5073/Shine: Investigating the Hotel Room

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Shine: Investigating the Hotel Room
Date of Scene: 08 February 2021
Location: The Worth Hotel, Gotham City
Synopsis: Conner and Laura investigate room 1534, the hotel room where the Johnsons have stayed while in Gotham. It's a mess, but they find some surprising -- and some terrifying -- information about the plan surrounding Phoebe.
Cast of Characters: Phoebe Beacon, Conner Kent, Laura Kinney




Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Room 1534. The room had a 'Do Not Disturb' hook over the door that hasn't moved since the Johnsons were ferried in by Mickey Rogers, on whose account the Hotel is reserving the corner suite. There's a card reader to unlock it. There's no one in the hallway, and for some reason the hotel has to wait another six hours until the Police can make their way in -- some sort of litigation. Lawyers are involved, it's a mess.

    Luckily, there's others about who aren't quite as enamoured with the law, the pale off-white door hiding behind it secrets and belongings.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner hrms, "they aren't here," he states as they reach the door. He can't hear anyone inside. The young man just returned from Arctic, a few minutes too late. He hesitates a few seconds.

"I guess we better check inside anyway. Maybe we can find some clues," they should also be careful not to 'contaminate' the scene for the cops. Really, Tim should be here to do this right. But since he is not, they are going to have to improvise. A gentle tap breaks the lock of the door.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"That's why we're wearing gloves," Laura notes with a shrug. "But yes, I didn't really expect to find anyone here. Phoebe's scent trail lead to a vehicle and the direction they went in made this an unlikely destination." In addition to her usual casual blend into the background style of outfit she's sporting a pair of surgical gloves and a cap her hair's currently tucked up under. "Tim might be an expert, but that doesn't mean we're not capable of doing an investigation."

"Perhaps you could search for hidden compartments while I check for scent marked items? I would suspect a good deal of evidence is still here. Phoebe turned up unexpectedly so they wouldn't have known to clean the room extensively before setting off."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Upon gaining entry to the room -- it. Is. Trashed. Shopping from Gotham's high-end stores has been abandoned, wads of receipt tape with a lot of numbers in front of the decimal point crumbled up. Someone's wiped makeup all over one of the towels, that hangs over the flatscreen TV on the console. The desk in the main part of the suite has been taken over by to-go contiainers and pizza boxes, and the scent of the Johnsons is pretty much everywhere. There are two other rooms in this suite -- both bedrooms, one with double kings, and one with double queens.

    THere's currently no one in, that's true.

    A cellphone on the nightstand makes a dull 'ding!' sound, an alert that it's running out of power.

Conner Kent has posed:
"I doubt there are hidden compartments in a hotel room," replies Conner. "But they might have left documentation or..." beat, "messy. Bart levels of messy. Well, when he got to the present. He is not quite as bad now."

The cellphone's ding draws his attention, and he goes to check if it is password protected or not. In the later case he is checking and copying the last numbers called and chat apps messages.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney pulls out her cellphone and a little extendable measuring rod and takes pictures of the rooms. So they can put everything back in the original positions after searching. "We taking the phone? I'm sure Tim has the equipment to break any passwords and take the data. Or we could just clone it to get the info and leave the original here?"

She spends a few moments sniffing the air. Getting an idea of the ages of various things, checking for odd things like firearms or the flesh smell chemical.

"You'd be surprised how many places there are to hide things in a hotel room other than a safe. Inside air ducts, lamps or behind electrical sockets."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There is no smell of burning flesh here. Just some take-out leftovers in various stages of decay, including something that might have been the remains of a peking duck that has decided to grow culture. It's gray and fuzzy and smells like month-old trash.

    The phone is password protected, and its battery alert is blinking. It's a cheap smart phone, but it has a six-digit unlock feature. Not exactly a normal app.

    There are papers scattered about the rooms, newspapers with their faces on it. Someone had one opened to a page of Phoebe and had a list of things written in sharpie:

    Vegetarian
    10th Grade
    Gotham West High
    Dog (kill/abandon whatever)
    Books
    Homeless shelters

    There is a notepad with a list of local teen-focused homeless shelters on it. Most of them had been crossed off.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Yeah, this one is for Robin," Conner can hardly clone the smartphone here. But Tim might be able to crack it. At least it is not one of the super-secure models from Stark or Lexcorp.

Searching further, Conner sees the list. Kill the dog? If he had doubts about if the Johnsons were bad people, they are now gone. "Okay, I'll check air ducts and those things. But if there is a safe, we should start there. Ah, they might have used the main hotel safe or lockers. We should check it our before we go."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I wonder. Does this hotel use a TV order system for roomservice?" Laura glances around in search of a remote. "They usually allow guests to check their billing information. A hotel safe or locker rental might show up." Clearly this isn't her first time rummaging around in someones hotel room for intel.

"I brought a handheld skimmer but if the battery is low and there's no charger..." A shrug. "I'll bag it and we can drop it back into the room once we're done." It seems she took the precaution of grabbing evidence bags too. "They've clearly been searching for Phoebe actively as well as using the media."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There is a remote right in front of the TV! How very handy!

    Turning it on would show that it's on a Gotham local channel for the news. Some reporter is talking, but the volume is way down. Turning it to 'Menu' does indeed indicate that the room is rented to Michael Rogers, and that there is a listing of all the charges made to the room so far.

    Air ducts are clean... ish. Looks like someone stashed a box of smokes in there. Doesn't smell like cigarette smoke in the room though, what else could be in that box?

    Conner might also know that there is a safe, hidden in the console on the right side.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner couldn't know if the Johnsons were smokers or not, his nose is not that acute. But he finds the box, "point for you, Laura, there is something in here." He comments, bringing the box back to the desk.

And along the search for hideholes, he also finds the not-very-hidden safe. Which of course seems closed. Now, forcing it open by raw strength or adamantium claws is going to make their intrusion a bit too obvious. Again, Tim would be perfect for this. "How good are you at safe-cracking without, you know, the crack part?" He asks.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Most keypad hotel safes have a default manufacturers code that they're supposed to change. But often people are lazy and forget to update it. I've memorized most of the codes for commonly used models. If it's a tumbler safe I can hear the mechanism click," Laura replies, heading over to get a better look. "It's not outside the realm of possibiltiy I can get in. I've certainly broken into more secure locations in the past."

She pauses and offers Conner some of the evidence bags. So he can potentially collect the contents of the cigarette box. If it's relevant. Who knows how long ago it was hidden away!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The Johnsons were not smokers. Inside the cigarette box is something far more interesting. ID's.

    They identify the woman who was introduced as Julia as Christina Beau. Her husband Taylor was Jackson Munroe. And there was an additional ID, a printed-out school ID for Kayla Beau but it was Phoebe's picture on it.

    There's folded up paperwork with insurance information and contact information for a minivan in there, registered to Christina.

    The safe is a keypad hotel safe, and it's a very common, generic model.

Conner Kent has posed:
Jackpot. "Wow, not very professional to leave this in the air duct," comments Conner. "Look at this, Laura. Christina Beau, Jackson Munroe. These might be their real names. Or the names they were planning to use after bailing." He studies the documentation a little more intensely, trying to determine the age. If it is old, chances are these are their real identities. But Bart did find some stuff in Montana.

"Anything good in the safe?" He asks, peering to see if Laura knows the code. He is not even surprised she would have it memorized. Too many years hanging out with Tim. Tim memorizes even weirder things.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney takes a moment to check the keys for dirty fingerprints. Judging by the state of the room it's a fair bet she can figure out the last used keys from smudges and smells. Then she tries for the most common codes for that brand of safe. If that fails she can at least narrow down the combination to a more reasonable number of numbers to brute force the code.

"I'd expect they're fakes." She replies without looking up from the safe. "Possibly the ID they intended on using after they found Phoebe. But they never had chance to come back and get them. There was a lot of commotion that day, people outside trying to burst in, probably spooked by SHIELD and the police getting involved."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    They had what they were after, and with Gordon and a member of SHIELD there -- well, bad times all around.

    The safe gives a 'beep' and the lock mechanism disengages. The door opens and inside?

    Underneath yet another rotting bit of takeaway leftovers, there is a leather-bound notebook.

    A close look at the ID's would indicate they are not real ID's, there's some smudging. Imperfect, but enough to let someone pass through for someone who didn't know what they were looking for in a Wisconsin ID.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Yeah, they are fakes," acknowledges Conner. "I can see some errors in the forgeries. I don't even need microscopic vision." Wisconsin might be their real destinations, though. Not that it is much, but Bart might actually be able check all the vehicles in the roads going to Wisconsin in less than an hour.

He takes some pictures with his smartphone and leaves the box back in the air duct. "They used the safe for leftovers? Ugh, super-villains. And a notebook."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney raises an eyebrow and gestures around the room. "Nothing about this seems very super." She takes a picture of the safe so she can return the notebook to it's original position. Then takes it out to leaf through. "I can narrow down the make and model of the vehicle they left in. But they've had enough time to change vehicles."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    That leatherbound book is Phoebe.

    Approximate date of birth, height/weight when brought into Gotham Child Protective Services. Continued additional height/weight information. Her immunization records. Her mental health record and which psychologist recomended treatment. Who her pediatrician is. Who her father's doctors were. Her kindergarten teachers. Her school teachers. What she got on a science test in 6th grade. When she started to take Aikido, at which studio, under which sensei. Details about her mother's life -- her mother's boyfriend that she began seeing after Phoebe was hanging out with the Outsiders more. Pictures of her laughing at the park with people. Pictures with her and Scout as a puppy and a six-year-old kid at Christmas with her parents, walking the dog.

    Some of the pictures might have been recovered from the burn site. Otherwise -- who, or how did they, get a hold of these?

    Someone wanted as much information on Phoebe as possible.

Conner Kent has posed:
"I was being facetious about them being super-villains," clarifies Conner, remembering Laura doesn't have much sense of humor, or sarcasm. "Nothing about the Outsiders in that book?" He looks over Laura's shoulder. "Check the last few entries, maybe they were behind the kidnapping attempt. No way they missed Wonder Girl or failed to identify her."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I don't know if I am comfortable leaving all this personal information behind," Laura muses as she leafs through the notebook. "In the wrong hands it could potentially lead someone competant to information that would expose the team." She flicks to the very last pages. Checking for anything that'd put the Outsiders at direct risk. "Also... Phoebe might want some of these pictures. I don't know how many of her things survived the fire.."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It appears the book does not have anything with the Outsiders in it; only items pertaining to Phoebe and her parents. The handwriting changes in the book, as if several different people wrote in it at any time.

    The Outsiders were safe -- for now.

    There is an entry with 'Neighbor aggressively threatened interviewer with cane and 'Can of Gotham City Whoop-Ass'. Would not positively identify any teens/young persons."

    Looks like Pheebs was the only one they were looking for.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Okay, nothing there," confirms Conner. Fast reading. "Otherwise it is pretty detailed. I wonder how long they have been keeping tabs on her. I bet the labs at the Roost will let us know when the book was started. We should take it," for that and for the reasons Laura mentioned.

Conner takes a slow glance over the hotel suite, trying to find more useful details. Again, he wishes Tim was around. "Anything else you can sense, Laura? Did they have visitors or besides pizza delivery people?"

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I don't think the staff have been in the room," Laura says after sniffing the air some more. "Assorted take-out places." She hrms thoughtfully. "The notebook has multiple sets of handwriting. We can probably establish how many people are involved by getting Tim to do some analysis."

Poor Tim. People are always making work for him.

She puts everything in the safe back as neatly as she can. Only without the notebook. Then goes to sniff at the closet. "If they were using that sewer passage we found I should be able to tell that too." Of course if there is no sewer smell it suggests the weird cooking meat smell was arranged by another group entirely.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The staff have not been in this room yet.

    Although as the two talk, there is a knock on the door.

    "Room service! Do you need fresh towels?" calls a quiet voice from the hallway, accompanied by the smell of cleaning chemicals and plastic bags.

    Real, actual room service, nothing remotely evil.

    The closet has more expensive clothes hanging in it, stuff that people wouldn't ordinarily choose to forgo unless they made a quick escape. Most of it was in Julia Johnson and Taylor Johnson's sizes. A few men's clothes are smaller. There's at least one dress that's in Phoebe's size -- approximately. Hard to guage.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner gestures to the window. Room service will get no answers, but they might notice the door has been forced open. But he is very fast, and can take Laura out if the door starts opening.

And leave everything like it was. Mostly. They are taking the notebook.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney has been putting things back neatly as she investigates. So when Conner gestures to the window she nods. Time to leave. The broken door lock indeed will bring undue attention to them very soon and it'd be much easier not to be around to answer questions.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <... must not have closed the door.> someone mutters in Greek, and the door is pulled tightly shut, and then Room Service continues on their way. There's another knock "Room service! Fresh towels?"

    The window is handy, mind you you're a good seventeen floors up.

Conner Kent has posed:
Seventeen floors and no firescape. No problem for people that can fly. "I think we have finished here," murmurs Conner, grabbing Laura's waist and letting his telekinesis hold her weight and protect her from wind shear. No reason not to be quick. Batman won't like if anyone sees him flying over Gotham.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Flying beats climbing or letting gravity and her healing factor do the hard work. "Agreed." So when Conner uses his telekinesis X-23 holds still and lets him handle the exit. No excess movements. She doesn't want him to zoom off at top speed and have any parts of her collide with the window frame.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    That would be bad, and messy and Phoebe would feel bad. No, do not leave any Outsiders... or parts of Outsiders... behind.

    The two make a quick escape into the gloomy Gotham afternoon, with the notebook in hand, letting the room be fodder next for the POlice to investigate -- without the note book in hand.