The characters try to get to grips with the new world they now find themselves in.

Eleftheria (“Elli”) is exhausted from the previous day’s spellcasting, and sleeps through her alarm, setting off late for her day job. This leaves Regina, who is staying with Elli at her hippy flatshare / commune, trying to work out what to do with the 21st century.

She investigates the site of the old Watcher’s Council building, to find a modern office block belonging to corporation Terralith Eco, and a plaque to the demise of the City of London Scholastic Society in 1999. With digging, this supposedly defunct organisation turns out to be the cover for the Watcher’s successor, The Council. She’s led through King’s Cross St. Pancreas underground to their base under the British Library. (QV Canon.)

The cameras that Fergus, Elli, and Blair planted in Bethton Abbatoir send back footage of staff bleeding cattle (amongst other things).

Fergus had hacked into Bethton Abbatoir‘s computer systems, and he succeeds in penetrating office networks and mobile phones before he sees a humanoid demon made of pure shadow (Tsoudain’a) spotting the camera. Not long after, Fergus is locked out of the office network.

Meanwhile, Patty Hakuta takes the lead on launching the crowdfunding campaign for the vegan food bus.

Fergus identifies when the vampires will again visit Bethton Abbatoir – the following Sunday, and so plans a stake-out with Patty, Elli, and Regina.

They invite Blair – but don’t realise that X2 have already tracked him down, ambushed him after a demo, and turned him into a vampire.