Realistic or Modern Wading in the Dark

[BlackRose]

Summer watched as the woman stumbled back when only moments ago she was filled with rage. "Are you alright?" Summer questioned as she stares at the woman. Summer takes a step towards the woman and places a hand on her shoulder. "Remember your not alone."


-BlackRose.

 

[Daeya]

She watched the woman collapse into a chair with disgust, but soon wiped the anger off her face and knelt down to look her in the face. "Listen, it's easy to push it away, just let others grip the handles and drive. But finding someone lost isn't easy. You have to face it yourself. I didn't mean to yell, or even set you off. But you need to realize, that this small 'organization' is 'dedicated' to find the people like your Elizabeth, my Alec, everyone that has been victimized by the terrible kidnapping. Can you do that?" Bailee asked, trying to calmly ease the lady.

 

[Aspiel Monroe]

"I know you all are good people, I know you have good intentions. I... This happens to me. Ever since Elizabeth got taken... It's like, one minute I'm furious, or sobbing my eyes out, the next I barely realize I've done it. I didn't mean to, I'm so... sorry..." She speaks without taking her head from her hands.

 

[Daeya]

Bailee nodded in acceptance, replying, "We all have our moments. C'mon. You can't mope like this, it's a sign of weakness." She stood from her crouched position and extended her two palms, hoping she would accept them. Looking over at Nick, she nodded in appreciation but looked back down towards the collapsed woman.

 

[BlackRose]

Summer nodded her head in agreement, "Bailee's right. You can't let your emotions get the better of you. Whoever the hell took your sister wants you to break down like this but you can't. I'm sure that your sister wouldn't want to see you like this right. You have to be strong and now you have people around you here to support you. Ok." Summer said backing up Bailee. A gentle smile found it's way to Summers lips it had been a while since she actually smiled.


-BlackRose.

 

[Aspiel Monroe]

(GUYS, READ THE OOC CHAT)

 

[Incognito]

Frank woke up with the juttering of the plane’s fuselage as the wheels pressed into the runway, the engines blaring outside of his widow as the breaks and air resistance brought the 787 to a slower speed. The flight had been long coming in from LAX. Four hours at the current mark, and he was eager to stretch his legs.


Outside of the terminal Frank walked down the familiar linoleum floors towards the Enterprise desk a building over. A cute woman, mid twenties with her dress shirt unbuttoned lower than he felt was professional gave him the keys to the rental car he’d arranged a few days before.


Once in the car he checked the thermostat. Seventy-two. Windows down. It would take half an hour to arrive in downtown, and that gave him some time to think over all that had happened. All things considered what had happened was a whole lot of nothing. So far he’d found no reliable leads and he’d been investigating the disappearances for over a month. Time was running out, if it hadn’t been already. It’d been two months since the disappearance of his employer’s son, Marcario. The kid was eighteen, stupid, uneducated despite going to the best schools. He was a walking stereotype of the kid with filthy rich parents. Frank didn’t have anything against him for it, he supposed he came by it naturally, and often times it was his job to watch the party animal when he went out for one of his all nighters. Despite lacking a quality character, Frank knew Marcario didn’t deserve what was coming.


Frank took the Canal street exit off the highway and headed for the outskirts of the French Quarter. He knew where the Voodoo Needle was, and arrived twenty minutes before four. He parked across the street and waited.


He first noticed a young woman, blond, short with a toned ass. There were only two options for a woman like her being in a place like this. She was either lost, or looking for someone. Frank put his bets on the later.


Shortly after that another woman showed up. Average height, brown hair, dressed in clothes too stylish to be local. Definitely out of state and maybe out of country. She carried herself like someone in the entertainment industry, confidence is key, or so they say.


After another few minutes a third woman showed up, another brunet, long curly hair, about the same height as the previous, maybe a little shorter. She headed inside with the others.


After waiting a little while longer Frank checked his watch. Four twenty. Turning off the car he grunted his way out of the seat, and walked towards the hotel entrance. The car beeped behind him as he depressed the key and then stuffed keys into his pocket. Once he reached the hotel he pushed the door open with an audible creaking of unoiled hinges, and stepped inside. Fans were clicking lazily overhead; old and undusted. Frank saw the three women together with a man wearing a trench coat. Very inconspicuous, Frank thought. This was starting to feel like a dead end, some pervert trying to use the disappearances to pick up women. He walked up to the front desk.


The large black woman on the other side of the reception desk looked bored, and Frank was silently thankful it wasn't summer. “Bathroom?” He spoke. The women looked up from her smartphone and quirked a brown.


“We ain’t got no bathroom, ‘less you renting a room.”


Frank rubbed the back of his bald head. “How much for a day?”


“Fer a bathroom?”


“When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.”


The woman looked at him with a face chalked full of skepticism. She fished for something behind the desk and produced a well-worn key. “Here. That's the employee bathroom down the hall.” She handed over the key, and Frank took it, nodding.


“Thank you.”


“No problem, honey.” She replied.


Frank glanced over his shoulder at the group gathered in the lobby before walking down the hall towards the bathroom. Once inside he washed his hands and went over the situation in his head. Midway through his thought process he heard a sharp clap from outside. He grinned. Someone got slapped, he knew that sound, and it was most likely the pervert.


Exiting the bathroom he eyed the group. One of the women looked emotional, sat down with her head in her hands. The other two were gathered around her, with the man in the coat sat on the couch.


Frank returned the key to the front desk and walked over to the group. “Are you three alright?” He inquired.

 

[Daeya]

Bailee turned around sharply, revealing a man standing with a worried face behind her. With a slight edge, she snapped back, "Yes. We are most splendidly fine. And you might be?" She gave a cautious glance back down to the collapsed woman, yet drew her face back to the man with a slight frown. She sighed slightly, extending a palm while slinging her purse in the other. "Bailee Cox," she began, studying his face. "Brother, 31." Bailee added, then turned around. She shouldn't talk this personally to complete strangers.


-apologies for lack of color, on cell phone -

 

[Aspiel Monroe]

Eden speaks, head still in her hands. "I'm Eden. Eden Lark. Older sister, 27"

 

[BlackRose]

Summer looks to examine the older man. Summer opened her mouth and responded, "I'm Summer Winds. Daughter. Age 4. Name Autumn Winds. Now who exactly are you searching for? Or at least I assume your searching for someone like everyone else in this room." Summer directed her attention back to the woman who was seated as she waited for the man to reply.


-BlackRose.

 

[Incognito]

Frank frowned, reached up and scratches his beaded face. “A lot of assumptions that I’m looking for anyone but fine, I am here for that reason.” His eyes shifted between the group, looking them up and down in turn. “You all responded to the-” Frank started to cough and took a moment to clear his throat. “The website?” He finished. “Has he given you young ladies anything beyond his phone number?” Frank gestured towards Nick. “I don’t have a lot of time to waste on pointless pranks, I hope you understand, so if there is some point to this meeting beyond patting each other on the back and crying, I suggest we get to it. Otherwise I have leads to follow.” That was a lie and Frank wished it hadn’t been. His mouth was already starting to feel dry, and he was starting to crave a smoke. If they didn't have anything the only lead he was following was a healthy shot of whisky.

 

[Aspiel Monroe]

With her head still in her hands, she speaks to the newcomer. "You're lying. you have no leads. And this meeting is serious. We've all lost someone, and we're all looking for them. I think I speak for all of us when I say we're extremely serious about this so sit. Down."

 

[Daeya]

With a gasp, Bailee looked at the man fiercely. "You, you have such a cold heart, I don't even think you belong in here. Each of us have experienced a loss, and some need to be comforted. You have no right to stand up here with your, your, idiotic self and tell us otherwise!" The woman hissed, about to push the man out of the room.

 

[Aspiel Monroe]

"Just let him go. He obviously doesn't give a shit."

 

[Incognito]

Frank shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. “I understand what you’re going through, and I understand this is an emotional time, but if you want results you can’t let that cloud your judgment.” He eyes Bailee. “You have the right to be comforted, but is that why you’re here? Is that why any of you are here?” Frank looked around. “Are you here to simply have each other, or do you want to get those missing people back? I need, and you need to know why you’re here." He paused. "And why our trench coat mafia friend is here."

 

[Aspiel Monroe]

Eden laughs. "Mafia. Nice. But honestly, I'd like to know the same."

 

[Daeya]

She sighed, relaxing her face. "I-I apologize for my sudden rashness. Sometimes, when I see someone that comes off as arrogant, especially on the subject of sympathy, I go a little," Bailee made a funny face. "I lost my brother a year back, he was working his job at the shard and went out to get some tea before finishing the shift, and that's the last I ever heard. What about you?" Bailee asked, trying not to form any enemies in this process. "I am here," she began confidently, "to find him."


-let's not get too ahead of ourselves because boss told us to tone it down a little bit-

 

[BlackRose]

Summer faded back to the background and stared at the man. Her green eyes were cold and never once broke away from him. She finally opened her mouth and spoke, "We did come here for us to see if we can pick up leads on our loved ones disappearances. But if you can open your eyes you can clearly see that all of us need a few moments to get ourselves together. We all are stressed, I doubt that anyone here has slept since our family or lovers disappeared. And I still do not appreciate your lying to anyone here in this room. So may I ask why must any of us listen to the words of a liar?" Summer took a step towards the man as she spoke and looked him dead in his eyes. Her misery and anger glowed behind the cold mask upon her face.


-BlackRose.

 

[Sugar and Spice]

Dawson Sneed


Dawson was at work surfing the net for any clues. He came across a site, and the more he read the more it seemed like this person personally knew. Scrolling down the web page, his supervisor walked by "Dawson, close that tab and get back to work." "Yes" He replied timidly. He scrolled down some more and saw a time and meeting place in New Orleans. Dawson looked at his desk clock. If I don't leave now I wont make it. He quickly grabbed his bag, rushing out of his office. As he past the offices secretary, he stopped and back tracked. "Shelly, take me out on a week of vacation starting right now." Shelly looked bewildered, she had every right to. For the past 9 years he had been working there he'd never once take a vacation. Dawson ran back down the hallway shouting "Thanks Shelly!"


Dawson got in his car and called the Airport for a ticket. He barely made it on time for his flight from Redmond Washington to New Orleans Louisiana. At a stop made in Iowa his plane was delayed. Dawson's plane finally made it to it's destination. Now sweating with nerves he got in a cab trying to hype himself up, "You are the man!" Even the cab driver wasn't impressed. The driver had refused to take him to the hotel but would drop him off on the street. It took Dawson 3 times walking up and down the other side before finally finding it.


"This place should be condemned." Dawson did a few breathing exercises, then opened his phone to look at the two pictures he had;

Spoiler

Family Photo<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_07/ACF0002PreSchool-boy-leaps.jpg.5bf86a14b0f9c8fdd8b56317ffa099e3.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="23106" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_07/ACF0002PreSchool-boy-leaps.jpg.5bf86a14b0f9c8fdd8b56317ffa099e3.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>


12 year old school picture

Dawson did some more quick breathing, "To infinity, and beyond!" He said before entering the disastrous building. Not even renovation? Dawson cautiously walked around the crumbling, rotting, dingy building. Soon he approached a group of people. He was really late to the meeting, and now Dawson had a mental war with himself as to weather or not he should continue or head back. He stood there like a deer in the headlights.

 

[AM Gray]

Nick Pierce


Nick leaned back in his seat and looked at the growing group of people. It seemed as if the tension was finally gone. A smirk came across his face "Good to see you can all work things out." he said this as he stood up from his seat. "If my coat makes you uneasy, or untrusting I will remove it." he placed his coat on the chair he was sitting on, neatly hung over the back. The gun hanging from his body holster showed clearly now, he had almost forgotten it was there. "I know you all have your questions and I can let you know now, I can answer a few of them." as he said this he saw a very dorky man walk into the hotel. "I noticed you have your doubts about this 'meeting'." he said to the bold man "I can assure you this is no prank, I have been hurt just as much as anyone else in this room by the events that have been happening for the past years." his breath started to run out toward the end, he hadn't spoken that much in a while.


"You are all wondering why I put up the message to meet you all here, yes?" the curious looks answered the question. Nick walked around to the back of the chair and leaned forward while he scanned over the group. "You all know just as well as I that the police and even the FBI have been useless working this case. They have found absolutely no one involved. So noticing this I thought maybe I could do something about it. Being only one man this was very hard. I decided it would be best to work in a group. So here we all are now."

 

[Daeya]

Tearing her eyes off of the man who stood in front of her, she gave a comforting smile to Summer and Eden, who seemed to make progress, but her attention remained centered on the man who had announced himself as Nick. Soon, another member had joined the searchers, and while Nick talked about how the police investigators and FBI had deemed themselves useless, Bailee causally sauntered over to him. He stood there, kind of zoned out, and obviously late. She lifted a hand to stifle a laugh, then approached the man.


"Little late there, dear," Bailee whispered, but opened up with a smile. "Cox, Bailee. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand to shake, hoping her appearance didn't offset him in any way. Over the time she had arrived, her makeup had smudged a bit, her hair grew even wilder than usual, and her clothes had gotten a little more than wrinkled. Nevertheless, Bailee still had her confidence to keep her in check.

 

[Trickster Vixen]

Selena Channing


"The woman with the false identity"

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Unsure. That's the only conclusion that I can come to after eavesdropping on the conversation. I'm standing with my back uncomfortably against the wall, efficiently hidden out of sight. I had arrived three hours early for the meeting, bought a room and simply waited. After all of this time with no news other than perverted videos, I wasn't about to be caught in an ambush. Maybe it was a little conceited of me to assume that whoever is abducting people would go through all of this trouble just to abduct me. Though with the diverse group that now stand and converse in the lobby, it's safe to say that there are no obvious connections between the victims. We all come from different places, some having flown in from out of state -evident from their clothing- and some who were close enough to New Orleans to drive.

"--I decided it would be best to work in a group. So here we all are now." From the way the apparent leader of the group speaks, he seems to be as educated as any of us with the situation. Or at least logical enough to bring us all together. I don't know why I didn't think of it, sharing information as opposed to merely settling for scraps from Google and the news. I understand giving up on the authorities, they were as useless as the headlines. Mere speculation and theories but nothing concrete, nothing that provided any of us with comfort or hope. All we had was our own belief in the people that had been taken, that they would be strong enough to fend for themselves until we came for them.


I listen for a little while longer, continuing my process of gathering what little information I could from each respective person. So far it seems that only the man in the trench coat had lost somebody, but there were other videos out there. All of them virally circulating the web like some sort of sick entertainment. I had already promised myself that I would keep searching for Alec until he appeared in one of those videos, but I know I'm not that naive. What's now a rescue mission filled with the desire to save will mutate and morph into something darker: revenge. I would kill anybody that harmed him and even with our relationship almost non-existent the last time we spoke, I would always have his back.


As one of the women, Bailee, I think, introduces herself I seize the opportunity. Working with others can't be any worse than working alone, namely because I haven't gotten anywhere. No clues, no leads and certainly no digital trails. Whoever is leaking the video knows, or has somebody that knows what they're doing. I don't think it's such a stretch to assume that there's a larger end game here, something that will ultimately connect us all.


"Do you have room for one more?" I say boldly, emerging from my hiding place and sauntering towards the group. "My name is Selena Channing. I'm searching for my friend."

​

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[Daeya]

Turning from her small smile towards the dorky man, she looked at another bold woman walking through the door, much like herself. "Bailee Cox, if you hadn't overheard it while you were entering. I lost my brother at 31, beloved Alec, after he completed his work shift in London while I was in Birmingham, helping our mother recover from stroke. Enough has happened to that old woman for room for more drama," she said with a smirk, but her attention didn't loosen from the strange man who had entered, looking a little geeky.

 

[BlackRose]

Summer glanced over at the man and the suspicious woman who seemed to just magically appear from elsewhere within the room. I continued to introduce myself to the two new people as I adverts my eyes to the man who carelessly had his gun out in the open."I'm Summer winds, daughter, age 4, Autumn Winds, abducted during a home invasion." Summer had her hand in her purse and was holding onto her loaded gun so she would be ready in case someone here tried something funny. Summer glanced back at the woman by the name of Selena and asked her, "Selena. Why is it that if you were already in the room that you stayed hidden. I noticed you didn't enter through the entrance door like the majority of us." Summer whispered to the woman as she spoke to ensure that everyone could still hear Nick.


-BlackRose.

 

[Sugar and Spice]

Sweat was rolling down Dawson's face. He pulled at his Toystory print tie to loosen it. In a very non confident voice he replied to the lady who seemed familiar strangely. "C-caught flight, found out this morning..." Just like in high school he couldn't win with the ladies. Dawson jumped and even gave out a sigh of relief as Selena confidently obtained the attention of the room with her presence. Dawson was too much of a chicken to introduce himself.