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

[FantasyChic]

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Priya Khurana

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Location: Crash Site
Skills:Perception

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Priya took another glance at the scene, unable to spot anything else out of the ordinary. There were some tire tracks, but they appeared old and not fresh. Most likely from a while ago, before the plane crashed. With a sigh, she returned to Tim. Hopefully she would have a chance to at this case or at least whatever else Roy was working on. She hated being idle.

As she stepped over, Riley was off nearby, but waved her and Tim over. She followed and saw what Riley had noticed. A piece of red silk fabric, very much intact. Her deduction was sound. "Good detecting Riley. I would definitely agree. Should make them aware of it for testing. You never know." She looked back over to Tim, "I'd appreciate being more involved in this case, honorary deputy or not. I know we have to go back to the hotel, but I'd appreciate any information that comes to light." She would not rest easy now that she had seen this. Much like her cold cases of the past, once she saw it, she did not let it go until it was either solved or lost to the wind. And she would be damned if those two people didn't get some justice.

[Sigil]

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Caesar & Keystone

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Location: Chicago (Grimaldi Books)
Skills: Observation, Seek The Guilty (Investigation)
Skills: Observation, Security Procedures

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Keystone didn't answer the book lady. His curiosity as to her innate knowledge of his country or origin was baffling to him just that second, or at least he assumed that was the case considering she rather snidely offered tea. Briefest of consideration weighed that he really wouldn't have declined a decent cup of Builder's right then, but the mystery of her conclusion, however correct it was, irked him. Perhaps she was using an app on her phone that routed into the exterior cameras. Maybe they had sound. Rarer, but these things happened. It shouldn't matter one way or the other. Tiny, irksome mystery that had nothing to do with their reason for being there. As he was from before the moment he entered the building, Keystone remained silent and deferred to the will of his employer.

Sadly, the will of his employer was geared toward the socially blunt, almost totally working in the direction opposite his intent. It was not so much precisely what he said, more than it was the body language and method of speech that was weighing him down. Caesar dipped into his time when he was purely an investigator and agent of the Mexican Federal Police, and acted accordingly. The first thing he did was respond to the lady's offer of coffee with a simple, quiet head shake, his eyes fixed upon hers the entire time. A simple sort of gesture with the intent of politely refusing that looked more like he was waiting for a moment to begin barking at her like a deranged, foamy Rottweiler.

Caesar leaned forward and set his public identification on the counter before him with a deliberate popping sound, issuing from the plastic slapping upon the smooth surface. "I didn't mean to cause trouble, investigating your ex-husband's murder." He sighed in a manner that suggested irritation, "If sating your curiosity is the price of this conversation, fine. It's because I believe his death and my daughter's are connected. As are so many other murders. Very recently." He continued to view the woman with slightly narrowed eyes. The attempt to maintain an act of objective professionalism destined for abrupt failure, Caesar considered the fact that they might have just completely wasted their time in coming here.

Keystone meanwhile seemed oblivious to what was going on around him, merely staring in the general direction of the woman fixing coffee and the back of Caesar's head. If he had the ability to support or curtail his boss's words, he certainly seemed unwilling at the moment. The mystery of the lady's psychic powers might have preoccupied his thoughts, or possibly his last encounter with American tea. To be honest, the concept of massively strong, heavily sweetened tea, served iced and in a tall glass appealed to him. Among the majority of his fellow Londoners it was near to blasphemy, but he kept an open mind. In hindsight, it was a fortuitous stopover that his plane made in Atlanta, when he was en route to Justice, California for the first time. Such were his thoughts, and likely would be still if the building caught fire around him.

[Morose]

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Cecily Ashworth

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Location: Airport Lounge
Skills: Deduction

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Cecily couldn't help but feel nervous, having Roy leave with Gavin. She didn't known Lincoln very well, but from what she could tell he seemed to be genuine. That was more than could be said for most of the people she had met lately. She didn't know where she stood with Caesar. Roy was the only person she could trust - and maybe Gavin, assuming he didn't have some dark secret in his closet. It troubled her a bit how easily he had found her. And she was having a bit of doubt as well that someone would be that kind, to drop everything for a stranger...It didn't make sense to her. She was just confused.

Once they left and Cecily and Lincoln headed to the lounge, she spotted the exits and made a mental note of them as she sat down. The ring on his left ring finger - that stood out to her. Hadn't they only been engaged, not married? Why was he wearing a ring - was it just in mourning of what could have been? "...Maybe it is a nightmare..." Cecily said quietly to Lincoln. "And maybe you will wake up...but...I can't help but notice you're wearing a ring - I thought you two were engaged?" Cecily said softly.

[ONL]

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Robert Adler

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Location: Chicago (Grimaldi Books)
Skills: People-Reading

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If Robert was able to take anything from the conversation the others were having in the book store, was that Adelaine wasn't taking shit from nobody. Not even from two buff guys with private-security credentials, apparently, who were asking about the death of her ex-husband. Robert hadn't known about that, or in the paper-equivelant of the Tower of Babel he hadn't thought about it, but that some serious business if it were true. And why were they asking her about it?

Robert couldn't but look at the two men confused at what they were, or the one Hispanic guy was suggesting. Connected murders, a string of them? Robert wondered if the two were lying or up to no good asking questions like that, especially since they were private security and neither cops or private detectives. Robert gave them both a good look, looking for the tell-tale signs of someone lying or obscuring the truth. He'd seen it many times before, but the more he looked at them, the less he got from his lackluster examination. So instead he started sipping his hot cup of coffee while he looked back and forth Adelaide and Caeser. "Excuse me if I'm interrupting you two, but should I leave and continue my own missing-book-investigation somewhere else? It sounds like this is something I really shouldn't be part of."

[Lady Absinthia]

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Date: Monday May 23rd, 2017

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Flight UA 2199 Gate: Lincoln looked down at his hand and nodded. "We were," he said as a sad smile came to his lips. Thinking back on the ring and everything that had happened for him to have it and what it meant to him. Turning the ring over slowly he started to talk about Natasha and him.

"We met in San Fran," the story started. About how he was working at the hospital she was a doctor at and how she had stepped on his foot. Or was it he that stepped on hers. It was a bit of a blur. Their first date had been amazing. Italian food, dancing, a bar fight and a food fight. It was actually a lot of fun. Natasha had been full of life. They were so happy together. That was until the first time she got sick. She didn't tell him, she just broke off their engagement one day and left. For so long he didn't know why but was only left with the memory of how bad it hurt when she left.

A memory: "Miss! If we don't go soon you'll miss your flight!" the cab driver yelled. Tasha took a deep breath and held up her hand, motioning for him to give her just another moment. Looking back over to Lincoln she wished she could stop this but she couldn't, not now.

"I'm sorry.... Goodbye," she said weakly, a few tears spilling out as they were washed away in the rain.

"Flight? You're kidding, right? Tell me you're fucking kidding..."

Tasha could only shake her head as she slipped the ring into her pocket. She didn't know what to say and was afraid she would break if she did. Turning slowly she wrapped her arms around herself and started to walk towards the cab.

Lincoln stood there in the pouring rain, shaking his head as she turned and walked away. This was an absolute joke, it had to be. He ran forwards and grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn around. "What is this? Why are you doing this?! Tasha... please..." The tears had held back so far but they were flowing now, his eyes were red, puffy and utterly bloodshot. His voice was that of a broken man and his grip was weakening before his hand dropped from her shoulder as the reality of the situation hit him like a damn tornado.

"Because you're fucking perfect and I'm not!" she yelled, trying not to cry but it didn't work. She had to get out of there before she broke. Pushing passed him she ran for the cab and jumped into back seat.

Lincoln stumbled backwards and fell onto his ass into a puddle on the side of the road as she shoved him. He was dripping as he stumbled his way back up onto his feet and sprinted towards the cab. "Tasha! TASHA WAIT!" The door shut and the cab pulled away, driving off with his entire life in the back seat. He slowed to a jelly-legged jog and then dropped to his knees at the kerb watching the tail lights disappearing into the mass of traffic. His head hung low and he cried, whispering to himself. "But you're perfect for me..."

Blinking his eyes, he wiped a tear away with the back of his hand and looked over towards Cecily. "Never thought I would see her again after that night, I did though. I found her again in India years later."

Grimaldi Books: Adelaide crossed her arms over her chest and she tapped her foot. Reaching down she took the ID and gave it a once and then twice over before holding it out. Not to Caesar but in Richard direction. "You're the fraud expect, mind taking a look," she asked but she didn't look at Richard, she kept her eyes on Caesar. It was obvious she didn't mind the man sticking around. Considering she now had two rather large men in her book store she didn't know it was probably a good idea to keep witnesses around. Especially if they were talking murder.

"Yeah well when bodies start popping up I am not really that interested in sticking around to find out why. I'm from Grimm, nothing good ever came from people poking their noses into places just to sat curiosity," she said in a snarky voice. It wasn't untrue in her book. Last time people had started looking around, a good portion of her high school class had ended up dead. It hadn't been too long since the reunion and losing so many was still fresh in her mind. Lawson was her ex-husband, not her love. The two had never loved each other, they just sort of settled until the first time he turned up dead.

"And if you are talking about Lawson, I'm still waiting for him to come back from the dead. He already did once before," she added. She believed he was dead but she had made that mistake before. "So what in the hell do I have anything to do with this anyways? Ex-husband, not current. I was his widow and then ex-wife. Why not talk to his family?" she asked as she picked up her cup of coffee and then took a long sip from it.

Grimm, Indiana - Forest - > Ramada Inn: Tim waited for the girls before climbing into the car and driving off back towards town and eventually the hotel. He looked over towards Priya and nodded. "Yeah of course, Riley knows her way round town don't ya?" he said as he kept driving. "There is a car rental place now right up the street from the hotel. I will go there once I drop you two off to secure you a vehicle on the county."

Pulling up to the hotel, Tim pulled the car up to the curb and put it into park. "Once you two get checked in and settled, go pick up your car from the rental place and meet me back at the police station? I'll fill you in on anything I get then and we can go from there? That sound good?" he asked as he waited for the girls to get out.

Once they had he would go take care of setting up the rental car for them. Inside was an younger woman, red hair with bright green eyes helping another woman check in. The other woman had dark hair secured under a ball cap and had a toddler in a stroller next to her. The two were talking and a key was handed over. She pushed the stroller to the elevator and waited for it to come down to the main floor. The hotel was only three stories but carrying a stroller up them was a bit of a hassle.

[Nallore]

Riley Ridgeway

Location: Grimm, Indiana, Crash Site -> Ramada Inn
Skills: N/A

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Riley gave Pyria a slight smile and nodded. "Thanks, maybe or maybe not related i'm not sure just a hunch." She said as she took it and stuffed it into the back of her pocket for now, she would give it to whoever was at the station later. She got up and stretched out a little bit as she turned around and started to make her way back over towards Tim's police car. Listening to Pyira still wanting to be apart of the investigation, she wasn't sure if she would be useful or not for it, but Riley was willing to at least play her own part in it if needed. She got into the back seat of Tim's car letting Pyira take the front seat again, as she stretched out in the back of the car for a little bit.

Her eyes wondered over towards Tim as she smiled a bit. "Yeah I know the town like the back of my head, I can give the whole grand tour later if you'd like." Riley said towards Pyira that's if she wanted to after going to the station and continue the investigation from there. "Thank you for getting us a ride by the way." Riley said gratful for her friend to do that as they left the scene behind as Riley looked back out the window, quietly humming something to herself, until they were at the Ramada Inn.

"We will see you in a few minutes, and thanks again by the way." Riley said towards Tim once they were at the curb and quickly climbed out of the seat and made her way towards the lobby of the hotel. Riley started to make her way towards the reception desk, she didn't recognize the woman who was manning the front desk, as her eyes wondered over towards the other woman in the baseball cap. Riley started to bite her bottom lip as she started to think about who was the person she felt like she could recognize her from somewhere. Riley gave the small toddler a friendly smile and wave. "Hi there little guy." Riley said to the kid as the woman walked over towards the elevators, her attention turned towards the receptionist there. "Hi, how are you doing? We would like a room for two, if possible" Riley asked as she leaned up against the counter a little bit.

[FantasyChic]

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Priya Khurana

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Location: Crash Site -> Ramada Inn
Skills:Perception

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Priya's thoughts raced during the drive, but she still listened with half an ear. Everything circulating around the case that brought them here, the current events, and whatever was going on elsewhere. What did it all mean? There was too much chaos for it all to be simple accidents and tragedies. A serial killer? For fuck's sake, she already had one possible murder on her board, and now more?

As they pulled up, she looked back at Riley and then Tim. "Thanks Tim, see you later." She got out of the car and walked over to the inn receptionist desk. It wasn't that she didn't want a tour. Well, yeah it was that. She didn't want to spend time doing things that didn't benefit the cases. Granted, maybe knowing the town more would help?

She stepped in, sidestepping around the woman and the stroller. She had her fill of kids today as she eyed the being in the stroller. Riley walked over to the desk to get them checked in, so she was more or less free to stand there and take in her surroundings. A simple inn, but it wasn't like she was expecting the Ritz.

[Sigil]

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Caesar & Keystone

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Location: Chicago (Grimaldi Books)
Skills: Observation, Seek The Guilty (Investigation)
Skills: Observation, Security Procedures

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It could be said that Caesar had, in his previous life as a Commandant of the Mexican Federal Police, learned a thing or three about the soft opening necessary for a situation, which was most akin to a cold interview than anything else. A bread-and-butter conversation if there ever was one. The older man was a even hell of an investigator, once upon a time. Of course, the toxic environment which he was forced to adapt to had changed his overall tactic when dealing with cases. Corruption, just as massive and far reaching as anything in Justice, but nationwide. Yes, he was once a more than competent investigator, but somewhere along the line Caesar Hannibal Gonzalez started dispensing the burning letter of judgement with a machete. Now that he was a private citizen it could be argued that his mentality was now free to slip back to being the investigator he once was. Sadly, today was not that day.

The woman before him seemed more interested in asking her own questions, none of which applied to the subject of their appearance. Moreover, it galled him that his credentials were passed along to the nameless man hanging about the shop as if they were handing out business cards whilst trying to sell magazine subscriptions. No, he didn't feel much like an investigator just then. And he sure as hell didn't feel like answering any questions just then, either. Caesar remained silent for a few long seconds, occasionally glancing back int he direction of the man poring over his identification. "Lo siento, Miss Grimaldi. I thought you didn't want to talk until your man back there tested my ID for counterfeiting. When he gets finished running his Google searches, I'm sure we'll all feel better talking to each other." He looked back at the man with his cards again, "Try putting in the serial numbers and looking for the phrase, 'Mobile High Threat Security & Inspection'. It's what we're credentialed as with the Regulatory Authority in this country." He stared back to Adelaide, "Or you can save us all some time and..."

The pitch and growl in his voice caught Keystone's attention and drew it away from his surroundings. This wasn't like the old man at all. Maybe it was displaced grief, or maybe jet lag. He had been on a plane many more hours than he had been on solid ground in the past couple of days, not to mention the obvious factor that he had just buried his daughter. Whatever the reason, he was not acting like the reserved, wise master of his domain. Point of fact, he looked like he might actually kill someone. Figuring that he had a better chance of surviving the man's wrath than the others in the room, Keystone interrupted. "Oh! Bloody friggin' sorry there, Miss. Couldn't 'elp but notice you're usin' the SWANN series Pro760 Security Camera system, yeah? Damned brilliant stuff, that. Got a angle wider than a goalie's arse, that'n does."

Keystone put a hand gently on Caesar's shoulder. The man had been through enough and right then was a bad, bad time to have a breakdown into mindless rage. Caesar seemed to understand that he was operating at an level equal to impaired, though possibly for once not by alcohol, and fell silent while his junior associate spoke. "I'm all about the Amcrest Modular, m'self. Link to on-site secure wireless, yeah?" Ok, it probably wasn't helping them much at all, but talking the talk about the industry was a hell of a lot better than letting Caesar continue whatever it was they were doing. "Y'know miss? If'n you don't mind I'd take a coffee. If it's ready made, case as."

[ONL]

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Robert Adler

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Location: Chicago (Grimaldi Books)
Skills: Research

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"Don't mind if I do." Robert was more than happy to inspect the ID one of the security guys had given Adelaide, walking up her and taking the card as he looked back and forth from it and the two men. Big men, probably knew how to throw a punch if they so wanted to. The card in itself didn't stick out to Robert in any way. Mostly it was because he wasn't trained in spotting fake IDs like some bouncer outside an 18+ nightclub, but from he knew it looked real enough. But there were more ways of fooling people.

It didn't take long for the Insurance Fraud man to pull up his phone and start typing in the browser. It would be wise to confirm that such a company as "Machete Security Solutions", something even Robert hadn't about before. Even before Mr. Gonzalez had finished his suggestion for what to search for, Robert had found his confirmation. There was indeed such a security company that lined up with what he was seeing with his two own eyes in the two men. But before he could interject his analysis between Adelaide and Gonzalez, the British guy - his accent a clear surprise to Robert, bursted out his enthusiasm for Adelaide's security.

When he was done, Robert gave Adelaide a look with a raised brow, handing back the ID. "It's legit, both the card and the website." He told her, walking back to the table and his cup of coffee that he wanted to enjoy. Not easy with the two machete-guys in the store. "It's Adler, by the way. Robert Adler, thanks for asking. Now would you be so kind as to answer the lady's question? What's the connection? We've got stolen ancient books to account for." Robert continued, taking a long sip from his coffee as he looked at the two men, lowering his cup as he finished himself with a "Please?"

[Lady Absinthia]

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Date: Monday May 23rd, 2017

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O'Hare International Airport: Will update once Cecily is posted for after her extension ends.

Grimaldi Books: "Thank you Robert," Adelaide said as she took the ID back and then slipped it across the counter to the men. "Me talking about things is one thing. You telling me what the hell you want in my shop and with me is another," she said in a frank voice before glancing over towards Keystone and quirking a brow.

"I have no idea what they are, I leave that to Wentworth Security," she said as she gave a casual glance towards the camera's. "I deal with books, not electronics or security." Turning she picked up a coffee mug and the pot before pouring a cup and placing it on a small tray. Moving the tray over to the main counter she slid it over to Keystone. He could add creamer or sugar if he wished but she had left it black with a spoon seated next to the cup.

"Robert is correct. So unless you are here to investigate someone casting ancient spells of hokum and fairy tales I really do not have a lot of time to deal with this," Adelaide added as she pulled over a stool and sat down. Crossing her arms over her chest she cast a glance in Roberts direction before looking back at the men.

Grimm, Indiana - Ramada Inn: The woman at the elevator didn't look up from where she stood, just stayed still until the elevator doors opened. As they did a man came into the building. Tall and thin with a ball cap pulled down over his blonde hair. Walking he made a beeline towards the woman and stopped behind her as she pushed the stroller into it. He stepped in silently behind her. Reaching over he hit the button for the elevator and the doors closed in front of them and headed up towards the next floor.

The woman at the desk nodded and handed over a card for Riley to fill out. "Sure thing, how many nights are you going to want? And do you want a single bed or double?" she asked as she held out of a pen for Riley. The card was the typical registration card for places without computers or to have hard copies. Name, home address, telephone number, and so forth. She gave a nod towards Priya as she came in as well. "Be with you in a moment ma'am," she said not knowing for sure if the two women were together or not.

"Hey ain't you that singer?" the woman asked as her eyes lit up a bit. "The one that killed that man here last year?"

[Nallore]

Riley Ridgeway

Location: Grimm, Indiana, Ramada Inn
Skills: Charisma

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Riley looked over her shoulder as Pyira came in shortly after she did and noticed the man as well, though she clearly didn't get a good look at his face. "Oh she's with me." Riley said giving the woman a smile, when the sign in paper was pushed over Riley started to quickly fill in the information, her full name, current address, as well as her phone number. Riley looked back at Pyira and thought for a moment, a single bed wouldn't really work they weren't a couple or anything more acquaintances at this point more than anything. "Double bed will be just fine." Riley would look over her shoulder at the couple just as the elevator started to close and it went up to the next floor, her attention turned back towards the receptionist.

Riley's smile faded just a tad bit, she wasn't really proud for killing Chris sure the town and her remaining classmates were all safe now she didn't want to really be remembered for that. "Yep I am, the Savior of Grimm." Riley said giving the woman a friendly smile as she looked back over at the elevator something still felt a bit off she still had a feeling that she knew the woman with the cap somehow. "Hey, could you tell me who that couple was that signed in?" Riley asked, as she gave her another friendly smile. "I'll throw in a free ticket to a show or autograph something you'd like. Or I could take you out to dinner later if you don't mind?" Riley offered, she just wanted to know if not she could just find out later on.

[FantasyChic]

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Priya Khurana

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Location: Ramada Inn
Skills:N/A

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Priya was about to correct the woman when Riley interjected. "Yeah, together. Sorry I was a bit distracted." And it seemed Riley shared in her distraction. She eyed the woman with the stroller and a man slip in behind her. She felt something about this, but couldn't place the feeling. She also felt she didn't have a true stake in it, even if it came to something. She was an outside force. Granted, she was deputized, but she didn't know if that crossed beyond the plane crash.

The woman mentioned Riley's past and her shooting. Priya felt a twinge of guilt and wanted to speak up. She didn't know if Riley was comfortable or not in discussing her past. Given what she knew, it wasn't something she herself would share willingly. However, Riley played it off and seemed content, but Priya would keep an eye on her.

And she was asking about the couple too, restoring her faith in her gut feeling. If the woman didn't feel like sharing, perhaps she could use her authority.

[Sigil]

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Caesar & Keystone

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Location: Chicago (Grimaldi Books)
Skills: N/A
Skills: N/A

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It was the "please" that caught Caesar's attention. Giving it an nanosecond of thought, it was probably the first time in a great wile that someone had used that word with him, intending upon being polite. Or at least going through the motions of polite behavior. It could be said that the effort meant something. Now, he had heard "please" before, as obviously everyone had at some point in time in their lives, but the last such occurrence that sprung to mind involved shoving a particularly uncouth drug dealer into the business end of a commercial woodchipper feet first. That "please" was reserved for two things, the first being a loud, urgent request to not mangle him - the second was to just put a bullet in his head and get it over with. It was a horrible and messy way to die. If memory served, Caesar didn't waste the ammo.

Now, the idea was pretty simple, if they thought about it. The two of them had to give a little information to (maybe) get some back. It was like starting a business venture: You had to spend money to make money. In this case, information was just as valuable as cash. Caesar needed greater insight as to their situation, and he had to fork something over to get it. Preferably something related to the nature of the bookstore, but a connection between the victims. Plus the other guy said "please". How could he refuse now? With a sigh, Caesar said simply, "The investigation has uncovered a possible link between the murders and a group called Juno." It was best to keep things a little vague. "I cannot explain much more because we do not know much more. That is the connection." Hopefully, Caesar didn't just put someone else's life in danger for the telling of it.

Keystone had his own reservations about being in the building, now that he knew that Wentworth Security handled their electronic surveillance. That probably meant that there was a copy of the video saved to some temporary server someplace in a corporate office in the Wentworth network. "Those're a shady bunch, them Wentys, ma'am. Bloody cocksmokes, the lot of 'em, got no problem facilitatin' a murder to keep contracts in the black. Had dealings, y'see. Not ever again." He nodded, as if the strength of his assessment had any particular bearing on the present situation. So far as Wentworth having eyes on them right at that moment, it was very possible that it was coincidence. They were a large and reaching security company, as was MSS, and they had the leg up with certain technological aspects of the industry. Machete Security Solutions had primarily been a manpower and sourcing based company, willing to staff a building or secure an area, launch investigations and assist local law enforcement, let alone the obscure and quasi-legal actions of the Special Projects division that solved problems on a more direct, more personal level. But Alicia was bringing the company leaps and bounds into the digital and information age, eating up a chunk of the market that Wentworth had a strong hold upon for a while. That job now fell to her younger cousin and her new team, but there was going to be a gap of time while she familiarized herself with everything and got on track.

His own feelings on Wentworth aside, the woman's sarcastic words of "ancient spells of hokum and fairy tales" did provoke a subject to come to Keystone's mind. One that might actually be of assistance to their investigation, seeing as someone was kind enough to hack their electronics mid-flight to tell them about it. "Yeah, I'm knowing that you're all busy and the like, but s'long as you're on about fairy tales, you got any knowing 'bout a thing called Lunillud Aleae?" He wasn't sure that he had gotten the words out quite right. "That the proper way? Luni-llud Al Eae? Nah, not seemin' right."

[Morose]

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Cecily Ashworth

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Location: Airport Lounge
Skills: N/A

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Cecily decided to not press the point much further. She supposed that this time around, he might have gotten himself an engagement ring - or Natasha might have purchased it for him. However, her thoughts flickered back to what Gavin had told her - that Natasha was always running from something. She didn't want to press him in his time of grief, but she owed it to the truth and to Natasha to find out what had happened to her. "From the time I spent with her, she really loved you," Cecily said gently.

"But Lincoln...Was she running from something?" Cecily asked. She didn't want to go straight out and ask if anyone would ever have had a reason to hurt Natasha. A sentence like that, she figured it would just agitate him in this state. He had just lost his fiancée again - only this time she was dead. She wasn't going to come back. He wouldn't find her again in India. The world was cruel like that. "Something in her past, maybe..."

[ONL]

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Robert Adler

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Location: Chicago (Grimaldi Books)
Skills: Law

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Well the older one of the men, Mr. Gonzales, wasn't giving a whole lot more information than what he had already told them. Technically it was Adelaide that was the primary particapent of the subject of murder and ex-husbands, but since Robert had been pulled in by ID-checking and by the virtue of just being there, he felt he wanted some info himself. But the mention of a so-called group called "Juno" didn't ring any bells in Robert's head. Wenthworth Security? That did ring.

He'd heard about them before, which wasn't much of a surprise considering his occupation. Contacting and cross-checking with security was normal procedure to find evidence of foul play. And Wenthworth was one of the big players in the field of security, national and worldwide actually. Adelaide using them for security in her store wasn't waving any red flags to him, except to ask them for the tapes of the store in an effort to see if the thieves was caught on tape. The fact that Wenthworth was in the unwilling process of losing badly to competing security firms didn't stand out that much to him either. It was the Englishman's attitude towards them that made Robert cross his arms and give the man an inquisitive look.

"What do you mean by "facilitating murder", Mr...?" Richard began his question, turning to Adelaide for a moment as he asked her "Did you get the tapes for those cameras checked after the robbery? Might be fruitful to take a look if anyone hasn't yet." Richard turned back to Keystone and Caesar, looking waitingly for them to continue explaining. Somehow he felt like he was in a crime movie or something, the pauses between the pieces of exposition coming to light feeling longer than they probably were. "I've got to ask, because I'm not following you. The connection between those murders is a group called Juno? What's Juno then? The murderers or...what??"

[Lady Absinthia]

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Date: Monday May 23rd, 2017

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O'Hare International Airport: Lincoln nodded slightly. "Tas was always running," he said as he leaned back in his seat. "Ever since she lost her mother she has been running." Rubbing his face he explained that when Natasha was young she had watched her mother die slowly from cancer and that her father pushed her away because of how much she looked like her. Once she was done with high school she ran, to San Fran to go to college. Left there when she was diagnosed with cancer herself to get away from him so he didn't have to watch her go through the same.

When she went into remission she ran to India to get away from everything. That's where they met up again, because he searched her out. It had returned. They ran from there to Justice because it was Dr. Chang who had helped her go into remission the first time. Once it had again she took the job in the hospital. He figured her going off to Mexico was just her running again. "I think she believed if she kept moving, if she kept running she could out run everything eventually. Loss, pain, even death..." he said before shaking his head. "Looks like it caught up with her, I'm just glad she didn't die alone..."

His phone rang and he pulled it out. "Shit, just a minute. Sorry," he said before answering it. "Yeah, hey man. Sorry..It's...it's..." he started before letting out a choking, "yeah. No, its okay.... Right. Chicago. Really? She's here? Well damn. Yeah, can you? Okay. Tomorrow? Yeah, that sounds good," he said before glancing over towards Cecily. "See you then, bye." Hanging up the phone he slipped it back into his pocket. "Sorry, Tas's best friend. I hadn't told him yet."

Grimaldi Books: Adelaide quirked a brow and glanced over towards Richard. "Roman Goddess, known to the Greeks as Hera, to the Etruscan's as Uni, to the Egyptians as Isis, or close enough," she said as she stepped out from behind the counter and motioned for the men to follow her as she continued to speak. "All the major religions, at least Pagan ones had a main male and female figure. Juno was the Roman's. Mother goddess and all that. Some say she could shift forms into that of a peacock," she added as she started making her way down an iron spiral stair case.

"And you got the pronunciation correct, Lunillud Aleae, loosely translated to Celestial Dice, it is a conspiracy of Illuminati proportions. I did my doctorate on it during a dig in Greece with my professor," she said as she came to the bottom of the stairs and was met with a large door that looked to be constructed from titanium with a heavy security system in place. Stopping she turned and looked back at the men. "But if you would like to know more, I have some texts you can reference, for a price." She stopped speaking as she considered something, her finger coming up and tapping her lips a few times before a figure had come to her mind. "$500,000 American paid up front, another $100,000 per each subsequent access to my library. This is per hour, I will assist. You touch nothing without gloves and are careful."

Grimm, Indiana - Ramada Inn: The woman smiled and nodded. Finishing their registration. "No worries. I have a room on the second floor over looking the pool," she said as she wrote down on the registration sheet. Pulling out two keys she placed them onto the counter and slipped them over to the other side. "There you go."

Looking at Riley she perked a brow. "Um, I really shouldn't, against policy and everything," she said but then stopped at the offer. Her brow perked and her eyes seemed to light up a bit. "Um, well for you I guess I could. I mean you are a hero," she said quietly and looked around to make sure no one else on staff was about. A cleaning woman passed by but pushed her cart by them and went down the other hallway towards the rooms.

"Um, registered as Alice and Matthew Wood, two adults plus one child," she said as she pulled out a registration card. Information on it had names, an home address in Tennessee, drivers license numbers, and a request for a crib. They had checked in about an hour ago from the looks of the time written down on the card.

[Nallore]

Riley Ridgeway

Location: Grimm, Indiana, Ramada Inn
Skills: N/A

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Riley continued to give the woman a friendly smile, until finally she gave her some of the information that she needed as she looked around the area to make sure that no one else was watching. "Thank you, so much." Riley said, she hoped that the woman wouldn't get in any trouble from her asking for such personal information of the inn's occupants. Riley looked down at the information that was given to her, though the names didn't really seem to strike out at her. Riley did know an Anthony Woods and an Alicia Russel way back when she was in her high school days they were her former bandmates when she did performances back at school. But they lived out in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, and not in Tennessee

"We will be in town for a few days maybe longer but it will be great to see you later." Riley said giving the receptionist a smile and then looked over towards Pyria as she took the second pair of keys and handed them over to her. "Lets head up to our room, and then get our car." Riley suggested as she started to make her way over towards the elevator. She was certainly going to be looking forward to hitting the pool a little bit later as well.

[Sigil]

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Caesar & Keystone

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Location: Chicago (Grimaldi Books)
Skills: N/A
Skills: N/A

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Though both Keystone and Caesar turned their gazes to regard the sudden burst of inquisitiveness from the other man in the room, it was the larger Londoner that made any sort of move to address the questions, and only after reaching out to gather up his identification, his boss's, and the cup of coffee given to him by the proprietress. Still regarding the man, he absently held Caesar's credentials up for him to take, and gave his coffee a tentative sip. "Thanks ya, Miss." he said quietly, almost stressing the extent of his worldly manners. But to Robert, he was a little more direct. "We ain't got the knowin' of one another good enough to have that talk, get me? Best you stay away from this."

Keystone gave a small nudge to Caesar and motioned his eyes up to the visible security points and cameras, to which the older Mexican gave the mildest of nods. It seemed that they were in agreement about something, though they weren't sharing it out loud. Instead, the pair chose to listen and reflect upon Adelaide's words. Nothing they hadn't heard before in the basic education systems of their respective countries or from other sources more recently, but sometimes it was useful to hear it all in one place at one time. A perspective thing. And her words seemed to imply that this incarnation of the concept of Juno stretched back a long, long way - or was designed to appear as such for those who knew a little about the Roman deity. A sense of permanence, be it as an indication of longevity or merely propaganda.

When the woman decided to leave the area and make for a staircase, Caesar held out a hand to suggest that they wait before moving to join her, in case she was intentionally trying to put some distance between herself and the pair of men. But when she continued speaking to them even as she moved, that idea went away rather quickly. Caesar and Keystone rose and shuffled along behind as quickly as they dared, not wanting to further leave a touchy impression. The conversation on her end stopped with a hefty sum mentioned for the right to peruse her library, albeit indirectly, and set the ball squarely back in their court. Or, as the man with the power to sign the checks, in Caesar's court. "A half million goes over my expense account's limit." he said bluntly. He wasn't lying. Caesar generally gave himself a set amount for an annual expense account, provided it was for business use. Anything higher and he preferred to keep it above board and contracted. It was just good business. "I call this a consultation, maybe we can work something out. But it won't be up front. Sorry to waste your time." Caesar was perfectly capable of acquiring five hundred thousand dollars American, in cash, probably within an hour. Less if a branch of MSS was nearby. But carrying that much on him? It was laughable.

The venerable man began to turn, to be stopped by a quiet throat clear from Keystone. "Cameras, Boss? Work something out, may'ap?" he suggested, prompting Caesar to turn his head back around. "Wentworth... I can't trust a location they can poke their noses in whenever they feel like. Your agreement with them, if it's passive or just reacting to reports, I can't trust that they won't anyway. Here's my offer: Cancel your contract with them, pick it up with us. We can have your equipment flipped out by end of business. Platinum electronics package, physical security if you want it, too. Concierge service. Bodyguards on call. Half million of service for free. Minimum one year, even if the numbers go over 500K. The rest is handled like a standard consultant fee, deposited into an account of your choice after the papers go through." He nodded gravely, curious even about his own motivations for offering up such an arrangement. True, it would ultimately cost his company less in actual, liquid funds as this was mostly service based, but still seemed like a princely arrangement for access to a library that he could not personally confirm. Still, this was important somehow, and not just because of the odd hack-job on his plane's video.

[Morose]

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Cecily Ashworth

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Location: Airport Lounge
Skills: N/A

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Lincoln's story seemed to match what Gavin had told her on the plane about Natasha - something that Cecily took to be comforting. Most lies were hard to keep matched up when given elaborate detail - inevitably, there'd be something that just wouldn't fit together. However, Gavin had also mentioned several men - and as Lincoln brought up one of Natasha's friends, Cecily couldn't help but wonder if he was one of them. Lincoln had used the male pronoun when referring to the friend, after all. It would match up...

"Lincoln...I know this might sound weird, but could you tell me about her friend?" Cecily asked. Maybe one of the men in her life that Natasha kept on 'rotating' between or whatever would have some information about if her death was natural or not. If it was a murder, Cecily suspected it was connected to everything in Justice...That Natasha must have had a previously established connection to this cult and she doubted that it was Lincoln. Maybe it was this friend - the one calling so soon after Natasha's death and asking (from what she deduced) where Lincoln was.

[ONL]

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Robert Adler

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Location: Chicago (Grimaldi Books)
Skills: People-Reading

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Robert wasn't sure what annoyed him the most in the unexpected situation that unfolded before him in that little book shop: either the topic of conversation that group of a antique book-dealer, insurance-fraud investigator and two security firm men had decided to venture out on, because to Robert it had little to do with the case he was supposed to be investigating. Old books yes, but not the one he was working around. Nor did the talk of a connection to a possible serial killer help him either. It was either that which annoyed him, or that Mr. Keystone from across the pond didn't want to elaborate.

Robert let Adelaide go first and then Caesar and Keystone follow her down the stairs, then followed behind them with a hushed "Are you kidding me...?" One of the first things Keystone had uttered in Robert's presence was that Wenthworth were committing murder to get contracts, and now he wasn't playing ball anymore? It sounded fishy to him, even more so as the dynamic muscle-duo offered their services as payment for use of Adelaide's ancient tomes. So much fish in such a small store. It was in this train of thought that he connected several other dots; he had heard about a Gonzalez in the security business before, that she was dead and...were Caesar and Alicia related? Not in a racist way, but it was a strong possibility.

"Might be better than what Wenthworth offered, if what you're saying's right. If their high-tech gizmos couldn't stop the thieves, more physical protect is an alternative." Robert chipped into the conversation, looking at Adelaide to give her his advice, before turning his attention to Caesar and Keystone in case they didn't approve his entry into their business. "Just my educated opinion, even if Wenthworth is or was in the top-tier of digital coverage. No offense." Robert finished, taking a proverbial step back to let them finish their business which was taking up his time. He was eager to go poke into the Wenthworth business for the security camera tapes and whatnot they had to say for themselves.