midpointsaloon | Round 84: The Kidnapping of Tiffany Jamesson

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Round 84: The Kidnapping of Tiffany Jamesson

PLAYERS: Isamu Fuwa, Quicksword Irene, Hajime Aikawa VS. Bucky Barnes, Daylight vis Lornlit, Inara Serra
LOCATION: Tycoons' Depot
GOAL: Assume and maintain custody of Tiffany Jamesson
WARNINGS: Kidnapping, attempted murder, sex work mentions
OTHER: OOC post for plotting and questions!

After traveling most of the day, the sun is starting to set when the two teams reach Tycoons' Depot. Who arrives first depends on how quickly the teams get up and organized that morning, and how hard they want to push their horses.

The active portion of the round doesn’t start until the next morning, anyway. After scouting around and making plans, everyone can enjoy a room at the Bullion Inn under the watchful eye of the Madame (for a crisp points price, of course), camp rough just outside town, or bully or bribe one of the locals into letting them borrow their home for the night. Looking around proves there are, in fact, a number of possibly empty houses around the town’s outskirts, if the players would like to brave one of those.

In the morning, it’s time to go. Tiffany Jamesson, a sixteen year old girl with a brilliant smile and auburn hair done up in ringlets, has horseback riding at nine in full-on cowgirl attire, lunch at noon and piano lessons at one in a yellow dress of frothy lace, a nap from three to four when the day is at its hottest, and then dinner with her father at six in a pretty pink affair before retiring for the night afterwards. When will the kidnappers strike? When will the protectors show their hand? The teams have three days in which to accomplish their goal. The clock is ticking.

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The Bullion Inn may not openly advertise its services, but everyone knows. So when Hajime walks in, he'll see a number of attractive women (and not a small number of equally attractive men) milling around, talking to locals and reclining in very suggestive manners on the lounges available in the open entrance-cum-bar.

A man who looks to be in his very handsome forties approaches him, wearing a suit that frames his well-toned body a little too well. "Welcome to the Bullion Inn, sir. Might I be able to help you with something?"

There may very well be an audible whooshing noise with as badly as the atmosphere is going over Hajime's head. (Ryo waves cheerfully at a few people. They seem nice.) "I'm looking for someone." He frowns slightly, feeling out the other Undead's presence. "In there somewhere."

The waiter smiles altogether too pleasantly. "If you have someone in mind whose company you'd like to keep, I'd be more than happy to see if they're currently available."

At the other end of the spacious area there's an imperial staircase, a wide set of stairs that branches into two leading to the next floor; that's definitely where the Undead Vibes are coming from.

Hajime's brain still has not quite latched onto what is going on here, and he just keeps walking towards that staircase. "They're in there."

"Sorry," Ryo says, a note of apology in his voice, "is very focused."

"I'm terribly sorry, sir--" The waiter moves to follow him, but stops - the entire room does, in fact - when the sound of high heels tacking down the stairs, cutting through the air like claws.

"That's alright, Adrian," a familiar voice calls out, authority underlining every word. She's still wearing the leopard-print turtleneck, but now it's over a long-sleeved blouse, wrapped in a vest that really enhances her cleavage even under the layers. Instead of leather pants, she has a dark, billowing skirt, and the click of heels beneath it stops as she stands at the dead centre of the imperial stairs. "He's here to see me."

"I was wondering when you'd show yourself." So that's who he'd been sensing. Just knowing helped a lot.

Any sort of air of menace Hajime might have tried to cultivate is probably going to be blown out of the water by Ryo's cheery "Hello!" and wave at her.

She doesn't look impressed by his posturing at all. Nothing's changed there, at least. She was a Queen for a reason. The giant mantis gets a curious look, an arched brow, but she summarily ignores it.

"I show myself at my leisure," she says flatly. The entire room seems to hang on her every word. "But if you want to do something about it, then you'll come with me."

She doesn't wait for him; she turns sharply and strides, with that usual unshakeable confidence, back up the stairs.

"Fine." The whole interpersonal thing with staff or whatever? Hajime's never seen the need. Stupid royals. He doesn't have the patience for that, or much of anything else about this world and this scenario. He follows her, resisting the urge to grumble aloud.

"Bye!" Ryo gives a cheerful wave to all the nice people in the foyer.

Everyone is still staring at him, even with the Madame gone, but as he climbs up the stairs conversation slowly bubbles up indistinctly behind him.

The Tiger Undead doesn't stray too far; she's waiting for him at the next floor, before she pushes open a door marked with 'Madame's Office - Do Not Enter'. Inside is much less of an office than... a bedroom.

Yes, there's a desk pushed to one side, with a fancy leather-backed chair, but there's also a large queen-sized bed, with bookshelves on either side - and a very exciting variety of sex toys decorate all of the shelves. She doesn't sit down, though; instead she stands in the middle of her den, arms folded, standing tall and proud and entirely unimpressed.

"Close the door."

Hajime sort of kicks it shut behind him, not turning his back to her. There's a hint of confusion at the whole bedroom layout--now that he's identified the other Undead, some portion of his brain's processing power has returned to work at identifying other things.

"Hi!" Ryo says. "I'm Ryo!"

"Not now, Ryo." Hajime is trying very hard to be serious here and Ryo is not exactly helping.

"What's that?" Ryo's pointing at something on one of the shelves. If Hajime's lightly but firmly holding him in one hand now, it's because Hajime has realized that under no circumstances should Ryo go over there and touch whatever it is he's pointing at. At least that means he's not going to charge in an attack.

Hajime is trying to return his attention to the Tiger Undead. "The hell is going on here, anyway?" It's not how he saw this playing out in his mind.

"Wants to take the Battle Fight outside!" Ryo understands that better than a great many objects in this room.

"There's no Battle Fight here," she says, giving Ryo a flat glare, before she focuses on Hajime. "Before you came along, there weren't even any other Undead here. So if you think you can just walk in here and try to kill me for no reason?" She gives him a dismissive look over her shoulder as she turns to sit on the bed. "You're going be worse off than if this were."

She folds her legs when she sits down, hitching up her skirt to do so - oh, she's wearing the leather pants underneath. Fair enough.

Hajime takes a deep breath and with the hand that is not holding a wriggling Ryo, pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. That is definitely a headache coming on. "Look, I've just come from one ridiculous game kind of space into another, I had no idea who I'd find here, and I'm in a really bad mood right now." Plus, he doesn't have any Blanks, which he's not about to admit. "Just because I came in here thinking we were going to fight doesn't mean it's the Battle Fight."

"Already punched another guy in the jail!" Ryo says when he's released onto Hajime's shoulder. "Real bad mood."

Hajime makes no move to sit down--or any other moves, really, save for the automatic ones necessary to prevent Ryo from wandering off. Those radiate a sort of tired dad energy. "The hell are you doing here, anyway?"

She shrugs one shoulder. "I run this place. If what people say is true, I'm so popular that no-one wants to see me dead or gone. Which is a disappointment, actually, since it means I get in trouble for trying to join in rounds now. Instead, I pick my own battles."

And since she's watching Hajime like a hawk to see what his reaction is, she waits a few beats before she continues, "None of those are used, I just destroy anyone who tries to harm the humans here. They're under my care now, like Blade and Garren were yours."

Hajime's reaciton is surprisingly mellow, actually. He visibly relaxes. "That's...good. I wasn't sure if I'd find another Undead terrorizing the populace or not. That's half the reason I rushed over here." The other reason is that he really isn't in a great mood and had been almost hoping for a nostalgic sort of fight. He'll have to settle for whatever the hell will come when the mission starts. Or maybe picking another fight with Fuwa. "If you're not attacking the humans, then...I don't have any quarrel with you." See? He can behave, when he wants to.

"Anyway to see people in charge?" Ryo asks from his perch hanging upside down from one of Hajime's elbows. "Hajime gonna want to try fighting one of them next."

"I never said that."

Ryo's antenna wiggle, and he gives a little mantis giggle. "But you thought it!"

That makes Jo grin too. She's starting to enjoy Joker's little pet.

"Get send to their punishment jail and try to break out, perhaps. But I don't know a single person who's managed that." Her grin fades, and she looks dissatisfied. "Whoever this is, is better equipped than that bastard Tennoji. Undead can die here."

"Hajime goes in, I bring him a file in a cake?" That's a plan, right? Ryo thinks that's a plan.

The idea of Undead dying gets a frown from Hajime. "That's about what the asshole at the first jail said, but I just assumed he didn't know what I was." His Infiltrations had died before. "And I take it death isn't quite so final here as it would be under ordinary circumstances, given the way some of the others talk."

"He wouldn't have. No one left knows what I am." She leans forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "It's not final, but it's not fun. Nobody is immortal here, but sometimes our powers don't work." There's a growl underlying her words. "I could have won a fight if I was transformed, but something prevented me from changing."

Hajime nods. "I can transform fine, but my weapon wasn't there when I tried to produce it." Which was really inconvenient.

"There was a situation with guy letting him out of cell!" Ryo says. "Punching and shooting! Shooting and punching! Surprised when no bow!" He pauses. "Not how you make friends!"

"I wasn't trying to make friends, Ryo."

"Should have! Could use more friends! Can never have too many friends!"

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Round 84: The Kidnapping of Tiffany Jamesson

I - Arrival

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