To: Zettler, Harold [hzettler@pentex.com]
From: Hawking, Kevin [khawking@magadon.com]

Subject: Plague Rumors in Los Angeles

Mr. Zettler,

Recently, a new crop of troubling plague-related rumors have made the rounds in Los Angeles. As you are well aware, the "plague" (so named by the Camarilla "prince" of the region, in order to preserve the "Masquerade") was, in fact, an attempt by a self-proclaimed deity by the name of Deacon Frost to take over Los Angeles. His was an inferior strain of vampirism, though his personal power seemed to be nearly limitless. Frost and his vampires were defeated by an unknown medical remedy and by belated action from several Garou septs. Shortly thereafter, Magadon and Ardus began the failed attempt to gain control of the nearby sea-based caern.

A new rumor has been making the rounds in Los Angeles, and it has the potential to damage Pentex operations in the area. According to the rumor, pollution in the water (presumably caused by Magadon and Ardus, though there is no proof) caused the "plague" in Los Angeles. None of the humans in the city remember the events of the plague, due to Delirium, and so the rumor is catching hold. There is quite a bit of pollution remaining in the water, due to our activity against the Rokea and we have no way to prove that the pollution happened after the "plague" ended. We have been refering government and media questions to the media relations division for the past 24 hours, but that will only last so long. The mayor's office is especially insistent that Magadon speak (off the record, of course).

As head of Special Projects for Los Angeles, I request permission to release pertinent information to the press and to the mayor's office. Accident clean-up and media relations will be handled per company policy.

An internal investigation has produced no leaks thus far. I assume the rumor came from an outside source. We are tracking down the source of the rumor and I will report when we know more.

Kevin Hawking
Director of Special Projects
Magadon, Inc - Los Angeles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To: Hawking, Kevin [khawking@magadon.com]
From: Zettler, Harold [hzettler@pentex.com]

Subject: RE: Plague Rumors in Los Angeles

Hawking,

Plan approved on one condition. Do NOT disclose information about Special Projects' interests in the area. That Rokea captive is proving useful and the new vampire captive promises to be even more useful. I will let Ardus' CEO know to take most of the fall for this one. Our friends at Trinity Hive have agreed to lend us their services, and so security footage of a break-in at Ardus' Los Angeles warehouse will be available shortly. Per company policy in such a situation, Ardus will claim full responsibility for the clean-up and the perpetrators will be hunted down and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The hunt for environmental extremists should keep the Garou busy for a while.

Harold Zettler
Head of Special Projects Division
Pentex

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Kevin Hawking looked up from the email and smiled. He pressed the intercom button on his phone. "Lily, I'm expecting a package from Trinity Media, Inc in a few hours, could you make sure it gets to me right away? Also, can you call the mayor's office and arrange a meeting with him regarding the plague rumors his office has been asking us about? 9pm tonight or tomorrow night would be perfect. Thanks, Lily." He didn't wait for an answer. One wasn't expected. Lily did her job and asked as few questions as possible about the work. It was one of the reasons she was valuable, even though she wasn't the eyecandy that some of the other secretaries were.

Kevin got to work drafting the press release that Magadon would give, after his meeting with the mayor. With Zettler's word, Pentex's story was clear: A group of environmental extremists broke into Ardus Enterprise's storage facility at the Port of Los Angeles and stole several tons of biohazardous waste that Ardus was disposing of for Magadon, Inc. The waste was dumped into the ocean around Los Angeles, where it infected the water. It was suspected that the break-ins occurred over several months leading up to the recent "plague", and Magadon's preliminary findings indicate that the two events may have been related, though more research would be necessary before they would know for sure. Magadon and Ardus would perform their own internal investigations, and would be completely open to government investigation. Ardus promised to pay for cleaning up the remaining mess. Magadon and Ardus would both release statements condemning the actions of the extremists and urging any citizens of Los Angeles who might know something about the group on Ardus' security footage to contact their local law enforcement. Kevin would call in a few favors from local media to make sure the Ardus story did not outweigh the growing crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. It would hardly do for people to forget the perfectly ordinary crisis far from home, after all.

A little before 8pm, Kevin Hawking gathered the materials he would show the mayor, including the fresh "security footage" from a pack of Dancers from Trinity Hive devoted to just such "environmental extremism". He left Magadon, Inc, with plenty of time to get to the mayor's office early.