CUTC-016
Barista: Jean-Marc Chausson
Date: Dec-12-2019
Receipt: CUTC-016
Subject: Division Zulu
Amber and Alex’s reconnaissance at the Hollywood Sign confirmed what I was afraid of—Zulu isn’t just watching that site.
They’re guarding it.
And they’re doing it with a level of fervor I haven’t seen since the last time they tried playing god.
Wards. Containment markers. Signal dampeners. The works. They’re not just securing something underground. They’re locking something in.
Something that’s screaming.
Amber caught glimpses of what might have been an active ritual site, though the interference made it hard to make out details. Alex got a better look at their personnel—teams moving in shifts, all of them geared for both combat and containment. Whatever they think they’re dealing with, it’s big. And considering Zulu’s history? Dangerous.
The way I see it, we have two options.
One: We play dumb. Let them go about their work unimpeded. Maybe tip off Alfa, see if she has any interest in stopping them. Could go either way.
Two: We hit them. Fast. Hard.
Zulu is dangerous. That goes without saying. But their strength primarily lies in secrets. If we sit on this knowledge, if we let them keep playing their game while we keep their secrets for them, then we’re doing exactly what they want. And secrets? That’s their Patron’s domain.
So we hit them hard.
Tomorrow morning, I’m leading a team down there. Jenni, Julius, and Victoria—cover all possibilities. Two of our newest Baristas, Julia and Ichabod, also want to tag along. They want to get their #4 filters wet. Fair enough.
Ichabod? I know he can handle himself. In fact, I want to see what he can do. Julia? She’s new. She’s inexperienced. It’s a tough service, but I’ll have her back. We all will. You don’t get good at brewing if you never boil the water.
If we’re lucky, this is nothing more than Zulu’s latest twisted science experiment. We may not like it, but we may not have the… jurisdiction… to stop them.
Ah, but isn’t that the charm of the Cafe and Diner?
We tend to not care much for jurisdiction.
And if we’re unlucky?
Well.
We’ll handle it.