The Usual Place

**MichaelH** · Feb 4th, 2013 07:08 PM

Marietta was bundled up when she got out of her car, parked about a bit more than a block away from the Ace of Spades. As she closed her door and locked it, she regretted that she only had her shotgun hidden in the trunk of the car. She was between pistols at the moment.

It wasn't that she didn't think the area was safe--this was Union territory. Marietta thought that there was even a decent chance she could leave her car unlocked and it would be fine when she got back. Still, she didn't believe in taking chances--so she locked the car, and wished for a pistol. The weight of it would have been reassuring. Muttering to herself in Spanish about borrowed trouble, Marietta made her way down the street.

She passed the Ace of Spades and turned down an alley, checking that she wasn't followed. Reaching Mama's, she knocked on the door.

OOC

Feb 6th, 2013 03:27 PM

High above Marietta, jutting out from under a long disused fire escape ladder, a surveillance camera tilted to observe the woman below. It wasn't an expensive piece of equipment, but it did just enough to provide a quick examination of whoever might be lingering in the alleyway.

Presumably someone also peered through the peephole, on eye level with the Union member because a couple of minutes after Marietta knocked, the door was pulled open with a painful squeak.

"You want a coffee or something?" was the greeting she received. The door was pulled open to reveal the aging Cathy, former waitress/owner of "Mama's" before Hell broke lose and she found it necessary to wander around with a shotgun on her own damned premises.

She still kept the interior in tip-top condition; because going out killing this monster and that was no reason to fall back on untidiness. Cathy kept the gun with her as she rounded the counter, and over to the espresso machine. The room already smelt of coffee, suggesting someone else had been indulging in caffeine recently too.

OOC

**MichaelH** · Feb 7th, 2013 11:40 AM

Marietta waited patiently for the door, taking quick glances up and down the alley while she did. Union territory or not, she had seen enough movies about bad things happening to people in alleys to make her uncomfortable. And that was without being a Hunter, and knowing the sorts of things that stalked the streets.

When the door open she entered gratefully, nodding to Mama. "Coffee sounds good to me," she admitted, Mama's gun making her even more aware of the lack of her own. "Què pasa?"

Feb 8th, 2013 07:53 PM

The door must have been on spring hinges, because the moment Marietta was through and no longer holding the door open, it closed fully with a dull clang. It sounded loud against the oddly relaxed interior of the building.

Cathy waved a hand over to the long table in the centre of the room, as she began to prepare a fresh bath of coffee. From beneath the counter she pulled out a half-used bottle of whiskey as a matter of course, and set it next to her own chipped blue mug.

"Well, I hope we didn't pull you away from anything important," the aging woman called over, injecting a little small talk just to be polite.

**MichaelH** · Feb 11th, 2013 12:01 PM

MArietta shrugged as she took her seat. "Not really, no," she said, looking around the place. "Just working at the shop. Things have been pretty quiet lately, which is good." As much as she hoped that one day a Hunt would put her on the trail of the thing that had killed her father, Marietta still couldn't bring herself to hope for more monsters that preyed on mankind to show up. A quiet week as a Hunter was a good week.

Feb 11th, 2013 06:10 PM

"A week of quiet is a sure fire indication we're gonna be fucked up pretty soon then," Cathy shouted back, over the whistling of the kettle and the coffee machine. Not that she intended to put a dampener on things; in fact, the laugh that came after sounded oddly amused.

"You heard any word on the street about suspicious activity on the warehouse front lately?"

Wits + Streetwise, please.

**MichaelH** · Feb 12th, 2013 01:04 PM

2 suxx. I included her local Franklin area specialty, since I assume this is her turf. If not, the fifth die wasn't a success anyway.

Feb 14th, 2013 06:14 PM

As Marietta thought on what she's heard about the warehouses lately, she recalled that there had been mention of crates being moved at odd hours of the very early morning when passers-by - and security, are not around. Rumours are that something illegal is being moved in and out of that area.

**MichaelH** · Feb 16th, 2013 01:13 PM

Marietta thought for a moment. "I've been hearing a few things about the warehouses," she said. "Sounds like someone's been moving goods illegally. Haven't heard any rumors about what--I'm not about to go get my ass shot for some bootleg DVD's." She shrugged. "But, I've been meaning to look into it. There's always a chance it could be drugs, or something worse--either way, we don't want it in our neighborhood. Why?" she asked. "Got any rumors yourself?"

Feb 18th, 2013 08:46 PM

"Maybe so," Cathy replied from across the counter. She tugged from the bottom cabinet a fresh white mug just as the water finished boiling, and she continued to speak as she prepped the hot beverages. Into her own cup a couple of drops of Whiskey went into the bottom.

"A few months ago, before he was KIA, a contact of ours in New York sent word that traffickers were heading our way. They dealt in body parts. He suspected it wasn't your usual medical fare either, if you know what I mean." A derisive snort came out and the aging woman shook her head vigorously. "Idiot got it into his head that he could play the undercover part, and got himself shot for it."

The steamed milk was poured in, and her concentration returned to the coffee making.

"Keep an ear out, first off. In case any other Hunters we're not aware of mention it. Put your own feelers out," she instructed, and this time there was a wariness to her voice. It wasn't nice when a fellow Hunter's candle burned out completely, even if it was their own foolhardiness that brought them to their final end.

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-02-12 13:04:09		Marietta rolls 5 to rolls Wits + Streetwise (with local area specialty) (10 Again)		8, 9, 5, 1, 6		2 successes

The Usual Place

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