Calling All Haunts, Yet Again

Sep 6th, 2011 12:21 AM

Castor nods in agreement when Dr. Powell rebukes Brenn. Rolling his eyes as if to say "She is right." The sudden abdication of the previous Priscus raised questions though. "How do we know that the departure of the previous Priscus has no connection to the attack. It seems a bit odd that a near fatal attack on our clan followed by the disappearance of the Priscus would be coincidence. Perhaps the closest thing we have to a lead is Flores' absence. That is not to say that Kindred have not up and vanished into the night, but the timing alone is enough to raise questions." This may all turn into a dead end, but it was the best that Castor could determine.

Sep 6th, 2011 12:02 PM

Sidor studied Brenn from behind the shadows as she arrogantly declared herself the equal of Flores. A thin, snake-like smile moved across his lips. Not only was she judging on information that was far older than any of the recent issues, she clearly hadn't thought of what it might mean to associate herself with such a position. Intimating that she had such knowledge was stupid, a child's mistake in order to make themselves look important. But he did not need to bring Brenn's mistake to her knowledge. He did not need to do it because before he had moved, the other three family members had rallied and proved it. He held up a hand.

"Miss Lawrence. I am not your 'dear' anything," the Russian Nosferatu said quietly. "Keep a civil tongue in your head." He steepled his fingers. "As for whether I am concerned about those four erstwhile members, it is irrelevent to the issue at hand." And with that, he turned to the other Clan members.

"I doubt impersonating the target would work, Miss Hazelton, because we do not know that the target was any of those three. With that as the issue, we cannot be sure what would work as bait," he said, but his voice was reassuring. "If we identify a target, your idea might be a suitable way of drawing them out."

"Brother Drake- Flores' departure was several months after the attack on the meeting. I find it unlikely that the two are connected. I also find it unlikely that the assailant has been entirely silent in the intervening months. We simply have not identified their actions yet," Sidor added thoughtfully. "And if you had seen Flores' actions, you would know they were deplorable, but that he was a formidable combatant. I doubt a lone attacker would have prevailed over him, and there is no indication that our assailant works with others. The behaviour would be inconsistant- before, the attacker chose an ambush and fled when they did not succeed in causing instantaneous death." And of course, if it had been Greyson or myself, I would have known.

**Jennifer Hazelton** · Sep 6th, 2011 02:13 PM

Jennifer nods at the Priscus' correction.
"Of course," She states quietly. "I'll redirect from trying to lure with their intended target; as you say we don't know who it is."

She glances down at her paper with its three circles, redirecting her thoughts for several moments as she thinks.

"Would it be best if we declared where our talents lie?" She posed. "We seem to have two tasks. Identify the actions of the assailant in the months between and identifying the intended target.

Both require investigation; yet various applications.
Most of my experience lies in computer technology. I have investigated some in the past; usually in the company of another. I have budding strength of the Blood in our strength and ability to cause terror.

I have the ability to hide myself from sight and hope to learn to be harder to detect while doing so."
She glances towards Castor.

"If I may be so bold, sir, may I inquire of your talents? You and I may be the only unknowns to our more established siblings."

Sep 7th, 2011 01:12 AM

It seemed that everyone wanted to know what Castor could do. The question was understandable, if a bit irritating. "I am a skilled combatant Ms. Hazelton. My military background has provided me training in most basic combat forms and I have spent additional time honing my skills with firearms and knives....Especially knives. The Lancea Sanctum also provided me with a knowledge of the supernatural which combined with my investigative training may be of use in this investigation." He gave pause to revealing this next piece of information. His skill in clan abilities was a closely guarded secret. "As for gifts of the blood....The fact that none of you have felt my Beast should be some indicator of my skills. Should I need to be undetected, I can be." Castor lets each member of the clan interpret this as they will. He was perfectly fine being vague in his description.

This description gives Castor an idea. "Consider this possibility please. Say we have another clan meeting, this time at a "secret" location." He makes quotations with his hands at the word "secret". "Individual members arrive early but have the Deacon run late. I can trail behind undetected. If some agent appears after he makes his arrival, I can alert the clan and cut off his escape. Should the would-be-assassin try to attack the clan again, they will be prepared and expecting it." Giving the members time to digest, Castor continues. "This enemy could attack us at any time. Pick us off one by one. The advantage of attacking the clan meet is A) shock and awe. B) Fear effect. If this enemy can successfully kill one of us when we seem unified it will make us panic and divide us. If this adversary started picking us off one by one, we would galvanize and fortify against it." Castor was becoming a bit nervous. "This explains why they haven't attacked any individuals yet. Also, it means that whoever I might be tailing prior to the fake meeting, would in all likelihood be safe. The assailant wants us all. They can't kill their only lead to the meet and even if they tried, it would be a two to one fight and I'm sure the Deacon is a fierce combatant." Now for the easy part. "It would be simple enough to post a notice in the Avalon stating that a clan meeting is upcoming but never reveal the location. That is enough to give the enemy a lead, without giving them an advantage." Castor looked around the room to see the responses. "Perhaps I am being overly ambitious tonight....."

**Brenn Lawrence** · Sep 7th, 2011 02:02 AM

Well, maybe I am crazy, Brenn thought mockingly. Her rudeness aside, it seemed that she was utterly failing to communicate this night, something that was as ironic as it was troubling. First Sidor mistook her words for a bent towards destruction and assault of those in the necropolis, and then Jennifer mistook her explanation over how she had gauged her strength and that of the Attacker. To her, it wasn't boasting, she wasn't saying that she was a superior or equal combatant to Flores, only that their literal strength was similar, as in they could lift a similar amount of weight. She wasn't trying to make it a competition or something equally pointless, she had merely been trying to give an impression of how bloody strong their attacker was, because she wasn't anything to sneeze at either. It didn't really matter, though. She'd lost her temper when Sidor had immediately found fault in her words, and now she was the jackass. Rightfully, her clan's reaction had been merited, but it rankled that she'd soured her own words.

So, Brenn sat silently, not wishing to derail the discussion with an apology, nor wishing to communicate input poorly or have it mis-translated. Perhaps it was a childish reaction, but at the moment she could think of nothing better to do.

Sep 7th, 2011 02:22 AM

"A little well-placed ambition and enthusiasm isn't a bad thing, however the tactic won't work when we don't know the target. If we assume the target is Priscus Grigoriev, and allow for a trap to be set with that target in mind as it turns out the target was someone else...well, I don't think I need to paint a picture of how badly that could go for any one of us. We would need more manpower to be certain; last time three against one didn't work so, forgive me Brother Drake, but unless your strength exceeds at least that many, it would be unlikely you could take them on, one on one."

Josephine's voice held no sign of reprimand, the response was given in a concise and informative way.

"Until we have a motive and a target, a tactic would be impossible to devise without a great deal of risk to all of us."

**Jennifer Hazelton** · Sep 7th, 2011 07:49 AM

Jennifer listens to Castor's idea with great interest, watching his face as he explains.

"We had similar ideas," She mused quietly. " - and I like the stealth yours requires. "
She nods as the Whip states the unknown qualities that they are facing.

"I would hazard we need more information. I understand others have likely already explored the site of the attack, but perhaps we could start looking for the attacker's routes of travel or haven with the stealthy methods Mr. Drake describes. I would volunteer."

Sep 7th, 2011 10:48 AM

"Perhaps you are correct Sister Powell." Castor nods in agreement. His strength had never been tested to such a degree. In all honesty, he didn't want too. "At the moment though, we have no way of identifying our target or the attacker. If the target is one of us individually, the strength of the assassin should be able to easily overpower any one of us. Yet there has only been the initial clan attack." He shakes his head. "I do not know Sister. My plan involves considerable risk, but it is all I can think of. Do you have any ideas as to how we could identify either?" The tone is earnest and attentive, Castor is genuinely searching for input from Dr. Powell.

Then turning to Jennifer. "Your idea would be the proper course of action if we knew who the attacker was. Sure a rogue Nosferatu may have an underground haven. It's just as likely a Mehket hiding in a library is the culprit or a powerful Daeva in a penthouse. I do not think we can effectively patrol everywhere when we do not even know who we are trying to follow. The scouts involved could very easily hunt in the same bar as our perpetrator and be none the wiser." Castor tries to explain his position without being curt. Jennifer, like himself, had an idea that would work if only they had more information. Looking to Sidor, he waits, expecting his Priscus to soon interject.

Sep 7th, 2011 11:35 AM

"Doctor Powell is correct," Sidor said, after letting them discuss things back and forth for a moment. It was always worth hearing what the family thought, and the strategies they proposed might well be effective- once the target had been identified. Perhaps it would not be a bad thing to explore the site of the attack more fully- it had not been done at the time. Of course, at the time, they had had a good reason to believe they knew the assailant.

"With this in mind, I suggest that we first examine the site of the attack. Fresh eyes may find something that was overlooked, though it has been several months. It was not explored at the time, as we had reason to believe we had identified our enemy. This was a mistake that we can now rectify," the Russian Haunt said, thoughtfully. "If we can find no new leads, we may have no choice but to head into the sewers again and brave Culler's hospitality. I believe he may have known more than he told the Deputy."

**Jennifer Hazelton** · Sep 7th, 2011 06:46 PM

Jennifer nodded her head at Mr. Drake's statement.

"Valid point. "

She listens intently to the Priscus.
"If I may, I would like to be considered. I've had a bit of experience in investigation, if that would be all right.'

Calling All Haunts, Yet Again

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