[OTA - MINGLE] Town Hall meeting

[markwatney]

WHO: Mark Watney
WHERE: Town Hall
WHEN: 10 Dec 2017, sundown
OPEN TO: All, mingle
WARNINGS: N/A

---

Since that tense standoff in front of the peach trees, Kira and I have been waiting to see whether the promises in the letter he'd received would come to fruition. I'd actually left the stolen papers out there longer than I'd intended, not wanting to disrupt the process further if I hadn't already ruined it by catching him in the act. Now that he's confirmed to me the arrival of what, for most people here, would probably be a collection of true treasures, I can't put off the inevitable. We need to let everyone know what's happened, and find out if we're alone in being targets.

Because this morning, I received a "mission" of my own, in the form of a box filled with 3 vacuum-packed, single servings of ground coffee. Speaking of treasure.

Before the breakfast rush, I made a note on the blackboard in the Inn's front room, the writing big and bold enough that nobody should miss it:

VILLAGE MEETING TONIGHT, TOWN HALL, SUNDOWN

Fortunately, there's little enough to entertain a person in this place that plenty of people show. Kira's in the front row with his "gifts," presumably ready to back me up despite not seeming to like me much yet. I guess I can't blame him, although I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the rapport I had with Old Him.

"Hey, everyone," I call out, waving to get the small crowd's attention. "I asked everybody here tonight because we've had a development that I think we all need to know about. Kira here—" I pause, pointing. "Not too long ago, he got a letter. It asked him to steal something of value from someone and take it to the peach trees over on the East Side. It said if he did that, he would be rewarded. When he tried to get rid of the letter, another copy would always turn up. So, he did it. And putting aside that dubiousness for a moment, the reward was delivered. He found some items from his home that couldn't have gotten here without intervention from our hosts. Today, I actually got a box of coffee with a note asking me to take a portion and pass it on. Like a game or a chain letter. The note I got was threatening — If I don't do as asked, it says there will be a punishment. So."

I pull in a deep breath and spread my hands. "I know there's only so much we can realistically do about all of this, but has anybody else gotten anything like this?"



[If you want to thread with Mark directly, please say so in your subject line and let me know. Otherwise, this is a MINGLE and folks can jump around at will. Have at!]

[OTA] Like a fadeout;

[digging]

WHO: Karen Page
WHERE: The Inn
WHEN: 11 Dec 2017
OPEN TO: All CLOSED TO NEW THREADS
WARNINGS: Potential spoilers for all released Marvel Netflix

---

If asked, Karen Page would gladly and emphatically tell you that yes, it sure would be nice to have a life that was something approaching calm. Steady. Remotely predictable.

She'd be lying, but that's really not the point.

This is not the way she anticipated spending today or any day, but as she steps over to the hearth, her chilled fingers instinctively splaying before the wavering flames, she has to wonder when exactly she stops expecting anything.

Is it reasonable to not expect to come sputtering out of a fountain in the middle of a strange and freezing cold town? She really doesn't know anymore. What she does know is it's a pain in the ass.

How long has it been? An hour? Longer? She'd been so focused on not becoming hypothermic that her sense of time has been thrown completely off. She has no watch, no phone, no nothing except some really unfortunate-looking but warm long johns and overalls. And the coat. At least she has a coat. What she arrived in is still laying in a sodden pile on the cold tile floor of a house that looked like it hadn't been dusted in years.

And now she's here, blonde hair laying in a damp braid over her shoulder, hovering before a fire in a place with no signage or telephone or obvious employees, her wide blue eyes sweeping over the room around her.

"Excuse me!" she calls at the first sign of another human being. She starts to dart over, but reconsiders leaving the blazing warmth of the fire and just raises her voice instead. "This is going to sound crazy, but could you tell me where I am?"


[First person explains; anybody else can find her poking around any part of the Inn a little later.]