Log:August Events In Investigating

2020/12/02 	 Carpenter Grimm August The Toymaker

1

Dr. Vi Abby, rocking another Goth outfit, comes to the meeting she called with another CSI tech in tow. Or you assume given he's following you. "Just wanted to get us all on board with me assigning August here," she bops him on the shoulder, "as your own personal CSI for this case. He needs to learn the ropes of being on a meta case and I need to focus on stuff the chief CSI considers," and she air quoltes 'more relevant to our overall case load. Meaning I need to go get some CafPow and burn through some case files."

She smiles brightly. "If you have any problems with August, let me know and I start him defragging computers for the practice."

Carpenter raises a brow, but he smiles. "Hey there. I'm Detective Jack Carpenter. This is Grimm."

Carpenter snaps his fingers, "Wait. We've met. The context messed me up. Good to see you again."

Grimm grins to herself a little, both at Jack's recall, and getting to see August in a work setting. At the CBPD of all places!

August smirks, finding both Carpenter & Grimm's faces undoubtably familiar but he plays it professional nonetheless. "Thanks for that glowing introduction, Doctor Abbs." August says cheerfully enough before turning his attention fully to the others. "They won't have any trouble from me. I've got my helpful hat on today." He winks at Grimm and reaches out to shake Carpenter's hand.

"I knew you wouldn't forget me that easily." He says giving a firm but friendly handshake- no crushed bones!

Carpenter shakes August's hand. "Well, we're not entirely sure where to head next. Probably to another location to look for more physical evidence based on what we found at one location. Here's the short version: Three pawn shops and a jewelry store all had things sold to the shop. In each case, the items turned out to be worthless later."

August listens carefully. "Off the top of my head could be a number of things based on that- and in this town I'm probably way off the mark with first guesses." He says after a moment of consideration as he pulls out his smartglasses. They give that telltale shine that they're active as soon as they're level on the bridge of his nose but otherwise give nothing away about what they're being used for.

"So- what kind of things have been sold?" He inquires.

Grimm adds to Jack's comments, "And they're using something that's...I dunno, fae magic-adjacent, and nanites."

Carpenter checks his notes. "Six high end watches at the first pawnshop. Turned out to be broken Mickey Mouse watches. The second, so jewelry, gold and silver, rings and necklaces, all of which turned into cheap costume jewelry. At the the third pawn shop, high end electronics turned into broken gaming consoles. And at the jewelry story, Pierson and Sons, uncut gems turned into glass." He pauses, "Other details: All four places had rumors of being...shady. Even if they weren't actually so. So, we believe our perp is a 'robin hood' personality, but not terribly thorough. Magic was used in some way, which Grimm detected. And nanites were used to mess with the security system at the jewelry shop. The nanites were similar to something the Merry Andrew or the Toymaker worked on. Based on the fingerprint we found on scene, it might be a match ot Merry Andrew, but the M.O. doesn't match. So, we think it might be a clone. Or an alternate reality copy or something."

Carpenter holds up a finger. "Correction. The fingerprint match was between Toymaker and Merry Andrew. Not with the perp. So...not a lead, really. Just a curious footnote more than anything."

Grimm's additions certainly piques August's attention even if he was already invested on multiple levels. "Nanites you say..." He says, raising an eyebrow. "Now we're talking. NOW. WE'RE. TALKING!" He realizes that may have been a little loud and sheepishly looks over his shoulder- his face already turned up apologetically.

"So did you guys get samples or what? I gotta get approved for field work. I wanna find nanites in the field, magic or otherwise. I mean- the magic business doesn't enthuse me, but this just got 10x more interesting nonetheless." He says. He's a talker, but he's already hard at work- he's picked up his hands up into the smartglasses 'airboard reference frame' and is typing away, scanning through recent cases that came over the precinct's Tech Desk.

"That's crazy, Detective. Absolutely crazy. I mean- I've done some reading about manipulating the molecular structure of an object to ... I dunno- for lack of a better term 'oragami' its way into a different shape for a new function giving it a near seamless transition, but sounds is wholly different than that."

He purses his lips. "So you guys got samples right?" He asks. "Maybe we can see if the Archives have somehting of Merry Andrew's on file to give us something to compa- oh. Hmm. Well, still interesting. Maybe someone staking the joint out? Might help to still requisition the file if its in the archive. That way if its's related we can see if there's similar development tree behind them."

Carpenter nods. "We did. The techs already have it and did an analyssi. That's how it was found to be similar to Merry Andrew's work." He checks his notes again. "There were prints found on the site, too. And they're close-ish to the other two. 90% match? Dr. Abby thought soemthign like twins, maybe?"

"Fantastic." August says as he backtracks to find the specific file the analysts would have created and linked to Carpenter's case so he can analyze the tech and see if there is something they missed.

"That's got to rub you the wrong way, right? 90% match... similar development tree with this tech... that's too much to be coincidence, right? Its rubbing me the wrong way that's for sure. Is Merry Andrew in custody? Do we even know if he has a twin- maternal or otherwise?"

Carpenter shakes his head, "I don't believe he is. And I don't think we know his background. But we do know the Toymaker's real name. Evander McMasters. He's Scottish."

A file pings up in August's mailbox from Dr. Vi Abby. If opened, it reveals three fingerprints, one full and two partials, all of the left pointer finger.

The full fingerprint is marked 'Merry Andrew' and is from one of the few times that CLOWN got booked anywhere (IN New Yorkn City after being caught selling the Brokklyn Bridge). The significant thing about it is what looks like acid or fire burns on the pad of the finger. Nice swirls and loops remain. Some signs of aging which matches with Merry Andrew's appearsance of late 40s to early 50s.

The first partial is marked 'The Toymaker aka 3v@nd3r McM@$t3rs (some file corruption in the name). It had a loopin cut on the pad of the finger. Found on an item supposedly made by the Toymaker. It lacks any real signs of aging. And the whorls and swirls are 91% match for Merry Andrew.

The second partial is marked 'Unknown Subject' found on security transmission case at Pierson and Sons. It has no signs of age, a straight cut, by size new and healing, and its swirls and whorls are also 91% match with the previous two exemplars.

To answer some of the questions, Detective Carpenter can answers that: No, Merry Andrew is at large. Last known location Saahara Deseet. Left a huge X painted on ground and sent image to the Net of himself in a pirate outfit. Treasure found under X: a hastily abandoned marge DEMONhane which apparently was a slave rtrading hub. Also, pritate chedst full of whoppie cushions and rubber chickens.

In addition, it is unknown who Merry Andrew is, his SID is still intact. The CLOWN member known as April Foolmaker is thought to be his wife or lover. And another memeber, Spotlight, may be his daugther given she's been know to call him 'Daddy' in a non-seductive way.

August saves the files to his smartglasses so he can connect them to his station for further- and notably, future analysis.

He chuckles as he comes across Merry Andrew's last known position in the file as he correlates datapoints. "This is awful comedy. I mean its funny- but its full of so much cringey glee part of me can't beleive this is an actual case."

Carpenter nods. "That's what makes this current case odd. The M.O. doesn't match. It's clearly not him. It's someone related to Andrew somehow, though."

Carpenter says, "Most of the physical evidence was found at the jewelry store. Now that we have a better idea waht to look for, I figure we can check the pawn shops again with new eyes, so to speak."

Another @mail comes in from Dr Vi Abby to August. "Be sure to ask Ms Grimm about the magic, yeesh, I hate that word, aspects of the case. She knows more about them than Detective Carpenter. PS: Don't hit on her. I think, well, just don't.

"Yeah- that's what makes this case odd." August says facetiously. "You're a little young to be so jaded Detective. THis whole case is odd." He adds as his eyes rapidly read through the technical specs. He uses the software on his glasses to highlight similar lines of code between the two sets of nanites on file as well as any other notable design similarities.

He begins to look impressed as the subtlties of what he's looking at seem to begin to stand out the deeper he goes.

"Oh $#!+. Ha- rookies." August says salaciously. "Looks like someone left a window open for the Toymaker's bug to get into the department's systems..." His tone is very matter-of-fact initially, but as he speaks it sounds more and more like he's taking this as a personal challenge.

He glances up at Dr Vi's message. "Well, too late for that one Doc." He mumbles but otherwise continues on.

"Doctor Abby wants Grimm's expertise on the less explainable aspects of this- which, would be nice. You won't find anyone here who swims in that pool. THis is the tech_division." He says finally- though he's been typing up a storm the whole time.

"Jac- I mean Detective, can you call your boss and let them know his new favorite Tech Jockey just discovered a bug in the system that seems to be eating away at all the info we have on the Toymaker. I'm sending what I found to the Doc- maybe this will be more 'relevant to the case load', but don't worry. She won't slow me down any."

August lets his inner Daemon out to try to stop the virus creeping through the CBPD's systems.

Carpenter nods. "I can let her know." The Captain is his former partner, after all.

August corrects. "Her new favorite Tech Jockey then."

Carpenter sends a quick message to Captain Landry about the tech situation, and that it seems to be...being dealt with.

It seems to be some sort of morphogenic code. It's definitely powered by an expert system as it responds to your initial attempts to catch it but splintering into sefearl different peices which then dive deep into the database. You suspect it's going to try something direct and damaging rather than slow corruption now.

Detective Carpenter's PDA rings with an incoming call. The number is blocked.

Carpenter raises a brow and answers his PDA, "Detective Carpenter here."

"Hello Detective Carpenter," says recently familiar Scots voice. "Having some problems?"

"Ok... maybe we need some help. Because... this thing just fragmented on me. I can't keep up with all the new threads these worms are opening up. Its like they're all --- DOC! You might want to get on the network- and get Sec on the line!" He says aloud, diverting from normal conversational tones- clearly worried and apprehenisve to shouting directly to Doctor Abby. "I tried to sandbox it but it split on me! Its a Morphogene!" That last part almost sounds... elated. "Its going for a combination big-bill!"

He tries to write somehting to help him deal with the procedural parts of the attack.

Carpenter shrugs, and says into the PDA, "Not me personally. But your virus is causing issues for the techs. Man, it's a good thing I write stuff down on paper sometimes, isn't it?"

Grimm grins at Carpenter's response to whoever's on the phone.

"Oh, I dinnae who ye tell or write about it, Detective. But yuir system is so...Swiss cheesed by, well, let's call them criminal conspiracies tha, well, no need to let them know who I am, aye?" says the Toymaker.

Carpenter raises a brow and says in the PDA, "So, did you call to gloat? Or are you calling with something useful?"

"Wheel...a bit of both to tell da trooth. I dinnae think yu'd find me little worm so quick. Or make 'em get so active. And I am curious to see how youir techs handle it." He then adds after a beat. "And, tha nanite ye showed me? Came from the Pierson job, did it? Good blood, the Piersons, keep to their word. Honorable in our own way, ken? So, leave 'em be I'll let ye know

"Thank you!" August shouts aloud before digging in again.

"We've caught up- its not on the ropes, but its one-for-one right now." August says to Carpenter and Grimm. He seems happy with the challenge.

"So, leave 'em be and I'll let ye know where I think yuir Robin Hoods might strike next. Just a guess mind ye, not a fact."

Carpenter shakes his head slowly, and says into his PDA, "Leave who be, exactly? I'm not sure I follow you."

"Let the Piersons do wha they do. Tis a valuable service they provide to a, hmm, underserved segment of the population, ye ken?" murmurs the Toymaker.

Considering he wasn't intending to harass the shop owners further anyway, Carpenter just says, "Sure. Fair enough. So where do you think he might strike next?"

"Oh no! Its going for the whole Meta-Crime Database. They've simplified their queries to 'Evan' and 'Master'- see if you can run a keystripper and shunt the output to the database! Hopefully we can pull the data before the worms find it!" August shouts out to the other techs.

Grimm watches August move in a panic. That he's struggling is impressive to her, but there's not much she can do to help.

"Hmm, tha was quick...But Door says I need to trust more, so, aye, done," states the Toymaker. "I put on me thinking cap and thought 'bout what I'd do iffen I was like ye wrote in tha prelim report about these Robin Hoods. Iffen I was motivated by some semblance of tha. And then I thought about who I know and wha I know and how it'd look to such a me as tha." He chuckles. "I don think I /ever/ so happy to be the way I am. How du ye keep tilting at windmills? But, well, I'd target Cheadle Pawn Shop, on Brady, in Nicholston. He's an up an comer, not too principled and greedy, like most of the mobbed up ones. Doesn't pay enough attention to his security either."

August continues working, patching and shunting, routing and re-routing- and he isn't alone. The rest of the CPBPD 'tech_division' lend their minds and fingers to the task of defending the archives. Data is backed up and saved wherever it is found while the worms are quickly sandboxed, scanned & eliminated.

August shares the report of their progress as he goes simply, "Got'em..."

"Now to seal the cracks up." He murmurs, though he doesn't notify the brass of any of the holes- at least not initially. Instead he sets up a couple of triggers to alert him of access in the future in hopes of leveraging the work into a permanent gig in the future- or access to the restricted archives on the way out. No true Daemon derivative would be able to rightfully say at this stage- its not just August.

Carpenter nods to himself and makes a note of the location. On paper. He says into the PDA, "Thanks for that. Anything further?"

"Wheel, nu, nae really, although I du hope ye can see yuir way to lettin the bairns, iffen they be bairns, tha I may hav work fur them? Robin Hoods are so good at some things an old man like I taint" says the Toymaker with a chuckle in his voice.

Carpenter feels the sudden need for subtitles. He takes a moment to pause and digest what was said before he responds, "You've done your research on me, I'm sure. I'm guessing you alreayd know what my response to that will be."

Grimm raises a brow, only hearing Jack's side of the conversation. Hearing that whom she assumes is the Toymaker on the other end of that call might be researching Carpenter has her more alert.

August gleefully rap-a-tap-taps on an invisible keyboard as he continues laying traps for fun and profit.

The Toymaker says in an innocent tone, "An why would I du tha, Detective? Taint my bizness to find out secrets nor sell 'em. I deal in golden gear fur cold cash." He then adds, "An, I taint getting any younger. Su, someone who can foller me tech? Well, tha's an asset fur me old age."

Carpenter chuckles. "You'd do it because I figured out your name. I know I would if I say...had a secret identity of any sort, and someone figured out who was behind the mask." Not that this has happened. Yet.

"Ah, but tisn't me true name, Detective. I;m like the Fae, the Kindly Ones; I have many names." He chuckles. "Evander McMasterts is just one I've used fur a good long while. Tis a comfortable name, a schoolboy fancy. As me old mum always says, 'A good solid false identity is worth it's weight in not being hauled in fur questioning.'"

Carpenter smiles slightly, "Methinks thou doth protest too much. I'm just saying, it migth be a reason that you'd look into my background."

"Oh, aye, I've looked into it. And wha I can find on Ms. Grimm. And Dr. Vi Abby," the Toymaker agrees. "I may nae sell knowledge, but I prize it noon tha less. As me old mum says, "Knowledge is a fortress ye carry wid ye.'" He laughs. "Me old mum is full of such saws. But, I see yuir tech boffins are trying to trace me. An, wheel, cannoe have tha. Ta for now!" And the call ends.

Carpenter shakes his head and looks at the others in the room. "That was...the Toymaker. I know you're shocked." He turns his attention to August. "How are the systems?"

"Well- probably running a bit better than before t'be honest, Detective." August replies with a cocky grin. "I found a couple of issues that lead to the deployment of the malware. All the malware has been caught, quarantined and eliminated from the system. Core systems are mid-scan to confirm integrity of the data before we restore the ad-hoc database we threw together to keep Toymaker's name on the books." He sounds plenty pleased with himself, and his team.

"Have a look." He adds, sliding his fingers along the left arm of his glasses toward a monitor in the center of the work area. It displays a live diagnostic of critical systems.

Carpenter looks at the screen. "Not sure what all that means, but...great, I guess?"

Grimm covers her mouth to restrain a giggle from Carpenter's protest comment. He sounds like one of those crazy Godflora for a moment. Then she puts on a faux shock-faced when he reveals who was on the phone. "You don't say..."

Another @mail comes in from Dr Vi Abby for August: Good work, dude! Great catch! Definitely look good on your review. So...you can accompany Detective Carpenter into the field if he needs you. Don't get shot! Listen to him about danger! Got it? Good.

Carpenter smiles and nods to Grimm, "So, the Toymaker...I keep wanting ot call him the 'Toymaster'. Not sure why. Anyway...the Toymaker suggested the next target might be the Cheadle Pawn Shop, on Brady, in Nicholston. He believes the owner is an up and comer, not very principled. Greedy. And doesn't pay enough attention to security. So, in other words...it fits a profile of the targets."

"Definitely." August says to Carpenter before he shoots his hands up triumphantly after he reads the new mail that came from his boss. "And that ladies & gentlemen is how you save the day so well you get approved for your first field trip." He says proudly as he looks to Carpenter and Grimm.

"Boss says I can't get shot and to listen to you. Seems like everything else is on the table. So- where to next?" He asks as he moves towards the desk jsut outside the lab data-room to grab his bag.

"Nicholston huh?- nice." He says, overhearing on his way back. That's mighty keen hearing.

Grimm chuckles at his desire to call him Toymaster. "He has a next target? Are we going to need to do a stakeout?" she asks. "Odd that he'd be so helpful."

Carpenter nods. "So, I think we need to stake the place out, sadly."

Carpenter chuckles. "Not fond of stakeouts."

Grimm fills in August on the mystical aspects of the case. Apparently the 'valuable items changing to trash' is a classic trick of the Faerie folk in legend. She claims that she picked up traces of similar magicks on the glass recovered from the fraud at Pierson and Sons Jewelry. Not exactly Fae magick, but close.

On the video from the Pierson job, a surprisingly average looking guy walks into the shop carrying a briefcase right before the video got irretrievably scrambled. By eyewitness testimony, he took the bag contiantin the 'gemstones' out of the briefcase.

This matches the MO at each of the other frauds: non descript, average man, although different details as to exact height/eye color/hair etc who takes the fraudulent goods out of a briefcase. In each case, well of the three who admit to having cameras, the video cut out the same each time and did not return to normal until minutes after the perp left.

Based on the nanite fragment found at Pierson's outside on a security transitter, they suspect that there is more than one perons involved; at least one inside and one outside.

At Piersons, someone nearby reported a kid in a hoodie playing on a VR headset game in the alley where the security terminal is.

These frauds have been happening every month or so, on average, for the last four months. The most recent one is a bit overdue by a few weeks.

Grimm finishes debriefing and looks to Carpenter, grinning. "Would having me along make the stakeout more tolerable?"

Carpenter smiles. "Significantly, so. But it still involves sitting around.

Grimm smiles and says suggestively, "I could make it a lot more...entertaining."

August gags.