[IC] 🦄 Darker Than Black - Merged With T.S.

[Sigil]

---

---

Caesar Gonzalez

---

Location: La Hacienda
Skills: N/A

---

---

As the pair made their way downstairs to rejoin the viewing, they were greeted by the sight of their immediate as well as extended family in varying stages of applying ash and soot to their faces. A good many were already done and were now sporting faces painted with the white-gray ash, eyes blackened with char, done to resemble a skull over their own features. Some applied more contemporary grease paint, offering it to others only as they finished with it themselves. More often than not, though, it was the more traditional ash. It was an interesting cultural phenomenon, partly a tenuous grasp on the old beliefs before the coming of Spanish Catholics, slipping in bits of worship of Death and ancestors underneath the noses of the European priests, but mostly a comforting practice in the face of the metaphorical price that all those who live must pay for the privilege of doing so. It also gave them a sense of uniformity. They were dealing with Death by embracing it. To become one with the primal force of the universe, given representation as a Lady of unparalleled wisdom and serenity, was viewed as a noble purpose. The fact that this family very likely supplied their Lady of Immaculate Death with a steady supply of fresh recruits didn't hurt their credentials to wear her mark upon their faces.

Caesar and Thalia were the odd ones out, joining the viewing with their natural skin tones showing. The general consensus of opinion, based upon the knowing looks from those assembled, was to repair that situation as quickly as possible. Hence, the majority of La Famlia crowding around with their pigments of choice, making the patriarch and prodigal niece match the rest of their people. Caesar knew fully what this meant and was accepting of it. He had been to many such traditional rituals for the passing of notable members of his family. The young lady with him had not had the benefit of such experience, and as such was ...a little leery... of the idea of having multiple people put their hands on her face. By the time they were finished and handed her a mirror, her anxiety was laid to rest. It looked really damned good for the materials used. Thalia's thoughts flashed briefly toward the other reasons one may wish to don the markings of their Dama de la Muerte. Inwardly, she really hoped that they would never arise.

---

---

J. Keystone

---

Location: Queensguard Industries R&D, Front Gate -> Elizabeth's Office
Skills: Leadership, Security Procedures

---

---

It was an interesting trip back up to Ms. Queensguard's office, not the least of which being the odd sort of irony found among the three making the trip. Valerie Pye seemed to be very proper, even frumpy, but very much sure of herself in an aristocratic sort of way. Her man Wadsworth also seemed very proper, if given to bouts of servitude. Still very aristocratic, in a "The Butler Did It" sort of way. Meanwhile Keystone was trying very hard not to speak with too much of his underclass, Cockney accent and stand as straight as possible. He was born and raised as far away from anything resembling aristocracy as possible. The only thing they all seemed to have in common was their country of origin: They were British. And an excellent cross section of London society in all of its shimmering glory. Until you got to J. Keystone, Survivor of Slums and Women of Loose Morality.

It wasn't his job to make friends, however. Nor was it even his job to like these people. That would happen or it would not. It was his job to keep tabs on Caesar's holdings and points of interest while he was away tending to family matters. One of the things that he had sent word back concerning was this woman, Pye. He had skimmed while en route, and planned on taking serious notes, stirring the pot with a few questions of his own. But first, he had to get them behind closed doors, preferably without incident. Check that, definitely without incident. The last thing he needed was a cadre of fellow East Enders making life interesting. Or another pesky murder to deal with. For now, he played the role he was there to play: Security Director. "Office of Ms. Elizabeth Queensguard, ma'am. Just this way, if you'd please." Yeah, that sounded nice and official.

[FantasyChic]

---

---

Priya Khurana

---

Location: Priya's Apartment
Skills: N/A

---

---

Priya drove to the airport in silence. She didn't know what else to say to Roy and Riley was still talking on the phone. She wanted more information but she was promised the full story on the plane, so she bit her tongue. Once Riley was off the phone, she mentioned having bought her ticket. Priya didn't like owing anyone anything and since Roy bought food, she would have to come up with some way to pay them both back.

"Thanks Riley, I owe you one." Maybe a Grimm T-Shirt? It sounded touristy, like a fairytale city. Jokes aside, she was mentally preparing for what was going to occur. She would have to text her friends back home as soon as possible, especially those on the force. And she still had to get back to Tinder.

She would do so once she wasn't driving. Remember kids, don't text and drive!

[Lady Absinthia]

---

---

---

Date: Monday May 22nd, 2017

---

@Sigil @Morose @Dragoknighte @FantasyChic @Nallore

---

---

"Oh that sucks Riley, yeah yeah, I will take care of everything. What time does your flight land in Indianapolis? I can drive out there to pick you up and bring you to Grimm," he offered. They wouldn't land in Indianapolis until 3A.M. that morning since they were flying from the west to the east coast. And then it was a two hour drive in the middle of the night to Grimm. Having someone local pick them up that Riley trusted wasn't a bad idea.

Roy stayed quiet during the drive and once they were at the airport he grabbed his bags, giving Riley a thanks for the ticket but saying he could get her reimbursed once they got back. He could but he wasn't putting in for it until then, he didn't want to give anyone a heads up at Justice PD where they were going. Things at the airport were calm enough even though there was heightened security because if a tiger that had gotten out from the circus nearby. Roy had to show his badge and Id while checking in his bag due to the weapons but there wasn't a problem since they were getting checked and he wasn't trying to carry on the small arsenal.

"Yeah I got it but not about to call her while she's sneaking around but here," he said as he pulled up on his phone the layout of the building.

Valerie walked with Keystone, Wadsworth following closely behind as they were lead through what was left of the party and towards the office. Once there, Wadsworth rushed ahead and opened the door. Valerie nodded and released Keystones arm. "Far enough lad, back to your job," she said before walking through the door. Wadsworth gave Keystone a look before pulling the door shut quickly and vanishing inside of it with Ms. Pyre.

A door opened quickly up stairs and feet could be heard rushing down. "Well that was fun..." she said as she came into view. Zoie looked a little tense as she sat down next to Mali and forced a smile. A small spot of blood on her cheek but it didn't look like it was from her. In fact she looked injury free.

"What did you do?" Relic asked quickly.

"Can we get out of here?" she asked, not answering him.

"Monitors are still down, there is a back exit but security looks tight," he said rubbing his face.

"True but you can discuss them to family if they have power of attorney right? Check your files," the man said as he pulled into the Circus and parked the car in the dirt parkinglot near the back. Turning around rested his arm over the head rest and eyed her. "Barney Ross," he said as he pulled out his ID and showed it to her. "As her doctor you know as well as I do, she is in no condition to make decisions for herself," he stated flatly.

"There are always the tunnels," Zoie said as she pushed her hair out of her face.

"What tunnels?" Relic asked.

"The sewers."

Roy groaned as they made their way through security and then towards the gate. They still had half an hour before boarding began and Roy pushed on his stomach a bit. "Going to grab something for wings from earlier, anyone need anything from the duty free shop?" he asked as he looked at the girls.

"Funny thing, neither of them were crazy to start, it was the system that made them that way. Well more than that for my daughter but they didn't help. Other than why you haven't been killed yet, are you here to help or make matters worse?" Barney asked as he put his wallet up.

Down in Mexico the party was still going strong, well party was a strong word for it but that was how funerals were for this part of the world. Maria had gotten her hands on Liam and put him down the night, eventually going to where the music was and having it turned down so the baby could sleep. It wasn't normal for such events to be on the quiet side but her grand son was more important to her than her deceased daughter right then. Her grandson was still alive.

The woman stepped away and into the garden where she made a phone call, sitting there speaking to someone elsewhere. "Yes, I understand. You can deal with it. No, I don't care. Listen my daughter is dead, I have more important things to tend to, you deal with this shit," she said before hanging up the phone and shoving it in her back pocket. She didn't look happy.

[Dragoknighte]

Mali Anson

---

Location: Queensguard
Skills: N/A

---

---

"Well you can text her or something right? Or send an email? Some way to contact her in a way that wouldn't immediately give away her position. Just saying that it'd be really bad to just up and leave without telling her where we're going or why." Not to mention it'd be super rude. Imagine going out to a house party with your friends. Things aren't going fantastic, but they could be a lot worse. You've had a few drinks, and then suddenly you feel it right in your bladder. Naturally, you let your buddies know you're leaving to release the pressure. A few minutes later when you get back, they're just gone. What conclusion are you supposed to draw from that? As far as you can tell, they just up and ditched you to go do anything else with and other person the first chance the got.

Suddenly, you're questioning the entire history of your relationship with them. Maybe you've always been that one friend nobody ever wanted to hang around with, and they laughed at you behind your back this whole time. Or you've always smelled of armpit, and nobody ever bothered to tell you to your face. The longer you're left to your own thoughts, the worse the explanations you can create get. Next thing you know, you're curled up in your car outside the house crying to yourself while two cars down there's a couple getting it on loud enough that you can hear it even over your own tears and you can't help but be annpyed that you can't even have a moment of self-pity without a couple of asshats interfering.

Of course that probably wouldn't happen with Zoie, but it's still a dick move to try leaving without informing all involved parties beforehand. Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about that, because that's when the person in question decided to make her unceremonious reappearance.

The blood, her air of nonchalance and the ensuing conversation left Mali in an odd place. She wasn't sure how she should react to the knowledge that her date just casually murdered a couple of people in cold blood. Part of Mali tried to tell the rest of herself not to jump to conclusions without much success. Another, much larger part of herself asked if the apparent crush she had was really such a good idea. And she couldn't really answer. Any internal bickering was shut down when the word "sewer" popped up.

She really didn't want to go through the sewers. She was wearing these nice, fancy clothes that Zoie had spent a lot of money on, and they'd just be totally ruined. Not to mention how gross the whole idea was. Mali was wearing open toed shoes. Nope. Not getting poop water all on her toes. Yet despite every fiber of her being rejecting the idea, she knew that the night would end up with trudging through sewer tunnels.

"Come on," Mali said, every word coming out of her mouth with all the energy of a birthday cake knocked off the dining room table. "Let's get going to the sewers. The less time we spend here, the better."

[Nallore]

Riley Ridgeway

Location: Chicago Heights -> Justice Airport
Skills: N/A

---

---

Riley went to unmute the phone once Tim came back to her, and smiled slightly. "Yeah it's been a sucky last twenty-four hours." Riley said with a slight sigh, she was surprised and glad at the same time when Tim offered to pick them up. "If you are alright with staying up until three in the morning that's when we come in." Riley was used to staying up early hours in the morning getting ready for flights the following day, or even the long hours on a tour bus. Riley looked out the window as she could see the airport starting to come into view, she ran a hand through her hair. "We are at the airport now, i'll text you whenever we land, see you very soon. And thank you." Riley said before hanging up her phone.

Riley looked at Pyira and Roy, and shook her head slightly. "No need to, it's the least I can do." She simply said as she got out of Roy's car and then stood close by. Luckily for her, she didn't have anything to carry on aside from what she had on herself currently and she wouldn't have to check in her bags which was also a plus. Then she started to follow Roy into the airport and to the luggage check in, watching Roy handing his bag of weapons and then flashing his badge.

Once they finished checking in whatever they needed and made their way through security, she was used to security but did notice that it had been heightened considerably. Riley however assumed it was because of Justice and it was the murder capital of the world from her current experience. Once they finished going through security she was at the gate, looking over at Roy and then over at a nearby clock seeing that they had about thirty minutes left before boarding. The wings from earlier for Roy were starting to act up again and she could tell.

"No thank you I'm good, are you going to be okay though?" Riley asked, she just hoped that he wouldn't end up shitting like earlier, on the flight would probably be far worse. Then her thoughts started to go back to home, she really wasn't looking forward to it and she'd have to deal with her family as well once Chloe's body was transported and they did the whole funeral process as well.

[Sigil]

---

---

Caesar Gonzalez

---

Location: La Hacienda
Skills: N/A

---

---

The music becoming quieter did lower the overall energy of the viewing. It was to be expected, really, as this might be the point in time when a normal party would be winding down. Start to wind down, anyway. But this was a special occasion, if an occasion that was somber and colored with grief. Caesar and Thalia were both decorated with skull facepaint, matching the vast majority of the others present. It was intended (at least in part) to unify everyone as equals in the presence of Death. For a visual, it seemed to do so admirably. A large jug of spirits was passed around, finding its way to Thalia. Despite her differing skin tone and more urban appearance, she was able to tilt it back like a born and bred local, after which she passed it along to her uncle.

Caesar nodded his approval and performed a similar action, drinking deeply of the homemade spirits before himself passing it to the person next to him. It was an odd sort of ritual. They all were, to anyone unfamiliar with the family. It was a seamless blending of the Old Religion with the New with bits of superstitions thrown into the mix. Not so much because they believed in the superstitions, but because they had become harmless and nostalgic tradition, symbolizing actions from centuries ago that were no longer feasible to practice in full form due to legalities, barbarism, or simply good taste.

The thought hit Caesar that he had not seen his brother in a while, and Maria even longer than that. The two of them should feature prominently in the hubbub of the evening, though he could understand why they might want to be left alone. Things seemed to be in order here. Perhaps it was time to locate the lady who would be running part of his business for the foreseeable future and the father of the young lady he was allowing to return to California with him. He was certain that they had something to discuss.

---

---

J. Keystone

---

Location: Queensguard Industries R&D, (just outside) Elizabeth's Office
Skills: Leadership, Security Procedures

---

---

Just like that, Keystone was dismissed as if he were delivering Thai food to a board meeting. He was not happy with this turn of events, not at all. But he was technically The Help, and they were the important people with whom he rarely associated anyway. He maintained the appearance of a dutiful security agent, which technically he was supposed to be at that moment anyway. Luckily for him, there was still the lady he had left inside of Ms. Queensguard's office for protection before he left to usher in Mrs. Pye from the main gate. Keystone spoke into his comm, which to the best of his knowledge had not been compromised just yet. "Vinters, keep tabs and brief me later on, yeah? I ain't invited in, looks about."

As it was, Keystone could very well have gone back into the party room, greeted old friends from across the pond and done a bit of Cockney'ing about, but there were more pressing issues at play right then. Starters being the fact that he'd gotten no more word from the rest of his team, including Alicia's people from Seattle. He was wary as hell about the whole situation, and very close to chucking it all and calling it a night, all the while daydreaming about setting the whole place ablaze and dancing naked among the ruins like a drunken pagan. But that would be a horrible dereliction of his duties. Instead, he used his comm once more to try and get some sort of hold on their original situation. "Huang, Whitmore, Ibanez. Report. All of ya, now. Where're we at? Start with Ibanez."

[Morose]

---

---

Iris Kingston

---

---

Location: Driving to the Circus!
Skills: Perception, Photographic Memory

---

Iris didn't need to check her files - she had a photographic memory. She recalled to mind the image of Cynthia's file and realized that this man, just as he claimed and was validated by his ID, had power of attorney. However, she also recalled the description of the website from earlier, listing that Barney Ross had a niece. The man seemed to be telling the truth - perhaps Cynthia's mother was raised by a brother or sister of Ross, then. And Cynthia wasn't raised by her mother. It was a trend in the family, then.

"I have not treated Cynthia very long, Mr. Ross," Iris prefaced, having just been given Cynthia's case the day this entire fiasco began. "However, I promise you I will do everything in my power to get her honest help. I understand that the system fails a great many - and that is something that I'd like to change in the practice, starting with not changing the way I treat and care for my patients. My goal is to help Cynthia heal and one day, walk out of the asylum under her own free will to live a happy and fulfilling life as a productive member of society," Perhaps it was a naive attitude, but as psychologists went, Iris was fairly young. She also had a strong moral compass that led her to believe that everyone deserved help and a shot at redemption, a chance to find peace of mind, to fall in love and grow old - to be happy.

"As for why I haven't been killed yet...I hope it is because Cynthia knows that I am an ally and that I earnestly wish to see her make a full recovery."

[FantasyChic]

---

---

Priya Khurana

---

Location: Airport
Skills: N/A

---

---

Priya followed Roy and Riley inside. She still felt weird having Riley pay for her ticket, but she wasn't about to complain, knowing her salary. Still, she would find some way to pay the girl back. She took her backs and went inside, going through security. She showed her badge too, though she was not carrying the arsenal that Roy was.

"No, I'm good." She responded to Roy's question once they bypassed all the hoopla. She sat down on a nearby bench and waited.

"I'll be honest, I don't like this one bit. I'm used to having some idea of knowing what I am getting into. This is unknown territory for me. How does it feel to be going back?" she asked Riley. If it were Priya, she would go back in a heartbeat. She hated having things unsaid and unexplored, but Riley was not Priya. For all she knew, the girl was regretting the moment she was ever brought into this investigation. Priya could at least understand that.

[Lady Absinthia]

---

---

---

Date: Monday May 22nd, 2017 - End Of Day

---

@Sigil @Morose @Dragoknighte @FantasyChic @Nallore

---

---

Zoie didn't like the idea either but getting out was getting out and she needed to move, now. The video feeds were off and if they stayed it was just going to get drug out even more on their end, especially once security found the little present she left them on the forth floor. Relic didn't like it either but it was better than staying as far as he was concerned. So it was agreed. They would move and get the hell out of dodge before anyone was the wiser.

Zoie wasn't normally glad she worked for Juno but being part of the lessers had it's advantages, less known but still with some knowledge. Relic had the plans pulled up and it showed where the duct work was, what wasn't on the public plans was part of the plans they had stolen from the computers when they vanished earlier. Escape tunnels. Elizabeth wasn't stupid, she knew an exit strategy was always key to survival.

Behind them was that very key, a pressure sensitive wall that gave way when Zoie pushed in on it. Opening up to a separate set of stair that lead down. "Hurry," she said. Relic walked in and headed down the dimly lit steps. Zoie waited for Mali to enter before stepping in herself and shutting the door. Once it shut the lights came up a bit making it easier to see and suddenly the video feeds and computers in Queensguard powered back up. "Just keep going," she said and Relic nodded moving quickly as he could without risking tripping and falling. The stairs went down a good ways and then opened up to tunnels. These were sewers alright but not like the shallow ones most thought of. These were wide, with sidewalks on either side that were elevated above the actual waste. It stunk but it was a way out.

"Hand me your phone," Zoie said as she got to the bottom. Taking as her brother handed it over to her she sent a quick text. ~Sorry I had to go, the place was dead. Promise to buy you brunch tomorrow.~ Hitting send she handed the phone back over and smiled towards Mali. "Hell of a first date wouldn't ya say?" she said trying to lighten the mood.

"What did you do?" Relic asked as he walked, he didn't figure they were booking ass this way because of what had happened earlier.

Inside Marc looked down at his phone as it buzzed. His brow perking some at the message. Why in the hell had they left and how? Looking around he noted a few of the security team putting their hand to their ears. He knew what that meant, they were getting word from someone on the team but their faces didn't tell him what it was about.

"Boss, forth floor. We have a problem. Two dead, hell of a rumble looks to have gone down up here," the voice chimed in on the security channel.

Things were calmer at the airport. Roy managed to grab a few cartons of smokes, somethings to drink, couple of bags of chips and such before heading back. The call went out that the plane was loading now. That was good, the sooner they were out of Justice the better in his eyes. "Alright, time to go," he said before making his way to the gate. It wasn't long before they were all loaded up. First class wasn't bad as far as he was concerned. It gave them quick access to get off the plane, put them near the cockpit, and bathroom. He could get used to this. Seated he kicked back and waited for take off.

The plane wasn't very full. Not many people were headed to Colorado in the summer. The plane would stop in Denver before heading to Indianapolis. Once they were in the air, the stewardess brought around the cart with drinks and a bag of pretzels. Other food could be bought if one wanted it. Roy was content with what he brought on board. He snacked but it was obvious he was tired and ended up passing out in his seat. He didn't even rouse when the plane sat down in Denver and took back off. It seemed his ass was going to sleep all the way to Indianapolis.

Down in Mexico Tasha yawned a bit. They had stopped in Vallecillo for the night and got a room at a 4 bedroom in just off the highway. It was nothing more than a house an old woman was renting out rooms in but it worked. They had a large bed, large enough to share, there was a bathroom down the hallway and the woman seemed nice enough. No one else was renting from her right then, so it was just the three of them. She didn't speak a lick of English but thankfully Natasha spoke Spanish. Seemed the old woman was a widow, her husband dying about ten years back. Her kids had gone to the US some time ago, she hadn't seen them in ages but got calls weekly. the food was decent and such but the place was hot. She didn't have any central air. Fans and a window unit though was in their bedroom. Natasha was thankful for that. It had been a long drive for her and fleeing partner. It didn't take long once Natashas head hit the pillow before she was out cold.

She wasn't the only one turning in for the night, seemed Maria had had enough of the noise and had grabbed Liam before turning in. She left word that she would be at the airport first thing in the morning to fly out to Justice. Yes her daughter still needed to be buried but she was not going to be there for that. She couldn't bring herself to watch her little girl be put into the ground. Thankfully she had Liam and business to keep her busy.

At the circus Barney nodded a bit. "Good, then you can help me wrangle her in before she gets herself killed, come on," he said as he climbed out of the car. Looking around the place was in chaos and his eyes narrowed. Resting his hand on his hip, he unlatched his side arm. He didn't want to use it but he would if he had to. Walking slowly he looked around, no one was questioning him but considering what had been going on he wasn't surprised.

He heard people screaming in Russian and spotting a pale blonde with bright blue eyes running across the grounds yelling in Russian, only word he could make out was Bazhooli. Then he heard it. "Mother puss bucket," he said before tearing off down the main thorofare. The noise got louder and louder. It was obviously a helicopter. He hadn't even rounded the corner when it took off and he spotted his darling daughter, grand daughter, and one more in the machine before it cut and took off heading west. "God damn it!" he yelled before kicking the ground.

Placing his hands on his hips he shook his head and started to walk back towards the car. "Fucking hell," he said as he pulled out his phone and made a call. "Yeah, listen, I need a tacker done. Helicopter, taking off from the circus in Justice." Sighing he hung up, of course his daughter had stolen a helicopter. They didn't need clearance to take off, no flight plan, no security check. A car would have been less noticeable but a helicopter was faster. "Come on, we have a flight to catch," he said as he climbed back into the car. "I know where she is going."

He did, he knew exactly where his daughter was headed. Straight back to Grimm. She had sworn to him time and time again that once she got her daughter back she would make the adoptive parents pay for what they did to Cynthia. Little did he know there were already others headed in that very direction. Shit was about to get real in Grimm once again.

Upstairs at Queensguard, it seemed another murder had taken place. They had to call the police now. A woman dropping dead could be anything, these two were obviously stabbed to death. The police commissioner was there, so that allowed them to keep things more quiet but still, it couldn't be avoided then. It was going to be a long night. And it was. Police showed up, questioning everyone before letting them leave. The paramedics came but all they were doing was collecting bodies.

Sadly nothing had been recorded during the down time of the computers and security feeds. It was a blank time where no one knew what happened. Elizabeth and her special guests that had been moved away from the scene had been the first to be questioned before being lead out so they could leave. "Activate March," she said to McCormick as they were leaving through the front door.

"Yes Ma'am," Leann said as she pulled out her phone and hit a button on it.

Marc glanced over to the women as they left but stayed where he was. He still had to be questioned. Tinder was questioned, he wasn't on the list but he had either been at the limo the whole time or just inside in plain sight, so he was done rather quickly. Wentworth was questioned as well and then out the door. One by one everyone was questioned before filing out and escorted off the grounds. The bodies were not moved until everyone but the police commissioner, the rest of the police, the security team, and paramedics were left.

Marc was glad to be out of there, he knew Zoie, Relic, and Mali were out. He had wondered why they had left but once he caught a glimpse of the two bodies being brought down from upstairs he figured out why. Zoie. He wondered what had happened and if Zoie was okay. For her to kill two people and then vanish like that, it wasn't smart. Something had to go down. Security would know Zoie hadn't left, she was on the guest list and wasn't checked off once everyone was cleared to go and escorted off. Pulling out of the complex he looked down at his phone and then kept driving. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Zoie pushed open a door and they were in a basement. "Where are we?" Relic asked.

"Club Afterdark," Zoie said as they came into the room and she shut the basement door. Heels could be heard on the stairs and Zoie spun around only to see Trisha there.

"What the hell girl?" the woman asked as she lowered her gun.

"Don't ask, we just need a place to crash tonight," Zoie said. Trisha nodded and holstered her gun at her waist.

"Sure, rooms upstairs are empty, no one is renting currently," she said. It wasn't long before they had gone up the stairs, passed the main ground floor and up another set. Once there, Trisha unlocked the door for them and motioned they could go in. "Fill me in in the morning," she said before walking off and back downstairs. Zoie flopped down on the couch and kicked off her heels.

"Sweet Jesus, that sucked," she said as she reached under her dress. She didn't pull out the knife from earlier, that had been left in the chest of Risa. What she did pull out however was a phone. "Here," she said as she tossed it to her brother. Relic took it and his eyes scanned over it. Perking a brow slightly as he spotted a picture of a now dead Mexican woman and one very pale blue eyed man on what looked to be a college campus years ago.

"Seriously?"

"Seems so," she said before leaning back and huffing.

[Nallore]

Riley Ridgeway

Location: Justice Airport -> Flight to Denver, Colorado
Skills: N/A

---

---

Riley moved over and sat down on the bench next to Pyira and leaned forward slightly her arms resting on her knees and closed her eyes for a moment. Riley really regretted going back to her hometown, she'd help of course however she could with the investigation but she wasn't home for a social call at all. She simply wanted to go bury Chloe and then leave and occasionally come back every few years or so for a quick visit to the grave. When Pyira finally spoke up Riley leaned back and turned her attention towards the woman and then gave a slight shrug, she didn't like it one bit either.

"I'd personally never step back into Grimm ever, but aside from the reunion Grimm is peaceful for the most part it's a small town. I'm really not looking forward to seeing my family again." Riley said with a sigh as she then looked up as she saw Roy coming up towards them carrying a bag of snacks, smokes and a drink. Riley simply nodded as she stood up and started to make her way towards the gate that would take them to Denver then to Indianapolis.

Riley made her way towards their assigned seats on the tickets, and plopped herself down she certainly did like to sit in First Class all the way. It was secluded from the other passengers who would probably swarm her for autographs and pictures, she looked over towards Pyira once they were now on the plane she could answer any questions now at this point. "Feel free to ask any questions then I guess." Riley said towards Pyira, once the plane was ready and everyone was onboard and then started to pull out and takeoff. Riley asked the stewardess for a Bloody Mary as well as some pretzels, she noticed Roy had just crashed now at this point.

[Dragoknighte]

Mali Anson

---

Location: Queensguard->Club Afterdark
Skills: N/A

---

---

Mali quirked a brow as soon as the pressure sensitive wall was revealed. Convenient. She had expected that they'd need to relocate a bit before taking any kind of escape, but she wasn't going to complain. As soon as the stairs came into view, she removed her shoes, holding one in each hand. They were way too expensive for her to want to ruin them in any sewage water, and if they needed to run, they'd only be a liability. And in her hands, if worst came to worst, they made for some surprisingly effective improvised weapons. What they lacked in bulk and durability, they made up for in eye gouging potential.

The reveal that the sewer tunnels didn't actually involve walking through sewage was a great relief for Mali's sense of cleanliness, but she didn't bother trying to put her heels back on. She didn't want to chance having to run around in them, and although the cement was rough on her feet, they'd been starting to ache from the shoes. She wore high heels so infrequently that it was something of a relief that she could remove them in the first place.

"Not at all," Mali said in response to Zoie's first date quip giving a few seconds' pause before continuing with a markedly more passive aggressive tone. "Wentworth and I had a pleasant chat, but there wasn't anything that really wowed me. He'll have to step up his game next time if he wants a third though." Was she still sore that she got ditched for for the majority of the party without being told why until she had to sit them down and demand they do so? Yes. Was she going to continue to hold this against Zoie? Probably. And likely longer than the slight warranted.

The reveal that they were now at Club Afterdark didn't do anything to lift her spirits. The last time she and Relic had been here, like 20 people died. Hanging around here didn't seem like a good way of staying alive, but since she had to choose between here, or going off into the Justice night alone with no real weapons and dressed to the nines, she decided to stay in the realm of likely danger rather than the guaranteed mugging (at best) she'd get trying to go somewhere else.

"So what now," Mali asked, setting her shoes down before leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Thinking back, they had just put themselves in a whole world of trouble for relatively little benefit. Well at least Zoie did. She wasn't sure exactly how much would transfer to Relic and herself by proxy, but she doubted that she'd be able to avoid the fallout. What she wanted to know was where they planned to go from hiding out in a bar attic.

[Sigil]

---

---

Caesar Gonzalez

---

Location: La Hacienda
Skills: N/A

---

---

It appeared that Caesar would not be meeting and speaking with Miss Maria Santiago (formerly Mrs. Maria Gonzalez) that evening. He had asked around, spoken with the ubiquitous and damn near omnipresent abuelitas that seemed to form the leading rumormill about the complex whenever family got together, and gathered as much information as was necessary to know that she would not be joining them for the remainder of the evening. That, and his tiny grandson was well taken care of, complete with being put down for the evening. In truth, it probably would have been better if he had gone down a lot earlier. Special occasions call for exceptions to standing rules sometimes, even if that occasion was the funeral of a cherished, central member of the family.

The concept of the viewing was such that the deceased would be laid out for view for hours, with prayer, feasting, and the celebration of their life happening around them. All at a respectful distance, of course. Actual burial would take place at the crack of dawn in the family crypt. Caesar and their Angelita would have to be ready to hit the airport the moment that she was properly interred and given honors befitting her. But first...

Caesar and Thalia turned from Alicia's remains, both using the back of their hands to remove an errant spot or two of homemade booze from their face without damaging the designs of the ash upon their faces. Both looked amazingly surprised at the serious, sober eyes of Benicio staring at them. For a long time, no words were spoken. Even as the rest of the courtyard seemed to melt away, they just stood, locked in a conversation comprised entirely of regarding glances and the tiniest of facial movements.

"I cannot stop you." he finally said aloud. "I do not like this at all, but I cannot stop you." He turned around and left the two of them, unwilling to continue the discussion.

---

---

J. Keystone

---

Location: Queensguard Industries R&D, (just outside) Elizabeth's Office -> Stepping onto 4th Floor
Skills: Leadership, Security Procedures

---

---

Keystone let his hands drop to his sides. Not only did his immediate team refuse to check in, but a completely new voice decided to inform him that there was an exciting new opportunity for someone with a mop and a strong stomach up on the fourth floor. Ah, nothing got his blood pumping like a good, old-fashioned double homicide on top of a murder-by-poison that occurred right under his nose, alongside a team that refused to answer direct questions about routine security procedure, when refusing to call the police after being explicitly ordered to do so, not to mention a complete inability to manage a scene or secure a room (again as ordered) like they were taught to accomplish in their basic training. This evening had been a clusterfuck of nigh epic proportions, and he honestly felt like the exact same series of events would have transpired if he had locked himself in a bathroom stall with a box of jelly doughnuts and pulled up BBC America on his company issued satphone. The really, really fun part was that it wasn't over yet.

It was an interesting feeling, being completely out of control of a situation that he would otherwise have handled as part of a basic routine back home. Or anywhere else, for that matter. Rather hopeless, really, being the slave of a situation that kept devolving into something worse with each passing second that filled him with the desire to burn the whole place to the ground and piss on the ashes until they were cold slush, ready to be swept away by the next good rain.

But just so long as another example of human indecency had popped up on his watch, (meaning it could potentially be blamed on him directly, seeing as he was the Acting Director) he might as well give it a look. However, seeing as he couldn't even get his own people to give him a simple heads-up, he sure as hell couldn't trust them to secure the new bits of carnage all by their lonesome, and so trudged over to the nearest direct way up.

Fourth floor: Ladies' Wear, Home Decor, and Dead People! Two-for-One special! Mind your step as you exit the elevator...

[Morose]

---

---

Iris Kingston

---

---

Location: the Circus
Skills: Perception, Photographic Memory

---

Iris nodded a bit nervously, getting out of the car with Barney. She was mildly afraid of him but her gut was telling her that she could trust him. They both wanted the same thing, after all - for Cynthia to be safe and healthy. Or at least, that was the impression she was getting from him. The side arm freaked her out slightly, but she supposed it was wise that he had one. Civilians didn't carry guns in England. It was still something that she was getting used to in the United States. Of course, Iris doubted she'd ever get used to it. Every report of a shooting she heard on the news only made her a little more confused as to why Americans were so attached to their guns.

She bit her lip slightly, looking around at all of the chaos. She turned her gaze for one moment and the next thing she knew, Barney was running at full speed. She didn't even hesitate before running after him, figuring that he had spotted or heard something that she hadn't. Iris was beginning to regret not having learned Russian - it would have been quite useful. However, eventually she noticed what Barney had been going after, looking up to see a helicopter taking off with three blondes in it. "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM~!" Jaina giggled, waving down at the doctor and Barney. She even blew Barney a kiss.

Iris was a bit stunned. "A helicopter..." she mumbled, before she headed back with Barney towards the car. She then got into the car with him, nodding slightly. He was taking action towards finding them - something that as much as she respected Agent Tinder, he hadn't exactly done. And sure, Iris had just met Barney and perhaps it was naive of her...But she felt that she could trust him. He was dangerous, yes, but so were her patients. "Where would they have gone?" Iris asked, buckling herself up.

[FantasyChic]

---

---

Priya Khurana

---

Location: Airport - Plane
Skills: N/A

---

---

Priya waited for Roy and, as the call came for their plane to board, they all went on together. Priya had to admit, she was a bit taken aback by the fact they were sitting in First Class. Priya, in all her life, had never sat in first class or business class. She saw the appeal right away. They were secluded. Comfortable. Really, it was the only way to fly!

Priya sat back in her chair and allowed that moment to remain in her mind for a bit. Then reality came back and Riley spoke. Right, they had a case to continue still. Damn....

Priya sat up and looked at Riley. Sure they were in decent privacy, Priya nodded before asking. "Tell me everything. Start to finish and do not leave any detail out. Even if it seems small. I am still wrapping my head around all of this happening. I need to know key players. Connecting the dots is important." Priya took out her phone to jot notes down on it.

[Lady Absinthia]

---

---

---

Date: Monday May 22nd, 2017 - End Of Day (Close it)

---

@Sigil @Morose @Dragoknighte @FantasyChic @Nallore

---

---

"Yeah, we need to get some sleep but first," Zoie said as she looked over towards Mali. "Sorry for having to push so fast and so hard. We had to get the hell out of there. I was trying to get a small piece of evidence and it turned out I wasn't the only one. A couple was up there looking around. Don't know who they were but they weren't Juno and they weren't part of the security team. Fight broke out and I ended up killing both of them. Like hell if I was staying around after that. But I got what we needed," she said as she sighed.

"Speaking of which, excuse me..." she said before rushing over to the bathroom and shutting the door.

"She didn..." Relic said before he started hearing Zoie throwing up. "She did..." he said rubbing the bridge between his nose. "Fuck this, I'm going to sleep..."

The gagging sounds continued for a while before it went quiet and the sound of water could be heard running.

On the plane, things were calm. Roy was either drinking, eating, or sleeping. Thankfully he wasn't getting drunk right then. He kept to himself, seemingly lost in thought. He had a lot on his mind. A lot of people did, Maria was trying to sleep but kept tossing and turning. Things at Queensguard were quiet once the cops and everyone, including the bodies were ushered out. At the circus Barney pulled out and started heading out of town towards more country lands instead of downtown Justice.

"If I know my daughter, Grimm Indiana. It's where my granddaughter was raised. We should know general direction once I get a call back," he said as he pulled over to the side of the road and then looked over to Cecily. "Want me to leave you here or you coming?" he asked her. Seemed he was willing to let her just walk away if she wanted or let her come along if she wanted to stick it out. Either way it was her choice. Barney wasn't going to force her.

After a bit, Zoie came out of the bathroom and sat down at a table. Cringing slightly. Tossing onto the table was a ten sided item that looked very familiar. This one was smaller than others in the past, looking like it could be slipped inside a larger one. "This was what I was after," she said. There was one major difference between this one and the others, other than size. This one looked to be carved out of bone. Relic wasn't paying attention. He had said he was going to sleep and he did, passed out cold on a couch in the room with his laptop open on the table. It was still open to the picture from earlier. Zoie reached out and ran her finger over the woman. Dark hair, dark skin, latino, and now dead. The piercing blue/green eyed man standing with her, he was still alive. It didn't matter. Did it?

Taking a breath she looked over to Mali and sighed. "It's weird, that Zatara was killed. I can't figure out why. She was not Juno proper, more like me. A worker bee. But most everything she did was sent to me to take care of. So if she is dead, was it because of something she had me do or not?" Shaking her head she rubbed her throat. "Okay, last time I pull that shit." SHe shook her head and got up. Walking over to the bed and flopping down as she kicked her shoes off. "Lets get some sleep, we are as safe here as anywhere." Granted were they really safe anywhere? Was anyone? Zoie sighed and shut her eyes. Tomorrow they would regroup and hopefully form some sort of plan.

[Nallore]

Riley Ridgeway

Location: Flight to Denver, Colorado
Skills: N/A

---

---

Riley took a sip of her drink and then looked over towards Pyira for a moment, and then bit her lower lip and nodded slightly as she decided to recline her seat a little bit to get comfortable. First Class was pretty quiet one of the perks no one really bothered you at all, as Riley started to go back and think of how everything started out. "I guess it started out back at the Block Party in front of Boston Heights, someone was shoved off of the top of one of the buildings, and died it I cant really remember who it was, I think it was Cameron White who shoved the person or something like that." Riley said looking over towards Roy, he knew more on the case than she did.

"I ended up meeting a guy named Ronnie." Riley said looking over towards Roy, she knew he had known him for awhile before turning her attention back towards Pyria. "He was friends with Danica, and he wanted to get into Danica's place to find out what happened to her, we ended up becoming pretty good friends. Anyway we went to the Juno Roller Derby, before then a shoot out happened, we managed to get out of there rather quickly." Riley said as she took another drink from her bloody mary. "The next day, I went to the recording studio and ended up getting into an accident. I don't know if that was intentional or not." Riley said for a moment as she lifted up her shirt to show the set of stitches, she wasn't in so much pain over them anymore, and she left the set of pain killers that she got back at her apartment.

"While in the hospital that's when I heard that Lawson was in that gun fight with Lance Clemins, after I got discharged from the hospital Marc, he and I went to high school together. He came in as soon as what happened to Lawson was aired and came with the guy named Felix Hausten, and then we chatted for a bit before Ronnie and my sister came in and visited for a bit." Riley paused and took a big drink from her glass, and closed her eyes sighing deeply. "That was the last I saw of them, that's when the driveby happened. Chloe and Ronnie died that day. We decided to then check out Lawson's place and found a stash of fucking guns with I think the Juno logo on it or whatever, it's in Marc's hands right now. He said he got rid of the, or they are in some place safe for now." Riley shrugged slightly to herself.

"Then I get this call from an unknown number, telling me to stick my nose out of it, and then showed me a picture just above Club After Dark where the driveby happened. So that's why I gave them to Marc, he would keep them safe I guess but yeah I am still freaked out about that call. The three of us then went to the local asylum where Cynthia McMillan was, and she ended up gouging out Felix' eye out so I went with him to the hospital." Riley sighed slightly as she remembered what happened when she left the hospital.

"After making sure that he was alright I called an Uber to take me home, and it turned out to be the guy named March. Luckily Roy was there and he took me to the safehouse and that's about it." Riley said, as she remembered to the best of her knowledge looking over towards Roy.

[Dragoknighte]

Mali Anson

---

Location: Club Afterdark
Skills: N/A

---

---

Well that didn't answer her question, but she didn't bother to fight it. Not right now. She could tell that any protesting would at best lead to an argument, at worst complete silence for the foreseeable future. It had been a very long day, and it was starting to hit her hard. All the remaining energy in her body seemed to flee from her out the wall she was leaning against and through the soles of her feet. Not to mention that right then Zoie was very busy emptying her stomach of the day's contents.

Now more or less alone, Mali allowed herself to slide down the surface of the wall until her butt was parked directly onto the floor. Yeah it caused her dress to ride up, and if you were standing at the right place, there was a "window of opportunity," but who gave a shit? The owner wasn't likely to barge in and disturb them, Zoie had already seen way more, and the kid was asleep.

She had no idea how Relic was able to get himself to sleep with all that wretched noise, but she wasn't going to ruin it for him. More power to him, in fact. As exhausted as she felt, Mali didn't feel the least bit sleepy. Insomnia wasn't an issue she had to struggle with historically, but it seemed to be plaguing her more and more these days. Hopefully, it wasn't going to develop into a chronic condition.

When Zoie came out, Mali didn't reply to anything she said. She maintained eye contact, but otherwise kept her head flopped up against the wall. She imagined that she looked like some sort of battery powered doll that hadn't quite used up the last of those precious AA's keeping it going, because that's about the level of activity she was able to maintain. She hoped Zoie didn't interpret her silence as her still being mad about the party. Although she couldn't say she wasn't still somewhat miffed about the situation, fatigue was the primary reason for the unresponsiveness. Had she the energy, right now she'd be offering possible explanations for Zoie's questions, She could certainly think them, but the words refused to come out of her mouth. It would really blow if one bad night was all it took to sour the entire thing they may or may not have going on.

Once the siblings had both passed out, Mali would summon the energy to get back to her feet and walk over to the table. Gingerly, she picked up the little ten-sided doohickey and looked it over. She had no idea what it was for, but one thing was certain in her mind, she was going to be the one to hold onto it. Wrapping the carved bone tightly in her fist, Mali turned off the lights and found a place to curl up and try getting some rest for the night.

[FantasyChic]

---

---

Priya Khurana

---

Location: Airport - Plane
Skills: N/A

---

---

Priya listened as Riley spoke, but she made a mental note later to talk to Roy about all of this when they landed and he wasn't asleep (the poor man had been through quite a lot). She marked all the names she mentioned, highlighting them on her phone. She would do a detailed search once she had a computer at her disposal, but all of the facts and players, in this case, seemed intense. It sounded fake, but the fact Riley had been through it showed she was more than just some singer in a band.

Hell, they were flying first class!

Priya put her phone down when Riley was done talking. "You've been through a lot, it seems. I am sorry you had to deal with that, but I am also impressed. Thank you for sharing with me. I will do whatever is within my power to see this through and put a stop to it. Now, we got a long flight, should get some sleep." Before Priya would sleep, she sent a text to Tinder, finally responding to the man.

"On a plane. Will take later. Especially about Riley."

[Sigil]

---

---

Caesar Gonzalez

---

Location: La Hacienda
Skills: N/A

---

---

La Familia always had a way of communicating with one another in such a way that caused confusion or even anxiety in others around them. The small discussion between the elder Gonzalez brothers and the mixed-blood heiress apparent, silent though it was until the end, carried a huge amount of weight with those around them. The news was out, at least among La Familia. Caesar was going back to Justice. Moreover, he wasn't going alone. If the whole of them could mobilize and roll over the sons and daughters of bitches responsible for their presence in the Monterrey Hacienda, it would be an ideal situation. But they couldn't. Not even if they knew for a fact who deserved their anger. This had to be managed in the way most appropriate to Caesar's calling: Personally and with as much splatter as possible.

It seemed that the onlookers and viewers were starting to become fewer; many had left the walls of La Hacienda to return to their campers, trailers, and tents. Some absconded to various motor fortresses for the evening, and a select number were invited to remain within the walls of the complex. Many simply chose to rest wherever they sat. After some time, it came to be that Caesar, Thalia, and Benicio were standing a respectful distance from Alicia's mortal remains, the flicker of a hundred or so candles playing across their faces. Each looked at the other yet again, not saying a word. Benicio quietly moved to a table toward the side of the courtyard, and with solemn dignity, went against the letter of his priestly mandate by applying white and black pigments to his face in the form of a crude skull, just as his brother and daughter had. He came and stood back by his family.

No words. It was the closest to approval that he would allow himself.

---

---

J. Keystone

---

Location: Queensguard Industries R&D, (just outside) Elizabeth's Office -> Stepping onto 4th Floor
Skills: Security Procedures

---

---

Keystone stepped from the elevator to the dreaded Fourth Floor. He had no idea what to expect other than a pair of dead people and signs of a violent, bloody end. It would very likely be enough, really. But the police had already been here, doing what police do and hopefully not mucking things about too horribly much. Then again, the reputation of this city's cops wasn't exactly sterling. Corruption was shamelessly rampant, just begging to be swatted across the nose with a rolled up newspaper like a large, obnoxious dog, seemingly fully unaware of the ponderous and deadly consequences of their little sins and indiscretions.

It was, after all, just a quick look within the bounds of legality. It would have to be. Otherwise, the scene might wind up contaminated by whatever spore traveled along with him. No, he just wanted to see if there was anything that remained that might point him in a specific direction before he returned to his team downstairs. Then he would give them just enough time to explain why he shouldn't just fire the lot of them on the spot and leave everything to the police, considering that their lack of proper action, etiquette, and professional decorum was likely a massive contributing factor to the utter skullfuck that became of this evening.

[Morose]

---

---

Iris Kingston

---

---

Location: the Circus
Skills: Perception, Photographic Memory

---

Iris nodded, her thoughts flickering back to her memories of Cynthia's file. It was one of the benefits of having an eidetic memory - she was able to bring up the mental image and recall all of that information. Of course, even without her gifted memory, it would have been rather difficult to forget the things she had read in that file. From what Iris recalled, Cynthia had been falsely imprisoned for murder and treated at a barbaric mental institution. Her insanity had been created by those attempting to "cure" her - though Iris was more of the opinion that the practices at Cynthia's previous asylum were designed to keep her quiet and docile.

"I'll accompany you," Iris decided. There was no hint of hesitation or indecision in her voice. She wasn't too certain how far away Grimm was - she was used to countries being on a far smaller scale than the United States. It still boggled her mind that such a large land could all be placed under a single government. She doubted that she would ever quite understand America. But given that the fleeing patients had taken a helicopter, Iris imagined that it had to be a fair distance away to reach Indiana. She could point to a few United States locations on a map - namely those in California and then the big ones, like New York City and Washington D.C.