(Echelon) Planning for Sod

[Jacque]

Breaking off from the two so that he could meet with Derek Menzies , Jacque finds his way to the original staging room for the Echelon mission when he first met and worked with Mitnick and the others. The quiet of the area calmed him and he pulled out his phone to do some general searches for information on the Sacramento Coroner's office until his guest arrived.

Vassagon Steven Figured you could add in the next thread what Jack might have figured out during his intermittent googling in between conversations.

[Derek Menzies]

Derek arrives a few minutes later with his laptop bag in tow, housing his usual accessories. The knife left at the coat check. He's a bit tense looking and twitchy. There is some relief in seeing Jacque and the lack of a perceptible Beast to contend with. It makes for an easier conversation at least.

"Hello, Jack. Sorry, um, for the firm stance on my part. I imagine Mr. Exlibrist put you up to this, uh, request. But I really have been run a bit ragged lately, so I figure I need the extra incentive. This is, uh, about the...the uh, toxin and Jeffrey Cummings autopsy, right?"

Derek sits down and begins to pull out his laptop, either to take notes or force of habit.

[Jacque]

Jacque stands and slides his phone into his pocket to greet Derek as he arrives and makes himself comfortable. Retaking his seat, he waves off Derek's apology with a smile, "Please, think nothing of it. I am unaware of whatever intra-family feud there may be with him, but based on what I've seen and heard I imagine I have some decent understanding."

He shakes his head, "Quite the contrary, actually. I had requested he reach out to you since you were family and I recognized your elegance in your craft. I do wish to offer an apology, however, as Mister Exlibrist did not communicate my request appropriately. He seemed to be in a state of self-loathing and as such he ended up asking you to just do everything for him."

"I do not think I have had something fuel my ire like that in quite some time," he offers with a casual chuckle. "Yes, Jeffrey Cummings was the identity of the person Harpy Simmons and I were going to bribe up for an in to the construction operation that we first uncovered together working with Sheriff Moretti. We found him dead and poisoned and now we've been asked to figure out why."

Tapping a finger on the table, "The curious thing is that the Coroner has personally taken the case and sealed all of the files. This should be treated as a homicide, but it has been incredibly hands-off." He gestures a hand upward, as if weighing an option, "I don't believe we'll find any more information from the body, but I figured if we could peek at any communications the Coroner has had we might be able to figure out why the case is being handled like it is."

"My other colleague's plans are effectively..." Jacque's words are slowed, an obvious sign of trying to maintain professionalism, "to hope that the CME has written his password down nearby." He pauses a moment to collect himself before continuing, "I am more of the type that likes to ensure that we're able to get in and get out with what we came for without relying on such a chance encounter."

Motioning his hand to Derek, "That is where you come in. I'm not sure what is in the realm of reality or movie fiction but I imagined if you were able to program something that could either extract email information or clone the drive we would at least be able to leave with the information we came for and decrypt it later. I would personally prefer the latter as there is no knowing what other bits of information we might miss out on if we limit our scope. My intention for Mister Exlibrist calling you was to request such a device, not to have you do the whole job for us."

He leans back in his chair to see what ideas Derek may have.

[Derek Menzies]

Derek leans on his forearms on the tabletop as he listens to Jack's thoughts and the information he has to share.

He addresses the matter of Adam first. "I think it's been public knowledge the offense he caused against the Prince. It's an embarrassment to the Mekhet that he continues to remain in the Domain after that. I don't have anything else against him, but I'm not about to let him forget the precarious situation he's in. I'm sure he thinks that because we're Family that we'll forgive that kind of behavior..."

Derek trails off, cutting himself off from ranting further to this near-stranger. He reflects for a moment on what he's just said, but seems to decide that it was enough.

"Anyways, that being said, the matter of the Cornorer's files shouldn't be too difficult. Especially if you have access to the hard drive that you know the information is being stored on. I'd guess that medical records would be stored on a server that may be off or on site. A medical professional would be able to have a better understanding of how coroners typically store their documentation. You could call my Priscus, Ms. Vitale, to answer that question. But depending on the circumstances, there are different ways of extracting that data."

"Let's say that I provide a flashdrive with malware that, when placed into a computer port, would install itself onto the machine and would work to override most security systems and allow for remote access at a later time. That's something I can provide. It would then be up to you to get that installed on the machine in question, and then I would access it remotely."

"Or, let's say you acquired the machine itself, or its hard drive, if it is encrypted, I'm sure I could decrypt it with enough time. Or if the medical records are offsite on a server then it's possible that anyone could access them if they have the right credentials. So, as you see, it all depends. In all of the scenarios you'll likely have to get into the coroner's office or facility, or gain access to someone who works there in order to acquire either the online credentials or the physical server."

Derek pauses, his eyes unfocusing for a moment as if working through the task mentally. He blinks a few times and looks back to Jack.

"So, for the flashdrive I mentioned, a Minor Boon, if it works and I'm able to provide you with the data you need. Or just a Trivial Boon if you extract the server hard drive and bring it to me to work on. Or if you want me to remotely hack an offsite server then a Minor Boon and a Trivial Boon. Does that sound fair?"

[Jacque]

He nods, "I was quite aware of the offense and assumed as much but you never know exactly how much trouble someone can manage to get themselves into."

Jacque ponders for a moment and starts to speak with a more casual tone, "Please take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt Mister Mitnick. I am certain that there are some... cultural differences between our bloods and far be it for me to sound as if I were defending Mister Exlibrist. Consider that it is by the grace of Her Majesty that someone who falters as such would be allowed to stay." If it could be described any less than falling flat on his face. "Also you may want to consider that he still represents your family. Objectively, his first embarrassment was fueled by a sense of hopelessness and a need to accomplish a goal. I can say from a very recent first-hand encounter that being a man without a country has him feeling quite soundly defeated." His eyes shift, observing Derek's reception of the information, "If it were my family, I would be weighing the option between helping someone on the path to redemption so that a stain in history could be washed from memory or choking them off to ensure their failure, which then becomes a permanent memory."

He shrugs his shoulders, "Again, with a grain of salt. I do not particularly enjoy his company but it is just a perspective I felt someone I recognize to be as intelligent as you are may appreciate."

Shaking his head, "I'd like to avoid removing any equipment if at all possible. So far whoever is pulling the strings seems very efficient at tying up loose ends and that would certainly draw attention to our collective efforts."

He smiles as the shadow concludes his outline and prestation responds, "I will call your Priscus in a moment to verify the best strategy with her input." He straightens his posture, "But first, I did want to talk through this curiosity that is nagging at me regarding the request for boons. I want to talk about this first because I do not wish to surprise or ambush you at a later time. I try to be a honest person, so if something rubs me the wrong way I like to lay out all the cards so that we can have a healthy and mutually understood business relationship throughout the future. This ensures we aren't wasting each other's time up front and that we're both on the same page." His smile widens briefly as the last few words left his lips.

"See, I called you instead of having Mister Exlibrist follow your instructions because I would not have called your boss." He motions a finger between himself and Derek, "I would have called our boss." He shrugs his shoulders, "But, I thought to myself that there could be some animosity directed towards the messenger, especially since he failed so summarily at communicating what it was we actually needed. Since I was fairly certain that the Sheriff would be mutually annoyed with an inability for either of us to resolve such a problem ourselves, I figured it would also be beneficial to call you myself to see if our business relationship was as healthy as I expected it to be."

Motioning out in front of him, "And it was, much to my delight! Now, I can't see someone as smart as you are asking for similar payment from the Sheriff, the Prince or possibly even the Harpy for this task as it is considered a mission critical to the safety and stability of the Domain. I know I would not ask that of my fellow Kindred on such a mission and certainly not our leadership. I would only request prestation for personal ventures and those boons would be reported to the Harpy along with the reason for the boons." He smiles, his points all being delivered in a matter of fact tone.

Waving his hand dismissively, "Aside from that point, since I am none of those authorities I am mostly concerned that perhaps I have misunderstood business expectations in these types of missions. You have a particular set of skills that seem invaluable and you are very wisely leveraging those unique skills to your advantage in a business transaction." He offers a respectful nod of his head as a sign of respect to his dominance as a computer hacker.

A smile is held on his face, "Charging what the market will bear, I believe is the appropriate phrase?" His hands begin to talk with him as he continues, "Now, my Priscus and I also have a particular set of skills. These skills as you know recently uncovered a green liquid inside our deceased friend Jeffrey. This liquid was then identified by our skills as a nerve agent, highly acidic and corrosive compound specifically synthesized to fight and kill Kindred. That knowledge was shared freely, but we're currently in the process of identifying and synthesizing an antidote. This would appear at a cursory glance as a similar circumstance to leverage our expertise for prestation."

Leaning in, folding his hands under his chin, "An honest question, Mister Mitnick. What do you think the market would bear for an antidote when the Kindred is being dissolved rapidly from both the inside and outside? A blood boon? A life boon? Or do you think they would look back and wished they had invested in good mutual business relationships that promoted the safety of the Domain?" The soft lights of the area glinted off Jacque's eyes as they remained trained on Derek.

OOC

Sorry for the bear of a post but it was necessary to get Jack's point across

[Derek Menzies]

Derek considers Jack's words regarding Adam thoughtfully, perhaps missing the inference at first until the emphasis of permanence. It interests the Shadow that Adam had managed to make such a poor impression on Jack to suggest such a thing.

"Don't get me wrong, I would be pleased to see Mr. Exlibrist recover his reputation. And if he's wallowing in self-pity as you say...mm, well I'll give it some thought."

As Jack continues on in regards to their business at hand, Derek's head begins to lower until it comes to rest on his forearms, as if the effort of keeping it raised had surpassed the need to remain appearing attentive.

"You're inefficient with your wording. But I get your point. If you think calling Sheriff Moretti to insist that I help free of charge will help you, then call her. It'll be readily apparent how helpless you all are without me which will only increase my value to her and to the Domain. If you think that you might have some leverage later on with your particular set of skills then I'll call my Boons in then and you can claim whatever debts you like if you happen to have the better bargaining position. That's what Boons are for. I think my request is fair but you're under no obligation to take me up on it. My consultation is free of charge, and in good faith. If you have more questions or if you'd like my advice, I'll be happy to answer, but I'll take no action without direct orders or compensation."

Derek really wishes they had gone ahead and called Sheriff Moretti in the first place. It almost seems a waste of his time to bargain for such simple Boons. Still, Derek couldn't help but admire Jack's Lordly persuasive skills.

OOC

You fine!

[Jacque]

He smirked at the response. Thinking back, Jacque couldn't recall a time that he had ever witnessed Mitnick display such a level of confidence.

"Unfortunately, that inefficiency is a product of not wanting to be misunderstood to be threatening you. Let's see..."

Jacque dials a number on his phone and holds it up to his ear, while letting his gaze rest on Derek, contemplating his next move.

Steven Jack will be doing a cutting a deal action as soon as he sorts out which plan he's going to need to negotiate with a stated goal of sharing their expertise with each other freely as opposed to charging boons. Can you make a ruling on the Equipment modifiers that would be considered for both Derek and I?