Foosball with the Sheriff

**Derek Menzies** · Jan 3rd, 2019 08:16 PM

Sporting suits isn't really Derek's style. The Shadow prefers to go unnoticed. He hopes that the Sheriff doesn't take offense that the newcomer doesn't sport fancier threads when he arrives at the Nox. He also hopes it wasn't an empty gesture that she invited him to drop in during her office hours.

A black hoodie cloaks the Mekhet in simple cotton hanging around his thin frame, the hood drawn shading his features. Out of habit he steps lightly in dark jeans and sneakers, noticing the variations of subtle sounds, the clack on stone, the squeak of wood as pressure is applied. He pauses at the door of the Sheriff's office. Part of him wishes to linger, to listen, like a fly on the wall, but that would be rude. And dangerous if he is discovered.

He knocks.

"Um, uh, Sheriff Moretti? It's, uh, Derek Mitnick. I hope you don't mind if I take you up on your offer to drop by. Erm, but if you're busy I completely understand..."

The sense of pressure builds in him, anticipating the presence of the Beast to wash over him

Jan 3rd, 2019 10:36 PM

The door is open just enough for Mitnick's knock to swing it inward.

Lina Moretti's office was weird. Two walls were covered in blackboards, one of which clearly outlined the progress on addressing a Hunter threat (if one knew what this meant). The rest were covered in shorthands that would take some time to decipher, but recent dates were on it. An astute individual would realize that these too were notes about investigations - just notes for Lina, as opposed to notes for the whole world. She had a rolling whiteboard stand that she could move a board onto tucked neatly into a corner by a filing cabinet and a simple oak desk with a computer on it. Wires were neatly tucked, a toilet roll keeping them all together so they weren't in the way. It was Work Lina, personified.

The other half of the office was chill. Detective movie posters from the noir era were on the wall. There was a worn black leatherette couch, a side table, and the foosball table. Still tidy, no shitstorms here, no sirree - but it was a much more relaxed half of the room.

"Mitnick. Come in."

Her invitation was pleasant enough. The Sheriff wasn't dressed to the nines either, though a pantsuit hung in a garment back on a hook behind the door, right beneath a backpack that had a variety of pieces of equipment on it. No, she wore black jeans and a white tank-top while in the office on off nights, behind her closed door. Draped over her seat was a leather jacket. On her hip was her ever-present Bowie knife, comfortable and sure.

"I've got time for a game if you do. Get the door behind you?"

She gestured toward the table and got up.

**Derek Menzies** · Jan 3rd, 2019 10:57 PM

Derek's eyes dart to the blackboard markings inquisitively, as if his mind were geared to decrypt cyphers by instinct. How archaic, to use chalk, rattles a random thought in his head. It had an old school flare, literally. Though he wasn't so young not to remember the scent.

His eyes darted next to the computer on the desk, and a mind wondering if it could identify the hardware. The rest was taken in passively, until seeing the Sheriff herself.

The muscles moved, a tense gulp to clear the phantom sensation of a dry throat. Already a familiar Beast, the taint of her Predator did not impact him as much as their initial meeting, and he is still very aware that he resides in Elysium. He creeps in cautiously, lowering his head in a slow nod as he obediently closes the door.

The knife catches his attention as he nears her. "Ah, a Bowie. 'Cuts both ways' as David used to say. Aheh heh," he gives a forced chuckle, missing his own steel by his side. But rules were rules.

He follows her gestured direction and rounds the foosball table, fingers tapping along its metal frame nervously. "So you do have a foosball table. I..I used to play quite a bit with an old roommate years back," Derek remarks conversationally. "Not so much anymore though..."

Jan 3rd, 2019 11:13 PM

Lina's Beast was silent, blessedly so, and she appeared to relax just slightly as a few seconds passed. It sought bloodshed, but to what end? There was nothing here to be destroyed. "I'm not sure which I like better, Ziggy or this knife, but there's no reason we can't have both. Sec." She reached down to her phone and pulled up Spotify. Moments later, the slow opening beats of Cat People played out of a couple of speakers.

She stepped out from behind the desk, making her way over to the table opposite him. "Yeah, it was in storage. It's not a super nice one or whatever, but I've had it a long time. From back when I was apprenticing as a PI. I didn't really have anywhere appropriate to put it, and my Chapterhouse requires a different vibe."

Home was a place dedicated to the Ordo Dracul. Like all things, this office served a purpose. A meeting place for all who she needed to see, a somewhat approachable place of even-handed law enforcement. The foosball table served that image.

"Where you from, Mitnick? And where do you hope to go?"

The white ball was dropped in the slot, and the game began. Lina's foosball style was interesting; right hand on the center pole of five, left hand on the goalie, with the two-guy pole in the middle ready for a fast switch. She leaned defensive, apparently.

**Derek Menzies** · Jan 3rd, 2019 11:39 PM

Despite her being a fellow monster of the Night, this Sheriff is alright, thinks Derek as the iconic track is queued and initially slow steady beat reverberates off the blackboard walls.

"Heh, I probably couldn't tell the difference if it were of higher quality."

Still processing her question, Derek reacts to the start of the game, re-acquainting himself to the spinners. He seems to stick to the left, one hand on the goalie and the other on the defenders, switching only when he's able to regain control of the ball. Also a defensive-style player.

"Uhh," he manages to say between passing between linemen. "San Fran. Most recently. South side. And uhh..." A pause as he takes a poor shot at her goal, giving up control of the ball. "I guess I just hope to, um...I guess I'm still figuring that out. Right now just trying to secure a safe place for myself."

"So. Uh. PI. That's cool. Don't think I've met one of those before," he adds awkwardly. He feels dumb, dancing around the subject of his business with the Sheriff. He tries to relax as he distracts himself with the trajectories of the game, letting his normally guarded anxieties slacken.

Jan 4th, 2019 01:53 AM

"Less beat up, I'd say. Really, that's the only difference," she said with a quiet chortle as she took control of the ball off his shot. She adeptly bounced the ball from one lineman to the next, firing it past his center line, but when she went to do the same trick with her attackers, she shot wide, bouncing the ball off the back wall and into Derek's clutches. "Is that right? San Francisco's gorgeous. I haven't been in a long time, but I sure wouldn't mind a look at some point here."

As she set to defend her net and he commented on his lack of direction and her profession, she gave him a nod and an encouraging flash of a smile. "Honestly, it's cooler in movies. Lot of filming insurance claimants and catching cheating husbands and wives. But sometimes it has its moments, and the legitimate reason to be most places and to have friends in high places who I help out here and there is perfect cover for the Masquerade."

She glanced up at him for a moment before getting her eyes back on the ball.

"Most people come to me and offer service right off the bat. 'I super wanna help, Sheriff', or 'I'm a super great murderer, Sheriff, in case you need bad guys murdered', or whatever. That's what I usually see." She chuckled at her own joke. "But you, you're more reserved. Slower to try to throw yourself in the line of fire. That's fine by me. It either means you're either very smart, or very scared. So. What is it that actually brings you to my office tonight, aside from a love of this great game?"

**Derek Menzies** · Jan 4th, 2019 04:48 PM

"I, uh, didn't get out much. Spent most of my time behind a computer screen," Derek explains, in case she's considering asking more questions about the city itself.

He takes interest in Lina's brief summary of the PI lifestyle, nodding as his eyes flick up towards her. "Guess most of the job is networking. I can understand that," he says with a breathy chuckle. As the ball stops on his corner of the table he awkwardly pulls it out with the edge of the player's feet.

"Really? Most people?" remarks Derek with a grimace, considering her words internally before spinning his spinner wildly for a wild shot. The ball goes bouncing all over but doesn't sink.

Unlucky.

"Err, um, or both?" he suggests with a sheepish smile. "I'm, uhh..." He shivers a bit, trying to shake off the tension and speak more straightforwardly. "I'm sure I want to be useful. Useful Kindred live longer. I mostly wanted to hear what you'd be willing to tell me about the goings on in the Domain."

He glances to the blackboards on the wall. "It's hard to buy into the idea of a peaceful and stable Domain. But I guess that's because of the hard work you're putting in. Helping keep it safer would be beneficial for me too."

Jan 4th, 2019 05:20 PM

Mirth reaches Moretti's eyes as she playfully quips, "A hacker, spending lots of time behind a computer screen? I am surprised." She doesn't pick up on the discussion of her job; rather, she is focusing on blocking the wild shot and taking control of the ball, which was blocked with her goalie. She lifts the center row suddenly and snaps a shot from her goaltender all the way toward the other end, trying to snipe a goal while he was still recovering from being on the offense.

"Useful Kindred help everyone live longer," Lina adjusted the statement. "Only the Prince has the Right of Destruction here, so even if you weren't being super useful, nobody should be killing you unless you're a criminal." Of course, shit happened sometimes and being useful was the best way to matter to people, but at the theory was there.

"The Hunter situation is calming down. There were four groups; the Bushwhackers, who were active and super dangerous in the city; the North Sacramento gangsters who are really only focused on their turf and who have been around a while; the Tribulation Militia, who are regional in scope and who seem to be decreasing in activity; and Bruce Harcourt's party boys, who have a lot of money and who don't seem to have much in the way of viable targets... and who probably are about to have the cops up their asses, courtesy of yours truly," Moretti said with a sly smirk. "The Bushwhackers tried to do an arms deal and got got by the Mafia. The Tribs are stepping back, the North Sac boys are keeping to their turf, and Brucie is gonna be in trouble real soon. So. Things are calming down. Just keep your head down. I'm sure there'll be more to do going forward, but I think we've got this thing under control for the moment."

She kept her eye on the ball as she summarized further, "I heard there was an issue with some poachers that my staff dealt with. Taken care of. I wouldn't say it's super peaceful, but right now, things seem okay. Keep your phone on, though, if you want work. Stuff happens quick sometimes."

**Derek Menzies** · Jan 4th, 2019 06:00 PM

It's not certain whether the shot is true, or Derek helps it along as he fumbles to block the ball before it sinks decidedly into his goal. The Shadow's mouth twists in mild irritation as the wild shot backfires on him. Yet he's more focused on the conversation than the game itself.

Unless someone declares Monomacy against me, he grumbles internally. Or decides it's worth the risk to break the Law. He doesn't dare say it, that it might suggest weakness in her authority.

"Ah. Lots of factions," Derek remarks. And a lot of movement to keep track of. No wonder the blackboards were full. "Most of my work is...preventative, I suppose. It's hard to stay off the grid nowadays, and harder to stay hidden if you're on it. Though that makes it useful too if you know where to look. If, uh, you need to cover or expose a digital trail, that'd be where I could help out. Easier to avoid a punch if you see it coming."

Derek sets up the ball in the center slot, dropping it to begin the game again, flicking his wrist to try and wrest the ball on its erratic course.

"I'll give you my number before I head out. I usually have my phone on me, though I disable a lot of its services until I need it. Never know where service providers are selling your location these days."

He thinks for a moment, the sound of the spinners sliding over the table. "Uh. I had a question about setting up a Haven for myself. Are there any out-of-bounds I should keep in mind? I didn't really see much in the Laws about that."

Jan 4th, 2019 06:46 PM

"Well, if the Hunters don't go away, I have a well-known porn producer slash Hunter who I may need all manner of information about. We'll see how that plays out now that the Bushwhackers are dead," she said as she twitched her center line to try and block his ability to move the ball forward. "For now, we'll hold tight, see how things lay before we decide if another move is needed."

She nodded to the offer of his number, and had an easy answer for his final question. "The Communal Hunting Ground is, ummm... one sec. Without Tenancy, you have permission to make a small Haven in..." She took her hands off the game and held a finger up, going to her desk to grab a map of the city. She'd already drawn the area on there, along with the rest of the districts. "This area here, the big area in the center of town. Keep your Haven small. Making it more than a small apartment without Tenancy is a good way to get picked up for poaching. Also, avoid the little square in the downtown core there for feeding, that's the Rack. Only the Prince can grant those feeding rights."

Foosball with the Sheriff

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