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  1. #1
    Milton's Avatar

    Time is Money
    Presence
    (Bland)
    Intelligence
    (Analytical)
    Status, Allies
    (City Hall)
    Status, Allies
    (Finance)
    Bureaucratic Navigator
    Milton

    2
    PRE

    Milton hurries back toward his suite of rooms, looking distracted: down one of the endless hallways of the Ventrue Manse, away from the first-floor quarters reserved for visiting kine, up the back staircase (no time for the sweeping curves of the stairs in the grand entrance).

    As he mounts the steps, he absently pulls a handkerchief from his pants' pocket and dabs at the corner of his mouth. Pulls it away, inspects it. No blood. Very good.

    Tidiness in all things, Milton.

    He'd taken only a few minutes to visit with one of his herd who is staying the evening at the mansion. A secretary at one of the many firms he services. She will wake, remembering only that she had arrived late to deliver some urgent documents, and found herself too tired to travel home. Mr. Northbridge, always a gentleman, had arranged to have a room readied for her. Like a conscientious employee, she will leave directly come morning without a thought of exploring the premises. She will find that a town car has already been engaged to ferry her home.

    Milton returns the handkerchief to his pocket and extracts his phone, the fate of his recent meal already dismissed from consideration. Checks his messages, the time. There are several urgent emails to return, but not tonight. Tonight belongs to his work for Quinn. As have several previous evenings. It is early on in the process and that means Milton is still acquainting himself with the full extent of her holdings and their disposition. It's the only way to properly plan her estate's eventual anonymization, redistribution, and indemnification.

    Milton opens the door to the room he's christened 'The Library,' it swings on silent hinges, admitting him. He closes it just as quickly and quietly. This space is truly his favorite: built in shelves filled with books, his handsome desk dominated by two, large monitors, the usual assortment of lamps, an overstuffed reading chair he rarely uses. Various models of ships in display cases, results of his past efforts.

    The Lord sits at his desk, taps a key on his keyboard, and enters his password. Produces his keys, unlocks his desk drawer, opens it and retrieves Quinn's thumb drive. Shuts the drawer and leans over to insert the thumb drive into the tower below his desk. Sits up and begins clicking away with his mouse, opening the documentation. With flicks of his wrist, he distributes open pdf documents and spreadsheets between the two monitors: contracts, deeds, financial reports, tax filings, budgets and balance sheets, shareholder communications, and detailed lists of expenditures.

    Flush with stolen life, he leans back and surveys the field of his action. Behind the numbers and legal jargon, he senses the outlines of Quinn's life and unlife. Finds his curiosity sharpened by her ghostly presence, as always.

    He sits up straight, too straight, and gets back to work. No rest for the dead.

    Intelligence + Investigation Rolls, 24 Suxx total


    This is the first of four posts representing Milton's efforts on behalf of Quinn Durant. See previous threads for background: here and here. Subsequent posts detailing his work will be posted as replies to this initial glimpse.

    The extended roll contained here was approved by ST. It denotes Milton's efforts to full review, analyze, and parse the data provided by Quinn concerning her finances, investments, holdings, and estate. Number of extended rolls have been capped at dice pool. Each roll represents three hours of work distributed over several nights, totaling billable hours for this phase.
    Health: Vitae: WP: BP: 1

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  3. #2
    Milton's Avatar

    Time is Money
    Presence
    (Bland)
    Intelligence
    (Analytical)
    Status, Allies
    (City Hall)
    Status, Allies
    (Finance)
    Bureaucratic Navigator
    Milton

    2
    PRE

    A series of blind trusts is Milton's best bet.

    He's familiar with their operation, and their loopholes, due to his activities in both finance and government.

    These vehicles are best known as a means for temporarily separating a politician from his or her wealth, holdings, investments, and, by extension, any financial interest that may predispose said politician toward...helping friends or associates. Avoiding conflict of interest (or at least the appearance of same) is the whole point.

    However, the blind trust has several applications outside of the world of politics. Not as popular or familiar, but perfect for his present purposes.

    For instance: lottery winners love them. Why? The preservation of anonymity. A blind trust requires that the funds involved be managed, invested, otherwise disposed of by a disinterested third party. Further, neither party is permitted to contact the other in any way (at least in theory). Indeed, it is preferred if the managing party is wholly unaware of the granting party. And if anonymity can be preserved in both directions? All the better.

    Now, imagine a series of blind trusts, anonymity preserved in both ways. Further, imagine that they are managed by a series of competent financial advisors, whose own interest is tied to the trust's successful, but stable growth (a generous dividend built into their contract) and the continued preservation of anonymity (also enforced by contractural obligation). Each trust would invest, partially, in the others, but not directly. And not wholly (the larger share of each portfolio, by agreement, being dedicated to stocks, public holdings, real estate, as decided by each, discrete manager). What comes into being is a complex web of interest and indemnification, but with no real understanding of where any one individual stands in relation to the wealth thus managed.

    The only contacts for each trust are the managers, their firms, and associates. Who, without perjuring themselves, can state that they dispose of the funds with no knowledge of the true owners (or if any actually exist), in accordance with state and federal law.

    The only leverage outside the system would be the third-party entity capable of brokering the dissolution of a particular trust. Who, by mutual agreement, is able to execute the will of the owner only in the event of a nullification of the covenant (with or without cause). Thus, depositing the proceeds of said liquidation in an account unilaterally imposed by the grantor. Obviously, such an account would be geographically tied to some very friendly island nation.

    The keys to this kingdom would be a list of the account numbers held by the manager of each trust and the pin that would verify the third-party entity and legitimately trigger the dissolution of that trust and the subsequent depositing of the proceeds. Anyone could deliver the order, as long as the account number and pin are in their possession. Further anonymizing the process, even at the point of action.

    This is Milton's scheme. His plan to scatter Quinn's assets (beyond what will remain "hers") to the winds, but keep them on enough of a tether to allow any or all of it to be reeled back in when necessary. All while effectively hiding their provenance in a technically legal, but entirely blinded way.

    The first step is to begin mapping out a strategy, one that coheres to all state and federal regulations, of course. And that will take time and research. Lots of research.

    But Milton is diligent. And undying.

    Extended Research Roll, Target (per ST): 25 Suxx
    Health: Vitae: WP: BP: 1

  4. #3
    Milton's Avatar

    Time is Money
    Presence
    (Bland)
    Intelligence
    (Analytical)
    Status, Allies
    (City Hall)
    Status, Allies
    (Finance)
    Bureaucratic Navigator
    Milton

    2
    PRE

    Nights stacked upon nights. Nights before and behind nights. Nights like small, black and shining beads, strung endlessly one after the other. Each is taken delicately between the fingers, examined, and then forgotten in favor of the next. All, basically, the same.

    Milton likes to think that beyond the vivid moments of horror, of degradation and predation, which punctuate their nights, most Kindred would agree that the truly maddening aspect of unlife is this continual, nocturnal procession.

    It's the reason he hyper-focuses on work. But, in a cruel twist, it is that same obsessive fixation which, at times, highlights the monotony of his interminable evenings, passing one into the next with precious little variation.

    Indeed, he's at this crossroads presently.

    Quinn has set him a Herculean task, one he accepted with pleasure and has pursued with great energy. Attending to the disposition of her estate has proven to be a welcome preoccupation. A way to be something more than hunger. Hunger for power. Hunger for Blood. Hunger for the life he no longer has, and never again will possess.

    But now, that novelty, that distraction, has suddenly transformed itself into a mirror, reflecting in painful detail precisely what it originally disguised: nights.

    Nights upon night upon nights.

    Or maybe he's just tired of staring at his computer.

    Tired of sitting at his desk bathed in the blue light. Running projections, maintaining and developing complex budgets, and generally preparing, modeling, and planning the various financial arrangements necessary for success in this endeavor. Logging onto and navigating different lender platforms. Executing delicate trades, negotiations, and purchases. Following market trends. Communicating, in a preliminary fashion, with lawyers and financial managers and other delegates (who will soon require a more personal touch). In short, setting up the whole technical and administrative armature of his scheme for Quinn's assets.

    Yes. It takes nights. And those nights go from engaging to tedious to something worse than tedious.

    It's tempting to give up on everything but the task at hand. To stop attending to his hunger, to his appearance, to his other interests. So, every night (same as the last), he rises and dresses himself in the manner of his custom, feeds when necessary (though in a purely transactional way), and every so often allows himself an hour or so with a book.

    It's all a facade though. Because the only thing that matters is the work. And the work is no longer making him feel alive. It only leaves him cold.

    Until it's done. And even then Milton doesn't really feel relief. Only a hollow sort of lightness.

    So, he turns off his computer and goes out for a drink. Something to warm him up, if briefly, before he moves on to the final stage of his effort for Quinn.

    Perhaps, he thinks, it is good to be hungry. Hunger is never the quite the same. Hunger never becomes boring.

    To simply be that. Hunger. And let the nights sort themselves out. At least for a time.

    Extended Action: Intelligence + Computer, Target 20 Suxx per ST
    Health: Vitae: WP: BP: 1

  5. #4
    Milton's Avatar

    Time is Money
    Presence
    (Bland)
    Intelligence
    (Analytical)
    Status, Allies
    (City Hall)
    Status, Allies
    (Finance)
    Bureaucratic Navigator
    Milton

    2
    PRE

    "Well, I think that's completely possible, but let me ask you this..."

    "If quarterly interest dips below the threshold noted on the fifth slide..."

    "We're projecting stabilization in the markets within the next calendar year. This will put us in prime position to..."

    A chorus of voices, human voices, cross-cut, interrupt, concur, question, dismiss; all of them emitted by the tinny speaker on Milton's cell-phone.

    He sits at his desk, tapping through the PowerPoint presentation mocked up by this, particular firm concerning this, particular blind trust. One of many.

    The Lord is seized by the desire to rub the bridge of his nose. As if such a gesture could mean anything. As if Milton could feel exhausted or stressed in the way he used to. The near-unconscious compulsion annoys him and he resists the urge.

    How many meetings does this make? How many slideshows? How many eager financial managers, lawyers, administrators, consultants?

    It's almost done, Milton... he reassures himself. And it's the truth. He is on the eve of handing off the whole edifice to Quinn. At that point, it will be her decision when it comes to disposition of the scheme he's organized for her. All that's left are these tedious conversations. Quality assurance work, just so he's certain that everything is in order.

    On one level, he's proud of what he's done. On the other, he is quite ready for this task to be behind him. It's gone on long enough.

    "Does anyone have the prospective portfolio for next fiscal year?"

    "I do," Milton speaks up. A couple of key strokes. "I've linked it in the chat."

    "Thank you kindly," comes the reply.

    I'd like to drink you dry, Milton thinks. "You're very welcome, Janet. Listen, I've got to hop off. There's another call I've got to make. Please send me those MOUs when they're final..."

    "Sure thing. Take care."

    Milton disconnects, leans back in his chair. Stares up at the ceiling for a long moment. And then straightens to unlock his phone. He dials into the next meeting. It's his third of the night. And there are two more after that.

    But then, it's done. Finally done.

    "Good evening everyone. Shall we begin?"

    Extended Roll, Manip + Per + Status (Finance) + Allies (Finance), Target: 20 suxx


    This represents the final stage of Milton's work for Quinn. As of this post, his task is complete. Closing the thread.
    Health: Vitae: WP: BP: 1

Closed Thread
     

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