[i]Ezekiel Kristoff[/i]

[hr]

Within twenty minutes of setting out, Zeke and Charlie were cruising through Downtown LA night-life traffic. Zeke was on edge, he left the driving to Charlie as he focused in looking out the windows. He hadn't set foot out of his recently bought house more than a couple times since he had moved in, and had never dared go near the heart of the city personally since his arrival in California. Everywhere he looked he thought he could see a Sabbat hit-squad waiting to take pot shots at his car. He had no doubt that he hadn't escaped D.C. cleanly, if they knew he'd fled to California, he'd probably be fairly high up on their hit list. Then again, maybe he shouldn't be so stressed out about them, the Sabbat probably had bigger fish to fry in LA as it was before hunting around for stray Camarilla supporters.  

Nay, Zeke was worried about running into ANY Kindred. Sabbat, Anarch, or whatever, he knew that he and his kind were not exactly the most welcome around here. Sure, the Anarchs weren't as bad as the Sabbat, but they'd still likely go after him if they thought he posed a threat to their "freedom".

How exactly to handle that? Zeke knew that sooner or later, he would eventually be discovered, and unless he could make some sort of deal, or consolidate enough power to make trying to remove him a considerable pain for anybody in this city, he might as well just catch a sunrise as his odds of surviving would be even slimmer here than in D.C.  

So, he figured he'd do the most Tremere thing, and set out to make sure both potential plans were there in case one failed. Schemes within schemes would be essential in this town. With any luck, Juli would fulfill her task tonight in making the latter plan closer to a reality, while he and Charlie would work on the former.

"Find us a place to park, we're going to go for a walk and check out the clubs."

"You're going to just stroll around in downtown LA? After all that time you told us about being careful who we ran into?"

"Yes, but then I'm not merely you, am I? I have reason to fear this city, Charlie, but I'm still no lamb lost in the woods. My power and my anonymity will suffice to at least give enemies pause. A golden rule in this business is generally not to kill people you don't know and aren't immediately looking to blast your face off."

"That's assuming those people aren't psychos, LA's full of those."

"Just park the damn car and let's see what we can see."

Charlie pulled the Oldsmobile down and along a road meter before stepping out. He didn't even bother to put any change in, but Zeke dropped a couple coins in while the punk wasn't looking. No need for him personally to show up in any local police records too quickly because of a fucking ticket. 

Briskly, he and Charlie started walking down the street, their pale skin contrasting with their black leather attire. They walked along several blocks, Zeke gazed upon the various Kine clubs, bars and restaurants as they passed along the sidewalk. He wasn't looking with his physical eyes though, he was looking with his auspex. The world became a menagerie of colours and thoughts, and to a younger Magi with the talent, such visual sensation would be overwhelming, but to Zeke, it was only minorly straining to gaze among the sea of auras and streams of consciousness. As expected, most were Kine, but he caught the odd Kindred and other supernaturals walking among them. Mostly young bloods enjoying all the freedom for the Elders and their politics that LA seemed to offer now.

But Zeke was no neonate anymore, he knew that even if the game was not being played openly, there was always a tournament of shadows at play beneath the surface, especially in places like LA with the supposed power vacuum that had come just recently. His gaze drifted down to the end of the street, where particularly numerous numbers of Kindred were filing out of in their own time. An old, but well-maintained bar called "Sunset", the history of its property practically seeped out of its foundations, and with the mere glimpses it was enough to tell Zeke all he needed to know.

Zeke blinked, closing his second senses in the process. "Of course."

"Mal?" Charlie hadn't been paying attention to anything in particular as they had walked, if anything, he was more interested in checking out the girls, or "maintaining observation" than anything else.

"What better name for a meeting place for us than the very moment our Nights begin? If I can't find someone of some importance in there, then I wager they aren't the people likely to even give me a fair shake. Bring the car around closer, I'll meet you inside."