[Author's Note: Once again, Ian is only peripherally present for this.]
Derrick Lin
[Ian be rollin' the things. Same as before, mind protection, base diff 5 -1 (resonance) -1 (practiced)]
Dice: 2 d10 TN3 (3, 4) ( success x 3 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
[extending +1 -1 (goin' slow)]
Dice: 2 d10 TN3 (3, 3) ( success x 3 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
[One more]
Dice: 2 d10 TN3 (4, 4) ( success x 2 )
Kalen Holliday
[How awake are we?]
Dice: 7 d10 TN7 (5, 6, 6, 8, 8, 9, 9) ( success x 4 )
Derrick Lin
[Aaand resonance masking. Diff 5 -1 (resonance) -1 (slow)]
Dice: 2 d10 TN3 (5, 8) ( success x 3 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
[extending +1]
Dice: 2 d10 TN3 (7, 8) ( success x 3 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
[one more]
Dice: 2 d10 TN4 (6, 6) ( success x 2 )
Grace
[Mental Protection is cool. Let's do that. Base diff 5 - 1 taking time]
Dice: 3 d10 TN4 (6, 6, 7) ( success x 3 )
Derrick Lin
[For
my records, Ian will have these effects active for the next... month.
Or until such time as he decides to drop them. *g* Mind Shield level 5,
Masked Resonance level 5]
Grace
[Extends with WP]
Dice: 3 d10 TN5 (4, 7, 10) ( success x 3 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
[And Grace has a lvl 3 mind shield for one month]
Grace
[Corr
2, Prime 1, Entropy 1: Scan for the duplicitous vampires we're totally
expecting. Entropy for detecting other vampires, Prime for detecting
other magics. Base 5, -1 taking time, -1 Resonance (Keen), WP (2 spent)]
Dice: 3 d10 TN3 (3, 8, 10) ( success x 4 ) [WP]
Grace
[Extending, WP (3 spent)]
Dice: 4 d10 TN3 (1, 9, 9, 9) ( success x 4 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
[Grace spies on all the things]
Grace
[Extending with actual dice numbers again -_-]
Dice: 3 d10 TN4 (2, 7, 10) ( success x 3 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
There
were certain types of food joints that tended to attract night crowds.
Asian noodle places usually fell into that category, and Saigon Bowl was
no different. The restaurant was highly rated within its (moderate)
price range, which made it a popular destination for college students
and bar hoppers and anyone having a late night craving. The setting was
casual, but the food was excellent. Not that a man like Derrick Lin was
likely to be able to appreciate that. Perhaps the scent alone was enough
to bring back fond memories. Perhaps he'd picked the location with more
of a mind to strategy. Either way, he showed up on time. A few minutes
early, actually. And he ordered a vietnamese beer and a bowl of Pho,
neither of which he'd touched. Instead he sat with both elbows on the
table, messing around with something on his phone.
He looked
very much as Kalen remembered him. Dark, shoulder-length hair. Mixed
asian and caucasian features. Tonight he wore an old leather jacket and a
band t-shirt for the Strokes. He was seated at a table all the way in
the back, a reasonable distance from the other diners, most of whom were
occupying tables closer to the windows.
Ian was there too,
seated alone by the wall a few tables away from where Derrick sat. He'd
been there for a while, slowly consuming a stir fry while he talked to
someone on the phone. A couple of students on a date were seated next to
him.
Derrick Lin
[Once Grace gets her effect
up, she'll be able to both see and sense Derrick's presence in the
restaurant. Beyond that, she won't pick up on any active magical
effects. At present, he is the only vampire in the immediate vicinity,
but with Grace's senses extending out beyond the restaurant, she will
feel a dark spot of frozen entropy in a parking lot a few buildings
down.]
Grace
Grace has been at work for a
while now. Having a set place and time for this worked out in her favor,
as she was able to arrive early and set up her surveillance net.
And
where are we doing this from? Her car, across the street and down a
ways from the restaurant. For all anybody can tell, she's an individual
who has become so distracted by her phone that she's pulled over to park
for a while and deal with her voracious Words with Friends addiction.
It's not Words with Friends.
No, she's extending her will into the universe and gathering holographic data from it.
Kalen will get a text before he enters:
There's another one a few buildings down. Currently immobile.
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
comes into the Saigon Bowl looking...a bit less like Derrick remembers.
Derrick met Kalen out for dancing. But this version of Kalen...well,
this one is new to everyone. Even to Kalen, who is trying on a new
skin. He's wearing jeans and a moss grey long-sleeved tee-shirt and a
brown corduroy jacket. Other than the coat, which is vintage (and new
to him), everything he is wearing is new. He pauses at the entrance,
looks around the room, pulls out his phone, taps out a brief text
(reading simply: 'Thanks. Keep advised.'), and then heads toward
Derrick.
He hangs a leather satchel across the back of the
chair opposite Derrick and then settles into that chair. He smiles a
little. "Hey," he says, as though he and Derrick are two people to whom
coming here for dinner should seem perfectly normal. "How are you?"
[How distracted by Resonance are we?]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 4, 4, 8, 10, 10, 10) ( success x 4 )
Derrick Lin
[Kalen's
senses will ping on very little tonight. Ian is, once more, no more
noticeable (in this sense) than the Sleepers nearby. Derrick though...
he does feel slightly off. A little bit cold. A little bit frozen. The
sensation is much less strong than it was with Grayson Addario at the
book shop, but it is still there.]
Derrick Lin
[When
Grace shifts her visuals to the parking lot where the other vampire is
waiting, she narrows her focus down to a silver BMW, and its occupant - a
very smartly dressed black woman who, at present, seems to be fixing
her makeup in the visor mirror.]
Derrick Lin
Derrick
looked up when Kalen walked in, tracking him with his eyes while Kalen
approached the table and sat down. After a moment of silence, he smiled
and sat back in his seat. The appearance was one of relaxed ease. (Like a
meeting of old friends.)
"Ah, I do remember you." Whether he
remembered Kalen fondly or otherwise was another matter, but for the
moment he did not appear either overtly suspicious or aggressive. "I
apologize if I seemed suspicious before. I'll admit I wasn't thrilled at
the way you chose to contact me, and I needed to be sure you were who
you said you were." There was a pause. "I looked through the e-mails
you sent me. There's a lot of pretty damning information in there."
Grace
Grace
shifts the audio-visual input down to that other spot of frozen
entropy, and finds a black woman in clothes that would normally make
Grace second-guess someone's motives. That is to say, she is dressed to
impress. And that on a vampire? Doubly second-guessing now.
Huh. Someone has the same idea she has perhaps?
The
other woman's looking into a mirror, seeming to fix her makeup. Let's
take a closer look, shall we? Is that what you're really doing?
Derrick Lin
[As
it happens, that really is what the woman is doing (putting on makeup.)
Grace won't pick up any active magic - of any variety - in the area
around the car. After a few minutes, the vampire stores her mascara in
her purse and sits back to check her phone. When she sees there are no
notifications, she puts it away and gazes out the window. It looks as
though she's waiting for something.]
Kalen Holliday
"I
apologize. It isn't usually my first choice, as contact methods go,
but we had only so many options." Kalen rests his forearms against the
table and leans into them. "And, yes, I suppose. Though it may vary,
to some degree, upon how one defines damnation and the conditions
warranting it." The words are a little bit at war with the new skin.
Well. It will take practice.
He looks up at the approaching
server, smiles, and orders tea and lemongrass stir-fried tofu. Once the
server is gone, Kalen returns his attention to Derrick. There is a
quick, curious glance at the food. He remembers Wesley rescheduling
dinner. Wesley who is the only vampire to feel...so completely,
maddeningly, perception-shatteringly human. At least Derrick has the
decency to feel a little bit spooky.
"Thank you, by the way.
The other night wouldn't have gone so well, if you hadn't-" Let us
walk away instead of shooting Alexander from about two feet away. "Done
things the way you had. And considering what you told me, I thought
you would likely feel similarly about that information as I do."
[How do you remember me? What do you think about that information? Per+Empathy - WP]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 6, 6, 7, 10, 10) ( success x 6 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
[Manip+Subterfuge]
Dice: 8 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 3, 3, 7, 10, 10, 10) ( success x 4 )
Derrick Lin
[How
does Derrick feel about Kalen? Wary. He probably does not remember the
night in question too fondly. And although he does a good job at hiding
his suspicion - at appearing relaxed - he is both suspicious and
slightly tense. Which... could either mean that he's planning something
or simply that he's on guard for Kalen to throw something unexpected at
him. But for all that, he doesn't feel aggressive or reluctant. He's
here because he wants to be here - regardless of how he feels about
mages. And he does find the information about the club... interesting.
There is not much surprise there. He probably had his suspicions of them
before this. There is perhaps less outrage than there ought to be. His
reaction feels more objective than subjective. But he doesn't seem
especially approving either.]
Derrick Lin
Derrick
made a noncommittal sound, rolling his shoulders lightly. "It was a
less than ideal meeting, but I like to think we can move past it." He
shifted position, leaning forward so that he could drop his voice when
he spoke next. "And I believe, in this, we may in fact have similar
goals."
Derrick let that settle in for a moment before
continuing. "I have a proposal for you. But first I need to know... how
many of your group do you speak for?"
Grace
Okay, so the lookout is just waiting for a signal. On her phone.
Seems
like a fairly normal contingency plan. After all, Grace is doing
something similar, right? How are the vampires supposed to know that
they aren't being trapped? Okay. Shifting the sights back to Kalen and
Derrick...
Kalen Holliday
And once again,
Kalen is leaning into a vampire. The reasons are ostensibly the same,
but whatever he saw in Wesley that let him really relax he does not see
in Derrick. He doesn't have any reasons but practicality. And
everything for him has always been easier. He doubts that he will give
Derrick any jars of lightning bugs. Or that Grace will. This is...a
very different meeting.
"Directly right now, as regards what
we will do, none. We're...sort of into making communal decisions. We
are all opposed to what is happening at that club, that I can
confidently say. We are, honestly, of varying minds as to the nature
and scope of what constitutes an appropriate response.
"My
willingness to speak to you is...less unusual here than it is in other
places I have been. It was a bit less complicated before, but this
shadowy woman encountered a couple of my friends and they are, for
understandable reasons, a little spooked. Still, they know we're
meeting. There were no objections, only some concern that I might be
walking into a trap. I believe they'll consider your proposal as
seriously as I will."
Derrick Lin
Derrick
listened to this with a guarded expression. He gave a little nod,
sitting back a few inches. It made it look less like they were
conspiring. "Myself and some friends are interested in a temporary
alliance. Neither of us will be able to achieve what we want alone.
But... together? I believe we can. I'm not really the one you should be
talking to though. Are you willing to walk with me?"
Grace
So
far, everyone seems to be playing nice, but Grace perks up at that last
bit. Walk with me? To that BMW maybe? To meet the other entropy hole?
Eeh.
Kalen will do what he will do. And she will shift her perceptions and watch over his steps.
Kalen Holliday
There
is only a slight pause while Kalen thinks about that. At least Ian and
Grace will be pleased to note that he does not pour himself onto this
vampire's arm.
Even if they are less pleased by his answer.
"Yes." He rises, picks up his bag, and pulls out a pack of cigarettes
as they head toward the door.
Derrick Lin
At
Kalen's agreement, Derrick smiled and reached into his pocket to
produce a leather wallet. He dropped a few bills onto the table to pay
for their (uneaten) food and got to his feet. There was a brief delay as
he sent off a text to whoever might be waiting for them, then he walked
with Kalen to the door. Unlike Wesley, Derrick made no attempt to
initiate contact between them. On the contrary, he seemed quite aware of
Kalen's personal space.
Once outside, Derrick gave a little
nod over one shoulder. "I have a friend waiting a few buildings down.
She asked if she could meet with you. She'll be able to fill you in on
the rest of the details."
So unless Kalen objected at this
point, the two of them would walk the distance to the nearby parking
lot. Derrick was quiet on the way over, leaving his hands free where
Kalen could see them. As they approached their destination, Kalen would
see a smartly dressed black woman leaning against a silver BMW. She
watched them approach with a coolly appraising gaze.
"Pleasure to meet you - I think." Her mouth ticked up in a smile at that. "My name is Iris. What should I call you?"
Grace
From
her vantage point, hunched over in the car, staring at her phone -- the
tenuous tether to the Data feeding her -- she realizes that Kalen
forgot her udon.
Gonna kill him.
She's nervous, but
hopeful, as things seem to be looking up. Or at least, they are not yet
trying to shove shadows down his throat. So, not looking down exactly.
Derrick Lin
[Ian - sneaksneak]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10) ( success x 4 )
Derrick Lin
[Derrick Alertness]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (4, 4, 6, 7, 8) ( success x 3 )
Derrick Lin
[Iris Alertness]
Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 5, 7, 7, 10) ( success x 3 )
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
fiddles with the cigarettes, but after a second drops them back into
his bag. He'll have to come back for lemongrass tofu. It's alright
though, he promised Grace udon, and this place had about every noodle but udon. He'd have had to go somewhere else anyway.
He
isn't exactly perfectly relaxed as they approach Iris, but he returns
her smile with one that is actually real enough. He can appreciate that
greeting. Also that the cosmos has decided to grant him pretty
vampires instead of vampires with skin like melted wax. Of course.
That had ended much more quickly. Violently.
That night had ended with new allies. New information. He'll take that.
What should she call him? He
pauses. Because he, for a few seconds, cannot quite remember who he
is. He isn't giving them who he might be becoming though. These are
not the people to give shards of your still forming dreams. "Kalen," he
says quietly. "And, likewise."
Derrick Lin
"Kalen,
then." Neither Iris or Derrick seemed surprised at the name Kalen chose
to offer them. Either Wesley hadn't mentioned anything to them about
Kalen, or they were hiding it well. Iris took a step away from the car,
drawing closer to Kalen. Derrick hung back a little, throwing glances
over his shoulder. None of them (including Grace) saw where Ian went
after Kalen and Derrick left the restaurant. (In fact, he went out the
back entrance and came around the other way.) The parking lot was lit by
a couple of street lamps, but was presently empty of life - apart from
Kalen and his... rather unliving companions. A few other cars sat empty
in nearby stalls. Occasionally someone passed by on the sidewalk, but
otherwise, they were alone.
(Well, almost.)
"You
probably aren't aware, but there are some of us who've been looking for a
way to remove Grayson Addario and his employers from Denver for quite
some time. We just haven't had the leverage to do it - until now. The
trouble is, if you remove the agents, more will be sent in their place.
If you burn down the business, insurance will pay for a new one. These
are all temporary measures. If you really want to get rid of Lilean
Holdings, then you need to make sure that their losses are greater than
their profits. Then they'll have no choice but to withdraw. If we can
make them believe that they are outnumbered here, then I believe they
will leave willingly. Derrick and I have prepared an offer to buy the
club, but they'll laugh in our face if it isn't backed up by some real
leverage."
Derrick Lin
[That was Iris speaking, btw. Sorry for not making it clear in the narration.]
Grace
Oh,
that sounds peachy. Lets let one set of vampires take over the other
set of vampires? And then what? They end up doing the same?
Grace
grimaces into her phone screen. At least Kalen has found some of
these... people don't just set out to kill everybody. Not like that
asshole in the park. They might be the lesser of two evils. Might.
Will have to keep an eye on them.
That
one did have a point though. Burning down the Orchid would be
satisfying, but they don't appear to live there. And their parent
company might just set up a new shop, eh? What if she burned down 5
fucking clubs? That would draw attention. She sighs.
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
blinks. He had mentioned that endless vampire war was less than
desirable, but buying the club hadn't occurred to them. Minimize their
losses and they would more likely withdraw. They'd just be in
another city, but Grace can monitor their holdings. Maybe if they get
chased out of enough cities moving locations will drain enough of their
resources they will stop. At any rate, they don't have the resources to
take out an international vampire organisation. And, as his cabalmates
once said, they need to mind their limits.
"You definitely have my attention. What kind of leverage did you have in mind?"
Derrick Lin
Iris
seemed pleased by Kalen's response, but the pleasure was sobered by the
nature of their discussion. Leverage, in this case, could only really
mean one thing. Threats.
"They're more afraid of you than they
let on. Not least because your kind are so... unpredictable. What
you've done here? Hacking into their private e-mails? That's impressive.
Right now, they have no idea how big of a threat you actually pose, and
that's good. We can use that to our advantage. Make them believe that
the entire company is in danger, and they will scramble to protect what
they can. Denver has the youngest and least profitable of their
holdings. They will cut it off if they have to. We just need to make
sure they understand that it won't be worth defending. Which... is where
you come in. Or rather, all of us. Together. Presenting a unified
front. They won't be expecting it, and that... will scare the shit out
of them. We probably won't even need to fight. The mere appearance of a gun is often enough to command a response."
Grace
Grace smirks. If they knew that she can find out where they all sleep. And that changing where they do so won't help.
Then, Derrick would probably be just as afraid of her. Well, you know... Too bad.
Grace
kind of wants to fight. She kind of wants to remove that shadow monster
from the equations that hold her stuck in place. It's personal, but
also -- she showed the kind of callousness to human life that Grace
cannot abide. Her victim may not have been dead yet, but he was close.
And what would have happened had Sera not been there?
That's a question she doesn't really want answered.
Kalen Holliday
"We
might well be able to come to terms. But I am curious. Why are you
interested in removing them? I'm all for not having that kind of evil
in my city. But...I have little reason to expect that your motivations
are compassion or empathy. What will you do with whatever you get from
this?" There is no hostility evident in the question. Kalen doesn't
think they're doing this to make the world better, but he's not terribly
disturbed by that thought. Predators are, after all, predators. Some
are more easily tolerated than others. And removing international
vampire crime organisations from the equation certainly seemed like a step forward.
Derrick Lin
"A
fair question. To which I will tell you... despite what you may have
heard, not all creatures of the night are monsters. Many of us wish only
to live our lives in peace, as you do. The people who work for Lilean
Holdings do not want that. They are careful, because they have to be.
But make no mistake, if they gain the kind of power they desire, no one will be safe. I don't want innocent people getting killed. I don't want my friends getting
killed. And I don't want this city to fall to chaos. That benefits no
one. Believe me, I hate those fucking assholes as much as you do.
Probably more, since I know them better."
Iris crossed her
arms over her chest and eyed Kalen for a moment, her expression shrewd
and considering. "I don't know if I can trust you. Truthfully, there was
a fair bit of push-back against this idea from those that I spoke to.
Many think that you'll lure us into a trap. There are stories, you know.
Of the things you can do. But I don't think we have a choice, and I
don't think you do either - short of inaction."
At this point,
Derrick stepped closer, turning to Kalen to offer his own response. "My
company is making the offer to buy the club. And my intention is to run
it as precisely what it is: an entertainment venue, and a safe space
for our kind."
Grace
Ugh. Again with the vagueness. What kind of power do they desire? Why would no one be safe?
Truth
be told, Grace would rather receive an annotated version of those
emails. Explain what the hell they're talking about, besides the
obvious.
But, if she sends Kalen another text, it'll probably
just tip them off at this point. And, barring actual danger, she's not
going to do that. She just keeps watching for other vampires to show up,
further horrible things? But so far, nothing.
Kalen Holliday
"I
expect to hear no little bit of resistance when I take this offer back.
Still, I want no part of an unwinnable war, and I cannot imagine they
do." Kalen nods, and he smiles, though it's a bit muted by their topic
of conversation. "I do realize, now, that it is true that some of you
are not monsters. All of you are dangerous, which leads me to be
cautious. But I suppose you have the very same dilemma there.
"There
are, I suppose, three things I know will be asked. The first, and most
obvious, is how we threaten together. We can come to that. The second
is that, while I imagine you'd like us in general to avoid running off
hunting in the streets, there is one associate of Grayson's we
definitely want to see gone if she doesn't withdraw. I doubt you'll
miss her. Third," and here he glances at Derrick. "Your future club
has some ghosts. We would like to...help them. If we can. If, at some
point during the transition you could allow us access, we would
appreciate that."
[And - Per+Empathy on Iris' explanation in that last post - WP because Kalen hates having all his WP]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 5 ) [WP]
Derrick Lin
[Iris Subterfuge]
Dice: 8 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 7, 7, 9, 9, 10) ( success x 5 )
Derrick Lin
[Kalen
can't quite get a read on Iris. Her words seem honest enough, and they
certainly make sense from an objective point of view. And Derrick seems
to trust her - though Derrick's own motivations are still something of a
mystery, beyond his lack of desire for outright murder. Iris is
presenting an argument. And it may well be one that she values and
believes in. But it could also be a lie. It doesn't seem like it, but it
could be. There's no way of knowing for sure, short of attempting to
invade her thoughts.]
Derrick Lin
Derrick and
Iris looked at each other. Something silent passed between them, and
when Iris returned her attention to Kalen, she nodded. "I'd like to
arrange a meeting with them. I won't lie, it will be risky. If things go
wrong, there could be bloodshed on both sides. But it's the quickest
and most effective method of dealing with them. As for... Grayson's
associate. I bear no love for any of his friends. Just... be certain
that however you handle her, it does not interfere with our
negotiations. The third matter? I'll let Derrick decide."
Iris
glanced at Derrick, who seemed wary but... amenable. "If everything
works out, I can give you access while the place is closed to do
whatever you need to do. So long as you promise not to leave any...
hidden magic behind."
Grace
If Derrick had the
capability to detect hidden magic, he likely wouldn't be so gung ho
about this whole thing. That he's willing to offer despite that
incapability? Maybe it says something. Or maybe he knows somebody who is
better at that sort of thing.
All in all, he's being a lot
less useless than last time. Still, she can't fathom why it was so
important to be face-to-face. Maybe someday she'll figure out how to
project images of herself at people so they'll stop being all fucking
weird.
Because that makes sense. To her.
Kalen Holliday
And
again Kalen nods. "I ask only so that we can help the souls trapped
there." And that is the truth. God knows what the Spirit Mages will
want to do, but Kalen's intentions there are pure as the fucking snow.
"I will see what I can do about arranging a meeting. Do you already have a particular location in mind?"
Derrick Lin
"We
can decide that once I know all of the particulars. For now... I think
both of us have people we need to speak to." Iris pulled out her cell
phone and opened up her contacts. "We'll need to exchange contact
information. This is my number..."
Iris waited until Kalen was
ready, then rattled off a series of digits. When they were through, she
offered him her hand. "I hope this will prove a valuable alliance for
both of us. I'll be in touch."
And with negotiations at an end, Iris and Derrick got into the silver BMW and drove away.
