Civilians
 C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 106
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Isaac Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Isaac on Aug 7, 2015 9:40:32 GMT -5
A hard wind swept across the street, ruffling Isaac's jacket and pants. He expected trash to come flying for his face, and he was ready to block it, but he should have known better. There was no loose garbage in the Upper Class. These streets were spotless. Even the dumpsters in the alleys seemed cleaner than any home in the Slums. But okay, okay, he wasn't here to judge the Upper Class—as hard as that may be to avoid sometimes—he was here to assess a problem, one that, if left unchecked, could cost him his life.
As the time neared five o'clock, Isaac reached his goal: Calhoun Corp. Headquarters. He stared up at the logo on the building, and he was sure that it was the same one he'd seen on the graffiti artist's bracelet the other night. The packet of Novi-gel she had given him had the same logo, too. Some people might call that brand loyalty, but Isaac knew there was more to it than that. There was another reason why she had two very different things from a gene mod and tech company. He only hoped that the reason wasn't the one he was thinking.
Across the street from Calhoun Corp. was an office building with a coffee house on the ground floor. Isaac walked inside and sat down at a table near the window. He kept his head forward, but he glanced over to Calhoun Corp. every few seconds, watching as employees started to come out. Part of him hoped he would see her walk out of there, while part of him prayed he wouldn't.
Madam Roux had picked Isaac's next target. He was to infiltrate Calhoun Corp. and steal some of its experimental weaponry. That was fine by Isaac. The task would be a challenge, but the security was the least of his worries right now. There was something far more dangerous he had to avoid if he had any hopes of pulling off this heist without getting himself and his brother killed: the graffiti artist's nose.
If that girl could tell that Isaac and Dante were brothers purely by their smell, and if she worked for Calhoun Corp. like Isaac thought, then her nose could be the death of him. He had to make sure she didn't work there. And if she did… well, he prayed he could work around that. He'd rather not think about the alternative.
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 38
Preferred Name: Mist
Pronouns: She/Her
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Riley
Main Account: this one
Status: Busy w/ Life
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Post by Riley on Aug 7, 2015 11:39:39 GMT -5
Riley was having a difficult time staying awake as her professor droned on and on. The subject was interesting, different weapon types and how to fit them optimally, but after a night of running around and coming back before anyone noticed? That tended to leave people sleepy. Still she was happy she had managed to come to an agreement with her 'personal' bodyguard.
Forcing herself to stay away for the final two hours, Riley typed away at the companies' computer, taking notes and sending them to her home PC. It would have been much easier to use the MFB, but since it was still in development - at least her personal version - she decided to be better safe than sorry. And then finally after some more droning and typing and daydreaming it was five o'clock.
With a sigh, Riley stood up, stretching a little as she did. Tonight she would stick a little closer to home, Middle class would do. The trek would be dangerous and surveillance would be heavy, but Riley liked a challenge. After everything that happened in the past two weeks, staying close to home was her best option. The MFB proved to be quite reliable, three hours being its maximum when it came to dampening that bloody locator. The fake ID code needed some tweaking, but she'd get to that another day, for now it worked fine and she wasn't about to mess things up.
Once outside, Riley breathed in the fresh air. Her father had send someone to come pick her up, but due to traffic he would be later than usual. She didn't mind. It was nice to be out and about without having to tasted the air every three feet or keep her eyes shifting and ears perked. Perhaps she could get a nice cup of tea? Or maybe one of those sweet looking cakes people had been taunting her with during lunch hours.
Then again, her father had informed her they would be eating home tonight - a rare event, one she didn't want to let go to waste by having a full stomach. So with a sigh, Riley sat down on the white marble stairs in front of the building. She'd wait, dinner with her dad was always nice; her grandfather on the other hand could stay away for all she cared. No matter, she thought with a sigh as pale silver eyes stared up at the tall building looming above her. One day I'll get back at you, one day I'll paint right over those spotless walls. She chuckled, leaning back on her arms. Tonight she'd tackle one of the warehouses and who knew, maybe one day soon she'd be able to get paint all over the main building.
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 106
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Isaac Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Isaac on Aug 8, 2015 9:16:17 GMT -5
Isaac put his head in his hands when he saw the rainbow-haired girl walk out of the building. There was no mistaking it. It was her. Surely the Upper Class would be full of people with insane hair and gene mods that made them “special,” but there was no denying that was her. Her face was the exact same. The way she wore her hair was the exact same. Unless she had a god damn twin, it had to be her.
Isaac sighed into his hands, and he wiped his face to calm himself down before he stood up and walked away, not wanting to be spotted by the window. He headed into the bathroom, where he glanced around to make sure no one was there. A single wide window stretched out above the sinks, and Isaac spotted the digital lock on its sill. After checking for cameras, he pulled out his handheld and connected its cable to the window’s port. He ran one of his hacking programs to make the window open, and as it did, he thought, This isn’t the end of the world. I can deal with this. It doesn’t have to get messy. It doesn’t have to be a problem. I just need to learn her schedule.
With a hop off the counter, Isaac pulled his handheld free and flipped out of the window. He landed in an alley just as the window closed back up.
Maybe she works 9-5 every day. Simple, easy. She could be an accountant there, or maybe a secretary—someone who doesn’t work overtime. If she goes spray-painting every night, then I can wait until she goes out. Then she can’t get in my way. Little by little, Isaac’s plan calmed him down. He didn’t even realize how tense his hands had been, and so he relaxed them and shook them a couple times before turning his attention to the building on his left. There was a ladder leading all the way up the side and onto the roof. Isaac climbed it immediately, scaling the ten story building. From there, he pulled his visor out from his jacket pocket and slipped it over his eyes.
He looked back down at the girl. She seemed to be waiting for a ride. If she was getting a car home, then there was no way Isaac could keep up. So he placed his fingers on the side of his visor, waiting for the car to show up so he could mark it. His marks didn’t have the greatest range, but they would give him a buffer to tail the girl without losing her.
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 38
Preferred Name: Mist
Pronouns: She/Her
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Riley
Main Account: this one
Status: Busy w/ Life
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Post by Riley on Aug 8, 2015 21:39:14 GMT -5
Twenty minutes seemed to crawl by. Riley yawned as she absent-mindedly scrolled through websites and newsfeeds on the virtual display. At least no one would have to see her get picked up by that monster of a vehicle. Gleaming black with tinted glass and soundless. A sound of disgust left her as she hang her head, hand rubbing the back of her neck.
A honk, too melodious to be obnoxious, had her looking up. From the driver's side a man - probably not older than thirty - quickly stepped out rushing over to meet her. "So sorry to be late ma'm!" he spoke hurriedly, silently ushering her to stand up. Riley sighed before giving a slight smile and moving towards her ride.
"'tis all right, I didn't wait long at all," she reassured him and from the corner of her eye spotted the relieved look on his face. Smiling, Riley stepped in and continued her scrolling through the net for the drive home.
Dinner, sadly, was with her grandfather and soon turned into some kind of unofficial business meeting. One which her father eagerly engaged in. So, sitting back, she nodded when need to and occasionally pocked at her food only to be told not to by both men.
Once dinner was over everyone retreated to their rooms for the rest of the night, either to finish working or prepare for bed. Riley did neither, instead she made a beeline for the bathroom - one of the only places in the house that lacked cameras - and quickly went to work. Plugging the cord of the MFB in her NUIP, she was quick to activate the device's secret code, dampening the locater first while letting the program pick an ID and set the activation time. Then she dressed in her 'rebel outfit' - as her grandfather called it - and put on a bathrobe before making her way to her bedroom.
Once there, Riley made sure to casually move into the camera's blind-spot and plugged in the MFB's cord. Hacking into the cameras was easy, most work was done by the code of installed in the device and all she had to do was set a few minutes of recorder tape on a loop and she was god to go. Taking of the bracelet, she walked over to her bed and lay down, pretending to be asleep. When a barely audible click sounded through the room she stood up and took off the bathrobe before making her way back to the camera's blind-spot and her device. With a few taps she made sure the loop would stay active for four hours - better to be save after last time - and pressed her hand on the panel of her door until it turned red.
Breathing a sigh of relief, followed by a wide grin she pulled up her hood and covered half her face with a scarf. Then, while making sure her goggles sat secure, she opened the window and climbed to the room. By now she knew exactly which way to go to avoid guards and cameras. Another soft click sounded, this time seemingly from inside her head, telling her them false ID had activated and her 3 hour countdown had started.
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 106
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Isaac Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Isaac on Aug 9, 2015 8:22:09 GMT -5
During the chase, as Isaac ran across rooftops to try and keep up, the car managed to lose him, escaping beyond the range of his visor’s mark. Isaac leaped from one building to another, still continuing the chase. He wouldn’t be able to regain that mark unless he saw the car again, but he was confident that he could still track the rainbow-haired girl down. The car was so distinctive and he had been following it for a good while. From the direction it had been going, it didn’t seem like it was going to go through any checkpoints, so he only had to check out the Upper Class.
After an extra half hour of searching and following the car’s direction, Isaac managed to find the girl’s home. The car sat out front, its pitch black windows easy enough to spot. Isaac stood on the roof of a neighboring house under reconstruction, his body hidden by some scaffolding. As he watched the girl’s house, he thought, So she actually lives in the Upper Class. That crosses off the secretary idea. She could still have a solid 9-5 day, but I can’t take that chance. Isaac needed to find out what she did from day to day, but he wasn’t quite sure of how to figure that out. He didn’t even know her name, so he couldn’t sneak in to Calhoun Corp. and hack into its system to find her role—besides, that would still put him at risk of her nose coming to sniff him out, and he couldn’t possibly hack into a system like that, anyway.
All Isaac could think to do was follow her tonight. If he could learn some sort of schedule, then on another night he could pretend to be at the right place at the right time and maybe talk to her.
Isaac waited, unfortunately using up a couple hours of a false identity and hacked locator, but if she went back to the Lower Class—or even the Middle Class—then it wouldn’t be suspicious for him to be running around there. Thankfully, the girl eventually slipped out of the house and scaled the roof. Isaac stood up from his hiding spot and watched her as she ran. Once again, the chase was on. After gauging which way the girl would go, Isaac leaped down onto the ground and cut through a large, lush park. If she was going to be on the rooftops, he needed to be on the ground, out of sight. The streets were quiet and empty, the park abandoned for the night. No one got in his way, and so he kept his sights on her all throughout the chase.
After about ten minutes of running, they reached one of the many checkpoints between the Upper and Middle Class districts. This was the one and only time that Isaac went back to the rooftops. He stopped in an alley first, spotting a camera above him. Isaac pulled out his handheld, lined up a shot, and fired one of his hacking darts into the camera. From there, all he had to do was run a preloaded program to loop its footage, allowing him to dash across the street, scale a short building, and leap across the district border.
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 38
Preferred Name: Mist
Pronouns: She/Her
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Riley
Main Account: this one
Status: Busy w/ Life
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Post by Riley on Aug 11, 2015 13:02:56 GMT -5
After about ten minutes of running Riley slowed down ever so slightly. The route she had taken had the least and easiest avoidable cameras, but now she reached the first checkpoint and had to be careful. While the fake ID would get her a long way, people could still recognize her and she wasn't about to risk that.
Staying out of the camera's view, she sat perched up on a roof, hiding behind one of the pointless ornaments. Partly removing her googles, Riley stared down at the people near the checkpoint. They had switched guards, but she wasn't sure if they were all new or a mix between guards she had seen earlier in the week. Riley sighed, too far to sniff them out, she reapplied her goggles and stealthily made her way to a lower level. From there she found her regular route out of the Upper class when she wasn't sure about the guards.
Once in the Middle class Riley felt like she could finally breathe. Security had lessened significantly, making it easier for her to move about without having to duct away from shifting cameras. Lower class still was the best, but it wouldn't be a challenge otherwise.
Now for the final part of said challenge: find that warehouse and make some sweet art before either getting caught or running out of time. Quite doable, since she had a distinct feeling of its location. And it wasn't like she'd run into trouble every night, right?
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 106
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Isaac Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Isaac on Aug 12, 2015 16:35:53 GMT -5
The moment he passed into the Middle Class district—still hot on the graffiti artist's trail—Isaac felt a pressure leave his shoulders. Though the Middle Class had its fair share of cameras, he didn't feel as on edge here. The Upper Class had such wide open spaces, but they all felt so tight and constricting. Now, it became easier to follow the girl without getting spotted by her own eyes or those of the government.
And it was at this point that the girl's movement suddenly changed. She wasn't as sharp and jerky as before, more fluid and carefree as she no doubt felt the relative freedom of the Middle Class. More noticeably, her head rolled more than it swiveled. She wasn't watching for somebody, but searching for something—her next canvas, most likely.
It took a few minutes before the girl found her way to her target. Isaac once again scaled a building to follow her, and once he was on the roof of a three story office, he saw the girl approach a warehouse. As the girl prepared to paint, Isaac glanced down at the building. The lights in the surrounding lot were dim, and the simulated stars only made the shadow of the guttering worse.
But as Isaac's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he recognized the white letters across the bumpy metal wall: Calhoun Corp.
She's… marking one of their warehouses? Does she hate her job? Isaac looked down at her with a curious look. Was she really about to vandalize a Calhoun warehouse, or was she doing something else? If she really was going to do it, then maybe she wouldn't be a problem for him after all.
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 38
Preferred Name: Mist
Pronouns: She/Her
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Riley
Main Account: this one
Status: Busy w/ Life
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Post by Riley on Aug 15, 2015 13:09:29 GMT -5
Riley stared up at the empty metal wall a.k.a canvas, eyes blank yet a small frown playing on her face as she shook the spray can. The warehouse had been, as expected, easily located. Gleaming between two older warehouses. Sometimes it was as if her family was asking for it; 'oh look we build something new and shiny between the poorer parts of society come and taint it!' She shook her head sighing. Her paint wouldn't even be the first to don the sleek metal. A little ahead she saw the bright colours of another artist, one who - she begrudgingly admitted - was several levels ahead of her.
No matter, they should be happy someone of that skill took the time to paint their boring warehouse. She was sure to make a quick picture of it as well before leaving.
With a click the spraying can signed her it was ready for use and she started her own piece, on the side hidden by shadows of the other looming buildings. The whooshing sound was soothing as Riley went into a trance like state, painting away. Despite her serene look, she had her ears perked for approaching guards or passing civilians. The camera nearest to her already hacked to repeat the same image for a hour. She needed time for this piece. It had to be large and more importantly lasting. No one would be able to easily remove her paint not after one try.
Again her eyes drifted over to the painting left by the other artist. It was bright and colourful and vibrant yet it irked her. 'Capitalists' the swirly letters spelled, she saw it on several other warehouses as well. They would be gone the next morning, no one but the cleaners, and now her, knowing they were ever there. She hated the truth of those words....yet she repeated them, not as beautiful or swirly - again she wasn't at that level yet - but the same nevertheless.
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 106
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Isaac Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Isaac on Aug 16, 2015 14:33:16 GMT -5
“Hmm,” mumbled Isaac, watching as the girl imitated the other graffiti, spraying “Capitalists” across the warehouse wall. Strange. I wonder what she has against the government. Maybe she lived in the Slums before testing up. Doubtful, but not impossible. There were maybe hundreds of reasons for why she would vandalize a Calhoun Corp. warehouse. Whatever the reason was, it was good for Isaac. If she hated her company, then even if she caught him during his heist, she might just let him go on his way.
Isaac had to be sure, though. He watched the girl as she continued to paint, hoping that maybe she would talk to herself or she would paint something else.
But as he kept watching, he saw movement near the far end of the warehouse. Along the sidewalk, a group of five men and women walked along. One of the women, however, stopped and seemed to hit someone else to get their attention. Isaac could hardly make it out, but when the whole group stopped, they all seemed to look at the graffiti girl. Then, they spread out. Isaac stood up from where he was and walked along the edge of the building, watching as the five people got into position. There were three ways in and out of this warehouse lot. The five people positioned themselves at every exit, and they all closed in at the same time, converging on the girl.
They remained quiet, and Isaac could tell what they were up to. Their ratty clothes hinted at Slums or Lower Class status. The graffiti girl’s multi-colored spray can and her tidier clothes made her stand out as someone with money, and the thugs wanted just that. But even more likely, they wanted some catharsis.
As the thugs drew closer to the girl, Isaac pulled his hood down, lowered his bandana, and tucked his visor into his pocket. Then, he ran toward the edge of the building. As he leaped into the open air, he grabbed the metal railing of a fire escape. His body swung down, and he let go of the railing, dropping down one story before grabbing the next railing. He repeated this over and over, dropping down one floor at a time, much faster and quieter than taking the stairs. But by the time he got halfway down the fire escape, the thugs had already surrounded the girl.
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Civilians
C[re]ate Champion
Posts: 38
Preferred Name: Mist
Pronouns: She/Her
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Riley
Main Account: this one
Status: Busy w/ Life
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Post by Riley on Aug 16, 2015 21:03:27 GMT -5
She heard the footsteps when it already was too late. People were approaching, a group, not big but also not small. Riley froze for a moment, slightly opening her mouth and removing her goggles. That was all she could do before they had her surrounded. Swallowing her nerves she carefully and slowly placed the spraying can back into her hip bag and turned around.
Five people, all in ragged clothes, all probably from the slums, all most definitely out for an easy catch. She had screwed up big time.
Damn it...
Eyes darting around for possible escape routes, Riley felt her stomach drop. They had her surrounded by blocking all exits and the only way up to the roof - the pipes - was too far for her to reach. Riley could have hit herself for being so stupid, for not paying more attention, but now was not the time to bash herself.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" One spoke taking out a rather small knife from his jacket while the others snickered. Great, they liked to stall...Riley inhaled softly, full facing the group her back almost pressed against the still drying paint. She didn't answer, instead she only stared closely following their every move. More knives appeared and she could feel the blood drain from her face. Knives weren't guns, but could be just as dangerous. Three knives, one is blunt; wielders look skinny, but not malnourished. They're looking for trouble more than money...damn. In the time she had she quickly assessed the situation. It looked bad, blunt knives could still stab. Did they aim to intimidate her? Mutilate? ...Kill?
"Eh, you gonna answer?!"
"Haha we got ourselves a mute."
"Nah, she's petrified, man!"
"Show 'er what we do with brats!"
The others chimed in, laughing wickedly while the first one advanced ever so slowly. Riley instinctively took a step back, her back hitting the wall. She felt how the paint seeped into her clothes, all the way to her skin. The woman had been right, though. She was terrified, but fear never stopped her and there was no way these thugs would get out on top.
"Despite of what you may think, I have no money chips on me." Her voice sounded surprisingly calm for how she felt...which sadly only seemed to irk her tormentors.
"Bullshit!"
The laughter stopped and Riley braced herself just in time when a sharp pain erupted from her right cheek. Stumbling from the impact, her hand slowly came up to cup her face, eyes burning with suppressed rage. Not yet, not yet, she told herself. She had to wait for an opening, for the right time to strike. These people were idiots, they'd make a mistake eventually.
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