Episode 9 - Suspects

[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're listening to the All Night Society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens Court Games. When last we left our four kindred friends, they had only just gained entry to the basement layer of Crooks Lounge, one of the many alcohol soaked dives operated by Charles Dawson. With darkness and uncertainty ahead, our battle hardened gangrel had decided to take the lead. The stairs protest loudly under Rebecca's weight. It's not a statement about Rebecca's size. It's a statement about the upkeep of the building. You're about halfway down before something tugs at the corner of your mind. Would you make a wits and awareness check for me? [00:01:17] Speaker B: That would be zero successes on my part, I'm afraid. Must have been the wind drafty basement. [00:01:27] Speaker C: At the top of the stairs. Still, I'm going to activate oblivion's sight so I can see in the pitch darkness. [00:01:35] Speaker A: That certainly makes descending the staircase a less terrifying ordeal. [00:01:40] Speaker C: And I can follow behind Rebecca with no trouble. [00:01:45] Speaker D: And I will be the last in the train, because I'm going to take some time to close the door and make it look like it wasn't picked. [00:01:54] Speaker A: There's wisdom in Larceny, but with your tracks covered and the trio having safely descended the staircase for two of you, it resembles very much the scene that you stumbled into, save for, of course, the notable absence of Charles what was that, ten days ago? Maya, you have it a bit easier looking into the dark and, of course, possessed of an investigative mind. You notice things that don't belong here. There are, of course, the standard bar things you would expect in a bar basement broken furniture, kegs, boxes of liquor ready to be hauled back upstairs. But there are also a number of containers that strike more of an industrial tone. They're stacked hidden among the buckets of paint, commercial solvents, cleaners. But just a glimpse of that material data safety triangle tells you that those don't belong here. [00:03:01] Speaker C: I'll immediately head to one of the industrial containers and check them out. [00:03:08] Speaker A: Oh, to live in a world where noticing something gave you the capacity to understand it. Maya has many talents, but industrial chemicals? Science, academia, chemistry not among them. You can tell that these are atypical. They don't match what you would expect to find in a place like this, but you can't. You have no idea what they're for. [00:03:35] Speaker C: Are they big enough to handle? [00:03:38] Speaker A: Oh, quite. [00:03:40] Speaker C: There's still no light down here. Would it be possible to pick one up and carry it to a better lit place? [00:03:48] Speaker D: Before you get too crazy with that, as I'm descending the stairs, I bring out my cell phone and turn the flashlight on. [00:03:58] Speaker A: The illumination will help your investigation. It also gives the moment a nice indie, first person found footage horror movie vibe. [00:04:10] Speaker B: That's a comforting look. [00:04:13] Speaker C: Schmendrick. [00:04:15] Speaker D: Yeah? [00:04:17] Speaker C: Come take a look at this. Something doesn't belong. [00:04:21] Speaker D: With that, I will actually walk over and check out what Maya is indicating, which I assume is the barrels. [00:04:28] Speaker A: Let's not call them barrels. They're more like five and ten gallon buckets. I don't want to give you the impression that there's a 55 gallon drum of something just hanging out. [00:04:39] Speaker D: Can I make any sense of what's inside of these buckets or is this an Ivy thing? [00:04:45] Speaker A: To be terribly honest, none of you are chemists. [00:04:48] Speaker D: That's true. Well, I'll take a picture of one of these buckets anyways, since it is peculiar that they're in here. Certainly weren't here last time. [00:04:59] Speaker B: At the very least, it's worth documenting, right? Get in front of the right eyes. [00:05:04] Speaker A: Well, as you enter into your documentary streak, there are three distinct containers, apparently each holding one of three distinct substances. One is labeled calcium acetylide one. Propan two, one, and then something called magnesium teflon viton. [00:05:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:05:28] Speaker D: Be honest, that doesn't ring any bells with me. [00:05:31] Speaker A: Aside from that, the only information that you might be able to apply from the label is the name of the Daubert Chemical Company. They are apparently the manufacturer or the wholesaler. This is their stuff, or was before. [00:05:46] Speaker D: I head out of this place. The chemicals are strange, but I did want to check out his desk to see if he has left himself any notes. I recall there being like a shabby desk in the corner. [00:05:58] Speaker A: Indeed, no respectable human being would call a desk. But Charles is neither respectable nor a human being. There are, of course, the usual bar business things, orders from beverage companies, payroll, that kind of stuff. But just beneath that initial layer of old paperwork, there's a series of documents bearing the insignia of the Diamond Yama Hotel. [00:06:27] Speaker D: Damning evidence, Charles. I'll start thumbing through these. Depending on how many there are, I may just take them with me. [00:06:38] Speaker A: There are only a handful. These are printed receipts for reservations in five different hotel rooms. The room numbers corroborate what you know about the fire so far. [00:06:51] Speaker D: I'll wave Maya and Rebecca over and just kind of nudge my shoulder towards the documents on the table. Get a load of these. [00:07:02] Speaker B: Shit. That's hardly the mark of an innocent man. Shmandrek. [00:07:06] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm less skeptical at this point. [00:07:12] Speaker C: It doesn't look good. [00:07:15] Speaker A: Hi. Would you be a dear and make a wits an investigation role for me? [00:07:19] Speaker C: Of course I will. Seven successes. That's a critical success. [00:07:27] Speaker A: I would like to know what instinct or training or past experience did you draw upon that made you wonder how many of the kegs in this area are actually for beer? What motivated you to go along and tap each of them individually? Waiting to see what noise came out? [00:07:50] Speaker B: Off the record, I'm not a stranger. [00:07:52] Speaker C: To, let's say, corporate espionage. And as soon as something looks fishy, I'm going to have to check every corner. [00:08:03] Speaker A: I suspect in this case it was the number of them. It's terribly busy upstairs, but that's still no reason for there to be this many kegs? If there are empties, then the supplier should have come back to get them by now. If they're not empty, that means Charles has entirely too much product. It would spoil before he had the opportunity to serve it. And that curiosity leads you to this critical stroke of investigative success. Your instinct is correct. There is something amiss with a number of these kegs. They ring neither solid, as if full, nor hollow, as if empty. When you've narrowed it down to the four culprits, that additional level of scrutiny reveals that these aren't kegs at all. These are decoys, like a fake bookcase that you would hide a safe behind. Or one of those soda cans you buy for kids where you twist the top off and there's a piggy bank inside. I regret to inform you, there is not a piggy bank inside this keg. As for the contents, well, for that, you're going to need to wrestle these lids off, and they look pretty secure. [00:09:15] Speaker B: I might be able to offer a hand or two there. [00:09:18] Speaker A: I mean, God, with Rebecca's rating in strength, I don't even think she'd need all of one hand. [00:09:24] Speaker C: Far be it for me to risk breaking a nail. Rebecca, do you mind helping me with this? [00:09:31] Speaker B: Not sure if you need them lifted. [00:09:36] Speaker C: No, I need them opened. [00:09:39] Speaker B: Opened. All right. I can handle that. [00:09:44] Speaker A: Rebecca drawing upon ancient might god, you were strong when you were alive, and it's only gotten better since then. With a minimal amount of effort, you managed to identify the mechanism that seals these things, twisting the top off. Rebecca, do you have any idea of what an improvised explosive device looks like? [00:10:06] Speaker B: I've used explosives before, but I can't say I've seen any of the fancier high tech ones. [00:10:13] Speaker A: No. This doesn't look like anything to you? [00:10:16] Speaker C: It's definitely not beer. [00:10:19] Speaker A: No, someone who has even a passing interest in technology can recognize the components of an explosive device. You see a timer. The rest of it doesn't make a terrible amount of sense to you, but, hell, anyone who's seen a movie in the last decade gets some pretty strong bomb vibes off of this thing. [00:10:37] Speaker C: Schmendrick, would you be a deer and take photos of this for us? [00:10:42] Speaker D: Having been standing alongside of them for a good 30 seconds now, I just slowly nod and start taking pictures before giving an exasperated sign saying, damn it, Charles. [00:10:54] Speaker A: Maya, what is your suspicion at this moment? [00:10:58] Speaker C: Regardless of how Charles or any of the nosferatu voted, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, charles must have sabotaged the hotel. [00:11:11] Speaker B: It's all here. [00:11:13] Speaker A: You don't find that? OD. [00:11:16] Speaker C: Like I said before, people will say things and then do the opposite regularly. Why would kindred be any different in that? [00:11:26] Speaker A: You are absolutely correct. Kindred lie to each other all the time. My question was more, do you think someone who is capable of organizing this kind of attack would also leave all of this to be found in a poorly secured basement. [00:11:41] Speaker C: That does smell bad to me. On the one hand, I don't know this person very well, so he could just be an idiot, but it all seems too convenient. [00:11:53] Speaker A: That seems like a question for Schmendrick. Schmendrick? Is Charles an idiot? [00:11:57] Speaker D: I don't believe so. I don't really know him that well yet. We've had a few passing conversations. He seemed to recognize information when I gave it to him about the venture housing empire. So obviously he's got a sharp mind. Just perhaps not the wisdom to back that up. But as far as I'm concerned, he's my elder, so he must know more than I do on these things. [00:12:28] Speaker C: He is dating Ivy so ill. That's true. [00:12:35] Speaker A: That does bring his judgment into question. [00:12:39] Speaker D: Also rude. [00:12:42] Speaker A: It's not a statement about your value as a human or a vampire. I'm just saying you two were obviously a bad match for one another. And that any friends group who saw the two of you getting together would be counting down the days where it imploded catastrophically. [00:12:57] Speaker C: I'm not here to kink shame. I'm just here to kink ask why. [00:13:02] Speaker B: Good point. But Charles, if I know anything about from what Schmandrick showed me of the Nosferatu, he had to have known that someone was going to check up on this. You don't just blow up a building and then leave everything behind. The first thing people are going to do is check out your hideout. [00:13:21] Speaker A: Yeah, Rebecca doesn't even know what a fucking VCR is and she's suspicious. [00:13:26] Speaker B: It just seems too convenient. Like everything's laid out for us. Like a nice plated meal, documents, evidence. Gosh. It's like a bad crime show. [00:13:40] Speaker C: So then who would want to implicate Charles? [00:13:45] Speaker D: I'm not really sure. But now that I think about it, can I take another look at those receipts and see if I can find some sort of signature or way to track back these payments? [00:13:59] Speaker A: Unfortunately for you, sierra runs a very discreet vampire hotel business. These transactions are made with cash through an intermediary broker. Every stage in the process is wrapped up in as much secrecy as modern finance will. [00:14:17] Speaker D: Oh, that's difficult. [00:14:18] Speaker A: Then I would allow you to make an intelligence and craft role. [00:14:25] Speaker D: That is for successes. [00:14:28] Speaker A: I know that Schmendrick lives wholly within the digital age, and she's the kind of person who would judge you if you had a printer in your home, as that is evidence of your boomer credentials. But you're still familiar with the various kinds of documents that computers in their associated peripherals can spit out. It's not a simple thing to identify the specific type of printer that created a document, not for normal people. But you can tell the difference between something that was puked out of an inkjet that someone bought at Office Depot and something that came from a commercial printer. These documents fall squarely in the former category. It's possible a diamond yama uses antiquated equipment. It's unlikely, based on what you know about the hotel and about Sierra. [00:15:15] Speaker D: Though from my understanding, people can print off their own receipts now if they've bought something digitally. I give Charles's room a little look. Are there any antiquated printers about? [00:15:28] Speaker A: There are no electronics down here. It's almost as bad as Maya's place. [00:15:33] Speaker D: That is very curious. And I will take one of these to inspect at a later date. [00:15:40] Speaker A: Not like Charles is going to miss him. [00:15:44] Speaker D: So one of the reasons I'm taking this is because I want to actually look into the micro embedded coding in it and see if I can actually trace this printer. I obviously can't do that here, of. [00:15:56] Speaker B: Course. [00:15:59] Speaker A: For my sake. You're referring to the strip of micro font printed on the pages. So, like, the FBI can find people making bomb threat letters and things like that? [00:16:09] Speaker D: Yes. [00:16:11] Speaker A: Didn't realize that the S in CSI stood for Schmendrick. [00:16:15] Speaker D: I have a lot of talents. [00:16:18] Speaker C: One more minor thing to check. The company that sold the chemicals, would they have records? [00:16:26] Speaker A: You have a certain mastery of finance. With it comes an understanding of regulations. If these chemicals are as dangerous as the labels seem to suggest, they would definitely fall under some kind of control act. Or at the very least, the company would be keeping a very good inventory of them. [00:16:47] Speaker C: So if someone could pull the records from the chemical company, we may get a buyer. [00:16:53] Speaker A: Perhaps Schmendrick. [00:16:57] Speaker C: Maybe add to your research list getting the purchase orders from the chemical company themselves. [00:17:04] Speaker D: Yeah, I'll add that to the list of growing evidence. [00:17:09] Speaker B: I don't think there's anything else down here. It looks pretty barren, if I do say so myself. Might be worth going back, checking in with everyone. [00:17:20] Speaker D: Yeah, I don't know Ivy's area of expertise, but perhaps she can figure out what these chemicals are. [00:17:26] Speaker A: Well, then our trio departs the basement. Schmendrick keeps the lock in order as to make it seem that the scene was not disturbed. And you return discreetly into the car where Ivy LaRue has been keeping vigil. See anything interesting, Ivy? [00:17:42] Speaker E: No. There were some two really sketchy people that got into the back of a car, and now the windows are fogged. And I tried very hard not to look at that, but otherwise it's been pretty boring up here. [00:17:57] Speaker A: Young love. [00:17:59] Speaker E: Oh, they were not young. [00:18:02] Speaker A: Well, you'll be happy to know that your three coworkers here are ready to interrupt your thought process as you ruminate on what's going on in the car. [00:18:13] Speaker E: Thank God. When I see them, I'm actually kind of relieved because it was definitely getting boring and not hearing from them for a while, like not getting a text or anything. I was getting a little worried about what they had gotten themselves into. [00:18:30] Speaker B: Abby caused more of a ruckus than but, uh, getting into the car. He gave Ivy a look. Molly wasn't there, but he left quite a bit there. [00:18:41] Speaker E: What do you mean, quite a bit? Like that guy from when we were here last time. [00:18:47] Speaker B: No, nobody was dead or anything. Just found some interesting documents. And what were they schmander? A bomb? [00:18:58] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, there was a bomb. And a lot of suspicious chemicals. Speaking of Ivy, do you know anything about chemicals? And I will hand her my phone, which is at the pictures that I took. [00:19:11] Speaker E: I can't say I majored in chemistry, but is there any chance that I would have worked with these chemicals at any point? [00:19:23] Speaker A: That is a question for your intelligence and science. [00:19:28] Speaker E: Four successes. [00:19:31] Speaker A: Sometimes raw memory is enough. I'm going to warn you all in advance, it'd be a terrible idea to ask Ivy why she remembers these things, because you don't have the kind of time for that story. But, Ivy, there is a flicker of recollection flashing back into your brain. Sophomore year, you had to take that chemistry elective. Core requirements, you know, two things of value. One, Propan 21 is the preferred name, but not the trade name for the chemical acetone. Second, you know that MTV is a proprietary blend, a bit like thermite used in magnesium flares, the decoy flares that fighter jets use to trick heat seeking missiles and lots of pyrotechnic displays. That is to say, it's a mixture that is incredibly flammable and burns with astounding heat. [00:20:37] Speaker E: Do you want the good news or the bad news first? [00:20:41] Speaker B: Good news, preferably. [00:20:44] Speaker E: The good news is I know what two of these three things are. [00:20:48] Speaker B: All right, what's the bad news, then? [00:20:53] Speaker E: So one of them could be used for any number of things. Perhaps Charles takes up painting in his spare time and needs something to clean up oil paints. But one of them is definitely not helping his case. It's kind of like thermite it's a very hot burning chemical used in things like magnesium flares and pyrotechnic displays. [00:21:24] Speaker B: Oh, no. [00:21:26] Speaker D: Yeah, that falls in line with what we found in there. [00:21:30] Speaker A: Not for nothing, acetone is also hideously flammable. [00:21:35] Speaker E: I know it is. I guess I should have mentioned that as well, but I liked my benefit of the doubt comment. [00:21:44] Speaker C: Doesn't water also make magnesium burn hotter? [00:21:48] Speaker A: That is one of the curious things about magnesium. Yes. [00:21:54] Speaker B: As Ivy mentions this information, I groan. Charles, he's making this more difficult than it should be. [00:22:02] Speaker E: It seems a little weird that he would just have all of this stuff in the basement of one of his bars. Also the last bar that we went to, because there's like, five of them. Right. [00:22:17] Speaker B: That's my thought. It was just almost as if it was waiting for us, all laid out pretty tied with a bow. [00:22:25] Speaker C: That begs the question, who would want to implicate Charles? Or at least who thinks of Charles so little that they'd use him as a scapegoat? [00:22:36] Speaker A: Well, he's a Nosferatu, so I would guess almost everyone in the city. [00:22:40] Speaker C: Well, I wasn't going to say that. [00:22:42] Speaker E: Well, you didn't have to. We were all thinking it. [00:22:45] Speaker A: Sorry. [00:22:45] Speaker E: Schmendric. [00:22:46] Speaker D: No, I get that. [00:22:49] Speaker E: I don't know. I mean, it could be any number of kindred. And of course, we still haven't ruled out that it was, in fact Charles, and he's just not that great at covering up his tracks. But it may also have nothing to do with Charles specifically. Right. Need a scapegoat? Pick one. I don't think we have nearly enough to go on at this point, but this evidence doesn't look good. [00:23:14] Speaker D: Especially coupled with the fact that he was at the scene of the crime. [00:23:19] Speaker B: And caught on tape. [00:23:23] Speaker C: Also suspicious, now that you bring it up, are Nosferatu supposed to be subtle? [00:23:30] Speaker D: Well, he was being subtle, but you can't trick the camera. I give you a look here, Maya. I'll show you this as an example. And with that, I will hold my phone up, press record so it's recording my face. Then I will activate cloak of Shadows, and my inherent ghost in the machine makes it so that the picture that is portrayed is also vanished. [00:23:58] Speaker C: Cute trick. [00:24:00] Speaker D: I will let it drop at this point and go, yeah, it's really useful, but not every Nosferatu or person that can use Obfuscate can do that added technical bit. So my guess when I was watching that footage was that he was using obfuscate. But like I said, you can't trick that camera. [00:24:20] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, the way that he moved through the crowds and all of that, he was definitely using his powers, but can't do what you can do. [00:24:31] Speaker A: Food for thought, but nothing conclusive. [00:24:34] Speaker B: Just not enough to go off of, like Ivy said. [00:24:38] Speaker D: Well, any clue where we should drive to next? [00:24:42] Speaker C: Is it worth checking the other bars if we already think he's being framed? [00:24:47] Speaker D: I don't think so. Either we're going to find more of the same or nothing. [00:24:53] Speaker C: Or Charles. [00:24:56] Speaker B: Fair enough. He's got plenty of hide downs. [00:25:01] Speaker E: I mean, if he did do it, he's probably not going to come back to his bars. Especially if the rest of them look like this one looks. And if he didn't do it, chances are if he came back and happened to see all this stuff, he wouldn't want to hang out with it anyway, so I don't think there's any point in checking out the others. [00:25:21] Speaker B: Fair enough. [00:25:23] Speaker C: Schmendric has a laundry list of things to research. Maybe there are other hidey holes where we might be able to find lurking Nosferatu. [00:25:33] Speaker A: Every hidey hole has a Nosferatu in it. Turn the city upside down, shake it, tons of Nosferatu will fall out. You have three distinct leads. These chemicals should be registered, right? You should be able to see something that happened in that area. These receipts are either legitimate or they're forged or they're printed out from home. But in either case, there's information in that area, and you've already reached a point of skepticism about Charles'involvement generally. Joshua were here, he would be pointing out the orgy of evidence and how that doesn't match what you understand of Charles's Mo. [00:26:13] Speaker D: I was considering splitting us into groups. Maybe giving well, not splitting us, but giving Ivy the chemicals to look into. And I was going to look into the receipts to see where they have maybe been printed off from. [00:26:28] Speaker A: Well, you have questions aplenty, but I can't imagine Schmendrick is willing to tolerate the speed at which a 4G cell phone network would allow her to find those answers. And anything more sophisticated than a cursory search is going to require equipment that she did not bring in. Maya's car. So it sounds to me like it's time for a road trip to Big Bob's. [00:26:50] Speaker D: Yeah. Without even really mentioning anything, I come to this conclusion and turn the car on and just start driving to Big Bob's Big Storage. [00:26:59] Speaker A: So the engine roars to life. Schmendrick seems to have a plan. Assuming no one objects in this moment, you're soon enough back on one of Chicago's many, many highways, your view of the city dominated for now by the orange roaring blaze in the center of town. The drive isn't terribly long, but it's still long enough to get into a little bit of trouble. schmendric, you're driving, and you know better than to use electronic devices while you're behind the wheel. What are the rest of you up to? [00:27:30] Speaker B: I'm spending the drive in silence. There's just something wrong with that scene. Charles, from the few interactions that I've had with him, seems like he would at least not leave a massive trail behind him. And leaving behind your explosives and evidence of your attack just doesn't strike me as something that he'd do. So as we drive to Big Bob's Big Storage, I'm going through my mind who could set it up? Who was upset with vote the most? But there's a lot of names on that list. [00:28:07] Speaker A: Name a few. [00:28:09] Speaker B: Newberry is the first that comes to mind. He was the most vocal any number of the votes against him, but since it was secretive, I can't exactly pull their names out of thin air. Obviously the Anarchs, but doesn't seem their style. And he was on camera, which further complicates things. [00:28:32] Speaker A: Are you raising that concern out loud? [00:28:36] Speaker B: Yes. I probably just talking more to myself than a car. I would be mentioning names just out of thin air. Gen just wouldn't do this. Not showy enough for him. Or wonder if Charles has any kind of debts, but can't imagine he'd give Newberry anything. [00:28:57] Speaker E: I'm sorry, what part of a giant skyscraper fire is not showy enough for Genjis? [00:29:06] Speaker A: I was going to ask because I would hate to see what qualifies as showy enough for him, if that is your honest belief. [00:29:12] Speaker E: Exactly. [00:29:13] Speaker B: Genjis is the type who likes to brag. He likes to show off. And having Charles do his dirty work and slunking off into the shadows does not seem to be something he would do. At the very least, he would be touting about how he was showing those sombre upstarts what for? [00:29:32] Speaker A: It's a valid point. Ken just doesn't seem the type to pass the credit. [00:29:39] Speaker B: Newberry is where I'm stumped. I don't know enough about him, but he's unhinged, even from Alcavian, so maybe. [00:29:48] Speaker A: Ivy, you could add some names to that list. People who aren't happy about the lusambra. [00:29:55] Speaker E: I mean, of course I can, but obviously I'm not going to vocalize Abraham du Sable as much as actually, well, maybe if I could somehow find out that he was involved, that would look great for me. Not great for the premier in general, but it would be nice. [00:30:21] Speaker A: You're really straining that whole the chantry comes first, the pyramid comes first thing, aren't you? [00:30:28] Speaker E: Well, this is exactly why I'm not going to vocalize it, right? I'm not going to mention it in this conversation, but in the back of my head, the thought exists. And I'm enjoying the thought of it, even though I know that it's not a thing that disabled would do, regardless of how unhappy he was with the outcome of the vote. [00:30:52] Speaker A: That's my point, though. You're entertaining these thoughts. That is not something a pyramid zealot would do. [00:31:00] Speaker E: I look out for the pyramid constantly, which is why I have such animosity towards Abraham du Sable. I don't believe that he has the pyramid's best interests at heart at all. [00:31:16] Speaker A: I'm interested in which version of the pyramid you belong to. Where you think that they care what neo nate's opinions about what's best for the pyramid are the one where the. [00:31:26] Speaker E: Prime chantry was shattered a few years ago and now we have to rebuild from the ashes. [00:31:32] Speaker A: I wasn't aware that they were enlisting the brand newest tramire to head up that effort. [00:31:39] Speaker E: They just don't know that they need us. [00:31:41] Speaker A: Hmm. Did anyone else hear that come out in Karna's accent? [00:31:47] Speaker E: Oh, do not do not compare me to that harlot. [00:31:53] Speaker A: I'm just saying you seem to have some radical beliefs rattling around in that Tremere nugget of yours. [00:31:59] Speaker E: If believing that the pyramid deserves the best person in place to further their ideals, then sure, I'm a radicalist. I don't think it's all that radical. [00:32:14] Speaker A: Well, at the very least, that's not a debate you're going to have with your fellow passengers. [00:32:19] Speaker E: Oh, goodness, no. Never. [00:32:23] Speaker A: Maya, what do you make of all this so far? [00:32:27] Speaker C: Well, I've definitely perfected the art of the silent brood so that's mostly what I'll do on the drive back. However, I'm mostly turning around a very OD theory, which is that this sounds crazy, this is crazy and I have no reason to think this. However, knowing that the Lasambra were not welcomed into Chicago with open arms, understandably, there is a slight chance that this is something that Sierra might do to gain sympathy. [00:33:03] Speaker A: You think the diamond yama was an inside job? [00:33:07] Speaker C: It's absolutely out of left field, and there's no way that it see, as I say it, I just lasambra are tricky. And we understand that you need to break a few eggs to make an omelet. [00:33:21] Speaker A: I mean, she murdered her brother in front of all of Chicago. God knows what all she's capable of. [00:33:29] Speaker C: I mean, I'm in Chicago, aren't I? I wouldn't bring this up with the group, but it's going to be in the back of my head for a while. [00:33:38] Speaker A: Well, if Sierra is to blame, why did she pick you to do the investigation? What would she gain by putting you on the case? [00:33:50] Speaker C: That's either such an insult that she thinks I won't figure it out, or she trusts me enough to hide it. If I do find out which of. [00:33:59] Speaker A: Those things is more true, I don't. [00:34:02] Speaker C: Want to admit the first one. [00:34:05] Speaker A: Nor should you have to. Your competence is plainly on display. If Sierra's goal was to stick a ringer in the mix and watch them stumble, she should have picked someone who did not have your investigative expertise. [00:34:21] Speaker C: Still, it would look really, really good if as soon as we were voted into the camarilla, someone attacked us, because then everyone would have to rally. Even the prince. Ordering this investigation implies that he wants to do right by us a little bit. [00:34:42] Speaker A: It's the problem with vampires. Schemes upon schemes upon schemes. There's a whole lot of rumination going on in the vehicle. You'd expect that from a car full of kindred, but surely there's yet business flittering about in those thoughts. [00:35:01] Speaker E: Yeah, while we're driving. Especially since the only person talking is Rebecca silently muttering to herself. I would like to take this time to research the chemical company. The name on the chemicals that we found. [00:35:17] Speaker A: Just slap that baby into Google, see what comes up on the Wikipedia page. [00:35:22] Speaker E: Everybody has some sort of website, some sort of web presence. There's got to be something I can find out about this company. [00:35:28] Speaker A: Oh, sure. Google will tell you their stock valuation. It's pretty good. Give you a picture of the CEO. Looks like the kind of guy you'd expect during a chemical company. Their homepage is dedicated to all that beautiful greenwashing about how, despite being a terrible polluter, they're putting. Oh, no, it's fine. Yeah, we produce chemicals that are going to ruin the planet, but we have solar panels on all of our factories. But you see that on any webpage, there are two things that will leap out of your surface level investigation. First of all, the Daubert Chemical Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ballard Industries. [00:36:15] Speaker E: Oh, no. [00:36:18] Speaker A: And second, you have to click over to the news tab to find it. They seem to have had a bit of a break in recently. [00:36:30] Speaker E: What location recently had this break in? [00:36:33] Speaker A: The. Shipping and receiving warehouse in Chicago? The same. It appears three perpetrators entered the property illegally eleven days ago and absconded with some number of chemical materials. So weird thing about eleven days ago. What happened eleven days ago? The better question is what happened ten days ago? Because ten days ago you were staying in a rental home. [00:37:10] Speaker D: That caught ablaze. [00:37:12] Speaker E: That caught ablaze? [00:37:14] Speaker B: The very same. [00:37:17] Speaker A: Probably nothing. [00:37:19] Speaker E: Is there a time on this news page what time the perpetrators got into the factory to steal the chemicals? [00:37:26] Speaker A: About 230 in the morning. [00:37:28] Speaker E: Any chance you remember what time we were talking to Charles? [00:37:32] Speaker D: We talked to Charles before the arrival of Sierra and Malanco. Yeah. [00:37:37] Speaker E: So my point is ten days ago we were in the rental home. Eleven days ago would have been when we talked to Charles. My question is if we were talking to Charles at the time of the break in or if the break in happened before or after we found Charles to talk to him. [00:37:54] Speaker D: After, definitely. And I'm willing to bet money that the three perpetrators were those fellas that came in and tried to set us on fire. Do they have pictures of them? [00:38:08] Speaker E: Are there pictures? I can't imagine there are pictures that are of any use, but any chance we can see the guys? [00:38:15] Speaker A: The article is not the height of investigative journalism. It gives the details of the event and then says that the Chicago police are cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to pursue leads generated from surveillance of the scene. Anyone who has tips for information should contact the Chicago field office. [00:38:35] Speaker D: It's not exactly helpful, but I still think it's the fellows that tried to kill us. Two of them are still alive, but we don't really have well, I have an idea of where they are, but we're not going to deal with that. [00:38:50] Speaker E: I mean, all three of them are alive, right? One of them got away and two of them are with Bronwyn. [00:38:59] Speaker D: I forgot about the dude that ran away on the account of I was hiding in the corner. [00:39:04] Speaker A: The important takeaway here is that while there are not pictures in the article, footage exists somewhere. The company has it and the police have it. [00:39:14] Speaker E: Which means we need to find a way to get our hands on it. [00:39:18] Speaker A: Or claws, as it were. [00:39:21] Speaker E: This might be another thing for us to do tonight. See what we can find. With your wonderful skills there, schmendric, the. [00:39:28] Speaker D: Work is definitely piling up tonight. [00:39:31] Speaker A: Yeah, they're putting a lot on your shoulders. [00:39:35] Speaker C: Do we have any contacts within the police force? [00:39:39] Speaker D: Actually, I might have a contact in the police force. He doesn't really know I exist, but I hint drop at him sometimes. I don't know. I think it'd be risky contacting him. [00:39:53] Speaker B: Anything's worth snagging at this point. Especially if it means putting forth a solid case. Because right now we've just got strings. No knots. [00:40:01] Speaker A: Strings that, for the moment, have led you to a dilapidated industrial storage yard on the north side of town, next to the river, a few blocks away from Goose Island. Can't miss it. Were it not for the blaze roaring downtown, this sign might be the brightest thing around. Big Bob's. Big storage classy. [00:40:25] Speaker D: I casually roll the car into the parking lot that has only two other vehicles mine and Big Bob's. All right, everyone, we're here. [00:40:35] Speaker C: Where is here exactly? [00:40:38] Speaker D: This is where I live, technically. I'm working on getting a new place. Just temporary schmendric. [00:40:46] Speaker A: For your part, it seems that Big Bob has been very busy. There are all manner of new storage crates, shipping containers, vehicles that are wrapped up in their shipping plastics. Big Bob is doing big business. [00:41:05] Speaker D: That's good to see. I did call in that favor of the prince. And if Bob is getting all this business now, that means that things are doing just fine. [00:41:15] Speaker A: God, I hope you can remember which shipping trade is yours. [00:41:18] Speaker D: I hope so, too. So I will lead the trio of ladies up through the front gate where Bob's office is sitting, and he dutifully watches his television. There's an attempt to sneak past without him noticing, but the creek of the gate and the fact that there are four people entering probably alerts him. [00:41:40] Speaker A: I wouldn't file Bob in the category of world's most aware landlords, but the late hour, there's only one or two people who show up at this time of night. It's either you or, in the last few days, some of the other creepy, pale looking folk. So, yeah, it's one of the few things that could peel Bob away from his sitcom reruns. Right now, you see him swing those nice, thick, corn fed legs down off the desk. He hauls his bulk to his feet, sidles to the door, nudges it open, leaning in the frame. You're home late. [00:42:18] Speaker D: Or early, depending on who you ask. [00:42:21] Speaker A: I thought we talked about this on your lease. No parties. [00:42:24] Speaker D: We're not having a party. Just taking three girls over to my place. [00:42:31] Speaker A: That's it. Oh, yeah, we all been there. Like me, back in college. [00:42:37] Speaker D: Scandalous, Bob. [00:42:38] Speaker A: Big Bob definitely did not go to college. [00:42:41] Speaker D: Or have threesomes. [00:42:43] Speaker A: I mean, I don't want to presume. I also don't want to think about that. [00:42:47] Speaker D: Yeah, that's fair. So, if you don't mind, we're going to head over there. You're going to stay here, take a nap, leave us alone. [00:42:59] Speaker A: Oh, sure. Whatever you say, boss. Your money buys all the secrets. [00:43:04] Speaker D: Thanks, Bob. [00:43:06] Speaker A: He gives an exaggerated, comical wink, tips his trucker hat, goes back into the office. [00:43:13] Speaker E: I am unsettled by the wink curious man. [00:43:17] Speaker B: Shmendrek. How long you know him? [00:43:20] Speaker D: A couple of weeks. [00:43:23] Speaker B: Seems like the dependable sort. [00:43:26] Speaker D: Well, maybe nearly even a month now. But that doesn't matter. And without much more hesitation, I will lead everyone to my shipping container, open it up, invite them inside if they can fit. As I fire up my beast of. [00:43:42] Speaker A: A computer, it is going to be standing room only for a couple of you. schmendric, I'm curious, do you keep your living arrangement tidy? [00:43:53] Speaker D: Yes, but I do have a trash can that's overfilled with juice boxes right now, empty ones that probably should be taken out at some point. [00:44:01] Speaker A: Is the bed made? [00:44:03] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:44:06] Speaker A: Color me surprised. [00:44:08] Speaker D: It's not like I am too busy to do the little things. It's the little things that keep me hanging on to my humanity. So making the bed in the morning, one of those things. [00:44:21] Speaker A: So far as seating goes, if I recall, there is your chair, which you'll be occupying. There are a few beanbags sitting on the joint and then the bed, if someone dared. Are you allowing your guests free roam of your home? [00:44:35] Speaker D: Yes, as long as they can fit. Though I do make one thing clear and I say, this computer, no one touches it. That's the only rule. Other than that, help yourself to juice boxes if you want. I know it's not everyone's taste, but just chill until I get some of this work done. [00:44:56] Speaker E: I make a point of turning and looking at Maya, as Schmendrick says, not to touch the computer. [00:45:03] Speaker C: I wouldn't dream of it. [00:45:06] Speaker E: I mean, good. I would situate myself close to Schmendrick. Rebecca's not going to be any help looking up stuff on Schmendrick's computer. And for obvious reasons, neither is Maya. But if there's anything that I can help with, I would like to be available. [00:45:24] Speaker B: Right. I'm just going to pop a squat in the beanbag chair. Oh, actually, this is probably my first beanbag chair. Quite the experience. [00:45:31] Speaker A: Rebecca, who's been alive for the 70s, not once but twice, doesn't know what a beanbag chair is. I love this. [00:45:38] Speaker B: We didn't have them on the res. Okay. Oh, boy. We're going to have to figure out how to sit in this thing. Let the others do their technological beep ups. [00:45:48] Speaker C: I'm going to lean against a wall as far away from the computer as possible and watch Rebecca struggle in this beanbag chair. [00:45:57] Speaker A: It's a little adorable, isn't it? Like when you give a monkey a can and they're trying to figure out how to open it. [00:46:04] Speaker B: Right. Like, I'm expecting it to be solid, but it squishes down. Are there legs? Do I just sink into it? [00:46:12] Speaker C: I think you're supposed to relax, sweetie. [00:46:16] Speaker B: I haven't done that, but I'll try to relax. [00:46:21] Speaker A: Schmendrick, you probably don't have to boot up the computer. You strike me as the leave it on all the time type. What's your desktop background? [00:46:31] Speaker D: It's probably just a blank screen, nothing too fancy. I like to keep my desktop clean. [00:46:38] Speaker A: Dark theme, obviously. [00:46:39] Speaker D: Of course. [00:46:41] Speaker A: Are you the type who has hundreds of icons and folders on the desktop? Or do you keep a nice, tidy work surface? [00:46:49] Speaker D: Nice and tidy. Only what I need is on the desktop and what I don't need is squirreled away elsewhere. [00:46:58] Speaker A: The follow up question is, what do you need then? What are the four icons that Schmendrick has ready to go? A web browser, probably. [00:47:08] Speaker D: Obviously the trash can and then probably some well, probably a couple of programs used for explicitly getting into things that I'm not supposed to be in. [00:47:18] Speaker A: So schmender accepts her fingers to keyboard, tearing off into the digital universe in search of secrets. Where are you starting? What mystery are you trying to unravel? [00:47:28] Speaker D: First, I'm going to look for the type of printer that the microprint indicates that this was printed from. [00:47:39] Speaker A: Well, getting the number is easy enough. Throwing it into Google says it does match a very popular brand of home inkjet general use printer. If you'd like to know more, I'm going to need you to make a wits and technology roll. [00:47:53] Speaker D: Apparently, printer is not my forte. I only rolled a three, but I think that's still good. [00:47:59] Speaker A: It's enough to get you past the review pages on Amazon and the instruction manuals that have been uploaded in PDF to find a smaller thread on an enthusiast forum where the release of software and hardware is tracked. It's an incredibly nerdy niche of amateur hobbyists who, without regard for what is being distributed, just like to accumulate this kind of data. They can tell you, based on the serial number, which store sold a particular comic book, or which region of the country a tube of tennis balls was sent to, or indeed, in this case, which retailer matches this particular serial number of printer. This one's attached to a we'll call it boutique retailer. A small company with only a handful of stores in northeastern Indiana. Gary, to be specific. [00:49:00] Speaker D: Well, I don't think that Charles is going to Gary, Indiana to print off his receipts. [00:49:06] Speaker A: That does seem unlikely. [00:49:09] Speaker D: Well, I'll scribble that down and move on to the next thing to look up. [00:49:14] Speaker A: So this process flies by in a number of minutes. Ivy, are you keeping up? [00:49:19] Speaker E: I don't know. Am I? I mean, I can read forum posts over her shoulder and find all that information. That's fairly standard, right? [00:49:30] Speaker A: Yeah. It was less a question of your mental competence and more a question of your willpower to peruse, alongside schmendric, dozens of pages of extremely niche interest nerds babbling about their favorite things. [00:49:47] Speaker E: You know I went to grad school, right? [00:49:51] Speaker B: Also, isn't that the whole thing Tremere about being special interest nerds, their interest being blood? [00:49:57] Speaker A: The thing about nerds is that they're very enthusiastic about their own hobbies and tend not to give much of a shit about other Hobies. [00:50:06] Speaker E: That is true, but going through the slog of my undergrad and having to take all of those courses that you didn't really care about but you still had to do well in I'm pretty good at keeping up when things don't necessarily interest me as much as they should. Or as much as I'd like them to. [00:50:25] Speaker A: Okay. I was wondering if you were willing to put the effort into that. It appears you have. I hope you've learned something valuable from the experience. [00:50:33] Speaker E: Absolutely not. Thank you. [00:50:36] Speaker A: Rebecca, have you figured out this chair thing yet? [00:50:40] Speaker B: I think I was expecting it to be solid when I sat down, but I sunk into it and my back was at a weird angle. I think I put my feet up. Not sure how to relax, but I understand how it is a chair. [00:50:56] Speaker A: Have you considered, like, pushing it up against the wall of the shipping container? [00:50:59] Speaker B: Oh, good point. Have a little additional support. Which is weird, because chairs are meant to be supportive. So I'm not sure why this is a chair. I won't pretend to understand modern Namanes. [00:51:12] Speaker A: Hey, you're not the only one. I don't get it either. Maya, I thought schmendric told you not to touch anything. What did you reach for? [00:51:23] Speaker C: Look, I understand my limits. Christmas lights should not be a problem for me. It's not like someone would go out of their way to connect them to Wi Fi so you could control them through a cell phone. Right? [00:51:36] Speaker A: I know. That would be preposterous. Waste of money and energy, right? [00:51:39] Speaker C: Exactly. So it's not a problem if I just adjust them. They're kind of tangled. [00:51:46] Speaker A: You would think, yes, Christmas lights are safe. But on the one hand, it's not your fault because you haven't known Tremendrick that long. But on the other hand, looking around, you probably would expect that. Even the Christmas lights in this place have an IP address, and you've only managed to fill with it for ten or 15 seconds before there's a sharp pop and whatever controller Schmendrick had rigged up to this apparatus short circuits. Schmendrick, what was the last station you listened to on Pandora or whatever audio streaming service you prefer? [00:52:25] Speaker D: My worklist on Pandora is kind of eclectic. It's everywhere. Lots of high energy noise. And I think the last song I was listening to was Flight of the Bumblebee. [00:52:39] Speaker A: So Maya reaches up, fiddles with these lights. It triggers the controller, and this playlist, which I'm going to call Hi Fi beats for you to get anxiety to, explodes to the speakers. Max volume lights ripping through every single color in a technicolor rave of distraction. Oops, so loud, you can't even hear Maya's timid half apology. [00:53:10] Speaker D: So the pop immediately sets off panic in my mind, followed by the cacophony of sound coming from the speakers and the flashing lights. I jump into action, and I try to fix this as quickly as I'm able to. [00:53:29] Speaker A: Schmendrick wheels around in her chair, not even bothering to say anything about it. She's just trying to figure out how to make it stop. shmendrick. The controller is fried. It's, like, stuck in the on position. And I don't know how to tell you this. I don't know the situation is already pretty urgent. But the next thing coming up on that playlist looks like a super fast night Core Caramel dancing remix. So you're running out of time. [00:53:54] Speaker D: Oh, dear God. I can't let anyone know that I listen to that. [00:53:58] Speaker B: I unplug it from the wall. [00:54:01] Speaker A: Instantly, the room plummets into darkness, save for the soft glow of Schmendrick's computer screens. Ivy, you can uncover your ears now, thank God. [00:54:15] Speaker E: But I do make a point of slowly turning my head to look at Maya for the second time. [00:54:24] Speaker C: Who does that? Who makes their lighting needlessly complicated? [00:54:31] Speaker D: Listen, I enjoy programming my lights to my music, and now I'm going to have Flight of the Bumblebee stuck in my head all night long. [00:54:41] Speaker B: Well, I'm definitely not going to be able to relax in this beanbag chair after that show. And didn't Bob say no parties? Because that seemed pretty party like to me. [00:54:49] Speaker A: I think after hearing that music, rebecca might never, ever be able to relax again. [00:54:54] Speaker C: I'm not. [00:54:57] Speaker B: It's like giving a 17 hundreds French peasant a cool Ranch dorito. That's enough stimulation for me. I have seen it all. I am done. [00:55:05] Speaker A: Rebecca's just sitting on the beanbag, gently. [00:55:07] Speaker B: Fried, eyes wide, stiff, still sinking into the chair. Oh, boy. [00:55:15] Speaker C: I'm just going to put my hands in my armpits and glower at the floor. [00:55:22] Speaker A: Standard lasambra pose number three, I see. [00:55:25] Speaker C: I know all the greatest hits. [00:55:28] Speaker A: It's a classic schmendric. How long is it going to take you to recover from this interruption? Can you get back to work? [00:55:35] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, immediately. But I am indeed humming now, so everyone's going to have to deal with that. [00:55:42] Speaker A: Is your humming in tune in time? Like, can you actually hum it, or is it a travesty of musical reproduction? [00:55:50] Speaker D: It's a travesty of musical reproduction. Sorry, Rebecca, I'm a nerd, so I haven't went and trained how to sing. I'm just doing it. [00:56:01] Speaker B: I'd welcome the sound of a voice over whatever Monstrosity was playing earlier. [00:56:08] Speaker A: Hey, and it's your house, your rules. If you want to fuck them, they can deal with it. [00:56:14] Speaker E: My poor musician's ears are very upset at this. [00:56:17] Speaker C: Join the club. [00:56:20] Speaker D: Now that everything's back on track, I will go to look into the thieves at the chemical plant, see if there's any footage of them, and if we can tie them back to the fellows who lit our Sky Hotel on fire. [00:56:35] Speaker A: Yeah, you have a couple of angles there. Right. Obviously, the company has cameras and it's the digital future for most places, so they should be on some kind of service. The police also have them. That network likely more difficult to access. [00:56:50] Speaker D: Let's try with the company first. [00:56:54] Speaker A: Well, you know what comes next. [00:56:57] Speaker D: A whitson technology role. [00:57:00] Speaker A: You got it. [00:57:02] Speaker D: So that is five successes. [00:57:06] Speaker A: That's the problem when you try to give these 55 year old executives any kind of remote access and tell them no, you have to log into the web server through your VPN because it's secure and you change your password every six weeks. It has to have 14 characters, including some of which are Armenian. All these special rules, they can't do it, right? And that's how you end up with critical industrial infrastructure plugged into the Internet with a password that is Dowbert Chemicals One, and any goon with a computer can find it. It's a little insulting how easy this was. And I'm sure there's some part of your hacker brain that's like, oh, come on. [00:57:43] Speaker D: Yeah, give me a challenge. Well, now that I'm in, I will try to look into their security folders and see if this video footage has been saved. [00:57:52] Speaker A: It certainly has. Like all conglomerates of a certain size, Daubert Chemical and Ballard Industries at Large is not interested in great service. It's the bare minimum required by law. And in this case, there's an entire industry of commercial, off the shelf, cloud based security platforms or whatever, like Ring, but for your business instead of your home. And with a trivial number of keystrokes, you don't even get to make it through the entire flight of the Bumblebee Song. That's how depressing it is you manage to access this recorded footage. It's grainy, not super high quality, but it does, in fact, depict three figures snipping their way through the fence line, crossing the storage yard, wrenching the warehouse door open with a crowbar, and then leaving five, seven minutes later with a number of chemical buckets. There are two faces you do not recognize. They're not wearing masks or anything like that, but they are also none of the people who came into your Sky Hotel. The third is very familiar. That's Charles. [00:59:03] Speaker E: Okay, so now we really have to figure out the timeline, because, again, if this was happening right as we were talking to him, we know it's not him. [00:59:17] Speaker A: It is feasible that Charles could have traveled this distance and executed this robbery. After speaking with you, he would have had to have left fairly quickly, like within a half hour of your meeting ending. But it's not impossible, by the laws of physics and Chicago traffic that he could have made it there. [00:59:39] Speaker D: Given that piece of evidence. I will simply save it, scowl a little bit, and turn to the others. Well, anything else you want me to look up while we're here? [00:59:52] Speaker B: Still awkwardly scrunched into the beanbag chair, I'll perk up and say, hey, Schmandrick, you know that thing you can do with the cameras where you don't show up? Is there a version of that where you can make yourself look like someone else? Maybe that could explain Charles. [01:00:09] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm kind of learning how to do that right now, but that requires some pretty intense ability with obfuscate. [01:00:19] Speaker B: Could help us pin down a suspect. Someone with that kind of skill can't imagine they come in bundles. [01:00:26] Speaker D: I only know one person, and that's Edith. I guess maybe you all are right and we should go talking with her. [01:00:33] Speaker B: At the very least, she knows him. Or as much as you Nosferatu seem to know each other. [01:00:39] Speaker A: Well, there are five clans that have access to Obfuscate as one of their core powers. Yes, the Nosferatu are one for one bonus point each. Can you name the other four? [01:00:52] Speaker E: I mean, the banu hakeem, obviously could be Josh Malkavian. [01:01:01] Speaker C: The Setites. [01:01:03] Speaker A: They've rebranded as the Ministry now, but, yes, the Ravnos. And when's the last time anyone saw a Ravnos? Now, you do have a list of suspects who match some of those clans, but on the other hand, it throws the net wide open. [01:01:21] Speaker D: If this was a setup, they've been setting up Charles for the long game here. [01:01:27] Speaker A: Or it's Charles. [01:01:29] Speaker B: That seems so simple. [01:01:31] Speaker C: We're not ruling this out, but isn't this a particularly hard ability to master? [01:01:36] Speaker D: Showing up as someone else extremely requires someone very old or learned. [01:01:44] Speaker C: So there is a limit to the net we have to cast because it has to be someone who can do it. [01:01:51] Speaker B: Furthermore, we're pulling in people who have openly opposed to the Sombra's entrance here. People with a motive, at least. [01:01:59] Speaker A: Maya, as you watch this footage, will you make a Witson investigation roll for me? [01:02:04] Speaker C: Of course. Four successes. [01:02:09] Speaker A: The ever observant mind. This is why you were invited to the party in the first place. Schmendrick, ivy, they're both watching. They're not focused on the same things that you are. You notice the two we'll call them lead goons for the moment, busying themselves with the fence and barely on screen in just the teeniest little left corner, you see the flash of the third person drawing something out from under their clothing and pressing it to their lips. It's not big enough to be a thermos. It's larger than a cough drop or a candy of some kind. It looks, at least as far as you can tell, maybe the size of a test tube or a cigar case. And I don't mean to instigate, but whoever it is who consumes whatever this is, is the one wearing Charles's face for the remainder of the robbery. [01:03:15] Speaker C: I was not afraid of this, but I didn't want to say anything there in the corner. [01:03:22] Speaker D: I immediately freeze the screen, pull it back a few frames if I need to, and try to look at what Maya is indicating. [01:03:31] Speaker C: Ivy, is there something in the tramir bag of tricks that might alter an appearance? [01:03:40] Speaker E: Yeah, there most definitely is. [01:03:46] Speaker A: The part you probably don't feel comfortable voicing out loud is that those are very senior secrets. [01:03:54] Speaker E: Yeah, it's not a thing I can do, that's for sure, but I know it can be done. [01:04:04] Speaker C: Well, as I recall, there aren't a. [01:04:07] Speaker B: Lot of you left, right, in Chicago. [01:04:10] Speaker E: But I mean, officially, right there's outliers. [01:04:16] Speaker B: Of course, and disability isn't exactly I wouldn't say entry level, but I assume it's something it takes quite a bit of mastery at no. [01:04:27] Speaker E: Yeah, it's not something that they teach the neonates. [01:04:32] Speaker B: Guess that narrows down our list of suspects, then. Anyone you would know who has that particular ability? Knowing full well that she's probably not going to tell me, there are only. [01:04:42] Speaker A: Two people who come to mind. It would have to be either the Regent or erytho could probably pull it off. If not them, then there's a third premiere somewhere in the city who no one knows about. And that's operating on the assumption that this is some kind of blood magic. [01:05:00] Speaker C: Which is a big if, but it's still a possibility. [01:05:07] Speaker E: Obviously not going to discount any theory. If this is some sort of ritual, some sort of blood magic at work, there are a couple of people that do come to mind. Yes. [01:05:25] Speaker B: Well, if we can't pin down suspects, at the very least we have an inkling that Charles isn't the one responsible. [01:05:33] Speaker C: Your boyfriend's safe for. [01:05:38] Speaker A: Ugh. [01:05:40] Speaker E: Please. [01:05:43] Speaker B: Don't worry, Ivy. He'll be old to listen to the lovely tones of your voice soon enough. [01:05:49] Speaker E: I hate this so much. I was doing this for the group. God forbid I try and be helpful. [01:05:57] Speaker C: More helpful would be getting names of who's higher up on the pyramid scheme to you. [01:06:03] Speaker E: First off, it's not a pyramid scheme that makes us sound like an MLM and I'm not here for that. [01:06:10] Speaker A: Fun poking aside, are you going to answer my question? [01:06:15] Speaker E: One of okay. The two kindred that come to mind are Erytho, which I don't know her from any other stranger on the street. We don't really walk in the same circles. And Abraham du Sable. [01:06:41] Speaker A: Regent. Abraham du Sable. [01:06:44] Speaker E: So your boss the tramir with the most power in the city of Chicago. Yes. [01:06:51] Speaker C: Shit. [01:06:52] Speaker B: Ivy, if this lines up with what was going on in the car, then he would have sacrificed you for the sake of his wait, wait, hold on. [01:06:59] Speaker D: Before we jump to the Regent, is it possible for Tremere to make one of these blood ritual changey things and give it to someone else? [01:07:08] Speaker E: It is. [01:07:11] Speaker D: Well, that makes the search wider. But also we know now that Shmir may have been involved. [01:07:18] Speaker B: At the very least, we're suppliers. [01:07:21] Speaker E: Quick, quick interruption there any Thomaturge could do this. And there is another clan in the city that is vying for Best New Kid. Right. The banu. Hakeem. If I remember, Khadijah wasn't exactly ready to vote. Yes, because she didn't want their position as the newest clan to be at stake. I'm not saying it has to be the Banu Hakeem because I don't trust them, obviously, but it's very possible that they were the Thalmaturges involved. [01:08:05] Speaker D: Yeah, we can't rule out all possibilities. It seems as though Charles may be getting a pass to some degree. [01:08:14] Speaker A: You're sold that? It's not huh. [01:08:16] Speaker B: It couldn't have been. It's again, too obvious. And with everything that's lining up, someone has laid this out to pin down the nosferatu. He's an easy scapegoat, that's for sure, but little too easy. [01:08:31] Speaker E: To be honest, I haven't completely counted him out. I would like to think that he's not, and obviously there's a ton of evidence that points to him too much and makes us think that it's not pointing to him, but I don't think we have enough to verify that it wasn't him. [01:08:51] Speaker D: Well, I can tell you all, if you didn't figure it out earlier, that the receipts that he got from the hotel were printed off in Indiana. [01:09:01] Speaker E: What the hell is out in Indiana? [01:09:05] Speaker C: About 50 years of bad blood, at least. And a little bit of an upstart situation with the prince mostly. I remember that Horatio Ballard ripped the industrial heart out of the place. Honestly, it's impressive. Although I think your current prince our our current prince has made promises to leave the place alone. [01:09:31] Speaker B: That relies, of course, of whether or not the Gary Kindred are willing to let sleeping dogs lie. Grudges can be held for quite a while. [01:09:40] Speaker A: Well, there's truth on all sides of that. The Gary Kindred do have plenty of reasons to hold a grudge against the kindred of Chicago, as Maya explained. But the Gary Kindred have always been a ramshackle lot. There's no power base there, there's no Chantry, for one. There are no businesses for ventro to ring dry. The idea that they could pull something like this off, well, that would be something. [01:10:09] Speaker B: It would be prudent to at least check out what's down there before we come to any conclusions. Sure, if the receipt came from there, but who knows if its perpetrator is down there as well? [01:10:18] Speaker C: Do we know anyone who has eyes on who comes in and out of the city? [01:10:23] Speaker A: That would be the responsibility of the sheriff and his hounds. But Chicago's a big town. Maya knows better than anyone how easy it is to slip through the cracks. [01:10:35] Speaker E: So long as there are no cameras, anyway. The chemical building is owned by Horatio Ballard. If it's somebody with a grudge against Horatio Ballard, it doesn't. I still don't understand what Charles has to do with it, though. [01:10:50] Speaker A: Aside from perpetrating the crime, you mean? [01:10:53] Speaker C: It could just be that eninosferatu is as good as any other for it. [01:10:58] Speaker D: Feels like anyone could have been used for a scapegoat, though. And if you consider it that way. [01:11:04] Speaker B: Might be worth looking into if he has enemies or not. Someone who has a particular grudge. [01:11:08] Speaker A: Every kindred has enemies. You all have enemies. Being a vampire means having enemies. [01:11:14] Speaker C: Who stands the most to gain from implicating Charles on a wider level? Who stands the most to gain by setting Sierra's Hotel on fire? [01:11:26] Speaker E: Does Horatio Ballard have big hotel investments in Chicago? [01:11:33] Speaker A: Ballard Industries is multinational and enormous, but they don't do a lot of hospitality. [01:11:41] Speaker D: So it wouldn't be a competition thing, then? [01:11:44] Speaker A: At least not financial. [01:11:48] Speaker C: It could be a message. [01:11:50] Speaker B: Precisely. A fire that big, that scale to her building, nothing short of a warning. [01:11:57] Speaker C: Displeasure at adding the la slumbra to. [01:11:59] Speaker B: The camarilla, any number of kindred there. And, of course, we've narrowed it down to the respective abilities of those clans, so it might be worth looking into them. [01:12:08] Speaker E: In particular, son Newberry was the most vocal from this list. It's no secret that the regent was very unhappy about the vote as well, but he was definitely not as vocal about it as Son. [01:12:23] Speaker D: Right. [01:12:24] Speaker B: You're regent. No offense, Ivy, but you don't really seem the types to make big statements like that. [01:12:33] Speaker D: So I'm sitting there, just scrutinizing the footage, trying to figure out who these people with charles, if you can call him Charles. Who are these guys? And after a few moments, I just blurred out. Oh, this quality of this film is just crap. I need the footage from the hotel. [01:12:55] Speaker E: Well, the only way to get the footage is to get a hold of Sierra. And the only person who knows how to get a hold of Sierra is the prince right now. Well, and Damien. But the prince. And as he said the night of the vote, he doesn't want problems, he wants solutions. And right now, we don't have a solution. So I don't really want to involve him in all of this right now. [01:13:17] Speaker C: True, we have to go through the prince, but I can't see any reason why he would bar me, sierra's representative, from speaking to her, regardless of the situation at hand. [01:13:28] Speaker E: Oh, well, I guess that simplifies that process then, doesn't it? [01:13:33] Speaker C: It's good to be on the inside. [01:13:36] Speaker B: Now I need to bring the prince, then. Perfect. [01:13:40] Speaker A: But your mayor aren't the only ones with a certain hierarchy in their clan. The venture do it to some degree. But you already heard from the amici. Stands to reason that the lasambra have similar channels. [01:13:54] Speaker E: Do we have contact information for one of the prince's? [01:13:56] Speaker A: Ghouls trying to arrange a meeting? [01:14:00] Speaker E: Absolutely. [01:14:02] Speaker A: Yeah. It stands to reason that we would have given you a way to get in touch. [01:14:07] Speaker E: Well, then, yes, I would like to set up a meeting, because one of our business associates needs to get in contact with one of his contacts. [01:14:16] Speaker A: The beautiful universe of coded speech. The message gets across. There will be a long protracted period of phone tag as your call sets off a chain of calls to follow, and then hand delivered messages. And the great circle of untraceable communications continues until it arrives back where it began. A text message with an address. Cabrini green, half an hour. [01:14:44] Speaker E: All right, gang, we got a place, we got a time. [01:14:49] Speaker B: Let's get on that road, then. [01:14:50] Speaker C: Schmendrick, do you want the chauffeur's cap? [01:14:54] Speaker A: Yes, please. [01:14:56] Speaker D: I mean, if I'm going to be your full time chauffeur, right now seems reasonable. [01:15:02] Speaker A: So schmendric. Dons. The cap appropriate for her role, and the four of you transit Chicago once again running out of moonlight at this point. There's been a lot of travel, a lot of talk, a lot of thinking, but the prince has found time for you nevertheless. No doubt motivated by the urgency of the moment and an understanding that whatever Maya has to say to Sierra, he doesn't want to stand in the way of. Thus, the drive to Cabrini Green is uneventful. You'll notice immediately upon entering the area the increase in number of nondescript gentlemen. The aware kind, the armed kind, the prince's kind. Cabrini Green was once home to a rather notorious housing project. It's since been demolished and is in the process of being redeveloped. Part of that redevelopment ample green space. And in the center of that green space, in the kind of finely manicured park that follows money and gentrification around, two familiar faces are waiting for your arrival. One, the prince of Chicago, and the other, the senior, most La Sombra in the city of Chicago. So piling out of the vehicle, crossing the small park, arriving in the presence of these two titanic kindred. Prince Jackson looks impatient. Not in a dismissive way. He's not angry, but he is eager for this to be resolved. Miss Lagasse, I have brought your associate. [01:16:33] Speaker C: Thank you, Your Highness. [01:16:35] Speaker A: Please, Prince. Will do. [01:16:37] Speaker C: Sierra, do you mind if we find somewhere private to speak? [01:16:42] Speaker A: The prince butts in as private as our security concerns allow. [01:16:47] Speaker C: Anyway, this is the Sombre business. I mean no offense, but some things we like to keep within the clan. [01:16:56] Speaker A: Due respect to both of you, I'm not here to pry into the intricacies of Clan La Sombra's whatever, but I'm also not going to be the prince who was sitting here when a second assassination attempt was made on our La Sombra representative. You have this park. That bench over there looks plenty company, and we'll all stay at an earshot. [01:17:18] Speaker C: I'll take Sierra's arm and walk her to the bench then. [01:17:22] Speaker A: Sierra is flustered, obviously upset first for the hotel and now for this new set of circumstances. She is not a woman who is used to being caged. And now but moments after making a tremendous sacrifice to secure her own enrollment in the Camarilla, she has been forced under its thumb to adhere by the rules of its prince, and she is not happy. That said, there is a slight hopefulness in her demeanor, a quiet hope that the information you're about to give will be what she requires to return to a normal existence. Yes, but also to seek revenge on the people who have forced her into this situation. Yes. Maya, what is the important clan business we have to discuss? [01:18:08] Speaker C: Well, we have leads, and you'll be happy to know that I think once we get this small detail, we may start snowballing towards a conclusion. Unfortunately, the footage we have so far to work with isn't very good. Do we happen to have better footage or earlier footage from the hotel. [01:18:29] Speaker A: I'm certain we do. [01:18:32] Speaker C: Could we please get access to it? It would help us greatly. [01:18:36] Speaker A: Well, you and I both know that we won't be viewing it. [01:18:40] Speaker C: Thankfully, the princess provided us with some folk who are much better with technology than us. [01:18:45] Speaker A: Indeed. The sewer rat. She's talented. A bit too jolly for my liking. You must understand that discretion is a key element of my business strategy. And the diamond? Yama. The footage that we will be handing over contains the images of a great many kindred whose presence they do not wish revealed. Is it your sincere belief that this is the only way to get to the bottom of this mess? [01:19:09] Speaker C: Unfortunately, yes. You know your secrets are safe with me. [01:19:14] Speaker A: And you know that your reputation and also your life depend on that statement being true. [01:19:19] Speaker C: Always. [01:19:21] Speaker A: How much does the sewer at need. [01:19:23] Speaker C: The last ten days? I understand it's a lot. [01:19:28] Speaker A: Very well. [01:19:30] Speaker C: Just to ease my mind, Sierra, there's no chance this was friendly fire? [01:19:38] Speaker A: To be clear, your concern is that I might have lit my own hotel. [01:19:42] Speaker C: On fire, insurance being what it is, and I smile. [01:19:47] Speaker A: I mean, Sierra can't help but crack a little bit of a grin at that. No, Maya. I wish it were the case that I were responsible for these things. It would be under my control, and you wouldn't have to involve them in any of this. [01:20:02] Speaker C: I wouldn't judge you if you'd done it, but it's good to know you didn't. [01:20:06] Speaker A: You'll have to find a way for the sewer rat to retrieve the information. I'll contact my people and have them place it on a secure server or whatever it is they do. [01:20:17] Speaker C: Have your people call my people, then. [01:20:20] Speaker A: You know I hate it when you're gauche. [01:20:23] Speaker C: I'll let Schmendrick know. [01:20:25] Speaker A: And for my own peace of mind, since we're exchanging the kinds of pleasantries that put people's thoughts at ease. Who did it? [01:20:36] Speaker C: I have a lead, but it's too convenient. [01:20:40] Speaker A: This Dawson fellow, he's on the footage. [01:20:44] Speaker C: But I've been assured he's not dumb enough to let himself get caught. There's something fishy about some other footage. [01:20:53] Speaker A: Mr. Dawson was one of three parties we were concerned about when Malunkov and I arrived in the city. But as far as the Amici and myself are concerned, he is not the violent or interloping type. [01:21:07] Speaker C: It seems that Dawson was most likely a scapegoat, but I'm not ruling him out. I'm a little more concerned with the other clan leaders. [01:21:16] Speaker A: Now is not the time for vagueness, Maya. Who are you concerned about? Understand that in the nights to come, if this is not resolved, I will have to have a great many meetings with people, and I would like to know which of them might be plotting to kill me. [01:21:33] Speaker C: Everyone, but narrowing it down. Abraham disable the tramir. The tramire already weakened after, well, everything. I could see someone feeling a little inadequate if someone who might be better at advising the ventru were to slide into their spot. [01:21:54] Speaker A: You are correct. The Tremere are right to fear that our presence will further their slide into irrelevance. I don't know this disabled person. I don't know if he's the kind of person who has the guts to make a move like this or to even participate in it. What have you made of his spy so far? [01:22:15] Speaker C: If I'm being honest, you know, I don't have time for people who think they're the most clever person in the room. [01:22:22] Speaker A: Does she appear competent enough to sway this investigation of her own accord? [01:22:27] Speaker C: How so? [01:22:29] Speaker A: Is it possible that she might be generating leads or providing information to your coterie that would push them towards a conclusion she finds advantageous? [01:22:40] Speaker C: She seemed fairly reticent to give up disable, but I wouldn't discount it. [01:22:45] Speaker A: I would never have expected the tramir to be so bold. [01:22:49] Speaker C: Well, they have their little loyalty pyramid almelam situation, so it may be that she can't say anything else. [01:22:59] Speaker A: I've not yet been in this city for two weeks and even I already know that Miss Le Roux is very rarely constrained by what she can and cannot say. The gangrel is harmless. I assume that continues to be the case. [01:23:16] Speaker C: Worst case scenario, I'll throw her into a beanbag chair. [01:23:19] Speaker A: My God, how she manages to survive into this century will continue to baffle me through all my ages. And then the sewer rat. She is clever. Is she honest? Do we suspect she might be trying to save Mr. Dawson's hide at the expense of the truth? [01:23:41] Speaker C: I had thought so, but once we saw the footage it's just too easy for this to be Charles. I won't discount him and I won't discount Schmendrick, but I just don't think that they would be conveniently hiding something unless she owes him a favor or a boon. [01:24:00] Speaker A: It's impossible to tell with the sewer rats. They associate thickly with one another because none of the more civilized clans will have them and that loyalty can never be underestimated. [01:24:12] Speaker C: I will say, moving forward, it may be worth making nice with them. They can do a lot of things that we can't. [01:24:21] Speaker A: Yes. Well, when the fire has been extinguished and this matter settled, we will reevaluate our relationship with the clans of Chicago. For the time being. Though I approve of your work, this has been helpful. [01:24:37] Speaker C: Thank you. It's nice to be appreciated. [01:24:40] Speaker A: Tell the computer one that a domain, a server, a dropbox, whatever. We'll find a way to get it to her. [01:24:49] Speaker C: If you hear of any newcomers to Chicago, especially of Lasombra I suppose we'll. [01:24:54] Speaker D: Know, but it would be good to. [01:24:56] Speaker A: Keep an eye out as best I can from the hole they're stuffing me in. I will keep abreast of the situation. [01:25:05] Speaker C: That's all I ask. [01:25:07] Speaker A: Very well. Well, let's not keep the prince waiting or becoming suspicious. You will have your footage, I'll begin to think about how to handle Du Sable. [01:25:17] Speaker C: Not for nothing, but maybe Disable's fears are a little more accurate than he thinks. [01:25:23] Speaker A: Oh, I assure you they are. The Tremere are an obstacle to the ascendancy of Clan La Sombra in this city, and you know how we feel about obstacles. [01:25:35] Speaker C: What obstacles? [01:25:37] Speaker A: That's my girl. [01:25:39] Speaker C: I just give her a wolfish smile and start escorting her back to the prince. [01:25:44] Speaker A: Prince Jackson watches your approach. Everything's taken care of, then. All right. Sierra, you're with me. The rest of you, disappear. [01:25:59] Speaker C: I'm already gone. [01:26:01] Speaker A: As promised, within 30 or so minutes, schmendrick receives an email from an anonymous account linking to a Disposable time limited file sharing service. 70 8100 gigabytes of footage encompassing the five floors where the fire was started. 24 hours surveillance for the past ten days. [01:26:22] Speaker D: Fantastic. But this is going to take me. [01:26:24] Speaker B: A little while to look through. [01:26:26] Speaker E: Two sets of eyes are better than one. I can at least help you look through it all. [01:26:31] Speaker B: True. [01:26:32] Speaker A: You going to spend the remainder of the evening in the Schmendy Shack? [01:26:37] Speaker E: Going to have to. [01:26:40] Speaker B: It's not a bad place. So long as we don't touch the lights, that is. [01:26:44] Speaker A: It's going to be very crowded sleeping quarters. [01:26:47] Speaker C: Oh, no. If there's nothing else I can do I'm not sleeping in the Schmendy shack. [01:26:54] Speaker E: Well, how do you think? I mean, are you going to call Renee to come and get you or what? [01:26:58] Speaker D: Yeah. How are you driving home? [01:27:00] Speaker E: Because Schmendrick's got your car. [01:27:02] Speaker C: It just occurred to me I'm stuck here. [01:27:07] Speaker E: Sleepover. [01:27:09] Speaker C: Oh, God. [01:27:10] Speaker D: You know, this was the thing I was dreading, was just people being crammed into Schmendrick's storage container, but it's happening, so that's exciting. [01:27:20] Speaker A: I think no one is more unhappy with that than Maya right now. Edging out Ivy by a nose. It's a photo finish. For which of those two hates this? [01:27:31] Speaker D: Mm hmm. [01:27:33] Speaker C: I have such a nice bed. [01:27:35] Speaker D: Daddy gonna let you sleep over Ivy. [01:27:39] Speaker E: I recently moved out of the Chantry, and I have a new haven, so don't worry about Abraham. [01:27:48] Speaker D: Nice it is. [01:27:50] Speaker A: Well, as the evening comes to a close, spending the remainder of it sifting through hour after hour after hour of footage, you get what you wanted. A much better picture of the two folks you saw sneaking into the chemical plant. You also see plenty of footage of Charles in their company at various points, entering into the rooms carrying suspiciously large luggage. It is, in his many words, a play by play of four kindred setting up the blaze that you can still witness. Hmm. One Charles and three others. [01:28:32] Speaker C: Can we cross reference the faces with any other database? [01:28:36] Speaker E: I mean, do we recognize the kindred? [01:28:39] Speaker A: No. It's not entirely clear that the other three of them are vampires. [01:28:44] Speaker C: Could they be ghouls or retainers? [01:28:47] Speaker A: It's possible. The exact mechanism of their association is not as important as the fact that they are cooperating with Mr. Dawson in this moment. And that is dwarfed in importance by the fact that, yes, it's possible to cross reference some of those faces with other images that have appeared. schmendric I have to ask how's your image sorting algorithm coming along these days? [01:29:10] Speaker D: It's getting pretty good. The AI could use a bit of a polish, but it's pretty precise. [01:29:18] Speaker A: Well, I know you're getting tired of me asking for it, but can I have you make a wits and technology roll? [01:29:23] Speaker D: Of course. Three successes. [01:29:27] Speaker A: It's not the most sophisticated facial recognition AI on the planet, but it also doesn't have to be, because the images that you've sliced out of this surveillance footage already look close enough to mugshots. It's very easy for the program to find a similar looking image posted up on the Gary, Indiana Police Department's crime blotter. You recognize two of them immediately zion Middleton, his brother, Sidney Middleton. Along with this information, there's a list of known associates, among them Elijah Franklin, who has done himself a great disservice in not disabling his Facebook page, allowing you to match his face to the third. The criminal record attached to the mugshots is nothing major vandalism, minor property, crime. But they're all residents of Gary, and at least so far as the crime blotters to be concerned, they've been very quiet these last few years. [01:30:21] Speaker C: We have three names. Do any of them have a fourth in common who might be impersonating Charles? [01:30:29] Speaker A: With the kind of analysis you're capable of doing on this information, there are seven or eight or nine people who could meet that criteria. A girlfriend of so and so, a roommate of so and so. This person used to hang out with that person. There's not a clearly defined forsome of mischief. [01:30:51] Speaker B: With this information, we can at least track one of them down and hopefully they'll spill. [01:30:57] Speaker A: How is it you plan on doing that? [01:31:00] Speaker C: We could start with the Facebook page. [01:31:03] Speaker A: Well, the digital information is all hideously out of ah. Like the Facebook page is still up, but they haven't done anything on it know, three years. [01:31:12] Speaker C: What, no selfies hey committing arson? [01:31:16] Speaker E: How do you find somebody that's gone off the grid? Or not exactly gone off the grid, but somebody who doesn't have a presence? It's looking more and more like this is something from some kindred in Gary. Some kindred that, I don't know, maybe picked Charles out of a lineup and decided to get him in trouble and then came to Chicago to cause trouble. [01:31:41] Speaker A: You think that's the kind of scheme that four barely three year old kindred could pull off? [01:31:47] Speaker C: No, but they could be ordered to do so. [01:31:49] Speaker A: And now we return to the eternal question of who. [01:31:53] Speaker C: We can start by maybe identifying their clans. If we know who they belong to, we can know who could order them around. [01:32:02] Speaker B: It might be worth bringing up to someone who deals with kindred on a regular basis. See these faces? Bring up any bells. [01:32:10] Speaker A: Ivy, on a day to day basis, do you make a habit of answering unknown calls on your cell phone night tonight? [01:32:20] Speaker E: No, not really. Normally, I tend to ignore calls from numbers that aren't saved in my phone, but tonight's not a normal night, so I might be more inclined to answer an unknown number. [01:32:32] Speaker A: What's your ringtone? [01:32:34] Speaker E: My phone's always on vibrate. [01:32:37] Speaker A: Yeah. Where do you keep your phone? [01:32:39] Speaker E: Front pocket. [01:32:41] Speaker A: Left or right? [01:32:42] Speaker E: Left. Keys go in the right. [01:32:44] Speaker A: I'll write that down. So you're standing just behind Schmendrick watching her do her facial recognition magic. There's that buzz. Front left pocket, unknown number. [01:32:57] Speaker E: I take a look at the phone, let out a bit of a sigh. Just like a forced sigh, right? And I answer. Hello? [01:33:07] Speaker A: Ivy. This is Charles. I don't have a lot of time. What are you doing right now? [01:33:12] Speaker E: I'm sitting in Schmendrick's storage unit. [01:33:18] Speaker A: I'm going to text you an address, get the four of you there as soon as possible. Cannot understate how fast this needs to um okay. The last thing he says before he hangs up is, love the voicemail, by the way. [01:33:33] Speaker E: Thanks, Charles. And I'll hang up the phone, boyfriend finally call back. Look, Charles wants to meet. That's all I know. We're going to meet him in 30. [01:33:48] Speaker B: Right now? Talk about quick. [01:33:51] Speaker E: In 30. [01:33:52] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:33:56] Speaker E: He sounded a little distressed, little pressed for time. [01:34:00] Speaker C: He's not adding points to his innocent category. [01:34:05] Speaker E: Or he's just incredibly worried about being blamed for this. Because I'm sure he's heard things. [01:34:12] Speaker A: Who knows? [01:34:14] Speaker E: Or he's seen things. Maybe he went back to his bar and saw everything and has put two and two together. Who knows? But we've got 30 minutes and he's sent me an address, so let's go. [01:34:28] Speaker A: And I'm sure you're quite interested to know what you find when you arrive. Is it Charles? Is it finger quotes? Charles, is this more information that will help resolve the situation? I don't know. Neither do you. I can tell you one thing, though. That's a story for another night. You've been listening to the All Night Society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens Court Games. 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