North for the Summer: Theodore

[Acanous]

The winds of fortune wax and wane in the life of Kindred. Seems now, things are turning up Theodore.
Donovan, the Nosferatu Primogen of Calgary, has put out a request for assistance from his brethren. Supposedly, a flash flood caused significant damage to the Nosferatu holdings in Calgary, and Donovan had enough clout to temporarily lift the sanction on new Kindred entering the city to deal with this issue.
The U.S. is becoming less and less friendly to people of the pale persuasion, and you know your good looks and charm can't win over many of these new red neck hunter teams, should worse come to worst. The getting probably isn't going to get more good.

Plus, with so much upheaval, you're in a singularly good position to acquire new territory.
(Roll a D10 for starting blood pool. You may enter the city through whatever sensible means you decide.)

[kijin djinn]

[roll0]

for my blood pool.

[kijin djinn]

I will get to the city through whatever roads are still open at the moment.
When I get there I will introduce my self to the primogen first. And I will feed.

[Acanous]

Calling the number from your contact list, it rings twice before picking up. You hear water running in the background.
"You've reached Donovan. To whom am I speaking?"

[kijin djinn]

This is Theodore. I am here to help with the sewer problem.

[Acanous]

"Good to have you, Theodore. Our territories include Chinatown, perhaps we could meet there to discuss matters a little more comfortably?"
Your gnawing hunger makes his verbose manner slightly irritating, but he is the Primogen..

[kijin djinn]

"I'll be there in 10"
on the way i will feed on a back ally mortal and be sure to lick the wounds close.

[Acanous]

Roll Wits+Survival, please.
You make the journey without any significant problems, and see the red archway that proclaims entrance to Calgary's Chinatown above the market square. Shops are still open, one of the benefits of big city downtown territories.

[kijin djinn]

OOC: Is that a D10 plus dots in wits and survival?

[Acanous]

No, it's []rollv[]xd10[]/roll[] where x is your Wits+Survival.

[kijin djinn]

[roll0]

OOC: thanks

IC: As I reach China town I try to find Donovan.

[Acanous]

(You need to add the V, rollv shows each die result. That said, 16 on 2d10 is minimum 1 success, so...)
Looking for a quick snack on the way, you do find a stray cat. It's not much, but you get a small meal out of it. (Gain 1 BP)
You find Donovan at the Silver Dragon restaurant. The other patrons seem not to find his crowlike hooked face or gangly, pale appearance striking in any way. He's wearing a black suit that seems worn, but well taken care of.
Donovan sits in a private booth, watching plates of sushi sail by on little boats.

[kijin djinn]

I walk up to Donovan and introduce my self. "Hello Donovan. My name is Theodore, how may I be of service."

[Acanous]

Donovan nods to you. "Theodore I presume? Can you make yourself unseen? I have a number of tasks that would be both informative and rewarding, for the right enterprising individual. Knowing your abilities is tantamount to assigning the right task to you."
He gestures to a chinese waitress, some sort of prearranged signal. She leaves for the kitchen.

[kijin djinn]

"I can make myself unseen to both the eye and media. What is it that you have in mind?"

[Acanous]

"There is a young Ventrue I'd like to keep tabs on. One by the name of Rue Masters. She's a bit of an enigma, being at once very social and outgoing while maintaining her secrets very well. She's been... Delaying our restoration efforts. If you could, find out why. I'd be most appreciative. "

[kijin djinn]

"That souldnt be a problem."

[Acanous]

"Glad to hear." He nods. "For now, though, you're probably looking for shelter and something to eat. We're a bit short of territory right now, obviously. But you can use the Agriculture building in the Stampede center. Nobody going there for the next week or two, and by then you'll have the Prince's blessing and your own hideaway, I'm sure."
He holds up a hand, and the waitress brings over a styrofoam to go package. "This should sustain you for the night. Consider it a gesture of Hospitality."

[kijin djinn]

"Thank you." I take the package. "Also before I go would you mind telling me the big players in the criminal under ground?"

[Acanous]

"We have six large scale criminals here, four involved in the drug trade, one in human trafficking, and the last is in the sex trade. The drugs are the usual- Triad, Hell's Angels, the Quebecois and Columbians. Some new girl named Janet is starting to muscle in on Glide Bobbi Fly's operations. He's the king of whores, if you couldn't tell. As for the flesh trade, a man named Carlos Yin is operating it out of a double story commercial block on 28th ave. Good for our needs, if you have the coin."

[kijin djinn]

"Thank you for the information, is there anything else that you need?"

[Acanous]

"That will suffice for now. Unless you have any other concerns?"
You're good to leave if you'd like. Inside that box, you find a blood bag.

[kijin djinn]

"Then I will take my leave. But before I do, where is a good place to find Rue?"

Once I Leave I will head to the Agriculture building. (by the way about what time of night is it?) Once I get there I will enjoy the snack.

[Acanous]

it's around 10 PM on Wednesday. You've got about a half hour walk to get to the Ag building.

"She has an office in Banker's Hall. The entire building belongs to the Ventrue. Same with the entirety of Brookfield, if my informants elsewhere are to be trusted. Aside from that, she's been conducting a lot of operations from the Prince of Peace village east of Calgary."

You gain one Blood Point from the bag.

[kijin djinn]

I am going to the bankers hall to scope out the place and see if Rue is there. The whole time I will be Obfuscated.

[Acanous]

Understood.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/3009224449_a39ec7126b_b.jpg

Banker's hall is a two city block long tower of glass and metal. Three floors float between the two towers, serving both as a connective bridge and a shopping center.
If Donovan's information is correct, you're looking for Rue Masters, the CEO of Fantasia Diabolique women's wear.
Her office is up on the 10th floor of the East tower.

Obfuscation gets you through the front doors, but a cursory inspection of the elevators and stairwells shows you're going to need a passkey to get above the 4th floor.

[kijin djinn]

I look around to see if anyone is going in or out of the doors.

[Acanous]

It's a bit of a wait, but yes. You do see an elderly couple entering the building. Looks like they're going to the Parkade elevators.
There's an Asiatic janitor using a clunky red machine to buff the floor, and a pair of night security- private guards from the look of them, not rent-a-cops.
Aside from that, the floor seems clear.

[kijin djinn]

im going to follow the security gaurds see if they go to the 10th floor or near it.

[Acanous]

The guards stay on the desk for a while. Occasionally one goes for a bathroom break while the other mans the desk. It's [roll0] hours before you can follow one on patrol. Luckily, you aren't in a big rush.

The bigger, balder man goes on patrol first, and heads for an elevator. You catch a ride up with no difficulty, but give me a Dex+Stealth for following him on his route without raising suspicion.

[kijin djinn]

[roll0]
for my roll

[Acanous]

You successfully shadow the guard through the unfamiliar tower without bumping in to anything or otherwise alerting him to your presence. When he opens the stairwell door to the 10th floor, you easily slip through, and wait for him to leave.

The 10th floor seems to only be a partial, with cutaway flooring letting you peer down into the few cubicles and studio setups through the glass panels above. glass doors, mag-locked, lead to a central lobby VIA metal spiral staircase. You see another set of stairs inside the three-floor office space, leading up to a large, disconnected room on the 10th floor.
The entire space is sparsely lit.

You are currently near the stairwell, next to the main elevators.

[kijin djinn]

OOC: do i see the ventrue

[Acanous]

Not at the moment. The place seems empty. Dimly lit, but empty. Of course, that inside 10th floor office is pretty solid, and she could be in there.

[kijin djinn]

Im going to try to disable the magnetic lock.

[roll0]

[Acanous]

Using an old trick taught to you by your sire, you manage to pop the lock without too much difficulty. They're going to notice in the morning if you don't fix that screw, but for now, you're in, and the security system shouldn't have tripped.

Inside, you see there's plenty of things left out. Garments on mannequins- all female lingerie, along with the occasional professional make up kit, tailoring supplies, and concept art.

You've got a couple studios and cubicles you could poke around in, the main reception and guestbook, and of course the upstairs office.

[kijin djinn]

Theodor squeaks into the darkness to summon forth friendly neighborhood rats
"Squeekity squeek squeeken"

OOC: 1WP for auto success.

[roll0]

[kijin djinn]

When the brown clad brethren arrive, Theodore issues them one simple command in the rats native tongue...

"Go forth and multiply my brothers!"

[roll0]

[kijin djinn]

With his orders issued he will now search for reasons why the Rue would be against the Nos reclaiming the sewers. He will also take pictures of the concept art with his phone.

[Acanous]

Well, just to clear this one- there are no rats in Calgary. In all of Alberta, actually. They really, really hate rats. Government funded exterminations happen when any are discovered. I'll go with Mice here, it's close enough. Will take a bit, though. They have a long way to go.
As you wait for your rodent friends, the chime of an elevator downstairs notifies you that someone's arrived. You can give me a Dex+Stealth or spend on Obfuscate- it's been a while. Both would help if the arrival has Auspex...

[kijin djinn]

So when did the Nosfer-frickin-atu let a bunch of kine kill thier main do it all animal in thier own SEWERS!!!?

[roll0] and i dont need to spend on obfuscate.

Theodore waits patiently next to the stairs to the center cubicle to see who the intruder is. He looks around to see if there is anything made of wood with in reasonable distance.

[Acanous]

Well, it's more that rats weren't a native animal, and were never introduced in significant number. Back about 30 years ago, there wasn't a hospitable habitat for them, either. You did get a very good roll, though. As we speak, mice are coming from all over downtown to flood into the building.
The intruder is a blonde woman, chin length hair styled sharply to frame her face. She's wearing an elegant one-piece dress that enhances the figure and reveals enough skin to stretch the boundaries of "Tasteful" without crossing to "Trashy".
You hear a beep from the lower floor lobby, and she walks in confidently, letting it "Thung" closed behind her.

The click of her stiletto heels is a dead giveaway for her position, should you need to track by ear.

There's a few wooden things nearby- The reception desk has an oak top and metal siding. Chair behind you is plastic and has rollers. Drawers on the inside of the desk might be wood. Nothing that'd serve as a weapon without needing to be loudly "Improvised".

[kijin djinn]

Theodore waits patiently to see if she goes into the center cubicle, and if she does he will follow her in.

[Acanous]

She actually heads for the interior stairs, towards the 10th floor detached office. You may have lucked out.
The first of your mice crawls through an air duct. Shouldn't be too long, now. (Do you still wish to follow?)

[kijin djinn]

Yes Theodore will follow her. As he enters the interior, he will look for any important objects or cameras.

[Acanous]

You follow her up some modern metal stairs, then notice she's got a very long, gradually sloped office. Looks like it's set up so anyone entering is going to be looking up at the person seated behind the big desk at the back.
The lady in red walks over to the desk, removes a small key ring from her purse, and unlocks a drawer. She seems to be fiddling around in there by memory, but reaches for a lamp with her off hand. While she fools around with it, you notice there's a number of paintings and sculptures in the office. They all appear stern, as if casting a negative judgement on you. This would be a very uncomfortable place to negotiate.

There's also a set of full length mirrors, which provide a good all-around view for anyone seated at the desk. Luckily, she's still hunched over browsing files.
You spot a laptop computer in sleep mode on one corner, and a well stocked liquor cabinet near the back wall. Looks like there's a half-finished design on a mannequin in the opposite corner.

[kijin djinn]

Theodore sneaks up behind the Lady in Red, holding his breath so not to make a sound.

Remember he has False Reflection so he wont show up on the mirrors.

[Acanous]

You are now behind her. If you breathe, she'd probably feel it on her neck. Good thing you don't have to breathe.

She hits the switch on her desk lamp, and the room is illuminated in a soft yellow glow. This woman is breathtakingly... Beautiful isn't the word. She looks like weaponized sex. Smells like cinnamon. She's obviously the boss, could be the girl you were supposed to be watching.

You see the files she's sifting through are actually photocopies of book pages. In other languages. A strange thing to have, in an office like this.

[kijin djinn]

Theodore is going to wait until the mice start causing confusion, then take pictures of the pages in her desk.

[Acanous]

The first squeaking, skittering sound from downstairs, she ignores. The second causes her to look up from her work, and grab a file. As the tempo increases, she slides the drawer shut and turns out the light, then walks with a predatory grace towards the stair, wearing the darkness like a cloak. She doesn't scream when she sees the mice, but you can read the shock in her body language.

She grabs for her phone, and sends a text, shutting the office door in the process. It locks with a soft click.

Do you still want to take pictures, or would you rather go for lifting the hard copies?

[kijin djinn]

I would still rather take the pictures, I dont want her to know I was here.

[Acanous]

You pull the camera app on your phone, disable the flash, and carefully align it so you can make out the words on the paper in the gloom.
had to double check for common sense.
Then you click the button, and the shutter sound plays. That sound that government regulations require to play on every phone ever since that rash of upskirt photos hit the net.
[roll0]
There's squeaking and scrabbling from downstairs, but the jig might just be up. Want to keep going and take your chances, book it now, or fight?

[kijin djinn]

Cursing Himself for his stupidity he is going to switch to video and record the papers. After that is done he is going to get the heck out of there.

Just asking in an earlyer post i said Theodore was going to take pics of the fasion drawings, was he able to get them before being interupted?

[Acanous]

Yes, you got those without problem.
You swap to video, and get some hasty footage of the files from behind the desk, carefully hiding the screen light from the woman's sweeping gaze. It's made easier by the positioning of the room, though you notice her carefully edging her way back towards the desk, while typing quick messages on her cell phone. She looks more angry than afraid, which might have you worried if you weren't a master of stealth.
"Look. Whoever you are. I know you can hear this, and while I don't appreciate having my office violated, I am willing to forgive this indiscretion. So long as we come to an arrangement. You've got skills and information I can use, and I have quite a bit to offer. Let's resolve this professionally, before things escalate, shall we?"
Your squeaky friends are now causing quite the commotion downstairs, and you see her wince as something crashes on the main floor.

[kijin djinn]

"What do you have in mind"Theodor says whith his enchanting voice as he materializes right be hind her.

[Acanous]

She shrugs, doing something with her shoulders that makes you wish you'd appeared in front of her instead.
"First, I'd like the problem currently assaulting my downstairs studio dealt with. As a show of good faith. From me, I'll go ahead and call off my cavalry. Then, why don't you grab a seat, I'll have some refreshments delivered, suiting your taste of course, and we can discuss what I want, and what I can do for you. Though I'm sure from this facility, you've already got a few ideas, hmm?"

[kijin djinn]

All right Ill call off the mice, but this had beter be worth my while.

Theodor heads down stairs to the mice.

Squeek squeeken squeeketh. He chitters away to call off the mice.

Im not sure if you want me to roll but here it is anyway [roll0]

[Acanous]

She taps off another text, then slides her phone into a bra-side pocket.
"So. I'm going to want to know who has been digging in to my affairs, and if you know why, you'll be getting a bonus."
The woman practically struts to her chair, giving you a bit of a show. She's either supremely confident or doing this for your benefit.

I can pay in money, shelter, sustenance, women, men. No children, but I doubt that's your thing." Sitting in her chair, she swivels to face you, legs crossed and arms folded. To her credit, she merely raises an eyebrow at your physical appearance.
"What is it you desire?"

[kijin djinn]

I'm not sure who else is looking into your affairs but I am sure I can find out, as far as why I am here, I was wondering why the sewers were still flooded and sense you happen to have fingers in a lot of pies I figured you might know why. He says mildly, as he takes a seat in front of her desk.
By the way what is your name, I like knowing who my business partners are.

[Acanous]

Se arches an eyebrow incredulously.
wits+Empathy[roll0]
"You brought some kind of backup, I hear it going on downstairs. That's a bit more than idle curiosity."
If you want her to buy this, you'll have to give me a Manipulation+Subterfuge
"I'm Rue. Rue Masters, of Fantasia Diabolique."
She gestures about the office, for emphasis.
"I'm not a plumber, I don't fix flooded sewers. But you're here because you've got a need because of it, and I meet needs."

[kijin djinn]

[roll0]

The backup? No thats just mice, nothing more then a practical joke. Theodore smiles at her. What information can you get me on the sewers? and what price would the information cost?

[Acanous]

"Plans and layout, new construction, abandoned areas. Links to drainage points, treatment facilities, a current map, with city overlay on top. That wouldn't be too hard- tell me what, specifically, you came here for, and I'll get you that."

[kijin djinn]

What has been stoping the kine from fixing the sewers. As you may know the Nosferatu use the sewers to keep the Masqurade, but the sanitation issue for the kine has got to be an issue for them.

[Acanous]

"Ah. The Rats. Donovan, then. I have nothing to do with the sewers, though I know someone who is. If you'd like, I can point you towards him. Get you a few pieces of information that you can take back to Donovan."