Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Session Seventy Eight - Veni, Vidi, Victor (Part Three)

I'm currently running a Vampire the Masquerade chronicle using the 5th Edition rule-set for a small group of fellow role-players. These are the chronicles of their adventures.

Our chronicle is set in Los Angeles and features a small group of Camarilla agents sent into the 'Free States' to bring them back under Camarilla control. Over a year of plotting allowed the coterie to gain control of the three North-Eastern Baronies and a large part of a fourth. Now they are moving on to the final stage of their campaign and have their eyes on taking over the entire city, either directly or by proxy.

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The now obligatory warning bit - Unlike my other RPG write-ups this one will contain swearing, sexual references and other references that might offend. If you can't tell the difference between real             peoples opinions and grown-ups role-playing predators who crave blood then this probably won't be for you. I've also used actual photographs to represent some characters which I'll give acknowledgements to at the end if I've any idea who they are.
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The introduction to this campaign, the first story and all the other parts can be found at the following links and are in chronological order. If you'd prefer a summary of each session rather than read everything then there's a more detailed link page HERE as well as links to the first episode of each story in the blog sidebar.
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Chronicle One - 'Infiltrate L.A.' 

Welcome to L.A. - Introductory Session
Story One - 'Three Murders' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Interlude Session - One
Story Two - 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part One, Two, Three, and Four
Solo Session - 'The Neillson Library'
Story Two Continued- 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part Five, Six, Seven and Eight
Story Three - 'Becoming Baron' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Gather'
Story Three Continued - 'Becoming Baron' - Part Six, Seven and Eight

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Chronicle Two - 'Foothold L.A.' 

Solo Session - 'Hostile Takeover'
Story Four - 'Countdown' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Five - 'The Missing Chantry' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Anaheim Assassination'
Story Six - 'A Meeting of Barons' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seven - 'The Carmelita Situation' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Eight - 'The Blount Sisters' - Part One and Two
Story Nine - 'Blood Money' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six
Story Ten - 'Anathema' - Part One and Two
Story Eleven - 'Predators and Prey' aka 'The Blount Sisters' - Part Three
Story Twelve - 'Aftermath' - Part One and Two
Story Thirteen - 'The Messiah Complex' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

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Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'

Story Fourteen - 'The Rant'
Story Fifteen - 'Ties of Blood' - Part One and Two

Solo Session - 'A Gathering of Roses'

Story Sixteen - 'The Southern Solution' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seventeen - 'The Baker Disappearance' - Part One, Two and Three

Story Eighteen - 'Inevitable Betrayals' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five

Story Nineteen - 'The Marius Contracts' - Part One and Two

Story Twenty - 'The MacNeil Protocols' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, 

Story Twenty - 'The MacNeil Protocols' - Part Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten

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Interlude Session One - After Griffith Park

Interlude Session Two - Divide and Conquer

Interlude Session Three - On the Brink of War

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Chronicle Four - 'Conquest L.A.'

Story Twenty One - 'Veni, Vidi, Victor' - Part One and Two

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The PC's

Michael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, 'Seneschal'

The player characters stats and backgrounds can be found HERE should any-one be interested, but be warned that the page is usually several stories ahead of the most recent write-up and may contain some spoilers. There's also some minor 'house-rules' HERE that have occurred as we went along.

As I have written out introductions and dialogue for certain NPC's and some location descriptions I'll post these more or less as I wrote them so they'll be in a 'reading to the group' style and they'll also be in blue so you can tell them apart from the more traditional write-up sections and occasionally an obscure Premonition will turn up in purple. If I think something needs a bit of out of character explanation then those will get a storytellers note that will helpfully be in red. Anything covered via player handouts will also be in blue as they're written in the same style as introductions and the like. Where particular NPC's have a mention in a faction profile you will be able to reach it by clicking on their name or faction beneath their picture.

Storytellers Note - Due to a Covid related local lockdown in the area in which I live, our group is currently unable to meet up in person. We have therefore done this session via messengers video 'room' app. 

Introduction

The coterie has discovered a potential alliance between the troublesome would-be Baron of San Fernando, Ralph Harwood and Victor Girard, advisor to the leader of El Hermandad. The coterie is now focussing all it's resources in order to undermine, discredit and if necessary, eliminate Victor. If they fail he may be able to complete his plan to unite the two remaining childer of Garcia, Gloria Martinez and Allison Maller, and also remove the gangs major rival, The Crypts Sons as a threat forever.

Regardless of who he then chose to rule from behind, Victor would be Prince of Los Angeles in all but name.

Scene Twelve - The Baron of Anaheim

Christopher Houghton - Toreador
5th Generation Elder

Michael had heard from at least two sources that the fickle Toreador Elder, Christopher Houghton had taken an interest in his activities. He intended to use this favour to mitigate any issues that Houghton might have with their interference in the activities of his grandechilde Victor Girard. Unfortunately this meant that he had to become personally and to a certain extent, publicly involved in disrupting Victors rise to power. 

His first port of call would be Allison Maller, Baron of Anaheim and much of what was once the Barony of Santa Ana. He had concluded that as the weaker of the two, territorially speaking, that she might well be the easiest to manipulate into distrusting Victor.

He informed Allison that he would be in the area and would like to talk to her, though didn't ask permission in any tangible way. Allison either didn't notice or chose to overlook the trivial breach of protocol. He also failed to specify a time. These breaches were an intentional part of Michael's strategy as he wished Allison to believe that a lack of respect for her had began to develop due to her association with Victor. He was however, still being careful to avoid anything that could be construed as a direct insult.

Tom Weaver - Brujah
Destroyed

On this occasion Michael took Daniel and Vin with him. Daniel due to his relationship with Allison as an ally during her war with Tom Weaver and Vin as many Brujah in Los Angeles respected him and were far more likely to open up to him with information.

As before, Daniel was impressed with the defences of Allison's warehouse base of operations. At the lowest point in her campaign against Tom Weaver she had been forced back and had created this Haven as a final bulwark against her enemy.

From the outside it simply looked like a very secure structure, perhaps a bonded warehouse or similar. However an expert eye could easily discern the many offensive and defensive measures that had been cleverly inserted to turn the place into a virtual fortress.

Though the ground floor housed a semi-legitimate distribution business, the upstairs was for kindred and their ghouls only. 

Allison Maller - Brujah
Baron of Anaheim

Daniel recognised very few of the kindred in the area. Allison's Gangrel Sweeper who he'd last seen with an arm torn from the socket was sitting alone in the corner, his missing limb restored. One of the other kindred was vaguely familiar too. Vin moved to speak to the handful of Brujah also milling about, as Michael and Daniel entered Allison's office.

Allison gave Daniel a friendly nod before addressing Michael. "So I presume you have something on your mind? I don't get many surprise visits from other Barons."

Michael raised his concerns about the rising tensions between El Hermandad and it's neighbours, pointing out that his Barony shared a border with El Hermandad's Barony which also made it potentially his problem.

"Do you know something I don't?" said Allison to Michael though it was clear that the question was also intended for Daniel. "Not in the least." replied Michael. "But if we can be honest with another I do have some issues with the driving force behind these recent problems..." Intrigued, Allison asked him to continue.

Salvador Garcia - Brujah
Noted Anarch Revolutionary

"I have communicated with Victor on a number of occasions, one clanmate to another. He has ingratiated himself with Gloria and has stated his intention to unite both childer of Garcia under one banner. He claims to have strengthened the ties between you and Gloria as Garcia would have wanted but I sense that he sees one of you as of secondary importance..."

Allison's reaction was difficult to read as she replied with a question "...and what exactly do you know about my sire and Victor that makes you such an expert on what they both want?"

Deciding to ease into his point, he spoke of his reading of Garcia's works and how he had chose to live by some of them, but not all. He also told her of his belief that change bought about by strength alone had a tendency to be short-term. Change bought about by belief in something greater, was however, far longer lasting.

"Victor however believes only in Victor." continued Michael. "He is a skilled advisor no doubt but it is a career to him. He has no loyalty to those he advises." He then began to speak of matters which might be more dangerous to himself should Allison take offense. However that was, unfortunately, a necessary part of the plan.

El Hermandad and Anaheim

"I see more of Garcia in Gloria than in yourself, but I mean that not as an insult. Gloria is acting as Garcia might have done under similar circumstances. You however have forged your own path, which is far more difficult. I doubt Victor sees it that way though."

"How exactly does he see it?" asked Allison. Irritation and a measure of anger entering her voice. "He sees Gloria Martinez as the leader and you as a convenient source of extra manpower." Replied Michael. Allison was now genuinely angry but was keeping herself under control. Michael was also empathetic enough to see that much of the anger was focussed on Victor, not himself. Now was the ideal time to push his own agenda.

"I think Victor is completely wrong." Said Michael in as genuine a tone as he could muster. The change of focus threw Allison for a moment. "You have fought against near impossible odds before and triumphed. You defeated an opponent who outmanned, outgunned and out resourced you. I doubt you did all that just to become the follower of another?"

"You are the second person to use the word 'follower' in conjunction with myself." responded Allison. "Though Marius was far more direct than yourself and got to the point quicker." she continued.

Marius Walker - Gangrel
Baron of Downtown

Her tone was steady and Michael firmly believed that he had succeeded in putting doubts in the mind of Anaheim's Baron about both an alliance and Victors motives. It was now Michael's turn to ask a question. "What exactly did Marius have to say for himself?"

Allison was surprisingly candid. Perhaps in response to Michael's own directness.

"He pointed out that Victor always benefitted from his own advised actions. He gave several examples of recommendations from which he gained far more than myself and that alternate suggestions would have been better for me, but would have done nothing for Victor. He also told me in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't allow the Free States to have another Prince, whether they were a de facto one or not."

Marius had relayed that latter piece of information to Michael also. Whatever Marius's long-term plans were, they were definitely not aligned with those of the Camarilla. After considering the dangers of delivering his next statement, he decided to go for broke.

"Victor told me that should it come to open war that El Hermandad outnumbered the Crypts Sons three to one. That maths only works if he includes the kindred of Anaheim. Clearly he sees your resources as his own, to do with as he pleases..."

Amethyst - Caitiff
Destroyed baron of Santa Ana

Allison leaned back in her chair, clearly deep in thought. It was almost a minute before she replied. "I will not hand my domain over to Victor acting through Gloria after fighting so hard to keep it from Tom Weaver, acting through Amethyst."

Storytellers Note - Twelve successes on his role to persuade Allison of his sincerity was more than enough. especially as the players argument was pretty good anyway.

"Should you require a second opinion on any of Victors...advice...then feel free to call upon me." concluded Michael.

Daniel had been watching Allison's reaction and had nodded in agreement at several appropriate points which Allison had certainly noticed. His previous support of her, and his current support of Michael had certainly been a factor in her willingness to listen.

"If you require any 'refreshments' before you leave then be sure to let me know." said Allison as Michael rose to leave, but he and Daniel politely declined. Though he made no reaction at the time, he was privately amused that the Camarilla version of the tradition of Hospitality seemed to be spreading through the Anarch Baronies. It was a small thing but he counted it as yet another of his subtle contributions to the undermining of the Anarch Free States.

Victor Girard - Toreador
Kindred Influencer and Seneschal

As Michael left the office he could see Vin, standing before a semi-circle of half a dozen Brujah, having an intense but seemingly amicable conversation. The level of respect they had for him was tangible and he was clearly becoming far more adept as a leader of men than he had been a mere two years ago. Daniel moved over to tell Vin they were leaving and noticed several Brujah stop talking as he approached. "It's Okay..."said Vin. "...Daniel thinks Victor is a prick as well."

As they all got into the car to leave, Michael asked Vin if his conversations with Allison's Brujah had been enlightening. Vin confirmed that they had. "None of Allison's Brujah have a good word to say about Victor." Michael then asked him to elaborate, which he did.

At least half of Allison's forces were veterans of the war against Tom Weavers forces, backed as he was by Amethyst, and understood the harsh realties of war between kindred. The rest were the survivors of David Geduld's gang and also understood the devastation that vampiric disciplines added to a conflict. Allison's Sweeper Zakaria, who had been tasked with monitoring the border, shared the opinion of the gangs Brujah. Though Vin didn't know Zakaria's history he had a certain respect for the pragmatism of the average Gangrel so took his opinion at face value.

"Their loyalty is as absolute as I've ever encountered amongst kindred and they'll fight for Allison without question." concluded Vin. "But they wouldn't trust Victor as far as they could throw his mangled corpse. They don't think he shows Allison adequate respect."

Michael then told his driver to take them to see Gloria Martinez, Baron of El Hermandad.

Scene Thirteen - The Baron of El Hermandad

Josie Parrish - Brujah
El Hermandad Lieutenant

Daniel was less impressed with Gloria's security measures. The mortal bike gang who used the bar below her base were no doubt loyal to Baron Martinez but Daniel doubted they'd be able to stop a kindred assault. Though there were security cameras on the building and secure locks on the doors and gates, there were several blockages to line of sight and a number of blind spots that could, in Daniel's opinion at least, be exploited.

They were met at the side door that led to the upstairs rooms used by Gloria's Brujah, by Josie Parrish, one of the Barons most trusted lieutenants. "Victor says that any visitors have to surrender their weapons before entering..." said Josie, seemingly embarrassed by having to ask. "As you wish." replied Michael, handing over his revolver.

Daniel took significantly longer to disarm himself. Two custom 10mm colts were handed over as well as a Browning Hi-Power converted to full-auto, a folding crossbow, a pair of Karambit's and several bladed weapons disguised as credit cards as well as a miscellaneous selection of other concealed weapons. Then it was Vin's turn.

Vin opened his jacket to reveal a SIG Sauer P320 handgun in a holster and the handle of the two-handed machete that he habitually carried at his back. "If Victor wants my weapons then he can come take them from me his fucking self." Said Vin, deadly serious.

Several nearby Brujah looked up at this point and noted the identity of the refuser. Vin's reputation as a 'Giant Killer' was well deserved and he had survived several assassination attempts by brutally destroying the attackers and had also accounted for many enemies of the coterie. It was obvious that any attempt to take his weapons would result in violence. Josie looked to Michael for support but received none. Though Vin would have disarmed himself should Michael give the order, it suited the Toreador at the moment for his bodyguards to remain armed. He was also sure that Daniel still had weapons on his person.

Josie then tried to hold Vin's stare and failed spectacularly before backing down and stepping aside. "That's what I fucking thought." said Vin before following Daniel and his Baron upstairs.

Evie-Grace Leach - Gangrel
One of El Hermandad's Sweepers

As they entered the upstairs room, Daniel noticed that El Hermandad's two sweepers were deep in discussion. Enhancing his senses, he listened in. They were griping about the size of the border they were expected to patrol and that Victor's expectations of what they could accomplish were obviously those of a kindred who'd never had to do the job himself. Making a mental note of the conversation, Daniel looked around to see if he recognised any-one else. His friend from the Last Round and Ike's Brujah Fight Club, was sitting in a corner playing cards with a striking looking woman. Uncharacteristically, Leo didn't seem to be cheating. This was a rarity worth noting.

Vin told Michael that he wanted to discuss the border issues with the Brujah there but both Michael and Daniel asked him to avoid the subject. How the meeting went would decide whether it was safe to ask such a question. "Fine. I'll just feel them out a little about the current situation instead." replied Vin. Michael indicated that that would be useful and gave his go-ahead.

Josie then escorted Michael to Gloria's office. Michael was relieved to discover that Victor wasn't present. This had been something he had feared might undermine his plan but he could hardly have asked Gloria for a private meeting without arousing suspicion.

Michael intended to adopt a similar tactic to that he'd used with Allison and focus on the differences between the two childer of Garcia. First however, he'd need to lay some groundwork. Gloria could be far less reasonable than Allison and more prone to violent retaliations to perceived insults.

Priss - Lasombra
Baron of 'The Border'

Michael pointed out that Hank was currently staying on his side of the border and this was despite a number of provocations. He also reminded her that Priss had also kept the peace and had been less threatening on the territorial borders between her and El Hermandad. Both these were signs that a peaceful outcome could be achieved, as long as Victor's 'plan' didn't do anything to get in the way. Gloria's reaction to Michael's mentioning of Victors plan made it clear to him that though aware of it's existence, she had no idea what it actually entailed.

Storytellers Note - Michael's player has invested heavily in abilities related to kindred politics and persuasion. Michael is also very empathetic, which means he excels in these sort of negotiations. Having Presence 5 helps too of course.

He told her of Victor's boast that 'his' forces outnumbered Hank's three to one but also expressed his doubts that Allison's forces would blindly follow where El Hermandad led. He reminded her that Allison's forces were all veterans of vicious kindred conflicts and were unlikely to be in a hurry to enter another war, especially to defend a border not their own.

"I see traits of Garcia in you." continued Michael. "Though not in Allison. She is obviously not the natural leader you are. Her forces are loyal to her because of their shared experiences in numerous conflicts between our kind. She has however, fought hard to keep that barony. I doubt very much that she would wish to be perceived as 'South El Hermandad'. Especially as just another puppet of Victor."

Gloria Martinez - Brujah
Baron of El Hermandad

Michael detected instantly that he'd made a mistake. Gloria had tensed at the use of the word puppet and he realised that he'd implied that both she and Allison were puppets of Victor. Subtly backtracking he once again spoke of Gloria's natural skills as a leader and added some compliments about how she had united the disparate elements within El Hermandad. He could see her relax as his comments made her doubt that his earlier slur had in fact been aimed at her. Once she was calm once more he shifted the conversation to Victor's lack of trustworthiness.

"Victor is no doubt a skilled advisor. Close as he has been to both Anarch and Camarilla leaders..." Gloria reacted to his reference to the Camarilla as Michael had hoped she would."...but for all his honeyed words, and guidance while safely behind the lines, his goal is always his own self aggrandization. The one at the forefront means nothing to him as is evident from how often those he advised have suffered while Victor went to ground, only to emerge later and start over with another."

Michael concealed his satisfaction as he saw Gloria's doubts rise. He was certain she would now analyse Victors recommendations before acting. He was also certain that enough of Victors advice could be traced to his own projects so that Gloria's suspicions would increase without any further input on Michael's part.

"I say these things to you only as I have no desire to see another, preventable war explode in Los Angeles. Also, should you ever need a second opinion on one of Victor's recommendations then feel free to call on me as I can be trusted to give you an independent viewpoint. After all, I have nothing to gain by misleading you as in no areas of influence do we compete against each.

He then rose to leave. Hopefully Daniel and Vin had also been as successful.

Scene Fourteen - On a Knife Edge

Arissa East - Brujah
El Hermandad 'Harpy'

Daniel moved to speak to his friend Leo, who was playing cards with a striking looking, fashionably dressed woman. Daniel had thought he'd recognised the game but some of the rules seemed different from what he was expecting. Apparently his confusion was evident on his face as the woman spoke to him. "He's adding rules as he goes along because I started winning the moment he stopped cheating."

"So this is your friend from The Last Round and the Fight Club?" she said, addressing Leo but looking at Daniel. Leo introduced the woman to Daniel as Arissa East. After some small talk she left them to chat taking quite a lot of Leo's money with her as she did.

"Watch out for her." warned Leo, but without any malice in his voice. "She's very clever, quick too." He raised his had to indicate a freshly healed red mark on one side, then turned it to show a similar one on the other then placed his hand back on the table in line with a hole, seemingly caused by someone driving a blade through it.

Daniel realised what had happened instantly and smiled. "It's lucky you were reaching for the card up your sleeve, not the one tucked in your trouser pocket." remarked Daniel. "Or you might have had to grow something back rather than just heal a stab wound." Leo smiled. "Can I talk about something a bit more serious?" asked Daniel.

Leo Frost - Brujah
El Hermandad

Daniel then spoke of his Barons concerns about Victor's actions leading to war. After receiving assurances that Victor would hear nothing of what he was about to say, Leo opened up to Daniel about his own concerns.

"Victor is making some of these bastards feel like they're fucking invulnerable." began Leo. "But most of this lot are wannabe revolutionaries. It's all theory, they've never seen the realities of a war of any kind, mortal or kindred." Daniel had never seen the serious side of Leo before, so let him talk without interruptions.

"I've fought in two world wars so I'm well aware of leaders who talk of 'overwhelming odds', 'easy victories' and all that bullshit. But they're not on the front-lines doing the dying. That's going to be us." "Three to one odds sounds great until your watching your comrades torn to fucking pieces and you realise those odds just mean their side runs out of cannon-fodder before your side does..."

Daniel began to suspect that Victor was using vampiric disciplines to effect the minds of the more easily influenced of El Hermandad's kindred. Also he was apparently doing a lot of preparation for a war he claimed he was going to avoid with some mysterious 'plan' that no-one had actually heard properly explained yet. Daniel's musings were interrupted by another telling comment from Leo. "They're also beginning to look at Victor like he's in charge, not Gloria."

Daniel was a good judge of people and he knew Leo well. It was quite obvious that his loyalty was to Gloria and Gloria alone. However it seemed that he was beginning to be in the minority, not the majority. Daniel decided to just come out and ask his next question and hope he had judged Leo correctly. "How many of the kindred would side with Gloria over Victor if it came to it?"

Alessandro Kaye - House Ipsissimus, 'Velme' - Daughter of Cacophony

Leo leaned in close before answering. "Me for a start, and Josie, both the Gangrel Sweepers, the House 'whatever the fuck they're called' guy Alessandro and Velme are definite. If I had to put money on it then I'd say Arissa too. That would be it though. The rest are definitely on team Victor."

Daniel thanked his friend for his honesty and then looked around for Vin.

Scene Fifteen - Suicidal Tendencies

Vin's Favourite Educational Aid

Vin was clearly agitated. The conversation between him and several of the other Brujah had become much louder and Daniel could clearly see his right hand clenching and unclenching. The Banu Haqim had seen this before and it usually meant that Vin was either going to punch something's head off or use his machete to lop bits off of them. Sometimes one, then the other.

As he moved to see if he could defuse the situation he heard Vin raise his voice once more. "If you believe that then you're even stupider than you look. Which is a fucking achievement in itself." Daniel sighed inwardly. This was going to be interesting.

Vin was growing increasingly frustrated with the majority of El Hermandad's Brujah population. Their grasp of the realities of open war were naïve at best and dangerously arrogant at worst. Even more frustrating was their seeming complete inability to accept even the most reasonable constructive arguments. Victor had apparently filled their heads with a certainty of victory that reason was unable to penetrate. Several of their number had also began to imply that Vin's reticence was due to cowardice. 

Vin - Brujah 
'Not Particularly Helping the Situation'

It was at this point that he had decided they needed a practical demonstration in what happened when overconfident assholes annoyed another kindred who was really good at killing fools. Perhaps this might enlighten them of the actual consequences should they assault the Crypts Sons head on. As he reached behind him and gripped his trusty machete and had just began to slide it from it's scabbard, Daniel appeared at his side.

"Michael's ready to leave." said Daniel, deliberately placing his hand on the arm about to draw steel. He disguised the gesture as one of comradely friendship though also placed himself between Vin and the most vocal of El Hermandad's Brujah.

The tension was almost palpable as Michael left Gloria's office. The Toreador could see from Vin's posture that it was only Daniel's presence that had prevented him from destroying some-one. He knew that the provocation must have been serious. Unlike the explosive Hope, Vin was a casual killer. He would kill if necessary, or if ordered, but not merely on a whim. He was also loyal. Michael hoped that would be enough on this occasion.

"Vin. We are leaving. Please lead the way." Vin seemed to consider the situation for a moment, then turned and headed towards the door. Michael and Daniel exchanged a look then followed Vin downstairs to retrieve their weaponry.

A member of El Hermandad who was a fraction to slow in vacating the doorway, found himself pinned against the wall by an extremely angry Brujah as Michael and Daniel headed towards the car. The unfortunate target for Vin's anger sensibly avoided making any attempt to retaliate as he was slowly lowered the necessary distance so his feet once more touched the ground.

"Well what was all that about?" asked Michael. Daniel on the other hand was reasonably sure he knew exactly what it had been about. He wasn't to be disappointed.

Vin explained that much of El Hermandad had suddenly become suicidally overconfident. Brujah who he had spoken to on previous occasions who had been fairly sensible were now almost looking forward to a war with The Crypts Sons. All Vin's reasonable points about Hank's personal prowess, his gangs extensive combat experience and his access to several thousand loyal mortal gang members had been casually dismissed. "They're acting more like a cult, than a gang." he concluded.

"Leo said more or less the same thing." added Daniel. "Victor is certainly in the ascendant and Leo believes that only six, maybe seven of the gang would side with Gloria should it become a choice between her and Victor." This latter point had clarified several ideas of Michael's which he then discussed with the rest of the coterie.

Michael now believed that Victor had set up his own plan for peace to be a failure. This way he could attack the Crypts Sons and still place the blame firmly on Hank, claiming with some justification, that he'd tried his best to avoid a war. It also seemed likely to him that he intended to replace Gloria with a more easily manipulated figurehead.

Ralph Harwood - Ventrue
Pawn of Victor Girard

He theorised that the trespassers in his own domain had not been looking for a safe route from El Hermandad to San Fernando but rather exactly the opposite. On the back of a successful campaign against the Crypts Sons, Victor would remove Gloria and replace her with either Ralph Harwood or perhaps Ralph's childe. Whichever one not appointed the puppet-leader of El Hermandad would take over San Fernando with Victor's support. Transported safely to their new domains using a pre-planned route across L.A.

Between them the idea also occurred that given Allison's reticence to join El Hermandad in a random war that perhaps Victors 'three to one' odds were including Ralph's forces with his own, rather than Allison's.

Daniel interrupted their musings with a piece of pertinent information. "Hope has appointed Max as a de facto sweeper, covering our border with El Hermandad. She's effectively prevented any further incursions from that direction so Hope thought that formalising her role would be a suitable reward for her assistance." Michael agreed that this was reasonable. Of course that meant that Victor would need to find another route for transporting his kindred figureheads.

Cashing in a favour with Hollywood's Sweeper, Nicholas Rowland, Michael asked him to keep an eye out for any kindred using the outer borders of Isaac's domain to skirt the cities kindred domains. Nicholas, who effectively owed Michael his unlife, was happy to oblige.

To Be Continued in 'Veni, Vidi, Victor' (Part Four)

In Conclusion

I like to do a round-up of how the session went in these features but if you couldn't give a shit what I think then feel free to skip this bit...

This particular story has been very politically biased which has given several normally combat orientated characters a chance to broaden their horizons a bit. Of course if they really screw this one up then they're in the middle of a massive war that will be partly their fault and for which they'll certainly get the blame. So, no pressure then...

I'm also probably going to have to run a solo session for Daniel's player as he has a lot of sneaking about, investigation and morally dubious stuff to do. It's also fun for me when I follow it with a full session and the intro is the devastation that Daniel has caused while his player tries to look innocent...

Acknowledgements
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved.”

I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Michael Tomassio is represented by Matt Bomer, 'Vin' is Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Allison Maller is Chloe Grace Moretz, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Amethyst is Paula Patton, Victor Girard is Bob Hoskins, Josie Parrish is Rebecca Ferguson, Evie-Grace Leach is Zoe Saldana, Priss is Sofia Boutella, Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles, Leo Frost is Danny John-Jules, Velme is Annie Henley and Ralph Harwood is D.B. Woodside.

Everything else is from vampire related folders and searches and is as far as I know is all of the 'fair use' variety. If there's something that you feel should be attributed to some-one then feel free to let me know and I'll happily add an acknowledgement.