The Ashlanders - Chapter 6: The Blind Man's Last Gambit (Closed, Started)

[NinjaDeathSlap]

'Come now, Florian. Be a good sport and play.' The Gentleman thought to himself as he helped gather up Amy's luggage. 'Even Meredith is blushing.'

"Now that the niceties have been observed, perhaps we should make haste back to the Maiden. I fear foul skies will soon be upon us. What say you, Meredith?"

===========================================================================================================================

The reaction from Florian was more or less what Amy had expected. Cold and uncomfortable, though not outwardly unpleasant. That was no matter, she had plenty of time to lay whatever groundwork she chose. When all was said and done, men were men, and Amy knew men better than possibly any other soul alive. There was no need to rush.

"Now that the niceties have been observed, perhaps we should make haste back to the Maiden. I fear foul skies will soon be upon us. What say you, Meredith?"

Amy merely nodded, rather than speak over the Captain, before turning back to Florian.

"Perhaps, when we are not in such a rush, you might educate me on the life of a missionary? Forgive my curiosity, but it is a walk of life I know so very little about, having met very few Holy Men before; and I fear my past acquaintances were hardly paragons of their scripture."

 

[Fappy]

"We should do something nice when this is all over. Something just for us."

Sprout smiled mischievously as all forms of profane thoughts crossed his mind. What else would you have a teenage boy do, after all?

"Let's see what old fat arse has to say."

"I reckon the less he says the better!" The two laughed together as they disappeared inside the tent.

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Even with the tent's heating system it was a bitter, cold night. Well below freezing. Bart was coughing and wheezing in the corner he was tied up in. He wasn't likely fond of needing to try to sleep, what with the warm, luxurious beds he was used to. Shivering for the past hour straight, Sprout was uncomfortable as well and hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

Perhaps because she'd done all the driving, Lilith didn't take long to conk out completely. She had fallen asleep on her side, facing Sprout. After debating in his mind whether it was a good idea or not he eventually swallowed his fears and started scooting closer and closer until his back rested against her chest. She did little more than grunt in her sleep.

He burrowed his head under the blanket and lifted her limp arm to rest it across his shoulder and chest. He thought she might be mad if she woke up to find he'd made her his big spoon, but the extra warmth and comfort were well worth the risk. The same mischievous grin shined as he settled into his new sleeping position.

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"Now that the niceties have been observed, perhaps we should make haste back to the Maiden. I fear foul skies will soon be upon us. What say you, Meredith?"

Pixie crossed her arms and nodded in agreement, "I don' reckon the girl want's her hair jostled all across the ashlands while she's boardn' the Maiden." She gestured in the direction of the exit. "Ladies first."

"... and I fear my past acquaintances were hardly paragons of their scripture."

I can' imagine why...

Pixie rolled her eye. Boy was she going to work one over on him, "Alright, alright, hun, les' keep the teasen' to a minimum. You don' wanna make the Captain jealous. Y'all won' like me when I am jealous." Pixie implied with a raspy laugh.

She grabbed the last of Amy's luggage and made for the door.

Once back on the Maiden Pixie escorted their new guest to Lilith's room, tossing her luggage on the bed as she entered, "You can stay here fer the night. I reckon Lily's not gonna be needin' it fer awhile. This arrangement work fer you?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith was beat, she pretty much fell asleep as soon as her head hit the ground. Tomorrow was a big day she had to be sharp.


She awoke some time later, sensing movement, she opened an eye slightly as Sprout nestled up to her. She feigned sleep, more out of curiosity than anything. She raised an eyebrow slightly as he put his back against her chest, letting him lift her arm over him. A few moments passed, before she pulled him closer. It was cold in there. She rested her forehead against the back of Sprout's head and smiled slightly, her eyes closed. "Goodnight Axel." She whispered, playfully.

Sleep took her quickly.

 

[Ruedyn]

Kayneth

"The banditos have been more active today, I think we can expect our friends to show up sometime tomorrow. Will you be ready?"

"I can say I am, just as ready as before with impatience in the blood... What about you? Got your guns all squeaky clean yet?" Kayneth said, not really paying attention to the man. Just a random thing he remembered about the maintenance, something he learned in court. Remember a detail and it seems like you remember everything...

He swung his sword around over his head, he hadn't technically found a 'mark' per se. His time had not been spent murdering, but he did get a few new belt rungs and some rope. It was tradition to carry the heads of your fallen enemy on your belt, after all. Weird fucking tradition, gross and difficult, but it did have a certain shock factor. Scared the fuck out of him when he saw his father roll into their city with one of em, shocked expression with a mouth full of rose petals.

'... Maybe there's a reason I'm so messed up.'

Kayneth groaned, rubbing his eyes and thinking about events to comne; losing the big guy in the fight would be most beneficial. Bennie was a Maiden, ex or no, his head was money for the Basilio household. He'd have to remember to lop it off with their other warriors, bigger the head the better.

"... How much more time do you think?"
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Vergil

The past couple of days had been... informative, if nothing else. He quickly learned he hated Santiago more than the Maribel's. That was a very rare occurrence, though how much that actually said was up for debate. Regardless, he got some info on the Captain of the Maiden here... kind of. Vague bullshit, mostly, but he could try to piece together something close to the truth later.

For now, it was waiting time.

Because 3 days was never enough FUCKING waiting.

The boy almost slammed his head onto the table at the cafe, thinking about it all. He really hoped that junkie cuntwipe wasn't lying, or misinformed about this. He was assured he was reliable, but he couldn't remember by who... if it was "Ghost" (Ernest), he'd made a grave error on this one.

'Faith, Vergil, faith and patience.' He raised his head and looked around again, smiling his fake, crooked little smile.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tobin

"Oh my fucking god, if we don't make it to Feroxi soon I will shit bricks." The gunslinger groaned, throwing his head back. He'd spent the last fucking week in a crawler, he needed to stretch his legs in a dome or something. They'd barely even friggin stopped, they REALLY wanted to get there. Probably by days end, but if that was going to stop the bitching, he might actually have to be a functioning member of society.

"Bricks the size a' you, half-pint?" Tom responded, now driving their great vehicle. Ogre was in the front, thank god for small mercies. Though Hound certainly lived up to his name scent-wise. And judging by the blood caked under his nails, fighting seemed to be another thing.

"Bricks the size of YOU, cousin fucker." Tobin replied almost instantly, grinning. The driver of the hour just sighed, gritting his teeth. He hated getting that reaction, he could practically see the man's tiny brain get stuck on the number after 6.

"7..." Tobin muttered to himself, letting it go into silence again. Less than a day from Feroxi. Hopefully.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Aquila

"Hands, in the air. DON'T TURN AROUND." The old man froze, trying to keep his eyes straight ahead. Aquila had dressed in her mask, and had her sniped pointed at the man's back. She hoped she wouldn't have to use it, but anyone dumb enough to take an alley at night certainly deserved the bullet hole.

Aquila smirked a bit at his compliance, switching her rifle for her pistol as she approached. She darted her hand inside his ratty suit pocket, quickly finding his wallet and bringing it under her flash light, not much in it but it'd get some snack food. Family picture, seemed he raised a a few kids. She pocketed his ID, taking a step back.

'So far too easy.'

She took a step back, throwing the wallet over his head, it landed a few feet in front. He took a step to get it before the click of a gun cocking stopped him mid step, she noticed something on him.

"Pistol, back pocket. Take out the mag, slide it to me. Slowly." The man seemed to tense up, freezing perfectly still for a few moments, before complying. He emptied his generic 9mm, kicking the magazine back with a sigh. She scooped it up quickly, taking another step back, and then quickly sprinting out of the alley.

Third mark of the day, second one armed, so far the easiest.
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Warren

Silo was already getting on his tits. That much was evident with the constant glare he kept trained on the annoying little prick, could practically feel his hands close his wind pipe. But, he would try to murder less on this trip, he promised himself that. Only the necessary amount, no extra fighting. He'd even try to keep his mind on.

He thought a lot about the bits and pieces he'd picked up while waiting on the Bridge. Snippets of history, and he'd likely never see Sprout or Lilith again. Warren thought everyone was better off for this, no matter what his personal feelings told him about it. A girl who didn't like to kill and a child who probably couldn't weakened the group. Though, what they were going to do now was a thinking experiment, trying to remember their talents respectively.

He smiled when gravity hurt Silo and brought him back to reality, something satisfying about a sharp turn and some steel to the ribs for those you dislike. Warren felt a small relief when they made it to the tunnel, Silo and some other guy opened the hatch for em. Tunnel was dark, Warren liked it that way, but it wasn't silent. Orders and warnings from their "Leader."

"Be alert people. Assume we're stepping into a hot zone. The banditos know we're coming and will be waiting for us."

Warren gripped his guns barrel, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He was antsy, and excited, and knew that neither of those would help his self promise.

"Fuckers'll wish they'd never left the safety of their mama's pussy!"

Warren just groaned at that, crass and he'd heard it before.

"Yeah, well, let's hope that's the case."

And that one was just pathetic. He hoped Silo drowned in gunfire.

 

[The Funslinger]

Spoiler

When they got through the tunnel, the trip to Randy's didn't take more than a few minutes, and kept them clear of the city itself. It took them close to the shanties, though. Most of the people they saw there were filthy, with a lean, hungry look to them. Many ducked back into their various shacks and lean-to structures at the sight and sound of the vehicle. Mothers clutched children, and men stood protectively in front of women. No doubt the Crawler put them in mind of Bandito grunts cruising around looking for dangerous fun. They passed a woman twitching in a gutter, reddish foam dribbling from her mouth. Ruffles contemplated stopping to help her, but the looks of open hostility they received as he slowed the vehicle turned him away. The city itself would be different, Ruffles knew, but not necessarily better.

Eventually, he found the isolated, ramshackle structure that was Randy's house, and took the vehicle round the building's back.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"Perhaps, when we are not in such a rush, you might educate me on the life of a missionary? Forgive my curiosity, but it is a walk of life I know so very little about, having met very few Holy Men before; and I fear my past acquaintances were hardly paragons of their scripture.""

Florian's face flickered with surprise for a moment. He wasn't sure if he was offended by what was probably an open move to test him or that what she said was probably true. Florian had rarely met another priest since he left the abbey, his lifestyle didn't really give him many chances but he had still encountered those that abused or abandoned their position. The older brothers at the abbey may not have approved of his choices so far but Florian could at least say he was never as bad as those that wore the cloth falsely.

"I would not want to bore you." He said to Amy.

"Alright, alright, hun, les' keep the teasen' to a minimum. You don' wanna make the Captain jealous. Y'all won' like me when I am jealous."

Funny, it almost sounds like she isn't completely joking. Florian had always been terrible at spotting that kind of thing.

They gathered up Amy's baggage and Florian's brief excuse for shore leave came to an end. Once back on the maiden he went to the canteen and fixed himself a cup of coffee. It would be interesting to see how this job would fit together in the end. It felt like a lifetime since he'd been seen a high caliber operation.

A whole life time ago. He allowed himself chuckle at the thought.

 

[Fappy]

Bart had eaten his breakfast like a good boy and was now mumbling to himself about some stuffed horse he had as a child. The drugs were clearly working, but Sprout worried they may have gone over board. Getting into the city was easy enough if you knew how to avoid the guards and in no time they found themselves in an alleyway behind an inn. Lilith kept the delirious noble company while Sprout assembled his costume from garbage he found in the alley.

Eventually he emerged from the cesspool covered in rags and old newspaper, "I look purrdy to ya'?" As soon as the words left his mouth he shook his head, coughed and corrected himself. "Do I look pretty to you?" His accent was almost completely absent.

He sounded the part and looked it too. Pixie appeared to have passed on more of her skills-set than anyone would have suspected.

********************************************************************************************************************************************************

The moment Ruffles pulled the crawler up to the back of Randy's place Silo knew something was wrong. He drew his revolver and slowly exited the crawler, "Keep your eyes peeled, Maidens. Something... ain't right here..." The rest of the group noticed it too. The stench of blood was overwhelming. Was this just a normal day in Boomhower or...?

As they made their way carefully around the side of the building they noticed Randy's window had been shattered. Silently, Silo signaled for them to move up, slowly. The deafening silence was growing more and more concerning as they made their way up the side of the house. Silo signaled to Cameron to check inside the window, and so she did.

"I gotta bad feel'n 'bout this." Barrot said as he took point and eased up to the front of the house. After hesitating for a brief moment he flew around the side of the building, his rifle leveled. No hostiles. After taking one step forward he heard what sounded like mud under his boot. Instinctively he looked down to see he'd stepped into a pool of Randy's blood, his corpse no more than two feet from where he was standing.

His head was gone.

"What is it?" Silo questioned as he came around the side. The rest of the group followed.

Barrot, in shock, turned to face him, "We-we, we gotta ge---"

Spoiler: Play Dis Shit for Bandito Fighting Madness :D

Suddenly a red cloud replaced the space Barrot's head had occupied as an ear-shattering blast echoed down the streets of Boomhower.

Silo turned to his men, trying to usher them back around the corner, "BANDITOS!" He screamed, taking cover behind the side of the house. Gunfire came from all around, but it seemed the shot that killed Barrot came from the rooftops opposite Randy's house. "Someone take out that sniper!"

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"... How much more time do you think?"

Bennie scratched his goatee in thought, "Well---" Suddenly a loud gunshot echoed through the city followed by a chorus of additional shots. Bennie threw on a jacket and cocked his shotgun. "LET'S GO!"

Without waiting for a response Bennie flew down the stairs of the inn and dashed out into the streets.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The drugs were working all right, Bart was nearly completely out of it, thankfully they made him ridiculously obedient if spoken to in the correct tone.

Lilith turned to face Bart as Sprout got his disguise to together. She lightened the tone of her voice like one would do with a young child, "Okay Barty, we're gonna go for a walk soon, okay? Do you think you can stay quiet for us? That's a good boy." The noble smiled stupidly, his pupils huge. Lilith turned away, scratching the back of her head. "Maybe we overdid it." She whispered to herself.

As Sprout revealed his costume, Lilith crossed her arms across her chest. "Ah, this brings back memories." She smiled slightly.

"Do I look pretty to you?"

"Why Axel, is that enunciation I hear? Didn't know you had it in you." She chuckled, looking down at her watch. "It's almost time, we good to go?"

 

[Fappy]

"It's almost time, we good to go?"

Sprout nodded enthusiastically, "Yes Ma'am!" After ensuring Bart was ready to depart the trio set out towards the nearest sewer access. Together, Sprout and Lilith lifted the heavy manhole and discarded it nearby. The climb down wasn't too far, but considering Bart's condition they had to take it nice and slow. He almost slipped off the ladder more than a few times.

A loud splash echoed down the sewer tunnels as Sprout leaped off the ladder, planting his shoes firmly in a puddle of... God knows what. He turned on his flashlight, and after ensuring Bart was still alright, left down the tunnel. The trip from the manhole was a decently long one as Sprout had to check his notes every now and then to make sure they were taking the right path.

Minus the constant sound of running water, the tunnels were eerily quite. The stench on the other hand... smelled quite similar to Valhalla. Repulsive to any creature with a nose. Though he didn't hear anything, Sprout was constantly looking over his shoulder. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but ever since entering the sewer he'd felt he was being watched.

Eventually they arrived at the sprinkler drain. Sprout looked around, shining his flashlight down another tunnel nearby, "Funny, I don' 'member there bein' another tunnel runnin' north under the Garden. Maybe it's new..." After examining the sprinkler drain he rested his foot on it and gave it a good push. After a few seconds of strain it popped right out. He looked over his shoulder at Lilith and shot her a grin. "You ready?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith grimaced as they entered the sewer. "Bloody hell..." She pulled her scarf up over her mouth and nose, which did nothing to stop the putrid stink from invading her senses.

I'm gonna need to shower for about three hours after this.

As they made their way down the sewer system, she noted how many times Sprout looked over his shoulder. You can feel it too, huh kid? There was something going on, a feeling she couldn't shake. They finally reached their exit point, Lilith thanked all the deities, but then remembered they'd also be coming back through the same way. Damn it.


"You ready?" Sprout grinned at her.

Lilith, pulled out her revolver and span the cylinder playfully, locking it into place as she cocked the hammer. "It's show time." She winked at the boy.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"I would not want to bore you."

"Oh, not at all." Amy replied sweetly "You'll find me very curious."

It was then that she was steered away by the Captain, to her new lodging's on board the Maiden. They seemed comfortable enough, considering where they were. Amy had certainly had to bed down in far worse places.

"I reckon Lily's not gonna be needin' it fer awhile. This arrangement work fer you?"

"Splendidly. Thank you so much. When do you suppose we might convene to discuss the plan?"

 

[Fappy]

"It's show time."

Sprout shot her a cocky grin before climbing through the drain. Moments later they found themselves in the middle of, well, essentially a forest. It was unlike anything Sprout had ever seen in person. After stopping to take in his surroundings he scanned the area and pointed to a hill nearby. "There's a lotta cover up there. I don' reckon anyone'll see ya'." He glanced back towards the center of the garden and looked back to Lilith. "See y'all on the other side. Wish me luck, Lily." He whispered with a soft smile.

And with that he took Bart by the shoulder and escorted him further in. After about a minute of walking through a maze of trees and brush he caught a glimpse of his targets. A... beautiful woman was leaning up against a tree accompanied by some armed guards. She was likely the contractor Bart's family had hired.

Cautiously, he emerged from the brush, no more than 30 yards from Whiskey. Bart was wide-eyed and drooling; off in a completely different world. Sprout held him close and cleared his throat before speaking, "Hello there Miss. Are you the one the bandits made the deal with?"

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"Splendidly. Thank you so much. When do you suppose we might convene to discuss the plan?"

Pixie shrugged, "I reckon we can do it now. I ain't got nothin' else goin' on, anyway." She lead The girl and the Gentleman to her own room. Pixie quickly grabbed a second chair from the corner of the room to place in front of her desk. "Make yerself at home."

Stepping behind her desk, Pixie began sorting through the bottles in her booze cabinet, "What'll y'all have?"

 

[The Funslinger]

Whiskey looked up at the sound of rustling to see a teenage boy dressed in rags, pushing the old man before him. Supposed to be an orphan. She had gotten a look at the Maiden's roster, and the fact it was a teenage boy sent off alarm bells in her head. Some kid, Monroe. However, she said nothing on the matter.

"Hello there Miss. Are you the one the bandits made the deal with?"

"Well ain't you adorable, sugar? Yeah, that's me. What say we do this real simple like? I assume they sent someone to cover you, even if we can't see 'em. So, I want you to move forward with the hostage so he don't pull any fast ones, or whatever. At the same time, I'll move forward with the ransom box while his gun toting employees cover me. You get the money, he walks outta here. Done deal, right?"

========================================

Ruffles threw himself behind the wall, as a hail of bullets flashed through where he'd just been. His shotgun was ready, and he fired it almost out of reaction as a screeching bandito sprinted around the corner. More blood was added to the pool left by Randy. Hearing a yell behind him, he turned. The banditos had come around the outside of the house, too. One had kicked Cameron onto her back and was about to finish her. Ruffles' shotgun flashed again and the man went sprawling. But he was one of several, and a man with a knife and revolver rugby tackled Ruffles, sending him sprawling onto his back, into the pool of blood by Randy's corpse. After wrestling him into submission and losing his revolver in the process, the man raised his knife to finish the job.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith's eyes widened as she took in all the greenery before her. "It's been too long since I came here." She whispered to herself fondly. "It never fails to impress."


"There's a lotta cover up there. I don' reckon anyone'll see ya'"

Lilith nodded, uncocking her revolver, she put it back in her holster, while swinging her rifle off her shoulder.

"See y'all on the other side. Wish me luck, Lily." Her heart leapt into her throat and she felt ill.

"Good luck." She whispered.


She watched as he left, she was half tempted to tail him, make sure she was close enough to intervene if something went wrong. No, let him do this. She shook it off and began hiking it up the hill, making sure to stay hidden as she got to her position. She found a nice spot, lots of brush cover, she lowered herself to a prone position, burying her shoulder into the stock of her rifle, she peered through the scope, following Sprout's movements. Lilith scoped ahead of him, seeing what she assumed was the exchange party. She saw a woman, pretty, and four other guys.

She took a deep drag of her cigarette, panning the scope around Sprout's immediate area. She was relieved when she found nothing. "Okay kid, nice and smooth."

 

[ProtoChimp]

Shit had hit the fan fast. Before getting out of the crawler Aesop had a bolt action rifle slung over his back along with a revolver holstered and a machine gun in his hands. The bandito's were shooting from everywhere and Barrot was already dead in such a brutal way. Of all the things that could have sent Aesop over the edge, he had always found it odd that combat was what made him focus. Maybe something was wrong with him.

Aesop sprayed controlled shots at the approaching bandito's when one had tackled Ruffles onto the floor right next to Randy's corpse, just before he finished the job Aesop peppered the man with bullets and he fell on top of Ruffles. "SHEILD RUFF SHIELD!" He yelled, although Ruffles was smart enough to know that the bandito would make good cover from the sniper. Aesop patted Silo on the arm and said "I got the sniper watch my back." Aesop slung the machine gun over his back as he brought the bolt action forward. The sniper was attempting to get an easy shot on Jake however he was hitting the dead bandito that covered him. Aesop quickly took aim at the sniper, however he ducked down just as he fired. "RUFF GET OUT OF THERE!" Aesop covered him from the sniper, popping off shots whenever he got up, the sniper clearly had a more advanced weapon but it doesn't matter what you are shooting with; a headshot is a headshot.

 

[The Funslinger]

Ruffles kicked the corpse off him, and moved behind the Crawler. It had been very good luck the bandit who tackled him had been wearing body armour. If not, the sniper's shots would have passed right through. The sound of footsteps made him turn to see a bandito leveling a shotgun at him, but the man's head exploded before he could fire. As the corpse fell, he saw Cameron standing with a snub nosed revolver aimed point blank at where the man's head had been. Ruffles exhaled in relief. "Shit. Thanks."

"Guess we're even!"

Ruffles nodded and turned back to the task at hand. He, Aesop, Silo, Cameron and Warren were still standing, and between them they'd managed to take out most of the banditos. There were only a couple left, but they could be heard moving around the sides of the building.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Viola was knelt down in the watch-tower, her aim steadied by controlled breathing as she looked through the sight of her rifle on the scene below, when suddenly something in the corner of her other eye caught her attention. From what she could make out given the foliage of the grove, there were two people, one a small child dressed in rags, the other a much older gentleman.

"Well, I guess that must be the package, Bartholomew coming into view now. But just who the hell is that carrying him? Can't be one of the Maidens right? I thought Dante said that there was two of them, Sprout and Lilith. If that is one of them, where is the other? No doubt hiding somewhere to spring an ambush, or perhaps provide covering fire in case of an attack; at least that is what I would do."

"Looks like Bart there has had a rough time, then again, these are bandits that we're dealing with, it's a part of their nature, roughhousing their captives for some perverse sense of entertainment."

"Mind you, I suppose they might not be entirely at fault; I remember one time I had to escort some Noble on a train ride, he just kept talking about his families life story and how they came to be members of their station. The way he droned on and on, if it weren't for the money I was getting paid, I'd have punched him in the teeth."

After she was done rambling, Viola returned her attention towards the deal, looks like they got to the point where the items were going to be traded, Viola would have to make her move soon if she was to catch them.

Spoiler: Suspense Music

 

[Fappy]

"... You get the money, he walks outta here. Done deal, right?"

Sprout nodded in agreement, "Yeah sure, whatever. Whatever it takes to get out of here as soon as possible. These bandit types are fucking scary." After taking a second to gauge Whiskey's intention, he nudged Bart forward and they made their slow approach towards Whiskey and the score. He was terrified, his eyes darting all around, but he did an admerable job hiding it. It helped that Bart was so hopped up on pills he did little more than stagger a bit when made to move.

So far so good. Hope yer okay up there, Lily...

 

[The Funslinger]

"These bandit types are fucking scary."

Whiskey chuckled lightly as she moved forward. "I'm sure they are, honey." Depositing the metal chest into Sprout's arms, Whiskey glanced at Bart as he stumbled past her. "What the hell did you guys do to him? I think I want some of that."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"What'll y'all have?"

The Gentleman ordered a glass of single malt, while Amy preferred a dry white wine. He'd brought his briefcase with him, and as the drinks were being served he took out two identical documents which he then slid across to Meredith and Amy's places. Inside were blueprints of their target, along with photographs of its innards, and several dossiers.

"The House of Lies, more officially known as the Herbert Russell Building, is the premier vault for the most valuable commodity on The Rock. The truth, or rather, the possession and manipulation of such. Our objective, however, is much less metaphorical. Not content with twisting facts to corrupt the Zeitgeist of an entire planet for their own purposes, the families who share a stake in the umbrella corporation that uses the facility have steered the business in a rather less legal direction. Hundreds of tonnes of carbon, in the form of printer ink, passes through the manufacturing sector of the building on the lower floors every day. A negligible portion of said ink being skimmed off the top, and transferred back into something that can be used as currency, is enough for some of these families to have seen their fortunes multiply tenfold in a matter of months, combined with a little bit of clever forgery. The visible structure is one of the largest buildings ever recorded in history, but the sub-levels that have been added beneath it are where the real magic happens, and that is where we need to find ourselves.

Sirus Dickens, the CEO of the aforementioned umbrella group, will be throwing a party tomorrow night in the very seat of his Empire, in honour of its apparently soaring profits. Sirus is not noble born himself. However, he's made quite the fortune for himself in helping the rich get richer. We shall be attending this party, and we will be leaving with as much of his and his associates ill-gotten gains as we can carry, so to speak."

The Gentleman smiled at them both as he said. "Are their any questions at this point."