Open ACME Retro

[Jason West]

While Jason was eating and watching surveillance footage, he noticed @Joe Kerr coming out to place a phone call. Jason sent a text to Joe's communicator that read "Come see me when you finish please? Thanks, Jason."

As he was waiting for Joe and watching the surveillance footage he had retrieved, he noticed three men get out of a dark colored SUV. The men checked their surroundings as they exited the vehicle. Jason suspected that these were the men they were looking for and marked the time on the footage so that he could show it to the rest of the instructors and Junior Detectives when they had finished eating.

The techie continued to watch the surveillance footage and cross check the time stamps with various other images from the same date and time to hopefully track where the men were headed. Jason finished his meal and had been pleasantly surprised at how filling it had been.

After exiting the SUV, Jason made his way inside the restaurant to settle the bill with the cashier and then returned to the SUV to wait for everyone to finish eating.

 

[Joe Kerr]

They say 'no news is good news' but at the moment Joseph Kerr wasn't too inclined to agree. There was virtually no buzz on the region at the moment; an unheard of situation, when one considers that the nearby Tex-Mex border is a hotbed of Cartel activity and a hub for biker gang shenanigans.

A total absence of chatter was extremely unsettling; in fact, the silence was deafening. SOMETHING was definitely going on, and apparently had set everyone on edge.

As he pondered how much of this theory he should discuss with his fellow instructors, Joseph noticed that he had received a message from one of them, namely @Jason West.

"Come see me when you finish please? Thanks, Jason."

Heading back inside, Joseph made short work of his rather tasty Burrito before heading to Jason's last seen whereabouts - the SUV.

 

[Julie Justice]

Julie was enjoying sitting and chatting with her classmates. But she couldn't help but notice that when he was done eating @Jason West left the table, and went out to the parking lot...probably to his SUV. He was out there for several minutes. He did come back in, to settle the bill, since he had so generously paid for lunch for everyone. But, right after that...he went back outside...and he was still out there.

Julie remembered before they had left the bunker to come to here, to this restaurant, she had overheard part of a conversation between Zack and Jason. Zack had volunteered to help Jason collect the remains of the shells that were left behind at the scene...and Jason had seemed very upset that these criminals...whoever they were...even had guns at all.

And now...Jason was acting nervous again...and so for the first time since early this morning...before this trip had started...Julie began to feel a little nervous. But she wasn't sure that she should say anything yet...until she knew more. She *glanced over* at Ivy. Ivy had been at ACME a lot longer than Julie had...and so she had known the other Junior Detectives...and instructors a lot better than Julie did. And Ivy was very observant, too. She had to notice the way that Jason was acting, too.

Julie excused herself, and got up from the table, claiming to need to use the restroom. But while it was always good to take the opportunity to use the restroom whenever she had the chance to, Julie also had an ulterior motive; she also wanted to see if she could tell what...if anything...was going on in the parking lot. That is when she saw someone...who looked like @Joe Kerr walking towards Jason's SUV.

OK, that settles it; there is definitely something going on!!

 

[Nace Bilby]

"How are things in Cape Town?" Ennai asked.

"Things are going well, thank you." Nace replied, "My girlfriend tells me that the Junior Detectives over there miss my booby trap classes, evidently."

He had seen @Joe Kerr get up and head outside to the parking lot and wondered what the ex-thief was up to. He also had noticed that @Jason West had gone to the vehicles to eat versus sitting down.

He smiled as he pulled his cell phone out one more time, to do something he always did just after meals since being away from South Africa. He pulled up Angela's number and sent her a text that read: "ILY"

And after sticking his phone back into his pocket he headed over to the SUVs, tossing the wrappings and detrius of his finished meal into the nearest rubbish bin, knocking on the door of the vehicle where Jason and Joe were...

 

[Jason West]

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Jason sat in the SUV viewing different camera angles and locations until he heard a door open. He looked in the direction of the opening door and heard a now familiar voice.


“Hey Jason, you wanted to see me?” Joseph said as he entered the vehicle.


“Yea. I wanted to show you what I had found and get your input on the footage before showing it to everyone else.”


“You found something?”


“I think so. I found a couple of guys who seem a bit out of place and acting rather strange.”


Reviewing the footage, Joseph contemplated the unusual behavior of the aforementioned ‘guys’.

“Let's see. They're cautious...too cautious. They don't seem to be familiar with the establishment or its regular clientele.”


“The footage is rather grainy and in black and white so I don't think we'll get much in the way of identifying features from them but at least we know how many there are and we might get a license plate number.”


“Good. Though I wouldn’t put it past them to try switching plates, if they’re paranoid enough. Might want to pull up a list of stolen license plate numbers just in case.”


Joseph squinted to get a better look at the ride that the guys had arrived in. “That vehicle...it's an SUV right?”


“Yea. It looks kind of like a similar model to ours.”


“Given that information and their cautious behavior, we might have enough to narrow down their possible destinations.”


“Right. From traffic cameras in the area, I can see that they got back onto the interstate and headed east which means they're headed in the general direction of Texas and New Mexico.”


“We can assume that they’ll stick to the Interstates and main roads; their unfamiliarity with this region in general means they will be doing what they can to avoid getting lost. Even if they have a GPS, they won’t be likely to attempt shortcuts - GPSs have a way of being horribly unreliable when it comes to the smaller byroads and such.”


Further conversation was interrupted by their fellow instructor knocking on the SUV door. Joseph opened the door to allow @Nace Bilby in. Once Nace was settled in and brought up to speed, Joseph picked up where he had left of.


“You know, if I were our perps and I was coming this way for food, I would have refuelled at a gas station in the area as well. We should check footage from these stations and find out which one the men refuelled at. That information would allow us to gauge how far they could drive without refuelling again, and trust me, if I was in their position I’d try and avoid doing so if possible.”


Joseph looked at the two men with him and flashed a mischievous grin.


“What do you think about getting the JDs to try some good old fashioned detective work? If we know how far they could travel, we can basically draw a circle on a map with the gas station as its center; although in this case since they’re headed east, it’d be more like a cone or a quadrant with the gas station as the origin point. Anything in that cone/quadrant is a viable destination. We then just have to track their movements via traffic cams, ATMs, gas stations, etc. within that cone/quadrant.”


“That sounds like a great plan to me. Hopefully we're not too far behind them. This footage was from 12 hours ago.” Jason replied to his fellow instructors.


At the question, Joseph’s grin grew even wider.

“Given how unfamiliar with the place those guys are, I assume they’re also unfamiliar with the cuisine. I wouldn’t be surprised if their meal came back to bite them more than a couple of times. Also, judging from their behavior in the video, I doubt any of them were pulling an all-nighter in front of the wheel. Hmm, on that note, we might want to check the cameras of any motels near the Interstate turn offs or along the Interstate itself. ”


“Alright. Let's show this to everyone and let them know what our plan is.” Jason said as he stepped out.


The three instructors walked into the restaurant together and sat down with the rest of the instructors to explain what they had found and what their plan was before filling the Junior Detectives in on the developments and new plan of action.

 

[Julie Justice]

As Julie stood there...speculating what Jason and Joe Kerr might be talking about in the SUV... she decided that she had better take the opportunity to use the restroom after all...

Luckily, the restaurant was fairly small and she found it fairly easily. It was also lucky that, although the outside of the restaurant seemed a bit dirty and run down, inside everything seemed clean enough..especially in the women's restroom!! It was also lucky that there was just enough toilet tissue left on the roll.

Julie knew that the *feeling* in her stomach was excitement...and not the lunch she had just eaten. She knew that something was going to happen now!!

As she *washed her hands* she took a few *deep breaths* and said to herself,"Julie, calm down...Remember, you're OLDER than ALL these people...the Junior Detectives...and the instructors, too."

Julie left the restroom, and re-joined her classmates at the table, feeling a bit calmer now. After all, she had learned so much already, and had done so well in all her tasks today...so far...

Then, @Jason West, @Joe Kerr, and @Nace Bilby returned, and sat down and started *talking* to the other instructors. Julie prided herself on her good hearing...but the instructors were a little too far away...and at times, the general atmosphere... and noise of the restaurant... made it very difficult to hear even the people who were sitting across the table from you.

Julie started to feel a bit nervous again...but was also excited to hear what the instructors had to say. She told herself that whatever happened...she could handle it...

Then, that old cliche popped into her head...

"Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it."

 

[Agent Z]

"Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it."

"Are you alright, Julie?" Zack asked, he noticed that the detective seemed a bit disoriented. Though she was older than everyone here, Julie was still new when it came to ACME. Despite all that, she never used her age as an excuse. He saw her run as fast and match wits with everyone with the same spark.

Before he could inquire further, the instructors came back and they seemed to have a plan.

Zack listened intently as @Jason West, @Joe Kerr and @Nace Bilby started to give them the information to dissect. It seemed like a good plan of action to narrow down the locations they think the suspects could be heading.

They started with a large paper map. This was more old school than Zack was used to. Knowing that his strength lied in mathematics, the younger Monaghan began to calculate the farthest distance they could travel considering the speed limits.

"In twelve hours they could have gone pretty far... but that means no food and no bathroom breaks," Zack started, "If they really are keeping their direction then think we should narrow it down to gas stations, stops or motels in this quadrant..."

Now was the time for technology to intervene, with search-engine aided locations and Zack hoped one of the other detectives had a lead.

 

[Julie Justice]

Julie didn't realize that she had seemed distracted...until she heard Zack ask her if she was okay. Even though Zack was a "whiz kid" in many areas, he also worked well with other people, and was very genuinely friendly and caring.

Julie nodded, but she really didn't have much of a chance to reply, as their instructors @Jason West, @Joe Kerr, and @Nace Bilby returned. They seemed to have a plan. They started telling them some important information as they put a large paper map on the table. Julie was much calmer now that they were being given something to do!!

Julie *glanced* over @Agent Z, and had to *smile* a bit when she saw his surprised reaction as the instructors put the paper map on the table. But, as smart as he is, he adapted quickly. Julie could almost see the "wheels in his head" turning. She wasn't at all surprised when @Agent Z said,

"In twelve hours they could have gone pretty far... but that means no food and no bathroom breaks," Zack started, "If they really are keeping their direction then think we should narrow it down to gas stations, stops or motels in this quadrant..."

Julie was "old school" enough that she liked the paper map. Having something that she could look at and touch, being able to take her time and look in many different areas at once, was very "equalizing" somehow especially because math was so hard for her.

After a moment she said,"I agree that if they are are from out-of-town, they will have to stop at a gas station or motel around here at some point. And I have to admit that math was always my worst subject..but assuming that all these gas stations and motels are an a more or less equal distance... they must have certain criteria; like how much money they still have; the price to buy gas or stay at the motel and the food items offered; whether you pay with cash only; or a credit card because credit cards are easier to trace. If it is a gas station, they probably would want to go somewhere that is a "self-serve" station, and not one where someone pumps the gas for you; because I'm sure they wouldn't want to risk someone being able to identify them...because I'm sure they are acting suspiciously. The same thing applies to motels around here too. As we all have seen, even the cheapest establishments around here tend to have security cameras."

 

[Ivy]

They were an odd group of different ages, but lunch seemed to cohesively bring the group together. Good food, especially burritos, had a way of doing that.

Ivy listened carefully to what @Zack and @Julie Justice had to say. In a world when crimes were more likely to be tweeted about before being reported, it was nice to learn a few tricks from their more experienced instructors. As the detectives circled and deducted possible stops, the ever watchful teachers gave their input.

It took several debates and charting out, but through their combined efforts the Junior Detectives reached a definitive conclusion.

"If we take Julie's theory that they used only self service stations, and Zack's circle of possible locations to their direction then they seem to be heading straight to El Paso. If we're lucky, they haven't crossed over to Juárez yet."

El Paso was a relatively famous town with a violent history. It was also large enough to get lost in, and that would prove a major set back for ACME. They might have to get their boots on the ground and start asking questions fast.

"Aside from Zack, anyone else here speak Spanish?"

 

[Nace Bilby]

Nace listened carefully. @Julie Justice and her desire to use an analog map versus a GPS or anything of that sort was something that hit home for him, largely due to his military training.

In twelve hours they could have gone pretty far... but that means no food and no bathroom breaks," Zack started, "If they really are keeping their direction then think we should narrow it down to gas stations, stops or motels in this quadrant..."

Nace had to laugh at the bathroom breaks and food remarks on @Agent Z 's part, "Very few people have that sort of discipline, so good thinking. And for the larger group it is always a good thing to remember the basics, like reading a map versus plotting on a computer. Because one won't always have a computer or GPS to hand."

He listened as @Ivy asked about speaking Spanish and replied, "I speak a little bit, but not a lot. I'd say I speak survival Spanish but that's about it."

The South African was referring to having picked up a few words and phrases from his girlfriend, who had grown up in South Florida for much of her life and thus was conversant in the language. He knew about that because he'd seen Angela talk to a co-worker of theirs from Spain in the language and picked up a few words from there.

 

[Agent Z]

"Aside from Zack, anyone else here speak Spanish?"

"I speak a little bit, but not a lot. I'd say I speak survival Spanish but that's about it."

Zack was glad things were moving now. It seemed like they were on the right track, and hopefully they wouldn't run into any lost in translation moments.

The Junior Detectives and Instructors punched in El Paso into their individual GPS devices and started the drive. According to Zack's calculations they would get there right before sun down. He also knew that the heat from the afternoon was going to quickly turn into a cold dessert night.

"Don't forget your jackets," Zack said to @Julie and the other Junior Detectives, "If it gets too dark when we arrive we're going to have a hard time finding the dudes."

 

[Jason West]

While Jason didn't speak Spanish, he did know how to drive really well. After sending a text to @Nace Bilby saying that he would lead on to El Paso. Jason drove to the nearest gas station to fill both SUVs up so that they wouldn't have to stop again on the way to El Paso. Jason stepped out and swiped an ACME credit card to fuel the SUV he was driving up.

"If you guys want any snacks or drinks for the trip, you might want to pick them up now. I'd really like to not have to stop along the way if we can help it."

Jason knew he would probably be in for a late night which wasn't uncommon for him but he also knew that he would need something to fuel himself during the rest of the drive.

After filling the SUV up, Jason went inside the small store and picked up a few energy drinks as well as a bag of chips, a banana, and an apple. He quickly paid for his items and went back to the SUV to wait for everyone else to get what they wanted or needed so that they could get on the road.