* CHUD Mafia RPG - Chapter 8 - Page 2

Recovery
Stein's Hi-Rise
(ATTN: Frank, Virgil)

While the two of you chatty-Cathy it up in the bedroom, Julian has disappeared. There is no longer any sound coming from the living room, save for the blaring of TV commercials.

While Frank completes his cell-call, Virgil listens carefully. A lull in the television and the phone call lasts long enough for Abrizza to sense something... A high pitched hiss coming from the next room.

From the kicthen...

Regroup
Diamond Valley Mall
(ATTN: Othello, Forbes, Dino)

Redman cuts through a grass median, jumping a curb with a thud and landing in the mall parking lot. Tires strike pavement quickly, squealing as he floors the pedal forward.

Outside a nearby mall exit, he sees a man instinctively break for the parking lot. Wait... it's Dino... and in his arms is one of the notorious packages!

"Baby Bull" rushes like a quarterback nearing the end zone. His eyes are squinted almost completey shut, as he braces for what must be some suicide mission.

In horror, he looks up to see Othello not to far out, and in a panic to protect the merc, breaks left suddenly.

Eventually, he runs out of steam near the outer road that encompasses the mall compound. He tumbles over clumsily, landing next to the package.

A dud? Othello slid to a quick stop, lingering in the distance, quickly piecing together what has happened. His tires continued to smoke as he planned his next action.

Meanwhile, a very confused Forbes McCready arrived at the outer door, peering out at the chaos. In the distance, he sees the collapsed Morinelli, and to his left, Roman's hired gun in a convertible.

Recovery
Stein's Hi-Rise
(ATTN: Frank, Virgil)

Frank leads the way quickly through the window, careful to put the thick part of his shoe against the jagged glass. He turns to make sure his recovering companion is behind him, and spies the dead body of Chelsea about to be left behind.

But it was too late to save her. Who knew how few seconds remained before the apartment erupted like a volcano? He vaulted through the opening, then turned to help the stitched up Virgil cross the glass unscathed.

Frank proceeded to shimmy down the metal planks and rails, and Virgil was quick to pick up the concept. Hearts raced, every second seemed to drag. Only three floors below the apartemnt, a loud whoosh was heard, followed by an explosion.

The shoddy catwalk rattled in the wake of the blast, causing Virgil and Frank to tighten their grip. Glass and wood splitnered down around them, as they kept their eyes carefully shut.

A new worry emerged as the metal framework they rested on creaked a warning. From the center of the explosion, the fire escape was bending, breaking from the concrete, bolts pelting down on the street below like raindrops.

They had several stories to go, ten by Frank's estimation. It was a long climb, and the metal maze they scurried through was collapsing.

Transfer
Capella Mansion: Lobby
(ATTN: Roman, Paulie)

The two men step cautiously into the mansion. Roman crosses first into the large living room, Paulie carefully watching his back.

It was a bittersweet arrivel. The buidling that was once their home, a base of operations. The place they had conducted business, planned out their strategy and even whacked a few "guests".

Hopefully, the tables weren't about to be turned on the former masters of the house.

In their abscence, Don Paolo had brought all kinds of changes to the once beutiful estate. Since Capella passed, diRossi had converted the mansion into a guarded fortress, a vault for a whole new collection of illegal activity.

Heroin and cocaine had been brought in, stacked in crates and piles all around the hallways and living room. The audacity of the digruntled Italian was unbelievable.

He seemed to be poised to take Capella's things for himself. No sooner was the former Don in the ground, than diRossi had barged in and pissed on the grave. It seemed more and more likely that diRossi was a part of the attack that put Capella six feet under.

Though they said nothing out loud about it, Paulie and Roman shared a similar conclusion. If that "reformer" Commissioner Graves had one look at this place, he would have every last cousin of diRossi's put away indefinitely.

One of Bruno's toughs touched down at the bottom of the staircase in the distance--Tommy. "Dancing" Tommy. He was notorious for dodging bullets, some kind of ballet-gunman. It was not a welcome sign to the two entrants.

"Mr. diRossi asks that you wait in the car gentelmen," Tommy offered, trying to mask his Italian accent in something a bit more... British?

"But it seems you don't know how to listen."

From behind Tommy, the back doors opened to reveal no less than ten incoming mooks, all circling around and in front of Tommy. All of the sweaty, suit-clad thugs itching to pull heat.

"The door, please," Tommy scoffed into his cell phone.

Paulie glanced back as he heard movement outside the large oak doors behind him. Odds are the mooks outside had barred them from slipping back out the entrance.

"Genetlemen," Tommy addresses one last time. "You will be missed."

(The living room is a large square. The two of you stand at the south end, next to the barred front door facing into the room. Tommy is at the top of the north end, at the base of a grand staricase. His mooks, a total of ten men, are all drawing Glocks, forming a semi-circle in front of Tommy. The room is about 60 feet long and wide, there is a good deal of distance between you and them. There are also various pieces of antique furtniture, and crates of stacked drugs along the walls. Email me for more info.)

TRANSFER
Capella Mansion: Living Room
(ATTN: Roman, Paulie)

Bullets pierce wood and smoke. The explosion rocks the building and henchmen scatter, some opening fire, and some crouching for cover.

Roman manages to drop one... two of the pinstriped goons before being forced to take full cover and reload. Paulie shakes off the vertigo and manages to train the ladies on a particularly tall drink of Italian soda, before buttoning up the man's vest with bullets.

Ever the flamboyant gunslinger, Tommy paces behind his men, taking well aimed shots that just barely clear the crate protecting Roman.

"Any more surprises, Carvaggio?"

REGROUP
Stein's Hi-Rise
(ATTN: Frank, Virgil)

The two comrades managed to escape the immedaite area, intact for the most part. Having hobbled to the mini-mart next door, Frank and Virgil watch the fire escape's cascading metal poles and planks tumble noisily to the ground.

The two are injured-and while serious injuries, it is nothing new to either of them. Once clear of the burning building, Virgil hails a passing cab, on the far side of the hi-rise, so as to avoid any extra curiosity.

Once they are seated in the back of the cab, a quick decision must be made. Virgil Struggles to help Frank as he forces his shoulder back into relative alignment. The pain is mostly muffled by a closed mouth, but the curious driver... Rathud, cant help but inquire...

"What happened to you guys?" the driver offers, attempting to "pal around". "You see the shit going on in the big building on 48th?"

Virgil offers the man a nod, while Frank still winces in recovery.

Giving up on his attempts at being hip, the cabbie faces forward. "Where to my troubled friends?"

Frank and Virgil take a moment to reflect. Julian had turned on them, Chelsea paid the price for their lack of instinct. Obviously, the whole diRossi crew was in question.

Romeo had taken Othello and the professor with Dino somewhere, while Roman and Paulie were headed back... to the mansion!

Rathud waited kindly for an answer, as the meter ticked on...

REGROUP
Convertible: Heading into Downtown
(ATTN: Othello, Forbes, Dino)

The three of you cram into the tight two seater, and Othello has already found the floorboard with his foot. The convertible chortles quickly into compliance, and the three of you tear off for new destination.

Romeo was likely heading out in the SAAB, the silver car that would be fairly easy to spot. One thing the big mook hadn't planned on, was the survival of the quirky trio.

The bastard was probably heading back home... the the mansion, Othello mused, pushing the cehicle as hard as he could.

Soon, the vehicle burst onto the freeway, weaving mindlessly between slower cars... pretty much every other car, and into downtown.

Before long, Dino caught a glimpse of something. "No way!" he started, looking about a quarter mile up the road. "No way we caught up to that fuck!"

As Forbes and Othello trained their eyes on the car, it started to make sense. If it was Romeo, and by god it looked like the same SAAB, he would have fled nice and quiet. Probably even went under the speed limit just to be safe.

Commissioner Graves' new policy was "One offense, one ticket." No doubt Romeo thought he should play it safe, after coming from the seen of a multiple homicide, destruction of private property, illegal use of explosives...

Hell, the sonofabitch probabbly had a package or two of C-4 left in the trunk!

Recovery
Capella Mansion: Outer Gates
(ATTN: Frank, Virgil)

The taxi turns the last familiar corner as the two of you watch the manor fade into view. Before getting too close, it becomes clear that walking into the mansion isn't going to work.

Smoke billows up over the southern wall, near the main entrance. You have only just arrived and already the smoke and fire have made their debut. This does not bode well.

From your location on W. Fortuna Avenue, you feel pretty secure. None of the mooks on the perimeter are looking for you or the cab in particular. Unfortunately, you are also aware that the compound-like manor cannot be gatecrashed. As a bonus, there will no doubt be mooks on high alert, with all the carnage that must be ensuing.

Roman and Paulie are obviously not going down without a fight. Hopefully, they were saving something for the two of you...

(SEE "NOTE" below before posting a reply!)

Regroup
Fortuna Avenue: Near Capella Compound
(ATTN: Othello, Forbes, Dino)

The cramped car slides around the corner, keeping a wary distance from Romeo's lifted SAAB. The brute pulls into the gates of Capella manor, still quite a ways down the road.

There seems to be quite a bit of activity on the grounds around the mansion, but you are still too far out to make out much.

(SEE "NOTE" below before posting a reply!)

NOTE: Frank/Virgil's cab is parked on the western side of the Manor, on Fortuna Ave., while Othello/Forbes/Dino's convertible is on the far eastern side. Both groups are a safe distance in their respective directions from the manor as of this post, and are too far out to see each other.

Transfer
Capella Mansion: Living Room
(ATTN: Paulie, Roman)

Tommy whirls between incoming bullets, laughing as he hears Carvaggio begin a reply. Soon, the dancing gunman falls silent. He ignores the two new fallen that Paulie's girls brought to the ground.

Bullets ring out from the remaining goon squad, reducing the crate behind the Jester slowly to sawdust. His cover has almost withered completely away.

A deep, uncharacteristically feral growl comes out of Tommy. He fires frantically at Roman's position, sacrificing a bit of his legendary accuracy for sheer volume. Guns are emptied. Dropped. New guns are emtied. White smoke rises around Roman's hiding spot. A curious red trail leaks away from him towards the barricaded door.

Click, click. Fred Astaire huffs heavily with empty pistols in hand.