Nolan's Field Assignment and BACK IN DC !
Nolan's Field Assignment pt 8 and BACK IN DC ! (everyone)
Nolan made it back to DC with little problem, and he found he was glad to have the Grey Building in his sights once again. Whatever was going on, it was important and he was a part of it now. All that remained was figuring out what a time traveller had told him, and what he should do about it. Damn shame Luke Macey hadn't dropped any important stock tips or horse racing winners. Or had he ? On a hunch, Nolan looked at the two letters Faulkner had put in the crate for Ben Weintraub. One of them had the unmistakeable handwriting he'd seen in a file at work, and on the note in James Macey's book - definitely Luke Macey's writing. The two mice seem happy to be home too, and go racing off. Nolan puts the car into the garage, noting the disapproving glare from the silent old guard, and heads into the elevator. It stops at the next floor, and the Egyptian-looking girl, Ginny, steps in. Today her dress is deep red with detailed beadwork. "Hello, Agent Nolan," she says, in a cheerful voice. "We got the package from Maine and the other one from Minn....Minnesota. I'm not even sure where that is." She sashayed off the elevator at the next floor, heading towards the offices, where Nolan could hear the loud laughter of Thomas Thorne and Edith telling him he was being a silly fool. There were two large crates, with straw packing material dribbling onto the floor. Thorne was clad in a earflapped fur hat, a massive ankle-length fur coat, and was holding a thick pair of leather boots. Trachenberg was trying on a pair of shearling mittens, while the Scot, Angus, was struggling to put on another pair of the heavy boots and failing, as Phyllis the clerk giggled. Edith was smiling, shaking her head and refusing a pair of mittens that Thorne offered to her. Ben's door was shut and the office was dark. Ginny looked into the crates, drawing out another coat and reading off the label. "Oh, here you have one," she said happily, and offered the thick shearling coat of jacket length to Nolan.
"I didn't order him one !" Thorne said, and dropped his boots to go look at the shipping manifest. "We didn't even know he was hired when I put in the - oh." He gave the papers to Trachenberg, who read it quickly and made a slight nod of comprehension. The coat weighed about twenty pounds and looked as if it would stand up to severe cold quite easily.
"When you are ready, I'll take your paperwork, Mr. Nolan," Edith said, smiling at him. "Welcome back. I trust all went well ?"
"It's no use, they're not fitting," Angus said, and held out the boots to Nolan. Unsurprisingly, it looked like they would be a perfect fit. "Mukluks. Invented by Eskimos. I'm better off in the office anyway."
"And miss a chance to see the end of the world ? The bottom end ? Are you nuts ?" Thorne asked, taking off the fur hat and long coat.
"Oh, leave it be, Tommy," Edith said, refusing the mittens again. "Put Ben's stuff in his office for him."
"Phyllis, I know you're not going but I thought you might like a hat," Thorne said, pulling a grey furry hat out of the box, but Trachenberg quickly set up a coat, mittens, hat and boots for Ben. Ginny was likewise gifted with a fur stole in dark brown.
Spider was checking the fit of his mukluks, thinking they were very soft indeed, and lighter in weight than they looked. Thorne had spared no expense. The coats were thick, durable and warm, and Thorne had also ordered a custom fit shearling rifle case for Matilda. Jack's coat was particularly nice, with an extra set of pockets in the lining, one of which was the perfect size for the wand. "The rest of the shipment is waiting at the docks, we'll pick it up after work," Thorne told Edith. "We'll need the big truck. The dogs are coming by train in three days."
"I doubt you'll get any more work done today, so you may as well go now," Edith said, with a chuckle. The two men quickly left, and Ginny took over the handing out of the cold weather gear.
Everyone had gear - including Nolan, with the exception of Bitsie Black, Phyllis, Ginny and Edith. Angus was more than happy to not go to Antarctica. "Someone's got to keep up with the paperwork while you play in the snow." The jocularity was good natured; but everyone there knew that this adventure would be challenging on many fronts. The weather itself would be trying to kill them, and what lay beneath the ice was worse.
The truck returned with pallets of gear loaded; the sleds, which would be assembled on their icebreaker boat en route, ice cleats for their boots, axes, rope, crampons, pitons, harnesses, tents, crates of dog pemmican, tins of potted meat and gel cooking fuel, dried jerky and other dried foods, and a large crate mysteriously marked "Emergency Supplies". Trachenberg took charge of it and wheeled it off to his workshop, where his loading equipment was kept, and was busy loading ammunition after that. Their day tomorrow would be the planning session for the expedition South, with all the maps that could be found. Their departure was only a week or so away, depending on the weather.
---------
---------
GM: Please send in responses with any actions you would like to do prior to being stuck in a hostile, frozen wasteland full of horrible things. Figure on about a week's worth of actions, including any special preparations you might like to make before you risk everything to explore the Mountains of Madness.....by Saturday, 8 January, next post Sunday. As is fitting, we are getting a snowstorm tonight.
OOC: J, Glad to hear it wasn't Covid, there is a wretched head cold making the rounds though. Came through here mid-December and knocked out half the workplace. And do not worry, everyone, there will be Mountains of Madness very soon. Grease up the sled runners and feed the dogs !
-------------