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Golgotha Tenement Blues IC


angrydurf

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Judex stood in the corner closed the to door, almost lounging against the walls there, a slight smile on his face. He kept up a facade of a jovial "hobo dude" for the sake of the children, and showed the Father an appropriate amount of respect. In short, he stayed himself.

 

Inside, he was concerned about Strix. Not just in the sense of "I hope he doesn't trip an alarm and get swarmed", but even more so in the "I hope he doesn't succumb to the monster inside him", with a dash of "I hope he doesn't lose himself to his guilt and despair". Despite the wide array of differences between them, Judex felt a sort of kinship with the bird-themed blood-sucker. Probably their religious upbringing, and that both took it seriously even today. Also, Lord forgive him, but he was a bit jealous of how mobile Strix was. Sure would make patrols easier...

 

Outwardly, he continued to tunelessly hum and watch Rosa and Liam work, idly wondering how crowded things felt for them. He was one person, maybe one and a quarter depending on your perspective, and even then his own head felt crowded sometimes. 

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Mister Strix found a perch in sight of Frankie's flophouse before Judex and Thorne left her office, so he had a bit of a wait ahead of him. Unfortunately for him, that gave him time to reflect.

 

I haven't come that close to losing control since the day I tried to face The Sun. I thought I was making so much progress since we came up with this "outlet". But one junkie was all it took to get under my skin, to send me sliding right back down. I almost killed, again. The bare-knuckle evangelist and the doctor (of what, exactly?)...maybe, after this is over, I should let them remember, clearly. They probably don't know how to kill me, any more than I do, but it seems like they could stop me. And they might have to.

 

Edited by Grumblefloof
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It didn't take long to acquaint the priest with the offices defenses and his kind demeanor seemed to put the teens as much at ease as could be expected.  He saw to it they had food and began to usher Judex and Thorne from the office, "If I know our mutual friend he likely needs your aid more than he'd admit."  he suggested quietly and sighed a hint of sadness in his tone, "I'll see to the children you see to the rest."  he intoned and turned back to do exactly that.

 

When They arrived at the flophouse 'Frankie' operated out of little had changed from when Strix had arrived.  From the coming and going of customers it seemed the dealer was in residence at least.  It was less clear if he was yet aware of the debacle his hired muscle had made of the attack on the tenement though the timer on that was likely running out if it had not already expired.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Doctor Rosa Thorne

Rosa looked up at the flophouse with the keen eye of someone use to looking for subtle clues in the environment. Nothing seemed to need her specific talents, but for now she was curious enough to see this to the end. Liam might not be happy watching things through her eyes, but for now he let her have the moment. After a few more moments of looking at the place she turned to her current partner in crime, so to speak.

 

“So any words of wisdom before we looking further into this Father?”

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Judex had been more than gracious with the semi-retired priest, thanking him more than once for his assistance even as they ensured the children were as safe as possible. On the way to the flophouse, he'd been...not quite withdrawn, but definitely quieter and more reflective. When they arrived at the flophouse and came upon Strix's perch, Judex just moved up and observed things for a couple of minutes. Then, Doctor Thorne spoke and asked a question. For a moment longer, Judex was silent, before he spoke, his voice not much above a whisper. 

 

"We need to move soon. The mangy wolf below thinks himself a lion, a lord of this jungle. He has sent his flea-bitten pack to do his dark deeds, and thinks them victorious or nearly so. We sheepdogs are here to disabuse him of that notion. But we cannot linger, or he will call more mongrels to his defense, or perhaps flee through some dank hole we cannot see. We need to be swift yet cautious, my friends. I think we have the strength, Lord willing, but it must be spent soon."

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  • 5 weeks later...

The man in white didn't move his head to look at either of his companions as he addressed them. He continued instead to stare at the flophouse. "Wait outside. I can get in without anyone seeing me. I'll figure out which dirtbag is our dirtbag, and I'll restrain him. The rest don't matter. Let them run. Come in once the screaming starts."

 

Strix dropped down to the ground, landing as always without a sound, and brazenly walked in through the front door. No one reacted to his presence. He watched and listened as he moved from room to room for any context clues distinguishing "Frankie" from the rest of the junkies.

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Inside the dilapidated tenement it was clear the maintenance had long ago been abandoned, perhaps the entire building, Most of the apartments were missing doors and piled high with assortments of worn and disturbingly stained furnishings where adicts could collapse to escape reality until their high ran out.  Strix passed unnoticed through the halls but for one strangely insightful junkie who seemed to think him a hallucination or spectre.

 

It didn't take long to find the spider at the heart of this web of vice.  Frankie was a skeletally thin man of his late twenties with the sores and track marks to show he did not heed the advice not to sample the product but was at least at the moment sober.  He sat in one of hte few actually furnished apartments awaiting the next influx of desperation to feed the cofferes of his masters.  Paraphernalia of myriad intoxicants spread out before him on a large metal desk with neat stacks of product nearby.  At the door two heavies with less evidence of being users themselves stood ostensible guard but seemed bored and distracted not noticing Strix whatsoever. 

 

Just after Strix entered the room a scraggly teen slid in breathing heavy as if having run  a distance eyeing the money and drugs with envy.  Frankie stood startled and slapped his partner of the moment on the ass as he sent her out and ordered the doors closed apparently expecting the teen.  As soon as the door shut the younger criminal blurted out his message, "Your guys got taken out by some kinda freaks."  he panted, "Boss says he's gonna deal with it personally since you fuck'd it up again."  Clearly the kid hoped to this failure would see a loyalist like himself rise to be king of Frankies tiny pond.

 

Outside minutes after Strix left Judex and Dr. Thorne would see the same teen nearly bowl over a derelict staggering out of the door in his hurry to deliver warning or news.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

Doctor Rosa Thorne

Magic was never quite the same from moment to moment but you got use to the ebbs and flows of magic around you. This time it was that strange feeling you get when someone was staring at you from behind, only a thousand times more powerful. She lent in to whisper into the ear of Judex.

 

“Someone is watching us from somewhere else. This is something that takes a little more skill than common gangsters and thugs.”

 

As dangerous as it might make things it also more than much more interesting.

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Judex's body betrayed no reaction to this information; he continued to sit there, perched and watching the hideout in front of them. It took over a minute before he spoke, long enough that the good Doctor might wonder if he heard her.

 

"The Lord is always watching, but sometimes wolves and lions prowl at the gates."

 

Wait what does that mea-

 

"We cannot alter the land about us, but we can be wary for the thieves that come to kill and destroy, eve as we seek to aid our fellow hound of justice."

 

He looked to her with a smirk on his face.

 

"Have we any option but springing the trap and trusting the Lord and the skills we bear?"

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As soon as the door shut the younger criminal blurted out his message, "Your guys got taken out by some kinda freaks."  he panted, "Boss says he's gonna deal with it personally since you fuck'd it up again."



"We're going to deal with him first."

 

The glaring black eyes of the man in white appeared in front of Frankie's own as Strix stopped concentrating on forcing everyone to ignore his presence and focused the full might of his will upon the drug dealer. Strix loomed over Frankie, leaning in so close that the man could have felt Strix's breath upon his face, if Strix still breathed. Frankie could see his own breath, since the room was so cold, though he hadn't consciously noticed it until now.

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The toughs at the door had barely paid the kid any attention as he burst past to deliver his warning, or perhaps condemnation, and continued to lounge against the doorframe with the attention one expected of those relegated to guarding the slightly more profitable junkies in the real bosses empire, basically none.

 

The runner shrieked as Strix appeared, nearly falling over himself in his effort to get out of the door entangling himself with the thugs as they turned to enter at the commotion.  He eventually managed to get past them and begin to flee, the guards pulled guns from their waistbands and leveled them at strix once free of the fleeing teen.  "Drop him freak!"  one ordered as he drew a bead on the man in whites broad back.

 

Frankies junkie defenses hadn't a chance against Strixs mesmerism and he sat in his seat slack jawed as when strix had entered pliable ot the vampires commands.

 

Moments after entering the teen would be seen fleeing in clear terror screaming something about monsters come for them.  The building seemed stirred up by the kids cries but no leadership was available to turn that energy to a purpose.  Some came to the door either to flee or perhaps watch for attacks others hid or went for weapons.  Judex and Thorne might with some care manage to sneak in with the milling listless junkies going all directions though the volatile situation was primed to explode in violence if they were discovered.

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The man in white kept glaring unblinkingly at Frankie. He didn't react to the guards or the fleeing youth at all.

 

"Call off your dogs" he growled. "If bullets hurt me, then your other guys would still be able to walk. If they shoot at me, they'll just hit you, and everyone else in the next room. Then I'll have to take those guns and feed them to you. You're closed for the night. Now tell me what's waiting for us at the warehouse by the docks, who hired you to kill those kids, everything."

 

Edited by Grumblefloof
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Judex smirked as the scene below them erupted into chaos.

 

"The Lord provides and opportunity knocks. Shall we answer the door of our fate?"

 

Without waiting for an answer, he scrambled to the fire escape. His movements were almost shockingly smooth; while not quite "cat-like", he certainly had a grace that his frame would belie! It took him only moments to reach the ground, and at that point everything else about his manner came into play. The rough look, the slightly shabby clothing, the odd hair and long beard, they all came together with his suddenly-changed demeanor to help him slip through the milling addicts without much issue. He smiled and nodded and acted like a man high on something other than just "life". 

 

He may as well have walked through fog for all the resistance he got. It wasn't long before he found himself inside, and moseyed on over to one side of the...scene...that was going on, trying to make himself visible to Strix without being immediately obvious about it in this circle of potential violence. 

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Doctor Thorne

As she watched Judex clambered up the fire escape she brief had an inner conversation with Liam, as much as she hated to admit it right now he was probably best able to help in the situation.

 

“Oh go on then, have your fun!”

 

Liam Conner

With his bulk he quickly made his way down the fire escape, but he’d also had enough grace to do it without making any real noise. He’d done similar things during his time in the forces. Likewise he was light on his feet allowing him to move pass the crowd without being seen, until he was besides Judex again.

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"DO WHAT HE SAYS!"  Frankie bellowed the order as the guards briefly hesitated before slowly lowering their weapons.  "Now get out I'll deal with this."  he added earning unconvinced looks from the thugs but their eventual obedience.  Word of Frankies sterling loyalty would get around, that was a certainty.  Liam and Judex arrived moments after the guards left and could over hear muttered curses and resolute determination to get out of the flop house and see if they could get back in with the Mara.

 

With the room empty of his fellow criminals whatever limited resolve Frankie had left him and he began to spill all he knew.  "I'm dead is what you mean."  he grumbled, "I don't have a name."  he replied flatly,  "All I know is he has the purest shit in this town and isn't with the families."  he slumped back in his chair limp in Strix's grasp.  "Came to me with some, made an offer, I took it."  he shrugged, "I drive my van up to the warehouse, hand off the profits, his guys load the the van and I come back."  Even without Strix's gifts he'd probably have broken, with them he was rattling off what he knew almost mechanically.

 

"He came down here with a couple of his heavies, a duffle bag of guns and a duffle bag of cash and drugs to pay off some guys for the hit."  Frankie droned on.  "I put word out, he had names and pictures from some cop."  He shuddered, "Probably a dead cop."  

 

"Anyway he said they went to the cops about our operation and had to be dealt with."  Frankie seem unbothered by having been instrumental in the hit on the kids.  "He has his heavies around the warehouse, bunch MAX junkies the way they toss the cargo around.  Office in the warehouse with jars of weird ass shit,  safe where he keeps cash and records, we record who and what we sell, one guy fucked it up and they were finding pieces of him for a week."

 

"He's a damn psycho and..."  Frankies eyes grew wide for a moment and he fell silent and began shaking violently and screaming in abject terror before soiling himself and trying to get away from something, something other than Strix it was like he didn't even see the vampire any more.  A moment longer and he slumped eyes open but unfocused and breathing weak insensible to any stimulus, catatonic.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The man in white glanced over his shoulder at Judex and Thorne, then knelt down and reached out to Frankie's neck, checking the junkie's pulse. "Alive. Barely." He rose and turned toward the other two vigilantes. "I've read about things like this, but only a little. I've never seen it firsthand. This whole thing just got a lot more dangerous. It's not just gangbangers anymore. He has power. Enough power to do this. Enough power to think he can stick his middle finger in the Mafia's face. And he's bought himself some cops. I'm going to destroy every scrap of drugs or guns or money I can find in this shithole. Then I'm going to that warehouse to finish this. But I don't expect either of you to follow me."

 

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Doctor Rosa Thorne

As Liam kneeled down his features shifted until Rosa was once again in control, by now she more or less trusted Strix but it didn’t hurt to check on the man’s health. Medicine wasn’t really her thing, but she’d trained herself to a high level to be able to assess potential victims health at a glance.

 

“Liam has this thing about following a case to it’s messy end, and in this case I’m inclined to agree with him! Though we need to know everything that's going on so we can come up with a decent plan.”

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Judex crossed his arms over his chest, a smirk on his face.

 

"I've come all this way already, my fine feathered friend. It would be a shame for me to cut my evening constitutional short. Besides."

 

His grin is a savage thing.

 

"All I'm hearing is that there's someone out there who needs some instruction and wisdom introduced into their life. That's right up my alley!"

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Frankies pulse was rapid and weak, his muscles slack, eyes unfocused but tracking rapidly from side to side almost as if in REM sleep.  With time Dr. Thorne might have been able to break whatever hex had been laid on the gangster, how much that would help at this point remained questionable as was how much he even deserved such succor.

 

Strix was thorough and efficient in his quest and soon the flop house was empty and a twisted mass of broken firearms and paraphernalia sat on the table while the sewers carried away the drugs they had found.  The addicts and few loyalists fled before the man in whites fury scattering into hte surrounding streets and buildings like the vermin they were.  Word would travel, though their real enemy already knew they were coming, what happened here wouldn't matter for him but for those nearby it might mean a few weeks of relative peace before another strongman moved in maybe longer given how thorough the heroes were.  Events like this stuck in the consciousness and criminals were by nature a cowardly and superstitious lot.

 

Arriving at the warehouse it was clear they were expected.  Floodlights spilled over the streets around the warehouse, the fire escapes manned with armed guards in body armor, better armed than most of Bedlams almost vestigial police force.  Not as numerous as the rabble sent after the kids the heroes had faced before, but they moved like trained soldiers and were on high alert.  All the doors were shut tight, likely locked, and at least two guards on each door.  It wasn't exactly a fortress but a frontal assault would also be dangerous and noisey.  

 

Dr. Thorne's senses tuned to the mystical could tell there were protections beyond the mundane as well though exactly what was unclear from her current vantage.

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Doctor Thorne

Rosa looked at the building with a concerned look, the presence of magic suggested that had someone that could channel such power. And these thing suggested someone had spent some time preparing.

 

“There’s some kind of magic around the building I can probably unpick it but it will take time to figure it all out. It up to you but it might be worth a few moments to work out the magics involved, it might be some kind of ward that’ll slow down our progress.”

 

Really she would have lived some time to do the research, but reality hardly ever allowed her any kind of time for this sort of thing.

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"Do it. Whatever you need to do, whatever you can do. We'll watch your back."

 

"In the meantime, we need to take stock of our assets. Like you've seen before, I can cloud people's minds, walk on ceilings, and turn into fog. Worst case scenario, I can just kick the doors down while their bullets tickle what's left of my insides. Even if our aspiring drug kingpin really does have a crystal ball he can use to spy on us and a magical force field around his hideout, I'm confident I can get myself inside, probably undetected. But none of that helps you two. I'm used to working alone. I'm faster and stronger than any gun, but I don't know if either of you are."

 

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Judex stroked his impressive beard thoughtfully.

 

"I am not so fantastical as you are my friend, sad to say. A more regular shepherd am I. For the most part, the blessed angel Uriel granted me a body that's at the top of what Man can achieve. That said..."

 

He gave a sly smile.

 

"I've found I can ensure circumstances work against those with foul intentions at opportune moments. Perhaps more importantly, I can bring forth fear into the hearts of the weak-minded. One person I can do without too much trouble; a group, I can also affect, but I must spend all my concentration doing so."

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Given the time to study the weft and warp of the spells over the warehouse Dr. Thorne was able to make out more of their purpose.  Primarily the building was unfindable, if one did not know where it was, being told by one who knew or similar at least.  A complex spell and almost entirely passive, unlikely to draw attention by even those sensitive to such things.  There were simple wards on the doors, none could pass without alerting the caster without a token at least.  Over the door silver coins had been hastily affixed, a simple charm against some spirits and forms of the undead.

 

The guards too were ensorcelled, possibly protected from mental manipulations or already in the thrall of the caster it was difficult to be certain.   Inside there was power awaiting release though to precisely what end was less certain without getting access to the interior at least.  On the plus side outside those guards present even if they went in loud it was unlikely bystander or others would even notice what was happening to the building until the spells were broken.

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Doctor Rosa Thorne
Rosa studied the magics around the place for a few minutes getting a feel for what had been put in places.

 

“The wards were much as I expected, warn them and stop undead and spirits from entering.” she waved at the entrances to illustrate as she spoke

 

 

“Concealing the place through magic is a surprise, unless we discovered it we wouldn’t have known its location. Also hide what we do inside helpfully.”

 

She mused for a little while longer before adding.

 

“I could break the wards but it’ll take longer, we’re probably better off going in through another entrance. Like maybe the roof?”

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Mister Strix

 

"If the doors are warded against the undead, then I'm not getting through, not without one of you disrupting them first. But I can get us onto that roof, if you don't mind being carried. One at a time, and they might spot us, but I can get us there. I can probably even get one of you safely onto the floor inside, if, again, you don't mind being carried. The guards inside are probably packing the same military-grade hardware as the ones outside. Find cover first thing. If they're brewing and packaging the drugs here, that means a lot of expensive equipment and product they'll hesitate to fire bullets into. That should force them to close in and fight hand-to-hand, where we have the edge."

 

The man in white held out his arms. "Who's first?"

 

 

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