The south side of Nashville was not the most well off placce.  Just off of downtown located near the Crazy Horse gentlemen's club the view from the apartment was not glamorous or well sought after.  Still sometimes the less looked at was better.  Lots of police trolling the neighborhood but they were looking for drug dealers and prostitution rings.  The sun had set not too long ago and as he prepared for whatever this night brought his phone buzzed to life with a solitary message.

Heaven or hell, it matters not as long as the innocents are safe..

The number was a local cell number with the 615 area code.  It was not, however in Leonard's contact list.

[Private to Leonard Dusek: Sorry its a little bland wanted to get you started.]
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 11:24, Mon 13 Apr 2015.

Leonard frowned at his phone and the cryptic message displayed across the screen. Innocents? Heaven or hell? It certainly didn't sound like something a telemarketer would say. He wondered if it was some kind of threat.

He waited for a little while to see if the sender would say more. When nothing happened, he sent a reply.

Good luck with protecting your innocents then.

He got up and prepared to go out, tucking the phone into an inside pocket of his black leather jacket. Perhaps a quick trip to the gentlemen's club to take the edge off his hunger, before deciding whether he should do anything useful with his night.

The club was a little light on patrons this early.  A few construction workers and one table of businessmen.  The woman dancing on the stage was known as Ruby, jet black hair, ice blue eyes, framed by almost porcelain skin.  She was one of the constants in this place.  A lot of the other girls were college coeds just making some extra dollars as they went through their course work.  Ruby was a true professional and an artist on the stage...in fact Leonard was pretty sure she was danccing here the first time he came in all those years ago.

Clearing the main stage she smiles at Leonard before stpping at the table of businessmen and chatting them up, even taking a drink from one their beers.  For their part they seem to enjoy her company.  As she chats them up and trolls for lap dances an asian girl takes the stage and looks extremely nervous as she begins to sway to some David Guetta remix of some sort.

"Yo my man...yeah you.  How bout you pull up a chair and we chats a bit."  Almost as if appearing out of this air an african american man with gold teeth smiles up at Leonard and kicks out a chair towards him while taking a swig of Jack Daniels.

Leonard stops watching the activity by the stage to stare down at the chair being kicked out at him, then frowns at the man smiling at him with gold teeth. He remains standing where he is.

"I beg your pardon? Who are you?"

"Lets just says that when someone stumbles uninvited into my area I takes notice my man.  Now have a fuckin seat before I break tha muthafucker over yer head, ya heard?"

All is said with a smile on his face and a casual tone that draws no attention from the other patrons.  Glancing towards the seat he takes another swig before smirking and looking up, "Choices...choices...I smell the old cobwebs burning from here.  Use it for something other than a coat rack my man.  Sit down and humor an old man."

Leonard frowns back at him in confusion. Cobwebs? Coat rack? But he does vaguely remember something about areas and territories, and that he should probably pay attention to them, and so after a moment he picks up the chair, carries it back over to the man's table, sets it down, and sits.

"Fine. I'm sitting."

He goes back to scanning the other patrons for potential future snacks.

"I not seen ya before my man.  Means you either new or looking for new huntin grounds.  Either is cool just have to know where you is.  This grand area belongs to Balthazar Sa Araskarra.  Trust me, you ain't want him mad at ya.  Consider this a sprititual come to Jesus convo, my man."

Smiling he leans forward and throws a small stack of 1's at the stage.  Most don't even get close but he really doesn't seem to care.

"As luck would have it we both be probably wanting to stay under tha radar.  Peeps don't like newcomers, specially if they ain't part of their crowd.  You may be but I isn't.  Ya see...I be something of an enigma.  Been here since this town was nothin but a small river trading port.  Look at her now.  Course in those days I was a slave.  My how da world's changed.  Tell me, why ya prowlin around here my man?  Peeps goona ask soon make surre ya have a good answer.  OOOps..."

His elbow knocks a beer off the table and he leans down to pick it up, temporarily disappearing from sight.

[Private to Leonard Dusek: Alertness + Int diff 7]

[private to GM: 00:16, Sat 18 Apr 2015: Leonard Dusek failed (no successes) using 4d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 7 ((2,3,8,1)).]

As the other man babbles on, Leonard wonders to himself whether he might be one of the insane ones. He pays close attention out of the corner of his eye when his tablemate disappears under the table, wondering what he might be up to.

"I'm not prowling," he replies. "Just came in to get something to eat is all. Where can I find this Balthazar? If I need to get things square with him over it, I'll go square with him."

Sitting back up he brushes off his shirt where the beer spilled.  "Balthazar ain't never come in here my dude but his peeps do.  Look for Dre and Andrekis.  Gansta thugs.  You know em when yous see em.  They always be here doin nuthin.  Now, tell ya what my man.  You ain't seen me, I ain't seen ya.  We both go on doing what we do, right?  Remember good words and reason for bein here they gonna ask.  Here, first dance is on my."

Handing Leonard a $20 the man rises nods his head and turns to leave.  The bill has something written on it but its hard to read, especially in the low light.  Nodding his head he turns to leave takes a step, stops, and then picks up a $100 bill.  "Oh, looky heres.  Lucky me."

Leonard glances at the $20, frowns slightly when he sees the writing on it, then shrugs and stuffs it into a pocket. As the other man finds the $100 just lying on the floor, he can't help but to glance in the direction where all the $1 bills had been flung. Had something happened with that, that he missed?

"Lucky you," is all he says, as he eyes the other man dubiously. "Hey, what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't....have a good night my man."

WIth that he steps into the middle a a small group of men who had just entered and vanishes from sight.  Its almost as if he disappeared into their group.  Meanwhile the club is starting to fill up with young college guys and a few girls, including one small bacherlorette party.  It seems they are starting their night here.  As Leonard looks around one of the strippers plops down on his lap.  "How bout a dance DADDY? Trust me, it'll be an experience you won't soon forget..."

Batting her eyes and smirking devilishly she tosses her black streaked blond hair over her left shoulder and runs a finger down her neck and into her shirt and around her left breast.  "You in?"

Leonard's eyes widen a bit in surprise as the woman sits in his lap. Then he smiles and runs his hands up and down her sides. "I would love a dance."

Dinner, it seemed, was about to be served.

Smiling seductively she takes Leonard's hand and leads him into a back room with a chaise type couch.  Pushing him down she smirks seductively and rocks her hips back and forth before kneeling on the couch and shifting with the music till her breasts are in Leonard's face and her hips hover above his.  _{"Trust me darling...you're going to enjoy this..."}

Biting lightly on Leonard's earlobe she exhales softly thereby blowing air on to his ear as her tongue flicks outwards and lightly licks just below his ear lobe.

[Private to Leonard Dusek: Roll perception + alertness diff 5]

[private to GM:
11:55, Thu 30 Apr 2015: Leonard Dusek rolled 4 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((6,10,7,8)).]

Leonard growls his pleasure as he buries his face in her breasts. Flicking his tongue out in return for what she's doing around his ears, he searches for a good spot to bite in.

It dawns on Leonard that the woman on his lap is not what she seems.  It doesn't take anything more than looking for a place to bite when it dawns on him that she does not have a heartbeat herself.    She continues to rub her chest into his face and her hands through his hair.  Her breath is rapid and cool instead of being warm like one would expect.  Her own fangs spring forward and she lunges downward intent on pushing her own fangs into his neckline...

[Private to Leonard Dusek: dodge is you desire to do so]

[private to GM:

Dodging: 3 successes.
09:36, Sun 03 May 2015: Leonard Dusek rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((7,8,4,6,4)).

Pushing her away: 5 successes (roll + potence)
09:42, Sun 03 May 2015: Leonard Dusek rolled 4 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((6,10,10,2,7)). ]

Suddenly, Leonard isn't sure who is supposed to be dinner to whom anymore.

With a growl more of alarm than pleasure, he ducks his head out of the way of her oncoming fangs. Then he tries to push her off of him, to the other end of the couch, and stand up.

Leonard's quick realization and reflexes spare him from the fangs as she almost plunges them into the back of the couch.  The quick shove was clearly unexpeccted and she flies backwards landing in a crumpled heap on the floor.  Looking up with shock she quickly waves off the bouncer that yanks the curtain back.  Glaring at Leonard he slides the ccurtain back into place and leaves them in privacy though there can be little doubt he is close by.

Narrowing her eyes she rights herself and sits on the edge of the couch still measuring Leonard up.  "SeemsI made a mistake in choosing you.  I can't believe I was so naive to miss the signs that we were alike.  Did Elias send you?  I promise, I'm going to pay him...I swear.   Please, tell him you couldn't find me."

Though the pleading is real and there is definitely fear she still has malice in her eyes as she measures up leonard.

Leonard narrows his eyes at her. He has no idea who Elias is, of course, and it takes him a moment to decide how to reply.

"I might. Or I might not." He smiles down at her, barely showing her the tips of his own fangs. "It depends on my mood at the time. But you probably should pay him very soon."

He glances toward the curtain separating them from outside prying eyes. "In the meantime, I am going to find a real dance. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Ask for Precious or Rose.  They'll be the most likely to be disease free but this place is pretty dirty with drugs.  Precious is likely to be clean this early.  Now if you'll excuse me."

Moving to exit the curtain she pauses just before it and exhales slowly.  Turning to face Leonard she narrows her eyes and seems about to pounce but instead calls for the bouncer and instructs him to fetch Precious as she had a Highroller who wanted a double dance in the VIP room with no view.

The last is added with a $100 handed over.

"Cameras are off now.  Enjoy and I'll slip out the back, cool?"

Leonard accepts the $100 and nods approvingly to her arrangements. "That will do. Thank you."

He hadn't really planned to find another dance, but now it appeared he was stuck with one anyway. Dinner then, a real one this time, would hopefully soon be served.

After she leaves, he moves closer to one of the lights and pulls the $20 from the eccentric black man out of his pocket. He peers at the writing more closely, hoping it was bright enough in this private space to discern what it says.

RUN NOW!

The words were easily visible in this light and as the words are read a woman screams in agony and the club erupts in chaos followed quickly by a crackling sound and the feel of electricity in the air.  A quick peek outside the curtain shows men in tactical gear moving through the club...

The only thing Leonard can think of as the assault on the club begins is that, once more, he is not going to get dinner after all. He sighs inwardly and looks for the nearest exit that is away from the men in tactical gear. He also prepares to bend the shadows along his likely path to his advantage.

[private to GM: activating Obten lvl 1: Shadow Play. -1 blood point.]

Unfortunately strip clubs weren't designed with very many visible exits but they had to have a front and rear door (for beer deliveries).  The question was how to get the rear exit as the front was being watched by two men armed with shotguns equipped with some sort of modified barrels.  A group of men are slowly clearing the club one patron and one room at a time.  Still basic logic said the exit had to be in the back near the dressing rooms or behind the stage.  The question was how to find it without being seen...but then again these clubs weren't designed to allow tons of lights and shadows were everywhere.

Quickly making his way towards the back of the club Leonard is obscured by half naked screaming strippers and the basic chaos that had erupted as the armed men stormed the club.  Rounding the corner Leonard ducks into the back room and and looks to find a way out he can see a door at the left end of hallway and a curtain obscuring the passage to the right.  While trying to decide which route to take a man in tactical gear enters just behind him and seems genuinely surprised to see anyone else in the back passage.  Trying to raise the Vector Kriss hanging from the tactical sling up it gets caught in the curtain preventing him from fully bringing it to firing position...

[Private to Leonard Dusek: Free action  Also roll a perception + awareness roll diff 6]
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:36, Thu 11 June 2015.

[private to GM:

perception + awareness? or perception + alertness? I rolled both, just in case...

perception + awareness:
21:29, Mon 08 June 2015: Leonard Dusek failed (no successes) using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((4,3)).

perception + alertness:
21:30, Mon 08 June 2015: Leonard Dusek rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((7,3,6,4)).

Then, manipulation + occult to activate shroud of night (obtenebration 2):
21:31, Mon 08 June 2015: Leonard Dusek rolled 4 successes using 8d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((9,1,10,4,8,6,9,3)).
Actually that should've been target 7, so, 3 successes. Covers up to 40 feet.]

It was like being in an urban warzone again. Chaos, gunfire, screaming, it was all there. The difference was that this time, they were the ones in the tactical gear and he was the fleeing civilian. He made his way toward the rear of the club, past the stage, past the dressing rooms, certain that there must be an exit somewhere. The shadows shifted, lengthened, changed their shape, covering his tracks as he went. He ducked into a room at the very back - a short hallway with two possible exits. He was so close to making good his escape that he could taste it in the air amidst the sweat and panic of the mortals behind him.

The other man followed him in and began raising his weapon. Leonard barely notices that the man's gun has caught in the curtain before his Shroud rolls forth, a thick, suffocating blackness that quickly obscures the entire room. Without pausing, Leonard heads for the door on the left.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:00, Tue 09 June 2015.

Heading towards the door it dawns on Leonard that the men were not dressed in the same type of style of tacctical gear, though all obviously military trained it seemed that their gear was a mishmash from various places.  Pushing forward Leonard opens the door to the outside just in time to see a group of obvious gang members hopping over the fence in anger.  Though seemingly unaware of the events in the club they do seem to be chasing someone down one of the nearby alleyways.  Three stand near a pair of Cadillacs one of which is covered in glass and what smells like urine.

The three remaining behind seem more concerned about the car than chasing whoever ran down the alleyway.  They are all armed with semi-automatic handguns tucked into the waistbands.  One of them has his hand on the gun while the other two stare increduously at the damage to the vehicle.

As Leonard pushes his way through the door, he wonders how many different groups are assaulting the club at the same time tonight - but all thoughts of what is happening inside vanishes when he sees what is happening outside. He takes a big step sideways, out of the doorway, and flattens his back against the wall of the club, shifting the shadows to cover himself. When only three of them remain, he begins carefully making his way along the wall toward the street.

[private to GM: stealth roll, in case you were going to call for one:
20:42, Thu 11 June 2015: Leonard Dusek rolled 4 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((6,6,5,8,2,6)).]

Leonard is easily able to slip away into the sweet embrace of the dark night.  Almost as if blessed with good luck cloud cover blocks out the moonlight and the nearest lamppost flickers before going dead providing even more shadows to over his escape.  As he slips away Leonard can see strippers flooding out the front door and armed men forcing them to the left away from a van that is right now blocking the street view of the front doors.  A man sits on the edge of the van just inside the open sliding door with some weird scope attached to his head.  He swings his legs back and forth while smirking and holding up a finger as if waiting to call something out.

A few seconds later the stripper who almost tried to feed on Leonard runs out and the man immediately points to her.  The two armed men level off their guns and while one fires silenced rounds at her the other fires a single shot into her face.  It doesn't look like the shot had much force but almost immediately she begins to claw at it and collapses to the ground as they watch her writhe while other former patrons flee in the opposite direction.

Well. It looked like Elias wasn't going to get his money at all now.

Leonard continues to fade away from the scene after watching the gunmen dispatch the stripper. He heads in the same direction as the fleeing patrons, whom he assumes are mortals if the man with the scope let them go. Maybe when they slow down, he can ambush one in an alley somewhere.

It doesn't take long for Leonard to slip far enough away from the club and even less time to find himself down a quiet side street prowling just behind a dark skinned dancer from the club. Her left should has the word "T-Money" tattooed across it.  She steal glances over her shoulder with frightened eyes, her hand clutched over her heart.  Finally she leans against a wall and slides to the ground crying.  The sobs wrack her body and as Leonard approaches her phone rings.  Fishing it out from between her cleavage she sobs into the phone as she speaks...

"Hel....hell...hello..."

"I didn't know what they was gonna do...they...s...they said we was in danger."

"HOW THE FUCK SHOULD I KNOW!  They shot Candy....shot her in the face....jesus...what the fuck happened?  What we gonna do Tysean? He's gonna find out and he's gonna kill me...you...you gots to protect me."
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 19:17, Tue 14 July 2015.

Leonard slows to a halt just beyond where the woman is likely to spot him. Most of her phone conversation is meaningless to him, though he does note the name of the dancer who owed Elias some money. In case that information will be useful later. Otherwise, he waits for the phone call to end as he prepares to roll forth another shroud...

[private to GM: roll for another Shroud of Night, just as soon as she's done talking. And then he plans to move in and take two blood points (assuming he started the night at -1).

13:29, Tue 14 July 2015: Leonard Dusek rolled 5 successes using 8d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 7, rerolling 10s ((7,9,4,2,10(+1),10(+9),7,4)).]

Whoever she was talking to her had raised their voice.  Yelling through the line he told her she was on her own.  He couldn't be involved in what was going to happen when repercussions came from Yanos.  The phone call then ends abruptly leaving her sobbing into her hands as she throws the phone at a wall with an expletive.

It's then that the darkness rolls forward and envelopes the young woman.  She gasps in horror then claws at the air as the suffocating darkness covers her.  Leonard is able to easily move forward and delivers the kiss.  As his teeth sink in the euphoria envelopes the woman.  She lets her hands fall and her lips part in an inaudible moan.  Once done she slumps to the ground lost in bliss...

At least she was getting a moment of respite from whatever screwed up life she was leading. Meanwhile his curiosity has been piqued about all the action back at the club. Leonard leaves her slumped against the alley wall, then starts circling back in its general direction to see if he can catch any more glimpses of the assault(s) in progress, or to see if the police had arrived yet ... from a safe distance.

The chaos at the club had settled down and the armed men were loading up when Leonard got back.  The stripper they shot was being loaded into the van, along with a young man and two of the bouncers.  The man who was wearing the scope was standing near the doors to the club.  The scope hung around his neck.  His facial features spoke of an Eastern Europe ancestry, while his accent was undeniably Russian.

"No sir, we have a negative on the subject.  He must have slipped away during the assault.  This is the problem with joint task forces.  We should continue our work without the Americans.  They are sloppy...and don't get me started on the Brits.....I understand your position and the need for politics but Vassily will be angered over the slip up.  We risk exposure carrying out these gestopo style assaults....I understand....No, bravo team has not reported in.  Understood..."

Reaching up and clicking the button on his ear piece he holds up one finger and whirls it around telling everyone to wrap it up.  With that simple hand gesture the men load up and within five minutes are prepared to leave in a small convoy of vehicles...

Leonard suppresses a low growl of indignation at the comment about the American soldiers. How dare that Russian scumbag criticize American competence? He quickly puts it aside as it then occurs to him that an international assault had just occurred at this local nightclub. Surely Candy couldn't be that important in the grand scheme of things?

As the vehicles prepare to move away, Leonard withdraws farther into the shadows. So much for his 'quick' snack. Now he was left where he started, still with no idea what he wanted to do with his evening. He should probably track down Dre, Andrekis, or Balthazar, but now that the club is ...unavailable, he isn't sure where else they might be. He pulls out his phone to see if any more cryptic messages have arrived as he makes his way stealthily back in the direction of his apartment.

The skies have eyes and they know when you've been bad or good....

Almost immediately after looking at his phone the message comes through.  The screen momentarily shows the camera as active but that flicks off as the message comes in.  It's quickly followed by what looks like code covering his screen and running upwards across it.  The program doesn't take long but once done Leonard's phone now says it's in Taiwan and a new contact sits on the home screen.  Though it's only for text the number is 843-733-3667.
This message was last updated by the GM at 02:14, Thu 01 June 2017.

Leonard withdraws even farther into the shadows, looking suspiciously up at the sky. Then, in angry disbelief, he checks the state of his phone - did all of his settings and data get erased when they did whatever they just did to it?

[private to GM: looking for signs of helicopters or whatnot that might be watching him from above...

20:49, Today: Leonard Dusek rolled 4 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 6, rerolling 10s ((4,10(+9),10(+4),6)).]

It takes a moment to spot them but once he does Leonard quickly spots other...high tech, military style drones equipped with some sort of camera array. They are whisper quiet and seem to be running a search grid over the city...he can spot at least eight but can safely assume there are others.

Looking at his phone, everything seems to still be the same save for the number on his screen.  Perhaps someone with some computer knowledge could ascertain what was done.  The Camarilla had Kid One....some hacker who was embraced by the Sheriff.  Though Brujah he was of a mild nature and usually stayed locked in his penthouse off second avenue.  There was also Morrigan....independent, Sabbat, who knew?  She was rumored to be Assamite but did not show any signs of diablerie or violence.  Indeed she usually came across as very friendly and warm....but either of them would require favors and have many questions.

As he ponders this another message flashes across his screen....Knowledge is power...but what you don't know is more powerful .  Is truth worth seeking..or is ignorance bliss?  The night cannot be owned...it was merely rented for a time and the debt has come due...run...NOW....

As the last of the message flashes across the screen a series of darts pepper the concrete near Leonard as a drone lowers closer to the street level and fires where Leonard had been standing a scant second ago.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:54, Sun 04 June 2017.

Leonard ducks for the nearest cover, letting loose yet another shroud - this one over the drone that is firing at him. He had to get somewhere indoors, out of view of the searching drones. He will beat down locked doors if he has to.

In the back of his mind, he is already wondering how many different groups have drones in the sky. Surely whoever keeps sending him messages wouldn't've told him to run if they were also trying to shoot him...

[private to GM: shroud of night (40 ft diameter) - 23:20, Today: Leonard Dusek rolled 4 successes using 8d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 7, rerolling 10s ((5,4,7,8,5,9,4,7)).]

The drone stops moving and the camera array whirls to life...cycling through various instruments it just hovers in the darkness.  Still the cover gives Leonard time to find a door at is partially ajar and easily pried open, even for a mortal.  Popping the door open and ducking inside Leonard finds himself looking at a young girl with red hair.  She was maybe seven or eight and held a Halo Warthog in her left hand as she panicked against the darkness.  Trying to scream in terror she drops the toy and claws at the air around clearly terrified.

A quick scan of the area and Leonard can confirm he's in an apartment building's lobby.  It's a pretty shabby, obviously low rent building and no one else is in sight.

Leonard walks around the frightened girl, far enough away that she won't notice he's there. He'd already eaten and was full, after all. He starts looking for exits from the lobby other than the door he came in from - other exterior doors, windows, stairs, and so on. While he's in relative safety, he flips back through his phone to send a text to the number.

"WTF do you want?"

It's easy to find another way out.  The backdrop, side window, fire escape, etc.

Almost immediately after sending the text he receives a message back stating "undeliverable...."

The drones frantically search around the area Leonard was last in but quickly reverse course and disappear into the dark night's sky.  This seems to happen almost at the same time as an ambulance springs to life and sirens begin to blare.  As the ambulance races by Leonard receives another text.

....Watching or hunting?  Friends or foe...do you know?....

Leonard growls in irritation. Why would someone provide him with a new number to text when it isn't even available? Why badger him with inane questions that he won't be able to answer? He feels like he should hunker down in a dark corner somewhere until all the danger goes away, yet is also enraged that anyone should make him feel any such thing.

After the ambulance passes by, he takes a few moments to decide where to go next. Not back to his apartment. If someone is watching, he doesn't want to lead them there. But he will at least need somewhere dark and windowless if he's stuck outside during the day. Maybe there is somewhere he can hide in the basement...

It occurs to Leonard that the number might not be a number...perhaps it was a cipher or code....

Meanwhile his luck seems to be intact.  The building has a storage area in the basement and though dimly lit there was plenty of cover and shadows.  All in all it was kinda creepy yet beckoning.  Glancing down into the room a shadow crosses past the light...it's almost shambling in nature but disappears into the shadows and away from the stairs.  It's then that the smell hits Leonard...the scent of freshly spilled blood...and by the smell of it, a large quantity....

[Private to Leonard Dusek: Hope you don't mind, I rolled for you to notice something about the number.  Not many successes but it definitely is not a phone number.  Also, please roll a frenzy check diff 4]

[private to GM: welp, that didn't go so well...
15:07, Today: Leonard Dusek botched using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 3, rerolling 10s ((1,2)).]

As he moves down into the basement, Leonard is still distracted by the notion that the number might be some sort of code, and at first relaxes into the beckoning creepiness of the storage area. He looks up at the light flicker, wondering if someone else is there. Before he can ponder it much farther, the smell of blood overtakes his entire mind...

A red haze seems to settle over Leonard's eyes.  There are occasional flashes of clarity but they are just snippets of violence in the red darkness.  When the fog begins to subside there are bodies strewn around Leonard.  Two cops, a woman, a man, and two eviscerated dogs.  They are scattered around the living room and the front door is completely splintered open.  The young girl from the lobby is screaming and huddled in a corner outside the door.  Her mother snatches her up and begins to run for the outer door.  At the same time Leonard becomes aware of the smoldering hole in his shoulder (gunshot wound) and the approaching sirens...

Ah, shit. Leonard stands frozen for a few seconds in the middle of the carnage as his mind catches up with the rest of his body. Living room? Wasn't he in a storage area in the basement? He doesn't hang around to try to figure out how that happened, and instead starts looking for an exit in the opposite direction from the mother and child - hoping that he's still on a low enough floor to get out of the building quickly.

An open window to the left leads onto a makeshift balcony and from there it's relatively easy to hop to a nearby roof and then down into an alleyway.  As Leonard leaves the apartment he catches the scent of something old...deathly smelling but the source is a bit obscured and with the approaching sirens it leaves little time to search.

As Leonard looks down into the alleyway dozens of rats stop and look back at him from below.  They stay perfectly still for a split second before disappearing into the shadows.

Ah, shit. Rats, and the scent of ancients. Leonard hopes that he hadn't just crashed a Nosferatu haven or messed with another vampire's herd. He didn't need even MORE people chasing after him tonight.

He drops down into the alleyway, checking the sky for drones as he ducks for overhead cover. Perhaps he would make his way over to some other apartment building somewhere else and see if there were any safe basements there. He checks on the gunshot wound as he begins moving stealthily away from the first building, trying to stay under overhangs as much as possible.

[private to GM: is the gunshot wound just one damage?]

A trashpile seemingly moves and gradually becomes a malshapen form of a man.  Almost looking like a cross between some sort of ghoul and an animal of some sort the creature shakes his head and mumbles before looking to Leonard with a mild expression of irritation but it makes no aggressive moves.

When it talks the voice is melodic and almost enchanting and paints an odd paradox.

"You've made a mess above my home tonight.  Tell me, why we're the soldiers stalking you?  Oh don't worry they aren't going to be a problem going forward but I really must ask, what you've done to attract their attention?"

The rapidly changing topics seem to loosely flow together but transitions are obviously missing and the way he speaks seemingly shows a long term lack of interaction at least of the speaking kind.  As he speaks he looks down to where he was just hiding and Leonard can see five severed heads with tac-com headsets shredded.  Lying stop the pile is a strange looking item, almost like a crowbar but with some sort of device attached at the end and next to it is an odd pair of Google's that give off a green glow.

Leonard freezes as the trashpile moves, transforms itself into a man, and starts talking to him. He eyes the remains of the soldiers for a moment, then ducks back under the nearest overhang in the alley and turns to look at the misshapen creature.

"Sorry about the mess. I was just looking for somewhere to hide for a night. I have no idea what they want with me. I've not been in this city long enough to make enemies, certainly not among the mortals. I don't suppose you know more about who they are and what they're after?"

"It seems odd...is he honest...is he real?"

A different voice with a rough edge comes from the man and he cocks his head to a side as if considering it for a second before stepping towards Leonard with a curious expression on his face.

"Hunters don't hunt without purpose and these have been sweeping sewers, basements, warehouses, and anything without windows, but they've done it quietly.  Tonight us different...messy, noisy, in the open.  This one..."

Tapping one of the severed heads with his foot he pauses for a second before looking to Leonard once more and tossing some sort of wristband at him."he had this.  Simple password though Daylight17!  It has your picture in it in various locations around the city.  So once more I find myself asking, why you?"

[Private to Leonard Dusek: If you looks at the device its some sort of touch screen device set into a wristband.  the opersting system is fsst and not something youve seem before.  There is an entire file with pictures of you and one for about ten others, including Isabella de Orsi.  Yours doesnt contain much in the way of written reports but has photos showing you in various states with some from tonight at the club.]

Leonard tenses a bit at the second voice, and he frowns suspiciously at the shadows behind the (presumed) Nosferatu. When the other creature steps closer to ask the same question again, he can only shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine, friend. I've done nothing unusual and have only barely met a few notables of this city."

He then starts looking through the contents of the wristband device. His picture was in it? Why yes, yes it was - many pictures in fact, all together in a file. Leonard recalls each moment that they had captured him on film, and he can't help feeling violated.

Then his frown deepens. "This is very odd. How did they get these pictures? I shouldn't be visible at all by camera."

Turning and picking up the goggles he holds them out towards Leonard.

"These seem new....it would appear they can photograph our kind, though I'm not sure why or how.  You may keep them as a gift...the price of which is you returning to this alley and returning that which I've gifted you....information, that is"

Turning and picking up the crow bar looking device he turns it over in his hand and tosses it to Leonard.

"New weapon...attacks muscle activity.  Seems to cause paralysis, but again....not sure how it works but seems effective."

Leonard accepts the goggles, looks them over with a faint frown, then tucks them under his arm with a nod of acknowledgment. He also catches the crowbar and looks it over, then tucks that under his arm too unless the other gestures to take it back.

"Should I know any of these others who have pictures in this wristband? I have not yet found the right notables to make introductions to. As for information, what do you want to know?"