Benny sits puffing away at his cigarette.

CM: After an hour or so of waiting around the cluster of media vehicles in the Golf Club parking lot, you get handed a sheaf of paper by a sweating man in a windcheater.

Sweating Man: "Here you go. Which station?"

Benny hurriedly reads it.

Benny: "Newspaper, my friend. Freelancer."

Sweating Man: "Oh. A REAL reporter." He grins. "Name?"

Benny: "Bernard Fitzpatrick. Long night, huh?"

The sweating man writes something on a clipboard.

Sweating Man: "Yeah, you can say that again." He nods at the sheaf of papers. "That's not for release until after the press conference okay?"

Benny: "So what is this?"

Sweating Man: "It's the passenger manifest."

Benny looks quickly for the preacher.

Sweating Man: "Confirmed casualties are ringed in red."

Benny: "Any survivors?"

Sweating Man: "Not a one."

Benny: Does William Gordon appear?

CM: Yes, ringed in red.

Benny: "What a tragedy. Any theories?"

The sweating man shrugs. "Could be anything. Things have been crazy around here for months."

Benny: "Crazy? Like what?"

The sweating man scratches his head, and stares longingly at Benny's fag.

Benny: "Sorry mate. I'm not as gentlemanly as I used to be." Benny offers him a cigarrette.

The sweating man accepts one gratefully.

Benny lights it up for him.

The sweating man takes a drag and smiles.

Benny: "What kind of things?"

Sweating Man: "You can't be a local or you'd know all about it."

Benny: "That's right.  I'm not."

Sweating Man: "Okay. It's like this. We keep finding stuff, you know, people and... parts.""

Benny: "Parts of people?  What parts?"

Sweating Man: "They found some guys spleen in a church in Framingham last month. And domestic violence is waaaay up."

Benny: "But that is nation-wide, my friend. Anything particular about Boston batterers?"

Sweating Man: "Anything special about Boston? Only the number of deaths resulting. I heard some guy on the radio saying it was up by 200 per cent."

Benny: "Death by battering...domestic violence."

Sweating Man: "It's not just domestic either. Fights, shootings, stabbings, all through the roof."

Benny mutters to himself.

Benny: "Resulting in many deaths."

Sweating Man: "Hey, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've gotta hand the rest of these out."

Benny: "Sure man.  Thanks."

Sweating Man: "See ya buddy."

CM: Carla, after Belle has left and the tremour subsides you see dark shapes falling past the window...

Carla: "What the heck?" Carla moves closer to the window and looks at the shapes

CM: It continues for a few moments and then stops. Birds. Hundreds of them, scattered across the parking lot.

Carla shudders.  "Yuk."

CM: Through the window you see Ishy.

Carla watches Ishy to see what he's doing.

CM: He's walking over to the Jeep, but then he stops and turns, as if hailed. He slowly walks over to where a black sedan is waiting.

Carla decides he must be about ready and heads out to the car.

CM: As you reach the door to the parking lot, you see the door to the sedan slamming shut. The car rolls out of the lot and onto the road. There is no sign of Ishy.

Carla rushes out.  <squeaksqueaksqueak> "Ishy!"

CM: Only the wind answers your call....

Carla tries to get the tag number of the sedan

CM: Pcn Roll.

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 87 ]

CM: Pcn roll.

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 92 ]

DICE for CM: (1d100) = [ 05 ]

Carla whirls at the sound of the voice.

A cop stands behind her, holding up the car keys.

Carla: "Yes, officer."  <looks very relieved>  "Thank you." Carla takes the keys. "I'm so clumsy."

The cop grins. "No problem. You might want to be a little more careful now."

Carla: "I will.  Try, anyway. Bless you."

The cop turns to leave.

Carla: "Excuse me, Officer?"

The cop stops and turns. "Yes?"

Carla: "You didn't, by any chance, notice the black car that just left?  The sedan?  I think a friend of mine got into it, and I'm supposed to meet him, but I don't know where they went." Carla bristles at how lame that sounded.

The cop thinks for a moment. "Sorry ma'am, I didn't notice any sedan. It just left you say? I could have sworn there's only been ambulances in and out of here for the last ten-fifteen minutes."

Carla: "Oh.  Well, thank you anyway.  And thanks for finding my keys."

Cop: "All part of the service ma'am." He leaves, walking over to the gymnasium.

Carla concentrates on the image of the car and tries to ignore the birds/bodies/earthquakes and goes for a Sense Unknown.

CM: Roll for it.

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 54 ]

CM: The engine starts first time.

Carla: "At least something's going right."

CM: As you get ready to pull out, your cell phone trills.

Carla: "Hello?" she pushes the answer button on the cell 'phone.

Voice: "Carla Wilkinson?"

Carla: "This is she."

Carla tries to recognize the voice

Voice: "We need to meet."

Carla: "Who is this?"

CM: Pcn Roll

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 91 ]

Voice: "My name is Richard Blackwell."

Carla: "Do I know you?"

Blackwell: "We... move in the same circles. Is this line secure?"

Carla: "As secure as a cell phone can be. But I would SAVE any incriminating information for later."

Blackwell: "Very wise. I'm the director of the Boston branch of... your favourite SAVEings bank. We need to talk."

Carla recalls Blake's warning, but decides to take a risk. "Certainly.  How about in an hour? You name the place."

Blackwell: "Too early. Tomorrow, at Leo's Diner off Harvard Square. Say, Ten AM?"

Carla: "That will be fine.  How will I know you?"

Blackwell: "My ring. It was a gift."

Carla: "May I ask how you got my name and number?"

Blackwell: "Sure you can. I'm not going to tell you though."

Carla chuckles because it's expected. "But I can trust you, right?"

Blackwell: "Don't trust anyone Carla, you'll live longer that way." <click>

Carla looks at the phone, hits "end", and pulls out. "Couriouser and curiouser. I'd better get back to the Golf Course, and Benny."

CM: The afternoon traffic is as bad as the morning traffic, and the worsening weather does nothing to improve it. Oddly, the "bird fall" seems to have been limited to the school.

Carla keeps an eye out for black sedans.

CM: You arrive at the golf course just as the press conference is finishing. Pcn roll

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 24 ]

Benny turns beetroot as reporters begin to stare, and hurries over to you.

Carla smiles and leans over to unlock his door.

Benny: "Thanks a lot," he mutters through gritted teeth.

Carla: "Have a nice time?"

Benny: "Lovely. I got this." He waves the passenger manifest.

Carla: "Two things, I've lost Ishy, and I'm to meet with a local SAVE rep tomorrow."

Benny: "I thought local SAVE were 'compromised'?"

Carla: "That's what Blake said, but the best defense is to know where the enemy is at all times. Ever hear of a Richard Blackwell?"

Benny frowns. "Nope. Hey, what do you mean 'you lost Ishy'?"

Carla tells Benny what she saw through the window and about the car leaving and what the cop said about nothing but official vehicles.

Benny: "Cops. Probably couldn't see it over his donut."

Carla: "I can't say much there.  The oddest thing, I don't think I could've found my ass with both hands.  If the cop hadn't given me the keys I'd still be stuck there. I felt pretty weird."

Benny: "Freaky. Still he was good for something then! So, what now?"

Carla: "I'm supposed to meet with Belle - she's in charge of the bodies at the high school - tonight to break the news to her mother about the Rev. William Gordon. He was the body on the plane that didn't burn. Or rather, the body that didn't burn on the plane. Belle said he wrote several books.  Care to find a bookstore or a library?"

Benny: "Yeah, he's on the list..." He pulls out the map.

Carla: "Well, if we find any of Gordon's books, you could look through them tomight, or maybe Belle would let you come along.  She only wanted me there as a way to soften the news for her mother. I think I'd like someone to go with me tomorrow to meet Mr. Blackwell."

Benny: "There's a mall about a mile down the road here, and there's a library in the town centre here." He points to a spot on the map.

Carla: "Let's try the mall first."

Benny: "Does Blake know Blackwell?"

Carla: "You know, I didn't think to call and ask." Carla hands Benny the phone.  "You try him.  I'd better concentrate on the road."

Benny punches numbers on the phone. It trills into the aether for what seems like an age. Benny snaps the 'phone shut. "No answer."

Carla pulls into the mall lot and parks. "Let's check out the bookstore.  We can try him again after."

CM: The mall is a small place, a little run down , but if the number of cars in the lot are anything to go by, still busy.

Carla gets out and hands the keys to Benny.

Benny: "Thanks."

Carla: "Would you drive from here on out. It hurts my leg a little."

Benny: "Sure."

Carla: In the mall, if a bookstore is not readily apparent, Carla looks for a directory.

CM: The inside of the mall matches the outside. There's a map near the door that lists the shops within. Near the bottom of the list is a Waterstones books.

Carla: "Let's see, we are here... so Waterstones is ..." Carla examines the map.

Benny: "There." He points. "Only a short walk."

Carla: "Merciful heavens."

Benny grins

Carla: Rather than waste a lot of time searching, Carla accosts a clerk.  "Do you have a section for local authors?  I'm looking for works by the Rev. William Gordon."
CM: Per roll.

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 96 ]

Carla: "Yes, I can see the back of the store. What about it?"  <OOC: living up to a 45 personality>

Souxie sighs. "Local authors, back shelves, next to Legal."

Carla: "Thank you. You've been very ... present." Carla walks to the back of the store.

Souxie goes back to wallowing in late 20th Century angst.

Carla scans the stacks for anything by Gordon.

CM: PCN Roll.

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 68 ]

Souxie: "Not that wall!" She sighs again. "THAT wall!" She points.>

Benny chuckles, then coughs to cover it up.

Carla: "Oh." Carla scans again

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 60 ]

Souxie trudges wearily over to the shelves behind you, pulls a book from the shelf and hands it to you.

Carla: "Is this the only one you have? I understand he wrote several books."

Souxie: "Here." Clearly exasperated, she sighs and points again.

Carla takes a copy of each title. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?" she says to Benny.

Benny wisely says nothing

CM: There are five books in total. Their titles are Lights in Heaven, God is my Shield, The End of the Road - the Beginning of the Journey, If and Grasping the Fire.

Carla takes the books to the register to pay for them.

CM: A different clerk is at the till. Per roll.

DICE for Carla: (1d100) = [ 35 ]

The clerk smiles. "Fine!" She spies the books. "Oh, you read Gordon! So do I. Have you got his novel?"

Carla: "Novel?"

The clerk giggles. "Well, he wrote it under a pen name, but it's a bit of an open secret around here."

Carla: "I'm afraid this is all the other girl showed me. But I'd like anything he's written."

Clerk: "She's new, poor girl."

Carla: "Yes.  Poor girl."

Clerk: "Just you wait here."

Carla: "Why thank you."

Carla: Is the clerk male or female?

The clerk walks across to the fiction shelves and pulls down a fat paperback.

CM: It's hard to tell. It's swathed in a huge cardigan, slacks and brogues. The voice is highpitched, but there's a definite five O'clock shadow there. It's really anyone's guess.

Clerk: "Here you go. He wrote it under the name Gordon Williams. It's quite good."

Carla reads the title. "Thank you so much. You're sweet."

CM: The book is entitled Hammer of Light. The cover shows a gleaming muscular Angel in the style of Boris Vallejo or Julie Bell, wielding a huge broadsword.

Carla: "Ooh, this does look good. I've heard so many things about these.  Which did you find most enlightening?"

Clerk: "The last one - Grasping the Fire - is the most interesting... but it's a little...odd too. More like his novel actually."

Carla looks at Grasping the Fire. "Odd?  In what way?"

Clerk: "He talks a lot about demons. Real demons."

Carla suppresses a shiver. "Does he say how to defeat them?"

The clerk smiles. "Faith mainly. He says that human belief is the most powerful thing on earth."

Carla: "I have to agree with that.  It's my business." Carla takes out her Visa card.

Clerk: "Is that all?

Carla: "Yes, thank you.  You've been very helpful."

Clerk: "No  problem. That'll be 40 dollars, um....staff discount..." She winks. "$34, please."

Carla: "If you'll give me your name and a comment card, I'd like to tell your manager about you."

Clerk: "Oh! Thank you very much." She hands you a card. "I'm Rhonda Mulvany."

Carla: "You've been a very pleasant and helpful young lady.  Thank you again."

CM: Theres a big picture of Gordon on the back of his books.

Carla: "My! Isn't he handsome!"
 

Session ends