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With the proper channels having been followed, Vincent had been directed to Al's 24hr Rest, Repair and Refuel near Holy Sepulcher cemetery off the 309. As evening descended upon Philly, the lights brightened a bit in the darkness, noting the switch to the night shift. At this time of night there was generally less commercial foot traffic at Al's, the convenience store still doing some trade, as did the gas station, but the garage was a bit quieter.
And the garage was where Vincent was directed when the Vampire arrived, the staff giving him a nod of acknowledgement, a small pin on their collars bearing the same symbol as on the notices of the Ars Armory.
Vincent had no idea this Armory existed until now but he's willing to accept any help he can get. "So um," he starts not really sure how this is supposed to work, "I was told to meet with someone?" he asks, confused but cuirous, "I'm Vincent Drake."
One of the staff nodded at the confusion and gestured towards a door. "Yes, we were told you have an appointment this evening. Please head through that door to the garage, and your contact will greet you. Welcome to the Ars Armory, Mr. Drake."
Through the door was the repair garage to Al's, which featured several bays for vehicles, complex workshop tables with all the tools and parts in neat, tidy, clearly organized spaces. An immense, squat furnace sat in the corner of the garage, currently cool and silent, though the garage space was warm enough.
At one of the workbenches a complicated looking apparatus had been set up, a series of beakers and tubes and Bunsen burners working away to boil coffee. And on a chair next to that sat Phyx, waiting for his coffee to finish brewing. Dressed in his usual jeans, sturdy boots and now a hoody for the cold, the mechanic was the only person in the garage, bopping his head a bit and tapping a foot to music in his head.
Vincent walked forward, looking around with curiosity but kept quite. Upon entering he sat down where he would be able and waited, feeling something like this it would probably be best for someone else to start the conversation.
When Vincent came through the door, Phyx raised his empty mug in greeting, giving a whistle. "Vincent. Over here. I thought the name was familiar. You're my six o'clock I think." He gestured to another chair at the benches with his mug. "Want a drink? Anything to eat? I did run into that Titania by the way, last night. Interesting lady, chatted for a bit. Good advice, I appreciate the shout."
The mortal man smiled at his guest. "Relax, take a load off and you can give me a brief heads up on what's going on, and we can go from there. I did read the notice you put up."
"Nice to meet you. . .and now I don't think I'll have anything to eat or drink, I'm full as it where," he says nodding at the man, "So, if you read the notice you know why I'm here. . .demons, can they be killed. . .can you help me battle one and what's it going to cost me?"
"We've already met, but thanks." Phyx nodded, pausing a moment as the complicated coffee set up whistled to signal it was ready. After pouring a cup and doctoring it with cream and sugar, he looked back to Vincent with a nod. "Yep, though I'm more curious about the particulars. Details are better, and if you talk me through it, I've got a much better shot at asking the questions I need answers to."
He took a sip and smiled. "Delightful. The short answer to your question though is 'It depends.' The lower they are on the totem pole the easier it is to deal with. This is why I need the details. Lots of spectral, supernatural whatsits have common weaknesses and vulnerabilities, but if there's a whole bucket load of them and a big one, that means needing specific stuff to deal with them. But yeah they can be killed, or banished so hard it hurts." He held up a hand to start counting off fingers. "Then there's whoever they've got on security and stuff. You said they employ parautilitarians right? Psychokinetics, telekinetics, psychics? That kind of thing?"
Phyx got off his chair, carrying his mug with him. "But yeah, I can help you fight one, I can help you figure out how to kill one, depending on how beefy it is, I can help you deal with security and I can probably help keep people from getting killed who are going in as well. As for what it's going to cost you?" He shrugged, then gestured for Vincent to follow him over to the big furnace. "Right now? Information and details that I need, answers to my questions, and some discretion on your part. If you genuinely have significant funds? Then you can put them towards getting whatever strike team you're trying to put together properly outfitted and prepared. I will also be throwing in on that, but if we can split materials costs it'll mean we can get more done faster."
Vincent let's out a breath, "My lover. . . her family is a cult dedicated to a demon, I don't know the names or rank but they call themselves the 'Black Hand'," he begins, "She told me she was made to sell her soul on her 18th birthday, that it materialized and put a mark on her neck as well as showed her how she will die,' he pauses, "If that helps determine the rank, her uncle is leader of the cult and happens to by Skinny Joe Merlino, head of the Philly Mob and thus this cult controls the Mafia." he face palms, "I sure know how to pick them don't I," he chuckles sadly, "She said their's a seperate demon that follows her uncle and some of them have low level abilities, low magic, pyrokenises, that kind of thing."
Phyx just blinked, then started laughing. A loud, cheerful belly laugh, enough to have him leaning against the wall he’d brought Vincent to. “Wow kiddo. You sure can.” He clapped Vincent on the shoulder, and grinned. “And by that I mean me. Funny how things come full circle, isn’t it?” He nodded at the information given so far. “Good starts, good starts. Seeing the mark would help a lot yeah, as would anything your lady friend know about the cult itself and their practices and stuff. The mafia stuff is… less of a concern. That’s just human stuff, and we can deal with that.”
Phyx pressed a palm to the wall and a door depressed and slid open, otherwise hidden from perception. Beyond was a cylindrical elevator, with a small bench around the circumference of it. He hiked a thumb at the space. “Got any issues with claustrophobia or being underground?”
"No," he says on replies to underground or claustrophobia, "I'll try to see if I can arrange a meeting, if she can show you the mark or ask her about the cult, on the condition that I'm present when you ask her," he says rather protectively before realising, "Sorry. . .so, what do you mean full circle?"
"Great, hop in." Phyx stepped into the elevator and waited for Vincent to board before pressing a button. The lift they were in started heading down, quite a ways in fact before the doors finally opened. "Please do. And yeah that's not an issue. I don't know if she plans on coming along, but right now we are going to start referring to her in this particular plan as "The Asset".
When the door opened, it led out into a large, almost luxurious space deep underground. The walls and ceiling above were clearly all made of seriously dense metal, though painted in pleasant colors. There were staircases that led up to the semi open upper floor, where various doors led off it, the walkways leading to a large loft space at the back. The ground floor however was given over to a seemingly endless variety of work spaces, each tailored to a specific need. There were rows of scientific equipment, reloading and fabrication benches for weaponry, spaces for forging and armor smithing, racks of weapons and different armor types on display, an positively immense computer bay, and a large door leading off to 'Automotive'. There was also a comfortable, clean looking lounge space, complete with coffee table and couches, and a kitchen and dining area. One wall was simply labeled "Occult", and contained rows upon rows of strange items, odd looking weapons, and shelves of reference material and charms and amulets and such.
"What I mean by full circle is before I moved to Philly, I spent the better part of a decade doing this exact thing, all the time. My exact training is in dealing with parautilitarians..." He gestured to Vincent. "What you'd refer to as 'low magic' and the cults that tend to spring up when some people get big ideas. Genuinely. Depending on if the house needs to remain standing at the end of it, I could just bring the damn thing down. But that's a latter stage of planning. Have a seat." Phyx himself got comfy in an armchair. "So basically this is gonna break down into a few parts. Cause we got the demon." He held up a finger. "The mafia aspect. The parautilitarian aspect," Two more fingers. "Then the house itself and it's defenses and layout, then this whole who's got whose soul thing, and how we prepare and plan. Does that make sense so far? Would you add anything else to that list before we go forward?"
he thinks, "I want to gather what allies I can. . .but yeah, so far you've covered it well enough, I don't know if I want to destroy the cult in it's entirety or not but I will if I have to," he shrugs, "I hate to admit but I'm looking to get into the crime game and if I can take their assets and contacts, but the priority is exterminating the demon and getting her soul back, killing Joey Merlino as well."
"Ok, so we've got clear goals. I'm gonna suspect if we kill this guy, probably things will fall apart either way. Allies and contacts I'm not sure will survive this. Getting into the crime game is something else for another day, given that I am not a cop, and I engage in extra legal behavior myself at times. That being said, it may come up as a topic in the future. Just so you know." Phyx nodded. But that being said, we can move on. Allies is a good place to start. Aside from you and me, is anyone else going to be involved in this jaunt? Got anyone else on board?"
"My other partner," he says, "Throuple," as if that's all that needs to be said, "I've got some replies from other at Maddy's, I'm going to look into a fellow Kindred named Guy, I was going to get a Mage who I thought was my friend," he scowls, "But that's not going to happen, I was hoping to ask a mage who knows how to deal with souls and the 'twilight' as they call it. . .their was also some Lost who I wish to look into, an associate of mine named Vorpal."
Phyx nodded, raising a brow as Vincent listed off potential allies. "Ok. Guy I have met, and I am sure I can work with. Your other partner is combat capable? I'm gathering that the partner you're trying to help is not, but that could be not true." He shrugged. "Mage we can look into, I've met a few lately. Vorpal I don't know but I know some stuff about the Lost. So in best case scenario right now we have 6. That's a pretty decent number for a team, if we can fill in all the parts properly."
He pointed to Vincent. "My next question then is are you combat capable? Legitimate question, not throwing shade. I believe what you tell me, but you'll need to be able to use those skills as part of this. The other question being, what defensive measures do you and everyone else need if we do this?"
"My other partner is an assassin Lost working for their combat faction," he chuckles then frowns, "I'm. . .training but overall, I'm a lover not a fighter, I've solved my problems with words and deals. ..I want to be of help but I don't think I'm ready yet."
"Huh. That's pretty solid news. Can I ask for a name? If they're guaranteed to come on board then the earlier we can start getting things together the earlier this can pop off. Unless someone has some super duper fancy pants magic armor, I'm gonna need to properly outfit everyone for the trip. That includes you." He pointed to Vincent again. "Not being ready yet is fine. I don't actually know how much of a time table there is for this, but I won't say no to prep time if it's not going to significantly risk your partner. Your... other other partner. The Asset."
"That all being said, if you want to try and get ready, I can help you with that. I bet Guy can too. There's some stuff going up soon that'll facilitate that, but in the meantime I can at least help you get into a more confident place. And also don't forget that even in a combat situation, there's a very real need for support personnel, and there's a wide range of skills that can apply to."
"So, our current questions. One: what part do you want to play and what part can you play, if we needed to do this say... tomorrow. Whatever you're good at, that's what I want to know. You use words and make deals, and that can frankly be damn handy. Second: what gear do you need to be prepared to take part, if you want to actually go in on the assault, or what equipment would best facilitate your role in this. and third: how much do we know about our target? The house itself, which I gather is what we'll be hitting. Do we have blueprints for it? Entrances, exits, defenses? I assume the guards are all heeled, even if they have parautility for instance."
"Avery," he says to his other partners name, "I want to be their to kill the damn thing and her uncle," he says, "I want to see his face as the life leaves him. . .I guess I'll need weapons and armor, I've been learning how to use a sword. ..yes I know this is 2023," he shrugs, "The Asset is a member of the cult, she should have the details on security."
Phyx nodded. "I can dig it. Avery then. I'll need to meet with them as well, get proper measurements for all necessary gear, go over how we can work together, and so forth." At the vehemence Vincent spoke with, Phyx just tipped his head to the side, then nodded. "I understand what you mean. Yes you will, especially if we're going in as a team. I don't want to be hauling you around with two broken legs because you didn't go in prepared."
At the comment about swords and the current year, Phyx just raised one brow before pointing to a wall behind Vincent. The space was full of weapon racks, the wall as well displaying dozens of different kinds of sword, spear, axe, baton, hammer, bows, as well as shields, thrown weapons and of course guns. The look he gave Vincent conveyed a very clear message of "Yes, and?"
"Swords I know. I know most things in fact. And I do know someone who's particularly good with them as well. But yeah, I can make you want you need. And that's perfect. If you can manage to get the both of them over here at some point, at the same time is fine, I'll hash it out with the two of them. How's that grab you?"
"Perfect," he all he can say, smile on his face, "I thought this would a suicide mission of defiance but. . .I think we might be able to do this with the right people!"
"Wow yikes. I didn't realize things were looking that rough. Yes, we can do this with the right people. I know how to knock a lot of the obstacles down pretty easily, but the more prep and people we can get in, definitely the easier it goes. When you come back with your partners I'll take everyone's measurements and get started. Even if the asset isn't going along with us, she still needs to be properly protected when all this goes down." He shrugged. "And then really, most of it is just dealing with a bunch of humans and their little pet horrors, and dealing with the boss of bosses and the demon. In the meantime... I'll start putting together the stuff we'll need for this. That's where the cost is going to start coming in. If I'm going to be making a lot of really high end, custom gear it's gonna be fairly resource intensive, so the part you can play certainly is helping curb that, so we can get it done sooner rather than later. I need to replace some of my own gear as well, so now's a good time for it."
Phyx smiled. "And lastly, when are you planning on trying for this strike? The notice said you weren't sure when the demon is actually around, so it could be either in a week or in a few years or something, right? Do we know when the next kid turns 18? Also, one last thing. Ask your partner if she knows if these demons things can posses people. That's gonna be important to know as early as possible."
"Unless it's fully material, I guess we hit the next birthday party, I'll ask her about it, time table wise as long as they don't know about this, we can wait for the party. . .thank you for all of this, really."
"If it's far enough away... the birthday that is... then we've got time to get it all going. Soon as we have an idea of a schedule we can get an idea of what we can prepare for." Phyx smiled, standing up to offer his hand to Vincent. "You're welcome. Like I said, this is literally my job. Keep me updated, help me get everything set up, and I will do what I can to nip this in the bud. Just stay out of trouble in the meantime, keep your heads down, and get back to me as soon as you can set up an appointment between the four of us. In the meantime, I'll start working on my own end here. Gotta replace and upgrade some of my gear, one of those Mark 2s shredded the hell out of my last set. I'm still pissed about that."
he takes the hand, "I'll see when I can get the other two down here as well as a place she can be when it happens."
"Great. Sounds like we have a good start to build on. Right now you can head back up and go talk to your partners, and I'll start getting my own stuff going. At some point in the next week or so, I'll probably contact you about funds for setting up. But I'm going to make sure that everyone involved is as safe as they can be made when we go through this. And admittedly, if need be the asset can just stay down here. There's living quarters and food and water and stuff. But we can work that out later."
"Thank you, is the place defended against. . well demons?"
"That would depend on the demon I guess, and what they can do. I can make sure nothing tries to take over your girlfriend, but if need be I'll look into how to deal with that. It can at least stand up to a bunch of mafia thugs, parautility or no."
"Ok. . .I'll call you then."
"Supplexcellent. Please do. If you need anything else in the meantime, use the app to connect with Augur, and she can guide you further." He offered Vincent a lazy salute. "Take care of yourself kiddo. And your loved ones. Crazy as this all is, I think you're doing the right thing here. Which is why I am thusly inclined to assist you."
Phyx walked Vincent back to the elevator and sent the vampire off with a nod and a smile.
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