[IC] The Task Force - V:tM

[Simba]

Ralph

In a whisper Ralph replies: "I can take those stairs, no worry. Or shimmy up the drains easy. Let's take the roof and work downwards, real quiet-like."

[Horatio@Bridge]

Guy reaches back into the van and pulls out a vintage M1903 Springfield rifle, well oiled and cared for. He expertly clears the chamber and checks the sites, then picks up a few more clips of the large bore sniper rounds. The M1903 was the standard issue rifle for the U.S. military from 1905 through World War II, when it was replaced by the first semi-automatic rifle, the M1 Garand. Still used heavily by snipers through World War II, the Korean War, and the early stages of the Vietnam War, the gun is popular among collectors and hunters. With so many in circulation, it would be difficult to trace.

"Yeah, we're up for it," Guy says, his voice a little cold. He turns to address the group who had been there waiting for him.

"Look, I want to be up front with you. My men and I aren't typical bruisers. We ran into Vinnie here by the bail bond shop looking for work. We're bounty hunters, and it just so happens the most wanted mark in town has ties to this warehouse you're about to hit. Now, I don't particularly care about what happens to this fellow's stock piles after we bring him in. As far as I'm concerned, you're all helping us out, covered by our license to bring this guy in by force if necessary. So long as we all get what we want, I see no reason why we can't work together on this." He casually loads the rifle and swings it in James's direction, not pointed at him but very pointedly pointed near him. "Do you?"

Spoiler

Show

A careful mix of truth and lies, with a startling admission to perhaps make them overlook any of the more subtle gaffes we might make.

[Entregan]

Trakan shakes his head lightly, "I don't think burning will be necessary. More to the point, I think it would be better if you used the distraction to make your way up to the top. If we can use some of that equipment to make an entrance, It would make a great cover for you two to make your entrance from the top. But, you would need to be quick about it." He casts a glance to Montaigne "What do you think, oh fearless leader?" he offers with a slight smirk. Still though he listens closely to Ryan whispering.

Spoiler

Show

Auspex 1: Heightened Senses (Hearing)

[ChronicLunacy]

James

"This isn't going to be an above-board job. Your papers aren't going to cover the amount of blood we're about to spill. If the police find a connection between you and this, there are going to be questions that you don't want to answer. Besides, there's no guarantee that the Columbian is going to be polite and come out of this all good and alive for you." James said, not looking too concerned about the rifle. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked irritated at the sudden rise in complexity.

"If that's all you want and IF you can get him out alive, personally I'd say you can have him, but everything else in there is ours to do with what we please. Say you found him somewhere else and you don't know anything about a warehouse. If he happens to die, then that's just too bad for you. We don't owe you anything." he said.

[Horatio@Bridge]

"We're not running this job for free," Guy says, but he raises his rifle to parade position, lowering the tension. "Still, our odds of catching him are better with you than without you. We'll take our chances. I imagine his corpse would still be worth something."

"Tactically, I say we make two entrances. One from above, one from the front door, both his at the same time for maximum confusion and minimum casualties on our side. I work best with wide fields of fire, so I'd like to go topside. We'd need two others to go in quick and quiet from the upper gantries.

For the front entrance, we can probably batter that main door in fairly easy. Follow that up with something with a lot of flash and bang, and we oughtta be able to overwhelm the initial defenders. A molotov cocktail'd do the trick, and Gault's got materials for those. There'll be bullets flying everywhere on that front entrance, so I recommend anyone going through there have a vest if you've got 'em. If not, you'll want something to act as a shield: a piece of scrap metal, or even a wooden pallet.

Once we're inside the two teams can support each other. We'll catch the second group of defenders in a cross fire and clean 'em up. No point in planning much further'n that, since we don't know exactly what they've got in there.

I'd like to keep my team together for the topside mission after Gault's put together the cocktails, if it's all the same to you. We've got experience working together, and I'm sure you have a similar familiarity you wouldn't want some newbie messing up."

[ChronicLunacy]

James

"Sounds like half a plan, but I'm not keen on playing bullet sponge. If anyone can hotwire one of the rigs in that yard over there I think that would even our chances a bit." James said, nodding in the direction of the parking lot.

[Trenchfoot]

[Parking Lot, Corona District]

Ryan keeps his mouth shut, but he looks pretty damn happy. With a bunch of planners around, he could do what he did best. He nods at Ralph, knowing Gangrel were pretty capable at the more athletic feats. Vinnie is likewise silent, just glad that he's getting closer to Alice.

Eddie, the ghoul, seems to be a little suspicious. It isn't clear where his suspicion is coming from; maybe at the mention of bail bonds, but he's definitely listening to Guy. He speaks up at the mention of hotwiring.

"I used to jack cars for cash back in the 90's. I could probably figure it out, but ah... I'm not so good with chainlink fences that have barbed wire on the top. If you're thinkin you want to drive one of those things into the warehouse, I could take the van through the fence, and then hotwire it I guess. Would probably be noisy..."

He falls silent, unsure of his own plan. He suddenly looks at Guy once more, realizing he had revealed a criminal past in front of a bounty hunter. His face pales slightly, but Ryan merely laughs.

[Horatio@Bridge]

"Noisy's alright as long as it's fast. Still, if we're going to crash the van through things, why not use it to bust down the door? I'm sure the haul from the job will be more than sufficient to replace it. Assuming of course that no-one brought along some bolt cutters which we could use to cut through the fence."

[Trenchfoot]

[Parking Lot, Corona District]

Ryan suddenly speaks up. "I'd rather not drive my van through a warehouse door. A chainlink fence will scratch it up to hell, but taking it through one of those sliding doors would be a little more serious."

He rolls his shoulders a little. "Though I guess if we really want to, we could. It's just a damn van. Might be kinda fun."

[ChronicLunacy]

James

"If we can get all the way through that door instead of stuck in it, the direct assault team can stay in the van until its inside the warehouse, pitch open the doors, and use it for cover if we need to." James agreed. "Alright, so the bounty hunters go topside and the rest of us will stay on ground level with the van. We'll come busting in after we give you guys...what? Five minutes to get up to the roof and ready to go?"

[ace_cipher_zero]

"Oh, and just a little correction so we're clear... what I'll be throwi out aren't moltovs. They're gasoline bombs. If anyone knows where they've got crates full of ammunition, tell me, because we probably won't want to be throwing them over there." Taylor looks over the group with a kind of grim determination.

[ChronicLunacy]

James

"How about you don't bring those with you at all? In fact, I insist." James said, sounding somewhere between bemused and slightly anxious about the firebug and his bombs. "We aim to take what they have, so you will not be blowing ANY of it up. You burn down the take, then we have nothing. So NO FIRE BOMBS. No gasoline, no molotov, nothing. Got me?" James said forcefully.

It wasn't just that burning down the warehouse would rob them of their prize. It was that vampires didn't do so well around fire. Things would go badly if they all went into fire frenzy and fled the scene, now wouldn't it?

[Entregan]

"Allow me to interrupt. First, it's a warehouse. If you want to cause a problem, turn off the meter on the outside of the building. It doesn't really take any finesse, and you can be sure someone will come out to check it. Illegal or not, someone has to be paying the bill. Secondly, if you want something from the lot over their, You don't have to scale the fence. You can go under or have someone pick a lock. While the security is decent, I doubt they have much in the way of guards. Even if they did, We should be enough to handle them. One to handle security the other cover fire. Now, one of those beasts or not, if we shut off their power, and after a while have someone banging on the front door, our second team could easily sneak in from the top, and work their way down one columbian at a time. As far as the gas bombs, the best use for them would be outside of the warehouse. Painting a picture in the yard. Something to spook them. With them coming out to check the electrical, and us waiting, then setting off our own distraction, they shouldn't notice the second group up top. If you want something to ram the door in with, use one of the Columbian's cars." He runs his fingers through his hair lightly

[Horatio@Bridge]

Guy shrugs.

"Whatever we're going to do, let's get to it. If Gault isn't needed to make fire-bombs, our team can go ahead and get in position."

[ChronicLunacy]

James

"Alright, then. You guys go. Just be ready to start firing once we bust the door down. Ryan and Eddie, either steal a truck or get one of the vans ready. I'm going to look around for a spare piece of scrap metal or something to serve as a shield. Whatever you do, keep it down to a dull roar, alright?" James said, basically just hinting that everyone should just do what they think was best, barring anything previously given a negative of course.

[Simba]

Ralph

During the whole exchange, Ralph remained quiet, listening to the opinions and options the others offered. He is obviously itching for action, no longer able to be still, legs moving involuntarily, arms stretching. His eyes are on the way up, checking the structure for the fastest, easiest and quietest ways to the top. Then the instruction for him to stay with the group staying at ground level seem to reach his avareness as he shrugs, the looks at James questioningly.

[ChronicLunacy]

James

James just nodded reassuringly at his comrade. He knew Ralph would rather be on top, but he hoped that the Gangrel would trust his judgment for now.

[Trenchfoot]

[Parking Lot, Corona District]

Ryan and Eddie hop into the van, while the two mooks and Vinnie climb into the back. Ryan can be seen drumming on the dashboard to some music that only he can hear. They appear to be ready, and Eddie, in the driver's seat, squints out of the windshield, waiting for the right moment to drive the van through the door of the warehouse.

[Horatio@Bridge]

Guy tosses James a cheap cell phone before heading up to the roof.

"We'll text you when we're in position."

With that, he heads to the corner to ascend the building.

Spoiler

Show

Dexterity + Athletics: (7d10)[7][4][9][7][6][6][5](44)

[ace_cipher_zero]

Taylor, chain in hand, takes the way up the stairwell. He leaves the gas hidden ((wherever's convenient)) on the ground in case they need a distraction to escape, which hopefully they don't. He then goes up and ascends the stairwell to its top, moving as stealthily as possible.

Spoiler

Show

Dex + Stealth

(1d9)[6](1d9)[1](1d9)[8](1d9)[4]

[Entregan]

Trakan quickly moves out, around the edge of the building. He circles around it, covering ground as quickly as he is able. As he moves, he continually scans the area for the electrical meter. He forcibly removes the faceplate below using his knife as a lever against it. He waits for a sign before flipping the switch.

[Trenchfoot]

Colombian Warehouse, Corona District

Guy skitters up the two poles with the quickness of Spiderman. Shortly, he finds himself on the roof of the warehouse. Aside from a few smatterings of bird feces and a few blocky air-conditioning units, there isn't much to see. In the back right corner of the roof, there are stairs leading down into the building itself, with a door at the bottom of those stairs. The door is locked, though it appears to be just a common lock that could probably be broken by any mortal with a decent twist in his wrist. Up here, he hears nothing from inside the warehouse. Judging by the solidity of the walls, there shouldn't be any need to step quietly. In fact, from up here, it may not even matter that anyone going up the metal stairs made any noise; it's doubtful anyone inside would even hear it.

Trakan, cleverly seeking the electrical breakers for the building, finds the control box with the appropriate switches locked with a small utility lock on the face plate. He'll need to bypass the lock to get at the switch. Luckily, the man is capable of rolling with the punches.

[ChronicLunacy]

James

James took a look around for a serviceable shield to block incoming bullets on the way in. He'd most likely discard it once he got inside and could get in close, but it would reduce the amount of lead he'd have to fish out of his insides at the end of the night. Once he found a suitable piece of scrap iron or steel, he hopped into the van with the others.

Spoiler

Show

Perception + Alertness: (4d10)[10][6][7][6](29)

[Trenchfoot]

[Colombian Warehouse, Corona District]

James manages to spot a manhole cover with a utility handle on the inside. Remarkably, the inner handle serves as a fantastic way to hold it. It's about 100 pounds of cast iron with an infill of concrete, and on the other side, someone scrawled "Kowabunga", but you have no idea why.

It will serve well as a shield.

[Horatio@Bridge]

Guy approaches the door and puts an ear to it. After checking for noises, he takes a good long sniff for anything tasty on the other side.

Spoiler

Show

Perception + Alertness to see if I can tell if anyone's on the other side of that door.

(6d10)[1][1][5][6][7][7](27)

Man, I've actually got the skills to do this sort of thing! I'm not used to having a character where I didn't completely botch at creation and end up having nothing useful for the adventures we're taking part in. Maybe this is a sign that I've learned since the last time I played. :-p

Ick...well, here's hoping for standard difficulty, cause with the 1's cancel rule that'll leave me with a single success...

[Entregan]

Trakan deftly flips his dagger against the simple lock, and twists his dagger sharply and surely as the lock pops open.

Spoiler

Show

3,6,9 (2 successes)

It's a poor substitute for the proper tools. But, it works in a pinch. He quickly drops the power for the whole site.

[Erad]

So anything interesting happening lately? - asks Juan from bartender, - You know, something with our... big family. You know, guys from Cuba.

[Jesse Drake]

Jake follows behind Guy quickly and silently. Or at least as silent as possible.

Spoiler

Show

Sorry, I got lost in what was happening for a moment. Here's my dex + athletics for the jump (5d10)[1][8][1][3][9](22) and he'll also check the other side of the door, with auspex boosting both his sight and his hearing. (3d10)[9][7][2](18) Perception.

That's if I can even make it up the building...

[Trenchfoot]

[Colombian Warehouse, Corona District]

Jake, silent as the winds of death, approaches Guy from the rear as the other man checks at the door. Guy can hear two sets of voices within now that he is close to the door, speaking Spanish. As Trakan cuts the power, the two voices suddenly begin to shout. His nose picks up the distinct scent of mota, or marijuana, being smoked. Based on these two senses, the two men are near the center of this warehouse floor, approximately 25 feet from the door, and are alone. If Jake and Guy's sense of direction is correct, the door Taylor would be coming through is on the opposite side of the room.

Taylor, deftly sneaking up the potentially noisy stairs, finds a door which also appeared to be locked. Still stealthy, he gives the doorknob a silent twist, and finds that it is unlocked. He can hear shouting in Spanish behind the door.

Trakan, hearing a satisfying fizz from the power box, is certain he was successful in dropping the power for the building. On his side, the two poles that Jake and Guy went up are visible. He can also hear the engine of the van running hard as it accelerates.

Eddie slams on the gas, beginning a mad charge for the econoline van directly toward the right 'garage' door on the warehouse. The two mooks in the back nearly fall over, but Ralph and James keep their balance, solid amidst the beginnings of chaos. Ryan hoots, ready to get some blood on his hands.

Spoiler

Show

The van will crash through the doors of the warehouse as soon as Guy and Taylor both enter the top floor. For the sake of brevity, H@B, Jesse and AceCipher are free to describe both their entry of the door, and their descriptions of their attacks. There are two Colombian gangers in the middle of the top room, standing in pitch black darkness. They both have pistols drawn. Your eyes are adjusted to the night sky already, so you will be able to see decently enough to strike at them. They, on the other hand, are blind.

Entregan, after I post the van driving through the garage door, you could easily run and get in behind them, or you could make a roll and scale the roof quickly enough to join Guy and Jake.

Chronic and Simba, the moment the van crashes through, you two will still be inside, but I will simultaneously describe interior of the lower floor of the warehouse. That way, you will be able to exit the van, survey the situation, and act.

For all of you, this is an introductory combat scene. You are all still fresh Kindred, and have not been awarded experience points. I won't throw anything too dangerous at you, so feel free to cut loose and get to know your character's abilities in a combat situation. Just remember that you might not want everyone else to know you are Kindred.

This is the 'surprise round'. I will not ask for any kind of initiative posting order yet. Hell, I may not even use the damn system. Never liked it.

[Juan and Arash, Dover District, Ice Street, The Dive Bar]

The bartender relaxes and leans close. He is Caucasian, but he appreciates the business of his establishment as a neutral meeting ground between the gangs, and he appears to be familiar with their dealings.

"Los Cubanos?" Yeah, they're doin alright. Not too many of em though, you know? They link up with the Colombian boys, most days." He nods toward the two Hispanic men Juan and Arash saw as they entered, indicating that they were Colombian. "Like them over there."

[Horatio@Bridge]

--Guy Montague--

Instincts as old as the last time he drew breath take over as the lights go out. Hard entry, kick down the door. Level rifle, nearest target, shoot center mass. Locate nearest cover, duck behind it, work the action, wait for his allies to provide cover fire before he moves again.