Holding at the top of the stairs, Robert backs into the wall.  Attempting to discern where the shot came from...

"Eyes on that?!", he yelled at no person in particular.

Antonio nudged Robert forwards down the stairs with his elbow and explained the gunshot with a single word, "Up".
The others would deal with anything above them while they searched and secured the lower level.

Michael covered the hallway while Melissa tried to talk the woman out of the room, hopefully without the hand cannon.

"Not a chance!"
"Won't warn you again! Get OUT!"

Vincent and Eric dash down the stairs, Vincent quickly confirming the sitting area to the left was vacant. Eric turns to the right and immediately spots what can only be Mr Jason Lewis Smith - a middle aged man who might as well have a neon sign over his head screaming "lawyer" is struggling to get up off the recliner in front of the television (the volume of which is loud enough to explain why he didn't hear you any earlier).
Robert meanwhile has hesitated at the top of the stairs with Antonio.

Nudged ever so gently, Robert follows downward towards the other two.

Rounding out of the nook, Rook stopped and leveled the pistol at the bookish looking man trying to get out of his chair.  "ASS DOWN, HANDS UP!" he barked at the man while using his off hand to signal for Eric and the others to keep sweeping the basement.

After a pause he adds, "Mister Smith Esquire I presume?"

Melissa waved to the others in a manner that indicated that they should hold off on any further moves, then went to the negotiation stage.

"I can see you're a rather good shot from all the trophies you have around you", she said, "You're probably going to be able to shoot a couple of us. But are you going to be able to shoot all of us? To quote Clint Eastwood, you've got to ask yourself one question. 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"

She turned and shrugged her shoulders. Might as well try for a bit of style.

"Huh? What trophies?" Jess asked from a little further down the stairs.

Leaving the shotgun and uzi armed Robert and Eric to continue clearing the basement, Antonio took care to stay out of Vincent's line of fire, laid aside the sledgehammer and crowbar, and approached the man from behind. With Vincent covering, Antonio secured the mans hands with duct tape, ensuring his fingers were also enclosed to prevent him wiggling his way out of the makeshift bonds.

Three rapid shots ring out from above.
The first bullet hits Melissa in the right arm.
The second and third tear into the floorboards in perfect line with Michael and Jess. Fortunately for them the old timber is tough enough to absorb the impacts.

"Sounds like someone else did not want to keep things simple."

Clearing the section of the room he had been facing, Robert turns toward their new captive.

"Perhaps you'd like to help us with that?"

Michael backed up down the hallway and ducked into the first doorway he found. He quickly looked around the room to make sure nobody was there.

In reply to Michael Palmer (msg # 199):

"Hey, where're you going? That's all cleared."

Michael pointed to the four large holes in the bedroom door.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:11, Fri 12 Apr 2019.

Melissa had hoped quoting Dirty Harry would make this woman see sense. The three shots that came in response indicated that she clearly hadn't.

The bullet skimmed through the fleshy part of her arm, not penetrating too deep, but still creating a big gash. She felt the impact spin her around and she fell down onto the stairs, stopping herself with her uninjured arm.

She looked up at the source of the firing.

"Fine! You're going to be like that. I hope you die slowly, you *****!"

Robert gives the captive a sharp slap to get his attention.

"I'm only going to ask this once.  Who else is here?"

"We haven't got time for this," Jess whispered.
"Either finish her, or bottle her up. I've got something to find in the office."
Leaving Melissa, Michael and Jack to deal with Mrs Smith, Jess took the few short steps into the office and began rifling through files intent on finding...something.

Rook winced at Robert slapping the guy, but he wasn't exactly forthcoming with information.  Lowering his pistol slightly he shrugged, "look, you're either tha lawyer an' useful to us.  OR ya a dead man, and most people'd rather not be tha dead man.  So answer up."

"This is interesting," Eric called from the small room just behind the stairs.
The space was not set up with a roulette wheel as in the real estate walk through, but as a firearms maintenance workshop and reloading room. One wall was covered with reloading equipment, and the built in cupboards replaced with large, and very secure, safes.
A number of certificates, trophies and medals were also scattered about on display.
"Looks like there's a professional shooter in the house."

In reply to Robert MacIntyre (msg # 203):

"Just my wife upstairs."
"Please," he begged, ""Don't hurt us. I'll give you anything you want."

"Then you can start by getting her to drop her gun...or we simply air her out."

He pulls the man up and begins marching him towards the stairs.

"Let's get this done, that was a lot of noise."

Rook nodded to Robert and Mr. Smith, "yeah please, anything to stop her from trying to shoot tha lot of us.  No one actually having ta die tonight would be great."

He then took another look around at the bar, and the remaining rooms in the basement just to make sure nothing else interesting was downstairs.

Michael maintains his position in the doorway of the room down the hall.  He covers the door with his 1911.

Melissa got to her feet and picked up her radio. While not actually talking into it, she then proceeded to speak rather loudly so that Mrs Smith could hear.

"OK, we've got a rather recalcitrant b**** in the attic who won't come out and has just shot me. In three minutes, unless she comes out with her hands up, shoot him in one of his limbs. Then shot him in another limb each minute after that. If she is not out by seven minutes, testicles, chest, then head."

She turned to Michael and then winked at him to make it clear she wasn't actually serious about that. Yet.