[CONSOLE] video;

[forgediron]

[Zanru looks irritable. This is nothing new. She also looks tired, and that makes the irritability worse. Whoever has been going around the city is focussing enough on Metal Sector that they've lost a bit of revenue and held up a few projects owing to, oh, vital components being filched.]

Right, listen up. Someone's been haunting the city, stealing things and leaving people bloodied. There's been rumours spreading, so let's clear some of it up.

Fact A: Yes, I know the perpetrator can use something that looks a lot like shadows. No, that does not mean the Old Nightmare is back. Think big, people. He wasn't so small-minded as this.

Fact A-dot-1: No, it isn't that Foreigner bloke who throws shadows about either. He's laid up and can't be in two places at once.

Fact B: The perpetrator can probably shapeshift and is probably not made of metal. Stop blaming the Foreigners for every petty thing, it makes us look bad. No matter how idiotic they can be.

Now, I don't care if people moonlight as a damned roof-hopper. What I do care about is knowing whether this person is involved in the crimes, stopping them, or just generally trying to build up some kind of morale game. Whatever the case, it's stupid and it's pissing me off.

The only competent investigators we've got left are Foreigners, so this is over to you: Get me the idiot who's playing up. I'm available on this broadcast for the next hour for questions and contracts. Anything after that I'll pick up as I've got time.


[ooc: Related to this plot here, but will not progress at any point beyond what Callaghan's mun stipulates. This is not an NPC plot, just NPCs reacting to things that happen.]

Comments

audio;

[skeletonenigma]

[Yeah, he's heard those rumours. It's rare and refreshing to hear them addressed so openly.]

Where has he been seen?

[Or her, or it. Semantics.]

audio;

[forgediron]

Everywhere.

[Grumblegrumble.]

Most of the thefts are taking place in Metal Sector, but frankly I don't even know how much they're related except that the same shadow ... thing has been seen around enough of them to be suspicious. According to sightings I think it's been about even all through the city.

audio;

[skeletonenigma]

[The sightings all over the city are a given. Most of the thefts occurring in Metal Sector, however, isn't something Skulduggery has heard before, and he takes note.]

What sorts of things have been stolen from Metal Sector? Technological components, or finished articles?

[Are the thieves building something, or stealing for the sake of stealing?]

video

[looksfine]

[Greetings, Boss Lady.]

[Tempting as it was to point out this most recent turn of events appeared to be affecting Zanru physically, Aya (wisely) chose to refrain from commenting on anything more than the issue at hand. Her own systems were back at optimal efficiency, and as such, she was already in the process of scanning intel as she spoke.]

Current evidence suggests the high probability that there is more than a single individual responsible for recent attacks.

video

[forgediron]

[Zanru does not look the least bit surprised by this assertion. Not surprised, but especially unhappy about it.]

The thought's occurred, believe me, and if so then it's a damned conspiracy.

video

[looksfine]

Do you have a list compiled of any items that were recently reported stolen, or were attempted to be stolen?

[She only knew of the soul gems, but there could be others. In a way, she hoped their was. It would open the possibility of pure greed as a motive, rather than an attack on Foreignrr souls specifically.]

[video] Conveniently timed too since Sokka's encounter is tomorrow!

[theideaguy]

[Greeeeeeat. As if things weren't bad on the Shell already. He'd already heard some of the rumours beginning to fly around Stark Industries. Just another problem that they didn't need on top of all the other problems that were starting to manifest.

[At least Zanru is taking a pretty reasonable stance on this, though spirits help them if it actually is a Foreigner doing this.]

There's been nothing going on during the day, as far as I know. At least the inventory's always been checking out at the end of the day.

[Important since, of course, Sokka is partially in charge of guarding shipments of supplies from hither to thither.]

I'll do some digging. During my free time, of course.

You wouldn't happen to have a listing of where the reports have been coming from, would you?

[video] muaha.

[forgediron]

There's a list on the database you can access, but it's spread pretty widely across the city. If there starts to be trouble with the shipments, you report it ASAP. We'll increase security if we have to.

[video]

[theideaguy]

[Well, that's a small relief. At least if something goes wrong, he won't see his sorry butt fired immediately.]

Will do. You'll be the first to know if I unearth something.

[Which, technically, won't be true of course, but that's only because I know the future la la la you didn't hear that Zanru.]

[COMMENT SO NOT HERE BECAUSE OH NO]

[bigdamnhiro]

[Shit.

Hiro would correct her on a couple of things he knows she's wrong about re: Fact B, but that would lead to some questions he's not prepared to answer about how he knows and what's his involvement.

He's thinking she seems mad.

He's thinking it'd be a really bad idea to tell her, or anybody, that that's his invention the culprit (whoever they are) is using to steal stuff and beat people up.

Yeah no his lips are sealed. Just gonna...try and figure this out...by himself. Somehow.]

voice

[valevectorian]

[At first glance, this is the sort of thing he'd normally skim over and then scroll past. It doesn't have much to do with him, nor would it affect him much. Perhaps if the perpetrator were to drop by the construction zones and nab things. It's the combination of that thought and the speaker's wording implying that she doesn't count herself among the Foreigners that makes him pay closer attention, both to the transmission and the first few conversations in response to it.

He had been meaning to get around to contacting a particular kedan involved with Stark Industries. Could this be her? If it isn't, the right kedan is probably only a couple degrees away. Whoever it is, she doesn't seem like she's in the greatest mood. Unwilling to botch his chances by starting off on something completely unrelated and worsening her mood, Accelerator decides to forgo his preference of getting right to the topic of his interest and instead offers up the first couple of things that come to mind. He can always segue into the other thing once there's a little back and forth.]

Any patterns in the places they target or the stolen items themselves?

[There isn't much he can or would care to do actively, but it pays to drag out into the sunlight something that just wasn't getting enough exposure tucked away in the shade.]

video;

[forgediron]

The stuff we've been tracking is mostly tech-related bits and bobs. No pattern that I can see for the targets, but I'm blacksmith, not a bloody investigator.

[valevectorian]

[thinks for a moment, recalling some of the times in recent months he dealt with this little amount of information. he'd been able to track down Amai's location with barely anything to go on, but there had been extenuating circumstances in the city that day and he knew enough about the bastard to predict where he might go when cornered. some of his GROUP work had also involved a little thinky business. nothing quite like this, though.]

Well, neither am I, nor do I know much about this city. If I had to start somewhere, it'd be mapping out the perpetrator's movements in the order that each target was hit, organize it by day, and look to see what transportation methods he could or couldn't have used to accomplish any clusters. Someone capable of flight or teleporting could do a hell of a lot more devastating damage further spread out than someone on foot, and with this many reports there ought to be knowledge on the possibility of vehicles.

[Do security cameras even exist here? Would they even be the scientific types he's familiar with rather than magical ones? Who knows. He hasn't had much reason to think about it before. But he continues:]

I'd also look at whether every incident was a theft, who'd benefit the most from the crimes if there's any hint of that, and whether the incidents could only be accomplished by someone with special information on the targeted places. Like things related to security systems or the building layouts, or whether knowledge of the tech stolen had any access restrictions. Is he hitting up places he knows will have basic tech and just going for whatever he finds? Is the purpose to acquire the tech, or is acquiring it just a benefit and his aim is actually to fuck things up for the targets? Just food for thought.

It sounds like you already got a couple people with more information on the targets and stolen tech, so those are things they can keep in mind.

[Because, after all, he's a complete stranger. Why would anyone on this kedan's end give him what could be sensitive or restricted data?]

audio;

[akito]

Do the things being stolen relate to each other? Could the culprit be gathering supplies to build something, or is it too random to be able to say?


[ and hey, since she's right here anyway- ]

Oh, and Zanru-san? If you have any deliveries that need to be made in the next few days that can't wait let me know, ne? If they can wait and someone else can't deliver them, I can get them done first thing Monday! I just need a few days off because something inconvenient happened.

[ stupid blood loss so annoying c'mon body replaced all the lost red blood cells faster why don't you gosh ]

video;

[forgediron]

More that there's a lot a person could do with what's stolen. It's all general stuff that can be used for a bunch of things.

[Pause, and she frowns.]

What? No, we should be fine. Anything I need to worry over?

action;

[ironrule]

[Available for the next hour, Zanru said. An hour during which she would almost certainly be in the Stark Industries building, and have a very difficult time dodging anyone's visit, let alone a visit from the leader of the Snakes.

Which is why, fifteen minutes after her announcement, Tu Yunxu can be seen in the lobby, politely asking the receptionist if he could possibly see Zanru at her earliest possible convenience. He's alone, face shifted just enough to avoid the immediate notice of most of the Foreigners, and he's prepared to wait for as long as it takes.]

action;

[forgediron]

[Ayin looks up and eeps, and hastily goes leafing through Zanru's schedule.]

U- um. What's this to do with? Sir? Um.

[Eep.]

video;

[kreitech]

[ooc: Before or after he gets his job? You decide, it's all good with me.]


[Krei looks surprised; he's pretty sure he knows who she's talking about, but...]

He's stealing?

[Curiosity killed the cat, Alistair.]

video;

[forgediron]

[Her eyes narrow at him.]

He who?


[ooc: After is probably safest. XD]

[confirmationbias]

Old Nightmare?

[forgediron]

Malicant.

[She says it both like it's a bad taste in her mouth, and like she's half-expecting something to happen just by saying it out loud.]

[highprofilerichkid]

[Tony's skimmed through Zanru's other conversations, so he's not going to waste time asking for the list of stolen items: he'll pull it off the database next time he's in SI and see what he can do with it.

But detective work isn't really his wheelhouse anyway: that's Pepper's specialty. He prefers fieldwork.]

I can do patrols of the warehouses and chaperone important shipments in the suit.

[He's going to do it anyway, of course: all Zanru's going to tell him is how sneaky he needs to be about it.]

[forgediron]

[She narrows her eyes at him.]

Is that a request for paid bodyguard work or you telling me you're going to lurk anyway? I'm not looking for you to start letting down the contract you're already on because you're too focussed on something I've already got people doing.

[needmetoo]

I think I've seen what you're talking about. I followed them because they looked a lot like a... [Dammit, Bakura] a monster from my world.

[She's only kind of half-skimmed over any responses to the post. The comment about stealing and leaving people hurt has her concerned, except somehow that "hurt" doesn't sound like Nobodies (who she probably had some kind of responsibility towards if they were here) but actual injuries.]

But they've been stealing? What kind of things?

[Probably not a Heartless, ultimately. That finally answers that.]

[forgediron]

Does anyone pay attention to what I've already said? Tech components, mostly.

[What's with all these new child Foreigners, seriously?]