Home | About The FVZA | Dr. Hugo Pecos, Director | Famous Cases Historical Tales | News | Vampires | Zombies | Werewolves Virtual Academy | Weapons | Links | Forum

Date: November 14, 1904
Place: The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency, New York City Office

Roll call in the FVZA's Lower Manhattan Office, 1905

Background: New York City in 1904 is a booming metropolis growing larger by the day. The city has a brand new state-of-the-art subway system and is home to the world's tallest skyscraper, the 40-story Singer Building. Drawn by the promise of the American Dream, thousands of immigrants from Europe pour into the city, filling tenement slums on the Lower East Side. Naturally, vampires flourish in this teeming hive of humanity. In the last year alone, vampire attacks are up twenty-fold. Despite vigorous recruiting, the New York City office is seriously understaffed.

The Case: Welcome to your first day on the job. Due to a shortage of agents, you were called up to the New York office two months before your training was complete. Even so, you arrive for work full of optimism and excitement. You've always dreamed of taking on vampires, and now your dream is about to come true. The morning roll call whets your appetite, as the Chief goes over reported sightings and potential vampire pack activity in the city. The Chief grudgingly admits that political pressure is forcing him to devote a disproportionate number of agents to a vampire outbreak near the wealthy Upper West Side of Manhattan.

The enthusiam you felt upon arriving to work is somewhat dampened by the chilly reception you get from the grizzled vets of the force (you will learn that the job's high mortality rate means that most agents prefer to keep each other at arm's length). After a perfunctory tour of the office, you are shown to your desk, which sits under a leaky ceiling and is soaked from last night's rain. You are told that you will be taking Incident and Missing Persons reports from walk-ins, a job that is nothing more than a glorified secretary. You start to wonder what you've gotten yourself into.

Over the course of the morning, a steady stream of people pay you a visit. Some of them are crackpots, like the woman who wants to report a missing cat, or the man who claims to be Jesus. Most of the visitors are there to report missing persons. You dutifully fill out the paperwork, wondering what it was that excited you about this job. Then, just before lunch time, the desk sergeant sends a woman your way. Though she appears attractive at a distance, upon closer inspection she is haggard and toothless and wears a thick layer of makeup. Her breath reeks of gin and the heavy perfume she wears does little to cover a rank body odor. She tells you she has come to report a vampire sighting. Judging by the sidewards glances and snickers of the other agents, this women was obviously fobbed off on you because you're the rookie. Nevertheless, after asking the woman to take a seat, you pull out a form and start writing.

Have Miss Griffey take you to the area where the alleged attack occurred. Once there, do some footwork. Snoop around for possible vampire hideouts, ask the locals if they've noticed anything strange, etc.

Pick up the phone and seek corroborating evidence. Call the police station and hospital nearest to the scene of the alleged attack and see if they've picked up or treated any bite victims in the last 24 hours.

Send Miss Griffey on her way and disregard the whole thing. The woman's obviously an alcoholic prostitute looking to score the $25 reward for information leading to the destruction of a vampire pack ($25 was not an insignificant sum in those days).