Interlude and Reno Investigation - Mon, May 29, 2017

The session begins with the players preparing for the game, discussing recording setups and previous sessions.

Luke, the Handler, provides a recap of the previous session:

• Agents Graham Miles Drummond (Chris) and Matthew McCarter (Robert) had downtime after their debriefing with Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonia Pizzarelli.
• They informed Pizzarelli about the deaths of Agents David Cortez and Steel Monroe during their mission in the Everglades.
• Initially, there was an implication that Working Group Masticate might be dissolved.
• However, Pizzarelli later informs them that the group will remain active and that new agents will be added.
• Two new agents are introduced: Cole Parker (Mark), a Deputy U.S. Marshal, and Franklin “Frank” Booth (Brian), a CIA agent.
• Booth and Parker are also tasked with keeping an eye on Drummond and McCarter, who are considered potentially troubled agents.

Luke mentions that McCarter had a personal pursuit during the downtime, where he went to therapy.

Drummond’s player, Chris, decides that Drummond will also pursue therapy for his personal pursuit.

Drummond opts for brutal honesty in his therapy sessions, intending to share the full extent of his traumatic experiences with the unnatural.

Drummond attempts to convince the therapist that his stories are true:

• He makes a Persuade check and rolls a 96 (a failure).
• The therapist believes his stories are lies or delusions, considering them as signs of mental instability.

The therapist makes a psychotherapy roll at a -20% penalty due to disbelief:

• The therapist rolls a 55 (a critical failure).
• As a result, Drummond loses 1 Sanity point.
• The therapy exacerbates Drummond’s condition rather than helping.

Drummond contemplates killing the therapist out of anger and frustration:

• He fantasizes about stalking or terrorizing the therapist to make him understand the fear and trauma he’s experiencing.
• Ultimately, he does not act on these impulses but considers retribution in the future.

Drummond’s bond with an associate named Butler is reduced by one:

• He refers to Butler as an “asshole” and decides he’s done sharing information with him.

Luke asks Booth and Parker about their personal pursuits during the downtime.

Cole Parker decides to improve his Charisma stat:

• He makes a Charisma x5 roll and gets a 31 out of 35 (a success).
• Since he succeeded, his Charisma does not improve (improvement occurs on a failed roll).

Parker also decides to improve his Occult skill:

• He makes an Occult roll and fails (61 out of his skill level).
• He increases his Occult skill by rolling 3d6 and adds 7 points.
• Parker spends time studying the rituals of the Skoptsi, a Russian cult linked to their previous cases.
• Due to time spent away from family, one of his bonds is reduced by one.

Franklin Booth decides to establish a new bond:

• He chooses to bond with a younger colleague at the CIA, possibly a mentee or drinking buddy.
• He makes a Charisma x5 roll and succeeds (27 out of 70).
• Booth now has a new bond with this colleague, aiming to invest in personal relationships as he settles into a more stable role in the U.S.

Booth is tasked by Pizzarelli to keep tabs on Drummond and McCarter:

• He conducts public information checks and digs into their activities.
• Booth discovers that both Drummond and McCarter are attending therapy and being overly honest about their experiences.
• Aware that this is against Delta Green protocols, Booth possibly breaks into their therapists’ offices to read their records.
• Booth observes Drummond in person to gather more information.

Drummond notices Booth surveilling him:

• Booth makes a Stealth roll and fails (82).
• Drummond makes an Alertness roll and succeeds (21 out of his skill).
• Drummond spots Booth at a Whole Foods grocery store where he’s shopping with his wife, Ellie.

Drummond confronts Booth about the coincidence:

• He mentions seeing Booth in places he didn’t expect and questions his presence.
• Booth responds ambiguously, suggesting the world is full of coincidences.
• Drummond makes a HUMINT (Human Intelligence) check to gauge Booth’s intentions but fails (critical failure with a roll of 77).

Drummond grows suspicious of Booth, suspecting that he’s being surveilled.

The calendar advances to May 28, 2017.

Each agent receives a message as per Pizzarelli’s instructions:

• They receive a text with a link containing an airline ticket code.
• They are to fly to Reno, Nevada, for a new operation.
• The flight is scheduled for the next morning, giving them little time to prepare.

Drummond notices that Booth is on the same flight to Reno:

• This heightens his suspicions about Booth’s intentions.

Upon arrival at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, they are met by a woman in her 30s with blonde hair and sunglasses:

• She introduces herself as Melissa McIntyre from the Department of Justice.
• She offers to collect any baggage they have and says she’ll bring it to them in 20 minutes.
• McIntyre drives them across the tarmac to a small hangar, bypassing the main terminal.

Melissa unlocks the door to the hangar and tells them that “she’s waiting for you inside,” referring to Pizzarelli:

• She does not enter the hangar with them and drives away to retrieve their luggage.

Inside the hangar, they find Pizzarelli sitting at a folding table with folding chairs:

• She’s working on her laptop and drinking coffee from a large plastic bottle.
• She comments on the flights being on time and expresses a need to get them briefed quickly.

Pizzarelli introduces the new agents to Drummond and McCarter:

• Drummond makes a pointed comment about seeing Booth recently, attempting to send a message to Pizzarelli.
• He says to Booth, “Turns out, I point at him, lives really close to me. At least frequents the same grocery store.”
• Drummond attempts another HUMINT check to gauge Pizzarelli’s reaction but critically fails (77). He misreads her casual dismissal as genuine.

McCarter introduces himself briefly, stating, “McCarter, historian, Georgetown.”

Drummond introduces himself with a smirk, “Drummond, CIA, Langley.”

Cole Parker is described:

• 42 years old, about 6 feet tall.
• Short dark brown hair starting to gray at the temples.
• Has a thick mustache and light stubble.
• Rugged face with faint scars on his cheek and brow.
• Piercing blue eyes with an intense gaze.

Franklin Booth is described:

• Around 50 years old, approximately 6 feet tall.
• Graying hair, average-looking with a friendly demeanor.
• Appears slightly weary from years of service.

Pizzarelli begins the briefing:

• She mentions an event involving personnel from a project related to national security.
• She decides to show them a video rather than explain in detail.

The agents watch the video on Pizzarelli’s laptop:

• The video is from a dashboard-mounted camera in a parked car on a suburban street.
• A woman’s voice narrates, saying she’s in Sparks at 1281 Galt Way.
• She mentions that “it should be happening now” or soon, expressing uncertainty.
• She references her calculations and doubts about her own sanity.
• The woman exits the car, and the camera captures her walking in front of it.
• As she walks, she slows down, seems deep in thought, and looks at the camera.
• She checks her watch, looks up, and then suddenly disappears between frames.
• Pizzarelli scrubs the video back to emphasize the sudden disappearance.

The agents who fail their Sanity checks lose 1 Sanity point to Unnatural:

• The event is unsettling but not entirely sanity-shattering.
• Drummond projects the Sanity loss onto his bond with McCarter, reducing it by one.

The woman in the video is identified as Nora Bridget:

• A software engineer working for Persistent Vigil Imaging Solutions.
• Persistent Vigil is a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation, a defense contractor with national security projects.

Pizzarelli explains:

• Nora’s phone was set to automatically upload videos, which triggered an alert monitored by the program.
• The upload was intercepted and prevented from being posted publicly.
• They are among the few who know about this incident.
• The event happened yesterday, and no one outside the program is aware of her disappearance.

Drummond inquires about Nora’s family and their awareness of her disappearance:

• Pizzarelli confirms that no one has been notified yet.

Pizzarelli mentions a rash of violent crimes in Reno and Sparks that may be related:

• On May 21st, Howard Peña, a janitor at Greater Nevada Field, was found murdered in a ritualistic manner.
  • His blood was used to draw symbols on the baseball field.
• On May 24th, Geraldo Calderon, a Mexican expatriate writer, was found tortured and set on fire at a stone circle on a disc golf course.
• On May 27th, Dora Sandoval was kidnapped during a robbery at a casino and hacked to pieces with axes a few blocks away.
• Drummond notes that all victims have Hispanic heritage.

These violent crimes are unusual for Reno, and the methods differ but are all notably brutal.

Pizzarelli states that while she can’t confirm these events are connected, the agents should proceed as if they are.

She provides the agents with fake Department of Defense badges with their photos and alias names:

• Their cover is as compliance inspectors for Persistent Vigil Imaging Solutions.
• They are to ensure the company is following protocols for handling classified information.
• Their true mission is to investigate Nora Bridget’s disappearance and uncover any connections to the unnatural.

Pizzarelli warns them about the limitations of their cover:

• The legends are solid enough for basic scrutiny but may not withstand deep investigation.
• They should avoid provoking the company into verifying their identities extensively.

Parker asks about approaching the police:

• Pizzarelli does not have a cover prepared for interacting with the police.
• She suggests that Parker, as a U.S. Marshal, could find a way to liaise with them.
• She provides the name of the lead investigator for the murder cases: Lieutenant Adam Wilstetter of the Robbery and Homicide Unit.

Drummond questions why Working Group Masticate was activated for this operation:

• He suspects a possible connection to their previous cases or that they are being set up.
• He makes a HUMINT check to assess Pizzarelli but fails (77, critical failure).
• McCarter also makes a HUMINT check and succeeds (39), sensing that Pizzarelli is not being fully honest and is deflecting the question.
• Booth makes a HUMINT check and succeeds, feeling that they might be considered expendable or that the mission is particularly dangerous.

Pizzarelli provides them with satellite phones for secure communication:

• She also gives them burner phones for less sensitive contacts.
• She mentions that she will remain in Reno but will keep her distance.
• They can contact her via the satellite phones if needed.

The agents have a scheduled meeting with Clyde Mauch, the president and CEO of Persistent Vigil, in two hours:

• The company is likely preparing for their arrival.
• Pizzarelli emphasizes the importance of a plausible and professional approach.

The session concludes with the agents planning their next steps:

• They have time to prepare before meeting with Persistent Vigil.
• Drummond remains suspicious of Booth, noting the continued coincidences.
• The team is left to formulate a game plan for investigating both the company and the recent murders.

The players discuss their thoughts on the setup:

• Drummond considers confronting Pizzarelli about her lack of honesty.
• McCarter appears more stable than before, which surprises Drummond.
• The players express interest in uncovering the mysteries presented.
• They speculate on possible connections to their past cases and the reasons for their activation.

The session ends, setting the stage for the agents to begin their investigation in the next session.