Roger’s Errands
Michael
So I'll say the first errand would have been to wherever he got the cheroot, so that as it was sitting in his pocket it picked up on some of the aforementioned strong emotions. Do you think this would be a good spot to introduce the botanica, or would he have just gotten it at a newsstand or something? And since this wasn't a crit for Jo, she's just going to get the "flavor" of the emotions rather than a 1-2-3 of Roger's itinerary.
Bill
Given it’s a cigar for the loa, checking in at Yolanda’s to see what wares she has makes sense. Plus he’s got a story to tell …
Michael
That makes a lot of sense.
Bill
I’ll try to make clear what emotions he feels for the ‘record.’
Michael
Is Yolanda old, young?
Bill
Young, I think. She shouldn’t be what Roger was used to back in LA with his abuela.
Michael
That's cool. I'll put her around Roger's age, maybe a few years younger?
Bill
Sure!
Michael
And did you picture her being Black American, quasi-clued-in occult-wise, that sort of thing?
Just trying to find her voice.
Bill
She’s probably more Hispanic, and running a Botanica with Yoruba in the name, I’d guess she knows more about the Occult than Roger does. Here’s what I stumbled into when looking for a shop in the Mission District.
Michael
Ah, very cool! Okay, I can read reviews of this Yolanda's shell readings, that tells me everything I need to know.
Bill
Probably not the same woman … but who knows?! Mysteries of the Unknown!
Michael
The scent of incense and herbs is thick as Roger walks in; Yolanda is there, without another customer to be seen, looking bored. "Well, looks like business is picking up," she says with a smile as Roger walks in.
Bill
(Emotion: flirty familiarity) “Oh I’m business now? Here I thought we were friends.” (This conversation flits in and out of Spanish. Not sure what triggers switching, but take it as read.) “You heard anything good around the neighborhood? Oh, looking for cigars for offerings, too.”
Michael
"Dominican, hand-rolled." Yolanda reaches underneath the counter for some stuff that's not open for sale; wrapped in a bundle of packing paper, it looks like it's part of her own private stash. "The real thing, blessed by the waters of the Caribbean." She puts a couple out on the counter. "Heard anything good, well. Heard there was a pretty bad piece of work up the street. Some vet lit himself on fire."
Bill
(Emotion: spike of guilt). “Yeah, I thought you might have heard about that. (Smells the wrapping). Seriously, these are fine. Almost too fine. I’ll take two.” After a telling pause, “I know something about that, because I was there. Some mighty bad stuff.”
Michael
"Fire. A man would have to be very troubled to do that to himself. Either very troubled or very certain. I remember those monks back in Vietnam, of course." Yolanda takes a moment to gather herself. "You were there, huh? Anything that we in the neighborhood should know about?" By that she means, are there any bad spirits abroad or lingering threats.
Bill
“As far as I know, the only stain is on me, and I’m heading to San Pedro’s for that. Look, there is something you should know. As part of a whole thing, I got in a serious situation, bad enough to need very powerful help. I called, my orisha came, and he helped, so seriously. Saved lives, no lie. But the situation was so dire, I had to offer total control. Before I did, I got worried I’d need help getting free. Or something worse. So, long story, I thought I might need your help. So I gave your name to the people around me at the time, so they could get your help. People who make the Man look like a boychick. I don’t think you’ll come to their attention, but if they do come by … ”
Michael
I actually think I need a roll to see how she responds to this! I'll have you first give me a Religious Ritual roll.
Bill
>>>> SUCCESS
(Spot on)
Michael
Okay, now a Reaction roll. +2 for your cheval status, -2 for the situation you put her in, +2 for the Religious Ritual roll. 3d6+2, you want high.
Bill
>>>> 3d6+2 … 11
Michael
Lukewarm. Perfect.
"I see." Yolanda says somewhat coldly. "I understand. If I'm going to be... back-up for you, if you cross the loa and can't find your way back to the reins—and I accept that, we have to stick together after all, we owe that to each other as practitioners and servants of the loa—I'm going to need some insurance." "I have to imagine these people could make life miserable for me if they wanted. Let's just say I sit in a shop where some of the lovely things for sale—including those perfect cigars in your pocket—maybe don't arrive on my doorstep with all the tax stamps and import papers, hmm? If I'm gonna be on the payroll, Rogelio... I need a little assurance that the tax man and the customs man won't be coming in here."
(She's hustling. Good for her. )
Bill
Roger laughs a little bitterly. “I guess I am business after all. No, no, you’re right. I’ll square this. I’ll see what I can do about exchanges. But one thing: you see some square types come around, you play up the charlatan. Don’t give the straight dope. You don’t want to be directly in this, trust me. “
Michael
"That's fine. I've dealt with worse, Rogelio, come on," she says with a broad smile, smacking his shoulder in a gesture of "all's forgiven/I can handle myself if they come around." "But I know you do you, and you do what you have to. All seriousness, though, that street corner where that man died … you don't think we need to worry about hungry ghosts there?"
Bill
(Emotion: hard and cold.). Roger looks deadly serious. “What was possessing him, it’s already been put down.” Then he comes to the situation again. “But you’re right. Maybe the horror draws some bad things, yeah. Maybe a bit of gris-gris up around the site would be a good idea.”
Michael
"I'm gonna put you together a bag. All you'll need, all traditions represented. This neighborhood doesn't need that kind of thing hanging over it; things are bad enough around here already, my goodness." She busies herself in an effort to not worry about those "things" that are "bad" around here, but it was conspicuous how she mentioned it.
Bill
“No, thank you. Thank you, Yolanda. We’ll keep this place at least as good as we found it, yah?”
Michael
"Better. That's what we're here for."
Bill
Roger nods. “Better, then.”
Michael
Roger does get the sense that she does take the "protector of the neighborhood" thing more and more seriously than she used to, and if you're putting 2 and 2 together then her desire to get a little "protection" makes a lot of sense.
Bill
Roger thinks he can come up with an angle. Something about aiding psychic cleanup by bolstering belief in local herbal remedies. URIEL helps the shop, helps heal Frank’s mess.
Michael
That's great. Given that our first group Mission ended IN the Mission, I want to involve the tapestry of the neighborhood more, and not just in Roger's stuff.
Michael
So what would Roger's next flashback stop be? Confessional or Pepe's?
Bill
Pepe’s would be the right mood— something a little lighter after some heavy stuff. Practically comedy, esp if the issue with the car is really just his own fault.
Michael
Yeah, sounds good to me. That way Jo's next series of puffs off the cigar can be a little more light-hearted.
Give me some basic personality traits on Pepe, is he playful, serious, are cars his life or just something he does to pay the bills, that kind of thing?
Bill
Cars are his life and have to pay the bills, both. He’s older, avuncular; Roger projects his own favorite granpere onto him, so much he screws up and uses French instead of Spanish. with Pepe. But for all the friendly nature, eventually he’s the professional and his car nut customers are just hobbyists. Not sure about Patricio, except car guys always come in pairs so someone can nod...
Michael
I'm going to say this scene is Roger picking up the Chevelle rather than dropping it off; Pepe has had it for... a couple of days, let's say. So Roger might have been surprised when he got the call to come pick it up; it didn't take Pepe long to give it a thorough once-over.
"Son," Pepe says, slinging a greasy rag over his shoulder as he slaps Roger on the back while wearing a conspiratorial smile, "There ain't nothing wrong with this vehicle. Runs as good as it did the day I last had it in here for a tune-up. You flooding the engine again?" he says, teasing Roger.
Bill
"Flood? I know how to start this car, old man. The starter didn't turn over. I turn that key, that mess of electrical should better turn that crank. No disrespect, but it did not, and I can't have it. This bird needs to leap out the nest and fly."
Roger's voice is trying to be half-jokey, but failing.
Michael
"I can't explain it, esse. She's running perfectly. No problems with the electrical, no engine trouble... everything is working as it should. Here." He tosses the keys to Roger. "Get in." As Roger gets into the driver's seat, give me a Religious Ritual roll.
Bill
>>>> FAILURE
Missed it by one.
Michael
Yeah, Roger settles into the driver's seat, turns the ignition, and everything is just fine. Pepe shouts over the engine, "Still, I gave her a tune-up, oil change, filter change, all the routine stuff, and she's been checked from top to bottom. You can trust her, Rogelio, no problems."
Bill
Roger still gives him a look. "Let me listen to her for a second." He futzes with the clutch, turns her off and on. Flicks the lights on, starts her again. The more normal the Chevelle sounds, the more embarrassed he gets. He's trying very hard not to let that turn into huffiness.
(This would be a terrible time for Phantom Voices, I'm just saying.)
Michael
Not a whisper, not a knock, not a sound out of place.
Both Papa Legba and El Diablo are dead silent.
Bill
“Well, you must have tightened a wire or something. Or it’s just those magic hands of yours.”
Michael
Pepe says, "So magic I'm not going to charge your ass for any of the labor. What am I supposed to do, say that changing the oil and checking under this beauty's hood is ever anything but a pleasure? Listen, come over to the office and have a quick drink with me and Patrico. I want to ask you something."
Pepe's office is the typical garage office, cluttered, desk covered in loose unfiled service order receipts, a single pleather couch patched up with duct tape in a couple of spots, wood paneling on the walls. Pepe gets behind his desk and Patrico sort of stands near the door as Roger grabs a seat and a pull-tab can of Tecate. "Lot of whispers in the neighborhood, esse. They're saying they're going to be trying some of that "urban renewal" around here. Like they did in the Fillmore. They're saying that there's gonna be some cops framing up some boys from around the way to pad the crime numbers, and then say 'something's gotta be done.' I have to say, this worries me. Not just for my business, you understand, but for family. Family of all kinds."
Bill
"Oh yeah. The old call for 'Law and Order', huh? Any particular boys? Anybody got an eye on the cops who'd be doing it?"
(Been forgetting the callouts to emotions. Hard see-saw from embarrassment to righteous anger. Self-anger to external, the most delightful and insidious of all turns.)
Michael
"Just rumors," says 'Rico. "And the possibility that they think the poor folks in the Mission might be getting too political." The visit with Yolanda showed Roger that Frank's immolation and the political ramifications/resulting media blitz in starting to have a minor knock-on effect in the neighborhood, at least at the level of street-level rumors. "But yeah, I think the usual neighborhood groups are keeping a close eye on the cops right now."
(How much do the neighborhood folks know about Roger's background? Vietnam vet, sure, but does he have a "cover" regarding what his day job is among folks in the Mission District?)
Bill
(I think by now his ability to get out of scrapes with cops has already led to rumors he's got protectors higher up. His line is that he's a security chief at Livermore, and lets them draw the government connections from that. I don't think he's shown his FBI badge around in the neighborhood.)
Roger still looks a little pissed, but the self-anger is coming back, as he figures it's their work that's rolling down hill on the neighborhood.
Michael
(Cool, I had a vague feeling that Roger kind of let his ability to "move between worlds" be sort of vaguely known to the folks in the neighborhood. A sort of "say no more" kind of intimation.)
Bill
(That's right. He's also a newcomer to the neighborhood, so the mystery is still on, for now.)
Michael
Well, maybe this is a good time for a Streetwise roll. I'm going to have you add +2 to your skill for this roll because you're focusing on the effect of Mission 1 and the attendant post-mission memetics etc. on the neighborhood.
Bill
>>>> SUCCESS
Made it by 3.
Michael
That's a success in either case. So yeah, the explicitly political resolution to our mission means that even though Frank was holed up in the Tenderloin, the fact that his final "act of defiance" took place in the Mission means that the "energy," such as it is, around Frank's threats and actions have kind of unintentionally and unjustly settled on the Mission … as sometimes happens with political/revolutionary acts and crimes! This sort of thing isn't unique to the cover story for this particular SANDMAN mission, after all; sometimes there's collateral damage meant to cover up for the worse possibility of Irruptor activity. But this time it's all so vaguely threatening to the innocent folks in this neighborhood. After all, if SANDMAN can knock down a single historic building and put up a giant postmodern skyscraper just to arrest History B, what's to stop them from piggybacking on standard urban renewal policy to hurt a neighborhood that's majority-minority?
(It's kind of a shame this stuff didn't come up when Jo and Roger were talking SANDMAN moral compromises, but I can say the emotion of this realization is a little stronger even in Roger's own memory as Jo hands back the cigar, thanks somehow to her Psychometry.)
Bill
The worse part is, the way to deflect attention is to shit on some other neighborhood in a race to the bottom.
"Pepe, you hear about any cops closing in on a bullshit bust, you let me know, OK? Real bust, well, we all could use that: less idiots making it more real, whatever their reasons. But one of these frame-ups? I might be able to help."
Michael
(I like that. I'm going to fold the success on the Streetwise roll into this Reaction roll, so give yourself a 3d6+4 Reaction roll, roll high)
Bill
>>>> 3d6+4 … 10
(Well, maybe not so much.)
Michael
"Requests for aid are granted – if they are simple. Complex requests are denied, but the PCs can try again at -2." This one seems pretty simple, honestly. I guess the low Reaction reflects Pepe and Rico's general wariness over the entire situation.
After all, ultimately they asked you for the help.
Bill
Seeing their hesitation, Roger will take some more time, have a beer, ask them about family. Let them bring it back up.
Roger's got the sense that SANDMAN and he burned a marker here; he owes the neighborhood something. And he owes Yolanda. Well, at least his car starts.
I think with that, Roger's now feeling guilty. Which will in turn remind him he has a date with a confessional.
But first a few more sins drinking beers …