LogDead Drop Vienna-Jason-7

Game log for the 2020-09-20 session of Dead Drop: Vienna, as taken by Jason

As we plan our pursuit of the next layer of the vampire conspiracy, Winston raises the concern that it will be tricky for us to go after a vampire in Germany if we're so light on German speakers. Ditch argues that there will always be language barriers in Europe and it's time to kick some ass. Somehow that argument carries the day, and we decide to schwack the future Nazi Pope.

Winston goes digging for background information. He finds that Ratzinger's been associated with the University of Regensberg since 1964. He's a well-known Catholig theologian, but not a priest. He was a Nazi but his generation legally had to be, so it's not clear how that reflects on his character.

Maribelle surveils Ratzinger to discover his movements and behavior. She's noticed and one of the students asks if she's the new photography professor. She answers in French that she's interviewing for the position. The kid says she couldn't be any worse than the Leni Reifenstahl currently teaching. She's able to spot Ratzinger walking around in broad daylight, but she's not able to follow him.

Wilmer does a deep dive into Ratzinger's finances. He's well paid, certainly so by university standards, and yet just his watch alone tells us he's living beyond his means. He may be embezzling money from a charity he works for, a Catholic education charity. Some of those kids just disappear, so their education costs might be a lot lower in practice than on paper.

Angel pretends to be a student and goes to see what she can learn about our quarry's personal habits with students. There's a professor named Hans there, who's overjoyed at having a French actress available to help out. At one point Ratzinger walks by, and Angel makes a comment about dour extras ruining a shot. A student mentions that Ratzinger's creepy, that he once invited her to his flat for a study session. Angel talks to that girl again later, and she shows Angel a business car with Ratzinger's address on it. Angel also finds out where Ratzinger's office is.

Ditch breaks into Ratzinger's flat. It's an upscale flat in a renovated old town building, with amenities like a doorman, underground parking, and buzzers. The cars in the parking are generally expensive. Inside the flat, there's very little to show that the person who lives there is a Catholic theologian, but he does find the robe and mask like those used for the ritual in Trieste. Bingo. This robe is fancier, though, lined with red silk. Ditch also finds a rolodex and calendar. The calendar shows upcoming events including a trip to Salzburg.

So, how do we mess this guy up? We contemplate an ambush on the road, knowing that he doesn't travel alone. We pause and agree to drop an intel to establish an asset, one who can cast our silver ingots into silver weapons. Wilmer makes some calls and finds a guy. From now on, we have silver bullets available. We settle on a plan where Angel lures Ratzinger out across the diag at noon, and then we use the bells to cover the sound of everyone shooting him at once.

Angel tries to approach him as a student asking for advice. She finds him very companionable, friendly, and easy to talk to. She ends up losing track of time, and they're still in his office as the bells start ringing. Ditch goes up on the roof of a building across the quad, relying on Maribelle in the car to spot for him, but she didn't clear her blind spot. He's setting up when he hears the door to the roof open behind him, and two workers come out to have lunch on the roof. He pulls a knife and attacks them, and puts them down in moments. He pitches them off the roof along with an air conditioning unit, so that the falling damage will explain their deaths, and leaves. Winston had previously mapped out the routines of the staff, and Ditch tries to take advantage, but unfortunately the routine has been disrupted.

He's headed down the stairwell when he unexpectedly meets a priest on the stairs. This guy has a crucifix in one hand and a stake in the other, and he looks at Ditch petrified with fear.

Winston and Wilmer are in position, the bell is ringing, but there's no sign of the target. Ditch mentions that he's had to relocate. Wilmer calls an abort. Some short time after, Angel realizes that her communicator earpiece is sitting on the lapel of her jacket. She's not sure what she's said to this guy, but he's looking at her intently. He's staring into her eyes, covering her hand with his, and she's only barely able to break his gaze. When she does so, though, she realizes that it's 12:08.

The priest holds out his crucifix at Ditch. Ditch says, "Same team, buddy." The priest, who sounds Scottish, worries that Ditch might be one of Them. Ditch shows him the silver bullets, and unambiguously touches one, then tosses it to the priest. The priest just watches it come at him rather than catching it, and it bounces off his chest. The priest suddenly catches his wits and processes that he and Ditch are both vampire-haters.

Mirabelle sees people responding to this multiple fatality HVAC accident and calls it on comms.

Ditch tells the priest he has to run, but gives him an answering service number and tells him Vienna is hopping these days.

Angel tries to say goodbye to Ratzinger, but he won't release her hand, and then he puts some sort of whammy on her and she finds herself sitting down. Without him noticing, she pulls her palm pistol and shoots him under the desk. It doesn't kill him instantly, but he breaks eye contact and recoils, and now she has her wits again. She shoots again, and this time the silver bullet knocks him to the floor. Smoke rises from the wounds. She tries to finish him with a silver knife, but he kicks her hard in the shin as she approaches and knocks her over. He starts grappling with her.

The rest of the team hears the shots over the communicator. Maribelle's closest and goes running toward the office, but trips and sprains an ankle. Winston sees that happen, as does Wilmer. Wilmer goes running, and he's so focused on getting to Maribelle that he cuts in front of a line of emergency vehicles, then has to jump backward. He's cut off from the office now. Maribelle advises him to go to the car and get it running.

Angel throws herself back at Ratzinger, trying to stab him again, and then the door to the office opens and some student comes in talking to Ratzinger, sees Angel in the straddle position, makes the wrong assumption, and leaves. She tries to stab again, but he gets a leg under her and launches her hard into the wall. She gets bruised up and drops the knife.

Winston heads into the building, largely unnoticed, and races up the stairway. Ditch is across the street, and walks casual toward Ratzinger's building. Unfortunately the crowd has gotten so thick that he can't make much progress through the crowd without attracting attention. He ends up switching course and meeting up with Wilmer.

Angel tries to escape from Ratzinger. He's dripping sizzling blood onto the carpet, she's crab-walking backward, and then she gets on the other side of his desk and starts trying to back out when Winston walks in. One of the kids in the hall tries to heat Winston off, telling him that the professor is indisposed, and Winston responds that the authorities want everyone to leave the building. This strikes those kids as weird, and they don't make any effort to leave. Winston puls a pistol and opens fire on the local vampire, which inflicts fatal wounds. He helps Angel up and they agree that it's well past time to vacate the area.

Some nice young medical student assures Maribelle that she doesn't have any broken bones, and then she hobbles back to the car. Angel tells the rest of the team about how the vampire put the whammy on her and she may have said some things she ought not have said.

Back in Vienna, word gets to Wilmer that Mladic was the Russian mob's guy and they don't like that. Wilmer offers them some ingots but denies guilt - he's basically saying his little outfit doesn't want trouble with them and they'd rather forfeit some valuables than go to war over it.