Session 11 - Scene 8 (of 10)

Biggins isn't exactly thrilled when the two men show up and discuss wanting him to drive them to Chinatown late at night for a meeting. Father Mulroney assures the alderman that he'll just have to wait in the car.

But Biggins isn't so sure; Mulroney's plans have a way of getting out of hand and he doesn't want another deadly encounter. He bluntly asks the priest if there will be any shooting, but Mulroney assures him there will be none and describes it as a "mellow encounter". Biggins responds that a mellow encounter sounds good, noting he can do without any more excitement for a while.

The alderman then tells them that he spoke to his contact in the police. He explains that Dion Carmody was spotted near the house at the time of the fire, which doesn't surprise Mulroney. Gem tells Biggins he's probably not safe at the office, either, as Carmody already knows where that is as well.

Biggins also explains he is debating getting some police protection, but that it might interfere with their operations. Father Mulrony agrees, inwardly concerned that Biggins will bring the police into a sensitive situation again.

Gem doesn't help matters by trying to be friendly to Biggins and telling him that they got the Spanish guy who stole his wallet. He points out a dent on the car's fender for emphasis, saying the man had strong thigh bones. Gem goes on to start commenting about the cop as well before Mulroney shuts him up, quickly telling Biggins that Gem was just joking. The youth agrees, noting the dent came from hitting a car; the Spaniard, he explains, was run over with no problems.

When they arrive in Chinatown, Mulroney has Biggins stay in the car. He warns the alderman not to go bringing in any police for help if there are signs of trouble. Instead, the priest instructs him to go back to the warehouse and grab a couple of the boys for help.

As Mulroney and Gem head over to the shop, Father Mulroney explains to Gem that they have to be careful what they say to Biggins, as he is a man of mixed morality. The alderman, Mulroney explains, is not so understanding of homicides and doesn't understand they are often necessary aspects of the business.

Gem, confused, notes that Biggins assisted in a bank robbery. Mulroney confirms that the act is an example of the mixed morality he was talking about. The priest then instructs the lad to check with him before mentioning things they do to Biggins. Gem agrees, though still lacking a real understanding of the discussion.

Session 11 - Scene 9 (of 10)

Heading down the stairs from the street, Gem and Father Mulroney find that Mr. Wing's Emporium is completely dark. They decide to keep heading towards the door, but make sure to ready their guns.

Gem finds the door is unlocked. Father Mulroney tells him to head inside. As he does, the youth calls out a greeting for "Mr. Wu", noting to the priest that he can't keep Chinese names straight.

A British-sounding voice answers in response. It instructs the two to get inside and close the door, and to stop making so much noise.

As they get inside, they can see a curtain moved to the side from the back room. The faint light from the room beyond shows a Chinese man wearing a suit standing in the doorway. Gem is confused and continues to look around for an Englishman.

The source of the voice is confirmed, though Gem is no less confused, when the Chinese man speaks perfect English with a British accent, asking who they are. Looking at Mulroney, he notes that the priest must be his "nephew".

Father Clink introduces himself to the man, who confirms he is Fung Xian. Fung asks the purpose of the meeting, and Mulroney explains Deanie O'Conners request to establish relations.

Xian is keenly aware of what Mulroney is getting at, noting his organization has sent him to America to effect a change in management in the city. He tells the priest that he could be persuaded to ally himself with O'Conner, provided O'Conner can connect him with Deanie's "friends at the armory".

Mulroney bluntly asks what Fung is looking for. He explains that in order to deal with Chiang Li Ching's entrenched syndicate, he needs what Americans call "Tommy Guns"; four crates worth.

The triad man and the priest come to an agreement to get a response from Deanie about the guns within two days. Xian notes he may also need to hire some muscle, as he's having difficulty getting his men to support the new regime. According to Fung, the locals are terrified of Chiang Li Ching, believing him to be some kind of sorcerer. He dismisses these ideas as coming from ignorant peasants.

Father Mulroney gives the Chinese man the number of the warehouse so they can set up the next meet. As they leave, Fung bids them goodbye and tells them he looks forward to their meeting next week.

Session 11 - Scene 10 (of 10)

Out in the truck, Alderman Biggins is getting increasingly concerned. The area is quite dark at night, and entrenched in a thick fog.

Off in the distance, he spots a man in the street. The man has a shambling, awkward gait and appears to be holding a meat cleaver in one hand. Not taking any chances, Biggins immediately starts the car and drives off.

Shortly after, Mulroney and Gem exit the shop and head up to the street. They immediately notice Biggins isn't there.

As they look around for him, Biggins turns to see a man standing almost next to him. The man wears red pants and an open red robe. Mulroney stares in horror as he sees the man's mouth has been crudely sewn shut, and deep gouging scars on his chest. Worse, the man's skin is wrinkled and mummified, with dark black lips and extremities, and his eyes milky white.

The priest is shocked by the appearance and can barely react. Gem yells out "Leapin' Lizards!" and begins firing wildly. Mulroney does the same. Neither man manages to hit the dead man. Instead, it shambles over to Mulroney and cuts down strongly with its cleaver. The blow cuts off Mulroney's ear along with a large chunk of his face.

Bleeding profusely, Father Mulroney starts to run away. He yells for Gem to follow, but the youth is convinced he can stop the creature. He fires several rounds into it, but it doesn't seem to have much of an effect.

The cleaver just misses Gem as he steps out of the way. Now convinced the father was right, he runs off after him. The two disappear into the dark fog of Chinatown as the ghoul stutters after them...

Session 11 - Session Notes

This session was an odd one. To start with, I'll just say that at one point we were laughing so hard we had to stop for a few minutes to get under control. The sad part is that we were laughing at (and not really with) the Biggins player.

Not sure what was going on there. A tech issue prevented any video on Skype for us, and so we just got audio. He seemed really distracted and didn't follow along with what was going on. Sort of a repeat of the episode with the Russian.

On the one hand, I like that the alderman is rather bumbling. On the other hand, mocking him for it gets to feeling mean-spirited after a while. It also isn't helping much with advancing the game.

In any event, here's some more info about the session:
* Maisie was supposed to be at this session and it was supposed to be about hunting down Ulnovsky (both I and the Mulroney player had plans related to that plotline for the session). Sadly, an outing with her friends to Outback took priority.

* The Morgan house is heavily based on the mansion from Clue: Master Edition with some extras thrown in. In retrospect, I described it more befitting something in the hills of California rather than along Chicago's gold coast area.

* The Basque looking to steal the necklace was part of the original TSR plot for the necklace caper. I never in a million years thought they'd just kill him.

* Similarly, the police car was intended to lead to a chase scene. They went for a shootout instead. Mulroney is lucky the cop rolled bad - in my rules, a .38 special packs nearly twice the power of the .25 ACP pea shooter he was using.

* The Biggins player's conversation with Burns was really confusing (and funny) when he forgot his own cover story halfway through the conversation.

* I'm not sure how much more obvious I could have made it that the newspaper story was a clue. The later conversation with Mulroney was even more painful; I skimmed over it for the write-up, but during the session he said several times, "well, if there's not any other news you have for us..." and things to that effect. The Gem player was literally beating his head against the table.

* The joke about Cheryl not driving because she's a woman was meant to draw attention to the fact that a woman of the era didn't necessarily drive a car. One of my grandmothers (now deceased) never learned to drive because my grandfather insisted women didn't need to know how.

* As a substitute for having something happen with the Russian, I figured it was time for Deanie to call in another favor. I'd planned the Fung Xian plot from the beginning (careful readers may recall the reference to him in the prologue chapter as the Chinese man mentioned as coming over on Ned Flynn's ship).

* I see Chaos as very much the mad bomber type. I did explain he was making TNT during the session, but ended up expanding some of the details in the write-up (using Wikipedia as a reference). During the session I made the mistake of referring to "primer cord" instead of wire for detonating the explosive; I changed it in the write-up when I realized I was using a term meant for something a bit different.

* Mulroney's plan to blow everybody up real good is pretty much destined to fail as I almost never let PCs get away with plans like that unless they are very careful to cover all the contingencies.

* Again, the conversation with Biggins at his office was both hilarious and aggravating at the same time. Almost as annoying was that he avoided doing anything with the rest of the group but then didn't have any ideas of his own on what to do next. I really only like it when groups split up if they have separate plots to follow; trying to invent something interesting to occupy more than one group at a time without causing issues is difficult.

* I wanted to make a point that the public-facing façade of Chinatown is cheap shops and trendy chop suey restaurants, but the actual workers are living in poverty and being exploited by cruel members of their own community.

* The On Leong Tong is a real Chinese gang from Chicago (now reformed into some sort of community action group, naturally)

* Mr. Wing, his shop, and his grandson are an homage to the opening scene from the movie Gremlins.

* I had to look up during the session real quick to see what fake jade was made out of; I always think adding the fine details really adds to the sessions.

* Fung Xian is a triad man because I thought it made things more enticing than just a run of the mill tong war.

* As mentioned before, I invented the idea of Biggins having a family. I finally gave them names in the write-up this time (not actually mentioned during the session). I use a table of the top 100 names used for a given decade (from an online site) and rolled 1d100 to generate them (I also rolled a d2 for gender for the kids).

* We're still not sure if Biggins was intending to lie to Deakins about not knowing Carmody, or if he wasn't paying attention again.

* I have another player I'm trying to get join. If he does, I want him to be a dirty cop that Deakins sends to protect Biggins.

* Whenever Sister Mary mentions Dr. X, I usually err on the side of making it obvious she's holding something back about him. Mulroney is finally starting to get suspicious about it so that subplot may yet come to pass.

* I had Sister Mary mention the books Mulroney brought back to remind him there are still clues to follow up on with those. Actually, there's still all kinds of clues that they could follow up on but never have.

* It made sense to me that Fung Xian would be a well-educated, upper-class sort of man. And Gem played right along with prejudices, baffled that a Chinese man could have a British accent.

* Chiang Li Ching gets a lot of mentions in this session. Again, he's my favorite villain from the stories of Dashiell Hammett. To be fair, though, in my incarnation he's also half Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China. Hence, the comment about sorcery and the "zombie" showing up at the end (also note the foreshadowing I laid down in the initial visit to Chinatown).

Session 12 - Cast of Characters

Father Clink Mulroney - Irish Roman Catholic priest running a bootlegging operation out of his church

Alderman Jethro Biggins - Corrupt city alderman on the take from Mulroney

Colin "Gem" Archer - Mulroney's newly-promoted lieutenant for his bootlegging operations; sidelines as a jewel thief

Session 12 - Scene 1 (of 12)

Alderman Jethro Biggins drove quickly through the streets of Lakefront City, glad to be out of Chinatown. Thinking of the companions he left behind, he wants to get to the warehouse quickly and get some help. He shudders as he thinks of the awkwardly moving, meat cleaver carrying form he saw on the foggy street.

When he arrives, Biggins finds the warehouse very quiet. The lights of the building are on, but he spots no movement and hears no noise. Stepping inside, he finds the place empty and the air pregnant with silence.

Looking down, he spots some red streaks on the ground; as if something bloody was dragged out the door. He stops and listens quietly as his heart pounds.

Biggins suddenly hears something moving on the roof. Sensing danger, he runs out to the truck and gets in without even looking up. As he starts the engine, the window smashes in. He can feel a large piece of glass wedged into left eye.

With his right eye, the alderman can see some kind of large, black tentacle flailing about in the cab with him. Whatever it is attached to must be outside, but Biggins can't see through the shattered windshield; for which he is grateful, as the tentacle is shocking enough.

Shifting the truck into reverse, Biggins slams on the gas and the tentacle pulls away. Once in the street, he puts the truck in gear and drives off as fast as he can without looking.

His mind racing with thoughts on what to do next, Biggins finds himself distracted by the shard of glass in his eye. Instead of heading over to the hospital or looking for an ophthalmologist, he decides to take out the piece himself while driving.

The pain sears through his skull as he badly cuts his eye taking the shard out. Biggins loses control of the car, fishtailing and slamming into a light pole. His head smashes into the steering wheel and he loses consciousness.

Session 12 - Scene 2 (of 12)

Colin Archer, or "Gem" as he prefers, finds himself lost while running in the dark, foggy streets of Chinatown. He's lost sight of Father Mulroney after trying to shoot down the undead man armed with the cleaver. He starts calling out for the father.

It doesn't take long before the two are reunited. Father Clink, his face badly mangled from the attack, complains about the pain and the need to get to a doctor; he's losing a lot of blood.

Gem, meanwhile, is more preoccupied with their attacker. Using his exclamation of "Leapin' lizards!" he inquires what it was that attacked them; making a note that he fired a couple of shots into it with no effect. Father Mulroney mumbles that it was a "Chinese zombi", believing the undead ghoul to be related to zombi folktales of the Vodou religion found in Haiti and West Africa.

Not versed in folklore or theology, Gem has no idea what a zombi is. But his attention span is short, and he changes the subject to tell the father there is something wrong with his face. Yelling at the dim youth as best he can with his mangled face, Mulroney tells him to try and patch him up; but Gem's attempt only succeeds in causing the priest more pain.

Knowing they'll need help, the two return their focus on getting out of Chinatown and finding someone who can help. Gem spots some light in a nearby alleyway. He tells the father to wait while he investigates, but the priest has no intention of waiting around for another zombi to find him.

Gem steps into the alley, gun at the ready. He spots an open back door of one of the buildings – a well-dressed Chinese man is handing a small pouch to a dishelmed Chinese man standing in the alley, apparently in exchange for money. There are a lot of loud sounds coming from the doorway and Gem deduces it sounds like a kitchen.

Father Mulroney, standing behind Gem, explains they appear to be witnessing an opium deal. He tells Gem that he could use some opium to dull the pain from his face. The youth isn't so convinced; he'd rather get Mulroney to a doctor. He tells the priest he'll go see if the building has a phone they can use.

As Gem walks over, the Chinese men spot him. The disheveled man runs off but the other Chinese man stands his ground. He says something to Gem in Chinese. Gem turns to Father Mulroney to get a translation, as he understands the father to be part Chinese. Mulroney responds that it just sounded like "Chin Chang Chong" gibberish to him.

Trying to be helpful, Gem tries to mimic the use of a phone to get his point across to the man. The man points at his gun and yells something in Chinese back. Gem becomes frustrated, saying he wants a phone not a gun. Father Mulroney tries pointing to his face to get a reaction.

The Chinese man looks annoyed, but motions them over. As they head over, he yells inside to the kitchen and another Chinese man comes to the doorway. This one is wearing a suit.

Father Mulroney asks if the man speaks English. With a thick Chinese accent, the man responds that he does. He sardonically asks if Mulroney and Gem are there for some chop suey as they are at the Yun Lon Chop Suey House. Mulroney snaps back that his face has been "chop sueyed" and they need assistance.

The man in the suit tells them to follow him. He leads them down the alley and down another street of tenement houses.

Session 12 - Scene 3 (of 12)

After another block, Father Mulroney, Gem, and the well-dressed Chinese man arrive at a traditional Chinese siheyuan structure. He leads them inside and they go through a number of hallways, doors, stairs, and other passages. The route is quite varied and Mulroney is sure the purpose is to confuse them of where they are at, which makes him nervous.

They finally stop when they reach a large red door. The man tells them to wait there as he heads inside. Through the door, Mulroney and Gem hear an old Chinese voice referring to the well-dressed man as "Jair Quon" and the two speak in Chinese.

Afterwards, Jair Quon comes back out and instructs Gem and Mulroney to go inside. He does not follow. The room beyond is a large hall, with curtains out from all the walls and a small platform on the end. Gem is quite certain not only are doors and passageways behind the curtains, but people hiding as well.

And old Chinese man with white hair and a long white beard smiles at them from a chair on the platform. The chair is colored bronze, with a high back. On either side of the back are the form of long, bronze snakes coiled around the chair.

The old man greets them, and asks what has brought them to visit Chiang Li Ching. Father Mulroney says they were attacked, but Chiang corrects him to say he was wounded by consorting with bad people. When Mulroney tries to protest, Chiang asks if he is saying he does not know Fung Xian.

Mulroney admits to meeting with Fung Xian, but tells Chiang he was only there because O'Conner wanted to do business with him. Chiang notes that he is allied with Mr. Tolino and has no desire to further Mr. O'Conner's interests.

Chiang tries to sound pleasant, but his contempt of Xian still shows. He explains that Fung Xian is there to further the interests of the Wo Hop To triad, and support the local Hip Song Tong, who are his enemies.

Mulroney explains they have no wish to get involved in the conflict. He again states he was just running an errand for O'Conner and was attacked by a zombi. Chiang does not directly address the statement, but does obliquely refer to his finding a way for those who displease him to still be of use.

Just then, Gem notices movement behind the curtains around them. Out of reflex, he starts raising his gun. Chiang holds him in a bold stare, calling him "boy" and forcefully warning him it would be a bad idea to attempt to use his gun in this hall.

Chiang politely but coldly asks Father Mulroney why he should let the two of them leave with their lives. Mulroney tells him it would avoid him going to war with O'Conner. Chiang is not intimidated, but decides he has no desire for other distractions at the moment.

The old man tells Mulroney that Jair Quon will escort them out of Chinatown, but also tells them they are never to return. Mulroney assures him they have no desire. Just to make the point, Chiang explains that if they do, there may be more "zombis" in their future.

After they exit the room, Jair Quon takes them back through the series of passages until they exit the main entrance to the siheyuan. He then points towards a nearby street and explains they need only go a couple of blocks.

Mulroney is disappointed Quon isn't planning to come with them, as he might have had Gem kill the man as a warning to Chiang. But given the circumstances, he decides to just follow the directions. They encounter no more undead minions on their way out.

Session 12 - Scene 4 (of 12)

Once outside of Chinatown, Gem has no trouble hailing one of the Variegated cabs. When the cabbie sees Mulroney's face, he exclaims "Jesus mister!" Mulroney explains he was mugged in Chinatown, which the cabbie says is no place for a white man after dark.

The cabbie rushes Mulroney straight to the hospital, where he checks himself in under his usual alias of Rocco Jonesey. They load up the father with some morphine as he waits for sutures.

While standing around waiting, Gem notices a gurney going down the hall. The man on the gurney is badly injured, with a large bloody bandage over one eye. Still, Gem notices the man appears to be Alderman Biggins. He tells the father, who says that Biggins usually isn't so bloody.

Gem goes after the gurney to get more information. He asks nurse what happened to "Uncle Jethro". After the nurse confirms he is a relative, she tells him his uncle was involved in a car accident – slamming a truck into a light pole.

She goes on to say that Biggins is critically injured. He has glass in one eye and there appears to be pressure on his skull from internal bleeding. She's pessimistic they can save the eye.

They won't let Gem into the operating room so he watches through the small window in the door. They shave Biggins' head and take out a drill and start drilling into his skull.

Gem yells out "Leapin' lizards!" and bursts inside, calling the doctor crazy and yelling that they can't go around drilling holes in peoples' heads. The doctor tries to explain, saying they need to relieve pressure from a subdural hematoma, but Gem isn't listening (nor would he understand if he did). They finally have to have the orderlies drag him out of the operating room.

When Gem gets back to Mulroney, he's already having his face sutured up. Luckily for Mulroney, he got the intern who is skilled at suturing and the scarring won't be too terrible.

The youth wildly retells his story about Biggins and the accident and the resulting eye being gone. He then says that the people here are not doctors at all, but criminals and con men.

Father Mulroney, high off of morphine, isn't following the conversation so well. Gem clarifies that they are not "their sort of criminals" but are doing experiments on Biggins, including drilling holes in Biggins' head. Mulroney laughs and says it could only improve the alderman.

The priest then wonders if anyone has found his ear. Gem suggests it is probably with Biggins' eye. He cautions Mulroney not to fall asleep in this place.

A nurse stops by and tells Gem his other uncle is out of surgery. They were able to save his life, but not his eye. She also notes that visiting hours are over so he'll need to leave soon.

Before he goes, Mulroney cautions him to keep an eye out for Dr. Cooper. Of course, as only Shoes ever saw the doctor before, they aren't really sure what to look for.

Session 12 - Scene 5 (of 12)

Gem makes a pretense of getting some coffee from the cafeteria and sitting around in the lobby. What's he's really doing is waiting for the guard to leave the area.

Once the guard's attention is focused on flirting with a nurse, Gem sneaks over to the hallway leading down to the basement. Looking around for where the laundry might be, he sees the basement is a long, dark hallway with a lot of doors. A set of swinging double doors at the end of the hall is marked "Pathology", which is an unfamiliar word to the youth.

It doesn't take long before he comes across the laundry room. It contains a mix of dirty and clean clothes, both staff uniforms and patient gowns. Gem dresses up in an orderly uniform.

Once disguised, Gem decides to investigate the mysterious pathology room. The doors open into a large room that resembles one of the operating rooms but has other strange equipment in it including something that looks like a grocer's scale.

Gem looks around a bit, noticing a large wall of huge metal drawers. He pulls one open, only to discover a corpse inside. Shocked, he rhetorically asks out loud what a hospital could be doing with dead bodies.

Looking around a little more, he sees there is an attached office area around a corner. As he walks over, he can hear someone inside talking. The voice is that of an adult male, with an older style New England accent. The man appears to be talking to someone else. Gem hears him say "...in an hour. He should be ready by then. The name is Jethro Biggins."

Gem hears footsteps next. He hides behind one of the tables and watches as a man dressed as a doctor emerges. The man is wearing outdated clothes and is carrying a strange syringe filled with a bright green liquid. Whispering "Leapin' lizards!" to himself, Gem realizes the man must be involved in something nefarious.

After waiting another couple of minutes, Gem tires of waiting for the man Cooper was talking to. Sneaking around the corner, he sees the office is empty. He is perplexed until he notices the office has a phone.

The youth then sneaks back upstairs to talk to Father Mulroney. He finds the father in a deep sleep and shakes him vigorously to rouse him.

As father is yelling at him for waking him, Gem explains about seeing the doctor and the conversation he overheard. He's convinced the doctor is planning to do something to Biggins.

Father Mulroney notes that Gem's description of the man sounds familiar. When he hears about the syringe, he's convinced it is the same man that injected Shoes – Dr. Ephraim Cooper. Gem, however, says that the man he saw was younger looking – certainly much younger than Dr. Cooper who should be nearly in his nineties by now.

Mulroney decides they can explore the mystery of Cooper's age another day. He implores the youth to focus on saving Biggins, but warns him to avoid attracting attention and not to have a shootout on the hospital ward.

Session 12 - Scene 6 (of 12)

By the time Gem reaches Biggins' section of the ward, he finds the doctor has beaten him there. The doctor is already injecting Biggins with the contents of the syringe.

Thinking quickly, Gem rushes at the man and attempts to tackle him. Cooper notices him in time and makes a run for it, leaving the syringe stuck in the alderman.

Gem gives chase down the ward hallway. As they near the end, a nurse pushes out a cart of towels in front of Gem, cutting him off. After slamming into the cart, Gem spots Cooper starting down the stairs.

The night nurse screams as Gem draws his gun and fires off a couple of shots. At least one hits Cooper in the back, and he goes rolling down the stairs.

Pushing the nurse away, Gem runs over to the stairs. He spots drops of blood going down them along with a small amount at the bottom, but Cooper isn't there.

He quickly makes his way down to the basement. Following the blood trail, Gem heads into the pathology room. He notices the garage ramp door is wide open – Cooper has escaped.

Hoping to get a clue about what Cooper was doing, Gem heads back into the office. On the desk, he sees a signed death certificate made out by Cooper as well as a transfer order to Destiny Memorial Funeral Home.

Gem takes the papers and tosses the orderly uniform and heads out the ramp. He quickly finds a cab and takes it back to the warehouse.

When he arrives, Gem sees glass on the ground outside the warehouse, but none of the windows are broken nor are there any damaged streetlights. Finding that suspicious, he cautiously heads inside the warehouse.

He sees no one as he goes in but does notice the blood streaks. Gun at the ready, he looks around and finds other splatters of blood along the walls in one of the corners of the room.

Gem calls out to see if anyone is there, but no one answers. The only thing out of the ordinary is a large wrapped package sitting on Chaos' workbench. The brown parcel paper is wrapped with twine made into a nice bow.

Stepping over closer, Gem notices there is no writing on the paper. He knows better than to touch anything Chaos was working on and decides to leave it alone.

With no one around and nowhere to go, Gem decides to sleep in the warehouse for the night with the gun still in his hand.

Session 12 - Scene 7 (of 12)

Jethro Biggins is surprised to find himself waking up in a strange bed with white curtains all around and a nurse staring over him. She exclaims surprise, saying the doctor wasn't sure he'd ever waken from his coma.

Biggins' mind is still damaged from the encounter with the tentacle creature. He asks the nurse, "is it here?" When she asks for clarification, he can only call it the "tentacle thing". She makes a note on the chart and mumbles something about Biggins showing signs of brain damage.

When the doctor comes over to investigate, Biggins becomes more lucid. The doctor shows Biggins a strange-looking syringe and asks if he knows what it is. The alderman is confused, assuming it was something they injected into him.

The doctor then explains that the previous night, some maniac broke into the hospital and tried to inject him with the syringe but a doctor on the night shift fought him off. They've called the police, but they haven't been able to find either the crazy man or the doctor. They plan on turning over the syringe to them.

On a more somber note, the doctor is forced to tell Biggins that he has permanently lost the use of his eye. Trying to cheer him up, he tells the alderman he will get a stylish new eye patch to wear now. Pragmatically, Biggins says at least it wasn't his life but the doctor cautions it was close and he is very lucky.

After the doctor moves on, Biggins asks the nurse about using a phone. She directs him to the pay phone at the end of the hall. She asks if he is planning to call his nephew because she hasn't seen him in yet.

Biggins is confused, asking about the nephew. Once the nurse begins describing him, Biggins realizes she is talking about Gem Archer. She notes he's also been there to visit another patient on the ward, Rocco Jonesey.

The alderman, remembering that is Father Mulroney's alias, tells the nurse he knows Rocco. She tells him that Rocco lost an ear. When the alderman asks if he was also involved in a car accident, she clarifies he was mugged.

Father Mulroney is touching his sore face when he spots Biggins shuffling his way towards him in the hall. Still addled, Biggins refers to him as Father Murphy when greeting him. Ignoring the use of the wrong name, Mulroney asks what happened after he abandoned them in Chinatown.

Biggins explains about going to the warehouse and finding no one but blood trails. He then talks about the noise he heard on the roof and how he was attacked by a "tentacle thing" when he tried to leave.

Mulroney is skeptical at the mention of the tentacle. He asks Biggins if he's been drinking again. Biggins insists he was not.

The alderman goes on to tell the father about removing the glass shard from his eye and having the accident. Mulroney isn't really paying attention; instead, he keeps asking Biggins what happened to the rest of the boys. Biggins finally says he was under the impression the blood streaks were all that was left of them.

Not liking the sound of that, Mulroney wants to know where Gem is. Biggins explained that he knows Gem stopped by the previous day, posing as his nephew, but hasn't seen him today.

Mulroney then asks Biggins if anything else strange has happened since he saw him last. Biggins says no. The priest then comments that is strange, as he was under the impression Dr. Cooper was running about in the hospital last night.

Biggins, still recovering, inquires who Dr. Hooper is. Mulroney yells it is Cooper, not Hooper, and asks Biggins if he damaged his ear as well. When Biggins appears to draw a blank on Dr. Cooper, Mulroney reminds him that Dr. Cooper was the nut who injected Shoes with something in the hospital last time.

Remembering, Biggins casually notes someone tried to inject him last night as well. When Mulroney asks what happened, Biggins explains the doctor must have been interrupted and relays the story he was told by the doctor.

Mulroney is frustrated it took so much to get the information out of Biggins and that he still doesn't know where Gem is. He then gets concerned, realizing Gem's next stop would have likely been the warehouse.

Session 12 - Scene 8 (of 12)

As Mulroney is instructing Biggins to try and call Gem at the warehouse, the youth shows up. He is surprised to find Biggins alive and says as much.

Gem then tells the father he was right about this place, as the crazy doctor was injecting Biggins last night when he went to check on him. Mulroney asks if it was the same doctor who drilled holes in Biggins' head, but the youth isn't sure (though assumes it was the "same nut").

Continuing on, Gem explains he couldn't get to the doctor in time to stop him. He explains that a nurse got in the way and Cooper was making a run for it, so he popped him. Mulroney winces, then yells at the boy for shooting a man in front of a nurse.

Gem goes on to explain Cooper isn't dead – he was gone from the stairwell by the time he arrived and apparently escaped out the basement ramp. Mulroney wants to know where he went, but Gem explains there were no other cars around so he had no way to follow the man.

When asked if there were any clues as to what was going on, Gem produces the documents he found in the office that Cooper filled out. Mulroney is suspicious of the transfer to Destiny Memorial Funeral Home, noting that it was the same place Rover's body was supposed to be sent (and now thinking about it, he was never contacted by).

Gem believes the next step is to investigate Destiny Memorial itself. He then asks Biggins what happened to the syringe. When he hears they are going to turn it over to the police, he asks if one of his police contacts is going to get it for him. Biggins admits he didn't think to ask anyone. Gem cautions the alderman to keep track of it, it could be important.

Mulroney agrees, noting there is definitely a bigger plot going on. The syringe attack was clearly not Dion Carmody's doing.

Still wanting to look into the mysterious funeral home, Gem asks Biggins if he is up for a trip. Biggins declines, saying he needs to heal up. Mulroney agrees he needs rest as well.

The priest then asks Gem where he went last night after the attack. When Gem explains he went to the warehouse, Mulroney has Biggins relate his story to the boy. When he gets to the part about the attack in the truck, Gem loudly exclaims, "A tentacle? Leapin' lizards!"

Mulroney asks Gem if anyone was there when he arrived, which Gem confirms there was not. When asked about searching the roof, Gem notes he had no reason to. He does tell Mulroney about the package on Chaos' workbench, which Mulroney decides is likely the TNT charge he was working on.

The priest instructs Gem to go talk to Sister Mary and get help, as the youth lacks the facilities to accomplish things on his own. He also instructs Gem to keep a low profile.

Meanwhile, Biggins calls up Captain Deakins. Deakins is concerned Biggins is in the hospital again and asks what happened. Biggins tells him he was "knocked around by a tentacle". Deakins says nothing but is worried the alderman is starting to have a nervous breakdown.

Biggins also explains about the man trying to inject him. He asks Deakins about intercepting the syringe. Deakins explains that since no one died, it will be relatively easy to obtain despite the fact it didn't take place in his district.

He then again asks about assigning a protection detail to the alderman, but Biggins refuses. He warns the alderman again about staying out of trouble and tells him not to tell anyone else about the tentacle or he'll end up at the Dunning Asylum.

Session 12 - Scene 9 (of 12)

Gem takes a cab back to the church. When he arrives, he finds Sister Mary in the vestibule. He gulps as she stares at him with her icy eyes.

She greets Gem dismissingly and wants to know where the father is. Gem explains that Father Mulroney is in the hospital. Sister Mary wants to know what happened this time. Gem tells the story about the zombi and being attacked with a cleaver.

Mary is not sympathetic, coldly stating she warned the priest to stay out of Chinatown. Gem then mentions his trip to the bloody warehouse and she stares at him and asks if they managed to lose all the boys.

Gem is intimidated by the severe demeanor of the nun. He stammers telling her that he didn't see any bodies. He tries to lighten the mood by suggesting perhaps they just went out to do other things since Mulroney wasn't around to keep an eye on them. Mary isn't impressed.

Mary summarizes that Gem is telling her the father is in the warehouse and the boys are all gone. Gem sweats as he explains there is more; and tells her about the alderman's encounter with the monster at the warehouse and he's now in the hospital as well.

When she asks how the alderman managed to get injured this time, he tells her about the injury Biggins suffered in his eye and the accident with the truck. Mary mentally tallies another problem, stating "no truck now either then?"

Trying to change the subject, Gem tells her he's there because he needs help. Mary suggests that the only boys left to recruit are in the 10-12 year old range.

Gem boldly responds by asking her if she can come with him. She dismisses the thought with a callous-sounding laugh, telling him he must be joking. She explains that she is already busy dealing with the bishop as it is and asks if he can't handle it on his own.

When it is clear he cannot, she suggests he call O'Conner for help. She notes their operation is in jeopardy. Gem agrees: blood, monsters, and Biggins – all not good for business. He then openly says he's uncomfortable talking to her so he'll go call O'Conner. She smiles unkindly as he leaves.

Session 12 - Scene 10 (of 12)

Calling over to Harrigan's, Gem finds it isn't so easy to get ahold of Deanie. Instead, the bartender passes the phone to John T. O'Bannion.

Gem quickly explains that they are having an operations problem. O'Bannion wants to know if it is related to the Tolinos, Carmody, or Ulnovsky but Gem explains, "more like a squid".

The youth then explains they've lost their workers and their truck. John T. notes that Gem and Mulroney's usefulness appears to be coming to an end.

He then says that he and his brother, James, will come over to help Gem out. When he asks where to meet, Gem suggests the warehouse. O'Bannion tells him they will be over soon.

Once off the phone, Gem realizes he should go anywhere but the warehouse, as he's certain the O'Bannions plan to kill him. Instead, he decides to go visit Destiny Memorial.

Hailing a cab, Gem has him drive out to the address listed on the transfer form. When he gives the exact address, the cabbie explains that the street doesn't go out that far – that address would put it in the middle of the river.

Frustrated by the dead end, Gem needs time to think. He tells the driver to drop him off at Edna's Diner instead, asking if the cabbie knows the place. The cabbie concurs he is familiar with it, noting that Edna is a cranky old bitch.

Heading inside, Gem sits down at the counter. He tries to sit and think for a moment, but Edna keeps pestering him to order something or leave. He finally takes a coffee.

Gem then asks if he can use the diner phone, but Edna tells him to use the pay phone. He caustically tells her back that he'll be using her tip to do so.

Attempting to dial the phone number listed on the transfer papers, Gem is frustrated when the operator comes on the line and tells him he is trying to dial an unassigned number.

Trying to think of what to do next, Gem spots a solitary man wearing a suit sitting at one of the tables. A large case sits next to him.

Introducing himself and making small talk, Gem discovers the man is George Mueller, a clothing iron salesman from Cincinnati. Gem cons Mueller into believing he lives with his aunt who is in the market for a new iron.

After convincing Mueller to drive him back to his aunt's house, Gem tries to steer him towards a more out of the way location but ends up in a fairly residential area. He has Mueller stop and then pistol whips him when he goes to grab his case, knocking the man out cold.

Making sure no one is watching, Gem uses the man's tie to bind his hands then drives off in the car. Once in a more secure location, Gem strips Mueller and finds the suit will fit. He then ties the man to some irons and drops the body off into the river. Despite not waiting for dark, he lucks out and no one appears to spot him.