My luck

[Ron Caliburn]

Well it looks like my luck has held again. Another Friday the 13th and another trip to the hospital. I’m starting to wonder why I even go out on the 13th anymore.

I haven’t patrolled very much since the summer, mostly because work’s been too busy. Back before my counter help had up and left we were doing a lot of business in the store and in my workshop. Having someone out front while I worked in the back gave me the time to deal with bigger orders and it helped that the girl working the counter had a smile that probably generated more repeat customers than my products.

With her gone I’d been pulling long hours to meet the targets for my orders and also work the counter myself. I’d tried looking for new staff, but some of the folks I interviewed were way too eager to work in a gun store and most of the rest didn’t know enough about guns to talk sensibly to the customers. A few of the scarier individuals were both. I know who I’d like working in my store, but they are unavailable and nobody with similar qualities showed up.

So I was actually looking forward to getting out into the Blight Friday night and doing what it is that makes me feel like I am actually helping this world.

It didn’t take things too long to go downhill. I’d made arrangements to meet with Becky so that we could take a walk around and look for trouble. She didn’t show up. After waiting a while, numerous texts and voice mails, I went looking for her.

I found her in her apartment. The other girls tried to stop me from going in, but I made sure they understood I wasn’t there to hurt anyone who didn’t get in my way. I also paid for the damages to the door and suggested where they could get a much stronger one for cheap.

Becky was curled up in the corner of her room with the lights off. One look at her told me everything I wanted to know. Like most of the girls on the streets Becky had been fighting a losing battle with the lifestyle. I’d known about her use for years and not wanting to hold my mistakes against her I’d let it slide as long as she was completely sober when she came to look for monsters with me.

As I left I tossed a roll of cash onto the table and told the other girls that this is what Becky would have earned from me tonight if she’d been able to do her job and that she wouldn’t have had to spread her legs for it either. If they did care for their roommate they should try to get her to change her lifestyle and her career.

I immediately went looking for Ivan, Becky’s pimp. At Becky’s request I’d kept away from him, but tonight I was in a foul mood and since Becky hadn’t kept her promise to me, it was a fair trade.

It turns out that Ivan is a pretty clumsy fellow. During our talk he managed to walk into a few doors and fall down several flights of stairs. Finally, after he had tripped face first onto a curb he agreed that D.C. was a very dangerous place with all these doors, stairs and curbs. He decided that for his health he should move someplace without any doors, stairs or curbs and set about packing his bags immediately.

Feeling a bit better about having helped Ivan make such a monumental change in his life, I proceeded to start scouting the Blight for signs of trouble. It didn’t take me too long to find them.

It was about a quarter to twelve when I spotted an unmistakable form duck into an alley across the street. He’s been harrying my family and friends for years now and been a general menace to life for centuries. He’d killed one of the few people in this world I’d really loved and I finally had a chance for some payback.

Khavik.

Not wanting to let him get out of sight I immediately crossed the road, only to find myself tossed over the hood of a car that was using the Blight as a shortcut through town.

My armour took most of the impact, but still I’m going to be purple and brown for a couple of weeks. Khavik got away to boot.

I hate Friday the 13th.

[Cybermancer]

Khavik?

It seems rather odd to just randomly bump into him the way you did. While I am no expert on this particular fiend, I think that he seems the type not to be seen unless he wants to be.

And if he was setting you up to be hit by that car, why didn't he finish the job?

Curious.

[PeterSchnauss]

Khavik?

It seems rather odd to just randomly bump into him the way you did. While I am no expert on this particular fiend, I think that he seems the type not to be seen unless he wants to be.

And if he was setting you up to be hit by that car, why didn't he finish the job?

Curious.

It all couldn't have been coincidence...something evil's stirring.

That original thread read like a combination of Dirty Harry and The Dark Knight.

Ron Caliburn's one bad hombre I'd never want to piss off.

Hugs not Drugs baby!!

[Gotham Witch]

Ow.

Hope nothing's broken.

[Tms3]

Ron be more Careful.... come to think about it... I think in my order we may have a few fosters that and apprentices that are just about ready to leave there masters and go out on there own into the world. on of which might be able to help out in your shop.. not much going for him in the way of mage and psi talents but. both his father, and mentor are expedience hunters and both of them where honorable discharged Marines. So knowing them the kid does have experience and knowledge of fire arms. and he does have a healthy respect for fire arms.

[Hannah]

Bad Friday the 13ths must run in the family. Yesterday I got up after only a couple hours sleep, cussed out a good friend over the internet and finally, on my run home from Mel's place, while I was vaulting a rail I thought I saw Dad for a moment.

It wasn't him, but the distraction was enough for me to do a faceplant onto the concrete. I mean real face plant. I got road rash down the right side of my face and my nose is broke. The doc says it should heal straight and gave me some creme that would prevent any scarring for my face.

Hannah.

PS: And to top it off I had another horrible sleep afterwards. All sorts of nightmares.

[Dr. Viktor Thanatos]

Hi again. Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck Hannah. I used to do gymnastics and I know how bad a face plant can be. I hope that nothing is broken.

But it seems you aren't the only ones with bad luck in the family. Last Friday uncle Viktor had complications at the hospital and he almsot flatlined. When I got the call I rushed over there ASAP, but on the way a damn crow flew right into my windshield. I swerved and drove right off the road and stopped about three feet from a pipe sticking up out of the ground after I threw the emergency brake.

The first officer on the scene said I was lucky because that pipe I almost drove into was a gas transfer pipe for the trailer park down the road.

Anyway, I banged my head, bruised my ribs, scraped up my knees, and I was able to get an ambulance ride to the hospital. At least I was able to see uncle Viktor. I found out later that he flatlined at the same moment I went off the road. They managed to revive him just afterwards.

In a word......FRAKKING CREEPY!

[Ron Caliburn]

Don't you hate it when you find out a bad day was actually even worse about 2 weeks later?

Apparently one of my email accounts glitched that day and marked all the messages from one of my contacts in the police as spam. He wanted to let me know about a case that the homicide department was working on about a girl who died at a costume party on the solstice.

The wounds on her body match certain human sacrificial traditions, so they think it was some sort of ritual suicide.

Yeah, I said suicide.

The wounds were self-inflicted.

[Gotham Witch]

...well damn. That isn't good.

[Grace]

Your gift for understatement is something to behold, Mel.

[Cybermancer]

I wonder if it's just coincidence? Two ritual suicide scenerios unfolding the same night in different parts of the nation?

[Gotham Witch]

Much like how USB jacks have a 50/50 chance of being inserted correctly but seem to be inserted wrong 90% of the time, how often are these things coincidences?

I do wish I could be more optimistic on the matter, but that still leaves an unexplained ritual that may or may not ever be solved.