2020-05-20 TPC: Underground Briefing
TPC: Underground Briefing
Location: AMB Neighborhood Mart Access Tunnel
Date and Time: May 20, 2020 9:30am
Summary: Exposition intensifies
David usually stands out down here, even when he just dips his beak into the entrance to the tunnels. Perched on a bike rack, this time he really wants attention, and fortunately he gets it. Invoking a gift, he imitates the sound of the old Mission: Impossible. "Good morning Mister Phelps. This is David Marcus. He has seen a disturbance. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to investigate the disturbance, clear it up, and rescue the natural spirits of Inglewood and Santa Monica, California."
Snake blinks at the raven, and comes in on cue to whistle the theme tune before stopping to clear his throat. "Ahem. Hey. Are there any natural spirits /left/ in Inglewood and Santa Monica?" The huge man sounds as though he's been gargling gravel for the last twenty years. He pulls a notepad from a pocket, flips it open, and extracts a pen from the spiral binding. "Okay, ready. Go on?"
David croaks out a laugh, flaps, and bobs his head, before shifting to imitate his human voice. "Hi Snake. Yeah. I was flying in the umbra this morning. Don't worry, I was out over the ocean, so it's relatively clear and empty out there, not like the city." He shivers, feathers ruffling a moment. "When I saw a very disturbed hawk gaffling, who gave me a warning. I asked for more, and he told me about the... long flats."
A pause. "I eventually figured out he meant the freeways. The 405 especially. So I did some careful scouting, without getting too close in the umbra. The 405 is a mess in the umbra. Cloudy, hazy, just like some really awful pollution, along where the freeway is. Roughly between the Venice Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard exits."
His feet shift where he's perched. "As usually I don't get close when I'm flying alone. Too risky. For all I know some Spirals are having a rave."
Snake's head tilts a little to one side, and he looks thoughtful. "Interesting," he murmurs, even as he jots notes down. "The four-oh-five, between Venice Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard."
David trills. "That's right. The 405, the San Diego Freeway, right by Culver City. I love that In n Out. You'd be surprised how many people just leave fries behind."
"They do great burgers," Snake rumbles, then grimaces. "Great. Now I want a couple burgers and a milkshake." He makes a couple more notes. "Could really use some ice cream, too - Baskin Robbins have a place up that way, if I remember right." A couple more notes get jotted down, and then he's looking up at the raven again. "Any sign of anything on this side of the Gauntlet?"
David flaps. "I did not see anything on this side. Well, beside the usual pollution. But on the other side it's really noteworthy, stands out a lot, and is, um, enough to spook the natural spirits. So it's probably something that needs looked at."
Snake inclines his head in respect to the raven. "Thanks, brother. I'll make sure this gets passed on and looked into. Anything you need while you're here?"
David flaps. "That's... really it for now. Thanks for chatting. I see more than I can ever do anything about. Anything you need?"
hink I'm good for now, brother, but you're always welcome where I am," he says. "You look after yourself, okay? And ignore anyone telling you to straighten up and fly right."
David trills. "Thanks. Be careful."
