Logs:Damage Control
Revision as of 18:43, 26 September 2022 by RoyalBatty (talk | contribs) (RoyalBatty moved page Damage Control to Logs:Damage Control)
Summary
Word of mouth of an emergency meeting has spread via urgent messages coming from missives sent by animals, by Khadem's golden chain to those who have one, or even a brisk and unsettling drop-in from the sheriff, Zora, to come, immediately, to urgently repair a masquerade breach. The Anarchs are even invited: Gonzalo Lopez and Kyle Cooper have taken the risk to bring along their members and attend.
Phillip and Grigory disclose the events at the museum and note the scope of the masquerade breach and the involvement of the Sabbat. Phillip is announced Deputy by a grim-faced Zora when she realizes the scope of the clusterfuck she has on her hands.
Walter revals that he followed Benjamin Wagner home to discover that he "is some kind of sorcerer; he or someone in his cell has magical spells that can detect us, or at least our general location if you are within a few hundred feet. I consider him a high priority target, I suspect they are using magicks like this one to track daytime havens."
It is decided here that the Kindred will focus on the following goals:
- Revise Carter and Brian Medina's recollection of the event. Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss, my boys.
- Find out what happened with the necromancer who disappeared. Did he die? Did he escape?
- Intercept what will soon become a large police investigation.
- Find out more about Benjamin Wagner on the sly, preferably through mortal proxies, if it's true he can detect Kindred.
Next: No logs yet!
Log
The setup...
Winder's usual mode of doing things is a nice invitation to some other place: a theatre, a night at the museum, an evening in a grand ballroom of a prestigious hotel. However, Phillip and Grigory's expedient response to sound the alarm about the museum has necessitated something of an emergency meeting and so it is the commodore room that kindred have been invited to. The word of mouth has spread via urgent messages coming from missives sent by animals, by Khadem's golden chain to those who have one, or even a brisk and unsettling drop-in from the sheriff, Zora, to come, immediately, to urgently repair a masquerade breach. The Anarchs are even invited: Gonzalo Lopez and Kyle Cooper have taken the risk to bring along their members and attend.
Off at a table near the right side of the room, sits Grigory in all his majesty. Adjusting his suit, the Ventrue is obviously annoyed as its not just once or twice....but three times. Three! The Mad Russian is ruffled by the events of the night, occasionally looking at his cell phone after sending out a few text messages to 'get your ass here now'.
Speaking of majesty, there's a cowboy here. He's dressed in a getup that looks like it was made at around the same time there were cowboys. He's also wearing his hat indoors like a boor, but it's quite evident that he was out of fucks to give several decades ago. He's found himself a nice comfortable bit of wall to lean on near the Anarch congregation. They're outsiders, and they love it.
Niamh is likely not well known, if known at all, by the vampires outside of her immediate circle. However, she arrives in company that might mark her for what she is: a troublemak-- a free spirit. Outfitted in black leather and lace, she's dressed like a wenc-- club-goer, and she can pull it off because the kiss caught her before she had even begun to look beyond debutante. She is near Ranger, also leaning. Because leaning is code for "too cool to be here."
Upon recieving Grigory's message Claire decided to grab Angelica for what seems to be really important. She enters the room with Angelica not far behind and approaches Grig while giving him a small salute wave as she goes to take a seat next to him. She looks at him and says in a low voice, "What has happened now?" She looks around the room for a bit, taking in the faces of those present.
Angelica sits quietly next Grigory and Claire, slightly adjusting the skirt of her floor length dress with a stylish halter top. Her hair in curls around her shoulders, she looks to Grig and Claire before glancing around the room. She takes a mental note of everyone in attendance and the groups they stay near. She continues watching as she listens to Claire talking to Grig not sure what is to become of the evening, as she settles into a better position she keeps a faint smile plastered to her face.
Much of the ~gentry~ are present, here. Winder, her Seneschal Farhad, the primogen, but the Toreador whip, Katy Cox, is thus far absent. Ehsan's trio of ghouls mind the door, the task of disarming entrants delegated to them. A 'Reserved for private event' sign has been plopped in the way of the Commodore Room's entrance as these ghouls act as doormen to stave off any mortals who might drop by, but at this night time hour, the yacht club has hardly any walk-ins. The speakers that dot the establishment play their classical ambiance just a little louder tonight, in a bid to drown out what will inevitably conspire within the Commodore room.
Winder is speaking to Zora as people file in, her expression a careful mask of no emotion, but the facade has its cracks. Her eyes hold a mounting sense of quiet fury. Zora's look of innate despair may be due to the situation, or it may just be her Resting Slav Face, but either way, the prognosis looks terrible.
"...We are going to round these little bastards up one way or another," Winder says. As more and more Kindred pile in, she turns her attention to the room, moving to stand before that dramatic, mahogany chair up on a dais. She seats herself and looks to Farhad.
Farhad, the curly-haired, middle-Eastern kindred, needs no further cue: "I declare Elysium. We have a crisis that requires swift action. According to mister De Valmont and mister Usov, we need to intercept what will soon become a large police investigation. We also need to identify the foreign, supernatural parties responsible."
Farhad turns his attention toward both Phillip and Grigory and gestures to them. Winder says, "If you would, sirs, explain what had occured, and I want to know everybody else who may have been present at the De Young museum last night."
Having been a participant in the situation that spawned this "emergency" meeting, Phillip is 'on the ball' with attending. After all, you don't get involved in a situation with the First Tradition and then not make every attempt to show *MAXIMUM CONCERN*. He steps into the Commodore room, dressed more like a Ventrue than a Rabble-Rouser in his custom, tailored suit. He takes a look around, sizing up who is attending. His face betrays nothing of this assessment. But, the Brujah did not come alone to the event. Willow accompanies him, on his left arm. He leans into her and says something softly before seeking out a seat that is not too close, not too far from where the 'action' will go down.
There is no smile on the Rose's face tonight as she enters on Phillip's arm. She nods once to him as he moves to settle them in, sitting down and crossing her legs as she folds her hands in her lap. She's leaned towards him so whispers may be exchanged, but other than that Willow's attention is focused on Winder and the meeting being called.
Walter is looming over the anarch gang, like he does. He's good at looming it's what he's for. He is here in all his glory, looking more or less like himself. Of course, he may be obfuscating some sort of ghastly animal trait. He says to the other anarchs, "Hey, does this mean that all those previous invitations weren't actually lost in the mail?"
"Not the time," Tracy advises Walter, her tone low, her beady eyes narrowing just a touch as she awaits figuring out what's going on.
"Who wouldn't want you around?" Niamh murmurs to Walter over her shoulder, rhetorically. Though there's clearly a note of irony in her voice, no doubt left over from her graceless ability to retain bitterness for centuries.
Tilting a glance over his shoulder towards Walter, Ranger half-shrugs, "Cams talkin' 'bout takin' swift action. Maybe this is all just a dream, then. A weird boring dream. Jus' keep yer pants on till we know what's what."
Rising to his feet, Grigory's customary smile is no where to be seen as he offers a small nod towards the Prince and begins to speak. "As you wish. Gathered Kindred, there is indeed a large crisis. Whether you are part of the Movement or belong to the Tower, in this instance I think we are united with a singular purpose of keeping things from hitting the public eye." "Last night at the exhibit opening there was a very large issue of security that, if I am to be frank...has me completely at a loss. Not only was there a large overt use of Obtenbration in public view of cameras as well as Kine witnesses, but a new party has entered into the hunt for this Author object. This individual, which we had managed to capture with the aid of Mister Valmont here" he gestures at Phillip "seemed ready and able to steal something of value within the Exhibit. Shortly after taking him, an armed attack happened on the first floor that slowly found its way down to the lower level Exhibit halls. These...I hazard to call them men, can only be described as the walking dead. Not as we are, but literally animated corpses. Little autonomy or thinking skills but still had the capability of speech." "They seemed bent on rescuing the man we had in our hold, and after a moment of evasion by Mister Valmont, he attempted to quiet the man who was chanting a language I had never heard before and he...turned to sand. I suppose it is a credit to the mans strength, I have never seen a person turned to literal dust. Shortly after, the animated bodies themselves turned to dust as well. It was a sight to behold after all these years. In truth, I am at a bit of a loss. The police arrived, and the two witnesses have been taken away for cleanup and memory erasure. The problem, is the camera system of the Museum and the guards that managed to fight of these creatures on the main floor on top of this...man. If memory serves, Mister Valmont has an item of his.."
"Walking... corpses?" Luna Demian's head tilts, and her painted lips purse for a moment. Ehsan, the wizard-bearded Assamite seated next to her, nods once and gives her a quick glance. The detail of walking corpses doesn't seem news to /him/, and he wears a look of perplexed concern.
"Walking corpses," the Tremere regent repeats, a wrinkle folding across the bridge of her sharp, Austrian nose. "How gauche! Who does that, these days, when one can send ghosts after their adversaries. So the corpses, you're telling me they are dust -" she frowns, then looks off. "Katy," she says, looking for the young Toreador who previously had ideas on covering up things, but she doesn't find her.
"She's urgently moving," her Primogen, Charles, supplies.
Phillip rises as Grigory begins to speak. He settles a hand behind his back and waits patiently till the Russian is finished. "The item in question," the Brujah speaks upon Grigory's last point, "has been delivered to good Master Ehsan, along with a full accounting of the mystical powers that were displayed." The Frenchman looks around the room, his gaze lingering on the collected assembly of Anarchs for a few moments as they chit-chat. He continues, "As for the noteworthy that were present, there was a wealthy patron by the the name of Ben Wagner as well as a set of doctors, a Mister Daniel Medina and a Madame Kaitlyn Carter. The display was sponsored by Mister Wagner but the discovery of the artefacts in question was accomplished by Doctor Medina." A gesture toward Grigory, "Thankfully, Mister Usov seems to have been able to accomplish dealing with those three, but it is unknown how many other Kine bore witness to the undead and the shadow circus that went on. I agree that the security cameras are an issue." "As for the Sabbat," Phillip says, "There was one that we could identify for sure. A preacher looking type. Hispanic. A Lasombra for certain by the look of him. He had at least one other accomplice but we did not get a good look at him. He also spoke Spanish with the man so they seemed to know each other. Likely from the same pack by the look of it. It is not a surprise that the Sabbat is involved with this, given that the Children have inflicted more harm on them than anyone else. I do not know if the priest was able to get his hands on any of the artifacts, but if he did, it is going to be an impediment to our work."
"Grigory," Winder says, her words falling as pleasantly and smoothly as nails and stones on glass. "Many things happen on the Internet. Perhaps we can fall on the idea of CGI or hacking or something, this is not my forte. But a police investigator is imminent, and so if your faces are on camera, then you will be identified. Interviewed. You and anybody who can control the narrative such as myself, by writing the kine's minds, will be doing so. Gonzalo." Her smoky eyes flit the filipino Anarch's way. "So we will need a concentrated effort from those with the power of persuasion and those who can captivate a kine's mind with forged experiences so that we control what ends up on the written records."
Niamh turns and gives Walter a long look As Phillip identifies certain people who were present for the corpse parade.
Claire looks to Grigory and then to Phillip, watching the two suits say their pieces. She looks over to Angelica and places a hand on her one of hers and says to the woman in a low voice while the men speak, "Once this business is done with we will see to your introduction. For now, let the elders speak." Claire then sits back in her chair, straight backed and all while continuing to watch and listen to the banter back and forth from the fancy folk.
Walter listens to the stort, nodding along. He remarks, "The world is a big place, and there's all sorts of crazy stuff in it. Ambulated undead only narrows it down a little, I guess." He observes, "Wagner is one of the Children, just in case you guys were wondering. If you folks wanted to use your mindfuckery to implicate him to the cops, it wouldn't be the worst thing." Apparently he feels he gets to talk, too.
Angelica continues to watch the room, as she feels Claire comfort her and nods slightly before leaning towards her and says "that would seem the best course of action for those who wish to live.." She glances towards Walter as she continues to whisper to Claire "Is he one of us? He seems to have that look of him.." She trails off as the others continue with the important matter at hand.
Luna's eyes spotweld themselves onto Ehsan when she hears that he got some sort of bauble. "It is kept in a location unimportant to us in case it is nefariously left behind, such as a sympathetic link," the bearded scholar explains, mostly to the Tremere who is eyeballing him. "It looks like a snuff ring. It is a snuff ring."
Bizarrely, Walter's contribution to the conversation goes uncontested by the snooty Camarilla who have previously refused to so much as invite him to one of their tea parties.
Phillip's mention of the Sabbat gets some murmurs from the room, glances exchanged between kine, a dash of nervous tension and even latent hostility. Winder's eyes narrow and her gaze grows colder at the thought of the Sabbat's presence in her praxis. "Then we will need our hands on the footage not just to discredit it but to find exactly where he escaped to."
Zora's reaction to the prospect of Sabbat is not new to Phillip: it pains her expression just as it did the first time she heard it before this slapped-together meeting. "I will need you to be working closer with me as we solve this problem," Zora tells Phillip. "You have been always dutiful, fast, transparent, the Praxis should note and appreciate this."
"Yes. I know about Wagner as well. I learned it at the Museum due to his ring" Grigory says as he glances over at Walter before returning his gaze towards Winder and nods his head at her order, "I will see to it that the spectacle was framed as a publicity stunt of sorts to help ensure that the museum remains open to bring in tourism and soothe over this issue." Gesturing with his head towards Phillip he nods and says, "Indeed. This Lasombra I have seen before however and I am curious." He turns to look at Walter and says, "Twice now I have seen this man in your company my friend, and I am curious. Can you shed information on this man? Anything would be useful in our search for him for this."
Niamh mouths the words 'dutiful', 'transparent', and 'fast', with a wrinkled nose.
Twice? Tiny Toe Tracy's beady eyes leap onto Walter's towering countenance. She's not the only Nosferatu lookin' at the guy with questions in her eyes. Approximately 60 percent of Camille's walleyed gaze is also on the gargantuan Gangrel.
Walter considers, "And, yeah, the priest is a Keeper. He calls himself Valentino, now. I forget his real name, but I've forgotten more Nahuatl than I remember. I knew him briefly in Nova Espana, when Cortez was taking a giant fucking dump on the Aztecs and I was trying to figure out why all my herds tasted like smallpox all of the sudden."
Niamh glances at Walter again, with mild surprise. She then whispers something to him.
"Interesting," Phillip says to Walter's comment on Wagner, "That may mean that none of the artefacts that were present were actually the ones we were seeking. The Children are seeking them as well from that we have seen. Either that or they were not aware of which one was what they were after. I still want to see if we can regain access to the collection at some point and put the items that are left to the test. It would be a missed opportunity to not try to take a shot." His dark eyes regard Luna for a moment, "Concerning the corpses. After speaking with Ehsan, he spoke of something called Cadavre Exquis and said that you might have more information on this sorcery. From all I could tell," the Brujah's gaze shifts off the Tremere, "the necromancer and the Sabbat were not in league. They seemed to be at cross purpose. The necromancer made indications that he was there for the heist. It makes no sense they were on the same side." As Zora makes mention of his name, the Frenchman nods to the Sheriff, "I am, as always, at the disposal of this Praxis, Sheriff. Your kind words do me honor." His own spoken words fade off as others start looking to Walter one at a time.
Jimmy arrives as a clump of cockroaches, slipping through the cracks in the walls and doors into the commodore room. He tries to remain undetected, moving along the shadows on the corner of the walls to get better vintage of the meeting. He had never received an invitation before so he felt excited and so he wanted to know what the alarm was about.
Claire follows Angelica's gaze towards Walter. She looks back to the woman and nods before saying, "Yes, one of our clan, he is with the movement." She listens to the rest of Grigory and Phillips conversation before also turning her eyes to Walter. All eyes on him for now it seems as he is asked questions. Claire shifts slightly in her chair to better keep all speaking in her sight for the moment as she listens.
"I did not like that event, I had a bad instinct about it," Ehsan says to Phillip, his voice somewhat low in a pensive tone, but still he projects enough for the room to hear him. "How would you figure that this man is part of the Children, because of a ring? What ring?"
The mention of Cadavre Exquis makes Luna frown. The 'ugh' goes unpronounced, but it's plain to see on her face. "Cadavre Exquis is a necromancer, a Samedi, who makes his own way around the bay. Maybe the news of competition will get him to come around."
As Luna explains who that is, Farhad's green, brown-ringed eyes snap off towards the ceiling. His gaze tracks something, and his expression shifts just so, to one of concern. He puts up a hand. "Gentlemen, and ladies. We have extra ears. This is a sacred space you are disgracing. Show yourself."
Angelica continues looking at Walter, also trying to keep as many people in sight as well. "Ah, that would make sense with all eyes currently on him then." Whispering softly to Claire before listening to what else is being said about the subject. Glancing around from time to time waiting and watching for any hint of trouble given current company and feels the smile slowly fade from her lips.
Mickey made the opposite of a grand entrance. The Tremere is in the back, has been in the back, in his dark gray suit with a minimal amount of bling. As if he just... has been part of the wallpaper all along, doing nothing, saying nothing.
Willow look from face to face as the conversation goes on, a soft frown and look of concern appearing. Her attention ends up largely focused on Phillip, to no great surprise, but then to Farhad as his words of caution go out. She sits up in her seat, looking around slowly, not seeing what has brought about the concern.
Walter answers Ehsan, "I believe the ring may have been some sort of magical object. He may be one of the Children's sorcerers, he is very well protected." Walter doesn't quite elaborate how he knows about either of those things.
"What /would/ they do without us," Niamh murmurs, once Walter has spoken. Granted, she hasn't personally added any more value than the pretty ewers on the tables, but ambiance is important.
Jimmy as a clump of cockroaches pauses on the ceiling when the eyes are put on them, "She are talking about us." One voice, whispery and slow, says in the feral whisper of animalism, "No they are not. If we do not acknowledge them, they do not see us." Before another interrupts and then third, "They see us..." The clump gathers and one by one each cockroach falls on to the ground to form into a spire of insects, "We introduce ourselves... But you will not like what you see." A fourth voice, again in animalism, comes to the surface and the spire begins to break away as the vampire shifts back into his vampire form. The young skald takes a deep and sharp breath, stretching his bones, his disfigured and monstrous face peering back at Luna, arms extended in bow to her, "My arrival disgraces this court? My subtly was only to save you from this ugly mug but you've exposed me and now you must all bear my sins made flesh."
Mickey casually waves a hand. "Hi, Jimmy." He says, before he gestures to what was the swarm of bugs. "...S' Jimmy." He says, before the Tremere shrugs, and goes back to holding up the wall.
Zora's just about to tell Phillip something when ... Cockroaches. Cockroaches! Jimmy manages to make one of the undead go pale: the blush of life blanches right off of Primogen Pang's previously healthy countenance, and he even throws up in his mouth a little. He rips out a handkerchief from his waistcoat pocket and covers his nose and mouth, looking away, when Jimmy's monstrous countenance debuts. Tension fills the room as some Kine snap to their feet, whether to flee or defend themselves from some unknown visitor that chose such a plague-bearing form. Prince Winder is among those who move to their feet.
Farhad keeps his gaze locked onto the cockroaches. Recognition seems to register in the Assamite's eyes, but he does not look impressed. "Your arrival? No."
"But the decision to remain in the shadows and attempt to hide," Winder chimes in, "especially given the current situation, is reckless at best. Are you not aware of the recent catastrophe?" Her voice is stern: "When you come here, you may do so with stealth aided by the Blood, but once you have arrived you will present yourself, lest we conclude you have motives to disrespect the sanctity of Elysium."
Claire keeps watching events unfold, these things always seem to drag for her. Even after centuries of unlife she must force herself to stay awake sometimes. But suddenly there are bugs, BUGS, in elysium. Claire also stands to see what the fuck. After the pile becomes a person she slightly lessen the tension in her muscles, but not by much, having never met this one. She then looks to Angelica and says, "That, Don't do what he did." Claire lets out a long sigh while rubbing her temple with her index finger.
As Jimmy manifests himself from the swarm of cockroaches, Phillip is not facing in his direction. But, the Brujah certainly does see the reaction from anyone who is. The horror and shock is enough to let him know that something is very amiss. The Brujah rotates, half expecting to see Baba Yaga herself, but is met with 'just Jimmy'. The entrance, the disruption, draws a shake of a head from the Frenchman. "Really?" he says softly, a mild annoyance in his voice when he speaks. Those looking close would have noticed that his right hand is set into a fist, just in case whatever had revealed itself was any kind of a real threat. It relaxes out of instinct as clearly the others have indicated the creature is known.
Angelica quickly stands with Claire and the unseemly sight of a mound of bugs turning into a human form before looking towards Claire and saying "Dually noted... I didn't think I could be grossed out but you lot sure have a way of making me question that more than I'd like to admit..." She looks towards to newcomer and slightly steps back unconsciously..
Willow was oblivous, watching the faces people were making more than what was causing it. She follows the direction of all the looks, blinking and standing up to move closer to Phillip about the time Jimmy finishes forming. Her hand rests against her middle, and she flickers an uncertain glance to Those In Charge as if gauging what to do.
Jimmy looks up by only moving his head, catching Mickey, he says back with a crooked smile, "Hey Mickey." Peeling the bugs from his shoulders and stepping over the pile of dead cockroaches he approaches the court. His gaze peering all those vampires gathering around him. He turns to the Prince and bows again, "I mean no disrespect. My sins have forced me to keep away from civility and sometimes I forget my manners." Looking around he then adds, "So no, I am not aware but I am here now." Finally stopping to face Winder. Yeah, just Jimmy.
Walter looks on mildly as the hive forms intoa person, "Cool," he says, "That's a fun trick." He grins to those who are going even paler, "Like I said, it's a big world, and there's a lot of neat stuff in it." He smiles beatifically at Niamh, and says to Jimmy, "Cockroaches are fine animals. Nearly impossible to kill off completely."
Winder regards Jimmy with a nearly palatable disdain for the split second it takes for her to hide her disgust. Her expression is no less stern for it. "You will be forgiven this once, as I can see you are not exactly fit to commute with mundane means, but you will not hide yourself in my spaces. You will get no second warning."
"We should not allow ourselves to be distracted," Zora rules aloud, her tone dismissive. "Winder, I am putting spotlight back on our crisis. Sabbat in the city, creating breaches to the Masquerade, in unison with some Necromancer we must identify."
She casts a hand towards Phillip. "Du Valmont, in this crisis, I am extending my privileges to you as deputy, as we will need to be busy. We have many witnesses tonight. You will be assisting me to protect the Praxis in official capacity." She looks to the Prince: "Please, your priorities."
Winder takes a moment to think it over.
Niamh's reaction to the Jimmy was mild revulsion and amusement, mingled in a special, drinkable cocktail. She shrugs at Walter. It's nice that life still has a few surprises in store, but mostly perfect the way a stately Cammie affair can stumble over itself.
Jimmy retracts into the crowd, bowing his head and hoping to blend in and away from the spotlight, "I need a snack." He then remarks softly to himself before growing quiet and listening to the others speak about the crises surrounding the city.
"We will need to locate this necromancer." Winder gestures towards Mickey and Luna. "I trust that the members of the Shuttered Room is perfectly fit to deliver."
"We will need to control the narrative that the police investigation concludes with." She gestures towards Grigory in this case. "Those of you who can rewrite memories are the most obvious contributors, but those of you who know Medina or Carter will be of use toward this end as well."
"And then we will need to investigate this Medina, before we were distracted, Gangrel, you were saying something about him having a ring?"
Phillip arches a brow as his name is called again. He nods to Zora and offers the Sheriff a brief bow, "If it pleases the Sheriff," a glance toward Winder, "and Her Highness. I am pleased to serve in this regard and assist how I can." As Carter's name is mentioned again, the Brujah gestures towards Willow, offering the Rose a smile, "I believe you have a developing relationship with Doctor Carter, do you not? Perhaps that can be of some assistance in shaping the story?"
Walter agrees, "Yes, Ventrue. He is some kind of sorcerer; he or someone in his cell has magical spells that can detect us, or at least our general location if you are within a few hundred feet. I consider him a high priority target, I suspect they are using magicks like this one to track daytime havens."
Willow coughs softly, looking up to Phillip with a soft nod of her head. "Of course." She gives him a smile, her hands smoothing her skirt over as she continues to stand.
"I bless and keep you," Zora tells Phillip by means of response. Winder would have taken offense at the mirrored slight that Walter just gave her, but instead: "And how did you arrive at that conclusion?"
Camille draws in a psychosomatic breath in some sort of self-soothing act as she processes the possibility that Walter has suggested. She's got something to say, no doubt, but keeps her hair-thin lips buttoned. She seeks a distraction in Willow. "You know Dr. Carter? She's a chatty cathy. Grigory, Miss De Valmont, let's coordinate so we can be on the same story. I'm no computer expert but there are plenty in the tunnels to spin-doctor the security footage."
Jimmy looks over to Walter when the kindred is called Gangrel, studying him from afar. He smiles and chuckles softly, he couldn't help it, with how Walter replies to the Ventrue. He catches himself and straightens up, showing fade of nervousness on his face as his attention turns away from those at the center of the discussion and to the audience of vampires gathering. His gaze don't linger much on an individual, especially if they're looking at him.
Walter answers, "I followed him home because I wanted to kill him, but he or one of his people used his witchcraft to detect me. I could hear them talking about it as I lurked outside their safehouse. It occurred to me that if the spell is mobile, it would help them locate a lot of havens; but I don't know how far their divination spell reaches. They do know about a lot of havens, though, I believe Grigory has photos of the map we found."
"You wanted to kill him." Sergio's deep voice finally breaks into the dialogue, the ugly, bearded Brujah primogen repeating that line aloud. "He's a bank-roller!" He seems aghast at the idea. "If you kill him it's not going to be the same as taking out some zealot who boils down to a nobody without a life insurance policy. Don't put another criminal investigation into our collective lap while we might have INTERPOL on our case, depending on what was stolen from the de Young."
Willow looks over to Camille and inclines her head, "She is yes, but she does know her art at least. A redeeming quality." A breath let out and she looks to Grigory in turn, nodding. "Of course, I'm at your service. Whatever I can do to help rectify the situation." Her hand lifts to brush along Phillip's sleeve lightly.
Niamh sits up a little, a vague frown troubling her countenance as Serrgio erupts at Walter, and /tells him what to do/. She turns from Sergio to her sire, thoroughly unused to this sort of thing, and waiting expectantly for some sort of potential violence.
Walter shrugs, "He's a devil-worshipper who knows witchcraft and wants to burn you alive, Sergio. Or, if you're lucky, stake you and keep you in an iron box so he can show you off to his friends and convince them to murder other vampires. If you feel that he has too much money to touch, do your thing and take his money away from him. You're all powerfully well connected, much more so than a humble vagrant, I'm sure you can figure out how to do it."
"These things in their appropriate order," Sergio replies. "Where did you follow him to?"
Walter answers, "A McMansion in Daly City, near Colma. Three storeys on a lot."
Jimmy says, say Ming Max Avenue"
Walter gives an actual address, to a hugely expensive mcmansion. So at least they'll know what happens when the police bulletins all go out in the next few nights as it burns down or whatever.
Jimmy looks over to Walter and chimes in, "I know a guy who'll do it for $50 and a dime bag."
Jimmy shakes his head with a deep sigh, "Total lunatic; hates the government and hates pigeons. Likes to burn shit down and well, prison might do him good. They installed these spike shit on benches, no place to lie down."
"And you were saying," Winder looks to Phillip: "The Sabbat and the necromancer were not related. They were in competiton or simply not coordinated. Correct? Do we have any reason to suspect the necromancer to be related to this sorcerer on the common thread of magic?"
Jimmy's offer to pay some dude to burn a house down gets a ... look from the Ventrue. Both Ventrue. Gonzalo, who stands with the Anarchs, and Winder alike. Gonzalo does speak: "You know that might not be a bad idea, to get just normal humans to go suss the place out, if he's got a beacon for the supernatural. Why not? But let's ... find out a way to check out what's there before we burn it down."
Jimmy gestures with his hand in agreement with Gonazalo, as if trying to divert the Ventrues' gazes. It freaked him out a little.
Winder lets out a subtle tell of her stress and frustration with a little rapidfire flurry of blinks. Unconscious, short-lived once she catches it.
"We have our skeleton structure of a way forward. The point of contact for tracking down our mysterious necromancer will be Luna Demian. The point of contact for adressing the police investigation and the security footage will be myself and Primogen LeFebvre. The point of contact for tracking down the sorcerer and the Sabbat interloper will be Zora."
Walter observes, "There were a bunch of heavily armed guards there, last time I looked. They might just kill whomever we send, which would be fine as long as the cops still do what they're told. The downside is that they might convert whomever we send, of course. They gotta get those cultists from somewhere."
Phillip regards the Ventrue Prince for a moment then says to her, "It is a working theory, Highness, but I believe this Wagner, the Necromancer, and the Sabbat are all on different sides of this. The Lasombra seemed to be equally confused at the attack as all of us. Wagner was equally surprised, from what I could assess." A gesture toward Grigory, "Mister Usov may have better insight." "Also," the Brujah adds, "if it was Wagner's exhibit, why hire a bunch of undead goons to rob it? He could have just taken whatever artefects he needed. What concerns me about this Necromancer is that he represents another interested party in the Author. One who seems to be quite capable at sorcery." As Willow touches his sleeve, he settles back into the seat and rests his hand on hers, giving the Rose a reassuring smile before his eyes look away.
"That middle point's an easy one," Ranger says, apparently still here or something. "Hire goons to rob you of dangerous artifacts or what-have-you... when it gets used in a crime or some evil plan? Everyone saw you get robbed. Couldn't be you." He shrugs his shoulders and goes back to staring at the ceiling, counting tiles.
Walter observes, "I think it was probably just bait for a trap. Wagner wants to capture more vampires since I stole Otsuka from him. That poor little shit was a centerpiece for proving their faith was true."
Luna reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She kisses her teeth in a moment's otherwise-silent frustration, an eyeroll buried in a brief glance off to the side. "So many things to factor in, but we know one man has a team of guards and the other one has a team of shambling corpses... Or at least the projection of that. We will locate him."
The night wraps amid more speculation and theorizing, and as a plan formulates, the sense of shock and a dead-end in the face of a threat to a masquerade starts to wane among the praxis, although not entirely. Kindred are able to disperse their various ways.
Jimmy gives Walter another passing glance, he steps forward, away from the crowd and asks, "Cultists rely on drugs, don't they Mickey?"
Mickey tilts his head, and then he says, "Often, yeah." He shrugs, "But it depends on the cult. They can use drugs, sex, fear, intimidation, love-bombing - basically the ultimate goal is to break a person down and then build them back up into what the cult want slash needs them to be. There are a lot of different ways to do that."
Niamh slips away with the other Anarchs.
Jimmy listens to the doc, nodding slowly as he processes the information, "Ok, well, vitae is a drug. An addictive one at that." He then turns to Walter but the man is gone before return to those still here, "Can they detect vitae in the system of mortals?"
