Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Claire let a low growl rumble in her throat, before reluctantly stepping out of the vehicle and turning towards the back to face Jack, her shotgun still at the ready, and making sure that Jack knew it with her posture.

"So if you don't know, what brings you all the way out here, to the exact same area me and pretty little sunshine here were called out to by supposedly trusted kindred. Not to mention what may or may not have been a little family massacre back at the fort. And why did you launch yourself at the car?" she asked, suspicion thick in her words, occasionally glancing over at Eve in case she was partially behind this.

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Eve stepped out of her car as well, mournfully inspecting the damage to her bug. "Gonna have to ask Fletch to fix this." She mumbled. Then, a little louder, "Yeah, I'd like to know what all the shooting was about and why Mr. Alexander wasn't there. Claire almost shot me and then we hear gunshots and we're running... I just want to know what the fuck is going on."

(goddamn phone will fix in morning)

 

[Copper]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Oh boy. This isn't good. For once, Izzy stiffles the impulse to sigh. Granted, she wasn't naive enough to think people didn't die when they got fed on, it's just that it didn't happen that often, far as she knew. She was pretty careful herself, but the risk was always there.

Right. Focus. The biggest thing was what to do about this kid. He mentioned Vincent, so he couldn't be that new, but it was plenty clear he was sorely lacking in a River to have kept an eye on him, at least it looked that way. Guess they all couldn't be that lucky.

Sharing a glance with Raven, she silently motions for him to hook around to the other side of the clearing in case the kid decides to bolt that way. She points to herself and then to the kid's direction. Hopefully, Raven will trust her enough with this, at least for the time being.

Giving him a little time to get in position (if he goes), she'll make a bit of noise as she breaks the edge of the clearing, looking a little wide-eyed but uncertain. "H-Hey? What's--? Are you two okay?" She's staring more at the kid than the girl, giving him the illusion that she hasn't seen what happened yet. She's also taking him in, looking to see if either she knows him or can get a feel off of him.

 

[Rule 34]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

"I... uhm, I'm working on it." Fletch reaches up and scratches his beard. "Chase said he's interested in the supernatural. Figure if I play it smart, I can turn him into a ghoul and he'll be thankful for it... But for now, you'll have to make do with me." He digs into his back pocket and jingles his keys, leading Bubba to stare up at him with interest. "I'll see if I can get him to make a spare key, though."

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Jack lets out a frustrated growl as he leans against the trunk of the car for a second though his eyes don't leave Claire's. Finally he straightens up and crosses his arms in front of his chest before quickly speaking in a strained voice.

"Are ye daft lady ye just ran me over. I didn't launch myself onto any car and as odd as it may sound to a former cop I actually patrol the whole of Red Deer every night. Now we just happen ta have ye two fleeing one o' the biggest spots fer trouble making in the entire city."

Taking a moment to collect himself Jack glances back at the fort before continuing in a much calmer voice where he looks between the two.

"Well I haven't had a chance to see what happened back there yet but I'm of the opinion that you two will be needing a bit of help cleaning up so to speak. So what's the offer then?"
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"Ah excellent," Vincent says at Fletch's response. He then takes a moment to walk around the garage as though surveying a new purchase. Stopping after he gives the Defender a once over he continues.

"If you play it even smarter, you may be able to ghoul this Chase without his knowing anything at all, though that might require the aid of someone who could dominate his mind on your behalf. After all revealing our world to one of the kine is probably a bad idea without permission. In the mean time though I'm sure you'll do fine and I'll be sure to stop by for that key tomorrow night."

With a final smile and a slight bow Vincent turns and heads back to his car to leave Fletch to get back to his work on his own project for the remainder of the night.
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Raven hesitates for a moment while looking back and forth between Izzy and the kid but he eventually starts for the other side. The kid just keeps sitting there and shaking the girl while Izzy gives Raven some time to get in position. When Izzy makes herself known by stepping into the clearing the kid spins around and practically falls over while backing away from her.

The appearance of the kid indicates to Izzy that she's dealing with another Nosferatu. Though his voice and size seem to indicate that he is or was young but the rest of his appearance is almost exactly what the clan is normally described as looking like. Though his eyes don't seem very menacing but have a rather friendly look to them, he still seems like he might bolt at any second.

"Gah, stay away human. Wait you is kindred like me. B-but I don't know you so you is on scary Russian guy's side. P-please don't set me on fire."
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Meanwhile back in River's apartment Cody turns to look at River where she sits relaxing on the couch.

"Hey River you might be interested in this cell phone call I caught. Not sure if it's Sabbat or Anarchs but they mentioned something about the scourge Vincent being in the area and then leaving. Some place called Fletch's garage over in the Anarch area of town. Also said something about getting the Camarilla lap dog out of their hair."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

River pauses her game and turns to look over at Cody and his computer. "Over at Fletch's? You don't seriously think they'd make a move, do ya?" She asked. When he shrugged, she sighed. "Well, better get over there and check it out anyways. There goes my night of relaxation."

She makes a big deal about getting off the couch and turning off the TV, then walks over and gives Cody a hug from behind as he sits on the chair, grabbing her earpeice from the desk on her way back up. "Lemme know if you hear anything else." She says simply, then she's gone out the window, climbing the short distance to the roof.

Once up there, she takes a moment to stare up at the night sky, Feeling the late night wind brush by her. "Hey, put some Miskovsky on, would ya?" She asked Cody through the earpeice. A few seconds later, music came filtering through the tiny speaker. "Thanks." She said, then started towards Fletch's garage...

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Claire kept his gaze, mulling over his words for a moment. She looked back at Eve, then back to Jack, not sure if she should trust him. Fuck it, what he said made sense, and she didn't have to trust him.

"Well, my offer is to go back to the fort and see if there's anything there making kine steaks, and wanted to send me to a second grave... and Eve too," Claire said, before briefly explaining the letter left in her home that was apparently from River.

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Eve waited for Claire to finish and explained about her phone call. "And going back sounds like a bad descision. But I got left out of the action last time, I'll be damned if I get left out again."

 

[Copper]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

"Yeah, yeah, I'm Kindred," Izzy says gently, smiling enough to let her fangs show to the other vampire. "I know Vincent, but I promise: No setting you on fire." She holds her hands out and down a little, a passive, calming gesture. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

 

[Rule 34]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Fletch narrows his eyes a bit as Vincent left. He didn't like how possessive the man was. He turns and climbs into the back of the Defender, but he doesn't get a lot of work done before Bubba barks at somebody outside. "Son of a bitch, what is it now?"

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Jack shrugs his shoulders before walking over to his beaten up but usable motorcycle. Indicating that they should follow him to check it out, he drives back to the fort and eventually makes his way over to the camping area.

If the others follow him they find him kneeling in front of a badly shredded tent talking on a cell phone. The body of a man in his late 20's lies almost bloodless with his throat ripped out near another shredded tent. Blood stains on the tent cloth seem to indicate what they'll find if they choose to look closer. If they don't follow him they easily get away as no one is going to chase after them.
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River arrives on a building providing a good view of the surrounding neighborhood near Fletch's garage just in time to see Vincent heading towards his car. A few minutes after the car leaves she finally sees what she came to check on.

As Fletch goes to check what Bubba is barking at a brick sails through a window towards the front of the garage. Looking out the window indicates that the local gang has decided to pay him a visit. He sees about 6 of them all together and even happens to notice that at least 2 are vampires like himself.
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The Nossie relaxes a little when she says she won't set him on fire though he still seems really worried.

"I did something the others told me not to do and followed kindred who lives near me out of neighborhood. I wanted to see city and animals beside rats in sewers. T-then I got hungry and thought I could trick human girl like I do animals but it didn't work and now she won't wake up."

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

"Shall we go then missy?" Claire asks, looking over at Eve.

When she arrives she looks at the bloody mess for a moment and cocks her head.

"I heard a shotgun go off," she said looking around for the weapon, shotgun wounds on the campers, or even a spent shell.

((If Eve drives Claire is silent the quick trip back, even ignoring her. If Eve leaves then Claire had to walk back and is there alone with Jack))

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Eve drove her back, keeping her thoughts to herself the entire way. Though, it seemed some of Claire's paranoia was starting to rub off on her. She followed the other Kindred, keeping her eyes and ears open for any sort of disturbance.

 

[Rule 34]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

"Well great. Bubba, heel!" Fletch calls the dog to his side and waits a minute or so before stepping out of the garage. Building himself up to his full height, he regards the thugs with the best scowl he can manage. "You little bitches! You better run back to your mothers! I called the cops, and I can see you guys perfectly well over there." It was a bluff, of course, but it still wouldn't hurt to know who they were. Fletch tries his best to remember their faces, especially the ones of the vampires.

 

[Copper]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

"Let me see." Izzy will ease her way over toward the girl, even going so far as to skirt around the Nosferatu, if that will keep him calm. If she could tell from a distance there was no help for his victim, then a closer examination wouldn't change anything, but it might help put him at ease some. Though she's studying the girl, also to see if she knows who she is, her attention keeps going back to the other Kindred. "Have you got a Sire around? Or someone that's keeping an eye on you?" Given that he didn't know his powers wouldn't work on a human, she didn't think so, but it was worth a shot. She wasn't entirely certain how to deal with a situation like this. Raven might, but she didn't want to bring him in just yet. Not until the Nos had calmed down a little more.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

River frowned, looking over the scene from above. She didn't recognize the two kindred in their number, but enough time has gone by that it wouldn't be surprising if they were Sabbat. However, those idiots thought themselves beneath dealing with humans as a general rule, making these either out-of-towners from the Camarilla, or some of the Anarchs hanging around town that she didn't have the chance to meet yet. Either way, they needed to be put back in their place, before they caused too much of a ruckus...

Finding her way down silently under Obfuscate, she slipped in behind the group and waited for an appropriate moment, when both of the kindred (Obviously the ringleaders) were close enough together that she could catch them both at once...

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

After carefully looking over the scene Claire is able to piece together what she thinks probably happened. The tent closest to the fort had two people, one guy and one girl, inside both of which were shotgunned before they could get up. The body out in the open had bite marks on his throat and had been almost completely drained, then his throat had been ripped out afterwards. The only thing she couldn't piece together was the third shot which she could have sworn she had heard.

Jack shuts his phone and slips it back in his pocket as the two neonates make their way over. He waits till Claire finishes looking around before he holds out an open hand with 3 spent shells in it. Same brand as what Claire uses, though they are probably the most common brand.

"Well, well, well three dead humans two shotgunned one drained. So who wants to make a deal first?

Eve doesn't really see or hear anything other than the same carnage that Claire and Jack can see, though there's something about the whole scene that seems set up to her. Almost like they had arranged things to be perfect as if murdering someone could be an artform but messed up at the last minute to leave an imperfect piece.

((That probably sounded weird but if you want to, ask and I can try and explain it better.))
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The two vampires in amongst the gang bangers don't look familiar to Fletch or River as they look the group over. One of the vampires stands in the back of the group holding a brick in his hand. Not only does he seem to be the leader of the group but he looks as if he's actually a member of whatever gang the humans are in.

The other vampire is standing towards the front of the group and judging by his clothes he's not a typical member of the gang. He looks towards Fletch when he yells towards the group and taking a step forward shouts back himself.

"Sure you called the cops right after you told Bubba to heel. So what's the big idea with inviting the scourge of all people into the neighborhood? If your trying to piss the neighbors off he's the one to do it after all."
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The girl looks familiar though it's not someone Izzy actually knows. She just remembers the girl as being in the same class she and Raven had been heading for earlier this night.

The Nossie lets Izzy take a look at the body of the girl with a slight look of hope on his face. He still seems a little nervous but he doesn't look as if he's just going to bolt away from her. He even goes so far as to move over a little closer to see what Izzy does while looking at the body.

"No not really. I did have one but the others said the scary Russian guy burned him. The others sort of look after me but not really, they usually too busy worrying bout the man or something like that."

 

[Rule 34]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Well, this guy doesn't seem to believe in the Masquerade. "What fuckin' neighborhood? You think you run this place? This is my property, asshole, and I can invite whoever the hell I want. If you don't like that, why don't you come over here and discuss it with Bubba?"

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Claire looked down at Jack's extended hand and plucked one of the spent casings from it, looking closer just to make sure.

"Same brand I use... common yes, but there are still plenty of other popular models out there. Both of us were summoned out here by unknown parties... I think someone is trying to frame us. Why they're trying to bring Eve into it, I don't know," Claire said thoughtfully, handing the spent casing back.

She then handed her shotgun over to Jack, bristling as she did so.

"Check it. Hasn't been fired since last week, and I've been cleaning it since," she said, and lifted up her lips revealing her fangs, showing them clean and bloodless.

"Haven't properly fed yet tonight either," she said.

 

[Copper]

Re: Chapter 2 - The Calm Before the Storm

Izzy takes care not to touch the body too terribly much, just in case. She's looking for signs of breath, anything that might indicate the girl's got a chance, but given the way there was no response earlier, she doesn't hold out much hope. She also looks to see how bad the wounds are from the other vampire's feeding. It might be possible to pass this off as random violence, how she and Raven stumbled on the body, but them getting involved, especially as witnesses, might be bad. She didn't want to disrepect the body, but leaving it for someone else to fight might be the safest for them.

She talks to the Nossie to distract him a little, help him calm down some more, if she can. "The man? You mean the figurative "damn the man" sort of thing or is there someone that worries them? Somebody that scary?"