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World of Darkness: Attrition - A Truly Long Night [complete]


Jeremy

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"Good idea." Dec nodded, squinting thoughtfully. "Anyone got a street map? It'll cut down on physical recce time if we can figure out where the best sniper spots are." He looked at Sarah. "If we do find a shooter on a high spot, let's take him out nice and quiet and then you can take his place before Jeremy here does his ninja thing and then we jump in like a fuzzy typhoon. Sound good?"

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"All I got a rough X mark on a map, but..." Jeremy grinned with authority, "I'm told the church is in a sandy lot just off the road, and surrounded by trees on most sides, meaning the primo position is on the roof. A fair distance from the nearest segment of town also. Makes sneaky work all the more appealing."

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Moss shrugs and takes his daysack off his shoulder, opening it up he pulls out his netbook and puts it on the counter. Reaching into his pocket he pulls out a USB stick and plugs it in as he boots the small computer up.

"I thought we might need info, so I brought this along. Let's see what Google maps has to say about the place..."

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In short order, Moss pulls up the location of the church from their website, ignoring all the preaching oozing from every pore of the screen.

After running it through Google Maps, he brought up this image:

Your Image

Click to reveal..
This is a RL version of the place. Imagine a church where the pointer is.
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Amber sat back and drank her juice, watching the others work. "Are we at all interested in inflitration?" Amber asked. "If one of us can pose as a norm, we might get some information on where the others are before they hit us again." She tapped the empty glass on the table. "There's a head out there somewhere. We should take it out, while we're at it." She grinned suddenly and added a flippant, "Not to make our op more difficult, mind you..."

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Dec grinned savagely. "I say we do a catch and release on one of the Jesus-SWAT guys." He looked at Amber and No-Moss, then at Jeremy with a sly smile. "One of us bites one of the them at the meeting, then we let him 'escape'. He might not run straight home: they might have safety protocols and shit. But once we taste someone, we can find them again no matter where they are. If we're lucky, the hunter boys don't know that."

"Whaddya say?"

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Sarah was looking at the map while the others talked, comparing and contrasting with maps she carried more in her head than anywhere else, maps laid out not in yellow lines and labelled streets but in clawed carvings and scent marks.

"Well, it's a good long way outside of Topanga territory, unless they're ranging farther east these nights. Truth is, it's closest to yours, guys," she said, slight inclinations of the head indicating the werewolves present. "Well, yours and mine; not more than a few blocks difference on this one.

"And yeah, probably best for me to start with a fly-over, see if they've got someone on the roof or up in the trees." Before Jeremy could ask the question, she looked at him and added, "I can turn into more than just a wolf." It was as matter-of-fact a statement as though she'd indicated that yes, she could take short-hand as well as type.

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Originally Posted By: Jeremy Noctis
Jeremy tapped his chin and smiled in a nasty sort of way. "Actually, that's an elegant solution. Lure one guy away, I grab him, we set a trap."


Dec shook his head. "Not what I had in mind. It's more like we take out the sentries, burst in there, kill everything in the room except for one SWAT type, who we bite and let go, in the hope we can track him to his HQ. Then we grab their weapons and any intel materials they have lyin' around, like laptops or folders marked 'Monster Need-To-Knows', and then we fuck off at high speed before the boys in blue show up."

Originally Posted By: Sarah O'Neally

"And yeah, probably best for me to start with a fly-over, see if they've got someone on the roof or up in the trees." Before Jeremy could ask the question, she looked at him and added, "I can turn into more than just a wolf." It was as matter-of-fact a statement as though she'd indicated that yes, she could take short-hand as well as type.


"Sounds good to me, Sarah." Dec nodded, downing the last of his milk before standing and meeting everyone's gaze. "Anyone got anything to add or any prep to do before we do this, then?"
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Moss remains seated and points to the screen as he alters the zoom on the image. "Which way do we want to come at them? We could come along Angelo drive, up the ridge behind the Church from Beneduct Canyon drive, or up the ridge in front from North Beverley Glen?"

He looks up directly at Dec, "Also what, if any, means are we going to use to try to cover our tracks here? Or where you planning to leave it obvious that these people were killed by a bunch of animals? I'm thinking about the police and forensics as much as the Hunters now."

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Owns-The-Night leaned over Moss's shoulder. "I'd say up from behind the church. And as for coverin' tracks, we do our best to kill without jaws and claws, then burn the church down. If they have any fire weapons or willie pete grenades with them, that should be easy. After that, the cops can do all the headscratchin' they like." He glanced at everyone else.

"What do you all say? Anyone got better ideas?"

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Sarah sighed.

"Um, guys?" She waited until she had the attention of at least a few of the gathered.

"This really needs to be done quiet. That means no big booming noises. And to be entirely frank, fighting in a fire isn't on my list of things to do. I don't get along with fire all that well.

"Ideally," she went on, "we pick off any outlying sentries nice and quiet. Don't even have to kill them, really; knock 'em cold or gag the bastards, and we might even be able to deprogram them afterward from whatever kinda bullshit they've been piped up on to hunt us. Then, we deal with who's inside... preferably, when they come outside. They aren't gonna stay in there forever, you know. Folks like this want their sleep, and unless they've set up a barracks, they'll have to leave to do it."

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"They're going to notice sooner or later, once we get started, Sarah. But if they think something fishy is going on, they'll be more ready for a fight. Unless, we lured them out in a group, and used the element of surprise at close range." Jeremy pointed out.

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Dec growled slightly. "Who said anything about settin' a damn fire first?!" He scowled at Jeremy and Sarah. "Look, it's fuckin' simple. Sarah, you do an overflight and spot the sentries. We move up from behind the church and take out the sentries as we go. And when I say take out, I mean it. They're not poor misunderstood rescue cases: they're enemies who want us and all our kind dead." He snarled the last word, letting that sink in.

"Moss. You've got other forms, use them. No amount of trainin' in the world will help a human if you're in your near-human form and have the element of surprise. He'd have to be Chuck fuckin' Norris and Bruce Lee's bastard lovechild to stand a chance." He started to pace. "We don't try to lure them out, because that gives them the fuckin' initiative and puts us on the reactive side. We crash in on them like a goddamn hurricane, lay waste to everythin' that moves, and leave the sole survivor thinkin' that he was fuckin' lucky to get away. THEN we burn their church down and pull a fade." He stopped pacing and faced the others. "When push comes to shove, kill the fuckers any way you can, claws and teeth included."

"Any questions?"

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Jeremy spoke in a voice that said that any further protest was useless. "I think Dec's got the plan settled." He started to walk out towards his room. "I'll get some matches for when we do burn up the church." He called back from over his shoulder. "I'd like you guys to head out the side, and I'll clean up quick then join you. Decide who's driving while you're at it."

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Dec strode out the side door and reached behind the dumpster he'd been hunkered against, pulling out a tall cylindrical fishing-rod case and slinging it over one shoulder by the strap. He returned to the side door and waited for the others to come out.

"Who here's got transport? Amber, you still got your truck?"

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Moss puts his netbook away and follows after the others, just emerging as Dec asks his question. "I gave Sarah a lift down, my truck's around the corner. If you want I'll take Sarah and Jeremy and we'll meet you up near 1600 Benedict Canyon? Or should we park further away than that?"

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"Sounds like a plan, then. Lead off, Amber." As the two Rahu turned to walk off down the alley, Dec glanced at Moss. "See you and the other two there."

A short walk later and they were rattling towards Benedict Canyon in Amber's beater, sitting in companionable silence as the lights of the oncoming traffic flashed over them.

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Jeremy, having packed three full packs of matches, went back to the bar. He put the rags back in the drawer and left the glasses in the dishwasher. Then, he turned out the lights and moved to the door, locking it behind him as he went outside.

He nodded to Sarah and Moss, and Moss led them to his truck. They were off not long after Amber and Dec.

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They were about half a mile short of the church when Sarah told No-Moss to pull over. He did so, shooting her a questioning look. Her reply was simple and to the point. "You guys need to hang back while I do my thing," she said, rolling down the window as the car eased to the side of the lonely road.

A moment later, and the "girl" was a girl no longer. One last look at No-Moss, and the peregrine falcon was out the window, strong wings pulling the night sky beneath her as she climbed for altitude and banked off toward the church.

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Watching her fly for a moment Moss turns and shrugs to Jeremy, "She's right, if we are going to get some added intel she needs to do it before we get in to place."

He opens his door adding, "I'll just take care of something now, the we'll be on our way." So saying he pulls a multi-tool from the driver's door pocket and removes the license plates on the pickup before they continue on after Dec and Amber.

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"Both Brutus and Hamlet are highly intellectual by nature and reflective by habit." The sentry on the right side of the door stated in the cool California night air. "Both may even be called, in a popular sense, philosophic; Brutus may be called so in a stricter sense."

His partner to the left of he door sighed. "That's fuckin' enriching, really. So where you wanna go to eat after all this?"

"Ohh, no can do." The weekend warrior, sporting only a hunting rifle, denim and a jacket to keep out the chill, sucked his teeth in regret. "Kathy and I gotta take Adam shopping in the morning for a costume, we promised. It's his first play and all, we want him to look the part you know? I remember my 4th Grade play... I was in, uh, well, 4th grade and-"

"Please, I don't care... really, I don't." There was an awkward silence in the air as the two men just sat against the wall of the old church. Only a single light above them shone down a cone of white light on them, and it wasn't the Lord's unless he was saving on divine energy by switching to 60 watt holiness. 'Lefty' looked up in the sky, and saw a majestic falcon's shadowy outline upon the clear sky in the shimmering light of the moon. "Check it out, damn they grow big up here in nowhere."

"Looks like a peregrine." 'Righty replied. "They've adapted to living in many cities and make use of tall buildings that provide suitable ledges for nesting and depend on the large populations of pigeons and starlings in cities for food."

Lefty just glared as the urge to shoot his partner increased. "I hate you. Just so you know..."

The perimeter was nothing more than one hundred and fifty feet of gravel all around the building. The parking lot didn't really exist and cars just packed in where they could. In front of the church were parked three polished black Hummer 3's and along the southeast side of the church were three other vehicles, a nice silver Cadillac and two pick-up trucks.

The building itself was not very large. The interior looked like it might be large enough to hold a decent sized congregation of about 50 to 100 people, complete with a few small offices and a meeting room in the back.

Sarah spotted the front entrance (obvious as it was) and three more fire exits, one along each side of the sanctuary, and the last in the back, where the offices were housed.

Whatever events were planned for this evening, it appeared they were already underway but neither man payed the falcon in the sky much more attention...

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Sarah landed in the woods, not far from where her friends and allies had gathered. Shifting back up into her human seeming, she stood for a long moment, trying to figure out exactly how she was going to say what needed to be said.

It wasn't easy. The Dead-Wolf was used to "Hunters" as the nameless, faceless banes of everything supernatural. They were something to be found and removed as quickly and effectively as possible. They were fanatics, vicious killers who needed to be stopped and had lost the right to mercy along the way.

They did not talk about their 4th-grade son's upcoming class play.

Something annoying and tenacious pulled at Sarah's insides, twisting her dead organs into a know. Belatedly, the vampire recognized it as her conscience.

Her Beast told her to ignore it. These things would kill her given the chance, and she should damned well return the favour. Might even be good for a meal.

But Sarah had been resisting the pull of her Beast for a long time. And annoying though her conscience might be, she wasn't ready to sacrifice it on the altar of convenience tonight.

With a deep sigh, she stepped out from the woods to the small roadside clearing where a couple of vehicles sat parked, hot engines ticking in the cool evening air as the werewolves and other oddities of the night geared themselves up for the coming battle. They saw her in short order, and she raised a hand both in both greeting and a signal to hold up.

Once within verbal range, she said, "They're up there at the church. Only a couple of guards outside, both with pretty sharp eyes. But I don't think I can just go in and slaughter these two. They're too... human." The words didn't make a ton of sense on the surface, and Sarah had no idea how to explain that she didn't cotton to the idea of ripping a loving father from his mortal coil.

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"Fuckin' A." Owns-The-Night growled, grinning back at Amber as he unscrewed the cap of the rod case and carefully slid out a gleaming steel blade afixed to a two and a half foot haft of black wood. Reaching in, he slid out a further two and a half feet of black wood with a steel spike afixed to the end.

Smiling grimly, he screwed the two ends of the naginata together and tested the join with his hands before spinning the bladed spear once in his hand. It flashed in the dim light, matching the gleam of the Blood Talon's eyes. Two feet of edged curved blade with five feet of strong black-stained wood made for an elegant and deadly weapon.

Sarah returned, and Dec listened as she gave her report and expressed her misgivings. He frowned slightly, but understood the battle Sarah was fighting.

"No problem. Amber and me will take care of Joe and Jim-Bob. It'll be quick and quiet. What about the other exits, windows and stuff?"

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"No, hold up Dec."

This was the first time Sarah had ever really tried to stop Declan in much of anything. She wasn't sure if it would be her last or not.

"Look, these guys, they aren't dyed-in-the-wool killer sorts. They're out here with hunting rifles and denim. It's like one of those stupid male-empowerment clubs, except these guys think that they're protecting people from stuff they probably don't know a damned thing about. Hell Dec, one of them's talking about taking his kid's upcoming school play." She looked him hard in the eyes.

"We need a different plan from drop-kicking them into the hereafter."

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"No, we really don't," Amber said grumpily. "If he gave a fuck about his kid's play, he shouldn't fuckin' be out here with a rifle hunting the fuckin' creatures of the night. He chose to put his head through the noose, and we're just opening the trap door."

Still looking pissed, and started forward, pulling at her clothes. She really needed to get some fighting clothes dedicated so she didn't have to strip all the fuckin' time.

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"Amber's right, Sarah. They're not children that don't know any better. I said this before we came out here. They're enemies who want us dead, and we'll treat them with the respect that resolve deserves and give them a quick end." Dec's gaze was uncompromising, his voice filled with deadly intent. "Hold up a sec, Amber. Now what about the other exits, Sarah?"

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Sarah sighed again. She wasn't going to win this battle. For lack of a better option, she laid out the site.

"Pretty basic church, like you saw in the satellite photo. Four doors: the main pair up front, an emergency exit on either side, and one more behind the back office. Usual assortment of windows, all narrow stained-glass affairs that'd be a bitch to get through. You've got about 50 yards of gravel in every direction from the building, open field of fire. Not a lot of exterior illumination, which'd be great for us if we could count on the guys inside not having starlight scopes... which we can't count on. A trio of Hum-Vees out front, and a couple pick-ups and a Caddie on the southeast side. The two guards I saw are flanking the front doors under the lone exterior light.

"The inside of the place is active. They're doing whatever it is they do in there."

She paused for a moment, looking from person to person. "I think we're screwing up by going for the direct kill on this one. Gut instinct, and I could be wrong, but I don't feel good about this."

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Moss shrugs at Sarah's concern, "It gives them a local atrocity to point to when trying to recruit more people to their cause. However, we have to face the fact that there is no chance that we are going to convince these guys to leave us alone either. We don't really have another option Sarah."

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"Remember, we're not killing all of them." Owns-The-Night stated brusquely. "Bite one J-SWAT dude and knock his shit out. We'll dump him outside before we torch the buildin'." He glanced at Amber. "Amber. You take our new buddy Jeremy here and sneak up on those sentries on the front door. Kill them quick and silent, and remember gravel is noisy shit for someone to thrash around in while bleedin' out." His voice was a coolly matter-of-fact growl.

"Jeremy, I dunno how much experience you have, but for a quick, quiet knife kill the heart is a better bet than the throat. Throat cuts are noisy and messy. Clamp your hand over his mouth, in and twist with the blade here." He tapped his own chest over the heart. "If he's wearing a vest, go under the arm."

"Moss, you take the left-side fire exit. Sarah, you take the right. I'll take the back. We'll listen in for a bit, see if anything useful's being said, then crash their tent revival. Amber: I'm puttin' you on bite duty. Get your teeth wet, then knock the punk senseless or scare him into runnin' if you can."

His blazing silver eyes swept over the group. "Any questions? If not, let's move, and let's move quietly."

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"Yeah, I got a question."

Sarah's tone wasn't exactly respectful at this point, but she was past caring.

"Just who was it that decided that these fuckers up there are all unredeemable die-hard crazies who need to be exterminated?" The words filled a deadly silence, and the Dead-Wolf looked at them all before going on.

"You know, I'm the one who got most of my chest blown away by those fuckers with the high-tech jazz. If anyone here has a major reason to go in with claws and fangs, it's me. But I'm telling you, the guys I saw at the door don't fit the mold of the Super-SWAT crew that hit my park. They're everyday Joe's, and they've gotten caught up in something. Maybe they lost family members to one of our various kinds - hell, probably my kind, all considered. Maybe they got brought in by some bozo church group with an axe to grind. Maybe they think it's a joke. But whatever the reason, there's gotta be a better solution than killing them."

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