The Glitch V: Taste of Fear (Episode 1)

[Charon]

Matt nodded, his face growing a bit more serious as he stepped aside and waited for everyone else to leave first. "So what are we riding around in?"

[Agent Fisher]

Matt nodded, his face growing a bit more serious as he stepped aside and waited for everyone else to leave first. "So what are we riding around in?"

Jack grinned. "Remember that old 'Hog I picked up about a year after the reckoning?" He asked. The M12 LRV Warthog had been found half blown to hell, windscreen gone, no tires, no gun. Jack had salvaged it and in his spare time worked on it. It took four years but he finally got it running.

[Charon]

Matt looked at Jack like he was crazy. "They actually let you drive that death trap on the streets? Legally?"

[LadyTevar]

Lizbet had put her clothing back on, grinning a bit to herself about a family joke she'd only recently gotten -- "Silly Ledra, clothes fall off," she muttered as she walked past Matt and out the door.

If Matt and Jake remembered, that was Thog's usual reply to Leadra trying to tempt him by getting naked. It never worked in the RPG -- only after they had Ascended had Thog admitted he loved Leandra.

[Dark Silver]

And so it happened that the two seperate groups, in search of each other either by plan or by happenstance, settled on their way.

The Warthog traveled down the streets of Old Town easily, while Poe's sedan did much the same.

Jack's party arrived at Poe's office building, three stories up the window marked "James Poe, Private Investigator" in what would be the outside facing office window. When they eventually walked to the door, they found it locked, a small "closed" sign on the window marking the end of their business day. A small tray of business cards though, were left on the wall, a few tattered cards advertising Poe's phone number to be used if he was not in.

[LadyTevar]

"looks like he's not in," LizBet said, picking up one of the tattered cards with Poe's phone number. "Should we give him a ring?"

[Charon]

Matt frowned, looking at the door. Finally he turned and nodded to Liz. "Yeah, go for it."

[Agent Fisher]

Jack smirked, leaning against the door frame. He looked over at Matt. "Calling, huh. Remember the old days? Wouldn't even bother, just bit of work, we're inside, scooping the place out. How the times have changed, huh?"

[Charon]

Matt laughed. "Times haven't changed, just the situation. This guy might be an ally, or at the very least someone we're gonna have to deal with again in the future. I'd rather not have him hate us for wrecking his place."

[General Havoc]

Gregory had, as always, been waiting patiently and quietly. But at this new turn of events, he reluctantly stepped forward towards the door.

"I can..." he said, forcing himself to speak before he had a chance to decide if it was a good or a bad idea. These people would have to find out about his abilities one of these days. Better it be on his terms.

"I can... look inside," he said. "Without having to break in. I can look around and see what's going on. If you want."

[Charon]

Matt paused and looked back at the kid. "How? Any chance of it setting off any magical alarms?"

[Agent Fisher]

Jack raised an eyebrow and grinned. "That's good to know, Gregory. And if we can't get ahold of James Poe, we'll give your idea a try. But for now, we'll settle with calling." He said, activating his omnitool and dialing a number, and holding the holographic display towards his ear for the phone application, listening to it ring.

[General Havoc]

"I... er..." how the hell to answer this?

"I can sort of... go into a clairvoyant... trance I guess." Trance was perhaps the wrong word, but it was the least loaded right now. "As long as I'm with other people, I can... sort of project beyond them, see what's around. It's like Clairvoyance." It was Clairvoyance, indeed it was much more than that, but he didn't want to lay it on too thick just yet.

"It... shouldn't set off any magical alarms," he said. His Battle Clairvoyance was not precisely magical, indeed it was not precisely anything. It was less a channeling of power, had explained someone once, than it was a natural conduit. There was none of the interference with the natural course of things that was the hallmark of magic. The world seemed to be written in such a way as to permit Gregory to do this. It was a natural phenomena.

Still, magic, by definition, precluded any certainty.

[Charon]

Matt glanced back at Jack before he looked back to Gregory. "Alright, good. We'll keep that in mind."

[LadyTevar]

Lizbet crossed her arms under her breasts and looked at Gregory in surprise. "That is a good ability. But you'd still have needed me to go in and unlock the door for you."

[B4UTRUST]

Standing outside the office the group could hear the phone ringing behind the locked doors. It rang twice before going silent as the call was forwarded to Poe's cell.

A man's voice came over the line, sounding like he was reading something. Anyone familiar with late 20th century actors would have recognized the voice as that of one Christopher Walken. And anyone familiar with classic literature would have recognized what he was reading as The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. This was obviously the 'wait' tone Poe had chosen while his own phone was range elsewhere.

Elsewhere across town Poe's phone began to vibrate before it started playing music through its speakers. Probably not recognizable to most people, it was the theme song to Magnum P.I. When you had a good theme, stick with it. For awhile after he had gotten here it had been the theme song from The Twilight Zone.

He dug the phone out of his pocket as he turned down another street. Glancing down at the screen he saw the number was forwarded in from his office. He hit the talk button and brought it to his ear.
"Ravenmore Investigations, James Poe speaking."

[Agent Fisher]

Jack gave a thumbs up to the group, letting them know someone answered.

"Yeah, my name's Jack Martin, I was given this number to call by an associate. I'm calling in relation to an ongoing investigation I was told oyu were running."

[B4UTRUST]

James almost slammed on his brakes at the name given. His face remained calm through sheer force of will.
"Jack Martin? As in The Alchemist Jack Martin from the Glitch War?"

[Agent Fisher]

Jack blinked, surprise on his face. Most people who knew him as a hero simply knew him as Jack the Alchemist, not his full name.

"Uh, yeah, that's one of the things I've been called." He said, trying to be witty.

[B4UTRUST]

Poe's eyes narrowed.
"I see. So you're calling me because someone told you I was dealing with a particular investigation. May I ask what investigation and who passed along this information?"

Poe muted the phone for a second to tell the others while he waited for Jack to answer.
"The guy we're looking for... just called me. Says someone passed along my name for him to contact."

[Agent Fisher]

"I see. So you're calling me because someone told you I was dealing with a particular investigation. May I ask what investigation and who passed along this information?"

"Well, a messenger from whom I believe to be the Shadow Don, started me on a quest to gather up random ascended and then to call you, to see if you would be either able to give information, or I guess join us, in the hunt for the Cannibal." He paused, looking over at his group. "That about sums it up, right?" He asked them, though it was picked up over the phone.

[B4UTRUST]

James unmuted the phone to respond.
"So the Shadow Don sent you to round up a bunch of Ascended then get in touch with me to find the Cannibal. That's awfully convenient. Where are you?"

[Charon]

Matt said nothing, he simply continued to watch Jack and listen as best he could to the conversation, and make inferences based on what Jack said.

[LadyTevar]

Lizbet leaned back against the wall next to the doorway. "Sounds like he's not happy to hear from you, Uncle Jack," she said. "What do you think, Unc... uh... Matt?"

The stumble was clear - Lizbet wasn't sure what to call the elder. She was used to calling all her parent's friends Uncle or Aunt, just because they were all like a family, and she had heard stories (sanitized for young years) about 'Uncle' Matt helping Uncle Jack and her parents fight the Glitch.

[SirNitram]

"I smell trouble." Malkamar rumbled. "I should probably get out of this machine. It's chugging like that steam tank an ogre managed to get into."