Vampire the Masquerade – V5 – Session One Hundred and Twenty Eight – ‘A Plague of Blood’ (Part Five)

Hope and Daniel have defeated one of the kindred responsible for spreading the new plague around the city. Though they were too late to save the apparently unwitting mortal allies of these kindred, much of what they have discovered has led them to believe that they probably weren't saving.

They have retrieved many boxes of files, and the corpse of the kindred plaguebearer they destroyed, and now they intend to investigate the rest of the warehouse.

Flynn Jacobs - Gangrel Pack Leader of 'The Unseen'

Flynn Jacobs, Leader of the Gangrel Pack known as 'The Unseen' due to their talent for infiltration and assassination, watched Marius, and his ghoul Victoria, carefully from the corner of the warehouse. 

Technically speaking he worked for 'The Fixer' now that Xaviar had been destroyed, but he still didn't trust him particularly.

His pack had, in part, been created as a weapon to quietly remove Marius should Xaviar's eldest childe move against his own sire. Though he had never done so, to Flynn's knowledge at least, the fact that Xaviar had considered it a possibility was enough for Flynn.

'Precious' Beaumont stood at his side. She was the youngest member of the pack, both physically and chronologically, and was her pack leaders lifeline when it came to technology. Jacobs was archaic in the extreme, and surveillance in the modern world had moved on, so Precious handled this side of things on his behalf.

"We might as well get this done..." she said. "...he knows we're here."

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'Precious' Beaumont - Gangrel 'The Unseen' Gangrel Pack

Marius watched the recorded footage on Precious's laptop impassively. One of the advantages to working for the owner of a billion dollar company, she thought, was that you got access to some pretty cool gear.

The footage showed several kindred, all Gangrel, held in cages in an arena of sorts. Primitive dispensers on the outside gave them access to just enough blood to stave off torpor, but still ensured that frenzy was the likely result of any negative stimuli. Other kindred bet on the outcomes of the battles and occasionally pitted themselves against their prisoners.

These fights were heavily biased in favour of the jailors, and once the battles were complete the frenzied Gangrel were restrained with loops of steel cable on long poles. Cables were looped around necks, arms and legs and the unfortunates were dragged back into their heavily secured cages. 

"It's definitely one of the kindred Fight Clubs." added Precious. "I thought the Circulatory System bitch was lying, But her information was spot-on...so what's next?"

Marius closed the laptop. "You did well. Maintain your watch and let me know if they change location."

"You didn't answer the question..." prompted Flynn. "What are we going to do about nine of our clan locked up in cages like dogs while a load of assholes take bets..."

Marius's facial expression quietened Flynn immediately, and Precious found herself looking for the fastest way out of the area while simultaneously being rooted to the spot. The leader of The Oratory was obviously as angry about the situation as they were, perhaps more so. 

"I need to speak to Spiculus. Tell him it's urgent..."

Victoria nodded. "I believe he calls himself 'Ike' now. I'll contact his agent in New York, but he's not going to be easy to persuade. Last time you met the you didn't exactly part on the best terms and his personal assistant finds me objectionable..."

"Do what you can..." he replied. "If I have to kick down the doors I will, but for now we'll try diplomacy. I'm not keen on going to war with the immortal gladiator, not if it can be avoided that is..."

Victoria doubted this would go simply, but Marius had obviously made his decision.

Hope had returned to Daniel slightly better fed, wearing a clean change of clothes provided by Rosalind, but still in a less than hospitable mood. Her own background had made her highly intolerant to any abuse of women, as many men had found to their cost. The evidence that many of Dreads victims had been forced to partake in violent pornography, and the further evidence discovered at Carlton Logistics still played on her mind. She and Daniel had killed four of those responsible, but she was sure that there were others out there in need of punishment.

The clothes she was wearing also happened to belong to Rosalind, and she and Hope had very different styles of dress. At least the dress would help her to blend in a little with Daniel.

Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim Surgeon and 'Fixer'

Daniel too had tidied himself up a little, well, a lot actually. He always carried a spare set of clothing and his medical credentials as both came in useful. He was slightly concerned that despite cutting away the excess flesh, and cauterizing the wound caused by plaguebearing kindred, it still itched slightly. The hurled fire-axe had been smeared with the creatures own infected vitae, and having seen the effects of the plague on other kindred, Daniel had no desire to be it's next victim.

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The clinic had clearly seen better days. A steady flow of unfortunates were coming and going, guided by a harassed looking nurse and her assistant, both of whom were clearly in dire need of some sleep.

Daniel exchanged a few pleasantries and then broached the subject about patients that might have made their way to the clinic. The nurse seemed like she wanted to help but was obviously far too busy to check through the clinics records.

"Perhaps I could help out for a few hours, while my assistant has a look through your files?" It was of no surprise to Daniel that she leapt at the suggestion.

For a surgeon of Dr Daniel Matthews skills and experience the complaints of the patients at the clinic were child's-play to diagnose and treat. He cleared a nights backlog of minor infections, wounds, and common maladies in a couple of hours and helped himself to a couple of blood bags while he did so. His own supply had been seriously depleted by recent events and he considered them to be fair payment for the few hours sleep the nurses had managed while he took over their duties.

Hope Romero - Gangrel Clothing Borrowed from Rosalind

Hope's knowledge of hospital procedures wasn't even close to Daniel's so she made little progress with the records. Once Daniel joined her they managed to cross-reference a few more names from 'Dreads' lists, to references to a medical trial. After clearing a few more patients who had appeared while he investigated the clinics records, he gently woke one of the sleeping staff and asked them about this 'trial' that many had signed up for.

"Oh that? Yes, a lot of our less fortunate patients have opted for that..." she then handed Daniel a leaflet. "...in return for a blood sample, and trial of some new flu vaccine, they'll give you three meals a day, 100 dollars and a place to sleep for the duration of the trial."

"We've had no complaints so I guess it's working out for them?"

Daniel and Hope exchanged a knowing look. Both had a feeling that the offered vaccine was neither prevention nor cure, but in fact something far more deadly.

"Do we have enough time to visit this 'trial' place, or is it a job for tomorrow?" enquired Hope.

"It's not far..." replied Daniel. "...so we might as well look at it now..."

Victoria Anezka - Ancient Ghoul Personal Assistant and Psychopath

Victoria disliked pandering to the demands of others, with the exception of Marius of course, and so having the terms of her meeting with Spiculus's ghoul laid out in such a non-negotiable manner had been somewhat irritating.

Quintus was even more ancient that Victoria, having been ghouled in the first century. He had been gifted to Spiculus by the Emperor Nero as a mortal and had served him loyally for two millennia. He considered himself superior to all other ghouls, and if truth be told, most vampires, based on his age and the manner of his appointment to his role. 

Victoria sat in the meeting room of a legitimate sporting business headquarters owned by Isaac 'Ike' Griffiths, as Spiculus was now known. She had now waited for nearly two hours past the time of her scheduled appointment. Quintus was no doubt delaying his arrival on purpose. She passed the time by coming up with inventive ways of torturing him to death. Had he known why she was smiling when he eventually deigned to meet her, he might have been more polite.

"Miss Anezka, I apologise for the delay, but I have many important duties to perform and your presence here quite slipped my mind." began Quintus, with no small amount of scorn. "I understand that the Wolf Spider wishes to discuss matters that he considers important with Mr Griffiths. However if I am to arrange a meeting then you will have to convince me that they are as important as he thinks..."

Victoria met her opposite numbers gaze and was pleased when he failed to hold eye-contact for more than a moment. Older he might be, but she considered him inferior to her in every other way. It was time to teach this fool that age meant nothing when compared to intelligence and a superior force of will.

"

Isaac 'Ike' Griffiths - Brujah Spiculus, the 'Immortal Gladiator'

Mr Walker has discovered that one of Ike's Fight Clubs is ignoring the guidelines of it's founder, and that several of his own clan are bearing the brunt of their dishonourable methods. He would like to resolve this in a manner as mutually satisfactory as possible..."

"...and if I choose not to arrange such a meeting?" interrupted Quintus with a sneer. 

Victoria smiled as she replied. "I don't deal in hypotheticals. You will arrange this meeting because if you fail to do so your omission will be directly responsible for starting a war between Marius and Spiculus. This war, even if your employer wins, which is no means certain, will destroy in nights what took him centuries to build. Of course this will mean nothing to you as you will never see it's conclusion..."

"...and what makes you think that I wont see this through to the end?" asked Quintus, feelings of doubt entering his mind for the first time in centuries. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was, but something about Marius's ghoul made his skin crawl.

"Because my dear, should I not leave this meeting with a satisfactory reply, my instructions are to slit your throat before I go..."

Victoria watched his bravado and confidence drain away. It was clear that he believed her. This was fortunate as she would have taken great satisfaction in carrying out her threat. She guessed that he would now attempt to twist the narrative to make it look like he wasn't the weakling she'd made him appear. She was, of course, quite correct.

She quickly sent a message to Yukio, who had driven her here tonight, that she would be ready to be picked up in a few minutes. Almost on cue, Quintus made his decision.

"I will arrange this meeting..." he stammered, before gaining a little self control. "...but not because of your threats, but rather that my master will want to investigate these claims for himself and see what evidence you have to back them up." Victoria stood up and offered her hand to Quintus, who took it reluctantly. "I'm glad we could come to an accord." she said, squeezing just hard enough to make Quintus wince slightly, her pleasant tone in direct contrast to her earlier threats.

Within minutes she was back in the covertly armoured vehicle in which she'd arrived. Yukio, Marius's second oldest ghoul was in the driving seat. "Are we at war?" she asked

"No..." replied Victoria. "Well...not yet, anyway..."

Abandoned Factory Unit - The South Coast

The location specified in the leaflet received at the clinic was a factory unit which seemed to be abandoned. Unusual as the nurse had told them that they had referred patients here as recently as a week ago.

The loading bay doors were chained shut and all the windows had heavy gauge steel welded over them to form bars within that were mere inches apart. There were no alarms, no security cameras, nothing. 

The main door had been welded shut from the outside but the joints shattered as Hope put her shoulder to it. Daniel entered, weapons drawn but there was no need, the building was devoid of activity.

The stench of death hit them both as soon as they entered. Something unpleasant had occurred here.

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A dozen medical gurneys with attached I.V.'s lined one wall. All had some form of restraints either intrinsic to their construction or, in some cases, added later. They were stained with blood, urine and excrement.

Opposite was a laboratory of sorts that looked more like the lair of some mad scientist. Next to it were some fridges like those used in hospitals to store samples. However the worse smell was coming from several large, wheeled refuse containers in the far corner.

The Plaguebearers Laboratory

Daniel moved towards the fridges, They contained, vials and bottles inside which were what appeared to be bodily fluids. Some were labelled with names, dates and times, others had had these removed.

The refuse containers were filled with corpses and medical waste. It looked like at least twelve bodies had been discarded within. Half a dozen bloated rats were feasting on the corpses, but unlike most vermin they showed no fear of them and made no attempt to scatter, merely continuing to chew on the flesh and bones within.

"Next time you take me somewhere..." commented Hope. "...it better smell nice and have no dead things in it, or I'm not coming..."

Now Daniel had some time to consider the scene, he begin to notice some details that had escaped him initially.

Firstly, The gurneys had curtains between some of them, seemingly separating them into sections. The gurneys in each section had different varieties and quantities of excreta upon them indicating that, perhaps, there were different strains of virus created here. Of course to be sure, he'd have to have a closer look.

The first section reminded him of conventional, though extreme, illnesses that he had encountered over the years. At least judging by the various stains on them, that was. The next section however was quite different.

These gurneys were soaked in every form of internal waste imaginable, and a few that escaped even his keen eye, They also reminded him of his unfortunate wartime encounters with gangrene and other conditions where a loss of blood supply caused body tissues to die. Both the smell, and the mess, reminded him of the kindred that Hope had despatched earlier and who gave him the wound in his shoulder.

Medical Gurney with Restraints

Though horrific, it was hard to imagine that this strain would suit the enemies needs. The creature Hope despatched, while undoubtedly a useful soldier, showed none of the signs of insanity, frenzy and loss of control that would be fulfil their enemies desired effect of causing chaos within kindred communities.

The last section was the most interesting.

Though all the gurneys had restraints on them, these had multiple, and several looked like they'd been torn from their mountings and then subsequently reattached. The stains on these were also, in the main, blood, from what he could surmise, these were caused in the following ways.

Firstly, there was blood, skin and other signs of attempted escape on the restraints. He'd worked in many medical facilities over the years and are therefore was well aware of the immense physical strength that would be required to escape from such bondage. Yet it appeared that several victims had, though for how long was still a mystery.

Secondly, many of the blood stains corresponded, very roughly, to areas of the human body where blood vessels were close to the surface and where haemorrhaging would be most likely to occur.

Thirdly, and possibly of most concern, is that his years as assassin as well as doctor had given him an insight into the differences between mortal blood, and the same once it left a kindreds body. In short, at least two of these last set of victims were likely not mortal. Of course to be one hundred percent sure, he'd have to taste some. He sensibly decided not to do that, and instead took samples by more traditional means.

Meanwhile, Hope had another worrying thought. "We know a few kindred who use animals as spies and the like. Hertz, Alonzo, some of packs in The Wilds, right? So I'm not sure we should leave those rats in the dumpsters to wander about. Just in case..."

As Daniel approached their location, one leapt from the pile of bodies and made a dash for a gap in the warehouse wall. Not sure whether this was primitive survival instinct or an impulse guided by an external mind, Daniel put a round through it's back. Coagulated blood, already filled with decay began to seep from the wound, yet the rat kept on moving. This time he aimed more carefully and blew it's brains out. Disconcertingly it ran another few feet before it realised that it was dead. The rest were significantly easier to kill and both Hope and Daniel began to have doubts about whether they were anything more than vermin who had discovered a free meal.

"If the authorities find this place they'll have a fucking field day." observed Hope.

Once more they needed the help of Mr Hertz.

Johnny 'Roach' West - Malkavian Missing, Presumed Destroyed

The Nosferatu who ran the majority of the coteries illegal activities had access to many criminal contacts, as well as his own gang 'The Apostles'. He'd inherited them from former coterie member known as 'Roach' who had disappeared over a year ago, but had expanded their activities considerably since then. Roach had mainly been interested in soft drugs such as Cannabis and it's variants, while Mr Hertz saw anything that could turn a profit as a viable option. Their Baron Michael forbade anything in the area of the sex trade and modern slavery, though had no issue with prostitution in general, so Hertz had a lot of room to manoeuvre when it came to crime.

Specifically Daniel needed the files and samples to be boxed up and moved somewhere more viable to work on, and for detailed photographs to be taken of all the equipment. He then needed an unfortunate accident involving fire, to make the whole scene go away.

Fortunately, Mr Hertz knew many people who were happy to do the job. Well maybe not 'happy' to, but willing if the price was right. the Nosferatu could be very persuasive if he needed something done.

Fortunately the coterie now had access to an impressive selection of samples, notes and other, currently, incomprehensible scribbles. Though these would need some time to wade through, along with the files gathered previously they should, hopefully, find some tangible clues within.