(On the Hunt) Finger Delivery & Recon

[Aaron van Valen]

'Yea sure, my number is <this>' Aaron says, while really hoping that their allies are in fact actually safe.

New York, ouch. That must be an entirely different world indeed. 'We're both big city dwellers then. Sacramento feels so... comprehensible.'

Though clearly, Sacramento is big enough to have its forgettable spots. Aaron drives his car until he is right in front of the shop. The site seems too remote and abandoned for their plan to have any effect. If their package would be found, it was mostly likely by rats or a stray dog.

It was their plan anyway, and he is ready to complete it. 'Yes.' He stops the car and takes out the keys, while enhancing his bodily senses to a supernatural level. 'Let's get out together. There's no harm in having a really quick look.'

After getting out of the car, Aaron walks up to the shop to try to have a look inside. He hopes to be able to determine what kind of shop it had been. What makes this spot interesting for the Tribulation Militia? Has the Brood been here? If so, they apparently succeeded into wiping them out.

  Perception and investigation

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-08-15 01:47:51		Aaron van Valen rolls 6 to Perception (Wits 3 + Composure 3) (10 Again)		8, 5, 7, 4, 6, 8		2 successes

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-08-15 01:52:31		Aaron van Valen rolls 5 to What was this place? (Wits + Investigation) (10 Again)		1, 5, 8, 6, 5		1 success

Activating Enhanced Senses

[Yumyumcrow]

The shop had once been a convenience store and cafe. Now it is mostly boarded up but the Ventrue is not dissuaded until he finds a crack in the boards and can peer within. He sees the shop is old, dusty, and not quite empty: abandoned furniture and rusting equipment still sit within like prisoners.

Thats not all, as Clara finds from her own investigations: the store would once have been part of a larger strip of shops. The other buildings have either been demolished, dismantled, or towed away but their traces remain. Here and there, traces of brick and concrete poke up from the dusty soil.

And something else as well: doors to a hidden basement, covered over sods of turf.

[Clara E. Verne]

Clara fished the hand canon and finger out from the glove compartment. The gun went into her sweater pouch and the finger was gingerly handled. She quickly relayed all of her observations to Aaron in a hushed tone. She then finished with, "It's how they mark their territory, isn't it?" She said motioning towards the graffiti. Jed had said they were encroaching on Bushwacker turf. The Militia felt good and comfortable marking this place as theirs with this big tag.

It was marked on their list. Drop it off and roll the dice. Have nerve. Clara walked over to the tag, dropped off the finger wrapped in a Militia pamphlet, and turned on her heel towards Aaron. "On to debut as voyeurs?"

[Aaron van Valen]

When his peeking inside reveals almost nothing of note, Aaron wonders what this place is for. Why is it marked? What does the Militia use it for?

Then Clara shares her observations, which make an educated guess possible.

'Indeed. Though it makes me wonder if we're not dropping the package precisely on the wrong spot.' He thinks for a moment. 'You say there's a basement. What if all the marked spots are underground entrances to wherever the Militia is hiding? Not that I really want to investigate further...'

They promised themselves only to look. Low risk operation. He considered dropping the package off at the safe house, but that would kill a possible element of surprise in the future.

'Shall we leave this for what it is then, and continue our voyeuristic trip?'

[Clara E. Verne]

Aaron says aloud the worst case scenario and it causes Clara to pause. Pros and cons are weighed against his words. The Bacchante makes a snap choice--hesitation would be worse than the doubt she was already plagued with.

She was mid-spin as Aaron spoke to her: she kept spinning and scooped up the gruesome trophy. Clara stared at the Tribulation Militia tag appendage in hand. She broke off from the huge mural with a scoff.

She then continued back towards the car and said, "Let's keep our memento of Jed for a bit longer." Clara was eager to be rid of it. It was a reminder of her own malleable sense of right and wrong. It was heavier than any finger ought to be. "This spot doesn't feel right."

I'm cool with continuing to the next spot if you are, Dark Passenger

[Aaron van Valen]

It makes Aaron glad that he and Clara seem to be thinking alike on many cases. This place feels far from right. If only they didn't have so many places to explore already...

'As you prefer. Let's go then.'

There's no need to linger. Aaron quickly checks his smartphone. Messages kept coming in. Lina wanted to meet. John Davis was putting spaghetti with bacon in the oven.

Like... why? And why does that require back up? He thinks sarcastically. He tries to understand, but fails, thus he takes the wheel again and takes Clara to their next destination.

'We could also randomly drop it somewhere close to the safe house, not directly at. I really think we should try to let them think it's still a secure spot.'

  decipher message

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-08-19 11:18:48		Aaron van Valen rolls 5 to Wits + academics (10 Again)		4, 6, 3, 4, 4		failure

[Clara E. Verne]

Clara felt Aaron had a good sense of the situation. He agreed with her when he thought she was speaking sense but voiced his concern and had his own mind about things. It helped that he wasn't sycophantic or needlessly antagonistic.

She nodded at his words as he checked his smartphone. "If you're trying to distract me by making me wonder who texts you like a jealous girlfriend, it's working." She smiled at the Dragon Lord as she settled back into her shotgun seat.

"Sounds like a plan. It's not far, right? We've got a lot to share with Moretti and the others when we finish."

[Aaron van Valen]

Aaron chuckles softly, 'You're not missing much. It's Davis sending my cryptic messages. Definitely not one of my favorite suitors... Though he seemed quite serious. So we should hurry this along so I can try to decipher it more carefully.'

Really, he wants to take the knight serious. But he seems to make it so hard on himself.

Meanwhile, they hit the road with a new location in the GPS. The relatively new Dodge Caravan makes it a comfortable trip.

'Moretti sent me one as well. She and Twist are finished with their job it seems.' His tone reveals little excitement, but the Lord is actually very curious.

[Clara E. Verne]

Clara groaned. "I told him no texting. We need to take away that phone from him." It was a knee-jerk response as they rode through the empty Sacramento streets. The finger and hand canon were, again, tossed into the glove compartment. The Bacchante wondered idly if this was Aaron's car. It didn't seem Lordly.

"So you have suitors? Priscus on arrival I can see why there'd be a line to your bedroom." She was thinking aloud now, her observations less guarded. Her ears perked up at mention of Moretti and Twist's mission and...Aaron didn't elaborate.

"Well? How'd it go? Do they know about us?" The way she said us made it clear she was making a clear distinction from the Forsworn and the Court. Her tone made it clear she was eager for a shred of good news on this gruesome night.

Safe house after next post good for you guys?

[Aaron van Valen]

'You did, really? So many people are giving him such great advise. What a stubborn man.' Aaron knows that Clara, perhaps more than others, sees some good in Davis. The Lord would like to keep him as an ally as well. Now he is probably all alone in the sewers again.

I still wonder about that albino crocodile...

He shrugs then, while taking a turn, 'Sadly no!' he chuckles. 'No one to my tastes among the Kindred anyway.'

'Moretti didn't actually give information. Just that she wants to gather and that she has stuff.' Meanwhile, Aaron also keeps checking the rear-view mirror. As long as there's no vans following them he's fine.

yup!