Night Drive

[Robert Cross]

Not long after hanging up the phone, Cross pulls into the lot Konrad had suggested as their meet-up point.

It seems he's the first to arrive. Not a surprise, given that he'd already been in his vehicle when they'd made their plans.

He backs the Town Car into a spot with a view of the entrance, cuts the lights, but keeps the engine running. The windows are rolled down to air out the smell of singed hair and burned flesh in the car. Coltrane's Giant Steps plays softly on the stereo as he waits for Roth to show.

[Konrad Roth]

A Dodge Sprinter pulls into the lot, its headlights cutting through the dark between the spots of lamplight meant to illuminate the pavement. Konrad had never seen Cross's car, though it'd been described to him during the brief tour he hosted. He sees one such town car which Konrad idles next to, glancing through the window at the occupant.

Seeing the familiar form and unnerving scorched features, Konrad parks, shuts off his own engine and gets out, locking the vehicle behind him.

Rounding Cross's vehicle he tries the door handle of the passenger side in order to get in so that they can talk.

[Robert Cross]

Cross spots what must be Konrad's much discussed van as it enters the lot. At least he's assuming the vehicle belongs to Roth. Things are a little tense for him until it parks next to his car and the Savage gets out. Not that it's a relief when Cross catches sight of his fellow Kindred, given the fiery protestations of his beast. As the Gangrel Priscus rounds the car to get into the passenger side, Cross grips his steering wheel, white-knuckled, getting himself under control. Tonight is too important to let the monster inside him fuck things up.

When Roth tries the door, he finds it unlocked, and the seat clear for him. Cross greets him with a nod and an "Evening Mr. Roth." The headlights are flicked on and Cross exits the parking spot as soon as his passenger is settled.

The burned man seems even more wary than usual. He's clearly keeping his eyes peeled as he leaves the lot. Looking for more than just oncoming traffic as he pulls out onto the road. "Happen to notice if anyone followed you?" He's aware he sounds paranoid, but the shit he's learned has him slightly on edge.

[Konrad Roth]

"Mr. Cross," answers Konrad, using the honorific for once. "Followed me?" he asks, looking confused. "Who would be following me?" As far as he knew, no Kindred knew of his Haven's location to track him from. And for that matter, who besides them would know they were meeting tonight?

[Robert Cross]

Cross speaks as he drives. The way he handles the car speaks to a deep level of comfort and familiarity with the vehicle, even if everything else about him seems on edge. No matter his state of mind, he's a monster that's at home behind the wheel.

"Now that's a very interesting question," he says. "It took me a bit of work to figure out the answer," he says, his eyes moving from the road to Roth and back again.

"Let's start from the top, though." He pauses for a moment, getting the facts straight in his head.

"So, you asked me to look into the matter of the video footage from the incident at Raging Wire a while back and I did so. I spoke to several different sources in the SPD and each gave me, basically, the same story."

Cross takes a turn, nice and easy, onto L Street and it becomes clear that they're heading into the gridded maze of Downtown, and then Midtown, Sacramento. From there, he lazily navigates the stop and go traffic while speaking.

"At first, the case was handled by the SPD. They had your footage. And, while everyone seemed to know there was something strange about this footage, no one could tell me exactly what that meant. Which is, I think, the one bit of good news here. There's no sign that anyone at the city level knows what, exactly, was captured on film." Cross still doesn't know those details himself, but he figures that, whatever it is, it can't be good. He pauses to let the news sink in.

[Konrad Roth]

Konrad remains silent, hanging on Cross's words as the Haunt describes what he's found out from his connections in the police department. He had been right to place his trust in Cross. But something still confuses him.

"Why are they keeping a lid on it? I mean, a murder case and all. Wait, you said, at first? Who is handling it now? The Feds?" Konrad's concerns resurface. Could a higher government agency be looking into the matter? Just great. He'd be roasted on a spit for this. There'd be no way to get it out of the FBI's hands. If anything, this is the worst news.

A hand rises up to pinch the bridge of Konrad's nose between thumb and forefinger, rubbing the pale skin in frustration as he tries to think of some solution that doesn't involve him skipping town.

[Robert Cross]

Roth had hit the nail on the head. Who, indeed?

"That's the thing. No one seemed to have the answer. Initially, everyone I spoke to could only tell me that another agency had stepped in, pulled rank, and taken over the case. They cleared everything out. Including the footage. SPD doesn't even have a copy anymore."

Cross comes to a stop at a red light and turns in his seat to look at Roth.

"So, I went to someone else. Someone I have pull with. And I put it to him." Cross can almost hear the sound of Grant retching in the night, too drunk for his own good. He'd left his old partner's son asleep in the back of his Crown Vic after he'd passed out on the boat ramp. But he'd gotten what he came for.

"At first, it was the same story, but then I got a name. Take Force: Valkyrie." A pause. "That mean anything to you?"

The light turns green and Cross turns his attention back to the road, though he continues to speak: "Things get stranger, though. It's not clear who this Task Force belongs to. Who funds it, or directs it. It's not even clear whether they are domestically based, or some sort of international organization." He pauses, still bothered by the whole thing. "Whoever they are, they've got reach. And they're good at controlling the flow of information when it comes to their own operation."

[Konrad Roth]

There's more? Konrad looks back towards Cross, surprise etched on his expression. "Task Force? Valkyrie?" he echoes. "None of those words sound good. It sounds like a military operation. They must've already known what the footage was, to take such an interest in it." Correction, this is the worst news.

"Damn it. Well, I think you've more than earned yourself a Minor Boon from me, if that suffices. The footage is lost to us, so I'll just have to tell the Reeve that there's this Task Force on the move. I'll be sure to credit you for this information too. Maybe you ought to come with me to tell her yourself?" suggests Konrad, still reeling at the circumstances.

[Robert Cross]

Cross can hear the concern in Roth's voice. Shit's hitting the fan... "Yeah, it does sound like that. But listen, however bad it is there's one bright spot: they've effectively contained the problem. At least on the ground, here, in the city. For the time being, there's only one entity that can cause trouble, and we know their name." One adversary is better than many. And even if there are higher powers at work, they've spared Konrad (and who knows how many other Kindred) a whole city full of cops on red alert.

"Yeah, I'll take it." Even if a favor from Konrad might not be worth much in the coming nights... "And count me in for this visit with the Reeve." He's invested now, in too deep; involved in a puzzle that his investigatory instincts won't let him walk away from.

"But, I've got to know, Konrad, if I'm going to be able to help you to the best of my abilities. What's on that footage, exactly?"

[Konrad Roth]

"True. But it's completely out of our control. What they do with that footage, who they show it to, ecetera," remarks Konrad, not unkindly. "But thanks to your contacts, yes, we have a name."

Cross's request to know more about the footage is a fair one. He's involved enough already that leaving him in the dark would only hinder his ability to help. "Ah, well, the Seneschal had asked for some help in infiltrating the Raging Wire data center. Apparently there's something on their servers that she wanted us to get rid of. Only we weren't equipped to deal with their security. What's more, a Kindred woman showed up who was also trying to get the data, not one of ours. Pressed for time, we triggered an alarm and had to run for it. Only, one of us didn't run, and instead got hit by a car with that Kindred woman behind the wheel."

Konrad's knuckles tighten as the memory forms in his mind. "I...did something stupid and used a Discipline without thinking it through and got caught on camera for it." It is time to own up to it. The Seneschal had plans to tell the Reeve anyways. There'd be no denying the fact against her word. "So now I'm trying to clean up after myself."