Words on Water
13th of January 2007 A.D.
Thankfully Mr Adkin does not have any objection to getting in a disguise which is very fortunate as Tiffany does not even try to disguise his age, instead using a plain black dress, headscarf, blank glasses and strategic use of makeup to make him appear as an elderly woman.
"Not very flattering is it," he chuckles under his breath as he takes a few turns at getting the walk right. "Huh, Eliza was right, you never do forget." There is a wistful look in the gaze behind thick glass.
Swinging by the Hanging Gardens you pick up Mutt and inform Arlene that you dealt with her vampire problem, but there are still worse things afoot in the city. "If you could keep an ear out for trouble that would be..." You are interrupted by a plain green bag light for its size... and filled in turn with green. "Thanks, but that's not necessary."
"In this business Ms. Carpenter you do not meet many people whose interests are wholly aligned, while also demonstrating both competence and
speed. I had thought Kenneth was dead, you recovered him inside three hours. The fact that you are running a clandestine operation also makes cash uniquely valuable, no? Transactions could be traced."
A point well made, so you smile, thank her again and head back to the car as Harry grumbles: "That's never happened to me."
Gain ● Resources -> Now at Resources ●●●●
"Wear less grey," Tiffany teases before explaining. "Your loyalties are too obvious Harry. Trying to buy a Warden of the White Council with mere money is akin to flushing dollars down the drain."
"So I look cheap for the asking do I?" you ask, eyebrow raised in askance.
"You look unaligned and lacking certain mundane resources to match the scale of the magical power you radiate," she shrugs, getting a nod from the until then silent Mutt.
"Where to?" Harry asks from the driver's seat.
"It is night, following the pillar of light is traditional," Tiffany's lips twitch into a smile as you throw her an annoyed look. She's not wrong, the Luxor does cast a pillar of light into the skies over Vegas from the tip mirrored apex, thirty-nine powerful xenon lights, the most powerful man-made light in the world, at least when it is running at full power. Tonight is just another Saturday night as far as the casino staff is concerned, blind to the danger that stalks the city, the whole continent.
"A bold choice," Mutt points out from the back.
"
We're not trying to hide remember," you motion to your costumes self, hat strings to leather boots. "We don't exactly looks dressed for budget-conscious accommodations."
"I looks like..."
"There, that scowl, keep that up," Tiffany interrupts him. "Aim that at random people in the lobby and no one will doubt you are a bodyguard."
So it seems to go, even at this hour the lobby is filled with people coming and going, either out or into the casino part of the establishment, pockets jangling, smiles ranging from manic to fake-as-cardboard-Elvis. No one bats an eye at your group, though asking for a trio of suites and paying in cash does earn you a second look-over. Mr Adkin being here is probably a good part of the reason why you are not questioned more. Mobsters generally do not bring grandma along if they are planning anything
too shady... like say hacking into the casino's systems with a piercing look.
Lost 1 Essence -> Now at 4/15 (HMP)
***
Finally,
finally you get to sink into a bath. For the next hour or so you soak, breathing in the power of the tainted water, but Alas you have other things to deal, people to talk to, warnings to give. Pouring all that Essence back into insight you make the call to: "Hello, Full House Studios, I have a proposition to make to Mr Skavis, his ears only I'm afraid."
Regained 4 Essence -> Now at 8/15
Healed 1 Wound -> Now at 7/15
Lost 4 Essence -> Now at 4/15 (ATB, Occult, Etiquette and Empathy Excellencies)
"Who is this? How did you get this number?" A woman's voice comes from the other side of the call, a touch annoyed, but not surprized. According to Mutt 'Big Correy' is much in demand with the young would be singers dancers and other entertainers of Vegas and that is the way he likes it. That's
his hunting ground.
"A friend who plays snooker with Mr Skavis shared it with me." Truth be told you are not sure what the noble art of snooker had done to be Skavis code for 'another vampire of the family'.
Technically you are lying, none of the families will claim Mutt, it's how he got the moniker, but this is also the fastest way to get to the boss, he actually cares about those who share his nature, his demon at least as much as he cares about anyone.
After a moment's hesitation the call goes on hold then another voice, smooth as butterscotch and just a little rough around the edges, picks up. There's music in the background, some kind of techno beat that coincidentally emphasises every word. "Ah, good evening my dear how can I help you?"
"I'm afraid you have that the wrong way around Mr. Skavis, I have already helped you, in the course of helping myself of course."
"Of course," of course he laughs.
And with that you are in, feeling a little like one of those sea lions that slip from the shore right into a graceful dive in the ocean you spar back and fourth with the incubus about the precise nature of your 'generous donation' to his cause, a heart yes, but a cold one, a dead one, a particular vampire no longer to trouble him, weaving in mentions of Arlene and the Hanging Gardens, of the temple where he met his end.
"Alright darling, let's say I believe you. No, no I shan't be coy, I do believe you, you put a corpse back in the ground where it can no longer get in the way of business, but as you say you did it for your own reasons, taking out the trash,
that sort have no place in the modern world. Unless you are angling for a contract in a similar line of work..."
"I wasn't here looking for him, indeed compared to who my companions and I are hunting the vampire was nothing, a distraction. There are more things under the ground here than corpses that do not know to stay dead."
"A word of warning 'cause I like you, this is Vegas. The lightshow isn't just for the rubes, there's more and subtler fare for those who know the real shape of the world. If you go looking you'll find three pieces of the True Cross, two coppies of the Book of Soyga and the Harp of Dagda neatly stacked right under the strip. Clever people around here know there's more to gamble on than mere money and they spread rumors like a pigeon spreads bird shit. It's worth about as much. Maybe someone sent you here chasing mirages, hopping you'll get lost."
"The RPGs I got shot with tonight sure seemed solid," you drop the lighthearted tone all at once. "I know the woman I'm after is in Vegas and I know that if she gets her way there won't be a Vegas once he's done."
"A takeover?" You can feel him tensing up. "Someone's been stirring up the muck and rabble to hide their own meddling but... Why don't you tell me about this target of yours. I'll see if I can help, in the course of helping myself of course."
What do you say?
[] Just give a physical description of Sandra
[] Explain what you guessed of Sandra's allegiance and motives
[] Write in
OOC: You can add 'flirting with the local White Court Vampire Boss' to the list of things Molly will not be recounting to her parents. This is the form of Etiquette that Corey responds to best so that's what Molly did under excellency
