Ezekiel Stubbs

Concept: Head of the Gallowsbait M.C.

AKA: Zeke. Big Dog. Boss-man.

Desc:  Big. Muscle-y. Covered in various types and styles of ink. Hirsute(long black hair with the occasional hint of silver) Bearded. Keeps himself clean. One piercing in his ear. Hasn’t worn anything other than jeans and a denim jacket in years. Rarely bothers with a shirt. Big rawboned hands. Engineer boots. As like as not, has a bike chain around his waist, which of course doubles as an impromptu weapon.  Normally carries a large hunting knife that’s likely visible.

History:There are some men who are never going to be happy doing much of anything for other men. The desire to set one's own course and call one’s own shots is a powerful motivator to some. Zeke has always been that kind of man.  His dad was an abusive shit and that probably wouldn’t have been a problem if Zeke hadn’t caught a serious growth spurt. Zeke’s dad had it out with him and tried to kick him out of the house one summer afternoon after drinking a case of Milwaukee’s Best.  Zeke crippled him for life. And nearly got sent to prison for it, but his momma realized that when Stubbs senior got out of the hospital, he’d take it out on her. So she began to talk about things she’d never talked about before...and Stubbs Senior was the one who ended going to jail.

See. Stubbs senior was a cop. And once Mama Stubbs started talking to her lawyer, the department was more than happy to let Zeke slide in exchange for a bit of silence.

Which is not to say that Zeke hasn’t had run-ins with the law since. Some guys who don’t even know the old man see fit to make life difficult for some scumbag biker who caused him some trouble. And Zeke’s done some time for some things.  Some he did. Some they just liked him for.

Zeke and his mama relocated and got themselves a double-wide. Zeke went to work with his hands, He did Vo-tech in high school and has some talent with it. But eventually, he drifted into some types of criminal activity. At first, it was just mechanic work in a chop shop, then it involved muling drugs and eventually arms. He bought a scooter. Got himself a patch and rose in trust in the ranks of his former M.C.

He got along with Big Mike for the most part, and probably would have stayed with the Last Knights for the rest of his life.  But he got popped for an ill-advised run carrying drugs (Thankfully, not across the state-line) and got sent to stir for a while.  He was willing to take the weight.

But then Momma got sick. The cancer eating her up faster than a state fair corn dog. Big Mike had eyes and ears inside and heard that Zeke wasn’t handling that all that well. Rather than let the cops make him a deal, Big Mike tried to whack Zeke inside.

Oh sure, the cops are pretty sure that Zeke killed all three of the guys that came after him...But they sure couldn’t prove any of it.  So they put him in solitary. they figured he’d talk after about a week of that.

6 months later, they gave up and since his sentence was nearly up they let him back out into Gen-Pop. They figured he’d talk without his protective custody at the end of his sentence.  And you know, a few dudes rolled up on him looking to take a slice of his short-time for themselves. And they’d be all hard until they got a good look at his eyes. Something had happened to him in there. Lifers may not give a fuck, but even they can tell when a man will kill you just as soon as eat a cheese danish.  Even the jack-offs left Zeke alone.

Zeke got out. Momma had passed away while he was inside. Big Mike expected Zeke would do something stupid and come right at him after he got out. They weren’t prepared for what happened next. Zeke disappeared.

Actually. He got on his Hog and drove away. Got himself a job as a mechanic in a place two towns over owned by some Aryan Brotherhood guy (Zeke had crewed up while inside.) and essentially dug a hole, threw himself in and pulled it in after him.

He ratholed his money away. He ate ramen and washed his hair with bar soap. He bided his time. He acquired necessary tools. He made a few trusted friends.

He was patient.

Finally, on the anniversary of his mother’s death, he returned to town and in the space of 2 days, Big Mike and the Last Knights were mostly dead and their operation was on fire. Big Mike had been a creature of habit and Zeke had had 6 whole months to plan.

Zeke has started his own M.C. and has made something of a name for himself among other bikers and criminals. His M.C. isn’t large but it doesn’t really need to be yet. He’s got a chop shop of his own now and he’s making moves to pick up drugs and arms trade. Certain groups are thinking about making an approach. Certain other groups, other M.C.’s have also made an approach, talking about alliances and patching over his small group. Zeke makes it very clear, and he is at least polite about it at first, that the Gallowsbait M.C. will NEVER be beholden to any other group.

Attitude: “Human beings aren’t made to deal with isolation. Even a lone wolf like me has limits.  So for a while there, I think I may have gone crazy. Every nightmare I ever had came home to roost in that little cell. I screamed myself raw and nobody did a mumbling thing.  I seem to recall the devil turning up and asking me if I was willing to sell my soul for freedom.  I remember thinking about it some, and I said, “No thanks Mr. Scratch. But I’ll sell you every last ounce of my fear for a chance to get back at the men who put me here...And the devil... He smiled and said it was the most intriguing offer he’d heard of in a long time. Next day I wake up and my mind is as clear as bell.  Who knows baby. Who the hell knows...”

Skills: While he’s only got about 3 dots of resolve, he has the functional equivalent of 7 dots of Composure. He’s big and strong and has pretty good dexterity. He hasn’t got much education at all and while he’s not much of a manipulator he does have the kind of decent presence that a person who is completely fearless tends to generate. If he lives, He’ll be the kind of guy that becomes a legend among other bikers. People seem to recognize that this man has no fear. Also, people who pay attention will also gather that he is a veteran of hundreds of little conflicts and handles himself pretty damn well.  In addition to this, Zeke Stubbs is a pretty decent mechanic and knows his way around a gun and ammo workbench.   He is also a very competent driver of nearly every land vehicle ever made. More than capable of driving his cycle and firing a shotgun at the same time.

Gear: Not the best shot under the best conditions, Zeke tends to go in for shotguns and mac 10’s so he can lay down a lot of bullets in a short amount of time. Up close he’s a fucking nightmare with that hunting knife and his fists. and if the target is already on the ground, he’ll go to work on them with his bike chain. His cycle carries his guns only if he’s expecting trouble, but he’s got pretty damn good radar about when trouble is coming. 

Home: While he still technically owns the double-wide, he’s almost never there and rarely sleeps there. He’s trying to think about selling the place.  He’s got a cot that he keeps in the top office in the chop shop and this is normally where he sacks out.  If he’s in one of those rare moods where he’s looking to get his swerve on, he’s got a deal going on with a guy he knows at this super cheap hotel out by the interstate.  Turns out the fella working the desk on the overnight likes a bit of meth and it happens that Zeke has a source for that shit. The sort of girls that Zeke is likely to take to such a love nest...Well, they aren’t likely to bitch about the decor or the distinct lack thereof. 

Circle: Zeke knows people. Bikers, criminals, all types and ethnicities. His AB ink makes this problematic at times, but as he often explains, He never lets race get in the way of a good deal. And over time, some have seen that he’s not kidding.( He does not, however, allow people of other races into the Gallowsbait M.C. It’s just not done.) Although there are a few guys in one of the Vietnamese rackets that found out that the operative word in that explanation is “Good”. The deal they wanted to hand him was a bit of an insult. People got their “feelings” hurt. He’ll have contacts in Underworld, Street, and Prison.

Zeke is known to be a “man of his word” He’s always considered that being a man of his word made business easier. It also means, that he never makes idle threats.

Story Uses:

*”Son. I ain’t got no kick with you but you are skating on the edge”

Zeke doesn’t go out of his way to look for trouble, that said, you can’t intimidate him. You might kill him, but if you leave him breathing, he won’t stop. As a result, he might become the kind of antagonist that one just runs into headlong...by accident.

Also: if your character is a law enforcement professional, He WILL see you coming and hate you when you get there.

*”Shit. Why didn’t you say so? We can do that. You have cash?”

Conversely, he might make a great ally for anyone on the wrong side of the tracks.  Even a law-abiding person who comes from white trash stock might be okay knowing this guy and he’s damn useful.  He might decide you’re damn useful too.  He might want you to join the M.C.   He might be insistent.

You should, however, be advised. If you are not White and/or low class, Then you and your approach will scrutinized for any sign of the “High Hat”  if you give offense and talk down to them, there will be problems.

Connections:

* Has sold and is willing to continue to sell weed for Teflon John Galloway. But Johnny wouldn't be no damn use to the M.C. and no end of trouble. Still, the guy is a genius with the chronic.

* Tyronne "Tiberius" Glover is okay. As far as him and his set are concerned, we only got one rule. "Don't start none. Won't be none." We got crunk one night at one of those places on his turf and talked about our relationships with our parents. I'm not saying we're besties or anything...But I feel like he understands.

* Yeah, I know Homer Conway. We've done business. He's alright. 

*That dumb-fuck cousin of his, though. Officer Honus Brightwater We met once at his place and he looked me over and made certain assumptions based on my ink. Then he started talking...

* About twice a week the M.C. heads over to The Caboose and spends money. Carl gets worried sometimes, but for the most part, the M.C. behaves itself and if they've been selling drugs there he hasn't seen it...exactly. Certain of the ladies and maybe a DJ or two tend to perk up when they come, so...it's not outside the realm of the possible. Certain of the girls favor certain of the bikers, and there is an occasional bit of soap opera behind that.

Lawton Krase

Concept: Mercenary Wanna-be

AKA: His real first name is Calvin. He is not a fan of his first name.

Desc:  Barrel-chested. Moves like a martial artist. Close cropped hair and the kind of handlebar mustache that firefighters cultivate. (Fun fact: Firefighters cultivate that sort of facial hair because it’s the only kind they are allowed to. Beards and other configurations of facial hair prevent a good seal on the face mask. It’s the same reason Lawton cultivates his that way. He’s a total pussy when it comes to tear gas.) Nervous energy pervades him. He’d just as soon be up and pacing. Or sitting back and whittling something. Tends to tan well.

Sleeves of tats. But not much anywhere else. Muscle-y as all get out.

History: There are people who are interested in living a life filled with action and excitement. The sort of people who are willing to make an effort to learn tactics and combat skills and be willing to be shot at in picaresque shit-holes all over the world. Some seek the rough virtue of the life of a masterless samurai and the lucrative life of a killer for hire.

Lawton is, to put it mildly, one of those sorts of persons.

It’s so sad that he’s not particularly good at it.

Lawton is, perhaps too excitable for the work of a mercenary. His military training was truncated by the fact that he washed out for psychological reasons. His martial arts training came from a belt factory. He’s actually a decent shot, but his nervous system is a hot mess from Speed and Amphetamine abuse.

   Ordinarily, this would be enough to make certain that he wouldn’t be able to make it in such a rarified career. But sadly Lawton talks a real good game. (And is dumb lucky about surviving in the field.)

    In fact, Lawton is, technically speaking, a pathological liar. It’s not that he’s necessarily a bad guy, but he talks so much that eventually, he’ll tell you all the factual information about himself. in order to keep talking, he occasionally has to make things up.

Lawton does have the ability to project an air of complete confidence. And this usually makes it possible for him to get “Work” but it never seems to last for long. He can keep civilians completely buffaloed, but real professionals eventually see through his act.

   He’s done some things. Shot some people. He’s also screwed up a number of operations, usually through poor judgment or his own excitability. He hasn’t gotten a reputation for it yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

Attitude:  “So I was doing this thing in Angola. A little search and rescue op. And one of my guys gets his rappelling gear knotted as he’s making his descent. He’s hanging there all upside down in front of the window, and we can’t blow the charges because of it...So..I give the order and cut his line. Jacked up his back for about a month. But we got the hostages out at least. Can’t remember that dude's name, though. Kind of a screw-up. Know what I mean?”

Skills: He’s strong and has a lot of stamina, but not particularly dextrous. He’s got some presence and manipulation, but can sometimes flip out in the face of a tight situation. Mentally, well. He’s not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. He’s the Dunning-Kruger poster boy.

He’s not exactly unskilled. He’s got some combat ability and he’s not a bad shot, but I wouldn’t give him more than 2 dots in anything. He just doesn’t have the discipline for it.

Gear: Like most people who aren’t really all that skilled, he’s got a relatively serious collection of weapons. I can’t remember right off the top of my head what book it’s in, but there is a merit called “Arsenal”  I’d say he’s got about 3-4 dots of sidearms and a dot of long arms. (One really well cared for Dragunov sniper rifle that seen some actual use.) He’s got some mil-spec armor, Ultraviolet laser sights and low light gear for those sorts of operations.

He also has access to smoke, stun, and gas grenades. Most of his firearms are silenced. Properly kitted out he looks every inch the bad-ass he thinks he is.

Home: Lawton lives with a certain amount of “operational paranoia”.  He owns a mobile home in a circular trailer park. Only one access in and out. Enough trees to occlude a snipers sight lines. Money in the freezer and 2 separate safety deposit boxes. fake documents (Shitty ones, not Clavo’s work) and a getaway bag next to the hatch that opens into the crawl space. The pick-up truck is souped up and ready to run, should things get hairy enough for a disappearing act.

Circle: As you can imagine, not much of a social bee. He can turn on the charm like a sociopath when he’s looking to get merc work. But he keeps to himself mostly. On those occasions when he’s got extra money he tends to spend it on guns, expensive whiskey and cheap whores.

Story Uses:

“You can relax little lady. This ain’t my first rodeo.”

It’s going to be a sad night for anyone who hires Lawton for any kind of special ops work. Or answers his classified ad.  His poor judgment is likely to ruin any bit of action he gets involved in and he’s liable to lie like crazy after the fact. And god help you ALL if he ever ends up in a position of command.

“Don’t worry sir. I’ll handle it.”

On the other hand, if someone were to take Lawton “In hand” and give him some better training and discipline, he might turn out to be damn useful.  And you know what, he might even make a great retainer for someone if they can put up with his constantly running mouth.

Connections:

Immanuel Washington has had some dealings with Lawton. If Washington thinks anything about Krase at all. it is that he is dangerously undertrained, emotionally unstable, and worse, not very professional. Washington won't kill him out of hand or anything, but if they end up on opposite sides of something, He'll put him down without a second thought.

Although they've never met, He's done some cut-out work for Don Pentangelli. Mixed results naturally.

He's had "dealings" with a number of the girls from Bryson Import/Export back in the days when that other guy ran them. Now they're a little out of his price range.

Has bought a fair share of under the table weaponry off of Homer Conway.

Occasionally, The Vermillion House has uses for men like Lawton. In fact, he's usually along for one of those collection runs of theirs.  He CAN at least keep his mouth shut about that stuff. He's seen what happens to people who don't.

Marcie Hawkins

Concept: Stage Manager of Crime

AKA: Most know her only as “The Operator” or “SM”  Only contactable by a very anonymized Email Address and a Skype number.

Desc: While not particularly athletic anymore, Marcie is still fit and has good energy. She wears clothes that she can move in and normally keeps her hair tied back. She still runs every other day and is uncomfortable in anything other than sneakers. Wears glasses. Her natural hair color is a bright red that she dulls down because it’s too conspicuous. 

History: Marcie doesn’t talk about her old life much. Orphaned relatively young as the result of a car accident she bounced around from indifferent family member to indifferent family member. Times were occasionally grim, but she never was abused and she was never molested or anything like that.  It’s just that, from the point of her parent's death onward, Marcie became very independent and very much a lone wolf.

  When she was old enough, she enlisted in the Marines. Learned everything they would teach her. Did her tour of duty, saw action even. and when she mustered out, took her G.I. Bill and went to college. 

     Marcie has a naturally organized turn of mind. It extends into nearly every aspect of her life. She majored in business, but along the way ended up dating an actor and getting involved in the college theater program. Marcie found that she had a natural flair for stage management and was capable of seeing problems before they occurred from a long way off.

     Adam was a very talented actor, but he was also the sort of creative type that often felt like he was wasn’t being creative unless he was destroying himself a bit.  As a result, he smoked, drank, and took many illicit substances.  He WAS able to keep level for long periods of time without some kind of incident. And they did have a decent relationship for the most part. 

   But then Adam got sick. Too many cigarettes you know?  And money got tight. and they both had student loan debts out the yang.

It turned out that Adam knew a number of sketchy people and so, when the money got tight he reached out to them. They put him to work as a face man on a con.  He was able to bring in some money doing this and cover some of the hospital bills, but he kept getting sicker and he wasn’t responding well to treatment. Finally, Marcie started asking him certain questions... and rather than let him dangle out there alone, she went along with him on the con.  The others weren’t keen on it until her organizational skills saved their collective bacon during a move gone wrong. 

      Marcie understands that crime isn’t the best way to make a living, but there are bills to pay and Adam still needs hospice care.

Attitude: “Who am I exactly? I am the woman who is running this operation. I am the woman who has compiled a dossier on you and your activities over the years. I am the woman who can slot this information into the hands of 6 separate law enforcement professionals with a single phone call.  Now you can either get your gear and do your fucking job...*takes off safety* Or...You can keep standing there making me think you're going to be a problem down the line.”

Skills: Marcie has ice water in her veins. She has truly superhuman composure and resolve. Physically, she’s more interested in stamina training and does yoga to remain flexible. She’s got a business degree and is very computer capable. She is educating herself all the time about criminal subculture and has dots in FS: Sniping. She’s got multiple specialties in Craft.

Gear: Marcie does a lot of her work on a Laptop which is normally top of the line. She is never without a pistol, 4 clips,laser sight, and a silencer. She has a loaded smartphone with useful apps and it can connect to the laptop to run scripts from voice commands.

Home: She dislikes meeting with other criminals for the most part, (There are a few very professional criminals that she actually likes.) but on those rare occasions when she MUST take a meeting or arrange a “Rehearsal”  The Danksy Street Theater is run down and decrepit on the outside. but inside, it’s warm, clean, and slowly being restored to its former glory.  Marcie bought the place a couple of years ago. She lives there, in a nice spot under the stage in a little apartment she’s made for herself.  Someday, She thinks, maybe she’ll get out. open the theater herself.  She keeps ratholing money away and slowly doing the rehab herself.

Circle: Marcie doesn’t have a lot of friends. But she does have a fairly decent Rolodex, and for her purposes, that’s just as good. Marcie is, with the exception of Adam, as lone wolf as they come. Adam...for his part, hopes that Marcie can find someone else. He’s worried she’ll close up after he’s gone...Which will be soon.

Story Uses:

* “Actors to your places please.”

Marcie is a brilliant planner and producer of criminal activity. She’s normally the girl in the van, owns the surveillance feeds, has a dozen diversions on tap should something go sideways. can divert police attention with effortless speed and guile. Can produce unimpeachable alibis. Has useful crafting skills. and on a couple of occasions, has broken out her sniper rifle and made certain that her “actors” were able to leave the stage. It’s a living.  The only weird thing is, she really isn’t interested in choosing the targets. She’s perfectly willing to accept jobs from outside parties. 

* “Standby cue 6. Cue 6...go.”

Marcie is the woman you call when you want things to go smoothly. When you don’t want unnecessary bodies or attention.  Granted. Things go wrong in crimes. Most people aren’t smart enough to think of 5 things, Marcie can think of 35. But even so, Marcie works very hard to not have to take a life.  But...You should be aware, that she CAN pull the trigger if she has to.

Marcie is the kind of criminal, that other criminals, PROFESSIONAL criminals want to work with.

Connections:

* While Marcie work mainly on heists and cons, occasionally, she is called about crimes involving the taking of lives. One of the few she'll work with is Immanuel Washington.

* Don Pentangelli has occasional work for her. He wishes more of his boys had ice water in her veins like her.

* T.C. Mitnick is in her Rolodex and does some of the work that keeps her off of law enforcement's radar.

* Clavo Hernandez is known to her. She's arranged for some documents from him through channels. Wouldn't know him if she saw him on the street, though.

*The Borland Farm is known to her. Once, There was a gig where someone got greedy, and then there were problems. Fancy that. Just one of those little things tucked away for a rainy day.

*Homer Conway is in the Rolodex under "Props"

Immanuel Washington

Concept: high-level Professional killer

AKA: Some spook quality paper with half a dozen ID’s

Desc: A tallish African American without a trace of fat on him. Has a swimmer’s build. moves like a martial artist. Keeps his hair short. Surprisingly empathetic eyes. Navy seal Tattoo.

History: It’s kind of hard to picture certain things.  Manny as a little baby with his mother holding him tight and singing to him. It happened all right. But it seemed that there were so many things that went wrong along the way.

Mama tried to raise a good boy. But the neighborhood was rough, and the church they went to was full of people who were just as bad in their own way. Manny could see it, even if mama couldn’t. 

   Manny wasn’t a bad kid really. He simply had a gift for violence.  He wasn’t wrathful or emotional or anything like that. He understood on some level that he simply didn’t feel things in the same way that others did.  It occurred to him that with little effort, he could become an utter monster.

And on some deep level, he realized that he didn’t want to be a monster. That he had to...HAD TO...harness this gift of his.  As soon as he was old enough, he enlisted in the navy.  He threw himself into the work of being a professional military man and eventually a Spec-ops operator.  Military service was exactly what he needed and also exactly what he needed to avoid. Eventually, the bad outweighed the good, and he waited long enough to muster out before disappearing. 

He took some time off.  He audited dozen of courses at universities. and then, when the time was right. decided that he should go into business for himself.

The thing about Immanuel is, He doesn’t do innocents. He ALWAYS refuses rush jobs because it’s too easy to find that he’s killed someone that WAS innocent if he’s not able to do basic research. (And as a group of Basque separatists found out, he doesn’t take it well if gulled into killing an innocent.) Oh, he’ll kill someone for money, but the only thing that comforts him is that most of the people he contends with have done something to bring him to their door.  When he saw the movie “Grosse Point Blank” he felt like he understood.

Attitude: Some people need killing. It is a thing that I am skilled in. I don’t kill cops or spooks or soldiers unless I have to, those men and women are just doing their jobs. I don’t kill women unless they are fellow professionals AND trying to kill me. I do not kill children.

Skills: Immanuel is a skilled hand to hand combatant, having dots in jiu Jitsu and Military Arts Combatics. He also has a good working knowledge of improvised weaponry.  He’s had more than one job that’s required him to walk into a hot zone entirely weaponless. He is skilled in the use of knives (Spetnatz knife fighting) and most military weapons in use by Seal teams.  While strong, his main skill is the ability to think on his feet and deal with evolving dynamics.(High wits and Dex) Also, he’s Eidetic and ambidextrous.

In addition: Immanuel has made up for an inner city education by becoming a skilled computer user and investigator.  He speaks 3 separate languages and has a fondness for poetry too, but it rarely comes up in the field.

Socially...Well. He tends to come off as somewhat terse and taciturn. He doesn’t seem to have any trouble intimidating people. They can sense a certain coldness in him.

Gear: As someone who is more than capable of killing with his bare hands, Manny rarely goes anywhere without some sort of arms. Usually two handguns under his armpits (Laser sights) Two knives at his wrists, Two in the small of his back. Two inside his belt. and two on his shins.  On a lark, he bought a strangling wire concealed in a wrist watch from a free-lance armorer. Turned out to work pretty good in a pinch.

Manny keeps intel on his clients and targets on a cloud server easily accessible from his phone or tablet. He is careful to keep nothing incriminating on either. Certain entities have discovered that intel is kept in a button-down mode and that if he’s kept from accessing it, information is slotted into the hands of a dozen law enforcement professionals.

Home: Manny lives in hotels. Manny owns a home, under another name. It employs a caretaker. That the caretaker happens to be Manny’s mom is surely just a happy coincidence.

Circle: Immanuel is as lone wolf as they come.  He knows a (very) few people in murder for hire, has a (very)small number of navy buddies and has a couple of friends from the old neighborhood. He doesn’t really see anyone regularly.  He has an agent that lines up contracts for him but the agent is carefully anonymous and he is just as anonymous to him.  It’s safer that way.

Story Uses:

“No, what you don’t understand is that I’m not like other guys.”

He’s really not.  Immanuel’s father was a part of a soldier improvement program. Immanuel was supposedly an impossibility. Immanuel’s father was supposed to be sterile. He was also not supposed to be able to buck his programming... And Immanuel is twice as good as his old man. (Seriously. give him ridiculous mental and physical and lot of similar merits.)

“Shockingly...I’m not here to kill you at all. But certain people are going to be very sorry I was sent.”

It’s not so much that he has a conscience, It’s that he has RULES.  and the rules are important. Even his mother suspects that Immanuel is a very dangerous man and has maybe done some bad things. But he knows that there is a line and he won’t cross it.  Otherwise...he’d never be able to look her in the eyes again.

Connections:

*Has fulfilled contracts for Don Pentangelli. The Don is impressed with Manny's professionalism. Most hitters are decidedly "buggy" in the Don's opinion.

* Dr. Ronnette Franklin is one of Manny's friends from the old neighborhood. He's the one who taught her how to use the pistol she has.

* Aldous Church is a professional acquaintance. Neither is attached to the other, but each knows the other is the one of the best at his job.

* Charlie is actually Manny's uncle. Neither of them know this.

Schuyler Lavey

Concept:Charlatan/Cult Leader

AKA:Schuyler Nesbit (His actual birth name) Grandmaster Lavey (To his followers)

Desc: Corded muscle on his frame. Thinnish. Vain about his appearance. Somewhat cut.  No Ink. One piercing in his left ear. Facially resembles Trent Reznor a little and as a result grows his hair long and colors it black. Cat clean. Wardrobe tends towards black and other wintry colors. Favors turtlenecks. Not much of a one for jewelry, but has one pendant he likes and one ring.  Will wear one or the other but rarely both at the same time.

History:  Schuyler is the sort of fellow who got into occultism for pussy. He’s always been good at talking a good a game. Always been very adept at cold reading people. Might even have some skill at reading micro-expressions and have done some work at memorizing the statistical percentages of psychology and sociology. Schuyler is the kind of guy who can watch Derren Brown work with a real appreciation for the art. He could probably teach a course in Neuro-linguistic programming. At least, he could if it weren’t for the fact that he’s bent most of the actual effort in his life to gratifying his darker impulses.

   He’s built a cult out of a dog’s breakfast of Sumerian, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian ideas and concepts tossed into a blender and set for “Frappe”.  He’s created a harem of extremely submissive and self-doubting women and men that hang on his words.  He’s usually very careful to feel out a potential initiate for any sign of a backbone before bringing them into his little corner of the occult community. He refers to his cult as the Adepts of the Underground Teachings. and spends much of his time managing their soap-opera-like peregrinations, when he isn’t swilling absinthe and getting himself hip-deep in flesh.

   But lately, that hasn’t been enough.

Two things have taken place that have changed Schuyler’s trajectory some.  One is that the pendant he occasionally wears has occasionally given him prescient flashes.  He hasn’t figured out yet that it is the pendant doing it, so naturally, it doesn’t happen all the time...He just thinks that maybe his inevitable apotheosis is taking longer than usual.  He never really doubted it. He’s got that kind of ego.

   But also, he got jumped one night at a club by a Nosferatu who had been watching him for a while and intended to vindictively embrace him. Sadly, the pendant showed Schuyler what would happen, and he managed to overcome the vampire...Who was young and not all that strong.

   Schuyler’s read a dozen books on vampires, so he took this opportunity to sample the power of vampire blood first-hand, and then left the staked vampire out for the sun.

    Schuyler is an opportunist first and foremost. but this new knowledge of vampires, and by extension, a world of potential secrets and lore galvanized him into a level of action no one had ever seen before from him.

    Schuyler reasons it thus: There is power out there. It can be taken from these creatures. I will find a means to do so, and I will do it.

Schuyler is dangerous in a way that he never would have been as a clove-smoking date-rapist. And you know, there might come a night where one of those dusty rituals in one of his books, pays out like a vegas slot machine for him and his little cult.

Attitude: “I am a philosopher. And in ancient times, Philosophers were kings.  They were kings because they understood a deeper world than most people can even perceive. I and my followers are going to be a new vanguard in the age to come. We are truly, each and every one of us, a legend in the making.  You...You could be part of that Legend.

Skills: While Schuyler isn’t trained in any particular combat discipline, He is abnormally fit for a person of his general attitudes. While he generally prefers to think of himself as a spider at the center of his own personal web, The one bit of actual discipline he practices he learned from a short stay in prison over a “misunderstanding” (short-con) He lifts weights and although he is social primary, his physical stats are nothing to sneeze at. (Although his stamina training will always lag behind. It requires an amount of discipline he simply doesn’t possess.)  He’s a quick thinker but again not much for the long haul scholastically.  The only things he ever manages to keep in his mind long terms are the sort of things he can use to make money or get laid. (Academics: Poetry specialization, Occult 4,)  He’s got social stuff out the yang. Encyclopedic memory is also a good fit for him. 

Gear: Dumb phone, A Day-runner notebook that he carries everywhere. A vial of DMT that he keeps with him for interesting new friends. If expecting trouble, he carries a snap baton.

The pendant that he wears is slowly amplifying his latent psychic abilities. He catches precognitive and retrocognitive flashes on touch contact. and while he’s always been really good at reading people cold, he’s beginning to get super close to the bone when he does it now.  Eventually,  the pendant will cause these powers to become natural, but it takes time and since he doesn’t wear it all the time, it hasn’t completely set yet. Lately, he’s taken to carrying a stake or two in his car.

Home: A large victorian home, which is actually owned by one of his followers. While Schuyler never lifts a finger if he can help it, his followers keep the place neat as a pin. They also grow pot in the basement. (Pretty good pot too.) The house doesn’t have much in the way of actual security. But it’s possible that the warding spells that he and his followers have enacted aren’t complete bullshit. Unlikely to damage, but likely to squawk if a supernatural creature enters the domain.  There is a deep freeze in the basement where Schuyler has stowed the torpored corpses of vampires. He’s learned over time how to slowly bleed them dry of vitae. 

Circle: Schuyler is a known name in occult circles. He’s not very well liked by more serious practitioners, but to the beginner or the rube, he is impossibly glamorous and fascinating. Even the ones who don’t like him much have to admit that he always brings interesting trade goods when he comes to parley and that he throws a great party. Schuyler has invested a goodly pile of points into retainers, (His Followers) No one in his cult is exactly rich or powerful. but they have a nice commune style living arrangement with drugs, and orgies thrown in for good measure.

Story Uses:

“I think you have real potential.I’d like to see exactly what you blossom into.”

Woe betide you if you have an impressionable younger female relative or ex-girlfriend. Lavey can scent them on the breeze and will set his cult a-hunting. It’s WAY worse if they happen to have ANY supernatural mojo at all. Because in addition to figuring out how to use, degrade, and throw them on the bone pile, he’ll be trying to figure out how to take their mojo too. If he can.

“Look. At this moment, our aims are aligned. Destiny wants us to work together”

Schuyler could make an interesting if entirely untrustable ally in certain circumstances. He might be willing to help hunters if he’s allowed to dispose of the “Corpse” and is allowed to keep the books they find. It’s not as if he doesn’t have resources to work with and he’s occasionally useful, as well as increasingly impossible to surprise.  The only problem is, he might see your plans coming and plan accordingly.

Connections:

*John Patmos met him once at a party of interested Occultist at The Vermillion House. They traded phone numbers. No telling if or what Patmos has in mind for him.

* Considers Lillian Penobscot to be a good friend and great in the sack, but has had little luck in convincing her to join his cult and sign over the bulk of her assets to him. Lillian's actually got too much spine for that. But Schuyler IS a decent lay and while he may be full of shit, he at least knows quite a bit about the occult in areas where she does not.

*By extension, Schuyler has also met Lorna Crane and naturally, hit on her all damn day. Lorna, for her part, would like to fuck, marry, and kill him, but he's just not rich enough.

Schuyler, as you would imagine, is a regular at  The Grimoire. Bear enjoys arguing with him. Luna (and Noel) think he's pre-eminently fuckable. and Penny...

Penny gets a weird vibe off of him and finds reasons to be away from the store if he's around. 

Katherine Parker, sister of Trent Parker of Parker Mortuary and Black Creek Cemetery is a member of the cult. And Kathy has keys...You know, just in case.

Joseph Cartolano

Concept: Donut Delivery Guy/Vampire Killer

AKA: Goes by Joey or Jojo.

Desc: Joey used to be pretty heavy, and diabetes ran in his family. He’s not exactly lean, he’s too broadly framed for that and likely he’ll never completely get rid of his pooch. But he’s in phenomenal shape. Mid-thirties, Losing his hair on top. Thoughtful eyes. Changes his facial hair whenever he gets bored. Has that kind of face that is utterly forgettable.

History: Joey’s been lucky. He may not recognize that...But it is undoubtedly true. He’s been lone wolfing it in the vampire hunting business and has been able to succeed by dint of superior tactics, well thought out use of intelligence, extreme dedication to his physical fitness and sheer dumb luck.

Joey used to be like a lot of dudes. Kind of a slacker. A bit of a stoner. Really smart in some ways, but not really involved in the world. Hanging around and hoping that his Party DJ business takes off. He got a job on the third shift delivering donuts to pay the bills, but also because he’s always been something of a lone wolf. The loss of any real social life seemed like a small price to pay. 

Joey found that delivering donuts suited his temperament for the most part. He would load up the van with boxes of donuts, breads, sheet cakes, and a few other things, stacking them and bracing them carefully. Then he’d set off on his route, delivering to gas stations, Hotels all over town, multiple hospitals, and then reload for delivering to the university and the county schools. 

One night he walked into a Gas-N-Go to find a vampire feeding on the prone body of the clerk on the floor. She looked up into his eyes...and that was the last thing he remembered. An hour later, it all cleared off and he was sitting in his truck by the side of the road.

Had to bust ass to get the deliveries made after that, because it went without saying that he couldn’t explain to his boss what had happened.

And frankly, that should have been that. But Rhonda left a hook in. Some nights later, she called him, he responded, not really knowing why, and she put the whammy on him again. This time she fed him her blood.

Rhonda wasn’t stupid. She decided that the donut delivery guy might be useful. and it turned out he was surprisingly useful. He could go anywhere in town, the third shifters and over-night cops all knew him and didn’t look at him twice. He was useful transportation on some nights and he turned out to be strong enough to help lift a body and dump it later. Rhonda was careful not to use him too much, as he explained, “My boss doesn’t really give a fuck what I do, as long as all the stuff gets delivered and isn’t late.”   Rhonda was even helpful on the route on occasion.

Joey, for his part, was smitten and happy. and Rhonda owned him for a good two years. She’d even climb on top of him every so often and let him do things to her in exchange for little of the red and sticky. Sure, she had times when she could be a total bitch, but he never took that personally. 

Then, one night, He dropped her off at a Holiday Inn Express out near the interstate, she said she was going to meet some emissary from out of town. Less than a half hour later, Joey had a terrible premonition that something had happened.

By the time he’d finished the school deliveries, it was all over the news. Some kind of terrorist attack or some bullshit story like that. The front desk clerk was found catatonic. He never saw Rhonda again.  He called her phone a hundred times. Eventually, her voicemail filled up.

He went through what could be considered lightly as a “bad patch” He started drinking. He became a recluse in his apartment. Even his mom thought he was in a bad place and sat him down to ask him if something happened between him and Rhonda. He broke down crying and got up and walked out without explaining anything.

Eventually, it might have worked itself out of his system. He didn’t crack completely as some ghouls do.

But he was delivering to a gas station when he saw some dude gassing up his Lexus, and...goddamnit just KNEW that that guy was a vampire.

A quick talk with the clerk confirmed it. That guy had his hooks into the owner and so he’d come in and get gas or whatever and the owner told him that the guy was never to be charged. Came in every Thursday, more or less like clockwork.

A plan formed.

Joey ended up jumping the guy, Staking him and then taking him to a remote location. He didn’t get the whole story of course, but he did get it confirmed that Rhonda had been taken off the count.  He was tempted to take the vampire’s blood, missed that horrifying strength that came with it, but it was their thing.  He only wanted Rhonda...So he set the asshole on fire and split.

The next day, he enrolled in Jiu-Jitsu classes.

Attitude: “Look. I got no kick with other supernatural types. Most of them are just folks trying to deal. And if I check out some vampire, and he’s just looking to get fed and not make any trouble...Then I’ll likely give him a pass too.  Oh. I’ll still keep tabs on em. But you know, I don’t have a hard-on for it, like some. But if some vampire is causing trouble. I’ll come looking for them...and there haven’t been too many to get away from me.

Skills: As mentioned above, Joey is in pretty great shape. He’s not the most social guy, but he’s learned a thing or two. He IS pretty damn smart. Always best at Wits, but over time he’s case hardened his Resolve too. He’ll have dots in martial art and weaponry dodge, disarm, strong back, and quick draw on nearly all of his weapons. He’s also developed Unseen Sense: Vampires.

Gear: Joey has a long black leather coat which he bought on sale one year after Christmas. He also has a black hat. These are his normal rain gear, but he’s taken to wearing them all the time now. He made a deal with a guy he knows who made him a harness out of chain mail interspersed with sections of ballistic ceramic trauma plates. He can get that rig on in seconds now. Joey has made a jackass rig for each arm that holds stakes. He keeps a regular long hunting knife in a sheath on his right hip. His primary weapons of choice are a pair of mail-order Hook Swords. Hook swords aren’t exactly easy to conceal or even sheath, but they are goddamn excellent for beheading vampires.  Joey keeps a laptop in his van primarily for music selection, but also to take notes and receive calls at his skype number. Joey also wears a pair of goggles which have inserts inside that cut down his actual ability to see out of them. Joey fights largely blind. He’s pretty good at it. It’s prevented him from being dominated, majestied or nightmared. It’s also turned out to be a rude shock to vampires who expected to obfuscate and decided to attack rather than run.  Celerity is the only thing that Joey ain’t got nothing for.

Home: Joey’s efficiency apartment is in a building in a kind of poor neighborhood but aside from a little gang activity, the neighborhood is pretty chill and the neighbors look after one another. It would be difficult for anyone to approach Joey's apartment without being observed unless they were Obfuscated or in an animal form. Joey’s unit has all of its window blacked out with gorilla tape and black poster paper that’s been cut to fit. (Had to get special permission from the landlord to do it.) He’s done this because he’s got to sleep in the daytime.

Circle: Joey’s not the most social guy. But over the course of time, he’s picked up a few friends on his route and he’s pieced together a rough collection of third shifters who have SEEN some stuff and are willing to kick him a little intel when they run across it.  This intel has led to a few daring daytime raids in hotels and other spots. But if nothing else it’s kept Joey from feeling like he’s in this alone. Matter of fact, he’s dating a girl who works the front desk at the Microtel on his route.  Woe betide any vampire who tries to get at Joey through his girlfriend. She’s looking to join the FBI someday and is studying counter-terrorism in school.

Story Uses:

“Hey you...Dead man.”

Joseph has a real gift for turning up on the worst night of a vampire’s life. This is because he understands a few basic principles:

*Speed beats Strength

*Surprise beats Speed.

*Tactics beats Surprise

So, many times, Joey has scouted the vampire in question for a while and has an idea of where and how to hit him to maximize his chances. And he’s got a few places that he’s noted make it more difficult for vampires with Celerity and Obfuscate because of their hemmed-in nature.  He’s smart. and as I said lucky.  

“Yeah. I’m not crashing that party unless I can bring friends.”

Joey is more confident going after lone vampires. He’s not going to attack a group. He’s also not going after some kindred with highly paid ghoul security forces.  As a result, most kindred who even know there is hunter out there think of him as a bottom feeder, not reckoning that he’s actually got a pretty respectable body count going. And every single time he has time to interrogate a victim, his picture of what is going on in the kindred world gets clearer. 

Connections:

*Has heard of, but not yet met Dr. Ronnette Franklin. Knows a little about her from one of his third shift friends. Has already decided that he might need to meet her if he can because it goes without saying if he gets badly hurt, he can't really go to a hospital.

*Used to game with T.C. Mitnick and his girl Suzanne.They met at Donut Hut back in the day. Allied Business Data still gets donuts and a sheet cake about once a week, (Because there are a lot of business drones that have trouble making it through Wednesday without a 3o'clock sugar bump. They'll look for reasons to order a cake.) So they still see one another from time to time.

* Doris Badenov is actually living in the same apartment building. But they've not met one another at all. This is not shocking. Both are introverts and have weird hours. 

* Donut Hut, (Don't let the name fool you, it's a full-service bakery) supplies buns and rolls of surpassing quality to Rory O'Halloran. Rory thinks Joey is an odd little squirrel but alright for the most part. He was in a better humor when he was fat and had that girlfriend of his.

Reverend Mike Plumber

Concept: Bad News Preacher Man

AKA:None

Desc: Mouth like a drawstring purse, iron gray hair. Suit. Tie. Flag Pin. Large meaty hands. Bright white smile, literally thousands of dollars of cosmetic orthodontia. Grey eyes that make you think of timber wolves. Slightly hoarse voice, that can nevertheless deliver stentorian tones to the back row of his church.

History: You would never know to look at him, that 40 years ago, Mike Plumber was a young seminary student. Keenly interested in psychology and some of the new and interesting ideas that the late 70’s were creating in American Christianity.  There is a picture in the back of some old album somewhere of Mike with long hair and a faintly ridiculous beard, flowers in his hair, eyes filled with energy, promise, faith and some DMT.

Somewhere along the way, that guy died. He didn’t exactly die suddenly. He died over a long period of time. a death of a thousand paper cuts. And that, all by itself would be pretty darn sad.  But then someone came along and decided that the still animate corpse was worth owning.

(Since this IS the World of Darkness I’m talking about, I’ll go ahead and point out that I’m only talking about a metaphorical death here. Mike is still living and breathing and stuff. But he is a far cry from that young man from so long ago. )

And let’s make no bones about it. Mike is OWNED by someone. Every once in a great while, he’s asked to do or say some heinous thing and the niggling little bits of his better self still feel the knife go in. But he does it. because in the end, he just doesn’t have the courage to fight or end his life.

Reverend Mike Plumber is everything that is wrong with American Prosperity Gospel Christianity with just a dash of Pentecostal trembling in the face of God’s unmatched wrath.  He launches ambuscade after ambuscade of vitriol from his pulpit every week and issues marching orders to his compliant cult-like flock about who to hate, who to protest, and unashamedly, who to vote for.

His church is an enormous megachurch, complete with food court and a tiny mall. There are broadway theaters that don’t have the same production values as the sanctuary of this place.  The church has turned into 8 or 9 buildings in a roughly compound-like lay-out. It’s even got a baseball diamond. Every Sunday parking on this side of town is utterly fucked.

First Epiphany is legendary around these parts for the sort of smarmy self-satisfied jerk-faces that give people who are honestly trying to follow Christ’s example a bad name. And the people pulling Mike’s strings...That’s just the way they want it.

Frankly, If Mike had his druthers, He’d just as soon make off with a few million he’s got salted away in a grand cayman slush-fund, drop off the map and spend the rest of his life high as a kite and hip-deep in Thai whores of indeterminate sex.  But unless his owners get themselves whacked, and that doesn’t seem likely. Here is where he will stay.

He’d pray for a way out, but he stopped believing in God a LONG time ago.

Attitude: “Son. Between you, me and the wall. I don’t necessarily believe more than 30 percent of the things I say up there. No. I don’t necessarily practice what I preach. But then again, I’m not the same poor dumb fool I’m preaching TO. 

Skills: A good smattering of Academics, Science(Psychology), and 5 dots of Persuasion and Expression. (He also still plays a mean bass.) Serious points chunked into Presence and Manipulation (But not as much composure. It’s not EASY to rattle him, but it IS possible.)

Gear: Mike keeps gum in his pockets and a pocketknife. He keeps a fresh hanky in his jacket pocket and a pair of sunglasses. He still wears a watch, a Timex he inherited from his father which gets serviced once a year and keeps near perfect time.  Mike refuses to carry anything else on his person. He does have a personal assistant, a young woman who is responsible for his phone. No, the rumors aren’t true. She isn’t sleeping with him. But she does vigorously peg him, at his insistence, twice a week. 

His wife knows all about it. Frankly, she’s relieved.

Home: Palatial. Technically owned by the church, so that Mike doesn’t have to pay property taxes on it. 6 of his ten kids still live at home. Most them are gormless layabouts in their mid 20-30s. Rich kids with a preacher father who never really seems to be around. The other four kids got to hating their father so badly that they had to move out. At least one has gotten involved as a political strategist working for...liberals. Another came out publicly and has become a strident voice for Gay Christian rights.

The house has an enormous pool and a great big old barbecue suite near the back door of the kitchen.  Once a year, Mike hosts a cook-out where the movers and shakers of town come and discuss weighty matters over pulled pork and daquaries. More political business gets done at the cookout than at a dozen city council meetings.

Circle: Dots of Retainers certainly. Allies of all sorts. Contacts in political and religious circles and high society circles. Dots of Staff (One for the household, the rest for the church of course. ) And what his social influence can’t manage, his money can. At least 2 of his children OUGHT to be serving time in the state pen, but are serving out sentences under house arrest. (They spend a lot of that time stoned and playing X-box.)

Story Uses:

“Attend my words for the spirit is moving upon me...”

It really depends on WHO is pulling Mike’s chain.  If it’s some vampire, odds are fairly good that Mike will be a semi-passive force in the community. He’ll usually only be pressed into service to help shore up the masquerade or to calm down the spooked herd.

If it’s The Vermillion House, then he’ll likely only be bent to propping up the status quo in town and keep the peasants nice and distracted while the rich and powerful go about their reindeer games.

But if Mike is in the grip of someone working for the Exarchs...Well. His ministry is going to be very active and very very problematical.

“It was at that point, I realized it was time to go.”

Perhaps the more interesting use of Reverend Mike would be to show what happens when his handler gets taken off the count. He might commit a very public suicide. He might disappear for a year and then re-appear having written a book blowing his entire ministry out of the goddamn water. He might go to jail.

He might find God again.

All sorts of possibilities.

Connections:

*Trent Parker of Parker Mortuary and Black Creek Cemetery attends this church and has a special deal with Reverend Plumber.

*Officer Honus Brightwater is a member of the church. He thinks Reverend Mike is a genius and a true man of God.

* Teflon John Galloway has sold pot to a statistically significant number of the Plumber kids.

* Occasionally, the ministry needs special help from skilled business advisors and so occasionally, Mike calls Bryson Import/Export for their "assistance"

* Mike doesn't know it yet, but he's already met John Patmos. If John ever explained himself to the reverend...There is literally no way of telling which way he'd go.