"Sure. Stop what? "
Due to being completely unawarw of what she was doing, Tahlia was confused.
"Anyway, since you'r the receptionist, would you mind telling Detective Kilgrave that Tahlia Bell is here to see him? I have some things to talk to him about the shootout at Helena Troy's place."
[TOP SECRET]Outside the Holy Road Cemetery
Helena could barely contain her anxiety, she felt like she was walking to her own execution and she could have been. There was no guarantee the Reverend wouldn't shoot her in the head the moment she told him what he wanted. She sighed - she would have to give him something or he'd just shoot her to save the trouble, no doubt, "My name is Helena Kyparissos, alright?" The young woman admitted, sensing the dead cat before she saw it. Poor thing but its death could prove handy, as horrible and cold as that thought was.
The moment Helena's foot met the dead animal she feigned a trip and, at some point on the way down, vanished from the Reverend's view. She fell into the void, praying a bullet didn't catch her on the way.
Meanwhile, James was still exploring the secret passage and wondering if he should turn back.
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”Garcias Household
The woman waited until both Aran and Talia were inside the house before she quickly popped her head out the door, looking in all directions like an animal looking out for any predators. She then lowered her head back through the opening in the doorway, and slammed the door shut behind her. She then pushed her long, black, mussy hair out of her eyes and ushered the others to a rather worn out couch in the living room before addressing them once more. "What do you know?"
Street Near Holy Road
"Goddammit!" The Reverend shot a bullet down at Helena, but she was gone before it cracked the pavement, much to his chagrin. Still, there wasn't much time to really fume, as much as he wanted to. Someone was bound to hear that shot, so the best thing to do was to get his ass over to the Church before anyone happened upon him and started asking inconvenient questions. He started racing back to the Church, all the while swearing that he would nuke that dirty little heathen if it was the last thing he ever did...
The Secret Passage/ The Police Station
As James contemplated quitting while he was ahead, he finally made it to the end of the tunnel. He discovered a rather tall ladder, and floated up until he could pop his head through the ceiling above. He seemed to be in a police station of some sort. More specifically, if the neat and orderly desk and the general layout meant anything, he was in none other than the office of the Chief of Police himself.
He then noticed a strange older woman dressed in black, standing in front of the door leading out of the office. She then held out her arms, and began to shift and twist and contort, until in less than half a minute, the woman was no longer there, or at least not as she was. In her place was a fat, balding, middleaged man dressed in a trenchcoat and a police officer's uniform, and with a badge over his right breast. Specifically, it was none other than the badge of the Chief of Police.
The woman, or Chief, than walked back over to the entrance to the secret passage, lifting up what seemed to be a sort of trap door and closing it back over the entrance, with no-one being the wiser. He then walked back over to the door, though before he left, he took a long hard look around the room, as if he could sense something that should be there, and yet, just couldn't be found. He shrugged, and headed out the door.
Meanwhile, the Receptionist was still staring down Talia, who didn't seem to be very cooperative. "LEAVE. OR I END YOU."
edited 19th Apr '16 8:33:49 AM by kkhohoho
Tahlia stared down the Receptionist.
"How? You're in a police station, with surveillance and wittnesses. At best you'ld only be in prison for 25 years. At worst you'd get the death penalty. Please relay my message to Detective Kilgrave. I am, after all, pretty sure that passing on messages is your job."
Tahlia was smiling politely, seemingly unaware of the chaos around her.
[TOP SECRET]After her father was finished with the car and had regrouped with them, she said, "Yup."
She followed Violet, with her father tailing them. She looked back at the garage. There were only two guards but she couldn't see guards inside, in fact, she couldn't really see inside at all. A part of her reminded her she should've expected this. It was a high profile business.
She got out her phone and texted Akio, Do you see any trucks heading this way?
After that, she returned it and this time tried to see if there was any to see inside from where she was. She didn't want to draw suspicion by walking around the perimeter.
"You said you had a dream... That dream... Make it come true! ... If anyone can, it's you!" - N (shortened) Oh, and I'm a girl.The Underworld
One of the benefits of the realm of the dead existing as a minimalistic void was, as Helena found out, the ground was not a solid concept. So, fortunately for her, the impact with that arbitrary barrier wasn't very painful. In fact it took a few moments for Helena to release she had stopped and was no longer in the living world, and had to frantically check that she had not been shot before slumping in relief, "Oh thank fuck..." The so called 'Queen of Hell' lay there for a few seconds, eyes closed and trying to breathe normally. A panic attack was coming, Helena hadn't had a full blown one for a long time but, understandably, the threat of being shot and/or held captive by a creepy, genocidal priest had ended this happy little streak.
Meanwhile, James had been having a most eventful day for a ghost which, if he was being honest, was a pleasant change from the usual existential boredom the afterlife brought. Most interestingly, the secretive tunne under the church led to some kind of police station where a strange woman had just morphed into the Chief of Police and disappeared into the passage, "What in the name of..." James muttered to himself, not entirely shocked given the amount of bizarre things he had seen in his afterlife. However, the 'man' did look around the room - like he could sense James was there.
Realising how long he had been snooping James decided he had better return to his 'employer', of sorts. The spirit sped back the way he came until he was outside the church once one, spotting the Reverend Helena had described muttering to himself and hurrying back inside. Disturbingly, he had a gun in his hand. Helena was not to be found in the graveyard, worrying James quite a bit. He stepped into the Underworld and, with a sigh of relief, saw the young woman there albeit, hyperventilating. "There you are, lady!" James walked over to her and touched Helena's arm, lightly, "You alright, ma'am?"
Helena turned to the friendly spirit and managed to snap herself out of the anxiety, for the most part. She stood up and smiled, "James, you have no idea how happy I am to see you... What did you find?" James explained everything he had seen as best he could, Helena occasionally pressing for more information and details and eventually explaining what had happened to her with the Reverend. "I really can't thank you enough, James... Any favor you want - just ask."
James grinned, "Ah, it's alright, ma'am. If I think of something I'll tell yah but I just enjoyed the ride." With that Helena thanked him again and stepping into the living world via Rock Creek Cemetery.
edited 19th Apr '16 2:23:06 PM by Lt.BGob
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”Garcias Household
They were getting somewhere, but now Aran had to decide how much they should divulge to this woman. This woman that seemed on the verge of paranoia, and maybe for good reason. He elected to stand behind the couch, as it helped hide the nervous energy that was making his legs jitter like crazy. Calm down, calm down, calm down...
His instinct told him to lay it all out on the table. They'd gotten a better response by being bluntly honest, but how much of their story would she be willing to believe? He decided first to talk about the possibility of a conspiracy, and gauge from her reaction whether they should reveal more than that. "Last night, during her Halloween bash, Helena Troy had her estate invaded by a group of guys dressed as soldiers. After chanting 'Never forget, never forgotten' they opened fire on the partygoers- which included both of us- and were apprehended shortly afterwards."
"But, from what we understand, that may be just the tip of the iceberg. A technology company that Helena had her eyes on was robbed the very same night. On top of that we have reason to believe that a local anti-Muslim church is involved. Some members of the police might even be in their pockets too, whoever 'they' are." He shrugged. "To be honest, I don't really know how much we know. How much of this is connected, and how much is coincidence... that's what we're trying to find out."
they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGobEsther piped up from behind, hesitantly. "Um, if possible... We - or at least, I - would like to know why or how your husband became, uh... one of those soldiers that Aran mentioned." I hope I haven't touched a nerve... Really would rather not have my head blown off.
“Not a promise, not an oath, or a malediction or a curse. Inevitable." - Taylor HebertThe Police Station
The receptionist smirked. "FINE." He began to step forward, but he was stopped by smooth, low voice.
"Hold on there, just hold on there. I don't think we need to resort to such drastic measures just yet, do we?"
Coming in from around the wall was none other than the Police Chief, calm and relaxed as always. "I'm sorry Miss," he said, "if there's been any inconvenience. I'm Chief O'Hara, and if you've got any problems, I'd be glad to hear you out. But you see, my officers have gotten a mite rowdy in just the last minute or so, and I think it might have something to do with you. So, if you can just stop whatever it is you're doing to my officers, than maybe we can start getting somewhere."
The Soldiers' House
The woman plopped down on the sofa, tugging on the collar of her wifebeater and taking a swig from a nearby bottle of booze before telling her story. "Years ago, before we got married, my husband was a member of the US Army. I didn't like it, but I still respected that. Hell, he even taught me what he knew when he could. But then, something happened to him. He came back from the states, apparently given an honorable discharge, but there was nothing wrong with him. Nothing physically, anyway. He started drinking. Before the army, he was clean as a whistle. Before, he didn't have a problem going to bed at night. After, he could barely get a wink. He got better as the weeks went by, but he was never the same. Now, I know; PTSD, happens to the best of us. But I don't know. Something just felt... off to me. And it wasn't long before I knew why."
She took another swig before continuing.
"He could never bring himself to tell me the details, but he told me enough. Told me that the army made him and the rest of his company do something completely reprehensible. I could only imagine what it was, but whatever it was, it shook him up real bad inside. He was never the same after that. From what he told me, none of them were. He tried to just get on with his life after that, all of them did, but it was always in the back of their minds, haunting them. I guess it must have wrecked them up so bad that they felt they just had to do something about it. Could have told me first though."
Her eyes started to moisten, though she had such composure that she was able to hold back the tears, in spite of herself. "He disappeared the other night. Left me a note saying that he just couldn't do nothing about it anymore. And there was more. It also said if he... if he didn't... come back, that they might come looking for me, whoever they are. You'd think the smart thing to do would be to run, but damn if I was just going to leave this place without a fight. I'm a security guard; I've got some army know-how; I think I can take of myself. Though maybe that's the just the stubborn fool in me talking. Damn it Roy! What you'd have to go and leave me all alone here for? Goddamnit!'
She wiped her eyes and took another swig of beer before looking back towards Aran. "I wanna' get the bastards who talked my Roy into doing this damn fool stunt. Yeah, I know, he didn't do good in the end, but it doesn't matter much now, does it? If it weren't for whoever put him up to it, then maybe none of that would've happened. I don't care who you are, but if you expose them deal with them, do something about any of this, then I'll do whatever I can to help. Those damn bastards."
The Police Station
The Police Chief raised an eyebrow and looked at Talia as though she were bloody drunk. He then held out a thumb and directed it to the left. Sure enough, not more than 15 feet away from them, officers were slugging it out and punching the crap out of each and doing only God knew what. He then turned back to Talia, convinced that he had made his case.
"My officers were as calm as kittens before you stepped in here," he said, as calm as ever, with just a slightly more aggressive slant to his tone of voice. "And now that you're here, they're behaving as though it's World World III. So again, I ask you, whatever it is you're doing: Please stop this. If you do, then I promise you, you can see whoever you want. But only after you take care of this mess."
edited 19th Apr '16 7:16:27 PM by kkhohoho
Harold's pistol didn't actually have custom grooves on the grip; he'd just dented the shit out of it that first night he gained his powers, and never bothered to replace it. He wouldn't be bringing it on his latest hit, though, so he could have it taken for repairs later. He wouldn't need anything but his bare hands for what he was about to do, but people typically frowned upon naked ritual violence nowadays, so he wore some beige slacks and an inoffensive purple button-down for this. What he wouldn't give to be in a nice fuzzy sweater about now...
The Police Station
A boxy sedan rolled to a stop behind Silverberg's car. Harold Fredrickson's enormous frame climbed out as the engine settled, and he strode inside, confident and severe. He'd be relying entirely on the thirty men hiding in his grip. It was do or die, but if he didn't do, he'd die anyway. That wasn't how the mob operated, but that was how the thrills of being a mob hitter did; Harold couldn't not try to do this.
Oh, and would you look at that, it was even easier than he'd have thought. Chief O'Hara was in the fucking reception area. Harold walked straight up to him, blowing right past the other civilian, and put out a winning smile and a firm hand to shake. "Excuse me, are you Chief O'Hara? It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Harold Fredrickson, my employers just called ahead and I was informed I would be inserted into your schedule for today, that would be the case, correct?"
edited 20th Apr '16 9:03:04 PM by Taco
While Gregorio was holding Suzie back to keep her from trying to strangle him, panicking on why she was acting so violent, the two of them stopped, realizing just how long Charlotte had been gone. Gregorio stepped out of the car, looking just as a bulky man stepped towards the police station. "Charlotte's been gone a long time," Suzie muttered. "We need to go check out the station! Something horrible must have happened!" Gregorio nodded in agreement, and with a nod to Charlotte's servant, he gave the keys to her and the two of them rushed towards the station.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.The Police Station
Mister O'Hara kept his hands to himself and in his pockets, looking at Harold as though he were a bloody loony. "Do I know you? Look, I would love to chat, but in case you can't tell, my staff is this close to not only killing one another but also setting the place on fire, so if you wouldn't mind, could you just kindly bugger off?" He then turned back towards Talia. "The same goes for you miss, if you please."
By this time, Gregorio had rushed into the station with Suzie, and he bore witness to the chaos and mayhem that was unfolding, with Talia and her pitch-black eyes at the center of it all.
edited 20th Apr '16 8:11:23 PM by kkhohoho
Police Station Reception
Harold held his hands up defensively. Damn, nothing was easy for them. "I believe I have an appointment, under August Munitions. We had a meeting arranged, my employers told me we were supposed to finalize a contract regarding supplying your department with bullets." He leaned to the side and eyed the brawl going on in the station. "Which you may need quite soon. I really do need to get in here sometime or it'll be my head. I know that might not concern people like you but it certainly concerns me, so I hope you'll understand my insistence here." He lowered his hands. He was getting some ideas, slowly but surely. "And I think you ought to understand my equal insistence that this woman stay here. You have nothing to prove that she is causing this disturbance but coincidence and correlation. Shouldn't a police officer have a better conception of logic than that?"
Rock Creek Cemetery
When Helena walked back into the living world she felt like curling up into a ball and not existing for a little while. Her chest felt like it was going to explode, the panic attack still not totally finished. But, she didn't like her chances of hanging out at the graveyard safely considering what happen the last time, even if the Reverend was left behind at Holy Road. Besides, she had to let Alexandria know what she had found out. Maybe even get some advice on how to enter the Church basement undetected short of an invisibility cloak.
Although, she had read that Hades was known for his 'Helm of Darkness' that rendered the wearer invisible. But, thus far, Helena hadn't manifested any such ability discounting what others saw (or rather didn't) when she went into the Underworld. More questions with no answers in sight. With a shaky sigh Helena set off for the library Alexandria was, presumably, still working at.
(Alexandria's) Library
After a welcome walk Helena arrived at the library, still shaking a little but overall calm considering she had been staring down the barrel of a gun not half an hour ago. As she turned a corner, searching for the descendant of Athena, she spotted the weird, hooded kid from Ms. Troy's party. The one that got shot and went to hospital, in fact. She wondered how on earth he'd recovered so quickly from the wound - perhaps part of his gift? She remember that the kid, called 'Phyrrhos' by his own admission, was descended from a god of fear however. Ignorant of his purpose at the library, but somewhat doubting he was there for the Mills and Boons section, the young woman approached, "Hey, uh... Phyrrhos wasn't it?" She called out quietly, maintaining a cautious physiology as she waved, "You alright? Weren't you... you know, shot? Your health insurance can't be that good." She added with a grin.
edited 20th Apr '16 9:27:17 PM by Lt.BGob
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”The Police Station
The Police Chief merely smirked, as if telling the bulky newcomer that he already had his answer. He then began to walk back towards his office, waving his hand towards the Receptionist. "It's obvious that this isn't going to get any of us anywhere. Toro, take care of them, will you?"
The receptionist grinned, having no qualms about what would no doubt come next. "LAST CHANCE. BOTH OF YOU. LEAVE. NOW."

Garcias Household
Aran looked first at Esther, and then at the gun, with a rather obvious "that doesn't seem like a good idea" expression. Nevertheless he stepped over the threshold and into the house. "Sorry for trying to lie to you, but I didn't really want to bring up delicate matters when there's a sawn-off aimed at us..."
they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob