[center][h3][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/654438713455149084/739990348343803914/image0.png[/img][/h3]
[sub][b]Location
|| Brookside ||

Time
|| Morning ||

Interactions
|| None ||
[/b][/sub][/center][hr]
Brookside had changed a lot since the young man had left it. In the year that he had been back to Castleburg, he made it a mission to explore the city again. It made him feel like a ghost of the past. There were some secret spots that hadn't changed, some faces that he remembered. Other than that, it was like walking into a new hell of sights and smells. Street names changed; businesses closed and replaced. Gang activity had evolved. Even some of the old gangs in the area were gone, including apparently the Guglianos as a result of the company that Hugo had managed to talk him into joining. 

Also in the few months since he had joined, he managed to construct a persona for himself in the HERO ranks, The Black Knight. Although typically on this side of town he did his business as The Hood, Zy understood that there wouldn't be much of a fear factor if The Hood officially joined the ranks of the ultra public HERO organization. Still, he managed to build a pretty decent rep for himself as someone capable of throwing down with the martial artists in Watervale’s Wah Ching.

Speaking of, the Director caught wind of his stronger group of young heroes going missing after a Fourth of July party. While it was one thing for a few to go off the radar for a bit, [i]thirteen[/i] super powered individuals gone without a trace was a completely different story. So, while Hugo went on to discuss this shit on the news, Zhaire elected to go to the streets to see if he could figure out anything fishy going on the night before.

Even though the kidnapping took place elsewhere in the city, all villainous activity somehow had ties to Brookside and Watervale. That’s just the way things worked in Castleburg. While he may not have had the same sway in these streets that he once did, he still had some connections and people who owed him favors. One of which was an old Brookside native who never seemed to change, Smokey the Street-Rat.

Crossing the road into an old alleyway, there he was. Cooped up in a corner behind a dumpster was his tent with him beside it and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. A corner of Zhaire’s lip upturned; Smokey hadn’t changed a bit other than some grey in his beard. 

[color=7ea7d8]”I’ve been gone a long time. Yet here you are, still sitting in the same spot I left you.”[/color] Zy addressed the hibiscus huffing hobo with some sarcasm. The man only looked up at him from the folding lawn chair, clearly out of it. As many times as he stole food and money for the old dirty bastard, he still tried to give Zy a hard time about it. The young man rolled his eyes.

[color=7ea7d8]”Cut the crap, Smokey. August 13th, 2020.--”[/color]

“-Not so loud...I had to make sure you wasn’t the stick fuckin’ with my head…” The man past his prime coughed out rather thick plumes of smoke. Zy shook his head a little.

[color=7ea7d8]“I had to do the same when I came back to town about a year ago…How you been?”[/color]

“Same old me. But I know this meetin’ ain’t meant to be a chat between two Brook ghosts. Nobody visits ol’ Smokey unless they need somethin’.” 

[color=7ea7d8]“You’re right.”[/color]

“Ain’t that a surprise.--”

[color=7ea7d8]”Look, over a dozen of the damn heroes disappeared last night. Nothin happens in these streets that you don’t know about. I need to know if any weird shit went down between last night and this morning.”[/color]

“You do realize that last night was America’s birthday nd shit right?”

[color=7ea7d8]”You do realize B was caught up in all that shit right?”[/color] Zhaire prodded. The mention of the letter made the older man’s eyes widen a bit.

“You mean Buzzin Brie?” The man asked with a sigh, followed by Zy’s nod. There was a small pause as the houseless man let his cigarette fall to the ground. Getting up from the lawn chair, he put his hands into the pockets of his jacket and walked out to the sidewalk.

“Couple blocks from here, y’know, where tha ol pizza joint is?” Smokey asked without looking at it. Zy stood next to him with crossed arms.

[color=7ea7d8]“Picasso’s...?”[/color]

“Yeah. Well, a mac truck pulled up last night. Didn’t seem too shady at first. Thought it coulda been the place restockin. Cept they were deliverin’ to the buildin’ across the street from there. You’ll see it. Shit looks newer than everythin’ else in this part of town.”

[color=7ea7d8]”Appreciated Smokey.”[/color]

“Don’t go thankin me yet. Go get her outta there.” 

With that, Zy took notice of Picasso’s Pizzeria down the street, on the same block as a mexican barber shop. Across from it seemed to be some walled off area that looked kind of out of place. With that, Zy passed Smokey a bundle of cash and started walking. 

Going through it quickly, it was faced with a ten dollar bill in the roll, but all underneath it was a bunch of ones. It came out to 20 bucks but Zy could still hear the man suck his teeth. 

Choosy beggar in the flesh...