Rhonda Meeks

Concept: Runaway who REALLY ran away

AKA: Will almost never give you her real name. Answers best to “Candy”

Desc: She has nice blue eyes and dishwater blonde hair. a pronounced overbite that makes men think of blowjobs. She’s a little pale and sallow. She has the sort of body that would make her a fortune in porn or on a stripper pole. But for certain problems...

History: They say that the God Machine doesn’t hear prayers or answer them. But Rhonda Meeks is living proof. *Cue the Rod Serling Voice*

Take this young lady for example. A pretty average young girl growing up on the grungy side of town. She never knew her father. He never came home from Afghanistan.

   Mom tried. She really did. She’s not really good at being responsible. (Rhonda can’t help but wonder if dad was either.) And if wasn’t for the fact that she dresses hair and babysits for a living they wouldn’t have anything at all. They’ve been on public assistance of some sort for all of Rhonda’s life.

   They struggled a bit and occasionally fought with one another as only a mother and daughter can fight with one another. Lots of emotional blood drawn on both sides for sure. But if someone else hurt one of them, the other would take axe and fire to the problem. It was just the way of it. you know?

 And then Dale came along.

He was one of those dudes who is right on the edge of creepy and disgusting to a younger woman but seems to be more put together to an older woman who has already lowered her standards. A “Good Time Charlie” with a Hawaiian shirt for every occasion. Even their wedding.  Rhonda tried to keep a pleasant face on it, but Dale always seemed to be hinting that he’d be interested in poaching HER eggs too if she was so inclined.

   And of course, when she told her mom, she got called a damn liar and had the taste slapped out of her mouth. And whenever Dale had an opportunity to be alone with her, he would get just a little bit more brazen every time.

   Rhonda had seen enough “Jerry Springer” to see where this was going. But what in the hell could she do? It’s not like she had somewhere to go.

It all came to head one evening when he crept up behind her and before she knew he was there he’d locked an arm around her waist and was rooting around in the front of her panties like he was looking for change in the couch cushions. He probably thought it would get her all hot and bothered. He’d been watching too much “Stepfather Porn” at PornHub.

    Rhonda knew enough not to punch him in the balls. She gave them a good hard SQUEEZE.

 And then she grabbed her bag and ran. Out into the rain, with only the idea that she had to get away.  But where could she go?  She couldn’t go home. Mom still wouldn’t believe her and he’d just lie like always. She didn’t have a friend with two nickels to rub together or a couch she could crash on and what good would that do? The only person who she thought might be able to help was Aunt Carla and she was...

    And that’s when Rhonda noticed that the rain had stopped, that the sky was now clear and that she was standing in front of Aunt Carla’s apartment building. Several states away from home.

     Her mind reeling, she went in and talked to aunt Carla, who was sympathetic and didn’t like Dale either.  But in the morning she called mom and mom said she was coming to get her and sounded extremely pissed. She could only imagine what lies Dale had told her. Aunt Carla left for work, and Rhonda, in a panic, rifled through aunt Carla’s belongings and headed out...again trying to get away...and found herself on the streets of Sydney Australia...

Rhonda is a city walker. (Which is a new merit in CoD2e) and after some trial and error managed to make her way back to the US. Then she went back home at a point when she knew that Mama and Dale would be away and stole some of her own belongings and Dale’s stupid fucking coin collection. (Which turned out not be very valuable at all.) and his gun. (Which turned out to be a damn sight more useful.)

Since that time, Rhonda has been on the run. Staying off the radar as much as she can. She hasn’t had to sell her body yet, although there seems like there are a lot of takers. But Rhonda’s only 16, doesn’t have a drivers license or any kind of way to identify herself. She can’t even get a job in porn or in a strip club except for the most sketchy kinds...and who wants that even? On those rare occasions, when she gets a little bit ahead, she drops off some of her money in Aunt Carla’s mail slot as a way to say she’s sorry. It’s the only reason she keeps coming back to this town.

Rhonda hasn’t exactly figured out what this weird gift of hers means exactly. But she’s going to figure out a way to use it...and hopefully soon.

Attitude: “I’m not going back. If Dale touches me again, I’ll kill him this time. I mean it.”

Skills: Striking looks, naturally. And CityWalker of course. Physically, she’s fit if a little overly buxom. Intellectually, she’s not exactly the brightest crayon in the box. But she is learning to think on her feet. And she’s already picked up a tiny smattering of Spanish. Socially, she’s an awkward teenage girl who is weirded out by nearly everything and disgusted by the effect her body seems to have on everyone around her.  She has never shot that gun of Dale’s but she’s likely to be surprised by the kick on it. 

Gear: A nickel plated 9mm nice and flashy like Dale liked it. A small pocketknife. A tiny bankroll, probably stolen. A threadbare black teddy bear she keeps in her backpack. Some extra socks and underwear. Anything else she has is likely shoplifted. If she’s got anything stowed away, it’s likely in a bus station locker, several states away.

Home: None obviously. Finding a place to crash each night without having to put out is a struggle. So far she hasn’t found youth hostels in Europe as a means to solve her housing problem.  There are times when it gets so fucking grim she begins to think maybe it would have been better to let Dale fuck her.

Circle: She’s made a few friends along the way mostly fellow homeless and runaways like herself. She’s looking for someplace to belong right now and badly needs to find someone who will help her or take care of her before some cult does. it’s kind of sad. The very first man who offers her help but doesn’t seem to want to bone her, she’ll likely convince herself that she’s in love with him.

Story Uses:

“Hey, Mister...Wanna Party?”

Rhonda already knows the purse trick. You go tell the John once you’ve got his money to take your purse with him and go get a nice hot shower. Of course, the John never checks the purse, which is empty. By the time they catch wise, Rhonda is in Cleveland counting his money. Sooner or later that trick isn’t going to work. Or Rhonda is going to run into a Pimp who isn’t going to appreciate infringement on his territory.

“Mister I don’t know where else to turn.”

She’s likely grifting you, but if it turns out you actually can help and you DO care, She’ll be very cautious (Read=Paranoid.) and if it turns you actually DO help her. You’ve made a friend for life. a friend with a very unusual and special talent.

Connections:

Detective Marty Bennetti keeps seeing her out on the stroll, but every time he gets close, she's gone like a ghost.

Tim Deacon Hasn't met her yet. But he will. He only hopes that she'll trust him in time.

Rosalie Prescott "Likeable kid. Looks hungry. I been there a time or two. So I help out if I can."

Rika Martinez Will likely not know what she's seeing in that child's aura. But the world has many surprises even for one as old as she. And Rika will want to help if she can.

Lewis Flowers He dreams of her. but in his dreams, he cannot actually catch her...It drives him to fits of apoplexy.

Charlie is probably the only person who wouldn't think the little white girl was weird. Maybe Charlie was a citywalker back in the day. Who can know these things?

Lt. Lorraine Janofski

Concept: Cyber-Cop

AKA: Dickheads in the department have less than flattering names for Lorraine. Mostly they keep that shit under wraps because if Lorraine catches wind of it, bad things end up happening to them because Lorraine has some serious bureaucratic mojo.

Desc: Lorraine has a smile that lights up her whole face. Which is sad, because she doesn’t exactly smile a lot.  Her features aren’t terribly symmetrical and she isn’t disfigured or anything, but she isn’t “Cute” She keeps her hair short and in a regulation bob. She’s a nail-biter.  She’s fit enough but the physical requirements for the Cyber Crimes division are somewhat relaxed. Regardless, she pushes herself at the gym in order to keep the size of her ass under control. She wears glasses.  She has a nice voice and could have a career in Radio if she was interested in such a thing. She middling short.

History:  Lorraine is the sort of woman who realized at a relatively young age that she was never exactly going to be “Hot” and decided to make the most of what she did have. Lorraine had brains. Really good ones too.

While all of her brothers had some scholastic troubles. (Bela is a total duffer at anything involving math. Stefan wasn’t a strong reader.) Lorraine proved to be an academic machine. And frankly, could have gone anywhere and done anything she wanted to.

    Lorraine’s fascination with computers started relatively young. She probably would have drifted over into programming and maybe she would have made a million seller app and be richer than Croesus by now. But there was only one problem.  At the time, Women weren’t taken very seriously in geek dominated fields. and those that they did allow in, because of undeniable talent, often had to be as submissive as a geisha in order to stay working in the field.

   And that wasn’t ever going to be Lorraine. For one thing, She’s got a wicked sense of humor and a tongue so sharp, you wouldn’t know you were cut until you started bleeding in a dozen places. Also, She was raised with rowdy boys and has been taking Kempo classes since she was a tween.  One dude at a start-up she got involved with ended up with an arm broken in the 3 places for copping a feel. Then the boss fired her for “Not being a team player” Which everyone knew was utter bullshit.

      Lorraine comes from a cop family. And although she resisted it her whole life, she finally broke down and entered the academy. No one else working in computers would touch her with a ten-foot pole. Her former employers had seen to that.  She did her time on the street, hating it for the most part. (Although the night when she busted her former boss for drunk driving was PARTICULARLY satisfying.) But she had her eye on a career that wasn’t really a career yet, and that was computer crimes.

    And now here she is. A full Lieutenant, which is about as far as she’d like to go politically speaking. She effectively heads up Computer crimes division and rides herd on a cadre of well-trained cop/nerds and the occasional Black Hat working off a sentence. The men and women who work for her, love her to pieces and would do nearly anything for her. Conversely, they all live in terror that she’s going to give them a nickname or turn that acid sense of humor on them full bore....Most of them have never even seen her truly pissed.

  She feels like she’s finally got the career she’s been gunning for all this time...and yet... Is it going to be enough? She’s not met the right guy and mother is pestering her for grandchildren. (Grandchildren she is not actually keen to have, it ought to be mentioned) She wonders if maybe she’s missed her window.

Attitude: “Anything you find where knowledge is what makes it work, you’re going to find that people who HAVE that knowledge are going to take advantage of those that don’t have it. Computers run so many things in modern life and so few people actually know anything about how they work. We make sure that the wolves don’t kill the sheep. That is all there is to it.”

Skills: Dots in Professional Training: Cop and also Hacker. Decent dots in academics and she went to school with a fairly strong CS program. Plentiful dots in Investigation and computer of course.  She’s kept up with her Kempo and is likely to have merits that go along well with an appropriate fighting style. (Brawling dodge and disarm)

 Physically, she’s a little above average, and she WORKS at it as it is one of those things that doesn’t come naturally. Socially, She’s the sort of person who comes on slow. She doesn’t tend to make a flashy first impression, and she doesn’t possess the sort of social ease that her brothers have. But over time, people realize that they like her and her deadpan sense of humor. Of course, she’s learned a thing or two about “Social Engineering” in her career and she’s working on becoming better at that sort of thing.

Mentally, she’s fast on the draw, studies like a machine, and can stick to the plan like nobody’s business.

Gear: Duty issued sidearm. Taser (Which she prefers) and cuffs of course. Her work allows her to work in plainclothes or uniform as she prefers. Mostly she opts for plainclothes unless she needs to make an impression on a suspect.  Her Laptop bag sports a top of the line machine, (She never EVER waits for the department issue, she just get them to reimburse her) and it’s home to a 12 terabyte outboard drive and a double fist load of largish thumb drives. She also got a mini tool kit in there.

Home: Lorraine lives in an apartment building, in a little studio apartment. No pet although she’d like one. She works crazy long hours sometimes and when at home, spends much of her time setting in front her home machine slurping Maruchan noodles.  It wouldn’t be fair to the critter.  She HAS thought about getting some fish though.  Lorraine could actually afford to live somewhere much nicer but she’s frugal and as a result, she’s actually got a decent amount of money in the bank. There is a certain amount of Buddhistic calm that comes with having money in the bank.

Circle: She’s got friends in the department, friends in her Kempo classes (She helps Sensei teach classes now) and she’s got a number of people online, both cops and crooks that owe her. Mother keeps trying to drag her to church, but like the rest of the Janofski kids, Catholicism just turns her off. She can’t, however, bring herself to tell mom that she’s become an Agnostic even though Mom keeps introducing her to nerdier and nerdier Catholic men.

It’s tiresome.

Story Uses:

“Boys, I think it’s about time to initiate the whoop-ass protocols. KATO! FIRE THE WAVE-MOTION CANNON.”

Lorraine and her merry band are what stands between you and the adventurous life of data piracy. Sure, they may have a serious disadvantage like a society that doesn’t yet take their mission seriously or even wants to PAY for it if they did. But there ARE dedicated White Hats out there and Lorraine is one of them.  So if you’re looking to hack into the backbone of a banking network, or you’re just trying to fuck an underage girl you met online...She and her people are going to try to stop you.

“Look. I’m not a discursive person by nature. But I can’t talk about it. and I can’t talk about WHY.”

Because of the nature of her work, Lorraine is one of those people who it’s imperative for creatures looking to break to law, to suborn as quickly and as completely as possible. So far, no one’s managed it yet. Not for lack of trying though. Most of the time she’s surrounded by Law Enforcement professionals or fellow Kempo students. She’s not a social monster at all, and when she’s off the clock, she lives like a hermit.  But the day may come when some monster is nervy enough to simply roll up to her front door and put the whammy on her. When that happens, People are going to notice SOONER rather than later.

Connections:

* Officer Karl Richter "Yeah. We dated some when we were younger. I still...Think about him from time to time. He's got a heart of solid gold and his sister is still one of my best friends. I just hope I don't think of him as the "One that got away" till the day I die."

* Judge Mattarazzo "Whatever you do kid. Don't attempt to go all "rain man" on Judge Mattarazzo. He's super sharp and he keeps up with things. He once quoted me chapter and verse of an article from Wired Magazine that I was using in my testimony. Have your shit together when you go to court.

* Detective Dana Crowley "Whenever Dana turns up in front my desk. I know things are about to get fucking serious."

* Boolie Hinson  "This guy is good. and worse, he's FAST."

* Rupert Lowdermilk "I have enough on this little twat-waffle to put him away for years, but I'm waiting. I want this shit-posting little fuck to be tried as an adult.

*  T.C. Mitnick  "We were closing in on this guy some years ago, I hear he's still out there and doing work. When we tried to pinch him, he had some massive fire sale Macro and he dropped it on us and then we had to scramble like mad to get things back under control. it was in the papers.  I'd love to bring him in, but it has to be done right, and GOD help us if he's wired something up to go sideways on the power grid and some overzealous swat cop shoots him dead. We'll never break the encryption."

* Detective Bela Janofski "My elder brother. Who I love very much. Even if I did give him the nickname..." 

Merl's

This wasn’t the plan.

The woman who runs the place goes by “Paige Turner” and although it is her craft name, she doesn’t seem to have a problem with letting people know that her last name is really “Burwinkle”.

She and her merry brand of practitioners got pretty sick of being poor and also being oppressed and persecuted by people who don’t understand.  They’d known one another for a while, and when Paige said one night after a lovely party on the roof of her building. “You know, I think I’ll retire and buy myself a bar.” 

And in that moment, it was like she had taken some kind of oath. The others felt it too. So they got up a collection. Did a spell or two. Dipped into funds held for rainy days. Bought a number of scratch lottery games.  They bought a place.

Merl’s doesn’t make a ton of money on its face.  But then again it doesn’t have to. Its clientele is exclusively true magi, hedge magi, psychics, odd talents, and the occasional visitors from other supernatural communities.  And people of that sort have ALL sorts of means of paying their bar tabs.  Once every blue moon or so, some normal person wanders into the place. A place that is EXCEPTIONALLY ordinary looking and dull and unwelcoming.  People who do this, almost never walk out unchanged. The place is geomantically charged and there is some sacred architecture at work too. Paige often crabs about how the high ceiling makes for ridiculous heating bills.

Paige can’t actually work magic while the bar is open. It’s a weird little holdover from that night so long ago. So she takes Sunday and Monday night off, and if a fight breaks out in the bar, one of two things will happen.

1) The patrons will unleash a wave of destruction on any asshole foolish enough to break the peace.

2) Paige will say “This bar is CLOSED.” and then the hexes and curse will fly. Rarely anything that will kill you. Paige says she ain’t about that life no more.  But she’s gotten creative in her old(?) age. And the curses will make you WISH you were dead.

The place is warded. Not against Magic, of course,  That would be silly, and pointless besides. Magicians are like hackers, Tell them that the wards will prevent magic and they go out of their way to prove you wrong. But it is warded against spirits, angels, demons, ghosts, and living creatures with violent intent. Not that there are many who go to Merl’s with the idea in mind to start a fight.  If you’ve a got a spirit or ghost, you’d just as soon have with you when you enter, you can ask for a token and they will allowed entry through the wards. Although they do caution you that should your spiritual buddy be separated from you by more than 3 feet or if they start some sort of violence on the property, swift consignment to the Turgid Places is the usual prices of not minding their manners. Most spirits get this and are on their best behavior.

Other night folks who do any kind of business there are often cautioned by their elders to be on their very best behavior. There was an incident some years ago of some fool vampire losing his temper, He died in seconds. His siblings in minutes. His sire in hours. His grandsire the next night. As near as we know, the entire line might be extinct now.  In any case. It made an impression.

If you’re at Merl’s. You’re there to do one of four things. 1) Talk business. 2) Talk shop, and presumably unwind. 3) Pick-up some fellow night folk for some slap and tickle later. or 4) Drink.  It used to be that there was a kitchen. But there was an accident there and now, no one wants to go in there. There’s a bad feeling in there.  Even Joey can feel it. And Joey is about as psychic as a rock. Anti-Psychic actually. Every place like this needs one.

The Cigarette machine near the front door is an involved operation. Sure, you’ve got about a dozen regular brands and some clove cigarettes for those who aren’t over their goth phase. But you’ve also got cigarette brands from all over the globe. Pricey. But if you’ve developed a taste for Turkish smokey treats, then you are likely to turn up here rather than try to buy online.  There's been some talk about buying some couches for one of the corners and a Hookah.  It may yet happen.

Merl’s also prides itself on its collection of various types of alcohol. In fact, Paige considers it to be a point of pride to be able to provide for her patrons anything alcoholic that they request. And if she doesn’t have it, by god, she’ll have it next week at the latest. We’re talking Peruvian liqueurs, and Asian moonshine distilled with a bit of coral snake venom for kick.  As you can imagine, the storeroom is actually bigger than the front of the house. It may be bigger than the whole building actually.

There’s a door at the back of the coat closet. It’s warded of course.  Heavily. It will connect with any unwarded door that you are personally familiar with and you can make it home, even if you’re pretty sloshed.  But it’s only one way. You can only go through on this side. And even if something TRIED to come through from the other way. Joey minds the coat closet and Joey doesn’t rattle easily.  He may not be a magi. But he knows his way around a gun and sword. ya know?

The TV doesn’t have a tuner. Or at least, they’ve never needed one. They bought it some years ago from Desmond Goodlow. (“Great guy. Good tipper.”) and it seems to have a sense of what people in the bar are most interested in. CNN. The History Channel. on rare occasions, televised fishing and championship Curling. Sports doesn’t generally tend to turn up on the TV in a bar full of Magic Nerds.

Other than that, place looks like any other bar. Maybe a lot less neon, because it doesn’t seem to work as well around those sorts of people. But plenty of mirrors. Plenty of dark wood that smells like beer. (Although, with a lot more runic writing carved into it.) There’s even a pool table.  Although Walter Roedecker has come up with a form of divination based on ball position...so at any given time, it may be in use for more than a game.  Saying “I got next” is liable to get you the stink-eye.

Okay. So it’s not your normal bar. Not on any level. Not really at all. Not even a little bit.

Connections:

*Charlotte Wilson This one of the few places where Charlotte can be a bit of a party girl. Most of the old timers though...They've seen her like before. They may smile...but they'll hold her at arm's length. Like you would a rattlesnake.

* Tim Deacon Tim's not what you call a regular. he doesn't like to presume. But they got no problem standing him to a beer or two. When he does come around, He normally has some talk with Joey, or with Paige. And usually, something weird cooks off in the next day or so. When it does, they are prepared. As I said, people got different ways of paying their tab. Mostly, Tim allows Charlie  to drink on his. On those rare occasions when Charlie is lucid enough to "Talk Shop" EVERYBODY listens.

* Blaise Newkirk Reeks of black magic but is calm, polite, charming even. He's also a decent tipper. Not one to start shit, and on at least occasion was willing to pitch in when there was someone else creating trouble. Normally comes in to meet with someone in an accorded neutral territory. 

* Sheriff Hank Settles is the lawman they call on those rare occasions when someone actually has to call the law. Hank just has more experience in these matters than the metro police.

* Ralston Van Doren is NOT welcome here any longer. He's tried to cause them some problems using his connections. Mostly, his connections end up ground in the gear between the two sides. So far, no one has felt the need to take the fight to The Vermillion House. If that changes, it will get very ugly.

* Collette Reeves Everyone loves Collette. They'd offer her a job if her schedule wasn't already packed. They have however come up with a hand gesture that has spread among the regulars which means, "Colette, you know I love you, but I need you to move away from while I'm trying to do my thing here."  Collette, being the kind of girl she is, insisted that it be "The Bird" Joey thinks that maybe he can help her hone her gift some. But Joey is a little bit smitten with her and Collette can see it. It's too bad, But for the scars on the left side, Joey's a pretty handsome dude.

* Schuyler Lavey is GOING to get his ass thrown out one of these days, but always manages to stay just on the windy side of care. He's always testing the boundaries. Joey punched him once. Hard. 

* Lillian Penobscot "Diamond Lil" as the regulars call her is usually a welcome sight. She did, however, make the mistake of bringing something in here that gave the wards indigestion. But was so instantly apologetic that they chalked it up to a rookie mistake and everyone went on with their lives.

Paige keeps Lil's business card just in case someone needs to get rid of something serious. Odds are good Lil can find a buyer.

* Various members of the firm Holmes, Gillis, Baker, Savage, North, and Dean drink here and do business, with the exception of Gilbert Savage. Occasionally, Paige has to ask Roderick and Cullen to cool it with the racist jokes.

* The Grimoire Bear and Penny come in every once in a while. Penny brings cookies.