Episode 1 - New Blood

[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're listening to the All Night Society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens Court Games. Normally, stories like this start with something like it was an ordinary day. But there's no such thing as an ordinary day when you're dead. An ordinary day for most people is waking up after not getting enough sleep, hopping into a car that's on its last legs, driving to a job you hate, begging for lunch, distracting yourself with your phone, putting in the minimal effort to get the paycheck that will let you survive. Vampires don't have that kind of routine. Not that kind of routine. You have to wake up. You probably have something to do today that you're not excited to do. You'll have to balance some of your time around finding food to stay alive. But nothing about any of those processes resembles what mortals would call an ordinary day. Tonight, you will be summoned. Powers greater than yours in politics that you have either not managed to orient yourself in or just don't care enough about to understand will wrap their fingers around you and drag you into the world that you've tried so hard to avoid. But until that happens, I'm curious. What does a quote unquote ordinary day look like for our coterie? Or should I say ordinary night? [00:02:05] Speaker B: Being one of the few Tremere left in Chicago, my time is spent in the chantry. I rise every evening and get straight to work. Researching, mostly reading, preparing rituals, doing whatever it is that the Regent requires of me. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. [00:02:33] Speaker A: Is there a specific word inside the Tremere pyramid for bitch work? [00:02:40] Speaker B: Oh, no. I think we just call it neonate work. [00:02:49] Speaker A: In that case, you're in a hideously appropriate line of work this evening. [00:02:55] Speaker B: It makes it hard when you've gone from being the childa of a Regent to just any other neonate. [00:03:03] Speaker A: I have it on good authority that you were given no special treatment based on your relationship to the Regent of Las Vegas. Was that a lie? [00:03:11] Speaker B: Absolutely not. But I suppose it depends on who you ask. [00:03:19] Speaker A: Well, I don't know that you'd find many vampires lining up to say nice things about Ivy LaRue these days. [00:03:25] Speaker B: That is a fact. [00:03:28] Speaker A: Carrying on, then. Joshua Crozier the sun's gone down. Josh is up. What's going on, bud? [00:03:38] Speaker C: My nights are spent more or less the same way. If I'm hungry, I feed. Otherwise, I stay in my small, cramped little apartment, working on piecing together the clues of the world around me, trying to find the next punishment. [00:04:00] Speaker A: There's millions of people in Chicago, surely all of them having committed some crime or moral error at some point. How do you decide who's most deserving. [00:04:14] Speaker C: Those who get away? The cases that went cold months or years ago, whether due to shady practices, malpractice, even the guile and wit of the perpetrators, going back and tracing the steps that nobody thought to before. That's my specialty. [00:04:40] Speaker A: I suppose being a detective is a lot easier when you don't have to worry about due process or search warrants or police brutality claims. [00:04:48] Speaker C: It certainly is. [00:04:51] Speaker D: So. [00:04:52] Speaker A: Joshua Crozier stalks the night, uninhibited by the legalistic norms of the world he left behind. Elsewhere in the city, Rebecca wakes in the hollowed out remnants of an abandoned grain silo. Like Joshua disinterested in the greater political scene. Unlike Joshua, not hell bent on destroying people who managed to evade justice. What's going on tonight? [00:05:19] Speaker E: It's a quiet existence, if not lonely. I awake, as I have for the past almost two centuries now. I wake up, I check the area around me. I make my moves. I perform my own little patrols for intruders. Mortal kindred, something other. I've just the birds for the company. And while they can keep an eye out for things, I know exactly what I'm looking for. And unless tonight brings it out, I suspect that this evening will go like any other quiet solitude. [00:06:03] Speaker A: We, of course, have your families to rely upon for company. But one bird hardly seems enough. When you summon the urban creatures of Chicago to your aid, who's your favorite ally in that fight? [00:06:21] Speaker E: Aside from my loyal FAMULUS, of course. I find that man's best friend. Your common canine is a good companion in its unadulterated form. Nothing beats the loyalty of a creature that's been molded to work at your side. [00:06:40] Speaker A: If only kindred had spent 2000 years breeding one another into loyalty and compliance, how much simpler the world would be. [00:06:48] Speaker B: Laughs in tremir. [00:06:51] Speaker A: Excellent point. So Rebecca tends to her turf with the aid of creatures, avian and canine alike. Which leaves us with schmendric. A lonely nosferatu seems an oxymoron to me. But Chicago hasn't been especially kind to you so far. So as you rise in the metallic womb of a shipping container, what does your night have in store? [00:07:18] Speaker F: Well, I like to try and make the best of a bad situation. So the unkindness of Chicago don't really weigh too heavily on my shoulders for the moment. And the night starts at my pace. I've never been one to live to excess, so it's safe to say I'm very much into the whole I work to live, I don't live to work ideal. Should I require money, it's no issue to simply sit at my computer and use one of my many talents to siphon funds from a corporation that will not miss it. And so when I wake up, it's all about the me time. Looking into personal projects, taking care of my friends and loved ones. If I'm feeling particularly uninspired that night, I always have my Familius, Aristotle, to keep me company gaming. Or if I feel the need, I inflict myself upon my landlord, if you. [00:08:18] Speaker A: Want to call him that, in any given week. How many times does your wanderlusting mind lead to eret Stottle versus landlord tension? [00:08:36] Speaker F: I try not to introduce those two to each other, because the last thing I need is for him to set a trap and for my Familius to just not return home. That make me very sad. So I would say if there are any landlord harassment done on Eric Stottle's part, it's safely done and more of an inconvenience to him rather than anything. [00:09:00] Speaker A: Malicious enough to get a rise out of the man. But not so much that he feels compelled to go to the local hardware store and stock up some anti rat. [00:09:09] Speaker F: Warfare deaf content against my rat would be very bad. [00:09:14] Speaker A: It sounds so humble, doesn't it? Maybe I was wrong. Maybe kindred do just wake up, go to work leading the kind of life that, in retrospect, might feel meaningless, wasted or empty. But fate conspires this evening to save you from idleness and mediocrity. A few hours after sunset, one by one, across the city, four individual messages make it to four individual kindred. The message is simple. You've been instructed to meet at a specific diner, at a specific time, where the sheriff will be waiting for you. But however the message arrives, the one who delivers it makes clear that this request we'll call it comes from someone who doesn't make requests at all. They give orders. The Prince has given you instructions. For some of you, that'll be a simple task, setting aside the plans you had for the evening to go. Tend to the needs of the Camarilla. For others, you might have to overcome some personal hesitation first or seek permission from a superior. Walk me through that. [00:10:35] Speaker B: I don't believe the message would have gotten to me. Given my location in the chantry, it would have been dropped off with whoever was covering the door, and it would have found its way to me. But surely not before Abraham du Sable was informed of it. [00:10:53] Speaker A: Nothing happens in the chantry without the Regent's knowledge. [00:10:57] Speaker B: This is true. So while he would not bring me the message himself, he would definitely be aware of it. So when I go to him informing him of the message purely out of. [00:11:10] Speaker A: Show, you're making an appropriate show of deference. [00:11:16] Speaker B: Exactly. It's no surprise that he acts like he knows exactly what is going on. And he knows better than to keep me from an appointment with the prince. [00:11:27] Speaker A: Of course. Abraham du Sable is a loyal servant of the Camarilla and shows all the appropriate respect to the kindred who holds praxis over this city. But it's only appropriate that if you had any business with the prince that he didn't know about, you would share that right? [00:11:47] Speaker B: Of course. I was instructed to do as I was told. And if the Regent were to ask me questions, I would have to answer them. [00:11:55] Speaker A: There's none to lie. You have nothing to hide. What possible reason could the Prince have to summon you? [00:12:02] Speaker B: Literally zero. There's nothing. I have no relationship with the prince. [00:12:10] Speaker A: Do you suppose that makes him more suspicious or puts him more at ease? [00:12:17] Speaker B: Oh, 100% more suspicious. Especially knowing who my sire is. I can't imagine that he assumes this has nothing to do with her. [00:12:29] Speaker A: To every regent's greatest fear, a neonate arrives, spoiled by access to their betters. They say no man can serve two masters. I'm sure the same is true of the kindred. And now you have three. A well positioned Tremere gallivanting in the old world. The prince, of course, now. And apparently at the bottom of that pile, regent Abraham du Sapiel. [00:12:55] Speaker B: It's a hard thing to juggle. [00:12:57] Speaker A: Well, you can take solace in the correct knowledge that he's not going to stand in your way. And neither will he do you the satisfaction of demanding a report. Why ever would he admit that he doesn't know what's going on? At the same time, you understand intuitively, that when this is over, if you decided not to share that with him, well, that would be putting a strain on your already fragile relationship, wouldn't it? [00:13:23] Speaker B: Life in the pyramid is always a delicate back and forth. This is no exception. [00:13:30] Speaker A: Spoken like the truest of loyalists, ivy LaRue has bureaucratic obstacles to overcome, perhaps egos to soothe on the way out the door. Joshua also has an ego to tend to when it comes to following the prince's orders. For better or for worse, it's not someone else's. You have your own rules. You're an independent kindred whose life so far has been nothing but ruined by the machinations of your elders. And now one demands your presence at his door. How's that feel? [00:14:08] Speaker C: It certainly doesn't feel good. I must admit, when I first receive, read and comprehend the summons, there's a small, tiny little part of me that just for an instant considers, what if I just didn't? But even as soon as I have that thought, I know that that's not a possibility. [00:14:38] Speaker A: You've already survived one blood hunt, Joshua. Do you really want to risk another? [00:14:42] Speaker C: Well, that's exactly the problem. In accepting this summons, I am putting myself once again into the limelight isn't the right word, but I'm throwing myself back into the machine of vampire politics. I have no idea what the prince wants of me, but the fact that he's consulting me personally, I don't like it. [00:15:11] Speaker A: It's the vampire equivalent of your girlfriend coming up to you before dinner and saying, sweetie, can we talk? [00:15:18] Speaker C: Exactly. Not going would be a certain blood hunt. I can't help but feel that going is an eventual bloodhunt. [00:15:29] Speaker A: Well, thankfully, that level of pessimism isn't shared throughout the Coterie schmendrick. For all your daily woes, you tend to have a better disposition about these kind of things. But at the same time, there are more nosferatu in this city than almost any other clan. Surely if the prince had need of a sewer rat, there would be other names on his list. But instead, it's you that does strike. [00:15:56] Speaker F: Me as a little OD. And while I do play along with most political things, toe the line, as it were I've never been one to take the words of authority very well. I know I can't very well miss the summons from Prince Jackson without consequences. So I'll sit for a time and just kind of, like, twirl the invitation in my fingers, not really wanting to leave my shipping container. I'll wait until, like, the very last moment, and then I'll get in my car and be on my way. I'll be on time, but just barely. [00:16:35] Speaker A: You have to show the prince the necessary respects. But there's nothing that says you have to be the student in the front row with your hand up, right? [00:16:43] Speaker F: Exactly. I'll leave that to other people in the mm hmm. [00:16:48] Speaker A: Although I'm certain you're not referring to Rebecca, whose first, last, and only meeting with the prince took on a rather aggressive tone. There aren't many kindred in the city, or the world, for that matter, who could deliver an ultimatum like that to their betters and come out the other end unscathed. And here you are. Rebecca, what did you do? [00:17:14] Speaker E: Last I checked, not anything that would concern him. And yet, here it is. A court summoning from the prince. Shocked would be a heavy word, for it bemused too prideful. But it's interesting. [00:17:34] Speaker A: So, one by one, on your own timetables or otherwise, four kindred depart their havens, set aside their responsibilities, and offer their loyal service to the prince of Chicago. Joshua, you'll show up first. I'm assuming that's not because you're enthusiastic to meet the occasion. Maybe it's just that you were the closest. [00:18:04] Speaker C: It's also to a good degree. The quicker I get here and figure out what's going on, the quicker I can go back to my quiet little apartment. [00:18:16] Speaker A: A fair assessment. So you arrive in the parking lot of a worn down, beat up fast food restaurant. The kind of place where the age of the building is measured in the cracked tiles on the floor where the clientele at this hour are slackers and stoners and partygoers people who don't need to be awake in the morning and have that late night itch for something greasy and loaded with carbs. In the mortal world, this is depressing. But for a kindred, especially one of your particular condition, all you can think about is how isolated it is. But you step inside regardless. On the one hand, you have no choice, and on the other hand, you're eager to see the princess summons put to bed. You recognize Damien, the sheriff you've met before you suffered his interrogation when you first came into the city. Judging by his eyes, he recognizes you as well, but it's unclear whether you were the face he was expecting. All you can tell for now is that his normally laid back demeanor is instead consumed, replaced with a barely concealed nervous energy, very atypical for the sheriff. He sits in a corner booth, uneaten fries, uneaten burger, sitting in front of him on a red plastic tray. He does nothing to draw your attention, only waits. [00:19:50] Speaker C: I will eye him for a moment and then walk, take a seat at his table, point to his burger and fries and say, you gonna eat that? [00:20:02] Speaker A: He smirks. No, man, I I said no. Condiments and they loaded this thing with ketchup and mayonnaise. It's yours if you want it. [00:20:13] Speaker C: I pulled the tray closer, so it's now sitting in front of me. But essentially just do the same thing he was doing. Let it sit there, maybe watch a fly walk across the bun. [00:20:27] Speaker A: No need for small talk, eh? [00:20:30] Speaker C: I figure the fact he hasn't already started laying the facts down means we're waiting for something. [00:20:36] Speaker A: Indeed, a suspicion, no doubt further justified by the way he keeps looking down at his watch. There are still a few minutes, yet one or two of those minutes passes. Another unfamiliar face enters the restaurant. You can tell she's kindred by the way she carries herself. This building is not full of the independent, confident, wise with age type, but the woman who carries herself across the threshold. Despite her youthful features, she possesses that certain something of an old mind and a young body. Rebecca Mitchell, you're on the scene. [00:21:16] Speaker E: I walk into what might be the first time I've ever entered a fast food restaurant. But despite this new experience, I carry myself with the same dignity and respect that I would walk into any situation, be it battlefield or in this case, fast food meetup. [00:21:36] Speaker A: How sure are you that this isn't a battlefield? [00:21:39] Speaker E: I've seen battle, and there's not that sense in the air that something's about to happen. Tension, sure, but not the kind that. [00:21:47] Speaker A: Precedes bloodshed, we hope, anyway, there's no. [00:21:52] Speaker E: Need to be outwardly hostile. And being that this is my first social outing in quite some time, might as well get right into it. I make eye contact with Damien, and I go to join the two other kindred at the table. [00:22:10] Speaker A: Three predators sitting amongst each other, allowing the silence to just crush down on their shoulders. It does nothing to ease the tension. Even in the most awkward of kindred meetups, there's usually some kind of discussion, something to talk about. But Damien can only check his watch waiting not for too much longer. It's maybe three minutes before the appointed start of the meeting when Ivy LaRue arrives. There's no need to wonder if she's kindred, the way she's dressed. She's not from this part of town. [00:22:50] Speaker B: I'm glad to know that. It's very obvious. Feels good. Upon seeing Damien and the other two kindred at the table, I make a beeline for them. Obviously not rushed, but purposefully. And I take a seat and look at Damien and smile and say, it's been a while. [00:23:16] Speaker A: Yeah, it has. We'll get to see you much out on the streets? [00:23:22] Speaker B: No, but, you know, I was never a fan of the streets. [00:23:29] Speaker A: How are things in the Magic Castle these days? [00:23:32] Speaker B: Oh, just wonderful. You know, Du Sable runs a tight ship over there, and he's keeping me on a very short leash. [00:23:42] Speaker A: Yeah, I've never understood that about well, your family so rigid. Not for me. [00:23:51] Speaker B: No, it's not for many people. But there's something endearing about it, calming the structure, the focus that you can achieve in a quiet library. [00:24:07] Speaker C: I don't say anything out loud because causing undue tension in an already unpleasant scenario is undesirable. But through my head, I just have running. Of course it's a fucking premiere. [00:24:25] Speaker A: It's always a fucking premiere, isn't it? [00:24:29] Speaker B: Hashtag facts just for funsies, could I make, like, a wits and insight roll to see if I notice Josh's eye rolling that he's doing over there? [00:24:45] Speaker C: I don't think I'd be trying to conceal it, really. I just wouldn't say anything out loud. [00:24:51] Speaker A: And Josh isn't making any effort to conceal his derision for your clan and everyone in it, which makes it very easy for you to sense that in his eyes. [00:25:03] Speaker B: Let's be clear. I am very used to people judging me and feeling a very specific way towards me. And it's almost always out of jealousy. And that's fine. I'm used to it. Just another day. [00:25:16] Speaker A: Of course it's the only reason anyone has ever been upset with you is because they recognize that you're a threat to their station as the best student, the most gifted. [00:25:30] Speaker B: Uh, what's that old adage by the wonderful philosopher T. Swift? Just gotta shake it off because the hater's gonna hate. Hate, hate, hate, hate. [00:25:45] Speaker A: Well, the three of you were here. Damien's watch Beeps on the half hour. He's got a certain uncomfortable look on his face. Looking past the three of you into the rest of the room. He's about to open his mouth. Has anyone seen and the door opens. Walking through it a visage that cannot be anything else but nosferatu. [00:26:09] Speaker F: I am most certainly an oddity, even in a place like this. I'm wearing one of those disposable blue face masks, a pair of dark sunglasses, hoodie over my head. I quickly spot the group and grab one of the plastic chairs nearby and, dragging the legs across the floor, bring it up to the table and sit down with the others. Hey. Didn't realize it was going to be a party. Oh, fries. And I will snatch up some of the fries from the nearby basket. [00:26:41] Speaker A: It's got to be good to be the only one who can. [00:26:44] Speaker F: Mm hmm. [00:26:46] Speaker A: Do you dip them in something? [00:26:48] Speaker E: Probably. [00:26:49] Speaker A: Ketchup a classic. Nothing wrong with that. [00:26:52] Speaker B: Question. Is schmendric a dipper or a scooper with her? [00:26:57] Speaker F: Definitely. Scooping can be nice, but when you dip, you get kind of that satisfying sensation. [00:27:08] Speaker A: All right, so that said, if Damien is concerned by your barely late arrival, he doesn't make a scene out of it. Maybe he expects these kind of things out of nosferatu. Or maybe he's just happy everyone showed up the very second that the four of you were there. Joshua glaring quietly at Ivy, ivy preening under his gaze. Rebecca sitting arms crossed, waiting, schmendrick gleefully stuffing her face. Sheriff Damien reaches from under his seat and retrieves a bulky brown paper envelope. He sets it square in the middle of the table and is already moving to get up. He says, enjoy your meal. The Prince only requested that the envelope reach you. My work here is done. The four phones inside are burners. They connect to my people. You'll get one use out of each of them, then they're dead. We clear? Of course we're clear. Enjoy the rest of your evening. The Sheriff rises with no further concern, carrying himself out of the building with an urgency that charitably could be called the desire to get back to work, but feels a lot more like not wanting to be anywhere near what's about to happen. [00:28:37] Speaker F: I'm sure to give the Sheriff a wave as he heads out, and then stare at the envelope, going, Ah, what a pain. [00:28:47] Speaker B: Not wanting Schmendrick to get her greasy fingers all over whatever is inside the envelope, I would reach for it first. The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can get back to whatever it is I was doing at the Chantry. So I would open it, I would pass out the phones and I would see what the message is. [00:29:10] Speaker A: On. A rather fancy stationery. It's got a nice weight to it. The text is handwritten. The camarilla has already made perfectly clear to its members that every printer puts a small tracking code on every page that comes out of it. So we don't do official correspondence via printed medium anymore. Unfolding the note. It's a letter from someone called PKJ. [00:29:40] Speaker B: Nice to know that the Prince writes his own letters, even if he doesn't deliver them himself. [00:29:45] Speaker E: My trusted kin, I write to you in complete confidence. Confidence you will remain silent about the information in this letter and confidence you will perform this task competently and swiftly. Tomorrow night, a delegation will arrive at O'Hare. You are to safely guard and transport them from the airport to the third floor of the SC the night after 2100 hours, no later, the night of their arrival. It is your task to keep them somewhere safe, bringing them to the SC on the night following. I should not have to mention I expect the delegation to arrive at the SC intact and well rested. Our visitors consist of two individuals of our kind. A small framed younger East Asian woman with long, dark hair and a bald, bearded older gentleman who I choose to describe as unkempt. Meet the delegation at 2200 hours outside the terminal. Five herrik's grocers in the arrivals area. A car will be ready for you at the Terminal Five parking lot in zone H 22, the registration and keys for which are also in this envelope. Though you may wish to arrange an additional car of your own, do ensure certain troublemakers from within our social club. Do not disrupt your task. I'm confident you are aware of whom I speak, but for clarity's sake, I have enclosed files Damien compiled. Use the night you receive my message to subtly kill the fire before it begins. Do not cause unnecessary trouble by leaving stains on the ground. Merely subdue potential issues temporarily for your own and the city's sake. I don't want anyone feeling like they need to cause a rebellion due to your actions. Payment for the successful completion of this task is guaranteed. And in keeping with my family's generosity. Sincerely, PKJ. [00:31:37] Speaker C: Do we know what the SC is? [00:31:40] Speaker A: Ivy is the one who is reading it. I'm sure she would definitely not tell you because that's the kind of thing you should just know and she wants the satisfaction of you asking her if you don't. [00:31:54] Speaker B: Obviously. [00:31:58] Speaker A: Contained inside the note as you unfold it are three additional slips of paper not handwritten on the same stationery. Someone has used an antique typewriter, judging by the weight of the individual letters and the occasional smear in between a serif and the remainder of the text. One refers to Noah Grawal, alias Flyboy, the second refers to Charles Dawson, alias Crook, and a fourth only to someone named Genghis. Between the three of you schmendric, you know Crook Dawson. Every nosferatu knows crook. Dawson. In fact, second to the Primidian, he might be the most famous Nosferatu in the city. Ivy, you recognize the name Genjis because it is on your list of. Under no circumstances am I to be seen interacting with this person in public list. [00:33:06] Speaker B: That list is just slightly shorter than avoid at all costs list. [00:33:11] Speaker A: Do you have an actual ranking system? [00:33:14] Speaker B: Yeah, there's a lot of factors that go into it though. [00:33:17] Speaker A: I'm just interested in the tiers. So if avoided all costs is like the worst category, and then before that, don't be seen interacting them with in public. How many more levels are there here? [00:33:28] Speaker B: There's seven. Just like the seven layers of hell. [00:33:30] Speaker A: I see. And does it get more populated as you get towards the bottom or less? [00:33:37] Speaker B: More. [00:33:38] Speaker A: Which layer does Josh rank on currently? [00:33:42] Speaker B: Because I haven't interacted with him too much and just by being a banu hakeem, he sits around four or five. [00:33:51] Speaker A: That's respectable. Well done, Josh. [00:33:55] Speaker C: I do try. I do try to make the Tramier dislike me. [00:34:01] Speaker B: Well, congratulations. You do a fantastic job. [00:34:04] Speaker A: Don't take too much credit because that's not hard to do. [00:34:09] Speaker B: It's not. Does anybody know Flyboy? Obviously we have somebody who knows Genghis and somebody who knows Crook, but does anybody happen to know Flyboy beyond like oh yes, I know that kindred exists. [00:34:25] Speaker A: Why don't you make an intelligence plus politics role for real. [00:34:29] Speaker B: Two successes. [00:34:32] Speaker A: With two successes. You know the genesis of his nickname. They call him Flyboy Grwal because he has taken up residence at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Previously, this was the territory of a very old, very powerful kindred. But its last owner, for lack of a better word, has been absent, and in his wake, Flyboy appears. It's a strange circumstance. O'Hare Airport is incredibly important to the kindred of Chicago. It's the only way to fly into the city. You can go to Midway. Sure, if you want to get torn apart by werewolves. So whoever controls O'Hare has control over the flow of kindred in and out of the city by air. Why then would the prince tolerate a thin blood holding that kind of power and influence? Who knows? [00:35:40] Speaker B: Okay, so we know a little bit about each of these players. Some of us are more intimately familiar with others, which is fine. [00:35:52] Speaker A: I would hesitate to use that word, but go on. [00:35:55] Speaker B: No. Okay. Sorry. Before we dive into talking about this, something tells me we shouldn't do it here at a fast food restaurant. [00:36:08] Speaker A: Ivy LaRue, faithful servant of the Masquerade. [00:36:11] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:36:14] Speaker A: So you made this concern known to your compatriots. At the very least, you could pile into someone's car. [00:36:23] Speaker B: Absolutely. I would suggest going to somebody's haven. If anybody is close by, obviously the chantry is off limits. Won't be taking anybody back there. [00:36:33] Speaker C: We can group up at my place. [00:36:36] Speaker A: Did you remember to hide all the cork boards and dossiers held together with connected string? [00:36:44] Speaker C: No, for the simple reason I didn't expect I'd be bringing anybody back. But they can look as they please. [00:36:53] Speaker B: And judge. Don't forget judge. [00:36:57] Speaker A: So Joshua volunteers his haven as a haven from prying eyes. [00:37:05] Speaker B: Cute. [00:37:07] Speaker A: The trip, of course, is uneventful. Chicago's streets are never entirely devoid of traffic, but at this hour, there's not enough to cause any problems or delays. Joshua, why don't you describe for us the view as the small caravan of Kindred piloted automobiles pulls up outside of your residence. [00:37:31] Speaker C: The apartment, as trashy as it is, is chosen very carefully because I wanted something that wasn't glamorous, flashy, attention drawing. But I also didn't want one of those places that looks like it's meant for people at the end of one road or another. So the apartment building is rundown, but not as rundown as it could be in a bad area, but not the worst area. [00:38:05] Speaker A: A nice little lower middle class Milange. [00:38:09] Speaker C: To the place, a carefully cultivated veneer of brick dust and grime with all. [00:38:17] Speaker F: Sincerity as we come out of the vehicles, I say, hey, nice place. [00:38:22] Speaker B: With all insincerity, I say, sure. [00:38:27] Speaker C: Well, do you want a place to regroup or do you want to talk about this, I don't know, park bench? [00:38:35] Speaker F: What are you talking about? I thought we were going in. [00:38:37] Speaker A: I think, given the opportunity, Ivy would actually pick park bench. So Joshua leads you. Up the stairs. It's the kind of building where there's no interior stairwells. It's just like low, squat, brick buildings that are separated. Four units here, four units there. But all the walking is outside. Unlocks the door. Unlocks the other lock on the door. Unlocks the third lock on the door, ushers you inside. As mentioned, your task is fairly straightforward. [00:39:10] Speaker B: Is there a role that I can make to find the least sticky chair, or are they all, like, roughly the same level of sticky? [00:39:19] Speaker C: I'm not the sort of kindred who pretends that I'm still a human being. [00:39:25] Speaker B: So are there actually chairs to sit in then? Or is it just like, here, have a cardboard box? [00:39:30] Speaker C: Oh, there are chairs, yes, because every once in a while, the fumigators are going to come through when I'm not home. And if they start noticing I don't have any chairs, well, things might get interesting. So what it looks like is there's, like, four chairs around the Ikea dining table. One is well used, and the others are dusty, brand new. [00:39:54] Speaker B: Okay. Standard bachelor pad. Got it. [00:39:58] Speaker E: Well, it's certainly more homey than what I currently call a residence. [00:40:03] Speaker F: I'm, for one, I'm looking less at the furniture and more at the redsting connected between pictures and theories and whatnot. And after a little bit, I turn to look at Joshua and Go, private investigator. [00:40:19] Speaker C: Private being the keyword. Why don't we focus on what we're here for? [00:40:26] Speaker F: Fair. [00:40:28] Speaker A: So the prince has identified a trio of troublemakers people he expects to cause mischief around the arrival of his very important guests. You know, these guests will arrive tomorrow night, which means you'll have to deal with these problems with some efficiency if you'd like to get it done in time. [00:40:49] Speaker B: All right. Taking a look at what we know, flyboy is probably the easiest to find. We know that he's at O'Hare. We have to go to O'Hare. He seems like the obvious first person to handle on this. [00:41:03] Speaker A: Hmm. [00:41:03] Speaker F: I can find Charles easy enough. The issue is going to be trying to get him out of this business. [00:41:11] Speaker B: Don't you Nosferatu trade in pogs or something? [00:41:16] Speaker F: How'd you know about our POG trading business? [00:41:19] Speaker B: I know a lot about a lot. [00:41:22] Speaker A: I think Ivy has confused the Nosferatu with trolls under the bridge in children's movies. [00:41:28] Speaker B: I'm sorry, there's a difference? [00:41:29] Speaker F: Yeah, we're not trolls. [00:41:32] Speaker A: My mistake. Carry on. [00:41:35] Speaker F: Well, I can see Charles deals in information. If we want to give him something juicy in return for him to stay out of our business, that's an option. But do you have anything juicy to share? I mean, Chantry knowledge? [00:41:55] Speaker B: Me? [00:41:55] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:41:59] Speaker B: No, not that I'm willing to share. [00:42:05] Speaker F: Yeah, I suspected that that would be your answer, so, yeah, finding something to trade with him would be a priority. [00:42:13] Speaker B: There has to be other information besides deep, dark Chantry secrets. [00:42:18] Speaker A: There's plenty of information out in the world. [00:42:20] Speaker F: Yeah, I'm sure. We'll figure it out. Our biggest problem, I think, though, is going to be Genjis, because we were going to have trouble finding him, it seems. [00:42:30] Speaker B: Well, then I think he needs to be the last one that we go after. Since we know where Flyboy is and we know how to find Crook. Makes sense to knock out the easiest and then worry about the hardest. Not a bad plan based on where we are right now in Josh's Haven. How long is it going to take us to travel to O'Hare to what do we have Crook's lounge near Rogers Park to find Crook himself. What's the timeline look like? [00:43:16] Speaker A: From Joshua's Haven on the near south side of Chicago to O'Hare is about 30 minutes by car. [00:43:26] Speaker B: Okay, that's not too bad. [00:43:29] Speaker A: This time of year, the sun sets around 630 or begins to set around 630. You expect dawn to arrive 640. You weren't contacted right away. Of course. The meeting probably happened at call it nine. So you have, what, 9 hours roughly. [00:43:53] Speaker B: To get all of this. Fantastic. Okay, so taking a look, rogers park is on the north side as well. So what, it's probably like a half hour just like east from O'Hare at that distance, or would it be closer? [00:44:19] Speaker A: Closer, yes. Lack of highways. [00:44:25] Speaker B: 20 minutes. [00:44:26] Speaker A: 20 minutes. [00:44:28] Speaker B: And then the Gold Coast. [00:44:33] Speaker A: That's on the north side of Chicago, just above the loop. Strictly speaking, it is the closest place to you. [00:44:43] Speaker B: Okay, well, taking into consideration that we do have travel time to worry about and we have very, very limited hours, I may amend my previous statement. Would it be better to try and locate Genjis, do you guys think? Or do you want to knock out the ones that we know we can find for sure first, and then if we can't find Genjis, we just have to deal with that. [00:45:10] Speaker A: You can also consider that you don't have to pick them up until later. [00:45:17] Speaker E: In the which gives us time to deal with any leftover bits. But handling what we know for certain first is our best course of action. [00:45:25] Speaker F: If we can't get Gingers, we can't get them, but at least we'll have two. [00:45:30] Speaker A: The absolute worst case scenario, you have to meet the delegation at Terminal Five at 10:00 P.m., which if you leapt straight to it, would give you three or 4 hours to deal with somebody. [00:45:44] Speaker B: Okay. Ideally it doesn't come to that. Hopefully we can be quick enough to get this done in one night, but it's nice to know that we do have that option. Then we should probably go to O'Hare first. We can figure out what to trade Crook in the meantime. How does one go about finding information to trade to Anasi like that? [00:46:08] Speaker F: It's all about what you know. I can do some digging. Might come up with something. See, he's going to want in on this, so finding something that's going to be as nice for him is going to be a challenge. Not going to lie. [00:46:25] Speaker B: When you say you could do some digging, do you mean like, you could just try and reach out to people or try and look up? [00:46:33] Speaker F: Yeah, I got some ways of finding useful information through the Internet. Have you heard of that? [00:46:42] Speaker B: No, I've lived under a rock my entire life. I have no idea what the Internet is. [00:46:47] Speaker F: Yeah, no, I was going to use that. [00:46:50] Speaker B: Okay, well, does that mean that you would like us to drop you off at your haven so you can do that and you won't? How long does that take? Is it something where we would need to drop you off and then come get you? Is it something that you could do on your phone while we're driving to O'Hare? [00:47:10] Speaker F: I have my laptop with me. I figure I can just sponge off of the airport Wi Fi because, let's face it, I don't do great in airports. A lot of people and I look very suspicious. So sit in the car and do that. [00:47:28] Speaker B: Okay, well, Aaron, is that acceptable then, for her to just be on her laptop looking up stuff while we handle. [00:47:36] Speaker A: Flyboy, then, sure, if you know what you're looking for. It's probably not the case that you can just go to Google and type in secrets charles Crook wants to know. [00:47:48] Speaker B: Okay, but I want to see that GeoCities page back in the have to. [00:47:54] Speaker E: Use Firefox for that. [00:47:56] Speaker F: I do have some contacts, so maybe I could use some of my influence to get something particularly juicy from him for him, rather. [00:48:06] Speaker A: At the very least, you can work on that while the others are busy dealing with civilization. But as I understand it, you're going to pile into somebody's vehicle and make the northward trek to O'Hare Airport. [00:48:22] Speaker B: Yes, sir. [00:48:25] Speaker F: I don't imagine you all are going to need me in there, but if you do, I have ways of getting in. It's just going to take me a bit. [00:48:33] Speaker B: Well, hopefully this thin blood isn't too much of a problem. And three experienced kindred can handle him on their own, but it's good to know that you're waiting in the wings. [00:48:47] Speaker F: I'm the backup. [00:48:49] Speaker A: Assuming she's not distracted with YouTube comments or a particularly spicy reddit thread. [00:48:56] Speaker F: Priorities. [00:48:58] Speaker A: O'Hare is referred to by those in the aviation business as the busiest square mile in the world. Every single year, 83 million meals pass through this airport. It is never not busy. [00:49:15] Speaker B: I'm so sorry. Did you seriously say 83 million meals? [00:49:20] Speaker A: I did, yes. [00:49:22] Speaker B: That tickled me. [00:49:23] Speaker F: I love it. [00:49:24] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:49:25] Speaker A: That's a whole lot of airport. And at the moment, all you have is that he's probably at the airport and he does some of his business through Felicity Miller, who works for the Department of Aviation. [00:49:42] Speaker B: Surely there's an office for Miss Miller that we can find. [00:49:50] Speaker A: Unlike secrets, Charles Crook wants to know. Googling. Felicity Miller. O'Hare airport. Does direct you to the Department of Aviation website. The administration keeps a separate building on the airport campus, away from the concourse and terminals and such. You know, at the very least, she would be in that building at this hour. But that's where her office is. [00:50:17] Speaker B: If she's working for a thin blood, something tells me she might be here. So much kindred stuff happens at night, it's too early for her to not be there, right? [00:50:28] Speaker A: Wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen in Chicago. [00:50:32] Speaker B: Well, I think it's time to go try our luck and see if we can schmooze our way into Felicity Miller's office. Can't be that hard. [00:50:41] Speaker A: Of course not. If the inside of an airport is depressing for its abundance of design features meant to distract you from how empty and soulless airports are, the Department of Aviation is its own special kind of purgatory because this is bare bones, post war plane glass facade that super tightly knit. Blue carpet that's in every public building. Fluorescent lights as far as the eye can see. Of course, in a post 911 world, there's security present. Not driving up to the airport, not driving up to the building. But as you leave the car and try to go inside, the first thing you're met with is a reception desk, a single guard manning his post, or at least watching something on a small TV while he pretends to man his post. But you show up and it's business, business, business. He goes so far as to mute the television as he looks up to the twin glass steel doors and meets your eyes. I'm sorry, folks, it's outside normal business hours. Is there something I can help you with? [00:51:57] Speaker B: Hi. Yeah, so sorry. I was directed to this building to meet with a Felicity Miller. I was told she might still be in her office. [00:52:08] Speaker A: Directed by whom? Do you have an no, no appointment. [00:52:14] Speaker B: I just came from the I gosh. Did anybody catch that man's name? I'm so sorry, I don't have a name. But they told me to come over here and speak with Felicity herself. [00:52:27] Speaker C: Tell her that Kevin Jackson sent us. [00:52:30] Speaker A: All right. And what is this with regard like, what's your issue now? [00:52:36] Speaker B: That I don't have a lie for. [00:52:39] Speaker A: Well, why don't you roll manipulation and subterfuge and see if you can come up with one? [00:52:46] Speaker B: Oof, I cannot. I did not prepare for this question, and it's biting me in the butt. [00:52:57] Speaker A: So you pass off? Oh, it's nothing important. Just some normal bureaucratic nonsense. But she keeps late hours, so we figured we would deal with it once the normal business stuff was done. Like airport business during the day. And now we're and you can already tell that he's not interested in that story. [00:53:16] Speaker C: What my companion here is trying to say is that we need information on a few passengers who came through a couple of days ago. We're conducting an investigation it's a little ways above your pay grade. I wouldn't worry about it. [00:53:34] Speaker A: That would be manipulation and persuasion. [00:53:38] Speaker B: Good God. Are you kidding me? [00:53:43] Speaker E: Damn. [00:53:44] Speaker A: Joshua reaches deep into his lexicon of police procedure. Your work in the Boston PD wasn't necessarily terrorism related, but you can't help but get close to that stuff. It rubs off on you. And with expert precision, he creates an image of a threat so nefarious that this poor front desk clerk would be risking his career no, his life, if anyone ever found out that he stood in the way. And he sits up straighter, stammering a bit. Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, you should have just mentioned that ahead of time. Yeah. No, Director Miller is on the third floor, office 317. I'm so sorry. The elevators are on your left there. If you just go past the bathroom, you'll see the water fountains, and then. [00:54:34] Speaker C: Just past that hey, nothing to be sorry for. Thank you for the directions. [00:54:41] Speaker A: Of course. Happy to assist in keeping our nation safe. [00:54:44] Speaker C: With that, I would turn on my heel and head for the elevator to follow his directions. Dutifully. [00:54:52] Speaker A: So the coterie proceeds to the elevator. It'll be a short trip. Just a couple floors, no big deal. But that is more than enough time for Ivy to realize that she just got showed up hard by this banu. Hakeem. [00:55:10] Speaker B: When you only interact with books, sometimes it takes a little bit to shake off the cobwebs, that's all. A one time fluke. Nothing to be concerned about. [00:55:22] Speaker A: I don't know, Josh. That officer went from I think I'm going to call for backup to oh, by all means, sir. Pretty quick once you started talking. [00:55:30] Speaker B: He was probably a misogynist. [00:55:32] Speaker C: I'm used to dealing with confused rookies. [00:55:35] Speaker A: Well, thankfully, no barbs traded to put people in an adversarial mood when there is work to do. The only noise interrupting this moment is the bing of the elevator. The doors open up into an identical soulless government hallway, and much as you suspect it, the Director of Aviation is on site, tending to business in the wee hours of the evening. The door to her office is closed. There's a window in it. Because it's a government building, there's always windows. Can't let anyone have too much privacy. There's a woman. She's heads down on her computer, doesn't notice your approach. [00:56:16] Speaker C: I knock sharply on the door. [00:56:20] Speaker A: A tired, mid 40s blonde woman looks up, pre, irritated at the interruption, ready, you imagine to explode at one of her colleagues or one of the guards bothering her at this time of night. There's a flash of confusion as she sees faces she doesn't recognize, and then disappointment as she realizes she's going to have to deal with you one way or another, if only to get you the hell out of her office. So she stands up, still dressed in a fashionable business skirt, a well pressed blouse. Heels, not tall ones, appropriate ones crossing over the door, which she opens only a few inches, just enough to let her voice through. I'm sorry. Can I help you? [00:57:12] Speaker C: Do you mind if we come in for a moment? [00:57:16] Speaker A: I absolutely do. You are? How did you even get up here? [00:57:23] Speaker C: You need to hire better security, obviously. [00:57:26] Speaker A: But I assure you, if you don't leave the premises, I will introduce you to our much more capable officers. You're trespassing. [00:57:35] Speaker C: Don't worry. We don't need a ton of your time. I just need to know where Flyboy is. [00:57:42] Speaker A: You see? Just the tiniest crack in an otherwise stoic Verneer. That one little look that reveals she knows who you're talking about, before her mouth opens and says, I have no idea who you're talking about. [00:57:59] Speaker C: You need to leave, I just raise an eyebrow and say, now, I'm willing to bet that I can stay out here a lot longer than you can stay in there. So why don't you just tell us where Flyboy is, and we'll be right out of your hair. [00:58:20] Speaker A: The two of you have reached an impasse, because she's fairly confident that her ability to stay in there is, in fact, much longer than your ability to avoid being hauled off the premise by armed federal agents. And she makes that threat clear. [00:58:37] Speaker B: I would like to try and diffuse the situation before she calls security on us. Or before our banu hakeem friend decides to have a not so midnight snack. [00:58:49] Speaker A: Not a bad. [00:58:52] Speaker B: Ms. Miller. Excuse my friend. We are in a little bit of a time crunch. I know that you work for Mr. Gruwal, and it would be beneficial for you and for us, if you would just give us what we're looking for so we can get out of your hair. [00:59:18] Speaker A: That would be manipulation and persuasion. [00:59:22] Speaker B: Two successes. [00:59:26] Speaker A: You'Ve managed to take the edge off. She's not going to call in the stormtroopers quite yet, but she insists that Mr. Grewall does not expect visitors at this hour. Neither does she. And as your business is neither official nor urgent, perhaps you should go through the proper channels. If you'd like a meeting with him. [00:59:50] Speaker B: The matter is unfortunately, urgent. It is a time sensitive issue, one that he needs to be informed of sooner rather than later. [01:00:02] Speaker A: I'm sure it is. And if you would like to inform him, as you clearly know him, you should be more than capable of getting in touch. And if he agrees with your assessment of what is urgent and what is not, then by all means, the two of you can arrange a meeting. At this point, with that role, the persuasion route is closed to you. [01:00:24] Speaker B: Got it. [01:00:26] Speaker C: Given somebody with grwal's self importance, is there a way that I could try to interpret where somebody in his position, quote unquote, might situate an office in a building like this? [01:00:44] Speaker A: Well, Flyboy doesn't have a official job at the airport. It's not like he's masquerading as the Director of Catering or the Senior Vice President of Starbucks. Franchising, without a more specific angle, the best answer I can give you to that question is, he's at the airport? Until Ivy is wishing she'd taken command instead of cloud memory. [01:01:15] Speaker B: Dude, let me tell you, I was real close, and I'm real fucking sad about it now. [01:01:23] Speaker C: No, Miss Miller, I apologize for my saying so, but our urgent business truly is urgent business. And to put it bluntly with you, I suspect that people who were to interfere with this urgent business might end up having to have some unpleasant chats with higher ups, we'll say. Now, can you please make our night a little bit easier so we don't have to have those unpleasant chats? I am trying intimidation. [01:02:06] Speaker A: Very well. So manipulation plus intimidation. [01:02:11] Speaker C: Can I go ahead and use the blood search? [01:02:16] Speaker A: Of course. What intimidation tactic is not enhanced by just a little more bulk, a little more menace? [01:02:26] Speaker C: I made a rousing success. [01:02:30] Speaker A: The beast is still amused, perhaps, at your attempts to force your will upon this woman. [01:02:38] Speaker C: Two successes. [01:02:40] Speaker A: The aviation director is proud, but defined by a certain bureaucratic cowardice. Joshua demonstrates that some people, if you're talking business polite with them, will lead you in circles all day long. But the second you threaten to make it a bigger deal than it is right now, they start thinking about their career, about the trouble they would get into, about the attention that would come to their strange hours and the company they keep. And by the way, who is this Noah Grewall person we keep hearing about? And Felicity isn't interested in any of that happening, so looking between the two of you she sighs. Okay, you know what? Fine. I'll get you out of my hair. Look, follow me. And she begins to lead you through the building, back to the elevator, down to the basement. Three security checkpoints, four locked doors, a maze of corridors later, you end up somewhere deep inside the bowels of O'Hare Airport. You figure you're underneath the main terminal, somewhere in the infinite sprawling labyrinth of infrastructure and side offices in front of a plain gray door. It's not numbered, it's not named, but she drops you off here. [01:04:08] Speaker B: Thank you so much, Ms. Miller, as she walks off. [01:04:13] Speaker A: Yeah, don't mention it. To anyone. Ever. She rolls her eyes, and you hear the defiant high heels disappearing into the corridors. [01:04:25] Speaker B: As I hear her walk away, I turn and knock on Flyboy's door. [01:04:30] Speaker A: You hear a rustle of activity, a scooting chair, a laptop being slammed shut, and then a through an intercom. Who are you? What do you want? [01:04:46] Speaker B: Ivy LaRue here with a message from Kevin Jackson. [01:04:52] Speaker A: Members of the Zoom generation have a much keener third sense about when they're holding down the mute button or the push to talk button. This seems to have escaped, Mr. Groal, because the intercom is still alive. When he goes. Oh, fuck me. What the fuck now? Yeah, okay, fine. You hear the electric thunk of the door being unlocked. [01:05:15] Speaker B: I open the door and push it open just enough so that I don't have to hold it for the folks behind me, but not going to stand there and hold it for them. And I walk inside. [01:05:26] Speaker A: The room is almost entirely pitch black. The walls are bare concrete, cinder block style. It's an unfinished basement of a room, but Mr. Gruwal has turned it into a lair of sorts. There are monitors bolted into the concrete along all the walls. By mortal definition, the room doesn't have much of a view. But as you can see, different surveillance cameras cycling through the monitors behind him. Extra wide monitor streaming a view of the runway. Noah can see everything he needs to see from here. All right. [01:06:08] Speaker D: Yes. [01:06:09] Speaker A: Don't know any of you. Don't care. You're here for the prince. What does he want? How can I serve His Majesty this evening? [01:06:17] Speaker B: It's very simple, my dear Flyboy. Tomorrow, two of our friends will be arriving, 10:00 p.m.. [01:06:26] Speaker A: Yes, two of them coming in via air cargo, if I recall, on Cafe Airways, Flight 1397, the customs fees had already been paid in advance by an account that is unnamed in direct contravention of airport procedure. I'm aware. I intend to solve that problem. Is that what this is about? [01:06:48] Speaker B: Yes. It is about that. Solve that problem. [01:06:50] Speaker A: How do you not know who I am? I don't know who you are, but I have a reason for that. Because so far as I understand, you don't control anything important. But this airport belongs to me, and it's my responsibility to know everything coming in and out of it. So I'm going to find out who paid that fee. I'm going to find out what kind of guests travel by night. And then once I know, maybe I'll do something with that information, maybe I won't. [01:07:21] Speaker B: Well, as a personal favor to the Prince, it would be fantastic if you just kind of let them through without incident. [01:07:35] Speaker A: You see, it's funny you mentioned that. I have this job because I make sure that the things that need to be known about comings and goings get directed to the right people. That means all the time, little birdies are coming into my office asking me to hide this or forget I saw that, and it's never good news. So if the Prince himself, he's here asking me to look the other way, well, golly, that's just that's got to be important, doesn't it? And I can't imagine why that wouldn't make me want to know more. [01:08:17] Speaker B: Well, you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat. Sometimes it's just better not to know. But I understand. That may not be your way, nor should it be. So what would it take, then, for you to look the other way tomorrow night? [01:08:40] Speaker A: He leans back in his chair, fingers steepled in front of him. You can see him doing honest math in his head. It's only a 32nd silence. It probably feels like longer. If for no other reason than this pitiful thin blood is just raking you over the coals with his self importance. Let's call it 10,000. Cash or wire transfer? [01:09:09] Speaker B: God grant me the confidence of a mediocre thin blood. And am I to assume that you want this ahead of time in advance? [01:09:28] Speaker A: I'll start keeping your secret as soon as I get the money. If you want to pay me in a week, I'll stop looking and talking. In a week. [01:09:38] Speaker C: At this point, I sort of pinch the bridge of my nose. Just the utter look of, I don't have time for this. And I say, Flyboy, do you know why we're here right now? And without waiting for a reply, I look up and I say, we're here right now because we have a whole laundry list of people to visit and talk to. And among all of them, you were deemed the least threatening to us. Now, what I want you to do is to make my night a lot easier. Because if you don't make my night easier, you are going to make me very fucking angry. And even more concerning for you, you are going to make the prince very fucking angry. Are we clear? [01:10:33] Speaker A: Flyboy joshua returns to the bad cop. Well, with another intimidation roll. [01:10:41] Speaker C: I rolled another critical. [01:10:45] Speaker E: Share the dice. [01:10:46] Speaker A: Yeah. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to investigate Mr. Crowger's dice pool. But this is more than just ordinary intimidation. What have you said or done that shakes this pathetic little egoistic worm to his core and makes him feel grateful for the opportunity not to get in your way? [01:11:15] Speaker C: Because, Flyboy, let me tell you, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here. And if you don't let me get out of here with the utmost haste, I am going to make sure you know that I am not very fucking happy. [01:11:31] Speaker A: Words delivered with a less than subtle ringing of the knuckles, maybe a totally inconspicuous tongue over the fang, enough to let him know that being in your way means violence. The kind of blood fueled, proper, kindred violence that no miserable little thin blood could dare hope to resist. Flyboy shrivels in his chair, suddenly feeling so many feet shorter, his fingertips unsteebled as they press flat against the desk, and you see his Adam's apple bob with a visible gulp. Okay, you know what? I didn't know it was that serious. Didn't know it meant that much to you. Whatever's happening, I'll be busy. I'm sure I've got paperwork I can take care of. [01:12:25] Speaker C: Thank you. Flyboy. Good luck on your paperwork. [01:12:31] Speaker A: Yeah, thanks. Do you need help getting out of here? [01:12:35] Speaker C: I'm sure we can find the way out. Thank you. [01:12:37] Speaker A: Yeah. Right turn. Follow the corridor. Have a great night. [01:12:42] Speaker C: You as well. And with that, I will turn and walk out of his office. [01:12:47] Speaker A: Mr. Grewall is muttering under his breath even before you depart. But that's not important, is it? You've accomplished what you've come here to do, and it's only ten or 15 minutes more before you manage to make your way out of the maze of corridors up to the surface once more. Back to the Aviation Department building. Tip of the hat to the guard. He hopes everything went smoothly. Back into the parking lot, every car dark and cold, save for one, where a redshed Visage is bathed in the seat by the electric blue light of a laptop monitor. schmendric. What have you been doing with all your time? [01:13:30] Speaker F: So, as I'm sitting in the back of the car, just legs propped up against the seat in front of me, laptop in my lap, I am looking for something juicy to send Charles. Perhaps some venturu money trading or some way to pinch the uppercrest vampires for a little money for Charles's use. [01:13:56] Speaker A: Well, you know what they say. The only thing venturu value more than their lineage is their wallet. And there isn't a nosferatu on the planet who doesn't like bringing those blue bloods down a peg. [01:14:07] Speaker F: I also want to make sure what I give Charles is really good. I don't want just standard stuff. I want, like, personal, private exploits of the venture bankers and company holders. So I am actually going to use my hacking skill to break into something a little more enticing. [01:14:31] Speaker A: All right, well, that'll be wits and technology. [01:14:37] Speaker F: That is seven successes critical. [01:14:41] Speaker A: Well, now you have a real problem. You're thumbing through the infinite number of reports and emails and CCS and minutes from meetings from sub departments. You know, that when you can't keep something entirely private, the next best thing is to make it look extraordinarily boring. The title is what draws you to this document first, as you're slithering through this private network, plucking out little pieces here and there. When you open it, even without deep financial knowledge, you recognize immediately that this should not be where it is. Somebody fucked up. This information is a real estate brokerage plan for the next few years of land speculation investment strategies. The information is incredible. In fact, it's too incredible. Because, you know, whoever ends up with this is going to be able to just squeeze on those Blue Venture balls until they pop. [01:15:49] Speaker F: So this is so good. Charles is going to stay out of our business and probably owe me something in the future, correct? [01:15:55] Speaker A: That's one way to look at it. The other is that it's so good there's no universe in which you'd give it to Charles. [01:16:01] Speaker F: Perhaps I can piecemeal it to him then. [01:16:05] Speaker A: Maybe that's a negotiation for you and Mr. Dawson. [01:16:10] Speaker F: All right, so as the others start piling back into the car, I slowly close my laptop, sit up with. My hands in my lap and big smile on my face, which is quite unsettling because of my horrifyingly pointed teeth, but that doesn't matter. And I just say I got something really good for Dawson. [01:16:33] Speaker A: Few things less appealing in the universe than getting into the car with the gaping, sharp toothed maw of a nosferatu gleaming at you. [01:16:44] Speaker B: I'm sure it's fine. I let out a sigh as I sit down into the seat and I say well, hopefully the negotiations with Charles will be faster than our negotiations with Flyboy. [01:16:58] Speaker F: Hopefully. I'm willing to bet that it's not going to take him long to bite the worm on this hook. [01:17:06] Speaker A: Feels nice hearing that kind of confidence. One less thing to worry about. [01:17:11] Speaker B: True. With that, I guess we should head to Crook's Lounge. [01:17:16] Speaker A: Indeed. Then it's into the car and off to further business. As mentioned, the drive doesn't take terribly long. Everything in Chicago takes some time to get to. It's just one hell of a sprawled out city. The Prince was kind enough to give you the location. Crooks Lounge is the kind of place you can find on Google Maps. But arriving in the parking lot you find a building that is visibly closed, barred off with a large warning sign on the front door reading please wear safety equipment when entering. [01:17:54] Speaker F: I chuckle a little bit at that and get out of the car. Almost giddy. In fact, with only a snippet of what I had found on my phone for the time being. [01:18:07] Speaker A: Well, the front door is obviously a no go. Even looking through the large glass window at the front of the bar, there's no sign of life inside. In fact, the interior of the main floor is almost gutted. Walls ripped out, floors ripped up. The rest of the place has been stripped down to its architectural bones. [01:18:27] Speaker F: Well, if Charles were me, I wouldn't want to be in a more visible spot with no furniture to hide behind. So I'm going to go looking for a different entrance. Perhaps one to a basement. [01:18:42] Speaker A: A wise idea. [01:18:44] Speaker E: I mean, to be fair, where I live isn't too different. I'll take a peek. [01:18:50] Speaker A: That's usually how it works, right? If you want to search through sewers or trash squalor buildings you call an osferatu and a gangrel along. So the two of you depart the vehicle, one heading left, one heading right. Circumstances are such that Rebecca is the one who finds Charles. All along the perimeter of the building there are those teeny little ground height windows, just enough to let some light into whatever basement is underneath the place. She sees a foul and ugly creature crouched over immortal form, long ape like arms wrapped around his back as a twisted and filthy mob buries itself into his neck. It seems like you caught Charles at a pretty delicate moment. [01:19:40] Speaker E: So it seems. Although I would have expected someone to handle their feeding in a much more delicate manner coming across this scene, I suffice with a simple hey, Charles. [01:19:54] Speaker A: While Schmenger immediately knows that Rebecca has located their quarry, and with her voice raised loud enough, charles also knows his face snaps towards the window, ugly, twisted features still slick with the hot blood that now leaks out of the unlicked wound in his vessel's neck. And he hurls the human into the darkness. Away from the window, you see him stalk footstep by footstep, eyes narrowed, slamming shut whatever makeshift curtain he'd managed to install. [01:20:25] Speaker F: So he's just hiding down there? [01:20:28] Speaker E: Is this the way you folks greet people? Hold company? [01:20:34] Speaker F: Sometimes Charlie and I'll wrap my hand up against the glass a couple times. [01:20:40] Speaker A: Down in the basement, Charles is trying to get back to his dinner, but, God, his fucking neighbors. You can't hear or see it, of course, but a very angry Nosferatu is pushing his fingers up against a slightly terrified mortal's lips. Stay there. I'll be right back. Stomping angrily back towards the window, ripping the curtain open. He just points towards the rear of the building. And then, when it looks like that message has been received, he points up in your face with his middle finger. [01:21:16] Speaker F: I give him two very enthusiastic thumbs up and then start sprinting towards the. [01:21:21] Speaker A: Back of the building, rebecca in tow. Schmendrick arrives at the rear of the building. There's an entrance here, a heavy door, the kind with a slit at eye level. You're only there for a few seconds before it opens, and these yellow, rat like eyes are just snarling at you from the darkness. Is there something I can help you with? [01:21:44] Speaker F: I'm a little busy, so hey, Charles, we have a favor to ask you. Me and my compatriot here, who I don't know her name yet because we've been busy all night, but we need your cooperation. And in exchange for said cooperation, I have a gift. [01:22:02] Speaker A: You can see the anger welling up in Charles's eyes, right next to the crunching of gears as he's trying to put together the perfect sentence with which to send you the fuck on your way. But then you say the magic word a gift. OOH. What vampire doesn't like gifts? What Nosferatu doesn't like gifts? What Nosferatu doesn't like gifts from others? Nosferatu. He sighs. You can catch a whiff of it through the slit in the door. Foul, sweet, sticky. Can you wait, like, four minutes? I'm in the middle of something for you, Charles. [01:22:44] Speaker F: I will give you four minutes. [01:22:46] Speaker A: Yeah, you're the fucking greatest. I'll be right back. You hear thumping. If you had to guess, he had a very heavy duffel bag that he was trying to force into an overcrowded cabinet. Then the footsteps return to the door. A heavy, dead bolt is pulled open. The door swings wide, revealing a narrow, certainly not up to code staircase. Wooden planks kept together, apparently, by four nails and the will of God. And with a grandiose gesture of his two long arms. He says, welcome to the lounge. [01:23:28] Speaker E: Well, he did welcome us in. [01:23:30] Speaker F: He did. Let's head on down. What is your name, by the way? [01:23:35] Speaker E: It's Rebecca. It's a pleasure. I didn't get yours, either. [01:23:42] Speaker F: Well, Rebecca, it's nice to meet you. I am schmendric. [01:23:48] Speaker E: Schmendric suits you. Pleasant to meet you. Thanks. [01:23:52] Speaker F: I think you're the first person that said that. Let's go see give Charles his gift. [01:23:57] Speaker E: Yeah, right. Quite frankly, I'm not sure about the structural integrity of this place or the company so far. [01:24:06] Speaker A: Yeah, everyone says that. [01:24:08] Speaker E: God. Of course he can hear me. [01:24:11] Speaker A: Whether or not he specifically can hear you is an open question as you descend into the damp and moldy, messy, raw brick basement walls dripping with water from unkept pipes. Immediately you get the thick smell of rotten flesh. And, Rebecca, your keen nose can pick out the incredible amount of rat droppings. And where there is rat poo, there are rats. Dozens of pairs of little beady eyes staring at you from the darkness as you get closer into what Charles Charitably calls his office, the smell of blood whiffs into the air. Just a hint, like a neighbor baking a cake. The gentlest reminder of what you are. There's no furniture to speak of. Charles has perched himself atop a beer keg, her crates strewn about empty boxes. He gestures wide, too wide, god his arms, and says, Please, make yourself at home. Excuse the mess. Of course we're renovating. I'm sure you understand. [01:25:21] Speaker E: I nod and go to sit down on one of the bits of furniture is the word I'll use yet again. Can't really judge. I do live in a loft with a bunch of birds. [01:25:32] Speaker A: Loft with birds, basement with rats. You're essentially the same person. But Charles brings his hands together, rubbing them greedily, and said, I was told there'd be a gift. What you got? What you got for old Charles boy? [01:25:49] Speaker F: Do you want the gift first or what we need from you first? Well, I guess what we need from you needs to be established first. [01:25:57] Speaker A: Okay, wait a minute. You got a weird definition of gift. If I have to give you something back. That sounds less like a gift and more like we'll call it a bribe. [01:26:08] Speaker F: Yeah, except you don't have to do anything. [01:26:10] Speaker A: A bribe for being lazy? A bribe for something that I might have done anyway. I'm listening. [01:26:16] Speaker E: In short, Mr. Charles, our prince is expecting guests within the city. All we need of you is to for that night. Tomorrow night? To keep to your own business. Look into something else. Just avoid what's happening when two new kindred arrive in. [01:26:36] Speaker A: Hmm. Don't look into two new kindred. I mean, like, yeah, I could do that. That's definitely within the realm of my capabilities. Where is it I should not be looking for these kindred? I mean, I ask because I don't want to know. Like, maybe they're going to be at Navy Pier and I fancy a hot dog. I don't want to go there and then find them by accident and then realize that I've trespassed upon the particulars of our agreement is all out of character. [01:27:05] Speaker E: Should I mention that he's fucking with you? [01:27:09] Speaker B: But sure. [01:27:11] Speaker E: I raise an eyebrow. Definitely not getting what he's getting at. It's been a while. Airport. [01:27:21] Speaker A: Don't look for kindred at the well, you know. Yeah. Now that I think about it, where would kindred come in? They're not going to go to Navy Pier. There's no, like, ferries or boats. I mean, there are, but that's just like, tourists dawdling around. And if tourists were going to come to Chicago, they wouldn't come to the pier first. They'd come in from the airport. Right. [01:27:35] Speaker D: The airport. [01:27:36] Speaker A: So I'm not supposed to look for two kindred at the airport, just, like, forever. [01:27:44] Speaker F: For the next couple of nights, let's put it that way. And the gift. And I'm going to set my phone down and I'm going to slide it over to him so they can look at the fine snippet of information I've left on this money making scheme of mine. [01:28:00] Speaker A: So he's talking as he reaches down. Okay, so I don't look for two new kindred at the airport. In exchange for that, I get holy shit. Really? [01:28:11] Speaker F: Yeah, really. I have more to give, but I figure for this, that's about as much as you get for now. We can arrange more later. [01:28:25] Speaker A: I mean, I don't know. This is the kind of thing first of all, Horatio Ballard's gonna be pissed when he finds out you did. You know, that's between you and him. I'm an honest man, an honest businessman. I would never put you in that kind of danger. Of course not. But seriously, watch out for ratio. Ballard. Yeah, okay. Well, yeah, I can work with that. I can work with that. So you're showing me this just to kind of gauge my interest. And now that I'm saying I'm on board, the rest is coming, right? [01:28:57] Speaker F: Some more will come. I'm telling you here. It's big. [01:29:01] Speaker A: Schmendrick, schmendy, schmenderino. Come on. How long have we known each other? Like, weeks, right? [01:29:09] Speaker F: Yeah, a few weeks. Definitely. [01:29:11] Speaker A: We're essentially family. You can come on. [01:29:14] Speaker F: I mean, we are family. But listen, it'll come, all right? As you say, Horatio Ballards can be pissed. I don't want to piss them off. Now, I've only been here a couple weeks, okay? [01:29:33] Speaker A: You're asking for my discretion. Give you some time to wrap up one thing before you get into another. I get that. That's good thinking. Don't want too much too much on your plate all at one time. Yeah, I know. I get that. I get that. I get that. I get that. [01:29:49] Speaker F: So we have a deal then? [01:29:53] Speaker A: You're driving a hard bargain. I mean, like, on the one hand, fucking with Horatio Ballard, but on the other hand, figuring out what everyone in the town is so on edge about. Oh, God. Like, this is the kind of dilemma that, if it still worked, would just make my dick hard with. Okay, okay, counteroffer. I won't look for new kinder driving at the airport in the next few days. You'll give me more of the information. I will be happy with that and use it to cause the most hilarious kind of suffering for our venture friends. And here's the ad, here's the ask. And you will tell me who all of your friends involved in this are. Not just the two of, right? [01:30:40] Speaker F: No, no, it's not just the two of us. [01:30:42] Speaker A: Well, that's all I want, mendy. Some names. Come on, give Charles some names. [01:30:47] Speaker F: Give me my phone back. [01:30:50] Speaker A: I don't know what's in here. And he starts thumbing around, can don't. [01:30:55] Speaker F: Look through my stuff. I got to call them and ask them their names. [01:30:58] Speaker A: Really? [01:30:59] Speaker F: Yeah. [01:31:00] Speaker A: No, not about the names. Really. And he holds up the picture of, like, you in a really cute selfie with the rat. Really? [01:31:06] Speaker F: Oh, yeah. I was having fun that day. Does it look pretty? [01:31:12] Speaker A: I mean, as far as rats go, I mean, I wouldn't want to speak ill of any other rats that might be in the room, because they can hear you, and then they get jealous, and then they start eating the fucking wood out of your bar. I'm just saying hypothetically, it's a good looking rat. Yeah. And he hands you your phone back. [01:31:28] Speaker F: I don't want to make too much of a deal out of this, but I imagine it would be a voice. [01:31:33] Speaker A: Sure. [01:31:34] Speaker F: So, yeah, that's how it'll go. I'll voice call someone in the car. I assume we've all exchanged contact information. [01:31:42] Speaker A: Is it Josh or is it Ivy? Wait, never mind. It's Josh. [01:31:46] Speaker F: It's Josh. And over speakerphone I go. So, hey, guys, just real quick. What's your names? [01:31:54] Speaker B: I'm sorry. [01:31:57] Speaker F: We've never formally introduced each other. What are your names? [01:32:01] Speaker B: Why is now the time to do this? [01:32:05] Speaker F: It's a fun team building exercise. [01:32:08] Speaker A: Hey, who is that one? She sounds kind of cute. Can she come in the basement? [01:32:13] Speaker E: Who is that? [01:32:15] Speaker A: I can hear you whispering. [01:32:20] Speaker B: Sorry. [01:32:21] Speaker D: Hey. [01:32:22] Speaker F: Hi. [01:32:25] Speaker A: What's your name? [01:32:28] Speaker B: I'm Ivy LaRue. [01:32:31] Speaker A: Oh, ivy LaRue. You say the name. Fuck. My tongue wants to fuck it. I'm Charles. Nice to meet you. [01:32:41] Speaker B: Hi, Charles. Pleasure to meet you. [01:32:45] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, no, it will be trust. Yeah, sorry. You know what? Getting ahead of myself. Don't mean to embarrass my French metric here. [01:32:55] Speaker F: Yeah, that's fine. [01:32:56] Speaker A: Oh, you mean I can I can keep with the thing? [01:32:59] Speaker F: Well, I mean, if we want to get business done here first. Tall, dark, and handsome. What's your name? [01:33:06] Speaker C: I would be Josh Crozier. [01:33:09] Speaker A: Jesus, Josh, you calling from the bottom of a well. Hi, I'm Josh Crozier. [01:33:14] Speaker C: No, I'm calling from the bottom of a basement. [01:33:17] Speaker A: Fuck. He's in the basement. Oh, God. Schmendrick, you didn't. He's looking. He'd better not look in the cabinet. [01:33:23] Speaker F: I don't think he's in here. [01:33:24] Speaker E: What's in the cabinet? [01:33:26] Speaker A: Hey, you know what? You can file that under things that you don't need to worry your pretty little face about. [01:33:32] Speaker F: Okay? So now that we're all on the same page here, deal. [01:33:37] Speaker A: What can I say? I'm a man of my word. You've brought me an incredible gift. And I don't mean to do this. I really don't mean to bust your balls like this, but just one teeny, teeny, itty bitty, little more thing, it just came to me. I'm sorry, I don't mean to spring it on you like this. Can that one not the well guy, but the other one, give me a voicemail of that. Just the voice. Like nothing, no pics or anything. It's way too early in the relationship for that. But just a little something for the voicemail. [01:34:11] Speaker F: Oh, yeah. Hey, Ivy LaRue, would you mind giving. [01:34:20] Speaker A: Say it with, like, you know, like, Ivy LaRue. You gotta let it like oh, God. And like he just leans back on his keg, rubbing at his crotch. [01:34:27] Speaker E: Just gonna politely invert my eyes. [01:34:30] Speaker F: You could wait till we leave first. All right, Ivy, could you pretty please give Charles a nice phone call sometime? Just leave him a voice message. [01:34:43] Speaker A: Hey, Ivy, this is Charles. Yeah, no, just like a good let's see. I mean, I'm going to last like 35, 40 seconds. Let's call it like a good minute. A good minute. Just message, talk about whatever. Doesn't matter to me. That's my girl. Yes. Excellent. Okay. Ready to do business. And he, like, stretches his long, long god, his arms are so long out in front of him. Cracks his knuckles. Time to get ready for the business handshake. Here we go. Stands up, extends his right hand. We have an accord. [01:35:14] Speaker F: I enthusiastically shake his hand. All right, that seems settled then. [01:35:19] Speaker A: Absolute pleasure doing business with you. Now, if you don't mind, I have, well, got some eating to do. And then after that, I got a phone call to listen to several times over and over and over again for like an hour and a half. [01:35:31] Speaker F: I will not disturb you. [01:35:34] Speaker E: Thank you for your forwardness. Yes, forwardness. Appreciate that. Good business. [01:35:40] Speaker A: Hey, and if you like forward, I'm already booked for the night. I don't want to overcommit myself. Hey, Schmendy, great to see you. Cannot wait to not look for any kindred coming into the airport in the next few days. [01:35:56] Speaker F: It was nice seeing you too, Charles. Can't wait for you to not look into any kindred coming into the airport in the next few days. [01:36:05] Speaker A: So you wrap up your pleasantries, depart Charles's basement. You barely have the door shut before you hear, like, oh, my God, you made a mess in here. It's gonna take forever to clean this up. [01:36:19] Speaker E: He's rather open. Are all of you open like that? [01:36:25] Speaker F: I mean? No, but he's very open, so that's fun. [01:36:31] Speaker E: Curious. [01:36:33] Speaker F: So we do have one little problem left to deal with. Let's see what the others think on it. [01:36:39] Speaker A: Rebecca and Schmendrick returned to the car. [01:36:43] Speaker D: Well, see, that wasn't so bad, was it? Just a quick little trip to the North Side. Charles isn't much for hospitality. [01:36:51] Speaker A: But you still had a good time, right? [01:36:54] Speaker B: It was definitely easier than I expected it to be. Which has me concerned about the difficulty of the next part, because it can't all be this easy. [01:37:05] Speaker A: Well, was it easy because it was. [01:37:07] Speaker D: Easy, or was it easy because Schmendrick did such a great job? [01:37:12] Speaker F: Well, that may have seemed easy, but we're probably going to pay for that later. Most likely. Why do you say if we or I anger Horatio Ballard? I'm sure we'll all feel that sting. [01:37:31] Speaker B: I mean, Charles kind of made it clear that he was going to make sure that Horatio Ballard knew that it was all of. [01:37:42] Speaker E: Mean. That's really the cost when it comes to being a part of kindred. Society, it seems, can't do anything without raising someone's hackles. [01:37:50] Speaker F: This is also why I'm not giving Charles all of the information, because I want to limit the impact. But I'm not sure if that's going to really matter in the long run. [01:38:00] Speaker D: Man, you really think he'd do you in like that? [01:38:03] Speaker F: He may, he may not. We are definitely going to have an interesting partnership going forward. [01:38:10] Speaker D: It's a partnership now. [01:38:12] Speaker F: It's something. [01:38:15] Speaker D: Yeah. When it comes to crook, it's always something. There are no boring days with Charles Dawson around. Isn't that right, Ivy? [01:38:26] Speaker B: Unfortunately. [01:38:28] Speaker D: Well, look at the right side. This is all something that you can test, right? This is a scientific proposition. Will dealing with Genjis be better or worse than dealing with Charles? It's an empirical question. Looking back to the prince's dossier, he didn't give you a terribly large amount of information about your third target. You, of course, know Gen just from the local political scene. He's an anarch among Anarchs, one of the loudest, most brazen. If ever there were going to be a revolution, god forbid, in the city of Chicago, he'd probably be somewhere at the top, leading that parade of disaffected kindred to the Prince's Haven to affect revolution. It's easy to understand why the prince has asked you to turn his eyes elsewhere. Unfortunately, for all the prince's information, all you have to go off of is his Gold Coast Haven at 126 East Cedar Street. [01:39:38] Speaker B: Part of me thinks it's not going to be as easy as just walk on up and knock on the front door. [01:39:44] Speaker D: Well, of course, kindred go to all manner of crazy lengths to keep their Havens secret and secured. [01:39:53] Speaker F: That actually amuses me in a way, because that means the prince knows exactly where one of the Anarchs in the city lives. Quote unquote. I guess it's the old adage keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, so that amuses me. [01:40:12] Speaker D: It is a perennial question in Chicago. If the prince hates Anarchs as he does, why are there so many allowed to live in the city? But it's always politics, right? Princes only stay princes as long as they can maintain whatever kind of coalition is necessary to keep the city locked down under their control. This close to the war with the werewolves, doesn't seem like a good time to start picking a fight with Anarchs. At the very least. He can't pick fights with Anarchs, but he can certainly send you to do it. Right. [01:40:49] Speaker B: So nice of him. [01:40:51] Speaker E: Like an indirect middle finger. Great. [01:40:56] Speaker D: Oh, what's the worst that could happen with diplomats like Joshua Crozier and Ivy LaRue on the case, right? [01:41:03] Speaker E: I'm sure it'll be handled with dignity and grace and not in a way that is calling upon class tropes and bloodlines and whatnot. [01:41:14] Speaker D: There it is. You've got a vote of confidence from Rebecca, and if there's one person in this group who knows about diplomacy and. [01:41:20] Speaker A: Treaties failing, it's her all too well. [01:41:26] Speaker D: So what is the plan? [01:41:28] Speaker C: I'm thinking that scoping out the joint could be a good idea. Just see if there's anything going on at the address that we have. [01:41:44] Speaker F: Yeah. We may not have a whole lot of hours left in the night, so just looking at it, if we have time for that, that might be an idea. [01:41:52] Speaker D: As with so many other pieces of kindred business, it comes down to risk tolerance. I suppose there's still four or 5 hours left in the night, and if that's enough time, you think, to deal with things, then sure, if you'd rather play it safe, also an option. But then you're just postponing that chronological stress. 24 hours, right. You can deal with it tomorrow. There's time before you're due at the airport. But is there enough time? Is that a risk you're willing to take? [01:42:24] Speaker B: At the very least, I think it makes sense to do some of the legwork tonight. Even if we can't finish everything, if we at least get a foot in the door. Cuts out some of the work we have to do tomorrow. Hopefully makes it a little bit easier. [01:42:41] Speaker D: You hope, anyway. [01:42:43] Speaker B: Indeed. I don't suppose there's any anarch that anybody would know or have contact with that would be able to get us a little bit closer to Genjis. [01:42:54] Speaker D: Well, that's an interesting question. It is likely not the case that Ivy keeps any contacts in those circles. [01:43:05] Speaker C: Anarchs are troublemakers. And from the prince's report, genjis is an unusually large troublemaker. Might I be able to consult with a contact in the family and see if maybe he's been up to any notable trouble lately? [01:43:26] Speaker D: Sure. You can tap a reference in that area. I would also accept some combination of streetwise role, likewise politics roles. Just because you're not friends with somebody doesn't mean you don't know where to find them or where they hang out, right? [01:43:43] Speaker C: Given the deep running, long standing roots of the Chicago outfit, though, I think I would feel best contacting somebody in the family. [01:43:53] Speaker D: By all means. What's the point of having resources if you don't avail yourself of them? So I have two questions. I'll ask them one after the other. First, Joshua, who are you calling? [01:44:06] Speaker C: This isn't something that needs to go to the top, so to say. So I would just call a middle, low ranking consiglier. Somebody who would have knowledge of street movements, crimes, things like that. We will call him Benjamin. [01:44:24] Speaker D: All right, Benjamin. And then question number two which of you would like to play Benjamin for this exercise? [01:44:32] Speaker F: I am willing, of course, but anyone could step up if they want. [01:44:37] Speaker D: All right, then. I'll leave it to you, Josh. [01:44:41] Speaker C: So I will call up Benjamin and just say, hey, Ben, how you been doing? I need some information on a local character. Think you can help me out? [01:44:54] Speaker F: Maybe. It depends on who the character is, of course. [01:44:59] Speaker C: Roles by the name Genjis. Like old punk type, that kind of guy. You heard of him? Running any rackets lately? [01:45:09] Speaker F: The name Genjis doesn't ring any bells? That's a little strange, but I can tell you that the punkers, they hang out around, at least. If there's something going on, we need to send our representatives out. We send them there. [01:45:28] Speaker C: Clark street. Is there something there? [01:45:32] Speaker F: Yes, a couple of bars, but one in particular we don't tend to cross out of, I guess respect. Or perhaps it's just too dicey for us to head on in there. It's called the Mohawk. [01:45:49] Speaker C: The Mohawk. Clark seat. All right, got it. Thanks, Ben. [01:45:54] Speaker F: Yeah, no problem, Joshua. [01:45:56] Speaker C: At that point, I would hang up, turn to my compatriots and say, now, I don't know that he's there necessarily anything like that, but apparently there's like a big punk bar over on Clark Street. The Mohawk. Any of you guys familiar? [01:46:14] Speaker B: Only insofar as I know not to go there, but that's about it. [01:46:21] Speaker D: I would imagine that Ivy knows what a Mohawk is, but aside from, um. [01:46:28] Speaker B: The hairstyle. [01:46:31] Speaker C: Alright, well, I guess we'll all be going in blind then. [01:46:36] Speaker D: What's the worst that could happen? [01:46:38] Speaker B: I don't like it when you ask that question. [01:46:41] Speaker D: I know. [01:46:43] Speaker B: Okay, good. Just so we're clear. [01:46:47] Speaker E: I think we have all the information we're going to get out of this. We know where he lives. We know this is a place where older punks tend to hang out. I think that's really the basis of our leads. [01:46:58] Speaker B: Well, no time like the present to go to a bar we don't know, to find somebody we know nothing about. [01:47:06] Speaker D: I mean, hey, what are you going to do? At the very least, the bar is easy to find. Simple matter of driving south 1015 minutes on Lakeshore, turn right, heading back into the deeper parts of the city. Clark stretches quite a ways through Chicago, but there's really only one section of town where you know it's going to intersect with the kind of culture you're looking for. Your favorite non branded mapping app takes you close enough. Chicago having been built and burned and built and burned so many times through its history, the addresses don't always line up with the exact street fronts. But when you find yourself inching down the street with a grimy, peeling, graffiti stained club jutting off of a poorly kept gravel parking lot, it's safe to assume you're in the right place. [01:48:04] Speaker E: Here we are. And don't take this the wrong way, but might be a good idea for me to talk to Gen. Jess, you don't look like you belong here. I guess that's what I'm trying to get at. It just doesn't seem like your kind of joint. [01:48:20] Speaker B: Oh, I had no intention of getting out of this car, thank you. [01:48:24] Speaker E: Well, with that being said, I would get up and enter the bar. [01:48:31] Speaker D: It's not the first time Rebecca has strode out into the night alone against danger. And whatever's inside the Mohawk, it can't be as bad as some of the other terrors that she's faced down. That, at least should provide you with some measure of confidence. [01:48:47] Speaker E: What's an old bayoner compared to the jaws of a werewolf? It could be worse. [01:48:52] Speaker D: Could be much worse. Yeah. The exterior of the club brick and grime. In fact, calling it a club might conjure an image of a more modern, fancier dance establishment. This is not that place. This is a dive bar with a dance floor and a bandstand. The kind of place where disaffected youth decades ago could sneak in no ID and catch one of the hundreds of angry Chicago bands aiming to be the next Ramones, the next Sex Pistols. Those days are obviously past. Just as punk culture has waned, so too has the import and glamour of the Mohawk. [01:49:40] Speaker E: It's past its prime. [01:49:44] Speaker D: The door at the front of the club is closed. There's no bouncer or anything like that, just a few 30 somethings still wearing their leather jackets plastered with patches of bands that Rebecca has never, will never have heard of. The front window is papered over with adverts for festivals, bands, tattoo artists, some recent, some ancient, but all of them conspiring to prevent wandering eyes from looking through the front of the bar into the building. [01:50:15] Speaker E: Looks like there's activity about. There are people outside. I would go and check out the people out front. If they're not Genjas, at the very least they might know of Genjas. [01:50:29] Speaker D: You can't smell any kindred on them, for whatever that's worth. At first, they don't even bother looking up from their conversation as you approach. But when it becomes obvious that you're not just creeping down the street, that you intend to enter this establishment, it does draw a little bit of attention. Rebecca is a bit too. Young and a bit too brown and a bit too not punked out to fit in especially well. But at the same time, you lack the I hesitate to call it polish that you find on Joshua Crozier or the sneering elitism carried on Ivy's shoulders, and you can make eye contact with them without inspiring nightmares, unlike some nosferatu that we know. [01:51:12] Speaker A: No. [01:51:13] Speaker D: So it's not as hostile as a reception as it could be. [01:51:16] Speaker E: It could be worse. [01:51:19] Speaker D: But all the same, these are not people known for going out of their way to be helpful. Suffice it to say, they won't be starting a conversation with you. [01:51:28] Speaker E: Nothing like diving right in as I make my approach. I'm definitely out of my element in this regard, having not been a part of the punk anarch scene myself. But I start off simply hey. Wondering if you folks could point me in the right direction. I'm looking for a friend of mine. [01:51:49] Speaker D: One of the gentlemen takes a long, dramatic pull from his cigarette, using the opportunity to size you up, look you up and down, check your boots, see what kind of jewelry you're wearing. Is it a fancy watch? You have an iPhone bulge in your pocket? Any of those signs that would put you even more out of place than you appear? Exhales? [01:52:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:52:17] Speaker D: I can't imagine you have too many pals in here, but sure. [01:52:20] Speaker A: Who are you looking for? [01:52:22] Speaker E: He goes by Genjess, hangs out around here. It's his local haunt. [01:52:28] Speaker D: The name makes them perk up. There's no denying that they're aware of who you speak of. They look between each other in the way that friends keeping a secret might, trying to suss out without words how legitimate this is. After a few seconds, the man shrugs, cox his head towards the door. Yeah, he's inside. [01:52:51] Speaker E: Thanks for the help, and I will head inside. [01:52:58] Speaker D: Well, entering the Mohawk is an affront to so many of your senses all at once, the most immediate being the smell. Stale smoke, stale beer, stale sweat. Years and years and years of it. There are corners of this building that haven't seen a mop or a squeegee in AONs, there's a light crowd, maybe a dozen people in a building that could comfortably seat five times as many. And you let your eyes scan from left to right, past the jukebox, past the long mahogany bar, past the rows of four mica tables with uneven chairs, and the land on the stairwell directly opposite the doorway, where a man with just the right kind of something in his eye is staring you down. [01:53:54] Speaker E: Since we're making eye contact, I give a little nod of my head, sort of not come hither precisely, but can I come closer? [01:54:06] Speaker D: If you're looking for permission in this man's gaze, you're not going to find it. It's not necessarily closed off. It's just that you have to make your own pride around here. [01:54:19] Speaker E: Might as well join him on that stairwell, then no use dawdling about. [01:54:24] Speaker D: So Rebecca stalks across the bar, weaving through aging bikers aged punks. The man on the stairwell lights a cigarette as he watches you navigate his turf. And it's maybe five or 6ft before you reach the bottom of that stairwell, where his voice barks to life. This is my night off. [01:54:46] Speaker A: Little doggy. [01:54:48] Speaker D: I'm guessing you're not here for a social call, so would you give me one good reason not to wreck a few of the prince's drones right now? [01:54:58] Speaker E: Look, man, your conflict's not with me. I'm just here to deliver a message is all. You don't even have to fight me on it. It's just hear me out is all. [01:55:10] Speaker D: Fucking starts with your type. You can just walk around, talk people into corners. It's not a courtroom. It's not the debate team. And word on the Anarch Street is that you're inviting some real nasty elements into town. [01:55:25] Speaker E: Oh. [01:55:29] Speaker D: That'S what it is? Yeah. He's got you running errands and you don't even understand why. That shows how much they respect you. [01:55:37] Speaker E: Regardless of what errands I'm running or what the court gives about me, I just need to talk with you is all. [01:55:45] Speaker D: We're talking now, aren't we? [01:55:46] Speaker E: Fair enough. Well, I'm not sure what the word on the street is, but I don't think this is the thing to get the prince's goat on. It just seems like too much. And considering the attitude that he holds towards those who disagree with him, I'm not sure I'd risk it either. [01:56:04] Speaker A: Oh. [01:56:05] Speaker E: It's why I'm out here tonight, not just sitting by myself. You know how I feel about that. [01:56:12] Speaker D: You think I give a shit about the prince's little problems? I make problems with the prince every day. He doesn't have the clout to take someone like me down. He knows that if he touches me, the Anarchs in this city, we're going to rise like a fucking tide and wash him out into the lake. Not afraid of your prince. Not afraid of your sheriff. I'm sure as fuck not afraid of you. He takes one more drag on his cigarette and just flicks it at your feet. [01:56:41] Speaker E: Well, it's pretty clear that he's just going to be grandizing at this point, so I'm just going to cut to the chase. Look, genjis, what is it going to take for you not to stick your nose in this? [01:56:56] Speaker A: Hmm? [01:56:59] Speaker D: God, you know, I wasn't ready for this moment. I didn't expect that a little cammy lapdog would be offering me promises. I didn't even know what to ask for. But, hey, how about this? You know, just because you're a boot licker doesn't mean we can't be friends. I'll do you a little favor now, and you can do me a little favor later. How's that sound? [01:57:22] Speaker E: Sounds like a fair trade so far. [01:57:26] Speaker D: Well, that's it, then. A boon for a boon, as it were. You get me out of your hair and I get a cute little camarilla pup to keep in my pocket for a little bit. [01:57:39] Speaker A: Got a deal. [01:57:41] Speaker E: And I cringe at his use of camarilla pup, but I nod, yeah, fair cut. [01:57:48] Speaker D: He smiles, then it's done. Now, in the meantime, little doggy, you're really harsh in the vibe of my barn. I'm getting tired of looking at you, so why don't you just shoot? [01:58:04] Speaker E: God, I hate to give him the satisfaction of sending me off with my tail between my legs, but got what I needed, and now I owe Genjis a favor. So time to make myself scarce. [01:58:17] Speaker D: Weaving your way back out through the tables towards the front, back into the night streets. And the last thing that you hear as you open the door, slip outside is the mocking voice of an anarch. Oh, he's a good boy. [01:58:30] Speaker A: Go outside. Yes. [01:58:32] Speaker D: And then howling laughter. [01:58:35] Speaker E: I mean, if you can see my posture, I am definitely just stiff, fists clenched cut, be called a lap dog of a court that can barely stand. My presence here in the city is just better just leave it behind and get back in the car with everyone else. [01:58:52] Speaker B: In my defense, you've always looked stiff, so this is nothing new. [01:58:58] Speaker D: Well, Rebecca, you can add on your character sheet that you owe a small boon to Genjis. And I may be being presumptuous, but I suspect you'll want to tell everyone in the car what happened. [01:59:15] Speaker E: Of course. No reason to sulk. And especially since we're all working together. Secrets isn't a good way to start off, but I plod down on my seat and let out a well, gunJust has been dealt with. He'll leave everything alone night of, but looks like I'm gonna owe him a favor. [01:59:35] Speaker B: Better using me. [01:59:36] Speaker E: They would have torn you apart in that place. I barely made it out unscathed. [01:59:41] Speaker F: Well, so that's all three problem makers settled. I guess we got to take care of these people, right? [01:59:50] Speaker B: Once they get here, all the legwork is done. So hopefully it's just as easy as pick up our people and then watch them for a day. This is too easy, right? [02:00:04] Speaker E: No idea why your prince would want a bunch of neonates to babysit his guests. Just seems more than a formality. You'd want someone, I don't know, respectable. No offense. Like, I'm not saying you're not respectable at all. [02:00:17] Speaker B: Just no, sure. That's definitely not what you're saying. Except that you just said it, but all right. [02:00:23] Speaker F: Well, Mr. Private Eye, you feel like hauling them up in your house? [02:00:27] Speaker C: I'm sorry, Joshua, for lack of a better option. [02:00:32] Speaker B: You guys really think it's smart to take them back to one of our havens instead of finding any place else? Because at this point, we have three potential problem makers that have been dealt with. But, I mean, have they? And I'm sure they have friends, and it just seems a bad choice if the prince knows where genjis lives. He probably knows where Josh lives, which means that there are other kindred that knows where Josh lives, so I have. [02:01:05] Speaker C: To give credit where it's due. I think you're right. [02:01:09] Speaker B: Obviously right. [02:01:11] Speaker E: We'll have to find somewhere temporary. [02:01:14] Speaker F: Yes, we need somewhere fresh, somewhere uncharted. [02:01:19] Speaker B: Anybody got a safe house or know of a safe house? [02:01:22] Speaker E: Any chance we could rent a place? Looking at resources? [02:01:28] Speaker F: It's a risk, but there's sometimes houses on the market that nobody's living in. [02:01:34] Speaker B: Well, then we just need to find something that is relatively safe. [02:01:40] Speaker F: So as we're sitting in the car, just kind of thinking of where to house our guests, I will start searching for places for rent in nearby area, specifically looking for places that are secure in some way or another. And if I do find a suitable place, I am going to create a false account and rent it. [02:02:04] Speaker D: I mean, hey, it's the airbnb economy. There are hundreds of places available. You have your pick. Someone has to pay for it. But it's fine from that. Easy peasy. [02:02:18] Speaker F: Well, paying for it really shouldn't be too much of an issue, as long as I can set it up so it can't be traced back to anyone in particular. [02:02:27] Speaker D: Establishing some fake credentials, shuffling some money into a PayPal account or a prepaid visa that's attached to a burner email address. Not the easiest thing to do for your average Joe, but Schmendrick isn't your average Joe or Jane, as your preference determines. It doesn't take too long at all to find a nice two bedroom place behind a security gate. Not so upscale that there's like a doorman or a security force, but in the nicer part of town, so the cops are more likely to show up if something goes wrong. [02:03:02] Speaker F: Nice. So I will close my laptop yet again and go. I think I found a place, actually, here. You all can look at it and I open up, show it or rent the pictures around. This seems to be like it will suit our needs. We should be able to arrive tomorrow, set it up for our guests. No problem. Tomorrow night, I think we wake up, fix this place up to our needs, pick up our friends, drive them back. [02:03:29] Speaker B: Sound good? Makes sense to me. [02:03:34] Speaker C: Sounds like a plan. [02:03:39] Speaker A: So the code raid disperses for the. [02:03:41] Speaker D: Evening, each returning to their own havens. It's a lonely trip for most of you. One of you knows, though, you'll have some explaining to do when you get home. [02:03:54] Speaker A: Per usual, the chantry waits. [02:03:59] Speaker D: Ancient, beautiful and foreboding. [02:04:02] Speaker B: It's arguably my favorite place in Chicago, but I haven't had a bunch of time to explore the city, so who knows if that's worth anything but arriving home, I don't make an effort to avoid the Regent. Instead, I go straight to him to report on my evening. [02:04:23] Speaker A: There is, of course, a procedure to. [02:04:24] Speaker D: These kind of things. You can't just wander into his office, but a polite knock on the door would be enough, especially because he's expecting you. Even if he's pretending not to expect you. Abraham, disabled, looks up from an especially weathered tome, setting aside one of those large magnifying bars used by documentarians and archivists and the like. He leans back in the enormous red leather office chair that dominates his study, crossing his arms over his chest. Yes. Neonate regent. [02:04:59] Speaker B: I've returned home for the evening, and I thought you might be curious about what the prince sent me out to do tonight. [02:05:07] Speaker A: How very dutiful of you. [02:05:09] Speaker B: As is my way. Well, I take a step into his office. The prince asked me to join up with three other kindred rebecca Mitchell, the Gangrel, the Nosferatu schmendric, and Joshua Crozier, the Banu hakeem. Tomorrow night there's a package coming in, and I make sure that packages and finger quotes. And he's asked me and the other kindred to escort the package to him two nights from now. Tonight we had some prep work to take care of, some palms to grease to make sure that the package arrives safely, and it was all handled without incident. [02:06:11] Speaker D: Well, I can't say I approve of the company that the prince is asking you to keep these days, but who am I to second guess his judgment? [02:06:19] Speaker B: For the record, I'm not too happy about it either. [02:06:25] Speaker D: Well, it's good to see that Las Vegas is not so remiss in its obligations that it's forgotten to teach the youngest among us the necessity of keeping good company. [02:06:37] Speaker B: We are judged by the company we keep, Regent. [02:06:41] Speaker D: Remember that over the next few nights. In any case, you have my leave. [02:06:48] Speaker A: To deal with the prince's. [02:06:50] Speaker D: Errands. I'm sure if this was something that concerned me to a greater degree, the prince would have already consulted the Primagen and elder such as myself. One of the first things you learn when becoming acquainted with the Chicago chantry is how to tell when Abraham du Sable is done with you. And as those last words leave his dead lips, his eyes are already returning to the document that you interrupted his study of when you entered the room. And you know when that happens. You have a five to ten second window to be out of his presence before you've earned his ire. [02:07:29] Speaker B: Soon as I see his eyes move away from me, I spin around on my heels and leave. [02:07:35] Speaker D: And so ends the evening. Each of you returning to the beds that you've made for yourselves in the darkness that is your life as kindred. Dealing with the responsibilities of the court is never pleasant and it's never supposed to be easy. And yet tonight, you seem to have accomplished all these things with words alone. Some words harsher than others, some words more consequential than others. But not a one of you had to move to violence or expend resources beyond a pittance for a rented home. Then, as you wrap up your obligations for the evening, waiting for the day sleep to arrive, you cannot help but wonder, am I lucky, or did I miss something? There's only one way to find out the answer to that question, though, and that's to arrive at O'Hare Airport tomorrow night at the appointed time and retrieve the package, as we're calling it. You'll see what happens. [02:08:50] Speaker A: You've been listening to the All Night Society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens Court Games. If you enjoyed your stay, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app. For more content, including exclusive art and audio, follow us on Facebook or Instagram at Queenscourt games or on Twitter at Queenscourt. RPG me.