Calgary, Alberta - Canada

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Przemek listened patiently. He didn't interrupt Amanda with questions, letting her vent. She was obviously scared, which was pretty normal for humans. Fear wasn't a bad thing in the ghoul's book. A little fear kept you alive. Panic, on the other hand, was lethal. Fortunately, she still seemed to be far enough from it. He also caught her blush and had to supress a smirk. A lover, huh? Well, that explained things a little. He got a bit more serious when she asked her question. The ghoul shrugged, glancing at the ceiling in thought. "Hmm... Haven't really thought about that." She was scared, that much was certain, and wouldn't trust him. Normally, he'd let her go - he didn't really care about the rules too much, so as long as she didn't talk, everything was ok in his book. However, he was beginning to suspect that something might be up here. And that meant some caution would be necessary.

"Well, personally I don't care about the rules that much, so normally I'd probably let you go... However, this isn't exactly a normal situation." Przemek sighed. Now, how to put it in a way that didn't sound too suspicious or threatening? "And if doc hears I let someone go without telling her, she'd be livid. I'm afraid you're probably going to have to go with John. I'm not exactly sure what the procedure is, you'll probably have to testify or something... Shouldn't be a problem: you just saw the bug and got knocked out, then woke up after I carried you away. Oh, don't mention I called doc while you were awake, ok?" He smiled slightly, winking at her. "I'd rather avoid a lecture about security. Hell, you should probably be able to avoid any serious consequences, altough I'd prefer if you never mentioned what happened to anyone. Just don't."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki made it to her room rather quickly, grabbing one of her favourite books and preparing to meet Sally over by the big window into her pool, when she remembered that she needed something to sit the book on while Sally was reading. Grumbling a bit, she thought about the possible options, when she remembered the lecterns up in the library.

Grabbing the book she was currently reading as well, she left her room again and started towards the third floor, by way of the elevator. She was well practised at making it to her favourite room in the Sanctuary without going near any of the upper windows, just in case.

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"Ah, I see."

This from James, who now went back to studying the screen, perhaps trying to figure something out from it.



Henry grinned as he replied.

"Either way, that's just freaking awesome dude. I'd definitely keep working on that, just the ideas alone are worth the time. I mean ..."


He was cut off by a beeping noise from the first scanning machine.

"Hmm, ok so the good news is your friend here should be fine. Bad news is it's picked up some foreign object inside of her, and it's not matching anything I've seen offhand. Gonna need to run a few more tests here, see what that thing is."



Amanda seemed slightly tense while Przemek spoke, definitely keyed up at the thought of not being able to leave. However, as he spoke instead of her getting more wound up like he might have thought she would given she seemed to want out of there, she seemed to relax some. She waited patiently, and when she was sure he was finished, she spoke, dropping words the ghoul probably was not expecting.

"I see. Doc and John huh? I may as well chance it since it seems if I try to leave you'll have to stop me anyway but ..."

She trailed off for a moment, sighed, and then spoke again.

"I'm going to be blunt with you. I wasn't sure what to make of you at first, and to be honest, I wasn't sure I could trust you. Talking with you, gauging you ... I think I can safely say this without getting into too much trouble. You work for the Sanctuary, don't you? Your clearly not in league with the Cabal, that's for sure, or you'd already have tried to take me by force. Am I to assume that Doc is Helen Magnus then?"

Then, she blinked a moment, then abruptly spoke with a cautious tone.

"Wait ... you said John? As in John Druitt?"


((Shrike, your character is pretty much free to move about right now, so just go ahead and get her back to Sally. And Grave, I actually feel bad for your character cuz this is almost certainly going to make his day even more interesting.))

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Przemek was glad the woman listened patiently. Perhaps if she kept her cool like that, there'd be no problems later. What he did not expect, however, was that this would be the moment she decided to be honest with him. The observations she made and questions she asked were less suprising - her knowledge of the abnormals and Cabal, as well as the Sanctuary, certainly explained why she wasn't telling him the whole story. A faint smile appeared on his face for a moment. Perhaps there was no need for secrecy after all. However, his smile quickly disappeared when he heard the last question. Not because it was dangerous or uncomfortable - it was pretty innocent, actually. However, Amanda's tone spoke volumes. This wasn't a tone you used to ask about someone you liked - it was too cautious. So the ghoul decided to be cautious too. He tensed slightly, preparing himself. This wasn't the aggressive tension of a predator preparing to strike down an opponent. It was a silent, subtle tension of one readying himself to defend against a suprise attack. His eyes fixed on the girl, looking for signs of hostility, he began to speak.

"You're pretty well-informed, aren't ya?" Despite the tension, the ghoul spoke in a calm, carefree tone. "You're good at guessing, too. Yeah, I do work for the Sanctuary, or rather, I live there..." He grinned for a brief moment, showing Amanda his fangs. "I'm pretty good at hunting and blend in well, so my skills are useful when hunting for dangerous creatures in all kinds of enviroments. And yeah, I was talking about little old Magnus. Fun to be around, but why did she have to put that bloody alarm system in the kitchen..." He feigned being distracted by a memory for a second - a bit theatrical, but he did have a penchant for drama sometimes, especially when feeling well - and the possibility of violence made his inner monster giddy. "Though I wonder how did you learn about us and the Cabal... Something to do with your missing friends?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice for a moment before he managed to make his voice somber again. "And... Yes. I am talking about John Druitt. Creepy guy..." The ghoul had to supress a frown. He could recognize a killer, being a natural one himself. "Heard they've found the shmuck about a year ago or so. Seems to know the higher-ups fairly well. You know him, I take it?"

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"Know him. You could say that, he almost killed me three years ago. Judging from the fact your living with him though I'd say he's less ... homicidal now though."

At first her tone was snappy, but as she watched him her expression slowly changed from a hint of anger, to genuine surprise.


"Dear god, you have no idea who he really is do you? That would explain a lot. Um ... "


Now she paused, clearly uncertain of where to begin. Finally she spoke.


"OK, since I know I can trust you now, I suppose I should tell you everything. Helen Magnus is something of a close ... friend of mine shall we say. I lost touch with her for many years, but recent events with the Cabal have forced me into searching for her. I don't have the level of expertise that I'm sure you do, so you may understand my need to ask questions but be ... cautious about it. As far as I knew, the Cabal murdered an extremely close friend of mine about four years ago. I suppose you could say we were lovers but ... that may be a bit too strong of a term. Although recently I learned that he might still be alive, working for Magnus. So I guess you could say my reason for being here is sort of three fold. To see my old friend, see if it's true that another is still alive, and to deliver a critical warning. Long and short of it is this. About a week ago the Cabal started making some serious pushing into records that were supposed to be impossible to get, yet they did. They managed to track down and identify five people who are total sitting ducks. They haven't ID'd me yet, I'm sixth on their target list. I uh ... I'm one of the Montana test subjects. Doctor Magnus oversaw the procedures."

Biting her lip, she moved away from the wall, hesitant to talk, but eventually she did.


"When you mentioned John's name, I admit I freaked a little. I'm ... Well let's just say I'm not too anxious to have another run in with Jack the Ripper, and leave it at that. Guess I have no choice though."


((And now poor Przemek has so much more than he bargained for on his hands lol.))

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Przemek wasn't suprised by Amanda's initial reaction, though his eyebrow went up when she mentioned being nearly killed by John. It seemed there was something about that man's past that was kept secret from most. Fortunately for him, it seemed that he'd have a chance to learn about him... And the woman he was escorting. Her story was rather weird, but not unbelievable - she knew the doctor's name, so there was a pretty good chance she knew the doctor herself, and as for people turning out to be alive after being "killed"... Well, he went through something like this himself - he nearly got slaughtered by a ghoul before becoming one. In fact, turning into an abnormal saved his life. When the woman mentioned the Montana project, claiming to be one of the subjects, a second eyebrow joined the first one as the ghoul's suprise went up a notch. The real bomb, however, was dropped at the end. And that one got a bit more expressive reaction out of the young man.

"Wait, what?" Przemek asked, his eyes widening. "THAT Jack the Ripper?" He knew that some abnormals lived much longer than humans. Hell, with his vitality and ability to regenerate, he'd probably last pretty long too. But still... For John to be the legendary murderer, one of the most infamous men in entire history? It certainly put everything the ghoul knew about him and his mystery in a new light. "Wow. That's a little unexpected." He shook his head. "I don't think doc would let him into the Sanctuary if he was still like that, though..." For a moment, he stayed silent, going over the conversation before perking up. "You know, now that I think about it, there was a big incident starring him. I think he had a fight or something with Tesla, heard he got zapped... Maybe the shock mellowed him out or something? Or at least gave enough brain damage to render him less harmful." The latter was probably the case. "Either way, he did end up tearing that guy open... Not that it helped, it seems."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki made it to the library without further incident, finding it empty, which wasn't unusual when a bunch of events happened at once, as was happening now. She found a stand and went to leave with it, but it insisted on staying put instead. Mikki frowned at it, and tried harder. This time, the stand groaned and came with, revealing the bolts underneath that had secured it to the floor. She bit her lip at this, turning the stand over and picking the bolts off the bottom so it would stand flat again, carefully replacing them in the holes in the ground they had once occupied, and putting the stand under her arm as she left.

She made it back to the window into Sally's tank without being accosted, and proceeded to set it up as close to said window as she could. once she was certain it wasn't going to fall over or anything, she set the book down on top of it and tapped on the window a few times, looking inside so she could spot sally approaching.

 

[Bartnum]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"Dammit, this just keeps getting better. Is there anything I can do to help?"

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"Tesla? As in Nikola Tesla? Strange as it sounds, I almost wish he'd actually managed to kill that sadistic pervert. Brilliant scientist or not, my god he's one perverted bastard."


Sighing lightly, she started walking with him again for a short time, before chiming in again.

"Look ... I know you won't want to hear this, but you need to anyway because it is extremely important. In the event something happens and I don't make it out of here alive, you need to get a warning to Helen. The Cabal have managed to track down at least two of the Montana subjects, and they have taken them. The other three are likely in danger as well. I don't know why they have a sudden interest in us, but it can't be a good thing that they are."

Another pause, and then she spoke softly again.

"Also ... I don't know if it's true if he survived, or if he changed his name since then or not but I do know if he did survive he probably would have sought out Helen. Could you please make certain she looks into it if anything happens to me? The name of the other person I'm looking for ... is Christopher Andrews. Used to just go by Chris, but like I said ... I don't even know if he's still alive. If he is though ... I'd like for him to know I was looking for him."


Then, just like that, she fell silent again, most likely a bit tired from everything that had gone on today, although the ghoul might begin to sense that perhaps she hadn't slept recently either.



Henry half shrugged.

"Well I'd say no at least until I know what it is. Could be anything from something she shouldn't have swallowed to something more serious. Out of curiosity, what exactly happened before John found you? I know you probably told the Doc already or even me, but lets see if something comes to mind, like maybe something you remember happening there, or ... I don't know. Like how close are you two anyway?"



It took several moments, but eventually Sally came to the window of her tank, silently floating there for a few moments. Then, she projected once more.

"What did you bring?"

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Przemek snorted when Amanda mentioned that Nikola was a pervert. He could understand that someone would want the scientist dead because of his sadism, but killing for perversion? That sounded like something out of one of his anime. The ghoul continued his vigil, watching out for danger as he walked, though when the girl spoke again, he listened carefully. Giving warning to Helen was ok with him. After all, Cabal was involved, and he was learning to hate them rather fast. Anything that could put a wrench in their plans was good. The second bit was significantly less interesting, so he payed less attention until Amanda dropped the name - Christopher Andrews. The ghoul's head quickly moved as he began to stare at the woman. 'You dated THAT?' Went through his head, but he managed to avoid blurting the question out. He had to remind himself that some people didn't have his senses, and whatever Chris was, he did blend in easily. Though... What exactly did he get himself mixed up into? Amanda seemed to know something about his less-than-public past. 'Dear god woman, do you know everyone around here?' He sighed, wondering whether he should break the news and if yes, then how. She seemed rather bothered by all of this. "Well..." The ghoul scratched his head. "Tell you what. You can say all that to both of them once you get to the Sanctuary."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki grinned widely when Sally reappeared, holding the book up for Sally to see.

It's my favourite! It's called Ender's Game, it's about a bunch of really smart kids who go up into space and save the planet! She informs Sally dutifully, letting her read the back cover as well. I was so surprised when Henry told me the sky ended if you went up far enough, and past that is more nothing than i can think of, and the stars are really just suns really really far away, and a whole bunch of other stuff!

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Blinking for a moment, Amanda seemed about to reply to him, then evidently decided against whatever her initial reply was.

"Alright, that .... sounds fair enough. Guess the first order of business is to get the hell put of here, preferably in one piece and not in a body bag. Or inside that thing's stomach. OK, new train of thought on that now."


Again she fell silent, this time for at least five minutes, walking with him in silence. Eventually though, she pointed and spoke.

"Alright, this tunnel should lead up to the surface about where we need to be. Though I just thought of something. If that thing finds us up there, what are we going to do? Not many places to hide from that thing out in the open."



Tilting her head, Sally replied.

"Interesting. Nothingness beyond the sky? Tell me more of this."

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Przemek let the conversation die instead of trying to get more information out of Amanda. Let doc and the others deal with the headache. He marched on, senses on high alert. The fact that he couldn't detect the bug nearby was troubling. The damn thing pursued him rather eagerly at first, but suddenly, it just disappeared and didn't show up again. Was it taking orders from someone? The possibility was rather scary. And if that was the case, it could be waiting for them outside, waiting to spring the trap. "We could try to run... In which case, I'm going to carry you. No buts. That thing moves faster than a human and it nearly caught up to me, even with my speed... And if that doesn't work, you'll have to find John on your own. I'll give the bug something to worry about." The ghoul cracked his knuckles. Being able to use 100% of his muscle power made him several times stronger than human, and altough his endurance was fairly low at first, once his body got used to the change he didn't tire so easily anymore. He could probably handle creepface long enough for some help to arrive. Maybe he could rip off one of the blades and use it to kill the monster...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Miiki thought for a moment before answering.
It's called Space, I think because there's a lot of empty room up there. I don't really get it either, but I think it's sorta like you and water. you go up high enough, you break through and find air. Except with this, you break through the air and find nothing, I guess. The kids in the book have to fly around in spaceships to go places up there, and if those places don't keep spinning, everyone flies while they're in them.

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Amanda didn't reply, only nodding, knowing full well her companion had a better understanding of what he could do, and what might happen than she did. For a short time they walked up the tunnel, but as they neared the end of it, the ghoul would notice she slowed down, then abruptly stopped. Before he could say anything, a smirk came over Amanda's face and she looked right at him.

"Hey Przemek, do you think that fucker is immune to electricity?"



Sally blinked.

"Strange indeed. I wonder how they found that out?"



While they waited, Helen regarded Dante for a long moment, then spoke.

"Dante, you said you have ... problems with demons correct? Out of idle curiosity, how exactly would you react if you were to say come face to face with an Ancient Vampire? Sanguine Vampirus would be the appropriate term."

 

[Caulder]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Dante thinks for a moment, then shrugs his shoulders. "I honestly wouldn't know. If he's not from this world then I'd have to send him back wherever he came from. Then again, most demons have a major problem with me, regardless of where they come from, so I have to kill them anyway." he says, holding his hands out at head level and bowing his head low as he sighs. "Just so long as he doesn't try to drink my blood we'll be alright."

 

[Bartnum]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"We're not that close at all, really. I barely know her - she does the same course as me at the University, but that's about it. Then out of nowhere she called me up and asked if I could come help her move a fridge. Seemed pretty odd she'd call me, but I figured it couldn't hurt to head over anyway. So I got to her rooms and found her like this with 3 cabal guys standing over her. Then that guy... Druitt, that was it - he showed up and uh, 'dealt' with them. Then we came here."

"Wait... before Druitt got there, they had some kind of remote. Said they'd blow up half the Uni or something... they didn't plant a bomb in her, did they?"

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Helen nodded.

"Fair enough. Nikola doesn't drink blood so we should be fine. Unless your blood happens to be eighteenth century wine, then you may have an issue."



Henry listened, then blinked at the mention of a bomb. Looking over the results he already had for a long moment he shook his head.

"Well unless they came up with something that can blow up using the blood itself, I highly doubt it. Results don't show anything at all that could even remotely be used in an explosive. Not to mention there's nothing that seems like a surgical wound on her. Nah whatever it is the system is picking up, it isn't anything we can see visibly. Which means we go to the microscopic level."

 

[Caulder]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"Oh, good. Then I think we'll get along just fine." Dante says, then pockets his hands once more. One might wonder how his pants were in such good shape even though he seemed to use his pockets quite a bit. "I just hope he can keep up when things go south." he says, showing another one of his toothy grins.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki thought on that one a moment as well.
I don't know. I'll ask Henry next time I see him. He's the one that told me about space, he should know. So do you wanna read that one then? She'll say, using her toe to nudge the bookstand a bit closer to Sally's window.