Day - Something Strange Is Going On [IC]

Cryptid Con '21 was still going to happen despite the threat of the SARS-COV-2 virus.

Wagner Bradley, like many others attending the convention, knew the whole COVID thing was blown way out of proportion and was likely a cash-grab by the HCIC (the health-care-industrial complex). They didn't want the con to happen, because they didn't want anyone talking about the Truth: that secret experiments by the HCIC are responsible for at least 50% of all cryptids.

Javier Ramirez, on the other hand, is happy to finally be getting out again. The con is just an excuse to meet new people. Well that, and network with a few of the other "Whities" (people dedicated to uncovering the truth behind cryptids of the northern snows like himself).

Sammy Balentine was going, "just because". Being that the convention was in town, it was pretty convenient. He didn't expect much but Wagner had told him he would be going and that there was someone he wanted Sammy to meet. A fellow cryptid hunter who went by the handle RendezvousWithRami. Apparently "Rami" wasn't convinced Wagner and Sammy were the real deal, and he wanted Sammy to tell this new guy his story in person. Turns out this new guy lived in the city too, so why not?

Wagner had arranged a little get-together at a coffee shop in the evening of the last day of the con.

The coffee shop is empty except for the three patrons and the barista. It is probably why Wagner picked it. He was definitely the paranoid type. All his posts tended to drift into rambling at the end, but both Javi and Sammy knew that underneath all that was a keen, insightful mind at work you just had to wade through all the rest. The barista was a thin older woman with her brown hair up in a bun. She had the worn leathery skin of those who have spent too long in the sun, like many in the city. She barely paid the three any attention. She delivers Sammy's coffee and asks Javi a perfunctory "What can I get you hun?"

As the three sit wary of each other, a group of sirens can be heard coming down the street. A few moments later as the sound rises and falls, three police cars pass by the coffee shop, their lights momentarily bathing the coffee shop in red and blue light.
"Must be a sale on donuts" the barista quips under her breath, and looks back at Javi.

The trio exit the coffee shop and make their way across the street and into the alley. The light from the street only penetrates a few feet down and then fades to nearly pitch black.

Wagner snaps on the flashlight and sweeps the beam across the alley. The wall of the restaurant on the left is adobe stonework, a large trash bin with the lid closed sits outside the backdoor to the restaurant next door. The cement wall on the right sports graffiti proclaiming "VIVA LA RAZA!". A common sight around town. It means "Long live the race!" a rallying cry of Chicanos everywhere.

As you make your way down the alley, the beam from the flashlight comes to rest on the back wall of the alley and you can make out what appears to be a huge wolf-snouted creature with a maw full of sharp teeth lurking in the shadows. Its eyes are two balls of fire and its teeth drip with blood.

As Wagner scrambles to the dumpster, the flashlight is no longer pointed right at the creature and it is impossible to see in the moment.

Rami tries to assess the threat level of the creature he saw and the "battleground" of the alley. There is only one way in and one way out. Only two real options.. flee or fight, but fleeing looks destined to fail with his bum leg.

Javi looks around. Can't go forward, can't go back.. the door to the restaurant!
He used to work in a kitchen. Fire code requires all doors to remain unlocked during business hours!
Javi heads for the door.

Rami and Sammy rush through the door and into the kitchen of a Mexican restaurant. All the staff turn and look, surprised by the sudden intrusion.

Meanwhile, Wagner steadies himself and refocuses his flashlight down the alley. The monster hasn't moved yet...

The cooks and dishwashers in the kitchen get agitated, and some of them grab various cooking utensils, brandishing them threateningly.
"Sal de aquí! You not supposed to be back here!"

Javi looks and is a little embarrassed that Wagner is right. The monster is a giant mural on the wall at the end of the alley.

Javi examines the mural and then makes his way over to the sidewall with the "VIVA LA RAZA!". He's no art expert but he doesn't think they were done by the same artist. The "VIVA" is in a bold brightly colored graffiti style, while the wolf mural is more detailed red and black piece of art. The mural also appears to be much newer, but upon inspection, Javi sees a couple of brand new vertical scratches or marks in the mural, that have scratched away the paint down to the stone below.

Sammy doesn't see much, but whatever he saw would have had a hard time getting over the wall. It's a good 12-15 feet high without any real handholds.

With no handholds and that height, it would be difficult to scale. Certainly, none of you could without help and certainly not very quickly. Maybe if you pushed the trash bin down there and climbed up on it?

Sammy hauls himself up to the top of the wall, to view the alley on the other side. Much like the one they are in, it lies between two commercial buildings and leads out to the far street. He scans about, using his phone for light, but sees nothing unusual..

As the trio makes their way out of the alley and back onto the main street, they can see the flashing lights from the police cars still down the street in front of a tall office building (by Albuquerque standards), at what must be a crime scene. Sirens from an ambulance can be heard in the distance now.

By the time Wagner, Javi, and Sammy make their way down the street, the gathering around the police line has grown to a substantial size. The three blend right in with the other looky-loos, weirdos, and drunks trying to get a look at what is going on. The area is well lit with police cars, CSU, an ambulance, and a fire rescue unit and the area surrounding the office building is cordoned off with police tape.
Wagner notices reporters are arriving and keeps his head low snapping pics through the crowd. Sammy pushes his way slowly to the front to get a better view, while Javi stays around the fringe. Two paramedics come out wheeling a gurney. There is a body on it with the sheet pulled over its head.

As usual at these scenes, there are already rumors flying and wild speculation about what is going on.

"I heard it was a robbery."
"I heard some dude was working late and had a heart attack."
"I heard the janitor slipped while waxing the floor. Broke his neck."
"I heard it was a jealous husband. Caught his wife cheating."

Javi turns to a random bystander.
"I dunno ese. Must be a janitor or something. Who else would be up there this late?"

The police scene is a cordoned-off office building, tall by Albuquerque standards where there are height restrictions for construction. Although the police tape extends into the street, the main activity seems to be inside the building. There is no sign of violence or other disturbance outside, so whatever happened must have occurred inside the building. Although there is a rescue unit on the scene, there are no large fire trucks that might be expected for a fire. The paramedics wheeled a victim out of the building.

The three amigos break off from the main crowd and make their way around the corner to check out the side of the building. The 15-story tall Bank of the West Tower looms large at the corner of Central and San Pedro avenues. The normally busy streets are mostly quiet at this time of night. The front of the building is surrounded by a 4 foot high iron fence, which is helping to keep the crowd at bay, but the parking lot in the rear can be accessed, although there is a police car parked there. As they move around the building they look up and see a broken window on the 11th floor. It looks like a few people are milling around in the office up there. Probably more police.

"Well you know buddy, a lot of these crimes go unsolved because good upstanding citizens don't speak up. We need the help of the public. There's been a few of these lately and we ain't got no leads. So if you see something. Say something."

Wagner, Javi and Sammy make their way down the street to the nearest bar and grab a table in the corner where they are less likely to be overheard. It takes a while, but the waitress, an overworked young brunette, probably just out of college, comes to take their orders. A large-screen TV over the bar is on, and it looks like it is showing the same police scene that the three just left.

"Hey Randy.. turn that up will yah?" the waitress yells to the bartender.

".. sources inside the police force say they are baffled by the attack tonight at the Bank of the West Tower. The victim, whose name has not been released was apparently working after hours on the 11th floor of the building when they were brutally attacked and killed. There is currently no information on cause of death, but we know that the body was discovered earlier this evening by a member of the janitorial staff during their regular nightly cleaning. Currently, the janitor is in police custody pending questioning. Police would not say whether they consider him a witness or a suspect at this time...

"This is Shelly Ribando, KOAT Action 7 News. Back to you Todd."

Sammy browses for information on his phone about the graffiti and the murder. He quickly finds that "Viva La Raza" is a very common slogan for Hispanic pride and can be found plastered over walls everywhere in the city. He dismisses it as unimportant and focuses on the information about the crime. He finds a number of photos and videos of the crime scene and finds various pictures of the building, taking note of the broken window on the 11th floor. Sammy notices that none of the pictures show there is any debris on the ground below the window. Its not possible to be sure from the photos but Sammy strongly suspects the window was broken from the outside.

Sammy considers the evidence that he has so far. Trying to assemble the bits and pieces into a coherent theory. If it was a creature, and there was no reason to believe it wasn't, it might be able to fly. But if it could fly, then why not fly to the roof instead of breaking a window? And why was there a scrape on the wall in the alley? Not flying he thought, but something that could scale sheer walls.. and probably quickly. What he had seen had moved fast, and anything climbing up 11 stories might easily be seen if it lingered for any period of time or was very large. Plus, the glass used in high rises was pretty strong. You didn't just punch your way through that like some dumb movie. No. This was something that could climb fast and was very strong for its size. Maybe something like the Congolese J'ba FoFi spider, but that was only said to reside in central Africa. No one had ever heard of one in North America let alone in a city. They were jungle creatures. Could there be a similar spider creature residing in Albuquerque?

Javi doesn't know off the top of his head, but a quick google search reveals that Albuquerque is divided into 6 Area Commands and the group is currently in the are of the Southeast command. Just a couple of miles away, less than 10 minutes by car is the area-command headquarters building, the most likely place to take a suspect or witness that needs questioning.

Javi pulls the Cucaracha around the side of the sub-station and parks in the lot of the building across from the small street.

The three settle in, and begin to wait.. and wait.. and wait.
There is a surprising amount of activity given the lateness (or perhaps earliness?) of the hour. The Cucaracha is uncomfortable and smells like the inside of an old tennis shoe which only makes the waiting seem longer, but all three of trio have done their fair share of stake-outs while searching for the answers to a variety of mysteries.

"Yah Mom. I'm a little busy here. I'm going to have to call you back." Moffat hangs up.

A few minutes later Sammy's phone rings. It's Moffat.
"Ya Sammy. I can't really talk now. Things are going a little crazy here. They're calling everyone in. I can tell you this. That case tonight. It's not the only one. Been a number of strange ones lately. Looks like they might be connected. There's talk of a serial. I gotta go." he hangs up.

Javi sorts through the hundreds of apparently useless posts on the forums and finds that nearly every crime has some nut posting that it was a cryptid based on the flimsiest of evidence.

Sammy leaves the other two waiting while he goes off to get some well-needed sleep. Meanwhile, Javi and Wagner continue their vigil outside of the police station waiting for the witness to appear. An hour or so later, a short, heavy-set Hispanic man in a one-piece coverall emerges from the station. He pulls out his phone and begins to make a phone call.

Wagner approaches the Janitor, and can hear him talking on his phone. He's not trying to be quiet, and this late at night there aren't many sounds to drown out his raised voice. It's clear he's pretty annoyed at being drug downtown for questioning, wondering if he'll get docked pay.
"Can you come pick me up?"
"I'm at.. " he looks back at the building "I'm at the APD Southeast substation."
"Shit I don't know. It's on Lousiana."
"No they wouldn't let me make a damn call. They think I mighta murdered that guy."
"Look just come pick me up. My car is still at work."
"Cause they hauled me down here in cuffs. Dammit. Just come." he hangs up a bit angrily up as Wagner approaches. He sees Wagner and reaches into his pocket. Wagner's suspicious nature makes him briefly think he might have a gun, then Wagner realizes the guy just came out of a police station.
The janitor fishes a cigarette out of his pocket.
"He man. Got a light? It's been a shit night."

Wagner and the Janitor share a cigarette, and then another..
"I gotta say, it's been a pretty shit night and I could really use a drink, but my wife is gunna be here soon to pick me up."

"Yah. Those bastards in there. Thought I had something to do with that mess on the 11th floor. I mean you think I'd hang around if I just ripped someone's head off? I called them!"

"You're a weirdo man. But you know I couldn't help but snap a pic. I figured no one would believe me if they cleaned it all up. No way you going to see this shot in the paper tomorrow."
He takes his phone back out of his pocket and brings up a photo. It's pretty poor. His cheap phone doesn't take particularly great photos, but Wagner can see that there is definitely a body on the floor which is most certainly missing its head. The head is nowhere in the photo as far as Wagner can tell.
The janitor glances around and then puts his phone away.
"Told ya man. Head clean off. This ain't no gang shit"

"I dunno man. Cops are saying they broke that window on the 11th and got in that way. That don't make no sense. The front door was locked, we supposed to always keep it all locked up after hours, but if you gunna break a window, why not just break one on the first floor? Cops are stupid man. Guy probably picked the lock. Busted the window to confuse those idiots. That's what I say. One thing's for sure. They must not of liked that guy. Why not just shoot him. Must be sending a message to someone. Gangland style. That's my bet."