Blood Ties - Session 07

Session Summary:

• Esme picked up Daniela in front of the warehouse just before the police arrived.
• The three women decided to it would be safest to spend the night in a friend of Esme’s place.
• Daniela placed a call into the PUG to force the Diocese to cooperate with her investigation.  The PUG said they would leave a message with the Diocese.
• In the morning the women made a quick stop by Lucy’s place before anybody from Familia or Legion could toss her place.
• Violet was able unlock Lucy’s laptop and pick up her belongings.  Daniela found a pile of dust in Lucy’s living room and took a small sample of the dust.
• Esme drove to Daniela’s place to quickly let her grab a change of clothes from her place and pick up a newspaper from Beth.
• The three women went to a diner to grab some breakfast, discuss their situation, and make some phone calls.  Daniela learned from Phil that a pile of dust was found near the sliding glass doors leading to Adriana Salazar’s balcony.  She set meeting with Phil for 1:30 that afternoon to meet and talk about the murders and the warehouse.
• Phil mentioned that 3 men were reported shot last night at the warehouse.  Daniela saw two of these men when she explored the warehouse.
• Daniela contacted Dr. Mason and was invited to come by his office to drop off their dust sample for testing at the university.  When the three women arrived at the office they learned that the Diocese had made arrangements to meet with Daniela and Father Soto at 2:00 per the PUG’s request.
• The meeting with Phil will have to wait, the next session begins at Dr. Mason’s office with an hour before the meeting with the Diocese and Father Soto in the Loop.

Blood Ties - Session 06

Violet, Daniela, and Esme were trapped in a upper level manager's office with only one way out.  Despite Legion wreaking havoc on the warehouse floor, one gang member went to check out the squeaky door near the manager's office at the back of the warehouse.  The women were unable to hide from their assailant, but Esme was able to throw the door back on the gang member as he pulled his gun on Violet.  The gun fell to the floor inside the office and the women barred the door.

Violet convinced Esme to take the gun and push past their assailant to escape the office.  The three made their way down the stairs to the exit as Legion exploded the last two lights in the warehouse. Legion spoke from the darkness, "Are you listening Josué?  I will find her."  The voice moved about the warehouse as it spoke, "I alone - and you - you will pay for this evening’s deception, you will pay with your life." 

Josué began emptying the clip in his handgun, spraying bullets in every direction.  The women rushed to the exit. Daniela punched the exit door and the warehouse's fire alarm lit up with horns and strobe lights.  For an instant everyone's eyes was on them as they fled the building.

Outside Esme threw the handgun that she had used to escape the office to the ground.  Violet quickly recovered the weapon and the three of them ran down the alley towards Esme's car which parked 3 blocks away.  As they rounded the corner of the alley and into a vacant parking lot two men burst through the back door of the warehouse in pursuit.  The women made it across the parking lot with enough of a lead to find a hiding spot in the next alley behind a garbage dumpster.

Their gamble paid off and their pursuers ran right past them.  As they hid they could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance.  The police were on their way because of the alarm.  Since Familia was fleeing from the cops, the women decided the safest place to be was nearer the warehouse.  They worked their way back to the warehouse without problem.

Just as they reached the first alley they had fled from the back door to the warehouse opened again, this time four members of Familia came out.  The woman couldn’t see them, but they could hear them.  The four men argued about which way the woman had run.  As the sirens grew louder the four men split into two groups and decided to flee.  Two men took a side way out, but two men came right down the alley towards the vacant parking lot towards Violet, Daniela, and Esme.

The women scrambled to hide but there was nowhere to go.  They crammed themselves behind a garbage bin but the two Familia saw them almost immediately.  To their surprise, one of the two men was Rudy.  The other man pulled his gun and approached the three women.  Rudy urged his gang brother to leave them and run, but he wouldn’t let them go.  Rudy finally pulled his own gun and pointed it at his gang brother.  As the two squared off against each other Violet stood up and pulled her gun as well.  Outnumbered, the gang brother was forced to let the women go.  Violet, Daniela, and Esme reluctantly followed Rudy’s orders and escaped around a corner leaving Rudy alone, guns drawn with his gang brother.  Moments after leaving, two guns shots in rapid succession rang out back in the vacant parking lot.

In the chaos of the confrontation Esme dropped her property key ring and Daniela recovered them.  Daniela decided separate from Violet and Esme to check out the warehouse before the police arrived.  Esme agreed to get the car and pick her up at the front door as quickly as she could.  Daniela made her way around the block, located the key to the door, and slipped inside the warehouse through the front door.

The strobe and horn were still blaring as she stepped in.  Daniela had only a minute to explore the scene.  She found a pile of dust gathered in a loose pile where Josué had stood.  She also found another pile at the feet of one of the gang members who had been shot behind some boxes, and another near the body of another fallen Familia member.  The sirens grew louder and Daniela was forced to catch her ride and leave before the police arrived.  Esme pulled up with the car as Daniela exited the front door.

Blood Ties - Session 05

Characters:

Cesar Torres – Old friend of Josué , all around criminal, connected with known shootings but never convicted, served a short sentence for assault .  Killed 4 weeks ago from a large kitchen gas explosion.

Ramon Perez – 2^nd in command under Josué, little known about him, was a very powerful leader of Familia.  Killed 2½ weeks ago in a car accident.

Antony Garcia – Driver of the vehicle that Ramon Perez died in, also killed in the crash.  There was no sign of foul play in the accident, the vehicle swerved into an El train support and killed both men instantly.

Adriana Salazar – Josué’s girlfriend, died from a fall off a 4^th story balcony, perhaps it was suicide.  Died last night

A bible was found at Lucy’s house with a rosary in it.  The rosary marked a passage from the Gospel of Mark (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+5&version=NIV).

According to Phil Gardner, Lucy Herrera is more than likely alive.  Phil believes that Lucy’s disappearance is linked to the 4 deaths of Familia members over the past month, but he does not believe that Lucy was a target.  Each member of Familia was killed to make a statement to the gang leader, but Lucy has nothing to do with the gang and she was never found dead.  Therefore Phil believes that she has been hidden or has run away due to something she saw or knew about.

Phil plans to accuse the local church of conspiracy to hide the whereabouts of Lucy in an attempt to make the church come forth with information he believes they are withholding.  Phil is also trying to gain access to Adriana’s apartment to look over the crime scene and perhaps learn something about the circumstances of her death.

Esme revealed that she has been finically supporting Lucy for some time and also paid Rudy’s bond when he was arrested a year ago.  Esme plays a mother-like role in Lucy’s life, but the two do not speak openly with each other due to their differing outlooks on what is best for Lucy’s future.  Esme seemed to be in heavy denial of any foul play or religious hocus-pocus in relation to Lucy’s disappearance.  When shown evidence of Lucy’s fanaticism she broke down and shrunk away from the conversation.  For the sake of her own sanity Esme clings to the belief that Lucy is still okay, and that she will come back unharmed.

Rudy reluctantly called and revealed to Violet that Josué and the entire Familia gang were summoned to an abandoned warehouse.  He urged her to stay out of the situation and to not report it to the police.  Rudy sounded scared and made it seem like he was probably going to his death.  Rudy mentioned briefly that Josué had told him that Familia needed to show up at the warehouse as a result of Lucy.  Esme overheard the conversation and in a flurry of mental instability insisted on rushing to the warehouse to find out what Familia knew about her missing sister.

Upon reaching the warehouse the three women crept into a second floor managers office at the back of the warehouse and waited for the gang to arrive.  The gang arrived armed and ready to fight.  They quickly realized that they could not overheard what was being said outside the office so they opened the only door into the room.  The door squealed as it opened and Josué order some of his lackeys to check it out.  Before anyone could investigate the door noise the florescent tube lighting in the warehouse began to explode showering glass on the gang members below.  Once all the lights went out a voice spoke loudly and clearly in the warehouse.  It said “the summons was for you and you alone, you have brought violence on others unnecessarily, but that has always been your way.”

Josué ordered his men to open fire on the man who spoke to them from the shadows.  Three rustling noises where heard throughout the warehouse.  Each was responded to with a hail of gunfire.  It sounded as if at least two men were shot in the gunfire.  The voice spoke from the shadows again and said “there aren’t enough bullets in your guns to kill us all.”  Josué called into the darkness and asked the name of his assailant.  The voice responded “my name is Legion,” after that the voice shifted position at each of the following words, “for – we – are – many.”