[Day 2, LM, Open] The Path of Destruction

[Uri-el]

Malik did not consider himself the world's greatest detective by any means, but the fact of the matter was that a dangerous lady operating with planning and foresight (laying bombs and what have you), was operating out in the world. That could not be permitted to continue. Hovering high over last night's crime scene, he considered his options.

He could follow the trail she left in flight. That might be challenging. Powerful and tough she might have been, but he hadn't noticed her breaking through the pavement or crashing through buildings on her way.

He could examine the wreckage of the building for remains of the bomb. That would do him no good, but there were others at the University who might have the technological expertise to learn something from it.

He could try to learn who the gangs were. The rivals to the iron woman might have some idea of their opposition. Again, not his primary virtue, but a possibility.

He began slowly to descend, eventually alighting on the rubble. The bomb was the smart play, he decided. Then the trail. If it went cold, then he could ask Bea or Galatea or perhaps Thousand Miles (he was not sure about that person. He reached for clubbing awfully quickly.) to accompany him to ask questions of the gangs.

Slowly, but methodically, he began his search.

Investigation to try to find bomb remains. | 1d20+4 ⇒ 6

It was not super effective.

[Dapper Dog]

An older man out for a walk stopped to look at the Angel and then said in Amharic, “Are you an Angel?” His skin was craggy and curly white-gray hair. He had at his side a large mixed-bred dog. It sat quietly and looked at the Angel as well.

[Uri-el]

Not able to speak Amharic, Malik replied in Coptic. "I am sorry; I do not speak your language. Would you please repeat your question?" And then again in Arabic, and finally in English, looking just a bit more sheepish (or as sheepish as a fiery being from the heavens can appear) each time.

[Dapper Dog]

A woman stepped out from the shadows, it looks like she was doing what Malik was doing investigating. She looks to be of Malaysian descent, with various tattoos across her arms. She said in accented Arabic, “He does not understand, but he thinks you are a biblical Angel. The baseline is simply impressed with you.”

“He probably wants you to bless him, or something.”

[Uri-el]

Malik raised an eyebrow at her referring to this man as 'the baseline.' That sent a certain signal, and it rankled.

He turned back to the man, speaking Coptic, as one should when discussing religious matters. "I do not know one way or the other, but I suspect not." He reached out to touch the man on the shoulder, as a friend might. "I hope that all will be well with you."

Then he turned back to the strange lady, speaking Arabic once more. "And you are?"

[Dapper Dog]

“You can call me Zara, Uri-el, right? From Alexandria? How is that whole angel vibe working for you?” she responded in Arabic. “Or is that why you are here, looking to branch out, make a name for yourself working for the UNJE?”

She knelt down and picked up some rubble, “Congratulations all the same, this could have been much worse for the baselines without your help.”

[Uri-el]

"I am Uri-el, yes. I am no longer certain what I am looking for, except the people behind this explosion. Events have overtaken my ambitions, such as they were. Do you know something about this explosion?"

[Dapper Dog]

“I know that it happened, and that the woman you are looking for is a baseline cyborg enhanced by the Brass Orchid to do their dirty work. Assholes the lot of them. The question I want to ask is why, I saw the vigil and realized the truth. This was a distraction, the real attack was there but too many eyes at the moment, probably even for my scrying,” she admitted.

“But here, not so much, the cops don’t waste time on the slums. It’s amusing how petty baselines can be to their own kind,” she said with a rueful smile.

She stopped at where the entryway probably was and said, “It looks like it started here.”

[Uri-el]

"The Brass Orchid." He repeated it to himself to remember later. He picked his way over to her position. "The bomb?" he asked. Then: "Does your organization also have a name?" Names were useful. They sent a message. Malik had a quiet suspicion about the ideology of any group Zara might be a part of, of course, but confirmation is key in these situations. When you can get it.

[Dapper Dog]

“Are you trying to figure out if I’m a friend or foe,” she teased. “You need a category so you can adjust your posture? That’s how they divide us, us against them. It’s far more complicated than that if you are willing to look deeper than the money.”

[Uri-el]

Malik considered that for a moment. "That is part of it. But I do see the shallowness in most of the ideologies on offer, and I will reserve judgment, however much it conflicts with my 'vibe.' What do you see, here?"

[Dapper Dog]

Malik considered that for a moment. "That is part of it. But I do see the shallowness in most of the ideologies on offer, and I will reserve judgment, however much it conflicts with my 'vibe.' What do you see, here?"

Zara said, “I see the the cruelty of baseline humanity, but if you want a more thorough assessment then I need to speak with the spirits. This wound in the urban landscape has wounded them as well and I can call on their memories to better understand their suffering.”

She begins chanting ancient sutras in Malay and her form glimmers with her ‘spiritual’ energy as spirits rise out of the ground, they take on the forms of stylized ideas, perhaps demons, and amorphous things swirling around her as she reaches into the past.

She then opened her eyes as the spirits howled around and said, “I see the bomb being delivered earlier in the day, an unsuspecting package. Came through a courier service, Vandelay Couriers. It was here long before the attack. So this was a pre-planned distraction. But perhaps they did not account for students wanting to play hero?”

She opened her eyes and the spirits vanished from around her. She said, “Now the question is why the need for a distraction.”

[Uri-el]

It was a simple thing for Malik to ignore the implicit criticism in 'playing hero.' She needed to reinforce her credentials as a more experienced operative, the superior between the two of them, and it would gain him nothing to argue.

"The easy answer is to facilitate the attack on the beach, but it is possible that that was as much a distraction as this. It was similarly dramatic and would have been similarly lethal if we had not turned from the pursuit. I suspect something more subtle occurred at the same time, elsewhere. Something worth the expense."

[Dapper Dog]

The woman was probably not much older than Uri-el, potentially though age could be difficult with Elites.

She pulled out her phone to text someone and said, “That could be worth following up on. So is this like your homework assignment? Extra Credit, if you catch the bad guys?”

“If they are blowing up buildings I doubt subtle is in their playbook, but I am not going to rule it out. If the Brass Orchid are involved we have to be real careful, they may be assholes but they are well financed and dangerous assholes.”

“With the kind of money to keep Elite mercenaries and enforcers on their payroll.” She looked up from her phone and said, “You serious about this investigation?”

[Uri-el]

He smirked. "Yes. I imagine that the program would prefer that I sign selfies all day." The word 'selfie' felt ugly and invasive in the stream of Arabic, as though Uri-el could not bear to articulate it. "But I believe that this is important. Who is we?" He asked directly, nodding at the cellphone.

[Dapper Dog]

“We, is you and me, I am not sure I feel comfortable revealing my friends. The boots on the ground, so to speak will be you and me,” she said, glancing at his wings.

“At the moment I think we have a vested interest to work together. My friend is just arranging a meeting with the Brass Orchid, want in or am I going solo?”

[Uri-el]

Malik turned that over in his mind. Just like that, hmm? "You are not going solo."

The information was too valuable. He did not have 100% confidence in his ability to escape if the situation turned sour; he was not ignorant of the risk, but he was unwilling to lose a link to this alternative power structure so quickly. Not that he trusted her, overmuch. But I am amazed how readily the "assholes" picked up your friend's call.

"Where is the meet?"

[Dapper Dog]

“Tomorrow at Broa Tower, 8th floor at [Day 3 - LA], I would suggest wearing a suit but honestly the Biblical Angel vibe is going to kill. We go in together, and we leave together. We play it cool and we should not have to fight anyone. You can be cool, right? Not one of those I have to fight all injustice everywhere no matter how small types?” she asked.

"Obviously, just you. No surprise buddies."

[Uri-el]

Malik turned that over in his mind. "We all have limits, I think, but I will restrain the better angels of my nature for the sake of information."

[Dapper Dog]

“Sense of humor,” she said with an amused smile. “I hope you won’t leave me hanging.”

She waved her hand and created a portal in space of orange red energy, a tear in space. She added, “See you tomorrow.”

Unless stopped she stepped through, the portal closing behind her.