Chapter 5 Exhibition
"I didn't think it would take you so long to find the place," Bouchard says as he finishes cleaning the lens of a well-hidden camera mounted in a discreet indentation where the wall meets the ceiling. "I'm no fan of waiting around for neonates with delusions of grandeur. It suggests you aren't taking this partnership seriously. Be glad I had work to do here while I waited for you to drag that sorry carcass of yours down here."
The length of sewer stretching beneath the Greyhound station reeks of urine and food scraps, its stone walls stained with decades of dripping filth. Not that you're surprised, it is a sewer after all, but it's a particularly ripe one. You're not sure Bouchard even notices it. Maybe his facial deformities have taken away his sense of smell.
"It's been barely twenty minutes since I got your note," you say. "I came here immediately."
"Of course you did," Bouchard grunts. "Are we finished exchanging pleasantries?" He doesn't wait for a response, which is probably for the best. "Good. I've come into information that you may find useful. An attempt to undermine your sire. If Corliss falls, especially this early, your usefulness to me will be at an end."
"What is it?" you ask, suddenly anxious.
The Sewer Rat scratches a long nail down his quivering jowls as he watches your reaction. "You'll know soon enough. First, I'll have a favor from you. A token of goodwill so I'll know you're willing to spill a little blood in my name. Can you do that for me, Agad the Imperishable?"