Liam awoke early the next evening. He had enough time to collect himself before he heard Hasan stirring.

They were too deep underground to hear whether the rain had let up. Judging from the wet rivulet running down the stairs from the entrance, it was still wet indeed. The cellular service had not been restored. That was good news, considering the degree to which the recent upgrades to the Camarilla surveillance network depended on reliable data services.

"Ugh," Hasan said, looking at his cell phone in disgust as he entered the lounge. "Still no data. How am I gonna learn how the world's going to shit today?"

He made his way to the fridge, and poured half a blood bag into a mug. "Eye opener?" he asked rhetorically, sliding the mug down the countertop towards Liam. He downed the other half straight from the bag.

[+1 BP]

"Thanks," Liam replied, scooping up the mug and swirling the vitae within. He could feel the pull of the Beast again, and though he was hungry he was surprised to find that he was not hungry. There was no edge to it the way there had been before he'd been bound. He took a sip as he wondered at this.

"I've got to follow up with Jin today. It'll take me outside of Verdant Falls. If I hear anything I'll let you know."

"Where's Tyr, by the way?" he asked suddenly, realising that the pair of them had been alone up until now.

"He got his own digs out by the quarry," Hasan said. "He wasn't comfortable sharing space with a Tremere Witch-Hunter, even one getting tortured. I can't say I blame him."

Liam nodded and took another sip from his mug. “And the hunter? Tucked away with a stake in his breast and his veins open? Or is he gone gone?”

Hasan chuckled. "Noooo," he said. "When you do something like that to someone, they tend to resent it. If I let him live I'd be dealing with revenge sooner or later. No loose ends."

"No, I suppose not," Liam replied. He was happier not to know the specifics, he decided. He finished his 'breakfast' in short order and rose with a stretch. "Depending how the night goes, there's a good chance I'll be back here to crash. Need anything while I'm out and about?"

"Nope," Hasan said. "I'm good. Now that I'm benched and got nothing to do I'm finally watching Breaking Bad." He nodded to the TV in the corner.

"So what's on the itinerary?"

"There's a dead drop waiting for me on the other side of Riverhead," Liam explained. "I'll call Jin and find out what's been going on, and see about laying the groundwork for Jacob and company to cross. Then I plan to head back to camp and check in with Pockets and Robyn."

"I expect Jin is going to want me to break into base Bishop sooner than later."

"The crowd he runs with don't like to wait,"  Hasan said. "Be careful. Even if his intentions are good, he's still using you. And it's not just his intentions you need to worry about."

"It wouldn't be the first time I allowed myself to be used," Liam admitted without conceit. "And I know. Its a fine line I'm walking. But I think its the only one that leads to a place where we're ultimately accepted in one form or another. Anything less and we're locked into conflict forever. And I don't have to tell you of all people how long that is."

"Let's hope you're right," Hasan said. He smiled a little, and walked over to the television. He took a video disc out of a boxed set and fed it into the player as he spoke. "Because that's not the only place it leads. Verdant Falls might wind up being remembered as the place that kindled the Second Inquisition."

"I'm glad you're the one that took that leap," he added with a chuckle. "I sure wouldn't want that kind of pressure hanging over me." He flopped on the couch to punctuate the sentence.

"Maybe," Liam admitted. Between the Tremere and the church though, he'd take his chances with the Catholics. "Lets just get it right this time. I'll check in soon. Take care, Old Man."

Making his way up, out into the night he peered up at the sky and judged his best course. He had time tonight to take the circuitous route. There was no need to draw the attention of the aerial patrols.

The aerial patrols would have their hands full. The city was dark. Power had not been restored, so any buildings without the ability to generate their own was black against a cloudy, moonless sky. Though it was no longer pouring, a light misty drizzle hung in the air, making visibility poor. Without cell service to relay commands, the army of mooks was largely useless.

The easiest route was, naturally, a straight flight to the dropoff. The chances of running into an aerial patrol were low; the chances of them successfully calling for backup were even lower.

The safest path would be to take the switchback trail up the ridge, and to skirt the town entirely. Without a car it would take him nearly half the evening, but as he'd be departing from the Iron Graveyard, he'd avoid populated Verdant Falls entirely. With the city in such disarray, the Tremere would be foolish to spread their patrols out so thinly. Unless anyone had been assigned specifically to patrol the disused industrial sector, he doubted he'd meet anyone at all.

Liam made the decision, fateful or otherwise, to make a straight path for the dead drop. He had the cloud cover to hide in as needed and deemed it safe enough to cross the dark city.