Rifts - EotC - Silvereno

[Chaser1]

Shep’s heart skips when he sees the folder about missing children and how thick it is. Memories of the children lost during the zombie attacks come rushing back. Children he knew. Children who had been, in many ways, the only family he’d had since his father was killed. The memory of how close he came to killing Nova still tears at him, and seeing what was left after the attacks had been too painful to stay. His eyes finally refocus as he pushes the memories down once again.

He reaches for the Missing Children folder, his hand hovering over it as if some force field blocks it from going farther. Finally, with a deep breath, he flexes his fingers to stop them trembling and opens the folder.

The following sub-folders spill out across the bar:

Eshantra Raeanne Quintarinna - Age of disappearance: 16; Current age: 21
Lorelei Moroni - Age of disappearance: 15; Current Age: 16
Corvus Wilkins - Age of disappearance 5; Current age: 17 (something about the name catches Shep's eye)
Amy Holden - Age of disappearance 14; Current age: 16 (something seems familiar about this one too)
Benny Alba - Age of disappearance 6; Current age: 6
Billy Sanchez - Age of disappearance 9; Current age: 11
Carly Munoz - Age of disappearance: 10; Current age: 12
Shayna Dooley - Age of disappearance: 2 mos ; Current age: 4 yrs
Cory Biltonman - Age of disappearance: 4; Current age; 11
Ellen Green - Age of disappearance: 10; Current Age: 14
Martha Pazolli - Age of disappearance: 4; Current age; 6
Sadie Shellhardt - Age of disappearance: 8; Current Age: 10
Kenny Miaz - Age of disappearance: 9; Current Age: 14
Adel Clammor - Age of disappearance: 7; Current age: 7
Kristina McKenzie - Age of Disappearance: 7; Current age 7
Marie Stephenson - Age of disappearance: 16; Current age: 16
Carly Stephenson - Age of disappearance: 17; Current age: 17
Trudy Martin - Age of disappearance: 15; Current age: 15

The sheer number is sickening.

[jawildey]

Shep frowns slightly, trying to place the names, and reaches for the first folder. Maybe there's a picture inside that will jog his memory. He carefully flips open the cover.

[Chaser1]

The sheer number is sickening. Shep frowns slightly, trying to place the names, and reaches for the first folder. Maybe there's a picture inside that will jog his memory. He carefully flips open the cover.

Eshantra Raeanne Quintarinna - Age of disappearance: 16; Current age: 21
Height: 4'9"
Weight: 65 lbs
Eyes: Green
Hair: Curly blonde
Birthday: July 4th
Race: Elf

After the death of her mother, Eshantra disappeared, presumably a runaway, from Hope Barony. Sightings in El Paso and Silvereno have been reported.

Eshantra.jpg (41.23 KiB) Viewed 30152 times

[jawildey]

He exhales slowly. oO( If she is twenty-one and still being spotted, she is likely no longer at the top of an active child-recovery list. )Oo He sets the folder aside and reaches for Corvus Wilkins instead. Maybe the photo will explain why the name sounds familiar.

[Chaser1]

He exhales slowly. oO(If she is twenty-one and still being spotted, she is likely no longer at the top of an active child-recovery list)Oo He sets the folder aside and reaches for Corvus Wilkins instead. Maybe the photo will explain why the name sounds familiar.

Corvus Wilkins - Age of disappearance 5; Current age: 17 (something about the name catches Shep's eye)

Height: 3'9"
Weight: 48 lbs
Eyes: Dark Brown
Hair: Black
Birthday: March 8th
Race: Human
Age Progression: Looks very very familiar.

Corvus is the victim of kidnapping by his maternal mother after his father had gained legal custody. Corvus was last seen wearing blue dogboy pajama bottoms and a flannel pajama top. His mother, Shelly Wilkins, has black hair, brown eyes and an extreme amount of facial freckles.

The more the description goes on, the more familiar the descriptions sound. Any information or the safe return of Corvus will be rewarded with 25,000 credits.

A vision of a young boy running past the mangled body of his father... the sixth survivor of the Camp Wilson demon attack in 92 PA. He was wearing the exact outfit described here. He concentrates, remembering the silhouette of a woman tossing a young kid to safety as she was picked up... then eaten. If it's the same kid, it's Corvus Night. The kid could only remember his name. He took a nasty hit to the head when his mother saved him. He'd been raised at the orphanage since.

[jawildey]

Shocked that he may be able to easily solve one of the missing person cases, he picks up the Amy one as well.

[Chaser1]

Shocked that he may be able to easily solve one of the missing person cases, he picks up the Amy one as well. The barmaid's luminescent green eyes smile at his choices as she slides a glass of his 'rusty nail' in front of him. Her smile fades as she realizes that Shep isn't just taking the job, but may have already solved it.

He opens "Amy Holden."

Amy Holden - Age of disappearance 14; Current age: 16 (something seems familiar about this one too)
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 118 lbs
Eyes: Light Brown
Hair: Brown
Birthday: December 21st
Race: Human

Amy Holden is a suspected runaway. The events leading to her disappearance include the arrest of her father after discoveries were made that he was molesting her on a regular basis. With her mother long gone, she'd lost the only family she'd known. Theories indicate that she fled to avoid the foster care system.

Amy.jpg (31.85 KiB) Viewed 29941 times

Yep, it's the same girl who showed up during the zombie invasion of Camp Wilson. She'd claimed she was from Lake Crenshaw. Maybe she was, but she seemed very untrusting, half naked, and scared. She disappeared during the attack. No trace of her was found in the aftermath. Abundant rumors, before Shep left, were that she was spotted a few times at one of the empty farms. Investigations showed no sign of her. Although, signs of habitation at some of the farms were apparent. So she very well could be hiding there.

The barmaid notices Shep's trembling fingers, "Sir? Would you like some laudanum to ease your nerves?"

[jawildey]

Shep looks up and blinks, bringing his mind back to the present. "No, thank you. I do have a question, though—how does this work? For example, these two folders," he points to the ones for Amy and Corvus, "If I wanted to take on these jobs, how would I get in contact with the people offering the reward?"

[Chaser1]

Shep looks up and blinks, bringing his mind back to the present. "No, thank you. I do have a question, though—how does this work? For example, these two folders," he points to the ones for Amy and Corvus, "If I wanted to take on these jobs, how would I get in contact with the people offering the reward?"

She smiles, revealing disturbingly long canine teeth, almost like a vampire, but not grotesquely so, "Oh! Just come back here with delivery or evidence and our assessor will determine if it's worth paying. Our job board is like a middle man in the operation between our clients and contracted employees. If you're delivering a DOA bounty, then we would have you come in our alternate entrance to avoid causing a fuss. We have a team of the best guards to assist.

"Some jobs, like body guards and taxiing, they tend to pay directly. Some clients like to use our services, in case our contractors like to build a LoC with us. In that case, we would need more information from you and to open an account with us. Some mercenary jobs are quite dangerous, so some of our contractors pay for inheritance insurance, in the event of their demise. If you take on a mission that doesn't go in your favor, then we could transfer or deliver your earnings to anyone you assign."

[jawildey]

He shifts his attention briefly to the other bartender, making sure the man is out of earshot. Satisfied, he leans in slightly, lowering his voice.
“I’m not comfortable sharing information about a missing child without knowing who it’s going to—and why they’re offering such a hefty reward.” He pauses, both to ensure the other bartender isn’t reacting and to watch her expression closely. “I don’t need to know who the client is. Not yet.” Another beat. “But if they’re not looking for him for the right reasons… maybe he’s better off staying ‘lost.’”

A faint shrug follows, casual on the surface as he leans back and takes on a more casual tone. “If that's the case, I could go for some pretzels to go with this excellent drink.” Shep lifts the glass and takes a slow, measured sip, never taking his eyes off her—still watching, still weighing—and keeping subtle awareness of whether the other bartender starts paying too much attention.

OOC: If Shep notices the other bartender paying too close of attention, he immediately stops and shifts tactics.