2012.07.17.Tremere.Spy

Tremere Spy
Griggs and Mary follow a Tremere spy home.
IC Date	June 17, 2012
IC Time	Night
Players	Mary, Griggs
Location	Prospect
Prp/Tp	One-off
Spheres	Vampire: Sabbat

Argent Institute - The Courtyard

The smell of LaVey often arrives long before the nosferatu itself makes an appearance, and this time is no different except for one small exception. The stench is accompanied by a soft, muffled whimpering noise. As the creature makes its way out of the Labyrinth, one can see that it is dragging by the ear a smaller man. The companion is bloodied and bruised with duct tape covering his mouth and wrapping his wrists together.

Griggs sniffs at the air, turning around from where he sits, at the bench near the fountain. A curious look is given to LaVey and his bloody cargo, then he stands up, pocketing his iPad. "What you got there?" he asks.

Mary heads out into the main area, dragging a backpack full of who knows what with her. She pauses when she sees the others, loitering and perhaps quietly watching. She looks curiously to the iPad.

LaVey continues to drag his cargo along until he stands nearby to Griggs. Then in one swift, brutal motion he rips the tape off the man's lips. New blood flows into the unfortunate's mouth as a large chunk of skin goes with the tape. "You are a ghoul for the Camarilla are you not? Sent here to spy on us by the Tremere, were you not?" the nossie demands in his harsh, gravel voice. The man whimpers something unintelligible. For his effort, he is rewarded with a sharp slap to the back of the head. Then he manages to mumble out, "Yes... yes I am, it's true...but..." Another slap silences him quite effectively.

Griggs' eyebrows lift as he is spattered by the ghoul's blood. He squats down on his hams to study the specimen more closely. "A thpy, hm?" he muses, reaching out with a gnarled hand to take the ghoul by the top of the head as he looks into his eyes. "Where did you find him?" he asks LaVey.

Mary kneels in close to take a look at the ghoul. "Mmm. An enemy spy." she comments. "Shall I prepare the south wing for interrogations?"

"I found him in the dungeon, attempting to release a conspirator," LaVey tells Griggs before giving the ghoul another slap for good measure. Then he looks at Mary and shakes his head. "No, I have wrung the relevant information from him, and I promised his suffering would be at an end soon." Somehow, this does not seem to make the ghoul any calmer. "As part of you initiation into the Sect, you will hunt him down and kill him. Griggs, if you would be so kind, chaperone her and make sure she does it?"

Griggs nods absently as he is busy staring into the ghoul's eyes as he holds him by the hair. "We thould bring it with uth ath a thnack," he says, standing, the ghoul's head not yet released. Reaching into his robes, he produces a length of leather, wraps it around the ghoul's neck with his free hand, then secures it with a slip-knot. "C'mon boy, thow uth to your mathterth!"

Mary kneels to the ghoul. "A hunt eh? I look forward to it." she strokes the ghoul's cheek. "May I keep his skin? I've started a ...collection."

"Do as you please with him when you are done, but make sure his master meets final death," LaVey says as he turns the prisoner over to Griggs' gentle care. The nosferatu begins to move off, but speaks back over his shoulder. "I must deal with what sabotage he has already wrought. I should be done by the time you return."

The ghoul looks absolutely miserable, shivering and bleeding all over. However, there is a brief glimmer of hope.

"Eathy there Unproven," Griggs warns Mary in a stern tone, pointing a crooked index finger 'at' Mary. He then waggles his eyebrows for effect before turning to nod to LaVey. "It will be done," he confirms. "Do you have any more informathion of relevanthe?" he asks, then tugs on the ghoul's make-shift collar. "Eathy boy," he chides, "You'll be taking uth back to your home thoon."

Mary tenses a bit. "Alright. Ready when you are." she strokes the ghoul's hair And smiles. "Show us the way."

"Please don't hurt me anymore, it already hurt me so bad..." The ghoul whimpers pathetically to Mary. "I'll show you were the Lord of Nights lives, I will. And then I'll serve you! Yes, as long as I am alive, I can serve you! My life for you, my immortal lord." The ghoul gets down on his knees and starts to kiss Griggs' feet. "He lives in the warehouses. Thats where he does his experiments," he continues, in-between boot licks, "Yes, disgusting experiments. Mostly on vagabonds, trash, throwaway people." The ghoul then crawls a few feet before standing up and leading the Cainites towards the Argent's gates.

The leather cord Griggs keeps the ghoul secured with is no more than three meters long, making for a rather short leash. Griggs keeps the other end wrapped tightly around his hand. He doesn't tug, instead issuing a verbal command, thank you Cezar Milan, "You will take uth there, and you will be quiet otherwithe. If you therve uth well, you may yet live." Cold comfort for the captive ghoul.

Mary nods "What he said." she says. "take us to your master." she follows the Proven securing his ghoul.

Griggs heads out with Mary, the ghoul in tow.

Prospect - Warehouse District

The ghoul leads them out of the Argent, wending and winding his way through side streets and back alleys. It takes almost an hour but the group finally arrives in the warehouse district. Groups of men in high-visibility jackets travel together up and down the streets amidst the occassional forklift or heavy truck. The ghoul apparently knows all the ways to move unseen as they pose no problem for the trio. Finally, after another hour, they stand in front of a run down and obviously abandoned building. "This is the one," the ghoul says, taking a few steps back and cowering behind the vampires.

Mary nods "Right. I think they may be expecting us." she says. "Im going to do a permimeter search, around the building. Make sure there's no traps before walking straight in."

Griggs shakes his head slowly, taking hold of Mary's wrist with his right hand. "Not yet," he says quietly, then tugs slightly on the leash. Pointing down the street, back to the more active warehouses he asks the ghoul, "What thort of thecurity doeth your mathter employ?"

"Oh, my master has no defenses besides a few ghouls and himself," the cringing man tells Griggs, "He is too confident in his own power to stoop to such silly things as mechanical traps. I swear, the building is empty except for him the servants!"

Mary is stopped by the handgrab and nods. "Right. He's missing you and expecting us, Im sure." she says. "ANyone have a flashlight? Preferably the UV kind?" she murmurs. "Note to self. When I can shop, stock up."

"That is what I needed to know," Griggs tells the ghoul in a low tone, then brings his index finger to his twisted and scarred mouth. Quietly, he continues, "Mary, go up on the roof, thlip in through a crack and get a headcount then report back here, yeah?"

Mary makes her way up to the roof, and starts to lower herself to the ground. She seaps into the cracks, drpping her way around hte ceiling. Once she gets a headcount, she reverses her pattern, dripping back out to the roof. She then trips her way down the building, reforming as she walks towards Griggs. "Four ghouls, baseball bats. Theres a trapdoor in the floor. If we can take them out without too much noise, I could seap my way in there."

Griggs nods to Mary upon her return several minutes later. "Good--we'll handle the ghoulth," he says, looking towards the ghoul at the end of his leash, a knowing smile twisting across his scarred features. He continues to Mary, "Be ready to theep down into that trapdoor after the ghoulth are gone."

The ghoul fumbles around in his pockets until he comes up with a battered looking steel key. He offers it out to Griggs, hand trembling like a leaf in the wind. "Here, this one unlocks the exterior doors," he whispers, terror filling his voice.

Griggs nudges the ghoul and points to one of the steel doors. "Here'th what you're going to do: Walk over there and bang on the door, athk your friendth to let you in. You managed to ethcape and need help." He reaches for the makeshift collar, undoing the knot, holding the ghoul by the back of the neck as he nods to Mary.

Mary also nods. "ALmost too easy." she says. "Lets do this." She says, cracking her knuckles.

The ghoul whimpers even more, but slowly walks towards the door. He knocks three times, hard, then stops. A second later two light taps. Then a whole series of complicated knocks and slaps. Eventually the door opens a hair and the ghoul turns to wave them forward.

Griggs is already slinking around towards the entrance, the cowl of his hood drawn low and a submachine gun visible in his hand. He comes up behind the ghoul at the door, taking him by the wrist, then cuffing him with the leather strap to one of the tall pipe standoffs not far from the door. "Thtay," he warns before moving towards the door.

Mary moves forward at Grigg's side, her face stoic as she prepares to take out the ghouls. Bones start to snap. "Easy way or hard way?" she asks, motioning at the guards. Perhaps her way of offering assistance with them before going down the door.

Whoever has opened the door obviously moved off, as the entrance is empty. It leads into a small office with the two interior walls mostly made out of windows for the foremen to keep an eye on his team. The door that used to lead in and out is gone. Looking out upon the warehouse floor, it is mostly empty except for piles of garbage, scrap metal, and general rubbish. The four ghouls are all standing around a large wooden door set into the concrete, smoking and play-fighting with their baseball bats.