Duncan, who had been watching Claire intently for the last couple for minutes, starts, "Work? Are we really expected to go back to a normal life after tonight?!"

"Actually, yes," Claire says, finishing off her beer. "Until you can build up a trust fund or happen to be a millionaire, you will need to pay the bills somehow, not to mention paying for any injuries or custom-made bullets or guns: how do you think I have a freaking bow and arrow with actual hunting arrows and custom designed arrows, Walmart?"

(If you have no other questions for Jacob or Claire, I will advance the story along some more. Also, add one dot of Occult to your skills due to talking with Claire and Jacob from now until the next event in the story. You will have roughly a week of 'downtime,' so if you want to do anything specific ask me about it in the OOC thread).

Duncan laughs, "Okay, okay I got it. So what do you do that can afford this place?"

"The bartending job is more-so to keep me busy, a small but steady income and a nice cover job for during the day." She points to the locket around her neck. "And I never said this was my place; this is James' apartment. He's one of the ones who disappeared when Transposed started showing up, and he gave me power of attorney over his estate and personal belongings if anything happened." She looks out the window, staring off into the skyline. "He'd saved my life several times, and I did the same for him. We were comrades in battle, you know? I owe him that much if I think I can save him and the others."

Jacob elbows Tim, sipping the vodka. "Just don't get them both drunk at the same time, unless you've got a camcorder ready. Man, they got loud and-"

She whips her head around and shoots daggers at Jacob, turning him even more pale, his throat clenched tight. "That night was a mistake, and that was literally 3 hours after we were nearly turned into a pink mist by a pack of werewolves in a biker bar."

Duncan suddenly realizes how exhausted he is. He stifles a yawn and gets ready to leave, "Well, alright. I need to sleep on this. Tim, I'll see you in the morning?"






(OOC: I'm ready to move along when you are.)

It's hard to believe that only a week has gone by since you found out about the police officer, the supernatural world and the Transposed. Claire and Jacob are trying their best to give a crash course into the supernatural world, but its hard to condense almost 5 years of technology, research, political machinations, and 'that gut instinct' into a week. And now Amber Tech has announced that they are beginning to build their own hardware for their computers, the day job has been crazy busy with visitors, reporters, businessmen, tech builders and even the occasional code junkie. Sleep is quickly becoming a premium these days, and you're starting to wonder just how long Claire's done this job solo.

Tonight is the first night that Claire has taken you outside on her patrol, and almost immediately you sense the shift in her personality. Before, she was helpful if not a bit crass or sarcastic, but tonight she is serious, stepping her game up to a level you had not seen (and for Tim, a feeling he recognizes all too well: a soldier about to embark out on a mission into enemy territory).

"We're gonna drive through the territory of the Au'ditore Clan, a small cabal of vampires who have been increasing their hunting and recruitment drive throughout the southwest suburbs." She shifts the car into gear, quickly heading over to the expressway. "Normally I don't mess with them, but they've been recruiting at a grammar school. Nearly killed a couple of 2nd graders trying to pull them into their boney little club."

(Note: if you have a preferred weapon to bring along tonight, let me know. For Tim, Claire has prepared a couple of magazines with ammunition modified to deliver a bullet made of wax, holy water and garlic juice. It won't do lethal damage to a mortal, but it will daze/stun them as though it were a rubber bullet. As for a vampire, well, Claire simply smiles, saying, "have you ever seen a stick of melting butter? Yeah, it's like that on a vampire.")

The week has had a profound effect on Duncan. Where he was once confused and broody, he's now literally seeing the world through new eyes and it's liberating. This is just what he's been looking for and he's ready to face it with eyes open and composed.

Riding shotgun with Claire, it's nearly impossible to hide his excitement. Finally, a real hands-on mission to see exactly what's out there in this new world! At first he avoids looking at Claire knowing she'd freak if she though he was taking this lightly, but as she explains the mission, he loses his high.

"Second graders? Aren't they a little young to be vamps?"

"You'd think so, but if you start them off young, indoctrinate them into the clan without actually turning them, you get a steady source of blood for several years before they are turned." She swerves around some slow cars, turning off of the expressway and heading west towards the setting sun. "They come out and try lurking around some playgrounds near some schools, looking like some tall teenagers who are doing something cool... Whatever the 'it' thing is at the moment; I don't really keep up with the trends of today."

"Shit." Duncan looks out the window for a moment. "How many of these vampires are there? And what exactly are we to do if they're hanging around?"