Luthien's evasiveness bugged Chan, and she didn't like what that might portend for Buffy. Unfortunately, they couldn't help the restless dead girl and solve the mystery of Luthien at the same time. Sighing, Chan kept her focus on their primary concern. Too bad that took her attention off what was in front of her.

Chan walked straight into a tall man. The collision startled Chan, and she hastily mumbled an embarrassed apology. When she looked into the man's eyes to apologize, she wasn't expecting a horned devil. Chan opened her mouth and screamed!

In reply to Chan Simmons (msg # 465):

Luthien eyes the red skinned being and ask him...

"What, rather, are YOU doing here?"

Luthien steps forward to protect Chan.

The fiend only answered with a scornful glare. Then, he shoved Chan at Luthien and ran! A startled Chan stumbled toward the Man in White!

OOC:

Roll a Notice check, then whatever you feel works for a tumbling Chan!

In reply to Big Bad (msg # 467):


06:09, Today: Luthien rolled 21 using 1d10+12.  Dex+Acro (Catch Chan).
06:09, Today: Luthien rolled 12 using 1d10+8.  Per+Notice.

Luthien was far more worried about making sure Chan was okay then he was watching his opponent. And he caught her very smoothly indeed, with the preternatural grace they've come to expect of him. Which caused him to pay not quite as much attention to his fleeing opponent as he probably should.

But then, this is why one had partners.

"Get him."

To Buffy. He'd aid in pursuit in a moment.

Buffy and Chan had been discussing Luthien when they rounded a corner and bumped into a red skinned man with horns protruding from his forehead. This prompted a scream from Chan. "What the hell?" blurted a startled Buffy, "What do you mean 'What are we doing here'? We're students dumbass! What the hell are YOU doing here?"
As quickly he had appeared, the horned man turned and ran as Luthien caught Chan. "Hey, get back here! Don't you know how this works? You show up, I kick your ass, THEN you get to try to escape!" shouted Buffy as she took off after the demon.

OOC: 18:23, Today: Buffy Summers rolled 17 using the Unisystem system (1d10+9).  Notice check Notice + Perception.

"Well, I did say I have a bit more knowledge on the subject than you. I know your spell won't work, as it is..but I know to occulty gifted teen magical hackers who could do it. As for that gun,." She leaned over to look at the gun from one side. "You've got the safety off by the way." She said as she reached over to grab it from her.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

20:39, Today: B.J. Cordova rolled 18 using the Unisystem system (1d10+10).  Disarm (KF +Dex).
20:37, Today: B.J. Cordova rolled 24 using the Unisystem system (1d10+18).  Bluff Take 2.. with a DP this time.

---

"Ms Jackson?" asks Melba, wondering whether she is talking to the cold, dead aether.

Mrs. Van Tiel smirked incredulously, but a brief flinch betrayed her momentary distraction. B.J.’s dominant clutched the barrel of the gun. Her free hand bashed the older woman’s wrist and rotated in a whirl almost faster than the civilian eye could follow. “Oh!” Two seconds later, B.J. aimed the gun at Van Tiel.

The advantage gone, Mrs. Van Tiel limply held up her hands up in surrender. Her eyebrows raised, she nervously watched the coach. “Are...?” She swallowed and attempted to regain some composure. “Please forgive the cliche, but you have the upper hand. What are your intentions now, Ms. Cordova?”
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Tue 28 Apr 2020.

Buffy left her friend with the Mystery Man In White and chased after the Devil In Hugo Boss. If not for his cheap distraction with Chan, it wouldn’t even be CLOSE to a contest. That small head start help him, though, as The Slayer watched him turn the next corner, followed by a hastily opened stairwell door. She knew the school grounds well enough to remember that this particular exit opened into the maintenance service alley. He could escape into the downtown lanes and escape. Something about that suit bothered her, and not just the utter waste of designer way on an unworthy demon.

She felt like she’d seen that particular suit before...

Melba & Garrett

Somewhere else, Melba heard someone answer. “Hello?” Much older woman. Soft-spoken, a little raspy from a cold or habitual smoking.

“Have a seat, we need to discuss several things. The first one is that we have a problem that you created. I need to know what you we’re doing that caused this mess with mirrors and possessing spirits. Then I’ll see if my...associates can help to fix your mess.” She said as she took a seat and kept the gun leveled at her. She wondered which sets of ‘associates’ she’d be bringing in to help clean up this mess. “Afterwards we will discuss my quarterly evaluation and the ‘adequate’ marks for organization and planning.”

She motioned for the other woman to start talking.

Mrs. Van Tiel reluctantly sat behind her desk. Her eyes fixated on the door, losing any hope for an easy escape when she got another good look at the gun in B.J.’s hand. She let out a defeated sigh. Her hands brushed absent-mindedly over her desktop. They moved in a gentle flourish, as if smoothing bedsheets.

With another sigh, she talked. “This School was founded by families who go back generations to the founding of Savannah. These families are old, wealthy, and influential. They occupy positions in banking, schools, industry, and local government. Nothing happens in Savannah without their say-so. Certain members of these families also harbor connections with...otherworldly powers. Powers that they owe for the lucrative and privileged lives which they grew accustomed to.”

"Ms Jackson." said Melba.  "I am so glad to have been able to get through to you.  I was a friend of Shannon Moore the girl your... the girl Mr Jackson was SUPPOSED to have killed but we both know he didn't.  I'd be grateful if there's anything you think I could do to help prove Mr Jackson's innocence and better yet, find the steaming piece of slug slime who actually did it, along with the ..." she struggled to find words that weren't foul expletives, "...along with those who conspired to cover it up.  Was the teacher who found her even called as a witness at that sham of a trial?"

“My Ronald is not a violent man, he didn’t touch that little girl. He was always so gentle, woulda never hurt a soul.” Mrs. Jackson spoke with the steely restraint of one used to speaking calmly about an old, awful family tragedy. Her haggard voice hinted that she’d already cried most of those tears, if not healed from the enduring pain of institutional injustice perpetrated against family .

“Ronald always treated those children with kindness. He was a little slow, but gentle, and certainly never had no mind to imagine the awful thing that happened to that poor girl! Wasn’t much of a trial, though. That girl’s family were out of their minds with grief at the time. Back then, they didn’t mind taking my own child away. Guess they hoped it could ease some of their own pain.” Melba heard a deeper voice on the other end, likely male, asking questions. Mrs. Jackson could be heard shooing him away.

“Let me be! Anyone want to help my Ronald, I’m gonna hear them out!” Pause. “I’m sorry, my husband is protective of me. We used to get the nastiest phone calls. It’s only occasional now, but my family gets protective. That’s what you’re supposed to do, when one of your own is in trouble.”

“I do remember one of the teachers petitioned to save Ronald from the death penalty. She even helped him get a lawyer. They kept arguing that Ronald was ‘sick’, needed a mental institution. Except Ronald was never mentally ill. I don’t know why they kept saying that,  and mentally ill don’t mean you’re a murderer anyway...!”

Again, Melba heard hushed whispers over the phone. Then, Mrs, Jackson resume the call. “My husband asked me to ask you if you knew anything about the principal’s connection to the D.A.’s office...”
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:09, Thu 30 Apr 2020.

Melba nodded into the phone, as people do but then she remembered you have to you know, move your lips and let air flow over your vocal chords.  "I've seen a little evidence," she said.  "Certainly enough to convince me and it goes wider." She paused and then asked, "Mrs Jackson, if you and he don't mind, would it be okay if I spoke to your husband?"

Melba heard the rustling of the phone exchanging hands. “This is Mr. Jackson. Can I ask who’s calling?” If his wife sounded haggard, Mr. Jackson sounded like the accumulated fire behind a closed door waiting on the inevitable backdraft.

"Certainly Sir. My name is Melissa Ellenberger.  I was a friend of Shannon Moore and I believe she would have wanted the correct culprit brought to justice rather than a scapegoat being used to prevent the most prominent families in this part of Savannah having to face the consequences of their crimes. This is why I want to do anything I can to help both Shannon and your son get the justice they deserve." Melba loved fire. Of course she did and if the older Mr Jackson knew about the knots of foulness binding together the souls of Mrs Van Tiel and her cronies then she was sure that knowledge could help Shannon find release.

“Did you say ‘Ellenberger’?” If Melba could have seen Mr. Jackson’s face, she would have seen it soften with cordial recognition. Perhaps even some respect? “I think your aunt (pronounced like “haunt”) represents Ronald’s new legal team. She been fighting for his amnesty since 1997. Never spoke that foolishness about Ronald being ‘crazy’ or a killer.

She a good woman. One of the only white folks around here even worth a damn.

Your aunt trying to get a mistrial. She never trusted Ambrose Jepson, either. Sonuvabitch went to Benedictine with one of the prosecutors. He know the judge from the Oglethorpe Club, too.”
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 22:38, Thu 30 Apr 2020.

Melba smiled a smile that glowed supernova bright as Mr Johnson put another weapon into her hands.  "Mr Jackson, you know that's immensely helpful.  There are so many little coincidences like that and this is a way I can help.  I'm going to track down all of those poorly hidden coincidences and map them out for my Aunt and for you so that she can get the case moved to Atlanta.  That's going to improve the chances of a fair trial and, since we know he didn't do it, his release.  I hope so anyway and I'm going to try my hardest to make it so."

OOC: Wow! I just googled Georgia Supreme Court and then clicked on the link only to find that I've been blocked as part of the protocol against DDNOS attacks.  Is it because I'm in England or is it because they know something about me? (Like maybe they think Melba is real?)

BJ thumbed back the hammer of the gun and looked at Mrs. Van Thiel firmly, the coach was not there in her eyes. She wasn’t the easy going polite woman from California.

“So, you gave me The Who. I need the Why and How? So start speaking or those connections won’t find you.” BJ was pretty sure the educator wouldn’t enjoy being water boarded, but after getting so many people hurt or killed, she’d she no tears. “Did you know there classified sections of law covering your actions. You won’t enjoy incarceration under those laws.”

The Jacksons thanked Melba and ended the call after exchanging the pertinent information. Melba’s detective work uncovered another suspect. That said suspect occupied the top of the Academy Food Chain raised a whole new issue.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Van Tiel blanched at the veiled threats. “Indefinite detention” entered the national lexicon after 9/11.  “Certain pacts were made promising the blood of innocents for this wealth. Sacrifices offered on a specific timeline and utilizing certain methods. The girl showed some potential as a promising witch. The teacher who...killed her was grooming her as an apprentice. They hoped she would eventually join the faculty and serve those dire powers.

Unfortunately for Shannon, her focus was lacking. She couldn’t see past petty fixations on vengeance against her tormentors in the classroom. Yet she was ambivalent about using her dark Gift against those children. Time was running out that season, and a sacrifice was needed. They wouldn’t listen to me. They chose Shannon instead.

I’m not giving you anything else  unless you can guarantee my protection. Whatever horrors Guantanamo could offer are a pale shadow of what they would do to me when they find out I’ve given them up.”

Melba does what she does best.  No not that, I'm talking about making computers do what she wants them too and put together a matrix showing who is connecting to whom including Mrs van Tiel, the judge, the prosecutor, the Oglethorpe Club and the Dean.  She even looks at connections involving not only Shannon but even Gabrielle if there's anything there.

And of course, on top of that, she includes all of the conspiracy theories she can find to see who or WHAT else may be involved.  She grins at Garrett and says. "These conspiracies look too far fetched even for von Daniken but we should include them for the sake of completeness."  Unfortunately, on some days even Melba can miss things.

22:14, Today: Melba Ellenberger rolled 11 using 1d10+10.  Computers + Intelligence (to put it all together).
This message was last edited by the player at 21:15, Sat 02 May 2020.

Shannon’s date of death and Ronald Jackson’s trial were a matter of public record. Melba found a few hits with little difficulty. The judge for that trial, Ray Lee, was retired since 1999. Dalton Hill represented the Prosecution, and currently practiced law for a high-end firm in Atlanta.  Lee and Ambrose Jepson were indeed both members of the Oglethorpe Club. Caroline Van Tiel started teaching at the school one year before Shannon’s murder.

Melba wrote all this down in beautiful copperplate handwriting and nodded to Garrett.  "Okay, I think we've got all I'm going to find.  Do you trust Mr Book?  I only ask because if you do, then we need to go talk to him and see if we can find the supernatural parts of this monstrous web of vile corruption."  She wrote 'Monstrous Web of Vile Corruption at the top of her page. "Let's go either to the bookshop or to Coach Cordoba... and that's the first time in my life I ever said a sentence including the phrase 'let's go to Coach anybody'."

“You need to fix this mess, and if you can’t ..well what good are you?” BJ said, letting it show in her voice that there was a limit to what she would tolerate in the discussion. “There are several students trying to clean up your messes,  I could arrange for protective custody if you like. My..associates have access to some of the best warded facilities in the world if you are worried about you group trying to hex you.”

Of course they were mostly prison cells but that was a detail she didn’t need to release. In the bottom of a salt mine, in warded cells, if rumors were true; but those were details she didn’t feel like telling
This message was last edited by the player at 19:35, Wed 06 May 2020.

“If we go back to the Practically Magick Shop, Lauren already offered to help us.” Garrett tapped his lips with a well-manicured forefinger. Home styling counted among his OTHER Magickal talents. “But the more detours we take, the more trouble our clueless allies get into without our superior minds. Y’know?”