NationStates Jolt Archive

Luke noticed a small pop up from the unknown email. After running diagnotics on it, he opened the email and read it.
"A job, huh? Need one of them." He made a note in his PDA and then continued on with his job, organizing gun smuggling.

OOC: Find the sign-up thread here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=549706).
The room was dark, save for the bright monitor which bathed the walls in an incandescent glow. A man was seated in front of it. He was not overly tall, and was not overly short. He was, in may ways, unremarkable. What was remarkable about this man was what he was doing. What he had been planning on doing for the longest time. Months of work, months of research, and months of planning had all lead up to this. It was time to finally put him plan into action. He began to type a message out, the e-mail that woul put his plan in motion.

From: XUnknown@Faximail.com
To: group- thieves

Dear friends,
My name is not important. You do not know me, and you have no need to know me. All that you must know is that I have a lucrative offer. I have spent many months researching all of you. And, I wish to hire you and your unique capabilities to handle a job for me. If you are interested, I request you arrive at the Blue & Berral Hotel in Vallingard (the capital of Faxanavia) in exactly three weeks time. There, I will outline what it is I need you to do, and how much you will be payed.

I await your arrival with much excitement,
XUnknown@Faximail.com

The figure tapped the enter button, and began, quietly, to laugh.

Light Karrigan woke up 30 minutes ago. He was on his laptop while drinking his coffee. He looked through the emails of the morning until one unusual topic caught his eyes. He had never seen the sender's email address before. Could it be a joke? spam? No. He clicked on it. After reading the email, he pressed his back against the back of his chair. Light thought about what the email was asking for..he sipped his coffee...After a few minutes, he went back online and went to purchase a plane ticket.

"You've got mail!" whined the small, tinny electronic voice, bleating from the laptop. Swinging down from the pull-up bar he had been hanging from, Roger H. Greatly clicked the mail icon. As he read the message, his eyes widened. This could be big...Closing the e-mail and snapping the laptop shut, he stood. It was time to go pack. He was heading north...

"Vous avez le courrier," chimed Charles' laptop. "Oh, cher Dieu, pour qui pourrait-il être?" After opening and reading the e-mail, du Pont sighed. He was hoping he had retired from a life of crime. He had already made his millions. Nevertheless, the mysterious offer was too tempting, so Charles began to pack up his bags and journey to Faxanavia.

The room was nicely furnished, and had that air that suggested that someone rich lived in it. It was, in fact, a small private party suite on the 16th floor of the famed Blue & Berral Hotel in Vallingard. The Blue & Berral was a classy establishment, and it was now to hold host to the greatest meeting of thieves in the earliest twenty-first century.

The man looked down at his watch. For the greatest thieves of the twenty-first century, they were late. Sighing, he reclined on one of the rooms many sofas. His face was unremarkable, no different than any you would see in the street. Then again, massive plastic surgery will do that to a man. He had been underground for the past year and a half, ever since the Imperator's rise to power. Then again, let us not take in his strange past now. Let us instead return to the room where the man is waiting for his guests...

The small warehouse was never really quiet, much like the mind of the individual who owned and operated it. It was also full of guns. While somewhat ironic that the building embodied the mind of the owner, it was more so that it allowed him to get inside his own head in a sense, where many a therapist and psycho-analyst had failed miserably in that reguard.

Edikian Hekker never really slept much, even as a child. He was always taking something apart and putting it back together. There wasn't much to disassemble until the Modernization had come about, and he'd joined the Insurgency to help fight the Modernists. It was here that he found his love of firearms and other destructive doo-dads. He quickly collected as many books and guns and books about guns as possible, as well as applying for online courses in Engineering on his wonderful little laptop computer. Through extensive tinkering and toying, he became a master gunsmith and assembler of just about anything. Through the ten-year Modernization War he developed a lengthy series of contacts within the black market as well. The moniker 'Crazy Eddie' had come from his brief stint in the combat engineering portion of the Insurgency, where he rigged up his own satchel charges with combinations of C4 and SEMTEX wrapped around sticks of dynamite. Problem was, that gave it quite a blast radius and he completely destroyed a column of modernist APC's they were trying to disable with his well-placed bundles of explosive, noisy love and nearly killed himself in the process. His ears still rang on occasion. Since then, he's learned a bit about moderation and what the word 'enough' means. He'd been working with firearms ever since, but now that he was a free agent that meant that he could work with whatever he wanted.

The heavy metal blasting into the already-noisy air was interrupted by the monotone voice of Eddie's computer...

"You've got mail."

"No I don't, shut it..."

"You've got mail. You shut it."

The comment prompted Eddie to stick his head up from the within the pile of components he was quite literally swimming through and stare at his laptop screen from across the warehouse floor...

"Damn viruses..."

He could have sworn the computer had not only responded to him but insulted him in the process...

"Might as well see what it wants..."

Eddie abandoned the search for whatever it was that he was looking for and hauled himself out of the sea of spare parts to weave his way though table after table of firearms, ammuniton, accessories, and all sorts of other tactical gear to the somewhat clutter-free table that contained his laptop and bootleg DVD collection...

"Let's see here... I've got mail somewhere on here..."

"You've got mail."

"Yeah, I realized that. You aren't supposed to keep talking..."

"You've got mail. You've got mail. You've got mail. You've got..."

Eddie finally mashed the 'mute' button on his volume control panel and shut the thing up, deciding in the process that AOL really sucked...

"Okey doeky... Somebody has need of my services, and I've got to fly? Sweet!"

The equipment specialist began throwing a myriad of objects into a small satchel charge bag he'd kept as a momento from his fighting days, along with a laptop and the first pistol his eyes came across, which happened to be a half-assembled M92FS...

"What the?"

Disappointed, he launched the slide-less pistol over his shoulder to clatter into the mountain of parts he'd collected over the past few months. He snatched up one of Springfield's XD models from a nearby table, a completely tricked-out 5-inch 'Tactical' model with a black frame, metallic green-finished stainless-steel slide, and a set of ghost-ring night-sights with tritium inserts. The trigger safety had been removed as per his preference and skateboard tape had been applied to the grip panels to give the stippled polymer some better gripping qualities, then trimmed with an exacto knife to perfectly match the original stippled areas. The feed ramp had also been polished and the barrel throated for more positive feeding and extraction, the weapon already had a fully supported chamber to prevent rupturing of the 9x19mm round in the event of a faulty primer. To top it off, the ejection port had been lowered and flared, then the word 'MAYHEM' engraved on the top of the slide, starting at the rear sight and ending just above the front sight, in a wicked-looking font...

"I wondered where I'd left this thing at..."

After inspecting the 9mm for any damage, he ejected the magazine and quickly counted the rounds via the holes in the back of the mag. A quick press-check told him the chamber was empty as well, so he slapped the magazine back home and slid the weapon into the bag. The bag went into a small, foil-lined briefcase that would defeat x-ray machines with a false representation of some of the usual oddities common to such containers, namely a notepad and cellphone, that sort of thing. His actual phone would be in the pocket of his jeans, next to the iPod. Crazy Eddie didn't think much of walking out of his warehouse home dressed in the filthy clothing he rarely changed, as Argonians didn't sweat and bathing was really only useful to clean one's self of dirt and other grime.

Seeing as he was going to what was basically a job interview, he at least changed his shirt to something a little less dingy, the jeans and mechanics' boots weren't going to get any cleaner. Armed, and more or less dangerous, Crazy Eddie threw an overcoat around his shoulders before exiting his warehouse and walking the mile to Grayrock International Airport to book himself some airfare to Vallingard.

The flight was long, but he didn't have many issues with security and he landed without incident. After making sure everything was still in his briefcase, Crazy Ed hailed himself a taxi and was off to the Blue & Berral Hotel in less than five minutes. After arriving, he bought himself a drink at the bar and seated himself in the lobby. The fact that he'd forgotten to take the welding goggles off of his head before he'd left his home in Argonia should have been a dead giveaway as to who he was, but he wasn't aware that they were still in place on his forehead, if you could call the sloping area that ended in his snout on his reptillian face a 'forehead'. His fin-ears pricked up slightly as he sat down, knocking them against the back of the high chair as he adjusted his tail to a more comfortable angle than simply sitting on it...

His bag clicked over the tiled floor as Roger H. Greatly strode through the door of the Blue & Berral. It was certainly an upscale establishment, and he loked around in wonder at the large, well lit walls, the immaculately kept fountain, and the vast crystal chandelier hanging above. He also noticed, as any good thief of his caliber would, the man standing by the stairs who had been watching him as he came in. upon seeing Greatly, the man approached, a broad smile across his face. his hand extended, the stranger greeted him. "Mr. Greatly I presume. So glad you could join us." As he shook the stranger's hand, Roger looked him over. There was something abut the face. Something that was hauntingly familiar. He had seen that face a thousand times before, but he could not think where. The man smiled at the non-plussed expression on his face. "You may call me, for the sake of having something to call me, Mr. Minister." roger continued to look at him, racking his brains. Where had he seen this man?

Finally resigning himself to being unsure, he said, "It's a pleasure, Mr. Minister." The mysterious man nodded. "Likewise. Now, I'm sure you've had a long journey. Please, feel free to relax. One of your team mates has already arrived, and he is in the bar. I was just about to go introduce myself..." The two walked casually over towards the small room housing the bar. There, at the counter, was Crazy Eddie. Minister approached him from behind, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Mr. Eddie, I presume. I am Mr. Minister, the benefactor who contacted you. This is Roger H. Greatly." He slid up to the bar, Roger behind him. Turning to the bar man, he said, "Scotch on the rocks and a brandy for my friend here." Turning back to Crazy Eddie, he said, "And what of you, Mr. Eddie? How was your flight?"

Crazy Ed swung himself around on the bar-stool, keeping a hand tucked under his coat and near the pistol he'd smuggled with him...

"Eh? Oh yeah, the guy with the email..."

Throwing back the remainder of his drink he stood up from the stool for a proper greeting...

"Edikian Hekker, otherwise known as Crazy Eddie. It's a pleasure to meet both of you, or something..."

Then he remembered his manners...

"Please, take a seat and I'll buy us a round or two. I doubt you've just got three people for this assignment, we'll be waiting for a bit. And the flight sucked by the way. Fifteen hours on a plane isn't my idea of a good time, and hopefully what you called me here for IS my idea of 'gun', uh I mean 'fun'..."

Sigmond Freud was right about the slippage. Eddie's mind had several tracks running at the same time in an exponential number of different directions, and most of them dealt with things that went 'boom'. Currently he had plans for a number of different weapons cycling through his head, three of which were scematics for different styles of purpose-built AR-15's...

Crazy Ed swung himself around on the bar-stool, keeping a hand tucked under his coat and near the pistol he'd smuggled with him...

"Eh? Oh yeah, the guy with the email..."

Throwing back the remainder of his drink he stood up from the stool for a proper greeting...

"Edikian Hekker, otherwise known as Crazy Eddie. It's a pleasure to meet both of you, or something..."

Then he remembered his manners...

"Please, take a seat and I'll buy us a round or two. I doubt you've just got three people for this assignment, we'll be waiting for a bit. And the flight sucked by the way. Fifteen hours on a plane isn't my idea of a good time, and hopefully what you called me here for IS my idea of 'gun', uh I mean 'fun'..."

Sigmond Freud was right about the slippage. Eddie's mind had several tracks running at the same time in an exponential number of different directions, and most of them dealt with things that went 'boom'. Currently he had plans for a number of different weapons cycling through his head, three of which were scematics for different styles of purpose-built AR-15's...

Mr. Minister smiled at the slip up. "Don't worry, Mr. Eddie. We'll have plenty of fun for you yet." Smiling, he sipped his drink lazily. This man was clearly insane, and just what he needed. "But, no, you are not the only ones who will taking part in our little endeavor. However, they are coming from quite a ways away, so I do not know when they will arrive." He sighed, and stood. "I will be retiring up to party suite 7 on the 16th floor. Whenever you are ready, I suggest you join me while we await our other guests." He strode from the bar.

Greatly shrugged, and turned to Eddie. downing his brandy, he wondered how he mysterious Mr. Minister had known his favorings when it came to alcohol. He extended his hand to Eddie. "Name's greatly. Roger H. Greatly. And I can only assume you are the famed Crazy Eddie from Argonia. It's a pleasure."

Ed reguarded him oddly...

"I wasn't aware I was known outside my homeland, but since guys like you usually need guys like me to accomplish their goals, it doesn't surprise me..."

He ordered himself another drink, a rather nasty combination of 1800 tequila and club soda, before continuing. It would be a while, like the man said, and there wasn't much point in not coping a buzz in the meantime...

"And you do what? You've already heard of me and have a pretty good idea of what my expertise is..."

Ed reguarded him oddly...

"I wasn't aware I was known outside my homeland, but since guys like you usually need guys like me to accomplish their goals, it doesn't surprise me..."

He ordered himself another drink, a rather nasty combination of 1800 tequila and club soda, before continuing. It would be a while, like the man said, and there wasn't much point in not coping a buzz in the meantime...

"And you do what? You've already heard of me and have a pretty good idea of what my expertise is..."

Roger smiled. "Its the whole underworld thing. When your good, they know you. When you're really good, they don't." He laughed at his own little joke, and sipped his brandy. "As for me...well, I'm the man who does the work while you eggheads sit at your terminals telling me what laser beams you've knocked out and which ones I have to do something acrobatic to get through..."

Crazy Ed snorted at the comment...

"I think someone gave you bad intel, man. I'm the 'egghead' if you want to use that term, I prefer 'gearhead', that builds or finds the nifty little toys that allow you to get into, and out of for that matter, whatever situation you find yourself in. If you need a nice custom firearm to accomplish your objective, so much the better. You need a shaped charge to crack the casing on a highly secure safe? I can do that, too. If you want a copy of 'Jumper' before it hits DVD, I can handle that as well. In short, if you want or need it, I can either build it or get it..."

He took another swig of his drink before going on. The plane ride had made him a little thirsty...

"So you're either the greaseman or the operational coordinator, to use one of my old profession's terms. Which is it, eh?"

Crazy Ed snorted at the comment...

"I think someone gave you bad intel, man. I'm the 'egghead' if you want to use that term, I prefer 'gearhead', that builds or finds the nifty little toys that allow you to get into, and out of for that matter, whatever situation you find yourself in. If you need a nice custom firearm to accomplish your objective, so much the better. You need a shaped charge to crack the casing on a highly secure safe? I can do that, too. If you want a copy of 'Jumper' before it hits DVD, I can handle that as well. In short, if you want or need it, I can either build it or get it..."

He took another swig of his drink before going on. The plane ride had made him a little thirsty...

"So you're either the greaseman or the operational coordinator, to use one of my old profession's terms. Which is it, eh?"

He nodded. "I guess you could call me a greaseman, if thats what you fancy. Back in the Blue Blossom, we liked to call ourselves the real thieves. Sure, you give us cool toys, or feed us intel. But we're the guys who go and scale the inside of an elevator shaft, or work our way through that mesh of lasers that gets us into the vault. I am the aerialist. I am the breaker into tight spaces. I am," He paused for effect, "The thief." He reclined, sipping his drink nonchalantly.

Crazy Ed wasn't exactly impressed with the spiel, but he wasn't much of a talker either...

"I don't suppose you carry a gun do you?"

All the jumping and flipping and what have you was useless if someone was shooting at you, at least according to the warped world of Crazy Eddie Hekker...

Crazy Ed wasn't exactly impressed with the spiel, but he wasn't much of a talker either...

"I don't suppose you carry a gun do you?"

All the jumping and flipping and what have you was useless if someone was shooting at you, at least according to the warped world of Crazy Eddie Hekker...

Roger smiled at this. He reached into his coat, removing his firearm just enough so that Eddie could see. It was Glock 18C pistol. "This is what I carry normally. If I'm doing a job, I normally take some sort of PDW with me- whatever I can get my hands on." He slid the gun carefully back into its place under his coat. "And what about you? Knowing some one like you, You've probably got a couple of rifles stuffed in that coat somewhere..."

Ed just laughed at the man's choice in hardware. An automatic pistol was an odd choice for a thief, as was a PDW if he was as good as he claimed...

"Rifles, no. The thought of stuffing a disassembled AR-15 in here had crossed my mind, though. All I've got is one of my custom automatics, a 9mm, but nothing as angry as what you have..."

The gear-master adjusted his coat slightly, revealing the handgrip of the XD for a moment...

"That's an odd choice for a guy like you. Those magna-ports are needlessly loud and you're not going to need that sort of firepower sneaking around like a ninja, besides the fact that you're going to empty that standard magazine in less than a second and keeping the 32-round models hidden on your person is nothing short of a chore. I can, however, turn that thing into a PDW..."

All he'd really need was a FAB Defense Glock-Stock and a foregrip that would the fit the standard Weaver-style accessory rail on the front of the weapon. It wasn't quite as effective as a purpose-built PDW along the lines of the P90 or the MP7, but those accessories could be removed and the weapon returned to pistol-size status while the odds and ends were stored elsewhere...

"It's fortunate that we've met. It appears I'm going to have to be building quite a few custom pieces for you guys, if you're working with stock hardware that's a little much for your intended purpose. And with me around, what you can get your hands on is just a matter of asking... I think I might have something in mind better suited to your profession..."

This guy's persona and job description screamed 'Custom Ruger Mk III' to Edikian. He had the scematics and materials list memorized, like most firearms he built, and was more than eager to get to work...

Ed just laughed at the man's choice in hardware. An automatic pistol was an odd choice for a thief, as was a PDW if he was as good as he claimed...

"Rifles, no. The thought of stuffing a disassembled AR-15 in here had crossed my mind, though. All I've got is one of my custom automatics, a 9mm, but nothing as angry as what you have..."

The gear-master adjusted his coat slightly, revealing the handgrip of the XD for a moment...

"That's an odd choice for a guy like you. Those magna-ports are needlessly loud and you're not going to need that sort of firepower sneaking around like a ninja, besides the fact that you're going to empty that standard magazine in less than a second and keeping the 32-round models hidden on your person is nothing short of a chore. I can, however, turn that thing into a PDW..."

All he'd really need was a FAB Defense Glock-Stock and a foregrip that would the fit the standard Weaver-style accessory rail on the front of the weapon. It wasn't quite as effective as a purpose-built PDW along the lines of the P90 or the MP7, but those accessories could be removed and the weapon returned to pistol-size status while the odds and ends were stored elsewhere...

"It's fortunate that we've met. It appears I'm going to have to be building quite a few custom pieces for you guys, if you're working with stock hardware that's a little much for your intended purpose. And with me around, what you can get your hands on is just a matter of asking... I think I might have something in mind better suited to your profession..."

This guy's persona and job description screamed 'Custom Ruger Mk III' to Edikian. He had the scematics and materials list memorized, like most firearms he built, and was more than eager to get to work...

"That would seem...ideal." mused Roger. "I'm carrying such a big gun because back in the south, I was burgling alot of places where their guns were bigger. Frankly, you need a PDW to take out the guys with M4's. Tell me," he said, sipping his drink, "What would you suggest?"

"Here we are." Luke looked at the building and whistled. "Its... Shiny, I'll give it that." He began over to the meeting.

"Here we are." Luke looked at the building and whistled. "Its... Shiny, I'll give it that." He began over to the meeting.

Roger looked over his shoulder. "I can only assume that that is another of our party members, coming to join us." he waved to the man, and stood to greet him. "Hello there, friend. I can only assume you are here for the little meeting that was arranged several weeks ago?"

"Indeed I am." He walked over and sat down. He then took out a small hip flask and took a drink.

"Indeed I am." He walked over and sat down. He then took out a small hip flask and took a drink.

Roger smiled at him. "Allow me to do the introductions. My name is Roger H. Greatly, and the strange man to my right is Crazy Eddie. We, too, were contacted by a mysterious stranger. He is up in party suite 16, so whenever the others get here..."

Ed grabbed a cocktail napkin and hastily sketched a schematic of a Ruger Mk III with a shortened barrel, threaded to accept a surpressor or a compensator, but the surpressor would be much more useful since a .22LR didn't produce much recoil...

"This is it. It's a highly modified Ruger target pistol in .22LR, but don't let that fool you. I'll shorten the barrel to two inches, then thread it so you can screw on a surpressor of your choice, but Advanced Armament or Knight's Armament make the best I've seen so far. Most guys will add fiber-optic sights to it, but I also add a rail for mounting a CCO on top, my personal favorite is the small Docter Red-Dot reflex-style optic, you're welcome to attach whatever you want. It's basically an adaptation of a Volquartsen custom package..."

The master manufacturer took another long swig of his foul beverage...

"Being that it's a .22LR, you're going to need to aim much better than you do with your current hardware, usually for the neck, temple, or behind the ear. Standard magazine capacity is going to be ten rounds, so you'll need to be sneaking a lot better. You don't need a PDW to take on a guy with an assault rifle, just keep the shadows on your side and shoot them first if need be. I assume you know how to use a knife?"

A former Insurgent and demolition technician, Edikian had done a bit of wet-work himself. The Insurgents never tried to match the Modernists in terms of firepower, they'd lose every time as they didn't have the armored support that their enemies did. Fully into his rampant stat-mode, he didn't even wait for the man to answer...

"A PDW is only going to slow a man like you down anyway. Which would you prefer? The assassin's pistol or the poor man's PDW?"

The nut-job waved a quick hello at the newcomer, he'd get to him next...

"Motherf*ck!" said a bald, black man, while exiting his ride. His driver sped off upon his exiting the vehicle. He looked up at the "Blue & Berral" sign to ensure that he was in the right place. He never did trust his driver. He has been known to go the wrong way before.

This was Denzel. He walked to the front of the hotel, sure of himself as ever. The guy at the front desk asked if he could help him with anything, but Denzel just ignored him and kept walking.

This was his first time in Faxanavia. He didn't have his "tools" with him. He doubted that the hotel security would take too kindly to him carrying a large silver suitcase in. He left his hardware and weaponry with his driver, who would probably get at best 5% of whatever Denzel got. On the otherhand, looking at the target, Denzel thought, that still was pretty damn good.

Part of him wanted to meet his team, but the other part was all greed. He wanted it all, but also wanted the rush of pulling another job. He had done this before; time and time again. He had done it professionally even. It was like clockwork.

Denzel got in the elevator, and continued to the 16th floor. He came through, knocked twice, and came into the room. "Sorry gents." Denzel said in his cocky style, "Looks like I'm a little late."

Charles du Pont arrived at the Blue & Berral Hotel in Vallingard, the capital of Faxanavia. No weapons were visible on his person, but he was wearing a black trenchcoat that could quite possibly conceal various items. Monsieur du Pont took the stairs to the sixteenth story, and proceeded into the room his fellow thieves were in. He did not speak, and simply ordered himself a vodka.

Light Karrigan looked at his watch. "Damn it..."
The cab finally went to a stop. Light looked outside...A sign on the building said "BLUE AND BERRAL".

"Finally..." Light opened the door and he stepped out. He was excited and nervous at the same time...it was a weird feeling for him. He hasn't felt that feeling since he last held a sniper gun. He then walked in the hotel and went in the elevator. He pressed the 16th floor button. It was a very nice hotel and looks expensive..."must be a five-star.." he thought. The elevator decreased its speed and finally went to a full stop. The doors opened. He walked out and saw a group of men hanging around talking with each other.

"Hi."

Nikolai stared into his scope, when the notebook near him sounded, "You got mail!"
He closed it and went back to what he was doing.

An hour later, Nikolai got back to his Apartment. He read the email carefully, make sure if it was real or just a fake.

"A job? Seems pretty easy." He said quietly to himself.

He started packing, not wasting anytime. Within minutes, he had everything loaded and he headed for the harbor, hoping to smuggle his firearms and maybe, himself. After unloading, he headed for the airport, to catch a plane to Faxanavia.

Ed grabbed a cocktail napkin and hastily sketched a schematic of a Ruger Mk III with a shortened barrel, threaded to accept a surpressor or a compensator, but the surpressor would be much more useful since a .22LR didn't produce much recoil...

"This is it. It's a highly modified Ruger target pistol in .22LR, but don't let that fool you. I'll shorten the barrel to two inches, then thread it so you can screw on a surpressor of your choice, but Advanced Armament or Knight's Armament make the best I've seen so far. Most guys will add fiber-optic sights to it, but I also add a rail for mounting a CCO on top, my personal favorite is the small Docter Red-Dot reflex-style optic, you're welcome to attach whatever you want. It's basically an adaptation of a Volquartsen custom package..."

The master manufacturer took another long swig of his foul beverage...

"Being that it's a .22LR, you're going to need to aim much better than you do with your current hardware, usually for the neck, temple, or behind the ear. Standard magazine capacity is going to be ten rounds, so you'll need to be sneaking a lot better. You don't need a PDW to take on a guy with an assault rifle, just keep the shadows on your side and shoot them first if need be. I assume you know how to use a knife?"

A former Insurgent and demolition technician, Edikian had done a bit of wet-work himself. The Insurgents never tried to match the Modernists in terms of firepower, they'd lose every time as they didn't have the armored support that their enemies did. Fully into his rampant stat-mode, he didn't even wait for the man to answer...

"A PDW is only going to slow a man like you down anyway. Which would you prefer? The assassin's pistol or the poor man's PDW?"

The nut-job waved a quick hello at the newcomer, he'd get to him next...

Greatly nodded. "Well, how about this. It seems like many of our friends are here. I'm gonna head up to the 16th. When you've rapped up your idea, let me know. I'll be awaiting it with bated breath." he stood, nodded to the man from Void Templar, and left the bar, heading for the elevator and the party room.

As he entered the suite, he looked around cautiously. Several others had already arrived. He stood, aloof from the others in that way only master thieves could be.

Meanwhile, Mr. Minister was making his rounds. "Hello, Mr. DuPont. So glad you could join us." "Hello, Light. How're you?" "How're you this evening, Denzel?" Finally, he made his way to a small raised platform in the center of the room. Tapping a glass with a fork, he said, "Greeting friends and fellow thieves. I would advise all of you to take a drink, have some food, and relax." He indicated the table to his left, where several platters sat. "We are still awaiting several members of our team. 4, to be exact. Also, would somebody please fetch the two down in the bar?" He smiled to himself. "I shall go do that momentarily. Feel free to relax, and talk amongst yourself. The presentation shall begin at ten o'clock sharp." He strode from the room, down to the bar to fetch Luke and Eddie up to the room.

Blue & Berral Hotel, Vallingard, Faxanavia...

A black BMW E46 sat across the street from the five star hotel, Blue & Berral. A dozen cigerette butts lay on the ground beside the drivers door showing that he had been sitting there for quite awhile watching people come and go, on his lap he had a computer cheaking the recent arrivals to the hotel along with reserved rooms throughout the building.

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?bg=000000&image=http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/2979000-2979999/2979723_8_full.jpg

A small private party suite on the 16th floor....reserved and currently occupied by a small party..

The mans employer had not given him many details, besides he was to follow and investigate on his own before the whole picture would come clear, it was some kind of test of his skills, the BMW's occupant removed a Walther P99 from inside his leather jacket and cheaked the mag before replacing it in it's holster. The P99 has a modified trigger guard that eliminated the "ski hump", which is clearly visible to another through ones clothing.

The man inside the BMW was Jason Hart, a well known assassin, mercenary and cleaner. Jason has been employed by many deadly organizations and his missions have taken him around the world, Jasons employers and potential employers knew his skills were elite, they could count on him to get the job done.

So... i have to profile these guys gathering intel..

He got out of the car and turned on the alarm. Jason strolled towards the hotel entrance, he wore a black sport suit pants with a black turtle neck and leather jacket, his eyes were covered by aviator sun glasses, the door man nodded...

"Good day sir!" he said..

Jason smiled and returned the nod. He walked right past the front desk looking around at the splendid hotel, it was very nice...

I'll have to stay here some time... he thought

**Ding**

The elevator doors opened, a man in a hotel uniform spoke,

"Which floor will it be sir?"

"16th, no stops"

He tucked a twenty in the mans suit jacket pocket,

"No time to waste" He smiled

The man shut the doors as people were approaching and hit the button *16* and the elevator started moving,

"I understand sir" the elevator man returned the smile...

The doors slid open on the 16th floor of the Blue & Berral Hotel. Jason walked down the hallway till he spotted the room where the meeting was taking place, he knocked on the door across from it...

"Room service!"

He waited afew seconds but there was no responce, he quickly removed a device from his jacket and put a key card type object in the doors slot...after afew seconds the light turned green and he went in the room.

"Wheeeew....nice room" he said out loud admiring the suite

Jason took a look around then moved back towards the door where he waited to see if anyone would come in or out, the room was indeed occupied but the people who had it were obviously out somewhere.

I wish i had audio...fuck

Meanwhile, Mr. Minister was making his rounds. "Hello, Mr. DuPont. So glad you could join us."

Charles nodded and muttered something that sounded like "Bonjour."

Light put his stuff down next to a chair after meeting Mr.Minister. He looked around once more. He noticed that there was a bar in the room. He headed for the bar and saw a man (Charles du Pont) already drinking a vodka. He sat next to him.

"I'll have a cranberry juice," he said to the bartender. He then turn to the man..."Hey, I'm Light."

Cho Krana happily walked into the Blue & Berral hotel, looking around curiously. Cho naturaly looked quite a bit younger than her 20 years, and she did not dress to establish her age. Infact, today she wore a white T-shirt and plaid skirt with purple leggings underneath, making her look more like a middle school student than anything else. The only thing out of place on the small woman was what appeared to be a pair of small diver goggles hanging from her neck.

"Oh, I wonder where Unknown-san is?" Cho asked no one in particular.

At a loss for anything better to do, she went to the hotel bar, sat down and ordered a fruity concotion with no alcohol.

"Oh, I wonder where Unknown-san is?" Cho asked no one in particular.

"Their on the 16th floor. One of our little group has gone to see if they are ready to see us." He took another swig from his flask then screwed the cap back on. "Hopefully it won't take long. I've got other work to attend to as well."

"Ah! Arigato!" Cho said happily, then looked over at Crazy Eddie. "Eh? You are Crazy Eddie, yes? I've seen a bit of your handy work, though I truly didnt expect to see you here! Oh, my manners, my name is Cho Krana, it's good to meet you both." She said, bowing her head slightly before popping it right back up agian to look at the two.

Daniel's rented van, white, of course, rushed to the corner and rounded it. Danny Da Driva as many would call him, removed his foot from the gas as soon as he had made the turn barely safely. The car slowed down right in front of the hotel. He had checked it out before booking the plane ticket and taking a loan. The loan was from a friend, a loan shark but they went far back and he got the best rate he could for compound interest - 5% a month; most rates were exorbitant but it was where criminals in the Koninkrijk went, a loan for a 'vacation' didn't sit logically. The job would have to be within a month or two or three he thought he might be able to manage but any longer could practically bring his pay below his preferred threshold.

He parked the van and entered the hotel. He went up to where there was a small gathering in the bar. He remembered his high school english quite well and recognized what most would consider average people as his kind of crowd. He didn't drink mostly out of principal never to be caught drunk driving because that could result in a bust as easily as smoking pot could make you high.

He spoke quietly, "Do you happen to know any mysterious benefactors?"

Nikolai stared at his watch. He knew he was late, but yet he was in no hurry. He clutched his suitcase close to him, inside it was his favorite auto-sniper, disassembled. He had just only picked it up from the harbor,with some difficulties, and risked being caught by taking a taxi.

"Here we are sir, The Blue and Berral hotel in Vallingard." The driver said as he turned his head to Nikolai."
Nikolai didn't say anything. He handed him the fee and got out quickly.

He stuffed his hand into his pocket, and got a crushed piece of paper.

"16th floor huh" Nikolai stuffed the paper back into his pocket. He took the elevator, seeing as it was faster. Finally, he had reached the room. He pushes the door open. Staring at the faces, none of which familiar.

"Greetings."

Greeting Nikolai as he passed, Mr. Minister strode from the room. He noted the door across the way slightly open, but thought nothing of it. Descending the 16 floors by elevator, he entered the bar. Approaching the area where Crazy Eddie and the rest sat, he came up behind them. He coughed slightly. "Ladies and gentleman, if you would be so kind as to join me on the 16th floor, our little party can get under way."

Eddie grabbed himself a refill and a second glass before departing the bar, leaving a $100 bill where he'd been sitting. While odd, American currency was accepted just about everywhere...

"Eh? Oh yes, nice to meetcha, Miss Cho-Konit... We gotta go, so we'll talk later..."

Not really a conversationalist, unless it involved firearms or the job in question, he pressed onwards to the elevator, eager to learn more about what this mysterious 'Mr. Minister' had in store for him...

Jason watched people go in and out of the room through the circular veiwing thing on the door.

I need to get in there...i need more than just memory, pictures..audio...

He reached into his pocket and removed two small bugs and looked at them in the palm of his hand then palced them back in his pocket. Jason heard the elevator depart for the lower floors...

I bet they got more company..

Luke clapped his hands together.
"Excellent, now we can talk business!" He followed Mr. Minister.

Not having recieved an answer, Danny assumed this must be his mysterious benefactor. He followed the others and thought that this must be quite a team. He still didn't know who was who and who the mark was. He tried to place what each person was, with a little difficulty. He knew he was The Getaway and that the guy who had clapped his hands together was probably The Basher.

When in the room, Cho looked around excitedly. Never had she been anywhere near so many people with such skill in their chosen professions.

"Wow, certantly an impressive group you've gathered here, mister." She said happily.

Cho was a good bit intimidated by all of these people, not just for the fact they were all so much bigger then her, but that, if they were all half as good as they were said to be, she'd be wise to stay on all of their good sides.

Mr. Minister now stood. All but one were here, and he could only assume the last- the inside man from Greston- would be arriving soon. Ten o'clock approached, and they must stick to schedule. Standing on the small platform in the center of the room. Tapping his spoon against his glass, he waited for the room to silence, the loud clear sound of metal against glass ringing out. As the room quieted, he began to speak. "Thankyou, my friends, for accepting my invitation to this meeting." He bowed with an exxagerated flourish. "My name is unimportant- you may call me Mr. Minister. What is important is why you are all gathered here today." He began to pace back and forth. "In this room are some of the world's greatest thieves. You were all gathered here by the e-mail I sent you, saying I have a job. And a job I have." He slid down a long projector screen. The lights dimmed, the projector flashed into life, and he whipped a long thin pointer from nowhere. "Ladies and gentleman, lets not dally about. The item I wish you to retrieve," he tapped the screen, "is this." A long, thin, metallic tube appeared on the screen. It was closed at either end, and was made of brushed aluminium. "Six months ago, the Imperator of Faxanavia deposited this tube in the vaults of the Xanian Arms Industries vault." The picture changed to show the imposing tower of Xanian. "Allow me to give you the bad news first- Xanian is almost impossible to enter." A schematic flickered onto the screen. "This is the Xanian building. Its thirty stories high, and its locked up tight. Every single face of the building is watched. Its surrounded by a compound which is patrolled by guards and dogs. Assuming you get into the building, you would have to get past more heavily armed guards to the security elevator. This elevator, located in the back of the first floor, "he indicated on the map, "is the only way to get into the vault. It is sealed off in a seperate room, protected by a three foot thick steel door. If you manage to get through the door, then you just have to bypass a number lock to get into the actual elevator. Assuming you manage all this without being seen, its just a simple matter of ascending 30 stories in an elevator with electrical eyes trained on it twenty four seven. If you manage that, you're hlaf way there. Now," He indicated the top floor, "all you have to do is get through the atrium of the vault, which is covered by lasers and watched by cameras at all times. Oh, and then, of course, there's the vault door." A schematic popped up. "Its 5 feet thick, made of a super hardened titanium composite metal. The only way you could get through it is by cheating the second number pad, the gel print scanner keyed to the president of Xanian, and, need I add, the voice recognition software keyed to the president of Xanian's unique voicecode." He smiled. "But, once your threw all of that, all you have to do is enter the vault filled with cameras and lasers, retrieve the canister, and somehow, escape." He looked around the room. "That's the bad news. The good news is, if you manage it, there 1 million dollars in it- a piece." He smiled around the room. "So, tell me. Who's in?"

Luke grinned widely.
"Well, it's a challenge, huh? I'm definitely in."

"Odorokubeki! Wonderful! Sounds like such fun! I am definatly in, Minister-san!" Cho said cheerly, practiclly leaping for joy.

Crazy Eddie already had more than a few schematics running through his head on how to solve each one of those problems, ranging from abstractly crazy to eerily practical in their applications...

"Are you willing to front us some payment to fund equipment aquisition? I'm going to need a few specialty items my personal funding isn't quite going to cover..."

Suddenly aware that he was yelling over a crowd of people and every last one of them was staring at him, he decided now was as good a time as any to introduce himself...

"Uh, yeah... Name's Edikian Hekker, folks usually call me Eddie 'cuz they can't pronounce my name. I'm the gear guru for all your equipment quandries..."

He took a short bow, mainly because that seemed like the thing to do at the time, logic wasn't really a controlling factor with Ed Hekker, but bow he did, nearly spilling both drinks in the process...

"An interesting job, comrade. But it seems that we're gonna need alot of equipment. A more stealthy approach to actually get into the building might be needed. And even so, killing everyone like mad is going to get us killed, so do you have anything planned out Comrade Minister?" Nikolai questioned, with an odd impression.

Crazy Eddie already had more than a few schematics running through his head on how to solve each one of those problems, ranging from abstractly crazy to eerily practical in their applications...

"Are you willing to front us some payment to fund equipment aquisition? I'm going to need a few specialty items my personal funding isn't quite going to cover..."

Suddenly aware that he was yelling over a crowd of people and every last one of them was staring at him, he decided now was as good a time as any to introduce himself...

"Uh, yeah... Name's Edikian Hekker, folks usually call me Eddie 'cuz they can't pronounce my name. I'm the gear guru for all your equipment quandries..."

He took a short bow, mainly because that seemed like the thing to do at the time, logic wasn't really a controlling factor with Ed Hekker, but bow he did, nearly spilling both drinks in the process...

Minister smiled down at Eddie. "Of coruse Mr. Edikian. All that you need is my command."

"An interesting job, comrade. But it seems that we're gonna need alot of equipment. A more stealthy approach to actually get into the building might be needed. And even so, killing everyone like mad is going to get us killed, so do you have anything planned out Comrade Minister?" Nikolai questioned, with an odd impression.

Well, Nikolai, I was under the impression it was you all who were the master thieves." He laughed. "The planning bit, well, that's what I'm paying you for."

Roger smiled. This would certainly present a challenge he had never met before. "I'm in."

"Wait...so all I have to do is drive these burglars back here without being caught by police or security vehicles? Hell yeah, I'm up for it," exclaimed Danny.

"An interesting job, comrade. But it seems that we're gonna need alot of equipment. A more stealthy approach to actually get into the building might be needed. And even so, killing everyone like mad is going to get us killed, so do you have anything planned out Comrade Minister?" Nikolai questioned, with an odd impression.

Eddie threw his hands above his head, showering a few of the gathered persons with a few drops of tequila in his best Charlton Heston in 'The Ten Commandments' Moses impression...

"Ask and ye shall recieve my son. For no task is too great, no door too thick, and most certainly no explosion too big for Edikian Hekker..."

The hands came back down again, and Ed threw back one of his drinks in a single swig, finally aware that he was still holding something in each hand...

Light was a bit overwhelmed on how much security is in that 30 stories high building. However, he's excited and up for the job. He's confident about this one especially working with the world's best thieves.

"I'm assuming the building has several back-up generators in case the power goes out...so knocking out the power to disable these security machines is out of the question?....o yea by the way, I'm Light...the electrical guy"

"Interesting...if we know the locations of any and all back up generators we can knock them out and then the electicity. Great if there are any windows on the 30th floor. But we need the elevator first. Of course if you can time it so that when the power is cut they are already on the 30th floor then it should work beautifully. The only obstacle after that is going down. If we can cut certain areas at a time then it could work that way too. Of course I'm no expert on any of these things. I suppose if we are doing introductions I might as well introduce myself as Daniel, your Getaway driver. We'll be leaving that place at atleast 100 km/h if I have any say in it," Daniel spoke first directly to Light and then to the rest of the crowd.

"I have the old schematics from about 5 years ago, but security is updated eey two years, so that'll be no help. At any rate, there's no windows above the 5th floor. However, one thing they haven't changed is layered security. I'll definitely be able to switch off the alarms and auto defenses for the first 10 floors. After that, no guarantees. Luke, by the way. IT guy and the guy who blows stuff up."

"So you are The Basher, eh? Do you have any idea where we could find the schematics, unless Mr. Benefactor has them?"

"I haven't got the up-to-date ones, but I may be able to hack them out of the main system. I'll need time to prepare my stuff to try though."

He smiled around the room. "So, tell me. Who's in?"

Charles du Pont mumbled something to the equivalent of "I am."

Cho smiled up at Luke. "It looks like we'll be spending quite a bit of time together, eh, Luke-san? I'm looking foreward to it."

"Alright, im in." Nikolai said.

"Alright man, I'm in" said Denzel. He was sipping a coffee with his legs crossed; a bit of a strange sight for such a muscular man.

"But I would have to assume we're not gonna just blast the mothafuckers out. How accessible is their mainframe system?"

"Alright man, I'm in" said Denzel. He was sipping a coffee with his legs crossed; a bit of a strange sight for such a muscular man.

"But I would have to assume we're not gonna just blast the mothafuckers out. How accessible is their mainframe system?"

Mr. Minister smiled. "Well, let me put it to you this way- you could try and use a crow bar to hack their systems, but it wouldn't do much. It'll take some skill to get into their mainframe, but I trust in your ability.

"So you are The Basher, eh? Do you have any idea where we could find the schematics, unless Mr. Benefactor has them?"
"Sadly, I lack access to such useful pieces of data. However, I have no doubt that they're around here somewhere"

Roger had been thinking quietly. Finally, he said, "May I suggest we outline what each of us are capable of doing? It would be good to know the team. I'm Roger, and if you all could get me into that elevator shaft, I can get up it."

"Well, let's see. That makes you the Grease Man I think. Let's make a list," Daniel took out a bit of paper and started writing the following list:


Mr. Minister - The Bank
Dannij - The Getaway
Roger - The Grease Man
Luke - The Basher
Eddie - The Weapons
Light - The Electricity
Cho - Eye in the Sky
Nikolai - The Sharpshooter


He then found a place to pin it on the wall.

Light looked at Daniel who was pinning the list on the wall. He just smiled and went over for a look.

"There's only 6 in this list...where are the others?"

"There's room for more. I just can't quite place their positions in the team. We still need an Eye in the Sky and an Inside Man for certain," he explained.

"Oh, I'm the hacker! My name is Cho Krana!" Cho said, scurrying over way to excitedly.

"The Hacker or our Eye in the Sky? Who'll be watching the security cameras if we can loop the tape?"

"Ah, good point. I guess that makes me the Eye in the Sky. Gomen, I'm not used to someone actually going in the builing." Cho said, scratching the back of her head, "Not to mention a bit nervous." She added.

"I crack the codes," was uttered from somewhere in the general area of Charles du Pont.

"And i am Nikolai, im your sharpshooter. Give me any target, and its going down."

"So we have our Eye in the Sky, our The Cryptographer and The Sharpshooter. Seems pretty complete all we need is the inside man. Mr. Minister, you did hire someone to fulfill that role, right? What did you say your name was, Mr. Cryptographer?"

A distinct "Charles du Pont" came from the cryptographer's lips.

"His name is Michael Argiono. A Grestonian, who was meant to join us a while ago..." Minister stared down at his watch. "Ah hah. It seems I must bid you all adieu. I have an appointment to keep, and I must not be late." He stepped from the platform. "On the table, you will find a book of airline tickets, one for each of you. They will get you to the city in which Xanian's vault is located. Printed on the front of the book is an address of a warehouse. It is there I wish to meet all of you in three days time." And with that, Mr. Minister vanished, his coat swishing behind him.

"How are we suppose to-" Daniel was interupted by Mr. Minister's disapearance, "- procede a man short? Great, now what? I always knew not to trust Grestonians. We can't do this without an Inside Man."

Luke sighed.
"Damn it. Why can't everyone be punctual." He shook his head and took out a cigarette, lighting it. "Guess I'll be seeing you in New Koillai." He nodded, picked up the ticket and walked out.

"Well I guess we have to wait then." Light went over to get another drink.

Nikolai quickly reached into his pocket. He took out a metal flask and hastily opened it. With that, he poured some of the liquid into his mouth while rolling his eyes.

"Guess ill wait for the last man.."

Eddie was almost chomping at the bit to get going and start tinkering away on whatever there was to tinker with, but he needed some information before he could go. Reaching into his overcoat, he nabbed hold of a notepad and chucked it onto the table, followed a moment after by a pen...

"I need all of you to get me a list of what it is you'll be needing for this operation. You can be as general or as specfic as you want, but keep in mind if you don't specify what you want I'm going to buy the best I can get, expensive or not, and the charge will come out of your cut. If it's a firearm, explosive, or other sort of 'tactical' equipment, I can probably get it from my own warehouse back home..."

There was a quick gesture towards the notepad...

"Write it down quickly, so I can get going and get that warehouse set up..."

The former mad bomber had already drawn up a floorplan inside his head, and was intent on executing it before it vanished into the far reaches of his slightly unstable mind...

"I'm also getting each of you a little something, just in case..."

Being the gun-nut that he was, Eddie had already profiled each of them for a specfic sidearm that he was going to procure, customize, and issue to each of them...

"Well.. I need AP rounds, and if you can, explosive rounds."

Danny said, "As the Getaway, I don't think I'd need anything accept my van which I have and I can always rent a bigger one if necessary."

"..so...how do we start this? anyone?"

"Prehaps we should find a place to rent not too far from our target so we can watch them while we prepare?" Cho suggested.

Light liked Cho's suggestion but he went further..."We could also have a man inside to watch every move of personnel in that building....like where the guards are...what's their shift...where does the janitor clean on certain days...all those things"

"I suppose so."

Roger nodded. It was time to be decisive. Ripping a ticket from the book and scrawling something on the back, he left it sitting on the table for the last man. He then took the book and slid it into his pocket. "Well, what are we waiting for? Lets get a move on!" He strode towards the door. "We're headed for Vallingard International, and the flights in just a couple of hours."

"Well.. I need AP rounds, and if you can, explosive rounds."

Eddie looked at him a little oddly...

"Didn't you just say that killing everyone in the building was a bad idea? Why don't you just shoot them in the head?"

That made the most sense to Eddie, less ammo expended and no need for noisy explosive ammo...

"You don't need a rifle too, do you? You're also going to have to tell me what caliber, dude..."

"Well. Its a last resort. There will probably be vehicles there." Nikolai reasoned. He handed his suitcase to Crazy Eddie.
"The weapon is in the bag."

Eddie accepted the bag with an expression of confusion on his face...

"Why are you giving me this? You can't possibly expect to cram a precision long-range killing tool into a freaking suitcase. That's borderline heresey..."

He was also wondering why the man wouldn't just aim for the engine block if vehicles became an issue, or the driver for that matter. He was supposed to be a master marksman, after all. Eddie was beginning to have his doubts, but then again he wasn't the brains behind the operation and was just making sure the proper equipment was on hand to make this crazy plan work...

And if Crazy Eddie thought it was crazy, it couldn't exactly be anything less than 'insane' on the looney-toon scale...

"I'm almost sure I can build something better. If you're dead-set on using this thing, go for it. It's not my ass you're going to be covering..."

He'd already nabbed his ticket, so the only thing holding him up at this point was the discussion with this supposed marksman, or maybe he was a helluva shot but couldn't explain shoving a round into a magazine because of his horrible people skills. He really couldn't tell...

OOC:The suitcase IS Pretty big you know. And besides, its dismantled.

"Perhaps you have not considered the possibilities. We are talking about a big job here. They could have god-knows-what protecting that place."

"Oh and, Ive customized it to my liking. Try not to make changes to it."

Dannij took his ticket and followed Roger.

Eddie handed the case, or whatever size, back to the man...

"Then I don't need to hold onto it. I'll have something of better quality waiting for you in the warehouse, if you decide to use it..."

The Argonian was already moving towards the door. He'd also include a proper storage case with this new rifle he was going to build, Pelican made some excellent carry cases come to think of it...

The flight was a long one, and Eddie managed to catch some sleep before they landed. He quickly rented a car and drove himself to the warehouse where he'd be setting up the respective nerve-centers for their little operation. There was already a table in place, but he'd be needing more than just one. Eddie removed his laptop from the specialized carry-case before opening it up and getting to work ordering everything from sound-proofing materials to exposives to cots for people to nab a few winks of sleep on if they so chose.

He spent the next several hours driving between several hardware stores buying up lumber and various tools he'd be needing for his current task. Within a day or so, Eddie had built a basic framework within the warehouse, to include a shooting range to test-fire his various works of ballistic art. The other stuff should arrive the next day, so he set his mind to drawing up plans for the hardware...

Roger, too, had arrived at the warehouse. It was large, and registered to Ottomautics Weapons Industries, which Roger found somewhat strange. Still, it was nice enough. There was a medium sized room in the back with several bunks for the group to sleep in (as well as a smaller room for Cho.) There was food, assumedly left by Mr. Minister. More to the point, and what interested Roger the most, was everything else that had been left. The warehouse was packed with odds and ends from all over the world. Scraps of metal sat in a vast, teetering pile, and the shelves were lined with all sorts of doodads. There was also, to his great interest, a multitude of production weapons still in their cases stacked in a corner. These ranged from the new AVIR rifles purchased by the Faxanavian military to small 9 mm pistols. Leading out of the warehouse were two exits- one was the huge, metal door which served as the exit and entry bay for trucks. The second was a smaller, person accessible door, on the side. As Roger placed his bags on his bunk, he considered just what an odd place this was. He wondered, partially out loud, and partially to himself, just who this mysterious Mr. Minister could be.

Eddie was taken a bit by surprise as Roger walked in, and he hoped the man hadn't taken a cab to get here...

"There's two of us..."

The shelves were of particular interest to Eddie, stocked as they were with interesting bits and pieces, and there was enough scrap metal here for him to make enough makeshift shrapnel to vaporize a whole squad...

Eddie was taken a bit by surprise as Roger walked in, and he hoped the man hadn't taken a cab to get here...

"There's two of us..."

The shelves were of particular interest to Eddie, stocked as they were with interesting bits and pieces, and there was enough scrap metal here for him to make enough makeshift shrapnel to vaporize a whole squad...

Roger smiled at the distracted Argonian. "Yep. Well, I can only assume the others will arrive soon."

Light walked through the warehouse door just to see metal scraps and other devices all around the warehouse. He saw both Roger and Eddie talking with each other. He then noticed some weaponry next to them and also some devices. He just smiled since he didnt have any guns with him...all he had was a Swiss knife. Light came over next to them and put his stuff down.

Luke walked in and over to his bunk. He looked around for a moment, then sighed.
"He meets us in a kickass suite then puts us up here." He put 2 Glock 18's, a sawn-off shotun and a P90.
"Heh. Always come prepared." All the guns were painted a black and red camo pattern with a odd swirly symbol on the side.

Eddie's ears picked up the clatter of polymer on wood, causing him to spin back around and take a look at what had been dumped onto one of the many tables he'd set up. His eyes caught the familiar profile of a Glock handgun, but noticed the small selector on the side of both. In disgust, he cast a glance at Roger...

"What is it with you amatures and Glock 18's?"

The P90 was a different story, but the 'Red Tiger' paint job was a little much. The guy had apparently played a little too much 'Call of Duty 4'. While Eddie respected the ergonomics of the P90 and the penetration capabilities of the 5.7x28mm round, the thing needed a proper surpressor and a better optic than the standard-issue integrated red-dot the thing shipped with...

"I can understand the P90, once a few accessories are added, and the shotgun has a certain utility to it as well, but a pair of fully automatic pistols?"

Eddie was a nut, but he wasn't wasteful...

"Why?"

The muzzle climb on the Glock 18 was legendary, especially when fired one-handed, and having two usually suggested you were going to shoot them in tandem. He'd be ordering two more Glock-stocks apparently...

"The glocks, I'm skilled with. I'm used to the recoil of them. Mostly I put AP's in them and use them to gun cars down. I don't use them much though. Scare the shit outta most gangland crap in Karas." He smiled.

"So do we have to use force?" asked Light being the "non-violence guy", "..I mean we can do the job without the guns right? The guns are our last resort in case something happens..."

Eddie's eyes narrowed further...

"That wasn't the question, fella. You're got a P90, a nice piece of hardware, classified as a Personal Defense Weapon, or 'PDW' but employed mostly as a sub-machine gun for close-quarters fighting. The 5.7x28mm SS109 round the thing chambers penetrates NATO CRISAT armor easily, which is something like 1.4 inches of titanium plate and 20 layers of kevlar. The recoil on the 5.7x28mm is nothing compared to the recoil of the 9x19mm, especially from a stocked weapon like a P90 and when the nine-mil comes out of a handgun. Now you tell me you load armor-penetrating ammo into the Glocks and use them to kill cars, when you already have an armor-penetrating weapon..."


Eddie simply seated himself and went back to working on his laptop...

"And no, we're not going to kill everyone we see. I'm just a gun nut and like to discuss the subject..."

OOC: You realize that a 9x19mm doesn't have the mass or enegry to penetrate an engine block? The 5.7x28mm doesn't either, actually. You'd be better off with a slug from that shotgun, which might crack it enough to stop a vehicle.

Eddie grabbed something out of his briefcase, hefting it in his hand before throwing it at Light...

"Hey Light, catch!"

What went sailing through the air was a custom Beretta M96FS, plated in matte nickel with a very exquisite set of cocobolo wood grips with a polished nickel inlay of an electrical plug. The service-pistol sized semi-automatic was chambered in the mid-powered .40 S&W round and had a capacity of thirteen in the magazine with one in the chamber. Eddie, of course, didn't put a round in the chamber if he was going to throw it at someone...

Light looked at Eddie for two seconds and said, "I understand. So anybody got any plans yet on how we're going to start this?"

Eddie grabbed something out of his briefcase, hefting it in his hand before throwing it at Light...

"Hey Light, catch!"

What went sailing through the air was a custom Beretta M96FS, plated in matte nickel with a very exquisite set of cocobolo wood grips with a polished nickel inlay of an electrical plug. The service-pistol sized semi-automatic was chambered in the mid-powered .40 S&W round and had a capacity of thirteen in the magazine with one in the chamber. Eddie, of course, didn't put a round in the chamber if he was going to throw it at someone...

"whoa!..ha, haven't held one of these for awhile." He examined it, "Nice"

Light was in the military for about 15 years. He was a scout sniper and have fired many..many guns in the military shooting range.

Roger lifted down from a box a 9mm pistol. "Now this is what I'm talking about." certainly, he had found himself before in the field using the Glock. And, of course, there had been that one warehouse... he shuddered at the memory. Still, the 9mm remained one of his favorites. He tossed it towards Eddie. "That look any better to you? What do you think you can do with that?" He then turned to Light. "Well, I think thats why we're all here. To work out how we're going to get into the vault. Whenever Minister and the others show up, we can start this thing..."

OOC 1: Minister'll arrive in the next post.
OOC 2: WA, please excuse my abysmal knowledge when it comes to guns. Its not my field of expertise, in much the same way that stealth is not the field of expertise of a fully grown sperm whale.

OOC: That's just Eddie being a dick. I fully understand, just maybe a little too into the character. What sort of 9mm are you handing him?

IC:

Eddie wasn't quite sure what to make of the thing. It did, however, have all the makings of a decent pistol, and he was quite sure he could tweak it...

"You've got me on this one. I'm not familiar with this thing..."

He set the weapon down and dug around in the briefcase again with his gift for Roger...

"And this is for you... Catch!"

The Argonian chucked the pistol at Roger, a customized Walther P99. The slide had been hard-chromed and engraved with the likeness of Ethan Hunt and some light scroll work. The small-ish 9x19mm was light, and wouldn't get in his way while performing whatever acrobatics he would need to perform in the course of his duties on this heist of heists...

Cho finally entered the warehouse. She looked around for a moment at her surroundings before going over to the group of men. "Konichiwa!" She said happily.

Nikolai pushed upon the doors of the warehouse. He entered the warehouse, looking around, admiring the vast amount of equipment and whatever junk that was in here.
"Good day, Comrades. I see we've got quite a place here."

OOC: That's just Eddie being a dick. I fully understand, just maybe a little too into the character. What sort of 9mm are you handing him?

IC:

Eddie wasn't quite sure what to make of the thing. It did, however, have all the makings of a decent pistol, and he was quite sure he could tweak it...

"You've got me on this one. I'm not familiar with this thing..."

He set the weapon down and dug around in the briefcase again with his gift for Roger...

"And this is for you... Catch!"

The Argonian chucked the pistol at Roger, a customized Walther P99. The slide had been hard-chromed and engraved with the likeness of Ethan Hunt and some light scroll work. The small-ish 9x19mm was light, and wouldn't get in his way while performing whatever acrobatics he would need to perform in the course of his duties on this heist of heists...

Roger lifted the box down. "Its a Smith & Wesson Model 39, according to the container it came in. Looks like a nice piece of work." He examined the Walther. "Now this, this is a nice gun. Small, light..." He flipped himself backwards, landing lithely on his toes. "Doesn't screw with my balance at all..." He placed the gun over by his bags, then greeted the two new arrivals with a friendly, "Hello."

Eddie was quite familiar with the Smith and Wesson line of automatics. For a second there he'd thought it was a native design...

"Bah, junk... The Glock is a better piece, ask any American cop..."

The pistol went flying over his shoulder to land in the large pile of scrap metal...

"As for you two, I've got something for each of you. I haven't had a chance to work on a rifle for Nicoli yet, but I do have a piece for each of you..."

Eddie approached both newcomers, handing Nikolai a totally blacked-out SIG P220. The nine-shot .45 ACP semi-auto also featured a set of tritium night-sights and a single crosshair engraved on each side of the slide, just slightly behind the muzzle. The grips were checkered ebony, inlaid with a blackened steel crosshair on either side. While still a large-framed automatic, professionals who used the P220 were notoriously unwilling to use anything else.

Cho had been a difficult one, as far as what it was he needed to arm her with. Eddie had finally settled on a Kimber Aegis Ultra II, a sub-compact M1911A1 design chambered for the mild 9x19mm round. The weapon already had a nice carry bevel treatment and flat-topped black slide with an aluminum frame. Eddie had simply added a set of nice custom grips to the weapon, namely ball-milled ebony with a gold inlay of an eye with a yin-yang for the pupil. This gave the nine-shot-nine-millimeter a pleasing two-tone appearance. She would need something she'd be able to shoot effectively and carry with her, and the small and highly reliable micro-framed M1911A1 design was perfect for that...

"I hope you're both happy with them, they took me a while to tweak..."

"Hey guys," Light greeted Cho and Nikolai as they came in.

Dannij was just a few minutes behind Nikolai and looked around it appeared that Nikolai, Cho, Eddie, Light, Roger and Luke were there. They were missing the DuPont guy and another one he had forgotten the name of. He greeted the group, " 'ello everybody."

"Ah, domo arigato, Eddie-san! It's a very nice gun!" Cho said, examining the gun. She looked up at the new arivals and greeted them quickly before returning to the gun.

Nikolai examined the weapon.
"Eddie, your not kidding me, right? These are impossible to get in Korvhburg!"

OOC: I looked up the SIG P220, and it says its a pistol. Bit confuessed here. Did you hand me a pistol or a rifle?

As the team was deep in conversation over their new weapons and accommodations, the door swung open melodramatically. Backed by the dark of the Void Templar night, the mysterious Mr. Minister stepped into the warehouse. He smiled warmly at the faces around him. The air was tingling with the spark of excitement, and it could be seen on his face. This was the beginning of the heist.

"Gentleman, lady." He bowed obsequiously to them, before strolling forward. "I can only hope you all know why we are here." He walked past the group, and over to a low wooden table with several chairs seated around it. Seating himself, he looked back at the rest of the group. "We are here for one thing- to plan this heist. And I would suggest," he tapped the table for emphasis, "that we get started as soon as possible." He looked on expectantly. "So. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"First, we need a 3d image of the entire structure. Its rooms, where the guards are, and such."

OOC: LOLOLOL
http://www.strategypage.com/humor/articles/military_jokes_20057151.asp
LOOK AT IT!

"First, we need a 3d image of the entire structure. Its rooms, where the guards are, and such."

OOC: LOLOLOL
http://www.strategypage.com/humor/articles/military_jokes_20057151.asp
LOOK AT IT!

Mr. Minister frowned. "Well, yes. That would be good. However, we are unable to access alot of that data. What we do have is a rudimentary concept of the structure." He tapped a small pad on the table, and a three-dimensional image projected itself. "It's 30 stories tall. The security booth is on the second booth, the vault access elevator on the first, and the vault on the 30th." Images of these things appeared in the otherwise barren 3D building.

"There has to be a way to disable the security system."

"how about knocking down the power?"

"Then the elevator. won't work. And they probably have a back-up generator. We'll have to knock that out as well. Its worth a try, though."

Roger thought. "I can get up that elevator shaft if you can get me into it, so killing the elevator isn't as much of a problem. We may need to take out that back-up generator, if they have one, with some explosives."

"Well, we're still gonna need to get a 3D picture of what the interiors look like.."

"I suggest we scout the place first by putting one of our members inside for a couple of days."

On the thirteenth floor of Xanian Arms HQ, which housed Security Control, Chief of Security Maxwell Sanders stood facing the impressive, semicircular bank of monitors showing all angles and areas of the imposing tower. His hand was on the high back of the office chair, in which sat one of the many guards on duty.

"Everything going OK Higgins?" he asked, patting the guard on the shoulder.

"Everything's snug and locked up tight as always," he responded confidently, "No one's getting in or out without our knowing."

"Good, and let's keep it that way," the Chief turned and studied the myriad of other equipment taking up almost the entire floor: locked gun racks, shelves of radios and charging stations, huge blocks of blade servers running the network, rows of guides and manuals outling any all possible procedures, and reserve generators for the surveillance equipment.

Truly the tower was fortress, but contrary the mentality of the guards, it wasn't impregnable. Though with state-of-the-art systems on their side, only the most experienced of teams could use this hubris to their advantage.

OOC: VT, could you TG me with the average guard compliment per shift? I'd also like your input on where to put at intervals things like small weapons lockers, the main armory, (if there is one) and discuss general floor layout. It'd probably work better over AIM. My screen name's on the little sidebar under my name.

"I suggest we scout the place first by putting one of our members inside for a couple of days."

"Yes, that is a very good idea. Though, the man who was supposed to be our inside man never showed, so who would do it?" Cho asked, placing the gun on the table.

"That's true. I got an idea," Light sat on the nearest chair to him..."We can make them call an electrician who will be there for a few days to fix some electrical problem."

Light noticed the confused looks on their faces.

"Alright, this is what I'm saying. We can knocked out the power for the building. Because of their back-up generators, power systems in the building, especially the security systems, will still be on-line. So what do they do to restore their primary power? They have to call a professional electrician to fix the problem. One of us can be disguised as the electrician, and be in that building for a few days to scout the area. So how about it?"

"That's true. I got an idea," Light sat on the nearest chair to him..."We can make them call an electrician who will be there for a few days to fix some electrical problem."

Light noticed the confused looks on their faces.

"Alright, this is what I'm saying. We can knocked out the power for the building. Because of their back-up generators, power systems in the building, especially the security systems, will still be on-line. So what do they do to restore their primary power? They have to call a professional electrician to fix the problem. One of us can be disguised as the electrician, and be in that building for a few days to scout the area. So how about it?"

Roger nodded enthusiastically. "Good idea. Maybe they can also place bug their systems to give us an advantage while they're at it."

"Yes that is a very good idea, Roger." Light responded, then he looked at Cho.

"So Cho, Can you hack into the city's power grid and disable the power for the building temporarily?"

"That sounds like a great idea. Will anyone need the inside of the van for any equipment they might need or want to steup?"

"Let's head to my van in that case. I thought Light would be doing it," Dan motioned towards the door in order to get Rogers stuff in the van.

"That sounds like a great idea. Will anyone need the inside of the van for any equipment they might need or want to steup?"

Roger raised his hand. "I have some...items in my bag which will need to be trasnferred. Also, we need to pick an 'electrician'. Who's up for the job?"

"Let's head to my van in that case. I thought Light would be doing it," Dan motioned towards the door in order to get Rogers stuff in the van.

Roger walked over to the sleeping quarters to retrieve his duffel bag. He sorted through it's contents, selecting everything he needed. He lifted from the larger bag a smaller, black one- his field bag. Sliding the necesarry tools into it, he set the duffel bag back down on the bed and followed Dan out through the doors to the van.

"Me? ha, why not," Light said with a smile on his face.

Dannij led Roger to the white van. He opened the back doors to reveal a mostly empty space. There were two seats in front - one for the driver one for a passenger and bench-like objects protruding from the inside of the side walls of the van, presumably for sitting on, "So, what's in the bag there?"

Dannij led Roger to the white van. He opened the back doors to reveal a mostly empty space. There were two seats in front - one for the driver one for a passenger and bench-like objects protruding from the inside of the side walls of the van, presumably for sitting on, "So, what's in the bag there?"

Roger smiled a vampiric smile. "These, my friend, are like the gas pedal and break to you. These are my tricks of the trade. These are what," he paused for effect. "are going to get us into that vault." He sat on the bench and began to sort through the contents. Some seemed normal enough- Wire cutters, tethlon cable, knife. However, some bordered on the odd- specifically a set of black, plastic gloves, and the long thin cable with climbers hook at the end. ROger had something unique in mind.

"Yes that is a very good idea, Roger." Light responded, then he looked at Cho.

"So Cho, Can you hack into the city's power grid and disable the power for the building temporarily?"

"Ah, finally, something to do! Just tell me when you want me to turn it off and for how long!" Cho said, smiling and pulling a small, hand held keyboard, alot like a cell phone's, out of her pocket.

"Ah, finally, something to do! Just tell me when you want me to turn it off and for how long!" Cho said, smiling and pulling a small, hand held keyboard, alot like a cell phone's, out of her pocket.

"Well, starting now and ending whenever our electrician leaves would be good..." said Mr. Minister, smiling. "Now, all we have to deal with is that back-up generator with the normal heist, and it'll be all set." He turned to light. "How about while you're in there, you plant something on the generator, so that when the lights go down, so does it."

"Well, starting now and ending whenever our electrician leaves would be good..." said Mr. Minister, smiling. "Now, all we have to deal with is that back-up generator with the normal heist, and it'll be all set." He turned to light. "How about while you're in there, you plant something on the generator, so that when the lights go down, so does it."

"That would be a good idea," Light responded, "But I suggest I plant something small...enough to disable the generator 'cause I don't think having a big bang would be a good idea."

"Ok, Minister-san! I'll get right to work on it!" Cho said, pulling on her goggles and scurrying off to her room.

"If shutting off the power fails, I suggest we plant a bug to disable the security systems for backup." Nikolai suggested.

Roger smiled a vampiric smile. "These, my friend, are like the gas pedal and break to you. These are my tricks of the trade. These are what," he paused for effect. "are going to get us into that vault." He sat on the bench and began to sort through the contents. Some seemed normal enough- Wire cutters, tethlon cable, knife. However, some bordered on the odd- specifically a set of black, plastic gloves, and the long thin cable with climbers hook at the end. ROger had something unique in mind.

"Interesting. How are we going to keep them from falling or something like that when we are moving in the van? You'll just leave them in your bag which you'll leave here and presumably you'd be in the van when we're moving?"

"Interesting. How are we going to keep them from falling or something like that when we are moving in the van? You'll just leave them in your bag which you'll leave here and presumably you'd be in the van when we're moving?"

Roger nodded. "This is going to stay in the van until we get moving. Then, I'll be carrying it with me at all times."

"I suppose we should head back inside, lest we be seen or heard and others made aware of us," Dannij wanted to be sure no one but the contracted burglars and their benefactor were aware of what was going on.

OOC: He just said he hasn't built the rifle yet. You're thinking SIG 556 or SIG 550, both of which are rifles and wouldn't make the superb quality of distance weapon I have in mind...

Eddie hadn't built Nikoli's rifle yet, and that was something he needed to get done before they got the operation started...

"If you need me, I'll be in the work shop..."

Mr. Minister looked as Eddie and Cho drifted off to their tasks. "Then, may I suggest that the we all get a good night's sleep, and I shall see you all in the morning to prepare to carry out phase 1!" He stood, and turned on his heal, striding purposefully out of the main door and into the night.

Chief Sanders was finally punching out, his main force rotating out and making way for the graveyard shift, which would monitor the building through most of the night. He observed the many cameras and waved to the patrolling canine units as he made his way to his car. Taking a last look at the building, now dark with the exception of the occasional light that meant an employee was burning the midnight oil. Satisfied, he climbed in, started the car, and drove home.

"Ill be in the shooting range..."