briguy4588
RPG Moderator
RPG: Brian Shefkowitz
Posts: 617
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Post by briguy4588 on Dec 7, 2007 2:35:24 GMT 1
Detective Shefkowitz stepped carefully across the threshold to the Museum of Natural History. He made a careful note of every detail he saw. He had gotten plenty of rest the past week, not being allowed back to work for protocol violations, but now he was bringing his "A-Game" to the field.
There were no outward signs of a break-in. No broken glass, the alarm never sounded, and none of the motion detectors were set off. He slowly followed the quickest path to the museum's greatest display: The Centenary Diamond. Had it not been stolen some time last night, it would be sitting atop a red velvet pillow on top of a pillar, in an elegant glass case. Of course, you don't put the world's largest flawless diamond on display without maximum security.
The pillow had supersensitive pressure sensors, as did every tile in a 6-foot radius around the diamond. A four-foot high metal wall kept visitors back without obstructing the view. At night, the diamond would be encased in a cage of invisible lasers. The glass case is touch sensitive, and there are sixteen high-definition security cameras in the room.
And in order to get into the room, one must pass through a hypersensitive metal detector. At night, not only is the metal detector active, but there is a 7-inch thick solid steel door with a lock that can only be opened by a retinal scan. Very high tech.
But of course, the camera lenses had been blacked out with spraypaint, the diamond was missing, and Brian only had two clues so far, despite his keen eye: There was a note sitting where the diamond should be, and a teeny-tiny drop of blood on the floor under the retina scan.
Brian stepped over the low metal wall, and half-expected to hear the piercing alarm sound off and be blasted with purple, glow-in-the-dark dye. But no, since the staff had closed down the entire museum, they also turned off the extra security features. Brian looked through the glass and read the note:
"New York, I hereby replace your flawless diamond with a flawless heist."
Brian knew a challenge when he saw one. He also knew that he was now looking for a sophisticated, yet egotistical criminal. He dialed the first number on his phone.
He thought of the lasers, and how they were invisible to the human eye. He also knew all the old tricks to reveal them -- smoke, spraying water, dust, anything to refract the beams. They were there, one jut needed to apply the science to reveal them. Likewise, Brian knew the museum was swarming with critical clues, besides the one his naked eye could pick out. Time to call in the science.
"Yeah, Rhia. I got a good one for you."
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mystic
RPG character: Rhiannon Nerice supervisor
Posts: 600
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Post by mystic on Dec 10, 2007 17:16:02 GMT 1
Rhia was sitting at the desk in her office, face buried in her hands. She was tired. It had been a stressful week - soon it would be Christmas again. It was already freezing cold outside. Snow was nowhere to be seen, but okay, there was still two week's time... Her thoughts drifted off - she still hadn't bought all the presents and was lacking some ideas...
The ringing of her phone brought her back to reality. "Yeah?", listening to the voice on the other end, she rubbed her eyes with the free hand.
"Got it, Brian. I'll get my team together and we'll hurry. Promised. Take care!", she hung up and slowly got up. Rhia's face showed dissatisfaction. Brian had only told her, they'd got a new case - a really great one. And he'd called it "a hell of a riddle" - whatever that was supposed to mean... She paged her colleagues.
Shaking her head she pushed the door open and made her way to the meeting room.
"Any details?", she texted to Brian, hoping to get a more satisfactory answer.
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kiota33
RPC: Amaranthine 'Jade' Tsukuyomi
Posts: 115
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Post by kiota33 on Dec 10, 2007 18:21:49 GMT 1
She looked at her pager and smiled. Finally, there was a case. She had been out training for a week waiting for the next case. Heading to the meeting room, she saw Rhia and bowed to her. "Hello Rhia-sama. Are you feeling okay?"
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scorpii
RPG Moderator
You KNOW the world is all mine.
Posts: 1,584
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Post by scorpii on Dec 10, 2007 18:37:12 GMT 1
Sam was just going over some old articles about graphology when she noticed the beep of her pager. She carefully slid the articles back in their plastic protectors, careful so she wouldn't rip them and then she darted off to the meeting room. "Allright, let's hear it. What's up?"
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Crystal Method
Surrender yourself to Tennantism. You know you want to. RPG: Katie Donahue
Posts: 105
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Post by Crystal Method on Dec 10, 2007 20:12:58 GMT 1
Katie was just singing along with All I Want For Christmas is You in a deliberately thick Scottish accent when she heard her pager beep. She shut the radio off and ran to the meeting room. "What's the case this time?" she smiled.
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briguy4588
RPG Moderator
RPG: Brian Shefkowitz
Posts: 617
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Post by briguy4588 on Dec 11, 2007 2:58:58 GMT 1
Brian texted back:
Museum of Natural History - Centenary Diamond stolen, no alarm, no break-in, note left by criminal.
He was busy interviewing staff members. Apparently, the vice president of the museum was missing, though the time cards show he had clocked out the night before at 10pm. Brian dispatched a unit to the vice president's house to check on him. Soon, he'd find out more about where that Dr. Garrison had gone to.
At the moment though, all employees were accounted for, but none had seen anything suspicious, save for the staff member who noticed the diamond missing this morning when she had been going around turning lights on in all the rooms. It was so difficult interviewing museum staff. They always wanted to talk about the museum's artifacts, rather than relevant information.
Brian sent Rhia a follow-up text: Museum vice president missing. More info on that soon.
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mystic
RPG character: Rhiannon Nerice supervisor
Posts: 600
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Post by mystic on Dec 11, 2007 16:41:20 GMT 1
Rhia smiled at Jade. "I'm fine, thanks. How're you and your sister?"
She waited for her answer and then turned to face her other colleagues.
"Okay, guys, this time I've got a really tough nut to crack for you. I guess you all know the Centenary Diamond? Well, it was stolen last night and they managed not to set off any of those hyper-modern alarms... So who's in for a round of Cluedo?", she smiled at the surprised faces.
"First clue: Vice President is missing...", she added, when her mobile beeped.
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scorpii
RPG Moderator
You KNOW the world is all mine.
Posts: 1,584
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Post by scorpii on Dec 11, 2007 17:16:45 GMT 1
Sam's smiled faded. "You're kidding, right? The Centenary Diamond - it's so beautiful. Stolen? Allright then. I'm up for a nice game of Clue."
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kiota33
RPC: Amaranthine 'Jade' Tsukuyomi
Posts: 115
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Post by kiota33 on Dec 11, 2007 17:53:50 GMT 1
"My sister's fine. I sent her back home to mom. I also went out of town and trained for a week." After hearing that the Diamond was missing, she smiled. "Clue does sound like a lot of fun."
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briguy4588
RPG Moderator
RPG: Brian Shefkowitz
Posts: 617
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Post by briguy4588 on Dec 11, 2007 19:00:20 GMT 1
Brian was not having fun. He still had twenty-five or so staff members left to interview, plus he just got word back from the police officers doing the welfare check on Dr. Garrison.
"His car wasn't in his driveway, but his house was locked tight and his lights were off. We broke in anyway, just to make sure, but nothing seemed out of place. His bed was made, the house was relatively tidy... It's almost like he's just playing hooky!" An officer told Brian.
"The vice president of the Museum of Natural History does not play hooky," Brian chided the officer. "Teenagers play hooky. Naughty boys and girls play hooky. Not distinguished historians with multiple degrees from Yale University who make six-digit salaries. No, Dr. Garrison is missing, and what's more is, he might have the Diamond with him."
"Why would he take his own diamond?"
"It's not his," Brian explained. "That diamond goes from museum to museum every few years or so. I don't even know who the original owner is, because everybody loans it to everybody else. This museum only got the diamond recently."
"Ok, so he grabbed it and ran off?"
"Could be. We'll let the CSI's take a look at his house. In the meantime, consider his house a crime scene and keep it secure. And let me know when the team gets here. I'll be interviewing overeducated museum tourguides..." Brian walked off, voice recorder in hand.
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mystic
RPG character: Rhiannon Nerice supervisor
Posts: 600
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Post by mystic on Dec 11, 2007 22:26:12 GMT 1
"Unfortunately, I'm not kidding...", Rhia sighed.
"It's gone and everyone's clueless... we better hurry now. Brian's already there dealing with the staff and he will get pissed if he is on his own for too long...", a smile curled her lips and she crossed her arms. "Who's driving then?"
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briguy4588
RPG Moderator
RPG: Brian Shefkowitz
Posts: 617
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Post by briguy4588 on Dec 11, 2007 22:53:23 GMT 1
"...and did you know that the until the Centenary Diamond, our most valuable item was our gold-leaf 8th century Bible? In fact it was--" The last tourguide was saying, already on her ninth tangent of the interview. Brian cut in before she got too carried away.
"Fascinating. Really. When I'm not trying to solve the state's most expensive heist, or interviewing chatty yet logistically useless employees, I should probably check this place out. Oh, right, but in the meantime, I STILL HAVE TO DO THOSE THINGS." Brian paused to admire the shocked look on the tourguide's face. It only meant that there would be no further undue interruptions for the rest of the interview. Then he continued. "So, any reason why Dr. Garrison might be missing today, of all days?"
"No! He's always here an hour before it opens, and an hour before it closes. In fact, punctuality is his prime concern. He once fired a girl for being just five minutes late! Even when he's sick, he will still show up on time, he'll just stay in the office."
Brian frowned. He was really not liking this Dr. Garrison right now...
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kiota33
RPC: Amaranthine 'Jade' Tsukuyomi
Posts: 115
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Post by kiota33 on Dec 14, 2007 3:49:46 GMT 1
"Looking for the diamond will be a lot of work. It's going to need all of our skills to solve this one." She held up her hand when Rhia asked. "I'll drive. Anyone want to carpool with Rhia-sama and myself?"
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mystic
RPG character: Rhiannon Nerice supervisor
Posts: 600
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Post by mystic on Dec 15, 2007 0:28:46 GMT 1
Rhia smiled at Jade. "Arrigato.", she said quietly to her and followed outside. Thick snow flakes were flowing down from the sky. Rhia pulled her jacket firmer around her and shivered.
"What a weather...but actually, I love th snow...as long as it stays so pure white and doesn't get a dirty muddy-thing noone wants to come in touch with...", she shook her head in disgust. After Jade had opened her car, she climbed on the passenger's seat. The others had agreed to drive in pairs (just like Jade an her).
"We really should hurry now... Brian won't be happy having to deal with all these things alone...", and although she had the vaguest of a bad conscience, she couldn't help smiling. Biting her lip she tried to concealed it and watched the landscape flying by.
"It will be a great challenge that case, I can feel it. I mean, how on earth is it possible to steal the best watched diamond?", she said, when Jade pulled the car into a parking lot in front of the museum. After a mischiefous look, she jumped out and nearly slipped on the snowy ground.
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kiota33
RPC: Amaranthine 'Jade' Tsukuyomi
Posts: 115
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Post by kiota33 on Dec 15, 2007 2:21:31 GMT 1
Climbing out, she looked over at Rhia. "Be careful Rhia-sama. I don't think anyone would want to see you in the hospital." She walked over to her with the grace of a dancer and glanced at the building. "So do we wait for the others, or head on in?"
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