Log:Phoenix Fire, Scene 3

Phoenix Fire 2007/02/17 	 Lorelei Intrigue Taima 3

Terrence McGee's home is a rundown two-family building, much like a lot of the neighbors. It's sky build vinyl-like siding, with bars over the windows, and protecting the front door as well. A beat up car sits in front of the home, and a second one rests on concrete blocks in the front yard.

Flying low, Intrigue moves over towards the house. She doesn't go directly to it, instead, she hovers behind a nearby building's roof, looking down towards Taima before she points at the house, indicating that's the one they're interested in.

A very atttactive young woman is also approaching the house, looking at house numbers as she goes. She stands out rather in this neighbourhood - well, she would in any. Despite her winter coat, her shapely vigure is quite evident - and the coat is in any case short, showing off her legs. Her hair is black.

A teenager bundled in a winter jacket whispers to the out-of-place woman, "Hey, I got WMDs... WMDs..." He looks around furtively as if checking for anyone else about.

Intrigue smiles as she sees Taima disappear, and turns to look at the house again. She flies to an evergreen tree and moves to perch in it, using it as cover while she watches the house and observes anybody coming and going. The pretty lady is seen and she look sover in that direction, arching an eyebrow.

The woman asks the teenager, confusedly, "WMDs?"

The teen nods to the woman. "Yeah. WMDS... it's the bomb, yo... Ten bucks a cap."

The woman shakes her head uncertainly and moves on toward the house.

Intrigue continues to watch the house, monitoring it. Though as the lady heads towards it directly, she frowns slightly, watching carefully to see if there is any reaction from inside.

The teenager looks away from the woman and continues to scan the street, looking for people.

Lorelei notes Intrigue in the tree and hesitates for a moment. Her presence might suggest the situation is more complicated than anticipated; though, that said, stopping now might complicate things....

Intrigue watches carefully from her perch. She looks over at Taima as he climbs the tree with her and smiles to him. Nodding, she looks at the house again and says in the barest of whispers, "Looks like it's something bad at least. If it's reinforced and barred. Did you see any weapons?" She pauses and looks down at the teenager as he appears to be looking for more people.

Lorelei looks directly at Intrigue with her eyes only to indicate that she's spotted her, while being careful not to give any indication of the same with the rest of her body.

Intrigue looks down as Lorelei's eyes glance up to the tree she is in. She nods quietly and then looks over at Taima, "we'll stay up here, see what she does... we'll support her for now. She's Lorelei. I've met her a few times." Her words are a whisper to Taima and she remains crouched, waiting in the tree for now.

Lorelei is unsure whether to abort or not, under the circumstances. Though - she might not get another shot if she aborts now.... So she decides to go for it. What the heck. The house being watched means there's potential backup, after all. She goes up to the door of the house and rings the dorrbell, if any.

There was a television in the front room playing, but after a few seconds it clicks off. There's movement inside, and a peephole in the front door goes dark as someone steps up to it. "Yeah?" a gruff voice asks from inside.

Intrigue does the same as Taima. She watches and remains alert, especially as Lorelei knocks.

Lorelei asks, "Hi - are you Terrence?" She sounds a bit uncertain.

"Maybe. Who wants to know?

"Maybe. Who wants to know?" The voice says from inside.

Lorelei says, "I'm Gina - I'm, like, a *close* friend of Ray's - Ray Tong's - he's your friend, right?"

"I don't know anybody named Ray!" The voice says. "Now get off my front step!"

Intrigue leans forward slightly as she watches. She seems very interested.

Lorelei says, "Oh - Aren't you Terrence McGee?"

Taima remains silent and hidden, just observing for the time being. Though he does whisper something very quietly to Intrigue.

"Look, I already said to get lost! I don't know who you are, but somebody gave you some bad information," says the voice.

Intrigue nods at Taima and smiles as she watches. She turns her attention to the back of the house, to see if anybody is 'fleeing'.

Lorelei suddenly breaks into tears. "But - Ray's gone - no one knows where he is - I don't know where else to look!" And she stands on the doorstep, looking pitiful and crying her eyes out.

"Look... He ain't here, alright?" says the voice.

Lorelei sniffs, and pretends to catch a hint of hope in that. "But you know where he is?" she asks, without stopping the tears.

Intrigue nudges Taima with her elbow and nods towards the back door.

"No, I haven't seen him in a while... I think he skipped town..." the voice says.

Lorelei says, "He's ok though? I'm so worried abot him...."

Ray is sneaking out of the back of the house. He spins and spots Taima. He raises his pistol.

Intrigue launches herself from the tree and flies directly towards the back of the house and Ray. She hovers in the air above and lets out a dissonant sound, aiming at Ray to cause him to pass out.

Taima has allowed his totem free reign for the moment, and a slip gets him seen before he is ready to pounce. A shadowy flickering field seems to form around the dark colored cougar, enhancing the apparent shadow nature of this feline. Still the cat charges forwards at speed and leaps forwards silently, not a sound from the feline as it moves to strike and pounce, trying to tackle Ray before the gun can fire and before he can get away!

Ray shouts, "Oh my God! McGee! They got me, it's a freaking puma!"

Thankfully surprise seems to be on the cougar's side as he leaps forwards and lashes out in what could be a very deadly attack, if it weren't for the fact the cougar is not trying to kill the fleeing bailjumper. Instead he grabs hold with paws and teeth, sinking in only to secure, not to harm, though probably not very comfortable. The feline lets loose a low mrrowl of warning that rumbles from it's chest.

Hovering in the air, Intrigue watches the panther form of Taima pounces and holds ray. She opens her mouth and screams, sending visible waves towards Ray, disrupting his inner ear and stunning him.

Lorelei says, "Was that -?" and starts to run round the house as if to reach the back, though actually she stops just round the corner so she can keep an eye on the front still.

Ray moans as he recovers from the attack. "Please... I don't want to die... please..."

The man inside the house begins to run to the back of the house. "I'm coming, Ray!"

Spirit Cougar growls a menacing hissing sound as he tries to secure his hold on Ray before he can recover, moving his mouth to try and take Ray's throat in his teeth like he was preparing to tear it out and then just holds there, claws out to keep Ray pinned beneath him. Meanwhile he sends over his mental link to Intrigue, ~Tell the coming human with the firestick that if he tries anything I will kill this one. It has been long since I hunted human.~

Intrigue hovers there and moves so that she can actually see into the back door, positioning her body between Taima and the shotgun. She yells down at Ray, "You're not going to die, that is, unless you don't stop struggling. Tell your buddy to halt, or the cougar will tear out your throat! I am Intrigue, and I'm here to capture your bounty..." She activates her forcefield around her body, the actual air shimimering around her body.

Lorelei says, "heads to the back of the house to be ready when McGee appears."

Lorelei heads to the back of the house to be ready when McGee appears.

Raymond stays as still as he can, frightened rigid and shaking. "Please.. I didn't talk, I didn't say a word, I don't want to die!"

McGee walks out of the rear of the house, his shotgun ready. His eyes shift uneasily to Intrigue and the cougar, and then to Lorelei as he steps down the back stairs. "Call off your animal, lady," McGee says. "You're a bounty hunter? Raymond here can't go back to jail."

Lorelei doesn't take any chance with a man with a shotgun. As soon as his eyes flicker to her, she strikes one of her stunning poses.

McGee has hardly glanced at Lorelei when he gets a smile all over his face - and collapses to the ground.

Intrigue looks down at Ray as McGee collapses to the ground. She asks him, "Why can't you go back to jail? I am not here to kill you, just uphold the law...."

Spirit Cougar keeps hold of Ray's neck with his jaws until Intrigue tells him mentally or audibly to let go of the bail jumper. He just keeps him held there, but sends towards Intrigue ~Take this one's smaller firestick before he gets foolish. Men are braver than normal with firesticks.~

Lorelei goes over to Ray too. "You're an elusive man.... Now, if you tell us you...."
 * all* about it, we might be able to keep you safe from whoever's frightened

Ray starts sobbing, "Please... please..." He stops crying enough to look up at Intrigue and a realization dawns upon his expression. "You're a bounty hunter? How much do you get? I can get you money... please... if I go to jail they'll kill me."

Intrigue glances at Lorelei, obviously her eyes are questioning. Flying down, she lands beside Ray and bends down to take the gun from Ray. "It's not just about money. Why are they going to kill you in jail?"

Spirit Cougar starts to purr when Intrigue removes the gun, but otherwise... is just a threatening restraining entity at this point. Of course Ray might not like that a big cat is purring with it's teeth tight to his throat and neck...

Ray whispers, "G.. get it off me...?"

Ray says, "Please.. I'll tell you what you want, just get it off me..."

Intrigue shakes her head, "No, I don't think so. He won't hurt you, as long as you talk to us."

Spirit Cougar would chuckle, but he can't, so instead he just stays as he is, he's patient, he's a cat, he can do this all day, and all night, and all day. He does however think about other things like: ~Someone should restrain the other human before he wakes up and goes for his firestick.~ this is again sent mentally to Intrigue.

Lorelei says to Intrigue, "Now, there's no need for that. I'm sure Ray's perfectly willing to talk to us without it."

Nobody says, "It's Stone who's after me..." Ray says tearfully, "Mr. Stone...""

Intrigue glances at Lorelei and pauses. "Talking is one thing, running again is another. Although you're right, Taima, please let him go, though if he runs, do as you feel best." She smiles and turns, to walk to McGee, taking out a plastic restraint device and tying the man's hands behind his back. "Mr. Stone?"

Lorelei says, "Who's Mr Stone, and why's he after you?"

Spirit Cougar lets go of Ray's neck but places one heavy paw on the man's chest to keep him down and there as he stands up and stretches. The cat looks off at the distance and then sighs before stepping away and begins to pace around Ray as if a warning against running. With each step he fades a little and blurs about the edges until he begins to shift fully into... something else. Or rather, someone else. Taima stretches and then looks down at Ray, "Too stringy anyways." He notes with a disdainful sniff.

Ray is distracted by Taima's transformation. He asks, "Who -- who are you people...?"

Intrigue straightens and stands by McGee, her violet eyes on Ray. "We asked you a question."

Lorelei thinks. o O (He's ready to talk - why do they insist on spooking him?)

Taima answers Ray's question, crouching down on the balls of his feet and offering a hand to Ray to help him up, "I am Taima Wachao, perhaps you've heard of me. Perhaps not." He shrugs, "What matters is we're heroes and here to help you, if you let us." He smiles, "Now who's Mr. Stone?" He asks pleasantly.

Intrigue remains still and watches.

"Don't hurt McGee... I didn't tell him anything." Ray says. "He was just trying to help me get out of town. Mr. Stone... I pulled a smuggling job for him. But I got pinched on a drug rap -- he's afraid that I was going to give him up..."

Intrigue sighs loudly. "I'm not an assassin for hire. I'm a bounty hunter. I don't kill people like you seem to think. This is so he would not harm US." She frowns and looks rather upset for some reason. "So, you skipped bail because Mr. Stone is trying to kill you in jail?"

Ray continues. "They bailed me out and told me to get out of town, but I'm no fool... I knew that they'd kill me first chance they got. I'm just trying to disappear."

Lorelei says, "What were you smuggling. And what has it to do with the dead girl, and the missing girl? If you don't tell us, we can't help you."

Taima falls silent, letting the two women talk for the time being. Instead he straightens up again and glances around the area. Seeing if that little dealer kid is watching still, or anyone else might be watching for that matter.

Intrigue glances at Taima and then over to Lorelei and Ray. "Missing girl? Dead girl?" Obviously, she didn' tknow of that.

Raymond shakes his head and tries to look away from the others. He raises his hands to cover his face... "This shipment was light... it was light..."

Lorelei says, "What was the shipment? Tell me!"

Intrigue goes silent and listens.

"Stone said..." Ray says into his hands. "They had to be virgins... All of them..."

"You were smuggling girls?" Intrigue says, her voice cold and dripping with anger.

Lorelei nods, expecting an answer like that.

Lorelei says, "Go on."

"How could I know that the ship hands would do one of the girls," Ray says. "I had to find someone to replace her... I'm sorry, but if I didn't come through, Stone would kill me..."

Lorelei says, "And now he's going to kill you anyway. Look, you're better off giving us the full details - especially what happened to the girls. Then we can take care of Stone."

Intrigue's hand goes to a fist and she turns away from Ray, to look at Taima. She nods slowly at him but whispers to him quietly.

Ray shakes his head. "What did I get myself into..." He swallows and says, "I don't know what happened to the girls. I knew better than to ask... I assumed he was going to pimp them... He didn't tell me much and I didn't ask.

Lorelei says, "Well, what can you tell me? What do you know about Stone?"

Taima nods towards Intrigue and then looks over towards Ray, walking back over towards the man. "Look Ray, it's simple economics, you understand economics right?" He crouches down again on the balls of his feet, arms resting on his knee's lightly. "Tell us where you took the girls, who took them from you, and who contacted you about this order. We can get you in protective custody, -our- type of protected custody, but you have to cooperate fully."

Ray says, "I left them at the Industrial Park, in a truck trailer... Stone is the only name I had, but he was working for someone else. Please that's all I know."

Lorelei says, "How can we get in contact with this Stone?"

Intrigue continues to stand there by McGee, watching and letting the others talk.

Ray's face lights up a little. "I have his number. I can give you that..."

Lorelei says, "It's a start."

Angstrom reaches into his pocket and tosses his PDA to Lorelei. "I've had it turned off since I got out of jail."

Ray reaches into his pocket and tosses his PDA to Lorelei. "I've had it turned off since I got out of jail."

Taima sighs, looks over towards Intrigue before he heads over towards her, "I say put him in that super powered prison that nobody gets in, or out, he'll be safe there and we'll know where to find him in the future. After all, we need the names of these girls, where they came from, and everything else. Who he got them from, ho whe aquired them, everything." He looks over towards Ray, "You hear that Ray, you need to spill everything related to this if you're going to make it through this with your hide intact."

Lorelei says, "Thanks."

Lorelei thinks. o O (Hm - might be handy in laying a trap....)

Intrigue crosses her arms over her chest, the feathers on her back adjusting slightly from the motion. She looks at Ray and the PDA with thought as she stands there.

Ray says, "I've got a contact in Shanghai... I don't know anything about the girls... the names weren't important. Just the other details... y'know?"

Ray says, "Stone was very particular about the time of the delivery... he asked me several times if I could deliver by the date. And there was another odd thing he said..."

"Something about one girl for every ten years..." Ray shrugs. "I thought it was some kind of code."

Taima frowns, "How many girls were you told to bring Ray."

Taima adds, "And what date did you have to have them by?"

"Ten of them," Ray says.

Ray also provides the date of the deliver. A date in late January.

Intrigue glances at Taima curiously, she arches an eyebrow inquisitively.