The Sultan of Sleaze

### Synopsis

The coterie visit with Gary Golden and Harland MacArthur before making a big decision about the course of their investigation.

### Next

Pancho and Lefty

**"The Sultan of Sleaze"** is the third episode of the first season of Spectre and the third episode of the series altogether.

## Starring

* Joseph Rose-Price
* Kamila Mansouri
* Vittoria Giovanni
* Martin Barosi
* Clementine Jääskeläinen
* Gary Golden
* Benny Espinoza
* Charlotte Devereux
* Trick Wicked
* Dietrich Lange
* Harland MacArthur

## Summary

### Teaser

Just after midnight on October 30th we receive a recap of the events of the previous night and how our protagonists were able to gather clues at the Million Dollar Theatre, even getting a glimpse of the alleged culprit's face thanks to Vittoria's smart use of her necromantic rituals. We hear how the coterie today were able to score a last-minute meeting with Harland MacArthur, the Baron of Hollywood, thanks to Rodriguez pulling some strings. Before all that they must meet with the leader of the Nosferatu, Gary Golden, to deliver payment for the false medical records Joseph inquired after in the previous episode. And that's where we begin, in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, one of the known entrances to the underground Nosferatu warrens with thirty minutes before their scheduled meeting as the session fades in with a narration to the song '*Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings*' by Father John Misty.

### Act I

Exiting Tony's car and waving him off the coterie trudge through the gloomy and isolated Hollywood Forever Cemetery at night, heading towards the mausoleum. An uncomfortable shudder passes through Joseph as he unknowingly wanders the grounds where he lay in torpor for over eighty years as the world kept on spinning without him. Entering the mausoleum and following the corridor all the way to the left and taking the last right possible they come to the room in the farthest back corner of the building. It is here that they had been told to open the bottom-right interment chamber on the left hand side. Following orders Joseph pulls open the polished granite door and peers inside the chamber and, as expected, rather than finding the remains of some poor deceased soul they see that the floor has been broken by a pickaxe or some other implement to reveal a rope ladder leading down a hole inside of the cramped space. Joseph certainly was not about to enter first on account of his germaphobia and Kamila felt as though it would have been unfair to force Vittoria, so newly kindred, down before any of her seniors and so decided to take the plunge herself. While it was a little bit narrow and restricting she was able to climb in without many issues besides getting her clothes slightly dirty, and following in her lead Vittoria climbed down as well. Joseph needed to steel himself for a minute or two, but followed the others once he had gathered the strength to do so.

The passage itself was a pathway of rocky compacted soil, dimly-lit by several oil lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Every so often the way forward would split off into several seemingly identical junctions and it was very difficult to discern truly which way they were heading in, especially given the rather vague directions they were supplied with. It felt like they had been wandering for too long and might even have been going in circles with Kamila navigating, and when they realized that there was not long left at all before their arranged meeting they decided to throw caution to the wind and break into a sprint -- relying on pure instinct to guide them to the right destination. There was good reason for their haste in the most often-cited trait of Gary's: he hates to be late, he hates others to be late, he believes that any wasted time is wasted potential. The last thing that the coterie wanted to do was get on the bad side of one of the most cunning, knowledgeable and influential kindred in the city and so they ran. Kamila's heightened senses came in handy as she managed to pick up the faint sounds of classical music playing while they were rapidly moving through the warrens and from there was able to direct them to the correct destination, one of the small Nosferatu holdouts underneath the city of Los Angeles.

Just in time the three of them catch sight of what appears to be a settlement in the cavernous underground made from scrap wood and corrugated metal with two Nosferatu standing outside, a man and a woman, waiting for them. The male Nosferatu called out in a hoarse voice asking the coterie to identify themselves and what three well-dressed types like them are doing here. Just as Joseph began to explain why they had made the long journey down here, the man laughed and told them that he was only fucking with them and that he knew they were Benny's kids, introducing himself as Marty. The woman then spoke up also to introduce herself as Clem and asks the coterie why Benny distances himself from the Nosferatu clan, acting "as though he's as pretty as the upstairs kindred". Before anyone can give much of a response Marty hurries them along saying that he'd hate to be the reason anyone was late to meet with Gary, with Clem bidding farewell for now and saying that the two of them are always available for the right price.

Finally they arrive in what they can only assume is a room belonging to Gary as they see a very sheepish-looking Benny sat at the table barely making eye contact with them. When Kamila steps forward to greet him they all hear a disembodied voice that seems to change its point of origin around the room rapidly. Gary's phantom voice almost mockingly acts surprised to see them so far out of their comfort zone and asks if they brought along the money. Joseph places the money on the table which Benny then begins to count, one bill at a time. While he does this Gary leadingly asks if the three of them are not curious to see what he looks like when Joseph brings up the fact that he is fairly old and doesn't know many people who were around back when he was, and that he was actually a fan of Gary's movies while he was alive. Almost surprised to find a fan of his in a place like this, Gary claims that it's not so uncommon to find someone from that long ago in the kindred world and that there's even someone just like that standing right behind them. Turning quickly to look they're shocked to hear a loud "BOO!" as Gary stops hiding with his Obfuscate powers and reveals himself. Despite intending to frighten them Gary then acts almost surprised that they don't recognize him from any of the famous movies he starred in such as *Pirate Town* or *Tap Hotel*. Joseph claims to still recognize Gary from his eyes, but is shot down when Gary tells him not to try to flatter him when he knows what he looks like.

Beginning to speak casually to the coterie Gary laments how long it has been since Benny brought any friends along and how he misses "those funny boys" that he often used to hang around with -- "Lonnie and Jules". Hearing this, Benny begins counting the money a second time out of embarrassment despite seemingly having almost finished. He decides to spend a little time with the coterie because of how long it's been and tells them that it's a Golden opportunity for them to introduce themselves properly to and get on the good side of someone who is essentially as important as a Baron. Joseph comments on how that's a big title to be ascribing oneself which Gary quickly denies, saying that any idiot can and has become a Baron. Vittoria asks Gary who he might mean by that and he replies with a question, asking why he'd share his opinions of such matters with people he's only just met. Joseph changes the topic and asks if Gary knows anything about his sire, Spiros Georgiou, to which Gary says that he knows a little about him as a person but not what happened to him besides the fact that he went missing on August 18th 1939 according to his sources. Recalling what Alastaire Dunsirn mentioned a few days ago, Joseph also inquires as to the relationship that Harland MacArthur had with Spiros, though Gary says they were nothing more than acquaintances besides the fact that Spiros likely would have been made Baron of Hollywood over Harland if he was still around. Kamila steps in to ask about her sire and if Gary would be able to contact him, but he dismisses her by saying even if he knew how to contact him, he's one of the most wanted kindred in Los Angeles and that he couldn't be seen to conspire with a criminal like him. Finally Vittoria asks Gary for information about the series of diableries the coterie is currently investigating to which Gary says that not even Edgar Hearst would be able to pay him enough money to get involved in them. Joseph reacts with caution to this and wonders if because they're rather insignificant and inexperienced as kindred this mission might be endangering them, though Gary replies that those reasons might be precisely the reasons that would keep them safe. He thinks that if anyone high profile were to investigate these thoroughly there might be an incident of some sort, and he advises the coterie not to make the case bigger than it needs to be -- they're looking for just one guy after all.

With that all said and done, Gary sends them on their way with Clem to escort them to an exit that'll have them closer to the Chinese Theatre than they would be if they just went back the way they came. While being led back Joseph grabs Clementine's phone number just to have a Nosferatu contact other than Benny.

### Act II

On their walk over to the Chinese Theatre the coterie are chatting to one another and trying to clean themselves up after resurfacing through the sewers and up out of a manhole. As they're passing through an alley shortcut and Kamila is handing out wet-wipes to the others they hear the sound of some loud motorcycles behind them. Assuming that they're trying to pass them in the narrow alleyway Kamila shifts the group to one side to let them through but is surprised to hear the engines stopping and not continuing past them. Joseph and Vittoria turn around to see three bikers from the Midnight Animals Motorcycle Club getting off their bikes and heading towards them with weapons drawn -- one with a machete, another grabbing a tire iron from the back of his motorcycle, and the final biker pulling a sawn-off shotgun out of the depths of his jacket. Kamila is immediately submissive and puts her hands in the air as the man holding the shotgun says "Don't move no further". Joseph's instincts spring into action and he uses Command on the shotgun-carrier to prevent him from moving further. The other two bikers realize that something is going wrong here and immediately take the offensive with the machete-wielder running towards the three of them and the other prying the shotgun away from the one frozen in place. Kamila braces herself to dodge the machete-wielder but as soon as he gets close enough Vittoria stomps down against his knee with inhuman strength, filling the alleyway with a horrendous crunching sound followed by the clatter of metal as the machete drops from his hands and the screams of pain when he falls to the floor clutching at his obliterated leg. Before anyone can process what had happened, the shotgun had now been wrenched free of the frozen man's hand and the man who had previously been holding a tire iron had advanced significantly towards the group and rang off the first of the weapon's two barrels, unleashing a spread of double ought buckshot into Vittoria's chest. While this did not significantly wound Vivi it was rather painful for a young kindred who had not been desensitized to pain yet and mixing the very real pain she felt with a bit of play acting she dropped to the floor in an attempt to uphold the Masquerade. Joseph was now running towards the man now holding the shotgun with the intent to tackle and disarm him as Kamila noticed the man who had been immobilized by Joseph's Dominate was beginning to regain control. Kamila pulled a handgun from her bag and aimed it at his lower leg so as to prevent him from trying any funny business and Joseph's tackle connected with staggering force into the shotgun-wielder. As a result of all the vitae that had been expended during the night's sequence of events Joseph's beast was particularly ravenous and he applied much more strength to the tackle than he had meant to, dislocating the biker's shoulder as he fell to the floor. Kamila kicked away the machete that lay at the ground next to the man with the pulverized leg and began fashioning a tourniquet for him out of the man's shirt while Vittoria held Kamila's gun on the uninjured man with his hands in the air. Using Mesmerize Joseph implanted a thought into the head of the man he was now on top of that he wanted to tell Joseph exactly what he asked, Joseph's beast even making him press his knee into the dislocated shoulder of Ron, as his name turned out to be. Joseph, barely able to contain himself, asked Ron who had sent them here and why, to which Ron replied that Big Brad and "the porno guy" had a deal and that they were just supposed to be easy marks. He would go on to explain that Big Brad is the leader of the Midnight Animals Motorcycle Club but that he didn't know the real identity of the porno guy and that they were just supposed to come and rob them and to start blasting if anything funny happens because it would be money for nothing. Getting ready to leave, Kamila asked if she should call an ambulance for the three of them but in the interest of not having shotguns and machetes lying around when the authorities arrive Dusty, the only one still unharmed, declined her offer and said that he would handle it himself.

### Act III

It was fairly busy at Elysium by the time the coterie made it to the Chinese Theatre. The three of them could very clearly hear what seemed to be a half-argument and weaved through the crowd to see Charlotte Devereux, this Elysium's Keeper, arguing with a man they hadn't seen before who appeared to have blood seeping out of a wound on his head. It was clear from what was being said that Charlotte wanted the man to leave as he was being an irritant and the man himself, who identified himself as Trick Wicked, seemed disoriented and claimed to be the greatest BMX stuntman in the world who was looking for his BMX at the Elysium. Charlotte noticed the coterie standing nearby and hurried over to them, explaining that she knew they were here to see Harland but that he was busy right now and if they could help her with a couple of things while they're waiting then she could put a good word in with him for them. The first thing that she wanted help with was of course getting Trick to leave Elysium without having to resort to force. After a very cyclical conversation with him involving a lot of "Ha-haaaah!"s and "I'm standing here!"s they were able to come to the conclusion that he had been riding his BMX around outside before somehow crashing, becoming confused and entering the Elysium. Kamila even whispered to Joseph that he seemed to be "permanently brain damaged" referring, rather cruelly, to his Malkavian lineage. Vittoria on the other hand thought that Trick was hilarious although was less than pleased to see Charlotte whom she has one-sidedly not gotten along well with in the past.

Heading out into a small enclosed loading area and yard outside the four of them began scouring the grounds for traces of Trick's BMX. Coming back together unable to find even a trace of anything, Joseph directed his gaze upwards and had to go find Kamila to verify what he thought he had just seen. She concurred with him -- that there was somehow a very faint tire track high up near the top of the building's side. They all came to the conclusion that Trick must have done a stunt so wicked that his bike somehow ended up on the roof of the building and then fell from the roof himself, earning the wound on his head that still wept blood. This revelation was enough to elicit a new phrase from Trick, who said that he was "calculating a possible trajectory onto the roof here!". When questioned as to how he planned to get onto the roof he simply replied "bike" before being reminded that his BMX was on the roof and that was the entire issue at hand. His face dropped as a brief moment of clarity washed over him before he turned back into his usual catchphrase-yelling self. Joseph volunteered to climb up the wall, having the best dexterity of anyone in the coterie and seeing a number of usable hand and footholds on the side of the building. With very little effort he was able to make it all the way up to the top where he quickly found Trick's BMX and wondered to himself how he could get the thing off the roof now. Trick began to yell for Joseph to ride the BMX off the edge of the building and for him to do a trick. Surprisingly Joseph actually began to assess the distance to the ground, glancing at the BMX and weighing up his options. Kamila was yelling back for Joseph not to do it because it was unsafe, but Trick just shouted over her even more telling Joseph not to listen to her. Before anyone knew it Joseph had mounted the BMX and sailed over the precipice, attempting to backflip in the process. It became clear to Joseph in his descent that he had not quite given himself enough backspin coming off the edge of the roof and that if he kept his current trajectory he would slam headfirst into the ground. Making a split-second decision he let go of the bike with his legs while still holding onto the handlebars, using the weight of the BMX swinging outwards to correct the spin and land, albeit painfully, on his own two feet on the ground. Having nailed the landing both Trick and Vittoria began applauding Joseph while Kamila just stared at him. He had hurt his legs a little bit, but it was nothing that couldn't be healed off fairly quickly. Trick mounted his BMX while Kamila lectured Joseph for doing something dangerous and potentially Masquerade-breaking, but Trick simply asked him if, in that moment, he felt more alive than he ever had before. Joseph told him that he understood what Trick meant, and Trick told him that he now knew what it truly means to be wicked. He continued by saying that he was indebted to them, and that if they were ever in trouble they need only call the name 'Trick Wicked' into the night and he'll come to their aid with an entrance to remember. At the end of his little speech he uttered the words "Now watch *this*!", cycling over to the eight-and-a-half feet high walls that enclosed the yard and bunny hopping completely over the wall while laughing like a madman. Joseph thought a little to himself, truly believing in the words that Trick had just spoken to him.

With that out of the way the coterie, tired and very hungry from the nights previous events, asked Charlotte if it was possible for them to get something to drink now as they'd done what she asked for. Charlotte, however, asked them to help her quickly with just one more thing and after that she'd be able to get them something. All she needed was for them to back her up and stand quietly behind her when she asked a guest at the Elysium to leave as he'd been making people uncomfortable all night. Despite feeling a little let down that they weren't able to feed yet, they still went along to help Charlotte so that they could get to feeding as soon as possible since it would be bad etiquette both to appear hungry before the Baron but also to make the Baron wait so you could feed. Heading through to the seated lounge and over to the table in the furthest corner the coterie see a tall, thin man rise from his seat to greet them. Charlotte confronted him, asking what he was doing at the Elysium and that he was making other guests uncomfortable. He explained that he was just travelling through Hollywood and visited out of courtesy for the Baron and other kindred. He then went on to introduce himself to the four of them, saying that his name was Dietrich but that that could call him Dieter and asked them for their names. Although hesitant the coterie did introduce themselves. The thin man grinned and told Charlotte that he assumed she had something official to say to him and she recited the formal request for him to leave the Elysium. He took a few steps towards the four of them, his intentions unclear, and Kamila reflexively took a step back. Grinning to himself a little, he straightened his coat, bowed his head, and left the Elysium. Charlotte thanked the coterie for their support and directed them to a place where they could find "refreshments", heading out to see if Harland was ready for them. After the three fed quickly to take the edge off she returned to confirm that the Baron would see them now.

### Act IV

The inside of Harland MacArthur's office was a brand new experience for both Kamila and Vittoria and perhaps even a shock to their systems. With all the posters advertising different pornographic movies from the HMA Studios line and the desk supported not by legs but sculptures of women laying in compromising positions they were thrown off, but with the added hot pink mood lighting and the slightly warm and uncomfortably humid atmosphere in the room it was as if the entire purpose of this space was to throw anyone who was not Harland MacArthur entirely off their guards and it seems to work fairly well. The Baron bid them to sit on a worn-looking black leather couch in the corner of the room as he perched himself cross-legged on his desk to face them. He started off by telling them that he knew why they had come here, with the intent to ask him about an incident that had happened outside his Elysium a couple of weeks prior to this meeting. Continuing, he told them that the only reason he agreed to meet with them in the first place was because Rodriguez had made the request of him and that he was initially going to just give the three of them the run-around and not tell them anything of real use. He clarified, though, that because Charlotte vouched for them and said that they were good people just trying to work something out he would try to help for real but he impressed upon them that there were details he could not go into for obvious political reasons and possible conflicts of interest. They went over a lot of different subjects which Harland continuously shot down as not being able to talk about and it seemed like the only thing they had really gleaned from this conversation was confirming that there was an incident two weeks ago outside the Chinese Theatre which had been treated as a standalone incident for which a suspect was apprehended and questioned but was released. When Joseph pressed on that issue and asked more about the suspect and why he was released, Harland very patronizingly made Joseph answer basic questions like what one plus one is and then lead him through a series of similar questions to get the coterie to understand that the suspect was released because another, similar incident had taken place elsewhere which exonerated the suspect in custody.

Realizing that they weren't going to get anywhere with him by offering a carrot, they were going to have to use the stick. Their first attempt was Kamila almost threateningly asking what Harland thought Rodriguez would do if they went back to him empty handed. Harland was unshaken by this entirely, responding: "Maybe he'll cry? Or he might punch a hole in his wall or something". Doubling down, Kamila said that if they didn't find anything tonight then they'd end up having to come back day by day and might end up becoming a nuisance for him, this blew up in her face entirely when Harland became visibly angry with her and asked who she thinks she's talking to. He restated the difference between the coterie and himself, claiming that he could have them staked and left for the sun if he wanted to and so they better show him some respect, calling Kamila a bitch and telling her that he doesn't want to hear another word pass her lips. She shrunk into herself a little bit and remained silent for Joseph to speak up. He brought up the fact that they had been jumped earlier in the night with some bikers attempting to steal from them. Harland commented that he had heard something along those lines happened, that he was sorry and that he was looking into how something like that could happen in his territory. Joseph continued, explaining that he was able to squeeze some information out of the bikers after their attack failed, and that they mentioned a deal being struck between "the porno guy" and someone named Big Brad. At the mention of the name Big Brad, Harland visibly froze up a little bit and suggested that people can only hold so many memories in their head and the name Big Brad is so boring, so if he told them some more interesting things worth remembering perhaps they'd forget about the name Big Brad. The coterie agreed, and Harland explained a little deeper what he had learned.

It turned out that the incident that had happened to cause Harland to free the suspect for the Chinese Theatre diablerie was not the incident at the Million Dollar Theatre, but a separate incident entirely that took place in Orange County at the Stage Door Repertory Theatre. He explained, in a series of hypotheticals, that if he had sent someone over to investigate what happened down there as a proxy (since there are a lot of kindred political issues surrounding Orange County and Anaheim and its "Baron", J. R. Jefferson) then he might have struck a deal for information that prevented him from speaking about what he had learned and that of course he was a man of his word so must stick by this agreement. Harland also went on to say that, hypothetically, if an incident had happened in Anaheim then it was a lot stronger of a case to build on and research than any of the others that had come before it and the evidence was better kept and more plentiful. The coterie were beginning to understand the options presented before them and Harland himself made it quite clear: he said that Rodriguez would never let them go to Anaheim themselves because it would be far too dangerous and also politically risky, but also that Harland would be willing to smuggle the three of them into the so-called eleventh Barony if they wanted, as he felt like he owed them something, but that they needed to decided right here, right now. The three of them discussed their options, with Joseph and Vittoria both in agreement that they should go to Anaheim because if they didn't it was inevitable that the diablerist would strike again and it could be someone they know even. Kamila, on the other hand, was worried for the safety of the three of them and almost willing to sacrifice another person that they might not know to keep the coterie safe but after a discussion the three were in somewhat of an agreement: tomorrow night, they were going to travel to Anaheim.

## Trivia

* This episode gets its title from the nickname given to Harland MacArthur, and takes place in-universe on Sunday, October 30th 2022, in hours just after midnight.
* The Midnight Animals Motorcycle Club is introduced in this episode.

## Memorable Quotes

"*By the crack-snap cracking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. Well, well, well… Here we have the three children of the moment, come so far to visit my good self? So far out of their comfort zones where not Nines, not Hearst, not the Prince of fucking Glass have any influence, hmm? And did you bring my money?*"
―"Gorgeous Gary" Golden[src]

"*Let me tell you something... And this is the one thing I will tell you about [the serial diableries]. Edgar Hearst himself would not be able to pay me enough to get involved with that case.*"
―"Gorgeous Gary" Golden[src]

"*On the authority of the Baron of Hollywood, Harland MacArthur, I am asking you to leave Elysium this night.*"
―Charlotte Devereux, to the Thin Man[src]
"*You know where you are. You know who I am. If you ever have the gall to say something like that again, I'll have you staked and left for the sun, you stupid bitch.*"
―Harland MacArthur, to Kamila Mansouri[src]