[MM3]Sunstormers IC

[kenmadragon]

"Hello Mrs. Willis, I'm Albert's friend. He's had a bit of an accident, I'm afraid. He sent me to get a change of clothes for him, but lost his keys in the accident. Al said you kept a spare for him so I was hoping you could help me pack an overnight bag for him?" Sunny said, hoping his voice was clear enough to hear over the dog's barking... though not so loud that he was shouting. He didn't want to be rude, after all.

[Neo-Paladin]

" Can you prove that you're a friend of his?" she asks. " Shh...calm down, Choco...calm down."
The barking slowly dies away as the dog heeds her command.

[kenmadragon]

"I'm not entirely sure how I can prove friendship, Ma'am. Would you like me to call him so you can hear him out? Or better yet, I can give you the number you can reach Albert at and you can call him yourself." Sunny says, reaching for his phone and feeling a little awkward by the line of questioning. It wasn't unreasonable, what she was asking, but still put him in an odd position - he didn't want to lie, but he couldn't exactly explain the truth either. "I think he left his phone at home, but I know the number of someone who's with him now."

OOC: Sunny has super-senses active, BTW... in case she's dialing her phone to call Albert's cell (in his apartment, i believe) or the cops (in which case Sunny will probably need to try a different tack).

Should Mrs. Willis instead decide to call the number Sunny provides, Sunny'll immediately give her Khemis' number to call. If she wants Sunny to call, he'll call Khemis himself and then put Albert on speaker so Mrs. Willis can hear him.

[Neo-Paladin]

" Yes. I would like to hear him confirm it", she says.

Once provided with the number, she calls Khemis.

[Tony Jones]

Rather than answering the phone herself, when it rings with a mystery number, Khemis holds it out to Albert to take and answer.

[Neo-Paladin]

Albert takes it. " Hello, Mrs. Willis...yeah, it's me. No...I'm okay. Better now. Sorry about your lamps. Didn't know it would do that. How's Choco? Great. I'm safe. Yes. No, he's not one of them. He's one of the people I'm with. Yes...one of them. They're okay. You can give him the key."

After the call ends, the door is being unlocked and opened. Mrs. Willis is in her late 50s, with short grey hair and blue, sparkling eyes. Curiously peering out as well is a big brown labrador retriever. " I'm sorry for not opening sooner. But you look...not much different from the people who've been loitering around lately. Tall, strong...I was worried for Albert."

[kenmadragon]

"No worries, Mrs. Willis. I can't say you're wrong to be cautious." Sunny said, a commiserating smile on his face. "Based on what you were asking Albert, though, I'm guessing you know about the, uh, zapping situation? Truth be told, I'm still getting used to it myself. But it's good that Albert has someone looking out for him, especially after what happened last month... "

Shifting a little and slowly extending a closed fist for the dog to sniff, Sunny raised his hand for Mrs. Willis to shake. "You can call me Peter. I'm afraid it's not my real name, secret identities and all that. Like from Spider-Man."

Though, now that he thought about it, Mrs. Willis' works did raise another question Sunny had. "You've seen these people who've been following Albert, right? Can you tell me more about them? I'm afraid I haven't gotten all the details from Al, and hope you might be able to clarify things for us. We can talk while I pack that overnight bag for Albert, if that's alright with you."

OOC: Making friends (with Mrs. Willis and Choco) so they'll be more willing to share information: Persuasion: 1D20+3 = [15]+3 = 18, should be enough to bump them up one-level of attitude?

[Neo-Paladin]

She nods while Choco sniffs and then laps at the offered hand.
" Give me a moment", she says, heads back in and soon reappears with a key.
As she leaves her apartment, the dog in tow, she says, " They're trying to be inconspicuous, but it's easy to tell them apart. They look strong. Tall. But...almost too muscular. Like they've been using steroids for years. Even the two women I've seen hang around here."

[kenmadragon]

Sunny frowned. "Steroids..?. Nasty business. What sort of people are these, anyways?" he asked. "Short-haired and shiny-shoed? Or more blue-collar types with worn sneakers? Did they wear drab colors, or bright ones? Even if they were trying to be inconspicuous, there might be some small detail you can remember that can help us identify who's been harassing Albert like this."

Unsaid went the fact that Sunny had a few ideas already. Of course, that all depended on what sort of guises Albert's stalkers wore when they spied on him. Short hair (or hair tied back in the case of women) with well-kept, plain-colored shoes were the mark of professionals undercover -- either government or corporate security types, or more mundane police (though the "all of them look like steroid-users" description made that less likely). No matter how much you changed your outfit, it was difficult to change the length of one's hair. People wearing colorful high-tops and looser clothing who didn't keep their hair neat and trim implied a more informal brand of stalker -- gangsters of various stripes, or just affiliates of one of the various syndicates and gangs that populated every city's underbelly. Sunny's guess was something more along the lines of organized crime if that were the case.

"Tell me about the women. They must have stuck out to you if you remember them so distinctly. What did they look like, what were they doing? What kinds of clothes did they wear, how did they keep their hair, stuff like that... anything at all would be helpful, even if it doesn't seem like a big clue, I promise you it will help us figure out what's going on and how we can keep Albert safe from their... well, it may give us some idea of what these people are following Albert for."

[Neo-Paladin]

She unlocks the door, opening it into a small but comfortable and very well-kept apartment. Everything is exactly where Albert has said it would be. It also appears he has a thing for plants, given the many potted ones standing around, all of them being in very good health.
Choco immediately heads into the small kitchen, sniffing at one of the cupboards. Mrs. Willis rolls her eyes. " Choco, get out of there! Albert always has snacks for him...guess he found where he keeps them."

At Sunny's question, she says, " They wore casual clothes. But...suspiciously casual, you know? Like they were trying just a bit too hard. Also, some of the men and at least one of the women wore wigs. I've been working as a hairdresser for 30 years, I can spot a bad wig from a mile away. The other men wear their hair very short and the women...they all have ponytails. If you ask me...they're military. It's in the way they move. My Udo, god rest his soul, he was in the armed forces and he moved like that, too, even after he was discharged. Took him years to...adapt."

[kenmadragon]

"I suspected as much." Sunny nodded, a grave expression on his face. "The question now is who they're working for. Active military aren't built for this sort of stalking business, so that means alphabet agency. Or they could be ex-military working private security, which would imply some manner of corporate interest. Question is which of them are behind this bit of skulduggery..."

Pausing for a moment, he gave Mrs. Willis an awkward smile. "Hold on a moment. This shouldn't take too long." Sunny walked towards Albert's bedroom and closets. Once he was inside the bedroom (and not right next to Choco the labrador), Sunny tapped into super-speed, and the world seemed to freeze in place.

First he had to grab the clothes Albert had left behind before he did... well, Khemis hadn't been entirely clear on that when she texted them, just that his clothes had been left behind. So he needed to make sure he got those first - Albert needed his wallet and keys, after all (phone, maybe not so much if the government was monitoring his calls).

Sunny also looked for something he could use as an overnight bag. Thankfully, there was a spare duffel bag filled with what looked like summer wear that Sunny emptied out into the closet. Taking a scan of Albert's wardrobe, Sunny selected a generous sampling of shirts, trousers and sweaters devoid of recognizable graphics and of inoffensive/muted colors, as well as a pair of jackets, some underwear and a few pairs of socks. Folding them took no time at all at the speeds Sunny could move at, and when he was done, the duffel bag was full with enough to wear for a week and a half. Efficient packing was something Sunny prided himself on. The only issue would have been the weight of the bag, but that wasn't a problem for Sunny.

In practically no time at all, Sunny walked out of Albert's bedroom, duffel in hand. Turning to Mrs. Willis, he remembered that Albert himself might have already gotten a clue to answer his previous question. "Now, Albert said he was collecting information about the people following him. They might contain clues about who exactly is behind his stalkers, or maybe have pictures so I can know their faces. It should be in a drawer somewhere... here!" he said, recalling Khemis' description of the drawer where the files were being kept. A thought occurred to him -- Albert might be pressed for time, waiting for his clothes... but he wasn't going anywhere and was relatively safe for now at Khemis'. It also wouldn't take Sunny very long to get to him, so why not make the most of Mrs. Willis' helpfulness while he was here?

Sunny opened the files, eyes darting left and right as he speed-read. "Mrs. Willis, do you think there's anything in here that Albert left out? Something you may have seen or heard that Albert may not have recorded here?"

[Neo-Paladin]

The files are quite meticulous, noting dates and times as well as the license plates of the cars that seemed suspicious to Albert. There are a couple of images, some of them showing the observing individuals in the car, some outside. And indeed, they all have a certain unifying look to them, tall, broad and almost overly muscular.

At his question, Mrs. Willis frowns as she tries to recall. " Hmmm...not that I remember...oh, except that Choco really didn't like the smell of them. And that they were eating often. You know, having these fast food bags in the car with them? Very often."

[kenmadragon]

Hmn. Sunny had to give it to Albert -- this level of information about his own stalkers was impressive. Mrs. Willis had already described the people who worried Albert so much, but the fact that Albert was able to keep track of dates, times and license-plates was a godsend for figuring out his stalkers' patterns. That he got photos proved the fact that these people weren't professional spooks, as well.

"Man, these guys are built..." he muttered. Sunny wasn't entirely sure he saw the resemblance between himself and the people in the photographs, though. Maybe in the most broad of generalizations, perhaps, given his new height and build. He wasn't that conspicuously muscular, was he? Or had Sunny just gotten used to his new appearance after the Sunstorm's changes, having gone from overweight to super-fit, that his view of himself was biased by that?

Regardless, this level of muscularity seemed a bit odd. So uniform across all of Albert's stalkers -- as if they were body-builders and not former military. Not that ex-military weren't strong people, but like Mrs. Willis had said, this seemed a bit more than normal. And the fact that they were eating fast-food often... "I think you were right about them being on some kind of steroid, Mrs. Willis. Not sure what kind, I'm not pharmacology expert, but Albert's stalkers are clearly on something. And it's not sustainable if they're constantly pigging out to keep themselves sated..."

Sunny turned to the older woman. "On the upside, I don't think these are proper government spooks. If they were, I doubt Albert would have gotten this much information on them. The downside is that means these guys are possibly either private contractors, or the military is up to shenanigans. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure whether I like the idea of either of those options."

[Neo-Paladin]

Mrs. Willis, just about to gently but firmly guide Choco out of the kitchen, shakes her head and sighs. " The world is really going crazy, isn't it? Plague, war, people fainting and getting strange abilities...poor Albert getting shot and now getting spied upon...it's a bit much."

OOC: Sunny's body type is different than that of the " spies". He looks very fit, but not bulky, I'd say. Like someone who exercises regularly but for strength and stamina, not for pure " aesthetic" muscle.

[kenmadragon]

"I like to imagine that the world has always been crazy, and we only just opened our eyes to see it." Sunny opined. "But I believe that the resilience of the human spirit will win out in the end."

Sunny stored the files away in the duffel bag with the rest of Albert's essentials -- his wallet, keys, cellphone, laptop, chargers, toiletries, clothes, etc. -- that the man would need while hiding out for a few weeks away from home. He had everything Al would likely need from his apartment packed away. The duffel would probably have been a bit hefty to lug around for the Sunny before the Sunstorm, but super-strength meant that Sunny barely noticed its weight.

"Thank you, Mrs. Willis. You've been a tremendous help and a true friend, and I'm sure Albert will feel the same once I get him this bag." Sunny thanked the older woman, smiling gratefully. "If you're ever in a spot of trouble or if those stalkers of Albert's show up to harass you, please be sure to get in touch and let us know. I pray that you will never need to, but it never hurts to be cautious in times like these."

OOC: If Mrs. Willis doesn't have much more to discuss, then we can wrap up this scene and have Sunny heading back out again. He'll be using Super-Senses for a while as he exits the building then walks around a few blocks to see if he can spot any of Albert's stalkers before he flies away.