Stolen Blood Ch 1 Lighting the Candle

[Otto Schneider]

The silence from the Seneschal and the Prince slightly unnerved Otto. It made him think that he was being tested. Which, now that I think about it, might be the case. The Priest quirked an eyebrow at the Shadow as he absorbed the information he had volunteered. "I understand your point about the Seneschal's Ghoul, but I feel I disagree on your assessment of law enforcement. Still, let's put that aside."

Azoth's suggestion was interesting... but Otto had reservations. "I'm not sure that a power outage would convince them to leave. The fire alarm, maybe, but we also have to consider that, if they're paranoid enough, they might only partly split up to have someone confirm whether there is a real fire on the premises." He stroked his chin for a moment. "Walk us through this, if you were in a position to negotiate, how do you think you would get them to give up Mr. Jake? What leverage do you have to exploit?"

[Kylar Stern]

Kylar thought about the question posed to him, "That’s where your expertise comes in. What do they really want, and what could serve as a solid bargaining chip against them?" Kylar paused for a moment before continuing, “Let’s circle back to law enforcement—how could we send them in without, one, tipping them off, and two, escalating things to the point where they feel the need to pay off or even confront the authorities?”"

Kylar began anxiously tapping his foot, "I’m not very familiar with hunters, aside from being told to steer clear when possible. As for law enforcement, I haven’t had any interactions that would allow me to form friendships. That’s definitely something on my to-do list."

"As for the fire alarm, no one mentioned a false alarm. A sufficient amount of smoke could set them off, and adding a small garbage fire would likely be enough to trigger the alarms and prompt an evacuation. In most places, even minor emergencies that could be handled with an extinguisher still require businesses to evacuate everyone until the fire department gives the all-clear."

[Jennifer Hazelton]

As Jennifer observed this conversation, she believed that this was an ideal time and place for delegation. If she stepped in and spoke before others had a chance to, she believed that would be snatching away their chances to change their roles. As a member of the First Estate, Jennifer was a believer in Meritocracy. If one was able to prove their skills and mental acuity, then they should be able to enjoy the benefits that proving one capable would provide. Jennifer’s dark eyes moved between Priscus Schneider and the lone Mekhet of note.

“The concern that I raise,” Jennifer states. “- is that Mr. Jake was hunting when he was taken. Which means that his Well was already low when observation by Hunters forced him to remain awake and act as a Kine. A panicking and hungry Kindred will be a disaster.”

Jennifer does not influence the conversation on the plan. She saw some flaws with what was currently being projected. She also saw a rather obvious solution to Azoth’s earlier question.

“Due to California Laws, one can see the evacuation plan in the event of a fire mounted on the exterior doors of the motel. One could discreetly be able to look at that.
Our discussion has the ticking bomb of how long Mr. Jake can wait before desperation kicks in. One may consider what Mr. Jake would think if he becomes aware of billowing smoke.

As it stands, our extraction team is small by necessity. The only recommendation that I would make is to loop in the Daeva Priscus. It is possible that she can manipulate the mortals into a non-violent solution.
It is a pity that we do not have another Gangrel to lend their natural abilities.”
Her eyes flick to Priscus Schneider.

Jennifer has not mentioned Law Enforcement as she has already made her feelings known on that point. She was not in the habit of being made to repeat herself. Her instinct was to suggest the obvious incentive
that Kindred could offer Mortals. The mortals continued existence on the mortal plane. Jennifer thought. The mortals would not know the restriction that the Kindred had to not create martyrs by not taking the easiest step of simply murdering the mortals that were troublesome.
Jennifer remains quiet to see if there was something insightful in this discussion.

[Alessandra]

An inked hand raised to pinch the bridge of her nose as her eyes briefly close.

This was going as well as she had expected.

With some interesting facts thrown in that was going to make the show even better.

Dark eyes move to Jenn, “And what natural abilities do you think a Gangrel would have that would help this,” pausing, considering, “excursion unfold?” because at this rate, this was going to be an extensive cleanup.

[Otto Schneider]

Otto nearly recoiled in shock at the casual suggestion of lighting a fire to trip the alarm, but managed to hold himself together. Was it his thickening Vitae that made his react in such a way? Or a fraying of his Humanity? Hard to tell. "I would hope that there is simply a manually accessible handle for the fire alarm, not something that would have be triggered by real flame." He nodded in agreement as Jennifer addressed the issue of how Mr. Jake would react to the threat of fire, especially in a starved state. "I had considering trying to discreetly feed him some of my own Vitae while I was there to tide him over, but there wasn't a safe opportunity." He added in quietly.

The Seneschal's point was important to consider. Even if they could otherwise extract Mr. Jake, in theory, if he ended up exposing his nature as one of the Damned, then it was a pyrrhic victory at best. "The issue when it comes to negotiating with these hunters," Otto added, "Is that I don't believe they really want much more than to be proven correct in their assumptions about Mr. Jake and then enact a bloody vengeance on him." A sigh. "As I said, I tried reasoning with them before, in the hopes that what they really wanted was to have his innocence proven. No such luck." Could they be persuaded? Maybe. Jennifer's suggestion to include Alicia was promising, her skill with Majesty had already proved instrumental in clearing up one issue. "I will contact Priscus Silvers about assisting us."

His eyes darted between the two more senior members of the Domain. It seemed almost as though the two were having their own side conversation about the matter, though the Prince's patience seemed to be waning. "It would depend on the Gangrel, I would think." He said mildly, pointedly looking away from Alessandra. "More subtle Disciplines, like discreet use of Animalism, may be helpful." He neither knew the Prince's preferred methods of dealing with problems nor meant to imply she should be involved. There were plenty of Gangrel in the Domain that could be exploited to assist in the endeavor.

[Kylar Stern]

Kylar listened as everyone spoke, silently agreeing with the Prince when she questioned what a member of the Gangrel clan could do to help. When Priscus Schneider brought up inviting Priscus Silvers as well as the use of the Discipline, one that he had heard about on passing it made him wonder.

"The fire wouldn’t need to be large or on the same floor where Mr. Jake is being held hostage. It would mainly serve to make the fire alarms seem authentic, potentially triggering both the alarms and sprinklers, depending on the hotel’s fire detection setup. Still, this is an improvised plan made on the spot, and while we have to act quickly due to the circumstances, we must err on the side of caution, as the Seneschal noted—we don’t want to draw any more attention to our kind."

[Jennifer Hazelton]

"The abilities that Clan is known for that are not represented." Jennifer stated. As Priscus Schneider picked up smoothly on what she was thinking, dark eyes move to Priscus Schneider. As he emphasized what she said about Priscus Silvers, Jennifer makes a small nod towards him.

Jennifer shook her head slightly and she looked away from Azoth.

[Alessandra]

“If Hunters were able to be reasoned with, they would not be as dangerous as they are.” Her voice flat, like she cannot believe they are having this conversation.

“Having a fire, or even a hint of a fire with a Kindred that very well could be on the verge of hunger is just asking for a situation that cannot be contained. That just takes a little common sense.” Which she cannot believe she has to point out. “If one wants to err on the side of caution, and not draw attention, then move in the shadows and don’t fucking light fires and draw the attention of the Kine.”

And with that, she shakes her head and walks out. She gave her advice, and that was all she was going to give.

Alessandra leaves the scene

[Otto Schneider]

Otto's eyes followed the Prince as she departed, feeling relieved of physical tension but also overcome by a new anxiety. She seemed less than impressed. There was a temptation to shift blame onto the Mekhet for that, but the Ventrue resisted. If he were being honest with himself, he'd a few scornful looks from Her Grace on his own.

"In any event," He began, eager to move past Alessandra's abrupt exit. "I am against starting a fire. Even if it gives a potential breakout more 'authenticity', that's also a lot more potential evidence and general headaches we don't need. To say nothing of how Mr. Jake would react..." It wouldn't be the most difficult thing in the world to pass off someone pulling the fire alarm as a prank or other ultimately benign excuse. But potential arson would be a lot harder to cover up from official investigations.

The Priest found himself tapping a finger against his leg as he was absorbed in thought, stopping before he spoke up again. "Mr. Raul is a fairly prominent Gangrel, even if he has recently taken a sabbatical from Domain politics. He might also be worth speaking to about assisting in the rescue." Between himself, Alicia, Raul, and Azoth, there were enough Kindred with a wide enough range of talent to handle a small cell of Hunters. Or so I hope.

"I believe you are both members of the same Covenant, so if you'd prefer to speak to him, be my guest." He nodded towards Azoth. "I believe that if we can secure both the Gangrel and the Daeva, we can make a workable plan. Ali- Priscus Silvers and I can provide an initial distraction, leaning on our social skills as well as our more subtle Blood Gifts. Meanwhile, you can secure an escape route and find access to the building's alarm system with Mr. Raul providing a second pair of eyes. Does that sound reasonable, at least as a broad outline?" Otto hoped it would be amenable, otherwise it felt like their discussion had resulted in little tangible progress.

[Kylar Stern]

Kylar flinched at the Prince abrupt exist. But he could not let that deter him. "I agree that we could try to get Raul to join the mission. I think we should just schedule a meeting between all of us that may want to get involved with the rescue mission."

Kylar nodded in agreement, "I think this is the best course of action. As much as a fire, even a small one, would make for a great distraction it really should be last resort."