S110_The_Plots_Simmer

S110_ Recap: Thursday January 17, 2019 The test results from McQuark's examination show that Elinor and Amy are fine. Hank has been taking the dietary supplement for the longest time will require medical treatment. Doctor McQuark thinks it was caught early enough that fatal dependence can be averted. The search for Doctor Megalo is successful! Big Tuna finds him operating out of a basement in a condemned apartment building. The building should be abandoned but serving as a home for several squatters and homeless people. Rev. disguises as a homeless person and goes in to check out the lay of the land. He finds Meglo operating in a un-sterile meat-ball doctor office lit by a gas powered generator stitching up local gang member who was stabbed and did not want to go to a legitimate hospital. It does not seem to Tuna or Revenant that Meglo is building cyber-ninjas. For now they leave him alone. Network is to have a meeting with Katherine Angel (talent rep, PR agent, and Justine Angel-Dark-s mother) at 2PM Resume: Thursday January 17, 2019 11:00PM Impact: Frank is looking into an exit strategy for getting. He is learning Bureaucratics to be able to preform his job in Meridian Cross Holdings. Vickie has made herself available to help him navigate the maze of intricacies that comprises the clientele of Meridian Cross Holdings. Frank thanks Vickie for her help and tells her she it a good person. Vickie threatens to slit his throat and shove him down an elevator shaft if he calls her that again! (She was kidding...right?) Beverley invites Frank to join her for a private lunch in the executive dining room. When Frank arrives the chef prepares their meals he excuses himself leaving them alone. Beverley begins their conversation with the visit the ILLPART made to Frank's office yesterday. It starts off as awkward but she assures Frank that Meridian Cross isn't (directly) involved in the criminal activities of any of their clients. She admits that it is possible that we launder the clients illicit income while doing the work for their legitimate enterprises. Beverley states that they don't ask about their customer's illegal operations and their clients don't tell. As long as Meridian has 'plausible deniability' all is well...it is very much like confidentiality between a lawyer and his client. As long as the client does not admit to criminal activities the lawyer must treat them as if they were not guilty in order to provide the best defense possible. She also admits that Meridian did help create the 'shell-game' that masks, or at least masked, the fact that 'The Farm' is owned by the Marcelli family. However using a shell company structure is not illegal as long as all the taxes and fees are properly accounted for. Frank admits that he did promise Rebound (his old CO in ILPART) that he would find incriminating evidence against Meridian and Beverly in the off-world human trafficking ring being done at 'The Farm'. He also agreed to turn state's evidence her when he found it. Beverly offers to give Frank full access to their ledger accounts to prove they are not involved in any (directly) criminal activities. She says that there is a vault in the basement of the building that has an isolated server and hard copies of their clients questionable activities. The paper trail there might be useful to help build a circumstantial case against their clients but nothing more insidious than that. The vault contains confidential information for many of Meridian's special clients which includes the five major crime families in Chicago. Frank asks her why she wanted him to join the family business, what is she afraid of? After a long cleansing breath Beverly tells Frank that Guiseppe Marcelli, the patriarch of the Marcelli family, and reputed Don of the organization, believes a leak at Meridian is what caused Clayton Reid to find 'The Farm'. He no longer trusts Meridian to look after “the family's” business. She is afraid that Guiseppe wants to plug the suspected leak by eliminating her and doing a burnt earth operation on Meridian. As an act of Good Faith Beverly gave Guiseppe's youngest daughter a job with Meridian Cross so she could protect the interests of the family's business. Vickie, Frank's assistant and mentor within the company, is Guiseppe's daughter! Beverly assigned Vickie to Frank so that he would slow her prying into the company and keep Frank close enough that if things go sideways he can protect her life. Beverly also needs to make sure that Vickie does not get into the confidential files of the other 'special' clients. Beverly is dancing in a very dangerous mine field that could blow up at any moment in a variety of ways!. Network: Benjamin Ray, Network's little brother Ben, calls big brother Xavier (Network) for help. He is studying to be a doctor and was part of a very prestigious research program at ESU. Before the Christmas break everything was going wonderfully, much better in fact than Benjamin had any right to hope for. Then things hit the skids. After Christmas break the head of the project, Doctor Curtis Connors, did not return to the University. The University president, Linda Wells reached out to his wife Martha and she had not seen him since the start of Christmas break either. Martha Connors was seen hanging posters looking for Spider-Man not her husband. Things have been getting more tenuous. Doctor Dwyer, the Provost of the university, said that unless Doctor Connors is found soon ESU will loose the grant funding the research and the project will be canceled. Being part of this project would look very good on Benjamin's record but if the project failed or was canceled being part of it would become a stigma instead. Xavier, aka Network, assures Ben he will look into Doctor Connors' disappearance. Xavier grabs one of the posters that Mrs. Connors hung and heads to the Connors' residence. A teenage boy answers the door and lets Network in. The boy calls for his mom saying a superhero is here to see her. She rushes to the door and is disappointed to find that it is Network of the Brooklyn Brigade. She was hoping for Spider-Man. Network offers to help find Doctor Connors but Martha is reluctant to accept his help and offers little in explanation. She eventually tells him that Curt has a condition that causes him to suffered a form of amnesia from time to time. Spider-Man has always been able to find him, restore his memory, and bring him home. She tells Network that Curt is most likely wandering among the homeless community, sticking to the shadows, and dwelling underground. It is January in New York and very cold. Curt hates the cold and the sewers are much warmer than the street. As Network is leaving he is intercepted by the teenage boy. He identifies himself as Billy Connors, Doctor Connors' son. He tells Network that his mom didn't tell him the whole truth. He says that is dad is like a werewolf. He does not know the details but he knows that Spider-Man is his dad's friend and he has the antidote that makes his dad himself again. From what he has been told Spider-Man loads the antidote in his web-shooters and fires it into his dad's mouth. He does not know what triggers his dad's transformation into his alter ego, nor does he know the details of what it changes him into. He suspects that his dad created the antidote and gave Spider-Man a supply of it since Spider-Man is not a scientist. With the information gained from the Connors family and remembering the fight with the Cold Blooded League last January 7, and that the Lizard was wearing a lab coat, a signature look for Doctor Connors, Network and Impact realize that the Lizard must be the transformed Doctor Curtis Connors! The Lizard and the majority of the Cold Blooded League are contained at Ryker's Island. They believe they have figured out most of the puzzle. Paladin: Paladin calls Winguric but the phone is answered by Mary Margret. When he asks to speak to her dad she tells him that he is not home. Paladin persuades her to give him Winguric's office number. When he calls his receptionist answers, 'Duey, Chetum, and Howe Litigations'. She quickly forewards the call to Winguric. Paladin asks him about The Crone who was involved in the attack on Ashton Kansas. Unfortunately he is not well versed in the matter of 'whose-who' in the current mystics circles, he is more into historic mystic figures. He tells Paladin be should speak to his lovely wife Moania. She is more social minded than he is. After Paladin explains his interest she offers what little help she can. First: The Crone's name is Madame Zhalla. Second: she is the foster daughter of one of the most dangerous witches on the planet, Baba Yaga. Third: Baba Yaga might actually be a demigoddess (or a full, but minor, goddess). As to why she would want so many people she feebly suggests that maybe she needs to create an undead army but her true fear is The Crone might be preparing an apotheosis rite. That is a ritual that will raise to godhood. The Apotheosis rite returns the stars to be in a particular alignment. The alignment happens either every 100 years or 1000 years, she does not remember. She does know the next window of opportunity is in three days, January 20, the height of the full moon. The rite must be performed in a place of power. In the continental U.S. there are three such places. In the combined continents of North and South America there a total of seven such places. World wide there are a total of twenty. In the continental U.S. the three places are: Mount Shasta California, a natural rock altar on Ayers Island in Bangor Maine, and Zombie Road in St. Louis Missouri. Paladin (cont.) Noon: Harold Leland, the Brigade's lawyer, calls. Among other things Paladin tasked him with looking into if the Federal Sponsored hero team Executive Sanction was looking into their activities. Originally he told Paladin that there were no indications that Executive Sanction had any interest in the group. His call was to amend that statement. Executive Sanction is not taking any OFFICIAL interest in the Brigade. One of Leland's contacts in Washington said that unofficially they were keeping an eye on the Brooklyn Brigade. Paladin asked 'why' and Leland actually had an answer for that. Two of the members of Executive Sanction are psychics; Foresight and The Accountant (aka Stuart White). One of the had visions implicating the Brigade in illegal activities. Vision one was of Network and Revenant breaking into Moreau Bio Industries and going through one of their class 4 biological laboratories. They discovered an incomplete formula for a some kind of pathogen. They copied all the information they could find on it and put it on the public internet. The second vision was of the Brigade breaking into the MET Cloisters museum to steal (and then destroy) the skull of Professor Roloc Bard. Bard developed an explosive called a Xylon Bomb during WWII that was as devastating as an atomic bomb but with no radiation. Once the chemical were mixed the bomb needed to be used within 24 hours before the compound became inert. His skull was the key to rediscovering the Xylon formula. The Brigade believed this untraceable, undetectable, WMD was too dangerous for anyone to have and destroyed the skull so it could not be used. The good thing in psychic visions are not evidence so no official investigation or actions could be taken. The bad thing is Major Star, the leader of Executive Sanction, believes in the powers of his team and is watching the Brooklyn Brigade in a unofficial capacity. After getting off the phone with Leland Paladin confirms the what and why of the MBI break in and the MET Cloisters event. Both were done with the intent of protecting lives even if the results were less than ideal. He calls Network and has him create a golem (computer program) to search the net and delete the information on the bio weapon (made the roll by 14) and an ongoing program to continue searching for the information and delete that on a basically permanent basis (making the roll by 9). The team notices that a lunch wagon called 'Super Subs and Service'. The truck has attracted customers from some of the working warehouses on the same street as the Brigades headquarters. Paladin asks a couple members of the team to go check it out. The truck has Illinois license plates, specifically from Chicago. Impact gets a Chicago dog and proclaims that it is good. With each meal the proprietor serves he makes small digs at the Brooklyn Brigade and talks about how they abandoned his sister. When the lunch crowd breaks up he has the lunch wagon guy brought to the door of the bunker so he can chat with him. He is Randy Ivy, Pearl Ivy's brother. He came from their hometown of Chicago to find out what happened to her. With Cassandra Clemons being MIA and Prometheus Medical not giving him any answers he decided to 'shake the tree' of information at the Brigade. Paladin tells him that they are working on trying to find Pearl. He and Randy exchange phone numbers and promises to keep him up to date. Frank gives Randy his number at Meridian Cross Holdings. As they part Randy tells Paladin that until he knows more he is going to keep his truck parked 'right there'. Randy is actually breaking the law. He does not have a business license to operate outside the Chicago area. Paladin realizes this but does not bother contacting the authorities to get rid of the nuisance. Paladin turns his attention back to the subject of The Crone and the Rite of Apotheosis. He calls Sophitia Alexandria, one of the owners of 'Not Just Cakes' in San Francisco California. He asks if she would keep an eye on Mount Shasta California. If anything weird happens he wants her to call him immediately. She consults with her finance, Damion Von Doom, and agree to do it. His next call is to the Inferior Five. He talks to Dumb Bunny for bit until she can get Merryman on the phone. Paladin wants to hire them to watch Ayers Island in Bangor Maine, and Zombie Road in St. Louis Missouri. One team of three at one, a team of two at the other. As luck would have it Merryman says that they can squeeze a few day assignment between their current very busy workload. He does ask if Paladin can forward them plane fare and an advance for incidental expenses. Paladin agrees (with a sigh) and makes the arrangements. The I.F. get the same instructions that he gave Sophitia and Damion, watch and report. 2PM Network and Katharine Angel Network hires Media Blitz Relations to improve his public image. She quotes him the price of $160K for a full media blitz campaign! They will not do anything without his okay. Katharine gives Network their 'standard' client contract so he can have his lawyers go over it before signing on the dotted line. Network get the number for Prestige Legal from Paladin and drops off the contract with Harold Leland. Big Tuna Resumes looking into Pearl Ivy's disappearance. She was sent off the grid to do work for Prometheus Medical on Widow Field island. It is a poor remote independent island. It is a United Nations protectorate and just inside the confines of the Bermuda Triangle. It has a dirt airstrip that can handle propeller aircraft. The air traffic tower is only manned when a plane is spotted in the air. The island is out of contact with the rest of the world except for a handful of ham operators. The team decides that they will check out Widow Field by paying it a visit. The intend to use the air raft. Instead of taking the 3 hours to fly there directly if they exit the atmosphere (almost 8 minutes) and come back down (another 8 minutes) the flight time drops to a mere 17 minutes total (including the 8 up and 8 back down). With the plan in hand they pull out their Vacc suits and prepare to depart!