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xp_logsFollowing last night's dog shelter break in, X-Factor (and friends) finally have a lead on the missing boy, Ben.
"Breaking news," Quentin said, showing his phone to Alex, Sooraya, and Angelo before handing it to Madin for a closer look. "We have people looking through Chicago news and whatnot to catch a sign of our missing boy, and look. Security cam at a dog shelter caught him. It's not great footage, but Big Brother software says it's him. Any idea who's keeping him company here?"
Oh shit. That was why he'd looked so familiar at the food bank. Madin nodded and pointed to the faces on the phone. "Postman, uh. Shatter, I think, Shopper - no, Trader and Eve? I think her name's Eve. They're um. They've fully quit human society. They reckon there's nothing for them up here. Which is fair. They're squatting in these like, old tunnels under the city." Madin looked at the group and added, stumbling over the words slightly, "I wouldn't call most of them a heavy threat", do not give Quire a fucking sitrep, shit, stop. "But Postman has real creepy vibes. He's fucked. Put his wife in a coma."
"On purpose", Angelo asked, "or powers accident?"
"Quitting society isn't entirely new," Alex added thoughtfully. He was completely fine with leaving them alone as long as they weren't hurting anyone else. "We just want to find the kid, we don't need to start problems with them if they just want to live their lives."
"We've met several like them, living in the tunnels underneath the city." Sooraya furrowed her brow. "And sometimes they've a hard time surviving and do a little breaking and entering. But animal shelters don't really have money or the supplies they'd be for." She glanced at Alex. "I'm no PI, but do you think this could be personal in some way?"
Alex shrugged. "I don't have nearly enough information. Does the article say anything about the person who owns it? Is it a non-profit? What else do they support?"
"They have drugs at vets and shelters," Madin muttered. "You can take cat benzoes and they've always got cheap ket."
Quentin shrugged. "Drugs are a possibility, but see, they opened all the kennels, too. So it looks personal, maybe some dumbass PETA shit, or it's a cover for something else like theft. In any case, Madin, can you take us to wherever it is they squat? Postman and the others can do whatever, we don't care unless they want our help. Just need Hammil."
"Yeah, sure. They're in the city." Madin paused for a moment, visually correcting themself. "Downtown, I mean. Do you have a car?"
"Yeah, not far from here", Angelo told them. "Do you know exactly where it is?"
Alex was on his phone, looking up where the animal shelter was. They probably weren't wandering too far outside of their comfort zone. "I can drive."
Madin grinned. "I know exactly where it is, yeah. Come on."
Madin leads them on an exploration of the Chicago tunnels.
Madin stopped just inside the tunnels and looked around. "It's fucking crazy, hey. Having something like this underground and just shutting it all down?" Their gestures took in the brick walls, the old train tracks on the ground and the graffiti and rubbish. "I followed Postman back here this one time, when he came to the food bank. He's got weird vibes and his group - it's like one of them shot himself in the head but he's like, made of crystal or something so it completely fucked his head but he's still okay. And, I don't know. Some electricity girl and a couple of others. She's got serious junky vibes. Anyway, they all do whatever he wants and, look, I don't know. They're creepy weirdos. Like, why the fuck would you squat down here? There's abandoned houses topside and they're way less fucking creepy." Madin talked as they walked, a steady stream of quiet commentary.
"The people I've met who live underground feel that there is no place for them there... not even in abandoned houses or on the streets." Sooraya carefully picked her way through the mess on the floor. "I'm almost surprised they even came to a food bank." Sooraya scanned the room carefully. "No one is home though. Is there any place nearby they could have gone?"
"Question is, are they just out on errands or are they gone gone?" Quentin asked, carefully inspecting piles of discarded clothes and trash for any indication of their intentions. "I don't see any, like, backpacks or traveling bags, so they could've packed up their shit and split. So yeah, where could they be?"
Madin shrugged. "I don't know. They're not here, that's really obvious." They kicked an abandoned jumper. "And they've moved out everything that might be worth keeping but I don't know."
Quentin massaged his temples, trying to calm himself from the frustration of finding nothing so far. "Not at their usual haunts, not here, pigs are looking for them . . ." Well, duh. Quentin took out his phone, and surprised to see he did get a bar of reception down here, opened the police scanner app.
"11-71 reported in Beverly. Possible mutant-related arson. Requesting all nearby units."
"Well. Sounds like our boy."
"Then we'd better get to him before the SWAT team does", Angelo agreed. "Madin, d'you know a quick way there from here?"
Madin shook their head. "No fucking idea mate. It's not like I'm from around here normally."
"Good thing Google Maps exists, then," Alex said, already putting the address in his phone. "Let's roll."
"Breaking news," Quentin said, showing his phone to Alex, Sooraya, and Angelo before handing it to Madin for a closer look. "We have people looking through Chicago news and whatnot to catch a sign of our missing boy, and look. Security cam at a dog shelter caught him. It's not great footage, but Big Brother software says it's him. Any idea who's keeping him company here?"
Oh shit. That was why he'd looked so familiar at the food bank. Madin nodded and pointed to the faces on the phone. "Postman, uh. Shatter, I think, Shopper - no, Trader and Eve? I think her name's Eve. They're um. They've fully quit human society. They reckon there's nothing for them up here. Which is fair. They're squatting in these like, old tunnels under the city." Madin looked at the group and added, stumbling over the words slightly, "I wouldn't call most of them a heavy threat", do not give Quire a fucking sitrep, shit, stop. "But Postman has real creepy vibes. He's fucked. Put his wife in a coma."
"On purpose", Angelo asked, "or powers accident?"
"Quitting society isn't entirely new," Alex added thoughtfully. He was completely fine with leaving them alone as long as they weren't hurting anyone else. "We just want to find the kid, we don't need to start problems with them if they just want to live their lives."
"We've met several like them, living in the tunnels underneath the city." Sooraya furrowed her brow. "And sometimes they've a hard time surviving and do a little breaking and entering. But animal shelters don't really have money or the supplies they'd be for." She glanced at Alex. "I'm no PI, but do you think this could be personal in some way?"
Alex shrugged. "I don't have nearly enough information. Does the article say anything about the person who owns it? Is it a non-profit? What else do they support?"
"They have drugs at vets and shelters," Madin muttered. "You can take cat benzoes and they've always got cheap ket."
Quentin shrugged. "Drugs are a possibility, but see, they opened all the kennels, too. So it looks personal, maybe some dumbass PETA shit, or it's a cover for something else like theft. In any case, Madin, can you take us to wherever it is they squat? Postman and the others can do whatever, we don't care unless they want our help. Just need Hammil."
"Yeah, sure. They're in the city." Madin paused for a moment, visually correcting themself. "Downtown, I mean. Do you have a car?"
"Yeah, not far from here", Angelo told them. "Do you know exactly where it is?"
Alex was on his phone, looking up where the animal shelter was. They probably weren't wandering too far outside of their comfort zone. "I can drive."
Madin grinned. "I know exactly where it is, yeah. Come on."
Madin leads them on an exploration of the Chicago tunnels.
Madin stopped just inside the tunnels and looked around. "It's fucking crazy, hey. Having something like this underground and just shutting it all down?" Their gestures took in the brick walls, the old train tracks on the ground and the graffiti and rubbish. "I followed Postman back here this one time, when he came to the food bank. He's got weird vibes and his group - it's like one of them shot himself in the head but he's like, made of crystal or something so it completely fucked his head but he's still okay. And, I don't know. Some electricity girl and a couple of others. She's got serious junky vibes. Anyway, they all do whatever he wants and, look, I don't know. They're creepy weirdos. Like, why the fuck would you squat down here? There's abandoned houses topside and they're way less fucking creepy." Madin talked as they walked, a steady stream of quiet commentary.
"The people I've met who live underground feel that there is no place for them there... not even in abandoned houses or on the streets." Sooraya carefully picked her way through the mess on the floor. "I'm almost surprised they even came to a food bank." Sooraya scanned the room carefully. "No one is home though. Is there any place nearby they could have gone?"
"Question is, are they just out on errands or are they gone gone?" Quentin asked, carefully inspecting piles of discarded clothes and trash for any indication of their intentions. "I don't see any, like, backpacks or traveling bags, so they could've packed up their shit and split. So yeah, where could they be?"
Madin shrugged. "I don't know. They're not here, that's really obvious." They kicked an abandoned jumper. "And they've moved out everything that might be worth keeping but I don't know."
Quentin massaged his temples, trying to calm himself from the frustration of finding nothing so far. "Not at their usual haunts, not here, pigs are looking for them . . ." Well, duh. Quentin took out his phone, and surprised to see he did get a bar of reception down here, opened the police scanner app.
"11-71 reported in Beverly. Possible mutant-related arson. Requesting all nearby units."
"Well. Sounds like our boy."
"Then we'd better get to him before the SWAT team does", Angelo agreed. "Madin, d'you know a quick way there from here?"
Madin shook their head. "No fucking idea mate. It's not like I'm from around here normally."
"Good thing Google Maps exists, then," Alex said, already putting the address in his phone. "Let's roll."
