Arkham Heat: Session 1

Session 1: Saturday, October 29, 2011

Characters
Karla Blackwood: Private Detective and proprietor of Blackwood Detective Agency.  

Ajax Windsor: Mechanic/tow-truck driver and freelance bootlegger/rum runner.
 
Jimmy Mills: Special Agent with the Bureau of Investigation in Arkham.

Arkham City Monday, April 15, 1929

The campaign begins with a summons. At Benito’s Italian Café, a speakeasy the Investigator's often frequent, Mafia God-Father, Guisseppe "Joe" Potrello invites the group to breakfast.  The God-Father has just received a ransom note and ultimatum from his rival Danny O’Bannion, leader of the Irish Mob:

We have your son Michael. If you ever want to see him alive again shut down your operations, and get out of Arkham by Friday.

Potrello, not one to be easily pushed around has decided to make his stand against O’Bannion and his mob. Potrello makes them a job offer, please find my son before Friday. Having no love for the Irish mobster, the group accepts . They soon learn that Michael was last seen by one of Potrello’s lieutenants entering Fenner’s Roadhouse a popular hangout located 20 minutes out side of Arkham. Ajax, having personally delivered booze to the place knows the spot well and the three of the pile into his tow-truck to pay Fenner a visit.

At Fenner's the group learns from the Roadhouse's owner Mel Fenner, that yes Michael was indeed there a few nights ago, and that he was in the company of the beautiful " Little Gina" Lorenzo. Fenner found this a little odd since last he’d heard Gina was the arm piece of Vinnie Fazuli, an enforcer in O’Bannion’s gang. At some point later in the evening the pair had left, but Fenner made little of that since he figured they had just gone off to do the midnight dance with one another, if you understood his meaning.

The group decided that they wanted to track down Vinnie, or Gina and ask them a few questions. Not being sure where to find either of them they went out to shake a few of O’Bannion trees and see if they could knock loose a few low hanging apples. The first "tree" they decided to shake down was the Irish speakeasy in Arkham called the Bell Café. At first they met a little resistance trying to get into the back of the café, but eventually after some minor threats the clerk buzzed them in. While there was no Vinnie or Gina here they did manage to have a conversation with a low ranking thug in O’Bannions gang known as Twitch. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, the nervous and twitchy man had no idea where either Vinni or Gina might be, though he was also surprised to learn that Gina was messing around with another man. He was able to give them the address to Gina’s apartment in Arkham’s North Side. Guardian Apartments, 622 Brown St. Ajax thanked  Twitch and told him to keep his eyes open and let Mel Fenner know if he saw or heard anything. When Twitch asked him what he did for a living and what his name was, Ajax replied,

"Just tell Mr. Fenner I’m the Delivery Man",
" Like the Milk Man?" Twitch replied.
"Yeah Twitch, I’m the Milk Man…"

The Investigator’s made their way to Gina’s apartment. When no one answered the buzz at the door, Jimmy used his law enforcement credentials to get the building manager to let the group in and check out Gina’s apartment. The place was clean, and a talk with local’s lead them to learn that Gina had not been home for the past few days. As the group left the apartment they ran into three of O’Bannions thugs. Ajax managed to get the drop on the leader of the group, an enforcer named Ian Fitzroy, clubbing him with a big wrench he kept hidden up his sleeve. Fitzroy pulled a gun, but between Jimmy’s skill in martial arts, Ajax’s big wrench, and Karla’s mean right hook they soon managed to take down the thugs.

Shortly after the scuffle, the Arkham PD arrived on the scene. Leading Arkham's "Boys in Blue" was Lieutenant Ray Stuckey. It was well known to the Investigator’s that Stuckey was on O’Bannion’s pay roll and that they could expect little to no help from the man. Jimmy was able to find out that the thugs were being taken to St-Mary’s Hospital, and after a long period of questioning from Stuckey he reluctantly let the group go on their way.

At the hospital, the group was able to get Fitzroy to spill the beans. The thugs were to tasked break legs and warn people off of asking too many questions about Michael, Vinnie, or Gina. It was Twitch who innocently tipped off the thugs that the group had been looking into the trio's whereabouts. All Fitzroy knew was that Michael was being held in an old mansion somewhere out near Falcon Point, roughly 45 minutes out of Arkham.

Armed with this information the group headed out to Falcon Point to locate the mansion. In Falcon Point's ramshackled community of fishermen no one knew anything about a mansion, but maybe someone out on Boynton Beach might know something. They were warned to stay away from the town of Innsmouth, which was located about a mile up the road. Oddly they were also told a story of a missing local named Enoch Conger. A fisherman, Conger once claimed to have caught a mermaid off of nearby Devil's Reef.Unsure of what to make of this odd story the group took their leave and took the pathway down the cliff side that lead to the settlement of Boynton Beach.

Smaller than Falcon Point, the group met the community's leader, Corey Weston. He had a lot to say. Yes he knew of a mansion. Round these parts it was known as "Old Man Babson's Place", and shunned by the locals. Word around here was that Babson was reputed to be a Warlock. Weird noises and lights had been coming from the place lately. The mansion is located further up the beach past Fish-Head Rock, an ancient site sacred to the Indians that once lived in the area. Just take the path in the cliff side to the top and you cant miss it. Weston also warned the group to stay away from Innsmouth. When asked why, he told them that he didn’t know nothing from nothing, as he would often repeat during the conversation, but he heard that people who lived there wernt quite right. If rumour was to be believed the town folk laid with their own kin if you know what I be saying, though I be knowing nothing from nothing in all...

Following Weston’s directions the group found the Babson Mansion. A rotting hulk of a building Old Man Babson's Place had seen better days. Inside they found recent muddy footprints that lead them to investigate the basement. In the basement they discovered the signs of recent habitation new, but used cots, empty liqueur bottles and playing cards, and in a nicely furnished room Little Gina…

To Be Continued