It was a short walk back to the meeting point. With the Tremere illusions in place, it looked as though the tunnel was caved in, even from this side of the door.

Petty, Mickey and Hasan weren't far behind. Petty looked at the exit with disbelief and shook her head. "We're never gonna get out this way," she said. Mickey stepped past her and raised his hand. "Not without excavation equipment and a hell of a lot of bracing-" She cut herself off as the rocks began to melt away.

"Son of a bitch," she remarked. "This whole time..."

"This actually takes considerable effort," Mickey said. "If you please."

One by one, the group stepped through the door. Once safely on the other side, the door was closed and sealed, and the rocks shoved back into place. To a casual observer, it was as if they were never there.

Petty sized Mickey up uneasily, but said nothing. Cal met Liam's eye.

"We can go back out the way we came," he said. "But the fastest exfil is probably to hit the channel. I can call us a lift."

Liam paused and turned to Petty. "This is going to take a lot of explaining. You've... missed some things, much of it rather recently. I'm asking you to trust me. I know that's not an easy ask."

"Mickey is Tremere, but he isn't part of the Pyramid anymore. And Cal isn't a ghoul. He's mortal. He's with the armed forces."

He paused here to let this sink in.

"You're safe. I promise. And we'll figure out where you sit in all this mess after we get you out."

Petty backed away from the group. "So it really is over, then," she remarked. Her eyes darted between them. The Nosferatu, more than any other clan, were conditioned to stay hidden from mortals at all times. No doubt she was feeling exposed.

“It is,” Liam confirmed. “But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The old ways had to end eventually. We’d seen it coming for years. And the plan the Camarilla had concocted to get around it - well there was no place in that world for people like you or like me,” he said gesturing back towards the warrens. “It’s why they sealed you in. You weren’t part of the plan anymore.”

“And I - well I haven’t been part of the plan for a long time.”

“The good news is there’s room for people like us in this new world. We just have to find our place. And you don’t have to do it alone.”

Liam smiled and held out his hand.

“It’s okay if you’re not ready to step out into the open. I get that. Old habits die hard. We can take you to a safe house in the city if you prefer -“ he said, looking to Hasan for confirmation. “But Cal is right. Fastest, and safest way out of here is with their help.”

“The Tremere are watching the sewers. The real Tremere. We side stepped one of their patrols on the way in and the whole place is warded to the nines.”
This message was last edited by the player at 01:38, Sun 02 Jan 2022.

"He's right," Mickey said. "Why do you think you were still living down in the Warrens? After the town was ours, and nobody woulda batted an eye if you walked down the street. They're working with Nazis. What do you think their opinions are on the purity of your bloodline?"

Petty looked scornfully at Mickey, but took in his words. As Liam offered his hand, she reached out. When she first touched him, her hand recoiled like she'd been shocked. She hesitated a moment, then took it.

"If we go south, we'll be spending a night on a frigate," Cal said. "And a chopper will take you wherever you want to go tomorrow. But I promise nobody's gonna fuck with you. They're all scared of me."

"My place is safe enough that you guys were never able to find it," Hasan offered. "And I promise these two," he jabbed a thumb at Mickey and Cal. "Won't be there."

Petty looked between them, weighing her options. "I know what I'd prefer," she said finally. "I'm not worried about dodging the Tremere, but how confident are you?"

Stealthwise, Liam was the weakest of the crew. The question was whether her comfort was worth the additional risk.

Liam smiled as Petunia took his hand. He suspected it had been a long time since she’d done anything like that - far longer than the ten odd years she’d been asleep for. He had said at the beginning that it was his hope that kindred should be allowed to step into the light on their own time. For some that would take longer than others.

“It trust you Cal,” he said without turning away, “But Petty’s had a rough awakening tonight. We’re going to layover at Hasan’s.”

“Good news is the infill went smoothly so we’ve bought ourselves some time. We know where the one patrol is and we’ll avoid it.”

No one living knew the sewers as well as Liam did.

[Roll Wits + Streetwise DC7 to determine your route home. No autos.]

(Spent the WP to bring us home safe. 3 successes.)

13:45, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 2 successes using 8d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 7 with rolls of 4,3,3,3,5,7,4,10.  Wits + Streetwise + WP.

With much of the night left ahead of them, the group could afford to take the long way through the sewers. Several times, they ran afoul of patrols, but Hasan's keen senses along with Liam and Petty's combined knowledge of the sewers, they were able to double back and avoid close contact altogether. It was an hour before dawn when the group finally arrived back at the storm drain under the overpass.

"We've gotta make tracks if I don't want to get caught in the sunrise," Mickey said to Cal.

Cal nodded. "Petty, nice meeting you," he said. "When you're ready to leave the city, come to the airbase. I'll make sure the front gate is expecting you."

Then, to Liam. "Nice work down there," he said. "I'll be in touch tomorrow, but just in case we miss one another, do you have any plans to head into the city?"

"The city? No." Liam shook his head. "What I'd like is to take a couple of nights off if its all the same. Between the airbase and the camera uplink I'd like to think I've earned it," he added with a wink.

"But I'll come by the airbase tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me," Cal said. "Let me know if anything changes."

After a quick goodbye, the two were off back to their fortress. Pockets shrugged a little. "I'm not gonna make it back in time," she said. "So I guess I'm crashing with you."

"Plenty of room at Casa Hasan," said Hasan, leading the way. They had masked their infiltration well, but caution was still warranted. They kept their heads low as they made their way through the Iron Graveyard.

"Safe travels," Liam said as the two groups parted ways. He kept a wary eye about him the whole way back until they were safely within Hasan's walls before heaving a sigh of relief and directing a weary smile towards his peers. "We did it. And no one the wiser."

"Not much time left, but I'll join you for a nightcap if you're up for it, Old Man. I think we've earned it."

"Oh, I think we've earned it," Hasan said, leading the way to the mess. Petty looked unenthused.

Pockets looked at Petty, then at the others. "Count me out," Pockets said. "I'm beat. C'mon toots, let's find you a bed."

Jacob, having heard their return, found his way to the mess as Hasan was pouring the whiskey. "Is this a victory drink, or a consolation drink?"

"You know I never lose," Hasan replied, setting up a third glass. "Bug's been planted, the Nosferatu is rescued, and they're none the wiser. Couldn't have gone better."

"I'll drink to that," Jacob said, taking his drink. He raised his glass to the pair of them. "Our girl got her delivery. She was pleased with the results." He took a sip. "And I don't think she's afraid of us anymore."

Liam waited until the third glass had been poured before reaching for his own and raising it up. "Slaintѐ."

The whiskey burned pleasantly all the way down his throat.

"Was she ever afraid of us? I seem to remember her punching you in the mouth," he said with a grin.

Hasan chuckled, and Jacob rubbed his jaw. "Oh, she still hates me," he said. "But when we first met, she gave me her full attention. The first time I visited her woods, I felt watched the entire time. And she threatened to curse me if I ever set foot there again. Last night, she let me carry those poles into the very heart of her defenses, and let me find my own way out. The feeling I got from her wasn't one of trust. I'd say it was overconfidence, or maybe just confidence."

"Like she could take you in a fight," Hasan concurred. "I get that feeling from her, too."

"Maybe she can," Liam replied. "Wizards might be mortal but they're no less formidable for having a pulse. Mickey said that the thing to remember about fighting wizards is they're unbeatable if given time enough to prepare. Granted he was talking about our kind of wizards, but I expect the principle is pretty broadly generalizable."

"Plus she has the home turf advantage and a family of werewolves squatting in her backyard. I've seen Moira angry. It isn't pretty."

"From what I know of hedge wizards," Jacob said. "No, they generally aren't. Tremere stole power from the kindred because hedge magic was so weak."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you here afraid of her," Hasan said. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren't.

"No, not of her," Jacob replied. He drained his glass, and snatched the bottle, pouring another. He paused, staring at it.

"The creature," he said at last. "It's restless." He rubbed his chest lightly. Though the wounds that Judas' disciple had given him - the corruption-imbued Claw marks sent him into a torpid Fugue so many years ago - had disappeared without a scar long ago, on some deeper level they had never truly healed.

Liam looked down at Jacob's chest automatically. After a moment he tore his eyes away and held out his glass to be filled. "This is a rather depressing way to end the night," he said once he had his drink back in hand.

"What do you think we ought to do?" Liam had already agreed to keep an eye on Robyn earlier that same evening.

"It's not just her I'm worried about," Jacob said. "Noonian's back is against the wall. He's desperate, and looking for ways out. I don't think he knows what's down there yet, but as soon as he does, he's got an army of blood mages. It won't take them long. And let's not forget the Canadian government." He met Hasan's eyes, and the Assamite nodded.

"We won't need those explosives to disable the airbase anymore," he said. "Think it'll be enough?"

"It'll have to be," Jacob said.

"Which explosives?" Liam asked. "The ones Deluca was supposed to deliver? He backed out when the embargo went up. I've got a half brick of C4 and a Mills Grenade without a pin," he said, gesturing at Hasan. "We're not going to blow much up with that at all."

"Definitely not enough," Jacob said. "Damn."

"Better get him back on the phone," Hasan said.

"He still needs payment for the last job," Jacob said. "So we need to meet with him anyway. Getting past the cordon is going to be a problem, but not as much as bringing the explosives back."

Liam nodded and glanced at his watch. "I was planning to fly out to him tomorrow anyway. I'm surprised my phone hasn't been ringing all night as it is."

"Want me to call him now?"

Jacob shook his head. "No, you've done plenty this evening," he said. "Especially if you're planning to meet anyway."

"We'll keep an eye on the ruins 'til it's done," Hasan assured him. "As much as we can."

Liam nodded and drowned the rest of his worries with what remained in his glass. "Until tomorrow then," he said, setting the glass down on the counter. "I'm going to get some sleep."

"I think you've earned it," Jacob said.

"We all have," added Hasan.

[3 xp plus 2 WP for the scene]