Re: 8:54 PM - Tremere

[Jedi_Master_007]

Dragon snickered at your sarcasm. His laughter was a bit of a relief. It didn't come often and it was rarely genuine. In this case he was genuine and it showed. "I am glad you like it. One of these nights I will help you craft a blade specific to you and your needs, but for now, yes, we will recycle." He snickered again.

He looked like he was going to say something about your view of the Cathayans but instead stood still, transfixed in place as you wrapped your arms around him. He slowly slipped his around your waist while trying to tilt his ear more in your direction. He twitched at first, but only once, and barely. It was a tingle, but you could tell it tickled him. "Mmm. Tomorrow it is then," he said in a very soft, almost inaudible whisper.

Dragon was going to say something about Christian but with the current distraction, he had forgotten all about it.

[purplegeekness]

The sardonic smirk on the side of her face let Dragon know her thoughts on the subject. It was a secret smile. "Oh.....you know what they say about saving the world. We need to recycle. I suppose it will do." her eyes danced with wonder as she moved the sword in her hands, experimenting with its weight and balance. After a few moments she placed it back into it's scabbard.

"Cathayans.....scourge of all kindred.....on the other hand they do come out with some interesting toys. Thank you my love" she moved back within Dragons reach, hugging him as tightly as she could. She whispered into his ear "It's unfortunate that I've already made plans for this evening.......and ones that I shouldn't break....I'll just have to thank you some other time. Perhaps when we wake tomorrow?" Her words were slow and seductive. She put the right tone of want and need into it, before biting his ear. It was just a pinprick of blood that caressed her tongue but the moan of pleasure was unmistakeable. She sealed the wound using her tongue, she took her time, the warmth of her tongue enticing against Dragons ear.

[Jedi_Master_007]

Dragon affectionately kissed his childe back, embracing her in a tight hold strong enough to lift her feet off the ground. He squeezed her just a little tighter when she grabbed his ass. Nuzzling Natty's neck with his lips, he left her with a peck on the cheek and then backed up a step or two as she examined the sword. "Feel the pins in the hilt?" Dragon tipped his head in the direction of the sword. He held a hand out and pointed, indicating she should look. "You see, this blade is magical. It was designed by a Cathayan to be used by Cathayans, but it can be used by our species as well." Dragon smiled. "All you have to do is place one of your fingers over each of the pins and squeeze really hard. It hurts...for a second or two as the pins coat themselves in blood. After that though, the weapon comes to life. The blade turns a dark crimson color and wounds inflicted by the blade, even ones you would think are hardly scratches inflict wounds of the most dangerous nature."

Dragon was pretty serious about this. The tone in his voice said so. "It was a gift to me a long time ago. I've since moved on to better weapons, but I see no reason to let this artifact go to waste, so why not give it to you? Right? That is... if you want it, of course." Dragon teased.

[purplegeekness]

"I've known ever since I arrived here to be careful." She kissed him on the cheek, patting his face solemnly. "Despite all of that, I know that none of us are infallible. I'll take every precaution I can. I intend to keep you safe no matter what. It's the things you can't prepare for and that surprise you that you have to adapt to. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble....but I can't promise it." Her lips met Dragons for a passionate kiss, as her hand reached around to pinch his butt.

She drew the sword slowly from the scabbard taking her time to appreciate its lines. It felt solid in her hand, but Dragon would only ever accept the best. It was beautiful, elegant and simple. There were one or two areas where she could see the blade had been used.

"I see that you've trusted your life to this blade before. I've no doubt it will keep me just as safe"

[Jedi_Master_007]

"And I believe you can. But if Tatiyanna can pull one on Tyler..." Dragon slowly shrugged and tilted his head to the side. "Unless you're implying Tyler is incompetent." Dragon gave you a light poke on the shoulder. He handed you the sword. It was kind of heavy. You immediately felt light prickles on your hand when you grabbed the hilt. It was a traditional Chinese straight sword.

"Go ahead." Dragon tipped his head forward, indicating you should unscabbard it and take a look.

[purplegeekness]

Natalya winked at Dragon. "I am a big girl now. I can take care of myself if i have to, though I'd prefer to not have to. Thank you, my love. I'll take care not to offend too many, although the Tremere are not well liked here." Her face showed her pleasure in the gift as she carefully place it to one side. She took a few moments to figure out how she could carry it without it showing in the lines of her dress.

Her face looked much more animated and excited at the sword.

"A sword? You know I love fencing. I'm sure I could come up with a reason for carrying it. I could keep it in the boot of my car?" she knew she couldn't but the prospect of a well made sword made it very tempting to carry around with her.

[Jedi_Master_007]

Dragon's head shook while you handled the pistol and thought about having to use it. "Let's hope not," he said coolly. "Let's hope it follows the same principles as a condom." Dragon cocked his head to the side. "It's better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it." He snickered at his own humor for a second.

"In all seriousness, I'm not sure. I'd like to think you won't need it, but with everything crazy going on, I want to take as many precautions protecting you as I possibly can. If Tatiyanna were to get her grubby paws on you... or Regina this fight could be over before it started." Dragon looked in his box and withdrew a sword still in it's scabbard. "I was going to give you this, too, but it isn't the sort of thing you can just carry around in public."

[purplegeekness]

Natalya accepted the gift, holding it in her hand. It took a long time to create a ward. She appreaciated the gift, but wondered why he gave it to her. She wasn't very skillful with firearms. The weight of the gun was cold dead weight, it weighed a lot in comparison to her Glock. A symbol of a bygone era. It was however certain as certian could be, not to jam.

"You think things will get this desperate?" her eyebrow arched in surprise. "I might need to take some more lessons"

[Jedi_Master_007]

After finishing up with Tyler and going over the plans, Dragon listened and received all of the information Tyler was going to give him about the Lasombra. The way everyone seen it, if this Lasombra was enough have Tatiyanna hire Tyler to knock her off and take whatever magical item was in her possession then it meant she might be a useful allie. At this point, Dragon felt up for trying. Dangerous or not, Dragon didn't figure it to be a threat he couldn't handle.

When he got the chance to meet with her in her room, Dragon chose to take the time to speak with Natalya. Closing the door behind him, Dragon brought a box of stuff into the room. He watched Natalya and waited for permission and acknowledgment before setting his box down on top of the dresser. He took the lid off and pulled out a rolled up piece of wood. It looked like it was wrapped in some kind of ivory. Dragon held it and smiled, then put it to the side. Next he pulled out a small pistol. It was a little revolver. "This is a .38. It's loaded with bullets warded to fiend of Kindred. It has five shots. If you need to use it, shoot to kill. Aim for the head." Dragon handed it to you expectantly.

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

Tyler looked at Regina and thought for just a moment. [color:3507=green}"I have a friend I'm going to put you in contact with. She's a lot older than you, but she's got a childe. It gives you a chance to see how others do things, and learn something about the rest of our fellow Kindred. Your mission on the other hand... Keep your ear to the ground my dear Regina. Anything you think is important I want to know about it. I don't care who or what its about."[/color] He looked at her and seen the questioning look in her eyes. [color=green]"You'll be fine. Mary Jane will make sure you don't get yourself in too far over your head, but its important you get out and about, and sadly, we need every one we can out on the streets."

He stood and moved to her, putting a reassuring hand on her cheek then her shoulder. He faced everyone else., "Well, Lord Dragon, if you have nothing else? I believe its time we all got to work?"

[dejavue]

I stood still and listened to both Tyler and Dragon go back and forth. While my idea had been a bad one, it did strike a cord to get them thinking of others. I felt content with helping at least that much. Natayla had her orders, Tyler seemed to have his own agenda as did Dragon. I wondered what my role in all this would be. More componets to gather perhaps? I looked at Tyler once everyone seemed finished speaking and asked the only thing I could think of, "What would you have me do to help Uncle?"

[purplegeekness]

Natalya nodded politely. "As you wish, Regent." She remained in the background. She thought her way was the one most assured of success, but with both Tyler and Dragon wishing for a more immediate response and warning for Tatyanna she remained silent. Her plans had already been underway for sometime now. It would not take long for them to be fulfilled.

"Returning to the chantry has dangers. Might I suggest that if it needs to be done that we arrive in large groups and leave via ritual. It is time consuming, but safer. I have many possessions I would like to retreive myself, but if they need to be forfeited for safety, I will take that extra measure of safety every time." Natalya waited to hear what her part in the oncoming conflict would be.

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

Tyler nodded in agreement with Dragon. "Well, if she can behave herself and do what we need her to." He frowned at the mention of Taki and then Logan taking over the city. Tyler had worked hard to keep that safe, and Taki had been a wonderful ally, and now her success had taken her out of reach... Well, that was subjective. He wondered if he could pull some strings and have her sent down. Her knowledge would be helpful. "I've got no problem going after Kruel, thats a non-issue, and I know I can handle it. However I'm convinced the gut punch there won't be enough to stagger her. I was thinking we go directly after the Midnight Gaurdians, enough to shake them up and make them think something is up. Nothing drastic, but something to make them paranoid. If its the entire coterie, they'll lash out. If its only one or two they'll get paranoid." He puffed his pipe and fell silent, listening and thinking.

[Jedi_Master_007]

Dragon glanced at Natalya when Tyler corrected her. He did cock his head to the side, but the look in his eyes suggested he was saying to just go along with Tyler and not fuss about title and status at the moment. It was his own fault for being so informal in the first place. "I think," Dragon said quietly when Tyler countered Natalya, "That everyone has merit to what they said, even Regina." Dragon stopped. He went to Tyler first. "Alright, alright, you've made a really good point, Regent." Dragon paused again.

"I would suggest, at least with all of the information I have regarding Tatiyanna, that if you wanted to hit her with a quick shot to the gut that will make her take a step backwards, you want to find her number one. The Nosferatu, Kruel. I was trying to avoid that though, because it's going to have to be some kind of close quarters ambush. It will be hard to pull off, and even blinking for a second will mean that Nos will disappear on you. Auspex is a nice counter to Obfuscate, but the advantage still belongs to the invisible." Dragon went silent, again. He looked at Tyler to see what he thought about that. He waited long enough for Tyler to respond, speaking his peace on that matter before turning to Regina himself.

"Your sire is right. I wouldn't ever trust Logan MacAllister. However, you are closer then you think when you mention that Lasombra. While I would avoid Logan, I am not adverse to summoning Han Chang-Hui. Between Tyler and myself, I'm sure we can convince him to cooperate one way or another." Dragon snickered. "Tzimisce torture. Ha. Apparently kindred have never heard of Tremere Reprogramming."

Finally, Dragon's attention went to Natalya. "I agree with you with just about everything you said. Regent Crown has a point about returning to the Chantry though... and it is still dangerous to advertise for a coterie. You might end up with a spy right next to you too. He's also right that you don't have the right amount of Rep among the other Anarchs to make it a fast option." Dragon paused again, nodding sagely. "I would suggest making sure you know who your friends are for certain before getting too close...especially given the current situation."

Then he went back to Tyler. "Speaking of which, Mr. Crown, the reason I mentioned Seung Lei was because it seems she's growing up. She's in Vancouver there and has recently found herself promoted up the chain by exposing one of her peers as a Dark Thaumaturge. Her intimate knowledge with Edge and her faction along with being an unknown element for Tatiyanna would let us get a fairly potent sorcereress close enough to her to do some damage. Taki is a good idea too, but she's currently tied up in San Fransisco studying the Cathayans and their New Promise Manderate." Dragon blinked, raising an eyebrow. "After you left Braddock and Edge came here Tyler, Logan usurped control of the city for himself. The powerful Tremere there have scattered...but if you've got any ideas, we're all listening. Team NOS makes a good place to start, but I think you're wrong about coterie involvement. We all have to consider the notion the entirety of the Midnight Guardians are compromised."

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

Tyler raised his eyebrows and looked directly at Natalya. "Regent please. In situations of clan matters, address me as Regent." He made a face at her and almost rolled his eyes in frustration. "That Chantry still has many, many things in it that we cannot afford to allow to fall into enemy hands. So while it is convienent to believe we will never enter that place again... Its wishful thinking. We'll have to go back. Even if only for ritual components. I only have a small store here for rituals I use often." He indicated the book in front of him. "I think you're correct on the divide and conquer part though." He looked to Dragon. "Lord Dragon, I think the best avenue here, keeping with my current idea, is to scatter. Rather, give the illusion that we are thrown into chaos. We maintain strict levels of communication via Thaumaturgy, and more mundane efforts. The idea being that we can deploy ourselves or the gargoyles on a moments notice to meet any aggressors in the field." Tyler paused and puffed on his pipe. "At this point, assuming Tatiyanna was coming after me, or you, we flush out her support. Perhaps take on captive. Interrogate it. Wipe its mind of the enounter, and let it go. Perhaps even send it back with false reports and misinformation." He looked at everyone in turn to make sure they were following his thinking. "This keeps us moving in the immediate, and will give us a clearer picture of whats arrayed against us. Again, I say, we may not have the weeks and months necessary to cultivate the influence among coteries that we'll need. Natalya's plan has merit, but she lacks the street cred the Anarchs are going to require for any kind of coterie to work overnight. I'm not saying abandon them. I'm saying that cannot be our only plan. We need to act. We need to do it now. Once we have positive targets identified we can work on either subverting, preferred but highly unlikely, or eliminating, most likely to succeed..." Tyler frowned then added. "I know I sound the part of the war hawk here, but I really have no wish to plummet the city into a war. We're too few to make enemies everywhere. However we have the distinct advantage of having two of the most powerful Thaumaturges in the clan here. That cannot be under estimated. Our enemies won't make that mistake. If this comes to a war of attrition and influence... We'll lose. We're too isolated and few in numbers and our enemies are too entrenched. That could take years for us to develop what we need to pose a threat, much less mount a successful offensive." Tyler finished with, [color]"This situation will only be resolved quickly and with minimal cost to the clan through direct action. If nothing else, use Natalya's plan as a cover and a secondary. It cannot be the primary course of action."

Before relinquishing the floor, Tyler turned to his childe, "No, Logan cannot be trusted with anything. I've dealt with him for far too long to think for a second he would come and help. If nothing else the boons we would owe him wouldn't be worth the gains."

[purplegeekness]

Natalya held Dragon for a moment when she woke, resting her head against his chest. "Good evening my love, and yes, I will need to hunt tonight." Natalya listened to ongoing conversations around her. The woman was formidable but only due to her connections and background in the city.

She waited until a lull in the conversation between Tyler and Dragon. "It seems to me as though we are approaching this in the wrong manner. Direct action while immediate is very risky due to her support. We should take a much longer look at things. She knows the location of an old chantry. Those who might use it are gone and will never go there again. It gains her nothing to know this location any more. In fact, we are in the stronger position for we know who our enemy is now, whereas before we did not." Natalya moved to take a seat around the table.

"It seems to me that immediate action is....unwise. She is too ingrained to things here in LA that any move against her might be seen as a move against Anarchdom in general. We need to cut her off from those who support her. We need to humiliate her in front of those whose opinions she hold dear. We need to in short isolate her from her friends and those who would support her. Without their help she is nothing....inconsequential. I am in the midst of forming a coterie here in LA. I saw an avenue that was not being exploited in the city and have started to draw together those who might be interested in pursuing those options. The way to win over Tatiyanna is not through violence Tyler....or not at least until she is friendless, it is through influence. By making friends, by thwarting her plans until she is a laughing stock. e do that by involving outselves in local affairs and politics.....or at least that is my opinion. I've talked to Tera and one or two others who may be interested. It won't be long before we were known in the city anyway and all anarchs think Tremere are Camarilla spies anyway. We lose nothing by having Tatiyanna reveal our presence in the city. If you approve, I'll speed my recruitment and begin operations. Our first targets are small, and will prove invaluable in establishing a foothold and some measure of influence in Kindred affairs in the city."

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

As Dragon spoke Tyler's expression turned from troubled to angered. Here he was, doing what he did best, and putting himself and his childe at great risk to shelter Dragon and his childer, only to be forced into a situation he cared for even less by an open invitation to his rivals to come screw up his carefully laid plans. The calmly pulled out his pipe and packed it. Then took a puff off of the stem and the expression faded. His pen scrawled, making a quiet scratching noise on the page of his notebook while he took notes for another moment before he finally spoke.

"I spent a lot of time working out a plan that would work. I've also gone through pains to shelter you and your childe. That last act was only necessitated by the fact that you opened the door to the spy. That you invited her in, and while you can say, that Tatiyanna is out to get me, really, we can't even be certain that is the case, there is no real way of knowing until we do something. And even if she is... I'm a Tremere Archon. Like you, there's lots of people after me." He looked around and stood up. "I am objecting to Seung. The only reason she's a hit with the Anarchs is because shes an utter failure everywhere else. If you want to bring in more of our clan, I would recommend Taki. She's loyal, quite capable, and has knowledge that can help us across the board. I'm not entirely certain why you're going all the way to Braddock for reinforcements though. Clearly someone from a closer city can get here faster? And neither Seung nor Taki are so profound in their abilities we can't find clanmates that can be here sooner to help... Not to mention the learning curve. They're going to have to learn the lay of the city, and the who's who...It'll be weeks before either of them will be in a position to be useful. We may not have weeks. Someone closer may already be familiar with the area's geography at the least, not to mention may already know some of the entrenched Anarchs we can solicit for help."

Tyler looked around again to make sure everyone was paying attention to him. "I agree we need the assistance, but we need assistance now, not in two weeks. We definitely can do without more Tremere. We need a presence on the streets here. Our best course of action is trying to recruit from what we have available. NOS is as good a place to start as any, and from what I've seen... They'll likely get left alone by a third party while they take on Tatiyanna's support since no one would want to be next on their list."

Tyler stayed standing and waited to hear what Dragon had to say next. He let his plan go, there was no sense even bringing it up.

[dejavue]

I stood still at the library doorway and listened to Dragon as he spoke. He was totally correct in the notion that we needed allies. We would need a lot of allies and powerful ones too. Once he finished I spoke up with the suggestion I could think of, "I have a suggestion for one more," I said as I started making my way to the three of them. "It seems to me that what we need is an individual equally as powerful as Tatiyanna. One that can raise fear in just about anyone, and the one person I know of is Logan." I looked from person to person to see their reaction.

[Jedi_Master_007]

Dragon stood up out of his seat he'd claimed when Tyler arrived in the dining room. Dragon stood aside long enough for Tyler to see that he'd done quite a bit of work over the day. As Tyler waited on Regina, Dragon moved to greet Natalya in the doorway to the dining room. "Good evening," he said.

Without a word, Dragon put his hands on her hips and then leaned in to kiss her. He took note of her paler complexion and touched the back of his hand to her cheek. "You need to go hunting tonight." Turning towards Tyler - and presumably Regina, Dragon gave it a second. Then, since he was the senior, Dragon started.

"We all know what is at stake here. I am going to just cut to the chase here and get it out in the open. We can't beat Tatiyanna and her Midnight Guardian coterie. The Midnight Guardians are basically the kindred police." Dragon let that sink in for just a second. If everyone's collective enemy is allied with the city's vampire police, it meant she had more friends who were better equipped and better trained to fight. It also meant things like Tatiyanna was entrenched in the city, and that any coterie affiliated with them was also probably connected to her.

"Tatiyanna has more guns, more friends, more influence, and home field advantage. Tyler and I briefly discussed tactics, and I understand he wants to attack her head on, hoping to reveal and scatter her friends." Dragon tilted his head to Tyler. "That's one way to handle it, if everyone plays by the same rules. That tactic won't work here. Tyler is still the enemy as far as everyone except a small handful are concerned. So am I, and so are you. Going at her head on will simply play into her hand and gain her more support. Nobody wants Tremere poking around in their backyard, especially Archons."

Dragon's expression didn't change. He was either optimistic or he'd had a wonderful night with Natalya. Either was just as likely as the other when it came to Dragon. "It would seem like we are doomed for failure," Dragon mused, putting the back of his hand to his forehead. "Seriously?" He looked around the room. "Do any of you believe Tatiyanna is going to beat us? Rowan Magister couldn't even hold her own against me. The fact this Tzimisce wench thinks she even has a chance is insulting!" Dragon even took a step forward, indicating he really was insulted.

"This is what we're going to do. First, we're going to even the odds by either finding, recruiting, bribing, or blackmailing. We need allies. There are several options available. I could try to pull some strings and get the real Team NOS involved. We could go directly to Edge. She wouldn't like it, but she would at least here Tyler out." Dragon looked directly at Tyler for confirmation before continuing.

"Christian has already said he could provide a safe place for Natalya to silently pull strings with her own influence. Mary Jane is a local resource we could call up for information. And we have something else that Tatiyanna doesn't. We have the ability to bring in more Tremere. Tera, my eldest childe has already been informed. I know you can't stand her Tyler, but in this case, her familiarity with Edge and the Anarchs in general makes Seung Lei an option." Dragon shrugged. He looked at Tyler with a smirk. "Don't object. I already called her."

Then Dragon looked at the Regina and Natalya and back to Tyler. "Anymore ideas on who would be friendly to our situation here before I go on?"

[dejavue]

Gina go get this. Gina go do this. Dragon had been barking orders at me for a good part of the night and it was beginning to wear on my nerves. Still I kept my face neutral and blank. I would not give him nor anyone else the satisfaction of seeing the hurt and humiliation I was feeling. Tyler slapping me to the floor was bad enough but to be doing Dragon's bidding once again was just as bad. Why the hell he couldn't have his sweet Natalya do it was beyond me. I suppose that was one of the perks when you're Dragon's childe. Still, I did as I was told and went to gather the componets he was requesting. It was a simple enough list but lengthy.

We returned to Tyler's place, and I took the initiative to show Natalya her room. "You should be comfortable in here." I said as I opened the door. It wasn't anything like what she had back at Dragon's but it was comfortable. With a queen size bed, plush pillows, a dresser, and a large closet to put her things. Dragon no doubt already knew where his room would be but still I was curtious and showed him to his as well.

The feeling of the sun began to creep up my spine. Dawn was coming and soon. Tyler would be closing himself off in his library, this I already knew. If Tyler had one flaw it was his predictablity. "Unless you need anything else I'm going to head to bed." Tyler had mentioned that I could sleep with him earlier and hoping that the invite was still opened, I went to Tyler's room, undressed to nothing, and slipped under the sheets before closing my eyes and surrendering to the dawn.

I awoke with the sensation of a small kiss on my forehead and before I even opened my eyes my mouth formed a happy, content smile. I showed quickly, wrapped a towel around me and snuck off to my room to dress. The house servant had already taken care of my previously worn slacks and blouses, leaving me something a bit more serious minded to wear. I dressed myself, and padded barefoot over to Tyler's library to see what progress he had come up with.

[purplegeekness]

Natalya rose to the lingering smell of Dragon. She was upset at leaving so many of her treasured possessions behind, but the books were with her. She dared not let Tatiyanna or her cohorts learn the secrets of Thaumaturgy and one or two of her more treasured possessions. The perfume bottle, infused with vitae. The foil with which she'd learned fencing. The laptop with all of her memories of her previous life. The program from the opera to which Dragon had taken her on their first date. Some select items of jewellery, gifts or valuable and of course,w ith danger ever present, her Glocks. The car would have to be left for another time to recover.

She looked over to his portion of the bed, to see the glass rose. It was a touching gesture. The more so because he'd taken the time during the midst of the upheaval to think about it and plan to bring it with him. Her smile showed her delight. With all of his previous flames seeming to arrive in merely the matter of a few days, Natalya was beginning to suspect she was losing Dragon. She picked upt eh rose looking carefully at the fine detailing involved. She was going to have to get him something equally as refined as a gift. When things settled.

Natalya pondered over the situation. Tatiyanna. She was a dangerous and skilled player in the game. Her plans for her coterie would need to be advanced. Sadly she knew the complete depths of the Tremere involvement in the city. She'd know that Dragon and Tyler were in town and that, in and of itself would cause rpoblems for her. She'd need to step up her involvement in the city. What she needed to do was to come up with a plan to humiliate Tatiyanna in front of her subordinates. She was glad she got the chance to call Tera the previous night. A few moments with her and now Tera was contacting the people she'd highlighted for her coterie, before making herself scarce.

Dressing in jeans and a Tshirt was not normal for Natalya, but in these circumstances she needed to alter her behaviour. For a short while anyway. She pocketed the pills Dragon had looked out for her. She would need to hunt tonight, the pills were a good thought, but should be saved against need. She was in no danger of frenzy....at least not yet. She could feel the hunger, but a good nights hunt would bring all she needed and more.

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

Tyler divided everyone up into their rooms and then did what he needed to. He shut himself off in his library. Surrounded by old books, ledger pads, files and his pen. He scribbled notes, crossed things out as he plotted a plan. Vaguely he was aware someone was stirring outside the library, but paid no heed. None of his wards had been broken so whoever it was; it was not hostile. Probably Dragon. Tyler had noted they both had the same habits when it came to crisis situations. They both inundated themselves with information until, python like, their minds crushed a solution from the crisis. Tyler was meticulously neat, organized, and believed in precedent. He constantly referred to files, case studies, essays and put his mind to unravelling their uses. Dragon buried his planning in the present. Gathering from the ocean of his mind relevent facts, and organizing a giant chart to pick through. Tyler had no need for that. Paper would take the brunt of the abuse he would be giving out, and before his night was finished he would decimate two brand new ledger pads.

Pages flipped through books and he wrote, crossing out and turning the page to start fresh. In his mind he had a map of where he needed the battle to go. He had to flush out Tatiyanna's Lieutenants, and her support. This was likely to turn into a war of attrition, and that was one the Tremere simply could not win. There were too many unknowns. So the Thaumaturge studied and read. He looked at his files from previous, similar situations, and made comparisons. He found weaknesses in the plans he had used before and wrote everything down meticulously.

While Dragon sat, with a sea of notecards in front of him. Tyler drew outline after outline sitting at his desk. His pipe sat nearby, the tobacco smoldering as he wrote. Hours slipped past as the Archon worked. Tyler's brain was wracked and still it refused to constrict around the problem, strangling a solution from it. He stood up, paced the room and picked up his pipe. His green eyes lifted and immediately he seen something out of place on one of the many shelves. Approaching the book Tyler seen what it was, "The Art of War." Cocking his head for a moment Tyler pondered the significance of it before gently pushing the blue dyed leather bound book back into position. Staring at it for a moment an idea formed in his head. The problem gasped for breath as Tyler's mind broke its back, and ribs, crushing the life and solutions out of it. To win, they had to make their foes believe they were doing one thing, when they were doing another.

Tyler Crown returned to his ledgers with a new found vigor as dawn threatened to creep in on him. He rubbed his eyes, tempered his will and wrote furiously. An hour later, just as the first rays of the sun were coming up, Tyler had a final draft of his plan to take down Tatiyanna Kozlinski. It was in a blank paged, leather bound journal of its own. The first page had a phrase written on it: The Battle for Los Angeles.

---

Inside the book Tyler outlined in detail a bold plan. Instead of marshalling their forces and immediately going on the offensive against their foes, Tyler would scatter them. They would use Thaumaturgy to stay in constant contact, and the ritual Escape to a True Friend would insure no two Tremere were never inaccessible from someone capable of helping them should the need arise. Tyler was mainly concerned with Regina, Dragon, and Natalya... In that order.

Scattering their forces, which had already been done aside from the core individuals he needed for his plan to be successful, would draw out Tatiyanna's support as they moved to get information. Tyler, Dragon, and the gargoyles just had to be paying attention. Once those supporters were revealled they could connect the dots and trace the picture back to Tatiyanna. Then, when the woman least expected it, they would strike. All at once, they would hit as many targets as possible. The hope was that this would instantly throw her networks into paranoia and chaos. Given no time to react, or fortify, they would either withdraw, or attack before they were truly ready, and attack Tyler and Dragon, who were always ready. With luck, a few of them might even turn on each other seeking more power for themselves in the wake of the rapid strike. The only problem was manpower. The Tremere in LA were, on a whole, not very organized nor as Thaumaturgically adept as even Natalya, which meant they were at a severe disadvantage. Dragon would have to help find assistance. They needed heavy fire power to make this work. Tyler, basing his plan on previous encounters with similar groups had figured Tatiyanna would have at least three other major supporters and several minor ones, most likely those supporters were reporting to her.

He also knew his foe had an ego. Pride was something to be cherished, and earned. While Tatiyanna definitely earned hers, a successful raid in a single night that levelled her support structures would not only leave her vulnerable, but likely force her to act. Her mind would be clouded with anger, and her retaliation would be fierce, but sloppy. Not concentrated as it should be on Tyler and Dragon. She would likely lash out at any targets she could find, hoping to quickly chase them back to Dragon and Tyler. That was easy enough to avoid. One of the greatest benefits of Thaumaturgy is that none of his subordinates had to know where he was for him to give them orders...

Satisfied with his handy work Tyler sluggishly moved to his bed, curled his body next to Regina and collapsed from exhaustion as the full glare of the sun beat down on the walls of the building. Tyler and his companions were safe from the deadly rays behind concrete and steel. The windows in here were covered completely.

---

Tyler awoke precisely at 8:53 PM Pacific Time. He showered, shaved his head down close with a pair of clippers, cleaned up and put on a loose fitting pair of navy slacks, a black shirt, his Queen's Armory .45 and a navy jacket. He left the top button undone, but added another dark blue tie. This was a ritual component that was habitual in times of crises for Tyler. After leaving the bathroom he gently work Regina and summoned his servent, who had arrived earlier that day and instructed her to carefully wake his guests and summon them to the dining room. Giving Regina a kiss on her forehead, he headed through a door and into his personal library, where he retrieved the book with his plan and proceeded to wait in the dining room...

[Jedi_Master_007]

When Tyler made his intentions to go on the offensive known, Dragon squinted wearily. He trusted Tyler to do what Tyler thought was best, but that didn't necessarily mean it was the best approach. Still, Dragon wasn't going to openly object, especially at this point. Instead, Dragon quickly moved to the Di Vinci on the wall and then disabled the alarm. He removed the painting and set it to the side. Then Dragon quickly opened his combination vault. Once it was open, he gathered what looked like a safe deposit box and a zip lock bag filled with neat little rolls of cash, a pair of passports and what looked like wallets or cigarette cases, or something.

After gathering those contents, Dragon quickly returned to Natalya's room. He knocked on the door twice, poked his head in, looked her up and down, and then entered the room. He gave her the quick rundown of the plan Tyler had formed while she was on the phone with Tera. Plopping his things down on her bed, Dragon also added that they were moving in fifteen minutes. He had Natalya pack one bag and be ready to go.

Once Natalya was squared away, Dragon went to the library where Regina was at. He checked her progress, told her everyone was leaving in 15 minutes, and then spent the next minute or two helping her take care of the ritual components before going to gather her own stuff. While there, Dragon opened up one of the many boxes. It was the one he wanted, so he closed it and pulled it off of the shelf before carrying it back to the main living room where everyone was gathering. Finally, Dragon went to his own room. He quickly password protected all of his computer stuff, activated all internal security, and then pulled his ready to go duffel bag out of his closet. One last time, Dragon checked on Natalya, gathering the last of his things there. He couldn't help but snicker at some of the clothes he saw she had, but silently wished she had grabbed those tight leather pants.

Once he and his childe were ready to go, Dragon went silent, following Tyler. Dragon was cautious though, and his mind raced while everything around him seemed to move in slow motion. Dragon might have seemed lethargic, but he was quite aware of the surroundings and what was going on. He'd watched Natalya. He'd memorized the route Tyler took to his private residence. Dragon had even watched the skies with his heightened sense to see if he could spot the Gargoyles while they took turns patrolling the perimeter of the Chantry.

Dragon didn't pay too much attention to the details of Tyler's residence. Besides it being incredibly rude to look around and wander about without being invited - especially while Tyler was going out of his way to make extra room - Dragon was more interested in trying to settle enough to think without distraction. Once he was allowed some quiet time alone with Natalya, Dragon let his aggression gone. It started with Natalya on top. Then it moved to a long, long, long hot shower. Finally it moved back to the bed just before dawn. Even though Natalya slept, Dragon's insomnia allowed him to remain awake long into the day time.

While everything was quiet, Dragon spent several hours in thought. He wrote down all of the events he could think of over the last few nights on single index cards. Dragon had them spread out on the floor making a very large grid of facts. Using the recorder from his bag, Dragon kept at it, recording all of the information he could think of while trying to plot out the chain of events until finally it struck him.

Dragon moved his work to the main dining room he'd seen on the way in. He had figured Tyler would be up soon, what with his thing with time and all. But all the same, Dragon wanted to be sure he had something to show his Regent counterpart. Before leaving Natalya to sleep the rest of the night, Dragon left her a small gift. It was a glass rose. Next to it on the night stand was a crystal bowl with three perfectly smooth red pebbles in it. A note left with them, scrawled in Dragon's own handwriting simply read, "Say the 'magic words' and you shall have blood from these small stones my love." Something just told him Natalya would be hungry.

Then he waited. Dragon waited and worked in the dining room, keying away on his laptop, translating all of his note cards into backed up information. He still left them out for Tyler and the others to see, but all the same, when Tyler came calling, Dragon would be ready.

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