Re: Graveyard Shift [Dated]

by Tisis Antony Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:02 pm

The Earth pony grunted a response and lead towards the stairway, pulling open the door that led onto the rooftop. A small smattering of blood trailing off the edge, and a small knive stuck out of the gravelly surface the covered the rooftop.

"And this is where they departed. I reckon you'll need to check this place out or something."

by Kroll Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:05 pm

Kroll nods slowly, walking along side the bloodtrail before stooping over the edge of the rooftop, staring at the ground below for a few moments before turning back around to face the stallion. "You said that this group had been around before on previous occasions?"

by Tisis Antony Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:07 pm

The stallion nodded. "Big ol' building, big ol' neighborhood. Seen them sauntering around, sometimes they'd come in and visit people on the lower floors. Don't know how they heard about the restaurant though, or what compelled them to try and rob it. Anything else? I mean, I reckon you don't need me to investigate anymore."

by Kroll Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:40 pm

Kroll shakes his head. "Not anymore, I should think. Once again, I do thank you for your cooperation; It has been most unprecedented and appreciated." the captain said, bowing slightly at the stallion.

by Tisis Antony Sun Jul 28, 2013 10:12 pm

"Yeah..." he says, before sauntering back downstairs. He left the door slightly ajar with a small brick, and went on his way.

Kroll was left alone to his devices and his investigation.

by Kroll Sun Jul 28, 2013 10:47 pm

Kroll watched the stallion leave before continuing to look around the rooftops for anything else he could be missing. For the most part, the stallion's story was straight forward, and matched with other reports that fad been field in that area. Squatting down next to the knife in the gravelly rooftop, Kroll pulled the small blade out and looked it over. What could I be forgetting..?

by Tisis Antony Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:05 am

A bloody dining room, a bloody kitchen. A trail of blood and feathers that lead upstairs. An Earth Pony cadre in fine standing. Seven or eight Guerrilla's in bad repute.

If anything the situation was both unusual and typical- Kroll would see Guerrilla's exercising their authority for crime on a month to month basis. Rarely did it involve the Guerrilla's getting routed so thoroughly. Two pony Janitors. One Buffalo gaurd.

The building was full of other residents who may be able to corroborate what the Earth Pony had told him.

by Kroll Mon Jul 29, 2013 5:49 pm

Kroll pocketed the knife and proceeded to head back down the stairs and into the restaurant area. Though the first stallion had been helpful enough, it wouldn't hurt to ask some of the other occupants of the building. Opening the door that led to the kitchen, the captain stalked inside, looking at the two janitors as he closed the door behind him. "Hello again, sirs. I apologize for interrupting your janitorial duties once more, but may I ask you questions related to the issue that I am investigating on the property? It is important that your compliance is given at this time."

by Tisis Antony Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:02 pm

The two looked to eachother, confused. "What questions would you be asking? We just got here a few hours, been cleaning this blood out the kitchen."

To illustrate his point, the stallion motioned towards the mop bucket that was propped up next to him. The water inside was crimson, with little drips of red and pink pooling around in in the puddles along the ground.

The second stallion, a unicorn who was maneuvering his mop via magic, nodded, agreeing with his partners statement.

by Kroll Tue Jul 30, 2013 4:01 pm

Kroll paused for a moment. Though he was skeptical that these two would be able to provide anything helpful for his investigation, the captain felt that it was worth a try at the very least. Besides, he was on this floor already, and didn't see any harm in simply working his way down. "What can you two tell me about the residences of this building? Do you two work explicitly for them, or do freelance janitorial services?"

by Tisis Antony Tue Jul 30, 2013 8:25 pm

The Unicorn kept mopping and the Earth pony janitor leaned on his mop. "Lesse- been doing work for the Saltpeter family for a couple years now, but we only come to this property every couple of weeks when their normal staff is off. Don't do any work for the tenants here, they got rental agreements, do their own cleaning."

He put more thought to it- then started again- "Oh, but that's just me. Don't know anything about this guy. He don't speak much. He just got tacked on to help me clean about a week ago. Here- move your foot, missed a spot there."

The Earth pony motioned with his mop at the spatter of blood that lined the baseboard next to the door.

by Kroll Wed Jul 31, 2013 7:55 am

Kroll nodded slowly. "So I see...do you have any idea how this family has managed to maintain this estate, or what kind of business they run? I can only assume that it must be something that pays well, given the assorted furnishings and amenities that the adorn the property of which we are occupying.."

by Tisis Antony Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:15 am

The earth pony shook his head. "You don't pry, don't go lookin' in pony's business, that's how you lose work. Couldn't tell you what they do. I know they rent out a lot of decent properties, but that's public knowledge; that could very well be their income I suppose."

"Anyways, aren't you with the tax-griffs? Can't you speculate better then I about their workings?"

by Kroll Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:51 pm

Kroll shook his head. "No, that is not my department. I was sent here to investigate the cause of the mess you and your friend are cleaning up. I appreciate the cooperation the both of you two have provided me, but I am going to go leave now...take care." With a nod, Kroll began to make his way out of the kitchen door, stopping for a moment in the doorway.

"Oh, and a courtesy note: square rooms are best cleaned in circles." with that, the griffon vanished out sight, heading down the next set of stairs. The janitors hadn't been much of a help, though in retrospect, perhaps that could've been expected. If the other residents were still around, perhaps they'd have more information.

by Tisis Antony Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:18 pm

As Kroll turned and left the room, he could likely feel a slight tug on the shoulder of his armor- barely noticeable. Slightly more noticeable was the slight orange glow that both visited and left his peripheral vision at the same moment as the tug.

Although it was tucked in, and barely noticeable against the feather and strapping of his vests and armor, there was now something tucked in against his left shoulder strap.

As Kroll made his way down the building, the apartments appeared more active then typical. Presumably the violence in the building made the tenants uneasy. Curfew was being currently enforced, and nopony was tempted to leave their apartments- word gets around when a Griffon was in your building, and the ponies knew better then to invite trouble when it wasn't warranted.

Besides the Restaurant, and the Saltpeter residence, there were about four stories down that the Janitor had claimed were rented residential tenements.

by Kroll Thu Aug 01, 2013 4:33 am

Kroll looked behind him for a moment as he saw something out of the corner of his eye, frowning a little. He could hear the residents start to become more unsettled at his presence, and was sure that more than one of them were gazing out at him through the peepholes on their doors. He sighed, rubbing his face in irritation. It was going to be a long night.

Randomly selecting an apartment, Kroll knocked on the door, hoping that the tenants would be somewhat cooperative. "Ey. Is anyone in there? Open up."

by Tisis Antony Thu Aug 01, 2013 11:25 am

The apartment in question sounded like someone was running around for a few moments, then silence. The silence continued for about ten seconds, when someone spoke up. "We ain't breakin' curfew!" a gruff, but feminine voice hollered.

by Kroll Thu Aug 01, 2013 12:09 pm

Kroll nodded slowly. "I am aware of this fact you have said. Good success. I only want to talk, not trouble. I'm doing investigation, your compliance is a thing I would appreciate now."

by Tisis Antony Thu Aug 01, 2013 1:25 pm

Some bolts slid open and the door cracked slightly. The chain-lock was still engaged, but a small equine face peaked out from the side. The pony was an extremely vivid shade of neon orange, and seemed to radiate light from her coat. Her mane itself was streaked with neon pinks, greens, and blues. She seemed to be slightly irritated by her own brilliance, because her eyes were squinting. "Who's that out there? I can't see you. Come closer."

by Kroll Thu Aug 01, 2013 8:15 pm

Kroll recoiled slightly at the vivid brightness of the mare before him. "Eghh...I just have a few questions for you...nothing too intruding...do you know anything about the estate you take up residence in, and the family that operates it? I am trying to investigate a happenings that occurred where we are here earlier tonight."

by Tisis Antony Thu Aug 01, 2013 8:32 pm

The mare flipped her hair out of her eyes, scattering fluorescent light all over the place. She looked the griffon over really good, his disposition, his outfit, his manner of standing. She reckoned he looked trustworthy enough, then opened the latch on her door. She invited him into her apartment. It wasn't as well furnished as the Saltpeter's had been, but it was by no means a dump. Though the furniture was aged and the carpets were worn, it had been decorated with a sensibility and aesthetic.

The living room was much warmer then the outside hall, with a large beige throw rug covering the wooden floors. A large gas stove sat off to the side- the kitchen wasn't so much a separate room, more of an alcove with slightly different flooring and cupboards. Across from it, a large sofa sat, lining the wall with the windows.

The mare waited for Kroll to enter, intending on shutting the door behind him.

by Kroll Thu Aug 01, 2013 9:09 pm

Kroll slowly made his way into the mare's apartment, looking around at the furnishings. He turned around to face the mare, bowing slightly. "Many thanks for your cooperation. I will be sure to keep this intrusion short."

by Tisis Antony Thu Aug 01, 2013 9:24 pm

The mare locked the door behind her, and let Kroll to the amenities of the house. She lay down at the couch and turned to face Kroll. "Now, specifically, what did you want to know?"

by Kroll Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:03 am

Kroll sighs, resting his forearms on the crossbow slung around his chest. "I'm not sure if you know, but there was an incident here earlier this evening on the property. A group Guerrillas posing as tax-collectors tried to steal money from the owners of this building...the Saul-pe-ters...?" the griffon shook his head, waving a claw dismissively. "Disregardless, I am trying to gather an understanding of the Saltpeters; do you know anything of them? How long have you taken up residence in their apartment complexes?"

by Tisis Antony Sat Aug 03, 2013 1:51 pm

The mare was cooperative. "I've been renting this small apartment here for about three years, after my colt died. The Saltpeters rented me this place after when I was looking for a place to stay, but I liked this place so much I just stayed here."

"As for the Saltpeters themselves, they're pretty wealthy. They own like, six or seven big ol' buildings that they rent out to good tenants. They bought a lot of property in the years since the, uh... the... since four years ago, when the Griffons came and most of the owners vacated. I guess they ran into some money or something. Can't say for sure what they did before becoming landlords."

She waited, figuring there'd be more questions.

by Kroll Sat Aug 03, 2013 2:17 pm

Kroll nodded slowly, writing something down in a small notebook. "Mh, I see...very interesting. There was a skirmish on this property earlier tonight, were you aware of such a happening? Did you observe anything out of the regular occurrence?"

by Tisis Antony Sat Aug 03, 2013 2:23 pm

The mare seemed confused. "A skirmish? Was that the thing that happened a few hours back? I was at the market, and I heard that something'd happened while I was away..."

by Kroll Sat Aug 03, 2013 4:34 pm

Kroll nodded, tucking the notebook away in a pouch on his vest. "Well ma'am, I am most thankful for your compliance, and should aid my investigation to a marginal extent." the captain glanced at the door. "Shall I show my way out?"

by Tisis Antony Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:51 pm

The mare smirked. "I figured a detective as yourself ought to be able to find the exit at least."

by Kroll Sat Aug 03, 2013 7:19 pm

Kroll chuckles quietly. "We all have our misfootings." with a final nod, the captain bid the vibrantly-colored mare goodnight, and left her apartment, closing the door behind him. Looking around at the other apartment doors, Kroll started to make his way down the stairway again, looking for another tenant to interview.

by Tisis Antony Sat Aug 03, 2013 10:12 pm

The next few doors were community washrooms and laundry rooms, which left nothing on this floor but the last door on the end. And what a door it was. It appeared to be reinforced mahogany, with metal plating along the edges, and big, bulky, riveted metal straps bracing all along its length. There was no peep hole, or mail slot, or even a knob. One could only guess how someone entered or exited, if they even did that at all.

Besides this, there remained the second and ground floors to investigate if desired.

by Kroll Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:03 am

Kroll stared at the strange door as it came into view, stopping in front of it as he walked down the stairs. After inspecting it for a bit, a tiny part of him yearned to have access to some high yield explosives to render the door into toothpicks and woodchips. All this same, the captain ruffled and smoothed his feathers before knocking on the ominous door, preemptively loading his crossbow as he waited for a reply on the other side.

by Tisis Antony Mon Aug 05, 2013 12:44 pm

The sound of scuffling came from inside, and a scream of "Go away!" and "I payed my rent this week!" It quickly became apparent that whoever was behind the door clearly had no intention of opening the door, much less coming to it.

by Kroll Mon Aug 05, 2013 5:06 pm

Kroll sighed, rubbing his face. The one time he received the reaction he expected was also the time he really didn't need it. "I'm not present over any rent-based debacles. I merely want to talk about the skirmish that transpired on the premises earlier this night. I have no malice intent, and only seek your cooperation."

by Tisis Antony Mon Aug 05, 2013 9:29 pm

There was no response.

by Kroll Tue Aug 06, 2013 1:37 pm

Kroll sighed, giving the door a nod. "Very fine. Enjoy your remaining evening." he started to climb down the stairs, moving towards the second floor of the building.

by Tisis Antony Wed Aug 07, 2013 2:03 pm

The second floor was more of the same. Rough rugs, locked doors, too much noise for the hour. Four apartments lined this floor, and one of the doors was open already. A large golden griffon tercel was moving boxes of files off of a hand-elavator and bringing them into his home.

The other three doors were closed shut. The one at the far end of the hall had a mail-box affixed to the door itself. The mail-box was overflowing with mail.

by Kroll Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:25 am

Kroll caught a glimpse of the griffon as it was walking back out of it's apartment, and the captain began to power walk towards the tercel, calling out to get its attention. "Ah, excuse me! Sir? Can I talk to you for a moment? Should only take a few seconds, if you don't mind..."

by Tisis Antony Fri Aug 09, 2013 8:41 pm

The griffon spun, with a wild eyed expression on his face at the sight of Kroll. He spat at Kroll and tried to run into his apartment, failing to pull the door closed due to a dropped box and apparently knocking over furniture trying to get into his room. The sound of clicking and machine sounds emanated only seconds later, and immediately following that, a crossbow bolt flew from the door, striking an unfortunate wooden post railing.

"FUCKING AAAH FUCK" was all the young tercel could seem to communicate.

by Kroll Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:43 pm

Kroll's feathers bristled as he felt the bolt whistle past him and embed itself in the railing behind him. He turned around and looked at the bolt, confused by the tercel's unexpected hostility towards him. Was it something he said? The captain shook his head as he loaded his crossbow with non-lethal bolts. Getting spat on was one thing, but getting shot at was completely different. Taking cover behind the doorway of the belligerent griffon's apartment, Kroll counted to three before rushing into the room, shooting two bolts at the golden tercel in rapid succession; one at his chest, and the other at one of his legs.

by Tisis Antony Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:06 am

The griffon was struck by the bolt to his chest, and hit the ground screaming and crying gibberish. He slashed in Kroll's vague direction with his claw that wasn't clutching his chest, despite the fact that Kroll was roughly ten meters away.

It became quickly apparent that the Griffon had an odd lifestyle, just from the furnishing of his apartment. Along one entire wall were improvised shelves made from poorly supported and measured wooden planks that had been nailed into place by someone with no skill. The shelves were lined with hundreds of empty, half empty, and about one or two full bottles of alcohol. A single sofa sat a little off from the wall, facing it and its lines of booze.

Aside from that single sofa, the apartment had not a single piece of furniture, at all. It was stocked to the hilt, in every single corner, in every room, with boxes of files, manilla folders and papyrus scrolls, all stacked almost with purpose. None of them appeared to have been opened or even read, as there were no papers out of their folders.

The griffon weeped, trying to wind up his crossbow from his terrible tactical position on the floor.

by Kroll Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:12 pm

Kroll swiftly advanced upon the griffon, keeping his crossbow trained on the tercel as he kicked the crossbow out of its grip. "What the hell was that?!" he growled at his would-be attacker. "I came here to get information, not to start trouble...." said the captain as he looked around at the poor condition of the tercel's apartment, a stark contrast to the living space of the mare he spoke with earlier. Shaking his head, Kroll refocused his gaze on the griffon below him. "What can you tell me about the fight that happened here earlier this evening?"

by Tisis Antony Thu Aug 15, 2013 11:22 am

"FUCKING- GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! GO CHOKE ON A GODDAMN DICK YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT!" Tears were streaming from his face and he choked on his own words as he tried to spit them out.

The Tercel tried to leap and grab the crossbow from Kroll's arms abruptly, though it was a rather ineffective movement, considering as that he had to first try to get to his feat, spin about, locate Kroll's position, and lunge himself at him.

by Kroll Fri Aug 16, 2013 5:28 pm

Kroll frowned as the griffon tried to attack him, taking a step back before smashing the griffon across the face with the butt of his crossbow before firing another nonlethal bolt at the belligerent tercel. "GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!" the captain screamed, begging to get annoyed at how long it's been taking to get a straight answer. "I SAID GET DOWN ON THE GROUND."

by Tisis Antony Sat Aug 17, 2013 8:13 pm

The griffon was splayed, blood trickling from a crack in his beak. He began moaning something about fascism and chickenblood. His eyes lolled about in his skull and tried to find where Kroll was in the spinning room.

He seemed for intents and purposes, pacified.

by Kroll Mon Aug 19, 2013 4:20 am

Kroll sighed as he stared at the tercel. It didn't seem like it wouldn't have been willing to assist in the captain's investigation, especially now. Making a on-the-fly judgement call, Kroll confiscated the griffon's crossbow, feeling that it'd be a service to the safety of the other tenants as well as to himself, should the tercel feel like trying to cause more trouble. As he stepped his way out of the disheveled apartment and made his way back down the stairs, the captain seriously hoped that Aella was having better luck than he was.

by Tisis Antony Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:26 am

As Kroll came downstairs, an Earth Pony had just exited his apartment and was peering up the stairs. "Did something happen?" he asked Kroll.

by Kroll Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:22 pm

Stops Kroll looks at the pony, glancing back up the stairs for a moment. "Just a little civil unrest as usual is all." the captain said calmly, shifting a little. "If you don't mind though, sir, I'm doing an investigation of a Guerrilla-involved disturbance that transpired earlier here on the property, would you know anything about those particular happenings?"

by Tisis Antony Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:01 pm

"Oh yeah, those griffons who swung by earlier. The erm... Guerrillas, yeah tha's it. They're here all the time giving the tenants shit."

"But yeah, take care of those assholes will ya? Normally they wait in the lobby and fuck up the furniture, but 'pparantly the Saltpeters wanted to see 'em upstairs today. By disturbance, you meant the property damage right? Because it wasn't just today, they're always here causing a ruckus when they're waiting for the 'Peters."

by Kroll Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:41 pm

Kroll nodded slowly. "My associate is working on tracking them down as we speak; we were able to follow them to the local hospital, and then we split off, with her taking pursuit, and myself taking witness statements..." the captain paused, looking back up the stairs. "Irrr, and I'm a little curious, do you know anything of the golden tercel that lives on the floor upper to this one?"

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