Recap:

You woke up in Amanda’s house, covered in frozen peas. You had yourself a cup of coffee, explained that you really had to go, and let the van drive you to work. On arrival, you smoothed some things out with Devlinson and restocked yourself at Silver Pete’s. Your assignment for the day seemed easy enough (clean a nest of termites out of a domestic home) but you soon discovered that you were being tailed by an unknown man on a moped.

Arriving at the site of the infestation you found the client, a high-ranking GEC executive, waiting for you in her dining room with two cups of tea prepared…


Current Loadout:
>Thermal Goggles
>1 Bag of Bait
>Wrangling Stick
>Trank Gun
>Poison Sprayer

Boy, what a babe. Mrs. Shan’s got the body of a woman half her age (plus seven or so, just to be on the safe side). Hard to believe she’s had what? Two kids? No, looking at the framed photos in the china closet there’s at least three and the oldest is maybe ten. Crunching the numbers in your head… Three kids in ten years is one kid every three years. That seems difficult to manage alongside a high ranking GEC job like Vice Administrator of the Hong Kong branch but it seems like her husband pitches in a lot if his frequent solo appearances in the photos are any indication.

“…and you can only imagine how horrified I was when I found they had chewed right up through my bedroom closet. There were just so many of them when I went into the crawlspace, it was really horrible!”

“You went into the crawl space yourself?”

“Yes, it was awful. They left shiny little wings everywhere. The Internet says they do that when they swarm…” she shudders, clearly disgusted.

“Why didn’t your husband take care of it?”

She tilts her head and gives you an affectionately condescending look.

“Don’t be so old-fashioned! Besides, Robert is far too… He doesn’t have the temperament for dealing with creepy-crawlies, you know?”

“And you do?”

“I grew up in the dirty part of Kowloon, Mr. Esperanza. I quashed my fear of insects at a young age.”

Her expression, previously girlish, has become cold and stony.

[1/2]

[2/2]

“It’s quite alright and don’t apologize. I like a man who can hold his ground sometimes, even if it’s poorly chosen… Why haven’t you tried any of your tea yet? It’s very good, I have a man at the market compose the blend for me personally.”

“That must be expensive.”

“Oh, it is.”

She takes a long and suggestive sip from her own cup, casually leaning back to show off her ample bust. A small crucifix hangs above her bosom on a delicate gold chain. You pull your eyes away and study your own cup of tea. It has a unique aroma but your American devotion to coffee has stunted any knowledge that might help you identify what variety it is. She’s likely telling the truth about it being expensive and it would be rude not to partake but GEC has seemed less and less trustworthy to you lately. Drinking a strange beverage in a stranger’s house seems risky somehow…

>drink the tea
>pretend to drink the tea
>study her mannerisms, try and decide if she’s telling the truth.

>>43166070
Noice, sup m8?

>>43166093

Not too much, waiting on what I hope will be good news this week.

Also going to make some announcements at the end of the next thread about changes going forward into November.

>>43166091
>pretend to drink the tea
Too murican for this shit. Also my brain is trying to make her out as trying to poison us/drug us/ rape us

>>43166091
>>pretend to drink the tea
Britbongs do this right.

>>43166118
Changes with running times or just general things about exterminator quest?

>>43166091
>pretend to drink the tea

Also, those fucking notes man. Twenty thousand is pretty damn impressive.

>>43166091
>>study her mannerisms, try and decide if she’s telling the truth.
This seems not-mutually-exclusive. Awareness check?

>>43166029
I know the picture says rock, but I can't help but think of this song when looking at it.

https://youtu.be/57etGc2mHW8

>>43166091
>>study her mannerisms, try and decide if she’s telling the truth.

>>43166091
>>pretend to drink the tea

>>43166221

Broadway addicted termites is a weird thing to think about.

>>43166142
>>43166172
>>43166189
>>43166202
>>43166262
>>43166259

>Pretend to drink

You raise the delicate china to your lips and tip it back, letting it wash against your upper lip. It’s not scalding hot, thankfully and Mrs. Shan doesn’t seem to notice your subtle attempt at deception.

“Good, isn’t it?”

“Yes… very.”

“You look very tired, Mr. Esperanza. Has work been getting the better of you?”

>Yes
>A little
>No, I’m handling everything well enough.

>>43166273
>>A little
Can't complain though

>>43166273
>A little

Could be worse.

>>43166273
>>A little
Are we supposed to pretend to be in a fugue state or something?

Although technically it wasn't work that got to Vince, it was extracurriculars.

>>43166286
>>43166288
>>43166307

>A little

“It’s been getting out from under me a little bit.. But I’m still the best in the branch according to Mr. Devlinson.”

“Oh, Devlinson. That tight-fisted clown… You know he used to be very handsome before he quit field work. He used to show me the most wonderful scars…”

“Ah…”

She laughs and stands up….

“I didn’t disturb you, did I? It must be very strange to think of him being worth a second glance to someone.”

She lays her hands on your back and pushes her thumbs in behind your shoulder blades, moving them in firm little circles.

“I read your file, Vincent. You’ve got a wonderful record and your previous work experience is simply tantalizing. I’d like you to do a very special job for me, if you’re willing to spare an hour or two…”

You can feel your professionalism being pushed aside as your worst impulses surge forward…

>I think I can help you…
>No, this isn’t right.

>>43166332
>>I think I can help you…
I'm sorry Jesus

>>43166332
>I think I can help you…

>>43166363
God's dead. The Muta-Rats made sure of it.

>>43166332
>I think I can help you…
Bad things will likely happen if we refuse.

>>43166332
I feel like this can only lead into further tricking Vince into a trap or ingesting something.

What if they AREN'T our boss. What if that was a lie and her husband is?

>>43166332
>No, this isn’t right.


>>43166412
>Three kids in ten years is one kid every three years. That seems difficult to manage alongside a high ranking GEC job like Vice Administrator of the Hong Kong branch but it seems like her husband pitches in a lot if his frequent solo appearances in the photos are any indication.

>>43166441
>>43166412
>>43166395
>>43166388
>>43166363

>I think I can help you…

“Mrs. Shan… I think I might be interested in what you’re offering.”

“That’s just the response I was hoping for,” she whispers into your ear, “Now, come upstairs with me…”

She leads you out of the dining room, through the kitchen, and up the stairs to an expansive bedroom. There’s a wedding photo on the night table of Mrs. Shan and her husband and something about it seems oddly familiar. Your attention is quickly drawn away by Mrs. Shan however, who is rapidly undressing to reveal some stunning lingerie. There’s something frantic about her movements that you find both arousing and worrying…

>roll 3d6+1 for your performance!

Rolled 5, 1, 5 + 1 = 12 (3d6 + 1)

>>43166469
>Vince
>only +1

Rolled 2, 5, 3 + 1 = 11 (3d6 + 1)

>>43166469

Rolled 2, 4, 1 + 1 = 8 (3d6 + 1)

>>43166469

>>43166469
Uh, do we....

do we boost this with STR/STA?

Average, unless we boost.

>>43166515
Termites aren't labor intensive just horror intensive so Vince can boost twice to a more impressive 13 and eat a meal afterwards.

>>43166515
>>43166522
>>43166555


I thought it over and I will allow you to boost with STR/STA. This is a charisma roll but it makes sense.

>>43166490
>>43166493
>>43166504

>12,11,8

Very average.

Lets put the total amount of boost to a vote:

1 for 1 point of boost (2 STR/STA)
2 for 2 points of boost (4 STR/STA)

>>43166590
2

>>43166590
2, we have to make a good first impression on our boss.

>>43166590
2

>>43166601
>>43166612
>>43166694

>14,13,10
>STR/STA- [7/11]

You remove your own clothes and join someone who likely makes 100 times what you do in the act of coitus.

You suffer a little initially, your thoughts clouded by the specters of Amanda and Jeremy but Mrs. Shan's eager attitude and carefully sculpted body quickly washes away your guilt so that you can perform at a higher level.

As she moans happily beneath you, you seize hold of her hips and take control. Your aggressive stance earns you instant affection and exhortations to continue with wild abandon.

The two of you end up spending two hours engaged in intense physical activity and she curls up happily beside you when it's all over.

"I can't believe I actually did that." she tells you, her voice trembling with afterglow.

"Neither can I," you admit. You actually wish you felt a little bit guilty about this...

"It was so, so, so worth it though. My husband... he never handles me like this."

>Why not?
>If that's the case, maybe we should do this again
>Let the issue of her husband lie, you need to get out of bed and back to work.
>Be silent and look passively over at her wedding photo
>write-in

>>43166810
>Be silent and look passively over at her wedding photo
Mystery

>>43166810
>>Why not?

>>43166810
>>Let the issue of her husband lie, you need to get out of bed and back to work.
Sorry Amanda

>>43166810
>"Why not? But yeah, that was pretty great, not gonna lie."

>>43166868
>>43166885
>>43166901
>>43166911

>Why not?

“Why wouldn’t he? I mean, you’re completely fucking voracious.”

“Vincent! Watch your language!” she jokes and nuzzles her way into the crook of your arm.

“But I just don’t understand, I really don’t.”

She sighs and seems genuinely sad all of a sudden.

“I don’t understand either. He’s younger than I am and when we married he was so… full of energy. Then we had Conner and everything died down for a bit while he got parenting down… But he got back to almost normal after those first two crazy years. But then we had William and the same thing happened. Jess was my attempt to win him back but… I think maybe I drove him away for good.”

>You tried to win him back by having another kid? Are you nuts?
>Maybe he’s just burnt out?
>silently examine wedding photo
>try and take her mind off her husband again
>I see (get back to work)
>Write-in

>>43167046
>silently examine wedding photo
>kiss her or something to ensure she doesn't notice

>>43167046
>silently examine wedding photo

>>43167046
>>silently examine wedding photo

>>43167079
I'll second this one

>>43167120
>>43167113
>>43167107
>>43167079

>Silently examine wedding photo with a little distraction.

Dang. Writing.

>>43167079
>>43167046
Yeah, this.

>>43167158
>>43167120
>>43167113
>>43167107
>>43167079

>silently examine wedding photo

“You know, I really wouldn’t mind if you did drive him off.”

She angrily prods your extensive bruising in response, which causes you to involuntarily shout out in pain and sets off several minutes of intense apologizing.

“God, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s… okay…”

“You’re so tough…” she rubs your face affectionately, “You just don’t know Robert and I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for that.”

You turn away from her dramatically.

“Please, please don’t be mad!” she buries her head in your chest. God, she’s kind of crazy, isn’t she?

You’re not mad of course, you’re just using this as an excuse to swallow your pain and get a good look at that wedding photo. There’s just something about it that sets something off in your memory…

>Roll 3d6-1 for an intelligence check!

Rolled 6, 2, 1 + 1 = 10 (3d6 + 1)

>>43167231

Rolled 1, 5, 1 + 1 = 8 (3d6 + 1)

>>43167231
He never checks his intelligence!

>>43167252
>>43167265

-1, anons. You're suffering a little fallout from getting blown up yesterday. I'll still count the rolls ofc.

>>43167274
Sorry, I was thinking I had added the negative modifier. Still pretty shitty rolls.

Rolled 4, 2, 4 - 1 = 9 (3d6 - 1)

>>43167231
always forget the space.

Is it too soon to boost again, or can we not do that for intelligence checks? This seems important.

>>43167292
>>43167265
>>43167252

>8,6,9

Wow, shitty rolls indeed. Writing.

>>43167313

Nope, not for intelligence. Hopefully the consequences of your injury will clear up soon.

you tried.jpg

Rolled 6, 5, 3 + 1 = 15 (3d6 + 1)

>>43167252
>>43167265
>>43167292
2 smart 4 u

>>43167341
>>43167252
>>43167265
>>43167292
>>43167409

>8,6,9

You try and make out the finer details of the picture but your vision blurs and you suffer a flaring pain in your temples. Ugh, it’s just a stupid wedding photo in front of a stupid church. You don’t really know why you were so interested in it anyway.

Mrs. Shan has started crying softly into your chest. She’s very strange and pathetic like this, you think, but it’s also a little humanizing to see someone who might otherwise be just another soulless corporatoid like this…

>console
>disentangle yourself
>ask her something
>write-in

>>43167442
>>console
>>disentangle yourself

>>43167442
>>console

Rolled 5, 4, 4 + 1 = 14 (3d6 + 1)

>>43167442
>disentangle yourself
bitch be crazy. lets ask her about the termites

>>43167442
>console
then
>disentangle yourself
>ask if the purpose of the visit was just pleasure, or if she actually has a problem

>>43167473
>>43167442
This

>>43167473
>>43167472
>>43167470
>>43167464

>console+disentangle

"There's realy no reason to cry..."

"But there is! You think I’m horrible, don’t you? And worst of all, you’re right. I’m just a greedy, desperate cheater of a wife who can’t even catch her husband’s eye anymore.”

"It's not your fault the man is apparently blind. Now..."

You gently dislodge her from your chest, revealing a runny mess of make-up, tears, and sweat.

"Now what?"
"Now we should probably both get cleaned up."
"You go first. I just want to lay here and wallow in how miserable I am."

Fucking women, jesus christ. Are you going to have to throw her in the shower or-

You inhale and quash your anger before giving your response.

"My mom used to say that Christ and warm water will wash your sins away. I'm sure you have at least one of those in your bathroom."

She nods and withdraws from you, swinging her legs off the side of the bed in the opposite direction. She sits there and sniffles a bit as she you patiently wait for her to get it back together. Man, back in prison you had to take anger therapy classes once but maybe someone should invent sadness therapy classes. You've got it objectively worse than this lady and she's still suffering through feelings like this... maybe she just needs a little magic dust.

[1/2]

>>43167677
Once the sniffling stops and she seems to have gathered herself you ask again about the termites and she confirms that this closet was where she first spotted them, crawling around her shoe collection. There's a crawlspace entrance in the back of it too and she confirms you you can poke around back there without her being too embarassed.

"I mean, I guess you've seen everything I have that's worth hiding already, right?"

Craziness aside, it's good to have an actually helpful client for once. She also tells you she saw evidence of termite activity in the attic, which is accessible through the door down the hall. Then she takes her leave, sashaying away in a genuine cotton bath towel. She seems to be feeling better already...

>Investigate Crawl Space
>Investigate Attic
>put on thermal goggs, see if you can spot anything new from up here.
>return to van, swap out equipment
>Write-in

>>43167701
>put on thermal goggs, see if you can spot anything new from up here.

Avoid the fucking magic dust.

>>43167701
>>put on thermal goggs, see if you can spot anything new from up here.
Saw nothing in attic before.

Something not-termites?

>>43167701
>put on thermal goggs, see if you can spot anything new from up here.

>>43167729
>>43167757
>>43167801

>Do a follow-up scan

You pick up your clothes from the floor and change back into your uniform. As tempting as it is to remain in the buff, you're probably going to be doing some very dirty work soon.

Your thermal goggles are nestled in the back your equipment bag at the foot of the bed. You strap them to your head and turn them on, grinning stupidly at how they make you look like some sort of top heavy spy. The small things in life, you think.

Looking around with the goggles on, it becomes obvious that the reason you didn't see tunnels on the third floor before was because it's so damn hot up here to begin with. Although the room your in is air-conditioned, the attic and the crawl space are both insulated and receive virtually no airflow. Heck, maybe the reason the termites exposed themselves in the closet was because they were so overheated.

Looking down, you *can* identify the tunnels, though they're very small and obscured by thermal noise in some places. Still, they look pretty single minded, following a single route upwards for the most part. The only split comes on this floor, where they break off into the attic and the crawlspace.

There's something about this that seems odd to you, like an itch you can't scratch.

>Investigate attic
>Investigate crawlspace
>Return to Van
>Try and think this through
>Write-in

>>43167908
>Investigate attic

>>43167908
>Try and think this through

We think gud.

>>43167908
>>Investigate attic

>>43167908
>>Investigate attic
They wanted to reach the roof for some reason?

To create something up there?

>>43167908
>Try and think this through

>>43167908
>>Try and think this through

>>43167936
>>43167972
>>43167982
>>43168001
>>43168024
>>43168072

You tied as I was writing...

3 for attic, 3 for thinking it through

We'll have a sudden death vote while I write up the prompt for the option I didn't expect to win.

>>43168117
think think think!

>>43168117
1 for the attic
2 for thinking this over (involves an intelligence check)

>>43168135
2

>>43168135
1

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>43168135
Usually you just roll for it in case of ties.

>>43168135
2

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>43168150
>>43168152
>>43168175
>>43168232

Usually I do. And it was very tempting to just let the option I had written "win" so I figured a vote was best to preserve agency.

In this case it seems I should have taken that action in the first place, but at least both prompts got written.

>>43168289
>Investigate attic

It seems like it would be easier and safer to start with the attic, which can be walked into rather than crawled through. Your overabundance of confidence earns you a pretty bad bump to the head on a beam as you make your way over storage boxes full of the stuff families generate over a decade.

It's incredibly hot and you unbutton your shirt as you progress, rapping on each of the beams with your wrangling stick in turn, searching for the hollow sound that so obviously indicates termite infestation.

Finally, you find the one. Not only does it sound hollowed out compared to the others but there are grooves in the wood that have been filled with the muddy paste that termites sometimes use to build their tunnels.

>break a few of the tunnels open so you can spray poison in
>try and follow the tunnels further
>you found the infestation here, time to check the crawlspace
>return to the van for different equipment
>write-in

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>43168304
>try and follow the tunnels further

>>43168304
>>try and follow the tunnels further
I don't know whether that one anon that rolled was voting and tying it but okay.

>>43168304
>>try and follow the tunnels further
gotta mak sure we know where all of these guys ar before we take them down

>>43168349
>>43168344
>>43168316

>follow the tunnels further

You follow the tunnels by walking your fingers delicately up the beam. They seem to continue with their upward path, though you do find a few ventilation holes bored into the sides of the beam that you didn't see before. They're tiny but maybe you could smoke the little bastards out of the attic...

Ultimately the tunnel terminates (you give yourself a mental pat on the back for that one) close to the top of the beam. It seems to take a 90 degree turn into the roof.

Huh, maybe you got this all wrong. Maybe the termites got in via the roof. Either way you're going to have to get up there somehow if you want to confirm your suspicions.

>investigate crawlspace
>get smoke grenades from the van
>try and spray so poison into the ventilation holes
>look around this floor for a way to get onto the roof
>write in

>>43168470
>>look around this floor for a way to get onto the roof

>>43168470
>look around this floor for a way to get onto the roof

>>43168470
>investigate crawlspace

Curious minds need to know.

>>43167231
Let me guess, they have a 'family resemblance' to our Bug Boy?

>>43168622

That would be an awfully cheap direction to take the plot anon. Besides, you would have seen him in the photos of their children on the first floor.

>>43168548
>>43168581
>>43168583

>look around this floor for a way to access the roof

Moving from room to room, you uncover different pieces of the Shan's personal lives. The boys' room has a bunk bed for instance, and an abundance of Bingogo toys but no computer. The third floor bathroom has been converted into an expensive VR chamber.

In the last room on this floor, you discover a small home gym. There are machines and weights here, which you test absentmindedly. Everything seems to be calibrated for a woman.

Above it all is a generous skylight, which fills the room with hazy rays of sun.

>try and move some heavy exercise equipment around so you can climb up and try to open the skylight
>try and scavenge some furniture from the other rooms on this floor
>wait for Mrs. Shan to finish her shower so you can get a ladder or something from the garage, do something else in the meantime
>write-in

>>43168668
>>try and move some heavy exercise equipment around so you can climb up and try to open the skylight

>>43168668
Not if he's a nephew.

>>43168668
>>wait for Mrs. Shan to finish her shower so you can get a ladder or something from the garage, do something else in the meantime.

I don't think exercise equipment is very climbable.

>>43168721
Make sense of why there'd be so much shit brought out to get him back, or why the vivisection never went through.

>>43168721

Well, he was going to a catholic school.

>>43168695

You look around and realize you could probably reach the skylight and pull yourself through if you just moved a few items of exercise equipment around in here. You do your best to get a grip on the closest machine and haul it over... It's unbelievably heavy.

>roll 3d6+1 for a simple strength roll for piling everything up and then climbing without hurting yourself! Boost with STR/STA if you like!

Rolled 6, 6, 1 + 1 = 14 (3d6 + 1)

>>43168776

Just went over the pastebin again.

Jeremy (was) in high school? My impression was that of a middle schooler at the most.

Rolled 2, 2, 6 + 1 = 11 (3d6 + 1)

>>43168776
Alright improvising.

Rolled 5, 6, 5 + 1 = 17 (3d6 + 1)

>>43168802
Because the pastebin lies and contradicts the actual quest.

13 year olds are never in high school.
>>43168776

>>43168802

He's a scrawny freshman, barely 14. Still very middle schoolish in mind and body.

>>43168830

I've looked it over in the past threads anon, he's mentioned pretty early on as being 14. Be nice about my pastebin, I actually bothered to clean it up a little bit for once.

>>43168783
>>43168803

Remembering your best lift techniques from the prison gym you manage to haul an assload of equipment across the floor. It's a struggle but you pull it off without so mach as scratching the finish.

With everything in one place, you begin stacking different items on top of each other, creating a precarious tower of strength. The momentary anxiety you feel before you climb vanishes as soon as you start and you don't even send everything crashing down in a heap...

The window latch is simple enough to undo and it seems like your waist must have shrunken lately because you pull yourself through with room to spare, even with the sprayer on your back.

Up on the shingles, the summer air blows over you. The shingles themselves are hot to the touch but overall it's a pleasant contrast to the claustrophobic heat of the attic...

Ahead of you are two tiny structures made of termite mud. One is approximately over the area you traced the tunnels in the attic to and the other is probably linked to the crawl space. Getting closer you can see a sort of orange ooze dripping over the tops of each structure and both of them are swarming with termites...

>get closer, break one open with your wrangling stick
>get closer, try and drop a piece of trank bait in
>get closer, spray both structures with poison
>head back down
>write-in

>>43169001
>get closer, try and drop a piece of trank bait in
>If nothing obvious happens, smack one with the wrangling stick

>>43169001
>get closer, spray both structures with poison

Nice and simple.

>>43169001
>he's mentioned pretty early on as being 14.
That is a complete lie. >>42652196

>>43169001
>>get closer, spray both structures with poison

>>43169001
>>get closer, spray both structures with poison
sweet, dat weight loss

>>43169001
>>get closer, try and drop a piece of trank bait in

>>43169001
If he was 13 when he went missing and barely 14 now then he's in 8th grade.

>>43169153
I turned fourteen like a month before I started high school, and many kids start early. Isn't too far fetched if you as me.

>>43169178
>before

Apples and oranges, seeing as how he was already at the Catholic school.

Which was never described as a high school in-quest, so only the pastebin is the odd one out.

File: Spoiler Image (272 KB, 587x950)

272 KB JPG

>>43169085
>>43169153
>>43169178
>>43169201

see: 41234849

Hopefully that settles the issue. I don't know if I mentioned if the school was a high school but it certainly was in my mind (not that that counts for much). As a reward for your fact-finding efforts, enjoy this thing I found on deviant art.

I maintain that Jeremy is now 14 and I mentioned him as being so before the birthday comment, though I don't have time to figure out exactly where just yet.

>>43169037

>move up and spray

You get closer and position yourself directly over the nest. The termites inside don't seem to notice you, they seem to be busy regurgitating directly onto the ooze. With your poison wand in hand, you unleash a torrent of toxin. It feels a little risky doing this without your hazmat suit on but you guess its well "ventilated" enough up here that you don't have to worry too much.

The termites fall dead and tumble back down into the structure but their corpses are quickly pushed aside by new workers. You keep spraying and spraying until finally the structure is simply clogged with corpses. At that point they seem to stop.

You repeat the process on the other structure, turning it into a toxic waste-pit as well. You have no doubt there are more below but it seems probable that they'll now seek a new vulnerability to reach unless you find a way to destroy them.

>knock the structures over, let them rebuild while you plan and head back inside
>leave everything clogged, you'll find a way to extinguish them inside before they can route around this, head back inside
>write-in

>>43169289
Forgot to link the damn post.

>>41234849

>>43169289
>leave everything clogged, you'll find a way to extinguish them inside before they can route around this, head back inside

I'd fuck the shota

>>43169289
>>leave everything clogged, you'll find a way to extinguish them inside before they can route around this, head back inside

>>43169289
>Hopefully that settles the issue.
That he was 13? That is what the whole thing started with that's not really new information.

13 year olds are in either 7th or 8th grade, turns out 8th.

>>43169289
>>write-in.
>>knock the structures over, and continue spraying.

>>43169377
It really doesn't matter. I regret even bringing it up.

>>43169289
Second >>43169397

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>43169336

I figured one of you would. That art is close-ish to Jeremy's appearance, sans dress and funny colored hair/eyes.

>>43169350
>>43169397
>>43169492

Apologies for the long window, I'll start writing as soon as this post rolls.

Two for clogging, two for knocking over the structures and spraying more. Rolling.

>>43169513
but not sans stockings.
too late it's canon now

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>>43169579
I want to dress Jeremy up like a cute girl.

>>43169579

my sides!

>>43169513

>Leaving everything clogged

You decide that you've created a sufficiently poisonous roadblock that the termites will be temporarily stumped (you're on a roll today).

Making your way back to the skylight, you step carefully down onto the gym equipment and make it to the floor without knocking anything over. It's a good thing too, because Mrs. Shan has just come back up the stairs and is looking at you with an utterly perplexed look on her face.

"Dare I ask what it is you think you're doing?"

"I was just, uh, spraying termites."

"On the roof?"

"Yup, found out the beam in the attic lead up there so I decided to investigate."

"You could have waited for me. I could have gotten you a ladder..."

She shakes her head.

"Well, I suppose it's too late now. Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, two structures that they built on your roof. I haven't seen anything like it before."

"Should I be alarmed?"

>yes
>no

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>>43169513
>one

>>43169628
>"If those are the only hives? No. I'm going to check out some tunnels to ensure this isn't that serious."

>>43169628
>no
No, I'm a professional at handling species never before discovered by man.

>>43169628
>>no
Nahhhh nothing can possibly go wrong

>>43169628
>>no

>>43169664
>>43169670
>>43169689
>>43169781
>nope

"If those two structures were the extent of the issue, probably not."

"Probably?"

"In my time at GEC, those termites are by far the most harmless things I've encountered. They didn't seem aggressive or especially toxic. I'd probably keep your husband away for a little longer though."

She smiles, taking your comment in good humor.

"I'll go get dressed then. If you need anything, I'll be in the bedroom. There's a book I keep trying to finish..."

As she walks away down the hallway she makes one final comment.

"Don't forget to put the gym equipment back where you found it!"

Dang it.

>re-check attic
>investigate crawlspace
>do another thermal scan
>try and follow the tunnels down through the building instead
>get something from van
>write-in

>>43169800
>>do another thermal scan
>try and follow the tunnels down through the building instead

>>43169800
>

>>43169800
>>investigate crawlspace

>>43169800
>>do another thermal scan
>investigate crawlspace

>>43169814
>do another thermal scan
>try and follow the tunnels down

>>43169852
>>43169851
>thermal scan, crawlspace

>>43169816
>wild card vote, magically used by the QM to break a potential tie to his railroading preference

>Another scan

Once again it's hard to make out any detail in the walls or the roof of the third floor but you notice a flurry of activity at the intersection beneath the third floor where the termites had previous gone towards either one of the roof structures. Probably just a council of the grand termite elders.

>investigate crawlspace

You decide it's a good idea to go and investigate the crawlspace before you take your next action. Opening the door to her bedroom, Mrs. Shan gives a little jump and drops her copy of "Carthaginian Nights" before pulling her hand out from beneath the covers.

"My God, Vince! I thought you were done up here! Why didn't you knock?"

"I thought we had moved past that phase in our relationship." you say, jokingly.

She blushes, obviously embarassed, but waves you on into the crawlspace.

Worming your way awkwardly over and past her shoe rack, you note a large number of wings that were shed just inside the space as Mrs. Shan described earlier. They seem to have fallen down from above, where you find a beam with hundreds of bore holes.

Further down in the crawlspace you spot at least two more piles of wings and similar holes. The tunnels themselves seem to be on a side of the wood that you can't access from here but you have no doubt they lead to the structure on the roof. Still, the distance between the three piles lets you trace a probable route for where the tunnels really are.

>exit crawlspace
>Mrs. Shan said she saw the termites themselves crawling around down here. They must be somewhere...
>lay out some bait, see if it attracts any termites
>Write-in

>>43170029
>>lay out some bait, see if it attracts any termites

>>43170100

You lay out a few pieces of bait, no bigger than dog kibble. You figure it won't take much to satisfy a termite, right?

When nothing emerges immediately, you decide that you'll check back in on the pile a little later...

>exit crawlspace
>Mrs. Shan said she saw the termites themselves crawling around down here. They must be somewhere...
>Write-in

>>43170135
>Mrs. Shan said she saw the termites themselves crawling around down here. They must be somewhere...

>>43170135
>>Mrs. Shan said she saw the termites themselves crawling around down here. They must be somewhere...

>>43170135
>>Mrs. Shan said she saw the termites themselves crawling around down here. They must be somewhere...

>>43170143
>>43170144

>Mrs. Shan said she saw the termites themselves crawling around down here. They must be somewhere...

Come on, they've got to be down here somewhere. There must be an opening, a place where the termites broke through on an exploratory venture, either on their way down from the roof or up from below.

You pull yourself further and further into the crawlspace. You're sweating heavily, maybe you'll ask Mrs. Shan to use her shower later? That would be nice.

You tap along the beams, following the sound until you're all the way in the back of the crawlspace. Here you finally find tunnels, snaking around a vertical beam that must be over the VR chamber.

>break the tunnels open
>leave them intact for now, exit the crawl space

>>43170235
>>leave them intact for now, exit the crawl space
If we're gonna flood the tunnels...

Down we go then.

>>43170235
>>leave them intact for now, exit the crawl space

>>43170235
>>leave them intact for now, exit the crawl space

>>43170276
>>43170287
>>43170320

Better leave them as is for the moment... Having everything naturally sealed will help when you inevitably figure out how to pump poison or gas into these damn tunnels.

Awkwardly exiting the tunnel, you find that you've gotten your brand new uniform all dirty. You knew you should have brought your haz-mat suit in...

"So they're in there?"

"Yes."

"Don't wipe yourself off in here. Do it in the hall, the auto-vac will catch it later."

You do as she says and contemplate what to do now. Obviously the infestation had previously forked into the attic and the crawlspace and out to those structures on the roof. What was the point of those anyway, ventilation? Couldn't they have made those elsewhere on the property? Maybe the siding was too tough.

You figure you should probably head downstairs so you can try and find where the infestation emerged from... or burrowed down to.

Using your thermal scan, you follow the path of the termites back down to the first floor and then the basement. You briefly remove your goggles to marvel at the Shan's well-stocked pantry (you're badly tempted to "borrow" a box of sundae PopTarts) and finally find yourself in a washroom. The infestation seems to run behind a heavy wire shelf before vanishing into the ground.

Perhaps if you moved the shelf, you could get a better look at things.

>Roll 3d6 to heave the shelf without accidentally crushing yourself

Rolled 5, 1, 4 = 10 (3d6)

>>43170505
stronk

Rolled 6, 2, 5 = 13 (3d6)

>>43170505
k

Rolled 2, 6, 6 = 14 (3d6)

>>43170505
falling

>>43170532
>>43170560
>10,13,14

Attempting to move the shelf yields nothing at all. You try again. Nothing. Not even a wobble or a tilt.

On a hunch you climb up on the shelf and push off against the wall. It doesn't budge.

Fuck, what is this thing made out of?

On the verge of giving up entirely, you finally spot the nearly invisible splits in the concrete around the legs.

This thing has been on rails the entire time!

Well, if that's the case there must be a switch or something somewhere. God, why would anyone do this? As far as you can tell this shelf is just here to hold their extra paper towels...

>roll 3d6+5 Awareness and enjoy your fastidious bonus.

Rolled 1, 2, 3 + 5 = 11 (3d6 + 5)

>>43170678
dios mio!

Rolled 4, 2, 3 + 5 = 14 (3d6 + 5)

>>43170678
Just to find the switch?

Rolled 6, 3, 2 + 5 = 16 (3d6 + 5)

>>43170678
So a secret passage.

Typical executive secrets.

Rolled 6, 4, 1 + 5 = 16 (3d6 + 5)

>>43170678

I wouldn't be surprised to find that the husband installed cameras and stuff to get vids of his unfaithful wife for a divorce/wank.

>>43170823
Or to masturbate to

>>43170837
That's what "wank" means, yes.

>>43170678
>>43170732
>>43170750
>>43170766
>>43170779

You start with the obvious places, searching the walls and then the floor for some kind of button or switch or way to activate the shelf so it'll move away from the wall.

Nothing.

You look under the detergent, between the dryer sheets, and flick the light switch a few times.

Nope.

On the verge of giving up, you search the shelf one more time. Nothing hidden among the paper towels, nothing among the diapers. You search it right-side up and upside down and, oh hey, what's this, engraved crudely on the inner edge of one of the shelves?

"Lepidoptera?" you say, as though there was someone to ask.

The shelf jerks and moves forward while you're still entangled and you have to scramble to avoid getting pressed into the side of the dryer.

Recovering, you find that another portion of the concrete has flipped down to reveal a dark a humid shaft. Crude iron bars seem to have been installed as a form of ladder to descend into the darkness...

A termite nest seems to be directly installed into the side of the shaft near the top. If you break it open and spray it you'll probably annihilate the heart of the infestation and it will be easy enough to smoke out or poison the remainder that are stranded in the tunnels.

Or if you wanted to get fancy, you could try and extract the queen (if there is one). You could also descend the ladder into the pit to find what awaits you but... that seems like an invasion of privacy. Or at least that's what you tell yourself to explain why you don't want to go any further.

>break open the nest, spray it down immediately
>Break open the nest, try and extract a queen
>descend into the pit
>go back to the van for equipment
>write-in

>>43170984
>>Break open the nest, try and extract a queen
>>descend into the pit
I honestly want both of these, with queen taking preference.

>>43170984
Now is the time to don hazmat suit Vince!

The ventilation is terrible.

And maybe you'll go down into the pit instead.

>>43170984
>Go back to the van for more equipment
Hazmat suit for sure.
>Descend into the pit

>>43171043
Neither should be done without the hazmat suit.

We're done thermal scanning for termites.

>>43170984
>>descend into the pit
After putting on hazmat suit.

>>43170984
>go back to the van for equipment
Avoid magic dust at all costs.

>>43170984
>>go back to the van for equipment
Swap out thermal goggles for hazmat suit.

Swap out bait for more reliable trank grenades.

>>43170984
Who's to say the current homeowners even know this is here? Could be from the war.

The war had secret tunnels right.

>>43171101
Secret tunnels, emergency bio/fallout shelters. Could be a secret lab. Think back to the roaches and their termite-like mounds too. The possibilities here REQUIRE investigation.

And possibly purging by fire.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>43171082

The moment of addictive impulse has passed and Vince won't grab it without you guys specifically choosing to. Earlier, when Mrs. Shan was crying, there was a risk.

>>43171101

I'd like to see the realtor explain the immovable basement shelf.

>>43171060
>>43171043
>>43171046
>>43171061
>>43171076
>>43171085

You're going back to the van to put your hazmat suit on and then coming back to spelunk before eventually cleaning out the nest. Writing.

>>43171151
You say that like secret basement shelters aren't a selling point.

>>43171173
That was his point.

That they didn't and couldn't hide its existence.

>>43171205
Oh. I thought he was arguing that it didn't exist previously and was installed by the current owners.

>>43171151

You're not going to spray anything in here without your hazmat suit on and you're definitely not going into that pit without some kind of protection against whatever might be down there. Besides, it gives you that bad feeling, the kind you got when you found the bunker shaft back at Jeremy's school.

The moped is gone when you arrive outside, but there's a green sedan with a man "sleeping" in it just down the block. These guys must think they're really smart, you think, resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

The haz-mat suit is easy enough to fish out of the back of your van. You get halfway changed into it before you hear the communicator ring. Or at least you think it's the communicator; you've never heard it ring before now.

<Vincent, is that you?>

It's Crusty John, Zheng's elderly comrade. He sounds worry and you're a little alarmed by the fact that he's actually calling you by your first name instead of "gwai lo" or something.

<It's me. What's this about?>

<It's about Zheng. No, it's about Jeremy. For you.>

<What?>

<Jeremy was operated on last night. Very "touch and go"> -he uses the english phrase awkwardly- <but as of this morning he was okay. Not awake, but okay.>

<That doesn't sound okay.>

<Doctor Tsiao said there is a good chance he will wake up. At least 80%.>

<Eighty percent?!>

<Calm down, Vincent. He is the best we have and he did the best he could. This morning, he called Zheng to his private lab to take Jeremy away. To convalesce.>

<And?>

<I have not heard from Zheng since. He is not answering his comm. There is no way at all to reach him.>

<Where was he last?>

<I assume he made it to the lab. I will give you the address, just get out a pen and paper...>

<A pen and paper? You're more of a living fossil than I thought.>

<I can't transmit it to your van, gwai lo.>

<Just tell it to me then. I'll remember it.>

He gives you the address and you attempt to memorize it and repeat it back to him.

<No, that's not it. I said _____>

>>43171355

You repeat this process several more times before you finally give up and get a piece of pen and paper from Mrs. Shan's house. You're not sure why it was so difficult just to remember an address...

<You should go there as soon as you can, Vincent. If not for Zheng, for Jeremy.>

<What makes you think Jeremy is in danger?>

<Idiot. Second man I called was the doctor. He missing too.>

The connection is severed.

You complete your change into your haz-mat suit and swap your bait for tranquilizing grenades. The news about Jeremy and Zheng has you worried but... Zheng's a big guy. For anybody. You're sure he can handle whatever has come after Jeremy, right?

>head back inside, return to the basement
>head back inside, try and request leave with some cockamamie excuse for Mrs. Shan
>just take off, there's no time to waste.
>write-in

>>43171355
Geez Vince. Know your limits. Just writ ei ton paprea nd use that lighter of yours to purge it faterawrdsw ti hcelansni gfier.

>>43171440
>>head back inside, return to the basement
Job first

>>43171440
>Zheng's a big guy. For anybody.

>head back inside, return to the basement
We can destroy the termites real quicklike.

Maybe skip spelunking after all.

>>43171440
This basically confirms the idea that the enemy is tracking Jeremy independently for his sweet sweet king of the mantis people powers.

These operators operating operationally tracked his signal to GEC labs, and once he left them, suddenly he became a soft target instead of one that was too well guarded and politically volatile.

>>43171355
>He is not answering his comm. There is no way at all to reach him.>
Don't you guys have a GPS tracker in his comm at least like you probably have in Vince's since you knew where he was at the water plant.

>>43171479
>>43171503

Yeah, everything will be fine. Don't let ol' Crusty get you so worked up, Vin.

You head back inside and return to the basement only to find that the shelf has sealed itself again. You repeat the passphrase and it moves aside for you once more.

The nest is quite large; you can tell where it is by how the dirt bulges out though a layman probably wouldn't realize what they were lookign at. You wonder if Mrs. Shan knew this was here before concluding that she didn't. An elite businesswoman probably wouldn't have even called you here if there was a chance of you discovering her top secret corporatoid stash.

So either no one knew this was here or... maybe the husband? What use would he have for a lair like this?

Ugh, who cares. You just need to get rid of this nest and maybe snag a queen. Right?

>break open the nest with your wrangling stick, try and snag a queen
>break open the nest with your hands, try and snag a queen
>break open the nest, spray it to death immediately
>break open the nest, toss a tranquilizer grenade in
>descend further into the shaft
>write-in

>>43171676
>>break open the nest, toss a tranquilizer grenade in

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154 KB PNG

>>43171582

>>43171676
Oh wait this shaft has dirt walls, not metal or concrete?

>>43171726

Correct. The iron bars are just reclaimed rebar that has been jammed into the sides all the way down.

>>43171676
>>break open the nest, toss a tranquilizer grenade in

>>43171716
Or maybe it's just a mantis people attack trying to 'save' him and not the operators.

>>43171702
>>43171775

>toss a trank in

Writing.

Vince needs to buy his own moped or something with his ill-gotten gains.

Something not GEC related.

>>43171831
Come to find out the only vehicle he can afford is 1 GEC was getting rid of

>>43171815

You remove your wrangling stick from your equipment bag and whip it downward just once to extend and lock the telescoping shaft. Then you swat the nest with it. Once more. Again.

The nest is protected by a "shell" of hardened termite mud apparently and it takes a little extra effort to crack through it with only one arm swinging the tranq stick. To make things easier, you extend your legs and push your body against the side of the shaft opposite the nest. This position allows you to use both your arms and you plunge forward, embedding the wrangling stick deep in the nest. A bit of orange goo oozes from the wound.

Smiling to yourself, you wrench the stick down to rip the wound downwards. An entire section of the nest breaks free and tumbles down the hole, shattering at the bottom a second or so later.

The inside of the nest is an amazing neon orange color but you don't have much time to admire it because workers and soldiers alike immediately begin hurling themselves at you. They bite down hard on your hazmat suit, trying desperately to tear through it. You swat at them frantically before realizing that you can just spray them off.

This idea brings you some relief in the heat of the moment but it evaporates just as quickly. All your flailing has destabilized the dirt behind you and it's giving way...

>roll 3d6+2 for a speed roll to maintain your grip and not fall, I'm adding twitch reflexes and you can boost with Nerves.

Rolled 5, 5, 5 + 2 = 17 (3d6 + 2)

>>43172007
Guess we're spelunking after all.

Rolled 4, 5, 2 + 2 = 13 (3d6 + 2)

>>43172007

Rolled 1, 2, 5 + 2 = 10 (3d6 + 2)

>>43172007

>>43172032
>>43172040
>>43172047
>17,13,10
You release the wrangling stick with one of your hands and grab hold of one of the pieces of rebar just as the wall behind you gives way and showers dirt down into the hole.

Using the loop on your wrangling stick you quickly hook it on yet another of the rebar pieces and draw your poison wand in its place, spraying yourself down. The kamikaze termites release their grips and fall off of you harmlessly.

A few stragglers continue to leap from the nest but for the most part the remaining termites in the nest seem preoccupied with rebuilding the section that fell away. Deeper in the nest you can see morbidly obese queens the size of your fist being carried away by hundreds of much smaller workers.

You're not going to let them get away with that. You grab one of your tranquilizing grenades and use a piece of protruding rebar to yank the ring out with one hand. Then you give it an underhand toss into the colony. It lands neatly in the center and doesn't move in the slightest. The termites move frantically in response, hurling themselves at what they see as yet another intruder but they plink harmlessly off the metal canister and quickly fall on the backs, knocked out by the powerful gas.

Reaching into the colony and removing ten queens is quite literally as easy as taking candy from a baby.

Once they're out, you spray down the nest, making sure to coat the entrance and exit tunnels especially.

All that's left is to get the stragglers caught between here and the roof structures and they've probably been knocked out by the trank gas already. They'd probably asphyxiate if you just set off a smoke grenade here to finish the job.

Looking down... some termites probably survived on that hunk that tumbled to the bottom of the shaft but would they really be able to rebuild the colony?

You have absolutely no idea.

>>43172231

What now?

>get a smoke grenade from the van, finish the job
>give Mrs. Shan a status report
>just go down and spray that last bit... you don't have to go any further than that if you don't want to....
>write-in

>>43172240
>>get a smoke grenade from the van, finish the job

Or fuck it, the remaining termites will die anyway.

Call the job done.

>>43172240
Shady friends will want a queen.

But we're being tailed at the moment.

Did our tail see the specimen dropoffs at the water plant and after dropping off the Russians?

We probably had that tail yesterday, after all.

>>43172240
>>just go down and spray that last bit... you don't have to go any further than that if you don't want to....

>>43172240
>>just go down and spray that last bit... you don't have to go any further than that if you don't want to....

>>43172270
You did not have a proper tail until you received the hidden trait. You may or may not have been observed or tracked to some extent before that but the trait was the first time someone was assigned to you specifically.

>>43172240
>>write-in
Tell Shan you got the nest, and they should die off from poison in a matter of hours, so you're gonna debrief and... maybe pay another quick visit tomorrow to be sure they're all dead then.

>>43172295
>>43172316
>>43172354
>>43172255
>just go down and spray that last bit... you don't have to go any further than that if you don't want to....

You decide it's best to be thorough in this case. Termites are pretty hardy and it wouldn't surprise you in the least if these bastards were even harder to eradicate than normal ones.

Stacking the adorable little queens on top of one another at the top of the shaft, you descend.

The bottom of the shaft is poorly poured and badly cracked concrete. Turning your helmet light on, the first thing you see is the nest chunk or, more accurately, shattered chunks of the nest. The lingering survivors of your first attack quickly succumb to your poison.

Against your better instincts you look around. This place is supported by crude wooden pillars, one of which seems to be just an old tree trunk that was cut down and implanted into the concrete. The secondary supports are rickety bits of wood that hold up a plywood ceiling that you nearly bump your head on again.

To your complete horror, a widening trail of dried blood leads away from you and beneath a black tarp that blocks the way deeper inside.

It's not too late Vin. You could just clean up the mess you've made and try to bury the nest so it looks like it was never there... Whoever spends their time down here, they don't need to know you were around...

>go deeper
>take some extra time, clean up your mess
>tell Mrs. Shan about this
>get something from the van
>just leave

>>43172320
At the end of the day Jeremy was rescued, in time for Tuesday morning.

>>42801937
>>Hidden progress
So that may have been some kind of observation leading up to the kidnapping VTOLs, before gaining the full tail after last night's battle.

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>>43172483
>>go deeper

>>43172540

I forgot to mention, you may want to ready an item.

>>43172483
>>go deeper
We have a trank gun right?

>>43171676
>So either no one knew this was here or... maybe the husband? What use would he have for a lair like this?

Well he did get distant from the Mrs, and spent all that time at home taking care of the kids.

Guy has to have a hobby!

>>43172483
I really hope you're not about to see Mr shan for more accurately where she buried him

>banged the wife of a serial killer
How many other guys she's cheated with have disappeared?

>>43172571
Grenades are more of a guaranteed hit.

Can't miss with those.

>>43172586
It's more likely a creature people get fed to to dispose of them.

Since everything is a specimen.

>>43172586
That's as likely as him being a werewolf chained up down here.

>>43172483
If we have our lighter I say ready it with the poison sprayer since I think we lost our wrangling stick

>>43172483
>adorable little queens

We have to keep one!

For sonfu.

>>43172688
If we don't have the lighter keep the sprayer out

>>43172688
The trank gun or gas grenades are far better especially since Vince has +3 to using the gun.

>>43172571
>>43172540

>go deeper

You put the wrangling stick away and ready your trank gun. You've got plenty of ammunition and these darts can drop just about anything that would be able to make it's way around these cramped quarters...

You push aside the tarp, which crinkles eerily in the dark. You've entered into a round chamber of the same design style as the tunnel. You sweep from right to left in the pitch darkness with your light, bringing out the furnishings one by one.

A rusty old file cabinet as tall as you with a dent in its side at the three foot mark. A leather tool belt lays across the top.

A plastic folding table, the kind you see caterers bring. One of the legs has started to give, causing it to tilt wildly. The surface has been laminated with something shiny. Beside it is a cedar chest, like your grandmother used to have but badly scratched up.

And then... nothing. And then, close to you, a gruesome scene. A small corpse in the nude, hung with its innards spilled out and pinned to the sides of an enormous slab that hangs from the wall. It's hands and legs are held in restraints and maggots squirm in every piece of exposed flesh. The genitals have been removed completely; you have no idea what sex they might have been... but they were young.

>Nerves- [11/13] (Three subtracted from 14)

You're extremely nauseous and you do everything you can to resist the urge to puke in your suit.

>leave, clean up all traces you were here
>investigate cabinet
>investigate table and chest
>investigate slab closer
>leave, tell Mrs. Shan. She needs to know about this.

>>43172809
>>investigate cabinet
>>investigate table and chest
>>investigate slab closer
We have a boy murderer here.

>>43172809
>>leave, clean up all traces you were here
Terrifying.

>>43172809
Investigate table and chest

>>43172827
Yes but this is a problem.

Hand the case over to your Scyth buddy, it becomes another media blitz.

Mrs. Shan, a high ranking GEC executive, won't get out of it untainted, even if she's innocent. It's a huge embarrassment for the corporation too.

How do you deal with this without fucking everything else over?

>>43172854
Or we handle it in house. Exterminator style.

Who writes the password to the secret passage down?

>>43172890
A dumb fuck

>>43172827

Going to count this as a vote for cabinet first, then if nothing happens you can investigate the others. Just remember that events are still going forward elsewhere (not that investigating these things should take too long unless something goes wrong).

>>43172890

No one said serial killers were smart.

Jeremy clock is ticking, you already know the most important aspect, what more can you learn here that will help?

This could be the actual guy who fed that skull to the bats.

>>43172827
>>43172833
>>43172852
>one for cabinet with table second choice
>one for table
>one for GTFO

Writing for table, since it's the closest thing to a "winner" here.

>>43172960
>Investigate table and chest

You reluctantly run a finger over one of the corners of the table. Yeah, it's been laminated somehow. A neat ring of dried blood that flows outwards around the table on the floor seems to confirm that someone wanted an easy to clean work surface.

Opening the chest, you find that its empty except for a single meat cleaver that's been thrown down in such a way that the tip of the blade has embedded itself in the wooden bottom of the trunk. The blade itself looks clean and well-maintained, much more so than anything else down here. Dozens of notches in the floor of the chest suggest the cleaver's been thrown down in such a fashion many times before. There are blood stains in there too but they're small and faint, contrasting with the extensive stains around the table.

>leave, clean up all traces you were here
>investigate cabinet
>investigate slab closer
>leave, tell Mrs. Shan. She needs to know about this.

>>43173063
If I were a crazed killer I'd boobytrap my secret lair.


>leave, tell Mrs. Shan. She needs to know about this.

Don't got time with another kid in danger.

>>43173092
>Leave, tell Mrs. Shan. She needs to know about this.

Writing, going to try and archive after this prompt. Forgot that I have places to be in the morning.

>>43173063
>>leave, tell Mrs. Shan. She needs to know about this.
nope nope nope

I wonder if the guy was smart enough to be sweating bullets today knowing there'd be an exterminator poking around the house.

Is he already making contingency plans?

>>43173168

You turn your back on all of this. Your initial fear and shock is being overwhelmed by disgust; there's no need to show yourself anymore.

You step on the shattered nest fragments and they crunch beneath your boots. There's no time to linger here any longer, you need to reach Jeremy and Mrs. Shan, well, she needs to know about this before you can leave in good conscience.

"Lepidoptera," you say, muttering this stupid asshole's idea of a codeword. What kind of ass writes down his passphrase on the inside of a shelf-

Ah, fuck. It finally hits you that there was a reason the engraving was so shoddy and difficult to read. It wasn't Poppa Shan who wrote it there.

You climb the stairs with haste and fling open... No, wait, it's jammed.

You push on the door a little harder and with some effort you're able to push the obstacle on the other side across the floor.

It's Mrs. Shan.

You really should have seen this coming; she must have been dosed by the gas that rose up through the tunnels when it came out of the numerous ventilation holes in the crawl space and flowed directly into her bedroom.

This is just your luck.

>leave her here with a note explaining, she should wake up in a few hours depending on how much gas she inhaled
>take her with you, you can assure her safety better that way
>Write-in

>>43173272
>>Write-in
Well our appearance as a professional is already wrecked, letting the trank gas leak like that in an inhabited house.

Shake that bitch awake. If that doesn't work, leave a note where the husband will never, ever look.

In her bra.

>>43173272
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidoptera
How very Buffalo Bill.

>>43173272
Apparently Vince needs smelling salts.

>>43173272
>>Write-in
Maybe Mrs Shan has some executive-quality bodyguards to call in from corporate?

Vince just saw someone shady around the property and she's out like a light.

>>43173323

You shake Mrs. Shan desperately but only succeed in getting her to drool on your hazmat suit. Making a mental note to ask Silver Pete what the primary ingredient is in the tranquilizer grenades, you grab a pen and paper and scrawl in your best prose a message for the lovely lady, explaining the situation as best you can.

Hopefully she appreciates hand-drawn emoticons.

You stuff the message into her bra before returning her to the bed and opening all the windows in the room. She should wake up in a few hours and with luck her husband won't be home by then. Not that you've had a lot of luck to spare but...

You run back down to the basement and pick up the queens as best you can in your arms. You carry them out of the building and split them between two of your cages. The bounce and jiggle off of one another as you drop them in.

Getting in the driver's seat, you pull out the address Crusty gave you and put the pedal to the metal. The man in the green sedan snorts himself awake as you fly past.

You spent longer than you would have liked investigating that place after you got the call from Crusty. Surely Zheng and Jeremy held out, right?

>end thread

Gonna archive and stick around for maybe fifteen minutes, Then I really really have to sleep.

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>>43173455
Now it's finally time to make like a rabbit and shake your tail.

>>43173455
Well this could either end super-well, with Vince having a friend in high places like Mrs Shan who is newly single all of a sudden and playing stepdad to the kids.

Or poorly, with Vince being too associated with the family tragedy to see anymore.

>>43173477

I really did groan.

Archive is up:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html

Fug, this thread felt a lot longer than it really was, probably because you guys took the quickest possible path through my pre-written material. Still worth it though.

Gonna return on Wednesday at 5pm EST and make some announcements then (too tired to go through them now).

>>43173519
>the quickest possible path through my pre-written material. Still worth it though.
Heading straight to the roof?

Hiatus announcements? Due to a job?

>>43173272
How do we know it wasn't her?other than she let us put it in her (sorry Amanda)and having an exterminator come at all

>>43173543

>Hiatus announcements? Due to a job?

God, I wish. Been on so many interviews lately with no success.

One is that Awakening Quest will be back in some form this week. What day and where it will run I'm not sure yet but it will be back for people who are into that.

The other I'm going to keep under wraps for now.

>>43173575

That would be quite the twist certainly and I'm not going to confirm or deny it. I suggest just going through the thread to decide whether you trust her or not... You could always have used your bullshit detecting skill if she was awake but ya blew it by using the trank grenades without having her step out first.

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>>43173575
Vince's cock is free-range.

>>43173606
Well we have to question why, since Devlinson is supposed to be punishing VInce, he got this job.

Maybe he's considered on-his-way-out, expendable, gonna-be-popped-soon-probably.

And Shan did need an exterminator for a while now but only wanted someone who would never have the chance to speak of it again so a guy who was already under investigation and whose days are probably numbered was chosen.

In any case, if it was her, then she pretty much expected you to find it and do what you just did anyway.