Meeting the Sheriff

May 14th, 2019 07:23 PM

Ellis Meadows wished to know how he could help the Domain? Well. That sounded like a great reason to meet an eager newcomer.

Lina Moretti's office was strange. Two walls were covered in blackboards, one of which involved notes about a corporation known as Echelon, and one of which was marked up in shorthand about a criminal enterprise related to Hunters. The rest were covered in shorthands that would take time to decipher, but recent dates were on it. An astute individual might realize that these too were notes about investigations - just notes for Lina, as opposed to notes for public consumption. 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 black clip keeping them all together so they weren't in the way. It was Work Lina, personified.

All that - next to the other half of the office, which was obviously a space for hosting in a more relaxed way. Detective movie posters from the noir era were on the wall. There was a worn black leatherette couch, a side table, and a foosball table. Still tidy, but it was definitely not the same as the other half.

The Sheriff was transferring key details from a whiteboard marked HUNTERS to a whiteboard marked ECHELON, her small, athletic frame moving from one to the next. The Sheriff wore black jeans and a white tank-top. She had a nasty-looking knife hanging on her belt in a sheath, and runners on. Paramore was quietly playing from her computer and the door was open.
Domino

**Ellis Meadows** · May 14th, 2019 11:04 PM

Ellis wore a light blue button up shirt, with dark chinos and loafers to best blend in with the crowd upstairs before making his way down to the Sheriff's office. He deals with the coat check in the mostly empty court, silent but for the sound of the kine in the club above.

He knocks at the Sheriff's door, and once he is invited in he enters and closes the door behind him quietly as he takes in the layout of the room, his thoughts his own. Invariably they turn towards sinister ends, as the stolen blood in her and his veins hiss and spit like only family can. "Sheriff Moretti, good evening. Thank you for making time to see me."

He eyes the knife.

May 15th, 2019 01:34 AM

Lina hears him, and feels him, a heat running down her spine as the Beast kicked within and drove her toward using the knife that he was so directly eyeing. There was no need for it. He'd done nothing to warrant it, but the Beast had its own ideas. Snapping down on it with her typical mindfulness techniques, she settled the predator in her Blood to a manageable level.

"Mr. Meadows. Pleased to meet you."

She capped the pen and put it down on the ledge of the whiteboard before turning to face the handsome Invictus, whose appearance and demeanor certainly suggested someone who could draw attention as required.

"Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

She gestured to the sofa, and to a chair at her desk, then back. Which would the new arrival choose? The formal, or the casual? The Sheriff had her suspicions, but let the opportunity for him to set his tone fly.

"Have you found Sacramento to your liking thus far?"

**Ellis Meadows** · May 15th, 2019 02:08 AM

Ellis breezed past what he expected to be the first of many small tests during this meeting, taking a seat on the sofa. His posture was loose, casual, but respectful. Moretti had said to make himself comfortable, after all. "I'm finding it very much to my liking indeed, Sheriff Moretti. It's far more accepting and dare-I-say casual than what I expected when I moved up here from Los Angeles."

"I've heard a lot of good things about you since my arrival. It seems that whatever you're doing, the Domain likes it." He smiles pleasantly as he says it, knowing that there were some who were less glowing with their opinions of her, but he figured that sort of thing came part and parcel with being the Sheriff.

May 15th, 2019 11:45 AM

Sofa it was. Cool. She flopped down next to him, rather than across from him in some sort of boring Invictus-style meeting set-up. She didn't need a desk to establish shit here in her own house. "You're from LA too, hey? Me too. I worked a PI beat and didn't spend a lot of time in Court." Small world! Of course, Los Angeles was fucking huge, so there might have been more than one Court they were dealing with down there given all the 'burbs.

"You're too kind, Mr. Meadows. I just keep 'em safe. Beer?"

A mini-fridge had found its way into the fun side of her office, and her small hand was gesturing to it.

"It's true that getting out there and helping to solve the troubles that come to the Domain is appreciated - at least, by most." There were a few who cared more for smiles and small talk than anything of substance, but the fact was, if you wanted to rise, taking care of shit was one of the best ways to do it. "I take it that's what brings you by here tonight?" She flashed him a distant smile.

**Ellis Meadows** · May 15th, 2019 01:32 PM

"I spent most of my time in Invictus School." Ellis admits. "It's exactly as exciting as it sounds."

Ellis demurs at the offer of drinks. "Thank you but no." He'd have to burn more Vitae to to fit in with the club upstairs when he left, and spending what would be necessary to drink beer would just make the trek out of the Rack that much more difficult. "I try and practice a modicum of restraint if I'm not trying to blend in with the Kine."

Which segues neatly into the 'why he's here' aspect of the meeting.

"I want Tenancy." Ellis is forthright about it, seeing little reason to beat around the bush. Pretending that he was simply overflowing with notions of civic responsibility would be a joke in poor taste. "I want Her Majesty's permission to hunt in the Rack. I'd rather build a portfolio of service to her Domain that I can present to her that shows how good of an investment I would be, than just going begging to her behind closed doors with only a shared Covenant and my good looks to recommend me." He was not bitter about this, recognizing the situation for what it was. People who got things on the basis of their good looks while on their knees had a name, and were never really respected. "As well, from what I've seen and heard, Her Majesty is not the kind of person who would hand anything out that you would want if you tried begging for it."

May 15th, 2019 03:43 PM

Moretti chuckled at the concept of Invictus School. Did they all go through that? Were there little hats with little tassels when they graduated? The idea of the Prince having gone to anything of that sort was an adorable image. "Terribly exciting, no doubt," she said dryly. His remarks on restraint went unanswered verbally, but she did give a little 'ah' and a nod. She didn't bother either. Drinking alone wasn't very fun, but hey. Prosper would probably have expensive cognac or whatever later on offer.

His desires made sense, bluntly put and offered. The approach was reasonable.

"Sure. Tenancy and Rack access, that's a matter of service... or making the right deals with Regents, who have their own Rack. I bet you could buy that from Krieg," she said with a chuckle. "Seriously, though, that's a good approach. And she does reward people who do the Domain's work, generally."

She leaned back, sinking into the couch some.

"What can you do, Meadows? I'll need to know if I'm to... help you generate a portfolio."

That last had a half-smile attached. 'Generating a portfolio' was a much more Invictus way to say 'put you to work'.

**Ellis Meadows** · May 15th, 2019 06:44 PM

Ellis smiles politely at the suggestion of approaching the Hierophant to get tenancy. It was an option, but not one he was keen on. A fallback option if his plans went sour enough to make it his only option, but not sour enough to merit banishment or punitive torpor. Or worse, but then plans wouldn't matter, would they?

Instead, he addresses the Sheriff's question. "In preparation for my relocation, I worked with an Invictus Knight for about a year as support." Ellis opens as background. "Non-esoteric research assistant, crime scene investigation, one on one interviews, the Family Discipline. Combat support is not part of my skill set. I know how to work with others without trying to be the center of attention or taking over, how to follow a plan without improvising because I think I'm more intelligent than everyone else, how to put personal issues with teammates aside during a mission, how to distract someone long enough for another agent to accomplish a task," He shrugs. "In short, I know how to behave as part of a team without being a diva or impossibly Invictus about it." The last was most certainly a skill worth mentioning.

"I know how to keep the Masquerade. I oppose murdering Kine. I understand how it is potentially necessary if there are no other options. I know how to be patient. If I don't think I can do something, I'll tell you, or any team lead, instead of bullshitting about it."

May 16th, 2019 12:21 AM

The young-looking Kindred before her began outlining a skill set. It didn't include murder, but that was actually pretty ideal. There were plenty of hitters in this Domain, most of whom were very inclined to hit for Queen and Country. No, this guy was advertising the fact that he could follow directions, work with a team effectively, and do the social effort required. Still, most of what he'd said wasn't particularly specific, so a couple of questions would be useful.

"So, let's say I wanted you to infiltrate a high-end nightclub and befriend a person so they could become an information source. Pump 'em for information and move on without leaving them knowing they'd been pumped. That the sort of thing you could do? A smooth operator? I know it's asking you to tell me personal information... but the more you tell me, the better assignments I can give you for your actual skill set."

He'd been cagey the first go around. She needed him to actually talk turkey with her.

**Ellis Meadows** · May 16th, 2019 01:44 AM

Ellis glances aside in a quick gesture of submission. "Apologies, Sheriff Moretti. I wasn't trying to be cagey."

He gathers his thoughts before continuing. "I can do the light touch thing. Get someone talking about themselves, figure out their levers. Since you don't want them knowing they've been pumped, The Revelation is out of the question. But I believe I can manage to wine and dine someone suitably, as long as they aren't some freakishly jaded hard case. It's better if there's a chance to build up a rapport over time, people don't easily open up to someone they just met." Moretti probably knew all that already, but he needed to show her that he knew it. He considers the proposed scenario, and some possible variants. "High-end I can do. Middle-class I can do. Dive bar?" He puts up a hand and makes an uncertain motion. "It gets iffy. Basically the closer you want me to the street, the less effectively I'll be able to fit in. That's something I can work on, obviously, but right now?" He shrugs. It was what it was.

He told her he wouldn't bullshit her if he thought he couldn't do something.

"Moving wiped me out," Ellis admits, "so I've been busy re-establishing my finances. Given some time, I'll have things I can use to put a disguise together. Make up, different styles of clothing. A little can go a long way. And people can be real friendly if you're the one that consistently picks up the tab. Worst case I can fall back on the Blood and just snare them for a little bit, but that's not subtle at all." Sometimes money was the best magic. Sometimes super sexy vampire magic was the best magic. It's always nice to have options. "As my assets expand, I can keep you in the loop on what I can bring to the table."

Oh.

"I can be a smooth operator without getting distracted by trying to get my dick wet," Ellis adds. Any other Clan that would be TMI. But it was a valid concern with Daeva. Some would get distracted from a target because someone else across the room looked prettier. It was annoying as fuck trying to work with them.

Meeting the Sheriff

Members who have read this thread : 7

Similar Threads

Haven Foosball with the Sheriff

Mail From Sheriff to Regent

Mail Reeve to Sheriff

Text to the Sheriff

Calling the Sheriff