With the mystery man still around, Phoebe was doing her best to keep alert, but of course it was hard to take much attention off the tremendous rattlesnake trying to dive in and bite her. With her hunter's training in taking on huge animals head-to-head, she went for two quick snap shots with her large rifle as she continued to dodge and weave, though it cost her some in accuracy.

Edit: After factoring in Phoebe's Lesser Strife of the Bitter Rival:
Attack 1: Better of 11 or 9, still a miss :)
Attack 2: Better of 8 or 24, that's a hit!
Damage from attack 2: Damage roll of 3, +4 for 7, which is 2 damage.
(edited an autocorrect typo)
This message was last edited by the player at 03:50, Tue 02 Nov 2021.

Phoebe's second shot manages to take the creature's left eye. It's hurt and turns to flee. Granted, usually a human could keep up with a snake's slithering pretty easily. She can do it trivially.

This snake is apparently some derivative along the lines of Usain Bolt as he instinctively heads for a less illuminated spot in the parking lot.

Sam will trot over nearer the woman ( but not too close).  Need some help?

"No thanks, stand back please," Phoebe said, prompt and confident in the decision. She had no idea who this guy was and whether he knew how to do things like "stay out of the line of fire" and "don't get eaten while someone else is trying to fight." And even with that, if he'd been, say, a heavily-armed SWAT officer, she still would have said no. She was in the zone with her knowledge of dueling, and he'd throw a wrench in that.

With that matter settled as far as Phoebe was concerned, she executed another pair of shots at the retreating snake, then advanced cautiously after it. Not trying to catch up, only to make sure she wouldn't lose sight of it entirely.

Attack 1: Better of 15 or 6. Not sure if 15 hits. 2 damage if it does (rolled a 5+4 on the table).
Attack 2: Better of 16 or 12. Not sure if 16 hits either :) 1 damage if it does (rolled a 1+4).

The two shots caught it just below the skull and in the midline. People could complain about shooting in the back but they could also deal with snake-zilla themselves if it bothered them so much. It's bleeding out and twitching, a few minutes and it will be dead. For now, best not to get too close.

Phoebe wasn't the sort to leave a wounded animal suffering needlessly. After briefly glancing around to make sure that, say, the animal control guys and the mystery man weren't going to get on her case, she walked around to get a clean shot at the snake's head and went for a kill shot to put it quickly and cleanly out of its misery.

Judging by the sound of a panel door slamming the animal control team is 'regrouping' at least the engine doesn't start, they're professional enough to not keep running.

The thing's death spasms are fierce enough to leave dents in a nearby shipping container but it's dead. Only a few organs and muscle fibers slowly realizing it.

Phoebe made a gesture like she was tucking her gun away, though in fact it vanished entirely. She then turned to look at Samuel. "So, who're you?" she asked. Probably a looky-loo, but you never knew with weird circumstances like this.

Sam opens his jacket ( showing he has no firearm) and pulls out his FBI badge.  He does this slowly so she would not think he is reaching for a weapon.

Sam West. FBI.  And you?

Crap. Phoebe would have preferred that Samuel had pulled out a gun. At least then it would be a fair fight. Instead, Samuel could mishear or forget she said something or decide he felt threatened and then it was the whole government coming down on her head.

"Oh," she said. She considered booking it instantly, but she'd already given her name to the police dispatcher, it would be easy to track back. "I'm Phoebe. What brings you here, tracking the giant snake too?"

Sam folds the ID away and slowly puts it back in his pocket.

I am suppose to be on vacation but I started to look into a murder.  I happened to be walking back to my hotel when I saw the animal control van going hell-for-leather and it peeked my interests.  Mainly because it would be very rare for them to have to be in a big rush.  It stopped near enough to my path that I came over to have a look.  Bored I guess.

He pauses and rubs his stubbled chin with one hand.

Then I saw the snake and saw your actions and ... well here we are.  I tend to see strange things in my job.  You and that snake are not the strangest but that snake is up there.

Why in the hell is he telling her this stuff?  Because she did some incredible stuff and she could be like him.  Hopefully she is one of the good guys or gals as it were.

There was a low engine sound approaching slowly. Either animal control had worked up courage when they had some sheet metal around them or another party was making their way forward. Still, the place really was a mess. They have a few moments before getting out unseen would be problematic for either of them.

Despite her intense sense of caution where actual law enforcement was concerned, especially the federal variety, Phoebe's curiosity was piqued when Samuel said he was investigating a murder on his vacation. "A murder, around here?" she asked, by which she meant on my turf? Then she glanced up toward the approaching sound. "If you want some help, I'll take a card or something if you've got one. Maybe we better clear out of hear before we get buried in paperwork."

Sam digs out his wallet and produces a card that says he is with the ATF.

Call the mobile on there.  The others may get you more questions than you want.

He begins walking out of the area turns towards the Strip.

It is an interesting murder.  I am fairly sure the building did it.

Phoebe resisted a mild urge to just gun down Samuel on the spot when he handed her an ATF card. It seemed like as a matter of probability, not all of their agents could be awful people. "Will do," she said as she pocketed the card. "Talk to you later." She turned to dart away in the opposite direction and make herself scarce.

Forty-five seconds was plenty of time for Phoebe to make her exit. Samuel did the same.

The night passed without any huge trouble or revelations. A few local news stories confirmed that general strangeness was still on the rise, although the aliens and amazon seem to be stealing the spotlight.

Phoebe did her best that night to find out what she could about Samuel West, but being a superlative hunter didn't exactly translate into private investigator work. With nothing else coming up in the night, she woke up still curious, and opted to call the number she'd been given. "Hey, this is Phoebe from last night. So what's up?" she said once he picked up - assuming he did, of course.

Sam had gone back to his hotel room only to equip himself with his service 9mm pistol.  Something more weird than normal was up so he might as well not take it lightly.  He spend the rest of the evening wandering the Strip and casinos around it.

When Phoebe calls, she can hear the pings and music of a casino in the background.  Sam glanced at the time before answering as the casinos had no clocks visible.  Good Morning Phoebe.  Well, I am going to get an omelet and pass the time until about 10 then visit this theater where the murder happened.  Someone should be there by then. Sam pauses as he thinks about the strangeness of this murder.  It is at < give Vegas address>.  You are welcome to join me.

"Righty-o, I'll see you there. Have fun in the meantime, buh-bye." The encouragement was delivered without sarcasm, Phoebe loved casinos. She had to be careful around them, though. With that settled, she went about her usual morning routine, then headed out toward the intended address when the time for it rolled around.

The theater is an old Vegas Staple, meaning it was almost twenty years old, that got a full exterior and interior remodel every four or five years. Of late it's been home to a popular B-list celebrity magician. Like most such establishments it was a tourist trap on the weekends but more reasonable on local budgets during the week.

When the entire place isn't roped off with police tape. Still, it looks like for all the damage inside very few officers are still present. Everything of interest to a lab has already been bagged, a few thousand photographs taken, and security footage pulled. The police will do a perfunctory clean up of their mess while the rest is a cleaning service's problem.

Since Phoebe didn't have any guns out as she approached the theater, she looked like quite the non-threat, just another looky-loo that happened by and got curious about the police presence. She wasn't sure if Samuel was meeting her here or already inside, so she opted for now to just amble around and take a couple of pictures from the outside with her phone.

Sam strolls up a short while later looking much like he did the previous night. " Good morning Phoebe.  I hope you were not waiting long.  Shall we?"  He gestures to the side alley where the stage door is located and walks towards it and knocks.

He pulls out his FBI badge and waits for an answer.

"This is the first time I have gotten to meet another one of... us.  The various agencies in the Government try to keep track of those they can find.  Generally ones who do something that attracts attention.  I do not think the higher ups know what to do.  They did try to stop or recruit one of us that I know of.  It was quite the blood bath and the target walked away." 

He pauses and looks over at her.

And no, I did not report you to any of my management.  It is not my job and frankly, I do not like them spying on Americans.

"Good morning Samuel," Phoebe replied politely. She still wasn't too sure where she stood with the man. She followed him in and listened to the explanation, then said "That's good, thanks. I don't care for it either. So, what's going on here?"

"Forgive me as I tell a story so you understand when I say there was a murder, I know there was a murder.  I do not know what it was like for your awakening.  I was in the hospital, recovering from an ambush during a drug arrest.  I do not think I was conscious of someone choosing me and then I became aware. Aware of what I could do but also with this burning desire for Justice.  Very Old Testament style justice.  At that point I can sense when a murder has happened.  Give some time I know who the murderer is."

He pauses to knock again. Louder this time.

"When I came to town and saw the article on the accident and I knew the magician had been murdered.  After examining the body, I found that the Ttheater, this theater, murdered him. That is what I am investigating."

"I see... So you can see things about murders, how interesting." Phoebe didn't sound doubtful at all. Why would she? Her powers were different - much less to do with certainty of information - but it wasn't like she thought she was the only power around and everyone else was just faking.

She considered what Samuel was saying carefully. She also didn't think he was stupid, so she didn't bother asking if "identifying a building as a murderer" might just mean the guy slipped on the stairs. Instead she said "So the theater actually... consciously decided to kill a man, and then carried it out? I'm not saying this to doubt you, just an observation - that's really weird. How do you suppose it happened?"