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Black and yellow police barriers have been erected along the plaza, monitored by Philadelphia Bike Police who utilize their bikes as erzatz barricades of their own. A respectable crowd has formed, the buzz fomented in the press of late turning what might have been a protest of perhaps 40 or 50 Working Families Party and Philly Socialist protesters into a mob of over 300. It's peaceful enough, as such things go. Speakers with bullhorns are getting the slogans going. Hey hey, ho ho and such. The local black bloc are mingling in amongst the general protesters, keeping themselves dispersed enough to give the police plausible deniability. Don't start none, won't be none seems the mood. For now.
More people means more room for things to go wrong. Mearcstapa looks positively green to fae eyes, his red freckles dimmed to near-invisibility. He has his usual messenger bag--bulging slightly from the larger first aid kit and spare water bottles he's brought, and is wearing a t-shirt that says HELPER on both front and back. He's off on an edge of the crowd, keeping his eyes on some of the key leaders within the Philly Socialists and Working Families Party. The ones who were loudest on the facebook groups, the keystones that could make the whole event fold into a riot. In one hand, he has a small notepad that he occasionally glances down at for reference.
Lux is dressed in full neons--long sleeve t-shirt with a hoodie, torn skinny neon paint-stained jeans and sneakers. They're moving through the thick of the crowd, near to where people are using bullhorns. Keeping an eye out for those with the most aggressive energy--but honestly, they're not currently working to counter that energy. They even yell out occasionally along with the chants.
Mearcstapa may want to keep an eye on Sigrun, too, then. She's present, dressed in black, and with a red bandana pulled up over her nose. She's wearing both elbow and knee pads, and has a helmet slung over her right arm. Presently not donned. She's leaning against one of the lamp posts, with a round 'protest placard' that is deeeefinitely not able to double as a round shield if things go sideways. No, siree. It's a SIGN. It states 'An Injury to One is an Injury to All' around the edges, and features a norse trefoil at its center. She bumps fists with an occasional passerby, chatting in hushed tones with her comrades in black.
Anneliese is also on the edge of the crowd, wearing a teeshirt saying MEDIC on both sides. In a few different languages, just to be extra safe. She's got a satchel with her today, containing her first aid kit and some spare water bottles. She's alternating between watching the cops and any fellow Changelings she can see, though, not the leaders of the protest groups. Not least because she doesn't know who the latter are.
Sturm is flanking Mearcstapa - following as closely as she can while still allowing him some measure of personal space. She's wearing her usual street clothes - Aviator sunglasses, an Iron Maiden t-shirt, jeans, boots, leather jacket - and a dramatic, silent scowl as she peers out (and towers over) the crowd at her imposing height of 6'11". She would probably notice Sigrun, too - and possibly... also regret showing up, but you'd never know that from looking at her stony features.
Petra had come early in the afternoon to find an ideal parking spot for the RV as close as the police would let her get to the protest. She had a sun visor across the front windshield that proclaimed "First Aid, Water" in emerald green sharpie. There was also a discrete doodle in depicting Spring flowers with a crown nestled in the vines. The little bird had the ceiling vent propped open and was sitting in a lawn chair on the roof, watching the proceedings. There were a couple of empty lawn chairs as well, but she was alone for now.
Lawrence O'Malley, dressed in his usual worn out brown suit and tan trench coat, has his badge clearly visible hanging from a chain around his neck. Unsurprisingly he's on the police side of the barricade, but appears to be chatting happily with the protestors despite this, complaining about the rise of charter schools and swapping union stories.
Wren is present as well, for much the same reason. She's got a pair of earphones in, connected to her cell, the sort you can pick up without taking your phone out. However, where Mearc is doing his best to keep a tabs on things and seem as inoffensive as possible, the little Chimera is in the crowd, keeping tabs on the temperature of the protestors.
Mearcstapa speaks quietly to Sturm. "If things start getting ugly and people get hurt, use your muscle to get in there, and get the injured over to the RV or anyone wearing a shirt that says 'medic'. Ideally, it won't get to that. But if it does, I want you protecting and getting people out of harm's way, instead of in the fight."
Beat.
"If that's alright with you, I know I'm not in charge of you, and I know you'd probably enjoy the fight more, but."
When Shiri Touazi arrives in their motorized wheelchair, they're accompanied by a small group of three other people, as diverse in their apparent backgrounds as the protests no doubt are. All of them are dressed like they could be here to attend the more formal event inside, or going to church in their Sunday best, rather than like they're there to start something. They're all a little late to the party, but when you have to wait until the sun goes down before you can even wake up and start getting ready, it puts some limitations on how early you can show up. Not that any of them look like anything but ordinary people.
When the group of them arrives, chatting amongst each other but also keeping an eye on their surroundings, they move to situate themselves in a spot between the police and some of the more likely targets of police violence, at least to the best they can having got there after things got started. It's a tactical decision, using what privilege they have as a shield for others; shooting wealthy donors in wheelchairs with teargas or beanbags is a Bad Look.
Lux catches Wren passing through the crowd nearby and gives her a wave, while also keeping an eye on things.
Two figures step out of a pavillion tent which is probably serving as the on site nerve center for the police in the area, one in a Police dress uniform and topcoat, the other in a suit and tie. The suit is beady eyed, hair greased back in a manner that only accentuates his receding hairline. (Streetwise or Politics? Roll Wits+X) The pair shake hands, and the suit turns to walk towards the steps leading to the museum, while the uniform heads over to one of the uniformed lieutenants to have a chat directly into his ear.
Sturm looks down at Mearc... and grunts. It would seem like she's not feeling very talkative tonight, but protecting people - or rather, someone - is exactly what she's here for.
Myra is there as well, moving slowly amongst the crowd. Her thick hair is pulled up into a braided bun, sunglasses rest on her face, and she wears one of aforementioned the MEDIC shirts.
Not that the first aid kit on her hip wouldn't give that away.
Every once-in-a-while she stops and talks to someone, warm and maternal. A couple of times when she walks away from the person, they have a bottle of water or a small pack of snacks. Not always, but often.
Wren hammers out a quick text and slips out of the crowds, snagging her suit where it's hanging in the car she came in. She swings into a local restaurant briefly to change, then heads off to slip into the main event.
Mearc reads a text from Wren, then goes back to scanning the crowd, still very, very green in tone. He's trying to listen to as many of the conversations on his end of the crowd as possible, watching body language. Keeping tabs as well as he can on everything.
Lux eyes the man as he makes his way into the Museum. "Hmm..." They continue moving through. If they get the opportunity they'll hop up onto the stage to help yell chants into bullhorns.
The officer in the dress uniform steps away from the Lieutenant and begins heading towards the steps to the museum, himself, following after Merlino either incidentally or with intention. The Lieutenant glances over his shoulder at the retreating pair, then back at the crowd, removing his cover to rub at his balding head with a grimace.
Lawrence casts a glance at the two men who went into the museum, then goes back to telling a story to a group from the Philly Socialist Party.
Myra frowns at Merlino then makes her way over to Petra's RV, taking an interest in the fellow Medic's set-up.
Watching the high-up cop go from talking to Merlino to one of the uniforms, Anneliese tenses slightly. If the cops are going to start anything, there's an increased chance of it kicking off soon.
Mearc's attention also lingers on the lieutenant, and he tenses slightly, gesturing for Sturm to lean in so he can whisper to her.
Sturm is still hovering behind Mearc. She leans in to listen.
A figure in a long, dark coat and dark, strange gloves over wrapped hands slips through the crowd towards Sigrun. Similar to her, Johnnie'ss got a bandana over her face and a knit cap over a low-pulled stocking cap, and she weaves through the crowd with absolutely liquid grace. When she catches up to the Valkyrie, she reaches out and touches her shoulder briefly in greeting. "How're we doing? No trouble yet, looks like?"
Sturm fires off a text message.
"Not yet," Sigrun answers Johnnie with a shake of her head. She's not placed just who walked out of that tent with the head pig in charge. So she's also oblivious of the potential meaning of the chat said head pig had with that lieutenant. "Hopefully we'll be good. Usually these things? There's an Other Side. But there isn't one, here. Not really. Means the cops have only one direction to look, and it's at us."
From near Shiri, one of their companions breaks away and starts making her way through the crowd of people toward the lines where the police are. She's a woman on the shorter side of average, in a pair of black slacks and a white blouse with a tailored jacket over it, her wavy dark hair pulled back into a careful bun. As she moves her eyes are constantly scanning, like she's more the sort of person used to looking for incoming trouble than her clothing might suggest, but she doesn't really look like a bodyguard or anything, either.
Lawrence notices the breakaway and makes his way over to the woman. With a friendly smile he asks, "Evening ma'am, anything we can help you with?"
Petra flashed a grin down at MYRA. "Want to come up?" She pointed a thumb towards the ladder on the back. "I've got a free lawn chair and a Coke, if you want one," she invited.
"Mmm.... Why not?" She smiles, genuinely but tightly, and pulls herself up the ladder. She takes a careful seat on one of the chairs, "An RV - I almost wish I had thought of that," She chuckles, though her eyes remain on the protests - keeping vigilant of anything that might be happening that would need their help.
"It's great for, uh, big events like this. I try to keep it pretty well stocked with first aid supplies, and I've got a full water tank as well as a fridge full of bottles," she said cheerfully. I'm Petra, by the way. Off-duty paramedic."
Lux hops up onto some stairs or column pedestal or something--something that gets them above the crowd. They lift their bullhorn and start chanting into it, helping to add to the energized atmosphere of the protest, getting people hyped up and chanting louder--but also using their higher vantage point to keep an eye on the crowd.
"I was just moving for a better view," the woman answers Lawrence with an accent that sounds French. She takes out her phone and starts taking shots of the police, their setup, and so on as if she has every right to be doing so. Which, legally speaking, she does.
She pauses in doing this after a moment, she scans the crowd, and then her eyes fall on Mearc and Sturm. Her brows rise slightly, then she simply returns to what she was doing.
The Lieutenant finishes his hemming and hawing, returns his cover to his head, takes up his bullhorn, and squares his shoulders. Right. Lux's antics give him the cover he needs, though. He lifts his bullhorn up and calls into it, "Attention, please. The City of Philadelphia has declared this an unlawful assembly. You have ten minutes to disperse in an orderly fashion, after which we will clear the plaza. Again. The City of Philadelphia has declared this an unlawful assembly. You have ten minutes to disperse or you will be arrested."
"Myra," She nods, but before she can say anything else the Lieutenant is making his announcement. She frowns and pushes herself to stand, "What? Unlawful? How?"
She has a bad feeling about this....
Mearc glances at Sturm. "See, what did I tell you? Alright, stand by for heavy rolls."
He looks at the police, trying to get a handle on what level of response they'll bring to bear if the group doesn't leave. ( @AdHoc (Civ Soc/M&M+) (They/Them) - looking for some kind of roll to assess how well-armed the police on the scene are, and if they seem to be preparing for backup to arrive.)
Lawrence is about to move so the woman has a better view, but grimaces at the Lieutenant's announcement. He checks his watch, then rolls his shoulder. "Ma'am, I don't suppose you'd be willing to keep that recording the whole time, would you?"
"Probably in the 'it's cheaper to a settle a lawsuit than pay anymore OT hazard pay for the cops on duty," Petra speculated cynically. "This could get messy if he's dumb enough to force the issue."
Myra cusses quite colorfully in Spanish, then switches back to English, "Well, I'm glad you and your RV are here, Petra." She stays on top of the RV for the vantage point, but is ready to practically hop off at a moment's notice.
Sturm's entire body seems to go tense when the police bullhorn sounds. She nods at Mearc, and her hands instinctively fiddle with some hidden object inside of the pocket of her jacket.
Mearc glances around the crowd, and then smiles coldly, sending a text.
Anneliese doesn't visibly react to the police megaphone, just watches the crowd for how they respond.
"Oh, I plan to," the woman with the camera says to Lawrence. Then she yells back at the Lieutenant, "you've got ten minutes to go unfuck yourself before everyone sees what a fascist prick you are!" Before switching to recording video, instead of just taking pictures.
Sigrun mutters under her breath a word that in Faroese is very judgmental of that cop's mom's sexual proclivities. "That's my cue, J." Sigrun leans over to offer a smooch to Johnny's lips, then bends down to grab onto the cement spreader that's been bolted to her shield. Protest gear is always so darned inventive. She begins carrying it forward, towards the police cordon, asking the more peace minded protesters to get behind her.
"Yeah," she muttered. "I've got beds for 3 comfortably, six of they get really cosy, and more if we keep them sitting on the couch and stuff instead of laying it flat. Ambulance crews on duty should already be on alert with the protest going on."
"Oh good." Lawrence moves off to the bike cops, patting a shoulder here and giving encouragement there, trying to get them calm before the crowd gets too restless. Once done there, he climbs the steps to the lieutenant with a questioning look in his eyes.
Lux glances towards the Lieutenant, then yells out into the bullhorn, looking towards the line of confused bike cops: "What bullshit is this? You're going to let someone clearly in the pocket of the mob turn a peaceful protest into a war? Is that the sort of cops you want to be? You don't have to do this! We deserve to be heard! Then they start a chant, trying to get the crowd going: "DO YOUR JOB, OR DO YOU SERVE THE MOB?" (Can I attempt some sort of persuasion roll or something?)
Mearc tucks his phone away, warmer red freckles flashing on his face in a flicker as he watches Lux.
Elisa only arrived right before the policeman made his announcement - cursed academic paperwork - but she manages to squirm her way through the crowd to near the police barricades, since that's the most likely place for violence to break out. At least violence where her presence may do some good. Her hair's pulled back into a professional looking bun, and she's wearing an almost stereotypical 'teacher' outfit. She has a bag on her hip and a cell phone in her hand. Ready. Waiting. Watching.
"I think you mean ours. Better they waste their time on us than arresting protestors, right?" She returns the kiss and cracks her knuckles, following along behind Sigrun, taking a few moments to murmur quietly into her hands, under the guise of resettling her gloves.
The crowd around Lux takes up the chant, a fact that begins radiating through the crowd as the chant is understood for what it is. Sure, some of the people seem confused. Mob? Not everyone knows a Joey Merlino when they see one in the flesh, after all. But protesters love a catchy slogan, and this one has teeth.
The Lieutenant is not amused in the slightest by this turn of events. He leans into the radio on his shoulder clicks it, and begins murmuring into it. Up and down the line, cops begin putting their ears nearer their radios to hear what's being said. One by one, but more or less as a unit, they lift up their bikes and lock wheels. Then they start walking them forward. One step, a push of the bike, and then planting them down again. One step every three seconds or so, closing the distance between the police and the protest cordon.
Hearing Lux dial things up a notch, Anneliese pulls a surgical mask and pair of gloves from the box in her satchel, putting them on while leaving the flap open. She's likely to need ready access to her medical kit soon, after all.
At this point, Myra also puts on a mask of her own because that actually sounds like a damn good idea. She glances over at Petra and tilts her head, "Anything I can do to help you before shit hits the fan?"
Lawrence grits his teeth and moves towards the LT more quickly. "Lieutenant, sir, with all due respect, why are you engaging? Shouldn't you be giving them the time to disperse? This is gonna be a PR nightmare no matter what, but you could come out of this with a commendation if you make it less of a nightmare."
Lux's lips purse as none of the cops are persuaded. But shit is going down, and Lux sure as hell isn't backing down now. They continue chanting into the bullhorn, trying to keep the crowd unified and strong in the face of the cops' intimidation tactics. In the process Lux is trying to keep attention on themself--especially the cops' attention, rather than innocent people.
Petra shook her head grimly. "I'm ready. I've got a few friends in there who know to bring people who need help here if they can't get to an ambulance. If I get a lot of people coming though, some helping hands wouldn't go amiss."
Johnnie spots the bikewall approaching and closes ranks with Sig, posting herself on the opposite side of Sig's shield- letting her keep others guarded behind it without breaking ranks with her. She's more experienced with stuff like this- for her part, she just stands in lock with Sig, radiating "No, YOU move" in every line of her body.
Mearcstapa checks his notepad once more, before looking at the crowd. "This is just what I was afraid would happen. Okay...this means things get more complex from here."
And he moves in toward the front of the crowd, tucking the notepad away and leaving the flap of his bag open, for easy reach.
"I'll stay nearby to help, especially since you have people bringing injured here," a wry smile can be heard in her voice, "Though I make no promises about not running off if I see someone without help. But I'll make sure to bring them back here as soon as I can, hm?"
"I said ten minutes, they got ten minutes. That's a lot of ground to cover yet." The Lieutenant glances at his watch for a moment, then back to O'Malley, "Now. You want to go help clear the plaza, or do I need to find you a desk chair in need of an ass." The Lieutenant for all his brass and bluster clearly isn't a fan of this, himself. But he's doing it.
Sturm reaches down to pat Mearc on the shoulder, and then she heads off to join the wall of protestors that's forming up. If there's going to be people getting hurt, it's going to happen there - and honestly, she's better at preventitive shit anyway.
"Sturm. I need a bullhorn." He calls out to her, freckles beginning to shift rapidly from green to red.
The woman who is taking video was right at the line, so she gets pushed back as the bikes start moving, but she just shifts back right ahead of the lines. "Smile for the camera," she tells the officer nearest to her, who is slowly inching his bike her direction. She's not trying to resist their efforts to disperse the crowd, but she's sure making sure she records as much of it as possible.
The rest of the group that arrived with Shiri doesn't seem to be moving, which means the police line is getting closer to them as well.
Lux glances at their phone but doesn't bother replying--just waving over at Mearc to beckon him over.
Sirens can be heard blaring in the distance. The cavalry is on its way. The police line has advanced about half of the distance they placed between themselves and the crowd. Their wall of bikes creeping closer and closer to the slowly forming line of protesters coalescing at the cordon line. Pretty much all the black clad protesters sans red arm bands are up front now. Or very near to it. Shouting at the advancing cops.
Lawrence sighs. "When IA comes down on someone for this they're gonna come down on you, Lieutenant. Is this really how you wanna lose your pension?"
Mearc clambors up to where Lux is, gesturing for the bullhorn. Once it's in hand, he uses it for its intended purpose: amplifying his voice, though his words are directed at the police, not the protestors. "This is the story of how you all go down in history as villains. This happens all the time--Crosby, Stills and Nash wrote a song about it after the Kent State shootings. And I'm sure you're familiar with the Pepper Spray Incident at UC Davis. They paid to get that story taken off the internet, but that only made it more popular. This is how each of your careers will end, especially if you lift your hands in violence. Your families will receive hate mail and shame. People will spit at you in the streets..." (Beginning to invoke contract: Tale of the Baba Yaga. Police will contest individually with Composure+Wyrd, or take Shaken condition. But it takes a few minutes to invoke, so let me know when I can roll.)
As she makes her way through the crowd, Sturm removes a colorful bandana from her pocket, using it as a mask to cover her face. She's big as fuck, so it isn't hard for her to push her way through the crowd - and she's going to tattempt to take a place at the front of the line - as close to Not-Johnnie as she can get.
"You think IA is going to bust me for following an order from the captain? An order you saw him give me? You're talking to the wrong guy, Larry. Now get the fuck off my back. I got a scene to handle, here. You want to tell someone to pull the plug on this, go find the cap." The Lieutenant shoulders past O'Malley to follow after the advancing line of bike cops. At least he's going to go back his own play.
To go along with Mearc's words, the woman taking video of all of this with her phone moves along the line of police officers, clearly making sure to get every face she can clearly recorded, for posterity.
Lux takes Mearc's hand to help pull him up and hands over the bullhorn. Lux watches him, grin slowly spreading.
A text from Wren comes to Mearcstapa's phone.
Sigrun plants her feet on the stones of the plaza, her ersatz shield lifted and locked in line with some of the others. She hasn't pulled her baton yet, she's just presenting a line of resistance to the advance of the police, putting herself between the rest of the crowd and whatever the cops plan to do when they get here. Strangely, she seems more calm now than she was even ten minutes ago. Worry having given way to purpose.
Elisa works her way into the front of the protesters, keeping her expression calm and her camera up as the police advance.
The front doors of the art museum open, and a large handful of people dressed in black emerge. Dressed to work the fashion show, not to attend it, and most of them have they yellow IATSE patch on their shirts. Jack's among them, his eyes shining with purpose, though he falters at the sight of the protest and the police. But...what else is there to do but join?
Johnnie notes Sturm approaching and flashes a wink her way as she gets up front with Sig and herself. She holds her ground, too, fingers flexing and loosening muscles that might well be needed.
Lawrence throws up his hands in exasperation and drops all pretenses of civility "No, I think the captain is gonna throw you to the wolves when this all blows up, that's what I think! The press is gonna have a field day out here, and the department is gonna need a fall guy. I can't be it, and Merlino isn't gonna let the Cap be it, which leaves just you to take the fall."
Sturm pats Johnnie on the shoulder when she arrives - though her expression remains chilly and distant She's... probably at least a foot taller than anybody else up here - and broad enough to take up as much space as Sig's shield (if not more. Idk how big a shield is.) Both hands leave her pockets, now, and she's begun opening and closing her fists in anticipation of what is probably going to be a brawl.
Elisa's eyes widen as she sees the people exiting the museum. "Oh shit," she says, none too quietly. She points towards the people. "That's the tech crew."
Mearc continues to speak, bringing up other famous stories of police brutality and the results for the police in questions--weaving a tale that should spark deep fear in the police present. He keeps it up for several minutes, his mien turning green again, despite the apparent fervor in his voice. (should I roll the contract now?)
"Are they walking out?" Myra pipes up as she sees the group of people exiting the building behind the please. She barks out a laugh, "Mierda, perfect timing."
Lux looks over to watch the stage hands walk out, blinking in surprise--but then the rest of the chaos catches their attention, looking between Mearc and the police to see if the story has any effect.
"Fuck..." Jack mutters to whichever stagehand is closest, and looks for a way around the police. (is there an easy way for Jack to get into the crowd or do i need to roll something?)
"Everyone, stay calm!" Elisa says, raising her voice. She may not have a bullhorn, but she figures she can at least help the people nearest her. "I am recording everything. Stay calm"
As Mearc finishes his story, he lets his Wyrd loose, looking the police officers in the eye. There's a soft rustle of cornstalks, likely lost behind the shouting of the crowd, as he invokes his relationship with Autumn, hoping that Fear is on his side today.
The advancing line begins to waver a bit in the face of Mearcstapa's extemporaneous spooky time story hour. And those that aren't rethinking their decisions for that reason, end up just stopping cold. Some of them gesture at Elisa's cameras, all the cameras in general, really. One or two keep advancing, but eventually back up to rejoin the line at the 3/4 mark, as loose nails get the hammer. And gaps in a line are A Bad Thing. Nobody advances. Even the Antifa at the front of the protest sort of lower their gear. There is a very awkward detante for the moment.
The Lieutenant who has thusfar been keen to entertain Larry's needling, promptly decides to ignore him. His nerves were already shot, and this certainly isn't helping. While all of this is happening, the sirens that were heard a long distance off are now growing alarmingly nearer.
Lux grins over at Mearc. "That was brilliant." Then they look into the direction of the sirens. "This is going to get worse soon, though."
When Aaron and the captain make it out of the building, Wren isn't far behind. She's keeping a slight distance, tracking the Captain's movements, looking to see if he's going to take control and crack down or slip out and avoid responsibility. She's honestly kind of hoping for the latter- that would leave room for her to defuse things in the brief time before he can actually get off site.
Johnnie, meanwhile, stands firm with Sig and Sturm, pleased that Mearcstapa's display shut down the advance, and listening to the approach of sirens. This could get rough quick with the infusion of fresh blood.
Anneliese spares a glance over her shoulder for the approaching sirens. Being caught between two lines of police is never fun, but her MEDIC teeshirt gives her a degree of protection, at least while the cameras are still filming.
The outflow of IATSE 8 members is followed by Philadelphia's wealthy and elite. With the show over, there's no real reason for them to continue to remain. Among them are, no doubt, Joey Merlino and the Captain. The latter is far easier to spot in his conspicuous dress uniform. The former, not so much. The Captain surveys the chaos in the plaza-- or what was the chaos but is now a cold war --and scowls quite a bit. He starts down the steps with more purpose, aiming for the command tent.
Jack's polite and careful, getting through the police barricade. Once he's on the other side he pulls out his phone to record, but hangs toward the side. He's not built for violence.
Mearc hands Lux the bullhorn back. "I don't know if I'd be able to pull that off again. It takes set-up, you know? But still, it buys us time."
"Jesus fuckin' Christ..." Sturm mutters under her breath to Johnnie and Sig. Her nerves are pretty shot even if she's trying her best not to show it. She looks back at Mearc with Lux - satisfied that he's in a safe(ish) spot - and then turns her focus back to the line ahead of them.
Lux takes the bullhorn back, nodding. "You did good. Some cops backing down is better than having double the number of cops trying to hurt people." They glance over as the rich elite come out--and Merlino. Their lips purse and they raise the bullhorn again to continue the chant: "DO YOUR JOB OR DO YOU SERVE THE MOB!" Lux is clearly not afraid of making enemies.
Elisa rolls her eyes at Lux's shouting. They need to deescalate, not make things worse. "Look," she says, mostly addressing the police. "The audience is leaving too. This whole event is over. Let's all go home, safely."
Lawrence looks slightly distraught as the LT clearly shuts him out, and folds his arms and rests his chin on one hand. He shakes his head, sighs, then follows the LT forward. He immediately stops when the captain comes out, and starts walking towards him.
Lethia Rose flits out with the crowd, but disappears into the night fairly quickly. Too many cameras around. She will nod to Shiri as she leaves.though.
And while he's hard to spot, two cold beady eyes stare across the plaza at the one with the bullhorn carrying on about the mob. They watch Lux like Lux is a stock ticker on IPO day. Even as the greasy guy who owns them continues to stride for his waiting limo.
The Lieutenant is trying to browbeat the bike cops into continuing forward, shouting orders at them to very little avail. When the Lieutenant shouts something about getting up there and pushing the crowd back, one of the cops gets so brazen as to gesture back at Lawrence as though indicating agreement with the guy. "Sure thing, El-tee. Right after you." The fact that the Lieutenant does not in fact move to start anything speaks volumes.
When Lux starts up their chant again, Jack starts to make way toward where they're perched. He nods to Mearc at he gets close. "Show's over."
Mearc nods back, staying at Lux's side for the moment. "Then...we might have pulled this off, if we can get out of here safely. The whole crowd, not just us-us."
The command tent is just that. A steel pipe and canvas affair with a generator leading to all the equipment the posting requires. Primarily radio, video, and a cooler for the soft drinks. The Captain is in there confabbing with one of the other lieutenants and chatting with the tech crew about the situation. Getting a status report from other than the guy who is presently losing control of his bike cops. That's what Larry sees upon entering the tent.
Lux reluctantly lowers the bullhorn, glancing between Jack and Mearc. "Alright. Let's start trying to get people out, then?" Lux lifts the bullhorn again and calls out into it, "THE SHOW IS CLOSED! This is a victory for us! Let's not give them any more power over us! Everyone peacefully disperse!" (Another persuasion roll to get the crowd out?)
Wren scans the police line and spots the lieutenant and starts to angle his way, approaching with all the certainty of purpose and deference her new Kith provides. "Lieutenant," she states clearly as she approaches. "Word from the Captain. With the show over, only thing we're still here for is to prevent damage to the Museum. Let them have their victory and pull the line back. No reason for any of ours to bleed if we can take a few steps back and give them what they want."
Two things happen almost at once. First, the Lieutenant orders his officers back. They heft up their bikes and retreat back behind their own yellow and black barriers, maneuvering them closed again. The no man's land empties of police, and the situation is back to what it was before Merlino and the Captain parted ways half an hour ago.
And the crowd begins to disperse, too. Bits and pieces, mostly. Here and there. Elisa and Lux having succeeded in convincing the peaceful protesters at least to get out while the getting is good. The front line stays right where they are, however, probably to ensure everyone else gets out without police hassle.
As this is happening, the rapid response unit begins pulling in to the far end of the boulevard, beyond the traffic circle, and well past the plaza. Riot police begin hopping out of their armored vehicles, though they aren't displaying a whole lot of vigor or urgency in doing so. With the crowd starting to disperse, they begin to form a cordon forcing pedestrians towards either the SEPTA terminal, the bus stop, or the parking lot. Access back up the Ben Franklin Parkway is cut. If you leave, you leave via 76.
Shiri Touati and the vampires that arrived with them begin to disperse shortly after the rest of the peaceful protestors, staying around long enough to provide some shielding for other groups in case things with the riot police go south.
The other woman who had arrived with them stays to keep recording, but is currently refraining from antagonizing everyone. She does search around until her eyes find Sturm and Mearc again, but if either happens to catch her looking their way, she just flashes smiles and shoots fingerguns at them with the hand not holding her phone. Whatever that means.
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