Brood Briefing

[Robert Cross]

Having received the Seneschal's invitation to meet with her at her office, Cross does not wait long to turn up at her door.

He's dressed, as usual, in his nondescript black suit and white shirt open at the collar. No weapons tonight, not in the Prince's elysium. Instead, he comes armed with a small collection of papers, brief notes on what he and Alice had turned up at the Crone Farm. Largely, this packet details the disturbing information pulled from a cell phone found beneath the charred ruins of the farm house proper.

While he's aware that the Brood has not taken top priority for the former Reeve now Seneschal as far as threats to the Domain go, the conspiracy they've uncovered is too large and well organized to be ignored. And then there is the presence of a former member of the Domain itself, Dirge... Cross knows it's his duty to disclose their findings, one way or another.

If met by one of Victoria's associates, Cross will permit himself to be escorted to her office. If not, he'll find his way there alone, taking a moment to make sure his attire and the notes he's prepared for her are in order before rapping smartly at her door.

[Victoria Stamford]

Robert finds Victoria's servant outside of her office door, and when he approaches the office the servant moves to open the door for him. The room is set up much like her previous office. The large wooden desk with the empty space before it and expensive rug. Then the book shelves behind her desk, manacles on one wall as it never hurt to be prepared, and the reception area off to the right of the doorway with a couch and chairs. Victoria is standing in the space before her large desk when the haunt enters the room and she smiles in greeting.

"Deputy Cross, it is good to see you again. Please, have a seat," she said gesturing to seating area. If Robert moves to take a seat Victoria will join him there. Once seated she'll turn to the man.

"You had something you wished to discuss?" she prompted.

The man would not come to her unless there was something of importance that needed discussing. She also got the impression that he was a man that appreciated brevity so she cut to the chase. There might be time afterward to discuss a few things.

[Robert Cross]

"Lady Seneschal Stamford," Cross responds with a bow, "a pleasure as always." At her indication, the Burned Man moves to the sitting area, eyes quickly sweeping the room as he does so. If the manacles in any way affect him, it doesn't show.

Taking a seat, Cross allows her a moment to settle herself before beginning. "First, congratulations on your new office, Lady Seneschal. It suits you." The words almost have a touch of warmth to them. In any case, their sincerity is apparent.

"But unfortunately, I didn't come here to celebrate. I think we have a bigger problem than we thought with the Brood presence in the city." He pauses, gauging her reaction for a moment, before handing her the notes he's prepared. In them, she will find everything he's learned from the recovered cell-phone at the farm, in condensed form.

As she begins to look them over, he provides a bit of context. "Priscus Hart and I took the liberty of investigating the site of the Farm house fire. A fact finding mission, nothing more. Underneath the remains of the structure, we discovered a small staging area hidden in some old drainage tunnels. There, we turned up an abandoned cell phone. I was able to pull enough data off of it to put together a rough outline of their operation," he says, indicating the notes in her hands.

"As you can see, their cell seems to number a total of seven. Though one of them, B, the owner of the phone, may have perished in the fire. And another, Trudi, may have defected over an argument. They have a well-established base of operations--this "Crypt"--and a plan for further action. It seems the "Chapel" is their next target. We're concerned they may be referring to the Moore House, which would mean they are moving beyond targeting only the Circle." Here, he frowns, before continuing. "Most disturbingly, they seem to include a former member of the Domain in their number--Dirge..."

Here, Cross falls silent, giving the Seneschal time to process the information he's brought to her. He's not sure if she knew Dirge. He wouldn't have been familiar with her name if it hadn't been for their research into Alice's...condition. The implications of a former member of the domain working with the Brood are perhaps the most alarming part of their findings. The knowledge that Dirge might have about Domain holdings, security, and members could prove quite dangerous. He's sure Lady Stamford can see this for herself, so it remains unsaid for the moment.

[Victoria Stamford]

Victoria sat reviewing the notes and listening to Robert give the report. She was rather impressed with the progress on that front and the level of detail they were able to uncover. They had some rough numbers, names, and some possible locations. The fact that something was staged at The Moore House was an interesting choice, but certainly made sense for a former Crone member like Dirge. The Seneschal didn't know why Dirge was doing what she was, maybe she felt disenfranchised, felt wronged, or maybe woke up on the wrong side of the sewer one too many times. Regardless a threat like Dirge needed to be...handled.

"Good work," She said still looking up from the report. "Dirge will be a problem if she is involved. Granted much of her first hand information will be dated as it was my understanding that she has been rather reclusive. But she knows enough about locations and secrets. For being blind she is also a rather capable fighter with fencing, and spear work, besting the domain's finest fighters at the time in a tournament, and she is hard to track down with her connections to the city's homeless. The woman also had a thing for using dogs, she kept many of them so I bet that hasn't changed. So we will have at least seven people and likely dogs or animals to deal with as well."

Victoria considered their options for a moment...there were not many kindred left in the city to work with. If all of these were vampires then they would have far more work cut out for them than she realized.

"They certainly picked an excellent time to make their move," she sighed with irritation.

"That would leave us with five to their seven plus their surprises..." she trailed off considering things once more. "We may need to press gang or draft for this endeavor. At the very least I say we approach Doctor French. She used to be a deputy for some time. I doubt that I will be able to sit this one out either given how few our numbers. Is it known if there are kine and ghouls among their numbers or are they all kindred? What is your tactical assessment of the situation?"

Victoria calmly watched and awaited a response. She was clearly interested in what the man had to say before she made any type of final statements or decisions.

[Robert Cross]

Cross absorbs the information concerning Dirge's martial capacities in stoic silence. It's useful, if disconcerting, information. The bad comes with the good, though: at least the Seneschal seems open to addressing the problem in the first place. Cross had been concerned she might even be a little perturbed that he and Alice had taken it upon themselves to investigate. Still, with such a large threat to the domain, it makes sense that she would take it seriously.

"Yes, yes, they did." He replies. These are troubled nights. And the trouble keeps on mounting.

Who else might they draft? Possibly Twist...Jacob? Vivian? That new Daeva, the French one? "Do you think, if necessary, we might be able to involve Her Grace, the Archon?" He asks, hesitant. He knows that the Prince likes to deploy her sparingly. "And I was going to bring up Dr. French," he continues with a nod of agreement. "We spoke at the last court and she seemed eager to provide what services she could. If all else fails, we might try to recruit Jacob Maddox or Whip York, possibly that new Daeva, Henri..." He doesn't sound too certain about the last three.

At the Seneschal's comment concerning her own participation, the Burned Man gives her an apologetic look. Though, inside, there's a feeling of relief. He knows she's competent on a variety of levels. Having her involved can only help.

"It's unclear whether they have any Kine or Servants at their disposal. And as I see it, the best approach, tactically, would be to attempt to isolate different members and decrease their numbers in that way." He stops to think. "I still have the cell phone left at the Farm. Maybe we can use it to lure certain individuals, pretending to be this 'B' and take them one or two at a time? That would also allow us to interrogate those that aren't...dispatched immediately. We could start with the agitator, Trudi. See if she's willing to come alone? "

[Victoria Stamford]

Victoria nodded at Robert's comments about their current martial capabilities as a domain. It was not a positive subject and thus unpleasant to dwell on. They had few options and she was unsure how busy Twist was. At least the Archon would be able to keep them all on task with her direct approach.

"I can approach Her Grace about taking an active role with the brood, I would feel more at ease with someone of her capabilities at our side, but we shall see," Victoria said plainly. It was certainly not a sure thing that she would get involved.

"I would not approach Whip York unless you are sponsoring a race to see who can flee the fastest from danger," she said with a small smile at her dark sense of humor. "She is a social creature who likes to indulge particular vices. So no she will be of no help. On that note, I know nothing of the geriatric, but I'm not optimistic on that front. Priscus Maddox," Victoria said with a slight shudder of revulsion at granting a new and unlearned man such a title, "may be of some limited usefulness, I mean it isn't like he chooses to run into burning buildings."

"Well Reeve Cross, I believe you are quite competent in such operations. You and Priscus Hart know the threat best and I can trust you to organize the first strike. I will assist however I can. I like the idea of striking them while they are split up. It sounds like there is two factions and they are fairly split so we might be able to strike at one of them. I would suggest we look closely at the Moore House and throw a wrench in their plans, destroying whatever they are storing there. We can try to strike while their strength is out if we can arrange it."

Victoria threw out the title as if it were natural and the man already accepted. Obviously if he objected she would not force it on him, but she felt that he would be willing to take the job. It was a hard choice, but Alessandra might need more seasoning before she was ready.

[Robert Cross]

Cross can read between the lines: while Twist's involvement would be preferred, don't count on it. That's what he'd figured, so it doesn't come as a big surprise. Still, somewhere deep down he hopes that, on an off chance, the Archon might be called on. However, planning would have to go ahead on the assumption that such would not come to pass.

The Seneschal's assessments of York, Michaud, and Maddox seem to hit the mark with Cross. He chuckles, a dry, rasping sound, and nods his agreement. "I think you're right on all counts. Though, they may have other...uses. We'll see how things develop going forward." He's not sure what these other uses may be, but he's not going to rule anyone out.

There's a moment, just after Victoria utters his new title, that Cross's typically stoic demeanor breaks. A small smile tugs at the edges of his lips before it is effaced by a gracious bow of his head. "I will strive to live up to your trust," he responds, his acceptance of the position clear. "I'll be naming Emma French as a deputy in my place." He'll have to inform her in short order, luckily he'd acquired her telephone number at the last court. "And I think you're right. We'll check the Moore house directly and I'll start trying to lure one of their number into a meeting using the phone." Cross falls momentarily silent, lost in his thoughts and plans.

Suddenly, he seems to realize that he's drifted. Giving the Seneschal an apologetic smile, the Burned Man adds: "I don't want to take up anymore of your time, Lady Seneschal. That concludes my report for the evening. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?" It's obvious he's available if she requires him for anything further.

[Victoria Stamford]

"Oh absolutely," Victoria said with a smile. "Not everyone is built for conflict and instead are social butterflies. Different strengths and all that."

While true it certainly didn't help out their situation any at the moment and instead of socialites they could use more people of action. However, crying about it certainly was not going to improve the situation any so she just shrugged a response that seemed to say: what can you do?

"Sounds good," she said with a nod. "I do not have anything further, so keep me apprised of how things are progressing and when we are ready to move against the Moore House. May the rest of your evening be a pleasant one."

I'm good to end it here as well. Sorry for the slow responses. Great scene!