Wyrmbus: Regan Street Station & Garage
8/2/2006
03:03 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Half Moon phase (54% full).
It is currently 14:50 Pacific Time on Wed Aug 2 2006.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is mostly sunny today. The temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from variable directions at 6 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.21 and falling, and the relative humidity is 54 percent. The dewpoint is 51 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius.)
Bus Station
In this city with no subway or light rail system, the only real means of public transport is the humble bus, and the bus station serves not only as the headquarters of the bus company, but as the heart of the network of routes running all the way up, down and crosstown, as well as to further-flung outposts such as SCCU, and to various smaller dormitory towns within a few miles of St Claire, such as Kent Crossing. Most routes stop running by late evening, but a couple of the city circular routes run all night.
The bus station stretches for one midtown block between Elson and Regan Streets to the north and south respectively. Buses can enter at either end, and the tarmaced area between the two exits is divided by raised concrete refuges into a dozen or so bays, each one allocated to a different route, and featuring seating for passengers awaiting their bus, plus a timetable and poster board by each bay. The outermost bay is reserved for longer-distance buses such as Greyhound. To the western side of the bus station is a large brick structure which houses an enquiry desk and general waiting area, with lockers for the storage of luggage, on the ground floor; above it are company offices. Behind this building, and accessed by a roadway leading from the main traffic area, are parking and repair garages for the buses themselves.
The whole area appears to have been cleaned and repainted quite recently, and the ubiquitous graffiti taggers haven't reclaimed it yet. The bus company's new logo of an elaborate spiral design is much in evidence.
Contents:
Nivek
Obvious exits:
Regan Elson
Afternoon on a St Claire weekday. The bus station has its usual quota of passengers alighting and boarding buses, passengers waiting in annoyance for late-running buses, a homeless person or two panhandling, a driver or two smoking furtively outside the staff quarters. All very normal, and all the sort of thing that could be seen in any city this size across the USA. Except, of course, for That Logo on all the buses moving in and out.
Arriving together are a silent pair, mostly unassuming as the rest of the world. Yi dons an unmarked navy blue baseball cap and by her side, Masao. The Gnawer fostern has given the cliath beside her command of the jacket, stuffed into a regular backpack while she herself carries her usual shoulderbag. They make their way towards the schedule board to lightly peruse.
Basil and Tu walk into the bus station from the street, pausing just inside the building. Tu has given up his usually tidy clothing for jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap for whatever local sports team is in season. "Hey, let me take a picture.", he says to Basil trying to sound somewhat touristy as he lifts up a small digital camera.
Nobody pays either of the pairings more than a passing glance. Tu can easily take his photograph if he desires. There's a schedule board at every bay where the buses stop in parallel rows. The timetables all bear That Logo as well as the timings of buses. Nothing seems too unusual on them.
Basil glances here and there when he comes on the scene, his hands shoved in his pockets and his body posture shoved forward. He looks rather bored, and he wears a grey denim jacket over his mesh on his particular day. "Huh?" He glances at Tu, then moves over somewhere next to one of the logo. "How about here?" He asks, standing up straight and sticking out the tip of his tongue.
Yi only barely looks over the schedule board, instead spotting for Basil and Tu. When she does pick them out of the crowd, the ragabash indicates to the other where they are with more a significant tilt of her head.
Masao curls her fingers around the straps of the backpack and gives it a slight heft to resettle it on her shoulders. At the nod, her eyes travel over towards the other pair and her own head, light hair tucked mostly under a gray bandana, bobs in a slight nod of recognition.
A quick flash illuminates the area around Basil, then Tu lowers his camera, but doesn't put it away. He looks around the station for a few moments, before leaning in to Basil. "Lets head to the schedule board?"
"Sure." Basil replies, squinting slightly from the light. The Garou glances around for anything out of place as he strolls along, not noticing the two Ragabash yet. He seems a lot more interested in the busses, the buildings, the bus stop, and the structures in the area.
Yi calmly goes back to looking over the board, waiting until the other pair have reached them. She steps to one side, a little closer to Masao, to make room for them and not make it look like she knows them.
Tu leads the way to the schedule board, looking around as he goes. When they get to the board, he seems to study the schedule posted there, giving little notice that he recognizes Yi and Masao.
Masao looks up at the board as well and does her best impression of an otherwise unimpressed teenager. A small flick of her eyes towards the pair acknowledges their arrival at most.
Basil casually strolls up and takes a lean against whatever he seems sturdy enough near the two women, slouching into an almost crouching position. He yawns, then murmurs a quiet. "What's the plan then?"
A path protected by metal barriers, running alongside the road entrance, leads north into the city bus station.
Tu shrugs slightly at the Gnawer. "Well, we can either just pick a bus at random, or maybe we can use the jacket and check out some of the private areas? I don't know, exactly, what we're looking for. Which is why we're looking."
Yi tilts her head to a side, still facing the board, more or less to indicate the western waiting area and building offices. Then she stretches lightly. "Office and garage. Both." She's trying to keep her voice down, to keep from crackling with jackal-static.
Masao rocks back and forth on her heels for a moment, keeping her own mouth firmly shut. Two fingers unwind from the backbpack's strap to gesture first in one direction and then in the other with a thoughtful expression.
Tu nods at Yi's suggestion, the says softly to Basil. "I don't have any gifts to hide us, but we could poke around and claim to be lost of anyone asks."
"Well, riding a bus would tell us real fast if it was something like that. But, suicidal things aren't fun." Basil turns his head to the side to look at one camera. "If it's mechanical to pollute, like the bus dropping fluids, or bad mufflers or something, we'd have to look in the garage. Or maybe they put in a gas into the bus from a hidden area in the roof." Basil sighs and rises up to his feet. "I wish we could steal one. First we should figure out where the cameras look, when they pan away and when they don't."
Yi tries not to stare at Basil's latter suggestion, though his comment about the cameras has her looking from the corners of her eyes. "You go first. We can handle the garage." She nudges Masao just lightly.
Masao bobs her head in another nod and turns up the corners of her mouth in a faint smile. She also surreptitiously looks for said cameras watchfully.
Tu nods slightly, and starts to head in the direction of the offices. He tries to keep his face turned from the camera's view, either turned away or tilted down. "If we time it right, we can probably slip into the office without being caught on camera", he says to he Gnawer companion.
There's no real need to sneak towards the offices, for they're located right above the main waiting room and enquiry desk. The desk has one overworked woman at it, and six or seven people are complaining about a cancelled bus to a suburb.
Basil holds up a hand briefly to single a pause. "Wait. Tu, do you know anything about cars and what would look out of place?" His eyes go back to the cameras, and the Gnawer seems to be counting without saying anything, his lips moving. Somewhat distractedly, he reaches into a pocket and offers out a spray can. "We can mark a suspicious bus with this, and trail it."
Tu shakes his head at Basil. "I can change oil, but I'm not sure I'd be able to spot anything out of place unless it was pretty obvious. If we decide to track a bus, I have a GPS device back at the statehouse", he says softly. He looks at the woman at the desk, and tries to figure out the best ways into the offices.
Nivek pages to the room: There's a door marked NO ADMITTANCE TO PUBLIC across the waiting room from the desk.
Yi starts to head off in the general direction of the garage, though she's taking her time at a casual pace and making sure Masao is near. Not bothering to make moves towards concealment, the fostern leads the way.
Masao follows the elder Ragabash as closely as possible without tripping over Yi's heels. Her hands let go of the straps on the backpack after a bit and dangle at her sides.
Basil glances at Yi and Masao when they wander off, then at Tu, and while looking a look out for the busses the Gnawer starts to wander around the outside of the structure, looking for a back door of some kind.
Tu lets the Gnawer wander away, staying where he is for now. He glances around once more, to see if anyone seems to be keeping an eye on the door, then waits for the Gnawer to return.
The garages are reached by a roadway round the side of the building. Several buses are parked up in them, and a few mechanics are working in a desultory way, or shamelessly idling. Basil notes a steel fire escape leading up to a door on the second floor of the brick building housing the offices.
Basil walks back towards Tu and takes a look over the waiting room, murmuring to him. "There is a way up around back, fire escape type dealie." He looks at the employees only door, then at the woman, then around the room to make sure there is no one else.
Yi slows as she and Masao round closer towards the garage, sticking close to the further busses at first where there aren't any mechanics, and slips in between a pair. Once the area they're immediately in looks clear, 'Keep your eyes open,' she signs to Masao, 'if anyone asks, we are looking for Lost and Found. I'm deaf. You talk.' She pauses, and then adds with a grin, 'If anyone asks, make their ears hurt.'
None of the mechanics seem to pay Masao and Yi much heed as they move towards the garages. The woman at the enquiry desk is still trying to calm down a young mother with a screaming baby who's complaining loudly about the cancellation and having to wait half an hour.
Masao gives a short nod and an impish grin in response, giving a thumbs-up sign specifically at the last part.
"I'd rather go through the door. It will seem less suspicious if we're caught - we can just say we're lost.", Tu replies to the Gnawer. "Though that could be a good back-up."
Yi wanders back out from between the busses, newmoon in tow. As she makes her way, she glances in note of positions the mechanics she can see, also occassionally looking for mounted cameras.
"Sure." Basil seems just fine with the plan, his shoulders rolling as he casually wanders along towards the door. He doesn't immediately go in, though he snags a forgotten newspaper. Flipping through the funny papers, the Garou inches towards the door.
You paged Nivek and Masao with 'Like we're making rounds, but not. Do the mechanics look like they've got anything particularly wrong with them? Also, any nearby rooms? Like say a break room or mechanic's lounge, or a storage room of some kind.'.
As he nears the door, Basil notes that it's controlled by a swipe-card access system. Meantime, by the garages, a man in oily overalls looks up and calls to Yi and Masao. "Can I help you ladies?" he asks, not impolitely.
Tu heads for the door with Basil. When the near it, he'll pull a card out of his pocket and swipe it through the machine.
Masao blinks a bit and switches mental gears at the question. Putting on a sheepish expression and looking bashful, she calls back in a voice that's resplendent with both Jackal-squeak and a hick-style rural accent. "Um. Maybes y'all can? Me'n my bud here was lookin' for y'all's Lost an' Found?" She points at various directions and adds to her first volley, "Is we goin' tha right way? Is it this way? That way?"
As Tu slides his swipe card the door clicks open. The mechanic regards Masao with a slight air of surprise at her voice. "Uh, you want that building there," he replies, pointing at the place inside which Tu and Basil now are. "Ask at the desk."
Basil slips in right behind Tu, lowering the paper as soon as he does so. Without a word he starts to fold it quietly, looking around the new area they find themselves in.
Yi meanwhile, plays Silent Bob's role. She scratches her covered arm slightly, still looking around like a lost soul. Canting her head, she indicates to Masao, 'Urgent restroom trick?'
"Okay, thanks, then!" Masao calls back, turning her attention to Yi and making a show of pretending to whisper to her and get distracted. Looking back to the mechanic, she looks abruptly apologetic and bounces slightly in place. "Y'all got a place back there a gal can borrow for a few? Don't know this place well and I gotta go really bad."
Tu takes a moment to devise a strategy with Basil, before the climb to the next door. "How do you want to proceed?"
The mechanic clicks a tongue. "Shouldn't really, but there's a restroom just yonder." He indicates inside the garage where an area of the interior has been partitioned by concrete blocks into a rest area, primitive kitchen and washrooms.
Basil holds up a hand at Tu. "I came prepared for this sorta thing." Digging through one of his jacket pockets, the Gnawer removes a dental mirror tool. "Super markets have all kinds of stuff these days, huh?" He remarks quietly, creeping up the stairs on all fours to take a peek under the door with the tiny mirror.
Yi nods a couple times in thanks to the mechanic, and starts off towards the pointed out area. Her pace is just a bit more hurried, given the supposed urgency of nature's call in Masao.
Basil stands up and tries the door almost as soon as he looks under it, opening it a little to take a peek before quickly and quietly making his way inside and gesturing Tu to follow.
Masao offers the mechanic a warm, grateful smile and does the world-famous pee-pee dance towards the directed locale. "Thank you, thank you, -thank you-. Got long enough to wait today without needin' to change ma drawers. An' see, my bud's gonna get there ahead of me!" That said, she moves a bit faster after Yi with a determined expression.
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