The Nosferatu warren is accessible through a nondescript alley several blocks away from your haven in River North. As you descend the ladder to the Chicago sewer system, you look up at the grimy ceiling and spot one of the tiny hidden cameras your clanmates use to track visitors, welcome or otherwise. You pause briefly to wave at the camera before continuing your descent into the sewers.
You'll admit that you aren't as familiar with the Chicago sewer system as some of your clanmates, given that you can still go out in public without breaching the Masquerade. However, you can still navigate the underground labyrinth beneath the city well enough to avoid getting lost. Once you get used to the stench of human waste, the extra concealment becomes a more apparent advantage of slogging through the sewers. Before long, you find yourself outside the former utility room where Calhoun has set up his office. You knock on the thick wooden door and wait until you hear a familiar voice from inside. "Enter."
Calhoun's office starkly contrasts the sewer system just outside the door. If you didn't know any better, you never would have guessed it was right next to literal rivers of shit. Wood paneling covers the surrounding stone walls, illuminated by tastefully recessed modern light fixtures. Calhoun and Wauneka stand around a stately wooden desk in the center of the room. Atop the table's polished surface is a map of Chicago covered with scribbled notes.
"Ah, Arturo. I'm pleased to have you here." Calhoun shakes your hand while Wauneka nods his head, acknowledging your presence. He seems content to let his sire dispense the pleasantries. "It's been far too long since we last met, though I wish the circumstances that brought us here were more pleasant."
"Me too, sir." You give the map on the table another glance as you draw closer. "So what's this I hear about a new Kindred in town?"
Wauneka pushes off against the wall he was leaning against to stride over to your side. He places a fingertip on the portion of the map depicting the Riverdale neighborhood. "Over the last few weeks, our informants in Riverdale reported the emergence of a low-level crime boss encroaching on the more established gang territories. His people call him Sir Olaf, the One-Eyed King."
"With a title as grandiose as that, I'm guessing this 'Olaf' is an elder?"
Both of the older Nosferatu nod, and Calhoun is next to speak. "That is what we suspect as well. Kindred prose has a habit of growing more florid with age and distance from humanity."
You hum in thought. What an older vampire might lack in raw power, he'll make up for in cunning and experience developed over centuries of unlife. "Do we know what clan Olaf is?"
"The only thing we know is that he ain't one of us," Wauneka answers. "Our people say he's one ugly motherfucker, but he doesn't have the same kind of repulsiveness we do."
You nod. "Alright then. How can I help?"
Calhoun picks up a dossier on the desk next to the map and hands it to you. As you flip it open and start reading about the fat man in the photograph, your Primogen fills you in on the details. "A Mr. Terry Jenkins runs a small prostitution ring out of a seedy motel in Riverdale called the Top Rung. The local criminals know Mr. Jenkins as 'T-Bone.' We believe him to be part of Sir Olaf's criminal network."
"Your job is to gain T-Bone's trust and leverage that connection to find out what this Olaf is planning. You're one of the few Nosferatu who can still pass as human, so we need you to take point on this op," Wauneka says. "Be careful, though. T-Bone likes to kill those who cross him by beating them to death with spiked brass knuckles. That risk is why we chose you over the other candidates - you know how to handle yourself in a fight."
"Alright, but what about the risk of discovery? I'm something of a public figure now. While most people won't recognize me on sight, if T-Bone is smart enough to do some digging and report back to Olaf about my true identity, things could get messy quickly."
Calhoun nods as he reaches for another dossier. "That is true, but to mitigate that risk as much as possible, we've created a cover identity for you that should withstand scrutiny."
You open the new dossier to find pictures of you in your old Army uniform, taken before your Embrace. Also in the file are documents detailing your fake history. "Arturo Cross. Served four years in Afghanistan as an Army infantryman before dropping out of college and turning to a life of petty crime to make ends meet."
"We deliberately kept the background of 'Arturo Cross' as similar to yours as possible," Calhoun says. "The fewer details you need to keep straight, the lower the risk of giving yourself away by accident. Do you have any other questions?"
[] [Question] Write-in.