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Janine Liberi     The Eichenpfeiler Hotel in Munich is experiencing a buzz. The topmost penthouse hall has been rented out for a fundraising dinner. The kind where you have to drop four figures to show up, money that will be written off in the taxes of everyone in attendance. Less a donation, and more a 'you must be this rich to ride' sign.

    Janine has mandated that one thing must happen, and requested that two other things happen. The mandatory thing is the capture and interrogation of Heinrich Grutz, the current head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's intelligence agency. Reports suggest that they were responsible for putting known members of Die Reisende on a watchlist, and sending wetwork agents to capture them. He must be grabbed, isolated, and grilled for information on who else is in the know.

    Her secondary objectives are that someone isolate, and be ready to disable the building's power supply on a moment's notice, and that someone capture the building's security office, and be ready to steal all tapes containing the night's security footage. Most places these days farm out such things to an external company, but the Eichenpfeiler is old-school like that. That's why it gets selected for shindigs like these.

    She's at the party in disguise as part of the wait staff. You can tell which one is her by the seething expression they wear when they think no one is looking.
Karlan Nobles      Tonight, a representative from the far off mountain city of Kjerag will be attending the fundraiser. Pramanix is here in her official snow saint garb, dressed to the nines complete with all the hour-long grooming arrangements that entails.

    Throwing out that fistful of money isn't an issue for her, of course, and holding back that looming sense of dread over smalltalk is par for the course, but the hardest thing for her tonight will be containing her excitement. It's her first mission as an undercover operative, so she's needs to keep her cool and not get too excited!

    First things first: Finding their target. Pramanix starts mingling with the attendees, introducing herself, avoiding the alcohol, and keeping her eyes and ears peeled for someone thatl ooks distinctly 'scheming German-y'.
Big Boss The soldiers at Outer Heaven were very confused. Why was Big Boss taking this job himself? He has Silent Jackal or Blackout Boa for a capture mission. Or even Stalker Bloodhound to infiltrate.

His advisor asked him if he felt he still owed Janine Liberi, after her friend left. Big Boss brushed it off. No, it was about more than that. She had potential, and besides...

It'd be fun.

Big Boss had paid for himself a ticket to the event. He might need it, and it's an expense he can write off with some war. For now, though, he was lingering the floor below, checking his tie before going up - older man with an eyepatch, black suit, tie, clearly a war veteran.

He's watching the staff room. How guarded it is? How many people go in and out? How many are watching the angles? Cameras nearby? The works.
Janine Liberi     Pramanix blends in! The few that talk to her nod along as she introduces herself. "Ah yes Kjerag. Lovely this time of year," as if they knew where it was. This world has remained ignorant of the Multiverse for the most part, so they're obviously bluffing and trying to hobknob with the pretty girl.

    She looks around for Heinrich. Janine had a picture of them to show. A man built like a linebacker, with a bald top and grey sideburns. The face of a history teacher, on the body of a pro wrestler. He's not hard to spot, she can just scan the top of everyone's heads and see his poking up from the crowd.

    Big Boss gets much less attention. His severe face and eyepatch drive most away. A couple of military types try to drum up a conversation, but they're all types who went from officer on up. None of them hardened by war.

    He scans for threats, and spots few. There are some people lurking on the fringes who have the air of a fighter about them. But they're not security for the event, more likely personal guards for some of the guests. The inaccessibility of the location is seen as security enough, it seems.

    As for the security room itself, it's not well-guarded at all. A simple combination lock blocks it, and a security camera in the entrance foyer watches it. If the plan is to seize the tapes, that camera can be ignored entirely as long as the plan succeeds. No one goes in that he sees, but it is likely manned.
Karlan Nobles      Luckily, Pramanix has heard this type of small talk before. Easy to extract herself from, easy to sound like she actually enjoyed exchanging a sentence or two before moving on to the next person. With her target in sight, it's time for phase two of her unknown number of steps plan to get their guy. With her bell jingling lightly with each step, she takes a roundabout path around the room to get to Heinrich.

    She can't be too obvious by heading straight for him, after all, so a long spiral will have to do. As she passes by Janine, there's a brief flick of her tail that might be missed as a casual movement, but it's pointed in Heinrich's direction as she goes on her loop around the room to signal his position. Or is it a request for something?

    It's some kind of signal, anyway. Eventually, she comes across Heinrich, and she goes through her introductory shpiel. "Good evening, sir. Pramanix, Saint of Karlan. A pleasure to meet you, friend." Instead of just walking away with just that introduction, though, she purposely lets her gaze linger on him for a few seconds longer than necessary. That's followed by a surprised straightening up where she stands, then shuffling away as though she caught herself doing something improper.

     Now to see if he takes the bait.
Big Boss Big Boss can't get in with that camera in the way. He needs to bypass the security - Pramanix can take care of Grutz, he presumes. So he starts pacing upwards, out of the way of any cameras or people paying attention, handling the 'conversation starters' with ways to get out of them smoothly by making it clear he's Way Above These Guy's Levels whenever they try to talk about anything military...

And calls in the Intel Team. "Intel. I need to know if there's ventilation towards the security room, and how to bypass any security going in on it. Also, position of the ventilation towards the security room. If none, alternatives on getting in." He radios, quietly.
Janine Liberi     The coquettish charm. That opening to give a man a chance to be A Big Man. It turns out that while Heinrich has the face of a history teacher, he absolutely has the mind of a university-level English teacher. He pursues the priestess and places a hand on her shoulder. "Pardon me... Pramanix, yes? I apologise if I startled you. Men in my line of work are often hard, it scares people." Out of the corner of her eyes, Pramanix may see Janine making a gagging expression before smirking and winking at her.

    Intel brings up the blueprints fairly easily. There is indeed a ventilation shaft that intersects with the air ducts in the men's restroom downstairs. All the bad smells get filtered out of the building rather than going into the security room thankfully. It'll be a tight squeeze, but Big Boss will have made trickier squeezes.
Karlan Nobles      Success! Except now Pramanix has to actually figure out the rest of the charming process enough to get their target somewhere quieter. She's doing a decent job keeping her cool, at least, turning slowly and feigning surprise with a slight swoon in the middle of a surprised "oh". A deer-in-the-headlightsy series of blinks later, and then she chuckles behind her hand. "Oh! Y-yes, that's correct. Not at all, good sir. I just haven't seen many with such..."

     She resists the urge to break character even with Janine's reaction... Mostly. Pramanix does have to mask it briefly by looking away, but... Actaully, she can work with this. She's already looking away, so she just has to avoid eye contact for another moment, glancing back at Heinrich for another as if restraining herself, then looking back up at him again. "My apologies. It's just a little... Cramped in here for my tastes."

     The room's probably way bigger than it needs to be, but the implication of what she's (not really) looking for him to do is there. "What sort of work do you do, sir...?" More opportunities for him to go on about himself. She's read enough trashy novels to get the lines and the body language right, but it still remains to be seen if he'll take the bait.
Big Boss Big Boss moves to go to the bathroom. Once there, he waits until no one is around, unscrews the vent with a multitool, pulls it lightly on to 'hide' that it's loose and open, and then starts moving. Following his map, he aims for the security room...

Slowly, getting his tux all dirty, but once he's there, he'll see if it's a lower floor or an upper ceiling vent. Either way, his mental plan depends on what there is. If there's one guard, it's an easy CQC take-down.

Two guards? CQC one with rapid motions towards the neck and side, grab his own concealed tranquilizer pistol, and cap the other in the head before alarms go off.

Three or more, somehow? That's when it becomes a tango.
Janine Liberi     "Dangerous work miss. The kind of thing I can't really talk about openly," Heinrich says in a tone that implies he's going for 'brooding and mysterious.' But it comes out like a C-list actor delivering it. Janine is orbiting nearby, serving drinks, and shoots Pramanix another gagging face. "But you're right," he continues. "It is a bit crowded out here. I actually have a room downstairs for the night, if you would care to join me?"

    A room. A private area.

    There is only a single guard in the security room. Boss drops in and puts them down without much fuss. They just stare, open mouthed as a man comes in through the grate and clobbers them into unconsciousness. Training has gone out the window in this soft society.

    Before Big Boss is a wall of monitors showing the hotel. Several screens are dedicated to the party upstairs, while others flip between the hallways and staff-restricted areas. Behind him, shelves upon shelves of tape decks, saving all this information. A cupboard is full of blank ones, their cases boasting that they can store up to a year of information each.
Karlan Nobles      Hook, line, and sinker! As much as she wants to mimic the gagging, Pramanix sadly has an act to keep up, and she holds her hands up to her mouth in a low gasp at the mystery man angle. "Oh my... I had no idea." She actually doesn't have much a follow up for that one, but she doesn't let her facade slip as she sees the opportunity to get him alone.

    It's a repulsive opportunity, but if nothing else? This is completely lining up like another one of her trash novels except for the part where she might have to stab the man later. "A room? Ah, that would be the perfect place for a more in-depth..." Come on. Don't choke now. Her tail flicks once, nearly blowing her cover, but the saint plays it off with a quieter whisper to try and sound that bit more coy. "... Discussion. Of many topics."

    Hopefully, he's not a cat person that would realize any of that body language.
Big Boss The man goes down with a light touch from Boss. He has to get out of there before he wakes up. First thing's first - the current tapes. He moves to grab those after taking a glance around the area, and pocket them for review. And then...they go up to several years back?

Fascinating. And also infuriating, that they're in an analog medium instead of something he could upload to his iDroid.

Big Boss asks Janine which tapes she wants, and then grabs those specific - six years ago. They're going to grab more once they go loud, but he needs to make sure he has the essentials pocketed.

And then, kneeling, he turns on his radio. <"Pequod, this is Big Boss. Change of plans. Be ready for a loud pick-up. Unlikely resistance.">

A glance to the guard on the ground. "They really need to train you people better."
Janine Liberi     She's got him. Janine shoots Pramanix a thumbs-up as the massive man slips an arm around her waist (thankfully avoiding touching her tail) and leads her downstairs to the elevator. As he does, Pramanix would see someone from hotel security arrive, and make for the surveillance room where Boss is. Heinrich produces a hotel key on a ring with an elevator pass, and touches it to a scanner before hitting a button for one of the higher floors. "They don't let the riff-raff wander around up here. You need a security token for the elevator to take you," he explains.

    It's a mercifully short ride, and he doesn't try anything. He does glance at the security camera though, in a way that implies that's the only reason he isn't. His room is a short walk away once the doors open. He puts his back to Pramanix as he unlocks it and gestures for her to enter first.

    Pequod would have a lot to deal with. This is a modern world after all, which means all aircraft need a registration and to keep their comms open. If he wants to stay off radar, he'll need to fly low.

    Meanwhile, Boss has nothing but time. On the camera, he can see the basement, where the massive control panel for the building's power. Janine did ask that it be rigged to blow, and it would make their exit easier. But will he have time?

    At that moment, he hears someone putting in the combination for the door lock.
Big Boss Big Boss gets out the tapes. Pequod (this incarnation's a woman, because the title had to be passed on) flies low, trying to get in position for a fast fly to the hotel. Luckily, she can fly steathily - everything Outer Heaven does is stealthy - but that won't stop people from actually just noticing a loud helicopter.

There's a guy coming at the door. Big Boss only has a few seconds to think. But he does it. Moving fast, and grabbing something, he throws it, and then...

GUARD'S PERSPECTIVE
The guard would enter the room. There's nothing there but a chair turned away from him, and the cameras not filming. Someone appears to be in the chair. And if he investigates it, and turns it around...

It's an inflatable dummy. Of a soldier in a balaclava.

Pop goes the tranquilizer gun, straight for the head, as Big Boss drops the unconscious man he's cradling up against the side wall, letting him fall to the floor, and moves to get out of the room and head to the generators as fast as possible, closing and relocking the door behind him, before someone finds the two men.
Karlan Nobles     Somehow, Janine's reassurance doesn't make Pramanix feel any better. Sure, she's getting their target right where she wants them, but at what cost?

    Dignity, mostly. Still, the fact that her first undercover mission seems to be going well offers her some small relief. She eyes the keyring curiously, taking note of where he puts it after use while continuing to glance around and keep that act going. A brief twirl of the hair here, a brush against his hand there. "That's a relief. That should keep our disccusion quite private, then."

    She chuckles lightly, settling into the act a little more easily with things going so well thus far. Pramanix has had plenty of practice looking proper for watching eyes, making it a simple matter to act like nothing's going on at all for whoever might be watching the cameras. Stepping into the room first, she takes a moment to look around not unlike someone just a little bit camera-shy.

    Also, looking for the bathroom. "I'll just need a moment to... Get ready. And then we can... Talk." She definitely isn't planning to make a knife out of ice from the sink water to threaten him. Not at all.

    She definitely is.
Janine Liberi     "Hey, I'm taking ov-" the security guard says as he walks in. The sheer confusing nature of what is going on has him taken completely aback. And then a tranq dart nails him. He drops like a sack of rocks and lays there, his pass easily pilfered. Big Boss has an easy time of it going downstairs, and fidns the lower levels mercifully empty. Washing machines and dryers hum somewhere, cleaning loads of sheets.

    The floor plan is before him as he exits, indicating the location of the large power panel.

    "Oh please, take your time," Henrich says. He's already loosening his tie. The bathroom is big, open, and with plenty of water to draw from.
Big Boss Big Boss moves downstairs, and looks at the floorplans on his iDroid. Once he finds the power panel, he approaches it.

When he reaches the panel, he checks if he needs to just cut it or blow it. Blowing it is louder, but he has a single charge. He'll cut it if that's what he needs ot do, though, either way, warning Janine before he takes down the power.

As soon as the power goes out, and Pramanix takes out the VIP, Pequod swoops in on a big chopper. Big Boss moves to take the stairs, his body agile enough to let him jog the whole thing (if with cramps, and absolutely the last one back up).

Pequod's chopper will appear outside the window of Pramanix's suite so she can grab him, as Big Boss moves to grab the rest of the tapes and proceed towards the chopper when it swoops back towards him. Hopefully, nothing gets in the way!
Karlan Nobles      There's her opportunity. With Heinrich's attention turned elsewhere, Pramanix can get everything set up. All.. Knife of it set up. Once his attention is turned elsewher, Pramanix moves quickly to try overpowering him, using the ice knife for extra leverage and to keep him from getting too loud lest she stab or tear off something sensitive. Assuming that she can get information on the people involved in the Die Reisende incident, she'll 'encourage' him to get on Pequod's chopper whether through actual convincing, intimidation, or force.

    Whatever the case is, she's going to need to wash all of the gross feeling off herself once she's back in the safety of anywhere but here.
Janine Liberi     Janine requests over the radio that the charge be set and ready to blow at command, rather than immediately. Heinrich puts up a bit of a fight, but the kind of fight that a hard man who has gone soft gives; full of gusto at first, but quickly giving way to years of quiet living.

    He spills after a little bit of a struggle. He gives up a couple of names of those who are now 'in the know.' Relaying these to Janine will make her say, "Two of those are here tonight. Okay." He also mentions a 'Kirijo Group.' Apparently they have a representative here tonight but he hadn't met them yet.

    Eventually, he'll need to be bundled out the window into Pequod's copter. Their radio is blaring with requests from airspace agencies demanding they identify themselves, but no one is mobilising yet. Janine says that she'll 'catch up' and asks Boss to blow the power.

    As the hotel goes dark, the glass walls of the penthouse shatter, and she comes flying out, with two people trailing behind wrapped in Catherine's threads. All three get in the copter and fly off, as a woman with red hair watches them go against the night sky.