2024.04.12: The matter of the Riverwalk

A tall, well-dressed man walks into the offices of Gordon Industries and walks up to the receptionist. He introduces himself "Good evening. Marcus Antoninus, here to see Caius Gordon. I do not have an appointment, but I expect he'll want to see me." He places a plain white business card on the table, it reads "Executive Outcomes - Security Services" with a phone number.

The receptionist, an exemplar of the breed if there ever was one, picks up the card and studies it for a few moments. Then the gentleman in front of her is given the same stonefaced consideration. Finally, the keyboard of her laptop is tapped at for several interminable minutes. There is just enough sound between the click of nails on plastic and exactly the number of people present breathing to make the wait vaguely uncomfortable. The HVAC is noiseless or turned off. No elevators chime. The security personnel barely shift position.

Probably all ghouls?

Marcus gives the receptionist a quiet cock-eyed glance (he is clearly unimpressed with her) and pulls out his phone and dancing his fingers across the touch screen for a few moments.

If the receptionist is looking at him, she would see him stop typing for a moment and scroll, before resuming what he was doing.

A short time later, Caius will receive a text message from his receptionist's mobile - "There is a Mr. Antoninus in the lobby to see you. He says it's urgent." as Marcus takes a seat in the reception area and smiles.

The text elicits a response...but perhaps not the response expected. Instead of a adult, what appears to be a twelve-year-old boy shows himself into the lobby. There is a bit of a prep school air to him, helped along by the logoed polo shirt and dark dress trousers.

Marcus rises from his seat, and strides towards the figure entering the lobby. He appears unsurprised at his child-like appearance. "Mr. Gordon?"

"Mister Shaw, actually. Steven." A wide, disarming grin, followed by a hand stuck out for a handshake. "That was quite clever, with the phones. Nancy never texts, so you gave yourself away."

"Mr. Shaw, my apologies." Marcus extends his hand to shake. His grip is dry and firm, and he never breaks eye contact with Shaw. A small smile crosses his face. "I found that when looking discussing work, a harmless demonstration of my skills is far more useful than a strictly theoretical discussion."

"Doris Valeria was quite thorough in her report on your skills." The young man folds his hands behind his back, echoing someone else's body language slightly. He makes the Toreador woman's name sound very matronly, as if he is referring to some late Byzantine noblewoman.

Another smile. "Even so." He stands at ease. "She had also indicated that Mr. Gordon might be able to use some assistance with a problem in Riverwalk."

"Oh. Right." A pause. "Let me show you up and make introductions." There is a New Englander edge to the boy's tone and inflection, that sharp nasal quality that America fell in love with in the Sixties.

He nods slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Shaw."

The young man makes his way to the elevator.  Once the doors hiss shut, he asks, "Did you -really- come all this way just because she asked you to? What's the catch?"

Marcus smiles. "I don't work for free." He says it simply. "Besides, I'm new, and expect to stay a while. I've always seen the value in having friends in high places. No reason for a new city to give me a new outlook on life."

The rest of the short ride is taken mostly in silence, the other Kindred contemplating the wordy non-answer.  Just before the doors swish open, Steven very clearly sizes up the significantly larger Kindred. At this range, the logo on the polo shirt is corporate, not academic, the device matching the insignia on the feral Scourge's armor. "Caius Marcellus is a businessman, not a warrior."

Ding.

The doors slide open.

A smile for Steven, he offers a friendly handshake. "Thank you." Sincerely. "I'm sure we'll see each other again."

"Undoubtedly. Every week, in fact." The other Kindred engages in handshakes but does not exit the elevator.

Marcus passes Steven a card, and steps off the elevator towards Caius Gordon's office. "Until then." He nods, and knocks on the door

The door, and the hallway that contains it, are tastefully understated in their elegance. Whoever had been put in charge of decorating the building has chosen well, fusing vintage grace with a clean modern aesthetic that somehow makes all the chrome and polished glass seem less impersonal and industrial. There is, however, the obligatory jack-in-the-pulpit on a side table between the two elevators.

The sound of one-sided conversation hushes as Marcus Antoninus knocks. "Enter."

Marcus opens the door, and enters the office, swiftly glancing left and right, surveying the room, before standing at ease before Caius Gordon.

The office transitions from the art deco/industrial modern fusion to fully modern. Everything is very organized. Tidy. The sort of desk that is clean because ruthless efficiency ensures there is never really any work the man standing behind it needs to do.

Caius Marcellus Gordon is distinctly Roman in features and bearing, a sharp contrast to the tall, black Irish/Norman French hybrid that is Gordon the Elder.  He radiates competence and precision. Even his pocket square is almost fussily neat in the way it is folded.

"So. You want to help with the Riverwalk." No introductions. No preamble. None of the easy charm of his sire. A Ventrue's Ventrue. He sounds like a slightly British version of classic New Jersey.

In deference to the Kindred rules of decorum, Marcus' eyes never leave those of Gordon. "I've been informed that you need help with the Riverwalk, Mr. Gordon." The voice is still smooth, but the tone is direct and to the point.

"Steven mentioned the dilettante sent for you." There is no disguising the overtones of several rivalries in the statement.

"She informed me that you were looking for assistance, yes." His tone does not change. "I specialize in offensive and defensive infiltration and information security. Doris Valeria was vague about the particulars of your requirements." He pauses, waiting for the other Ventrue to fill in the blanks.

"That might be useful. The Sabbat need watched. She thinks they can be reasoned with, that ancient agreements can be leveraged." Disdain. "The Prince wants them contained at worst, removed at best."

"Containment or removal of the Sabbat pack from the Riverwalk district." Marcus muses. He walks towards the desk, "Mr. Gordon, I presume you've a file on the problem?"

His voice is no-nonsense and professional, and he is clearly looking to get into the problem quickly.

A file is withdrawn from a drawer in the desk and pushed across the uncannily clean surface.

Marcus opens the file and begins to swiftly scan its contents, pausing occasionally to ask for detail on some small issue.

"RIVERWALK DISTRICT: VENTRUE ASSET RANK 4"

The Riverwalk is a dedicated Kine 'cultural center' for dining, hotels, and various tourism industries. Winding paths, high levels of security, and gleaming streets laced with neon make this a veritable wonderland for the millennial clientele. An estimated population of 5,000 residents with over 75,000 visitors daily, this is perhaps the most actively traveled territory in the whole of New Albion. The iconic 'Riverwalk" is, somewhat ironically, a fabricated artificial river that flows adjacent to the actual River. Fish, colorful artificial plants, and roaming gondolas keep the Kine distracted and constantly returning. Gordon Industries owns 65.8% of the assets on the Riverwalk, and the Kine police force is operating under a Ghoul, one Thomas Paine. Captain Paine is, perhaps ironically, a kind and genuine man. His domitor is Caius Gordon. The Crime rate is virtually non-existent, to help promote tourism. However, a series of festivals are set over the next six months ripe for media attention... And thus, Sabbat Intervention. See below."

"There is a rumored pack of 4 Sabbat that have infiltrated the area but have not yet made themselves apparent. Early composition predictions expect this a pack operating under Lasombra Orders, and as such likely will have at least one Lasombra. Given the proclivity of Sabbat in the area to maintain cover given overwhelming Camarilla superiority north of the RIver, it is doubtful they would employ physically disruptive kindred. This discounts Nosferatu, Assamites, Tzimice, and various offshoot bloodlines. Smart money is on them fielding candidates capable of manipulating Kine and then, when their cover is blown, causing a large and spectacular masquerade breach. Finding them and removing them discreetly is superior to a large-scale assault. They are likely in the infiltration stage, and as such are presumably frequenting bars and social spots looking for people to Ghoul and gathering information on Kindred in the area. These Kindred are unlikely to be of a higher generation, as this is presumably a suicide mission striking so close to Gordon Tower. Expect young, ambitious Kindred either to proud or to stupid to realize what they have been tasked with."

"Assets: The security grid, the Cameras, and the power supply of the District are under our control. We can easily shut them on or off at will. The Police in the area belong to us and will arrest people we require if they have appropriate proof. The biggest liability is the sheer number of changing faces the district sees on a daily basis, making shadowing and identifying assets harder."

NOTE FROM GORDON: "The Riverwalk is what keeps the general American public talking about us. We lose that, or even offer the pretext it's not safe... We suffer a crippling loss. Caius, not not fail me here."

<END OF REPORT>

Marcus finishes reading the report, and looks at Caius, a plan already formulating in his head. "I have a few questions, Mr. Gordon, if you don't mind."

"Of course," he replies, without hesitation.

"Firstly, what is our effective time-frame? If there are festivals on-going over a six-month period, we want to have this wrapped up at the front end, not at the back of that time frame. Second - if there are infiltrators in the neighbourhood, where are they feeding? If we can impose a feeding restriction on the neighbourhood for our people, we can isolate any observed disturbances and use the cameras to trace movement. Third - are there any parts of the neighbourhood not under observation? Lastly - I presume that you have someone on staff who can identify Kindred or ghouls from Kine. Will I be able to use their services in this endeavour?"

His tone is polite, but all business.

Caius frowns and leans back in his chair, considering the questions. "Ideally? Two weeks, at the most. Our first festival is in Three weeks, some sort of art affair. Ask the Toreador for more if such a thing strikes your fancy." He waves his hand. "The media won't truly come in force until the Multicultural festival. My esteemed Sire has arranged all manner of people to be present from across the globe, and it is far to big a target to miss. That is in a month and a half, approximately." he nods slowly. "We believe they are feeding off tourists, and we are watching for missing persons reports. We have had no such leads pop up as of yet, which tells me they are catching and releasing. They don't want us to know they are here."

He idly mulls for a moment. "We can easily place a feeding restriction, as only a few Ventrue call the area home. We'll have them utilize my Herd here in the meantime, assuming you can deliver swift results. I don't intend to suffocate our own people from their natural sustenance without due cause." He gestures to the file, revealing a list of names beneath the report. "A fixer named Mr. Rooke. He's a Ghoul, under Prince himself. He knows every ghoul in the city. Vietnam Veteran, and a somewhat approachable fellow. He is based out of a series of Apartments, one in each district. He effectively is the Ghoul's 'representative' if you really must think of them in that way." he smirks at the mere idea. "But he'll help you. He's a true Soldier."

Marcus nods. "Perfect. Though perhaps I was not clear with my last question. We believe that the Sabbat infiltrators are making ghouls in the Riverwalk. We can, of course, move our ghouls elsewhere, which means that any ghouls remaining within the Riverwalk become suspect - if we have a means of differentiating ghouls from the rest of the Kine on sight."

Caius nods, understanding the implication. "Ah. Forgive me." he leans forward. "The Ghouls need to stay. They run far, far too many essential operations." he frowns for a moment, in consideration. "Actually, I've recently heard a detective came into the city. If they have Auspex, that may be of use to you. If not them, the Toreador and Malkavian Clans both sport many people with the talent, and they both owe me various favors." he nods. "Say you're doing it for me, and they will take the favor on me rather than on you. Ventrue cannot begin their ascent in a city in debt, no?" he smiles warmly, as if it was a fellow frat brother.

"That will work perfectly, thank you." Marcus considers for a moment. "The only other question I have - are there any parts of the Riverwalk district that are not covered with cameras? Also, I will need access to the control centre for the observation of the area - were I seeking to infiltrate the district, the first thing I would do is change what we see through the cameras. I need to verify that the cameras have not been tampered with."

Caius pauses for consideration. "Well, I suppose the various bridges are not being watched from underneath, the alleys have cameras, but as you can imagine there are various blind spots. The security hub for the district is placed near the center plaza." he points to it on a map. NEW ALBION PD. "It's based on the second floor down from the basement. Nosferatu come and go occasionally, hence it's accessibility from the sewer line. You, however, need only to flash your new credentials and you'll be politely escorted in." he opens a drawer, and slides it across. "Congratulations, Tony Marco, on your recent promotion to NAPD's Security Advisor." he seems terribly amused at a clearly half-thought play on his name. "This identification will only work in the Riverwalk, and even then, is not much of an alternative to simply being yourself. Don't leave a large trail. Go in, do your investigation, and get out. It won't scan appropriately if you are detained."

Marcus nods, and accepts the ID badge. "Thank you, Mr. Gordon. I believe that the NAPD will be my first stop - I should be able to verify the camera network in an evening. If I find evidence of tampering, I will let you know, and we can proceed from there."

Caius nods. "Understood." he gestures to a map of the city on the right. "If you find them, Mr. Antoninus, and remove the problem... I will reward you as fitting a stellar new member of our community." what happens upon failure, naturally, goes unsaid. "Additionally, I will be expecting you for our Board meeting. The Prince will certainly be happy to hear of your initiative."

Marcus pulls his phone from his pocket before looking up. "I need the time and location, and I will be there."

Caius smirks at that. "Ah, assume unless specified otherwise, that all Ventrue business is conducted in Gordon Tower. Specifically, the Penthouse Suite. It will be just before the general Primogen meeting. We will resume our normal scheduling soon enough."

A nod "I'll be there." Marcus extends his hand toward Caius "Thank you, Mr. Gordon."

He nods and returns to his computer. "I will be watching your career with great interest." he assures him, all the dismissal he requires.