Episode 33 - Flewboy

[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the all night society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens court games. Well, we're here. Ivy. I'm sure you have many questions. Among them, how does calamity know how to get here? Why did Calamity not stop at any point while you were screaming? Trying to make plans, asking her questions? Although, in fairness, if you put your mind to it, they're both probably pretty easy to answer. [00:01:01] Speaker B: Yeah, I'd say so. [00:01:04] Speaker A: Calamity, you doing okay? [00:01:08] Speaker C: What do you think? [00:01:11] Speaker A: I don't know. I mean, the bruja? I might expect to do something thoughtless, but gangrel? I mean, I get the rage part. Yeah. But I don't know. How long are you going to let it keep control of you. [00:01:31] Speaker C: Sugar, I grew up black and poor in America. I don't think that rage will ever let me go. [00:01:38] Speaker A: That is fair. And I would never presume to tell you otherwise. But if I may be so bold, part of that experience is also learning the correct time and place to express that anger. Right? Not to say you aren't justified in the feelings you have about flyboy right now, but you're on property managed by the Federal Aviation Administration with a pretty huge compliment of Chicago port police. So I'm just wondering which part of you is thinking the loudest right now? [00:02:19] Speaker C: I'm killing two birds with 1 st here, sugar. Need to get control of the airport back to the court. I'm doing them a fucking favor. [00:02:27] Speaker A: Two birds with 1 st. Fly boy. There's something here about a flightless creature. We can work with that. Let's workshop that. [00:02:35] Speaker C: Whatever you say, storyteller. [00:02:38] Speaker A: Well, given your intentions, given your rage, given the beast infecting your thoughts and removing those extra thoughtful, tentative things from your brain. You letting Ivy know what's going on? Or is this just one of those? Get out of the car. And you know what? She's smart. She'll figure she's got a doctorate. Clearly, she can put the signs together, right? Actually, in fairness, she doesn't have a doctorate. She died before she finished. [00:03:08] Speaker B: Yep. [00:03:10] Speaker A: The question stands. [00:03:12] Speaker C: I will get out of the car. I will move to the trunk, and as tempting as it is to reach for the sawed off shotgun, you are correct, storyteller. The authorities in the area probably will not take kindly to a very loud, very illegal weapon. But that is what the blades are for. [00:03:33] Speaker A: And you don't really want to use a gun, do you? [00:03:37] Speaker C: No. [00:03:38] Speaker A: Imagine how much better it's going to feel being able to cut him open like a prize puck. [00:03:45] Speaker C: Being able to get my claws under. [00:03:48] Speaker A: The flesh and pull nivy. You can see that look in Calamity's eyes as she gets out of the car. You know what's in the trunk? Yeah, Alex is in the backseat, but he's not going anywhere. You're pretty sure that you are someone whose entire life is defined by either being in control or taking steps to become in control. And look, I appreciate that you are. I don't think brave is the right word, but you at least carry the confidence of a certain skill set. You believe in your abilities? I don't know. You have what it takes to bring this one to heal. [00:04:30] Speaker B: No. [00:04:32] Speaker A: So now we're in a position where you have to make some changes to your normal operating procedure. Something's got to give. What do you do? [00:04:47] Speaker B: I never was much for animals, even when I was alive. So, no, I don't think I will have any power over this gangrel. And I'm smart enough to know not to try. [00:05:04] Speaker A: Okay, so we've ruled out stop calamity, but that's not a solution. That's just something we've taken off the table. [00:05:12] Speaker B: Look, I didn't like flyboy the very first time I met him for a whole host of reasons. If he just called in the SI under the guise of calling in friends to help us, well, I certainly like him a lot less now. And I know that we are not beasts and that violence has its limits, but at the same time, he sent the SI after us, and I kind of have a thing against that. So, no, I'm not going to stop calamity. In fact, I actually am incredibly excited to see just what she does when she gets her hands on him. Because to be honest, she's probably going to do all of the things that I physically cannot but really wish I could. [00:06:04] Speaker A: Accessory to homicide? I don't know if they have the same rules in the court about that. The traditions don't really elaborate on the various degrees of conspiracy and who's guilty. But, hey, if he did what you say he did, that should be a pretty compelling argument, right? [00:06:24] Speaker B: I would say so, yeah. I really don't believe that anybody in the court is going to give us any amount of shit for ending a thin blood. Who called the Si on us? [00:06:41] Speaker A: Well, I understand why this hasn't crossed calamity's mind, but you have a certain logical, legalistic orientation to the universe, so I will remind you that it's not what happened. It's what you can prove. And maybe that little thought is echoing in the back of your mind as two young, kindred, young in body, if not in spirit, stalked through the light snow of the airport's parking lot. In the distance, you can see the terminal glimmering. It's late, but O'Hare is one of the busiest airports in the world. Tens of thousands of people going about their business, whether family or actual business. This part of the airport's quiet, though, so, dressed as you are, which is to say, looking very much like you've just survived an ambush by werewolves. And then federal agents. Do you burst through that door? Are you putting on the pretense? If someone has an appointment? It's plain glass and steel. The person behind the counter can see you approaching, if not making out the details. How do you make your entrance? [00:07:58] Speaker C: I'm hungry and I'm fucking furious. [00:08:03] Speaker B: Yes, but don't be hasty. [00:08:07] Speaker C: Then maybe you should lead the way, princess. I ain't got it in me to be nice right now. [00:08:14] Speaker A: No, and you raise an excellent point. Will you roll willpower for me? [00:08:21] Speaker C: Like I said, hungry and angry. [00:08:26] Speaker A: Yeah. So, as a result of zero successes, let's say what came out of your mouth is what you wish would have happened, and you tell me what happens. [00:08:40] Speaker C: Know, I know. I hear Avi. And maybe there's some part of me in the back of my mind that is not completely consumed by the beast, part of me that knows this is wrong, that this will just cause trouble for us down the line. But all I can hear from this Beast in my rib cage is that bastard. And I go in. [00:09:04] Speaker A: Go is a pretty soft verb, I imagine. Come the morning, it's going to be someone's job to clean up all the glass kicking through the double doors. Now, the man behind the desk is an officer of the law, but he is more the Carl weathers type than the SWAT team super agent. So a very befuddled, rotund looking man thundering up from his seat like someone detonated an airbag under him. Coffee goes flying to the left. Ma'am, you can't be. Excuse me, ma'am, is there a problem here? I break his nose, charging forward across the perfectly waxed tile. Oh, man. Some very lowly paid person had just taken the machine with the big spinny thing on the bottom, and it looks so great. And now there's just that spray of blood coming from the man's freshly destroyed face. He staggers backwards into the wall behind the station that he sits on. He's staring at you. The brain having just rapidly accelerated and decelerated inside of his skull. It's getting that little blue circle computer is trying to figure out what to do. [00:10:32] Speaker C: He needs to not be conscious. [00:10:34] Speaker A: There are more than a few ways to accomplish that goal. But given the fountain is probably a little strong way to say it, but a healthy amount of blood flowing down his face. Will you both remind me what hunger you're on right now? [00:10:52] Speaker C: Three, four. [00:10:55] Speaker A: Okay. Well, Ivy, you don't have anything to worry about. But you'll recognize that flash in calamity's eyes. Calamity, will you roll for hunger frenzy? [00:11:08] Speaker C: Five successes with a critical. [00:11:12] Speaker A: Critical exercise and self control in this moment. Explain to me. The beast knows what you want to do. And we're all clear that it's a big fan of violence. Perhaps yours more than most people's. And behind violence, the thing the beast likes the most is blood. If for no other reason than the blood enables the violence. You've been presented with an opportunity to consume this man to fuel the powers you will no doubt want to use in flyboy's presence. And yet you relent. Why? [00:11:51] Speaker C: It ain't his fault I've lost control like this before. But those bastards had it coming. This man is. This man is just doing his job. [00:12:03] Speaker A: Not very well. [00:12:05] Speaker C: Not very well. [00:12:08] Speaker A: One final act of physical force is all it would take to render him unconscious. A left hook across the jaw that is now blubbering with surprise. Or you could just grab him by that short little military style haircut and smash his skull into the wall behind him. I suppose the details aren't important. You're not going to remember them. Ivy will. Ivy? What do you see? [00:12:38] Speaker B: Calamity is fast and strong in all the ways that I'm not. And there's that moment where I see her go hungry. And I kind of expect, actually, that this is going to be the end for this man. At least for now. But she stops herself, and faster than I can figure out why. Grabs his necktie, shoves it in his mouth, and then clocks him upside the head. So he falls over limp across the back of his chair, causing it to fall backwards and landing in a limp pile on the floor. And she stands there for the briefest of moments before stepping over this poor human's body and continuing to make her way forward. And I have to trot behind her to even keep up because she is driven by. I mean, maybe it's the beast, but there's definitely some driving force here tonight. [00:13:48] Speaker A: It's hard to tell, but the ebb and flow of the scene is interesting to me because you have this explosive entry. This incredible display of instant violence. And just like last time you were here, Ivy, you know the way to flyboy's office. So we have this buildup of adrenaline, this eruption of destruction. You see this weak, pathetic flesh crumble. The look on his face, still surprised. Didn't even have time to register what was happening to him. Calamity steps over a body. Ivy, you're avoiding the blood splatter on the floor to keep your shoes clean. And then you're in an elevator, stuck alone with that stupid little music for the, what, 1015 seconds it takes to descend from this level down to the basement, where, you know, flyboy keeps his real office. And I don't know if that's the moment for words. I would expect that ivy thinks every moment is a moment for words to some degree, but not this one. There's just that facial expression, that eye contact. So I'll ask each of you in turn what you see on the other person's face in just that little middle second. Someone pushes the button. The elevator doors close. If you were human, it'd be when you take a deep breath and begin to steal yourself for what comes after. And then I don't know who it is, one of you turns first. What do you see? [00:15:33] Speaker B: I'm almost surprised that I can catch calamity's eyes at this point. Because since getting out of the car, looking at me has not been of any importance to her. But I see this look on her face. It's more than determination and anger. There's this sorrow behind these eyes. And that's not a look that as kindred we get to see very often anymore, depending on which company you keep. But there's some part of calamity, I think, that is angry at flyboy. Not just for the SI being called on us, but what happened because of that call. And the fact that Alex is currently out in the backseat of her car. And it could have been so much worse because of this kindred. Well, let's not call a thin blood a kindred, but I think the sorrow is reigning supreme on her face right now. [00:16:55] Speaker A: So, calamity, you see Ivy reading you? Not that it's difficult. You're pretty surface level when it comes to your emotional state right now. Will you be surprised when you see what sounds to me like sympathy and understanding? [00:17:13] Speaker C: I don't think so. [00:17:16] Speaker A: I mean, Ivy is a lot of things, but deep and warm and understanding, I don't think are words that people apply to her very often. [00:17:25] Speaker C: No. She's cold and prissy. And difficult, and she can't fight for shit. But the warlock has been more than useful. We were getting along for a bit there, so not entirely surprised. No, it don't matter either way. I meant to look out for her. [00:17:40] Speaker A: Yeah, you've seen her arms. You see how she shoots. You've got your work cut out for you. [00:17:49] Speaker C: And if I can't even protect the puppy, how the fuck am I going to protect her? [00:17:54] Speaker A: A thought that is punctuated by the ding of an elevator. The stainless steel doors fold open. This isn't the government chic office. That's upstairs. There's none of that blue, too tightly knit carpet that's easy to vacuum but terrible to walk on. There's none of that GSA catalog furniture off brand American Ikea. This is industrial. The floor is just polished concrete. Cinder block walls here, underground, and the tunnels that spread across the entire airport, wide enough for you to take a golf cart through if you needed to so the administrators can get to the terminal and terminal folks can get to administration without having to bother with traffic. Up top, 100 little closets filled with this equipment or that equipment, or the offices of people who aren't important enough to see the sun, or the people who don't want to see the sun. So you go stalking past the lead sanitation engineer's office, closed, but through the window you can see the little pieces of home he's brought with him. The plastic plant that won't die because of his office. Then past the electrical cabinet, those thick metal pipes carrying high voltage current through it. Past the mechanical room that whirrs as some machine that pumps something gets called into surface. And then that last room, plain placard on the door that says, operations authorized personnel only, calamity are not authorized to be here. [00:19:37] Speaker C: Boy, what makes you think I give a fuck? [00:19:40] Speaker A: I mean, given the way you've behaved upstairs, I am more sure of anything in my life that you don't give a fuck. [00:19:47] Speaker C: No. However, my daddy did raise me correctly. So I will pause and I will turn to Ivy and there is a smile on my face, surely. But I think feral is the word we're looking for here. Ivy, darlin. Would you mind knocking for us? [00:20:07] Speaker B: Of course. And I smile a little bit because I already know that the knocking is just for show. But I'll walk on up and give it a nice little pound three. Of course, because any more is excessive. [00:20:25] Speaker A: It's excessive and you can never knock in even numbers. [00:20:28] Speaker B: Have you noticed that humans like od numbers? It's why button up shirts have OD. [00:20:34] Speaker A: Numbers, I can tell you. I have never in my entire life counted the number of buttons on a shirt. [00:20:41] Speaker C: Well, now I'm going to have to. [00:20:43] Speaker B: You're welcome. [00:20:45] Speaker A: So ivy wraps on the door. One, two, three. It's thick. The wall's also thick. Can't hear anything going on on the other side of it. The seconds pass by and there'll be that little fleeting thought of, what if he's not here? What if we kick down the door upstairs for nothing? And right before you lift your heel a little bit to turn, you can feel that twitch in your achilles. As your body gets ready to move, the door cracks open. It's too dark inside for you to see what's going on, but you recognize the voice. Ivy. [00:21:31] Speaker C: That door's getting kicked in. [00:21:34] Speaker A: Kicked in? Or like, kicked in? [00:21:37] Speaker C: The second one. [00:21:40] Speaker A: Well, you've got a mountain of strength and potence to boot. This door is fancy, but it's not that fancy. So in a split second, both flyboy and the door go flying backwards into the room. The finblood stumbling behind the weight of the door as it flies off of its hinges and into him. He spirals backwards into one of the tables in the center of the room. Documents going flying. You've been in this room before, so you know that there are filing cabinets and such on the left, chairs and such for meetings. A table that you can all sit around. And then on the far end of the office, the giant desk, and behind it all, the computer monitors. A flat screen panopticon from which he can watch his entire little kingdom go. [00:22:31] Speaker C: I barge right in. I know my eyes have gone gold and cat slitted. And I just growl. Noah. Noah. Noah. [00:22:46] Speaker A: What the fuck, you two? And you can see him straightening himself out on the table, pushing himself up on the palms of his hands. There's that bruising across his collarbone and up into his jaw. But you can already start seeing to fade away as the power of the borrowed blood begins to mend that light wound. Are you okay? Did everything go okay? [00:23:14] Speaker B: Oh, it went great. And I slowly start making my way over to his desk and start rifling through papers that are sitting on top. [00:23:29] Speaker A: Well, he wouldn't approve of that. But he's also not really in a position to do anything about it. [00:23:34] Speaker C: Oh, especially not when I get my fucking hands on him. [00:23:38] Speaker A: Well, Ivy, I'm sad to report that these documents. I mean, do you know anything about aviation fuels management or cargo aircraft scheduling? [00:23:47] Speaker B: No, but that's not really the point, is it? [00:23:50] Speaker A: Okay, I'm just making a statement. It's really great reading material. If you want to know about the new fiscal year changes for air traffic regulations, how many hours pilots are allowed to fly, weight bearing, stuff like that. There's really good information in there. [00:24:02] Speaker B: I definitely don't. At least not right now. Maybe later, but not right now. [00:24:07] Speaker A: Just some light before bed reading. Calamity. You'd mentioned you were stalking across the room. I'm assuming to put your hands on this young man. [00:24:18] Speaker C: Well, that's one way of putting it. [00:24:20] Speaker A: Tell me what happens. [00:24:22] Speaker C: I make my way across with that single minded determination of a woman on a mission. I take him by the front of his cheap fucking polo, and I slam him back down onto the concrete with relish. [00:24:39] Speaker A: For whatever it's worth, he does look legitimately confused. He understands you're angry. He can see that. And he's been a thin blood long enough to know that he can't stand up to you in a fight. But there's something pliable about him. He's in a defensive posture, not defending from an attack, but more shrugging off whatever it is you're doing. Like, if he can survive this initial outburst of rage and he can figure out what's going on, then this will all go away. Give him the opportunity to speak. It's just that stammer. What the fuck is going on? [00:25:24] Speaker B: I take a seat behind his desk and kick my feet up, resting just on the corner, and I take a look at my nails. Noah, we've had one hell of a night, and I think you know that. [00:25:46] Speaker A: Yeah, no shit. You told me you're going to go fight werewolves. If you'll recall, I told you it was a fucking stupid idea, and then you begged me for help. [00:25:53] Speaker B: Yes, oh, yes, and what help you sent. And here's the really important thing, Noah. Keep in mind the situation that you have found yourself in right now. And with my free hand, I will gesture towards calamity. [00:26:14] Speaker C: I'm going to hit him. [00:26:15] Speaker A: Where? [00:26:16] Speaker C: Cross the face. Close fist, short swing right to the jaw. [00:26:21] Speaker A: It's not like punching a kindred where the flesh is waxy. He's still got some give in him. You don't get that full plasticity. The pictures where you see a boxer mid punch and all the skin has come across off the skull for a moment before jiggling back to where it should be. It's a nice halfway point between those two things, but flyboy can take a punch better than you think. But head rolls with it. Kind of looks back at you. Ivy, look, whatever your tone is trying to get across. I'm not picking it up right now. [00:27:01] Speaker B: Oh, I think you're going to want to reconsider the story that you are about to spin, Noah. And I'll put my feet down, lean forward in the chair. So why don't you do me a favor and tell me all about the friends that you called in to help us this evening. [00:27:24] Speaker A: You asked for fire support, and I. [00:27:29] Speaker B: Gave it to you in the form of. [00:27:34] Speaker A: Look, I didn't fucking ask. You know how suspicious it is for me to say, oh, hey, federal government, can you give me a whole detachment of marines and also some rocket launchers, because we're going to go do a training exercise out in the woods. I made a comment to some friends of mine that there was a threat, a possible terrorist threat, or maybe cartel activity taking place outside the airport, and they took it from there. [00:28:02] Speaker B: Which friends? [00:28:06] Speaker A: Fuck. Look, Ivy, you're at my computer. Read the fucking email. [00:28:09] Speaker B: I will. [00:28:10] Speaker A: Mark Connolly, just control f or I'll. [00:28:13] Speaker B: Spin in the chair, take a look at his computer, find this email that he's talking about. [00:28:19] Speaker A: I mean, it's pretty fucking boring. Very post 911 jargon, Mark Conley apparently works for one of the intelligence coordinations centers set up under the department of Homeland Security. In the aftermath of the terrorist attack, they realized that the FBI wasn't talking to the secret service, who weren't talking to state police, who weren't talking to the DEA, and they created this entire infrastructure where, okay, all the information needs to go to one place, and it can get handed out to where it should go. And by the text of the email, Noah's telling you the truth. He juiced up the idea of something dangerous happening near the airport, put just enough buzwords in to say, well, I don't know if it's going to be a terrorist thing at the airport, but, I mean, it could be dangerous. And then from there, Mark said, I'll take care of it. [00:29:15] Speaker B: Does this name or any of the information inside ring any bells? Does it stand out to me? [00:29:24] Speaker A: The name? Probably not. But depending on how much research you've done about the national intelligence apparatus, given your experiences, it's pretty routine. It's possible, given the circumstances, that he's telling the truth. And that confusion in his voice picks up because he hears you clickety clacking on the keyboard, hears you not say anything for a while. He's still terrified of calamity, so he's not making any moves, but he looks back up to you, calamity, and says, okay, so just pretend for a moment that I don't know what happened between the time that I sent that email and the time that you kicked my fucking door down and punched me in the face. Do you want to catch me up? [00:30:15] Speaker C: Well, Noah, the way I see it, you are either fucking compromised in some way, shape, or form, or you are a lion sack of shit. And considering the attitude that you copped with me the first time we talked, I'm going to go. Or the second one. And I would like to make sure that he sees the claws on one hand start to push from the tips of my fingers. [00:30:48] Speaker A: Okay, I get it. You're angry and you're scary. That still doesn't change the fact that I don't know what's going on. I don't think anyone in this room wants to be in a situation where, oh, I don't know, there's a murder in the basement of O'Hare that looks like it has animalistic qualities. So before you, I don't know, rip me limb from limb, maybe just entertain the idea that something has gone on outside of my control, and then make a list in your head of people who are going to be able to help you fix that. Do you have any other contacts in the federal government? People with their fingers in homeland security? Someone who can help you out with this? [00:31:33] Speaker C: Sugar, do I look like the type of person that has fucking contacts with the federal government? Just look at me. Look at what I'm wearing. That's my point. [00:31:45] Speaker A: Calamity, I don't think he's been able to not look at you. If for no other reason, then you are holding him where you are. That's my point. Look, if this is getting out of hand, if something really dangerous is happening, I need to know so I can help fix it. Tell me what. Okay, so they showed up and what happened? [00:32:07] Speaker C: They didn't just go after our little problem. They came after us, too. Fucked. [00:32:12] Speaker A: They who, calamity? I sent an email to the government. The government doesn't give a shit what an airport administrator has to say. I don't know. Was it DEA, ATF? Was it the FBI? [00:32:28] Speaker B: Can I tell if he's actually telling us the truth right now? [00:32:32] Speaker A: Yeah, you can give it a shot. [00:32:34] Speaker B: Okay. Wits and insight. [00:32:37] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. What's an insight's fine. [00:32:41] Speaker B: Two successes. [00:32:44] Speaker A: The confusion he is expressing is genuine. When he says, I don't know what happened after I sent the email, he is telling you the truth. You get the distinct impression that he is in no mood to lie. When a gangrel has prepared herself to literally bisect him with her superhuman strength. So he is genuinely curious, genuinely uninformed, and legitimately afraid at this point. [00:33:17] Speaker B: I walk over and step on his hand with one of my boots. Not hard, just placing my foot on top of it. So you wouldn't be lying to me then if I told you that the folks that showed up were second inquisition when you say that, you have no idea what happened, right? [00:33:43] Speaker A: The fucking Si showed up. [00:33:46] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:33:47] Speaker A: Oh, Jesus. Oh, fuck. Who did Mark tell? No, I didn't. You can just see him trying to put the chain of events together in his head, how this could have come to be. I didn't say anything that sort of clued them in on it being supernatural. No, man. Like, why the fuck would I do that? Someone else had to have said something or known or. Fuck. I got to talk to Mark. [00:34:14] Speaker B: Can you call him? [00:34:17] Speaker A: Can I call him at three in the morning? And tell him what? That two psychopaths broke into my office making unfounded accusations about things that we're not allowed to talk about on the phone because the National Security Administration monitors all of our fucking traffic? Especially those of us who work for the government? Can I call him? Are you crazy? You're telling me you just got attacked by the SI and you want me to go talk about vampire shit on the phone? [00:34:45] Speaker B: I'm gonna dig my heel in a little bit into the palm of his hand. I don't think any of these actions are crazy. And I think that you know better than to talk about these things on the phone. And I think, and maybe I'm wrong here, but I think that you are smarter than that, and you are purposefully being obtuse right now. [00:35:12] Speaker A: At this point, there's an anger on his face as you continue to manhandle him despite the circumstance. And he says, yeah, and I thought you miss already. Attacked by the SI would be smart enough to know that people can read through the lines. You don't know how this works. You've only been on the receiving end. It's my job to make sure the SI doesn't fuck up this airport. Every time one of you comes into town, I don't come into your house asking you which wormwort to put in my tea to lower my blood pressure. So how about you trust me? When it comes time to do my job, you want to beat the fuck out of me and throw me around this room, fucking kill me. Whatever. You do it, you can face those consequences. In the meantime, I'm trying to help. [00:36:01] Speaker C: Trying to help? [00:36:02] Speaker A: Yeah, unless you want to be hunted. [00:36:06] Speaker C: Storyteller. There's a moment where I can see the shock on Alex's face, frozen as I turn around and I realize that he's in torper. And then I think. I just see red for a second. Because the next thing I know, my claws are digging in to flyboy's chin. Helpin'helpin'you. Call that helpin'one? Of ours. One of ours is in torper in the backseat of my fucking car. Which looks like someone took a fucking can opener to it, by the by. So I should kick your ass to next Sunday and back for the car alone? Stop pulling my fucking chain. [00:37:01] Speaker A: We've arrived at a point where you can hurt him as much as you want. And I'm sure it feels good to do so. But Flyboy is telling the truth. And Ivy believes he is telling the truth. You've arrived. I mean, I understand that you have your set of beliefs. But at this point, you either need to provide proof or escalate the situation. So he's wincing. Of course. Blood that is actually his leaking from his cheeks as your claws dig in makes it harder to hear him as he's speaking through strained teeth. Clarity. I understand you're upset. I really do. But the way to fix this is not going to be ripping my fucking head off. Fine. I can make a call. I can ask what happened. Since you won't tell me, I'll give you that information for free. And we can just pretend this never fucking happened. Is that what you want? [00:38:06] Speaker C: I don't know, princess. Is that what you want? [00:38:10] Speaker B: I take a couple steps back. I want to know how we got from calling in help to the SI. Showing up with a helicopter and shooting at us. That's what I want. [00:38:28] Speaker A: There are two facts I need you to understand right now. And I know you've got a brain. The science of a plan. At least that's what you tell everybody. So I'm sure you can figure them out. Reach in to that cosmic intellect of yours and see if you can think of any possible reason that the full faith and theory of the United States government. A trillion dollar intelligence complex, might be able to find information that I didn't give them. [00:38:57] Speaker B: From where I'm standing, Flyboy can't see my face. But I am shooting him. A look from behind calamity's head. Because she doesn't know. She doesn't know about the running that we had not that long ago. [00:39:15] Speaker A: Yeah, it's weird you kept that a secret. [00:39:18] Speaker B: It's not relevant until it becomes relevant. [00:39:23] Speaker A: Ivy, listen to me. You know more than most people. They came for you first, right? The whole pyramid. They blew up a whole fucking city. I didn't call anyone about that, either. I am legitimately sorry that something happened to your friend. And I am just as concerned as you are that the second inquisition is now rooting around, but. And he looks up to you, calamity, and it is the most human you have seen. A not human look. Human. There is something raw and real and terrified, but earnest about Noah as he looks up to you. You have to understand that I didn't do this. And I'll help you figure it out. And I'll do what I need to do to keep us all safe. But before I can do that, I need you to take your claws out of my fucking throat. Okay? Just let me make one phone call, and if you're not happy with that answer, you can do whatever you want. But please don't tell me at least, Ivy, please don't tell me you're the kind of person who will let someone make this kind of decision without having all the information. [00:40:48] Speaker B: Well, you know that I'm not. But I'm also not the one with her fangs in your face. [00:40:56] Speaker A: Yeah, and a calamity. I don't mean to talk like you're not in the room, but I understand that you're not listening to me so much, which is why I'm appealing to your friend here. Look, Ivy, my jacket is on the desk. The phone is in the left hand pocket. Can you get it out? [00:41:18] Speaker B: Walk over, grab the phone from the pocket. [00:41:22] Speaker A: The lock code is 0356. Punch it in, go to my contacts, find Mark C. Because, look, there's no trickery, right? You know who's being called? Just push the button and then just fucking hold it up. I don't care. [00:41:43] Speaker C: Oh. [00:41:43] Speaker B: There was no way this conversation wasn't going to happen on speakerphone. [00:41:48] Speaker C: I'm not letting the sum bitch up off the floor, but I will remove my claws. And point of fact, they were not in his throat. They were just kind of poking in through his cheek. Thank you. [00:42:02] Speaker A: My phone rings twice and then the most boring federal official voice comes out the other side. You can build a melange in your head of every actor who has been credited as, like, agent number three in every movie ever. Just not even central casting. The people in central casting see this guy come in and they say there's no. He is too federal agent. No one's going to believe that it's the voice that comes on. Yeah, Noah, what can I do for you? Noah looks up at the two of you as if seeking permission to speak. [00:42:47] Speaker C: I just raise my eyebrow. [00:42:49] Speaker B: Adam? I nod. [00:42:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Hey, Mark, I know this isn't how we normally do things, but you're really close to my turf. And that operation that we talked about. Yeah, what about it? Just I'm getting some weird stuff on the police blotter here. Some band talking about activity that is outside the norm. You know anything about that? Is anything I need to know? [00:43:18] Speaker B: Mark? [00:43:20] Speaker A: Yeah? Things didn't go entirely as planned. Have you talked to Mr. Bloomberg about it? No, I haven't been able to get a hold of him. I think he's on vacation. Oh, yeah, that's right. No, yeah, they said they went in, they found who they were looking for. They were more armed than was expected. The kind of situation escalated. Look, we're still going pretty hot over here, trying to wrap things up. Are you cool waiting for the ops report tomorrow morning? Yeah, that's fine. I just wanted to make sure if I need to tell my guys, hear anything going on, no. Situations under control. I'll let you know in the morning. Phone call hangs up. Flyboy looks to you. See? Does that sound like someone who is cooperating with me on vampire hunting? Does that seem like someone who gives fucking shit about what I know and what I think? [00:44:22] Speaker B: So who were they looking for? [00:44:25] Speaker A: It's like I told you. I told them there might be cartel activity or some kind of domestic terrorist thing. One of those three percenters off in the woods getting up to God knows what. I said it's really loose intel, but it's happening next to the airport, which means the feds might want to look into it. I'd normally go through the state, blah, blah blah blah, blah. I mean, they thought they were going to go find some three percenters, some gravy seals cosplaying american sniper meal team six out in the woods with their little campfires and their $400 tactical gear, and instead they found what? Fuck you. You know what they found. You were there, right? [00:45:07] Speaker B: And who's Bloomberg? [00:45:09] Speaker A: He's the agent in charge for Chicago. It's an FBI guy. [00:45:15] Speaker B: Can I verify that? [00:45:17] Speaker A: You want to google him? [00:45:19] Speaker B: Google him. Check Flyboy's email, anything that would corroborate that. [00:45:27] Speaker A: Well, Flyboy has not corresponded with that man. If you control F. Bloomberg, the name pops up here and there in the email exchanges. Mostly just people asking, have you checked in with so and so? Has so and so gotten back to you on this? There's never an email from Bloomberg or to Bloomberg? Just people talking about Mr. Bloomberg. [00:45:49] Speaker B: So what's Bloomberg exactly? [00:45:54] Speaker A: First of all, not what is Bloomberg? Who is Bloomberg? And like I told you, he's saic Chicago. [00:46:01] Speaker B: Okay, I see flyboy. Are you familiar with Nora by any chance? [00:46:08] Speaker A: I swear to God. Are we doing this all night where you just name people I have not heard of, and then I have to tell you, I don't know who they are, and then you don't believe me, and she hurts me. How long can we presume that I don't? And then skip the part where you explain and she ruins my fucking face? [00:46:28] Speaker B: Well, see, here's the thing. Nora's not a person per se in retail environments or convention centers will sometimes use it. It's becoming actually much more popular these days. But if you have somebody who's acting a little belligerent, a little too aggressive, somebody who's making you feel generally unsafe and you don't want to escalate the situation, you'll make a call to somebody, you'll say, oh, hi, Nora, or, oh, hey, can you send Nora on down to help deal with so and so? But Nora is not a person. Nora stands for need officer right away. It's just one of those secret codes that people use so as to not incite panic or escalate, situations that don't need to be escalated. Given that Mr. Bloomberg is referenced in so many email chains but is not a person with whom you actually have correspondence, I'm beginning to think that perhaps Mr. Bloomberg is your Nora. So do you want to answer my question again, but correctly? [00:47:37] Speaker A: Ivy, I wish you were as smart as you think you are. I do. Because if you were as smart as you think you are, you would have thought through this a little further. Because here's the thing, right? Let's imagine for a moment that Mr. Bloomberg is the secret I'm being held hostage by vampires code, right? Just pretend. Why would he be showing up in inter office emails? Is it your sincere and honest belief that we just have conversations back and forth about our normal fucking airport jobs while being held hostage by vampires? Do you think that I text my secret code word friend? Do you? Look at the call history, Ivy? [00:48:27] Speaker B: See, I don't think Bloomberg is your I'm being held hostage by vampires code word, right? I think Bloomberg is the call, and I think your I haven't been able to get a hold of him because he's still on vacation is your response. [00:48:45] Speaker A: You see, the word you're looking for is duress word. And you're out of your mind. I know they say all the time that as you all get older and more vampire, that you start to become more paranoid. And you know what? I've seen it in some of the other ones, the older people. But like, what, you're like five years, 60? It doesn't fucking matter. I'm getting really tired of this, so let's just skip. Like fuck. This is a meme. That could have been an email. Why don't you just fucking kill me? And then you can go to explain your paranoid conspiracy theory to the prince, and when no evidence comes up, he can call the blood hunt on the both of you. He looks to Ivy, and you can get shuffled off to whatever backwoods nowhere, chantry, where you won't be able to cause any problems, and then turning back to calamity, and they can put you back out in the woods or lock you in Detroit and all be dead. And your lives will be ruined because of some weird fucking paranoid delusion where you think I'm a secret fucking turncoat Vampire spec ops to fucking look at me, this is a $200 suit. Do I look like the kind of Jason Bourne motherfucker who pulls these things off? Before you came in here, I was reading on the changes to the weight limit on this Runway because ups is going to have to ship fewer packages while the east west line is down for repairs. If I'm some big fucking mastermind, do you want to, like, click through the channels on my windows and wait and see the secret torture chambers or the helicopter landing pad? It's a fuel bunker. At this time of night, the four guys who are supposed to be measuring the tanks are probably smoking weed. I need you to understand from my. Okay, you're like. You're angry, right? Cool. Your friend's hurt, and we've done this before, but you can either believe me and let me help you, or let's just fucking skip to the consequences, because I don't have time to play ivy Holmes, consulting detective with you. Because here's the thing you also haven't considered. The SI was hunting you, apparently, and then they saw you leave the scene of the crime. Apparently, you have a dead or dying vampire in the backseat of your car, which I presume you drove to my office and is just sitting in the parking lot in one of the most police fortified parts of the city. So I don't have time for this. And quite frankly, if what you're saying is true about the FBI's special people chasing you down, you don't have time for it either. So do you want to fucking kill me or do you want to calm down. It's at that moment his phone vibrates. [00:51:35] Speaker B: I unlock it. [00:51:37] Speaker A: It's a text message. [00:51:39] Speaker B: What does it say? [00:51:40] Speaker A: It's a text message from Eric Bloomberg. And it just says five. The number five. [00:51:50] Speaker B: I'll turn the phone around. What does this mean? I have an idea, but I need you to tell me. [00:52:01] Speaker A: Okay, well, aren't you tell me what you want to hear, because I have no clue. [00:52:06] Speaker B: I don't believe that for a second. [00:52:09] Speaker A: So we're not taking my advice on skipping past, like, the explaining delusions part. [00:52:15] Speaker B: I'm going to move the phone and lock eyes with him and I'm going to Activate mesmerize. Tell me what this means. [00:52:23] Speaker A: Okay, well, you make your role and I'll make mine and we'll see how that pans out. [00:52:30] Speaker B: I don't get any hungrier. To my credit. [00:52:35] Speaker A: Two successes on two successes, you make eye contact with him. You stare as deeply as you can into his soul. You rouse the blood. You issue your command, and the very second that last word leaves your lips, he says, I don't know, could be got like a fucking butt dial. He's got kids. Is one of them fucking with it? [00:53:02] Speaker B: Are there any other text messages from Bloomberg in this thread? [00:53:06] Speaker A: Yeah, it's pretty standard business fare. Like the federal equivalent of you have a coworker at like a restaurant, for example, and you text them like, hey, when are you coming in? Tomorrow. Seven. Can you cover my shift? No. Where's the lettuce? It's in the walk in. Not that, because there is no walk in here, but very basic back and forth kind of confirmations, things that could have been an email or maybe you were in the car. There's nothing on face suspicious or weird about it, but there is a track record of activity, maybe like every three or four days, a message going back and forth. [00:53:43] Speaker B: Okay. And it's at this point, I will stand up. Well, I think that your friends are going to show up in about five minutes, so I'm going to spend the next four trying to find the evidence that will excuse what we're going to do to you in the last one. And I'm going to set to tearing apart his office trying to find anything that incriminates him at this point. [00:54:12] Speaker A: Okay. Where do you start? [00:54:15] Speaker B: His desk. I know the stuff that was on top is of no use to me, but there are certainly drawers, there are filing cabinets, things of that nature. I'm just going to start tearing through all of it. [00:54:28] Speaker A: For sure. The desk isn't going to give you much unless you would like a very expensive pen with his monogram on it. [00:54:37] Speaker B: You know what? Actually, I do. Thanks. I'll pocket the pen. [00:54:42] Speaker A: It's like a $400 model. The kind where you have to actually use the ink well to fill it up. It's got the bladed tip. I mean, it's a nice pen. [00:54:51] Speaker B: I can always add more to my beautiful pen collection back home. [00:54:55] Speaker A: Of course, there's some light paperwork forms and things like that. If you need to take time off. For example, he's got the stack of those that has the rubbery glue bit, so you can just tear them off individually. Various manuals for airport operations, in case you need to go look something up. And then a Zippo lighter. It's pretty beat up. [00:55:18] Speaker B: Is there anything worth paying attention to on the zippo, or is it just an old zippo? [00:55:23] Speaker A: You can tell that it's actually silver, and it is engraved. It says, when I die, I'll go to heaven, because I spent my time in hell. Vietnam. 66 to 68. And then on the back, there's some kind of military logo. It's a shield, the top being flat, the bottom is rounded off as opposed to pointed in the upper right and lower left hand corners. It's a black field. And then diagonally across it, there's a large orangeish bar with three red stripes down the middle. And then underneath that it says five SFGA. [00:56:11] Speaker B: Okay. I quickly turn and hop onto his computer. I'm going to pop it into a search bar, see if anything comes up. [00:56:20] Speaker A: Once you get past the identifier codes for fake Amazon products, where they load the search engine terms with all kinds of stuff, just in case you want to buy a toilet seat or an electric toothbrush by accident. But once you sort past that, you find it looks like a blog, maybe. Oh, my God. The web design is terrible. It's a veterans organization, because five SFGA could be the fifth Special Forces Group airborne, which is the most decorated unit of the american special forces community, notorious for its persecution of less than legal unconventional warfare in Vietnam. [00:57:09] Speaker B: All of this is incredibly curious, but not outwardly incriminating for what I'm currently searching for and will hopefully find. But I would like to pocket the lighter, if for no other reason than because having it and not giving it back to him might upset him. [00:57:24] Speaker A: Of course you don't want it, but he does. And that's a reason for him not to have it. [00:57:31] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:57:33] Speaker A: He can hear you rifling and clickety clackety. If you want the top secret stuff, it's in the filing cabinets. What kind of idiot keeps their secrets in their desk? [00:57:43] Speaker B: Look it, there are old people who write their passwords on sticky notes and put them underneath their keyboards. So I don't know, Ivy. [00:57:52] Speaker A: I'm 30 years old and I run an airport for a living, and I'm the one who sends you an email when you don't do your cyber awareness training. [00:58:02] Speaker C: Ain't there such a thing as secret compartments? I don't really know. I ain't really never had a desk. [00:58:08] Speaker A: Kind of cranes his neck as best he can around Calamity's grip, squinting down at his wrist. Okay, well, it's your four minutes. You spend them how you want. [00:58:20] Speaker C: How weird would it be if I scruffed him like a puppy, walked him over to the filing cabinet and started ripping the drawers out? [00:58:29] Speaker A: I mean, not weird at all. You can make him do it. You can be like, no, there's a bomb in that filing cabinet. You open it, or, like, whatever you want to do to justify that. [00:58:38] Speaker C: Well, shit, if all the good stuff's in the filing cabinet and I will physically force him to his feet, scruff him on the back of his scrawny little neck, and frog march him over to those fucking cabinets. Why don't you help us out, baby? [00:58:55] Speaker A: I mean, he does exactly what he's told. And he goes for a very specific drawer. He pulls it open. As much as you're allowing him free movement of his hands, he will reach inside and hold up a folder. It says, calamity Madden. And then he throws it towards the desk. And then he flips through a few more and pulls one up and it says, ivy Larue. And he throws it down towards the desk. Only little papers are scattering out of it. They're not very thick. It's not like the brothers Karamazov, right? It's maybe 510 pages, tops. If you look through. There are 100 and 2200 folders in here. Maybe. But scanning by, you see names for all kinds of kindred, who you recognize, what's in the folders, leaning down, scooping, picking it up. Dates when you arrived, where you came from, transit information, any information about criminal records. They're not official government forms or anything like that. They're typewritten. [01:00:10] Speaker C: Storyteller. You said he went right for a specific drawer. Is there another one that he seems particularly twitchy about? [01:00:19] Speaker A: No, it's quite the contrary. This is what you want, right? All the top secret vampire information? This is my job. This is what the prince has me do. Keep track of who comes through the airport, who leaves. Make sure that there are troublemakers coming into his nobane he knows in advance. Got yours over there, Ivy. The one that says that you are officially dead. Calamity. Here's one of all the toll booze that you ran through on your way here without paying the bill. Don't worry, we took care of that for free. That way there are no weird outstanding traffic ticket warrants in the great city of Chicago. [01:00:57] Speaker C: Yeah, well, the tollway is literally highway robbery. [01:01:00] Speaker A: So look, you want whatever's suspicious, this is it. That's the evidence you want. That's what I do. Because that's what Prince Kevin Jackson wants me to do. You have three minutes now, apparently. But for the love of God, think. The smartest vampire in the city, no offense, Ivy, entrusts me to keep tabs on all of you and to do so in one of the most monitored places in the fucking country. And your theory is that me, a little thin blood, has been able to get one over on him? To say nothing of the trillion year old vampires you keep around. You think I looked Kratos or wherever the fuck the old one's name is in the face and managed to keep all my. [01:01:54] Speaker C: Nah, something's missing. Something's fucking missing. [01:01:57] Speaker A: Something ain't rat Ivy. While flyboy is throwing paper at calamity, you hear the chime MS teams or whatever, a little message icon pops up. [01:02:14] Speaker B: What does it say? [01:02:16] Speaker A: It's written in some pretty thick jargon. It's got that super clandestine, shortened acronym, government speak. But you can read between the lines enough to see that they reported seven killed in action, three possibly escaped. Reports the damage to the Helicopter. It says they'll be searching the area. Bloomberg. Still in effect. I see that Ivy is making a thinking face. Calamity, will you do me a favor? Roll dexterity and brawl. [01:02:56] Speaker C: Well, that is four successes. [01:02:59] Speaker A: Four successes is enough. Because you see Ivy clickety clack it in. Still she makes a face. You're watching flyboy, he's watching her. And then there's this split second where he hears the notification go off and his hand dives up under the filing cabinet that's open, reaching into the space above the drawer that he has opened. [01:03:27] Speaker C: Oh no, it doesn't. [01:03:30] Speaker A: Well, he pulls out what he was looking for. He doesn't manage to shove the baseball sized cylindrical object into your chest area, but he does manage to pull the pin. Now, Ivy is a creature of modern media. She wouldn't recognize it, because it doesn't have those ridges on the side. It doesn't look pineapple shaped. It's not the kind of thing that Arnold Schwarzenegger pulls open with his teeth. But Miss Calamity Madden, you are a woman of a certain generation, so you would recognize the m 67 grenade, a Vietnam era explosive. And right as that recognition hits, whatever part of your brain it bounces around in is also the time that you will hear the pin drop onto the floor. [01:04:28] Speaker C: The storyteller. I am indeed aware of just such an explosive. I am also aware of the damage said explosive can do to a body, living or otherwise. And we've already got a man down. So the least stupid thing I can think of doing, which isn't saying much, is to throw flyboy onto the concrete and jump on top of him with that grenade under his stupid, stupid chest. [01:05:00] Speaker A: Shit. Calamity, they'll give you the Medal of Honor for that if you do it in the armed forces. [01:05:05] Speaker C: Yeah, well, they never would have let someone like me enlist anyhow. [01:05:09] Speaker A: Well, you still get to live the moment, regardless. It goes without saying that flyboy did not expect your lack of self preservation to come to the fore. You're so much stronger than him. Your brawl success gives you the advantage of momentum as this moment plays out. Ivy, you can only witness this. This happens in seconds at most. You would have time to stand up from the chair, which you'd only do if you'd forgotten that the correct way to handle these kind of situations is to throw yourself down onto the floor, right? [01:05:52] Speaker B: Right. [01:05:53] Speaker A: But I don't think you're going to process it that fast, because from your distance, and calamity doesn't even say the g word, you hear a scuffle next to the filing cabinet. You hear a clatter of something metal on the floor. You see calamity throwing herself down onto flyboy. Then the soundtrack stops for a split second, and the camera's perfectly still. And then the room explodes with smoke and fire and metal. I'm going to, for the purposes of damage, calamity, treat flyboy as if you're wearing body armor. [01:06:37] Speaker B: It is body armor. It's just somebody else's body. It quite literally, I think that's body armor. [01:06:44] Speaker A: Makes perfect sense to me. But flyboy is a thin blood, and flyboy is not. He's not fly man for a reason. He's pretty thin. So some of that is going to make it to the other side. [01:06:59] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:07:02] Speaker A: So the grenade does three successes worth of damage. You'd cut that in half and then I believe you. Round down for armor. So you'll take one superficial damage. [01:07:19] Speaker C: Got it. [01:07:21] Speaker A: But the damage really isn't the part of this that your body or your brain or the beast finds exciting. Because you have to think of the physics of this, right? The grenade goes off, and all that expanding chemical energy has to go somewhere, so it pushes down into the concrete, and it can't go that far, so it has to reflect back upwards. And now, Ivy, if you squint really hard into your memory, you can see the slumped figure of flyboy. And then, like a big bubble coming up to the top of a pool, you see that ripple of energy as his body rises. It's concave, bending in ways that a human body shouldn't, and calamities on top rising with him. And in slow motion, you'd swear they made it, like, a foot or two off the floor. And you know that's not true. But your brain's playing tricks. And then it just slumps down with all the noise and satisfaction of someone dropping like a ziploc bag of macaroni and cheese on the floor. And maybe your ears are ringing because your brain hasn't figured out that it doesn't have little hairs moving anymore. And there's little shreds of paper that are floating around, some of them on fire, just little bits of kindling moving around. And then calamity from underneath you, you hear wheezing. Part of the voice actually coming out of the mouth, but part of the voice also coming through the gaping hole above his larynx, where his head has kind of come a little bit off kilter and it's hanging open. Can tell your friend she's a dumb bitch because it's only two minutes. And then he just smiles, turning his head, teeth stained with the blood gurgling up from the various parts of him. And he'd laugh if it weren't for all the fluids accumulating in his lungs and coating over his larynx. [01:09:23] Speaker B: Ow. [01:09:24] Speaker C: All right, I'm going to turn him over, which doesn't feel super great. [01:09:31] Speaker A: You've made it out of this way better than he has. There's a few bits of shrapnel stuck in you, kind of thing you got to go by with some tweezers later, or maybe you can just go to sleep and they'll push themselves out. Like a stitch that got left in the skin. [01:09:51] Speaker C: Yeah, sounds like fun. [01:09:53] Speaker A: But fly boy? Oh, man. It's like when you're making a smoothie. [01:10:02] Speaker C: Shit. [01:10:04] Speaker A: It's chunkier than the strawberry. One you get from jamba juice. Colors about right. It's a little stringy. Sinewy, I think is the just. It's everywhere. It'd be more everywhere had you not pinned him to the floor, but let's just say his abdominal cavity. His chest cavity. Emphasis on cavity. Good. [01:10:34] Speaker C: Ivy, you all right? [01:10:39] Speaker B: Yeah. And I'll take a quick once over, make sure that I don't have any pieces of anything sticking out of my body. And at a quick glance, there's nothing. And I say, yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay? [01:11:00] Speaker A: No. [01:11:01] Speaker B: Sure? [01:11:01] Speaker C: He's way worse, though. Good. [01:11:05] Speaker B: Is he dead? Like dead dead? Like dead. Good. [01:11:11] Speaker C: He said two minutes. [01:11:16] Speaker B: Two minutes. It wasn't five, but it was two, which means that we're about 30 seconds over. Two minutes. [01:11:26] Speaker C: He heard the thing go off. The computer go off. What the fuck is going on over there? [01:11:32] Speaker B: Bloomberg is still in effect. And if we are. We're running out of time. We're running out of time and it's. At this point I'm going to shove myself back from the desk and reach down to the tower and just start unplugging cables. I know they say that you're not supposed to turn off your computer without shutting it down properly, but we don't have time for that. So I'm just going to hit the button and hope for the best. But we need to see whatever else is on this computer. So I'm just going to take the whole thing with me. [01:12:03] Speaker A: God, can you imagine the tension had you gone to shut it down and it said windows is now installing updates? [01:12:08] Speaker B: No, because then I would have been forced to push the button. And that's definitely not what you're supposed to do. [01:12:13] Speaker A: Now you're ripping out USB cables. Do you bother to actually unscrew? It's not an HDMI. You have to go into that little monitor cable and actually little screws that hold the VGA in. [01:12:26] Speaker B: I am doing everything that I can to get these cables off of this tower as fast as vampirically possible. So if I can jiggle it loose, that's fine. If I have to get that one pin that's a little tighter than the others, I'll unscrew it that way. I'd rather not, but here we are. [01:12:46] Speaker A: It doesn't matter. I was just wondering how careful ivy was about it in case you haul the tower up into your arms. It's one of those government computers. The case is quite big, but the innards are cheap and fairly small, so even a one strength premiere can haul it up into her arms without too much trouble. [01:13:05] Speaker B: That's good. [01:13:06] Speaker A: In terms of things that you might want to remove from the premises. I assume the other two would be all the files on the vampires and flyboy. If I'm reading it right, I'm definitely. [01:13:18] Speaker B: Picking up all of the files. I don't know what else he has in here. Calamity is still a little preoccupied with flyboy, so once I have the tower disconnected from everything else, I will set it on top of the desk and immediately start gathering all the folders together. I know this is a two person job, but calamity needs just a minute to kind of regain her composure. And I'm going to give her as much time as I can, but at some point, she'll need to help. [01:13:47] Speaker A: I don't know. Calamity, how long is it going to take for you to do what you want to do right now? [01:13:53] Speaker C: Is he going to make it? [01:13:54] Speaker A: Storyteller, you've been out in the woods and come across maybe like, a boar. And that hunter got a good shot on him, but not a good enough shot. You're supposed to aim for the head or the heart. Otherwise the creature is just going to run off and die somewhere that you can't find it. Flyboy's not going to make it as far as that boar would, but he's not dead yet. Saving him would take an act beyond medical science. You don't think he's going to make it to the sunrise? [01:14:33] Speaker C: Well, storyteller, between you and me, that was the plan all along. So I'm going to take fly boy by the lapels of that $200 suit of his. I'm going to look him dead in the eye, and I will ask, plain and simple, who's a fucking bitch now and then I'm going to tear his throat out with my claws. [01:14:56] Speaker A: It's incredibly easy for your fingers to get purchased there. It's already been opened up a bit by the explosion, so it has the visual imagery of like a Thanksgiving turkey. If you can imagine reaching into where you put the stuffing and then just pulling open the way the meat stretches and tears. And he's not laughing as you do that. You can feel the red slicking up between your fingers. It's visceral and gamey. He's in the neck. There's not a lot of fat. It's like tearing a rabbit open, or a more small game animal. But there's a wheezing to it, a satisfaction in his eyes that even as he dies, he's accomplished something, and he dies. Just Ivy as you met him, smug and thinking he's in charge and with. [01:15:58] Speaker C: No small amount of satisfaction. On my own part, I think I would have the wherewithal to understand what Ivan needs. So I will get up and do the rest of my fucking job. [01:16:12] Speaker B: Great. Papers are more my speed anyway. [01:16:17] Speaker A: Grabbing whatever looks important. Anything wrapped in manila, as much as you can grab out of the filing cabinets. This drawer, another drawer, anything randomly accumulating whatever informational treasures you can extract. [01:16:35] Speaker C: You still got his phone, princess? [01:16:37] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, I'm not letting that go. [01:16:39] Speaker C: Add a girl. [01:16:42] Speaker A: It's called sensitive sight exploitation. When you do it in the armed forces, immediately gathering information and intelligence. When you take over a terrorist lair of some kind. That's how we know they found all the anime in osama bin laden's house. But just as the raiders in that operation, you, too have to make an expeditious exit. The sound of shoes scrambling across the polished concrete. And you make it back to the elevator. Or maybe the stairs. It doesn't matter. Bursting out through the lobby, running past the unconscious man with the broken nose, and out into the parking lot. [01:17:24] Speaker B: I don't like the way you said parking lot. I don't like the way you said that at all. [01:17:29] Speaker A: Well, you're going to be disappointed because there are no flashing lights, there are no cars. There's no van full of extremely fit men wearing balaclavas going hut, hut, hut as they hold their m p five s in your direction. There's no helicopter. There are no sirens. There's the lingering smell of aviation fuel, the sound of a triple seven on its way to hong kong, and the orange sodium glow of airport lighting. [01:18:01] Speaker C: That could have gone better. [01:18:03] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it also could have gone worse. That could have been your chest with a gaping hole in it. Meanwhile, we still need to get the fuck out of here. [01:18:14] Speaker C: No argument there, princess. [01:18:17] Speaker A: Do you know why flyboy was laughing as you left? You won't know tonight, but you can read about it later. How there was a freak industrial fire at chicago's O'hare airport. The damage was contained to a few rooms. And is it possible that as you stand here, flyboy got one last one over you because you ran away before you could get everything out of the room, and he made sure you wouldn't find it. So we'll let that feeling linger as the camera pans out from your face's lips, twisted in frustration as you realize what's happened. And the shot pulls wide vertically above the airport and above Chicago. The city that, until a few moments ago, you thought was safe. Well, as safe as any city can be when it's filled with the likes of you. But then the camera goes further still, above the planes, passing at 30,000ft through the thin haze of the atmosphere, and then into the lens of a satellite with a cute little american flag stenciled on the side and an identification number for the Geospatial intelligence Agency. Soon enough, we'll find out where you're going. As for just who's watching you as you pull out of the parking lot and go about whatever remains of this evening, 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. 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