Logfile from brass. Terrace Lofts -- Landings A charmingly aged building, of small studio apartments and, on the fourth and fifth floor, full fledged lofts. The stairwell is narrow but shallow, making it an easy walk but tough for hauling large furniture, but at the far end of the landing is an antiquated lift-style elevator, carefully maintained, which might make the latter easier. A glass-enclosed notice-board near the mailboxes are full of the usual notices for such neighborhoods -- gallery shows, calls for portfolios, business cards for intellectual property lawyers, and so forth. Contents: Harriet(#104PXcJnOg) Obvious exits: Number 1D <1D> Number 4B <4B> Front Door To (Zach, Harriet), Sammy pages: Whenever you two are ready, g'wan in and we'll just pose as if you're outside the apartment for the lock-picking bit. ;) From afar, to (Zach, Sammy): Harriet nods! Terrace Lofts -- Number 1D(#248RhJng) This studio apartment is cramped with the belongings of at least three individuals. Stacks of boxes form cubicles, which form rudimentary sleeping areas. Two of them have sleeping bags unrolled on the wood floor, and the third has a cot with several pillows. On the top of the boxes forming the cube with the cot can be found a black felt hat with an outrageously wide brim and a black and white feather coming out of the band. The kitchenette is somewhat well-worn, but clean. The coffee maker is perhaps the most obviously well-worn item in that section. The area not taken up by the kitchen, the bathroom, or the makeshift sleeping quarters is dominated by a ratty, weatherbeaten couch whose best years were sometime around the Kennedy Administration. Over the back of the couch sits a green stuffed serpent... albeit one with large, batlike wings, a series of spines along its back, and six blue eyes. Entertainment is provided to the inhabitants of the apartment by a large color television. An impressive satellite system is hooked in to it, with a positively frightening array of channels available. A shiny new Playstation 2 is hooked up to it as well, and a large metal mat sits in front of the television. Several boxes have been stood on their sides, forming a crude bookcase. Titles include 'Paradise Lost', 'Rebels: The Easter Rising of 1918', and several pieces by Ayn Rand and Jean-Paul Sartre. One box on the bottom is filled with medical texts. Contents: Heap Of Junk Obvious exits: Out Harriet is loitering in the lobby near her mailbox, watching the outer door, and trying not to fidget /very/ obviously. Harriet has been watching...I assume she saw Vlad come by earlier this afternoon? Heap Of Junk says, "Yes. Came in, stayed for a little bit, checked the mail, left." Zach is relaxing on the top of the stairs. He has a small knife and a small piece of wood, and is carving said wood with said knife. Harriet waits until the lobby is empty before wandering over to Zach, and poking him with a finger. "One of Cris' roommates came by earlier, so it should be cool, you know? Hopefully." She gives him a nervous grin, and eyes the wood. "I didn't know you whittled." "Hey, it's good for relaxin'," Zach grins. "I'm not good at it, but I manage to occational gnome." He pockets the wooden proto-gnome and folds the knife before getting up. "Shall we?" Harriet nods. "Gnomes are very relaxing. I think it's the hats, you know?" She gives him a quick hug. "And I think we shall." With that, she wanders casually over to 1D, and knocks on the door. Because it'd be bloody stupid to pick the lock only to discover that someone's still in there. Harriet says, "It would be amusing, though. I got it! Er. Oh...wrong apartment, you know?" Zach smiles and pats Harriet's bottom as she wanders away. He takes a stand that lets him play watchman. Zach snickers. A massive heap of junk sprawls across much of the floor - papers, books, remains of food - it's utterly horrific, and suggests that the owners have given up attempting to keep it clean. There's the beginnings of a stink arising. Fortunately, there is no response. The door remains sturdy and silent. With there being no answer, Harriet glances around, and slips a small, rather sparse lockpicking set out from under her shirt. When the coast is clear, she quickly goes to one knee, and starts work, biting on her poor, abused lower lip as she does so. AutoJudge: Harriet spends 4 essence. Harriet says, "TN 9" AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 2 + 2 = 4 . Check die: 5 Heap Of Junk says, "Two locks" Heap Of Junk says, "Two rolls, at no penalties, I'd think." Harriet says, "Made the first one by a bloody lot, then. :p" Harriet spends more Essence, for the second. AutoJudge: Harriet spends 2 essence. Harriet says, "TN 7" AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 1 + 5 = 6 . Check die: 5 Harriet says, "Woot!" Click. Click. Turn. Wow! You'd think Harriet had done this before. Zach winces at the Noise. "Dude... Lockpickin's supposed to be quiet-like," he mutters while hovering. "Didya make it?" Harriet makes a little gasping sound as the final tumbler kicks into place. For a moment, she just stares at the lock. "Wow, didn't think that'd actually work, you know?" Then she stands, slips the picks back into her pocket, and casually opens the door. She grins back at Zach. "I've never actually /done/ it on a real lock before, dearheart." She slips inside, and holds the door open for him. Inside, the apartment is a disaster area. If once it was clean, it certainly isn't now. Heaps of trash, crumpled papers, books, clothing, EVERYTHING litter the place. Either someone's already burgled it, or the owners packed up and fled in a hurry... or both. Zach slinks inside after Harriet and closes the door softly behind them. He wrinkles his nose in disgust. "Eww.. Something smells -bad-. Let's hurry up and be done with this. Do you need me to hand you some Essence? You were spending like a cowboy in Las Vegas." Harriet reaches back and relocks the door. "Give us some warning if someone shows up unexpectedly, you know? And if we need it, you'll probably get more use out of it than I will," she says, looking around at the health hazard. "On the plus side, we can be as thorough as we like. Who's going to notice in /this/ crap?" Zach eyes the room. "Indeed," he murmurs. "Looks like a Djinn nest. Good grief... Right, let's hop to it then." He pulls two sealed bags from his pockets, handing one to Harriet. "Latex gloves, originally for avoiding fingerprints, but I see they'll be for avoiding diseases too." He dons his own pair, pocketing the plastic. Harriet takes the gloves with a smile, and puts them over the thin, leather ones she's already wearing. No use messing up her good pair pawing through this stuff. "Djinn have nests?" she asks, as she picks her way through the Stuff over to the cubicle with the cot. "I was mostly going to look for a copy of the play Ellen and Cris are working on. Ellen refuses to talk about it, and Cris is in charge of the production...it may be nothing, but I don't want to run into any nasty surprises on opening night, you know?" The heap would quiver in indignity, if it but had ears. Instead, all the junk remains still. The green stuffed Balseraph perches on the back of the couch, perhaps glaring down at the mess below it. The cubicle with the cot is mostly empty, though - the mess sloshes into it, like the sea against the shore, but does not penetrate deeply into it. Several boxes of books face into the cubicle. Harriet says, "If the heap quivers, we're /leaving/." Heap Of Junk now SO badly wants a Gremlin with a cat vessel to huddle under the bottom of the heap... :p Zach looks around for a place to start. He decides to begin with the non-cot sleeping aeras and then work his way around. The urge to tidy and clean is strong, but he persists. Harriet looks moderately pleased to see that the cot-cubicle isn't as trashy as the rest of the apartment, and starts going slowly and methodically through the boxes of books, looking under the cot, pillows, feeling around on the mattress, and such. He's got to be using the bed for something, after all. The non-cot areas are worse. One reeks badly of spilled vodka, and a number of charcoal sketches hang on the walls. Most are of simple things - cars, the couch, statues - but several of them are somewhat darker in tone - heavy on the charcoal, showing shadowy figures in hooded robes. We'll get to the second in a minute. In the cot cubicle... Harriet, make a Per check. AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 2 + 6 = 8 . Check die: 1 Harriet says, "Success, but not a great one." Zach peers at the sketches, trying to make sense of them. Heap Of Junk says, "Got Artistry/sketching, Zach? :)" Zach says, "Nope! :)" Heap Of Junk says, "Harriet, being used as bookmarks in several of the books - all political tracts - are little origami angels. Several have their wings penciled in black. Those tend to be scraped up, as if stabbed repeatedly by a pen. Under the bed, there's a number of books on set design and lighting." Heap Of Junk says, "Zach, give me a Per roll at -1, and we'll see if you can interpret anything from Vlad's scrawls. :)" Zach eyes the origami angels. So -that's- why my feathers have been all sore! Zach says, "TN 7" AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 3 + 3 = 6 . Check die: 6 Zach preens. Harriet ooooooohs. Zach will need to buy that skill now. Harriet takes out a couple of the books, opening them to the bookmarks and just quickly flipping through. She eyes the abused paper angels, and says in a sing-song voice, "Someone's got issues, oh yes, someone's got issues." If there's nothing of interest in the political tracts, she stands up and brushes her hands off, before looking around for a closet. Heap Of Junk says, "Zach, there's definitely, in these later sketches, a sort of feeling of darkness, of trying to hide... something. Your finely honed Creationer Art-Interpretation senses see Guilt. Guilt like the sort that would make Judgementers orgasm." The political tracts are mostly political-economic tracts. One is specifically about the "Hispanic-American political experience." Zach frowns as he scrutinizes the sketches. "Hmmm... I wonder what he's made these guys do. I think I'd like to resonate them, you know..." he murmurs. Then he squats down to pick through the litter on the floor. From afar, Sammy was bloody well wondering what it was gonna take to get one of the Malakim to look at his minions. :p Long distance to Sammy: Zach grins. It's hard to remember minions! I hardly ever resonate NPCs here. ;P Harriet's eyes glaze over as she looks into the politicese. After making a very cursory attempt to read a couple of words, she puts them all back into place, and goes over to open the closet, and search through it. "I don't know, you know? Do you know any Creationers in another state, Zach? I was thinking that, if there were any involved in the theatre, we could try and get them a place there. Away from him. Assuming that I can track any of them down, again..." "I know a few, yes. But it really depends on whether or not the goonies are Hellsworn or not. Most angels will kill 'em as soon as look at them if they are; humans or not." Zach peers at a torn newspaper and then keeps on riffling through the junk. On the floor of Vlad's space are crushed charcoals and a few shards of broken glass. Sitting near the foot of the sleeping bag is a forgotten chess rook. The closet holds a number of bits of clothing - including Cristobal's black suit and a tuxedo - along with a few long coats, a Louisville slugger, and... well, some more shoeboxes filled with junk... Harriet winces. "They seemed rather nice. Well, I mean, flaky, yes, but not evil, you know?" She kneels down, and starts going through the junk-filled shoeboxes. "Anyway, it's a thought. They're in a bad shape." Heap Of Junk says, "Per roll, straight up." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 5 + 4 = 9 . Check die: 5 Harriet is blind. Blind, I tell you. Heap Of Junk says, "You miss whatever it is in those boxes. Just loads of odds and ends. Matchbooks, pens, heaps of business cards - maybe one of them is a collector?" Zach nods and sighs. "Yeah, they need a spine transplant for starters..." The breave mechanic bravely braves more junk! Moving into what must be Paul's area... there's stacks of books, papers pinned up to the walls... several insects of various sizes pinned to the sides of the boxes with thumbtacks... Oooh, it's a business card with a watermark. Harriet stares at the faint shimmeriness of it for a while, before jerking herself back at the sound of Zach's voice. She absently puts the boxes back, and nods as she slips her hands into the pockets of the coats and tuxedoes. "They certainly do, at that, you know? And detox. But, still..." Zach riffles through the books to see what Paul's reading, then peers at the papers and the insects. His Creationer self is not happy, as he figures these critters were probably alive when pinned... Heap Of Junk says, "The tuxedo contains a matchbook from Bo Ling's, incidentally... the rest of the pockets have the usual detritus of pockets - one of the long coats has a number of balled up tissues that might've been there from... well... when it was cold enough to wear a heavy coat like that. Zach, Paul's got a LOT of medical books - everything from basic anatomy up to "Principles of Modern Neurosurgery". The bugs are mostly beetles, but there's a praying mantis that's had its slashing claws glued together with superglue. The papers are anatomy diagrams, and one sketch of Frankenstein's Monster, with hideously oversized neck bolts. Give me a Per roll at -2 - Paul's a REALLY lousy artist..." AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 5 + 3 = 8 . Check die: 5 Zach fail! Harriet shudders in disgust as her hand touches the wadded up ball of tissues, and she's very, very glad for the two layers of gloves as she pulls it out. "Ew," she mutters, then pats down the back of the closet for a false panel. "If I were stuff that a clever, paranoid Balseraph were hiding, where would I be, you know?" Heap Of Junk says, "Harriet, Per roll, straight up." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 3 + 2 = 5 . Check die: 6 Harriet says, "That's a success." Zach hmms. "Harriet? When you're done over there, you might wanna take a look at the sketches these guys have been drawing," he suggests. Then adds in a lower voice, "This guy here's thoroughly demented. Sheesh!" He shakes out the books, just in case, then moves on to the kitchen area to check out cupboards and drawers and stuff. Heap Of Junk says, "There's DEFINITELY no false panel back there (and I was gonna have fun making you believe there was, if you'd failed with a high enough CD). There IS a folder behind the stack of boxes, however, filled with lined paper on which is written a LOT of... uh... something. You've never actually SEEN Helltongue written, have you? :)" Heap Of Junk says, "Zach, let me know what you're searching first - the cupboards over the sink, the ones under the sink, or the fridge?" Zach starts with the above-sink areas, then moves down. He wants to avoid the fridge for as long as he can. :) "Yeah, sure, I can do that..." Harriet says, then trails off as she picks up the folder and looks through it. Her eyebrows rise. "Huh. Either a code, scribbles, or deluded, drunken ramblings, you know? Can you make heads or tails of this, Zach?" She emerges from the closet, and sets the folder down on a clean space of counter. Then she goes to look at the sketches. Because art is neat! Heap Of Junk says, "Okay, Zach, give me a Per roll. Straight up, no mods." AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 1 + 2 = 3 . Check die: 5 Heap Of Junk says, "The cabinets above the sink are mostly empty - old cereal boxes, unused plates, a Salad Shooter... wait, a Salad shooter? That's odd. Especially when you note the thin black wire running INTO the salad shooter box..." Zach says, "Salad shooter???" Zach is ignorant forriner. Harriet pats Zach on the back! "It's sort of a portable food processor thing. You stick veggies in it, it cuts them up, and shoots them into a bowl. Heap Of Junk says, "They don't have those over there? It's a cheap appliance that essentially is like a food processor. You push a veggie in at the top, and it slices it up nicely and shoots it out, presumably into a salad bowl." Zach blinks at the appliance. He loves gadgets, and this one is... Well, it has been tinkered with. He takes a closer look at it, lifting it carefully to get a better peek. The wire is running back behind the shelving, it soon becomes obvious -- it runs down to a plug, one which otherwise would've been mistaken as going to the light over the sink. It's actually a very good electronics job. In the box, however... is the most odd food processor you've ever seen. The antenna and the recording deck are DEFINITELY not standard issue... Zach whistles quietly. "Well, well, well... I think we just got lucky, my dear. Seems your neighbour has been playing spy games..." He pokes at the recorder to see if there's a tape in it. Harriet is distracted! She turns, and returns to Zach, peering over the counter. "What? What do you have there, you know?" "Cleverly hidden recording equipment. I wonder if he's been listening in on anyone besides whoever visited -this- appartment," Zach muses. "We're looking for tapes now, too!" he says firmly. Harriet blinks, and looks more closely at the device. "Oooh, neat. I wonder if I can get one of those, you know?" she muses, then nods. "I already checked the closet and his cubicle. If he's bugging his roommates, he wouldn't be keeping the tapes with their stuff...er. It's not running right now, is it?" You say, "Did you find any books on elecronics in his stuff?" Heap Of Junk says, "There IS indeed a tape in it... and, no. Presuming at least that things are quiet up in 4B." Harriet shakes her head. "Not that I noticed. There's some set design and lighting stuff under the bed, you know? I guess it might have a section for sound systems in there...is there any way to pinpoint what that thing's listening to?" Harriet says, "It /should/ be quiet as a mouse. Unless someone's violating my privacy while we're violating yours. :p" Heap Of Junk says, "Violation all around. How hopelessly kinky." Heap Of Junk says, "As for the tapes... well... you haven't found those... yet." Zach carefully extracts the tape and wraps it in the plastic his gloves were sealed in. It goes in the pocket. "Well, any tapes may tell us more. I'm not sure... Let me check the wires..." He starts to trace wires in earnest, like a regular detective! Heap Of Junk says, "And there's still boxes of books facing out into the living room, near the couch, some that are closed boxes... Zach, give me an Electronics roll?" Zach says, "TN 8" AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 5 + 5 = 10 . Check die: 5 Zach says, "HAIL ERIS!" Heap Of Junk says, "Well, Zach... with a failure with a CD like that... *ponders* Either you mess up the wiring in tracing it, or you'll trace it to someplace improbable and humorous. I leave the option to you. :)" Zach messes up the wiring but bad! *yank* Zach curses and gives up after several accidents of clumsiness. He's used to plumbing and motors, not all this friggin' spy equipment! The disgruntled mechanic heads back to the kitchen cupboards to search the cereal boxes for more tapes! Heap Of Junk says, "While clever, the cereal boxes are devoid of tapes. You DO find a hoard of cheap plastic toys behind one of the boxes, though." Harriet doesn't giggle. Really. She peers down at the mess Zach made of the wiring. "Um. Is that supposed to look like that?" she asks, helpfully. And then joins in on the search for tapes, before she can be smited. Heap Of Junk says, "Okay, you two. Give me some ideas as to where you're searching, and give me Per rolls at -1." Harriet is searching in cupboards above the sink. AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 4 + 4 = 8 . Check die: 4 Harriet misses. Drat that -1. :) Zach -does- secure the Special salad shooter, as he intends to steal it when they leave. Then he searches the lower cupboards, checks the kitchen desk to see if it can be lifted (and thus enable people tp hide stuff underneath it), before he moves on to search the unsearched boxes. AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 6 + 4 = 10 . Check die: 4 Zach bah! Heap Of Junk says, "Alas. Under the cupboards are a set of pots and pans that are beginning to show signs of rust... and the unsearched boxes, well, they do turn up several books on electronics, sound systems, theatre lighting, and, indeed, the instruction manuals to the recorder... but no tapes. Those are secreted in a Very Special Place no one's yet looked." Zach riffles through the elecronic texts to see if there's any system diagrams and sketches hidden. Harriet closes the cupboard. "Those poor, poor pans. I feel sorry for them, you know?" She looks around the kitchen, for anywhere that /hasn't/ been searched. Finally, she starts to poke around in the oven, microwave, fridge, and freezer. And cookie jars, if there are any. "After this, I'm going to look in the toilet tank, you know? I saw a movie where people hid stuff there, once..." Heap Of Junk says, "Yup - actually, a wiring sketch of how he concealed the wiring in the kitchen light wiring... but that's all." Heap Of Junk says, "Harriet, Per roll, at +1." Harriet commits robbery by remembering cheezy eighties' films... AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 4 + 3 = 7 . Check die: 1 Harriet says, "Got it. Lousy CD, though." Zach winces and heads for the bathroom. He's not gonna let Harriet sully herself in there! Zach also pockets the sketch. Heap Of Junk says, "Hmm. Despite everything else, the freezer's not looking so bad. It's mostly empty. Oh, by the way, kids... are y'all breaking in at this actual hour, or was it later?" Zach dunnos and looks at Harriet. Harriet says, "Later, I figure." Harriet says, "Otherwise, people would be coming and going through the lobby, and they might be seen." Heap Of Junk says, "That's what I thought. I take it you turned on the lights in here, then..." Zach nods. Certainly enough lights to be able to -see-. :) Harriet says, "Yup. It's always been gloooomy when Harriet's been here. :P" Harriet paws through whatever's in the freezer, looking for little baggies of tapes, or whatever. If she finds nothing interesting, she closes it, and retrieves the folder of written stuff. "Maybe under the couch, you know?" she says, mostly to herself, since Zach's in the bathroom. Heap Of Junk says, "Some like it gloomy. *grin* Y'all's posing, then. I'll give you the bathroom as a freebie: several well-thumbed Glossy Men's Magazines - enough to get SOMEONE a bonus to invoke Andre, let me tell ya. Most of the toiletries have been cleaned out. There's a few empty bottles of prescription painkillers, prescribed by various doctors in the KC area. And, Harriet... there's a box of chocolate ice cream in the back of the freezer. When you pick it up, it rattles. Inside? A set of tapes..." Zach manfully braves the horrors of Cristobal's bathroom. He combs through it like a true trooper and comes up with...porn. Ew! Harriet ooooohs, and takes the tapes. And the ice-cream container. She picks up the folder, and then wanders into the bathroom. At the porn, one eyebrow rises. "Well. That's more than I ever wanted to know, you know? Found the tapes." Zach perks up and throws the dirty magazines away. "Excellent! At least we got something useful out of this. You mentioned some notes?" Harriet hands Zach the folder, and backs out of the bathroom, into the /slightly/ less disturbing atmosphere of the living room. "It's got...stuff. Code, maybe? And still no play, you know?" She frowns, and does actually try and look under the couch, and under the seat cushions. Zach takes a look at the notes and winces. "Shit, that's just not normal. These hurt my eyes!" He grumbles and closes the folder agian. "It's Hellglyphs unless I'm completely mistaken. Can't read 'em. We'll just have to bring 'em to a Tether, to have 'em... No wait. We know people who can read these..." He smiles nastily. Zach says, "How thick is the folder?" Heap Of Junk says, "It's, oh, about one pad in thickness, carefully written, neatly printed. Page after page, double-sided... maybe a quarter-inch thick?" Zach measures the folder and hms. "Either we found the serpent's diary, or we found your play..." Harriet hmphs, and stands up. "Must be Hell to reherse, pun intended, you know?" She eyes it. "If we take it, he'll know someone's been in here. He /might/ blame Paul or Vlad, but...probably not." Zach shrugs. "He'll know from the missing tapes and the bust listening device, too. I don't much care. He'll know -someone's- been here, not -who. Zach says, "Oho. Ellen wants to walk in..." Harriet looks blank for a moment. Then, "Oh, yeah. This is true, you know? Well...is there anything else we need to look for, that you can think of?" Harriet says, "Does she have a key to the apartment? Harriet locked the door. Course, at least /one/ of the lights is on." Heap Of Junk says, "She does not. But there ARE lights on..." To (Sammy, Harriet, Zach), Ellen pages: Hey guys. Would it be plausible for Ellen to walk in, looking for Cristobal? ;) To (Ellen, Harriet, Zach), Sammy pages: Well, Ellen doesn't have a key to the place... To (Zach, Harriet, Sammy), Ellen pages: True. I wonder how Zach and Harriet got one.. ;p Zach looks around. "I think we found some really interesting stuff here. I think we've been pretty thorough, so we should probably go." Harriet nods. "Probably a good idea, you know?" She frowns and looks at the apartment, again. "Did you want to try and fix those wires on the thingy, or something?" "Nah, I..." Zach eyes the kitchen lights and pauses. Grabs the wire sketch and goes hmmm. "I don't want to -fix- it. I just want to know where it went. But the tapes should tell us that." OOC> Heap Of Junk says, "Zach, to judge by the diagrams, where it goes is a self-contained system. The mikes apparently broadcast from somewhere, to the recorder." To (Sammy, Harriet, Zach), Ellen pages: Okay. I'm gonna knock on the door, and we'll see what happens. Let me know if El hears any suspicious noises or anything. ;) There is a knocking upon the door, coming from the direction of Terrace Lofts -- Landings. Harriet grins. "Alrighty, then. Let's get the heck out of dodge, you know?" She takes another look around, and..."Oh, shit." Zach freezes and makes a face. "Damn," he mutters quietly. "Don't make a sound," he whispers to Harriet and stands absolutely still. Harriet gives Zach a Look, but obligingly freezes. On the bright side, if whoever it was had a key, they wouldn't be knocking. On the bad side, it could be the landlord. She hopes Cristobal is up on his rent... To (Zach, Sammy, Harriet), Ellen pages: Is the door locked right now? To (Zach, Ellen, Harriet), Sammy pages: Yes. To (Zach, Harriet, Sammy), Ellen pages: Is the light on inside? Zach frowns and starts moving quietly towards the door. He has a Plan. It involves making sure the door won't open at first try, so the Landlord will have to go away for tools and then Our Heroes can escape! To (Zach, Ellen, Sammy), Harriet pages: At least one is. Zach rolls Move Silently. TN 11 AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 2 + 5 = 7 . Check die: 5 Heap Of Junk pssts. The door has a chain on it, so it can be additionally locked from the inside. While Zach does the stuff that requires grace and dexterity, Harriet looks around for a window, preferably one facing the alleyway. Zach is as quiet as the breeze! Heap Of Junk says, "Zach well knows there's one of THOSE out there." Zach slooowly and carefully sneaks the chain on. With nary a sound, hopefully. From afar, to (Sammy, Harriet, Zach): Ellen knocks on the door again, and calls, worriedly, "Cris? Are you okay?" Zach hurries to sneak the chain on while there is knocking! Helps camouflage the sound. Heap Of Junk asks for a 2nd MS roll, at -2 to keep the chain from jangling. I know very well how hard it is to pull that trick off without at the least SOME noise. :p AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 3 + 5 = 8 . Check die: 1 Zach phew! Harriet grimaces as she hears the voice. Not the landlord. Not likely to go /away/, either. She waves her free hand slowly at Zach, and then gestures towards the alley window, a questioning look on her face. You paged (Sammy, Harriet, Ellen) with 'There is Silence from within.'. Zach holds up a hand at Harriet in the time-honoured gesture of "Wait." He shakes his head slowly and strains to listen at the door. Heap Of Junk says, "There's also a peephole, if you wish to use it. But it might be noticable on the other side of the door." Long distance to (Sammy, Harriet, Ellen): Zach is listening carefully for any rustling of key-like objects, thief's tools, shotguns, etc. :) To (Zach, Harriet, Ellen), Sammy pages: Ellen with a shotgun! W00t! From afar, to (Zach, Ellen, Sammy): Harriet quails with fear! To (Ellen, Zach, Harriet), Sammy pages: Well, unless Ellen's led me very astray, Zach, give me a Per roll, and pray you don't fail with a high CD, because gods only know what you'll hear from the street noises. ;) AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 1 + 6 = 7 . Check die: 2 Heap Of Junk says, "No sounds of Badness. Just Ellen, waiting outside the door." Harriet frowns thoughtfully. She raises a finger, points at Paul's cubicle, then at the bathroom, then at her mouth and Zach's mouth. Then she makes a slightly obscene movement with her hips, and waggles her eyebrows at Zach. She mouths carefully, "Maybe Paul got Lucky?" Zach stares at Harriet. Heap Of Junk stares at Harriet. It may even sprout an eye to stare. Harriet giggles madly. Heap Of Junk says, "Talk about adrenalin rush." Harriet kicks the heap. Noises, not the actuality! Certainly not /here/. Hmph. Harriet shrugs, helplessly, and stares back. Heap Of Junk will give Ellen a roll to see if she recognizes y'all's voices. :p Zach struggles mightily to restrain a giggle, bending double to hold them back. It takes him a minute to recover. Then he grins hugely and nods! Zach creeps quietly over to Harriet and takes her hand. He lifts his eyebrows in a question of 'ready'? Harriet says, "Emotes the throes of passion! :)" AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 3 + 5 = 8 . Check die: 5 Harriet is deep in the throes of passion. To (Harriet, Zach, Sammy), Ellen pages: There are no sounds of breaking and entering. A short pause of silence, then one might detect the light sound of footsteps, apparently walking away. To (Ellen, Zach, Harriet), Sammy pages: Awww, and as Ellen walks away, she hears a distinctly feminine moan of pleasure. :p From afar, to (Zach, Sammy, Harriet): Ellen imagines that was not meant seriously? ;) Harriet squeezes Zach's hand, grins evilly, and then throws her head back and moans softly. Zach grunts and breathes heavily. He also starts thumping his hand against the wall rythmically, and in beat with Harriet's efforts. From afar, to (Ellen, Zach, Harriet): Sammy looks to Harriet. You wanna answer that? To (Zach, Ellen, Sammy), Harriet pages: It's serious. You paged (Ellen, Sammy, Harriet) with 'It is indeed.'. To (Zach, Ellen, Sammy), Harriet pages: There's also rhythmic thumping coming from within the apartment. Harriet keeps her moans and gasps in time with Zach's thumping and grunt, and even manages to keep a straight face through it. Someone might wonder if maybe she isn't enjoying this a bit too much, from the way her eyes are sparkling, though. To (Harriet, Ellen, Zach), Sammy pages: Ellen, give me a Per roll, at -1. You need a CD of 4 or better. To (Sammy, Harriet, Zach), Ellen pages: Nope. To (Harriet, Ellen, Zach), Sammy pages: Darn. There was such a chance for cute, misunderstood pathos in this scene... Zach says, "Oh that would've be rich if Ellen had reconginzed HArriet and not ZAch... :)" Harriet groans. That would be bad, bad, BAD! Heap Of Junk sprouts a mouth and grins REALLY, REALLY, REAAAAALLLY wide. Heap Of Junk says, "THAT'S what I had in mind." Harriet snickers. Zach wists. To (Sammy, Harriet, Zach), Ellen pages: The footsteps pause, and then resume with what sounds like an angry stomp. Still headed away. Heap Of Junk wishes he could just give that to her. If both of you would agree... :p Zach doesn't mind... *snicker* Harriet says, "Like Harriet doesn't borrow /enough/ trouble with Ellen and Cris? :P Heck, go ahead. Harriet will have an impeccable alibi.../right/, Zach? :)" Zach says, "Would be bad for Cris too, I'd think." Heap Of Junk says, "Exactly. It'd generally be bad. :p" Zach says, "Of course, dear." To (Ellen, Zach, Harriet), Sammy pages: Ellen, as you're stomping away... you hear another moan, definite vocalization to this one. It sounds distressingly familiar. Erm. It might, and this is, of course, a ridiculous possibility, be Harriet. In Cris's apartment. Which we all know is completely absurd, right? Harriet says, "Worse comes to worse, Harriet'll just tell her she had a moment of weakness with Paul. Dignity? What dignity?" Heap Of Junk says, "Now THAT'S sacrificing it all, right there. Lots of loss of dignity there. *shakes his head*" Zach points Harriet to the light switch, while continuing the thumping. He makes a 'kill it' gesture, by dragging a finger across his throat. Harriet reaches over and flicks off the switch, rolling her eyes as the room is plunged into darkness. She keeps up the moaning, though, her performance nearly flawless. Except the occassional smothered giggle. Zach's groans grow deeper and more intent, as he fakes his way to a climax. The thumping quickens. Zach snickers. And oh the shame. A Creationer is faking it! Zach says, "TWO Creationers are faking it! Eli will be wroth!" Harriet follows Zach's lead, throwing her head back and gasping her way towards 'fufillment'. And in some desperate part of her mind, she's praying that they found the /only/ recorder in the apartment... To (Sammy, Harriet, Zach), Ellen pages: The loud footsteps echo through the hallway, slowly fading. Heap Of Junk says, "Give me Per rolls at +1, please. While you're moaning. :p" AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 1 + 3 = 4 . Check die: 6 AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 2 + 4 = 6 . Check die: 6 Heap Of Junk says, "She's coming back up to the door, trying to tiptoe." Zach reaches out to find Harriet's hand or arm or whatever. He keeps up the act all the way through climax and into the final grunt. Then quiets, and only breathes heavily. Harriet's cries rise and subside with Zach's, and she takes his hand in her free one, and raises it to her lips to brush a kiss across the knuckles. Then turns her attention towards the door, and listens. Heap Of Junk says, "There's still someone at the door. No sound yet..." Zach lets the heavy breathing die down gradually as well, and then all is Silence. A minute goes by after the last gasps. There's been no sound of footsteps receding again. Either Ellen took advantage of your feigned climaxes to retreat for good, or she's still at the door... Harriet stays still for a while, and then sketches a question mark onto the back of Zach's hand with her finger. Zach squeezes Harriet's hand and keeps standing still. Darkness and Silence. Mmm. Harriet squeezes back, but keeps her head turned towards the door. Or, at least, the black space where the door probably is. Zach will keep the silence for at least another 5 minutes. Zach digs in his pockets to locate his car keys. They have one of those nifty little (tiny!) maglites attached. Very handy for a Backdoor Santa, those... Heap Of Junk says, "Five minutes of silence. When you pull the keys out, I suspect there'll be at least a faint jingle." Harriet is not as nifty as Zach in the maglite department, but she gives Zach a look as she feels him squirming around in the darkness. She throws another look at the door, worriedly. Zach not if I clutch them in fist while fist still in pocket. And I'm going to try unfastening the maglite without pulling out the keys first. :) Heap Of Junk says, "Somehow, Zach, I suspect your character has a lot of practice with quietly slipping out the back, hmm?" Zach shifts his eyes. Well...actually... :) Heap Of Junk says, "At last, you hear footsteps receding. Finally." Zach fidget fidget rustle quietly fidget more, phew... Heap Of Junk says, "Actually, you hear several pairs moving through the lobby..." Harriet leans towards the door, frowning as she listens. Ellen's sneaked back once, already, after all... Zach lets out a breath of relief at that, and hauls out the keys with a minimum of sound. He lights the tiny maglite, shielding it with his hand. Then listens too. How many people?? Heap Of Junk says, "Two, maybe three. They're receding away. Maybe somebody was just going outside..." Harriet says, "Are the blinds closed, here?" Heap Of Junk says, "Yes, and shades are drawn." Zach stalks over to the alley window to check if it's possible to use it for escaping. This involves finding out if there's any people outside of it. Heap Of Junk says, "Zach, give me a +roll." Zach says, "Is there any light outside in the alley? Or mostly dark?" AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 6 + 1 = 7 . Check die: 4 Heap Of Junk says, "The universe likes you. There's one dim light that shines on the alley, but that's it" Heap Of Junk says, "...otherwise there's just a dumpster out there, from what you can see." Zach hugs God. God hugs Zach back. Harriet moves over to stand near Zach. "We going out the window?" she asks, in a whisper. Zach carefully and stealthily opens the window. He's doesn't trust Ellen to not come back when the other people have left. "Yeah, she may come back. Stay here..." He sneaks back to get the recorder and the folder, if Harriet still has the box of tapes. Harriet does have the box! It looks like chocolate ice cream, so of course she's not going to put it down. She stays, and lurks by the window, preparing to shut it if anyone starts to come down the alley. Zach gets the items and returns to the window. Placing the soon to be stolen goods nearby, the sneaky mechanic starts climbing out. With much stealth and elegance, one would hope. Zach says, "How far is it down?" Heap Of Junk says, "It's a 1st floor apartment. Maybe five feet. Give me a Climbing roll, anyways, just in case." Harriet says, "Agl -2" Heap Of Junk says, "My book's not handy. Erm... ah, thanks." AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 5 + 2 = 7 . Check die: 2 Zach makes. Zach slips out the window and motions for Harriet to hand down the Stuff, then hand down herself. Into his waiting hands and arms! Harriet hands the stuff down, verily! She waits until his hands are free again, then jumps down into Zach's arms, trusting that she won't bowl them both over. She's grinning like an absolute loon, too. Harriet has Acrobatics, not Climbing...is that a suitble substitute for jumping down? Heap Of Junk says, "Sure. What the heck, I'm a Generous And Benevolent man." Zach readies to catch! AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 1 + 3 = 4 . Check die: 4 Harriet says, "Made it! Yay. :)" Zach rolls straight Strength. AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 3 + 4 = 7 . Check die: 6 Zach says, "TN 10" Heap Of Junk would've NEVER let Zach live that down if he'd failed. Harriet says, "Oh, it would have been GREAT." Zach knows and is relieved. :) :) Harriet lands in Zach's arms, her feet touching the ground gracefully. She gives the Malakite a kiss! "Mission accomplished, you know?" Zach has a Harriet! Grinning like a Windy who just hit the jackpot, he kisses her back and then reaches up to close the window as best he can. "If you put me on your shoulders, I can reach it better," Harriet comments, still grinning madly. She enjoys breaking the law a lot more than any good girl should. "We're still not back inside," Zach murmurs. "We should avoid being seen with this stuff. Maybe put it in one of our cars?" Zach says, "It was only 5 feet, wasn't it? Zach's 6'2'' :)" Harriet says, "Rolls Area Knowledge (the first time it's ever been used!)" AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 1 + 2 = 3 . Check die: 1 Harriet nods, her brow furrowing. "Actually, I think I can take us through the alleyways around here, and put us coming out on the street down by the traffic light, you know? Then we can reach the cars from the opposite direction...do you have a tape player at your house?" Zach nods. "I do. I have one in the truck as well. Let's hustle!" Harriet picks up the tape box and hustles! As they head off, she takes off both pairs of gloves, tucking them deep into the pockets of her jeans. And tries to act natural. Nothing to see here, please move along... Zach also removes the gloves and is sticking more to the shadows while following Harriet. He's carrying a salad shooter in the dead of night, for crying out loud! AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 6 + 3 = 9 . Check die: 3 Zach moves silently. :) Zach says, "Though, given the eccentric area, a man carrying a salad shooter is probably not something that will rise eyebrows..." Harriet says, "Probably not even with the wires. Modern art, man. Rage against the modern reliance on technology!" Heap Of Junk says, "I think you two have it all set up. So, you have (a) the recorder, (b) the tapes, (c) the Hellglyph manuscript?" Zach says, "Yah." Heap Of Junk says, "Was there anything ELSE?" Harriet says, "Yup. And that sketch about the kitchen light." Heap Of Junk says, "Okay." Harriet pets the Heap. Thanks for running the scene for us. :) Heap Of Junk says, "Np. It's my job. Or something. Have a good night, kids. :p" Harriet says, "Take up on the street?" Zach nods. Through the alleyways they go, slipping around to the traffic light, and out onto the street proper. Harriet looks around as she steps out into view, scanning the street for anyone that she recognizes as a Bad Guy. Seeing none, she breathes another sigh of relief. Zach follows sneakily, and soon they arrive at his truck. "Let's go to my place, eh?" Harriet nods, and reaches around to hug him. "Absolutely, love. And, you know, I feel a lot less guilty than I thought I would...about the breaking in, I mean." Zach stuffs the casette he took from the recorder into his car stereo, and winds it back. Then he drives. Wroooom! Harriet rides comfortably in Zach's truck, looking through the tapes. "There's no labels or anything on them, you know? How very disorganized." She hmmms, and fingers one. "Why don't you just chuck one of them into the casette player here?" Zach gestures to the named device while speeding a little. Zach hugs. We're still in the truck on our way here. :) Roger shall wait then! AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 4 + 2 = 6 . Check die: 3 Zach says, "That was for driving. It goes well." Harriet slips the tape in the tape deck, trusting Zach's driving skills, even if he pays no attention to the speed limit. There's hissy, blank sounds for a long time, then the sounds of rattling, clanking, and music faintly in the background. Harriet frowns, narrowing her eyes at it. Zach manouvers the truck effortlessly through the city, and soon they near Granada Theater and his little love nest. "Not much going on so far, boring tape..." he notes. Harriet nods. "Yeah, but there's...something..." Her frown turns into a scowl as a recognizable voice starts singing an off-key melody along with the background music. "That's me!" Zach raises his eyebrows and listens more carefully. "And indeed it is. Looks like you've got a bit of a bug infestation in your flat." He parks the truck. Harriet sputters! Her face goes red, and her hands make clenching gestures. "He bugged my apartment, you know? He *bugged* my *apartment*!" She starts to sputter again. "Oooooh, that...that...oooh!" Zach grabs the lifted goods and hops out. "Let's go inside before you start throwing things. And bring the tape. This is UnCool in so many ways..." he says unhappily. Roger is strolling down the street, perhaps toward the theater, perhaps towards Zach's place, it's hard to tell. Harriet pops the tape out with savage jab of her finger at the eject button. She pulls it out and shoves it into the chocolate ice cream carton that contains the rest of the tapes. She doesn't slam Zach's door as she gets out, but only because he loves his truck. "I don't believe the nerve of that man, you know?" "Well, technically he isn't...a man," Zach notes, but then he stops himself. Any further comments might get him yelled at. He eyes Harriet's red face nervously and locks up the truck. "C'mon, hon. Let's slip inside and...hey! That's Roger, ain't it?" He points. Roger sticks his hands in his pockets as he strolls, humming softly to himself, not noticing Zach or Harriet yet. Harriet growls. "Stop interrupting a perfectly good rant with logic, Zach! He should be damn glad that's the /worst/ I'm calling him, you know? That six-eyed, sorry excuses for a....argh! What?" She's interrupted from her raving to look around. Seeing Roger, she waves at him. Still noticibly not happy. Zach waves and calls out to Roger. "Hey there, Roge!" In a softer voice he tells Harriet, "Sorry, love." Roger looks over as he's hailed and finaly spots Zach and Harriet and waves back as he walks over to them "Hey, how's it going?" Then he catches sight of Harriets stormcloud like expression "Err, is everything ok?" "Lucian is a bastard," Harriet says, in a voice as sweet as poisoned chocolate. Then she offers Roger a one-armed hug. "But we all knew that, you know? How are you doing, Roger?" Zach would hug too, but he has his arms full of a funny-looking Salad Shooter and a paper folder. "We're mostly fine, Roge. Let's go inside, where we can talk..." He suddenly looks thoughtful and worried. "...safely?" Roger says, "Luc...oh Cristobal." His face darkens "What's the bastard done now?" Then he nods at Zach "Need a hand with those?"" Harriet makes a disgusted noise. "Bugged my apartment," she says, simply. And glances at Zach, suddenly sharing his frown. "And possibly...that would be bad, you know?" "Let's go up and search the place. I want to know, and I want to know /now/!" Zach marches towards his place, and jogs up the stairs to unlock the door. Roger nods, calling after him "There's always my place you know." He looks at Harriet 'Need a hand with the tapes?" Harriet smiles and shakes her head at Roger. "No, I've got them. I'm not going to throw them at anyone, I promise, you know?" She follows Zach, reaching up with her free hand to rub her forehead. "He's got a point, Zach. Cris is even /less/ likely to have bugged Roger's place...does he even know where you live, Roger?" Zach opens the door and walks in. "We'll search here, and then move on if we have to. Don't talk about important stuff until we're through, ok?" He puts his cargo on the table and consults the sketch he had pocketed. "I'm starting with the light armatures, you guys check the furniture and the phone first." Zach says, "We'll do the Perception +rolls. I OOCly know my place isn't bugged, so. :)" Roger nods at Harriet and then follows Zach into his place "Hmm, I could dust the place if you want?" Still, he starts checking the phone Roger nods Harriet sets the box down, and then starts searching the furniture, running her hands under seats, behind dressers, and all of that. "I don't know if dusting would help, by this point, you know? It's probably been a while..." Harriet nods. :) AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 5 + 5 = 10 . Check die: 5 Zach says, "Wow, that Eris chick digs me..." AutoJudge: Roger rolls: 3 + 5 = 8 . Check die: 2 Roger says, "heeh, look at me fail with my per of 3 :)" Harriet watches Roger get a DI... AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 1 + 2 = 3 . Check die: 6 Zach nods absently as he feels around the light armatures and scrutinizes the wiring. "Hmmm... This looks a bit odd." Roger looks over after serching the phone "I didn't find anything, how about you Zach? Zach says, "Roger finds naught but a couple of very small and frigtened dustbunnies. (Zach keeps a rather clean house.) Harriet finds nada, and she -knows- she has been extremely thorough. If there were bugs, she would have discovered them." Harriet thoroughly searches every piece of furniture that could possibly have a transmitter in it. Hands dusty, she hops back up her feet. "There's nothing here, you know? If it's anywhere..." she looks up at Zach, curiously. Zach scowls at the highly suspect wires with thin lips. Then he whips out his leatherman and starts cutting wires. Utterly innocent electric wires... *ZAPP* Zach falls backwards with a yelp and a thud, clutching his hand. Roger hurries over "Zach, man, you ok?" He kneels down, ready to apply first aid if needed. Harriet yelps, and also hurries over, hovering over Zach. "Zach!" She glares up at the lighting, then down at the mechanic, looking for smoke. Zach got a real shocker. Those electric wires don't much like being cut, it seems. He whimpers quietly and curls up. "Owowowow... Damn! Ow. Okay, that was -stupid-! I thought it was a bug-wire, but..." Zach idly wonders how much damage that would do. Trying to snip a live wire with a leatherman snippythong? :) Roger nods "Yeah, that was pretty dumb. Err need a Song of Healing? or just burn cream? Harriet reaches out to touch Zach's hair. "Do not do that again," she says, sternly. "Are you bleeding, or crispy, or anything, you know?" She gives Roger a worried glance, then tries to uncurl him enough to see his hand. Zach's hand isn't at all well. It's burnt and aching, but not smoking. Because smoking is unhealthy! "Don't fret, guys. I canfix it if I have to, no problem..." He sits up and grits his teeth, looking at his poor hand. Roger stands and heads over to Zach's bathroom, looking for burn cream and bandages "Honestly Zach, don't they teach you that electristy burns in Heaven?" Harriet makes an unhappy, eeping sound as she sees Zach's hand. "Do you have aloe somewhere in those plants on the windowsill, you know?" She can't help but crack a grin at Roger's remark, though, although she struggles to hide it. Zach sulks. "As a matter of fact they do. We have an Archangel for that sort of thing, even. The Archangel of Lightning. I've worked with the sparkies quite a lot. But that wire wasn't supposed to have elecricity live in it!" There's a huge first aid kit in the bathroom. It's got Everything You Need. Roger beams at the first aid kit and brings back to the living room and sets about rubing cream on Zach's hand and wraping it up "Perhaps you spend more time with him then. And why wasn't that wire suppose to be live?" Harriet snickers. "I think he thought it was a bug, you know?" She shakes her head, and stays out of the way of the nursemaiding. "By your rather electric reaction, Zach, can we take that it's probably /not/ one?" she asks, smiling. Where's the sympathy?! Zach grunts and winces, as Roger handles his fried appendage. "I was absolutely sure that it was a bug wire! I wouldn't have cut it if I wasn't sure," he grumps. Roger nods, his eyes twinkling "Of course you wouldn't have Zach." He finishes wraping the hand and sits back on his heels looking between Zach and Harriet "So, we know there are no bugs here, which is good. So who wants to tell me what's going on?" Harriet gives poor, wounded Zach a hug. "It's okay. We still love you. Just don't take a Role as an electrician anytime soon, you know?" she says, with a wink. She looks up at Roger. "We, errrrr, found that Cris' door had mysteriously become unlocked, and strolled into his apartment to take a look around. And found Stuff." Zach gets hugged. It's hard to remain grumpy when Harriethugged, so he brightens a bit and gets up. "Yeah, we found a hidden recorder and some tapes. We listened to one of them on our way here, and discovered that the snake's been listening in on Harriet's comings and goings. Which pretty much means that everything we've discussed up there is known to the demons." Roger politly ingores the "mysteriously became unlocked" bit and just listens to Harriet and Zach "Well crap. Have you said anything that you really don't want them to know?" "Not re..." Harriet stops. "Ah, crap. Yeah, and just recently, too, so I /know/ he's got it, you know? I told Cosmo about Ruby's Redemption, and /Chris/ overheard the whole conversation that Ruby and I had, and she basically tried to blackmail me into telling her everything. Which means Cris is going to be on her like white on rice." You say, "Oh fuck." Zach looks deeply, deeply unhappy. "You didn't tell anyone the adress, did you?" Roger frowns at this news "Who's Ruby and why did Chris try to blackmail you over it. Does Chris work for the Other side?" Harriet blinks at Zach. "The address? What address?" She shakes her head. "I didn't mention an address." She looks at Roger. "Ruby is a Balseraph.../was/ a Balseraph who wanted to Redeem, you know? I don't know if she's safe, but I hope she is. And Chris doesn't, no. She just heard enough to make her curious, and wasn't above using underhanded methods to learn the rest." She grimaces, and says, softly, "I had thought better of her." Zach lets out a soft, relieved sigh. "Thank God..." Then he eyes Roger. "You have to swear on your honour to not breathe a word of this to anyone. Is that understood? Ruby and her situation does not get mentioned outside this place or any Divine Tethers," he says sternly. Roger nods solomly at Zach "I swear." He seats himself more comfortably and sighs "What did she do you try and blackmail you Harriet? What did you tell her." Harriet sits next to Zach and sighs. "I told her it was none of her business. It's not going to hold for long, I think. She wasn't really abashed by her attempt, you know? She'll probably keep bugging /someone/ about it." Then she hushes up and lets Zach talk. Zach sits down and thinks before talking. "Ruby was, like Harriet said, a Balseraph. She very recently asked for Redemtion, and Harriet and I took care of her and got her to an Archangel. I have since met her, and she is as well as she can be, given the circumstances. So far, she is safe." Roger nods slowly "Which archangel if you don't mind me asking." Harriet beams. "She's okay?" Zach gets hugged again, and Harriet bounces a little in sheer joy. "That's wonderful news, you know? Absolutely wonderful!" She makes a bunch of happy noises, most of her irritation melting away as she lets Zach take care of being responsible for a moment, and just joys. Zach smiles softly to Harriet, eyes shining. "Aactually, Roger, I'd rather not tell for now. The fewer who know details, the better. So that means, Harriet, that you too get to be careful with what you way to whom," he advices. "Ruby is back in the fold, where she belongs, but it's gonna take a long time before she is fully restored to the Grace. She is in town, in a safe location. She is not allowed outside for the next two months and only angels get to see her. And you, Harriet, if you're accompanied by an angel. It's to let her take care of earthly business while familiarizing herself with being a Seraph again." Roger looks pleased "Good good, I'm glad to know that there's one less demon in town. Is there anything else that Cristobal shouldn't have heard? Harriet bounces some more, before reluctantly dragging herself back to graver matters. She sucks a breath in, and lets it out, slowly. "Probably lots of stuff, you know? We have no idea how long that thing's been in there. It's probably best to assume that he knows /everything/ that might..." her eyes widen, and she looks at Zach. "Kaiser." Zach nods grimly. "Yes. We should at least assume that he knows everything we've talked about in there since Christmas. All of it." He looks very unhappy, and that's just not because his hand is smarting. Roger looks at Harriet "And who's Kaiser?" He winces at Zach's words "Since Chrismas, ouch. Umm, have you taken the bug out? Harriet shakes her head. "No. We didn't know where it was going until I popped in a tape on the way over here, you know?" She frowns, and looks to be about to continue, and then a sudden blush races up her features, painting her cheeks a mortified scarlet. She sinks back in her seat and closes her eyes. "Everything," she mutters. Zach looks at Harriet with a puzzled frown, then a lightbulb comes to life over his head. Aww. He reaches out and hugs Harriet. It's not like -he- minds, but Harriet obviously does. "Total invasion of privacy. It's ugly." Roger looks over at Harriet, slightly puzzled and then makes a face "Err I take it the bug probably picked up umm...personal things too." Harriet still has her eyes closed, as she nods. The hug is more endured than accepted. Personal space has suddenly become an Issue. Finally, she gives a rusty chuckle. "Well, this explains why I found him drunk and raving about being whole in Swope Park the other day, you know?" Zach releases Harriet and tones the cuddles down to just holding her hand. "Raving about being whole? What on earht's that supposed ot mean?" Roger looks a little confused at that also, but remembers his earlier question "Who's Kaiser?" Harriet purses her lips. "If I can assume that me seeing Vlad or Paul come by every couple of days indicated picking up the recent tapes, then when I saw him would be shortly after he got the tape when I told Cosmo about Ruby's Redemption, you know?" She sighs. "And Ruby was, for the longest time, also a Balseraph of Factions. That had to have...well, stung. His pride, at least." At Roger's question, she glances to Zach. Zach nods at Harriet's reasoning. "Sounds logical, that." Ha pauses. "Kaiser is a kitten who sometimes visits Harriet. A special kitten. Let us leave it at that." Roger starts to look a little annoyed "Look, if you don't trust me with stuff, then perhaps you should ask me to leave so you and Harriet can talk about this." Harriet winces. "Roger, that's not it, you know?" She gestures helplessly, scowling at nothing in particular. "I, for one, am just a little rattled by all this..." Zach is utterly unpertubed by Roger's annoyance. "Kaiser does not want to be a known quantity, and that doesn't change just because the damn snake has been listening in on Harriet's place," he says calmly. Roger still looks a little bristly "Ok, fine. Anything else?" Harriet frowns. "Roger has a point, Zach," she says. "Kaiser's secrets are his own, you know? But this secrecy shit ain't goin' to do a lick of good, in the next little while," she continues, her accent coming out with her own annoyance. "We need to call a general meeting or something. Cris hasn't been able to act on his knowledge, because we'd know something is up. But know he knows that /someone/ knows. We need to get that information out to everyone who's been in my apartment, and we've got other stuff that needs to be discussed. I don't think any of us know what the Hell the others are doing, anymore, and that's going to bite us in the ass, eventually." Zach nods and sitts up. "This it very true. We should arrange a meeting sometime soon. Perhaps Jarod can help us with a secure room at the BoT. The Traders are good at arranging stuff like that." He pauses and taps his fingers on his thigh. "When you told Cosmo about Ruby, did you two talk about the plot agianst him? The one Ruby mentioned about the demons all cooperationg to try destroying him?" Roger runs his hand though his hair and nearly groans "Oh God, what plot is this? Why doesn't anyone ever tell me anything. How come noone ever comes up to me and says 'Hey Roger, we found out some intertesting stuff, want to know about it?" Harriet shakes her head. "No. Not in any detail. Although," she winces, "he did tell me that he and Brynn sent Sarah to Limbo or something, you know? I didn't really understand that part, and I don't know what that entails." She takes a breath. "I've been seeing Jarod on a fairly regular basis, lately, I'll ask him." She glances sympathetically at Roger. "I'm sorry. It happened in the middle of trying to get Ruby somewhere safe. I sent Cosmo a short phone message, and that's pretty much the only person I've talked to about it, at all." Zach looks at Roger somewhat puzzledly. "Because that isn't what we normally would do, Roger. The War relies on secrecy, and as much as it is bloody annoying and deeply frustrating at times, it is necessary. The Bosses tend to get really snarky when there's too many loose tongues wagging all over the place. As you yourself found out once, when my tongue had wagged and got you yelled at." Zach sighs and shakes his head. "But sometimes... Argh." Roger closes his eyes and takes a breath "Yes, you're right, loose lips sink ships and such." He open his eyes and sighs "It does get frustraining you know, and I admit I like Harriet's idea of a meeting." "And I think that we could ratchet down /some/ of the secrecy, a notch or two," Harriet mutters. This is one of her pet peeves, after all. "People need to know what's going on, amongst ourselves. We need to...collate data, exchange ideas, and stuff, you know? Not anything that people need to have an edge, or that's personal...but a briefing on what's going down is a Good Thing." You say, "I totally agree, and the sooner the better." Roger nods looking a little happier "Sounds good. Anything else interesting happen other then the bug? I don't have anything to report really. I've just started taking a few classes at the U in forentics. Harriet grimaces. "And in the spirit of such, I must confess that the Lord Commander came by a couple of weeks ago, which is why Cristobal has vacated his apartment to such an extent that we were able to 'find the door unlocked', you know?" She holds a hand up. "No, I didn't get a chance to ask him about your situation. He...was not in a mood to take questions, and I'm not really sure he ever is. I, um," she blushes again, slightly, "was not very speechful throughout the whole thing. More nodding and nervous smiling than anything." Zach listens quietly. A sudden mix of expressions goes across Roger's face at Harriet's news. Suprise, plesure and finaly simple anger. He stands suddenly and walks slowly around the room, his hands clenched before suddenly turning to face Harriet and Zach "Why? Why the hell am I being *ingored* If Heaven doesn't want me as Solider then they should have the fucking guts to come tell me to my face. But no, insted I wait. And I wait some more. Like a good little boy. Christ, all I want is simple "So nice to have you on board." Instead, it seems that no one wants to talk to me, I can't The Sword, Judgement or Stone to even be aware that I exist let alone let me serve them like I want too! Harriet thinks about this, wincing at Roger's obvious distress. "Because they're idiots. Well, maybe not Stone, you know? Sam was working with you, and she was enjoying it, but she's been reassigned or some freaky thing, and no one knows /why/. The Sword...there just aren't any Angels here of them. Or they're hiding," a dark look in Zach's direction, as resident Angel, "and I don't know anything about Judgment. It sucks. It really does, because, damnit, it's not fair. And I'm sorry, Roger. You do /not/ deserve this." Zach looks deeply frustrated and leans back on the couch, rubbing his good hand over his face. His breath comes out as a prolonged hiss. "Aaaaargh!" is his first eloquent comment, then he looks up at Roger. "Let's recap, just so I'm sure I remember everything correct here. First, you got recruited by one Abner of the Sword, right? And he summoned Laurence while you were there, but nothing really happened that you could tell. Part from the handing over of a dagger. So, Abner vanishes a short time after and you near nothing. A month later, I find out that you're a prospect Soldier and a month after that; after waiting to see if any Swordies show up -- I initiate you myself. And we wait some more, for the Sword to drop by and collect you, and for me to get yelled at for poaching. Cosmo comes along and sends word via Marc, still no result. We wait some more. Cosmo contacts Stone, and eventually you get training with Sam, right? Have I missed something?" He is ticking the events off on his fingers. Roger manages to keep his voice reasonably calm and even give Harriet a smile of thanks before noding at Zach "Right, and like Harriet said, Sam's vanished." He leans against a wall, folding his arms in front of him as he continues "I spoke with Cosmo about my growing frustraion about a month ago and he said he'd get in touch with Stone again. He told me a few days ago that they'd finaly gotten back to him, but with just a vague answer and that they'd be in touch again." He shrugs "I know it's the nature of Stone to be slow but isn't this a little silly. And before you ask, no I don't know who Cosmo talked too. Apparently they want to remain unknown." Harriet grimaces. "It is ridiculous, you know? And it shouldn't be happening like this." She sighs, reaches back with one hand to rub the back of her neck, and glances at Zach. Zach closes his eyes and shakes his head. "I am gonna get my ass whupped so much," he sighs. "But that can't be helped. I am going to go up to the Cathedral as soon as I am able, and I'm not gonna leave until I get an Official Answer. I've bloody had enough of this." Roger nods slowly at Zach "Err, who's Cathedral?" You say, "/The/ Cathedral. The Sword's." Harriet raises an eyebrow. "That should be interesting," she murmurs, trying not to look worried. "Are you sure...no, you're right," she says, and nods. "It seems to be the only way to get any attention is to take desperate measures, you know?" Roger nods and even smiles slgihtly "Do let them it that I don't have to for *them*. I'd be happy to placed with an appropate Superior. And I suppose if that doesn't work you could go talk to Stone, see if someone can't send orders down to their angels in the area to at least approch me. But you know what's best and how this works. You say, "I don't expect the Commander to talk to me. He's snarked at me already, for not officially reporting Harriet Upstairs. But I -will- have an official answer from the Soldier department or whatever likess of one that they have. I just do not get it." Harriet sighs, heavily. "Neither do I, you know?" She shakes her head. "It doesn't really make any sense. But, hell, neither do a lot of things." Roger can't help but chuckle and then turns to Harriet "So, what did the Lord Commander want to talk about? Why did he just show up? Zach quiets and probably ponders his soon-to-come Doom, while unconsciously cradling his hand. Harriet points to Zach. "/He/ didn't report me as being a Soldier, you know?" she says, with an amused look in the Creationer's direction. "So when my name turned up in a report somewhere, the Lord Commander was Not Amused, I think. And he heard about the whole Eli-invoking thing, and I think he was interested in that, more than me, specifically." She sighs, heavily. "I don't think he finds Creation Soldiers very useful for the Army of God." Roger chuckles again and turns to wag a finger at Zach "Naughty angel." Then he leans over and gives Harriet a hug "I'm sure he finds you useful. At least he sort of talked to you." Harriet hugs Roger back, snuggling her head into his shoulder. "Thank you for saying so, you know? And we'll get some sort of answer from him, by hook or by crook, you know?" She smiles. Zach snorts and looks offended. "He is the Sword. I suppose he doesn't really the the pourpose of FlowerSoldiers either. But that's just limited vision. It comes with Words." Roger chuckles and slips an arm around Harriet's shoulder, looking happy with the suggle "Well, hopefuly I'll be more to his taste." He grins down at Harriet "By hook or crook yes." Harriet grimaces. "If would get his attention long enough, then you would be, you know? I think you're much more his speed than I was." She sighs, and releases the police officer. "But, anyway...what else do we need to talk about?" Roger hmm's "Oh hey does anyone know about Tristian. He and Cosmo seem like old friends." Harriet smiles. "I know that Tristan is a terrible flirt, has a nifty accent, and yes, is good friends with Cosmo, you know? I haven't spoken to him very much, though," she says, with a shrug. "Actually, I haven't talked to /Cosmo/ very much, either." Zach shakes his head. "I have no idea who he is. I haven't even heard of this Tristan guy before now. But if he flirts, and Cosmo likes him... Sounds like good people to me!" He grins. Roger chuckles "A flirt huh. But yeah, Cosmo and I were in Bo lings a few weeks when Tristan walked in. Cosmo promply went over to him and greeted him like an old friend." Harriet hmphs with amusement, and looks at Zach. "Yes, I'm sure you and he will get along quite well. Although he likes suits." She beams smugly. "I made him choke by suggesting a few, ah, improvements in his wardrobe." She nods at Roger's comment. "Oh, yeah! The night of the Lange opening...how did that go, anyway?" Zach humphs at the mentioning of suits. Bah. Roger shrugs "It didn't come off as far as I know, or rather it was delayed because Jerrzy couldn't make it." Harriet frowns. "Huh," she says, thoughtfully. "That's pretty odd. I mean, he's been building up to this thing for so long, he seemed pretty devoted to it, you know? Maybe Chris would know something. They're dating. Although I...don't know what to /do/ about her." Roger clears his throat "Err...are you sure they're dating?" Zach makes questioning eyebrows at Roger. Harriet blinks. "Yeah, pretty sure. She certainly seems to think so, and they've been seen around in various places, you know? So...probably dating as occurred. What's up? Harriet beats Janus until he returns that last " Valefor smirks and slips the h into Janus's pocket as well. Roger says, "Well umm, as I found to my great suprise, Chris is, antotomicly at least...err a guy."" Harriet shakes fist. "Curse you!" Harriet ...stares. "She's a..." Zach utterly fails to look surprised. He does, however, emit a very, very soft chuckle. Roger nods "Belive me, I was pretty damned suprised myself." Harriet blushes. "She's been living with me! Mind you, I haven't /looked/ or anything, but, but..." she turns on Zach. "Did /you/ know this? You'd better not have, because if you did and you didn't tell me..." Zach's chuckling grows louder and becomes a genuine laughter. "I didn't -know-, but I had a deep suspicion about it. Seems I was right," he tells them. Roger rolls his eyes at Zach "You could have at least mentioned your supicions to Harriet you know." "YES!" Harriet agrees with much alacrity. "I've been naked around her! I mean, not totally, but still, you know?" She curls, crosses her hands over her chest, and goes into what can only be described as a horrified pout. "Does /anyone/ consider my privacy these days? At all?" Zach stops laughing and sits up. "Harriet, Chris is by all accounts a transsexual. Do you know what that means? It means that she considers herself a woman, with foreign bits attached. Her identity is female. Not male." Harriet pages: The last vestiges of Harriet's small, Southern town upbringing are going into complete meltdown, here... Roger slips a arm around Harriet's shoulders "I do. But well, I highly doubt that she's interested in seeing you naked or anything if you know what I mean." Harriet leans against Roger and frowns. "I /know/ what the word means, Zach," she not-quite-snaps. "And, damn it, I'm not worried about her dangly bits, you know? Except, Except..." She throws her hands up in the air and just sulks some more. "I've been trying to wheedle it out of her the few times we'be been talking, but something's -always- come up. I was hoping she'd tell me whatever it was, and then I could lean on her to tell /you/. The point is, it's deeply private. I really didn't want to go spreading rumours about her or telling things that are really only hers to tell," Zach says softly. "Would you have wanted me to spill /your/ beans, Harriet?" He reaches out to pat her knee. Roger needs to head to bed I'm afraid. Zach hugs Roger. Thanks for the RP! Harriet hugs. "Thanks for the RP, Roger! It was fun!" Roger sighs and stands "Well I should be heading home folks." He looks at Zach "Let me know when you're heading up to speak with the Commander." Zach nods. "I will. Take care, Roger." Harriet bounces up to hug Roger goodbye. "Be safe out there, you know? And when we can talk to Jarod about reserving a room, I'll call you and let you know." She smiles at him, then turns and gives a grudging look of acceptance to Zach. Roger smiles and hugs Harriet back "You take care too." Roger opens the door and exits. Zach gets up and walks over to Harriet. "I /am/ sorry you had to find out this way, and tonight of all nights. But I really had no business telling you about my suspicions regarding Chris. Especially since that was all they were -- suspicions. No matter how deep." Harriet sighs, and fidgets, and looks generally disgruntled. "It's not your fault, you know? And it's not really Chris', either...she has every right to keep her private stuff private. But, well..." she starts pacing. "I'm just not happy with her right now, and I can't help but feel she should have mentioned it before moving in. I mean, if I'd walked in one day and she was completely naked, I'd have been very, /very/ surprised." Zach nods and reaches out with his undamaged hand to caress a random Harrietpart as she paces past him. "I know and I agree. She should have. But you know how this things are very difficult... Her father doesn't know yet, and I think she's afraid to tell him. This is even worse than coming out as a gay person." He sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "But on the other hand, given the situations she gets herself into, you'd think she'd taken the hint by now..." Harriet urgs. "It must be difficult for her," she says, quietly. She doesn't really seem to notice the caress as she stalks back and forth. "And I certainly don't want to hurt her, you know?" She sounds grudging about all of this. Her basic, sympathetic nature getting in the way of a really good mad, and she's not happy about it. You say, "Now that the cat's out of the bag, you should talk to her about it. I'll talk to her too, if I see her. I mean, seriously, she keeps picking up guys /knowing/ they'll find out. And she'd had more than a few freak out on her. Jerzy is one, unless I'm sorely mistaken..." Harriet blinks. "He is? I mean, last time...no, the time before last, that I saw her she suggested that she and Jerzy were getting along just fine, you know? I mean, um," Harriet blushes again, "well. Yeah. How do you bring something like that /up/, though?" She asks, sounding bewildered. "It doesn't exactly come up in random discussion, one's genitalia..." Harriet pauses, then says in tones of someone who /knows/ it's wrong, but just can't help herself, "Well, /sometimes/ it does...for guys, at least..." Zach snorts and can't stop the snicker from exiting him. Then he grows more serious. "The very first time she met Jerzy, things didn't go that smoothly. She literally ran into me, coming out from the hotel he lives in, one night. The girl was crying and upset, because he'd been angry with her. And she did also admit it was her fault. But then lots of other people happened to be out in the night too; Ellen and Pan, so I couldn't secret her away and have her tell me the whole story." You say, "As for how to talk to her -- just come right out and say it. You have heard that she technically is a he. Is that true, and why hasn't she told you?" Harriet grimaces. "That just seems so...rude, though. I mean, it's just..." she waves her hand and sighs. "It's probably the best way, you're right about that, but it'd be like sitting down with someone and asking them if they're having sex, recently. There's nothing /wrong/ with having sex, but it's not something that you want to come out and ask, you know?" Zach .oO( Unless you're a Cloakie... ) "Well, no. Most people don't," Zach says slowly. "But sometimes the best way is the blunt way." Harriet winces. "Yes, well. I don't really want to talk to her about it," she mutters, and resumes pacing. "I'm not sure if I want to talk to her about anything, to be honest." You say, "Harriet? Can I hug you, or are you going to slug me if I try?" Harriet stops dead. The face she turns to Zach is rather stricken. "O-of course you can hug me, Zach. I wouldn't slug you for trying to /hug/ me, you know?" Zach smiles and moves in to perform the Hug. It's mostly a one-armed hug, but it is warm and firm and loving. "I had to ask, because you've had a really bad night, as privacy issues go. I don't want to crowd you, you know." He kisses her forhead. "I love you." Harriet hugs back, being careful of Zach's poor hand, but embracing him fiercely. "I love you, too, you know? And I suppose that I shouldn't feel /quite/ so violated. We wouldn't have found out about it in the first place if we hadn't been breaking into his apartment," she mumbles, and nuzzles his chest. "Now that the initial rage has worn off, I almost wish that we'd left the stuff there. If he didn't know he'd been found out, we could give him /lots/ of interesting things to listen to..." You say, "Oh you have plenty of reason to feel violated. It's one thing ot break into someone's place and go through their stuff once, it's something else entirely to evesdrop 24-7, for /months/! Not only on one person, but on all the people who visits!" Harriet sighs, and lays her head sideways, so that she can talk without it being muffled. "Well, yes. It is, you know? And I can't imagine why he ever thought that it was a good idea..." her voice trails off, sounding more hurt than angry, now. Zach cuddles Harriet and strokes her back tenderly. "It was an easy way to learn about stuff our side was up to. From a spy point of view it makes perfect sense. I was planning to get Traci's place bugged myself. But then my techie contact left town, so things didn't happen." Harriet hmphs, and looks not at all mollified. Although she does smile faintly at the caress. "Be that as it may, it's rude. And just the other day, he was claiming that I'd run and tell the Angels anything /he/ said, you know? I could just shake that man," she grumps. Zach mutters softly something about wanting to do a lot more than just shaking him... Harriet smiles. "Yes, but you're a much more reasonable and sensible person than I am, my love," she says, quietly. Zach humphs and gives Harriet's bum a grab, to reward her lipping off at him. He grins down at her. "Yeah, I know. All sense and no play, I am." Harriet jumps and makes a high-pitched 'yeep!' Sort of like if Zach had just goosed a mouse. She grins up at him. "Why, my love, I was being completely honest, you know? Your attitude towards Cris /is/ a great deal more reasonable and sensible than my own. And this is how you reward me?" She shakes her head, in mock sadness. "That's just mean." Zach chuckles softly and gives the bum a fondle, after the undignified grab. "Is it? Aww. How can I make it up to you again?" Harriet smiles up at him, and from the sparkle in her eyes it looks like she's going to suggest something naughty and enjoyable for both of them, and then a small shudder passes through her frame, and she buries her face in his shirt. In a tiny voice, she pleads, "Just, you know, hold me for a little while, Zach?" Zach holds Harriet very firmly indeed, giving her all the warmth and love she wants. Cunningly, he also manouvers them over to the couch, for comfortable sitting. The sitting involves Harriet being cradled in his lap, to be specific. Harriet likes this, oh yes. She sighs, and slowly starts to relax as she's cuddled, reaching out to stroke his arm, gently. "This is nice," she declares, her eyes closing. "I like this, you know? Oh, did you get Jarod's letter, beloved?" Zach snuggles with Harriet, and completely forgets to feel sorry for himself re the ouchie hand. "I did indeed. And I have to wonder.. Has the guy not listened to a word Cosmo has told him about me? Or has Cosmo been setting me up?" Harriet giggles. "You're a Malakite, love. Aren't you guys supposed to be all stern and respectable and stuff, you know? Who knows? Maybe you'll enjoy the paperwork, and the suit, and the tie..." You say, "HARRIET! You're scaring me! There will be no suit and tie! And there most definitely will not be any paperwork if I can help it!!!" Zach is sounding genuinely distressed. Harriet chuckles, and reaches a hand up to caress his jaw, trying to sooth the poor, upset Zach. "I know, love. Remember, Jarod hasn't had much interaction with you, you know? He probably hasn't had a chance to get to know you like we have. But we can tell him that you'll not be doing anything that involves paperwork or business attire, if you like." Her voice turns wistful, "I rather like the idea, though..." Zach smiles. "I'm loving the idea too, but I'm not loving the role he wants to put me in. For one thing, I'd suck at it and for another thing, it would totally clash with my Role. A mechanic doesn't just one day walk out of the garage and become project head at an arts center." Harriet nods. "I'm sure that once we explain that, Jarod will understand, you know? He probable just wanted to be able to keep us close together, if it could be arranged." She blinks, a look of momentary confusion passing across her face. "He's been asking to spend a lot of time with me, lately. And doing the freaky Elohite mindmeld thing." Zach kisses Harriet's cheek. "Love you. There's a lot of project people want us for, so we're going to have to do some serious planning to work things out. There's lots of things I can do at a centre like the one he's proposing, so the keeping up close bit is not a problem. But then there's Ruby's project too. And the one we've been talking about..." Harriet nods, and turns her face back into his chest, so that he doesn't see the brief flicker of absolute panic that crosses her face. She nuzzles him for a while before answering. "Yeah, lots of planning, you know? I have to sleep, sometime...and I want a space of my /own/," she claims, in a voice that comes to within a hairsbreadth of whining (and might even be said to cross that line). Zach melts completely and cuddles Harriet to the utmost of his considerable abilities. "We don't needto discuss all of that /now/, baby. It's been a long day and an even longer night. You're exhausted. Heck, it's /early/ already." Harriet makes a throaty little purring noise in the back of her throat, and curls up more firmly against him at the cuddling. "You're right, and I am very, very tired, you know?" She smiles up at Zach. "You're really very wonderful, Arethas, and I very much do not deserve you," she murmurs in a sleepy voice. You say, "'S right, hon. You deserve even better. Let me make the bed here, and you gan get some rest mm? I'll cuddle you to sleep..." Harriet pokes him. "That's /not/ what I meant, love," she says, sternly, and allows him to Angelhandle her around until she finally drifts off to sleep. The End...zzzzzzzzzz..