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Post by Krakenbox on May 4, 2022 21:39:30 GMT -8
"You guys can mess with fate and make organizations, right?"
Like the cult.
It was all he could offer Gavin aside from the sympathetic frown.
Did Anthony have a clone? Abigail did. Hopefully he wouldn't have to shoot her. That would be fucked up.
Tony frowned to himself as he adjusted the Uzi and started doing his best with the device and fairy drugs flooding his system. "Didn't know you had a family," he mumbled, almost stupidly; but with his concentration on the phone the mundie didn't have a filter at the moment. He switched to speaking to other employees on the phone, apologizing for the hour, but knowing they would just bill it.
The Autumn Beast's pained voice caught the attention of Jack Ratchet as he came over, regarding the odd sight of a very young man among the Lost with an assault rifle, doing his best to manage bank accounts while sweating and blitzed. He offered the services Summer was peddling, and Nate Henley mentioned that he had Tolltakers already on his copy, but Gavin was currently twisting. His own copy likely had access to moving Hunters, was steeped in the occult, and was an intimidating combatant to say the least. The going theory was that he would likely mess with his living space to flush him out, which was agitating the Lost on a deeply personal level.
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 10, 2022 14:56:20 GMT -8
"I mean some of us can. Not my thing. I'm more the direct damage and mobility in the Hedge guy. And I can be a dinosaur, yeah. Could call Victor though. I didn't see him at the party so he might not be busy with his own clone." Gavin nodded at the suggestion, relieved to have a thread to grasp at before his world came undone.
Clearly still inebriated, fishing his phone from his pocket the Razorhand's claws had scratched into the screen noticeably from Tony's viewpoint. The device seemed none the worse for wear as it lit up. The streak of light indicating the break in the glass was slowly sealing before his eyes. Gavin briefly wore an expression that said 'whoopsie' as he pawed in his password.
It took a moment, but he found Victor's contact listed simply under the letter V. Stepping a short distance away while it attempted to connect.
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Post by Henley on May 11, 2022 23:09:40 GMT -8
Henley stared off into the void for a long moment at Tony's question. "I can bless Fate. But that takes time, and time is tight right now." His people were on the issue with the banks, and there was no particular way he was going to be able to move things along faster on his own at this point than all of his subordinates combined. If the Tolltakers were hunting his clone, that meant he wasn't going to have the time to sit down and do this.
"Gavin and I can work together on ours but, Tony... I'm worried about Yuan. Especially if he's going to be dealing with his copy on his own. Drunk. And alone. I... don't know how that goes."
He glanced to Gavin nervously. They had clones they needed to take care of who were dangerous, but having Yuan dive headfirst into the underworld alone made no sense and Anthony actually had skills and had made some friends.
"You've got connections I don't have, not to mention funds and training from Squire Rose. Can you help him stop his copy and get out safely? Are you willing? I know it's an ask."
Beasts had a tendency to do that. Maybe a human thinking like a human could help ground it.
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Post by Anthony Cartwright on May 14, 2022 20:32:31 GMT -8
Antony blinked as he realized Nate was trying to get his attention and wrapped up his first task as Gavin chattered with Victor and asked for Henley's input. He finished by the time the Nymph had summoned a new phone, staring with dilated pupils.
"Oh, yeah, Yuan? He's cool. I can try to run some- ah- interference, and some of the Triad know me I guess. Having some backup would be helpful if it's a whole 'who's the real Yuan' story beat kicks in."
Faeries, man.
He scratched the back of his neck as his head slowly swiveled to track the direction Yuan had paced off to as he called and texted. He focused up, trying to clear his mind as he processed this was Life or Death for the guy who had guided him through surviving a Huntsman. Aello had trained some basic skills when it came to following someone.
Tracing where Yuan had headed, he figured cutting through the industrial complex would cut his time and allow him to properly intercept or at least be right behind.
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Post by Henley on May 14, 2022 21:23:35 GMT -8
Henley sent Tony a text to ensure the kid had his newly summoned phone's number.
The second text he sent went to the Tolltaker Knight squad leader and Yuan.
He continued to speak with Gavin and Victor...
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Post by Victor on May 24, 2022 0:18:49 GMT -8
Eventually a dusty silver sedan drove into the lot- utterly unremarkable save for the speed with which it pulled up, and the familiar bearded man behind the wheel. Victor hadn't even pulled the keys out of the ignition before he opened the driver's side door and leaned out to greet Henley and Gavin with wild eyes.
"We going somewhere or we talking here?"
He had a black rucksack sitting in the seat next to him, which he laid a hand on in preparation for having to move it to make room for guests.
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Post by Henley on May 25, 2022 12:04:21 GMT -8
Henley looked to Gavin, then Victor.
"I'm fine with whatever you two want. Gavin, how do you want to track yourself? Getting a quiet word out that anyone who sees you is to report to Victor would be one thing, but I'm worried about what happens if we create an optimal organization for hunting a guy who looks like you... for obvious reasons."
He didn't want Gavin to end up being accidentally swept up in such a thing after they'd accomplished their objective. The Wyrd was tricky.
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 27, 2022 18:51:08 GMT -8
The Beast was briefly staggered by the thought of being mobile with all the intoxicants running through his system. The gentle reminder that he needed to hunt down and stop his double from ruining his life and shredding his grasp on reality soon brought him out of it.
Even though Gavin had already had direct experience where that Contract had gone very wrong he was more concerned with getting the job done. "Well, we need to find him fast, yeah?" He hoped that whatever magicked pack of humans might be working to Victor's direction rather than plopping another ominous firearm and bag of silver coins in his lap. "Could maybe get the group to cover my place while we do something a bit more grounded to find him."
"If that's not a good idea, I'm happy to just help on the leg work with calling around to get the right word out at street level." He glanced back and forth between Henley and Victor to gauge reaction.
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Post by Victor on May 27, 2022 19:09:37 GMT -8
Victor's mouth skewed as he mulled over Gavin's options
"Your twin hasn't been all that quiet. If I put my guys on it I wouldn't be surprised if we find him in short order, especially if we can put our heads together on this. Not that I'd put all my eggs in that one basket-"
He nodded to Gavin, giving the beast a pointed look
"This is you we're talking 'bout, after all. As for your place... if worse comes to worst, is moving an option for you? It might end up easier to move you than the mark on your address."
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 27, 2022 20:26:42 GMT -8
"Right, he seems to be trying to go out in a blaze of glory, but he'll still put good obstacles in between him and that fate: people, places, things."
"He's likely antagonizing the Triad that followed me home into them taking extreme action against my home." The place was what grounded him in the real world. The only thing that did, really, as an Aussie expat with wanderlust. He had to cultivate it in just the right way so he could hold still inside the gilded cage that was Las Vegas. "They already know where it is because they tracked me back there a while back when I got too close to their human trafficking operation."
"No. I'm not being driven out of my home by whatever this thing is." The Razorhand's Mantle seethed with fear and a flicker of growing wrath. "If I ever move, it will be because I choose it, when I choose it." He reflexively checked the edges of clawed fingers off each other in manic anticipation. The slick sliding of smooth stone spoke to the threat of their obsidian bite. His instincts had drawn him into looking in the direction of The Strip when he responded to Victor's inquiry.
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Post by Victor on May 30, 2022 1:41:03 GMT -8
Victor nodded again, his expression softening to neutral
"Here's what we'll do. I'll call in favors to get an eye out for your twin first. No whimsy, just straight words. With how loud he's being we'll get a mark for sure-"
He wasn't nearly as sure as he was trying to sound, but obviously Gavin didn't need to hear any more uncertainty right now, and Victor was going to oblige that as far as he could
"After we know where he is, then we can decide how we get boots on the ground, and who's boots those are going to be. Here-"
The cleaner grabbed the rucksack and, reaching between the seats, tossed it into the footwell behind him
"-you two should hop in. Regardless where we're going, we should be ready to move. I can call and drive at the same time."
He was already reaching to the dashboard for his phone
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Post by Henley on May 30, 2022 13:08:53 GMT -8
Henley nodded and climbed into the vehicle. "Once we find him, it should be easy to stop him. A bit of Spring's blessings will put him to sleep and we can move him as needed. That being said, I need my involvement in this to be subtle."
He glanced to Gavin, concern writ on his face.
"You'll be okay. We'll get control of this soon."
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Post by Henley on May 30, 2022 22:34:49 GMT -8
Henley warped Fate to curse the false Gavin, dragging him closer and closer to them with a cruel-sounded, low-throated chant of Ogrish vengeance.
"Call your dudes, Victor, but drive me by the Strip, please. I need Glamour, bad. Well fucked without."
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 30, 2022 23:14:53 GMT -8
The Beast reluctantly confines himself to the vehicle's mechanical motion. Closing his eyes he rolls back on the sturdy foundation of meditation and his natural wherewithal to endure emotional storms. This was more like an emotional typhoon for him. "Right. Thanks mate."
Opening his eyes and fishing for his phone. "Give me some numbers to call and I'll help find someone who's awake right now," he shot the offer to Victor. The least he could do is some legwork breaking through to the names with ears on the ground.
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Post by Victor on May 30, 2022 23:34:18 GMT -8
"The Strip it is."
Victor threw the car into drive as soon as Gavin shut the door, nodding to Henley first, before looking back to Gavin through the rear-view mirror
"Yeah just uh, here-"
He threw his own phone back for the beast to catch
"I'm going to give you two numbers- dial the first on mine, and the second on yours. and oh, make sure mine's connected to the bluetooth. Last thing we need is to get pulled over for distracted driving 'case I have a phone in my hands..."
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