a picture's worth a thousand words... {pafp} boy needed {ADVANCED}

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    a picture is worth a thousand words...
    how much is your life worth?

    ---

    It's 2045 in Richardson, CO and crime rates are up 50%. A state-wide curfew has been set and many rules have been put in place to assure the safety of the law-abiding citizens who call the city home. Tension has been rising for years, but the world finally seemed to break when the 50th president took office. Now, most of the country is in a fit and no one feels safe. No one can trust anyone. Gangs and ruffians run the streets now, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. Many have lost their lives in the crossfire of these warring factions and the media has done nothing but pour gasoline on the flames. The country is in a panic and there seems to be no hope for a light in the darkness any time soon. What will become of the city? The state? The country? The world?

    ---

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    Milogrith Penelope Denise Pendergraph is a 24-year old investigative journalist for the new news forum known as the Line. After having grown up in the large city of Richardson, Milo had seen her fair share of violence and trauma. One of the bombings in the downtown area had taken almost 100 lives, including her father. A drive-by shooting had paralyzed her mother from the waist down. For many years Milo had even feared going to school out of fear of what may happen on the way or during the day. Nowhere was safe. When she graduated top of her class, Milo found herself unable to leave the city she'd grown up in. Her mother needed constant care and Milo couldn't afford to pay someone to take care of the woman while she went to school somewhere out of state. So, the young woman, fresh out of high school, decided to stay home and attend a local college.

    At first, Milo wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life. She joined a few clubs but didn't really take an interest in any of them. In her spare time, she would work on one of her true passions in life: photography. She had always loved the feel of having a camera in her hands and as scary as the truth may be, she was always able to capture it in a shot and no one had to get hurt. As she progressed through college, a professor encouraged her to pursue a career in journalism. Hesitant but intrigued, the young college sophomore finally nailed down a degree and within a year and a half later, she graduated with high marks and high hopes.

    Entering the work force proved to be the easy part as the media had become a hated messenger of depression and bad news. Starting out low with contentless articles, Milo slowly worked her way up until an opportunity arose for her to actually get out into the field. Grabbing her camera and her notebook, she was off. Things changed from that day on. Milogrith Pendergraph became a name that stood for truth and gumption all over the state. She wasn't afraid to enter the belly of the beast for a story. She knew that the public had a right to know what was going on, even if the rest of the world disagreed. This lifestyle, however, led to many struggles, including rocks through her apartment windows, unlit Molotov cocktails on her car, and more verbal threats than she could count. Throughout all of this, though, the young journalist remained unphased. She was unafraid of the world around her and would do whatever it took to find the real story...

    No matter what.

    ---

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    Plot:

    Your character is a member of the Richardson Police Force that works in the area of the city where Milo does most of her work. They meet when your squad is raiding what you think is the main headquarters for one of the most notorious gangs in Colorado. Milo is trying to get information to include in her next article when some of the gang members catch her. Before anything can happen, though, your character and his men storm the facility and Milo manages to take cover before the firefight starts. Once the bullets stop flying and the battle is over, Milo is taken into custody as well. After twenty-four hours, though, they have nothing to charge her with, meaning nothing but her release back into society.

    As you are escorting Milo to the door, she stops and turns to you, informing you that it wasn't the headquarters as your squad thought and that there was more going on that you yet know. She offers to help you solve the case in exchange for access to the same evidence and information as it becomes available. At first, your character refuses, but after a bit of persuading, Milo convinces you and offers to buy you a coffee. Thus the beginning of a partnership, friendship, and relationship is born and the two of you will continue to get into trouble and danger at every turn.

    In the end, what will they discover and at what cost?
    What happens when two people who think they can't lose anything else, find the one thing they can't live without?

    ---

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    Requirements:

    - PG 16+
    - BE ADVANCED (that means 5 paragraphs minimum with a decent amount of sentences each)
    - Warn me of inactivity (I'll be inactive from time to time myself, so I'll understand)
    - Have good grammar & spelling
    - Try to be active (at least once every day or every two days, please)
    - Don't track and abandon
    - No explicit sex scenes
    - Powerplay is fine with me (if your character attempts to do something to my character, I may just write a different outcome for the situation to keep it flowing)
    - For your character I need: Picture, Name, Age, Family, & a little Personality, History is optional, though more of Milo's will be revealed in thread
    - You can create and kill off characters as you need to
    - I don't cuss, and I would ask (nicely) that you keep the cussing to a minimum if at all

    Note:
    Thank you for taking interest in this thread, I hope you enjoy it and I can't wait to start roleplaying again :)

    The post was edited 1 time, last by Samoan ().


    Name: Ross Parker

    Age: 26

    Family: Mike Parker (Father;Deceased) Lily Parker (Mother;Deceased) Samantha Parker (Sister)

    History: Ross was born and raised in Richardson. Or maybe raised is a bit more than the truth. His parents always had big hopes for their son. With the conflicts and tensions skyrocketing they knew they needed to get out. Although just like most people in the city they had been having financial troubles and were forced to stay. It was a nasty cycle really, being stuck in a city you want to get out off because of its problems yet its problems prevented you from getting out. Eventually while he was still extremely young both his parents were killed in one the early conflicts. His sister was born one year before. The foster system in a city like Richardson was bad enough before everything collapsed. What it became wasn't really a system truth be told it's really a miracle Ross is alive and even more that he's still with his sister. His mentality and attitude towards life certainly suffered though. Eventually as he grew old enough to care for his sister he tried to scrape by. Eventually he joined the police force, jobs were limited of course. Although he made sure he and his sister ate well and ended up in good enough physical condition to join. Plus he always thought it would be fitting that he would end the conflicts that made him who he was.

    Basic Personality: Ross always tries to look at life in a very linear sense. He finds everything easier to deal with that way. He's very organized and sets goals for himself. He doesn't like distractions and he has become quite good at getting everything down to the point. He tends to see right through lies making him a good man for the force. He's pretty cold in general although not necessarily unfriendly. The only person he drops all that for, he can relax and not worrying about playing any mental games with is his sister. He works towards everything and anything that would benefit himself and his sister. Finally he's learned that no ones going to help him in life, so he is very very reluctant to help others.


    Ah sorry its a bit brief. I prefer to reveal character through RP if that's okay!

    it's perfect :) i can't wait to get further with these characters ~
    i'll be working on a response now, but i have to leave pretty soon for about an hour and a half. when i get back tonight, i'll hopefully be able to post and we can get started :)

    yeah, i was out two weeks before the rest of my family thanks to college letting out early. but yeah i bet it sucks ^_^"
    but like you said - you're out now and free to enjoy your summer! hope you enjoy it ~

    ooc;
    alrighty, then ^_^ here we go!
    {disclaimer. my posts will not always be this long}

    ic;
    business had been slow for weeks now. a reporter had been killed on the 30th of june while working a case in the southern part of richardson and all the news providers hadn't been jumping to get back into the field. but here they were, half way through july and milo's bosses were still nervous about sending her into the field. the young woman was probably the only person colorado who was itching to get back out there. never in her life had milogrith pendergraph been interested in sitting behind a desk all day. no, she belonged in the field, a fly on the wall in the best way possible. and that was what landed her on the corner of 9th and dardnel on the 24th of july 2045.

    checking her phone to make sure she'd read the directions correctly, the young reporter inhaled deeply and brushed a strand of light blonde hair behind her ear. this was the place. if her source was telling the truth - and she had a feeling he was - then a major drugs and weapons deal would be happening into the parking garage to her right around noon. for a moment she stood there and bit her lip, biding her time before entering the facility. was she excited? of course. was she going to let that get her killed? hopefully not today. after a quick glance around to assure she wasn't being followed, milo took one more deep breath before entering the underground.

    the parking garage was dark and dank and everything milo had been expecting it to be. pressing on, she lowered herself deeper and deeper until she could hear the sound of voices chattering carelessly up ahead. upon further inspection, the young journalist discovered two people guarding the lower level of the garage. the man stood a bit taller than milo but he was lanky and awkward-looking. the woman across from him was short with dark hair and a tan complexion. milo could tell just by looking at her that she would've been a force to be reckoned with. and here arose the problem. how was she supposed to get through these two? if it had been two men, sure, but even from where she stood, she could tell the two were flirting. she would have to find another way to the next level.

    leaning back, the young woman began to think of scenarios that would get her into the lower levels of the garage. unfortunately, every thought that occurred to her had a hopelessly blunt ending. she'd either get herself killed by her own means or she'd be caught and subjected to whatever horrors the gangsters of red could think up. since neither of those things sounded appealing in the slightest, milo knew she'd have to wait for a car or truck to come along and distract the couple at the gate. peaking over the edge of the concrete barrier, she noticed, first, that it was a long drop down that would likely end in many broken bones if not death, and second, that a small ledge was etched into the concrete, a perfect foothold for when her distraction came. if she went at that moment, the risk of the guards seeing her was too high. while waiting was agonizingly boring, she was able to listen in on the conversation of the two thugs around the corner. when they weren't awkwardly flirting, they actually talked a bit about what was going on and while the information wasn't enough to make a story out of, it let milo know she was in the right spot.

    soon enough, the sound of a truck engine could be heard coming down the corridor milo had walked about ten minutes before. with a quick glance at her watch, she smirked. right on time. before the car could round the corner and spot her, the young reporter slipped over the edge of the wall, placing her toes on the small ledge that acted as the only thing between her and imminent death. as the vehicle slowed approaching the gate, the blonde shuffled quickly but carefully across the ledge. she would have to scale half of this wall and half of the other wall to resurface where she wouldn't be seen. the concrete was hard on her finger pads, but now wasn't really the time for worries like that. swallowing her nerves, she pressed on, holding her breath when she got close to the two guards, only to slowly release it as she reached the corner. transitioning was tricky, but soon enough, she was on the other side and on her way. during this little excursion, her foot slipped twice, sending adrenaline shooting through her blood stream. at this rate, her speeding heart would surely be audible to the entire garage.

    solid ground had never been so welcome. with her feet shakily planted on the concrete floor, milo exhaled the rest of the breath she'd been consistently holding and releasing. with luck, she wouldn't have to do that again. and, as luck would have it, she didn't have to scale the walls anymore. for three more floors down there were no guards and no check stations. the entire thing was almost too quiet. as she reached the bottom floor of the parking garage, she heard voices once again. these were loud and unconcerned. no one could hear them down here... at least that was what they believed. little did they know, a fly had infiltrated their midst.

    pressing her back against a wall, milo peaked around the side and took in the layout of the room. there were people everywhere. the truck that had acted as her distraction was open in the back, revealing dozens of guns that were being lazily examined by a tall bald man with tattoos all over his body. on the far side of the garage, she noticed a group of people standing around something she couldn't see. there was something on the ground that seemed to be of relative importance and at least four men were guarding it.

    pulling out her camera, milo double checked to make sure the flash and sound were off before squaring up to take pictures. silently, she gathered enough evidence to put each of the criminals behind bars for a good long time. these pictures, combined with the killer article she was going to write up would land a big blow to red. she doubted it would disband the group completely, but the streets would be a little bit safer.

    leaning out a little farther to catch a particularly incriminating shot ended up being her downfall. curiosity kills the cat, as they say. as she'd been pulling back, someone had happened to look over at the perfectly wrong time. "hey! someone's here!" the man yelled through a heavy city accent. milo cursed and shoved off the wall, beginning to run back the way she'd come. she could hear them behind her and despite her running shoes and her headstart, they caught up easily. "i suggest you stop..." there was the sound of a gun being loaded and milo knew she was screwed. "who are you?"

    pursing her lips, the young reporter raised her hands up in defeat and slowly turned around. "my name is parker," she lied. "penelope parker. i'm a reporter for the sun." there was no sense in sharing her real name or place of work, though one of her middle names had always been a preferred alias. there was no getting around admitting she was a reporter as anything else would likely get her killed faster.

    "how did you find this place, ms. parker? don't you know this isn't a safe place for pretty ladies to be wandering on their own?" the man grunted and two other armed men rushed over and pulled her arms roughly behind her back, wrapping something cold and heavy around them to restrain her. "i would hate for something to happen to that... pretty face of yours..." he stared her down for a moment before snapping something at the men in a language that sounded like russian. milo was helpless as she was brought back to the large room with the guns and drugs. coming to a stop abruptly, one of the men shoved her forward. now that she had an audience, the young woman stood straight and unflinching. the man who'd spoken to her in the tunnel approached her slowly. "who sent you here,,,? you said you were a reporter? who gave you the information on where we were?"

    "no one gave me the information. your people were sloppy." her voice didn't waver in the slightest as the others watched her carefully. for a moment there was silence before a loud thwack shot pain through the girl's face, sending her staggering. for a moment, her vision was weird as her brain tried to readjust to what had just happened. her face stung where he had backhanded her and she felt the heat already rising. she was definitely screwed.

    The post was edited 1 time, last by Samoan ().

    ooc: Sorry some things are choppy and it's in general a bit sloppy! My first posts always seem to end up like that. Here it is though :D

    Ross sighed softly as he put on the riot gear helmet. The face protecting glass had a crack going down the bottom left. Luckily it did nothing to inhibit his vision but he figured it was just his luck. He then picked up one of the many semi-automatic rifles out of the shelf where they were all stored. He turned it over a few times and was eventually satisfied with the condition. He already had the rest of his gear on and started to walk towards the door, the truck was outside which he and the rest of the squad traveled in.


    Ross was one of the most reliable in the squad. He always had a steady hand and did what needed to be done. Of course most of the time they just dealt with minor busts and he went out for individual crimes as expected. Although today was different, this was big time and could mean a lot if it went successfully. Ross wasn't really one to care about the cities health, rather he and his sisters. Although having a safer city could never be a bad thing. Ross had been offered the leadership position before although fancied himself a solider. He didn't want to be responsible for anyone's life except his own, which is sorta funny coming from a cop. It's who he was though.


    They were now heading down the road towards the location of the sting. It was a surprisingly short one as well, the sting that is. Their man on the inside almost instantly was able to get himself info about an upcoming deal, apparently a very big one. Now they were upon the entrance of the parking garage. The driver slowed down as they entered, coming to a quiet stop before he and another member jumped out of the truck. It was routine to check for any guards as nine out of ten times they had some protection outside of the actual vicinity of the deal. Soon enough they both head voices and crouched down. He slowly peeked around the corner, two only. It would be easy enough, the two were both out armed and they had the element of surprise. Plus they were more than distracted chatting off to each other. He signaled to go in and they rounded the corner gun raised.


    "Drop the guns and put your hands up!" He yelled as the other member appeared next to them. One of the two, a women started to raise her gun although he yelled "Don't do anything you'll regret." Raising his gun up aimed right at her head and closing the distance, soon enough the two criminals slowly put the guns on the ground. "Kick them over." He said quickly and luckily they complied. A few minutes later the two were cuffed, quietly grumbling to themselves. Luckily that went quite smoothly. After this though he figured things would get quite a bit harder. They made sure no one else had heard and waited for any footsteps before starting to make their way down.


    This went on for a few more floors, they checked for anyone although it seemed to be silent for the longest time. Eventually though they could hear it. They had reached the epicenter of all the action. The truck had been very slowly following them for awhile. They signaled to the driver to call the rest of the men out. They would have to try to be a bit stealthy, ramming into the middle of the operation would lead to more casualties than they could handle. Each member of the squad got into position and slowly started to move in the squad leader, James, at the front. Something was off though and eventually everyone stopped as they heard a foreign voice. "Penelope Parker. I'm a reporter for the sun."


    Ross grimaced, of course a citizen. James signaled for them to stop and wait a bit. Suddenly though everything turned into chaos. A slap echoed throughout the garage, bouncing off the stone walls. Ross lightly grinded his teeth, they needed to do something, fast. He could see James was about to signal for them all to go in. Although a newbie of the squad suddenly jumped out of position, open firing. He was the type that joined the force thinking he could dictate what was right and wrong in the world. Ross knew he was hot-headed although apparently a women being slapped pushed him over the edge. If the bust had gone to plan before anyone could reach any of the heavy artillery in the back, within a truck. The squad would surround everyone within the bust. What happened was a shootout where far more casualties than necessary occurred.


    Many minutes later it was all over. Both sides suffered many losses. Luckily Ross himself had made sure that no one reached any of the rifles in the truck, he never took his eyes off that spot. Ross swallowed lightly as he saw the kid who ran in face down on the ground, dead. Things could have gone so much better but they got the job done. The remaining criminals were put into cuffs and he silently walked over to the supposed reporter. The most surprising thing about all of this was that she hadn't been hurt or used as leverage. "We're going to have to send you in for questioning, Parker." He said doubtful of her last name, it wasn't uncommon granted. Although only an idiot would give their real name. And she certainly was no relative of his. He cuffed her and sent her off with another officer.


    Ross scoffed after leaving the chiefs office. He had a quick chat about what happened. The chief always seemed to have a sorta fondness for Ross. He guessed it was because of his reliability. He didn't really care though either way. The chief was angry as expected, the whole operation was a mess. Although he knew nothing could really be done at this point, and overall the job was done. The thing that annoyed him was the reporter was getting off scot free. He assumed she wasn't actually a part of the operation although she was really the one who indirectly caused all of this. He believed there should be far more punishment for interrupting a police operation. He walked by the interrogation room, the officer who had just questioned her quickly asking him to escort her out. He sighed as he walked inside and over to her. "Let's go."

    ooc;
    okay, not going to lie, i completely missed the fact that your character's last name was parker when i threw that out there ^_^"
    also, your first post is great :) no worries ~

    ic;
    milo sat in the small room, holding a baggie of ice against her swollen cheek and thinking about everything that had gone down. she hadn't been expecting the police so soon. she had been working up a lie in her head to feed the gangsters - probably something that would have gotten her deeper into trouble - when some guy came in, guns blazing. in the initial surprise of the attack, the young reporter managed to throw herself to the ground. with her hands still tied behind her back, she had landed roughly on her shoulder and rolled behind the truck for safety. from that moment on, everything had gone absolutely insane. the noise was incredible as bullets flew and planted in concrete. she watched as bodies dropped and her heart raced. it was during all this insanity that her mind cleared and she caught the few men who disappeared into the floor where she'd noticed the group swarming before. military crawling forward a bit, she realized no one else had seen the little escape.

    it felt like a very long time before the conflict stopped. there were bodies all around, but she could tell the police had won the day... at least that was what they would be believing about now. all the same, milo stayed put until someone came over and assured her it was safe to come out. the man was a bit taller than her with a gruff voice and a thick black beard and mustache. she couldn't see much past his helmet, but when he pulled her off the ground, she winced a bit. we're going to have to send you in for questioning... well... she had expected as much. this was their job after all and in all fairness, she shouldn't have even been there to begin with. looking around, she saw one of the men who'd grabbed her being slapped into cuffs and she caught his threatening glare for a moment before turning back to the officer and nodding. "of course, officer..."

    once she'd been loaded into the back of his car, she managed to relax a bit. the restraints put on her by the gangsters earlier were digging into her wrists a bit and the spot on her cheek where the russian man's hand had made contact burned and pulsed uncomfortably. all the same, she breathed out a sigh of relief. once again, she'd survived. not only had she survived, but she had one heck of a story brewing in her brain. this was going to be great.

    and that brings us back to the current moment. the ice was cold against her face as she attempted to bring the swelling down. the man from before appeared at the door and she looked up, bringing the ice away from her face. "oh, it's you again..." standing, she walked over to follow him out. once they reached the front of the building, she stopped. "i told the other officers already, but my name isn't actually penelope. my name is milogrith pendergraph, but everyone calls me milo. i report for the file, not the sun and there is a big bit of information you need to know about that raid you just made." she could read the tension in his body language, but she had a pretty good idea from her questioning earlier that the police didn't know about the escaped gangsters yet. that would be a big problem for her later, if they managed to get back around to her.

    "i can tell you don't like me that much and i won't hold that against you, but i need you to believe me when i tell you something much bigger is going on here." she stood before him, rubbing the red rings around her wrists as she stared back at him unblinking.     "i heard and saw things while i was in there... before you guys got there. i can help you take these guys down if you'll let me. i'll need access to the same information you have, though. trust me, you're going to want the extra eyes on these guys." waiting for his answer, she stood firmly. she could read all over his face that he wasn't thrilled to be letting her go. she wasn't surprised. most people generally disliked reporters these days anyway. besides, in his mind, she was just another troublesome civilian.

    ooc: Okay that's pretty funny XD. Thanks :]

    Ross looked up at the reporter as she recognized him again. He supposed the helmet wouldn't stop her from identifying him initially so it wasn't surprising. He started walking to the front of the building as she followed, more than happy to get rid of her. Ross was certainly biased towards a negative opinion of the reporter. In his eyes she had caused everything that had gone wrong in the operation, something he really couldn't forgive her for.


    Some things he did take notice to is how she didn't question him for more to add to her 'story. Something he appreciated. She did seem a bit different than most the reporters in the city. Something else that was a bit strange was how her voice didn't waver when the gangsters were questioning her. And what she did although he thought it was quite stupid, it was more than most of the reporters would do. She was brave, he knew that. The thing he was trying to figure out is if she was stupid.


    Ross started to open the door when he realized the reporter had stopped behind him. Turning around he gave her a questioning look. Then listening to her small explanation. "Yeah I figured as much. Info..." He sighed lightly as almost all respect he had for her was lost. He knew where this was going to lead. The file though, he searched his mind but nothing of significance came up about the paper. Then again, he wasn't really one to read any of the papers. Too many agendas even in a time like now.


    Ross scoffed lightly, it was that obvious huh. As he saw her rub her wrists he was tempted to apologize although as she started to speak again he threw away the thought. Ross then started to laugh lightly. "Wow what a pitch, you heard "things" you saw "things." And now you want our info. I think we can deal with this on our own Miss Pendergraph." To him this seemed like a last ditch effort to get every last scrap of info before making her story. "If you tell me what you "know" first then maybe I'll consider giving you anything we have." He said having only the smallest intention of actually considering it.


    A few things did go through his head as she brought up that she may have more info admittedly. A lot could have happened before they got there. And he knew that there was no way they saw everything that had happened when they got there. The problem was he doubted she had anything even close to worth all the info they had. The info they had been collecting for months, plus it was common sense to know not to trust a reporter. They always seem to be working in their own self interest. He got that admittedly but that makes for a person you really cant trust.

    ooc;
    sorry if this gets a little rambly ^_^"

    ic;
    for a moment annoyance flared up in milo's chest, but she didn't let it show on her face. "well, first of all, while you all were busy shooting up the garage, three men managed to slip away unnoticed. there was a line down to the sewer, i think but i never got close enough. unless i'm wrong and your team actually did manage to catch them, you've already lost them. i don't know for sure, but i have some pretty good pictures of everyone who was there before i got caught. i also overheard the two guards at the front talking about a base so i think i might know where the three runners went. i can tell you're smart enough to know that you don't want the entirety of the red gang in a full out war with the police, so you're going to want to get to them before they regroup and come back. i can help."

    after everything that had happened in the last two hours, milo was looking pretty rough. anyone else in her position would have been more than happy to be released from police custody. milo, on the other hand, wanted to get to the bottom of this mess. she had a bad feeling that the red gang was about to cause some serious trouble in richardson and if there was something she could do to stop it, she wouldn't rest until it was done. "look, you can accept my help or not, but i'm going to get more information. i'm going to write my article so people can take the right precautions to be safe from these monsters." she spoke with conviction as she dropped her arms to her sides.

    sighing, she lowered her head for a moment. "i'm not going to waste time trying to get you to trust me when you're obviously like everyone else in this country. i know what being a reporter means these days. It's fine. like i said, i can't blame you." shaking her head she thought for a second before looking back up abruptly. her blue eyes were bright again, like she hadn't just been captured and held hostage by some of the most dangerous gangsters in colorado. "i'm going to the diner on the corner of dover avenue, okay? if you rethink my offer, meet me there. i'll buy you a drink." turning away, she walked down the sidewalk, not looking back. plans were already going through her mind of what she needed to write.

    as she walked, milo decided to check her camera. as she'd suspected, the camera itself had been a bit roughed up, but the sd card seemed to me intact. all she needed to do was grab her laptop and she could begin. she would also need to back up her photos in case the police decided to simply confiscate her evidence. as she walked, the thoughts in her head allowed her to ignore the pain in her body. after everything, her shoulder, her wrists, and her left cheek were the only parts of her that were hurt. all things considered, that little adventure had been relatively successful. turning the corner at the end of the street, she disappeared from the officer's sight.

    once she was far enough away, milo exhaled softly. her mind continued to rush through everything that had happened. she couldn't forget. as she walked, however, she was frustratingly curious about whether or not the police would accept her offer for help. truth be told, she would welcome the help. she would need certain information that she wasn't sure she could get on her own. all the same, she would do what she had told the man she would do. she would get the information she needed, even if it meant putting herself in danger again. no one was safe with these people on the streets and if she could do anything to be a part of taking them down, she would. unfortunately for the red gang, this was personal.

    ooc; Nope that's perfect! Also I didn't know what the timer periods with everything is so I hope what I wrote is okay!


    Ross stared at Milo for a moment, conflict clear on his face. Soon enough though he retorted, speaking quite quickly and with a small bit of anger audible within his voice. He wasn't angry at her granted, it wasn't her fault. That didn't mean that he wouldn't take it out on her though. "We weren't busy casually shooting up the garage. This was a carefully planned out mission which you completely ruined. People died today because of your presence and this was a best case scenario. Imagine if you had died, imagine if one of them had grabbed you, we couldn't have let you died and think of what would've happened from there!" He said knowing his words were unfair. Although in the moment he really didn't care.


    "We did lose those men." He admitted spitefully although from there he tried to calm himself down a bit. "You're right though we can't have that." Thoughts were spiraling through his head rapidly at this point. On one hand he admired her dedication and commitment to a city like Richardson or more specifically the people within it. Yet he really didn't know how he was expected to trust her. It was uncharacteristic for him to even be considering it really.


    Anger flared up within Ross as she claimed he was like everyone else within the country. The thing that really made him mad was she wasn't exactly wrong. He worked towards his own self interest the wide majority of the time or himself and those close to him. Maybe he could do something for the greater good, something meaningful. Not the small jobs he did within the force that got some gangsters put behind bars on minimal charges before they were back on the streets soon enough. Her eyes struck him as interesting, he always found them to be the most revealing part of anyone's figure. At this point he had some things to consider to say the least.


    Ross then began walking back to the heart of the station. His shift ended in mere minutes, obviously today wasn't really like the rest. He quickly changed out of his uniform and checked his phone, seeing a few texts from his sister. They always kept an eye on each other, he made sure of that. He took comfort in knowing that she cared about him though, the texts questioning if he was okay and everything went to plan made sure of that. Ross decided to paraphrase what had happened and send her a short text. They texted back and forth for a little bit before he told her that he would be heading home now.


    Ross and his sister, Sammie as he lovingly called her did live together. He as may be expected was pretty protective of her, and she was several years younger than him so it really wasn't that big of a surprise. It was established over texts that she would be going out tonight. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence and Ross knew that, and although he wasn't a big fan of how often this happened, let alone in the middle of the city. They have had countless conversations about what she can and can't do and ultimately, he had no power to stop her.


    Ross looked down at his phone silently as he was driving home. It didn't take long for his thoughts to stray back to Milo and the whole gang situation. She was quite persuasive is what he was starting to realize, as a reporter should be. If everything she said was true though, it would be more of a crime to do nothing than to at least see what she had to offer. He sighed as he took a sudden turn, he was tempted to text Sammie although he doubted she would believe he's actually going out. And didn't want to deal with the ridicule if she did. Although for now though he supposed he was going to the corner of Dover Avenue, he could use a drink anyways.

    milo was already on her second cup of coffee as she worked over what she knew. fortunately, her camera card had been salvaged and after retrieving her laptop from her friend at the bar, she was able to download all of the pictures and save them in a secure file as well as a flash drive. now, even if the police decided to confiscate her camera, she had backups. with the coffee in her system, the young reporter was able to work faster than she normally would. she hadn't even been in the small diner long but she'd already created a simple outline of what she knew. as she worked in the peaceful environment, her friend at the bar watched curiously.


    after the day she'd had, milo couldn't just go straight home. her mother would see the bruise on her face and the state of her wrinkled clothes and know something had happened. that was why she had come to the diner rather than returning home... well, at least that had been part of the reason. the small building had always acted as a safe spot for her. it was here that milo had written her first knock-out piece. she came around so often, in fact, that the barkeep had taken a fancy to her, going as far as to give her free drinks from time to time. as nice as they all were to her, despite her title of 'blood-sucking reporter' the people there knew better than to interrupt her process. ryan, at the bar, knew the best coffee to keep her going and the manager chris knew she was good for every penny of what went on her tab. with acquaintances like these, she had the perfect set up to unmask the dark, scary world of the criminals of richardson, colorado.


    "hey, milo. here's the map and the extra drink you ordered." ryan carefully sat the beverage down with the folded up paper next to it. milo had seemed rather distracted as he'd approached her, but when he turned to leave without another word, she called out a kind thank you. the gesture made the grown man smile before returning to his place behind the counter. once he was gone, the young woman went back to mumbling to herself, plotting and trying to make sense of things in her head. as she mumbled and searched the blank wall as though all the answers were written in the plaster before her, she typed up every detail she could remember about the garage scene and what had gone down there. guards at the front, check. the actual deal, check. getting captured - no, scratch that, getting up close and genuine information directly from the source. yes, that sounded much better and would make her mother worry considerably less.


    sighing, she sat back and stared at her computer screen for the first time in a while. what an eventful day. her face stung and her head buzzed as her mind continued to try and make sense of the scenario she'd found herself caught up in. the officer who'd walked her out had said something about her ruining their raid. closing her eyes and resting her forehead gently against her fist, she thought. she knew that she wasn't to blame for everybody that had dropped in that parking garage a few hours earlier. it was completely unreasonable to believe that her presence alone had meant the death of that many more people. if anything, her presence should have helped in drawing all eyes onto herself, allowing the police a better advantage when it came to the surprise attack. still, she knew better than to let the man's words get to her. she had been doing her job as much as he had. it wasn't her fault that so many had been hurt or killed. people were going to die anyway and she doubted that incident had been the end.


    "come on, think... remember what you saw, milo... remember..." keeping her eyes closed, milo pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to focus on what she had seen while the bullets were flying around her. we weren't busy casually shooting up the garage. she pictured the scene again from under the car. looking around quickly, she spotted the three men who'd managed to slip away. how they'd managed to escape without drawing the attention of anyone but herself, the woman couldn't tell, but the fact remained that they were gone. "what else... what else did you see... something... something..." a bag. a black bag with something bulging out the top. drugs, maybe... but not just any drug. "not just any drug... what were they talking about... what did he say..." she struggled to remember what it was they had been dealing. there was a problem but with her mind as worn out as it was - even with the three cups of coffee whirring through her system - couldn't quite figure it out. turning to the map, however, she began trying to follow the sewer system to find three possible routes the escapees could've taken. this was what she needed to know.

    A low hum could be heard from Ross's car before it silenced as he came to a stop. Many questions were going through his head as he thought about the choice he was about to make. Could he trust this reporter? What was he gaining out of this? Was this really the way the red gang could be taken off the streets? He didn't have the answers to any of these but he planned on finding out, and if it was all for nothing. So be it, how could he live with himself knowing he didn't try. As Ross got out of the car and locked the door he tried to collect his thoughts, making his way to the front of the bar


    Trying to take a more general look at everything that had happened he started to realize this was a somewhat worrying situation. The worry that what she was saying wasn't true took priority over what it would mean if it was. If that wasn't the base of operation if this was merely a part of a bigger situation it was generous to even call their sting a success. Maybe their man within was able to get info so quickly because there was more to the situation than you would first think. Plus the escaped men creates an immediate and very large issue. Anyone could see that and he supposed Milo was right in saying they should take any help they should get.


    At this point Ross was opening the front door to the diner. Looking back he knew what he said to Milo wasn't fair, although really he knew that even in the moment. He wouldn't bother apologizing because the more minimal the interaction between them the better in his eyes. Scanning the diner he eventually saw Milo with a computer in front of her looking very, very concentrated. Ross swallowed lightly before walking over and sitting next to her.


    "Can I get a sprite?" He said signaling to "Ryan" as his name tag would reveal. He wasn't much of a fan of coffee and he had a peculiar taste in soft drinks. Thinks like Coke and Pepsi really not appealing to him much. Finally Ross turned to Milo. If she had noticed him she hadn't given any indication of that. Before he sat down he faintly heard some mumbling although wasn't able to distinguish anything. Also before he sat down he glanced at what was in front of her. A large amount of info was splayed on her computer screen and a map with the general location that the garage was located was also sitting in front of her.


    "Hi." Ross said oh so bluntly. At this point taking notice to her camera and a flash drive. "So, assuming you have some good pictures and still remember everything you heard, what can you give me?" He questioned leaving no room for small talk. Realistically it wouldn't have been a horrible choice to bring some of the files from the station although to explain his reason for taking them would be a challenge and he put a fair amount of effort into memorizing the info. What use would it be if he didn't even know it right?

    milo barely noticed as the man who'd arrested her entered the building. she was deep in thought, attempting to record the potential routes of the gang members who'd escaped. she had three possibilities on her mind at the moment, but she needed to narrow it down further. there was no room for error in this situation. however, she was in the middle of following a third sewer line split off, she heard his voice. can i get a sprite? though she didn't look up, a cheeky smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, though it faded back to her face of concentration as she continued to try and work out the city plans in her head. it had yet to occur to her that she was completely exhausted.


    he sat down and began talking but she quickly shushed him, searching the air in front of her for some invisible answers. "cricket." that was it. a newer drug on the streets and a dangerous one at that. cricket, as strange as it sounded, was a very powerful hallucinogen with higher addictive properties than heroine and cocaine combined. that was what they were selling. "but where are they getting it..." looking up at him for the first time, she smiled a bit, favoring the bruised side of her face only slightly. "nice of you to join me. i wasn't sure you would." before he had a chance to say anything sarcastic or blunt, she turned the computer towards him a bit.


    "okay, so i wrote down everything i remembered. this wasn't just a weapons bust. while the guns were probably all accounted for, what you missed was much bigger. when the three goons escaped through the hole in the ground, they took a big duffel bag with them." with a click, she pulled up a somewhat foggy image of a bag of black powder. the image had clearly been zoomed in on from quite a distance and taken in a hurry. this was the shot she'd snapped right before being noticed. "this is cricket, a newer drug that these guys plan to sell to anyone and everyone on the streets. that is, everyone but their own people. in a world where almost everyone does drugs, what could be easier than spreading this stuff to their enemies?" her brain was whirring painfully fast, and she knew a crash was coming soon. ryan kindly brought over another coffee, not nearly as strong as the first three, as well as a sprite for ross.


    clicking around again a few more times, the young woman pulled up three incredibly clear pictures of the men who'd been crowding the escape route earlier. "this part i'm not entirely sure about because i didn't see who all you arrested, but these were the three men hovering over the hole in the ground before you guys got there. i have pictures of everyone there, as far as i know, so if these aren't the guys who escaped, chances are i have pictures in here somewhere. if you could get me in to see mug shots, or just the faces in person of the men you arrested, i can pick out who's left and we can see who we're dealing with." taking a short break to catch her breath, milo picked up her coffee and took a sip, trying to keep herself alert until she was through what she had.


    "that takes us down to the sewer. look at this." pushing the laptop back a bit, she spread the biggest map over the table between them. she'd drawn on it with red sharpie, but to someone who didn't have a similar thought process as her, it was as good as code. "what do you see?" four red lines were drawn from the hole under the parking garage they'd been in. one of the lines snaked out a good bit, but had a thick red 'x' through it. the others were a bit more direct, though random words were scribbled around each of them. as milo waited for him to try and decipher her map, she watched him carefully, sipping on her coffee. her brain was wired right now, but the second she got home and hit her pillow, she would be out. that was, of course, after she took care of her mother. the poor girl still had a ways to go before she was ready to sleep.

    Ross took a deep breath as he was shushed by the insistent reporter in front of him. It was weird to have an interaction like this, Milo was serious yet didn't heel over at his as he has been told intimidating nature. He thought it was refreshing in some senses really. Cricket he thought silently to himself. It was bad enough when a new drug was introduced but especially as of late the things this drug has done completely blows everything else out of the water. He had only seen it a few times, he imagines in test runs or something along those lines for dealers. Although the things people did to get high and what happened because or after that high were just horrible. It was good to know of a possible source but if they learned that production of this drug was high it would be near impossible to get rid of once properly on the streets.


    Ross looked over at the screen. He was glad he did this so far, it was pretty clear she was the real deal. It was a good mix up in his schedule as well. And above all else they could end up making a big change in Richardson. Everyone knew this city had been stuck in the same place for far too long. Honestly Ross had trouble identifying the powder in the picture, unfortunately this wasn't a movie and you couldn't infinitely enhance so the picture was pretty pixelated. Although cricket did have a unique look and he decided to actually trust Milo in this case.


    Ross nodded fairly impressed with the pictures and the general way that Milo was going about dealing with this situation. "Yeah I've seen cricket a few times. Or rather cases involving it." He said as she took a sip of her coffee, slightly amused by how much she seemingly has had so far. "Yeah I think I can manage that, should have those for you by late tomorrow." He said knowing this was a somewhat time sensitive issue. Seeing the pictures himself he guessed he could pick out who was left, although he wasn't going to take credit for her work.


    Ross sighed as he leaned back a bit before looking up close at the map. At first he just examined it for a bit, looking over the general area, where it started, where the paths ended. "If I had to guess..." He started, finding it somewhat strange that she didn't explain this herself as she did everything else. And that she was watching him so closely, although he chalked that up to how much coffee she seemingly had. "These are the possible paths you think the men could have taken, obviously the one with the x was crossed off." He said before looking the map over for a bit longer


    "Honestly this line." Ross said pointing to the outermost left of the three more direct lines. "It leads to a pretty inactive part of the city crime wise, especially for gang activity. I doubt they would take this path instead of going into their own territory." He explained quickly, there were a few points like this in the city. He glanced at her for a second, smirking a tiny bit contrasting his usual stark face. His main thought was how this was not the average reporter, and her coffee habits were quite amusing. Looking back at the map he started to take a closer look at each of the lines and the words on them. Deciding to stay silent in that moment.