Log Title: Swiss Miss (Imager's idea!)
Characters: Concealer, Lifeline, Scarlett, and Snake-Eyes
Location: Monolith Financial Corporation - Eiringen Switzerland and Command Center - The Pit
Date: 5-16-2023
TP:
Summary: Intelligence gathering, relationships, and a touch of intrigue!
As logged by Scarlett
- LOG BEGINS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Snake-Eyes At: Tue May 16 11:14:15 2023 (Conn) To : Scarlett Subject: IC Message --------------------------------------------------------------------------- **IC Message: Sent via Burner TXT Message with Red Snake Encryption Level** Come. Please. Geographical Coordinates: (Shana's House, Gretna, Nebraska) Time: Noon, Local Time ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Radio) Scarlett transmits, "Edwin.... I just got a potential lead on information on the Turkyie attack. I have to go check this out in person, as my source will not reveal it to anyone else. I'm sorry.... I already left Medical, and the Pit." to Lifeline.
[G.I. Joe] Scarlett's radio go silent.
(Radio) Lifeline transmits, 'Hm. Well, it's important. And you do seem better. Call me if you need anything, okay?' to Scarlett.
(Radio) Scarlett transmits, "I will.... but I'll likely be radio silent for a while." to Lifeline.
- OOC NOTE: Scarlett leaves the Pit, and meets with Snake-Eyes at the home she owns in Gretna, Nebraska. They than travel to Switzerland (Hopefully there will be a Log of this RP soon!)
While agents in the Joes do have a tendency to go AWOL, or rogue, that doesn't mean they aren't working still. In fact, without prying eyes sometimes the Joes do the most needed stuff. After the incident in Turkiye, after Battleaxe's death there, eyes turned towards whatever private military contractor did the deed. Its never easy to find a PMC, and this one has been good covering its tracks so far. But leads do pop up after a time, PMCs do need to get /paid/ after all. All one needed was an account and if they had access to the right files, they could begin to trace the flow of money.
Hence Monolith Financial Corporation, A soot black building that houses a series of servers dedicated to encryption and secure transactions. Even as the two Joes outside survey the tall windowless building, hundreds of thousands of computations were occurring inside somewhere, making people richer every moment....
Not dressed in her normal combat outfit, Scarlett is instead dressed, for the moment, like a civilian. Not high fashion, but office wear. She is standing on the roof of a building very close to the target building, looking over at the building in Question. She flashes a few hand signals to her silent partner, 'This is it.... Looks similar to the Cobra Consulate, and we broke in there a few times.'
Unlike Scarlett, Snake-Eyes is making sure that he's decked out in his usual attire. How he manages to make all black blend in with the daylight is a skill unto itself but he manages to do so. He's definitely not going to be walking in the front door like this so he'll be likely getting in by more covert means. There's a nod of recognition given to Scarlett in the midst of her signals and his own hands return some signs: 'Piece of cake'. Looks like someone's feeling maybe a little extra confident about this here task. Another sign, 'Plan?' just in case Scarlett has a particular one in mind.
Shana's eyes move to the roof of the building across the way, to see if she can see any access points on the roof. There is always an AC vent they could try to fit through, right? She looks thoughtful, and one of her hands flash a few more 'words' in sign, 'Looking for roof access. Vents. Unsecured doors. Even an Elevator shaft would be good.'
Another nod from Snake-Eyes and he just uses the tech built into his visor to scan the roof of the targeted building. Definitely looking for any possible points of entry and maybe even a couple of non-obvious ones as well. He's geared up so he could probably get them in any kind of way but the quieter the better. Some signing comes back in Scarlett's direction, 'Roof likely best way in. Easy exit too.' Of course Snake-Eyes is thinking about how they're going to get out as well.
Snake-Eyes gives a careful survey of the area.... He notes something of interest.
Its a server system, which means it needs a lot of coolant. Snake Eyes gives the rooftop a scan, not that they can see it too well from below, and spots thermal plumes. There is a great deal of heat coming from the rooftop. It would be a prickly situation to tolerate all that warmth, but it could give the initial access they need.
At the moment, getting out is less important than getting the intel to the Joes, or at least, that is Scarlett's mindset. She, of course, does not share this information with Snake-Eyes, as he likely already knows how she is thinking, knowing the nature of the information they are after. She signs, 'I can get us to the roof.' She brings her crossbow out, and loads a very special bolt into it. Her crossbow was inside a very large, but still something people might use, briefcase. Inside it, is also a few other small tools and tricks of the trade that might be needed.
Snake-Eyes has no qualms about letting Scarlett take lead on this. He knows what they are after as well but he's focused on making sure this goes off without too much of a hitch. He may be a stealthy expert because Ninja but Scarlett knows how to make entire plans work without too much of a hassle. He's nodding and ready to rock with Scarlett and her crossbow mode of travel.
Scarlett smiles at Snake-Eyes, and brings her crossbow to her shoulder. She is going to aim at a spot just below, but in easy reach or, the ledge of the target building's roof. They may have to climb, but at least it won't be easy to spot them making the climb, due to the height, and the fact that most people don't look up, too much.
A well aimed bolt arcs up into the sky, and grapples up against the building's rooftop. Pitons sink in deep. Even if anyone did see the two, dressed in dark colors to match the dark building, who'd believe the witness? Up on the rooftop, several large AC units whirr and whine, rattling as they produce industrial amounts of cold. Fans suck up the hot air from inside the building with massive turbines. Going through either sets of vents will require some sort of temporary shutdown of the fan work, if they want to leave no trace...
On the rooftop, Snake-Eyes takes in the AC units and fans and turbines and just kind of stares from behind his mask and visor. He's not exactly sure what the next play should be considering that getting inside means they're going to have to stop the fans. He signs, 'Our way in. But...' and then he just kind of points at the fan blades. Some more signing to check with Scarlett about shutting them down. Gotta' check with your infiltration partner before just doing things that could blow the entire operation.
Scarlett nods, and moves to one of the panels she sees. The options are try to do this so no one knows they were there, or do it in such a way that people might know. She'll try to see if she can do it the first way first. She motions to the first panel, indicating she'll see if she can shut it down. She takes a deep breath, and thinks to herself, o O (Here goes nothing....)
Scarlett assesses the mechanical door... She reroutes the power system in the area which stops up the fans.
Scarlett works on the turbine system, and forces it to restart, which means the two have a limited window of time to leap into the abyss. With fan blades stopped, the two can enter the AC vent, and slide on down into the building. Frost lines the inside of the insulated piping as the two Joes descend several floors rapidly.
Snake-Eyes loosens up for a long climb.... He makes the long climb without much issue!
Scarlett loosens up for a long climb.... She makes the long climb without much issue!
Inside the vent is frigid air, biting cold, but its nothing the two Joes can't tolerate, and they make it down several stories within it without any deadfall slips, as they follower the larger ventilation shafts into the heart of the building.
Deeper inside, from the ductwork, the two can see armed guards at stationary locations. its hard to say exactly how close they are to the server room itself, but the large fans blocking their way forward in here suggest that an alternate route is needed.
Scarlett frowns at the guards, and than looks at Snake-Eyes. Hand signaling, 'Got any Tranqs on you? I've got net bolts, but they'd be able to yell....' She shrugs, 'Unless you have an idea on sneaking past them?'
It IS pretty deafening in the vents, so sign language makes sense.
Snake offers a nod and slides away a panel on his arm to show that he's got some tranq darts on him. He's always armed to the teeth. So now it'll just be about sending those tranqs into the guards so they can make this happen and get back out of here.
In concert, the two open up the vent and descend onto the guards below. There's no sign of foul play here, no hidden Cobra emblems or reptile based names. The two guards fall before the Joes subdual might. Passkeys are on the two, as well as pistols, but nothing heavier. Now it comes down to finding the right way to the server farm and avoiding trouble....
Shana shakes her head slightly, as she thinks perhaps tranqs are more likely to be traced back to the Joes. She indicates a quick strangle/sleeper hold move at Snake-Eyes, and than points at the guard she will take. She than immediately opens a vent and drops down on one of the guards. Than she grabs a passkey, and looks to see if she can figure out which way they should go next. Trusting Snake-Eyes will handle the other guard without her even needing to watch.
The heroine Scarlett is well versed with building layouts with her experience, and notes some heavy conduits that surely must be either outright power cables, or heavy duty broadband cables....
Snake-Eyes moves with the speed and silence of a ninja because, well, he's a ninja. It's even hard to see what move he's done to put down the guard but by the time anyone takes a second look, he's lowering the now unconscious guard to the floor. Simple. With that done, he's ready to follow up Scarlett's lead again. Trusting she's figured out the next move.
Scarlett motions to Snake-Eyes, the direction they should go. She begins to go along as quietly as she possibly can. She's not a ninja, but she can be pretty light on her feet....
Working their way through the building is all but old hat to Snake Eyes and Scarlett. Together they find the large server room, while Snake Eyes obscures enough cameras to avoid arousing any suspicion. The server bay is humming with power and data. Hundreds of billions of dollars run through this bank's systems, changing second by second. All it takes now is finding the account's name within the actual systems, and the Joes have their intel.
'Cover me while I see If I can get us the info we need', Shana's fingers spell out, as she moves to one of the servers, and begins to try and get into the system. She wishes she had Mainframe, or better yet, Hacker in her ear, to walk her through this, but.... She is at least somewhat computer savvy, and is trained in Cyber Security.
Snake is already watching Scarlett's six. And five. And four. He's on high ninja infiltration alert and making sure that he's keeping his visor scanning for anything out of the ordinary. He's ready to take down whatever may come their direction.
Scarlett accesses the computer network... She handily breaks the system encryption allowing some basic network access.
Even the internal system is hard to work through, but its nothing Scarlett hadn't seen before. It takes her breadth of experience, and educated guessing to find where she needs to be. With the Account Number that Snake-Eyes had provided, she finds an account....
SEARCHING>>>>
SEARCHING>>>>
SEARCHING>>>>
SEARCHING>>>>
SEARCHING>>>>
Company: GROUND ZEROES LTD.
Shana smiles, than returns the server to the way she found it, after copying the name into her memory. She stands up, and signs to Snake. A Simple thumbs up, should deliver the message.
Snake-Eyes is ready to lead the way so they can get out of here quicker than they got in. It should be much easier to escape since they already know what to do in this building. And since no alarms or anything have been triggered!
LATER: Night has come in Switzerland, and soon, Scarlett will need to return from her covert action. Wind whips through the chilly country, surrounded by high mountains as lights come on in Eiringen, perhaps promising a more peaceful future for the Swiss, and maybe the Joes.
Shana turns to Snake-Eyes, after they are well away from the building. She says, very softly, "Thank you for contacting me." She looks like she might want to say more, but she is afraid to.
Snake-Eyes nods and makes sure to offer a sign from his own hands, 'Always.' is the only word that he figures he should actually sign. He's hoping just his presence right here, right now is enough to make Scarlett realize how he feels. Always here for her. And, by proxy, the Joes.
Shana nods at the sign, and than hugs Snake-Eyes, holding him a little tighter than she has to, "When will I see you again?"
Snake-Eyes nods again because this is how he does his best communicating. Yes, his visor is on but he's pretty sure that Scarlett can see straight through to his heart. 'Soon.' he signs because he's pretty sure he should handle this 'other issue' before coming back in fully. He doesn't want to talk about it but he's sure Scarlett knows why soon is the answer.
Shana nods, and she softly kisses Snake-Eyes, through the mask he wears. "If I thought it would be helpful, I'd tell you to come in now... but I don't know if it would be." She sighs softly, and pulls back from him, just a little bit, "Just stay safe.... check in with me when you can."
Snake-Eyes almost looks as though he doesn't want to go. Blame that KISS. There are so many things going on with his body language in this moment that he's not even sure he should be going. It takes him a long moment before he nods along with her words and signs back, 'I'll be in touch.' just to let her know that he'll be making sure she stays informed of his location and safety.
Shana nods very slightly, and than just looks at Snake-Eyes, for a moment. She starts to ask him a question, pauses, than asks it anyways, "Should I just send on the message to the team, then.... come with you?" She knows what Snake-Eyes is going to say, but she wants him to know she would. She'd drop it all, and go with him now, if he would just ask.
Snake-Eyes forces himself to step back at that. There's a vehement shaking of his head because he's not going to allow that. He's not even going to dignify that with an explanation. Instead, gloved fingers reach up to softly touch the side of Shana's face before he turns and goes to make himself quiet scarce. It's all about making a dramatically romantical exit, after all!
Shana's eyes close as soon as Snake-Eyes is out of sight. She lets her emotions flow for just a few moments, before she turns, and moves to head back to the Joes.
Scarlett returns to the Pit, using the same method she used to get to Switzerland.
[G.I. Joe] Scarlett's radio signal returns.
Shana walks into the Command Center. She doubts she'll be able to avoid asking questions for long, but for now, she needs to file a report.
Chameleon glances up as she sees Shana enter the command center, raising her eyebrows some, but nodding quietly anyway, just turning back to her console and reading reports, watching monitors and whatever else, and looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Shana grabs a tablet, signs in, and starts working on her report. She has both a look of sadness in her eyes, but her lips are smiling.
[G.I. Joe] Concealer says, "Unable to find my contact. This is bad."
(Radio) Concealer transmits, 'I am trying to lean on my contact for more intel on that as well. No luck yet.' to Scarlett.
(Radio) Scarlett transmits, "See if that name rings any bells with them. If it does, perhaps this was the break we needed." to Concealer.
(Radio) Concealer transmits, 'My contact is missing. That's the issue. He was supposed to help me last night.' to Scarlett.
(Radio) Concealer transmits, 'My other contact is very questionable. Especially because you scared him off.' to Scarlett.
(Radio) Scarlett transmits, "Who did I scare off? I don't recall scaring anyone recently." to Concealer.
(Radio) Concealer transmits, 'You went after him when we were at a coffee house.' to Scarlett.
(Radio) Scarlett transmits, "Ahh... Him. I am not sure either of the people I have met at that particular coffee house would know about this PMC. Although, perhaps one would. Bludd might, but Interrogator does not strike me as the type to know much about PMC's. Perhaps I am wrong." to Concealer.
(Radio) Concealer transmits, 'Those are my two main contacts. I'm Bludd's indirect handler.' to Scarlett.
(Radio) Scarlett transmit, "If you need help tracking down Bludd, or Interrogator, I would offer my assistance, but I am not sure if your current mission is about Snake-Eyes and Kamakura, or if it is something else. I can't get involved in Snake-Eyes or Kamakura's investigation...." to Concealer.
(Radio) Concealer transmits, 'Miss, am I allowed to speak freely? I am near base if you want me there to say this so you know what I mean.' to Scarlett.
(Radio) Scarlett transmits, "You can speak freely with me Meggan. If you would prefer to do it in person, I have returned to base, and we can meet anywhere you'd like." to Concealer.
Scarlett has sat down at her console, after sending her report, and having a radio conversation with Concealer. She is not doing anything, except waiting.
In an older version of her full attire, Concealer arrives. She has a note pad with her and a pen. She looks straight at Scarlett. "Good evening, ma'am." She then begins to write on the notepad. 'Walls have ears.' She salutes Scarlett. "Have you figured out what Pony best represents you?" She continues to scribble, 'Kamakura seems off.' "I think you'd be Derpy." She quickly writes, 'Possibly not Snake-Eyes killed Tommy. Trying to provide cover that we believe he did so we can look.' "I think you'd take being called 'Derpy' as a compliment."
Shana's face shows clear confusion at Meggan's words, "I'm not sure what a Derpy is..." She than shrugs, "I'd have to take your word for it, to be quite honest... I'm not really looped into the My Little Pony scene as much as some." Her eyes do read the note, but she allows her face to not make any indication of what it is she read. She of course, has known all along that Snake-Eyes was not the murderer, but everyone expects her to think that. "Are you sure Derpy is a compliment?"
Meggan tilts her head, "Ma'am, Derpy is totally the best character out there! Well, she's not as cool as Pinkie Pie but..." She scribbles down, 'Trying to provide as much misdirection.' "But you know what do you know? You've never been a to My Little Pony Convention!"
Shana nods, a little, "This is true." Her eyes follow the writing, "But I do have the Internet. I can look it up.... And I just might, since you say it is a compliment." Just think, Shana is going to be looking up 'Derpy' on the Internet! Hopefully she remembers to add My Little Pony to that search.
Meggan really just grabbed the first Pony name she could fine to pull this off. "If you want, we can go watch some with Sean later when he's up and about!" Meggan scribbles down, 'I apologize! I am trying to misdirect. Not sure what is in this room.' She shrugs and then takes her helmet off put quickly covers her eyes with sunglasses to hide the really bruised left eye from last night. "Unless you'd have a better Pony to suggest?"
"I don't know many." She does tap the paper, and says, "My turn at the crossword?" She than picks up a pen, and writes, 'Most listening devices are disabled in this room, unless there is a reason for recording, but it is better to be safe.'
Concealer shakes her head from behind the sunglasses as she tries to hide her face. "You need to live and have fun!" She then tries to scribble on the paper, 'I get that but if we have been breached, we need to assume anything is possible. Cobra did record us last year, M-I-RITE?'
Shana nods once again, both at the words spoken, and those written, "I will take that under advisement, Meggan." She smirks, "So, I should start with My Little Pony? Or is there a better Pop Culture event that I should watch first? I could make a list, like that superhero, from that movie... umm... the Star Spangled Man, I think it was. He was frozen, and had a list of things he missed?"
Sighing, Meggan gives Shana a glance. "You know nothing!" She scribbles down on paper, 'FYI-I'm actually always serious. I just use covers to hide who I am.' She rolls her shoulders, "Like that is clearly you mixing Captain America and Elsa together!"
Shana chuckles and grins, "I do know Elsa and Captain America... but only because my family plays them a lot when I visit." She looks down at the paper, than looks up into Meggan's eyes, and nods, once.
Shrugging, Meggan says loudly, "This Sudoku puzzle is hard!" She writes down, 'I sometimes forget which one is me. The cover or the introvert.'
Concealer smiles and then proceeds to head out. "I need some down time, Ma'am." She heads out to find her cot.
"You can always ask for help." Shana mentions. Both in response to the note and to the spoken word. She nods as Meggan mentions needing sleep.
Shana than turns to her console, and starts to search for whatever 'Derpy' is.
- LOG ENDS