Aubrey smiled at Alan and shook his hand

"Yeah. Seems like a pretty good place to live so far. Good to know about it all being pretty clean. How's the neighborhood at night? Okay to jog on the streets?"

Aubrey smiles at the older women and watches as she shuts the door again

"Sounds like a great neighbor to know. Pupusas sound wonderful. I think I must have scared her or something. Maybe I can make it up to her later. Thanks Alan for being a friendly neighbor"

Aubrey continues with her ruse in finding the laundry room but also tries to get a feel for where everything is as she moves around the hallway.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 150):

"You'll be fine in the neighborhood.  We know most everyone.  And we keep an eye out for the Landlady's sake.  Just don't go past White Cross Street.  That's outside the neighborhood. Anyway.  Take it easy."

He nods and walks to the stairs.

Going down to snoop?  Or some other activity?

Thanks

Aubrey smiled

"What is past White Cross Street? Thanks Alan!"

Aubrey goes down to snoop in the basement. She puts her cloths in to wash and looks for what might be down there or if there is any spot good to bug

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 152):

"Like I said:  not our neighborhood.  It's kind of a rough section of town." Alan smiles wanely back at you and heads up the stairs.

---

The stairs end at a cross hallway.  The laundry room is to the left.  A door with a thick padlock is to the right.

As you head into the laundry room you strike pay dirt.  Or maybe it hits you.

Right across from the door is a stack of dryers.  The big kind with the wide circular clear plastic dooor that swings out towards you.  The top one has a sign on it that reads OUT OF ORDER

On the other side of that paper you think...think...you see the outline of a security cam.  A camera in that dryer would be perfect to monitor ingress and egress to the laundry room.  As well as provide a clear shot down the hallway towards the padlocked door.

You're pretty certain there's a mic set up in the ceiling overhead too.  A stray wire that makes no sense is draped across one of the acoustical tiles that make up the ceiling.  It snakes up under the next one and disappears.

There might be other cameras in here.  You'd have to look to make sure.  Of course, someone might see you looking...

Aubrey does a happy dance as she looks at the laundry room.  Seeing the signs of things being under watch puts a bit of a sense of dread in her. Maybe she would be able to hack into the stream of the other equipment. She makes a mental note to ask Tate about it. Tossing her stuff into the machine she sets her phone to music and tries to make her dancing time as a way to look around for other cameras. At the end she does "selfies" of herself trying to get some good pictures of some of the area's she might be questioning.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 154):

You think the one in the dryer may have been put there to intentionally tip off a curious observer.  Like they want to see who will respond.

This is based on the excellent placement of the other cameras.  You see two:  one under a washing machine and one in a corner of the room, very well disguised as part of the ceiling tile itself.

You don't know how many others there might be.

Really.  The tech looks pretty state of the art.  You aren't even sure they are cameras.  They might be something else.  But it's outside your range of knowledge.

Aubrey hopes that in all her "selfies" she managed to get some good pictures of the tech she was dealing with to send off to Tate to see if he knew what was going on with the items. She checks for anything similar through the hallways as she makes her way to her room.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 156):

The first floor seems clear.  You think there are some watching the front door and mailboxes.  But they are well hidden.  It could be your imagination. You'd have to examine things more closely.  And if there are cameras, doing so would just tip off the operators you know.

The stairwell definitely has some.  Each landing and a pair crisscrossing each rising.  You're getting to know what to look for.

The halls seem clear.  But again.  They just may be that well hidden.

You send the photos off to Tate.  Vic's sent you a message.

Did some checking on school faculty.  Mostly stable.  Long termers who have been with the school for years.  But there's one class that changes pretty often.  It's a special skills class.  Couldn't get any real info on what's taught.  Current instructor is a Mrs. Bolack.  No info on her either.  The classroom is in back of the school in one of those trailers.

Aubrey updates Vic on the cameras and surveillance devices she's been seeing and about the people she has encountered. She lets him know general spots she has set up at the school. Aubrey checks her room completely for any of the devices and sits out on her balcony for a little bit watching what goes on. She eventually sets up some noise traps around the door from the balcony and the front door. She also checks the vents to see if any might have devices or be a means to get in her room. She listens at the wall to listen for sound in the apartment next door to her and then after every paranoid thought races through her mind she sends a text to Charlie before heading to bed.

~~~thinking of you. I hope you are doing well and ...~~

She leaves it open and not finished.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 158):

You get woken up about 2 AM.  There's some noise coming from the hallway.  Footsteps obviously.  A couple of men.  They pass your door.

You hear your neighbor's door open and shut.  No voices.

Someone walks around next door.  Then, after five minutes, a door opens.  Footsteps on the balcony.  They stop short of your apartment.

Then after a moment longer, they go back inside your neighbor's.

Silence.

Lots of silence.

Silent silent silence.

Hear that?  It's the sounds of silence.

Then the foot steps-two sets- start up again.  It's been a half hour.

They leave your neighbor's apartment and...sounds like they head upstairs.

Aubrey moans into her pillow as she pushes herself out of bed as quietly as she could. Hearing the footsteps was a little unnerving.  Aubrey peeks out the hallway hoping to get a glimpse of them and sneaks over to hear wall to try and listen. Hearing them out on the balcony Aubrey sneaks over to her computer to see if her camera picked up anything. She keeps an ear out to listen for any sounds and she hears silence. What is it about silence that made it so loud???

Aubrey glances at her watch an notices that it had been about half an hour. Aubrey hearing the door opening at her neighbors room tries to move to see if she can peek.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 160):

The angle of your peephole isn't good enough to catch them at your neighbor's door.  But your cameras work just fine.

It's two of the guys from before.  It's Jeff 'Mr. Scenery' and one of the others who didn't talk.

They come out to the balcony and walk up to the railing of the deck.  Each one takes and end and lifts part of the rail up.  It's fake obviously but really good.  You didn't notice anything when you inspected earlier.

Underneath is some kind of equipment.  Jeff's blocking the camera that has the only good shot.  You can't make out what it is.

They replace the rail and head back inside.

That's all the visibility you have as to their movements.

Aubrey was a little shocked to see whom was on the camera. She hated to admit to herself but she was really hoping it was Charlie and his partner set up here to do some investigations of their own. It would have been heartbreaking to her but at least it would mean he was just a jerk and not in danger. Having sceen the surveillance in the hallway Aubrey knows she can't follow as of yet. She is going to have to map out the hallways and figure out if there is any blind spots she can use later.  She looks for any spot outside on the balcony that she can get a better angle for the railing bar for when they put something back or check on it again. She also looks for any vents the two apartments might share that she can set up a listening device for the room next door.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 162):

The vents turn out to be a no go.  It seems someone made an effort at some point to seal off each apartment, except for the shared balcony.

You could try to hang a camera right above the railing.  Or put one in the upper corners of the overhang.  But that would require you getting up there without any passerby seeing you.

Roll me a 1d6 please

17:20, Today: Audrey Eden Davis rolled 4 using 1d6.  Story.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 164):

Thanks.  I sometimes use the die rolls to decide split decisions.  Like this one

The next day, under the guise of moving empty boxes from your car to your new apartment, you begin the process of trying to connect the camera/dots.

You get a good feeling for your floor.  Now that you know what to look for, it helps.  The problem is getting out into the hallway itself.  There's a camera trained right on your door.  And another down the hall at an angle.  No wiggle room there.

The good news is...there doesn't seem to be one in front of your neighbor's door.  And the balcony is clear.  Well, except for your cameras.

The stairwell is another problem area.  They went nuts on it.  You think it's possible to move from blind spot to blind spot.  But it will require moving through some hot spots quickly.  And if anyone is coming up or down the stairs, you'll look hella suspicious.

The first floor is a bit better.  Basically the front door, mailboxes, and landlady's apartment door are all watched.  The stairs down to the basement are almost a land mine.  You think there's motion dectors on the door frame leading down.  And not cheap ones either.  But you can circumvent those areas.  Except the front door.  The way that's rigged up, going out or in, you'll be seen.

Checking out the other floors is going to be a little suspicious.  It's probably safe to assume they're rigged like yours or worse.

The upshot is:  you have movement on your floor.  Some on the first floor.  But getting between them, down into the basement, or out of the building without getting noticed will not be a matter of stealth.  You would have to figure out some trickery to accomplish it.

Aubrey felt pretty proud of herself for getting her intel. She checks out her balcony door and if she gets a chance, the neighbors balcony door to see how she might be able to pick the lock. Perhaps she can get something in that room when they left in the middle of the morning again. She checks for blueprints of the building to see how large the "storage space" might be and to see if there is any sewer tunnel systems nearby or window access from the outside. Maybe an old tunnel leading from the school to the building. She checks to see if there is a vent map with the blueprint to see if her spider can take a trip to look around.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 166):

The lock on the neighbor's door is high end.  Very high end.  Even if the lock can be picked, it has an electronic sensor that has to receive a matching radio signal from a compenent in the key or it signals an alarm.

The vent schematic may not be a big help  According to it, all the vents on this floor should be somewhere besides where they actually are.  Someone redid the vents and never updated the plans at City Hall.

Bingo on the sewer lines though.  There's a main tunnel for the system that runs under the school, under the street, and then passes under the house.

You could try to access the line.  Probably in that storage room.  But there should be an entry point in the school.  And one down the street at the corner of White Cross and Middlebrook.  And another one about a block going the other way from the front door of the house.

Aubrey takes the time in her room to look through her vents to see how they are different then the ones in the plans. Later she uses the cover of going for a run to check on the sewer entrance on the street and tries to get a look at them after school is out after she gets some sort of idea of looking at the school blueprints. She heads to a coffee shop to call Vic and give him an update on what she has found figuring that if she disappears she should be keeping her brother informed.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 168):

The vent work has been completely redone.  Now that you look at it, it appears some of the walls have been moved too.  Someone redid this house and didn't bother telling the city about it.  There's no real rhyme or reason.  But it does appear the apartments on your side of the building all have a seperate system than the ones on the other side.  Your neighbor being the exception.  That apartment doesn't seem to match up to anyone.  So you can spy on the lady who makes pupusas.  But not on Alan.  Or so you're assuming.

The vents all lead down to...you guessed it...the storage room.  You'd have to go through there with a spider and find the opening to the neighboring vents.

The sewer entrance is pretty obvious.  Really obvious.  It's in full view of the street.  And there are a couple of homeless guys that seem to be keeping an eye on it.  These are very well built homeless people too.  Read:  guards in disguise.

The school entrance is in the boiler room.  You can map out a path from the blueprints.  But you have no visibility into it from outside.  You would have to get into the school to see for sure.

"Shit Bree. I'm likin' this less and less.  This sounds like you've wandered into a fortress.  Yeah, I know I'm soundin' like Alex.  But..."  Vic pauses a while and then just asks.  "Is this guy worth it?"

Aubrey leans back in her chair and agrees with Vic

"Yeah... I mean some people with their luck win the lotto or some sort of drawling. Me... I find a hornets nest of cray cray people."

Running a hand through her hair she considers the question

"I guess it depends on the cost on whether he is worth it. If this put any of you guys in jeopardy then I would back off. But what kind of person am I if I don't try to find out if he needs help. I mean... granted I don't even know his first name, but in the very least I have these feelings for him and the very smallest amount of action I will treat him as I would a friend. Does that make sense?"

"So i'm thinking the homeless watcher is not the way to go. But maybe I can find some sort of entrance in the school. I mean no horror film has bad things in the boiler room....right

Aubrey next calls Bullfrog, just to let him know what things she has found in her investigation and if she isn't heard from again where to start to look.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 170):

"Wow.  That gives me a good feeling," Vic drawls. Then he sighs.  "And you're you.  So just don't go rushing in.  Check the school for an entrance but don't go down any rabbit holes."

He pauses.  "Give me or Tate a call.  That's something you want back up on.  Capice?"

---

"Wow.  All that gives me a warm tingly feeling," Bullfrog drawls.  He sighs.  "You don't strike me as the type to let a little thing like fear stop ya.

"I'm sure I'm tellin' you something you already know.  But go slow.  These guys are crazy nuts.  And they're the worst kind of crazy nuts.  The armed and trained kind."

He's quiet a moment and then says, "Look.  I'd come down there and back you up.  But I've got a thing on Mars.  Long story.  I'm sure you know how to fire a gun and karate chop.  But these guys have better equipment than that.  Most of 'em are trained like Special Ops.  The scary kind.  You got a pen handy?  Take down this number."  He dictates a phone number.

"Call 'em tomorrow.  When they answer, no matter how they answer, ask if this is Samuel Hoff's house.  If they wanna know how you got this number, give 'em my name.  Tell 'em I put a word out for you on the Blackboard.  They'll understand.  I can't go into details.  But you can trust 'em.  Well. Mostly.

"They'll arrange a place to meet you.  Go.  These guys have access to some tech.  You could probably use it.  Especially since you seem to keep bumping into metas.  Just don't ask a lot of questions."

There's another pause.  "And be careful."

Aubrey promises Vic to not go in without backup with her fingers crossed.  She meant to try her best to live up to the promise, but had the fingers crossed for that non guilt back out.

Aubrey wrote down the information Bullfrog gave in a coded message. Turning all vowels to numbers and moving the last letter first and the first letter last. A paranoid habit from paranoid brothers.

"Mars? Be careful up there. And thank you Bull for all this help. I hope it's reassuring the length I will go for a friend and I appreciate you doing that for me as well. I hope some day I can return the favor to you. Feeling like i'm doing a lot of taking.  It kinda sounds like these aholes are going after stupid teenagers and that kind of sucks. What are they gearing up for? "

Aubrey plans on doing exactly what Bull told her and get whatever tech that might help her out.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 172):

Bully wasn't kidding about shady.

You make the call.   The guy who answers says in a slightly fruity lisp,

"Steinmetz Fine Pianos.  How can we tickle your ivories today?"

Once you ask for Sammuel though, the tone of voice goes to Thug Basso.

"Yeah.  You are...Aubrey Eden Davis, right?  How'd you get this number?"

Doesn't matter if it's a dummy phone.  Doesn't matter if it's an unlisted number.  He knows your name without you telling him.

He listens and says, "I need to check some things out.  Tomorrow.  9 PM.  1124 West Lamont Street.  There's a pizzeria.  Al's Italian.  Go in and order a slice with no cheese extra sauce.  Then ask if you can use the bathroom.  If things check out, do what the guy tells you.  If not...enjoy your pizza."

He hangs up on you.

I'm assuming you're going.  Any special precautions you're taking?

Aubrey makes the call in the morning a little excited to see what happens. The whole conversation went over like a blur. It started off funny with the comment about tickle your ivories and ended with a possible pick up of.... something. She kind of wondered if she didn't check out what was the thing that didn't check out. With a shrug she got to work looking up the meet up spot for maps and exit strategies. Since he didn't say come unarmed Aubrey would have some hidden guns (back and leg) and a knife on her side hidden in the other leg. Until the meet she watch her feeds and did basic recon with a little sunbathing on the balcony