The War of Paradigm City

*Hitomi glares at the sight of the ducks and just goes around the exterior of the premises looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary.*

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*Vega sits his ass down and begins going through the mail. Possibly looking for cheques and anything worth taking.*

*It's a shitton of unpaid bills, some newspapers, & a notice of termination from Paradigm Media.*
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*She notices that, scrawled on the underside of the chair is the phrase "murder?" Her phone also starts vibrating.*
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*A man with brown hair in a red coat is on the back porch.*

<Umm...are you looking for something, little girl?>
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*The only thing that might yield results is a sewer grate in the back of the dome, unguarded & blocked from view by overgrown hedges at the edge of a large park.*
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*Thiera answers her phone.*

L{I found an entrance under the clock tower. Aamon rigged the entire thing to pivot when the proper command was input.}

T"Hmm...I'll let Zell know before anyone else. Don't go in yet."

"No."

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[Nothing of value.]

*He opens up the notice of termination.*

Zell answers her phone, "Hello?"

R"Umm...okay...just lookin' at the ducks? Or the fish?"
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*Thiera relays everything Lilith just told her.*

T"I'm thinking of leaving Basilisk here to moniter the tunnel & going to join Lilith in an investigation of the tunnel. Not sure we need to tell the others. What do you think? And did you find anything?"
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*The letter is dated to a week before the murders ceased, thanks him for years of service, says he will no longer be needed, & offers him $1,000,000,000 in severence pay.*

"The fish..."

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"Shit, I chose the wrong profession."

*Vega pockets the letter and rummages for a little while longer.*

"Nothing of great import, the tomatoes have all withered, which was... cheery to see," Zell said, rocking the chair a bit, "Also a rocking chair that had murder written on it, once again, cheery. As far as telling the others, I'm not sure if I really trust any of them. Do you want me to make my over to you and Lilith?"

R<Yeah, there aren't a lot of animals left anymore, but believe it or not, all of these were here when I moved in.>
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*Deeper in the apartment, he can smell something unusual, & notices that the stove has been bashed to pieces with a blunt object.*
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T"Maybe. First see if you can find any other clues there."

"That's interesting."

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*Vega takes a gander at the stove, looking over at other parts of the kitchen in the process.*

"Okay, call me if you need anything," Zell said, "You and Lilith be careful."

T"Will do."

*She hangs up.*
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*Vega trips a hidden wire & the kitchen explodes. Fortunately, most of the gas had already been exhausted. Unfortunately, it still sets his hair on fire.*

Zell goes back to looking around, stepping inside the cabin.

*Vega pats the flames out.*

[Now I'm going to have to start wearing a hat.]

*He continues going about the apartment.*

*She checks to see if it can be opened.*

[Valefor Pruslas...]

*The grate cannot be removed by hand. It would also be difficult to unscrew the thing, because the bolts are rusted & stripped.*
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*Most appliances & furniture have been removed from the cabin. There's an empty book case with Metropolis on it.*
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*In the bedroom, he finds a lone tape recorder sitting on the pillow.*

*She examines the bolts to see if shooting them would help at all before doing anything that might draw attentions.*

Zell grabs the book and inspects it before flipping it open and skimming through some of the pages.

*They are big, thick metal bolts, attached to a big, thick metal grate. Touching them, they do not seem to move in the sockets at all.*
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*The first thing she notices is that the cover has a teaser of sorts that reads "The power of God wielded by man. Divine thunderbolts raining down from the Heavens." The second thing she notices is that some things fall out of it & onto the floor. One item is a card showing who's borrowed it from the library; Gordon, Alex, Schwarzwald, & Hitomi, in that order. The other item is a picture of the late Gordon Rosewater, looking substantially younger with no wrinkles & a full head of black hair, shaking hands with Aamon Avici in front of the first Dome. What's curious is that Aamon looks vaguely like there's someone wearing a suit double-exposed over him.*

Zell picks these things up and squints her eyes and looks close to try and make out who the man in the suit is.

*Vega looks around at the floor for anything that might be an obvious trap. Trip wires and such. Then picks the tape recorder and presses play.*

*She sighs, frustrated, and steps away from it, considering just calling her Megadeus to handle that.*

[That would probably ruin the whole purpose I'm trying to open this for.]

Schwarzwald's recording<Greetings, Paradigm Lapdog. Have you finished barking for your masters? Do you now wish to seek the truth, knowing your life has been nothing but lies? If so...only time will tell.>
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*She isn't sure, but she thinks she recognizes the features of Roger Smith.*
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*While Topaz is standing there like a yob, a frisbee hits her in the head.*

*Vega shoves that in his pocket as well and begins rummaging through drawers.*

"Smith?" Zell asked herself quietly, "What is the negotiator doing in this picture?" Zell pocketed the pic, and began to look around once again.

*The first drawer, & every drawer afterwards, he's met with the same disturbing site. Bloody bandages & hundreds of pictures of Schwarzwald with his eyes & grin cut out. Just...staring at him.*
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*There doesn't appear to be anything else in the house. Her phone rings again.*