Richards liked the night beat more than his co-workers. It was quieter. Fewer people were around aside from maybe the drunks. Usually what he saw was something innocent mistakenly reported as a crime rather than actual crime. He was sure he'd never forget - or be allowed to forget - that time he'd almost arrested three members of a local book club.
Richards adjusted his vest. It was a bulky thing, but he was pretty sure he'd be grateful for the Kevlar sooner or later.
He turned a corner and stopped short, paused, and then stepped back to the right and behind the corner. A little ways down the street at the mouth of an alleyway there was a collection of figures standing in the shadows. Normally, Richards would've put it down to a huddle of hobos or something, if he hadn't seen flashes of metal, a glimpse of something that looked very much like a briefcase. Had he run across some kind of covert deal? Decently dressed, definitely no hobo and definitely carrying a gun.
He keyed his radio.
"Looking like a possible 966 in progress on 24th street... at least one suspect armed. Requesting backup, over."
"Baines here. I'm in the area. Be there in two, over."
Richards was hoping for more than one response. However, as the radio went quiet, it quickly became clear that was all he was going to get. The more he glanced around the corner at those covert figures, the more it seemed like there couldn't be anything else that they were doing. It was like 1am, they weren't outside of a bar or a club, and even if they weren't exactly hiding they were-
Two, three of the figures went into the alleyway itself. One stayed at the alley mouth. Keeping watch? Undoubtedly.
Richards stepped around the corner, loosening his service pistol in its holster. Suddenly there was a shout.
"NYPD! FREEZE!"
A cry of "Shit!" echoed from within the alleyway and the guy standing at the mouth panicked, bolting away from the voice... towards Richards.
The cop went low and body checked the runner, slamming into him so hard that the perp bounced straight off him and went careening to the ground. Rapid footfalls followed the departure of those in the alleyway. They were gone.
Businesslike, Richards rolled the groaning suspect over, cuffed him, and read him his rights, before confiscating his gun.
More footsteps, and Richards straightened up to glare at his erstwhile back-up.
"Great job," he snapped. "You spooked them. Three got away."
A laconic shrug from Baines. "We got one. Didn't fire any shots, and pretty sure they're not gonna be swapping any drugs tonight, right?"
Richards paused... and then folded his arms with a slight sigh. "Yeah okay, but I'd rather have brought them in."
"If you think you could've taken four guys with guns, then sure. Now we've got a suspect and nobody's dead. Everyone wins," he glanced down at the groaning perp. "Well. Except that guy."
That forced out a smile.
"All right. I see your point. Let's get this guy to a nice warm cell."
"Those cells are nicer than my apartment."
"You live in a junkheap? You smell like it."
___________________________________
SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2013: UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, 9AM
Tracen sighed as he settled into his chair, unsurprised to find that he was far more accustomed to the office than he had been the previous morning. Everything gets easier with practice, he thought. Tracen had spent most of the day wondering if, or when, someone would criticize his last performance, and was relieved when no one had- at least not to his face. He found himself unsure whether that was out of respect for his father, rather than the quality of his public speaking. No one really spoke to him much anyway; the other staff generally avoided him.He wondered if he was an adequate replacement for his father. Tracen lacked his father's capacity for cruel humor and his mastery of lame puns, but he had tried his best to fill his father's shoes. Perhaps he could get the staff to write his jokes for him. Tracen tapped his fingers against the desk as he waited for the technicians to finish rigging up the equipment.
A fresh mug of coffee sat on his desk when he entered, the cream and sugar packets littering the table indicating that it was made exactly how he liked it. Tracen had no idea who put it there, but it made him question how much his father had meant to the people who worked there and whether he would ever mean the same.
"Good morning, students. I hope this second day finds those still remaining well. Those of you who can hear me have indeed made it to day three. I congratulate you.
"Let's see, in the early hours of the morning it looks like Amaranta Montalvo stabbed Michael Whaley to death with some broken glass from a snow globe. Improvisation is very important if you don't have anything at your disposal so don't be discouraged if you didn't receive a good weapon!
"Our next kill comes to us courtesy of gravity. Wasn't there someone last time that said something like that? In any case, Mark Little died from falling off the roller coaster. Which one of you put him in a roller coaster cart? That wasn't very sporting.
"This next pair could teach the remaining students a thing or two about effective communication. It seems Megan Emerson and Francis St. Ledger were having an argument and she chose to effectively end the communication by pushing him down some stairs. This is also a lesson about having fights near the tops of stairs.
"Moving along we find the death of Kaitlyn Williamson, done in by rising star Miranda Millers and her spear. Right through the heart and you're to blame." Tracen hummed a moment before continuing.
"The next death shows that sometimes even death can be funny. Becca Everett was killed by Maximillian Sawyer. He shot her after distracting her with an exploding cigar. I have to give him points for ingenuity on that one.
"This one sees the return of an office favorite, the hunga munga. It's very fun to say. Miles Strickland threw his and it hit Chuck Soileau. It should be obvious, but if you want to keep friends, you shouldn't be throwing three-bladed weapons around carelessly."
"It does seem a few of you have the proper spirit. Jaquilyn Locke and Joachim Lovelace were both trying to kill Miss Carmina Maliksi, but Joachim got to her first. Nothing like a team hunt through the woods to bond a team together.
"Our second catfight of the day was brought to us by Naomi Bell and Summer Simms. As much as we love pretty girls fighting, there could only be one victor and that was Simms.
"Next we have a trio of femme fatales, Lana Torres shot Venice Pennington-Johannes through the chest, little Yukiko Sakurai shoved Stacey Mordetsky off a small hill and Eliza Patton shot Luca Johanssen who then plummeted off the zip line platform to the ground. Those listening may be interested to know that of the 11 murders this announcement, seven of the killers were ladies. Well done to you, girls. SOTF is equal opportunity.
The very last death on the list is a late entry. Punch a third hole in Theo Fletcher's frequent customer card. He's at it again, this time dispatching Xavier Contel with his own gun. Fantastic.
That's all for today. I hope you didn't think we'd forget about the danger zones. Our danger zones for today are Lighthouse, The Homestead, and The Western Beach.
The winner of the office vote for our favorite kill is Summer Simms! Congrats! Please make your way to The Homestead and pick up your prize. Once there you will receive a very nice gun, a box of one dozen assorted doughnuts and a gallon of milk. Yum. Maybe you can share some with a friend.
Great job everyone. If you live long enough, we'll have another chat."
DAY THREE: SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2012
Weather: Overcast all day. Cloud cover throughout the day, slightly chillier than the previous day with more clouds at twilight. Moderate wind, heavier towards the coast. Highs of around 60F, 16C at 4pm. Two days from the new moon. The third announcement will come at 9 AM on June 17.
Congratulations to Pippin for winning the BDA! You can nominate quotes from Francis to be featured on the scrolling quote here
And now, CITIZENS OF RUGGAPOLIS the rolls:
1. Adam Morgan (Murderweasel) - Lydia Robbins (MurderWeasel, Swap Card used)
2. Adonis Alba (Aura Master Fox)
3. Kam So'oialo (Namira) - Nina Clarke (Espional, Hero card used)
4. Gray Emerson (Deamon) - Yasmin Carroll (Deamon, Swap Card used)
5. Rosemary Michaels (MrMissMrs Random) - Tessa Blackridge (Rattlesnake, Hero Card used)
6. Arthur Wells (Solitair) - Ilya Volkov (Solitair, Swap Card used)
7. Lauren Rowe (Iceblock)
8. Joey Caputo (LocoBroJoe)
As always, three days for cards and DZs and there is no mercy on DZ deadlines. We will blow you up, dudes. See you in day three!
YOU HAVE THREE DAYS TO LEAVE THE DANGER ZONES. AFTER THREE DAYS, THE NEW ONES WILL BECOME EXPLODE LAND. THAT IS ALL