Round 84: The Kidnapping of Tiffany Jamesson

[midpointmods]

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.

Comments

[worthallthis]

"Distraction might be useful. Miss Inara looks like anyone else here, and I can keep from being seen, so you're the one the other team will see first." Soldat leads them in the direction of the warehouse first, so they'll know where to return to, bypassing the main portion of town where the other team is more likely to be, if they're here yet.

"The other team is either going to be Fuwa's team or Rocket's team. I know Fuwa's team is the same number of players as us. A tall woman with one arm, and an Asian man with a large bug companion who changes forms. I don't know Rocket's team."

[unofficial_ambassador]

"If you can get me the right clothing, I think I could blend in at any of the places here." ’Eye candy', Jiro had said. Might as well use that to her advantage.

"If it's Rocket’s team, I'm assuming we will know about it pretty soon." The tree blends in about as well as Daylight does. "Fuwa’s team all seemed like the type to ask questions later, though. We should be cautious."

Inara doesn't think a pre-emptive strike by Hajime is out of the question, considering how much he’d seemed to want a fight before. Perhaps Fuwa too if he thinks it's a way to hit back at Soldat.

[sunborne]

It's a comfort to know that he won't be the only fantastical-looking one in a team. He keeps note of Fuwa's team and tries to remember both the description of that team and the location they're taking to what must be the warehouse. He's a scout, so remembering directions and landmarks is an easy thing for me.

"-Well. You two can be cautious. I'll do what I can to send them on a wild goosechase, whoever we're up against." He flashes them both a confident smile, giving them a thumbs up. He's got this bit down, at the very least. Being annoying is something he's cultivated for a while and he'll make sure it goes to good use for Miss Inara and Mr. Soldat. "Got any suggestions of where I should drag the other team around to kill their time?"

[worthallthis]

"Need to plan based on the target's schedule. Maybe. Hover around the Bullion and around her father's house," Soldat muses. "The other team will know we have her schedule, too. Both teams have someone experienced and know how these things work."

And someone who hates them, which is gonna be fun.

"My last mission, I was the protector on a job like this," Soldat says.

[unofficial_ambassador]

Inara shoots Soldat a sidelong glance. She won't bring it up in front of witnesses but as she understands it his last mission had some particular outcomes that she's not interested in repeating.

"I wanted to stay away from the family dinner, but it might be our best option. If Jamesson is comparable to the men occupying a similar position where I'm from, he won't be willing to let anyone lowborn enough to be a mercenary force him to change his schedule." His daughter's, yes, but he's a Very Important Man and those rules don't apply to him.

If they're lucky, it is Fuwa’s team and Tiffany is gregarious enough that she’ll be chafing under the forceful personalities there.

[sunborne]

Due to Daylight's height (and him trying to keep himself from getting blinded by the setting sun thanks to tilting his helm the wrong way, amazing), he doesn't notice the sidelong glance Inara gives to Soldat. Perhaps that's for the best too. The last thing their team needs is a fretting mechanoid, distracted by doubts.

"Really? Your last mission was the opposite of this?" Good thing for them, he decides as he rolls his neck about to work out the kinks of his struts, a parting gift from the jail even now. Information on the other side! That could give them an edge if no one else on the other team hasn't done this angle. "Alright- Hope you don't mind me asking this: If you were in the other team's shoes, what times will you be at your most alert for the other team?

"I get trying to be alert at all times, but there must be crucial periods that are all hands on deck."

[worthallthis]

Ask about it whenever you want, Inara. It's not like Soldat is keeping it a secret on purpose, really, nor are they particularly keen on repeating it. (And technically it was mission before last, but details.)

In answer to Daylight's question, they say readily: "Times when the target is outside. Scheduled activities. Transportation to and from scheduled activities. They may convince her to change her schedule, or they may not. It depends on who is Jamesson's daughter this round. Possibly any time she is at the house, in case of break in or sniper from a nearby roof. Though we can't kill her. Only her bodyguards."

[unofficial_ambassador]

Since he's new as well it's possible that Daylight doesn't know about that particular elephant in the room yet, and in the middle of a mission with the person in question seems a poor time to find out. Besides, Inara doesn't really feel like Fuwa should have told her, either. It will be his story to tell if he feels the need to do so as long as she doesn't think they're in danger from it.

The list of times to stay alert still sounds basically like 'all times' but that makes sense. In a way, the job of whoever doesn't currently have Tiffany in their custody is easiest because they don't have to worry about anyone sneaking up on her.

"Ideally, we won't have to kill anyone." It feels like that reminder should be stated. "What do you think we should do?"

[sunborne]

Daylight frowns at the possibility of killing the bodyguards, looking conflicted by that. He gets that this is meant to be entertaining and all but... Hm. Well. They'll cross this bridge when they get there.

"I think we should let the day portion of the first, er, day roll on normally for the opposing team," he suggests, raising his servos up to try and explain his idea. "That puts a lot of pressure on us since that's a lot of time waster, I know, but we gotta figure out who the team is and how they're approaching this round."

"They have the advantage of the target possibly coordinating with their plans. Once we know what those plans are and how it lines with the intel we currently, that'll be good ground for us to use." He pauses, a little hesitation coming and going but he shakes his helm. Stay confident in what you say, Daylight. Even if it's disagreed on, it invites more angles and ideas from Inara and Soldat. "We can also use the evening to our advantage. Maybe lay down traps or, hm, something, anything. They have the target but we have the surprise."

... Excluding his size. At his cool colours allow him to blend in the night better, compared to his old paint job.

[worthallthis]

"Given the options for teams... it's not likely they'll win her over." Fuwa's team has one woman cold as ice, and one hothead, and, well, Fuwa. Rocket's team has Rocket, who is asshole enough to put a supposedly-teenaged girl off, plus that kid who got himself thrown out of the saloon in his first few minutes. "We'll see."

Soldat rides up to the warehouse he'd been thinking of, pleased to see it still there, and still quiet. There are pallets and boxes inside, but no people. "Maybe we can get to her first, if we're quick in the morning when she leaves for her riding lesson. Inara is clearly charming enough for anybody. If not, then yeah, we'll give it a day for watching and gathering intel. Sound like a plan?"

[unofficial_ambassador]

"Yes. I'm sure if we make it in time I can manage." Whoever this girl ends up being, she’ll probably be more like the apprentices that Inara’s worked with in the past than like poor shy Neville, but either way they're personalities she's familiar with. She can pull this off. Hopefully.

[sunborne]

"Sounds like a plan to me." Daylight has no objections to it. Seems like the best course of action they need to take for the time being.

When he ducks his helm to inspect the warehouse's surroundings, he seems pleased enough to see pallets and boxes. Nice. Improvised materials for... things, if they need it. "I can take first shift of nightwatch if we're going to do that. Got plenty of rest back in the jail so I should be okay without sleep for a while."

[worthallthis]

"I. Tend not to sleep much on missions," Soldat admits, maybe a little awkwardly. "But I'll keep that in mind. How much sleep do you need?" Trying to compare sleep and fuel levels from Beacon to now really isn't useful, given how Beacon let one skimp on one thing so long as you kept up with the others. And how they never actually knew how much Daylight needed to sleep, back then, either-- the one time they were trapped somewhere overnight, together, no one did a lot of sleeping.

[sunborne]

Oh, that's a mood he can relate.

And to answer the question: "There needs to be some adjusting since we're running on what I hope is human hours now, but I can run fine on, like, four Terran hours worth of stasis recharge." Daylight raps his knuckles on his chassis, grinning. "Got a system that allows me to regulate an eternal maximised output and input of energy. So I'm good on that front for the time being."