Summary:Some intel on an AIM convoy changes hands. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
Something weird is happening around the RESCUE campus today. One of the meeting rooms has been secured..through proper means. A notice has gone out to a few individuals..through appropriate channels. Coffee is provided, brewed stiff enough that it could practically stand on its own without the aid of a cup.
Heading such proper organization? That would be the resident Hellbino.
Alright, how much does she want -this- time?
She had played her hand carefully with any invitations, notably in scheduling Posse's arrival to be a bit earlier than everyone else. By the time she might show up Ava will also be the first person other than Karl to witness Neena fighting with the holographic display interface.
"Then if I do this..and it does that..then -why-… Oh come on you piece of garbage, no — NO bring that back, bad display!"
Karl doesn't have to say a word, his expression proves just how amused he is by the performance.
*
Ava enters in uniform and raises a snowy brow as she finds Neena fight with, and losing to, the room's projector. Her eyes glance to Karl while the door shuts behind her and the bionic security chief cracks a smile. With her hair continuing to grow back her stubble has progressed to looking tightly shaved and confirming, for anyone wondering, that the stark white shade wasn't dyed.
"Grab its frame and go for the source button," she teases.
*
Neena hesitates at the sound of a familiar voice and checks her watch rather than glance at the door. "There's Robocop, right on schedule. Right, frame..and source…"
She manages to pull up a satellite image of the New York City area. This is probably intentional! Then she goes back to fiddling around with the alignment for a few seconds before giving up and flicking her hand a few times to send the virtual image into a chaotic spin like a roulette wheel. It's left to spin as she looks back to Ava, as nonchalant as can be. "How'd you feel about playing with some explosives?"
*
Ava looks strangely back at the albino while shuffling sideways to clear the door, leaving herself mostly to the rear of the room. "What kind do ya mean?" she asks skeptically.
*
"Oh, just a little speed, surprise, and violence of action. I know you've been itching to do some actual work" Neena suggests as if it's no big deal. "Got a hard target with a soft chewy center that'll be on the move and the quickest way in will involve blowing off the rear door while it's in motion. Strictly a recovery operation, no 187's here. Thought you might like dibs on the trigger. Your bike would also be a big help."
*
Having wandered up to the doorway, Martin has a half eaten donut in his mouth, a box of such beneath an arm, and a tablet in his other hand. He hesitates there a moment, taking this all in. The man's hair is mussed and he's looking tired. "You guys okay?" Asked as he takes the donut piece out of his mouth. Explosives sound serious. "Can I opt out of playing with explosives?"
*
Ava stares blankly at first, breaking her gaze to notice Martin as he enters before returning to the albino. It's another several seconds, as if waiting, before she replies.
"You're serious? You're /really/ recruiting me to go on a mission?" she asks the black-garbed woman incredulously.
*
Neena's attention shifts slightly as Martin pokes his head in. "Hey there, Doc. You're..a smidge early" she decides while glancing back to her watch again. "No worries. Hey, listen. This is just about opening a mobile vault, not robbing a bank. Some nuts are harder to crack. A little persuasion becomes necessary. But" she quickly cuts herself off while holding up a single half-gloved finger, "you -can- help to ensure that the people inside walk away without a scratch."
Glancing back to the display the albino voices a soft "Huh" as the display comes to rest at just the right angle for her liking. "Shoulda bet on a single."
Turning back to Ava, Dom snaps fingers on both hands then drops them palms forward onto the table. "NOT a mercenary gig. You have my word. This is one hundred percent about you all, RESCUE, and a certain plague which resulted in a system-wide breach during a metal-devouring nanite storm."
She pauses then rolls eyes off to one side and lightly bobs her head. "Okay, so like ninety-five percent."
Back to the matter at hand, "I've got intel on an AIM convoy. People, hardware, -intel.- Out in the open. Lightly guarded. We can stop 'em so fast they won't know they've been backed into a corner. I thought you might want to get out in particular, Posse, but if you'd rather play the plausible deniability card then I'll catch up with you in a couple of days."
*
Chewing, Martin makes his way in slowly, eyes flickering between the display and the women here. Sorry, he totally has to refuel, so he keeps on doing so. With Posse's reaction, and Domino's demeanor the red-head is looking pretty dubious. It brings him to take a seat, "So what do you get out of this?" Asked with a confused frown.
*
Posse's demeanor seems to relax *slightly* with the assurance that it's not a mercenary job but anything else out of Domino's mouth doesn't visibly help her case. Another glance is given to her fellow REACT as he stands sentinel to one side. "Take a walk, Karl. I've got 'er from here."
*
Neena takes a moment to look a mite stunned at Martin. "What do -I- get out of this?" she repeats while splaying fingertips of a hand against her sternum.
The look of shock falters slightly as she looks down at the table and softly reminds herself "Oh yeah. Mercenary."
Back to Martin, "If anything I get a modicum of satisfaction knowing that I -might- have somehow helped out the people who saved my sorry ass from living in a five foot cube of steel and concrete with a daily encounter from a fire hose." She shrugs gently. "I'm selfish."
With the dismissal Karl dips his head with a gently voiced "Ma'am" before taking his leave.
Another pause and a glance between the two helps to take some of the wind out of Dom's sails, rolling out the nearest chair to take a seat at the table and lace fingers together. "Right. Hard sell" she absently mutters before her attention shifts to the cyborg. "You're quiet over there, Av. Aren't you even a -little- interested in going back to the fast lane?"
*
Martin doesn't really respond to the rebuke, as yeah, mercenary. Karl too, and even a tracking device for a bit? Let's not forget the ..cat. "I'm on the outside looking in." The man reminds. "This looks weird." But he does nod to Posse. "I'm in if she wants me there." And yeah, he calmly goes back to eating. Gets himself some of that coffee too.
*
Ava's gaze follows Karl long enough for the man to leave and as the door shuts again at his back she returns once more to Neena. Martin, for whatever reason, is only getting a brief acknowledgement passing from point A to point B. The visibly fatigued doctor doesn't seem to warrant any concern.
"Give it up, Spot. You're not temptin' me with excitement, and the track record of your fast lane is one long brown stain from the starting line to the brick wall at the end," the cyborg answers flatly. "Remind me how every unsanctioned op you've tried to run has gone so far."
Staring the albino down, Posse returns to silence long enough for her rebuke to sink in before shifting her attention with a nod to the hologram. "Now, if you want to share some intel you've found, send it. I'm happy to listen."
*
Neena sits there watching and listening to Posse when the response is forthcoming. To the first part all the albino says is "That's somewhat hurtful" while looking entirely unfazed.
With the shifting of gears toward sharing intel, she asks "And let you steal my moment of fun? Fine. We don't have to go any spicier than a hot range."
Her attention goes back to the holographic thing, idly struggling with the interface while she explains what's driving her in this direction.
"Got word of a small AIM convoy which has been making some passes through the area. With the limited road access in and out of town there's been some repeating patterns in their routes. One of them is the Lincoln Tunnel. Be a perfect place to box 'em in and win some prizes."
*
Totally good with being not of concern, Martin keeps his mouth shut, and waits to see how this plays out. He actually looks better the more he consumes, and that box of donuts will swiftly disappear. Normally he'd share, but he doesn't think that's the mood of the room.
*
An SMS message appears on Ava's HUD from Dr. Kelsey. "Ava, do you have any idea what this is Neena is wanting to discuss? Am I really needed?" She isn't meaning to be cruel; but she's a busy woman, and Neena is not exactly someone she instantly thinks of as having good - and trusted - reasons for setting up meetings and inviting folks like the co-CEOs of RESCUE. Ava knows her better, stays closer with her, and is more likely to know if this is legit worth her time. So she asks, directly, one-on-one, and awaits an answer.
*
Dressed in a lab coat, a black t-shirt and baggy khaki shorts, Hank enters the room. "Hello everyone, sorry I'm late. I brought some cinnamon rolls. Alas, not homemade, but still good." He grips Martin's shoulder, slipping the guy two huge Cinnabons, and then puts the rest of a tray in the middle of the table for folks.
A respectful nod to Ava. "Posse." And then a more guarded nod to Neena. "Hello Domino. Again, apologies." That said, he sits, snags a couple Cinnabons for himself, and drinks from a thermos, yes, the /thermos/ full of piping hot coffee.
Ava would like see a request for the room's security feeds from Hank, specifically the last hour's worth of recordings. If permission is granted, Hank, who's also wearing his visor, will play the feeds to get caught up. Efficiency: Thy Name be Beast!
*
Ava shuts her eyes for a couple seconds, just long enough to pick scan a text and pick the canned quick replies for the occasion. ''No.'' ''I'll brief you in later.'' And then her attention is back to the room, and soon to the big hairy ani— er, doctor walking in. A distinct look is given down on Hank's body when Ava acknowledges his arrival. It's not the fur, it's the shorts. "Hank," she greets, and he gets access to five minutes. He isn't *that* late.
"Spot was just mentioning an AIM convoy passing through the Lincoln Tunnel. That doesn't need explosives or a bike. Just track 'em from the sky, have Toni fly down, and jack 'em vehicle and all. How many AIMbots are we talkin'?"
*
With Hank's arrival Neena glances over and dips her head, "There's always time to watch me lose more credibility around here."
Poor Martin may not have realized what he was getting himself into with this meeting. At least he has a tasty distraction or six!
When Ava speaks again Neena quickly replies "She can do that? -Would- she do that? Well shit, I'll stop putting so much effort into trying to pull my weight around here and leave you all to it."
Reaching forward for some of that cinnamony goodness, she says "Two. The details are on the jump drive, go nuts."
*
Martin is sure learning fast though! He is seated, has some coffee, and perks for more food. No, he really can't get enough. Thanks Hank, but actually doesn't steal anything today. Simply tucks in and fuels the bottomless pit that is his stomach. Yummy cinnamon rolls too!
It's been so hard not to say what he's thinking. If only everyone knew the struggle going on! The Lincoln tunnel, tons of bystanders, explosives, AIM operatives with weird tech.. Yeah, that will go over famously. The idea of nipping off with a truck is something he finds damn amusing. Still, he keeps his mouth shut for now.
*
A few moments for Hank to view that five minutes of logged video, and with Ava's sum-up and suggestion, Hank smiles. "Well, technically, Domino—/I/ could just snag an armored car and run with it. I can't fly, however, and the ride would be a lot rougher for the guys inside." Which really, AIM goons…not such a bad thing at that.
Eyes of yellow bright behind the yellow of his visor, Hank digs into the cinnabons he snagged, grateful that Marty isn't trying to make off with them - yes, the cookie incident IS remembered!
"What's the time frame, I can pull up traffic patterns and see how much of a mess that could be…"
*
"Ho-tech is pretty great," Posse affirms before turning to just /look/ at Martin and his incriminatingly empty donut box. "Nice appetite," she remarks with a grin, and then it's back to business. "Give the stick to Hank. Foreign keys don't play nice with my wetware."
*
Without a word Neena reaches over with her non-pastry filled hand and neatly plucks the USB drive from the holodisplay, immediately cutting the image out. With a casual flick the drive slides end over end to right where Hank is sitting.
"Just as a suggestion, but if y'all are planning a grab and go then you might want to consider flying or running -really fast- because electronic data doesn't take that long to erase. You also might want to scramble their comms so they can't radio in while they're being jacked. Oh..and you MIGHT also want to watch out for any tech which could potentially disable electronics or hinder metahuman powers..that could get a little awkward."
"But yeah, totally pick up their vehicles and carry them off. There's nothing at all to worry about with the very intelligent and well equipped people who will be stuck inside. I mean it's not like we could just crack open the vehicles and separate these guys from all of their fancy toys before they did something harmful or anything. That'd be too barbaric."
*
Martin grins a bit and shrugs for the appetite comment. "You haven't seen me after a long healing." When he's eating everything in reach. "The price I pay." And a relatively small one, even if it's annoying. Which reminds him to pull the tray over and get more. He's doing that when Domino talks. "Bitter much?" asked with an arched eyebrow. No, he really shouldn't have said that.
*
The drive is taken, and then a lead run from his visor to it, as he calls up the info. "Actually…those are all some valid points, Domino." She's in a briefing, he goes with the Codename, also…she and he just had another semi-hostile, okay…overtly hostile, but ultimately not too horrid meeting a few days back.
"Hrmph…okay, plan B, I knock it off the road just before entering the tunnel, getting it away from any immediate risk to innocents. Domino and Posse can breach it, Martin on stand-by for medical emergency." He smiles. "Then we deal with the hopefully shaken up goons inside after their armored car has been tumbled a bit?"
He does review the intel, however, and uploads it to Posse if she accepts the feed.
To Martin. "She's trying, Doc, I don't think Domino is used to these sorts of briefings, or to such an exotic group of talents in the pool. Still…" This to Domino. "…getting the intel on the AIM goons who /attacked/ RESCUE, that's a VERY good idea and something I think bears consideration."
*