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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 24, 2015 18:37:22 GMT -5
THE COLD FLOOR PRESSED ON YOUR FACE you ask yourself what is this place? Alex rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to flat out stick her tongue out at her sister. She wasn't that immature. "Just because I have street smarts doesn't mean I can't have book smarts either," she grumbled, copying the notes from Tiberiu's scraps of paper over to a notebook, so she'd be free to scribble away at them as she worked through what they meant.
Time went on as they poured over the notes. Alex had thrown away a whole wastebasket worth of crumbled theories and doodles, and had several dozen tabs open on her phone so she could flip through them one after another. Her main goal was to figure out what the symbols meant, and after what felt like an eternity she cracked the code of the dots. They were stars, unmarked constellations. Upon comparing them to a few google searches she found that the particular set of stars Tiberiu had written down were for the constellation Orion. The symbols that surrounded it were from several different cultures, and upon translating them it meant nothing but gibberish, in any order she tried to lay them out in.
Allison had better luck with some of her work. A lot of the foreign text Tiberiu had written down had something to do with the afterlife, and one phrase spoke of Hades and the underworld. Personal notes touched on how lost souls could be smuggled out and brought back to the living realm. Then their biggest hint of all came up several times in Allison's notes. 上海. Two symbols that, when translated from traditional Chinese to English, read Shanghai.
Friday, October 9th, 2015. 5:44 PM.
Alex Intelligence + Computers + Equipment 1 (Research) 5 Pool 1 Success
Allison Intelligence + Computers + Equipment 1 (Research) 6 Pool 2 Success
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 24, 2015 18:48:35 GMT -5
Long hours searching wore on Allison, her brain working constantly. Even her usually chipper and chatty attitude started to disappear into silence and even grumpiness near the end as each thread lead either to dead ends or esoteric myths and half-gibberish. The quality of her seat didn't do much for her mood either, the bed was hard and didn't soften with time.
Nearly ready to give up when something finally resolved itself closer to earth. Of course it was an ocean away, but still it was something. "Shanghai!" She practically shouted. "...What the hell did he want with Shanghai?" The follow up was almost immediate as she went from joy at her success to confusion over what that success actually meant.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 25, 2015 11:22:45 GMT -5
A PLACE WHERE THINGS AREN'T WHAT THEY SEEM eternity to haunt your dreams Alex didn't share her sisters initial enthusiasm, instead staring dryly up from her pile of notes, blinking wearily as she attempted to decipher the clue as well. "Okay, so what does Japan have to do with Portland?" she asked. Geography wasn't her strong suit. Allison had all that she needed to figure out Tiberiu's interest in Portland, however. The notes of the underground, or rather the Underworld, and Shanghai. A quick Google search would reveal their destination.
Friday, October 9th, 2015. 5:45 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 25, 2015 11:44:48 GMT -5
"China." Allison corrected, eyes still on the screen as she tried to determine for herself what exactly the city had to do with anything. Clicking through a few of her tabs, and closing several along the way, she ran a quick search of google. "...And nothing apparently. Here check this out."
Turning the laptop to give Alex a better view, she had a wikipedia page open. "The Shanghai tunnels. The run under the downtown area here in Portland. This has to be his hideout or... or something. His uh... diagonal alley?" She seemed proud of the find, even if she had failed the reference.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 28, 2015 11:18:19 GMT -5
IT'S GETTING DARKER NOW and all you hear are lullaby Alex made a face as she studied the Wikipedia article, caught right on the edge of understanding, like there was something hidden underneath the surface of all the information before her. Then it hit her like a sack of bricks, and she made a stunned expression almost as if it had actually physically happened. "The Tunnels!" she exclaimed, like it all made sense now. "Last time I was in Portland, a couple of friends I made liked to sneak around in them, show off the dead drops and stuff. It was kind of spooky, but really cool. There was this one underground bar that they turned into this sick clubhouse," she explained, catching herself in her rambling and steering herself in the right direction. "They host tours for the tunnels, but there's a few other entrances around the city that are sealed up. Or are supposed to be sealed up." Her grin was practically infectious.
"If I was a Dark Lord of the Sith, I'd totally make my hideout in those tunnels. Right under the noses of the Rebel Alliance." The real question was which one of them was Han and which one was Chewie? Alex fancied herself a Luke Skywalker, in all honesty.
Friday, October 9th, 2015. 5:46 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 28, 2015 12:15:13 GMT -5
"Exactly!" Allison was clearly caught up in the excitement of the discovery. "I mean... I think so? Wouldn't the Rebels be the ones hiding under the Empire? That's the whole.... Death Star point, right?" Her geek credit always slipped away around her geek encyclopedia of a sister.
Shaking her head, Allison turned the laptop back toward her. "But you know these tunnels? So that means we can find him and his secret lair! This is perfect." The exhilaration of her success had her optimistically leaping right to achieving their end goal.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 28, 2015 12:51:17 GMT -5
IT'S A LONG WAY HOME AND ALL I SEE IS DARKNESS an angel in a dark dress don't you leave me here She chose not to burst her sister's bubble, considering that she was right, even if that made them out to be the Empire and Tiberiu the Rebel Alliance. She was kind of okay with it, though. She always fancied herself a Darth Vader as a second choice, right next to Luke Skywalker. "Oh hell yeah I know those tunnels." Alex's memory was notorious for being like a steel trap. Or steal trap. In that terrible memory goblins were able to steal her important memories, and things like what she ate for breakfast, but that one thing someone said two years ago, and all the sights and smells that were associated with it, those were in there for good. In other words Alex could remember things very well, and sh could forget things really well, too.
"No time like the present. Grab your coat, we're going witchhunting." The grim realization began to dawn on her in that moment, the realization that Tiberiu was an evil man, but a man all the same. They were hunting him down, and they would have to put him down. Someone who could make buildings explode wouldn't stay in prison for long, and that's assuming they could convince the police to arrest him in the first place. At least Alex was able to come to terms with putting down that terrible man.
Friday, October 9th, 2015. 5:46 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 28, 2015 12:59:33 GMT -5
Allison blinked, looking from her laptop to her sister before nodding and closing it over. "Right! Watch out Tiberiu, the A team is on you now." Sliding off the bed, Allison went over to where her stuff had been dumped to gather up her coat.
While she may have prided herself on being the cool head for her and her sister, and the one who kept them out of trouble she had never actually been good at thinking ahead. Deep down, she was a follower to her sister Alex and historically only brought up the potential consequences when it was already too late. Unlike her sister, the grim realities hadn't yet set in for her. It was time to go find the man who had screwed them, that was the full depth of her plan.
"Ready?" She asked, hand already on the doorknob to their room.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 28, 2015 13:21:36 GMT -5
IT'S A LONG WAY HOME AND ALL I SEE IS DARKNESS i'm in a sea of darkness so don't you leave me here Alex made some flourishing gesture, making a show out of things as they left the motel. She locked the door behind them and climbed into the driver's seat of the truck, coaxing it to life with a few key turns. Her truck wasn't in tip top condition, not after it had suffered a number of accidents. There was damage to the exterior, little bumps and a lot of scratches, but it didn't look too bad. Just well-driven. It was the rust around the bumper and lower edges of the truck that made it seem cheapened, and yet despite all that it fit Alex well. A rugged woman in heart and spirit, still kicking and screaming.
"If I were him, I'd make one of those secret bars be my base camp," she mused aloud, working the plan in the back of her head as she drove out of the motel parking lot. They had some time to theorize a plan, and there were three good entrances that Alex could think of to get into the Shanghai Tunnels. The only issue was that they were looking for someplace Alex had never been. A secret within the secret tunnels. Alex brought up the fair point that if there was a wizard hiding a secret wizard hidey-hole, he'd probably work some spellwork or do something to keep it from being discovered from anyone who did't know the password. Or there just might be some traps that would burn them to a crisp.
Grim thoughts, grim thoughts.
Regardless of their pessimistic, or Allison's possible optimistic, outlooks and theories, eventually Alex pulled into an abandoned parking lot, right beside a tall chainlink basketball court. The area was run down and could only be described as ghetto, but it seemed oddly appropriate for having a secret entrance to a secret human cargo smuggling operation.
As usual Alex was the first out of the truck, but she hung around the driver side door while she waited for Allison to get out. "The entrance is right over there," she said lazily, gesturing towards a red brick building covered in tags and somewhat impressive graffiti art. There was a green monster with a very large mouth and massive eyes making an exaggerated screaming face at a similar looking monster, only this one was purple and long, thick eyelashes and wore a bra.
When Allison wasn't looking, Alex leaned back into the truth and fished a shoebox out from underneath her seat. Inside were some worldly possessions that were deeply personal to her, but there was also a gun, a small caliber handgun that she was careful to tuck away into her pants, then cover up with her jacket.
"I just hope the lock hasn't changed, its been a few years."
Friday, October 9th, 2015. 6:10 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 28, 2015 13:32:48 GMT -5
Allison was only a few steps behind her sister from the moment they left their room until they were in the truck and on their way. "What's this about bars? They have bars in their secret tunnels? Wouldn't those be a bit uh... populated for a hidden lair?"
"Well..." She started, considering their options, "Bars have people we can try and talk to, and if there's a password it's probably in his notes somehow. Or a hint of it would be. Or something. The point is, if there's anyone out there who can find this wizard's secret wizard hole it's us."
Eventually Alex pulled them into an abandoned basketball court, and she slid took in the sights of graffiti as she came around to her sister's side of the truck. When Alex gestured to the entrance she started making her way over to it, not immediately realizing that her sister wasn't behind her and only turning back when her sister mentioned a lock. "...If it has you can just do your brand of magic to get us in though, right?" It had worked when all this madness started, and she at least had the presence of mind to know that her sister's less scrupulous skills would be useful.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 28, 2015 13:44:58 GMT -5
SO DON'T YOU LEAVE ME HERE so don't you leave me here With a sigh and a small shake of her head, Alex took the time to clarify and educate her sister during the drive to the Shanghai Tunnel entrance. "There aren't any bars, not anymore. Back during prohibition times the tunnels were used for more than just smuggling people and drugs. People made entire rooms into secret, underground bars. Now they're all dried up, but one of 'em could've been converted into a lair," she mused.
Back to the present Alex shrugged as she approached the building's back door. "Not all locks are the same, and some are easier to pick than others," she explained, settling in beside the building's door. "Besides, you know what's easier to do than picking a lock? Using the key." With a smug grin Alex jingled her keyring, which had a rather impressive amount of keys on it. Alex always claimed she was a collector, and in a way she was. When she found a stray key on the side of the street, she always picked it up and added it to her key-ring. It rarely happened, but it still happened nevertheless.
Friday, October 9th, 2015. 6:12 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 28, 2015 14:08:46 GMT -5
Allison stared down at the keyring in some surprise, "Wait.... what? You mean that you actually know what all those keys are actually used for?" Her gaze moved off the ring to her sister with a questioning look. She was clearly curious, even if she wasn't going to voice the question of where Alex got them, or how she figured out their use.
"I suppose this is where you lead the way then?" She said instead, flourishing to the entry and its lock.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Nov 6, 2015 23:58:08 GMT -5
PASS ME THAT LOVELY LITTLE GUN my dear, my darling one Alex blinked, giving her sister an incredulous look. Two for two now she was wrong, taking everything Alex said by face value and not putting much more thought into it beyond a literal interpretation. Sometimes that was good for their relationship, mostly when Alex had to convince her sister of something and didn't want to spend forever talking in circles about it. But in situations like these it really made her squint her eyes and clench her fists, her mind screaming "you dense motherfucker". "I couldn't tell you where half of these keys belong," she admitted, giving the key ring a quick jingle for emphasis. "I just have the same key from the last time I was here. A couple of friends of mine trusted me with a copy," she explained with a shrug, showing the key in question. It looked like a simple padlock key, and as she led her sister to the graffiti stained door she saw it was sealed with just that. A simple padlock, though it was rusted and the rubber base was dried out and stripping away, covered in cracks where it had likely frozen over from moisture more than a couple of times.
"Holy shit, it is the same one!" With a laugh Alex wiggled the key into the padlock and gave a twist. Or at least she attempted to, but the casual try at the gesture was met with a thick layer of rust in resistance. She had to grab the padlock and twist the key hard to get it to release, and even then she was careful not to twist too hard, fearing she might snap the key in her attempt to just get in.
All in all it probably would have been easier to just take a brick and snap the rusted padlock off, but hey, when you've got the key you ought to use it.
Friday, October 9th, 2015. 6:13 PM.
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