Hoffman Institute

[OctoberRaven]

"Mr. Enjiru, Mr. Ford, Mr. Dom, Mr. LeVon, Mr. Starkad."

The petit secretary looks up at the five men she just called for, as one by one they file into the office of Mr. Robinns, the head of Department-7, the field agents of the Hoffman Institute.

"Greetings, Gentlemen," said the short, pale, thin man behind the desk. "With the exception of one of you (pointing to Joseph), you are all new to the Hoffman Institute. Usually, I don't like this many new agents at a time, but the way things are we don't have much of an alternative. You five have been selected because we feel your individual talents, grouped as a whole, will be a major asset to this branch of the Institute. Before we begin, I need you to sign these documents. It's the same thing you signed when you joined, 'No discussion of company matters to public blah blah blah, next of kin will be informed, etc etc...'." He pauses as you write your names on these agreements then passes you all a black leather object no bigger than a checkbook. "These are your IDs... Mr. Starkard you should destroy your previous one. Now, as I told you before, you have no actual jurisdiction, so do not try to use these as badges. They're for entry to Hoffman Institute buildings and safehouses only."

He stood up, the difference in height turning out to be only an inch or two, and he closed the curtains.

"Now on to your first mission. A former CIA agent who retired with his wife in a small village in France called Amiens fell out of his second floor balcony and is currently in a coma. This wouldn't be interesting if it weren't for two things: According to the wife, Mrs. Felicia Roberts, when she is in the second floor, she can hear a child's voice singing the song 'Alouette'. And the second, is that the same agent had a major part of the arrest of a terrorist cell working out of nearby Marisielle. Whether it was an attempted murder or caused by this purported singing child, it's your job to find out, and if possible, stop whatever or whoever is responsible for Mr. Roberts' injury."

He turned back and sat on his chair, facing the five of you.

"Any questions?"

[Pure Liquid Awesome]

Joseph Starkad stared down at the natty little man, and had to remind himself that, in this place, there was no way to tell if there was anything peculiar, or powerful, about him. Or, indeed, anyone.

He nodded at the order to destroy his old ID. He didn't mind... it had been years ago, and his hair looked faintly ridiculous in the tiny picture. It wouldn't have been ridiculous in his youth, but times had most definitely changed.

The other four who had entered with him piqued his interest. After years of office service, he was finally deemed ready for field duty... as well as four people who had never had desk duty before? It was hard not to break something with his heavy hands, but patience was a hard-won ally.

"Do we have a list of those he arrested, and those that got away?"

[OctoberRaven]

"Unfortunately no. The CIA are difficult to get through even for us. We do however have one name. Jean-Luc Garat."

[xravi]

Dom felt excited and yet bored at the same time. Amiens sounds familiar but, I know I never been there before he thought to himself. “So did Mr. Roberts have any children that died in anyway?” Dom chuckled to himself Or I have been reading too many books, either way it could happen. “Also, what is his current state in the coma?”

[Inbred Chocobo]

"Could we have some files about mysterious singing children? Surely this won't be the first case we have had about that." James spoke up with. It seemed it was more likely the terrorists doing, if it wasn't just a simple slip.

"And is there any investigation going on about this from another source? Like local police of CIA?" James threw the other question out as it struck him.

[42PETUNIAS]

Dan Ford normally didn't enjoy meetings, he was all about the action, and he had drifted out, listening but not actually planning on participating. That is, until he had heard about the terrorist cell in Marseilles.
"Marseilles? I think i know a guy in the police up there. He's not too high up, so it's unlikely that he'll know that much, but i'm pretty sure he might be able to get me some background information on any terrorist busts."
He sat back down, leaving the others to discuss his idea.

[OctoberRaven]

Turning to Dom first, Robinns answers, "They have a son, who is in Berkley right now. He's safe. As far as Mr. Roberts himself, he's stable."

Then he turned to James. "It is a common occurrence, houses are sometimes haunted by children who died suddenly. As far as other investigations go, it seems to have been left by the police as a simple tragic accident."

Then Ford piped up, to which Robinns answered, "Since Garat and his cell, Liberté Française, literally 'French Freedom', were taken down, it's been quiet. Their leader, Reine Toinette, has given up all the names of the Liberté Française and all have been incarcerated."

"Granted, some of the members of Liberté Française have been released since then, as they were guilty of little more than conspiracy. However, these men have been quiet. Of the five out of prison, four are living out of the country, and the other, Jos LeBlanc, is in Paris. All of them appear to have airtight alibis... for now."

"Anything else, or are you all ready to head out?"

[Inbred Chocobo]

"I take it we are heading out immediately?" James said, which happened to be the last question on his mind. He would have to make a note to himself to check for previous owners of the house. See if any of them lost so kids. He wouldn't mind knowing who exactly is haunting the house.

[Myst]

Matthew had been cleaning his glasses through the previous discussion, and after another check to make sure they were good, slid them back onto his face.
"You'll have to forgive me if this is information I'm not after, but are there any genetics labs in this region? I've heard rumors that children are often experimented on in Europe, and some of those children develop...antisocial tendancies."

[OctoberRaven]

"As soon as you're ready to leave," was the answer to James' question, before Mr. Robinns turned to Matthew.

"No. There's one in Paris, but Amiens is too small for taking a child like that, especially when there's several missions in Paris to take children from."

[Pure Liquid Awesome]

"No. There's one in Paris, but Amiens is too small for taking a child like that, especially when there's several missions in Paris to take children from."
"Yeah," Starkad said wryly. "Think before you ask silly questions like 'Where do they steal kids from'. Yeesh."

He was about to head back to his office to gather up his personal effects, when he realized he didn't know the rendezvous point. "Where are we leaving from?"

[OctoberRaven]

"A limosuine is at ready to take you to the airport. Your flight is Delta Airlines flight 333. You will be the only ones on the plane besides the pilots who are Hoffman agents, so you'll be able to discuss the mission amongst yourselves during the trip. You will land in Paris International Airport where a limo driver will be waiting for you to take you to Amiens."

[42PETUNIAS]

Dan got up to the door, satisfied with the progress made. It seemed like all his co-workers were competent and ready to work hard. He really liked the idea of a limo, he hadn't ever been in one, and looked forward to a comfortable ride, then a private jet. He could tell this was an important job if they were sending people overseas in a private jet to do it. Probably a lot more important than the man had let on.

[OctoberRaven]

"Well, I guess it's time to you left, then" said Mr. Robbins.

Sure enough the limosuine was waiting for the five of you. For some reason, traffic seemed to go out of it's way for the limosuine, and the lights were always green. What would have been a thirty-minuite trip under normal conditions turned out to be only ten.

When you finally got through customs, Flight 333 to Paris changed from delayed to boarding. The PA announces it as such and you go through the tunnel into the airplane.

While this aircraft is reserved solely for Hoffman Institute agents, it appeared to be nothing more than a commercial airliner. Mostly because that's what it was. The only difference between most planes and this one was that every part of the plane was considered first class, for the obvious reasons.

Doing anything during the flight? Now would be a great time to discuss your theories on the case.

[42PETUNIAS]

Dan got into his seat, and relaxed as the plane took off. Once they reached cruising altitude, he went over to the phone, "I'n just going to call my friend in marseilles, try and get a little more information on the terrorist cell, it almost seems like there's something that the guy didn't tell us. Im going to try and get a little background on this whole thing."

He picked up the phone, and after checking the address book on his cell phone, called the man.
"Salut, Jacques, c'est moi, Dan Ford. Ecoutes, sais-tu l'information d'une bande terroriste qui s'appelle Liberte Fraincaise?"

((OOC: yay for being the first to use the phone system, i vote no using translators in general to figure out what other languages mean, unless your character speaks the language.))

[Pure Liquid Awesome]

Starkad settled into his seat, which creaked under his bulk. The overhead compartment contained his necessities.... shaving cream and straight razor, skaldic paper, and of course, the Behavior Modifier.

He did not know these new people. He had been with the Institute for the better part of a decade, but the only action he saw was when he stopped a liquor store robbery while buying beer one night. Now, suddenly, he was on a transcontinental flight to see a man about a ghost and some terrorists.

"So... where is everyone from?"

[OctoberRaven]

((Yeah, no translators. Obviously we can only enforce the rule if OOC knowledge is balatantly used, but gaining OOC knowledge can lead to subconsious use of it.))

[42PETUNIAS]

"Ah, bon. Merci beacoup." And Dan hung up the phone, then rejoined the group. "I'm from toronto, but i've spent all of my career in new york. So i just got off the phone with my french contact, he says the group was led by Reine Toinette, and the next guy was Jean-Luc Garat. there were 21 cases of kidnapping, and all but the last one were confessed as murders. The last was dropped by the victim Reine Toinette. I don't know if its just me, but thats a girls name, and could be related to the singing voice, does anyone want to do a search to try and find who she is?"

[Pure Liquid Awesome]

OOC:

"...he says the group was led by Reine Toinette..."
"...The last was dropped by the victim Reine Toinette..."

The victim was the leader of the group?

[42PETUNIAS]

"thats right, i dont quite understand it, so we'll probably need to find out a little more about what went on. To me it seems like Jean-Luc wanted more power, but then something happened, and stopped it from turning into a murder like the others. It must be very complicated for her to drop the case."

((OOC: Sorry, when i posted, i sort of just added stuff to the post from the phone conversation, i hadnt realized it was the same name. Im going to pretend that was ingame, because its definitly a valid reaction."

[OctoberRaven]

(I was hoping everyone would contribute to this, so I'm giving everyone till I leave for my HeroClix tournament tommorrow to participate in this conversation. If everyone else is finished deducing by that time, whoever didn't post was just sleeping.)

[xravi]

"But Mr. Roberts wife said it was a girl singing not a woman." Dom said after thinking about the new evidence. "Maybe the group was led by a little girl then?" Dom then thought about the possibilities. "What are the lyrics to the song she sang?"

[42PETUNIAS]

"Well, the song was alouette, a pretty popular french childrens song. the odd part is that it's a french canadian song, so it being sung in France might be significant, it might mean nothing though. In any case its about plucking the feathers from a bird. It goes" Dan began to sing very badly "Alouette gentil aloutte, alouette, je te plumerais." He stopped "And so on. And i doubt it was sung by a little girl, i just wasn't sure if it was significant. I guess not."

[Myst]

Matthew sat up and pulled his headphones down, smiling, and started singing softly "Alouette, gentille Alouette, Alouette je te plumerai, Alouette, gentille Alouette,Alouette je te plumerai, Je te plumerai la tête, Je te plumerai la tête
Et la tête, et la tête, Alouette, Alouette, O-o-o-o-oh Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai."
After finishing, he turned to Dan, still smiling somewhat sarcastically, "It would be a mistake to rule out children, with just a few nudges children can be the most cruel people on earth. Not a normal child, obviously, but what makes us think this will be normal?" He sat back and put his headphones back on, still humming Alouette.

[42PETUNIAS]

Dan settled back in his chair, and started to sleep, this definitly seemed like it would be a hell of a job, and he'd need rest.

[OctoberRaven]

A few hours later your plane approaches the airport. Those looking out the windows can catch an awe-inspiring glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, with the sunset in the distance. Of course you're not here for sightseeing, as you exit to the baggage claim you see a man in a sharp tuxedo with the word "Hoffman" written on a sign. He asks for your IDs, and after you show them he takes you to your limosuine.

You arrive in Amiens three hours later. It's a very small town, probably two, three thousand living here at most. The second largest building is a tall, imposing cathedral. The largest is a four-story mansion, which you know belongs to the CIA agent. You are dropped off a small hotel. So small in fact that you are all going to be staying in the same room. After checking in you see your quarters, and immediately notice a manilla folder on one of the twin beds.

So, what do you do?

[Pure Liquid Awesome]

Starkad was amused at having to duck through the doorways, and hearing the floor creak at his step. Old world craftsmanship, indeed...

"One room... super."

Not really fearing an envelope, he walked over to the bed, and reached out carefully. "Unless anyone has a better idea, I am opening this."

[42PETUNIAS]

"Go ahead" Dan said as he walked over to a nearby bed, sat down and sighed... definitly to small for his height, this would be a fun night. "Think they're going to tell us what's really happening here? Considering how elite this company seems, i really don't think we'd be called in just for a small girls voice."

[xravi]

Dom looked around the room. "Considering the other privileges we received, I kind of hoped for better.” Dom looked over to Starkad who had an envelope in his hand. “So what does it say?”

[Pure Liquid Awesome]

"Let's see here.... French newspaper clipping, a dossier on Felicia Roberts..... hmm, her maiden name is 'Garou', and.... oh, look, fresh life insurance payments... and, another clipping. Two kids.... taken ninety-one years ago."

Starkad could speak French, having spent quite a lot of time in France in his youth. He set the dossier and the photo-clipping down, and started to read the article.

[OctoberRaven]

(Oh, GREAT. He got permabanned.)

...And Starkad inexplicably dies of a heart attack. None of you care.

[xravi]

(Oh, GREAT. He got permabanned.)

...And Starkad inexplicably dies of a heart attack. None of you care.

((He can't die from a heart attack in the middle of the case. Lets just pretend he never existed, or, we could be disrespectful to his corpse. Either way its all good.))

[42PETUNIAS]

((OOC: lets just assume that i was the one reading it.))

"Let's see here.... French newspaper clipping, a dossier on Felicia Roberts..... hmm, her maiden name is 'Garou', and.... oh, look, fresh life insurance payments... and, another clipping. Two kids.... taken ninety-one years ago."

Dan sat down and read the article out loud.

[OctoberRaven]

(OOC: Okay, he never existed. PMing articles now)

[42PETUNIAS]

Dan began to read the first article

"Hank Roberts, an American living in Amiens, was hospitalized two days ago when he fell out of the second-floor balcony of his mansion. His wife Felicia states that she keeps hearing a girl's voice singing the French-Canadian song 'Alouette' in the second floor. This ties in with a local legend of a girl who was murdered in the house 91 years ago-"

He then moved onto the second article, which seemed to be older than the first.

"Another child has been found dead in Amiens' Maison Calvez tonight. Alice Calvez, age 7, was found dead and skinless a year ago, and now her brother, Paul, age 8, was found outside. Police suggest suicide as the motive, as the boy was found in plain view just over the second floor balcony. It's believed he jumped off the balcony and snapped his neck in the process.

Paul was heard by his mother to be mournfully singing the song "Alouette" at night. This was believed to be in tribute to his sister, who was known in her native Quebec for her singing voice.

Alice's murderer and father, Claude Calvez, is still serving a life sentence-"

As he finished the second article Dan rubbd his chin, intrigued by the second article and curious about how it related to the first.

[xravi]

“Skinless?” Dom shuttered at the thought. “So what about this Claude Calvez?” sick bastard he thought to himself. “Does he relate to the group in any way? Maybe the group has nothing to do with his death.” Dom looked over to the others around him. “Anyone else have any conclusions to draw a line at?”

[42PETUNIAS]

"This is starting to get weird- first the girl is skinned, and she loves singing a song about a bird having its feathers plucked out, and then her brother jumps off a second story balcony, onto his neck, just like Hank. Hmm.. this might be the same house, we need to check into that, but that would probably mean we're dealing with some sort of... some sort of... ghost..."

[Myst]

Matthew leaned against the wall, still slightly preoccupied with how they were all going to sleep that night, "A vengeful spirit, refusing to leave her home...My question is what lead to her death. It's unlikely that someone just randomly skins a little girl." He stopped and shuddered at that, then continued, "We might be dealing with two spirits here. One murderous one, and one that needs help going home."

[xravi]

“A mad man he was or, maybe one with a bad reason.” Dom faced Matthew and crossed his arms. “I think that Calvez was what we would call a bad father. Maybe he was angry, maybe he was crazy, maybe he was an attic. Either way those kids are were probably f*cked up, I mean the guy’s son commits suicide at 8.” Dom looked down at the ground with a sad expression. “As for ghost, vengeance is a common way to come back from the dead. She just wants to kill anyone, it does not matter who, just someone else she could make suffer for what was done to her. As for finding her home she’s too late. Another reason for another death maybe?"

[OctoberRaven]

Matthew's cell phone rings unexpectedly.

(Remember guys, I'm out of town on weekends. Besides the message to Myst I'm going to be unavailable until Sunday night. See you then!)

[Myst]

Matthew glanced at his phone and pressed it to his ear for a moment, "Hel-" he pauses midword, and then lowers the phone, shaking his head, "must have been a wrong number." Turning to face Dom, he continues "It's highly possible he was just a disturbed man. Regardless, that house isn't going to be a happy place. I doubt the son was suicidal however, for all intents and purposes, this could be seen as the same crime, displaced several decades."
Matthew stops talking and looks at the package with the newspaper clips thoughtfully, "Isn't it strange that Hoffman didn't give us this earlier? Unless they compiled it during the flight, but that seems somewhat unlikely."

[42PETUNIAS]

"wait, it seems like you're assuming this is the same house - is there any way we could check this?"

[Myst]

Matthew arched his eyebrow and smiled bemusedly, "Did you see any other mansions in this hole of a town?"

[xravi]

"Which puts out this oh so unusual thought that must have never been pondered before, why is there a mansion in this hole of a town?”

[OctoberRaven]

(If there's no follow-up posts by noon tommorrow, we're moving on)

[42PETUNIAS]

"Well, this is France, theres usually at least one large house in most old fashion towns. It might not even be a true mansion, just a fairly big house, thats relativly a mansion to the other houses." Dan laid down on his bed. "I think im going to go to sleep soon though, whatevers going to happen tomorrow, it looks like its going to be big."

[OctoberRaven]

The next day, during breakfast in the hotel resturant, you overhear someone speaking in broken english.

"Yes, Madame 'Row-Bear', your husband has shown no progress, but his living will, it says he is to remain alive. Yes, Madame, I'll see what I can do. Shall we meet in an hour, behind ze bakery? Excellent, Madame. See you then."

The figure is a stocky Frenchman in a tuxedo, with a breifcase next to his feet.

[42PETUNIAS]

Dan whispered to the others "Do you think we should talk to the lady, or maybe try and eavesdrop on the meeting?"

[xravi]

Dom leaned back in his chair even though he knew he was probably going to fall. “Eavesdropping will lead to spying on them, spying on them will lead us to a clue, or a wild goose chase, either way lets do it anyway.”

[Myst]

Taking a sip of his coffee, Matt watched the couple talking. "You can follow them if you want, I"d like to poke around that mansion some. Any takers for that?" Setting down a coffee, he takes a bite out of his bagel, chewing and waiting for a response.

[xravi]

"Alright then I'll follow him." Dom got up slowly off his chair and walked over near the man yet far enough where he would not draw attention to him self. He gave quick glances at the man from time to time and if he would ever look at him Dom wold just look away seeming as if he were preoccupied with something else.

(OCC:whoops gender confusion)

[42PETUNIAS]

"Let's all leave Dom, we don't want to bring any attention to him." Dan said.

[OctoberRaven]

So you watch Dom and the man leave.

What are you doing while he's gone?

[Myst]

Watching Dom follow after the people, Matthew made quick eye contact with the rest of the group, "So are we all heading to the mansion then? I'm curious if there's any residual psi floating around there."

[42PETUNIAS]

Dan replied "Yes, I'm curious though, do we have all legal documents needed to get into the house? He said we had no jurisdiction, does this pass on to this?"

[42PETUNIAS]

((OOC: what events led to this?))

[OctoberRaven]

(Xravi: I was hoping to keep the ambush in PMs, and you don't have to learn d20 combat. PMing.)

[Myst]

Matt tilted his head to the side, thinking, "I'd assume we'll just have to fake it. If that doesn't work, there's always old fashioned breaking and entering. I don't think we're exactly barred from bending the law if it helps with the case."