PBEM - RDU: The Maverick - SPEEDBALL

[RDU Neil]

And yet a third thread that will soon tie into this Maverick's thread and this Impetus/Mavs thread ... but for a few posts, it was separate. Enjoy Geoff!

 

From Geoff/Speedball:

some more fyi for my character. He lived in a shitty little studio

apartment on the lower east side of Manhattan. The only advantage to the

place being that he can come and go pretty much as he pleases without anyone

paying much attention. The Lower Est is one of those areas in NYC that

hasn't yet been "gentrified" and people are still wary of walking around too

late at night alone. Plus, I should be able to make a score there without

too much of a problem.

Let me know if you need any more info and I'll supply...thx!

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>For the last few days you've watched your stash dwindle. As you sit on the edge of your bed, you stare at the small vial of purple liquid. The last of the Strange Brew you take. Three injections left maximum. It's an unauthorized mix of Tacazonal III, an experimental methadone replacement, plus 1 part in 10 high grade heroin... and a final, personal ingredient. The mix contains 1 part in 100 of your own blood. The chemical reaction has proved nothing less than miraculous... though unfortunately temporary.

Through a doorway, you can see the open medical cabinet where you have a good supply of the Tac 3. Your heart is still pumping so you've got the blood. Problem is... the smack has been hard to come by lately.* Street supply has been getting scarce, and what you can find is very high priced. Supposedly some big shipment is headed into the city, but the rumor has run for so long that it can't be true.

So, a lot of your old friends are seriously jonesing and the opium community is not a happy one right now. You are luckier than most though. Your little concoction nearly eliminates the craving for days on end, as well as having it's special little side effect on your metabolism, energy levels, endurance and reaction time. Still... it's been three days now, and you are getting a little twitchy.

Should be ok, 'cause tonight you've got a lead on a score. Seems that Joe Tieng, one of your main dealers, has a line on a score across the city... north of the Upper West Side, just west of Harlem. A small area of crack houses and poverty. Tonight. Within the hour, by your watch. Tieng is venturing out of his normal territory. If it pans out, you might be able get what you need. You just have to find out where the deal is going down.<<<

 

*It should be noted that this heroin scarcity plot has been running through this game since the beginning. You character just fits into it perfectly.

 

Just write up anything Speedball would do to get things rolling, and I'll pick up from there. By the way, what is Speedball's real name?

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Maverick - SPEEDBALL

 

Post 2

 

From G/Speedball:

Joe Dellasandro (aka Speedball) isn't going to trust Tieng not to crew up

this deal. Gotta follow him. If he drives, I follow him in fits and

starts

 

(wait till he goes a block or two, sprint to catch him--the great thing

about NYC is that its almost impossible to lose someone because almost

every street is one way. If he takes the subway, I'll just tryr my best to

follow along incognito.

 

If I miss the train its easy enough to follow it down the

tunnel--I'll just make sure I have a flashlight with me.

I don't like the idea of going into Onyx's area, but I have to do it. I'll

keep an eye out for the guy (how hard can he be to spot?) When and if I

find out where the deal is going down I'll go ahead and call the cops. Then,

run in, bust the guys up, tying them up with electrical chord or whatever

happens to be around, etc. When they're either unconcious or in another

room, I'll see how much smack and cash there is for me to grab for myself.

I'll leave enough behind to get them arrested for intent to distribute and

maybe grab what I need for about a month (plus living expenses). I do wear

a pair of glvoes, by the way, so I don't leave prints.

Of course, that's just the plan and God's favorite joke is watching mortals

make plans...

Speeeeeeeedball.

 

-----

 

From GM:

>Note: (You said Speedball lives on the lower East Side.

Are we talking East Village, or further north, Murray Hill area? I'm just

looking at a map, and I knw that Upper East Side is the real ritzy area.

About what street level are we talking, 35th St? Farther south in the

teens, like 16th? Or maybe the 40's or 50's blocks? Just wondering.)

 

From G/Speedball:

hey,

the Lower East Side (or just Lower East, for short) is bordered to the north

by 2nd St (making the East Village its northern neighbor) and by the south

by Canal Street (which begins Chinatown). There are some great bars there,

most of which are pretty dive-y, but mostly its people who can't afford to

live in nicer areas of Manhattan but who still want to live on the island.

G

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Hustling down the stairs you think, "It's gotta be the train." Hitting the streets you head for the 2nd St. stop. Tieng does a lot of business around there and you've never seen him with a car.

Five minutes later you push through the turnstile and catch sight of Tieng near the shoe shine stands. He's got three of his boys with him and is carrying a small attaché. You hang back, pulling your hooded sweatshirt tight, and fingering the heavy ivory cue-balls in the front pocket. Within minutes the uptown train pulls up and you watch Tieng get on with his guys. You jump in the car behind them hunching down in your seat, but watch them through the scratchy glass and plastic of the doors.

Riding the train helps you out, so you don't have to burn your drug running along the streets. Going all the way from 2nd to West Harlem would have probably left you exhausted. This way you just rest and wait.

A little over twenty minutes later you pull into the station at 116th. The crowd is mostly black or Hispanic by this point. You are surprised to see Tieng and his group get off here instead of further north, and you have to hurry to get out before the doors shut. It's pretty crowded here despite the later hour, but it's easy to follow Tieng's cheap suit and pony tail out on to the street. Unfortunately, as you skip up the stairs about twenty feet behind them, you are barely in time to catch sight of the group piling into a big black Suburban that begins to pull away from the curb, heading west.<<<

 

Note: (By the way, how is Joe dressed, and how does he look when he's Speedball?)

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Maverick - SPEEDBALL

 

Post 3

 

From G/Speedball:

Speedball's "costume" consists of an black windbreaker pants, a grey

Columbia hooded sweatshirt with the flak vest underneath (making him look a

lot bulkier than he is) and black running shoes. He keeps a simple black

cotton hood and black driving gloves in his big central pocket with the pool

balls, so he can "change" at will. Essentially, except for the hood (and

depending on the time of year, the gloves) are the only thing that would

give him away as a paranormal. I'll sow a couple of inside pockets into the

sweatshirt to keep my drug and a few bucks in. The windbreaker pants create

sort of a swooshing sound when he starts to run his fastest. Its not

something he likes, but its tough to find the right material...

 

If the suburban is the kind with a covered back luggage area, I'll slip on

my mask, run to catch the car, and go desolid long enough to get into the

trunk. If I don't think I can get into the car without being noticed, I'll

try plan B--running.

What I do to follow Tieng is this: running to the block parallel to the

north, I'll just follow him, checking every block that he's still just to

the south of me. If not, then I run south until I see him, trying not to

tip him off that i'm following him. I know I don't have the tracking skill,

so it probably would surprise me to lose him. The good thing is that all

the streets up there are one way, so I won't lose him for long.

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>You may be a little strung out, but you aren't crazy. While it would be easy to catch the van, and phase inside it, there is no way to do it without the guys inside, or folks on the street, noticing. Also, your mind starts racing with images of you re-solidifying half in and half out of a seat, or piece of baggage, or one of the guys themselves. It's never happened before, but you get the impression from how air is driven away from you when you become solid, that the effect on something more substantial than a gas, would be really painful and ugly.

So you run... and it turns out to be a piece of cake. They head straight west on 116th (...if 116th is actually one way east in reality, then they take 117th), and the Suburban is big enough to easily keep track of. They turn on Frederick Douglas Blvd., and head south into the area around 112th. Here, the neighborhood (in this world at least) gets ugly for a few block, before you hit Central Park North.

You hug the walls, a little bit drained but feeling ok, and watch as the Suburban slows. This area is run down, dirty and sparsely populated. Graffiti everywhere, bums in doorways, and most everything boarded up or broken. Makes the Lower East Side look prosperous.

A number of things draw your attention to the crack house up the street. One, Tieng's SUV seems to be heading that way. Two, the only people on the street are gathered outside, gawking at the place. Three, there is a sudden cacophony of screams and gunfire from the open front doorway. You can see now that the heavy door seems smashed in and a lean, black youth with a shotgun in his hand, stumbles out, holding his head.<<<

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Maverick - SPEEDBALL

 

The story continues in this thread as Speedball joins Impetus in taking out the crack house!