ic [IC] New Year's Grief

[olopi]

GM

 

 

Saturday, December 31^st , 2016

Freedom’s Fry 12^th Kissinger “Greasy Joe’s” , Southside, Freedom City

10:43 PM

 

 

It was New Year’s Eve. Which meant that generally, most fast food places were open for quite a while, and usually got a fair amount of customers. Of course, it also was a Saturday, which further increased the amount of customers. Greasy Joe’s, as the locals endearingly referred to the local joint of Freedom’s Fry in memory of its first owner, was a rather small place. Six tables inside, a few more outside for the warm days (not the end of December), and the counter. Together with a small storage-slash-staff room at the back.

 

And at the moment, all tables were filled. Mostly groups of teens and young adults, who went to grab something to eat before delving into the night and it’s various parties. Southside didn’t see much in terms of night-life, but there were a few college parties and other events every now and then.

 

Rose Callux had been the (un)lucky one to get the evening-to-night shift on this day together with one of her colleagues, Jamie. Together, the two served the various people coming in and leaving, or coming in and staying, dealing with the joys of fast-food on a Saturday night. So far, the evening had been rather quiet when it came to uncomfortable situations, which came as somewhat of a surprise.

Edited December 30, 2016 by olopi

[Bisexuhell]

One of the busiest nights of the year, and Rose managed to get the shift. How lucky I am, she thought, as she took one order, followed quickly by putting together and giving a second order out. She wondered what else she'd be doing on New Years Eve. She usually spent it out in costume, trying to avoid having to welcome in the new year alone by stopping crime instead. After this shift, I'll be a little tired for that. Hopefully crime goes to sleep when I do.

 

She was snapped out of her introspection by Jamie giving her someone's order. "On it," she replied, despite only half hearing what he'd said. If I get it wrong, he'll say something rather than hand it out, she assured herself, and started making what she thought she'd heard. This job was tiring, boring, and not particularly rewarding, but at least she had it.

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

The night continued to be as it was for only a few more moments. A few more orders came up, as people began to queue through the entire room. It probably was a larger group, judging how most of them were talking with each other. A few more orders, but then something felt a bit off. Maybe it was some sixth sense going off inside Rose’s head. Maybe it was nothing.

 

Maybe it was the group of people standing outside the store. They looked like a mix-match group of people, no particular theme. No particular theme, apart from the fact all of them very obviously wielded some sort of improvised weapon. From one holding what appeared to be a steel pipe to one holding an actual baseball bat, to one holding … a fireworks rocket?

 

As the first people inside the restaurant realized what was going on, three members of the group had already split off and walked into the store. Two men and a woman, each looking rather average. Their movements, they felt stiff somehow, pushed inwards, opening the door and making a young man, maybe early 20s, stumble, spilling his drink on the ground in the process. He was about to raise his voice, as he noticed the baseball bat and decided to just be quiet for now, especially as they seemed to ignore him.

 

The rest of the queue did their best to get out of the way of the three, who moved forward in a straight line with seemingly little care for what was in front or around them. Standing at the counter, the largest of the group held out his hand towards Rose.

 

“Money.”

Edited December 31, 2016 by olopi

[Bisexuhell]

This was.. something. She watched the group enter, and stood at the counter, staring, as they approached. Jamie backed away into a corner, then one of them held their hand out and asked for money. If this were any other group of punks, she'd probably have started swinging by now, but the room was full of people who she didn't exactly want to show off her powers too, she didn't want to wreck the place and lose her job, and something was.. wrong with them. Their movements weren't natural. Maybe she'd just imagined it, but.. maybe it was more than just a hunch.

 

"This doesn't have to end in violence. You can always turn around and walk away. " She said, mostly to stall for time as she attempted to read the mind of the one holding his hand out.

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

His mind was a mess. Even more so than the mind of the average person. Nothing was where it belonged. Nothing made any real sense. A lot of thoughts, scattered around the place, without any pattern or reason behind them. Rose hadn’t seen(?) anything like this before. It wasn’t natural, that much was for sure.

 

If he were consciously thinking right now, then he would not be able to speak right now. Even standing would be really difficult, if not nigh-on impossible like this. And it seemed like there was more to all of this going on inside his head. But whatever it was, it wasn’t readily available. It seemed to be locked away. Quite literally, as a giant keyhole floated around the man’s thoughts, always in the background, but noticeable nevertheless.

 

Meanwhile, outside of the world of thoughts, the situation remained the same. The man continued to hold out his hand, looking vaguely threatening even though his expression was completely blank. Which may just have contributed to the look, on second thought.

 

“Money.”

 

At the same time, he gripped the baseball bat he was holding just slightly tighter, as the woman flanking him began took a step to the side, moving closer to the part of the counter that was open for employees to get from the restaurant to the counter. Jaime looked more afraid then even before, staying within arm’s reach of the staff room door. “Just hand him the cash. Store’s insured, they won’t charge us anything for what we lose in a robbery. Hopefully.”

Edited December 31, 2016 by olopi

[Bisexuhell]

Oh wow. That was.. strange. More than strange, wrong. Very, very wrong. He couldn't be acting alone, and judging by the look on the faces of the other two, neither of them could be the mastermind. She thought about how she could take 'em, how she'd go about disarming them, taking down the flanker first, vaulting over the counter and throwing them all out before they could hurt anyone, but Jamie's voice cut her thinking out. She was in a room full of terrified people, she was at her workplace, and these people weren't doing this willingly. She had no choice but to give away the money. She opened the register, grabbed a handful of cash, not looking to see how much she'd taken, and dumped it in his hand. 

 

"There's your money." She said, making sure to keep an eye on all three of them to prevent any sneak attacks.

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

The three waited for just a second, as if they had not realized what had happened. Then, the man’s hand slowly closed. All the money inside, it turned halfway and wandered into the pocket of his hoodie, a few coins dropping to the ground in the meantime. Not that it seemed to faze him, as he mindlessly started forward.

 

Then, all three turned around at the same time, and like before, walked towards the door in a straight line with little regard for what was around them. One of the actually walked into the door, before backing off as one of the group from outside pushed it open. With his body. Two people from the queue suddenly got off the ground, in motions similar to those of the group of … robbers(?), and joined them.  And then, quickly as they had appeared, the group set off, further down the sidewalk.

 

Jaime looked into the staff room really quick, a bit scared, to make sure nothing was there, then turned towards Rose. “Freedom City. Where’s the metas when you need them? We’ve got all of this on camera, no worries, we’ll tell the police after the shift. “

 

And then, he reached into the Staff Room and pulled out a mop, before walking towards the queue. “You can order things again, no need to wait and be scared. Now, where’s that spill?”

Edited December 31, 2016 by olopi

[Bisexuhell]

She watched them leave, staring almost as blankly as they were, watching people from the queue join them. They can't just get away with this, dammit! Inwardly raging, she decided to take action, being the only one around who could. "I'm going on break. Cover for me for a few minutes, wouldya?" Before Jamie could protest, she'd headed into the staff room, quickly ditching her apron and heading out of a back exit, then down an alley onto the street, making sure to avoid the window so that Jamie couldn't see she'd just left. Ditching the shop on such a busy night would get her in a lot of trouble, but she the cops weren't gonna care about a small fast food joint robbery, and she could always claim she was too shook up by it or something. Besides, I'll be back before the end of my shift. She decided to tail them for a little while, to see where they were headed. There was more to this than met the eye, she just had to find out what was going on. 

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

Jamie didn’t look happy at all with what had just happened. Part of it was the fact he had to cover for Rose. Part of it was the fact the store had just been robbed, in front of his eyes, by what probably was some sort of meta. Part of it was the group of ten people that had just arrived outdoors and was coming in through the door. Fortunately, they all seemed to be average people, talking with each other and making jokes.

 

He was both taking in orders and opening the register at the same time. As Rose left, he looked after her. “Oh c’mon. Why is this necessary? Can’t this wait? Well, if you hear screaming because some drunk bastard came to make a mess, come out again, will probably need your help. “

 

He continued saying a few more things, but by the time that happened Rose had already moved out of the building, doing her best to be stealthy in doing so. Trailing the group of … robbers? Wasn’t too big an issue, a huge group of people stumbling down the street in stiff motions wasn’t very subtle, even of New Year’s Eve. Rose trailed them for about two minutes, from a safe distance and walking inconspicuously, before the group suddenly stopped.

 

Before what appeared to be another store-front, and once more a group of three people split off and entered the building. Rose was still some distance away, so thanks to the low-light conditions she could only see the silhouettes against the light of the store behind.

Edited January 2, 2017 by olopi

[Bisexuhell]

Rose made a mental note to do something to apologise to Jamie when she got back, either buying him something or covering his next shift. She'd think of the details later, but right now she had a more pressing issue at hand. It wasn't hard to tail them at the distance she was at, but it was hard to see what they were doing from the distance. She could probably take a guess, judging by their actions last time round, but she had to be sure. She decided to move up closer, trying to stay hidden behind a wall or something, so she could see what they were doing properly. She considered reading another one's mind, but none of them looked to be in a different state to the dude she'd already tried. She was content to watch, for now. I wonder where their last stop is.

[olopi]

GM

 

Finding an easy spot to hide was no big issue. Simply stepping out of the light was probably enough to not get spotted by most people. Especially ones with the current mental state of the group of robbers, who probably would barely notice falling to the floor. Still, it was good to do something in such a way it was safe, so Rose also squeezed behind a waist-high wall, from where she could still observe the store, without being seen. At least, without being seen from that angle.

 

Inside the store, it seemed to be the same as average. The silhouettes of three people walked inside, and then made their way towards a counter. Judging by the way they moved, the interior of the room wasn’t much different from Greasy Joe’s, apart from being a lot bigger. And a lot emptier too. Still, it seemed to go down the same way. One of them held out their hand, they got the money, rejoined the group bringing one or two new people along, and walked off.

 

Rose continued to trail the group. They continued to do their things, stopping before a storefront seemingly every other minute. Each time, the group grew. This continued for about ten minutes, when the group, by now at least twenty people (as Rose judged from a distance), suddenly stopped at an intersection. Right under a street light, fortunately. And then, the group split into two, each taking a different road. The man who had gotten the money from Rose seemed to stay with the original group.

 

 

[Bisexuhell]

Rose kept watching the group, considering her options as they split up. She could run up and take out one of the groups, but she wasn't in costume, so anyone walking up would see her starting a fight, and the people doing this looked to be unwilling and therefore innocent to some degree. She could mind read the newest recruits, to see what was happening to them, but that meant following the second group, and letting the money from her shop go. She decided to continue tailing the original group, still curious as to exactly why they were doing what they were doing. Hopefully they'll lead me straight to whoever's in charge. 

[olopi]

GM

 

The group continued on doing what they had been doing before the split. They walked down the sidewalk, turned at an intersection, and continued walking. Once more they stopped by a storefront. This one seemed to be more packed than the last, but similar in size. The reactions inside the store, judging by what Rose saw from a distance, were about the same as the ones she had seen during the past ... a quick look at the time … 20 minutes.

 

As the group left, it seemed to be quite a lot bigger than before, nearly at the size it had been before the split. The group staggered towards the small park that Rose had managed to find a hiding place in. Their movements were slow and predictable enough that it didn’t matter much, Rose had enough time to find a different hiding place without having to worry much.

 

One figure, at the front of the group, probably the same that had taken the money from Rose, moved away from the group once they had arrived in the park. He dropped something, a plastic bag perhaps, into a brush, then moved to rejoin the group, who had continued walking forward, moving through the entirety of the small park already.

 

And then, sirens. From behind her, Rose could hear the characteristic sirens of FCPD. The robbers seemed to hear them too, as, from one moment to the next, they all scattered into various directions, moving at running speed. And surprisingly, not stumbling at all.

 

[Bisexuhell]

The police just had to get involved, didn't they? Rose's mind ran over her options at breakneck speed, over following them, running, turning herself in, fighting them off... she quickly settled on finding whatever one of them dropped into the brush over there, and then going off to hide somewhere. And then praying to whatever deities are listening that the thing they left is the one perfect piece of evidence that I need to continue this little investigation. I know full well the cops won't do anything about this. Rose got up and ran at full speed, trying to grab the thing under the brush quickly, before finding a place to hide from the police.

[olopi]

GM

 

At first things went well. The object dropped into the bush wasn’t very difficult to find. It had lodged itself onto a branch just below the leaves, hiding it from obvious sight, but not from anyone looking for it. Thanks to her powers, Rose managed to cover the distance in short time. As she picked it up, she realized it was a simple plastic bag, as one would get at most grocery stores. Inside, there seemed to be a fair amount of cash, in notes and coins, making some clattering noises as Rose ran, looking for something to hide.

 

As the car approached, she just had enough time to slip behind one of the three trees in the area. Good enough, time for a breather, and to consider how to continue from now. And then, the noise she’d dreaded. The sound of the sirens, and the sound of the brakes, clearly indicated the car had stopped. Two doors opened, as Rose managed to catch a few glances of two officers, leaving their car and pointing out the tree she was hiding behind with their hands.  

 

And then, it happened. The sound of a man, shouting quite loudly, in Rose’s general direction. “Police! Stop what you’re doing and show yourself!”

[Bisexuhell]

Oh no. She froze solid as the man shouted at her. She knew she could run, or fight, but she'd end up wanted, and that would definitely ruin her job and her safety. But if she just gave up and handed the money over, there's no way it would make it back to the stores it came from, and she might have the crimes pinned on her. I do look suspicious right now. She decided to quickly hide the money before stepping out from behind the tree with her hands up. "No need to shout, officer, I'm right here." She responded, hoping that these particular officers weren't corrupt, and they didn't notice her hiding the money.

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

The two officers, a man and a woman, carefully moved closer. The woman held a flashlight in her hand, lighting it towards Rose. She quickly lit it at her face in order to get a closer look at her face. This, of course, also did a number on Rose’s eyes, the light blinding her for just a second. Was it intentional? Perhaps, who could tell? Either way, after that the officer held the flashlight in such a way it illuminated Rose’s torso.

 

 

Meanwhile, the other man moved in closer. He looked a bit unsure about this, his stance suggesting he was ready to defend himself – by any means necessary – at any moment. One careful step after another, speaking as calmly as possible, even if he clearly wasn’t. “Please state why you are here and identify yourself.” He approached, from the side, at this point only maybe a dozen feet away from Rose.  

 

 

At the same time, Rose could also hear the second officer speaking. She too was approaching, from a different angle, while still pointing her flashlight. She seemed to be speaking into a radio of some sort, which also explained what she was saying. “Have encountered potential suspect. Close to the scene. Hillory Park. Moving in. Woman, Teenager. Short brown hair, blue coat.“

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by olopi

[Bisexuhell]

And she has to shine her flashlight in the stupidest way. Rose calmly watched both of them approach, making sure that she had her eyes on them in case they made a lunge for her or something. There was no point in lying about who she was, since they'd identify her sooner or later, or what she was here for, since anything else would be very suspicious all things considered, but she could at least not mention the money she'd just picked up. "I'm Rose Callux. I work at Freedom's Fry, which got robbed earlier. I was following the robbers when you showed up behind me and spooked me. That's all. Am I free to go now?" She kept her hands up and didn't make any move. She wasn't sure what these officers were armed with.

[olopi]

GM

 

The female officer continued speaking into her radio. She also was moving closer, but remained farther away, probably because she had to pay attention both to her flashlight and to speaking into the radio. She was rather quiet, but due to the lack of background noise, she was still audible. “Claims to be Rose … Callux, working at Freedom’s Fry, also robbed. Requesting confirmation.”

 

The man continued to slowly approach Rose, looking at her more closely now that he was standing essentially right next to her. A quick glance at her entire body, he had to look down all the time as he was a fair bit taller. After that, he looked down at her hands, then back at her face. He didn’t seem very happy, speaking in a stern voice, one of his hands still towards his waist. “Could I please see some sort of ID? Driver’s License, Library card, everything works.”

[Bisexuhell]

Rose quickly remembered that she did not have any ID on her, since the only thing she had was her passport and she didn't make a habit of carrying that around. "You know there isn't a library round this part of town. Or much of anything." She quipped, mostly to buy a smidge more time. "I don't have any ID on me." She said, looking up at the officer as she did. Now she had to consider her options again. If they were gonna put her in cuffs, she needed to leave fast. She didn't want to end up behind bars for a crime she was investigating, rather than one she'd committed. Not like the other one is better, I'd just like to go down for something I actually did if I absolutely have to.

[olopi]

GM

 

The officer looked a bit surprised at the mention of not having an ID. He seemed to think for a second, before pointing towards the car. “In that case, could you please come with us to the station? You are both a potential eyewitness and suspect, so your co-operation would be appreciated. “

 

While talking, his hand had subtly slid towards the part of his belt that seemed to hold the handcuffs, just behind his holster. The other hand remained up high, close to Rose. Judging by his expression, he’d made some bad experiences in situations like these, he seemed to be on edge.

 

Meanwhile, the female officer had finished with the radio, no longer speaking. She still held up her flashlight, as she approached Rose from the other direction. She was now essentially encircled by these two, they weren’t taking any risks on that. She too seemed a bit tense, less so than her partner. While she held her flashlight with one hand, the other was on her belt.

[Bisexuhell]

Rose could tell something was off here. They were both acting just a little too tense, like they were expecting a fight or something, despite her co-operation so far. She really, really didn't want to get in that car. With how they were acting, at best she'd end up in prison for the robberies. They were both reaching for their weapons, too. She couldn't quite see what they had on them, but.. it probably wasn't good. And now they have my name and my face and where I work. I made a huge mistake. She decided there was only one thing for it, and set off running, at full speed. If they're not metas, then I can outpace them easily. If they are.... well, I'm going to prison if I stay behind anyway. 

[olopi]

GM

 

Rose managed to get in a few steps before the two officers realized what was happening. Once they reacted, she had already managed to get a lead of about 30 feet. The man, instinctively, took a step backwards, before reaching downwards.  In one swift motion, he pulled out something, not that Rose was able to tell what exactly it was, from his belt, and fired. There was the sound of something being shot, but it wasn’t a gun. Most likely it was a taser, but Rose could not feel anything making impact with her back, as she continued to run.

 

The female officer was a bit more aggressive in her behaviour. At the sight of Rose’s clearly superhuman speed, she no longer relied on non-lethal options. Instead, at around the same time the taser was fired, so was the officer’s gun. The first bullet soared past Rose, missing her by only a small amount. The second, on the other hand, didn’t.

 

“827! Eastwards. Requesting 126.”

[Bisexuhell]

Rose was a little more used to being shot than she wanted to be, but it still hurt. It was also alarming that one of the officers had immediately drawn a gun and shot at her rather than firing a warning shot. That really just confirmed that she'd made the right decision in trying to do a runner, which she was going to continue to try and do as fast as possible. If I get into a fight with the cops, they're gonna call backup until I end up dead. Or I'm gonna spend forever in a cell. Either way, running is preferable. She kept up her pace, hoping to not take any more bullets in the back as she did so. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

Rose ran, and continued running. From behind her she could hear the two officers communicating, both with each other and with their dispatch. For the most part, they were shouting various numbers (not that Rose knew the proper police code for what she assumed was “suspect is on the run”.) She continued running, and soon she could hear sirens, both from behind her and in front of her.

 

There seemed to be quite a few cars driving around, so the best option she could come up with was a vertical escape. While continuing to run down the sidewalk, she looked around. After she was sure there was nobody to see it, she leaped, landing on the rooftop of a nearby gas station. She immediately went to crouch behind the AC unit, with a police car passing down the street only a few seconds later. As the sirens became quieter, driving off into the distance, she finally had time to catch a breather.

Edited January 4, 2017 by olopi