As soon as they exit the theater, Calliope pauses briefly to speak to the coterie: "Back home?" She suggests, scanning her surroundings for any potential listeners. "I'd rather not stay here any longer than necessary."
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Edwin shrugs, "Not what I had in mind but I shall be agreeable to the wishes of my compatriots in this instance".
Calliope focuses for a moment on Edwin, a dark eyebrow arching. "What did you have in mind, then? You've been in the game longer than I, and I respect your opinion, but I need to know it first!" She touches the older Tremere's upper arm affectionately, squeezing lightly as she flashes a smile meant to convey her sincerity. "I'm just antsy."
Edwin gives Calliope an easy smile, "If we're Hungry, and I am, we hunt, but I can wait.
If not, we hunker down until the daylight and K drives us back "home" once more.
I do not fear the Lupines, but I respect them and wish no altercation with their kind. Their hatred of us is unknowable to me, but it exists and it is dangerous".
"All the better a reason to go back to our own turf. We've been treading water over open ocean for a while now. Coming here was a risk. Going to the Prince was a risk. I'd rather go back to where we are the masters of our own little domain for a while. Recuperate."
”Hey, however you guys want to play it - a night on the town in Gary or a night driving through werewolf country, it’s all the same to me.” K looks around at the neighborhood. ”I don’t think Gary looks all that bad. But… I also have a hard time believing a werewolf can outrun Outrun, know what I mean?” K gives a big smile.
”But obviously I don’t want to run into one of these ‘lupines,’ y’know?” From the way he says it, it is in no way obvious this is the case.
Edwin turns to Jack, "Local Hunting affords us an opportunity to find those whose permanent absence will go unnoticed. Such opportunities are not easily found in the Loop in Chicago. My preference is never to do so but the hunger gnaws at me in a way it has not in some time".
"It seems most of us want to return. I understand the Hunger as much as any of you, but we can find a way to sate it on our home turf." Calliope grins toothily, a shiver running down her spine. "I'd be happy to hunt with any of you. I love to share."
Ash settling. ”The less time we spend here, the less likely we are to be seen by unfriendly eyes,” Alexander concedes. ”I think the greatest danger now is being linked to our co-conspirators.”
Jack turns to Calliope interest piqued. "My scene or your scene this time? We did mine last, but I'm pickier than you are."
"Yours. Like you said--you're pickier. Everyone likes some kind of art," She replies, tapping her chin with thought.
"Have to get back home first, though. Shall we?" Calliope gestures grandly toward Outrun, grinning toothily at the rest of her coterie.
The coterie piles back into the panel van and begin to make their way back to the Windy City.
About midway back on the drive, it becomes obvious to K that you are being followed by a pair of mid-80's Ford pickups.
"How's it going up there, K?" Calliope chirps from the back, feeling unnerved by the lack of windows in the van. She understood the necessity, but there was something uncomfortable about moving on the highways without being able to see what was coming.
”Going great, Calliope,” K chirps, studying the side view mirror. Forty year old pickups? Tell me they’ve got something going on under the hoods. ”I think we could make better time though.” He gives the van more gas, testing if the pickups can even go much above the speed limit.
K steps on the gas, temporarily pulling away from the old trucks, but moments later the engines of the trucks roar to life, sending a cloud of exhaust into the air and closing in on the van.
"Also, we have, like, two tails, though I think they're together. Unless everyone in Gary drives coal rolling rust buckets older than my mom?"
"Not much I can do on the open highway except get a ticket, y'know? I can wait 'til we hit the burbs and shake 'em, or exit and give it a go in wolf country." He looks back over his shoulder at his crew with a smile.
"How 'bout it?"
"Keep moving, I would advise staying on the highway. We cannot be sure who these people are".
"We could pull over now, and settle our differences," Jack offers half-heartedly. He knows that the rest of the Cotarie won't accept such an aggressive move, but he felt the need to say it anyway.
"I would rather not," Calliope replies dryly, running a hand through her hair with mild frustration. "At least in the car, with K's skills, we have a chance of coming out relatively unscathed." Inwardly, the Toreador had some doubts--she hadn't witnessed K's skill firsthand very often...certainly not in a setting where their continued well-being depended on them. After a moment of wallowing, she pushes the doubts aside; K wasn't one of them because he was a fool, no matter how carefree he presented himself most of the time.
”Pull over?” K shakes his head. ”Not even. But I’ll try to lose ‘em before I try to bruise ‘em.”
K presses down a bit more on the accelerator, putting a bit of distance between the coterie and the two old Ford trucks, all while keeping an eye open for any state or local troopers.
Expertly weaving in and out of the traffic, mostly comprised of eighteen wheelers making delivery runs, K manages to lose the tail and get the group back to Chicago.
You pull up in front of the group's communal haven around two in the morning.
Edwin smiles, "Well done K".
---
When the group returns from their outing Edwin sighs, "I believe that we should reconvene tomorrow evening to develop a strategy for moving forward. Tonight, I plan to find something to satisfy".
"Club Calliope? Or are you not hungry?"
Calliope hops out of the vehicle and shivers as though she were alive again, gritting her teeth against the blast of cool night air. She was still tense, body tight from the tension of the car ride.
"Thank you, K. You're a genius with these things," She gestures to the van.
To Edwin, she bares her teeth at him in a type of grin, hunger flashing in her eyes. "Tomorrow night is good. We're looking sate the hunger, too. I know you have your herd, but you're always welcome..." She turns her gaze to Jack, nodding.
"Club is good. You can take the lead. You're pickier. Everyone likes some kind of art."
Jack looks appraisingly at Calliope. "You still notice the cold?" He sounds almost jealous. "Let's grab you a jacket then, and head out. Edwin, you want in, or are you getting your own food?"
"It's less that I feel it and more that I feel like I should, you know?" She chuckles dryly, and then shakes her head. "I'll grab a sweater."
Edwin nods, "I shall join as well".
"Sounds good. We're going clubbing. We're a throuple looking for even more excitement. I need someone who genuinely loves somebody else, so we're either looking for other swingers, or someone who's been broken up with, but hasn't gotten over it." He sighs deeply. "The Ventrue curse is quite annoying at times."
Edwin shrugs, "I've seen such clubs in Germany, I'm not sure I'm in proper attire but I'll make due.
Once you have both sated yourselves, I will remove my conquest from the venue".
Calliope looks Edwin up and down a moment and then shrugs. "You don't look like you'll be terribly out of place. Your charm will outweigh the clothes and all," She reassures the Tremere, taking both Jack and Edwin by the arms. "Let's get going. Got to find some cutesy lovers for Jack."
Jack slides back into his feeding persona, and allows himself to enjoy the presence of his cotarie-mates so near him. "Yes, let's head out."
Leaving Alexander and K to their own devices, Jack, Calliope, and Edwin make their way to one of the many clubs available off of Rush Street.
Entering the club, you find a large crowd present and the ever-persistent thumping of the bassline of what passes for music.
The clientele of this particular club tends toward the younger early twenties types with over inflated senses of invulnerability and little to no inhibitions. If you were gambling types, you would wager that more than half of the people in this club were rolling on MDMA.
Edwin will take his time scanning the crowd, seeking someone who appears to have arrived alone or spends a great deal of time separated from their group.
Once identified, Edwin will approach, turning on the "charm".
Jack scans the room for an appropriate couple to target.
Calliope sticks by Jack, waving at Edwin as he moves away to secure his own dinner. The Toreador slips her hand into the back pocket of Jack's pants, playing the part of an affectionate partner as they both scan the crowd.
Edwin scans the crowd unaware of the complication that may be about to befall Jack.