Getting Strong Now (Ch. 2: Day 9)

Mie · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:57 pm

Jam looked far away, but not for lack of listening. Instead, she was analyzing -- unusual as it was for her -- Sheffer's story, and comparing it with her own experience, wondering if she knew enough about her adversary to determine whether drowning people and stealing emeralds really fit the human's MO. At least half of it lined up, so the simian girl took a stab in the dark.

"This kid," started Jam abruptly, turning towards the hedgehog. "He wouldn't by chance be human, would he?"

Sheff · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:10 pm

Slightly surprised by the girl speaking up, having thought Rock would be the spokesperson for them all, he turned to her, giving a responding nod.

"Yeah. Pretty young, too. Some sort of gizmo over one eye. Cocky. Jumps around like a..."

...monkey.

"...kangaroo. Any of that sound familiar?"

Greens · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:43 pm

Though he hadn't spoken in a bit, by no means was the alley cat not listening. It seemed he had quite a bit of catching up to do before he could speak and not look like an idiot, but the picture was getting clearer and clearer the longer the conversation went. With the hedgehog's latest confirmation, the gray line between black and white was getting a lot thinner. He crossed his arms, and peered up at the sky with a sneer out of the corner of his eye, as if expecting, or realizing some answer from up above.

"...Listen," he interjected. "Jack's high and mighty bitchery aside, sounds like this kid is startin' to screw things up in ways we really don't need. We gotta find the little snot and put him out of action. And I'm no fortune-teller, but I think we all know what his next target is..."

Slowly but surely, his gaze turned to the big shiny casino hotel off to the side. The one with the big shiny emerald inside.

Mie · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 12:32 am

Rather than looking exasperated, or ominous, and belabored, at the confirmation she was given, a intently malicious smirk tugged lopsidedly at the corner of her mouth. When Ace chipped in his hypothesis for potential future run-ins, it became a full-on smile eerily not unlike one the whiter primate donned when its audience needed unsettling.

"That's him alright," Jam affirmed, taking a deep breath in through her nostrils. Setting her clenched fists on her hips, her eyes narrowed as they swept across the casino. "What now, though? I don't guess we have any way of knowing when he'll be coming for it..."

Sheff · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 12:44 am

Slightly perturbed by the pink primate's new expression, Sheffer glanced to the hotel as well, then back to the other three.

"Could be any time, really..." he outwardly thought. "Tonight, the next, middle of the day. Unless we sit here and just wait, it'd be impossible to know when he'll try his hand at taking it."

The hedgehog stared up at the hotel once again, then out to the rest of the resort, thinking it through.

"If anything, we'd have to get it first. And, if we can actually pull off a heist, and there's enough interest on the manner..." He faced the group once again. "We could bait him with it. Bring him out into the open. Up to you three, I suppose."

Greens · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 1:07 am

"No offense," he admitted, and scratched his muzzle with a half-frown. "But, that might be a very stupid move."

"Vince's arms have a real long-ass reach if you're anywhere on the island. If any of us or the kid went for it at any time before the final match, the whole boxing shindig would be canceled. That'd leave a lot of unhappy customers who paid good money for nothing, a lotta hungry press, and one big, ugly hunt for the culprit."

He popped a bone in between his shoulder and his head. "That's prolly something we'd both wanna avoid."

"Any time after, though, the only people who'd care are Vince, and everyone on his payroll. Still stupid. Not as stupid. But stupid." He seemed to stare down at nothing, but his furrowed brows indicated he was thinking about it. Making sure he didn't forget anything worth covering. "Or," he added. "The human'll just wait until it's in the winner's hands, and swipe it from them. Even less trouble."

"There's no way to be sure when he'll go for it. But odds are, the closer we get to the final fight, the more likely he is be to strike, the more vigilant we'll need to be. So maybe we don't steal it, but if someone can, keep an eye on it..."

psikeout · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 1:23 am

At some point while the others talked, Rock had pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen and began writing. "It isn't even about Vince," interjected the primate as he handed the piece of paper to Ace, and mumbled "pass it" while motioning around their little conversation circle. It said:

Entire resort is monitored, incl. rooms
don't talk about stealing

He meanwhile continued talking while they had a chance to read it. "Stealin' it isn't the way, if you ask me. If this kid is smart, he'd just wait for somebody else to make the move for him, or, yeah, wait until the winner got it. He's gotta be patient, or he wouldn't've waited this long already."

He slipped back to the doors and leaned against one of their frames again.

"If anybody did try that, I couldn't be involved, anyway," Rock further added. "Rekk would flip his $*#@ if I stole it and made some kind'a international scene..."

Greens · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 7:53 pm

Ace took Rock's note with some uncertainty, and skimmed over it as he spoke. As his expression gradually turned to something like a constipated glower, he offhandedly presented the slip towards Jam in a one-handed shrug. Should she happen to glance back after reading it, he would be quick to motion toward Sheff with a sideways nod.

Mie · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 9:34 pm

Jam was quick to roll her eyes in concurrence about Rekk's hypothetical reaction to their hypothetical heist, while barely glancing at the scrap of paper. She handed it off to Sheff, nodding emphatically, as, with a reserved grin, she posed in rhetoric under her breath, "Yeah, damn. Then where would we go to get plasma cutters and whorish informants..?"

"Aah, seriously, though," continued the monkey, transitioning abruptly back to seriousness with a brusque clearing of her throat.

Her arms interlaced in front of her, palms cradling her elbows, as she dropped casually backward against the evidently chilled glass. After a small, subdued shudder, she lifted her gaze back to Rock, addressing him mostly, as she said, "This is all well and good, but does that mean we're reduced to just.... what, waiting 'til the awarding? Stake-out duty? There's gotta be somethin' better... "

Sheff · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 10:52 pm

Taking the note from Jam, his eyes skimmed over it quickly, showing the smallest of flinches at the words, thinking of all that he'd said to that point. At least he was warned now, wondering how Rock could possibly know such information. With no one else to hand it off to, he simply slipped the scrap of paper into his pocket, bringing himself back to the issue at hand.

"Last thing I can think of is just finding the kid," he suggested. "Figure out where he's hiding now, and do what we can. But, that's probably just a goose chase within itself. No clue where to even look in the first place... unless..."

The hedgehog suddenly showed a small grin, but also some doubt flickered across his face, but he mentioned the idea anyway. "Maybe we can't track him down, but we could track the emeralds he has."

psikeout · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:47 pm

"That'd be nice, but we gotta find a way first," said Rock. "The only emerald he has that can be easily traced is a regular Chaos Emerald, and he's hiding emissions," he explained. "When I investigated the bomber's hideout, I found a makeshift vault room. It had somethin' resembling a kind of... big Faraday cage, with a—... well," he shook his head, "not to bore you with the details, but, there's a way to do it, and the human's doin' it. My radar's not pickin' up squat."

He took a breath and sighed thoughtfully.

"I say we just summarize anything important we know, decide what we're all gonna do, then get doin'," concluded the primate.

Sheff · Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 12:19 am

The hedgehog circled a thumb and forefinger over his temples for a moment. "The doc might be able to develop something to get through that, but I'm not going to bet anything on that right now. I'm still leaning towards that option, though."

He looked between them all once again, a defeated look on his face. "The kid's elusive, and I'm out of ideas. I can still talk to Henshin... ya know, that old moth? But I'd be up for anything else that might bring a good result."

Mie · Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 12:33 am

"We're up against a kid," blurted Jam in a tone that seethed subtly behind its false evenness. She still leaned standoffishly against the glass, legs crossed at the ankles, and a bitter grimace distorting her features; she eyed Sheffer fleetingly as she went on.

"Yes, an 'elusive' human kid who might as well be friggin' Bolt Boar as far as humans go. He's improbably well equipped. He has intel on us, and God knows what else. He's got an army of creepy, hivemind zombie robot soldiers, who are also stupidly fast, and together, they have successfully stolen two emeralds from us as a whole. ...and... he'll probably be even more of a pain in the ass the next time we see 'im."

Blowing a puff of air out her nose, she flopped her hands to her sides exasperatedly, as she concluded, "That is what we know. As fer what we can do about any of it?"

Slowly, her head oscillated back and forth.

"Beats the hell outta me."

Greens · Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 2:51 pm

With his arms wrapped around each other, Ace's head arced toward the sky as his eyes seemed to shift from star to star. Maybe he was suspicious by nature, but it just felt like something didn't sit right.

"Improbably well-equipped..." he echoed, glancing to Jam, and then Rock. Maybe even sparing an eyeball to Sheff. "Y'know, not to spill the beans on global security or anything, but, with Jam's summary in mind... Rock, didn't your contact tell us bomberman was screaming about how GUN is keeping secrets?"

His expression shifted from confused, to suspicious, to more than a little concerned in a matter of seconds.

"All signs point to 's**t just got real'."

psikeout · Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:08 pm

After a few seconds to digest what had been said, Rock stepped forward and came straight out with his own conclusion: "Sounds like we know everything we're gonna know for now. I'll see if I can arrange a visit with Coopmore. He didn't strike me as a looney, even for a bomber, so maybe he knows more about what's goin' on than we do."

He looked toward Sheffer.

"And if you think your friend can actually cook up somethin' like that, then... yeah, it'll change the rules of the game for everybody involved, but..."

The primate paused, and in an almost visible way, selected his words with care.

"I don't see how you stand to benefit from working with us—unless you're just finding your, uh, present company that disagreeable."

Getting Strong Now (Ch. 2: Day 9)

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