"So do we all," Augusto said dryly. "I'm not too worried about what my life's gonna look like when this all comes out. Hell, they'd lock me up if they knew what I was up to, vampire or no vampire. For all I know this could work out well for me. The feds might be so focused on rooting out vampires and werewolves and assorted oogly-booglies that the people who hunt down weapons smugglers lose their resources."

Liam smiled. "That's the spirit," he said, reaching for his drink. "Anyway, now that you're in on the secret I may as well get your thoughts. This is as much your area as mine."

"For this to look convincing I'm going to need to blow the entrance, and I'm going to have to make it look like I've tried to take down the interior structure as well. The boys will be watching."

"I know we're working on a clock now, but these charges - can your guy mock up a couple dummies to plant deeper in? I'll plant the... 'ka-boom-boom' around the entrance. Concentrate my efforts."

"A distraction would also help - something to peel some eyes off me while I work. Any thoughts you might have on the matter would be appreciated."

"Mmm," Augusto said, pursing his lips. "You might get away with some homemade flashbangs if they're far enough out. But neither of them are slouches when it comes to explosives. Don't matter what you use, if they're close enough they'll feel the fake-out in the ground. Or won't feel it, if you get me. If you wanna pull the wool over their eyes, make sure they aren't there."

"But from what I know about those two, they can't say no to an easy fight. Especially when the Tremere are involved. If there's anything that might threaten their good standing with the government, something they can put a stop to, they might go for that instead. It'd be hard to manufacture something like that, but maybe some intel can help you out."

"Jacob's also a big diplomat. If the Gangrel you're babysitting need attention, or if they choose to make their move when you're setting up the explosives, that might draw them away too."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:09, Sun 28 May 2023.

Liam rubbed his eyes and took another sip. "That's... pretty good advice actually. Gives me something to think about at any rate. I'll see what I can do with it when I get back to the city."

"I can't say I envy you the task ahead," Augusto said bleakly, taking another large sip. "I don't think it's a matter of failure or success. Just how much collateral damage you're going to inflict."

"I know," Liam replied somberly. "There's no winning here. There's just... less losing. I pray to God its enough."

Liam raised his glass.

"Anyway. Here's hoping I make it to the Amalfi coast."

"Yeah, I think you've earned a long and quiet retirement," Augusto said with a chuckle. He raised his glass. "You all have." With that, he drained it.

Liam drained his glass and set it down on the table between them. "Mind if I make a phone call before turning in?" he asked.

"My boat is your boat," Augusto said with a gesture. "See you tomorrow."

Liam headed up to his cabin and fished out his personal phone. He'd given Petty a burner phone before she left for Toronto. With any luck she still had it.

The phone rang twice. There was an audible click, and it rang again. A familiar voice answered. "My knight in shining armour."

"You made it," Liam said, smiling on his end though Petty couldn't see it. "News takes a while to reach us in the city, but I hear you left with a bang."

"How are you settling in?"

"Oh I'm doing great," Petty said. "Getting sealed up in a sewer for a decade was the best thing to happen to my career. Or, I guess, getting the info out about what happened was. Now I'm coordinating the task force keeping tabs on the Tremere. They're real pissed off at you. The Tremere, I mean. Not the task force."

Liam chuckled. "They'll have plenty more cause to be pissed at me before I'm through with them. They picked this fight."

"Have you got eyes in the city then, or are you keeping tabs on their activities outside of Verdant Falls? We can't get a cell signal apart from government channels so it can't be easy to look inside."

"All we've got is satellite feeds," Petty said. "But they're doing plenty outside the city. They're all over social media whipping people into a frenzy over the blockade. Covid deniers and antimaskers mostly, cause they're the same people from their old recruiting pipelines, but they're making a lot of headway with police brutality opponents, too. Not to mention parliament. I know the official story for the information blackout is storm damage they can't repair, but they're going to have to restore service sooner rather than later. They've got the NDP and the Conservatives standing together fighting them over it. There's already a picket at the highway checkpoint, and it's only gonna grow."

"But really, it's all a diversion. We think they're going to wait for the protest to get big enough, start a riot, and slip their VIPs out in the confusion."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 20:06, Thu 01 June 2023.

"Well we can't have that happen," Liam remarked. "Any idea what sort of timeline we might be looking at?"

"I don't suppose there's a buried hardline that I could use to reach you from within the city? Something the Tremere wouldn't know about? I'm in Montreal at the moment, but as soon as I head back I'll be cut off again."

"Nah, there's only one physical backbone that runs out of the city," Petty said. "And the government cut that. If it were Toronto or Montreal? Different story. But Verdant Falls is way out there."

"But hey, Pockets is resourceful," she added. "And if she's any kinda nerd, she's working hard to get the Internet back."

"My conservative estimate is two weeks," she added. "But they're rallying people hard, and it's pretty easy to get people on board with venting their frustration right now. I know you've been outta the news lately but shit's kinda fucked up."

The last Liam had heard any news, anti-brutality protests were making the headlines both in the US and Canada. The Americans were headed into a viciously polarized election that was too close to call. Vaccines were undergoing trials, but it was hoped they'd be ready for winter.

"Two weeks," Liam echoed. "Well. That's a bitch. I may have a word with Flores. Might be time for the gangrel to tighten the screws on van Fokke. Seems like we're running out of time."

"Whatever screws are left to tighten," Petty said. "The other clans are working hard to distance themselves from the conspiracy. From what I can tell, the Ventrue might split in two over this. If the Camarilla were still working, they'd have expelled the Tremere by now. There's so little faith in the institution as a whole that the clans who left are talking about forming their own council. It's end times, man. I tell ya."

Liam was silent for a few moments while he pondered this revelation. "I wonder if Jacob's voice still carries any weight across the pond. It would be poetic justice if Jacob Halloway was the one who finally tore the ventrue in two."

"If anything, it carries more weight now than ever," Petty said. "Everything he's ever done has been to thumb his nose at the Jyhad, and his role in exposing the Fugue is well-known. I think it's really where he should be focusing his attention, and I'm not the only one who feels that way."

"I'll talk to Jacob when I get back. Presuming I can convince him he's needed elsewhere I may put him in touch with you. He'll need to be brought up to speed quickly if he has any hope of intervening in time."

"The situation in Verdant Falls is volatile, but it's pretty much contained," Petty said. "A Camarilla civil war is gonna be bad for everyone. And it's gonna tell the governments of the world that we can't police ourselves. Which might be fair, all things considered."

"We can't be trusted to police ourselves," Liam replied. "That's how we got here. One way or another, the future is going to look very different for us."

"Anyway I'll have Pockets reach out once she manages to establish a connection. In the meantime I'll work on Jacob and see what I can do to push back against the Tremere before our time is up."

"Yeah, tell that silly bitch that we've opened the back door," said Petty. "She'll know what I mean."

With that, they said their pleasantries and Liam was left with an early bedtime. The bed was soft, and the room was safe. It was best to get the sleep in while he had the chance.

[6XP for the scene, plus refill your temporary WP]