Rey Morales

Concept: Janitor/Industrial Espionage Specialist

AKA: Rey has always been just this side of skeletal and he still eats like a starving wolf. As a result, his childhood nickname was “Flaco” (Which means “Skinny”)

Desc: Late 30’s latino male. Skinny, as I said. Callouses from a life of hard physical work. One diamond stud in his ear. No ink.  Good muscle tone, although his back gives him occasional trouble.

On the job, he wears a grey-green coverall and work boots, (he bought a dozen of them so he only has to do laundry every two weeks.) But on his time off he goes in for a bit of color and sandals. 

History: Papi always used to say that gangs were for stupid boys. Smart boys had better things to do than get killed over some patch of territory.  Smart boys learned everything they could, If life in America taught you anything, it taught you that you could steal more with a briefcase and a suit than you EVER could with a gun.  And that turned out to be true.

Rey was a smart kid, and he was able to get and keep a scholarship. But it didn’t really cover everything. So on the weekends while other student were partying, Rey was working for his cousin who ran a janitorial service. 

Rey was going in the direction of becoming a corporate lawyer. He did well in his pre-law classes and was looking around at various possibilities for law school. But law school wasn’t going to just fall down in front of him with its legs open. It was going to be expensive.

   It was at this point when he read a section on corporate espionage in one of his text books. It talked about, in very broad strokes, how it was done and how lucrative it could be.

And the idea popped into Rey’s head...”Hey. I could totally do this.”

He was not wrong. Rey found that most people who worked in janitorial services tended to be completely invisible to the people that they worked for. Moreover, they tended to assume that anyone that worked with their hands for a living had to be too fucking stupid to even understand what they were talking about. (Rey learned quick to adopt a “Rain Man” style persona and occasionally lapse into rapid babbling Spanish when dealing with certain people)

   It started small. At first, the operation involved sifting the daily garbage for nuggets of gold. Rey made anonymous approaches to competitor companies to the one he was servicing promising occasional bits of actionable intel. In return, They’d put money into a grand cayman account for him.

At first, no one took him seriously.  But Rey is pretty talented at reading between the lines, He was able to see from garbage and from scavenged emails when and how the stock prices would change. And when it turned out he could predict these things to his clients...They began to sit up and take notice.

     Rey is pretty swish with a computer. He’s been using one almost his whole life. He bought a decent set of tools online that he could load onto a thumb drive. And that’s been helpful. He bought a set of bump keys online and that’s enabled him to go anywhere that isn’t restricted by keypad access....And the funny thing about that is, Occasionally, areas with key-pad access have messes that need cleaning too.

    Rey has also taught himself a few things about surveillance equipment. Small bugs and tiny cameras can gather a LOT of intel, especially if you can set those devices to squirt their informational payload to a smart phone. (Although, obviously not one in your own name.)

    Rey began to make so much money at this, that he put law school on hold, and eventually bought out his cousin. Rey has become something of a spymaster. Not only is he interested in hard intel but he’s also realized that corporations will pay top dollar for talent that they can hire away from their competitors. Sometimes, all it takes is being passed over for promotion, a big gambling debt, or even a messy horrid divorce that creates a desire to start over in a new city.  Rey has hired members of his own family, and while they may not know too much about the corporate espionage themselves, they certainly know what Rey wants them to look for, and can occasionally make an approach to a person looking to get out.  If nothing else, Rey can always take news that a research director is unhappy and looking for greener pastures to a competing company and let their headhunters do the rest. 

   Rey has taken the time and trouble to create a few extra identities for himself, and while his relatives work for a single company, on paper that company is actually ten companies under a grand cayman corporate umbrella. It would take forensic accountants some time to untangle the whole thing.  The best bit is, that since he’s taken great pains to keep himself anonymous if his client companies decide to screw him, and of course, some try...He just turns up on THEIR doorstep and soon enough their offices are nice and clean, but they are bleeding inside.

  Rey’s not a fool. He’s put money aside in case something goes sideways. Not just for him, but for his family too. And of course, he’s got inside information that makes playing the market childishly easy.  The only question is, will he manage to get out before someone twigs to his activities, or will they figure out who he is before he sees them coming.

Attitude: “It turns out that there is a place online where you can buy roach eggs by the pound. I was doing a thing, and I got in to clean up a mess. I had just enough time to open up a wall outlet and stash some eggs and a slurry of water and sugar in there.  In a weeks time, the secure area was COMPLETELY infested.  So, innocently I happen to mention that my cousin is an exterminator and he works cheap. SO he and I went in, he killed the bugs, and I went through the corporate accounting files.  We laughed. Well..As much as you can do with the respirators on.”

Skills: Mentally, He’s sharp. Not SUPER GEEENIUS sharp. But still pretty sharp. Socially, he’s pretty good, grew up in a decent sized family and has the kind of social reflexes that a smart boy growing up in the hood will get.  Physically, he’s okay.  He’s got a decent pile of dots socked into academics with a specialty in business.  Got some dots in Computer with a spec in anonymous intrusions.

Streetwise and subterfuge are in good shape too. He’s got enough dots in Empathy to be able to spot someone who is a likely target for headhunting. Also enough that it occasionally makes it morally problematical.  He does have a gun and knows how to use it, but isn’t terribly combat capable.

Gear: He normally carries a decent sized tool bag which holds his lunch, his smartphone, his earbuds, a paperback or two. There’s nothing in the tool bag that is remotely incriminating.  Rey has taken the trouble to hollow out the handle of his mop. He stores his jump drives and bugs in there. He also keeps the spare memory card for the phone in there.  He keeps his gun in the glove box of his van.

Home: Rey is careful. He’s got a little apartment in his own name and he drives an old ford van. One of his many companies owns a decent sized house and a late model Lincoln town car. and this is where he spends the bulk of his time. His neighbors think he’s a political analyst.  Funny thing, though. The “family” home is wholly owned and there have been significant additions to it over the years. Rey has had to make with some pretty fancy maneuvering in order to do these things without arousing the suspicions of the neighbors or the IRS.

Circle: Rey lives a double life really. His work means it’s difficult for him to connect to people at his work and a lot of the actual “Cleaning” takes place on the third shift anyway.  He also has to keep his work pretty secret from anyone in the old neighborhood. A good story like that would get around town at roughly the speed of light. Also, gangs might like to take a slice. Fuck that shit.  Even the family is mostly in the dark. Papi thinks that Rey is still going back to law school someday.  But Rey still has some friends he trusts, and family who know a little and those people are the only ones he can really relax with. Rey suspects that someday he’s going to get tired of spinning these plates...But right now?  The work makes him smile and keeps him in beer and skittles.

Story Uses:

“Hm... I’m thinking that these guys are going public after the software rollout.”

Need some company jacked up good and proper? Rey might be the right guy for the job if you can connect up to him somehow. He stays off the grid, for the most part, tends to make the approach and has only a few clients that have a way of getting in touch.

“Look. I don’t do revenge jobs...But your Abuela was like a sister to mine...I’ll look into it.”

If there’s anything that might make the balloon go up too early, it might be Rey’s connection to his extended family.  If some corporate interest screwed over his family badly enough, they would call down a storm of heat, shit, and pain that hasn’t been seen since biblical times.

Connections:

* Rey once hired Selma Collins to do a number on a company. Their internal security was getting a bit too close. Selma was a total professional. Rey would use her again if a stunt called for it.

* He bought his tools from Boolie Hinson but they don’t know one another. Still, they’ve worked pretty well and updates handle new things pretty darn well.

* Anytime he’s got the time to do so, he chats up Rosalie Prescott. That’s mostly because he’s got weird hours and the Gas-N-Go is near his apartment. He likes her a little and her kid too.

* A number of Weiland Diversifications projects have been stymied by some market “misfortunes”  To date, no one has rooted out exactly who is causing it. Meredith Shaw would pay a kings ransom to find out who’s causing it.

* Once, Rey and Clavo Hernandez sat in Clavo's studio one night over a bottle of Tequila and talked about ID's and staying off the grid.  Rey will kick business in Clavo's direction and occasionally Clavo can do the same.

Detectives Blanchard and Skiggs

Concept: Lazy Homicide Dicks

AKA: Blanchard’s first name is “Ray” Skiggs’s first name is “Richard” but everyone calls him “Dick”.

Desc: Ray is shorter and ruddy. His hair is still dark and his mustache is straight out of 70’s porn. He’s barrel-chested and thick wristed. He’s held the inter-precinct boxing championship more than one time. He’s overweight, but he’s very solid.  Dick is taller and his hair has gone snowy white. He’s sallow and overweight. He may not look like much but he’s the better shot. Dick’s eyes are a little droopy. While both fellas are two-fisted drinkers, Dick’s coloration means that the broken capillaries across the bridge of his nose are a bit more prominent. Both men are pushing 50.

History:  Maybe there’s something to it. That whole idea of “Live long enough to become the villain.”  Both of these guys were cops. Patrol officers and then eventually working their way up to wearing the gold shield.  They became friends...They became partners.

And you know, It would be fairly easy to dog these guys out.  It’s not that they’re bad detectives. They certainly aren’t incapable or incompetent. They’re not by any stretch of the imagination corrupt. As a matter of fact, Skiggs got caught up in a corruption investigation. He was cleared, but he walked around butt-hurt for a good seven weeks, that anyone would even think he ever took a dime that wasn’t his.

  Nah. These two. These two aren’t necessarily bad guys. But they aren’t good guys either.  They ARE lazy. It’s been years since they’ve gone full court press on a case. A man comes home to find his wife murdered and these two will naturally assume the husband did it. After all, it’s usually the husband anyway. right?  Guess whose day just went from bad to worse.

   This is not to say that if you could convince them that they’d missed something, that they couldn’t turn around and make it right.  But if that involves more work and paperwork on top of that...Yeah. It’s going to be an uphill struggle.

Ray’s the volatile one.  He’s a decorated officer but he’s also got some serious stuff in his jacket about getting busy with his fists on suspects.  He’s your typical bad-verging-on-psychotic cop. Socially, he’s the more adept one, but he tends to get hotheaded.   Dick is the smarter one and more level headed. In an interrogation, he’ll vacillate between pulling Blanchard off of someone, and/or dryly asking emotionless questions.  When they double team a suspect, there IS no “good cop”.

Attitude: “C’mon Dick. I been reading up on this way of working a guy over that won’t even leave a mark on him. I mean the little shitbird might bleed out internally, But I hardly see how that’s a fucking problem. Man decides not to talk, he’s got to take what’s coming.”

“Well. If you think that’s best.”

Skills:  Dick is the better marksman, having a couple of dots in combat marksman. Mentally, he’s also got a dot or two on Ray. Ray balances this by being a bit more physically aspected and having dots of boxing. Both have hella good manipulation scores and decent dots in subterfuge,intimidation, and streetwise.  Being interrogated by them is no picnic. Each has about 4 or 5 specialties in Investigation, pretty standard for detectives really if they’ve been at it awhile.

Gear: Ray prefers a solid 45. Plenty of stopping power if you can hit with it at all. Which he can, usually. Dick prefers Glock 9. Dick keeps a Spyderco clipit on his belt at all times.  Ray has sap gloves. Both have Smart Phones. They have a gray Crown Vic that Ray bought at auction one year and then called in a marker with a guy in the motor pool to rehab it.  It’s still in fairly good shape and runs better than an old cruiser has a right to. In the trunk, there are two shotguns, A small box of random pistols with serials filled off. (Because you NEVER know.) and a baseball bat. Blanchard threw in a catcher’s mitt too just because a DA once told him that it would make his life easier.

Home: Dick has a depressing little apartment that he tries to spend as little time in as possible.  Many times, he’ll just go over to Blanchard’s house and nod off on the couch. He’ll stop in in the morning to change clothes and shower.

Blanchard’s home is a cute little place in the burbs. They have a pool table set up in the garage and big old inflatable pool out back.

Circle: To these guys, there are three classes of people; Cops, Fucking Civilians, and Scum. This limits one’s personal interactions a bit.  Ray is married to a woman named Deirdre and has been so for 22 years. Deirdre thinks the world of Ray and considers him her personal hero. Dick thinks she must either be very much in love with him or terribly stupid. He suspects it’s the latter, but he’d eat his weapon before saying that out loud to Ray. And as far as that goes, he can't help but adore her too. Ray knows how lucky he is, and while he might make extremely creative commentary about a female in his immediate field of vision, he’d die before cheating on her.

Dick, for his part, has been married 4 times. He has a bad habit of choosing emotionally unavailable women who are perhaps, too highly strung. The flameouts are impressive. During his first marriage, he got a vasectomy without telling his wife. That ought to tell you something right there.

Story Uses:

“Oh really? Would you like to make a little wager on who cracks the case first?”

These guys come from an old game where one of the players was also a homicide detective. Blanchard and Skiggs were the movie buddy cop rivals that you always see. In fact, the running gag was that if you played it just right, you might actually trick them into doing their fucking job.

“Wudn’t me?” “That’s all he’s got?" "Shit. I don’t even think he WANTS us to look at anyone else." "What kind of alibi is that?"

It’s guys like these that can be the worst nightmare for any character who isn’t able to flee the scene after the shit went down. Maybe you’ll come to, and they’ll be right up in your grill. Or maybe you’ll turn yourself in and tell your story only to have them decide that not only did you do the thing, but they like you for 8 other things now.

“Dude. Stay with me!”

These men, are not good men. But they are partners and have shared a lot. They have put their lives in one another hands.  So if one of them falls in the line of duty. You had best believe that the other one will come for you and all hell will be trailing in his wake.

Connections:

* Detective Dana Crowley While most conversations with her usually end up with a certain amount of dwelling on her tits and ass, If you asked either one separately what they thought about her, each would admit that she was a pretty good homicide dick, and as far as IAB goes, she's still pretty decent. This qualifies as high praise actually.

* They were part of the team that collared William Lee Travis They did a lot of leg-work mostly.

* They'd like to hate Detective Bob Greider but they just can't seem to manage it. Bob's too nice a guy. Even when he's making them look dumb.

* They are both faithful listeners of Alex Mahoney

* Nearly ended up being charged with perjury after being cross-examined by Christine Horowitz The DA ended up yelling at the pair of them for a solid half hour.

* Officer Wesley Ullman  "He's a good kid. Make a fine officer someday, he just needs to learn how to relax...And maybe switch to beer."

* Both, in their secret hearts, miss being able to talk to Miss Virgie Hawkins. 

* Ezekiel Stubbs tried to resist arrest once quite strenuously. He broke Blanchard's instep. Hurt like a sonofabitch for weeks. Bothers him every time the weather gets cold.

* Once busted Big Dan Tarleton after one of his fighters was found face down in the river, but they had nothing that would stick. Dan was actually innocent for once.

* Detective Bela Janofski is considered by both cops to be a pretty decent detective. He has a natural gift for criminal psychology. Course, that doesn't mean that "Digger" isn't going to get his ball busted from time to time.

Blaise Newkirk

Concept: Political Fixer/Black Magician

AKA: His birth name is Sean Newkirk Jr. Some years ago he had it legally changed and has gone to no small effort to eradicate his original name.

Desc: Tall, dark, handsome. Capped teeth. Contact lenses, unless he needs to look smart. Then the Ben Franklin style bifocals come out. Can buy off the rack but rarely does. Goes in for Bespoke and Italian leather shoes. Has the kind of musculature that you’d expect from someone who plays squash. Has a kind of restless energy that most people would equate with a habit for nose candy, but no, that’s all him. Doesn’t exactly have Pianist's hands, but still plays. He has eyes that pay attention. Has a slight trace of British accent, as if he went to prep school there.  It’s carefully calculated

History: Sean was an only child, which was probably just as well as his father was a drinking, abusive fuck. He and his family lived over on the poor side of town and as Sean grew, he came to hate his existence. He was a smart kid and he knew that he loathed his father. He didn’t want to be anything like that guy, grubbing for every penny during the week and then spending half of his meager paycheck on Miller High Life every weekend.  That usually led to his mother getting smacked around and extra discipline for him as well.

So rather than suffer. He decided to do something about it.

At the tender age of 13, Sean secreted a tape recorder and mic. Taped his mother being brutalized, Mailed it to the police and while that tape was being listened to, cozened a teacher into calling in an abuse charge. He also got a friend to make an anonymous call saying that Sean’s father was selling smack out of their tiny apartment. Sean saved up his money and bought an amount of horse which he then cut to make it look much larger.  So, when the police came calling they not only weren’t inclined to listen to Sean Senior. After finding the smack, they took him away and beat the ever-loving fuck out of him.  Sean’s dad went away, and when he got himself shanked in the prison yard up at Clearwater, Sean Junior breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

   Of course, Sean’s mother tried to get with any dickhead who was willing to smack her around some, because that’s what she was used to. Sean found ways to make them go away and stay away.

   Sean’s not the smartest kid. But he is driven and he knew that he was never going to amount to anything unless he was able to go to college. He went out for track and was good enough at it to letter, but not good enough to wrangle a scholarship with it.  He wasn’t an academic superstar either, so a scholastic scholarship wasn’t likely to be in the cards.

But Sean knows people He’s got great people radar. It comes from having an abusive souse for a father and not knowing from moment to moment where the emotional wind is blowing. You get good at learning cues. So, Sean found ways to enhance his academic performance. He took AP courses and paid smarter kids to do some of his coursework. He made friends with a young man who was getting involved with computers and hacked a grade or two. In one case, he slept with a teacher. In another case, he blackmailed a gay teacher. He graduated near the top of his class, but not Valedictorian or anything crazy like that.  He was able to test well, and cheat even better.

As a result, he got into a good school on a full ride. He got a part-time job that enabled him to afford joining a fraternity and using THOSE connections, Got himself an internship as a paralegal with a prestigious firm.

So how does a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks manage to get himself enough money to be able to leverage himself that kind high-class life?

Easy. Black magic.

Sean dated a girl in his first year of college who considered herself an occult adept. Sean had never thought there was anything to any of that stuff his whole life until she summoned something up that she couldn’t put down. Once Sean had managed to cover up her “Disappearance” He found himself perusing her books, and this is the important part...Seeing where she went wrong.

So. He gave it a try. and being a little morally flexible, was able to make a deal with that entity that they could both live with. The demon, for his part, was actually a little impressed.

Now, He runs a little concern called “The Barron Group” It’s a publicist firm, A very very exclusive publicist firm. He has three associates who do almost all the publicist work, and a partner who is an Entertainment Lawyer that he met during his internship. Olivia Cassavetes essentially runs the place while “Blaise” goes out and makes rain for the firm.

How? By offering his services as a political fixer. Blaise has a mind full of sharp things and an impressive rolodex that only comes from being a professional extrovert and being constantly on the prod. He’s a member of the Vermillion House, and just may be one of the youngest members being considered for the inner circle. Also, he’s expanded his portfolio as a black magician, he’s got about dozen demon contacts now.

Attitude: “Politics is an ugly business. But you don’t need me to tell you that. You already know that. What you don’t know is how low some people are willing to stoop. It’s my job to make certain that you and I are never EVER surprised on that front.  Everything else is phone calls, favors, and cash.

Skills: Blaise is NOT a combatant. He’s only ever been in one fight in his whole life and got the crap kicked out of him then. He’s got muscle mass and is healthy, but he’s not trained in any way, and learning combat out of anything other than dire necessity would make him think he’s becoming like his father. It ain’t likely to happen.  As I say, though. He’s certainly fit, and has the kind of stamina that one could expect from someone who is a teetotaler, doesn’t smoke and is a complete horndog. Mentally, he’s a bit above average and comes off a lot brighter than he actually is. Socially, he’s a total monster. Never gets rattled, usually sees them coming a mile off, and could probably talk the devil out of her panties.  He will have a vast panoply of social merits. He makes ridiculously good money too. He will also have a goodly chunk of dots in Occult, and a Second Sight Template for Apostle of the Dark One.  He’s developed “Unseen Sense (Vampires)” Because it was useful, and he made a deal many years ago for a truly impressive schlong.

Gear: Has the sort of stuff in his phone that could topple governments in this state. As a result, it’s got Intrusion countermeasure software loaded onto it. He’s got his iPad for music, books, and movies. He has a Bluetooth earpiece for his phone, and he is almost constantly on that phone. Usually, while he’s walking. He keeps a treadmill in his office.  He had a vasectomy years ago, but still carries condoms out of habit. You just never know anymore.

In addition, He’s usually got cash and a dozen credit cards in his slimline wallet, which is also  RFID shielded. He keeps multiple chargers and phone batteries in the glove box of his Jaguar. He has a boat which isn’t QUITE a yacht. But it will sleep four couples comfortably and has come in handy for body disposal.

Some years ago, He invested a decent amount of money in surveillance equipment that you can actually purchase on the open market, and few piece of equipment, that you can’t. He has a white panel van that bears the legend “Montgomery Tech Solutions” but also has a couple of magnetic signs that could be put over that stowed in the back.  Some things, he’ll go and do himself. Other things he’ll farm out to P.I.’s It all depends on the nature of the target.

Home: His penthouse is a bog standard penthouse, The only things that are remarkable about it are the fact that it requires a keypad code to get the elevator to go up to it and the truly impressive amount of sex toys that are stowed in one of the walk-in closets.  He rarely eats here and the kitchen shows it. Most of the time he dines out with clients, “Friends”, “Frenemies”, Lodge Brothers ,and Fraternity Brothers.

His office is on the 22nd floor of the Mainway Tower downtown.  Surrounded by law firms and high-level accounting firms. Its offices are well appointed but cozy and intimate.(Comfy leather and plenty of plants.) Blaise’s personal office features a grand piano which he noodles at while he’s thinking and a bookcase with a hidden keypad that opens into a hidden ritual space about the size of a garage.  If “The Barron Group” is ever forced to pull up stakes and leave, this ritual space will need a team of exorcists to clear it.

Circle: Vast and pervasive. Blaise is actually fairly methodical and has a grand strategic plan for the sort of alliances and friendships he hopes to make in order to grow his influence.  Any character in these pages above a certain income level is liable to be in his rolodex and even criminals and gang members have their uses, so they are fair game too. In fact, I’ll only hit the highlights in terms of his connections below. He is instinctual about offering his business card and asking for one in return. There is ALWAYS a follow-up call,text,or email the next day. 

Story Uses:  “Look, I told you. I have the local media sewn up around her. You want the full court press, You buy one of our packages. You want to get frozen out and have anemic box office. That’s entirely on you, Ms. Swift.”

He’s got the media in his pocket and his political and corporate portfolio is nothing to sneeze at. He seems damn near ubiquitous. He works hard to be so.  He’d make a great ally. Possibly a decent mentor for a younger character who is young, scrappy, and hungry.

“If you want to amend the contract I understand. But I’m going need something in return. Don’t worry...You’ll still get your sacrifice.”

Blaise is in the middle of a bewildering web of contacts, negotiations, obligations and favor trading. He is constantly in need of people who are willing to handle things for him. Maybe your players wouldn’t mind having him owe THEM a favor. But then again, maybe they WOULD.

“Yes, sir. I’ll handle that personally.”

Yes. Blaise Newkirk would be an awesome get for some vampire. There’s just one problem. it would seriously piss off the entirety of the Vermillion House.

Connections: 

*The Vermillion House considers him to be one of their rising stars and the power of a new generation. Blaise has gone to some effort to conceal his humble origins from them. While it might be a rude shock to some of the members, others would still consider him part of the "Natural Aristocracy" of the world.  He HAS seen how there is something of a divide between people who made money and people who inherited it within the House.

* Holmes, Gillis, Baker, Savage, North, and Dean  Blaise considers Roderick Holmes to be one of his oldest and dearest friends and looks up to him like a mentor. They brunch once a month and between them carve up the cities available influence pool. He also plays squash with Ilyana Baker and then fucks her afterward.

* Jamal Cooper is always good for some violence for pay. Of course, Blaise thinks he is a bit unstable and has been cultivating his boys for when he eventually gets himself killed or jailed.

* Boolie Hinson "I've never had a problem with him. He's as professional as they come. I just wish he'd lay off the speed.

* Captain Roy Gunderson "I don't ever want to hear you call him "Captain Smelly" in my presence again. That man is a genius and has saved my bacon more times than I care to count."

* Aldous Church "He came to me highly recommended by certain government people. And I have to admit he has not disappointed me yet."

* Marcie Hawkins "I only know her by reputation. But I'd love to meet her."

Detective Dana Crowley

Concept: Little Miss Rock and a Hard Place

AKA: It turns out the Dana is pretty hard core in the Police softball team. She’s shortish, so her strike-zone is hard for some to hit and when she connects with the ball, she’s got some pretty decent power. As a result, guys around the station call her “Slugger” Crowley. 

Desc: Exactly 1/2 inch over the department size requirement. Bright green eyes. Not a lot of fat on her although the amount of desk work she does is starting to make her concerned about her ass. Naturally curly black hair.  Nice smile. Favors cowboy boots because they tend to ground her stance and they’re useful in the field.  The nicest article of clothing she owns is a dark purple cashmere scarf.  Favors black jeans and solid color button up men’s shirts. And her  trusty black trench coat.

History: Dana is from a cop family.  And being the eldest, got the pitch much harder than her younger brother Daniel. Which was just as well, Daniel came out at 17, and while it’s not impossible for a gay boy to be a cop, that wasn’t a fight Daniel was willing to have. Dad understood eventually. Besides, Daniel was smart in a different way and now he teaches math at the university.

    But I’m talking about Dana right now. Dana’s pretty smart, and has a normal amount of actual ambition. She put in her time as a patrol officer, and after what seemed an interminable wait after passing her Detective exam, she got her gold shield and went to work.  She’s done a few thing in various departments. She detested working in Vice, Liked Bunco, but there’s so little call for it. Was good at Homicide, but it started to get to her...So what’s a girl to do if she’s bucking to have a captaincy of her own by age 40?

Well. IAB was looking for someone and Dana thought, “Well. It might not exactly endear me to my fellow cops all that well. but if I’m looking to play the long game, this is where I need to be.”  So they found each other after a fashion.

     It’s different.  Every suspect you meet is a cop and by extension, a trained killer. (Dana reads a lot of Lee Child, Looking for pointers.)  Sometimes you have to file a report on a decent cop who’s made a serious error in judgment and those days are never good ones.

   But other days, you file a report on a cop who’s done something so fucking egregious and then you end up getting pressured to label the shoot “righteous”  What the Fuck?   And why is it that the corruption cases never seem to go anywhere.  And maybe it’s just her imagination, but sometimes it feels like her captain is acting a little squirrelly and erratic. Granted his divorce last year was pretty ugly...but still.

   Increasingly. Dana is starting to feel like she’s caught in a bad situation. Cops are doing bad things out there, but it seems like her department isn’t being allowed to do what it’s supposed to. And dammit, Dana wants to know why.

Attitude: “Look. I don’t ever think that a police person is ever going to manage to be morally above reproach. Some do things that are morally shady and balance it by still trying to be the best officer they can be. I don’t generally tool around here giving people the stink-eye over little shit like some dicks in this department do.  But there IS a line. You can cross it.  And it’s up to cops like me to make sure that little shit is the only thing cops can get away with.

Skills:  Physically, She’s a dynamo in a small package. Not super strong, but knows how to use what she has and she’s got good stamina. She’s got some good dots in Athletics and Fleet of Foot in Merits. 3 dots of Brawl, Firearms, and Weaponry.(Specs in snap baton, and Baseball bat.)  Some dots in kung-fu, combat marksmanship, and cop tactics, But not a ton of dots in any of those Fighting Styles.  Socially, she’s pleasant enough and smart enough to be covetous of Bob Grieder’s social acumen.   Mentally, She’s pretty sharp. Decent investigation and computer scores. A fair pile of dots in academics with specs in forensics and ballistics. Each time the department offer courses, she takes them and usually crushes them. (Dana was always blowing the curve in school) 

Gear: Dana prefers 45’s She’s got one under her right armpit, another in the small of her back and a 38 revolver on her left ankle. Some years ago, she went to see the movie “Se7en” and from that point on started carrying a switchblade with a mother-of-pearl handle. (More for opening things and handling evidence than as a serious weapon.) 

When it comes to Phones, Dana is an early adopter. Usually first in line to buy the new smartphone-du jour. She’s got half the department’s numbers in that phone, it’s connected to her Skype number and her Facebook. She’s got a high-resolution sense on its camera. A couple hundred useful criminology texts, useful evidence gathering apps, and about a gigs worth of upbeat House and Trance music to keep her awake during the slow times. She dictates a lot of her notes into that phone. She even keeps a spare phone in her desk so she can swap out the SIM card in case hers gets damaged in the field.  Dana also carries Tarot deck in a zippered pocket in her trench.  Not because she has any belief in the occult, but because she read a novel some years back about a guy who used the tarot symbology as a means of cracking cases.  Some mumbo jumbo about “Finding out the things, you don’t know that you know.”  She tried it out and has been using it ever since.

Home: Shares a brownstone with her brother and his small doggies. She and Daniel can both walk to work from there. Weekdays are usually sleepy affairs but weekends at the Crowley household usually include the shooting range, The batting cage,  Brunch, and taking in a drag show with her brother. 

Circle: For an IAB officer, Dana is pretty decent and most of the other cops are a little guarded around her, but that’s to be expected. She still has friends in the other divisions she used to work in. She’s also got friends in the gay community, who good-naturedly tease her about coming out eventually. I mean shit girl. Look at those boots.

For the record, she is in a relationship with a guy, but it’s not going terribly well.

Story Uses:

“Something about this whole shoot is not adding up.”

Dana would be a great get for any hunter group composed largely of members of the Union. She’d also make a decent “Friendly” for Task Force Valkyrie and the special agents of V.A.S.C.U.  

“Is it just me or is this starting to stink to high heaven”

The reason that the captain is acting weird is that some vampire jack-wagon has got his/her hooks into him. Dana’s likely to see it first and is just motivated enough to find out exactly what’s happening and why...

Connections:

*Loves and respects the living daylights out of Detective Bob Greider.  Anytime she has a quandary at work, she goes and buys Bob lunch and he usually untangles it for her. If you could get anywhere politically, by working Bunco, Dana would go back to being Bob's right hand in a heartbeat.

* Officer Wesley Ullman is on Dana's shit list. She personally saw him harassing some gay people of her acquaintance and got all up in his grill about it. Look like he was going to draw on her too.

* Is in a "sort of a relationship if you squint" with Norman Cayce. The main trouble is that while the like one another and are good together in bed. Both have crippling schedules and the department has clear guidelines on employee fraternization.  Date night keeps getting pushed off. A lot.

* Has met Doris Badenov. In fact, Jordan once spent about a week on Daniel's couch. Daniel says he's a good guy, but he gets to drinking and then yammering on about vampires. Can't tell if he using a metaphor or is into "Twilight" or some crap.

* Darla Grumman badly wishes Dana wasn't straight, although Daniel is one of her best friends in the world. Why must things be so complicated?

*Regular reader of Lara X.

* Has known Detective Bela Janofski and the rest of the Janofski clan her whole life. She and Bela even used to date in high school. Norman is not aware of this connection at all. And in truth, it ain't like that no more...Well. Not really.  That whole thing only comes up every once in a great while. Mostly, they use one another as sounding boards on cases they're working on. Dana is probably the biggest reason that Bela's never taken a nickel he wasn't due.  And Dana, for her part would like to punch his ex-wife Janis until that adenoidal bitch stops moving.

Drago Velikovski

Concept: Pimp

AKA: Drago doesn’t have a pseudonym or nickname.

Desc: Once upon a time, Drago was a member of the Russian army and a taught, trim paragon of physicality. Not so much anymore.  He’s packed on the pounds from eating and from drinking. He’s become mostly sedentary and does a lot of his actual work at his desk.

His body is a storm of Bratva ink which tells a story of a lot of crime and punishment.  While he’s gotten older and decidedly fatter, He hasn’t really lost his reflexes.  His left eye droops a little bit from a knife cut.  He also has a few scars and bullet holes.  He is extremely hirsute to the point of almost covering his wristwatch.  He’s graying all over too.  He smiles a lot.  Which is not to say that he can’t be extremely terrifying when he desires. But he’d just as soon smile and his current gig is less violent than other things he’s done for the Bratva.

History: Drago has done a lot of things for the Bratva. A number of them were extremely violent. Drago is blessedly free of the ravages of conscience, so that sort of thing never bothered him.  He’s killed people, He’s tortured people, He's stolen things and burned buildings down.  He’s got stories. Most of them of are a mix of terrifying and darkly hilarious.

   He’s older now. He’s earned some rank. He’s not terribly competitive, like some of his brothers, So he may never be a powerful wheel within the Bratva, But he’s fine with that.  He’s carved out a little slice for himself and he’s fairly comfortable doing what he does.

    Drago runs a Bordello.  He’s done something fairly clever based on a place he knew about in Prague.  The women who work for him are employed as “Internet Models”. Any sexual activity that takes place within the house is recorded. (Any person entering the premises must sign a photographic release form.) Anyone who comes to the “Club” receives a DVD of their sexual exploits (Granted, It’s a little pricey.) But the only other money that changes hands in the places is to purchase booze in the main room.  They actually make a decent amount of money on the porn content they generate. However, it should be understood, That porn while occasionally lucrative, is not the main...thrust of the enterprise.  Since it’s just barely within the law, the Bratva is using the place as a means to launder money. And since it’s based on internet porn, the numbers are criminally easy to fudge.  The cops know what’s going on here, but they don’t really have a means to going in there and break it up.  Drago is careful to make sure that his women are drug-free and disease free.

The bills get paid on time, and he’s even sued the county over public officials making it difficult to renew his liquor license.

Attitude: “I like things the way they are. When things go, the way they are supposed to go. I am perfectly happy. When things go off the rails, I become unpleasant.  Isn’t that right boys?

Skills:  Physically, Drago is still very strong, and as I said, his reflexes are still top notch. But he gets winded a good deal more easily than he used to. Intellectually, He’s not the brightest crayon in the box, but he’s got more wits than anything else.  Socially, he’s middling strong with a healthy dose of composure forged in the fires of a life of violent crime.  He’ll have decent dots in firearms, weaponry, and brawl with Fighting style dots in Spetznaz knife fighting, and a soviet form of Martial Arts Combatics. And while they might need some dusting off, he’s got a few dots of Survival too.

  In recent years, he’s developed a certain amount of business acumen and that means that his little bordello is doing fairly well.

Gear: Knife-wise, He prefers a Karambit style knife. He prefers to disembowel an enemy if he can. He tends to wear Sap Gloves.  Gun-wise, he’s found that while a Kalashnikov is nice and familiar, he personally prefers an UZI. Say what you will about those Israelis, They know how to make a good sturdy gun.  Drago’s fingers are just a little too stubby for his phone. So while he carries it, he generally has his right-hand man Andrei do any necessary texting.

Drago normally carries a flask of decent vodka. Chewing gum, and a fat wad of cash as well as a money belt with more.

Home: Drago keeps the top floor of the bordello for his own private apartment/office. It is comfy, well appointed, and is usually fairly warm. Drago has a few reasons for loathing the cold. He’ll tell you all about them on any day when it’s sleety. He never sleeps alone.  Also, you should be aware that he’s got one of those beds with drawers underneath filled with armaments.

Circle: While Drago isn’t exactly the most powerful member of the Bratva around, he IS one of the most well liked. Mainly because most of the brothers come around every so often and he never charges them.  It is, however, an article of faith that if you mistreat one of his women, or worse, damage one. He will kill you on the spot and he doesn’t care who you work for.  He’s done it, more than once...  And most of the Bratva leaders understand that Drago only asks one simple fucking thing from his guests. Don’t damage the Merchandise.

Story Uses:

“Don’t worry. I may know a guy.”

Drago’s a useful guy to know if you make your money on the illegal side of the street.  He’s also a handy dude to be connected to if you're keenly interested in Hired Pussy.  He’s fairly well connected and knows a lot of people, and not just in the Russian underworld.

“So, you think you’re going to come in here and create problems? *He smiles*  I want to thank you for brightening up my week.”

So, maybe you’ve got a female relative who decided to make some money on her back. Or maybe she didn’t exactly know what she was getting into.  Or maybe you’re a rival pimp trying to steal some of Drago’s personnel. No matter what it is, messing with Drago’s money is one of the few things that stirs him to action.  Thing is, when he’s stirred to action, he usually doesn’t stop until a whole bunch of motherfuckers are dead. Whatever happens, though...You can be sure that it will put a smile on his face.

Connections:

* Naturally, there has been some trouble with Madame Wu. Drago is pretty sure he knows that she's some kind of THING. But he isn't sure what.  Whatever the case may be, He's found that when she causes trouble it's useful to murder a bunch of her tong-boys. She usually backs off if you start wasting her soldiers.

* He and Ilya Grishenko served together and neither are bothered by long companionable silences. They do have a friendly rivalry over who taught the other how to knife fight.

* If someone ever put him wise to Bryson Import/Export, he would decide that the idea was utterly brilliant and would make an approach to offer beefed up security in exchange for middling small slice. He'd be sincere too.  The only question is, would he back off if Esmerelda said no?

*Detective Bela Janofski also represents trouble, but at least he doesn't seem to have a hard-on for arresting Drago. He comes around every so often, occasionally just checking up. Occasionally asking questions about things happening on the street. They are cordial with one another, if not exactly friendly. Bela at least seems like a decent cop, and he hasn't accepted a bribe so far.

* Everybody in the crime world seems to know Dr. Ronnette Franklin and most like her, Drago is no exception.  She's even taken a bullet out of his thigh once. So yeah, she's seen the Monster up close.

Reverend Doctor Miranda Goines

Concept: Professional Agitator

AKA:  Close friends call her Randa.

Desc: Skinny and muscular. Cafe au lait skin. Super smart eyes with spidery thin glasses. Glossy black short curls. A little bit on the short side. Sneakers, or engineer boots, but usually never heels. Goes in for the kind of look that makes her look like an exotic student rather than a doctor herself.  Can pull off funky ethnic jewelry

History: Here’s what you need to know. Like many things, Political correctness is a continuum and not a binary state. On one end of the spectrum, you find Nazis. Klan members. Misogynists and the like...Over on the other end, you find people like Randa Goines.

   Look. I’m not going to say that it’s a bad thing to major in Women’s Studies. It’s not. But when you decide to acquire a doctorate in it, Well, your only career option is to teach Women’s Studies. Fortunately, Randa is fairly damn smart and was able to not only get her doctorate but to snag a berth here at the University teaching. She’s essentially the only member of the Women’s studies faculty, but she’s always on the prod to either create a chairmanship for her department or wrest control of the rest of the Liberal Arts Studies from the entrenched white male patriarchy.

   Yeah. Randa’s the sort of person who uses the phrase “Entrenched White Male Patriarchy” at least once a day.

Miranda, grew up in the burbs. Her parents both had good jobs and as a result, she grew up with advantages that not everyone had. She was always fairly empathetic but as she got into college, That empathy of hers got...Weaponized.

     Oh sure, It’s easy to fall into the trap of the Ivory tower. But Randa has less excuse than most. She’s out and active in the community following or supporting dozens of causes and looking for ways to publish her books on philosophy (which are interesting, if a little dry.) and to pimp her blog,(worth a look)  and her poetry. (Which is terribly florid and awful.)

Randa can quote Maya Angelou, Queen Latifah, and the Bible at the drop of a hat. She has the ACLU on speed-dial on her phone.

She has no sense of humor because she considers humor to be micro-aggression.  She self-identifies as a bi-sexual even though she’s never been with a woman.  Mainly because she thinks she OUGHT to be Bi-sexual.  It’s not as if she’s gotten any lately anyway. She’s either writing, teaching, or working at activism. and that’s a pretty full day. The faculty is already full of people who’ve tried to make an approach on Miranda and found themselves on the receiving end of a lecture on feminism and gender roles that isn’t exactly designed to kill any boner within 50 feet, but that’s the effect.   Her idea of flirting is opening with something like, “So...What do you think about the Somali refugee problem..Crazy, right?”

Privately, Randa also considers herself an Atheist, but she keeps that pretty quiet. Her family wouldn’t understand and as many times as she’s used the bible for justification for arguments, well...She wouldn’t take it well to be called a hypocrite. Please note that I have just made an understatement of some depth.

Look, while Randa may be as arch-liberal elite as they come, one thing can’t be denied. She fucking means it. She’s gone into her own pocket more than once to help out a promising student. She’s organized dozens of rallies, spoken at dozens of funerals, officiated a fair number of weddings of all sorts. Gotten her head cracked open more than once at protests that have gotten out of hand and has been tear-gassed often enough to keep a water bottle full of a mixture of Water and Maalox in her purse at all times.  This may be her saving grace that keeps her from being some kind of caricature...She considers all that a small price to pay for building a better world. 

Attitude:  “I swear if the next words out of your mouth are how it is all about ethics in games journalism I'm going to smack the taste out yo mouth.”

Skills: Not to put too fine a point on it, but Miranda has ALL the academics dots. and about a half-dozen specialties. She’s also got a fair wodge of points socked into Politics and a couple of specs in that too. Expression, Persuasion, Empathy, and Subterfuge are well filled out.  Mentally, She’s a powerhouse. Heavy resolve.  Socially, she has a good amount of juice, but she has some blind spots. No one ever invites her to a party where they hope to have a really good time.  Although she occasionally has moments where she’s talked both students and faculty into seeking help for alcoholism or depression...So maybe they ought to.  Physically, she stays in shape by running and doing Tae-Bo in her apartment when it too cold to run.  Combat wise, She’s been in a few real scraps in her life and she’s got the dots in Brawl to show for it, but she’s largely untrained in any fighting style...  One of these nights, raw ferocity isn’t going to get it for her.  She would be likely to have a number of the Carthian social group merits, especially, “Current Events Discussion group”

Gear: Usually has her laptop bag with iPhone and iPad safely ensconced within. Carries jerky, trail mix and bottled water everywhere. Keeps a Mace sprayer in her left pocket and brass knuckles in her right.  Her keychain also sports a kubotan and she keeps a taser and a baseball bat in her car. Randa believes in being ready.

Home: Randa has a nice 1 bedroom apartment that is biking distance from campus. She’s filled it with books, curios from her trips to Africa and the Middle East, and large comfy furniture that occasionally plays home to a student or two. Rand also has a false back at the back of her bedroom closet where her pistols and her rifle are concealed. Randa believes in being ready. Her “office” looks as if a tornado hit it, but she knows where everything lies...usually.

Circle: Miranda is a known name in activism circles. She’s has pull and juice with a number of people in various strata of political life.  She isn’t shy about trading favors and doesn’t mind having markers out there to cash in on various things.  It’s kept her from losing her job on more than one occasion. While Miranda is never likely to have Tenure at the university, the University Chairman has seen fit to turn a blind eye to her many arrests.

Story Uses:

“These people have grown so used to our obedience that they have forgotten to fear us. Let’s remind them!”

Miranda is driven by causes it is her life’s blood. It is her mother’s milk. Pity the poor PC who run afoul of her and her small army of acolytes. They can cause more bad press than most major corporations are able to deal with.

“Hey HEY! Ho HO! These Corporations got to go!”

On the other hand, If you were to put Randa in your pocket, or, better plan, make an Ally out of her, you could point her at any target you wished to cause some serious trouble for.  She would be the Quintessential Carthian Movement/Brujah ghoul.  And if you happened to have deep enough pockets, she’d make a dandy candidate for public office.

“Lord...If you’re listening at all...I am so tired.”

It is, of course, possible that Miranda’s keen sense of injustice is more than that.  It might be that she’s a lost cub of some sort. Wouldn’t that be something?

Connections:

*Has had more than one run-in with Alex Mahoney and weirdly enough he seems to get the upper hand every time. Randa seems to get weirdly tired or dizzy when trying to debate him. It's starting to concern her. She thinks she might be developing a complex, and the therapist isn't exactly all that helpful to begin with...

*She said some lovely words at Chris Murphy's funeral. Chris would like to repay her somehow, but they don't exactly cross paths all that much.

* Has met "Dr. Coulton Bennett"  on the charity circuit. Thinks his cause is a righteous one. They've been emailing back and forth on a possible university rally of some sort and he's been picking her brains a bit about how to organize those sorts of things.

* Used to go to school with Special Agent Owen Maccready The joke was always that since they were almost the only black people in the neighborhood that they'd have to get married or something.  Both of them didn't like that idea, although they liked each other, but dated white kids out of some sense of perversity. Now they call one another occasionally and catch up, especially if someone from the old neighborhood is in the news.

* She and Grace Cook were roommates at undergrad together.  Room 317 if I'm recalling correctly. Randa was sitting in a jail cell from a protest the night before, otherwise, she'd have been at the wedding...

* At least once a week, she and Clarinda Hale go running. Each thinks the other person is impossibly glamorous and can't believe they are friends.

*Has been interviewed by Patricia "Carnie" Pitt more than once. As a matter of fact, If she sees Randa at some news event, she'll opt for her over someone else, because she knows Randa is a pro. Keeps Randa's card just in case.

* Knows Dr. Dennis McMurtry but only just in passing. His daughter is taking one of her courses and she's happy to report she's doing well.

Bartholomew Reines

Concept: Bad Sensei

AKA: Bart Reines doesn’t really have anything in the way of a nickname.

Desc: Bart is a fit fifty years old. Kind of squat. Military style haircut. Back of his neck looks like a pack of franks. Tends to get a bit red in the face (like a sugar beet) when he’s upset.  He’s got some actual muscle and while his knees trouble him occasionally, it’s not something he can’t muscle through with a couple of Aleve. Has the voice of a Drill Instructor. Which is interesting, because according to his actual service record, he never rose above PFC. Has a Marine Corp tattoo.

History: Bart has can-do attitude. And you know, you can get pretty far with can-do attitude. The problem is, that it might be ALL that he has.  American Martial Arts schools have varying levels of pseudo-mystical bullshit. Some have very low levels of bullshit. Others are fucking swimming in it.  Bart’s school is pretty close to THAT end of the spectrum.

  It’s the little things that give him away. He hasn’t sparred with anyone over a green belt in over a decade.  Doesn’t compete. Normally has his senior students teach most of his classes.  He’s written a dozen books about incredibly arcane chi exercises and martial arts forms.  Most of which, Bart made up from whole cloth.  He pressures his student to buy his books. (All of which are self-published on LULU.)

     Bart isn’t a terrible person. At least he doesn’t think he is.  He offers free classes at the YWCA for women who have endured domestic violence.  He’s also very outspoken about his younger student using their “Superior Knowledge” to bully other students.  So he’s not an utter asshole.

    However, Bart is a much better business man than he is a martial arts teacher.  He’s out of practice, Gets winded easily, and has bought into a LOT of the pseudo-mysticism of the Martial Arts world. As a result, he is perhaps more of a danger to his students than a useful mentor.  

Attitude: Ok. You've just seen how that works kids. Do you get it? OUTSTANDING!

Skills: To his actual credit, He has a middling pile of dots in Brawl, and 1-2 dots in a couple of different martial arts. Any PC who might be looking for an IC mentor will likely find that they actually know as much or more than their erstwhile teacher does. Bart has a pretty good radar for this, and he’ll find some reason not to teach them.  Bart is pretty good at handling the business of running his school and still knows his way around the weapons he was trained with.  In fact, he’s probably better with a knife now than he is with his fists.  He’s in relatively good shape speed and strength-wise.  Although his stamina is for shit these days.

Gear: Bart tends to trust his own abilities, so he doesn’t tend to carry a weapon.  His normal carry gear is a smartphone, his wallet, and a very small pocket-knife.  He’s gotten very used to his phone and dictates a lot of random ideas into it.

Home: Bart owns his own home. He isn’t exactly commitment-phobic and yet he is skittish about cohabitating with his current girlfriend Kitty. His divorce in his early twenties from Barbara soured him on marriage pretty badly. Kitty is trying to be understanding.

Circle: Bart has a few marine buddies, knows his neighbors fairly well, and is generally well thought of by most of his students...At least until they get a real taste of the decent teaching.

Story Uses:

“Ok, break off into pairs and spar for the next 5 minutes.”

You can always take this guy and add some more competency to him and turn him into an actual mentor of some sort. Even without being all that great as a martial artist, He can still be useful in a tight situation and is NOT at all scared to get into those tight situations.

“Trust me. That’s the way Chi works...”

Well. It’s always possible that maybe Bart knows something and maybe he’s right on the edge of discovering some new art or some new Chi-Gung work.  You just never know.

Connections:

* Both Jack Marston and Joseph Cartolano took classes with Bart and determined very quickly that he was full of shit.

* Patricia "Carnie" Pitt took one of his Self defense courses at the Y, and then came back and did a story. Knows that other martial arts schools in town may not have a lot of respect for him, but Carnie has gotten some actual use out of some of the moves she learned. He's great on camera.

* Lawton Krase used to be a pretty faithful student.  That ought to tell you something right there.