NationStates Jolt Archive


A Masterpiece to Kill For (OOC Interest, Char RP)

Florida Oranges
13-12-2006, 07:54
The Premise
In early 2006, private attorney Evan Forbes was commissioned by his employer, an eccentric art collector, to assemble a team of expert burglars and organize a heist of the "Heilemann Museum of Art and History" in downtown St. Nicholsberg. The piece was entitled "The River Sunset", and was set to be taken off display in a month, to be transported to another metropolitan museum. Needless to say, the resourceful and immensely clever Forbes pieced together a cast of low-lives and bandits that was just right for the job; the piece was sucessfully stolen, the collector paid his henchmen handsomely, and the burglars went into hiding for the most part, as the aftermath of the robbery sent the police into a frenzy. The painting itself was a classic and valued over ten million dollars, however the burglars very well knew that such a piece would have limited value on the blackmarket. They graciously accepted their employer's payment; 200,000 dollars in cash for each of them.

Fast forward to December of the same year. None of the original team were ever caught, suspected, or arrested, and everything seemed to be back to normal. However, those connected with the burglary began to mysteriously disappear. Forbes, the go-between-guy, was found floating face-down in his beach house pool down in Jamaica. Roy Schultz, who'd been a gunman in the robbery was discovered dead in his apartment, apparently killed on a bad dose of heroin. Peter Lowell, who had taken care of the security systems at the museum, died in a fire that consumed his house. Strangely enough the computer at his work had been erased and all his office paperwork destroyed. Of course, the remaining members of the team couldn't know. They'd been assigned code names for the job...nobody had known each other by name.

The deaths went unnoticed, until one late night in the subway, when Albert Harper, who'd been a gunman on the team, has an attempt on his life. He escapes unscathed, but now with a mystery on his hands. Who is trying to kill him? Why? And how will he find the remainder of the old team if he doesn't even know their names or faces?

Explanation
The story will kick off with an introductory post by myself, detailing the deaths of the three aforementioned characters and the attempt on Harper's life. There are a number of different possible character roles to be filled. The burglary team itself was composed of six people. Two were gunmen; Harper and Scholtz. Their job was to find the guards on patrol in the museum and disable them. One was security; that was Lowell. Lowell's job was to hack into the computer system and deactivate all laser technologies and alarms. Two others were armed with weapons in case of any trouble, but their job was to transport the painting, which was too big for one person to carry, to the van out back. Those two positions are still open for anyone to take. Also, the get away driver is an open position.

These are the primary characters required...I need three, or at least two people who were in on the heist with Harper. These people will also be hunted, though whether they're killed is up to their guile and whoever's playing the hitman. Other characters available could be the hitman hired to track them down. He must be highly intelligent, efficient, and very secretive though. No "machine gun blasting" in open public type stuff. Subtle, sneaky, and professional. Another character possibility could be Harper's ex-wife; after the failed attempt, the hitman may very well target her to lure him out. Detectives who have been following the case could be good choices. The bodies of Forbes, Scholtz, and Lowell just surfacing like that would seem extremely suspicious.

The purpose of this roleplay will be to evade death and to discover who the art collector is and finish him off. This will prove tricky; none of the characters knew each other by name. Forbes contacted each of them individually and referred to himself as Mr. White. Harper was Mr. Red, Scholtz was Mr. Blue, and Lowell was Mr. Plum. They met in a different location every time, though the locations weren't always secret from society...many times they were in restaurants or apartments. The only clues that anything is amiss will be the attempted murders of the characters and a newspaper article in the St. Nicholsberg Herald, showing a picture of Lowell's face and an article explaining how his house burnt down. I'll drop clues and give details to help guide the roleplay along. Right now, all I'm looking for is interest.
Kulikovia
13-12-2006, 10:35
I am interested.
Mahria
13-12-2006, 22:20
I'd be interested here.
Siap
13-12-2006, 22:24
Interested. If possible, I could play the party hiring the Hitman, a go-between the hitman and the concerned party or even the hitman himself.
Haraki
13-12-2006, 22:39
Interesting concept. I could well be in, although it also depends on who else I'm signed up to play off. I'd be interested in being either the hitman (although the 'accidental' deaths would be hard to arrange in RP) or one of the people that carried the painting. I would be Mr Green if I'm one of them.
Florida Oranges
13-12-2006, 23:25
Well, this is definitely more interest than I initially expected, so on we plow. There are things that should be known about the setting, St. Nicholsberg...for one, it's a purely fictional city based on the east coast of the United States. It is similar to New York in some ways but very different in other ways. New York does not exist in this roleplay; neither do any other major metropolitan areas, so when you put up your character sheet, try to base their history out of St. Nicholsberg. The reason I chose a fictional city was to make it easier on us the writers. We can make up locations, monuments, or whatever on a whim, allowing for more creativity. Also, I'm trying to mold a setting where future roleplays can take place. So any locations we make up along the way will become set, and may be used in other roleplays I start (or you start, for that matter).

St. Nicholsberg is on the coast, so it has an extensive port system. A river runs through the middle of it (The Calloway River), separating the sprawling skyscrapers and tidy commercial towers from the projects. It has several suburbs, although I've yet to name them. I suspect most of this roleplay will take place within the city itself. It is a gritty, dirty place to live in with extraordinary crime, pollution, and traffic. As subways, bus stations, taxi cabs, and el trains are readily available, automobile ownership isn't a requirement. You can get anywhere in the city as long as you've got the cash. It is a melting pot of culture, and players are encouraged to play people of different ethnic groups; it definitely fits in this type of city.

For the duration of this roleplay I will play two characters; Harper and the art collector. I might also take on the role of certain NPC's if needed. Everything else is open, however I ask that if you're interested in playing the go-between the hitman and the art collector, your character is part of some sort of criminal organization. Triad, Yakuza, or some massive, city-wide crime syndicate. The art collector will have an active relationship with this criminal organization in which he does them some sort of favor, and so in return they're doing the favor of eliminating these "rodents". The hitman could be independent or a member of this organized crime syndicate. Also, depending on the success rate of the hitman, I wouldn't be opposed to the go-between ordering some of his own henchmen to help in tracking down and murdering the heist members. Whatever makes the thread more interesting, right?

Since four of you have shown interest, go ahead and use the character sheet I've posted below and put up your ideas. Whatever the character, they WILL play an active role in the story. Note that this sheet is just so I can get a basic idea of what kind of characters will be involved. Oh, and the accidental deaths will happen at the beginning of the roleplay...I won't mod your character or anything, but I'll write up scenes depicting the NPC's bodies being discovered or whatever, not the actual murders taking place. We can just say you did them. ;)

Name: Albert Harper
Age: 33-years-old
Physical Description
Short and rather thin, Harper is your typical looking citizen of St. Nicholsberg. His skin is pasty white from the cold winter weather and his dark brown eyes are always sagged, the product of alcohol abuse combined with lack of sleep. His short, jet black hair is close-shaven and giving way to premature balding at the center of his head, a sign that his stress levels are way out of control, and a thick sheet of stubble always smothers his face. His nose is long and narrow, although his face is rather round and full.
He wears what many percieve to be a permanent sneer, despite harboring a mouth of pearly white teeth. Perhaps those are his only real attractive feature. Harper sticks to wearing mostly heavy jackets, skull caps, and baseball caps, clearly conscious of his hair loss problem. In reality, he looks like just another miserable denizen of St. Nicholsberg. If this was only the case.
Brief History
To put it bluntly, Albert Harper is a thug. A goon. A hired hand. I'll spare you the agonizing family history and the troubled youth; he does what he does to survive. He's never had qualms about killing, beating, or stealing, as that's always how he's made his living. He does it on a regular basis. He only goes by the name "Harper"; anything else and he's done doing business with you. He's well-known on the streets, though not to the point of infamy. He is not your fairytale villain; he is not widely feared and respected. He is not a criminal mastermind. He's the guy to go to when you need a small-time place busted up because they're not paying for protection, or to hit a local jewelry store. He's the guy to go to when somebody owes you money, or you need an extra hand to watch over a drug transaction. He's good with a gun and a ski mask; otherwise, he's rather unfascinating. Forbes selected him partly because Harper's violent streak and partly because he was a nobody. Nobody would miss him if he disappeared or got busted. Nobody could trace such a low-life back to Forbes. After the heist, Harper layed low at his ex-wife's apartment in the Nichlsberg projects. As she began to slide deeper into drug addiction and depression, Harper moved out. He currently lives in his own flat, though he doesn't have a car.
Duckquackmuse
13-12-2006, 23:36
I'm interested, I don't really know if there are any characters left for me to take, but I can adapt or create a new one if you allow me? If there are any left, please feel free to assign one to me.
Mahria
14-12-2006, 00:07
On the idea of our Triad-Yakuza connection: I've been working on a Mahrian crime group, the Gulls. Would that do?
Florida Oranges
14-12-2006, 00:31
Why not, shoot for it. Let me see what you've got. I don't want to limit anybody's creativity or whatever.

I'm interested, I don't really know if there are any characters left for me to take, but I can adapt or create a new one if you allow me? If there are any left, please feel free to assign one to me.

As of now there aren't any characters taken...not until people put up char sheets and I accept them. So go ahead and put one up if you'd like.
Siap
14-12-2006, 03:32
Cyril Gherhardt
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Age: 29

Cyril has been described as almost otherworldly. He is a very tall, imposing person, who only speaks when absolutely necessary. He was found foraging for food in a garbage dumpster at the age of five. Medical records indicate that he suffered from terrible forms of abuse, however he never revealed anything to the numerous psychotherapists he visited throughout his early years. He grew up in the St. Leoluca Academy for Displaced Children. He showed both a proficiency in mathematics and classical physics, as well as theology. He showed proficiency also in boxing and fencing. It is believed that after defeating an older boy in a tournament, Cyril was assaulted in the locker room. The exact details of the event are unknown as there were no witnesses and the perpetrator was found dead, after apparently slitting his own wrists. Cyril left the Academy the next day without saying a word of the event.

He has been seen working oddjobs throughout St. Nicholsberg, from driving a taxi to performing unskilled labor in factories. He has no known residence and does not exist on paper, however for those who know, he is one of the most capable private investigators, and has shown no hesitation towards killing someone.
Florida Oranges
14-12-2006, 04:12
Cyril Gherhardt
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Age: 29

Cyril has been described as almost otherworldly. He is a very tall, imposing person, who only speaks when absolutely necessary. He was found foraging for food in a garbage dumpster at the age of five. Medical records indicate that he suffered from terrible forms of abuse, however he never revealed anything to the numerous psychotherapists he visited throughout his early years. He grew up in the St. Leoluca Academy for Displaced Children. He showed both a proficiency in mathematics and classical physics, as well as theology. He showed proficiency also in boxing and fencing. It is believed that after defeating an older boy in a tournament, Cyril was assaulted in the locker room. The exact details of the event are unknown as there were no witnesses and the perpetrator was found dead, after apparently slitting his own wrists. Cyril left the Academy the next day without saying a word of the event.

He has been seen working oddjobs throughout St. Nicholsberg, from driving a taxi to performing unskilled labor in factories. He has no known residence and does not exist on paper, however for those who know, he is one of the most capable private investigators, and has shown no hesitation towards killing someone.

Is he a private investigator or hitman?
Siap
14-12-2006, 04:29
Both.