route_1065 | Sometimes, quiet is violent.

Entry tags:

Sometimes, quiet is violent.

Who: Solf J Kimblee (

explosivecombat; anyone in Olivine City who wants to engage him, really. OPEN LOG, do your thing, tag yourselves in
Where: Olivine City
When: Slightly backdated - morning of February 8, 2014
Summary: Somebody wanted a war. You're going to have an investigation.
Rating: PG-13? ...look, if things go badly this is pretty much Kimblee going Michael Bay on Olivine City, so.
Log:

His timing had, admittedly, been poor.

Namely, the three-day time period he'd thrown down was not accounting for the sudden snow; while he could hold the fort reasonably well in below-zero temperatures, that had never really been his idea of a good time. Fortunately, the most important of those bombs he'd photographed had been set prior to the announcement going out - it wouldn't do to be acting suspicious in public after a bomb threat, after all; those he hadn't set before then...well. He'd been more than capable of waiting until those who were going to move had actually moved before sending Alekhine and the non-human Archer out to go get those taken care of. They're rather skilled at...convincing people that they really, really want to be elsewhere all of a sudden, after all.

The Alakazam is nearby but out of sight, having been instructed to keep an eye on things for him (as he's fully aware that he's not going to be able to one things get underway); the Gardevoir is at his side, as he always is during these sorts of games. His usual white suit has been abandoned in favor of sharply-tailored black, with a black shirt buttoned clear up to his throat beneath it and a bloodred tie around his neck; his face is obscured by the usual hooded mask, long ponytail tucked up beneath the fabric.

It's a lovely day today.

He's got something in his hand that he's playing with once in a while; something that he can rather cheerfully buttonmash if he feels like it, apparently, as there are a good amount of buttons on it. He presses a few of them now, almost idly; he pauses for a moment before clicking the red one at the top of it.

Hopefully no one was partial to a few of those indie bars toward the outskirts of town; that explosion is going to be a large one.

Let's begin, shall we?

[OOC: Okay, apologies for the delay but RL punched me in the throat. AS IT STANDS, HOWEVER, the deal is currently this.

There are currently eight bombs planted throughout the city, including the one that just went off on the northern side of town, because Kimblee clearly hates hipsters this morning and has decided that they can't have nice bars. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to find either the bombs or the asshole detonating them. Or both, if you all can manage, let's not sell ourselves short. Don't worry, he's somewhere within the city.

You're welcome to search the city if you wish; I'll gladly guide you through that part with meta directions in brackets - letting you know what you find in certain locations, if anything. The NPCs in certain locations (the hotel, the Pokémon Center, those hardware stores Blake was checking out earlier, the guards at the lighthouse) will not remember any suspicious activity having occurred, but they will have really large conspicuous holes in their memories if pressed. And hey, I'll guide you through that as well, if you have something to say to them.

Basically, feel free to investigate at will; throw a location in your comment subject, wherever you want to search. Let's make a game of it.]

[OOC PART II: Here's your current counter, guys.

Bomb 1 - hipster bars, northern side of town: DETONATED
Bomb 2 - Olivine Inn: LOCATED / NEUTRALIZED
Bomb 3 - docks, southern side of town: NEUTRALIZED
Bomb 4 - cargo holds, western side of town: DETONATED
Bomb 5 - specialized shops, city center: STILL ACTIVE
Bomb 6 - restaurants, city center: NEUTRALIZED
Bomb 7 - location currently unknown: STILL ACTIVE
Bomb 8 - location currently unknown: STILL ACTIVE

You've got your work cut out for you, Hero Squad. Godspeed. :|b ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well, it seems that Walter is not completely failing his stealth check today; he gets a few odd looks because there's something of a sense of community among the hobbyists and the trade fishermen alike - while everyone may not like everybody, everybody at least knows what everybody else looks like. However, they're a more or less accepting bunch down here; if there's a new guy, then...well, there's a new guy, and he'll get a few waves from people as he passes. How's the day going, been in town long. A couple of funny looks because you probs shouldn't put a fire dog on a boat, mate, but if that's what you do then hey. More power to you.

For now, it's a matter of what you want to look at - are we going to be poking the hobbyists, the tradesmen, or those running the commercial shipments first?]

[Well, if there was a bomb down here...

...Orthrus doesn't know exactly what they're trying to track down yet, so going blindly after the bomb just isn't going to work. Especially since the people here have more of a chance of recognizing it than he does, so it wouldn't be in the open anywhere, and he'd probably be barred from going anywhere that isn't relatively public. So what can he do?

He can find out if anyone's seen a person or Pokemon who might have placed the bomb. That might lead them to a place, or to something Orthrus can track by scent. So Walter needs to talk to someone who's been here frequently over the past week.

He'll try his luck with the tradesmen first. He's never had much luck not getting shooed away by people up to ~official business~, and the ones who do this for a living are more likely to be around during odd hours, or to know the area well enough to notice anything off.]

Hoy there! [Here goes nothing.] How do they bite today?

[Let's do this thing, then!

You are going to be greeted with some blinking from one of those guys you are hailing down there, but he'll return the greeting. He looks to be about 30, with a Wingull taking up residence on his hat; he doesn't seem to mind. Pride of place for the thing, apparently. "Well enough, my friend, well enough!"]

[Walter takes the steps down to the pier at a quick pace, while Orthrus skips them entirely and jumps straight down from the bulkhead, spinning once in celebration of a perfect landing.]

I pray it remains so. [He strolls up, nodding a little at the man (and giving the Wingull another brief gesture), but he doesn't plan to waste any more time on chitchat. Straight to the point, and damn any weird looks he gets.] I'm looking after something that might be around here. Is there anyone who's down here all days? Knows all the faces that come and go?

[You pray it remains so? Good lord, man, what are you, his grandmother?

That said, however, he seems more interested in Orthrus than the anachronism; nice pet you've got there, bro. "Looking for anyone in particular? I've seen most everyone around these places these days - everyone's been a bit on-edge since Monday."]

[Only "on-edge"?] I'm surprised you're all still out and about. [Orthrus is smelling everything, as instructed, in between flopping down to peer down at the water. Salty!]

It's a little stranger than that, actually. Have you seen anyone not from around here at odd times, or acting oddly, not just passing by? [...] ...You know, myself excepted. Or a strange Pokemon, or anything more out of sorts than people being on edge.

[The guy actually looks up at that; he's smirking a bit, actually. "There's been stranger things than you around here lately. A couple of days ago there was a guy in full business dress around here. Black suit, hat of some sort - one of those nice ones. He had an Alakazam out with him."

He laughs a bit, the sound casual. "We don't usually get the fancy ones around here, for obvious reasons. I guess he didn't see me coming in, but then it's not often that people are around as early as our lot. Either way, he stood out; he seemed really interested in the docks for some reason. Like he was looking for something, maybe. He left before I could talk to him any, though."]

[...Okay, that's pretty shady. Who wears nice clothes down to the docks unless you're sticking around for something important?

Walter's eyes narrow a little. This close to the water (and...fish), "a couple days" is more than enough to destroy a scent trail, unless they're incredibly lucky.] Looking for something...do you remember where he was standing, and looking?

[The guy just shrugs a bit and points up toward an area where the docks branch out; the fork between the docks designed to receive commercial shipments a good distance down the way, and where you are now.

"He seemed pretty interested in that spot up there."]

[...so, a little further away from the water. Let's keep our fingers crossed.]

He just stood there and left? Didn't pick anything up or put anything down?

["I was at a bit of a distance; I couldn't see what he was doing too well, just that he was there and weirdly-dressed. He seemed to be giving the Alakazam instructions, though; pointing at stuff."

He pauses for a moment. "You think he has something to do with this, then? All the explosions and stuff?"]

[Walter pauses in return, though not for long - whatever the rest of the PGC decide to do, he personally doesn't care about staying covert, especially when doing so would mean not telling someone about real danger.]

...He very well might. And if he does... [...wwwell. Walter's gaze flicks around a little; he sighs, and feels a nudge against his leg, and reaches down to scratch Orthrus, who is sitting there now with his shoulders squared and his nose up and a comically solemn look on his dog face.]

...You should look after yourselves. Who can say what'll happen today? [He gives a harsh, awkward shrug, the corners of his mouth turning up humorlessly.]

[Well. That'll just get another smirk out of the guy; he retrieves a Pokéball from his belt, tossing it up and catching it again, the motion almost idle. "You're not the only trainer around here, buddy; we look out for our own."

That taken care of - what now, Walter.]

[He knew there was a reason he liked Johto.

Walter grins, and leaves after thanking the man. He picks up the pace after reaching the main dock again, and hurries to that junction where the Fancy Mysteryman was purportedly skulking around.

Orthrus is set to sniffing around the place; the scent of the man himself is probably long gone, washed away by the sea air and covered up by the hundreds of others that have walked through here in the past couple of days, but an Alakazam is something he can specifically search for. Meanwhile, Walter uses his eyes, looking for points of interest visible from here. Pointing at things, the man had said. Ordering the Alakazam to...what?]

[Whether you're looking for the scent of the guy or not, there's something Orthrus is likely going to catch long before that - that being the scent of chemicals that are definitely not supposed to be anywhere near a place like this, that seems to be emanating from directly underneath the dock.

And if you go to check that out, Walter, it's not...obvious, per se, but you'll likely be able to catch a glimpse of something...blinking? Just visible between a couple of the planks.

GUESS WHAT YOU'VE FOUND.]

[...Oh, okay, he may not know exactly what a bomb looks like but by the amount of freaking out his dog is doing he probablaaaaand that sure is something blinking.

He tells Orthrus to back off a ways (don't get it near fire, he knows that much) and steps away for a moment himself, mind racing. How much time does he have? Jostling it around might set something off, he was told, but...

He recalls Orthrus and sends out his Drapion and Raticate, quickly explaining his idea to them. Muriel sinks her claws into a plank, holding it steady while Samuel gnaws through on either end, giving the blinking light a wide berth. If nothing happens when they carefully lift away the first chunk of wood, they'll remove a few more the same way, opening a hole over the mysterious-possibly-dangerous device.]

[Well, at least you have yet to explode the dock. You are Doing Well!

...that said yeah that sure is a bomb strapped to the dock there. Just kind of chilling. Blinking. Not any exposed wires or anything, just a lot of black casing, from the look of it. At the rate you're going you are going to drop that thing into the damn ocean, boy, because explosive devices weigh something.]

[...Okay. So they have a bomb. They need to do something with it. Throwing it somewhere it can't hurt anyone is looking to be the best option. And the obvious answer is...the ocean.

1) Take a boat out and throw it. This is stupid. He's not sure where to find rowboats, he couldn't row out far enough fast enough to get it out of range (judging by that first blast), and he'd probably get himself killed.

2) Fly out with Edgar and drop it. This is stupid. Edgar is made of fire.

3) ......

8|a ]

[He sends out Gertrude and explains the plan. The plan is to take the bomb up, then out - south over the ocean, veering east so as not to drop it over any boating routes, and dropping it in a clear, deep patch of water. And it has to be done quickly.

Gertrude's pupils dilate sharply.

Yes. This must be done as fast as possible. Is she ready for this?

She was born ready.

They carefully put holes in the planks, lift the precarious cargo, thread and knot rope handles to keep it steady. And then...she ascends.

[Like the sun in the noon sky, she reaches the zenith of her flight. The peak of her inexorable destiny. She is transcendent. In this moment...she will be fast.

Her legendary dance begins.

Autotomize. She sheds her earthly form.

Tailwind. The heavens make unto her a chariot.

Agility, thrice. She becomes the mantra.

And when her journey takes form, a cosmic vibration resounds, and that vibration is nyoom.

godspeed you crazy fuckin fastbird]

[...WELL OKAY THEN

moment of silence for the bomb tbh, holy crap]

[O...kay. Now that that bomb is going to do a whole lot of nothing outside of maybe sink really hard, what are we doing from here? You can always continue trying to find a scent trail, orrrrr you can head out to parts unknown. Choice is yours, man.]

[Well first we're giving Gertrude all the pats in the world when she gets back because all the pats for fastbird. Yay fastbird, praise fastbird.

And now we're going to see about finding a scent trail because seriously fuck whoever thought this was a grand idea. Hopefully that very distinct chemical smell was just as distinct while the thing was being transported.

someone else can deal with the giant fuckoff hole in the dock okay let's bounce]

[Well, if you're trying to follow that very distinct set of chemicals, you are going to be quite in luck, because Othrus does seem to be picking something up! Something both chemical and decidedly human. ...and perhaps a human who uses entirely too many chemicals. jfc was the dude wearing cologne or something, what kind of fancy motherfucker wears cologne to the fucking docks. Like, even Alfred isn't this level of "poncy shit."

Moving on.

That scent trail will be taking you toward the city center; however, just because the guy you're after is a patient psychopath doesn't mean he'll wait forever.

Hopefully no one was planning on anything terribly important being shipped today; one of the cargo holding areas a good distance to the west, past the end of the docks, is going to be going up in a rather impressive concussive blast.

Right about now.]

[Holy sh-

The thought of turning around and abandoning the trail to run to the site of the explosion doesn't quite cross his mind until after he realizes he's still moving, urging Orthrus on. They have Pokemon, he tells himself. They can take care of themselves. Plenty of people will be there. He needs to see where this leads.

It works. They're staying on the trail.]

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