Episode 23
Episode 23 - Checkmate
Catastrophe. Disaster. But perhaps an end to an unknowable but ruinous threat.
Based on a scenario by Allan Goodall.
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Transcript
Hello?
Speaker A:Which time is it?
Speaker B:Who is it?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:Situation green pineapple apology.
Speaker A:Sorry, honey, I have to take this.
Speaker A:You hear a horrific, and this is everyone, a horrific bellow from the thing.
Speaker A:It shakes the very asphalt that you stand on.
Speaker A:Paris, Prentiss, Rose, Ryan.
Speaker A:You can feel the heat coming out of the thing's hand covered face.
Speaker C:Does it see me?
Speaker A:It flaps.
Speaker A:It flaps again and flaps again.
Speaker A:And then it seems to start moving through the air, almost hovering until it jettisons off some invisible force, begins zigzagging slowly across and under the rafters towards you, jumping off invisible angles as it flaps its way.
Speaker A:Bellowing, bellowing.
Speaker A:Its strange hands covering its thick knob like head.
Speaker A:Grasping and unclasping as it makes its way towards you.
Speaker A:Roll your sanity.
Speaker D:And that'll be an unnatural.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker C:Can I.
Speaker C:Can I be a.
Speaker A:That's an unnatural.
Speaker C:Can I be a little bitch of a player for a second, Chris?
Speaker A:I mean, is there any other kind of player that you would be?
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:Perfect.
Speaker C:Okay, so.
Speaker C:So in the.
Speaker A:For.
Speaker A:For.
Speaker C:In defense of Ryan, huh?
Speaker C:It sounds like this creature is coming for me and I've had like zero time to react, even though I got an alertness of a successful alertness role.
Speaker A:That's correct.
Speaker D:Well, it does.
Speaker D:It's not.
Speaker D:It's not going to kill you without you knowing now.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So did you want to see it coming or did you want to just go black?
Speaker A:That's really the.
Speaker A:The question here.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So, okay, you're doing just fine, man.
Speaker A:So you actually have time to react now.
Speaker A:Um, whereas if you had failed your alertness, you would have had much more limited options.
Speaker A:So you're.
Speaker A:You're in.
Speaker A:You're actually in the best possible shape for what situation you're currently in because you did well on that alertness.
Speaker C:Okay, well, Ryan is going to attempt to flee back through the window, so.
Speaker A:Got it.
Speaker A:So did you roll it, General?
Speaker A:A projection there.
Speaker A:Is that.
Speaker A:Is that what this one D4 was?
Speaker C:I assume that that's what we're doing here.
Speaker A:Now, you did roll a sanity, so you want to reject that.
Speaker C:I do.
Speaker A:So definitely subtract that from your willpower.
Speaker C:I did.
Speaker C:And now I'm Abdul Rahman.
Speaker C:We are being unhappy people.
Speaker A:Now, you're getting fairly low on willpower, so another projection, if you roll a four, that'll actually send you into an emotional spiral.
Speaker A:So be careful.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker A:It is a gamble.
Speaker A:It might be necessary.
Speaker A:So you look back up, a real.
Speaker C:Roll of the dice, Chris.
Speaker A:You look back up at the window and you realize there's no way you're going to be able to jump up, grab the lip of it, and force your way back through.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It is at least 10ft up from where you drop down.
Speaker E:Now might be a good time to start creating chaos so you can shoot.
Speaker E:You should a barrel that'll explode.
Speaker A:The whole time this is happening, Royson is asking, like, what's going on?
Speaker B:Yeah, like, seriously, Ryan, tell me all.
Speaker A:Three of you are hearing this bellow.
Speaker C:I mean, she heard the scream, the screech.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, heard that.
Speaker B:What the hell is it?
Speaker C:I mean, my phone is not at my ear anymore.
Speaker C:I'm running away so you can call has gone.
Speaker A:There is over to your left.
Speaker D:Least of your worries right now.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:Over to your left, away from the ICS monitor.
Speaker A:There is a ladder going down to the warehouse floor.
Speaker A:You could also just jump down off the catwalk, although that's a pretty far fall.
Speaker C:Are there any crates or anything that is a less of a fall that I could jump to?
Speaker A:It would take some athleticism to, like, clear the gap, but yes.
Speaker C:Do I have a sense of whether or not that's a better survival method and worth the gamble?
Speaker A:It looks dangerous.
Speaker A:You'd really have to.
Speaker A:You really have to clear that gap.
Speaker C:Yeah, I will run towards the.
Speaker C:I'm going to.
Speaker C:I'm going to shoot the.
Speaker C:I'm going to shoot at it.
Speaker A:Oh, gotcha.
Speaker A:Okay, you go ahead and take out your gun.
Speaker A:I'm going to go back down to the other three and see what they do.
Speaker B:At this point, it's been a good minute since Ryan stopped responding.
Speaker B:So Royson's going to hang.
Speaker A:No, no, no, no.
Speaker A:It's been a good, like three seconds.
Speaker A:It's been like, literally three seconds.
Speaker A:So I'm returning to you guys on the ground floor.
Speaker A:You just heard a inhuman bellow that shook the very ground beneath your feet, and Ryan is not responding.
Speaker A:You hear it delayed with a digital crackle on his phone, which your phone is held to your ear.
Speaker A:So you hear this.
Speaker A:You three look at each other with fear in your eyes.
Speaker B:Take the phone.
Speaker B:Keep trying to get a hold of him.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I think we're out of time.
Speaker B:I think we have to go.
Speaker D:Pointless.
Speaker D:He gives it back to her.
Speaker B:Fine.
Speaker B:Fine.
Speaker E:We need to.
Speaker E:We need to move inside.
Speaker A:Ryan, roll your firearms.
Speaker A:You hear the report of a weapon?
Speaker A:No, we're going from inside the warehouse.
Speaker B:Yeah, we're.
Speaker B:We're going in back door.
Speaker B:We're not waiting.
Speaker C:Do you mean, say my roll result?
Speaker A:Chris, you failed.
Speaker A:It Looks like.
Speaker A:How'd you do?
Speaker C:By one.
Speaker C:61 on a target of 60.
Speaker A:That's a shame.
Speaker E:It's a shame not.
Speaker E:Not doing so well tonight, everybody.
Speaker E:Not doing so well with rolls.
Speaker B:Nope.
Speaker A:No, that 100 was rough.
Speaker A:But at least John, you got the 100 out of the way.
Speaker A:Now it's time for you to shine.
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker D:You crazy diamond.
Speaker B:What?
Speaker B:What?
Speaker B:I'm gonna recommend Paris against the wall this side of the door so you don't move any further than you have to.
Speaker B:I'm gonna get against the wall on the other side of the door.
Speaker B:Prentice, if you could push that up and jump back out of the way.
Speaker D:Sounds great.
Speaker A:You guys run as fast as you can.
Speaker A:Paris hobbling to get to.
Speaker E:Thank you.
Speaker E:It's a.
Speaker A:It's a hobble.
Speaker A:The southerly roll top.
Speaker A:And I go back to Ryan, who fires again.
Speaker A:Roll your firearms, please.
Speaker A:God damn it.
Speaker E:Again.
Speaker A:You're firing over and over again.
Speaker C:Another 60.
Speaker C:One out of 60.
Speaker E:Can we take a.
Speaker E:Maybe a break here?
Speaker C:That's nuts.
Speaker A:Chris, the muzzle flash.
Speaker A:Do you need to take a bathroom break?
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:Also maybe just.
Speaker E:It might be good.
Speaker E:Take a.
Speaker E:Take a quick breather.
Speaker A:Well, give me.
Speaker A:Give me a second.
Speaker C:Go ahead and finish the.
Speaker C:Rip the vanity off, Chris.
Speaker C:Throw me from the goddamn catwalk.
Speaker A:You keep firing over and over again, the muzzle flash lighting up your face in the area around you on the catwalks as this thing jettisons itself from invisible angle to invisible angle, moving from impossible perch to impossible perch, closer and closer to you.
Speaker A:Its broad wings seem to be asymmetrical, one twisting into a spiral behind it, the other flailing forward as if buttressing against a great gale that you can't feel.
Speaker A:Its horrible neck now has fully extended, and you can see what look like dozens of hands, human hands, as it flies over the flickering cluster of candles below.
Speaker A:Some are dark skinned, others pale, alabaster white.
Speaker A:But they all seem to move and undulate across the things.
Speaker A:Sensory head apparatus moving, creating shapes, fingers interlocking and bizarre combinations.
Speaker A:It's hard for you not to be mesmerized if it weren't so predatory in its movements, jetting towards you with.
Speaker A:With malicious purpose.
Speaker A:You keep firing, but it keeps moving unnaturally, almost disappearing before you can aim properly and let off a round.
Speaker A:And reappearing closer and closer as it moves towards you.
Speaker A:Before long, you feel hot wind to your left and right above you.
Speaker A:And you see that it's hanging, or perhaps perched on one of those invisible angles, but hanging from the rafters, looking down at you.
Speaker A:Hands opening and closing, clasping and unclasping.
Speaker A:It's now inches from your face.
Speaker A:You turn to aim at it, but something slams into your stomach.
Speaker D:You have a new alien on board.
Speaker E:Are the aliens going to fight each other?
Speaker C:That'd be you say into my stomach.
Speaker C:How literal is that?
Speaker A:You have to ask.
Speaker A:You have to ask.
Speaker C:Is it like an arm or like a knife?
Speaker E:Find out if any of your newly acquired powers are useful.
Speaker D:Well, if he needs to stay up late, he's.
Speaker C:He's good.
Speaker C:Or if I need to like bite something a lot.
Speaker B:How much damage you do if you tried to bite the thing off?
Speaker A:Right now part of the enormous ragged wing has turned into a deadly implement because it has raked and stabbed across your.
Speaker A:Across your chest and abdomen.
Speaker A:You stagger backwards, trying to raise your gun up.
Speaker A:Pain courses through your body and blood splatters down onto the catwalk and then through the catwalk slots onto the warehouse floor beneath.
Speaker A:You almost fall off the catwalk itself, barreling towards the ground.
Speaker A:But the tensile, the hard tensile steel stops you just in time.
Speaker A:The thing makes it kind of a clicking, guttural sound.
Speaker A:It almost sounds like it's laughing.
Speaker A:Roisin Paris, you are situated on either side of this giant roll top door on the southern side of the warehouse.
Speaker A:Prentice, you are situated right in front of it, ready to open it up, hoping that it is not locked.
Speaker A:Tell me how you guys handle this.
Speaker D:He's going to pop a squat and lift with his legs.
Speaker D:Cuz he knows how bad that can be.
Speaker D:If you lift with your back, you're just.
Speaker D:You're not going to have a good time.
Speaker A:I'm so glad.
Speaker A:Proper form is.
Speaker A:Is foremost on Prentiss's mind.
Speaker E:I've got my gun at the ready.
Speaker A:Prentiss, you go ahead and.
Speaker A:And again.
Speaker A:There are now gunshots ringing out in the warehouse beyond this door.
Speaker A:But you go ahead and squat down and with all of your strength, hoping that there's not an incredible amount of resistance, pull upwards.
Speaker A:Thankfully, it's not locked.
Speaker A:The door opens quickly, loudly.
Speaker A:You stagger backwards as it continues on its rail, completely, completely revealing the inside of the darkened warehouse.
Speaker A:A man is standing there holding a submachine gun.
Speaker A:He's looking up, but he spins around, fear in his eyes.
Speaker A:You've never seen him before.
Speaker A:Roisin Paris, I'll give you the first move since you've been waiting for this.
Speaker A:But it looks like he's about to just unload on Prentice.
Speaker E:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:Point blank firing.
Speaker A:Okay, you both have plus 20% to your firearms.
Speaker A:In this situation.
Speaker C:Which means it'll hurt that much worse when we all still fail.
Speaker B:Question, Paris, do you have a scope on the M4?
Speaker E:Yes, I'm gonna say he would have had a scope on that for sure.
Speaker B:I guess just to verify.
Speaker A:Go ahead and.
Speaker A:Go ahead and roll your luck, John.
Speaker E:Actually, what he'd probably have would be a holographic sight.
Speaker A:Go ahead and roll your luck.
Speaker E:I just hit two successes.
Speaker E:Look at that.
Speaker A:Nicely done.
Speaker A:So you have a holographic sight on your infl.
Speaker E:I rolled a four out of 83 on my firearms.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker A:That is a hit.
Speaker A:Roll your damage six.
Speaker E:Oh, I'll take it pretty good.
Speaker A:And Royzen, you're also firing with a 20% to firearms.
Speaker A:Are you firing any selective shot, full automatic?
Speaker A:Like what's the mode of fire on the M4 that you're choosing?
Speaker B:So three second burst.
Speaker B:And just to verify, I believe the scope also adds an extra 20.
Speaker A:The scope, you're.
Speaker A:You're.
Speaker A:You're way too close to use a scope.
Speaker A:Okay, yeah, you can have the holosite up, but it's not going to add an extra turn 20.
Speaker A:It's just 20%.
Speaker B:Hey, I.
Speaker B:That is a success.
Speaker A:Go ahead and roll your damage.
Speaker B:Three second burst would be lethality, which is a D100, correct?
Speaker A:Yes, that's going to be a lethality.
Speaker B:Hitting the rolls 73 which comes out to 10 points for listeners.
Speaker B:Lethality is a little interesting.
Speaker A:It's awesome.
Speaker A:So you're targeting for.
Speaker C:Can you one of you explain how lethality works?
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:So for this particular weapon, the lethality rating is 10%.
Speaker A:And so when you roll for damage, you instead roll above or below that 10%.
Speaker A:If you roll below, that's an automatic death.
Speaker A:You're just dead if you roll.
Speaker A:If you roll above that 10%, you're going to add up the two die that you rolled for the damage.
Speaker C:Oh, okay.
Speaker C:That's cute.
Speaker A:So instead of us rolling tens of dice for these types of weapons, it's just one quick roll, which is.
Speaker A:Which is nice.
Speaker A:So Roisin, you go ahead and fire off a short 3 round burst for 10 damage.
Speaker C:Out of curiosity, do any weapon mods increase the lethality metric or is it like inherent in the weapon itself?
Speaker C:Like for example, is there some kind of attachment that you can put on a weapon to make it more lethal?
Speaker C:I don't know if that's even a thing.
Speaker A:I think.
Speaker A:I think there's good arguments for that.
Speaker A:I'm sure there's all sorts of things, modifications that.
Speaker A:That would potentially increase lethality rating.
Speaker A:I think there's good arguments for that.
Speaker C:That's neat.
Speaker A:Some weapons, like a rocket launcher for instance, have much higher lethality radiance.
Speaker C:What?
Speaker E:How much ammo, how many shots does this gun carry?
Speaker B:The just like.
Speaker E:I'm gonna keep track of it.
Speaker A:Yeah, let me pretty sure I.
Speaker A:And just to be clear, I'm using the strict DG rules about that.
Speaker A:Anytime you ask that question or somebody asks that question, you roll a luck.
Speaker E:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:So the Jericho is I believe, a 13 round magazine.
Speaker B:And I would have handed you the three extra.
Speaker B:So you have.
Speaker B:You should be good.
Speaker A:The moment that Prentiss opens this roll top door, you see this man spin around, a submachine gun in his hands.
Speaker A:He looks frightened, wild eyed.
Speaker A:He was staring at the ceiling momentous ago.
Speaker A:You both unload on him, filling him with new openings as blood sprays out his back and onto the warehouse floor, Splattering.
Speaker A:He reels backwards, dead before he hits the ground.
Speaker A:Which he does, sick and wet.
Speaker A:Thud.
Speaker C:Sorry.
Speaker D:Prentiss picks up his submachine gun and darts behind the wall.
Speaker A:But first you roll your sanity for violence.
Speaker A:And so does Royson, I believe.
Speaker D:Is that helplessness on my part or violence?
Speaker A:Actually, this is violence.
Speaker C:I heard that.
Speaker C:As before he hits the ground, which he does because I miss the like.
Speaker C:Which he does with that baba.
Speaker C:But just which he does.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I am going to project, which I love.
Speaker A:Okay, roll a 1.
Speaker A:D4.
Speaker B:That is a 2.
Speaker E:It's good.
Speaker A:Or take that off of your willpower.
Speaker A:And Prentiss do the same, please.
Speaker A:And from bonds of your choice.
Speaker E:Appreciate the clarity.
Speaker A:Some will.
Speaker B:So mine will be coming off of.
Speaker A:My old agent asset apprentice's own.
Speaker C:Scene is him just sticking a scalpel into his doctor nemesis that he ate so much.
Speaker A:The sounds of gunfire now emerge in honestly a great cacophony from beyond what look like stacked boxes and crates.
Speaker A:You see dim light, flickering light that makes it very difficult to understand what's happening.
Speaker A:But there's a lot of movement, a lot of running around, a lot of yelling in a language that you're not very familiar with.
Speaker A:You see the flashes of muscle fire as long reports of full automatic fire begin to pepper parts of the warehouse walls, ceilings, rafters, other shipping containers and crates.
Speaker A:One bullet actually slams into the concrete ground only a few feet away, causing dust to spray up and linger in the air.
Speaker A:You three look to one another and then look back inside the open warehouse door.
Speaker A:Not sure what to do.
Speaker A:But then you tell me what you do.
Speaker A:So what do you.
Speaker A:What do you guys want to do.
Speaker E:Can we do the clear sight on any figures at all?
Speaker A:Nope.
Speaker A:You could shoot that.
Speaker A:The body that is, you know, that's already kind of crumpled on the ground.
Speaker A:That's the one clear figure you've got.
Speaker E:I shoot the body again to feel good about my ability to build up confidence.
Speaker B:Suggestion, boys.
Speaker B:You two go left, I go right.
Speaker E:Sure, let's do it.
Speaker A:Paris, you hobble inside, holding the gun close but pointed forward.
Speaker A:And the crutch is it's working for you for now.
Speaker A:Ryan, Chris, you feel just utter pain as this thing is raked across your chest and is now well inches from you as it hangs from the rafters.
Speaker A:You're shakily raising your gun up in its direction, but what would you like to do as you stagger backwards?
Speaker C:Going to shoot at it?
Speaker C:55 critical success.
Speaker C:Making up for the two near misses, by the way.
Speaker C:I did.
Speaker C:It did occur to me if we did instant stat improvements, my second 61 would have been a success because I would have at least improved by 1.
Speaker C:Just salt in the wood.
Speaker A:Too bad.
Speaker C:All right, so let me roll my damage.
Speaker E:I really gotta say we're on a roll.
Speaker A:Oh, hey.
Speaker C:Got him.
Speaker D:Got him.
Speaker C:And I get right again with a 1 out of 10 on my damage.
Speaker E:That spoke too soon.
Speaker E:Spoke too soon.
Speaker D:Well, so how do we.
Speaker D:I forget, how does a critical happen?
Speaker D:Is it two rolls or is it just 10?
Speaker A:Roll and you double it.
Speaker C:Okay, I rolled a whole two.
Speaker A:You fire and the bullet, you know, it lands in this thing's bulk because it moves as if it has been hit.
Speaker A:Part of its strange tattered wing like protuberances kind of flutter and quiver.
Speaker C:How big is this, Chris, out of curiosity.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's.
Speaker A:It's pretty enormous.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:It's, it's.
Speaker A:It's maybe, maybe it's wingspan, I would say is when fully unfurled is about 20ft.
Speaker A:Right now, it is a bulk hanging above you that has maybe a asymmetrical circumference of.
Speaker C:It's kind of like a dragon.
Speaker A:Diameter of, no, 8, 8 and a half, 9ft.
Speaker A:So it's.
Speaker A:It's just a huge bulk of this tattered people flesh.
Speaker A:It's got a lot of human hands that are grasping and unfurling fingers grasping one another, grasping toward you as you fire over and over again at this thing.
Speaker A:It does respond a little bit, but seems bent on sniffing you out a bit, maybe touching you again in the gut.
Speaker A:You can't help but notice that down on the warehouse floor below, chaos is broken out.
Speaker A:You see men with submachine guns, no longer chanting, but yelling and pointing in your direction.
Speaker A:David Young has stepped down off the dais and you see him looking over his shoulder at you.
Speaker A:Or perhaps the thing with his brow furrowed.
Speaker A:He's still grasping those silver bloody sickles.
Speaker D:So he's no longer rocking on the dais.
Speaker A:Oh, my Lord.
Speaker A:That was really.
Speaker B:That was bad.
Speaker A:Amazing.
Speaker A:It was amazing.
Speaker A:So the man with the jade statue tucks it under his left arm and begins to run towards the northern exit.
Speaker A:The man with the long and tattered scroll begins rolling it up hurriedly.
Speaker A:They're all yelling.
Speaker A:Some of the men with guns again.
Speaker A:They start firing wildly in your direction.
Speaker A:Ryan.
Speaker A:You hear bullets scatter across metal surfaces nearby.
Speaker C:Do I hear the cry of the bulk as it gets hit by residual gunfire?
Speaker A:It has only made clacking sounds at you as its hands have opened and closed.
Speaker A:It also has a very hot and stinking breath that buffets against your face.
Speaker A:It makes you want to vomit.
Speaker C:Sounds like a.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's a safe bet.
Speaker C:God damn it.
Speaker C:You know, Ryan will happily go in the arms of a bulk.
Speaker D:That's a good way to go.
Speaker D:That's a good way.
Speaker A:You hear?
Speaker A:Despite all of this sound, the roll top doors at the front of the building noisily open up.
Speaker A:And even more loud yelling from far away across the warehouse floor, a new.
Speaker D:Player has entered combat.
Speaker A:I've got a roll to make in the arms of a book.
Speaker B:Oh, good.
Speaker B:I'm not the only one thinking that.
Speaker A:The thing dips down farther and fingers begin to touch and grasp against your face, obscuring your vision and causing you to fall backwards even further, starting to pull and tug at your skin, your ears, your hair, looking for purchase within your face as fingers are shoved to your nose, to your eyes, to your ears.
Speaker A:It's extremely painful.
Speaker E:Gross.
Speaker A:Those down on the ground floor, you hear this same absolute chaos as men begin running, firing their weapons wildly.
Speaker A:You have no idea where Ryan is.
Speaker A:There's a dead man at your feet.
Speaker A:You can see figures moving, and again, muzzle flashes up ahead.
Speaker A:What would you like to do?
Speaker E:I think we just keep moving along the path.
Speaker E:I mean, I think the plan was to move in and head left for us, and then Royson's going right.
Speaker C:Just shoot them all.
Speaker E:Yeah, I mean, that's what.
Speaker E:I mean, that's what Paris is looking for.
Speaker D:The first somewhere to hunker down and shoot from.
Speaker E:Yeah, that's.
Speaker E:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker E:Find a good strategic spot and see some cultists.
Speaker E:I'd like to put bullets in Them.
Speaker B:Maybe we should put down Special Agent Rachel Glenn while we're at it.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You don't even know she's there, right?
Speaker A:Oh, well, you know she's somewhere, but you have no idea what's going on with that, right?
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker A:You just know she's in bad shape.
Speaker A:You wouldn't be thinking about putting her down?
Speaker A:Honestly, Amber, you'd be like, we need to save her because of what Ryan said.
Speaker A:At least I would hope so.
Speaker B:Ryson's mind's a little bit gone, so maybe not her, but.
Speaker A:Nah, nah, you're.
Speaker A:You're not.
Speaker A:You're not.
Speaker A:You're not suffering from a trauma right now.
Speaker A:You would probably be like.
Speaker A:Because all Ryan said was, like, she's in bad shape.
Speaker A:He did say she's.
Speaker A:She's basically dead.
Speaker A:He didn't say this.
Speaker D:She's got a new handy ashtray.
Speaker A:Y'all continue to run through the cluttered warehouse floor towards the sounds of yelling and gunfire.
Speaker A:Honestly, it's getting a little suppressive in here.
Speaker A:So next turn, if you guys want to continue running forward, you're going to need to burn some sanity to keep going.
Speaker D:Love that.
Speaker A:The only person who doesn't have to burn sanity to react normally under suppressive fire right now is Paris, who is inured to violence.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Loki.
Speaker E:Is he, though?
Speaker A:Ryan, you can barely see.
Speaker A:You're almost being picked up by your face, by these grasping hands.
Speaker A:Your feet are barely touching the ground.
Speaker A:You're almost being lifted entirely up.
Speaker A:You still have your gun in your hand.
Speaker A:What would you like to do?
Speaker C:Try to shoot.
Speaker A:Fire.
Speaker A:Plus 20%.
Speaker E:Like, getting right into it.
Speaker C:Success.
Speaker C:31.
Speaker A:Roll your damage.
Speaker C:4.
Speaker D:That's twice as much as you did last round with a critical.
Speaker C:It is.
Speaker C:It is.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:You stick the barrel directly into the thing's tattered, strange flesh, and you fire over and over again until it finally lets go of you.
Speaker A:The hands reeling back in what seems like maybe a pain movement.
Speaker A:The thing bellows again, but it's so close now that the loudness of it almost knocks you off of the catwalks again.
Speaker A:And you hold on to the steel tensile cord for dear life so that you don't go plummeting below.
Speaker A:You're not sure exactly what's making the sound because there's no mouth or gaping maw, just hands spiraling and flinging their fingers around and making strange designs that, again, almost mesmerize you.
Speaker A:If it wasn't so horrifying.
Speaker C:He almost feels wanted.
Speaker C:Chris, I don't know when this comes in, but Ryan now that he let go of, if the opportunity for him to run occurs, that will be the next move.
Speaker A:His best run would be literally to try to jump down safely onto the ground floor.
Speaker A:From here, it is quite the drop.
Speaker A:The chances of getting hurt are high.
Speaker C:Oh, is he dangling from the catwalk or is he still on it, like.
Speaker A:No, he's still.
Speaker A:He's still on it.
Speaker A:He almost fell off.
Speaker C:Can he run further along the catwalk away from the beast?
Speaker D:Does it do a little turn?
Speaker A:Yeah, but only.
Speaker A:Only a few paces.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's not very far.
Speaker A:We're going to go back down to the ground floor now, Roizen, Prentice, to keep running in this direction where bullets are flying like crazy, smashing into the metal containers all around you.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's gonna be.
Speaker A:It's gonna be tough for you to do that.
Speaker A:Your.
Speaker A:Your.
Speaker A:Your gut intention.
Speaker A:You don't have to roll sanity.
Speaker A:Oh, your gut intention is to fall.
Speaker A:Fall to the ground and cover your heads because of the just downpour of bullets that are spewing forth from these men who are obviously in some sort of pitched gun battle or at least some sort of high stakes chaos.
Speaker A:Paris, this is a situation you've been in many times.
Speaker A:You grit your teeth if you want to keep running forward for a good vantage point.
Speaker A:This will not cost you any sanity to do so.
Speaker A:Apprentice.
Speaker A:And Roizen, if you want to continue on your way and not just jump to cover, it's going to cost a sanity.
Speaker A:You'll have to burn it.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker E:Are we just.
Speaker E:I just want to get a sense of the space.
Speaker E:Am I in.
Speaker E:Are we in, like, any sort of COVID at all?
Speaker E:Or are we just out kind of in the middle of.
Speaker E:I mean, I think the plan was to try to, like, move along the side of the building, ideally.
Speaker C:Are we behind crates or something?
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:Are we behind anything or are we just totally exposed?
Speaker A:You're behind crates that are being peppered by bullets right now.
Speaker A:Giant shipping containers.
Speaker E:Okay.
Speaker E:So probably.
Speaker E:But we can't.
Speaker E:We don't have a vantage point on anything.
Speaker E:We can't see any.
Speaker E:Anything where we're at.
Speaker A:You see flickering candlelight.
Speaker A:You see lots and lots of people running around, shadows playing across the crates and shipping containers around you.
Speaker A:You see flashes of fully automatic muzzle fire.
Speaker A:You hear and feel bullets slamming into the walls, floors, and crates and containers all around you.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:But, Chris, like, what's going on?
Speaker E:Sorry, I'm more just trying to ascertain if this would be a spot that I could post up and start shooting back or so.
Speaker A:So Paris would move forward.
Speaker A:So, John, we're getting kind of stuck in that same spot where there's no right answer.
Speaker A:There's no right answer.
Speaker A:What would Paris do?
Speaker A:And what.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What can I help.
Speaker E:What Help with Paris?
Speaker E:Let me just.
Speaker E:I'll put leave of this.
Speaker E:Paris is.
Speaker E:If.
Speaker E:If this is the spot.
Speaker E:If he needs to keep going, Paris is going to keep going until he has.
Speaker E:Has a defensible position that he can shoot from.
Speaker E:If that's this spot, then if not, he's gonna keep going.
Speaker A:You don't see anybody here, so, yeah, you can keep.
Speaker A:You can definitely keep going.
Speaker A:So we'll just start with you, Paris.
Speaker A:You run between several crates until you see hobble more so of what's happening in the center of this place.
Speaker E:Shuffling along.
Speaker A:You're shuffling.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker A:Immediately, you duck behind a metal crate as the bullets pepper against it.
Speaker A:If you want to peek through to see what's happening, it just looks like chaos.
Speaker A:You see about half a dozen men with submachine guns firing upwards at the rafters, firing towards your position, as well as firing towards what looks like, well, a whole nother group of people who are spilling out from the front of the building.
Speaker A:These folks are dressed in rags, soiled garments, and carrying things like crowbars, bats, in small pistols.
Speaker A:We're talking.38 specials.
Speaker A:They're all yelling.
Speaker A:They look wild and unkempt.
Speaker A:Honestly, they look like maybe part of the city's homeless.
Speaker A:You're completely just kind of baffled as you crouch behind cover here.
Speaker A:Bullets slam against, slam against this crate.
Speaker C:I will say this, though, Paris.
Speaker C:There's no shame in retreat, especially since you're, like, hurt and, you know, survival is.
Speaker C:Is always nice.
Speaker D:Seems like the problem's about to take care of itself.
Speaker E:Yeah, I think Paris is gonna take a beat.
Speaker E:Just anything he could do to kind of, you know, snuggle into his little position here.
Speaker A:Yeah, you're in a good spot as long as somebody doesn't come around.
Speaker A:But if somebody does, you think you get the drop on them?
Speaker E:Well, I'm gonna be ready then to get the drop if I need to, but otherwise, I'm gonna let this.
Speaker E:I'm gonna just hold for a beat and let this new situation play out.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Prentice, you said you wanted to burn some sanity to continue towards the suppressive fire.
Speaker A:Is that correct?
Speaker D:Prentiss is following Paris, so that costs sanity.
Speaker A:That's the sanity to do so, right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:This is scary stuff.
Speaker A:So you grit your teeth and run towards certain death, is what it sounds like.
Speaker A:Bullets Are going everywhere.
Speaker A:You see Paris crouch down and motion for you to stop as a bullet basically slams into the concrete at your feet, dust flying through the air.
Speaker A:You crouched on next to him.
Speaker A:Roizen did.
Speaker A:You want to keep going towards the gunfire.
Speaker B:So Roizen's going to press her back up against that crate that's right in front of her and say a quick prayer to whoever is listening.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:It's Cthulhu himself.
Speaker A:He's listening.
Speaker C:Whoa.
Speaker A:Hey, Cthulhu.
Speaker A:What do you say?
Speaker A:He's the one.
Speaker A:What do you say?
Speaker B:Hopefully he understands Hebrew, because she's just like he does.
Speaker A:Yo.
Speaker B:He does get me and my friends out of here.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Maybe not one piece, but okay.
Speaker A:He says no.
Speaker A:He says definitely not.
Speaker A:He says no way.
Speaker E:Hard pass.
Speaker E:It's hard pass.
Speaker D:Hard pass.
Speaker B:Had to try.
Speaker D:Maybe if you ask me nicely in Aklo.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Pretty, pretty please.
Speaker B:I'll sacrifice a few cultists on the way out.
Speaker A:So you do you.
Speaker A:So you crouch down.
Speaker A:You don't go further.
Speaker A:Further into.
Speaker A:You don't go further into suppressive fire.
Speaker A:Is that correct?
Speaker B:Not this turn.
Speaker A:So you.
Speaker A:You hunker down.
Speaker A:You don't have a beat on really anything.
Speaker A:You're just undercover closing.
Speaker A:Not closing your eyes, but really kind of gritting your teeth as.
Speaker A:As bullets slam into the.
Speaker A:The COVID that you're.
Speaker A:You're.
Speaker A:You're behind right now.
Speaker A:Yeah, I need to pop back up to the catwalks.
Speaker A:Ryan.
Speaker A:The thing opens its wingspan again, and its size is.
Speaker A:Is truly staggering.
Speaker A:Now that it's close to you, the smell is of absolute rot in death.
Speaker A:Smells like old.
Speaker A:Just death.
Speaker A:Old blood, rotting corpses, dead animals underneath a house, whatever.
Speaker A:However you.
Speaker A:You think death should smell.
Speaker A:This is what it smells like to you.
Speaker A:It rears up, and you hear it begin bellowing even louder and louder.
Speaker A:You raise your gun again.
Speaker A:You're.
Speaker A:You're not cornered.
Speaker A:You could let yourself drop to the floor, but you know.
Speaker A:You know that.
Speaker A:That could be very dangerous, but you just don't know what else to do as this thing begins flapping its wings.
Speaker A:All right, I need to make a roll.
Speaker E:I do have a quick question about it.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker E:So when you're looking at the fingers, how would you describe the nail hygiene of the creature?
Speaker E:Does it look like.
Speaker E:Has it had a manicure?
Speaker A:This thing.
Speaker A:This thing has not seen a manicurist for a while.
Speaker A:We've got some scraggle nails.
Speaker A:We got some, you know, double.
Speaker A:Double fingernails in some spots.
Speaker A:Got a couple hangnail situations.
Speaker E:Double fingernails.
Speaker E:Yeah, so that's.
Speaker E:That's what was clawing into your.
Speaker E:Into Ryan's face.
Speaker A:It was giving it a touch.
Speaker E:I was hoping for some like glitter, maybe some like gel nails.
Speaker D:You want some gel nails?
Speaker D:I don't think.
Speaker E:I guess that's the case.
Speaker D:That sounds really expensive for as many fingers as the thing has.
Speaker B:Hey, it's expensive anyway.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker A:Brian.
Speaker A:You watch in horror and fascination, shock as another figure darts across the highest points of this giant warehouse.
Speaker A:A beeline straight towards this bellowing creature that's rearing itself up before you and slams into its side.
Speaker A:You see the thing stagger and reel, batting its wings, trying to fight against this.
Speaker A:This force that appeared out of nowhere.
Speaker A:Ryan, you.
Speaker A:You watch as a much smaller, stranger looking being is now beating and hacking and gnawing and clawing to the side of this thing.
Speaker A:It's again, smaller.
Speaker A:Skin is a dark black, almost rubbery material.
Speaker A:It has wings as well, but it seems far more humanoid legs and arms as you can recognize, and a head with two long curving horns.
Speaker A:The whole thing is jet black, an ebony color that seems to suck in all the dim light from around you.
Speaker A:It doesn't make a sound.
Speaker A:But the other creature, the larger one, it's bellowing, bellowing and clicking loudly as it begins to try to fight back.
Speaker A:You watch these two things struggle in midair only a few feet from you.
Speaker A:It's as if they're on solid ground from the way they are moving, but they're not.
Speaker A:They're hovering there.
Speaker A:Ryan, what would you like to do?
Speaker C:Am I able to get around them?
Speaker C:Like, is this if you wanted to, Is this a distraction I can take advantage of to try to get back towards the ladder?
Speaker A:You think you might be able to?
Speaker A:Yeah, you hope.
Speaker C:I'm gonna give it a try.
Speaker A:Yep, go ahead and roll your sanity.
Speaker C:I am not going to project.
Speaker A:You don't think twice.
Speaker A:You sprint as fast as you can across the swaying catwalks, feeling it move with each of your sprinting footsteps, and you jump towards the ladder.
Speaker A:You nearly miss a few rungs as you slide down partly and land on the ground floor.
Speaker A:It's a little bit of a pain in your left ankle, but you don't even register really.
Speaker A:The sounds above you are horrific, inhuman.
Speaker A:You hear a high pitched whistling followed by bellows, as if something is being hit over and over again with great force.
Speaker A:You don't look upwards, Paris.
Speaker A:You're still hunkered down behind this metal crate.
Speaker A:Automatic gunfire is continuing, but you also hear the obvious reports of these smaller firearms that you saw being carried by some Sort of group that has entered through the north roll top.
Speaker A:You have no idea who they are.
Speaker E:I'm gonna look around to see if I can spot Agent Ryan anywhere.
Speaker A:Just.
Speaker A:Well, actually, you see him at this exact moment, awkwardly but successfully make his way down a ladder.
Speaker A:He looks stricken and pale.
Speaker A:He hasn't seen you yet.
Speaker E:How.
Speaker E:How close am I to him?
Speaker E:Or are we prentissing her?
Speaker A:Good question.
Speaker A:I would say about maybe 10 yards south of you in Prentiss.
Speaker E:Oh, south of it.
Speaker E:Okay, so back.
Speaker E:Kind of back towards the way we claim it.
Speaker A:Okay, back towards the lead.
Speaker A:Near the back corner.
Speaker A:The southeast corner.
Speaker E:Southeast corner.
Speaker E:I motion to Prentiss and point in Ryan's direction.
Speaker A:And Prentiss seems to acknowledge.
Speaker A:He's wincing from all of the gunfire.
Speaker A:You don't blame him?
Speaker E:Yeah, I'm going to actually start moving back in that direction towards Ryan.
Speaker A:Gotcha.
Speaker A:This does not require you to burn any sanity, apprentice.
Speaker A:You're very happy to be moving away.
Speaker A:Very happy.
Speaker E:Okay, I also start relaying to.
Speaker E:Actually.
Speaker E:Sorry.
Speaker E:When we get to Ryan, I'll relay what I saw.
Speaker A:Roysen, you also.
Speaker A:You see a figure come down the ladder, turn around, and it's Ryan.
Speaker A:See him across the way as you're posted up against this shipping container.
Speaker B:She'll breathe a sigh of relief.
Speaker B:At least she knows where everybody is now.
Speaker B:But she's gonna take a deep breath, burn that point of sanity, and start.
Speaker A:Moving around the crate towards the gunfire.
Speaker A:Yep, it is utter chaos here.
Speaker A:You can see that there has been some encroachment of another group, or actually, let me.
Speaker A:Let me actually narrate that properly for rising.
Speaker A:You have no idea who is in this.
Speaker A:This warehouse.
Speaker A:You can see that there's a firefight between what looks like these men of Asian descent holding submachine guns and firing them wildly, as well as, from the north, a group of bedraggled folk who are in tattered garments, soiled layers, and carrying ram shackle and improvised weapons, as well as small firearms.
Speaker A:Somehow, they're holding their own.
Speaker A:You see one standing over one of these Asian gangsters, you assume, and, well, beating them on the ground with a large pry bar.
Speaker A:This is what you see as you round the corner.
Speaker A:You still have something you can do, if you'd like.
Speaker B:Can she see the guys on the ropes?
Speaker A:Go ahead and roll your alertness, please.
Speaker B:That is a failure.
Speaker B:43 out of a target.
Speaker B:25.
Speaker A:You actually do not see.
Speaker A:See anyone in those anachronistic black robes.
Speaker B:All right?
Speaker B:She's going to find the closest one of the Guys with the submachine gun and fire at him.
Speaker A:You take aim and you fire.
Speaker A:Roll your firearms, please.
Speaker B:Ooh.
Speaker B:That is a failure at 96 out of 8.
Speaker B:Target 57.
Speaker A:I'm going to say this is a three shot burst again, because you probably didn't change your selection just yet.
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker A:So you fire three rounds at one of these gentlemen in the darkness across these flickering candles as figures are running to and from in this utter, utter, dimly lit chaos.
Speaker A:Ryan, you've spin around now that you've escaped the catwalks, and you see two figures running towards you.
Speaker A:And you're relieved when you see its Paris and Prentiss.
Speaker A:Gunfire is again spattering every single one of these metal surfaces between you and the main warehouse floor.
Speaker A:What would you like to do?
Speaker C:As I see them running, I'm going to.
Speaker C:Towards me.
Speaker C:Ryan's gonna shout, get back.
Speaker C:Get the fuck out of here.
Speaker C:And just start running towards the.
Speaker C:The back, the south door.
Speaker A:Paris, Prentice, you're up.
Speaker D:Prentice is like, he's wounded.
Speaker D:I gotta take care of him.
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker E:I look at Prentice, it's like.
Speaker E:Now I look at Princess, I'm like, go after Ryan.
Speaker E:I'll be right behind you.
Speaker D:You're wounded too.
Speaker D:Come on.
Speaker E:I'll be fine.
Speaker E:Just go.
Speaker D:Here, take this.
Speaker D:And he tosses the SMG your way.
Speaker E:An smg?
Speaker E:What?
Speaker D:Yeah, he picked up a SMG that on the guy that you shot.
Speaker A:He.
Speaker A:He grabbed it from the corpse.
Speaker E:Oh, dope.
Speaker A:All right, Prentice, you start running after Ryan.
Speaker A:You hear something horrific up above.
Speaker A:This.
Speaker A:These inhuman sounds, these bellows.
Speaker A:You can't help but look up and you see two enormous black shapes in some sort of strange midair embrace.
Speaker A:No, no, it's.
Speaker A:It's worse than that.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's some sort of violent attack.
Speaker A:Giant gouts of grayish ichor are falling down from what is happening up there.
Speaker A:And one splatters next to you.
Speaker A:As you're running after Ryan, you see it hissing, causing huge wisps of acrid smoke to rise from the concrete floor.
Speaker A:You hear another bellow, this one higher, as if in pain.
Speaker A:You're not sure what the hell is going on up there, but you just don't want to really take it in.
Speaker A:And you run after Ryan as fast as you can.
Speaker A:Roll your sanity.
Speaker A:Interesting.
Speaker A:Did you want to project?
Speaker D:No.
Speaker A:Paris, you and Princess just had a chat.
Speaker A:You hear something up in the rafters too, but what?
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:You don't run in that direction.
Speaker A:What are you doing?
Speaker E:I need to figure out this SMG thing because I've got one hand on a pole and the other hand holding Jericho.
Speaker E:So I guess it just leave.
Speaker E:Hits me in the chest and then falls on the ground.
Speaker E:And I look at.
Speaker E:I look off, apprentice, and I'm like.
Speaker A:It does have a strap.
Speaker A:You go ahead and just put it on your shoulder.
Speaker A:All right, what's next?
Speaker E:All right, well, I mean, I'm following Prentice.
Speaker E:I just didn't.
Speaker E:I wanted to get him.
Speaker A:Oh, shit.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I didn't realize that.
Speaker A:Okay, so you follow Prentice as well?
Speaker E:Yeah, I just wanted to go on ahead.
Speaker E:I'm just.
Speaker A:It's as I described.
Speaker A:You're hobbling.
Speaker A:You get a real good look at whatever the hell is going on up above, and it is horrific.
Speaker A:Again, you see gouts of this gray ichor start splattering against walls and on the floor next to you as you run underneath this air battle that's occurring between two somethings that you can't quite describe but cause your jaw to ache when you see them.
Speaker A:Go ahead and roll your sanity.
Speaker A:You know the drill.
Speaker A:Do I need to ask?
Speaker E:Willpower.
Speaker E:What's the hit again?
Speaker A:Against my willpower Again, it's 1D4.
Speaker E:And if it drops below 4, I get all.
Speaker A:If it drops below 2, you have a emotional breakdown.
Speaker E:2 or below.
Speaker E:I'm going to eat it then.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Eat it?
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:There's something real bad happening up there.
Speaker E:I'm going to.
Speaker E:If I'm able to, I'm going to fire while I'm moving them towards.
Speaker E:I'm trying to basically shuffle.
Speaker E:Corral these guys to the door and fire.
Speaker E:I'll be firing up at it if I can.
Speaker A:Up at that crazy motion that's happening in the darkness near the rafters.
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker A:At the stuff.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:Can't have that existing in the world.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:Sure you can.
Speaker A:You can fire as you.
Speaker A:As you.
Speaker E:That not supposed to be there.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:It's going to be a minus 20%.
Speaker A:Actually, it's.
Speaker A:I'm sorry, it's minus 40.
Speaker A:My mistake.
Speaker E:Fail.
Speaker A:You fire as you follow Princess out, hobbling, doing your best to get out of this accursed warehouse.
Speaker A:Roysen, you're firing as well.
Speaker A:There's again so much motion, so many people, so many men and now women attacking one another.
Speaker A:In front of you, you see Special Agent Rachel Glenn now on this crate made dais.
Speaker A:She slumped over to her side.
Speaker A:You can see the top of her head has been cleanly shorn off, her eyes glazed.
Speaker A:Can't tell if she's alive or dead from here.
Speaker A:Roll your sanity.
Speaker A:This is from helplessness.
Speaker B:We're in the middle of combat.
Speaker B:She's going to project.
Speaker B:And that was a roll of one for projection, so may or may not do any good.
Speaker B:That one's coming off of her brother.
Speaker A:Bacha, what would you like to do with your turn?
Speaker A:You take a deep gulp.
Speaker A:Seeing Rachel Glenn like this, she's missing the top of the head.
Speaker A:It hits you pretty hard.
Speaker B:There is, in Roizen's mind, there's no way that can be saved.
Speaker B:There's just not.
Speaker B:Somebody can't live through that.
Speaker B:She's going to take aim at Special Agent Rachel Glenn and fire.
Speaker B:Three shot burst.
Speaker B:And in her mind, it's a.
Speaker B:At least she's not gonna feel this.
Speaker A:Where are you aiming?
Speaker B:Probably at her head.
Speaker D:Not much of that left.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, if it's still you.
Speaker A:Go ahead and fire and.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, very clearly, if she was still alive.
Speaker A:Definitely killed her.
Speaker A:It's three shot bursts.
Speaker A:You don't have to roll for that.
Speaker A:Murdering someone in cold blood is.
Speaker A:You don't have to ever roll for.
Speaker A:For firearms, which is so, yeah, a.
Speaker B:Waste of a firearm.
Speaker B:Just go ahead and fire because I rolled a two out of 57.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah, just.
Speaker A:We're.
Speaker A:We're strict DG rulers here.
Speaker A:You don't have to roll for turning somebody down.
Speaker B:There going to be another sanity roll for violence, however.
Speaker A:No, I think.
Speaker A:I think we're.
Speaker A:We're good on.
Speaker A:On the sanity roll here.
Speaker A:Your choice makes sense to me.
Speaker A:And also we'll.
Speaker A:We'll make it work for you if you survive this scene.
Speaker A:But no, you don't need another sanity roll in this case, however, to do all of this, you did have to burn a sanity because you're under suppressive fire.
Speaker A:So that was your turn.
Speaker A:We're now back to Ryan.
Speaker A:I assume you're running out of the warehouse.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:And then Paris Prentiss, are you following?
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker A:You guys run around the side of the building.
Speaker A:And I want you to know that as you do, you see a man in a black robe next to the shipping containers where Paris unceremoniously fell moments ago.
Speaker A:And he's got a statue, large jade statue underneath his left robed arm.
Speaker A:He is fumbling with something in his robe.
Speaker A:And he looks up.
Speaker A:Fear in his eyes.
Speaker A:You've never seen this man before, but fear in his eyes as he sees you round around the corner.
Speaker D:Pop, pop goes the gun.
Speaker C:Yeah, I shoot him.
Speaker E:Shoot him.
Speaker A:All of y'all fire.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:Okay, cool.
Speaker A:Roll your firearms.
Speaker A:There's no bonus, no detriment.
Speaker A:Everybody's Surprised.
Speaker C:Ryan got a four.
Speaker C:Out of a target 60.
Speaker C:That's a success.
Speaker E:Wow.
Speaker E:62 out of 63.
Speaker A:Also even the hobble 20.
Speaker A:Even the hobble lord got it 24.
Speaker C:This is the most dead guy yet.
Speaker A:Roll your damage.
Speaker C:I rolled damage of 6 the highest yet.
Speaker D:I got max damage 8.
Speaker D:This guy.
Speaker A:Fuck him forever.
Speaker E:Wait, I haven't rolled yet.
Speaker E:Hold on, I gotta.
Speaker E:Seven.
Speaker E:There we go.
Speaker E:There we go.
Speaker E:Seven.
Speaker E:Seven.
Speaker E:Seven.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Y.
Speaker A:Y'all round the corner and all in tandem.
Speaker A:Raise your weapons.
Speaker A:This guy looks up, fear in his eyes.
Speaker A:He turns towards you.
Speaker A:He's fumbling with something in his robe.
Speaker A:He's got this statue under his arm and bullets just ripped through his neck, face and the top of his chest.
Speaker A:He staggers backwards.
Speaker A:He slams against now, the now blood covered shipping container behind him slumps to the ground.
Speaker A:The statue falls gently onto the trash strewn asphalt as blood bubbles slowly dissipate from his now split lips.
Speaker E:Can you cut in that.
Speaker E:That scene from Pulp Fiction where Sam Jackson and John Travolta are just like.
Speaker A:I think that's a video medium, but I'll do my best.
Speaker E:No, no, just the audio.
Speaker E:Yes, the video.
Speaker E:Please cut that into the podcast.
Speaker A:I'll get that in there.
Speaker A:Okay, that's your turn.
Speaker A:We'll get, we'll get.
Speaker A:We'll get back to what happens in the aftermath of.
Speaker A:Of.
Speaker A:Of that.
Speaker A:In just a moment, Roizen, you take a gulp.
Speaker A:There are still bullets flying everywhere.
Speaker A:You can either run the hell away from this death trap, as many men and women seem just utterly frightened as they fire at one another in these close quarters, or you can continue to take your stand here, take aim and engage in the firefight further.
Speaker A:It's up to you.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:She is.
Speaker A:The ladder will burn a sanity.
Speaker B:She is rattled at this point.
Speaker B:She just.
Speaker B:It wasn't just an enemy combatant she killed.
Speaker B:She just killed somebody she knows and has worked with.
Speaker B:So she's back around the shipping container, back pressed against it, saying the Hebrew is just spilling out of her at this point of dear God, what have I done?
Speaker A:As you run around like that, you do see the very edge of a hobbling man through the silhouette, the open doors, not the silhouette, but the open doors of the warehouse.
Speaker A:Looks like they've left through the southern exit.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm of two minds here is the problem.
Speaker B:Because on one hand, Roizen is very protective of the team at this point.
Speaker B:She's already lost three teammates.
Speaker B:But on the other hand, the mission's still there.
Speaker B:And that is Roizen does what she's told.
Speaker B:And as long as the mission's still there.
Speaker C:I would argue, though, we don't have a clear mission, technically, as far as, like, what was involved in this warehouse.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:It's like.
Speaker C:Like we were.
Speaker A:It was a.
Speaker A:It was recon.
Speaker C:Yeah, this is all recon from the.
Speaker C:From the jump.
Speaker C:So I think it's quite reasonable to run.
Speaker C:I mean, you just saw the chaos.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker B:She's.
Speaker B:She's going to want to regroup with everybody else and know that they're okay before she makes another move.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker B:So we are indeed chasing after everyone at, you know, as fast as she can sprint.
Speaker D:There's just so much going on right now.
Speaker A:Yes, it's chaos.
Speaker A:Okay, back to you three.
Speaker A:You're standing over this body.
Speaker C:It's the molten carrier.
Speaker A:Actual smoke coming out of his robes from the multiple bullet wounds that you've now inflicted upon him.
Speaker A:He's obviously dead.
Speaker A:There's no doubt in your minds.
Speaker A:What would you like to do?
Speaker D:I gotta search his body for?
Speaker D:He had the jade thing.
Speaker D:He was probably looking for a weapon, make sure that none of it is.
Speaker E:You say he was fumbling with a lock on the.
Speaker E:He was trying to get into that container, Kris.
Speaker A:Nope.
Speaker A:He was fumbling within his robes.
Speaker D:No, he was trying to produce flowers of peace.
Speaker A:He was gonna.
Speaker A:He was gonna say, I love you.
Speaker A:You find a scorpion submachine gun in his robes.
Speaker C:Prentiss, Ryan's gonna pick up the jade statue.
Speaker A:So just to describe this, it is statue, intricately carved of a beautiful Asian woman, a seated woman.
Speaker A:She's holding a scepter in one hand that doesn't match anything that you've seen before.
Speaker A:Her face is expressionless.
Speaker A:It's almost mask like.
Speaker A:Her eyes are like slits, and you see that several sickles hang around her waist.
Speaker A:It's only about 8 inches tall, and it weighs about maybe 2 kg.
Speaker A:The scepter itself is bizarre to you because it.
Speaker A:It has hands on it that seem to hold and emerge from the scepter itself.
Speaker A:It's interesting.
Speaker C:Is it reminiscent of rafter bird?
Speaker A:I wouldn't say so, no.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:That was its own world of horror.
Speaker D:Now that we have a little distance from the chaos that's going on inside the warehouse, Prentiss is going to do a little first aid.
Speaker D:He says hold still.
Speaker D:Let me have a look.
Speaker A:First aid does take about 20 minutes to administer.
Speaker A:Is that seriously something we want to do right now?
Speaker D:No, it's not serious.
Speaker D:Something we want to do right now.
Speaker A:But, yeah, we don't have magic potions.
Speaker A:We can't just take a swig.
Speaker A:This is something.
Speaker A:You got to sit down, take out your gear, you know, take a look, triage.
Speaker A:It takes time.
Speaker E:Paris is going to start relaying what he saw.
Speaker E:Or I can just.
Speaker E:I can just relay it in character.
Speaker E:Yeah, there's a second group here.
Speaker E:I don't know what you guys have seen, but a whole bunch of homeless maybe just charged through the front door with guns and weapons that are attacking the people that we.
Speaker E:That we came in looking for.
Speaker D:Well, I guess maybe when the noise quiets down, we go back in and clear out.
Speaker A:The clouds suddenly part.
Speaker A:A unseasonably warm wind.
Speaker A:An unseasonably warm wind begins to billow around you, buffeting at your ears a bit.
Speaker A:You look up and you see the sliver of the moon emerge.
Speaker A:It bathes the pier that you are now close to.
Speaker A:You're on the southern side here on the waterfront, but it bathes the pier in dim moonlight.
Speaker A:You can see at the very end of the pier is a man.
Speaker A:He's just a small figure now.
Speaker A:Might have been able to see him before, but now you can much more clearly see him.
Speaker A:He's got his arms raised.
Speaker A:Appears to be facing towards the river, not towards you in the warehouse.
Speaker A:He's quite a ways away.
Speaker A:We're talking 40 yards at least.
Speaker A:And you can see beyond him, what looks like an enormous shipping container filled barge barreling towards you, the pier, and the warehouse.
Speaker E:Run.
Speaker E:Run away.
Speaker C:Is that the molten carrier?
Speaker D:It might be.
Speaker C:I know I've joked about it in the past, but that seems like that's.
Speaker D:More things that could be molten.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So it's time to boot, scoot and boogie, as they say.
Speaker A:Royson, as you emerge from the roll top doors, you come upon this moonlit scene.
Speaker A:And you don't have time to really take it in, except to know that there is an enormous seafaring vessel making its way towards this warehouse.
Speaker B:And it's probably not going to stop before it runs up on land.
Speaker B:We're dead center of this building.
Speaker B:Does Roizen know which direction the boys went?
Speaker A:You saw them going towards the west.
Speaker B:Keep running.
Speaker B:Try to catch up.
Speaker A:You three.
Speaker A:Paris, Prentiss, Ryan, do y'all keep running towards the vehicle?
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker E:You mean away from the giant barge that's about to crash into us?
Speaker E:Yeah, I know.
Speaker E:We're the opposite direction of that.
Speaker A:Paris, I'm sorry to say you're quite slow.
Speaker A:And the others are trying their best to help you along, they really are.
Speaker A:But it's Tough.
Speaker A:You are not in great shape, Roisin.
Speaker A:When you round the corner, thanks to the moonlight, you can see them running as fast as they can.
Speaker A:But it's not difficult for you to catch up.
Speaker A:Paris is in bad shape.
Speaker A:He's wincing.
Speaker A:You do see blood now soaking the leg.
Speaker A:That Prentice so well set earlier, looks like he's strained himself.
Speaker A:All four of you continue slowly away as fast as you can from what is now an incredibly loud sound destruction.
Speaker A:As something slams into the waterfront.
Speaker A:You all stagger, feeling the concussive ripple beneath your feet.
Speaker A:You almost all fall to the ground.
Speaker A:If it weren't for your presence next to Paris, he certainly would have.
Speaker A:You keep doing your best to run away from what you know is an enormous bulk of some enormous vessel slamming into the warehouse where you just were moments ago.
Speaker A:The wrenching sound of metal, the incredible scream of concrete, other just mind and ear blasting sounds begin to rip through the night as you run as fast as you can with poor injured Paris away from this cacophony.
Speaker A:Unfortunately, you're all thrown to the ground in one last lurch.
Speaker A:As you come to, all four of you blearily open your eyes, look around.
Speaker A:There's rubble, debris all around you.
Speaker A:Jagged metal, chunks of concrete, moistness, damp puddles.
Speaker A:An eerie silence in the air.
Speaker A:Except for the sound of police sirens far, far, far away.
Speaker A:You're all covered with dust, dirt, grime.
Speaker A:As you stand brush yourselves off, taking inventory and stock of your condition, you can see that an enormous ship has plowed into the waterfront, now towers over you.
Speaker A:It's about 2/3 through the warehouse, which is just now a mess of split metal, concrete and brick.
Speaker D:Well, time to get going.
Speaker A:Yep, let's.
Speaker B:Let's get the van and get out of here.
Speaker B:Does one of you want to go get the van and pull it around so Paris doesn't have to run?
Speaker A:Guys, guys, guys, guys.
Speaker A:Hold up.
Speaker A:Hold up.
Speaker A:Hold.
Speaker A:Okay, calm down.
Speaker A:We ain't done yet.
Speaker A:You all.
Speaker C:Ryan's gonna run and get the van.
Speaker A:Towering bulk above you, but next to you, there's a man.
Speaker A:He's seated on a pile of debris.
Speaker A:He's looking at you as you rise up, his hand perched under his chin.
Speaker A:You've never seen him before.
Speaker A:He's in a ruddy outsized suit.
Speaker A:Must have been a nice suit once.
Speaker A:And he whistles a long whistle as you are all kind of dusting yourselves off and noticing how close he is to you with some surprise.
Speaker B:Hi.
Speaker F:Well, it looks like there's a few little rats who escaped the sinking ship.
Speaker A:He smiles widely.
Speaker A:There's a thick stink of alcohol in the air emerging from his maw.
Speaker F:I'm pleased to see that someone will be able to tell this tale.
Speaker A:His teeth are jagged, rotten brown.
Speaker F:That statue there.
Speaker F:May I have it, please?
Speaker A:His bare feet are caked with mud.
Speaker A:He stands now atop the piles of metal shards and glass that used to be that building.
Speaker C:Orion is going to clutch it tighter to his chest and say, do you understand what happened here?
Speaker C:I'll give you the statue.
Speaker C:But we need to understand first.
Speaker C:Who are you?
Speaker A:He smiles.
Speaker A:He looks down as if he's pondering his next words.
Speaker F:Knowledge seekers.
Speaker F:I can understand that.
Speaker F:I can understand that more than you will know.
Speaker F:The statue you carry.
Speaker A:He points to it.
Speaker F:It is used in calling the Bloated Woman.
Speaker F:That's something far worse than the little winged servants that you've encountered this evening.
Speaker F:Young and his cultists open the line and the Bloated Woman will undoubtedly appear on the streets of New York in the presence of those who now own the statue.
Speaker A:He raises his eyebrows.
Speaker A:The reek of stale jinn hangs in the air.
Speaker E:Shouldn't we just destroy the statue?
Speaker F:It wouldn't be possible with the tools we have here.
Speaker A:You watch him as he produces a broken silver pocket watch from his ragged jacket.
Speaker A:His heterochromic eyes flicker over its shattered face.
Speaker F:You have about 10 minutes.
Speaker F:If you give me the statue, I will dismiss the Bloated Woman and I will save you from your fates.
Speaker B:I'm okay with that.
Speaker B:What about you boys?
Speaker D:Yeah, I don't want that fate.
Speaker D:You can go ahead and have it.
Speaker C:Ryan's gonna hand him the statue.
Speaker A:He smiles.
Speaker A:His dirty hands soon take hold of the jade statue.
Speaker F:A gracious exchange.
Speaker F:Yes.
Speaker F:I'm told you are here to prevent old pieces of the past like this from being used improperly.
Speaker F:Well, I'll assure you here that it's never found again by man's ambitions.
Speaker F:You both fulfill your duties here by giving this to me.
Speaker F:And you gain my blessing in the process.
Speaker A:He smiles.
Speaker F:You've served old Jon Morrisly well.
Speaker F:Take heart.
Speaker A:He takes the statue, stuffs it inside his oversized jacket.
Speaker A:He then turns around to leave, walking back towards the collapsed building over shards of glass with his bare feet.
Speaker C:Can Ryan shout after him to.
Speaker C:To wait?
Speaker C:As he's turning to walk away, Ryan's going to ask.
Speaker C:You know so much about this.
Speaker C:Can we stay in touch with you?
Speaker C:Can we ask for your help in the future?
Speaker F:Son, you have my help and my blessing already.
Speaker C:How.
Speaker C:How now, brown cow.
Speaker A:Sorry, he says.
Speaker F:You will know.
Speaker F:You will know of the pattern soon enough.
Speaker F:My blessing is not so easily shaken.
Speaker C:What pattern?
Speaker C:I don't do well with enigmatic words.
Speaker F:It will be very clear to you soon.
Speaker F:I promise you that.
Speaker F:Thank you again.
Speaker C:What's your name?
Speaker C:What do I call you?
Speaker C:Did he.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Old John.
Speaker E:John.
Speaker C:Oh, I.
Speaker C:I didn't know if he was.
Speaker C:I didn't know he was referring to himself in the third person.
Speaker C:Okay, you can.
Speaker F:I'm right here.
Speaker F:I can answer for myself.
Speaker F:My name is Jon Morsely.
Speaker F:At least it was.
Speaker F:Some call me the under hex.
Speaker F:This is my city and you are welcome here.
Speaker F:Now I must leave.
Speaker E:We should probably be leaving too.
Speaker E:Hearing the sirens coming.
Speaker B:Let's get the van.
Speaker A:He turns around to leave.
Speaker A:His posture immediately becomes hunched and lilting as he shuffles away.
Speaker A:And he begins muttering to himself in a pigeon English now, seemingly unaware of you behind him.
Speaker A:And he ignores any additional attempts at your hailing of him or any communication.
Speaker A:You four look at one another and you hear these sirens approaching.
Speaker A:You begin hobbling your way as quickly as you can to the CDC van parked only half a block away.
Speaker A:You pile in, doing your best to avoid the main thoroughfare.
Speaker A:You drive the hell away from Pier 31.
Speaker D:We did it.
Speaker C:Ask a question.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker C:In case maybe.
Speaker C:This is probably such a minute detail, but if we're going to go to the hospital, can we just leave the body in the back of the truck here on the pier?
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So do.
Speaker A:Do you tell.
Speaker A:Say that to your.
Speaker A:Your team members to just like throw the body out as you drive off?
Speaker A:You guys.
Speaker C:You guys just get out of here in the ocean.
Speaker C:Whatever.
Speaker E:Toss it.
Speaker A:No, no.
Speaker A:Y'all drive by the this like just destroyed warehouse and just chunk the linen wrapped Jerry Wong on top of the pile of this and drive away.
Speaker B:No, we unwrap him first.
Speaker D:Beautiful.
Speaker A:Yeah, we unwrap him.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:We're not gonna waste a good sheet.
Speaker A:It's a high thread count.
Speaker A:You're back at Griffiths business in Technology park somewhere a few stories underground beneath a mess of unmoving construction materials and equipment.
Speaker A:You've been there now for hours.
Speaker A:Moved from a makeshift skiff to a small, seemingly forgotten break room and then into a concrete lined subfloor complete with suspicious dark stains and a floor drain.
Speaker A:Porter sits across from you, his hands folded neatly on a long, sturdy looking iron table that appears like it could have survived a world war.
Speaker A:And perhaps it has.
Speaker A:The room is otherwise fairly dark, despite the feeble attempts of a few pale and buzzing LED tubes.
Speaker A:It's a Large expanse with huge scraping gouges crisscrossing the sloped floor.
Speaker A:It appears this was once a storage area for heavy equipment.
Speaker A:Perhaps there were other metal structures here long ago, pinned into the concrete to create a sightless maze within which Porter perched at its center, a smirking, black eyed minotaur in a perfectly pressed Air Force uniform.
Speaker A:He's exactly as you remember.
Speaker A:A cheery smile inextricably corrupted by the glitter of condescension in his dark eyes.
Speaker A:You've repeated and then repeated again the events of the last few days.
Speaker A:Porter has taken no notes, but it seems he has retained every detail with a startling clarity.
Speaker A:This handover, as he called it, begins to feel like a test.
Speaker A:His questions meant to trip you up, as if to catch you in some grand lie or scheme.
Speaker A:Let's put these puzzle pieces together one more time, see if we can make them fit.
Speaker A:We have three bodies distended past all reasonable limits.
Speaker A:We have a missing Hong Kong figurine from victim one that you say turned up at the site of the disaster.
Speaker A:We have a murder suspect who is not in custody but is assumed dead due to the aforementioned event at Pier 31.
Speaker A:So first question.
Speaker A:If he was indeed the cause, why did David Young murder Francis Ing?
Speaker A:What was their connection?
Speaker C:David didn't like Francis.
Speaker D:Well, that was obvious.
Speaker C:Similarly to how I don't like these random dark stains in here.
Speaker C:They're suspicious.
Speaker A:Porter glances over at the floor.
Speaker A:When you make mention.
Speaker A:Some things are difficult to buff out.
Speaker A:But I assure you there's nothing suspicious about them.
Speaker A:My question want to answer that a little less flippantly for me?
Speaker A:For the record, that is.
Speaker C:It's gotta.
Speaker C:It's gotta have something to do with the receipt.
Speaker A:That's for the fit for the figure.
Speaker C:The statue, whatever the purchase that was made.
Speaker D:Presumably the price wasn't the price presumably wasn't wasn't what they agreed on.
Speaker D:And perhaps Young decided to take it out on him.
Speaker A:Okay, so we think this is some sort of deal gone wrong.
Speaker A:Fine.
Speaker A:What about Maury Swartz right across the street?
Speaker D:Maybe he got a good look at what happened across the street.
Speaker C:My guess is he's a witness.
Speaker A:Okay, so taking out a witness, he nods and bites the corner of his lip.
Speaker A:So that brings us to Michelle Lee and Jerry Wong.
Speaker A:Why kill them too?
Speaker D:Their complications.
Speaker B:They were both tied to him through the gang.
Speaker D:Exactly.
Speaker A:Well, he had a very large gang.
Speaker A:In fact, you.
Speaker A:In your report, you said many of them were there in the warehouse with them.
Speaker C:Not all Asians get along.
Speaker D:This is Woo Ah Spicy.
Speaker A:Take Porter.
Speaker A:Porter's eyebrows raised.
Speaker A:He doesn't really smile to that.
Speaker C:Oh.
Speaker F:Oh.
Speaker C:Did he not?
Speaker C:Sorry.
Speaker A:So here's a little tidbit that I would like you to make some sense of, because I think I'm putting some pieces together.
Speaker A:You went to Jerry Wong's apartment, found him indisposed and not breathing anymore.
Speaker A:But you also saw in his apartment a room filled with a repeating number that happened to be the combination lock of the figurine suitcase back in Francis Ng's hotel room.
Speaker A:So I see something there between Francis Ng, the statue, David Yang, Michelle Lee and Jerry Wong.
Speaker A:I just can't put it together.
Speaker A:So if one of you could do me the honors.
Speaker D:It was a heist, sir.
Speaker E:He may have just been tying up loose ends.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:HE SIGHS DEEPLY I think this was all to recover a statue he sent Francis Ing to the Chinese mainland to purchase.
Speaker A:I think when he got to that hotel room, Francis Sing didn't have it anymore because Jerry Wang and or Michelle Lee stole it.
Speaker A:And I think David Yang was furious.
Speaker A:That's what I think happened.
Speaker D:Well, that makes perfect sense.
Speaker A:Thoughts?
Speaker B:Certainly plausible.
Speaker C:That tracks.
Speaker A:This didn't occur to you at all as the field team?
Speaker A:HE LAUGHS Sir.
Speaker E:It kind of seemed irrelevant.
Speaker E:We were more using them just to find the primary threat, which we.
Speaker D:Yeah, we're not playing a game of.
Speaker E:Clue here and then move to eliminate.
Speaker D:We're just trying to track down and destroy the unnatural.
Speaker A:HE NODS but you've insisted that there's a rival on the game board here to David Young, someone who is watching his moves through various methods, let's say, and swooped in at the last moment to take the figurine from you, is that correct?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:And you've insisted that he caused the disaster on the east river, which I'm told has already yielded a discovery of enough fentanyl to kill 32 million people that was stored at that warehouse.
Speaker A:Anyway, you've insisted that this rival.
Speaker D:The street value of that alone is.
Speaker A:You've insisted that this rival.
Speaker A:HE interrupts.
Speaker A:You somehow commandeered a shipping carrier craft to plow into the sea.
Speaker E:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:Am I still on the right track here?
Speaker E:Yes, sir.
Speaker D:Sure.
Speaker D:Scuttle a ship easy or scuttle.
Speaker D:That's not the right.
Speaker A:Actually, it's not.
Speaker A:Because a ship like that has so many safety mechanisms, not to mention automations, to ensure that this never occurs, that it would not be a very easy task to get something like that to happen.
Speaker E:Sir, There was someone standing at the edge of the pier, perhaps involved in some Sort of incantation.
Speaker E:But he's dead now, too.
Speaker A:Shakes his head.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:And Special Agent Rachel Glenn.
Speaker A:He looks like he has the biggest headache of his life.
Speaker B:Unfortunately, she did not make it out of the warehouse in time.
Speaker A:Do you know why she was there at all?
Speaker D:Yeah, she won't be playing any games of cranium these days.
Speaker D:Days, sir.
Speaker E:FBI Special Agent Rachel Glenn, we believe, had a lead on Michelle Lee and was following that lead to Lee's house.
Speaker E:And we believe that may have put her in the crosshairs.
Speaker A:Porter listens to you carefully.
Speaker A:Finally answers, he says, well, how convenient, I suppose, for you.
Speaker A:I understand that she was very involved in interfering with your investigation.
Speaker A:Okay, so statue was a vector.
Speaker A:Young was orchestrating some bullshit, using it.
Speaker A:Now it's a fucking disgrace that you turned it over to some unknown individual with dubious motivations.
Speaker A:But I'll let the stink of that little decision cling to you for some other future case officer who has to handle your unique approach to field operations.
Speaker A:So if we don't find Young's body in the Pier 31 rubble, well, I guess that's just another stinker to add to the pile.
Speaker A:He looks down back up at each of you.
Speaker A:Anything final to add, agents?
Speaker B:No, sir.
Speaker D:Do you like pineapple?
Speaker D:I really do plan on following through with that fruit basket.
Speaker C:Great callback.
Speaker A:I'm not part of some sort of inside joke that this cell apparently has going on, and I don't want to be a part of it.
Speaker A:So why don't we go ahead and ignore that.
Speaker A:For the record, anything relevant to add.
Speaker C:Agents out of character, I forget.
Speaker C:Did you just.
Speaker D:It's been a pleasure to work with you and I hope to work with you again in the future.
Speaker C:Did you mention the under hex guy?
Speaker D:That basically that's what he was talking about.
Speaker C:I just want to mention.
Speaker E:Did we mention.
Speaker E:I guess told him we didn't bring up the blue doors.
Speaker E:I'm guessing no.
Speaker E:We kept hearing about.
Speaker B:I think we're gonna leave those out.
Speaker D:Irrelevant.
Speaker A:Porter suddenly brightens up.
Speaker A:It's like a switch in his brain has been snapped to on.
Speaker A:And he smiles broadly.
Speaker A:A lot of this.
Speaker A:Now, as I mentioned to Roizen, I think a couple of days ago, it's very reminiscent of an older New York.
Speaker A:The ashes of that time and place are a dangerous place to play.
Speaker A:And I think based on everything reported here, that's where you've been the last couple of days.
Speaker A:Now, you put a stop to an occult smuggling group, you set back a major portion of the Eastern Seaboard Fentanyl trade.
Speaker A:You wounded a fanatical criminal organization.
Speaker A:You identified a new player on the New York scene.
Speaker A:This Jon Morsley.
Speaker A:This Underhex.
Speaker A:This is all fantastic, all fantastic accomplishments.
Speaker A:Well done, agents.
Speaker A:You truly deserve a bit of R and R.
Speaker A:He nods.
Speaker A:Your methods, attitudes and skill sets, they might be unorthodox, but I can't argue with these results.
Speaker A:He stands up and dusts off his spotless blue slacks.
Speaker E:Thank you, sir.
Speaker A:He smiles, nods.
Speaker A:This is your chance to say anything else to Porter that you might want.
Speaker C:To Anything else you would like to say to us after a job well done.
Speaker A:Good luck in your future endeavors and be seeing you.
Speaker C:Good working with you.
Speaker A:You are escorted.
Speaker A:You are escorted from the sub basement and brought back up into the noisy office space above a cheery staff sergeant and abuse hands each of you airline vouchers for Delta, nodding and telling you that you are free to make your own travel arrangements from here.
Speaker A:It's only a few minutes later that you are each deposited outside of Griffis by Humvee, a metal barrier gate noisily closing behind you as Air Force security forces watch you from behind a booth.
Speaker A:With tired eyes, you each make arrangements to head home, and you can't shake the feeling that you've all been pawns in someone else's game.
Speaker A:An ancient game with rules, traditions and consequences that you will never be able to comprehend.
Speaker A:And you're glad for that.
Speaker B:Be safe, boys.
Speaker B:I'll see you soon.
Speaker C:Good working with you, gentlemen.
Speaker D:Take care.
Speaker D:And Paris, stay off that leg.
Speaker D:Ryan, no spicy food, huh?
Speaker C:If you're not gonna send him that fruit basket, you're welcome to give it to me.
Speaker D:Oh, you're each getting a fruit basket.
Speaker D:You just send me your address.
Speaker C:Will do.
Speaker A:Fade to sa.
