Episode 13 - FIRSTLIGHT

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Very well. The night is young and our coterie is fed. You have a great many mysteries and errands to resolve before the sun rises. Once again. Where then to start? [00:00:16] Speaker B: Well, Rebecca and I need to get back together with schmendric and Maya and without any way to contact them. I think our first order of businesses, finding a payphone and just trying to call up Big Bob and get a hold of Schmendrick. That way, if I were in their. [00:00:32] Speaker C: Shoes, I would assume that we'd gone back to Big Bob's. [00:00:36] Speaker A: It's where your adventure started. Why wouldn't it be where your adventure ends? [00:00:41] Speaker B: I mean, also Maya's car was riddled full of bullet holes and the only other person that they could really contact would be Bob. [00:00:51] Speaker C: Right. [00:00:52] Speaker B: And he and Schmendrick have a really interesting relationship. So it just logically. It makes the most sense that that's where everybody ended up. [00:01:00] Speaker A: Assuming that Maya doesn't have friends, she draws into the whole thing. Yeah, but even if that were the case, big Bob perfectly reasonable place to start. [00:01:11] Speaker B: Rebecca, how far away from literally anybody else are we? [00:01:16] Speaker D: I want to say pretty long walk, depending. But there's a, what's it called, a gas station not too far from here. Got all those little doo hickey things. [00:01:28] Speaker B: I smile at Rebecca, laugh a little bit because my goodness, just learn some words. But I shake it off because I'm not going to poke fun. And I say, well great, maybe there's a payphone still around. God, do payphones even exist? Maybe all the way out here we'll be able to find a payphone. [00:01:54] Speaker A: Oh, certainly. Although I do like the idea that it is simultaneously true that Rebecca is too ancient and Ivy is too modern for either of them to know what a payphone is. [00:02:07] Speaker B: Oh yeah. There's no way that I would actually have ever touched a payphone, ever. But I know that they existed at one point and that people that didn't have phones, like, with them would use them. [00:02:21] Speaker A: Well, it's about a twelve minute walk. According to this map from Rebecca's Silo to the nearest gas station, we'll be heading west across the city into the West Roseland neighborhood. It's not an easy thing to cross a highway, especially not in this part of the city. There are no fancy overhead arches to walk across. So Rebecca has knowledge enough to say, well, I know what gas stations are and they'll probably be near the people, and the people are on the other side of the highway. And also the water plant. That means the journey that you take is going to be through culverts maintenance tunnels, the kind of places that have been built and forgotten, occupied in this moment by, if you're lucky, homeless people. Aside from that trash, graffiti and slightly more untoward types, it's not the worst. [00:03:21] Speaker D: Company we've had these past few nights. [00:03:24] Speaker A: I mean, no, you have been hanging out with so facts. [00:03:29] Speaker D: Hey, I was referring to the si, but sure, let's bully the Lasombra. [00:03:35] Speaker A: Oh, right. Yeah, them too. Which raises an important question, one that doesn't come up very often, but do you have any change? [00:03:45] Speaker B: We are super, super fortunate to have found this payphone. And when I see it, I kind of jog a little bit faster up to it because the faster we can get out of here, the better. But there's a problem because I don't know if I actually have any change. I kind of forgot that payphones are a thing that would require quarters. And I start frantically, kind of patting down my pockets, checking my wallet, just looking for any coins, looking around on the ground. I don't have anything. Who carries actual physical currency with them anymore? And I turn to Rebecca and I say crap. [00:04:28] Speaker C: What? [00:04:28] Speaker D: You looking for change? [00:04:31] Speaker B: Money of any kind. We don't payphones. Require currency to operate. [00:04:39] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, I think I have some on me. I pat my pockets for a moment and pull up a few coins. [00:04:49] Speaker B: What? How do you have change? [00:04:53] Speaker D: Okaji brings them to me occasionally. You know, crows, shiny things. [00:04:58] Speaker B: I'm sorry. His name is what? [00:05:00] Speaker D: Gayaje little boy. He was young when I found him. He's just been coming around ever since. [00:05:07] Speaker B: Okay, great. Well, I guess give him my thanks later. And I'll reach out and I'll take enough change to make a phone call. Sorry, unfortunately, I don't have the number for Big Bob's memorized because who memorizes phone numbers when you can just store them in your contacts? Am I lucky enough that there's a phone book attached to the bottom of this payphone? [00:05:35] Speaker A: Yeah, no one's stolen it. It's a phone book. Who needs that? [00:05:40] Speaker B: Me in this moment? And I'll lift up the phone book and I'll open it up, hoist it to the pages, look for Big Bob's Big Storage until I see a quarter page ad in Comic Sans. I don't know why it's in Comic Sans, but that's Bob, I guess, can't really pay for a graphic designer on Big Bob's salary. And I put in the coins and I give it a call on the. [00:06:07] Speaker A: Other side of the city. That old school. Real clangy. Phone ringer goes off. Yeah, it's Big Bob's Big Storage. [00:06:16] Speaker B: Bob, hi. This is one of Schmendrick's friends. I'm trying to get a hold of her. Can you go get her for me? [00:06:25] Speaker A: Bob has had a difficult 12 hours. I mean, he's had difficult 45 years, but an especially difficult 12 hours. There's a sense of creeping alertness about him. He's suspicious. Yeah, well, Schmendzick's friend, you got a name? [00:06:45] Speaker B: Ivy. [00:06:47] Speaker A: Well, yeah, just give me a second. [00:06:50] Speaker B: Thanks. Bob. [00:06:51] Speaker A: There's no hold service at Big Bob's Big Storage. You just hear him put the receiver down on the desk and the sound of heavy footsteps exiting the office. shmendrick. What are you doing? When Big Bob interrupts you? [00:07:04] Speaker C: Honestly, I'm still licking my wounds. I have woken up today very hungry and very battered, still having not been able to repair myself fully. So right now I am, I guess, kind of moping, but also gathering a few essentials water food for our second Inquisition agent currently tied up somewhere. I figure if we're going to get information out of him, he should at least be still alive. [00:07:34] Speaker A: Yeah, it's a good plan. So Big Bob shows up just in time to see Schmendrick leaving her shipping container, a few bottles of water, some kind of snack food in her hand. I mean, actually, what kind of snack food? I can't imagine. Schmendrick took a trip to get something specific for this agent. It's only what she has on hand. Right. [00:07:55] Speaker C: So as I'm gathering this stuff up, I actually do have a bag of talkies. I really like them. I don't really want to give them to the Si agent, but at the same time still want to feed him. Can have my talkies, even though he tried to kill me and my friends. [00:08:11] Speaker A: So you're en route to do a charitable thing? Considering what this man did to you, there are very few vampires who would be putting that kind of effort into it. Even considering the information value of keeping him alive? Your barrel chested buddy coming out of his office, walking back between the rows of shipping containers. Hey, Schmendrick, you got a second? [00:08:33] Speaker C: Yeah, what's up? [00:08:34] Speaker A: You know someone named Ivy? [00:08:36] Speaker C: Yeah, she was here last night. Why? [00:08:40] Speaker A: She's on the horn for you. [00:08:43] Speaker C: Oh, good. That means she's all right. Can I take the call in your office? My phone is broken. [00:08:50] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Just don't touch anything. Get my paperwork all messed up. [00:08:56] Speaker C: I will work really hard to not get your paperwork all messed up, I promise. [00:09:01] Speaker A: Now, am I allowed to be in my office, or is this one of them secret vampire things? [00:09:09] Speaker C: You can come in your office. [00:09:11] Speaker A: You're not 100% certain whether that grin is shit eating or not. Is he having a go at you? [00:09:19] Speaker C: He probably is, but I'm still not going to outright admit to being a vampire, despite how very creepy looking I am. I think it's one of more of those helping out a friend thing. We still do that? [00:09:34] Speaker A: No, I don't know what you're talking about. Just, like, helping folks for no reason? [00:09:40] Speaker C: Yeah, for no reason. [00:09:42] Speaker A: Damn, you are weird. Well, anyway, phone's on the desk, and. [00:09:46] Speaker C: I go inside and pick up the phone. Ivy. [00:09:49] Speaker B: Schmendrick. Thank God. We were hoping that you guys ended up at Big Bob's. [00:09:55] Speaker C: Yeah, we had a bit of a journey. [00:09:57] Speaker A: You guys took off? [00:09:58] Speaker B: Where'd? You know, I don't know, opposite direction. We ended up back at Rebecca's place. Okay, but we could really use a ride. My phone is absolutely destroyed, and I can't call an Uber or anything. Do you think Bob would come get us? [00:10:23] Speaker C: So with that question, I look to Bob and I say, can you go pick up Ivy for me? [00:10:31] Speaker A: Oh, man. Gotta say, Schmendrick, this is not what I expected to come of our little arrangement. You're keeping me real busy. [00:10:40] Speaker C: It's not really what I expected either, but it's either you pick them up or you help with my unconscious friend, which I'd rather you didn't do. [00:10:50] Speaker A: Whoa. Big Bob doesn't deal with no bodies. [00:10:54] Speaker C: Okay, then can you please go pick up Ivy? [00:10:57] Speaker A: Did she say where she was? [00:10:59] Speaker C: Hey, Ivy, where are you? [00:11:00] Speaker B: Right, uh, we're at a gas station on Indiana near the reclamation plant, near the grain silo. [00:11:09] Speaker C: All right, I will relay that to Bob, all right? He'll come pick you up. [00:11:17] Speaker B: Oh, thank you, Schmendrick. Thank Bob for me too. [00:11:21] Speaker C: Of course. [00:11:21] Speaker B: Really appreciate this. [00:11:23] Speaker C: They say, thank you, Bob. [00:11:25] Speaker A: Oh, you know what? [00:11:26] Speaker C: Happy to serve that cheeky comment. I just smirk at him from behind my mask. [00:11:33] Speaker A: Well, when you've hung up the phone, bob has enough awareness to wait until you've hung up the phone. All right. Am I taking the body van? [00:11:44] Speaker C: I don't think it's needed. You can take whatever you like. [00:11:47] Speaker A: I'm just saying, if I get there and there's another body and I have to put it in the back of my truck, I'm not going to be happy. [00:11:52] Speaker C: Tell them to deal with it if there is, but I'm hoping there. [00:11:58] Speaker A: Right? All right, big Bob takes his keys off the little brack he's got next to the door, heads over to his truck. You hear the rumble of his car. There's no way that that thing's going to pass. City inspection. Not your problem. [00:12:11] Speaker C: He's got all that money coming in so he can buy himself a better vehicle if he wanted. Or fix up that beater. [00:12:17] Speaker A: Yeah, but it says something about a man to have a nice, well worn truck. Right. It says something about the kind of person he is. [00:12:24] Speaker C: It's reliable, but a little broken. [00:12:27] Speaker A: I'm Big Bob. I don't need fancy things. [00:12:30] Speaker C: So with that, after Bob leaves, I'm going to snatch his first aid kit from the counter under his desk and go to visit our charming second inquisition agent. [00:12:44] Speaker A: Maya, you've also been awake around this time. Unlike the others, you didn't really have a need to go off and feed. What have you been up to? [00:12:53] Speaker E: I'm putting pieces together. [00:12:56] Speaker A: How's that going? [00:12:57] Speaker E: Poorly. [00:12:59] Speaker A: I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help? [00:13:01] Speaker E: Is Michaela up? I want to know more about Zion, if she'll give me more. You're all part of a coterie, I guess. [00:13:14] Speaker A: I mean, that's your word for it. We're just friends. We were friends before. We're friends after. [00:13:20] Speaker E: What do you mean, our word for it? [00:13:22] Speaker A: You. Your fancy kindred. [00:13:25] Speaker E: Fancy? [00:13:26] Speaker A: It's like speaking Latin with you all. Oh, the camarilla. The coterie, the primigen, the seneshal. Don't call the hound on me, sheriff. No, we're just friends. [00:13:37] Speaker E: Okay, so you're just friends. Does Zion have a bone to pick with the prince or just he just wanted to stir up trouble? [00:13:48] Speaker A: We don't have bones to pick with. So like I said, we just were tired of having to rummage around Gary for whatever scraps we could find. Zion got it in his head that if we did this, we'd be big time. [00:14:04] Speaker E: You know, I get that. That's really hard. It must be. It wasn't fair what Ballard did to you guys. [00:14:12] Speaker A: She doesn't know that name, but context clues work out. [00:14:17] Speaker E: Do you know the clans of your friends? Are you all no. [00:14:23] Speaker A: No, we're not all. Nasferatu. God, I don't think Zion could have handled that he's gangrel. [00:14:30] Speaker E: And Elijah. And Sydney. [00:14:33] Speaker A: Elijah's gangrel, too. I think they have the same sire. But Sydney's a bruha. I had a temper beforehand. Like, it makes sense, right? Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. I'm the lucky one who got stuck with this. [00:14:48] Speaker E: Lucky. Yeah, I can tell. Listen, I don't need to implicate you if you can get to Zion, but I do need a name. I need someone to blame. [00:14:59] Speaker A: I mean, I called him. He hasn't gotten back to me yet. Based on what happened with the like what did you call them? The fucking rifle goon guys? [00:15:11] Speaker E: The second inquisition, but I don't think they call themselves that. [00:15:16] Speaker A: Whatever. If some fucking Obama New World Order commandos are taking out all the I don't know, maybe they got to him. [00:15:25] Speaker E: It's possible. So no one took care of you after you were embraced? [00:15:31] Speaker A: Fuck no. [00:15:32] Speaker E: I'm sorry. That's really hard. And I reach out and pat her on the arm. That must be really hard. Especially with people not there to take care of you. If there's anything you can do to help us get a hold of Zion you said you all operated out of hospital? [00:15:50] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, Lake Shore, I don't know that we'd call it, like, our home base, right? It's not how we do, but that's where I was supposed to meet him. The plan was always that we'd hit the hotel, lay low for a little bit, and then meet at the hospital. [00:16:06] Speaker E: And then what? Glory and riches? [00:16:09] Speaker A: I mean, yeah, essentially, we did our job, and I don't know. There's never my job to know. I mean, you're deep in this vampire shit, right? [00:16:20] Speaker E: You could say that. [00:16:22] Speaker A: So what you think? I mean, like, put it in your shoes? If you'd hired four people like us to do something like that, would you be giving all your details out to everybody? [00:16:31] Speaker E: No, of course not. Yeah, but I would have a rendezvous point or a backup plan. [00:16:38] Speaker A: I mean, that's all I know. That's what I was supposed to be until, you know, you mentioned that Elijah. [00:16:47] Speaker E: Was it was a Bruha and had a temper before. You knew these guys before? [00:16:54] Speaker A: Yeah, we all got turned together. I mean, not, like, at the same time, but maybe it was a joke. Or something. I don't. [00:17:03] Speaker D: Hmm. [00:17:04] Speaker E: Interesting. [00:17:05] Speaker A: You probably know the history better than I do. The old what? Prince of Gary, all his schemes and stuff, making up new coteries. [00:17:14] Speaker E: Listen, I don't want to implicate you. You seem like a good kid. I think I need to visit your friends. Is there anything I need to know before I bring mine to them? [00:17:25] Speaker A: I mean, I've told you everything that I know. Hospital's abandoned, except for that new kid's wing they opened up. But if Zion's still there I mean, it's not like we said out loud. Oh, yeah. If home plate is compromised, then go to rendezvous point Charlie. Fuck it. No, like we were just supposed to meet there. If he's still there, great. If he's not there, then I don't fucking know. [00:17:50] Speaker E: I'm gonna need you to sit tight for a little while while I meet with Zion. You can come with us if you'd like, but I don't know that you're going to enjoy anything that happens after that. Who knows? The night's young. [00:18:04] Speaker A: You're going to kill him. I mean, look, you know, you've already done the work. It's not my fault. It's not Zion's fault. Like we're rubbed into this shit. It's people like you who did this. [00:18:16] Speaker E: I did nothing. [00:18:18] Speaker A: No, but you fucking puppet master types. [00:18:21] Speaker E: I understand it's very confusing. You don't have any sort of organized structure to help you along. [00:18:27] Speaker A: It's not confusing. I understand it perfectly well. Someone like you, with too much fucking time and money and a million years to scheme like you're looking at a globe, trying to plot how you're going to conquer the whole thing, and you find people like us who you've been keeping down on purpose and then dribble out little nuggets to them in exchange for favors. Like, I get it. [00:18:50] Speaker C: You're right. [00:18:51] Speaker A: I'm sorry. Zion's a good guy. He's been the one who's kept us together. Like, if someone needs something, he makes sure that we have a place to sleep, that no one goes hungry, and, like, taking care of the neighborhood, even. It's just that he had bigger dreams and got wrapped up in something. [00:19:14] Speaker E: I get that. When this is over, if you're not dead, and if Zion isn't dead, we should talk again. [00:19:22] Speaker A: So what the fuck do I do in the meantime? Then? [00:19:25] Speaker E: Let's see what the others have to say about that. Do you have a way you can be contacted? [00:19:30] Speaker A: The people took all my shit. I've got. And she reaches into her pockets, pulls out empty. [00:19:37] Speaker E: I'm gonna leave Michaela a number. It is not explicitly a number to reach Renee, but it's sort of a burner number. One of several. This is for you. If this is over and you're still alive and you actually want to make some moves to make a difference, that's it. I think you owe me anyway. [00:20:03] Speaker A: You're just kicking me out of the house then? Do I have to go out the front gate and then just, what, turn left or right? Which way is the way to not die? [00:20:12] Speaker E: No, you can sit tight for now. I assume Schmendrick's coming back with our buddy when I look at the right. [00:20:20] Speaker A: Yeah, fine. Just okay. Okay. Just like look, promise me you're not gonna do anything to him. [00:20:27] Speaker E: Who? [00:20:28] Speaker A: To Zion. [00:20:30] Speaker E: I don't make promises I can't keep. [00:20:33] Speaker A: You're all the fucking same. All right, whatever. Thanks for the phone number. [00:20:37] Speaker E: I pat her on the head. [00:20:39] Speaker A: So, as that conversation goes on, schmendrakir heading over to your hostage friend? [00:20:44] Speaker C: That was the plan? Yep. [00:20:46] Speaker A: Well, I gotta say, he's not having a good time. In the trunk? [00:20:50] Speaker C: I wouldn't assume so. Once I open it, I will actually see if he's well enough to get out of the car, and I will assist him if that's not the case. [00:20:59] Speaker A: He looks pale, that's for sure. You're not clear on the exact mechanisms behind Ivy's poison trick, but it's obvious that it has done something bad to him. [00:21:14] Speaker C: Right? [00:21:15] Speaker A: Skin's a little splotchy in places. You can tell by looking that his breathing is very shallow, but when you open the trunk, he becomes quite animated. [00:21:30] Speaker C: All right, buddy. Going to need you to chill. Wow. I cannot understand anything you're saying, but I have food, water, and medical supplies. I'm willing to assist you, but we got to get you out of the trunk in somewhere less shitty. Take that as a yes. So, considering he's pale and yet animated, I'm hoping he's well enough to walk. I kind of lead him towards my storage unit and lean in and say, do you want to grab a chair and help me with this guy? [00:22:07] Speaker E: Yeah, of course. [00:22:08] Speaker C: Appreciate it. He's pretty mad. Understandably so. [00:22:18] Speaker B: Thank God Bob's not here. Geez. [00:22:21] Speaker E: We're not ungagging him if he's going to keep making noise. That's the point of the that's that's the point. [00:22:27] Speaker C: Yep. I'm gonna keep him gagged until we get him to somewhere where he can yell all he wants and then take the gag off. [00:22:34] Speaker E: Do we have a dolly? Like for furniture? [00:22:37] Speaker A: It's a storage unit place. There's gotta be something. [00:22:41] Speaker E: All right, I'm going to grab a dolly and tie him to it standing. Hannibal Lecter style. [00:22:49] Speaker A: Classic. Well, in any case, once he's trussed. [00:22:54] Speaker E: Up, I'm going to wheel him into the storage unit. [00:22:58] Speaker C: So after we've tied him to this dolly, I can't help but laugh a little bit about the three ladies pushing this fellow along into a sound, appropriate storage unit. [00:23:11] Speaker A: At the very least, once you have him tied up, he's tried screaming for a while, the gag causing no small amount of complication in that plan. [00:23:22] Speaker E: Eventually, he's going to tire himself out. [00:23:24] Speaker A: That's exactly my point. Once he realizes that no one's going to leap out of the shadows to rescue him, there are better uses for that energy. [00:23:33] Speaker E: I'm going to ruffle his hair and say, Atta boy. [00:23:39] Speaker C: So, once assembled in this room. I look him square in the eyes and I say, all right, here's the deal. I have food, I have water, and I have medical supplies. And I shake the talkies a little bit at him. I'm going to remove your gag. If you're screaming, you're not going to be able to eat talkies. I'm just going to put that out there. It does not work. I want to say I've tried, but let's just say I just know it's going to not work. So no screaming. Right. [00:24:13] Speaker A: He's staring at you. [00:24:15] Speaker E: No screaming. Right. [00:24:17] Speaker A: He just gives the slightest nod, a quarter of an inch of head movement. [00:24:24] Speaker C: All right? And I will attempt to ungag him. [00:24:27] Speaker A: With a gag removed, he finally has an opportunity to draw true breath into his lungs. He's been trying to stay conscious through his nose in the trunk for the last 14 hours. You see him drawing in the first full breaths that he's had since then. But he's quiet. [00:24:46] Speaker C: Awesome. And I'm actually going to hand feed this fellow. I guess I'm not going to let him go. Granted, his hands probably wouldn't be much damage to either of us if he decided to start swinging. [00:25:02] Speaker A: It's still more trouble than you want. [00:25:04] Speaker C: Exactly. So little sip of water here, little nibble here. Where does it hurt? [00:25:12] Speaker A: I mean, the answer to that question is going to be everywhere, but that's okay. [00:25:17] Speaker C: Yeah, I don't have a bandage for everywhere. [00:25:20] Speaker E: I'm so sorry to interrupt. Is there any chance Shmendick has a change of clothes? [00:25:26] Speaker C: Yes, and she would have happily given you some. [00:25:29] Speaker E: I'm gonna need a change of clothes. I realized otherwise, I'm just covered in blood. [00:25:35] Speaker A: Yeah, you are just coated. Well, then, let's say once his cooperation has been established and Schmeedrick has gone into mother bird mode, maya avails herself of the opportunity to change into something a little less gore soaked. And in the time it takes for the two of you to accomplish those goals, big Bob can make it the ten minutes south across town to where Ivy and Rebecca are waiting. Your first indication that Bob has arrived is seeing a truck with his business stenciled on the side of it. The windows are down. Am conspiracy radio blaring. He makes a slow loop of the parking lot. Of course, he recognizes who you are. He saw you the night before. But given the new information that has entered his big Bob's big brain, he's being extra careful. At some point, though, he becomes convinced it's not a trap, and he pulls up adjacent the payphone. Y'all ladies need a ride? Pretty dangerous to be out in a neighborhood like this alone. [00:26:42] Speaker D: I kind of just smile at Ivy as he says that. Yes, we could. Thank you. [00:26:48] Speaker B: Appreciate the pickup, Bob. [00:26:51] Speaker A: Hey, you know, what are friends for if not for waking up constantly in the middle of the night and running creepy errands for your creepy friends in. [00:26:58] Speaker B: Fairness, you were up, right? You weren't asleep when I called. [00:27:05] Speaker A: Yeah, all right. Got me there. [00:27:09] Speaker B: I give a cheeky smile and walk on over and open up the passenger side door and motion for Rebecca to slide on into the middle because I'm not going to do it. [00:27:19] Speaker A: Well, you are in luck there, because Big Bob has a big truck. There's a front seat and a back seat. [00:27:26] Speaker B: Oh, good. I thought it was one of, like, the old school ones where it was just a row of seats there, but. [00:27:32] Speaker A: Seating arrangement aside, you pile on into the vehicle. You ever see, like a seven year old trying to keep a secret? [00:27:41] Speaker B: Oh, yes. They're not very good at it. [00:27:45] Speaker A: He's looking at the road, smiling, looking at you. Looks back, makes a point of turning up the radio. And that's what I've been trying to tell you. One by one by one, the vampires get into our governments, the governor, the congress, all of them. And then they feed all the information back to their psychic link up until the head vampire, and that's the one who hands out all the orders. He looks back at you. [00:28:14] Speaker B: I look at Bob. What are we listening to tonight, Bob? [00:28:19] Speaker A: Oh, you've never heard danger, Dan. [00:28:23] Speaker B: No, I can't say that I have. [00:28:26] Speaker A: Oh, he's the best. I mean, I'm amazed the government hasn't tried to kill him yet, for all the truth that he speaks. But, yeah, every night, midnight to 06:00 a.m.. [00:28:38] Speaker B: So you're a danger dan man. [00:28:42] Speaker A: Danger. Dan Fan. He points down to the electronic face where the radio is. There's a sticker. It's official. [00:28:52] Speaker B: Oh, and you believe all of this? You believe in vampires? [00:29:00] Speaker A: I mean, how else do you explain it? I mean, look at the last four presidents, right? Back forth, back know, Republicans, Democrats. Nothing ever changes and doesn't change because there's a big vampire brain at the top of it, given all the orders, making sure that we're all complacent. [00:29:16] Speaker D: And this Dangerous Dan is telling you all this? [00:29:19] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. He preaches the gospel. I mean, not the gospel, but he's the only one out there telling the truth. And, you know, for only 1999 a month, I can subscribe to his online podcast thing. I get all the extra information, all the behind the scenes, and once a month, he sends me supplies and things, pills to protect my virility. It says it makes my blood allergic to vampires, so if they try to drink from me, they get a rash or something like that. Can't be too careful. [00:29:45] Speaker B: Have you ever met a vampire, Bob? I mean, it seems like if there was this huge conspiracy about vampires, surely you would have seen one, right? [00:29:56] Speaker A: Well, no, because they all stay hidden, right? I mean, come on, if you could spot a vampire, no one put up with this kind of stuff. It's not like an undercover cop, right? Like. Hello, dear. There, friend. Young sir, would you like some marijuana? No, you can't do it like that. Besides, they don't have to control the whole world. They just got to, like, the government and the media and the banks. I mean, come on. Imagine you're Jeff Bezos. He's a vampire. He's passing out all the little vampire things through his Amazon warehouses. So you go onto Amazon.com and you're like, I could really use a kiddie pool right now. I think I'm going to order me one of them. And it comes in the box, and he goes out in his little fleet of vampire cars. Godly knows what he put in that box. But now it's on your skin because you opened up all the packaging. That's how they do it. You'd know this. If you would have listened about a week ago. He told us all about it. [00:30:46] Speaker B: Okay, let's assume that you're correct, right? Let's assume that this is all correct. Information that you have been receiving that doesn't concern you. Knowing the truth, you don't think that puts a target on your back for these vampires? I mean, you don't worry that they would be concerned about who's actually learning the truth and who knows about them and try and take you out? [00:31:11] Speaker A: Oh, no. You see, because Danger Dan talked about this too, right? You see, the more of us who know, the harder it is for them to make us. Like, if only Danger Dan knew and he was just some weirdo on the Internet and would type him to, like, nine people on a forum. Of course they could. Ten people. No one's going to miss that shit. Hillary Clinton killed more people than that. But a million of us? 2 million of us. And when you get that kind of audience, they can't make all of us disappear without it being too suspicious. And then the ordinary sheep, they'd wake up and they'd be like, oh, my God, who's killing all these people? And we'd be like, It's the vampires. And the whole thing be over. [00:31:47] Speaker B: How many vampires do you think there are in the world? How many does Danger Dan think there are in the world? [00:31:54] Speaker A: I mean, we don't have a census or nothing, but you figure a couple dozen senators, someone to control the president, well, multiply that times, how many important countries are there in the world? Like 20? So what? Maybe like a thousand? I'd say they're about a thousand vampires. Yeah. [00:32:14] Speaker D: White people being afraid of being replaced and knowing the truth. Where have I heard this? [00:32:24] Speaker A: Hmm? What? You'll some danger. Dan too. [00:32:27] Speaker B: I'm stifling a laugh as, like, turn and look out the window. [00:32:33] Speaker D: Oh, yes, the folks who inspired him, even. [00:32:37] Speaker A: Oh, man, we gotta talk about that sometime if you're on the ground floor, don't you Dan? Like that's some kind of real behind the scenes fan information. That's wild. [00:32:46] Speaker D: I just give Ivy a look. Just a silent cry for help. [00:32:51] Speaker B: I look. At Rebecca in the rearview mirror and raise my eyebrows in that you started this kind of way. Does Big Bob tire of this conversation, or if we stop talking, is he just going to ramble at us? [00:33:05] Speaker A: He will go until the sun comes up. As long as you stay engaged, he is more than happy to explain to you every single detail of the vampire conspiracy. [00:33:18] Speaker D: It's like Mormons, right? Just and definitely at the right times. [00:33:23] Speaker B: Sure. [00:33:24] Speaker D: He's special to Schmendrak. I can't deal with him like I would. Uh huh. Global conspiracy. Definitely. [00:33:33] Speaker C: Right. [00:33:34] Speaker D: They're trying to replace mm hmm. [00:33:37] Speaker B: If I was a worse vampire, I would just show my fangs and then eat him. But sadly, I'm not Maya aggressive. [00:33:47] Speaker A: Well, the radio keeps going. Do you know why they call it venture capital? It's not venture like adventure. It's because there's a specific group of them. They all train into individual specialties, and the Venture are the ones who are responsible for the money. Now the Tory party in England. Tory? They're the ones who control the. [00:34:10] Speaker B: Can'T. I can't. [00:34:13] Speaker A: With this and with control of the money and the media, they're able to project into your brain all the secrets that they need to maintain control. And if there's anyone who gets out of hand, well, they have their hacker types for that. They have their angry foot soldiers who will come down, beat down your doors, unless you have ring the security system, and then it goes into an ad. [00:34:35] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:34:38] Speaker E: I'm crying. [00:34:40] Speaker B: I am so uncomfortable in the front seat listening to them, especially as they talk about Venture and the Tory party. [00:34:49] Speaker D: You have to wonder at this point if a kindred is just intentionally feeding him wrong information. So he's getting close. [00:34:56] Speaker B: It's a little too close to home for comfort. And if Bob were to take a look at me, he might actually notice that I'm visibly uncomfortable. But I don't think he'd chalk it up to that. [00:35:07] Speaker A: I don't know that Bob, as a person, is capable of recognizing when a woman's uncomfortable. [00:35:14] Speaker B: That is fair. [00:35:16] Speaker A: Once you stop interjecting, he is full on back into the show. Brain is 10% on the road, 90% spiraling with this web of conspiratorial wisdom. It doesn't make the drive pleasant. Amusing, perhaps, but thankfully or not thankfully, depending on how you feel about missing out on the segment where the new vaccine is actually a plot to record your DNA records, you arrive at Big Bob's big storage truck rumbles to a stop. He turns the keys. All right, ladies, you're home. [00:35:54] Speaker B: Thanks so much again for the Bob. [00:35:57] Speaker A: Mm hmm. Anytime. And like I said, watch out, because they're out there. [00:36:04] Speaker D: I'll keep an eye out, Bob. And thank you for the ride. [00:36:07] Speaker B: Wasn't that the X Files slogan? [00:36:10] Speaker D: X what? [00:36:11] Speaker B: Don't worry about it, and I open the car door and slide out. [00:36:17] Speaker D: The phrase bad out of hell applies here, but I'm trying to get out of his car like a bad out of hell. Politely. Because if I hear any more of this, I'm going to have to roll for frenzy. [00:36:28] Speaker A: You remember where Schmendrick's part of the lot is not hard to go back there. Now, Schmendrick isn't there, of course, but Michaela is. She can direct you in one area. Maybe it's the case that Maya or schmendric has poked ahead out when they hear the truck. Regardless, the four of you will end up in the same place eventually. [00:36:47] Speaker E: I'm not feeding our new class pet so I can go meet them. [00:36:50] Speaker A: That makes sense. Maya is departing Schmendrik's container freshly dressed. I'm going to venture she's not happy with what she's wearing. [00:37:01] Speaker E: I'm sure there will be. This has been a fun few nights of new and fresh experiences for everyone involved. [00:37:15] Speaker C: I imagine the difference in height between our two characters. Maya's pretty tall, right? [00:37:20] Speaker E: No, Maya is very short. [00:37:22] Speaker C: Oh, excellent. Then you should be able to fit my stuff. [00:37:26] Speaker A: Yeah, you'll fit into her neon cat hoodie. [00:37:29] Speaker E: Oh, my God. [00:37:30] Speaker C: I was thinking about, like, a Care Bears sleeper T shirt from the 80s. Like, straight out of the 80s. [00:37:37] Speaker D: Yes, it's specifically grumpy bear. [00:37:40] Speaker C: Sure. I imagine it more as a montage, right? Like, there's a bunch of them and there's a rainbow on it. [00:37:50] Speaker E: It's a rainbow bright shirt with the rainbow, like, cap sleeves or whatever. She. [00:37:55] Speaker A: Hmm. Well, that must be a sight, isn't it, Ivy? [00:38:00] Speaker B: Oh, it takes every bit of my control to not bust out laughing hysterically when I see Maya emerge. [00:38:10] Speaker A: We can test that theory, roll Willpower? [00:38:15] Speaker B: Sure, let's do it. Just because it's hilarious. One success? [00:38:21] Speaker A: No, you, erupt. [00:38:34] Speaker B: Maya. [00:38:39] Speaker E: Are you done? [00:38:41] Speaker B: Not even close. No, I'll just stare confusedly between the two. You look great, Maya. [00:38:56] Speaker E: Thanks, Schmendrick. Do you want to meet the guy or not? [00:39:02] Speaker B: Yes. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Yes. Absolutely. Yes, please. [00:39:08] Speaker C: I wasn't there for the thank you, but I would give you a very enthusiastic thumbs up if I was there. [00:39:16] Speaker E: I just give Ivy the longest look. There's a moment of whether or not I might just implicate Ivy. At this point. [00:39:30] Speaker D: Every is an eyebrow. Maya, what was that all about? [00:39:34] Speaker E: I don't know. I can't imagine. Let's go. [00:39:39] Speaker D: Right. [00:39:41] Speaker A: And thus the four of you end up with your captive, tied as he is, to a dolly. Shmedrick. He looks better. Not happier, not healthier, but better. [00:39:53] Speaker C: You know, I didn't expect him to be happier, but healthier is a step in the right direction. Can you ever truly make someone happy? [00:40:03] Speaker B: I don't even know how to make my own self. So does the Si agent react at all when he sees me? [00:40:12] Speaker A: No. Whatever frustration or capacity for reaction he has is pretty much spent at this point. [00:40:21] Speaker E: Michaela, can you watch the door, please? [00:40:24] Speaker A: You gonna post a little sentry? [00:40:27] Speaker E: Yes, please. [00:40:28] Speaker A: Sure. Michaela, at the very least, has a vested interest in cooperating with you so you don't do anything bad to her after the fact. This gentleman is there tied up eyes, making slow circuits of the coterie. [00:40:44] Speaker C: So I've given him food, water. He's going to need medical attention because he apparently hurts all over. [00:40:53] Speaker E: Let's start with an easy question, then. Can we have a name? [00:40:57] Speaker A: He doesn't speak so much as he grumbles. Jefferson. Sergeant Jefferson. [00:41:05] Speaker E: And do you know why you're here? [00:41:08] Speaker A: In an existential sense or literally? [00:41:13] Speaker E: You and I both know that's not what I'm asking. [00:41:16] Speaker B: I roll my eyes at this man. [00:41:20] Speaker A: I assume that you're gonna try to rip all the secrets out of my brain before draining me dry and throwing me in a riverbed. [00:41:29] Speaker E: Why would we drain you dry? Whatever could we be that would make that happen? [00:41:34] Speaker A: You don't need to be cute. I know why I was there. You know why I was there. [00:41:42] Speaker B: What I want to know is how you knew to be there and how you knew that we would be there. [00:41:49] Speaker A: I just get orders, lady. They tell me when to suit up, I suit up. They tell me to shoot a leech, I shoot a leech. [00:41:58] Speaker B: Does it seem like he's being honest and forthcoming with this information? He's not trying to hide anything from us in that regard? [00:42:07] Speaker A: I'll give you honest, not forthcoming. [00:42:13] Speaker D: Does he need a little old fashioned encouragement? [00:42:17] Speaker E: They break military folk in a very specific way, and it makes intimidation hard. So let's be friends. [00:42:28] Speaker B: Okay, sergeant Jefferson? Why don't you tell us who you work for? [00:42:34] Speaker A: I'm attached to the federal bureau of investigation special affairs division. But you already know that, don't you, smart? [00:42:44] Speaker B: You're a smart man, sergeant Jefferson. I can tell. [00:42:50] Speaker A: Your friends here. Know what you got them into? Or is this the kind of thing where questions only go one way? [00:42:57] Speaker B: I purse my lips a little bit at this. So you know who I am, then, sergeant Jefferson? [00:43:05] Speaker A: Ivy LaRue. Born November 20, 1971, to Maximilian and Charlote LaRue. Attended crystal springs uplands school. Graduated Stanford in three years. Davidson fellow, national merit scholarship. Attended cambridge didn't graduate. [00:43:23] Speaker B: Okay, that's quite enough, sergeant Jefferson. [00:43:30] Speaker A: You asked. [00:43:32] Speaker B: I did. And you answered. [00:43:35] Speaker E: That's impressive. Do you have that for all of us? [00:43:39] Speaker C: Was just about to ask that myself. [00:43:42] Speaker A: Not yet. [00:43:44] Speaker D: I don't want to give him that chance. [00:43:47] Speaker E: So they give you a dossier before you go? [00:43:51] Speaker A: No. We got a briefing. Who our target was, what to expect. [00:43:57] Speaker B: I was your target. All of that was for a little old. [00:44:03] Speaker C: What? Really. [00:44:07] Speaker E: Ivy? What'd you do? [00:44:11] Speaker B: Not the time, ladies. [00:44:14] Speaker E: Maya's going to remember that regardless. [00:44:18] Speaker A: Yeah, that's how you work, isn't it? You have that secret. You put your little colleagues here in danger. Never thought to tell them, did you? That's what makes us better than you. [00:44:32] Speaker B: Oh, sweetie, no, I never did think to tell them, because you didn't catch me once. And I mean, you almost caught me this time, I'll give you that. You surprised me. I was much less prepared than I was the last time I saw you people. But still, we're here. [00:44:53] Speaker A: You're there, you're here. What about Alistair? What about Tanya? What about Marcus? She's naming all the people you were in the chantry with. [00:45:07] Speaker C: I've perked my ears up at this point. Like, this is interesting. Juicy, even. [00:45:12] Speaker E: I'm here to listen to this guy tell on Ivy. [00:45:15] Speaker A: So, yeah, you got away. But 37 to one, I'll take that trade any day of the week. [00:45:25] Speaker E: All right, so you get a ping on a system and then what? You guys just roll on in from all the little nooks and crannies you hide in Chicago or what? [00:45:36] Speaker A: More or less. [00:45:39] Speaker E: So you're based out of Chicago. [00:45:41] Speaker A: You don't know how it works, and that's okay? [00:45:44] Speaker E: Then tell us. And I would like to use compel. [00:45:48] Speaker A: Okay, well, he'll get a chance to resist, both as someone who is trained and someone who is actively attempting not to be interrogated poopy. But that's fine. Go ahead and make your compel roll. [00:46:02] Speaker E: That's three successes. [00:46:05] Speaker A: You see him struggling against it. Most of us are attached to the unit and travel to where a problem is, there are offices in major cities. When we get an alert, they activate a team. We prep at one of our sites and plan the strike. So, yeah, we're based in Chicago. We're based everywhere. And when one of you gets too brave or too stupid, we plant the op. [00:46:34] Speaker E: What do they tell you about us? [00:46:37] Speaker A: Enough. We know you can reach into people's brains for one claws, masks. It's not perfect information, but it's enough to know what we're dealing with. [00:46:51] Speaker B: So you know everything about me. And apparently you think I was being too bold because I know you don't think that I was being too stupid. [00:47:00] Speaker A: You took the bait like any other animal. [00:47:06] Speaker B: So you guys made the phone call then? [00:47:09] Speaker A: All I know is that someone up the chain said they'd found one stupid enough with too big an ego to see an obvious trap, and that we had to be at a certain place in a certain time. [00:47:25] Speaker E: So someone else found Michaela, but she didn't make the call. So you don't know. Universally, when you get a hold of us, it's compartmentalized. [00:47:37] Speaker A: That's intelligence work. Do I need to know when they round up someone in Miami? No. Do we need to report in and say we've got one here in Chicago? No. [00:47:50] Speaker E: So who do you report back to? Who's going to miss you? [00:47:53] Speaker A: Now? We all know what we're signing up for. [00:47:58] Speaker E: Is it really worth dying to get rid of a couple of bloodsuckers? [00:48:03] Speaker A: To purge the world of the filth that manipulates our society, the leeches that suck the literal blood out of this country? Yeah. [00:48:15] Speaker E: Do you eat meat? [00:48:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:20] Speaker E: You feel like any cows and pigs feel the way about that way about you? [00:48:23] Speaker A: You find me a cow or pig that can build an industrial society and a government that's lasted more than 200 years, and I'll be happy to reconsider my diet. And last I checked, the cows aren't behind the scenes pulling all the strings. [00:48:36] Speaker E: Oh, okay. So you and your kind little cow are the ones pulling the strings here. Good to know. [00:48:45] Speaker B: Who's your commanding officer for this operation? [00:48:50] Speaker A: You're looking for? Captain Lopez. Think you're going to find him? [00:48:56] Speaker B: Oh, whether or not we find him. I just need information. [00:49:01] Speaker A: Suppose it's only fair. We know everything about you, right? [00:49:06] Speaker E: But we're not interrogating, Ivy. [00:49:08] Speaker A: Oh, sorry. My mistake. I thought we were just having a friendly conversation. [00:49:14] Speaker B: It's as friendly as you are willing to make it, Sergeant Jefferson. [00:49:19] Speaker A: What are you going to do about it, big bad vampire woman? [00:49:23] Speaker B: Me? Oh, nothing. These three, on the other hand, well, they have different powers than I do. [00:49:33] Speaker A: Yeah, that one's the nosferatu. That one's the gangrel. You're the Tremere. And that one's the Lusombra, which I believe, in order, makes you sneaky spice, animal spice, bloody Spice, and Shadow spice. Right. [00:49:50] Speaker C: I love this. Can we start a band? Now? [00:49:54] Speaker E: I'm gonna have specific problems with that. [00:49:59] Speaker B: I turn my head and look at Schmendrick and just give the slightest little headshake. Not now, schmendric. [00:50:06] Speaker A: If you want to be my lover, you have to eat all my friends. [00:50:13] Speaker E: As much as I enjoy the musical stylings of a sad man tied up, I would like the name of the program. And I'll use compel. [00:50:22] Speaker C: Again. [00:50:24] Speaker E: That's one. [00:50:27] Speaker A: Hmm. What's the lasambra compulsion again? [00:50:30] Speaker E: Ruthlessness. [00:50:32] Speaker A: Well, the man certainly has an attitude you don't appreciate. [00:50:36] Speaker E: I hate what I'm about to do next. Knowing full well that this man is trained to resist advanced interrogation technique, I would like to backhand him. [00:50:49] Speaker A: He can't resist. He's tied up. [00:50:51] Speaker E: I know it doesn't feel good, but the Beast likes it. [00:50:55] Speaker A: Draw back. Smack him. You're not especially strong. I didn't know it was getting kinky first light. [00:51:09] Speaker E: Thank you. [00:51:12] Speaker B: Was that so hard? [00:51:14] Speaker C: Humor me. This. What will your higher ups do to you? [00:51:20] Speaker A: I don't know. They've got a unit that deals with that kind of thing. But it doesn't matter what you do to me. What we're going to do to you doesn't change. [00:51:33] Speaker E: How did you get mixed up in all this? You seem very zealous for someone who probably didn't grow up knowing we existed. [00:51:40] Speaker A: I volunteered. [00:51:43] Speaker E: You volunteered? What does that look like? You're walking down the street and some ROTC guy says, hey, want to kill some vampires? [00:51:54] Speaker A: No. Usually it starts something like I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me. [00:52:15] Speaker E: And then I give you a treat, right? [00:52:17] Speaker A: No, they give you a career and a chance to go abroad defending this country from the people who want to see it torn down. And if you're especially good at that, you get moved into more specialized professions, you get to work in more interesting countries, and if you're really good at that, one day you get a phone call. But to your question, the moment that I found out there was a race of parasite slime manipulating the decay that is ruining this country oh, I absolutely volunteered. [00:52:54] Speaker D: Yeah, that's a pretty good description for your kind. But that's not answering any questions, no. [00:53:01] Speaker E: Is it? [00:53:02] Speaker C: My guy. I should warn you that you can't rile us up like this. [00:53:08] Speaker A: Am I not being cooperative enough for you? That's your problem. [00:53:13] Speaker C: I get the feeling you're just being a dick in order to get a rise out of us and have us kill you or hurt you faster. I don't know why, but we brought here but we brought you here to talk to you is all. [00:53:26] Speaker A: You're going to kill me no matter what. And even if you let me go, I'm already dead. [00:53:31] Speaker E: So what do you want the outcome of the situation to be? [00:53:35] Speaker A: Whatever you do to me, I don't care. I want my friends who have your pictures, who know the car you drove, who know who it's attached to, who can go back into all the surveillance databases all across this city and see who you hang out with and who you talk to. I want them to take all that information and bring forth the full might of the American military industrial complex to burn you out of this city. [00:54:01] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:54:02] Speaker E: So, Spooky, spooky friends of yours who are going to hunt us to the ends of the Earth, or at least the ends of Chicago, correct? [00:54:10] Speaker A: Chicago. Preferably the end of the Earth. If it is required. [00:54:17] Speaker E: So where's that rendezvous point, then? Where are you working out? [00:54:22] Speaker A: Well, he's not going to tell you that of his own volition. [00:54:25] Speaker E: I didn't think so. I'll use compel again. One success. [00:54:31] Speaker A: Well, ties go in your favor. That's good news. Chinut Air Force Base Site 14 how. [00:54:42] Speaker B: Long have you guys been there? When did you establish this base? [00:54:46] Speaker A: Months? Years? Decades? Who knows? [00:54:53] Speaker B: How long have you personally been operating out of the space? [00:54:58] Speaker A: We moved fast once it was clear that you were going to give us what we wanted by being too stupid to think a phone call out of the blue from the person you were looking for was suspicious. We were there in a day. Overnight deployment nationwide. [00:55:15] Speaker E: I don't know that you would know this, because, you know, some of us are too stupid for this kind of privileged information. But you knew to call us. You knew that we were looking for someone. How? [00:55:28] Speaker A: Lady, I don't know what the hell you're talking about? Like I said, we knew there was bait and that you'd fall for it. You want to know the top secret intelligence that got us there? You're going to have to tie somebody else up and stuff them in a. [00:55:41] Speaker B: Shipping container just because I'm curious. You obviously know everything about me, and that's fine. And you know enough about my friends here. Do you know their names, too? Do you know everything about them like you do me? [00:55:57] Speaker A: No. That's what we're going to be finding out. Right now, while you're sitting here talking to me. Those faces are being run through the databases. They'll pop up, we'll build the files that we need. We'll find where you keep your money. We'll find who your friends are. You know what happens after that. [00:56:17] Speaker B: Yeah, we get to murder a whole bunch of your friends again. [00:56:23] Speaker A: How many people do you think you took out? [00:56:26] Speaker B: Each or? [00:56:28] Speaker E: I got three. But I was barefoot. [00:56:31] Speaker B: I got what, one year? Two? Maybe there was a third. [00:56:39] Speaker A: What? You know, let's just be charitable and say you each got three. It's probably not the case. That's twelve. Which means you've got about 45 to go before you've evened up the score. [00:56:53] Speaker E: I'm going to turn to the rest of the coterie. I don't think there's anything else we're going to get. And frankly, I don't like his attitude. Are we done here? [00:57:03] Speaker B: I lean in real close to Sergeant Jefferson. Very, very close. Get right up to his ear. Being outnumbered didn't stop me in Vegas and it's not gonna stop me now. And then I step back, turn to Maya. Yeah, we're done here. [00:57:27] Speaker C: I'd rather let him live. Even though he is an asshole, and I kind of give him a glance. [00:57:33] Speaker B: The only way that I'm letting him out of here alive is under the care of another kindred. He's not getting out of here by himself. [00:57:45] Speaker A: Just one last thing before you stuff me in a barrel to dissolve me in acid or whatever you have planned. [00:57:52] Speaker B: It's so cute you think it's going to be that quick. [00:57:55] Speaker A: How's your mom, Ivy? You seen her recently? [00:58:00] Speaker B: No, but you know. [00:58:03] Speaker A: Hmm. I wonder why that is. [00:58:07] Speaker B: I stiffen a little bit, pull my shoulders back. Family drama. I'm sure you understand. [00:58:17] Speaker A: No one in my family would sell me out like that. What makes sense though, right? Like daughter, like mother. [00:58:29] Speaker B: How do you figure? [00:58:32] Speaker A: You hung all your friends out to dry. Didn't tell them what we knew. Didn't tell them it was a risk. You just thought you could keep that secret to yourself. It would all be okay. And if you are willing to keep that kind of secret from these people, well, golly, Godly knows what the rest of you are up to. Because that's how we found out about you in the first place, isn't it? Couple of your elder types thought they could just dribble information into the surveillance architecture, and nothing bad would come of it. Haven't learned your lesson? [00:59:09] Speaker B: What does my mother have to do with any of this? [00:59:13] Speaker A: Hey, look, I'm not here to get in between anyone's personal business. That's your family thing, isn't it? Keeping secrets? I don't know that you can call it a pyramid when the capstone's missing, but y'all have your bosses. Maybe you just don't need to know. [00:59:32] Speaker B: She wouldn't do what you're insinuating she's done. [00:59:36] Speaker A: Sure, and you wouldn't lead these four people into an ambush. Whatever. You're going to look me in the eyes and tell me that you type are to be trusted? Please. The only group out there that has killed more Licks than we have are other Licks. [00:59:57] Speaker E: To be fair, we've been at it longer. [00:59:59] Speaker B: It is it obvious to me that he's withholding information about this? [01:00:07] Speaker C: No, I understand completely what he's doing right now, and it's not working on me, per se. [01:00:15] Speaker A: It's working on Ivy, though. [01:00:18] Speaker B: It is? Exactly. [01:00:20] Speaker C: Yeah, I have some suspicions on Ivy now, but I want to ask her some questions. But I'm not exactly going to turn on her or be afraid of her because of what this guy is saying. This guy is purposely trying to bite us. [01:00:34] Speaker B: It's very obvious that I'm uncomfortable, and I'm having a hard time finding the words because it can't possibly be true. What he's saying. I don't want to believe it. She wouldn't sell me out like that other Licks, sure, but not her. Not me. [01:00:56] Speaker A: You know what binds us together, Ivy? [01:00:59] Speaker B: What's that, Sergeant Jefferson? [01:01:01] Speaker A: We all swear an oath to a country, to an ideal, to a belief. We have an interest in the continuation of our species and keeping it out from under your thumb. What binds you together? [01:01:21] Speaker B: Our blood. [01:01:22] Speaker A: Really? [01:01:25] Speaker B: Yeah, really. [01:01:28] Speaker C: Problems within the society aside, can you guys get them out of here? [01:01:35] Speaker D: I can handle that. There are a loose piece of clothing cloth somewhere I can shove into his mouth. I've heard enough of him speaking. They don't change this whole trying to get you to go against each other. Just leave him to stew. [01:01:51] Speaker A: Last thing you see as you cover up his mouth is the wide grin of a satisfied man. [01:01:57] Speaker B: I don't say anything as this is happening, and I spin around on my heels and leave the shipping container fairly quickly. [01:02:06] Speaker C: Yeah. As we all head out, I take the group aside for a moment. There's a lot of explaining to be done here, but out of the respect for the person that saved all of our lives tonight or last night, he's not staying here. [01:02:23] Speaker E: I'll have him moved as soon as I can. [01:02:26] Speaker A: Well, that is two kinds of trouble that you find yourself dealing with now. You still have to resolve this problem with Zion. Somebody gave him an order. That lead points you towards Lakeshore Hospital, coincidentally. Maybe they're tied together, maybe they're not. Regardless, the second inquisition has your number. It's going to be a problem for the four of you specifically. But if the Si is here in Chicago in force, that's a problem for a lot of people. People? Unfortunately, timing being what it is, only one of those problems is urgent. Unless you'd like to explain to the prince why your investigation is going to be delayed. But, hey, it's Chicago. He's the prince. Maybe he already knows. Maybe he wasn't telling you something. Because it seems like dishonesty is very fashionable this season. [01:03:29] Speaker D: I think that's just what folks around here call the nightlife. [01:03:33] Speaker B: Isn't it always? [01:03:36] Speaker A: What to do, then? Three of you are on hand to discuss this problem. Ivy seems to be taking a walk to clear her head, as it were. [01:03:47] Speaker E: The more immediate problem would seem to be dealing with Zion. The next immediate problem will probably be the Si agent. Ideally, I can get someone to deal with him while we do this. [01:04:05] Speaker C: Right. [01:04:06] Speaker D: Don't want any loose ends, but Zion is a priority. [01:04:11] Speaker C: What about Ivy? [01:04:13] Speaker E: It sounds like Ivy's a loose end doll all on her own. [01:04:17] Speaker D: I purse my lips together at that suggestion. Shake my head. No. I don't think Ivy's implicating anything. I don't think she let us in there knowing what was going to happen. Sure, she's got her past. [01:04:31] Speaker E: I don't think Ivy led us purposely into a trap. That's ridiculous. I think that she has a big, shiny beacon for anyone who's going to be looking for vampires. [01:04:46] Speaker D: There's no denying that. [01:04:49] Speaker C: To be fair, when Charles called us Charles in quotes, we all knew what to expect. We knew it was something weird. We all made that decision together to go. [01:05:01] Speaker E: But did we expect si? [01:05:04] Speaker C: We did not. We expected werewolves, which is, I don't know, take your poison, right? [01:05:10] Speaker D: The devil you know rather than the one you don't. [01:05:13] Speaker E: I'm just saying that Ivy's presence among us and in Chicago keeps the Si here and has now compromised us. I'm not saying it's something we need to deal with immediately, I'm not saying it's something you need to deal with immediately, but it's something to keep in. [01:05:29] Speaker A: Mind, because that is a little bit the point, isn't it? Rebecca said, better the devil you know than the devil you don't. But Ivy knew that devil. She just didn't feel like telling you. [01:05:44] Speaker D: That's what confuses me. We're Coterie. We're supposed to be aiding each other, even if it was at the behest of some higher up prince who wants to sit in his tower while we do his dirty. [01:05:57] Speaker C: AW, Rebecca, I love that you think that, but I think it's just because you haven't spent as much time around kindred as a whole. There's a lot of dirty dealing backstabbing. Coterie comes together to get a job done and then goes their separate ways. It's nice when they're more than that, but that's not often the case. [01:06:21] Speaker E: There are other reasons. I have not to trust Ivy entirely, but I'm still working on them. [01:06:29] Speaker D: Look, it's a terrifying thing, what she's dealing with, being hunted down. I know that all too well, but I don't think she tried to hide it from us intentionally. I don't think she even knew that they were here in Chicago. She probably thought she was safe. The things she told me before we got here, they were harrowing. And I truly believe that she didn't know. [01:06:54] Speaker C: I mean, people are welcome to their secrets. I have secrets. I'm not going to tell you guys everything, but I guess when it puts us in danger, we should really air those. Perhaps that's something we can talk to Ivy about later. [01:07:11] Speaker E: I'm sure it was. [01:07:13] Speaker D: Huh. Funny, those two words paired together. Ivy lure and ignorance. But it looks like the case. Or is it arrogance? I'm not sure. [01:07:24] Speaker A: All of this predicated, of course, on the idea that the agent was telling the truth. But this moment doesn't care so much what the truth is, does it? [01:07:34] Speaker E: It's not so much about the truth. It's more about the fact that if you're going to go swimming, why jump into the water with someone who's covered in blood? [01:07:44] Speaker A: I wonder, is Ivy having a similar conversation with herself at this moment? [01:07:50] Speaker B: The conversation I'm having with myself is it's a lot of back and forth. It's questioning the agent. It's questioning Gabrielle. It's questioning my time in Vegas, questioning what went wrong in Vegas, questioning how they knew that we were here and how they got us to where we ended up. It's too many questions. And we didn't have somebody with nearly enough answers. [01:08:21] Speaker A: I accept that all of those things are running through your head, but surely only one of them was responsible for making you step aside. [01:08:31] Speaker B: It can't be Gabrielle. It can't be. [01:08:34] Speaker A: Why not? [01:08:35] Speaker B: She wouldn't do that. She wouldn't do that. If it wasn't for me in Vegas, she'd be dead. It was only through my actions that we survived that night. Yeah, she had the wards and we did all the prep, but I did so much to keep us together. And we escape from all of that, and she puts me in Chicago. She had a reason to put me in Chicago. And then she leaves, and I'm here doing her work for her. Why would she sell me out like that? What would that accomplish? [01:09:23] Speaker A: You are a student of vampire history, Ivy. These kind of things have happened before for trivial reasons. That by itself isn't enough to undermine your trust in someone who, like you said, you've survived with. The point isn't that it's true. The point is that it could be true. [01:09:44] Speaker B: I mean, I can ask her, right? [01:09:49] Speaker A: Do you think she would be honest with you? What would come of the conversation if you isolated yourself, enacted your ritual, asked, hey, you know, just curious, did you sell me out at the second inquisition? And she. Says, my darling, I have no idea what you're talking about. Then what? [01:10:11] Speaker B: I don't I there are other people to sell out, though. That's the thing. There are other kindred in Chicago that you could sell out instead of the one that you made an effort to save, who then turned around and saved you and is actively doing work for you. [01:10:34] Speaker A: Well, I don't think either of us know the answer to that question. Well, there is a third option. It could be the case that this agent is just sowing discord. [01:10:44] Speaker B: It could be, yes. It's the lie I have to tell myself. It's the only logical explanation that my brain can piece together, because the other option is that it was done on purpose, and I can't accept that. [01:11:03] Speaker A: And what of the rest of it? Do you feel responsible for having left your coterie in the dark, so to speak? [01:11:10] Speaker B: No, not at all. I'm not the only known blank body in the universe, right? There are plenty of other people I don't know anything about. Schmendrick right. I know enough about Rebecca. Everybody keeps secrets. I mean, if I had to disclose every single time I crossed somebody or I was on somebody's shit mean, we never would have gotten to the airport to pick up Sierra. [01:11:42] Speaker A: We'd never get anything done. [01:11:44] Speaker B: We'd never get anything. I mean, sure, ultimately, it's the information that they know about me, right? They know a lot about me. And it was that information that tipped them off and got them to where we were. But I don't feel like it's my fault, and I don't feel like my existence put them in undue danger. [01:12:10] Speaker A: Well, I suppose we'll have to hear from them what they think if it comes up. schmendric you seem willing to let bygones be bygones, temporarily, at least. Maya you're not surprised. You expect this from vampires. The Lasambra have taught you that. Rebecca, you have a heart that, while not beating, is big enough to allow for the benefit of the doubt. Nevertheless, in the last 24 hours, you have found evidence of multiple betrayals. Somebody paid Zion. Somebody tipped off the second Inquisition. And in both cases, what are the ODS? That that was it's. Kindred turning against kindred, using the machinery of human government to further their own aims, regardless of the consequences. No matter who gets caught up in the mix, you have plenty of questions, and that is the nature of your existence. Answers lie on the east side of the city at Lakeshore Hospital or far to the south at an air force base that no one had heard of until tonight. We all know what's going to happen. You have to chase those leads. The prince has ordered you, yes, but at this point, you just need the satisfaction of knowing. But that's a story for another night.