LogThe City Never Sleeps-Jason-10

Game log for the 2024/03/04 session of AW:The City Never Sleeps, as taken by Jason

Snubnose starts the session in Grandma's office, demanding satisfaction for all the break-ins on his property. He's heard rumors that Butcher's responsible. She can tell that he's not going to leave this issue alone until something is done about it. She'll want to verify that story, but she'll get back to him. She says it very convincingly, and he's on board. In fact, he's so totally convinced that he becomes her right hand (impulse: to follow through on her intentions). Once he leaves, she sends for Semmel and tells him to go check Butcher's shop for the missing items.

MacWillard's at Butcher's, trying to get the recirculating blood pump from the infirmary repaired. Butcher has the part he needs, freshly repaired, and he's walking Mac through the process of reinstalling it. Semmel and some goons show up, and when Butcher doesn't acknowledge them right away, Semmel has the goons start looking around, making a mess. Butcher starts getting pissed, but before long, the goons find a certain stolen gas tank for a motorcycle. Butcher asks Mac to find Frost, and the angel tells Semmel to tell Grandma he thinks Butcher's innocent and not to do anything summary.

Mac finds Frost with Twiggy at Joe's Crab Shack. Frost denies everything, and even though MacWillard can tell she's lying, she's not budging. Mac sighs and goes to report in to Grandma.

Grandma, for her part, wants to curb this sort of renegade activity in Churchill. When MacWillard explains what he found out, she accepts his recommendation that she should investigate this conspiracy to frame Butcher.

Twiggy goes to the Colosseum to warn Augustus that someone is on to Skint's scheme to frame Butcher. Gus is predictably displeased. He's trying to rebuild his kitchen, and doesn't need this. Twiggy assures him that he had no involvement in any of this because he and Skint chose not to do business together. Augustus also puts the word out that he'd like to hire a new security specialist, to replace Spartacus. Twiggy decides that he'll help Augustus with damage control on this caper.

They go find Skint, who's got a box at the Colosseum, which she's reinforcing, so that it can be a proper betting office. Gus tells her that the plan is going awry, and she immediately wonders why Twiggy's tied up in this somehow. Twiggy proclaims innocence, and Skint assures them that Frost won't give anyone up. She thinks they can tough this one out. Gus isn't so sure that Grandma isn't going to change course on this.

Gus goes to check in with Grandma. He reminds her that they agreed Butcher and Snubnose were going to settle their disagreement in the Colosseum. Grandma still thinks the fighting is going to be voluntary, but Augustus still wants her to order them to fight. She can tell that he's desperate to make this happen. He once again asks her to tell them they have to resolve their dispute in the arena. She doesn't understand why he's so desperate to make this happen, but when push comes for shove, she allows herself to be talked into it. She sends for Butcher and Snubnose. They arrive, and Mac hears the hubbub and invites himself in.

She tells them they're going to settle this dispute in the Colosseum, and she'll pay them a barter each to do it. Mac is so pissed he can't even talk about it and walks off, calling Augustus a fucking asshole as they cross paths in the hallway. As the maestro'd enters, Grandma refers to him as the guy who wanted them to fight, and that immediately triggers their suspicions. Nonetheless, they need to know what the rules of this thing will be. Gus lays out the rules for a team scavenger hunt, and whichever team has the most stuff at the end of the time wins. OK, but how does this resolve their dispute? They all argue back and forth and eventually Butcher says that if he wins, Snubnose has to apologize for falsely accusing him, publicly, wearing absolutely nothing but bunny ears. If Snubnose wins, he gets all his stuff.

Jones is at Joe's, when Butcher walks in, approaches Frost, and tells her that the tank she had with her the other day has caused him untold fucking chaos. She denies everything, deadpan, like a fucking sociopath. Twiggy says that she was hopped up on cold medicine the other day and maybe she just doesn't remember that day. Butcher sighs, goes over to Jones, and offers him a drink. He wants Jones on his arena scavenger hunt team, so that Jones can kill Snubnose, or maybe Snubnose's entire team. Jones will do that... for one barter up front and two more on completion. Then Jones remembers that his bike needs repairs, and they settle on a barter up front, and full bike repairs.

Snubnose comes to visit MacWillard and asks him to be on the scavenger hunt team. Mac absolutely refuses and tells him he finds the entire idea repugnant, and further says that he cannot believe that after all they sacrificed to install Grandma as boss of this town, Churchill has come to this.

A fellow named Apple applies for Augustus' security job. He's young, and he's twitchy, but Marley says he's good for it.

Jones encourages Butcher to try to hire Frost as well, but she absolutely refuses, and also makes noises like she can't understand why Jones would agree to this. When he explains that it's because he needs his bike fixed, she just sighs. A little later, Snubnose comes in, and goes right to Twiggy. He wants the chopper to stop by his office later to talk some business.

Twiggy, Ferguson, and Crocker come calling on Snubnose. He shuts down his shop, kicks everyone out, and tells them they he wants them to find out the details of the scavenger hunt beforehand. Twiggy could bet on him and make bank. He's in.

Twiggy then goes to visit Augustus, and asks him straight up about the upcoming scavenger hunt. Gus asks why he's asking, suspicious, and Twiggy assures him that he thought he was helping to plan the event. Gus ends up falling for it, and explains that he's designing six challenges spread across the course, and he'd love to have Twiggy define one.

Twiggy then goes right back to Snubnose to check in and see what his skills are, so he can design at least one challenge that will totally favor Snubbie. He also briefs him on the other challenges, which will help him know who he needs to hire for his team.

Then Twiggy goes back to Augustus and resumes work. The maestro'd also hires them to be external security, which feels like it's stacking some irony up.

Grandma gets a formal mailed invitation to a city council meeting. She will of course attend, with Abnett along as aide/bodyguard/etc.

Frost decides to go visit that garage where they found the mysterious kid some days back. On her way out, she bumps into one of the new city guards, who she suddenly realizes was one of the guards holding MacWillard, back when he was kidnapped. His name is Garfield. He tells her that tomorrow, there will be an official motorcade departing Churchill, and he wants to know the route. He only needs to know the route and whether it stops. He's not looking for any interference, just observation. Unfortunately, she wants more for a job like that than he can afford. He needs a cheeper option, like Twiggy. On the other hand, she tells him she'll keep this deal confidential.

Jones opens his brain, trying to get prepared for the big event. He finds himself remembering watching a movie, in which the main character is trying to pass a test that involves going from brick to brick and getting blasted with fire if he fails. Somehow he knows this isn't how the movie goes, but there's definitely fire involved. He decides to look for fire-resistant clothing, which Butcher can probably get for him! In fact he suggests the whole team should get them.

Sure enough, Garfield finds Twiggy, and tells him he wants to know the details of a vehicle's route. The chopper gets the sense that Garfield's a middle man in a deal here. The guard also assures him that there should be no shooting, and at worst, there might be a chase.

Frost visits the garage, and looks for more evidence of habitation. She finds open empty MRE packets. She also checks for doors that don't belong, and finds some sidewalk chalk, and an oil pit with zs drawn on the wall. If these kids can make doors appear, she realizes, anyone could approach this place without being seen. She opens her brain to try to see where someone might be watching out from. She gets a sense that the storeroom would be the place to do it, because the racks and racks of parts make for good concealment. She goes there, and gets that feeling of being watched again. She checks out the room, and at one point, she hears giggling. She says, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend." Someone responds, "I don't believe you." She responds that that proves this person is smart, and negotiates that she'll go some distance off and completely disarm, so that this person can feel safe. She does so. The voice says it didn't think she'd do it, but it keeps its word. It turns out to be a little girl, who has no name, but is called Gumball. Gumball knows Frost rescued MacWillard without hurting anyone, and Frost says that she tries not to. The two of them agree that they don't have many friends, so they need to keep the friends they have. Frost shares her food with Gumball, and finds that she knows all sorts of weird things about this city. Some of the drawings are to make the city prettier, because it needs more color. It used to have lots of color, but it gets less colorful over time. The doors she makes also make it easier to get around the city, which is a challenge for everyone. According to Gumball, when you aren't big or fast or strong enough, you have to tell the Godess what you want, but you can't just say it out loud, you have to say it in a way she can hear. The kid demonstrates by drawing a door. She mentions that it helps to know where the door goes when you make it, and that there are some places you can't go that way. For example, people who open doors to the Spire don't come back. Frost invites Gumball to visit her in Churchill, but Gumball doesn't think it's safe there. In fact, nothing in Churchill is safe, as far as she's concerned. They haven't had "the vanishing" yet, but it's coming. Frost asks what that means, and Gumball asks her to come with her, and allows Frost to rearm first.

They go through Gumball's door, then a hallway, then another door, and suddenly they're at the zoo. She asks Frost if she notices anything change, and sure enough, the Reptile House is gone. All the signs that mention it are gone. It's like it was never there. She then shows Frost another spot where a building has been replaced by a vacant lot. This sort of thing happens all over. Someone should warn Churchill. Lollipop also knows to expect this. Gumball says Lollipop is trying to help the Goddesss, who is sick. Frost wants to pass the warning on, so she pats Gumball's hair, then tries to draw a door. The door opens into a hallway. It's a very dark hallway, and it has stairs in it. The stairs keep getting longer, the landing receding farther and farther away. Gumball shows Frost the overland way home.

MacWillard opens his brain and wonders when it all went wrong. It was the night of the party. He shouldn't have gotten in the car, but he did, and then there was a gap in time, and then there was a crash. He feels like he's got a choice to make, but he's not sure he can make it. When he comes to, he doesn't know what the choice is, either.

Grandma tries to see where Churchill fits in to the city. It's pretty remote, not in the mainstream, and that's good. The closer you get to the center, the more dangerous things become. Since that's where she's heading, that's not so good. As the motorcade leaves, she notices Stooges trailing them. When she sees Twiggy, she asks what's going on. Twiggy deflects the question. The Stooges' attempts to look innocent inevitably make things seem more suspicious. Twiggy is willing to be told to get out, but he won't deny the Stooges the right to go wherever they want. At that point, Grandma's driver Timber assures her that he can lose the Stooges. A chase ensues! Timber thinks he's lost them, but the Stooges are just hanging back farther.

They make it to City Hall, which is closer to the Spire than she's ever been. She's let through a gate (made of two dump trucks end to end) and ushered to City Hall, an imposing neo-colonial sort of place. When the car pulls up, Sebastian is waiting for her, and expresses his pleasure at seeing her. He takes her to the meeting room. It's actually a courtroom. The Mayor is in the judge's seat, and the council members in the jury box. The first part of the meeting is what she expected, discussion of what's going on where, of disputes between holdings, etc. That session ends, there's a break, and they clear the room to get ready for "special session." The person sitting next to Grandma, Grant, seems to become very nervous. Sebastian approaches Grandma to emphasize that special session is confidential. She has a strong sense that if she is indiscreet about this, death will come swiftly.

The Mayor calls the session to order. He hasn't said much up to this point, and then asks Dr Blanchard for his report. The doc reads off some vital signs, with no discussion of whose vital signs they are. Grandma's lost. Other people also get called upon to give reports. The Seventh Street bridge is gone, which causes some hubbub. Grant gets really upset, because this fragmentation will make trade very difficult for his settlement. He wants to send someone into the Spire, but the Mayor just calls for order. Another guy comes in and hands a manila envelope to the jury foreman. The foreman asks where it was taken, gets his answer, closes it, and passes it around. It gets passed all around, and Grandma finds it's a picture taken from above, looking down, of a hole in the row of buildings. This hole is not a vacant lot, it's a void. There was often a theater venue in that spot, and now there's just a hole in space there. This is someplace relatively close to the Spire, too. Grandma keeps her silence, but then the Mayor turns things over to her, and asks her take. She talks about the rumors she's heard, and they decide they want a formal report from her next meeting, including whatever she can find about those rumors. They need all the data they can get to understand the problems facing the city.

After the meeting adjourns, Sarah approaches her and offers to talk to her and maybe answer questions. They could even share a ride, if Grandma wants to speak in private. She prefers to ride back to Churchill with the men she brought with her, and also has no questions she wants to ask. Sarah's impressed. Grandma then promptly asks a question - "what is the goal of the council?" Sarah assures her that it's just the same and successful operation of the city, of course.

Grandma then hops in her limo and tells Timber to get her the hell out of there. Abnett asks if she made any allies or enemies, but she thinks not, and also thinks maybe it's better to continue to have neither.

The Stooges can also observe the limo leave the city council settlement and follow it back to Churchill. Twiggy reports as much to Garfield, then asks what was for. Twiggy tries to figure out how to find out who Garfield works for, and concludes that he needs to prove reliable and work his way further in.

Frost goes to find Mac in the Bakery. She seems so wigged out that after sending Sphinx out of the room, she just plain spills her guts to Mac. Mac is not happy to hear any of it, prescribes Frost a little something to calm her down, and then prescribes himself a shot of something strong to fortify him for a conversation with Lollipop.