Damaged

by Graham Kinniburgh

Introduction

Annabelle Gillick, a one-time Delta Green ‘friendly’, is becoming a danger to the people around her. Gillick, a psychic, was assisting a Delta Green agent just over two years ago when her sensitive mind was exposed to alien emanations projected by an otherworldly entity. This drove her mad and until recently she has been in a catatonic state, waging and slowly losing an internal war with the nightmare impulses that have infected her. Her control is slipping, and her damaged mind is projecting echoes of the creature's terrible consciousness to those around her – to caustic effect. Enter the player-characters; A-Cell just learned about Gillick, and are concerned she is a security threat.

What A-Cell know

A-Cell was already worried about Agent ELLIS when he landed another problem in their lap. ELLIS is really Michael Beggs, a DEA agent recently suspended pending the outcome of a corruption investigation. Already wary of any ‘exposure’ from his activities, the conspiracy has just received an e-mail from him revealing the existence of Gillick, a ‘friendly’ whom ELLIS had used covertly on several ops and who is now apparently in a mental health facility. ELLIS, who exploited her talents and her successes, made it clear that he felt responsible for her current ‘situation’ and confessed that the charges are a consequence of attempts to raise the funds for her fees. ELLIS, feels that the organisation should "do the right thing and look after her'".
This has alarmed A-Cell who, motivated less by fraternal concern than by worries about what Gillick might be saying and to whom, have decided to send in the player Cell.

Cell Briefing

The Cell is contacted as usual and instructed as follows:

1. The conspiracy has recently become aware of Annabelle Gillick, a resident of Rose Lawn House – a residential psychiatric facility.
2. They are concerned that Gillick may have sensitive information about their operations and that she might be sharing this information with other ‘civilians’.
3. The Cell is to check Gillick out, and establish if there's a risk to organisational security.
4. The Cell is to take ‘appropriate steps’ as required.
5. The briefing will divulge nothing about Agent ELLIS, or the fact that Gillick is a former ‘friendly’.

Research – Annabelle Gillick

1. Agents who research this name can uncover the following with a successful Internet/Library Use:
2. A claim in an online ‘psychic abilities’ forum that an Annabelle Gillick used her ‘powers of psychometry’ assisting a Kentucky State Police investigation into a murder five years ago [psychometry: A form of psychic reading in which one individual is said to obtain details about another through physical contact with their possessions.]. Officially denied by police authorities, the story may be confirmed privately by individual detectives who were impressed by the insights she gained at the crime scene.

Research - Rose Lawn House (located anywhere that suits the Keeper).

Agents who research the institution before visiting (success on Internet/Library Use) will find out the following per success made:

1. Rose Lawn House has enjoyed an excellent reputation since inception in the mid-eighties and has enjoyed considerable success in rehabilitating persons with long term mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders and sexual and physical abuse.
2. The ‘community’ is one where people with mental health issues can be treated in a comfortable environment. A ‘dedicated team’ of 20 nursing staff look after the patients (administering medicines, conducting physiotherapy/exercise etc).Three resident doctors, together with visiting therapists, social workers and family physicians monitor and treat their mental health.
3. Residents (up to 30 at any given time) are generally drawn from comfortable backgrounds and this is reflected in the amenities and general comfort of the facility – each patient has their own ‘individualised’ room and there are extensive facilities for exercise/recreation.
4. An article advises of the recent suicide of a Doctor James Millman, one of the resident doctors and noted expert in treating victims of mental trauma.
5. A further three patients have committed suicide at the institution in the last 2 months.
6. Agents with LEO contacts / access to appropriate databases will also uncover:
7. Several reports of violent self harm and assault involving patients and/or staff necessitating emergency call-outs from police and paramedics. In some cases, charges are pending, though some of these are complicated by issues of ‘mens rea’.
8. The fact that a man recently arrested locally on a ‘violent stabbing spree’ was employed by the cleaning company contracted to work at the facility.

Visiting

Agents should be able to devise a reason to visit the facility (perhaps as relatives of potential residents). Situated in spacious grounds it comprises an Administration block Recreation block, three residential blocks housing ‘apartments’ and a Maintenance block from which the building manager, etc operate. The grounds are surrounded by a high wall with access through an electric gate. The site is monitored via discrete CCTV (from Admin) by a total of four security guards rotating weekly through two twelve hour shifts.

First impressions

The most striking thing about the place will be the air of depression amongst the people they meet; staff and patients alike will appear unkempt and listless - the shabbiness and untidiness at odds with the facility's reputation. Many permanent staff will be absent on sick leave (depression and stress) and agency staff sent to backfill are visibly on the way to following them.

Staff and patients (the following can be gleaned from surveillance, interviews, or from case notes filched physically from locked files in offices in Admin, or hacked from the institution's data-bases).

Doctors Matt Johnston and Fiona Glennie – the surviving resident colleagues of the recent suicide Millman – are in a state of bewilderment about the way that things are unravelling around them. If interviewed, they make an attempt to represent Rose Lawn in a positive light but mentioning recent tragedies will embarrass and discomfit. Both share Millman's workload; Johnston has ‘inherited’ Gillick. He's reviewed Millman's notes but doesn't suspect Gillick is the root cause.

Other staff and patients can be created as needed; here are some pointers about how to run them:

Person in close proximity to Gillick are the worst affected. Residents of her residential block and those who deal with her daily are becoming severely mentally ill – suffering a range of symptoms including severe depression, nightmares, violent mood swings, obsessions with draconic and reptilian imagery and, in some cases, developing acute apotemnophilia (hence the incidences of self harm). Perversely, some of them are slavishly loyal to Gillick and (psychically ‘tuned’ to her) will come to her aid if she is threatened.

Other staff and patients are not as severely ill as these unfortunates, but most are in some way affected by Gillick's projections, their mental health crumbling slowly. Only those with the greatest of wills are immune to feelings of depression, listlessness and occasional rage.

Annabelle Gillick

• Gillick has been ‘psychic’ all her adult life, keeping her powers hidden until a sense of compassion compelled her to put them to use and she came to ELLIS's attention.

• Two years ago, Gillick was assisting with an investigation into ritualised killings occurring in Maltbee County, Kentucky. Disastrously, her mind became briefly linked to that of a Lloigor – driving her insane and infecting her psyche with terrible echoes – echoes she now projects despite her efforts not to.

• Dr Millman's records about Gillick (copies held in Admin, and electronically) show that she was sent here two years ago by her ‘cousin’ Walter Gillick (an alias of ELLIS) who claimed he had found her ‘distressed’ after a visit. (Accounting successes may uncover this link to ELLIS/Beggs). For most of her stay she was catatonic, allowing herself to be cared for, but showing few signs of awareness. Millman suspected this was due to post-traumatic-stress, cause unknown. She recently began to respond to treatment - causing the problems at Rose Lawn as she ‘awoke’. Gillick warned Millman about the danger she posed – whispering how dangerous work for ‘the government’ involving the supernatural had left her ‘damaged’ - but he put it down to paranoid delusion before taking his own life.

• Technically, access to Gillick is restricted to known relatives and authorised staff, but the apathetic nature of the regime will mean that agents should easily circumvent this.

• Gillick is physically weak and spends all her time in her ‘apartment’. She is now mostly lucid and aware of the damage she is causing – issuing dire warnings in a whisper. She naturally wants to live and will try to garner sympathy for her plight (believing herself possessed' and requesting ‘exorcism’ accordingly). She will use her powers to defend herself if necessary.

Additional complications

Rose Lawn is a semi-public place; regular visitors are worried and may contact authorities already concerned at recent events.

ELLIS: Guilt ridden and edgy, have him show up to reveal Gillick's past as a friendly and/or to hinder any attempts to harm her.

A-Cell: further directives will be suitably callous regarding the fates of Gillick and ELLIS.

And the stats:

Annabelle Gillick (Age, 32.)

STR 6 CON 13 SIZ 12 INT 15 POW 17
DEX 11 APP 15 EDU 14 SAN 56 HP 12
Magic Points: 48*

Appearance: White female, pale, freckled with red hair.

**Special Abilities: **

• Gillick can ‘read’ minds and/or physical objects and locations to a certain extent visualising any acts of violence or trauma that occurred in the location or to the person involved. She can use this ability to build empathy with people she encounters – ‘sharing their pain’.
• In addition Gillick's mind projects echoes of the insidious Lloigor mind she encountered.
• Anyone spending more than half an hour in contact with Gillick will have to check v SAN. Success = 1 lost point and a feeling of extreme discomfort as if being scrutinised by a hostile, alien mind (despite her efforts to be empathetic). Failure means a 1D6 loss and a night's sleep plagued with nightmares of reptiles and terrible dragons. Loss equating to temporary or indefinite insanity will result in suicidal depression and/or a desire to amputate one's own limbs to assuage feelings of guilt. In some cases (failed POW x 5 roll) the victim may become extremely violent.
• Gillick also causes an automatic 1 point SAN loss to anyone sleeping within one mile of her, each and every time they do so. *A failed POW x 5 roll means that she has leeched 1D6 Magic Points too to be added to her own total. Cumulative losses result in a worsening of any existing mental condition, and feelings of extreme lethargy.
• Telekinetic effects: Gillick, in extremis, can move objects with the power of her mind. It costs her 5 Magic Points per point of SIZ she wishes to move.
• Vortex Attack: If in mortal danger (i.e. terrified for her life and/or wounded and close to death), Gillick will expend 20 Magic points and unleash a ‘psychic vortex’ that will cause 1D20 HPs damage to everything within 12 feet. This includes Gillick herself.

Agent ELLIS (real name: Michael Beggs, DEA agent).
STR 13 CON 15 SIZ 14 INT 15 POW 13
DEX 15 APP 12 EDU 16 SAN 54 HP 14

**Skills: See DEA template in Delta Green rulebook. **