Episode 12 - Clued In

[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're listening to the All Night Society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens Court games. Oh, boy. When we last left the Codri, they were in a bit of a predicament, weren't they? You barely survived an ambush by the second inquisition, captured someone who you thought was Charles but wasn't. And right when you were beginning to enjoy the sense of freedom, having escaped, the beast took control. The consequences of hunger brought about by the exertion that allowed you to survive have clouded your judgment with two of you rebecca, Ivy, succumbing to the beast and its need to survive, leaving your coterie mates Maya and Schmendrick to fend for themselves. You have a lot of questions about Michaela. No doubt you have a lot of questions about what happened in the refinery. Who knows what? Was Charles involved? Was this an ambush for him? Was it something else entirely? But all those questions at the moment are subordinated to the cruel facts of linear time. The sun's coming up in less than 2 hours. You are all on the cusp of making dangerous mistakes in the name of satisfying the beast, and some of you are closer to your final death than you have ever been in your unlife so far. It's a level of stress that dealing with a Lasambra didn't bring you. Malinkov was so easy, and now these humans have been so hard. And unfortunately, in your moment of weakness, in your moment of need, it puts a spotlight on how few friends you actually have in Chicago. Who is going to come rescue you? Who do you know who would put themselves out 2 hours before sunrise driving through Anarch territory and werewolf territory for you? Maybe there's an answer to that question, and maybe there isn't. Maybe you'll be forced instead to rely upon your own skills, your own will. I'm excited to find out. So question for me, maya, Schmendrick, only a few moments ago, 180 seconds tops, you were waiting for Rebecca to lead you out from the web of tunnels and sewers to some semblance of freedom, and now you're a bit alone in the dark, a la Sambra, a Nosferatu, another Nosferatu, and an unconscious prisoner. [00:03:06] Speaker B: After seeing Ivy and Rebecca just veer off down the tunnels, I just throw my hands up in the air. Great. Just great. [00:03:17] Speaker C: I'm just completely stunned. Every swear word I can think of in every language I might speak has just come out of me in a rush. [00:03:30] Speaker B: We still got this. I'm pretty sure we still got this. Here, let me check to see if and with those kind of trailing offwards, I'll look into my bag to see if my laptop and phone are still intact, but considering I took a few bolts to the back, I'm not holding out for much hope there. [00:03:50] Speaker A: Yeah, it's a bit of a miracle that you kept the backpack with you up until the moment where you jumped off the third story, things were under control. There was a lot of falling and tumbling and running since then. But schmendric has a way of keeping her wits about her, right? Literally wits, in this case. So will you make a wits and awareness check for me? I want to see if you had the thought and the skill to pat your pocket down in that moment of flight. [00:04:19] Speaker B: Let's hope luck is on my side. One success. [00:04:25] Speaker A: Yeah. Unfortunately, that's not as many as you were looking for. So as you reach behind you to take your backpack off, there's all kinds of things in there. There's also a pretty big rip in the side of it. Big enough that a laptop and a telephone could have fallen out of. [00:04:43] Speaker C: Well, there's a follow up problem there. [00:04:47] Speaker B: Yeah, that's not good. [00:04:49] Speaker D: Damn it. [00:04:51] Speaker B: That's okay. Uh, all right, here's my plan. First of all, we're going to get out of these sewers, going to have to go topside, find a phone, and I'm going to call Bob. And at the mention of Bob, I kind of make shifty eyes over to Michaela. I don't trust this new vampire with Bob one of the most important people in my life, so this is a huge risk on my part, and I'm not exactly okay with revealing him to her, but this is how it's got to be. [00:05:22] Speaker A: For all your suspicions, she hasn't attempted to flee. And as you keep an eye on your captive, doesn't take any kind of space genius psychoanalysis to see that she's legitimately scared. She doesn't know who you are. You get the sense she might even not know who captured her. But she's kindred. She recognizes a threat to her own life. And at the moment, you seem well, you were capable enough to escape the second inquisition. At the moment, you think it looks maybe like you have a plan together. So there's a tenuous sense of cooperation coming out of her at the moment. I don't know if that's enough for her to keep her secrets, but it might knock her down a notch or two on your threat list. [00:06:08] Speaker D: Okay. [00:06:10] Speaker B: After observing Michaela for a moment, I'll turn my gaze back to Maya and say, is that acceptable to you? Do you got any other thoughts? Because I want to get out of Gary. [00:06:21] Speaker C: I would love to see this place burn to the ground. Barring that, we have a somewhat smaller problem in that my car and the registration to it are topside, and I assume your laptop as well. We need to report the car stolen. Frankly, you should report the laptop and your phone as well. [00:06:45] Speaker B: Well, they're never getting into my laptop and phone. [00:06:48] Speaker C: It's not about getting into it. It's about knowing who it belongs. [00:06:52] Speaker B: Um, I don't have an identity, so no worries there. [00:06:58] Speaker A: Kind of phone that you bought off Craigslist with cash, encrypted the hell out of it, that kind of thing. [00:07:04] Speaker B: It's hard for me to just walk into a phone store and buy a phone from the clerk. [00:07:11] Speaker A: That would raise some questions. Among them, what the fuck are you? [00:07:16] Speaker C: In that case, we just have to deal with these. [00:07:23] Speaker A: Whoa, whoa. What do you mean deal with? Michaela has taken interest in that phrase. [00:07:29] Speaker C: Well, you're here with them and I indicate the agent who's still napping on the floor. We don't know how you're involved or what you know, or if we can trust you. [00:07:45] Speaker A: You think I fucking tied myself up? Or like I volunteered to work with these people? [00:07:52] Speaker B: I don't think it's anything like that, Michaela. But there are a lot of questions that we need answers to right now, and dawn is fast approaching. [00:08:03] Speaker A: I mean, look, I'm happy to tell you whatever I know. I can tell you right now. You're not going to be happy with how much that is, but whatever. You get me out of here, you get me somewhere safe, I'll spill all the beans. But until then and she turns and looks very pointedly at Maya you don't have to worry about me like, that cool. [00:08:23] Speaker B: Because I might be getting someone involved that I'd really rather you not talk to or approach or remember, if you could do that for me, then you will have a safe place to stay. [00:08:37] Speaker C: You'd bring that sweet mess of man. [00:08:39] Speaker B: Into this, he's my go to guy. [00:08:43] Speaker A: That's an interesting question. Then how are you going to get a hold of Bob again? [00:08:47] Speaker B: Yeah, the plan was to head topside, and since my phone is broken, I guess finding a payphone or break into a building one of those, since you know the area. [00:08:59] Speaker C: Michaela, any chance you can direct us to a payphone and some shelter? [00:09:04] Speaker A: I mean, half those things. Yeah. I mean, Gary is like 20 years in the past, but payphones? I mean, I don't know. There's probably one a gas station or something. I guess if we go up there, I'll see if I can get a sense of where we are and see what we can do. [00:09:22] Speaker B: Lead the way. [00:09:23] Speaker C: Help me with this, please. [00:09:25] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm tempted to just leave him down here, but I have a feeling that's probably not the best idea. [00:09:32] Speaker C: I assume someone was bringing a doggy bag, but it's possible they want information. [00:09:39] Speaker B: Well, I'm not convinced that this guy, whatever rank he is, knows much beyond, hey, let's go to this building and shoot some vampires up. But I don't know, maybe there is something there. [00:09:53] Speaker C: Well, then it's a doggy bag at the very least. [00:09:56] Speaker A: There's only one way to find out, right? The troublesome part is that your sewer navigating expert is no longer in the sewers. So as you venture forth, you don't have the instinct to go off of in terms of am I moving further away from the refinery? Am I moving east, west? You know how to get around sewers. It's literally in your blood, right? [00:10:21] Speaker B: I like a good maze and a good sewer. [00:10:25] Speaker A: So you're more than capable of finding an exit. It's just you don't have a great picture of where that exit exists on the top side map. [00:10:33] Speaker B: I don't really want to pop my head up amongst a whole bunch of waiting Si agents. [00:10:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I suppose not. I assume you're doing your due diligence. You're putting a good amount of distance between where you are and where you end up, with the hope that we were heading in the right direction when it started. If we keep going this way and then maybe take a couple turns, we'll end up far enough away. [00:10:57] Speaker C: It's all we can do. [00:10:59] Speaker A: And then maya, one last question. How much do you regret throwing your shoes earlier? [00:11:04] Speaker C: I have the one. It's not doing any favors, but I'm having trouble letting it go. [00:11:11] Speaker A: Is that emotional attachment or literal attachment? As the chemical sludge that fills this sewers appears to have bonded it in a way to your foot. [00:11:23] Speaker C: Probably a little bit of both. I don't like leaving things around. [00:11:28] Speaker A: Well, there is some good news. You're dead. You don't shed skin cells. You don't sweat. There's no hair on your body to fall off, give evidence. You don't even bleed. So I doubt they'll be able to track the shoe back to you. [00:11:43] Speaker C: I can leave it behind. If nothing else, if we end up going in circles, we'll have a marker. [00:11:49] Speaker A: We've come a long way from the Yarn and the Minotaur, haven't we? [00:11:53] Speaker C: Breadcrumbs are breadcrumbs. [00:11:56] Speaker B: Be a very different story if you led yourself out of the labyrinth with very nice shoes. [00:12:02] Speaker A: Well, as Schmendrick plays sewer tour guide for Maya and their captives, rebecca, Ivy, you have emerged. There's a large drainage grate. At some point in time, it was solid enough to keep interlopers vandals explorers out, but time has neglected it beyond usefulness. The two of you emerge on one of the many industrial canals that cuts through this part of the city. The sky is still dark ahead. There's no squad of second inquisition agents waiting to hold you at gunpoint. How does it feel to see the sky. [00:12:39] Speaker D: When the initial rush of the beast taking command leaves? At first, it's relief. We made it out. We're going to see another night. But reality set in. We're separated. Tawn is about to approach, and I have no idea if I can run fast enough, let alone Ivy. Run fast enough to get somewhere? [00:13:08] Speaker A: Mm hmm. Well, I wouldn't say you've arrived somewhere safe. You certainly arrived somewhere else. But it goes without saying that neither of you want to spend your night in Gary, let alone the industrial sprawl adjacent Gary. It's a long walk. I mean, just making it back to Chicago city limits is going to take you three or 4 hours, and that is time you don't have staying here. [00:13:33] Speaker D: Whether it's in the earth or in some abandoned hut. That's not an option that we can take. If it's not the second inquisition drawing in on us, it's going to be the Garou. And if it's not the Garo, it's going to be Anarchs. And ones who I'm not on such charitable terms with. I shake my head and I turn to Ivy. Do you have a phone? Can you call someone? Anyone? [00:14:03] Speaker E: I haven't even bothered to check my pockets and see if my phone even. [00:14:08] Speaker A: Made it through that we can find out. Will you roll Wits into awareness for me? [00:14:15] Speaker E: One success. [00:14:17] Speaker A: You have a phone. The bad news is you're going to need a new one. I'm sure if you spent the time, you could figure out how to line up the phone with one of the bullet wounds on your body and see the exact point at which the bullet pierced your telephone and then your rib cage. Suffice it to say, it's nonfunctional. Damn it. [00:14:43] Speaker E: I really liked this phone. [00:14:45] Speaker A: Yeah, you had that custom case and everything. [00:14:48] Speaker E: Yeah, I know. Took a really long time to find. Well, phones not an option, sadly. [00:15:02] Speaker D: Great. I look around. And aside from the canal, is there any incline that leads to what you could call civilization? [00:15:13] Speaker A: I suppose that depends entirely on your definition of civilization, doesn't it? You can walk your way up out of the canal. At some point, the levees have given way to lack of maintenance. In other points, there are neglected ladders, stairs leading up there's, pavement as far as the eye can see, orange sodium lighting, big industrial plants. It's not especially heavily trafficked, but there are industries here. They are operating. So there's some human activity that might. [00:15:44] Speaker D: Be enough to go off of. [00:15:46] Speaker A: What are you looking for? [00:15:48] Speaker D: I don't relish the idea, but I think if we can find a car, ivy could get us out of here and somewhere safe for the night before dawn approaches. Ivy, um, keep an eye out for a car or someone driving. I think that's our chance. [00:16:09] Speaker E: You want to steal a car? [00:16:12] Speaker D: I cringe as she uses the word steal. We can leave it for them. They can find it again. I just don't think we have many options. [00:16:23] Speaker E: No, I love this. I love all of this. I'm here for it. [00:16:31] Speaker D: Right, let's see if there's one around here. And hopefully with a driver in tow. [00:16:38] Speaker A: Well, you did mention an important part there, because neither one of you has any idea how to break into a car, how to hotwire, anything like that. You'd have to find one that already had the keys in the ignition. There's plenty of ways to stop someone. I'd like to know how you two plan on accomplishing it. [00:16:56] Speaker E: We look pretty beat to shit. All you need to do is hobble onto the street like a poor, lost, injured woman and men will definitely stop. Right, because oh, my gosh, I have to save this. This poor creature. [00:17:12] Speaker D: That's precisely what I was thinking. Let's take advantage of our states and. [00:17:17] Speaker A: Lay a trap as far well, I don't know what it says about humanity that your idea is probably correct. Chicago, despite its size, is still very Midwestern. There are people here with those kind of traditional values. You see a young woman in need in a place like this, and you can't help but want to help. So our two vampires sidle up to the side of the road, waiting for someone to approach. You have to lurk in the shadows. You don't want a trucker to stop. Right? [00:17:48] Speaker D: Right. [00:17:50] Speaker A: And there's, of course, all the normal tension that comes with peering into the distance, wondering if that's a police car. No, I don't see any lights, but the front bumper looks that way. And you're ducked down into the grass, long poisoned by God only knows what's come out of these factories. But given time enough, you spot it. It's an old car, an early 90s Civic. And as it draws nearer, you can see the man driving. He's younger, in his late 20s, early 30s. Kind of kid, blue collar. Never had a plan for going to college, maybe got an apprenticeship at the plant where his father works. Can't help himself. He rolls up alongside, rolls down the passenger window so he can talk across the car at you. Everything okay, miss? [00:18:42] Speaker D: I'm going to need to get in close. I put on a show of limping holding my sides. Yeah, our car, it rolled into the canal there. We really need a ride to my place. Can you give us a ride, please? I can pay you. [00:19:01] Speaker A: Oh, my God. There was a car accident. [00:19:04] Speaker D: Yeah, there was a guy in the road. We swerved to miss him, but our car, it went into the water. It sank, and our phones were in there. And we can't call anyone. Please, we wouldn't even need that far. Just a few miles through to a hospital. [00:19:23] Speaker A: Ivy, what's your part in this performance? [00:19:26] Speaker E: With Rebecca taking the lead, there's not a ton for me to do except stand there holding on to my side, trying to hold on to all of our belongings. I would have picked up shoes, or I would be holding things in my arm to make it look like it's everything that we could grab from the car. Trying not to look suspicious. [00:19:49] Speaker D: It's an act I've done before. It's easy enough to lure in soldiers if they think you're just a harmless young woman all by herself in the desert. In this case, it's not too different, just a change of scenery. [00:20:03] Speaker A: You say that, but I'm going to ask you to roll manipulation and subterfuge to lie to this man about a car accident and escape all the questions about why he doesn't need to call a fire truck. [00:20:15] Speaker E: Right, yeah, I wasn't planning on lying. [00:20:18] Speaker D: I just need to get close enough to grab him am I close enough to grab him? [00:20:21] Speaker A: Actually, that depends on the result of your manipulation and subterfuge role. [00:20:26] Speaker D: May I? Blood surge? [00:20:28] Speaker A: It's up to you. [00:20:30] Speaker D: I will. Then that's a hunger game. [00:20:34] Speaker A: How's that tank feeling right now? [00:20:37] Speaker D: Feeling a little emptier than before. [00:20:40] Speaker A: Well, who knows? Maybe this will work out and you'll be able to resolve that problem. At the very least. What's a little blood in the name of survival? [00:20:47] Speaker D: There are worse things. [00:20:49] Speaker A: Go ahead and add that bonus and make your role. [00:20:53] Speaker D: No. [00:20:54] Speaker E: Oh, no. [00:20:59] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:21:02] Speaker D: That's a messy critical with five successes. [00:21:07] Speaker A: Hey, I got great news. You got close enough. [00:21:11] Speaker B: What's the other news? [00:21:14] Speaker A: You got close enough to wander around the front of the car, continuing your performance, making a very persuasive act of a damsel in distress. He's suspicious about your story. Who in the modern world would get into a car accident and then not want the police to come? Or not want an ambulance, no tow truck or fire truck to pull your vehicle up out of the canals, but you're selling it enough where confusion is the order of the day rather than fear. A smarter human would have bailed, would have sensed the trap coming. But you've got that predatorial edge holding his gaze as you navigate through the headlights to his side of the car. And he rolls the window down, almost by reflex at this point. Too curious, maybe too stupid. Giving himself enough credit to put the puzzle together and too confident in his masculinity to think that you can do him harm. So when he rolls down the window as you approach and says, I'm really sorry, ma'am, but I think I should get you like you should get to a hospital. Right? I have a phone. I can call the and Ivy, that's when you see Rebecca reach into the car. How long has it been for you, Ivy, since you've seen someone thrown out of a vehicle by their neck? [00:22:32] Speaker E: Oh, geez, not since prom, when Julie's boyfriend brought her home late and her dad was not happy with that. [00:22:41] Speaker A: Yeah, it's got some of that vibe. Julie's dad wasn't this strong, this angry. Rebecca, to your credit, you get some great distance on that throw. That's a good 10ft of human airborne acrobatics. You can hear the sound of him hitting the pavement, skidding across the cough as the wind is knocked out of him. He's desperately trying to suck in breath. And when he finally manages to steal the oxygen away, there's the dazed whimpering moaning. You don't know how much you hurt him. You don't care. You told the Beast I need a car. Beast says here's a car. My work here is done. [00:23:22] Speaker D: Definitely rougher than I would have wanted to handle it, but I can't really fault the Beast there. Ivy, can you get him, please? [00:23:33] Speaker E: And do what with him? [00:23:36] Speaker D: I don't know what came over me. We can't leave him out in the middle of nowhere. Just put him in the back. [00:23:44] Speaker E: I mean I could take a nibble and he could pass out and we could drop him off at the hospital on the way back. [00:23:56] Speaker D: Yeah, that could work. And Ivy, that he can't remember us, he's seen our faces and he just saw well more than saw that we need him clear. [00:24:12] Speaker E: Okay, wipe his memory, take a snack, away we go. [00:24:17] Speaker D: I'll help lift him. [00:24:19] Speaker A: Well in what order are you going to do those things? [00:24:23] Speaker E: I would like to cloud his memory. And then once the few minutes go by and he's very confused about his position, I would simply tell him there was a car accident, but we're going to get him to a hospital and everything's going to be fine. And then I'll take a nibble and then he'll hopefully pass out and we'll get him in the car. It'll be fine. How'd you like I walk over to the man, get down, make eye contact with him, make sure that he's aware enough for my dominate powers to work. [00:24:54] Speaker A: All it takes is eye contact and a little bit of vampire will. It's going to be confusing when he still feels all the same pain but has no idea where it came from. Was a car accident? Was it my car? Man, how did I end up you see him looking around trying to piece things together out of what remains of his foggy memory. It's not going to happen. [00:25:20] Speaker E: And when he's most confused, I guess trying to piece it all together, I'll just lean in and bite his neck and take a little bit of a drink. [00:25:30] Speaker A: Make a frenzy. Check. [00:25:33] Speaker D: Sure. [00:25:34] Speaker E: Two successes. [00:25:37] Speaker A: It's not enough. Fuck. The thing is when you're this hungry, I mean seeing it, smelling it, you can walk by a buffet, right? But it's something else entirely. When you decide to go inside, grab an appetizer. Oh yeah, it's an hour wait for a reservation. But we can just duck in here and grab some tapas and the next thing you know you realize how hungry you are. You've eaten ten plates of tapas, you're full. I guess you don't need that reservation anymore. Something similar happens here. You don't remember drinking that much. You remember clouding his memory, you remember leaning down, you remember sinking your fangs into him and then you kind of lose time. But hey Ivy, look at the bright side, you're at zero hunger now. [00:26:28] Speaker E: I just wanted to take the edge off. [00:26:32] Speaker A: That's how addiction works, isn't it? Only have a little bit. I just need to get over this hump a little. You know, hair, the dog, whatever. I'm not going to use that much this time. How many times you heard that story? You've solved two problems. You have a car and there's no witness. [00:26:52] Speaker E: The minute I come to is obviously the minute that his body is limp in my arms. There is no more heartbeat. Within this man. On the bright side, I'm full. On the less bright side, I just drained, immortal in front of Rebecca. [00:27:11] Speaker A: Oh, that's not the worst side. This man was already injured. You stalked him down like a lion finding the weak gazelle. And you know your condition, Ivy? To say nothing of the amount of energy that your sire and the chantry have put into teaching you the precepts of control, how to recognize and tame the beast, insofar as such a thing as possible. You went in anyway, knowing the risk. You took a gamble, and then you lost control. [00:27:40] Speaker E: This is why Gabby never let me into the casinos in Vegas, prince's rules notwithstanding. [00:27:47] Speaker A: Just trying to protect you from mm hmm. [00:27:50] Speaker B: Much better than the juice boxes, though, right? [00:27:53] Speaker E: Oh, my God. So much better. [00:27:56] Speaker A: So, Rebecca, you see Ivy standing back up? She's walking back towards the car. She's not bringing this gentleman with her. [00:28:03] Speaker D: Ivy, are you going to get him, or do you need. [00:28:10] Speaker E: We don't. [00:28:13] Speaker B: We. [00:28:14] Speaker E: Don'T have to bring him with us anymore. [00:28:19] Speaker D: Ivory. No. Just a poor man out here, and he was trying to be kind and. [00:28:28] Speaker E: Help us, but okay, hold on, little miss High Horse. You threw him out of the car? Like 10ft like, high pot meat kettle. [00:28:42] Speaker D: Okay, I'm not blaming you. It's just I can't believe we did that. But we can't leave him here. It's not right. He needs to go with some dignity, at least. [00:28:55] Speaker A: Hey, Rebecca. [00:28:57] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:28:59] Speaker A: Roll frenzy for me. [00:29:01] Speaker D: Four successes. [00:29:03] Speaker A: Takes a special kind of gall to challenge you in a moment like that. Every vampire has to deal with the beast. Only the least human of you feels flippant or nonchalant about the moment when it takes control. She's going to try to cover up her behavior by accusing you of something, attacking you on something that, by this point, she knows you take so seriously. How dare she? In a less lucid moment, you might feel compelled to teach her a lesson. The beast demands many things, among them, dominance. You will not be talked down to. And you can feel that anger bubbling up inside your chest. The beast snarling, snapping, hissing. But you managed to quiet it. Now is not the time. [00:29:56] Speaker D: Look, this guy, he was just trying to help us. Can't help our natures. But next time, don't fall for it. And I turn around rather sharply, and I'm going to see what we can do about this poor gentleman. He deserves more dignity than being left on the side of the road. It's the least I can do at this point. [00:30:22] Speaker A: What are you going to do with him? [00:30:24] Speaker D: I can't exactly build him a pyre, but a burial by river might be kinder. [00:30:30] Speaker A: Nothing more quintessentially Chicago than hiding a body in a huh. [00:30:34] Speaker D: Maybe I fit in here better than I thought. [00:30:38] Speaker A: So you sling the body up into your arms, you start walking over towards the canal, banks. Will you roll? Intelligence and survival for me. [00:30:46] Speaker D: Can do that. Would be three successes. [00:30:51] Speaker A: So here's the thing about bodies, Rebecca. They're buoyant. If you want a corpse to, say, hidden at the bottom of a body of water, you need one of two things. You either need to weigh it down or you need to perforate it such that the gases can escape and let water in. [00:31:08] Speaker D: I've already enacted enough indignities upon this poor man. I'm not going to tear him up the sake of a mistake on the part of myself and my companion. I don't care how long it takes. I'll find a large stone, a cinder block, something to give him a peaceful rest at the bottom of the Chicago River. [00:31:28] Speaker A: Is this a quest you undertake by yourself, or are you enlisting aid? [00:31:32] Speaker D: I'm going to call Ivy over. Ivy, we need something to weigh him down, otherwise he'll float. [00:31:40] Speaker E: Oh, my God. We we really don't have the time for this, but fine. And I'll start scrambling around, trying to find something heavy. [00:31:55] Speaker A: It's not that hard. You have to walk around a bit, maybe hop a fence, find an abandoned building, something. But there's plenty of construction material around here to keep a body pinned to the bottom of a river. So as Rebecca descends once again, the bank of the canal takes the man into the center as far as she can go. You don't have to breathe. You can walk all the way down. And you're strong enough to handle all the necessary equipment? [00:32:22] Speaker D: Definitely. [00:32:24] Speaker A: Maya schmendrick around the same time that Rebecca is conducting what she calls a dignified burial, one of you is poking your head up through the grate, push the manhole up and over, peek around. You've exited inside a complex of some kind. There's no roar of helicopters, there's no spotlights, no gun barrels. It looks safe. [00:32:51] Speaker B: Looks can be deceiving. I think I'm going to emerge and then take a little look around first. [00:32:59] Speaker C: If you want to be a little safer. A shadow perspective might be better. [00:33:05] Speaker B: Oh, that is true. I forgot you had those nifty tricks. By all means, you're going to have. [00:33:11] Speaker A: To rouse, but you don't care. You're fully satiated. [00:33:17] Speaker C: That's good, because that's a hunger game. [00:33:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Once a meal has settled you're at Thanksgiving, you're full to the brim with turkey and such. But you give it 30 minutes, there'll be room for pie. You could go for some pie. [00:33:32] Speaker C: And like I said, doggy bag. [00:33:35] Speaker A: But Maya hurls her senses into the shadows, eyes rolling back fully white, peering about the darkness. No, this place looks sufficiently abandoned. [00:33:45] Speaker D: Coast is clear. [00:33:46] Speaker C: Come on. [00:33:47] Speaker B: So, given that the coast is clear, I want to make doubly sure that this guy is not being tracked with any sort of surveillance gear or GPS. So I'm going to look him over and make sure that whatever is transmitting continues to transmit from the sewers. [00:34:07] Speaker A: That'll be wits. And subterfuge, looking for all the places that someone would hide that kind of thing. [00:34:13] Speaker C: Anything else you find, you can always pass to me. [00:34:17] Speaker B: Two successes. [00:34:19] Speaker A: Well, most of his equipment is definitely easy to find, right? He's got a radio on the side of his head. You can take that off, it gives a signal. At a certain point, your search is going to require to peel off the armor, dig down into his pockets, looking around in all the little nifty places you can hide a thing. You spend a few minutes going over that, you end up with a small, respectable pile of second inquisition gear. And at this point, to your satisfaction, you believe you've eliminated any possible vectors for transmission or tracking. [00:34:52] Speaker B: Excellent. I'm going to leave the gear, actually, whatever I don't need in my backpack, I'm going to just leave in it. Stick in as much of the inquisition gear as I can, and I'm going to stash this because I might want to come back for this stuff. [00:35:10] Speaker A: But. [00:35:10] Speaker B: If it's bugged, I obviously don't want to take it with me. [00:35:13] Speaker A: Now, of course, you're a techno wizard, though. You've heard of a Faraday cage? You know about those special wallets you can buy that stop people from pulling the codes out of your RFID enabled credit cards? If you roll with some technology, we can see if you have some of that material behind. Maybe you could make an impromptu wrapping of some kind to stop the signals from escaping. [00:35:38] Speaker B: I got six successes. [00:35:42] Speaker A: Well, your backpack is in shambles, but you've memorized the section of that nerd book that tells you all the different ways that you can interfere with electric signals. You can make yourself a little radiation proof hobo bindle, keep whatever you'd like. [00:35:58] Speaker B: All right, excellent. So that means I can take this stuff with me then? Since I'm jamming it? [00:36:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:06] Speaker B: Super cool. [00:36:07] Speaker A: So you can buy it at, like, hacker stores or survivalist or, like, military fetishist militiamen stores if you want to keep the government from tracking you. But the most common uses for cell phones, you'll put the cell phone in a it looks like a little baggie with, like, a weird metal mesh stitched into the plastic. And that is what Schmendrick has created. [00:36:27] Speaker D: Impromptu damn schmendric. [00:36:30] Speaker B: You know, I may not be able to jump from the third floor of a building, but I can build this, so at least that's something. [00:36:41] Speaker A: And, hey, bonus, taking him out of his armor makes him weigh a lot less. [00:36:45] Speaker B: It's very true, thank God, because the. [00:36:49] Speaker A: Three of you kindred here have three dots of strength between you. And as much as I would enjoy the comedy of watching you try to lift this man up out of the sewer, now is not the time. [00:37:00] Speaker B: So dragging him out. We haven't restrained him at all yet, have we? [00:37:04] Speaker A: No, but he'll be unconscious for a good long while. You don't know the particulars of Ivy's blood magic, but you've seen its results in other circumstances. He shouldn't be waking up anytime soon. [00:37:15] Speaker B: Still, is there anything in here that I could use to possibly restrain him? Zip tie his rope? [00:37:22] Speaker A: Rope? Probably not, but I imagine an agent of the second Inquisition would carry restraints on him. It's not unreasonable to say that he had zip ties ready for you. [00:37:31] Speaker B: Oh, excellent. The zip tie has become the zip tie. [00:37:37] Speaker A: Hoisted by his own Patard. [00:37:41] Speaker C: Unless he's strong enough to break the zip ties from behind his back, I. [00:37:44] Speaker D: Think we should be safe. [00:37:47] Speaker B: Excellent. Now, let's see if this dump has a phone, and I will scan the warehouse. [00:37:53] Speaker A: Well, you're in a bit of luck. Destroying a building, demolishing it, taking it down on purpose. That's the kind of thing where you would expect them to strip out anything of value. That wasn't the case here. This building was abandoned. The company went bankrupt. There was no money to pay the workers for the last week, let alone to hire a company to come in. It's also an old building. Telephones don't need an outside power supply. They can run off the native current in the wire. So you head up some stairs, metallic creaky into the office where once upon a time, a very rich white man used to gaze down upon his kingdom and watch his laborers at work. Still has the desk. Fancy chair missing a couple legs, empty bookcases. You can see on the back wall there's, that little shadow of dust where he had his diploma from business school. [00:38:47] Speaker B: Hung up very fancy. [00:38:50] Speaker C: Look upon my work. See mighty in despair. [00:38:54] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. In fact, you can still see that know salesman of the quarter best growth percentage in the tri Midwest region. But more importantly, you find the phone, pick it up, and there's a dial tone. [00:39:08] Speaker B: Oh, awesome. You'd be surprised how many abandoned buildings don't actually clear out everything. Like, you can still find paperwork and other things. So this was a stroke of luck. And with the phone in hand, I'll tap on the glass to let Maya know, point to it, and give Big Bob a phone call. [00:39:29] Speaker A: Thankfully, Bob is the kind of person who hasn't led a normal life since, what, 1979? And having been in his office a hundred times before, you can actually picture in your head big Bob passed out on the desk, the TV still playing, old sitcom reruns to his right. Phone goes off. It has that really old school Metallic bell ring. You can see him lurch all that bulk startling to life. He rips the phone up off the Big Bob's storage. Big. Oh, that Big Bob here. [00:40:09] Speaker B: Hi, Bob. It's your favorite schmendric. Yep. I need your help. I need your help right now. Splash some water on your face, chug a coffee. Come get me. [00:40:22] Speaker A: Fucking what time is it? [00:40:24] Speaker B: I don't know, like 03:00? A.m 04:00 a.m oh, God. [00:40:29] Speaker A: What the fuck do you need at 04:00 A.m.? [00:40:31] Speaker B: I need you to come pick me up. [00:40:34] Speaker A: Pick you up? What? Where? The bar. [00:40:38] Speaker B: No, hold on. I'll peek my head out the door and say to Michaela, hey, we need an address. Do you know anything close to here? [00:40:48] Speaker A: You see Michaela's cheeks puff out in. [00:40:50] Speaker B: That. [00:40:54] Speaker A: International human gesture? She holds up a finger and is walking around the building looking for a sign of something. Takes 30 or 40 seconds while she's looking. Is that no. [00:41:09] Speaker B: Bob's snoring bob, wake up. [00:41:14] Speaker A: Yeah, big Bob's Storage. Bob's here. Oh, fuck. Schmendrick. Oh, God. I thought it was a dream. [00:41:21] Speaker B: Listen to me splash water on your face right now. Get up. [00:41:24] Speaker A: Go. Do yeah, okay. You can hear him knocking shit off his desk as he's clambering around. Michaela calls up, gives you the name of the building. [00:41:36] Speaker B: Excellent. I will give him the name of the building, the address, as much as we're able to, considering that you're in fucking Gary. Yes, I'm in fucking Gary. [00:41:49] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Vendrick. All right, it'll be like 35, 40 minutes. [00:41:58] Speaker B: Okay, listen to me, though. You need to bring one of the big trucks with one of the backs that can lock up, okay? [00:42:04] Speaker A: You only the box fan. [00:42:05] Speaker B: Yeah, all right. [00:42:10] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, like I said, 35, 40 minutes. I'll be there. [00:42:14] Speaker B: Okay. Thanks, Bob. [00:42:16] Speaker A: Yeah. No, fuck you. And he hangs up. [00:42:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I just chuckle at the fuck you. And I hang up the phone as well and call down to Maya's like you want this car reported stolen. Police reports take a while. [00:42:30] Speaker C: Could we maybe contact Renee and let her do it? [00:42:34] Speaker B: Yeah. What's her number? [00:42:36] Speaker D: I call it back to her. [00:42:37] Speaker B: I probably haven't memorized for sure, sir. Some sort of code word I should tell her so she'll actually listen to me because I don't think she met me. [00:42:46] Speaker A: I was going to ask you're calling the special phone, right? Maya? [00:42:52] Speaker C: Yes. [00:42:52] Speaker A: So is there some kind of call and response you've established? Is there a fake name or something that she gives out to make sure that people who shouldn't be calling don't know who it is? [00:43:04] Speaker B: Right. [00:43:04] Speaker C: I always go with it's. Your boss do the fuck what I say. [00:43:10] Speaker A: Okay? Go with that. [00:43:13] Speaker C: Let's just go with pineapple. [00:43:17] Speaker B: That's such a weird word, but okay. And with that, I will phone up Renee. [00:43:22] Speaker A: Hello? [00:43:24] Speaker B: Hey, Renee. Pineapple. Maya wants you to do something for her. [00:43:29] Speaker A: Of course, yes. How can I help? [00:43:32] Speaker B: Her car was stolen tonight and we need it reported ASAP. [00:43:36] Speaker A: The Lexus? [00:43:38] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:43:39] Speaker A: Does she have any details that she'd like me to report? [00:43:42] Speaker B: No, I don't think there are any details. Just that it's gone and who knows where they took it for a dry ride. [00:43:49] Speaker A: Very well. I'll take care of it. [00:43:52] Speaker B: Thank you. Renee and I will hang up, head back downstairs and go. Well, our ride will be here in about 30 to 40 minutes. [00:44:03] Speaker A: Says a lot about Maya's relationship with her inferiors. That Renee was ready to take the call, had no questions, just admitted. And yours? Woke up sounding a little sleep drunk and still fell asleep on the phone with you. [00:44:15] Speaker B: You know Renee's Hardworking. Bob is charm incarnate. There's a switch you gotta make. [00:44:26] Speaker A: Bob's. Bob, what are you gonna do? [00:44:28] Speaker C: Good help is hard to find, so I like to keep it around when I can. [00:44:32] Speaker A: On the topic of good help ivy, Rebecca, you've dealt with your disposal problem? Car is still running. [00:44:44] Speaker E: Well, luckily, I can drive. I'm a little turned around, admittedly, but as long as Rebecca can say Chicago's that way, I think we'll manage to get home somehow. [00:44:58] Speaker D: We can lay low on my place. I already have a safe, so to speak. [00:45:04] Speaker A: A good thing about this particular metropolitan area is that if ever you're lost, you can just drive towards the giant beacon of light pollution, and eventually you'll get close enough to figure out where you mm hmm. [00:45:19] Speaker E: So once our friend is sufficiently dealt with, and Rebecca has had all of the time to do whatever it is that she was doing because lord knows I was not involved in that, I'll hop into the driver's seat, wait for her to come back, and once she's in, we'll get on the road. [00:45:37] Speaker A: Rebecca. Where's yucca gosh? [00:45:41] Speaker D: I hope she got away, but I. [00:45:44] Speaker A: Ought to call for her neural charisma and animal ken. [00:45:49] Speaker D: Three successes. [00:45:51] Speaker A: She's well trained, you have a bond, goes back forever. As soon as the shooting started and you stopped giving her instructions, she loitered in a safe place, managed to tell her it's time to go home. She'll get there eventually. [00:46:08] Speaker D: Now, they say birds always come back to roost. [00:46:11] Speaker A: Well, Ivy, you're behind the wheel. Off driving. Curious to know what the mood is like in this vehicle. [00:46:19] Speaker D: So tense. [00:46:21] Speaker E: So tense. [00:46:23] Speaker D: At the very least, I'll fill the silence by picking up my wet, torn up clothes. But after a moment, I would break the silence, the light chuckle. And I'm going to need new clothes after this, aren't I? [00:46:41] Speaker E: In fairness, I feel like you've needed a wardrobe update for a very long time. [00:46:47] Speaker A: So you've extended this olive branch, trying to break the tension a little bit. She's snapped back. Classic Ivy. This is the same woman you rescued from gunfire not that long ago. How does it feel to have that level of connection and sacrifice so suddenly revert to just default? [00:47:13] Speaker D: Ivy, I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me. I did all of that for her, and she's treating me like she can just cast me aside. No, there has to be something more to it. I know there is. After brewing on the awkwardness for just a few more moments, I manage. You going to be okay. After all this? [00:47:40] Speaker E: After all what? It was just a weird night, Ivy. [00:47:50] Speaker D: I saw you freeze. Like I've never seen you like that before. And after what happened with him, if you need to talk about it, I'm here, no one else around. [00:48:05] Speaker E: What about me makes you think that I'd want to talk about any of this? [00:48:12] Speaker D: I held in my feelings for you know how long at this point I've told you how old I am. Doesn't help to keep it in. [00:48:22] Speaker E: Do you know why you don't know much about me. Do you know when I died? Do you know where I came from? Do you know who my sire is? I know who Silas is. You talk about him all the time. You don't know much about do you? You understand that, right? To sit there and try and poke and prod and oh, yes, when I need to talk, I just love talking about my feelings. That's not me. You don't know anything about me. [00:48:57] Speaker D: I lean in over the console. You're right, Ivy. I don't know about your life. I don't know about your sire, who brought you here, why you're here, even. But I've been traveling with you for a few nights now. I know exactly the kind of person you are. That strain throughout polling, those walls, they're gonna come crumbling down unless you acknowledge what's festering behind them. Yes. The way you're treating me now, if it were anyone else, I would have left you miles behind, but it didn't stop me from saving you. This coterie, this friendship that we're cultivating, it matters, and I don't know if you'd do the same for me, but just saying, if I had the chance again, I still would have run out there and saved you. [00:49:49] Speaker E: I turn my head, look at Rebecca, give a little bit of a glower. Tell me, Rebecca, what kind of person am I, exactly? What kind of person do you think I am? Based on the few nights that we've had together, I see someone who's had. [00:50:13] Speaker D: To grow up quickly. I had to, too. I know what it's like. But you've been hurt before. You know what it's like to have to rely on others, and you never want to do that again. So you put up walls. You ache to be perfect, and when you mess up the few times that you do because, let's face it, you're quite skilled you don't want anybody seeing that side of you. But it's all right, Ivy. We've been through a lot tonight, and we survived it. Just because it wasn't perfect doesn't mean that it matters any less that the outcome came about this way. [00:50:59] Speaker E: You know, Rebecca, you got one thing right. I don't trust people. And you know why I don't trust people, Rebecca? I trusted Prince Benedict in Las Vegas to let us know when the FBI started snooping around. I trusted the sheriff and his hounds to track down any of the Si agents who got a little too close, keep all of them contained, or send them off in other directions so it didn't get to us. I trusted the Ghoul that worked every day in the chantry, who at some point was gotten to and left the back door open so the Si could come in and do what they did. And just so I am done trusting other people to keep me safe. [00:52:05] Speaker D: I see you've been through a lot. That's a lonely way to live, Ivy. And sure, that Ghoul left the door open. He betrayed you in your lot. But you don't have to live that way. I know I'm asking a lot of you with this, but I hope tonight, just even the littlest bit, that you can trust me in that way. I know Schmendrich would do something like that for you, maya, I can't say. But you don't have to be alone. [00:52:40] Speaker E: After everything that you and I have been through these last few nights, I am shocked that you can have trust in anybody. It has been such a colossal failure of trust from everybody in Chicago. Rebecca and I can't. I just need to focus on the road so I can get us to your haven for the day. [00:53:14] Speaker D: I know better than to talk to around this state. I'll nod. [00:53:19] Speaker A: Vampires don't change. The person you were as a human is the person you will be forever. After. The embrace and the combination of the beast, that native predatory paranoia, the slow realization over time that you are a monster and you are alone, it only ever contorts the neuroses you entered undeath with. It takes who you were at the moment you died and makes it just a little bit worse. Some kindred will fight for centuries, struggling to fight back against that decline. In the rarest of occasions, it works. Kindred can become better people. They just usually don't. We should be so lucky that each of our kindred only has to reconcile that part of their worldview. Rarely. But tonight's circumstances have created problems, not just for Ivy and Rebecca, but for Schmendrick as well. You've done a remarkable job to this point of keeping Big Bob isolated from your vampiric condition. At least until you met with Damien, until you had to go to the airport to pick up strange lusambra, until you were in the prince's office. Every inch you step closer to fully involving yourself in the politics of Chicago is one inch closer. You draw Big Bob into all of this, and now you've made the full leap. Big Bob isn't big brain, but he's also not big idiot. If you're showing up at four in the morning to pick you up from a bar, that's something friends do. It's less likely that you pick your friends up at four in the morning from an abandoned warehouse half an hour outside of town with visible gunshot wounds, an unconscious victim, and an osferatu who looks worse than you. And I know you've thought about this. There's no way you would have pulled Big Bob into this without a plan, I hope. [00:55:48] Speaker B: Honestly, there wasn't much I could really do. It's not like there's anyone else I can readily call upon to pull me out of a situation as dire as this. It was either call Bob and get a ride to somewhere safe, or risk staying the night in a compromised Gary. From what I understand from Michaela, michaela did mention that her safe house was no longer a safe house. So it makes me think that there is a wider si raid in Gary at large. But that's information we're going to have to ask her later. [00:56:26] Speaker A: And I understand that 100%. I know why you have the need to survive. I guess the thing that's going to come up in the future is in finding safety for yourself. You have introduced Bob to danger. [00:56:41] Speaker B: Yeah, that is my concern right now, is how much Bob will gleam from this and how deep he will be involved from this point on. The Prince did give me instructions to deal with Bob if he knew too much. And I told the prince that I would do this. And at the time, I was assured that this situation would never come up. But those are the little lies you tell yourself. Everything's going to be just fine. [00:57:14] Speaker A: It does bring up a pretty significant difference between the way that Schmendrick sees the world. We haven't asked her, but I'm certain Maya wouldn't feel any kind of guilt about Renee being exposed to these things. [00:57:27] Speaker C: It's part of the contract of her employment. [00:57:30] Speaker B: Yeah, I didn't think to make a contract with Bob. [00:57:34] Speaker A: Something tells me even if you had, you wouldn't have put this clause in it. [00:57:39] Speaker C: Think of it like an NDA. [00:57:42] Speaker A: Well, for his part, Bob is either stupid or loyal enough to allow himself to be woken in the middle of the night to drive across the city to find an address he's never heard of in a neighborhood history has forgotten. But that drive takes some time. And that's time that you and Maya have with Michaela, you could get a few questions in if you wanted. [00:58:05] Speaker C: Do you want to be good cop? [00:58:07] Speaker D: Shmendrick. [00:58:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I think I'd be a pretty good good cop. [00:58:11] Speaker A: Well, the three of you at this point, having descended from the office, michaela is sitting closed off, shoulders hunched in, hands in her lap, her feet rocking idly. You can't tell if she's intentionally avoiding eye contact or if she's just in a different mental place. [00:58:30] Speaker B: So, Michaela, you mentioned earlier that you didn't sign up for this. What exactly did you sign up for? [00:58:39] Speaker A: I mean, it's on my face, isn't it? I mean, maybe you showed up here by total accident or maybe there's schemes within schemes within schemes and it's all a big fucking coincidence, but something tells me I didn't get captured and you didn't show up just because the stars aligned. [00:58:58] Speaker B: We touched on it earlier. At least, I think Ivy did. We got a call from Charles. The Nosferatu you're impersonating telling us to meet at the warehouse. You said that wasn't you, so it must have been someone. [00:59:16] Speaker A: You know what's funny about that? I didn't even know his name until you said it. [00:59:21] Speaker B: He's been pulling the strings behind all of this. [00:59:24] Speaker A: Oh, Charles? No, I know the fuck he is. [00:59:28] Speaker C: You've just been borrowing his face. [00:59:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:59:32] Speaker C: How is that, anyway? [00:59:33] Speaker A: It hurts more than you think. [00:59:37] Speaker C: I don't care about how it feels. How are you doing it? [00:59:41] Speaker A: I mean, I guess I'm not. I mean, I had to study his face. Zion gave me tapes, videos of him, his voice, that kind of thing. Once I had a good sense of the guy, zion gave me something to drink. I don't know a whole lot about how the magic stuff works, but, I mean, nothing special about a magic potion, right? [01:00:05] Speaker C: Did he give you any sort of explanation as to why you were doing this? [01:00:09] Speaker A: Wow. God, you don't know any of this, do you? [01:00:14] Speaker C: I don't like when people imply I'm being stupid. [01:00:18] Speaker B: I assume you're referring to the drama between Gary and Chicago. [01:00:24] Speaker A: That's part of it, yeah. And not stupid, just misinformed, uninformed. I don't know. Here's the story. Gary's a shithole. It's a shithole because Chicago vampires like you have made it to shithole. Your average Gary bleeder. They have no idea. I fuck. I didn't have any idea either. I didn't even know about any of this shit until I got visited by one of you. She points at schmendrick, and all of a sudden, it's all the same trash, all the same poverty, all the same bullshit. Except now, in addition to corporations and deindustrialization and all that shit, I've also got to worry about the ventru, the blue, but whatever, you know, we hung out, we fed, we kept it low. And Zion shows up one day and says, what if we didn't have to do that? What if we didn't have to scramble for the scraps left in Gary? Like, look, I know that we're not allowed in Chicago. I know if we show up, one of your sheriffs or his dogs or whatever rip us to pieces, it's the first thing they tell you when you get turned. But Zion said he had a deal. Someone made him an offer. If we grab this stuff, we do this thing, we plant this and that, we'd be rewarded. [01:01:48] Speaker B: So it was you and Zion that set fire to the diamond? Yama. [01:01:53] Speaker A: Me. Zion sydney elijah. Yeah. [01:01:59] Speaker C: And you don't know who's pulling the strings behind Zion? [01:02:02] Speaker A: I didn't ask. You didn't tell me. Y'all keep secrets, right? No. Different. [01:02:10] Speaker B: A place I was staying in recently also went up in flames. You all were not involved in that, were you? [01:02:19] Speaker A: Not that I know of. I hadn't added arson to my criminal record until a couple of nights ago. [01:02:25] Speaker C: Did you know what you were setting on fire? [01:02:27] Speaker A: I knew it was hotel. I knew someone cared a lot about that hotel, but they kept us pretty out of the loop on it. [01:02:36] Speaker C: So where is now? [01:02:38] Speaker A: Well, that's where it gets even more interesting. I don't know. We were supposed to meet at Lakeshore Hospital. I was on my way, my dumbass got pulled over. I was speeding. Officer starts running names, numbers, things like that. Next thing I know, he's going back to his car. And that's how I ended up here. Whoever those goons are. I don't know. You called them the second Inquisition, whatever the fuck that means. A bunch of them rolled up. I haven't seen Zion since. Never got to the meet. I don't know what Zion's up to since then. [01:03:19] Speaker C: When was the meeting supposed to take place? [01:03:23] Speaker A: They didn't really give me a calendar and whatever fucked up CIA black site they were keeping me at. [01:03:29] Speaker C: And you didn't have a backup plan in case things went pear shaped? [01:03:34] Speaker B: Getting caught by the second Inquisition is as pear shaped as things go. [01:03:40] Speaker A: I mean, this is all new to me. This is not the kind of life that we led in Gary. Yeah? You sure? You hear rumors and shit about that. Modius, Loden, all these big names, fancy titles. It didn't matter at the level we were operating at. Ask anyone. We're just a fucking undead street gang, a bunch of kids getting into like I know the rules, right? Vampires don't exist. Don't tell anyone. If you do, someone from Chicago is going to come be a big bad wolf on your door. I believed that. So imagine my fucking surprise when a jacked up Sam Fisher cyber commando is pointing a gun at me, talking vampire shit. He knows it's been a lot of catching up to do. [01:04:26] Speaker C: You have no idea how fucked you are, do you? [01:04:29] Speaker A: Well, you mean like experimented on? Like a fucking lab animal fucked or rounded up by Chicago goons fucked? Burned down a hotel fucked. I mean, I'm operating on a lot of different levels here. Why? Who did I piss off? [01:04:46] Speaker C: Well, you got two of them, right? You've got Chicago and Prince Kevin Jackson. You've got the second Inquisition, who probably has everything they'll ever need to know about you. And you have Sierra, the head of La Sambra, whose hotel you burnt down. [01:05:03] Speaker A: The fuck is a la Sambra? Oh, sweetie, okay, whatever. It's another big bad name to add to the list of big bad names. Look, it's out of my hands now, all right? We were desperate. Zion made a promise. I've never had a reason not to trust him. It just got out of hand. [01:05:24] Speaker C: Can you contact him now? [01:05:27] Speaker A: What, like call him? [01:05:30] Speaker C: I'll put it to you this way. I need to find somebody to blame for the hotel, and I'm looking at someone right now. You can either get me Zion or I can use you. [01:05:44] Speaker A: Look, I mean, I don't know. How did it be? We got wrapped into this, all right? Like, they made promises, and it was supposed to be easy. We just do this thing, get away like shit. Zion's just worried he has a better head for how this stuff, your stuff, works. He just made it sound simple. Who'sierra? I don't know the fuck that is. I burned down her hotel. I'm really sorry about that. Do you understand where we were coming from? [01:06:16] Speaker C: And if you survive this, perhaps you'll. [01:06:18] Speaker A: Learn the lesson trading bodies for bodies. I give you Zion so you don't fucking kill me. Zion's not the one responsible. [01:06:28] Speaker B: I'm after the guy who's responsible. And like I said, Zion may have the answers for that. [01:06:34] Speaker C: I'm content to keep working my way up the. [01:06:38] Speaker A: Right. All right, look, I'll help you. But you got to promise me we're victims here. Me, Zion. All of us. If we're going to help you, you can't. What am I talking about? Of course you will. Fucking vampires. [01:06:55] Speaker B: I believe you here that you are under the worst circumstances. From what I understand from Gary's situation. [01:07:04] Speaker A: Yeah, well, you know how hard it is to survive up there looking like this. But imagine up there is a neighborhood where people lock their windows and they cross the street when they see strangers. And they call the police if there's a new face in town. No one wants to live like that, but yeah, sure, whatever. I'll give him a call. He was using a burner. Maybe he still has it. [01:07:30] Speaker C: Thank you for your cooperation. [01:07:32] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Fucking real welcome. Bob is fortuitous with his timing as your gentle interrogation wanes. Maybe a few minutes after you're all left to sit and chew on the information that Michaela has given you, you see the headlights of the van pulling into the parking lot. You didn't give Bob exacting instructions, but he knows better than to honk like he's waiting for the friend who's going to make him late for the movie. He doesn't get out of the car, that's fine. [01:08:05] Speaker B: Given that he's here, I'm actually going to go out and talk to him. If you could help Michaela bring that guy into the van, that'd be a good start. I'm walking up to the side of the truck. Before I get there, I just kind of give the sky a scan. I know that the daylight is coming soon, and that worries me more than anything. And that's kind of why this talk needs to happen, actually. Given that, maybe it would be better for me to get into the passenger seat and have this talk with him. [01:08:36] Speaker A: So you haul yourself up. Can see Bob nervously squeezing the wheel, staring off into the middle distance into the headlights. He doesn't turn to look at you when you hop inside. He just nods, schmendrick. [01:08:53] Speaker B: Given that most of my conversations with Bob have been. Either over the phone or where I am sure there's enough shadow to hide most of me. This is actually a rather uncomfortable situation. Although it is dark in here and not as revealing as I might think it is, it's still perhaps it's the conversation that's to come that is really eating away at me. So, Bob, do you think we'll be able to get home before the sun comes up? [01:09:30] Speaker A: Back to the yard? [01:09:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:09:34] Speaker A: I mean, we got, what, like about an hour until sunrise? Get you home. [01:09:41] Speaker B: Okay, that's good. Then if for whatever reason we can't get home before the sun comes up, I need to go into the back of the van. And when that happens, you need to lock it and not open it again until tomorrow night. [01:09:59] Speaker A: Bob, is he's thinking he's chewing on something? Just like in his jaw, there's a tension schmendrick. Look, you know I gotta ask. I've been in Chicago a long time, right? The whole and we just talked about this the other night with the bodies that guy putting in the back. He ain't asleep. And now you're getting real suspicious about needing to be home by Sunshine, and I don't know if I signed up for all this weird level shit. [01:10:31] Speaker B: Yeah, I realize you didn't sign up for that. I wanted to give you the chance for an out. But you have to do this for me tonight, or else I'm going to be in a lot of trouble. [01:10:46] Speaker A: I mean, yeah, you got an unconscious body in the back of a moving van. No shit you're in trouble. And, like, I know that we storage folk get a reputation about that kind of thing, especially in this city, but I am not that kind of man. shmendrick. [01:11:00] Speaker B: I honestly didn't think you were. And I'll say it straight out, I'm not that kind of person, either. I do not want unconscious bodies. I do not want to hurt people. It's just been a really shitty night. [01:11:18] Speaker A: This kind of thing you can explain to me? Or is this one of those things that I'm really better off not knowing? [01:11:26] Speaker B: This is definitely one of those things where the less you know, the better for you. [01:11:32] Speaker A: All right, look. He takes a big, deep, big bob breath and steals himself and for the first time turns his head to look at you. He's staring directly forward with those sunken eyes. They've seen things. You can see the wrinkles on his face from all those hard years of honest to God blue collar hard work, squinting down. All right, I'm going to ask you one question. I need you to be honest with me. It's important. I need you to be honest with me, all right? [01:12:09] Speaker B: I'll do my best. [01:12:13] Speaker A: You a vampire. [01:12:15] Speaker B: If I had been drinking something when he asked that, it would have been spat out everywhere. But fortunately for everyone involved, I was not. And I just kind of give him this incredulous. Look, how did you come to that conclusion? [01:12:35] Speaker A: Well, I mean, for a while, it was just kind of weird to me that you only hung out at night, but that's also something y'all millennials do, so it wasn't that big a deal. But now you're all into this spooky conspiracy shit, putting bodies in moving vans and look, man, I listened to the man on the radio. We know the truth. President controlled by vampires and all the generals as vampires, and they all run the economy together. And I figure it's like any organization, you got big vampires on top, you got little vampires on the bottom. That's what this is you're doing. Little vampire conspiracy work. That's why you got to be back before the sun comes up and why you don't eat garlic and shit like that. [01:13:15] Speaker B: My eyes are wide and bulked at this moment as I listen to him spill off. It's like, what radio station are you listening to? [01:13:24] Speaker A: You ain't listening. Shit. I bet it's on right now. And he leans forward and he flips the thing on. You hear the static? Because he tries to tune in the am. This is not one of those fancy digital scanning radios. And there it is. You hear that late night DJ voice just ranting. And we know why the president is so eager for his national health care plan. Because once you go into a government controlled clinic and they have your blood type, they can sell it to their vampire controlling donors, and they'll know exactly who they need to draw from when you go in to make your hurricane relief donation. Oh, you think the Red Cross is for you? No, they're just serving our vampire overlords. He flips the radio, huh? [01:14:02] Speaker B: I'm surprised I've never heard of this before. I really don't know what to say. [01:14:09] Speaker A: I mean, you ain't heard of it. That's what's going on. You're a vampire? [01:14:14] Speaker B: No. I didn't realize the radio station existed. [01:14:19] Speaker A: Yeah, well, you know, most sheep don't listen to that kind of thing. They can't handle the truth. But I know. [01:14:27] Speaker B: Well, say I am a vampire. Not confirming. It's just a theoretical bob, you better keep your mouth shut. In fact, I would suggest you don't listen to this radio station anymore. [01:14:44] Speaker A: Why? You don't want to know the truth? [01:14:47] Speaker B: It's not about the truth, Bob. You can get loads of truth if you want it, but there's always risks that come with mean. [01:14:55] Speaker A: Yeah, one moment I'm just running myself a cute little storage business, and the next thing you know, I get a weirdo client. That's fine, whatever. She pays the rent on time, and then, God, you know, a couple months later, now all of a sudden, I got a big spooky businessman giving me all this money, and no shit, I'm not going to tell anyone, Schmendrick. I don't want your weird, illuminati assassins coming after me. [01:15:14] Speaker B: Okay? Good. As long as we understand on that level. Now, I'm going to ask you again after this business tonight is handled. I'm going to say it's safer for you if we both part ways, but I like you, Bob. I kind of don't want to do that, but I'm going to leave it in your hands. [01:15:34] Speaker A: There's some kind of trick. [01:15:36] Speaker B: Why would I be tricking you? [01:15:38] Speaker A: I'm in, like, a database now. You told your vampire controller handler. You need to tell him they can read your minds, right? He's in your brain, digging around. He knows Bob's face. There's no way out of this for me. [01:15:50] Speaker B: There's no controller Bob. [01:15:54] Speaker A: Whatever. Like I said, I listen to the radio. You got a better explanation, you can tell me right now. [01:16:00] Speaker B: I'm telling you as one person to another person. [01:16:04] Speaker A: Person. [01:16:06] Speaker B: Hey, that hurts me, Bob. [01:16:09] Speaker A: You're right. I'm sorry. Just a lot to take on. I never thought I'd meet a vampire. [01:16:14] Speaker B: I just kind of pat his shoulder. [01:16:18] Speaker A: Okay. I know I promised one question, but I got one more, and then I swear to God, I'm ready to go. I'll be done for the night. All right? [01:16:23] Speaker B: Okay. [01:16:25] Speaker A: Is it all vampires? Look like you a little weird. No shit. I knew it. Because if they mean, if they all did, we'd all be able to spot them, right? So there's got to be ones that look more human. That's how they get into Congress and that kind of thing. Oh, yeah, it makes sense now. Diane Feinstein. Definitely vampire. Ben Bernanke at the Fed. They all vampires, too. [01:16:50] Speaker B: They just laugh at right? [01:16:54] Speaker A: You know, I got plenty of questions, but you ain't gonna spill none of your vampire secrets to me. Not gonna tell me how to find them. [01:17:02] Speaker B: Maybe one day I will entrust you with some more, but right now it's a really bad idea, and I don't want to put you in any more danger than I have to. [01:17:12] Speaker C: As if on cue, when Bob asks whether other vampires look like Nosferatu, I slam on the back wall of the van and shout, let's get this thing moving. [01:17:24] Speaker A: Bob looks at Schmendrick. Oh, shit. Not your vampire boss. [01:17:30] Speaker B: Sure. [01:17:32] Speaker A: Oh, man. I didn't realize I had to be meeting middle management. Right? All right. He reaches forward, grabs the huge shifting lever, chunks it into place. Van starts moving. [01:17:43] Speaker B: Yeah, it was her chauffeur today. I had a cute little hat and everything. [01:17:48] Speaker A: Yeah, that makes sense. They figure all them in charge, they get them weird perversions, need to dominate. Put you in costumes, let them know who boss. They talked about that four episodes ago. [01:17:58] Speaker B: Okay, pump the brakes there, Bob. Like, not literally. Don't stop the truck, but that's too much. [01:18:07] Speaker A: I'm on to you. I'm seeing through the fog now. [01:18:13] Speaker B: Just drive us home, Bob. [01:18:15] Speaker A: Well, Bob is content to spend the rest of the drive in silence, but you can see the wheels spinning as he puts all the string together. He's working real hard on that vampire puzzle. Now it all makes sense. Now he knows. Oh, and he's got a lot of thinking to do. [01:18:30] Speaker B: I'm a little afraid because I feel as though he's going to come to me with very strange requests based on what he knows of vampires or what he thinks he knows. [01:18:41] Speaker A: I mean, you'd kind of luck out that Bob has no idea what vampires are for now. [01:18:50] Speaker B: Thank goodness for that. [01:18:52] Speaker A: Elsewhere in the city, after a likewise silent drive, rebecca has given Ivy directions to her grain silo apartment. It's very vagrant chic. You pull up, go through the security gate, wrap around the back. You got to deal with this car eventually, but no one's going to find it tonight. And at this point, you can feel it. You've got 40 minutes, 30 minutes before the sun rises. That's just enough time to get yourself in settled, sort your situation, and then let the day sleep take you. [01:19:31] Speaker D: Couldn't have better time. Oh, and, Ivy, before we head in, I stop her. The block doesn't know you. Don't worry. They won't claw, bite, or flap their wings. Just make a little sound. Otherwise, where I sleep is up there. And I point at the high reaches of the grain silo. [01:19:54] Speaker E: I give Rebecca a long, long look and then stare up at the grain silo. [01:20:04] Speaker D: There's a bed in there. You can use that. I can take the floor, yeah, because. [01:20:09] Speaker E: Of all of the issues that I have with this, whether or not there's a bed in there. Definitely top of the list. [01:20:16] Speaker D: Rebecca, I warned you about staying here. But eggers can't be choosers. Come on. [01:20:22] Speaker E: No, we certainly cannot. [01:20:26] Speaker D: Once I've quieted down the birds and let them know that Ivy is a friend, she's here to stay. No need of your nests being raided. I look around the room. It's pitch black. I've taken special care to make sure that no sunlight can get in, whether that is the fault of urban explorers or cracks in the foundation itself. But I begin my way up the ladder and simply give Ivy a look as I begin to ascend into the grain silo, the touches of humanity being in this building slowly disappearing the further we go up. [01:20:57] Speaker E: I climb the ladder behind Rebecca, very, very happy. That tetanus is not a thing I have to worry about anymore. [01:21:06] Speaker D: Once we make it to the catwalk where I've made my home, I get off, pull the ladder up. Once Ivy's made her way here, you can take the mattress. I'll be fine. Well here. And I take a seat on the. [01:21:24] Speaker E: A. Rebecca, I have to know yes? These down pillows, are they did you make them yourself? [01:21:37] Speaker D: Yeah, it was easy. Just get some old potato sacks. [01:21:41] Speaker B: Chicks. [01:21:42] Speaker D: When they start molting, there's enough down all over the place. I washed it, of course. Streams that way. [01:21:48] Speaker A: Unclear as to whether washing it in the Chicago River makes it better or worse? Well, no matter your reservations about the accommodations, the sun certainly doesn't care. You feel that weight? Someone just adding stones on top of your consciousness, pushing you down towards the earth. And then, as the final waves crash against you, pushing you into the day's sleep. What are your parting words for one another? [01:22:17] Speaker D: See you tomorrow night, Ivy. [01:22:21] Speaker E: Rebecca? [01:22:24] Speaker D: Yeah? [01:22:27] Speaker E: Thanks for not letting me die tonight. [01:22:32] Speaker D: No need. That's what I had to do. [01:22:37] Speaker E: I don't know if I would have done the same for you. You know that. [01:22:41] Speaker D: Yeah. Doesn't change my decision. Still would have done it. [01:22:47] Speaker E: Well, I said it before. It was dumb. But thanks all the same. [01:22:55] Speaker D: You're welcome. [01:22:57] Speaker A: Across the city, the same time pressures are ticking down. By the time Bob crosses over to the north side of Chicago, you can feel it. I have two questions. First, what are you going to do with Michaela? And second, what are you going to do with your agent friend? [01:23:18] Speaker B: I promised I would keep Michaela safe for the night, so if it would make her feel better to have another shipping container, that's acceptable. If she's just bunked in with mine, that's fine as well. [01:23:33] Speaker A: Michaela, for her part, doesn't have a preference. I mean, what's the difference? I sleep in yours, and you do something terrible to me before I wake up, or I sleep in a different one, and you just lock me in there forever. Doesn't matter to me. [01:23:48] Speaker B: I honestly don't plan on doing anything terrible to you, but you're welcome to stay in my place. [01:23:54] Speaker A: And this guy, she cocks her head. [01:24:00] Speaker B: The only thing I can think of with him is tie him up somewhere soundproof and talk to him tomorrow night. [01:24:09] Speaker C: Do you have duct tape? [01:24:11] Speaker B: I stole these from him. And I take these zip ties out of my pocket and hand them to. [01:24:16] Speaker C: Maya when we get in a separate shipping container for this guy. Michaela, if she feels comfortable, can stay with us. It's dawning on me. I have to stay with you, too, don't I? [01:24:32] Speaker B: I mean, we could all cozy up. The bed's a little small, though. One of us can take the beanbag. It'll be exciting. [01:24:38] Speaker C: Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. In the meantime, I'm assuming you don't happen to have a trunk. [01:24:47] Speaker A: I mean, there are plenty of vehicles stored here. I'm sure the keys are around somewhere. If you wanted to tie him up with zip ties, slap some duct tape over his mouth, lock him in the trunk. Hope you remember which car it is tomorrow. [01:25:03] Speaker C: I mean, that's what I got. [01:25:06] Speaker B: That's honestly as good a plan as I have right now. I guess. [01:25:12] Speaker C: While schmendric gets what needs to get ready for our day's sleep, I can strip the guy and put a sock in his mouth and do the rest. [01:25:22] Speaker A: This Maya's first time securing a hostage? [01:25:26] Speaker C: Who wants to know? [01:25:28] Speaker A: You know, sometimes the non answers are also answers. Well, I will pose to the two of you the same question. As the weight of the sun bears down upon you, what are your parting words to one another? [01:25:42] Speaker C: The urge to say, goodnight, Michaela, I'll most likely kill you in the morning rises, but it seems detrimental to the cause now, so I'll probably go to bed without saying a word. [01:25:54] Speaker B: For my part, I will say to the others gathered, well, against all odds, we manage to seal another nighttime so. See you all when the sun sets. [01:26:07] Speaker A: It's not quite Rebecca's dominantly cheery attitude, but a vibe of positivity nonetheless. And so you sleep. Rebecca and Ivy, locked in the confines of an abandoned grain silo, still having to confront tomorrow the challenge of locating their friends and solving this mystery. There's information you don't have. Answers that Michaela has given, they will be thinking to do if what she's told you is true. And you make a list in your head of the number of people who could make those kind of promises, pull those kind of criminal capers, find blood magic to let Michaela borrow Charles's face. That's a short list, and every name on it is someone you probably don't want to upset. And that's to say nothing of the personal struggles that you'll face. Schmendrick has introduced Big Bob into something way more than he understands. And you're absolutely right. The Prince made clear the consequences of breaching the masquerade you've been hunted by the second inquisition. What are the ODS? They set up a sting like that and didn't have cameras. You don't leave fingerprints, you don't leave DNA evidence. But they know your faces now. And one of those faces is in a database. A database of kindred the identified in Las Vegas. There are two things in this moment that are certain. One, this was no ordinary fire. And the results are going to shake up Chicago in ways that you thought you really couldn't top after the Lasambra election. And the second? That's a story for another night. You've been listening to the All Night Society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queen's 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.