Session Start: Sat Apr 09 15:12:48 2005 Last time, on Hunters: Things are abruptly going to hell in a handbasket - highly professional hit squads have been dispatched against the remaining girls of Lady Goggles's old team. The Hunters persuaded the police to get Junko some additional protection, and they were able to take on the assassins before they completed the deed. Morioka is taking the girl to a secret location even now. Her surviving partners, Lady Reaper and Lady Judo, took a little bit of finding, but the team tracked them down to a new hangout: the ^HARD BITE^ club on the southern edge of Warabi. The team members on site were just moving to pull the two girls out, when two (so far) assassins moved in on their table. Leena stumbled as she jetted up the steps to their balcony, and that gave the men enough time to aerate Keiko (Judo) thoroughly. Azumi (Reaper) has ducked under the table now, and the Hunters have arrived... [Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 1835 local time] [First balcony - ^HARD BITE^ dance club - southern Warabi] [session start] * Azumi screams in horror as her teammate's corpse slides out of the booth seat and under the table with her. * LadyMallet snarls something to herself, then yells out, "Transform! Now!" She continues shoving her way to them, snapping her fingers- and a moment later the Mallet falls out of midair. The first assassin blinks and looks up - sees THE MALLET! - and throws himself out of the way. He lands under the table with Azumi as the Mallet embeds itself somewhat in the balcony floorboards. There's a silvery flash of light from underneath the table, and a second later Lady Reaper rolls out from under the table with a very dead assassin impaled on her scythe. * LadyReaper eyes the second assassin whilst attempting to shake the body off her blade. * LadyNightshade moves at the second assassin, punches flying. It takes her a couple swings to find her target but when she does, a few expert jabs to the face knock him onto his ass. The screaming is finally starting to spread - a goodly number of folks on the first balcony can see what is happening, though the music is still playing and the dancing is still dancing. * LadyNightshade stays alert for any other potential threats. The first assassin's body THUMPS to the floor as Reaper finally gets her blade free. * LadyReaper turns and gives her friend's corpse a cold, even look. * LadyNightshade looks down at the body next to the other girl, "I'm so sorry..." * LadyMallet grabs the Mallet from it's spot, and slashes through the air with it angrily. She whirls on the other assassin. ...yeah... let's worry about that part later. * LadyRoyal steps between Leena and the unconscious assassin. "Ask first, kill later." * LadyMallet stands over him calmly, fists clenched. "... if you are still alive, you will wish you had never been born after this day is over." Um. Do we need to get out of here? Probably, yes. * LadyRoyal counts up the number of bodies. * LadyNightshade looks around at the chaos around them. Nightshade, take the unconscious one. Mallet, take the dead one. Reaper and I will carry her teammate out. Does that work? Right. * LadyMallet re-holsters her gun, and then tears off a sleeve, lifting the unconscious assassin's head and tying the fabric through his mouth. * LadyNightshade moves over to the assassin she personally introduced her fists to. * LadyRoyal carefully tries to ease Keiko's body out from under the table. The panicked emptying of the first balcony level is in progress. They're STILL dancing on the floor. * LadyMallet eyes the booth for a moment, then looks around some more. "Be careful. They might have snipers or backup covering the exits, in case they failed." * LadyRoyal nods. "Good point." * LadyMallet tears off her OTHER sleeve, and ties the assassins hands behind him. * LadyNightshade lifts the assassin now bound with Mallet's sleeve and makes her way towards the exit. Make no mistake. He will not live. But I will get what information I want out of him before I allow him to die. * LadyRoyal turns around and hefts Keiko's legs up on her shoulder, letting Reaper take the weight of the upper torso and incidentally leaving her with a free hand for card-throwing, if necessary. * LadyMallet looks around coldly, then grabs the dead assassin. * LadyRoyal looks around. "Right." * LadyReaper does not try to help with Keiko's body - she's staring at the crowd, clutching her scythe. * LadyRoyal notices Reaper. "...Reaper. Get out now, throw a fit later." Are we ready? Yes. Help me carry J-Keiko. * LadyMallet stops, and looks at Reaper. Her voice loses some of the chill, but none of the edge. "... c'mon. We can't stay here." * LadyNightshade pauses to look back at the group. She makes hurry up motions. * LadyReaper gives the balcony railing a couple of good kicks, then steps through and drops to the dance floor. ...fuck. * LadyMallet follows Reaper's path, after a moment. * LadyRoyal shoulders the burden of Keiko on her own and gets going. * LadyNightshade sighs and makes her way down to the first floor. Someone FINALLY has the common sense to yank a fire alarm. The music cuts out immediately, and the swirling turbulence of the dance grinds to a halt two seconds later... immediately changing to an unstoppable tide of bodies swirling towards the front door. * LadyRoyal looks around nervously, checking for people who seem to be staying/etc. * LadyNightshade looks around for a back way out. Nobody is staying, and the team is shoved towards the front entrance. * LadyNightshade grumbles and does her best to keep her balance as the crowd shoves her around. * LadyRoyal just holds on tight to Keiko's body and tries to keep an eye on Reaper. * LadyReaper is the first out the front door, and she ducks immediately to the left and out of the riptide. * LadyNightshade makes her way out, pulling out her cellphone and dialing up the secretary. Most of the crowd, as it exits, is going to the parking lot and milling. Go! * LadyMallet pulls her cellphone at about the exact same time- but puts it back away when she sees Nightshade doping the same. We need a pick up. Like right now. * LadyReaper grabs Taki's arm as she exits, to make sure they don't get separated. * LadyNightshade looks back at Reaper and moves over to where she is standing. Now might be hard. I can get something there in... ten minutes. * LadyMallet looks around for any cover, or less open spots to wait. "Be careful. We don't know their backup plans, and we don't want to be waiting out it the open anyway." We're carrying around a couple bodies with us. We need something to beat the police here... Gyah! Leave the bodies! And we're not entirely sure if someone else is watching. * LadyRoyal sticks with everyone else. We have one of them still alive enough to answer questions though... There's not a lot of cover around here, except the cars in the lot. Where everyone is. You could go around behind the building... If he's not bleeding or anything, that's okay. Nightshade. Have her meet us behind the place. She said it'll be 10 minutes. The cops'll be here by then. We can't be carrying all these bodies around with us... * LadyRoyal is already heading out there to check it out. Carefully, of course. * LadyNightshade says that to Leena. * LadyMallet points to reaffirm her direction. "We're not leaving the one alive." * LadyRoyal calls back. "Well, we'll just have to avoid them then, yes?" * LadyMallet glances at Reaper. "... I don't know about Judo, though..." Less to explain if she's here. If there was any way we could revive her and get her to transform that'd be one thing... But at this point... We best just leave the two bodies here. * Keiko is not breathing, and frankly seems to have run out of blood. * LadyMallet shakes her said, sadly. "Looks like it." * LadyRoyal steps back to the group and shakes her head. "No way in hell we can leave Keiko here." * LadyMallet drops the body she's carrying. "Royal, you and me search this one before leaving it." What are we gonna do? Leave her body on her front porch? What are you going to do, Lady? Deliver her to her family? At least this way the police have evidence of an attack. * LadyRoyal lifts her free hand. "Fine. Whatever. I give up." * LadyReaper sighs. "Leave her, and let the normal procedures take their course. * LadyMallet starts searching the body of the dead assassin. * LadyRoyal sets Keiko down carefully and searches the dead guy. And they can investigate who the hell these people are. If there's no body, there's no crime... * LadyRoyal makes a rude noise The dead guy has a radio transmitter, much like the woman Royal killed in that alley had, but nothing else of note besides a little cash. * LadyRoyal frowns deeply and strips the transmitter. * LadyNightshade eyes the radio. "Leave that. We have another one right here." * LadyRoyal eyes the cash but leaves it. * LadyRoyal shrugs. The building has finally emptied. A few people are starting to leave, but the parking lot is a complete jam with everyone standing about. * LadyMallet starts heading for behind the building. "C'mon." * LadyNightshade realizes she's still on the phone. "10 minutes? If that's the best we have, tell em to meet us behind the place." On the way. * LadyRoyal frowns at the bodies on the ground and shakes her head twice, sharply, then zips behind the building. * LadyReaper follows the others closely. Thought you were supposed to notify us about these things? We're usually given more time... They're not supposed to know who you are out of costume. Anyway, we tried calling, but it was too loud in there for you to hear us. * LadyMallet keeps looking around, paranoid, for anyone else who might be there to finish the job. How would they even know who you are, though? The alley behind the building is long, and dark, but not really narrow. It's more of an unloading area for the strip mall than a proper alley. There are all sorts of odd concrete shapes behind which someone could hide. You didn't reveal yourselves to anyone, did you? * LadyRoyal points to Exhibit A. "We'll find out, then, won't we?" We didn't! ...but... * LadyReaper grimaces. "Everyone knows Junko is. And it wouldn't be too hard to, you know, figure out." * LadyMallet nods. "Whoever's behind this isn't dumb enough not to follow the leads given..." I'm sorry you guys got involved in this. It's starting to feel a little chilly out, and daylight has notably run out. Someone should call Maya and tell her... * LadyNightshade pulls out her phone. What a mess. If they know who I am, I'll never be safe. We'll keep you safe. * LadyNightshade dials Maya's cell. * LadyMallet shakes her head, sadly. "... I don't know what to say. About this whole thing. To you." She lifts her head up to Reaper, and gestures with her hands uselessly. "But, for now... let's just get to safety, to where we can figure this out..." * LadyRoyal paces the "perimeter" cautiously. * LadyMallet's gaze sharpens as she looks at the unconscious prisoner. * LadyMysteria picks it up. "I'm just getting off the train. Talk to me." * LadyMallet looks away, then up to the sky, and closes her eyes. The secretary is on her way to pick us up in 5 minutes or so. Reaper is safe, Judo is... We didn't get here on time. * LadyRoyal pinches the bridge of her nose as Taki says that, though keeps her eyes open. You can hear more cars starting up in the parking lot now, and traffic on the street the alley crosses is picking up. ... gh. That.... damn it all. The Queen never gives us enough time... should I go ahead and go directly to the Agency, then? Snowball.... and now Judo. I hope Mysteria had better luck than we did with Goggles.... * LadyMysteria seems to be doing a... middling job of not sounding upset. Yeah, meet us there. That's where we'll be headed. Alright. * LadyNightshade is trying really hard to just not have emotions right now. * LadyReaper turns away, and puts one hand to her face momentarily. * LadyRoyal continues pacing. ... how's everyone holding up? * LadyMysteria looks around, then back towards the train, fiddling with the brim of her tophat. We'll meet you there-- Uh... they're uh... They're okay. I guess. * LadyMallet clenches and unclenches her fists, waiting. * LadyNightshade doesn't sound very sure of herself. Tell the others okay? A black SUV screeches to a stop in front of the alley. It looks vaguely like Squeegee's, though with tinted windows. ... mmm. I will... no point in holding off on the bad news. * LadyRoyal squints at it, going into a defensive pose. Alright. Think this is it, buuuut.... * LadyNightshade stands at looks at the SUV. * LadyMallet eyes the van, fists going into a clench and staying there. See you in a bit then. *hangs up* Hang in the---... mmmn. * LadyMysteria snaps her phone closed and turns around to wait for the train headed Agency-ward. There's a couple of seconds pause, then the side doors fly open. Those looking that direction get a glimpse of black-clad figures, and guns. * LadyRoyal whips out a couple cards at the ready. "Guys!" Oh fuck. * LadyHeat bumps into Maya The night explodes with automatic gunfire. * LadyMallet charges at the SUV the moment she sees it open. ... oh. H-hey. You up on matters, Heat? I've heard a little...what's happened? * LadyMysteria frowns a little. "Someone good went after Junko and the rest of her team. Judo's dead, the others are fine." I hope there's no on else following them... * LadyMysteria fidgets a bit more. "I'm honestly praying they got out of there in time to avoid being spotted, yeah. But... from the sounds of things, these guys were pros. I'm worried." Well, they should be out of there soon. They're not lacking in power, at least. * Lady_Make-Believe hustles up to the train station, heading over to Mysteria and Heat once she spots them. I got the message and came as fast as I could... what's going on and should I call for any more backup? ...the sound of rapid gunfire echoes down the streets, distant but unmistakable. ... trouble. * LadyMysteria looks in that direction and starts running. "Move!" They found them! * LadyHeat runs after Mysteria * Lady_Make-Believe runs after Heat, pulling out a translucent cell phone and making a call as she runs. The alley is suddenly lit by three tongues of flame from the van, and there's no time to think. A round takes Leena in the meat of her left shin, and she goes flying into the pavement. With the Mallet held in front of her, the rest of the burst is fortunately blocked, and she has good cover. Nnnng! * LadyNightshade tries to dodge out of the way of the salvo of bullets coming her way but still catches the majority in her chest, side and thigh. She's blown backward by the force and promptly loses consciousness from the sudden extreme pain. * LadyReaper went charging up the alley right behind Leena. She jumps over the Mallet as its wielder is tripped up, and continues the suicidal rush. * LadyRoyal runs up the alley, jumping over Leena and Taki and staying in mid- range to give 'em cover. She tosses a card at the SUV. The card whistles down the alley, and makes a cute little "thunk!" as it embeds in the front fender of the vehicle. A trickle of blue fluid sloshes out of the engine space onto the road as the washer fluid container ruptures. There's a sharp *crack* from behind Lady Royal - there's someone *behind the team* in the alley, and he just split their captive's head like a melon. Fuck! * LadyMallet winces, and gets to her feet. She readjusts her grip on the Mallet, and continues running at the SUV. * Lord_Darkmoon runs up to the street-side of the SUV, and levels his gun at the backs of one of the shooters, firing through the window. The shooter's neck explodes, and he falls forward out of the side door. The firing from the van stutters as the other mid-cab occupant is messily surprised, then he twists around to try shooting at the new enemy. Lord Darkmoon manages to put a couple of unaimed shots through the driver's window as he ducks out of the way - not hitting the driver, but certainly throwing off his aim, as his burst goes well about Mallet and Reaper's heads. * LadyRoyal whips around, catches sight of the person behind everyone else, and cards him. The guy takes the card in the face, and falls over backwards. * LadyReaper gets to the van and leaps on the hood. A looping underhand strike through the windshield later, the driver is well and stuck on her blade. She struggles to wrench it loose. * LadyMallet continues running, and lightly jumps into the SUV with the last gunner. She grins darkly, turns, and slides the SUV door shut behind her. "You're mine." There's a sudden Mallet-shaped arch in the roof, but through the tinted window DM can make out that the last shooter is still alive and trying to twist back to shoot at the enraged Lady sharing his seat. * Lord_Darkmoon aims, giving himself only time to think as he lines up his shot to hit the gunman before he can bring his weapon to bear. *BANG!* This shot goes wide, blowing out the back window. SURRENDER OR DIE! The shooter gets his body turned around in the seat, but Mallet stiffarms the gun to the side, and he has no shot at all. * LadyNightshade moans in pain, rolls over and coughs a quantity of blood. * LadyRoyal narrows her eyes and heads down to the other end of the alley just to make sure, brushing Taki's hair away from the vomited blood on her way. * LadyReaper fights with her scythe, eventually balancing on her right foot and kicking its shaft with her left to wrench it free. Royal passes by the shooter she carded. He's bleeding out badly, and his face is probably ruined, but the man is still breathing. * LadyMallet hasn't lost her dark grin. It's only gotten wider, and she looks the gunner in the face. "You've got two choices. Give up the easy way, or I make you give up." * LadyMallet lets go of her grip on the Mallet, and makes ready to force his mind, clenching her fists. The gunner struggles more, triggering a continuous burst into the floorboards, then makes a strange face and relaxes. * Lord_Darkmoon keeps the gun trained inside the vehicle and calls out, "Mallet! Do you have him under control?" * LadyNightshade tries to struggle to her feet, using the wall as support and winces in pain. * LadyMallet narrows her eyes, and punches his face in. .... quite. ... Darkmoon sees the man's face fly out the side window. * Lord_Darkmoon comes around to the other side of the SUV, watching what's going on carefully. "Is everyone alright?" * LadyMallet trails behind Darkmoon as he arrives, calmly opening the SUV door and exiting. * LadyNightshade slumps against the wall after looking around and seeing that no one else is shooting. * LadyMallet blinks, and rushes over to Nightshade, instantly shifting from dark to worried. "Ta- Nightshade! Are you..." I'll... be fine. ...ever.....an you ... me? * Secretary 's voice sounds over the headsets. * LadyMallet drops down to her knees, then blinks at her headset. * Lord_Darkmoon puts a hand to his earpiece. "I hear you, madam secretary." Hey... you're late. * Talking hurts and Taki let's someone else do it. I'm inbound, one minuteish. * LadyMallet looks over Taki, wincing as she spots all the varied gunshots. She looks faintly reassured, though. ...Lady Reaper, I take it? Are you okay? *looks over the Lady the team's protecting* Lady Royal gets to the far end of the alley and looks around. This street is darker, and has some vacant buildings, but there's a black panel van speeding her way. * LadyMysteria proceeds to show up on the scene... and notice that things have gotten somewhat messy. "Damn it all... is everyone alright?!" ...peachy. * LadyRoyal sounds over the headsets. "Sec, what's the color of that pickup of yours?" * LadyHeat follows up shortly behind Mysteria and twitches as she sees the carnage. Gods, these folks don't fool around. * Lady_Make-Believe takes in the scene. Did we lose anyone? * LadyMallet pats Taki on the shoulder lightly, then goes to assess the rest of it. It's a van, silly. Black, and is that you I see? * Lord_Darkmoon takes a moment to re-load his gun, and keeps it out, just in case. * LadyRoyal calls back to the others. "We've got one sort of alive and a van coming that may or may not--yes, it's me. Just making sure. * LadyRoyal waves an acknowledgment to the Secretary, then runs back to check the sort of alive gunner. * LadyNightshade sorta wince-smiles at Leena and continues relaxing against the wall and bleeding. Does anyone uh...want some water? * LadyReaper seems to fold away her scythe, but remains transformed. "I can't go home." * LadyHeat tries to be useful and offers up some water bottles. * LadyRoyal rips the dead shooter's clothes to bind the sort-of-alive shooter's wounds. No. No thank you. Let's just... leave. Quickly. * LadyRoyal calls over her shoulder. "Nightshade, can you move yet?" * LadyMallet pokes at the one Royal carded. "... he's not completely dead." No he's not. You can have him. * LadyRoyal heads over to Taki and checks her. The van pulls into the alley, and scoots down to where everyone is. * LadyMallet nods, and makes use of his sleeves to gag his mouth with a wide strip. Oh, my.... Nightshade. Got him. * LadyNightshade stumbles out from the wall clutching her wounds. "Yeah, I'll be fine. They're already closing." All right, good. * LadyMallet grabs him, and lifts him over her shoulder. * LadyMysteria scoots over as well. "It's never fun, though... heh. So much for fast and simple, huh?" She forces a smile. * LadyRoyal lends a shoulder to support Taki. Does anyone have medical supplies? * LadyNightshade takes the offered shoulder and makes her way to the van. * Secretary opens the door. "Need a ride - ohmigod!" I can boil some water for cleaning? There's a little kit in the van... Where? Yeah, we sort of do. * Secretary reaches into the glove compartment and gets it. Let's all get in first. Here. * Secretary looks around. "Wow, it's the whole gang." * LadyMysteria pauses, then walks over to one of the dead men... and starts rifling through his clothes. * Lady_Make-Believe grabs the kit, scurries inside, and starts looking through it. * LadyMallet tosses the faceless guy into the floor of the van. * LadyHeat climbs in to help with the bodyloading. * Secretary looks back into the van. "Um, this is going to be a little snug..." * LadyNightshade crawls into the back of the van and tries to stretch out as much as she can. * Lady_Make-Believe makes sure she's by the injured guy. * LadyRoyal helps Taki into the van and heads out to the SUV to check it real quick. * LadyMallet stares at the body grimly. "By god, we are going to obtain some payment for losing Judo." ...what? * LadyReaper quickly claims the front seat. * Lord_Darkmoon takes a deep breath, realizes he's being useless, and just climbs in the van, trying to take up as little space as possible. All the dead men are equipped similarly. * Lady_Make-Believe paws through the kit and takes out some ointments, but quickly sees she'll be needing more bandages than she has. They have radio transmitters and weapons and cash. Otherwise? No. * Lady_Make-Believe concentrates for a moment, and a shimmering role of gauze bandages appears which she gets to work applying. * LadyMallet claims one of the weapons, tossing that into the van as well. The SUV seems to have a radio receiver tuned to the transmitters... and Minami can hear the others talking back at their van. ...hell. * LadyMysteria quietly takes the transmitter and cash, just in case, then stands. "Royal?" ...Mysteria. * LadyReaper is just sitting in the front seat and looking morose. C'mere. * LadyMysteria frowns and walks over. What? *says over the radio* What is it? Listen to this. The receiver echoes the sounds of the Ladies working on the patient. * LadyMysteria does so, then frowns. "... mmmn. Their own system. Well, it figures, it's a good way to coordinate." She then proceeds to try and take the receiver, if it's not bolted down or anything. Mm. * LadyRoyal looks around to see if she can help. It's a standalone unit with a handle. Maya has no problem My Ladies Royal and Mysteria, do you need help? We should hurry and get out of here. ...c'mon, c'mon, let's go before there's more... Yeah, we're on our way. We're alright. Coming... * LadyMysteria heads back to the van, looted goods in hand. * Lord_Darkmoon helps the two in and in finding space, then closes the door behind them. * LadyNightshade sighs in the back of the van as she lets herself heal. * LadyRoyal is sitting on the floor. As Mysteria climbs in the van (which is stuffed like a sardine tin) the receiver in her hand emits a painful feedback squeal. * LadyMallet squeezes in between the front passenger and driver seat, on the floor there. ...yow! What the heck is that? * LadyMysteria sits quietly... then moves to turn the damn thing off. "Geh... it's their receiver." Ack! *covers her ears* * LadyRoyal hisses. * Lord_Darkmoon winces. "Feedback?" OW. Don't do that again, 'kay? I'll really try not to. * LadyMallet cringes. * LadyRoyal snorts at that. "Heh." That was worse than this one concert I saw last month... ...take away and turn off the prisoner's radio, Make-Believe. We don't want them eavesdropping on us. ... still, might be able to get some sort of clue as to who this is if we can figure out the make and model of these things. * LadyRoyal turns off the one she got off the dead guy waaaaaaaaaaaay back at the mall. * LadyMallet nods absently. "Or trace the van, or their weapons." Um... this one doesn't seem to have one on him.. maybe it got knocked off or is somewhere else in the van? Morioka'll probably get his hands on those... his bosses probably will take this threat a lot more seriously since they moved on Junko. Mm. Good. Is anyone sitting on something? * Lord_Darkmoon shifts. "I can't even sit down completely," he manages sardonically. "So no." * LadyRoyal checks just to make sure. "Don't think so." * LadyMysteria looks around. "Mmmn." Oh, Mallet, lift your feet. * LadyMallet gets a grip on the seats with her hands, and lifts herself up. * Lady_Make-Believe reaches over and grabs it, then flips it off. * LadyReaper sniffles a little. ... let's go. This day needs to be over, soon. * Lord_Darkmoon squirms out of Mallet's way, so she can reach more easily. He does not look comfortable with these crowded conditions. * LadyNightshade looks over at Reaper who's practically on her lap. You gonna be okay? So... back to the Agency? ... it's not over until we politely ask our new guest some questions. Ask me that in five years. ... * LadyMysteria draws as close to Rin as space will allow, then just sighs heavily. "Try not to take a direct route, ma'am." This is... bad shit, okay? I'm sorry. We got there as quick as we could... * LadyRoyal nods. "That about sums it up." * Lord_Darkmoon nods, bumping Mina on the head. "Agency's probably best, Madam Secretary." No, no, I mean, what happens NEXT. * LadyRoyal moves away from Darkmoon a bit. * Lord_Darkmoon manages to get an arm around Mysteria, making just that much more room by getting her closer. That's the only motivation, honest. ... We'll protect you, I promise. ... I'm sure the Queen would help you out with that. A new identity, or moving, or something. * Secretary nods and pulls out the far end of the alley as police screech to a halt at the near end. If only we did know what would happen next. And if she doesn't, we will. The Agency is safe... don't know for how long, though. And the rest of my family? ...them too. It's not fair to them, to anybody, but... we'll protect them as well as you. We're not supposed to bring them in, remember? And THEY know I'm me. so... ARRRG. * LadyMallet closes her eyes, and takes a breath. "Your family... I don't know. We'll do our best, though." * LadyRoyal rubs her forehead. Maya, can you call the detective and ask him to protect her and Judo's families? * LadyRoyal shakes her head and leans over to eye the wounded guy. ...that might not be a good idea. But it might. That would require outing Reaper... Judo's family is probably safe, since they only seem to want us. Still Morioka might not be able to get us any protection unless he knows who for and why. They already know who Lady Reaper is. Though the populace does not. ... it was hard enough getting him to give Junko more. * LadyRoyal starts checking him. "I'm sure they'll shape up now that they see what happened with Junko." ... ah, right. Might be easier, then... I think. Tell him it's for the girls that were attacked at the Hard Bite today. I'm sure he's gonna know what that is really soon. Only if we can manage a secret relocation and identity change will they be safe. Can we even trust the police with this anymore? ... one girl going public caused all this. Isn't that how the Witness Protection Program works? Morioka seems honest. It wasn't exactly her choice, y'know. Morioka is, but he can't control the entire force. And the police almost failed to protect Junko. And we have to trust someone somewhere. And...yeah. Morioka's been a good guy. He can at least check on them. * LadyMysteria finally digs out her phone and starts to dial, slowly. Anyway, what are you suggesting? We just don't have the manpower to really protect these people. The rest of the police seem to be... I was scanning the reports coming back from where they had her, and it doesn't look suspicious at all. We try to get Morioka to act... and we cross our fingers and try to rush about getting to the bottom of who's targeting us. And the way things are looking, we're probably going to have to protect a lot of people if this sort of thing continues. As Mysteria is about to press the dial button, her phone rings. ...I don't know, yet. Morioka may be a good start. But don't get the police as a whole involved, yet. We need someone to do this very discretely. Killing the weed at the root's more certain than burning the leaves---geh. * LadyMysteria takes the call. "Yes?" Maybe we can't take a lot, but we can at least do something for Reaper... You have any ideas, Darkmoon? We can keep Reaper safe. I'm trying to think of one. We can keep her safe. So far, they've not targeted families, but they know who she is so we have to protect them as well, because she can't go home if we don't. Maya, what's going on? I mean, any ideas as to who exactly we can trust, if not the police? She might just have to accept being away from her family for a while. The Queen would be of immense help, if she can use some of that clout of hers to orchestrate a relocation program for Junko's team. Which would have to go through the police or the government. Not if it's a privately run one. But it's best if we can get government assistance, for the remaking of identities. They were rather quick in striking, Your Majesty. Judo is dead, but the police managed to put enough protection around Junko to keep her safe. Reaper's alive as well. We need something more...responsible...than the police have proven to be, however. * LadyMysteria takes a moment to swallow and compose herself. And how exactly are we going to set up a privately-run relocation program. * LadyMallet sighs, and focuses on Reaper, the conversation beyond her. ...Lady Reaper, how ... close ... was your *bites off the next word* Princess to your team, untransformed? ...yes... I think I felt it... * LadyNightshade ignores the conversation and tries to listen in on Maya's phone conversation. * TheQueen sounds rather odd - her voice is archer than usual, and quite wavery. Couldn't Reaper stay in the palace for the short term? Lady Mysteria... I... I... there's more... There were well-coordinated from the looks of things. They had a radio system similar to our own. We have a transmitter and receiver to study... y-yes, my Queen? Lady Handcuff... SOON. And... and... There's a weird silence for a second, then a sharp thimping noise, then a dull thumping noise. Footsteps are heard, then the phone is picked up again. ... my Queen? A Lady Maya recognizes as one of the palace's resident attendants responds. Lady... Mysteria? There's some bustling noises in the background. * LadyMysteria can't help but sound stunned. "What's going on?!" It... it... looks like the Queen has fainted. * LadyRoyal turns back to Maya at that tone, looking concerned. * Lord_Darkmoon holds Maya just a little tighter, lending reassurance. * LadyMallet glances at Maya quizzically. Make certain. Make certain *right now*. She gets dizzy sometimes when she has unpleasant visions, but she's never had so many so quickly and... and... * Lady is hyperventilating. She's unconscious, but... Princesses Oak and Tiara are here and they're caring for her now... ... alright. Alright. Calm down... go to her, and check her over. Thoroughly. Make sure of her condition. ... What happened? *sniff* Of course, Lady Mysteria... * Lord_Darkmoon makes a shushing motion at Nightshade. "She'll tell us when she knows." * LadyMysteria mouths 'something's wrong'. "... and be truthful with me. If I can't make this an order, do this for me as a fellow Lady." * LadyRoyal frowns, worried. * Lady gets upset. "The doctor is being called, okay? I don't know any of that stuff..." * LadyNightshade glances out the window to see where they are. ... alright. Thank you. The van is cruising south out of Warabi, headed home, but the Secretary, hearing Maya's part of the conversation is not going at her usual breakneck pace. I'll call you if there's news... * Lady hangs up. ...what the hell was that? What happened? What she said. * Lord_Darkmoon turns to look at Mysteria. "What's wrong?" * LadyMysteria slowly, slowly closes her phone with two hands, both of which are shaking. "Secretary, where is Handcuff usually at this time of day? The Queen's certain she's next. Also... do we have a fallback?" ... Handcuff? ...call Sakura. She's probably with her. * LadyMallet groans. "Sakura should know." I think Anzu was going to be at home this evening. Sakura has been giving her more time to be with her mother since... ... ... ... do you know where that is? Shit. ...they moved, of course. And closer to where Sakura's place is. I know how to get there. You have her number, don't you, Maya-chan? Call them, warn them. And... what did you mean by a fallback? Get going. We can call Sakura on the way. She'll want to be there, I think. She's a target. We need to find her *now*. And... and... don't go back to the Agency yet. Something's wrong. Something's very wrong at the Palace. Let's be on time this time. ...shit. The Ladies at the palace would have no idea what's hitting them... * LadyMallet pulls out her phone. "Calling Sakura." And starts dialing. * Secretary turns the van back east, and zooms. Leena gets Sakura's voice mail. *beeep* * LadyMysteria clenches her hands tightly and tries to stop them from quivering so much. * LadyRoyal gives Maya's shoulder a quick, tight squeeze and then removes her hand so as to not get in the way of Rinada/Maya. XD * LadyReaper looks out the front windshield, a strange determination visible in her grimace. * LadyMallet sighs. "Dammit. Voicemail... anyway. Handcuff is in trouble. We're headed to their new place, and wanted to let you know in case you could make it. ... I think you'd hate it if something happened to her, and you didn't get the chance to help. Also to double-check with you that Handcuff -is- at their new place." [End session]