(Alien Call) Preparations

[Yumyumcrow]

Lost in the ranks of light industrial lots, scrap yards and warehouses between Florin and South Sacramento, there is an old abandoned garage. Decrepit signage blindly proclaims "Joes Repairs." Dirt encrusted windows stare blankly at the street; the interior is all baroque shadows and hints of shadows. Nothing moves or grows - even the weeds look dead. Around the back a heavy industrial door lies open but apart from a new tag it appears that no one has ventured inside. Maybe there is something wrong with the place, or something within that makes the casual nightly looters quietly back off.

Somewhere out in the city, an Alchemist gathers his plans and his courage.

Somewhere out in the city, Kindred stir themselves to action.

Somewhere out in the city, someone must know enough to piece these things together.

This should be a quick scene for people to do any research, chasing up Allies for information, or casing of the meeting site. I know a number of you indicated you might be interested in doing some of those things before we move on.
Saber Sloth Woland Jaqen unlimited sink Alice Hart Robert Longstreet Robert Cross Katsuro Tomori

[Alice Hart]

While the others searched for information, calling their contacts, or scouring their libraries, Alice attended to the only thing that mattered.

Alas, as she stalked the streets within the boundaries of the Barrens, she found nothing. Not even a fucking rat.

Knowing the night was ever-dwindling Alice made her way to Joe's Repairs, or rather she paused streets down from the meeting place. Knowing that the others were coming, with their information, or books, or even both, and that Robert would scout the shop before she'd step one foot back into the decapitated place.

  failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2017-05-05 21:52:36		Alice Hart rolls 2 to Feeding (Strength 2 + Subterfuge 2 -5(blind/barrens) + WP) (10 Again, WillPower)		3, 3		failure

[Robert Cross]

Cross spends the early part of the evening pumping his contacts on both sides of the law for information concerning Joe's Repairs. Any reports of strange activity at the location? Any weird rumors on the streets about the garage or its owners?

After spending a few hours on the phone, it's time to get there himself. See what there is to see. Of course, the Burned Man has been to the building before, so he has no trouble finding it now. Before he drives over, he sends Robert Longstreet a text:

Heading to the Repair Shop now. Want to meet there, check things out? See you at corner of [Street] & [Street]. I'll be in the Town Car.

Cross parks at the meet point, a block from the Garage, cutting the engine while he waits for Longstreet. In the meantime, he focuses on wrapping both his knife and gun in shadows.

ToS Rolls

  ToS Gun, 1 suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2017-05-06 12:58:13		Robert Cross rolls 6 to Touch of Shadow (Gun): Wits3 + Larceny1 + Obfuscate3 (10 Again)		6, 9, 6, 5, 5, 2		1 success

  ToS Knife, 4 suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2017-05-06 12:58:42		Robert Cross rolls 7 to Touch of Shadow (Knife): Wits3 + Larceny1 + Obfuscate3 (10 Again)		5, 8, 2, 2, 7, 10, 9, 9		4 successes

I'm assuming Longstreet still wants in on the scouting action. If not, Cross will advance on his own as if he got a text from the Bishop declining to join. Also, if you'd like some rolls for working Cross's allies/contacts Yumyumcrow just let me know!

[Yumyumcrow]

You will both need to roll Manipulation + Intimidation + Contacts. Just one roll. Successes will indicate the amount of information you manage to shake loose. Cross's Allies don't have much to offer on this one.

Post below and I'll put it all together.

Robert Cross unlimited sink Robert Longstreet Woland

[Robert Cross]

Here you go!

  failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2017-05-06 18:22:14		Robert Cross rolls 7 to Working Contacts Manip2 + Intim3 + Contacts2 (10 Again)		1, 6, 2, 5, 1, 1, 4		failure

[Yumyumcrow]

Robert Cross is unable to track down any pertinent information. As far as he can tell, Joe's Repairs is not even on the radar; the whole area is a bleak and dead zone, of poor and run down warehouses and largely vacant lots. Nothing worth steal and nothing going on.

Robert Longstreet has much better luck. Maybe its those dead eyes, those rough hands with their implicit violence... Who knows?

"Oh yeah. I heard about that place. Smiley and Con cased it. Like, back door was open, so. Anyway, they case the place looking for stuff - you know those guys, they probably thought they could squat out there or something. Anyway, they say they found this body. In a jar. Like a dwarf or something. Must have been a big fucking jar. And it had eyes on them: milky eyes but it was watching 'em. Smiley's crazy but Con is cool. So if he says he was being watched... he was."

"Smiley and Con checked it out as a squat. Last year I think - they's moved back up to North Sacramento again. Now they saw some shit in there or something but the word got out. So some guys went over there... You know, like a gang of them. They were ready to chase whatever was there off, you know? I heard that old garage was pretty solid. Now get this - they say they found a glowing ball in there. And there were ... freaks ... Yah. Freaks is a word. They say there were freaks nesting there. Looked like people but weren't. No one's been there since. Bad juju even if its just shit talk."

"Never heard of it. But if you can get down that part of town there are plenty of places to squat. Even for a day or two. Its all old warehouses and junk yards. Just watch out for the feral dogs, you hear. They catch you, they eat you."

"Old Nancy says she saw aliens climbing on the roof and breaking the upper storey windows."

"Crap. Old Nancy is bat shit. Bag Lady. She used to have the pulse of the street but now - she just an old crazy lady. Don't listen to a word she says."

[Robert Cross]

Cross gets out of the car as Longstreet approaches and offers the other Haunt a nod. "Mr. Longstreet," the name is said as a form of simple greeting. A slight clenching of his jaw is all that betrays the effort it takes to wrangle his Monster, to deal with the presence of another predator. "Follow me."

The Burned Man leads the way toward their target. Being here again, after all these months, returns Cross's thoughts to the night they'd first felt the beacon. He can't decide whether it's better or worse without that horrible pressure, the arcane lure that provoked the rage of his Beast. At least then, he'd known there would be trouble.

Cross comes to a stop across the street and a few buildings down from the garage, indicating the structure, discretely, to his partner in crime. "That's it, there. Last time we went in was through the back door. It was open, if I remember correctly." A moment of silence. Cross's flat, blue eyes remain fixed on their destination. Looking for any movement. Anything out of the ordinary.

  Perception, 5 suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2017-05-10 10:14:13		Robert Cross rolls 6 to Perception (Wits3 + Comp3) (10 Again)		3, 8, 10, 7, 6, 10, 9, 8		5 successes

Finally, he speaks again. His voice is low, pitched so only Longstreet can hear him: "The door's in an alley back behind the building. Figure, once we're back there, I can go dark, slip inside for a look. Leave you to do an external sweep. If it's clear, I'll call you in. Or if I need backup." He glances over at the Bishop, "How's that sound to you?"