Bright Lights, Bloody Nights, Big City: Vampire Game Thread

[Josh]

He waited for a long moment, before realizing that nobody else was going to jump and answer and save him the dangers of addressing a goddamned archon.

"Uh, last time I saw Rossi... he's the lick... was yesterday evening. We were supposed to get together..."

He paused. Hans said tell the truth, and these bastards would know if he was lying.

"ForalittlethingwithO'Bannion'sguysupthestreet."

He paused again.

"Turf, y'know. And... when he didn't show, we took off anyway, and left Fred here to watch the house, right? Came back, and there they was, all dead and shit. And that's all I know, my hand on a stack of bibles."

[Cynical Cat]

"Your turf battles are not our concern," said the taller, slimmer male. "That's a local matter." His gaze touched the Sheriff.

"It was known and well within his rights," responded Hans. The sheriff's body posture said deference, but he was wound as tight as a spring.

"So he drained and dismembered your man in short period of time. He probably stocked this other one . . . . Rossi earlier this evening." The others nodded.

The shorter, stockier archon (not that there was much difference) said, "that is keeping with his modus operendi." He turned back towards Wright. "He will probably not make a repeat attack upon you. He usually doesn't. Unless he finds you especially . . . .interesting."

The woman nodded. "Whe should sweep the area. He gets sloppy sometimes. He might have left a trail."

[Josh]

I don't wanna know. I just want all you assholes to go away, so I can go back to partying in peace. I don't wanna know. I don't wanna know.

He stared at Rossi's corpse.

They'd had some good times. Revels, rants, they'd run together and covered each other's asses.

And now Rossi was dead, and fuck him. Only idiots died, when you had all the rest of time to live for. Wright would remember him every time he sipped off a redhead- Rossi liked his redheads, for whatever reason. But that was about as far as the whole vengeance thing went.

But...

"He will probably not make a repeat attack upon you. He usually doesn't. Unless he finds you especially . . . .interesting."

No way in hell was he going to end up with his dick in Ralph's ass while he rotted in an alley.

And turf was fucking turf, by god.

He looked at the archons, straightening a little. "Anything I can do to help?"

I can't believe I'm offering to help these assholes out. And they're just gonna piss in my face, too...

[Cynical Cat]

The skinny one jerked in surprise, but recovered quickly. "It would be of some assistance if you can lead us to the abadoned or unihabited buildings in the region. Sometimes the Riddlemaster is sloppy and takes risks. It is possible, although unlikely, that he went to ground nearby." The others nodded in agreement.

[Josh]

He blinked. Riddlemaster? What kind of cute-ass bullshit was that?

"Yeah, sure. Hey Ralph! Get Chicken Boy and Blue Eyes, oh, and grab my heater too."

He looked at the archons and shrugged. "Fucker made his hit on my turf. If he's bunked out around here, I want his ass dead, so they know you don't go hitting on my turf without me hitting back."

As the others assembled, he accepted his rusty BAR from Ralph. "We walking this, or driving?"

[Cynical Cat]

"As you said, this is your turf," the woman replied. "Which would be the best way to reach the possible havens in this area?"

[Josh]

Well fuck, Hans here could take some real lessons from these guys in how to deal with people. This was downright pleasant.

Not that Wright particularly noted that he himself came from the 'step on the fucks' school of management- thoughtfulness about personal hypocrisy wasn't his strong suit.

"Walk it, definitely."

He waved his hands. "Got eight good warehouses you could lay up in in a mile o'here, then you got the rail yards, with the box cars, we occasionally gotta dust outta-town assholes who come shipping in and try to snatch a bite on layover. Lotta places to stash out there, but same time, there's a lot of eyes out that way too. Your boy slipped up at all moving through there, somebody woulda saw him."

[Cynical Cat]

"Nobody saw him unless he intended it," the woman replied. "The Riddlemaster maybe insane, but his command of the Disciplines is formidable. That he is probably Nosferatu makes this even more difficult. We are not looking for witnesses, we are looking for trail. Bloody foot prints, a pried open window, an unusually disturbed area or the like."

[Josh]

He looked at the archons. "I could send Ralph here around to put some more eyeballs out for this. They spot any trail, they put us onto it. They see anything they shouldn't..." he shrugged. His first thought was 'Street trash, nobody would miss them.' But there came Chicken Boy and his pesky morals. "We could fix the problem easy enough, and nobody believes street trash anyway."

Fix the problem could mean dominate. Or it could mean Ralph, some bailing wire, and some concrete. They were nice and close to the lake.

[Cynical Cat]

"No point," tall and skinny said. "They won't see anything and even if they do spot him, they won't survive. The Riddlemaster is tiddy in that way. Send your draggers out, but they are too report suspicious clues, not investigate."

[Josh]

"Ralph, take the cash, spread it to a couple of the local squatters, get the word out that the money here is looking for suspicious reports- but they better be for-real. Anybody bullshits, they get their ankles done over. Like was said, bloody footprints, windows pried open, stuff that don't belong. They see it, they get word back to your squatters, squatters get you, you get me. Somebody brings us a tip that strikes gold, the squatter and the tipper get a Franklin apiece. Got that?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Got it boss," Replied Ralph who hurried off.

"Another wild goose chase," said the woman. She swore in Italian and French. "Another wasted night."

"We could get lucky," said skinny.

"Not with him," said stout. "He's crazy and a walking vioilation of the Traditions, but he's canny. If he killed like this and is still around, it's an ambush."

[Josh]

He kept quiet on that score, but resolved to make sure that Chicken Boy and Blue Eyes stayed in front of him, in case this was an ambush. While Riddlemaster was busy carving them up, he could hose the bastard but good.

[Comrade Tortoise]

This was not going to be pleasant Leo thought to himself. He muttered a swift prayer.
Oh Deus , Quisnam teneo nos futurus paro in medius of talis valde perils , ut , quoniam nos es pallens per vis , nos cannot sto , tribuo nos talis valetudo in mens quod somes , ut illud malum quod nos sino pro nostrum sins nos may victum per Macies suffragium. Per Sarcalogos nostrum Senior. Amen.

Then joined the rest of them, keeping in front of the pragmatically cowardly wright as per his unspoken request

[Cynical Cat]

The search sweep pushed through the surrounding warehouses, turning up two suspicious buildings that turned out to be inhabited merely by squatters. The search then began to push out towards the shanties and the railyards.


----------------------------------------------------------------

"Checkmate, my lord."

"So it is." A pause. "Well played. Your first win against me. You've become quite adept."

"Thank you lord."

"Things are progressing. I will need you to travel soon."

"As you will, my lord."

[Josh]

Going to kick ass on some breathers working for O'Banion was one thing. Hell, even throwing down with guys his own age was one thing. But whatever it was that brought three archons into town, now that had to be some bad news.

Wright reassured himself that if anything came at them, he'd fill it so damned full of lead that it wouldn't be able to sneeze at him. He followed along, eyes scanning left and right, every sense alert and wary.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Father leo looked back at wright, the apprehension on his face was palpable.

"Do you have several hundred sins you wish to confess?"

[Josh]

"Fuck off," he snarled at Chicken Boy, immediately feeling better from being able to abuse someone in his vicinity.

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Fuck off," he snarled at Chicken Boy, immediately feeling better from being able to abuse someone in his vicinity.

"Ah, you feel better aleady, that is my job afterall"

[Cynical Cat]

The search spead out into the railyards and the surrounding shanty towns. Miserable humans huddled in makeshift structures and poorly constructed houses as the vampires and their slaves passed through.

They seperated into groups as they past through the railyard. The sheriff and his retainers went one way, the archons another, and the neonites a third. The neonites headed into the railyard and found the usual mix of huddled bums and railyard harness bulls.

Then Wright and Leo noticed a shadow standing on a distant rail car.

[Josh]

Wright froze, then slowly brought his BAR into line with the shadow. When in doubt, shoot first, ask questions later. And if necessary, manufacture a good story for the powers that be.

He didn't fire just yet, though...

[Comrade Tortoise]

Father leo concentrated on it, attempting to see an aura or any sort of clue with his second sight

[Cynical Cat]

It had the pale aura of a vampire, overlaid with a swirl of colors that indicated curiousity and mild aggression.

[Comrade Tortoise]

"It is a kindred... mildly aggressive and curious based on the aura..." Leo spoke, quitly enough for wright to hear

[Josh]

Wright was unaware of any aura business, and stood rock-still, finger resting on that oh-so-light trigger.