Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Session Forty - Blood Money (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 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. Now with a barony of their own it's time to consolidate their position and then plan their next move.

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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.
'Infiltrate LA' Chronicle
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
'Foothold LA' Chronicle
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 and Two

The PC's
Player controlled characters
Michael Tomassio - Toreador, Baron of Pasadena
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, Sheriff
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, Scourge
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, Mob Accountant
The SPC's
Storyteller controlled player allies
Johnny 'Roach' West - Malkavian, Seneschal
Marie - Clan Carna, Occult Advisor

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

Introduction

Despite a slight issue created by the unknowing infiltration of one of the more vindictive of Los Angeles kindred's places of business the coterie has some new clues from which to work. They have discovered that their quarry has found himself a distinctive and beautiful woman as a blood doll which has given them a target to locate who hopefully is less experienced at evasion than Marcel is.

This and their other discoveries has moved them several steps closer to retrieving the millions embezzled from Camarilla accounts that they have been tasked with retrieving.

Additionally, one of Mr Hertz's earlier discoveries has led them to believe that the embezzler they seek has also for some reason been a regular visitor to a sleazy sex-shop in Hollywood called the 'Sin-Bin' that is to be their next port of call.

Scene Nine - The Sin Bin 

'The Sin Bin'

While Michael spent his evening with a notable Los Angeles socialite names Anastasia Talbot who he hoped might know of this mysterious woman whom Marcel emery had latched onto, Daniel had been tasked with visiting the Sin-Bin and talking to the manager there. He had also been instructed to take Roach with him as he was the most skilled of the coterie at discerning whether some-one was telling the truth or not. Roach of course didn't really want to go so was being awkward.

Mr Hertz had been undertaking his own investigation but had to admit that he had reached a dead-end and would have had trouble progressing without the more hands on methods of the coterie to which he'd been directed by Fiorenza Savona. The fact that the time and resources of a supposedly Anarch Baron was able to be effectively commandeered by a member of the Camarilla made it obvious to the Nosferatu that he and a significant number of his coterie must be agents of hers.

Chicago by Night - Under Camarilla Rule

He presumed that after her success with undermining other cities and bringing them back to the Camarilla fold that a similar project was being implemented within the Anarch Free States. The idea intrigued him as he was at heart a puzzle solver and the mundane money laundering he was engaged in for the Chicago Camarilla was becoming utterly tedious. It occurred to him that a successful retrieval of the missing funds would give him some political leverage to request a new assignment.

Roach was perched upon his tatty chair on the fire-escape as usual and was smoking a large joint and was making life difficult for Daniel by constantly finding excuses to delay their trip to Hollywood. Currently he was insisting that he needed to finish his spliff despite the fact that Daniel had watched him roll it while they were talking and he was yet to even light it.

Hollywood by Night - Barony of Isaac Abrams

Finally losing his patience the Banu Haqim dragged the Malkavian to his feet by his collar and virtually dragged him downstairs. He immediately regretted the decision as Roach used his telepathy to transmit Taylor Swift songs directly into Daniel's mind.

To make matters worse they weren't even the original songs which would have been bad enough as Daniel hated pop music but deliberately out of tune versions sang by Roach himself. Being too tired to concentrate on blocking out the noise, Daniel resigned himself to an annoying trip into Hollywood.

The area of Hollywood containing the 'Sin Bin' is a perfect example of the sleaze and depravity that is the flip-side to the glamour that Hollywood would prefer to show the world. The sign on the door proudly proclaims the peep shows and pornography but doesn't mention the prostitution that you are also aware takes place there. Enquiries with your kindred contacts have revealed that the prostitutes there are often made available as blood dolls to those without the budgets to avail themselves of the services provided by Catherine Du Bois and Velvet Velour's more exclusive menu's.

Daniel noted that the entrance was being observed by a state of the art security camera that some-one had attempted to disguise by inserting it in a shitty looking exterior casing. The lens was however a giveaway to some-one with the assassins knowledge of security systems.

The interior is no better than the exterior. A sleazy looking gentlemen is behind a counter with an open door leading to an office area behind him. Racks of magazines and dvd's are closely packed alongside an interesting variety of sex aids and interesting outfits in a variety of materials. A sign against the back wall proclaims the location of the 'peep show' above a stairway going downwards. A heavier duty door in one corner is labelled 'private' and a casually dressed but heavy set man is seated on a fold-up chair nearby that creaks when he moves. You would imagine that the less legal services are provided through there.

Daniel watched the guard and as he straightened his jacket he could see that the 'casual' guard was anything but and was armed with a Heckler and Koch MP7 in a multi-purpose ambidextrous holster secured to his belt at the hip. The distinct hilt of a KM2000 German army issue combat knife could be seen on his opposite hip. The precautions were completed by a form fitting bullet-proof vest whose outline Daniel could see under his sweatshirt.

The MP7 seemed to be the current weapon of choice for Marius's security personnel which confirmed that they were in the right place. Daniel presumed the weapon choice was due to the fact that it was exceptionally good at punching through body armour and was quite compact.

The sleazy balding man, in a cheap suit behind the counter addresses you as you enter. "Can I help you with any particular needs this evening?"

Flynn Boyle - Sin Bin 'Manager'

Daniel noticed the slightly odd look in the Malkavian's eyes when he was observing a person with senses other than the mundane so presumed despite his lack of interest in their mission that he was at least doing what had been asked of him. "We have some questions..." said Daniel getting straight to the point. "...and Victoria told us you'd be cooperative..." Both Daniel and Roach concluded quite quickly that the Manager of the Sin Bin, Flynn Boyle was an utter sleazeball whose main claim to fame seemed to be an encyclopedic knowledge of every attractive man and woman in any form of media and the ability to acquire any form of pornography ever created whether it was legal or not.

The payments listed on the statement obtained by the accountant Mr Hertz as 'Private Services, Misc.' that came to exactly one hundred and fifty dollars and appeared mainly on Friday and Saturday nights were for 'private dances' which was Mr Boyle's code for prostitution. Flynn was somewhat scornful of Marcel as he explained that for one fifty the customer only got half an hour and that the full hour for two fifty was a better deal. Marcel Emery had regular 'private dances' with a native american stripper called Kerri but the Sin Bin manager remembered him in particular due to an incident that happened during one of his early visits.

One of the Sin Bin's 'Performers'

He went what Flynn referred to as "fucking ape-shit" when he tried to pass a random girl in an outfit off on him as Native American, the difference was apparently quite important to him and he seemed to have an uncanny knack of telling them apart. Daniel doubted that the manager had put much effort into the subterfuge as he had more than likely presumed that it was a preference based on fantasy rather than any other need.

Roach confirmed that the man was telling the truth and they both were reasonably sure that the Ventrue Marcel's feeding restriction must mean he could only feed off of people of native american origin. Presumably they must also be female though that may have simply been personal preference on his part. They then showed him the picture of the woman who their prey had picked up at Glaze. "Well, well...I'm not surprised we don't get many visits anymore if he's bagged himself an actual model." He paused momentarily as if distracted before continuing.

Shauna Jones - Blood Doll
'Actress' and Model

Roach later revealed that every time Flynn Boyle mentioned or thought of a woman he also immediately imagined himself engaged in various sex acts with them. Daniel thought himself lucky that Roach in a rare moment of consideration hadn't chosen to share the images with him. He was also happy that he'd taken Roach with him and not Hope as she'd have probably have ripped the managers head off by now on general principle.

"Well, part time model. Her names...err...give me a moment...Jones...Shauna Jones, tried her hand at acting but she's got all the talent of a rock in that area I'm afraid. I'm sure she get's plenty of interviews but she's apparently not keen on what most Hollywood auditions require of the beautiful but talent-less." It seems that Flynn's encyclopedic knowledge of attractive young man and ladies in the entertainment industry might be of some use after all. "She did a commercial for some hairspray that never took off about a year ago. A couple of 'glamour' shoots for magazines, a bit tame for my tastes, all the interesting bits were covered up, I mean what's the point of that? you might as well look at an underwear catalogue..." Daniel mentally changed 'probably' to 'certainly' in regards to the likelihood of Hope having straight-up murdered Flynn by now.

"Did some hostess work at a couple of clubs, you know the kind of thing, pretend your interested in them for long enough to get them in buying drinks and then onto the next one. I know the agent for the agency she last worked for, they kicked her off for turning down work. He said she was one of these wannabes who thinks she's better than she is though that might have been because she wouldn't fuck him. I'll ring them for you if you like?..."

Pacific Palisades at Night - Los Angeles

He moves into the back office to make the call leaving you alone in his shop with the exception of the guard in the corner. A few minutes later, Flynn emerges from his office and hands you an envelope with an address written on the back. "She's apparently moved from the flat she was living in, current address is an apartment in Pacific Palisades, which is seriously up market. Looks like she's found herself a meal ticket...maybe she decided to put out for once..."

Daniel nodded noncommittally, slipped the manager a few hundred dollars for his help and then left along with Roach. Roach declined a lift back with Daniel claiming he had some "Business to deal with..." and then wandered off. Happy to not have to share a car with the Malkavian twice in the same evening he made no attempt to persuade him otherwise and left alone.

Leanna - Duskborn
Mistress of Blood Dolls

'Anastasia' had turned out to be a fairly wasted evening for Michael though she had said she's let him know if the saw the girl in the photo anywhere. Having some time to spare he decided to give Leanna a try. Though primarily in charge of managing Marius's herd of blood dolls she also paid close attention to the blood dolls and blood bound of many if the other kindred in Los Angeles. This was mainly due to her offering a useful service in re-writing the memories of such for kindred who wanted rid of toys they got bored with but didn't wish to cause them any particular harm.

Leanna was also unable to help particularly other than being reasonably sure that she wasn't a ghoul or blood doll belonging to anyone else which meant that she had probably been picked up by Marcel as the barman in Glaze had claimed rather than being a 'gift' from any kindred of significance in LA. Stopping long enough for refreshments and a pleasant chat, Michael then returned to the gallery in the hope that the Sin Bin had been a more productive visit for his colleagues.

Scene Ten - Confessions

Club Confession - Venus Dare, Manager

Once together again the coterie compared notes. They now had a name and location for the mysterious blood doll which should make her easy to find and hopefully she could lead them to Marcel. Daniel set his ghoul Andrew to investigating the address specified while Mr Hertz looked into the financials to see who was paying the bills.

With some evening left Michael decided to visit Club Confession to see if they could get any information out of Venus on who exactly Marcel and Shauna had a meeting with at her club. Daniel went along as driver and bodyguard.

As usual they entered via the VIP entrance using their 'special' membership cards and made some enquiries with the staff about whether Miss Dare was available for a meeting. The barman indicated that he'd check but he had been told she'd be busy for an hour or so and wasn't to be disturbed. This meant that they'd need to hang around for a while which was inconvenient as the club was carried and they hadn't bothered to reserve a room or booth.

Turning his supernatural charisma up to full and dropping effortless into his pale and interesting artist persona he usually favoured when seduction was his purpose, Michael used his formidable abilities in this area for the slightly mundane purpose of finding somewhere to sit down.

He noted a group of ladies who seemed to be having a Bachelorette Party. Either that or the police uniform in LA had changed radically over the weekend. He noticed a single empty chair which he helped himself to before somewhat shallowly attempting to seduce the whole table. Daniel kept his eye on Michael but figured he wasn't in a great deal of danger currently and began his usual hobby of looking for holes in places security. After about an hour had gone by one of the staff came over to inform Michael that Venus could spare him a few minutes and Michael made his apologies and left with seven phone numbers that he'd probably never ring.

Venus Dare - Ghoul of Marius
Dominatrix

Storytellers Note - It helps that Michael's player gets to roll fourteen dice to seduce some-one...

They were escorted to Venus's office on the upper floor by one of the door staff though he waited outside rather than escort them in. As they entered Miss Dare was emerging from a side room of her office buttoning up a blouse over an outfit that indicated that she had been indulging her dominatrix sideline with some-one in the dungeon room adjacent to where she worked. A leather clad male figure could be seen hanging upside-down from the ceiling. "He's not going anywhere so I can spare a few minutes, Michael. What can I help you with?"

Daniel showed Venus the picture on his phone while Michael indicated that Victoria believed that Marcel and Shauna had met another kindred in one of the clubs private rooms recently. He also admitted that Victoria wouldn't disclose their name. "Victoria is very keen on keeping things on a professional basis..." admitted Venus "...and would probably rather it didn't become common knowledge who is and isn't having meetings in private rooms."

David Geduld - Ventrue
Baron of Torrance

Michael was afraid that this would be the answer but Venus continued. "However it wasn't exactly a secret meeting. Plenty of kindred saw them come and go as it was a busy night for the private rooms so though I couldn't tell you that their meeting was with David Geduld, Baron of Torrance I'm sure there were plenty who could." It occurred to Michael that Victoria knew full well that Venus would tell them who the meeting was with and he wondered what she had to gain from them knowing. Filing that away as something to worry about later he thanked the club manager and dominatrix and left her to continue 'entertaining' her guest.

Meanwhile, back at the gallery Andrew and Mr Hertz had discovered that the apartment that Shauna Jones lived in had been paid for using a credit card in the name of some-one called Hugo Lawson. Mr Hertz was currently working on finding more information on this new name but was reasonably sure it was a false identity created to conceal Marcel Emery's spending once he realised he'd been tracked to Los Angeles.

With the only really solid information they had to investigate being the address of Shauna they decided to make that their next port of call.

Scene Eleven - Shauna Jones

Dion was given the task of driving Michael and Daniel to the apartments where they were both to begin the search for Shauna. As he left, Michael also contacted his Scourge Hope with the location in case they needed back-up.

The apartment complex turned out to be luxurious in the extreme with it's own lower level for parking and three substantial floors each containing merely two apartments. The lobby contained a single man sitting at a desk.

Daniel was sure that he was a quite ordinary guard come concierge as he seemed to have all the security awareness of a rock. Presumably his primary duties were to get visitors to sign in and out with perhaps the occasional security patrol but compared to some of the military personnel he'd had to deal with recently he should be little trouble. After a brief discussion about how exactly they were going to gain entry, they decided that pretending to be a potential employer might be a good ruse though they'd need to improvise a little as they currently had no idea which of the six apartments was Shauna's.

Currently only one of the car park spaces contained a vehicle, a brand new, bright yellow Porsche, and that was for apartment five so Daniel decided to investigate that one first. If it turned out to be the correct one then Michael could attempt to gain entry with a bit of subterfuge via the guard in the lobby.

The building was childsplay for Daniel to scale from the outside having balconies for each set of rooms and significant ornamentation on the outer walls and he quickly climbed up to the top floor. As only one of these was occupied he hoped that he was about to examine apartment five rather than six. Hope meanwhile had assumed the form of a Raven and after circling the area first, landed on the railing a moment after Daniel vaulted over it and watched him crouched stealthily by the outside door.

Hope in Raven Form
Protean - Metamorphosis

The Banu Haqim's acute senses could hear the heavy breathing of some-one sound asleep within though the view into the room was obscured by heavy blackout blinds drawn in front of the glass balcony doors. Daniel turned and noted the bird sitting on the railing with it's head cocked to one side observing him intently but chose to ignore it and tested the door, finding it locked. Picking it was a simple enough matter and he carefully slipped inside.

The main room was fairly open plan and as there was no sign of any-one within it Daniel began a stealthy search of all the rooms except the one from which he could hear breathing. The bathroom showed signs of both male and female occupation having grooming aids for both sexes. The spare bedroom of the two was quite interesting because as well as also having heavy blinds they had been fixed to prevent them being opened and closed. Daniel began to suspect that Shauna had a kindred guest staying there with some regularity as basic precautions had been taken to prevent sunlight being allowed into the room accidentally. Also quite telling was that it looked like some-one had been sleeping under the bed rather than in it. Carefully opening the final room he entered silently and observed the woman within was indeed Shauna, before backing out and messaging Michael to make his way up.

Michael Tomassio - Toreador
"You know you want to..."

Hope hopped into the room and flowed back into humanoid form and was a little irritated that Daniel didn't seem more surprised with her grand entrance. Michael meanwhile had pressed the buzzer on the lobby door below and attracted the attention of the guard within. As the guard returned to his desk to retrieve the booking in ledger he asked Michael who exactly he was and who he needed to visit. Michael had no intention of identifying himself and instead casually asked the guard to lock himself in the toilet and slide the key under the door back to him which he promptly did.

Storytellers Note - In character, none of the PC's know that Michael has dominate and presume that peoples eagerness to obey him is actually due to his presence. He also has the 'Irresistible Voice' Amalgam power so doesn't need to make eye-contact to get dominate abilities to work which helps with the deception.

Michael had no abilities in the area of stealth whatsoever as the concept that anyone wouldn't want to be noticed was completely alien to him so he took off his shoes before entering the apartment as this was the best he could do. Deciding that there was little subtle way of starting the questioning of a sleeping woman whose apartment you'd broken into, Daniel slipped his hand over her mouth as he woke her.

Marcel Emery - Ventrue
Embezzler

The panic was evident in her eyes as Michael leaned over and used the full force of his entrancement abilities to convince her that they weren't there to do her any harm. Something about his voice made her believe him instantly and as Daniel removed his hand from her mouth she made no attempt to scream though she had started to cry.

"I thought you'd come to kill me...Marcel said that if the others found out I knew about them that's what would happen." Michael queried what she meant by 'others. "Other vampires of course..." The three kindred exchanged glances with one another, Marcel was either very careless or had planned on disposing of her very soon. This was also a decision that they might have to make themselves but both Hope and Daniel knew that Michael would never approve the murder of an innocent even if the masquerade was endangered. The aforementioned Michael meanwhile was busy questioning the young woman who was unnaturally keen to please the man who she had only met five minutes ago as he first attempted to confirm and clarify the information they already had.

She explained that she and Marcel had indeed met some-one in a downtown club. "We met a friend of his in a club in Downtown, David? I think, they were talking about a business investment but I got the impression it was on someone else's behalf. They actually drank wine there, first time I think I'd seen Marcel actually have a drink." Shauna's next comment confirmed what Victoria had implied and Venus had seconded. "The club? I don't remember the name, it looked like a church, the music was a bit rocky for my tastes but it had private rooms upstairs."

Gloria Martinez - Brujah
Baron of Whittier

Michael hoped this was merely a business opportunity and didn't mean that David Geduld was involved in the embezzlement as that would create a whole new set of problems for them. Michael asked her to continue with any information on meetings that Marcel had taken her too.

"We met a Miss Martinez in Whittier. That was a bit odd, it was a charity thing, investing in school projects. I didn't think Marcel was into that kind of thing at all but I think that was for someone else as well. She didn't seem keen on the idea and Marcel asked me to step outside for a while so I'm not sure what happened." As Michael already had a favour to do for Gloria Martinez it occurred to him that he might be able to arrange a meeting about that matter and then find an opportunity to ask her about Marcel. Shauna had no other information on meetings other than been taken to a "Cheesy looking club with plastic skulls and stuff" which was undoubtedly Fortier's 'Club Zombie' but she hadn't been allowed downstairs for that one at all. The kindred present were well aware that ghouls and kine weren't allowed into the vampire only part of the club so she would have little to tell them about it.

All that remained was to discover what she knew about the movements of their target Marcel Emery. "Oh yes. He stops here sometimes but he has his own place in Beverly Hills. I can give you the address if you like?"

Dion - Ghoul
Michael's Driver

As the others had suspected, Michael would hear of no plan that involved Shauna's untimely demise.  He told her to gather together some essentials as they needed to move her somewhere "For her own protection." He contacted the watchmen at his home and haven and told them that they would be expecting a 'guest' and that they would need to ensure that she didn't endanger herself by doing anything like going out, or making phone-calls and implied to them that she was effectively on 'Suicide Watch'. Hope left via the balcony as she flowed back into avian form while the others left through the currently unguarded lobby. Daniel ensured that his hood was pulled up so now one could identify him as some-one who had left the apartment without actually arriving there.

Once they had the girl secured Michael left Dion to ensure that his instructions were followed and then they picked up Vin in anticipation of visiting the suspected haven of their prey. If there was any likelihood of trouble then Vin was about the best deterrent they had available.

Scene Twelve - Marcel Emery

Protean - 'The Only Way to Fly.'

Marcel's house was a single level but expensive looking detached home on the end of a row of about a dozen homes. The windows were equipped with shutters but this was the only sign that a kindred might live or have lived there. A raven landed in a dark spot concealed from view and Hope emerged a moment later. Daniel pointed out that there had been room in the car. "True, but flying is cool." was the Gangrel's retort.

Daniel reminded Hope of the strategy they'd used when they'd run down the kindred poacher in Pasadena.  Nodding his agreement, Daniel slipped around the back to examine the rear entrance while Michael waited by the front door with Vin and Hope standing just out of sight. Daniel skilfully bypassed the two locks on the back door and entered the property ready to ambush any-one attempting to escape. Once in position he sent a message to Michael who knocked on the front door hoping to drive some-one into the Banu Haqim's waiting arms.

Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, Coterie Enforcer

By Michael's third attempt, Daniel was reasonably sure that no-one was in the properties ground floor and the only other place within the property to search was a cellar that was locked from the outside with several new and sturdy locks so he let the others in. As Daniel picked these locks as well, Hope offered to take point as in her words Daniel was "Only dangerous at a distance..." referencing several recent problems that the assassin had solved via a high calibre sniper rifle.

Vin was staying close to Michael in case there was an ambush of some kind and had slid his machete from it's scabbard in preparation. Michael noted that Vin's new found aptitude for business and politics had in no way been at the expense of his deadlier skills and the blade he habitually carried was evidence enough of that.

Daniel gestured theatrically to the open door and Hope curtsied badly before making her way down the stairway into the cellar. Though it was a close call who out of Hope and Vin was the most dangerous, Hope definitely had the edge in resilience thanks to the signature abilities of her clan.

The basement had at one point been a games room of sorts but someone had recently pushed everything to one side and placed a futon style bed in one corner, presumably this was where Marcel slept through the daylight hours. A skeleton was chained and nailed spreadeagled across the bed with a large wooden stake hammered through the rib-cage where the heart would have been. On closer examination the spine had been cut through at the neck at some point afterwards, decapitating the unfortunate individual, the fangs within the skull indicating that they had once been kindred. However had decided to end the unlife of who was presumably Marcel Emery had been very thorough indeed.

As the others searched the basement haven for anything that might be a clue, Daniel examined the point of impact where skull had been severed from spine. The weapon looked to be something heavy like a cleaver but with a slight curve to the blade. Given the damage to the wood beneath it had clearly been wielded by some-one with significant strength. When he'd finished his examination, Hope reached over picked up the skull and smashed the fangs and other teeth to powder along with much of the jaw.

Though not particularly prominent, Hope didn't want to leave any evidence that might scream 'Vampire' to an investigator. She also removed the stake and chains. Hope's examination of the stake had revealed a heavy, cylindrical piece of metal driven into a hollowed out section in the rear of the hardwood stake, presumably to give it added weight. The wood had been machine sharpened to a point and grip had been added. All in all it was a professional tool designed to do a particular job very well indeed.

While looking around, Daniel noticed that a square patch of plaster on the wall seemed to be a very slightly different shade to the rest. A quick scan of the rooms dimensions and features led him to believe that a vent of some kind should be there. It occurred that such a vent would make a good hiding place if you put something in there and then plastered over the hole. He turned out to be correct.

Behind the plaster was a small but robust safe locked with key and combination but neither was much of a deterrent to the skills and strength currently in the room and so it was soon unlocked. The safe contained three bundles of hundred dollar bills adding up to ten thousand dollars per bundle, five credit cards in different names, two burner phones of which one was still in the box and a business card for an investment firm called Maynard Finance with an address in Downtown's business district.

It looked like with the death of their quarry and Shauna exhausted as an information source that their only chance for success was if the safe held some clue about where to look next for the money. It seemed like they were going to need the help of Mr Hertz once more...

To be Continued in 'Blood Money' - 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...

I suppose having the guy they're looking for be found dead so they have to start all over again was a bit of a dick move but at least I left them some clues...

I had planned all along to make the job more complicated but had left the order of their discoveries largely to chance as I didn't want them to feel like they were on rails. The only event I'd aimed to be last was discovering the body of what may or may not be Marcel Emery which rather neatly happened at a perfect time to end this particular session.

Mr Hertz's player is available next session so there will be a little more accounting related problems than I normally include in a story, lol.

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 Kurt Cobain, 'Vin' is the actor Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Marie is Eva Greene, Charles Dance is Mr Hertz, Shauna Jones is Ashley Callingbull, Leanna is Leeanna Vamp, Venus Dare is Sophie Howard, Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles and Dion is Clark Gregg. 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...

Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Session Thirty Nine - Blood Money (Part Two)

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 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. Now with a barony of their own it's time to consolidate their position and then plan their next move.

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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.
'Infiltrate LA' Chronicle
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
'Foothold LA' Chronicle
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

The PC's
Player controlled characters
Michael Tomassio - Toreador, Baron of Pasadena
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, Sheriff
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, Scourge
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, Mob Accountant
The SPC's
Storyteller controlled player allies
Johnny 'Roach' West - Malkavian, Seneschal
Marie - Clan Carna, Occult Advisor

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

Pre-Session Player Handouts
At the start of certain sessions I distribute local news reports and information relevant to certain individuals. Some relate to previous sessions, others are things going on that the players may or may not wish to investigate or involve themselves in. Others of course are complete bollocks...

Introduction

'Glaze' Nightclub

Fiorenza Savona, the Ventrue who is overseeing their project to take Los Angeles from within has 'requested' that the coterie assist one of her operatives with his mission to retrieve thirty million dollars embezzled from Camarilla accounts. Mr Hertz has gone as far as he can himself as being of the Nosferatu clan he is ill-equipped to deal with some of the social interactions needed to continue with the investigation which his employer had hoped could be dealt with 'hands-off'.

The coterie are currently following a number of leads, one of which has led them to the exclusive 'Glaze' nightclub in Chinatown where Michael is providing a distraction while Daniel infiltrates the security office. Unfortunately they have failed to make a particularly thorough check into who exactly owns the club they're infiltrating...

Storytellers Note - You might want to read the first part of this story which can be found HERE so the first bit makes sense. It's not essential but it will help.

Scene Six - A Near Miss

Yukio - Ghoul of Marius
"What are you doing here?"

Daniel caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye as a heavy bladed Chinese sword stopped a few inches from his neck. "It's a good job you have a distinctive walk, when sneaking about Daniel..." Said Yukio, Marius's second favourite ghoul and chief enforcer and assassin. "...or I'd have removed your head from your shoulders." Yukio lowered the sword and slid it into a scabbard before sliding her coat back over it. Daniel noted a suppressed Heckler and Koch MP7A1 was strapped to her thigh in a multi-purpose holster before it too was covered by her long coat.

"I'm glad I'm so distinctive..." replied Daniel "What are you doing here?" The Banu Haqim was sure he knew the answer and was already trying to work out the best way of minimising any fallout from his presence. "It's one of Marius's clubs and I'm doing a quick security check. Venus wasn't happy with some aspects of it and wanted a second opinion. Your turn..." Deciding that honesty was probably the best policy he explained that they were investigating an embezzler who had been traced to the club and that he had been hoping to use the security footage to get a look at them and see if they could find any useful intelligence.

Glaze Nightclub - Security Room

"I don't suppose it occurred to you to just ask the bar staff did it?" Stated Yukio somewhat sarcastically. "Fine, I'll see what I can do, follow me..." Already running through the conversation he was going to have to have with Michael, he sighed and did as he was asked. Yukio used an electronic fob to open the door to the security office and told the three guards within to wait outside.

Daniel noted that they all had the look of ex-military which Marius seemed to favour as security personnel and it was well known that he paid well above the going rate to ensure he had the best in even the most mundane security roles. "You have an approximate time I hope?" asked Yukio "Or this is going to take fucking ages..." Fortunately Mr Hertz had been very thorough and had provided exact times and dates for all the transactions utilising the now cancelled card used within the club. While Yukio searched through the stored security footage for the appropriate times, Daniel habitually made a note of the security room looking for holes to exploit.

Suspected Blood Doll
of Marcel Emery

Disappointingly but also unsurprisingly the camera's within were high quality and seemed to cover every part of the club both inside and out and the security men all seemed professional and observant though he imagined the one he'd snuck past was probably going to get in trouble. His observations were interrupted by Yukio. "This is them, they appear at the tills at all the times specified."

The embezzler matched the description of Marcel Emery which was no big surprise though of interest was the fact that he was accompanied each time by an attractive native american woman. "Any chance I can have this footage?" requested Daniel, pushing his luck a bit. "No, you bloody well can't...I suppose you can take a picture of the footage though..." Daniel accepted the compromise as the picture was excellent quality so even a picture of a picture would give him a good likeness of the woman accompanying their suspect. He was also in no real position to argue. "I'll escort you out, now..."  Daniel was sure it wasn't a question. "...also it might be an idea to do a bit more research before sneaking about random locations..." The tone was conversational but there was a definite edge to it. "...You're playing a Brujah and that's fine but we know what clan you're really from and a Banu Haqim sneaking around a kindred's place of business while armed could be misinterpreted. I like you so I'd really like to avoid the situation where I'm told to kill you..."

Daniel had little to no fear from mortals, even ghouls but Yukio was a different matter. Some of the references Michael had picked up when talking to her, combined with the age of certain original items in her rooms had put his estimate of her age at anything between one hundred and fifty, to double that or more. That had given her quite a lot of time to get good at killing things and combined with his and Daniel's other suspicions about the age of Marius and the effects that potent vitae might have on a ghouls abilities put her on a different level of dangerous. Daniel had also seen what weapons she had access to due to Marius's wealth and military contacts.

Yukio - Ghoul of Marius
"I'll give it some thought..."

"It seems like a terrible time to ask this given the circumstances, but..." Yukio looked sideways at him with some curiosity. "...I need some-one to help perfect my sword skills and you're the best I know of." The sincere request broke the tension a little and Marius's assassin laughed out loud. "I'll give it some thought." was the reply as the door to the VIP area was opened and Daniel was shown back to the upper floor. He made his way back to the handsome and charismatic Michael who was busy buying drinks for most of the floor and had amassed a considerable flock of toadying sycophants. "Michael, we really need to talk..."

Storytellers Note - I do profiles of important factions in the chronicle which apparently my players don't read as Glaze has been listed as one of Marius's businesses since the Aegis Acquisitions one I posted in November last year, lol.

Marius Walker - 'Boardroom' Gangrel and Entrepreneur

"Well that's just wonderful!!! Does Marius own fucking everything in LA?" Daniel explained to the exasperated Michael that Yukio had told him that this was one of three clubs that were ran for him by Venus Dare and that it wasn't really a secret if they'd have done a little research first for which lapse Daniel took responsibility. "Did we gain anything other than a pissed off Gangrel fixer?" was the reasonable next question. Daniel showed him the picture of their prey and the woman he was with that he'd acquired from the security footage. "She might be easier to find than Marcel. She's quite memorable..." Michael who had an eye for beauty had to admit that her features were symmetrical and were essentially perfect, at least from a 'golden ratio' point of view and he had to agree with Daniel's assessment that any who saw her would probably remember doing so. He also saw the wisdom in Yukio's suggestion of just asking the bar staff if they'd seen them.

"It's a tip...not a bribe..."

Storytellers Note - This isn't entirely the players fault as if you've read my previous stories I do tend to throw in plot twists and complications a lot so I may have trained them to default to presuming everything is going to be really tricky...

The barman who had been receiving substantial tips all evening was more than happy to help with their enquires and did in fact remember the "Pretty, blonde guy." and that he was a big tipper who had gotten some attention from the ladies but had seemed surprisingly uninterested in them. He also revealed that he was hitting on a native american woman that used the club and they had been seen together quite regularly up until a few weeks ago and that he had shown interest only in her. Michael asked to be informed if she came back to the club using the excuse that he thought she'd be an excellent subject for a portrait, handing over his business card and another healthy tip. They then continued the party for long enough to maintain their original charade before returning to the gallery.

Consolidated Chantry
of Los Angeles

After dropping off all but the coterie members Michael and Daniel discussed what they had discovered and how to deal with the complications they'd created. Michael was sure that they could trace such a beautiful woman even in such a place as Los Angeles but was also concerned that Marius would be upset about them effectively breaking into his place of business. The Barons and de-facto barons of the territories near to the newly inhabited Tremere Chantry had recently met to discuss the issue of Camarilla loyalists in the city. Several of those there had deliberately excluded Marius from the debate, but invited Michael, and since then their relationship had become a little frosty despite (as Michael pointed out) the initial arrangements not involving Michael at all.

Once he was back in his office, Michael braced himself for the inevitable political hoops he was about to be forced to jump through but delegated the call to Daniel instead who had a somewhat better relationship with Marius than he did.

Instead the call was answered by the 'Fixers' ghoul Victoria which if anything was often worse. The tone was cold even by Victoria's impressive ability to make people feel uncomfortable. "Yukio tells me that you and some friends had a little outing?" Daniel apologised for the "grave error" assuring her that had he known of the clubs ownership he would have certainly asked for permission before taking any action.

Victoria - Ghoul of Marius
PA and Psychopath

"The issue, Daniel is that a camouflaged Banu Haqim assassin sneaking towards a security room could easily be interpreted in a variety of ways and some of those ways could get you killed...permanently in your case."

Daniel took responsibility for the error and offered to make his apologies to Marius directly. Victoria's response was a little surprising however.

"I would advise against that, In fact I think it best if neither of us mention the matter to him at all and I have made Yukio aware that is the action we will take. He is unusually preoccupied with important matters at the moment and so would likely take the most direct and least time consuming action to ensure that this could never happen again."

Daniel was sure that he knew what the solution would be but was curious about why the Boardroom Gangrel was so busy. Deciding that he couldn't get in more trouble than he was already in he decided to push his look and ask if he could also have a look at the footage from the cameras at Galze pointed at the car-park.

"I'll see what I can do once you give me a full and detailed account of just exactly what you were up to..." The Banu Haqim gave as full account as he could and Victoria said she'd look into the footage for him before abruptly hanging up.

With the night almost exhausted the coterie retired for the day.

Interlude One - A Glitch

Andrew Francis - Ghoul
Daniel's Investigator

Daniel's investigator Andrew had called in several favours with his 'Hacker' friend and got himself the false credentials necessary to investigate the bank to compliment the paperwork obtained for him by Michael's pet police Lieutenant. He discovered that the account had been looked at twice, once when the forty thousand dollars was withdrawn and a second time when some-one came to check the balance a day later.

The withdrawal was quite clearly carried out by Marcel Emery who had all the identification necessary to utilise the account. The later balance enquiry was carried out by a woman who inexplicably no-one can adequately describe other than in broad and generic manner. The security footage of her via automated surveillance had glitched alarmingly and it was impossible to identify her at all.

At this point the manager had begun to get suspicious so the investigator made his goodbyes and left. Daniel and Mr Hertz were familiar enough with the supernatural disciplines of stealth to know that this took considerable ability as normally electronic security footage was unaffected by such powers at lower levels of skill.

The bank had been visited by Marcel early evening on the one night the bank opened late. The female visitor however had requested that the bank opened late especially for her and her request had been granted despite no-one now being quite sure who she was. All present immediately suspected that their minds had been dominated.

Interlude Two - A Favour for Gloria

Gloria Martinez - Brujah
Baron of Whittier

Gloria Martinez, Baron of Whittier has communicate with you via a messenger requesting that you repay one of the trivial boons accumulated by her allowing you to ship drugs through her territory. She requires a number of girls to be provided to entertain a local dignitary but she wishes this done outside of her own territory to minimise the chance of any embarrassing discoveries.

It's a relatively simple task and you have been assured that his tastes in the area of companionship and chemical assistance are mundane. His name is Andrei Foley a mortal, political fixer for the wealthy however his relationship with Miss Martinez is unknown.

Some investigation of their own revealed that Andrei was a mortal political 'fixer' for the wealthy. It seemed likely that Gloria indulged his baser appetites in return for him providing her with information on his customers which she then used to her advantage.

Further digging made it evident that she used different locations so that Mr Foley didn't become a victim of his own methods and subsequently become useless as a resource. Given their control of both the sex and drugs trades throughout Pasadena this was a simple matter to arrange and Michael indicated that it would be a matter he'd sort as soon as he could.

Scene Seven - Geduld Logistics

David Geduld - Ventrue
Baron of Torrance

Finding the location of the main offices of the port authorities within the docks was fairly simple and navigating your way there was childs-play to one with your skill set, however as you reach the area itself you begin to come across some actual security measures.

Locating the specific headquarters of Geduld Logistics was also reasonably simple with it being a legitimate company and David Geduld being as far as the world was concerned an entirely normal businessman.

In fact Daniel had recently had his own investigators and their hacker contacts dig into David Geduld's background and despite him most definitely being the kindred Baron of Torrance, he was on paper an entirely legitimate businessman whose logistics businesses encompassed much of the Port of Los Angeles and associated industries such as warehousing, trucking, delivery services, etc.

Digger further yielded absolutely nothing. Mr Geduld had a birth certificate, social security number, presence on social media and his companies had passed every inspection with flying colours. It was the opinion of Andrew's hacker friend that if there was something suspect about this man then it's been hidden by some-one with access to government level contacts or equipment, possibly both. He was to all intents and purposes completely and utterly 'clean'. Aware that the port would have both private and official security operatives in attendance, Daniel also sent his ghoul Keith to lurk about nearby disguised as a bum in case he needed any backup.

Los Angeles Dockyard at Night

Navigating his way stealthily across the vast dockyard he reached an area where several logistics offices were based one of which was where the records of the various ships managed by Geduld's companies were stored.

Guard patrols have increased considerably and consist of both private security and actual officers of the law and the security cameras are more frequently located. The office you are looking for is within a small secured complex ahead. A security guard is leaning by the gate smoking a cigarette somewhat conspicuously under a no smoking sign. As he finishes the cigarette he immediately lights another, he shows no sign of leaving any time soon.

Daniel had been expecting something more substantial but found a fairly basic building made from prefabricated units, surrounded by a fairly ordinary looking chain-link fence. The only slightly odd thing was that none of the dockyard security cameras were pointing at the building. This was of course a gift to Daniel but did mean there was no way of tracking the comings and goings to the office itself which was presumably the intention.

Chain-smoking Security Guard - Kindred

A brief perimeter sweep indicated no movement from within and just the single guard by the gate within the fence that was placed almost opposite the main entrance. There was however also a side door which Daniel intended to utilise instead once he'd ascertained if the guard was mortal or something more dangerous. As he made one more loop around the structure he drew on his vitae to create an illusion around himself and as he rounded the final corner he looked to all intents and purposes like a generic dock-worker. The guard was smoking yet another cigarette and had a standard looking radio and intercom on a generic security guard uniform and as expected looked up as the disguised Daniel strolled nonchalantly past.

He activated his preternatural senses and focused his attention on the guard noting a tell-tale sign that the guard was kindred, namely the fact that he had no discernible heartbeat. He was of course aware that smoking was an often used trick by vampires to disguise the fact that there was no sign of their breath in the cold night air. He also observed that the guard was keeping an unusually close watch on himself. Concerned that the guard might be able to see through his disguise he walked a significant distance away to give the illusion that he was just passing before doubling back and making his way to the side entrance from a different direction.

Daniel's Lock-Picking Set

Storytellers Note - Daniel's player has become very good at recon and infiltration. Making them challenging is much trickier now which is keeping us both on our toes.

Abandoning the dockworker ruse the Banu Haqim cloaked himself in darkness and vanished from sight as he effortlessly vaulted the fence and landed noiselessly on the other side before picking the lock on the side door in a moment and slipping inside. The side entrance led to a canteen of sorts which showed no signs of ever having been used and from there he made his way though a number of ground floor offices but finding no filing room. When he reached the door opposite the outer gate and guard he quietly checked to see if they had been alerted to his entry but it seemed that the kindred guard was looking out, not in.

As expected at such a late hour there is no-one working in the offices that you can see, there is a camera pointing down the single stairway to the offices on the upper floor where the documents are likely to be located. It is fixed but given the narrow approach couldn't fail to observe any-one climbing the stairway.

He sent a quick message to Keith to ask him to bum a cigarette off of the guard in his guise as a street person so as to keep him distracted while he himself quickly searched the second floor. Using his supernatural speed he covered the distance to the top of the stairs and around the corner so the camera would at best see an unidentifiable blur and hopefully not even that. Helpfully the filing and records room was clearly labelled as such so he picked this lock as well and made his way inside. Keith sent him a message saying that he'd distracted the guard for as long as he could but had left before drawing any suspicion. Daniel told him to make himself scarce just in case and continued his search.

The Elizabeth Dane - Marius's Cargo Vessel

The office seems fairly well organised and given that you have a date for the payment that you believe to be for the transportation of two kindred into the city you at least have a starting point. Of course not knowing the name of the vessel is going to be somewhat of a hindrance.

The only ship that Daniel knew the name of that was owned by a kindred was the Elizabeth Dane that had been acquired cheap by Marius after it was the site of a horrendous massacre some fifteen years ago with the loss of all hands.

Interestingly the file for the Elizabeth Dane was a different colour to all the others being red rather than the standard beige but was empty except for a standard printed note which read "Special Customer, Refer Direct to DG". He found four other files in identically coloured files, each of which contained the same printed note. These were for ships named 'The Marquis', 'The Prince of Wales', The Rose Garden' and 'The Zephyr'.

Brujah of David Geduld's Gang

You hear voices from downstairs "All I said was that it seemed odd, I didn't think Geduld would have us traipse all the way fucking down here to investigate though..." a different voice replies "Well at least we were nearby, we can get it done than go back to looking for lunch..."

The Banu Haqim evacuated the office and moved to a position from which he could view the stairs. One of the visitors had drawn and was checking a Beretta model 92f though the other was obscured from this angle. As the armed man looked towards his hiding place he nudged his colleague and Daniel's enhanced senses heard another weapon being drawn.

Realising that these must also be kindred and that at least one had the ability to see through his own abilities the Banu Haqim relied on his more traditional stealth training, circumventing the office rooms and circling back to the stairs. Stopping only to point the single camera in the opposite direction to the stairway Daniel made his way down the stairway, out of the side door and after taking the fence in a single leap, got the hell out of the area. Stopping to pick up his disguised ghoul he headed back to the relative safety of Pasadena after making a call to Andrew asking him to investigate the ships whose names he'd discovered as being 'special' in some way.

Interlude Three - Business Needs

Mr Hertz had been pretty much a permanent fixture in their boardroom since they had been tasked with assisting him and apparently treated all financial matters as interesting puzzles to be solved.

While they were making their enquiries on his behalf he had already completely reorganised their accounts, optimised their tax returns and had also began to make significant progress sorting through the vast amount of potential earnings available from Edward and Vera Vignes safety deposit box information that the coterie had been unable to make head nor tale of. Given that he had already extrapolated almost to the dollar how much un-laundered cash they must have piled up somewhere he had began to compile a list of cash businesses they might want to acquire as well.

Michael still wasn't sure that the many benefits of his presence outweighed the fact that he also now had a room full of rats in his gallery. At least Hertz slept in his own haven and took his pets with him when he left.

Storytellers Note - I may come to regret letting some-one create a character with four dots in Finance and another four in Streetwise. Not to mention specialities in such things as Black Market, Bribery, Forensic Accountancy and Money Laundering.

Michael had also given Daniel some tasks for his ghoul Andrew as he wanted camera's installed in whatever room in Vin's brothel that they were going to 'look after' Gloria's contact in order to "ensure the girls safety". He also made a mental note to get that sorted as soon as this 'Hertz' issue was gotten out of the way as it would be another boon paid off that he could forget about.

Security was also now more of an issue as recent events had made the baron consider that they were stretched thin when it came to dedicated security personnel.

They had the Apostles gang of course but Michael really wanted some-one who answered to him rather than have to use a bunch of drug dealers. Contacting a firm willing to supply former military and law enforcement operatives he acquired the services of two teams of five men and a senior man to use as a liaison between him and them. He also wasn't particularly surprised to find that they were all quite willing to work for envelopes full of cash which made giving out 'bonuses' for particular jobs fairly simple.

Storytellers Note - The Watchmen background is normally attached to a haven but I've house-ruled that it can be utilised (within reason) as a separate entity as I see no reason why you couldn't use your security guards to guard your blood doll when she went shopping, etc.

Scene Eight - Victoria

Venus Dare - Ghoul of Marius
Club Manager

Daniel's phone began ringing, the display indicated that it was either Victoria or Marius as they seemed to utilise the same number. This time it was Victoria. As usual she got straight down to business. "You asked Yukio about a visitor to Glaze and their companion?" Daniel confirmed that it was something he was interested in but that given the circumstances he imagined he was pushing his luck somewhat by asking. Victoria however was unusually cooperative this evening. "They didn't utilise the carpark monitored from the club but they definitely left together so I'm afraid vehicle information isn't something we can help you with. However Venus remembered the girl and the man your searching for having a meeting in one of the rooms at club confession with a notable Los Angeles kindred."

Victoria wouldn't be pressed on exactly who the meeting was with but Daniel was also aware that Venus was far less interested in kindred protocol than Marius's other ghouls and was probably the easiest to have a conversation with. Actually that wasn't one hundred percent true as the easiest to talk to was probably the irritatingly loquacious Heather. The difference was that Heather could talk for an hour and end up telling you nothing.

As most kindred in the city utilised either Fortier's Club Zombie or Marius's Club Confession for meetings he was reasonably sure he didn't need to clear going to Club Confession with Victoria especially as she had mentioned the place. Victoria had however apparently already preempted the issue. "It would be helpful if you gave me a list of places under our influence that you plan to visit so I can ensure nothing untoward happens to you while you're there."

The Sin Bin
'Providing a variety of services...'

Daniel had done some actual research this time in order to avoid any further diplomatic fuck-ups and was aware that the Sin-Bin where Marcel had also spent some money was another of Marius's businesses acquired through the misfortunes of others. He decided to mention that they may need to talk to some-one there quite soon. "Ah...the Sin Bin. It offers a wide variety of services including prostitution, peep-shows and pornography ranging from the mundane to the more...exotic. Perversion is a business like any other and is a necessity in this city particularly." "The manager there is an utter degenerate called Flynn Boyle but he's MY utter degenerate so make sure nothing happens to him during your visit. I'll tell him to be reasonably cooperative."

If Flynn was indeed "One of Victoria's" then he would no doubt be either a psychopath or utterly unpleasant or possibly both but he decided to keep this opinion to himself. He decided to merely assure her that he required only information and that if the manager there was indeed going to give them his cooperation then he could see no reason why there would be any problems. He also mentioned that they believed that they now had all the information from the club 'Glaze' that they needed but that didn't preclude the investigation taking them back there at some point.

The Asp Hole

Victoria seemed unconcerned about this. "Nightclubs have many uses for both kindred and kine interests alike, We currently have three, which for your information are Club Confession (of which you are aware), The Asp Hole and the aforementioned Glaze. These are ran by Miss Venus Dare and we do have interests in several more but own none of them outright...at the moment. In Chinatown the local Triads avoid our businesses in exchange for an agreed upon compensation and we in turn agree not to disrupt certain of their interests that overlap with ours."

"Is that all?" Daniel confirmed that it was and was about to thank Victoria but she hung up before he could do so. With permission obtained it looked like their next port of call was the delightful sounding 'Sin-Bin' which being in Hollywood also meant a call to Baron Isaac Abrams...

To be Continued in 'Blood Money' - Part Three

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...

Investigation sessions can be difficult to balance as you want information to be discovered over a variety of scenes but it can seem a bit 'on rails' if every place adds one piece to the puzzle in just the order they need. I therefore like them to have multiple sources for similar information and for some of what they hear to be misleading enough to drive their search to a red-herring or two. Also, information obtained from intimidation is going to be different than that obtained by persuasion or seduction so that needs to be considered as well.

Of course the other major issue is that if I make it too easy then there's no sense of satisfaction with the discovery and if it's too hard it becomes frustrating. Still...I think I've got the balance correct so far at least.

Now they have another lead in the form of the mysterious companion of their quarry and some other bits of pieces for them to move forward with. We'll see where that leads them I suppose.

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 Kurt Cobain, 'Vin' is the actor Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Marie is Eva Greene, Charles Dance is Mr Hertz, Yukio is Jamie Chung (on this occasion...I'm not very consistent with the actress or model for her...sorry...), the suspected blood doll is Ashley Callingbull, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Victoria is Lilith May, Andrew Francis is Ray Stephenson, Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles and Venus Dare is Sophie Howard. 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.