Session 12.5: The Best Way to Make Friends Report
General Summary
John has discovered the Kindred ability to learn disciplines from other bloodlines after talking with his foster sire, Nick. And in his effort to defend his companions better, John is seeking out Fortitude which is a discipline he's told belongs to both the clan Gangrel & Ventrue. Nick tells him that unfortunately the Gangrel he knew were killed recently or splintered off to join a different Anarch gang outside the city and it'll take a great deal of effort to convince them to come back let alone allow John to sample their vitae. As for Ventrue, the only ones he knows of are part of the Camarilla, being Sheriff Elias, Harpy Selena, and Prince Teddy, respectively. Out of those three, the Prince himself might actually be the most willing, but "Not without some form of payment, knowing him." Asking John to be careful, he goes on his way. Assembling a small group, John brings Eleanor and Killian with him to go meet the Prince and hash out this deal. It is in this encounter that Teddy gleefully informs Killian of his sire's other progeny- revealing for the first time that Killian is just one of her many high-generation pawns she siphons money out of. Devastated, Killian tries to conceal his hurt while Eleanor & John try to navigate this deal. Teddy seems more than open to the idea, but just as Nick described, he has no intention of giving his vitae away for free, especially since he knows John needs it enough to likely be willing to do almost anything in return. So, he cuts them a deal- only after making them sign a non-disclosure agreement. The job he describes goes as follows;
“So, here’s the situation. A now ex-employee of mine broke the law while using an employee vehicle and now my property has been impounded. All you need to do is go to the tow yard & procure the keys from the office building on site there. Preferably without creating an even bigger mess for me. Bring the keys back to me and I’ll pay you in blood. Sound easy enough?”Having been forced to agree to his "no-questions-asked" policy, the group reluctantly agrees and heads off to the Tempe Towing Service lot to do the deed.
What ensues is a bit of trial and error, but eventually, the coterie settles on this solution to the problem. John borrows Juno's mask and uses his insane inhuman strength to punch the bulletproof glass and nearly shatter it, scaring the hell out of the office worker inside and causing him to flee. After he's hidden in the back of the building, Killian steps in to pick the lock and allow the both of them to enter the building. As they do, a door shuts somewhere else, giving Killian the cover he needs to dip into the side room and recover the keys with the Ventrue keyfob attached along with one or two other sets of keys to cover their tracks. John makes an effort to disguise the punch to the glass- make it look a little less like a fist-- before hopping into Juno's van and driving off. Returning to Ventrue tower, Dimitri (Teddy's bodyguard) accepts the keys from Killian before handing them over to Teddy on behalf of the group and just as promised, gives John the sample of his vitae. In proper Teddy-fashion, however, he instructs John to get on his knees for it before cutting his hand and squeezing the blood into his open mouth. The display is disturbing to Eleanor but Killian seems used to it. After he's done and before he lets the neonates go, Teddy asks if the little coterie has any further insight into anything strange that's going on in the valley. The coterie seems reluctant to do so before Eleanor confesses for them that they really don't know for sure yet. Ted seems to believe her, but requests they report back to him with anything they find out so maybe he could help them if it's a little above their paygrade. And with that, he dismisses them.
