[6/7] Something Awesome [1.3 - Redwatch] [Slot Open - Accepting Entries]

Otto clutches the hat defensively; this nurse feller's got a fight on his hands if he thinks he's getting it back. "It suits me," he protests, immediately upon Oren making eyes at it.

As soon as that line of inquiry's settled, he gets serious again. "The Chem Lab? I haven't been near it since the incident. Bastards don't let me, but won't even say to my face that they don't trust me to start messing with things. Keep coming up with excuses like "background radiation" and "delicate instruments" and "crucial evidence" and "untold cosmic horrors". I started importing my food and bottled water from out of state for a bit, thinking they were tracking my movements over there with things in my food - on which note, if you ever need a truckful of bottled water, I know a guy with good prices - but it turned out they were just watching me on the security cameras."

Otto takes a swig of JD and Coke. "So yeah. If you want to get into the Chemistry lab unnoticed and, ergo, with decent job prospects after your nosing about, we're going to have to break some security cameras. Maybe start a fire elsewhere on campus as a distraction, too, or get Mr. Pendragon into a truly unmissable fistfight."

He grins. "Fortunately, I know a guy who could help us with all those things. Or several guys, one for each of the things. Can I have another?" Otto asks, already reaching over to grab another can of cola.

Melinda's book searching proves futile.

"Go for it," calls Oren from the back room. "Imma need that hat back someday, though."

He shreds the gauze into foot-long strips and arranges 8 or 9 in a clumsy circle. The tngri usually like a bit of artistry in their Wardings, but they'll understand if it's a clumsy white fella minus one digit petitioning them.

I call upon you, the 55 tngiri. The 77 natigai. The ĵigari. The abĵiya. Hear me and smile on me, Sagaan Ubgen. Hear me and protect me, Burkhan Garbal. My plaintive voice carries to you; my life and dole I suspend in the weave and the thread. Keep close my wellness, and the wellness of my friends. Help me smooth the tangles of wickedness where I shall find them.

He exhales deeply and splays his fingers across the wards.

In Oren's experience, things a bunch of folks place a bunch of importance in, well, there's usually a reason for it. He feels a tingly warmth in his forearms and a meaningful peace.

He stands up, and wraps the strips of gauze around his arm. "This mean you're in, Otto? Because if that fire were to go conveniently up and them cameras were to go conveniently down, say, round 7 pm tonight, me and you and Donovan, maybe, could get down to the bottom of this. Boy's gonna try and break in there eventually, way things are going. We might as well make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

It's not necessary to sneak in at night - as long as nobody's looking, you should be able to get into the laboratory wing easily.

"I can't find it," Melinda calls out to Donovan. "You having any luck?"

"Not yet, but I haven't covered much yet." Donovan scours the left section of the library for the book.

"Hey, I appreciate a good heist setup as much as the next guy, but no way I'm going into the Chem Labs at night. Place gives me the heebie-jeebies, and I don't remember what happened this one time but I think there were ghosts involved."

Otto glares over his moustache and under the hat (which is under Frog 2), just in case Oren isn't taking him seriously enough. Ksssht, goes his second can of Oren's Coke. "Ghosts."

"Anyway, I can call up Miss Minamoto in the AV Club, and she can broadcast us up some suitably anarchy-inducing official-sounding warnings to get the post-lunch classes all screaming around in the hallways. We won't even need a real fire!"

Otto looks prepared to say something else, but holds that thought and vaults over Oren's desk. He grabs another wayward frog in the hallway and brings it in for some cream treatment.

"You looking for the book too?"

Lawrence is already at the librarian's desk - searching the library's database via her computer since she's not around.

"Should be... there."

He goes to see if the book is where it's supposed to be.

"Arright, I'll just-whoa don't break anything- I'll just head back down to the library real quick, let Donovan know," says Oren. "He was with this, uh, this hair girl. Guess she can come too. Looks like he trusts her."

Oren grabs his big ol field kit and dumps a hefty amount of filgrastim and potassium iodide. Because Mongolian guardian spirits are certainly worth asking for help, but if you're dealing with radiation, some good old fashioned meds'll work better.

"We'll reconvene in, uh, in the office I spose," he calls. "Around 2? Gotta grab my gun anyway. Just in case ghosts ain't leadproof."

He heads to the library, and sees Larry, Donovan, and Donovan's green-haired friend leafing through the shelves. He approaches Donovan and clears his throat. "Books is all well and good for the broad concept, boy, but I was actually planning a little field trip to get more hands-on." He lowers his voice. "Ain't no way to find out more in any official capacity. I been talking to Otto Hoffman about this and he thinks he can help. We gotta get into that old chem lab."

The book is nowhere to be found. A quick database crawl reveals the unfortunate truth.

Someone checked it out already.

Donovan lets Lawrence look for the book, shouting a quick 'not here' to Melinda and turning his attention to Oren. "Mr. Ashford." He lets him talk, a smile slowly growing on his face. "That's awesome. Maybe we'll find something out. When are you planning on us going?"

While Melinda is hunting for the book, she spots a title that catches her eye and immediately tugs it off the shelf to thumb through it. Clearly her "blind search" strategy isn't working; someone else can track the book down and call her over when something interesting happens.

Otto salutes with a half-emptied can, waits until Oren leaves, then puts Frog 3 on his head, the hat over the frog, Frog 2 on the hat, and double-checks that Frog 1 is still comfortable on his cleaning supplies cart.

He then gets back to riffling for notable incidents or procedures the school nurse might not have got himself clued up on due to his shoddy filing system. At some point, he gives the treasurer of the AV club, senior Asumi, a call as well to check the logistics of shutting down cameras and causing ruckuses (using Oren's office phone, natch).

"We're going when all hell breaks loose, which should be any time now," says Oren. "If you think Lar- I mean, Mr. Beedle and that girl you were sitting with are trustworthy, you bring them to my office, hear? I'm going back there now to get some, uh, supplies. Also to make sure Otto ain't messing up the tuning on my banjo."

Lawrence walks up.

"Looks like someone's already taken the book. I have, well, one other idea and - oh, Mr. Ashford, good to see you again."

At some point, he gives the treasurer of the AV club, senior Asumi, a call as well to check the logistics of shutting down cameras and causing ruckuses (using Oren's office phone, natch).

You call the senior in question.

"Anything I can do for you?"

SpoilerShow

Damn you guys are fast

Arthur tilts his head back and gives a jolly laugh, he's always liked the mayor, the only person who really respected his authority here. "Verily! But I have a suspicion something much more darker is behind it all."

"I am not asking about the rumors, I am asking about what you should already know, I have a theory you see, the timing, the setting, the commoners, by god's trousers, it all lines up, they have be connected! You surely know more than anyone else in your fair town, so I ask of you, can you glean some light on the chemical cult incident that happened last year? There should be no harm of telling me, of all people, should there?"

Thanks to Arthur's obliviousness, he fails to realize just how exactly his last sentence can be interpreted from the from the mouth of a madman. To be fair however, it is probably more convincing to his argument than the alternative.

Out of the corner of her eye, Melinda notices everyone's gathered together and is talking about something or other without her. Probably something important to the mission! She snaps the book shut and heads over. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Book's not here, someone took it already. I have another idea but... Mr. Ashford, could I talk with you in private for a second?"

"See, I knew that'd be too easy." Melinda elbows Donovan playfully in the side.

"Hmm? Arright, Lar- Mr. Beedle. Hold on a second, kids." Oren goes with Lawrence to a place they can speak privately.

"Hey Oren."

Lawrence double checks to make sure the two students didn't try to follow them.

"If we're going to do this, really do this, the only lead I can think of is the old science wing, the chemistry lab in particular. As a science faculty member I have the keys to most of the doors there in case of emergency, so getting there won't be a problem. That being said, I don't know if it would look suspicious if we're checking it out or if we should get students involved.

What do you think?"

"Asumi? Hey. Remember those cables you wanted? Dongles? Ok, I've got nothing. I was wondering if you'd finished your latest audio-visual side project, because I need a distraction in a couple of hours. Don't worry, I've got a crew together to assemble things on such short notice. Are you game?

Also, remind me who's got control over the cameras out by, saaaay, the old Chem labs. I've got a project that needs to go unnoticed, and you're my inside lady for this kind of business."

Donovan shrugs. "Well one tends to get their hopes up when the book is supposedly in the library." He watches the two teachers muttering to one another. He hopes they're not going to stop what was planned.

"I think I'm gonna trust you," whispers Oren, "enough to let you know that's already the plan. There's gonna be some kind of big scary alert message coming through any time now, and when it does, we're meeting in the Nurse's office. Janitor's in on it too."