Event:1925/04/19 A Chance Kidnapping
We wake around midnight and then head to the Noodle House. Victor and Elise notice a guy milling across the street from the Noodle House[1]. We proceed past the restaurant and head down the next street, then circle around from the back. We all notice a man hiding behind a delivery truck out back[1]. Elise asks Victor to go make a distraction. The rest of us slip into the Noodle House, only to be confronted with 3 men, two with rifles and one with a pistol. The man going after Victor also had a rifle, and brings Victor in to join us. The fisherman from the Stumbling Tiger is brought in as well. Quinn doesn't think the guards recognize the fisherman[2]. They put black bags over our heads and bind our hands behind our backs, and they take our guns.
We are driven around for a while, and we hear a bunch of other people as we finally arrive somewhere. They pull our hoods off, and it looks like we're in a metal works factory. We're seated on the main floor with lots of open space around us on uncomfortable metal chairs. Elise picks up that we're in the International Settlement[3]. Jack hears the phrase "strong force" several times. We're seated in the following order: Jack, Quinn, Elise, Victor, and then the fisherman. Jack is taken into an office, asked to strip naked, given a cursory exam, allowed to re-dress, and then sent back out. Same process for Quinn, though they allow him to keep some modesty holding up his undershorts. They repeat the same process for Elise, but swap in a set of female guards when she's taken back. When Victor is taken back next, the doctors have an animated discussion of his wounds. They check his neck area very intently. Then he's told to get dressed and brought back to the rest of us. Then they take the fisherman back, there's shouting, a thud, and later he's brought back out but with a black eye. A black haired, stocky, communist hatted, younger (college-aged) Chinese man (the one that had the revolver at the Noodle House) comes out and asks why we're looking for Jack Brady. Elise says that Jack Brady was one of the last people known to associate with Choi Mei-ling and we haven't been able to find her. Jack understands them to say that they don't want to tell Jack Brady that Choi Mei-ling is missing because they need to keep him focused on the assault[3]. Victor asks about the examination, and they say they were looking for features that would suggest we're not allies: narrow heads, flat noses, bulgy eyes. They indicate that if we prove our allegiance, they'll let us get close to Jack Brady. They identify themselves as the Firm Action Faction, and say those who seek a new dawn for China are allied with them. They want us to investigate Ho Fong, and say they'll contact us in 1 week.
We're taken back to the Noodle House. We have a conversation there with the fisherman. He introduces himself as Captain Isoge Taro of Japanese Naval Intelligence. He believes Jack Brady was working with the communists, but now he's not so sure. He believes Jack Brady has technology of interest, specifically, a weapon they are interested in. He was originally tasked to do a survey of Chinese ports, and then heard rumors of technology far beyond his government. It seemed to be developed by some unknown Chinese faction - unclear who. He believed it would be good for his career to recover the technology, which is why he's looking into it. He has been investigating for 2 months. He believes Brady's been planning something, possibly working with Ho Fong, but that seems unlikely after this evening. The weapon seems powerful, and he wants to secure it for Japan. We share some info on Brady's past and tell him to intercept The Ivory Wind before it can make its delivery to Ho Fong Imports.
We return to the Astor House Hotel and sleep until noon. We receive 2 messages at "breakfast". There is a gold and diamond ring from Madam Lin Yenyu for Elise. We also receive a note from the harbormaster that The Ivory Wind has arrived. Jack believes that it is unnaturally fast for The Ivory Wind to be here; it should've been another month. Victor sends a note to Mister Lung asking if he's ok and if he knows anything about Madam Lin Yenyu. Elise asks Li Wen-cheng to send some kids to the docks to check on The Ivory Wind.
Elise and Jack head to the Shanghai Public Library. Elise researches The Order of the Bloated Woman. Jack researches Mr. Du.
Victor and Quinn go with Li Wen-cheng to Ho Fong Imports warehouse on Kao Yang Street. Li Wen-cheng overhears a conversation among the sailors and dockworkers talking about body parts in the water at the docks - arms, many arms continuously washing up on shore. Victor asks an English speaker about it, who says he believes it was from a ship adrift in the harbor. We proceed to the warehouse. It's a large, 2-story wooden building with few windows, some guards gambling over mahjong. We case the joint. There are 5-6 heavily guarded entrances. There is a yacht named Luxuriant Goddess anchored at a small pier. Business offices are also located here. We head to the business offices. Several guards stop us at the doors. We try to persuade our way in, but a secretary comes out and says they don't do personal business and we must be mistaken. We leave.
The group meets back up at the docks, just as The Ivory Wind is being towed into dock. Arms are being recovered. Quinn notes that all the arms are white, and there are 14 of them (indicating the 7 crew members of the ship)[1]. The police tell Victor that the ship has no cargo and 7-10 dead bodies aboard, and they expect pirates. It was found floating in the fishing lanes outside the harbor. Victor bribes the police to let him and Elise aboard to investigate. There is lots of blood, and bodies are everywhere. Among the bodies of the crew they find the bodies of Lars Torvak and Edward Gavigan - dead between 24-48 hours. The arms removed from all the corpses - very clean cuts with a very sharp object. They find a broken Chinese sickle, very sharp. The bodies are spread throughout the ship and show signs of resistance[4]. The door to Gavigan's room is busted open. Elise finds a medallion in the cargo hold and pockets it[1]. There is no cargo in the hold at all. Looking from ashore, Jack notes signs that the ship was boarded. Quinn canvases the crowd and hears rumors that the Shanghai Courier has had strange stories lately - a building collapse and a fire.
We head back to the Astor House Hotel and discuss over dinner.
We head to Hell's Kitchen, and note that the staff and clientele are both very mixed. There is a cabaret. Sitting in the back is the person we encountered in Elise's hotel room, and he motions us into the back. We negotiate[5], and only pay him $500 for the evening. There's an Irishman in the building, and Quinn takes an interest. He's gambling and drinking in a crowd of women. He says his name is Patrick Devlin, an arms dealer who's paid some small-time fares to the Green Gang. He offers to hook us up if we ever need anything, saying we can find him here. We go back to the Astor House Hotel and sleep.
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