OOM From The Future: in which there will be NO BEIGNETS FOR PETE

[claudiometer]

It's a damn good thing, in this job, that Claudia doesn't mind flying; if she did she'd have been in some serious trouble before now. Unfortunately, waiting for Artie to buzz in with more details than 'this guy will be DEAD if you don't go NOW' means she can't put her headphones on

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[walksthebounds]

"I get shanghai'd into adventure more than you'd think," Jamie assures her.

". . . of course I also pass really awfully dull stretches in other people's worlds more than you'd think, too, so I reckon it balances out. Anyway, I like planes."

Not as much as trains, but they're still pretty cool.

Besides, this trip seems . . . overall less dangerous than hanging around the creepy warehouse, although there were a few things Jamie did find himself wanting to poke into . . .

[claudiometer]

...Claudia is not liking the sound of this list.
"What about Janis Joplin? And - wasn't one of the guys in Lynyrd Skynyrd pretty young when their plane bit it?" She's trying to figure out what they're up against, and knowing how many people have crossed paths with the Evil Guitar of Evil is a good place to start.

[doyousmellfudge]

"Unrelated. At least as far as I know. We've been unable to retrieve it--as soon as the owner dies it disappears again. The closest we ever got was Kurt Cobain's estate sale in '94. But if you get there fast, and get to Lancaster immediately, you might just stand a chance of snagging the Artifact and saving his life."

[claudiometer]

She wants to throw in some quality snark about how Artie must've gotten sidetracked by his ex-boyfriend partner going off the deep end, but (a) this is not the time and (b) she has a slightly more pressing concern.
"Yeah, okay, great. You're sending your 27-year-old guitar-poker-atter after a guitar that likes to kill 27-year-old guitar players. Can't say I'm exactly feeling comforted here, Artie. For the record."

[doyousmellfudge]

"Which is why I expect you to take precautions. For once."

[walksthebounds]

"If I see her trying to play guitar, I can throw cold water at her," volunteers Jamie.

Who, for the record, does in fact know how to play a guitar, and not too terribly either - but, also for the record, is nowhere near twenty-seven no matter how you look at it.

[doyousmellfudge]

"Well, that's a start, at least," says Artie. "Has Claudia familiarized you with the preventative tools Agents are expected to carry?"

And has she, y'know, remembered to bring them along in the first place?

[walksthebounds]

"I haven't been familiarized with anything," Jamie says, with a Meaningful Look towards Claudia.

[claudiometer]

Sheesh, magnetize yourself to the ceiling once and you never live it down.
"I gave you a pair of gloves earlier, dude. That's probably going to be the main thing. And yes, Artie, I have a Tesla - and a spare, if you really think we'll need it, I just wasn't sure throwing that at him first thing was a good move. Anyway, this is gonna need more goo than a baggie, assuming we catch up with it."
Even Doug's supergoo doesn't make the bags bigger on the inside.

[doyousmellfudge]

"What about the goggles? And the noise cancelers? Claudia, those should be in your kit on every mission--"

[claudiometer]

"Make it sound like I don't know how to pack, why don't you. If I come up short on something, Jamie can have what I've got and I'll wing it."
She's good at winging it! Though admittedly she did just kinda grab her 'oh crap case now' bag and stuff some other crap in it.

[walksthebounds]

Jamie feels like he should probably gallantly say, no, you use the special equipment, I'll be fine . . . but considering that Claudia does presumably know what she's doing, and a.) he does not and also b.) the fate of the universe continues to rest on the fact that he's alive and world-hopping, gallantry is probably going by the wayside.

"So . . . I'm guessing I should know what a Tesla is?"

[claudiometer]

Yeah, that's kinda the plan here. Not that Claudia's completely without impressive obligations, but she can wing it if need be.
"Stun gun, basically. I'll get to that when we're not in the plane anymore."

[doyousmellfudge]

"Meanwhile, I did some digging on this Lancaster character." Artie shuffles through a stack of paper. "Born in rural Louisiana, picked up the guitar in his early teens, became a chart-topping sensation before he turned twenty..."

[claudiometer]

"And promptly started partying his head off." The hype was hard to avoid, before she really got going on busting Joshua out of limbo. Not that Claudia didn't give it her best shot, but...

[walksthebounds]

"Well, I mean," Jamie says, amiably, "who wouldn't?"

Beat.

"Unless you mean literally."

He very much hopes they don't mean literally.