So why was the old man killed?

[shadowmage87]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

I like the ledger idea posted by a lot of the people here, but I also agree that the WWII jewels thing might be a bit predictable given the guy's age. That does, however, I agree, also make it an awesome red herring.

 

I like the cape and cowl idea, I thought of something a little more non-descript. Well, at least, less out of place in a jewelry store.

 

If you don't mind going a little afield in sci-fi, say that one of the jewels that passed through the shop wasn't a jewel at all, but some sort of experimental power source. The break-ins are from some covert, secret government agency, trying to get their hands on it. The old man was killed accidentally when he rushed for the silent alarm during the first break-in, and the ledger holds the name of the person to which the jewel, which an ordinary jeweler with failing eyesight did not recognize as extraordinary, has passed.

 

EDIT: I just realized that I didn't elucidate a means of the power source getting mixed up in his jewels: it could have been put there for safe keeping from somebody inside the organization that "lost" it, so that they could eventually sell it on the black market, or use it to their otherwise nefarious ends. Or, in the complete opposite direction, it could have been taken to prevent something nefarious.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

Okay, I ran the bulk of the resolution of this situation, so here's an update. First, a behind-the-scenes recap.

 

Pappas (the jeweler) was hired by a VIPER front company in 1983 to acquire cheaper potential communications and control crystals for VIPER's Serpentine computer network, based on four sets of specifications. The original crystals were expensive to produce, so they were looking for a cheaper alternative.

 

Pappas suspected who he was actually hired by, so as an insurance policy he made copies of the specifications and bills of sale, as well as a handful of the crystals themselves. He made several copies of the paperwork -- one set was hidden behind the wallpaper in his living room, one hidden with the crystals in a section of the brownstone's old (lead pipe) plumbing, no longer connected to the building's plumbing, and the final set of copies was given to a friend in case of his untimely demise. (That friend has since passed away and heaven only knows what happened to those papers.) Since VIPER played nice and paid him what he was owed, that "insurance policy" never needed to be used.

 

About six months ago, while recovering from a broken hip in a rehab center and a bit loopy on pain meds, Pappas let slip this, in general terms, to one of the workers, and that guy figured he could find these "gems" and net himself a hefty profit, either blackmailing VIPER or selling them to somebody else. (I didn't say the guy was smart.) Without going into too much detail, he didn't get a chance to break into Pappas' place until the retired jeweler was out of rehab and back home, and he killed the old man but was unable to find the goods.

 

Eventually, he made the mistake of boasting about his "coming big score" in a bar and was overheard by someone in VIPER. They dragged the guy in and asked him some pointed questions, dug through the old files, and decided they needed to get those crystals and papers before someone else found them. But to do a thorough job, they needed unrestricted access to the brownstone for a day. And ideally, they didn't want anyone to know the VIPER was involved in any way.

 

They figured out how do draw out the downstairs tenants and two covert ops were set up to do taht, but the new owner (Caren Wells, aka Sentinel) and her family (Frank and Sarah) were a bit of a problem. Since the brownstone was practically across the street from the high school, they were worried about Sarah Wells showing up without notice, and Caren's husband Frank was in the middle of fix-it stuff in the building. Plus, Caren kept odd hours (being a paramedic and part-time student, and superhero, which VIPER doesn't know). So a more direct approach was used.

 

A group of VIPER agents, in nondescript gear, kidnapped Sarah along with a dozen or so students and two teachers, loaded them onto a school bus, and drove them (away from the school and brownstone) to a medical supply warehouse with no connection to VIPER, which other gunmen had taken over and rigged the doors with explosives. A covert agent posed as a parent and told the police he had seen the gunmen take the students and that he followed them to the warehouse. Lots of cops and SWAT agents surround the building, the concerned parents are all there, and the VIPER teams moved into the brownstone to begin the search.

 

The "gunmen" demanded the release of several COIL agents (trying to lay the blame on one of VIPER's enemies), plus $5 million in cash and a jet out of town, giving the city until midnight to comply. They figure the CPD won't move in right away, but the heroes would likely show up and just might jump the gun. So VIPER hired the Brute Squad (a super-muscle-for-hire group being run by Mechassassin) to (1) help their agents escape, and (2) if possible, capture or injure the superheroes. Disguised as four of the "gunmen" were Bulldozer, Blue Cyclone, Repo, and Tremor. (The last three are former wrestlers in the short-lived, illegal Paranormal Wrestling Federation.) Mechassassin kept an eye on things from a rooftop several blocks away while Shrinker stayed with the SWAT commander to spy on the cops, and then the heroes when they showed up.

 

More to follow.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

Prior to the hostage crisis, Caren's husband Frank found the papers behind the wallpaper -- specifications for four different types of crystals / gemstones, likely for industrial use rather than jewelry grade, as well as bills of sale where Pappas purchased about 20 matching those specs as well as some uncut leaded crystal that he presumably cut himself, then sold most of them for over 3x the price to a company in NYC. The heroes did some investigating into that company (learning that it was a likely front for VIPER), and eventually figured out that the crystals are very likely for VIPER's Serpentine network. However, they completely ignored the fact that at least a half dozen aren't accounted for -- Pappas apparently didn't turn over all of the gems and crystals he acquired.

 

The heroes did buy some uncut leaded crystal and hire a jeweler to cut one for each of the specs, but don't have a way to test them as yet. They played it all very close to the vest and specifically did NOT let PRIMUS or UNTIL in on what they learned and suspect, fearing it would expose Sentinel's secret ID.

 

Most of this happened before VIPER found out about the whole thing, so they're clueless that those papers were found.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

On to the hostage crisis.

 

Subliminal (usually invisible mentalist with teleport) arrived first and scouted the warehouse. He saw the gunmen (in commercially-available plain blue body armor and jumpsuits), the hostages (in the bus, parked inside the warehouse), and the bombs on the doors. He also read one agent's surface thoughts to learn that they're basically waiting for an "all clear" before bugging out, and have no real idea what's going on. (I rolled randomly whether he'd get an agent or a Brute Squad member, and luckily he got an agent first.)

 

Serendipity arrived next, also invisible but with fringe, and spoke to the SWAT commander (who hates all supers, the heroes included). He basically told her to "get the #&%@! out of my crime scene" so she went to talk to a PRIMUS agent on the scene purely as a consultant. (At this point, it was still under local jurisdiction.) Meanwhile, Shrinker decided to tag along with Serendipity and report the heroes' plans to Mechassassin.

 

Styx and Sentinal showed up next (the latter delayed in SID as a paramedic, dealing with a cardiac arrest case) but were basically waiting to forumlate a plan.

 

Synergy decided to not put in an appearance yet, thinking it was all a trap for them (which, in some ways, it was), so he found a rooftop a few blocks away where he could keep an eye on the warehouse.

 

Eventually, Subliminal evesdropped on another gunman's mind to learn it was actually Bulldozer in disguise. He also found out who Bulldozer's pals were, then snapped a few pics showing Repo's crowbar and Blue Cyclone's GM truck axle as "proof" that the supervillains were there. The SWAT commander and PRIMUS agents had a jurisdictional pissing contest, which the CPD eventually lost, and a PRIMUS assault team was sent for. By now, it's about 6:30 p.m. and the search team at the brownstone is about to find the hidden crystals.

 

Meanwhile, up on the rooftop blocks away, Synergy smelled cigarette smoke, wafting out of the HVAC unit next to him. He went around back and peeked in the vents to see Mechassassin hiding inside, spying on the warehouse through a telescope and talking to Shrinker on the radio. Mech then appraised his teammates inside the warehouse of the situation. Synergy moved back and reported this to his teammates, and Serendipity warned the PRIMUS agents that Shrinker was on the scene somewhere. Of course, she heard this and decided to blast Serendipity in the back, stunning the heroine. Subliminal immediately lit off an AOE flash attack in Serendipity's hex, blinding Shrinker for 7 segments. Blinded and pissed off, the villainess flew straight up to avoid detection. Hearing the initial attack on Serendipity, Synergy two-fist blasted Mechassassin, rendering him unconscious.

 

As most of the heroes were searching for Shrinker, a mouse (whose body was "borrowed" by Sarah Wells from inside the warehouse to try and get help) finally caught up to the heroes, scampered up to Styx, and started to climb his pants leg. Paranoid, he grabbed the rodent and began crushing it, thinking it was connected to the villains but unknowingly nearly killing his teammate's daughter. After discovering that it was, indeed, just a mouse and not a Shrinker, he gave it to Sentinel, who healed its injuries. They still have no idea what that was actually about.

 

While Synergy was disarming the KO'd Mechassassin and the other heroes were searching the area for Shrinker, the villains and agents inside the warehouse are blissfully unaware of what's going on outside. That's when Magnetite (Chicago Nest Leader for VIPER) called Mechassassin to give the all-clear and bug-out orders. Synergy did a passable attempt at Mimicry, so Magnetite then called his agents in the warehouse to tell them the same thing.

 

The four covert VIPER agents stripped off velcro'd coverings on their body armor and jumpsuits to reveal SWAT gear, and they and the villains moved to the back door to remove that bomb and prepare to make a break for it. The plan was for the supervillains (still in the bright blue outfits) to bolt out the door, the "SWAT" team firing at them, then the villains would jump into the river (where SCUBA gear was waiting for them). Meanwhile, smoke bombs and recordings of gunfire would be triggered throughout the warehouse, most likely enticing the actual SWAT teams and heroes to move in. The covert VIPER agents / "SWAT" members, two of whom would be faking injuries, would then go to an ambulance to sneak out. Of course, the heroes intervened and made a complete hash of this plan.

 

I won't go blow-by-blow, but during the final battle, Subliminal really messed with Bulldozer's head and Serendipity fed his macho ego, turning him against Blue Cyclone. Repo did a move-through on an illusionary brick wall, ending with a face-plant into the ground outside. And a finally-unblinded Shrinker decided that her teammates were a bunch of morons and flew away rather than risk capture.

 

In the end, the heroes captured Bulldozer, Blue Cyclone, and Repo, plus Mechassassin. Tremor and Shrinker escaped. And VIPER recovered the control crystals and that set of specifications, so they consider the whole thing a huge success, except for the four agents captured at the warehouse, but they weren't in-the-know. Sentinel needs to get some serious work done on her house (VIPER really ripped the place apart), and the heroes have some crystals that may or may not help them eavesdrop on VIPER communications. All in all, a rousing good time.

 

Thank you all very much for the input and feedback. It helped tremendously.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

Nice job.

[Greywind]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

 

Good job!

[matrix3]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

Spoilered, just in case:

 

 

Do you have a plan for revealing Sarah's powers, and their source?

 

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

Spoilered, just in case:

 

 

Do you have a plan for revealing Sarah's powers, and their source?

Yeah, at least to the players.

 

 

I'm going to create a set of teen heroes for the players to run in a one-shot at that school, and *they* may learn about Sarah's powers. It really depends if they put 2+2 together. So at first, it may be player-only info.

 

As to the PC heroes themselves,

 

 

I think Sentinel will get curious when a cat walks up to her and begins purring and rubbing against her, but hisses at and tries clawing Styx. Or a pigeon coos at her, and poops on Styx. Or when Caren notices the animals in Sarah's home vet clinic are healing much faster than normal. Given Sentinel's x-ray vision, it's not unreasonable that she'd catch Sarah using powers at *some* point in time.

 

 

As to them learning the source,

 

I don't really plan to, though Sarah *is* adopted, so it can't be genetic. It's not unreasonable for them to assume Sentinel's radiation may be the cause.

 

[matrix3]

Re: So why was the old man killed?

 

Yeah, at least to the players.

 

 

I'm going to create a set of teen heroes for the players to run in a one-shot at that school, and *they* may learn about Sarah's powers. It really depends if they put 2+2 together. So at first, it may be player-only info.

 

As to the PC heroes themselves,

 

 

I think Sentinel will get curious when a cat walks up to her and begins purring and rubbing against her, but hisses at and tries clawing Styx. Or a pigeon coos at her, and poops on Styx. Or when Caren notices the animals in Sarah's home vet clinic are healing much faster than normal. Given Sentinel's x-ray vision, it's not unreasonable that she'd catch Sarah using powers at *some* point in time.

 

 

As to them learning the source,

 

I don't really plan to, though Sarah *is* adopted, so it can't be genetic. It's not unreasonable for them to assume Sentinel's radiation may be the cause.

 

Well,

 

if they don't know who one or both of her biological parents were, then they might believe she is the child of a philandering superhero (or supervillain) Has Sentinel's radiation been studied? Is it known to be mutagenic? (Maybe as part of her origin story?)