13: The House

Zack goes on the offensive.

Zack brings Andrew's stolen laptop back to Penelope's manor. His hands shake a little from the excitement. He needs to break the computer with Pen's help to find out more about Agent Gabriella and her organization, since she rented her black sedan from Andrew's car rental shop.

With Pen's technology he gets to work.

Gather Information
Intellect 7
7, 4: Weak, +1F

Harm 5 | Stress 5 | Blood 4 | Focus +3

Oracle
What is discovered?
88, 13, 98: achieve supernatural courage

Andrew was trying to break free from the agency. This much is evident in his browsing history, chat conversations and saved e-books. He was preparing a getaway and disappearing act, complete with a flight to Zihuatanejo. A movie geek. Poor bastard, too little too late. Now the Cassandrans knew and they would deal with him.

But Zack also finds out Agent Gabriella's fake ID, belonging to a woman named Camila. Same face, just a flowery dress and a big smile. Weird to see her like this after what Zack had overheard from her in the USMC Botanical Garden.

Conceal the Hierophant's crime
[🞻|🞻| | | | | | | | ]
Rank: Formidable (🞻)

Camila. Alright, let's go with that. She has a registered address in the suburbs. Lacking any other leads at the moment, Zack packs his gun against the small of his back, and his break-in gear in a small backpack.

It takes Zack an hour to get to the registered house in the 'burbs, late at night. It's a white-painted, two-stories concrete home, Florida suburbia with plain surfaces and tall square windows. The middle-class neighborhood is deathly quiet, and public lighting covers only the pavement.

He's not sure what to expect or even do once he gets inside. Is he going to hurt her, if he finds her there? Just steal her files? Deliver a warning? Interrogate her? Only one way to find out.

Action: Find a Way In
Intellect 7
7, 3: Weak, +1F, +2 Roll, -1S

(Music)

Zack takes a while sneaking around the neighborhood, studying the target house and the surrounding property. He gets scared when a dog barks at him in the night and the owner comes out to grumpily take a look, but other than that, he thinks he has a plan figured out. The house's doors have an alarm system to detect their opening. Fortunately, he has just the right tool for that.

Action: Infiltrate
Dexterity 6, +2 roll, +1 home invader
4, 3: Strong hit, +2F, +2 roll

He approaches from the space between houses and manages to carefully open a side door. First he attaches a powerful magnet near where security companies typically install sensors. Then he pulls his trusty lockpicks and gently unlocks the door.

It's useful that heat cameras cannot detect a vampire, come to think about it. His hands still tremble a little bit when he's nervous, though, like right now. He's heard that this goes away with the years as humanity fades in the depths of the vampiric curse. Ah well. A worry for another decade.

The door swings open, revealing the pitch black darkness. Let's hope the Agent did not change the default alarm config.

Oracle
Did Gabriella change the default alarm configuration? No on a +33
45: Nope

The seconds pass. Nothing happens. Either she's not too sharp, or she hasn't had time yet to switch things around: he can see the alarm sensor where he expected it to be, fooled by the magnet.

The house looks... fake. Clean and tidy, but in an unnatural way. Like a house decor magazine picture, or a bougie feng shui guide. Probably a short-term rent. No magnets on the fridge, and an empty thai food box with chopsticks on the otherwise immaculate counter. This means Agent Gabriella is probably new in town. He can use this later.

Near the door are her business shoes. It probably means she's here, perhaps sleeping upstairs. Zack slowly picks one up in the near-total darkness and studies it. The prints match what he saw outside the botanical garden. Good.

Now it's time to carefully explore.

Harm 5 | Stress 4 | Blood 4 | Focus +6

Action: Sneak around
Dexterity 6, +2 roll
7, 1: Strong hit, +1F, +1 Elegy

Zack tiptoes carefully around until he reaches the office downstairs. No lights, no sound. She's probably asleep. He closes the door behind him and turns the phone's flashlight on.

It's an evidence corkboard. Jackpot! He takes pictures with a light flash, then studies them in the office shadows.

Oh damn. They know. They know a lot. He sees arrows and photos of many vampires and their human helpers: The Queen, Evangeline, Shu, the Hierophant...

… and Penelope, Zack’s master. He gulps and feels a rush of terrified excitement. He needs to get out of here stat!

Conceal the Hierophant's crime
[🞻|🞻|🞻| | | | | | | ]
Rank: Formidable (🞻)

Action: Exfiltrate
Dexterity 6
6, 7 - Miss

He nervously and sloppily tiptoes his way out. He places his hand on the door, then hears the terrifying sound of a pistol's safety coming off behind him, in the dark.

"Freeze."