Difference between revisions of "On Fire For God, Part II"

PREVIOUSLY on Action Files, Fred was walled by fire into a bedroom in a house in Detroit, standing over a pair of unconscious drug addicts. Behind him are people he's heard coming in his direction.

And now, the conclusion.

<<DICE>> Fred rolls arete, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> 4 successes (7 9 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: Yes)
[POOL] Fred spends 1 points of Willpower. Reason: Automatic Success

Fred scans the room. He sees a closed window with open curtains, some cardboard and wrappers of pizza and snacks, clothes, bed coverings.

<<PROVE>> Fred has the following value for 'Strength': 4.

The wrappers and cardboard go on the fire, followed by Fred ripping open the duvet to expose the stuffing and dumping that on the fire as well. The aim: to make a sudden conflagration, enough to give pause to whoever's behind him.

The fire is assisted a little by the wrappers, flaring up a bit, and threatening to ignite other things. The added fuel helping. However the fire retardant stuffing does little.

<<DICE>> Fred rolls dexterity+athletics, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (3 8, Specialty: No, Willpower: Yes)
[POOL] Fred spends 1 points of Willpower. Reason: Automatic Success

With a muttered oath, Fred catches up a standard lamp and uses it to smash the window open. Hopefully the added oxygen will help the flames - and if not, at least he has a way out.

The cool evening air feels like it's rushing into the bedroom. The two drug addicts don't even more, oblivious. But as Fred moves with great haste, two men seem to come into the room in slow motion, just in time for the added fuel and blowing air to flare up the fire and push them back. "Damn," one of them whines. The other raises a Glock. "Look bitch, just give us our money or you'll burn in this fire just like them."

Fred drops the lamp and turns, holding his empty free hand up. "How much?" Hopefully, if he keeps it short and does his best John Wayne impression, they won't cotton on to the accent. Hopefully.

<<DICE>> Fred rolls wits+performance, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> FAIL (2 3 3 3 4 5, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

The other man also pulls out HIS Glock. Well, there's no doubt now about what those clicking noises were. "500 dollars. Make it 550 because you're a fucking Canadian."

Canadian. Fred knows Canadians. That means saying 'aboot' while pretending to be John Wayne. "Only if they get out. It's aboot them, after all."

The man who took the lead, the one who didn't getpushed back by the fire, tilts his head, and shakes the gun. "Listen man, I don't give a fuck about them. Just give me my damn money they stole and shot up."

"Damn, I'm sorry they stole your money," says Fred. Apologising is also Canadian, he belatedly remembers. "I don't carry that much aboot. Gotta find a cashpoint. See what I mean?"

The man shakes the gun. "You better not be fucking with me. How much you got? How much they got?"

"I got fifty bucks on me. Them? Damn if I know." Fred lurches a step back and makes a small gesture towards the kids with that empty hand, just a harmless disabled Canadian.

Drug dealer man points the gun at them. "You'd better find out then bitch."

Fred surveys the two men and they appear out of each other's way. They've done this sort of thing before.

Fred lurches the few steps needed to get to the nearest of the two, then proceeds to get to where he can both frisk them and get up without too much trouble, deliberately playing up the awkwardness of his leg.

In searching, Fred finds that one happens to have 200 bucks in balled up, dirty 20s. The two men are watching, guns still pointed.

Fred pulls out the cash and counts it. "Aboot two hundred." And then it's get back upright and go frisk the other one. Always be calm and polite when dealing with the hollow end of the firearm.

Fred finds 20 bucks on that one. Thet two men yell "Alright give it over. All of it bitch."

Fred does just that, lurching towards the fire in order to hand over all the money he's taken from the kids. It's not as though he has a free hand with which to get his own wallet out at the moment, after all.

One gun remains pointed toward Fred and the drug addicts. The other man reaches out, over the flames, to try to take the money. "that's right," he spits as he starts counting it. "You got a watch? Them?"

Fred hands over the cash without a qualm, and at the question, doesn't go for his wallet just yet. "I ain't got a watch," says Fred, rolling his shoulder to pull back his jacket sleeve and show at least a little of his wrist. He lurches back towards the kids to see if they have watches, without turning his back on the firearms.

The kids don't have any watches, but one of them has a gold chain with a cross. "You better find something."

Fred takes the chain and lurches back to the fire to offer it over. "All I can see aboot them," he says. "Sorry."

The men hum, and look at the chain. Count the money. "Whateve ryou've got in that wallet and we're even."

Fred takes his wallet out of his pocket and opens it at the 'cash' pocket. It turns out he was telling the truth about having fifty bucks; he takes it out, and keeps the wallet in the hand with the stick while offering it over with his free hand.

The men count it up. ABout 300 bucks and a gold chain. "Good enough," the leader grunts, as they turn to leave.

Fred stays exactly where he is while the two leave, and even keeps his mouth shut. He can leap into action when there aren't any more firearms waving around - or, well, lurch into action, anyway - and a day in which no-one gets shot is generally a good day.

They will continue to leave, and asusming Fred does nothing, can be heard existing that same creaky back door.

And with the two gone, it's time to lurch into action! First any large shards of glass get hammered out of the windowsill, then the curtains get ripped down to be laid over the remaining glass and windowsill. Fred's moving briskly - no need to hang about with the fire still burning.

The fire is good sized, but isn't spreading too quickly. The carpet doesn't burn especially well. He has time.

If the nearest mattress is both not on fire and shiftable, that can go out, followed by the kids and Fred; if it isn't usable/shiftable/shove-out-of-the-window-able, Fred'll just dump what soft stuff he can out of the window before lowering the kids out as far as possible before letting them go, followed by himself. Or that's the plan, at least. Out-of-it people bounce well, and can even soften up a landing nicely.

<<DICE>> Arthur rolls 2 dice, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> FAIL (5 5, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Arthur rolls 2 dice, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (6 6, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

Fred is able to get the kids out the window. One of them groans upon hitting the concrete, the other seems to take the hit better, and rolls off onto the grass.

And with that, it's time to take a last glance around and follow the kids out of the window - albeit with rather more care. It shouldn't hurt much more than a parachute drop, right?

<<DICE>> Fred rolls stamina, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (7 8, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

Fred is able to take the hit. It hurts, but he doesn't feel injured.

Fred gets back to his feet, then goes to haul the kids clear and check them over quickly for landing-induced injuries.

<<DICE>> Fred rolls perception+medicine, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> 1 success (1 2 4 9 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

Fred notices one of the kids is okay. The other cracked a rib.

Fred just shrugs at the cracked rib. Not much to be done about that, even for the professionals. He hauls them away from the burning house, one at a time, to a more out-of-sight spot, upwind of the fire and with a good view of the burning house.

They're still pretty out of it. Fire and falling out of a building are one thing, but heavy doses of heroin from a windfall of cash are another thing entirely. One of them seems to open his eyes to look at Fred, but there's not a hint of comprehension.

Fred sets the pair up with a good view of what should have been their fate, then turns to lurch away to the Landy. Maybe the kids will get shocked enough to go clean, maybe they won't; that's out of his hands and in Someone Else's. He's done what he set out to do.