| The Soldier and the Sheriff | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 8 2015, 12:20 AM (146 Views) | |
| Sucozu | Apr 8 2015, 12:20 AM Post #1 |
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As Grey was among the city's Camarilla his location was known to Sucozu who had a laundry list of informants in both mortal and kindred society; the tone of the letter combined with the fact that it would be placed directly in Grey's hand would be enough to put most kindred on edge, which was precisely what Sucozu wanted to do. Any young kindred who did not fear the local Camarilla Sheriff was a problem, because a lack of fear implied a lack of respect and engendered dangerous ideas that they could get away with things right under his nose; of course in reality Sucozu had every intention of ensuring that the rules were broken and that the taint of insubordination took hold, but he couldn't afford to have such things linked back to him directly. He had a facade to maintain after all. The night of April 12th came around two days after the delivery of the letter and Sucozu was in the small room which served as his office in the back of the River Queen; the Saloon did roaring business, both legitimate and illegitimate, with the front end serving non-alcoholic drinks while a speakeasy in the basement provided liquor to those with the money to pay the entry fee. A network of powerful connections with the local government officials and police, as well as a few choice contacts among the city's criminal underworld ensured that the place remained open and utterly unmolested, making it the ideal location for one of the city's few locations for Elysium. The noise of chattering patrons and loud music meant that no-one in the saloon proper could hear what was said or done in that little office; it had once been a three room suite when the building had housed an upscale inn, now the former common room served as the office, while the bathroom, which had since been gutted of any plumbing, served as storage and the bedroom served as Sucozu's stayover haven for when business meant he was unable to return to the De La Soie manse. His office was dimly lit to accommodate his highly sensitive eyes, even so they were hidden behind thick shaded spectacles. So he sat in the soft glow of the old fashioned oil lamps, he preferred the nature of the light they gave to the harsh brightness of the electric lamps which now permeated much of the city. The fire hazard was greater certainly, but not to such a degree that it caused him to choose safety over comfort. His thickly padded, buttoned leather armchair allowed him to lounge non-threateningly as he cradled a small glass of Bénédictine liqueur in his hand and counted the small blessings he'd been granted in unlife including the ability to enjoy good liquor. The meeting he had summoned Grey to his office for was likely to be tedious, but it required a degree of deception which was easier to achieve when one approached the situation comfortably and casually. |
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| Jackson Grey | Apr 8 2015, 09:11 PM Post #2 |
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Grey casually strolled down the slick cobblestone streets skirting large puddles and closely knit groups of not quite sober revellers stumbling past. A look to his left revealed an old wooden placard hanging above the door with "The River Queen" in stylised bright paint emblazoned across it. He pushed open the door and ducked inside. A cloud of smoke hung in the air underneath a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The maroon painted walls gave the bar a warm feel. Squinting through the smoke Grey walked over to the bar and fished Sucozu's invitation out of the breast pocket of his military uniform. The bar man walked over as Grey slid the card face down to him. He glanced at it and a shadow flashed across his face for a moment. He glanced at Grey and motioned for him to follow him. The bar man knocked on a door at the back of the speak easy and motioned Grey to enter. Grey entered a dimly lit office which was quite cramped even as it was as sparsely furnished as it was. Grey appreciated the emphasis on utility over style. Lounging in an arm chair swirling Bénédictine in a small glass was Luca Sucozu the Sheriff of New Orleans. Grey walked up to the desk and stood crisply at attention with his arms at his side and posture ramrod straight. "I was summoned, here I am sir." Grey stated without a hint of emotion, trying to hide the fact that this man lounging in the overstuffed chair did not look as Grey had expected. |
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| Sucozu | Apr 8 2015, 10:38 PM Post #3 |
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Luca put down his glass and shifted into a more appropriate posture for conducting business; if his guest had been mortal he'd have offered him a drink from the cabinet but under the circumstances such gestures were meaningless, so instead he simply offered Grey a seat with a wave of his hand all the while regarding him from behind his heavy sunglasses. His drink could wait, Bénédictine was after all better if one allowed it to breathe a little, but that was besides the point, Luca was no connoisseur so he'd have enjoyed it either way for what it was. The fact that he was able to drink real imported liquor from a professional distillery was not just a display of his wealth or taste, but also a display of power - it took connections in high places to get booze of this quality into the country in a quantity sufficient to sit casually drinking it on a daily basis. All that now stood between Jackson and the second most powerful kindred in the city was a polished but somewhat worn and dented desk. "Here you are indeed. I appreciate the promptness of your arrival. Please, take a seat, we have a good deal to discuss." Luca waited for his guest to either take the offered seat or choose to stand; mind you the two chairs on the other side of the desk, though not as comfortable as his own were still of quite a high quality. "When I heard of the arrival of a former soldier in New Orleans who still observes our honoured traditions I felt it sensible to contact you at the earliest possibility." There was a hint of a Spanish accent to his voice as he spoke, but just a hint and no more; other than this and the sunglasses the Sheriff looked like any Southern gentleman might, with his hair lightly oiled back and a neat suit, the jacket discarded revealing a waistcoat beneath. Edited by Sucozu, Apr 8 2015, 10:46 PM.
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| Jackson Grey | Apr 13 2015, 06:31 PM Post #4 |
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Luca Sucozu offered Grey a seat but because of the formal nature of the meeting and the long hours of his mortal life Grey had spent standing at attention he opted to remain standing. Grey was slightly confused as to why he was summoned to talk to the sherriff as he had only been in New Orleans for a short time and had not violated any Camarilla laws that he knew of. In fact his entire actions thus far in New Orleans had been to fly under the radar. He had been listless and was hoping the sheriff could provide some much needed direction and a service that Grey could provide. He still felt that he was a soldier and was awaiting orders. "I am interested as to why you called me here. Naturally, I would never turn down such a gracious invitation by the esteemed sheriff of New Orleans. I was actually hoping to meet you at some point as I have been searching for a purpose in this town. After having been a soldier for some time, I have been searching the Kindred world for a role that closely parallels such a position. This meeting is fortuitous as I think I could find no better person to ask than you." Grey thought it was worth the risk to lay all of his cards down on the table so to speak and was done with tiptoeing around in New Orleans and wanted to do something that he truly believed in. |
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| Sucozu | Apr 14 2015, 04:13 PM Post #5 |
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It didn't bother Sucozu if Grey chose to stand really; he'd half expected it to be honest given the man's reputation and background, or what of it he could pick up from his informants. It was that background which had first interested Sucozu, and the sudden arrival in New Orleans of a total newcomer with just this sort of background and temperament fit so perfectly with his needs and plans that one might almost call it providence, or just damned good luck - of course Luca was jaded enough to believe in neither, which had rankled and tugged at his paranoia somewhat, but he found nothing in any of the information he had relating to Grey which fed into his concern so he let it drop to the back of his mind, for now at least. Luca reached over to a small wooden box on his desk and opened it casually, turning it so that Grey could see the contents; there neatly lined up were perhaps twenty or thirty fine looking cigarillos which exuded a rich scent - there was no indication on either box nor cigarillo as to their brand or origin but judging by the standard to which they had been rolled and the nature of the box that housed them they were undoubtedly of high quality. Sucozu did not know if Grey smoked or not, it had hardly been a detail he'd been particularly concerned about, he didn't smoke of course, being as he was a Setite he had reason to fear the flames more than most kindred, but he'd found it useful to keep a few on hand just in case his guests did. He had mixed motives for this of course, firstly it gave the impression that either he himself smoked, helping to obfuscate the fact that he was Setite and not Gangrel as he claimed, or that he had no fear of the fire involved. Second it was a courtesy, blood was such a troublesome thing to carry around and keep fresh in the Louisiana heat and humidity and few kindred were capable of consuming alcohol, so cigarillos were the next best thing. "I don't know if you smoke or not, but please help yourself; in fact you're more than welcome to take a couple for later if you'd like." He opened with polite courtesy and of course in the way one would expect from a typical politician or bureaucrat reluctant to get straight to the point as a matter of diplomatic and social protocol; of course it was little more than a gesture since the more concise this conversation could be the better from his perspective, but Luca didn't want Grey to know that of course. "Now with regards to why I called you here... your preparedness, nay willingness to serve is admirable and appreciated; you will forgive me I'm sure for saying that most kindred in this city are more than happy to just sit back and let someone else deal with their problems for them, but as men of a martial bearing we both know I think, that matters are seldom so simple. Someone must inevitably step up to the plate and face of against these issues." Leaning back in his seat once again Luca took a quick sip from his drink before setting it back on the desk; he savoured the flavour for a few moments before swallowing which brought a comfortable warmth to his throat which followed down. Alcohol had no effect on him of course, but the feel of it was most gratifying even so. "As a relative newcomer to the city I feel you are perfectly placed for a particular job that needs to be done. I'm not sure if you have heard but the Gangrel Primogen, a man by the name of Gracco, recently died under suspicious circumstances. The city's Gangrel are in an uproar and our Toreador friends have been suitably effete and foppish in expressing their dismay; the whole affair has the city on edge and that makes my job all the more difficult. Accusations are flying back and forth all over the place of murder and though I personally think Gracco got careless or unlucky and died as a result, not everyone is inclined to agree." "I need to find out the truth. If Gracco was indeed murdered then we must find out why and by whom. As an outsider you have no vested interests in the outcome of this whole mess and stand to gain nothing whatever you uncover, therefore any findings you were to lay out would be trusted to a greater degree than if I or another local were to publish them. You see what I am getting at here yes? You want a purpose here, then here it is, investigate Gracco's death tell me what you uncover. You will of course be well compensated for your troubles and rewarded for your efforts." |
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| Jackson Grey | Apr 22 2015, 10:45 PM Post #6 |
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Jackson Grey did appreciate smoking and found that it was an affectation that he could not ever quite bring himself to quit although smoking did absolutely nothing for him. He pulled out a worn box of matches and lit the cigarillo, taking a deep draw before expelling the smoke into the air above him. Jackson appreciated the courtesy of Sucozu as a byproduct of the South, Jackson found that simple kindnesses such as offering a smoke to a stranger where fast becoming relics of a bygone era. "If you need someone to step up to the plate, as you so succinctly put it, I am more than happy to oblige. I find this city sometimes is a den to which many varieties of scum call home." Jackson appreciates Sucozu's direct approach yet felt as if he would need to tread carefully as things are rarely what they seem. The news of the death of the Gangrel Primogen was completely foreign to Grey but he understood that this would make many people on edge. He could also grasp that as the sheriff was a Gangrel, this was of the utmost importance. The politics of the event did not interest Grey as he had always been better at executing commands and did not like the intrigue and grandstanding of politics. In war you have an enemy and you are attempting to destroy them. Straightforwardness in politics seemed to be a tangled web of conspiracy and Grey had no desire to get caught up in it himself. "Sheriff, I am happy to investigate the death of so high profile an individual but as a newcomer to the city, I am woefully out of touch with the goings on around here. If you could point me in the right direction or give me any guidance I would be most grateful." Grey was happy to finally have an agenda and a purpose beyond the pale of what most kindred would call an existence. Grey had an objective and he was thirsting to carry it out. Grey had always been eager to prove his ability and live up to expectations. |
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| Sucozu | Apr 23 2015, 08:07 PM Post #7 |
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Sucozu was gratified, though not surprised, to find that Grey was readily willing to take up this task; of course the whole things was an enormous charade since Sucozu had no intention of enabling Grey to actually succeed in finding the real killer, but that hardly mattered to him, it was more important that Grey was falling in line. He would, if the information Sucozu had on Grey which admittedly wasn't a great deal, serve his purpose admirably as an independent and unbiased investigator - everyone including Grey himself would believe that he was following the Camarilla line and upholding the interests of a broader society and the more willingly Grey did it the better. If his reading of the man was correct the Grey truly wasn't interested in politics, which would make it all the more easy to play him and having a man of his talents in one's pocket would in the long term be most useful. Of course Luca had yet to work out down which particular rabbit hole he was going to throw Grey, nor which poor soul would end up being the patsy in all of this but again that was something which hardly mattered. For now he just had to keep Grey spinning in circles, which shouldn't be too hard given his lack of knowledge of New Orleans' kindred, the presence of this investigation would hang over everyone's heads and until its conclusion it would be the perfect tool for sowing a little discord, culling a few enemies and of course putting everyone on edge. More than ever he felt as though he had the entire city in the palm of his hand, which in turn meant de la Soie could say the same; one way or the other this whole situation would strengthen their position in the city and make their authority absolute. Not bad for a couple of Setite Neonates who had hardly had the best of starts. "Excellent. I doubt your lack of local knowledge will be quite the obstacle you think, in fact it may just enable you to stumble upon the evidence you need to wrap up this sorry affair; for those of us with extensive knowledge of New Orleans and its social circles there are certain places we simply would not think to go." Of course there were reasons for this and not all of them had to do with fashion or appearances, but Sucozu hardly felt it was appropriate to tell Grey that at this juncture; as useful as Grey would be alive he really had little concern for his well being, dead he could prove just as useful. Anyway taking on a task for the Sheriff was almost always a double edged sword whether one realised it or not, so it should be quite obvious to Grey just how potentially dangerous his position would be without Sucozu needing to chide him like and ignorant schoolboy. "Aside from checking the scene of the event itself, which I suggest you do while the ashes are still settling by the way, I would suggest speaking with Gracco's principle social rival, the Toreador Primogen, Caroline Boudreaux. They were hardly enemies really but she is the most active of the city's Primogen and may know something useful; plus as a Toreador she's prone to having all the choicest gossip fall into her lap, sometimes quite literally if the stories are true so if anyone where to have an inkling as to what happened to Gracco it would be her. But do be polite to her if you can, she's quite the darling of kindred society here for one thing and for another she isn't a terribly bad sort for a Toreador." "Now before we go about our business is there anything you want or need? A place to stay perhaps or finance? Given the nature of the task at hand you may find yourself feeling safer with a little firepower - anything you need to facilitate this investigation you have but to ask." |
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