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[dakarian]

Prologue

"come on, Dakar.  One more drink!" Eduren says.

"Nah nah," says the Head Merchant "I think I'm rousing drunk already.  Another drink will kill me!"

Eduren smiles back at him after noticing his partner slip into the room with a steel bar, "I don't think you'll need to worry about the alcohol killing you"

Webadict finishes the final knots on the noose holding up the Head Merchant.  Of course, the hanging is for show since he made sure the steel bar he used did him in.  Much more quiet than having an old man kick at the door for several minutes.

Webadict turns to his partner. "So what's the plan" he asks.

Eduren replies, "The boss said to keep it simple and stealthy.  Don't make yourself look bad during the day, and wipe each one out in the night"

"But why not just run in, guns blazing?"

"Too many of them.  Once we shrink the numbers enough, we can wipe 'em out Rambo style.  Till then, we play it cool.  Got it?"
 
Webadict smiles at that. 

[dakarian]

Day 1
*Knock knock* goes the gavel, held by Head Merchant Dakarian. 

"Before we begin our meeting of the Merchant's Guild, I would like to make an announcement."


"For years our Guild has been in good relations with the commercial factions of the Litia Family.  This alliance has been profitable for both sides.

However, the Family has come to me with grave news: their leader, Pandarsenic, has died of fowl play.  If you remember, it was Godfather Pandarsenic that established the alliance between us. 

With his loss, the Family has declared the contract with the Guild null and void."

Outcries and mutters fill the room, requiring Dakarian to swing the gavel to regain order.

"Do not be alarmed.  I know the Mafia's rule regarding "leftover witnesses".  I am currently speaking to various members of the Family to try to reestablish ties.  Rest assured that no harm will come to any of you."

With those words, the meeting finished with little incident.  Afterwards, the members of the Merchant's Guild left to rest.  It was smart planning to host the meeting in the ritzy 5 star hotel, the BM Elephant.  Eagerly, everyone left to enjoy the wonderful service and lush bedrooms.
That was yesterday.

That was before the Head Merchant was found in his room, beaten and hanged on the front door. The act could not have been done alone-the evidence hints at it being a two-man job.


The rule of "leftover witnesses" is simple: once the Mafia cuts ties with you, they are to leave no one alive. 


The hotel security ignore any requests for an investigation and avoid going near the Head Merchant's room.  Although the exits are available, there isn't much point: the Litia Family can track anyone who attempts to escape anywhere in the country.

In a stroke of genius or insanity, a few hotel guards were paid off-it's good to be a group full of rich merchants-and ordered to guard the exits: no one may now come in or out.  Since the guild booked the entire hotel, the only people who matter are the guild members....

...and the two that killed the Head Merchant.

Unsure of what to do, the guild walks back to the meeting room.

Criptfiend is the first to enter, sitting by one of the tables with a thump.   'It was a pity that I did not find the Head Merchant until after he died.' he thought, 'I was a field medic for f*ck's sakes.  I'm used to bringing people back from the brink of death;  I could've done something to help him.  Of course, I joined the Merchant's Guild to get away from all that, but that was before I learned of the link between them and the Mafia.'

Before the others entered, he made his decision: he can't sit still and let others die the same way.  Perhaps, with a little luck and speed, a few of them might be saved with his training.  Of course, he can't save anyone if he's dead.

Major_Sephiroth took a little time to learn a little about the hotel security, and what he found troubled him.  Sure enough, they were bought out by the mafia.  He's sure of it: he's seen bribed cops before.  The mafia has turned this hotel into a death trap and the whole Guild is stuck in it. 

Being a guild member, he is, of course, a merchant.  However, that is just a side job, compared to his career job with the police.  The local headquarters is too small to simply siege the hotel.  They do, however, are well equipped for investigations. That may prove useful.  He doesn't want to cause any suspicion so, instead of telling anyone, he has been keeping a low profile among the guild. 

The other Guild Members were a group with a similar stock: Vector, Diakron, Tehstefan, Dr. Johbson, Apostolic Nihilist , ExKirby, and Redwarrior0.  Wealthy, well connected and without a care in the world.  They have always proven to be a democratic and argumentative bunch  Thus, once they got together in the meeting room, they did what they specialized in: debate, barter, and persuasion.  The plan was simple; to discover the wolves by making them howl, so to speak.


This, however, proved more difficult than they wished.  A properly skilled merchant is capable of selling you ice on a winter day and the clothing off your own back.  To do so, however, they must bring you deep into their barter and lose you in their conversation.

This, however, can lead to a problem when 11 properly skilled merchants get together to barter.  Lost in their own conversations, they continue until they hear a small bell ring.  The bell is held by a petite young maid.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but the meeting room closes at night.  For your safety, we need you to go back to your rooms.  The security will watch over you during the night." she said.

Tired and worn, the merchants walk back to their rooms.  It isn't until they are nestled in their beds that they realized collectively that they never did make a final decision.

Oh well.. the bed is too comfy to bother with that right now.

[dakarian]

Night 1

Night falls within the the BM Elephant.

The Merchant's Guild has spent the day arguing about a matter of importance, and would've argued all night if a young, pretty girl in maid uniform did not send them off to their rooms.  Soon after, she makes her way back towards the staff break room. Inside, the 9 newest hotel staff sit waiting for her.  She speaks as she enters.

“The merchant's guild are restless over the death of their Head Merchant.  I think they are trying to save their necks by attacking the Family.”

A wave of her hand forestalls the outcries from the staff members.

“They don't suspect us..”

“They better not.  None of us did it,” yells Toonyman.

She sighs, then continues, “They guess that a few of the Family snuck among them. They probably have, too.  None of us need to get involved with that mess, our only orders were to maintain the hotel appearance and leave them alone. Besides, we have our own problems.” 

“You 9 are among the latest recruits into the hotel.  All of you know that the Litia Family maintain this hotel and have made it clear that you wish to enter the Family.”

Each one nods in agreement.  This causes the young maid to smile.

“Good, then what you don't know is that we believe two of you came here a spies from another Family, and if any one of you makes one noise before I'm done I'll have your head!”

Vector closes his mouth silently.  Leafsnail slips a small wink at the security guard behind the maid.

“I'll make this short and sweet.  In the day, you are to do your normal work for the hotel.  At night, you find those spies and bring them to security outside this room.  That's your orders.”

The maid turns to leave, but Apostolic Nihilist stalls her with a hesitant raise of his hand, “You won't help us” he asks.

The maid turns around, not quite looking at the recruit, “I...have to go deal with something urgent.  It can't wait, sorry.” With that, and a blush, she turns and leaves the room.

Those that remain in the room look at each other, waiting for someone to say something.

----

A few hours before the recruit's night meeting, Pandarsenic walks up behind Toonyman, who is standing alone. He stands behind him, a knife at the ready, saying “You aren't here to join Litia.”

That wasn't a threat it seems to Toonyman. “You aren't either.  You would've killed me otherwise. GMK.” 

“Generic Mafia Killers?  Annoying sons of...well.. still, better than nothing. I ain't anyone.  My brother was a Litia.  He died a few days ago after coming here, and I think the group offed him.”

That was all that could be said before a few of the security walked by.  It was enough for now, hopefully.  The plan is crazy, but it might work.  When everyone is at work, Toonyman can provide a distraction while Pandarsenic sets up an 'accident' for these recruits.  Once enough of their numbers shrink, they should be able to slip your way past security and that nosy maid.

----

As the Recruits met in the staff break room, some of the Merchants were busy with their own nightly plans.  For most, however, that plan involved a soft bed.

*KNOCK KNOCK!*

A banging on the door wakes Major_Sephiroth, and in a panic he grabs a book by the bed.  If the mafia has come you'll take one out with him!

The voice behind the door, however, sounds too passive, and a little familiar.

"Sir, sir, are you there sir?"

Hesitantly Major_Sephiroth opens the door.  It's the maid that brought him to his room.  She seems embarrassed. 

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you told me specifically to come see you tonight." she says, not looking at you, "Our establishment ..wishes to make sure you are.." she closes her eyes at the last, "happy with your service."

He stares at her for a second, thinking  'What in the world is she talking about?'

It took a moment to remember: he had asked her to wake him up every night just in case he falls asleep.

"Oh, yes.  Thank you so much.  Everything is fine, thank you." he says to the maid.

The maid looks up at the man with a little confusion, but stays silent as she gives a small curtsy and walks away briskly down the hall.

Turning back to the room, Major_Sephiroth picks up the phone and calls headquarters.  Soon, he is put on hold while they prepare.  They have time to research one person, so he uses the delay to think. 

----

With a quick nod, Eduren and Webadict both leave the room. Although they have separate rooms to sleep in, they had secretly purchased a third room to plan in. So far, no one has been the wiser.

Eduren passes through several hallways before reaching Vector's room. Before he enters, however, he stops one of the hotel staff to request a few bottles of wine. When asked how many, he replies, "Keep em coming till dawn, nonstop". Vector will be so drunk that he won't even remember the visit.

Meanwhile, Webadict is nearly trampled by the same maid that took him to his room. She barely noticed him as she ran in the opposite direction, her face the deep red of embarrassment. Shrugging it off, you continue on his way.


----

Run a check on Webadict." He says to the clerk.

The clerk replies, "Very well.  One moment... there doesn't seem to be much on him.  He's single.  Managed a financial company but didn't get involved with sub-prime loans.  Lives in a small cottage in another state.  The companies are all clean as well.  "

"So he's not involved in anything"

"Unless you count donating to charity for homeless cats."

Meh.. "which one," Major_Sephiroth asks, concerned that he has wasted his time.

"The Charity for Homeless Cats. That IS the name.  It has a logo of a black and white Burmese."

Something tickles his memory, "run a check in Google for that image,"

"OK, hold on....only thing I find is a name for the cat.  Litia."

"The group that's dealing with this mess is the Litia Family” Major_Sephiroth exclaims, “The charity is a front!  Webadict is one of the members!"

"That's a mean thing to say.  That charity really DOES take care of homeless cats.  It was just started by the Family"

That last didn't come from the clerk on the phone.  Just now, Major_Sephiroth realizes that he had heard a 'click' behind him.  He also realizes that he had unlocked the door to see the maid and  forgot to lock it.  He also forgot to pick up that book by the door.

In the least, the maid won't have to wake him up at night anymore.


----

Meanwhile Criptfiend sits nearby Webadict's room, pacing by it every hour on the hour.  In between times, he stays nearby, listening for signs of struggle, signs of conflict.  By the time Webadict returns to his room, however, Criptfiend has deemed the operation a bust and walks back to catch a few hours of rest. 



----

"I don't want to do this anymore."  Muttered ExKirby.

The guard turned his head at the comment. 

The recruits had formed a semicircle around ExKirby and had been spending half the night questioning him, accusing him, interrogating him.  One of them said, "What do you mean?"

"I'm done.. I don't want to be here anymore.  I'm sick of it."

The guard replied to that comment, "You don't have much of a choice if you want to be part of the Family."

ExKirby glared at the guard, "Then I won't want to anymore!"

This caused the guard to step forward, his billy club raised.  The others step away from the two.

"Well, then, there's only one way out of the Family."  He glanced at the others, "Are you people sick enough to watch a man die?  Get out of here!"

It didn't take long for everyone but ExKirby and the guard to leave back to their rooms.

[dakarian]

Day 2

None of the Merchants woke up by alarm this morning.  A few of woke up to a woman's scream.  Others work up to panicked knocking.  Others never went to sleep at all.  One person never woke up.

Everyone assembles outside Major_Sephiroth's room.  It was a maid, the same one that lead everyone out of the meeting room yesterday, that had first found the body and screamed. 

The death was brutal.  Major_Sephiroth's body was full of bruises and welts.  He was beaten to death before he could give a chance at a fight.  He seemed to be nearby the phone rather than in his bed.  Oddly enough, the phone line was cut.

Vector turns to speak to the maid asking her why she was there. Her explanation was hard to gather in between the stuttering and sobbing.  It seems she was told to visit him in the night.  She went, expecting that it was for a Night Companion, but he only thanked her and let her go.

Dr. Johbson asks, "Night Companion?  Wait.. You don't mean."

She nods with a quick sob, "We...*sob* offer all service*sob*services ttoto our guests.  Bbebesides, all cops ask for it *Sob*."

The group calls out at once, "COP?"

The cry causes the maid to step back in shock.  At least she stopped sobbing. "Yes.. he's the first to reject it.  Maybe he just didn't like me.  I mean, I didn't want to bubut..*sob*"

Webadict asks, "You said he was a cop?"

"Yes. You didn't know?"

Little more information could be gained from that.  The maid remembered bumping into someone but can't remember who.  She saw nothing odd after that.  With dread (and a few taking up the number for that night service), the merchants return to the meeting room.

----

The meeting last night only allowed the recruits two hours of sleep before the morning, when the hotel opened.  However, being able to work effectively with almost no sleep is a trait well taught to them before they began working in the hotel. 

As they gather back to the meeting room to prepare for the work ahead, the maid was there to meet them.  Nothing about the room hinted at what transpired last night.  She looked a little tired and teary eyed, but still looked at everyone with a steady gaze.  She handed out everyone's work assignments, starting with a 'special job' in one of the guest rooms.  A few of the recruits cringe when they are chosen for this task: 'special jobs' occur when someone is murdered and the room needed to be cleaned of evidence.

As everyone leaves, the maid asks, "Where's ExKirby?"

The recruits look at each other, then tell the maid what occurred last night.  When they were done she was growling through bared teeth.

"YOU FOOLS! You got the wrong one killed!" 

The rest involved the maid cursing and swearing at the recruits while prodding them out the door and to their tasks. 

Everyone is now troubled over the revelation, though for separate reasons. 

----

Leafsnail, while performing his laundry duty, locates one of the guards.  Although they are under the pay of the Litia Family, he had enough separate funds to bribe a few on to his side to keep watch over anyone he wishes for suspicious activity.  As he approaches, Leafsnail mutters the name, “Vector” under his breath.  The guard stand motionless, causing the recruit to believe he wasn't heard.

However, after Leafsnail finishes the laundry, he passes by the guard again.  The guard stands motionless, but a small piece of paper somehow manages to fall into the laundry basket. Quickly, he sneaks back into his room to read it.

It reads:

Vector is his family name, not his first name.  He shares that name a brother, an Ex-Mafia member who abandoned his post. 

A look at his history and personality shows that he does not know of his brother's betrayal. As such, all accounts show his desire to join as genuine.


----

A non-descript mechanic steps into the furnace room.  Inside is the recruit, Apostolic Nihilist, working in the hotel's main furnace.  'That's the man' he thought as he pushes the recruit into the open mouth of the furnace.  As he stepped back, however, Apostolic recklessly grabbed the man and the ensuing struggle led to both men falling in. 

----

[dakarian]

Night 2

As the grand barters continued in the meeting room, ExKirby walks besides Eduren.  He keeps his voice low. 

“I took a moment to speak a little with the maid that found the body.  Apparently, she was afraid of something beyond the idea of people dying near her.  The cop still had a little life left and left a note with a name on it.”

Eduren's eyes widened at that, seemingly of shock. ExKirby leaned closer to him and whispered two words before walking back to the crowd.

“Got ya.”

To the untrained eye, Eduren looked shocked at the news of a possible lead.  To the merchants, the small details mattered.  The high lift of the eyebrows.  The slight lean away from ExKirby.  The small turn of the head.  That wasn't shock, that was fear.

By the time Eduren realized what happened, the crowd was on him.  Soon after they had him on the ground, the maid appeared demanding what was going on.  Tehstefan told her that they have a criminal on their hands. 

With a nod, the maid said, “The security won't listen to me, but I can find proper arrangements for him”

Arrangements turned out to be a small room by the maintenance halls which contained only a small bed.  Tied up, Eduren was tossed inside.  The maid showed that the room was only unlockable from the outside. 

“We will keep him here until everything is settled.  He will no longer be a problem.”

Although some of you become worried over trusting hotel staff, in the end, you decide to simply leave things be.  It's late, and the bed is waiting.

----

Worn out after the long day, everyone returns to the staff room to change, noticing but not caring about the huddle of people inside one of the maintenance rooms.  Once there, however, the same guard as yesterday appears in front of the door.  A few people attempt to ask him his purpose but he remains silent.  Free Beer tries to leave only to be blocked by his billy club.

What's more, the group notices that Apostolic Nihilist is gone.  Questions about him to the guard, of course, go unanswered.

----

After leaving the room Eduren is held, Criptfiend walks towards his room.  Once no one is around, however, he turns away from it. The others may be content, but there is still another killer around.  There's still work to do.

Like before, he maintains a vigil on one of the merchants, this time RedWarior0.  Although he's still not sure whether he will try to scare off the attacker or rescue the victim, one thing is certain in his mind: this person will not die tonight.

----

During the debate in the break room, the maid bursts into the room, panting, she points at each one of the recruits in sequence.  When she's done, she does it again.

"Where's Apostolic Nihilist?  And why is he the only one missing?"

Toonyman begins to answer that he don't know, but part of the question sounds odd.  “Only one missing?”

With a sigh, the maid composes herself visibly, "There's two bodies stuck halfway inside the furnace.  Two bodies.  I didn't plan on two bodies.  I didn't plan on ANY bodies this week."  Mentally, she seems to be a little less together.

"Stop staring at me!  I'm having a rough week.  Just.. get back to what you were doing, pick someone, and go to bed.  Last two in will have clean up duty and I know there's another job coming in the morning."

With that, she leaves, though not before patting the pocket sewn into her dress. 

----

*click*

Quietly, Webadict slips into the room that Eduren is being held in. Of course, a locked door wouldn't stop him, or else how else would they be able to finish their job. His partner had made his way over to the wall before falling asleep. A small, quick, kick wakes him up.

"Well, I guess I couldn't redeem myself." Eduren said

"Never mind that. It's all over now." Webadict replies.

"What? They found you too?"

Webadict shakes his head, "No. You just don't have to worry about any of this anymore. You know what I mean."

It took a moment for Eduren to realize what he meant. "Fine. Just get it done before someone comes"

It doesn't take long for the job to get done. It's quicker when you're aim is to finish it fast. None of the others will get this treatment, that's for sure.

Soon, Webadict slips back out of the room, not bothering to lock the door behind him. His partner's night might be done, but for himself, there's more work to do.

Oh no, for the others, it will be brutal and it will take much longer.

As Webadict walks down the hall, pondering his next move, one of the bedrooms catches his eye. The door was opened, so he could see the small object on the floor under bed. Not one to let things slip by, the mafioso walks in to study the object. It's clear that the hotel staff did a rush job on this room not to notice this.

It's a bullet. Not just any one either. The Litia Family love to boast having access to specialized arms manufacturers by using custom made firearms and ammo for their work. It seems someone else from the family was here on business.

Something else catches Webadict's eye, a sheet of paper in between the mattress and box spring. Once retrieved, he sees that it's a picture of one of the merchants, Vector. A small black stain on the corner marks it as a clean up job from the Family: the style of the stain tells the hit man the reason for the job. Apparently, Vector was a traitor that abandoned the family.

----

Without warning, the maid charges into the staff break room.  Feet stomping on the floor, she bullies past the recruits to reach Diakron, who looks at her in amazement.

"You little LIAR!  You don't think I would've found out, would you," she growls while slamming a folder on a nearby table.  The yellow folder's tab has Diakron's name.

Vector speaks up, "What?  Is he one of the spies?"

She turns her head to him, "Like I'd tell you.  What I'm talking about is that this man's name isn't Diakron.  He's really known as Web."

The accused man looks back, slightly baffled, "So what if I used an alias.  This is the mafia.  We use aliases all the time."

The maid sighs, "Diakron had connections with several congressmen that aren't on our payroll.  We were hoping you would link us to them.  Diakron had a good reason for us to accept him to the family.  You?  What do you have?  You own the local Walmart.”  The last had the sound of "The bottom of my shoe has more class."

Web sputters at the insults, only to be slapped in the face before he could reply.

"Just..just shut up.  Everyone else, just know that I'm looking at all of you.  If there's something about you that I don't know then, trust me, you'll regret it."   With that, she walks from the room.

----

'Now I think I understand how they felt.'

The Guild Member, Vector, remembers the days in the old village, back when you fought against the Townspeople of Freedom-No, that really wasn't a good name.  As he worked with the Godfather in the shadows, manipulated the folks in the meetings, and slaughtered them at night, he wondered how it would feel to be the sheep among the wolves.

Perhaps that's what started it.  They say empathy is the first step towards rebellion.  Considering how he's here now, a regular smuck hiding from the Family he abandoned, Vector can say they were right. 

He came here to hide.  While it's true the Family ran these people, this group was a different branch: like having a distant family of 3rd cousins and uncles that don't come for holidays.  They knew of Pandarsenic, but they didn't know Vector.  It should have been safe enough. It would've been if Pandarsenic didn't die, breaking the contract.  Vector didn't expect to be among the others, looking for the killers, fearing the night.  Somehow, however, he expected the click of the locked door opening from the other side of the room, and he knew what it meant. 

'Yes,' Vector thought, 'I do now understand how they felt, very well.'

----

[dakarian]

Day 3

No one woke up to a scream today.  Those that were not already awake were woken by the frantic knocking this time.  However, the maid was still the cause: apparently, another death occurred, this time against their own kind.

As the Merchants run towards the maintenance halls, some of you notice the door to Vector's room left open and decide to investigate that instead. Both groups gathered back in the meeting room with their findings. 

The maid found Eduren dead in his room.  The door was unlocked, the scum still tied up, and his heart pierced by a knife wound.  The maid swore that she hadn't done it.  No one minded: either she killed someone that needed to die or someone else did.  Either way, they won't morn him.

More troubling was Vector's death.  It was another beating, this time with careful attention to break multiple bones including each of his fingers, arms, and legs.  A morbid curiosity makes some of you wonder whether he died before or after those breaks. 

This discussion, though, did not take much time.  Soon it was back to the matter at hand, finding the last killer.

----

*BANG*

The Recruits who were sitting jumped to their feet.  Those standing tried to hit the ceiling.

It was the maid slamming the door open, her face ash white.

"What are you people doing here?  We have emergencies all over the hotel! Everyone should've been ready an hour ago!"

Daylight streams out of the small window.  The recruits had succeeded in talking throughout the entire night.  A panic of clothing changes and equipment gathering erupts among the room occupants.  In the mists, the young girl grabs Toonyman's shoulder.

"You, and you," pulling Leafsnail with her other hand "stop playing around and go to 319.  Bring Clean Up tools; it's another one."  Half dressed, the two chosen are hurried out the door.

"Vector, Pandarsenic.  Storage room B.  Same story.  Also check the door to see if it's defective.  The rest of you to the Furnace.  I said there's two bodies in there and did anyone act?  No!" 

As Leafsnail walks out of the room, pushed from behind by the maid's demands, he slips a note into the guard's hand.  It contained one word: Webadict
 
As everyone makes their way down the maintenance halls, a conversation between the maid and the door guard could be heard.

"So, who died this time," she asked.

The guard shrugged his shoulders, "They didn't mention anyone to me.  Guess they didn't decide when you came in."

The last thing you hear is the slap of a hand on a forehead.

----
"These idiots.  How can they just waste a night like that," she mumbles.

Hidden behind a statue, Web sees the maid pass by as she talks to herself.  He took a chance and slipped away from the others. Once she's past he can get to his task: watching for Vector's safety.

As she passes by, Webs step out to head for the Storage room.  Once out from under the statue though, he sees the maid standing there staring strait at him. 

She gives a small smirk, then turns away to head towards the Furnace room.

With a small sigh of relief, he makes his way to the Storage Room.

----
Cleaning up the Storage room was simple for Pandarsenic. The body was bound and killed with a simple knife wound to the chest. Very little blood, no flailing limbs. The door showed no signs of force: whoever got in opened the lock with a key or a lock pick. Added to the bonus, Vector volunteered to remove the body.

That left him with plenty of time to slip back into the main lockers, located in the back of the break room. He locates Org's after-work slacks and place a small needle inside it, being careful not to touch the tip. After that, Pandarsenic steps out and make his way to the front desk to attend the guests.

Toonyman, however, was not so fortunate. Leafsnail had almost no experience with handling a body: a bad time when the job involved a mess of broken bones and blood splatters. It took all day to clean the room-the carpeting needed multiple cleanings all by itself-leaving no time to do anything but rest a moment, eat, then prepare for the night.

Of course, what is distracting for some is nothing for he who plans in advance. Last night, Toonyman was already using the argument to splash oil on Web's work jacket. That he was going to the furnace is simple luck, though there were plans for if that didn't occur. It won't take much for his clothing to catch on fire and, while it probably won't kill him, it'll be a mess of chaos.

----

'This

Work

SUCKS!'

That's what rang through Leafsnail's mind the entire day as he and Toonyman worked in room 319.  The room was a mess of blood and don't even start with the body.  Whoever did that was a psychopath!  The Family trainings never had anything about cleaning up bodies, but here they want it "so clean not even the killer knows what happened."  Toonyman wasn't much for good company: he just complained every time he made a mistake.  Horrible, Horrible work.

Once it was done-the the carpet probably still needs to be replaced-Leafsnail makes his way right to the 'debate room' as everyone is calling it these days, too worn to notice Web being dragged from the the Storage room towards the Furnace by the maid.  Once inside, he sees someone's shirt stuffed inside his locker.  Pulling it out, the recruit notices that it's Web's.  What's more, it was in a dry cleaning bag.

'Odd,' Leafsnail thought 'who would give me Webadict's freshly cleaned....oh.  OHHH. 

I see what they did there.'

----

While Org were with the others in the furnace room several fires had broken out.  It took several people armed with fire extinguishers to keep the fires at bay long enough to finish the job. Web had  slipped away from the beginning, but once the fires started the maid disappeared for a moment to retrieve him.  Somehow, this only made the situation worse as Web's jacket caught on fire almost immediately!

What an absolute mess! 

[dakarian]

Night 3

Everyone looks bone tired.

With no chance to sleep from last night, the recruits were sent off to work with varying results.  Those who handled the Storage Room job said that the body was a simple matter: bound, a simple knife wound, and little blood to clean up, but it left them with a crowded mess in the front desk.  For all of the murders and other shady business that occurs, the hotel works like any other and can become very popular at times.  The job in the hotel bedroom was much uglier with a broken, mangled body and a carpet that required multiple cleanings to clear out.

The furnace room's pair of bodies were easy to handle, but the furnace itself was broken and subject to spouting flames. 

In time, however, all of the problems were handled and the recruits soon found themselves back in the room to put on their after-work clothing.  Eventually, everyone was back in their seats and settled.

The long day and sleepless night, however, took it's toll.  Before long just about everyone was fast asleep in their chairs. 

----

By the time Org left to eat, handle a few details, then come back, everyone had already made their way to the 'debate room': what the recruits now call the break room nowadays.  Grumbling, he walks to the back where the lockers are to put on his after-work clothing.  A little uncomfortable but at least it means no more work. 

With a plop and a yawn Org sits down.  He didn't get any sleep for the past 24 hours: no wonder why he felt so tired.  He tried to shuffle in your seat but it's no use. 

With one more yawn, Org puts his head on the table and takes a nap.

----

The regular debate that rises and falls among the Merchants is suddenly dispelled by hostility as Criptfiend is shoved into the middle of the room.  Webadict shoots a look that can kill at him.

"You murderer, " Webadict yells.

"I swear!  It's not what you think.  I swear it," Criptfiend replies.

Tehstefan steps in between them, "What's the meaning of this?"

Webadict turns to Tehstefan, saying "This is my meaning."  He suddenly throws an object at him.

Tehstefan jumps back with a gasp, but the object hits the floor before reaching him.  It's a knife, small and easy to conceal.

Criptfiend speaks with a panicked pace, "It's mine, bubut it's not what you think.  I didn't kill anyone!"

Dr. Johbson steps in on the matter, "But it was that scum that was knifed.  What's the matter with that?"

Webadict shakes his head before replying, "The door was locked when we left him and opened when we came in.  If the maid didn't do it then whoever did can unlock doors at will.  Besides, with none of us owning up to the kill, that means.."

Tehstefan finishes, "..the one that did it didn't want anyone to know they're willing and able to." 

A deep silence hangs in the meeting room as the three turn to look at Criptfiend.  The accused shakes his head saying, "no.. no, you can't leave me in that room.  I'll die in there!"  A hand reaches out to grab his shoulder, but he shakes it off and breaks into a run.  Before anyone could react, he runs out the door.

Not long after that, a yell is heard from outside the room, followed by a thump.  The merchants run towards the noises.

In a nearby hall, the young maid stands still, her eyes as wide as teacups.  Next to her is one of the larger men of the security guard holding a billy club.  Criptfiend was sprawled on the floor in front of them, his head cracked open and his eyes staring at the wall blankly.

There wasn't too much to say after that.  Criptfiend is taken care of by the hotel staff.  As they drag the body away, the maid notices a badge placed on his shirt, normally covered by his long coat. 

"A shame," she says, "Good medical staff is hard to come by these days. I think you merchants made a mistake with this one."

Webadict asks, "But what about this knife?"

The maid ponders for a bit before answering, "When you don't have a lot of tools, you can do a lot to save someone's life with a knife."

The words hang heavy as the Merchants walk back to their rooms.  Not even the warm beds will do much to help anyone get to sleep.

----

After an hour, each one was woken up by another recruit-who tended to look about to fall asleep themselves.  No one could sleep long, though, for they had work to do.

Before they began, though, Web noticed that Org still asleep.  Vector walks over to wake him up.  Nothing.  More pushes, still nothing.

After a few minutes, It became clear that he won't ever wake up.

The guard, by then, notices and makes his way to the new crowd that formed around the eternal sleeper.  Oddly enough, he starts taking his clothes off.

A few shocked mutters causes him to speak, "simplest trick in the book, somewhere in his clothing should be...ahh.. there."  He pulls back Org's pants a few inches, then pushes it back on to the body carefully.  He then drapes his upper clothing around his waste.  "Just wanted to know where it it was.  A poison-tipped needle."

He pulls the body up gently, then starts to leave the room.  As he leaves he says, "Don't bother looking for one.  If your clothes had a needle you'd be gone already."

It still took another full hour before anyone could stop checking.

----

*click*

The small noise barely registers in ExKirby's ears.  The soft footsteps, however, are more noticeable.  They've come!

He feints sleep until the attacker is close enough.  Mentally scanning through the surviving Merchants he realizes that no one is left handed.  Also all of the deaths on Merchants were by a blunt object.  Well, if he's going to die, he figures he might as well make them suffer for it.

The first blow hit the merchant on the head, sending him into a daze, but he manages to grab the swinging arm.  Yelling like a banshee, ExKirby holds on to an arm even when the attacker hits him from behind with a punch: 10 fists won't be as bad as one good swing of that steel bar, and if he can get it, or yell just long enough, or.. or.

The attacker pulls back, loosening his weapon arm from the ExKirby's grip.  He swings it back down, ruining the merchant's face.  The world spins for a moment for Exkirby until he finds his head against the attacker's chest.  With a push the merchant is against the opposite wall looking at a large red smear on the killer's shirt. 

For the past 3 nights ExKirby sat awake wondering how it feels to be beaten to death.  However, thanks to the adrenaline and passing out soon into the fight, he never truly finds out.

----

With a panicked step and a muttering of "Crap crap crap crap" Webadict dashes from ExKirby's room. Nothing is turning out right anymore. Even the kill ran a fowl with ExKirby fighting hard, yelling loud, and causing blood to splash over his shirt. He can only hope to escape back to his own room before anyone notices.

Along the way, he nearly runs into someone. It's the young maid. She looks at Webadict and gasps at his blood-stained shirt and the steel bar in his hand.  Only afterwards, did he realize he forgot to hide away.

"CRAP!" he scream, more to himself than at her.

As he raises the bar, she makes a small motion with her hand then runs past with her head bowed.

Webadict could've chased after her, but the hand motion stopped him.  That wasn't an ordinary motion. It's a Family gesture that means "I'm for you but not with you." It's given out when Family members with separate jobs meet each other.

With a single look back, Webadict runs back to his room, unsure what to make of the event."

----

After Org was taken away, there was still one problem.. every one of the recruits were simply too tired to think.  After a little discussion, the entire group fell asleep.

[dakarian]

Day 4

Another scream.  Another dead body, ExKirby's this time, found by the maid who now looks completely unnerved. 

As the Merchants step into the meeting room, they now ponder how even these events now feel routine. 

----

Meanwhile, morning for the recruits started out with a shake from a very unnerved maid.  Gone was the blunt taskmistress that greeted them when they first applied.  Now, she's but a shadow of her old self. 

Nervously, she spoke to the group. "..the hotel needs to close for the day.. I.. everyone has the day off. 

With that, she walked from the room.  After a little while, the rest follow her.

----

It took a while for Leafsnail to find the guard, but the recruit wound up finding him outside the Meeting room the Merchants were using.  With no one nearby, he decide to simply tell him the name, Free Beer.

He makes no motion to show he heard, instead simply walking away from his post.

Web, meanwhile, decides to continue his watch over Vector.  This includes hijacking all of his food to taste test, slipping into his room to check for needles, and other assorted actions.

----

After a long day of nothing, Leafsnail is relaxing in the jacuzzi when he suddenly hears someone whisper in his ear, saying " He's not who you are after."  Opening his eyes, the recruit doesn't see anyone. 

[dakarian]

Night 4

The surviving Merchant's Guild realizes that night has fallen and no one pushed them out of the meeting room.  Where is the maid? 

Instead, the guard that they met the other day looks at them from outside the door, "I'll be taking care of things tonight.  Who is the target?"

In a panic, no one speaks.  Instead, the Merchants fling fingers at each other.  The guard notices that two are pointed at Diakron.

"That'll do.  Everyone leave us."  He grabs a hold of Diakron, who is too terrorized to run.  In contrast, everyone else is too terrorized to stay. 

As they gather from the room, Diakron's words to the guard can be heard, "Why do they always suspect me.  Even my clients swear I'm up to no good.  Do I even look mafia?"

The guard chuckles as he raises his billy club, "That's why the mafia would never pick you.  You'd never fool anyone."

Unable to stop what is happening in the room, everyone decides to run back to their beds.  No one will sleep tonight.

----

Quickly, Web winds his way around the corridors of the hotel, attempting to keep up with the jacketed recruit in front of him.  Guarding Vector is not easy when he keeps running from one place to another.  Eventually, he reaches the doors of the main meeting room and steps inside.  The Merchant's Guild has been gathering there the past few days, but night has now fallen so they have probably left.  Still, he doesn't want to lose track of his charge until he's are sure Vector is on his way back to the break room.

Web enters the mean Meeting Room to see a horrific sight.  Blood soaked the carpet in the middle where a beaten body rested.  It takes a moment for him to realize the body isn't Vector or any of the other recruits.

It takes another moment for Web to feel the sudden pain in his back.

A voice from behind says, "You're just too easy to fool."

Web tries to turn around to try to see the source of that voice, but his body won't respond, instead wishing to fall to the floor instead.  As new pains sprout along Web's body, his dimly realizes that the voice did not sound like Vector at all. 

----

As the recruits, well rested and relaxed, gather back into the 'debate room', the guard interrupts. 

"The maid won't be here to speak with you, but you have a job to do right now.  The Meeting room is a mess and needs to be cleaned before morning."

With that, everyone makes their way to the room the Merchant's Guild has been using.  Two bodies await them inside the room.  The first was the beaten body of one of the Merchants.  The second, was Web, stabbed in multiple places.  The guard, who followed the group up to the room, frowned at Web's corpse.  "I didn't expect this other body" he said, "He was too nosy anyway, always following various people, checking their food.  The food part was the silliest part: like some king's taste tester."

With that, he walks from the room. Apparently, he still expects the recruits to clean that body as well. 

----

The door to Redwarrior0's room is opened slowly, in an attempt to produce as little noise as possible.  Expecting anything, Webadict glances inside.  Although the bedroom is dark, he can make out the sleeping form of the merchant tucked into bed.  Webadict puts away his bar, opting for his knife instead.  This once, he opts for efficiency rather than brutality.

[dakarian]

Day 5


It is now morning.  Weary over the events of the past week, everyone walks to the room only to find the doors locked.  A note is attached to the wall.

"Hotel business.  No trespassing."

Confused, a small discussion over where to place the meeting provides no results.  In the end, no one truly wanted to continue this.  It is now clear that the proud Merchant's Guild is no more.  Everyone is now simply out to survive somehow.

The survivors go their separate ways, and take in what they can of the hotel comforts for the rest of the day.

----

Inside the room marked “No Trespassing” the Recruits took up new strength as Leafsnail stepped forward as leader.  Soon, he had nearly everyone on his side in the hunt for the spies. 

This, however, did not bode well for Toonyman, who stood as the target of this hunt.

The accused pleads with his attackers, "You don't understand!  I was framed.  Framed I tell you.  The maid.  She knows everything.  She just wants us all killed!  We don't even know her name for &#%* sake!"

Leafsnail shakes his head, "You might as well keep quiet.  You can't fool us at all."  A few, however, lower their heads to ponder.  It is true, though, no one knew that girl's name.

A gleam appears in Toonyman's eye, "You don't know ANYTHING and you ignore what shouldn't even make sense!  You... YOUR DEAD,"  he screamed, pointing at Vector.

The recruits gather around to shield Vector, but Toonyman only shakes his head, "NononNONO!  That room I cleaned out yesterday!  I saw the body.. that was you!  You were beaten to death in that room!"

"And..that's not all!  Why are you getting recruited to the mafia!  You were already a member!  You wiped out that town with Free Beer!"

Free Beer charged at Toonyman, yellow "You #*(#in liar!"

"#&* no I'm not lying!" the crazed man dodged the attack and continued his speech. "Half of you were already in a mafia and the other half were already killed!  Pandarsenic, you got a town to wipe its own rebellion!   You think Webadict's dead?  HA!  He's upstairs right now killing a man named Apostolic Nihilist!  You're all just repeating the same slaughter over and over and over and ovheheh and ovaheehe , heeh he HE HEH EHEHH AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"You think I'm crazy.  WELL &#$#( you  I'll prove who's crazy... oh, I'll PROVE WHO'S #&%(# CRAZY!"

Toonyman then takes a deep breath. 

"You are a member of the Generic Mafia Killers, known for sabotage and generally being a bunch of “annoying sons of..”  Although you are capable of killing, you are better known for your 'distractions' which can keep a man busy for hours..."

The recruits find themselves confused.  On the one hand, they don't understand what he's saying.  On the other, they feel he's doing something very, very wrong.

"Your role is, in essence, a mafia roleblocker.  You win when the 'town' is equal to your numbers."

With those final words, he drops dead with a thud.

Afterwards, a second 'thud' is heard near the doorway.  Turning, the recruits see the maid, panic on her face, dead still while holding the door open.  Without a word, she bolts out of the room.

----

Nothing.


Leafsnail walks past the guard, but received nothing from him.  No note, not sign, nothing.  The recruit looks around to make sure he's alone, then walks back to him.  As usual, he stands like a statue, his face hidden behind a large brimmed hat. 

"Well" Leafsnail  says, not caring anymore.  How can anyone care after what Toon...no.. forget that.  No one could explain that.

He notice a slip of paper in the guard's hand.  When he goes to take it, Leafsnail realizes that the guard's hands are cold.. ice cold. As the recruit pulls the paper away, the guard's body falls to the ground.

Panic-stricken, he looks at the note:

"dirty as a bloody corpse"

Leafsnail isn't given enough time to realize that someone had spoken those words from behind him.

[dakarian]

Night 5

It is now the night after the.. event in the Meeting Room.

It has been 3 hours since the bodies of the guard and Leafsnail have been found.  No one has seen the maid since the morning, and no one wishes to know what happened to her.

With no guidance, the other workers has kept the hotel closed and abandoned their duties. 

For those of the Recruits, there is one duty they decide not to abandon.

----

When the Merchant, Apostolic Nihilist, hears the knock on his door, all he could feel is relief.  The week has been so hard.  So torturous.  The memories so firm in his mind.

Now, it shall be over.  Why would they cry for him?  They will have to suffer another day of this.  Apostolic, however, will be free.  Finally free. 

With weary feet, the merchant takes his final steps, open the door, and embrace his freedom.

[dakarian]

Day 6

The BM Elephant was a shell of its former self.

The extravagance, the shine, all of that was still there yet no patrons walked its halls and no guests stayed in the rooms.  Most of the staff has disappeared with only a skeleton crew attending to leftover tasks.  The hotel has been closed for the past few days and there does not seem to be any sign of it ever opening again.  In a few hours, what remains of the Merchants Guild will be silenced within the meeting room.  The victims learned the hard way how efficient and all encompassing the Litia Family can be.

Pandarsenic, however, was fortunate enough to know of this fact while still alive.  His cover blown, his partner dead, and everyone an enemy, he had few options left.  He placed himself in near of the door so he could make a getaway.  He knew he wouldn't escape but there was no point to just sit and die.  So he sat and wondered how they would kill him now that the Security has gone missing and the lone guard was dead.

He sat and expected an attack.  Instead, he found a debate.

He watched as Vector and Free Beer argued and debated with each other.  The two were never friendly and it seems to have just reached a climax.  Free Beer had wanted Pandarsenic's head for some time while Vector argued with him at every turn.  Now they had completely forgotten about him. 

It was time to gamble.  Running is impossible, but perhaps, if he's fast and they don't notice, he can take advantage of the situation.  Two against one is horrible odds but at least the chance was there.  Instantly, he stepped towards Free Beer while reaching behind his back...

...and froze.  The balisong.  It's gone!  By now, the two had stopped arguing to stare at Pandarsenic.  Before anyone could speak, the would-be attacker turned the other way and ran out of the door. 

Holding down his panic, Pandarsenic ran down the halls.  Escape was impossible, but if he can think.  If he can remember where he last had his knife.  Yes, Leafsnail.  He used it to kill Leafsnail and the guard.  He had lost it there.  It had to be there.  With the sound of pursuit behind him, Pandarsenic turned the final corner and reached the spot of his last murders.  The bodies were still there!  No one had touched them the entire day!  When the others caught up with him, he was squatting by Leafsnail's body.  Free Beer reached him first and laid a hand on him to pull him up.

In a smooth, practiced motion, Pandarsenic flipped his butterfly knife open, knocked Free Beer's arm away, then stabbed the blade into his chest.  He barely got the balisong out as Free Beer staggered back into a running Vector, knocking both to the floor.  The rest was quick and efficient.

----

No scream.. No knock.  No sound.  The survivors, formally of the Merchant's Guild, did not wake up till at least noon.

Each one left their room cautiously.  No staff.  No maid.  No security.  Just silence.

The meeting room was open again and spotlessly clean.  Each of the remaining merchants stepped inside.

After some time, they realize Apostolic Nihilist is not coming.  No one bothers to go to his room.

They know what they'll see. 

[dakarian]

Epilogue:


Dear diary,

Today has been a long day for me.  I wish not to think about it all, but I can tell you some of it.

I have been keeping away from the Meeting Room the past few days.  Ever since I found out who is taking charge of eliminating the Guild.  I saw what he did to his Eduren, and that was his partner.  A small time scrub like me would only warrant removing me too.  I write every day how happy I was to be told to leave them alone.  I'm so afraid of what they will do to me, I could no longer perform any of my duties. 

I write that I'm happy, but I'm not.  I'm scared, and tired, and I can't stop crying anymore.  I'm sick of seeing the bodies.  Beaten, burned, stabbed, left unrecognizable.  Every time I see one now, I dream of being that person, of some nameless shadow swinging at me over, and over
and over
and over
and over
and over

Sometimes, I wish I would wake up dead, just so that I don't have to go asleep again.


Everyone here wants to kill someone, anyone.  No one will save me from [ink slash]


There's someone at the door.

[the maid's diary ends there]

----

*knock knock*

Pandarsenic waited for the door to open, and saw a teary eyed young woman on the other side.  She still wore her maid uniform, but the wrinkles showed it hadn't been cared for lately. 

“Why?” she said, her voice breaking with emotion, “Why are you still alive?  I know who you are.  Everyone knew.  Why?”

Pandarsenic wasn't sure of the answer to that himself. 

The maid continued, “We.. we knew everything from the start here.  We left you and the other alive to test the recruits.  It.. they didn't do too well.  I was just told to take care of things.  I.. I was just doing my..”

“Why did my brother die?” Pandarsenic said, interrupting the woman's speech.

“What?”

“My brother.  He was a godfather in your little group.  Why'd you kill him?”

The maid shook her head, “Is that what this is about?” She started to laugh, but it quickly turned into a sob.  “It was a gun accident.  No one killed him.”

Pandarsenic took a step back before realizing.  All this and for an accident?

“Just get out of here.  The Family's closing down the hotel and cleaning everything out.  You need to find a way out before they get here,” the maid said sitting down on a small wooden chair.

Pandarsenic asked, “So what are you going to do?”   Silence from her gave the answer.  She'll be 'cleaned' with the rest of the hotel.  “You want to come along?”  Silence.  “Come on.  You don't want to die here, do you?”  Still nothing. Eventually, the man ran out of things to say and walked out of the room. 

After leaving the young maid, Pandarsenic saw a man in front of him.  He recognized him to be one of the Merchants.  Or perhaps posing as one of them.  The man said, “Walk out the back entrance and head strait for the only black car you see.  Don't stop or look around, don't look afraid.  Walk to it, open the passenger door farthest to the back.  Go inside, wave to the driver, then go out the side side and walk away.  Don't look back, don't come back.”

With that, the mafioso walked by.  Pandarsenic turned to ask, “What about the maid?”  The other man turned and started to show a long silver object in his hand.  He then stopped, said “She'll get the same instructions.  Up to her what to do with it,” then walked into her room.

With nothing more to say and no other option, Pandarsenic made his way past the silent halls and walked out of the back entrance.

End

[dakarian]

Notes:

1.The text itself is just about the actual wording of the PMs and Beginning/End of day/night scenes from both games.  Only slight changes were made: The mafia PMs were merged, everything is in present tense and third person, “someone” is replaced with an actual name, and a few sentences were added/changed/removed to blend better.  The only major addition was in Redwarrior0's death in Night 4 since it didn't gain any flavor.  A not so major change was Webadict's name in Not So Beginner Mafia being shortened to 'Web'.  He played in both games, but, with him being so prominent among the Merchants, I thought this would be too confusing since they are technically two different people.  Thus he is Webadict among the Merchants and Web among the Recruits.  Story wise, they are unrelated.  Vector kept his name in both since the story explained the similarities.  Others kept theirs since it seemed their places in the story wouldn't cause too much trouble: just realize that the Recruits and the Merchants are different groups of people.

2.I had made a very nasty slip up around Night 2.  When I started and noticed that Diakron, who was the mafia in Beginner's Mafia 2, was playing as town I immediately thought of him as the same person who had given up on the mafia.  However, somehow I got criss crossed with Vector, who was mafia in the first Beginner's.  Thus I ended up with Vector as the one who died for leaving the Mafia in his death scene.  Read on its own, it makes no difference.  If you want to mix Beginner's Mafia 2 into it (since BM 2 happens before this story) then Diakron in BM2 was playing a person named Vector.

3.Some of the players were subbed mid game.  For continuation's sake, I used the final player all the way through. 

[Pandarsenic]

Epic.