Episode Two - Shine A Light

Lunchtime
Jake is attending a press conference outside announcing the re-branding of District 13 into the CBI HQ, a new citywide test policing imitative, along with several CBI members. The Mayor is there and announces the new captain Brigante, replacing the recently retired Sipowitz. During the ceremony Jake spots a CI, little Tito, a Hispanic who was busted with possession by Jake. He has his third and final tip which would fulfil his obligations. It’s from a contact he has in the docks, that 40 foot shipping container 52718 was deliberately concealed from the official paperwork and is shown to contain three crates. However he Doesn’t Know which ship its on. If you get your hands on one of those crates, unopened and deliver it to Tito, Tito will give the name and location of The Columbian Strangler – a high profile serial killer, giving CBI one of its highest profile busts on its day of inception.

Rachel is sitting in Syndicate Tower’s lobby waiting for Lauren, she greets her and escorts her to the administrative offices of Syndicate Industries. There she meets Michael Trent. He had a mission for Lauren and Lauren thought Rachel would be the best person for the job. He introduces himself as a Summer Court member and part of the weapons development team. A serious situation has developed. An extremely powerful Vampire Prototype Weapon has been developed. However Changelings are shipping it in tonight in three Suitcases, each with a weapon inside. Trent wants Rachel to oversee the transfer then provide an unofficial police escort to the armoured vehicle he will be driving the Tower will be providing. The Contact is called “The General”, the ship is the Valkerie due in the Port of Chicago at 6:40pm, Shipping container 52718. Then drive right into Syndicate Tower basement.

In the Back Room of an Italian Butchers, Riley is with Don Frank Lucchese. Don Lucchese has tortured and killed a operative of the Syndicate, in retaliation for the insult of Episode One where a Syndicate man was shot and killed outside his Nightclub, making him look bad. It seems Syndicate Industries have a high value shipping container, containing three crates and are bringing it into the City tonight using a contact called “The General”. If Riley can get a Boat Name and Location for the shipment, the Don will have his men help Riley intercept it. The Don WANTS one of those crates!!!

Lunchtime, Marintos Café, Italians near to Columbia. Alex Mahone reveals that he lost a case yesterday. Michael Trent, a Syndicate Operative walked free and 6 hours later the man killed a witness who testified against him. That night he had a vivid dream involving Alex burying the witness in the shadow of a watchtower. Since last night he proclaims to hearing voices in his head. He laughs it off and puts it down to the stress of the trial. He does have some information for Carrie: rumour has it Syndicate Industries has a 40 foot shipping container full of weapons coming in at 6.40pm on “The Valkerie”. Even better, his source claims that Trent is taking the delivery of three crates of weapons. However to ensure that he doesn’t walk again, he wants Carrie to intercept the shipment, and deliver a crate to two cops Mahone trusts. Three cops impeccable testimony plus the crate should put Trent away. If Claire is successful, Alex Mahone gets promoted.

The Call
The Unit are called to a rundown apartment building in a middle-class area on a report of two deceased men who apparently fell to their deaths from the top of the 30- story building. One of the decedents is a Hispanic male approximately 60 years old and the other is a Caucasian male in his early 50s. Neither man has any identification. Both appear to be homeless vagrants who reek of booze and body odour. Both also appear to have been beaten severely before falling, suggesting homicide rather than accident or suicide. The Unit investigate the roof of the apartment building will note that the door to the roof is unlocked. The apartment manager expresses surprise at this, as the door is always kept locked except when maintenance is performed on the roof. A successful Wits + Empathy roll lead the agents to believe the manager’s denial of any involvement. However, with a successful Wits + Investigation roll, the agents think to interview the manager’s family about his keys. The manager’s 16-year-old son, Michael, appears agitated. The Agents intuit that he knows more than he is saying, Michael knows something about the two deaths and that he also had access to the keys to the roof giving probable cause to take him in for questioning. Back at the station Michael breaks and tells the police everything. And then things get complicated.

The Twist
Michael’s story is that he took $50 from three guys to let them have access to the roof to film two homeless men fighting so that the guys could sell “Bum Fight” videos on the Internet. The two vagrants were each given $50 to fight until one of them was unconscious, as well as some liquor to dull their pain and inhibitions and some amphetamines to give them more energy. The film crew, who apparently started this film project only recently, wanted to use the roof because it was secluded (the building was much taller than the surrounding properties) and they thought the city skyline would make a cool backdrop for the fights. The film crew and Michael were surprised and horrified when, after several minutes of brutally beating one another, one of the vagrants charged the other and their momentum carried them right over the edge of the building. The filmmakers gave Michael an extra $500 cash to forget they were ever there and quickly left. Although none of the three amateur filmmakers directly intended to kill the two bums, the filmmakers did engineer the events that led to the bums’ deaths, which could conceivably result in negligent homicide charges. On the other hand, Michael also says that the two men appeared to be perfectly willing, though they were both drunk and possibly high at the time, which may make it impossible to sustain any charges against the filmmakers.

The biggest problem, however, is the filmmakers’ identities: Chase Addison (grandson of the senior partner at one of the biggest law firms in town), T.J. Radcliffe (the son of investment billionaire Ted Radcliffe) and Jason Prentiss (the favourite nephew of the chief of police). All three are seniors at an exclusive Chicago private school, Chicago Dade and all three have personalities that distinctly display their privilege and entitlement — all but guaranteed to rub investigating officers the wrong way. However, while the three each epitomize the word callow, they are not stupid. None of the three will say a word outside the presence of a lawyer. All of them will deny any involvement in any “bum fights,” and none is likely to break under any but the most intensive interrogation. Also, each of the three has powerful relatives who will try to pull strings to get the boys out of trouble.

Although no website currently exists, the domain name www.Chicagobumfights.com is currently owned by T.J. Radcliffe under the pseudonym of “T.J. Knockout.” Additionally, Jason Prentiss, the least computer-savvy of the three, inadvertently saved a digital copy of an earlier fight. While all three of the boys have erased most of the video evidence of their activities, this one video file, already edited to include music and the Chicago Bum Fights opening credits (which list the three boys as producers) remains on Jason’s hard drive and was easily found on the computer when collected on a search warrant. In face of such damning evidence Jason flips on the other two.

The Docks
The Unit converge on the Docks and find and locate the Valkerie on Pier 3. Carrie sucessfully identifies and approaches The General, a senior summer court changeling from overseas. She makes him believe she is the contact he is meeting and he hands over the suitcases before the container is placed on Michael Trents Big Rig Truck. Jake calls in John and Ivan and all three of them hunt down and run Michael Trent off the road. Carrie and Riley were both able to steal a briefcase each, thus preventing Lauren from keeping all the suitcases secure.

Epilogue
Alex meets Carrie at the public City Library revealing that it was a ruse, that he knew it was sunscreen in the suitcase (and impossible to get a conviction) and that he wanted to show Carrie something that had happened to him in the last 24 hours. When she asked what it was he said without moving his lips "Let me show you"

Riley returns to the butchers with Don Lucchese, who offers him the chance to be turned since the sunscreen allow Vampires to become daywalkers, the Don can give Riley all the power of a Vampire. He puts his arm around his friends shoulder and says "Lets Begin."