[ SEMI-OPEN ] MEDIUM, LIVE!

[knightscode]

Date: 17th to 31st of October, inclusive!
Plot: Medium, Live!
Areas: Manchester for the pre-London show, then Greenwich




Worldwide phenomenon Sarah Silverton is coming to London. The British Born psychic, medium and all round lady of the supernatural is doing a special tour ending with a Halloween show in the enormous setting of the O2 arena.

She's booked out the placed, too, tickets are sold out. They weren't exactly cheap, either.

Silverton has plenty of critics, but nobody can deny that she does put on a good show. Some put it down to publicity stunts, but every time she takes over a stage there always seem to be mysterious problems. Lights flickering, sound problems, all sorts of spooky goings on while stage hands swear blind they didn't touch anything. There have even been some who quit because they couldn't take it any more, claiming members of Sarah's team must have been deliberating interfering to draw crowds.

It's no surprise, then, that the Night Council has taken any interest. With the reports of strange goings on escalating (including a falling piece of set in one show that caused injury to one unsuspecting audience member) they've launched a full investigation. While most believe Silverton to be a fraud simply putting together elaborate stunts to sell tickets, any chance that she's a real member of the community flagrantly breaking the Statute of Secrecy must be addressed. Lancelot is charged with putting together a team and investigating carefully. Sarah Silverton is a celebrity, and they can't risk drawing attention to themselves in the process or causing any kind of public scandal. They have just over two weeks until her live show in London, and a lot of work to get done....

[ ooc; Post for the medium, live! plot. Still time to sign up if you want! Spooky content likely, in the spirit of Halloween. ]

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LONDON; INVESTIGATIONS

[knightscode]

Sarah Silverton is apparently planning an autobiography, but unfortunately for everyone concerned she hasn't written it yet. A little piecing together of old stories reveals she did spend her childhood in the southeast, moved to the midlands at some point. That she claims she has been gifted for as long as she remembers. There are stories of varying credulity from her childhood of the time she saw the ghost of someone's dead grandmother, of experiences she's had -- and more than a few news reports of strange goings on during her live performances. They seem to be more frequent over the years, and there are even one or two reports of injuries from falling equipment.

As a celebrity Sarah Silverton of course has a twitter account, facebook, a website -- all kept well up to date. It makes her a little easier to track, although not as specifically as might be preferred. Needless to say it doesn't take long to figure out she'll be checking in to the Radisson Blu Edwardian just across the river from the O2 arena, and taking the penthouse suite. At over £600 a night, she must be doing well for herself.

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl had experience breaking and entering sneaking into people's houses as a vital part of his investigations. He never did it to steal anything important. Usually to get an idea of what kind of interests or responsibilities they had and maybe something covered in their scent for him to find. Sneaking into a hotel room, on the other hand, was a very different kind of operation. He first had to go to the Hotel and not look like he stood out. He then had to find a way into the hotel room. And when he was done, he had to find a way out.

A rented suit and freshly washed and brushed hair made the first part go as easily as it could. None of the maids seemed to question his presence as he walked through the halls like he knew what he was doing. His hearing and attentive listening was what he was currently relying on to figure out what maid and cart would be heading into the Penthouse. Someone had to be jealous or excited about who got that service assignment for the day.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha has to admit, Daryl cleans up pretty well. Which isn't to say he looked good—though he didn't look bad—but that he passes for someone else, someone who looks like he belonged here. That isn't something everyone can learn. It takes talent and experience.

Natasha has both of those as well. A wig and makeup helps change her appearance, and a skirt suit set in professional grey effects a similar illusion for Natasha. She makes a pretty good blonde. And she pays attention to their surroundings in detail while seeming to have her attention fixed on a clipboard.

"Got anything?" she asks under her breath.

[dirtyredneck]

"Jeanette on floor 4 asked Olivia on floor 5 to take half her block so she could cut out early," he answered in at a similar volume, head up to let his eyes scan as much as possible while they made their way down the current hall. The gossip wasn't what he was looking for, exactly, but it was still informative. Gave them names and floor numbers. Ideas of who valued what in case they needed to make a distraction. "Chloe on 6 called in sick and the other girl working that block is pretty much pissed she's gotta twice as many rooms. Think there might be two Emily's. We passed one on the last floor but the girls we just passed said Emily'd be working the block two floors up and far as I know, hotels don't usually make people work separate floors unless it's an emergency."

info dump (skip as much as you want)

[knightscode]

The penthouse suite is on the 7th floor of the Raddison Edwardian. The whole place is sleek, expensive, and the hallways between the rooms are narrow -- the lift to the guest rooms requires a key card after 5pm to make it move. Each door in and out of the rooms requires a key card to be pushed in and out of the look to open, then to be slid into a holder by the door for the lights to work. The cleaners have master cards that unlock all the doors.

The penthouse suite with its greater space and view seems to be under the jurisdiction of a girl with blond haired that has been plaited then rolled into a bun of sorts. She might be one of the two possibly Emily candidates, but what she definitely is if anything is tired and distracted. She has the worn down look about her of someone who might burst into exhausted tears if only they had the actual time to do so.

[outstandingbalance]

"Sounds like we're looking for Emily then," Natasha says. She has an idea what they're looking for—working with celebrities, even second tier celebrities, tends to have a particular effect on the staff. "We just have to keep an eye out for someone who looks like they're working three jobs."

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl snorted and went to step into the elevator, "Sounds like every girl we seen. Let's go up to 6th floor and see if we can spot her. Don't know about here, but stateside penthouse level ain't never had supplies at the ready. Always had to be brought up a floor."

He paused as he set his hand to the door to keep it open for her and then punch in the number after she was securely inside, "Least that's how it was always shown in the movies. Can't be that far off."

[outstandingbalance]

"Lead the way," Natasha says with a little smile. She doesn't quibble or challenge his explanation about the movies. Shaking her head a little, she says. "You have to feel sorry for them. They're just trying to make a living, then this falls on their laps..."

And Natasha does feel sorry for them, as far as it goes. It's not something she dwells on though. Instead, she directs her attention to the space around them, looking for anything out of the ordinary. In particular, she keeps her eyes open for ghosts trying to make their presence felt. If there's a real medium in the area, she'd bring the restless dead to her.

"If there really are ghosts, it won't be making their jobs any easier."

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl nodded his quiet agreement, sucking in another breath as the elevator slowed to a stop and dinged open before he could say anything aloud. He squared his shoulders and stepped out. A quick glance to either and then a turn to the left towards the cleaning cart tucked against the wall. The girl matching the description of the second 'Emily' was just coming out of a room with a pile of dirty towels.

He glanced over at Natasha with raised eyebrows. How did she want to play this? He had his own methods, but with all the security cameras a hotel like this had, he was less in his element and couldn't exactly shift safely.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha hasn't decided how she'll handle Emily herself when they find her. There were options, but most of them off the table for one reason or another. It does occur to her, not for the first time, how much easier it would it would be if she could influence the girl's thoughts. This is not a mission worth falling off the wagon, though.

When they do see Emily, she leans in closer to Daryl and asks in a low voice, "You think me and her wear the same size?"

It's hard to tell if she's serious or not from her tone. Natasha herself is still considering as she asks.

[dirtyredneck]

Natasha was on the smaller side, Emily looked a little wider at the waist. Taller, though. "Should fit you," he answered back.

He reached up to loosen his tie like he was getting ready to go into his room - hopefully the actual occupants of the one the girl was cleaning weren't inside and Emily hadn't seen them before they left for the day.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha nods. No need to over-complicate this. They were dealing with a psychic, not a foreign dignitary or a crime lord. She had plenty of money and some B-list celebrity status, but it wasn't as though she had a full security detail.

Posing as the hotel staff should be enough to get close.

She stays in step beside Daryl with the air that she belongs there, and they both belong in this hall, in the room that they're approaching, that they don't know or care about anything out of the ordinary.

It's a convincing act. No one's given them a second glance so far, and it doesn't change now.

[dirtyredneck]

He had his tied fully loosened and was flapping the collar of his jacket like he needed to stretch a bit when he walked into the room. A quick sniff said it had a male occupant sometime recently, but not within the last hour or so. Which meant that Emily likely hadn't seen the man.

A guess that was confirmed when she started at seeing them walk in and forced a polite smile while she brushed the sheets smooth on the bed, "I'm almost done here. I'll be out of your hair in a jiffy."

Daryl let out a soft grunt and glanced at Natasha. Then turned his back and headed for the bathroom. He'd let her deal with knocking the girl out and getting her out of uniform.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha handles it—quickly, quietly, and as safely as was realistically possible. Emily doesn't even make a thud as she hits the ground. Then it's just a matter of getting her out of her uniform and getting herself in it.

The smock isn't a perfect fit, but it's approximately as flattering on her as on anyone else.

When Daryl comes back, he'll find the vampire pulling strands of her wig loose, mimicking the harried look of the hotel staff.

[dirtyredneck]

He gives her time to take care of all that before coming back. Just a minute or two. Enough for the deed to get done and her changing to happen. But not long enough for anyone to causally interrupt them. He was still dressed as he needed to be.

"You want me to put her anywhere?" The question was laced with uncertainty because Daryl wasn't used to this kind of infiltration. He understood it, of course, but it wasn't his personal M.O. Mostly cause he normally worked alone. Better to ask now before he was in a state he couldn't talk in.

[outstandingbalance]

"Gag her and throw her in the bathtub," Natasha says. The room's actual occupants would be back at some point. Hard to say just when, but better to let the girl be found when they did than put her somewhere she wouldn't be found until morning. "If you want to throw the bathrobe on her, so she doesn't freeze in there? No reason to make this less comfortable than it has to be."

Which is still pretty uncomfortable, but it could always be worse.