RP: ISC Phoenix [Mission 2] - Choke

[Luca]

Kyoto CBD, An upmarket Cafe
"If that is the case, there are a few prerequisites," the Freespacer leaned forward, clasping their hands together. "Because to some, it is like teaching a fish to climb a tree. For example, many, many people in this room sitting around you aren't aware that right now, they are leaking information." Their gaze lazily cast over the room, going from diner to diner. He was able to paint a picture of each person just by looking at them. Their full name, their income bracket, listed occupation and a few notable characteristics. And that was just a casual glance from the wonders of SYNC and PANTHEON.

What all of this information provided was convenience. However, a maxim in security was that the more convenient and user friendly something was, the less secure it was going to be. On the furthest insecure end, there was absolutely nothing in the way of everything to see and how to access it. On the furthest secure end was simply not to have the information exist in the first place.

That, or have nothing of value to begin with. "Everyone around you here simply bleeds their information like open wounds. Including people like you Mr... Stapleton," he stared into Stapleton, "I wonder what that earpiece is for?"
"Your drink, sir," A waitress put the drink down on the table. It was ... green, sickly irradiated green. "Your meal should be here soon."
"Thank you," the Freespacer replied back as a courtesy as he continued staring at Stapleton ... possibly at Enzo too as he picked up a wooden chopstick from the table and stirred his drink gently without breaking eye contact. He didn't even see that the wood was being eaten by the contents of the glass before he was stirring a stump, dropping the rest in.

"You and your associate are cauterised compared to the rest of the people sitting around you," The Freespacer seemed genuinely impressed, nodding and clapping his fingers together before grabbing his drink and raising it, "I see you have an expert of your own keeping a handle on your communications." He sloshed it around in the glass, put it to his mouth and took a sip from something that looked like it belonged in a toxic waste barrel in a kid's cartoon. "Ah~" how it could be mistaken for refreshing was beyond the duo. "However - if you already have an expert, why are you talking to me? Second opinion?"

Allison had been watching the conversation from afar. "Or do you have a more immediate problem?" He pointed his finger lazily towards Allison across the room, who grimaced and turned back around, leaning down in her booth from afar and pretending not to be seen. "You're being eavesdropped."

-

Kyoto CBD, Exterior of an upmarket Cafe
"Ju-just play along - pretend I'm a plain-clothes bodyguard or something!" Allison whispered into her earpiece to the group, directing it to Stapleton and Reeves.
"What's going on over there?" Luca asked, finger to ear as he continued watching people walk. He watched a couple leave the cafe, having had a lovely halibut meal.

As Soruk was watching the Cafe, he saw two Lorath and a Nekovalkyrja approaching the cafe from the same direction that the target Freespacer had come from. They weren't conversing at all, they didn't seem to be hungry for lunch either. The way they were walking seemed more like the casual clothing they were wearing was ill-fitting. They had an extraneous purpose and it showed in how decisively they strode and how civilians subconsciously strode away from them.

Makari could spot them too - and the two Lorath appeared to be a little chestier than usual - perhaps ballistic vests worn beneath the clothing. Luca meanwhile could see that Nekovalkyrja singlemindedness. When they were no longer required to act human and carry out a goal. He only saw that monomind in the eyes of the ones he'd had to kill from the NMX and pirate sides. Even when they're cut in half and burnt to a crisp, they will still carry out their goal to the best of their abilities. They were designed to.

"Echelon - Suspicious people inbound - two Lorath Llmanel, one Nekovalkyrja..." Luca noted as his hand hovered around his side, "Makari, Soruk, hold your fire."
"Understood." Echelon replied as she watched the front of the cafe while Allison remained out of sight from the team's Freespacer mark - either playing along or scared that she'd been revealed - or playing along to a different scheme altogether.

 

[Sham]

Soruk didn't even over to at Sura as she spoke. He wasn't surprised that she had followed him, half expecting his new student to do so. He continued testing the draw, tweaking the bow's mechanisms every now and then. He turned when he was satisfied, looking at his new apprentice, "Sai Soruk to you, Sura." He let that sink in before continuing, "Even if it is easily seen on this world, at least it grants additional exercise and experience." He paused for a moment, "I also do not like cars."

Then he turned back around, noting three new individuals. Their manner, and ill-fitting attire, told him that they were not going to the cafe with friendly intentions. He watched them, his arrow still on the string, pulling it back experimentally as he gauged the distance. "Sura... I believe things may get a little hostile down there. You stay here." He tapped his earpiece, "Understood Luca."

 

[Lamb]

"The earpiece is for leaking information--" Enzo argued, watching the melty drink with some amusement. "In a controlled manner. You know I've got an expert handling my communications; why wouldn't there be a few extra eavesdroppers?"

The corporate facade weakened for a moment as Enzo leaned back to pry his suit jacket to one side, twisting the business like smile into a wry smirk and he withdrew an ODM and place it on Reeves' lap. The conman's fingers tickled playfully along the young mechanic's thigh on its way back to the table-- a hint of the sickened mind which hid beneath the disguise.

"The thing is," He explained to the Freespacer, "I've got a more immediate problem, like you said, which may have just been compounded into a much more immediate problem by some new arrivals..."

Enzo frowned, "To be direct, three suspicious strangers are approaching."

 

[miss_story]

Phoenix leaned forward, clearly very interested in what these free spacers had to say. If there was one thing he loved it was learning about new things related to technology. It wasn't often that he encountered someone so observant and skilled with what they were capable of. That said he doubted they could figure out anything important or secret about him by just a glance. Things like his origins and his real name were buried as soon as he could get away from his original 'employers. Besides he wasn't far off from what he was pretending to be right now. It almost felt like he didn't have to act much at all aside from voicing his opinions more firmly.

He was staring at the drink intently curious about how it must taste when he interjected again. "Even with expert knowledge there is always more to be learned by seeking input from others who share a vested interest in a field. So yes a second opinion is what we seek." His smile faltered slightly as something heavy was placed into his lap. The heavy object was followed by an uncomfortable retreat of a hand across his leg. He shifted his weight away from the touch. He masked the movement by propping his jaw up with his hand at the same time. His eye whirred softly as it refocused on the table directly in front of his elbow.

His other hand slowly dropped to determine what Enzo had so ceremoniously dropped into his lap. His fingers closed around the cold metal object immediately identifying it as a weapon of some sort. He wasn't sure whether he should be afraid or annoyed. He had no training with fire arms. If things went foul and he actually needed to use this thing, he feared for everyone standing around or behind the assailants.

 

[Phe0n1x]

He drew his pistol and instantly starting tracking the Neko, though somewhat disappointed at the order. "Understood. Keeping the Neko in my sights," replied Makari. He severely wished he had been able to sneak in his HHG and one of the black shells. C'est la vie, this was a mostly "gun free zone". He kept his finger well outside the trigger guard just in case he got that sudden urge to "sneeze". No need to get arrested on the crazy cat planet if he didn't have to be. With his free hand, Makari adjusted his overcoat and waited for the fireworks.

 

[Luca]

Kyoto CBD, An upmarket Cafe
"I understand, sometimes, physical deterrents are used for security, but they're nowhere near as effective," despite the observation from Enzo the Freespacer seemed remarkably calm and dismissive about the possibility of having three people coming after them. "Too much can change in the blink of an eye. I hope for your sake that the pistol is loaded and your hand is steadier than mine."

At the doors to the cafe, Echelon, Allison and Shayla could see the three people interposing themselves at the doorway. Two Llmanel flanking a much slimmer nekovalkyrja, standing with her hands behind her back. A patron tried to leave to head back to work, but found that they were like wave breakers - difficult to get by. They had to push their way through them and could be heard muttering some curses as they left. Luca, Makari and Soruk could plainly see that their whole day had been ruined thanks to a rude person.

"They're never polite, are they?" Luca remarked casually over the radio.

"Excuse me ma'am," one of the waitresses said, looking at the guests with a frown, "I think you should leave."
"Do you have comprehensive health insurance and a soul backup handy?" the Nekovalkyrja asked.
"I, er, yes," the waitress leaned back and blinked at them, "but you should-" A flash of fist glinted through the air and waitress was backhanded and knocked into a table, tossing a bowl of salad and someone's rice paper rolls into the air as the table collapsed. Were you to freeze the scene midway through, you'd see that it took a moment for the plate to follow the rest of the table, seemingly held in place by the spoon dipping into it.

Once the picture unfroze, that bowl fell and splattered its contents all over the diner's lap and the poor waitress' face. The thing about people was that they took a moment to examine and evaluate what had happened if the sensation was new and unknown, then they reacted accordingly. Two seconds passed before they realised that the Nekovalkyrja had a bloody knife in her hands and her over coat removed in an instant, revealing sleek hand-to-hand combat armour.

"All I want is the Freespacer, the man and the child in the back," the Nekovalkyrja asked while flexing her fingers. "They are to be relieved from duty. Anyone who stands in our way will be relieved too. Anyone who does not wish to resist should leave the premises now." The people started getting up and leaving one way or the other, taking all available exits with varying degrees of grace. Sure, health care was essentially free on Yamatai if you were a citizen, but that was no excuse to live recklessly and continue eating lunch in the middle of a potential no-holds-barred fight.

"Th-this isn't right, they're supposed to be protecting us!" a grad student with a laptop slammed the lid shut, grabbed his coffee and hopped out a window, "This is an ironic reversal upon archetypal roles of Nekovalkyrja in Yamataian planets!" That kid would one day graduate with honours in the school of making obvious observations.

"WHY DID I LEAVE NEPLESLIA FOR MORE OF THE SAME?!" another one of the customers could be heard yelling as they rolled out of a window and landed on the ground with a thump, screaming and running for their life.

The question was, why was the attempt to get the Freespacer 'back' so brazen? Why out in the open with a potential casualty rating? It was as though it was begging for ... attention.

"I'm gonna have to stay back - I bet they know I'm here and they want to draw me out and get me even more exposed. Or - perhaps they want to draw us in and box us in with reinforcements, that's my gut feeling. Makari, Soruk, stay back."

Back inside, it seemed that the Freespacer, Enzo, Reeves, Allison and Echelon and Shayla had stayed fast against the Nekovalkyrja's orders. The two Llmanel moved in front of the doors and closed them. Soruk no longer had a clear shot with his arrows, and Makari would have to move to the windows to get closer. "I know you have pistols or something similar with you. Don't bother, it's only going to make us mad."

(connection opened)
< TH3 N3K0V4LKYRJ4 1S 0UTT4 TH3 B4G.
> 0H H4 H4.
< LUNCH W1LL H4V3 T0 W41T, 1 GU3SS.
> W3'LL G3T Y0U 0UTT4 H3R3. 1'LL C4LL TH3 R3ST.
> 4ND 1 PR0M1S3 1'LL P4Y F0R LUNCH
< T4 V3RY MUCH.
> Y0U'R3 W3LC0M3.
(connection terminated)

"Stab in the dark here," The Freespacer in the back said as they used the method of 'identification', pointing a finger between Reeves and Enzo, "you're off the grid, your life is full of tragedy after the SMX and NMX wars, you broke under pressure and deserted, you're wanted for several crimes and you have a handsome bounty on your head of 80,000 KS for piracy charges."

The Nekovalkyrja paused.
"And you've managed to avoid detection here by spoofing your ID's and working with a security company after being hired by Lagrange offworld as a contractor. The two goons behind you are similar but since they haven't said anything so I don't think they're worth describing."
The Neko's face screwed up. "And another thing? You make terrible coffee." Her jaw clenched in rage, "Mr. Reeves, Mr. Bortelli, I suggest we move," he said calmly, calling the rogue by their real name.

"Where the hell are the police?" Luca wondered as he cracked his knuckles. Something like this should've bought the correctional forces along but it just wasn't happening. He looked up and he couldn't see any policemen, or Nekovalkyrja samurai nearby to call for assistance. Perhaps they were on their way or invisible.

"Alright, we need to get our package out of here safely," Echelon commanded over the intercom. "Makari, Soruk, Luca, you're in the best position to extract us. The doors are blocked, but these two idiots behind the Neko haven't thought of looking out the window."
"What she said," Luca parroted.

 

[Lamb]

"Ah, chick'n-shits-salad-sammich! I gots all dolled up fer' nothins!" Enzo barked with his face scrunched up in an entirely unprofessional manner as he rose from his chair. It was a lie, of course-- he'd dressed up mainly to get past customs, but this little outing had been too fun an opportunity to pass up. The conman's communicator appeared in one hand and his ghetto-rigged NSP in the other. He whipped his customary twisted grin on the Neko and her ilk, not looking at whatever his communicator was telling him while he thumbed in the call instructions to the Lady Of The Night from memory. Hopefully, she'd get the message.

"In the meantimes," Enzo went on from his internal train of thought, "I gots a car outside, boys, so let's cheeze it!"

And then he fired an NSP 'Heavy' shot at the ground just behind the Neko and her compatriots.

 

[Sham]

Soruk kept his eyes trained on the potential hostiles, letting a small frown touch his lips as they entered the building, and his firing line became blocked. No more than a few moments afterwards, things went hostile. And now I can't see them... The gartagen relaxed the tension on the bow, carefully tucking the arrow back into his quiver, ensuring to put it with the other poisoned arrows. The bow quickly followed the arrow, snapping closed with a push of a button, and clipped to the back of his black cloak.

He turned to Sura, his voice firm, "Stay. Here." He let the statement stand for a minute before vaulting over the edge of the building, landing neatly on a balcony below him. Thankfully said balcony was unoccupied. That solved his vertical problem, but the doorway was still in his way. The agile gartagen stepped on the railing, quickly hopping over to the next balcony. Behind the glass door stood the resident, a Yamatarian woman, pointing at Soruk and yelling. He glanced at her and unclipped his bow, flipping it open and stringing an arrow. At that, she stopped yelling and retreated further into her little haven.

He smirked a little, resetting his aim, gauging the distance to the leftmost doorguard, clearly visible through the windowpane. A moment later, a soft *twang* rang out, audible only to those very close to him, sending a blue-tailed arrow darting towards his mark, the Lmanel's back. Soruk strung another arrow, ready for a follow-up if the poison didn't work.

 

[Reynolds]

Shayla pushed her empty plate aside, as the trio entered. Well, there it was. The tension that had been building finally snapped, as the situation became much more clear. Goons in combat armor and trenchcoats were pretty easy to understand. The weird group she'd bumped into were a little shady themselves, but they didn't seem to be the type to backhand innocent bystanders. She winced at that, standing as the restaurant began to rapidly empty. She waded through the mob, against the current, standing head and shoulders above the crowd as she made her way to the collapsed table. Vegetables and salad dressing were wiped off the poor woman's face, as she grunted a curse for the cowardly diner that had abandoned her. Her new eyes were sharp enough to spot the blood on the mercenary Neko's blade, so she knew there was more than a nasty bump to check for. Thankfully, not only would any Yamataian heal quickly, but this upscale establishment had luxuriously thick napkins.

Within moments, she had the stunned waitress back on her feet again, the thick cloth hurriedly, but skillfully tied around the gash across her forehead that lettuce, croutons and Thousand Planet dressing had been obscuring seconds earlier. One of the other employees finally appeared to collect her coworker, the two shuffling out with the last trickle of fleeing civilians. The giantess remained crouched by the ruined table, a rice paper roll squashed under her Star Army boot. Glancing up, she realized she was one of the few left inside, along with the weirdo upstairs, the strangers she'd bumped into, and the trio of goons. She frowned at the thought of winding up involved in some long standoff or hostage situation. She hoped nobody was thinking about turning to the only person in uniform to help talk things out. The rather unfitting voice that came from the man in the suit upstairs, followed by the unmistakable sound of an NSP firing, turned that frown upside down. Now this, she could handle.

With a grunt of effort that turned into a bellow in some sort of guttural alien language, Shayla suddenly spun around as she rose to her full height...sending the entire four-person table that had collapsed whizzing through the air towards the petite Neko and her winged backup.

 

[Luca]

An Upscale Cafe, Kyoto CBD
Things had a habit of colliding all at once to form the most dramatic results when the Phoenix was doing things. Outside, Luca got a notification that the Lady of the Night was en route to this position. "Good idea. So now this turns into a hostage extraction," he mumbled over the communication. The sound of his forearm bumping into his microphone could be heard as he facepalmed. Why do things never stay quiet.

Then he heard the sound of a heavy NSP shot exploding, making the interior of the cafe flash with golden light and the doors to the cafe rattle with the explosion. He looked up again to see where that was coming from, and instead saw a blue blur shoot through the air, through a window and into someone standing behind the door. No doubt that's Soruk's handiwork, Luca thought. Using the explosion and shooting 'em when their guard's down.

Inside and a moment ago, the explosion just behind the Nekovalkyrja sent her hair wooshing forwards in front of her face while she stood still. Her two bodyguards stumbled from the blast and one of them suddenly had an arrow sticking out of their shoulderblade, pinning their wing to it. Shayla meanwhile would feel as though she was back in the middle of the warzone as she treated the waitress. The waitress escaped safely and Shayla seemed to escape the Nekovalkyrja's notice - just being another scrambling civilian to them.

Allison stood up out of her chair, pulled a pistol from a garter holster and fired at the Nekovalkyrja, who simply sidestepped the shots - each hitting the door and ruining the wood further.

"Oh, is that supposed to intimidate me?" the Nekovalkyrja pulled a throwing knife from the inside of her coat and levelled it at Allison.
"Well, yeah it was." Allison said, keeping her pistol up at the Nekovalkyrja. She took her hand off of the pistol to lift the brim of her summer hat up and keep a clear shot. Echelon meanwhile had her fingers on her plate. "We... have people everywhere!" Allison tried her darndest to be intimidating.

"Don't make me laugh, gardeners and bakers say that!" The Nekovalkyrja blithely replied before she threw the knife at Allison's head. Echelon tossed her plate into the air like a clay pigeon and intercepted the knife, shattering the plate in the process. Unperturbed, she withdrew another knife only to find that a table was now flying towards her.

A rather calm "kusou," was all that came out of her mouth before she got bowled over. The Llmanel that had been shot in the shoulder had pulled the arrow out, but they spent perhaps a moment too long looking at the arrowhead before their eyes rolled into the back of their head and falling over comatose. The remaining Llmanel looked at Shayla and threw their coat off, revealing a musculature reminiscent of a grizzly bear. Their face looked similar to an ursine snout. And they were charging right for them like they'd just stood on one of their cubs on a camping trip with those blunt claws.

"I told you!" Allison yelled out as she stepped forward and weighed her pistol at her. "People everywhere! C'mon Sharon-"
"Shayla." Echelon corrected as she stood up and started heading towards Enzo, Reeves and the Freespace.
"right - Shayla! Give us a hand and we'll help you!" She yelled before putting her ear to the comms, "Okay the big Neko woman is on our side. Soruk, shoot the other Llmanel if you get a clear shot."

"Uh, Giant Neko woman?" Luca asked. "Are you sure you're not making this up-" He looked into the cafe and did indeed see a giant Neko Woman. "Oh, that Giant Neko woman. Okay. Makari, move in and get the doors open for the Lady of the Night - I don't think that Neko after the 'Spacer is out of the fight yet so if you see her, take 'em down."

Inside, the Neko stood up and rubbed their face, clearly annoyed. She looked down at the Llmanel at the ground, and at the other one charging towards the freak that threw a table at her. She seemed more annoyed than anything and started. Allison emptied the remainder of the pistol's magazine at the Nekovalkyrja's head, and found that they still weren't slowing down - nor speeding up.

"Come on. Let's go, Y0U 4ND 1," Echelon told the Freespacer, slipping into her native tongue as she put their hand out as though she was inviting him to waltz. He gladly accepted it, stood up and moved around the table.
"Oh, gladly," came the reply, somewhat more emotional, sounding warm and pleased. "Come now you two," they said to Enzo and Reeves, "we have your chariot to catch."
"Hurry it up will you," Allison said as she saw the Neko striding towards her unerringly, chewing on something and spitting out the bullets Allison had fired at her. "Mrs. Implacable won't wait for you!"

Luca looked around and he could see red and blue lights in the distance. On his watch he saw that the Lady of the Night wasn't far off either. It was going to be a photo finish for whether the police got here first or the Lady of the Night did. He had the feeling that he'd have to change where they met back and gave Seiren a call. "Hey, Seiren - heads up, we might not be heading back to the hotel immediately. Things got hot down here and heading back to the hotel immediately seems like a bad idea," he paused to consider his charge and possible crush too. "By the way, how's Rebeka doing?"

Penthouse Suite, Ishimura Heights Hotel
Seiren and Rebeka heard a knock on the door to the suite. "Cleaning lady," came a female voice from behind it. Rebeka could hear the sound of the elevator coming up and opening; and the rattling trolley before Seiren could.

 

[Moogle]

"Mission get busy already?" Seiren's voice responded over the comm. "Well, can't say I'm surprised! And Re- have another biscuit, will you? - Rebeka is doing fi- gosh darnit, somebody's at the door! Be right back!" As Luca heard Seiren set his communicator down, the young inventor was already merrily skipping his way towards the door.

A fumbling with the lock later, and the door swung wide open, the little "Do Not Disturb" card tapping gently against the outside handle.

"Yeeeesss?" he asked the person in front of the door, beaming a smile.

 

[OsakanOne]

The long almost python like woman glanced toward the door, red eyes fixated upon the figure that stood in its arches. Rarely, she'd gone to the trouble of shedding her suit which hung up against the wall, dark and baggy, her skin glistening wetly -- the corners of borrowed underwear sinking into her hip like quicksand -- though her upper half was perfectly flat - without belly-button or nipple, since neither were particularly required: a long thick tail instead tickling between her thighs and off the end of the bed like that of a lizard beyond her feet -- a displacement of the mass she'd lost from up top after a short spat with Seiren about when breasts are and are not appropriate to be seen despite her insistance on being topless.

"Cleaning what?" Rebeka quizzed, rolling in ennui and trademark blithe.

 

[miss_story]

His grip tightened around the gun in his lap as the Neko hunting for the freespacer's bounty stepped into the cafe. He hadn't expected to be involved in something so dangerous on his first mission. In fact the high tension was making him nauseous. His eyes moved between his companion and the newcomers looking for some sort of indication on what he should do. A small relief washed over him as he noted that many of the cafe's patrons were moving away from them. some of them jumping out of windows. That meant there was less of a chance of casualties.

He wasn't left in suspense long however , A blast fired from Enzo's gun caused the meek clone to push back from the table. He wanted to run, but they didn't have many exit options. Thankfully they had a lot of backup. It was difficult to track what was going on in the chaos "The rental." He murmured his eyes darting off to the window that the Nepleslian had jumped through. With the Neko and her bodyguard's attention split it might be possible to jump the window and escape via the car. Which recently of course had its safety protocols bypassed. "Lets get out of here." He murmured, his gun arm lifting he aimed in the general direction of their assailants he fired once before sprinting for the broken window and vaulting over the sill. A faint pain accompanied his jump because he had used it to give himself extra height on the jump.

 

[Reynolds]

Shayla cracked her knuckles as the beastman removed that coat. "Help me? Here I thought I got to be the big ol' heroic Star Army officer savin' the day." She chuckled, grinning as the Lmanel charged her. "Fine, I'll just handle the big guy!" The giantess rushed to meet him halfway, not seeming at all interested in dodging or maneuvering. She just slammed into him with a grunt, the two beginning to grapple for position. "Nice to finally pick on someone my own size for a change!" She was grinning, seeming to enjoy herself even as her opponent's claws tore through her uniform and dug into her flesh. That snout was snapping at her, baring teeth as they fought, stumbling near the enemy Neko as she casually walked past them and towards the others.

With the alien's claws firmly dug into her arms, and her face and neck bleeding in several spots thanks to glancing bites, it was odd that she looked to be having a great time. "Ya know, I've got an outfit that kinda looks like you..." She laughed again, as her grip began to tighten on the mercenary. "I could always use a spare!" The reason for her confidence was suddenly clear, her eyes widening with glee as she finally clamped down with full force. Her physiology was unique. Traces of ID-SOL blood now mingled with enhanced Neko strength, a frightening combination. Especially when her gravity manipulation was added to the mix. Her fingers suddenly tore into the poor thing's flesh, squeezing inhumanly tight, even as her massive hands impossibly became several times their true weight. "Gotcha!" Grinning madly, she cocked her head back before smashing it against that toothy muzzle. Again, and again. Battering the enemy's skull with her own, gravity altering to make it seemingly weigh more each time, smashing what felt like a solid steel club into unprotected face. Shayla was injuring herself in the process, but she would heal. The fleshy, furry sack of shattered bone that was quickly covering the Neko's face in blood and gore probably wouldn't.

 

[Luca]

Penthouse Suite, Ishimura Heights Hotel
The first thing Seiren noticed about the 'cleaning lady' when he opened the door is that she looked too narrow, too severe and inhospitable to be just a cleaning lady despite wearing the hotel's uniform and having her hair immaculately groomed. "Mr. Isbala," she said quietly, reddish-black eyes looking down at him. Seiren had seen this woman in Luca's company before back at Sargasso, the way she held herself and conversed when he saw them together - it was killer. He remembered her name: Nostrovia.

"Where is Mr. Pavone?" she asked, businesslike before she reached under the cover of her trolley and handed Seiren a package wrapped in brown paper, about the size of a shoe box and quite heavy. "I have a care package for him and your team here."

She looked past Seiren and over at Rebeka. Nostrovia had torn rings of common criminals apart, apprehended violent deserters, tangled with Mishhuvurthyar and snapped the necks of dissidents and usurpers that dared to subvert the Nepleslian way of life. However, she hadn't seen that thing on the bed before. All Seiren saw of Nostrovia's first impression on the unsuited Sourcian was a raised eyebrow before it lowered back down in line with the rest of her face. She looked back down at him.

"You either keep very strange company or that is the strangest addition to the pay-per-pleasure system I've seen, Mr. Isbala," she commented dryly before grabbing the door handle. "Good day. Proceed with caution." She closed the door. After the door closed, Rebeka could hear Nostrovia's voice mumbling something about the wild sex that the Nepleslian/Lorath mixed couple in room 07-02 were having this morning and how much of a bitch it'd be to clean up on her assigned shift. She blended in so seamlessly with the cover identity that she even knew how complain about her given job sensibly.

 

[Lamb]

"Kid's smart." Enzo commented as he wrapped his hand around a chair and swung it in an arc around himself to test its weight. After a few test swings, Enzo spun with his full force and tossed the chair through an untouched window.

"Not as smarts as me!~" He added, grabbing the Freespace by an arm and leading him towards the new exit, which his rental car was hovering up to smoothly. A quick palm, and the Freespacer was shoved into the passenger seat. Then the driver's seat was a hop away. Enzo fired another heavy shot into the bar for good measure and dropped the car to ground-level.

"Get in." Was the order to Reeves, a thumb jutting towards the back seat. "And next times, don't jumps-- just drop. Acrobatics 101, cutie."

 

[Sham]

Soruk smirked a little as his arrow found its mark, and one of the thugs went for a long nap. He was about to send the next arrow to its mark, but was interrupted when he heard the sound of sliding glass behind him, at least he caught a glimpse of that massive Neko from earlier engaging the other thug. He didn't see how the rest of the scene played out as he spun around, one of his Rura's sliding out from underneath his wrist...

He didn't quite catch what had happened next, just catching a few things. First, his blade didn't find a target as he spun around quickly, expecting an ambush. Second, he quickly realized it was the woman from before, and not a hostile persay. Most importantly, she was armed with a small chair, and with his bow in one hand, he couldn't stop it from colliding with his chest. The strung arrow clattered to the balcony floor as Soruk stumbled and fell over the railing, the ground at least six floors down. Most people would have started to yell, or panic at this point, their death only seconds away... or at least serious injury.

Soruk however, was not most people, and this certainly wasn't his first time being launched off a building mere moments from death. He raised his left hand, bow still gripped tightly, and reached over with his right, pushing a small button and flexing his wrist. A second later, a sharp spear launched from his bracer, burying itself on the underside of a balcony a floor below his original one. The spearhead would quickly deploy four sharp anchors to latch itself firmly on the surface. The reel in the bracer quickly started to reel up the nanofiber wire, but the Gartagen had been falling for a few seconds already, it wasn't possible to actually pull him up before he would have hit the ground, but it did a good job at slowing him down, enough that he could land without becoming a sidewalk pancake, or breaking his legs.

Just before he hit the ground, he released the spear head, the wire quickly reeling back into the bracer as he landed neatly on the ground in a crouch. A hand snapped the bow shut, and clipped it to his back, while the other rummaged through one of his pouches to find a replacement spearhead, attaching the new one to the mechanism.

He tapped his communicator and spoke briefly, "I had some complications on my perch... I am now on the ground..." The Gartagen looked around the plaza while he loaded some golf-ball sized metal canisters into his right bracers cannon, "Providing some cover for our ride..." He pointed the cannon upwards, angled slightly towards the cafe, and fired, the golf ball canisters spreading out and landing all over the plaza. Seconds later, the tops popped open, and thick smoke of various colors began to cover the area around the cafe. Soruk smirked and entered the smoke.

 

[Luca]

An Upscale Cafe, Kyoto CBD
Smoke filled the area outside of the the cafe, dousing the area in thick orange clouds, obscuring vision. The Rental car that Enzo and Reeves had used as their getaway landed inside it, and the two conners and the Freespacer poured into it. "As far as interviews and cafe chatter goes, this is quite engaging," they remarked dryly. "If I survive, consider me sold for whatever cause you believe in."

While the target had gotten away, Echelon and Allison were still inside the bar. The Neko was still walking towards them and clearly aggreived that her target had gotten away and her remaining muscle had been tied up and had their snout headbutted in with a series of crunches increasing in volume and wetness. They reasoned that taking it out on these two interlopers would've been fine. After all, a plain Yamataian and some sort of robot? Should be slim pickings.
"I'll handle this," Echelon said, stepping ahead of Allison and cracking her Mimicom body's knuckles. "I'll be back if I die, you don't have the same luxury."
"You sure?" Allison said. "If you wanna?"

"It's just a cat that needs to be put out," Echelon said, coughing to clear her voice, "4ND 1 4M TH3 M0TH3RFUCK1N' R0B0-C4T-C4TCH3R."
"Does EVERYONE watch Yami NekoNeko!?" The Neko yelled back. "That show is so overrated."
"N0," Echelon replied, giving the Neko the pointer finger. "Y0U'R3 0V3RR4T3D." She then whispered to her friend: "4LLY, RUN." Ally ran after Enzo and Reeves and hoped that the rental car hadn't taken off yet, and piled into it.

"Luca, what do we do about the big Neko?" Allison asked over the communications as she poured into the back seat, legs on the Freespacer's lap, and an incredulous glance exchanged.
"She's Army personnel, let her be," Luca replied as he saw the red and blue lights get closer and closer. "She'll tell her side of the story. Might speak favourably of us and we'll get off with a slap on the wrist." He could hear doors opening and Yamataian voices coordinating and colluding.

Back inside, Echelon was standing there in her gothic lolita outfit, fork in one hand, knife in the other, and staring down the Nekovalkyrja. "S0," she asked in her native dialect, "Y0U TH1NK Y0U'R3 T0UGH?"
"I was engineered to be." The Neko replied in trademark apathy. The sounds of people jumping into the restaurant could be heard, and the safeties of guns could be heard disengaging.

"FREEZE! Hands up, or we will shoot!" the sounds of Yamataian and Nekovalkyrja police officers could be heard as they entered the room, armed for bear. They were unsure of what to make of a woman in Elegant Gothic Lolita, a giant Nekovalkyrja who'd just finished punching a bear and a normal sized Nekovalkyrja with their back to them. "Surrender your arms!"
Echelon raised her arms and dropped her utensils, but the Nekovalkyrja didn't comply.
"You're engineered to be disposable too, you know," Echelon taunted. The mercenary Nekovalkyrja pulled out a pistol and started firing wildy at Echelon, but found that she was shot in the back by several NSP shots and gunned down ignobly. "Th-thanks," she told the Police officers as they approached her with guns up.

"You've got some explaining to do," one of the officers commented as they looked down at her hand, and saw bleeding from beneath it and other spots on her body. She'd be hit three times. "First, you need medical treatment."
"I'm a robot," she explained. "I'll walk it off but thanks for your concern."

The officer assigned to investigate Shayla however seemed a little more timid to approach, what with a bleeding, bloodied Llmanel in her arms and clearly in control of the situation. "...is everything here in order, Shoi McBelle?"

"Enzo, your call to get out of there with the target, the smoke's about to dissipate," Luca ordered over the communications. "Soruk, Makari and I can take care of the rest and weasel our way out of this." That's when two policewomen approached Luca, guns up. "Going dark now. I'll try and be back at the Hotel ASAP. Everyone: Scatter," he whispered before pulling his earpiece out of his ear and crushing it, putting static across the waves for a moment. He flicked the crushed item away.

"Mr. Pavone, you're under arrest," one of the Nekovalkyrja spoke up. Luca kept his hands in his pockets, unperturbed by the police officers. "Hands up."
"Just in the right place at the right time," he commented dryly. "I'll pay for all damages rendered. I didn't intend for it to get this hot. Who were the mercenaries? Did they have bounties?" he asked.

"Hands. Up, smartarse."
"Just offering to use their bounties to pay this all off, but whatever," he sighed, finally putting his hands up and hoping that eyes weren't on Soruk, Echelon or Makari - they needed to get the hell out of here. "Yare yare daze."

 

[OsakanOne]

"Pay-per-pleasure system..?" Rebeka uttered quietly, mouthing the word. She watched Seiren expecting him to explain -- almost prompting before finally getting there herself in the end almost a full five seconds later. Her frown, simple as it was, said she didn't like this.

In etherial calm her pale fingertips closed about the rubbery grip of her hand-cannon. The thing was the size of a truncated or sawn off rifle if such a thing could exist, its curves and components esoteric though at a glance it was the love-child of a modern pistol and a Lorath flint-lock.

Her gaze settled on the door in blind simmering stare as she began loading slugs into the revolver chambers which she smoothly snapped shut -- gaze rising now: whatever she was watching was walking up stairs. Next, she loaded a magazine from the belt of her suit with Lorath engravements -- a crisp click as it locked into place inside the handle.

Her long long arm rose -- a lose springiness as she swung the heavy cannon, feeling it encircle in corkscrew, zeroing in smoothly with no sudden movement.

 

[Phe0n1x]

Makari moved cautiously (perhaps too much so), Peashooter drawn beneath is coat. As he reach the halfway mark the police sprinted into he building. With one or two of the cops looking his way, he quickly holstered his gun in the hidden pocket and lazily moseyed left away from the cafe. Over comms he calmly stated "I'm safe out here. I don't think they suspect me. Soruk, Echelon, I'll meet you three blocks east and two blocks south. If I don't see you there, I'll meet you back at home. Going silent in case they manage to scan the frequency."

His trigger finger itched to ventilate a few of the Neko cops, but Makari had enough sense to know that was the last thing that needed to be done and would only make the situation that much worse.