kokyreforest | Gotta get a boss table for the boss chair

[ "But I thought I heard a male voice..." Castillo says as she backs away from the commotion that unfolds before her. Very smart move on her point. With Lane and Summers currently down for the count thanks to Pao-Lin, that leaves Roth and Mills.

Roth's fingers pull the trigger of her tiny handgun as the table flip startles her. A shot fires off and scrapes the surface. A bright blue flash then fills the room. ]

Only an idiot would mistake Senpai for a rat. She's a dragon.

[ ... Did she really just flip me? That was a new one.

Curses flies as the very expensive table is suddenly a teenager brandishing a small Japanese blade at them. Roth suffers a slash to the arm (shallow and easy to stop the bleeding) and skitters to the wall clasping her wound. All her courage has left her and she stares with horrified wide eyes.

Ivan is about to go after Mills, but then a blue glow surrounds Castillo. Her fists harden into a brick-like apperance, and she bashes Mills' side with it before Ivan gets a chance to take him out. Then Castillo drops the glow and holds up her hands. Ivan moves to keep his blade near Roth in case she tries anything. ]

I have to admit I didn't see that one coming.

[ That another NEXT would be crashing their party. Ouroboros doesn't seem to be the only one with an eye on this organization.

Once she sees that the table--that Ivan--won't immediately attack her, Castillo speaks, "My power is to hit things with the strength of a ton of bricks near as I can figure. Any comparisons between Rock Bison and Wild Tiger will be promptly ignored, thank you." ]

Wow, another NEXT, huh? [Pao-Lin grins.] Nice job getting so close to these guys! You should come join Ouroboros.

[Castillo looks taken aback. "J-join...? I don't think that's...I mean, no offense, but..."

"I doubt you're here to do recruitment," Summers drones, her voice slightly shaky. She's pulled herself back up from Pao-Lin's lightning bolt and even has her gun back in her hand, aimed at Pao-Lin.

Pao-Lin, for her part, is more annoyed than concerned about the instrument of death pointed squarely at her. If they didn't need Summers around for questioning she would have killed the bitch as soon as their cover had been blown.]

You're right. We're not.

[A blue glow flares around her again as electricity sparkles in her hands --

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, you little electric rat," Summers snarls. She reaches behind her back and pulls out another gun...pointing it at Ivan this time. "Not if you want -- "

Pao-Lin doesn't even let her finish. She throws out a hand and sends a lightning dragon roaring at Summers.

ZAAAAP!

The woman screams in pain before she drops to the ground, unmoving. Castillo screams in fear, dropping against the wall for support as her legs fail her.]

[ Ivan doesn't have a chance to hiss out a repeat of Pao-Lin being a dragon before she has cast her shocking judgement on Summers. The kunai deftly brought out with a flick of his wrist goes unused. After a quick toss, Ivan catches his kunai again to put it back into safe keeping. He brings out some zipties and quickly binds the hands of the NEXT haters. They won't be causing them any trouble now. ]

Relax. We're not going to hurt you unless you cause trouble for us. Anyways, it looks like our goals align right now.

[ He tosses a glance over his shoulder to look at Castillo against the wall and trusting Pao-Lin will stop her if she tries anything. The guns Summers had been using are tucked into his belt. For safe keeping only. He's not going to use them. They aren't his style. ]

You can't possibly be feeling sorry for these people when they killed those students in cold blood.

[ Not even trying to become their protectors spared the students from the wrath of these monsters. ]

["But -- but I didn't want to kill them!" Castillo wails. "I just...we were supposed to just get enough evidence to bring them to court..."]

"We"?

[Castillo starts to clarify, but upon remembering that there are still conscious anti-NEXTers in the room, quickly falls silent. Pao-Lin just shrugs.]

Well, whatever. You should still come join us. [She heads for Lane's desk, walking around Summers' corpse and past Lane's unconscious (but still breathing) body, picking up dropped papers from her table-flipping along the way.

"But you're criminals..." says Castillo, uncertainly.]

[ Scoffing at Castillo's idea, her and whatever group she's with, Ivan helps Pao-Lin with her intel gathering by unplugging a laptop and looking around for external hard drives, flash drives, or other storage media devices. ]

Do you really think the justice system will work in our favor? I've seen how ugly it can be. They'll get off easy just because they're not NEXTs and their victims were. Involuntary manslaughter at the worst. Insufficient evidence is more likely.

[ And the reverse scenario, a NEXT killing a non-NEXT on accident, is murder. If Ivan hadn't done what he did for Edward... he would have been found guilty. Even with all the evidence staring at them head on, it wasn't enough for a not-guilty verdict. Not when the judge was a NEXT hater and had supporters in the jury.

Ivan is going to be seriously disciplined if he keeps letting his feelings involved in the matter. This mission presses too many of his buttons. At the same time, it fuels his desire to do something about how NEXT are treated. ]

Besides, Stern Bild doesn't have capital punishment, so they'd just sit easy in prison for a bit until they get released for "good behavior."

But, do what you want. Maybe you'll get somewhere after a hundred years. We've just taken one NEXT hater, a NEXT killer, off the streets for good.

[With her lips a tight line of indignance, Castillo falls silent for the moment. She looks like she wants to say more, but it's difficult to argue against Ivan's recitation of reality.

At Lane's desk, Pao-Lin snatches a candy from a crystal-cut glass dish and pops it into her mouth before beginning her investigation into the paperwork, yanking open drawers and loudly rifling through. A couple of things she instantly recognizes as important, and she tosses those onto the desk. With others, however...]

Hey I -- [She quickly clamps down on using Ivan's name.] -- uh, I'm not sure what these are. Wanna take a look?

[It might seem strange for a handler to have to ask her charge for help on handling sensitive information, but this kind of thing has never been Pao-Lin's forte. She's gotten better at it over the years, has forced herself to get better at it to better teach and protect Ivan, but most of it still goes over her head.]

Edited 2015-01-13 05:49 (UTC)

[ Shooting Castillo another look, Ivan almost challenges her to prove him wrong, but he knows that she can't. He has to remind himself not to push the woman too hard and risk losing a potential ally. If they can open her eyes, perhaps they can figure out that "we" she let slip earlier.

He takes the small bunch of files off the desk and starts leafing through it. Lane begins to moan as if he's struggling to regain consciousness, and without a second thought, Ivan slaps him upside the head with a tape dispenser to knock him back down into darkness. The tape dispenser is replaced on the desk. He goes back to reading. ]

There has to be a dozen different bank accounts here. How many organizations is this bastard funding?

[ The names of the recipients aren't all fashion related. Some worked in construction, others in radio, some in law enforcement. This was a lot more than a portion of Lane's profits. Ivan wagers that the fashion job is his second passion while his hate mission is his first. Lane may not be the leader of these groups, but he is part of the lifeblood. ]

[Pao-Lin lets Ivan's question hang in the air as she grabs a leather briefcase from the floor and opens it, emptying out the contents.]

Give me those. We'll put them in here.

[She takes the pile of papers she set aside earlier and fits them into the plush interior of the briefcase (along with a few more candies from the glass dish. Hey, she's just taking care of business.]

[ NEXT haters like them don't deserve any sweets, and Ivan knows better to disturb a dragon and her prey. Ivan hardly gives the pilfered candies any mind. It's not like they are going to be enjoying them anytime soon. ]

Sure.

[ He plops his stack of papers into the briefcase. It gives a satisfying slap upon landing. Then he takes a few of external hard drive looking objects and tosses them in the briefcase for good measure. Figuratively tossing them in. He doesn't want to turn the components inside into scrambled eggs. ~~Wait, wrong PSL.~~

Catching Pao-Lin's gaze, he silently asks about Castillo's fate. They can't just leave her here now that she's seen their faces and know of Ivan's power. They're trump cards that haven't been revealed yet, and Ivan knows that Ouroboros would like to keep it like that. (Personally, Ivan knows his outburst causing their reveal is going to get him some reprimanding, and he'd rather do a little damage control on that end.) Letting her go would be a sign of goodwill in hopes of joining forces with whatever group she's working with, but it could also bring attention to areas they'd rather keep hidden for now.

The weight of the guns tucked into his belt seems heavier. Pao-Lin is his superior, and he will follow along with her decision. He's made a big enough mess of things, anyways. Do they bring her with them as they make their escape? ... It's already that much harder because now they have to deal with Lane. Possibly Mills and Roth too. Summers they can leave behind since she's dead and can't talk about what their organization. Do they end Castillo's life to tie up a lose end? Do they delay the decision and have Castillo meet Mister Jake or Miss Kriem first? Do they let Castillo make that choice?

So far, rich Lane's sound dampened office has worked in their favor, but sooner or later, someone will come looking for the man. They shouldn't linger for too long. ]

[At Ivan's inquiring look, Pao-Lin glances down at the briefcase full of corporate secrets with a furrowed brow, rearranging the contents to fit as she ponders their next move. It would be easier to just kill the rest of the people in the room and be done with it. If Pao-Lin had been alone, she would have moved onto that without hesitation. But she suspects that the killing still bothers Ivan after all this time. And if she has to be honest, maybe she's a little tired of it too. Not tired enough to abandon it as an option on the field, though, and certainly not enough for her to back down from it if it was required to protect Ivan. The other thing to consider is that Ouroboros could use another addition to the ranks, considering they just lost a couple of agents last week. Unlike some of the poor folks down at the Hero Academy, Castillo's power is moderately useful. Plus there's the fact that she's apparently allied with a different pro-NEXT organization. That's information Ouroboros could use as well.

With a sharp clack, Pao-Lin snaps the briefcase shut. She swings it off the desk with one hand and speedwalks over to Castillo, who ever so slightly edges away from her. Her voice is disturbingly, casually cheery as she asks:]

So, you wanna live or you wanna die?

[Castillo stares at her, bewildered. She clearly hadn't been expecting to have a choice in the matter. "Wh-what -- ?"]

It's like I said earlier: you should come join us. You have a really useful power. But we can't just let you go now that you've seen us.

[ Even Ivan has to gawk at Pao-Lin's cheery bluntness in the question. ]

Edited (forgot to split it...) 2015-03-02 07:11 (UTC)

[ But he recovers soon enough. If he's ever asked, Ivan has no qualms with killing someone in order to further a mission. He has done so. The first kill had been the hardest and completely unplanned. Taking a life grew easier with each one; his targets deserved it. Castillo is a tricky case as he can't say she deserves a death sentence, but she's dangerous when looking at the big picture. A single card doesn't mean anything unless it's part of a hand to win. The rest are discarded.

Deep down, there is still that student who wants to do something to improve the standing of NEXTs. Everything he does in Ouroboros ties into that. He wants to save other NEXTs from sharing Edward's fate, the fate he narrowly missed because Ivan took the judge's place the last day. He wants to save NEXTs like those murdered Hero Academy students. Ironically, if he must kill a NEXT to achieve that goal, then the sacrifice must be made. (Not Edward or Pao-Lin, never Edward or Pao-Lin) ]

You don't have much time to decide. We'll have company soon.

[ He recalls something about another meeting, and as if fate heard him, the ornate phone on the desk starts to ring. ]

Senpai, Lane's the one who'd have the information we need. The other two don't.

[ Roth and Mills are both in various states of unconscious but still very much alive. As Pao-Lin works with Castillo, Ivan will "handle" Roth and Mills. Perhaps he's forcing himself a little to make up for his earlier outburst. The only question in his mind for them is how he should do it in the time they have. ]

[As if by magic, Mills' supposedly unconscious form slumped against the wall suddenly speaks. Apparently someone wasn't as out cold as they looked.

"Please don't kill me!" he begs, eyes wide. "I can tell you things! All the stuff that Lane was up to -- a-and more! Just please don't kill me! I have a family, y-you know?"

The look that Pao-Lin shoots him as she strolls up to him with briefcase in hand is a strange but potent mix of teenage eyerolling and royal contempt.]

Yeah. So did a bunch of other NEXTs you guys killed. But you didn't seem to care about theirs, so I don't think I care about yours.

[And she slugs him in the face with the briefcase.

WHAM!

Mills topples over onto his side. His head looks...quite dislocated.

Pao-Lin frowns. She holds up the briefcase and peers at it.]

Ahhh, puk kai. I forgot there were hard drives in here. [She toes Mills' unconscious body, then glances at Ivan.] Take care of him. [Just because his neck is broken doesn't mean he still can't survive by the skin of his teeth.] I'll see what I can do about Lane.

Edited (continuity, bitches) 2015-03-27 05:37 (UTC)

[ There may be a chance that Mills could survive that broken neck for a while longer, but surviving a neck slice from one of Lane's fancy letter openers is much harder. Ivan leaves the letter opener in the man's neck. Earlier in his career with Ouroboros, Ivan might have spared Roth's life because she is a teenager like him, but she's also a murderer of innocent NEXTs. Why bother sparing that? He snatches another letter opener, this one monogrammed with Lanes' initials in fancy lettering, and slices Roth's neck. This opener is dropped to the ground.

Why just kidnap Lane when they can also give the press a field day with murder accusations and dragging his reputation down into the mud where it belongs? Three dead people, two with hands tied with zipties and slashed necks, the other electrocuted to death, and no sign of Lane who owns the office with high security. Ivan almost feels sorry for the hapless investigators who have to take this case.

He checks himself for blood and anything that might draw attention once they leave the room. Nothing's on him, and he's not even leaving any fingerprints behind. Gloves help with that. His tanto has blood on it. For now, it's wiped with a piece of cloth Ivan has and put away under his jacket. It'll be more properly cleaned back at HQ, and the cloth is stuffed into a pocket.

Hopefully by now Pao-Lin has decided what they need to do about Lane. Ivan turns to Castillo. ]

Ma'am, make your choice. Are you coming with us or not?

[ Castillo looks at the three dead people and the two teens claiming to be fighting for the sake of NEXTs, just like she is. If she says no, she'll be killed. If she goes, who knows what will happen to her?

That uncertainty still sounds better than death and having an end to her fight. Castillo gives a hesitant nod. "I'll go." She swallows and stands a little straighter. "But I don't want to kill anyone." ]

[By nature, Pao-Lin is not a very devious or stealthy person. She barely has the patience for half the missions she's involved in, strongly preferring to be as direct and straightforward as possible. If that necessitates the use of her fists, so much the better. But she's changed since having to take Ivan under her dragon wings. Her experience and his mere presence has broadened what she's capable of, how she thinks.

Also, she and Ivan somehow got caught up in watching a marathon of CSI: Sternbild the other night.

So when Pao-Lin notices Ivan's method of disposal, it gives her an idea. She'd been planning on just killing Lane before they left, as there's a strong chance that even if she revived and interrogated him, he wouldn't give her any useful info. And the phone call potentially heralds interference and discovery; there's less time for questioning than she'd like. But with how Ivan cleaned up, she could possibly goad Lane into coughing up something valuable. Granted, the files and hard drives in the briefcase are much more damning than verbal testimony, but she can think of a few things that aren't in those files that Lane must know.

She snatches up Lane by the back of his suit jacket and drags him across the carpet towards the bleeding corpses of Mills and Roth. She drops him on his back, then gives him an electrified kick in his side. His body jolts and twitches. Another kick has him moaning a little. Pao-Lin plants her foot on his chest and gives him one last shock to his heart.

Painfully, Lane's eyelids flutter open. "Wh...?"]

Take a look over there. See those letter openers of yours? They've got your fingerprints on them.

[Lane turns his head. His lips tighten as he registers the gruesome sight -- and the implications of Pao-Lin's words. She grinds her foot into his ribcage.]

So you'd better tell us what we wanna hear or else people are gonna think you're a murderer. Well, more of a murderer than you already are.

[ It was the Halloween special of CSI: Stern Bild, and one of the characters was dressed up like a samurai. Also that series has a really good soundtrack, so even if they aren't directly watching it, it's nice to put on as background noise.

With Castillo coming with them, that's one less thing to worry about. No doubt by now Ouroboros is wondering what happened to them and why haven't they've reappeared (to them) by now. This wasn't supposed to be a lengthy mission. Ivan wishes he had paid attention to the time, but he had been blinded by anger. Seeing that Lane is awake, Ivan tries to help Pao-Lin with the intimidation tactics. ]

And, we can make a really convincing crime scene.

[ A blue flash fills the room, and Lane is staring at Lane with a deadly grin. ]

If your company goes down, what will happen to your name? What will happen with your family? You business tycoon types put so much of your assets in stock. It'll become worthless. Not a Stern dollar left to your name.

[ Ivan picks up yet another letter opener and twirls it gently between his fingers. (Leaving plenty of fingerprints on it.) ]

It's up to you just how far you want to fall. You're a gate keeper, but is what you're guarding really worth sacrificing that much for them?

[If a person's hatred could kill, Pao-Lin and Ivan would be dying over and over again past the heat death of the universe. But Lane's hatred is not born from a burning flame, not anymore; instead it's simply the bitter ashes of defeat.

Lane exhales. "You promise you won't hurt my family?"]

Mm-hmm.

[And Pao-Lin does mean it, insofar as much as she can mean something that's not quite in her control. It's true that she doesn't intend to hurt Lane's family at this moment, but if it turns out his family is also involved in the anti-NEXT business and Ouroboros sends her after them, then she'll have no qualms about taking them down.

Lane closes his eyes. "Then what do you want to know?"]

What do you know about Project Palmtree?

[It's a mysterious phrase that pops up every now and again in confiscated evidence and overheard conversations with people known or suspected to be deeply involved in anti-NEXT activities. The new recruits and grunts seem to have no idea about it.]

[ When Lane decides to talk, Ivan throws the letter opener into the desk where it stands point down and returns to his own form. Castillo stands there amazed at the turn of events. She leans forward, hopeful for information that could help protect NEXTs from haters like Lane.

"Project Palmtree?" she asks to herself. It doesn't ring any bells for her, and the project sounds like something more suited to a tropical vacation.

However, Ivan is more pensive. Project Palmtree... Ivan has heard some from Ouroboros whisper about it when they didn't realize he was nearby, but when they did, the topic changed immediately, like they didn't want to admit they didn't know as much as they should. It's not something he would have thought to ask to ask Lane.

"So, you've heard about that... You have been doing your homework," Lane admits. ]

We've had people watching you for some time now.

[ Even if Ivan doesn't know much about Project Palmtree, what he has said is completely the truth. Not that he really cares about saying the truth to this man. ]

["Then I may not have anything new to offer you on that topic," Lane says.]

Try us.

[He coughs softly. "I know very little of the details. Whoever is coordinating Project Palmtree is keeping very close-mouthed on specific plans, and my guess is that the necessary tasks for execution are being handed down through levels of authority such that most people have no idea that their missions serve a second purpose. The attacks on the Hero Academy and such were a part of my part in that, so to speak."]

How so?

["It was meant to continue unbalancing Sternbildian society, stirring up the masses to revolt. For you see...while I do not know the details of Project Palmtree, I do know this.

"It is a recipe for revolution."]

[ Pressing his lips into a thin line, Ivan glares at Lane with obvious disdain for that comment. Ivan was one of the people tailing him. He takes it as an insult and nearly reaches over for the letter opening stuck in the desk. However, he refrains from it and settles on his glaring. ]

Revolution... You mean for more people to view NEXTs as monsters.

[ Ouroboros is slowly working toward their own revolution, to make Stern Bild a safe haven for NEXTs. Whether that means getting rid of every NEXT hater or overthrowing the government and ruling the city completely, Ivan doesn't know. He hopes the former. ]

Who gives you your assignments?

["You may know her. She identifies herself as Katzenjammer to us. Asian features, but with hazel eyes. A little on the curvy side." And here Lane smiles, with a touch of malice. "Her NEXT power is to telepathically control birds."

Pao-Lin furrows her brow, and glances at Ivan in disbelief.] That's...

[Sayuri Hagelberg. A high-ranking Ouroboros operative.

But why would an Ouroboros operative work with a NEXT hater?]

Hagelberg...

[ There's no mistaking the name coming out as a growl on Ivan's lips. He'll be investigating the matter of her betrayal personally, whether he has to take Lane's form or some other one. Does that telepathy mess with Mister Jake's powers? Does she carefully avoid him to keep her cover? Some of their intelligence might have been leaked. There were those botched missions that seemed like their targets were a few steps ahead of them. Maybe their reports weren't wrong; someone had leaked them. He had taken the heat for the failures of a few of them.

But that doesn't compare to the NEXT lives that have been lost if Hagelberg is guilty.

Behind his bangs, Ivan's purple eyes flicker to Castillo. Maybe it'll be better not to take any new members until they know the current one's loyalties. ]

And how does she give them to you?

[ Castillo shuffles from side to side as if she can see the simmering anger coming off of Ivan as flames. She gets closer to Pao-Lin and further away from Ivan. ]

["Conversations with middlemen at specified times and places. They use 'Katzenjammer' to signal that they're giving us the orders we need."]

But why work with her if she's a NEXT?

[A slightly smug look. "What? You've never had to do things you hated just so you could get what you wanted?"

Pao-Lin glares at him, mostly out of annoyance but also out of confusion. How would a NEXT hater working with a NEXT possibly get what they want in that arrangement? Would the former be planning to betray the latter somehow in the end, maybe by lying about their goals?

She glances at her phone to check the time, and hisses a disgruntled sigh through her teeth. Damn, they are so, so late. But they've got something that should be worth investigating, assuming that Lane isn't just trying to pull one over on them as his last spiteful act. She looks over at Ivan.]

We gotta go.

[Lane chuckles. "In that case, let me offer you one final -- "

ZAP! Pao-Lin shuts him up with an electric boot to the heart.]

Edited 2015-05-08 05:46 (UTC)

[ Once Lane falls to the ground, Ivan doesn't bother to check whether or not Pao-Lin left him dead or alive. He merely steps over him like a fallen branch and makes for the door. It saves them from having to lug around his body and avoid capture.

Speaking of which... Ivan shapeshifts into Lane once more and puts his hand on the door. ]

I'll go ahead as Lane to give you some time to get out of here. I'll be at the rendezvous point in 15.

[ He leaves the "you" vague. It could be plural (Pao-Lin and Castillo) or singular (Pao-Lin). His skin prickles at the thought of Hagelberg betraying them, and the last thing they need is another possible traitor in their midst. Or someone who doesn't have any loyalty to Ouroboros. Still... Castillo may prove useful... The choice is ultimately Pao-Lin's. Ivan trusts her judgement.

He goes out into the waiting area just outside of Lane's office and turns on a small electric air freshener, of course, leaving his (Lane's) prints on them. Then, it's out into the hallway. No one could be seen, so Ivan made a show of straightening his suit, fixing a stray lock of hair in a reflective art piece, and walking towards somewhere he (Lane) could be seen. ]

[Once Ivan leaves, Pao-Lin turns to Castillo.]

Well, this is gonna be tricky, but since you don't wanna die, you'll just have to deal. Do you work out or train a lot?

["Um...sometimes I do indoor rock-climbing..." Castillo stammers.]

Oh, good. 'Cause we'll be climbing out the windows here and dropping down to the ground.

[This particular office building is four stories, so while it's certainly a harrowing height for most people, it's certainly not skyscraper-high.

Castillo frowns uncertainly. "Do we have rope or a harness or anything...?"]

Yeah, but it's only enough for one person. [An idea.] You can use it.

["A-are you sure? I mean..."]

We don't have time to argue -- just do it! If I say do something, you gotta do it.

[Pao-Lin's willing to give Castillo a chance with Ouroboros, but if the girl endangers her own chances of escaping she'll get rid of her on the spot. Castillo knows too much to be allowed to roam free at this point.]

Tiny God flips her Table

that's going to be our phrase for Pao-Lin going postal

Gonna flip tables and ride bikes, and her bike's got a flat

that just makes me think of bike!Ivan getting a flat tire

His life

Ivan leads a holey life

The ninja way?

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1/2

2/2

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Ninja's mad

u mad ninja

Very mad

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