Nick tells Salem about the call

[renferret]

Nicodemus has hiked his way out to the Walker's turf after contacting Salem to arrange a meeting. He's loitering some distance outside the cave, out in the open. It seems like a fire might be in order, but there's none. Likely he doesn't intend to stay long.

Salem arrives in wolf form, reverting to homid once he arrives. Full moon tension's thick on the old Philodox, and he maintains a polite distance -- and is reaching for his cigarettes almost as soon as he's on two legs. "So," he says, clipped. "What's news?"

 

Nicodemus doesn't waste any time relaying information after he greets the Walker elder. He's got a manila folder. That's probably not good news. "I got a call just a bit ago from some Dancers. They wanted me to relay a message to the Walkers that they'd planted a bomb in the city and were willing to kill people if you guys--no more than three--would not meet with them to talk. They texted this image." The folder is opened. Page 1 is a printout of a cell phone image that is quite clearly a close-up of a pipe bomb, complete with a digital clock timer. There have to be at least three, probably four individual pipes to it. The timer reads roughly five hours. Dangling down in front of the numbers, but not enough to obscure them, is a dead mouse, tied to the bomb by its tail. Almost nothing of the bomb's location can be seen. Somewhere dark, though there's a bright light being shown on the bomb itself. "The bomb," Nick continues, turning to the next page, "is in this building. I already deactivated the detonator, although it looks like they never intended for it to go off--just et you know they could have done it if they wanted to. There's a note attached to the bomb. " Page three is presented. The note reads as follows: "Keep this with you & turned on for time & location. No more than 3 for the meeting, or BOOM.'" Nick turns to the next page, a Google map for a part of Kent Crossing. There's an X at one location as well as two room numbers. "This is where they're holed up, but they don't know we know that." He offers the contents to the Walker elder.

 

Salem mutters something irritable and foul in Serbian as he approaches to take and examine the material. "Did you get a read on how many of them there are?"

 

"There are four of them," Nick says. "It'd be easier and more accurate to share a mental image of them, if you're up for that, instead of a verbal description."

 

Salem closes the folder and nods, looking up, his face stone. "Hit me."

 

Nicodemus shares his mind's crisp recollection of what the four individuals in the battered Ford sedan looked like. The image comes through shortly after Salem agrees to it: Four people are sitting in an extremely junky Ford sedan that looks as though it may fall apart at any time, though the engine itself is purring along. The man with the cell phone is clean shaven, white, blond, wearing nice slacks and a white polo t-shirt, along with a men's watch which he's glancing at. Around his neck is something that looks like...no, it is. It's an animal's ear, a wolf's, but far too large, brown with a strange, unnatural white pattern on the fur, as if it had been painted on. Next to him is another man, the driver, dark haired, several inches taller. His clothing is decidedly less well kept, with several rips and in severe need of laundering. He's eyeing the calm voiced man very, very carefully. In the back seat are two others, a Native American woman with a great big scar gouged into one check and her lips, and a hulking...it's presumably a man from the shape and size, but his face is entirely obscured by a ski mask and goggles, without even the usual slit for the mouth.

 

You paged Salem with 'So. Salem's going to recognize that ear.'.

 

Salem pages: Oh?

 

You paged Salem with 'Yeah. Crinos ear, and that white, painted-like pattern in the fur. It's Mouse's.'.

 

Salem goes absolutely rigid a moment after the images come, his upper lip peeling away from his teeth, fingers crooking into tight hooks like they don't know whether to be fists or claws. He regains control a moment later, though not all his composure. Thinly, through clenched teeth: "...He's wearing Mouse's ear."

 

Nicodemus grimaces at that confirmation. "I thought they might." He adds, "They had weapons, and silver, in the two adjacent hotel rooms they were in in Kent Crossing. I'm assuming you're going to bypass the whole deactivated bomb thing and go straight at them? I can double check before you head in that they're still there and no additional numbers. The guy witht he ski mask, the woman, and the driver all seem to have anger issues. The smartly dressed guy? He seemed calm and rational. Calculating. If Mouse is alive and they know where she's at, then they probably have a bomb near her. It's what they'll be counting on so that you won't kill them. But watch the guy in the ski mask. I think he's not one hundred percent on board with talking." He suggests, "I also think Mouse might have given them my number to call."

 

Salem looks down at the ground as he listens, concentrating on Nick's words, but also on smoking his cigarette and breathing evenly. "I can't help but think that the whole thing is a trap. Use Mouse, or the promise of Mouse, as bait, bring in the Garou close to her... who are also probably important Garou to the Sept. Take them out where they don't have support." He grimaces. "I'll go in anyway, of course. I'm trying to decide who to take in with me to potentially die."

 

"It does smell of a trap, but I think they believe they called up and talked to Joe Kinfolk on the other end of the phone. Unaware that you've got," Nick gestures at the folder, "all that. And the guy with the phone? If you can take him alive? I'll rip Mouse's location out of his Mind if he doesn't give it." Aggression? From Nick? Sounds like it. "And if you don't mind a fourth member assisting from afar, I'd like to be there when you and two others walk into this."

 

Salem nods, flicking ash on the ground. "I was hoping you'd say that. So, who do I take with me? I'd rather leave Slug and Emma out of this, for Sagacity's sake if nothing else. Riley, perhaps? She's cunning and quick."

 

"Tact might be more important than brawn. Riley'd be a good pick, and Emma might best be left out." Nick agrees. "Beyond that? Slug tends to think deviously and outside the box. But don't take him solely on my recommendation."

 

Salem grimaces, sucking in a lungful of cigarette smoke as he thinks. "Fuck. Yes. Well, both are good at escaping shitstorms, so there's that." He looks hard at Nick. "If you've got a choice between saving them or me, save them." It's harder talking than Salem usually uses with Nick; it actually sounds kind of like an order.

 

<OOC> Nicodemus snickers. Ordered. :)

<OOC> Salem :(

<OOC> Salem: Be nice to an old man's feelings. XD

 

Nicodemus seems to catch the shift in tone, which in turn causes him to look slightly askance at the Walker elder. He is, very clearly, not someone used to taking orders. "That eager to not be elder anymore?" he quips. "Riley knows about me. Slug doesn't. Just warn him that weird shit might happen and to focus on the Spirals. I might need to pull the stops out and go loud on this one."

 

"I'm old and tired of this shit," Salem says. "They're not. I'll warn Slug, though."

 

Nicodemus looks like he might have something to say, possibly to encourage Salem or maybe chastize the werewolf over his comment about being old and tired, It never emerges, though. Just a grimace of disapproval. "We get Mouse back and mostly in one piece and it'll be her cross to bear, not yours." Incentive?

 

Salem looks away, staring off toward nothing in particular, and takes another drag off his cigarette. "Indeed. Let me know when they call about the time and place." He holds the folder back out to Nick.

 

Nicodemus takes the folder back. "Can do. I'll let you prep Riley and Slug."

 

Salem nods curtly and limps off, trailing cigarette smoke.

 

Nicodemus returns the nod, though not so curtly, and heads off in a different direction--back towards civilization.

 

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571 From: Salem At: Sun Aug 10 12:22:25 2014 (Conn)

Fldr : 0 Status: Unread

To : Sheogorath, Nicodemus, Slug, Riley

Subject: Operation TALK TO SOME GUYS

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Soooooo, Nick got this call and some BSDs say they want to meet, three people no more, and they possibly have Mouse somewhere. Nick's going to be stealth backup, and of course Salem wants a couple of cunning little shits who can get out of shitstorm central when it hits the fan for numbers two and three because he figures it's probably going to be a trap anyway and he himself will be taking one for the team. More or less, not in those words tho'.

 

So Salem'll be contacting Slug and Riley to come with him, not of course telling Slug that Nick is our wizard-in-a-pocket (sorry, packie); Riley of course already knows. So now we just get to figure out a time and place. La! What're folks' schedules like?

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