409: Pass the Baby

Synopsis

The episode picks up where 408: In the Same Room left off. Back at the house on East Water Street, Tallahassee watches figures on the darkening street from the window while Major Bakersfield heads back inside from the backyard. Dom phones the number on Ricky Dubois's business card, and a Gazette receptionist shouts across the office for Ricky, the Arts and Music reporter. Ricky picks up as "Jazzman." Dom tells him that Anna Fairbanks is in serious trouble and asks when he last saw her. Ricky says it was a couple of weeks ago, when she was supposed to meet him but never showed up.

Ricky says Anna told him that her brother had connections that went all the way to the top, and that she even mentioned the mayor, though he cannot recall the name. Fairbanks is a married name, he adds, and her maiden name is Tomaszewski, and Dom answers that her brother is the Miskatonic Mangler. Ricky says she planned to bring photos and papers to prove they were related, but never did. Dom asks whether the coffee shop she picked was O'Malley's, and Ricky says it was. Dom urges Ricky to seek protection or leave town. Ricky says he can take care of himself, being from New Orleans, but that he may leave for a few weeks, and they agree to meet at O'Malley's at 8 a.m. the next day to swap information.

After Dom hangs up, the Keeper says the others notice a strange glinting shimmer run over Tallahassee's skin. Tallahassee says he was casting a spell while Dom was on the phone, and that about ten people are outside. At the window, Dom and the Major see what looks like five people standing still on the sidewalks and across the street, staring at the house. Dom phones the police to report gunfire and violence at the address on East Water Street while the Major locks the front door, and the Keeper points out that Dom has sent the police straight to the house they are standing in. The figures then start moving toward the house. Several carry guns, others knives, and one a club or blackjack.

Tallahassee steps out the front door, points his gun at them and tells them to stop, while Dom and the Major draw their 1911s to cover him from the doorway. The man in front says they are causing problems for the ferryman, who says he can't come if there are problems, so they need to clean up the mess so the ferryman can take them on the river. Tallahassee asks "Montgomery is that you?" Dom tells them that if they take one step closer, the only river they will be crossing is the river Styx, and the Major runs out the back to look for a boat on the river behind the house.

Dom shoots first, firing three shots at the nearest man with a gun. His first roll is a 1, an impale for 16 damage, and the man drops dead in the grass while the other two shots go wide. Tallahassee fires once at the gunman on his left and misses. The Major, hearing the shots, makes his way to the pier and sees no boat there, but an older man in a little one-prop boat with a fishing rod is on the river, and the Major shouts for help until the man turns toward the pier. At the house, a man with a knife fakes a stab at Tallahassee's face and then stabs at his side, but the blade skids off his Flesh Ward ("Diamond Skin"), which takes 4 damage. One gunman fires at Tallahassee and hits the wall of the house. Another shoots Dom in the hip for 7 damage, a major wound, and Dom fails his CON roll but spends Luck to stay conscious, helped by a knock of his head on a bell hanging by the door. Dom fires back from the doorway, hitting that gunman twice for nine damage in all, and the man drops to one knee but stays conscious. Tallahassee shoots the knife man at point blank and kills him.

The Major runs back and shouts that they have a boat, but Dom says he cannot move, and the Major tells Tallahassee to carry him. As gunfire comes through the windows, Tallahassee helps Dom toward the kitchen and takes a bullet in the back that costs his Flesh Ward 6 more points. The Major scoops Dom up and carries him to the pier, where a small boat is waiting, while Tallahassee fires three more shots at the gunman in the doorway, hits once for 3 damage and sprints out the back as the rest of the men burst through the front. Dom and the Major cover him from the pier. The boatman takes Dom from the Major's arms, lays him in the boat and swaddles him in a blanket despite his protests. Once Tallahassee is aboard, the boatman guns the engine. Three men run down to the dock behind them as police lights flash, and the boat speeds west along the river. The Major rolls a 70 on First Aid and stabilizes Dom.

The boatman is an older man with a graying beard, a newsboy cap and a blue pea coat. He greets Tallahassee by name, says they got into quite a dust-up back there, and introduces himself as Captain Carl Runch. The Keeper says this is how Tallahassee and Captain Runch first met. Tallahassee tells Carl to let him know if he ever needs anything and insists that the stories in his books are all true. As the boat speeds off in the dark, the Keeper says a sinister weight has fallen over Arkham, with the clues leading to more and more bodies, and that they think they know who is causing it all.

Funny Moments

When Dom asks for Ricky Dubois, the Gazette receptionist shouts "Get over here Dubois!" and Ricky answers with "Yeah, this is Jazzman."
The Major asks "Is that shirt made of diamonds?" Tallahassee answers "No that's my skin," and the Major touches it and says "This is some super stiff diamondy skin."
Dom tells Tallahassee "you can't just diamond skin your way out of everything." Tallahassee answers "Sure you can" and adds "You can just run into the fray and blow them all up."
Asked why he did not mention the people outside earlier, Tallahassee says "I was casting a spell bro," and points out "You were on the phone."
After Dom phones the police, the Keeper tells him that if he meant not to send them to their own location, "that is you failed." Dom answers "I did intend to send the police directly."
Tallahassee, on going down in a blaze of glory, says "I've tried like sixteen times already I've lived through everything."
The Major asks "Can I pull out my whistle?" to "summon slotty while I'm running down to the boat," a nod to his steed Slotty Botfast.
Dom says "We had our guns readied. So that our cool lines could be even cooler."
Tallahassee misses his shot and says "That's a warning shot."
The Major jokes about hooting and shooting his gun in the air, then says "Just kidding, I start waving my hands in the air," and "Then I moon him." The Keeper says the moonlight glints off "your reflective rear end."
When a bullet cracks into the wall beside him, Tallahassee says "I wink at him and blow him a kiss."
Dom says "I might die, guys." The Keeper tells him "Hide your head," and Dom answers "I hide my head."
The Keeper says Dom leans into the house and "hit your head on a little bell" that dings, just enough of a shock to keep him from blacking out.
The Keeper says "You hear the chime as it grazes his nipple ring."
The boatman cradles Dom "lovingly" and swaddles him in a blanket. Dom protests "I am not cradled on the boat like a baby" and "I am fighting like a man," and the Keeper says that in his mind Dom is blasting guys left and right in "this delirious pain fantasy." Dom says "I hate this game."
The Major tells Dom "I got a little beaky here for you." Dom says "I am a bloody hero and I'm being treated like a baby," and the Major answers "so you're a baby boy."
Tallahassee tells the captain "I've definitely spiced my books up a little bit," then insists "they're all true."

Notable Quotes

"Anna Fairbanks is in serious trouble. She needs your help." —Dom Druncard
"he had connections that went all the way to the top" —Ricky Dubois
"Her maiden name is Tomaszewski." —Ricky Dubois
"Oh, her brother is the Miskatonic Mangler." —Dom Druncard
"I know how to take care of myself" —Ricky Dubois
"at O'Malley's tomorrow at 8am" —Ricky Dubois
"This is Tallahassee Turner you're dealing with." —Tallahassee
"You're causing problems for the ferryman." —the leader of the men outside
"Clean up the problems so the ferryman can take us on the river." —the leader of the men outside
"Montgomery is that you?" —Tallahassee
"the only river you're going to be crossing is the river Styx." —Dom Druncard
"Hey, help! Over here! Over here, we need help!" —Major Bakersfield
"Tallahassee carry him, he's been shot!" —Major Bakersfield
"good to meet you, names Carl" —Captain Carl Runch
"is how Tallahassee and Captain Runch first met" —the Keeper