2018.07.04: 4th of July on the Beach

4th of July on the Beach
Shenanigans on the beach start to get out of hand and the Prospect Police Department have a hell of a night.
IC Date	Sun Jul 4th, 2018
IC Time	21:33:52 2018, PDT.
Players	Lleutrim, Theo, Sander, Faith, Merek
Location	Beaches, Prospect around Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach.
Spheres	Mortal, Mortal+, Mage, Law

It's the Fourth of July - every able bodied officer has been asked to stand double - in some cases triple duty tonight. The crowds are impressive, and on a celebratory night like this one that means two things - the city's making bank on tourists, and the substances are flowing freely. The official job of the PPD is to protect and serve. The unofficial job of the PPD is to keep shit off the news.

This stretch of the beach borders the lower end of the SES for the city and is frequented by stoners, tweakers, and public drunks on a good day. On a holiday, it has all the regulars, plus tourists, kids, college students, and every kind of element you can imagine that would come to take advantage. The beach patrols here are heavy - and officers should be in pairs, but given the amount of beach to cover and the tight stretch in the budget, the patrols are undermanned tonight. Use your radios, was the last bit of advice before Donahue sent everyone off on their details. She rode out with the SWAT team on a call that turned out to be a fourteen year old throwing water balloons off his balcony at the neighbor's daughter while screaming Wet-t-shirt-contest! She's recently radioed that she'll join the foot patrol at North Beach and asked for the nearest available unit to check on a bonfire that was reportedly getting a little bit out of control near Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach.

Lleutrim has come fresh off of the pier, paired up this evening with Merek. The Patrol car is parked on the street to the east and they've been walking the beach, keeping an eye on things. He stops when he finds a kid smoking a joint and starts talking to said teenager. "Hey now, don't make me have to bust your ass tonight. You are clearly both under aged and smoking in public. You don't need to explain to your parents how you need bail, now do you?"

The kid looks like he's a deer in headlights and already dropped the joint, looking like he's about to piss his pants. Donnachaidh gives him the patented scary cop scowl as he looms over the kid before he bends down and picks up the 'evidence'. "You want to go to college, son?"

The kid nods, too scared to say anything.

Donnachaidh scowls more, "What's your name? Turn out your pockets and maybe I won't feed you to Officer Merek here. Otherwise I'm going to have to call this in and you'll have to take a little ride in my Patrol Car to the Department for booking. You want that? Maybe go to Juvenille Detention? You get this on your record, it's going to be harder to get into college."

The teenager eyes Merek like the second cop might be the Boogie Man like John Wick or something, then stammers, "Man, please. One's all I have, honest. See?" He promptly turns out his otherwise empty pockets except for his lighter. Kid looks about 14 or 15. "Name's Kiver. Scot Kiver."

There's a glance to Merek, then Lleu hears the call over the Police radio. He crumples up the half smoked joint and drops it into the sand, "We better not catch you out here smoking any more, understood? We are going to remember your name and face. Now, beat it."

The kid doesn't have to be told twice. He gets his skinny ass out of there.

Unlike the boys in blue, Giordano (Theo) is not here decked out for crowd control. His task is a bit different, languidly sitting leaned back on a rock and drinking from a bottle of water as he scans the beach. The top few buttons of the man's shirt have been unbuttoned as his manner seems casual despite his suit. One leg extended, the other bent lightly at the knee as he watches the scene.

Merek has on his full uniform, his cap shifted before his face a bit. He looks to the exchange, and nods amiably when the guy decides to not continue smoking. He then places his hands to his belt and walks along as he does, speaking in that curious husky purr he has, "Well, let's go check on that bonfire we heard about, ya?" he offers.

Sander pulls up around North Beach and parks. Stepping out of his personal car, he nevertheless gets right to the beat, plainclothes as usual. Busting kids for smoking a joint, however, doesn't seem to interest him. He proceeds generally toward where the bonfire was called in. (Fire department will do a better job of handling it anyway.)

The crescent moon is barely a hint in the still blue sky tonight, with an hour until sunset. The waters are sparkling and the tide is rolling out slowly. Low tide not due for another couple of hours. There are several places along the beach where bonfires are permitted in large concrete squares that are set in the sand. Many of them were staked out for days in advance. In this case, there seems to be a squabble going on about who got here first. There are roughly forty people engaged in a headed argument over one of the pits, the two groups compiled of college students on summer break and locals.

Giordano picked a spot with a good vantage over the beach, wanting to be able to see as much of the crowd as possible. Another slow sip of his water as he studies the faces of the crowd. Drug use and underage drinking are not really in his purview, he's looking for something else entirely. When a lady offers him a grilled hot dog though, he shrugs and nods, "Sure.. love one. Smells great."

"Yep." That to Merek. Donnachaidh starts walking in that direction to look for the bonfire with people being rowdy. He is in uniform and armed but moving in a relaxed manner, even as his grey eyes are searching. It doesn't take very long for Merek and he to see where the shouting is going on. People aren't yet fighting but they sure do have voices raised in anger.

Donnachaidh wades right in and raise his baritone as he makes his way through people politely, "May I please speak with one person per side of your disagreement? Identify yourselves, then please explain your concerns. One at a time." Lleu doesn't shout, he tries to encourage calm to find out what is going on and whether or not there are dominant individuals leading either party's side.

Merek walks towards the people along with Lleu, but doesn't do too much for the moment. He seems to be focused upon the flame for a moment, as he shifts his gaze towards the horizon. He rubs at his stubble in thought.

Sander arrives in shouting range of the disputed firepit just a little too late. Rookie's already trying to resolve it peacefully. He crosses his arms and watches, waiting to see how it shakes out. And he looks over the area, just in case some crowd control *is* needed.

"You yuppie pricks called the fucking pigs?" The question is hollers by one of the angry locals, his greasy hair pulled back in a pony tail that hangs about halfway down his back. The drunken man isn't even trying to hide his glass beer bottle, a violation of the most hated local code in the city of Prospect, passed by a narrow margin about six years before. "I'm filming you!!" shouts one of the clean-cut SJW's as she balances on the low wall, raising her iphone up to get a live feed onto Face Book. An old hippie woman walking her dog waves from further down the beach, "Happy Fourth of July Officers!" At least not everyone hates you.

The crowd is thick, and the only thing there are more of than beach umbrellas and over-stuffed bikinis are fearless leaders. At least half a dozen men and women all converge on Donnachaidh trying to give him "the right" story.

Giordano takes the hotdog and takes a bite, some mustard nearly hitting his suit jacket and he curses faintly. A napkin seized to guard him, before he takes notice of Team blue moving into break up the bonfire crowd. The man gazes around, having a bit more of an higher vantage - to make sure they're not blind-sided by something.

Lleutrim seriously doesn't like a lot of people pressing in real close to him but he stands his ground and tries to keep a nice, calm face of authority. He pitches his baritone to carry but not to shout, "Please, let's keep things civil." Donnachaidh looks to Merek, "Report in over the radio Code Six(Arrived at location, investigating) but that we could use additional officers on the scene." He then directs his attention back to those trying to tell their sides. He listens, then asks, "Each of these firepits have a number on the metal post here on the corner. Did either party Reserve the site? If you did, please present your registration to me from the Prospect City Department of Recreation." Just like reserving a campsite or park enclosure.

Near to Sander, a local chick with long blonde hair in a bikini top and cut off jeans, and a young college girl, start screaming at each other and throwing their drinks at each other. The two start going at it in a classic cat fight. Those around them stand around mostly watching and encouraging them, especially the men who think it's funny.

Merek nods a bit, and moves back to pick up his radio from the uniform, and speaks to it, "Officer Black, Badge 2553, Code Six responding to the beach, we could use some additonals. The locals are a bit rowdy, but nothing bad yet," he states, as he waits for confirmation. He has moved away so no one can hear too much, rather than using it to upset them more.

About half of the squabbles shut up when the officer calls for a reservation ticket, because the waiting list is probably a few years longer than most of them have ventured past puberty. "This is America! It's the fucking Fourth of July! We don't need no fucking permits!!" The shout is from that loud long haired drunk again, and is soon joined by a couple others, and the woman on the wall will not be out shouted, "You have no right to keep us from the beach! No Right! NO Right!"

By now a few of the less rowdy folks have started to ebb away from the crowd, perhaps invited to other bon fires by neighborly folks like the one who offered Theo a hotdog. Other individuals, the sort drawn by chaos and turmoil, have begun to press in on the space. "We were here first officer! They don't have a fuckin permit!" "I have a permit! It's in my bag! Where's my bag?! They stole my bag officers! I want them arrested!"

Giordano catches something in the scene, and has to discard the hotdog and wipe his face, as it seems to be work time. He starts cutting through the backside of the crowd, and makes his way towards one of the nearby public bathroom buildings with a bit of expedience now.

Sander has enough of watching the efforts that might be by the book, but are *not* the way to deal with two angry crowds. The radio on his belt echoes Merek's call, and he switches it off, being able to hear well enough from the patrol officer's shoulder mic. Sander approaches the impending shitshow, puts his fingers to his lips and gives a loud whistle. Closing in, he flashes his badge and shouts, "Hey! What's the problem here? Light a fire and have a good time! There's plenty of room."

Lleutrim raises his baritone again to carry somehow without shouting. Just like a Drill Sergeant, a trick of the voice, "If you can't remain calm and discuss this in a civilized manner, people will be escorted off the beach. No one wants their holiday so curtailed for disturbing the peace. Any one of you could have reserved this space and have the confirmation code off of the website on your cell phone." He takes a breath and keeps a nice calm demenor in the face of angry people, "If there is no reservation by either party, there is no reason both groups can't simply build and lit the fire and share it - it's a large beach. I'm sure all of you would rather be partying and having a good time, rather than stand around shouting and having your evening ruined."

As soon as Merek is back close enough, Lleu motions for his fellow officer to come close. He drops his voice real low, "Go speak to that gentleman over there with the tied back greazy hair. Explain /quietly/ to him that he's not allowed to have a glass bottle on the beach. If he'll comply by taking it off of the beach or discarding it, thank him. If he causes an incident, warn him he is in violation and if we have to, we'll remove him from the beach."

Merek offers a nod towards Lleu, as he then moves to the man with a bottle. He speaks with that soft husky purr of his, voice kind and quite amiable, "Excuse me sir, but you aren't allowd to hae that bottle on the beach. If you would be so kind, you can throw it away, or move somewhere a bit more out of public with it," he offers quietly. He motions with his hand, "Besides, being drunk around some of these folk? They're rowdy, not the best place to drink."

As Sander and Lleutrim work in concert to convince the unruly crowd to simply share the beach, the women that Sander walked by have attracted quite a crowd - since one has ripped the bikini top off the other. The cursing is almost drown out by the drunken and sober cheers of the onlooking crowd.

The wiry man that Merek approaches takes a staggered half step back. "You fucking faggot, get the fuck away from me!" Something about being both attractive and quite feral in the face of a homophobic drunkard, while wearing a fancy clothes on a beach for the Fourth of July might not be working to Merek's persuasive abilities.

In the meanwhile, Theo's interest seems to have been caught by a pair of boys on the roof of a public bathroom. As Theo steps up on a bench to get a better view of what they're doing, it's clear. They have a duffle bag full of fireworks - probably from south of the border, and a handful of matches. They teens strike one and set off a roman candle, pointing it out over the crowd.

The wiry man that Merek approaches takes a staggered half step back. Something about being both attractive and quite feral in the face of a homophobic drunkard might not be working to Merek's persuasive abilities, but a badge and a gun seem to stifle his intent to get any more mouthy. The guy offers Merek the bottle just as the first roman candle ball pops off, causing him to throw it at the officer in a moment of fear "Don't shoot me!" And of course, there are now a half dozen smart phones out recording this entire thing.

They may be a little understaffed for the holiday but two more Prospect Police Department cars show up. Four more officers get out of the cars and come over to assist. Two of them see the cat fight and nudity going on and wade in to break that up. Those that they can calm down and move along the better, those that become too difficult they'll just arrest and escort off of the beach.

The other two come to the edge of the crowd to provide additional police presence and ask people to move down the beach where it's less crowded.

Merek looks like he is going to try and dodge it, but he didn't think there would be a roman candle, or that it would be thrown. So the bottle hits him right in the face and cheek, smacking it back as it starts to turn a crimson dark tone on his bronze skin. He winces a bit, and rubs at his face as he looks towards the person who was shooting the candle.

Sander gets in front of one side of the crowd, trying to position himself opposite the two uniformed officers, but well in the middle of things. He clears his throat, then shouts: "Hey! Assholes! I'll say it one more time. You can share this spot, or I'll rope it off all night."

The key point made, Sander continues with a little less vocal strain, speaking to the people closest to him (who are probably also the angriest). "Share it at the same time, or you can trade off a couple hours each. I don't care, but you figure it out *now*." The promise in his last word is clear.

Giordano reaches out to catch hold of the kid before he can set another one off. "Hey woah!" now standing ontop of a public bathroom for the love of.. He motions to control the two perps and ends up falling right back into his patrol officer days when he says, "You two morons are going to get someone hurt, even killed. Get on your bellies, hands behind your back." He looks to see where the roman candle went and says, ".. and you just fired that at a police officer, in a crowd of people." he seems ready to take them down if necessary. Clearly not amused by the situation.

"Stop acting like animals!" That's Donahue roaring at the naked woman she has planted into the sand face down with a knee in the middle of her back, as she arrived in the second car. Female officers for naked women, makes sense, but does not make for a happy Donahue..

The guy who just pummled Merek in the face with a bottle has broken off in a run for his life down the beach, and the initially feuding group has started to disperse. and those who remain are apologizing to the officers, trying to keep their little spot of holiday cheer from being roped off. "We're good man,, we're good, right buddy?" asks one of the locals as he throws an arm around a jock's shoulder. "Dude we're sooo good."

The terrified kid on top of the bathroom is staring at Theo like the man just appeared from thin air. His partner in crime bumrushes the federal agent and in the ensuing jostle, the still flaring roman candle is dropped into the bag of fireworks...

As soon as the Roman candle popped off, some people hit the sand, some scream, others run. Suddenly there are somewhat fewer people massed around the fire pit. /That/ part at least was helpful.

Lleutrim was among those who almost hit the sand from his military days, but no, he needs to see where it came from. With one hand on his sidearm he doesn't draw it, sees Theo over there handling it. Great, a Fed doing their job. He grimaces and disengages himself from the bonfire pit crowd that Sander is sorting out - with Merek there to back him up.

Donnachaidh heads over to go and make sure Theo has somebody to watch his ass and assist.

Sander rolls Perception + Alertness vs 6 for 4 successes.

As Merek notices the roman candle, he blinks that way a bit, and then motions for the beach goers, "Move away and get down, now!" he exclaims, hoping that another of the Officers can keep away the fireworks, and another can also deal with the man assailing the one guy. At this point, his primary concern is the safety of just about everyone however.

Merek rolls Charisma + Leadership vs 6 for 0 successes.

Giordano gets thrust backwards, unwilling to hit a kid despite the situation. "Shit." he says, seeing the firework get dropped into the bag. No matter how long he's been with the agency, before that he was an officer, and before that he was a soldier. It's just reflex. He stumbles to regain his footing and yells out, "Get clear!" and he does what's instinct. He leaps towards the bag to smother it with his body. There's a frickin kid right next to it!

Sander's head swivels around as the roman candle starts to go off, and he sees it fall into *something* on the edge of the roof. "Oh... shit. Toward the water, MOVE!" He extends his arms and all but pushes people down as he moves in that direction.

Merek moves between the crowd and fireworks, then he notices an Officer moving to get atop the fireworks. He frowns a bit and then seems to debate his actions for a moment. He shifts a bit and attempts to run for him, then dives to assist in smothering the fireworks. However...

The newly arrived officers are helping to direct people to disperse. A number of the crowd are dispersing on their own, some are still gathered around the bonfire pit.

Lleutrim has reached the bathroom but didn't see the kid drop the roman candle into the bag, nor Theo leap on top of it. Not from his angle below. But if Merek shows up, Donnachaidh who is larger can boost Merek up the wall to the roof - or be boosted if Merek prefers.

Yellow Jackets, Shot Pearl, Missiles and Rockets, Ground Spinners, Fountains.. when did kids stop playing with bottle rockets? Those punks have a veritable armory in there and now the bag is on fire... Theo leaps on the bag, the kids jump off the front of the building into the sand.. and Lleu starts to boost Merek up onto the thin roof. With Lleutrim's help, Merek is all but thrown up onto the already weakened structure. The weight of both adults causes an audible creak before the crash. The roof caves, folding Merek and Theo into a neat corrugated steel taco inside the concrete building..

Further down the beach, Sander has managed to heard everyone away from the danger, and Faith stepped in to help him with the other officers on sight. She's calling in an ambulance as she stares at the spectacle that's been caught from nearly every angle by smartphone. The moments pass.. no explosion? Damn the concincidence of the fall being JUST so, that they crashed through a sprinkler pipe and snuffed out the air supply required to ignite the entire duffle bag. Too bad they wont get that fucking lucky with the paperwork!

This is not why Theo came here.. he was enjoying a nice hotdog! This city.. as he leaps onto the duffle bag and starts to curl himself around it best he can. Only then does he hear the roof creeking as Merek leaps up and the boys leap off, eyes wide and then close tight once more when it collapses. The roman candle burns hot for a few moments, enough to burn him and the front of his suit but the impact and the water is enough to snuff it all out before Theo's body ends up being used. Granted, now he is definitely in a ridiculous situation, and ughs when his introduction to Merek is caught on dozens of smart phones. Lovely first week so far.

Sander stands slowly and brushes himself off. "Fireworks are dangerous," he says as a lesson to the currently-not-warring factions. "Share the damn firepit, or you'll end up like *that*. Excuse me while I check on my fellow officers." Nothing in his tone indicates pride.

"There's a word which is spoken as Merek shifts around and dives with the bathroom roof along with Theo. While the word is not quite noticed, it is hopeful it assisted in taking the light from the fireworks. He has a few singes from the ordeal, but he seems to be alright. He reaches then for Theo, and pats him on the shoulder, "You alright brother? I think... I think that you put them out, good work," he tells him, even if he was part of the reason himself. He then looks up, "... Think you can make it until medics arrive?"

As soon as the flimy roof gives way, Lleu's eyes get real BIG! Donnachaidh goes from standing to running like hell for the door and grabs the door frame to stop himself, heaving open the bathroom door to try and get inside. "Giordano! Merek!" Damn, what a mess! Shit. Lleu reaches in and starts trying to haul things out of his way to reach his fellow Patrol officer. He cuts his left hand, trying to haul their asses out as fast as he can because he has no idea if the fireworks are lit or safely out! "Stuff going to light up?!"

When it is determined there's no immediate danger of them all getting roman candles up their asses, Lleu asks, "Either of you hurt? Can you stand? Did you see who set things off?" Because yeah, they need to try and find those kids. Good luck with that. What a night.

OOC NOTE: No particular ST for this little event - it was a joint effort. Thanks to all who contributed! More PPD shennanigans will be forth coming!