Liam grunted. He was drunk and he had no witty rejoinder at the ready. Mickey had his points, certainly. Liam just couldn't get himself around the bigger picture, and in his heart he still strongly felt he was in the right.

He paused, bottle in hand, before the homunculus, and stared up into its vacant eyes. With fey blood coursing through his veins, if ever Seavers' steward were to make its presence felt now was the time - even if it was just a trick of his own imagination.

"I don't know. I feel as though I'd always be trespassing," he slurred after a few moments. "Its a sight nicer than the sewers though, believe you me."

"Better someone he cares about than some undead aristocrat five or so decades down the line," Mickey said. "Don't need to answer right away. We won't be done with it for a few months. Either way you'll be getting cozy at the Alhambra for a while. I suspect the boss will want to have you on hand to answer any questions that come up. I got more than a few, too."

He wobbled toward the door. "This Fae stuff should make for an interesting limo ride home," he said, mostly to himself. He gestured at the Open doorway. "After you."

Liam hiccuped and nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, sir," he said, stepping out into the brisk air of the evening with a bottle in hand and a cigarette on his lip.

The walk back to the car was spent mostly in silence. The long dark tunnel from Seavers' haven to the bookstore was much easier to navigate, adorned as it was by the same luminous vines that snaked their way across the ceiling of the great hall. The shorter of the two Witch-Hunters - not the one who had cast the binding - had moved into the bookstore. He was checking his tie in the window glass. He turned as the two appeared from the back.

"What, you got a date tonight?" Mickey quipped.

"No, sir," the Witch-Hunter replied. "Just want to look my best when we walk him in."

"Hes public enemy number five," Mickey said. "One of the architects of the VFU massacre. You could walk him in wearing a pink tutu for all the boss cares. Step lively. Assholes and elbows."

With that, he led Liam outside. The SUV had been joined by a stretch limousine. The taller Witch-Hunter grinned widely as they appeared. The limo driver stood dutifully by the rear door, and opened it as Mickey approached.

There was no sign of Hasan, or his rescue.

Mickey gestured to the limousine. "Your chariot awaits."

"What, only number five?" Liam inquired, ambling towards the open door and managing to walk a commendably straight line. "I've been dragging my heels evidently. Who's number four?"

"The Nagarajah with the iron mask," Mickey said, avoiding the name like a curse. "Fucker's a blight. We've had a bit of a tech problem all over the city for the better part of a decade. Turns out that... Thing can just murder a piece of electronics with its brain and its been behind it all along. Also, it eats a lot of Redwatch ghouls. Like, one every coupla weeks, depending on the size of the last one he bagged."

"Uh, sir, should we be telling him this?" the short one said. He gestured for his partner to follow. The boss was faced.

Mickey gave him a scathing glance, and shuffled over as the other two piled into the back. As soon as the door was closed, he banged twice on the roof and the vehicle began to move. Mickey sat next to Liam, facing forward. The tall one sat across from him, and the privacy screen was closed. As they rolled towards the Alhambra, Mickey continued.

"The new bloods, they don't even bother engaging it anymore. They'll just watch as it melts out of nothing, snaps their buddy's neck, and drags the corpse into a shadow. Ever see a herd of antelope? Kinda like that. They've figured out there's nothing that can do that won't just feed it more."

"My theory is that there's nothing behind the mask," the short one said. "Just a mouth with no face."

"Don't mythologize the enemy," the tall one said. "He's just a really fucked up old vampire that eats instead of drinks blood."

"Oh, you're no fun anymore," the short one said. His hand moved faster than Liam could see. In an instant, it was at the tall one's chest. The handle of a stake driver was clutched in his closed fist. The stake had already found its mark. A look of complete surprise was frozen across the tall one's face

Mickey was operating on a full Kindred constitution, and as a consequence the wine had not hit him nearly so hard as it had Liam. Even inebriated as he was, he was still a Witch-Hunter elite. He had answered with a blast of wild magic, hitting the short one in the ribs.

Liam's options were limited, trapped as he was in his own body, and he knew it. He possessed no weapons to speak of that could harm another vampire and throwing himself between Mickey and Hasan (as Liam presumed) was not only futile but foolish. About the only thing he could do was buy Hasan time by disorienting the bonded Tremere. Liam's hand found the spray bottle in his pocket. Drunk as he was, misting a seated man in an enclosed space was hardly a challenge.

Mickey's own words echoed in Liam's headed, given added life by the fae blood coursing through his veins.

"Not all of them were monsters - though many were. But when the time came to kill them, I never hesitated."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:52, Mon 30 Nov 2020.

The spray certainly succeeded in disorienting Mickey. The short Witch-Hunter took the opportunity to produce a katar from his coat, and plunge it into Flynn's chest. His hand moved much more slowly than the last time, and it was his turn to be surprised.

Mickey did the only prudent thing he could do in such a situation. He opened the door and rolled out.

"God dammit," the short one said. His features melted away, revealing Hasan in an ill-fitting uniform. He slapped the privacy screen and shouted. "Step on it, we're blown!"

Liam looked out the open door at the fallen figure of Mickey rolling away into the night, and wondered what fresh hell he'd just unleashed. "Hasan, he's been sprayed," he slurred. Presumably Hasan had watched him do just this but in his inebriated state Liam felt this bore repeating.

"Fuck me."

He looked to the other witchfinder for help, but witchfinders didn't carry guns. They didn't need them.

The privacy screen slid down, and the ghoul looked back through the rear view mirror. His eyes were wide with fear. "W-w-where we going, mister?"

"North," Hasan said, pulling a high-calibre revolver from his coat. "We make for the trees." He looked at Liam. "Unless you've got a better idea."

Liam turned away from the road and closed the door sharply. They'd already drawn too much attention to the woods as it was. He wasn't about to bring any more heat down on the village if he could help it, and he didn't have a hope in hell of outrunning the gangrel scouts like this.

"Where are the remaining choppers parked?" He could fly now. At least, on a simulator.

"If they're not in the air now, I imagine they're about to be scrambled," Hasan said. "That fucker bound me, so disappearing is out." He fished an earpiece out of his pocket, and grabbed another for himself.

"I... I can get us underground," the limo driver said. "I know a parking garage with access to public works."

"They'd follow us in, but we'd still have a better chance of losing 'em than topside," Hasan said. "We can also try Nex. I'd have owing that creep a favour though."

He placed his radio in his ear. "How we lookin' boys?"

"You got two inbound," Jacob said over the earpiece. "A third's going for that Witch-Hunter, probably going to mean more action soon. Speaking of which, I got a clear shot at him. I can take it, but it'll give away my position."

"Your call, Liam," Hasan said. He opened the sunroof and cocked the revolver. "I got some hunting to do."

Liam caught the driver's eye in the rear view mirror. "Take us there," he said with a confidence he wasn't sure he truly felt. Hasan was right, it would be easier to lose their tail in the public works than out in the open. Liam lurched forward in the cabin and threw open the staked witch hunter's coat, patting down his pockets for anything of use.

"Hold your shot, Jacob," he said over the microphone. "I'm pretty sure we'll still need you in reserve."

The Witch-Hunter had a stake driver of his own on his person, as well as a pouch filled with strange herbs and magical reagents. As the driver sped and wove through the streets, he spied Liam looking for a weapon.

"There's a gun in the trunk," he said helpfully. "Look behind the armrest."

There was indeed a small access hatch behind the central armrest. A high-calibre battle rifle - doubtlessly lojacked - was resting securely in a rack.

Hasan fired off two rounds. "One down," he said.

Liam nodded at the helpful ghoul as he pulled out the rifle and checked the magazine. "What's your name?" he asked, rolling down the window so he could join Hasan in fending off their pursuers.

"Ted Givens," the limo driver said.

Liam poked his head out the window just in time to see one of the scouts blasted apart in a bloom of feathers. The second scout was far more agile, shifting shape in midair and landing claws-first on the hood of the car. Ted cried out, and swerved a little. The Gangrel's Haze was fixed on the driver as he reached for his sidearm.

"Pleased to meet you, Ted," Liam said as he unloaded the battle rifle from near point blank range at the scout. Even drunk and bound he was a solid shot.

2 successes.
01:59, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 2 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,5,1,10,9,4.  Dex + Firearms - 2.

The gun was already in the Gangrel's right hand when Liam opened fire. He bucked back as the shots raked across his chest, and his grip on the hood loosened. Ted made a hard left, and the Gangrel was tossed clear. The roar of engines and whirling of chopper blades warned of reinforcements speeding their way, They were, for the moment, clear of pursuers. Ted took the opportunity to veer into an underground lot beneath a hulking skyscraper.


As they wound down the floors of the parking structure, Hasan climbed down from the sunroof.

"I doubt the lojack signal can reach down here," Hasan said. "But it won't take them long to figure out where it dropped off. We're gonna lose the radio, too."

"No big," Pockets said over the earpiece. "Liam knows those sewers like the back of his hand."

"Just let us know where you're going to surface and we'll make our way there," Jacob said.

"I ditched the patrol car at the edge of town," Liam said, offering up whatever landmarks he could provide to help get them there. "We'll try to make for that. There's extra arms in the back should we need them."

And should we get there in one piece...

"What are we doing with this lug?" he asked in regards to the witch hunter.

Failure. Looks like we have company in the sewers.

11:26, Today: Liam O'Farrell failed (no successes) using 8d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,10,8,5,1,3,2,3.  Wits + Survival.

"Let's take him with," Hasan said, throwing the staked vampire over his shoulder. "Maybe I can convince him to lift the curse. You know how persuasive I can be." He peered at the man's face. "That's assuming I bagged the right one. Plenty we can get out of him either way. Watch yourself though. He can still hear us."

Liam was canny in the layout of the sewers - moreso than any other kindred alive in the city. Those that entered the sewers behind them were hopelessly lost trying to track them. However, the Redwatch had many agents, and the sewers had many entrances. It was impossible to avoid them all.

Fortunately for Liam, Hasan heard the patrol coming. He signalled to Liam and Ted to halt, and seek cover at a sharp turn. The patrol was moving down the tunnel toward them. There was not enough cover to move past them undetected - shallow niches in the wall provided only partial cover and wouldn't render them invisible, but they would have the advantage of surprise.

Hasan lay out the Witch-Hunter in the middle of the tunnel to draw their attention. Judging from the footsteps, there were two of them. Hasan confirmed this by holding up two fingers. He passed his revolver to Ted, and drew his second katar. He melted into the darkness. Even without his powers, he was stealthy.

The two Redwatch took the bait. One rushed to the downed Witch-Hunter, slinging his battle rifle as he did so.

The other was obviously not familiar with subterranean combat, and had very stupidly entered an underground firefight armed with a grenade launcher. The bulky cylindrical magazine indicated the launcher held multiple rounds, but it would only take one to bring the tunnel down and kill them all.

There was only a moment to act. In a moment the two would look up and notice Liam or Ted pressed into the walls.

Liam thumbed the fire selector to a three round burst and levelled his sights on the grenadier. The muzzle flash and staccato report announced his presence with a vengeance, but all three rounds found their mark. Hopefully it was enough.

Spending 1WP because this night needs to end.
3 success on the shot
6 successes on the damage dropping 1s

19:39, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 3 successes using 12d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((8,5,5,1,8,9,7,1,2,1,7,9)).

19:38, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 2 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 7, rerolling 10s.  Dex + Firearms + WP -2 ETOH.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:51, Sun 13 Dec 2020.

The grenadier was staggered by Liam's shots, harmed but not grievously. Ted followed Liam's example, and squeezed off a round at the man with the grenade launcher. He missed completely.

The man kneeling by the staked Witch-Hunter unsung his rifle and aimed at the greater perceived threat. He didn't notice Hasan stalk up behind him and stab his partner. Unfortunately, Hasan's blow was a glancing one. As the rifleman shot at Liam, his companion roared, and spun around. He struck Hasan on the bridge of the nose with the butt of the grenade launcher. Hasan's pride was wounded more than he was.

The rifle's shot landed in Liam's shoulder. The wound was not severe, but it was a painful reminder that he was no longer bulletproof.

"Christ almighty," Liam spat, startled by the force of the blow. It had been a long time since a glancing shot had given him pause, and he could scarcely afford it now. He squeezed the trigger again sending another burst volley centre mass.

4 successes on the attack, spending another WP. 5 damage dropping 1s, of which I am rolling plenty tonight.

21:04, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 2 successes using 13d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((4,10,8,9,8,1,1,5,3,3,4,8,1)).

21:03, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 7, rerolling 10s.  Dex + Firearms -3, WP.

The grenadier took a bullet to the back as Liam fired. He staggered, and gave Hasan an opening. He ran his blade up under the Grenadier's jaw. He fell to the ground, likely torpid and not truly dead.

Ted fired again. This time his shot actually landed, even if it was just a glancing blow to the rifleman's arm. The Redwatch agent switched his target, taking a shot at Ted. Ted pressed flat into the niche, and the shot went wide.

Liam swung the battle rifle around and fired a volley dead centre into the rifleman. The magazine was running light but he figured he had at least another burst or two left should it come to it.

22:42, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 8 successes using 10d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 7,10,6,10,7,8,4,9,9,3.  Damage.

22:42, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,4,2,6,4.  Dex + Firearms -3.