III: The Safe House

[marionarsis]

Stop being so nervous, Jacob thinks, but it's hard for him. He's died twice all ready.

Jacob puts Grant's computer on the desk. "OK. I'll have to see if we can access this without activating any remote signals." He will do whatever is necessary to access Grant's computer in a manner that will not activate any security devices or remote communications that exist.

[andrew]

Bradley leaves you to do your work, going to watch television for any news reports. You open Grant's laptop, and turn it on, laying the printed sheets out on the desk to consult.


Make a L2SR-IQ modified by your Computers skill to access the required information.

Make five L2SR-IQ, modified by your language skills, one each in Arabic, French, German, Russian, and Spanish to decipher the multi-language codes. 

[marionarsis]

It was tough work cracking into Grant's computer and probing its depths. The codes were equally as troublesome, but in the end he felt he'd gotten more hits than misses.


22:03, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 8 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system with rolls of 3 & 5. Computers Skill Check. (needed 6; success)

22:06, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 32 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system with rolls of 1 & 1, 6 & 6, 4 & 4, 6 & 4. Language Check-Russian. (needed 8; HUGE Success)

22:05, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 10 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system with rolls of 4 & 6. Language Check-Spanish. (needed 8; success)

22:04, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 8 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system with rolls of 3 & 5. Language Check-German. (needed 8; success)

22:04, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 5 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system with rolls of 4 & 1. Language Check-French. (needed 8; Miss)

22:04, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 5 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system with rolls of 2 & 3. Language Check-Arabic. (needed 8; Miss)

[andrew]

You tap into a few of Grant's files, bypassing passwords, and access his recent activity. A day ago Grant, during the course of his job, intercepted a document as it arrived in the inbox of Abdel Mustafa-Ali. It's a name that's familiar to you; he's an officer of the Araby Intelligence Network (AIN), the intelligence organization of the United Republics of Araby.

Further digging and adroit hacking on your part reveals that the document was not only removed but Grant also scrubbed it from the history and internal memory of Mustafa-Ali's computer. He'd never know he received it unless he just happened to be online, in his inbox at the moment of its arrival.

The sender of the document is unknown, but you do find something--the sender's soubriquet. It's Enola Gay. This work takes you thirty minutes.


* * * * * 

Each skill tested in your last post gets 50 adventure points, except Russian. For such an amazing roll place 100 points in that skill. 

[marionarsis]

Why would Grant bring it to me outside of work? Jacob thought. And now what do I do?

The first question had no immediate answer. Jacob repeated the second for Bradley.

"I've done what I can do with the computer for now. What's the next thing I'm supposed to do?"



OOC: What are relations like between the NDL and the AIN? 

[andrew]

Bradley, who's at the front of the safe house, comes into the room where you're working. "Yes, the killing at Cafe Intermezzo is on the news. You may have to do something with your car. Even though this is a rural area, we do have passersby every now and then, and that car will be recognized."

He glances over your shoulder. "So, what did you find out?"

OOC: Close to what CIA-KGB relations were during the height of the Cold War.

[marionarsis]

"The contact intercepted the information as it was sent to Abdel Mustafa-Ali. It may be that Mustafa-Ali does not know it was sent to him. But that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is that the information was sent by someone calling himself -- or herself -- 'Enola Gay.'"

Something had been troubling Jacob since seeing the man in the bedroom, Chadwick. It was a time issue. "Tell me, when did Chadwick, or you, learn of my coming here? When was Chadwick dispatched?" The time's, to Jacob, weren't adding up. 

[andrew]

Bradley says, "Enola Gay? How interesting. The name of the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima." He sidles closer to you to look at the laptop's screen. Then you see the syringe! Fluid drips from its tip.

You have a split second to react. There's no time to draw your gun. You only have time to fling yourself away from the needle.

Make a L1SR/DEX. Fail and you're incapacitated.

Pass, and you find Bradley comes at you, stabbing furiously with the syringe. You're too engaged to withdraw your gun. But you can use the pen Phelps gave you, flicking the lever to convert it to a switchblade. It's a 2d6 weapon, and your HtH adds are 3. Roll for the first round of HtH combat (but only if you pass the initial DEX check).

[marionarsis]

Jacob saw the needle coming for him just in time, and threw himself backward, his chair flipping over. He rolled to his feet, and pressed the lever on the pen, converting it to a switchblade.

"So tell me -- are you really Bradley, or is that Bradley laying on the bed?"

He swung wildly, crazily with the blade, hoping to strike Bradley as he closed the distance.


18:53, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 9 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system with rolls of 3 & 6. DEX Saving Throw
18:55, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 10 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 6,1. Round 1 Attack Roll.

OOC: I'm curious, if I had missed the DEX SR would Jacob have died? If I lose an attack round here, does he die? 
 

[andrew]

Bradley lunges in close, stabbing with the syringe, but misses. His attack has left him close enough for you to respond with a quick slash; this you do and open a small wound on his wrist.

23:39, Today: The GM rolled 8 using 1d6+4 with rolls of 4.

You've reduced his CON by two, to 8. You have to reduce to his CON to 0 without him doing any damage to you. If he wins any attack round, you're done.

OOC: Yes and Yes.

[marionarsis]

Fleury looked for an opening, while trying to protect himself from the needle.

10:00, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 8 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 1,4.

Ah, no pressure then. :< 

[andrew]

The hand to hand combat training you received at the academy is serving you well. Your blade finds the mark again, striking your foe in the shoulder.

11:37, Today: The GM rolled 6 using 1d6+4 with rolls of 2. Combat Round 2

<He suffers two more points of damage, bringing his CON to 6. To expedite this combat into just one more post, I'm going to let you finish it on your own. Roll for yourself and then your foe for each turn. Should you lose a round, you can write your own death scene Roll high!>  

Yes, my games are as deadly as the T&T solos. Well, not quite that bad. I'll be rooting for ya.

[marionarsis]

Jacob Fleury was in a fight for his life. One prick from the needle, whatever venom was in the syringe, would kill him, or worse immobilize him, while Bradley performed some cruel torture on him afterward.

Close. Twice, Bradley came very close to killing him, so near the needle came to penetrating his skin, but Bradley left himself open in he effort. With a final overhand strike, Fleury's switchblade punctured Bradley's throat, just above the chest plate. He dropped to the ground, gasping for breath, before falling still moments later.


22:11, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 7 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 1,3. Combat Round 3--Fleury .
22:12, Today: Jacob Fleury (for Bradley) rolled 7 using 1d6+4 with rolls of 3. Combat Round 3--Bradley

22:12, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 8 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 2,3. Combat Round 4--Fleury .
22:12, Today: Jacob Fleury (for Bradley) rolled 5 using 1d6+4 with rolls of 1. Combat Round 4--Bradley .

22:13, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 8 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 2,3. Combat Round 5--Fleury .
22:14, Today: Jacob Fleury (for Bradley) rolled 8 using 1d6+4 with rolls of 4. Combat Round 5--Bradley .

22:15, Today: Jacob Fleury rolled 12 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 4,5. Combat Round 6--Fleury .
22:16, Today: Jacob Fleury (for Bradley) rolled 6 using 1d6+4 with rolls of 2. Combat Round 6--Bradley .

(Bradly takes 3 hits in Round 4, and 6 in Round 6, killing him)

Well, that was suspenseful! I thought my low rolls for Fleury in rounds 3 and 5 would be the end of the game. Whew!

[andrew]

Blood spurts from the wound at Bradley's neck. The switchblade is lodged in him; he collapses to the ground, gurgling for air and losing his life's blood. He flops around on the floor like a fish out of water in his dying attempts at dislodging the blade, but his efforts are futile.

With one final grunt he takes his last breath. In a little over two hours you, Jacob Fleury, have killed two men. Once, a humble computer and language expert, now a cold killer for the NDL.

But now you stand in a safe house that's deafening in its silence. What move will you make now?

_ _ _ _ _ _

Every now and then I let players roll for both sides just for the reason you mentioned. There is some anxiety that comes with having to make several rolls, all of them easy to win, but with one failure...harsh consequences. Good job. The game moves on!

[marionarsis]

This killing was a little easier: self defense and no time to think. Odd, though, that Jacob has not given much thought to the killing of Grant. Probably because you're afraid that the killing was unnecessary . . . a mistake, he thinks. Keep it on the back burner and deal with it later, when there's time.


First order of business: retrieve and clean the knife-pen. After giving it a quick wipe on Bradley's shirt -- no sense dirtying his own -- Jacob returns it to his pocket.

Second order of business: search Bradley before dealing with the sleeping man.

He thinks, Either this is an imposter, in which case NDL has a real problem . . . or this is Bradley, in which case NDL has a really big problem. 

And perhaps he can find a clue about the sleeping man before confronting him.