Play@YSDC

"No, I'm going." Jose says. "We saw what happened with Nik when went to this guy alone, I' don't think you should. We're a team, Vanessa."

"Nik must have had the book, which means it's probably with Alzis now. I hope so, anyway-- the Macalistar must be crawling with first responders and media by now, and it might be difficult to get back into it. I hope we don't have to deal with that on top of all this!"

OOC:   If Vanessa does want to go alone Jose will protest but ultimately agree to it. But he's made it clear he'd prefer to go,a psychology roll or just good sense tells vaenssa he likely feels some responsibility for Nik getting killed.

***

Club Apocalypse is busy, but Vanessa (And Jose if he accompanies her) are waved right in when they show up. Inside the foyer waits Megan Brennan, the woman who had first greeted the agents last time they were here. She's wearing a red cocktail dress and looks smug and self assured, as if the universe has righted itself.

"Good evening, agents. Mr. Alzis has been expecting you. Follow me, please."

She leads them across the dance floor and up the stairs to the second floor, right to Alzis' office. Opening the door, she guides them both in.

Nik Siilasvuo's dead body lays out on the carpet. It's a grizzly scene; part of his head is missing, and blood and brain matter have pooled next to him on the ground. His firearm is discarded a few feet away.

"Good evening," Stephen Alzis says, offering a polite, empty smile. "We have much to discuss, so why don't you have a seat. Please excuse the mess, but I felt it best to illustrate the unique situation we now find ourselves in. Can I have Ms. Brennan bring you a drink?"

OOC:   Seeing Nik's body requires a san roll, 1/1d6. It's Helplessness, which Vanessa is hardened to, so she would normally take minimal. But given Vanessa worked with Nik on this from the start if you'd prefer to roll for san loss here that's fine as well.

Vanessa allows Jose to accompany her. She doesn't like the idea of going alone anyway. She slides into a seat before her legs give out on her. "Thank you, but I'll pass," she says. "I don't think I could keep it down. I'm ready to get right to business. First of all, let me apologize for what happened. Agent Silasvuo acted entirely on his own, without the knowledge or approval of anyone in the organization. I think I understand why he did it, but I wish he hadn't. We want to make things right."

OOC,I'll just lose the 1. HUMINT roll (57% skill) about [b]Jose[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

Vanessa can tell that Jose is really shaken by Nik's dead body. He sits down as well but he does not take his eyes off his friend's corpse. He looks a little like Vanessa had felt that day back when they were investigating the equation and entered the apartment to find one of its victims had killed her boyfriend. Something had broken in Vanessa that day, something she had yet to get back. It looked like the same thing had happened to Jose.

"I appreciate that reassurance." Alzis says. "Really. For what it's worth, I am sorry things ended the way they did with Agent Silasvuo. He had a lot of potential. But it is not uncommon for those in your line of work to become unreliable, as it were. Agent Silasvuo did not air his grievances with me, but I suspect it had something to do with the book I had him deliver. Yes, I arranged for Ms. Wright to come into contact with it, which clearly upset him. But I am a facilitator first and foremost. My purpose is to ensure things happen the way that they should.

"Now, onto business. Agent Silasvuo owed me a debt. As you are the other agents in his cell, I am afraid I must pass it on to you. Fulfill my request and I will consider our matters resolved with no future action needing to be taken concerning this... unpleasantness. Of course, should you desire my services in the future, I am always happy to assist." He smiles. "I'll even throw in the book. Agent Silasvuo should still have it on him. But allow me to have it giftwrapped for you first. This is for your own protection; as you have seen, it can have quite the effect on people." He chuckles.

"So what do you want us to do?" Jose's voice is full of resentment, and Alzis looks at him for the first time.

"I don't believe I've met you before."

"Just answer my question."

Alzis' smile grows a bit wider. "An understandable reaction, I suppose. Very well." He slides over a piece of paper. An address is written on it.

"Go to that address and kill the individual who answers the door. My associates will take things from there. Do this for me, and I will consider your debt paid."

"Who lives at this address?" asks Vanessa, picking up the piece of paper and reading it. "If we do this, could you also please restore Agent Silasvuo to life?"

"Someone who you've never met, I assure you. In my business one occasionally needs to take a piece off the board to send a message, as it were. This is one of those times. Normally I would not have you perform such an unpleasant task, but the one slated to do it has sadly expired. Once the deed is done you can leave the body for my associates to take care of-- I only require their termination to consider your debts paid.

"But you're asking us to kill someone!" Jose protests. "We don't even know their name!"

Alzis chuckles. "Come now, I'm sure this is not the first time you had to bend the law given the other organization you work for. I am sorry, but debts must be paid-- no matter how unpleasant they may seem.

He leans back once Vanessa asks, his hands arched in front of him. "You want me to bring back Agent Silasvuo? He did shoot me, and then he chose to shoot himself... I don't imagine he'd be terribly interested in receiving my aid again. There's also the matter to consider that I cannot afford to show mercy every time one asks me too-- I don't want my associates to think I've gone soft, after all.

"That being said, perhaps this disagreement can be overlooked. Every now and again one should offer a kindness to a potential business partner. Perform this task for me and I'll think about it."

"Thank you," says Vanessa. "That's all I can ask. While we do bend the law, that's different than breaking it. Is there any alternative favor we could do for you that doesn't involve killing someone?"

"I'm afraid not. This has become a rather urgent development that needs to be addressed.

"Now, I of course won't force you to do it. I do try to be reasonable, and I'm beyond being crass. Of course, if you decide not to, things will sadly have to escalate. A cost will have to be paid for Agent Silasvuo's actions. Examples will be made. Do you perhaps need a moment to discuss on whether you'd like to accept my offer? I do realize this must be a dilemma for you both."

"It would help our decision if we knew who it was you want killed," says Vanessa. "Of course, we'll also need approval from upstairs, but I don't think that will be an issue."

"You're that curious? Fine. A woman by the name of Deborah Ann Gomez. I doubt you recognize the name-- she's not involved with either Delta Green or your day jobs. My reasons for requiring her termination are my own. I'd just like it done." He looks with amusement to Vanessa. "You're planning to tell Delta Green? That's none of my business, but I'd caution you to be careful. They tend to frown on their agents working for me, and they might feel you have been compromised. But perhaps honesty is the best policy?' His smile grows wider. It's unnerving.

"Yes, I think it's best," says Vanessa. "Believe it or not, my boss does want peace between us. He doesn't want us to do any further work for you beyond what it takes to make us even. Agent Silasvuo's moonlighting has brought us to this point, after all. I think he may be amenable to this, though, provided it ends there. We'll run the deal by him and see if he agrees."

"Mr. McRay and I are dear friends. Once our little misunderstanding was cleared up, at any rate. I'm sure he'll be quite amenable to our deal; he's always been able to sacrifice for the greater good." He smiles as if enjoying a private joke.

"Very well, I'll leave you to it. Give Mr. McRay my regards. " He rises, giving a clear indication as far as he's concerned the meeting is wrapping up. But the agents are still left with a choice to make.

"Thank you, Mr. Alzis," says Vanessa, also rising. "I'll be sure to relay to him what you said." Once outside of Club Apocalypse, she calls McRay to fill him in on the terms of the deal.

McRay listens. "Do what he wants. I'm not happy about it either, especially if this person is an innocent-- I don't recognize the name as being involved in any of our investigations, at any rate. But he has us over a barrel here, and by doing this you save us from a war we cannot afford to fight. "

A pause. "I'm sorry, for what it's worth. I know this is what neither of you signed up for. but in its own way, doing this helps us protect more people. If we got involved in a war with The Fate, even if we somehow won we'd take so many loses that we'd be unable to respond to many of the threats lurking out there. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good." He echos the line Alzis had spoken.

"Understood, sir," says Vanessa. "I don't like it either, but I also don't see any alternative. It'll be done."

An hour later finds the agents across from the house of Deborah Ann Gomez. It's a modest brownstone dwelling, connected to other units on both sides. The sky is dark, quickly losing the last traces of the day's light, and the pedestrian traffic has trickled to near zero. If they were going to do this, now would be the best time.

Jose had been quiet since the call, but he looks over to Vanessa now, perhaps suspects it's time. "So we're going to do this, then? Just go in there and murder an innocent woman?" He sighs. "I'm sorry, Vanessa. You're as much wrapped up in this as I am, I don't want to make you feel more guilt for what we have to do.

"So, how are we going to do it? Shoot her as soon as she opens the door, or get her inside and do it in there? Should we ask her questions? i mean, she has to know Alzis, right? He wouldn't just be sending us to kill a random woman he never met!"

OOC:   A HUMINT roll from Vanessa makes it fairly evident that Jose hopes there's a connection. He'd likely feel better if the woman was arrival to Alzis in someway and desperately wants her to be guilty of something.

"Anyway, I guess we don't have a choice. Are you ready?"

"I guess it's better to get her inside if she's alone," says Vanessa, "but if she doesn't, that would complicate things, and it would be better to do it at the door in that case. The problem is that we don't know which is the case until we knock. I'd like to ask her some questions first and find out more about her, if we can. I can flash the badge if we need her to cooperate, presuming she has any respect for the FBI. There's a third possibility too: we can get her to come with us to another location and do it there, if possible."

OOC,HUMINT roll (57% skill) about [b]Jose[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   I forgot Vanessa had the dog in the car! If it's alright with you we can do a small retcon and say she took it home or something; I don't imagine she'd feel comfortable leaving it in her vehicle this entire time or bringing it along now. Regardless of what you do, the dog is behaved and spends the entire time dozing.

Jose nods."I just want it over and done with, personally. If I find out she volunteers at the soup kitchen every weekend this is going to be even harder."

The pair exit the vehicle and cross the street , knocking on the door. It's a moment before anyone answers. The door opens to reveal a woman in her mid 30's. She's pretty, with shoulder length black hair and hazel eyes.She gives the investigators a slight smile and inquisitive expression.

"Yes?"

Jose's hand goes to his side, and lingers there.

"Are you Deborah Ann Gomez?" asks Vanessa. She wants to be sure she has the right person, but she's beginning to agree with Jose that it's best to just get this over with as soon as possible.

OOC,Yes, I'd have left the dog at home.

"Yes?" The woman raises an eyebrow, curious but not yet cautious.

Vanessa tries another question. "Have you ever heard of a Mr. Stephen Alzis?" she asks.