Setite territory : Rive Droite (bis)

Absorbs this information quietly.

Hmmm...I shall be careful then and take my time. But I shall enjoy this challenge I believe.

Smiles again but all traces of kindness and softness are gone from that smile...it is cold, hard and calculating.

Well sir, thank you for everything and the information. I presume that I will be meeting Emilio tomorrow at sunset to head to court and to meet with Rikki. Do you have anything more for me or may I go feed now and get in touch with my friends in Egypt so I may get that ball rolling?

Mentioning Emilio is enough for him to knock and open the door, accompanied by a beautiful blonde woman in her twenties who wears tasteful but fairly revealing clothes. She gives a deep and polite bow, and looks very well alive. Neb already saw her a few times among the prostitutes, as running a borthel and actually being a pimp. It's Rikki.
(Mephisto) Emilio, tell me you saw and took a picture of Claudia's date.. Come in and sit. You can discuss with Rikki here, she doesn't go to Elysium.
(Emilio) Of course I did.

As he says so with a wide smile the younger setite sits and browses through his phone, but his smile disappears. He mutters a damn, then gives the phone to Mephisto, who observes, then hands over to Neb : the picture is indeed of Claudia leaving but there is no one next to her. Rikki sits a bit behind, waiting for her to be needed or called.

Looks at the picture on the phone and his face darkens.

Damn...well that is, unfortunate. Interesting though. There is a possibility that her companion is Lasombra. Very strange. If he is I wonder what that means.

Looks over to Emilio.

This must be Rikki, thank you again for allowing her to help me.

Looks to Rikki and smiles.

Ahh Rikki, I am Neb-uau but please call me Neb. Not actively trying to charm, just being polite. I actually believe that we have met before though I did not know your name. You have helped me several times obtain the food I require.

So, to business. I believe that Emilio has brought you here to fill me in on Catherina Giovanni. Please, tell me everything you know.

Mephisto shakes his head.
(Mephisto) Mayhe it wasn't the Claudia we know, but this picture proves it's indeed, her. I never saw this man before... Maybe she doesn't know. Or she's turned Sabbat and wants to kill her sire.

Neither Emilio nor Mephisto believe that Claudia could have turned sabbat, and Mephisto didn't say so seriously. They drop the subject for now. Mephisto signs Rikki she can sit with them, which she does.
(Rikki) I remember your.. Unique features. Yes, Catherina Giovanni. We fought a lot when she was still a ghoul, sending each other some muscles to "pay our respects", spreading disease to my people and me sending poisoned flowers to hers.. She through her family had an important network of ways to clean dirty money. They had also greater investment possibilities.. But they put all their eggs in the same basket, and once the Docks were renewed, she and her clan lost it all.
(Emilio) It was under Ventrue influence, and Gosuin wanted them out. Since then Remi has tried to hunt her down but she has managed to keep some resources and very powerful allies. I think this Guicciardini guy who comes in and out often enough may be one of those, I think he was the one who bought back from the Giovanni most of Gosuin's asset they got with aggressive take overs or so ?
(Mephisto) Mhm, it was him. Adriano also had his hands into prostitution before the Giovanni arrived in the.. 1950's was it ? He sold his networks to them. I suspect he planned their arrival in town himself, or was contacted before hand to have a good implantation in our city...

Rikki listens with interest but she spends most of the time observing Neb's reactions to everything.
(Rikki) I have lost "contact" with Catherina when she was embraced. I refuse this privilege as I think my current status makes me.. Far more useful to my master.

She gives a loving and interested look at Emilio, a look Neb knows is half-fake. But it's clear she doesn't want to be embraced and that's honest.

Thinks for a moment. Then looks at Mephisto.

I wonder if there is a way to prove what clan he is from. To us that is. It could be, useful, information.

Looks back to Rikki. Noticing her interest in his reactions he carefully schools his face into a blank expression.

Hmm. Rikki, would you be able to find out where Catherina and Guicciardini were and what they were doing at the time of the attack the other night? It might be that with that information we could point the finger of blame their direction.

Mephisto indicates the phone, as Emilio wants to take it back.
(Mephisto) This picture is enough to prove he is Lasombra, and I'm sure you can recognize the man should you see him in court. He eyes at Emilio as he says so, since he saw him.
(Emilio) Yep.

The Patriarch nods at the agreement, not really caring about the level of respect shown, as long as the work is done he seems to disregard casual conversation. Rikki answers with the head a little low, showing she's sorry.
(Rikki) I am afraid I can't. Vampires are very hard to follow and my work in the houses leaves me very little time.
(Emilio) That's the kind of stuff you can find out in Elysium anyway, since you're going to talk with people... Plus if they're both involved they probably have alibis, right ?
(Mephisto) "If all the Tremere have an alibi, they're the culprits", an old saying states. I don't think Catherina has the resources to take such action, and Adriano is not smart enough to jeopardize his status with the Sabbat.

Rikki listens, still interested and polite. She shakes her head slightly.
(Rikki) I'm very sorry I can't be of any more help.. Perhaps I can see with Mr de Fonscolombe ? He owes us favors concerning his master, it may be a good time to use them?
(Emilio) Now that's an excellent idea.

Passes the phone back to Emilio. Sighs and shakes his head.

Ahh well. I had dreams of laying that attack at Catherina's feet, whether she was truly responsible or not. I'll have to find a different route to bring her low.

Shakes his head.

I'll see if I can ferret out who the true culprits are tomorrow, but I don't have high hopes for that, not on my first official night here.

Looks to Rikki.

Whatever information you can find would be helpful to us.

By the way, Rikki. I have a lot to do tonight when we are done here. Would you be able to arrange to have my dinner delivered? I would appreciate it.

Rikki nods at the question.
(Rikki) Certainly, I will have send someone. Young and fresh as before?
(Emilio) Oh we'll try some way to make sure she's involved somehow, even in a far more direct way. I'll meet with Fonscolombe with you later, he says so talking to Rikki, who seems pleased to hear so.

Once she has confirmation about the future prey, Rikki asks for permission to go back to work and stands to leave discretely.
(Mephisto) I believe you'll learn a lot there. I think we're done for now. Inform me if you find anything on Kersten. I'll see with my own contacts who is this man I saw with the Tremere-flower. You may leave.

He says so to both Emilio and Neb.

Looks to Rikki and smiles with menace.

Very young please, my meeting with Claudia has put me in a mood.

Glances at Emilio

Any way that I can help bring her low, please let me know. I wish to help consolidate our interests in the city.

On Mephisto's dismissal he stands and walks toward the door.

I will see you at sunset then Emilio. During the night I will think about the Claudia and Lasombra issue and see if I can come up with a way to work that to our advantage...if she is unaware we might even be able to bring her farther into our fold.

Gives one last glance to Mephisto.

If I hear anything tonight before sunrise I will call you at once and let you know.

Exits the door and takes a cab back to his haven.