Archived Blue Moon Masquerade

[Emma Bezzle]

Danny said: "Sure, we always have some under surveillance. You know you've got to really keep a close eye on them. Most that get of jail go right back to doing the same thing. Some of the good ones, like Philo see the light and join ACME."

Loralye would have given anything to roll her eyes. All she wanted to do was to run to the nearest wall and bang her head against it. This guy was so...frustrating! He wasn't letting anything slide, just teasing Lora with the information she wanted. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he was doing it on purpose.

Just then, a man dressed in a tailored detailed history on the mask of Helen of Troy. Lora knew all the information of course, but she found it impressive that this man was so knowledgable.

Chase said:
Chase turned back to the two guests, not wanting to be rude. "I'm sorry, we haven't met," he extended a hand, "Chase Devineaux, Special Agent, ACME United States."

Well this makes things more complicated, Lora thought. These bloody ACME agents wouldn't leave them alone! The situation was quickly becoming critical.

Introductions were made and simple conversation was breaking out. Crim and Chase Devineaux were conversing in French. Loralye understood all of it of course, but the others didn't need to know that...Lora just sat back and listened for anything that could be important.

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

That was it! Dancing was the perfect excuse to split up the group of ACME agents and keeping them thoroughly distracted. Lora chanced a glance towards the horse statue. They just might be able to pull this off after all.

 

[Nevon]

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

Chase said: "No," Chase replied from behind his thoughts, "Don't know her."

"Duh, I keep telling you it's Monica Bellucci," Nev nudged Dan, "What other Italian actress has the prop of showing up here looking that hot?"

Cassandra said: "I am enjoying the company of... um, this man." [A lot of French] "There is one more dance after this, oui?"

Nevon smiled ear to ear when Cassandra mentioned dancing. Before she said that, he was trying to decipher the French she spoke with Chase Devineaux without any luck. He could hear the music outside and some of the guests already dancing tonight. Each song lasts about 5-10 minutes, and Nev knew they had plenty of time before midnight, and he was starting to like entertaining this French Kennedy. "There's always time for dancing!" Nevon answered after Cassandra's question, "And I'm Nevon Blair, Ms. Kennedy, I'd be honored if you'd have a go... at another dance or two with me?"

 

[Ennai]

EarlJr said:
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."

"Right," she muttered, performing a mental assessment of all of the people in the room. Ennai's main concern was the number of people who weren't A.C.M.E. Be they V.I.L.E or civilian, they posed a problem. To add to that, she had no idea how V.I.L.E. planned on pulling of a heist in this crowd. "Right," she reiterated. "We have to let Chase know first. Even if we're wrong, he needs to be alerted. If he doesn't already have the same concerns as us. Any ideas on how to do that?" She was referring to the mass of people who had suddenly engulfed Chase. She was slightly agitated. That was a horrible position for him to be in. It was a strategic nightmare. " Do you think we could somehow get Chase out of that mess? I mean without causing a scene?"

She took quick inventory of the art in the room. What were the probable security measures put up for the masks? She didn't know. Oh WOW. She cringed in distaste. Was the horse's end really necessary? Actually, it did seem a bit... off. Why was it even there? It threw her off, was that there was a random piece of unrelated modern art in an exhibit that was completely focused on masks so much older than it. It was weird. Her imagination proceeded to wander to a mental video reel of a live horse, hanging and stuck in the wall, struggling to get out. It made her nauseous, and she refocused brushing off the feeling. It was weird, but irrelevant.

She had way too many weird thoughts like that. Ennai was naturally over-analytical, causing her to consider possibilities that were unlikely. Some had merit, others didn't. As a young girl, her father had called her "An angelically devilish little girl, hell-bent on deconstructing the hypothetical causes and implications of every possible detail," to one of his colleagues. It was a small part of an elaborate excuse for why she had told the wife of the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland that her husband was having an affair which ended in "I'm sorry she caused you so much trouble." Of course, in that particular case she happened to be right. Two months later, some pictures surfaced and the newspapers got a whiff of it. The thirteen-year-old looked at her dad silently, with a hint of irony.

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by Xander))

After Xander had finished stuffing himself with food, he glanced around the room again and shrugged. Anyone he would know would be at the museum right this minute. He took a few steps forward and then spied some tiramisu that he had not tried. Glancing at the museum entrance, he shrugged. He grabbed another plate and fork- food was more entertaining and more delicious than a museum.

(Filler)

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by DetectiveAwesome))

Danny could have sworn he saw a mutual look of recognition between Chase Devineaux and the lady with the gold mask, but then she turned and walked away so he shook it off. Maybe they didn't really click or something.

Aside from that, he liked how everyone from ACME was crowding together. It gave him that warm fuzzy holiday feeling. Pete and Missy seemed to be getting a long well, and Abrielle looked like she was really interested in that horse. He was also glad that Chase came over to speak a few words of French to Ms. Kennedy.

By the time Ivy Monaghan and Chase's friend Khalid Rifai came over, ACME seemed to be holding the central position in the gallery. Danny bet Chase and Khalid had lots of awesome stories, the kind of awesome stories him and Nevon and Pete were going to be telling younger agents some day.

Just as people were about to head out for dancing, Danny saw Mr. G and a lady in a silver dress, so he waved to them. "Hey! Mr, G! Over here. We were just about to head out for another round of dancing. Are you two in?"

 

[Eugene]

Ennai said:
"Right," she muttered, "Right, we have to let Chase know first. Even if we're wrong, he needs to be alerted. If he doesn't already have the same concerns as us. Any ideas on how to do that? Do you think we could somehow get Chase out of that mess? I mean without causing a scene?"

Euge glanced sideways at Ennai with mild concern; she seemed to be almost shaking with tension at the latest turn of events. Ennai was right to be concerned, but Euge couldn't justify breaking up the party just yet, as the ACME agents were forming a conveniently unplanned barrier around Chase. The agents in the thick would be the first to notice if something was amiss.

"Chase is a big boy, he's done this kind of thing before." Euge reassured her. A thought occurred to Euge, and he pulled out his communicator and fired off a rapid message while talking; "He has his communicator on him; I'll send him a message on the priority channel." Euge finished typing and stuffed the communicator into his pocket, looking as if he had done no more than text a friend. "There. We can't do anything more until VILE makes their move, so let's relax and enjoy the new year." Euge finished with a soft smile at her. With that, Euge steered Ennai and himself towards the group congregated around Chase when he noticed Dan the Musketeer waving at him.

Dan said:
"Hey! Mr, G! Over here. We were just about to head out for another round of dancing. Are you two in?"

"With how that first round went, how could we miss it?" Euge patted the hand resting on his arm while he joked with Dan, "If m'lady is so inclined, of course."

Euge added with a quick glance at Ennai. Speaking to Chase would give the two agents an opportunity to compare notes and hopefully put her mind at ease, and they still had a bit of time before the party moved back outside. Dancing could wait for another moment or two.

 

[Sarah Nade]

"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?"

Sarah chuckled in an acceptable tenor tone as she watched Carmen leave to mingle among more guests. Sarah could pretend to make small talk for a little while at these things but Carmen, Patty, even Vic had a way of working crowds that Sarah couldn't help but admire. Put the singer in a room full of drunks and she could handle herself just fine but this... this was a bit fancy for her tastes.

Pulling the tux sleeve away from her wrist Sarah took a look at her watch. Hmmm. Time for a little look around before the gallery closed. With everyone seeming to be ready for another round of dancing it would be a good time for a peak around the back of a building... all under the guise of taking a cigarette break. Oh. The things she did in the name of her work.

"If you ladies would excuse me..." William said with a smile, making a small 'tipping my hat' motion with 'his' hands. "I must excuse myself. Save a dance for me, would you?" With a wink and a smirk Sarah walked away and out the front door of the gallery, taking a sharp turn to the side of the building and then again to the back, pulling out a silver cigarette case as 'he' did so and lighting up a cigarette.

Taking a large puff s/he strolled along the back of the building. Everything was as she expected. Two bathroom windows placed about six or seven feet off the ground, the security for the building was back here too. Hearing the security door start to open Sarah pulled herself away from the back and planted herself against the wall at the side of the building. As expected a pair of footsteps came from around the back, showing themselves as a pair of uniformed guards walking back to the party. They hardly took a second look at the man taking a cigarette break as they argued back and forth quietly about the latest futbol game.

Sarah smiled as she took another puff of the cigarette.

"Nice." she said softly to herself.

 

[Narrator]

((Originally written by Kyzano))

Dragon didn't really know what to think as both Alpha and... err William? She'd never been good with names, excused themselves. Dragon knew it was time for her to get into action as well, though she'd catch up to this 'William', Dragon was almost positive that it was a female there and not a male, having been given the extra time to observe, later.

Switching to holding the scythe with her left hand, keeping the object wrapped around her arm even more hidden, she made a bit of a motion of rolling out her right shoulder, making it appear as if it was tired from holding the scythe the rest of the time. She looked to Patty and gave a nod.

"Sorry but I'm going to head back to the food, I'm still starving." And it was true; Dragon was really, really hungry.

Hunting here was much harder to do then back home, she hadn't been eating as much as she was supposed to. Even though tonight she'd probably already eaten enough, raw meat at that, for a human almost twice her size. She gave Patty a bit of a grin and then turned heading back out of the museum for the food tables, though her paranoia was acting up again, focusing her thoughts on the food and on her job distracted her from most of it.

The moment she hit the outside air she felt her body relax, even if it was just a tiny amount. Dragon never felt as comfortable inside a building than she did outside. Save for maybe a cave, but that didn't really count. Walking back to the food tables, once again timing her footfalls and making sure no one accidentally got hit in the head with her scythe, her mind flitted back to a promise she'd made.

During the plans for this thing, of which she had to have been filled in via voice only, Alpha had made her promise not to fight until her express word. Dragon had given her word without hesitation. Dragon knew why of course, that such a promise had to have been made in the first place. Dragon did not do well in crowds, let alone one this size. Should she start fighting the chances that she would panic would be almost 100%. If Dragon panicked she would cease to be non-lethal.

This was something Dragon severely wanted to avoid. These people had done nothing to warrant death. They'd just shown up for a good time and to bring in the new year, a concept that was completely new to Dragon. So unless Alpha was being threatened by lethal force, or the heist went bad and she was told to get rough, Dragon wouldn't be getting to seriously involved.

Shaking the thoughts away Dragon couldn't help the grin that spread across her face as the scents of different meats hit her. The chef behind the station seemed to recognize her as he grinned and gave her a small wave, she returned it with a nod as she picked up a plate. She was in a good position to do her job and there was food. The latter serving as a much more satisfying fact as she dug in.

 

[Chase]

Chase received a message from Euge just before Dan called out to Grovington and his unofficial partner. Reading the text, he realized it was time to meet up and reassure his friends that nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Euge, and... Ennai," he smiled a warm greeting when he recognized the girl in the silver dress, "enjoying your time off?"

With a quick nod, Chase continued: "The Italians set up a nest egg for this area years ago," he commented, "They're renovating the buildings one by one, what you see now just reopened a few months ago. The piers were recently fixed too, if you haven't seen the new stonework."

Turning to 'Khalid' and Ivy, who were seemingly paired, Chase thought the red-haired detective looked cold.

"Once the museum closes, you can stay around the former customs house until countdown. They'll be lighting more fires, it should be warmer."

 

[E. Mayhew]

Following Pete's gaze Missy's eyes couldn't help but follow the woman in the red dress as well for a moment before, realizing that she might have been staring, she turned her eyes to other things. The horse's rear that sat on the wall seemed like an entertaining enough alternative as she overheard Chase talking about when they all left the building and keeping warm. She glanced at a small silver watch that sat on her wrist... she had other means of telling what time it was but, well, she'd rather not have to pull anything out of the area she had her blackberry hidden unless necessary. It was getting late and the gallery would be closing soon enough.

"Hows the night been treating you, Mr D?" Missy asked casually after finishing another sip of wine. "The Mayor's been keeping you entertained, I hope?"

She couldn't help but grin a little at that. She could only wonder if the Mayor was as bored with the TV cameras and attention as she had a hunch Chase was right now.

 

[Patty]

Patty made another scan of the museum. Sarah and Dragon had both gone out, and Carmen had blended into the crowd so well, Pats could hardly keep sight of her. It didn't change the fact that she had a job to do in a few minutes, and Patty moved around the area, studying all the exits.

She also watched ACME's body language while she walked. They weren't doing much, but she could almost swear some of them looked over confident, especially the musketeers. Reading their lips were only a little helpful because they were talking nonsense. What she wouldn't give to be able to turn out all the lights, run in there, and take that mask right now just to show them how blind they are.

That idea was bad, but it made Patty smile. Soon, the curator and a spokes person took center stage and started to tell people they were wrapping up. So this is it, the blonde thought to herself, the museum was closing.

 

[Ennai]

Euge said:
Euge glanced sideways at Ennai with mild concern; she seemed to be almost shaking with tension at the latest turn of events. Ennai was right to be concerned, but Euge couldn't justify breaking up the party just yet, as the ACME agents were forming a conveniently unplanned barrier around Chase. The agents in the thick would be the first to notice if something was amiss."Chase is a big boy, he's done this kind of thing before." Euge reassured her. A thought occurred to Euge, and he pulled out his communicator and fired off a rapid message while talking; "He has his communicator on him; I'll send him a message on the priority channel." Euge finished typing and stuffed the communicator into his pocket, looking as if he had done no more than text a friend. "There. We can't do anything more until VILE makes their move, so let's relax and enjoy the new year." Euge finished with a soft smile at her. With that, Euge steered Ennai and himself towards the group congregated around Chase when he noticed Dan the Musketeer waving at him.

Ennai'smind fell at ease. Euge was right. She had never worked with team like this before. She realized that this was not her job. She had to trust Chase to do his work. He was the best in his field.

Dan said: "Hey! Mr, G! Over here. We were just about to head out for another round of dancing. Are you two in?"

"With how that first round went, how could we miss it?" Euge patted the hand resting on his arm while he joked with Dan, "If m'lady is so inclined, of course." Euge added with a quick glance at Ennai. Speaking to Chase would give the two agents an opportunity to compare notes and hopefully put her mind at ease, and they still had a bit of time before the party moved back outside. Dancing could wait for another moment or two.

"Hi Danny." Ennai was elated to see the A.C.M.E agent. "I was actually hoping to take a closer look at the masks. I haven't had a chance to see them yet." She glanced at Euge with a hint of mischief, "But I fully expect a dance tonight." Ennai was actually hoping to get a chance to talk with Euge.

Chase said: Chase received a message from Euge just before Dan called out to Grovington and his unofficial partner. Reading the text, he realized it was time to meet up and reassure his friends that nothing was out of the ordinary. "Euge, and... Ennai," he smiled a warm greeting when he recognized the girl in the silver dress, "enjoying your time off?" With a quick nod, Chase continued: "The Italians set up a nest egg for this area years ago," he commented, "They're renovating the buildings one by one, what you see now just reopened a few months ago. The piers were recently fixed too, if you haven't seen the new stonework."

Ennai's face lit up at the idea.The pier would be beautiful with lights illuminating the night's water. "I'd love to see that. Maybe when the museum closes?" For some reason, she had a feeling that tonight would turn out to be great.