"Eh," Jan said with a shrug. "Not much trouble I can get into sitting around on my ass."

"That's a good thing. I had a really good night last night, Jan. The nicest I've had in a while. If that's what sitting on your ass entails, I think I could do with some more of it. Is it alright if I look you up again the next time I'm in town?"

"I'd like that," Jan said with a smile. "Make sure it's not so long a wait next time."

"Maybe next time I'll have some blinds that don't suck," she added with a wink.

"No, hopefully just a few weeks instead of a few years," Liam said, leaning in for a hug. "Take care of yourself, Jan."

Liam pulled on his coat as he let go and headed downstairs.

The parking lot across the street from Jan's place looked much the same as any urban parking lot would look with pandemic volume. His car was where he left it. As far as his eyes could see in the dark, he was alone.

[roll per+alert DC8]

[should be an auto for Liam, his die pool is 9. As a roll though he gets zero successes.

06:58, Today: Liam O'Farrell failed (no successes) using 9d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 7,3,1,2,6,9,1,8,4.  Per + Alertness.]

Liam paused at the door and reached for his cigarettes. He'd actually done reasonably well to cut down in recent nights, having only had one the night before in the motel room with Jin. But it was a practised motion and one that anyone familiar with him would expect. It was also an excellent opportunity to linger a few moments longer beside his car and take stock of his surroundings.

Liam caught the edges of a dark shadow in the unfamiliar reaches of his new car's rear footwell. He must have hitched his step, because a moment later the rear driver's side door flew open and struck him on the side. He staggered, and by the time he found his footing, Rick was already out of the back seat and pointing a sawn-off shotgun in his face.

"I'm going to assume that you weren't lying about having your powers bound," he said. "So just hold still."

In his free hand, he held a miniscule spray bottle, as one would find in a single-use perfume sampler. He held it to Liam's face and sprayed it. Liam didn't feel very different, though the nigh-imperceptible effects of last night's vaulderie melted away. Evidently, Hasan had shared his spoils with his ghoul.

"Now talk," he said. "Who is he and what's his game?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Rick," Liam said, taking a long drag on his now slightly sodden cigarette. "Would you get that thing out of my face?"

"He's Government of Canada. Do you think we're the only people with a stake in Verdant Falls? He has a million fucking citizens he's responsible to."

"He's a spook?" Rick said. "You brought a Fed to my apartment?" He lowered the gun. "Well shit, man, you bring him round my place all evasive, so when I call Hasan to ask what's up with your new ghoul, what do you think he told me? I thought you'd been mooked. I kinda wish you had."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:24, Sat 13 Feb 2021.

"Pockets handiwork got us flagged at the border," Liam explained. "The papers were good, but no one leaves Verdant Falls. Ever. Jin's racket is your old gig at the SIU but at the federal level. Kindred. Fera. Things that go bump in the night, as he puts it. And Verdant Falls, the city that fell of the grid. So perfect that no one ever leaves, and no one ever chooses to go back again."

"Rick, I'm sure you've gamed this out. That bottle in your hand there is the death of all secrets. If we succeed, there's no coming back again. The world knows we're here, or will soon enough. There are only two ways this ends, and I'm trying to lay the foundations for the option in which there's an honest to God place for us. But that means we don't get to play by our own rules any more. We play by the rules of our countries, just like everyone else. With social insurance numbers, and passports, and tax returns, and all the rest of the baggage that comes with being part of society. Its what you and I fought for in France. Its delightfully boring. And no one jumps out of the backseat of your car and sticks a gun in your face."

"Because the alternative is to have to hide forever. I could do that. For decades, if I had to. You could, and so could Hasan. But Jan can't. Moira and the kids. Its just not possible."

"I've told Jin I want to reclaim my citizenship. And I'm going to help him pry Base Bishop out of the hands of the Tremere and deliver it back to the RCAF."

Rick groaned, and concealed the shotgun underneath his coat. "Make sure that you get your deal writing," he said. "And that you're getting immunity for crimes past and present. Hell, the weapons charges alone could put us all away for a century."

"I'd appreciate some honesty, next time. A heads-up that you're about to give my face, name and address to a government official, at least. What branch is he from, exactly?"

"CSIS. Special Operations Branch," Liam replied, digging the business card out of his pocket to show to Rick.

"And you're right. I'm sorry. I should have been upfront with you."

"We're still hammering out the details, but I'll get it in writing. Before Jin can give me anything though, he has his own house to clean. He's not the first agent to be tasked with looking into Verdant Falls. He's just the first one who didn't go straight over and get mooked."

"You know, you'd be really fucking good at this," he said. "You've been working the other end of it for the past fifty years."

Rick inspected the card and handed it back. "I've worked with people like him before," he said. "If he's going to put a knife in your back, don't expect him to be the one holding it. His agency's job is to scout the information, and call in another agency to do the wetwork. Also means his powers are limited. Be careful of what he promises because it not might be his to grant. Legally, he's not even allowed to be armed; but they break the law all the time."

"You can trust the government to look out for its own best interests. Beyond that, you can't trust them at all. Watch your back, and above all, don't give them any dirt on anyone you consider a friend."

He sighed, and scratched his head. "Man, I really liked that apartment."

Liam took the card back and tucked it into his pocket. "I'm sorry, Rick," he repeated. "It was a nice apartment," he conceded.

"I'll let you know what comes of it. Of Bishop. Of the citizenship request. Of everything. I don't want to have to live like this forever. Waiting for the knife. Its suffocating. And I don't even breath."

"Well, I hope your decision was the right one," Rick said. "Because you made it for all of us." He turned his back and began walking away.

Liam took a long drag on his cigarette as he watched Rick walk away. "Me too, Rick," he said quietly. Flicking the butt to the ground he buried it under his heel. "Me too."

Opening the door and climbing in to the driver's seat, he reached for his phone. Meet you in the west end in thirty he typed. He'd figure out the where when he got closer. Montreal wasn't his city, and he didn't feel very welcome at the moment. It was time to move along.

Jin met him in the parking lot of a Shawarma King, while halfway through one of the aforementioned business' wares. His face was covered in sauce, but his hands were immaculate. He hopped in the passenger seat with a quick "thanks" and took another bite as Liam drove off.

"You weren't followed, I take it?" he asked through a mouthful. Something about his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

"No," Liam said. He sounded subdued as he pulled back into traffic.

"No. I wasn't followed. Rick was waiting for me in my car when I came outside. I told him the truth. He deserved to hear it. Maybe that's why I chose to bring you up to his apartment last night. Because of everyone in my circle, I knew he'd be the least trusting of the government and yet he still deserved to know. I don't know."

"In either case, I burned a bridge tonight. Even knowing that I got here by trying to do the right thing, I can't help but feel like an asshole for doing it."

He looked sideways at Jin for a moment. "Lets just make sure it was worth it."

Jin chewed thoughtfully as Liam spoke. "Rick's got plenty of reason to mistrust the government," he answered. "Considering how much of their dirty work he did. And I bet he feels burned by you - in the trade sense of the word. And I can't say that's a particularly unfair assessment. Don't expect to get invited to any parties in the next little while."

"But consider the alternative," he said, taking another bite. "You freeze me out, or have me killed - what does that get you? Sure, it's going to take longer for us to get a bead on you and your little cadre of insurgents, but boy howdy do you make a much worse first impression. We lump you in with the Tremere and the Sabbat, and dispose of you like we dispose of any domestic threat."

"Trust me when I say your biggest enemy following the big reveal is going to be human ignorance. When it comes to the government, I'm your only lifeline."

"You don't have to convince me, Jin," Liam replied. "I've been alive a long time. I know I don't get another opportunity like this. Its the right move, but it doesn't make the pill any easier to swallow. Rick was one of the first people I met in Verdant Falls. He was a good friend."

"And the kicker is I don't think he'll try to interfere. He may go to ground, but the decision I've made is one he'll let me live with."

"Anyway, what's done is done. You have a division to regain control of, and I have some allies to contact. Should I just wait to hear from you?"

"Uh, nope," Jin replied. "Call me the minute you're back in Verdant Falls and we'll see where I am. I can't help but notice you're driving the other way, though. Business in Ontario?"

"Hoping to find an old friend. Garou. He could make a big difference back in Verdant Falls, if he's inclined."

"Be sure to introduce me, if you're successful," Jin said. "You can drop me at pretty much any police station along the way. I'm not picky."

He let the silence sit for a moment. "And for what it's worth... thanks."

"For what?" Liam asked, legitimately surprised by the gesture.

"For doing the right thing," Jin said. "For breaking a thousand-year silence and helping me clean up my own house. For giving me intel at your own risk, even though it meant paying a price. Just because it was the only sane option doesn't mean it wasn't a difficult call to make."