@Seren. Earlier. Louis hands you his cigarette and takes the little machine from your hands. Placing the headphones on, he presses the play button and listens for a long moment, a dark look crossing his countenance.

By the time he rewinds and hands you the headphones, his cigarette has burned itself out. You listen intently, hearing the bombastic voices of two men.

The cassette contains direction to the followers of these men. It begins with a sort of manifesto, decrying the Traditions. The tired old rant about how Kine should be ruled, if not openly subordinated to Kindred. How the wolves and the mortals are inferior and how your kind were born to rule. That you are held back by old ways that have not changed to keep up with new times.

They go on to give instructions about how to start an insurgency within the Camarilla held territory of Montreal. Infiltrate and become trusted advisors. Make your dissenting voice heard. Stir up doubt and discontentment, especially among other Neonates. Remember the Elders cling to the status quo merely because they cannot see a better way.

They urge their followers to fight the tyranny of the Elders. When opportunity presents itself, pit Kindred against Kindred and draw the conflicts into the open. Destroy Elders if you can. Camarilla and Sabbat, in equal measure. To bring about the revolution of the Neonates and break free from the rigidity of control.

”We must keep this between the two of us for now,” Louis says sternly. ”There is a third faction, operating in secret among us. There are Anarchs in Montreal.”

---

@All. Now.

”Empty promises. Pretty words,” growled the Gangrel, encouraged by the nod of the punk girl with the riotous mohawk. He gave David a particularly nasty scowl then turned to the Justicar.

”Are we weak? We are faced with an enemy who is resourceful and remorseless but we talk of hiding from him? We should act swiftly as the Tremere girl says, they will kill the Prince if we wait.  Let us take the fight to them!”

”I was burned by those bastards,” Razor chimed in her agreement, ”Why are we hiding in the shadows like the thin bloods who snuck into our Conclave?  You want to save your Sire Eva? You were there last night with me! Why don’t we go to the north shore together and fight the Packs? Beat them into submission.”

I understand how your blood calls for action, but we do not know where the prince is, nor what they have there to protect/prevent her escape.  We need to find her first, then figure out what kind of resistance we will encounter.

Then we need to determine how to apply our strength against their weakness.

First does anyone have information on where she is, or a way to get that information?  I doubt we can just drive around the city and get lucky.

David listened to the others discuss matters as his own words were considered, but spoke up in response to a few of the remarks in the meantime. Whether in agreement or as an alternative suggestion was anyone's guess, though his demeanor seemed encouraging at the least. His initial remark was to Razor, whom he had been witness to her burning.

"A man breaks into your home, steals from you, injures you and then leaves while boasting of his victory afterwards. Do you in turn go after his friends and beat them as retaliation?" he asked, curiously, then showed a bit of a smile as he continued, "Or do you follow the one who actually did you injury? Take back what was stolen from you, beat those holding your property into a pulp in payback and then set their bodies and the man's house aflame in response? Whether you get him or not at that point would be a bonus, but you've shown he could not keep what he took. He lost more than he gained in the end and your revenge is satisfied against the one who actually did you harm rather than his friends. Go after them at a later time. The one who truly did the injury is who should be the focus to start. And what better way to strike back than to retake what was stolen? The collateral damage in the process would be.. a bonus," he suggests, a path aligning with his own suggestion that gives those desiring combat and blood a way to satisfy it in the most direct - and beneficial - means possible.

Turning to the gangrel, he considered the man for a moment and then continued, "Acting swiftly is exactly what I am suggesting as well. Take back the Prince. Punish those holding her and exact our revenge. Not in the streets in an open war that benefits no one but perhaps our foe, but in the quiet of the night. Let their smoking ruins be a testament to our work rather than risking a fight in the streets where we draw the wrong attention."

He gave an agreeing nod to Chiharu's own words in turn, looking back to the Justicar briefly as he spoke up to her own question, "That is perhaps the biggest hold up I foresee right now. Finding out exactly where the Prince is so we can direct our efforts and attack at the right place. I think we have a little time as yet.. while killing the Prince may be the ultimate goal, even exposed as to whose plan this was, I think the man's pride will force him to brag and boast for a short while at least. Killing her too soon would make his victory a hollow one I think. He wants to gloat over her first. Which is why he abducted her instead of merely killing her in the first place. But even then, we should move quickly.."

"No one here wishes to hesitate, I'm sure," Eva put in, instinctively trying to soothe the Gangrel by keeping her tone gentle and reassuring.  That had always been expected of her in her youth, that she always remain diplomatic and calm.  It had also always rankled, yet another reason to smolder quietly over the unfairness of having been born female, but now it might manage to be of some service to her and the others.  "Or to appear weak.  But if we attack without planning, without focus, all we will do is warn them that we are coming for them.  They would then have ample time to kill at least some of the hostages, if they wish, while still leaving the Prince alive to gloat over.  That would give them a further triumph over us to boast of."

She nodded to David at this, then glanced at Chiharu.  "If we first pause to find what we can of their weaknesses, then we will be able to make every blow against them strike home.  Once the hostages are safe, we will all be able to join together, to gather all our strength.  Then we can truly take the battle to them.  That will be victory indeed."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:29, Mon 12 Feb.

Given Louis' earlier advice to keep the presence of the Anarchs in Montreal between them, Seren did just that; the thought rolled over in her mind as the others spoke, her dark eyes betraying little thanks to being Sired by a man who saw weakness as a personal affront. She remained seated in her chair, her eyes downcast, but she spoke a simple sentence, wondering if anyone had considered the angle:

"What if this is a false flag situation?"

”Astute,” the Justicar observed, considering all that has been said, particularly the word ‘expendable,’ for a long moment.

”Once the hostages are safe, the plans converge to be virtually the same thing.” he says with a nod to Eva and Chiharu. ”But we do not have long to gather all our strength.  To determine who is most justifiably pursued or to ferret out any false flags. We must act now or lose the initiative."

”The north is dangerous, closed off from our kind,” squeaks the pile of wet looking rags through a mouthful of sharp dagger like teeth. ”The streets are patrolled by the packs bit there are ways to slip past, though few know of them. There are also those who would aid us  who straddle both sides of the river, those unwelcome by the Clans and the Packs.” she adds with shrug.

Seren was surprised by the Justicar's willingness to consider the angle she had suggested, but she was grateful: regardless of the humiliation she suffered, things were rarely so simple as they seemed on the surface with the motives of vampires. This all could be the result of some long-forgotten insult at a party during the height of the Roman Empire and the fact that it could benefit one group or the other was just window-dressing, justification for what could be more aptly described as a vendetta.

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend," Seren spoke quietly. "Perhaps we can both benefit from such an arrangement."

"At the very least, a permissible 'live and let live' agreement for the short term. The Prince will have to finalize any long term agreements in that vein, but it would be obvious to such groups that lending aid at her rescue right now would be a great incentive to encouraging her favor in such matters after the fact," David noted, looking thoughtful.

"Identifying the location and getting there would be the biggest hurdles to start. If someone might know exactly the answers to both such questions, they would be ideal to seek out immediately if such a plan were to proceed. I wouldn't necessarily assume that the location of the highest traffic would be the right area either. Far easier to hide a valuable item away where no one is looking while you distract them with activity elsewhere."

To Eva's surprise and deep relief, the discussion was progressing.  Though relatively inexperienced in the ways of her kind, from what she had heard from Guillaume and seen for herself, she knew all too well how easy it was for arguments and old resentments to distract a group like this from the real concerns.  Apparently all it took to persuade everyone to focus was for the Prince to be in danger, she thought grimly.  Had it been Guillaume alone who was kidnapped, she might easily have found herself attempting a rescue entirely on her own.

"Probably only the most powerful among Alexander's packs are even aware of where the hostages are being held," she put in, still a little nervous about speaking out but compelled to do so.  "They will want to use secrecy as a weapon as much as possible.  But there will still be traces -- signs of guards, for instance.  They cannot trust to secrecy alone to keep the hostages in their grasp.  And those standing guard will need to feed.  An isolated place, then, with some unusual activity there recently... Ideally, they would have wished for a place not far from where the bomb was set as well.  They would no doubt prefer not to move the hostages over long distances."

All this made sense to her, though as unworldly as she knew she was -- both her lives had been sheltered ones -- she found herself looking to the others for some assurance that she was not simply rambling uselessly.  "Surely there cannot be many such places."

It seems like we have little time and less to go on.

”So we sneak around? Cut deals with the weak?” Razor growled.

”Look, we were out there together,” she said, looking to David, Eva and Chiharu, letting her frustrations turn to resignation. ”I owe you for your help, otherwise I’d be fucking dead.  We could save the Prince, save the hostages but lose the whole city.” she sighed with finality.

”I like you fucking guys, but I’m just not convinced that we should wait long to gain information. To find people to help us, to cut deals with Thin Bloods or to figure out if this is a false flag. In all possibilities I think that taking the fight to the Packs now is the solution that we control and the one that seizes the initiative.”

James had been indulging in a little people watching, allowing himself to gain a sense of the ebb and flow of the relationships in the room. His Grandsire had trusted him to represent Clan interests and he had the good business sense to know that those interests were best served by a compromise.

All he had to do was figure out how to go about getting to yes.

Knowing that Shaw and Alcott would rather take a strong arm approach, too focussed on the power dynamic between the Clans, he risked raising their ire. But, seeing that a hostile takeover was impossible here, James offered ”What about a feint?  You get your war,” he said with a nod to the hawkish faction, ”But, it will be contained. Limited. We launch a strike that is likely expected. A strike that must tie up Alexander's forces long enough to mount this rescue mission and determine whether or not there is another player in the game.”

”Who the fuck cares what you think?” Riana snarled, automatically.

But there was less heat in her words than usual. She saw the value in the plan that the Ventrue proposed, though she hated to admit it.

"Everyone here is at this meeting because someone trusts their judgment," Seren looked at Riana.

"Including you. While I appreciate the 'who dares wins' spirit, attacking people on the off-chance they're the right ones to attack makes a lot of enemies out of potential allies. Information allows resources to be in the right place at the right time, a balance between action and information must be struck."

Seren wasn't defending Covington's plan, but she was defending the Ventrue dignitas in a surprisingly democratic way. She seemed to have the ability to put aside her feelings for the Ventrue plan of action to ensure that other Clans weren't insulting her own.

"Action in the form of scouts and smaller teams makes more sense before a full-out war: we can do it now, with few resources, subtly - send those with special relationships to those they have special relationships with: the ..." Seren gestured to Mirabel, as though trying to be compassionate but finding that her words failed her.

"Spoke of allies on both sides of the river. We do have some information, or at least, we have to trust that the Prince did and that her desires were based on the information she worked so hard to get to us. Small groups move fast, make less noise and can target precisely the information we need to preserve the Masquerade. While it is not a consideration to all, there is no reason to throw caution to the wind and to act precisely as our enemies anticipate."

"I too think there may be some benefit to a feint of sorts as suggested.. remember, the packs opted to not act entirely on their own last night either. They used either real or pretend police to control the streets after their initial attack. Why not return the favor? It may require a little investiture, but if we could call in some more mundane resources to launch what would appear to be the start of a counter against them - especially in an area that is believed to be a fake location of the Prince - that would work to our advantage. If we have a lot of activity where they believe we'll go, they'll focus their forces there. Give such individuals free reign to.. shall we say, unleash hell? That will draw in more of their members and we may even take a few out in such efforts. Meanwhile, we can launch our own strike where the Prince truly is. Of course, all that would necessitate having both the intel on where to send such resources and obtaining them in the first place," David remarks, then gives a nod to Riana as he adds.

"But as said, we cannot delay for long to gather such intel or aides in striking back for a feint. Time is against us and our best bet at a rescue is moving tonight. Quickly. Having a plan is important, perhaps more so, but we cannot wait too long. If not tonight, by tomorrow the packs may opt to remove the Prince from the equation during the day and our opportunity disappears. In ideal conditions, I'm certain we could come up with a foolproof plan to both distract and rescue. But given the circumstances, 'good enough' may have to suffice. Regardless, I wouldn't worry," he adds to Riana with a slight smile, "No matter what route we opt for, I expect tonight there to be plenty of opportunities to pay back your pain on those who caused it in blood and ruin."

Chiharu tries to remember if she had a way to contact that thin blood, or if that is just as likely a dead end for information.

"Yes, I fear a fight is the one thing we will not be able to avoid," Eva admitted.  That felt like a failure somehow, as though there should always be a way to avoid anything so crude, but that did not seem to be the case here.  Their opponents were too set on violence in one form or another, and it looked as though they would need to meet force with force -- or very possibly be wiped out.

"IF we can move quickly enough -- in smaller groups, without drawing too much attention," she added, with a nod to Seren, "then perhaps there will yet be time to arrange something for tonight.  But the gathering of information is not always a speedy process.  Do you have any idea of where to begin?" she asked, dividing her question equally between the Nosferatu present.  If there was to be a breakthrough in that area, it would surely come from a member of that clan.  "Or where we might begin to search for this information, if that would be best?"  There, at least, she was a bit more confident in her own abilities as compared to how she would fare in any sort of pitched battle.

"You know there is something to that idea. Scouts and smaller teams, wreaking a bit of havoc while others sneak in and gain information." Finlay said thoughtfully, rolling loose tobacco into a cigarette.

"That could actually work,” said the Gangrel Neonate, looking to his Brujah ally for approval.

"You're right about one thing," Razor said, looking to David, "If you let me have free rein, I'll unleash hell."

"I know the way to slip in. The way is not without difficulty, but it is not impossible to move along the North shore." the Nosferatu offered with a squeak. "I know where the hold is not too tight."

You are close to an accord.

-Join the Gangrel and Brujah to wreak havoc on the Sabbat?
-Join the Nosferatu and sneak across into the North Shore enclave of Repentigny?
-Something else?

@Chiharu: you may spend one Blood to gain Edge then spend that Edge to add a useful detail that you know a way to contact the Thin Bloods.

"Why not let us do both then?" David suggested with a thoughtful look. He glanced over to Eva at this and then back to the group at large, "Two smaller groups to split the difference. One group goes to raise hell somewhere that will obviously draw their forces. At least enough to lessen the risks for the second group. That one can slip through quietly and go directly towards where the Prince is being kept to rescue her. Raise hell ourselves on the way out to enact a bit of revenge there as well, but in the end getting the Prince out safely would be the top priority."

He turns to Riana and also Finlay at this, showing a touch of a smile as he adds, "I'm sure you might be most interested in the 'raising hell' portion of the task. But beyond causing as much chaos and damage as you can, you'd also want to make sure to get out before things got too heated. Don't give them the opportunity to claim any form of victory, even if its just one casualty. Draw blood. Kill a few if possible. Then get away to deny them any chance of reprisal. Maybe even go to hit somewhere else after to further distract them.. or hit more than one spot if you can loop in any others. The more they focus on you, the less they'll keep in reserve to block us. And should we fail," he amends, considering the worst possible outcome, "At least you will have made the first strike for the eventual war that will come after."

I will do that.
I forgot this is 1985, you dont have instant caller id and people still mostly use land lines....


I need to make a call, I'm not sure if it will provide any information but it is worth a try.  If i might be able to use the phone and ask, or should i use the pay phone that was down the street?

Making the call.

Hello,  This is Chiharu.  It looked like you had someting you wanted to speak about at the gathering, and i had a question also.

By chance might you have something to say about where the prince might be located?

As i dont know i'm just asking the question to help along the story.

Eva caught David's glance and nodded almost imperceptibly.  This sort of strategy was hardly where her skills lay, but again she was pleased that matters seemed to be moving along fairly well.  "I myself would do far better at gathering information than unleashing hell," she admitted, now nodding towards Riana.  "But if this plan works as intended, I believe we will all have the chance to get revenge, in our own ways.  As David has said, if nothing else this may help to weaken them."

Curious to see if Chiharu had managed to find any information of her own, however, Eva also waited for the young lady to report back.  Any new facts they could glean might be of help.