Rafael Espada

Rafael Espada, or Rafi as he was called by his friends, was always known as some sort of wiz when it came to money. Even back before his embrace in the 1920s. He knew how to invest and get banks to lend him the money to do so. Some times they call him a bank robber and others a savant, never the less, that became his trademark and he sure capitalized on it. Then the Great Depression happen and it was something not even him could foresee. As the markets collapse, the roads began to run red with the blood of the desperate. Unable to meet the faces of his peers, his clients, and the banks' demand to pay back his loan, Rafi barricaded himself in his room and was never heard from again.

His sire, Alfred Vail first appeared to him, masked as Rafi himself, and had convinced him to stay in, fearing for the safety of the streets now that the Sabbat ruled. Rafi, after some time, did finally leave his room (the truth more likely was that he couldn't afford rent), and checked himself into the Baltimore Asylum where he thought to live the rest of his days. That did not happen, instead the Sabbat ravaged all places of humanity, taking with them whomever survived these raids. Rafi would have been among them if it wasn't for his sire's interest in his ability to understand numbers. Still, Rafael did not leave without wounds of his own. Amidst the carnage, Rafi was caught by one of these Sabbat who reached into his throat with his maw and ripped out his voice box, leaving him as a pathetic shriveling dying man on a puddle of his own blood and piss.

He imagined to have died and perhaps he did but his sire had gotten to him and rescued him, taking Rafi to his haven in Baltimore. Alfred nursed the young capitalist to health, this bonded them and made Rafi his ghoul. Despite all their efforts, Rafi would never be able to talk again. Something about the Sabbat's bite infected the area which prevented him from fully healing. He was now a mute. Thinking the embrace would have finally liberate him from his silence, Rafi served his master loyally and within the year, they were able to establish themselves in a post-vampire-war Baltimore by hiding among the mortals and away from the interest of the Sabbat. 

Sustaining their lifestyle was Rafi's responsibility but only after Alfred would have embraced him. Left with little choice, Alfred embraced him and unfortunately, Rafi did not heal, he still remained a mute, but now he was a vampire. He still managed bringing in contacts and wealth to their little area of speculative finance. Both seers, they practiced on how to hone into the Malkavian Network, and use it to uncover insider secrets they could then sell to the mortals and ghouls. This was lucrative and with all things lucrative, someone bigger was going to want a slice. A Sabbat pack came down on them two, separating them to this day. 

Rafi woke up many feet under the dirt, not really sure how or why, but something found him and pushed him up to the surface. Whatever it was, it did not stay to greet him when Rafi woke up with his ravenous hunger. He latch on some poor homeless man in the park, almost draining him completely until he was able to compose himself and gain self-control. The bum, left for dead, slept peacefully on the bench. Now fed, Rafi would seek out his sire's bolt-holes to look for clues to Alfred's whereabouts. Centuries had passed, now the year 2010, the Camarilla had taken back control of Baltimore and rid the streets off the Sabbat. There were no clues, nothing would have survived the 40+ years he spent in torpor under the park. Still, he had to do something.

He dug up old contacts and from them built new ones, these introduced him to the modern world where Rafi took on quite nicely. A big fan of the internet, he became obsessed with it and hone his skill with the computer. He found that it was very helpful with finance as it connected him with a source of information at the tip of his finger and while not all the time clear and concise, it was better than the riddled mess he had been getting from the Malkavian Network lately. Rafi established an outpost, the Sabbat raided it again but this time it were fledglings, abandoned in the war. They ripped into whatever wealth Rafi had secured and exposed the Haven to the local authorities. The place was burned and everything inside of it lost in an evidence locker. 

Some old stocks held through and he cashed them in to secure himself a limo with a driver that could protect him. This ghoul became his trusted majordomo, an ex-military man and professional driver, Jimmy Cardona. Aware that the Sabbat was still an issue but still unsure about the Camarilla, he took it upon himself to patrol the streets and expose these hidden Sabbats. He did not need to get his hands dirty. A simple call or message to the Camarilla and their hit squads would have raided the Sabbats' hangouts. He never made himself public until 10 years later when the money from the stocks began to dwindle. Having grown accustomed to the road, Rafi took on the archetype of the wandering Cassandra. He did not leave the state and the city but his limo was always running loops around the city, his ghoul and driver fueled with Vitae. 

His time on the road meant that it was just a matter of time until he met Jeff, a road captain. Saving him from a ravenous fledging, he promised to help Rafi out with whatever he needed. Jeff owned a garage but his promise was less certain than you imagined after saving someone's life. Most of the time Rafi couldn't get his limo in for work but Rafi grew to depend on Jeff for info on the road, especially about crazed cannibals coming into the city (ie. Sabbat). As time went on, Jeff and Rafi saw less of each other and Rafi turned back to his financial profession, using his abilities as a seer to uncover insider secrets. Still, he ran Jeff every once in a while to remind the road captain that he was still here.

His information broker, Jane Melman, a hot-shot financial broker on her own right, found popularity in thanks to a lot of the information Rafi was feeding him. She was his way back into the financial sector and helped him get re-established with the banks. Still, he was kept hidden, supposedly for his own protection and as long as investor in Baltimore were getting the upper hand, they did not care who Rafi was. This influence paid for his limo and sustaining his ghoul who despite his undying love for his master still needed to eat, drink, and do what mortals do during the day, if they're not sleeping. Yet it was not enough and sooner or later gas was going to run out. Jane, always a fountain of information (pro quid pro of course), hooked Rafi up with Benno, an IT systems administrator for the Baltimore DMV. Benno mostly looked after the system during overnight which was perfect for Rafi. The man kept Rafi up to date to the attention of the police on his limo. Always helping with those parking tickets.

With the month coming to a close sooner and sooner, Rafi makes his introduction to the Prince of Baltimore and reveals himself to the rest of the Camarilla. A survivor of the Sabbat, he provides a wealth of information on the sect. He shows how he tracks them down and how he can keep everyone aware of their presence in the city. His ability with money does not go unnoticed, and he also provides financial advice to kindreds that ask. He hopes to work on his influence, increasing it and as a result his expendable resources. To then use these resources to upgrade his limo into a haven and purchase a private garage. The main goal being to create a routes through the city for him to go through and make all those late night meetings.