Searching For Utopia

[Kerr]

Tejon

"You don't think he'd be stupid enough to record himself committing crimes?" Tejon asked. His eyes dashed between Cipher's body and the assassin standing by his side a few times. He thought about it for a few seconds and well, there was a reason they'd killed the man afterall.

"Uh, maybe we should smash his computer before disposing of the body. You know, just to be safe."

[Velvet LeChance]

Ren

The message opened up to a scene of her father. There was clear anger in his features. In the background were book shelves and she could also make out a picture of him and her mother standing up among the racks of books. She didn't have long to stare at the different titles however as he was quick to jump into things.

"I just had the Canadian ambassador in with me. The [&@%!] Canadian ambassador, to inform me that my daughter helped hold his personal friend at gunpoint before having half a [&@%!] management team executed. Then you come and call me for the first time since you get out of prison and tell me I might be in [&@%!] trouble?"

There was a pause as he caught his breath.

"How do you expect me to respond to that Melissa, how in the name of [&@%!] God do you? I don't know what sort of trouble you've gotten yourself into now. I don't want to [&@%!] know. But if you care at all about your mother and myself you'll stop. Just [&@%!] stop."

There was the sound of a knocking on his door and someone off screen asked if he was OK and said something about a meeting. His face was significantly reddened at this stage and his breathing was heavy. Whoever that person was he waved them away, anyways.

Then his voice softened and he added:

"Melissa, this isn't how I want my relationship with my only child to go. Just... Just come home to us. Your mother misses you more than you can imagine. And I don't want to--"

There was a second knock. The same voice insisted he was already late for his meeting. Looking away from the camera now he issued a rough: "alright, alright" and then held up two fingers on his hand.

"Just call me back. Please."

The message ended, and Ren was left alone in the shower.

[Pazzi]

Ren

What resolve Ren had to bite back at her father had dissolved by the time the message came to a close. She lowered herself into a seated position in the shower, the reddened water lapping up along her naked thighs.

Then, with a gentle rhythm about it, she began to softly cry.

[BetaB17]

Oni looked at the body "Destroy, dispose, reclaim. Don't care."

"If handler finds evidence. We can secure confidence" she said, hinting they already werent on good terms with Rose

[BetaB17]

Oni noted Tejon's lack in response, and conceded to her prior neutrality. She could always leave a note for their employers and cleaning crew to make sure his headcomputer is dealt with, though part of her mourned for the monetary gain she could of had by scrapping his cybernetics and bounty

She walked away from the blood soaked bed and noted his obsurd shotgun propped against a wall. She proceeded to grab it "Mine" making sure the safety was engaged before dragging it with her. It was hard to say if she had more intention to sell it, scrap it, use it herself, or keep it as a trophy. This much was clear, it was hers now

[Velvet LeChance]

Sau Paulo, Brazil, 02/08/2042::11:06am

It wasn't so long later that the rest were awoken, and demanded to assemble in the meeting room which Rose used; it coincided roughly with the arrival of three new additions to their group, a man and two women: a Donald Tenebrae, Zen and Ria. They were introduced, but only briefly: by name and function. Conspicuously absent from the meeting was Gabriel, their Doctor, who seemed to have bounced out sometime between Cipher's murder and the rest waking up. No-one expected him back after the state he had been reduced to last night.

It was quite a large group now that they had gathered: Rose extended each a professional nod, but she seemed orientated towards the large holoprojector in the centre of the room with the same anticipation they all felt. Then, at exactly 11:06 on the dot, it flickered and the figure who had greeted them last night appeared. In his 30s, but retaining a lean, athletic build: he wore the same tailored suit they had seen yesterday, the discipline of his overall dress sense suggested ex-military. His features were remarkably generic, bar that set of piercing steel-blue eyes. He spoke in that same Canadian accent:

"Good, you haven't all ran off on me." He smiled, more to himself than anyone else. "Hopefully you've found the first half of your contracted payment deposited into your account--the second half, of course, arriving when this job is finished.

Next job should be just as straightforward: We know that some Chinese front company are transporting mechanical parts through ports in northern Brazil. Problem is, we don't know what the name of this company is, or where the cargo is going to be at any moment in time. We contracted this out to some intelligence brokers, but rather than just accepting cash they want us to run a job for them instead. So before we go cargo-hunting, we're going to be cleaning up a small issue in Rio."

There was a pause before he corrected with a smile, "Or you are."

"I emailed out the brief the intelligence broker sent to each of your accounts:"

The brief read:

Code: Select all

Your target is nextGenGenetics (nGG). We are interested in cleaning out their entire genetic database, which should be located in the databank in basement level cold storage. We have no idea what the security is going to be like, or even how many floors down the basement is--there's no records on this. But expect it to be non-trivial, this is while no international conglomerate, nGG is a major player in the national scene.

Bypassing their cybersecurity is itself expected to require the help of an expert: we had initially contracted one Sergei Santos--a Russian-Brazilian hacker and, notably, former employee of nGG before he got chucked out on a sexual harassment charge. We expect having him along to significantly reduce the time it is going to take to infiltrate their systems. However, a couple of days ago Sergei went quiet, and the word is he was kidnapped by a set of mobbers working out of the Favelas--[i]Falange Vermelha[/i], ruthless, communist-linked, associated with [i]the Saffioti[/i], a partly makeshift bar-nightlcub located deep in the favelas. We suspect, if he isn't already dead, Sergei will have been brought to [i]the Saffioti[/i]. He's already been paid in advance, don't let him con you for any more.

Infiltrating the basement levels themselves is likely going to be difficult without a guide. We located two taxonomists who work in cold storage, profiles attached to this mail. Make use of them if you want, though we don't suggest bringing them along on any raid.

When you have managed to secure the database, we have a pre-written program for extraction. Run it, and get out of there. 

Their handler seemed to give those assembled a few moments to read the packet before continuing: "Once we have the location of the cargo, we can brief on that.

Sound good? Questions about the Broker's task, and I can try to get them answered before you arrive in Rio."

[The SheoDovah]

Wearing her favourite dark brown and rather battered duster, Zen was leaning against the wall. Her black fedora contained a large red white striped feather and was aimed downwards as she causally twirled the black desert eagle with her index finger. It was a bad habit but she always avoided applying pressure to the trigger and so far, had yet to see it go off. Underneath, she bore her weapons but the desert eagle was her preferred one for non-combat situations. Her dark red hair came down to her shoulders and her bright blue pupils scanned the area as the meeting began.

"Already accounted for and partially spent on the local deliacies." She remarked in her strong british accent. She had tried to rid herself of it for years, not out of shame but because she felt it was a bit of a mild issue for her. She knew she went a bit western gunslinger with her attire but didn't care. She loved her duster and fedora. Even if the former was badly beaten up and was mostly faded brown leather at this point.

"Standard infiltrate, upload and extract, huh?" She commented as she read the email. "Zen's the name, support's my game." She smiled at everyone as she slowly lifted her head up to reveal her slightly tanned face. She had spent the past week on the beach and had finally got a tan. A very faint one but she was proud of it. The 5'5ft woman knew she didn't look like much of a threat and she wanted it to be that way.

[The-Shadow-One]

"Underground..?" Locke muttered to himself. "My rifle won't be much use in that case.." The snake nosed man rubbed his chin. "Good thing I have my knives then.."

[Aarah]

Donald

Donald stood straight and well-postured as he listened to and read the briefing. He paid little attention to the others in the group, however after Zen introduced herself, he followed suit.

"Hello. I'm Donald. Nice to meet you all." He greeted whilst looking vaguely round at everyone.

He stood at 5 foot 8, slim but not skinny. His light brown hair was short and receeding, showing off that he was in his fourties. His dark brown eyes were unassuming, but had a glint about them.
He wore a smart white shirt with a grey check pattern, underneath which he donned a kevlar vest. His smart charcoal grey trousers were infused with kevlar, as was his matching suit jacket. His shoes were classic black brogues, clean and polished.
Beside him sitting upright upon the ground was a black briefcase.

At Locke's mention of knives, Donald turned to him in interest.
"Knives? I too enjoy the use of knives."
He returned to looking forward at the hologram.

[Kerr]

"Any rules for damage to the facility? Explosives, that sort of thing?" Tejon asked. "Because blowing the servers might be easier than trying to wipe them manually. Hell, we could pin it on Kaczynskites, bombing tech companies is part of their MO. Those luddites would love to be relevant again, for doing something other than killing some poor secretary with a mailbomb. They'd probably eat it up."

[Alarra]

Ría

A Hispanic woman sat with her hands folded in her lap, gazing around at the others, taking in her first impressions of the people she would be working with. She was around thirty and had an athletic build, her black hair was tied into a ponytail, and she sat straight, trying to be as professional as possible.

When there seemed to be a gap in the discussion, she spoke up: “If we are introducing ourselves, you can call me Ría,” she said, rolling the R slightly. “I am a doctor: here to patch you up, apply temporary HAx, and so on. I am not a fighter, however, so while I can try to
defend myself if needed, it would be better for me to avoid that if possible.”

She turned her attention back to the hologram, but had no questions to ask as of yet.

[BetaB17]

Oni

Oni was quick and ready on the dime for the briefing, but as she entered and noticed the addition of new members but apparently the lack of Doc, even in her cold faced stare she couldnt help but reflect on the shaken state he last was in, the meal that they shared..

And like that it was gone. People move on, thats how it is. Especially in this life, not everyone is meant for it.

She eyed one to one the new recruits, including the burnt one from last night. Then she spotted Donald, the one in the suit, something about him seemed familiar, something that even made her feel deep down, uncomfortable. And so, rather than taking her seat, she stood beside Tejon's, as if it seemed more natural, or, safer
----
She listened in on the report and introductions, her arms crossed, she looked over to Tejon as he spoke "Cyro..storage. Fire?" Not being much of a talker herself, she found it easier just to supplement his questions.

[Velvet LeChance]

Their male handler glanced first to Tejon, and then snapped their gaze to Oni as she issued further suggestion.

"Clean out." He stated, emphasising the language of the brief. "Clean out as in, to extract. So afraid you are going to need to set about this intelligently--no simply laying c4. But otherwise, no suggestion that this needs to be done quiet--break, kill, whatever your conscience allows."

Rose piped up at that: "No holds barred?" and the handler's response was rapid: "Do whatever needs to be done, I need this information."

[The SheoDovah]

Zen

Zen observed the discussion that took place between the rest of the team until the male handle spoke up whilst continuing to treat her deagle like a ballerina. "Scapel approch, got it." She remarked as she move away from the wall that she was leaning against and hosltered the pistol that ended many lives at her hand. "I presume we have the blueprints to the building and intel on the local surrondings?" She enquired as she began to think about how to approach their mission. "Any known issues that we can exploit?"

Spoiler:

I. AM. BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! URAAAAAAAH! URAAAAAAAAAH! *Flexes fingers*

[Velvet LeChance]

Their male handler's holofigure turned to face across at Zen. "Everything I have, you have in that email. No blueprints publicly available--if you want to know what the place is going to look like before heading in, I suggest you track down one of the taxanomists mentioned."

He paused for a second before following up on her second question: "This is a secure facility, the database itself is likely valued in the tens, if not hundreds, of millions--if there's security vulnerabilities, we haven't been made of them before heading in, and you would be best presuming that this place is checked routinely enough that there is none."

[Alarra]

Ría

Ria considered the information, resting a hand on her chin for a moment before removing it and looking up at the holofigure. "What about Sergei and the Saffioti?" she asked. "Do you have any information on that? It sounds like he might be our best option to get in."

[Velvet LeChance]

It seemed like the holofigure gave a slight shrug, though Ria couldn't be sure. "I did some background research on the Falange Vermelha. Gutter crawlers, for the most part. Bombings, kidnappings, the usual stuff you'd expect from the terrorist Left". He might as well have spat on the ground as he said 'Left'. "The Saffioti, though, I'm not sure about. Slums are built up enough around it, there's no satellite footage. Seems to do a legitimate trade on top of being a den for Marxist [&@%!], though, so getting in itself shouldn't be a huge problem so long as you're not stupid about it."

"Sergei I have no extra information on: If the group we're working for can vouch, he's probably worth utilising, but I'll ask for a full profile and have it sent on before you arrive in Rio."

[The SheoDovah]

Zen

"True but there is always the very small and I mean, very small, chance of someone cutting corners to finish their job for the day." Zen stroked her chin at the same time as Ria. "And that could lead to a talented ha.... netcode engineer taking full advantage of it." She knew it was highly unlikely but even 0.1% was still a chance. A very slim one but still a chance. "We have two choices in regards to our targets, we can play nice or we can extract and interrogate." She wasn't averse to doing dirty work when it called for it and her hands were bloody. Her soul was long gone but perhaps that was the price to pay for her survival. "Personally, let's play nice first." She smiled at everyone. "Bribery, bending the truth to suit our needs, that sort of thing instead of kidnapping the poor fellas to be subjected to a rather interesting day."

[Kerr]

"Oh, okay." said Tejon, nodding after hearing the response to his question. "When you said clean out I thought you meant destroy, I didn't know you meant copy it."

He chuckled. "Good thing I asked, huh?"

[BetaB17]

Oni kept her somber note, she wasnt much of a talker, always the brief one "Sergei.. taxonomists.. database.." she looked up towards their handlers "Where can we find the guides?"

[Velvet LeChance]

Profiles of the two Taxanomists were located in the email and their handler directed Oni to them. Then, before another question could be asked, the meeting was wrapped up and Rose began to usher them out to a minibus which was sitting out in the garage--brand new, it didn't possess a single stain but for the newcomer: a smaller man of likely South American extraction, Rosa seemed too tired to even offer him a full introduction. When each of them had seats the minibus would pull out and leave their location behind.

"Demo," Rosa would eventually nod.

Sau Paulo, Brazil, 02/08/2042::12:08am

Navigating the streets and byways at this time in the morning was a relatively stressless affair, no police officer gave the gang of largely hardened criminals a second look. The vehicle rarely slowed down enough for one of the streetcrawlers, one of the millions of poverty-striken in this city, to catch up and bang on their window, requesting, asking for, or demanding spare change, depending on your political orientation. While the median wage had rocketed, the statistics left out the many who had been left behind--the many evidenced at almost every streetcorner, silhouetted against the wound-down neon of the cities lighting.

But such sights were quickly a memory as their van hit the open road. Here, the trip was sightless--just tarmac, and sliproads and a cage of vehicles. On the current infrastructure, it was about 5 hours to Rio, 5 hours to settle their plan. Rosa didn't seem to want to waste any time.

"OK, we have two decisions to make before we decide on anything: [1] Extract one of the Taxonomists, [2] Search for, and rescue, the Hacker.

Taxonomists first--" she seemed to stop a second as if reading their profiles in her head computer, an action which gave the rest of them time to do the same:

Name: Sara Kumiko-Sousa
Age: 32/33
Title: Taxonomy Assistant
Bio: From Brazil, but educated in the States--PhD in Bioinformatics from Stanford. Postdoctoral contract with Yale was terminated after 8 months after an incident of violence with her supervisor--details unclear, but she broke his nose, arm and leg in three placed. Then there's a huge gap in her employment record but she ends up settling here. On that note, has a black belt in at least three marital arts--her father represented Brazil in the Olympics at Judo, but never placed with a medal. She lives Room K6 of Block 28 of the Western Heights Development--lower-middle-class, low-security block, and I wouldn't expect much by way of problems. Her schedule usually has her leave work at 8pm, and get the train home for 9pm.

Likely has a head computer. EMP.

And attached was a picture of a youngish biracial women of mixed Brazilian and Japanese descent. It was obviously taken from her PhD graduation because she had the robes on and all--and a huge smile on her face. Two very proud, very elderly parents stand either side of her. She looks athletic, or at least athletic enough to break multiple bones in her supervisor's body.

Name: Maximillian Otero
Age: 67
Title: Chief Taxonomist
Bio: Has spent his entire career at the place, been Chief Taxonomist for 15 years. Divorced, three adult children. One of them lives with him: 26 years old, unemployed, have never seen him leave the house--it's just the welfare cheque gets posted there. His address is A8, Block 3, Lagoa Park--high secure facility with an armed guard shared with the target location, which is a 3 minute walk away.

Likely has a head computer. EMP.

And attached was a picture of an older, rotund man, with a speckled beard and round rim glasses. It was taken from some award feature, he'd invented a new query language for relational databases or something.

They'd barely finished reading when Rosa had started off again: "--the Taxonomists are a terrible idea, unless we plan to murder them afterwards, they can inform on us as soon as we leave the building. I am suggesting we just focus on the hacker."

[captcanada]

Ressoar
A small, average looking south american man looks around, assessing the group before introducing himself
"I'm Ressoar, as I make things go boom." as he finishes his sentence faint swishing sounds can be hear from a compact bag next to him. "Seems my job today is to make sure we can get in and out as soon as possible. thankfully its a lot easier to make a hole in the wall than it is to pick a door." He laughs awkwardly and begins to remove vials from and small electronics from his bag; attempting to figure out what would be ideal for such delicate jobs

[BetaB17]

Oni took a look at the info. Neither seemed too difficult for her, but it was harder to gauge her associates. "The primary, seems easier to obtain.. harder to control in-mission. Secondary is more secure, but our best bet at managing" she pressed on her thoughts publicly

"Hacker first.. guides second.. if need be, use one as collateral hostage against the other" she said all that without a hint of morality

She sent a quick message to Tejon

Confident enough to deactive a headcomputer?

she didng want a repeat of last time

[Kerr]

Before saying anything, Tejon responded to Oni's message.

If I jacked in yes. Remotely, less hope.

"Unlike our late colleague, I don't want to turn things into a bloodbath. Hell, even if you did kill them, bodies get found, people notice they're missing." Tejon shook his head. He was somewhat dressing up his reluctance in practicality, that bodies would be found. But that wasn't it, not really. While Tejon wasn't adverse to killing, the previous job certainly proved as much, he didn't like to kill people who weren't in the game, who didn't know well in advance what they're in for. Tejon was a lot of things, but he wasn't some assassin who'd kill anyone just for the paycheck.

"What do we know about The Hacker then? You both seem to think it's the way to go." He added, gesturing to Rosa and Oni.

[Alarra]

Ria

Ria nodded after the newcomer introduced himself. “Ria. Doctor.” was her terse response: her mind was occupied with thoughts of the mission. She began the ride by staring out the window, but soon gave that up and began to dig through her own bag, double-checking her supplies.

She zipped it up once they made it to the open road, and resumed staring out the window until Rosa had begun to speak. Ria sat straighter to listen.

“I agree with them,” she cut in after Tejon spoke. “Better if we avoid murder, and the hacker likely has more information anyway. Besides,” she added, “If he’s already been paid, I’m sure they’ll be pleased to not have had that go to waste.”