Page 35 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER ONE: SHADOWS CAST BY FIRELIGHT
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eral hunter cells in Miami with ties to the city’s
“CANCER CELLS” drug trade have wasted no time using their access
to illegal funds and weapons to pursue the Vigil.
A “cancer cell” is a cell said to be This has led to bloody confl icts over money, guns
infi ltrated by monsters. In some cases, this and territory, which the hunters see as a neces-
is an accurate depiction: some witch, demon sary evil and part of the cost of doing business.
or bloodsucker probably faked its way into Turf battles aren’t just limited to criminal
the cell while pretending to be human. It’s hunter cells, however. Some hunter conspiracies or
not always accurate, though: some cells compacts — and even some large cells — operate
have willingly admitted monsters into on the principle that they alone are capable of ef-
their ranks, forming permanent alliances. fectively pursuing the Vigil, and will actively op-
It rarely ends well, of course. Even if the pose other cells operating in their area. Task Force:
cell doesn’t implode, the members fi nd they VALKYRIE is especially notorious for this practice,
must constantly protect their “friend” although as an arm of the Federal government, it
and themselves from other hunters. Most can be expected to take a dim view of “civilians”
“cancer cells” keep their…situation on the getting in the way. Other compacts, such as the
down-down-low. Long Night and the Loyalists of Thule, have also
been known to move against other hunter cells that
they see as interfering in their operations. Even rel-
take matters into their own hands to persuade the cooperation atively benign compacts such as Null Mysteriis and Network
of a valuable asset. One case in St. Paul involved a small cell Zero have been known to move against hunters who place
of hunters who kidnapped the children of a local city council- their information-gathering efforts at risk.
man in an attempt to force his cooperation regarding a crucial It’s been rumored that some conspiracies even protect cer-
rezoning vote for one of the city’s downtown districts. The tain monsters, and will defend them against other hunter cells,
councilman’s “handler” in the Cheiron Group got the local if necessary. Task Force: VALKYRIE, the Cheiron Group and
authorities and the FBI involved, and when the dust settled, the Ashwood Abbey have all been accused of this practice, al-
one hunter was dead and the councilman’s daughter had been though for different reasons. These groups have worked with
hit by a stray bullet in the gun battle. And all the while, the certain monsters in the past, using them as stalking horses, in-
monsters continued to prey upon the city’s residents. formation assets or sources of supernatural resources they could
Some hunter groups, particularly Network Zero and the not get anywhere else. Network Zero still transmits the story of
Union, strongly believe in the freedom of information and the “Portland Seven” on the anniversary of their disappearance,
communal use of resources. Union-dominated cities, such as almost six years later. The tale has grown in the telling, as con-
Chicago and Boston, attempt to keep competition such as this spiracy theorists add still more twists to the story, but the core
to an absolute minimum — and aren’t afraid to enforce this facts are this: a cell of seven hunters in Portland, Oregon, con-
dictum on hunter cells that violate this unwritten law. Net- tacted members of the Network, claiming they had uncovered
work Zero simply chooses the subversive approach, dissemi- evidence of monsters occupying powerful positions in the Feder-
nating as much information on as grand a scale as possible, al government. A meeting was arranged to transfer the data fi les
though this sometimes causes as many problems as it solves. to the Network for uploading, but none of the Portland hunters
Hunter cells have, on occasion, actively attempted to shut showed up — and the two Network members sent to pick up
down Network Zero transmissions, fearing the information the files were killed in a mysterious car crash only a few hours

could be used against them by tech-savvy monsters. Network later. No one ever heard from the Portland hunters again, and
Zero has also run afoul of chapters of Null Mysteriis on more it is widely believed they were silenced by Task Force: VALKY-
than one occasion; the underground broadcasters have taken RIE in an effort to protect national security. Why the conspiracy
exception tothe scientists’ secretive practices for some time, would want to shield monsters that had managed to infi ltrate

and more than once they’ve “slashdotted” pseudoscientific the government is the subject of heated debate among conspira-
texts or other rare information that Null Mysteriis believes cy theorists, but the suspicion remains, nonetheless. “Remember
should be kept secret. So far, Network Zero has managed to the Portland Seven” has become a rallying cry for hunter groups
keep the upper hand in these information wars, but several that decry the atmosphere of secrecy and internecine struggle
transmitted texts have recently turned out to be embarrassing that taints the pursuit of the Vigil worldwide.
hoaxes, tarnishing the Network’s reputation. Rumors persist
that Null Mysteriis has begun pushing back by implement- Upward Mobility

ing a misinformation campaign, neither side considering the While hunter society can be classified into three basic,
damage this erroneous data may cause to other hunter cells structural tiers — cells, compacts and conspiracies — it’s pos-
who try to use it against their foes. sible for an individual hunter or a team of hunters to cross
On occasion, money and resources are sources of com- these lines many times over the course of their Vigil. Hunter
petition among hunter groups, usually among cells that society pretends to be an egalitarian one, as far as it goes:
originate from within criminal organizations or gangs. Sev- personal ability and dedication supposedly trump virtually all
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