Pockets wasn't in her room when Liam awoke. The two of them were upstairs. The news was on.

"Uh, hey man," Robyn said. "You made the news."

The 24-hour news channel's repeating report was just wrapping up, but the chyron stated: "Verdant Falls Mayor and entire family on ventilators." Their expert panelist was speculating wildly as to the outlook of the stricken Gordons. Then it cut to a previously recorded clip of the HollowCorp CEO, part-time deputy mayor, and Keisinger's debaucherous ghoul, Julius Jones, accepting the mantle of acting mayor. He pledged to suspend his duties in corporate life and devote himself full-time to Mayoral duties.

The anchor then announced this news came on the same day as the largest wildfire in Verdant Falls' history had broken out at Taben's Ridge. It was all the way on the other side of the ridge - where Liam and Moira had placed the false trail - and Liam hoped that they didn't choose to spread the fire further.

Liam flopped down on the couch and watched the television in grim silence. Once the segment had run to commercial he took a deep breath and looked at Robyn.

"Well that's not good," he said in frank understatement. "I guess no more running back on foot. They've got their eyes on the woods now."

"Remember what I said about stuff coming back on us?" Robyn said. "My wards'll keep out the fire if it makes it here, but the Tremere are going to clue in about that one patch of woods that doesn't burn."

Liam's satphone rang. He wasn't sure how Maeve was managing to work a phone, but she was on the other end.

"Hey, Liam," she said. Her voice was cheery, but there was a tightness to it that indicated she was anything but. "So, uh, how's the laying low going?"

Liam nodded vaguely at Robyn. He'd been the one to protest that they oughtn't participate on the night of campus break in. Robyn had overruled him. Admittedly, he'd been something of a driving force since then. His heart fell as he looked down at his phone. It took him a second ring to pick it up.

"Could be going better," he acknowledged the voice on the other end. "Robyn and I are just watching the news."

"Ah, she's there? Good. She's next," Maeve said. "So how many people have moved in since we left? Besides the mayor's wife I mean. Those would be the werewolves who arrived, yes? Doesn't matter, one's enough. Let alone bringing Holloway and Al-Rashid there. Do you know how I've kept that place off their radar?"

"One moment, I'm going to put you on speaker phone," Liam said. He looked at Robyn regretfully and mouthed mom's mad.

"By not bringing anyone back here?" Liam said in answer to Maeve's question.

Robyn stifled a chuckle, and sat up straight as though Maeve could see it over the phone.

"Right," Maeve replied. "Aside from the obvious and climbing risk of plants, you also need to be careful about people who'd be willing to sell you out for a better seat at the Tremere table. And you've especially got to worry about people who may have taken a liking to all that structure. It sounds crazy, but you've been to war. Tell me I'm wrong."

"I also kept it off their radar because I wasn't going galavanting with those two walking disasters," Maeve said. "You think we didn't try to work with those two? Oh, we even pulled off a couple...what's he call them? 'Decisive blows' at his beckoning. But it was never enough. He just kept pushing, and pushing, and eventually they'd retaliate. Do shit like... Well, we were smart enough not to go hiding in the woods, but they woulda burned 'em down to try to get to us. And anyone who got caught in the middle was collateral damage. I told you to be careful around him. And you took up arms with him your first week back."

"To be fair, I was the one who joined in," Robyn said. "And fifteen people are alive now that wouldn't be, because I did."

"Robyn, a week before I left I had to talk you out of driving to Montreal and throwing a brick at the cops," Maeve said.

"They never woulda caught me," Robyn said quietly to Liam.

"Liam, your job is to protect her, above anything else," Maeve said. "Do a better job or I'll find someone to replace you. And no more Holloway. He's bad news around anyone you want to stay alive."

Liam looked out the window. He sat silently for a few moments as he looked at the faces huddled round the campfire, new and old. Then he looked over at Robyn and smiled faintly.

"You're not wrong, Maeve," he said at last. "I know just how important Robyn's work is. I'll be better."

Robyn wasn't wrong either though. Fifteen lives had been spared because of her. It was going to be impossible to strike a balance that agreed with both women. He had to find one that squared with his own conscience, and that meant keeping Robyn alive no matter what.

"Damn right you will," Maeve said. "Now take me off speaker." When they were speaking confidentially, Maeve asked a question.

"Tell me one last thing. Those fifteen people. We're they going to die because of something that the Tremere were doing, or something that Jacob was going to do?"

"We levelled Teasdale Hall," Liam replied, looking at Robyn as he spoke. "The Tremere were using it like a rendering plant, turning people into vessels - human bloodbags like the kind I saw in Europe before you came for me. They would have died eventually, but before then they would have suffered a fate worse than death. Kept alive for weeks or months until the Tremere had squeezed every last drop of blood out of them."

"Jacob would have hastened their deaths. It's what I did in Bergen and the kindest thing that could otherwise be done, all things considered. Not everyone made it regardless. But those that survived owe their lives to Robyn. She's braver than I am, Maeve. And almost as stubborn."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Mon 14 Sept 2020.