[Sodium_noir] Back to the store/enter a man in black

[Alyson Young]

Titus, Two-Tone, Rachel
Two Lasombras and a Gangrel
Suzy Wong

 > "Much of this is unfamiliar to me my Khan, remedies and superstitions
 > perhaps. Spells cast in an attempt to defeat the boy. All came to nought.
 > At the same time there is mention of the Boys growth, how he took over
 > from the pimps in his neighbourhood. A list of the enemies he made. A
 > detailed list. Most of the names it seems were of no use to the writer
 > however, it does say why." more pages are turned. "What you have here
 > is a list of whores who now work for the boy. Another list of people the
 > boy has met or made deals with. This page with the scribbles is an
 > attempt to piece together the boys web and who the writer could cal upon
 > in his battle with the boy. It is, in short my Khan, a recipe for revenge or
 > magical tactics for a war. The last pages seem overly concerned with
 > sexual acts and the magic of ..." he looks to Rachel for a moment before
 > looking back to Titus. "... sexual congress. Of raising power through
 > having sex with the dead or with unnatural beasts, of the defilement of
 > women and ways to pervert the natural with the unnatural. All of this is,
 > in the mind of the writer, the way to defeat the boy and his allies."

Rachel stares back at the bartender when he stares at her, but only to hide 
her own thoughts.  She's not well versed in the woojy, but she is aware 
that there is a fundamental difference between people like Akril and people 
like Panic.  The explanation in the text about natural talent versus study 
makes a great deal of sense.  She wonders, briefly, where Mr. Black falls 
on that spectrum... but he slips away from her attention.  He is, after 
all, not the issue.

Abruptly, she realizes that she is thinking out loud.

"So Panic has a natural talent for magic that is beyond what can be 
accomplished without that talent.  Which means if he has the chance to 
study, he'll be pretty damn powerful.  On the one hand, that's a good 
reason to have him as a friend.  On the other hand, it's a good reason to 
know how to take him down..."

She pauses, drags on the cigarette, and looks at Titus.  "Was I hearing 
that last bit right, or was he saying that we have leverage over Panic as 
long as he's screwing me?  Because if that's what he said, then that would 
be the way to keep him close as a friend, and still controlled as a 
possible future problem.

"Of course, it's a shame there's nothing I can do about that unless and 
until he calls me back."

[I took my tag and I took it down]