Archived Blue Moon Masquerade

[Narrator]

((Originally written by Crimson))

It seemed like as the hours increased, the people count decreased. All of the children that were here with their families were assumedly heading to their next destination. Looking around at the crowd, one could tell the difference between the government officials and the civilians. The differences lie in the way they hold themselves, their facial expressions, and who they converse with.

Cassandra was listening to her partner about to introduce himself when someone came up from behind her. She jumped, for one reason or another, when he started to talk. But, the man gave a very informative and detailed history of the 'Mask of Helen.'

The man said:
"I'm sorry, we haven't met," he extended a hand, "Chase Devineaux, Special Agent, ACME United States."

Cassandra accepted the outreached hand while her partner introduced her to Mr. Devineaux. "The pleasure is all mine, monsieur. Now, if you don't mind, tell me about the everyday life of a Special Agent."

 

[Pete]

Like Nevon, Pete Moss was amazed by the smooth way a Special Agent talked. It's not every day a field agent gets to see this, and this was only Pete's second time seeing Chase Devineaux up close. He was starting to get what Nevon's fuss was all about. Pete gave a smile and nod to welcome Chase and looked to see the same smile on Missy's face. He was happy to know they were feeling the same thing, it would give Pete something to talk about later.

ACME's partys were private and teeny compared to an event like this. Pete wondered how many times he'd have to mess up before he'd learn enough to be a pro. Then he saw Dan ask Chase about the pretty lady at the center of attention. She has to be an actress, Pete agreed, and he was looking forward to a reveal near the end of the party too. From her height, she looked like Famke Janssen in that James Bond movie, enough to get the small bits of Pete's fanboy feelings off thinking.

 

[Mikal]

Chase Devineaux Wrote:
"Noukhev, 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, "Behatzlacha, and get rid of these."

Mikal nodded, and took the envelope. He walked towards the pier where orange fires were still raged brightly, each reflecting a dimmer doppelgänger into the Grand Canal. Without pause he passed the flames, tossing the envelope into their center, and continued on his path.

By now, guests were pouring into the modern art museum. A selected few remained on the pavilion, among them a tall blonde and her companion, a young man dressed as Robin Hood, and a member of the security team. Mikal's mind was already set on Amman. From Venice, there was a flight with connections in Istanbul, and another he knew of that connected in Vienna. He preferred the later, though it departed early in the morning, and left little room for preparations.

Of course, there was still the matter of the masquerade, and New Years Day sanctioned a form of permissible counterproductiveness. Mikal found his way into the art museum, and was happy to see the cat masked girl was still there.

"Good, you're here." He greeted, "We didn't finish our talk, yeah? Did you come here with anyone?"

 

[Eugene]

(It's all good Ennai!)

Ennai smiled and looked away as though he had just given her an embarrassingly touching compliment. "Always. It's a rather dismal arsenal though. One snubnose and two stratofighters."

As Euge listened to Ennai list off her equipment, he thought he detected an undercurrent of disappointment in her voice. It was gone in a flash though, replaced by a practiced tone and smile. "Too bad," Euge thought to himself; "this was supposed to be a night off for all of us. I'll need to make this up to her somehow." A moment passed as Ennai seemed to collect her thoughts before speaking again, and Euge felt for the reassuring heft of his M1911. This party had shifted to business too quickly for his tastes, and Euge was glad neither of them came completely unprepared.

Ennai said:
"Right, let's get moving."

Euge nodded and wordlessly offered his left arm to her, which she took, and the couple walked into the museum, brushing by an Othello on his way out. Inside, they were confronted by what could only be described as modern art, consisting of the body of a horse positioned such that its head was stuck in the wall. Further down were a wall of masks being studied by the three musketeers and their dance partners, who were engaged in conversation with ACME's masked bandit. Euge idly wondered if Chase had even been trying to conceal his identity, or if he was just pandering to the crowd. At least the ACME agents would know who to look to if everything hit the fan. Further down, in a poorly lit corner, Euge could see the woman wearing the gold mask talking to Lacy Boone and Death. "The musketeers standing with Chase are ACME," Euge whispered to Ennai, "as is the woman in the green dress and metal mask."

 

[Patty]

Patty nodded back to 'William' after 'he' introduced himself, her face still pleasantly smiling. This is good, Sarah's here! When Carmen introduced her to the Grim Reaper, Patty played along too. Off to the other corner, she could see ACME amassing and she felt her gut rise like a helium balloon. She knew that the rule of thumb was to not have the group stay together at a party too long. Sticking together meant being easier to be recognized.

"That there's a nice horse's rear end, ain't it?" She mocked a comment in as sophisticated a tone as her accent would let her, "Has anyone seen the other side?"

 

[Ivy]

Ivy heard a few familiar voices from the new group of guests in the exhibit. It was always easy to pick out an English conversation when surrounded by Italian speakers. She flagged Chase Devineaux among them, and figured some of the musketeers and similarly dressed 'princesses' were her students at ACME academy. When she was just within earshot, 'Othello' found her.

Othello Said:
"Good, you're here." He greeted, "We didn't finish our talk, yeah? Did you come here with anyone?"

She smirked, and beneath the Venetian cat mask, Ivy raised an eyebrow. If anything, he was direct, she didn't mind it, but she hadn't decided if she liked it yet.

"Yes, and no." Ivy tilted her head towards the nearby group of detectives, "I guess you could say I'm with them. Ivy Monaghan, ACME United States."

 

[Carmen]

This short gathering was a necessity only to confirm attendance. All members of her team understood what to do hours before the party began. The target, however, was a variable. No picture or depiction of this 'Mask of Helen' ever made it to the media until after the gallery opened, and Carmen had not been thoroughly sure she would attempt its 'relocation' until she had seen it. Patty's good sense to break the conversation received a nod from the ringleader.

"Please, enjoy the exhibition," she said to the three with her, "I'm sure we'll meet again."

They would disperse and resume position inconspicuously approximately one hour from now. Looking to the exit, the first person she noticed was Chase at the display of masks and, respectively, other members of ACME became visible.

A part of her wanted to return his timepiece as she watched him habitually led the younger agents by example, the same side of her was also glad she had given the watch to Dragon for safe keeping. With that option impossible, she had no reason to approach the group and, instead, sent a silent thought of support to Crimson and Loralye as they stood among strangers.

In the meanwhile, she moved on her own from one crowd of people to another. In a masquerade, pretending to know anyone was effortless.

 

[Chase]

Nevon said: "Mr. Devineaux, this is Cassandra Kennedy, and this is..."

Daniel said: "…This is Abrielle Fiore, from Mestre... Hey Boss. You met that lady right? Is she some kind of actress?"

Cassandra Kennedy said: "The pleasure is all mine, monsieur. Now, if you don't mind, tell me about the everyday life of a Special Agent."

After the introduction and a brief sweep of greeting nods to his fellow agents, it was more apparent the young women with the sleuth and the rookie were not from ACME. He repeated their names, as always. "Ms. Kennedy, Ms. Fiore, I hope you're enjoying present company."

As Daniel Ainsworth temporary directed his attention again to Morgan Kent, he met her glance before she disappeared. That look sparked an idea that she may be someone she wasn't. Telling Dan he knew her identity seemed like a lie. "No," Chase replied from behind his thoughts, "Don't know her."

Returning to Cassandra Kennedy's question, he smiled, taking a cue from her French.

"Rien d'intéréssant, Mlle. Kennedy, je ne veux pas vous ennuyer." Nearby, Devineaux spotted Mikal Darsha talking to Ivy Monaghan. Already with a girl, Mikal worked fast.

"Khalid Rifai," he called out to the Israeli, systematically introducing him to the rest of ACME as 'Khalid Rifai', an old friend from Afghanistan.

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by Xander))

Tanya said: "Are you hungry?" she asked, "We can eat now, da, before it gets too cold?" Looking around, she could see an array of food stations, everything from warm soups to meats and pasta.

Zack nodded and holding hands with Tanya, went over to the food station. He eyed some of the roast beef that was cooked to perfection at the table. His stomach grumbled at the sight.

"Heh... guess I didn't eat dinner today..." he commented and laughed again. He handed a plate to his dance partner along with the appropriate cutlery.

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by El Halcon Verde))

"Ah, los croissants es muy bien." El Halcon said to himself standing to the side of Zack, piling a plate with the delicate french breads. El Halcon had a healthy appetite, especially when it came to pastry. He spun around, noticing the couple at his side and tilted his head up. "Ah, love that blooms at wintertime. It is one as rare as a rose in winter." Inwardly he was stretching his mind trying to figure out who were behind the masks, but since he was still new to detective work, he forced himself to give up. Ha had to work on identifying people more keenly, to prove he was more than just some hired muscle.

 

[Vic]

5 miles outside of Venice, Italy
12 hours before the new year party

While Vic's people and Tino Carrisi's team worked on putting the stuff from Dubai together, a knock at the warehouse's door disturbed the peace. First thinking it was cops wanting to know what all the noise was about, Vic remembered this was a suburb, and there was a louder water treatment place close by.

Vic answered the door to see a wiry little kid of about 20 or 25 nervously bouncing his knees like he's got ants in his pants, "What you want, tike?"

"You... uh... Vince Fumigalli?" The Italian boy jittered around his words.

He wasn't bad at English, so Vic figured he was nervous, "You work for her? San.. Sandiego?"

Not the person to have this kind of patience less than 12 hours before the party, Vic sneered, "No, get outta here!" He moved to shut the door, but the kid stopped him.

"Wait, wait," he reasoned, "I know, I heard from Luca you're in town, I've been waiting my whole life for Carmen Sandiego, uh for VILE. She's coming to Venice, eh? I want in."

Vic sniffed; he could smell 'crazy fanboy' written all over this sorry loser.

"Listen, I've been doing security, break-ins, big cons, you name it" the boy was getting more confident while he got Vic's attention, "I can show you, I'm useful eh? Drop me off at this party, I'll protect her I'm a good shot, anything, Vince, just get me in the door."

Vic paused, taking a long breath and shook his head. "What's your name, pirla?"

"...Achille Mondadori," the boy said carefully, not liking the fact that he was just called an idiot.

"Let me tellya something, Archie, you go back to your grifting gang or whatever and get your head outta this mess, I ain't in no mood to be picking up noobs when I'm minding my own business. Capisci? Now get outta here!" Vic slammed the door.

"Cazzata?" Tino Carrisi, the artist, raised his head from what he was doing to ask if that was something stupid. Vic nodded and cursed, "Cazzata... Fanboys. Let's hurry up, time's wastin."

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by Crimson))

This was not how Cassandra planned things would go. All these people... and they were all ACME agents. She knew she was caught in the middle. But Cassandra knew she had the confidence to keep going. After all, socializing and dealing with awkward situations is what she does best.

"I am enjoying the company of... um, this man." Cassandra said as she pointed to her partner, seeing as she still didn't know his name. Keeping the perfect French accent throughout most of the night was harder than she thought it would be.

Mr. Devineaux said:
"Rien d'intéréssant, Mlle. Kennedy, je ne veux pas vous ennuyer."

The woman smiled back at Mr. Devineaux. "Vous ne m'ennerrez pas, M. Devineaux. Je suis tout intéressée à fait dans l'organisation. Même dans probablement joindre."

Thinking ahead, Cassandra asked, "There is one more dance after this, oui?"