Archived Blue Moon Masquerade

[Sarah Nade]

Slowly handing the watch to Sarah, Carmen paused just before letting it go. A critical thought appeared... this was Chase Devineaux, ACME's Director of Special Operations, he would recognise a woman dressed as a man and then identify Sarah without much trouble. Not that she enjoyed giving the man credit, but a thief must rely on caution. "It's too risky," she said, putting the object away.

Sarah couldn't help but pout just a little bit at that. Carmen was right, of course. It WAS risky... but there was an idealistic part of her which almost wanted to try it simply because if she got away, and most likely she would not, she would have fooled one of ACME's greatest. Carmen was not the only one who enjoyed the thrill of doing things that should not be done. Unfortunately years of working under Carmen had not exactly given Sarah the same skill set to work with. While the rabbit could walk among the wolves untouched this fox would never be so lucky...

In a breath, she took Sarah's arm again, "Let's go into the Museum, I have something else to show you."

William nodded and adjusted 'his' mask a bit, escorting 'Ms. Kent' inside of the museum. She had not been inside yet... the invitation had said something about a display or an art thing but to be truthful Sarah hadn't been paying much attention to such things, more concerned about getting her hair and outfit to look right. It was already hard enough to tell someone you wanted your hair cut in Italian... telling someone you wanted a men's cut was just awkward.

Walking past the servers and the dignitaries 'William's eyes were drawn to the pieces displayed around the room. Masks. Every texture, every design and in the center of them all a bronze funeral mask. The lighting and arrangement all pointed to this being the center of the night's display and the 'gentlemanly figure' could not help but give a subtle grin. Ah. So that was why they were there.

Eyes turned to Carmen, twinkling with a hidden understanding. "Beautiful display..." 'he' commented softly. "Pieces of this collection probably haven't seen the light of day in ages..."

 

[Chase]

Since we're all moving inside the Punta della Dogana Contemporary Arts Museum, here's what the interior of that looks like in our present universe (Click for larger image):

[Image not available, I'll find it eventually]

 

[Chase]

Closer to 8:30 PM (2030hrs) local time

Little Mac wrote: "Mr Chase I'm sorry about that dance I just was not thinking"

Chase nodded firmly, "No need to apologize, Mac, best flamenco I've seen in a while." As Mac Lewis walked away, Devineaux responded to a tap on his shoulder.

Mikal Darsha wrote: "Ma Nishma?" He greeted, and in the same breath handed the man a small envelope of photographs. "I thinking... Russian? It all in Amman, yeah? Very close. I don't want to upset the people at home, who needs it? But this is where it is."

The images showed vital details of smuggling activity in Amman; the only problem was the lack of merchandise. A slight disappointment hovered over the Field Director as each picture showed indication, but no evidence. Mikal's hunch was right, Russian, but it wasn't solid. The last two pictures were more prominent; a set of visible tattoos identified men from a Siberian prison, and one tattoo, of a dagger inlaid with a three-barred cross, identified a member of the Noukhev Bratvia.

"Noukhev," Chase said in a lowered tone, "black dagger, three-barred cross." Without a pause, he took out his communicator, making adjustments, "I'm going to elevate you to agent status, make this a case. Find out what they're hiding, then clean it up." Handing the pictures back, he added, "Behatzlacha1, and get rid of these."

Loosening the bowtie around his neck slightly, Chase readjusted his tuxedo and walked down the steps into the party.




1 Behatzlacha -- Hebrew -- good luck

 

[Patty]

The man behind the meat station gave a plate of pre-sliced medium rare steaks to Patty. Grabbing a fork for herself and another for Dragon, she found a nice tall table where they could stand, eat, and talk. "Nice to finally meet you," She said between bites, "The two girls with me, they're with us too, maybe we can get introduced after this party's over."

After the dancing subsided, the band went back to playing classical songs and guests began gathering into groups and talking. She could also see her surrogate sisters heading towards the Contemporary Arts Museum with their dance partners.

"Everyone's heading to the museum," Patty nodded quietly in the direction of the open door, "Let's go in there when we're done, or you want another round? I think there's roasted pheasant around here somewhere too."

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by Kyzano))

Dragon was loving the food, she'd probably eaten more then the average human would have of the raw meat but honestly, she didn't care! She was handed another plate and Dragon thought for a moment before quickly finishing off the raw meat and stacking the new, cooked food plate on top of it and carried them both with a hand, the fork resting on the plate with the cooked meat, as she picked up her scythe and moved to the table with patty.

"Nice to finally meet you," She said between bites, "The two girls with me, they're with us too, maybe we can get introduced after this party's over."

That made sense to Dragon, now Dragon had never used cutlery in her life.. she was stuck... well then screw cutlery. No she couldn't do that. Quickly using a claw she cut the steak into smaller portions and then, awkwardly mimicking patty she used the fork.. well for the first few pieces but then after that she abandoned the strange human utensil and switched back to her hand, clearing her plate quite fast.

"It's good to meet a comrade in this sea of enemies. Those two are with us as well? That's good to know." Dragon nodded as she grabbed onto some napkins that were on the table, she'd bathe later, hell she'd need to tonight. Pushing these thoughts away Dragon focused on the task again.

"Everyone's heading to the museum," Patty nodded quietly in the direction of the open door, "Let's go in there when we're done, or you want another round? I think there's roasted pheasant around here somewhere too."
While still hungry... Dragon couldn't stay at the food the whole night, hell she'd probably end up eating far more then usual... Dragon's body DID require almost double the usual amount a human needed. A very active human. Her metabolism was that hyper active, and things could get dangerous for her quickly if she didn't eat for long periods of time, where a human could last almost a month without food, Dragon would only last about two weeks.

Sidetracked again she realized Patty was waiting for an answer. "Ah... I think it's best if I get away from the food for now. But what's a mu-ze-um?" She asked sounding out the word.

 

[Eugene]

The Harlequin Said:
Oh my god.

As Euge watched the dancing phantom it dawned on him that it was Mac making a fool of himself. The height and body language matched perfectly with what Euge knew about the short scrappy fighter. Euge couldn't understand what he was playing at though; had he simply had too much to drink? No matter, Chase would sort him out as he saw fit.

Mac's performance drew to a close, leaving guests confused as to what just happened. Euge noticed Ennai and the harlequin clapping politely, but didn't join in. He couldn't support stupid stunts, not when agents were supposed to be low profile.

Ennai said:
Have you heard any thing about any party crashers? Like maybe V.I.L.E.?

The thought had crossed his mind briefly, as the invitations would have been trivial to counterfeit. Before Euge could open his mouth enough for an answer, he saw The Dancing Phantom coming his direction.

Little-Mac said:
Umm Hello.

The voice served to confirm Euge's hunch as to the phantom's identity. He cast an amused glance at Ennai towering over Mac before looking away. Mac seemed more interested in her than him, and Euge took the opportunity to quickly scan the area. Ennai's hunch was probably correct as usual, but if V.I.L.E. was present, they would be after high value targets, not random detectives.

Euge lightly nudged Ennai and whispered in her ear, "I'd lay odds whatever V.I.L.E. is after is part of the special exhibit. We may want to move in that direction. You packing?" To Mac and whoever else may be watching, it looked like Euge was telling her sweet nothings instead of business talk.

 

[Carmen]

'William' said: "Beautiful display..." 'he' commented softly. "Pieces of this collection probably haven't seen the light of day in ages..."

Once her eyes fell upon the coveted 'Mask of Helen', Carmen was transfixed. Its blank, placid gaze beckoned with a characteristic appeal unrivalled among the work of so many great talents. She had researched the mask of Agamemnon extensively in the past, and among the tendrils of information she received, a budding rumour of the existence of a feminine funerary mask from the Mycenaean era captured her curiosity. Previously, this story seemed unverifiable; yet here was the mythical golden face, so close within reach.

"The museum closes at 2330 hours," she whispered to her escort, "everyone will be asked gather at the pavilion under the moon for the countdown. Whatever happens, meet me here at 2340?" Beneath her calm exterior, Carmen could feel the start of a good heist. This incitement, growing from a combination of a rare target and impractical situations, would rage inside until the mask was safely hers. She would expect, emphatically, to join the crowd at the stroke of midnight and walk out without a single incident.

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by DetectiveAwesome))

Danny was glad that everyone was forgetting the strange scene and heading to the museum. He also thought that Abrielle was a pretty cool girl. As they entered the building, a collection of masks could be seen, with the prized "Mask of Helen" gleaming in the center.

The display reminded Danny of when he used to hang around his mom's gallery after football practice. She kept asking him to look at the pictures and tell her what he thought it meant, or what emotion it made him feel. Right now all the masks with their sad faces and hollow eyes made him feel… uncomfortable.

Abrielle said:
"So, [what] exactly do you do for ACME, Mr. Ainsworth?"

"Well, you know, the usual stuff." Danny shrugged, he thought of his daily life in ACME which consisted of memorizing facts, training, and doing extra credit grunt work in the labs. None of those things seemed very impressive. At least he had a bit of field experience to bring up. "I'm usually part of a team that directly tracks down V.I.L.E. agents. Best part of the job, I'd say… knowing that you're keeping those crazy guys off the streets. I mean, have you seen some of the things they've tried to steal?"

 

[Nevon]

While waiting for a reply, Nevon was still looking at Chase, hoping he could get a chance to talk to his hero about something, anything. But when Mr. Devineaux entered the crowd, he disappeared.

Cassandra said: "I am not hungry. Can we all go to the museum, please?"

Nev gladly lead Cassandra to the museum. He needed to get warm anyway. "Do you know Chase Devineaux?" he thought he'd start a conversation, "He's the greatest, and he's... well... he's going to be my mentor, so I can better guard the world against V.I.L.E., and all that."

Then he overheard Danny: "I'm usually part of a team that directly tracks down V.I.L.E. agents. Best part of the job, I'd say… knowing that you're keeping those crazy guys off the streets. I mean, have you seen some of the things they've tried to steal?"

"Yeah," Nevon smiled to Cassandra, pointing out the 'Mask of Helen', "This is the kind of thing we'd try to keep those crazy guys at V.I.L.E. from stealing."

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by Little-Mac))

Not-Applicable said: Before he could answer, the flamenco dancer appeared before her. "Umm Hello." Ennai found herself towering above the man, standing 5' 10 in her two-inch heels. She smiled at him. "Hello. That was quite a show you put on, Mr...?"

Mac stared at the woman standing at 5'10 that was taller than him or should he say Towering above him with his Phantom mask as she said "Mr...?" Mac spoke in a low yet soft Tone.."Lewis... Mac Lewis.." He said in a James Bond sort of Fashion with out the brittish accent as he smiled at her He took his mask off slightly to show his face.. Even though he was the Phantom he did not have a Ugly face like the character but showed his face to her.. as he looked at her eyes and he asked her "So did you come here with anyone if you do not mind me asking???" He said in a low voice as he put his mask back on awaiting The Woman's response

(OOC: Sorry that was short it will get better)

 

[Pete]

Pete looked at the displays in the museum and blinked a few times. Was that really a headless horse mounted on the wall? Why does this remind him of that Godfather movie? "Im no good with art, mate," he chuckled. Then he saw a scene that was different. A beautiful golden mask was looking at a beautiful golden mask, but before he could say anything he heard a conversation from Nev and Dan, to two pretty shiels.

Danny said: "I'm usually part of a team that directly tracks down V.I.L.E. agents. Best part of the job, I'd say… knowing that you're keeping those crazy guys off the streets. I mean, have you seen some of the things they've tried to steal?"

Nevon said: "Yeah," Nevon smiled to Cassandra, pointing out the 'Mask of Helen', "This is the kind of thing we'd try to keep those crazy guys at V.I.L.E. from stealing."

That was a nice mask, and would be the only thing Pete wouldn't consider as modern junk in here. "Never been to a party like this, I'm good with more laid back things," he added for Missy, "after this, you gotta come to more of the 303 parties, mate, we like fun people, ai?"

 

[Emma Bezzle]

Danny said:
"Well, you know, the usual stuff." Danny shrugged, he thought of his daily life in ACME which consisted of memorizing facts, training, and doing extra credit grunt work in the labs. None of those things seemed very impressive. At least he had a bit of field experience to bring up. "I'm usually part of a team that directly tracks down V.I.L.E. agents. Best part of the job, I'd say… knowing that you're keeping those crazy guys off the streets. I mean, have you seen some of the things they've tried to steal?"

Loralye was somewhere between amused and agitated. Part of her wanted to laugh out loud at how he described VILE. And so she did. Secretly, the other part wanted to smack him across the head at how he described VILE. 'Those crazy guys'? Seriously?

"I have heard some rumors of these VILE agents," Lora said. And it was true enough, she had heard plenty of rumors concerning things VILE had previously stolen. "Though if you think about it, they must not be as crazy as you think if they are able to elude you ACME agents so well," she continued in an amused tone.

Loralye continued to look around at the beautiful display of art along the walls. Normally she wasn't a fan of modern art but Lora found it strangely captivating-especially the supposed mask of Helen of Troy.

Remaining as nonchalant as possible, Lora proceeded to ask, "Do you know of the location of any VILE agents?"


((OOC-I won't be here for two days, so I can't post. Just so you know.))