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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["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.]

[ Speaking of Asian takeout, Ivan picks up another mouthful before shoving the chopsticks back into the rest of the food. ]

He could tape himself lighting it on fire to the horror of viewers. He was too rich to sell it on auction.

[ Then he shrugs. ]

I'll set it aside to see if there's anything else connected to it. A lead or just something tucked in.

[Pao-Lin nods, a little absently.]

It might be connected to Project Palmtree and why it involves someone from Ouroboros working with anti-NEXTers.

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

Lane's words linger in Pao-Lin's mind like the beginnings of a headache as she continues sorting files and papers. She figures Hagelberg and Lane must have been using each other somehow, but Lane had seemed to be implying that Hagelberg was deeper in it than could be explained by pragmatism. It's entirely possible that Jake was in on the "joke," as it were, letting Hagelberg yank Lane around in exchange for a couple of tugs from Lane himself. Otherwise then that means that there's something about Hagelberg's power that makes her immune to Jake's mind-reading, which then leads to the baffling conclusion that Jake had accepted a clearly unreliable person into the Ouroboros ranks. That being said, she supposed it was entirely within Jake's personality to recruit someone he couldn't mind read just for the fun of it, regardless of the risks. Pao-Lin's an adrenaline junkie herself, but something like that isn't the kind of risk she likes taking.

She sighs and rubs at the bridge of her nose. There are not enough meatbuns in the world to help her with fathoming the minds of double-crossers and megalomaniacs.]

[ Ivan stops leafing through his stack of papers and looks up at Pao-Lin, confused. ]

You mean that Project Palmtree is something on our side?

[ He has no idea that it was possible that Project Palmtree could be on their side. He thought it was an anti-NEXT related project. But could it be that Project Palmtree is something Ouroboros came up with for their own gains?

He really doesn't know much about it to say one way or the other. ]

What... do you know...?

[Pao-Lin sighs. She actually looks a little depressed.]

These days? I feel like I don't know anything at all.

[That is not exactly a reassuring sentiment to be heard from one's senpai.]

...

[ Ivan eats another bite of noodles and chews while thinking. ]

Let's just concentrate on one mystery at a time. We'll, figure out what Hagelberg and Lane's connection is. We've already taken care of Lane and have his stuff that we can turn over.

Otherwise, we're just going to muddy up our information.

[ He hopes that sounds reassuring that they will figure things out. Together. They're a team. ]

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Gotta get a boss table for the boss chair

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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