4843/P:WtWM - The False Raid

P:WtWM - The False Raid
Date of Scene:	04 December 2016
Location:	Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
Synopsis:	Janine's plan to completely clear August's name is put into effect. It may not have gone off without any hitches.
Cast of Characters:	Janine Liberi, August Kohler, 513, Rebecca Chambers, William Pauwel

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Janine Liberi has posed:
    Alberichstadt is a city on the rise. And as always, in the fast pursuit of progress, some things are left behind. One example of this is the old barracks on the outskirts of town. Built during the war to house soldiers on the way to France, they have long since fallen into disrepair, public office not keen to revive them due to the association with that time, and the edge of the woods so close that a large degree of deforestation would be required to redevelop the land.

    As such, the place has fallen into complete shambles, and become a popular place for transients, no-good kids and ne'er-do-wells of all kinds. And today, a combination of all three have gathered. Janine stands at a rotting table with the assembled members of Die Reisende, preparing for the plan which, with any luck, will clear the name of August Kohler, accused of illegal gun possession and attempted murder of his roommate.

    "Okay, here's the deal," she barks, slapping her good palm on the table, then wincing and using her teeth to extract the splinter doing so gave her. "One person to be the kidnapper. You'll be firing blanks to scare the cops. I've gone and scattered your 'missed shots' already, so try and make it look good. You'll be cloaked up, try and keep it that way."

    "Illusionists!" she adds. "You need to make it look as good as possible. The whizzing of bullets, stuff like that. The cops need to think it's a mutual firefight. You'll also need to make sure that it looks like August is the only one in here once they get in."

    Speaking of, she turns to regard the boy himself. "Hostage," she says, tossing a coiled length of rope at him. "Make it look good."

August Kohler has posed:
August is not very thrilled with this idea. Sadly, it was the most thought-through plan, and he's not making the decisions here. So, he's here, and looks the part! He doesn't look like he's slept in days (true), has been bruised and battered (true), and like he's been wearing the same clothes for a month (false but he hasn't done all his laundry, so). He grabs the rope, stares at Janine, and then hands it off to someone, saying, "I can't tie myself up." Instead, he grabs a chair, skids it back away from where the firing will be, and sits on it, putting his arms behind it and gritting his teeth. "So, this is possibly my last chance at saying it: fuck you, Janine."

Finna (513) has posed:
"Can guarantee they won't see me. Can make the place seem more dangerous than it is! Only thing we can't be sure of is how they'll react.." Finna's dressed in a cloak. She's already soaked -THE- other cloak full of the blood of a big, smelly, hairy guy who in reality has been dead for years, worlds away.

    "One more time. Full plan! So nobody will get it wrong."

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Rebecca's still getting used to the way things work in this place, but she's already obtained a decent idea of the way things work in general. There may be more to learn, but she figures the best way to learn is through experience directly. This is the reason that, while Janine is explaining what's going on, Rebecca is standing attentively listening to what is being said.

Once Janine has finished speaking, Rebecca salutes and replies respectfully, "Yes, ma'am! I'll do whatever is needed of me." Although there is a hint of uncertainty in her voice, Rebecca is nonetheless eager to take part in this whole thing, always ready to do her best for the others and herself.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine glowers at Finna. "I've gone over it so many goddamn times... fine. We tie August up, call the police and say he's being held hostage by a gunman here. Police come, there's a fake shootout enhanced by illusions. Once it's good, we leave via escape vehicle, also invisible so police can discover August and a cache of guns. Then we leave the bloody cloak out in the woods to make police think the gunman was heavily wounded and probably died."

    She stares at Rebecca and nods. "Great, you can be the gunman then. Finna, give her the cloak." She's the one who actually uses guns after all. "Someone tie up August and we can do this."

August Kohler has posed:
"Don't forget to leave a blood trail so they can match the blood with the cloak," August helpfully adds, still sitting on the chair, waiting to be tied up.

Finna (513) has posed:
Finna pulls out the cloak and foists it onto Rebecca. The only question is WHERE she was holding the bloodsoaked cloak. It's still dripping from great splatters of blood, definitely the kind a lethal gunshot wound would lead to...

    "No rehearsals means we only get one shot at doing it right. Don't give me the evil eye for making sure!" The Lunar contests with a huff.

    She then proceeds to check over her own weapons. Those prepared for this mission...

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
You might think Rebecca would be appalled at the thought of pretending to be a gunman, but she knows this is for a good reason. She's sure her friends would understand. Rebecca nods to Janine and says, "I understand, I'll gladly take that role if that's what's needed of me."

Rebecca then finds that there's a cloak being put onto her. Not something she's used to wearing, but she manages to get it to fit over her uniform with a little minor adjustments here and there. As she puts it on, she nods to Janine. "I understand what must be done. I will do what must be done!" She says this as if reciting a creed of some kind.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    August is tied up and set up in an adjacent room. Janine opts to stay with him, out of sight for the duration of the mission. Using a brand new phone and a voice modulator, she calls the police. "August Kohler is being held hostage by someone with a gun at the old barracks."

    It's not long until the squeal of sirens cries out, the local law enforcement driving along the cracked roads in armoured cars and vans. They set up, using the vehicles as cover as they point their guns. A tired-looking detective (you can tell because he doesn't wear a helmet) with pale blonde hair and scraggly stubble puts a megaphone to his mouth. "Whoever is in there, come out with your hands up."

    That's Rebecca and Finna's cue!

    Meanwhile, in the back room, Janine looks to August. It's kind of awkward, the two have never really been alone together before. "... ropes not too tight?"

Finna (513) has posed:
A call has been made for Illusionists to make things go the way the group wants.

    Finna's one with the shadows of the place. She wields eight guns in her myriad limbs - two human, and others... two monkey hands, and four octopus tentacles all working together with ridiculous precision. She isn't aiming in any conceivably USEFUL WAY when she pulls the triggers. The bullets SPANG and ricochet off the walls with flashes of silver where they impact, and all eventually find a path out through varying windows to soar past heads. Except it's hard to see inside the building and tell just WHAT'S going on.

    Because the lighting is oppressively poor for those who'd wish to break in. In fact the whole building towers high, looming like an imposing and bleak fortress covered in spikes.

    This territory is UNPLEASANT to the police, though they won't be able to put their finger on just how. They are NOT WELCOME HERE, and everything that goes wrong brings with it a new flinch that they face worse than is actually coming at them. It's no stretch whatsoever to think that when Finna opens her mouth and the sounds of GUNFIRE emerge that a chance wind past a cheek is a bullet that barely missed you...

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
The signal is given, and Rebecca knows what that means. It's time to open fire. Of course she's not actually hitting anyone or anything really. It's all just an act, like in the movies.

Rebecca draws her Beretta and opens fire, firing a few shots in rapid succession before pausing as if to give the illusion of taking cover or something similar, before she resumes firing again. If one looks closely, under that cloak they'd see her teeth are gritted a little, as if this is putting a bit of stress on her. Even if it's only for show.

August Kohler has posed:
MEANWHILE, IN THE BACK ROOM

August is now tied up, head leaning downwards. He looks like he's been through some shit the past month (true). Not hard to play the beaten hostage; he did it for five whole days for real. "...Well, not as tight as the Huntsman's, so I'll live." His voice is quiet so that no one overhears it. "But why are you here? What'll you do if someone spots you, or catches you? If you get hit by a stray bullet?" August seems worried in tone for her, but not himself.

"This is dangerous, Janine."

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Things suddenly seem really tense for the police officers! The barracks look a million miles tall, the distance between they and the door looking like Normandy Beach on D-Day. As the 'bullets' fly out, they cower behind their cars. Some of the less experienced ones actually void their insides. The twitchier ones stand up and spray bullets at random!

    But that detective stands firm.

    "Calm down!" he barks, his own face pale and drawn. He's clearly feeling the effects, but he holds true to his higher calling! "You are police officers! Hold to your duty!" He raises his sidearm and points it at the window Rebecca fired from, returning his own shots! He's pretty good!

    Meanwhile, in the back room, Janine shrugs. "It's my plan. I don't want to be out of the picture. Besides, life is dangerous. I could die now, I could die tomorrow. No point worrying about that." She puts a finger in her ear as the gunshots ring out. "Ugh... guns suck."

August Kohler has posed:
The gunshots whizz out there. August doesn't react, likely forcibly. "Your life is worth more than that, Janine. You don't deserve to die like this. None of you do. You're putting yourselves all in danger for basically nothing."

Finna (513) has posed:
THAT will do it. Finna's satisfied, so she relaxes her dominating hold on her territory and 'allows entry' for the police. Of course, they are still entering one hell of a danger zone, but whatever force was -breathing down their necks- is now content to ease off and watch them from the foliage instead...

    Still, Finna returns fire. More ricochet symphonies that fly off into the sky, but MOST of it's hooligan shouting with a perfect lyrebird impersonation of gunfire and shuffling around and no bullets at all.

    The fact that she can -SCREAM GUNSHOTS- is more than eerie enough, really.

    But as the police make progress she eases off on firing actual bullets and lowers the rate of gunfire, increasing the shuffling thumps and whuds of PEOPLE FLEEING.

    But the corner of her eye's on that detective. She's going to be keeping a CLOSE watch on THAT one... he's got fire.

    When the police DO breach the ground floor, there's no way anyone's going to care about the mouse that took shelter in a cardboard tube...

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Unfortunately, those shots are real, and Rebecca does not want to have to perform emergency field surgery. She ducks for cover, waiting for the shots to stop coming. Once the shots finally stop, Rebecca ejects the clip from her Beretta, since it's pretty much empty anyway, and loads another one. "Sometimes, you really have to bite the bullet," She comments to herself about shooting at police officers when she's also one in a sense as a member of the Raccoon Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. division.

"Just gotta make sure I be careful," She adds as she pops up and fires some more. "Be steady, Becky. It's all for a good cause," Is what goes through her head silently.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Under the guidance of that detective, the police finally muster themselves and advance! Smoke grenades are deployed to mask their approach as they rush the front door and slam it open with a battering ram. They're inside the building now, so it would be a good time for Rebecca to go and cover the stairs instead! The police indeed do not mind the mouse.

    Janine shakes her head at August. "Don't give me that shit. I actually could just up and die tomorrow. Something so transient has no value." She rolls her eyes. "And haven't you got it yet? Goddamn. We're doing this because, believe it or not, people actually give a shit about you and your situation. They like you August. Hell, they even like me and I actually endevour to be as unlikable as possible. They're fucking broken in the head, but hey. If the Forest is anything to go by, everyone is."

August Kohler has posed:
The police are getting closer. August keeps talking, for just a moment. "Well, I know you have a deathwish. But you're all going to get killed at this rate." He bites his lip, and then looks up at Janine, briefly. "Get out of here. Go. Now." And then he hangs his head, as if he's beaten and bruised.

Finna (513) has posed:
Once she's sure of the police's path, Finna zips out in mouse form along the planned route. The mouse enlarges once it's out of sight, taking on the form of a seven-foot-tall, bare-chested man wearing a loin cloth. And shoes. because Finna's thought enough ahead about this to know...

    The police will want footprints, not just bloodstains.

    The burly man's a mountain of muscle and scarred flesh, gazing at the world with merry eyes that can barely pierce his bushy face and untamed black hair.

    'ERIK BLACKBURN' turns his fingernails on his own flesh... "Y' b'ter 'preciart zis." He murmurs... right before the fingernails are like claws and dig deep gashes through veins and arteries. But Finna wills the wounds to not heal, instead allowing the blood to flow free as she accelerates a staggering gait through the woods with huge, tromping boots...

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Meanwhile, while Finna is dealing with the task of getting out of there and leaving footprints to follow, Rebecca has the order to delay the police on the stairs. She switches to her MP5K and sets the fire rate to semi-automatic to avoid an automatic burst of gunfire wounding a police officer. "I really hate having to do this," Rebecca mutters, "But if it's what's needed of me, I'll do it." She waits until the police officers get to the stairs, and she proceeds to open fire.

Rebecca aims carefully, near the officers, but not actually at them. Her purpose is to cause a delay, not actually kill anyone. "Just stay back, let us get this job done!"

Janine Liberi has posed:
    The police halt their advance at the stairs once Rebecca begins firing down at them. But that detective keeps his head and barks, "Shields up!" Heavy metal tower shields are produced, forming a portable wall between they and the incoming 'bullets.' Probably time to go!

    Janine frowns down at August's prone form. He's not entirely wrong, but... ah dammit, she can't leave him here like this. If he's this mopey, he might actually let something slip. She kneels down and whispers to him. "For what it's worth, I was worried too. Good luck."

    She opens the window and orders Rebecca over the radio to run for it! There's a ladder to the alley behind the building, to Will's getaway vehicle. Janine produces a compact and jumps, summoning Biancabella to make winds to cushion her fall and gets on!

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
If there's one thing about Rebecca you can count on, it's that she always follows orders without hesitation. Except if someone is injured or needs MedEvac, as she leaves no one behind. Other than that, she's always ready to follow orders at the drop of a hat. And when the shields come out, she knows it's time to get out.

Running as quickly as she can, Rebecca jumps out the window and grabs onto the ladder, climbing down as quickly as she can before jumping into the nearby getaway car. "All right, is everyone here? We have to leave right now!" She blurts out while trying to catch her breath.

William Pauwel has posed:
IT'S A GETAWAY MOTORBIKE, GOSH YOU GUYS.

Fortunately the Mistral is basically huge, so there's plenty of room for everyone involved to squeeze onboard! Barely. It's still a motorcycle. "Alright, let's get y'all out of here before we've got to stage MORE kidnappings!" Will revs the engine. His tires scream against the pavement, and off they go!

Also, it looks like he might have forgotten to turn on the lights.

...

Or he could be driving with nightvision. One of the two!

August Kohler has posed:
Janine doesn't get a response. August remains prone. He's the perfect model of a victim and a hostage.

But inside, something's snapped. This may or may not have consequences down the line.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    With the 'crazed gunman' having fled, the police take control of the barracks and spread out. Naturally, August is found and the detective takes a knife to his ropes. "It's okay son, we got you," he says reassuringly. They also find a cache of guns 'borrowed' from Will, the same homemade models they found in August's bedroom.

    After searching the area, they find the trail of blood in the woods and organize a search. The detective notices the tyre marks left by a motorcycle though, and rubs his chin. He did hear the sound of a motorbike too...

    This might not be the end of this.

August Kohler has posed:
August Kohler, attempted murder suspect, has been found. And he's shellshocked, barely looking up to acknowledge the detective. Whatever happened to him in this month of captivity really ran its course on him. The friendly-ish detective takes him, and August is taken away by the police. But this can't be the end. That'd be too easy, wouldn't it?