welsh
Junkmaster
Melvin didn't make his entry to the party until later that evening. When he did, it came in a crash through the ceiling that landed him and a stranger into the midst of the dining room table.
Melvin had been pulling on his pants as he left Marcelles Crashhouse, but Caribe and the others had already vanished into the city, leaving him little clue of there whereabouts.
For the next hour, Melvin hunted down what leads he could to find Caribe's family. That he found out so quickly did little to ease his panic. If Melvin could learn this information so quickly than there were two more problems. First, those that meant to kill Caribe certainly knew this as well. Secondly, this would be an ideal time to wipe out not only the O'Riley clan but his friends as well.
In his time in the Vault Melvin had learned a few things about secrecy and authority. Namely, those in authority could not be trusted. That Melvin got his information from a less than attractive female guard in desperate need of attention meant that all the guards knew where the Rileys were, and therefore so did the criminal element.
Secondly, he had learned to walk softly and leave little trace.
Thus as he neared the O'Riley home, Mevlin slowed down his hurried gate and slipped into the shadows. To throw the alarm might alert the goons that their plans were spoiled and might force their hand. He would need to move around or through them, without giving himself away. Then he froze and watched.
It was already late in the evening, which meant that his friends had already feasted and drank their full. Alcohol would dim their senses and full bellies would slow their response. Outside a Junktown guard was on patrol, circling the block. But the guards were poorly paid and easily bribed.
A drunk was asleep on the street. A couple was picking through garbage. As Melvin moved around, he saw a streetwalker waiting near a corner and two men warming their hands over a jerry can stove. All of these could be disguises for assassins with more sinister purposes.
Instead of approaching the house directly, Mevlin moved down the street until he came to far end of an adjoining property. There he waited and watched for movement. From a garbage can he found a rag which he put around his head and a rotten sweater which he filled with refuse. Hunched over he would look like an old lady crossing the street. An old flask would
It took time to cross, and he tried to avoid the lights. Then he looked for a place to settle down in a darker corner. THere again he stopped and observed. After about 15 minutes of waiting and watching when all the movement he saw was a mangy dog picking at a garbage can, he felt it safe to move.
Utilizing a crate and an opened windown, he climbed up to the roof of the buildings, crawling over the side to leave as little silhouette as possible. Then he crawled towards the center of the building. Stopped and waited, watching for movement and barely breathing least the sound of wind blown through his lungs alert his enemies.
Still uncertain whether there were any other people on the roof, Melvin quietly moved across the building's roof, careful as a mistep would have taken him through the weak roofing materials and plummetted him to the ground below. Around him he could see the walls of Junktown, below the slight traffic of the town in the late hours of the evening. The air and wind had taken a chill leaving a ghostly feel.
He had to climb up half a story to the building in which the Riley's had taken residence, but from that position he could observe the roof. It took only a moment to identify the figure on the roof, his body standing out against the night sky.
The man's back was turned to Mevlin, so Melvin took the opportunity to quietly climb up behind him, and begin to approach. The man was tieing something together, and Melvin almost tripped over a thin wire that stood only inches above the floor. Tracing the wire back, Melvin found it tied to something that could only be dynamite.
A bomb. The assassins had figured to blow the building apart with a bomb, and probably had assassins on the outside to finish off any survivors.
The man was concentrating and listening as Melvin approached from behind, slowly reaching for his knife only to realize in his haste he had left him behind.
The lack of a weapon stopped Melvin in his tracks as he reconsider his next move. But his failure to move meant that his weight was displaced. The floor boards on the board gave a loud and audible creak beneath Melvin.
The man heard that and looked up as Melvin tensed. Then he turned around. A detonator was in one hand, a pistol in the other. Even so, he was still uncertain and unprepared for Melvin's leap.
The man was stronger and stockier. In a knife fight, Melvin might have been able to beat him due to speed. Melvin might have lacked the knife, but he still had his speed.
As he leaped he grabbed at the man's pistol, pushing it awan, and hit him squarely in the chest with his shoulder.
The man, still gripping the detonator, was knocked off balance. He stepped back once onto the loose roofing materials. That was the fatal mistep.
The foot broke through the roof, furthering undoing the man's balance. He might have been able to stop himself from going over, but Melvin's body blow was enough to upset his balance.
Gravity did its work.
The man came down hard through the roofing materials, through the ceiling of the Riley dining room and finally landed hard on his back in the midst of the table. Mevlin followed only a moment behind.
Melvin had been pulling on his pants as he left Marcelles Crashhouse, but Caribe and the others had already vanished into the city, leaving him little clue of there whereabouts.
For the next hour, Melvin hunted down what leads he could to find Caribe's family. That he found out so quickly did little to ease his panic. If Melvin could learn this information so quickly than there were two more problems. First, those that meant to kill Caribe certainly knew this as well. Secondly, this would be an ideal time to wipe out not only the O'Riley clan but his friends as well.
In his time in the Vault Melvin had learned a few things about secrecy and authority. Namely, those in authority could not be trusted. That Melvin got his information from a less than attractive female guard in desperate need of attention meant that all the guards knew where the Rileys were, and therefore so did the criminal element.
Secondly, he had learned to walk softly and leave little trace.
Thus as he neared the O'Riley home, Mevlin slowed down his hurried gate and slipped into the shadows. To throw the alarm might alert the goons that their plans were spoiled and might force their hand. He would need to move around or through them, without giving himself away. Then he froze and watched.
It was already late in the evening, which meant that his friends had already feasted and drank their full. Alcohol would dim their senses and full bellies would slow their response. Outside a Junktown guard was on patrol, circling the block. But the guards were poorly paid and easily bribed.
A drunk was asleep on the street. A couple was picking through garbage. As Melvin moved around, he saw a streetwalker waiting near a corner and two men warming their hands over a jerry can stove. All of these could be disguises for assassins with more sinister purposes.
Instead of approaching the house directly, Mevlin moved down the street until he came to far end of an adjoining property. There he waited and watched for movement. From a garbage can he found a rag which he put around his head and a rotten sweater which he filled with refuse. Hunched over he would look like an old lady crossing the street. An old flask would
It took time to cross, and he tried to avoid the lights. Then he looked for a place to settle down in a darker corner. THere again he stopped and observed. After about 15 minutes of waiting and watching when all the movement he saw was a mangy dog picking at a garbage can, he felt it safe to move.
Utilizing a crate and an opened windown, he climbed up to the roof of the buildings, crawling over the side to leave as little silhouette as possible. Then he crawled towards the center of the building. Stopped and waited, watching for movement and barely breathing least the sound of wind blown through his lungs alert his enemies.
Still uncertain whether there were any other people on the roof, Melvin quietly moved across the building's roof, careful as a mistep would have taken him through the weak roofing materials and plummetted him to the ground below. Around him he could see the walls of Junktown, below the slight traffic of the town in the late hours of the evening. The air and wind had taken a chill leaving a ghostly feel.
He had to climb up half a story to the building in which the Riley's had taken residence, but from that position he could observe the roof. It took only a moment to identify the figure on the roof, his body standing out against the night sky.
The man's back was turned to Mevlin, so Melvin took the opportunity to quietly climb up behind him, and begin to approach. The man was tieing something together, and Melvin almost tripped over a thin wire that stood only inches above the floor. Tracing the wire back, Melvin found it tied to something that could only be dynamite.
A bomb. The assassins had figured to blow the building apart with a bomb, and probably had assassins on the outside to finish off any survivors.
The man was concentrating and listening as Melvin approached from behind, slowly reaching for his knife only to realize in his haste he had left him behind.
The lack of a weapon stopped Melvin in his tracks as he reconsider his next move. But his failure to move meant that his weight was displaced. The floor boards on the board gave a loud and audible creak beneath Melvin.
The man heard that and looked up as Melvin tensed. Then he turned around. A detonator was in one hand, a pistol in the other. Even so, he was still uncertain and unprepared for Melvin's leap.
The man was stronger and stockier. In a knife fight, Melvin might have been able to beat him due to speed. Melvin might have lacked the knife, but he still had his speed.
As he leaped he grabbed at the man's pistol, pushing it awan, and hit him squarely in the chest with his shoulder.
The man, still gripping the detonator, was knocked off balance. He stepped back once onto the loose roofing materials. That was the fatal mistep.
The foot broke through the roof, furthering undoing the man's balance. He might have been able to stop himself from going over, but Melvin's body blow was enough to upset his balance.
Gravity did its work.
The man came down hard through the roofing materials, through the ceiling of the Riley dining room and finally landed hard on his back in the midst of the table. Mevlin followed only a moment behind.
