Mayday Plays - Orpheus Book 1, Ch. 6 - "Death's a Beach"
Episode Date: December 28, 2021Tensions in Crucible 12 cool down and heat back up again as concurrent dumpster fires rage through Orpheus HQ....
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Good morning, good afternoon and good day folks. Allow me to welcome you to another episode
of Orpheus. I'm Vince, your host and storyteller for this campaign. Joining me are Aaron as
Abner Abernathy. Please say hello, Aaron.
Hello.
Beautiful girl.
How's that?
So good. Allegra as Logan Rio Mercado.
I was going to cheers with my mug, but Aaron made it worse, so I'm just going to say hi.
Amanda as Mia Castillo Bennett joining us again.
Hello. Hi everyone.
Yeah.
See Aaron. That's how you do it.
Yeah, there you go.
Caleb as Colblet Sawyer.
Good morning.
Eli as Nicola Kahuane.
Sergio as LaVenia Dyer.
Sup sup.
And Zacchia as Vivian. A 515 acre.
Wow.
All right. Hey, before we begin, thank you to everyone joining us in the Twitch chat right now. So stoked to see you all here.
Thank you for joining in and watching us. We love having you here.
Before we begin, please keep in mind this actual play is intended for mature audiences.
It contains elements of supernatural horror, violence, adult language as always, sexual situations, hopefully substance abuse and more.
Viewer and listener discretion as always is.
Good advice. Music in this episode brought to you by Cryo Chamber and Epidemic Sound.
For more information on Cryo Chamber, please visit cryochamber.bandcamp.com and epidemicsound.com for Epidemic Sound stuff, as the URL would suggest.
As always, thanks. Good work. Good friends at Onyx Path Publishing for supporting us and being, you know, super cool when we reached out.
Like, hey, we're going to run an old world of darkness game. What do you think? They're like, hey, we don't know the rights. Paradox Interactive owns the rights, but we love you anyway.
So here's a free copy of Wraith, the 20th anniversary edition. They're super cool folks.
I'm planning on running some more of their stuff here in the future because they are legit.
I will say, if you like what we're doing here at Mayday Role Play, a obligatory plug for the Patreon folks, listen, this stuff ain't cheap, right?
Time is money, money is time. So, you know, if you can't support financially, that's fine. We totally understand that.
Time's a tough, you know, wallets are tight. You know, continue to plug us on social media, retweet, like all that good stuff.
But if you find it within your ability to support financially, please feel free to do so.
We got a lot of good stuff coming, a lot of awesome content coming out in the very near future that's going to really make it worth it.
And at a minimum, you get access to the Discord where you get to talk to all these amazing, incredible people.
So that alone, worth the price of admission.
Yeah, right.
Before we begin, does anybody have anything specific they'd like to announce?
Actually, I do have one thing. This week, we did a cross thing with Cast Eye Podcast, led by Lex Titanimacchi called Titanimacchi Dark City of Darkness.
So the first part episode is released on Cast Eye Podcast right now. It will eventually be released on our side as well.
So if you want to check that out, be sure to do that. Lex was amazing. JoJo and Mark were also great.
We all play some of Lex's subclasses and they're fucking great.
Love that.
Hell yeah. And that is, I'm going to check that out. That's going to be incredible.
I'll also say that if you are a patron, you've probably already heard, December 23rd, we plan to have a video viewing party of just Mayday Patrons.
So if you aren't already a patron, it's a reason to sign up so that you can join the Discord and watch a bunch of weird holiday videos with us on the 23rd.
Amazing. Yeah, that's going to be a good time.
I wanted to plug real quick on January 5th. I was a part of this massive Deadlands project.
Yes.
Kerry Smith, 2012 on Twitter. Me and I think like 15 other TTRPG players within the space, at least, all got together and got to play in this massive sprawling Deadlands campaign.
And it starts coming out January 5th and I'm in a few episodes. I managed just, well, you'll see.
But if you want to see me play a very shitty cowboy, then this is your chance.
I'm here for it.
Oh, yeah.
I'll see you there.
I'm on board. That's incredible.
Oh, man.
Also, Allegra, you got to plug Earth Eclipse to come on.
Oh, yeah. I was on a project that the whole season came out. We had the first episode out from June till now and now the whole season's out.
And it's like a pulpy science fiction space epic, basically. It's called Earth Eclipse.
It's on all the places that you can find podcasts. I'm in it a fair amount.
So if you don't hate my voice, you should listen to it.
And also, if you like science fiction and cool space shit and really cool sound design, that's something you should look at.
And yep, I'm terrible at plugging things.
You guys are award-winning now, right?
Nobel Peace Prize, yeah.
It did all of that.
It was pretty cool.
Well, we've started introducing Allegra's Nobel Peace Prize-winning.
Not a Nobel Peace Prize.
It's all the time.
We'll make t-shirts.
We'll make t-shirts under the Twitch stream, yeah.
Hell yeah.
The only other thing, I mean, obviously the next, the most recent Delta Green episode came out yesterday for you all.
Check it out, folks.
Talk about season, arc one, season one, and then what they're doing now.
Like, fucking forget about it.
If you like infighting, you'll love this episode.
Yep.
Listen, you have to listen just so you can hear what they're trying to do to my sweet boy, Sam Ion.
They're trying to ruin our priest.
It's a crime.
I hate it.
It's a crime.
Kind of corrupt him?
Lots of prayers, baby.
The priest is ruining himself.
Oh yeah, but he's good at that.
You should leave him to it.
Don't get in the way of his process.
So good.
With that, unless anybody has anything else, let's kick off our next episode titled Death's A Beach.
Let's get to work.
Allegra, would you like to take us into the recap, please?
Oh boy, I can definitely do that.
Yes, you can.
You got this.
Alright, I need some more tea.
Drink up.
Drink, drink, drink.
Alright.
That's the tea.
Okay.
Shit, how are these supposed to start?
Okay.
Logan Mercado of Crucible 12.
Field notes in preparation for debrief, probably.
Case number 0773.
Client Denver Zoo.
Subject.
Zoo.
Close.
I don't fucking know.
We talked to a zookeeper named Judith Elton if that helps.
Wait, maybe that's already in the file.
Shit.
Enigma class green.
Emission type was fumigation.
I feel like there should be a better name for that.
Like, that sounds shitty.
Status complete.
Or at least the dangerous ones.
Personal notes will be redacted because I'll be damned if I'm going to narc on my team.
Crucible 12 was sent to dispatch some ghost animals at the zoo.
There's a tuberculosis outbreak or something.
Tuberculosis makes it sound like they were on the Oregon Trail.
Or was that typhoid fever?
Anyway, we did it.
It's done.
I guess the only important notes are that Nikoa wanted to observe them for science.
So, we found out that lions are banshees.
Ruring.
Whaling.
It makes sense.
I don't think anything sucks being on the other end of it, though.
Would not recommend.
Oh, Nikoa and Cole also figured out that lions are like big, dumb cats.
Because Cole did her, like, pretty wispy thing in Serabi, the female lion,
was following her and was, like, distracted the whole time before Nikoa started her.
I think Cole was trying to figure out what the elephant was before Serabi jumped it,
so there's no new information there.
Mandrels are poltergeists and giant powtrats or wisps.
If you want actual information on that, you should probably talk to Koa.
She's the one that actually understands this stuff.
Yeah, she wanted to study them for longer.
I wish we'd gotten a chance to.
I'll admit I wanted to bring one back to Orpheus because, like,
come on, how cool would it be to have a pet lion?
But, of course, they're wild animals.
Of course, they're going to come after us.
We were in their territory.
That's stupid of me, I think.
God, fuck this paperwork.
I think we forgot they were living creatures, like, really quickly.
Like, too easily.
Like, we curbsomped a mandrel.
Uncle Abner Tokyo drifted a ghost lion into oblivion.
They were probably so scared and confused and we just...
The other elephant was sad.
I mean, its only friend died for a reason it couldn't see or understand.
All it knew was that it got left behind and now it's alone.
I bet that's how all the other animals felt, too.
I mean, their friends couldn't see or hear them and they must have felt so sick and...
I don't know what point I'm trying to reach outside of how we handled it poorly.
We didn't handle them kindly.
I don't know how you kindly rip something's gauze apart, though.
The scary thing is, for a second, I didn't really care.
I tried to do that vitality eating thing.
I didn't mean to the first time.
I was trying to grab the lion off me and I couldn't wail with her and Viv so close.
I mean, not that I'm good at it, even with a straight shot at something anyway, but...
But the thievery didn't work or it didn't when I did the mandrel on purpose later.
But it seemed like a smart move.
And now, of course, Niko is mad at me and disappointed and...
I don't know, it worked pretty well for Viv.
And she has us to help her out of whatever bad shit the spite is going to cause, right?
That's what a team is for, to tech each other and pull your ass out of the fire when it gets too hot.
I wonder if things go to the same place where you shred them or thieve them.
Abner and Niko keep saying that we're sending them somewhere better, but we can't really know that.
No one knows why certain people are stuck like this, not really.
People are always going to have unfinished business, so why are some people more important than others?
I mean, how do we know they're going to a better place?
Is there like an after-after life or just like nothing, like void?
Maybe that's better.
I have to say, this job was...
I thought it was going to be different.
You get told you've got special abilities and you expect things to be easier.
You expect to be smarter or be cooler or better at being a person.
But all I've done so far is get my teammates hurt and traumatize a dude.
So, I mean, Viv's got all these cool things she can do and calls like amazing with people.
Nia's tough, Niko is compassionate and wise.
Lavinia's fucking equal parts crazy and brilliant.
And Abner...
Okay, well, he's like...
Passionate, I guess?
I don't know, I just feel a little useless next to them.
I don't know what I'm saying, I guess. I just...
It's not what I expected.
I need to set up an altar for trash and assholes so we can leave them some little snacks.
I should probably look up what great pouch rats eat.
They deserve a good after-life at least.
We go the animals that much.
At least closed or whatever.
Amazing, amazing. Well done. Very good.
Taking an extra experience point there.
Yep.
I just keep picturing Jamie Lee Curtis sitting over a desk.
Every sentence of that shaking her fucking head.
Can you say closed or whatever?
Can you clarify, Caleb, that that's what our case handle looks like?
Oh yeah, that's what Kate looks like.
Jamie Lee Curtis. It's just Jamie Lee Curtis.
It proves all of our recaps.
It is Jamie Lee Curtis.
That's the front.
Patreon member Jamie Lee Curtis.
Gotcha on the Discord.
God, please, Jamie Lee Curtis' lawyers, don't cease and desist me.
Me quickly agreeing to Jamie Lee Curtis' altar count.
I can train a bot.
So you're regretting it now?
Never. Never in a million years will I regret this.
Ever, ever, ever. Never.
Never ever. I'm not, hey, I ain't lying.
So it is the weekend, the end of the week of October,
of that first week of October with the operation at the Denver Zoo
having reached a successful conclusion you all are put on.
Another two weeks of beach time.
It seems to be the operations tempo for Orpheus, right?
You go out in the field, you lay it all on the line, take a beaten,
and then you get two weeks, two weeks downtime to kind of recuperate,
paid, of course.
As the year kind of draws to a close, there seems to be kind of a drawdown
in the amount of jobs available for the various crucibles currently
in Orpheus' employee.
So you got some downtime afterwards as well that you use for training,
you use for paperwork, you use for studying up,
reading those employee handbooks, whatever you need to do.
But mainly, you know, helping with training in some cases,
helping train the new folks that Orpheus is bringing in.
So it's all kind of up to you what you would want to do.
So I know we kicked around some ideas,
but we will start with Nakoa.
What does Nakoa do during this time?
What don't I do?
What's going on in my life?
You know, real quick, roughly what month is it in game?
And so we're looking at mid to late October at this point.
OK.
Yep.
Halloween time.
Halloween time.
That's right.
Orpheus does not do a Halloween party because that would just be tacky.
That's fair.
That's fair.
Yeah.
Cultural issue.
Logan says that out loud the first time someone says there's no Halloween party.
Hey, is there a Halloween party?
No, because we're a company that works with ghosts.
That would be tacky.
And Logan is like, fucking bullshit.
I think Crucible 12 is planning to rectify that.
I love that.
I love that.
Halloween party.
Oh, OK.
So I think the first thing that was going to do is hang out with Mia because it's been
a while.
I haven't been able to catch a game with her.
It's hockey season now.
So we're going to go watch a hockey game together.
Just enjoy it.
Were you going to say something then?
Sorry.
Oh, no, no, I didn't want to interrupt you.
I was just going to say, like, what do you all do?
How do you catch up?
Do you discuss anything?
What's the interaction look like?
Oh, the first thing I ask is about Her Majesty.
I have to know.
Tell me about Her Majesty because you've been distracted for the last few weeks very clearly.
So you've been doing long drives back to Denver.
So tell me, is it serious?
What's going on?
I eat so.
Mia's like looking.
It's not like serious.
It's not like, no, we're not moving in.
Jeez, no.
We're not that very typical.
Did you guys go to Oregon last time?
Well, yeah, but that was it.
It was just like for a fun weekend, like Vegas.
You don't think, oh, Vegas, it's serious.
It was just a hangout.
It was just like a sleepover hangout for adults.
So that's what I would say.
Yeah, so it's like we sleepover, hangout, and we get pancakes.
You know, the general term for that is dating.
No, no, no, because when you're dating, that's when you're like, you know, you're in that space to be like,
we're dating, like that's when you're like really adulting up.
So, so next level.
Okay.
Well, I hope she's been a very good influence.
You've been so much relaxed lately.
So I hope you, I hope you keep that up.
I hope you commit to the dating.
I say until there is not a reason like no one shows red flags.
I don't, I mean, attitude, who cares?
Like that's just, yeah, that's, I mean, that's no problem.
Oh, yeah, I know.
My gosh, I swear to God.
Fuck the police.
Literally.
Couldn't help it.
So hockey, right?
Let's focus on the hockey.
Who you've been creeping on.
And by the way, can I get a lot of numbers?
Five, 10, 25.
Hold on.
I gotta get a pen.
Hold on.
Go back.
No, I don't.
I know I only say it once.
Yeah.
Um, I haven't been freaking around anybody dude.
It's just working.
You know me.
Um, actually speaking of work.
Um, could you do me a favor sometime?
Can I get those lot of ticket numbers again?
And then we'll talk about favors.
I give you the lotto tickets every day.
So that's not much of a thing.
We'll try again tomorrow.
All right.
Go ahead.
Yes.
What can I help you with?
Do you know about something called next world?
It's not ringing a bell.
You ever heard that?
Not off the top of my head.
I don't know what it is either, but I was wondering if you could look into it.
Next world.
Okay.
And any known associates, uh, companies or something like that.
I'd start with the letter T.
I do, I do it myself, but you know, these hands, I can't.
No, no, no, no.
Uh, I have, uh, I have a contact else.
Uh, I can also reach out to.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
So I can go ahead and just.
Okay.
Cool.
T.
Anything else?
Like, do you have an, like, not even like senses, like smells that might associate
a smells tone, anything.
I mean, they're, it's, they're willing and capable of doing terrible shit.
They're willing to kill people for it.
So I don't know what part of the fucking underbelly this kind of organization is,
but it's not good.
Okay.
Sorry.
Cause sometimes, you know, like the smells can get indication of locations and whatnot.
So, okay.
Uh, yeah, I'll, I'll get on that for you.
No problem.
I will say both of you can roll, uh, just to see what, you know, roll intelligence
plus let's do a cult.
So it's just intelligence.
Yes.
Me too.
Or bureaucracy.
If you've got that.
No, I don't get that.
Yeah.
I got, I got two fives.
So I don't know if that's.
Oh, I got two nines.
Oh, okay.
All right.
Any ones and any, any of those?
No, no ones.
So you know enough to know that next world is a competitor to Orpheus.
Uh, it is a, uh, they essentially take the same services that Orpheus offers and a
private military context.
Uh, they are very much like, um, you know, if you know of black water, you know, those
private military corporations, they essentially take what Orpheus does.
They're less on the investigative side on things and more on the, how do we benefit
the military industrial complex side of things?
Um, fumigation are almost exclusively the types of contracts they take.
Um, so yeah.
And you, and you would also know that another rival of Orpheus is Terral and
Squibb.
Okay, let's go ahead.
Someone with the T.
So do you tell me that?
Cause I wouldn't know that, right?
Yeah, I would say you would know that.
I would know that.
Oh, so I would know about next world.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
You would, you would have, it would, it would take a little bit to jog your memory.
Maybe as you and me are talking, she kind of refreshes you.
Cause me having military contacts, it stands to reason you probably have field
data phone call for next world recruiters at some time or another.
So you have a very like basic understanding of what they do.
And so you would be able to share that with Koa and Koa that,
especially with how long you'd been with Orpheus,
that probably would have jogged your memory of it.
Okay.
They're not good.
They're not good folks.
Oh, I got that impression very quickly.
Yeah.
So then if that's the case, then I'm going to, then I'm going to go ahead and
I'm, I'm not going to name drop a Viv,
but I'm going to mention that I saw a vision of a murder that happened involving
next world and tarot and squib.
Oh shit.
It was a black SUV killed a bike messenger.
They were carrying a package.
I don't know what the package entailed,
but something about that seems off.
And if you can collect any information about that for me or his location,
you said downtown somewhere in downtown Colorado, right?
All that details.
I'm going to like make sure like I log in.
I have like a little black book where I go ahead and jot all this down.
Like location, everything she's saying.
Okay.
Okay.
Bike messenger.
Why does that sound familiar?
Minor detail.
Minor detail?
Minor detail.
Okay.
Cause you don't know, cause we don't have the identity of the bike messenger or the,
okay, license.
Did you get the license plate too?
No license plate.
The only thing I found in the car was a name tag.
I couldn't see the person's face on the name tag, but it had a T tarot and squib.
Got it.
Either the car belonged to somebody that is for tarot and squib or they were participating
in the act.
I mean, they definitely had the uniform of like we're men in black with the black SUV.
Cause we're all basics.
Fuck.
But yeah.
Okay.
It's suspicious and the way things are going these days.
Okay.
Leave notes going on turn.
But yeah.
Anyways, hockey.
Let's get, let's get back to hockey.
Yeah.
That was a hell of a segue.
Yeah.
We'll go back to hockey.
Do you want a beer to smell a whiskey or a tequila?
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Um, okay.
The other thing I wanted to do, uh, the two other things I wanted to do was I want to
pitch to Orpheus.
Uh, I want to gather a committee of people in Orpheus and I would like to pitch an opening
a program for using ghost animals in field operation.
Okay.
Yes.
Okay.
Um, so got it.
So for that, um, obviously your, your first line, your first obstacle for lack of a better
term that you'd have to overcome would be, uh, Kate Denison herself.
Um, so we'll say, uh, do you request like a meeting with her kind of thing?
Yeah.
I'll request a meeting if that's the, if that's the first line of doing that.
Yeah.
Easy enough.
Uh, so you kind of, you get with her and, um, you all set up a time to like, you know,
set aside one of the briefing rooms that you typically get your mission briefs in.
Um, and she sits down with you.
So, uh, it sounds like you have like a little bit of an interesting proposal based on the
outcome of that last operation.
You read my report, right?
Who now?
My report.
You read my report.
Yes.
Oh, absolutely.
From what I saw, the capacity for this could be helpful in the field.
And I think we should explore it.
Absolutely.
I just, you know, the only thing that's stopping us right now is that we need to find domesticated
animal subjects to be able to utilize.
So, I mean, how can we make that a possibility?
Okay.
So, I mean, so far based on what we've seen, based on what you've seen, um, some animals
do exhibit.
I mean, I don't think we've seen enough data to suggest that all of them do, but we've
seen some data to suggest that some animal PLE's exhibit horrors, right?
Yeah.
How would you plan on?
Are we talking training them?
Are we talking?
Absolutely.
Okay.
The animals exhibited their natural nature, but they seem susceptible to being trained.
Colette was able to subdue a lion and make an Elise Comet and keep its attention, which
is why I'm thinking that maybe we should pursue animals who already are domesticated.
Like dogs.
We already have like dogs, cats, anything of that kind of nature, who are already inclined
to trust or susceptible to training and train them and we bring them into the field as
usable assets.
It's not a terrible idea.
Like military working dogs would be good.
They're already trained in life.
Yeah.
Okay.
What sort of applications?
Oh, I'm sorry.
What was that?
Me hitting my microphone.
What sort of applications would you see?
Uh, would you see them being used for?
I'm saying, I'm looking at like reconnaissance and protection.
I mean, you and I both know that recent specter activities has been increasing.
And I think we need to consider first line defenses for our crucibles.
I think they can be either warning systems or even first line defense.
I mean, I've heard worse ideas.
I've heard worse pitches.
Um, that's, I could open up.
Listen, you know, companies work, right?
What's the bottom line going to be?
What's the profit margin going to be?
Whatever the fuck they call it.
Um, I like it.
I mean, I mean, the only thing I can see is time and resource time and, and yeah, time.
Time resources, recruiting the right people to train them.
Yeah.
Okay.
I mean, obviously the biggest, the biggest risk is crucibles in the field.
Say a dog is a banshee starts barking, wailing on, on its crucible mates that can be problematic.
Um, but again, maybe training can mitigate that.
It's worth looking into.
Tell you what.
Um, I'm in prepare a pitch, prepare a presentation for the board of directors.
And, uh, let's see, maybe after the, uh, after the holidays, after the holidays,
beginning of the year, we'll get together and we'll, we'll, that gives you plenty of time to work on it.
You're going to be catching contracts between now and then, but put something together.
I'll get in front of the board of directors.
Let's see if we can make this happen.
Okay.
Cool.
I like it.
I like it.
It's a good idea.
Obviously we need more data, but, uh, if the Denver zoo is any indication, we may very well have another area of, uh, contracting available to our crucible.
So we'll, we'll, we'll identify that as intelligence gaps and some of our teens out there and say, Hey, you see any evidence of these animal ghosts?
Observe and report, collect what you can.
Yeah.
I mean, if they can bring back domesticated subjects, that would be even better.
Save us time.
Yeah.
We've got some contacts in the DOD.
We'll see if, uh, we'll see if some of the military working dogs who are at the end of their, at the end of their life, we can work that out.
Maybe expedited.
No, Sergio.
Oh, no.
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
Sergio.
Sergio.
You.
Once he said, at the end of their life, the joy on Sergio's face.
We have been playing Delta Green way too long.
Way too long.
No, sir.
Um, Sergio, you're not allowed.
You're not allowed.
No.
So there you go.
Great.
Well done.
All right.
And then, uh, any, did you want to go see your patron?
I do.
I do.
I think I'm overdue to see my patron.
Yeah.
It's been a minute.
It's been a minute.
So how, I'm just curious.
So it is, it's a bit of a ways from, from Denver.
So how do you get there?
How would you get there?
Uh, I feel like.
If you find a way to call her, I'm sure she'd send a driver and you
could ride, you could ride just right along.
Yeah.
Well, I imagine she would eventually call for me at some point.
I haven't talked to her in a few weeks.
So yeah.
So maybe she sends for a black car and I go there.
Okay.
I get it.
I get it in a draw and I'm driven up there.
Do you even manifest or do you just kind of hang out?
Um, I'm just going to kind of hang out for now.
Okay.
So the driver, he's, he's been working for Madam Batu for a minute
now, right?
He's used to weird requests like these.
She's kind of an eccentric older woman, right?
And, you know, she says, Hey, need you to drive to our Vada,
Colorado, need you to hang out at this place for five minutes and
turn around and come back.
He's getting paid stupid money to do that.
So sure, it doesn't have to make sense to him as long as the
check's clear, right?
So, uh, easy enough, easy enough.
You head out to Evergreen, uh, the town of Evergreen to the Batu
estate, uh, to meet with probably one of Orpheus's most
significant silent partners, um, a, a massively insanely
successful venture capitalist and investor, uh, and in some
circles, the weed queen of Evergreen, uh, and you pull up
to this massive mansion, you're, you're home away from home.
This massive estate, I mean, this thing, obviously Madam Batu
didn't build this thing.
It's not exactly in her wheelhouse early husband bought it,
but this thing was built years ago as modeled after the built
war in Asheville, right?
This thing is sprawling 35 acres, multiple floors, eight
baths, fricking six bedrooms, like this thing is all over the
place, right?
Lots of columns, limestone facade, pitched roof lines.
This thing is fucking gorgeous.
Uh, ostentatious is all hell, but beautiful, right?
Um, so you know exactly where to go and you find, uh, Madam
Batu, Madam Waverly Batu sitting in one of the, uh, many
parlors and, uh, rolling in a maculate, immaculate, uh, blunt.
So, uh, what do you do?
Well, before that, like Nicole normally has like this very
slouchy disposition, like, you know, like to shovel a little
slightly to shovel clothes and stuff like that.
Her hair is a little messy, but when she got out of the car,
like, you know, shirts tucked in a little bit, hairs kind of
been flushed and combed.
She looks a little bit more presentable.
Um, and then she just kind of casually walks in.
Um, and she's got like, you know, she's kind of like, she's
not even slouching even.
She's like, she's got a little bit more poise.
She's at a pension.
Um, and she kind of just has like this very coy, uh, gentle
smile on her face.
She kind of reaches her hands out nicely and, and she says, uh,
Madam Batu, it's, uh, it's very nice to see you.
Uh, it's been a while.
I hope you're well.
Oh, no.
My girl.
It's been far too long.
So good to see you.
You look well.
Yeah.
Wow.
Perks of the dead is that you don't really age.
Fair enough.
I'd offer.
But.
If you, if you don't mind.
No.
She lights up.
Yeah.
And.
Yeah.
Takes a long drag and, and just based on being manifested
based on the smell.
This is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is
good stuff.
So as, as befitting a woman of her stature and financial
statement.
So.
Vince, could you, could you tell us about the good stuff?
Uh, what kind of a strain is this?
If you could go into detail for us.
Spend some time.
Spend some time.
The terpy levels and stuff.
Yeah.
Please.
Fuck all y'all.
Yeah.
All right.
Man.
She's smoking a marijuana.
Cigarette.
She's doing the reefer.
It's going to cause madness.
Refer.
Now are you regretting it?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, uh, I'll just take a seat next to her.
As she's smoking.
And she's about probably like five eight, five, nine, very life.
Um, just very cool, very poised, very regal.
Um, and even the way she smokes the marijuana cigarette is very, just, there's a level
of class to everything that she does.
Um, but she kind of pats the seat next to her very gently.
Oh, go ahead.
Oh, you just stopped talking.
Oh, can you hear me?
I can hear you.
Yeah.
Oh, she just, yeah.
She just pats the seat next to her and, and yeah.
Yeah.
I'll take a seat next, then next to her.
Um, you, uh, you called for me, which is there anything you need?
Can I help you?
No, I just wanted to talk.
It's been so long since you've been home and I assume you're out doing what you do
best for, for our client or customer, whatever term you would prefer to use.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, your interests are my interests.
So I'm always, you know, if you want me back here more often, you just say that, but they've
put me on a crucible.
So I'm working more often.
Excellent.
You know me, Nicole.
I'm a, I'm a lovely woman and any chance I get to see you is, is appreciated, but you
own woman and think of me like an aunt, a grandmother.
I'll never be able to see you enough.
Well, I'll, if I will visit more often, if that's what you need as well, be more mindful.
I would appreciate that.
I have a question to ask of you.
Since we're here, since you've been kind of perusing around Orpheus, do you, I was
wondering, do you know what a Malkovich is?
I've heard the term used loosely.
It's slang, I believe, used within the company.
Does it have something to do with the skin writer shade?
Yes.
Skin writers like to sometimes inhabit people and there are people out there in the world
that tend to enjoy that kind of thing and allow that to happen freely.
I have somebody in my crucible in need of a Malkovich and I was wondering if I could
provide that, um, maybe through you.
It's interesting.
It's somebody that needs to be discreet, that it can be implanted in Orpheus and can be of
help to this person when they need it.
She takes a drag on the, on the blood.
I can shut the fuck up.
I hear the mayor want a cigarette.
She, she looks at, she says, I can certainly put some feelers out.
I, I, I hope you don't understand.
I would want to meet with this individual first.
Okay.
I also wanted though to kind of make that favor come through me and not be owed through this person.
This individual is a unique person in the crucible in terms of their situation.
They're kind of a test run of sort.
And I'm just kind of wanting to help them out on the back end.
If that makes sense.
You want to discreetly want them to owe you.
I don't want them to owe me anything necessarily, but there are many people who are staking
interests in this person.
And I'd like to at least offer an olive branch to help without any strings attached.
I'm proud.
Look, it's very shrewd.
I, uh, okay, I can certainly, I can certainly ask around.
What would that cost me?
Nothing, my dear.
It's a favor to you.
Okay.
Just allow me to meet this person first.
That says that that would be my price.
Okay.
Well, let me ask them if they want to meet you and then I'll come back and see.
Of course.
It's not that I don't trust you.
It's just getting a feel for their personality would help me be a bit more selective and
who I present as possibilities.
Okay.
Okay.
Cool.
And I'll then after that, then I would just probably spend some time with madam or two
over that course and just do like some usual training.
I'll probably tell LaVinia though about the meeting and leave it up to her if she wants
to.
Okay.
So yeah, I'll try to find LaVinia really quick and let her know.
Awesome.
Let me think about that because I want to do some stuff first.
Maybe you come to me towards the end of our break.
So maybe on my turn, we can get back to that.
And yeah, I think that's all that Nicole was going to be up to for that outside of hanging
out with AH and chilling.
Okay.
Beautiful.
That's that's a great run.
Perfect.
We finally got to meet madam but to fucking love that.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
Koa Eli appreciate you.
Appreciate you with bringing that to the table.
That's awesome.
Mia.
Yes.
Why do you laugh like that?
What's up?
What's going on?
I still wish I could tell our lovely friends who are watching what's going on in the discord
right now because it's having dying.
Yeah.
I mean they're pretty much guessing.
Zach I just saw the last one.
Sorry.
It is incredible.
I apologize on that.
But yes.
No, no.
Don't be sorry.
Sorry.
Join our discord folks.
Join the party.
We're all talking about boning down on this old lady.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Okay.
Eli you can't send us that picture and expect us not to feel these things.
Whoa.
Dude.
Whoa.
Whoa.
Is this on the one I can't see because I'm the story teller?
Sugar mother.
I got it.
Who?
I'll throw it in our discord.
Yeah.
Throw it in our discord.
There you go.
There you go.
Awk did just come up with a pretty amazing rhyme about this guy.
Awk.
Awk did.
Awk if you're in the chat which I see you are.
Let me know if you're okay with me reading that because that warrants some publicity.
Yeah.
That was classic.
Okay.
We're professional.
Yeah.
We're professional.
We're professional.
We're professional.
We're professional.
We're professional.
We're professional.
We're professional.
We're professional.
We're professional.
Yeah.
No, we're not.
All right.
Okay.
Awk said sure.
Here we go.
Let's do this.
All right.
She is the ganja queen quite unseen of the evergreen ganja queen smoking weed till she's
quite serene.
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
Roll the blonde shirt.
The good stuff.
Oh yeah.
Having the time of your life.
Oh see that ghost make her seen.
She is the ganja queen.
Fucking beautiful.
I just realized it's in the tune of Dancing Queen I think.
This is just like I just asked for this in the chat on oh thank you on around yourself
with talented people if anyone records themselves singing this song to the tune of Dancing Queen
will give you a month free of our patreon.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
In my loopy.
Yeah.
Love that.
I love that.
Okay.
Back on.
Yes.
Mia what do you do with with your time.
Well first and foremost it would be to reconnect that's we're hockey we'll have our gals night.
Yep.
Just kind of going out in kind of doing our thing and in the meantime I'm also because
I have my health insurance.
I will definitely be taking advantage of my massages that I get for free but because slowly
me is becoming a sim but not the little minute they're going to try to make the adult pay
the upgrade fee to make those massages like a couple's massage.
Okay.
And you know because I have to go see a specific this is in Denver so that happened twice because
I get that amount and they're going to be trying to because it's Halloween we're going
to be going to I look this up specifically the haunting mazes the Colorado haunted house
and we're going to the pumpkin festival.
Yes.
Well.
Yes.
Beautiful.
Okay.
We're not dating.
We need to emphasize we're just hangs.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
You're dating.
Well hangs.
You do find so during this time you find that Layla Sorensen as a result of do in no small
part.
Yes.
To the arrest that you all facilitated in Colorado Springs has been promoted to detective
sergeant.
Oh.
And she has been actually reassigned to the Metro vice narcotics and intelligence unit.
So she's no longer working homicide but she's now on what's called the V and I squad the vice
narcotics and intelligence.
Oh.
What's that laugh?
What's that laugh?
I'm sorry.
He is saying fucking dumb shit in the chair.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
No.
You're fine.
You're fine.
We love it.
Oh man.
We can't whisper to each other.
So this is how we have to do it.
Motherfucker.
You know you are not wrong.
Yeah.
Space Jammer has already submitted a song.
Also bless.
Oh my God.
Are you serious?
Yeah.
I've got to figure out how to refund them now.
Oh my God.
We don't deserve you.
This is like truly a beach episode now.
Like this is the most your beach episode shit right here.
Yeah.
We don't deserve you.
Loyal viewers and listeners.
We do not.
Okay.
So yeah.
So Layla Sorensen has been promoted.
Detective Sergeant V and I would have celebrated just so you know.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
No.
That's that goes without saying.
Yes.
Spend some time over Halloween.
That's definitely doable.
Anything.
I would have tried to.
I would have contacted very few people in where I'm from in New
Mexico, but I wouldn't have gone to our town.
I would have said let's meet up in like a Roswell as that meeting
ground to see if they're willing to and.
They are.
Then yes, I will go try to visit some friends and family in Roswell as a
meeting ground.
Perfect.
Yep.
Yeah.
You're from Roswell.
No, no, no, no.
I'm that's like a town in between that we can meet up meeting point.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And to have this.
Yeah.
And it's Halloween.
So that's why also it's like, all right, we'll just get drunk there.
They yeah, they are all too eager to see you.
It's been too long.
You know, they love having you locally.
You know, they don't have to worry about deployments and overseas
assignments anymore.
You know, so they don't care where it is.
They are there.
And so you meet up with with some family.
Do you bring Layla?
I would actually it depends on if Nicola is joining me.
Is Nicola would Nicola join?
I would I'd be like, hey, I'm going to be going to Roswell for a
little bit to see that you can either come along or just like chill.
Like I'd try to.
I mean, what are you guys doing?
Each other.
What is.
No, it's just that I'm going to wait.
So the choice is either me going with you or.
Well, no, because I would ask you first.
I really would have got it.
They were not going.
Then I would take.
But if they were, I'm not going to do that because they were
giving me shit.
No, this don't do this to me.
Because I down to go.
But like I don't like this.
I would have been doing life.
I don't know.
Because you would have like you would ask if we was going to be
like, well, if you're not going to go, I might ask them.
But I want to ask you because you're my friend.
But wouldn't this be the first time she would have met like your
actual friends?
That's not the point.
The point is I just want someone in the car with me.
So I don't crash if I get sleepy.
I mean, I absolutely could do that because, you know, I don't
sleep, but.
You know, at the end of the day, like that.
That would be a nice.
Would you like to come if I would it be?
All right.
If you, if I invited her with us, that's not really a thing,
right?
That's like, I could say that's a hang.
It's like a road trip.
It's like a gal pal road trip.
I mean, I can sit in the back seat if you want me to.
And I can go fuck off around Roswell.
I mean, you could like, well, like, like you could still like
hang out.
I mean, wait, do you want me to meet Layla?
Or is this you wanting me to meet Layla because I will meet
Layla if that's what you want.
That's that.
That's not not what I want.
That's what I will say.
That's not.
So I'm coming and you're inviting Layla.
Perfect.
I'm coming with you.
If that's how you think we're doing it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's what we're doing.
We'll ask go ask her and I will come.
Okay.
Thank you guys.
Thank you.
Cool.
I guess I'm going to Roswell.
This family, I just, it would, it would have been my sister
and what are like two neighborhood people that like,
I grew up that are like family.
And where are they from in New Mexico again?
Las Cruces.
Las Cruces.
That's right.
Yeah.
Right outside Albuquerque.
No.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
So.
I was laughing at Serge.
Oh no.
No, it's so true.
He's posting Nicola memes and they're really good.
Homebrew organic grown memes.
I'm going to take your,
I'm going to take your fucking discord from...
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just,
I just really like this.
Sorry.
Sorry.
No, you're good, you're good.
It's awesome.
Layla obviously accepts,
do you tell her that your ghost friend,
because remember,
she hasn't really had much interaction beyond
that one night?
Yeah,
but I would have,
like,
I would have mentioned like,
this is my,
this is not just like my ghost work friend.
Like we passed that level.
We're actually friends,
so that's where I'm like,
she's my best friend.
She's my best friend.
Like we,
like this person that has seen me wine drunk
and watching like golden girls,
we're like that level.
So,
you have to be good with my friend.
She's a ghost.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I'm like half Puerto Rican,
you know?
Yeah.
You're like,
we got this,
basically the Norse stuff, see?
We're all just people.
What's happening?
I,
would you like to come to like,
a trip with me and my friend?
Yeah.
Yeah, of course you would.
Meet other friends and some family.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I'd love to.
Yeah.
Yay.
Okay.
Yeah, that's me at the whole time, by the way.
Not doing at all well.
Love that.
Love that.
Yeah.
Okay.
So yeah.
And hopefully the trip goes very well.
It does.
It does.
Well, let's, we got to play out.
I think,
I think we got to play out Eli and Layla.
Oh God.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So how is it in the car?
I would be like,
I would open the back seat because that's where they'd be like,
I'm going to open the door.
I'm going to open the door inside.
Don't freak out.
I'm, you know what?
I'm just going to already be manifested.
Let's just save the struggle.
I don't want to poof out into existence.
I would be like,
could you just poof for a second and then get out?
I don't want to cause too much for you.
Like, you know what I mean?
Cause they're going to sit back here,
but I don't want them to drain energy and all that.
What?
Wait.
Can they actually see them?
Cause they're a cop.
They might have seen a lot of death.
So.
Oh, that's a great point.
I think.
Should we ask the Oracle?
Yeah.
Ask the Oracle.
We'll say not yet.
We'll say not yet.
We'll see if we get there.
Because she herself,
she's seen death,
but has not been the,
has not been the subject of any near death experiences.
Right.
Thankfully,
you know,
so Eli,
so Eli,
do you come manifested?
I'll come manifested.
Yeah.
How do you introduce them there?
Mia.
You're like,
yeah.
No, I am Mia.
This is a Nicola.
Nicola, this is a.
I'm going to reach out my hand and shake her hand.
Cause I'm manifested.
Yeah.
No real being.
Layla kind of looks between you and Mia and back.
It just seems very confusing.
She can tell,
you know that uncanny valley effect where,
you know,
it looks super realistic,
but then like there's always something,
there's always something that's just a little bit unsettling about it.
That's kind of how she feels right now.
Like she sees you and you look real enough,
but there's a some slight unsettling quality that she can't put her finger,
but she tentatively reaches out a hand and she says,
so Mia says,
you're dead.
Yeah.
I'm a dead person.
I'm a ghost.
It's cool.
Why their hands kind of cold if you're touching.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I guess you were,
I don't really remember.
It was all kind of crazy,
but you were there that night in the springs.
Yeah.
I was there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm a coworker of friend of Mia's.
Yeah.
All right.
Take a, take a deep breath.
This isn't weird.
No.
I'm here standing in front of you.
I might disappear during the,
I might disappear during the car ride.
Don't be alone.
It does take a lot of energy,
especially just to be present for you to see.
So if they disappear and there,
I wouldn't show you to anyone,
not like my other coworkers.
They,
they're not going to follow you anywhere inappropriate.
Right?
Nicole.
No, I'm,
I'm here.
You're not.
It's fine.
By the end of the trip,
we're going to become best friends.
Yeah.
It's fine.
You can ask me whatever questions I can see rattling behind
your little eyes,
but other than that,
those dead questions,
not like background stuff yet.
And no cursing stories.
Nicole.
I'll be like,
like,
this is fucking unreal.
Life's pretty unreal.
It's fine.
And life is pretty unreal too.
I got it.
I got it.
Why doesn't like,
I can see you.
I can talk to you.
Why doesn't,
why doesn't Orpheus just,
everybody thinks you're full of shit.
Why doesn't Orpheus just do that?
Cause some people aren't ready to hear.
Yeah.
It's,
this is a little hard for people to express.
People thought that there was a chance you could come back.
That's just not a good idea to play out.
It's about tact.
A lot of cults could pop up.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um,
well,
we'll definitely talk.
I just,
know anything I care about.
Do you take care of her when you're out there?
Yeah.
Oh, of course.
Oh, of course I take care of her.
I'll look her like straight in the eye.
Of course.
I wouldn't let anybody get hurt.
That's the job.
How long can you keep this going?
I don't know what, like an hour or so.
All right.
Me and a drive.
I want to sit in the back and talk to our friend here.
Oh, so I'm, I'm alone up here.
Thanks Mia.
By the way, she's awesome.
Just letting you know.
I'll make it.
I'll make it up to you.
I'll make it up to you.
Don't worry.
She'll make it.
She'll make it up to you.
It'll be fine.
Yes.
Put it in.
Put my Spotify on.
Very kind of like.
All right.
Drive off.
There we go.
Beautiful.
Heartwarming.
Spicy.
So good.
So good.
Sploosh indeed.
I expect this character to stick around at all.
Get her into a sip.
You went on a road trip with her.
I did.
To meet your sister and your neighbor,
your old like neighborhood friends.
Like these are like my childhood friends.
And brought your best friend with you.
This is what we call the next level.
Oh, no.
I didn't.
Is this dating?
It's dating.
You're not seeing it.
No.
It looks like a date.
It's like a date.
That's where I'm like, how did this happen?
I didn't.
Nobody expects to fall in love.
I'm just.
No.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm just saying that U-Haul is going to cost extra.
Like it's going to be some surcharges on this U-Haul.
That's all right.
You can easily commute from the springs to Denver.
It sucks.
What do you think?
I don't have like a Ford Raptor.
Okay.
I have.
I have a good vehicle at my house.
Ford Raptor.
He's got to think.
Do you have truck nuts too?
I have a F-150 Raptor.
Mia is such a truck nut person.
Ironically has truck nuts.
Oh, no, please.
They're from the desert.
They've got truck nuts.
They've got a lifted truck.
Yeah.
It is.
Oh my God.
Truck.
U.S.
Truck.
Love it.
So.
All right.
Here we go.
All right.
Vivian.
What do we do?
What do we do with our downtime?
I want to spend the skills now that I actually have them to
learn.
Congeal.
Congeal.
Okay.
Got it.
Um, so.
Yeah.
Do we not get to learn what congeal does?
You do.
You absolutely do.
We're going to, we're going to go, we're going to go through.
This is going to be a thing.
Oh, you'll see.
So what do you have?
What's your approach?
How do you, do you go to Kate and try to get her to like, hey,
like what's that look like?
Yeah.
I think after coming back, she's going to still try to at least
clean up a little bit from the mess of the first beach.
Episode.
Uh, so she's just.
Okay.
Gonna ask.
Um, so while we were at this.
I, I tried to make a, a knife.
From my hand.
And it was sort of spur of the moment, but it actually started
happening.
So I just wanted to come to you and ask.
What's up with that?
How do I make that real?
What?
So listen, that, that's a poltergeist thing that's kind of
outside my wheelhouse, but I know, I know just the guy.
Um, so tell you what, give me a day.
Uh, we got some downtime.
I'll, I'll see if I can set you two up and he can,
he can show you the ropes.
Cool.
All right.
Soon, soon as possible.
If you can.
Yeah.
Uh, absolutely.
Um, sure.
Next 24 hours.
Cool.
And do we do it?
Is it like a, I feel like Orpheus is mostly just office,
but is there like a, like a gym floor or something in it?
There is.
Yeah.
So, so while Orpheus itself looks like, um, it is just like
a two story kind of office building.
There's actually a whole like a series of sub levels.
There's actually four separate sub levels.
So the first sub level is, is obviously the parking garage.
Right.
And then you have, um, you've got sub level two, which is,
you know, you got a rec call.
You got classrooms and training rooms, a gym locker rooms.
That's kind of, and also like the trainee dormitories.
So that's where, um, she kind of sets up for you to meet with, um,
uh, Ben cotton the next day.
Ben is another investigative consultant in Orpheus group.
And it's actually been in, based on what Kate has told you, uh,
just as long as Kate, um, and it is kind of a more senior
investigative consultant.
He's not, he hasn't quite hit like those lead investigator project
leader roles yet.
Um, but he's definitely seen as, as a senior investigator in the
organization.
Um, and so when you walk in, I mean, the first thing you can tell is
this guy's obviously alive.
He's not, he's not a decedent, um, or spirit or anything like that.
But he, he's, he's handsome.
He's tall, probably six, six, one.
Um, very, uh, he's kind of, he's built like a, not quite a brick
shit house.
Like he's not super jacked, but, um, he's got, he's got some well
defined musculature.
Like this is a guy who takes care of himself.
He's been in a few scrapes, like there's scars on his knuckles.
Um, and he kind of has, he's wearing sunglasses, which is super weird
cause like you're inside underground, but that just seems to be his
thing.
And Kate told you he's, he's a little, he can be a little eccentric
in some cases.
Um, intense, intense is probably the best word you could use to
describe him.
But, um, I'm guessing you kind of manifest and walk in.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
I just kind of, okay.
Um, so, uh-oh, we're losing you.
Can you hear me?
Oh, yeah.
There's just a little bit of a lag, I think.
Okay.
Okay.
Yeah.
I can hear you say something real quick.
No, you're good.
Uh, something real quick about the ghost story.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
All right.
We'll, um, we'll come back to you if that works.
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
Okay.
All right.
Cool.
All right.
Um,
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
All right.
Um, so I, I'm so sorry.
Um, Colette, Colette, uh, what do you do with your downtime?
Oh, you're muted.
Oh, man.
What do I do with my downtime?
Um, there's so much I want to do.
Uh, I think that the first thing I do is I want to speak with Abner.
Ah.
Um, yeah.
So I think that I contact Ab earlier into the first week, I think I spend a lot of time
with the little rats.
So I'm helping, uh, with them get the rats situated and friendly so that I don't have
to be around for so long.
But after that, call up AB, uh, just shoot them in text and say, Hey, uh, AB want to talk.
Are you free?
Are you in a golf cart or something?
Can I meet the golf cart somewhere?
I'll, um, just respond and say my office, but after the kind of person who in text messages
uses complete punctuation, so it's capital me, my office period, signed Abner Abernathy.
Oh, he's got like the old, like the sidekick signatures.
Captain Raymond Holt.
I write back, you're not the office, you're in the office, right?
You'll have to show up to find out.
Oh, no.
And so I will show up like probably 45 minutes later than he would have expected.
Like I'll say, Oh, good on my way.
And then it takes way longer than it should.
Um, but I'll stroll into the office.
What is an AB office look like?
Like what the hell am I walking into?
It's a rat's nest of newspapers, paintings of mountains, old cans of breakfast.
I think as you walk in, I'm probably like, Oh, hi.
Do you want, um, do you want a can of breakfast?
Is it beans?
Yeah.
Okay.
Sure.
I'll have some beans, AB.
Absolutely.
Sit down on the top of the can.
Yeah.
It's got a nice skin to it.
Thanks, AB.
Um, hey, so I came by because I actually wanted to talk to you about something to do with the, uh, with the program.
Like it's a genuine question that I have.
Oh, is it manual related?
Sort of?
I wanted to, okay.
I want to talk about what happened with Viv.
Uh-huh.
What about it?
I don't know what she did.
I don't know what that was.
And I don't know what it means.
And everyone seems to have some sort of awareness of it already.
It's scared the shit out of Koa and I don't want to bring something up with her that might hurt her.
So I thought I'd go to, you know, hey, my team lead, man in charge, AB, the one who leads us all.
Well, the first thing you need to know is have you ever, have you ever heard of a vampire?
Yeah.
Yeah, I've heard of vampires.
Basically what she did was like, you're a vampire, but you're also a ghost.
You can do it too if you want.
We can all, just anyone that can project can do what she did.
Sure.
It's just like, um, it's just like drinking.
It's just like, like drinking one of a, it's just like drinking somebody, you know?
And why is it any different than anything else we were doing there?
I mean, I, I straight up heart stabbed a monkey.
I'm struggling to see the differences between cutting that guy off the way that we did and, and what Viv did.
I just want to know where the sidelines are, I guess.
Oh, I mean, officially go ahead, do what you got to do.
Go nuts.
Let your, let your wild side, let your wild side air out a little bit.
Go ahead.
Next time, next time we're fighting something, go ahead and drink the ghost.
Okay.
I'd love to see you drink the ghost.
All right, AP.
Maybe it's the beans or the overall atmosphere of this place, but you come up a little strong.
Is this like the professional standpoint is Orpheus?
Oh, I mean Orpheus is okay with whatever it is we got to do as long as we don't cause problems.
Now, practically, I mean, you got to understand there's a downside, you know?
Orp or, you know, it's that there's there's pluses and minuses.
It's just like with be, I think a vampire is a great analogy.
If you're a vampire, you get to do a lot of cool shit.
Well, but you're never going to see the sun again.
So, you know, pluses and minuses.
So Viv is never going to see the sun again.
No, it's more like I'm just trying to say there's like there are minuses, you know, I don't think they're very
major, though.
What are they?
Yeah, truth be told, I've never done it myself.
Tell you what?
Why don't we do it together next time?
Yeah, yeah, maybe.
Yeah, it'll be our little experiment.
Sure.
Sure.
Sure.
I just it was weird to see her face like that.
She came back and her eyes had just rolled over.
They were gone.
It wasn't that cool.
It's terrifying, but like it kind of makes you wonder, like, what was that got to feel
like, right?
Like, I bet it felt pretty, pretty good, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
Are you curious?
Are you afraid to do it?
No, no, no, I'm good.
I think, you know, I was just overthinking it.
Now I've had a little beans.
I've talked with my very weird uncle.
And I feel better about the whole thing.
Just, you know, we do what we got to do, you know, we just do what we got to do.
But did we have to?
History is in the eye of the victor.
Now, isn't it?
Is that why you're in this a b to beat death to win ghosts?
Oh, you know, I just want to.
I just want us to have all the tools that we need available to us is all.
Right.
Right.
Okay.
Well, how are you holding up?
Are you okay?
Are you good?
Oh, I'm pretty good.
I'm going to go down to the target range later.
Might pop up to Washington for a little bit.
Oh, you're going back home.
You're going to go see Rainier.
Yeah, I figure I'll go.
Go go check out the old digs.
Well, you know, if I get some extra time, maybe I can come back with you.
We can go for a hike.
All together.
Sure.
I'll show you around.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I grew up not far from there, but Rainier is beautiful.
I'm sure you probably know the trails better than me.
Yeah.
I glance kind of like, uh, like scantily at one of the pictures on the walls.
Say, are there walls in the posters?
Yeah.
Covered in mountain pictures.
You must really like Rainier.
Isn't she pretty?
Yeah, she's gorgeous.
I mean, we used to go up there all the time.
We did like school field trips up to the top and.
It's dangerous up there, you know.
Yeah.
I imagine so.
Right.
AB, why are you looking at me like that?
I'm just saying you go up on that mountain.
Stuff happens.
Some people never come back down.
Right.
Yeah.
Uh, thanks for the beans, AB.
I think I'm going to go.
Anytime.
You come by anytime.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Let me know when you're going back.
Maybe we should make some time together.
Next week, probably.
Okay.
All right.
I'll see you, AB.
Goodbye.
Okay.
You got to work the.
See, I'm working with with Vin on how we present ourselves in a communicative space.
The elongating the goodbyes is really rough sonically.
Like it's just not a good vibe.
So like say goodbye with one.
Goodbye.
That was admittedly not great, but it was better.
Right.
How'd it feel?
It felt weird.
It felt really weird.
That's okay.
It takes time, right?
You're stepping out of your comfort zone.
Try two O's.
Oh, don't be smacking.
Goodbye.
Okay.
I like the question.
Like maybe it's not goodbye.
Maybe I'm coming back.
We'll leave it at that because I don't think it's going to get better.
Goodbye.
Love you, AB.
Yeah.
Could LaVinia try to clock Colette coming out of the office and you know, could I
make some kind of role to determine whether I was there to witness Colette walking out
of that office?
I would just like to remind everyone that Colette is the most clockable person in the
existence.
Yeah.
Walking target.
You might be muted.
Yep.
Absolutely.
So you're just trying to catch her as she's coming out.
Yeah.
I just want to be able to see she coming out and knowing Colette.
She's probably wearing her feelings on her face and it's kind of obvious.
She had an awkward conversation with Adner.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
I think LaVinia will see it, but not do anything about it yet.
Okay.
Got it.
Beautiful.
Next, I have to make a call to my agent because I'm still in this art funk.
I think maybe a week later, I'm still working on this, this warehouse job and it's coming
along, but it's nowhere needed.
I'm still working on this, this warehouse job and it's coming along, but it's nowhere
near where I want it to.
And I'm just calling to make sure they know I'm still working because if I don't report
they get really weird check in with, you know, six different contacts to make sure I'm still
live.
Okay.
Um, do you text, do you call?
Oh, I am not calling.
Oh, fuck.
Who calls anymore?
Fuck that shit.
No, it's a text.
You receive a response back, um, asking, can I come and see what you're working on?
I think that, uh, Colette is really deflective, super deflective.
Um, and it comes up with like six different reasons why it's probably not the best time
before caving and finally saying you can come if you want.
It's no big deal.
If you want.
Okay.
After that exchange, you do notice, um, that as texts were kind of flying back and forth,
you missed one that had come in, uh, from a number that you don't recognize.
Uh, but it's just three words.
I miss you.
I don't recognize the number.
I delete it immediately.
I delete it.
Um, and I, uh, immediately go onto my health insurance app and I schedule a therapist appointment
and immediately it's all shut down and, you know, I'll go back to the warehouse, shut
every door, shut every, uh, uh, window and just post up until I hear either from one
of the crucible or from, uh, from my agent, but it is full lockdown.
I'm trying to block out everything.
Okay.
Yeah.
You're able to get a appointment set up for the next day.
So then 24 hours.
Okay.
No, but during that time while you're holed up, uh, there is a, uh, a knock at the warehouse
door.
Who is it?
It's dad.
No, no, you, you got to use the password, the safe word.
We come up with your behind a closed door.
Could you just, who are you?
Um, okay, dad.
That's enough.
Get in.
Okay.
All right.
Um, and your father, Kennedy walks in, um, kind of a bear of a man.
Uh, he's got kind of salt and pepper hair slipped back.
He's got his wire room glasses, this big, bushy, silvered beard.
Um, would look like he is simultaneously this man, just depending on as much of a glance,
he can go from teddy bear to grizzly bear, bear being the common denominator and, and
all of those.
Um, just, but he, he at this point, he kind of regards you very neutrally.
Um, Colette.
Hey, Ken.
How's it going?
Uh, this is the space.
I tried to put it together for you, but fuck it looks bad, huh?
As long as it facilitates your process.
That's, uh, right.
Facilitates my process.
You know, just the words to use around me.
Uh, come around.
I'll show you the place.
And I go through the process of walking him through this terribly cluttered art space,
you know, spilled over paint cans and different tarps and canvases, different scrapped works.
It's, uh, the, the project that I've replaced 60 different times and there's still that
massive canvas I've set out where I was flopping my body down to create the paintings.
And I'll just go through the process of showing him each piece until we arrive at that big
one and sort of stand over it and go, um, I don't know this.
Look, I know that you guys have been waiting for something and I know that I'm supposed to deliver
and I know that something's supposed to come of all this and I know that I'm supposed to have all the answers,
but I don't.
And this is what I fucking have.
And it's me throwing my body at a canvas 25 times.
Use it's some bullshit.
Okay.
And I know you're going to say it's some bullshit.
Say it's some bullshit.
It's progress.
Well, you're painting.
I call.
That's all that matters.
Yeah, I guess so.
I just, I'm going to need a lot more time than they're expecting.
I'm running out of goodwill at this point, but I'll do what I can.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Um, it's just, okay, I don't know how to crack this thing.
And every time I think I've found an answer, it gets, it's running away.
And I don't know how to solve it, dad.
I don't know how to find it again without resorting.
We don't want that.
Is that what made grave flowers as successful as it was?
Fuck yeah, dude.
Are you kidding me?
What is better for an artist than sadness, drugs and sex?
It's the greatest thing that could ever happen to me.
It's the only reason it worked and now it fucking does it.
I've got an empty warehouse, my limp body and a new team of assholes.
That's all I've got, man.
You're still working with this, um, Orpheus group company.
Good dad.
You got the whole name out this time.
Yes, I'm working with the ghostbusters.
You can say it out loud.
I know how you feel about it.
Could it be that this is acting as a barrier to your.
Everything.
You're distracted.
No, I don't think that I think I'm doing good work.
I basic.
I got to play therapist for someone who is looking down the barrel of losing the
only person she ever loved.
And if that's distracting me from some holy purpose, if that is what's
stopping my art, then fuck, I don't know why you put me in all those fancy
stupid fucking schools.
I believe they're not collateral.
I want is for you to succeed.
Right.
Well, what do you think?
This is it.
This is success for me.
Success is standing in here amongst 25 different spilled over paint cans and
a piece of shit.
Work of art.
I'm not even happy.
I don't know how to make it work.
I guess you took the old.
I guess it took the old adage to heart.
Throw something at the wall and see what sticks.
Yeah, dad.
I guess I did.
How insightful that was.
Just trying to try to be funny.
Are you.
Are you well?
I was I am.
Yes, I got.
I got another message, but I already called the doctor.
I've already got the appointment scheduled.
I'm going to make sure I eat tonight.
I'm going to make sure that I don't think about it too much.
And I'm going to hope it goes away because somehow that's the best option.
Do you need me to contact the police?
I don't know.
I don't want to be detailed.
I don't want them watching me again.
You know how I feel about.
Can Orpheus put people on you?
Yeah, I'm sure they could put their best ghosts on the issue.
They're probably already watching.
You know, Vin, Vin, are you here?
Okay, I guess they're not.
But I'm sure there are people that can watch me, but how often are they going to be able to?
How long before I can actually be in charge of my life and I don't need someone standing over me in a suit,
telling me that I'm painting again, that I'm making progress.
I just, I don't want to have to call every time that I feel like something needs to be done.
I want to do it.
What can I do?
Tell them I need a year and that they'll have the best thing I've ever done.
It's a good project.
What I'm doing here is good.
I am, you're not going to believe it and you're never going to trust it.
You're going to go home and talk shit to mom.
But I am walking across the veil of death and I'm helping people see what's on the other side.
And in a year's time, you will have something beautiful.
You will have something great.
It will be something that I made that is beautiful.
That is all about what's on the other side, but you can't have it for another year and you have to go tell those fuckers that that's the case.
I'll ask for a year.
I need you to plan on six months.
All right, Dad.
He puts a hand on your shoulder because of the squeeze.
I'll check in again soon.
Yeah.
Thanks for coming by.
Could you do me a favor, actually?
Yeah.
Okay.
It's going to be weird.
All right.
You good with that?
Used to it by now.
Okay.
You stand right here on the canvas just like I did.
And what you're going to do is pull up your sleeves and I'll go over and I'll pull up my dad's right sleeve as far as I can get it.
Okay.
Is this expensive?
It's expensive, isn't it?
It's not cheap.
Oh, well.
Art isn't cheap.
And I go over and I'll get some of the pain I've been working in.
And if he lets me, I'll dip his arm basically up to his forearm in the same paint I was using to throw my body onto the canvas.
I know you're old as fucking dirt, but I need you to just flop on this as hard as you can.
Open palm, slap the canvas.
Okay.
Really?
It can't be half-assed.
Come on, Ken.
I know you can do it.
Will it help?
It will change everything.
It will make one year be two days, I promise.
Just do it.
I don't know if it's going to fucking help.
Just do it.
He does it.
He can't necessarily flop.
He's stiff in all sorts of places that prevent that kind of youthful movement, but he kind of like brings himself to his knees first and then kind of prat falls.
But he does his best.
Thank you, Dad.
When you go home, could you tell mom I love her and I know she's still not talking to me, but if you could just let her know.
Yeah.
He gives you what paint's on his hand, a pat on the cheek.
Believe it or not, I love you, Collette.
Believe it or not, I believe you.
I'll see you soon, Pop.
See you soon, Ken.
And with that, I think it's a perfect spot to take a break.
That was awesome.
We will be back in, we'll be back in 10 minutes, and we'll try to pick back up with Viv, see her about her congeal training, see how that goes.
So, see y'all here shortly.
We'll be back.
We're back.
We're live.
We've got Zach.
Let's do this.
All right.
Stand by.
I think I forgot to add Zach to, every time we refresh, I have to add them back again.
Oh, no.
While I do that.
That was the most amazing introduction ever.
I ruined you.
That should be visible in Twitch now.
Okay.
Beautiful.
Excellent.
Zacchia.
Yes.
Lovely Zacchia.
Let's do this.
Zacchia's got amazing fidelity now.
It's great.
Yeah, looks so good.
Let's roll with this.
So, you walk into the gymnasium, and to meet with Ben Cotton, what's the introduction look like?
I'm just going to, I'm going to try to be a normal person this time, and just walk up
and introduce myself.
Okay.
Hi, my name is Viv.
I'm a poltergeist.
I assume you're a poltergeist too.
Yeah.
Yeah, last time I checked, I'm Ben.
Ben.
All right.
Are you like the captain of poltergeists, the manager?
No, just been one of the longest maybe.
Okay.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah, me and Kate came up together.
So.
Oh, okay.
So, so do you have, so you have a crucible?
Yeah.
Two then.
Yeah.
Four.
You have four?
No, no, no.
I'm on crucible four.
Oh, that's okay.
Yeah.
No, I, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not leadership potential just yet.
Okay.
Is it, is it the, is it the, the?
We'll get to it.
Nevermind.
I'm just here.
You know, I wasn't going to say that, but why?
He takes him off and kind of put some in the collar of his shirt and
his eyes are like an almost unnaturally light shade of blue.
That's why.
Hey, we're all, we're all just people.
So what are you?
What are you fucking human resources?
Like, what is this?
I was trying.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I'm not used to working with other people.
Period.
I kind of just have my own.
Thing going.
So I don't know what it's, what's the proper way to do it.
It's not like you grow up in school and they're like, here's how to
ask someone to teach you how to use your ghost powers.
There's.
So.
How did you end up in Orpheus?
Well, the, the death part, right?
And then the.
They just.
They just walked up and recruited me and I said, yes,
because I wasn't doing anything else.
Got it.
Was that you at the scooters?
Oh, no.
Did we lose her?
There she is.
She's back.
Okay.
Is your dramatic pause?
Oh, now I get no sound.
No.
I know.
I love the internet.
It's the best thing ever.
Oh.
So consistent.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So consistent with our technical difficulties.
Listen, man.
It was fucking Mayday production.
That's California internet right there.
The good news is it's not our fault.
It's the lovely company of spectrum that just really does
not do a good job.
Yeah.
Well, I'm not brought to you by spectrum.
Right.
If we get enough Patreon members, we could just buy our own
internet.
And then this would never be an issue.
That is a new stretch goal.
By internet.
By Mayday role play internet service provider.
How cool would that be?
With all of us, the nightmare.
You call for a service call and one of these bitches shows up.
I don't know.
One.
We may have to just, you know, we can move on.
We love, we love you, Zach.
And listen, if we don't get Zach today, you can bet that we
will cover it at the beginning of our next session because she
deserves her spotlight time.
And we will take care of that.
Yeah.
So for now, let's move on to Logan.
Logan, what do you do with your downtime?
Um, I think.
Oh, no.
Is that back?
I see nothing.
Oh, no, I'm sad.
I heard, I thought I heard, I thought I heard.
No, we can, we can always jump back to them as soon as, as soon
as it seems stable.
Okay.
So, uh, I think the first thing Logan does is maybe not the day
that Colette talks to her dad and also like the weird number.
I don't know if it's that day or maybe like the day after, but
like sometime kind of early in the break, Colette's going to get
a call from Logan and it's going to ring like twice and then it's
going to stop.
And then you'll get a text like a minute later that says, sorry,
I keep forgetting you don't like phone calls.
I promise.
Uh, and then that's when it gets sent.
And then another one comes in like a minute later.
What are you doing tonight?
That shit scared me so bad.
I don't even ever want to hear that ringer again.
I'm not doing anything.
What are we doing?
Um, so I was thinking maybe we can have like a hangout like you
and me and, and Viv like new kids.
And then I was thinking Lavinia too.
Cause like Co is mad at me and doesn't, I don't think her and
Viv in the same place is a good idea.
And Mia is like Co is other half and Abner's Abner.
So like, is that a good idea?
Is that, would that be a good idea?
Would you be done for that?
This is a rockin idea.
Vin is going to love it.
I think it's a great idea.
It's a great idea.
We need to do this.
Cool.
Uh, how do we talk to them when we're not with them?
I usually just shout Vin's name until she shows up.
And honestly, it's got a pretty good track record for me.
So if you want, I could try that.
Yeah.
You try that.
I'll try and like just go look for Viv at Orpheus, I guess.
Okay.
Yeah.
Look for scooters, I guess.
That was pretty cool, right?
Okay.
Um, are you okay?
Yeah.
Um, no, but I'll talk, we can talk about it at the big party we're having.
Okay.
Should I tell them to like show up at a different time so that like you and I can talk and then
like they can show up afterwards or like.
It'll, it'll come out when it comes out.
I don't want to worry about it too much.
Okay.
Um, what do you want to drink?
I know like not like, you know, but like what sounds good to sip?
Um, those disgusting, disgusting fucking sparkling water.
LaCroix.
Buy LaCroix.
Okay.
So many LaCroix.
Gotcha.
Uh, I think Logan's going to go to like a king super or whatever.
Um, and, and in, in their head, they're like, I'm going to make like mofongo.
I'm going to make like good, like Puerto Rican food.
And then they think about the number of hours, which is probably like four that they have
to clean their apartment, get everyone like pull out games, get food and are like, fuck,
I can't do that.
So they're just going to buy some plantains, um, get like cans of soup and like different
kinds of sandwich fixings, like peanut butter and jelly and like ham and cheese and like
maybe tofu, turkey and like lettuce and tomatoes and shit.
And just like throw it on the counter of their kitchen and be like, okay, we'll just have
like soup and a sandwich bar.
Oh shit.
I need to make.
And so like they quickly make like different kinds, like a different sandwich of each type
for like one of each kind for LaVinia and Viv and like takes this cooler bag to Orpheus
and like sets them on the altars that they have set up.
And then like also like a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of like beer, just like a bunch
of like goes overboard trying to like find things that everyone will like and puts them
on their altar.
So like, okay, they can have those.
Oh, Viv.
I don't, I'm at your altar.
I don't know if you can actually hear me here.
Um, if you want to come like hang out at my place, I'm going to have like game night for
you and me and call and then maybe.
Um, yeah.
Okay.
I don't know if this is how this works.
Maybe I'll see you tonight.
I'll keep looking for you.
And if I see you, then I'll tell you then Logan looks around for Viv tries to find her.
Um, and then, uh, go goes back to their apartment, shoves all of their like crap that they've left
around their apartment and haven't cleaned for days into the closet, pushes it shut.
Puts like a like a crate in front of it so it doesn't pop open, makes the bed and starts
like frying up plantains and just like hopes their friends come to hang out.
Yeah, definitely show up early to crash the party and then immediately see how much food
you've made and go, you know, we're the only fuckers alive, right?
Like, we are the only ones eating any of this.
I mean, like it's not like we can have like leftovers and shit and like Logan fucking
look at me.
Some of the food you've made is bigger than me.
I can't do this shit.
Well, I mean, like that's why I made like I made the like the I am going to have a sandwich
sandwich and the rest of this.
You better find a fucking homeless shelter or something.
This is yeah.
Yeah.
It's a great idea.
You're going to feed a fucking orphanage with this shit.
Holy.
That's a really good idea.
Oh my God.
I just I look I come from a big family.
We feed people.
I I don't I don't even think Vin ate like this when she was living.
What the fuck?
This is awesome, Logan, but awesome.
Well, there's soup and shit and I there's drinks and.
I will have your soup and shit.
I will.
And there's plantains.
I made plantains.
I fried plantains.
Good job.
Yeah.
This is a really nice spread.
It's very domestic.
Uh huh.
Did you talk to Vin?
Yeah, I invited Vin.
I hope she got the message.
Hopefully.
I don't know.
She's she's her way.
Yeah.
I tried to leave it out in the way that she liked it.
Wait, how did you invite Vin?
Did you just literally just sit in your place and yell my name?
I think that she has become obsessed with the idea that you used to be this
hacktivist that, you know, she knew.
Well, she is still living, but knew when you were still living.
And so I think she actually tried communicating with you digitally.
Okay, putting it out in the ether that way.
Hopefully you like a riddle almost like a cryptic message to show up at a.
I think if you posted it anywhere like on the, are we cool yet?
Like message boards or something, something that she might frequent.
And yeah, I think she would definitely see it that way.
Yeah.
And it is a really shitty riddle.
Go where the Mephungo lies.
Follow the corn.
Eat the plantain and have friends.
Yeah, I don't think you get a response, but I think she'll show up.
And like when you open the door, she's like Logan's place.
Yeah, I got that.
Holy shit, you did it.
Oh, it worked.
Fucking rad.
Are we having an impromptu meeting?
No, it was just like a, like a, like a hangout.
Like I invited Viv.
I don't know if she heard me.
I didn't really see her at the offices, but I hope, I hope she heard me.
I'd, I'd like her to come like, chill with us.
Um, I have, I made sandwiches.
I put them on your altar and there was also whiskey on your altar and also beer.
I don't know what you like to drink.
If you don't like to drink any of those, I don't have anything you can drink as a ghost.
I'll.
You made it.
What is sort of like drinking as a ghost?
Like if anything is LaCroix is.
I hated LaCroix when I was alive.
Oh shit.
There's like three favorite flavors of LaCroix in the fridge because I can't remember which
one you like, but I know they're pink.
So I just got all the pink flavors.
You have alcohol though, right?
Oh yeah.
That's, that's sufficient.
Okay.
If you would offer me a glass.
Oh yeah.
For sure.
There's a LaVinia.
Would you like a glass?
Sure.
And I'll put my hand out.
I'll take a plastic cup that I haven't put it in her hand.
I assume it appears in my hands.
Yeah.
You don't have to like bow.
Like just give it up.
I mean, she said like offer.
Like I had to like make it a thing.
She just smiles at you Logan.
She's like, I appreciate this and she just takes like a slow sip and kind of savers it.
Cool.
Good.
Am I the only guest to this party?
No, I, I, well, a call is here.
Um, and hopefully Viv will show up maybe.
Um, I don't.
Uh, Zakiya, go ahead and try to speak if you, if you can.
Uh, as to whether or not to show up.
Please.
Please.
Yeah, we hear you.
Yeah.
Okay.
Superhero.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, Viv would like to go to the fucking party.
Yes.
Good.
Uh, I probably like leave the door open like a crack just until like Viv shows up.
Ghost.
Oh yeah.
That's through the walls.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh no.
We lose her again.
God bless.
You just didn't really catch what you said there at the end, Zach.
I think she's frozen again.
I'm so sad.
Oh dear.
Um.
Oh no.
And then Nicola is coming as well.
No, I only invited you three.
Oh.
Well, because, you know, because Koa had that thing with Viv about like the, the
chomping and, and then we had a talk and it was awkward.
And I, I don't like, they're like very, I don't know, mature and like, I don't
know.
I just, it felt like it would have been more awkward and, but now I feel guilty
for not inviting them.
Should I have.
So I just so that I understand we're here to discuss the events of our last
mission.
Is that?
No, I mean, you can if you want to.
I was just going to like, you're talking about them chastising you.
I remember what happened.
What do we need to discuss about it?
I wasn't, I wasn't really saying we need to discuss anything.
I was just saying like we could like hang out and be like friendly, I guess,
or like I can put on music or, or I have some games.
I have like Monopoly and like UNO and shit.
Well, this is me being friendly, Logan.
So let's talk about.
Sorry.
You, would you, do you feel that they treated you unfairly?
I guess not.
I don't.
If it helps, I think they treated you unfairly.
I didn't, I didn't do anything.
Like it was Viv, it happened to Viv more than me.
That's not fair.
That's what I mean.
I know that we have our abilities and we have our goals.
And as long as we don't hurt each other, I don't see the problem with it.
Are we talking about that?
What, what Viv did that when she reached out like that?
I was talking to AB about that and he got really fucking weird.
Super weird about it.
How did he say he was really interested?
I didn't think that it was like an orpheus thing.
I've never read the manual, so maybe it is.
We sat in his office.
What the hell did you do while I was reading that thing out loud?
I have this thing where I just shut down mentally and leave my body.
I have that too.
I like to call it meditating, but my therapist calls it disassociate.
Oh, that one.
When I don't like shit, I just, so no manual for me, baby.
He fucking left me in there.
He was, I don't know, he was weird about it.
I mean, good weird about it.
He was enthusiastic, but.
He seemed to encourage you to explore.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
We were talking about experimenting and not the fun kind like in college.
Interesting.
I mean, Viv, did you like, I'm not trying to like discuss to you,
like you're not here or anything.
I just like, yeah, I, I don't know.
It was, I think it was kind of cool, but like, I, I don't want to,
I don't know.
I don't know what I'm trying to say.
I don't think it was fair to you that they were that pissed.
I don't know if I'm allowed to talk.
You can talk.
You're always allowed to talk.
No, I didn't know that I was hurt.
Okay.
Yeah.
Honestly, I wasn't 100% sure what I did.
So I didn't take it personally.
I'm working on it.
We're working on it.
Okay.
Can I, can I, I'm sorry.
I interrupted.
If you want to finish your thought, I just, what did it feel like?
It felt like, you know, when, when you're, you're upset all day and you
don't know why, and then you find out that it's because like your shoe is tied
too tight or like you have a necklace on that you don't usually wear and
then you finally take it off and it's like, oh, everything just came
together.
That's kind of what it felt like, like really good, but natural doesn't
seem like the right word.
Cause I, I sucked the life out of a monkey.
But what do you like?
Yeah, or like, not even, I didn't, it didn't feel like I was letting
something go.
It felt like something was finally coming back.
Like a puzzle.
Like a puzzle.
Yeah.
That's after this sick party, we're going to find out exactly what this
is about.
Cause it did seem like I did whatever I did in a code in life.
Yeah.
Regardless of Nicole's opinions, perhaps we can all make an agreement here
now between the four of us that if we need to, we perform this thievery,
especially when our life is on the line, when our vitality is low, we
don't abuse it.
We're not monsters here, but um, no, of course not.
Exactly.
And, and I, and I only did it to protect you because the lines were
kicking our ass.
And yeah, I, I, I appreciate it personally.
Like that was really nice of you.
So thanks for what?
Like saving my ass, I guess.
Of course.
I appreciate you coming to me about this and I have to admit I've, I've
kind of collated about my struggles with growing closer with you all.
Yeah.
Feel, uh, I feel like this is, um, well, I feel special because of you.
Thank you, Logan.
Well, I'm, I'm glad you're here.
I mean, it's nice to hang out with people.
Um, oh, uh, Viv, do you want to drink there?
It's like, I can, I gave one to Vin.
So I wonder if I can give one to you too.
I would love a drink.
Okay.
I haven't had anything to drink and there's been so many reasons too.
I think the last time, please.
Do you want like a, like a, like a, like a drink or just like a sip?
You can just put straight liquor.
Just.
Oh cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Yeah.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
Cool.
I mean, it's like, I, I, I do want to kill myself.
Oh.
I'd like to keep on crying or get drunk or something.
Or stuff or things associated somehow.
Or anything.
Put that all together from the bottom first thing and kind of stuff.
Sure.
Yeah.
And then we'll hold it wherever we like.
That's so fun.
That would be...
Kate would be so pissed though I feel like.
We invite her.
It's the good kind of rule breaking, you know?
I think you guys are wrong about boss.
I think that Kate has a side tour that we don't know about.
And I think if anything could bring it out, it's a Halloween part.
Well, that's not...
Why don't, why don't one of you bring it up to the rest, and we can put it together?
Cool.
Yeah.
Okay, Halloween party.
I love this.
I'm gonna write that down.
Okay, but either we're all dressing up as ghosts or not one of us is a ghost.
We have to, it's either buy-in or completely avoid.
Like sheet ghosts?
Like sheet with eyes like Charlie Brown ghosts?
Exactly.
It's gotta be a no-ghost Halloween because I know that Mia's just gonna show up in a fucking sheet,
and that is not Halloween.
Everyone needs to show up and gotta be wearing costumes.
I mean, we can make our gods look like anything, so absolutely.
That's true.
I guess we don't have to like get a costume.
You know how we could get away having this Halloween party that we all just project,
or at least the living ones project, and we have a party that no one can see but us?
That'd be pretty fun.
Invisible party?
Invisible party.
Okay.
Yes, yes, yes.
Invisible Halloween party.
Fuck yeah.
The video, that's great.
Okay, but what are we doing?
Like usually there's like some sort of act or happening at the party.
They're like bobbing for apples?
That's like a kids thing, but like.
What the fuck did you just say?
It could be fun.
No, that's not what I was thinking.
It's like a dunk tank, but you dunk yourself.
I was thinking.
Logan!
What's what?
When's the last time you've been to a party, Logan?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, when I when I worked with like the guys in the fire tower, we'd have like parties
while we were waiting.
You guys fucking bobbed for apples in the fire?
Look, we got really fucking bored sometimes and we couldn't drink because we were on call,
so.
You got the local barrel.
Have you ever dreamt of a fucking, the closest barrel?
I don't, I don't, I'll go to like tractor supply company.
I don't know.
Oh, well there's some kind of.
Go ahead.
I would mainline meth before I would go to bobbing apples.
No.
You have to be at the very bottom of life.
You have to be at the bottom of life to consider that an activity.
Look, when you're in the middle of the fucking wilderness and you have to stay sober so you
can jump out of an airplane to fight a fucking forest fire, you do what you have to do for
fucking fun.
I was gonna.
We, we could like spray paint, you know, dicks on potholes or set something on fire, something
that's chaos, but good, you know.
That could be fine.
I didn't think bobbing for apples.
That wasn't the first one.
Is there some way we could haunt something or go somewhere and.
That'll get us to right though.
That sounds like way more fun.
I gotta say for half a second, I thought it was really hard to have fun without drugs,
but that sounds like good shit right there, Vin.
I mean, Halloween night, surely.
Can we haunt another Halloween party?
We're the monsters.
We got to spook some people.
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Oh, I was gonna eat this.
Yeah, I'm going to say it's sounding like this is going to be a four of us party.
This is going to be a four party again.
Let's see about it.
Yeah.
We could test the waters with everyone.
Maybe just one at a time.
Go up to Abner and Nikola and Mia.
Abner would probably be down to haunt things before anyone else.
But he's also my uncle and that's weird.
We can get that fucker a cart or something.
He can drive.
He's in a coa and Mia are going to be the hard cells.
All right.
No more talking about it.
Let's let's put this action in the plan all over.
She's been like away.
Mm hmm.
All over.
Gone by this point.
That's the thing.
You've been gone different places.
Several road trips.
I'll stay in town.
Okay.
All right.
So I think we want to try to enact this plan during this.
Yeah.
I think like as Logan gets mildly progressively drunker, she starts drafting up a text to
send to Abner coa and Mia and like the notes of their of their phone.
I like, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
That'll be a little obscure just to test the waters.
Right.
Yeah.
They're adults of the party.
Oh, no.
No.
Dear friends, friends, friends.
Fucking yeah.
We would like to cordially extend an invitation.
Okay.
No.
No.
You don't sound like a person right now.
You sound like you bobbed for apples.
You are never going to let this go.
We want to hang out for Halloween.
Okay.
Do you want to hang out with us?
We want to hang out for Halloween.
Do you want to hang out with us and cause mischief and mayhem and all that?
No, but that like seems dishonest if we don't like tell them the plan.
We're trying to decide whether or not we're going to lie to them.
Right.
Back.
Back.
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Why can't we all be people?
Yeah, they can't be people, Carl.
They can manifest. Look at Vince. He looks great.
Okay.
I get nervous about manifesting because sometimes it's a bit intense, but it's fine.
I don't want to make you do that if it makes you uncomfortable.
She manifests.
Okay, cool.
What does it look like?
It's sort of unstable.
She's clear, but it's like a little bit, if that makes sense.
A little staticky.
Yeah.
I think Logan is listing back and forth and touching shoulders with anyone that's sitting next to her.
If it's like Vinnia Colette.
Vinnia normally wears her hair up and she's got this really curly hair and she actually lets it down.
It's like this huge mane of curly hair.
Seems to get into the game.
Yes.
Vinn probably beats our fucking ass at this game.
Oh, for sure. Whatever game it is.
At least like the word games and stuff.
Oh, yeah. Scrabble and whatever.
Bananagrams.
All right.
Oh, the last thing Logan's going to say, like, drunkenly, but sincerely,
I don't know where you guys like hang out or do things or whatever.
I mean, Carl, you know this already, but I'm saying it again to you, but also specifically to them.
If you ever need somewhere to like be away from shit and like chill and be friends or just like not be friends and be left alone and like just hang out,
you're like welcome here anytime.
This is like a safe place for you to come or be or whatever.
They're trying to put together a queer house.
I'm not trying to put together a beer house.
I'm just trying to make sure everyone has somewhere to be that they're safe.
It's a queer.
I know what that is.
I understand that.
Okay.
Thank you.
Why do you have to ruin things?
Lavinia is usually like, you know, very composed, you know, kind of seems to really take it to heart.
And when she looks at you as as much as she can have kind of like wet eyes, she does.
And she says, um, you remind me of my new slogan, which is good.
Cool.
I'll remember that.
I'm serious.
Like, I know I'm drunk right now and I would I was planning on saying this earlier in the night and then I got distracted by all of our Halloween plans.
And then I got distracted by games and then now we're here.
But I do genuinely mean that and I'm going to try and like hug Lavinia as much as I can.
Yeah, she's she's playing it.
She's definitely being very friendly.
Her heart grows two sizes.
I'm so proud in the back.
I'm just, yeah, you're doing great, sweetie.
It was just impressed.
Nice.
All right.
We'll get back because you said you wanted to talk to Kate, right, Logan?
Yeah, yes.
We'll get back to you.
Please.
While Vivis connection is stable.
Yeah.
So you're good.
You're coming in great.
So Ben, we transitioned back to the scene in the gym, probably before the party.
And Ben actually says, that was you with the scooters, wasn't it?
It was just a rough, a rough go at the first mission.
Just needed some time in the streets.
Doesn't think of beauty.
Really?
Yeah.
Thank you.
I know when I have no one has reacted that way to anything.
I've not anything I've done.
That's dramatic.
But I appreciate it.
You thought.
Did you see them?
Did you see the numbers?
The signal in a pile and it was.
Thank you.
It was.
What is that all about?
515.
That was my, that was my nickname.
Before, before the whole, you know, but yeah, that was just the call sign.
A lot easier to.
To talk to people and they don't know your name, even though it is very much, you know,
VIV is the same.
Yeah.
A lot of people don't connect the dots.
Did I do it again?
I've been strongly encouraged not to.
You've been strongly encouraged not to get caught.
Ben.
Ben.
Yes.
And I'm going to like try to go in for the hand clap.
Oh yeah.
He'll hand clap you.
This is fantastic.
Okay.
Now.
Hypothetically, if I were to do it again.
And I, and something bad does happen, does that mean I can count on you?
Oh fuck no, I'm not putting my ass on the line for that.
I thought I'd ask.
I understand you're the, you're the captain.
I don't want to ruin.
Just don't go walking down the street like some kind of fucked up scooter column.
Like that's, people will notice that.
That seems to be the note I keep getting.
I'll change it.
So you want to learn how to make a shit out of gauze, huh?
Yeah.
I just, we tried to, I tried to stab a lion with my arm.
What?
We were fighting, we were fighting zoo creatures and I.
Oh, the zoo job.
Yeah.
I wanted to get a clean cut in there.
And then at the last second, it turned back into my hand.
So I don't.
Right.
So it takes focus and you've got to, you got to pump a bit of yourself into it every time.
It's not easy because you're essentially, you're taking the stuff that makes you you.
And extending it and making something else with it.
Okay.
So, so, oh, I'm not a theory.
He's not my favorite thing.
Me either.
Okay.
So he kind of, he, he closes his eyes a bit and he holds a handout and he is just staring
intently at that hand and you watch as the gauze and his arm begins to extend and run
down his forearm to his hand and the fingers grow longer.
The thumb grows longer and it congeals and solidifies as a blade.
Is that what you were going for?
Exactly.
Exactly.
So if you want, just by focusing, you can harden your hands, right?
Hit a little bit harder.
That doesn't cost much, but you want to make a knife, brass knuckles, a key.
I can make a key.
I can make a key.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You can literally make whatever you want.
You put enough into it, you can make an assault rifle.
What?
No door.
No man or no door.
And this is just something that we can do and this is fine.
It costs.
It costs.
If you got the vitality to back it up and your crystal is backing you up.
Yeah.
But it'll drain you.
I think I have a way to fix that.
What do you mean?
The vitality that I just.
I just share.
We just have our teams.
Very community based.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
Yeah.
Sledge hammer.
And he closes his eyes, focuses.
You see that flare of vitality.
And he fashions a fucking sledgehammer.
I'm going to try.
I'm going to.
Concentrate.
And.
Try to make a just a regular blade.
Let's do it.
Okay.
So for this, you're going to roll.
Let's check it out.
They're in role manipulation plus whatever ability.
So.
In this case.
With a blade melee.
Try.
Manipulation and melee.
Okay.
Okay.
That's.
Oh, that's three successes.
Yep.
And you do.
It takes a little bit and you can,
you notice that the gauze.
Periodically attempts to creep back up your hands to rejoin the
rest of your form.
But eventually.
You're able to fashion.
Smiler, but no less wicked looking.
Knife out of your, out of your hand.
She's going to.
She's not going to, it's not like a surprise attack.
She's going to make it very clear that she's like.
Going to try it.
Oh yeah.
And.
Lean forward.
To hit him.
Yeah.
Oh.
Okay.
All right.
Roll.
Oh shit.
All right.
Let's roll some.
Oh.
Let's do.
Dexterity and melee.
That's.
Two successes.
Okay.
Yeah.
He manages to step to, to the side just a bit,
but you catch him and it kind of slides past his gauze a little
bit in his arm.
And you,
it,
it,
he,
he,
he,
he,
he,
he,
he,
he,
he,
he winces
and he comes back with that sledgehammer.
Fucking tries to take your legs out from underneath you.
Yes.
So, yeah.
He's going to do,
we're going to do a strength and melee.
Okay.
So let's see what we got.
And that is.
That is four successes.
So,
yeah,
he gets,
he doesn't use the brought into the hammer.
He uses more of the,
the shaft to kind of get it down in between your legs.
And kind of scoop and lift and take your feet out from underneath
you.
Okay.
I look up from the floor still like thrilled with the
information that I've been given in the past five minutes.
Is he,
is he standing over like,
am I like on the ground and he's like,
Yeah.
Yep.
I'm not going to kick him in the balls.
Okay.
I've said it out loud.
I'm going to go ahead and try to kick him in the balls.
Holy shit.
Wait, wait.
Can I turn my foot into a hammer too?
You can try.
Manipulation plus,
plus melee pulling them here.
This is how we learn.
This is how we grow.
That's.
Go big or go home.
That's three ones.
You know what?
He like that sometimes.
I deserve it.
Go ahead.
He fricking,
he hauls back and just fricking cracks that hammer against
your leg as it comes up and he looks down.
He doesn't,
he holds it back.
Like it's,
it stings,
but it's not like,
you don't take any significant damage from that.
And he looks down and he says,
I just did.
I just did.
I got a little excited.
I have an arsenal.
My limbs are,
my limbs are an arsenal.
Yeah.
I'm sorry.
I'm trying really hard not to keep fighting.
I don't, um,
do you mind if we just kind of spar for a while?
Now I'm, I'm like,
fuck yeah, let's do it.
She does it again.
And there's two,
two plates.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
And we,
we Rocky Balboa freeze frame.
Yeah.
Yep.
And the sparring session continues, man.
And he,
he loves it.
He drops the hammer.
He's got,
he's,
he dual knives it too.
And you guys are just going at it.
Duel the fence.
Love it.
Sweet.
Uh, beautiful.
So you now know congeal.
No, you go.
Okay.
Anything else you wanted to do with your time?
Um,
Actually,
I did want to ask.
I,
yeah,
do you think
would he be someone that knows about thievery?
Like he's,
he's been in the field long enough.
Okay.
So like after we've been fighting for like
an hour or so,
um,
I just asked
when I,
when I mentioned finding more vitality earlier,
what do you know about
something that I've seen
taking the vitality of something else
and then they don't give it to you.
Fevery.
Yeah.
That's what the,
that's what the,
the nerds call it.
That's what they,
yeah.
Um,
it's a tool in a toolbox,
but
how much of yourself you want the sacrifice to do that?
I don't really know how,
I don't have to protect my life.
If that makes sense.
Like I've had a life.
So I don't know if I should be,
I don't have that,
that need to keep living anymore.
Oh, that sounds so dark.
Damn.
I'm saying I want to,
I don't know.
I just,
I don't care how long I'm here.
I have people I care about,
but I don't,
they say that there's things worse than death.
I don't know if I haven't seen it.
I don't know what it would look like,
but there's that piece of you.
And I,
sometimes I don't even keep it in check that reminds you
how dark things can get
and how dark you can get.
If we let those emotions take over
and there is no greater crime
than sucking that which forms the soul
out of another being.
That's talking to a piece of yourself
that you don't want to answer.
Interesting.
You just talking to a piece of yourself.
Pure metaphor.
When you say it,
you just mean metaphorically, right?
Wouldn't you?
Yeah.
Yeah.
What else?
I don't know.
Orphes is a weird place.
Yeah.
I'm wrong.
I'm still figuring out half this shit myself.
Okay.
You've already lost enough of yourself.
Don't give up more of it.
Okay.
I got to follow my own advice, but.
Okay.
Then maybe,
maybe we'll just hold each other accountable.
Let's do a people check.
Every now and again.
Yeah.
I'm down.
Okay.
You all right?
Wait, I mean, I just,
I got a bunch of new weapons.
I'm great.
All right.
Just asking some heavy questions, kid.
I'm just, you know.
It's, it's fine.
Like, like I said, I don't,
I'm just here.
I'm just here.
You're for good time.
Not a long time.
So I'm, I'm okay.
If anything, if anything,
if anything bad happens,
I will let you know.
Yeah.
Or you'll see it on the news.
Hopefully none of the above.
Let's keep your head down out there.
All right.
Gotcha.
He looks at his watch.
Same time tomorrow.
Yes.
Yes.
Heck yeah.
And I'd go for a high five.
Oh yeah.
He high fives it.
Cool.
She almost skips out the room.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Love it.
There we go.
Anything else that you'd like to accomplish?
Nicola took care of the simp.
So that was a lot of it.
God damn.
Yeah.
I think it's a shady.
No, it's good.
I think, I think that's it.
Okay.
Especially now the word it doing a Halloween party.
Yes.
Yeah.
No, I'm glad we got,
I'm glad we got to do that.
That was awesome.
So we meet, we meet Ben Cotton.
So Logan will pick up with you.
You want to meet with Kate?
Yeah.
I think on the tales of having like a night of like friends
talking about like, we'll do what we need to do to like have
each other's backs and just like on the,
on the, on the tales of some of like the first good feelings
Logan's had since working at Orpheus.
I think they're going to go to Kate and not at all like
respectfully, just kind of like cursory knock as they open
the door to Kate's office and go, uh, are you busy?
Come in.
Thanks.
No.
Cool.
Um, so my whale sucks.
I suck at it.
I'm really fucking bad at it.
And it's the only thing that's like I'm supposed to do to keep
my friends safe and that fucking sucks.
So like, how do I get better at it?
Well, um, I mean, I hate to say it, but practice, um, practice
and it's all about your connection with people.
Right.
Which seems counterintuitive because you're using something to,
I mean, really our whale, it, it's not purely destructive.
It can influence.
It can.
Yeah.
I've seen the color do it and it's so like pretty and calming
and nice.
And then anytime I try to do it, it just isn't.
It can be.
I mean, you know that, you know, it can.
You just got to get out of your own head.
Making more about theirs.
Right.
You got to reach out.
You got to feel, you got to, you got to sense what makes them them.
And then you got to pluck those guitar strings.
Okay.
It's your.
All right.
Look, let's, uh, I got some time.
You want to go, go chat some walls down.
That's a thing.
Yes, please.
Not literally.
We'll go downstairs and we'll, we'll get some practice and, but.
I, I didn't, I, sorry, that was super rude.
I just like busted in.
I, I do want to do this when you have time.
I've, I've, I've got time.
Cool.
Yes, please.
All right.
And she'll lead you down to the sub level to the, to the training rooms where,
uh, probably just next door.
What's going to say?
You can hear.
Like.
I think I try to like peek through the window and watch for a minute.
Oh yeah.
It's good shit.
Yep.
That's pretty good.
Cool.
Yeah.
Um, and it's Kate kind of just says it's all about the whale is it's so hard to
explain and you just, you have to think about it like you're using those vibrations.
And the pieces of yourself to manipulate them, to manipulate their emotions.
Okay.
Right.
Yeah.
It's, and sometimes you put just enough stank behind it to tear them the fuck apart,
but you focus on them.
It's not thinking so much about you.
Okay.
Feel what's coming off of them.
Attuned to it.
Focus on that.
And that's what you're shouting down.
You're shouting down their fear.
You're shouting down their anger.
You're shouting down their violence.
And sometimes you're shouting down their bodies.
That doesn't seem fair.
What do you mean?
I mean, like the, the, the fear and the anger and the violence, that makes sense.
But like, why should I get to, why should I get to like destroy them?
Like why, why does that?
You don't have to.
There's got to be cognizant of the amount you're putting into it.
Okay.
You hold back when you have to.
You don't have to scream them into however many pieces every single time you open your
mouth.
You know, it's, it takes focus, it takes concentration, it takes restraint.
Sometimes it's a matter of whispering sweet fucking nothings into their ear until they
calm down.
Okay.
Yeah, but I guess that makes sense.
You're viewing it as destructive.
I can be, but not always.
It doesn't have to be.
Don't let it use you.
You use it.
Okay.
Yeah.
I can do that.
Let's try.
Okay.
Rocky freeze frame.
Yeah.
There we go.
She, she lets you feel the different effects of each one.
Like it doesn't get too intense to where it's actually going to cause you some damage, but
she lets you feel how precise it can be and how certain effects yield different results
and then allows you to kind of test on her as well.
So she gives you about an hour before she takes her leave, but she makes it, she makes
it known that the door is open.
Should you need to continue to try to refine this ability?
Cool.
Yeah.
I think Logan spends a lot of time for the rest of their, of their break trying to like
parse all of that cause it all feels kind of weird and very vulnerable and trying to
just like make those little like connections and not necessarily like doing it when, when
they're with like people, but just kind of like peripherally being aware of it.
Totally.
Yeah.
Makes sense.
Getting better at reading emotions and.
Yeah.
Got it.
Got it.
Perfect.
All right.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
And yeah, we got Lavenia.
Oh, okay.
Let me open up my Excel spreadsheet real quick.
Sure thing.
The first thing I want to do is probably like, you know, a day or so after our mission and
I'm just lounging around the office.
I'm going to wait till the end of the day and then I'm going to find Jerome LaRuse,
the potential Malkovich candidate that I've been speaking with.
Yeah.
And just kind of go up to them at the end of the day, you know, say hello and say, how
would you feel if I walked you home?
I mean, I drive.
You want to come with?
Well, how do you feel if I drove you home?
Oh, are you saying like hopping in?
Catch on quick.
Oh my.
Yeah, fuck it.
All right.
All right.
Yeah.
I ain't got nothing else going on.
Sure.
How does this, how does this work?
I'm sorry.
I was just enjoying your nervousness.
Follow me and I'll lead him to his car.
Okay.
Okay.
Just like really kind of, you know, prolonging it.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
I think we're down in like the sub level where his car might be parked.
Okay.
I'll just kind of push him up against the car and then upon touching him, attempt to
enter him.
Okay.
All right.
So roll charisma plus leadership.
Charisma plus leadership.
Yep.
And how much, how much vitality are you going to expend?
I want to be able to control him for at least a scene.
Okay.
Which if I remember correctly is at least three vitality, it might be more.
Let's see.
Double check me on that one.
And really depending on how successful I am with these roles.
This is kind of like Lavinia's date with this guy.
So if I don't roll well, I think she might get bad vibes from him.
You know what I mean?
Got it.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Okay.
So I'm going to try three to control him for a scene.
And you said it's manipulation plus charisma.
Yeah.
Oh no, charisma plus leadership.
I think let me double check.
Yeah.
Charisma plus leadership.
Yeah.
Okay.
So that's three and then leadership is two.
And for him, I'm going to roll charisma plus meditation and whatever successes I get.
Right.
One.
Four successes.
Okay.
Wow.
He's a lot more willing I guess than I am.
I rolled a one, a two, a one, an eight and an eight, which is basically zero for me.
Zero successes.
Zero successes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It doesn't, it doesn't take, he seems very willing, but maybe you're the nervous one
at this point.
It's, it's, it's hard to tell.
There's some barrier there and he's fucking wide open.
Like he's like, Levinia, take the wheel.
Yeah.
You know, so.
I think that, um, yeah, I think Levinia, you know, attempts to skin ride him.
And maybe it's, maybe it's his eagerness.
Maybe it's something just kind of takes her off the scent.
Kind of, she feels a little distant from him.
Almost like she's forcing this with this guy.
And I think the next time he opens her eyes, she's just gone.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
She just, she just realizes this is a mistake and yeah.
If you're, if you're still in the area, like if you de-manifest, you're still around.
Yeah.
You see him kind of just like, what the fuck?
All right.
So, yeah.
Yeah.
I just think she had, she just didn't get the right vibes from him.
You know, this is going to be a little bit of a process to get to find the right one.
Totally.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think, you know, not necessarily dejected.
I mean, I suppose she did the rejecting.
So I think she would spend, you know, some time in the office, probably enough time to
meet up with Nicola if she comes with information about a potential Malkovich.
Ah, okay.
Yes.
Yeah.
So how would you present it to me?
I'd probably just like, same as I always just go knock on, knock on the door that wherever
you're hanging in.
Yeah.
And I'll be like, you know that, that talk we had a while ago, you asked something of
me.
Oh, tell me about it.
Yeah.
I've been thinking a lot about it.
I just, I basically just rejected that Jerome guy.
Oh, was he not?
Bad vibes?
He doesn't have bad vibes.
He just, I don't know.
His eagerness kind of turned me off a little bit.
Grab a cigarette.
I might have a opportunity for you.
But you'd have to come with me somewhere and meet a friend of mine.
Oh, I like meeting friends.
Are they just a friend?
Are they family?
Are they a business associate?
They're a benefactor, both for the Orpheus company and as well as for myself.
So they're associated with Orpheus?
In a way.
Between you and I.
A silent partner.
A silent partner.
A silent partner.
Exactly.
You're smart.
I might be able to procure a Malkovich for you through that means if you're interested.
I'm willing to try it.
Certainly, I appreciate the effort, Nikoa.
Well, I want to see you achieve your highest potential.
And if this is a need, I will try to help out.
If I might be frank with you, you're a good leader.
You keep everyone on the straight and narrow.
And I don't know.
If I had a vote, I'd choose you over Abner.
Abner has unique qualities that I only imagine Kate has put forth and the reason.
And I'm not really interested in leading.
I just want to say that should it ever be in the future that the group is acting out.
I want to encourage you to stand up for what you believe is right and tell them when they're wrong.
I have enough experience to know how to navigate that just fine.
I appreciate the suggestion.
Let's go meet your patron.
Okay.
So, yeah, so I will take.
I will take Lavinia to meet Madame but two.
And in the car again, I'm like, you know, straining up tucking pockets in, you know,
should seem a little nervous.
I would look.
I would just look a little presentable.
She is she is kind of one of those kind of people first impressions, you know, I'm just
seriously putting shit together.
Lavinia is going to transform her gauze and she's going to have like a black dress like
the way what's her name in Beetlejuice does when no writer like has black wedding dress like
kind of kind of a little silly about it, but puts on a little bit of her best composure.
I feel under now I feel underdressed, but, you know, anyways, but yeah, I take her to
to meet Madame but two and when you get there, when you arrive at the estate, you find Madame
but two in the kitchen.
Looks like she's prepping some kind of meal cooking.
She's chopping up vegetables and kind of just hanging out and she, you know, looks over.
Oh, I see you brought your I'm assuming this is the friend we discussed.
Yes, Miss Batu.
This is this is Lavinia Lavinia.
This is Waverly Batu.
Lavinia is perfectly courteous and, you know, has enough experience with higher society folk that she
knows how to, you know, be respectful and also, you know, charming amongst them.
And, you know, it feels like she is in it feels like, you know, they are coming to her in a way.
So it's she doesn't really feel very nervous about what's going on.
She is certainly very curious and might even, you know, ask as to how she may have come upon her
fortune or, you know, maybe became who she is.
Ah, yes.
My late husband, unfortunately, he is quite an investor.
He made his fortune and has an investor in several ventures here on the West Coast out East.
When he passed away, he left it to me and I've carried on.
I invested in Orpheus Group early on and Nikoa has been quite beneficial in helping me identify certain trends.
Were you friends before Nikoa's demise?
Well, I found her or so to speak.
I knew of her demise and I'm a bit of a collector.
I love to search for lost souls and give them a home.
Oh, I feel kindred spirit to you now, Miss Batu.
I am also collector of puzzles of riddles, things like that.
I hope you don't mind so far to question, but I find beating around the proverbial bush
with the dearly departed is a waste of time.
But how did you meet your end?
You know, it's funny that it is being dead.
You don't get asked that question nearly as much as you'd think.
I died in prison.
I was being held for reasons the government deemed purposeful to society for my art, for my projects.
I quite like what you did with the NSA website.
I'm glad to hear that you're a fan.
I still rarely get that from the higher society folks.
After all, if you know about that, you know that I've, in my living life, had many relationships with rich men
and drained them of many of their assets.
Yes, yeah.
They were a bit of the more unscrupulous type based on the circles I've traveled in.
The point is, while in prison, I had amassed quite a few enemies, political, government, in the commercial world,
and one of them sent an assassin after me in the form of one of the guards.
But I always made it a point in my life to do things my way, and I didn't want to die that way.
I knew by killing him, I'd die in a certain other way, but at least it was my choice.
So I made sure that he couldn't complete his mission, and by doing so, the guard to the penitentiary ended me.
Well, I'm sorry to hear that.
Oh, it sounds like a sad tale, but I don't know, I'm feeling like I'm different these days.
Maybe better.
Are you angry?
We're all angry in our own ways, but I think my anger is being directed in the right place, at Orpheus.
Unfortunately, we have someone like Nikoa, and I'll look at Nikoa, to keep us on the straight and narrow.
What is it you hope to, or what is it you would do with this volunteer?
Ah, the Malkovich.
I have a lot of experience with technology, with computers, with hacking, but I'm not a fighter, at least not in the physical sense.
Also, I'm a hue.
One of my laundry list of problems is I was addicted to pigment, and it turned me into a less than strong spirit.
So I think having a Malkovich to do a lot of the physical activity that I need to do on a day-to-day basis would save me from wasting my vitality.
A kind of shield, a kind of tank, I guess, for me.
Especially if they're very skilled, having someone who could maybe pick up in the physical department where I lack.
Do you prefer a man or a woman? Or neither?
Why not both? I don't really have a preference, either way, no.
Excellent.
Physical. I have some men, I have some people in the security department for my marijuana dispensaries.
I can look for a volunteer.
I appreciate it.
Whatever help you can offer, knowing that you are associated with Orpheus, I know that it's all perfectly fine.
Give me some time. I'll ask some questions, offer some raises.
Of course, I will have to have that individual's full consent, so a meeting may need to be arranged between you and them.
I'd expect nothing less.
Madam Bakhtu, I know that usually this amount of help usually comes with some kind of price. Is there anything I can do for you?
Visit an old woman from time to time and tell me your story.
Us women need to stick together. I like that. Sure.
Good.
I would offer you lunch, but I'm afraid.
Koa is always so eager to remind me that she's a ghost.
You're welcome to join me, if you like.
I think, I don't know, I think Lavinia would probably take a sandwich or something and like manifest it, but not necessarily like eat it.
But certainly just, you know, be a cordial guest with this person.
Nice. All right. Beautiful.
And the rest of the meeting goes well. He bond. You spend some time with Koa, certainly.
So very, very, very progressive meeting. Anything else you wanted to do with your time?
I suggested the Halloween party.
Could we kind of have that get together like on Halloween nights?
If we all decide, you know, talk to everybody, let's meet at a certain place.
Yeah.
Maybe we find out. Go ahead.
No, I was just going to say, so my plan is we'll do it.
We'll get to Abner. We'll get him get him taken care of.
And then next session, we'll open with the Halloween party.
Okay.
Then I'm not going to deny you your Halloween.
Sure. Sure. So after.
After then our kind of party with the four of us, Logan, Colette, Lavinia and Viv, I think maybe as it's dispersing,
Lavinia will approach Colette and, you know, maybe like while she's walking to her car and something and just say,
that was a good time, Colette. How did I do in there?
You were doing great. Are you kidding me?
I mean, you don't even need my help.
You never did in the first place, but you have so thrown yourself through the door.
It's all you've been. You're doing great. They love you.
You got invited to the party. It wasn't even my idea.
It was Logan's. I brought it up after the fact, but it was Logan's idea.
It means a lot to me that you would help me.
Of course. Of course. You deserve that. I mean, of course you deserve that.
How's your work been? Your artistic work?
Oh, it's been a fucking nightmare, let me tell you. I mean, it has not gotten any better.
I mean, I feel like I told you last time I was in a rut, but I am in a rut. I feel lost.
Well, I always knew when I was trying to put together a project,
put together whatever next art piece was, I sometimes you just have to blow off some steam.
Do you want to blow off some steam with me?
Yeah, I do. But you got to do it on my terms, okay?
Fair enough.
Let me show you the warehouse.
And I'll follow her into her warehouse.
I think that, like, Colette would introduce the idea to Vin of what she's been doing
with slamming her body against the canvas using that tether between life and death
and go through the process of showing all that through and then introduce the idea.
Look, it's usually just me zapping out of my body and then rippcording back.
But it could be interesting if you were what made me fall.
I didn't mean that kind of fall.
And I'll just, Lavinia will approach her, take her, you know, manifest and take her hand,
take the back of her head and attempt to kiss her.
Okay.
What?
Absolutely.
And then maybe while all of that happens, we get a little pain on ourselves and we fall
onto the canvas, but...
Yes!
I love it.
That's where I would bring the curtains to a close, but...
Yeah.
Beautiful.
All right.
We fade to black.
Yeah, we fade to black.
The next day, Lavinia probably gets up before Colette and will...
Yeah, doesn't only sleep.
Yeah, and will probably not be there in the morning when Colette wakes up and will go
directly to a computer in which she will send an encrypted message to an email that shouldn't
be missed, and she will then go and wait for her contact cross to meet up with her.
Yep.
And a meeting is set up.
A meeting is had.
You were told...
Oh, go ahead.
Yeah, no.
I mean, once Cross shows up, I assume in his usual fashion of like pulling into, you know,
pulling up in a black SUV or something, Lavinia is just kind of short with him, but not
mean, just kind of going through the motions, and she says, I have a couple of things worth
letting you in on.
The first being, Nikoa approached me about a vision she had not long ago, some kind of
apocalyptic vision that involves Orpheus.
I think her powers are probably the greatest of the entire team, and I take what she says
seriously, so you should be aware of that.
All right.
I've also started putting together a little bit of a dossier on the team members, what
they're like and how I might be able to manipulate them.
Good, good.
Nikoa, starting with the first, is going to be the hardest as she seems to be rather burdened
by her morality.
She doesn't let the other more rambunctious individuals act out, but I'm kind of hoping
that flame burns itself out.
Noted.
Colette is a rather anti-establishment and very passionate.
In a moment of honesty, she confided to me that she has a addictive personality.
I'm pretty sure if I introduced her to some pigment, it would be a very quickly downward
slope, but I would like to avoid having to do that as she seems happy with her sobriety.
No reason to pull that thread just yet.
Yes, I'm glad you agree.
That said, I think I've started something with her that, I don't know, we'll see where
it goes.
Her and Logan are, to me, two very good options as...
I'm going to stop you right there, Ms. Dyer.
He turns his head.
You followed?
I made sure that I wasn't.
What did I look around like?
Take him, bring him here.
What's going on?
We have a guest, Ms. Dyer.
A guest?
You're going to stand right there and watch what you just did.
One of the SUVs comes up, the drive, and they drag two men in tassel clothing, drag
what looks to be a young man you may have seen around Orpheus headquarters from time
to time by the name of Chad.
Oh, for sure.
Not our boy.
They force him to his knees and cross draws a Glock nine millimeter from his bait waistband.
You know this man, Ms. Dyer?
I've seen him around the offices, but I don't know why he's here, why he's following me.
He seems to have taken a keen interest in you, boy, how do you know Ms. Dyer?
And he's blubbering.
I don't know her, I don't know her.
Abner told me to follow her.
Abernathy told me to follow her.
Abernathy told me to...
Now, boy, have you seen anything tonight?
No, I swear to God, I haven't seen anything.
I haven't seen anything.
Ms. Dyer, do you believe him?
I believe that if he's lying, there's many ways to deal with this, and I'm like looking
dead at him.
Yeah, I prefer to deal with it now.
He holds the Glock underneath his chin and pulls the trigger.
LaVinia does her best to maintain her composure, but she visibly jumps at it.
I want you to take a good long look at that, Ms. Dyer, at that meat.
You didn't have to kill him.
Oh, I did. Protect you.
Get rid of the body. Three packages, three dump sites.
Well, that certainly brings...
That certainly requires me to update my dossier on Abernathy.
And she's kind of like shaking at this point in anger.
Although she's trying to control it, she's kind of shaking a little bit.
Sounds like your team don't trust you as much as you think they do.
Certain members have grown closer to me than others.
But I will have to be a little more cautious around my friend, Abner.
Hmm, I suppose so.
I think you can read the rest of my dossier in the email I sent you.
Yeah, I think it needs to miss a payment this month.
Why? That has nothing to do with me.
No. Slappiness doesn't behoove you, Ms. Dyer.
How am I supposed to do my job and be looking over my shoulders every second?
This is incidental. This is part of the job.
You'll learn.
Have a good night, Ms. Dyer.
I think she just watches and drive away.
Yeah.
You know, realizing that she began this conversation thinking she was in some kind of control and realizing she has very little,
will probably slink her way back to Orpheus headquarters and lay low.
There we go.
Wow.
Good stuff. All right.
Mr. Abner.
All right.
The best for last. The best for last.
And don't say check in with Chad.
The first thing is first.
I would like to also go down to the training range.
Excellent. Okay.
And preferably while Viv and Logan are there.
Okay.
I'll go into the, I'm going to ghost out.
I'm going to go to sleep. I got some some practicing to do.
Okay.
And I think when Abner goes into the training room, he's wearing like old timey gym gear.
Nice.
Like as like that's always manifested as Gaza as he probably has like a little like gray headband.
It's like keeping his hair like tucked back behind his ears.
Yeah.
Like the 1920s like sleeveless shirt and like the really high shorts.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think he probably like has the short like the shirt say something like Orpheus physical education or something just to like,
you know, really, really lean into it.
Yeah.
You make sure the wave at Logan and Kate and Vivian.
And then when he is in now the training range, can you describe it to me?
Is it like a concrete bunker?
Yeah.
So, so there's no if it's.
Yeah.
So there's a very sorry.
I'm sorry.
I was just going to say, I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
No, you do.
You say what you were going to say.
I was going to say it's very small.
It's like three lanes.
It's not very big because like they don't they don't have like they don't issue firearms.
They don't have like a big firearms component, but they realize a lot of their investigators do have concealed carry permits and everything and they are licensed to carry.
So it's like three lanes small.
It's it's primarily a pistol range.
No rifles or shotguns or anything like that.
Concrete concrete backing to cat, you know, kind of slanted to catch any ricochets, any bullets and you pretty much set up your own targets and manually move them using the.
There's like a little switch at each lane to move it backwards and forwards.
So, yeah.
Okay, good.
And it's all concrete concrete.
Yeah, no one.
Okay.
Then what Abner is going to do is going down there making sure that Vivian and Logan can see Abner is going to do a for vitality, which is Nimbus and start chucking fireballs at targets, which is my new horror that I just.
There's no expense.
And I am I want to make a show of this.
So I am doing the full vitality, full powered, which is Nimbus.
Absolutely.
Okay, holy smokes.
Yeah, that's intense.
Logan for sure starts videotaping it to send to anyone who's not there.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's the the effect seems to I mean, the targets are shredded.
They're gone.
They're just you see the paper just kind of curl up and black in as this this effect hits it.
And you see it's almost sticking like napalm to the concrete at times before burning out completely.
And it is just you can feel the heat as each like electrical ball.
It's almost like he's throwing ball lightning that then explodes on impact.
It's fucking crazy to see because you don't see that every day.
But here's mild mannered Abner throwing fire out of his fucking hands.
It's intense.
Set the fire sprinklers off as well.
Yes.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
Very quickly.
I'm so sorry.
Did Logan did it?
Did everyone get that video already?
Oh, yeah.
Group chat.
Yeah, I definitely like put it on the group chat and just like exclamation points after
like, what the fuck is this?
I literally am going to send a gift that says Super Saiyan like that and Dragon Ball Z.
Just as that's just immediately just just that's what me is going to send a gift of.
Beautiful.
And then as the fire cools down, I'm going to turn to Logan and I'm going to say make
sure everybody hears about this.
I'm going to leave the training range.
Okay.
It's hard.
What is this?
Make sure you pass for that part on what he says it like that, just so I can be Super
Saiyan dumbass.
I think I think I think I'd turned it off by then because I was like, I don't want to
like keep the I don't want to waste the memory on my phone.
But I think I do like I separately text like probably Viv and Colette and like this is
what he said to me.
What the fuck does this mean?
This explains so much.
This explains so much.
It does.
It does.
Your uncle is weird.
I fucking know.
Incredible.
You guys just got to spend more time with him.
Yeah.
Go eat.
Go eat some beans with him.
He's really nice.
He's my uncle.
Is that a joke?
He's a weird man.
No, we had a nice little bean moment.
I will say like Abner after this man like that's that's empowering as hell.
Right.
Like to now have this ability.
Finally, like maybe you met with some of the other hunters and Orpheus.
You got a little bit of training on how to use it.
Now you're just you go from Tokyo drifting golf carts into into manifested animal ghosts.
Now you can throw fireballs at your hands like that's yeah.
And I like I like to think that I like to think that Abner could kind of do it for a while.
Like you could do like the little like finger lighter thing for a long time.
Definitely like the first time that he's really been able to pull the big guns out.
I like it.
I like it.
Perfect.
So yeah, we've got that.
What does he do?
Is there anything else you wanted to accomplish for him?
Yes.
I am also going to start kind of gently soliciting the uppers for any less than public assignments
that we might be able to work on maybe next downtime, downtime after that, trying to specifically
use that as a way of currying favor.
Got it.
With the people up above.
I want to try to basically ingratiate myself to the people that are above Kate.
Got it.
Okay.
Yeah, they you know, there are some others on the board of directors who are not necessarily
the public face of Orpheus who note your your eagerness maybe is the wrong word, but
availability for certain off the books operations.
Yeah.
And they they let you know that they will they will keep you in mind.
Good.
And then after that, I am going to follow and they'll chat.
You're going to follow Chad.
I'm going to spend as much time as I need to watching Leah.
I'm watching Chad watch a little bit here.
If you got it.
What I'm getting.
I do.
I do.
Okay.
Um, so yeah, you during that week, you kind of you follow him around and you notice that
he is, you know, he follows her to he goes downtown to this warehouse.
He goes to what looks like Logan's apartment.
Um, he goes to all the way out to Evergreen, uh, to this estate that's out there that you've
have no idea why the video would be going out there.
Um, and so I know what that I assume I know that it is right.
Um, and potentially not.
So she is a silent partner in Orpheus.
She's not public.
Yeah.
Um, um,
I specifically, um, my, my end game here is I want to, um,
I'm trying to use chat upon.
I'm just going to put, I've tried to chat as I.
Pond.
As your pond.
Okay.
Told you that.
Yeah.
Try to sacrifice a lot.
Got it.
Okay.
See, okay.
I see what you're saying.
So you're waiting to see for something happened to him.
Exactly.
Okay.
You.
Well, so there is no obituary.
Nobody knows where this guy went.
Yeah.
That's what I assume.
Um, you just know.
Okay.
Now Vince.
Oh, a pause real quick because apparently chat can't hear us.
That's my bad.
I'm sorry.
I muted.
Um, okay.
So anyway, I think I would go to Abner's office and just ask him, you know, hey,
you know, I heard recently this guy named Chad has gone missing.
That's pretty weird, huh?
Did you ever interact with this guy?
Oh, a couple of times he was a little bit of a, um, yeah, a flunky.
Not very good at his job.
Like most of the security guys are.
Sometimes they, sometimes they just kind of stop showing up.
We all just stopped showing up for work, huh, Abner?
Well, not me either.
Not me.
I'll see you on the next one, Abner.
Great.
Let's just keep not, not showing up to work together.
Yes.
Um, do me a favor, Abner.
I want to see if you're able to stay on CAD during the night of.
Well, I'm, yeah.
So specifically I'm trying, I'm trying to witness the encounter.
Um, so for me, drive, roll perception plus drive.
There's going to be a high DC because or high difficulty.
Yeah, I figured.
Yeah.
So I'm probably going to ratchet up to seven because it's nighttime and yeah.
And he's not going in populated areas.
So it'd be super hard to stay undetected.
Could I, um, could I inhabit Chad's vehicle?
Okay.
All right.
Yeah.
I don't see, I don't see why not.
Just kind of go along for the ride.
Yeah.
Or even, um, his cell phone, does he have a cell phone?
Um, he does have a cell phone.
Yep.
I'd have it that.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
How would you know?
Well, here's the problem.
So he's got his cell phone on him.
Um, so you probably have an easier time inhabiting the car as he leaves it.
Like he goes to get gas.
He goes to the bathroom.
You probably have a better time inhabiting the car versus the cell phone.
Right.
But here's my question.
Cause inhabiting a cell phone is a zero vitality.
It is, but I think you've got to be able to actively see it.
Could I go while he's on duty and he has his cell phone out on his desk and get
in it then.
Cause if it's a zero vitality expenditure, I could be in there for a while.
Yeah.
Right.
Fuck it.
Yeah.
You're in the phone.
Yeah.
Um, and the night of you notice that he's driving out to this kind of like abandoned
industrial area, uh, maybe not a bandit, but certainly run down, uh, kind of on the wrong
side of Denver type deal.
And you, he stops and realizes, you can't really know what's going on in his head, but
it seems like he's debating whether or not to continue driving or to get out and continue
following on foot.
Uh, and it looks like he decides on doing the ladder.
Um, and when he does roll his roll D 100 for me.
Um, 66.
Okay.
He leaves the phone behind.
Okay.
He leaves the phone.
Um, let me see.
Does he have, um, well he could, we've established he could see me if I'm in ghost form.
Uh, Chad cam.
Yes.
Because we've established he can see ghost.
We have.
Yep.
Okay.
Um, okay.
So what I will do, um, does he have a watch or anything?
Yes.
Yep.
This might be a, um, a tricky thing to do, but could I trans tell me, tell me if I go
too far.
Yeah.
No, no, no, you're good.
You're good.
But I could I transfer to the watch?
I don't see why not.
Yeah.
So I'm assuming I would have to come out of the phone risk being seen and go into watch.
You would.
Uh, an opportunity to roll, uh, dexterity plus stealth.
Okay.
I'm just going to change history by maybe I hope not.
Try to not have you guys ever seen that commercial for Chef Boyardee where the can follows the
kid home?
Oh, that's just Abner's whole fucking life.
Like that's his whole concept to two successes.
Two successes on that one.
And I rolled two successes.
Okay.
Let me roll.
Um, you're all for him.
See if it helps him.
So you roll two successes, you said?
Yes.
Okay.
He's got a dice pull four.
So let's see what he does.
Uh, two successes.
So you, uh, so with that, it goes to you.
So, um, yep.
So he does not see you and you transfer your essence, your gauze from the vehicle or the
cell phone to his, his watch.
I do one of these like what, when I pop out of his cell phone, I do one of these behind
him before I into his watch.
Nice.
Um, and you're along for the ride when he is suddenly cornered by two men that get out
of an SUV.
Can I, can I hang with his body?
Yep.
And I ride the body all the way to where it's dumped.
Yep.
Well, here's the problem.
Okay.
Uh, it is, um, it cut up and encased in cement and dumped in, uh, so each, you're on the
arm as it is encased in cement and who the fuck are these people?
And dumped in a, in a, uh, in a lake far outside of Denver.
Okay.
Can I bookmark that location?
Uh, yeah, let's say you can.
Well, shit, that might be tough.
Um, so you're in the watch.
What would they do?
What would be the sort of thing I do?
Okay.
So honestly, here's the thing.
The watch would be one of the first things to go right.
Cause it's a smart watch.
So they're not going to, these guys seem to know what they're doing.
So they fucking destroy the watch first things first, along with the cell phone,
the car is taken to a junkyard and compacted.
Um, like these guys are cleaning up and, um, you know, you witness the dismemberment
and you see the cement and then you can pretty much extrapolate from there how
they dispose of the body.
Uh, but after that point, once, once they destroy the watch, you're out.
And, but yeah, you, I would say, you know where they took him.
Okay.
So I wouldn't know maybe where a part of the body wound up.
You would, you would say you would, the first stop on the long journey to, uh,
being disappeared.
Yes.
Okay.
Good.
Um, with that, I will return to Orpheus HQ.
Okay.
Which I assume takes a while because I'm probably going back.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you're huffing it back.
Yeah.
You're, you're on foot.
Um, yeah.
Maybe I'll, maybe I'll jump between cars that are going in the direction I want
until I, you know, make it back.
Yeah.
Un, uh, uninvited hitchhiking.
We'll call it.
Love it.
Um, and who did, um, Vince, I know we've talked about this before.
Who is the head of security again?
That would be, uh, Tyler Ford.
He's the director of security.
Yep.
Um, I'm going to, um, cancel my trip to Washington.
Okay.
Now Colette, I am very sorry.
I will take them up the mountain on the next one.
Uh, I just reply, that's okay.
Can't go out of town anyways.
We'll make a day trip next time.
Um, and then I will schedule a meeting with the head of security.
Okay.
Yeah.
That could be now or that could be, that could be later.
It's up to you.
We can do that now.
Yeah.
It's easy.
It's easy enough to get on his calendar.
He's not exactly, people aren't exactly breaking down his door to meet with him.
Um, right.
So he's typically briefing, briefing others, you know, typically those in the executive
leadership.
Uh, but yeah, he meets with the end in the cafeteria.
Um, hey, uh, could we meet, um, could we meet in my office where people can, uh, hear
us?
Yeah.
This is, uh, this is, uh, not for everybody to hear.
Okay.
Yeah.
Uh, no, no problem.
Uh, and he'll follow you up and, and I don't know if I've described Tyler before, but
he's, he's, he's a big dude, probably six, four, uh, 300 pounds, uh, bald with this thick
full beard, uh, just very, very dark skinned.
He's wearing like the black polo with the Orpheus logo and silver stitching security
on the back.
Um, so he follows you up to your office, uh, not every day.
One of you guys comes down and wants to talk to me.
What's, uh, what's going on?
Well, I have some, uh, rather major concerns about the security of my crucible.
Okay.
I was wondering if we could assign some resources to investigate this breach is do we have anything
like I can honestly, I think maybe a crucible might be necessary to go investigate this particular
matter.
Um, I mean, that's not really in our wheelhouse or more physical security, right?
We take care of the facility and, uh, provide security of it and the people in it, but it
sounds like, I mean, what are you looking to do?
Well, let me start with this.
You have a, you have a man Chad, right?
Lower level guy.
Oh God.
Yeah.
Baker.
He hasn't shown up for work in a little bit.
Has he?
Sure hasn't, but that's kind of par for the course of that fucker.
He's done.
Well, I would, I, he is done.
Do you want to know why?
Sure.
He's dead.
Come again.
He's dead.
I witnessed him being assassinated by men that a member of my crucible was meeting with.
We got to go to the police.
We cannot go to the police with this.
Why not?
Because I think the men that he was killed by, I think they were the police.
I think we have a major breach of corporate security here.
Do I, am I talking to the wrong person?
Do I need to be talking to the board of directors right now?
Just let me know.
I just, I don't know what you want me to do about it.
I'm sorry.
I think I maybe misread your job description.
You are in charge of security of this corporation.
Is that, is that right?
Yeah.
So I'm telling, do I need to go above your head to the board of directors right now?
Are you going to be able to do something about this?
Go for it.
Okay.
This man doesn't like his job.
Got it.
By the way, if you tell anybody about this conversation, I'll know.
I'm going to the police.
You know what?
You do that.
This is where the body is.
You go right ahead and go to the police.
What are you hoping to accomplish here?
I just want my crucible to be safe and I want this company to be safe.
Go do your job.
Get the fuck out of my office.
He leaves.
Yeah.
And Vince, I'm going to write, I'm going to write a report.
I'm going to write a formal report and submit it to the board.
Got it.
Okay.
When you do, there is a, you are summoned.
Mr. Abernathy.
I believe you submitted this report, correct?
I recognize this man, yes.
Yeah.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Who did?
Who did?
Who did?
Mr. Abernathy.
No, no.
Was this report made in error?
Are you telling me it was made in error, sir?
Yeah, boy.
I'm telling you it was made in error.
Oh.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, it was.
Yes, it was.
Hi.
Can I ask you one question?
No, sure.
It's not easy getting.
Why?
Why?
To send a message.
To whom?
Well, now to you.
The first of her.
To Kate?
No, LaVenia.
I understand.
She works for me, Mr. Abernathy.
Vince, time out one second.
I know this guy's name.
Yeah, all you know is that is all you know about him.
He's one of the shadow backers.
He's Mr. Cross.
Mr. Cross, I assure you if I knew that you were involved in this,
I would have stayed out of it.
I did not know.
I apologize.
No, I'm no foul son.
Is there anything that I can do for you to help to rectify the situation?
You know a goldfish, Mr. Abernathy?
I'm very aware of them, sir.
They got memories that are ten seconds.
Be a goldfish, Mr. Abernathy.
I will tear my report up right in front of his eyes.
Of course.
The United States government thanks you for your service son.
I assume that...
I assume that this...
Well, never mind.
I was going to say I assume I shouldn't tell this to anyone,
but that question seems like an obvious...
Seems like there's an obvious answer to that one for me.
Well, I'm sorry for taking up...
I'm sorry for wasting your time, Mr. Cross.
If you need anything from me, you just let me know.
I will make sure that I stay out of your hair from now on.
Sounds like a plan, Mr. Abernathy.
Do take care of our girl, if any, now.
I will see to it, sir.
Good man.
Thank you.
And that's where we'll end this...
I just want to say one quick thing.
As Abner is walking out of that office,
Lavinia has strategically placed herself to play chess with somebody,
and she hits checkmate just as he walks past her.
Yes, sir!
As I'm walking away, Vince,
I assume I've been hanging out kind of in ghost form for a while,
because...
Yeah, you're sleeping.
I'll just kind of snap and a little torrent of flame will come out of my pointer finger as I walk by.
That's awesome.
Love it.
Oh, wow.
And with that, though, and this...
Oh, shit.
Oh, shit.
Okay.
No, but I want to complain.
You had so many good scenes.
That's what I'm saying.
Love it.
That was some good shit.
Hope you all enjoyed that.
That's all we got for you today.
We will be back after the new year.
Right now, it's either going to be the 8th or the 15th.
We will let you know as soon as we know.
Obviously, post-holiday schedules are difficult to navigate sometimes,
but we'll figure it out.
We'll let you know.
And we hope to see you back here as we continue with Book One of Orpheus.
Don't look back.
See you all soon.
Take care.
Thank you.