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 14, 2015 9:45:46 GMT -5
A physical lock? In the Middle Class? Well, it was coupled with a digital lock, so Isaac couldn't really fault them for wanting to be secure. Hell, more people in this city probably knew how to pick a digital lock than a physical one. If anything, the little tumblers were harder to crack than a firewall—for most people, anyway.
Isaac knelt down in front of the door, his ear close to the lock, his hands making slight adjustments with the lockpicks. One by one, he heard the tumblers click, and when they gave way, he twisted the picks, causing the deadbolt in the door to pull away. From there, all Isaac had to do was plug his handheld into the digital lock, press a couple buttons, and run his preloaded hack.
With both locks undone, Isaac calmly opened the door. His infrared filter showed only two guards inside, both of whom seemed to be on break as they were sitting down together, each holding bright red, searing hot mugs or what Isaac could only assume was coffee. So, really, there was no need to sneak around just yet. The two guards showed up as big red masses on his visor, so far away from their sheer size, but the moment Isaac stepped inside, he saw something else. He had noticed it outside, but it was clearer now: a red laser beam that came up to his knees. Easy enough to deal with.
Isaac reached for the top of the doorframe, pulled himself up, and jumped through the door, soaring over the security beam and landing gracefully inside a large laboratory. It wasn't Sionis Labs this time—Isaac having learned his lesson from that arrogant bitch with the energy gun. It was a smaller lab that dealt less with experimentation of medicine and more with preparation. They had all of the supplies to make drugs and medications, and it was those supplies that Isaac had been sent to steal. The job would be quick and easy, especially if those guards remained on their asses all night.
But before he started, Isaac reached back for the door, careful not to let his legs touch the security beam. He grabbed the knob and pulled the door shut. The digital lock clicked back on, but Isaac noticed that he needed a key for the deadbolt. Shit… too much trouble to close it by hand. Well, I doubt anyone will notice. He ignored the deadbolt and started walking through the lab, careful to keep an eye out for the guards as he searched.
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Vigilantes
 Smiley Specialist
he's big enough
Posts: 164
Preferred Name: Nama
Character Profile: ♦♦♦
Character Name: Levenin Refure
Main Account: Levenin
Status: On Hiatus
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Post by Levenin on Aug 14, 2015 17:59:45 GMT -5
There was something calming and somewhat relaxing about robbing someone’s personal living space. While Lower Class homes were much easier to get into, since many couldn’t afford security, Middle Class was definitely his favorite area to do business in. Pleasantly laid out rooms filled with keepsakes long since passed down from before the people living there were even a thought, sometimes pets watching intently from underneath the upholstery, the lingering scent of vanilla and coffee bean. It was only fair that they shared some of their fortune with the downtrodden tonight.
Levenin had been staking out this home for at least a week now. Ever since getting his assignment, he’d made a point to study it, as would any thief who had half a brain. And for a place in a nice section of the Middle Class district, it was certainly lax on the security. Lev wasn’t a great lockpicker by any definition, but this one would be easy even for the likes of him. As he arrived on the property with his hood up and ready to go, his confidence was at maximum. No guard animals, no visible cameras, no neighborhood watch. It was if they were just begging him to come in.
The grass sat silently and perfectly manicured as Levenin went swiftly to the side door where it’d be easiest to get in and out. ”Let’s see,” he whispered to himself in an almost singsongy manner.
A quick string of code entered into his lockpick and the digital lock broke without a hitch. Lev entered the kitchen, still smelling like whatever dinner had been eaten earlier that evening. It was almost hard to believe there was a shady drug operation going on in a normal house like this. The man he was after was confirmed to have two children and a wife, a cushy office job, the usual. And yet somewhere in here was a lab that involved itself in a dirty scheme- just one of many that produced subpar and addictive “medicine” to sell on the black market. It was a way to keep the dregs of society out of their hair by essentially drugging them all into complacency. It was something he’d dealt with at the clinic countless times before when the overdosing kicked in.
The lab itself would have to wait till later as Levenin immediately went up the first set of steps he could find. He could’ve sworn there were guards on this property somewhere and yet he’d seen none of the sort. Perhaps they were looking after the medicine operation instead of the family at the moment. A nasty surprise they were in for come morning. The search for the master bedroom didn’t last long as he turned a corner on the second floor and saw another pair of eyes looking straight at him.
A little girl who couldn’t have been older than 8 or 9 years old stared at him, unblinking and unmoving as she grasped at the edges of her nightgown. ”Umm, hey there,” said Levenin, bending down to his knees out of an instinct to be on eye level with her. ”Y-You shouldn’t be out of bed this late so uhh… Why don’t I take you back to your, uh, room and-"
She began screeching like a banshee and that was his cue to run for it. Of all the ways to get foiled. Levenin considered waiting for the man he was after to come running this way and take him out then. But as an alarm went off a few seconds later, he realized he wouldn’t be able to take on multiple guards at once in a narrow hallway. Lev bolted back down the stairs, where he could already hear voices calling to find him. I can't fail this early. Time for a plan B. As long as he hid himself somewhere in the home, he could sneak around while they were busy with the girl.
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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 14, 2015 21:16:33 GMT -5
It felt almost wrong to rob someone’s home, even if it was more like a home business. Isaac’s family had lived in the Middle Class, so he knew good people could come from anywhere, and that gave him a tinge of regret as he crept through the lab, knowing full well that a family of four was asleep upstairs. Madam Roux didn’t give Isaac any choice, though, but he could take solace in the fact that this whole drug operation was—for the most part—illegal. As far as Isaac was concerned, the man who ran this place was a Madam Roux in training. That thought made it so much easier to screw this guy over.
Isaac pulled down his visor every now and then to see how the room was laid out. Infrared wasn’t too great for depth and showing anything other than red blobs in a big blue world. The door to the guard room was halfway shut, and Isaac knew there were no cameras in here, so… what the hell were these idiots guarding, exactly? A box of donuts and a club sandwich?
With a shake of his head, Isaac slinked over to a couple of barrels in a corner of the lab. The word “methylamine” was printed along the sides of the barrels. Isaac had never heard of the stuff, but apparently that wasn’t what was actually in the barrels. The scientist who lived here was combining methylamine with other chemicals to create some other sort of drug that Madam Roux was very, very interested in replicating. All she needed was a sample of the stuff and a copy of the scientist’s recipe.
To handle the first part, Isaac had an empty flask tied to his belt. He carefully, quietly popped the lid to the barrel and dipped the neck of the flask into the noxious liquid, his eyes glancing back toward the guard room every few seconds. Once that flask was full, Isaac put the lid back on and shoved a cork into the top before tying the glass back onto his belt. Now all he needed was to find the reci—
A shrill scream made Isaac twitch. His eyes snapped up, and he saw the thermal images of a young girl and a full-grown man. Shit! Who the hell is this? If Isaac had had his NUIP filter on, maybe he would have noticed the odd count of implants, but regrets wouldn’t help him now. He bolted for the door, but instead of leaving, he ducked behind some lab equipment. Unless the guards had thermal vision like he did, then maybe they wouldn’t notice him as they ran for the stairs to check on the screaming girl.
And while the guards tended to the girl, Isaac watched the fleeing man as he now ran downstairs into the lab. Isaac followed the man’s heat signature while his own spiked with anger.
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Vigilantes
Smiley Specialist
he's big enough
Posts: 164
Preferred Name: Nama
Character Profile: ♦♦♦
Character Name: Levenin Refure
Main Account: Levenin
Status: On Hiatus
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Post by Levenin on Aug 15, 2015 0:40:31 GMT -5
Levenin could’ve cried in relief as he literally dove behind one of the loveseats in the living area just before two figures entered the very same room. The light flickered on above as he could only assume they were giving the place a quick look over before continuing to the source of the screaming. Neither one of them noticed the house cat dashing from where he was now as a dead giveaway to his hiding spot.
”What’s going on?!” came a worried voice belonging to a man. Whether it was a guard or the father was impossible to tell.
”There was a strange man in the hallway!” a squeaking broken voice answered.
Levenin felt pretty awful, honestly. He’d never meant to rope in the children, ignoring the fact he was here to kill off their father in his own bed. Had the girl heard him walk up the stairs or was it simply something else? There was no time to grow paranoid. He skulked out from hiding, crawling past the base of the stairs without a sound as he left the scene. ”Sweetie, it was just a nightmare,” was all he heard of the conversation. Hopefully, everyone would buy it was the imagination of a little girl scared of the dark.
Following where the security guards had entered, it was through some guesswork that Lev eventually found another set of steps trailing into the darkness below. Of course, a basement floor. He’d love to hear the story the father offered to his family about why they were never allowed down here. It wasn’t his main target but there was no better place to hide. Dealing with two men down where nobody could hear an altercation was fine by him. Luck shined brighter on the thief as the door leading in was already propped open next to a washer-dryer set and a small pile of clothes on the floor.
The alarm from earlier was unbearably loud in the lab, where a red light flashed repeatedly and sent his vision dancing. If turning it off didn’t give away he was snooping around, Levenin would’ve smashed the damn thing to pieces. It was better to have the noise, though. Once security returned to their duties, he’d sneak in unheard and—
The hood of someone's cloak across the laboratory alerted him that he was not as alone as he thought. Did I miss one?! Had they seen him come in? Levenin reached for a knife in his cloak, flipping the blade open and giving it swipe of his tongue. As much as he disliked confrontation, tonight was keen on giving it to him. The Acid Magix he’d uploaded before arriving on site was ending up a smart back-up plan after all.
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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 15, 2015 10:41:34 GMT -5
Isaac’s anger and infrared sight blinded him from his own stupidity. His hiding spot hadn’t been the best, and now this man had spotted him. He could tell from the way the man reached for a knife that he was busted. Dammit…
Isaac rose up and lowered his visor, still keeping the infrared filter on but staring up over the top so he could clearly see the hooded man. His eyes glanced to the knife, then back to the man’s shadowed face. Despite seeing the weapon, Isaac remained calm on the outside. The man was a good distance away, and Isaac was still very close to the lab door. If anything went wrong, he’d be the first one out.
“Any chance we could be civil about this?” he asked, showing the man his empty hands. “All I need is a copy of a formula. You can take anything valuable for yourself.” It was hard to talk over the sound of the alarm, but at the same time it was a welcome mask for Isaac’s voice.
Unfortunately, it also hid the approach of the two guards. The guards returned downstairs, no doubt eager to shut off the dammed alarm. With Isaac’s visor tipped down to the end of his nose, he didn’t see the guards until they were down the stairs. The moment the guards arrived, they jerked their heads at the sight of the two intruders and shouted, “Fuck! Hey!”
As the guards reached for their guns, their sights set on the hooded man, Isaac grabbed a pair of flasks from a table and hurled them across the room. One flask flew into a guard’s shoulder, while the other missed and hit the wall. Still, glass rained down on them, distracting them long enough for Isaac to vault over a table and run to the door, shoving it open and racing outside into the side yard.
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Vigilantes
Smiley Specialist
he's big enough
Posts: 164
Preferred Name: Nama
Character Profile: ♦♦♦
Character Name: Levenin Refure
Main Account: Levenin
Status: On Hiatus
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Post by Levenin on Aug 15, 2015 17:18:31 GMT -5
Levenin was quite confused as he still gripped the knife tightly. This one certainly didn’t seem like one of the guards. For one, they weren’t even in uniform and were intentionally hiding their face from view. By some weird and impossible chance, were they also here for a break in? It couldn’t have been… The odds were too slim.
Lev relaxed his stance slightly, if only because this man (judging by the depth of his voice) thankfully didn’t seem to want a fight. ”Formula? So you’re not...?”
There was no time for any kind of interrogation as Levenin spun around to the sound of angry yells over the alarm. He'd hoped the guards’ distraction would’ve lasted longer. Had they actually taken the girl’s chance sighting as a bad dream only? Surely there would’ve been some sort of perimeter patrol to make certain, knowing what lay hidden beneath the property. Father was apparently very trusting. A show of firearms shoved all logical conjecture far from his head as his eyes went wide. They had a clear shot of him from where they stood. There was no way Lev could dodge in time.
Something flying over his head nearly made the thief take a dive to the floor. Whoever this other stranger was, they were quick on the draw and began throwing whatever was viable as a weapon. Not the first idea Lev would’ve acted on but it was enough for him to chip in his own effort. By the time he grasped for spare chairs nearby to throw across the stairwell, his “friend” had already made a getaway through the exit.
”H-Hey! Wait!”
Leaving behind erratic gunfire in the background, along with a tantalizing sandwich sitting out in the open by its lonesome, Levenin kept his night vision on as he refused to let this other intruder go. A potentially dangerous idea, yes, but he had to know. A persistent curiosity insisted he find out whether or not they were friend or foe.
”Who are you?! What were you doing in there?!” he cried out. Nobody else was supposed to be on this job as far as he knew. ”I’m not with the police, I swear!”
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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 14:34:01 GMT -5
Isaac darted through the yard and hopped over a picket fence, now finding himself in a neighbor’s yard. The hooded man called after him several times, shouting over the voices of the guards that gave chase. When the hooded man landed in the neighbor’s yard, Isaac said, “Real convincing.” He then removed his visor to see more clearly as he dashed through the yard, hopped over the fence gate, and ran out into a street.
There were no cars in sight, and Isaac made it across the street with ease. The alley up ahead was blocked off by a chain-link fence at least two stories high. Isaac simply jumped up onto a dumpster, kicked off the wall, kicked off the opposite wall, and then grabbed the top of the fence, pulling himself up and over before flipping through the air and landing on the other side with a roll. Once he sprang back to his feet, he ducked down an alley, slipping his visor back on to watch the infrared bodies.
Three came running. Two were far behind from the look of it, perhaps not even out of the neighbor’s yard, yet. The other was at the street, and soon Isaac could hear the rattling of chain-link. He watched as the red mass scaled the fence, and he sighed as the hooded man just kept making noise.
By the time the hooded man jumped down from the fence, Isaac moved closer to the end of the alley. The hooded man ran by, and Isaac reached out, one hand firmly grasping the man’s cloak. Isaac pulled him into the alley and slammed him up against the wall. His other hand then flew to the man’s mouth, covering it as he growled, “Would you shut up already?”
With a flick of his eyes, Isaac checked back on the guards. Their red masses hadn’t gotten any bigger—any closer. They seemed to be hanging back along the street. One of them pointed to the other, and then they broke off. One headed back to the house—possibly to guard against the thieves looping around and returning—while the other went down the street, moving away from the thieves’ hiding spot.
Once Isaac was sure the guards were long gone, he looked back to the hooded man and pulled his hand away, though he kept it cupped and ready to slap back over his mouth if he started shouting again.
“I’ll get to your questions,” he said, leering at the man from up over his visor. “But you’re gonna answer mine, first. What the hell were you doing running around the house with the family? What were you after?”I have Nama’s permission to do all of this o 3o)b
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Vigilantes
Smiley Specialist
he's big enough
Posts: 164
Preferred Name: Nama
Character Profile: ♦♦♦
Character Name: Levenin Refure
Main Account: Levenin
Status: On Hiatus
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Post by Levenin on Aug 16, 2015 16:34:54 GMT -5
His pleas fell on deaf ears as the other man escaped into the darkness. This speed of theirs reminded him of somebody he used to know, and not in a fond way. Levenin continued to give chase until coming to the fence himself, looking at it and feeling the sweat begin to bead on his forehead. Had the guy turned a corner earlier and he hadn’t seen it? Or did they really scale this thing? With the guards hot on his heels, Lev decided he’d have to give it a try or else stay cornered here. Obviously, he’d been outrun by someone else who also had a face to hide.
The ascent was noisy and if he’d somehow managed to have a lead on his pursuers, they would certainly hear the clatter of metal and boots. Getting down was arguably as unpleasant as the climb. To save on precious seconds, Levenin launched himself to the earth. He stumbled and fell, and already the effects of his Magix were beginning to wear off for the withdrawal symptoms. Soon his muscles would be unable to carry him much further. Gotta find the nearest escape route… But where…
A pathetic attempt to propel himself back into a dash to freedom was met with a jerk of his cloak into the shadows. Oh great, the police had beaten him to the punch after all. Levenin immediately went for the feather that hung from his ear before seeing it was the very person he’d been tailing before. Really, was that a better alternative with how angry they appeared to be? Lev sort of wondered if licking this figure’s hand would’ve made them relinquish their grip.
The minutes ticked by before he was allowed to speak anything other than muffled groaning again. Whatever this person's intent, they brought no harm to him when it was well within their means. Trust was not about to be given, however. ”I had a job to do. It involved the man who lived there,” Lev replied, hand still tightly clinging to the feather just in case. ”I ran into the daughter and blew my cover. I’m not here to interfere with whatever you have going on. But no one told me there was supposed to be anyone else on this operation.”
Levenin returned a leer of his own, coupled with the glowing of his splice. ”You weren't supposed to be there.”
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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 23:36:10 GMT -5
Isaac glanced at the strange feather earring the man wore. He had reached for it earlier, and now he gripped it tighter. It could be a way of calming himself down—almost like a security blanket—but Isaac knew better. There was something special about the earring. What it did, he could only guess, but keeping this man calm was probably the best thing to do at the moment, so he let the vagueness of the man’s answer slide.
“’Fraid I’m not with your people,” said Isaac, having a few guesses as to who this man worked for. “From the sound of it, it wouldn’t have mattered if I was here tonight or not. We both could have gone about our business without even knowing the other was there.” There was a hint of spite in his voice, if only because this clumsy thief had the nerve to leer back as Isaac as if this was somehow his fault. Isaac reached back to grab the neck of the vial tied to his belt. He pulled its base out to the side and swished it a little. “All I needed was this sample and a copy of the formula that made it.”
He then walked away from the man, looking at the steel wall, his infrared vision picking up several more red dots in the distance. It was hard to make them out, and perhaps it was nothing, but Isaac suspected there were cops or extra guards gathering around the house. And even if there were none, and the dots were simply concerned neighbors, he still suspected trouble.
“And now, it seems neither of us will be getting what we want. Security will be tighter for a few months. More guards, most likely. Some cameras, too, I’d imagine.”
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Vigilantes
Smiley Specialist
he's big enough
Posts: 164
Preferred Name: Nama
Character Profile: ♦♦♦
Character Name: Levenin Refure
Main Account: Levenin
Status: On Hiatus
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Post by Levenin on Aug 17, 2015 1:45:14 GMT -5
Not a Vigilante? Is that what he meant? Possible, but Lev couldn’t imagine why a normal citizen would be stealing something so specific to the black market trade if they weren’t. But Vigilante or no, he could concede to the man’s testimony that he never meant to be part of the mission. It didn’t stop Levenin from being any less annoyed with how the entire situation had turned out.
He sighed in frustration before stuffing the feather into a random pocket. It was probably better to not paralyze the guy, not to mention it was plain unnecessary. He wasn’t nearly vindictive enough to stun someone and interrogate them with that advantage. ”Okay then, if you’re not one of “my” people, then what were you doing looking for that?” he asked, pointing an accusatory finger at the vial.
From what Lev could remember of the briefing, the laboratory held countless barrels of who knew what. All of them were but single ingredients for the greater purpose of producing an addictive quality in whoever was unfortunate enough to ingest it. But to need a specific component of drugs the average person couldn’t even pronounce— for what purpose? Even more suspicious for a supposed Civilian to know about.
”There’s something that’s not adding up here. But fine, we’re both being vague. It’d normally be none of my business as long as you didn’t try to sell me out, but the fact is now my job has become twice as difficult. That isn’t acceptable.”
Levenin pulled his hood down a little tighter. At least this other man’s vigilance was keeping them both on their toes. There was no way they weren’t still being tracked by the police in addition to the house guards. A window above them burst open, worried chatter seeping out from within somebody’s bedroom. Clearly time to leave with their presence coming to light in the neighborhood.
”There’s no time to deal with this right now. We’re attracting too much attention. If you wanna work something out, meet me in the Lower District tomorrow at noon. The pub near the end of the line where the slums begin. Everyone knows where it is and if you don’t, ask around. It’s as good a place as any for a meeting. We can discuss then.”
Lev melded into the shadows as he removed himself from the line of sight of the apartments above. Fatigue was quickly building with every heart beat and breath he took. His limits were drawing near. ”I have a feeling neither of us can pull off a second attempt alone. And if we don’t work together then I can’t promise civil behavior if I see you again.”
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