nysalogs | ( closed ) i make money move

( closed ) i make money move

Who: Duo Maxwell (

emblazes)
What: Infiltrating the Institute
When: Mid-January
Where: The Institute
Warning(s): Possible violence, language. Will add if needed

A little bit of planning, of course, had to go in to these kinds of things. There's nothing more interesting than getting an offer to infiltrate a place like the Institute, but going in blind wasn't exactly Duo Maxwell's style. Problem being, of course, that there weren't exactly plentiful plans and schematics of the place. He'd even asked Keith for a little time to see what he could track down, and without a whole hell of a lot to go on, bar canvasing the outside of he place at few inconspicuous times and hoping no one eye balled him too hard, their only other option was to trust the information that Cree and the Golden Cage provided.

Not Duo's favorite option (as that momentary, thunderous scowl made plain) - but the one that they now had to rely on.

He'd arrived at their agreed upon rendezvous point dressed in his usual black, braid tucked up and in to a black cap. A kid known typically by his hair is much harder to spot without it - and if need be all he's got to do is tug the cap off and become a different person once he ditches an outer piece of clothing. Old hat, something that came with practice, etc etc. Despite the fact that he knew Keith was capable, there's a small, nagging thought that he hoped he wasn't going to have to drag him along or call every man for himself. It would be unfortunate, sure, and he'd do his best to get him you at the same time if it came down to it, but a terrorist didn't exactly learn to play nicely with others when it came to missions.

(Let's not talk about how it had kinda paid off with Heero, okay? Discussion for another time.)

Recognizing the other boy Duo raises a hand to say hello, that typical, sideways, easy smile slipping on to his face all too easily.

"You ready for this?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Keith shows up in attire that acts as a second skin -- something he'd been wearing less of, primarily because it connotes an organization that prompts Drama at Home pretty regularly. This excursion warrants some dramatics, though, so here he is in his blade getup, helmet activated (minus the visor bit). An easy wave's returned, if slightly hesitant because the guy looks like a complete shadow at first and there isn't a lick of hair visible to him.

The closer he gets, it becomes more apparent to him that this is his partner for the evening. The verbal greeting helps, too.

"Yeah."

He, his knife and a flashlight. The latter, he'd brought along to benefit Duo rather than himself, the visor works well enough for him with all of its alien advancements with detecting this and that. For now, it lives in a pouch at his side.

"Should we start from the bottom or the top?"

Thankfully Duo's pretty well prepared. All that black cloth with the jacket and his jeans, the boots, his hair - they all house a little bit of a tool menagerie that most people wouldn't even know he carried on a regular basis. It's easier that way, making every bit of an outfit work in some capacity or another. He's done this one too many times to be anything but eager to get in there, despite all his bitching re: relying on someone else's building schematics. It feels a bit like a mission and he just hopes that his current partner is less suicidal than the one he tended to choose back in his world. If Heero ever showed up here they might run Cree out of missions out of sheer boredom.

"I'd start at the top and move down. Down's the easiest escape route ya got no matter how it all shakes out, just make sure you aren't gonna snap your ankles."

Keith may not need the advice, really, but Duo's turning to start their walk up anyways, casual as ever, body language giving away no bit of his anticipation or excitement to get this rolling. Still, curiosity wins out in short order, and Duo turns to his mullet headed partner to ask:

"How much experience you got in this kind of stuff, if you wanna tell?"

Note to self: don't snap ankles. Starting from the top's a fine idea -- they'll just have to use one of those fixed ladders -- unless Duo's got rope on him or something, the setup seems fine as is. Like an invitation...only the ladders are probably there for practical use, like in case of a fire or something.

"Top works."

Just to affirm the choice, he's moving after Duo with that. Sure, they haven't really discussed a lot of their work prior to this, but it hadn't really come up -- even during their fight club exploration...but he did get the impression that Duo was, maybe not specifically involved with missions and infiltration in the past (just because that seems dramatic, if not convenient, heh), but he may be one of those thrill-seekers; maybe he's a detective of some sort.

"Some." Too vague, yeah. "You don't have to worry about me holding you back, I've had some training." Less bragging, more of a flippant IT'S FINE IT'S FINE sentiment. He'd like to refrain from getting into Blade work here. Not because it's a particularly hush-hush thing (on this planet), but it'd take too much time to explain...

There's a safe bet that somewhere Duo's hidden cordage should they need it. He's not the kind to show his full set of tools and tricks, not by a long shot, but Keith will see it all in time, if they end up needing it. The others had come to expect that Duo would always have plans B and C up his sleeves if the need came up, and eventually it wasn't even discussed, just understood that if Duo had the materials he'd offer them up nine times out of ten. A casual bump at the brim of his hat as they descend in to darker areas allows for a little more light to his eyes, though the former Deathscythe pilot isn't too unaccustomed to working in little to no light with just his hands.

Probably why the doctor had made a point to take him in for training once he'd been discovered on their ship. Working in the dark below decks on a space shuttle was not easy work. But, hell - if it meant survival, Duo was down for pretty much anything and everything.

"Good, that's what I was wondering." He doesn't want to leave a man behind, but... "I haven't usually had to drag someone on or worry about saving someone else's ass before, so I was hoping I wasn't going to have to start."

With that little smirk tossed over his shoulder, he moves along to confirm :

"So if we're moving top to bottom we're hitting floor six first, yeah? Moving downward, systematic left to right, room to room. Neutralize a threat before they have a chance to alert anyone"

Parkour on steroids -- that's about Keith's level right now. He doesn't expect having to be saved, but on the contrary, he'd not be found leaving anyone behind. It may contrast with what he'd learned at the Blade, but he's yet to completely jive with any one organization's method of escape. It seems like most successful operations come from an Every Man For Himself mindset, but even in acknowledging as much, it's an uncomfortable attitude and he's a stubborn guy.

That said, he's not totally surprised at Duo's implied negligence, unless he's just showboating. He'll still get a high-browed slow nod -- some part of him understands it as a challenge, but the elements aren't so relaxed for him to lose his head in his own feature.

"Sounds right." Finally, looking ahead to the building. He's counting the rows of windows -- six still seems right. "But wouldn't it be easier to split up and meet in the middle? Better if we could do this without killing anyone."

The latter's mumbled. He doesn't want to preemptively alert the entire building of their presence because Joe Schmo snuck up to the sixth floor as they penetrated the fourth, only to have their cover completely blown before unearthing anything.

If only Keith had any inkling of what it was like to work with other Gundam pilots. Sure, the lot of them were pilots because they were elite in their own ways, but pressing too many of those personalities all together wasn't generally good in the long term. Quatre was one thing, but working with Heero had, somehow, worked out the very best for the two of them. Probably due to their sheer differences, but who the hell knew in the end. They'd come out of all of it alive, though by the skin of their god damn teeth a couple of times. Sure, he's a passably nice guy, but if it were to come down to risking a hell of a lot to pick up someone else that he barely knew?

Probably not happening. Depended on the situation, of course, but hopefully they'd never even make it to that point.

"Are we pincer maneuvering people we're hoping aren't even there?" It's a bit of a tease, of course, but then he shrugs, scratching at the base of his braid in an idle motion, feeling the little tools and whatever else he's tucked away in all that damn hair. "I'm not fussed if that's how you'd rather do it. Either way it'll get done."

Though - he laughs a little at the comment about killing people. "Well, I'm not plannin on it either, but you know. Shit happens."

"It's a precaution."

Or whatever -- he's certainly not waltzing in expecting the place to be abandoned, he's anticipating some form of occupancy just given the notoriety of the place at this point, but maybe he's just being too idealistic. Reckless as he is, he's still got his morals to contend with.

"I'm not saying no one's gonna be there, I'm just saying we shouldn't get noticed if we can help it."

Though it seems like Duo's already settled on a separate method; whatever suits him, whatever gets the job done. Shit does happen, and at the end of the day, they're meant to come out of this whole and without whatever variation of an arrest warrant this place may provide.

"It didn't look like anyone was patrolling the roof."

Returning to more immediate matters, or lack thereof.

"Like I said, whatever helps man." Duo's not too worried about it, but then again he's the guy also not too entirely fussed about taking people down if he needed to. Sure, he won't be snapping necks or anything unless it's a guard bent on killing him or something, but who knew what the hell was in there. With all the mystery surrounding the place Duo wouldn't be surprised if there were armed guards, but on the same coin, he'd probably be at least a little annoyed by it.

"I'm not gonna go in wearing a disco ball. Not my first rodeo with sneaking in and getting the hell out of a place without anyone being any the wiser." Granted his missions had involved a lot more in the way of guns and explosives, but not everyone could be a winner in this little game of life.

"You wanna go to the top or have me move down while you come up? I don't have a preference."

He's quiet, satisfied enough to not keep nettling about the what-ifs and how-tos; neither of them, as far as he can tell, have been physically inside of this building before and whatever their theories are, they could be totally off. It's not worth discussing at length barring the bare minimum, just so they're on the same page.

"Shouldn't we move down at the same time?"

Might be less chaotic, and then they could ensure eachother's escape. That was just the picture he had in his mind, but working oppositely isn't so trifling for him.

"Let's meet back there when we're finished."

Where they'd met just a second ago. They should maybe set up a timekeeping situation here, but he's not sure how quickly (or not) that'll be invalidated.

"Just a minute ago you were talking about starting in different places and meeting in the middle." There's a bit of a look when Duo turns around, that usually jovial face a bit edgier, the focus in those blue eyes harder on Keith than before. He doesn't mean to be a stickler, or anything of the sort, but when they're here, trying to figure out whatever plan might work best, they're also wasting time. Sure, Duo is used to having a plan, even if it's one that Heero's slapped in front of him and basically expected him to follow, but if they have to go in blind he'd rather go sooner than later.

Providing more night time cover if this ended up taking a while was important. He can sneak in any time of day, but sneaking at night was just exponentially easier.

There's a sigh, and finally Duo moves to crack his back, and seems to just decide to make an executive decision.

"Let's go top down. Stick together if possible but if shit goes South and splitting up is easier you have my blessing. I'll watch your back as much as I can, but I'm not gonna swear anything."

He stops, offers his hand for Keith to shake on it - "Deal?"

Another thing that would've been easier done in advance, if they had specific blueprints. There's a sigh, frustrated at himself and his inability to properly convey his vision.

"I meant separate places on the floor, we'd meet on the opposite sides of the floor, then move down together."

Down, since that's still a common theme. He's alright with sticking together as well, likely because he's already flubbed up the first explanation. He doesn't really seem resolute on his haphazard plans, whatever the reason. There's a hesitation when Duo offers a hand, presents a verbal contract -- only because these things catch him off guard.

"Right -- deal."

A hand comes up to take Duo's in a quick hold.

"I'm fine with that. Makes it easier to watch each other's backs, as well." Yes, as gundam pilots they'd ben trained to work alone, do missions alone, etcetera. They'd learned to live and work together, over time, sometimes begrudgingly or in Duo's case because he forced his way in to Heero Yuy's orbit. A possibly unfortunate decision, yes, but one he'd made anyways. For once his usually jovial demeanor seems to have faded, the mask of this Duo Maxwell giving way to one that has a mission and a game plan in mind. His shoulders square as he waits for Keith to shake his hand, a nod seemingly sealing the deal.

He's happy it's a short hold - at least there's little chance for things to get awkward - and then turns to the building proper.

"Alright. Time to get to the top then. Shouldn't be any different than climbing a mobile suit really."

At least they managed to agree on something before actual infiltration. He's quiet, having come up with the suggestion, he's' got nothing to embellish it with either. It's legitimized with a nonchalant handshake -- whatever...

"Guess that means you're up?"

Not to say he doesn't know how to climb a ladder, but he's presenting Duo with the opportunity to head up first since he's on about mobile suits and such.

"Yup, let's go." He's focused and ready to go, for the most part, right now, sort of uneasy about going in to this with someone he doesn't know, untested in the arena of what Duo would consider good to go from what he's seen, but... he's not done anything stupid yet. He'll hold off on judgements for the moment at least, other than being cautious about trusting him with parts he'd rather do himself. It's a hang up that Duo will probably never admit to - the inability to just trust someone going in to things and go with it from there.

He is the creator of his own problems, truly.

As they're climbing is the perfect time for an interview, anyways, so after a little while of that mechanical ladder climbing he turns a little -

"So how much of stuff like this have you done, anyways?"

Keith's happy to follow along after him proceeding a quick visual sweep of the area. No one's discovered them quite yet -- maybe this place doesn't contain many secrets after all, or maybe those involved with the institute don't believe anyone would try to infiltrate. Whatever the case may be, he's not gonna complain about a smooth initiation.

"It's not really like I kept track." Though he should have, maybe. It's not like he can't recall every individual Blade mission, but still. "I've done it enough times."

Should he even be talking about it, though? Voltron fam wasn't even made aware of his missions beyond the concept of, and their mission statement.

A smooth start he'll take - though Duo isn't necessarily opposed to a bit of a struggle at any point. Call it an itchy trigger finger, or just being made for this kind of thing, but it'd be a little boring if he got through the entire mission without some kind of bump in the road.

"You can't tell me you don't even have a general idea." Duo is skeptical of that, at best. Of course it isn't hard to be, he could name a good few missions he'd been sent on, even if the objectives wouldn't be understandable outside of his universe probably.

"So 'enough' infiltration huh?" Keith can't see his face right now, but Duo's half laughing tone says it all. "Well, good I guess. I figured you weren't totally new to be taking on something of this scale, anyways."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( closed ) i make money move

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject