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The phone number on the card goes to a voicemail. The outgoing message plays: Vincent Drake: Race Street Cafe, 7 PM, January 19th, 2023.
His call, apparently, was expected.
"Um. . .hello, I'm Vincent Drake" he begins the message, "I'm calling in relation to the card put down by the request at Maddy's, about binding a demon and severing it's pact." he says, "if you put your card I assume you can help me or are at least interested. . . I'd like to discuss this in person if it's convenient for you, I can only meet at night." he says trying to convey a calm nature,
There is no call back, nor does anyone acknowledge the message. The outgoing message that he heard did give a place and a time.
Vincent decides to give it a try, heading out and going to this cafe. After an enjoyable walk all things considered, he arrived in the Cafe dressed in semi-formal attire, a nice vest/suit combo, Maria did have a good sense of style for him. Upon arriving he looked around, not sure if who he should be looking for. After a second he sat down, thinking they would come to him.
It's one of those casual neighborhood bar/restaurants filled with lots of neighborhood people coming out to eat a casual dinner or have a drink. Vinny stands out a little bit, given his dress. At five minutes after seven, one of the bartenders pushes herself up on her toes and calls across the room: "Vincent Drake? Message for Vincent Drake?"
Mentally face palming at his attire, Vincent walks over, "That would be me."
"This was left for you," the woman offers, shoving a napkin across the bar at him. It reads: 714 W. Girard Ave
Once the gesture is complete, she spins away from him and hurries down the bar to provide a requested refill.
Vincent sighs and reads the napkin pocketing it, realizing he must have walked in on in episode of the Black List. Once again he finds himself traveling the city to arrive at his destination, with a new found sense of 'keep eyes opened' due to the element of cloak and dagger
Over him towers the empty National Security Bank building. First built in 1887, this former bank served a German-American population at the end of the 19th century. The building then became a dance club in the early 2000s but has sat empty ever since (save for the occasional dance party). Its hodgepodge of architectural styles are definitely a feast for the eyes, and one of the doors sits cracked open just a touch.
With raised eyebrow he heads in. . .but as he does decides to dig a bit. Feeling the place out he bent down on his knee and put a hand to the floor, hoping the building is ready to sing for him.
His Beast reveals to him the strongest emotion associated with the place -- he feels and sees grasping fingers clutching at his clothing, tugging on his arms, pulling at him, digging into his pockets, snatching baubles from his wrists and throat. The last owners spin like tops, light and neon, and he feels the pulse of bass deep in his gut, rattling his intestines like he's still alive and the music moves him the way it once did.
An empty door swings back and forth, and a rotted mattress falls from a rusty iron bedframe onto the floor in the next vision given to him by his Beast's understandings.
That emptiness seems to expand and drop into nothingness, and his Beast plays a slow climbing Depeche Mode lick: enjoy the silence.
Vincent breathes, or at least imitates breathing, still not getting used to the visions of Auspex, "Going to guess Greed," he mutters to himself walking in, "Music and dance is on the up and up. . .gonna say squatters or no one at all." he continues his muttering, needing to hear some voice, as he walks deeper in he speaks aloud, "Hello. . .I'm here on your instructions. . .on the off chance this is a trap, please don't kill me." he gives a sad chuckle
The open first floor -- an empty, abandoned bank lobby converted into a club -- stretches its checkered tiles out in front of him. A flutter of wings curls up towards the rafters as a pigeon alights from its temporary perch, and the place smells of cold wind and guano.
A woman appears at the opposite end of the room. She wasn't there a minute ago, but she is now. Tall, slender, wearing a Black Bloc outfit with the mask pulled up, her hands in her pockets.
In literally no time at all, she's halfway across the floor towards him as if she teleported, or as if Time stopped and she walked there. Time seems to skip again, and she's halved the distance to him once more, still some twenty feet away. "Welcome to your object lesson, Vincent Drake."
"Who knows you're here?"
He takes in the sight, honestly with the albino witches, truly gender fluid wizards, raven feathered people. . .well expect the unexpected.
"Nobody, I came alone and I took your card when I found it on the bulletin board." he says as he tries to follow her motions, "I assume your a mage due to the nature of the request," he puts out a hand, whether she'll shake it or not is anyone guess, "Um, he/him, what pronouns do you use?" he asks, "I thank you for this meeting."
Well, he's done it. Vinny has done it. He's rendered a Guardian of the Veil speechless.
Gardener looks at him for a long minute, her lips slightly parted, and then she literally facepalms. One long-fingered hand in its smooth black leather glove comes up to paw slowly at her face. She just stands there, staring at the fledgling vampire, her jaw dropped. "How are you not dead?" She gestures out to the side with one hand and then brings her fingertips up to her temple, resting them gently and disbelievingly against it. "Like, really dead? How is Maria not dead?"
"You have no idea who I am. You didn't ask anyone. You assume I'm a Mage. And you came to a secondary location when you were given one, telling no one that you came here, to meet someone who you assumed had your best interests at heart because... what? Because I replied to a post you put up in a wafflehouse? Sight unseen, you showed up?"
he thinks, "Well. . .I asked for a mage in the ad as it where, are you a vampire too?" he asks with a raised eyebrow, "If you're allowed at Maddy's I thought you would be on the level, they don't let in people who cause trouble, I mean sure Titania's allowed in but other than stressing me the fuck out she hasn't down anything that could actaully harm me. . .ok other than that one time but that was my fault." he shrugs retracting the hand, "Honestly. . .I don't know how I'm alive, I don't know why the bitch didn't ghoul me but Maria thinks I have dumb luck." he pauses, "Oh shit your here to kill me aren't you. . .some kind of Van Helsing?"
She does not say out loud 'this man is an idiot.' She just stares at him as if she cannot believe that she decided to spend part of her evening on this. She could be filing reports. She could be cleaning firearms. She could be cleaning up blood stains from a Guardian safehouse's bathroom grout with a toothbrush. But here she is, standing in a warehouse, talking to Vinny. "No, Vincent Drake, there are plenty of ways that someone who could harm you get get into Maddy's Wafflehouse. She's clever, but she can't think of everything without barring half of the people she wants to let in." Gardener slowly shakes her head.
"Lucky for you, no. I'm not a hunter. I'm also not a simulacrum or a replacement of myself. For all you know about me, I could be a Seer who sent a mind-controlled Sleepwalker in to post a note. I could have been replaced by a Seer after I posted that note and be tied up in a basement somewhere. You don't even know what I am. Jesus." She shakes her head. "Kid, if you want to get yourself killed, that's your business, but you seem to think that you can take care of your partners, from the way you play yourself off."
"Lemme ask you a question, Vinny." Apparently she's decided he's Vinny now. "How much do you know about Maria's family?"
"Seer?" he aks but then moves on, "Um. . .I know her family is the Mafia, her uncle is Skinny Joe Merlino, they are a demon worshiping cult that signs their children over to death. . .so the Mafia." he shrugs, "Ok yeah, that tracks now that I think about it." he mutters, "I. . .I'm in over my head yeah," he admits, "I'm sure I've insulted everyone at one point, caused my own partner mental harm, I barged into Maria's life. . .honestly, everyones better off with me dead." he fully admits, "But I'm here, I don't plan on walking out in the sun so damn it I'm going to try, I'm going to evolve and become a better vampire. .." he exclaims, "But yeah, sorry for the speech, demon worshiping mafia cult." (edited)
Gardener waits all of that out with patience, staring at Vinny and just occasionally blinking. "Unh hunh. And Maria herself can walk into Maddy's just fine, right?"
"Yup. . .oh. . .oooohhh." he says as if it just dawned, "The demon marked mafia princess. . .can walk in-" he facepalms, "People are too nice in this city, I swear I've let my guard down." he groans
"Too nice. In Philadelphia." That, at least, makes Gardener snort. "Okay." She rubs beneath her nose and then tucks her hands into her pockets.
"Listen, kid. Your friends may be nice, and you may think that Maddy's is perfectly safe, but if you want to last a year, let alone a decade, or have a chance of outliving either one of your partners, you need to remember that you are a tiny speck of dust on top of a slightly larger speck of dust hurtling through the universe at millions of miles an hour. Nowhere in the universe is there one solid place to stand. Everything is in motion. Everyone has motivations."
"And if you were a betting man, you should bet that every single one of her demon-riddled cousins knows exactly what you're trying to do, because you were not -- at all -- subtle."
She smiles, then. It isn't a particularly nice smile. It's a smile that looks like it belongs on a snake leaning over a nest full of eggs. "So lemme ask you. Who set up the security on your Haven?" (edited)
It was the the 'every single one of her cousins knows exactly what he're tryong to do' that made realize how much of a fuck up he was at the moment.
"Maria's is my new primary, I have a secondary that was given to me and set up by Titania," he says, "If her family already knows then two things will come from that, one is that I'm screwed, the plan is scerwed and I just signed my partners death warrent, not exactly a fun thought," he says, "Second. . .if they don't immediately kill her and me, then I'll bargain my ass off." he fully admits
"Maria set up the security. .which I'm guessing means they can override it, if that's the case I'll take her to my place or to an associate who I've recurited for this-" he stops himself and thinks, "Ok, why am I here, clearly you think I should be dead right now so it's not kindness and I have nothing to offer you, what's your game?" (edited)
She shakes her head just a little bit. "Oh, no. Let's not get it twisted. You owe me," Gardener answers, that snake smile still in place. "What's the price of 'avoiding a premature suntan administered by Skinny Joe's boys,' you think? Is that a life debt? I think so. What about 'heading you off from announcing your plans on a loudspeaker before your girlfriend gets turned into a flensed offering'? Is that two life debts?"
"Let's call you an investment, Vincent Drake. Because now at least you're asking the right questions." One hand gets raised. "How does that quote go?" She conducts the air. "Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, consider this justice a gift... "
And then she disappears from sight, leaving him alone in an empty building. (edited)
he looks around, slightly terrified, realizing how much of a fuck up he is, never using the bulletin board for anything important again, and wondering who his new boss is. . .all in all this was a enlightening evening, he needs to get better at this shit, either she made it so the Mafia does not know or warned him that they do know. He sighs as he departs, steeling himself for a conversation with Maria and Avery, he has to be better, has to actually listen to them now and won't go off doing things like this unless he's taken advice from them first.
"I need to evolve." he mutters as he walks into the night
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