You Can't Script This

In the hot confines of the freezer, Kreshnik begins to panic. Smoke is starting to leak in and the temperature is rising. A second explosion can be heard outside, and shrapnel peppers the door. A moment later a third explosion shakes the door. Knowing that there should be no more compressed air tanks, Kreshnik tries to open the door to make a run for outside, but the extreme heat forces him back in.

As the moment tick away and the group begin to resign themselves to their deaths they hear other shouting. What they first assume to be more victims of the fire they quickly realize is in fact a volunteer fire department. They feel the heat of the door recede, and burst out, choking on the smoke and chemical fumes. The fire brigade is shocked at the survivors, but after questioning their involvement in the fire (and realizing that they likely won’t get any useful answers), they leave to ensure that the fire hasn’t spread too far to the whore house and drug lab that are next door.

Taking a step forward to head outside, Jonas stumbles and collapses in a heap. Rolling him over, the group is shocked by his pale pallor and high fever. Scanning around for anything to help with, Firene rips open a small cabinet that has survived the fire relatively unscarred. Inside is a plastic packing box full of medical supplies – syringes, sutures, painkillers, stimulant patches and other things. Most of the contents are higher tech but some of it is of the lower-tech that the group is more familiar with. Unfortunately, nothing seems suitable for dealing with Jonas until they can figure out more of what’s wrong with him. They pull him outside into the (relatively) fresher air and contemplate what to do.

In the end, Kreshnik has Viktor talk to the people in the building to see if they know anything about the late Doctor Leon Drake, and then inform Myles’ employer of his fate. Unfortunately, Drake kept to himself and the other tenants of the building didn’t pry too deeply into his doings. After delivering the news to Myles’ employer and asking to be informed if anybody else goes missing Viktor heads back home to Longpond to make some inquiries with some of his friends as to the history of a certain Fulgurator by the name of Josiah Hall. With nothing else to do, he heads home (a small skin in the mass of boats that makes up Long Pond) and goes to bed.

Firene and Josiah take Jonas back to Kreshnik’s shack/church to care for him – which is to say that Firene mops his brow and tries to keep his fever down. Josiah takes more stimulants (he’s been awake for over 30 hours now) and positions himself, gun drawn, so that he’s got a clear shot at anybody entering from the front door.

Kreshnik takes it upon himself to inform Brooke of her husband’s demise. He does so in a cold manner, offering little comfort to the distraught woman. When she asks for him to kill the people responsible he agrees, and then leaves her to inform her children.

Kreshnik then heads to Long Pond himself to speak to some old acquaintances in the 3^rd Syndicate. It takes some time, but an old friend by the name of Lorentz is quite sure he can find a buyer for Kreshnik’s misappropriated medical supplies.

Rather than heading back home at the late hour, Kreshnik finds a relatively secluded corner in an alley and sleeps.

Back at Kreshnik’s place, Josiah is running purely on stimulants. His body is awake but his mind is fogged over by the chemicals in his system. The door opens up and a man walks in. Josiah levels the gun at him and tells him to freeze. The man stops, and demands to know who Josiah is. In the ensuing argument, neither giving their identities, Josiah tries to shoot the floor, close to the intruder’s foot, to scare him. The drugs affecting his aim, he misses and hits the man’s foot. Moments later, the epitome of excellent timing, Kreshnik walks in to see Josiah holding a gun at his friend Lorentz, who is now bleeding quite profusely.

The situation deteriorates quickly, with Kreshnik shooting Josiah as a punishment for his transgression. Much of the stolen medical supplies goes to immediate use staunching the flow of blood from Josiah’s leg and Lorentz’s foot. With Josiah taken care of thanks to a near overdose of painkillers, Lorentz and Kreshnik sit down and discuss business. Kreshnik has found a buyer. Willy “The Fish” tends to move much larger amounts of contraband medical supplies than what Kreshnik has, but he’s willing to meet with the Priest and his companions at the Underground market. Lorentz leaves just as Viktor arrives and Kreshnik, Firene, and Viktor leave for the Underground Market, leaving the comatose Jonas guarded by the now nearly delirious Josiah.

Viktor is unsurprisingly okay with this.

In the Market, the group has some difficulty making contact with The Fish’s associate, Selma, but is eventually taken to meet the notorious man himself. Being one of the largest dealer in medical supplies in the city (and possibly the largest independent dealer), Willy enjoys reveling in his opulence, and his “office” in the Market shows that. Even Firene, used to as she is to a life of privilege, is taken aback for a moment by the decoration of his office – even if his ex-military guards tend to detract from the ambiance.

Over the next while small talk and verbal fencing gradually leads to the topic of the medical supplies. There has been a noticeable increase in the sale of such supplies over the last several months, hence Willy’s willingness to (re)purchase such a small amount. When questioned about the source of the market upswing, Willy admits that he doesn’t actually know the cause, though he can put Kreshnik in touch with somebody who might – for a price.

The price is twofold. First, when Kreshnik finds out why medical supplies are on an upswing, he will inform Willy. Second, Kreshnik and his group needs to perform a small service for The Fish. A woman, Nelle, has decided to go into business for herself, directly competing against The Fish. Suffice it to say, she’s been more than an annoyance, and Willy wants her taught a lesson. Nothing permanent, she’s having a shipment of medical supplies due to be sent to the Folly Hills Hospital intercepted by some of her men. Willy wants the supplies.

It takes very little discussion. They agree.