savetheearth | Action! Anywhere in Locke, any time this week.

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Action! Anywhere in Locke, any time this week.

The car ended up reinforcing Fred's decision: even with the aliens here, things are still happening. Things that someone ought to check out and keep an eye on. Combine that with the recent reduction in the police force, and going ahead with his patrols seems like a good idea.

That said, he doesn't really have a good idea of how to actually patrol. So he's mostly just wandering the city, hoping to run into something going wrong. (Well, hoping that nothing goes wrong, but also that if it does he finds it.)

[[Feel free to do bracket-based tagging; I'll match you either way, but I didn't want to bracket the whole post. Feel free, also, to have some manner of crime or suspicious doing going on, such that he'd show up in his rudimentary hero identity, Feldspar.]]

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Fred isn't the only one who had taken to going out on patrol from time to time. Hajime had started doing that once he'd realized that (A) he didn't need to sleep much anymore, and (B) his motorcycle transformed whenever he took the armored form he hadn't advertised much, if at all. So he'd go riding around cruising for trouble, and this evening, he'd found it.

He'd spotted a group of six guys trying to mug some other guy, and he didn't like that one bit. The would-be muggers liked it even less when he'd taken some crazed motorcycle leap their direction, touching down next to them and leaping off the bike looking for a fight. His monster instincts were urging him on for a little exercise, and so when the would-be victim went running like his life depended on it, Hajime had corralled the muggers in an alley.

The noises coming from the alley where Hajime's got the muggers just might attract Fred's attention. These muggers are scared, terrified that this weird armored guy means them severe bodily harm. Which is what Hajime wants, really. To scare them so badly, they'll never dare to try something like this again...and if they get a little scuffed up in the process, he won't be bothered.

"He's an animal! Some kind of animal!"

"Don't kill us! Please!"

"Stay back! Stay back!"

That's the sound of someone in distress if Fred's ever heard it! Taking a moment to make sure no one's looking at him, he quickly switches to his cape and mask.

"Hold it right there!"

He actually manages to look a little dramatic, silhouetted against a streetlight, his hair and cape waving in a light breeze, light glinting from the tip of his sword. He holds the pose for a moment as he takes in the situation, then starts for Hajime - the apparent aggressor, and the only one on the scene who doesn't look human.

Hajime's a bit wound up right now, so when he stops to say "What the hell?" it doesn't come out in any recognizable human language, but rather the more monstrous one he had picked up. That probably doesn't sound good.

It sounds bad enough that one of the thugs is trying to use all this as a distraction so he can get out of there as fast as is humanly possible.

Hajime would like to go for the thug, but now he's got someone in a mask and a cape rushing at him with a sword, and he doesn't have a weapon. Sure, he could pick up the knife he'd liberated from one of the thugs, but bringing a knife to a sword fight just seems sad. He's moving to block the hit on his wrist armor.

No. No, it doesn't sound good.

Fred's gotten some degree of sword skills, but he doesn't have much experience against actual opponents - especially opponents as fast as Hajime. His sword clangs awkwardly off the armor, leaving him briefly off-balance, though he does recover quickly.

Hajime is just glad he caught that on some of the heavier armor--if the sword were to catch him on his upper arms or on his side where it's not as thick, it runs the risk of cutting him. And there's nothing that makes a weird armored guy look weirder than bleeding green all over the place.

It's at this point that he should probably say something, but his idiot monster instincts are refusing to back down from a fight. He backs off so he can get a better read on the situation, and he at least seems distracted from the thugs he was thrashing earlier. His monster instincts are primed to want to fight only the strongest opponents, after all, and Fred is looking more like a challenge than the thugs ever did.

Fred's a little perplexed - if glad - that the monster didn't move in and attack while he was off-balance. Possibly that means it's not as hostile as it seemed before, or something?

With that in mind, he too holds back from striking. His sword's still up in a guard position, but it'll stay there until he sees what the monster's going to do next. He peripherally notices that the people who haven't fled appear to be trying to stay quiet and out of the combatants' line of sight, which is probably smart of them.

Hajime finally gets a hold of himself, and he tries to tell Fred he's not the enemy here. At least he's pretty sure he isn't, even if the sight of the sword's got him a little wound up. Unfortunately, Hajime says this in Japanese. At least it's a human language?

He is less than happy that the thugs he was beating on are escaping, and he'd like to try to go after them again, but...they don't have swords.

Fred, probably unsurprisingly, doesn't speak Japanese, so he has no idea what Hajime's trying to say. Something about the sound might be a little familiar, but that's not a lot to go on.

On the other hand, unless it's some kind of ridiculously ineffective sonic or propaganda weapon this is at least an attempt at communication, which should be answered in kind.

Without moving an inch, he asks, "I don't suppose you can speak English?"

There's an exasperated sigh, though the exasperation is more directed at himself than anyone else. "Quite well, actually." It was just embarrassing to admit that he'd gotten so wound up in the fight that language was one of the last things he was worried about. He didn't think his other self spoke English, so of course he'd tried Japanese first...troubling.

Ah, well, as long as he's communicating..."Those guys are nothing but thugs." See? This is why he's beating the crap out of them. No big deal. "I'm not your enemy."

Okay, wow, that wasn't what he was expecting. He lowers the sword a bit.

"Thugs? How so?" There's a lot of things this guy could mean by that, even if he's being honest.

"They're muggers." Hajime cracks his knuckles. He's still a little tense thanks to that sword and thanks to being wound up by the fighting in the first place. "I was teaching them a lesson."

"A lesson." Sometimes it might be nice if Fred's mask could do facial expressions. Like now. One eyebrow arched high feels like an appropriate response here. "A lesson that has them screaming for help like that? I think your teaching methods could use some work."

Hajime's helmet remains likewise impassive, masking his own expression of consternation. Though whether the feeling is because of Fred, the muggers, or Hajime's feelings towards his own actions is anyone's guess. Not that he's willing to let that show.

After a time, Fred comes to a decision. He lowers his sword yet further, enough that it's not an active threat. "I'd rather not fight. You want to just get out of here? Because I'm willing to let you by, if you're not about to try any more 'lessons'."

Hajime knew better, but he still bristled at the thought that Fred would let him do anything. "And if I don't get out of here?" He was walking to the weird-looking motorcycle he'd parked at the back of the alley, at least, even as he blew hot air.

Fred shrugs. "Then we can fight it out. That'll attract more attention and we'd probably both get hurt." But it is an available option.

There's a derisive snort as Hajime gets on the bicycle. "I don't run from a fight--but I'm not in the mood for any attention." But now that he's settling down a bit, he's suddenly very concerned over what appear to be his monster instincts kicking in despite the fact that he thought he had them under control. Best not to push things any more than he has. He revs the engine and pops a wheelie, clearly showing off--for his pride won't let him do anything less--and peels out of the alley.

That's fine. Fred'd rather not fight if he doesn't have to, especially since he's not at all sure he'd be able to beat Hajime, even with his magic.

Most of the thugs are already gone, or took off as soon as the cycle was out of sight, but one's stuck around. He sends Fred a questioning look, and Fred shrugs and puts his sword away. This guy's already been terrified, and Fred's just got Hajime's word he was any kind of trouble to begin with.

[L's not doing anything overtly illegal, but he has trouble just existing without coming off as pretty shady. Add to it that he's carrying three cell phones and a stack of $100 bills on his person and it's a little difficult to come up with innocent reasons for his lurking around near the Dead District. An old warehouse is his subject of interest, and he's perched lightly on top of a dumpster, looking for a way in through a loosely boarded-up window.

He can't go to Greece, but a recent lead has him thinking that it's very possible Cesar's brother is in the good old U.S. of A, and an informant told him that something had been going on here, at some point. It seems deserted, but L's determined; even if the trail is officially going to go cold in a cold, dusty basement, there's a chance he'll find something of interest there.]

[Generally, Fred's a fan of immediate and direct action. But he does recognize the value of looking before leaping, especially when there's no obvious wrongdoing going on. But L certainly does look suspicious, lurking like that.

So Fred's lurking too, a little away, mask on but no sword or cape. He's trying, probably not very well, to be inconspicuous and see if he can hear or see anything interesting.]

[It's slow going with his hands' limited dexterity, but his careful selection of a particularly loose board is paying off. The wood snaps, more loudly than he'd intended it to, and causing him to topple backward. He saves himself from falling entirely off the dumpster, and is able to turn and maneuver his thin body through the small but adequate space he's opened up. Dropping gingerly onto the basement floor, he takes a small LED flashlight out of his pocket and begins poking around in the basement.

Sadly, it looks like if there was anything here at any point, it's gone now.]

[Okay, that's definitely more suspicious than just looking. If L were supposed to be here, he probably wouldn't be breaking in. It's time for action.

Cape on, sword still away, he finds a place to stand in front of the window and tries to look intimidating. It may or may not be a successful attempt. Either way, he's just going to stand there until L comes out or says something.]

[Though the basement looks very empty, L gives it a once-over anyway, treading softly on the damp floor. He's about to turn back when the beam of his flashlight falls on a chair, broken nearly to splinters with a worn rope suspended above it, parts of it stained a rusted red color.

He uses his cell phone to take a few pictures before using a pair of tweezers to pull a few of the rope's red-stained fibers free, but no sooner has he sealed them in a plastic bag than the sound of distant footsteps is startling him into movement. He's back at the boarded-up window, scrambling back up through his entrance point... only to come face-to-face with Fred.]

Oh, come on...

[Hastily, he slaps the loose board back in place. His voice is tense and urgent when he says]

Someone's coming, we have to go.

[So much for intimidating, then. Still, it's looking more and more like something shady's going on.

In which case Fred's not about to just go off with this suspicious man.]

Go where? And why?

[Hang on, has he heard that voice somewhere before?]

[There's a distracted double-take from L; though the patroller is wearing a mask, he's sure he's heard his voice before on the network. Unfortunately, at the moment his choices are to either take the time to place it or to clear out post-haste. Gotta go with that second one.]

Go anywhere, because this was a Mafia stakeout and there is someone still down there. Less chit-chat!

[The last two words are harsh and clipped as L drops off the side of the dumpster.]

Edited (Sorry again!) 2014-06-26 19:26 (UTC)

Mafia? Really?

[Sure, he's only got this guy's word on it, but clearly someone spooked him. Either way, Fred suspects following him would be a better way to find out more than to wait around, so he too gets down.]

Why were you somewhere the mafia are watching?

[L's off, at a pace just short of a run.]

It's complicated, and I can't really talk freely about it to someone who won't even show their face. You understand, of course.

[That... is certainly a point. But without knowing that this guy's Numbered, and while there might well be other people in pursuit, Fred isn't about to take the mask off.]

All right.

[Probably better to split up, then. It doesn't sound like L's going to tell him more, and separating could throw off some or all of the pursuers. So without another word, Fred picks a different direction than L at the next intersection.]

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Action! Anywhere in Locke, any time this week.

Let's say sometime late Thursday night?

Sounds good to me!

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TODAY

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