[OmegaScales]

RECAP: Brian Marrilas hired you to find his girlfriend, Sarah Knight. After finding her in Brian’s father’s secret room, you learn that Matthew, Brian’s father, was trying to get Sarah’s parents, who are very wealthy, to give her money they had cut her off from. You left the hospital room and met up with the Chief of Police, who offered a consult position on the force, and a new case…

One more thing before we begin. I am going to name recurring characters as I think up names. Like the chief will be Gregory, although I haven’t thought of a surname for him.

“So what do you say, Leslie?”

You sigh and hold out your hand. “Fine.”

“I knew the case would do the trick,” he says, handing a file to you. You notice a large red stamp on it that says ‘CONFIDENTIAL’.

“C-confidential? You’re giving me a federal case?”

“Not me. My higher ups decided that you’re the right person to trust for this case. I don’t know why they trust you for it, since I don’t know what’s in there. All I can tell you is that if you don’t intend to play by their rules, don’t open that file. I’ve lost a few friends who simply got curious about something. I don’t want the same to happen to you.”

Even though you normally find him creepy, you’re happy he cares about you.

A note attached to the file said to open it at home, ‘where they aren’t watching.’ Inside you find several old newspaper clippings, along with some more recent ones. Some of the older headlines are: “Chief Found Murdered In Own Home”, “Cop Undercover, Or Under Covers?”, and “When You Thought It Was Safe At Home…” One of the newer headlines catches your attention: “Memorial Service to Be Held for Police Chief”. You remember attending it. Not out of respect, but because that man was your father. “What’s going on? Why am I looking at this?” you think out loud.

“That’s what we want you to find out.” You spin around, grabbing your gun, ready to pull the trigger. You see a man in the shadows of your living room, wearing a black Burberry trench coat, black leather shoes (you think they are Cole Haan), and a black fedora. “Everyone who has seen this file has wound up dead. We believe you may be able to do what they couldn’t: Find out why someone would kill over your father’s death, and bring in the killer.” The man steps forward and you can see his face. He has dark, custom-made glasses on, but you can see that he has a V-shaped scar running from his chin through the corners of his mouth and the centers of both his eyes. “Gregory was correct in telling you only to open the file if you are intending to play by our rules.” He puts a paper on the floor, and you see that he is also wearing black leather gloves. “Good luck, Detective.” The lights flicker off then on in less than a second, but the man is gone.

There’s no point in wondering how he got away (or in), but you really want to know who he was, don’t you?

[Thalia]

Read the articles and find out as much information as you can about the cops that are mentioned. See if you can find a connection between the articles.

[Guest]

If all the previous victims were police chiefs, then perhaps Leslie is out of peril but Gregory is not.

Best way forward would be to partner with Gregory, show him the file and then stick around at all times.

EDIT: answer to your question: Yes, but not without caution since there is no way to ensure that this guy was actually from those 'higher-ups'. Involve Gregory and then try to locate this guy.

Edited February 9, 2011 by KlueMaster

[Guest]

I missed the first installment. Is it germane to the story?

[OmegaScales]

@Joey You only need to know about the system I use. You can read through the first one if you want to get a better picture of how everything works, and for the story.

Noone said to pick up the paper, but I'll throw it in anyway, since it is very important.

You pick up the paper, and on it are three rules:

1. Do not let the public found out.

2. Tell only those you know can be trusted, or may be in danger.

3. Solve the case by 23:59:59(hours: minutes: seconds) on Saturday. [For those that don’t know Zulu (military) time, that’s 11:59:59pm, just before midnight.]

You call Maggie and ask her to run through everyone with a scar like his. Before you can hang up, she tells you that there is only one person with that scar. She says that he was declared dead after being missing for 10 years, and asks how you knew about him. You tell her to delete the search.

You look through the clippings again, but aren’t paying as much attention to the words this time. That’s when you make a discovery. Every cop that was murdered had the initials G.O.D. Your father was George Owen Downs, as your mother kept her last name when they married. And you suddenly remember someone else with those initials.

“Greg, come here now!” you scream over the phone.

He sounds groggy, which doesn’t surprise you since it’s almost midnight. “I didn’t know you wanted me so bad. Just let me grab some coffee and I’ll-“

“NO! Gregory Oswald Dalton, you are in danger! Get over here now!”

This time he sounds alert. “Okay.” A few minutes later, he pulls up and rushes into your house. “So why am I in danger?” he asks before anything else. You explain what happened. “… So, I should stay with you at all times until we figure this out?” he says, pretending to be professional. You sigh and reluctantly agree. “Oh, before I forget, that man who was here is called The Messenger. He will give you a message from his employer, one of my higher ups, with the rules, and enforces them, if you know what I mean…”

“Thanks for telling me.”

“We only have three days, so what do we do first?”

NOTE: the three days is only for the story. It does not apply to the time you (as a group) have to figure it out.

[Guest]

How did scar guy disappear?

(and an off-topic question--is your signature a quote? if so from what?)

[Thalia]

Look for any religious fanatic groups in the area.

[OmegaScales]

The Messenger is like a ninja, he moves from shadow to shadow, leaving not a trace of his existence, and can disappear or reappear in the blink of an eye. So basically, I have no idea.

I came up with my sig myself.

“Do you know if there are any crazy religious groups around town?”

Greg thinks for a moment. “There is only one around here, but they are a crazy peaceful group. They’ve helped in quite a few cases, although their pledge against violence has killed or hurt several of their members. They all have no family left, so they only have each other.”

[Guest]

is Leslie's father.

[OmegaScales]

is Leslie's father.

No. Just leave him alone for now.

[Guest]

This looks like fun. I've never played one of these types of games before so I apologize if my questions are a bit off.

Ask the chief for a roster of all the police on his staff. Are there any others with the initials G.O.D.? If so, warn them they may be a target and have the chief assign extra security for them.

Also interview the chief and any others matching the initials. Could the serial killings simply be a cover-up for the assassin's true target? (Like the husband that kills 7 women around town including his wife because he wanted his wife dead but wanted it to look like a serial killer)

[Guest]

With disappearing, i meant the supposed death type disappearance 10 years ago, not leaving her house

[OmegaScales]

@Shadow Oh. He is like a ninja, being able to disappear and reappear at will. This ability is linked with his disappearance, which I'll go more into for every case he appears in...

“Hmm… I think we should check for anyone else with the initials G.O.D. We don’t want anyone else to end up murdered.”

“Good thinking, Leslie. But are you sure we can trust all the cops? Some of them do have records, themselves…”

“… I’ll call in a favor from someone I know. They might not be the traditional type to do something like this, but I know for sure that they can be trusted.”

“Um, who would that be?”

You smile, since he still hasn’t figured you out completely, even though he has an entire police force to help with that. “That’s my secret.” It’s also a good thing he doesn’t know, because your secret involves a local Don.

Around seven in morning, a call comes from the Don. “I got everythin’ set up, and as a bonus, I’m sendin’ one of my boys to deliver some’n to ya. Don’t let that chief of yours see him or the package. “

“Thanks Fedele. I won’t. Maybe we could get together again sometime.” [Fedele is Italian for the Latin 'Fidelis' meaning “faithful.” So he must be trustworthy! ]

“I hope we can. You’re a fun gal, Les. Be safe.”

You smile, remembering the “fun times” the two of you had. “You too. Bye.”

A few minutes later, you notice one of Fedele’s men in front of your house, holding a briefcase. You go meet him, since Greg is still not awake. After a quick greeting, he leaves. You slyly pick up the file he “dropped”, in case Greg is awake and watching. When you get back in, you see he is still asleep on the couch, so you lock yourself in your room to see just what Fedele found. Opening the file, you recognize Greg, although younger, and convicted. After studying the case files, the conclusion of which was the charges being dropped, you feel even more nervous that Greg is staying in your house. He had been charged with theft, possession of illegal narcotics, and manslaughter. If he is guilty of these charges, you need to be careful.

WIT

Do you appraoch Gregory about your findings? Or do you do something else about it, and what?

[Guest]

What's the context of the charges (and if they were dropped technically he wasn't convicted, just accused/booked)

[OmegaScales]

Thank you, Shadow, for realizing my fallacy.

REMINDER: ALL NAMES AND LOCATIONS ARE A PRODUCT OF MY IMAGINATION. ANY RESEMBLANCE OR MENTION TO ANYONE IN REAL LIFE, LIVING OR DEAD, IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL.

You look through the file one more time, double-checking everything. At fourteen, he was charged with stealing funds from the Greentown Catholic Church. The witness was the priest, who died from bradycardia shortly after the charge was made. It was dropped and his family moved. At sixteen, he was supposedly caught by the priest of Maryville Catholic Church smoking heroine in the bell tower. The priest died shortly afterward of old age, and again, the charges were dropped and his family moved. At nineteen, he was blamed for the death of the Plotter City Catholic Church’s priest, when he was hit by the car Greg driving. The charge was dropped when Harold, Gregory’s father, stepped forth and admitted fault, saying Greg was still learning and should have let him practice in an empty lot before letting him on the streets. Once again, they moved.

WIT

Do you confront him now, or not?

[Guest]

Not sure what it means...but I feel like it means something that all the charges were interactions with priests, who died shortly afterwards...

[Guest]

Actually, I'd like to know how someone with a record like that became a police chief? Sounds like daddy keeps bailing him out. Did daddy bribe the mayor to appoint him or what?

I'd confront him and see what he has to say for himself, but trust none of it.

[Guest]

Ask him if he's religious.

[Guest]

Can you get records on the other dead G.O.D. people?

[OmegaScales]

A knock on your door makes you jump. You hide everything in a drawer of your dresser and open the door. “Hey, what’s up?” you ask, trying to hide your fear.

“Were you just doing… something? Never mind, that’s none of my business. Well, I was just wondering when breakfast was. I’m always starving when I wake up, so…“

“Oh, right. I’ll get breakfast ready.”

There are two large stacks of pancakes smothered in pure maple syrup on the table with a side of bacon and sausage and tall glasses of nice cold milk. You don’t normally eat things like this, but you like to whenever you get a chance. You put your hands together in prayer, and Greg starts scarfing down his breakfast. “You aren’t very religious, are you?” you ask, still suppressing your fear.

He stops stuffing his face for a second to answer your question. “The only God I believe in is me. I make my own choices, not anyone else.”

“Not even if they tell you it’s immoral?”

He stops chewing for a few seconds, then swallows. Before he swallowed, however, you saw anger in his eyes. You could’ve sworn you even saw his eyes turn red for a second. He takes a breath and says, “I know the difference between right and wrong. I do the right thing all the time. You will not catch me doing anything immoral. Trust me, Leslie.”

You find it interesting that he said that you would not catch him doing anything wrong as opposed to not doing anything wrong in the first place. You jokingly play on this feeling. “Soooo, what do you mean I won’t catch you, hmmm?” You start laughing. He starts laughing too, almost sending milk out his nose.

“Wow, Leslie, I had no idea you had such a sense of humor. I got what I wanted without realizing it till now. We’re bonding.”

“Oops, sorry. Should I kick you out?” You both start laughing hysterically, but you still have that sense of fear hanging over your head. “So, have you always gotten what you wanted?”

“Oh yeah. Everything.”

You decide to bring up what you had been dreading not to know about. “…Even those priests’ deaths?”

His cheerful face suddenly disappears. In its place is something that sends a chill down your spine. “I was hoping you wouldn’t bring that up, Leslie Young.” You pretend to get up to grab more coffee, but your true target is the gun in a hidden compartment on the coffeemaker. “Don’t bother with that gun, I have it here.” You turn around, and he is pointing it at you. “Now you stay there and don’t say a word. Let me do all the talking.” You take a step backward, pretending to accidentally hit your wrist on the counter, but actually activating a “record” function. “STOP! Not another step.” You get a lump in your throat. “Yes. I killed those priests. But there is no proof I did. You know why? Because I knew what I was doing. Those idiots were worshipping nothing. NOTHING! They should be worshipping me. I am GOD! I can kill whoever I want, whenever I want. I won’t kill you just yet though. I want you to humor me, please me, bend to my whim. To start off, we’re going on a little trip.” He motions for you to follow, which you do very carefully. You get in his car, and the two of you take off. You suddenly feel very tired and pass out.

You wake up handcuffed to a bed and gagged. You try to get out of it, but the handcuffs are too strong for you to break. Your watch is still on your wrist, and still recording. The door opens and Greg comes in. He puts something over your nose, and you soon realize it’s a mask to deliver sleeping gas into your system.

This time when you wake up, you’re in a different room. You also realize that one of the handcuffs feels a little looser. You manage to slip your wrist out of it. After a miraculous escape from the bed, you face a new task. The door won’t open, and you don’t think it would be a good idea to break it down since you have no idea where you are. Plus, you only have a bathrobe on. You look around the room.

You see:

A phone

A bathroom

A TV

Menus and Brochures held together with a paperclip on the nightstand (along with your watch, other personal effects, a corkscrew, and a bottle of wine)

A dresser

A window with curtains drawn

Edited February 13, 2011 by OmegaScales

[Guest]

See if the phone works. If not, open the curtains and try to see where you are. try sending signals out of the window, or escaping through the window. Make sure you also get dressed

Greg wants everyone to worship him and his initials spell out GOD?

[OmegaScales]

It may have something to do with him being a genius psychopath who happened to be born with those initials. P.S. There are psychopaths similar to Greg, who do not show their psycho side unless someone catches them.

You find some clothes in the dresser that fit you. You make sure he didn’t do anything to your watch, but it is running low on battery. You take the phone off the receiver, and the dial tone starts. You call Maggie who asks where you are, and why you didn’t answer your cell phone. You, slightly panicky, explain what happened, and open the curtains to look around, but you don’t recognize anything. You ask her to use a trace on the phone, and to get as many officers to your location as possible. You put the phone down so you can look around a little more. After a minute, you hear Greg laughing with someone and need to prepare for a confrontation.

WIT

How do you protect yourself from a man with a gun, with only the things around you? I will tell you what is around you if you want that info.

[Guest]

Use the corkscrew

[OmegaScales]

He opens the door and you stab him with the corkscrew, which goes less than half an inch into his skin. He shoots you. You're dead.

Try again. Also be careful how you word your response.

[Guest]

The bathrobe has a sash right?

Hide behind the door, with the sash in your hands. When he enters, come up behind him and strangle him--only until he passes out. Then disarm him and tie him up.

[OmegaScales]

You hide behind the door, planning on strangling Greg with the sash from the bathrobe. The door opens, and you get ready to jump at him. “Nice try, Leslie.” You notice him looking through the crack between the door and wall, gun pointed at your head. You died.

Yes I can be evil [if only there were an evil smiley here], but you need to come up with a less obvious way of capturing him (alive of course).