kokyreforest | Gotta get a boss table for the boss chair

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Gotta get a boss table for the boss chair

[ The target is Jacob Lane, a business man working in the fashion industry. Sources indicated that a portion of his profits were going underground to an anti-NEXT organization and that he might be a gatekeeper into that group. It's a trusted source of information. Ivan had a previous mission shapeshifted into a model in a runway show. (A... lingerie runway show much to Ivan's displeasure, only mitigated by the fact that it was someone else's body doing the modeling and not him.)

If they wanted to take out Lane, it would have been easy to do, but no, Ouroboros has bigger plans. They want entrance into that organization and names of more from the group. Lane is due to get brand new table for his large office, where he also entertains small groups. Possibly not all fashion and business related.

Pao-Lin is part of the table delivery, as is Ivan, to see if they can locate where important files may be stored for later retrieval. However, once they got wind of a possible meeting after, the plans changed. Why waste a table on a NEXT Hater when they can not only get the information they need and get a very nice table? ]

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[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.]

[ It's a long 15 minutes, and Ivan struggles to keep the anger he feels out of his expression. On the outside, he just looks like Lane going about his business. Ivan makes sure to have people notice him, and adds a little more attention into the mix. He "bumps" into someone holding a cup of coffee. The cup goes all over the floor. Ivan yells at the hapless victim for getting the offending liquid on his shoe and storms off with obvious flourish. Now there will be no question that Lane was there and leaving after the scene of the crime. Though, if Lane's dead, then there will be a lot of confusion for whoever investigates these deaths. Oh well. That's their problem. There's not a trace of Pao-Lin or Ivan in there.

Other than that, Ivan has no trouble making it to the rendezvous point at the nearby park. He waits while in a form of teenage girl and checks his phone for any updates from HQ. Occasionally, he looks up and around as if he's waiting for someone. And he is. But to an outsider, he hardly seems suspicious. He's just some girl sitting on a bench and waiting for one or two other girls to arrive. ]

[Castillo is slow and hesitant going down the rope, much to Pao-Lin's annoyance. She almost wants to just let the girl drop down outright, but that would cause a fuss that she absolutely doesn't want at this stage in the game. Once Castillo reaches the ground, Pao-Lin untethers the rope and simply runs down the side of the building (much to Castillo's open-mouthed amazement). She leads the other girl around to some bushes, where she'd hidden some clothes beforehand precisely for getaway purposes. Again, though, there's only enough for one person.

So when Pao-Lin and Castillo arrive at the rendezvous spot, Ivan's going to see Pao-Lin in the dress and shoes she'd packed for the occasion...and Castillo wearing Pao-Lin's mission clothes. (The two girls are, fortunately, quite similar in size.)]

No problems on your end?

[ He raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment on the fact that Castillo is wearing Pao-Lin's mission clothes. Ivan jumps up from his seat on the bench and jogs toward them, helping to complete the waiting image. He says some throwaway phrases about waiting forever and that they are late. But they are just empty words.

However, Ivan does have something to say to Pao-Lin's question. ]

None at all, but oh my god. I totally saw this stuck up suit slam into someone and spill coffee everywhere. And then he, like, totally blew up at the guy in front of everyone. I wouldn't want to work with that jerk. The nerve of some people attacking those in the same company.

[ The stuck up suit is obviously Lane, and the situation explained is what Ivan did as him. Pao-Lin knows Ivan well enough to pick up on the true meaning of what he's saying. And... behind that stereotypical valley girl talk is a smoldering fire and impatience. Ivan wants to return to HQ and start investigating another lead they have. ]

Anyways. We wasted enough time. Let's get going already!

[ Castillo stares at Ivan like he has lost his mind with how he's talking. Was this really the same young man who had just murdered not hours earlier? In fact, is any of this really happening? She swallows and stays close to Pao-Lin, who's much more... up front with how she feels and what she'll do. ]

[Pao-Lin starts giggling. She gets such a kick out of watching Ivan do his impressions, it's hilarious. And also kind of amazing. Her imitiation specialties are in drawing and movement, neither of which directly benefit Ouroboros as much as Ivan's.

(Castillo, too, laughs a little, although perhaps more out of needing to relax from the stress of the situation than because she actually finds Ivan's act funny. ...okay, maybe she does find it a little funny.)]

Yeah, no kidding. I'm totally starving! [When is she not? To Castillo, she asks:] What do you wanna eat?

[The other girl does a double-take. She hadn't expected such an invitation. Unless this is meant to be her last meal, like the mafia does with people they wanna kill? "Uh...I don't know. I'm not really hungry." Nerves tend to do that to a person.

Shrug.] Well, okay. Let's just go pick up some takeout from that one Thai place on Cabane.

[Pao-Lin, you do remember you're kinda sorta running late on finishing your mission, right?]

[ Ivan flips some of his hair off his shoulder in a showy fashion. Now he's overdoing it, but he doesn't see a real need to be continue to be subtle. It's just them here. ]

We can call ahead, so we can just pay and leave. That way Luisa doesn't have to sit there and watch us eat.

[ They can eat and work on their report for the mission debriefing, and Castillo can be put through the paces to see if she's trustworthy or not. And Ivan and Pao-Lin can discuss what they are going to do about Sayuri Hagelberg. They can't just go up to her or Miss Kriem and say that a NEXT hater said she was working with NEXT haters. They need some proof that Lane wasn't just lying to try and save his skin.

Pulling out his cellphone, Ivan begins to dial the number of the restaurant. ]

[Luisa wouldn't mind putting off having to meet the bosses of her captors, but as Ivan places their order, Pao-Lin hurries her along to their getaway vehicle, a used car bought specifically for anonymity and ease of disposal.

After picking up fresh food and dropping off fresh meat, the two Ouroboros agents retire to their place to debrief and decompress. Pao-Lin places the briefcase full of intel on a couch, then plops the bag of takeout on their beat-up card table from the thrift. She flops down on an equally beat-up folding chair before opening up the bag and emptying it of its delicious-smelling treasures. The mission might technically be over, but there's still a lot for them to do and Pao-Lin will be damned if she's going to do it on an empty stomach.]

[ Ivan plops down on the ~~boss~~ chair they found on the side of the road, legs hanging over the armrest. He starts eating with relish. The day has been long, and it's not over yet. Just the really dangerous part. He didn't realize how hungry he was. ]

I'm going to start investigating Hagelberg tomorrow. I think if I start looking into things today, I risk drawing too much attention to myself.

[ He munches on some of his food, following after his senpai too much. Food is important and good. ]

But if I wait too long, I may lose the lead we have, and she might ruin more of our missions while she's at it.

[ He'll deal with the consequences later if it turns out Lane's accusations were just lies, but the timing and method of some of Ouroboros' recent mission failures are just too coincidental. ]

[Pao-Lin nods, swallowing a bite of her potsticker.]

We'll need to tell Kriem and Mister Jake, too. [She blinks, and sits up straighter as something occurs to her.] We definitely need to tell Jake. He'll be able to mind read her and see what she's up to.

[The question, though, is how has she been able to evade Jake's mind reading ability?]

[ It's a good question. How has Hagelberg avoided being found out all this time? mister Jake should have been clued in at the very least. Maybe there is a reason why they've been caught so unaware. ]

Where are they? Are they back from their "errand"?

[ He slurps up some chow mein, continuing on this train of thought. If Hagelberg has some how avoided Mister Jake for a long time, it's possible she could keep information from him... ]

Not yet. Katya's looking after Castillo for now. [Katya is a NEXT with the power to mentally bend certain kinds of metal -- useful for detaining people.] She said they'd be back in about an hour.

[She can hardly wait for Kriem and Jake to come back. They'd surely know how to handle a situation like this. For the meantime, though, at least there's food.]

[ Frowning, Ivan puts down his chow mein, sticking his chopsticks into the mass even though it's bad manners. ]

An hour... Hagelberg might find out about Lane's death within that time, and we might lose her.

[ That can wreck havoc on their organization. Hagelberg could expose all of Ouroboros' secrets. Even if she doesn't, they'd lose her and her connection to Project Palmtree.

He is, of course, working on the assumption that Lane was telling the truth. They have too much to lose if it's true, and on the chance that it's not, then he'll just have to deal with Hagelberg being angry at him. ]

[Pao-Lin will be the last person to complain about bad manners. In fact, she says her next words through a mouthful of food.]

Well, if she goes missing during that time, we'll know if Lane was telling the truth or not. [She's never liked Hagelberg personally, so she's not sad at the prospect of the woman being gone. She's more worried about the threat to Ouroboros if Hagelberg is a double agent.] Let's at least get these papers organized so we can get them processed. [She reaches a hand back for the briefcase, opening it with her non-greasy hand and pulling out the papers within. Procurement is their specialty; deep analysis belongs to a different division of Ouroboros.]

[ But the Project Palmtree connection being lost because Hagelberg bolted...

Ivan doesn't even know why such a thing is important, but Pao-Lin's right that they need to get the paperwork organized. Their are a few hard drives deep analysis will have to deal with as well. Ivan reaches over and takes a stack of papers. ]

I'll work on sorting this bunch...

[ Two sheets in, Ivan pauses, clearly confused. ]

... Is that a flyer for a book signing by Sky High?

[ He doesn't know which part surprises him more: that Lane would have a flyer for a Sky High book signing or that Sky High wrote a book. The book is probably twice as long as it needs to be. ]

[Pao-Lin smirks a little.]

They might have been planning to demonstrate or protest at that, probably...but it would've been funny if Lane was secretly a Sky High fan. And if Sky High had given him his autograph without realizing what a NEXT hater he was.

[Irony: Not quite as delicious as Asian takeout, but it's up there.]

Gotta get a boss table for the boss chair

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Ninja's mad

u mad ninja

Very mad

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timeskipping

To the future with food

AND THE FUTURE IS HERE, MONTHS LATER

The future works in mysterious ways

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