"Will's fine." He answered Kate as his head bobbed to and fro, looking past her, looking around the room. Making an effort to take in the layout of the room, count security guards and positions, look at cameras but passing it off as if he was scanning the room. Just wanting to get his bearings ahead of time. Normally he wasn't the one to handle this part of the job, he just sat in the car and waited.
"Plan?" He snorted a bit and shrugged. "Think fast, drive faster, outrun the devil." A smirk playing on his lips as he saw Tasi eye-fucking the absolute dime piece in the room. "I'm gonna look at the items, don't have too much fun without me now." He slipped a hand into his pockets, moving his jacket around as he went to go peruse the auction.
He was almost certain Lot 13 was his target. It was exceptionally weird, super deadly, and it'd be an excellent trophy for the club room. Something like that would boost his rep in the Abbey for certain. But he knew the others were here for other reasons, either way tonight was going to be FUN.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, pardon my intrusion, but I must ask for a moment of your time," a older man in an exquisite bespoke suit said as he stepped forward into the center of the great hall. Though no microphone could easily be seen, it was clear from the way his voice pleasantly echoed from the speakers set up around the room that he was using one. No doubt this was the auctioneer for the evening.
"Welcome to this most exclusive of events this evening. As you've no doubt heard, this will be a First-Price Sealed-Bid, or Blind Auction, and as such, is not for those overly concerned with their budget." The man paused to allow for a round of soft laughter before continuing.
"The items up for bid tonight are all exceedingly rare, and many of them are, without exaggeration, priceless, making this a singular opportunity to add a piece that is truly sui generis to your, no doubt, fine collections. Bidding will commence in thirty minutes. Private booths have been set up in the Romanesque Hall and Kresge Court, and must be all submitted on paper. We ask that, at the time of submitting the bids, everyone present occupy a booth to ensure the total privacy of everyone present. If there is anything you require, in the meantime, I will be most pleased to accommodate, but otherwise, may you have a wonderful evening."
A waiter appeared with a tray of champagne just as he finished his speech, the host grabbing a glass and holding it aloft in a toast before stepping away and letting those assembled return to their socializing.
This tome is bound in worn black leather, and was once inlaid with silver and rubies. A relic of the 13th century, The Book of Dead Names was scribed by a heretical priest with the intention of recording the names of the dead so that they might be granted Salvation through Absolution at a later time. Such a project was eventually discarded, and yet the Book of Dead Names has survived, and has notably been found to be central to the Spiritualist movement of Europe and North America in the 19th century.
Lot 7: The Blueprints
These yellowed pages are the sole surviving copy of the blueprints for the Glass Mansion, the infamous construction which was reported to have been destroyed in a boiler explosion, though no evidence of such has been found to be credible. Hand copied by the architect himself, with personalized notes in the margins, these blueprints have been found to utilize an astounding understanding of advanced physics, as well as sacred numerological tenets, in a truly astounding work of architecture and engineering even by modern standards.
Lot 9: The Bronze Wheel
This bronze, circular object has often been referred to as a wheel, though its true purpose remains unknown. Beneath the exterior, a series of intricate gears resides in a complex, though seemingly purposeless pattern. Sumerian cuneiform writing has been carved into the bronze, though it is unclear if this writing was added later, or at the time of its creation. Additionally, attempts to carbon date the item have failed, often signifying an age somewhere between 30,000 to 50,000 years old, a truly impossible measurement.
Lot 10: The Chamforte Letters
This collection of over 109 letters from the 19th century consist of correspondence between one L. Chamforte, and one R. Hraefsborg, discusses seemingly irrelevant events, though several cryptologists suggest the contents of these letters is actually a cleverly coded discussion of early American political events that do not appear in even the most arcane history texts today. Past bidding on these seemingly inconsequential letters has risen as high as 22 million dollars.
Lot 13: Unknown Carving
This unique carving has been sealed for the protection of everyone present. Some theorize that a currently unknown toxic element has been used in this ancient carving, as severe neurological damage has effected every person exposed to the carving without proper safety procedures in place. Nevertheless, this carving is also comprised of Jadeite, blue diamonds, pink diamonds, emeralds, and alexandrite, whose raw worth is estimated at somewhere around 4.5 million dollars. Considering that this carving has also been successfully dated between 18,000 and 19,000 years old, this might well be the earliest evidence of human art every discovered.
"Ah, Monty, Monty," a man called, stepping into the loose group of those gathered around
Monty Pennington
. Vaguely, Monty recalled him from some of the functions in New York City, one of those nouveau riche from Silicon Valley, a Charles Bradford, if he remembered correctly. No, even worse, it was Chuck.
"Been ages since I've seen you last," Chuck schmoozed, "shame about that last party, isn't it? But, you're here now! Tell me, what are you here for? It's not the lost Bernini sculptures, is it? That seems like something fitting your taste."
"Doubtful," a rich, melodious female voice interjected as none other than the quarry strode over. "Surely, one of the Penningtons is here for something far more abstruse. Perhaps the Blueprints?"
Her eyes bored into his for a moment, her pupils like two black pits drawing him in before she smiled and turned her attention back to the group.
William Reed
strides over towards lot 13, and soon finds that he is not alone. A certain, well dressed man with a shaved head and a golden Rolex upon his wrist.
"I would steer clear of that one if I were you," the man said, his tone lilting with a hint of amusement. "Just a friendly piece of advice. What use is something you can't even look at, after all. Not even in a photograph. They had to use an algorithm borrowed from NASA to create a CGI composite, did you know that? Now, the letters on the other hand...well, that seems more your speed."
Despite what the woman with the bearing of an empress had said,
Katherine Port
noticed that her eyes had been upon Lot 2 just moments before she'd strode over to join Monty.
Kate watched Monty move off, nodding slightly. They had worked together before. She trusted his instincts.
“Awesome – sauce, Will. Glad we’re here together.” She puts her thoughts where her mouth is, but resists saying too much. She frowns slightly at the out run the devil. She didn’t even have her weapons and hoped this was a recon thing.
Kate looked over the man in the bespoke suit, taken in by the look. She tries to keep the worry off of her face at the thought of being clustered into a booth. Blind to what is going on out there. Kate’s anxiety spiked as the suspect spoke to Monty. She turns her head slightly to glance at Lot 2 to determine who was over there. She resisted the urge to move over there. She thought that she should try and talk with the others and hope that Monty was up to the task of distracting.
"I am definitely thinking this one." She taps the Lot 2 in her auction book, not wanting to discuss the lot number with all the people.. and possible others... in the room.
“Lucas, what do you think?” She inquired softly.“Your thoughts?” She indicated Tasi with a glance.
Monty pasted a good’ol’boy smile on when he engaged Charles Bradford. ”Ah Chuck you old rascal, they will invite just about anyone to these things eh?” He joked jovially. He opened his mouth to respond to Chuck when he was interrupted.
Monty’s façade of composure slipped for the briefest of seconds contorting into a hint of panic as he suddenly found himself standing with the person, who was most likely, the very creature he came to find. Decades of upper class social breeding kicked in and he recovered in an instant.
To buy himself a moment to think he snagged two glasses of champers as the waiter passed by him before turning back to the gorgeous creature. Put up the shields Monty, Don’t let her get close, distract, hide. obfuscate. lie.. He thought frantically. He painted a lecherous leer onto his mask of calm and offered one glass to the woman. ”You seem to have me at a great disadvantage madam. I am shocked and appalled to admit I have never had the pleasure of an introduction with one so lovely as yourself,”
Her words banged around in his mind frantically. She knows me, OK be cool, The Blueprints? I wasn’t until right now. Still maintaining his air of lasciviousness he replied ”I am interested in anything you are my dear.”
As Tasi's arm interlocked with his he did his best to smile. Bright side to the evening? The most beguiling of ladies was talking to this awkward bean. When her voice trails off, his eyes lock onto the Accountant as the apprentice moved over to Will and the statue. The statue he clearly did his research on. The statue he was trying to deflect Will from and, by extension, clearly the statue he wanted.
"I think Will beat me to it." A soft chuckle and a smile escaped. Rather then answer Kat's question out loud, he simply tried his best to lead Tasi over to Will and the Accountant.
"That's a very interesting fact about the piece." Still all smiles as he invites himself into Will's conversation. "Why learn something like that if the piece is so undesirable?"
Does the Accountant really want the statue? Who knows. The important part was finding out who wanted what and if they got it. Once they knew that the auction didn't matter. It was just a matter of separating the buyer from the prize once they were away from security. A matter Lucas was far better equipped for.
Aw. Tasi thinks, as she eyes the attempt Lucas made of his smile, puppy.
She allows him to lead her away, towards William, though she looks back at Kitty(Katy? Kathy?) offers a shrug, and a smirk, before turning around. Eyes running up and down Lot 13, sealed, jewel encrusted, and dangerous. Her very favourite things.
"Oh William," she croons to her Abbey mate, "Everything I do is a delight. To not have fun without you is to cease to be, and so, I am here." she offers a smile, and a playful wave of her fingers.
"I'm an artist myself, or well, the subject, why can't I be interested in something as priceless, and as...enticing as this piece?" she asks their shaven haired friend. Lucas didn't strike her as someone who would interrupt unnecessarily, (or maybe she was thinking of another L-person, oh well.) She was, however sure that the puppy's quarry was a warlock.
Smile sharp and eyes bright, she imagines what wizard blood would taste like.
Will hadn't broken stride as he walked over to the artifacts, letting the auctioneer talk and very little was retained. Yea, yea, yea go in the boxes and you bid blindly. Sorry pal but I think you're about to have a REAL bad night. He chuckled a little to himself at that thought when the bald man saddled up next to him.
Will gave a short snort out of his nose as his friends stepped up and said what he'd been thinking. "If that's so your interest in it must be the same as mine. Will." He said as he stuck a hand out to the other gentleman chuckling letting Tasi's force of personality bleed through, if this guy was really interested he was the mark. Let him snatch up the item, snatch and grab. Get the item, torture for intel. Lucas gets intel, you get a bit of fun. Win-win. "Ain't that the truth, hasn't been a dull moment with you around alright."
This tome is bound in worn black leather, and was once inlaid with silver and rubies. A relic of the 13th century, The Book of Dead Names was scribed by a heretical priest with the intention of recording the names of the dead so that they might be granted Salvation through Absolution at a later time. Such a project was eventually discarded, and yet the Book of Dead Names has survived, and has notably been found to be central to the Spiritualist movement of Europe and North America in the 19th century.
Lot 7: The Blueprints
These yellowed pages are the sole surviving copy of the blueprints for the Glass Mansion, the infamous construction which was reported to have been destroyed in a boiler explosion, though no evidence of such has been found to be credible. Hand copied by the architect himself, with personalized notes in the margins, these blueprints have been found to utilize an astounding understanding of advanced physics, as well as sacred numerological tenets, in a truly astounding work of architecture and engineering even by modern standards.
Lot 9: The Bronze Wheel
This bronze, circular object has often been referred to as a wheel, though its true purpose remains unknown. Beneath the exterior, a series of intricate gears resides in a complex, though seemingly purposeless pattern. Sumerian cuneiform writing has been carved into the bronze, though it is unclear if this writing was added later, or at the time of its creation. Additionally, attempts to carbon date the item have failed, often signifying an age somewhere between 30,000 to 50,000 years old, a truly impossible measurement.
Lot 10: The Chamforte Letters
This collection of over 109 letters from the 19th century consist of correspondence between one L. Chamforte, and one R. Hraefsborg, discusses seemingly irrelevant events, though several cryptologists suggest the contents of these letters is actually a cleverly coded discussion of early American political events that do not appear in even the most arcane history texts today. Past bidding on these seemingly inconsequential letters has risen as high as 22 million dollars.
Lot 13: Unknown Carving
This unique carving has been sealed for the protection of everyone present. Some theorize that a currently unknown toxic element has been used in this ancient carving, as severe neurological damage has effected every person exposed to the carving without proper safety procedures in place. Nevertheless, this carving is also comprised of Jadeite, blue diamonds, pink diamonds, emeralds, and alexandrite, whose raw worth is estimated at somewhere around 4.5 million dollars. Considering that this carving has also been successfully dated between 18,000 and 19,000 years old, this might well be the earliest evidence of human art every discovered.
"Who cares about some failed vanity project from the 1800s?" Chuck scoffed, flashing an irritating smirk that he no doubt thought was charming."Or even worse, those letters! Why anyone would pay for some old gossip just proves how idiotic most people are. Combine that with the analytics we're mining nowadays and you'd be amazed we're not still living in caves, what, with all those mouthbreathing --
"Go. Away.", the cruelly beautiful Stranger commanded, her eyes boring into Chuck with such an intensity Monty could almost imagine the glint of light in those dark eyes to be sparks shining out from within those dark depths.
And Chuck...simply turned and walked away. There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the technocrat's entourage followed after him in a swirl of wounded chattering.
"Now that we're not being harassed by such uncouth company," the Stranger continued, turning back to Monty with an amused smile and a much softer look in her eyes, "I'd be happy to introduce myself to you, though you'll have to understand, I normally take great pains for others not to know anything about me. I trust you'll keep whatever we speak about tonight between us."
Was that a hint of a threat in her smile?
"But, for those I am acquainted with, they usually call me Satine."
The Stranger held out her hand, not to be shaken, but rather to be kissed.
"And if your interests truly are so...unburdened, then perhaps you and I can strike something of an alliance. Whoever leaves here tonight with the right items will hold quite a bit of power, and I think that you and I could leave with most of them if we were to bid strategically. Are you interested? If so, I'll need something of an assurance. Join me in my booth." Monty Pennington
The Accountant doesn't seem phased as more people come to join the conversation. Rather, his smile seems to grow wider.
"Well, far be it for me to discourage someone from committing suicide if that's really what they want to do," he replied, shaking Will's hand, though his words seemed to be directed at all three of them. "Unless you have a laboratory you intend to take the Nameless back to, that is. Although, none of you really strike me as the type. I suppose it might go for cheaper at your estate auction, so by all means, bid on it if you want to. I won't mind.
Katherine Port
is left alone, but that gives her a chance to continue to observe from a distance. She notices that, as most of the guests began to walk towards the booths the man that was standing near Monty and the Stranger is off in a cluster of his followers. If her eyes don't deceive her, the man seems to have broken out into a sudden sweat, his skin gone pale, and with a large stain across the front of his pants as he pissed himself. His followers seem to think it must be some bad drug that he's taken.
Everyone, feel free to get in one last response and then let me know how you proceed to the booths. If you want to avoid entering a booth, I'll need a Wits+Stealth check at -3.
Kate is perfectly happy by herself as the others move on. She doesn't glance after Tasi or Will, her eyes focusing on Monty. As her attention is drawn to the man that was standing near Monty and the Stranger. She grows somewhat alarmed and reaches in her clutch for her phone, wanting to take a quick snap and focusing on the waist of the man to show the extreme emotion involved. Then text her cell. Her fingers grope around her eyeliner, mascara, hairspray…
Oh, right. The security had secured the phones. Shit.
Kate turns her body away from the frightened man and his entourage to not seem to be interested or even to have noticed. Embarrassing rich people doesn't work out well for the folks who work for a living. She was mainly worried about the Stranger noticing the attention and turning attention on herself. She pulls out her lipstick and compact mirror and touches up like that was her intention all along.
Kate looked around for some place to hide or be unobtrusive while the folks did their bidding. She was pretty sure that she could slip away. Yet at the same time, was it worth it? The Stranger could make a grown man - who could buy and sell things she couldn't dream of - wet himself, somehow. What the hell was that?
She decided to play it safe and go into the booth with the cell. It would give them time to talk together and come up with a plan. Her brown eyes tick to Monty and look where he is not – not at the Stranger, but anyone else watching her. Any apparent body guard or private security that they needed to know about. Anyone else checking out Monty is given a quick scan by the private detective so she can watch them. Watching the Stranger speak to Monty makes her stomach tighten with anxiety and she changes her plan. No matter what, she is sticking with Monty.
She starts moving in closer so that she can overhear what Monty and the Stranger are saying, nice and causally walking to not alarm anyone. Certainly not the Stanger.
Monty was hard pressed to keep his face neutral when he witnessed the woman command Chuck to leave and he did so without argument. Any doubt that this woman was who they were looking for flew from his mind. He watched Chuck walk away, then returned his attention completely to the woman. ”Satine.” Monty said, slowly purring her name as he preformed as she indicated and placed a chaste kiss upon her offered hand. SHIT! His smile showed teeth and he continued. ”A perfect name, your parents must have been prophetic.” What the hell do I do? He glanced over in the direction of Katherine Port hoping his look would indicate his inner turmoil and fear.
He turned back to Satine and answered her, ”I do enjoy winning, A strategic alliance sounds quite….captivating.” ”Great, we have been here ten minutes and I find myself walking alone into a lion’s den. Just call me Daniel He replaced the mask of calm interest and offered his arm in escort for Satine to lead the way to her booth. As he walked with her, he glanced around one last time hoping his associates had noticed where he was going. To keep the conversation flowing he asked ”What kind of power are we talking about?”
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