Activity Log, April 10, 2001 After the previous night's excitement over Mason, the group decided to reconvene early the next evening and discuss matters. Parker, Hannah, and the new childe Jo spent the first part of the evening discussing politics (the merits of the anarch movement, Jan's political enemies), hunting, and shopping for some rather scandalous clothing for Parker. I do not think I have ever seen a man wearing quite so much leather and fishnet! It seemed to amuse Hannah and Jo, however. Ethan and Cliff were on other business, but the group converged on Pitt's bar as a relatively safe place to meet and discuss matters. When they arrived at Pitt's, however, the bar was closed and dark for the first time in their (or my!) experience. Pushing open the door showed them Julia sitting at one of the bar stools, slumped in her seat, with a quite impressive array of glasses lined up in front of her. Pitt was serving her rather nervously as she demanded drink after drink of alcohol-laced blood. The group attempted to speak to her, most notably Cliff tried to calm her, but she raved at them quite terrifyingly. They spoke with her for perhaps an hour, in which time she sang, cried, smashed things … I should not have liked to be in their shoes. However, she did reveal some valuable information about her state of mind. She seemed quite upset about Oliver, the Sabbat and Mobea threatening Jan's position, especially as she seems to hold herself responsible for keeping him on the throne; she seemed to think her life in danger if she held to her current course; and most interestingly, she wept about the Camarilla being corrupt. I am quite surprised that she had any illusions to be shattered at what must surely be her great age, but perhaps it was only an effect of the drink. Eventually Cliff was able to persuade her out of the bar, telling the others he was taking her home. While he was gone, the others talked to Pitt about what Julia had said. He seemed rather more dismissive than I might have been, except for about the matter of Oliver. He said that Oliver must have some allies to be as bold as he is, but I would not necessarily trust his testimony on the matter. It seems he and Oliver have had a long-standing rivalry: Oliver burned down several of his bars, but Pitt seems not to have retaliated. Pitt did have a number of funny stories to share with the group, and I believe he succeeded in raising their spirits at least a little bit. When Cliff returned, talk turned to more serious matters: namely, Oliver. Ethan revealed that Blackwell was intimately involved with his family, and that it seemed at least possible that Blackwell also controlled Mason. Cliff added that it was at least possible that they were unwittingly working for Blackwell as well, via the intervention of their patron Angel. Hannah and Parker dismissed this idea, but Ethan seemed to consider it at least possible. Ethan also informed the group that he had been researching Oliver, who had done business in New York during the Sabbat occupation of the city, and therefore it was at least possible he was allied with the Sabbat. At the very least, they suggested he might have been selling weapons to both sides during the war. As I recall, Nathaniel (before his death) had found that Oliver's role in the war was to provide the Camarilla with materiel, but I imagine that even Blackwell could not be so base as to sell to both sides. Hannah seemed to think the same: she pointed out that her own sire had a deal with the Sabbat to be simply left alone, and that Oliver might have managed the same. Ethan said that the issue was not the Sabbat or the Camarilla: both sides used innocents to fight for them so that they would not have to risk themselves. He seemed to be much more upset over Oliver and Oliver's involvement with his mortal family. This led to a discussion of how they might best navigate the political minefield of New York City. Jo suggested Ethan might sacrifice himself and join Blackwell to save his family. Parker pointed out that the issue was for all of them, not just Ethan: they could fight for the city against the various forces that threatened it, join one of those forces (Oliver, the Sabbat, Mobea), or simply flee. Cliff seemed more pessimistic, arguing that only elders could influence anything in a serious way and that they would never manage to reach that august estate. Hannah suggested finding like-minded independents to form a coalition to protect the neonates, while Jo suggested fleeing to Staten Island and gaining the protection of Mobea. Parker seemed in favor of this idea, though with plans to later betray her and Oliver Blackwell and play them against each other. Ethan pointed out that Oliver could simply use their minds, however, and that it would not be safe to plan to betray him. Cliff was the most stubborn, however, saying that he wanted to help Julia and follow her path. Hannah was the one who came up with a concrete suggestion to gain them power while aiding Julia: she suggested that they ask to be deputized and get the neonates to hunt Sabbat. This would help Jan by hurting one of the threats to his reign, while showing everyone that the neonates were a force to be reckoned with. The group quickly agreed to pursue this plan. While Hannah called Jorl, Jan's secretary, to tell him about the Sabbat threat, as a preliminary to having Julia deputize the group, the others began calling their friends to join this plan. The group separated to do this, and returned to their respective homes. I was able to learn what happened there from inference, as the subjects rejoined only a few hours later. It seems they each returned home to find something quite unpleasant waiting for them. Jo found her treasured bass destroyed; Ethan found a lock of his sister's hair in an envelope pushed under the door; Cliff's clinic was fire-bombed (though no one was hurt); Hannah found her director's head on her front stoop in a box; Parker's ward Sarah was beaten quite badly and his dog was left in the refrigerator to suffocate and freeze. The subjects were understandably quite upset about these events, especially as they each found a small white card with the words "This is a warning" printed on it at the scene of each crime. Wisely enough, the group decided to investigate and try to repair the damage. (This involved Parker feeding his ward some of his blood, something that I can only imagine will have repercussions later.) Ethan took charge of using his supernatural senses (and Angel's, when the task proved beyond him) to find the faces of the perpetrators; he passed the descriptions to his private detective associate, Rita Cheng, and had her begin investigation. Parker and Cliff brought blood samples from under Sarah's nails to the clinic and began a DNA analysis, and Parker also brought blood samples to the Tremere. He met with one James Abbott, a noted scholar and antiquarian whose more public works I studied as a boy: Abbott promised that the Tremere would try to learn something, but that the small size of the samples might prevent them from doing so. They regrouped in Parker's destroyed apartment to wait for Rita Cheng to arrive and begin her investigation. While waiting, they began to wonder what might have sparked this attack. Ethan and Hannah pointed out that the five of them were present at the events of the previous evening, and that was their only previous association with Jo. They also examined the scrap of a matchbook that the girl Sarah had managed to claw from her attackers' pocket. At this point, however, Rita arrived. She inspected the premises and the girl Sarah, who was fortunately able to disguise the fact that her wounds did not match the amount of her blood on the walls. (Cliff had suggested reopening her wounds for Rita's inspection, but Parker refused to allow anyone to harm her further.) The exhausted girl was taken to Cliff's clinic while Rita continued her investigation. Rita examined the bit of matchbook and asked to keep it for her investigation, but Ethan refused to allow her to do so -- it was clear even to me that she was lying when she said she knew nothing about it. Perhaps she is protecting some of her colleagues in the underworld? After Rita left, they discussed her possible involvement. Ethan pointed out that she takes her orders and money from his father; Jo suggested his father might be involved with the attacks, but Ethan would not listen to her. Jo was concerned that Rita might be in danger because they had involved her. Cliff and Parker pointed out that whoever did the attacks must have had many servants -- hired or blooded -- because they all took place at about the same time, involving at least ten people if not more. They finally agreed that though they likely could not protect Rita, her involvement with Cypress Sr. would help shield her from any trouble she might have. They split up to investigate further using their individual contacts, and agreed to meet again at the beginning of the following evening. Transcribed and maintained Elizabeth Kent