Case 1: A Metal Prank

[yxanthymir]

 

 

Case 1: A Metal Prank

The few people that arrived for the coffee addicted meeting waited patiently at the small church room. And then they waited a little more and still nothing happened. The anticipation hung heavy in the air, accentuated by the distant echoes of hushed conversations and the occasional creaking of the wooden floor. Legs shifted nervously below the table, fingers drummed rhythmically at the wooden panel, pages from new and old books were flipped langorously, and sometimes someone got up for a stroll around the almost silent room.

For two long and tedious hours they waited and nobody showed to conduct the meeting. They entered after some time an unspoken agreement to reach this time and leave, forgetting they wasted their time at this place. They were preparing to move out of the room when in a corner of the room the air shifted slightly. Up until this time every single person in the room avoided to look at this particular corner or simply pretended it not existed.

In that corner, there was a small wooden table, with a large sheet of paper. The paper was a imitation of a local newspaper, entitled Light News. Most of it were information about birthdays, funeral and marriages on the neighborhood. But there was something that caught the eye, the headline of the newspaper.

It was written:

"A Metal Prank

Someone tried to pull an incredible prank at the small town of Springfield, just a short trip from New Dunkirk. A whole car inside a small room at the third floor of a building, without the owner of the apartment knowing or anyone at the town notice anything strange. Can you believe it?

It would be marvelous, a really impressive prank. But something went very wrong and the person pulling the prank was hospitalized in an accident. Not a fun end for a possibly hilarious prank.

If you have more information about this story, call: !@#$%¨&*."

The number on the last line of the headline is impossible to be read. The numbers appear to be dancing on the page and changing places. It is hard to even look at it, and peering for more than one second, makes a headache pop up almost instantly.

 

 

Edited February 1 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[Inquisitor D]

"Not very 'light'. A guy's in the hospital."

Mimi doesn't try to scan the article a second time. That headache's the sort of warning sign she's gotten used to. She looks between the other meeting attendees.

"So... is this a test? This doesn't sound like the revelation we were looking for. It's a mystery. And we're here looking for answers. Feels like someone wants to see what we can do."

She withdraws a phone from her pocket, and starts browsing through newsfeeds. This seems mundane at a glance. Even with the mortal world's tendency to skim over the supernatural, there might be a few details in circulation. Precise address, context, the victim's name - they won't know unless they check, right?

[Morphling]

"No answers, just questions" says Mia with a sigh after she reads the article, trying to blink away her headache as she sips coffee.

"I don't know what this is," she replies in response to Mimi's question. "But it seems like the only thing we can do is either pretend this never happened, or go to Springfield looking for... I don't even know."

She contemplates this for a bit and then shrugs. "I'll drive?"

[dunderklumpen]

"A test, or maybe orders," Kenna replies to Mimi's question, "It may not be some big revelation, but it's a rabbit hole, and whoever made sure we'd find this seems to want us to go down it."

"So, I'm voting for going to Springfield."

Inside her head Kenna is making a cop-list of possible investigation directions.

"Maybe we don't know what we're looking for but I guess that means that we just keep our eyes open and have a really good look."

"Whoever got put in hospital might know a thing or two."

"If we get lucky the car might still be stuck in the apartment, and even if it isn't, the place should still be a mess.

"You never know what we might turn up once we start poking around."

Edited February 5 by dunderklumpen
grammar (see edit history)

[yxanthymir]

Case 1: A Metal Prank

They hear the sound of touch tones being furiously pressed at a cellphone. They patiently wait for an answer, what could be more minutes when they already wasted two hours here. With each extra minute that passes, more frustration appears at Mimi's face. She finds many news about cars inside sumptuous chambers in millionaires houses. Even more news about about cars colliding with rooms, apparently something that occurs more than it should, but normally from outside the building. In her search she finds only one article worth mentioning, about a car colliding inside a room. Unfortunately the server appears to be off-line.

 

But something is growing inside them, and it is not frustration. And they cannot avoid it to grow, any more than they can avoid breathing. A mystery is being offered to them. A mystery not yet solved. A mystery no good detective could resist, that even a fake detective with no previous experience could resist. A mystery is calling for them. What is growing inside them is not an alien creature ready to burst from their chests, is just unrelenting curiosity. A feeling so powerful and beautiful that only one course of action is acceptable.

 

They need to solve it.

 

Edited February 6 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[Inquisitor D]

*growls* "Stupid, stupid..."

Mimi pockets her phone with a sigh. She knows it's not their fault. Mundane people just... have a perception gap. But she'd hoped for something. Just a little note, a mention, to prove it's real. The guy was real. The pain was real.

Not because she doubted the article. It was too strange to be a prank. No, this was just sympathy. There's nothing worse than someone suffering, a tragedy happening, and no one knowing about it. No news article. Nothing to prove any of it was real. It's something she's familiar with, and something she'd never wish on anyone else.

Then we have to remember it. And help.

"Fair enough. Though there's nothing I'm seeing online about this. Either it's faded entirely from the mundane world, or someone's trying to keep it quiet. Either way... Springfield it is. And I guess we'll find out where to start when we get there."

The blue haired stranger gets to her feet, hefting up her strange large bag. But before she leaves the meeting room, a thought comes to the stranger. She looks between her comrades.

"Should we drive there? If something's throwing cars into apartments... pros and cons."

[Morphling]

"Well, if someone does throw my car into an apartment, at least we'll have an excellent lead to start with," says Mia wryly. "I'm certainly not going to walk if that's your suggestion."

She clinks her car keys idly in her hands. In truth she's not really worried about finding a lead. It's been a while since she's had much trouble finding out what she wants to find out.

Edited February 6 by Morphling (see edit history)

[yxanthymir]

 

 

 

 

Case 1: A Metal Prank

They decided to go early in the next day to Springfield, giving the already late hour.

The trip itself went uneventful. And one hour after they left New Dunkirk, with its crazy, hyperactive and noisome life, they arrived at Springfield. The complete opposite. An idyllic little town, lost in space and time, a forgotten haven near New Dunkirk, where the buildings were antiquated, the silent was dominant and the air was fresh with a pint of flowery scents.

Springfield is a charming small town nestled in a picturesque setting, exuding a tranquil and inviting atmosphere. At its heart lies a vibrant square, adorned with tall and leafy trees, surrounded by old style benches with a extravagant fountain in the center. The center of the town is compromised of just a few blocks of buildings, well-maintained and clean, where the biggest building is the local school, a few blocks away from the town center.

Surrounding the square on each side are three-story condominiums, with a sturdy aspect, made with red brick walls. At the other two sides of the square, a small church at the back, away from the main street, and a set of commercial enterprises: an occult store/ bookstore, a cafeteria, a convenience store and a police department.

In one of the condominiums, at the third floor, it is possible to see part of the front of a blue car protruding from the wall.

 

Edited March 19 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[dunderklumpen]

Kenna gets out of Mia's car and surveys the condos.

"Well, now I'm a bit disappointed that we had to park rather than getting thrown into the building."

As she looks around, she can sense the practical influence of her past-life veteran cop taking over. She pulls out a cigarette, lights it. The unconscious action surprises her and she pulls it out of her mouth, seeing it for the first time.

Weird! I don't even remember buying these. I don't smoke, but I guess Joe Reagan did.

She decides to go with the smoking detective vibe and leaves the cigarette poking out the side of her mouth, puts her hands in the pockets of her trenchcoat.

"It looks like the evidence is still there. I wonder if it's going to be a crime scene. Seems like the sort of thing that the locals will just ignore."

"I guess we just go on up and see what we can find. We can start with the basics: Who's car is it? Who's condo? Anyone have a grudge against them or the car owner? Where was the car before it was lifted?"

"Once we get names, we can start questioning them too."

 

[Inquisitor D]

Mimi takes a second, just looking up at the car. It sure does stand out in Springfield. This is perfectly presented suburbia. It's hard to trust it. But maybe that's just her. She nods along to Kenna,

"If we're going off the original story, we don't even know which apartment this is. Someone ended up hospitalized. But was it the prankster, or their victim? We don't even know if they were successful with the prank. It could've never left the room." 

She starts walking towards the condo, ready to head right in. But before the group gets too close, she takes a second; coming to a halt and turning to the others. The blue haired stranger looks embarrassed, glancing between her friends and the building before finally admitting the truth

"Sorry. I know it's annoying. But I'd... prefer to avoid the elevator. Does anyone mind if I take the stairs?"

[yxanthymir]

Case 1: A Metal Prank

As they approach the front of the condominium, where there is part of a car protruding from the wall, they noticed that there is a glass door in the front of the red brick building. At the side of the door, an interphone unit with the number of the apartments written at the side of each button. Through the glass door, it is possible to see a simple hall with some comfortable chairs, an old sofa and a flight of stairs. There is no gatekeeper, but it doesn't take much mental power to imagine that the door must be locked.

Directly in the front of the building, at the square, sitting at one of the old style benches, made of iron, an old man. He throws some quick glances at the group of strangers at the front of the condominium, but returns to his simple yet charming act of feeding a small group of pigeons. He is clad in a well-worn beige coat and a hat of a slightly different tone, that has clearly stood the test of time. The hat, a classic newsboy cap with a slightly frayed visor.

At the other side of the main street, a police car stops abruptly in the front of police department with the sirens screaming loudly. Two policemen leave the car badly parked in a hurry, including leaving the car's door open and enter the station. Everyone present at the scene, which are just a few people in the vicinity, turn their heads to look momentarily at what is occurring, including the old man. Quickly they return to their own affairs.

 

Edited February 9 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[Angelic Crux]

Lindsay was used to tagging along. It wasn't just popular kids who had a hierarchy and, even with the wallet-chained, knife-carrying crowd there were cool kids and uncool kids. Thankfully, Lindsay was just Lindsay, a not-planet planetoid orbiting and passing through or whatever.

Maybe... this time she'd find something stable.

She wasn't given to talking. Maybe because she never knew when she'd fall into a conversation that hadn't been yet. Or might never be. Her eyes focusing on not-theres and couldn't bes. This time, she wished they would. Because Springfield was a nice place. And that meant she didn't belong there.

Clean streets that didn't have a broken glass glitter or little bits of styrofoam cup tumbling when a car drove by. Pedestrians who looked at eachother with a polished smile instead of the raw, honest worry of are you gonna stab me? Trees that looked like they came out of a children's book. Lindsay slowly sank into her oversized, Goodwill-sourced hoodie, feeling smaller than she was. If that was possible.

She'd followed along, a good few steps behind, to the condo. More trees. More nice. Kill me.

And that's when she, wordlessly, stepped away from the group. Partly because she saw the only thing that felt a little familiar. Old people fed pigeons no matter where you lived. Because everywhere has lonely old people. Or maybe they weren't lonely, they just figured out dumb flying rats are better company than people. Probably better company than you, too, Lindsay. And yet... she mostly stepped away because he was tossing food. And she was hungry.

She didn't say anything to him right away. But she came close enough to the bench, watching him tear off a little stale crust and toss. Tear. Toss.

"...is that just for the pigeons? _{It's okay if it's stale..."}

She knew she looked poor, and rough, hungry and out of place. But she also didn't care, 'cause he had food, and she wanted it, and she wasn't above playing pitiful to get it.

Asking about the car and the condo was secondary. At least, until she got something in her.

[dunderklumpen]

The siren scream stops Blake in her tracks. Her head snaps around to focus on the precinct building and the sudden commotion over there.

The kid seems to be focusing on the old man. I guess that could turn up something. What are the others doing?

"Hey listen, I'm gonna go over and see what's up at the station. Could be trouble or it could be related to all of this."

She takes off at a fast jog towards the station. She reaches for her detectives shield.

"Blake, City precinct. Anything I can help with?"

She announces her self as she gets closer. Suburban cops tended to be a bit more relaxed than their inner urban counter parts, but still she didn't want to get jumped or shot by suddenly appearing if something serious was going down.

 

[Morphling]

Mia sighs as Kenna rushes off, getting out of her own car and observing the cop as she heads toward the police station. "Call me, I guess?" She says to nobody in particular. It wasn't a bad idea though, as little as she trusted the police, she had to admit that they more likely than not had valuable information on the subject of interest. She starts to head toward the apartment, but then stops when she sees Lindsay going in a different direction. Figuring she's questioning the locals, she gets closer to eavesdrop only to hear the teen ask for... stale bread?

Dear God. Mia was probably the last person in the world to be enamored by a child's charm, but Lindsay was solidly out of the annoying stage of human existence, and Mia couldn't help but like her. She approaches tentatively. "You know Lindsay, I've got granola bars and diet coke in my car if you're hungry. Water too if you'd prefer. Why don't you snack on those for now, and when we're done here I'll treat you to McDonalds? You shouldn't have to beg for scraps."

[Inquisitor D]

Mimi, glancing between her friends, sees Mia and Lindsay looking into the park together. She frowns. If they're going to split, probably best not to overwhelm a few old people in the park. So if she's backing someone else up here, it'll be Kenna.

And it's either do that or try to get past the lock on the building without help. So helping their police-friend it is.

A fresh faced young patrolwoman steps into the station right behind the detective, complete with a freshly pressed uniform. She doesn't flash any kind of ID, but she shares a smile with any who look her way.  

A police detective being here alone could be a coincidence. With an escort, it's clear she's on the job. Mimi doesn't have much to add, but her being here should add a bit of weight to Kenna's job role. Plus 'Officer Mori' should be able to provide some additional help should the local police be willing to cooperate.