SUMMARY 38 - INVISIBLE *WHAT*?!?
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Communique #: 4897674
From: Agent S-4
To: London HQ
Subject: New faction?

At the request of Agent S-1, shadowed members of Party E today - Cartwright, Block, and Canesly. They picked up a translator at the local Embassy, then went to the Stumbling Tiger. They did not seem particularly concerned with secrecy, unlike previous foray this week [see Comm. 4897651]. Once inside, they pumped bartender for information about Brady; bartender pretty much gave them the runaround, telling them he went to Rangoon, Nicaragua, Guatemala. (Despite hefty bribes.)

Bloch noticed gentleman of Japanese descent watching them [perhaps agent of F.? he was unfamiliar to me]; they purchased him a drink and slipped him quite a hefty bribe. Eventually, they left; Japanese gentleman followed them to a park, where Cainsely attempted to find him. He was rather good at losing their attention. Eventually, the group left and dropped off the translator. Japanese gentleman followed them to hotel, then left. I reported incident and gave full description of Japanese gentleman to Agent S-1.

My estimation: they wish some information from Brady, and are trying to find out where he is being kept. Perhaps they already know where he is?

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A smooth, fleshy Chinese man approaches a Japanese man on a bench in a crowded park. The Chinese man hands an envelope to his companion, who smiles and places it in his jacket before rolling a cigarette. "They know where Givens is. Follow them, and you will have him. They are staying at Majestic hotel. I would suspect action soon, but...." The Japanese man shrugs. "Who can know the minds of such people?"

The Chinese man smiles darkly, and does not answer. He nods at the Japanese fellow, and disappears into the crowd.

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A small Chinese boy crouches behind a fruit stand, barely ducking out of the view of a small, nervous looking man in nondescript clothing. The boy's companion, another boy barely distinguishable from the first, taps the first boy on the forehead. "Stupid Albert! Do you want to be seen?"

Albert rubs his forehead, shooting a dark look at his friend. "He never would have seen me anyway. Or if he had, he would have given me money. We're invisible to these people, remember? Anyway, he rented a car and got some maps of the city. That's all. He's headed back in the direction of the hotel. Think that's enough information for them, oh Master of hiding Chow?"

Chow rolls his eyes and looks about to giggle, but stops. "Yes, that is enough, I think. I thought the ladies were going to try and break into the planning office, but they just left."

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The Chinese man perks up as a large group of people leave the hotel, whispering heatedly to one another. It's a group of people he knows well, both from his own observations and from reports he receives from others. Especially from the other reports, it was easy to put names to faces. Two women; the haughty, small one would be Elizabeth Essex. The tall, obviously Russian woman would be Katya. Men took a bit longer, but were still fairly distinctive: the American dilettante would be Donald Cartwright, the foot-ball player Bloch (though he knew Bloch from before), the small man with sharp features, slightly older- Adrian Cainsley. And last but not least, Smythe / Wesson. The Chinese man chuckles to himself at the joke, not for the first time.

The group is joined by a large Russian man- Yevgeny, bodyguard to John Du. Yevgeny shows the rest of the group the guns he has brought with a shit- eating grin. The Chinese man smiles to himself. Soon, the guns will not help them at all. He chuckles as Yevgeny drives off quickly, with some people still hanging onto the outside of the car.

He gets into a rickshaw, and follows them discreetly to a warehouse. The group unpacks a rather large assortment of guns, and goes inside. He sneaks around the side of the warehouse, and determines where Givens is being held. He smiles to himself, sends a signal to his superior, and settles down to watch.

Katya moves quickly and silently to the warehouse where Brady is being kept, with Yevgeny and Don watching her tail from different vantage points. The Chinese man watches with a look of slight admiration as she assesses the situation, checks the roof of the warehouse, and heads back to the group's temporary hideout. He sneaks in close to the ajar door, keeping away from the guard at the other warehouse. He hears snippets of conversation from inside:

"...just one person, near a light, inside the large room. I suspect Brady is in smaller...."

"...could you even *open* the roof entrance? If so...."

"...and then, when we hear shots, we take care of guards and come in..."

"...Okay, so we'll wait on your cue."

The Chinese man quickly slips back, out of the way, as he hears them approach the door. He watches as Katya slips out and around the back of the nearby warehouses, then to the roof of Brady's warehouse. She takes out an oil can, and oh-so-gently works on the hinges of the trapdoor.

After a few moments, he sees the others leave the warehouse as well. Don, Adrian, and Smythe position themselves in various places behind the warehouse in question- Adrian rather close to the 'home base', Don almost directly in front of the guard, hidden by a warehouse and the darkness, and Smythe on the opposite side of the guard from Adrian. Each of them settles in and waits, though Don and Adrian seem impatient.

The Chinese man follows Bloch, Yevgeny, and Elizabeth far enough to discern their plan- they head out front, presumably in position to pick off the front guard.

The Chinese Man, feeling somewhat impatient himself, watches as Katya eases the trapdoor open on the roof, and disappears inside. He feels a familiar tingling in his mind, and smiles. The Master will arrive soon- he could hardly wait.

He wakes from his reverie as a shot rings out from inside. A shot from behind the warehouse follows; Smythe has hit his target, though not fatally. The guard crouches behind a ramp for protection. One shot rings out from the front, then another, then several. The automatic fire eventually stops; he arrives in time to see Yevgeny mocking a sheepish Bloch.

Bloch, Yevgeny, and Elizabeth head towards the door as another shot rings out from inside. The tickling becomes stronger for the Chinese man, and he settles back into the shadows, eyes closed, mouth open with a faint smile.

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A distinguished European man walks, unconcerned, down a dim street in a seedy part of Shanghai. He appears to ignore the street around him, and his attention is indeed divided. He concentrates on three things- the creatures he has sent before him, the street around him, and the things he can see with his mind, up ahead.

He grips his cane a bit tightly as he walks, and lets his mind travel ahead of him.

Katya, after taking out another guard [the last, his mind interjects], ducks back behind the meager cover the balcony offers. Sneaking glances, and listening to the others approach from the front, she discerns that there are no more men leaving the offices.

Brady, starved, in pain, and more than half delirious already, passes out at the loud gunfire, but not before hope crosses his face.

After checking that they are all still whole, Yevgeny, Katya, and Elizabeth hurry into the room where Brady is being kept. [his mind registers some measure of relief that they are not moving quickly enough to be out of the warehouse in time] The doctor performs a quick but thorough examination, and asks the men to carry Brady out the back way. [his mind tells him that they aren't expecting this, that they'll fall easily]

He feels the back guard die as Smythe shoots; no matter. Smythe and Don hold open the back door; again, no matter. The creatures he called are upon the warehouse. He is close enough to hear the windows shatter with his own ears- first the front, then the sides in quick succession.

His mind still allows him to see the inside of the warehouse as he approaches it, slowly. As he moves closer, he feels one of the vampires attack Yevgeny, who screams. He sees the horror on the faces of those still conscious as they realize that their friend is being attacked by something invisible, and that his blood is forming intricate patterns and webs in mid-air.

Their horror increases as another one gets Bloch. Brady is dropped; Katya throws a Molotov Cocktail at one of the creatures. He feels a slight sense of disappointment as the creature writhes in pain, followed by happiness as it reaches out for her next.

The vision in his mind and what his eyes see merge as he opens the door of the warehouse and steps in, eyes on the subject of all this trouble. A smile quirks his lips as Essex shoots the vampire attacking her lover.

Then his world erupts in pain; her notices the dapper American looking at him intensely. He screams, writhes, moves back out of the warehouse. His cane-- his cane! is knocked out of his grasp. He reaches for it, groping the inches, thinking of nothing else. Which is why he doesn't notice the man with the gun [Adrian] until it is too late. The world turns black, and he takes the two vampires that are still alive with him.

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The Chinese man opens his eyes in surprise as he feels his Master die, and the creatures flee. (Two of the creatures, he thinks. He is impressed that they killed one.) He sneaks closer to the warehouse, in time to see Adrian with a gun, rifling through his Master's pockets. Adrian takes the cane, wallet, passport. He then goes inside.

The man watches them all file back to the car, and leave; some in a worse state than others, but all looking better than he would have expected. After they leave, he rifles through the warehouse. The medallion Brady was said to have wasn't there, nor were his clothes. He purses his lips, and runs into the night, trying to figure out what to do next.