The absence of the mirror gnawed on Moretti like a festering wound. He had been hopeful that they would locate it, to ensure that the others were free of its threat, to undo the failure on his part that had put them in peril in the first place.

"I'll be fine, Tommy," Moretti replied, "But I don't need any rest. Not yet. If we're going to go find the others, I want to come along. I need to. If they're in trouble, or if they've stumbled onto the mirror, I should be present to lend a hand. I have il debito di sangue. It's my responsibility to see it through."

He shrugged. "It's not the first time I've worked with a bullet wound. I'll manage just fine. I can get the thing carved out once we're sure la famiglia Elias is out of danger."

Despite the hitch he felt when breathing, he couldn't shake the craving for a cigarette.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:14, Wed 22 Feb 2017.

She joined the men in the hall after a brief survey upstairs.  "It's time to go.  I spoke with Avery and told him the situation. Apparently the others have been separated and they are currently searching for Stanley. Avery assured me that he'd warn the others if they check in again. He's also going to look into the Misr House, though he's not sure what he can find from the hotel room at this hour. I saw no evidence of the mirror upstairs. I assume no one else found anything, either?"  She threw a glance toward the front desk, frowned, and quickly turned away.  Shouldering her bag, she turned and headed for the back entrance.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:14, Wed 08 Mar 2017.

PM:

With a final glance around to ensure things were as they were before the trio entered the museum (save for the grim corpse in the hidden room and Vincent's trap) Tommy gestured back toward the rear entry.
"No sign of the mirror that I could see Rosalie. Just some files but I didn't get far with 'em.". He frowned as Vincent spoke, but couldn't help but be impressed with the man's tenacity.
"Fine, but you're back up from here on out. Don't want you fainting on me when the going gets tough. Now lets roll.".
Flicking off the beam of his torch the reporter crouched by the exit, ready to leave the compound.

Ready to leave, but lingering because of that mysterious PM. Reckon we need to hurry to warn the others - PM, presume you will narrate us to the car (or whatever we have to deal with on the way to it)

OOC: Don't worry about the PM. It was in response to a question regarding information Moretti picked up during his last circle of the museum. Nothing that would hold us up.

Moving swiftly through the shadows the trio ducked out of the Foundation and back into the cold night of London. Bundled under his arm were the books stolen from the secret room and quickly they hurried back to the street where the car was parked. Wary of his surroundings the reporter glanced over his shoulder several times to watch out for prying eyes while Vincent and Rosalie tried to figure out who had the keys.


Id like to lock the Foundation door again behind us. If possible Tommy will pick up keys from the front desk or guards body, if not maybe we can simple let it click closed behind us, or failing that Tommy will attempt a quick lock pick for a minute or two. Our aim is for the place to appear as we found it, save for a missing guard (and the state of the secret room).
This message was lightly edited by the player at 09:40, Mon 27 Feb 2017.

OOC:

Tommy will find that there are no keys on the security guard's body, but he can make a Locksmith roll to attempt to lock the door that way.

Rosalie paused outside the door, looking to the street in search of anyone watching, still afraid someone might have heard the gunshots.  Once the boys were out, she started for the gate, no longer walking stealthily, but trying to hurry along and keep to the darkness.

The lockpick roll I owe you to close the door behind us:
19:13, Today: Thomas Cotton rolled 49 using 1d100 with rolls of 49.  Lockpick (vs 57...so a pass)

As the trio slipped away from the Foundation they made their way to the parked car and hurried to leave the scene of their crime. The roads were quiet as they drove and with a glance over his shoulder to make sure there was no one behind them Tommy breathed a sigh of releif.
"How are you doing back there Vincent?".
They'd bundled the injured Italian in the back to give him room to stretch out, time to recover at least a little.

"Don't worry about me, paisan," Moretti replied, his tone reassuring, "I've been hurt a lot worse than this. It's just a flesh wound. Nothing to be concerned about."

He looked out the window at the nighttime landscape of London, the darkened buildings and the quiet streets. Home to men like himself. "It's the others we need to be anxious for. Especially Stanley. It's not like him not to stay in contact. He's more careful that that."

Rosalie pulled her coat around her a little tighter, gazing out at the street as Tommy drove.  "No, it's not like him at all.  He could be in trouble, but I trust the others to get everyone out safely.  If we go to the docks, we could be mucking up things even worse for them.  Not to mention how large of an area we'd have to search.  We could drive around all night and not see them there, or miss them as they're on their way out.  We should stick to the plan.  They're expecting us to meet them at the Blue Pyramid."   

Moretti nodded in silent deference to Rosalie's decision. Drawing the Webley from beneath his coat, he broke the weapon open, quietly loading fresh cartridges into the revolver, his attention occasionally going to the nightscape outside the window.

Tommy drove, glancing at the rear view mirror to check for tailing vehicles and taking a circuitous route toward the Pyramid. The streets were predictably quiet, interspersed by the occasional rambling drunk or night shift worker. Peering upward the reporter wondered what the moon in her new phase looked like behind the dark winter clouds that drifted over the city.

He felt uncomfortable leaving the others, but Rosalie was right; they could spend hours searching the docks. Until they could check in again with Avery the Pyramid was the best place they could help out. For now.

"I'll drive by the place first right? Then swing around out of sight and pull over down the street.".


1 - Any public phone booths we can park by so we can check in with Avery again?
2 - Any side alleys, or unlit places we can park the car within viewing range of the Pyramid?
Would prefer to park on a side road or driveway peeking out down the pavement than pick a direction (incase our enemy moves in the opposite direction).

OOC:

Sure, you can find a phone booth.

As far as parking goes, you can find a corner spot on a side street that gives you a view of the front of the Pyramid.

Once Cotton had found a spot to park that offered a good vantage point, Moretti cleared his throat. "I'll go make the first call to Avery," he said, "If he's heard anything new, I'll come back and report it. Otherwise, I'm going to take a walk. Not too far from here. I want to check in and make certain the Sabinis can supply the safe house we need."

He climbed out of the car, pulled his coat tight around him, and walked briskly to the nearby phone booth.

Rosalie watched Vincent until he reached the booth, then glanced to the street, searching for anything out of place.  Alone with Thomas, she finally gave voice to her former anger.  "That was a very stupid thing you did back there," she scolded.  "You're lucky you didn't get shot like Vincent... or worse.  He's a damned bloody fool.  I thought you'd be a bit more level-headed, Mister Cotton."

Moretti returned from the phone booth. He handed Cotton a slip of paper, explaining that it was the address for the safe house. "I'm going to go scout it, just to be on the safe side. I won't be long," he said.

Leaving the pair to their vigil, he turned up his collar and headed off into the dark London streets. Once he was out of sight of the hired car, he drew his revolver, double checking the loads in the weapon before returning it to his waistband. Adopting as brisk a pace as he could manage, he walked purposely toward his destination.

Tommy sighed gently.
"Neither of us went there looking to kill a man. Sure it was stupid. But we only had seconds to act...to figure out how to stop something even worse happening to you.". His voice trailed off and he glanced over his shoulder to see Moretti on the pavement heading back toward the car.
"Don't be hard on him. I did it because I'm stupid. He did it because of you. That guy needs to think better of himself-give him a reason won't ya?.".

Before they could talk further the door opened and Vincent delivered his message along with a shiver of cold air.
"Be careful paisan. If the truck comes and we ain't here, head back to the hotel ok?".

The Italian curled up his collar and vanished around a corner into the night.
Watching him walk made Tommy wince and regretting his words he spoke over his shoulder;
"Look, that man has a bullet in him. There's nothing happening here-I'll be ok if you want to give him a hand.

He kinda saved your life.".

"Saved my life?  From a guard that had lowered his weapon?!"  She threw a glance at Tommy.  "Maybe, maybe not.  We will never know, will we?  That guard had yet to pull the trigger, and never got a chance to answer my question.  Because Vincent threw himself into the line of fire and got a bullet in his gut for his own stupidity."  She scowled.  "I think highly of Vincent.  Highly.  I know what he does for a living.  I know what he's been involved in his entire life, and it doesn't matter to me a snit."

"Yes, would prefer it if no one else was killed during this investigation!  Of course, I would!  Because enough people have died already.  That isn't reality, of course.  There will likely be more deaths, perhaps even some by my own hand if we are threatened, but we don't have to automatically assume that we need to kill everyone that comes across our path."

"The guard's death was disappointing, yes, but that's not really what made me angry.  Vincent is under some idiotic notion that his life is worth less than ours.  He's so used to being the lowest rung, the Italian solider, that he thinks he has to sacrifice himself for us.  Yes, I greatly appreciate him throwing himself into harm's way to save me, but in this case, it wasn't necessary.  He could have gotten himself killed!  THAT'S what upsets me more than anything.  He's throwing his life away when he doesn't need to!  And you were bloody well following in his footsteps!"

She pulled her compact and a handkerchief from her purse to cover the lines in her makeup that clearly marked the path of her tears.  "My life is no more important than Vincent's," she said quietly.  "Unfortunately, you will never be able to convince him of that."

People seemed to be meandering freely between pubs a couple of pubs in Soho. There wasn't much activity at the Blue Pyramid, though every once in a while a patron did enter or leave.

Pain had begun to gnaw at his side when he finally neared the Blue Pyramid, the last of the lingering surge from the violence at the Foundation long gone. He could feel the dampness of the bandage build as he walked, sharply aware that he needed to allow himself to rest, if a few hours happened to present themselves.

He paused when he came back into view of the car, making certain that Cotton and Rosalie saw him clearly before approaching. Stepping over to the vehicle, he opened the driver's door. Drawing the garments he had discovered from his coat pocket, the robe and skullcap embroidered with the telltale inverted ankh, he handed them to the reporter.

He took a last pull on his cigarette, dropped it to the street, then climbed into the back seat. "I found a calendar, the same place I found the robe. It was marked February first. That has to be when the ritual will be held. I don't think we'll see anyone from the Brotherhood here tonight."

"Has there been any word from the others?"

Tommy listened quietly, awkwardly even as Rosalie spoke. There was a tense passion in her voice and as tears glimmered in her eye he turned to face her, forgetting the Pyramid and the rest of the world for a moment.
"None of us wanted to be in this mess. It's not your fault or Vincent's what happened.

You're right-if we had more time maybe we would have acted differently but we did what we thought was most important; watch out for each other. That's the only way we will get through this.".

He sighed in acknowledgment at her next words.
"Agreed. We've gotta teach that idiot he's not expendable. Only way we do that is give him something to live for.".

About to continue Tommy saw a figure approach the car and cut himself off. Nodding silently toward the approaching Italian he went silent until the trio were together again. His eyebrows raised in silent question as he accepted the ritual garments and listened to Moretti.
"No movement here. No sign of the others either.

How's that wound holding up?".

I assume the Pyramid is still open and doing late night business?
Also, since it is gone midnight, are we on the 1st now?

Rosalie fell silent as she saw Vincent return and watched his progress, glancing now and again to the street to see if anyone was following.  She turned in her seat to peer at Vincent as he slid into the backseat.  "Found a calendar where?  And the robe?  I thought you were going to set up the safehouse."

"If the Brotherhood isn't going to do their ritual until the first, then there's no reason for us to stay here.  We could leave a message with Avery to let the others know where we're going and wait for them at the safehouse." 

"The safe house is set up," Moretti assured Rosalie. "I made certain everyone else could access it, even in my absence. Avery has those instructions, but we'll need to tell him that's where we're going, rather than keeping watch here."

He gazed out the window at the facade of the Blue Pyramid. "The robe and the calendar belonged to Cockburn, the guard at the Foundation. They were in his flat," he explained. Sighing, he added, "I needed to know. For my own conscience."

He managed a wan smile. "The wound's holding up, paisan. I think the bandage is soaked, but it'll keep. Fresh shirts aren't hard to come by."

Clearing his throat, he said, "I can make the call to the hotel." He stepped out of the car, pausing to light another cigarette, and made his way back to the phone booth.

Rosalie turned and sank back into her seat, putting one hand up to her face.  "I guess it wasn't for nothing, then," she said quietly to Tommy.  While justified in her anger at the way Vincent treated himself, his revelation made her feel sickened by how she'd treated him.  He had been protecting her, even if he'd gone about it foolishly.  I'm scared, she thought, realizing just how frightened she was that one of them would end up dead.  Like Jackson.  The ache of his passing was still far too raw.  If Vincent or Tommy had gotten themselves killed while trying to keep her safe, she would have never forgiven herself.