Mayday Plays - Vegas By Night | Episode 29, "Ride The Bus" | Vampire: The Masquerade

Episode Date: April 29, 2025

The Ngen have some debts to settle and unfinished business to confront. It's time to face Lazlo, their Toreador benefactor, who risked everything by lying on their behalf, claiming their innocence in the Silver Dollar heist. Meanwhile, Raguel uncovers the dead drop Bugsy promised, and the coterie stokes the flames of their ongoing proxy war with the Hekata. CAST Amanda as Jackie Santana (Banu Hakim) Eli as Niles (Caitiff) Lev as Mal (Lasombra) Zakiya as Sybil Geier (Gangrel) Sergio as John Burrows (Ravnos) Vince as Raguel (Salubri) Caleb Miller as The Storyteller

I don't know. Good morning, Kindred, and welcome back to Vegas by Night, Mayday Roleplays, Vampire the Masquerade Chronicle. After a successful heist, it's time that our cutery, the NGen, started focusing on new heights and you're all here for these new exercises and hubris. If you're not familiar with Season 1 of Vegas by Night, don't fear, you can still check us out on all major platforms. You can find us on YouTube, Twitch, VOD, Spotify, and Apple podcasts.

And while you're there, please consider writing us a five-star review. It's one of the most proven ways to help the channel grow. Or you can always consider joining the Discord. The Discord is active daily, full of some of the most amazing listeners and all of us and it's available to available to you at any level of support with access to our patreon discord you can also gain access to our community ran games featuring members of mayday joining today also gives you access as well to the wonderful world of wild sea a hex crawl adventure set in the system of the same name and ran by sergio across the entirety of our server join a hex crawl adventure set in the system of the same name and ran by Sergio across

the entirety of our server. Join a growing band of wild sailors as they cut a new path through the canopies of a new world past apocalypse. We also want to inform you now to keep a lookout for a month from, well not quite a month from now, a week from now, May 1st, when a little something special will be coming your way from the May Day family. We'd like to give a shout out as well to our handler level Patreon contributors. It's because of their involvement in our content that we can begin thinking of all the big ways we want to impress you in the coming years. A special thanks to Advanced Wars Sammy, Bimblewart, Brandon C, Cameron S, Jonathan M, Kirby's Double,

Matthew J, Moira, OJPan, REV, Ren, Tony D, Vince K, and Kai H. Please be advised that there may be violent themes, plenty of adult language, and the exploration of darker subjects, including depictions of human trafficking, abstract horror, religious trauma, biomechanical horror, and Hunter v. Prey. Mayday Roleplay employs safety tools at the table to prepare ourselves for the above, but you may need different accommodations to best help yourself. Please take care of yourself and be aware.

Let's get started. Humanity was cursed, and the Gangrel have used this curse to bring about a new age of Predator. Locking each other in duels of dominance at the first sight of an unfamiliar feral, competing in bloodsport boasts of superiority in the name of Anoya, combating with competing claims until one fails to back theirs up, the animals will take any opportunity to mark territory.

Now independent in these nights, after the single whisper of Xavior before the Inner Circle, the clan has become even more reclusive. Trapdoor spiders in their nests awaiting the first sign of intruder before the strike. The nomads keep a steady distance from even their closest confidants, and while clan binds the tribe together, rarely are they ever met in the same room. Save for the Gather. An ancient ritual in the everlasting daughters of Enoaia, dating back to the days past Enoch when the Washene huddled by fires to share stories and plan hunts.

The Gather calls for matters of importance among every gangrel within the tribe and speaks to the waves that shake their bow. Local and lost animals alike are invited to open plenum, beginning with the rite of status, a vicious test to decide who speaks as leader within the circle. Settled across days, only one wolf sits in the center at the end. Then and only then can the discussion of their world be center at the end. Then, and only then, can the discussion of their world be brought to the tribe. And by the seventh day, an ending is brought swiftly. In days past, a ritual of even more importance, the Great Gather, has been called in times

of burning strife. When Gehenna has been at doorstep, great Gengrel elders have called for every animal who can arrive to arrive. A massive congregation of the pack and its dealings, all told from the maw of one of the last of their ancient world, all containing the same rites of proving, devoid of any restriction to the sands of time. They will fight for years if they must. We will reduce ourselves to the basest forms of our being. We will erode the gray matter behind our eyes

until the mess makes nest for pecking birds. Until our bodies have broken and gnarled into hooves and talons, we will debase ourselves out of recognition until the parts of us who dared stand on two feet fall crumpled to the ground. We will musk the air with what is ours and shit where we eat to prove we decide it. We will sniff out the prey of the world and take teeth to their necks. We will kill our darlings.

Welcome to Vegas by night. I'm going to be a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a

little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a I couldn't think of anything! Listen, clearly we're missing Lev's energy here. Because the words I'm hearing before this starts, it's insane. I think we're okay. Okay, but you know what? Here is the upside of us being down one person.

This means that our introduction of the cast is going to be perfect, right? Here we go. Let's introduce our cast. My name is Caleb James Miller. I'll be your storyteller tonight. Hi, I'm Amanda and I play Jackie. Hey, I'm Eli and I'm playing Niles Ames. I'm Sergio and I'm playing Burrows. Hey, I'm Vince and I'm playing Rogel and I'm Zekia and I play Sybil. Let's go. There we go. Yeah. I was a little nervous. There was

some hesitation there. Yeah, we were kind of light-footed on that one, but you know what? We did it. We're here. Okay. Perfect. We have a recap from Sybil this week. Okay.

CEO slash COO log, Chapter 5, Session 3. Okay. It's never easy to admit that you've made a mistake. And all this time, I've tried to be prepared, I've tried to predict where the danger is coming from and deal with it, not because of some ridiculous commitment to doing good. I mean, we can do amazing things, but we're not superheroes. And I mean, I'll admit, Prince, that I too consider myself a leader of the masses. And it's important to have some standards, like a code, like the traditions. For example, the Masquerade. Like a code, like the traditions. For example, the Masquerade.

We've excelled at hiding the existence of vampires. Very well, almost perfectly. The Domain, we've respected everyone's territory and stayed off the strip the whole time. Progeny, no one in the engine has sired anyone or even attempted to, ever. Accountability. As children, we've only shown the greatest respect to all of our sires. Destruction. We've never called on a blood hunt, and we have properly and Uh, hospitality? Well, if I'm being honest, we don't, we don't have, we, we haven't, we have a space.

Is it perfect? No. Have we made an office meeting room in the club yet? No. Even though that's a war room, and that's on me, that's on me, there should be a workspace where people feel like they can socialize and plan and there should be like a Kanban chart on the wall, there should be a whiteboard, that's on me. Everything else in the traditions, we've upheld perfectly. This cannot be the speech. This can't be the Elysium speech. Okay, okay. We'll do a truth pass. We'll do a truth pass, see what we left out. So we are actively wrapping up a conspiracy to put the Putin-eskas in hot water for what went down at the club.

I am using rats and snakes to dump a body, and that is a bit of a time sink, but that's fine. We're investigating a site that even the Nosferatu are too afraid to visit to access a dev kit that we're not supposed to even act like exists. RIP Shrek Net. Secrets. Masquerade. Still doing good. Circling back to the conspiracy, we're also all doing this to get access to the Bootneska bank accounts.

Shout out to Bugsy. That's my boy. Meshka Bank accounts. Shout out to Bugsy. That's my boy. Mal has also been seeing little shadow children for a while, I guess, and that's also fine. It's a networking opportunity. They've been invited to something at the Secular Organization for Sobriety. SOS. Sounds like a creep fest to me. But we move on. We move on. We're just going to skip over the fact that my sire has had some part to play in what's going on in the Red Rocks and potentially the end of the world and what's going on under Lake Mead. We're going to skip over that. And the fact that that was all revealed to me in a revelation in my office with Regal that needed

to be shirtless at the time. It was actually quite relevant, but skip, skip. We're also going to skip over the fact that I haven't found the blood doll in the VHS tape left by my sire, Teresa, tying her to the Venture Lucius who we just robbed. Skipping that and that I need to find her so I can kill her. We're skipping that. Still respectful to the sire's progeny. Actually, you know what? I'm going to make a note. I need to remind F to remind me to send F a gift because he's been doing really well and there's too much going on. Maybe I'll just throw him some cash. Shrek.net dev kit, we already hit that.

We're possession of a book that might show us how Golconda works, which is fine too. You know, I'm not really a religious person, but if you've ever been friends with a Christian, you just kind of hope that they get what they want. Whatever that means for them. That's kind of where we're at with that. So, looking at these, all of these are actually some sort of crime. Whatever that means for them. That's kind of where we're at with that. So

Looking at these all of these are actually some sort of crime and then the mortal world and and in ours so Cut cut the truth pass cut the speech. I'm just gonna grovel That's my plan. My legion plan is to grovel and it works every time great and end of log. Beautiful. Okay. With that, have we made any changes to our character sheets since we last saw each other that we would like to declare publicly or keep to ourselves? The only thing that Burrows changed was I publicly or keep to ourselves.

The thing that Burrows changed was I added a dot to stealth because he's been doing a lot of failed stealth roles lately. I added some dots to Mala just to reflect Raegel's relationship with Mokur. I figured it was about time to put that in the rules somehow. Perfect. All right. Well then, I believe we can begin. We take ourselves back to the same night that we met all in the

emptied war room below Club Kanan, where Chardonnay had just been escorted out of the room. And a long healthy discussion among friends has been made in an effort to decide next The last we saw was the receiving of a text to Burroughs' phone directly from Ladislav, informing them that we all need to speak as soon as possible to clear up debts, to settle the table. He made clear in that text message to you burrows following the request to meet that it be done at his location in the circulatory system underneath the stratosphere rather than Elysium, which does strike you as strange. Typically, these things are done out in the open to guarantee safety, but it's clear that he is making a direct request.

Burrows closes his Nokia flip phone and looks up at the group and says, I think it's time to pay old slow a visit. Tonight? Not as well. We should. Yeah. You, uh, do you get any Boogie feelings there Bruce Well, I mean it is strange. We're not meeting at Elysium, but I don't know maybe he's got to tell us something secret or it's

You know, we we did do something that he's aware of probably wants to yell at us for help fucking loud it was Well, let's not keep him with you shall we Yeah. Well, let's not keep him with you, shall we? Burles will get up and walk out to the club. That book, the book that would like to scour. I'm going to go ahead. I'm assuming especially down where we're at. I'm going to put it in like any kind of secured safe, anything like that, where we could just leave that in the club.

Okay, so you're hiding the book downstairs underneath Club Canaan and anywhere that's safe? Mm hmm. Like if we have it, I'm assuming either a safe for any funds, budget or anything. Yeah, I assume. I mean, you guys are a small business. You gotta have some kind of safe in there. Sure, we'll say that you lock up your book. Who actually has the dots for Haven?

Is it all the way back on the Kingsters? No, hold on. Does anyone have dots in Haven for Club Canaan? Okay, so we're going to give you a progressive one dot, because I know at one point the Kingsters absolutely did. Oh, we definitely did. We're going to give that to Sybil. Sybil, you can add one dot of Haven

for Club Canaan to your sheet. Now, Amanda, or rather Jackie, Jackie, could you roll for me a wits plus one dot of your Haven to see how well guarded this hiding of the book is. Okay. I got two successes. Two successes.

Yeah. Okay. I'm going to note that here and we will keep moving. Perfect. So the book is inside of a safe on that lower level of Club Canaan in the frigid cold that is given off in the space as the two bodies on ice and on drip still sit on those cold medical slabs in that refrigerated room that opens up into the same you're standing in now, you find a safe, you roll it back and hide that book in amongst the short change that is left over from opening the bar itself. Locked behind.

It seems safe enough, Jackie. Ooh, no. Damn it. We didn't have time to do this. I'm like, can we drop this sucker? Because now you got me paranoid. Can you do blood magic or something on it? Yeah, that's what I could. I want to do blood magic to basically kind of read it. I can use blood for basically like imagine like a download, if you will, but it does

take some time. So I mean, how much time are you talking? will, but it does take some time. So. I mean, how much time are you talking? Because we can we have all night to see slow, I think. That oh my gosh. He's a makes a round check intelligence and blood source for difficulty. It's a difficulty set by the storyteller. Yeah. Knowledge sorts and printing, basically. It's at the discretion and difficulty of the storyteller. So yeah, actually, if you're okay with it.

I am, yeah. So I decide the role for you as well. Yes. Okay. Yeah, go ahead and give me an intelligence plus blood sorcery and I'll keep the difficulty to myself Okay, I don't like that and I get one more okay, I do have I got four successes okay and do I have to give you any information on success well what do I owe you okay if information has been supernaturally

concealed difficulty yes time spent Basically, I get for I get information Information is found or as long Search comes up short whichever comes first so The not if the knowledge is yeah, basically It for you. It just says how long it takes for me to solve this. Uh, I would say that if you can spend an hour here, I can give you information. I will spend an hour here. OK. And just so everyone could see what it would look like, it is basically you are

seeing Jackie take out like you're seeing a little bit of like blood, ash, almost kind of just spinning around on and you'll see me kind of you'll see Jackie kind of sprinkling around the book and even put their hand on top of the book kind of an aware like an almost in a meditative glance or maybe even the eyes kind of go a little roll into the back of their head. Like they're actually reading it in a way. The acrid smoke of this ash as it begins to almost fill the room, like a fuming smoke, like dying embers.

The smell in this room as Burroughs is filled out into the top of the bar there, waiting for the others to follow. There is a long movement here of the ritual components as they fill the room. There's no windows on the bottom floor, meaning that down here becomes this incensed, shadowed, fogged space as Jackie begins this work. Jackie, I will allow you two questions that feed into your mind in order to gain this information. Okay. What is Jackie thinking? What is Jackie searching for in terms of answers?

Please. I believe... Basically, Jackie's recalling possibly what her Ry-Gal would have mentioned and is trying, Ry-Gal, I believe to ask about Golconda. Hold on two seconds. Yeah, I think I think Moe Curd specifically said that the book contained information

on a path to Golconda, Caleb, is that correct? Yes, that is correct. I am looking for, yeah, if anything, those specific, it's literally look, my brain is intentionally looking for any that says Golconda, so I can focus on that and get as much of that as possible. Absolutely. Yeah, over the book, in search of Gulkanda,

focusing in on that word directly, there are visions that pass through your mind, your mind catching each of them like a sieve, almost as though you go into this deep period of transcendental meditation, as your eyes glaze over and the fog seeps into your nose and you can smell that acrid smoke as it fills your body. You being empty, devoid of organ, devoid of blood, devoid of being, you are filled with this incense until you feel at the same volume and level as the

fog in the room, and then visions begin to illuminate in your mind. This be an ideology, a theory even, in the same theory that proved that the world was round. You believe that this book might be representative of one person's belief on the answer to what Golconda might actually be. Your understanding of it before meeting the barrier of whatever blood ritual is blocking your way into the actual information of this book is that of a patient, talented scholar pouring over the information of this book, writing intensively over what you see is a span of years of civilizations moving and fast forward, one person staying in the same place for many,

many years in accumulation of this knowledge. And I will call that the answer to your first question, your one more question in the span of this hour. Okay, okay. I will say, while you're thinking, yes, Sybil is going to light some touristy incense incense so it doesn't smell like hot blood in the basement. So the staff can continue their night. And are all of you staying down here besides Burrows with the fog machine that's happening to witness this ritual? Or is anyone going up to join John on the dance floor? to witness this ritual or is anyone going up to join John on the dance floor? I'm gonna go up there since we have to wait. Mainly I'm gonna go to Burroughs and say

when we head out what are you doing with Sade? I'm actually kind of like in the middle of dancing with her. And so you kind of pull me off. I'll say, I gave her some money. She can stay here and party. I mean, I actually thought it would be a good idea if she stayed here and kept an eye out in case something weird happens. You're gonna have her be the lookout?

I just tell her to, you know, give me a call if something weird happens to my club. I told her it was my club Right, right Okay, I was just gonna say that if she needed an uber or something I could get her one Oh, that's that's awfully kind of you now whistik of you Yeah, I I mean, if she's tired, sure. I got spoons, spoons can watch over the club.

Or not spoons, I'm spork. Yeah, yeah, we can do that. You wanna give her your Uber information? Oh, I was gonna just call her one, send her home. I look out of the dance floor and she's like, in the middle of it, it does not seem like she's ready to stop, so I'm like, it's gonna be a little while, so.

Yeah. But then again, that ritual might take a little while. She is in the middle of ripping a line off the back of her palm and then taking a tequila shot in the other. Her platinum blonde hair is streaked back in a high pony that shows the start of those dark roots at the front of her head and she is long gone.

She's gonna be partying for a while. I turn to Niles and say, I'm trying to work on the whole drug thing, trying to show her the ways, but it's all right, it's a slow process. Right, slow process. Okay, yeah, nevermind then, I was just thinking out loud. How about a drink? I'll call for a shot or something.

Oh, okay. Does it hurt? Are you good to have one? I don't think I'm allowed to drink it. Anything. Without the iron gullet, you know that you're not quite built like Burrows. You could drink it. The after effects are always interesting to watch. You know, I've never tried drinking alcohols. Well, hell, I'm not gonna force you.

I just figured it'd be a friendly gesture. I appreciate the gesture. Actually, is this an order, you would say? Is this something you want of Niles? That's a great question. I think just to make it appropriately tragic, yeah, I probably... Burrows probably isn't really thinking about the extent of his influence on Niles and, you know, it just kind of like insists in a friendly way not really understanding that it's hard for them to resist, or at least not fully like taking it in. Right. Well, in that case, Niles, we are going to have you

roll a willpower test against your blood bond. Awesome, cool. That's not gonna go bad. So you are going to roll whatever willpower you have left today. And then a third of your humanity rounded down. Okay. Let me just double check. I always get that wrong. I want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

What is my humanity rounded down? Got a lot of humanity. I have a lot of humanity rounded down. Maybe not that much humanity. Yes. Okay, so... You said will Parra and humanity rounded down? Yes. Okay, well that dice just went off into the universe.

I have no successes but a failure on my hunger, my only hunger dice that I have. We are going to rule that it feels extremely hard to go against this need to prove something to Burrows, whether that is affectionately or combatively or just the allure that that big man puts off that greased back hair and sweaty middle aged appearance looking in at you feels in a way. Hot dad breath.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, wicked breath on him. It feels commanding. It feels like there are consequences not to taking this shot with him. And in the back of your mind, almost a whisper at the bottom of what you are. Strange that you would hear it now, but just the barest whisper, break your arm. Just a need to be with him to share that drink. I'll just shoot it straight immediately. Wow question, it was like a moment of pause and then a moment of immediate just down. Burrows down his and kind of puts it down and celebration kind of looks up at Niles'

reaction to this and immediately floods him the realization that he basically ordered them to do that and is immediately like apologetic. Oh, oh shit. Oh, I'm really sorry about that. I just meant it as a friend. I didn't mean to order you or anything. Am I okay? Is this after drinking that alcohol?

As Burrows is panicking over the ingestion, the second that it touches your tongue, it feels wrong. It feels rancid. It feels as though you had taken a glass and skimmed the bottom of a grease trap in the back of a bad diner and scooped that back into your mouth. Alcohol shouldn't curdle in the way that it does

in your mouth, but it feels less like liquid and more like cottage cheese As it slinks down everything that you are it doesn't make it halfway down your throat before your beast Riles in the center of your gullet and you can feel everything climbing towards the surface you find climbing towards the surface. You find, hopefully, the best corner out there on the dance floor as you vomit into your hand a huge exorcist gout of blood. As Vaite begins to leak from your lips

and projectiles spray onto the ground of Club Kanan, onlookers are disgusted, appalled, staring, concerned. There's a large amount of blood pooling at the bottom of your combat boots now, Niles. Perls is pushing these guests away. Hey, give them some space, give them some space. And I'll kind of huddle around them to make sure that they're okay.

I'm so sorry. Fuck. Yeah, Niles is just looking at the the Vitae in their hands. hearing burrows, trying to the sound of the the all the noise. It's just like it's too too much for Niles. And Niles is going to revert back to the oldest and noblest of traditions and Niles is going to leave without saying anything. It's going to be a shrug off for you, Burrows, and an immediate walk out the door. Yeah, he puts his hands up, lets them pass and is just like, God damn it. And then his attractive girlfriend calls him over the dance floor and he reluctantly kind of goes back over. Before you can go back to shardy this.

Please don't go. Shardy. Shardy. Shardy. This like edging into his mid thirties guy, probably a Vegas local. He's wearing a club fit that is far too tight for his body and shoes that are somehow wider than his pant leg. And he steps up to you straight into your face and he says, what the fuck dude, you're not even gonna help her? Don't worry about her, she's got a process, okay? She's just feeling a little ill, she drank too much.

What the fuck? Your friend just peed blood all over the fucking floor, man. Hey, hey, hey, I'm gonna go call for some of the bouncers and say, this guy's getting a little rowdy, get him out of here. What the fuck? I'm just trying to help your friend. And he kind of shoves off your shoulder and starts to move towards the door there.

Could you give me, in the direction of Niles, I should specify, could you give me a manipulation plus persuasion to get the bouncers here on this guy? persuasion to get the bouncers here on this guy. Plus persuasion, plus I think I'm going to compel him as well. Okay. In that case, if you're compelling him, he is very clearly immortal. You don't even have to roll. You meet his eyes. What is the compel- As he turns, I grab him on the shoulder, turn him around and say, Hey, buddy, go find yourself a new club. And just kind of push, just kind of brush him off at that point.

His eyes roll back in his head. And you can see the blood vessels that run along to the iris expand and become these big rivers of red as blood begins to flow further into his eyes for just a moment and then they constrict tighter than ever he looks back at you and he says you know what fuck your club anyway I hope your friend dies fuck you dude and he walks out make sure to leave us a Yelp review you dumbass throws two birds on his way out and before you can even turn around,

moving back to Shardy, Chardonnay, excuse me. You see that two of your new service workers, two, the bar back and one of the bussers, are already cleaning up that mess of blood on the floor from where your dear friend Niles made a mess. I'll see that and kind of nod and just turn back to Chardonnay. You know, sometimes I hate to be tough, but sometimes you got to be tough. That's okay, Daddy. I think you did the right thing. Come here.

She rolls her arms around your neck and brings you in close and you can you can feel the coke fueling through her and it changes the way her blood smells when she's close and you can tell just from the hint of being so close that somewhere in the vicinity of her nose the blood vessels on the inside the capillaries have burst and a nose bleed is forming she She smells wonderful. Yeah, I think that for the first time since meeting her, I feel a little unattracted to her. Burrows has a strong aversion to certain drugs,

but he nonetheless kind of stomachs it, and this is the problem of dating mortals. And just... As you wonder what it's like to get back into the dating scene, we drift back down through the bowels of Club Kanan into that smoke-filled room. Sybil and Ra'Gel watching onwards as Jackie in a trance,

as fogged as the rest of this room, asks that second question that drifts through her mind. With all that visions, I'm focused. Jackie's like achieving Golconda. How to achieve? Achieve. She's really focusing on any way to how we would achieve Golconda. Okay. How we would achieve Golconda.

Okay, how we would achieve it. Again, you're drifting through those memories of a civilization growing over time year after year of this one individual pouring over this tome. And as you ask how we would achieve it as you wonder through that you find yourself meeting a wall you find yourself stuck entirely the magic that pervades this book that protects it is preventing that question from being answered by any uncertain terms until that lock has been broken. It seems that the contents there within cannot be plumbed for its depths until the padlock on the edge of this book has been broken, until the magic that protects the information

inside has been unsealed. It seems that whatever expert had locked this information inside, written in inside, has made careful attention to ensure that only the correct individuals are able to read the contents within. So it seems as though your spell is working and would work if you were to pass this barrier. So it seems there's one missing step. Okay.

A thing about Jackie that you might guys would probably see, especially downstairs, it hasn't been revealed yet, is her unfortunate flaw of knowledge hunger. So that's something. So as time goes on, you're going to see like a difficulty and you'll start to see a little shake and actually a frustration. And then eventually like, even though very calm, Jackie's's gonna just kind of breach out and like, like slam her fists on the metal table and kind of get a little, there's something stopping me right there. I am so, I taste it, it's right there.

It's right there. There's a, I can break, I don't know, know I just there's something there I can break it I just need to get into it. And there's a physical lock on this book right Gail. You have been told there's no physical lock there is a when I said padlock I was speaking in metaphor I should be more specific there was is a magical lock, which you have been aware of since retrieving it in Louisiana. You know that that is the main barrier to its information

is there is some sort of blood ritual performed similar to the one that blew off our beloved kingster's fingers in the very beginning of the first season, something that is burying the access of whatever's on the other side without proper cause, without a key to its lock. Jackie would, as Jackie's gonna explain

as kind of clear in a little erratic, it's the civilizations, it's one guy going going in going into the visions of what she sees. And it is it's one thing I'm missing. The one it's right there. I it the best way to describe it is like, you know, that flavor, you're trying to figure it out. I see. As this is happening, Sybil, if allowed, is going to try to put the book in the safe and close the safe just to be like, I can see that there's some intensity going on.

I'm going to make it out of sight, out of mind. Oh, that can't. That thing will not be out of sight for me for a while. OK. That thing will not be out of sight for me for a while. Okay. Just for later, you got a vial. A spare one. Of course.

Pull out a vial, hands it over. We don't got time. I know we got to go see slow, but just for experimentation purposes, I'm going to slice my palm open and donate some blood into the vial. Okay. Sybil starts backing up towards the door. That's fair. I'll be like, yeah, I kind of do that really quick.

Not prepared. I'll take- I move away. I have learned at this point how dangerous this can be. So I've moved to the other side of the room and to do that. Thank you. I'll give you a band- He's like, cover that up. Get the fuck out of here.

Yeah. Smartass. I'm going to keep that vial. I'll actually secure that as well because I feel like one, two, three, four. I don't want keep that vile. I'll actually secure that as well, because I feel like one, two, one. I don't want people keep tasting you. You're apparently very addicting to others. So. It's about time people started realizing it. Respect to the name. Should we get to business then?

Let's roll out. Let's roll out. Outside Club Canaan, we reunite with Niles, who is probably still wiping out the last few waves of nausea and vomit. It might have spilled out into the outside of Club Canaan. Niles, you're going to be feeling that shot for a long time. And it does occasionally come back in waves, almost like alcohol poisoning, you can feel yourself on the rim of the next projectile at any given moment. And even as the others walk out to meet with you, you can feel yourself, even just taking a few steps threatens another bout. I'll walk up and say you good?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I'll I'll I'll be fine. I'm okay. I think there's like now he's like wiping a bit of white a soul off the chin. Yeah, yeah, no, I'm fine. I'm fine. All of you don't drink any alcohol, okay, he's bad. Yeah. As a consequence of your night out, Niles, I will say that you are one dot hungrier from the expulsion of so much Vitae.

The question two, now in the open parking lot, which is surprisingly full for Club Canaan, the bar is doing well, especially for a biblically themed bar. It's doing well. How exactly are we all getting to the stratosphere together without our beloved baby blue? I got a bike. our beloved baby blue. I got a bike. A taxi. I honestly think a taxi might be the best way and we just pay cash. Okay.

The biggest taxi. Yes, we still have them. All right. So, beautiful. Looking for a taxi rather than an Uber is a little harder in Naked City. You do have to look out for what is in Las Vegas a taxi cab location. As to avoid the communal ride sharing nightmare that is everyone trying to get out of a drunk city at the same time.

Vegas has cordoned communal ride shares to individual locations. Plenty of them for Ubers, very little for yellow taxi cabs. But eventually you do find them and you are able to call in the next taxi. And it is not long before all of you pile into the back of a XL taxi that you've ordered. You notice that the taxi is disgusting. There is trash lining your feet as you climb in. The car seems to have been used as an ashtray.

There is the smell almost identical to Niles' vomit in here. And it's clear that this car, while well used, is not well maintained. The individual behind the driver's seat, you believe, speaks only a foreign language as through broken English he welcomes you into the car and then taps the screen in front of him and then points to the credit card machine on the back of the seat behind that windshielded glass. That is about the only communication you have outside of paying for your fare. As it was previously called in, it was already calculated for

the strat and you find that the price of this taxi is nearly triple that of an Uber. I'm gonna kind of, Jackie, I'm not gonna lie, is gonna try to squeeze her way to the front of the car when she sees it goes instead of the back seat. She's going, but I'm gonna turn to Burrow so he can be like, can you talk to, like I'm just gonna kind of like look at your eyes like... What? Can you talk to him? Talk to him? I don't know it looks like he's from

another country I don't know if he speaks English. You speak English sir? He responds with a little in a harsh Eastern European accent. No worries, no worries. I'll just turn to the others and be like, evidence is mounting that some folks are making taxis a little more, let's just say unappealing, make Ubers even more appealing.

Anybody notice that? This place is a mess, Jesus. A little bit, a little bit. I think Sybil's just gonna reach in her pocket and pull out a hundred dollar bill and give it to him. And then make a, this gesture. He nods and he puts up his hands to the back of the windshield there and almost in a prayerful

gesture to the generous tip, he places it into the cup holder of his car there and begins driving you all off to the strat. Thank you, Sybil. Niles is going to lean up against the person they're squished next to trying not to vomit in the motion of his car. You're hearing all of the lore of driving thousands of drunk people in Vegas. Like you're going to want to touch something cold, put your hands on the windows, breathe in tight through your teeth, and exhale just as fast. You're getting all that. that. There is a window let out, just a crack within the second row of the XL taxi there. And so a very healthy cold breeze is hitting you on the face, Niles,

for the duration of the drive, whether that helps or not. I hope so. Eventually you're dropped off at the Strat and the Strat is a very popular location. It's the largest continental tower or at least it used to be for some time in the U.S. Massive structure that rivals the Space Needle and gives you a perfect view of all of Las Vegas, especially if you'd like to hang glide from it, or engage in a roller coaster from the top of that view, or be dropped for a few feet, or be drunk from that same elevation.

It is a versatile building made for all comers, for everyone, for the Vox Populi of Las Vegas, it is a beacon for every tourist in the world. And that is exactly what you're treated to on the entrance to Stratt. There are droves of people visiting, enjoying the Stratt, coming in for the sights, for the gambling, for the cheap drinks, for the cheaper rooms. You find that inside it is reeking of cigarette smoke, it is old, dinged carpets, more so than you'd ever expect of one of the largest spectacles within Vegas. And it is largely treated similar to Circus Circus in being a spectacle more than it is a destination. And many are beelining for the elevator that will take you up to the stratosphere experience, where

you will be treated to the sights that everyone discusses. You can already see a pair of drunk frat bros getting on and jumping on the elevator in order to make the cabin shake, and immediately the attendant within warns them against the idea, despite them being so drunk they're nearly pissing themselves. despite them being so drunk they're nearly pissing themselves. In terms of visiting the strat for the circulatory system, Sybil, you of course know that the entrance breaks off into a series of bypass tunnels through a staff entrance by the bar, the main bar of the stratosphere, on the slots level, essentially.

And that actually takes you down before you can ever go up. And so while many are going for the beautiful views above, as below, you all will be descending. Is there anything that there is to be accomplished in this main room as you watch some roaches scurry past one of the slot machines off to your east. Anything that we need to discover before we proceed down. As we're walking through the casino, Jack is gonna go ahead and breathe in a flush of life, so we don't look like corpses walking through

the same. And I think just quickly, you know, Burroughs, you know, standing next to Rygel is kind of I remember when this place was a hell of a joint and now look at it. Shit makes me feel nostalgic and sick at the same time. Yeah, I don't blame you. Was this one of your, one of your spots? It's a place I'm familiar with. It's just, you know, it just hit me with the nostalgia, the smell of cigarettes, smoke,

the clinking of the machines. Then I see these dumbasses making a mess of the place. I don't know. Welcome to Vegas. For Niles, as we're walking in here, I'm, Niles is always kind of head swivel looking for exits or looking for anything notably sizable in terms of kindred mixed in to the crowd. We're looking for the biggest threat in the room. looking for the biggest threat in the room. Yes, the gangrel territorial instinct. For as little as you are a gangrel, it's still there.

Give me an awareness plus wits. Two successes. Two successes. You feel relatively safe on this main floor. The stratosphere feels a lot like the main strip, a place where kindred exist, but few kindred make themselves known. It's dangerous to be this out, especially in a place like this. This place draws so much attention. You think that even for all of you, it's best to stay low-key. Niles, you don't notice anyone looking in your direction, watching over you.

The most that you will notice, Niles, is a series of CCTV cameras that do span the room. And the most that you get is a soft zoom in on your group and then scanning to the rest of the room. Just an acknowledgement of a bigger brother. Always watching. Just did anyone, I have to ask, thought to bring slow a gift or anything as appreciation? Always.

And I prepare. It's like, it's basically because you can't really give the man who has every type of wine, wine. So it's just like some fancy overpriced like aerator or something like that to drink from. It's another way to look fancy and showy, which I know he loves. Beautiful. Okay, we'll keep that in mind. Could you roll me a politics plus intelligence roll? Yes.

Three successes. Three successes, okay, I will note that down. Okay, beautiful. And with that in mind, are we proceeding down those staff tunnels that Sybil is so aware of? Yes. Beautiful. Sybil, you know the way. You've been here before. Hell, this used to be your stomping grounds. And now it still is in an odd way. Slow has been good to you in years past and

somehow awarded you a sense of freedom into this new world. It's because of Vladislav that you met It's because of Vladislav that you met Teresa at all. It's because of Vladislav that any of this began. And that as a double-edged sword is stabbing you in the heart just now. As you walk your new friends, the engine, down familiar streets, these by-tunnels that extend past the kitchen systems of the stratosphere begin to switch back and crisscross further down into the bowels of the stratosphere. Something many who are not native to Las Vegas or even those who were but not native to kindred Las Vegas, we're not aware we're

so prominent. And eventually, Sybil leads you to what is a large, overgrown, almost Victorian era or at least an aesthetics matching to red elevator, perfectly red against the steel that collides against it. The old-fashioned fold doors in front of them and a large metal clock face for the floors in which you can deliver yourself to. And of course there is only two numbers on the clock face. First and basement. The elevator doors are blocked by two individuals in matching red suits, very large bouncers. They carry what is very obviously weapons on straps across their front, large-scale automatic rifles, assault rifles that are

even more so than some of the submachine guns you saw worn by rock security in the heist. So meaning even more business. They step aside immediately as the CCTV camera that sits over the top of the elevator zooms in, focuses, finds your group, and immediately as they see Sybil. You see that Sybil and them may share a sort of camaraderie in the way that these two bouncers make eyes with them. And the elevator doors do wrench electronically open as those fold doors begin to beautifully open to the sort of open area elevator that is almost cargo freight sized, can hold many separate packages. You imagine you could even fit your coffin into this room, should you need it.

But you're all invited into the elevator, which then begins to descend. And through that elevator, as it begins to click in, lock, and shut, and then begins to descend, you can see through these glassed viewing ports, through the cracks of these industrial crisscrossing beams that extend down the elevator lane, you can see what is a bizarre sight. It is a stretch of land that extends what you think must be acres underneath Las Vegas, deep and tall, extremely tall, hundreds of feet high, in red light, all kept in steel, powerful bars that collide against these glass portions that extend out around, like display areas, like terrariums or zoo cages cages for what you can see are black silhouettes

of individuals moving across that red light. It removes all personhood from this football field of humanity that is kept behind these cells. They are like go-go dancers illuminated by black light underneath these red tones. And while they have no faces, they are very human behind the trap. And you can see lining these aisles like a factory, a warehouse of decisions are the forces of those red-suited individuals, those bouncers that keep these cells at bay. There is a main walkway as the elevator begins to descend down and find its bottom. And you can see before you've landed, that main walkway works all the way across this huge expanse to the other

side of the room where a second red elevator seems to only rise up. Burrows kind of takes a step forward to take all of this in and just kind of turns back to to Sibyl and says, you know,, I sure would love a Cliff's Notes version of your whole connection to this place. Remind me how you know Slow? Slow is my boss, technically, now. And even before I was embraced, I guess, was kind of my boss,

but I was on the other side of the wall. Bam. Quite an operational. Jesus Christ. It's complicated. It's hard to keep effectively the Kindred buffet in Vegas safe. How do you suggest we approach Slow? You think we just butter him up or we think we'd be straight with him? up or we think we'd be straight with him? Honestly is appreciated, but he's playful and unpredictable on purpose.

Eccentric on purpose. If he feels too understood or reduced, that pisses him off. Make him feel important and that you're trying to figure him out and that you can't. Ben- Burl rolls his eyes. Yeah, so the usual then. Yeah. Yeah. But also that it's pretty. He likes to feel pretty.

Yeah, I think once we hit the floor, we'll start stepping out. You step out onto cold concrete floors that have been lacquered and polished to a sheen. They are almost epoxied on the surface so that they are incredibly cold to the touch, but smooth with every step. And the sound of your shoes against that clack along this echoing large cavern, what seems to be almost a small town of activity here. There are multiple movements at all times on either side of you from the left and the right of cells being brought down, almost like big rotary machines, elevators themselves of each new blood doll being selected, and then being escorted by some of these bouncers. There are forklift systems, cargo systems, crates, packages. A huge amount of shipping is happening within this area.

And you can see that through each aisle of the cells themselves, as you come down to this lower level, extend into their own tunnels. And you can see that some of them track into car routes as though trucks could drive straight into the system should they need to. But the bouncers themselves are very quick to quarter off either side of the group of you, almost creating an aisle for you to walk down specifically, making it clear that the center walkway is for you and little else is. her walkway is for you and little else is. All right, this way.

I mean, if you had something to say, I think you're muted. Let's keep... Oh, we're just going to keep gesturing. We move forward. Perfect. It's a long walk to the other side, but you reach the second set of elevators. Again, that same red steel with old aesthetic, those fold-up doors, and as they open for you, you're invited in again. This one is much more personal. Enough room for all of you and the attendant that sits inside of the elevator. Another

large bouncer with weapon at hand. They look increasingly intimidating and their eyes are a feral amber orange. They are standing inside with you and close the doors for you as well. This elevator only has two stops, basement and top floor. They press the button and you begin to climb and climb and climb. On the opposite side towards your back as you are now facing the elevator you came up in. Behind you is a view of Vegas, which feels strange and does not set in until about halfway through the elevator's rise. As you start to realize that this must have some access to the outside of the stratosphere, almost through a two-way mirror where you are now treated

to the rising as you too, like those frat boys of old, are climbing to the highest points. And soon the attendants will be warning you not to jump. The elevator comes to a close at the top. Any of you with vertigo would notice that you are atop one of the largest man-made structures in the continental U.S. and that below you is just a long fall. The doors are closed for now and the attendant has his hand primed on the button as if waiting on your call. Okay.

Well, any last words? Yeah. Oh, it's fucking pageant. Jesus Christ. I'm like, you're... I think that genuinely makes Sybil laugh. That's good. I'm glad you're here a little bit. Yeah. Then we push forward to Slow directly. Perfect. Gift outstretched.

The elevator doors open as the attendant finally hits it, and you're opened into a room you're familiar with, Sybil. His office, red carpeted out to that large desk in the center, and a series of windows that overlook the stratosphere's view. On either side is this darkened brown carpet that is beautifully luxurious and looks painfully old but so well maintained. It is a huge stretch of an office with what is essentially a museum on the way, these huge plinths carrying what looks like ancient materials, art pieces that date themselves on the plaques up to 400 years ago and even further. Art pieces themselves that line along the walls in varying degrees of grotesque imagery. They are beautiful but strange and even looking at them gives you a bizarre pit in your stomach. Hanging from the ceiling, which is notably very large, are these huge light fixtures

that are built of these corrugated broken steel pieces that have been bladed through and then combined with broken glass. And as the light collides with them, there is this kaleidoscopic rainbowed effect that dances between the steel and becomes this strange wind chime that moves suddenly across the plane above you. Slow currently is seated at a large black piano and is playing the keys very slowly, a tense building melody that is almost storybook in nature, like something that would be played in a music box to a dancing marionette.

It is quiet outside of that. And behind him is this disturbing imagery, this giant canvas of vomiting children onto naked parents, of flying pigs spilt open at the sides of their cheeks and spilling organs awful down to the people. Rolling green grass hills of almost medieval depiction that just below the surface have an opening from hell that spews forth like an anus into the world. And across this painting itself is every depiction of the most grotesque, disgusting imagery he could pack into one frame. And below, signed in big script, is a signature you believe, as large as it is, must be from Ladislav. And as he plays that melody, he begins to come to a slow crawl

to an end as he shuts down the shield of the keys and pivots himself to look in the direction of those bearing gifts. He claps his hands together, and you can see those long, gnarled fingertips that have almost begun to curl at the ends but have been painted and sharpened beautifully as if in aesthetic. He isped in satin that sits underneath and is couture and fashion. He looks good for his age. Long platinum hair that sits just

past his ears and is quaffed beautifully and these long angular thin features that are Eastern European and make but carries a almost rockstar persona to his features. He drifts himself up, flicks out his robe, extends out his hands and says, ah welcome! It is finally time that we discuss so much. But you come bearing gifts? Yes, of course. Sibyl holds out the ridiculous aerator glass sculpture looking piece and just sets it down in front of him. Sibyl, this is magnificent. It will make an excellent piece. Thank you." And he takes it and he drifts it over to that large wooden desk,

beautifully manufactured, and sets it right there in the center, as though a centerpiece to the dining table. He stands in front of all of you and gives a deep, deep bow, extending out that rope that must be 12 feet long. Burrows kind of feigns exhaustion, stepping up. Oh, boy, Laszlo, am I happy to see you. You know, I didn't know that you could make an entrance even when we're the ones entering. You know, extend a respectful hand.

He takes that hand and he kisses it deeply. Those wet old lips meeting with your palm and luxuriating in the compliment and again in the touch of you. And even as he drifts his hand away from yours, he does massage his thumbs against the ends of your knuckles there, just to feel at the skin of you, Burrows.

And he says, Oh, listen, if I did not make an impression, I would not be as high as I am. It is not often that they allow you to be here by being silent. Part of my ignorance, but you're a toreador, right? Oh, I have been known to be an artist. Yes. OK, yeah, this is making sense. This is making sense. I got to take some pointers from you.

And I'm just kind of walking around feigning just like really being stunned by the art. Although Burlz was probably disgusted. Life is beautiful. And if you do not indulge in such things, you fail to realize why we have been given the gift of living forever. It's a good perspective. So I have means to celebrate all of you in the opening of Club Kanan. It was such a pleasure to be invited personally to witness the extreme bounties of your gift here in Naked City and to witness the arrival of the engines's true possibilities in this place.

I will say I was impressed far more than I had anticipated. In fact, I quite enjoyed the music that was employed in this area. The nightcore DJ and everything that came with it provided incredible beats that made my heart drum like I was fucking again. It felt wonderful. The people there, they are beautiful and ugly and so enticing to see for such a club so early to have brought such miscreants into its denizens. It's beautiful, honestly. I have to commend you. I did not think that I would enjoy my time there. I thought I was merely a distraction, but myself and some of my ghouls did...

How can I say this? We partook. You rightfully deserved to partake, because you've done us a big solid, Slow, that we're not going to forget any time soon. Oh, no, no, I want you to forget. I want you to forget because it will be the first of many thousands of things that we will do for each other in the efforts of ensuring our shared success, yes?

Yes. Good. Absolutely. Because what I do is truly nothing. To be small in this city is no small feat. To be new is even worse. Understand this, I know what it is to be you. I was here when this city was nothing but filth. And I am here now that it is filth and success.

There is no amounting for the efforts it takes to survive as what we are. I know that it has been a trial for all of you and I just seek to give you a foothold into what is a very large climb to the top. Your wisdom is always appreciated and and taken in with serious thought, Slo. That's why we came as soon as we could.

We want to know what you need from us. We've made our moves and we're happy to help you make yours. Oh, yes. Well, we will get to the boon, as that is the main topic of discussion here, but I thought I would give you some advice on strategy. Are you open to such things? Of course, from you. Elysium is in what we would call an uproar, considering the events that have transpired since your endeavors, we will call them. Your friend Lucius, the preemagine of the Ventrue people, he has called in many circles for

all of your blood. The trouble is that the harpy of this great tower, myself, has gone directly against him in purporting that you as a group had nothing to do with it. And my alibi currently is the only thing keeping you all from the second blood hunt associated with your name. This is an interesting situation. Lucius came to the prince and demanded that all of you be taken, for the death of his first child and the robbing of that heist, that beautiful casino of his on Fremont Street. But without sufficient evidence to your responsibility and his first child being nowhere to be seen, there is no true proof of destruction, and no true proof of your involvement.

But you are presented with two issues. The sheriff of Las Vegas, Cisco, has been asked to investigate the destruction of Aedon. And so, if they can find anything that links the death or kidnapping or anything to do with Aedon and yourselves, you draw great danger. And in addition, Lucius has been asked to call off the dogs in your direction until they have proven that you have been responsible. But in private circles to the prince individually, Lucius pursues you indefinitely. He believes you to be responsible. There is a final prevailing issue. The Elysium has indeed believed that the Pudinesska and the Hecata might have something to do with what has happened here.

And their involvement has sparked something great. The prince is in talks with the Hecate. And negotiations against war have begun. If it is proven that the Pudineska had something to do with this, it could cause great strife across the city, as the Hekata are branded villains. These are things you must keep in mind. There are ways to go, but in all issues you must provide your own survival. If we were to tell you that we got planes in motion that ultimately reveal the put in Esca's as the true villains of all this nonsense. Would that hurt you? Would you not care?

I have survived far more than this tower ever has. My business is above all. Even the tower. In that regard, I would be justified. Let's return here. Even the tower. In that regard, I would be just fine. But I do warn you, if the Putanesca is named and it does not end in the death of Champagne Putanesca, I have an idea that it will come to a vicious, vicious head between all of you and all of him. Burrows doesn't say anything at that. You have to hope that Champagne is a big enough fly to be swatted by someone before he decides

that it is time for Vendetta. Good advice. Now, such grim conversations about the future of my beloved new friends. Listen, these things, they happened, yes? This is a line of business that we cannot ignore. There are eggs meant to be cracked in order to omelette, yes? But that should not get in the way of business, huh? Listen, there is one last piece of this puzzle, and it is the piece that you owe me.

There is a discussion to be had. I am in need of great help. I would argue greater help than I offer to you, but then how valuable are your lives? Who's to say? I am in need of something that has gone missing, something very near and dear to what I am and important to my business. You ask of me, does Champagne Poudonesque cause a threat to my involvement?

Am I to be hurt if there is a war between the Camarilla and the Hecate? No. war between the Camarilla and the Hecate. No, this does not even touch me. But is there pain to be felt if this is not handled? Yes, this, it touches me. There is in my line of business only one piece of currency. The blood doll. And in them complete power. The variants that exist within our blood is the only power that we have in giving to each other. We all drink.

And so we all must feed. And that is how I stay where I am. But it also means that when I lose that power, I am vulnerable. There is an individual close to my heart that has gone missing and contains something that I cannot risk losing. There is a blood doll named Pandora, a beloved of mine, a VIP we could call her. She was close to myself and even closer to that vile emmerich. And as of late, she has gone missing. Three weeks ago, there was a hostile takeover. An attack on a convoy containing Pandora.

An armored car taken out from the roads of the Red Rocks. And the attackers went to great lengths to make themselves unknown, and even worse, they targeted Pandora directly. I am remiss. I need her back. And that is all. I have no other leads. I have no other suspicions besides the Malkavian who was obsessed with her for so long.

And I have no hope if she continues to be missing. A heroin story, Slow, I'm sorry to hear it. Obviously an attack on her, targeting her, is an obvious dig at you. This person doing this has to know you. I believe that is true. It is also why they must have gone to such great lengths not to reveal themselves. They would be easily noticed. Do you have a photo of Pandora?

Absolutely, I do. We keep all records of our blood dolls on the file. And as such, she shared my bed many a time. Here, excuse me. This also may be personal, but you don't happen to keep samples of your dolls. Like. I do keep samples of our most important clients and our most important products and their materials,

but unfortunately I do not feel privy to give you this information, not without a greater trust. He moves and drifts across to the room and into a separate door and after a few moments comes back and in his hands is this eight and a half by 11 portrait in frame of a very beautiful woman with long brunette hair that goes down almost all the way down to her back. In the portrait she is completely nude. She is holding her hands clasped to the back of her collarbone there and on her wrist is a blood drop tattoo. She's beautiful and she's very delicate and Sybil you would recognize her as the woman from the VHS. He hands the portrait down onto the desk in front of all of you, says, this is my darling Pandora, and this is as I know her.

This is more valuable than any photograph captures her soul. How long has she been a part of the system? How long has she been a part of the system? I have been keeping Pandora alive for the past 275 years. Okay. Thank you. So we find out who took Pandora.

We have one suspect already, and then we bring her back to you. Once we find out who did it, justice is yours, so justice is ours. I care not for whoever has taken Pandora, only that she is returned. but even if we do return her it could happen again surely there's got to be some finality to this if you see fit to finish this for me I will see it as additional compensation for your time and a reward for your involvement obviously we are in a precarious situation. I have information that would have all of you killed and now you have information that would have me killed. Seems fair.

Well, I'm absolutely going to help you slow and I think the rest of us feel the same way. Good. Good. Of course. Well then, if there are no further questions, you will take this portrait, you will look into this business for me and you will keep me abreast of any information you find. And when Pandora is retrieved and brought back to me, then our boon will be satisfied. Anybody else got any business with Slo? I understand that showing things like employee information and files and vials might be inappropriate

in mixed company, but may I see Pandora's file at some point? Sybil, in terms of your relationship with Slow, you have not attributed any dots to it yet, have you? I have dots in the Cirque system, but not with Slow directly. How many dots in the Cirque system do you have? I have... six. Go ahead and roll your Cirque system plus manipulation. Okay.

Two or three. I'm gonna use a little power. No I maxed out on Cirque. That is four successes. Slow seems really hesitant to tell you anything, and you can see in his eyes he's about to disagree with you. But your knowledge of the Cirque has gone back a long time. You know almost everything there is in this business. You went from blood doll to one of the highest players in this place, as far as you can go without being embraced. And then when you were,

it was the only time you were away from this place. You know how this works. If Pandora is sharing the bed with slow, that means she was running in circles that you have known to be very, very dangerous. And if she's been alive as long as she has been, there must be a reason they're keeping her alive. You feel in the back of your mind, Sybil, that if you were to press, the severity of the situation to Slow, he might crack.

of the situation is slow, he might crack. Crack in favor of me or in a? In favor of giving you what you want. Okay, I think Sybil is going to roll up her sleeves in an effort to like look like she's locking in and show the blood drop tattoo on her hand or arm. the the blood drop tattoo on her hand or arm. I'm I'm only thinking if someone has taken her with the intention of doing something rude or unfavorable to what you desire, I will be able to tell simply by smelling her blood. If I can smell it now, I can find it in other places. I can find out who's been around. It might make this go a lot faster.

I know you deserve what you want, and every second counts. Burrows sees what Niles is doing, leans forward and says, come on, man, you've seen cold case files. Those first 48 are important and it's been three weeks now. You can see that the knit in his brow is getting worse and worse as he's debating over all of this. And you can see that this has been painting him. And for any situation

to paint a thing this old it must be just as important. Fine, but it is not as simple as you think. there is a contact of mine that you will have to find in person to discover the vial itself. Hers is kept within a secret inventory I have been keeping for some years in an effort to best masquerade some of my most important dealings. And as such, I have informed many that we should never partake in revealing this information. So it will take some doing. I am going to write down an address for all of you. And if you make yourselves known to this person, they will give you the blood you seek. And he goes to his desk, he pulls out this roll of vellum that does have to be rolled out. And he ink blot vial and the pen in which he's writing with which you'll see is deer antler that has been sharpened to one end he dips that into the ink and he

draws out and bizarre script and address somewhere in Colorado. Then hands it over to all of you. Thank you. I know that this wasn't easy and with this we're one step closer. I do not usually partake in this sort of negotiation, but I need you all to understand that if you were to make any moves against me, in the swiftest motion that you have ever known, all of your loved ones would die within breaths. It would be as though dominoes had fallen across the world, all in accordance with your lives. Everyone that matters to you and everyone that matters to anyone you know would die within seconds. And so I give you this information with the express understanding that nothing will come of either of us.

Knowing that this is this anger is coming from a place of fear in this old vampire. Burrows kind of puts a hand on his shoulder if he gets the sense that he's not going to have it bitten off when he does so. And he's going to say there's a reason why we chose to hide this secret with you. We know better than that. We're on your side, Slow, remember that. Good. Then you will know the highest points of this city. Now take this.

Go and find her. I start making my way to the door. Immediately, Lipp. and find her. I start making my way to the door. Immediately. Jack is gonna go ahead and nod and then go ahead and just turn back around. Before I think if Sybil's the last one to leave, she doesn't turn around, but she says I know the only reason why I'm here is because of you. And I if I owe you nothing else, it is to honor that.

Sybil, the world offers so little time to those of us who can actually create good in this world. I saw that in you. I still do. She nods and leaves. The elevator takes you down, takes you across that aisle, into the second elevator and back up to the stratosphere, unless any of you are making some moves that I would not advise for.

I'd like to leave. I'd like to leave very much. You open up into a pit pole song playing over the loudspeakers of the stratosphere hotel and casino. Many drunk idiots are at the slots and even more of them are piling into the elevator to the top of the strap. And the world is yours. I gotta admit I didn't expect to walk away from tonight feeling bad for the guy. You know what? Oh, I'm sorry. No. You know what? Oh, I'm sorry. No. You feel bad? I don't.

I mean, it's a tale as old as time, you know? People fall in love and they do silly things when they're in love. I know. And the whole long walk up and back maintained that feeling of sorry. Look, here's what I want to talk about. I need someone to read between the lines for me. What the hell is going on? Who is this girl?

I don't even fully understand what the hell a blood doll does. Is this somebody that gets hired? Are they slaves? I mean, I don't understand. We should talk about this out of here. I was gonna- Yeah. We'll't understand. We should talk about this out of here. I was going to... Yeah.

We'll go back. We'll go back. Are we back to Club Canaan? This conversation continues after a taxi ride back. Are we doing a new book? A taxi ride, yeah. You spill out in the Club Canaan, still going hard into the early morning and you work down to the war room and the door shuts before maybe even before it even shuts, Burroughs is starting up the conversation again. I can't lay it out for me, Sybil.

I just don't get what's going on. So a blood doll is someone that gets fed on by a kindred on a regular basis. That is the basic... And they get paid for it? No. Oh. That's the basic definition of a blood doll. Now, you all understand that Vaite feels good to humans a lot of the time.

It gets a little addictive, so they start to think that they want it to. It feels like an equal exchange, but it is not. And they don't really keep their free will anymore once it starts. And it's usually just for a little bit and then they get turned loose. But the Cirque system has turned that into a business. It's not just three or four. It's it just three or four. It's hundreds, thousands. My question. In your whole experience of that, 275 years of a blood doll. That's more than a favorite. It's almost endgame.

Now, there's no way to know how she feels about this at all, because after 275 years, you've been doing this longer than you've been a person. That's what I'm saying. I mean, how do we how do we don't know that this is a jailbreak on her part? The sky is as I got captured. We don't. Is that really our call? Well, it's not our call, but it helps us understand the situation. Well, the situation she's in now isn't any better than the one she left. As far as we know, is that was it?

All we know is she just got hit in armored vehicle at this time three weeks ago near Red Rocks, which is where we were going to go anyways. Regal looks sensible. Yeah. Yeah. What? Well. Well, well, okay, kick a stool out to you be like, gone. Explain. Okay. Basically, there's only a few things that can happen to Pandora now she can be someone else's favorite pet. For however long they keep her alive, or she could get embraced as if that hasn't kind of already happened, or she could die.

Personally, I think the third is the best option because I've seen two out of three of them and I know that they're quite bad. The Red Rocks is where we saw those weird, well, Jackie, you didn't see them, but those weird white figures in the desert that were messing with Gangrel somehow, turning them into something worse than what they were. That is also in Red Rocks. Pandora's also the one in the VHS tape. So Theresa, Lucius, Red Rocks, all of this, we knew it was kind of tied together, but

now it is directly tied together. Wait, wait, wait, wait. You're saying Teresa is directly tied with possibly taking Slow's blood off her almost 300 years. Well, there's gang girls in the Red Rocks. She wants to do something. I don't know what she's looking for. I Don't know what sort of humors she's trying to get I assume she's after a particular kind of blood

But I don't know what her game is yet. You don't think she's just after some revenge getting something back at slow Not that simple. Not that simple. It's a negotiating ship. Well Well at least we know another possible suspect besides Emmerich. I really don't want to see him if I can help it. Although if we have an excuse to kill him, I'll take it. Emmerich, I've heard of him. He's the Malkavian, correct? I haven't met him yet. Yeah, but you don't want to.

Yeah, but, um, Slow, Slow's relationship to Pandora was my relationship to Emrick before I was embraced. Oh, Jesus. I'm so sorry, Sybil. Holy crap. Yeah. Which is why I think for Pandora's sake, we should just kill her. I know we can't because it's all tied together and we have to save our own ass first.

Well, like Jackie said, maybe we separate the emotions from this. If it makes Slow happy to bring her back, I think we should. I think that's the... If we're going to just be transparent, if what we want to do and achieve in this room, with everybody, exception of Mal who's working upstairs. Just saying. Probably wanna make sure we have the best chance and frankly, Bugsy and Slow at least,

for at least on our side, those are crutches. So I said- I mean, you guys talk about this like we have a choice. Exactly. We don't have a choice. It's not so much about the choice. It's about how we go about within the parameters of that choice.

Listen, speaking of, we need to follow through with all this stuff with the with the puto Nesca's. How about how about we finish some of those final little tasks we have planned? We can recon also the red rocks, all that too. Yeah. Well, I mean, we know where she's being held. Yeah. You just have to find it.

Well, I have a contact in the red rocks or a direction to go to in the red rocks. Do you? Okay. Well, Ellis wants us to go out there. Would it? I think we should also go to Colorado. But I know that Red Rocks is more pressing. I'm almost willing to do it after if we're not too banged up, basically from last time. Can we can we hold on that for a second? But I'm not saying no.

Not that I can tell you what to do or say. No. Is that like... I can also just handle it by myself if need be. No, enough of this handling stuff by ourselves. We're all in this together. Thanks. Especially with Slow, I would rather...

as much as an ally, but I also know... I don't want to piss him off. Well, getting the blood is going to make it a lot easier to pin her down, as much as an ally, but I also know I don't wanna piss him off. Well, getting the blood is gonna make it a lot easier to pin her down, but I mean, that's time off the clock. That is also, I could do a blood trail too on that. I was gonna say, do we really feel like it's gonna help us to do it?

Cause if so, then it's worth the time. Let me see, let me just, is there a closet in here that somebody's not using? Sure. I got a medical thing. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to go find a closet.

I'll invite whoever the fuck wants to come. Oh. Hey! And I'm going to go with the premonition again. Try to narrow this down further. Not joining you in the closet. Okay. I can ask for a role if it's of difficulty, right? you can indeed, yeah. I think it's one anyway. let me just double check right quick.

so Premonition is Resolve plus Auspex. yeah, go ahead and give me Resolve plus Auspex and we'll decide what you receive off of your successes. what is it you're looking for in particular before you roll? The office building. Just something to help me find out where exactly in the Red Rocks it is. Okay, go ahead. Yep, so that is three With three successes, you are visited, suddenly the closet fades away and it becomes uniquely dark. The same sort of dark you were gifted after your vision with your beloved when you were preparing for that event she was trying to get you ready for. And then suddenly you were flying over all of Las Vegas.

That sort of deep black sky envelopes you entirely until you realize underneath your feet is the crunch of gravel, of rock, of dirt. of gravel, of rock, of dirt. And you can then start to pick out the stars as they dot across the sky above you and you are no longer in the closet. You are out in the wilderness. There's cold, it's whipping against your skin. You can feel yourself start to freeze against it

in the cold dark of the red rocks. You are alone standing in this vacuous canyon. Save for something that steps out from behind this sparing formation of rocks. Standing in front of you, first on two legs, that then drops to four, is a coyote. That coyote makes direct eye contact with you. Its eyes measuring you, golden and strong.

And it turns, begins to walk from you. And then before making a few paces, a few feet turns its head back to you to see if you'll follow I do Following that coyote The pack comes from the two of you To three as another joins Four as another joins, four as another joins, five, six, seven, eight, until you are moving in a pyramid shape of this pack of Coyotes as they follow this trail of lunar light that paths across the red rocks and eventually they take

you through into a canyon space where sitting in the center of this desert is the threshold of a door a white wooden door with a black handle and the coyotes sit in tandem crowded around this door and they all look to you once and then in tandem look to that door and then you snap out of the vision and with the conclusion of that vision we're going to take a short 15 minute break 10 minute break and then we'll be back in just a few See you soon Perfect, okay. We're back. We have discovered some things from slow. We have a new mission

We have discovered some things from Slow. We have a new mission. We've discussed the implications of what might be going on with our dear Slow and why this is so important to them. We've made some decisions about the red rocks and how important they are to the bigger picture here. And we're starting to connect some dots. Let's hope we're connecting them in the correct fashion to form a picture and not to make a big fucking mess

We are back in Club Canaan, but it is reaching the end of this night as it's been a long one I'm assuming that we're all bedding down for the night. It's getting close on three in the morning Club Canaan We're ending things out unless anyone has any other accomplishments before we bet down. We're reminders that we have our dead drop for the puttanescas tomorrow at midnight. Well, you know how I like to push things, but if we think it's a best idea to wait till tomorrow, I guess I can do that.

Probably for the best. I think I remind me out of character did we handle the the body did we handle that while I was gone because I know that's my job so yeah Adon was devoured and then you we have the clothes because the clothes that we want to plant okay the clothes are being planted by the snakes and rats. Point of order. Is that happening off camera, though, or are we doing that now? That's what I'm asking, because I don't mind it happening off camera.

I assumed that this was happening off camera unless we believe we need a scene for it. Really, all I need is a role. I need your animalism plus wits for wherever the clothes are going to be dropped and then you just tell me how this goes about and based on your successes we'll see if that actually happens. Okay amazing. Point of order. Yeah it shouldn't just be Adon's clothes it really should be everything we got out of that vault. Including the money or could the money be transferred? Money's fine, like, cause that's gonna end up in what the Putin has cause anyway, but like the cane, like all the random shit we got out of there.

That's fine, I make copies now. Yeah. Did we get that book in the vault? No, the book that was from Ocar. Okay. If you need a reminder of everything you got in that vault that you're about to give away, I'll bring it up for you right now.

Hold on. You, oh my God, it's been a while since we did the silver dollar. Yeah, I got it. Oh shit, it's been a while since we took the silver dollar. Uh, yeah, I got it. Um, oh shit, that's all right. We had the envelope with three keys on a key ring with an address and watch your step with WS and E capitalized. We had the briefcase, the designer suit, the silver tipped cane with the crown and the VHS tape. And then of course the money. Burroughs steps up and says, you know, just to be a devil's advocate here, I mean, who's to say the Pudinescas didn't decide those things were important and took some of them with them?

Those keys? Yes. You know, we don't have to turn everything in. Now you're right. Okay, then all of those, the clothes, I think the VHS, and I think think that's it is getting dumped. What about the cane? I mean what the hell can go and the cane and then there was a separate designer dress a designer suit with a collar Stain and cufflinks. Okay If we give the VHS over to basically the Camarilla who's on it. Is that a problem? Oh

Teresa being on it? Is that a problem? Oh, Teresa being on it. We can give a damaged VHS to the Camarilla. I don't even think it's worth it. We'll keep it. Then all of that is getting dumped at... So you're keeping the keys. You are getting rid of, are you getting rid of the briefcase with 12 bearing sizes of vials? With vitae within them? I'd rather we didn't because we haven't looked into those yet. Okay, and you're getting rid of the very expensive well pressed suit still in its casing. Designer with matching tie and cufflinks.

There is a noticeable blood stain along the collar that it seems someone has tried desperately to remove That's going away and if possible Jackie would like I'm gonna examine everything before I give it to Sybil to for the rats to go away I will look I'm going to smell that blood too. I will. I want to examine that with that and I'll have like latex gloves as I do that. Okay. Are you performing a ritual on it or are you just trying to examine? I'm going to do just for the suit. The main one I want to do is kind of just smell it and see like, is it human? Anything in particular that is different?

I see like, is it human, anything in particular that is different? Sure, I like where your head's at, Jackie. Let me get a wits plus either, let's call this a cult, wits plus a cult. Perfect, okay. Or even wits plus investigation, whichever you prefer. Oh, they're the same. Or even wits plus investigation whichever you prefer Delicious a four You believe this to be vitae of some report and you believe that this vitae has been here for

some time, years? Mm. Judged on the way that it is stained, the fabric. Gotcha. As I, I'm gonna, in particular, the seams of the suit, I'm trying to see if there's, like, a hidden stitch that leads to anything that is, like, maybe stitched inside. Yeah.

Are you breaking apart any seams to investigate? Not yet, I'm looking for maybe different seams, different texture, you could usually. You do find like an inside fabric tab, like something is kept in the wrist of the right cuff. But you'd have to break through the seam to find what it is. I mean, the Hakata have seam rippers. I'm gonna go ahead and gently Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and break the seam.

It's pretty easy to break through those threads. On the inside, there is a maker's mark tab that is like a little fabric slip here. And on that tab, it reads in cursive, Arthur Cost 2009. Arthur Cost. Is that name familiar? It's the prince Before the Prince. Interesting. Interesting. Okay.

Keep it. I was going to say keep it. I'm going to open one of the refrigerators that has the bodies and all that Go ahead and put that in there Yeah, put the suit on ice kind of close that off That cane I want to also examine that basically I'm looking to see for like a Harry Potter twist top Give me intelligence plus investigation. Okay.

Intelligence plus investigation. Gonna go ahead and reroll a burner willpower. Ah, three. Okay, three. OK, three. Give me an athletics plus dexterity roll. OK. No, we hardly knew you. Jesus, again.

It's always Jackie, man, or it's always Amanda. It's always Amanda. Can I am I allowed to burn another willpower? You can burn your first willpower because you haven't rolled willpower on that roll already. Not on this, not on this new roll. Yeah, then go ahead. As long as you have a willpower to burn. Yes. I too.

Okay. You are investigating this can. It's beautiful. It's made within a very expensive metal silver you think pure silver which is hard to come by. It's adorned with a crown at the top. So it is almost a crown sitting fully on to the sort of a crown sitting fully onto the sort of rounded ball socket top. And you find that pressing in on the center crown, like where your top of the head might sit in the crown, causes this mechanism. And as soon as you press it, the top of the cane, the rod of the cane shoots in an extreme fashion almost like a projectile.

And it shoots fast enough that it actually pierces itself into the concrete of the floor of your basement level. And with a two on your dexterity and athletics, you accidentally cut yourself ever so slightly on the cane length blade that extends out from the cane as soon as the projectile is shot. Huge, beautiful, almost rapier tipped saber there. Incredibly sharp, so sharp that you're already bleeding vitae. You immediately feel as the blade runs across you, a bizarre fatigue set in, Jackie.

Like your whole body just got hit with a semi truck. And some of the aspects you've been using in the past, some of your preternatural senses, they feel dulled. Oh, don't touch that. Burrows is like almost kind of uncharacteristically upset by this. He's like, God damn it, Jackie, not again. You know, I'm starting to notice a trend here.

You know, back with slow, he mentioned that Lucius was just damn sure it was us. How the hell was he so damn sure something happened in the in the rain for him to know I destroyed all the video footage and I'm looking directly at Jackie. The. I destroyed all the video footage and I'm looking directly at Jackie. I'm going to warn. I'm sorry. I'm everything's weird right now. Dollar. What did you what are you saying?

What? Say it again. I'm going to look at Sybil and be like, she fucked with the blood. It had to be what's going on. Just like she fucked with this cane and nearly got her hand chopped off. We don't know any of that at all. I'm gonna take the cane and close it. Don't touch. No, I think the blade itself might be dipped inside. I think itself is...

Yeah, can I like press it against the ground to like sheathe it or something? Yeah, yeah, you can find the other half of the cane and it doesn't look like it goes back together and in fact slots back in to become a cane again. With the cane. Oh, is there with the cane still in Sybil's hand, she's going to start gesturing with it. We don't know that. It's fine if Lucius thinks that it's us because we're about to make sure that he doesn't know that for sure. It's inconvenient, but we're fine. There's no need to start pointing fingers. And she points to Jackie. By the way, that's the only, I only did that once. So what are you talking about another time? You only need to do it once. Whatever happened with messing with the blood, they're aware of it now. Getting impulsivity from you is one thing. I'm just going to say that right now.

That's OK. Look, I'm upset because I tried really hard to make sure we covered our tracks. And we did, for the most part. And yet he still knows it was us somehow. But he doesn't have anything to provide to anybody else to make his case. Exactly. All right. I'm sorry, Jackie.

I'm just I just want this to be over, is all. I get it. You want to go back with Charney. I get it. I'm recalling a ritual that Banu Kim do, which is they can soak blood onto weapons and it becomes like a blood bound type thing. blood onto weapons and it becomes like a blood bound type thing.

I'm, I think, I don't know if that was it, but that's why I kind of like, just be careful with the blade tip. Yes. If that's something then we should probably not be near this cane for very long. Like we can keep it. It's absolutely very powerful, but we're trying to frame the people that can find things by using people's blood. And if this has been covered in his blood, then we can still have this, but we need to put it far away from us. No, but it's now to us, my blood though.

So we'll give it a good wash and then we'll throw it as far away as we can. Like maybe Colorado? That's fine. I just want to get a Dawn's Clothes in a damn trunk of some puttanesca. That we will do right now. Jackie, you got something? No, I'm just... Should we then hold on for the cane to then leave for Colorado? Put it with the suit. Okay. I'm going to open the... Can I have that?

We'll just lock it in there. The time. Well, not keeping everything. The 8-ounce clothes. Oh, I guess we are keeping a lot. Okay. Oh, yes, let me make this one. Okay. One, two, three.

Seven successes. Jeez! Tell me what happens with Adon's clothes. They are ran to the nearest Uber pickup spot and dumped in the trash can. No, the nearest Uber spot by the Puttanescas. So important to say. By the Hakata Mansion and where the Puttanescas are. They are dumped in the trash. Okay, I will say with seven successes that you go even further and drop it off

at the steakhouse that is directly tied to the puttanascus, making it even clearer that this was their actions. Okay. I was trying to- To put a bullet on this whole thing, I feel like I should call somebody and say, hey, I saw this bloody outfit. I mean, because if the puttanascus find it first, they're just going to burn it. Good.

That's true. Is it okay that it's us making that call? Yeah, I get why that's tricky. But I do think that's a good idea. Sibyl, can you have this? Burrows, can't you just talk to someone and ask them very nicely? I've got staff. I've got staff.

I'm going to update the Slack. Don't got staff. I'm gonna I'm gonna update the slack Don't leave a trail don't leave a trail no, no, of course not. I'm gonna delete the message immediately But yes, I'm gonna tell F. Please find someone to Put it anonymous tip go to lunch put it in an on this tip F responds Anonymous tip to the boys in blue or your boys in black? My boys. F who, how many dots do you have with F? I have at least two to my memory.

Roll intelligence plus whatever dots you have in F. Yes. Two and both. Three successes. Okay, F sends a message back. I can do that. Just not sure how much my words can hold weight with your people. I have an idea if you're comfortable. Sure. Shoot.

There's that gentleman that comes around asking about you quite often, and he's been wanting to work with you for a while. Maybe I could contact Greece and call in a favor. That way it's not coming from you and it's not coming from me, who means nothing to these people. It's just a suggestion boss. Sybil. Does Sybil pass this to- Yeah, it's audible.

I won't leave the room Regal looks to someone say Maybe let him know regal says it's a good idea to Did you hear that F I did yeah, I'm Thank you. I'm just trying to do the best that I can with the information that I'm provided Let him know burl said things is a good idea too. Well, me and grace kind of have a pre-existing relationship. I don't, but I just want to know.

Well, I'm feeling a lot of praise here. I mean, you know, I'm just trying to do my job. All right. Let's not leave our minds. So thank you so much. You're killing the death. You're killing it. I hang up after the first. You're killing it, you're killing it. I hang up after the first you're killing it. Sorry. It's a habit.

It's a habit. You can't let him get too happy. Trust me. You're a great leader of people. Thank you. Okay. It's just if he has fun, he wants it. And of course, before everybody retires,

Raigel will impart what he gleaned in his latest vision, just for completion's sake. Question. Is Jackie still bleeding from that wound? Yeah, I'd say the vitaitae is probably dripping in the room. Yeah, enough that it's noticeable. It smells like Vitae in the room. Cool. I don't want to do anything except sneak up next to Jackie.

And I just want to do that like air chomp again, right next to her ear. I'm going to if you do that air chomp, I I'm gonna be like kind of shoving away like wait I'll actually notice like I'm gonna look at now little concern like I'm I do not like that do not like nice be nice be nice I'm nice I'm nice. I'm nice. I'm nice. It's quiet, it's subtle, and then I'll just will walk over towards the other side of the room, like where Burrows is. Okay.

I'll lean over to now. You need a bite, you need a taste? I look at him and I'm like, I'm hungry, but I'm fine. You sure? You can call on me anytime. Oh, oh. We're already bonded and stuff, right? Like we're past this whole.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you bonded? Like friends? Yeah, like friends, let's, friends. Yeah, like good friends, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, thank you. Mm-hmm. Friends. Yeah, like good friends. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm I'm fine. Thank you. Mm hmm. Oh, that this is messy. Okay, friends. Let's go to the desert. Yeah, let's go to the desert. I feel like we're wasting time. It's almost chatting. Isn't it like for go to the desert? Right? Right.

Better desert. Yeah. Just yeah. Yeah, just yeah with I plan to sleep here because I'm with one of the cold cots I Believe I have an extra step anyone wants to stay I? Would like to just look at the book before I go to bed as we're discussing bed preparations, so will you receive a text? it's from Greece it is a screenshot of the movie The Matrix of the character Cypher sitting in front of a big stake. And under it, it reads time to fucking snitch.

And then under that got you girl got you covered. And then a million thumbs up emojis. Thank you, Grease. The little champagne cheersing emoji. And then I'm going to turn off my phone. Okay, so I believe we're all going to bed procedures. Tomorrow we're going to hit the midnight dead drop. And then I guess we're going to amble wandering into the red rocks, hoping we find something. Perfect. Okay. So I believe the only one that doesn't have to sleep or can't sleep here is Burroughs, everyone else.

If you'd like to sleep here, you can. Burroughs, is there a place in particular that you go to trying to fight that compulsion? Yeah, it's one of the many, many motels I've got around town. I'll just stay at a low rent one. Does Chardonnay come with you? Or she goes home for the night? I gotta keep up the appearances with Chardonnay for first. So, you know, she's dropped off or Ubered home or something. Ubered home? Yeah. Okay. Good. Could you roll me a wits plus awareness?

Nothing wrong with this Uber service at all, says Caleb. Wits plus awareness. Yeah. Okay. Chardonnay is an Uber driver. I was trying to throw him a bone. That's three. Three successes. Three successes. Okay.

We all go to sleep for the night, or at least as far as sleep goes for all of us, and eight hours later, 12 hours later, 14 hours later, whenever the sun goes down, you all bring yourselves back to life into the next day, the day of the dead drop. You all need to give me a rouse check to see whether you've grown hungrier in your time in the oblivion. I failed. I am at hunger three. Oh, OK. Getting up there.

I do not fail. OK. I'm OK. OK. I succeeded and I also rolled another one to heal my remaining point of aggravated health damage. And I also succeeded. Okay. Did you roll me three for that aggravated? Oh, let me roll two more. It is three for one point of aggravated help, a health recovery.

Yep. That is, that is a one failure. So, okay. So you're hungrier by one. Okay Okay Cool. We have accomplished all of that you guys wake up in your Beds wherever it is that you bed it down for the night and the next night is ours to conquer Would we like to speed through to midnight and pick up our dead drop? Sure drop. Yeah, sure. Um, right. Gal, are you going alone? You bring back up. I'll bring, I'll bring whoever is willing to come. I'll put it out on the floor and see who wants to, who wants to join. I'll send spokes with you.

Okay. Thank you. Yeah. I think it's like the last bit of Pudin Eska business. So I think Burroughrows wants to see it through He's actually gonna rent he's trying out new cars and I thought so I think he'd rent like an El Dorado or something just Just you get a vibe You guys arrive in style on the strip about midnight up to Planet Hollywood Really poppin spot on the strip basically the the straight center where a lot of people hang out. It's really hard to get anything other than a drop off in that area, so Burroughs does

leave you guys out on the curb, pull around to try and find parking in that hellscape. But Ragell and Jackie, you guys kind of drift into Planet Hollywood. Sporks on one of your shoulders, which God knows if security is going to allow you to have a crow in here. We'll see. But you work through until you find the directions that Bugsy gave to you, Ragel, and you find the male, the men's restroom that you think you're supposed to be in. You find the third stall, and you're just outside of it, stepping in. Again, pretty full in this restroom, a lot of activity going on in here. When you first step in, Ragel,

there is a man probably in his late 40s, severely overweight, but purely in his stomach, beer gutted to all hell. He has removed all of his clothes, save for his pants around his ankles and his underwear climbing down his crack. His shoes are off, his bare feet are on the floor of this men's restroom, and he is so violently drunk that in between every other room a word he is fighting the urge to vomit. Around him are two security guards from Planet Hollywood and one member of Las Vegas is finest, desperately trying to drag this man out of the room. But for every step he takes with them, he falls over. You sort of have to inch

around them to get to that dead drop, but lo and behold, when you get to the back of that disgusting toilet, which has been overflown and filled with toilet paper and excrement, toilet paper and excrement. Behind it is a USB drive taped to the back of the silver pipe of that toilet. Yep, I'll pocket it, I'll wait a suitable amount of time because I've got company, Raigel's got company in here, flush, and then make my exit.

Kyle Herringby By the time you're making your exit, having successfully feigned pissing, congratulations to you. A thing you haven't done in years. You step out and you find that the cop and those two security guards have finally found the wherewithal to reach this 300 pound man and get him up to his feet. He's doing that unsteady drunk dance that you do when you've lost all equilibrium. But as he's being drug out, his pants still around his ankles, as he's trying to drag one up by his hand, he does make direct eye contact with you, and he picks up one hand and he puts it out to you, outstretched, looking you square in the eyes, and he says, don't you know what's coming?

Don't you know what's coming? And they drag him out of the room. And you have your USB stick. Amazing. I'm like, come closer, I'm just gonna start, your USB stick. Amazing. Like come closer I'm just gonna start like hope you washed your hands and kept never smell head on out. Beautiful okay are we going somewhere to look at this information?

Is this something we're pressing on right now or are we going to take a big trip out to the Red Rocks and hope we find something? I'll wait until we get into the new El Dorado that Burrows has so kindly procured for us and I will hand it to Sybil who Regal assumes is the most technologically savvy of the group. Bugsie King. You know, I do think that's true, unfortunately. Okay, great. This is just a regular USB drive, right? We don't have to like... Yeah, it would plug in your Mac or whatever it is that I'm sure Sybil keeps something with them.

Yeah, yeah. They're Surface Pro. This coder is sponsored by Microsoft. There we go. Yes. Yeah, opens it there. Beautiful. The USB connects.

There's no sort of encryption. It's really just uniquely a file. And it is a notepad file that is plainly written with what must be a routing number to an account. And it seems to be three separate accounts. And one is asterisked next to it and with the Windows Surface, obviously, emojis have just recently become a thing, and there was a champagne glass associated right next to that asterisked account number. How do we get the money into an account of ours

and then get it to them without drawing too much suspicion? Well, that's the thing we're going to have to. I think we briefly discussed it, but I think the idea was we walk into a bank or several banks and you compel a clerk to. Make the deposit. All right. Well, that seems easy. It's not something PDF can do, can he?

the deposit. All right, well that seems easy enough. It's not something PDF can do, can he? We just have to get him like a Haxu, like a statue. I mean, it's physical currency. We got to get it in somewhere. Yeah, it's got to be made deposits. The Putinescas, they're smart enough to know that any deposit over $10,000 is going to flag in the system. It's going to cause a whole lot of inquiries. It's a suspicious activity report. So we're gonna need to divide it up. I can use my staff for, while we're handling business, we do couple stacks a day, spread it out a little bit.

That would be my advice. What if we do wanna draw attention to it? If it does get flagged, it's worse for them, right? Do it in one of the last. They're not that dumb. No. And in fact, it would actually, the more, the better, shows pattern. The only thing is you got to make sure that your staff isn't identified.

Can we do it on the 27th? Specifically why? But nevermind. on the 27th? Specifically why? But nevermind. Well, because the deposits that Teresa was getting from Lucius happened on the 27th. The 3.5 million. Interesting. So we can start it or finish it then. I don't I don't much care. No, no, no, no, no, no, that makes sense. But having a correlation would help muddy the waters a bit. All right, well, then we'll wait till the 27th.

Done. How long until the 27th, Caleb? Is today the 26th? I'll say it's within a week. Oh, it is now. We'll say that, you know, you can set that up in this dreamlike space where I don't really usually think about days of the week. Absolutely the 27th is close to us

It's as close or as far as we need it to be All right, so sounds like I need to take the money to my local bank Make a deposit in a brand new bank account Yep, all right any any good names I should put it under? Well, no. I mean, you've got here's the thing. You've got the routing and the account number, so you just take it to the bank and have them deposit it.

That's in that account. All right. But but didn't you say something about ten thousand dollars at a time? It was then under 10. I got to do this like a couple hundred times. That's why I said why Sybil was going to have her stuff. Someone else do it. Under. Ten. Oh, so I gotta do this like a couple hundred times? Hence why Sybil was gonna have her staff. Someone else do it.

Oh, I see. Yeah. All right. I just imagined in my head a big heroic walk in the bank with a bunch of money, but all right, let's do it your way. Not Ocean's 11. Burrows, you're thinking about the Pudiness guy putting the last nail in the coffin. You're thinking about this money. We're all throwing around nail in the coffin. You're thinking about this money.

We're all thrown around a bunch of ideas on how we best could do it. Could you roll me a wits plus finance? Finance was a skill. One success. With one success. This is what I'll give you. The word. With one success, this is what I'll give you. The word, I'm going to make this sufficiently vague,

the word mafia comes to mind. You know that the Pudinesca got their start in the Italian mafia. I mean, I know that's what Pudinets could do. My issue is, if they're connected to the mafia, how do we take advantage of that? I mean... Oh, Caleb. Yeah? May I, with my skill in investigation,

specifically with corruption, is that, is that a good thing? I mean, I think that's a good thing. I mean, I think that's a good thing. I mean, I think that's a good thing. I mean, I think that's a good thing. May I, with my skill in investigation, specifically with corruption, is that, can I make a roll to recall how the local mafia operates?

Yeah, you can give me intelligence plus your roll with corruption. Got it, okay. Love that, that's a good pool. That's a great pool, that's a six. Yes! That's a good pool. That's a great pool. That's a six. Six. Successes. Yes, sir. Okay. With that in connection to what Burroughs is bringing up, how can we use this mafia thing against them? You know that Las Vegas got its start as a laundering business, that many of these casinos only exist because the mafia needed places to hide money

to transfer into other accounts. And that the mafia has a long history of avoiding banks to launder through other businesses directly into their accounts through more legal means. So what am I missing here? We use a casino. It's we convert that money into chips. We cash out the chips. Play a couple rounds.

And deposit it in an account. So we give the casino a bunch bunch of money we get chips and then what do we do with those chips when we When we go to cash our chips out It's clean and we can just go ahead and take that money and have that Deposited Is that about right Caleb is that? Oh, damn. All right. Is that about right, Caleb?

Is that? In my theater degree's understanding of laundering money, I think that that, yes, might work. We'll wash it. You just, the main component there would be you need a casino that's okay with you laundering that much money. As you can tell, we're not professional criminals.

Yep, yep. So if you had someone who was a patsy enough that they're not gonna report the fact that you just brought 1.5 million dollars through to chips and then immediately took 1.5 million dollars out of chips with the circ be Stratosphere is a pretty poppin casino that a lot of tourists come through Yeah, and if slow makes us think about, we I think we name drop Lucius in a more personal way in his involvement.

I think that feels good. I think I don't think he would make a stink. I mean, if anything, this is going to this is going to just keep us more available to find his fine, fine Pandora. Can we make one roll on the roulette table? Course, course. Say like, maybe it we got to be caught on camera roulette table? Of course. I would say like maybe. We got to be caught on camera actually enjoying the casino.

Very fair. You know what? Don't you have to take Chardonnay out for a date or anything like that? Thank you. Yes, this is a great date idea. There you go. Laundering money together. Honestly, it's a good way to also maybe build some rapport if you needed to. Yeah, I think we're gonna just take the money and head to the stratosphere. Okay.

Got it. For an unexpected evening of gambling. One last time. So, this is what I'm going to ask of all of you as you bring Chardonnay and the whole crew into the strat to do some illicit gambling with funds that may or may not be gained from a heist you were a part of. In order to launder this correctly, without losing too much money, a certain amount of it has to be gambled through.

A nominal amount is cleaned off the top because obviously something has to be done with it. And then the remainder is bought out of chips back into money. What I'm asking is for everyone involved to give me an intelligence plus finance role to dictate just how well we spend these chips in such a way as to launder a huge amount of money. And I will take a majority win against my DC. So we'll put the DC at three successes constitutes a win. So I think we have one with Vince. Okay, three, two, two

successes out of three over here is a failure. Can, can I attempt to? Well, no, I mean, when it comes down to laundering money, no, I'm trying to think of using another skill, but I just don't think that there is. Do you want to grease the wheels a little, maybe a discipline? Yeah, I think that's definitely appropriate. If I use my compel discipline. So what I'll have you do is take the dots you have and dominate and use that instead of finance. That's fair. Is I do

that as well? Because yes, and now that you have dominate, yes. Jackie's wondering, because of you know, they have actually some streetwise knowledge that maybe like use some of the money in more of like some of the money in more of like some of the outside card sharks, something that is kind of just a little off the beaten path where it's a little bit more sketchier and cash only. Got it. Yeah, go ahead and replace finance with streetwise.

Burrows, how many successes do we have? Just one. God bless America. Okay, so we have two successes, two failures. This all hinges on Jackie. Well, this was pretty smart to do the streetwise angle. God, yes, too. Okay, that works, thank you, Jesus.

Three. All right. Skinny. Oh, my willpower's dying. It's not an easy thing, laundering this amount of money. It's monumental, especially to do it in one night. So it's not an easy thing laundering this amount of money. It's monumental, especially to do it in one night. But you're working overtime and you don't get any calls from slow.

You don't get any worries from the people on the other side of the desk there. Big Brother, the eye in the sky, house watching you now, does not even really blink an eye outside of some strange looks from the folks behind the chip counter, who then hear something in their ear, press in closer, nod, and then proceed with the actions between you two. And by the end of the night, you believe that of the money, you have the $1.9 million that you accumulated. By the end of the laundering, it factors out to about 1.5 million. So not a huge loss, but enough that it would read, certainly if this was deposited into someone else's account, as a huge,

it would track with a heist themselves. May I describe why Burroughs fails his finance role? Yes, you may. He comes with Chardonnay, you know, they're rolling at tables He's given her hundred dollar bills to put down. She's terrible at gambling and At a certain point Burrows disappears the other Kindred or you know, probably like oh Jesus Christ is leaving us alone with her But anyway at a certain point when like Sybil is getting the money back from

the poker table, they hear Burroughs kind of grunt as if he's getting down on one knee. And when you look, he has gone to the local jeweler and in the middle of the casino floor is is saying, Chardonnay, will you make me the happiest man on earth? And he's presenting her this like huge, gaudy diamond ring. Jackie gets up and just does. She, of course, accepts she's crying, she's bawling, she's falling into your arms. People around are clapping. They're so invested in this.

And she is just floored by the gesture and immediately puts the ring on and is showing it to everyone who will look. Oh god. We're getting married! Sybil does what she knows what to do in these situations and that's order bottle service. Because we might as well. Bottle service comes out and in the duration of this sort of distraction, a series of checks are written in the direction of the bank accounts listed within the Zip Drive, accumulating

to the amount we have laundered through the casino. The bank information given to the house directly will transfer into these accounts through the checks. So now your only step is to take them to a bank and convince the bank that you are the person on the other side of this bank account, which is what you came to do anyways. So you've successfully came out of the operation both engaged and what you believe to be successfully laundered.

That's a great night. I think with that, we're going to call this session to a close and when we pick back up we will have laundered a whole lot of money and we'll go wandering out into the desert like any good person from Vegas does. Congratulations to the ma couple. Mazel Tov, geez. So happy. When we come back in two weeks here, we will have plenty to do planning the wedding and trying to find what is waiting for us in the Red Rocks. Thank you guys so much for being here.

Great job tonight, guys. Great stuff. I got a fun second too. Yeah. Thank you all. Yeah. Hold on, I'm still processing. Yeah. All right. Yeah. Thank you all. Yeah. Hold on. I'm still processing.

Yeah. All right. Perfect.