A nice, fairweather sort of morning doesn't seem to make the seedier parts (be they small) of downtown look any less seedy than a bright, shockingly sunny morning. Things are still moving in their usual manner in this area of the world, though there are a few more people laying down and still sleeping off whatever they went through the night before. It's warm, and people are already getting set up with their morning fixes.
A meeting point had been set. Not directly on top of the area they'd be walking into, but nearby. Jo had been there to open the door for those that came to meet in the empty office building with a clear view of the more run down, less savory area of town. Rather than dressing in her pale colored linens and looking like someone set for a senior's Tai Chi class, she looked like someone's baddass biker Grandma. Leather pants fit her still trim, surprisingly fit figure closely, and her boots were obviously military issued. Jungle boots, so they breathed, but kept up some protection for the feet and ankles. For a shirt, just a simple, closely fit, dark gray Tshirt that tucked into her pants. While she wasn't wearing anything else at the moment, a leather vest sat on a nearby desk, along with a sword in a scabbard, both of which looked old and worn, but lovingly maintained. As people arrived, Jo pulled her long, silvery hair back into a ponytail and wove it into a braid that then turned into a tightly coiled bun at the base of her neck, keeping it out of the way entirely and removing that softening fall of curls from her steel-hard gaze. Still the grandma, sure, but she looked like the one that might have inspired some fear in grandchildren, not just a desire for cookies and warm milk like she might have before.
When individuals arrived, they were motioned into the offices, pointed toward the desks if they needed to set themselves up with anything, and informed that information would be provided once everyone had come together.
Grayson arrives with two large, grubby bags, the epitomy of someone down on his luck and moving everything he has to a new flop. Tucking himself out of sight of the doors he starts unpacking what he's brought, keeping some items for himself, leaving some in the bags and setting some out for other people. There's an arsenal in there, and not exactly a small one either. Night vision goggles, body armour - one set of which he dons, leaving the other aside for someone else - a shotgun, stakes, crosses, a shell, a bottle of strange water, the list goes on. And on. And on. And finally a reel of duct tape gets pulled out and set down with the rest. "Help yourselves to anything useful," he says.
Owen's arrival wasn't in any way loudly proclaimed. He simply sauntered to the building like he was supposed to be there and stepped through the door as it was opened for him. He looked like he usually looked, really. A set of grey cargo shorts that fit him to the knees that had more pockets on them than flat fabric covered his legs, and a set of rugged, quite solidly made hiking boots adorned his feet, leaving his tanned, muscular calves bare. For a shirt, he'd pulled on a dark blue, underarmor Tshirt that was free of logos and any indication of where he worked or who he was, but left his similarly tanned arms mostly bare. The floppy hat he usually wore while hiking or for tours was left at home, presumably, and his hazel eyes were fairly keen as he looked at Jo, then nodded to her, before walking into the room. It would seem he didn't have any tactical gear, nor did he have any weapons, but he likewise didn't go over to Grayson's cache and start raiding it. He simply looked at the other man and nodded. "Thanks, Jim."
Ink is slightly less well turned out than usual, his aura of 'dapper-ness' having failed him today. His hair has been slicked back, the greying hair almost matching the palor of his skin. He's wearing a checked lumberjack shirt, open only at the neck and there is a black t-shirt under that. Beads of sweat pool on his forehead and yet he still seems cold, Ink shivering occasionally and his face set in a grimace as if to fend off the temperature by will alone. His posture is hunched and he has his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans, his usually pristine looking boots are scuffed but the outfit in general does allow him to blend in somewhat better with the locals of the area. He has a cigarette clamped between his teeth and he takes a deep inhalation before stepping out towards the others, Ink wincing a little as the harsh tobacco smoke hits the back of his throat.
He nods in greeting to Jo first, always being the safer bet to not upset Grannies anywhere. Grayson is also offered a nod, the head movements and grunts being the extend of Ink's sociability skills. Owen is likewise nodded to, Ink taking a seat at one of the desks and sitting with all the grace of a ninety year old arthritic patient. With hands still in pockets, he sits hunched over the desk, the ash from his cigarette dropping into his lap and ignored as he waits for the others to get ready.
Shep was standing next to Jo, pulling on a set of Olive green military fatigues over his Hawaiian shirt and board shorts, then it was onto socks and a pair of military issue boots. "I'm still saying it's an emergency exit in case everything goes wrong. Let the mound of sleeping fur lie. Bag?" The word was asked and his gaze followed Jo's finger to the cricket bag, which the man promptly unzipped to retrieve a pair of swords, one wooden and surrounded in sharp teeth and the second more traditional European with scabbard, and set them on top of the canvas bag. He eyed Grayson;s stash being set out. "Missionaries came a long way to ruin this island. Jo and I would never live it down." He patted his pockets, "And the anti-venom vials..." The man shook his head, looking back to Grayson, "A path through the Nevernever exit, but it's... Just for the sake of ease of communication, there is a family of bears sleeping there. I don't trust these old joints not to pop at the wrong time." Shep offered a nod to Owen, took one look at Ink, and immediately reached for a small vial to offer the man, "Told you they'd be coming on." He gestured with the vial to be taken.
Jo nodded to Shep, though her lips pursed into a near frown. "It's not just a family of bears. It's NeverNever bears. And not just a momma and a papa and a baby bear like the tales go. It's an extended family of hibernating NeverNever bears. In a dank cave, with a river running through it." She finally broke her somewhat somber demeanor with a slow grin. "Though I've never had to fight my way out of a bear filled cave in the NeverNever, it would be interesting. Best to save it for an absolute emergency, though, I agree." She looked over at the stuff that Grayson had offered, her brows going up for a moment. "I think we need to maybe come to terms with what exactly we're doing. As far as I know we're attempting to ensure that the girl, Max, is able to be taken away from the place safely. We're also going to deal with any aggression if it comes up, but we're really going to mostly try distracting with illusions and confusion. Less fighting is optimal, as is less death among the people in that building. Especially since we don't know just how many of them might be infected, or be knee deep in a drug binge. It's entirely in the Red's playbook to use as many meat-shields as possible in an outright attack."
"Most of this lot's for anyone who wants to use it," says Grayson. Other than the body armour, he's kept a machete and a punch dagger for himself, and a few ampules of clear liquid. "I'm hoping things will stay calm, or at least not too bad, but I'm expecting it to go horribly wrong. That way I can be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't." And anything that others aren't showing interest in starts getting packed away.
Owen looked around at the group, though he kept his thoughts mostly to himself until the family of NeverNever bears is mentioned. His interest piqued, it would seem, he grinned slightly. "I suppose it's the wrong moment to mention I'd love to see a family of hibernating NeverNever bears. But probably not something that I should hope for, with it being an emergency exit only." He took a slow breath and looked back at the bag Grayson was starting to pack back up. He moved forward and reached in to grab a couple ampules of clear water, with the little crosses on the lids. "Actually, I might borrow a couple of these. I'll make sure to get them back to you after, provided things don't go horribly sideways and leave us feeding them to bears as a last resort on the way out." He nodded to Grayson and tucked the ampules into side pockets along his thighs so he didn't accidentally sit on them and break them open. Risking a glance over at Ink, Owen surveyed him for a moment and finally approached the man. "You sure you want to be here, Ink? You look like you're having a real bad time of it." Concern was obvious, especially as Owen pulled a folded square of cloth from his pocket, crisp clean and white, and offered it over to Ink. A handkerchief, of course, because who else but Owen would have one saved in a pocket just in case?
Standing slowly, Ink manages to get a hand out of a pocket and with that he reaches out to the vial that Shep offers. "You did at that." He half smiles, half grimaces at Shep but then offers him a nod, his voice coming out gravely as if he has been coughing a lot lately. "Cheers." Taking the cigarette from his mouth with his other hand, he pops the stopped off the vial and downs it quickly. The expression on his face suggests that the taste is as he expected it would be and he does his best to suppress a shudder. "NeverNever bears? Sounds like you don't need to be the fastest, just not the slowest." He lets his gaze sweep the room, taking in each member there and mentally appraising them. "I were thinking..." Ink says after a moment of silence, his gaze now fixing on Jo and Shep. "You were talking about Illusions and whatnot, is there anyway you could do like a 'wake up' spell? Something like a shot of adrenaline to get all the junkies to leg it?" Blinking through reddened eyes, he looks over to Owen and smiles. "Cheers butty." He takes the offered handkerchief and mops his brow and face, "I'll get it washed and back to you." Seeing the ampules, Ink follows Owen's lead, "Can't hurt I guess. Even if it does taste like badger arseholes." He shudders again and coughs before speaking once more. "If it gets bad on the other side I can carry two I think and move fast enough. It's all shifty business but I should be up for it."
Once the vial was taken, Shep went back to the cricket bag, setting out the Koa wood sword, and well-used walking staff. "If you're soft-footed, you're most than willing to meet the bears, Owen. I got a map..." The man let the staff rest against him, and he dug for his notepad to pull out two sheets of paper, "Time runs faster in there, so expect to lose half-a-day per hour. The exit mark comes out two streets west, and it's a four foot drop." He passed the map to Owen, keeping one for himself. The man nodded to Ink, "Illusions are a panic button. It'll be downright crowded with the illusions, but I'm going for a Thomas Crown effect. Waking them up is mostly easy, just toss a rock through the cave. I could whip up the equivalent of a pot of coffee, but I doubt something like that would improve their mood. Maybe it even causes a downright frenzy." The man nodded to Grayson, "You called the meeting, so it's your call if we're going in guns blazing or trying for diplomacy." Retrieving the gray and runed bandana from his breast pocket, he wrapped it around his forehead and tied it off Rambo style.
Jo grinned as Owen mentioned wanting to see the bears, and Shep handed over the map. "Just be careful, they aren't usually quite as docile as the bears in the natural world. And I've heard they have extra sets of jaws, like in that Alien movie." As everyone was seeming to get close to finishing up their preparations, Jo moved over to where her vest had been laying in wait, then pulled the leather and mesh garment on over her Tshirt. It was secured quite solidly with three, wide, metal buckles. Lo and behold, when she lifted the sword behind her back, the entire thing, including the sheath, slid into a side-spine compartment, which she then secured the scabbard of her sword into with a tug on a thick, leather strap. Heaven only knew what Jo had in the pockets along the front of the vest, but she definitely looked like she could climb on a motorcycle and go riding in some apocalyptic future trussed as she was. Her steely gaze moved to Grayson and she waited for him to respond as to how they'd be proceeding, before she looked back past him at Ink and frowned slightly. "Nothing? Did you not get a fairly immediate relief from what you just drank, Ink?" She gave a meaningful look to Shep, then, and nodded toward his bag of tricks he'd been pulling swords out of.
Grayson stares for a few moments at Shep, then sits down abruptly. "I, um," he says, blinking at the Warden. "I, er, ah, um. I - aren't you supposed to be ultimately invested in slotting as many of the buggers as you can, wherever you find them?" He pulls himself together, at least a bit. "Yes, we want the woman out, and to avoid killing as much as we can, but..." Apparently he'd been utterly unprepared for any sort of choice.
Owen reached out to take the map that Shep had offered, nodding his head in understanding. "Sounds good, thanks for the tip. Heaven knows I've randomly lost a day or two here and there. And winding up a couple of blocks away with just a short hop rather than being dumped in the ocean is definitely my idea of a step up from the last time I lost any real time on the other side." Owen looked a little sheepish at the mention of time and the NeverNever, before he became grim again, just folding the map up and slipping it into one of his many pockets, this time one at the back of his shorts, since he didn't have to worry about it breaking if he sat on it. Glancing between Grayson and the Wardens, he then looked over at the building they'd be entering to retrieve Max, and frowned. "Personally I'm fine for just grabbing her and getting her out of there. I can't imagine she's any better off than Ink is at the moment. And Probably a ton worse. If slotting means killing, it's definitely been something that anyone on the Council would consider due course, but I don't know just how viable it is to just destroy the place. From the looks of things, there are way too many innocents in there for it to be a clean extermination."
"Can't say as such ma'am." Ink offers to Jo, emphasizing the point with a shrug of his shoulders. "I can say it rid of the awful taste I had in my mouth?" Seeming confused, Ink slumps back in his chair, his brows furrowing. Tilting his head and wanting a distraction, he looks to Grayson. "I have to agree with Owen, the place were littered with junkies when I was there. Unless we can drive the sexpires outside, I don't know what to do. Could we not just knock some holes in the walls and let the sunlight in? Or do you have any Blade 2 weaponry tucked away. Could do with some physics defying sunlight grenades right now." Ink shrugs his shoulders once more, the movement seeming to hurt him a little given the grimace on his face. "Stealth it is then I guess, with violence a second option if we need to get out quickly. I can work with that."
Shep drew a breath in his nostrils as he listened to Grayson. "Without trying to explain the politic history of the Pacific. Jo and I weren't in the loop for three months when Archangel fell." He gestured to himself and his wife, "Backup isn't the sort of thing we get here, and this place is the supernatural equivalent of the American Wild West. Yes... We have cannibal tribes that no one is keen on, but it's mostly chasing down the problem children, because unifying a tribe against a few individuals is bad news." The man rubbed his jaw, "Like I said, it's your call. From scrying, I got say there are normal people. People that are likely going to panic at the first spell or sword being swung. Jo and I are being to be limited to mostly sword, illusion, and other defensive spells. There was drug processing, so we have no idea of the chemicals involved, so potential powder keg. Individuals though?" The man shook his head, "No hesitation, unless there's a school at their back." He gestured to Ink, "We keep that door open, we can bend the sunlight in... Reds can have solid masks to keep the sun off their real bodies."
Jo was still looking at Ink with concern. Since Shep hadn't done anything with the bag after her signal, she raised her brows up a little and shook her head, moving over to Shep's cricket bag and kind of fishing through it, careful not to topple his swords onto the ground. When she found what she was looking for, there was a triumphant sound, akin to a little grunt, and she pulled what looked like a snake bite kit from the bag. "He's not wrong, we're on the outside of much of what's happening. The start of the war only really came about as a second thought, when someone was using a way through and ended up coming across us on a stopover here to get supplies as they tried to find a back way through that wasn't crawling with Reds. Likewise... The reds here didn't attack us when the attacks happened on the mainland, and elsewhere in the world. Part of that is because of what they deal with when there are no wardens here, the other part of that is because we haven't just been murdering them wholesale. They play part of the eco-system here. And we have worse elements that gain more power if they're wiped out completely." Jo walked over to Ink and cracked open the snakebite kit. Rather than a normal kit, though, it contained an ampule of something sort of milky and a little sparkly. Like there was glitter in it. "Drink this one, Ink. You should feel a bit better." Handing him the little vial of liquid, she patted him on the shoulder. "You must feel utterly terrible. The stuff you got is worse than just Red Court Venom."
"And sunblock," says Grayson, with the hint of a smile. He nods to Shep, then to Jo, levering himself out of the chair and finding somewhere to lean instead. "I see," he says. "I wasn't aware of that situation, no. And the room upstairs, are we intending to do anything about that?"
The sun shines overhead, bracketed by puffy fair weather clouds.
Owen didn't seem to really have any further comments on the subject. Instead, he stood and moved closer to the door, looking outside, watching. "I don't know what the things upstairs are. If it's something we should take care of, and they're not just humans, then maybe we should handle it. I'm honestly just mostly worried about one human right now, which is selfish, but I don't want anyone thinking I'm in this to make a strike for the whole White Council. If I could kill the ones that took out my parents, I would, in a heartbeat. But I highly doubt that they've managed to relocate to Oahu since then. And I don't know names or even how many there were in that fight. They killed far more than just my parents in it, though. So it must have been a large enough number to handle multiple wizards with decades of experience or more apiece. On this, though, if we can get her out and still manage to curb some of the population at the same time, I feel like it's a win."
Ink doesn't seem overly convinced but he still manages a thin lipped smile as he nods to Jo. As before, he doesn't sniff the contents, he just pops off the lid and downs the contents in one gulp. This time though, there is an effect, the dour Welsh man smiling genuinely for the first time since he came in. "Uffern gwaedlyd!" He blinks a few times and extends a hand in front of himself, watching how steady it is with a growing sense of delight. "Cracking stuff!" Getting to his feet, he heads to Jo and envelops her in a hug before remembering himself and stepping back, a rather sheepish look on his face. "Thanks like, that was just the ticket!" Clearing his throat, he nods to Owen. "Real sorry to hear that man but I get your point. I'm not sure whats upstairs but we're here to get out Max and perform emergency dentistry on anyone who gets in the way. If needs be, we can kick off when inside but getting t'lass out it priority. If nothing else, they'll move on and the junkies will need to look elsewhere and they'll know folks are watching."
Shep nodded in agreement with Jo, looking back to the others, "That's the basics of the situation. It was the Reds alliance with Infernals and Outsiders that was the better danger here. The Infernals learned they could attack the White Council, their allies, and the Fae Courts with little in the way of retribution, so long as they had an ally to take the blame." The man's eyes narrowed at the mention of sunblock, and watched as Jo got out the snakebite kit, "And now illusions are that much more difficult. Kanapapiki..." The man leaned by his wife to get out of bag of chalks and Obsidian, and started a circle on the ground in a patch of sunlight and placing a piece of volcano glass in it. "If you want to do something about it, I'll back you, and give you the time... Hopefully." The man sprinkled Obsidian dust on the Koa wood sword, along the shark teeth. "I doubt the sunblock will be much use." He added a chalk mark to the hilt as well.
Jo grimaced slightly, then shook her head. "Tlazolli. The filth. Heaven help us all. Just... you know... mention if you suddenly feel the need to join in an orgy, so we can all get out of arm's reach...oh!" The sound of surprise from the woman at being hugged wasn't disgruntled, and she chuckled slightly, patting Ink on the back before he let her go. "Not a problem, we would have started with that one if either myself or Shep had put two and two together." Stepping back away from Ink she took a slow breath, then watched Shep prepping his sword. "Crap. You said there's an apartment in there, right? That someone's actually living there?" She looked over at Grayson and raised her brows. "That's... entirely something else. If we're crossing a threshold without permission most of our powers are going to be fairly useless. Unless we can get them all to pour out into the alley, we might not even be able to get any illusions going, not that it helps with the damn Filthy. They... well the illusion you need for them is a bit beyond. You can't just trick them like you would any other sight based. They use heat, but like a snake actually does. Their senses are very heightened." Since she was as close to ready as she could be, Jo started moving toward the door. "We need to get going. Fewer of the normal Reds will be around and aware during broad daylight. The Tlazolli don't care, but if we can cut down the numbers of our enemies at all, it's better than nothing."
Grayson shakes his head. "If there was a threshold my scout didn't mention it, and he'd have known," he says. "The thing living in the flat was a Red of some variety, so I suspect that if there is one, it's not the most potent of thresholds - and as for orgies, I'll try not to get /too/ distracted." He leans away from his piece of wall. "I know that most of us know this, but we've one who might not. Standard Red Court don't like sunlight or holy items, and if you cut open the gut all the blood falls out. If there are Tlazolli, we've got a few more problems, but cold will work wonders - and if we damage the skin suit, the skin underneath is a lot more delicate, and also not good at sunlight." He nods, then smiles ever so faintly. "You know, I really should have brought sunglasses, just for the look of the thing."
Owen took a slow breath and shook his head. "Alright. So... even more complicated. Maybe." He chuckled softly and rubbed his hand back through his hair. "You know, leave it to Max to get herself into something like this. She never does anything quietly." He grinned and looked over at Ink, then Grayson, then to the two wardens, though his eyes were pinched at the sides like the grin hurt. "Can we get going to start this? However we do it, we have to get in there to get her out somehow."
Ink does his best to listen to the conversation, the quizzical expression on his face apparently glued there through out. Raising a hand, he starts to tick off fingers. "Infernals? You mean demons? Outsiders? You mean... the English? Sudden need for sex? Who doesn't have that? The filth, patchouli or whatever you call them?" Shaking his head he offers a nod to Jo and Shep. "I don't know much about thresholds barring what me father told me. Lots of junkies inside could make it iffy though, home is home and all that." He looks to Grayson then. "Hit them in the guy? Okay, I can probably do that. Cold? Erm... I'll get back to you on that." Nodding once more, he looks to Owen. "Run in, grab Max, get out. Simples." He grins to hide his own apprehension. "I'm with Indy, lets do this."
Shep checked his sword once more, the teeth seeming to be more reflective than the lighting allowed for. "Whether your scout mentioned it or not..." Shep thumbed to Ink, "Like he said there is a pile of users in the place, and each one that takes up residence, the threshold gets stronger." The man took a deep breath as he released his will. Ectoplasm condensed formed one human form after another, the forms solidified with clothes, tribal tattoos and surf wear, with a wide range of weaponry of kitchen knives, bats, chains, and lead pipes. Each of them moved and breathing as normal as any of the other individuals. Hell, they even mumbled in Hawaiian, the nearby ones cracking smiles. "It doesn't stop us from showing up at the door with an army, right?" The warden started walking towards the destined alley, his illusionary army falling in by his sizes, a couple beating their chests and letting out war howls.
Jo only nodded once, as it was time to get a move on. Once outside with the league of illusory clansmen, Jo glanced up at the sky, put her hands to her lips to act like a megaphone, and called out "Latio Dissonante Vulgari!" A moment later, the sound of war drums could be heard, and the thunderous sound of marching. It was definitely coming this direction. Backup, baby. As she walked, she cracked her neck to one side and then the other. Her movements were lithe and agile despite the suggestion of her rather advanced age. As she passed by Shep, she lifted her hand and gently moved it over his neck, leaving behind a cool trail of holy oil on his skin. Giving the man a wink, she mouthed the words 'Love you' before she oiled her own neck, and then the insides of both of her arms, just in case. "Ink, Jim? Owen?" She offered the little bottle she carried toward the others to use if they needed it. If they did, she handed it over while still walking.
A nice, fairweather sort of morning doesn't seem to make the seedier parts (be they small) of downtown look any less seedy than a bright, shockingly sunny morning. Things are still moving in their usual manner in this area of the world, though there are a few more people laying down and still sleeping off whatever they went through the night before. It's warm, and people are already getting set up with their morning fixes. This is where those that want/need drugs come to get them, at least locally, and where many that wander are homeless, destitute, filthy, and generally not for the viewing of the visiting hordes of tourists on the island.
Currently, though, there are some strange things happening. There are a large number of people, human form after another, their bodies dressed with clothes, tribal tattoos and surf wear, with a wide range of weaponry of kitchen knives, bats, chains, and lead pipes. Each of them moved and breathing as normal as any of the other individuals. Hell, they even mumbled in Hawaiian, the nearby ones cracking smiles. Some of them are letting out war howls. In the distance the sound of war drums could be heard, and the thunderous sound of marching. It was definitely coming this direction.
Amid the Hawaiian Army, there are several people, including Owen, Ink, Jo and Shep. Jo and Shep look to be armed, ready, Owen looks to be paying all of his attention to a specific building, and an Alleyway that leads toward a very thick, metal, door on the side of that building. The entire army seems to be heading that direction.
Grayson declines the oil, pointing at the neck of his body armour where a studded collar gleams. He's one of the last out of the door, and somehow the ludicrously-tall man doesn't join the group - but one of the army of surfers-with-attitude, a man of a much more reasonable height, is carrying a machete. Funny, that.
Owen wasn't really paying much attention to the ranks of Hawaiian Mob surrounding him. Instead, he was entirely focused on the building they were approaching. When the holy oil was offered, though, he blinked and reached out to take it, watching Jo to see how she applied it before he applied it to his own neck, and then the insides of his arms. He held the vial of thick, gloriously anointed oil to Ink in case he wanted any, since Grayson had elected not to use it. Ready as he'd ever be, Owen didn't bother talking, he just nodded his thanks to Jo.
Ink finds himself rubbing at his arms as Shep gets to work, his jaw dropping open and his eyes going wide as the figures start to appear. It is with little stealth that he finds himself stepping out of their way, wanting to get a better vantage point as the spell continues to work. As Jo then beings to cast, Ink finds himself grinning, the war drums hard to resist and the graying older man tapping his feet with the beat. He considers the offer bottle that Owen holds out and after a moments though he follows their example, plastering the liquid around his neck before handing it back.
Ink has dressed down for today, doing his best to look like one of the local junkies and pulling off the 'look' with some success. He's wearing a faded lumberjack shirt which he has buttoned up to mid chest, a black t-shirt visible underneath. Old blue jeans and scuffed up brown boots fit in well with the rest of what he is wearing, the pale pallor to his skin only adding to the effect. Rubbing his hands together for warmth, he offers a simple nod to the others as they approach the house in question, his face taking on a stony expression as they get closer.
Loa dropped Rocco.
The mob of Hawaiians headed towards the alley. The denizens of the alley is their drugged stupors, raised their heads to look at the very menacing crew, and it took of a few seconds to decide that it was time to leave the immediate area. Shep pushed the through a leather loop, grabbing the handle of the koa wood sword, raising it over his head as he shouting in Hawaiian, the mob letting out loud grunts and howls as their chains and clubs cracked against the walls on the alley. There was no rush to close on the alley of the guard door, just a steady march towards it, rounding their way there into view of the long alerted Rocco.
Aidan just had to be here. No idea on the why but the need to be here was pretty strong. He'd even showed up carrying a hiking staff (big stick) and he pauses a bit to look around at the army getting ready to go to war and raises an eyebrow, "Aloha..." He's completely not dressed like he should be in this part of town either in his shorts and t-shirt. It looks more like he was out on a hike and ended up here.
Jo continued walking along with the crowd of angry Hawaiians, standing out a bit due to her silver hair pulled back into its bun, and the sword she had jutting up from her leather and mesh vest. She looked like someone's baddass biker Grandma. Other than the vest, leather pants fit her still trim, surprisingly fit figure closely, and her boots were obviously military issued. Jungle boots, so they breathed, but kept up some protection for the feet and ankles. For a shirt, just a simple, closely fit, dark gray Tshirt that tucked into her pants. When they got within easy visual range of Rocco, she simply stared at the man, and continued walking toward him. The flow of traffic around her seemed to part for her, or at least she made it do so, as if she expected no impediment to her movements in the slightest despite the throng of armored and weaponized Hawaiians. The echoing thunder of war drums beat against the sides of the buildings, but also came from the sky overhead, as did the sounds of an approaching, marching, horde.
Rocco, the large man in the alleyway, turned his broad body toward the mouth of his particular alleyway. Cautious and almost impassive, he took to scanning the incoming horde like some sort of sentry unit. Dressed in a Hawaiian shirt covered in bright red blooms, a set of chinos in pale asphalt gray, and a set of flip-flops, he shouldn't have looked so menacing. But the guy had a topknot and long black hair that obviously hadn't seen a shower in a good week or two, and much of his facial expression was hidden by mirrored, aviator shades. The only thing easily seen was the scowl on his broad mouth, set against his heavy, angular chin. None of that was even slightly lessened in severity by the breadth of his massive, muscular shoulders or the fact that his calves bulged with muscles. His gaze seemed to fix onto Jo, then Shep, then Owen, then Ink, and then Grayson's Hawaiian Mob Brah form. He cocked his head to the side, then licked his lips before he grinned slowly, then held up one hand in a 'Stop' motioned as the lead members of the mob reached the mouth of the surprisingly clean alleyway, with its bright pink dumpster to the right, and that big, heavy, metal door beyond where Rocco was standing.
And the yet-another-Hawaiian with the machete walks with the rest, his teeth bared in a feral grin as he too stared at Rocco. He lifts his voice in another war cry, the sound blending with that of the rest of the mob as they carry on.
Owen continued to move forward with the mob until they stopped, and he moved into place just behind Jo, watching Rocco and scowling. The strangeness of hearing 'Aloha' from someone caught his attention, though, and he turned his hazel eyes to look at Aidan, seeming somewhat surprised. "Oh.. uh. Aloha. We're just... staging a protest against the drug dealers in this area. You might want to step back. We don't know how it's going to go." He could hardly keep his eyes on Aidan as he spoke, and kept shifting them back to the alleyway with Rocco in it like a damn one man army waiting to stem a flood.
Ink steps past Owen and does his best to invade Rocco's personal space, the graying Welshman lifting himself to his full height and going almost nose to nose with the bouncer. "Like me mate said, got a protest going on and you might want to leave." Ink does his best not to let any spittle get on the other man but his breath... his breath, straight from Satan's backside and Rocco just got a direct blast. "Nows mate, how about you wander on, best for you and best for everyone."
The mob looked Rocco up and down, letting out a series of barks and howls. Really they were less than impressed with the gesture. Shep, the older man with the gray bandana and olive green fatigues stepped forward as he rested on his shoulder. The sharp teeth along its edge began glowing with light. "If I got to use you as a battering ram on the door..." The Warden gestured to Ink with his sword, "Looks like the ultimatum has been laid out, so leave or use the secret knock that says open sesame..."
Aidan shrugs a bit, "I think I'm good. This is where I was meant to be." He looks around a bit, "So drug dealers protest? Sounds like a good enough reason." He watches as they demand to get let into the building and he raises an eyebrow. Then he looks around at the others, "Yup this is where I was called for. I'm Aidan. And I do believe I've been sent here to help. If somebody doesn't mind filling me in real quick?"
Jo set her jaw, not bothering to speak to what she was hearing delivered by Ink. She continued to stare at Rocco, her eyes slowly narrowing. "You should listen, brah." The cold in her voice wasn't something that could be missed, nor was the fact that her hand flexed like she was restraining herself from whipping out her sword and doing something less than friendly with it. Instead of holding back entirely, though, Jo lifted her hands and made a motion through the air, then flickered her fingers like flames. "You be cooked soon if you don't." She warned of it, and then she thrust her hands forward, sending out the unmistakable scent of flesh charring and cooking into the air of the alley, like a wall of pure smell that hit and lingered as a cloud to fill the alley from side to side.
Rocco winced slightly, though it was mostly seen in the shift of his shoulders as he tensed up, since his eyes were completely covered by his sunglasses. He stared at Grayson for a moment, then looked at Ink, cocking his head to the side as he waved his hand in front of his face to disperse the cloud of noxious fumes. "Fo'real haole? Wat doing? Boddah you, Auntie?" He turned his head to Jo and frowned, directing his questions toward her as her gaze bored into him like a drillbit. "Jalike kapu naughties? Or you just here to be kolohe and beef?" He motioned to the incoming 'hoarde' of people with both of his hands. "You comin' up to my Ohana Hale and bother this Moke. You come to be maki die dead or somethin'? No act, you tell me whatchu wanting, we got planny talking with no talk stink. And no need for okole to be wikiwiki goin' outta here."
The one with the machete takes another step forward, malevolence gleaming in his eyes. His smile is a little wrong for a human face; all the features that make it are human, but it'd fit better on a shark, all teeth and cold hunger. He can't speak without betraying an accent from nowhere nearby, but he can glare with the best of them - and he does.
Owen took a slow breath, though he did it through his mouth to avoid gagging on the scent of charred flesh. Turning his head, he looked at Aidan and raised his brows even higher. "Uh... right. I have no idea why you'd feel like you had to be here, man. But... sure? I guess. We're trying to get into a drug den to get someone out. And the people are.. bad. You know, the bad kind of people." He moved his hand and seemed slightly distraught. "Vampires on society, you know?"
Ink steps to one side, covering his mouth as he comes close to gagging at the smell that is now drifting in the area. Through reddened eyes he regards Aidan and shrugs his shoulders. "If you got to be here, you got to be here. I dig it." Nodding, he gestures to Owen. "As he said, real drain on the society types. Oh and whatever you do, don't go shagging them. They've got like the super clap and it's nasty." Nodding solemnly, he turns his attention back to Rocco. "Pretty please just leave? I promise to take a breath mint or something."
Shep listened and gave a shake of his head, "'A'ohe naughties." The Warden thumbed back to the mob as he continued. "Your ohana has one of ours. If there's beef, we got more than enough to bring down the house." Shed returned the sword to her shoulder. "You want to let people inside to get her, and nothing has to break, and you can go back to doing what you and your ohana are doing." He glanced back at Owen, and Aiden, then back to Rocco.
Aidan smiles a bit as he talks, "Ohhhh they're gonna love me then. And sometimes I get a nudge to be in the right spot by my God." He walks up towards Rocco. "I think you understand that these fine folks all want to enter and return what's theirs." He shrugs a bit, "You don't want to be on the wrong end of these folks when they decide that talking and threats aren't working and they just go through you."
Jo didn't say anything this time, just stepped closer, her hand moving back to rest on the hilt of the sword that was held in the back of her leather and mesh vest. Apparently, she didn't feel the need to threaten more than that.
Rocco held his hands up and shook his head after the additional growls in his direction, and then the people attempting to speak some more logical approaches that didn't involve machetes or burning flesh off... or heaven only knew what. "Look, I'll knock, tell them whatchu want, na lolos. If you think that it's me that makin them decides, you even bigger lolo. If this Moke is maki die dead, it not gonna open that door for you no fastah." He motioned to the door, then stepped back toward it and knocked solidly, twice. When the small, sliding window of sorts opened, he looked inside and said something in Hawaiian. Something was said back to him, and the small window shut solidly. Rocco looked at the people that were standing there, apparently ready to go to war, and said calmly. "He gettin' someone, jalike plenny talk, neh? He have someone come talk." Letting out a slow breath, Rocco simply waited by the door looking stiff and uncomfortable, even turning a little green with the stench and all the random threats being thrown around.
The one with the machete waits, idly thumbing the edge of the blade, just to check that it's nice and sharp. Very nice and very sharp.
Owen looked over at the others and nodded. "I'm going in. Anyone else that comes with me, fine. But I am definitely going in to get her, if they let a couple of us in, alright?" He didn't seem to really be asking, more clarifying that he'd obviously be one of the people going into the building.
"I said I was going butty and I didn't get dressed up all nice for nothing." Ink flashes Owen a toothy grin, nodding towards the soon to be open doorway and making to step in as soon as it is ready. Perhaps feeling a little better now, Ink unbuttons his shirt and takes it off, wrapping them item around his waist and revealing the black shirt underneath and his heavily tattooed and quite muscular arms. "Lets do this."
The illusionary mob around Shep started muttering to one another in Hawaiian, one of them gesturing to the door with his chain-wrapped hand as he let out a dry laugh. In truth, the quirks of the illusions were an extension of Shed himself as he waited for the coming back from the man in the door. The Warden took a step back from the building, scanning the structure. "Jo... I going to check our back." Gesturing to a couple of illusions, they ultimately made a path, and started back to the main alley to ensure there were using a backdoor.
Jo released the handle of her sword when Rocco did something that at least got them closer to getting into the building. Instead, she simply stood with her hands comfortably at her sides, resting, waiting. She nodded to Shep as he stepped away to go and check out around the back of the 'mob', giving him a hand motion as he left that didn't look like anything obscene.
Rocco seemed to be just waiting. His movements hadn't become any different, really, he still scanned around like a sentry unit. But he didn't move to stop people from getting closer to the door. No need, really.
A few moments passed and then the slide opened, revealing the face of a young woman. She was lovely, really, with long, blonde hair, and decidedly at least a couple of people standing there in the alley would recognize her as Hailey. "Ah.. back again then?" She grinned as she looked at Ink and gave him a once over. Her light blue eyes tracked to the others, and her grin turned up into an amused smile. "Oh wow, you're putting on the whole show. You must have really thought about this one. What is it I can do for you, exactly, lovelies? I'm sure we can accommodate all of the strange things you desire. I just need to know them." If she was concerned, it didn't show on her face. Instead, she seemed to be perfectly content discussing business through the door.
Loa dropped Hailey.
Aidan blinks as the slide is opened on the door, "Lovely now we're getting someplace." He glances back at the others, "This is all on ya'll for now. I don't know her from Eve..."
The one with the machete waits for the people who're speaking to say more. After all, the voice won't match the exterior.
Owen looked at the woman who's face was now visible in the little window. Glancing at the others, he cleared his throat and nodded to her. "Aloha, ma'am. I'm here to pick up Max and take her home. If you could have her brought out, that would be great. I'll just get her home safely." He nodded to the woman again, then offered a wan smile. He was quite obviously attempting to be cordial, despite his fist clenching at his side.
Ink offers a bright, welcoming smile as the slot in the door is opened. "Hey there Hailey, nice to see you again. I'm happy to report that I'm feeling much better after our last encounter." Reaching into a pocket, he pulls out a packet of cigarettes and after flipping it open, extracts one and puts it in his mouth. "As me man said, we're after the wee straggly lass that was in when I was. No need for hassle, just bring her out and we'll go about our business. Simples." He flashes her another smile as he lights his cigarette, doing his best to appear warm and friendly.
Aidan steps forward just a bit, "I'm not completely sure what's going on yet." He looks over the guard pup and the blondie of evil and hmms, "But I'm starting to paint the picture. I implore you to just release the woman in question."
Jo let out a slow, steady breath and looked at Rocco, then looked at Hailey. Even if she wasn't currently making any scary noises or causing the world to smell like a roasting human, she seemed to be calculating and planning for 'just in case'.
Hailey grinned at Ink and nodded her head. "Good to know, nothing wrong with a strong constitution. I value that in anyone I get to know better." She looked at Owen for a long span of seconds and grinned slowly. "I should be terrible and ask you for a trade, cutie. But... I feel like you're all in a rather uppity mood at the moment. So I'll just have Max brought down so you can take her home. Do be cautious, she's recovering from her recent exploits." Hailey's smile gained a wicked bent to it, before she turned her head to the side and nodded to someone. When she looked back out the door, it was with an expectant sort of expression. "Anything else? Or will that conclude this morning's visit?"
Rocco looked at Hailey somewhat impassively, though his shoulders seemed to lose some of their tension immediately as the woman showed up and began talking. When Hailey agreed to get Max for those at the door, he stepped back a bit and leaned against the wall with his broad shoulder, looking far more relaxed indeed. "You guys can shut off the show, if you wanna. I don' need it. No need for it. You made your point, Auntie." He glanced at Jo with that, his mirrored shades reflecting Jo's face right back to her.
The one with the machete, with talking going on, looks up. After all, there's more than one way into an alley when you're a devious bugger.
Owen stiffened slightly, something about what was said making his spine try to straighten to the point it was going to dislodge his head. "I don't need anything else, or want anything else. Just bring her down, let her go with us. That's it." Owen made a final sort of motion, a sweep, with his hand. He rocked his weight back and forth between his feet, like he was antsy or nervous, and waited for the Max special delivery.
"We're just super concerned is all. I know you take care of people but I'm just hoping she's not to drained after her experiences." Reaching out, Ink rests a hand on Owen's shoulder, gripping him there for a moment before relaxing his hand. Shrugging his shoulders, he looks over to Rocco. "Super concerned mate, as I said." This is offer by way of explanation, at least it seems to make sense to Ink. At last, he turns to the slit in the door. "I think we'll all be good once Max is out. I think a pleasant walk in the park is on the books later but that's about it."
Purple, gold, and vermillion clouds grace the western sky as the sun descends toward the west.
Shep and his group of Hawaiian Thugs that had left with him could be seen entering the alley at the far side, showing they'd gone around the entire building to come at this from the opposite side of the alley as everyone else. He made a hand motion to Jo as he came within view rather than calling out any words to her. It was the international symbol for OK, a thumbs up.
Aidan just steps off to the side for now leaning on his hiking staff while the others are talking things over... He's just here as the 'big' guns. Or moral support maybe
Jo nodded to Shep as he came up the other way. She then looked at those getting ready to pick up Max from the den of iniquity. She, too, was here in case of need. Notably, she did shift her hand in the air and the stench of burning flesh suddenly receded. Gone, thank heavens, enough to give everyone back breaths that no longer reeked of fetid death.
Rocco seemed to relax even more when the world didn't stink of burning flesh, and he stayed ready for whatever, just watching.
When the door opened, it demonstrated just how thick and heavy it was. At least 3 inches thick, solid metal, and it moved without a squeak. Well made. Solid construction. There was a man standing there holding Max in his arms. The woman was quite unconscious, sleeping, and looked to be fairly boneless as he held her like a child, and she would have looked like a child next to his size if it weren't for the colorful tattoos and bright hair coloring that marked her, decidedly, as Max. She seemed a bit pale, her lips hardly even red.
Hailey was standing behind the man and peeked around him, grinning. "There you go. One Max. Please, accept her with my compliments. She's a wonderful girl." With that, the men stepped out through the door and looked at those gathered to see who he was handing the unconscious female to.
The one with the big stick might be here as moral support, but the one with the machete is here more as immoral support. There's nothing unusual about that. While the door opens, he continues his surveillance of the immediate area.
The orange-red sun sinks below the western horizon, leaving a darkening tapestry of purple and red-gold clouds behind it.
It took all of three seconds for Owen to be standing in front of the large fellow carrying Max. He held out his arms for her, and was granted the immediate burden of her unconscious body. The gasp he let out definitely sounded like surprise. "She's so cold!" He looked at the big man with some horror on his face, then at Hailey, before he tucked Max in closer to his chest, turned, and started walking away. As he threaded his way through the 'mob of warriors' he held his ear near her mouth to verify she was breathing, and once he felt her chilly breath on his face he seemed to relax a bit. Still, he didn't stop walking. Owen had gotten what he came for, literally, and was taking her somewhere that was nowhere near this particular hell.
"Well!" Ink says, rubbing his hands together. "This was delightful." His Welsh accent is quite thick as he says this, looking to Rocco on the door and those still standing behind. "Really though, we must dash. It's been lovely and all that. Tootles!" He flashes them a toothy grin and then follows after Owen, having to pick up his pack to keep up with the taller man.
Shep looked at the transaction, then nodded his head once. "Alright. Mahalo." He glanced at Grayson, raising his brows slightly. Notably, Shep hadn't dismissed the large mass of 'Hawaiian Mob', and they still made their threatening, angry gestures, or talked to each other in Hawaiian and made jokes, likely at the haole's expense. so, too, did the sound of war drums and marching still echo through the air.
Aidan looks over at the woman being carried out by Owen then at the others, "So this was what we'd come for yes? And if so we should likely leave then right?"
Brindled clouds conceal a few patches of starlit sky.
The one with the machete looks at Shep, and nods ever so slightly in turn. He starts to back away from the door, taking his machete with him but not turning his back on Hailey and friends.
Jo nodded to Hailey, then looked at the man in the doorway, and then Rocco. She glanced at Shep and then offered him a slight smile. "I believe we got what we were coming for. Shall we?" She didn't seem particularly thrilled about walking away, like it took actual effort to not just storm through that open door into whatever waited inside for them. But she did, through sheer will alone, turn and start walking back the way they'd come into the alley, taking with her some followers of the Hawaiian Mob persuasion.
Rocco didn't go inside, he stayed outside, ready to get back to his post.
Hailey nodded once, giving a satisfied grin as Max was picked up and taken away. She tapped the shoulder of the man that had carried her out, and he stepped backward into the building. "You all have a beautiful night. Come back and see me sometime when you're in the mood for more fun, less angry mob stuff. Though.. if you really wanted to have some fun I guess you could bring them along. Never did mind an audience." She laughed, the sound bright and lively, utterly so wrong coming from what amounted to a house filled with druggies. "Bye now." She waved, and then the door shut with a solid 'THUD'. Not even the slider was open now.
Owen was gone, turning the corner, heading to... well anywhere but here, with Max in his arms, and apparently Ink following on his heels. Possibly even to help the two get to a hospital or something reasonable like that.
Ink seems to be feeling better by the minute, now managing to keep pace with Owen as they discuss their next move.
Shep started walking not far behind Jo, and the entirety of the Mob began moving with them as well. They were obviously leaving the area. It wasn't until the entire crew had left the alleyway that the war drums subsided and the sound of additional, thunderously marching platoons stopped ringing through the air and against the buildings.
The one with the machete leaves with the rest, back to where they started - and then he's packing up his bags and getting ready to go. He might have brought rather more than they ended up needing, but better to have it and not use it than need it and not have it. Even if he did feel a little overdressed for the occasion.
Once everyone was back away from the alley with Rocco, and they'd turned the corner, the huge mob of dangerous looking, and sounding, Hawaiians suddenly dissipated to nothing. Just like they'd been nothing to begin with. It left only Shep, Jo, and Grayson behind, as Ink and Owen were gone in their own direction. The two wardens took their time to strip off their extra gear and tuck it away properly into bags before picking them up and leaving, and of course giving Grayson a handshake for his help. Luckily, they hadn't needed it.
Aidan makes his way out of the alley with the others although he does look around once more setting the location in his mind... Then he pulls out his phone and saves it as well. "I'm sure this isn't completely over and I'm sure I'll be back." Then the mob vanishes and the holy warrior blinks some, "Well that's new."
Shep looked at Aidan and gave him a kindly smile, one filled with heaven only knew how many years of experience with this sort of thing, as he pulled his bag over his shoulder and slipped his other arm around Jo. "It's never over. That's what they forget to tell you in the handbooks. There's always something else, or someone else, to watch and be cautious of. These just happened to have been willing to give up what we asked for, which makes me far more nervous than I would have been if they'd just fought us. Ready babe?" He looked at Jo and grinned, before the two of them started to walk off down the street.
The one with the machete is the only one of the dangerous Hawaiians left. He grins at Aidan before snapping his fingers and vanishing along with the rest. Later, and out of sight of the holy man, Shep doesn't get his handshake but does get an elegant bow before the man who started it all heads out.
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