"I think a yacht would be more appropriate in the area.  Let me just check something."

Lite Star used her internal computer and connection to log onto the Knight Foundation servers.  While the organization had a fair sized water recreational center in Central City which in her other life she helped out.  Miami was where their largest center operated, and that was where the ocean going training ships were based.  Swiftly scrolling through she found what she was looking for.  Setting a request to have it set aside and made ready with stores.

"Hikari, I've got a contact that has what I think we can use.  It's a 38 foot catamaran, sails and engines.  A very stable platform, low draft, I can handle it myself if need be, and designed for the seas about the Caribbean and Mediterranean.  Kevlar resign hull, so low radar and sonar profiles, and just the sort of thing you'd see cruising around the islands.  This one has more powerful engines that usual so we'll get a fair speed out of her."

(OOC: Here are pics and layout of the boat being suggested.  Manufacturers website for reference https://www.broadblue.com/broadblue-385s/ )

Hikari listens to Lite Star and grins...,"that's perfect!  It will do just fine!  Thanks, we will do everything to keep it safe, ideally it should never land on the isle or be closer than a mile or two off shore.  But we'll save all that until were loaded and moving to do our team planning with everyone.  You and I should ideally be the major mode of transport to and from the isle."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:06, Sat 08 May 2021.

As Martin stands and listens, having let fate change his plans, his vision clouds, and his mind fills with images, he recognizes what is happening, tho it is rare indeed that it happens in this way, and he gives in to it, the images, like a movie playing in his mind, time seeming to stop, to have no meaning in that space between heartbeats that takes however long it takes, that yet another part of the process..

Soon, his mind again clears, the sights and sounds of the room returning and he is again himself, his eyes darting around as he seeks out the person of his interest, for the moment just watching Bellissima, trying to makes sense of what he saw...

Team members settled, Hikari went to work collecting the needed gear for his team... of course taking advantage of the offered armory and armor gear... getting a full set of Arms and Armor for his team of four.  True it may not be needed considering their own abilities... but it was gear that was standard issue and circumstances before a mission can never tell how the field situation may change, best to be ready for anything!  Plus, armor and weapons may be useful in other ways.. or loaned to unknown potential allies discovered along the way.  Just no way of knowing beforehand!

Hikari began loading one of the LESP Vans for the Trip to Miami and the BroadBlue Sailing Catamaran Lite Star had access too, where their mission would begin!



That and the fact he found most comforting, the LESP had its own stores of surveillance gear all ready to be used by the team on request! Not a penny of his own resources need be spent to acquire the useful sensory equipment.

[Surveillance Gear - Both Van & Boat]
Binocular, Telescopic Sights: Binocular (2,000 feet/610 m), best magnification.
+ Binoculars and Telescopic sights magnify an image area through a system of lenses

Infrared Distancing Binoculars: A high-powered optical enhancement device with infrared adjustments, cross hair indicator
lines, and digital readout of estimated distance and rate of travel. Range: 2 miles (3.2 km)

Night-Sight: Range: 1 600 feet (480 m). A passive night vision optics system is an image intensifier, meaning that it is a passive system that does not emit any light of its own, but electronically amplifies existing, ambient light to provide a visible picture.

Thermo-Imager: Range: 1 600 feet (480 m). Basically an optical heat sensor, it converts the infrared radiation of warm objects into a visible image. This device allows its operator to see in darkness, shadows and through smoke. Battery powered and
electrically cooled. A typical running life is 1 6 hours.

Back-Pack Radio: A Japanese updated version of the old PRC-25. Comes with built-in scrambler and up to 1 500 channels.
Also capable of receiving commercial AM/FM/television (sound only) and Short-Wave signals. RKO-68. Range: 35 miles (56km).

Took him perhaps and hour to assemble all the gear and ready the Van for travel to Miami.  Then Hikari took his leave to go secure his mom's estate... and for himself purchase and procure some additional weapons and ordinance for the Justicar for 'Emergency Situations' should their infiltration scouting mission turn unexpectedly dramatically more Combative than planned for.

Justicar would be ready to return equally destructive firepower to allow the team to escape if needed.  Hopefully, it would not come to that... but Hikari pondered, 'We are 4 against unknown numbers... some judiciously applied firepower could even the odds substantially.  Heroes don't kill ~ true... but you'd be amazed at what one could survive, and if I have to choose between Lite Star, Oni, or TaoZen's lives over some criminal thug ready to kill one of them... I'll choose my Teammates lives everytime, No Question, No Regrets, One potentially regrettably DEAD Thug/Agent/Cultist!'

As far as weapons, Jacob almost never carries any.  When he does, it is only the standard semi-auto and Monadnock^TM PR-24, tonfa-style baton every police officer is issued; issued weapons he has never had to use when he has taken them.
I have a question.  If we are all running off to pull unsanctioned and, therefore, illegal infiltration and surveillance of their compound in Kansas and their island,  who is going to be here to take care of any crimes involving Special Powers and abilities?

"Bellissima, agent Beaumont's contact details are here if you want to give him a call and talk about getting in proximity to the agents that were brainwashed.  He might be helpful on that front."

Considering Jacob's words Lite Star gave him a nod.

"I know we are not the only ones in the city that fight crime, there are others that will step into our place.  Some that missed the chance to join this team, others that don't feel the need for the sanctioned action that we have.  We're not leaving the city unprotected.  As to the legality of what we are doing.  We've been temporarily moved into the service of a different agency, it is their rules and powers that we fall under and use.  We've been given direction and sanction to do these infiltrations, and agent Beaumont said he will back us on it.  We have to trust to his word on this that we have legitimacy to act as we need to to end this threat.  Though in that we should still act with integrity that each of us has on our own, we all judge threat according to what we can do and the abilities we have."

Tilting her head slightly after the little speech, it was a way to convey a smile on the featureless face plate of the suit.

Turning attention to those that were going to the island. "If your going to be travelling down to Miami in the van, I'll meet you there.  It'll give you guys a little more space, the suit is not really suited for a road trip, and I can get down to the boat ahead of time and make sure she's ready to go."

In reply to Lite Star (msg # 327):

Hikari gives Lite Star the thumb's up!

"Will Do.. see you in Miami!"

Turning to Jacob, "Don't worry Jacob friend, I'm sure the locale law enforcement will keep wraps on things while were gone!  But this Cult represents a growing threat that needs to be assessed and countered especially if it IS involved in sinister criminal activity like mass mind control.. then we Definitely NEED to Stop it!"

Hikari heads to pack some few personal things and suitable clothing ready to road trip!
This message was last edited by the player at 14:23, Tue 11 May 2021.

Smiling, Martin is once again proud of his friend Jacob, his way of seeing all sides of a situation and trying to plan for every contingency, to anticipate issues that might come up and trying to find ways to solve them, or to at least have contingencies, the problem of them all being gone having occurred to him as well, but he trusted that it would be taken care of..

"Be wise and be careful, Jacob.. we shall swap great tales when we return"

Gathering up his case, he moves to join his teamates for this mission..smiling, his voice humble yet tinged with pride..

"I have all that I need..I am ready"

Jacob shakes his head as TaoZen joins the others.  Oh, Martin.  You forget.  Guys like me are the reason LESP exists.  They offered me this job because they were afraid of what would happen if they tried to arrest me as a vigilante, he mutters to himself.
He walks over to Lt Broyko.  What do you think, El-Tee?  Should one of us, at least, stay behind in case LESP is needed?

In reply to Chimp Man Z (msg # 310):

Detective Broyko smiles at Chimp Man Z, and says, "walk with me."

He leads Chimp Man Z into one of the observation booths next to an interrogation room, then waits till the door is closed before he speaks. [Private to Chimp Man Z: "This isn't the first badge you've worn, so you probably have an idea what's going on. Beaumont figures he'll use you guys as a stalking horse because if he throws down on Kinkaid, he'll be screwed. The thing is, you don't last as long as Beaumont has without being right more often than not. I figure if you don't know that, you're wondering about it."
"What you don't know is why I'm assigned here. LESP is my idea. Carter Manning was a good friend. You remember Carter, right? Had that whole 'I am Manta Man' press conference?"
"Anyway, Carter and his buddies saved a lot of lives, stopped a lot of bad guys, and made life a lot easier for the traditional boys in blue, like me. When they started fading, I started getting nervous. I pitched this LESP, at first, as an alternative to the 'vigilante justice' so many of our small-minded peers are afraid of. Eventually, I got enough behind it to make it work. But, if LESP is going to replace The Crusaders, Carter's old group, then they're going to have to be more than cops with an edge."
"That's why I've kept hands off. You guys need to be able to go where you're needed without some dickless bureaucrat screaming about jurisdiction. Look, if Beaumont's right, that island's gonna look like a Bond villain hideout, with associated troops. The commune is too close to media outlets, and too visible, for that kind of thing."
"As far as holding down the fort, here, I can do it. I worked with the Crusaders more than anyone else in the department, and I know when to wait for the big guns. You go do what you believe to be the right thing to do. The city will still be here when you get back, and I'll be waiting to hear whether Beaumont was right or not."]

Standing off with the lieutenant, Jacob listens for several moments, then seems to speak.
[Private to SSOGM: That's the thing.  I think undercover is the better idea on this.  Get someone on the inside to feed us intel.  But, they're going to get found out, and that is going to make one of us going undercover impossible.  We have to find a way to get surveillance inside, and I think they're going to ruin it that for us.  They're impulsive and going to get made. That's what I'm seeing here.  Besides, what if something happens and you need someone here immediately to handle it?  But, if you really think I should go along, I will.]

Bellissima nodded at Lite Star, "Thanks Lite Star."  The tall brunette woman walked over to wear Lite Star pointed and picked up on of the cards that Beaumont left.  She went over to a phone and sat down as she called up the agent.

While she was waiting for him to answer, she pulled up Google and started looking for when Kinkaid was having his next public mass or ceremony was going to be.

"Hello Agent Beaumont, I am Bellissima, a new member of the Sentinels.  I am working on the Church of Divine Harmony case and i have a request." She spoke softly, but was alright if people listened in to her request.  She hoped the man would believe her, hopefully the fact that she was calling this particular number would help her out.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:23, Wed 12 May 2021.

PM

[Private to Bellissima: It's a good connection. You can just hear the drone of the automobile engine in the background. "I don't recognize your voice but the number tells me where you're from. What can I do for LESP?"]

Broyko nods, and replies to Chimp Man Z.
[Private to Chimp Man Z: "Hugh Beaumont wouldn't be asking you to do this if he hadn't sent undercover in, already. The fact that he reached out to you suggests that they've got their own talent making undercover impossible. The fact that no one has seen their talent suggests they've got something hidden away in one of these locations."

"I got to hand it to Beaumont, you guys are the ones I'd want to send if I were in his shoes. Just remember, you're there to discover if they've got any hidden facilities, and that's all. You don't have to take over the island, or burn down the commune, just find out what they've got."]

In reply to Hugh Beaumont (msg # 334):

Bellissima breathed a quiet sigh of relief that Agent Beaumont believed her, "I just joined today, but anyway I have psionic abilities.  One of my minor abilities is the ability to read people's surface thoughts.  I was hoping that you could arrange for me to be in the same room with your compromised agents to see if I could detect anything in their thoughts that would indicate they were brainwashed.  I have no idea if I will detect anything, I have never had a chance to scan a brainwashed person before." She was speaking softly into the phone in the LESP office.  "Of course anything I read wouldn't be admissible in a court of law, but knowledge is power.  If I do detect something, it will give us a clue on what is going on."

"I will call you guys when I arrive to Miami. Sadly breakfast I promised you guys needs to wait until we return" Oni said to his teammates. Keeping his identity a secret was getting tedious sometimes, but he didn't see an alternative way work here. Well, he could beat random muggers in the streets he wasn't trusting himself enough to inflict violence upon people alone.

Later, when he arrived his home, he grabbed one of his previously prepared travel bags - you could never be too prepared - bought a cheap flight ticket to Miami and headed towards to airport.

In reply to Detective Broyko (msg # 335):

Jacob hangs his head in what appears to be resignation.  Then straightens up and responds quietly to the lieutenant.
[Private to Detective Broyko: I still think this idea is meshuggah.  Someone is going to futz it up, and we'll all be tossed out on our tuckises.  And the Church will circle its wagons, and double down on whatever security measure they have already.
Another question is who is going to foot the bill on all this travel and equipmwnt usage?  Does Beaumont have a discretionary budget?  Or is CCPD gonna get stuck paying for it all?  That won't make HQ happy.
The powers that be are gonna kvetch big time about that.]

PM

[Private to Bellissima: "I should have explained that. I don't have access to any of the agents that I believe are compromised. We've had our own people check them, and they didn't show any signs of psychic tampering so they were sent back into the field. In case it comes up, you might explain to your  buddies that I'm not incompetent. If I could see another way to advance the investigation, I would try it."]

The lieutenant exposes a sly grin, and shrugs as he talks to Chimp Man Z.
[Private to Chimp Man Z: "That what peeteebee gets paid for. Unless I miss my guess, some of the expenses will be covered by some of your friends' extracurricular connections. Beaumont won't let us take too much heat, in any case. If he did things like that, no one would do this stuff when he asks."]
This message was last edited by the player at 19:26, Wed 12 May 2021.

Bellissima nodded along as she listened to Beaumont, "Okay, thanks.  I am glad that you had them tested for psychic tampering, your specialist can do a better job of that than I could."  She admitted to the agent as they talked over the phone. "I will pass that on to the others if the question comes up, but I am pretty sure no one thinks that." She responded to Beaumont's request, "Thanks for your help and if any other questions come up we will get in contact with you."

Hanging up the phone, Bellissima turned to the rest of the team, "Beaumont has tested his agents for psychic tampering and gone through a psych evaluation and they came up clean."  She nodded toward Nimbus, "So it seems I jumped the gun suspecting psionic powers."

She noticed that Chimp Man Z was talking with Broyko and turned toward Divine, Nimbus and Tyger, "Anyone thought about ideas for going to the Kansas Commune, beyond Chimp Man Z's plan to join the group?"  While she was waiting for an answer, she pulled up maps of the surrounding area around the commune and noticed that Dodge City was close, less than an hours drive from it.

"Hmm...Dodge City is close to the commune," she offered thoughtfully, "we could drive there, play tourist and then during the night drive out to the commune and scout it out?" She looked to see if the others had any thoughts about the merits of that idea.

In reply to Detective Broyko (msg # 340):

Jacob nods his head, then seems to sigh.
[Private to Detective Broyko: I have an idea.  I have been contacted a couple of times by the post commander's office at Fort Riley, asking me to come in to help the 1st  Infantry develop tactics for use against supers.
 It would lend me a bit of credibility if I were to go to visit the compound under the auspice of being in the area and a bit of a fan from what I have seen of the Church]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:59, Thu 13 May 2021.

Nodding to Chimp Man Z, Broyko appears to be confirming something.
[Private to Chimp Man Z: "Having a good cover story wouldn't hurt. I've got a hunch everything will be fine, but I'm just a cop."]

In reply to Chimp Man Z (msg # 342):

"So," asks Derek, "if you go in alone, where do the rest of us fit in?"

Jacob nods at the lieutenant again.  Thanks.
He then turns back to the others.  Compound Crew, we are changing the plan a bit, he says.  Since I have the skill and knowledge to put on a believable performance, I will go inside, with one other person.  The rest of you will be our tech crew and back-up.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:12, Sat 15 May 2021.

The detective follows Chimp Man Z's comment with a suggestion of his own, "if you're following up on the death of Nathan Jonas, the department would send you to Dodge City on the train, and expect you to rent a vehicle for the last leg. I've, uh, already filed the forms. It's just a matter of amending the personnel section. The train leaves tomorrow, so you'll have time to gather anything you need. I'm already packed."
"I'll be spending my time talking to the local people that provide services to the commune and trying to trace Nathan's steps, so I won't be involved with your part of the investigation."
Broyko shrugs, and as something of an explanation, says, "Nathan was a friend. I can't just do nothing."