(IC 2) San Francisco by Night: A Requiem in Fog

[Daishain]

Karl keeps his voice mostly neutral, if concerned, "Greetings, my nephew has a rather sudden need of legal services regarding a violent crime he is likely to be accused of. Are you free to take on an American Client at this time?

If the answer is in the affirmative, Karl will continue, "The client's name is Frederick Rugg. He is a resident of California, and was visiting London with his husband, but it seems that there was some sort of violent altercation, and his partner is now deceased. Fred was elsewhere at the time, but from the way he described the scene to me, the police are going to be starting with a murder investigation, and Fred is unfortunately going to be their obvious suspect. I do not yet know whether or not others can confirm Fred's alibi or the status of the evidence at the scene."

"I will be handling the bills on his behalf. Right now I need damage control, Fred's in no condition to be speaking with the cops at present. I told him to tell the cops exactly where he was at the time of the incident, and to ask for his lawyer in response to any other questions, but I'm not entirely sure how well he'll be heeding that advice. I would greatly appreciate it if you could send someone down to the station, make sure he's doing all right and that the police are looking into whatever leads they have on the real culprit. Someone killed my nephew in law, whether or not the police over there are able to catch them, I will not abide Fred being blamed in their place."

[Bennosuke]

Penny on the other line is courteous and professional, taking down all the information that Karl gives her and offering polite emotionless condolences. She assures Karl that she will pass on all the information to Mr. Bradshaw and will contact Fredrick and Karl as soon as he has reviewed the file, but that she was confident that the Soliciter and his team of Barristers would be able to take on the case... if everything Karl was saying was true. She promises Karl will hear from their office within the hour, and instructs him to have Fredrick comply with the police officers as soon as they arrive.

Spoiler: OOC

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So let's assume this wraps up things for Karl. I am giving Karl a second WP for defending his Touchstone. Karl will have the opportunity to consult with The Prince, and will then get to choose how he protects his grandson. If he uses Bradshaw and associates, it will tie up his resources merit for the "scene".

[Thundercracker]

Anna Wu

“Okay, let’s take it one step at a time,” Anna said, “how about we hang out, the three of us? Something active preferably. What do you two like to do, anyway?”

Anna will try to brainstorm a few ideas with Daniel, whether it would be better for him to say Anna suggested hanging out or Daniel, and what kind of activities they might want to do and when. She’ll try to secure a tentative date or two as well. The goal is to get into a situation with Ariel where it would be ok to contact her directly afterwards.

After they had tentative plan, Anna thanked Daniel.
“I feel the same as you,” she said, “I don’t want to lose you but you’ve got a good thing going. Let’s go for it, maybe we can have the best of both worlds.”

She smiled as they parted ways.

After she left she checked in with Celestine and with her sire, the first to see how they enjoyed the vacation and how her cousin was doing, and the latter to see if she could stop by for a chat.

[Bennosuke]

Daniel shrugs and says, "Honestly, we aren't terribly active together. We mostly go out drinking and eating, but maybe we could go for a hike out in Marin County? Maybe hike Mount Tam this weekend?"

Daniel's offer gives Anna pause. First, most people don't hike after sun down. Second, Marin was outside of San Francisco Kindred territory. It was the Wild, and was not safe for her kind. There was a reason the city was called a "Gilded Cage".

[Thundercracker]

Daniel shrugs and says, "Honestly, we aren't terribly active together. We mostly go out drinking and eating, but maybe we could go for a hike out in Marin County? Maybe hike Mount Tam this weekend?"

Daniel's offer gives Anna pause. First, most people don't hike after sun down. Second, Marin was outside of San Francisco Kindred territory. It was the Wild, and was not safe for her kind. There was a reason the city was called a "Gilded Cage".

“How about indoor rock climbing instead?” Anna said, “I don’t think I’m really going to be free until around 6 or 7 pm and I don’t really want to go hiking after dark. Not that I don’t think we can’t handle ourselves but why take the risk?”

[Daishain]

Karl double checks the information, then hangs up, satisfied. With any luck he would not be needing their services for any real length of time. But for now, a lawyer at Fred's side will minimize the chances of any additional problems.

Who knows, if the cops over there were as sloppy as the ones here, those lawyers might be able to get him out on a technicality by the time Invictus intercedes.

He'll check to see if the others responded to his text, then start reviewing his files. He had an idea of what the new Prince wanted to speak with him about. The sheriff and his hounds were gone, the city would need replacements, and fast, but Kindred both truly loyal to The new prince and capable of doing the job well were relatively rare. He wanted a list of the top candidates in his hands by the time he walked in that office.

[Erulasto]

The animalistic need in Bernardo was a siren song to the Gangrel and her Beast, and purred as the Ghoul fed, her free hand pushing through his hair at the back of his head. Even the burning that the feeding induced, intense and raw, gave her knees a wobble of unsteadiness.

"There, there Bernardo. That is...enough. For now."

Spoiler: OOC

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Aisling will give Bernardo 2 blood points for the moment.

[Bennosuke]

Daniel hesitantly says, "Uh, sure. Can't say I've done much rock climbing in my life, but I'm sure it will be good to try new things." He checks his watch then says, "Maybe we can shoot for this weekend? I don't know how busy your schedule is these days."

Spoiler: OOC:

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Karl is still waiting on Anna's reply to his text "I've got a package I picked up at Gorman's that bears investigation. I'd rather not open it without others present, so when is everyone free to get together?"

************************************************** ******

After hanging up the phone, Karl sees that Aisling has responded "I was planning on meeting Gabrielle and Bernardo, but I am free when you are." It looks like the text came in while Karl was on the phone. (OOC: Time warped for what it's worth).

************************************************** ******

The boy was practically grunting and moaning as he fed on Aisling. He lacked the finesse of feeding that came with the experience and instinct of being Kindred; allowing much of the Vitae to splash and smudge across his lips and face.

Bernardo offered little resistance as Aisling pushed him away, his eyelids hanging heavy over misted orbs. The boy now had a (perhaps unnatural) mortal glow to him, his face now rounder and more flushed. He lays himself across the floor like a sated drunk and mumbles, "Thank you... Master."

Spoiler: OOC

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Aisling is now down to 8 BP, and gains a beat now at 1 beat, 2 xp as per her updated character box.

[Thundercracker]

“Let’s see if Ariel is up for it first,” Anna said, “but Saturday night might be okay.”

After wrapping up with Daniel, Anna replied to Karl.

I’m free now, meet up?

[Bennosuke]

Karl receives the text "I’m free now, meet up?" from Anna

[Erulasto]

Something about the way Bernardo called her Master sat unusually with the Gangrel. The power of the Blood Bond was becoming very…noticeable. Bernardo had been her rock – her stability – from the moment she had been awoken by Mother Blackstar.

Would she continue to torment the young man like this? It niggled at some part of her that remembered the human connections she had back before Gazren had taken her.

But truly, there was no other way to protect him, shy of giving him the Embrace itself – and while that was, partially at least, an appealing solution…it was not one she found herself desiring to utilize just yet.

Aisling sat with Bernardo as he crumbled to the floor, resting his head in her lap and idly playing with his hair as her mind wandered. She would need to meet with Anna and Karl soon, and prepare herself for when she and Alejandro met D’Agostino.

There was much afoot.

And she still needed to find Gabrielle.

Speaking of which, as she sat and rested with Bernardo, the Gangrel checked her phone to see where Gabrielle was.

[Bennosuke]

Aisling's call continues to ring and ring. The noise seems to rouse Bernardo, who almost anxiously perks up to see what Aisling is doing. Sure enough he asks, "Who are you calling?"

[Erulasto]

”We will be meeting Karl and Anna soon, to plan how we will move forward.” Aisling spoke gently to Bernardo, fingertips still playing with his hair. ”And Alejandro and I meeting with the new Prince tomorrow evening to take steps to protect ourselves from Mother Blackstar. So I’m just trying to get ahold of Gabrielle to ensure we are all together.”

[Bennosuke]

Bernardo shakes his head glumly, and says, "I think she was pretty shook up from the night at the Opera House. I haven't seen her much lately."

The call goes to voice mail.

Spoiler: OOC@TC and Daishain

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Hope I haven't missed you guys or something.

[Bennosuke]

Later that Night: Coterie Meeting

It was around 2am when the coterie (sans Lillith who had not responded to the text) gathered at Karl's office. The Invictus member had laid black trash bags out over his meeting room table, and placed the parcel over these. The reddish tan butcher's paper was wilted and slick with grease. The twine that holds the package together is yellowed and spotted, and a fetid rotting odor has begun to cling to the walls and fabrics in the room, though the stench was clearly tainted by Vitae.

Those without the context perhaps wonder what Karl has called them to his office for, and what this strange display is. Something about the package had made Karl hesitant to ever unwrap it.

[Daishain]

When the others had gathered, Karl explains, "The night we took down the prince, if you'll recall I went into the secret passage with Alejandro and Julian. There were three items in particular we found down there, given equal importance on a table. A strange thorny plant in a pot, some sort of ornament with a dark Jewel, and this parcel."

"Alejandro freaked out over the plant and insisted upon taking it, I think it had something to do with a secret of his order, perhaps you could figure out more about that Aisling. The jewel was enticing, but my instincts were screaming at me that it was bad news. So I took the parcel, figuring it might hold a book of lost knowledge or something along those lines. Given the way it felt when I was carrying it, I think I was wrong in my assumption. Still, given the way it was found, it is likely an artifact of some importance."

"I still do not know what lies within, I figured it would be safer if we found out together."

[Bennosuke]

Spoiler: OOC

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of note, Bernardo came with Aisling but Gabrielle did not as no one has been able to get a hold of her

[Thundercracker]

Anna Wu

“Karl, please tell me you don’t have a piece of Kindred wrapped in there,” Anna said.

Spoiler

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does anna have any idea at all of what’s inside the parcel?
Int+occult: (3d10)[1][9][3](13)
10 again: (3d10)[2][7][1](10)

[Daishain]

Karl grimaces, "I wish I could tell you that for sure, but honestly I don't know, I wouldn't put it past Gorman given what we saw in that place."

[Bennosuke]

Spoiler: @TC:

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Not until the package is open. But I'll let Anna save that roll till when the parcel is opened.

[Thundercracker]

Anna

“Are we waiting for anything then, or do you want to do the honors?” Anna asked, producing a knife to cut the package open.

[Erulasto]

”The plant is…sacred…to the Circle. In a way. It is proof of misdeeds by Mother Blackstar that Gorman had it.” Aisling said carefully, eyeing the wrapped parcel with keen interest. ”Alejandro and I are meeting with D’Agostino tomorrow evening regarding it.”

The Gangrel poked at the parcel idly with a fingertip, as if half-expecting it to squirm or move.

[Bennosuke]

The greasy butcher's paper crackles with Aisling's touch, and she is able to feel a firm but playable lumpy object below the surface, like a boneless brisket or some other large chunk of meat. Aisling's fingers come away slick with an almost maroon oil.

[Thundercracker]

With a few quick cuts, Anna slices away the wrappings to reveal what’s underneath.

[Bennosuke]

The twine gives away like a bundle of dead worms, too saturated with grease to have any remaining spring, and the butcher paper falls away in a similarly heavy fashion. Laying in the bundle of paper is what is most likely a human heart, dripping in a dark ichorous Vitae. The organ is a a beefy red, like a steak that has been grown into a complicated almost plant-like apparatus. The major vessels that branch from the heart have been severed with near surgical precision. Unlike how you might imagine, there is no membrane, no shaggy layer of fatty tissue, nor any bulging red or blue vessels coursing over the organ.

The heart is lifeless; completely inert. However, there is absolutely no sign of rot or deterioration, and the only smell that comes from it is the smell of old Vitae, and something like the waxy smell of a gutting candle.

Anna seems to remember that there are some blood rituals where a Vampire removes their heart so that they cannot be staked, though she can't remember which Covenants had access to such powers. Furthermore, Anna is pretty sure the heart is normally stored in some sort of important receptacle.

The organ was clearly a treasured object, being stored where it was... begging the question, whose heart did the Coterie now have, and why did Prince Gorman have it?

[Thundercracker]

Anna wrinkled her nose at the disgusting organ.

“Hmm, I think I know what this is,” Anna said, “someone had their heart removed and Gorman was holding on to it. It means they can’t be staked. Question is, whose heart is it? Maybe I can bring some of this vitae to Lady Miho. She might be able to tell us. Whoever it is would probably give a lot to get it back. Or maybe we could stick a pencil through it and ask around if anyone unexpectedly went into Torpor...”

[Daishain]

Karl frowns, then grins as Anna explains. "Now isn't that interesting. Probably not a small time individual either, for the Prince to treasure it. Perhaps it belongs to Lady Blackstar? If that plant was her property as well. This could be a very useful piece of leverage if handled properly."

"Unless we can think of a more subtle way to divine who it is, I suggest going with the option to ask Lady Miho."

[Thundercracker]

Anna scraped off some of the viscous vitae and stuck it into a ziploc bag for transport.

Before connecting with Miho, she figured she would try her Sire first. She’d been wanting to catch up with him anyway, and she also needed to speak with him and find out what he knew about the mental hospital...

[Bennosuke]

(OOC: So then is Anna splitting from the group? Is she taking Karl and Aisling to see her Sire? Is she responding to Karl's suggestion? Please let me know how to proceed...)

[Daishain]

Karl distastefully wraps the heart back up. "There are a few other things you should know. The Sherriff had one last surprise for me, at least I must assume that it was him responsible for it. Someone attacked my grandson's hotel room in London. Fred was not in the room at the time, but they killed his husband. I'm not sure yet if they just missed their target, or if they were told to set Fred up to be convicted of murder."

"I am going to have to ask Invictus to intercede either way to be sure of his safety."

Karl pauses and collects himself before continuing on a more pleasant topic, "In addition, I was somewhat inspired by Anna's use of her boon. I was thinking of asking for the resources needed to expand my company into a full-blown private security firm. On the kine side, it would be marketed as on demand Protection and Investigative Services for the City's Elite. For the kindred, it can serve much the same function, though with an emphasis on containing masquerade breaches."

"It could be tricky to manage, but I'm thinking the business could be set up with two separate branches. One staffed by ordinary humans who are not a part of the masquerade, they would give the company an extra air of legitimacy, and handle most of the mundane contracts like standing guard outside of the estate of some human with more money than sense. The other branch would be staffed by Kindred and ghouls, and be at the service of the new Sherriff, whoever that ends up being."

"This would come with a number of benefits for us, not the least of which being that we could rebuild our haven in the bowels of a building with fortress like security, with trained guards that represent potential masquerade breaches to anyone looking to mess with us. That and we would have an excuse to hire someone that is an expert in these computers that everybody is using these days. What do you think?"

Spoiler: ooc

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If this works out, it could also be the in character justification for that extra point of resources I bought a while back.