I'm currently running a Vampire the Masquerade chronicle using the 5th Edition rule-set for a small group of fellow role-players. These are the chronicles of their adventures.
Our chronicle is set in Los Angeles and features a small group of Camarilla agents sent into the 'Free States' to bring them back under Camarilla control. Over a year of plotting allowed the coterie to gain control of two North-Eastern Baronies and a large part of a third. Now they are moving on to the final stage of their campaign and have their eyes on taking over the entire city, either directly or by proxy.
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The now obligatory warning bit - Unlike my other RPG write-ups this one will contain swearing, sexual references and other references that might offend. If you can't tell the difference between real peoples opinions and grown-ups role-playing predators who crave blood then this probably won't be for you. There are however a list of potential triggers listed before the introduction. I've also used actual photographs to represent some characters which I'll give acknowledgements to at the end if I've any idea who they are.
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The introduction to this campaign, the first story and all the other parts can be found at the following links and are in chronological order. If you'd prefer a summary of each session rather than read everything then there's a more detailed link page HERE as well as links to the first episode of each story in the blog sidebar.
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Chronicle One - 'Infiltrate L.A.'
Welcome to L.A. - Introductory Session
Story One - 'Three Murders' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Interlude Session - One
Story Two - 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part One, Two, Three, and Four
Solo Session - 'The Neillson Library'
Story Two Continued- 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part Five, Six, Seven and Eight
Story Three - 'Becoming Baron' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Gather'
Story Three Continued - 'Becoming Baron' - Part Six, Seven and Eight
The now obligatory warning bit - Unlike my other RPG write-ups this one will contain swearing, sexual references and other references that might offend. If you can't tell the difference between real peoples opinions and grown-ups role-playing predators who crave blood then this probably won't be for you. There are however a list of potential triggers listed before the introduction. I've also used actual photographs to represent some characters which I'll give acknowledgements to at the end if I've any idea who they are.
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The introduction to this campaign, the first story and all the other parts can be found at the following links and are in chronological order. If you'd prefer a summary of each session rather than read everything then there's a more detailed link page HERE as well as links to the first episode of each story in the blog sidebar.
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Chronicle One - 'Infiltrate L.A.'
Story One - 'Three Murders' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Interlude Session - One
Story Two - 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part One, Two, Three, and Four
Solo Session - 'The Neillson Library'
Story Two Continued- 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part Five, Six, Seven and Eight
Story Three - 'Becoming Baron' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Gather'
Story Three Continued - 'Becoming Baron' - Part Six, Seven and Eight
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Chronicle Two - 'Foothold L.A.'
Solo Session - 'Hostile Takeover'
Story Four - 'Countdown' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Five - 'The Missing Chantry' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Anaheim Assassination'
Story Six - 'A Meeting of Barons' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seven - 'The Carmelita Situation' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Eight - 'The Blount Sisters' - Part One and Two
Story Nine - 'Blood Money' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six
Story Ten - 'Anathema' - Part One and Two
Story Eleven - 'Predators and Prey' aka 'The Blount Sisters' - Part Three
Story Twelve - 'Aftermath' - Part One and Two
Story Thirteen - 'The Messiah Complex' - Part One, Two, Three and Four
Chronicle Two - 'Foothold L.A.'
Story Four - 'Countdown' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Five - 'The Missing Chantry' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Anaheim Assassination'
Story Six - 'A Meeting of Barons' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seven - 'The Carmelita Situation' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Eight - 'The Blount Sisters' - Part One and Two
Story Nine - 'Blood Money' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six
Story Ten - 'Anathema' - Part One and Two
Story Eleven - 'Predators and Prey' aka 'The Blount Sisters' - Part Three
Story Twelve - 'Aftermath' - Part One and Two
Story Thirteen - 'The Messiah Complex' - Part One, Two, Three and Four
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Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'
Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'
Solo Session - 'A Gathering of Roses'
Story Sixteen - 'The Southern Solution' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seventeen - 'The Baker Disappearance' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seventeen - 'The Baker Disappearance' - Part One, Two and Three
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Interlude Session One - After Griffith Park
Interlude Session Two - Divide and Conquer
Interlude Session Three - On the Brink of War
--------------------Chronicle Four - 'Conquest L.A.'
Interlude Session - Recon
Interlude Session - Damage Limitation
Interlude Session - The Killing Spree
Story Twenty Eight - 'Hunters Hunted' - Part One
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Michael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Eric Moore - Nosferatu, 'Vigilante Hacker'
The Storyteller
Garreth - Everyone else...
The player characters stats and backgrounds can be found HERE should any-one be interested, but be warned that the page is usually several stories ahead of the most recent write-up and may contain some spoilers.
There's also some minor 'house-rules' HERE that have occurred as we went along.
If I think something needs a bit of out of character explanation then those will get a storytellers note that will helpfully be in red. Introductory pieces that I read to the group are in Blue. Where particular NPC's have a mention in a faction profile you will be able to reach it by clicking on their name or faction beneath their picture.
Trigger Warnings for This Session: Blood (Obviously), Self-Harm.
Introduction
After the infiltration of the Young Bloods safe-house turned into a massacre, time is no longer on the coteries side. If they are to attack 'The Bunker' that serves as their primary base of operations then they need to do so sooner rather than later.
Storytellers Note - This session will also contain a secondary story for the character of Daniel who is attempting to redeem himself after losing control to his Beast one time too many. These are only short 'solo' sequences but will run parallel to the main storyline.
It has been an unusually quiet few nights in Los Angeles.
Sebastian Bradley, a Sabbat Caitiff currently being monitored in the hope that he will lead the Anarchs to his leaders, has been moving particularly slowly. He is seemingly heading into the San Gabriel Mountains, but travelled only a few dozen miles before once more going to ground. He is currently camped a few miles into the mountains where he is being observed by the Gangrel who patrol that area.
San Gabriel Mountains - Haven to many 'Creatures of the Night'
After being pressured by no less than four Barons, namely, Harvey Caplan, Allison Maller, Hank Boyd and Louis Fortier, Marius has finally agreed to allocate more resources to the hunt for the missing Sabbat, Luthor Hyde. Being of the Gangrel bloodline known as 'City' Gangrel, he is more skilled in the area of stealth than is usual for the rest of the clan and has proven to be particularly elusive, even managing to evade Vinicius's Hunters Gangrel pack. It is worth noting however that Marius has in no way indicated what those extra resources are going to consist of or when they're going to be provided.
The rebuilding of the kindred leadership of the Crypts Sons is going well. By being more careful with their selection process for candidates they are hoping to mitigate some of the risks they've experienced in the past and this plan appears to be working so far. The relationship between Priss and Hank is still somewhat cool, but at least they are no longer at each others throats. Their truce is holding and both have kept to the agreements they made under the guidance of Mr Hertz.
Scene Nine - The View from Within
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| Yukio Hayashi - Ancient Ghoul Enforcer and Assassin |
"Mary doesn't like none Bahari to know these things, but I don't really give a fuck what she thinks about how I practice my beliefs, however in the interests of diplomacy and cordial family relations I've had you bought here instead..."
What followed was a series of lessons in pain and focus that made his previous experiences pale in comparison. Leanna, 'Shepherdess' of Marius's herd was always nearby to ensure both had blood dolls available and Victoria was also present to heal their more severe mutilations with her powers of flesh-crafting. Even so, the next few weeks were arduous.
Under Marius's tutelage he had learned to convert physical pain to mental resilience in mere moments, rather than over the many hours he had previously required.
He note that Marius's tolerance to pain was ridiculous in the extreme, and his body resisted damage as if it was as hard as stone rather than flesh, even dead as that flesh was. When not training Daniel, he trained himself, constantly pushing the physical limits of his undead flesh.
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| Leanna - Duskborn 'Shepherdess' of Marius's Herd |
Storytellers Note - The beginning of that Story can be found HERE.
His constant need for blood also seemed related to the sheer number of ghouls he had. Hardly a night went by without one of them visiting him to receive their 'fix'. Leanna also appeared once a week to satisfy her own dependency on Marius's vitae. From the frequency of their visits it seemed that the majority were merely fed enough to retain their status as ghouls. Yukio and Victoria, however must have had more vitae in their systems than normal blood by now as they were fed plentifully and often.
But even with the quantity of Vitae provided to Victoria, her consistent use of vampiric disciplines in her night to night duties led Daniel to believe that another factor was involved. It was almost as if her body produced vitae of it's own.
Marius had explained that she was "...an early Tzimisce experiment in Revenant families..." but explained no further. In all honesty, this meant nothing at all to Daniel so he dropped the subject.
'The Fixer' also made no attempt whatsoever to hide from Daniel the fact that his usual appearance was a falsehood. The first time he observed it was somewhat of a shock, but in all honesty he'd had his suspicions that Marius's war-form was more real than the face he showed the kindred and mortals of L.A.
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| Victoria Anne - Ancient Ghoul Marius's Personal Assistant |
His childer visited often as did the more important of the kindred of Downtown with which he dealt. Many of these visitors never reached Marius, being dealt with by the ever present Victoria instead, or were directed to kindred under his influence whose expertise more closely matched their needs. He did however have a number of private meetings with kindred who wished their business to remain between the two of them.
Only the most important got personal meetings and even those were dealt with as quickly as possible. The only exception occurred during a surprise visit from Velvet Velour, who had Marius's personal and uninterrupted attention for two nights. This was the only break from training that Daniel experienced.
During this short break he continued his humanitarian efforts, volunteering at a number of free clinics and other charitable institutions where his considerable medical knowledge would prove beneficial.
Marius's priorities indicated to Daniel that the leverage on him from the power players in the Camarilla to assist Michael's mission must have been considerable. Otherwise he doubted anybody from the coterie would have even gotten a foot across the threshold of Hallowbrook.
There was, however, a downside to this inside perspective of 'The Fixers' empire. Dr Matthews found himself slightly uncomfortable that Marius's criminal enterprises, and a few legitimate ones, were morally reprehensible in many ways.
Drug dealing, the sex trade, smuggling of both people and highly illegal items and substances, the list went on. Even amongst the legitimate businesses of Aegis there were some extremely dubious practices. Especially in the pharmaceutical companies and his security and weapon manufacturing enterprises. The one possibly redeeming factor was that the rewards bestowed for success were equal in scope to the consequences for failure. Ruthless he might be, but at least he was consistent.
Once Marius was sure that Daniel could repeat his lessons at will, spoke to him on a different matter.
"Tomorrow evening, I'm going to introduce you to someone who may be able to help you in ways that not even The Bahari or the practice of Bardo can. There will be a price, but what it is will be between you and them as will be whether you wish to accept the terms or not..."
Intrigued, Daniel awaited to see who this mysterious benefactor might be.
Scene Ten - Smoke and Shadow
With Michael having more pressing concerns at the moment, Cai Arias, his artistic protégé, was left to handle the exhibition of his artwork through the medium of smoke and shadow, more or less without interference. Though assisted in part by Lisa and Heather, he handled the layout, advertising and most of the practicalities of hosting the show himself in order to "...maintain the integrity of his vision..."
Lisa Irving, Ghoul of Michael - Heather Taylor, Ghoul of Marius
The exhibition was, to the surprise of Lisa, a resounding success. Almost all his work had been sold and commissions were pouring in for similar work. As a consequence of the increased publicity, many other of the galleries pieces had also been sold. Unsurprisingly, given the type of customer attracted to Cai's work, Michael's recent and considerably darker artistic style was also popular. So much so that Lisa had even sold work from what was effectively his 'discard' pile to keep up with demand.
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| Cai Arias - Toreador Artistic Protégé of Michael Tomassio |
Surprisingly, two of Cai's works were purchased by Priss, Baron of 'The Border' on a rare visit outside of her own domain, though she was escorted by a significant number of guards. One of her purchases was a hanging sculpture that from a certain angle cast a shadow in the shape of a woman and the other was a more traditional painting though the figure, also female, had been painted with smoke and ash.
One of these, she informed Lisa, was a "present for an old acquaintance". As both were to be delivered to her own haven, who this 'acquaintance' was remained a mystery, if they existed at all outside of Priss's fractured imagination. Lisa had taken an instant dislike to Priss and deliberately overcharged her. Heather Thomas, a ghoul of Marius's employed at the gallery as a favour to Victoria, tried to talk her out of it as in her words Priss was "a complete fruit loop..." Though it seemed that Priss either didn't notice or didn't care. Cai was blissfully unaware of who he was talking to, happy only that a fellow kindred appreciated his creations.
After the exhibit, Cai had been dropping not particularly subtle hints that when Michael opened his first 'franchise' that he would like the opportunity to run it on his behalf. He had also told Michael that two young kindred artists of his acquaintance would also like the opportunity to create their own exhibits.
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| Marianne Palmer - Toreador Artist |
Marianne Palmer was, like Cai and Michael, of Clan Toreador. They had a Haven in Long Beach, and were there with permission of the local Baron, Harvey Caplan. Michael judged their work as very traditional, consisting mainly of paintings of night-time scenes though the reason for this was obvious.
They also seemed to be particularly fond of the ocean. Her work was not particularly innovative but the pictures did have a certain naïve charm that, perhaps, might appeal to the less sophisticated art connoisseur.
Cai's other recommendation was William 'Bill' Butler, a Brujah newly arrived in Los Angeles. He had taken advantage of one of the cheap apartments leased by Marius to newcomers to the city though needed to find somewhere more permanent soon.
His chosen artform was the creation of abstract metal sculptures using different types of metal bar of varying thickness and colours to create humanoid forms. He bent the metal with his bare hands, as long as no one was watching, in order to create these life-sized figures.
Michael decided to allow both to contribute works to the gallery, but had his people look into the Brujah sculptor's background.
William 'Bill' Butler - Brujah, Sculptor
Harvey would certainly have ensured that any resident of the South Coast was thoroughly vetted. Marius might have done so, but it would depend very much on his focus that night, so couldn't be relied upon. Besides which, knowing a little about new visitors to Los Angeles couldn't hurt.
Scene Eleven - A History of Violence
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| Bertram Tung - Nosferatu Information Broker |
Given the amount of kindred in Los Angeles not to mention the mortal gangs, it was not surprising that there were so many assaults and murders within the city. However, given the reputation of the Sabbat for which he was searching, it was only the most brutal that he bothered to catalogue.
Four locations had piqued his interest, though he subsequently eliminated two.
One was close to the feeding grounds that he knew to be the domain of 'The Swarm' beneath Downtown. The amount of homeless and street walkers who had gone missing seemed to rise and fall in a steady pattern. A quick conversation with Eric's former boss, but still acquaintance, Bertram Tung had confirmed his suspicions about their involvement.
Apparently, the Mistress of the Swarm, Tilly Kelly periodically purged the ranks when her horde became unmanageable. Therefore periods of peak carnage were usually followed by a lull as she, murdered, destroyed and diablerised the Swarm back to just those who had impressed her in some way or were just useful to her.
A second area with high levels of unexplained murders, mutilation and disappearances was Koreatown, also within the domain of Downtown. These victims were almost without exception, criminals and their deaths were brutal in the extreme. Very few of these were found in Koreatown itself but rather on its outskirts. That the Nameless One and his followers were responsible was certain, and given the amount of Sabbat he destroyed during their two thousand and four incursion into the city, it seemed highly unlikely that they'd pick this area as a base.
Though those leads turned out to be dead ends, the Nosferatu hacker had discovered two which were more promising.
The police of Los Angeles were currently investigating a suspected serial killer operating along the trails of the San Gabriel mountains. Once he eliminated historical killings that could be attributed to the now destroyed Blount sister, and a few unexplained cases of severe anaemia suffered by campers who passed near an area he knew to have been claimed by The Butchers Pack, there were still a significant number of murders.
Blanche Johnson - Gangrel, Pack Leader of 'The Butchers'
As he could remove victims from the list that he knew to be unrelated to recent killings, he had been able to narrow down this killers hunting ground with far greater precision than the authorities. Though still covering several square miles, it was still more precise than the entire mountain range that the police had to investigate. The area he had highlighted contained a disused mine, a cave network and a set of cabins abandoned due to subsidence of the nearby cliffs. Any or all of these would make a serviceable temporary haven for the Sabbat.
The fourth point of interest was a long shot but did fit the parameters Eric was looking for. A Crypts Sons associated gang was found hacked to pieces in a warehouse on the border of South Central L.A.
All thirty seven gang bodies found were from the same group, though the intriguing thing was that they were killed over an approximately two week period, not simultaneously, and the lack of blood at the location had led the police to believe they were killed elsewhere. Eric of course had another explanation for where that blood had gone.
Zippers opinion was that these killings were all part and parcel of the attack upon the summit between Michael, Hank and Marius. Eric however are not so sure, perhaps there were still Sabbat within The Crypts Sons territory, waiting for another opportunity?
Further investigation would need to wait as he had another operation to prepare for. It was finally time to end the threat to the kindred of The Anarch Free States that the Unbound ghoul gang known as The Young Bloods represented.
Scene Twelve - The Hunt Begins
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| Joseph 'Joey' Marco - Gangrel Baron Fortier's Scourge |
Fortier's 'Scourge' Joseph Marco, has provided you with detailed maps of the surrounding area with his own notes about vantage points and covert ways to approach the bunker. With this information it should be simple to get close to their base unobserved. Especially as he has included accurate intelligence on the gangs patrol patterns and schedules.
You have also, once more, been lent one of Catherine's transport vehicles as travel to the Young Bloods base will take longer than a single night. She will provide a ghoul driver, or you may use one of your own people, Catherine doesn't particularly care which.
Michael elected to use Catherine's driver rather than risk one of his own agents on such a dangerous mission.
Eric had equipped himself with his laptop, spare batteries and an external power pack, a phone loaded with dubious apps, a selection of hacking programs on various data storage devices and a few gadgets he'd thrown together in his spare time. Signal jammers, motion sensors and other devices that might come in useful were carefully placed in a separate bag from his computer gear.
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| Vin's Full-Auto Shotgun |
Now hopefully ready for anything, the assault team moved out.
The driver provided by Catherine seemed more than competent and had already prepared their places of concealment as day approached. He had driven some distance during the day and was parked a safe distance away from the target location when the three arose from their daysleep.
"Are we actually going in quietly, or your version of quiet, where everyone we meet gets their heads punched off?" Eric asked Hope. "You worry about the computers. Let me and Vin worry about who gets to keep their heads on their shoulders." replied Hope.
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| Storage Crates - Contents Unknown |
Eric smiled and left the vehicle first. "Cheers Jeeves..." he said, waving to the driver. Hope sighed. This was going to be a long night...
The heavy door of the gangs bunker is currently open as many of them are unloading boxes from a van parked just outside. The driver of the van is dressed completely differently from the gang being both well dressed and well groomed. He is also regarding the workers with a certain degree of scorn as if he views himself as superior to them.
Judging from the thirty or so bikes, trikes and cars parked haphazardly outside, the majority of the gang are there.
Eric did a quick check on the vehicle and discovered it belonged to a church group based in Los Angeles. Curious, he found the location of the group and attempted to gain access to their computer system. Warnings built into his scanning program alerted him that someone was attempting to back-trace his infiltration, not the kind of security one would expect a charity to have access to. Fortunately Eric was ready for such precautions and amused himself by making the trace detect his location as being in the middle of basically nowhere.
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| Eric Moore - Nosferatu Hacker "It could have been anybody..." |
Unloading the truck took about twenty minutes. As soon as the last box was removed, the driver returned to his empty vehicle and drove away. From his demeanour, he seemed happy to be leaving.
"I'd like to see where that van is heading..." stated Vin. "...but I doubt we have time to intercept it."
The others agreed that their mission took priority.
Storytellers Note - I had a scene already prepared should they have attempted to intercept the van, but they didn't...so that's an encounter for the 'change names, use later as something else' pile...
The heavy bunker doors have a smaller door within them on the right. This door has been left open and gang members emerge periodically, presumably to get some fresh air. There are two guards stationed outside, though they don't seem to be taking their duties particularly seriously as they sometimes wander around and chat to the other gang members.
"Over to you Eric." Said Hope, giving him a slight push in the direction of the bunker entrance.
"So now I'm allowed to take the lead..." replied Eric, somewhat petulantly.
Scene Thirteen - Into the Breach
Eric faded from view, and slowly advanced upon the entrance to the Young Bloods base, slipped past the exterior guards and peered within.
Inside the entrance, there was a large open area containing what looked like a freight elevator to the left and two flights of stairs leading downwards with a large ramp in-between.
To the right was a security office containing two men. They were armed with assault rifles with an attachment underneath the barrel. This appeared to Eric to be a launcher loaded with a stake-like projectile.
Mounted on one wall was a large red button wired to a large speaker. Presumably this was a panic alarm of some description.
Eric left as stealthily as he had entered before informing his companions that they had two guards just inside to deal with too. "So we hit the two outside, fast and quiet, then deal with the other two before an any alarms are raised?" suggested Vin. "Cool..." replied Hope. Despite his last mission with Hope, Eric still couldn't get used to the casual manner with which she dealt with killing. Worryingly it seemed that Vin was of a similar mindset.
Vin covered the distance to the first guard with supernatural speed and killed them with one precise blow. Before the other could react, Hope had leapt upon them and slain them too. Eric then had an idea.
"I'll see if I can lure the guards out, with some cunning ruse..."
The cunning ruse turned out to be impersonating a guard and yelling something to the guards within about a leaking gas-tank. He later explained that this was plausible because the fuel systems on Harley Davidson motorbikes "Leaked all the fucking time..."
Storytellers Note - His subterfuge roll for this plan was annoyingly high, so I just went with it. I've also no idea whatsoever if the thing about Harley's leaking is true...
The first guard was decapitated instantly, the second had his throat torn out by Hope. Unfortunately for Eric he was standing a little too close, and moved too slowly to avoid the arterial spray from the dead biker's gushing throat wound. He had the distinct suspicion that Hope had angled the spray in his direction on purpose.
The computer system was a closed network so needed to be accessed via one of its terminals. This particular terminal in the security office allowed the main doors to be locked and unlocked and could be used to access other levels. It would take time to penetrate each subsequent security level, but Eric was confident that he could do so.
Gaining control of the main entrance doors and the ones to the lower level was childsplay. Penetrating deeper would, as he had suspected, take time. He also noticed that the whole system had been recently updated by someone who knew what they were doing.
"I can access the security cameras, and control the outside door..." Eric explained. "I've also turned off the panic alarm on this floor, and piggybacked onto the internal comms so I can stay in touch with you both." He casually tossed each of them a headset from his bag of gadgets. "The freight elevator must be controlled from somewhere else, cuz there's no controls for it that I can find."
Vin had already inspected the elevator and noted that it was protected by a blast shield that he doubted he could as much as put a dent in. He tested the theory regardless, and rubbed his knuckles as he was proven correct.
"We do it the hard way I guess..."
Scene Fourteen - Level B1
This area appears to have once been a reception, but is now more like a clubhouse. There are many mismatched tables and chairs, a few sofas and several crates which appear to double as chairs. A side door leads to a toilet and shower block. You imagine that the smell isn't going to be pleasant at all, a fact confirmed by the lack of seating nearby.
There is a bar of sorts in one corner where beer is dispensed from large kegs. Bottles of spirits are kept in a rack nearby. Tending the bar is a sturdily built woman in gang colours.
More motorbikes and a couple of cars are lined up along one wall. Several are being worked upon.
Eric observed a total of nine men and women armed with handguns, shotguns, SMG's and a couple had assault rifles to hand.
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| Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah 'Machete at the Ready' |
Vin was noticed almost the instant he entered the level, so wasted no time in covering the distance to the nearest of the Young Bloods. Hoping to avoid alerting any gang member's from the lower levels, Vin went in with his blade, not his gun.
The surprised enemies grabbed for their guns but it was too late for these few at least. Hope took advantage of the distraction to close the distance to several others, eviscerating two and crippling a third. Vin's foes faired no better. The few survivors rallied, but by then Hope and Vin were upon them, and they lasted mere seconds. The woman behind the bar made the surprising decision to run at Hope, baseball bat in hand. Hope rammed the retrieved stake into her chest with such force that her fist emerged from their back.
While observing from the relative safety of the security room, Eric made a mental to annoy Hope less in the future. "I'm into level B2's security and it doesn't look like any of the bad guys there heard shit." announced Eric. "Would you like to know what's in store for round two?"
They presumed that the question was rhetorical, and waited for his assessment.
Scene Fifteen - Level B2
As with the level above there were no system controls to lock or unlock doors. He did however have access to the alarms and security camera's, the password being exactly the same as the one above. "Thank goodness for amateurs..." thought Eric.
Eric counted twelve men and women on this floor, many of which had clearly been working out, spaced around the area. However the floor contained a lot of equipment and one of the cameras was in dire need of a wipe so he couldn't be one hundred percent sure. They were mainly armed with handguns and close combat weapons. Baseball bats, knives, hammers and machetes were commonplace. One even had a sword.
The Hacker relayed this information to the breachers. "Thanks R2" said Hope. "Well at least that was better than 'Budget Daniel'", thought Eric.
The first man on this floor to die was decapitated by Vin as he watched another ganger sparring with a female member of the gang. As they turned towards the commotion, Vin was already upon them and drove his blade through the closest ones chest. The other got an ineffectual punch in before being bisected by the quickly withdrawn and redeployed machete.
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| Hope Romero - Gangrel |
Hoping to finish them off before they scattered, Vin covered thirty metres in half a second, and began to swing wildly at a group of five who a moment ago had been chatting around a table. Four died, but the fifth survived. He and another more sensible gang member ran towards the stairs to the lower level, accompanied by the survivor of Hope's earlier attack.
"They're getting away..." announced Eric, concerned about what might happen if they summoned help. He needn't have worried.
Vin's supernatural speed came to the rescue once more as he easily caught up with two of the potential escapees and butchered them both from behind. Hope's soaring leap sent the last of the escapees crashing into a supporting girder with her a moment behind. She needn't have bothered. Their head colliding with the pillar had killed them instantly.
"With any luck it'll be this simple all the way down." said Vin. "But I doubt it..."
"I think these are just the prospects." theorized Hope. "The actual ghoul gangers might be tougher..."
They'd been fairly lucky so far, but all were well aware that it was only a matter of time before the gangs more potent members were alerted and they met an organised response. There was still a long way down to go.
Interlude - Hospitality
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| Ammaarah Weaver - Tzimisce Sabbat, Fleshcrafter |
"Your pack is scattered, and at least two are destroyed." began Isaac Abrams, Baron of Hollywood.
"Sebastian is on the run, Luthor is in hiding, Taslima has defected and Scarlet has almost certainly betrayed you all by now, especially if she's been placed under the care of Marius's ghoul Victoria." he continued. "I am willing to offer you shelter and nourishment for three nights, in addition to this one of course. And also, protection against the other Anarchs in general, and Marius specifically."
Isaac could see Ammaarah was intrigued, and had a fair idea of what her next question would be.
"And how exactly would you be able to protect me from the Wolf Spider?"
Isaac hadn't heard that particular nickname for a while, but imagined that to the Sabbat, Marius was unlikely to be known as 'The Fixer'. "I have informed the Anarch Council that I am aware of your location and that I will be deciding your eventual fate. None of them will risk antagonising me over a lone Sabbat."
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| Isaac Abrams - Toreador Baron of Hollywood |
Isaac reached into a folder and handed high definition photographs of several portraits to her. "Given appropriate...materials...could you alter their appearance to that, or something very similar?"
The Tzimisce, leaned forward in her chair. "The material, as you put it, would need to be of similar age and build to this picture if it's only the face you wish changing, as otherwise the result will be a little jarring to the eye. I can however make alterations to height, build and many other features if you so desire. Is it a one off, or...?"
"I'll need as many as you can create in the stated timeframe." clarified Isaac. "But they need not be identical to the picture, more 'inspired by'..."
"It seems we have what is potentially a mutually acceptable arrangement then..." Stated the Tzimisce fleshcrafter. "...but the timeframe is very tight. In all honesty I might not be able to provide you exactly what you need with such restrictions."
 |
| 'An angelic looking young man' |
As the Toreador left, Ammaarah looked at the pictures once more. Quite why this Anarch needed a stockpile of angelic looking, thirteen year-old blonde boys, wasn't really her concern. She had fulfilled far more bizarre requests than that and as it stood, the arrangement suited them both.
They got what they wanted and she got protection from one of the only two kindred within Los Angeles who seemed to be able to locate and destroy Sabbat packs more or less with impunity. Fortunately for her, Baron Fortier didn't seem to make a habit of such things, Marius however, did.
As she saw it her choices were, protection or destruction. Besides that, her travels with the Misery Lords rarely gave her access to such luxurious, albeit temporary, accommodation. Why not enjoy it for a little while?
--------------------
Meanwhile, back at Michael's gallery, the Baron of Pasadena was painting in his studio to distract himself from the danger his operatives were now in. It wasn't working.
Then his ghoul, Lisa Irving, manager of Galerie Sanguine on his behalf, knocked on the door, before entering. "There's someone here to see you. A Mr Thomas Johnson? I think he's a 'special' guest."
The name was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Hopefully this visitor would be a distraction that actually worked.
"I'll see him in the downstairs meeting room." replied Michael.
Acknowledgements
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved.”
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved.”I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Michael Tomassio is represented by Matt Bomer, 'Vin' is Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Priss is Sofia Boutella, Hank Boyd is Michael Clarke Duncan, Yukio Hayashi is Jamie Chung, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Leanna is Leeanna Vamp, Victoria Anne is Lilith May, The Blossoms are Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs, Lisa Irving is Amanda Righetti, Heather Taylor is Liz Vicious, Cai Arias is Brian Molko, Marianne Palmer is Jemima Kirk, William 'Bill' Butler is Dolph Lundgren, Tilly Kelly is Anna Paquin, The Nameless One is Gary J. Tunnicliffe, Blanche Johnson is Kathy Bates, Ammaarah Weaver is Stefani Germanotta and Isaac Abrams is Gary Oldman.
Everything else is from vampire related folders and searches and is as far as I know is all of the 'fair use' variety. If there's something that you feel should be attributed to some-one then feel free to let me know and I'll happily add an acknowledgement.