WAR: IS THERE A ROMAN CIRCUS? Toronto, Cousin HQ MONDAY (DATE), EARLY EVENING (after CLOWNING AROUND) by ANCIENT1 (a Cousin) "Could you believe that chariot race?" said LtScruffy. She held her hands straight out to either side. "This big! I've never seen anything like it." The movie over, the Cousins headed down the street to their HQ, talking enthusiastically about having seen "Ben Hur" on the wide screen. They walked up the steps to the HQ and LCRules started to punch in the security bypass codes. "And what about the slave galley?" noted Ancient1. "Wow! And all that armor . . . ." "You've always been a suckers for a man in uniform." LCRules hesitated a moment. "Hmmmn--I think we've had mice. LT, you wanna take a look at this?" LTScruffy leaned forward and peered over LCRules' shoulder. "Looks okay to me." "Trust me, someone's been trying to get through our systems. It's not messy, but it's not a clean job, either." The door clicked open and LCRules straightened, then looked at LTScruffy and Ancient1. "We have to go in sooner or later." "Better make it now," said LTScruffy. "We've only got an hour until dark and that's when the party starts." "How'd they find out about the party?" asked Ancient1, following them into the building. "I thought we'd kept that secret among the invitation only group?" "Somebody spilled the beans. We'll have to track that down." LTScruffy flicked on the lights, then stopped dead in her tracks. It was horrible. It was sacrilege. It was . . . the scariest thing she'd ever seen in her life. She couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through her body at the sight of LaCroix's bust decorated like a demented refugee from a non-Roman circus. "Clowns," she muttered under her breath. "Why did it have to be ?" "How--?" sputtered Ancient1. "Why--?" She staggered forward, struck by the enormity of the horror that had been perpetrated upon the image of their beloved general. LCRules walked over to one of the columns and pressed against a certain spot that didn't look very different than any other on the column. A small door slide back and an opening appeared. She withdrew a video tape from the recorder, ignoring the continued exclamations of shock and anger from the other two, and headed directly for a Raphael painting hanging across the room. Once there, she touched a portion of the frame and the painting slid up the wall, revealing a large screen and a video player inserted into the wall. She popped in the tape and rewound it, then watched the assault through once before calling over the others. "Uh, guys. I think we were DPed." LTScruffy and Ancient1 joined her as she rewound the tape and they watched it again, fast-forwarding through most of it. "That's Hair2Day," noted Ancient1, when the redhead came into view. "She's a Vaquera. I know her." "Well, that's definitely DKBlonde," added LTScruffy. "So it must be a combined DP and Vaq effort. You wanna guess this has something to do with Tracy being missing?" LCRules nodded. "That's a good call." A clock chimed six times and they all looked at one another, startled. LTScruffy clapped her hands together. "Ancient, you get the soap and water; Rules, you get the makeup remover and a bag to put all this stuff in. We've gotta declown LaCroix before the original article gets here and makes us his party appetizer for falling for a stunt like this!" They scattered, then regathered at the bust and set to work immediately. LCRules set to work disrobing the bust, while Ancient1 and LTScruffy started removing the makeup. They'd just tossed the wig into the bag, wiped the final streak of greasepaint from the face, when they heard the front door opening behind them. LaCroix walked into the hall, nodding his greeting. "We're ready, of course." "Of course," said LTScruffy, with only the slightest break in her voice. She and the others automatically moved closer together, side by side, to hide the statue from LaCroix's view. "The caterers will be here in fifteen minutes. The place is cleaned. Everything's ready." LaCroix paused for a moment and fixed her with a steady gaze. "Everything?" LTScruffy swallowed hard. "Uh . . . yeah." He walked past them and headed around the circumference of the room. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a white glove and placed it on his hand, taking an occasional swipe along the tops of the cases, the columns, even bending to touch the floor. When he frowned at the sight of a piece of paper and a pencil on top of a display case, Ancient1 scurried forward and removed it quickly, not daring to look at him. Finally, he nodded and returned to face them as they stood again before the statue. "Excellent." LTScruffy cleared her throat. "Thank you, sir." "Now, move aside?" The three looked at one another in a panic. "Sir?" asked LCRules. He merely waved a hand, indicating that they step aside. There was nothing else to do. They stepped aside, Ancient1 hurriedly kicking the bag of clown refuse back behind her as she moved. He stepped up to the statue, glow still in place, and ran his finger from the eye down one cheek. LaCroix stared at it, then looked directly at LTScruffy and raised the glove for her inspection. There was a faint smear of a white less than white against the glove and a pink streak that had come from the red cheeks with which the statue had been pasted. He didn't say anything, just stared at them each in turn. LCRules swallowed aloud. "We were attacked by the Dark Perks." "I see you fended them off admirably," LaCroix noted, taking the glove from his hand. LTScruffy stepped forward. "We weren't here." When he looked over at her, she stood her ground. "We finished early. They were showing the restored widescreen version of "Ben Hur" around the corner and we decided to go." "A diversion," noted LaCroix, with a grim smile. He walked back to the statue, then motioned Ancient1 aside and peered into the bag. Reaching in, he picked up the rainbow colored wig and examined it as if it were a strange animal. "Watch out for the smiley face button," warned Ancient1. When LaCroix glanced over at her, she gestured toward the damp spot on her blouse. "It bites." "So I see." Nodding, LaCroix dropped the wig back into the bag. Hands behind his back, he walked away from them. "I think you should all get prepared for the party, now." "You mean, we're off the hook?" asked LCRules. When he turned, the look in his eyes set her straight on that. "I think you should take care of this situation on your own. Make certain that it never happens again. Is that understood?" Each of them nodded and said, "Yes," aloud. "I'll expect results." Then LaCroix left them, heading through the hall and to a doorway on the far side of the room. A sigh of relief was all the Cousins could manage--they knew they'd gotten off lightly. "What now?" asked Ancient1, picking up the bag of clown materials. "We get dressed for the party, like the General ordered," said LTScruffy. She headed toward another door, then turned and smiled. "And we plan our revenge--just like the General ordered." Ancient1 Ancient1@romanvilla.com %%%%%%% In some ways, a reaction post is just as important as an attack post. There are a number of ways to respond to an attack--acknowledge the attack as successful or show how the attack was unsuccessful. At various times, all of the reaction options are valid. In fact, sometimes an attack post will INCLUDE a reaction, with the permission of the 'victim' or the 'victim' affiliation. Remember when you plan to respond to an attack not to dismiss an attack out of hand. Weigh your actions. Think of the how different responses will affect the overall story line. What makes the most sense? What's the most imaginative option you can come up with? What makes the best story? Did you notice that the Cousins never mentioned the video tape to the DPs before the attack? They didn't have to. It didn't affect how the DPs got in or that they could get in--what it did was give the Cousins an easy explanation as to who was responsible. Sometimes, you can keep secrets. Or come up with something after the fact that you could have chosen NOT to tell your attackers which will make life easier for you . . . and harder for them. Another important point--notice how the Cousins assume that someone spilled the beans about the party and how that's a point to be investigated in a later post. In real time and in the story, the DP attack force didn't attack because of the party, the timing just worked out that way. But the Cousins can use this as an opening to further the story. At the party, any other affiliations are going to be watched very closely. Questions may be asked. Someone might even authorize and undertake an investigation. Anything can be used to make story. Anything. susang@vitinc.com -- http://www.vitinc.com/~susang EVER Faithful Ravenette. "Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies."