May 08 01:30:47 109 PA - Unhappy Burger
From Chronicles
May 08 01:30:47 109 PA.
MAIN STREET
The skies are dry here in the early morning, with the oranges and reds of the sun just peeking above the eastern horizon. Here in the dead center of Kingsdale, things have come to a crashing halt out of normality. The normally chaotic streets running north and south are essentially stopped, with cars, hovertrucks and riding mounts having skidded off to the sides, or are in the midst of trying to tear away from the area. Even pedestrians are running or hiding. Clearly, no one has any idea what's going on, save for the fact that things seem to be focused on that culinary delight that is Happy Burger. Even with the Police Headquarters nearby, there are as yet no real officers on scene.
Having been only a few blocks away when the sirens started, Max came running, pausing only long enough to slip into his Urban Warrior armor. He's got a bag slung across his shoulder, and as he rounds the corner into the intersection, his eyes are moving, trying to find out just what the hell is going on. Unfortunately.. he's not sensitive.
Tek is out for a walk testing out the new upgrade to his armor, a map of Kingsdale and the immediate area. There is a UTI strapped across his back and a Wilk's 247 pistol and a sledge hammer can be seen on his utility belt. Seeing the commotion Tek starts off towards the Happy Burger though he is not drawing a weapon, just investigating for now.
Sithik and his reptilian companion are making their way northward heading towards the gates when the hell breaks loose. The dragon-like pet sticks close to his master, weaving gracefully around fleeing obstacles that impede their path trying to get away from what he is trying to get closer to, in order to see what the disturbance is all about.
The streets of Kingsdale have slid to a chaotic halt, from their normal chaotic movement. The last of the escaping vehicles are moving out of the area, with pedestrians continuing to make their way north, south and into safety of the River Walk. It's rather difficult to get around, with everything having slammed to a stop in a maze of fender-benders. Even the vaunted Kingsdale Police Department isn't yet doing anything, despite the fact that its headquarters is on this very block. The best that can be determined is that Happy Burger has something to do with it. As Tek marches toward it clad in his modified armor, a shot rings out, a fireball of sorts flying wide and over his shoulder. Either a clean miss, or a warning.
Max smiles to himself seeing the fireball fly out, and he disengages from his hiding spot. "Mages.. all they have is fireballs.. Fireballs I do in my sleep." He mutters, approaching the place from another angle, his hands free of conspicuous weapons.
Valeriya has more than fireballs. Not that she's against them, just saying. She arrives on the scene carried impossibly by a winged lizard the size of a mid-sized bird. Certainly not large enough to carry her aloft but it does so nonetheless. In her arms another lizard is present, clutching at her very tightly as it hangs on and eagerly awaits landing. They float towards the ground before happy Burger.
Tek ducks as the fireball crackles by his head. Even though he was approaching without a weapon drawn that seemed a bit unfriendly like. A quick shuffle to the side takes Tek behind a car or truck or whatever is close so as to get out the UTI Zapper Gun behind cover before moving forward again.
Sithik continues to make his way to a good vantage point to see into the fast food joint without getting a fireball shot his way, if that is even possible. The slinking Shepard-sized lizard following along with its master in his approach for a better assessment of things.
It seems Sage has had a little advanced warning before she ventured out towards the main street. She comes from the direction of River walk, which isn't too far away from Main street. While her favourite weapon isn't normally allowed into the place, she has some equipment with her as she comes to see what's causing all the fuss.
There are no further shots ringing out from the fast food joint, at least for the time being. A breeze whips up from the west, enough to blow around leaves and some of the lighter twigs. The vehicles that have crashed to a halt are now largely free of their occupants as well, many of whom are deciding that the police headquarters might be a good place to take shelter. After a moment of relative silence in a situation like this, an amplified voice rings out: "You two, get back! Funny guy with the duck and that other guy. Don't know where he went, but I want to see him!" There's another delay, then, "Who owns this slop house?"
Max raises and eyebrow, stopping his rapid approach and stepping out into the open. He's armored with a few tricks besides. And he's got nothing to fear from fireballs. "Who do we have the privilege of talking to?" He yells out, hands out low and to the sides, palms facing the fast food joint. Showing he's unarmed. For the moment.
Tek now has his UTI at the ready. Keeping the angle he has right now he switches his radio to the emergency frequency and then says, "I am near the Happy Burger with a clear line of sight, it looks like some people have taken hostages and has them lined up against the windows. One of the unfriendlies shot what looked to be a fireball." Then taking time to aim the UTI in case he can get a clear shot while he waits.
Sithik isn't sure if he is really talking about him or not, he surely doesn't have a duck with him. He does however, take the opportunity to duck behind some cover where he is at. Hopefully Max will take the attention off of him so he can attempt to get a better angle, from here he isn't seeing anything.
Landed not ten feet behind Tek, Valeriya releases the long snakey lizard in her arms and it appears to be quite grateful for that before taking off down a near by alley. The winged lizard that carried her following behind. Free of them she pauses with the hostages and all.. considering the position of the hostages versus the aggressors. For the moment she looks quit content to stand in the open.
Compared to others, Sage isn't exactly close to the Burger joint. Likely being around five hundred feet at best. She has her helmet on to be able to listen to the chatter going on. Should anyone take a look at her noticeable weaponry, it seems to consider of a pistol, neural mace and some presumably non-lethal grenades. She isn't in a hurry to rush up the situation, and seems to wander casually closer. Likely taking advantage of the cars and other normal obstacles as obscuring cover.
Happy Burger is essentially a free-standing building of its own, with one-third opaque where the "cooking" happens, the other two-thirds where the eating and enjoyment of calories, fat and cholesterol happens. As the people from Kingsdale who have come to inspect the problem gather, another voice rings out via speaker, as does a simple shot from a gunpowder-type weapon. Likely just something to garner attention. "Hey! Okay, just keep back. You're all at a good distance. Stay there. Duck guy, good. Other guy thinks he's sneaky and creepy out there, come out where I can see you, or bad things might start to happen!" Another gunpowder shot echoes off the various flat surfaces. The five-hundred foot perimeter seems to be something that the criminals are mildly content with, as everyone is gathered roughly at that distance. "Can any of you negotiate? We have demands!" Whomever is inside isn't running and hopping around screaming. They're speaking fairly rationally, despite what they might be doing to hostages.
Max pauses for a moment, to let someone else call out and claim responsibility, but he's not overly concerned with their offensive abilities yet, so he's quite content to let himself be a target. "I'd be happy to hear your demands... I'll help you get them met and leave peacefully. I'll pass them on to the police and anyone that can get your demands met if I can't help you." He calls over his suit speakers. As he does so he drops his hands to his sides, as he is unarmed. And they likely can't see the pistol he has at his back or the knife on his thigh. He does though reach gently up to his face, and toggle the switch on his helmet, enabling the telescopic zoom, so he can get a better looks at these fools.
Sithik decides this vantage point is unsatisfactory, leaving his position he stays outside the perimeter requested to circle around for a better view, at least till he can see something. He's just a curious unarmed man with a big lizard is all, he just wants to see whats going on while someone decides to negotiate.
As things progress Valeriya calmly pulls out a pair of binoculars from her front belt pouch to tell her everything she needs to know about the positioning of people in Happy Burger. She then considers
Sage lets her hand stray to a blinder grenade of her own while her body is mostly obscured, and keeps the back of her hand towards the burger joint for the time being. She doesn't make any haste for the place, though. She can see others have already moved to take 'command' of the situation.
The speakers inside call out again, "Hey cutesie! Stand up! You. We want fifty-thousand in unmarked negotiable gems, and we don't want to wait." Presumably he's directing his words at Max, who volunteered to be negotiator. There's no visible motion or visible anything beyond what can already be seen by optics. A building buttoned up, and hostages. "Everybody wants to walk out of here, and so do we. Get on it."
Max turns his head toward Tek, seeing Val for the first time behind him. Narrowing his eyes he sends a silent message to the other man by means of the power of the mind. But his attentions are back on the hostage takers. "OK, no problem. It's gonna take time though.. we need to get the gems for you, all we have right now are credits. Unless you'd prefer the credits?" He asks over his suit speakers. "What else do you want? Anything I can get to make you guys more comfortable? Anything you guys want you let me know and I'll get to work getting it." He tells the men. Of course he's just trying to keep them talking, making demands to give other people time to act. To figure out a way to act. "Course.. Fifty-thousand is a lot of money.. can you give me a show of faith? Show me the hostages are unhurt, we're all way back here, no reason not to show us. Just one." He asks them
Looking back at Valeriya, Tek responds, "It is too far away, I would need to be much closer. It seems a small price for such a risk. And with the lack of police response I am thinking something else is up here. What are you thinking?" Said softly in Valeriya's direction.
Valeriya can't help but roll her eyes at the demand. "Fifty-thousand in gems? A three carat diamond? Honestly? Talk about aiming low. You couldn’t make anything significant with that." She notes in disappointment while waiting for Tek's answer. She puts the binocs down with a shrug to indicate she learned about as much as she knew. "I was thinking of seeing if I could help you get closer unnoticed, or exchanging you for another hostage. But considering the paltry sum they want I'd have to agree it's not worth it." She says to him.
Sithik ends up closer to where Tek and Val have gathered, seems they have found a good vantage point to see what's going on. The reptilian obediently following his master, waiting for the next task he can please him with.
Sage ends up going to talk with the others as she discards her own ideas as potentially reckless as she would likely need their help in any event. "Any way I could help?" She inquires simply as she gets closer.
"They're unhurt, I know you can see it," the hostage-taker confirms to Max very rationally. "Now stop stalling and get our shit, this isn't our first dance. If you can't do it, get me someone who can." They make no comment on the requested value, and people with good ears might indeed believe that they know what they're doing, despite the low sum. A few blocks south at the Precinct House, Kingsdale's finest are beginning to stir into action. Mostly on foot, due to the choked streets. Distant sirens can be heard as some of the more mobile hover-vehicles at the headquarters building roar to life. For those who have the ability to see accurately over the distance, it is still simply a wall of hostages visible.
Max nods, now knowing that the hostage takers have eyes on him, just as he has eyes on them. They're just hidden better. "Ok, ok.. I'm getting on it right now. I just gotta stop a jeweler's. Don't go anywhere ok?" He asks, trying to relax the hostage takers with a mild joke. A thought occurs to him then. "How do you want me to get the gems to you? I can't just walk up and hand them to you with you holding guns on people. What would you like me to do?" He asks over the speakers. But he turns his head, and sends another though to Tek, as he's the only familiar face out of the band of people over there. Max however, makes no notion to move, he's fine being the face right now.
Tek shrugs, "I am all up for helping anyway I can. I need to be within sixty feet to effect devices for simple things like turning a switch or knob or whatnot. But closer for more complex things like piloting without being in the cockpit. I can paralyze out to forty feet. And I am thinking there is someone invisible out here. I am going to see if I can see anything with my thermals, can anyone detect something like that?" With that Tek looks to Max and shakes his head before scanning the scene.
Sithik is attentive to the people nearby who sound as if they may act at some point. He listens to what they are talking about to see what ideas start popping up between them. The mention of invisibility has him placing two fingers on a tattoo of three eyes upon his forehead, concentrating on giving himself supernatural sight.
"We are not close enough to really verify that all the hostages are as well kept as they would have us believe. While we obtain the gems we should send a medical expert.." A glance to Sage. "And her nurse.." A glance to Tek. "Completely unarmed and open to search. And willing to check any of the hostage takers over as well. In exchange for two hostages." Valeriya calmly suggests to Max. "Also I think I may have enough gems in one of my devices.."
Sage glances to Valeriya as she seems to be incorporated into the plans easily enough. For the moment, she puts the blinder grenade back where she kept it before. She instead takes a moment to check which kit she brought with her. "If they allow it." She comments.
The building that houses Happy Burger - which is a building all by itself - is under a light siege. Main Street is a wreck of cars, and the entire stretch eerily absent of people in this early morning hour. To the south, police officials are on the move; mostly on foot, but two hovercycles do make a single pass in a wing man formation. Inside, the plate glass windows are a mass of people pressed chest and face to the outside, shoulder-to-shoulder. However, other than a single fireball fired a while back, things have been peaceful. The building comes more words directed at Max, the volunteer negotiator. "Worry about that later, just get the gems," is the reply to Max's questions. Then somewhat more gruffly and authoritatively, "It doesn't take long to get that together, so like I said, stop stalling and get moving."
Leonard tolerates the weather as he moves along main street in order to replenish himself with food and coffee. Judging from the scene that becomes apparent at the Happy Burger, he must not be the only one who's hungry and/or thirsty. Whatever happened to politely waiting in line for one's turn?
Tek remains where he is, weapon at the ready and on high alert looking for anything suspicious around the area near Happy Burger.
Max seeing his efforts stonewalled, Max starts to walk away, but Val catches his eye. "Ok, what about the hostages? Can we sent in a pair of medical personnel to check them out? No weapons and you can search everything they bring with them. In exchange for two hostages. You don't lose anything, you're just swapping them out." He calls, turning to the group and without the speaker engaged. "Guys.. he's not giving me a lot of wriggle room. Can we get the gems, maybe I can get them to agree to more with their demands in hand."
Sithik does not know where to get gems so he decides to leave and walks directly away, with his reptilian companion in tow, from the fast food place. Maybe it's getting boring for him, whatever it is, appears he is leaving.
Waiting for the take on that offer Valeriya pulls what looks to be an eclip from a port on her forearm. She examines it for a moment before shaking her head. This only has half of the gems they want. "Ask them if they would accept any alternative magic items or scrolls in addition to half the gems." She suggests. Meanwhile the winged lizard that was on her shoulder earlier takes to landing on the roof of the building, shoving aside some spectating crows in the process.
"No," comes the monosyllabic answer. "We are not blatantly stupid, there will be no 'health' inspection. Our hostages are unharmed. Get the gems, bring them here. We get the gems, you get the hostages. Think of it as 'just swapping them out,'" he offers, turning Max's words back on themselves. The only thing suspicious about the area around Happy Burger is that there's nothing going on other than civilian crashes and the police getting themselves together. Of course, that's really more the paranoid side of suspicious. At this point the cops are starting to get together, the foot patrols finally beginning to arrive. A few people in suits who look to possibly be proper negotiators are still a distance behind. The men and possibly women inside of the burger joint make no further comments
"Did they raise their prices that high?" Leonard chuckles as he nears the perimeter in Valeriya's vicinity. "How much do they demand? If it's more than a few Happy Dollar vouchers, they're asking too much." He'd assume that anyone with intelligence accompanying their greed would choose somewhere that catered to a higher class of potential hostage. Valeriya's pet doesn't dislodge all of the spectating blackbirds; Edgar lands upon another building's ledge to observe.
Max nods, and abandons the public eye for now. "Ok.. we are getting nowhere fast. Do we have those gems?" He asks the assembled group, his eyes specifically on Valeriya. "Right now my only safe move is to give them the gems and act when we swap them out. If need be I’ll go hit a jewelry shop and buy the damn things."
Tek looks around to all that have gathered and decides with the arrival of the police to say, "Well looks like the authorities are here now. I am not going to give the guy any gems. I am going to head out. It has been good seeing you all though." with that Tek puts the Zapper back on his back as he starts away.
Sithik continues along his way. Once out of immediate sight of Happy Burger, he picks up his pace to cover some ground to make sure he is not seen on his return trip, and long enough gone to be forgotten.
"They want 50 grand in gems, like people just carry pouches full of them as the walk down the street. Ridiculous, by the time you go to the gem store and come back the KDPD will have taken over for better or for ill." Valeriya says to Leonard and Max with a shake of her head. "Either they barter with alternative currency or the deal with the cops."
Happy Burger is quiet, as no further offers were sent their way. If anyone inside is worried about the police, the only thing demonstrating it is a single gunpowder blast when a group of officers crossed that same general distance boundary at which the current adventurers have been waiting - the police back off for now. The hostages are scared and unmoving.
"Speaking of the cops, I think I see some of them coming along..." Sage comments simply, "Guess it's just a matter of whether they would believe any old bag might have gems in them." She mentions.
Max thinks for a moment. "Val, gimme your half. You'll get them back after. Or I'll pay for new ones." He says. "We'll see just how clever these fuckers are." He says removing one of the glass blast globes from his backpack and slipping into the small sack he pulled free as well. If Val gives her half the gem/s are carefully put in the sack along with the globe. If this goes wrong, be ready. I'm gonna see if they'll let me make the delivery. If they do I'll do my level best to fry these fuckers. That little beauty will let me do it. I may... have trouble controlling the flames. so get the hostages out as soon as the swap is made." He tells them.
Leonard shakes his head in agreement. "Ridiculous... though that isn't such a bad idea, Sage." He considers the arrayed bodies behind the windows, then the slowly congregating, and apparently jumpy, KDPD members before lifting his voice towards the Happy Burger. "If I happened to have a large collection of gems on my person, how would you prefer they were delivered? The entrance seems a bit cluttered."
Sithik commands his beast to stay and activates another tattoo to soar high into the air once he's made it a block down from the chaos to start his journey back from high in the air.
Valeriya raises a brow at Max's plan. "If you can get them in close, like an eight foot radius we can give you an enclosure for your cooking. Edgar could land beside a window without notice. They might have seen Charon when I got here." She suggests with a shrug.
"If need be, I might be able to see how quickly I can get a blinder into the Happy Burger place." Sage mentions off-hand, "Otherwise, it seems like you two might have better suited abilities for this."
There is no long pause before Leonard's question is answered. "Move forward, we will tell you to stop. You put the gems on the ground in the clear, and back away. We'll collect them. Everybody walks, everyone leaves safely, the morning starts with a happy ending." A couple of surprisingly polite warnings are given to the police, who are starting to set up a perimeter complete with saw horses and yellow tape.
Leonard pulls a pouch from his belt that conveniently contains two dozen gems. Their total worth is not nearly what the hostage-takers demand, but their bulk is what is visible. The pouch is offered to Max as Leonard's contribution to the freedom fund. After handing it over, the hand makes a simple gesture to invoke protective measures. Upon Leonard, that is.
Max adds Leo's contribution to the sack and closes it. "Let's hope they go for it.." He remarks before walking out into the open. "Here you go.. 50 grand in gems, give or take. I'm not a jeweler so you'll have to check them yourself. But I'll get more if you want them. " He tells the hostage takers over the speakers of his suit. He raises the back up into the air so they can see it's bulk.
Sithik sails through the air, the distance back being covered much quicker, scanning the ground below for the roof of Happy Burger. Once directly above he drifts down to land gently atop the building near the ventilation hoods of the cookers to try and maybe hear what may be going on inside.
Valeriya grins as a thought comes to her with Max's departure. "Would be a shame if the one sent couldn't get through the door on the way back forcing them to cluster and investigate." She notes slyly to Leonard. The winged lizard moving to the ledge above the door.
Sage moves her hand once more to take out her blinder grenade. She moves her palm so that she can move it out of her hand in the right direction. She doesn't get into a throwing position, though. She waits for the time being. There isn't much she can do for the time being.
"Walk forward," comes the order. Assuming that Max complies, he'll be told to stop about three-hundred and fifty feet out, perhaps a little further. "Now open up the sack and leave the contents open on the ground. You don't move." The one issuing orders give no further instructions, just waiting to see how far the initial ones will be taken.
"It would be a shame, wouldn't it?" Leonard nods to Valeriya, though his attention remains on the restaurant and Max. "Just as it would if the hostages were no longer a bargaining device."
Max obeys the instructs, walking out, holding his hands up and out just the same. When he reaches the indicated spot, he lowers himself to one knee and opens the bag, letting its contents spill out on the ground, including the blast globe, glittering in the sunlight, looking very much like an exotic sapphire from a distance with the blue flames gently swirling within. About the size of a softball, it's easily the largest of the 'gems'. Max lays the sack next to the collection and he stands. "There you are, fifty thousand, so I'm told. Can we have the hostages now?"
Sithik activates two more tattoos, one bringing a sword to life in his hand, the other giving him a faint eerie red aura.
"Then we have our work cut out for us." Valeriya agrees reaching into another pocket to pull out a blinder. She starts concentrating on it and where she wants to send it now, even though the sending may be several minutes away. No way for her to know when this is going to go south.
Sage purses her lips as she considers how things are lining up, "I guess someone should talk with the cops in case they get any ideas." She comments, as things seem to be shifting away from what she's able to bring for the time being. Then she begins to move towards where the cops are, if only to get an idea of what they're planning.
"No, you take the shit and back away," the voice says, obviously indicating the impossibly giant gem that happened to be on hand. Then clarifying just to make it crystal, "That's not even a rock. Step back to where you were. We'll get the gems, do a little accounting, and maybe you get the hostages back." The speakers cut off, awaiting Max's move. To their credit, the criminals haven't been making threats and shooting at people, save for the single warning shot at Tek in the distant past. The police are collecting off on the east side of Main Street at a ramshackle headquarters - meaning people milling around at the moment.
"Perhaps," Leonard shrugs at Valeriya's comment. He doesn't reach for anything else in his possession, and simply waits for the demanders to do their part.
Max nods and backs away as indicated. "Sorry.. Sorry. I apologize. I was misinformed." He tells them, backing away slowly as instructed. But he leaves the gems and the globe where they are, out in the open. He doesn't turn, and give the men his back but walks backwards to where he started.
Sithik gives a nod along with a Roman-styled salute with his sword before testing his sword as stealthily as possible, to try and cause no noise that can be heard inside, to test the structure's capability for damage. He does this towards the back of the building over the cooking part in hopes it is part of the building not being used or ears nearby. If his sword can stab into the roof easily, he can make a peep hole maybe.
Valeriya keeps her focus on the grenade, far outside of possible throwing range.
Sage moves over to the cops to have a discussion to see if she can keep this from becoming an even more difficult position. Which may lead to them not allowing her to wander back into the situation.
Sithik's sword encounters no resistance, biting in to the roof easily near the rear over the Fry-O-Lator. Down below, the speaker says, "I told you to take the explosive. But no matter." After a few seconds, the gems - and only the genuine gems - rise into the air and begin to cross the distance back toward the burger joint. "If there's enough here, this will all be over soon. No harm done to anyone," comes the voice once more, reassuring. "Keep your distance, and we can all enjoy the rest of the day." The police are happy enough to meet with Sage, seeing as how she manages to run a successful business, and may have interesting ideas on how to run people. Still, they remain largely in discussion at the moment.
Leonard spares a momentary sidelong glance at Kingsdale's finest in action. "I wonder which will arrive first; freed and grateful former captives, or the coffee and snacks." He remains waiting as the gems float back towards the Happy Burger. It isn't much of a surprise that none of them ventured out.
Max raises his voice over the speaker. "That's an explosive? Hmm fooled me." He calls out. The thing is out of range of his abilities, but the flying gems only confirm what he already guessed at. The hostage taker, or at least one of them... are mages. Which means they can escape via a rift. His eyes lock on Sithik, watching him work. But he looks back at Val, and his thoughts follow his gaze.
Sithik works to cut a big enough hole to peek down into the space below to see what he has to work with where he is at. He does this as cautiously as possible to not alert the criminals in the dining room below.
Valeriya keeps up her focus, not letting anything short of clear catastrophe end the right. Charon keeps his perch above the door and watches the gems pass through.
Inside, the voice is apparently done with the verbal spar, leaving the globe on the ground and allowing Max to move back without comment. The door pops open, just barely cracked enough to allow the gems to be pulled inside. The door closes as rapidly as it opened. After a hesitation is heard, "Well, it's not exactly what we were looking for, but good enough this time around. Give us a few more seconds, and we'll be out of your hair. Look forward to seeing you again."
Interesting. Not the gems, but the confident comment of their departure. Given that he doesn't expect them to simply walk out the front door, Leonard opens his senses to the dimensional fabric in the vicinity. Any attempts to tear or alter space, time, or dimension creates ripples that the attentive can detect... and the knowledgeable can manipulate.
Max can do nothing now, as the homicidal Val has but one thought on her mind, Sithik has his own plan going, and Leo is up to gods know what. Max's attentions are on the globe though, and he tenses to run the moment Sithik vanishes inside should he enter the place. He doesn't want to burn the place down. But he will...
Sithik cuts the hole open big enough to be able to enter the back kitchen, checking to see if the coast is clear before quietly floating down through the opening to find the pain in the ass in the dining room with the bull horn.
Homicidal? That’s just unfair. Valeriya won't let that thought come to pass unless they don’t take they bait. Or if someone else screws things up. That must be why she waits, surely she could have completed the spell ages ago otherwise. No she keeps her focus on the grenade as a ready plan b and leaves plan a to the rest.
Inside, a brilliant blue light flares to life, back-lighting the hostages who all remain remarkably still. The voice comes through once more. "Allow us to be on our way, now. Thank you for your patience. Now, if we don't end up where we're going, the hostages won't be going anywhere, ever again. Good bye." The speakers cut off, and there is no further contact as the blue light stays bright.
Max is starting to get angry now. He feels them slipping through his fingers despite all he's done to stop them. The heat rises around him, and small flames burn bright within his eyes. Nothing visibly noticeable, but someone standing close would feel it. He turns and looks at Val.
Leonard smiles. The brilliant cerulean energy is all too familiar, and that is only its mundane appearance. In his mind's eye, the forces are work are so much more fascinating and beautiful. With a quick and proper application of will, he makes a minor alteration to the exit point of the interspatial passage. While there are many interesting possibilities, depositing them into the 'Burbs or a certain dimension wholly overrun with billions of undead abominations, that would prevent him from meeting the perpetrators. To say nothing of having his gems returned. Instead, he selects another familiar location far more local: the nexus some distance northwest of the city that is claimed by neither the city nor the Coalition. The only with any semi-permanent stake made in the area would be, conveniently enough, himself, Valeriya, and a more recent acquaintance that they might enjoy introducing the hostage-takes to. "Valeriya, would you care to meet the fleeing mages? I've redirected them to the nexus and our new friend."
Valeriya grins and finally breaks her vigil. She offers a sympathetic look to Max, left in the dark as he was. "Sure, maybe the others would like to as well." She agrees, placing the grenade back in her pouch.
The lovely aquamarine fades quickly from view, a snap that might have been audible if someone had been close. The local police are stationary, waiting to see what happens. What happens is that after thirty seconds or so, the hostages start to move. Then they flee, charging out the door and scattering across the area. Into the cars, into the police, and even toward the men and women who were helping. Unfortunately, that's about all they do, until they begin to detonate like giant Claymores, one-inch ball-bearings being blasted off of their backs by high explosives that had been placed there. Get there safely and no one gets hurt. Don't get there safely, and no one re-opens the rift to send the defusing signal. Cars are shredded. Police officers become bloody messes. Happy Burger is going to need a significant coat of paint, and Sithik is simply lucky to escape without having his head ripped off. This may or may not qualify as even a Pyrrhic victory, unless gems and vengeance are all that someone cares about. If nothing else, the various eulogies can't go down without the phrase, "Listening is a good idea."
Sithik sneaks a peek through the small window in the door leading to the dining room to assess the situation beyond with the troublemakers and hostages. Seeing the criminals depart through the rift and the hostages flee only to be killed seconds later. Up through the roof again he goes when the exploding starts, off to meet back up with his companion in the area he was left in.
And then everyone blew up. Valeriya frowns and shakes her head. "Bastards meant to kill them the entire time. We'll make them pay for that.." She promises, suddenly eager to go with Leonard to their new home before there is nothing left.
Max erupts in flames as the bodies start to detonate and he moves forward, not away. The young burster is trying to help but by the time he gets there, they are all dead. Senseless, needless death. Bending to pick up up the globe, he considers it for a moment, before he snuffs his flames. "Val.. Tell me you know where that mage went.. he dies slow." The normally calm and collected (for a burster) young man asks, coming back to her has fire in his eyes, and dancing between his fingers.
The rest of the day is spent cleaning up the mess.
