hammer like fist with its lumpy fingers to reveal the strands of hair. "I gots me a clue!" he said proudly. Still green, and refusing to look down, the Hound peered into the calloused palm. "Well, it appears I have taught you something after all, my friend. Your first genuine clue! We need to frame that and put it up in the office" he said, his smile betraying genuine pride in his partners achievement. "Lets see what our differently alive friend has to say about that. And the damned perfume I keep smelling everywhere. Not my favourite one, either..." he said, as the Mess picked him up effortlessly and clambered down to Lucy. Harry clamped his eyes shut and didn't say a word on the way down.
Tiffany Korta Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Lucy couldn’t help but give a little laugh at the pairs reaction, it was funny how they could be competent and yet not at the same time. “Good work Sherlock, we’ll make a detective of you yet.†With a quick final look to make sure she hadn’t missed anything she followed them back down to the deck of the ship. “Not to steal anyone’s thunder but I also found something.†She showed the pair the shipping label written in Chinese “I thought it would be worth getting it translated just in case it contains some useful information. Unless you know an expert I was thinking of my friend Lin.â€
Supercape Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 "What, you think I can speak Chinese?" said Harry, waggling his eyebrows and lighting up another cheap cigar. "Oh you of little faith" he said, puffing away. "Well, of course, I am a little rusty, and all that jumping around made me a little giddy in the stomach regions, you know. So perhaps it might be better to ask your friend. You know, just so you I don't miss the finer point's of the calligraphy, you understand. Very subtle language, Chinese. Lots of different dialects. Yeah, that's right. And anyway, I'm more of a conversationalist than a reader, you understand?" he finished, evading Lucy's eyes as he successfully dug himself further into a hole he could not dig himself out of. "So yeah, your friend Lin it is. Meet you back at the Agency. I'll get to work on these here hairs!" he said, wiggling the clues as a distraction.
Thevshi Posted October 27, 2013 Author Posted October 27, 2013 As Lucy made her way to her friend with the battered packing label for the crate that had contained the stolen statue, Harry and Freddy piled back into the battered Caddy and made their way back to the agency. Once there, Harry dug out his old forensics kit, with a slightly rusty microscope, as he began to examine the hairs he and Freddy had found all around the scene. After running a number of tests and observations, Harry was certain the hair was human, though it had some unusual properties. For one thing, the hairs were far more durable than an individual strands should be. By the time Lucy had returned from visiting her friend Lin, Harry had completed his tests. Lin had been able to translate the label readily enough, but it contained nothing other than what one would expect for a packing label, the shipper, destination, location packed, and the like.
Supercape Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Harry leaned back from his microscope and rubbed his eye, which had a red ring around it from peering too hard, too long. "Well I'll be damned. We got some kind of super-hair here!" he said, picking the hair up and giving it an experimental tug. "Some kind of she-tank, I'll bet. Probably tougher than you, Freddy..." he jibed, to a snort from his partner, who was stuffing a rare steak into his mouth. "Probably got some kind of super strength or something. Picked up that statue like it was a rag doll. Just guess work, of course, but it fits" he said, stroking his hair which was a complete mess. "Still, it doesn't get us anywhere closer to her. Let's see what our lady friend's got from that translation. Maybe a name or two, maybe some phone calls to make...."
Tiffany Korta Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 Lucy popped back into the office and large bundle of takeaway food. She put the steaming hot food down on a rare spot of clean table. “Hope you like Szechuan food I’ve been told it’s spicy but I can’t really tell. Don’t worry I payed for it myself, I know the budget can’t handle a meal like this.†She smiled as she perched on the edge of the table and sipped at her strong black coffee. “So my little trip was a bit of a loss, apart from providing lunch, seems the label was just shipping information with nothing useful. Did you two have any more luck?â€
Supercape Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 "Szechuan is my favourite!" said the Hound cheerfully! despite his super powered nose, he actually had quite a taste for spicy food, relishing the aroma's and complexities of world cuisine. "I'll keep with mah steak!" grunted the Mess, hauling another lump onto the grill and licking his lips. "You and your damn steaks!" snapped the Hound. "Have you any idea how much the food bill is for this place? All to keep your damn iron levels up? Sheesh, your super blood better be worth it!" The Mess cracked his knuckles and flexed his muscles. "You better believe it, Harry, next time I come saving your ass! Besides, I like 'em!" he said, licking his lips. The Hound just grunted before turning his attention back to Lucy. "We got a half lead, anyway. That hair we found, its human, but stronger than steel. Looks like we got some super duper gal. Figure thats how they hauled away the statue, some super tough super strong lady. Course, I may be jumping to conclusions, but its a start..." he shrugged. "Now, we just gotta figure out where to go from here..." he said, scratching his hair, which obstinately stayed looking like a dark brown haystack.
Tiffany Korta Posted November 10, 2013 Posted November 10, 2013 After a moment though, and a few sips of coffee, Lucy decided to suggest a few possible ways that they could proceed. “I know someone down at FCPD who part of the squad dealing with Super villains. I could ask Rhonda to run what we’ve got through their database to see if this thiefs been encountered before. I could probably even ask the League for help, though I’ve never spent much time with any of them.†Sometime she thought it was a little weird how she kept her detective work separate from her general superhero work. It wasn't like she treated either of them like a hobby they were both important to her. “We could also try some mystical help to try and trace her. I know this mage who helped me before, I’m sure he’d take a look at this. Though I must warn you he can be a little cranky at times.â€
Supercape Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 Harry sniffed slightly. "The database sounds good. I have some old friends down their who could probably run it for me, as a favour" he explained. "Leave that to me, see if I can come up with anything, pull a few strings, that sort of thing" "As for your voodoo friends, all that hocus pocus. I don't want to know. I want to sleep at night..." he shuddered. "If it gets a result, then I ain't complaining, but just don't tell me how you got it, understand? I'll be thinking about dissected frogs and goat's blood potions for weeks on end..." "And as for Cranky, well, I'm sure you can placate him with your charms, eh? Adrian Eldritch, Nick Cimittiere, those guys might be freaky magicians but they don't sound that cranky, and at least they can deliver the goods, haha. Now, if you went for some old fool pretender like...like what's that guys name, Rene DeSaens, all cranky arrogance and nothing to show for it, then I would be worried for you...hahahah..." he chuckled nervously.
Thevshi Posted November 13, 2013 Author Posted November 13, 2013 Having decided some potential avenues for pursuing their few leads, the trio made their way out of the agency and to the Caddy. Lucy took with her a few of the hair samples Harry and Freddy had gathered at the crime scene. Harry and Freddy dropped Lucy off at Kendall Station, located at the edge of Greenback as it was on their way towards Greenville. From there, Lucy was able to hope on the M Line of Freedom City's subway system, which would take her to Riverside. A short while later, the two detectives arrived at the apartment complex in Greenville where Lance Ricks lived. Meanwhile, in Riverside... Lucy had reached Riverside, the waterfront section of the city that had a bohemian, Old World charm about it and was popular with students, young adults and artists. It was not a long walk from the subway station to the house of Rene DeSaens.
Supercape Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 "Hey Lance" said Freddie, giving the policeman a big grin and plonking himself down on the nearest chair. "Lance old buddy, I need your brain once more" conceded Harry, placing his hands in his mac pockets and lovingly carressing the cigar packet he had there, resisting the temptation to stink out Lance's flat by lighting one up. "Me and my partner here, we think we got some super powered thief down at the docks. Someone real strong, you know the score, lifting like a fork lift truck. Grabbed some huge statue clean out of the ship like it was a paper doll, or so I guess. No sign of any heavy machinery" "Then, we found this" he finished, showing Lance the hair. "Super tough. Not normally hair. And scent like perfume. I think we got ourselves some kind of super strong thief. A real swell gal, I'm sure. Someone we...errr....well, my partners would very much like to meet. Thing is, we got our heads a' scratchin. Who could it be?" "So I was wonderin' if there is any word out in FCPD? we got any escaped supervillain of the female gender persuasion running around at the moment?"
Tiffany Korta Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 Lucy briskly knock on the door to Rene’s apartment holding in her hand a bottle of French wine as a bribe. She wasn’t an expert on the quality of wine but she tended to go for those from the 20’s when she could get them. She supposed that it was because them were both from the same vintage. She patiently waiting for Rene to answer the door smiling to herself at his moans and groans abouts his age, though she half suspected that he was sharper and more capable than he made out. When he did open the door she was all smiles as she poured on the charm to try and convince him to help. “Rene how wonderful to see you again, I need to ask you a little favor...â€
Supercape Posted November 17, 2013 Posted November 17, 2013 Rene "Un petit favor?" asked Rene in reply, ushering Lucy in. "I see you have brought some wine" he commented, taking the bottle with eager hands and uncorking it with a snap of his fingers. He didn't, as a whole, have much time for cantrips and formal magic. But he had diligently studied the spell of uncorking and had never forgotten it. "A rich, complex flavour! Ze aroma reminds me of mushrooms in a damp forest, with ze subtle blending of elderflowers and rosemary" he sighed. It was probably out of fashion these days. But he loved the smell of the past. "With such a fine vintage, Madame, you can ask me anything. Well, nearly anything..." he said with a wink.
Tiffany Korta Posted November 17, 2013 Posted November 17, 2013 Lucy couldn’t help but smile at Rene’s exaggerations and it was pleasant that she wasn’t asking for his help in more serious matter, as was normally the case. “From what I remember of the past it smelled mostly of horses or the product’s from said beast. And automobiles were starting to replace them in a lot of ways.†whilst she missed the 1920’s the 21st century had it share of wonders. “The favour I’m after should take to long or be so complicated for someone like you. So shall we enjoy good company and this bottle of wine for a while?â€
Supercape Posted November 17, 2013 Posted November 17, 2013 Rene Rene drunk his wine with a glow of pleasure that warmed his eyes and mouth. "Oui, oui, ze horse manure. I remember it well!" he sighed. "But ze smell is not so offensive when veiled by the passage of time, is it not? How smells inflame the memory! For all it's aromatic offence, I would not part with that smell!" he sighed. "Those days were colder and more cruel, but had a simplicity and passion that is lost in the complexities of today. Maybe I am just old, but the days of old seem often golden. Ah, how I wish to amalgamate ze old and ze new!" "But enough rambling. Perhaps on other days, with more wine, and fine food, non?" he said, putting, with some reluctance, his glass down. "How may a helpless old man aid ze mighty Revenant?"
Thevshi Posted November 18, 2013 Author Posted November 18, 2013 "Hey Freddy, Harry." Lance said with a smile as he greeted the two private investigators at the door to his apartment and stepped aside to let them enter. The apartment looked just about like it had the last time the two had dropped in to see him. The analyst gave a small smile as Harry mentioned why they needed his help. "A theft from the docks you say? What are the odds. A hour or so ago Mutnick sent me some video surveillance from the area around a cargo ship from Hong Kong that arrived late last night. Just got done reviewing it and lucky enough, I like you a heck of a lot more than him." Lance's expression then became a bit more serious. "But truthfully, there is not much there that could help I am afraid. At around 3:30 AM someone took out all the cameras that had even a partial view of that ship, one after another." "As for some superstrong sneaky female superthief, well, I cannot really think of anyone that fits that description completely. There are plenty of female supervillains running around at the moment, but a lot of the super strong ones tend more to the smash and grab type thefts than being really sneaky."
Supercape Posted November 18, 2013 Posted November 18, 2013 The Hound scratched his head. "Well, sneaky as well as strong. I'll keep that in mind" he said, mentally closing down the envelope of who it could be. "Also - someone took out the camera's. That makes them smart too. Or in the know. Possibly both, they often go hand in hand. I'm guessing this is more than a one man show, unless they are paying for some super thief with all of those qualities rolled into one. It's possible, I guess, given the kind of cash flowing around this case" "Still, you never know what might have been missed on the other camera's. Anything come up, leaving or entering the docks? that's always a possibility. Or maybe someone sizing out the joint the day before, checking out the camera's?"
Tiffany Korta Posted November 18, 2013 Posted November 18, 2013 “It’s a date, though next time you're buying the wine.†she gave a broad grin. Out of the pocket of her jacket she pulled out the tuff of the hair that they had recovered from the crime scene. “Someone stole a Foo Dog from the dock but we don’t know who. All we’ve got is this from whoever stole the items. Not your normal thing I know but I could use the help.†she offered Rene the hair. “One the plus side I’m pretty sure it’s not vampire this time.†this time her grin wasn’t quite so wide.
Thevshi Posted November 18, 2013 Author Posted November 18, 2013 The Hound scratched his head. "Well, sneaky as well as strong. I'll keep that in mind" he said, mentally closing down the envelope of who it could be. "Also - someone took out the camera's. That makes them smart too. Or in the know. Possibly both, they often go hand in hand. I'm guessing this is more than a one man show, unless they are paying for some super thief with all of those qualities rolled into one. It's possible, I guess, given the kind of cash flowing around this case" "Still, you never know what might have been missed on the other camera's. Anything come up, leaving or entering the docks? that's always a possibility. Or maybe someone sizing out the joint the day before, checking out the camera's?" "Well, I actually have not had a chance to start looking at any of the older recordings for the cameras just yet. Not quite sure how far back the tapes I have go." Lance admitted as Harry shot of some possibilities. "I think there might be some tapes for some of the more distant cameras around the area as well. If you two have some time, we can see what we might be able to locate on some of those." The analyst led the two back into the bedroom he used as an office, in which were a number of tables set up along the walls, on which sat a number of monitors, computers and other media and tech equipment.
Supercape Posted November 22, 2013 Posted November 22, 2013 Rene "A Foo Dog?" asked Rene. "Big horrible thing? Ugly as sin? Can't stand them, of course. Not proper art!" he proclaimed. "I do not understand this modern fascination for ze primitive! Why cannot we move to ze more refined and advanced art of ze enlightenment and beyond?" he sighed. He snatched the hair. "But, I can help, I think! Ze hair of a woman! Aha! It contain's ze fibre of her beauty, does it not? and from one strand of her face, we may see its whole!" He coughed. "However, it may take some time. So please, help yourself to some coffee!" he said, indicating his kitchen. And with that, he went to work, pressing the hair into a series of bubbling pots and searing it with burning alchemicals. Rene did not often use such conventional arcane rituals, but he had had plenty of time to study them, and the very best teachers. He could certainly use such tricks when the need arose. And he could use them with his own twist. With the right procedure, he had constructed a paint, infused with the essence of hair. So infused, that the hair had imprinted itself on the paint. And all he had to do was paint... ...and paint, he did...
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