Waiting for the interloper (ATTN: Ollie)

Fresh from his little encounter in the library, Henry waited at the bottom of the library steps, lit cigarette in hand. Someone with a mind for witty observation would have made a zing about how the cigarette wasn't the only thing fuming. Luckily for him, as soon as he got outside, he'd taken measures to make sure no one would bother him, and indeed the Sleepers flowed around him like a stream around a rock. He paced, mostly from impatience for the man he knew had to come out eventually.

(("The Subtle dance", active.))

Ollie emerges from the Library, looking around.

Ollie smiles when he sees Zero, recognizing the Libertine. He waves, and slaps him some skin when he gets close.

"Hey, bro. Not much. Lookin around for some asshole worker who was hasslin me about my business in the library here. Wanted to see what his problem is, ya know? How bout yourself?"

Seeing Ollie steps out of the library, Henry takes one last long drag of his smoke, before throwing the rest to the asphalt and stamping it out. Before he can reach Ollie, though, he notices the other mage approaching him. Dang , he thinks to himself. Well, ain't no time like the present. He keeps heading towards the pair.

((giving you guys 'a few seconds', i.e. a post or so, before contact))

(( Still need those Active Spells in your sig, please, PA ))

"Looking for some trip," Zero said. Noticing the man approaching them with the haze of the arcane surrounding him, he jutted his chin in his direction.

"That him? Five-oh?"

Ollie looks over where Zero was gesturing, he snorts a laugh.

"That's the guy. Now that he's out of character he does have the look of a cop, eh? Here he comes... Hey, stick around, yeah?"

Ollie turns to face Henry as he walks up, crossing his arms, one foot on his skate.

Henry takes notice of Zero, and gives him a simple nod. He isn't the kind to waste time, though, so he turns to Ollie right off. "What in Samhill's name were you thinking in there?" He doesn't add more, just glowers at the mage.

Ollie glowers right back.

"What's your problem, man? He's as naive now as he was when I went in there. I'm going about my own investigation about shit that's got nothing at all to do with those books the kid's got. They're something else, too."

Henry just keeps on talking, probably angrier than he should be. "He doesn't need to know more, he was already pulilng reserach sources off the 'puters. And the last thing we need is for more people to show interest in those dusty tomes of his. He needs to be headed off now,before he can figure out which of his sources are actually half-decent." He sighs, and breaks the staring contest, taking a deep calming breath in the process. "Fine. What's done is done. I'll arrange for what he needs." He chews the inside of his cheek for aa second. He knows this next part is not going to go over well. "Did you at least get anything good?" The question if firm; After all, it's not like he's asking the man a favor, right?

Ollie plays it cool, he knows he did nothing wrong and he just stands there letting the Guardian blow off steam. The next time he speaks it's in the conversational tone he uses with everyone else.

"Look, I hear ya bro, ok? I was a little bit more forward than some may have liked, ok? I get it. I was just trying to figure out what the guy already knew, right?"

He pauses, considering how he wants to go on.

[color]"It's pretty much nothing, by the way. What he knows? Amounts to not much. He's suspicious, is all, and even then it doesn't look like he's got any idea of what he's suspicious of. Here's what I got, though. I ain't no expert but the books look old. Written in some real crazy version of High Speech that I definitely can't read. He says they were sent to him with no return address. The package had the books and an envelope. Envelope was marked with the Mysterium symbol. Note inside said something about explaining things, signed by just the letter H. Seems to me like the real problem is H of the Mysterium"[/color]

He turns to Zero, laughing"You know what, bro? I hardly even know sometimes. You can peace out, if ya want."

Ghoster, idly walking about campus, pulls a cigarette from his pack, puts it to his lips, raises his lighter, and...click, click...nothing. He could magic the damn thing to light properly, he knew, but that old beach bum, Finn, had taught him not to use sorcery so indiscriminately. Instead, he looks up, and sees a group of guys talking on the steps of the library, and approaches them.

"Hey, guys. Anyone got a light?"

Ollie barely notices Ghoster walk up.

"Some sleeper's got books, and an envelope from the Mysterium. I couldn't tell if it's all really from the Mysterium, ya know? I'm not worried about the books. This sleeper's name and location was on a note that I found in the pocket of a dead guy who right up till the moment he had his head smashed in with a cinder block, was trying to kill me and my buds with a fucking sniper rifle. When I went up to the building where the guy had been shooting from I found him. Head smashed in, hands cut off. I looked back at when it happened and saw the fucker that did it. Wasn't the first time I'd seen that fucker, either..."

His eyes go distant for a second, replaying the things he'd seen in his head. He snaps back into reality as quickly as he lapses.

"I've been running around Sacramento chasing monsters, sleepers, and now books, I guess. Whatever's going on I think it goes deeper than I ever fucking thought, that's for sure.."

Ollie takes a deep breath. That was a lot to say. He looks over at Ghoster. "Hey, man, what's happenin? Can I bum one of those ciggys?"

Ghoster pulls a cigarette from his pack and offers it to Ollie without taking his eyes off him. The tone of his voice conveys a mixture of concern and excitement.

"Sure, man. You got sniped at? Geez. Where was this at?"

Ollie takes the cigarette and places it between his lips, lighting it with a bic from his pocket. "We were over in Granite Park. The guy who shot at us was up on top of this building. Heh, I guess he probably still is."

(( ok guys, sorry, but we need to hold up now so PA can catch up ))

Henry gives the new arrival a casual 'salute' motion with two fingers to forehead. He takes a minute before talking to take a look around, make sure noone is stopping to take notice. "Keep the gory stuff down, bro, the walls have ears. And yeah, he knows just enough to start snooping. Which is about twice as much as acceptable." His tone on the word bro is derisive at best.

Ollie drags on the cigarette.

"Well? We all know my story now. What about you? What brings you to the library?"

((Last post 'til tonight folks... Sorry to keep you waiting like this :S))

Henry's speech becomes more thought-out, deliberate. "Someone asked me to check out the shooting site. Seems the shooter did a few things he shouldn't have. Besides sending lead through the air." He takes a moment to come up with a proper euphemism, one that won't offend sensibilities. "I'm here to tell him to stop, and do some damage control."

((understood))

Ghoster's been staring at the roof since Ollie mentioned the sniper never came down.

He manages to rid the nerves from his throat before whispering, "There's a body up there right now?"

Ollie follows Ghoster's eye. "Huh? Oh, no. Not this one. That's not what I meant. Not far from here, though. Closer to the park."

"Oh," says Ghoster, and he appears to relax. Then he looks Ollie in the eye, and speaks sincerely:

"You must be in some serious shit if you've got snipers tailing you. It goes against my better judgement to hang with people who are walking around with targets on their backs, but if you need any help? I've got nothin' but time, man."

Ollie grins at Ghoster. "Yeah, bro? I appreciate it. We'll chill sometime. I'll get yer number."

He flicks his smoldering cigarette butt away, turning to Henry.

"What kind of damage control? Do you got anything on that kid in the library?"

"The problem's not what I have on him, it's what he's got on us. Those books intrigued him, and then the whole 'targeted for death' thing has hooked him good. I might have just enough to get him off our collective back." He stops to think a few seconds. "If he asks more about the books, the most you tell him is that an acquaintace of yours might contact him. No promises, and no more info. Got it?" His face is still pure business, and those last words sum up the whole matter in a neat package, to him anyway.

Ollie shrugs "No problem, dude. I ain't trying not to work with authorities, ya know? That's what I'll tell the guy, but you gotta promise to do everything you can do to take it easy on the poor kid, right? And if you figure anything else about the shootings and the ones doing the shooting you let me know, alright? Like I said, I don't care about the stupid books, but if the shit involves me, then I want to know."

"Whoah", Zero said after listening. "You're both kidding, right? We're not letting him keep those books, you've both lost your minds."

Zero gives them both the 'is you crazy' look that he's learned from Jammer. He doesn't quite pull it off.

(( Just an OOC reminder to keep your eyes on the Consilium Status thread. ))

Ollie shakes his head at Zero's question.

"I agree, he can't keep them. I don't even want to think about what those symbols add up to. All I'm saying is that I'm not gonna go in there and take them from him myself. Let some order mage do that."

He grins, realizing full well that he's talking about all present company excluding himself.

"I just don't want some serious guardian types to go in and scramble the poor kid's brains. Or worse he gets sniped by the same assholes who tried to take me and the Doc out. He's in way over his head, I feel sorry for the poor kid."

Ryan had taken a few minutes to give some friends a call. As much as he would like to go find out about those books, he needed some time to at least talk to some friends and connect to something that vaugly resembled a normal life. But no one was answering his calls. Apparently they were getting sick of him avoiding them. Damm. No choice by to go back to the dorms by the looks of things. He though as he walked down the steps, his gaze more occupide with his phone than anything else at the moment.

"Yeah, cool," Ghoster says to Ollie. He writes his number on one of the random business cards he keeps in his wallet, this one for a dry cleaner's in Tulsa, and hands it to him. He chuckles as a thought occurs to him. "If these books have some serious mojo, he might be Awake the next time you see him." He smirks as he adds, "That'd be hilarious."

Ollie actually does laugh at this prospect. "Yeah, man. Hey, good for him, then, right?"

His chuckling trails off, leaving a grin on his face.

At Zero's intervention, Henry just responds. "No worries, no way is he keeping them. But if we take them, well, all he needs is a few specks of info to go on, and he'll know something's up for sure. No, it's like my old buddy used to say : Best way to stop someone doing something is to make'em not want to do it. I'll set something up. Hurting him's not on the agenda either, if he's smart." He doesn't even turn to Ghoster before adding. "Right, hilarious. Like him involving a bunch of other Sleepers into it." He looks at the library steps a few seconds, and nods Ollie in the rough direction of the stairs. "Wait a tick, is that him comin' down?"

Ollie answers Zero. "The guy took a shot at me and my friends in the park the other night. I went up to the rooftop of the building where he was shooting from and found him dead. I looked back at when he got killed and saw that it was a crazy lookin dude all wearing rags and shit. He grabbed a cinder block in one hand, and I saw him just as he was about to smash the dude's head. Then, as near as I can figure, he cut the guy's hands off with a wicked looking knife I saw him holding. When I checked the dude's pockets I found a note that said 'Ryan North - Sac U.'"

He looks over where Henry's looking "You know what, that is the guy. We shouldn't let him see us talkin like this. I'm gonna get out of here, guys. Gonna go home and plot my next move."

Ryan reached the bottom of the library staires. His attention was still focused on his phone, hoping he would get at least a text message. Have I really ben avoiding everyone that much?

Ollie laughs, turning in Ryan's direction.

"Fuck you, man. I ain't no pussy. We'll do this."

"Huh?" Ryans trail of though was broken when he heard shouting in his direction. He saw Ollie and some other guy. He put his phone back into his pocket and walked over. "Yeah?"

Henry starts to leave and fade into the crowd, just before Zero speaks. "Damn it. I hope you know what you're doing." He doesn't turn to Ryan, but he doesn't leave either. He feels he has to keep an eye on these yahoos, to stop them from triggering 'hilarious' happenings.

Ryan gave Ollie a gratefull look. The man works fast, he had to admit that. "I'm not interested in selling them, but I guess I can let her have a look at them. Whats her name by the way?"

Ghoster smiles inwardly at Henry's comment- he learned a long time ago that his sense of humor wasn't popular. He laughs at Zero's insult, and turns his attention to the newcomer. So this is the kid who knows too much, he thinks to himself. Too bad it's not enough.

Ghoster was conflicted. He hated the idea of turning a seeker down the wrong path, but, at the same time, he recognized the folly in leaving power in the hands of those who haven't proven themselves strong enough to master it. Better that he help these mages reclaim the books, then the boy keep them and lose them to a Liar.

He nods slightly toward Ryan, and says, "Hey, man."

Ollie smiles at Ryan's grateful look. "I told you we'd figure this out, bro. No problem."

He was a bit less confident in mind than in speech. He had made a promise to the guy, after all, and he still planned on doing his best to uphold it.

Henry doesn't object, but he does wince at the other mages' words. Getting the books immediately was a secondary goal; Not by far, but still. "How long do you think she might 'take a look'?" It's a weird question, sure, but timing's everything.

Ghoster plays along with Zero's ruse without hesitation; this was old hat to him. He replied in a light, interested tone, "No, man, I don't think I have, but I dig museums."

Ollie shakes his head. "Nah, man. Never met her. Sounds legit to me, though."