Night Shift

Specialist Katie "Nitro" Landsen always knew she would be part of the Department.  While her father never seemed to want to talk much about work, she knew he had saved people and whole neighborhoods from destruction.  Just like she does now.  Like she was born to do it.  But there is a darkness.  She is reminded of her younger days when all of her thoughts and beliefs and so black and white - where there was clearly the Good serving ordinary people, protecting them Evil.  Where evil never triumphed over the good, and surely the two never joined forces…

But that black and white world blurred to grey the moment her father died.  They said he died in the line of duty.  They said he had saved many lives.  They said if it hadn't been for him, many would have perished.  They said he was a hero.  They said it was a single, crazy madman who had planted that bomb - the bomb that killed her father.  That is what the Department said.

At first, she had no reason to doubt what they said.  Her father was dead - what room was there for logic and reason in her mind?  But as time passed, the doubt made itself known.  There was something that wasn't right… out of place… something about what was said…the way it was said… there was something…..

And then Joe Shuber tried to talk to her that night.  Joe, her father's best friend.  He had been there.  He had seen it all.  After the incident, he had been transferred to a desk job, because he had been injured, though the physical part was all anyone really saw.  Several years after the incident, after she had graduated from her hazardous materials training and was beginning her work on the force, they had got together for dinner.  But this night was different.  He was acting strange, as if he was on the edge of a great, dark revelation.  He told her he had found something out, but he couldn't tell her.  He had to be sure. And he had to keep her safe.  Safe from what?  From who?

Within two days of her conversation with him, he was put on the streets as a beat cop, and was killed in the line of duty.  The Department was quick to say how it was a great loss.  How he had been a hero.  She had heard this all before.

Now, she finds herself caught in a tangled web of lives - trying to save the city as well as herself.  And as she tries to untangle this web - if she finds the Good are sleeping with the Evil, she will make sure their beds will burn….

• Nitro's M&M character sheet (Volume 2)
• Nitro's T&J character sheet (Volume 3)

Nitro's 3x5

Friends/Allies

Dominic Vanty:

Dominic is the main trainer at the police academy for hazardous materials/explosives. Dominic has been around for a while, he served on the police force for about 20 years before taking his current teaching position. He trained Nitro in the art of BOOM.

Joe Shuber (deceased):

Friend of Nitro's father, Joe spoke with Nitro shortly before his death. He may have others that he confided in….

George Van Teek:

George is a retired lovable cop that used to serve in the same squad as Nitro's father. He is always remembering the good ol' days and is never without a story. And everything reminds him of past days…and their stories….

Contacts

The Supply Room Guy:

He is the clerk that no one can ever remember his name, but if it is in stock at the police station, he knows right where it is. He also knows where you can get stuff that may not be at the station.

Mrs. Kemeke (kem-EK-e):

She is the next-door neighbor to Nitro (since Nitro took over her father's house after he died). She knows everyone and everything and keeps a sharp lookout for the goings on in the neighborhood.

Larry Mitburn:

Larry works as the City's environmental health director. If the maintenance crews at public works find…issues… in the sewers, Larry is the first one to know about it. He often works with the hazardous materials/explosives division when situations come up that typical city staff cannot handle.

Enemies

Allies of Jan Vanmeer:

Jan was one of the most notorious bombers in the days of Nitro's father's work. He considered it to be a game to see how complicated he could create a bomb, and then see if the cops were smart enough to disable it. Jan was killed in, surprise surprise, an explosion, but he gathered a group of dedicated followers who sometimes try to continue his dementia.

Yelder Popman:

Yelder currently sits on death row, convicted for killing Nitro's father in an explosion. It is not certain he will ever be executed. So for now, he waits.

Gromolko's Gang:

Gromolko may be gone, but he still has a network of allies. The fact that they were using radioactive materials has everyone on edge. Is there more?

Locations

Graveyard:

Nitro does not make regular trips to her father's grave. But she sometimes will go out to it to "talk" with her father. If anything, it at least gives her the illusion of talking to someone about the more troubling parts of her life.

The Supply Room:

Nitro isn't really enamored with the Supply Room Guy, but she does love the stuff in the supply room - particularly the high tech gadgets that would be useful to her. It is so easy to get lost in there…

Home:

Nitro is not much for the nightlife. Many claim that is her problem. But she doesn't care. Nothing beats curling up on the couch after a long day with a cup of hot tea and cozy cat.

Organizations

Boomers Club:

This is the unofficial "brotherhood" of the bomb squad police folks. All police officers and detectives involved with hazardous materials/explosives have a special respect for each other. Often others will rally to those fellows in need. (similar to how all firefighters feel a special kinship).

CSPRF:

The Civil Servant Public Retirement Fund - this is the pension plan for most police officers and other public employees. This organization oversees pension check distributions. And are they ever bureaucratic.

Universal Association of Law Enforcement Officers (UALEO):

A professional organization of police officers, offering additional training opportunities, networking, and conferences. For most officers though, it is place that demands money once a year and sends a monthly magazine to their office.