19/Links and Leads

Links and Leads
Date of Scene:	18 February 2020
Location:	Blue Roof Inn
Synopsis:	Lois and the Best Widow watch a movie.
Cast of Characters:	Yelena Belova, Lois Lane

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Yelena Belova has posed:
    It had come in with the post, and spent months moving around the mail room before it ended up on the desk of one Lois Lane. It didn't have a specific reporter it was addressed to, and well nobody was fighting over getting stuck with the thing. Inside that battered cardboard box, well it's a candy tin of some sort just barely bigger than a VHS tape. Inside -that-, well it's a length of smooth red plastic with holes punched in it. A hand written letter in cyrillic, and a tape of some sort. Though it's maybe double the width of a audio casette, with broad flecked off cyrillic stamped overtop of it.

    Lucky this particular desk had come with a long list of contacts and informants, and one of them? "Indelicate", they had been providing legit tips on all things soviet and or espionage going back to the early 90s. Granted the Email address would simply bounce back a Telegram number, because who uses Email anymore?

Lois Lane has posed:
Puzzles were always something that Lois enjoyed. Usually, this sort of thing at least amused her for a while, even if they turned out to be jokes or dead ends. But sometimes, just sometimes, they meant something. Which, of course, was why Lois was investigating it. However, a good detective (or in this case, reporter) knew when more help was needed.

The contacts list could be tricky and figuring out just the right person to contact was important. Unfortunately, contacts didn't always make it easy. The Telegram number was cryptic enough, but she'd give it a shot anyway. Hopefully she'd get lucky.

Yelena Belova has posed:
Indelicate: Hello Reporter, I haven't heard from your newspaper in some time. I suppose you still have a little credit in the bank with me, what can I help you with?

Lois Lane has posed:
Reporter: Something got lost in the mail, somehow wound up here. Not the kind of fan mail I usually wind up reading. A coded letter and some kind of tape, some sort of plastic with holes in it. Either someone's been reading too many Sherlock Holmes mysteries or someone's sending a message.

Yelena Belova has posed:
Indelicate: Well that sounds like fun, shoot us some photos and I'll have a look.

Lois Lane has posed:
Reporter: Sure, one sec.

Taking a quick photo of each of the items, she attaches it in the app.

Reporter: That should be anything. I took photos of the packaging too, in case it matters at all.

Yelena Belova has posed:
Indelicate: Who else has seen this? Did you show anybody else?

Lois Lane has posed:
Reporter: The cardboard box has been floating about the mail room for a while, just about everyone's seen that, but I opened it alone, no one's seen the materials inside but me.

Yelena Belova has posed:
Indelicate:Put it back in the box right now. That letter contains a simple coded message, which indicates the latitude and Longitude of a facility inside Russia which you should definitely not google. That tape is something used by the KGB, I believe thats an interrogation tape. That chunk of plastic, thats part of a P.A.L.

Indelicate:I'm in Metropolis, Meet me at the Blue Roof In room 234 in an hour. Come alone, bring the package. Do not tell anyone where you are going.

Lois Lane has posed:
Reporter: Well, good thing I did not google that. Right, contents in the box, there in an hour.

For a moment, Lois considers how trustworthy said informant is. The list, however, was usually pretty reliable and the informant had been thus far useful. So she goes with it. She quickly returns the objects just as she found them, taping the box up (for security), grabs her purse and goes. Thankfully, the Blue Roof Inn isn't too far by car and she should be able to make it there in plenty of time, traffic permitting.

Yelena Belova has posed:
    The entire hotel seems, well it doesn't seem it's actually closed. "Closed for fumigation" declares the sign hung across the doors, and well theres no lights on but the door -has- been helpfully propped open. The elevator still works too, which is nice. Otherwise the entire hotel is dead still, and well generally unlit. It's a little creepy right? Room 234 has likewise been helpfully propped open,though the room beyond was left dark.

    That that the darkness is empty mind you, most of the room was of course. She'd dug up a projector at the last minute, before swinging by to set up. That left a little time to sit and wait, and listen. Content to remain just another shadow amongst a darkened room, though those goggles did make things easy enough to see. "Hello, Reporter. Please do come in, would you like me to make you a drink?"

Lois Lane has posed:
It's more than creepy. Lois very carefully makes her way into the hotel, and then up to the room. The darkness of the room makes her incredibly wary of entering, but she does anyway. She moves far enough in that they can shut the door, if needed, but she's unsure what to do. The box is held carefully under one arm.

"Would you believe this is not the creepiest situation I've been in?" She pauses. "But it's really up there. A drink would be just great, don't drug it please?" She doesn't entirely sound like she's joking there.

Yelena Belova has posed:
    And -click- goes the light, and well it's not -much- light but it's a little. That skin tight suit does more than just look good of course, it's not even just black it's -BLACK-. Her outline sort've bleeds into the background, and the gear she's got strapped on is all the more difficult to discern. There is a chest rig of some sort, stuffed everything a girl might need. Knives, spare rifle magazines, grenades, the usual. The belt buckle of that gunbelt has been decorated with the distinctive red hourglass, as has the receiver flat of that AK cradled casually under one arm. The upper half of her face hidden behind a visor, covered with at least six optical sensors in a seemingly random arrangement.

    "Relax reporter, you've nothing to fear from the Black Widow. I do happen to believe in a free press, and your paper did me a few favors I've still to repay."Theres a glance aside, as tosses over a travel bottle worth of vodka. Motel room bar perhaps? "Anyway, we should see whats on the tape yes?"

Lois Lane has posed:
For a moment, Lois blinks at the woman's appearance. "Well, you've certainly picked quite the outfit," she comments. "Is that thing even comfortable? Off the record, of course." The last part is added with a wry smile, and she catches the bottle fairly deftly before taking a swig of it. Yep, that's vodka.

The box is offered forward, as Lois regards it critically. "What I don't get is why it ended up with us. Only two things I can think of are that it was either intended for someone in the building who never retrieved it, or that whomever sent it wanted this information to be taken to the press for some reason." She's not sure she likes the implications of either. "Let's take a look."

Yelena Belova has posed:
    "Oh it's stupid comfortable, getting it on and off is a pain but then it's like second skin. The spray on suits that used to be big went on easier, but they just never breathed. Was like trying to fight in bondage gear, absolute nightmare."And well theres a little shrug of her shoulders as she accepts the package and studies the exterior for a moment. "I've got a guy in Metropolis who can hook you up for cheap, presuming you don't need the ballistic side of things."
    and well she flicks out a knife and slices that box back open to retrieve the goodies inside. "Well this might have been a deadman, You know the whole "if anything happens to me" kind of thing? A nuclear launch key is a nice touch though, haven't seen one of those in years."And well she tosses that chunk of plastic back towards Lois. "I want to say the tape recorders for these tapes got pulled in about eighty nine, though I think the Stasi kept them in service a little longer. You're lucky I had a projector laying around, these tapes were designed to destroy themselves if played on the wrong equipment you know."

Lois Lane has posed:
"Huh, kind of sounds nice," Lois remarks. "Though I don't know that I'd ever have a good excuse to even try on something like that." Some kind of inflitration? Nah. She does look amused at the concept though. That aside, she takes a look at the box.

Catching the plastic, she blinks. "Well, certainly sounds like whomever sent it knew what they were doing." Her attention moves to the projector. "I'd imagine if this was all a joke it'd be on this, though it'd have to be pretty elaborate to do all this." She'd seen some elaborate jokes before, though this would take the cake.

Yelena Belova has posed:
    "Oh it's great, I mean fuck the prudes this is the most comfortable thing I have. I wear it around the house when I'm feeling lazy, like catsuit and pajama pants."See not every Russian spy is all wound up all the time. "You change your mind you drop me a mind, makes the boys and some of the girls go crazy to boot."

    And then, well she reaches back to kill the light as the projector starts. It's grainy black and white, and the audio is both off synch and somewhat muted. Theres a shirtless man strapped to a chair, his face badly swollen.

"He's saying he doesn't know anything, His russian is pretty stilted. Not a native speaker, American of Canadian I should think."Yelena humms softly "Now the Interrogator is asking where the girl is, the man's saying he doesn't know anything about a girl. Now the interrogator's asking where the -Little- Girl is, claiming he has photos of him in bed with a little girl."And a beat "He keeps refusing to admit he knows anything about a little girl, now he's crying. We're getting the whole "Dont you know who I am speech.."

Lois Lane has posed:
"Oh god, as comfortable as it could be I think I'd scar Clark for life if he ever caught a glimpse. He blushes if a woman shows as much as an /ankle/. I swear..." Lois shakes her head. "But... I'll keep it in mind." She distracts herself with the video on the projector.

Thankfully, the Widow is there to translate or none of this would make any sense. It's hard enough to piece together as is. "So a missing person's case, perhaps... where this girl is? I wonder if this is still something that has some relevance now. It would certainly be hard to piece together." There could be a story, or even a mystery to solve, but there'd have to be more than just a grainy interrogation video.

Yelena Belova has posed:
    "Well no, these guys aren't cops. This is KGB, and this man's an American."And a pause as the film cuts to black, before restarting. The swelling has gone down and the angle is a little different, but same guy same chair. A man in a long black coat with his face covered by a sensor's bar turns to hold up a passport for the camera. Edward Finley Jr, a resident of New York. A gloved hand grasps "Edward" by the hair, turning his head to face the camera. Then it goes dark oncemore.

    Theres a few seconds of black, before the film picks back up. The same man in a long coat stands infront of an apartment door mutely for a moment, before nodding and heading through the door. With a pen he's careful to note scuff marks on the floor, some sort of smear of something down a wall in a tight shot. Then it pans over, and theres a small figure under a blanket in the middle of the room. "Wow, Kompromat. I haven't ever seen one of these myself, talk about wild."

    "So like Mr Finley there, may or may not have done anything at all. They put these tapes together and send their victim a copy if they ever get into a position of authority. Then they own you forever, because it doesn't matter if you're guilty of something like this."She casually produces her phone to google up the name and humms "Representative of Arizona's fifth district, and the Russians have kompromat on him."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois winces. "So basically he's screwed at this point." She pauses. "But now we know that there's a Representative who's being blackmailed by the Russians. Well isn't that a little gem of information. Definitely one that could get messy, though." She glances over. "So how'd this end up with us, then? This seems like something that would be bad for quite a few people if it got out."

Yelena Belova has posed:
    "Well it sucks for Finley, because I'd say 50/50 he did anything at all. You go public, it won't matter if he's innocent. The nuclear launch key is -cute- but they do show up on ebay from time to time these days, and after they were off cycle they weren't exactly worried about them. I used one as a bookmark when I was back in Russia, it was a "Cool" thing but thats a nothing. This tape though is a something, and so is that letter."Theres a pause as she clears her throat.
    "It's a graveyard, and one which should be respected. It's where Metas who died fighting for their country were burried. Some of them were radioactive, or has unique physiology which would make them a subject of interest for evil men. SO they included it to prove they knew something about Russian state secrets, and then kompromat on a nothing State Rep?"

Lois Lane has posed:
"That's certainly quite the package to send," Lois says, glancing from the launch key to the letter. "So... package with state secrets and information on blackmail. It sounds like, to me, someone's trying to send a message that they've got credentials... and maybe they're ready to leak?" She's not sure on this one. "Appreciate the help, by the way. This isn't quite my field of expertise." She chuckles lightly. "Although it's certainly more than interesting."

Yelena Belova has posed:
    "Yeah but how are you supposed to contact the leaker and tell them you're ready to listen, and believe their particulars? If the leaker wants to stay perfectly anonymous I'd call bullshit on the whole thing, they'd be generating endless static. Be a great way to change a national news story on a dime, wouldn't it."Theres a humm as she pops the tape back out and gives it a careful study, before offering it back to Lois.
    "Sure thing just don't make any mention of me, alright? I'm supposed to be retired, word gets out I'm back in the game and I'm going to have both sides gunning for my head."Theres a moment spent fiddling with her chest rig, before she flips Lois a little puck shaped doodad. "Press it just once if you need to talk, twice if it's an emergency. Aside from that, you want the particulars of my catsuit guy in in Metro?"

Lois Lane has posed:
"Interesting lead there. I'll certainly take that into consideration." Lois returns the tape to the box. "You're confidential, I take that very seriously. For all anyone knows, I googled all this. After all, a lot you can learn from the internet, right?" The device is caught and carefully tucked away in her purse. "I'll do my best not to abuse it."

She does pause. "You know, it doesn't, uh, hurt to have the option there. Sure, why not."

Yelena Belova has posed:
    Theres a smirk, before she produces a business card in the snap of her fingers. "Gotta keep them drooling, and who doesn't love a little playful fun?"And well she floats that card on over. "Just keep your head on a swivel reporter, and be careful who you tell about these things. Plenty have been killed for a whole lot less, you know?"Casually she collapses that projector, and well folds it back up into a neat little suitcase.

    "Oh and hey, burn the letter. Those folks died for a country that didn't deserve them, but they died heroes. I got friends under the soil out there, they deserve their rest."And with that, well unless further bidden she heads towards the door.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois looks entirely unsure of the business card but she slowly slips it into her purse all the same. "Right." She nods. "Don't worry, I keep a small circle of need-to-knows when it comes to my job. This stays quiet." When she mentions the letter, there's a small nod from Lois. "I've got a lot of respect for the dead... they stay safe, I can assure you of that. Thank you again for the assistance."

Lois briefly looks back to the room. "Definitely been in creepier..." She murmurs before heading out herself.