ic Room of Danger (fifth edition)

[EternalPhoenix]

A contact still on the force had passed on a hot tip about a missing little girl. And so here Mindjumper (former police officer, current professional superhero) found himself seated on a couch in a small apartment. A young woman (younger than he was, which was saying something considering she was the mother of the missing girl) serving him his preferred beverage. Her name was..wait, what was her name again? The world seemed completely unreal for a second, and even after that had passed something was still…off. At any rate, missing girl to find. Distraught young mother in front of him.

[Thogphog]

It was too early for this. When the informant at the station said she was young, Jon expected his age. Though the scan of her mind said 21. Her child was... ok, she was a very young mother. She was who she was saying she was.  Any more clues would work by talking.

 

They shook hands. She was a short sprite, her mind saw her as a pretty young thing. Though she was distraught. And here we was in a dark blue costume with a sword sheathed at his side. "Ms Lance," he said solemnly, "I know this is going to hurt to talk about." His voice was less gritty than usual. Half way between his real speaking tone and his costumed tone. He had to keep the identity safe, but he wasn't about to freak her out. "First off, I need to know if any one you know would do this. Friends or family members with debts?" He hated going for the heart that early. But it was a pertinent question. Most crimes like this were committed by someone close to the victim. Though he couldn't rule out a random criminal. this was that kind of town.

[EternalPhoenix]

Lana Lance (Mindjumper didn’t so much remember as suddenly know her name) visibly rocked back on her heels. It was almost as if Mindjumper had slapped her. “N-no. I told the policeman there’s no one. We just moved out here a month ago.” She sniffled slightly and joined him on the couch. It was the only place to sit in the small living room. “I gotta work two jobs to afford this place, but my Tess goes to a good school.” Her accent had a certain Western twang to it. Mindjumper’s contact had said she was from Wisconsin. Bedlam, probably. Which would explain how she thought the Fens (this was the Fens, wasn’t it?) was a decent neighborhood to raise a kid in. “I don’t have any family left. It’s just me and Tess.” She wavered a moment, almost breaking down but keeping it together. She was pretty tough, as these things went. “I hate leaving her alone after school, but I gotta work or I can’t make the rent. She’s in first grade, my Tess.” She jumped up. “You want to see her first report card? Her teacher says she’s so smart. I’ll find it.” There was a kind of desperate pride in her words as she took a couple of steps to a shelving unit made of cheap particle board, painted to look like wood. There wasn’t much in it. A photo album, a few battered paperbacks…but it and everything else in this tiny apartment was meticulously cleaned. Not a speck of dust or grain of dirt to be found.