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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Sept 23, 2013 14:27:56 GMT -8
The Wolf's Den is a sprawling 8,270 square foot, seven bedroom, five-and-a-half bathroom mansion, nestled on an overgrown lot overlooking Lake Washington. The overgrown lot features dense grass and ornamental and fruit trees arranged neatly on terraced slopes. There has been some vandalism, but largely the house has fared well, with the damaged windows boarded up from inside. The interior looks like the house was uninhabited when the soup went down. Appliances are in place, as are window treatments and light fixtures, but there isn't any furniture to be seen. Google Map.
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Sept 23, 2013 14:38:22 GMT -8
Wolf produced a key from his pocket and opened the back door and deadbolt. He entered the back hallway, the cool marble clacking against a bit of gravel stuck in the bottom of his shoe.
He stopped and pried the small rock from his sole and flicked out the back door. He stepped farther in and assessed the area for any new vandalism.[/i] "Welcome to the home of Andrew Wasko, Esquire." He looked about ready to pop. He quickly realized that his expression might be mistaken for something other than what it was.[/i] "Don't worry, this isn't where I hide the bodies."
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DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
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Post by DKender on Sept 23, 2013 17:52:54 GMT -8
"I expect not. It's too nice for bodies. Leave that dirty business for your warehouse by the docks. Lawyers did well for themselves! Don't worry. Once society comes back together, we'll rebuild the word of law. You have a bright future, Esquire Wasko." She looked around, treating the building like a museum. Her expression was cool and inscrutable.
[/i] "Is this really your old place? I can't believe it ... Okay, tell me the secret already, I've been dying of curiosity. Look, I chewed my nail all the way here. It's hideous, and that's your fault. Just put me out of my misery."
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Sept 23, 2013 18:26:59 GMT -8
Wolf snorted trying to suppress a laugh. He composed himself and grimaced a little.[/i] "Sorry about your nail. Anyway, um... Andrew Wasko was living in Argentina when the shit went down. He'd been there a few months. His home was just a convenient and extravagantly comfortable place to live while I was conducting business in town. He also had a very nice garage." As he spoke, they walked around the first two floors, checking for squatters, spooks, or vandalism. The rest of the house was equally unfurnished. He seemed a little reluctant to continue, but like he could probably be nudged.[/i]
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DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
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Post by DKender on Sept 23, 2013 19:21:43 GMT -8
Molly was thrilled! She much preferred "mystery thriller" to "supernatural horror."
[/i] "Aha! I knew it! Really, I did! You have a litigator's charisma, but a lawyer wouldn't dye his hair unconventional blue. Even the cheapo ones need bland styles. I guess you coulda started after the apocalypse, but that dye job's too good for an inexperienced hand. A decent odd-colored hair job is tricky." She peeked around every corner with caution, half expecting Andrew Wasko - the REAL Andrew Wasko - to appear as a spectre in chains.
[/i] "Soooo. Who are you really? Your secret's safe with me, even if you have a bag of black opals and red diamonds hidden under the floorboards. Er. Marble floorboards." She decided to sweeten the deal.
[/i] "I'll tell you all about my run-in with the law, too. It's thrilling. You don't wanna miss this story!"
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Sept 23, 2013 19:39:17 GMT -8
"Actually, I haven't dyed my hair since I was 16. I just have nice hair." He actually seemed to hesitate for a moment, like if you asked a man when the anniversary of his first three weddings was.[/i] "Nick, though I haven't told anyone my real name in about ten years. Wolf feels more like my real name these days. As for the diamonds..." He trailed off mysteriously. As they approached the stairs to the basement, Molly noticed a small room off the kitchen, with a single empty wine rack leaning askew against the wall.
The stairs into the basement were hardwood, and the thumped satisfyingly as they made their way down. At the base of the stairs was the first item of furniture she had seen.
The hardwood floors created a warm space, with a large oriental rug, anchored under the weight of a pool table. Beyond, there was a fully appointed bar, with empty shelves.[/i] "Tell me about your run-in with the law and I'll tell you about mine." He walked over to the bar and stood behind it expectantly, as if he were waiting for her to order a cocktail.[/i]
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DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
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Post by DKender on Sept 24, 2013 18:36:06 GMT -8
Molly found the cues and chose one and she liked. Then, she leaned against the bar.[/i] "It's not my usual, but I feel like red wine today. How about a quick game?" She arranged the billiard balls in a pyramid on the tabletop with a triangular rack and chalked her cue.
[/i] "This is my favorite sport. Plus, it'll set the mood for my tale of criminal intrigue. The whole mess started in a bar, over a game of pool." She looked up and waited for Wolf's decision.
[/i]
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Sept 24, 2013 19:55:09 GMT -8
Wolf looked around dramatically at the empty cabinets and scratched his head. He had a brilliant idea, thrusting his index finger into the air.[/i] "I think I might have just what you're looking for. Go ahead and break 'em, I'll be back in a second." He walked back to a small room that she presumed was a restroom. He stuck his head back out to make sure she wasn't following. He closed the door behind him.[/i]
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DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
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Post by DKender on Sept 25, 2013 20:55:33 GMT -8
Molly saluted as the door shut and proceeded to do a brilliant job breaking that triangle! Damn! He'd never believe she pocketed two on the first go. Well, he'd probably believe her, but it was still better to witness the thing live!
She wondered what Wolf was doing in the bathroom. Could he be brewing something in the tub, like a bootlegger? That'd solve the "oh no! we drank all the hard stuff before the apocalypse ended, what now?" problem. But how good would a homebrew taste?
[/i] [dice=20+1] Plus one for moxy[rand=807914273298131540603617518041557108005321710613520105519680479478]
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Sept 26, 2013 2:45:57 GMT -8
A minute and a half later, Wolf reappeared, wearing his most wolfish grin to date. After a dramatic pause, he produced with a flourish a large, dark wine bottle.
He walked to the bar and placed two slightly over-sized, round-bellied wine glasses on the bar. He pulled out a Swiss Army knife and used the corkscrew to open the bottle. He poured two modest glasses, set down the bottle, and brought the glasses over to the table.[/i] "Technically, it should be decanted for an hour or so, but a little swirl should do the job well enough for our purposes." He gave her a wink, then swished his wine around while appraising the table appreciatively. As he paced around the table he stuck his nose in the glass and took a whiff.
He chuckled a bit at his own pretentiousness, but went in for another snootful. With more than a little Thurston Howell III in his voice...[/i] "Chateau Mouton Rothschild '45. Technically a claret, but really quite unique." He raised an eyebrow at the table arrangement.[/i] "Good lord, woman, are you a pool shark? I guess that makes you solids. Wake me up when you miss a shot, eh." He leaned up against the wall and sipped his wine, swishing it around in his mouth before swallowing. He leaned his head back against the wall and made a blissful expression.[/i]
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DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
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Post by DKender on Sept 26, 2013 16:13:03 GMT -8
Woe be Molly! She fouled - the six ball shot over the table's edge and skittered across the floor.
[/i] [dice=20+1][rand=1460451422318348518406537617212937920010515301124149346675775152427]
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Sept 27, 2013 18:53:05 GMT -8
"Now you're just trying to pull me in. I'm not falling for that one. Nine ball, side pocket." He lined up and took his shot. It wasn't an easy one.[/i] [dice=20] The shot looked good but lost a little too much juice on the second ricochet. The ball it tapped rolled within an inch of the pocket, but didn't go in.[/i] "Ouch." He leaned his cue against the wall and picked his glass back up. Swish, swish.[/i] "You are not going to get drunk. Not even tipsy. The last thing either of us needs is the nuns thinking I brought you out here to booze you up and take advantage. I hope you know your limits." He took a sip from his glass.[/i] "So you and the police, dish."[rand=7072162141237537622354580347155736259780920947806530823271531772]
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DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
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Post by DKender on Sept 28, 2013 14:06:28 GMT -8
Molly imitated Wolf's discerning ritual. She swirled the wine and tasted it. Then, she threw back the glass and wiped her mouth delicately.
[/i] "It's not me those nuns should worry about." She laughed.
[/i] "Picture this. A young Molly in the big city, separated from Mom and Dad for the first time ever. I knew a couple people here - not well, but enough to feel safe. One was my roommate. What a mess that was. Anyway, we were drinking and being rowdy, when she pulled me in to a game of darts with some random so-and-sos. I didn't know a thing about darts. But my roomate was a ringer, the kind who plays cutesy and clueless but is really just cutesy, you know that type? Long story short, when they refused to pay, she stole somebody's wallet and ran. Obviously, I had to follow. I was ninety percent sure that I'd be murdered before midnight if she stranded me. "Well, we were a block away from the bar, still running, when this absolute monster of a man starts shouting at me, '"STOP. DROP THE WALLET RIGHT NOW!' I swear to god, I didn't know he was a cop at the time. What kinda actual police officer wears gold chains? More like a mafia guy, right? So I tried to run, but it's hard when you're wearing heels, and next thing you know, he tackled me. I skinned my knee on the dirty sidewalk. Police brutality - not that anyone cares. Oh, it was just ... the man weighed about two hundred pounds and had his creepy hands all over me. Pat down. Yeesh. I spent the night in jail, being a drunk twenty-year-old with a fake ID who'd stolen a poor schmuck's wallet by association."
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Sept 28, 2013 20:23:27 GMT -8
"Fort Huachuca, Arizona, 2001. I'm on my way back to the barracks after 24 hours of scouring encrypted network data to identify the IP address of someone skimming social security numbers from the State Department that were being used in fake passports. Though I had been up for over 24 hours, I was still wired from one too many Red Bulls, so I rolled a blunt and smoked it on my way back." He finished his wine and set the glass back down.[/i] "Anyway, I take a shortcut through some scrub brush when I stumble across an MP sleeping in his patrol car. Just as I think I'm gonna get past without any trouble, his partner comes out from behind a saguaro buttoning his fly. Long story short, they bust me for marijuana and take me back to the station. When they search my wall locker, they find a couple of pounds, packaged for resale. I gave up my supplier in exchange for one year and and a general discharge." He rubbed the back of his neck and fidgeted with the cue chalk.[/i] "Since then, I've moved around a lot, making money where I could and enjoying the finer things in life. Good food, good booze, and beautiful... cars. Beautiful cars." He definitely blushed there for a second.[/i] "Mr. Wasko happened to be out of town for a prolonged period and had a pretty nice stable of vehicles, not to mention a wicked collection of booze. He had another secret, which made this place perfect for my purposes."
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DKender
Only One Skeleton has the Power to Control both Life and Death, Light and Dark, Words and Blank Space, Our Humble Lives Continue Only by the Grace and Magnanimity of This Skeleton
Nay, let us walk from fire unto firey skeleton ...
Posts: 9,204
Gender: Unknown Skeleton
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Post by DKender on Sept 28, 2013 21:28:22 GMT -8
"Ohhh. That's quite a bit more than a night in the drunk tank." She served herself a little more. It was good, better than the wine she used to drink. Living large at the end of the world!"So ... how did you know about Wasko and his secrets before you moved in here?"
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