Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Session Eight - The Pasadena Problem (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...

Our campaign is set in Los Angeles and features a small group of Camarilla agents sent into the 'Free States' to search for ways to once again bring the Ivory Tower to dominance under the pretence of being disillusioned neonates looking for the freedom of the Anarch way of life. Some in-roads have been made but there's still much to do...

------------------
Why LA? - Well it contains a lot of different baronies giving me a lot of interactions to play with, allows me to use some of the more interesting characters from the Bloodlines PC game (which two of the players were familiar with) and is a setting not yet experienced by the players familiar with the Vampire RPG which gives me a chance to keep them on their toes. I've also changed quite a lot and inserted some new characters of my own to make things a bit more interesting...well...interesting for me at least...

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.

The introduction to this campaign and the first story can be found at the following links...
Welcome to L.A. - Introductory Session
Story One - 'Three Murders' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Interlude - One
Story Two - 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part One. and Two

The Storyteller

Garreth as Everyone else...

The PC's

Phil as Michael Tomassio - Toreador
Matt as Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim

Tom as Johnny 'Roach' West - Malkavian
Dave as Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah

The player characters stats and backgrounds can be found HERE should any-one be interested.

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 Malkavian 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...

Introduction

Having been tasked with locating a missing vehicle and two rather important bits of cargo the coterie has been teamed up with another of their patrons operatives. With the simple brief of retrieving the items intact and obtaining as many prisoners as possible the four kindred have now acquired a definite clue to the location of their prey.

Scene Seven - L.A's Finest Auto Garage

The business in question is on a heavily industrialised estate that's quiet as a grave at this time of the night, behind a building that is apparently a wholesaler of Chinese foods during the hours of daylight and definitely doesn't look like the place you'd find a seller of high-end automobiles or where you'd trust the owners to sell you anything you could trust to get around the block before the wheels fell off. 

The whole compound is surrounded by eight foot of fencing with crude barbed wire wrapped around the top. There are two high performance cars within the compound which look totally out of place and a large van with the garage logo on the side you can see. There's definite activity going on within, the sounds of mechanical work can clearly be heard as well as several raised voices...

A quick recon of the area revealed it to indeed be deserted other than the activities going on within the building they had come to investigate. As they'd been warned there were security cameras over the main entrance and a couple more on each corner of the side of the building that had the only other entrance.

Looking at the weapons at their disposal Michael, Roach and Vin could see no way of disabling the cameras without making a lot of noise due to the generally high calibre weapons they were carrying. While they were debating the point Daniel drew his silenced handgun and calmly disabled each camera with a single bullet each to some vital area or connecting cable before carefully collecting the four spent cartridges.

Storytellers Note - Six dice, eight successes due to tens...

After picking the simple lock and chain holding the gates together the coterie and their new ally moved within the complex and quietly discussed their options. Roach and Michael were the first to admit that armed assault wasn't really their forte though they could provide covering fire if necessary. Roach put forward a plan that basically involved setting fire to the main double doors as a distraction while Vin and Daniel stormed the building. Michael would wait as back-up and offer support with his revolver should it seem like it was necessary. He also reminded them that their brief had been to take as many as possible alive.

As Roach lit the fire and quickly withdrew Vin kicked the side door in as Daniel ran in just behind him. Michael drew his .357 and took up position by the doorway just in case.

The five men awaiting immediately within were caught completely by surprise as Daniel drew upon his powers of Celerity and crossed the garage within a moment to disarm a thug who had grabbed a shotgun from behind the counter by driving a blade through his hand and then slicing through the tendons in his forearms with a pair of karambit knives. Vin turned towards a pair of men just inside the door and with Potence enhanced strength drove his knuckleduster clad fist hard into the closest ones stomach bringing him crashing to the floor coughing up blood from ruptured internal organs.

Drawing once again on the vitae the Banu Haqim disappeared in a blur of movement and crashed into two more men disarming and gutting one as the other stepped back and in panic raised a shotgun at his supernatural attacker. The second of the two men engaged with Vin unloaded several rounds into the Brujah but they did little damage to his dead flesh as a shotgun blast roared from the far end of the area winging Daniel but not slowing him.

Completely forgetting his brief about taking prisoners the now enraged Brujah punched the handgun toting criminal in the face where the combination of his natural strength, inch thick brass knuckles and the effect of the vitae enhancing his physical prowess powered through muscle, bone and brain decapitating the man in an explosion of bloody fragments.

Hearing the gunfire from within Michael entered the workshop just in time to see a blood splattered Vin watching his victim fall to the ground as Daniel disarmed the shotgun wielder beside him by severing wrist from forearm. A sixth man with a shotgun charged out from a back room as the Toreador yelled at him to put the gun down but instead a quick glance at the carnage convinced him that retreat was his best option. A moment later he turned and ran back the way he'd came slamming the door behind him. Despite having burned through a considerable amount of blood the doctor once again enhanced his speed of movement to superhuman levels and pursued the retreating figure into the room from which he'd emerged.

Feeling the hunger overwhelm him the doctor grappled the fleeing figure and drove his fangs into his throat. Having spent the last few months living off bagged blood, a meal direct from the vein was a welcome change though he managed to reluctantly resist the urge to drain him completely. As he choked the now anaemic figure unconscious he saw a naked girl curled in a fetal position in one corner of the store-room. His medical instincts took over and he checked on her condition and though she seemed uninjured she was clearly catatonic with terror. With the building now silent other than the moans of the injured Daniel re-entered the main central section and began to stabilise those he could ready for whatever fate awaited them at the hands of Marius's mysterious client.

Though the missing vehicle was sitting in the middle of the building intact there was no sign of any ornamental case or box matching the description they'd been given. While Roach cared for the girl Michael interrogated the most stable of their prisoners calling upon the full extent of his entrancing presence to convince him to tell the Toreador whatever he wished to know. Bewitched by the beautiful man in front of him to the point that his pain faded from notice he willingly revealed that one of his fellow carjackers had been attempting to open the box they'd found in the car when he'd pricked his thumb on something sharp by the lock and became sick almost instantly with some virulent form of blood poisoning. He had been taken by his friend to a local clinic for treatment and had taken the box with him in case the doctors needed to identify whatever substance had done the damage. Fortunately for the coterie their new doctor friend was more than familiar with the location in question.

Interlude Three - The Clinic

The building is a fairly busy 'free' clinic with the usual mix of drunkards, stupid accidents and people who can't be bothered to search for cold cures on the internet.

Borrowing a jacket from Michael to at least partially conceal the bloody clothing he was now wearing Dr Daniels strolled into the free clinic where the nurse on duty recognised him instantly. He told her that he'd been helping the victim of a stabbing but needed some medical supplies from their stores. With a smile she agreed but reminded him to make sure he filled out the appropriate forms as he'd forgotten last time and she'd had to do it herself. While making small-talk he had been scanning the occupants of the waiting room where he noted two individuals who matched the description that Michael had gotten from his bewitched new best friend and his interest was particularly drawn to a bag beneath one of their chairs.

Quickly checking the treatment rooms he found one with a window near the car-park and messaged the others to be ready for a couple of new prisoners. Approaching the two men he told the obviously quick sick one that they would be seen next and the other that he was welcome to accompany his friend. Guiding them to the room he'd already selected Dr Daniel Matthews gave the victim of the trapped box a strong antibiotic for the infection and another to knock him out, the second he simply strangled unconscious from behind before bundling them both out of the window into the care of the others. It occurred to Daniel that the victim of the poison may well have been better off if that had been the cause of death rather than what no doubt awaited them.

With their mission complete they contacted Marius who gave them an address where their business could be concluded.

Scene Eight - The Bartholomews
The address your given for the meeting is a lavish house in Bel Air with a couple of fairly inconspicuous guards near the entrance who are obviously expecting you as they open the gate as soon as you approach and close it behind you as you drive in. A stocky, grey-haired woman who seems to be in charge meets you as you exit the vehicle. "I understand we owe you a debt of gratitude"

The woman introduced herself as Harriet or 'Harry' as she was known to most of the household and offered to escort them personally to their meeting.

You are escorted around the rear of the house through what you imagine is the servants entrance as the kitchen can be seen through a nearby side door, along a short corridor and then down into a room some six feet square which was once a wine cellar but now contains a mere few bottles here and there. Sitting outside a door on the far side is Marius's ghoul Yukio, she has a broad bladed sword sheathed nearby, is holding a handgun and a large automatic shotgun is leaning against the wall next to her. Your guide has returned upstairs leaving you with Yukio. A muffled scream of pain from behind the door she's guarding breaks the silence. "You can go in if you wish, Marius is here though Michael, you may want to wait here, it's not really your sort of thing I'm afraid..."

Trusting her word Michael waited outside as did Roach while Vin and Daniel entered. They left the door open so those outside would be able to hear the conversation.

The room you enter is four times the size of the wine cellar, the floor has been lined with plastic sheeting apart from a strip across the middle which has several grates within. Over two of these, men are hanging from rings in the ceiling via chains wrapped roughly around their wrists. One a portly gentlemen is very obviously dead and is missing both his hands and feet, the cauterised wounds no doubt the source of the smell of burnt flesh that pervades the area though the cause of death appears to be a long slice down the femoral artery. The second man is the chauffeur you met earlier, he has cuts and bruises over much of his body and is missing several fingers and toes, though the rest are broken or have had their nails violently removed, he's also missing an ear and both his eyelids. 

Victoria - 'Working'

You can see the back of a woman in high heels, a leather skirt and a dark basque, with long dark hair scraped back into a tight pony-tail. She whispers something to the torture victim before turning around to simply nod to Marius who is leaning against one wall apparently watching her work. 

You are greeted by Marius's most trusted blood-bound servant Victoria, Splatters of blood criss-cross her clothing and she also appears to have some on her lips, her right hand is holding a vicious looking device soaked in blood and her left holds a square of skin cut from the unfortunate drivers chest. She passes a nearby folding table which contains a variety of blades, medical tools and other paraphernalia of the dedicated torturer and the skin she tosses down the drain. The usually cold and aloof ghoul seems in an uncharacteristically good mood as she shakes her hair loose "Greetings gentlemen, apparently this has all been a terrible misunderstanding. How did it go with your little task?"

Those within and outside the room confirmed that they'd retrieved the box and young lady from the car and had captured at least half a dozen of those responsible for whatever punishment the client saw fit. Daniel also noted that the 'work' that had been carried out on the unfortunate chauffeur had been done with the expert precision of a surgeon. Each cut, piece of removed skin and broken bone had been selected to cause the maximum suffering possible. It was also his opinion that given the damage done the victim must have given up any information he had some time ago with the majority of the torture being simply unnecessary for any purpose other than causing pain for the sake of it.

"It seems that this gentlemen had accumulated some gambling debts and had arranged for one of his employers vehicles to go missing as a small down payment. Unfortunately for him his somewhat fickle boss swapped his duties at the last minute and when he attempted to change the plan his new friends thought he was backing out and took the car anyway...it seems they'd somewhat cleverly cloned his phone so they could keep tabs on him, the wonders of modern technology." "If your hungry help yourself, the fat one is fairly fresh and the other one will be being disposed of shortly."

Never one to turn down a free meal Vin sated his hunger on the currently still living driver though the others politely declined for various reasons.

As you're having your discussion the woman who first greeted you appears at the door together with a man on the pretty side of handsome with shoulder length blonde hair who appears to be in his late 30's wearing a casual blazer come smoking jacket. "So Mr Walker, have the issues with my childe's unfortunate evenings entertainment been resolved? I'd hate to miss my invite to the next of Mr Fortier's wonderful parties because George has terrible choice in staff..." Marius replied that "Fortunately I had some understanding acquaintances nearby who have been most helpful indeed" You can't help but notice that Marius's speech patterns change considerably in tone depending on who he's speaking to "Gentlemen, introduce yourself to Mr Bartholomew, sire of George Bartholomew whose minor indiscretion we've been resolving this evening"

Archibald Bartholomew - Toreador

The coterie made their introductions and gave a brief overview of the situation and in broad terms what they'd done to resolve it but as the gentlemen was unknown to them kept many of the details vague, especially those that could be potentially used against them.

Storytellers Note - The players are very careful how they phrase things, lol.

As Mr Bartholomew turns to leave he addresses Marius "I've been thinking about my childe's play-thing, I doubt he'll want it now it's been soiled by contact with the kine, please dispose of it after you punish the rest will you, I had planned on doing so myself but now I'm weary of the whole situation, deal with it will you" There's a curt "As you wish..." from Marius as the gentlemen is leaving...and then a distinct change in tone once he's gone. "Fucker...If that's all the fucking bastard fucking wanted I could have just had Alice butcher every-one and burn the fucking place down...asshole..." With that out of his system he calms down slightly and turns to the coterie "Still at least you did your jobs I suppose so name your price, but don't take the fucking piss!!!"

The coterie asked for some time to consider the question and moved into the adjacent former wine cellar. Michael and Roach both seemed to think that getting access to Marius's mages in connection to the issue they have with the Vignes might be useful but Roach pointed out that it might be possible to get that without calling the favour in if he could convince Marius that the result suited them both. The question of the fate of the girl they'd rescued also concerned the Toreador as he'd clearly heard the phrase 'dispose of' but doubted that any of his colleagues would be willing to trade a boon in exchange for her life. Trying to ascertain exactly what would happen to her Michael approached the subject from a different angle by asking about the Bartholomew family.

Interlude Four - The Bartholomew Family

Sophia Bartholomew - Toreador Artist

The five kindred members of the Bartholomew family and their most loyal retainers escaped London during the purges of the Second Inquisition and it is heavily rumoured that they betrayed several inconsequential neonate kindred to buy themselves time to get out but this has never been proved. Only Sophia is a genuine ancestor of Archibald Bartholomew, the rest are artistic types he 'adopted' as ghouls and then embraced the most talented of. Failed candidates tended to disappear.

They burned a major boon with the Ventrue Fiorenza Savona to smooth over the rumours and arrange a flight out of the city, Fiorenza had apparently strongly suggested that they avoid Camarilla territories till the rumours can indeed be smoothed over, so they have moved to the 'Free States' and are keeping out of local politics but are portraying themselves as patrons of the arts.

They are also social acquaintances of the Fortiers and to a lesser extent the Vignes and frequently attend Catherine's parties and use her 'services' so not as to poach others herds. They also use Velvet's club for the same reason. Marius Walker has allowed Sophia to use his feeding grounds on occasion but has refused other family members and publicly his reason is that they lack subtlety and can be careless though privately he's confessed to several kindred that it's because he despises them all except Sophia who he seems to have some sympathy for.

Fiorenza Savona - 'New Money' Ventrue

They got out of the United Kingdom with enough money to re-establish themselves and the money was laundered through legitimate businesses of Marius Walkers 'Aegis' group of companies. This favour was done for Fiorenza Savona not the Bartholomews with whom Marius had no connection till they arrived in Los Angeles. Sophia Bartholomew gave him a painting as a thank-you anyway which he keeps in his meeting room at his haven. Marius seems to like Sophia and very obviously hates the rest though seems to hide his feelings when in their presence.

Scene Eight - Continued
After hearing Marius's feelings about the family he felt more comfortable asking whether he was indeed going to get rid of the girl. The Gangrel was clear that the girl was more useful to him alive and right now he couldn't give a fuck about what Archibald Bartholomew thought about it though it did mean that technically speaking he was taking for himself a present given to George by the Fortiers. It was also obvious to Michael that he wasn't concerned in the slightest about doing so. As the Toreador had observed before the 'Fixer' seemed to revel in the fact that his clients both needed and disliked him and strangely seemed to go out of his way to antagonise them.

Isabella - 'Blood Doll'

Reasonably sure that the girl whose name he discovered was Isabella was as close to safe as some-one this involved in the kindred world was going to get he made his goodbyes and left the house stopping only long enough to get the contact details of the doctor who had assisted them. Who knows, he might become a useful ally over time.

As the coterie left for their gallery and the doctor returned to his own haven the discussion returned to what they'd learnt about the Vignes and what side in the love triangle they were going to take though their final decision would have to be based on whether they could help given what they'd learnt of the Baron's defences. The doctor on the other hand having no involvement in the coteries particular problems had other things on his mind. Firstly, what exactly was in the box the driver had been transporting and where was he going with it if he also had a half-naked girl in his boot and secondly that they only had Victoria's word about the gambling debts as the driver was minus a tongue by the time they arrived. Maybe he'd speak to them about it if he ever bumped into them again...

To Be Continued in 'The Pasadena Problem' 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...

The Three(ish) Musketeers

Well it looks like the coterie of three kindred is on it's way to becoming a four, lol. I had offered the group a fairly justifiable 'hand-wave' way to integrate the doctor into the group but the players decided they wanted to roleplay the relationship so that's what we'll be doing. Of course the downside to this is that it makes no sense that they'd just invite the new guy along to every meeting so I've warned the new player that he might be having some 'sit and watch' moments. This apparently suits him just fine because as a new player he quite likes to see how the others do it and learn more about the lore...so every-ones happy apparently. I have however written in a few fairly obvious ways of them including the doctor because I don't like people being left out.

Next session we'll be diving back into the main plot-line of this story and we'll see if they invite a certain doctor along with them.

Acknowledgements
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 the actor Matt Bomer, Johnny 'Roach' West is quite obviously a drawing of Kurt Cobain, 'Vin' is the actor Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen. Isabella is an actress called Nancy Talamantes. 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...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.