The Missing Constellation

Vahn:
The plant thief responds defensively, "Man, I don't ask you about your personal life. I'm dealing with a lot of problems, alright? A lot of people deal with grief in different ways. Some people fuck at funerals, I steal plants. What're you gonna do, throw a fax machine at me?"

>
Kal:
"Huh? Can't get enough of me, can you? Figures, I have that effect on people. The hell do you want?" You begin feeling nervous as a good response just won't escape your mind.

>

2

"Hm....Stay right there, I have something for you." I make my way up the stairs to my apartment to get my fax machine and 'give' it to him. "I'll teach him to steal plants from the club."

Vahn:
You grab your fax machine and head back down the stairs. The man laughs in amazement.
"You actually have a fax machine? What is this, the 20th century? Who still owns a fax mach-"
His sentence is cut short as you introduce his face to the outdated machinery. It appears this fax machine may be more effective than most of your arsenal.

>
Riley:
You select the second track for the hilarity.

Spoiler:

Hazel nearly gags and spits up a piece of her lasagna. "Holy shit, Corona. You got me, you rancid bastard... ha ha... you really got me. I must say I'm impressed you're prankery has not yet lost its edge. Oh hold on, someone's calling me." She proceeds to talk on the phone for a while and then shouts out to you, "Hey Riley! Did you know Kal loves the peen?" Shortly after, the shopkeeper from before enters the scene and sits down at a table. "Man, oh man, I can't wait to get out of dis punkass town. Alright, for my last meal here, I want you to give me the specialty, kid," he says.

>
Kal:
Hazel pauses waiting for you to finish your sentence, and then speaks. "Like what? Penis? Yeah, it was blatantly obvious to why you're such a pansy. For crying out loud you ride a fucking horse into town! What are you trying to do, join the Village People or something? Well if you aren't gonna put up with it, what're you gonna do huh?" You then hear her calling out to someone in the background. "Hey Riley! Did you know Kal loves the peen?"

>

Riley delivers the man his meal.

"It's free of charge. My brodda lives in the next town over, says it's a nice place. Good luck."

Riley returns to Hazel, with a tad bit of confusion in his eyes.

"You might wanna watch that guy. Seems kinda shady. Oh, and is Kal the timid queer who rides a horse everywhere because he doesn't have any dough for a legitimate ride?"

Riley:
Hazel lets out a patronizing laugh as she says, "Chyeah. The very same." She then looks at her unfinished lasagna and sets down her fork. "Y'know what? I've lost my appetite. By the way, looks like you got a couple more guests." She points to a tall man in a suit that walks in the building accompanied by two other men of less importance. He is expressionless, wearing a black fedora and a scar across the bridge of his nose. He then looks at the shopkeeper, and then looks at you.

>

Riley nods at the man with the scarred face knowingly, as if to say, go for it.

"I do. Hey....I wonder what was up with that text....I think Tiri said something about a code. Maybe she knows what's up."

I call Tiri up and ask her about the code she mentioned, and tell her about the weird text.

Vahn:
You ring up Tiri's Seape and ask if what she knows about the code and text.

"Text? I didn't get a weird text. Aaaaaaaaand I found the code imprinted on the back of my phone, I dunno where to type it in or whatnot. 'Course I been busying myself with my apartment and whatnot. I think it needs more plants, do you have any? I like plants. They're like pets but instead you only have to feed them water. I tried feeding a cactus some candy one time but I don't think it liked it. Did you know the plural word for cactus is cacti? For the longest time I thought it was cactuses. What were we talking about again?"

You promptly hang up.

>
Riley:
The scarred man is without a doubt, the Vinnie you have been hearing about. He walks over to the table where the shopkeeper is sitting and takes a seat in front of him. "Hello, Marty. Thought you could skip out on your dues?"
The shopkeeper nearly chokes on his food and whimpers. "V-v-vinnie! I had no idea you were coming! D-d-d-don't worry, I'll get the money, I promise!"
Vinnie shakes his head and lights up a cigar. "Ya think I'm stupid? Well let's see what ya think of me when my boys take your odder testicle. When they're done with youse, they'll be callin' ya Martha. Take him away."
Marty panics as Vinnie's two goons grab his arms and take him away. "N-NO! HELP! PASTA MAN! HELP ME! STRANGE GOTH GIRL! AHHHHH!!! THEY'RE GONNA HACK MY ONLY NUT OFF." Hazel tuned out the whole ordeal as she was still talking to Kal.
Vinnie then turns his attention to you. "You did me a solid, kid. If I had waited any longer, dat sleazebag woulda scrammed off and I wouldn't get any payback. What can I do to repay youse?"
Hazel raises an eyebrow in interest.

>
Kal:
"Ooooh, Mr. Personality is now standing up for himself," Hazel sarcastically remarks. "I only have nice things to say about people that are pretty chill, and you just don't happen to make the cut. And why don't you rub your horse's feces all over yourself before saying it isn't pollution. Oh wait, you're right. It'll probably make you smell better. The fact that I'm finally getting a reaction out of you means I'm actually getting inside your head. So why don't you think twice before trying to step up to the plate, when you're still in the little leagues. Call me back when you decide to be a real man, chump."

A small click is heard signifying the end of the call.
>

"Well that didn't help.... Maybe Hazel knows something about it. She's into that 'burn the city down' kinda stuff, right?" I call Hazel next.

Riley ponders the thought quickly.

"Well, if you'd be ever so kind, I'd really appreciate some Thompson ammunition. Not exactly easy to find, ya feel me? Oh, and if it isn't to much to ask, if you see a gay kid that looks scared at the world around him riding a horse on the way home, kill the horse and mug him for me, will ya? With any luck, I can make some specialty meatballs. Can get some extra dough if it sounds fancy.

Oh, and you're welcome back anytime."

Evan wrote:Riley ponders the thought quickly.

Oh, and if it isn't to much to ask, if you see a gay kid that looks scared at the world around him riding a horse, kill the horse. With any luck, I can make some specialty meatballs. Can get some extra dough if it sounds fancy.

Ohhhhhhh. Fuck yoouuuuuuuuuuu.

Vahn:
You dial up Hazel's Seape and call her. She abruptly picks up after a few rings and seems rather annoyed. "Look Kal, I'm a little too busy at the moment to indulge in your bland worthlessness, so why don't you hop back on your horse and drop dead. Oh wait... It's you, Thorley. What's up?"

>
Riley:
Vinnie tips his hat in acknowledgement. "No problem, I'll give youse enough little Tommy's to gun down a whole university... not that I endorse dat kinda thing. As for da little Mary? Consider him taken care of, I got guys all around up in this town I'll make the call. Y'know I've heard horse meat is a delicacy in some countries, now da thought intrigues me. I might come back here if you make it a dish."

Hazel waves at Vinnie to call his attention. "Hey, Vinnie is it? You mind if you save me the head? I bet it'd look good mounted in my room. I mean, if Riley doesn't want it that is." You shrug aloofly in indifference. Vinnie laughs, "Anything for a sweet little thorny rose such as yourself. Y'know. You folks is aight by me. Mind if I stick around for a while? Tracking slimeballs that owe you money can get a guy hungry."

Reed immediately messages you telling you that he will be arriving soon.
>
Kal:
Feeling cautious you decide to ride Mable home on the way back to her stable, much to your dismay a large limousine pulls up next to you. The window slides down and reveals an M16 which promptly discharges at your horse, knocking you down. A bunch of men in suits begin packaging your horse while a few more go over to you and start beating you senselessly. As they finish, one of them leaves a large bootprint on your face as well as spitting on you.

You wonder what you ever did to deserve this.
>

"Hey, you know anything about burning the city down or something? I got a weird text, something about the city burning. I figured maybe you would know something."

Spoiler:

Korasi, in your story, it did not identify the men who killed Mabel, so, if we can't break the 4th Wall, reporting stereotypical mobsters won't really be all that effective.

---------

"My brother should be coming soon. How about we all sit down and have some dinner, eh? It's on the house."

Vahn:
"I don't know anything about that, but I'm assuming you got a strange text too. I'll paste up what mine said:

Code:

YOUR PAST SHALL ECHO ITS HAUNTING VOICE

I don't think we're supposed to take these messages literally, it might just be some crazy tarot mumbo-jumbo. As for the code, look at the back of your phone and there should be a code sequence on there, Type that into your Seape bar and hit enter. Although it only brings you up to a grayed out screen with a padlock symbol. I guess we're supposed to wait for something to happen. Aren't I so great for being on top of the game? Game... huh... you know... we might just be... nevermind. I gotta go."

The client clicks and ends the call.
>

Riley:
Vinnie seems rather impressed. "Ya catch rats and give free meals too? Where have youse been all my life, eh? I'm interested in meetin' yer brudder too. If I were to guess, class runs in the family. Hang on I got a message... Uh-huh... hey, looks like we'll be having horse sooner den I thought, ha." Just then, your brother makes his way through the door and Hazel smiles. "Hello, Reed. Enjoy the burning brown bag special I left on your front porch?"
Reed is not amused. "One of these days, Delphina. One of these days."
You chuckle in amusement as your phone rings and you receive a strange text.

Code:

AT THE END OF THE DAY ALL THE EXTRA HANDS WILL MEAN NOTHING YOU WILL NEVER TRULY BE SAFE

>
Kal:
You make it back to the observatory and shower off the dirt and spit. How could something so terrible happen? You recall those men wearing suits like common mobsters, and you remember your "friend" Riley. He couldn't have something to do with this, could he? But wait, Hazel said she was at the pasta restaurant, she must be the manipulative puppeteer tugging at the strings. You just can't believe it, two of the people that used to be your best friends. You always knew Riley had an interest in mafia lifestyle but you simply thought it was just a make-believe phase he'd grow out of, you'd never realize he would take it so far. And Hazel... when you were just kids she was the sweetest girl you ever knew. She looked out for you. What happened? But it doesn't matter anymore. They'll probably come back to finish the job, and you have to make sure you'll be ready. You tune up on your books of lancing and chivalry, ready to become the lone knight that stands among the horizon. Perhaps there is a friend on your contact list who will be sympathetic to your cause. Just as you think that, you receive a peculiar text.

Code:

LEARN TO CHANNEL YOUR TRUEST EMOTIONS CAREFULLY FOR THEY WILL NEVER DIE

>

"Well now I know what the code does." I load up on any ninja weapons I can carry and keep hidden, preparing for the worst, then head out to no particular destination. It's probably nothing, but just in case. Would take the fax machine, but that shit's heavy. I also text Tiri on my way out and let her know what the code does, and also try it out my self. There's no way I'm gonna call her again.

Everyone at the table looks a tad perplexed as Riley stares at the phone, clearly confused.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I got a tad distracted. Would anyone be interested in some gellato?"