Talk of current events
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15
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Standing outside of Nox, Katya pretends to play on her phone while she waits for the Reeve Cayce to arrive. Tucked under her arm are printed out copies of the news reports of Ariadne Mendoza and the Chieron group. She knew the burning of the barn would not be the end, but this report indicated far more loose ends than she had hoped. Hopefully now they could begin in tying them up.
-1 vitae for blush of life
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A simple black sedan pulled into a parking space near the Nox and out climbed the Reeve of Sacramento. A black bridge coat and black lacks smoothed Josephine's form into a dark silhouette, a dark scarf eclipsing her neck and leaving her visage as a stark white apparition that almost seemed to float towards Katya of its own accord. A smile curled the Reeve's dark lips as she approached, an expression which might have begun as a snarl was Josephine not so accustomed to hiding the demon in her soul.
"Good evening, Madame Harding. Does our chariot await?"
The sound of footsteps and the dry tone of voice catches Katya's attention and for a moment, her mouth twists along with her rolled eyes as she adjusts to the clear threat in front of her. indeed, memories of Monomacy mesh with the rest of Katya's unconscious monster as she fights to regain control. All it takes is a clenched fist to push it back down as she forces a smile and a nod.
"Good evening Madame Sterling. Indeed, your chariot does await. This way please." she says with a gesture of her hand. She leads Josephine to the parking garage where she so often parked her SUV. Unlocking the passenger doors, Katya then climbs in on her side, waiting for Josephine to shut the door before unfolding the printed out news articles regarding Mendoza and laying them out on the arm rest for Josephine to grab.
"Thank you for meeting me. Before I get into the specifics, I did want to make sure you knew which news story I was referring to as this particular story unfortunately concerns us." Katya waits for Josephine to read, but also so she can draw up the right words to succinctly report what felt like an eternity in one night.
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"Call me Josephine, please," the Reeve requested as she slid into the overly large automobile. The Ventrue shut the door not long afterwards, though it was certainly the weight of the door more than anything else which brought it closed correctly. Surprising, perhaps, considering what she had accomplished mere nights before in a cage in the Asylum.
But there were other things to dwell on than a bit of ash in the Carthian's house. Namely the piece of news print which had just been laid out before her. The article was not unheard of, however. Much of the Reeve's wealth came from holdings in a local pharmaceutical company, holdings which had once belonged to her brood before they had slid into torpor...or whatever else it was that had claimed them. Thus Josephine had been quite interested to hear that Mendoza Bio-technologies was undergoing a change. A quite radical one.
"Fascinating," Josephine began, lowering the article. "I'm quite intrigued as to how we might be involved in such an affair."
Katya would be surprised at Josephine's response if she hadn't known the eccentric Lord before. Still, she doesn't let this calm demeanor fool her into thinking that curious attitude won't shift into anger.
"Mendoza Industries was an organization used to recruit kindred to donate blood to feed a vampire named "Old Lady Mendoza" she points to the article, "My guess is Ariadne Mendoza was that Old lady. Did you ever see flyers offering cash money for blood donations? That was Mendoza industries. The odd thing was that the flyers were not placed in colleges or hospitals, they were placed in locations like Nox and the Asylum." she raises an eyebrow "I didn't know club goers were the ideal research participants. I found this odd, and evidently, so did Richard Black, Hierophant Warren and Marco Fernandez." the name escapes her lips and she is quiet, not for a long time but enough for her to think about Marco and what that night would have been like without him.
"Richard and I both met them at Mendoza farm and wanted to go in just to investigate before reporting to others. But of course, like all plans, things didn't work out the way we'd have hoped." Katya leans back in her chair just to laugh to herself at how out of control it got.
with a sigh she sits up straight. "We go in acting as curious participants, and it's clear from the beginning this is shady. They used these antiquated looking devices to pump the blood. They were these square boxes of wood with brass piping. The staff tell us it keeps the blood 'cool.' With Marco's abilities, he was able to get them to spill the truth. Apparently these machines were used to hold blood in "stasis." It was at this point the staff admitted the operation was a front to keep "Old Lady Mendoza" alive. Apparently she lost control in San Francisco. They lost some people in their operation and some legal retainers did what they could to keep the story silent. They were desperate for kindred blood. They were scared of this woman losing control."
Out of habit, Katya checks the area around her car, making sure they are not being watched by any unwanted voyeur before she loooks back to Josephine. "They were also armed to try and maintain her. Richard found a room stocked with machine guns, pistols and tranquilizers. They mentioned keeping the old woman under 'sedation' but I don't think that was the case. Unfortunately, before we could investigate more, our cover was blown and they called their security. We had no choice but to head to the barn." Katya's hands spread out as she describes the interior of the barn. "This place was littered with clipboards containing paperwork and empty crates used to transport the odd machines. Old Lady Mendoza was in a quarantine tent in a hospital bed hooked up to various machines. She looked quite withered, like if you didn't know better you'd think she was near death. But the smell of her blood gave us the impression she was far from weak. It was decided that she needed to be destroyed given the circumstances. The staff were on their way to bust down the door and so we were able to set fire to the barn before escaping."
She remembered the flames, the sound of the pops and the brightness of the blaze as it grew. She had the Dark Mother to thank for her steeled resolve in maintaining her wits to escape and not flee like a mindless beast. Looking back to the articles, Katya points to it. "the staff mentioned another facility they took samples to. At first I thought it was just another lie, but this article has me concerned. The fact that she had such a vast family is bad enough, but this other company zeroing in...I'm afraid this particular threat to the Domain did not go up in flames that night."
Maintaining eye contact to show sincerity, Katya says "I will admit that this was handled sloppily, but given the circumstances, Richard, Tomas and Marco handled themselves well when we did not have the time to wait for the aid of other city officials. Anyhow, I called you here so I could present this to you now and answer any questions you might have before hearing how you would like to proceed."
And now I count the seconds until she tells me to go to sleep and my head gets filled with buckshot.
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The Reeve absorbed the information with no comment besides the scratch of her pen against the pages of the notepad she'd conjured from the pocket of her woolen coat. For a few minutes after Katya had finished speaking, Josephine continued to write.
Finally, she capped the fountain pen and raised her dark gaze to the Seneschal.
"It seems to me, Madame Harding, that we must investigate this secondary location. Indeed, it seems to me that we must begin to gather more evidence of Mendoza's grip upon our Domain, and assess the complications which might occur when Mendoza Biotechnologies is absorbed by a foreign conglomerate. Particularly if your claim that Mendoza Biotechnologies was merely a front to keep an elder vampire fed. Certainly the organization must have had other ventures if it attracted the attention of a global pharmaceutical corporation.
"So," Josephine prompted, "who shall be accompanying us? Black and Warren?"
Katya casually glances at the paper Josephine writes on to see what details she finds important but doesn't let it distract her too much. When Josephine lays out a basic plan Katya says, "That would probably be the best case since they know as much as I do. I'm not sure if they have any contacts that could aid them in seeking out information, but they at least know what to look for. I agree, care should be taken in gathering data on this company." she bites her upper lip "we did try to pull as many papers as we could from the barn but the person that had those papers was Marco. Therefore, we'll have to speak with whoever obtained his effects after Monomacy to see if they can find them."
Leaning back in her seat Katya sighs, "This is perfect timing considering that we're trying to deal with Brady. Given that almost all of the Domain is involved with her, this new investigation might take a while before we have enough information to take action. Then again, given the magnitude of this corporate enterprise, I am comfortable waiting to gather enough of a comprehensive report on this before going to others. What do you think?"
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"I believe that is an excellent idea, Madame Harding. It is wiser to become informed before taking action, so we shall begin with the documents. Konrad and I are decently fond of each other, so I believe there should be no trouble retrieving the documents from his care. I shall review them and attempt to assess any potential threat which the Domain, or the Masquerade, might face. Additionally, I know several persons in the local medical industry. I am sure that a few well placed questions will uncover anything which we might need to be aware of.
"In the mean time, however, is there anything else which you would like to discuss?" Josephine inquired, shutting her notebook and sliding it back within the woolen confines of her jacket.
It comforts Katya when Josephine offers to speak with Konrad as she herself never quite knew where he resolved his attitude towards her after Cody. The last thing she wanted was to butt heads with him again over something like this and cause a rift within the family.
"That sounds fine to me. If my Priscus for whatever reason is hesitant in handing them over, please let me know and i'll gladly corroborate my story. As for anything else, that was pretty much it. Even if the news hadn't covered it, i was going to share this report with you. is there anything in particular you'd like to discuss with me since we are here?"
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"Well, seeing as how we are both sat here, I am curious, what is your opinion on Coteries, Madame Harding? Our Domain seems to have a surprising lack," Josephine replied calmly, shifting in her seat to regard the Seneschal.
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