[Video] The Rescue Group can plot here if they'd like

[beancounter]

[The video clicks on to show Fenton, tapping his hand nervously on his kitchen table. He's locked the feed, but it's only a general lock. He just made sure this new guy wasn't on it. He's clearly struggling with what to say, not wanting to say too much over the open network, even locked as it was. He felt a little paranoid, but it was a similar feeling as when the witches had taken over Main Street, and you never knew if they were spying on you through mirrors - any mirror. It was that same sense of unease.]

So. Okay. I'm sure we've all heard this guy and his ransom demands. I can help give some munny to the 'cause'. The guy said he'd tell us where to drop it, later. [He frowned, narrowing his eyes faintly, glancing to the side.] ....Anyone want to join me in "pooling" our munny? Discussing who should make the "drop", perhaps? We can all meet up in one spot, if that's easier on everyone. Anyone have a place in mind?

[He was speaking in code as much as he dared. Clearly a rescue mission needed to be held, but he didn't dare announce so over the network, even locked as it was... just in case. Like with the witches. It was probably better to meet in person, to discuss plans on rescing the others. Hopefully others would understand that's what he was getting at, here.]

[And if not, well... at least they'd be gathering up the ransom munny they needed, anyway.]

Comments

[creepyoldguy]

“Catch him off guard? Nah. We pay the ransom. And kill him after. It’s called delayed...delayed...gradient-ovation. Or something.”

Why were these kids so against murder? What were the public schools even teaching them?

“It doesn’t matter how he did it. Just assume he’s more powerful than us, and go from there.”

[connie_maheswaran]

"You mean delayed gratification, but its not just that. There are a few things that are troubling to me. If he could capture three apprentices, one of them being a princess, why would he only want munny? He could just be a bank robber. What's more, we can't just be satisfied with the idea that he's working alone. We have no idea how he caught everyone to begin with, whether it was just him or if he had a posse with him. If that's the case, even trying to kill him might endanger us if he, say, has a sniper in wait. There are a couple of variables to consider before we do this."

Connie was already trying to figure out what might be lying in wait to trip them up. It was one thing to fight, but it was another to go on blindly wishing for the best case scenario.

[creepyoldguy]

“Nerdling. I said assume he’s more powerful. That he’s got the aces. I’m perfectly willing to get shot, I’ve risked worse for less, and this is for Lydia.”

He was even more antsy than usual. Pacing and jittery, scratching at his arms. Breathing rapidly, he shook his head like a dog.

“This is useless. We need to get the dosh and split.”

[woo_oo]

Facts weren't getting to him, so they had to apply to the heart. Webby grabbed him by the sleeve, speaking to him as gently as possibly.

"Buddy, I need you to breathe. I know you're worried about them - " And about which one in particular was an easy guess - "But you need to think about if they were in our shoes. If we rushed in without a plan, we could get hurt, and they'd feel guilty about that for forever and a half. They're heroes too - they could be working on a way to get free. You have to trust them, like they trust us."

[connie_maheswaran]

"It isn't just that," Connie said quietly. "We don't want to end up giving into their demands without finding out what they're really after. You might be willing to get shot BJ, but I'll bet anything Lydia isn't willing to let it happen. So if we can find a way to get everyone back and get whoever did this, let's explore our options first. To start, we ought to begin figuring out who does the exchange of Munny first."

[creepyoldguy]

“It doesn’t matter what they’re after. Lose the battle to win the war, kill the guy in twenty years, you kids are thinking small.”

[connie_maheswaran]

"Yes. It does. We don't want to tangle with someone who might be trying to oppose us later. If you don't want to wait twenty years to kill him, why not make sure we do this right now."

Connie, after all, may have been against killing, but she was certainly not against stopping him fully and completely. If he was actually planning something bigger, she wanted to make sure they weren't caught unaware.

[creepyoldguy]

“Look. I’m saying we give him whatever he wants for the moment. Then, in a few decades...kill him.”

Or minutes. Time worked funny when you were dead.

[connie_maheswaran]

"If we play our cards right, it won't be decades. Besides, if he can do this to three apprentices he can likely do it with more. I don't like the idea of someone like that walking around."

[creepyoldguy]

“You seem to forget the bit where I’m an inhuman monster, despite whatever lying titles they throw my way.”

He ran a hand through his hair. It still looked almost like a candy cane.

“Alright. Talking is done. BJ is gonna go chat with the Doctor that Lydia likes and then go give a psychopath his dough. How much we got?”

[connie_maheswaran]

"Inhuman monsters have to use reason too, depending on the situation."

Connie did NOT think of Beetlejuice in that way, but if he did who was she to correct him?

"I don't know about anyone here, but I've got a month's wages on me."

[im_a_hugger]

"We can't really do anything to him right now, whether we want to or not," Scorpia said. "We don't know where he is. Or who he is. But maybe someone here at the castle does."

"That's why I wanted to meet here. If this guy's as powerful as he seems to be, maybe Merlin or one of the guards has heard of him. I mean people don't just poof out of thin air and start causing trouble. ...Well, not usually anyway. I guess it could happen. But the point is, it's pretty unlikely."

[connie_maheswaran]

"Do we have time to try and talk to Merlin? That enemy seems to want this done as soon as possible. I have a feeling he's not going to want to give us the chance to gather intel on him."

Well that just made things extra difficult.

"I think...I want to get our friends back. If we can capture that guy too, all the better. I want to know what he needs all this munny, he'd be pushed to kidnapping."

[creepyoldguy]

“Pushed to it? He’s a scumbag. He’s not a desperate man, he’s probably just bored.”

[connie_maheswaran]

"Maybe 'pushed' isn't the right word. I'm curious why, if he can capture three apprentices, why he'd do it just for Munny. Why not just steal it, if he's that good?"

[creepyoldguy]

“He’s probably bored. Or just an asshat.”

[connie_maheswaran]

"Then that's a worst case scenario. If he could capture three of us when he's bored, what would he do if he were really focused?"

[creepyoldguy]

“There is no ‘good’ scenario.” Beetlejuice shook his head. “Except for the outcomes where I decorate Main Street with them.”

[beancounter]

Fenton winced as the conversation started to get heated. "ahh... maybe murder isn't the best idea, okay? I think a lot of people wanna talk to this guy, first..." he said meekly. And most likely went unheard.

At the question of the munny, Fenton cleared his throat. "I could offer, say... maybe two month's pay? I don't really have that many expenses, and the job pays well..."

He frowned as the conversation continued, though he had been curious about this guy's motives, too. "Part of it sounds way too simple. A ransom for munny, like he's some common thug? There's not many places to spend it, here. At least, not on Main Street. He'd be spotted by one of us in an instant. Things aren't making sense." A pause, followed by a weak chuckle. "Then again, when has much of anything made sense, here?"

[creepyoldguy]

It was the Maitlands all over again. Sweet, nice, people who couldn’t understand irredeemable evil, or hell, even shades of gray.

“Oh, God/Satan...you guys are so sweet, and I love you guys, really, honest, but—why he’s doing it, ain’t important. We aren’t gonna understand him and all sit around singing kumbaya roasting marshmallows.”

Beetlejuice drug his hand down his face. “He kidnapped three people, one of ‘em an actual kid. He’s ransoming their return.” His voice took on a sudden murderous edge.

”He made Lydia cry.”

Taking a deep breath, he continued. “We just need to make sure he never does this again. And my way is the more permanent solution.”

[connie_maheswaran]

"I think it IS important. If he's kidnapping people, people with actual abilities, it means there has to be a reason for it, something more than we're seeing. If he was just evil, he would have killed them and not revealed himself. Heck, if he only wanted money, he could have obscured his face and it wouldn't be anything more than a ransom with traps to him. This feels...deliberate."

Connie wasn't trying to downplay his actions: she wanted, more than anything, to understand the motive. If they were going to be heroes or whatever type of class, they had to use their brains as well as their powers.

"Your way is a way of getting rid of him, and he specifically went out of his way to make sure we knew how hare brained a final method would be. It isn't about just stopping a threat, BJ. It's about understanding why he did it, and if there's more happening then we know. I understand you want to get Lydia back, but it'll be for naught if he can just go and do it again."

[creepyoldguy]

“He can’t if he’s julienned.”

[connie_maheswaran]

"No, of course not, but if he happened to be a part of a network of guys like him, we're effectively shooting ourselves in the foot."

[creepyoldguy]

Beetlejuice growled. “You’re trying to apply logic to someone that just did something illogical, kid. I don’t care why or how he did it. I’m just going to kill him and anything or anyone else who hurts her.”

[connie_maheswaran]

"Beetlejuice. Try to understand: I know you don't care why he did it because he's taken Lydia, your most important person. I care about her too. But I also care about the people here, and the other people he's kidnapped. That he was able to do it to two other people is alarming, and that his end goal is only Munny makes no sense. It isn't just about seeking out and punishing him: it's about finding out how far and how long his assets and goal are, and likely more alarming, what help he had in getting where he is now."