Casmus Docks

        The vast stretch of the Casmus Docks drives north into the waters of the 
Beacon Harbor Bay. All matter of ships are at rest here, everything from vast 
cargo haulers, military transports and pleasure craft. Most of the cargo is 
hauled via truck down Pikeman Circle Drive to Beacon Harbor's industrial 
centers. Traffic flows rather heavily from the heart of the city to the south. 
Across the bay, far to the north east, a lighthouse can be seen out on the 
Point. Its light pierces the thick fog that often plagues the bay in the early 
hours of the morning. A thick band of rubble, rocks dredged up from the bottom 
of the bay when the docks were constructed, forms a barrier between the shipping 
lanes and the long stretch of beach to the east.

                                    DAMAGE                                    

Edward Nigma is standing near a railing, looking down at the water. He is 
noticeably *not* standing too close to the edge. Every so often he seems like he 
might take a step closer, but always changes his mind at the last moment. He 
doesn't look the least bit happy to be here.

Blake is scrounging around in a barrel on the dock. he's so far come up with 
some bits of frayed rope and what appears to be a smashed ship's bell.

Edward Nigma finally turns away from the water, spots Blake, and blinks. He 
wanders a little closer, attempting to see what this guy is up to. "What are you 
doing?" he demands.

Blake straightens up quickly at the voice (made a bit booming from inside the 
barrel) and manages to smack his head on the rim of the barrel. He brandishes a 
gaffhook he had just found in front of himself threateningly. "Noone! Nothing!" 
he insists in a panic. He kinda nudges some of his loot behind the barrel with a 
foot.

Edward Nigma is reassured by this guy's behaviour, and walks a bit closer. 
"Right. Nothing. Is this public property you're messing around with here?" He 
doesn't seem terribly impressed by the gaffhook. Blake doesn't look like he 
knows what to do with it anyway.

Blake drops the gaffhook on the dock with a thunk. "Yesch it'sch public 
property," he says authoratatively. "Schaysch scho right here." He indicates a 
some scrawling on the barrel which says "Give A Hoot." He frowns at the labcoat. 
"You're not looking for schpeschimensch, are you?" he asks suspiciously.

Edward Nigma takes a moment to figure that one out. When he does, he looks at 
Blake with utter contempt. "God, you don't know a thing, do you? Does a labcoat 
automatically make me a biologist? And if so, what are *you* looking for? 
Columbine doesn't live here any more."

Blake shrugs widely. "Schorry," he says tritely, "but I don't have my 
Audobon'sch Field Guide to Lab Coats on me. And I'm looking for schtuff. I think 
that juscht about coversch it."

Edward Nigma raises an eyebrow. Great. It's one of those morons who thinks he's 
funny. "Looking," he repeats, "for stuff. Just who the hell are you, anyway?"

Blake blinks at Edward a moment, then reaches for his wallet. "Juscht a 
schecond," he says. "Let me schee who I am today." He opens the wallet and 
begins flipping through what are probably just some business cards. "Here'sch 
the one I usche to get in to schee the Governer...here'sch one for Fort 
Knoxch...Schixch Flagsch--I got the Gold Card...Funny, I can't find the one I 
usche for Noschey Guysch on the Dock..."

Edward Nigma takes another step forward. The observant may notice that he 
doesn't look as if he's joking any more - though the tone is light, there's 
something in his eyes. "You think you're funny, schmart-ass?"

Blake pauses in his flipping to gaze cooly at Edward, then flips his wallet shut 
and stuffs it away. He folds his arms. "Dependsch," he says steadily. "Would you 
like me to exschplain the conschept firscht?"

Edward Nigma stares. This man has a deathwish. How interesting. "What is it 
about this place," he asks aloud, glancing around at the docks, "that makes 
everyone who comes here drop fifty IQ points? Listen, you absurd submoron, all I 
did was ask who you are."

Blake throws Edward a somewhat haughty look. "Juscht becausche your mother 
pinsch your name on your schirt--" he indicates the nametag-- "doeschn't mean we 
all have to advertische our namesch," he answers. "If you're schome kind of cop 
I'd appreschiate scheeing your ID. Otherwische I suggescht you go find schome 
other barrel to poke around in 'causche thisch one isch taken." He watches 
Edward expectantly here, as if waiting for some kind of predictable reaction. 
(What could it possibly be? 8)

Edward Nigma' right hand goes into the pocket of his labcoat, and he takes yet 
another pace forward, eyes intent on Blake now. "Interesting," he says. "You 
really don't know when to shut up, do you? I'll give you a clue. It's now. Shut 
up."

Blake pauses thoughtfully. "Do you want me to schut up *before* or *after* 
anschwering if I know when to schut up?" he asks innocently.

Edward Nigma takes his hand out of his pocket again. In it is a metallic sphere 
about halfway between a marble and a tennis ball in size. He moves a finger 
slightly and the sphere goes 'beebeebeebeebeebeebeebeebeebee..' "You," he says, 
with remarkable restraint, are getting on my nerves." He's looking nuts now, 
too. Kinda unnerving, for most people. Not necessarily Blake, though.

Blake looks at the sphere. "And *that* ischn't??" he asks incredulously.

Edward Nigma looks down at the sphere as if only just noticing it's there. "Oh, 
this? This is nothing, compared to you." He pivots on his heel and throws the 
sphere, overarm. It describes a smooth curve and lands in the water with an 
unimportant splash. For a beat nothing happens, then the bomb explodes 
underwater. The docks tremble as if in a minor earthquake, and water washes over 
the side. The ships rock slightly. Eddie doesn't even flinch.

And as if things couldn't get any worse...Sorcha herself had been coming home 
from a rather frustrating walk she just had. First of all, the ground is icy and 
second of all although she meant to, she never quite made it to Jinrai's 
apartment. Sure she paced outside the door awhile, but finally she just decided 
to come home. I had mentioned the icy part for a reason, however, as since the 
girl isn't known for her sure footing, she had managed to end up in aheap on the 
docks. Perhaps thats why she feels that shaking so much and wide-eyed, glances 
around "Well that's not usual..." she mutters to herself....

Blake seems to undergo a change of attitude at that little display. "Oh," he 
says simply, looking from the spot the sphere had gone back to Eddie. "Well. 
Schorry to have been a bother. I'll juscht um...thisch barrel can wait. You--You 
know what? You can have thisch barrel. It'sch a gift. Usche it wisely." He 
starts to quickly back off.

Edward Nigma takes another of those little spheres out of his pocket and tosses 
it lightly from hand to hand, following Blake at a leisurely pace. "Wow, that's 
the nicest thing anybody's ever given me. And I didn't get you a present at all. 
Well. Except this." He tosses the bomb high into the air...and catches it again. 
Good thing too. He doesn't quite notice Sorcha, as yet. But I'm sure he will.

And it's a good thing Blake is so proficient in backing away from threatening 
persons, because he knows how to glance over his shoulder to keep from running 
into things. or tripping over Sorcha, in this case. He manages to do this 
impressive little hopping thing to avoid stumbling right over her. "Ack. 
Whoopsch--Hey," he says suddenly, and he stops his retreat upon realising he 
thinks he may recognise this person. Then he looks back up at Eddie. "Okay, 
okay, schettle down," he says sourly. "I didn't even do anything, scheesch."

Sorcha blinks. Well, what does one really -do- when someone has just hopped over 
you? "At least you watch where you're going," she mutters mostly to 
herself...what is that odd smell? With another glance at the odd man she -
starts- to get to her feet. She doesn't quite make it because as she attempts 
to...the sight of an advancing and obviously annoyed Edward is approaching. 
Which causes her to sit on the icy ground and blink again. "As if my day 
couldn't get any worse....hello Edward," she says in a biting tone

Edward Nigma slows down, and for just a second looks like he feels - murderously 
angry. "Sorcha!" he calls, in a good impression of a cheerful tone. "I'm so glad 
you're here! It takes three people for a good game of catch, I find." He tosses 
the sphere into the air again.

Keeping a wary eye on Eddie, Blake leans over to give Sorcha an assist to her 
feet. "Oh good, you're a friend of hisch," he says loudly to Sorcha, and then, 
in an aside: "Maybe you schould remind him to take hisch medicaschion. I think 
he'sch missched a few of thosche little paper cupsch."

Sorcha nods to Blake as he helps her up and surpresses a smile that immediately 
vanishes when she sees what Eddie's tossing around. "You -have- forgotten to 
take your medication today, haven't you -Edward-?" stil a bitter tone but...more 
cautious. And she doesn't take her eyes from the ball. To Blake she says in an 
aside "Oh, not really friends...actually that thought makes me want to be 
sick...

Edward Nigma stops messing around with the sphere and holds it cupped in his 
right hand as he starts to advance again, slowly. His attention has shifted from 
Blake to Sorcha. Maybe he was only playing before, but now he's deadly serious. 
"Sorcha, Sorcha, you never cease to plumb new depths of idiocy. It must be fun 
to be you. And your boyfriend there, with the jacket - " Hypocrisy? Nah. " - he 
must have attended the same schools you did. It'd be a service to the city, 
really."

Blake retains a slight grip on Sorcha's arm from when he was helping her up, and 
keeps watching Eddie. "Lischten buddy," he calls out bravely. "Violensche never 
scholved anything. Cleanly, anywaysch. Now what schay you juscht put your 
uh...that thing away, and we'll um..." He trails off.

Sorcha isn't nearly at a loss for words. With a mocking smile she says to Edward 
"My boyfriend? Oh Eddie, I didn't know you liked me -so- much..." she's looking 
to throw him somewhat off balance, she knows he's insane...but she's even more 
afraid he'll see how afraid of him she can be "And you're the one looking for a 
game of catch...how old are we? What school did we attend? What did you not have 
fun at recess when you were five, you need to relive it now?" ...okay so no one 
ever said she was the best at defusing a situation. NO pun intended of course. 
She doesn't, however move out of Blake's grasp. Its kinda nice knowing she's not 
going to be the only one to die

Edward Nigma continues to advance on the pair, stopping a few yards away. "I 
don't know what I hate more," he says thoughtfully. "The ones who make me angry 
or the ones who try and calm me down. Shut up," he tells Blake briskly. "You 
don't have a clue what I'm thinking, so stop trying to help. And you," Sorcha, 
"do you really, REALLY want to die?"

Blake tightens his grip on Sorcha's arm a tad--he *is* afraid, but for a moment, 
he is overtaken by the Great God of Sarcasm once again. "You schure aschk a lot 
of queschtionsch for schomeone who scheems to think he knowsch everything," he 
says. "Although," he adds quickly, "I'm betting the anschwer here is 'no'."

Sorcha snaps at Eddie, mostly because the fact that Blake is afraid...is just 
making her worse "Does it matter whether I want to or not? Because it all comes 
down to a powerplay doesn't it -Edward-? So you have control here, so I'm 
completely at your mercy...FINE" the last word is shouted and she's going to 
pull out of Blakes grasp, Blake willing, and step towards Eddie glaring "You've 
wanted to kill me for awhile so do it. But why drag someone -else- into it?" she 
tosses her head in Blake's direction "He hasn't done anything to you...and gee, 
if you let him go you alone will listen to my pleas for life..." she had moved 
her gaze to Eddies face, but that little sphere is the object of most of her 
attention...

Edward Nigma falls back a step. It's not much, but it's there. As soon as he 
realizes, he paces forward again. "Because I don't like him. If we're dying 
today I think we should take as many idiots as possible with us, don't you? Try 
and cleanse the gene pool a little. Not that we have to worry about you two 
breeding."

Blake does release Sorcha's arm, but doesn't make any move to flee. Great, we're 
being threatened by the Gene Pool Cabana Boy, he thinks angrily. Who does this 
guy think he is, anyways? "Thisch isch a lot of trouble to take over not 
learning my name," he mumbles. "Schtrange, though--I'm not in the leascht bit 
flattered."

Sorcha caught that. The step back that is. So she takes another step forwards. 
The more distance between her and Blake the better if that thing really does go 
off "That's right -Edward-," she says a little too sweetly "Clean the gene pool 
by taking yourself out of the picture." she glares at him "How nice of you to 
want to die for me...with me even. Giving your life to take mine...they write 
songs about that kind of thing you know..."

Edward Nigma does *not*, this time, back off. Instead, he takes another step 
forward, his expression one of badly-concealed disgust. "You're resorting to the 
schoolyard very early on this time, my dear, having a bad day, are we?"

Blake edges sideways away from Sorcha, basically circling Eddie. He keeps his 
mouth shut as he tries to at least keep Eddie from having only one target area.

Sorcha meanwhile is trying to keep Eddies attention on her. All to well it seems 
and she ends up taking a half-step back before she can stop herself. "Wasn't so 
bad till I decided to take this route home," she counters not well at all. She's 
very, VERY on edge right now. She has one trump to play and so she tries it 
"Aren't you out a little late? Won't Asta worry?"

Edward Nigma notices Blake trying to circle, and half-turns to try and keep both 
of them in his field of view. But then Sorcha speaks Asta's name, and he looks 
back at her, attention caught. "Why is it you always have to bring up her name?" 
he demands, advancing another step. Blake is totally forgotten. "I suppose she 
hasn't dunked you in the harbour recently, or frozen you, or anything like 
that?"

Blake edges along a dockhouse, careful not to get snared in any piles of knotted 
rope or slip in any patches of ice--which isn't easy considering his footwear 
and the way he's trying to keep an eye on Eddie. As he edges along his groping 
hands find another barrel--heavy, obviously full with something. There's a lid 
nailed on this one, but that doesn't hide the fact that it reeks. Despite its 
heaviness Blake almost manages to knock it over as he stumbles a bit against it, 
but he gets his balance by grabbing at a windowsill on the dockhouse. Whoops, 
looks like he missed part of the conversation. "I never know what'sch going on," 
he laments.

Sorcha tries to hold her ground but retreats -just- a bit. Great. Now she has 
his attnetion and he hasnt calmed down. And he's mentioned water. So she snaps 
"Not lately no. I just know she keeps you on a short leash. Wouldn't she -love- 
to know what you do with your nights..." she has no idea in the world what Blake 
is doing...just keep Eds talking...

Edward Nigma glowers at Sorcha. "Then you know little enough of anything. I 
haven't even seen her for days." He rolls the sphere between his hands, 
restlessly. He might even notice Blake's not there in a minute.

Blake isn't sure where the conversation between Sorcha and Eddie is going, but 
considering Eddie's still holding a bomb it ultimately doesn't matter. In any 
case, Blake decides not to take any chances that this guy get his own way in 
anything. So he lunges at the barrel, knocking it over, and, leaning against the 
dockhouse, kicks the barrel in Eddie's direction. The barrel slides over the icy 
dock, spewing some noxious way-past-fishy substance from the now-loosened boards 
as it hurtles along.

Sorcha blinks, then grins, smiling sweetly at Edward as the barrel comes..well 
barreling towards him. Taking a few steps back with her hands raised she says 
"Oh, I didn't know Asta had -that- much reason left to her...." she's basically 
just ready to jump sideways out of the way of any sprawling Eddie and barrel

Edward Nigma is taken completely and utterly off-guard. The barrel knocks his 
feet out from under him and he hits the ground, hard. The bomb, which he wasn't 
exactly clinging onto, goes flying in an excitingly random direction.

The barrel continues its happy trajectory over the edge of the dock and into 
some poor sap's rowboat. Ew. Meanwhile, Blake leaves the sanctity of the 
dockhouse and lunges towards Eddie, not about to let him get back up--or whip 
out another Happy Fun Ball.

Sorcha flashes a brilliant smile at Blake while saying in a cheerful, dismissing 
tone "Well, reality hits again. Or actually, you just hit the ground. Whichever. 
When will you learn, -Edward-, you can't win around me." And true, before he can 
reply, get up, get another bomb, or get pummeled by the nice barrel guy, she 
takes off, disappearing a little too quickly. She must live 'round here.

Edward Nigma is winded, but manages to struggle to his feet. "Bitch," he snarls, 
and starts after Sorcha. Slowly. Sorry, Blake - Eddie gets kinda single-minded 
sometimes.

Blake manages to slip on the icy, slimy dock as he makes for Eddie, and goes 
crashing down facefirst. Owie. This, hoever, does not halt his progress, as he 
is still sliding directly for the spot where Eddie had been laying--which is of 
course the spot where he is now *standing*.

Edward Nigma is still heading for Sorcha when Blake's coming-in-to-home-base 
slide takes his feet out from under him for the second time in as many minutes. 
He lets out a startled yelp and falls - presumeably on top of Blake.

Blake lets out a yell as Eddie's center of gravity says hello to his spine. 
Pinned on his stomach, he reaches around and tries to make a grab for any part 
of Eddie he can seize and pull him off.

Edward Nigma rolls off Blake, struggling to get his feet under him again. He 
strikes out with fists and feet for any part of the other man he can hit, close 
to losing it completely now.

Edward Nigma is in the process of ducking. The elbow catches him on the temple 
and he is knocked sideways, catching himself on one hand and yelping as 
something-or-other gives.

Blake lunges at Eddie then, not having much leverage being on his knees but 
doing the best he can to get on top of the guy and knock him all the way down.

Edward Nigma isn't good at this whole fighting thing. Blake knocks him onto his 
back, and he goes - well, insane. He grabs at Blake and makes a spirited attempt 
to claw his eyes out. THIS is what happens when you have a really bad day.

Blake drives his left fist (which sports a big metal ring on the middle finger 
btw) at Eddie's jaw, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to keep Eddie down with 
his knees and legs.

Edward Nigma isn't trying to avoid anything at this point. Blake's punch hits 
him dead on, and he's knocked cold, his head bouncing off the ground in a very 
satisfactory way.

Blake hoevers over Eddie, tense, waiting for more, but there doesn't seem to be 
any fight in the guy. So he gets up and takes a step back. "Guessch you were 
right about the lab coat," he mutters, to noone really. "I schouldn't have 
asschumed you had *any* schensche. And I'm not calling you "doctor" or anything, 
either." He glances around to see if any cops or whatever are coming but noone 
seems to want to involve themselves. "You really can keep that barrel," he adds, 
then starts the walk for home.