Chapter 1: Heartless (Gary)

[Venatus Vinco]

Having caught a few odd jobs since the whole Eric ordeal, Gary was up-to-date on the rent in his seedy private investigators office in Old Town. An area that was complete rebuilt in the seventies after the riot of 1968. However, it has deteriorated since then, keeping the rents low for struggling, fae-hating, private investigators. Unfortunately, it was adorned with carpet, and the carpet is currently soaking up blood. Gary enters his office to see a dead fae splayed across his desk with her heart torn out. There are no signs the deed was done here and the door and locks are in tact. Who she is, how she got in, and what happened to her heart are a mystery.

[Gary with a G]

Gray freaks at the sight of fae blood and guts, ”What the fuck!”. He had just recovered enough from his torture at the hands of the Albino and now fate drops this doozy into his lap. Just paid the fucking rent man, and my name is all over the fucking lease! I am fucked fucked fucked. Pale faced and his heart racing he thinks... He thinks... I got to call the cops! For all of Gary’s machismo and claim to fame about tearing out Fae hearts he had only done it once and the rest were flights of fancy that kept him from shoving the barrel of a gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.

He grabs his cell phone and dials 911, ” Operator! Operator! What the fuck!” Tough times for Gary as he realizes cell phones and his magic blood don’t mix. He makes for the back way out leaving the door wide open to terrorize the small children and their sweet mother that lived two doors down. Where the fuck is @Gregory the Tainted? I got to find him.

[Gary with a G]

The streets of Balmore are more friendly that ever. Everyone is looking to help the neighbor hood PI except in the one way it really mattered. Miss Darcy at the five and dime shop right arround the corner from the “office” wanted to give Gary a hand. Her drawl was smokey like an ill made campfire or perhaps bacon left on the griddle for a half hour too long. If it weren’t for her long blonde hair Gary wouldn’t even glanced her way. ”Hey ya sugar, what’s your name?”

Damnit, you know my name! Its Gary with a G. I didn’t have time to dick arround for some hanky panky I was in real trouble. The Albino on my case, and now a dead fae in my office splayed apart like a morbid butterflied turkey breast. Running wild through the seedier part of Baltimore might have been a bad idea but Gary ran into Detective Missy Malone the only red head on the force he knew of. She was shaking down hotdog man Hank for a bite to eat and some information on a missing person. Gary of course ran her way almost forgetting the cardnal rule.

”Detective Malone... Missy...” Gary stopped short his eyes wide and sweat dripping down his forehead like he had just played 42 minutes at the Garden. She peered at him trying to decide if she should take a bite of the dog or listen to Gary. Hotdog came first in this part of the neigborhood.

Gary started again, ”Officer... I uh...” Fuck, I can’t just tell her there is a dead fae woman in my office butchered like she was an evening meal with her heart gone missing. Oh yeah and I am a fucking wizard! Detective Missy Malone chomped on the dog, mustard and cheeze wiz oozing slightly out of her mouth. She was used to Gary having walked this beat for the past two years.

She dabbed her mouth with a well placed napkin and nodded to the vendor thanking him. She was cool and as shrewed as they came in Baltimore which was saying something about the east coast police force. ”Yes Gary? I was just talking to Hank her about a missing person case. You know Eric McCollough? I don’t suppose you are going to tell me you dragged him into a deep dark hole punched out his heart and buried him?”. Her eyes hid a mild amount of mirth. She had always liked imagining the wildest thing that might befall someone.

Fuck she knows? I must look strung out like I just did a bunch of coke. My pulse is racing, hair is wild and unkept. Sweat seeping down my back and arm pits like I just walked by a blown fire hydrant. Gary took a moment to catch his breath. His fat chest heaving like he was going to have a heart attack at any moment. ”Uhh... Nothing... Just thought you looked beautiful eating a hotdog like that.”

She kicked him in the groin bowling him over and threw the rest of the dog on his head. ”Kinda like that eh Gary? You obese fucker, ever make a pass at me again and I’ll turn the screws tight on your little operation. Unlicensed PI working on my beat? Thats all the luck you’ll ever get, Kapeshe.” Gary struggles to see Detective Missy Malone waggle away, but Hotdog Man Hank’s low wistle gave him enough of a picture to imagine her swaying gate.

Hank looked down at Gary whose knew hairdoo spoke volumes about the cheese and mustard underground art movement. ”You in trouble Gary? Need a lift somewhere?”

Gary nodded giving him the address of @Gregory the Tainted ” Yeah you could say that. Can you give me a ride there?”

[Venatus Vinco]

After an awkward exchange with Detective Malne Gary convinces Hank to give him a drive. Closing the service window on the truck Hank motions to Gary to grab the sandwich board promoting today's speciality hotdog, "the Corn-onary" a corn dog designed to give you a heart attack. It's like the whole universe knwos what's up in Gary's office. Gary and Hank the Hot Dog Man (which is his job and his stripper name) jump into Hank's Hot Dog Truck and begin to motor through Baltimore. The gravity of the situation is somewhat mitigated by driving around in a white truck with a giant fibreglass hot dog on the roof.

As Hank rounds a corner toward Gary's place the street suddenly becomes extremely barren, no cars or people, not even parked cars along the side of the road. "What the hell is going on?" Hank mutters as he drives the un-congested streets. Recognizing it as a glamour Gary prepares for the worst. Suddenly, a figure appears in the middle of the road causing Hank to curse and slam on the breaks. Condiments and kitchen supplies can be heard crashing to the ground in the back, some ketchup comes flying into the front seat and splatters all over Gary making him look like a serial killer.

The man on the road is about five foot nine and has shoulder length silvery hair. He wears blue jeans and a flannel shirt but is obviously muscular and his who presence projects confidence and light. While he does not look entirely like a fae he at least has some resemblance to one. As he approaches the vehicle Gary catches a whiff of him on the breeze, he smells like pine and honeysuckle.

Hank tries to gun the truck in reverse but the man raises a hand and the engine sputters and begins to smoke. He looks through the windshield with an amused smile, "Gary, we need to talk about your office decor."

[Gary with a G]

Looking like I am the butcher of Baltimore you see on the tele. Smelling like katchup and sourkraut, and some unknown special sauce.

Gary looks through the glass wiping his eyes clear of the red mess. He looks at the hotdog man nodding a quick thanks, ” Best get out of here and go back to selling meat. Thanks for the ride.” Gary swipes a couple of katchup bottles putting them in his pocket and gets out of the hotdog van.

He looks at the not quiet fae and sniffs, ”Well let’s talk, I’ll be your honeysuckle.”

[Venatus Vinco]

Hank the Hot Dog guy doesn't need to be told twice as he pulls a u-turn and speeds away almost before Gary gets out of the door of his truck. The powerful glamor begins to melt away and traffic returns, forcing Gary onto the sidewalk. The mysterious man gracefully side steps traffic and saunters close to Gary.

"Okay Honeysuckle. Let's get this straight. I am the Summer Knight, that means my job is to kill mortals on behalf of the Queen of the Summer Court." Gary can tell that the man would have no problem killing the private eye right here in the street, "And, since you had a dead Fae in your office I've been sent here to exact the Queen's justice." He let's that part hang in the air for a moment, "Thing is. I think you're being set-up, so I'm giving you forty-eight hours to use your super sleuthing powers to find the real killer before I cut your heart out just to keep the court happy."

He smiles, a charming, disarming smile - damned Fae. "Got any objections?"

[Gary with a G]

Gary wipes off some mustard from his forehead and katchup off his only shirt. He breathes deep still reeling from getting kicked in the groin a few munites earlier. This day turned out par for course. Sure he had been scared shitless less than 10 minutes ago but a knee to the groin fills you with the vim and vigor to take on the whole fae court life be damned. He holds up two fingers and feeling his moxie returning and replies, ” Two objections Summer. One I object to you knowing about the fae butterflied in my office like a sweaty peice of cow. Tell me how did you know? Two, I ain’t a super slueth. I am the fucking wizard, and I’ll take your case but their better be something on the end in addition to my life when I bring in the real killer. Who ever did this is looking to send a statement to all the fae in Baltimore.” Gary shook off a hotdog bun plastered to his cheek, ” Seems to me, if you are trying to pin this fracus on me, the death has you all a little bit more than scared. I want further compensation... Say a nice hockey stick like that dude Dresden has...” Gary with a G. grins knowing he has this Summer Knight by the short hairs if he has any, ” You don’t even have to say thank you when I drop the killer at your feet.”

[Venatus Vinco]

A brief frown crosses the Summer Knights face, sending an uncomfortable shiver down Gary's spine. The kind of feel you get when you narrowly avoid death. Then the knight's sunny demeanor returns, "You know Harry huh? You're kind of like him, only dumber. Which is scary. The summer lady can sometimes glimpse the future. I was staking out your place cause we knew something would go down, but I missed it somehow. You're right someone is trying to pin this on you - but not me. As for a reward, if you assist the Summer Court then a favor will be owed. It is the way of things."

[Pender Lumkiss]

The shiver. An old friend riding high on the coat tails of death. When summer wind there gives it to me I know it must be Tuesday and it’s time to get to work.

Gary wipes some mustard off his brow flinging it onto the street. ” Summerwind, I’ll be cashing that favor shortly.” The investigator looks up and down the street just in case some unseemly vampire or fat was lurking ready to finish the job. ” A fae dead in my office, an offer from the eternal court I can’t refuse, and the queen herself dreaming of me. Throw in a cup of joe, and a pair of hockey tickets and you got a pretty good day in the making. See ya when I got something Summerwind...” He smiles, ” Tell queeny to keep on Dreamin of Gary... Gary with a G.”

Gary not wanting to push his luck and feel the selector of death full time heads onward to the one place he can think of: @Gregory the Tainted

[Venatus Vinco]

The Summer Knight nods at Gary, "The Summer Lady will be pleased with your result. I will follow-up with you in seven of your days."

Parting ways with the Knight, Gary approaches Gregory's place, but finds his normal associate is missing. Gregory left a note for Gary:

"Under cover, back in a few hours"

For now Gary has the choice to wait or start working the case.

[Gary with a G]

Not at home what a tool. Can’t beleive I hired him... Part-time for peanuts...

Gary scratches his own note underneath the out on a stakeout note: Come to the office, 911. He then jumps on Bus 101 a straight shot 24 stops to his office. Theseats were a bit uncomfortable and smallish, two girls in knee high socks and dresses leaving nothing to the imagination took a selfie with the slob. Pledge week... Sigh.

Seven days and then they come to collect. Most folks know I don’t have any love for the fae, but who has enough moxie to actually do it?

[Venatus Vinco]

Returning to his office after his earlier panicked flee Gary finds the body that was on his desk gone. The dis-heartened Fae has disappeared leaving behind a puddle of ectoplasm that is quickly drying up. As with most things from the NeverNever it begins the body has evaporated once the magical force holding it to this realm has been extinguished.

Alone in his office, the Fae hating, wizard, PI considers his next steps.

[Gary with a G]

It’s not that I hate them, its that they deserve this fate. Gary smiled slightly looking at the body disapearing. He shook his head realizing his rookie mistake and admonishing himself for his earlier panic. ” If I want to keep on livin’ I’ll need to keep my head. It’s time for Gary with a G to go to work.”

He takes a further look at his office making sure he takes his time looking for anything out of the ordinary in his run down office. Ceiling tiles falling were normal, the stain against the far wall seemed to grow everytime it rained. Piles of rat fesius were not uncommon. No Gary was looking for something to give him a hint.

Player Drops a Benny for a clue.

[Venatus Vinco]

Hint

While Gary likes ripping out hearts he recalls the fading body had the heart removed cleanly. Like a surgeon. Removing a heart is no easy feat. Removing one from a non-human is even harder.

Only one person in town has experience with supernatural autopsies: DR. Allison Ralston

Dr. Allison Ralston
Deep in the basement of the Meyer Building on the campus of Johns Hopkins Hospital, forensic pathologist Dr. Allison Ralston toils away in relative anonymity. She has little regard for formal hospital procedure, which led to her exile in the basement. Provided she publishes once or twice a year, her superiors rarely bother to check up on her. She is also an active member of the Dupin Society and uses her position at the hospital to perform unofficial post-mortems and other medical examinations vital to their mission as recorders of supernatural events. She’s not above doing other off-the-books work, such as treating injuries of heroic monster hunters who get a bit banged up in the course of their work.