Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Session Sixty Three - Inevitable Betrayals (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. After a year of plotting, the coterie now controls the three North-Eastern Baronies and has successfully weakened several others. Unfortunately other Barons have used the chaos they have created to consolidate their own positions.

--------------------
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, 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.
---------------------
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

---------------------
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

---------------------
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 and Two

The PC's
Player controlled characters
Michael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Spymaster'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, 'Seneschal'

The SPC's
Storyteller controlled player allies
Priya Haynes - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Carla Doyle - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Orla Riviera - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Rosalind Perkins -  Thin-blood, Alchemist

Sofia Rivera - Toreador, Michael's contact with Sire

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.

Introduction

Salvador Garcia - Brujah
Leader of El Hermandad

 Following the destruction of several barons and moving of borders amongst the baronies of the Anarch free states, opportunist kindred have begun to plan their own changes of leadership.

Victor Girard has been attempting to undermine Jesus Ramirez, who is the defacto leader of El Hermandad during the regular absences of Salvador Garcia. He has questioned his handling of the 'Baker Disappearance' and the subsequent loss of Covina as an ally as well as attempting to sow doubt amongst neighbouring barons about his suitability to lead. Interference in Gloria Martinez's barony of Whittier by Ramirez is creating an atmosphere within it's Brujah populace that Victor is also attempting to stoke in order to add further pressure on his rival.

The Baron of Hollywood and the Baron of West L.A. are attempting to divide up San Fernando between them but the presence of a group of kindred granted the domain by Jeremy MacNeil are creating problems. Neither Baron wishes to be seen to overrule a decision by such a noted Anarch as MacNeil, though rumours of his destruction may have lessened that fear significantly. The barons have therefore called in their most experienced 'troubleshooters' to facilitate the removal...one way, or another...of this impediment to their long term goals.

Now with control of the two most significant docks along the South Coast, Harvey Caplan has recruited a gang known as 'The Rats' who were refugees from the Barony of the Angels to assist in keeping order. He also apparently has acquired the services of a mysterious aquatic Gangrel of unknown origins. How his baron Steve Booth will feel about one of his employees recruiting his own kindred gang is a matter of some debate amongst those aware of the situation.

Harvel Caplan, Ventrue, Baron of the Docks - Shantelle, Gangrel, 'The Rats' Leader.

In the midst of this plotting, Mr Hertz has discovered a potential plan by the vampire hunting gang known as 'The Blood' to launch an attack upon their long-time rivals amongst the Crypt's Sons. Such a victory of kine over kindred cannot be allowed to occur, unless, of course, the coterie can take advantage of such an event.

Scene Seven - The Blood

Henrique 'Hank' Boyd - Brujah
Crypts Sons Baron

Michael had decided that as they had no way of currently holding such a large territory as that of the Crypt's Sons, let alone removing an entire army of kindred aware gang members that would potentially be infesting it, that it was better to let Hank know of the threat. This at the very least gained them a considerable boon from the Crypt's Sons and their Baron. It also ensured that Mr Hertz got paid, and which was far more important to the Nosferatu, kept his reputation intact.

Storytellers Note - Mr Hertz's player had established early on that it was the challenge that interested his character, not the financial rewards themselves. He did however charge nominal fees in money and boons for his services in order to avoid other kindred seeing him as an easy mark.

Mr Hertz also informed Michael of his suspicion that there was a sponsor of considerable wealth and influence adding his weight to the war-chest of 'The Blood'. Mr Hertz suspected that a rival kindred was using their resources to assist The Blood in weakening or destroying The Crypt's Sons. He had compiled a shortlist of suspects based upon his research and investigation but he had put Salvador Garcia firmly at the top. Michael accepted this as most likely as it tied into the researches that Daniel had done some time before Mr Hertz's arrival. Directly opposing Salvador Garcia wasn't an option they currently had the power to explore but indirectly making a mess of his plans was an acceptable start.

'FIRSTLIGHT' Operative
The Second Inquisition

Michael had a certain paranoia about vampire hunters due to his experiences in London. Fleeing from the Second Inquisition had given him a healthy scepticism for any plan that involved setting hunters against other kindred as he had seen the effects when the idea inevitably backfired. Having to disrupt an incursion by Inquisition members into L.A. several months ago had bought the experience back to the forefront of his mind. The last thing he wanted was for a second attempt by them to have the support of an entire criminal gang based slap bang in the middle of the city.

It was decided that Mr Hertz would meet Hank alone so to minimise any suspicion that others had been consulted in the decision making process. Though Hank and Michael had a good relationship based on mutual respect, it would certainly be damaged if it looked like The North East Baronies were interfering in Crypts Sons activities.

Mr Hertz's ghoul driver Zhi drove him to the neighbourhood where Hank held his less formal meetings. He had a well protected house, deep in gang territory where he met most of his contacts. He tended to reserve his ranch for those who would be more impressed by wealth or who were nervous about the presence of so many gang members. Mr Hertz had dealt with gangsters and criminals since the early 1900's and very little phased him having watched gang culture evolve over more than a century.

Nosferatu - Animalism
Unliving Hive

As they approached the house a car drove forward to allow them access to the driveway and pulled in behind them afterwards. Zhi remained in the car as Mr Hertz approached the house, collar up and hat down, minimising his profile to any mortals who might be nearby. Two guards blocked his path and the closest indicated that the Nosferatu should open his coat to allow them to search him.

Hertz opened his bag to reveal the papers within and then undid his jacket and slowly removed an impeccably preserved Luger pistol from a leather shoulder holster, handing it over handle first. As the second guard moved to search him further, the hive of vermin who sheltered within the Nosferatu's body rippled as they sensed the approach of one who was not their master, causing the guard to pause and take a step back. "Don't worry about my pets..." Said Mr Hertz with a broad smile. "...They only bite who I tell them to bite." 

The first of the guards smiled back, seemingly amused by the discomfort of his compatriot "You'll have to forgive my friend Razi." he said and then handed the Nosferatu back his pistol. "He hasn't been part of the 'family' as long as the rest of us and isn't used to some of the more interesting idiosyncrasies of our fellow clans. You may keep your gun, just keep it in the holster." Hertz tipped his hat in thanks and replaced the weapon as the more eloquent of the guards led him through the house to a kitchen area where Hank was seated and waiting his arrival. "I gather you've discovered something of note?" enquired Hank.

Mr Hertz laid out a number of relevant documents and a map he'd prepared as a visual representation of his discoveries. "As you can clearly see..." began the Nosferatu. "...there is a disturbing pattern to the mysterious buyers purchases..." Hank became increasingly interested as he noted the location of buildings that were clearly excellent staging points for an assault. This interest became concern and then anger as the Nosferatu overlaid a map of the sewers and access points that led from these properties to those of Hank's own gang.

Hertz pointed out how easy it would be for an attacker to use them to make an overwhelming surprise attack on the Crypts Sons using these routes for access. He also surmised based on the dates of purchase that this assault had been in the planning stage for nearly a year, perhaps longer. Mr Hertz slid over the a few more documents and gave his final assessment of the situation. "These final locations will become the property of their mysterious new owner within three weeks, four at the most..." "It looks like I picked the right man for the job." Said Hank. "I suppose we should discuss what I owe you before I mobilise the troops and prepare a nice medieval welcome for these bastards..."

Mr Hertz left the meeting with a generous cash 'thank-you' from Hank and a promise that the Brujah owed him "Big time..." for his work.

Storytellers Note - In mechanical terms, Mr Hertz's player is now owed a 'Major' boon by Hank and can make a one-off purchase of up to Resources 4 without effecting his existing resources or commitments. The boon is also usable by the coterie, the resources are not.

Scene Eight - The Powers Behind

Sofia Rivera - Toreador
Grandechilde of Stéphanie Mayoux

When Mr Hertz reported back to Michael he found that he was just about to start a meeting with Daniel and Vin. Hope was absent and had been involved less and less in the night to night running of the barony, though still reported in regularly and fulfilled her necessary duties.

The Toreador who worked for Velvet was hanging around the gallery and Michael seemed to be spending more and more time in her company though she wasn't involved in this particular meeting. Michael invited Mr Hertz to join them and report on the results of his exchange with Hank. He raised his hat politely to Sofia as he walked past before relaying his conversation with the Crypts Sons leader to his own Baron.

As there was little else they could do other than wait to see what happened between Hank's forces and those of The Bloods and then deal with any fallout, they moved onto their other problems.

Storytellers Note - Though it did take them an hour and a half to come to the conclusion I just covered with that last single sentence...

Victor Girard - Toreador
Media Magnate, Formerly of the Camarilla

Daniel confirmed with Michael that he his teams were no longer following Victor Girard at Michael's request but reiterated his opinion that they needed more information on him. He was also concerned about the ease with which Victor had detected his own highly skilled operatives. In his opinion this meant that Victor must have considerable counter surveillance assets at his disposal. 

Michael then revealed that he'd acquired a Camarilla file on the aforementioned Victor and that he had some relevant information to share.

He revealed to the coterie that Victor had a past with both the Camarilla and Anarch powers within Los Angeles. It was his opinion that he craved the power he'd once had at the right hand of Don Sebastian under the Camarilla and Jeremy MacNeil when the Anarchs had arisen. It was logical to assume then that he would have no desire to usurp Jesus Ramirez as de-facto El Hermandad leader. Instead he would be looking for a figurehead from which he could work beside or preferably behind.

Christopher Houghton - Toreador
5th Generation Elder

Michael also passed on the information that Victor was from a powerful and influential bloodline. He also mentioned that he might be powerful enough to have detected Daniel's teams unaided given the supernatural senses available to many of the Toreador clan. "How powerful?" was Daniel's question. Michael wanted to avoid using the name of Victor's grandsire as he was unsure about just how powerful the extrasensory abilities of a fifth generation Toreador might be.

In truth, Michael's own sire had abilities that were considerably beyond his own as well as a knack for utilising allegedly none combative talents in unforeseeably deadly ways. This had given him a certain level of healthy paranoia about the abilities of Elder creatures of any clan, but in particular his own.

"Victor is of the seventh generation..." began Michael. "...which would make his grandsire, of the fifth, and therefore not to be trifled with, especially as I have reason to believe that this Elder is active somewhere in Los Angeles". Daniel and Vin both exchanged a glance at this. Both had considerable talents as killers within their own fields of expertise but opposing a creature of such an age wasn't a prospect either of them took lightly. Had Hope been present she would probably have accepted this information with somewhat more delight than the other two given her constant need to prove herself. With many clan elders having been drawn to the Middle East by unknown forces, this made those that remained even more deadly as they had far fewer rivals.

"So we're siding with Victor then?" said Vin who had been silent up til this point.

Gloria Martinez - Brujah
Baron of Whittier

Vin added to the debate the things he had learned about the situation in Whittier, during his visit. He told the coterie that Ramirez had been interfering in Whittier's business for weeks now and that the Brujah there were pissed about it. He also confirmed the rumour, heard by Daniel in the Last Round, that Gloria had offered to take on the former Barony of the Angels gang, known as 'The Liberated' that were causing problems for Ramirez.

She had made the quite reasonable offer of finding them a place within the expanded Southern section of her domain and had been shutdown quite abruptly. All the coterie members present were well aware of Gloria's hatred for being interrupted or talked over. They were also aware that she had destroyed kindred over such slights in the past.

This gang who as far as anyone could tell, just wanted to be left alone, were a loose group of Caitiff who had banded together for mutual protection. Vin had learned that unusually for kindred they made most decisions via democratic vote and had no leader as such. According to the Brujah to which Vin had spoken, 'The Liberated' had found themselves within the territory of El Hermandad when the supposedly neutral ground of the Barony of the Angels had been divided up by neighbouring baronies.

They had initially been fine with the situation having been allowed to keep their small feeding ground, but hadn't banked on the constant demands of Ramirez for confirmation of their allegiance. This had become worse when Covina was lost to El Hermandad as an ally. 

Jesus Ramirez - Ventrue
Seneschal of Salvador Garcia, El Hermandad

It seemed that Jesus Ramirez had come to the decision that absolute loyalty to the Brotherhood was necessary to ensure their baronies survival and had become quite militant in attitude. It was also entirely possible that Victor had been manipulating events to bring him to this state of mind, only to then use it against him to drive a wedge between him and those whom he would once have considered allies.

Vin finished his briefing with three further pieces of information. Firstly that Ramirez had also been "Butting heads..." with Marius over some unknown issue, though knowing Marius it was probably something to do with him or his people ignoring some border or other. Secondly, that the El Hermandad Sweeper who had replaced Baker after the discovery of his Final Death was thinking about abandoning the job. This was due to her seemingly suffering at Ramirez's hands due to her being of the Gangrel clan, the very clan whose members Jesus blamed for much of his baronies current troubles. Thirdly he told Michael that he had suggested to one of the Whittier Brujah that a meeting between Gloria and his own baron might be useful and that the idea had been met with a generally positive response.

Marius 'The Fixer' Walker - Gangrel
Somewhat Unpredictable Baron of Downtown

At the mention of Marius, Michael recalled something that Victor had told him and passed the information on. "Victor has let Ramirez continue to believe that Marius was involved in Bakers destruction and the subsequent takeover of Covina by The Wilds Pack. Or should I say that he is encouraging this line of thinking, whether it's true or not."

"Let's hope he doesn't make that accusation publicly..." Commented Vin. "...Marius never used to give a fuck about being accused of shit like that but now he's got an actual barony he can't afford to look like he's getting soft..." Daniel pointed out that such a conflict could well remove the Ramirez problem permanently. Michael however, wasn't happy about them preventing a war on their Eastern border by creating a war on their Southern one. He was also concerned that given that Marius knew about their true motives for being in the city, he could cause them a lot of trouble if he suspected the coterie of dragging him into another kindred war so soon after the so-called 'Cross Rebellion'. He also had doubts that even the impulsive Marius would risk the wrath of Salvador Garcia on a whim.

Fiorenza Savona - Ventrue
Camarilla Power Broker

Michael concluded that he needed to speak individually with both Victor Girard and Gloria Martinez. If he was to attempt to persuade Gloria to defy Ramirez and ally with Victor then he would first need to be sure that he, and the coterie of course, gained something in return.

Though the weakening of El Hermandad and by extension their leader, the noted Anarch Salvador Garcia, was significant in itself, it never hurt to see what other benefits might potentially be up for grabs. It would also be something positive to report to Fiorenza Savona or her representative Miss Myra Ross when they were next graced with a request for word of their progress.

Storytellers Note - For those of you who are a bit confused or skim past the top bit, the coterie are Camarilla agents sent to undermine the Free States so anything that negatively effects noted Anarchs is good news for them. Though I'm beginning to see some Anarch sympathies in the players so maybe that attitude is changing.

"So..." continued Michael. "...to summarise. Yes, we'll be helping Victor with his power grab as long as the kindred he decides to rule from behind is someone who we can deal with favourably. Though if Victor thinks he can slide in beside Gloria Martinez and control her like some kind of puppet I think he's going to be very disappointed." "Vin?"

The hulking Brujah turned at the mention of his name. "Let's see about arranging that meeting with Gloria shall we?" Vin nodded and then turned and left the meeting. "I think a short break might be in order..." Said Michael "...before we discuss whether to aid, or attempt to disrupt, the plans of Fortier and Abrams."

Scene Nine - "If You Can't Beat Them..."

Dawn Cavanagh - The Ministry
Professional Blackmailer

Vin had managed to arrange for a meeting between the coterie and Gloria to occur in two nights time though Gloria wouldn't meet anywhere but her own barony. With this being firmly non-negotiable, Michael agreed to the terms.

Michael let the others know that Mariel had already asked for his opinion on ways to remove the Brujah Idealists from San Fernando. Specifically she wanted a way of bypassing the fact that they had been granted their domain by Jeremy MacNeil which made muscling them out politically delicate, even for Anarchs. He also pointed out that for someone as manipulative and clever as Dawn Cavanagh to be at the beck and call of Isaac Abrams meant that his hold over her must be considerable given that blackmail was her speciality.

"Do we know anything about Dawn's origins?" Asked Daniel. Surprisingly it was Vin that replied. "Karla told me some stuff about her. Not sure how much is useful though."

Vin had learned that she had come to L.A. from Chicago after the werewolf attack that had decimated the kindred population there. Before that had she had a 'Temple' in The Hollywood Hills that was destroyed in some internecine dispute between kindred of her own clan and had apparently also had a temple in San Francisco. Karla had learnt from one of her fellow 'Blossoms' that a follower of Set, as her clan was then referred to by most, matching Dawns description, had also been active in Hollywood during the nineteen twenties.

Karla Bray - Toreador
Enforcer for 'The Blossoms', Vin's Contact

It was apparent that she seemed to have a knack for being one step ahead of disaster. Daniel asked Mr Hertz if the name was familiar to him as he too had come from Chicago. He admitted that it didn't ring a bell but he doubted that she and he would have been in the same social circles.

Storytellers Note - Mr Hertz's player had to leave the session earlier than everyone else so I was forced to improvise on his behalf. If he decides to include her in his background then we'll just say that something jogged his memory about her.

Vin concluded with Karla's warning that "Dawn is not only completely amoral, she also revels in the moral decadence of others." as well as that "Dawn's favourite weapons are drugs and sex, but she is perfectly happy to use whatever works."

Daniel was curious about just how the three Toreador who ran the sex trade of Downtown L.A. knew so much about Dawn's activities. "I didn't ask for details." Admitted Vin. "I just know that they have had some business dealings with her and this is what their hitter told me."

Sir Ralph Hamilton - Ventrue
Brujah Idealist

"So it's likely that at some point Sir Ralph Hamilton was up to no good somewhere and Dawn knows about it, which is why he was so keen to accept Isaac's deal?" suggested Daniel. "I imagine that any connection between Sir Ralph and a member of the Ministry might well be something he'd want to keep secret." added Mr Hertz. "Given their dubious reputation for corruption that is. The Camarilla would suspect him of betraying their secrets whether he did or not."

"Interesting if true." Interrupted Michael. "But it wouldn't help us to relocate the other three as I can tell you with some certainty that his opinion isn't swaying the others. He's still only one of four. We need a solution acceptable to them all." He then looked pointedly at Vin and Daniel. "A none violent solution, I mean..."

"Then I'm out of ideas." Said Vin, somewhat petulantly.

Mr Hertz enquired if they would accept a place within one of the coteries North Eastern baronies but it was pointed out that similar offers made by both Louis Fortier and Isaac Abrams had been turned down. The sticking point was always going to be that they wanted their independence and the domain they had been granted by MacNeil and were unwilling to give up either. "We could use your usual standby of offering to 'look after' the territory and then never give it back." Suggested Daniel somewhat flippantly. "I'm not sure if we can keep doing that without it beginning to look suspicious." Was Michael's reply. "Unless...we make it seem like someone else thought of it and after some persuasion we reluctantly agree. For the good of the Free States of course." Added Michael, thinking about it a little longer. "Mariel did seem quite keen on getting the credit for coming up with a solution...perhaps if I arrange a meeting with her and we can let her have our way..."

Louis Fortier, Baron of West L.A. - Isaac Abrams, Baron of Hollywood

Mariel made herself available for a meeting the very next night which led the coterie to believe she was very keen indeed on hearing of any plan they might have. Vin also pointed out that gaining extra domain and perhaps a boon or two was the best they could hope for from the situation. They sure as hell weren't powerful enough yet to be a threat to either Abrams or Fortier, let alone both. Daniel who had carefully analysed the security measures of both was forced to agree that direct action against them as individuals was likely to be a suicide mission though he was still running through possibilities. "Just in case..."

"Well that's our schedules filled for the next two evenings." Stated Michael, reasonably pleased that they were at least making progress. "Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"Well." said Daniel. "There is the small matter of Harvey down at the docks recruiting his own gang..."

Scene Ten - Down at the Docks

Heather Taylor - Ghoul of Marius

"Heather said something to that effect." confirmed Michael. "Though I believe she thought that 'The Rats' that Victoria was referring to were actual vermin rather than a gang." Heather was the only known ghoul of Marius's that seemed to have no practical use outside of being a blood doll, something he had no shortage of anyway and considered an oddity by most kindred.

For someone as pragmatic as 'The Fixer' to create a ghoul on a whim seemed massively out of character and there were no end of outlandish theories about why he had done so. Michael had taken Heather on as an employee as a favour to Victoria and rather surprisingly she was an excellent salesperson with a natural talent for design. Having another ghoul in addition to his own working at the gallery had made the operational side of things considerably simpler.

Victoria on the hand was a brutally efficient but psychopathic torturer who acted as Marius's P.A. and so the information gained via her was considerably more valuable. If Heather was correct that is. Heather had also mentioned that she'd heard Victoria say that Marius had paid Harvey at the docks a visit. It was hardly surprising that he'd want to check up on the situation now that Steve Booth had granted Harvey control of both of the cities main ports. Especially as Marius's own cargo vessel 'The Elizabeth Dane' was docked at one of them.

Daniel had created files on all the Barony of the Angels gangs via his own research and some information passed on to him by the Crypts Sons baron 'Hank'. 'The Rats' were a seven strong, eclectic mix of Gangrel, Brujah, Caitiff and Duskborn led by a female kindred named Shantelle. As they had made their escape from the Barony of the Angels via the sewers during the Cross Rebellion, Daniel had his doubts that all of them would have survived the trip. Especially as not only were Jenna Cross's people in the sewers but they were engaged in running battles with the offspring of the so-called 'Mistress of the Swarm'. 

The Voiceless Ones - Nosferatu
Sewer-dwelling Diablerists

The diablerist trio of Nosferatu known as The Voiceless Ones were also known to have been hunting underground at that time making the trip extremely dangerous.

"Six of the seven made it." Clarified Vin, though he made no mention of where he'd gained the information. "Steve Booth knows about them, but Harvey hasn't officially asked for permission to take them on. Steve's pretty laid back so if it's a temporary arrangement while they 'work their passage' he might not even be bothered."

"Some of the Brujah at the Last Round seem to think that he's taken them on permanently." Said Daniel. "Though one of them also told me that there was a merman working for him too so maybe that's just a rumour too..."

Storytellers Note - luckily I had two handouts prepared as Michael's player apparently can't fail Occult rolls despite having an Occult score of one. The rest I let him have for free being as he'd already thoroughly seduced the SPC that had the info.

Gangrel Mariner
Ally of Harvey Caplan

"No, that's quite true." Added Michael. "According to Damsel he's apparently of the Gangrel aquarii bloodline. Or Mariners as I believe they're more commonly known. He considers the waters off the South Coast of L.A. as his hunting ground. He met with Skelter just long enough to tell them he didn't give a fuck about Anarchs or the Camarilla and made it clear that as long as he was left alone he'd stay out of the politics of L.A." "It seems that it was Geduld who complicated matters."

The rest of the coterie were understandably curious so didn't interrupt as Michael continued. "Geduld knew he must have a haven below the waterline somewhere near the Port of Los Angeles but any-one he sent to find it and destroy him, the Mariner apparently ate. When Harvey took over he took a more pragmatic attitude and made him an offer of some kind. Damsel doesn't know the terms, no-one seems to, but Harvey has none of the problems with him that Geduld did."

"That gives Harvey his Brujah muscle Knowles, six other kindred and a flesh-eating Gangrel at his disposal. There are baron's in this city with less kindred than that working for them." pointed out Daniel. "That sounds like someone who fancies themselves as Baron of the Docks, maybe even Baron of the South Coast instead of Steve."

"I'll have some of my people slip into the area." offered Vin. "No-one really notices street people and they might be able to pick up something useful." Vin had a veritable army of street people, beggars and sex workers under his influence and was quite capable of flooding an area with spies if required.

Steve Booth - Brujah
Baron of the South Coast

"Who suits us better?" asked Mr Hertz. "Harvey is likely to be more pro-Camarilla." Reasoned Michael. "But Steve will be easier to...guide...he's also notoriously bad at planning ahead so should be easier to outmanoeuvre." "Steve would be easier to remove should it become necessary." Added Daniel. "His security precautions are terrible." Michael gave Daniel a disapproving glance and then continued as if he hadn't spoken at all. "Vin? If you wouldn't mind using your resources to observe the situation in the area and we'll continue to monitor Harvey's ambitions in case he needs diverting in some manner."

"So have we decided which side we'll be on then?" asked Daniel. "Same as always..." replied Michael. "...the winning side..."

Storytellers Note - That seemed an ideal place to suggest wrapping up the session, lol.

"I suggest you all make sure you have fed before our meeting with Mariel tomorrow." Suggested Michael. "It's at Club Confession so we'll want to avoid any 'accidents' and the time specified is fairly early in the evening so I doubt we'll have time to stop off for snacks beforehand."

With that the coterie went it's separate ways. Until tomorrow night that is.

To be Continued in 'Inevitable Betrayals' (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...

An entire session of the players planning in character while I sit and make notes? Why thank-you, don't mind if i do...

All joking aside, this worked very well for me as I didn't really want to plan out every possibility that they might explore and there's a lot going on in my version of L.A. at the moment. I now only have to plan out two meetings and perhaps an interlude to show some things going on that will move other aspects of the story forward.

I'm reasonably sure that when they review their initial hand-outs that there's a few other kindred they might want to talk to. I'll sketch those out briefly, just in case, so I don't have to pull those events out of my ass nowhere, lol.

Acknowledgements
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved. For more information please visit white-wolf.com.”

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, Harvey Caplan is Harvey Keitel, Shantelle is Marsha Thomason, Hank is Michael Clarke Duncan, Sofia Rivera is Eliza Dushku, Victor Girard is Bob Hoskins, Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles, Jesus Ramirez is Javier Bardem, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Fiorenza Savona is Jamie Lee Curtis, Dawn Cavanagh is Emma Stone, Karla Bray is Rose McGowen, Sir Ralph Hamilton is Pierce Brosnan, Louis Fortier is Eduardo Verastegui, Isaac Abrams is Gary Oldman, Heather Taylor is Liz Vicious and 'The Voiceless Ones' are Andi Leah Powers, Mary Kathryn Bryant and Valerie Sharp. 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.