11340/A Unusual Scoop

A Unusual Scoop
Date of Scene:	15 April 2020
Location:	Elizabethtown (The Old City), Queensland Park
Synopsis:	Lois investigates a series of purse snatchings
Cast of Characters:	Dick Tracy, Lois Lane

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Dick Tracy has posed:
A series of purse snatchings have been happening in Elizabeth Town in the past few weeks. Normally, this isn't very hard hitting news, but what from what your source had told you, this isn't any normal theif. For almost a months, a murder of crows have flying around this part of the city snatching purses, and sometimes wallets out of peoples hands and flying off with them. Of course, you didnt believe this yourself, until someone sent you a viral video of a crow snatching a rather large woman's ugly yellow purse and flying off with it.

This is how you found yourself in Elizabeth Town at night. This scoop, if there was any truth to it, would be big. All you had to do was wait for the crows to show up again and hope that tey lead you to wherever they live, and whoever is using them.

Lois Lane has posed:
Well, this is certainly interesting. Lois had never quite heard of carrier crows before. Carrier pigeons? Sure, they were known to be easily trained to carry mail from one place to another. Purses? That's a different matter altogether. Not only are they bigger, but heavier too.

Of course she had done the footwork, and she'd discovered that this particular part of town was a hotspot for purse snatchings.

So, with camera in hand along with her trusty microphone slipped into her reporter's bag, along with some other essentials, she was ready and waiting to catch a glimpse of these odd thieves..

Dick Tracy has posed:
For a bit, it was quiet in the street you where standing at. People were walking by, enjoying their evening. A nearby Italian Bistro was having a good night, as evidenced by the full outdoor patio seating. But, suddenly, you hear something, a crow cawing. At first, it is only one, but it is soon joined by more crows. Yep, the source was definatley up to something.

At the bistro, a rather heafty man and his family were finishing a meal. The man suddenly pulled out his wallet to pay for his meal. Suddenly, a crow swooped down from the sky and snatched the wallet from his beefy hand. The man immediatley stood up and said,

"Help! That fucking bird just stole my wallet!"

As the crow flew off with the wallet, other cries of anger and sometimes, grief filled the air as crows holding purses, wallets, and sometimes even watches started to fly away with the valuables. It would seem that the crows were having a good night indeed. Suddenly, you hear loud cawing and see a crow flying straight towards your bag, talons reached out to grab it.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane glances towards the Bistro thoughtfully, peering intently at the patrons there. A little out door restaurant is the perfect place for crazy crow thieves to strike, easily accessible via an air strike. Eyes widen in surprise as she sees the crows suddenly filling the air, snatching and grabbing at anything they can get their talons on.

"Well now, that's just rude.." she murmurs, pulling out her camera to get a clear shot of them. And then, one of them has the nerve to lunge for her own bag. "I don't think so!" Eyes narrow, clutching her shoulder bag more tightly and she focuses her camera on said crow, attempting to snap its picture, with the flash on no less. With any luck, she will successfully dazzle or stun it, at least enough for her to flee for the safety of her vehicle.

Dick Tracy has posed:
As the chaos continued to reign on the streets, there was a nearby burgandy sedan nearby occupied by a man wearing a grey t-shirt and track pants. He grinned as he watched the crows do their job. The boss was right, hiring that crow trainer was one of the best decisions he ever made. The man in the t-shirt grinned as he pulled out a cell-phone and dialed a number. After a bit of waiting, the man grinned and said into the phone,

"Well boss, look's like another good haul. Tell Phineas to call em back."

The crow who went after Lois' purse let out a squak of pain and fell to the ground, struggling to get back up, flapping blindly. Suddenly, the crows all stopped their descent and started to fly away from the area. They seemed to be heading towards a nearby suburb. Suddenly, you see a Burgandy sedan follow the Murder of Crows, quite suspicious.

Unknown to Lois at the time, she was being watched. A certain yellow coat wearing detective was hanging out in a alleyway, observing the crows at first. For weeks, Tracy had been trying to find out where the crows were coming from, but with no luck. He was surprsied when Lois Land came on the scene, knowing her from her expose's on various criminals. Now here seh was, covering something out of Alfred Hitchcock. He then saw the sedan drive off, follwing the crows. He did not pursue, instead waiting to see Lane's actions. If she were to follow, he would tail her and hopefully keep her out of trouble.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane is too busy keeping her bag protected to notice said sedan. Even as the one crow is momentarily stunned, she keeps her camera at the ready as she back tracks to her car, revving up the engine and starts to follow the flock. Fortunately it's not too busy on the roads today and she is able to easily keep up with the crows, "Come on then, just keep on flying..who are you working for?" she grins, oh this is gonna make a great story.

Dick Tracy has posed:
The second Lois started to follow the flock, Tracy rushed to his squad car, which was parked at a nearby Indian restaurant and start to subtly follow Lane, always staying behind her and hiding behind other cars and doing other things to avoid being seen. As he drove, he pulled out his walkie-talkie and said into it,

"Alright Sam, it's Dawson. I think I might've found where the crows are roosting, will call you soon with an update."

The crows flew for quite a while, eventually ending up in a rather affluent neighborhood mostly made out of two to three story suburban homes. To your surprise, you see the crows flying to a certain backyard of a suburban home at a nearby Cul-De-Sac. A few momets later, the Flock seems to be followed by the burgandy sedan, which stops at the parking lot. The man in the grey t-shirt walks out of the car and enters the house.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane continues to follow the crows, peering at the nice suburban neighborhood they lead her to. "Okay, wasn't expecting that. Some bored rich kid or...?" she frowns and shakes her head, turning into the cul de sac. She kills the engine, peering cautiously out the window..Was she being followed..? Well whatever, she has more important things to consider right now. She gets out of the car, grabbing her camera and decides to go around the back. If they're up to no good, it's unlikely they will be very welcoming. She notes the address as she sneaks to the backyard, moving slowly, cautiously.

Dick Tracy has posed:
As you sneak into the back-yard you notice that the crows aren't anywhere to be seen. Where did they go? You see a backdoor attatched to the back of the house and what appears to be a window. From inside the house you hear what appears to be a coversation between three men. What they are saying is slightly muffled, but if you were to look into the window you would see a rather large man in a Hawaiian shirt standing at the entrance to what appeared to be the kitchen. He was conversing with the man in the grey shirt and a man wearing a green sweatshirt and track pants. You could barely hear what they were saying, but one name is clearly audible.

"Monty."

You then managed to hear one more statement that was very confusing. "How did he survive a knife to the skull?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane peers through the window, crouching as she slides closer. She pulls a recording device from her picket and tries to record as much of their conversation as she can. With any luck, she might be able to turn up the volume, get something out of this conversation. The knife to the skull part is noted with a slight frown. She should really call for backup but who knows how long she has?

Dick Tracy has posed:
As you continue to record the conversation, you manage to pick up lines like "Uncle Ezra's Circus," and "Phineas Greenhorn", and finally "Crow Trainer". So, they criminals have hired a crow trainer from a circus to train crows to snatch purses. Before you can flee from the sight with your evidence, you hear a very gruff voice shout out, "Hey!"

You turn around and see a angry looking man wearing a green and red sweater with a handlebar mustache glaring down at you. He suddenly charges at you and tries to swing at you.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane glances behind her, smirking at the thug who rushes at her, "Well, there are better ways to get a lady'a attention.." she responds lightly, and...Well, she may not have super powers, or even be a martial arts master, but she knows some self defense. Let's hope it's enough.

As he rushes at her, she backs up and steps to the right, using his own momentum against him as she attempts to grab his arm and shove him in the direction he's already headed, sliding a foot between his legs to try and trip him up.

Dick Tracy has posed:
The thugs let's out a surprised yelp as Lois suddenly grabs him and trips him up. As he falls to the ground, he lets out a noise that sounds like a mix of an angry yell and a cry of pain. Before he could get up to continue the fight a new voice rings out.

"That's enough Miss Lane. Now put yer mitts up before I drill ya."

This voice sounded very familiar and if you were to turn around, you would see why. The man pointing the gun at you was a tall, slightly stocky man with narrowed eyes and dark, blonde hair. He was wearing a formal looking dress shirt and brown slacks. However, you noticed something in his forehead that suddenly jogs your memory, a piece of knife was sticking in his forehead. It was "Open-Mind" Monty. He used to work for a perfume bootlegger nick-named Posie and was responsible for a theft of bonds from Metropolis bank, a story you covered. He is evidently not happy to see you, as his scowl shows as he points what looks like a Colt Python at you.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane is about to relax and flee the scene, when someone else appears on the scene. She grimaces at the sight of a familiar but unwelcome face, nodding to Monty, hands up in the air, "Monty, what a surprise meeting you here..Didnt you learn your lesson the last time?" she smiles, trying to appear more relaxed than she's feeling right now.

Dick Tracy has posed:
Monty's scowl only deepens when you brought up "last time". The last time you two met, your reporting got him nailed by the MPD. As the sweatered goon gets back up, Monty points his gun at you again and says,

"Get in the house Lane. I wanna talk."

Monty's home was decently built, but a lingering smell permeated throughout it, bird-seed. So, they were keeping the crows around here somewhere. Once you get to the living room, the sweatered thug roughly pushes you onto the couch while Monty says,

"How mouch do ya know Lane?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane smirks and shrugs, following the thugs into the house, "What can I say? I love a good story. But clearly there's nothing to be seen here, just some punks playing with knives in a fancy neighbourhood." she leans forward even as she seats herself in the couch, "In other words, I didn't hear enough for a good story. Too bad for me. But I did call for backup, so if you know what's best for you, you'd better let me go."

Dick Tracy has posed:
Monty seemed to scowl as Lois brought up the knife. He muttered darkly to himself as Lois sat down on the couch. Upon hearing the threat of backup, the goons immediatley stand up in fear and start to murmur to himself. Monty scowls at you and says to the group,

"Boy's, if what's she is saying is true, we gotta clear out. Get Phineas on the horn and tell him to get his birds. TRhe rest of ya, gather the stuff and cheese it."

As the goons started to rush around the house, Monty turns to you and scowls darkly as he lifts his pistol towards you,

Dosn't really matter what ya know Lane. I can't have any witnesses now can I?"

Suddenly, the front door was kicked opened, revealing Dick Tracy, who points a pistol at Monty and says,

Alright Monty, yo're under arrest!"

Monty suddenly dove behind the couch and started to fire at Tracy, who returned fire from behind the front door. The sounds of footsteps echoes across the house, the thugs were coming.

Lois Lane has posed:
Things happen way too quickly for comfort. Suddenly the door opens and there's a firefight. She ducks behind the sofa, peering around the room for the nearest exit. She's not sure who this guy is but he seems like he's with the good guys. Thinking quickly, she grabs the camera and aims it at Monty, attempting to flash it in his face, with any luck she might just stun him long enough to flee.

Dick Tracy has posed:
The camera flash does it's jon and Monty screams in slight pain as he grabs his eyes, blinded by the flash. As the thugs get closer to the source of the shooting, Tracy beckons over to you and says,

"Quick Miss Lane, out here! Hurry!"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane nods, joining Tracy, "Dunno who you are but thanks! Let's get outta here!" and she makes a run for the door, "I already called the police, they should be here soon, I hope.." still, they're taking their time, she should have called for backup sooner. Oh well...

Dick Tracy has posed:
As police sirens fill the air Tracy turns to you and says," I am the police Miss Lane. Detective Richard Dawson, MPD at your service. I've been looking for Monty for quite a while now. You lead me straight towards him."

Tracy then fires a few more shots into the home, which is quickly followed by a scream of pain from one of Monty's thugs.

More police start showing up as Tracy suddenly yells, "Monty, you are surrounded, give up now!" Suffling feet are heard and most of Monty's thugs come out, hands in the air. Suddenly, the back door suddenly opens and Monty dashses out of the back trying to hop the fence to get away.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane blinks, "Wow, Mr. Dawson, what luck.." she laughs, relieved that she got out by sheer luck perhaps again. "Thank you, for your timely intervention.." as the thug flees, she does manage to take a couple more photo shots of him..Mostly his back as he flees, "Well dammit, he's escaped.." she runs after him, "Hey, stop right there!" as he flees, she searches the ground and finds a rubber ball which she chucks at his head. It might do nothing but it miiight just slow him down enough fir police to catch him.

Dick Tracy has posed:
As the ball strikes Monty in the head, Monty cries in pain as he grips his head. You see something fall out of his head. If you take a closer look, you would se that it is the knife embedded in his head. Turns out the knife was a fake, he wasn't really injured at all. Suddenly, Monty is tackled by a somewhat burly cop and is roughly handcuffed.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois Lane blinks, stepping towards said knife, "What the heck..It was fake all along? Is it even the real Monty?" Why wise would he fake a knife wound to the head if not to mislead everyone, or at the least , pretend to be someone else?

Dick Tracy has posed:
Tracy scowled at the knife as he went and picked it up. He then looked at Monty and absent-mindidly said," We will figure out sooner or later. Thank you for your cooperation Miss Lane." He then took Monty by the arms and lead him away to a nearby squad car.