Pancho and Lefty

"Pancho and Lefty" is the fourth episode of the first season of Spectre and the fourth episode of the series altogether.
== Starring ==
* Joseph Rose-Price
* Kamila Mansouri
* Vittoria Giovanni
* Harland MacArthur
* Bobby Brown
* Saoirse Holsten
* S. Michael Drevin
* Elisa Dujardin
* Jocelyn Eisner
* J. R. Jefferson
* Lefty Mancini
== Summary ==
=== Teaser ===
We begin the episode late on October 30th, slowly turning to the early hours of the 31st. With a short narration detailing the coterie's goals for the night we slowly pan over to the episode's first act as it opens back in the office of Harland MacArthur for a rundown on the excursion behind enemy lines that's about to take place to the song 'Pancho and Lefty' by Townes Van Zandt.
=== Act I ===
In Harland's office, he describes to the coterie how they'll be provided with a rental car (which turns out to be a '59 Chevrolet Impala) so that their license plates aren't tracked into Anaheim by anyone working for Rodriguez or another party. Harland tells them that he's sent them over the GPS coordinates for the Stage Door Repertory Theatre as well as a bar called Uncle Ricky's where he believes that culprit might have visited after the incident at the theatre, he also gives them a cooler filled with blood bags since they "might not want to stop and talk to too many people" in Anaheim. As Joseph is a Ventrue and unable to feed on bagged blood he requests to feed at Harland's Elysium but is denied. The coterie leave the building but before getting into the car Joseph declares that he needs to feed before they head to Anaheim. Deciding on the nearby Target as a feeding location Kamila and Vittoria both grab one of the blood bags, hiding them in their bags to drink in the bathroom, as they make their way to the store. Kamila gushes about Target and the "cute displays" they have at the front of the store, asking Joseph if he's been to Target or Walmart before. 
Once inside Kamila and Vivi head to the bathrooms to drink their blood bags while Joseph picks out a target, a man who we would later know as Bobby Brown, and convinces him to follow him to the disabled toilet where he feeds on him. Unbeknownst to Kamila and Vivi, the blood bags they consumed had been filled with Harland MacArthur's blood, beginning the process of blood bonding them to the Toreador Baron and warping their feelings towards him. In a panic Kamila sends a text message to Benny Espinoza asking him if he knows what being blood bound feels like and tries to hurry everyone else back to the car after meeting back up. Benny replies as they're walking, in disbelief at the suggestion that some of them might have been blood bound. Using thaumaturgy, Kamila inspects the contents of the blood bags and determines that is is indeed the blood of another kindred and replies to Benny's text to tell him that she believes the blood belongs to Harland. Back in the car, Kamila raises the issue by asking Vivi if she feels any different and Joseph becomes suspicious about what's going on. Kamila confirms that there was kindred blood in the bags and that she's beginning to feel differently towards Harland, meaning it almost certainly belonged to him. Vittoria admits that she also drank a whole bag, commenting that it tasted good at least, leaving Joseph bemused. Kamila tries to explain to Vivi how blood bonding works and why it's a bad thing to be blood bound, using ghouls as an example. The conversation wraps up with Joseph reminding Vittoria to be careful not to drink any more of Harland's blood as it will only worsen the blood bond. As there's still much time left in their journey before they arrive at their destination, Kamila tries to break the tension by turning on the radio but the situation is only made more awkward when 'Just The Two Of Us' is playing.
=== Act II ===
Around 11PM, the coterie finally reach their destination in Anaheim and Kamila ushers everyone out of the vehicle, anxious to do right by Harland after he's helped them out in arranging this excursion yet still disturbed by these unwanted feelings, she asks Joseph to take the reins on this investigation. They begin by searching the exterior of the building, particularly the parking lot, where they eventually locate what was the scene of the crime, a set of dumpsters where the diablerized corpse was disposed of. Working together to sweep the area for clues they manage to spot a small patch of blood on the wall along with a fragment of bone which they are able to confirm came from the victim's skull. Joseph encourages Kamila to utilize her thaumaturgical abilities to gain further information from the bone shard which she attempts, although is not able to glean anything that they can really use, though they are able to confirm that the deceased kindred was of the thirteenth generation. This fact furthers the idea that the diablerist is committing these crimes not out of a desire for power, but for the personal pleasure of the act. She also analyzes the blood on the wall, realizing that this came from the diablerist and not the victim, concluding that the culprit is around ninth generation and has committed diablerie numerous times. Relaying this information back to the coterie, they all wonder whether or not the killer may have already struck again during the course of their investigation. 
Deciding that there was nothing more to gain from outside the building Joseph guides the group inside, reminding Vittoria that she's the only one who knows what the diablerist looks like and that she should be particularly alert in case they run into him. When they enter the theatre's lobby they approach a janitor and begin asking questions. The janitor directs the coterie to another employee who'd be able to answer some of their questions more accurately, but also offhandedly mentions that someone has already been looking around the theatre for the sorts of things they're inquiring about. Talking to another employee they learn that the information hosted on the theatre's website is submitted by the performing acts themselves, and that because of this not all the performers have the same amount of detail attached to them. Kamila begins to try to extract further information from the worker, asking directly about the 'Magic with Marvin' act, and claiming that Joseph has a daughter who would love to see a magic show. The receptionist claims that he performed at the theatre fairly recently, and that he typically does last-minute bookings. Directing the flow of the conversation to this mysterious 'investigator', Kamila expresses phony concern at what this person could be doing, with the employee agreeing and claiming to not really know what's going on and that the investigator has mostly been curious about a single storeroom. Kamila asks if she might be able to speak with this individual, to which the employee claims to not be paid enough to really care, and directs the coterie to the storeroom in question. 
Entering the room they see the woman pacing around, not immediately paying attention to them as they arrive, and Kamila uses her aura perception to determine that this investigator is a kindred. As she turns around to meet them Joseph realizes that this is Saoirse Holsten, a red-listed kindred who used to rank highly in Evander Ford's Camarilla regime, and who now serves as J. R. Jefferson's right hand. He tries his best to hide a shocked expression and doesn't acknowledge his recognition out loud. Saoirse seems dismissive of the coterie, who try to maintain their concerned human parent act. She's more than aware that they're kindred and asks them if they're stupid, and then tells them to either ask their questions in a straightforward manner or to leave her to her work. Kamila tries to ask about the diableries, but Saoirse claims not to know anything about it because she doesn't work here, although she does reveal that she's aware of the diablerie that took place. After a while of trying to pry information out of the woman and getting nowhere, Saoirse grows frustrated and bids the coterie to "kneel", which they all do without even being able to process it. She warns them to stop snooping around and leaves while they're effectively frozen on their knees. 
When they're finally alone, Joseph lectures Vivi and Kamila about needing to be able to recognize important kindred and shares that the woman was Saoirse Holsten, with Kamila beginning to recall that she's heard things about her. Joseph then clarifies that she works for the Baron of Anaheim. The coterie take pause to think about their next move, concerned that Saoirse's testimony could place them in Anaheim, and Vittoria doesn't quite understand why they're taking everything so seriously, instead wanting to take a further look around the room in an attempt to determine what Saoirse has spent so long in here investigating. Something clearly doesn't feel right about the room and despite everyone trying their best to determine what exactly the source of this feeling is, the best they can come up with is that some powerful vampiric discipline was used here some time ago, though they cannot uncover what was used or why. Heading back to the front desk, the receptionist mentions that while they were back there with the investigator she happened to speak with their "friends outside". Everyone is immediately suspicious, as they aren't expecting anyone and nobody should know that they're here. The coterie try to find an alternative way out of the theatre to avoid a potential confrontation that could come by leaving through the main entrance, but they're left with no other option but to head out and face them. 
As they leave they notice a group of three waiting outside, utilizing aura perception Kamila notes that they're a group of kindred, and Vittoria is able to recognize one of them, even though his back is turned, as the Tremere ancilla who they'd run into a few days prior, Drevin. Vittoria boldly confronts Drevin and the two young women with him for claiming to be friends with the coterie to the receptionist, yelling out at him and eventually forcing him to turn around to face the coterie. She demands to know what Drevin is doing there and he deflects the question, though Joseph asserts that he must be following them for some reason. Joseph also accuses Drevin of attempting to sabotage the coterie during their investigation at the Million Dollar Theatre a few nights ago, though Drevin claims that he isn't interested in whatever the coterie happens to be doing. One of the women there with Drevin, the one with pale white hair who appeared to be in her late teens, began to tease Drevin for his devious behavior. Drevin tried to shut the coterie down by claiming that perhaps it was they who were following him, referring to them as self-important and insignificant. The argument draws out further with Joseph and Vittoria becoming especially irritated and declaring that Drevin is flat-out lying even if he won't admit to it, with Joseph becoming even more offended when Drevin refers to him as childish. Joseph begins to boil over as the younger woman tries to put a stop to the conflict, though Drevin has to have the last word by quoting Shakespeare with "the lady doth protest too much, methinks" directed at Joseph's attempts to refute the childish assertation. During all this, the young woman slips out the names Strauss and Benowitz before being hushed by Drevin, drawing the exchange to an abrupt close. This greatly alarms Kamila as she is aware these are the names of two very highly respected Tremere elders who might have sent this group to spy on her because of her sire, James Howland. The other woman with the group, a young black woman in her mid-twenties, scribbles a few notes down without saying a word as Kamila tries to hurry the coterie back into their car, but not before apologizing to Drevin, which prompts Joseph to start walking away on his own in anger. 
When in the car, Vivi and Joseph both confront Kamila about her unnecessary apology to Drevin and her excuses only frustrate the two of them further, leading Joseph to start ignoring her attempts to justify her actions by playing on his phone. After a little while of driving and arguing, Kamila and Vivi come to realize that their car is being tailed by a vehicle that looks very similar to the one they saw Drevin and his associates near back at the theatre. This car is speeding up in an attempt to catch them and switches into the other lane to drive directly parallel to the coterie, slamming its front into the back side of the coterie's car, trying to perform a PIT maneuver. Kamila is able to stabilize the vehicle, but the other car doesn't seem to be letting up, leading Kamila to slam the brakes and letting the other car speed off ahead of them. Panicking, Kamila worries about the damage caused to Harland's car and Joseph exits to assess the damage. At the end of the street the other car turns around and begins barreling towards the stationary vehicle of the coterie with the obvious intent to smash into them head-on. Making a fast decision, Kamila attempts to make a multiple-point U-turn to drive in the opposite direction, away from the hostile car and surprisingly she is successful, now driving down the road into oncoming traffic to get away. Joseph, who was outside the vehicle to assess the crash damage, is left standing on the side of the road as Kamila and Vivi speed off. Doing her best to get away Kamila tries to slalom through pedestrian vehicles while keeping away from the chasing car but eventually another PIT maneuver is attempted and Harland's car is sent swerving off the road and into a concrete wall. 
Neither Kamila or Vittoria are hurt by the crash and the other car speeds off into the night, Joseph uses his celerity to sprint towards the crash and he sends a text to Hollywood Elysium Keeper Charlotte Devereux once seeing that they're okay, letting her know that the car had been damaged. The coterie check their surroundings, noting that the car had broken through the wall into a building site proclaimed to be owned by Axiom Construction. As they think about what to do next they notice the sounds of music and talking coming from further inside the construction yard, seeing from afar several tarpaulin sheets hanging in the hollow shell of a building with lights shining out from inside. They decide to head towards the sounds and enter through the tarp to see a spread of tables bedecked with food and alcohol and flanked by large bookshelves, with so many people partying in this small space that it's difficult to focus on anything in particular. Vittoria catches a glimpse of what looks like Saoirse from earlier, but the three of them are interrupted when someone clinks a spoon against their glass to call the attention of the crowd inside the 'room'. A man with a hoarse voice loudly acknowledges the presence of Joseph, Vittoria, and Kamila to the crowd, adding that everyone present should "show them how we do it in Anaheim". The coterie begin to internally panic as they recognize the man as the infamous Baron of Anaheim and red-listed criminal Jonah Randall Jefferson.
=== Act III ===
All the partygoers trail outside into the yard and the coterie follow along out of obligation, Kamila fears that the three of them are about to be publicly executed. They attempt to blend in with the crowd, hoping to pounce at the opportunity to escape when it presents itself, but quickly they abandon that idea when Vivi's fight or flight kicks in and she shoves someone to attempt to run. A man, Roscoe "Lefty" Mancini, grabs hold of her arm to make sure she doesn't try to run again, though he seems rather nonchalant and relaxed despite the situation framing him as confrontational. He claims that the three of them are the guests of honor, and that they're heading to the pit right now. Joseph tries to pull the man away from Vittoria, but realizes that she's completely petrified with fear by this point. Lefty insists that this isn't something to worry about, it'll be fun, and that everyone in Anaheim has been into the pit once or twice before -- they're going to be fighting as a bonding exercise. Kamila expresses hesitation, that they shouldn't even be here, but Lefty tells her that she's among the freest of the free right now, that they don't get new people too often so it must be fate that brought them here. 
The pit itself is a giant circular hole in the ground, illuminated by work lights, and the coterie are ushered down into it. Once there, the crowd of kindred begin to form a circle around the pit, looking down into it and onto the coterie. The three of them are unable to see out of the pit, only up at the spectators looking in. Joseph spots Lefty among the audience and tries to beg him to reconsider, but the hoarse voice of Jefferson interrupts him again and says that there was no mistake made. Turning around back into the pit they come face to face with the Baron of Anaheim as he removes his overcoat and hat, limbering up for what's about to occur. Still pleading to deaf ears the coterie tries to stop the fight, but Jefferson tells them they're going to prove their worth right here. The crowd pass a bundled-up bedsheet into the makeshift arena as Jefferson unfurls it to display an array of weaponry from knives, guns, and even the odd grenade. Jefferson bids the coterie to choose their arms, using a meat cleaver and large bayonet for himself. As they all grab guns, Joseph warns Vittoria to stay back as her undead body is susceptible to scarring where Kamila and Joseph aren't. 
Jefferson gentlemanly offers the coterie the first hit, standing still with arms spread as he is hit by a volley of gunfire. The bullets appear to do very little to stop the man as the fight is a fairly one-sided beatdown, with Joseph's arm being sliced off in the brawl, though Jefferson respects the heart of him and Kamila who still put up an effort nonetheless. In desperation Joseph tries to pull down the pants of J. R. Jefferson, though undeterred he simply steps out of his pants as the crowd erupts in laughter. Jefferson approaches Vittoria saying "you haven't had much yet", but Vittoria breaks down in tears and pleads for him not to hit her in the face. Joseph is so wounded he looks like he's about to throw up and Kamila is also pleading with Jefferson not to hurt Vittoria. This display of weakness sours the Baron of Anaheim from continuing any further with his sport, throwing his weapons to the floor in displeasure. He addresses the crowd claiming that the newcomers fought well and should be invited to feast with the populace of Anaheim for a night of spirited celebrations and the crowd disperse to get drunk off of intoxicated blood and sing songs together. Jefferson invites the coterie to speak with him privately in the foreman's office that he's taken for himself, picking up Joseph's discarded arm and bringing it along too.
=== Act IV ===
Leading them into his office, a repurposed foreman's room with a comfortable reclining chair, desk, cabinets, and other fixtures, Jefferson formally introduces himself as the Baron of Anaheim. Kamila introduces herself but seems more concerned with Joseph's arm than anything else as she also attempts to introduce the others but Jefferson hushes her and claims they're all friends now. Joseph and Vittoria introduce themselves to him as Jefferson encourages him to power through the pain, cutting his own hand off without flinching to prove a point to Joseph as he reattaches it and heals the wound in front of them all. Joseph is a little freaked out by this but continues to listen to Jefferson's words. Lefty enters the room with several humans who appear drunk out of their minds and carrying a cooler filled with blood bags, Jefferson tells the coterie that they can drink their fill. Joseph expresses discomfort, however, on account of the exclusive tastes he's to deal with as a member of Clan Ventrue. Kamila and Vittoria are prompted to leave the room so that Joseph and Jefferson can talk about his feeding restriction without it being revealed unnecessarily to the others, though unbeknownst to him Kamila is eavesdropping on the conversation with her powers of auspex. Jefferson finds some humans to accommodate Joseph's tastes as Kamila and Vittoria drink from the blood bags provided and when they're all fed Joseph is able to reattach his severed arm with the help of Kamila. 
With that over Jefferson commences the conversation he's expecting them to have come to him with, asking what they went to all the trouble of appearing at his Elysium for, given how difficult it can be to locate. Despite their arrival being largely accidental, Kamila runs with Jefferson's false assumption, asking questions about the diablerie that occurred in his Barony as if it was their intention to question him about it all along. Jefferson prefaces his cooperation by explaining that in return for his information on the diableries the coterie will do him a favor in the future sometime. Joseph comes clean, admitting that they stumbled upon the Elysium accidentally, hesitant to work with Jefferson because the coterie are not even supposed to be in Anaheim. The Baron explains that he would still like to help them, but that again he would ask a favor in return for his cooperation, though he adds that he will not ask for anything unreasonable or beyond their circumstances. Both Joseph and Kamila are still somewhat reluctant to work alongside a red-listed kindred, but Vittoria speaks up and says that she doesn't see an issue in working with him, as if he had wanted to harm them he already had more than enough opportunities to do so. Jefferson sweetens the pot by telling them that he knows who the culprit is and when he's going to strike again, and the trio finally agree to his offer. He tells them that the name of the criminal is Marvin Zavala, who sometimes calls himself The Great Marvolio. Apparently he's been around since at least the 1970s and he's able to get away with his crimes due to the lack of communication between the Baronies of Los Angeles, continuing on to explain that he knows Marvin's next show is actually going to be tomorrow, on Halloween night, right here in Anaheim. Now that they're working together Jefferson guarantees the coterie safe passage through Anaheim for tomorrow to confront the diablerist alongside Saoirse and Lefty. 
At that moment Lefty bursts into the room claiming that a kindred named Sanchez is dying and everyone in the office quickly exits, following to where Lefty is leading them. The room that the party was being hosted in is now eerily silent, with all the food and alcohol cleared off one of the tables as the man, Sanchez, lays dying from several gruesome shotgun wounds. Saoirse explains that he got attacked by a gang of the Midnight Animals at a bar called Uncle Ricky's. This information confuses Jefferson as the Midnight Animals have never feuded with Anaheim before, the coterie realize that this is the bar that Harland had instructed them to visit and Kamila whispers to Joseph that this is their fault. Jefferson kneels down to comfort the dying man, reassuring him "it's alright, it's alright". As Sanchez passes Jefferson hangs his head and instructs Lefty to lead the people of Anaheim in singing a rendition of 'California' by Stan Rogers in communal mourning. J. R. Jefferson sheds a few tears as the chorus of kindred fades out along with the episode.
== Music ==
* Townes Van Zandt - Pancho and Lefty (Intro)
* Pornosonic - Dick Dagger's Theme (feat. Ron Jeremy) (Harland's office)
* Pornosonic - Cramming for College (feat. Ron Jeremy) (Harland's office)
* pre-holder - 絵画の魔女 [Witch of the Painting] (Feeding)
* Grover Washington Jr. - Just The Two Of Us (feat. Bill Withers) (Blood bonded)
* スミイ酸 [Sumiisan] - 薔薇 [Rose] (At the theatre)
* Carpenter Brut - Escape from Midwich Valley (Car chaos)
* pre-holder - 痕音 [Scar Sound] (Out of the wreckage)
* Stan Rogers - The Idiot (Anaheim's Elysium)
* Death Grips - No Love (The Pit)
* スミイ酸 [Sumiisan] - 薔薇 [Rose] (After the fight)
* Stan Rogers - California (Outro)
== Trivia ==
* This episode gets its title from the 1972 song by Townes Van Zandt, and takes place in the evening of October 30th, going on into the early hours of October 31st 2022.
== Memorable Quotes ==