From the other side of the heavy oak door Terrence Rabeneck heard muffled shouts and a fist pounding a desk. A moment of pregnant silence followed by an explosion of swearing. Glass shattered on the opposite side of the door and Petrauskas, the new guy, winced. Terrence didn't even flinch; he slipped a cigarette between his lips and motioned for a light. As Petrauskas lit it with fumbling, fingers Terrence fished a second smoke from the pack, chain lit it, and passed it to him. The man gave a nervous smile in thanks, drew the smoke into his mouth and immediately blew it out.

Terrence took a deep drag and exhaled out his nose. "Draw it into your lungs," he coached. Petrauskas, probably six or seven years his senior, obeyed and was rewarded with a fit of coughing. Terrence laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. With his promotion to sergeant the man would be sucking down cigarettes and quaffing liquor soon enough.

"How long you been a sergeant?" Petrauskas asked.

"Four years. Maybe five?" Terrence said in a bald-faced lie. It had been five years and three months, dating back to the moment he worked up the nerve to ask Barrett Lukowski, head of one of the Four Families, for his daughter Alcy's hand in marriage. They'd dated secretly for six weeks and then openly for nine months before Terrence had even spoken to her gruff father. When he asked for permission to marry Alcy, Barrett stared at him for what seemed like days, then drew a handgun from his desk. For one terrifying moment Terrence thought his life was about to end. The hulking man rounded his desk, crushed Terrence in a bear hug, then presented the weapon as an engagement gift. Along with an immediate promotion to sergeant.

Terrence never knew what happened to the person who had previously held his post as sergeant--probably busted down to rank-and-file on some technicality—but it wasn't as bad as what happened to Petrauskas' predecessor. A patrol found him face down in an alley near Ol' Federal, his legs shot through and his throat slit, along with two other guards. Those were the breaks. You gambled every time you took a stroll through Rivertown, and you couldn't predict if your number was up...

The doors flew open and the men snapped to attention. A mustachioed red-faced man wearing an expensive suit scowled as he brushed past. Barrett loomed in the doorway, extending his middle finger at the departing man before ushering them inside and closing the doors behind them. Broken glass crunched into the plush carpet beneath their boots as Barrett muttered, "I should have him killed," and then motioned to the chairs stationed across from his desk.

"Admiral Lukowski," Terrence said with a wry smile.

Barrett stopped short and glared. "Fuck right off Terrence. And you. Sit, for godsakes," he said to the stunned Petrauskas.

Barrett liberally poured a liquor into two tumblers and shoved them across his desk. He tossed the bottle into Terrence's lap. The label read Macallan 25 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

"Enjoy it," Barrett said pouring his own. "It belongs to that prick. He ordered two cases sent up from Inventory and has been crying that it had been five days since the request. Now he can wait five more."

Terrence stole a glimpse at Petrauskas, who was failing to look relaxed. Barrett lit an enormous cigar. "We've got a problem," he said through a cloud. "We all know someone's gunning for Lukowski men and we need to find out who. First the grunt cut down on the beach, now one of my sergeants murdered in cold blood. Coincidence? Don't think so. Where are you supposed to be stationed this week?"

"The Tombstone," Terrence said. "Starting Monday morning."

Barrett looked next at Petrauskas, who stuttered, "H-here. At S-Summerland."

Barrett stared at the man's untouched glass of scotch. "What's the problem? You don't like my Scotch?"

Petrauskas shook his head and took a quick sip from the tumbler. He coughed into the back of his hand.

"You," he said, turning back to Terrence. "Tombstone is perfect. Get up there and ask around. Keep your ear to the ground. Do whatever it takes to get some info. Could the Johnsons be trying to cut us out? Assholes, the lot of them. But Summerland's no good. We need to work on that." he said to Petrauskas, and then to neither of them in particular, "We have to get to the bottom of this."

Terrence noticed Petrauskas had gone white as he tried to comprehend the chessboard he had just glimpsed. Outwardly the Families presented a unified front, but behind the scenes and they were always angling. Petrauskas gnawed on his thumbnail as Barrett stared past them, deep in thought. Petrauskas shot back the tumbler and returned it to the desk, completely drained.

Learning already, Terrence thought with an inward smile. Maybe he'll work out after all.

FROM: Pele's Tears <noreply-transcript@pelestears.net>
SENT: Monday, April 11, 10:47 AM
TO: Bryce Barren
SUBJECT: Your Pele's Tears Transcript

Hello Bryce Barren,

PELE'S TEARS TRANSCRIPT WITH USER TR

*** (10:46:37) CHARACTER? CHAT ROOM

USER TR HAS LOGGED ON

USER GM HAS LOGGED ON

<TR 10:21> Hey, you're on! I've got a question about my character.
<GM 10:21> Shoot.
<TR 10:21> Where do we start?
<GM 10:22> What do you mean?.
<TR 10:22> What's he supposed to be doing?
<GM 10:23> What do you think he'd be doing?
<TR 10:24> I don't know.
<GM 10:24> Where's your character sheet?
<TR 10:26> terrence_rabeneck
<GM 10:28> Tha'ts right he's like a special op. And connected!
<GM 10:28> What's his motivation?
<TR 10:30> Staying on the family's good side.
<TR 10:30> Staing out of trouble. Staying alive.
<GM 10:31> Well that's boring.
<TR 10:32> LOL! <.<
<GM 10:32:17> Okay, so his father-in-law is a muckity-muck...
<TR 10:32:02> I'm trying!
<GM 10:32:17> and he's got a problem.
<TR 10:32> Oooooo
<GM 10:33> Someone's killing MPD officers. Lukowski officers.
<GM 10:34> He wants you to find out who.
<TR 10:36> How?
<GM 10:36> Duh. Investigate.
<TR 10:40> LOL. But how?
<GM 10:44> Let me think about that more. I'll drop you an email when I get a sec that explains it. Cya.
<TR 10:45> K thx.

USER GM HAS LEFT THE CHAT 10:46

USER TER HAS LEFT THE CHAT 10:47

---

from: Bryce
to: trabaonz423
date: Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 8:18 PM
subject: Character backstory

Okay, so here's the story. It's been a normal day on patrol, shooting the shit with the guards around Summerland and looking for anything suspicious but nothing's really going on. It's getting on toward evening and you head home and Alcy's there and she looks a little annoyed. She's fixing up some canned dinner and says that her dad sent a messenger and he wants to see you in his suite ASAP. She demands you have dinner with her first though. Wives take priority.

You go up to his suite and find another sergeant waiting outside the suite, a nervous guy named Petrauskas. He just got promoted after the previous sergeant got killed in the line of duty; they found him shot through the legs and his corpse mangled. Inside you can hear Barrett Lukowski, your father-in-law, shouting at someone but you can't make out what they're saying. You hear some glass break and the man storms out past you. Looks like Petrauskas might get sick on the carpet he's so nervous.

Lukowski invites you in and shuts the door. His anger passes quickly and he offers the two of you a drink. Good Scotch. He tells you that there's been a rash of murders involving MPD guards, more specifically *his* guards, and he doesn't like it. In fact, he finds it quite suspicious. The Four Families are always jockeying for power and he's wondering if this isn't an effort to weaken the Lukowski clan. He wants you to do some sniffing around, low-profile. Use your investigative skills to get to the bottom of this. He wants you to start your search at the Tombstone and ask around, but don't draw any attention. Low-profile, remember. Can't let the others know you might be on to them.

"And Terrence," he says as you're stepping out of the room. "Don't get yourself killed. Alcy would never forgive me."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

So there you go. That's your scenario. You can search the compendium for more info on the people and places mentioned above but don't read too much else since there could be spoilers. We'll start you at the Tombstone where you can begin snooping around. For the sake of game play we can assume that you travel through the city from Summerland up to the Tombstone at night, stealthily, and without incident. I'll send out an email with the game play schedule once everyone has responded with their availability. Let me know if you have any questions!

-B2