savetheearth | Entry #B-1: "B" [November 19, Video]

[The man appearing onscreen this morning is haggard, somber, and distracted. Clearly, he's been awake all night, something he's been doing far too often lately, sitting curled in the middle of what appears to be a cleaned up but ancient school gymnasium's basketball court with his chin on his knees. A few feet away is a blue tarp hiding something sizable and lumpy.]

I know Albero's people are striking Espresso Yourself, early on the morning of Sunday, November 23, at 3:15 AM. They will be there to raze the building to the ground and they do not intend to take prisoners.

[He bites his lip, glancing away from the camera. The calmness he's affected since Anthony's death slips for a second, revealing something like fear. He swallows.]

I've been waiting for a pulse. I was hoping that maybe my other's experience and knowledge could help me, in this regard, but up to this point... it's been all quiet on that front.

[He rises slowly, moving towards the tarp and drawing it away from what it conceals. There are many pounds of dynamite stacked in the middle of his gym, along with several ominous looking canisters.]

I have dynamite and nitroglycerin. I think...

[He takes a deep, shuddering breath.]

I know we can kill a lot of them. Part of me really wants to, and I can't be the only one. But I know... I know that's not what we're fighting for, a criminal record of our own and another reason to be driven out of this city. So...

[He sits again, hard, on the floor, eyes and posture conveying a distinctly dazed quality.]

I think maybe it would be better to use this information to get the FBI on this and catch them in the act, with no blood shed. I'm prepared for both of these scenarios, but honestly... I don't know what's right. I'm so tired. I trust all of you, so... please help me make the right decision.

EDIT: I've been informed that Nick knows about another upcoming opportunity, a chance to hit the Mafia where it hurts. There's to be a meeting of higher-ups in the near future; further details are forthcoming.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[His eyes are downcast as he answers. He is actually shaken by the vehemence of some of the responses; perhaps his faith in the inherent humanity of his friends has been strengthened, but in his own? Not so much.]

It would help, wouldn't it? We'd look like what we are... victims in all of this, and the good people in Locke City wouldn't be able to overlook that, no matter how much the media spins it.

[He pauses, glad to have something he's actually been uncontroversially successful in brought up.]

I know you've been busy, so don't worry about it, but the teleporter was moved two weeks ago. It's here at the school now. I could, at least, do that properly.

Oh.

[There's an embarrassed pause.]

Well. Now I feel a bit silly. I'll just blame being in the city jail, shall I?

[He's got a sheepish sort of smile in his voice, too.]

Which school are you at? I'm... likely going to be needing that again at some point, as the only place I'm likely to get employed these days looks to be Germany.

Pay it no mind, that's what I've already attributed it to.

[He turns the camera so Lyall can see more of the gymnasium; he's proud of his efforts fixing it up, even if it still has a long way to go.]

It was formerly the Willow Ridge Boarding Academy, back in the 1970s. It's been defunct for many years and was bank-owned... I bought it, put in a security system, and it's my new base of operations. I'm also making it available to anyone who needs a place to stay or wants to help me with my own projects, which are currently going after Albero, mostly.

[As if that even needed to be said.]

Sheila has also offered to teach there, considering there are some Numbered children who haven't been able to attend normal school. Ultimately I'd really like it if it could be a school, even in the barest sense of the word.

I'd be happy to help as well, if I could, though I may be spending a good portion of my time in Germany soon... so it might have to be on a part-time basis.

[Especially if there's no paying going on. He's not gouche enough to ask that just now, though.]

I'll come by some time soon. I may not be of much help in your, ah, current projects, but I could at least let you know whether the building is suitable for teaching in, at all. Presumably it still needs some renovations?

Fortunately, the teleporter is on the property, so it's always closer than it feels. Whatever you have time for would be appreciated, and you would absolutely be compensated, just in case you were wondering.

[L's always prioritized paying the people who work for him, even when he's operating at a loss. That much, at least, can be said for him.]

We're working on renovations, but I've never owned or operated a school, so... yes, any input and advice would be very welcome.

Excellent. I'll do that, then.

[And compensation makes it all the easier. Since he's only expecting part-time work in Germany, at least until he learns the language, additional income won't be amiss.]

When would be convenient? Some time, er, before the attack on your shop, I presume, or would you rather wait until afterwards?

Sometime between the attack on my shop and getting the explosives out of my school, I think... you'll have to forgive me but at present I'm wound too tightly to really do much in-detail planning for the future. Dangling a business I built from the ground up as bait for Mafia goons is a little bit stressful, as it turns out.

It would be, at that. I have a hard enough time with the thought of some idiot attacking my former students, and I wasn't even responsible for them for more than an hour a day. I'll be by once this whole mess is done with, then.

[A pause, because that called to mind, rather swiftly and vividly, the memory of Anthony. Hadn't L tried to protect him and stood by helpless when the boy was gunned down? The memory still brings him shame, not fast enough, not strong enough...]

I'll tell Sheila the good news.

[His voice sounds dry, so he swallows in an attempt to remedy it. It helps little.]

Entry #B-1: "B" [November 19, Video]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]