Open ACME Retro

[Julie Justice]

Sitting in her seat in the aircraft, Julie had been calm, but excited, wanting to find out where they were going. Hearing what @Sophie had said, she felt a little overwhelmed, but seeing how close she was sitting to @Lee, she wasn't going to say that.

She was very glad to be sitting near Sophie. She looked at the medical instructor and said,"I had wanted to talk to you earlier, too. I'm doing well this morning. I've been doing well in my classes, with very little help, and I can work with anyone. I've had many new experiences this week. In fact, I've had many new experiences coming to San Francisco from Ohio. So I am determined. I won't give up."

 

[Jason West]

After a short while, @Eugene informed all of the passengers that they would be landing in a few minutes and that they needed to take their seats and secure themselves with their seat belts and any loose belongings needed to secured prior to landing.

After a smooth landing, everyone helped unload all the gear from the plane so that they could begin their testing. The cases included technological surveillance equipment, survival equipment, and weapons among other things.

"I need all the Junior Detectives to start getting the surveillance equipment set up while I'm placing the cameras. @Agent Z please be prepared for the first lesson we spoke about earlier. After all the equipment is set up, you and I will be going over some more advanced stuff."

Jason took a case and set out to set up all the wireless cameras for the interior of the buildings they would be using for their scenarios. He also planned to tap into governmental surveillance satellites to give him a birds' eye view of anything on the exterior.

 

[Nace Bilby]

Lee walked past @Julie Justice and Zack (@Agent Z ) talking to the Tech instructor @Jason West, and then he looked at @Nace Bilby's gear.

"Are we building a trap, Mr. B?"

"No, Mr. Jordan, you're not building the trap." Nace began, "I'm building these to test the aptitude of you and your fellow junior detectives in identification and disarming of booby traps."

Sometime later, on the aircraft, Nace had a copy of Dante's The Divine Comedy: Inferno on his lap as he listened to Sophie's lecture. For most of his time at ACME the Junior Detectives had been exposed to his knowledge of firearms. This trip would show them his other skill set, EOD.

Booby traps were something else he took seriously. During several operations all over Africa he had seen their effects and had disarmed more than his fair share of mines, unexploded bombs, and other nasty explosive surprises.

He hoped the Junior Detectives would take the lessons taught to heart. It would be best that they learned the lessons about explosive hazards early on.

 

[Julie Justice]

Before she ran to the airfield this morning, Julie Justice had put a small, but important item in the Euro-sueded, right front pocket of her pants, made of very light Tactel material, with a lot of stretch, that is supposed to keep you cool. After the aircraft landed, she quickly ran her hand over her pocket, and was happy to feel that the item was still in there.

Earlier, Julie had been a little nervous because she didn't know what to expect. But now that they had reached their destination...and had some idea of what they were doing...Julie was just anxious to get to work. She was happy to go and help the other Junior Detectives set up the surveillance equipment. That is an important job. Now, Julie had the chance to show everyone how much she had learned in the past week or so.

 

[Ivy]

The landing was smooth, and as soon as the detectives hit the ground they were given instructions to help with setting up equipment. It was a warm day, and getting hotter in the Mojave desert, though the abandoned buildings provided ample shade, and a cooler breeze whisked through between the structure's glassless window-frames.

From Ivy's perspective, they were keeping good time. Despite having only known one another for approximately a week, it was easy to sort out who should do what.

Ivy was part of a small group that set up cameras into their marked positions, and there was another set of Junior Detectives who would look over the controls and monitors. She ended up having to work with @Lee Jordan, who was surprisingly less chatty about his achievements and more focused on getting their job done right.

Wiping a bit of sweat from her brow after climbing down a balcony siding she had to wonder what was in store for the rest of the trip.

She radioed into the secondary team, "We have the cameras set, is anything showing on the monitors?"

 

[Julie Justice]

All the Junior Detectives had been so focused on setting up the cameras, that it was only now that the job was finished that Julie realized that she wasn't nervous at all anymore. That must be a good sign.

There were so many other people working with her that Julie had barely noticed Lee Jordan, and she had totally forgotten Lee's earlier attitude towards her. And, to be fair Lee seemed to have an attitude towards everyone. But Julie remembered telling @Sophie during their brief conversation on the aircraft that she could work with anyone, and she hoped that this was proof of that. Julie glanced briefly @Lee, hoping that perhaps working on this task together might change his attitude towards her a little bit.

Julie let out a small *sigh.* She had been so focused on her work, that it was only now that she began to notice how hot it was. The Junior Detective (Yes, she was really starting to think of herself as a "Junior Detective" now) joined @Ivy in wondering what their next task might be.

 

[Lee]

Cleaning a screwdriver on his blue jeans, Lee waited to hear anything from the other team. If he had to guess, Zack (@Agent Z ) should be already at the monitors looking at him, not that he was thinking. If instructor @Jason West was there, he'd be screwed. Still, he held out a finger up to the camera and laughed.

"Hey Zack, how many fingers am I holding up?"

 

[Agent Z]

Zack was drinking a generic ACME-brand electrolyte drink and nearly did a spite-take when he saw Lee on the display. A few other Junior Detectives broke out into light chuckles. He wondered if any of the instructors saw them goofing around.

"Copy, Agent Jordan," he tried to not laugh over the microphone, "one finger."

The younger Monaghan handed over the camera checklist to his instructor @Jason West, "I've color coded the checklist, active cameras are under the yellow highlighter and the motion sensors are in green."

 

[Jason West]

Jason pretended not to notice the particular finger that @Lee had used to test the camera with @Agent Z and quickly surveyed the monitors and the color coded checklist that @Agent Z had handed him.

"Good job guys. Go get some water and take a break while the other agents are coming back. @Agent Z and I have some more advanced things to work on while you guys are taking a break." Jason replied.

"Are you ready to learn some hacking @Agent Z?" Jason asked after everyone else had left.

 

[Agent Z]

"Are you ready to learn some hacking @Agent Z?" Jason asked after everyone else had left.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Mr. We-- Jason." Zack replied, giving a mock salute and standing in attention.

He was glad to finally be given an opportunity to work on something that would draw more of a challenge. Having learned to read and write at the age of two, Zack's first real experience with computer networks came when he was four years old. His studies were always in the legitimate field, with a focus on systems engineering. Hacking was still a new cookie for him to swallow.

Jason West would be a good mentor in that, however. The ACME instructor was famous for creating a hit video game series, one with a female lead character who killed with a Derringer pocket pistol. He had all the money anyone needed, but decided to work at a law enforcement agency for pennies.

As they began to set up the satellite hacks, the young detective had to ask, "So I gotta ask... if you have all of this money to retire and spend your days playing video games and sipping pina coladas, why work at training detectives?"

 

[Jason West]

"While having money is nice, I was taught to be a hard worker as a child. My parents worked hard to provide for everything I could ever want or need. While I could be on a beach somewhere sipping pina coladas and playing video games, I'd much rather help others learn to work hard and make something of themselves. I've also found that shooting is very relaxing for me. ACME allows me to teach others while still having a place to relax and enjoy myself. I've brought a few of my personal weapons for you guys to train with and learn on so that you'll all have an understanding that not every weapon is the same and not each system works the same way. Its the same with technology. Each system has its own use and purpose just like each weapon has its own use and purpose. Its these areas of expertise that make me feel like a valuable asset to ACME and the criminal justice system as a whole." Jason replied as he began to furiously type on the keyboard to access the satellite video feed's main viewing station.

Once he had gained access, he began to show @Agent Z how to move the satellite to view their desired position and then handed the controls over so the young agent could practice a bit. While Zack was practicing, he explained in detail how he gained access to the satellite so that Zack could understand what he had done.

 

[Sophie]

The ACME holding spread out across fifty acres of arid land, fuelled by a solar field to the north and watered by underground irrigation channels. A rudimentary airfield had been carved from the surrounding rock and sand surface, about ten miles west, and the grounds were used for various training purposes thereafter. Blocks of low-rise buildings, no more than four or five-storeys in height, lined dusty two-laned streets. They were maintained in various states, from the dilapidated to the freshly-painted. In what was once a towering water-tank, now converted to a eagle-eyed command centre, various monitors tracked the Junior Detectives and their guest-Instructors.


Systematically locking in the online communicators of various members, Sophie Conrad watched as a series of green and blue dots appeared on a grid-lined and mapped screen. She lifted her head to the surveillance feeds just in time to see the signal that Lee Jordan sent to Zachary Monaghan as the camera he had set up flickered to life. Shaking her head, she conceded to smile. Then, she picked up a pencil and began to write...