[RADIO] audio;

[gistful]

[Anton’s voice is tense and breathless. This is the bad kind of breathless. Not the ‘been running too long’ breathless, not even a raspy sort of breathless, but nevertheless a measured ‘can’t get enough air’ sort of breathless. It makes his words clipped and strained, with a pause between each sentence for a proper inhale followed by a proper exhale.]

Jintou’s been taken. Alley behind the Lane of Fuchsia Dyes. Earth Sector. Bring a syringe. Need blood taken.

[ooc: This thread is open to everyone! Erskine and Skulduggery will be tagging in first for a short round before Anton sends them off to find Jintou and get them out of the way. Anyone is welcome to collaborate in this post or go ahead and search on their own, and use that log to thread things out. Otherwise, the real plot-development material is available for those who stay with Anton and get a blood sample to analyse.]

Comments

[needmetoo]

No.

[Xion's first voice is quiet. Horrified. Jintou gave her and Hiro the tipoff on where to go. At most it was two weeks ago. She knows that Aqua was still protecting him. Still trying to get what information she could. And now... and now...]

What happened? What happened?

[How? Her voice, much louder now, cracks a tiny bit. This was her fault. The timing was too precise. Whatever happened to Jintou, and it sounded like to Mr. Shudder too. They were already in trouble enough for debacle and now they'd just made things worse.]

[gistful]

Ambush.

[Anton's words are as measured and short as his first.]

Drugged me. Or poisoned.

[ruinsprofessor]

On my way.

[That's it. It's short, terse, and conveys all the information it needs to. The only reason Raine stopped for this much is to assure Anton he's been heard and acknowledged. Fix first, interrogate after.]

[gistful]

Don't heal me.

[ruinsprofessor]

...I-- fine.

[She hears him. She doesn't approve, but she hears him.]

[They can argue about healing when she has her eyes on him. For now, she's saving her breath.]

[aquanimity]

[No. No, she's promised to protect Jintou from this exact thing. And Anton... he's not well either. Whoever attacked them is strong.

Aqua will not let them get away.]

I'm coming there right now.

[And with that she is off and running.]

[gistful]

[He doesn't answer. People are coming; that's all he needs, other than to save his breath.]

[radio]

[skeletonenigma]

[Skulduggery calls Aqua from the sewers underneath the alley where Jintou was taken. There's a good chance she's already heard and already on her way, but just in case she hasn't, Skulduggery could use her help. He needs someone he can properly trust with no questions asked.]

Aqua? Where are you?

[radio]

[aquanimity]

[She's already on the way when she gets the message.

She obviously is running while she responds.]

I'm coming - almost at the Water Sector now.

[The 'why do you ask?' goes unasked; she doesn't want to waste breath on it for now.]

[radio]

[skeletonenigma]

Good. If you reach Anton and Raine isn't there, let me know. [Since that means Aqua will have to take some time to perform some emergency healing herself, or at least make sure another healer can.] If she is, go straight down the stairs behind him into the sewers. We're on Jintou's trail and I could use your help.

[akito]

[ he'll just try and convince himself - unsuccessfully - that this has nothing at all to do with Anton helping him with Malcil. Because he's already screwed up enough things the past few months. ]

I can find out what, exactly, you have been dosed with is doing to your body if that's any help to you. It... It doesn't involve healing, or invasive measures. I just have to listen.

[ if it won't be of help, he'll stay out of the way. The last thing he wants is to make things any worse. ]

[gistful]

Light sensitivity. Lowered heart-rate. Trouble circulating oxygen.

[He already knows, Akito, but thank you.]

[akito]

Un, okay. If there's anything I can help with, let me know, when you can.

Get better, ne?

[gistful]

[It takes a moment before Anton realises he should probably respond if only for peace of mind, but about all Akito gets is an acknowledging grunt.]

[irishthor]

Anton- [He's not sure what he can do, but... He's not wasting time on the radio. He's going to just go.]

[gistful]

[He gets a grunt in response.]