stalking the stalker

[duamerthrax]

all right, i'm not good at telling stories, but i'll do what i can to tell this one.

bert and logos came over to help me find susan. they stayed at our place, well, logos did, (in a separate room, koralth) bert kind of just wanted his space. i don't blame him, since this dude was as obsessed with bert as he was with susan. we met back up the next day and started searching the cemetary for the freak. of course, it wasn't that easy.

by the time we got there, he was gone. i don't kn0ow when he left, but i know it was probably because he thought this was the first place we'd look for him. the caretakers shack in the cemetary was torched. there were signs of explosions all over the place, i'm surprised the place was even still standing. the stuff i remember there was all destroyed.

we spent all day looking around and by night, we still hadn't foun d a thing. logos convinced me that it would probably be better to start again tomorrow when we were fresh. i didn't want to leave, but i knew she was worried about how i've been acting lately, so i just agreed with her. we were going to drop bert off at his hotel when whiskey started acting odd. like barking a lot kind of odd, which she hadn't been doing before. there were some trash cans by the side of an old building near where we parked, so i thought she was just trying to get into them. logos said she didn't do that if it was just a trash can, so we checked it out.

it was pretty dark so we didn't see what she was barking at at first but we eventually found something under some old newspaper. there was a busted up picture, broken glass all over it, and the picture looked pretty old. some old house with a woman and two kids in it. it had to be related, but we didn't know how. suddenly, we heard something behind us, whiskey got defensive, and the three of us turned around to see the last person i thought would show up.

"what the hell are you doing here, shadow?"

[Shadowstalker]

At the time I said to James. " You are kidding me, asking such a foolish question? I know where Angel is, want to go get her now?"

[Gabriel]

Of course, because as always, you are everywhere, know everything, and are capable of doing anything.

And an arrogant prick to boot.

[Shadowstalker]

Gabe if I were that capable either Angel would never have been taken in the first place, or instead of getting their help I would have been delivering her to them. It took me a fair amount of time to find her, and I couldn't deal with the situation on my own when I did find her.

SO DO US ALL A BIG FAVOR, AND GO SIT ON A VERY LARGE TACK, AND SPIN.

[A. Pendragon]

Of course, because as always, you are everywhere, know everything, and are capable of doing anything.

And an arrogant prick to boot.

Gabe, do us all a favor. Do something really evil. Really nasty. Commit suicide.

[Koralth]

Yeah, no kidding, Pendragon.

She was kinda irked about the situation, though, to be honest - All that detective work, and here he comes, almost out of nowhere, invoking what seemed at the time to be Deus Ex Machina. Tell you what, Shad, it can drive a man up a wall to do all that work and have someone come in and say "Yeah, I figured it out".... not to say that there wasn't plenty more investigatory work to be done if you hadn't have come in, that is.

Duam, you must have a deathwish. Calling Whiskey a "he"? You're just lucky Logos and I are at home, and you're at your home, that's all I got to say. I'll buy you some time - she'll have to log in on her own time to get a chance to respond...

Ouch, the evil eye. She'll be wanting on as soon as I've told my story. Rest assured, she's on her way.

[Logos]

Duam, you gotta be kidding me. "He"... Whiskey's a girl dog. In fact, when I introduced her, I told a certain someone, "We're a couple of mean bitches you don't want to mess with!"

This is insulting to you and to her, she spent all that time working with us, and you thought she was a male?

Hm, a growl in her sleep? Maybe she's dreaming that she's chasing down a guy with no respect. She don't get no respect at all. Poor little Canine Dangerfield.

It's just as Koralth said - It was... irksome, to be generous. Couldn't have been there before we had spent all that time investigating it? A joke, a joke, yeah, everyone working there knows how much work you put into the investigation yourself. Next time, though, let's work on collaborating - it usually saves a great deal of effort on all parts!

[duamerthrax]

total mistake, but it's fixed now. apologise to her for me as well, all right?

[Logos]

All is forgiven.

[A. Pendragon]

ShadowStalker -

how did you know where Angel is?

Care to help us find Cyanide?

Thanx for my save a while back.

[duamerthrax]

so by now, our rescue party was one bigger. shadow was telling us how to get to where we could find su, but we just ended up driving there. bert was a little ticked off, i could tell, and i wasn't exactly happy either. but logos said the more people we have, the better our odds, so we all crammed into my car. shadow acted as navigator, so he was shotgun, while bert was stuck with the two ladies in the back. ( see? i remembered!)

we got to the house, and yes, it was the same one that was in the picture. something nice and old, just outside of town, no neighbors, no intrusions. i still remember the first thing bert said when we got to the door.

"Don't touch anything, don't walk in until we give the all clear, and for the love of God don't touch anything."

bert and whiskey were on detection detail, trying to find every booby trap that was set, since it was obvious the house was covered in them. (at least, that's what shadow said) between the dog's nose, and bert's silly string, we managed to get through the house without setting off a thing. after i breathed a huge sigh of relief, we got downstairs to where shadow said su was being held. when we reached the door to their room, we came up with a plan that would either kill us or make us total heroes.

*knocks

"Who the hell is that?"

"Pizza Delivery!"

"I didn't order any pizza. How did you get down here!?"

"Isn't this (says address)?"

"Yeah."

"Well I have a special delivery for you."

amazingly, it worked. the guy started to open the door, then BAM! elbow to the face!

"One Supreme Pizza, Extra Pain, hold the consciousness."

(bert's apparently been taking the action hero witty retort classes)

the blow knocked the psycho right in the nose, causing him to reel back. i kicked him where i thought it would really hurt, but i missed and only got his shins, but that still got him off of his feet. logos turned him on his stomach and tied his hands behind his back, then called the cops for backup (at least, i'm pretty sure that's when she did)

the three of us ran over to su and started to untie her, but then shadow said that she was wearing a collar with a massive amount of explosives. we cut her loose as fast as possible, and bert went to work on the collar. i know i was sweating bullets the whole time, and only opened my eyes the moment he said she was loose. her whole neck looked totally messed up, but otherwise she seemed fine. we grabbed bomberman and hauled ass outside to meet the cops. that's when shadow started in on how this never would have happened if we hadn't come back to new york. the whole "I could have kept you both safe" kind of thing.

"yeah, well thanks, but no thanks. i made plans to get her to a center where she'll be just fine."

"Oh? What center?"

"one of those deus-run things. it's local."

"Oh."

"what do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. I'm sure it's a good place. I'm just not entirely certain about the organization. I still think you both would be a lot safer back in Annapolis."

"Hey, can we cut the cajones-fest and try asking me what I want for a change?" su kind of croaked, right before she dropped to her knees. we both held he up by her arms. logos started getting ticked at us both.
"The only place she should be going NOW, is the hospital. James, Shadow, get her in the car. Bert and I can stay here with our little friend."

that's pretty much it. we got su in the car and checked her into the hospital. turns out she had a fractured elbow, massive blows to her head and chest, and severe trauma to her *region*. she also needed minor surgery to repair some damaged tissue in her neck, which i'm assuming is why she wasn't talking right. she's still recovering, and thanks to everyone who sent the get well cards and gifts.

[Willie Long]

"One Supreme Pizza, Extra Pain, hold the consciousness."

I like that, yo. Think I'll use it next time I'm deliverin' it deep-dish Chicago-style.

[KonThaak]

I'm still annoyed at Shadow, too, for implying that either I couldn't protect my family or that I couldn't protect Angel when she came down here...over, and over, and over, and over again, and once more over by the fact that he refused to leave.

Sorry, Shadow, but that was rather...over-the-top on the annoying scale.

***

Hey, Willie, maybe you could dish that up with a delivery guy before he's no longer a delivery guy. =P

[A. Pendragon]

I am now curious as to how shadow knew angel was in the basement and that if he knew, why he didnt do anything until now?

[Eilonwy Solstice]

I’m just glad you got Susan to a hospital. May you continue to recover, Susan. Our hopes and prayers go to you.

[GhostSpider]

bert's apparently been taking the action hero witty retort classes

Bert practically wrote the book on that subject.

I like that, yo. Think I'll use it next time I'm deliverin' it deep-dish Chicago-style.

I am now curious as to how shadow knew angel was in the basement and that if he knew, why he didnt do anything until now?

Don't knock on shadow, guys. He might do things in his own way, and it might be annoying, but he's on our side.

[KonThaak]

I don't think that was a knock so much as it was just pure confusion...

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Bert Turtle... Action Hero....

Has a good ring to it ^_____^.

[concrete_Angel]

Actually, Shad, you never DID tell me that part. Well, not that I was all that talkative anyway, but that's not the point!

Also, just wanted to thank all four of you guys for getting my ass out of there. I can't thank you all enough for saving me. Not that psycho-boy made it easy, though.