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Petra Soroka	Berislav has been contacted by an unnamed (unless he named her) sponsor for an upcoming operation based within the City. This sponsor promises, with an awkward amount of preemptive defensiveness, that this is a really good opportunity for the Watch especially at this specific point in time, and also that she doesn't have any ulterior motives, and it's really actually mutually beneficial, and she'd really prefer if everyone wasn't weird about this please. Your sponsor also knows that it'd be really weird and a bad idea to allow her in a Watchtower again, and so she arranges a neutral, third party location in which to discuss the details of this operation, which the hopes that nobody will kill each other please and thank you.     This neutral zone is a warehouse among a sea of other warehouses in District 12, with a big folding door that has to be rolled up and down for each entry. Inside are metal shelves after shelves of boxes, most of which have been torn open and stripped of their contents at this point in the post-apocalypse, and the smell of mildew and dust is smotheringly heavy in the air. It's dark-- unlit from electricity, at least, but the smudged-up windows let in a reasonable amount of sunlight to navigate by, to follow the path into the warehouse where your sponsor is currently hefting a table overhead and whining about how her fingers hurt.     Petra Soroka: former Watchman, former champion of homophobia, former grey-eyes-haver, and former absolutely-deserved burned-asset, blinks when she hears the Elites approach, and plops the table on the group, yelping when she nearly misses her foot. She's, seemingly by hand, carried in a whiteboard, several chairs (though probably not enough), and a standing fan that's plugged into a handmade generator to make the air less stagnant. She is entirely unsure how to greet her hired Syndicate killers before discussing the terms of a bank heist, so she just does an awkward little wave.     Petra is dressed, in the fashion of the City, in slacks and an unremarkable long black jacket, with her hair tied up into a ponytail and tucked through a baseball cap, that would let her walk the streets without drawing anyone's attention. She's also smeared with dust and some grease already, for reasons that seem completely unrelated to the surroundings of the cozy clandestine meeting area she's lovingly constructed here.     "Hey, you guys. So, uh, funny coincidence and all, but there's something I need done, and I know it'd benefit you too-- and honestly, I *so* do not need that much money myself."     Petra wanders up to the whiteboard and uncaps a pen, but there's nothing she's drawing yet. It just helps to be in a lecturely position, before she starts explaining. "So, obviously, first thing's first; I'm, like, not involved, and I'd really rather not have any of you guys bring up my name about this. I checked around and made sure there was no one in here listening in, you can go send someone to check too, but you'll just find these little guys looking around," she says, holding up one of her ratbots and wiggling it like a toy.     "And with that," Petra pokes the pen at the whiteboard, thinks for a second, and then just draws an L, which elucidates nothing at all. "My plan's to empty out the reserves in the District 12 bank, the Bank of L. I, and basically no one else, have authorization to get into the District Reserves stuff, and I could *also* just empty out L-Corp's accounts normally, but some assholes have turned the bank building into a dumbshit little castle and they've been trying to crack it themselves. So I can't."     "But I think the main thing you guys are gonna be interested in is that there's thousands of P.E. boxes in there. Like the sort of, power the whole District for a week in the case of the apocalypse, or more realistically power just the Nest for a couple months. Though, I mean, it happened, and they didn't do that, so who knows."
Odette Raskins	At first, Odette's highly skeptical about today's sponsor. Getting missions from anonymous contacts that want to keep their association with the Watch on the down low isn't anything new to her at this point, but the way this particular missive comes in puts the EMT on high alert from the get go. She's still lacking the amount of spine necessary to voice said concerns at this point, however, and she leaves the specifics of actually honoring this request up to the good father's better judgment. She knows how to do her specific job very well, and so she's there to make sure that the team joining Berislav gets in and out of this without any casualties. Showing up in her EMT blues, Odette wrinkles her nose briefly as she's hit by the competing scents in the warehouse, debating internally whether to put a mask on or not. She decides against the mask, because putting one on would be a hassle nad also make her look like a wimp. Also, because she doesn't have a lot of time to think that over too much before seeing Petra and finally putting it all together with a look of relief crossing her face. "Oh! Hi, Pe-uh." Wait. She's NOT involved in this. Are there any bugs around? Odette looks around quickly for a moment, acting like her eyesight's actually good enough to pick out hidden cameras in the warehouse while she approaches Petra. "Uh. Hey there. Don't worry, I didn't see anything." Trying to play it off all cool-like, Odette adjusts her hold on her trusty fat bag of stuff and glancing around disinterestedly. Her eyes promptly widen whens he sees the ratbot in Petra's hand, and she inhales sharply to suppress a noise of excitement at the sight of it. Be cool. "Cute... Uh. A-anyway. No eyes, got it." Odette affirms with a quick nod, then pays close attention as the briefing begins. She watches Petra's pen carefully as the L is drawn and... That's it. She glances over at one side, then the other to see if anyone else looks as confused as she feels, but... Still not enough spine to comment on that. "A bank robbery against your own... Account? Huh. Is this like one of those insurance fraud things?" She asks in a hushed tone, less from a concern that anybody might have ears in the warehouse and more that it feels cooler to that way about this kind of topic. "Why would there be ass-mmmmm. A-holes making it harder for you to empty it out? Is it just those P.E. boxes, or... Um. Something else they're looking for that we should keep an eye out for?" "Oh. And is there anything we shouldn't take while we're in there? Like..." What else would even be in there besides money and those boxes? Odette visibly struggles to come up with anything, and her question followup just dies in the air seconds later.
Father Berislav	Berislav had been open about who his contact was ahead of time. This, he hopes, is enough to prevent any weirdness about her, which he adds there is plenty of even without taking her former membership into account.     He arrives on foot, in his usual wear, notably roughly stitched together after the encounter with the Photographer. "Hello, Petra," he says, before a startled 'Oh!' escapes him when she nearly drops the table. Once it's clear she's alright, his warm smile returns. "It's good to see you."     "I have to admit," he says, with a gesture of one hand, "You've picked as classic a locale for this kind of meeting as I could have imagined." He opts to stand so that someone else can sit. >No one is listening.     "I trust you," he says with a nod. "And you can trust us to be discreet about this. It won't reach anyone outside of this building. Right?" A look between his fellow Watchmen. >Money, a dumbshit castle and a noted lack of a powered Nest     "Those things are all distinctly related," says Berislav with a sigh. "When a Wing falls, the impulse is to go and pick the bones clean, not to see who needs help getting out from under them. Thankfully, this operation presents us an excellent opportunity for changing the atmosphere of the City to kill that impulse."     "I suppose the elephant in the room is the cut, so allow me to shoot it dead and say that's already been arranged. Petra?" he says, motioning for her to expound with a gentle nod.
Veronica	Having heard from Hibiki that this was a business meeting (of a sort) Veronica's a little dressed up - which for her means swapping faded jeans for slacks and otherwise keeping the simple ensemble of T-shirt and leather jacket. Anyone standing behind her, especially those at yesterday's first meeting with Veronica, will notice what at first appears to be angel wings emblazoned on the back shoulders of her jacket. On closer inspection, however, the design is in fact hands, dozens of them, grasping and reaching past each other to spread winglike across her back.     The first interaction Veronica has with Petra is a quick, instinctive assessment of her physical health. Petra looks like she's been through a wringer. Are there injuries under that grease and grime? Mentally shaking away her medical guesswork, Veronica leans against a nearby shelving unit and folds her arms to listen to Petra's explanation of the basics of the job. When she raises a hand to get Petra's attention, it's her left hand - the one made of rebar and shattered concrete.     "Hey. If you're not after the money, or the P.E., what's there that you need us to get? Left something in one of the deposit boxes? Hitting back at whoever's holding the bank? Or is our job just to get in there, take our cuts of cash and gas, and leave you to your business after we clear the place?" A pause, then: "Veronica, by the way. One of the locals. Hibiki knows me, so does the Father."
Angela	The Yurodiviye and the Blade Lineage both have the same reason for coming. Any sort of operation within the City is an opportunity for them and so they are naturally curious about the goals here. Sonya the Saint, the white haired purple eyed young man who runs the Yurodiviye, is here because he is a man who waits for the right opportunity. Whether or not he can see ''The'' Flow, well, the fact is his gut if nothing else tells him this might be exactly what he's been waiting for--a chance to take action without dooming the Yurodiviye to vicious reprisals they can't handle right now. The Blade Lineage also wishes to prove themselves capable of affecting change--to Liza Grier if nothing else--and so have sent Saya, a young woman with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing the same Blade Lineage kimono as Aeng-du--to both guard Sonya and to learn the details of this ''operation''. And finally there are two more Yurodiviye affiliates who are coming by as well. They haven't really been brought along intentionally--as individuals with the traits: Orphan, Rambunctious, and Scamp--they are essentially invincible to attempts to keep them out of trouble and gathering scoops--at least through the methods the Yurodiviye have at their disposal. Chance and Gamble have brought little notepads and little pencils that they are using to take the notes of the meeting in question. Sonya opens his mouth. "So you're planning a heist." Chance says first, flipping up his little pageboy hat like he imagined his journalistic heroes always doing but mostly manages to knock his hat a bit askew. "And it sounds like you're giving us the CHANCE--" He grins bigly. Gamble groans. "--To bring some of these power boxes to the people in exchange for our help! But what's the catch...!" His eyes sparkle hoping that there's a catch. "She already said the catch, dummy." Gamble elbows Chance who pinches her cheek who tugs on his hair, all while keeping their respective notepads far away from one another. "And it seems you don't want your involvement to be reported in the great Chance Proxy newsletter! That's gonna be a hard sell, the people gotta know the TRUTH." Chance tilts backways, trying a hand free to try and scribble with the notepad above his head. "They want the power boxes more, it's the..the...greater good! Like they say on Tv." Gamble counters. "What'syour name though? How do we know...we can trust ya!" "Yeah...! How do we know we can trust you!" Chance adds. "I smell a rat!" "That's just YOU--oh wait there is a rat actually." Gamble is instantly fascinated with the ratbot. "Did you make that yourself? It's so cute? Can I have one?? Real rats," She notes. "Try to bite me when I pet them." Saya says, quietly, but quite well enunciated. "Why are you making us such a generous offer? Heard about you beating gangs at the Warpgate, what's stopping you from just going in there by yourself?" Sonya smiles sheepishly and seems to glance around to see if his various associates are done talking before adding, "It DOES seem like it's all arranged already, isn't it Father? ... Well, if you ask for anonymity in this task--I trust you don't mind if we do the same as the Yurodiviye? My people have been waiting... And I have been waiting...for an opportunity. And you have brought us one, for which I am grateful, but while I'm glad for the publicity of delivering aid to the people, I'd prefer to avoid the publicity of being known to stealing resources that even many Wings are looking to take hold of right now."
Gaonoir	Gaonoir and Erika follow Father Berislav and the other Watch members into the warehouse. So far fairly typical meeting place for clandestine bargaining and planning. It's when they see just who it is they're meeting with that the pair take pause. Which only lasts for about three seconds before Erika has the PDA app open on her smartphone and is tip-tapping away at it. Ex-Watch member secretly turns to former allies despite bridges burned for help? That's just screaming conspiracies and she is going to make sure to get it all down. Though she is polite enough to respect the wish of keeping Petra's actual name out of it. Which is fine. That makes the conspiracy theory all the more mysterious. Gaonoir on the other hand just stands next to her with his arms crossed as usual, watching Petra dourly as she starts to explain. There was no way this wasn't somehow suspicious. But being someone who has been on more than one side of a conflict in his own assorted past, Gaonoir was going to withhold judgement until there was more details on the table. The start of the explaination does get a change in expression, raising a brow slightly. Someone has fortified the bank and she can't get to the funds in a legitiment manner. That part makes sense. "But why turn to us instead..." he murmurs, an echoing of the sentiment several others are also putting forth. Though laying claim to things other than money that would be valuable to several other parties trying to act in The City is a pretty good bargaining chip to put forward.
Hibiki Tachibana	"Hey... Petra."     Well, it's not like she's unused to running into her. They've literally already done so at least once since the whole final days of L Corp. It's just, uh. You know. It's been a decently long time since it involved /official Watch business/. And when it did, it was a far cry from Petra sponsoring and petitioning them for an operation.     So her wave back is also quite a bit more awkward than it otherwise would be, taking a moment to stare like a deer in headlights in the middle of this musty warehouse-turned-secret briefing location. By way of making it somewhat less weird, she adds on, "You-- really went the whole mile with this, huh? ...I like it."     Holy shit, she's bad at small talk. Everybody knows Petra goes the whole mile with everything she does, why would she say that?     Regardless of the initial wave of stumbling over feet, Hibiki arrived the same way she always does; walking. It's been a busy set of days between helping with the case of the Photographer, then investigating the 'moving rocks' that turned out to be Veronica, and now having this sprung on them. She's still got film cuts bandaged up and healing-- and to be honest, she didn't even walk here from her place. She spent a lot of time helping get Sam situated, and then just sort of crashed overnight at the Faded Print out of exhaustion (after calling home, of course).     At least that made it simple to give Veronica the need to know on the way over; this'll basically be her first official work with the Watch, after all, and it'll probably be as good as any of a 'clandestine intro op' as any. She thinks. Probably best to leave any retelling of Petra's history out of things... for now?     But now that they're here, a few things spin through her thoughts, including her chat with Berislav not too long ago about not knowing how to directly approach Petra on the subject of things like Cinder-- though it's not like a meeting like this is the place to worry about that, so she puts them out of mind for now and listens intently to the explanation of the job, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets.     "Well, you know that bank robberies aren't normally /my/ sort of thing, at least. But this one is kind of different from ordinary ones, so." Her focus shifts from Petra to the big drawn L that doesn't really explain anything. "...The Wing's done with. And anyone turning that place into a fortress and trying to clean it out themselves probably aren't doing it for the good of everybody."     "...That many P.E. boxes, we'd be able to do a lot about the blackouts that've been going around. And help a lot of people. So... I don't have any complaints with the plan so far. But..." She tries to figure out how to phrase this. "...These guys can't just be any small time Syndicate if you're coming to /us/ for help, right?" Obviously, Petra wouldn't just petition /the Watch/ out of everyone lightly.
Tamiel Luxis	It's the third request in as many weeks that's taken Tamiel to the City, to the point where she's becoming upsettingly familiar with how tightly she needs to shut her senses to prayers to keep the ambient distress of it from roaring over her thoughts.     Nevertheless, it's a chance to prove herself, and the Father brought it forward, so how bad could it be...?     Tamiel was dressed as inconspiciously as she could manage. Her wings folded like too-tight springs beneath a jacket, aching for release, (Leather--not for style, but the fear that anything weaker would be ripped apart at a moment's relaxation) with the pieces of her halo similarly tied up in what appeared to be hair oranments.     Times like this, she wished she couldn't feel through them. Because, heavens, was it uncomfortable.     "...I checked around and made sure there was no one in here listening in, you can go send someone to check too, but you'll just find these little guys looking around,"     "I was wondering what those were..." She thought she'd recognized Petra's name, but it was hearing her voice for the first time that really helped her put two and two together. Her expression got a little surly, arms crossing. "She's right, though. No one's here..." Shadowy eyes made Tamiel very good at watching many angles simultanously, and discretely...Especially in somewhere as dark and lonely as here.     "... Well, if you ask for anonymity in this task--I trust you don't mind if we do the same as the Yurodiviye?"     "Yeah....And the rest of us, too. Not all of us are super public, about what we do..." Her gaze wandered toward Odette, briefly. "...Has to go both ways."     "Sounds like a lot of PE boxes...Won't be easy to move them all.." Tamiel frowned. They'd need to move a lot of freight, and fast. It was easier, if it was just a packet of information, or a book, or a flash drive. "That's a lot of freight..."     "Did you want to do this quiet...? Or loud? That changes a lot."
Petra Soroka	"Cute... Uh. A-anyway."     Odette needs to stop blurting out such things towards Petra, because this is not the first, or even the second time that Petra's eyes have narrowed in her direction. The ratbots, however, are adorable, so she gives Odette a pass this time-- they're also stashed, floating silently, in several key points around the warehouse to watch for anyone who might try to slip in unnoticed. She *did* come prepared. "A bank robbery against your own... Account? Huh. Is this like one of those insurance fraud things?"     Petra sighs. "No, and if it was, L-Corp owned the insurance company too. The problem is, when L-Corp fell, it took basically all the infrastructure in the District with it-- honestly, I don't even think legally anyone would *agree* with who the money should belong to now, given that I murdered the guy it belonged to before. But if it was just legal issues, I'd figure it out myself somehow. No, the problem's that I can't fight a whole holed-up gang all by myself probably, especially since I heard some people describe some of them as having something that I think might be EGO." "You've picked as classic a locale for this kind of meeting as I could have imagined."     Petra crosses her arms and closes her eyes, nodding with a slight smirk. "Well, yeah. You know, the first warehouse I checked already had some guys planning a robbery in it. What are the odds!" "And you can trust us to be discreet about this."     "I hope so." The smirk slips off her face, and she makes a pointed look at Berislav while recalling a certain conversation about a certain magical girl a year or so ago. "But it never hurts to say it directly." > Petra's physical health     It's kind of dogshit, but mostly in a way that seems like it was more dogshit a while back. If Veronica had to guess, Petra looks like she got mauled pretty badly by the early days of the blackouts like she did, and since then has had few enough new injuries that she's learned how and how much to favor the healing ones. "Hey. If you're not after the money, or the P.E., what's there that you need us to get?"     "No, I'm super after the P.E. and money." Petra glances over to Veronica's rebar arm, and lingers on it for a second, but it's not an immediate concern for her to be shocked about. "But like, it's just, you know, too much. Like Berislav said, the plan's to split it, fifty-fifty. Or, well, to be more specific,")]     Now Petra finally gets to use the whiteboard! All she does is write numbers on it, though, the first one with far too many zeroes, and the second one with just four digits. "I can transfer out all the liquid ahn in there basically the moment I'm past all the armed guys keeping me out of the office, and that's several billion ahn. About, like," Petra wobbles her hand, looking at Berislav. "Twenty million credits? Something like that. And the P.E. boxes're probably worth more than money at this point, so it's hard to value that all. I'm not, like, a pirate." "Veronica, by the way. One of the locals."     Petra tilts her head, now looking more intently at the rebar arm. "District 12 local? What town?" "And it sounds like you're giving us the CHANCE--"     Petra does not know Chance's name and so she just sort of looks at him.
Petra Soroka	"That's gonna be a hard sell, the people gotta know the TRUTH."     Now Petra understands. These are Goobers. "... The people don't know everything *you're* up to, do they?" Petra stares at Chance, current Watch affiliate engaged in a meeting that's illegal in of itself. "It's so cute? Can I have one??"     Petra hugs her ratbot close like she's worried it's going to get stolen from her hands. These guys are too rambunctious!! "Uh-- like, I have to build them! I don't know you!" "Heard about you beating gangs at the Warpgate, what's stopping you from just going in there by yourself?"     "Oh--" Saya immediately grabs Petra's attention as someone significantly better put-together than the average Watchman, and being recognized by a City local as an extant force that has done actions in the City before today surprises her. "Um, you recognize me? Well. I'm Petra."     "Mainly, the thing is, I don't actually have a use for that much money. If I wanted to, I could probably drop my mech on them and tear them apart myself, but it'd be stupid and risky and I wouldn't benefit any more than I am already. And, like... I know that you guys will at least be helping people *decently*, even if I don't know the details anymore. And then there's the probable EGO, so...." "Hey... Petra."     From the look on her face, Petra is equally aware of how strange it is for her to be working alongside Hibiki Tachibana on official Watch business at this point in time. She's also not in a high energy environment like Hiromi's mountain was, so Hibiki especially can detect the wince of guilt and air of exhaustion hanging around Petra, despite the little movie-perfect heist planning setup she's arranged. She might even be able to intuit that this sort of stage preparation is exactly something Petra does when she's particularly stressed, which means something's happened even after the war.     "Hey. Uh, yeah. I mean, I've never actually robbed a bank before either. But these suckers-- you're right. They call themselves Blood Diadem, which is like-- I mean, obviously so evil-themed. I don't know what even drives people to do that." "Sounds like a lot of PE boxes...Won't be easy to move them all.."     Over the course of the conversation, Petra keeps looking back at Tamiel, for indiscernable reasons. Eventually, she snaps her fingers as the realization suddenly comes to her. "Oh--! *That's* where I know you from! You're Playbrick cuck!"     "Anyways," Petra continues onwards, as if she hasn't just murdered someone in broad daylight, "Yeah. We'll need some sort of transport, truck-style or something-- I can't handle nearly that much on my own. And I don't see any reason not to go loud, and plenty of ways that trying not to would result in going loud anyways in a worse situation."
Gaonoir	Over the course of the explaination Erika looks up from her digital typing. Adjusts her glasses having slid on her nose slightly from having her head down. "Sounds like she wants us to help deal with beating up the goons that holed up in the facility." "Now that," Gaonoir thumps a gloved fist into the palm of the other paw, "is a part of this wacky plan I can get behind. Just don't expect all the walls to still be standing afterwards." They're probably more interested in what's inside, anyways. Erika blinks again. "What is a play brick cu--" "Don't ask," Gaonoir sharply cuts her off. "You don't want to know." At least not right now. She'll probably just go look it up online later anyways.
Odette Raskins	"It won't reach anyone outside of this building. Right?" "Not a word." Odette affirms with a quick thumbs up right at chest height. "Thankfully, this operation presents us an excellent opportunity for changing the atmosphere of the City to kill that impulse." "...That many P.E. boxes, we'd be able to do a lot about the blackouts that've been going around." "Right? It really is... If we show the people here that everyone's better off picking each other up, then... Between our work and Trideag's, the City could really start looking better sooner rather than later." Feeling a slight weight off her chest as she hears Berislav and Hibiki on the same page there, Odette hums lightly in thought before chuckling to herself. "It just feels a little weird thinking about doing all that with a... Um. Bank heist." "Veronica, by the way. One of the locals." "Not all of us are super public, about what we do..." "It's nice to meet you, Miss Veronica! I'm Odette, an-" She taps on her cap with the little white cross on it, then the duffel bag at her side with the Company's logo on it. "-EMT with the Company. Officially anyway, since..." She nods at Tamiel once, then readjusts her hold on the bag after glancing at the warehouse entrances again. "Um. Watch and all. I-if you ever need a hand with staying healthy, though, you're in good hands here." "No, the problem's that I can't fight a whole holed-up gang all by myself probably, especially since I heard some people describe some of them as having something that I think might be EGO." "We're the muscle, then... W-well, that's something some of us can definitely handle." Odette says with a slightly awkward chuckle, feeling just a little less confident about her own role in that. Still... Casualty minimizing. She just needs to remember that part, and what her role here is. "Twenty million credits?" Odette's eyes widen considerably at thinking about that. "Fifty fifty, so ten split between six... Uh. Wh. Th-that's much?" She struggles a bit to even comprehend the amount of money involved there, and she pauses briefly to visibly chastise herself with a quiet grunt. "No, no, can't get too excited. Gotta use this to help the city, but even half of each person's split..." She's just staring at the whiteboard now, already starting to lose herself in her thoughts about what she could do with a portion of a split. "They call themselves Blood Diadem, which is like-- I mean, obviously so evil-themed." "And I don't see any reason not to go loud, and plenty of ways that trying not to would result in going loud anyways in a worse situation." "Well.. I-if we go loud, would that draw too much of the wrong kind of attention? Like.. Um. Other gangs that might make it even messier for everyone arund? I can do triage pretty quick these days, but... Um. A gang war on top of what we'd already be doing might be a little too much compared to..." What would the Redshifts and Liza do in this situation? She wracks her brain for a minute, then looks back over at Petra. "Is this place soundproofed? Or is it like a.. Um. Regular bank that everyone can see into? Maybe we could start quiet and try to... Ah, what's the word. Corral them in?"
Father Berislav	"Hello, Veronica. I'm glad to see you here," Berislav offers with a smile and a slight inclination of his head.     "Chance! Gamble! I'm certain you invited yourselves, and also that it's good to see you both, as well." He chuckles, patting each one on the head just once.     "Petra tends to do exactly what she says she will," he says to the both of them. "You can trust her." I trust you don't mind if we do the same as the Yurodiviye?     Berislav nods. "Of course. I'd be surprised if you didn't," he says, brow slightly lifted. "It would be counter-productive to attract that kind of attention. We'll keep your involvement quiet, too."     "For those of you who haven't met, this is Sonya the Saint, Chance, and Gamble. They're Yurodiviye, a Syndicate that aims to protect the City's vulnerable. This is Saya, a samurai of the Blade Lineage, a Syndicate with the same aims and different methods. I'm sure I don't need to explain why they'd have an interest in being here." Did you want to do this quiet...? Or loud? That changes a lot. Like.. Um. Other gangs that might make it even messier for everyone arund?     Berislav smiles apologetically at Tamiel. "What you saw with Veronica is about as quiet as I can be, Tamiel. You're welcome to take what approach suits you best and to coordinate with us, of course! But understand that I'll be bringing the tools necessary to lay siege to this 'castle' they've made."     "As for attracting attention, this is a robbery, and it's happening in the context of interrupting a different, protracted, less successful robbery. I don't know what Syndicate attention we could attract that this 'Blood Diadem' hasn't already. The District is being left to rot, so it's not likely there will be an *official* response unless it threatens a Nest, which is..." The pause says it before the priest utters it out loud. District 12's Nest is thoroughly fucked already, and anything that would threaten *another* Nest is... "Extremely unlikely."     But it never hurts to say it directly.     Berislav clasps his hands neatly before him. "Agreed," he says with a little sigh. "Would you like Odette or myself to take a look at some of those injuries while we're here?" Uh-- like, I have to build them! I don't know you!     "They're very cute," Berislav agrees. "Do you like taking care of pets like these--" You're playbrick cuck!     Berislav coughs, then recoils as if Petra's words were some impossibly dense algebraic string growing more complex the longer he stares it down. He holds out a palm in the way that someone does when they're signaling they're alright, pinching the bridge of his nose with the other hand and shaking his head. Taking a steadying breath:     "Tell me about what we're up against. How many confirmed? Do you think there may be more than you've seen?"
Tamiel Luxis	"Fifty fifty, so ten split between six... Uh. Wh. Th-that's much?"     "Miss Odette..." The pained expression coming over Tamiel's face says enough, but Odette coming to the same conclusion at the end makes her relax...Somewhat. But the thought of them taking half for themselves still is enough to drive Tamiel to protest. "It's not FOR us...The Blade Lineage and the Yurodiviye need all the help they can get. Especially now, with District 12 dark..."     "And then there's the probable EGO, so...."     "You keep saying 'EGO.' Is it some kind of weapon...?" Without inside context on L Corp and the Library, there wasn't much of a knowledge base for Tamiel to draw on. "Whatever it is, sounds like you respect it..."     "Oh--! *That's* where I know you from! You're Playbrick cuck!"     Tamiel staggered backward, as if hit by a physical blow, her halo springing up around her head, dragging strands of red hair up with, turning it instantly into a messy red mop. Her voice hitched up in timbre. "Why would you SAY that?! To people you want HELP from!?"     She felt her wings threatening to reassert themselves, and wrapped her jacket tight around herself, unwilling to lose yet more control. "How do you think that's OKAY?!"
Veronica	"It's nice to meet you, Miss Veronica! I'm Odette, an EMT with the Company."     "Hey, me too! I mean, I was gonna be a doctor before the blackouts hit. Now I'm, uh, too busy with this sorta stuff." A casual flex of her left hand; if it were still flesh and bone, it'd be like she were inspecting her fingernails. "Which Corp did you say you work for?"     >several billion ahn     Veronica's eyes get wider and wider as Petra keeps adding zeroes to the whiteboard. "Damn, you said you killed a guy for this money? That how much they pay assassins, or was he your dad? You don't look like some Nest kid doing an inheritance scam, but books and their covers and all that." She shrugs.     "And the P.E. boxes're probably worth more than money at this point, so it's hard to value that all."     Veronica nods knowingly. "There's a lotta people who need that P.E., stat. Count me on board."     "District 12 local? What town?"     "Yeah," says Veronica. She stops most of the way through another nod, narrows her eyes a millimeter, quickly scans around the room. If this were a scam, they'd not have put in so many crazy details. Off-world terrorists? *Billions* of ahn at stake? You can't make this stuff up. Finally deciding with a glance at Hibiki and Father Waters that this must be all on the level (or as on the level as a multiversal revolutionary org can be), she continues. "Firefly Dam."     Veronica rolls her eyes at the name 'Blood Diadem'. At the back of her mind, though, she dips a toe into the pool that is the city's psychic background radiation. When a syndicate picks a name like Blood Diadem it's because they want a reputation - and that means people talk. But what are people saying, and how widely is that reputation known?     "And then there's the probable EGO, so...."     "Wuzzat?" Veronica cuts in. "This EGO stuff, you said it like it's an abbreviation. That some new kind of augment on the market?"     The District is being left to rot.     Veronica winces eeeever so slightly at that, but she knows it's true. Just doesn't feel good to hear it aloud.
Angela	''Just sort of looks at him.'' "...My name's Chance..." He mumbles. "He named himself that." Gamble says. "You named YOURSELF Gamble! So it's fine!" Sonya raises an eyebrow at Tamiel. He clearly didn't expect a Watch rep to also ask for anonymity. He rubs at his neck and says, "Aha...I wasn't trying to strongarm like that. But I do appreciate it." He stalls briefly at playbrick cuck, giving Tamiel a wide-eyed look that suggests 'How exactly did you get THAT nickname?' This is a guy with remarkable self control and an ability to show on his face what he wants other people to see, but the multiverse is just too weird for him and he's doing his best to adapt. ''... The people don't know everything *you're* up to, do they?'' "Well... No... I guess I was only gonna tell the other Yurodiviye about this... But I can't have journ-a-listic in-teg-ri-ty if I don't ask pushy questions!" Chance says, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his finger in an incredibly shonen way. Gamble looks like she might steal the ratbot--but she doesn't when Petra hugs the ratbot close. Not just because she can't, but also because she doesn't really want to deprive Petra of a PRECIOUS ratbot. Too much. "I'm Gamble... I like your eyes. I can shine shoes if you want I brought my rag and polish..." ''Well. I'm Petra.'' Saya wouldn't say she's better put-together than the average Watchman but she might just have an idealized vision of them and a less than ideal vision of herself. She dips her head as she considers Petra's words. She's from a group that prizes patient reflection on the words and deeds of others rather than swift and careless action, making Kim's sudden and swift action that got him banished from S Corp ultimately notable. "Nice to meet you, Petra. I'm Saya." She is about to say 'well all this makes sense'. And frankly she thinks Petra murdering a CEO is better than Kim's method of warning a CEO to watch his back forever because he'll come for it and all of S Corp one day. She really feels that murdering THAT guy would've helped the cause tremendously. The Blade Lineage's alliance with the Watch is so far preventing this disquiet from festering within their ranks--if only just. ''Having something that I think might be an EGO.'' "What..." Saya begins. "...Is an EGO..? I assume you don't mean..." Sonya is silent. He didn't ask what an EGO was at all but his smile fades away into a deep frown. "If it is something that could imperil you, it is something that could imperil us." Saya adds. ''Berislav introduces the gang'' Sonya bobs his head at the introduction. This sort of scheme sounds too good to be true, of course, but Sonya's instinct says... 'Yeah, they're always sounding too good to be true. That's normal and a sign he should sign on this deal, if cautiously.'. ''Do you like taking care of pets like these--'' "Well it's nice to have--" GAmble begins when Tamiel shouts at Petra. Sonya's head snaps to Tamiel. He is running the calculations on dragging Tamiel out of here bodily versus letting her risk the deal by mouthing off to someone whom he doesn't know how she'll take it, but he cuts it off once he realizes it'll take a bit. "Mm... you've got it a bit wrong, Tamiel. She wants our help in the sense that we'll make it easier for her but she's also doing us a favor by cutting us in. It isn't something that we'd exactly have her be indebted to us for."
Petra Soroka	"Fifty fifty, so ten split between six... Uh. Wh. Th-that's much?"     "That's much," Petra sagely agrees. Really, Odette's panic kind of confuses her, though-- she figured the default assumption would be using the money to invest into whatever buildings or infrastructure the Watch had set up in the District, which makes that amount of money go less far, but sometimes Petra forgets that people want money for themselves. *She's* not planning on keeping the money for herself, after all. And, maybe relatedly, she's a couple months into a save file playing a little multiplayer town-building game with Nika and is feeling severely alienated from the idea of personal desire. It usually goes badly for her to want things! "Well.. I-if we go loud, would that draw too much of the wrong kind of attention?"     "It's kind of already a gang war, between every gang everywhere," Petra points out. "And also, I don't really care about that. It's not really my job to worry about it. These guys have probably already pissed off everyone in a multi-mile radius, so if anything, we might-- you might earn more *friends* by kicking them out."     Berislav's addition to that gets a nod from Petra, though she also has an extra comment on it. "The Reserve's actually *in* the Nest. But, like, it's in the half of the Nest that you can't tell used to be a Nest, so I don't think that's really a tactical concern. *Maybe* it means some of the guys involved in the gang were former L-Corp cops, but that barely makes a difference. I could give you a list of the standard issue gear they had, if you really care." "Would you like Odette or myself to take a look at some of those injuries while we're here?"     Petra looks at Berislav uncomprehendingly for a moment, forgetting that she's injured, and then her hand goes to a spot on her side automatically. "... Nah. I mean, I'm fine, and if I wasn't, there's... other people." "You keep saying 'EGO.' Is it some kind of weapon...?" "This EGO stuff, you said it like it's an abbreviation."     "Well-- yes, but-- technically an abbreviation, but it's bullshit. Extermination of Geometric Origin. You can just think of it as a really effective weapon, probably fucked-up looking somehow." Petra adds her next note to the whiteboard: writing out the abbreviation for EGO. This goes up besides two numbers and a big letter L.     "Watch out for them as if they'd kill you instantly if they touch. I might be able to identify what it's capable of if I see it, but some of them attack your mind, your spirit, whatever, so it's hard to defend against them if you're not prepared. "That how much they pay assassins, or was he your dad?"     Petra, who sometimes slips up and calls Carmen 'mom', says without hesitation, "No." Then she reconsiders. "Well, he was my sister's dad. But I killed him because I hated him and he deserved to die, and I kind of forgot about the money until those assholes had already slid in." "Firefly Dam."     Petra's lived in District 12 for almost two years now: she knows the geography! Not that she knows every town in the Backstreets, but enough to know some general traits to assume about this one. It's also kind of just nice to have a physical location ingrained enough in her lore and identity that people from nearby that location could consider her as a 'local' in some meaningful sense to have solidarity, and so Petra extends social feelers back in Veronica's direction as a gesture of positive intentions. "Right. I used to have a place in the Nest."
Petra Soroka	> 'Blood Diadem'     The flow of information out of Syndicates in the Nest is slightly lower than ones in the Backstreets, but this one is not particularly subtle about the way they do things. In fact, it's part of their schtick-- these guys have fucking *banners*. Their goal is infused with, primarily, pride, opportunistic bloodthirst, and resentment, considering the fall of the District to be the collapse of 'civilization', and thus something they can rebuild in the gap with themselves on top. When Petra described it as a castle, she was being pretty literal. They're trying to establish a *fiefdom*. "How do you think that's OKAY?!"     Tamiel's outburst makes Petra immediately bust out laughing, which redoubles when Tamiel's voice cracks. She presses the back of her hand to her mouth to try and force the giggling to stop and fails, gasping for breath while wiping tears from her eyes. She holds onto the side of the whiteboard to keep herself upright, continually wracked by giggles.     "Ahahahaha, oh my god. Y-you're so... I'm so fucking funny. I was literally just-- just saying I *remembered* you, ahaha. It's kind of an honor that I did, if you think about it. It doesn't happen often." She breeaaaathes in carefully, trying not to lose it again. "Anyways. Toughen up, buttercup. You'll be alright." "But I can't have journ-a-listic in-teg-ri-ty if I don't ask pushy questions!"     Unfortunately, just a couple sentences after being vaguely alarmed by Chance and Gambles' vibes and energy, Petra has decided she likes Chance. She wipes her eyes with the heel of her hand, choking down more snickering, then nods and smirks at Chance. "Well, true. But that just means I matched your wits this time and you lost. So there." "I can shine shoes if you want I brought my rag and polish..."     PETRA SOROKA ... is currently wearing mud-stained boots that could not be polished with a thousand years of effort. "I really don't need you to do that."     "So, anyways," Petra, instead of using the whiteboard, has Twopence hover in front of it and extend a screen down out of his underbelly, to show a picture of the Bank of L Reserve. It's what used to be a very generic looking building, without even the faux-fancy pillars that would normally define a bank's facade, but now it's decorated with what can only be Blood Diadem's signature... aesthetic. Red and black banners, armed Syndicate members in front of the doors and on the roof above, weapons trained on a cluster of people who are getting talked to by a guy at a corporate-office-looking table dragged out front.     "This is 'em. I think the estimate's... a few dozen? I'd guess three to one, or so, with the people here. Maybe four to one. Probably three."
Gaonoir	''This is 'em. I think the estimate's... a few dozen? I'd guess three to one, or so, with the people here. Maybe four to one. Probably three.'' Gaonoir snorts softly at that. That's his kind of odds. "Some of us are trained to deal with multiple opponents at once. Though it will be a little tougher if some of them do have EGO." A shrug of his shoulders. That just keeps things interesting. Where's the excitement if there isn't some level of threat to oneself involved. Erika just nods a bit. She's thinking the same thing, though for different reasons. Like it being dangerous in some way means it's more likely to keep Gaonoir's full focus and motivation. She's also considering the ranged options her partner has, in case they do have to deal with any EGO weapons directly.
Angela	Saya's eyes glaze over a little at what the acronym stands for. "That does sound bullshit." She agrees with samurai wisdom. And it's that dangerous? ... "...Makes sense if it came from a Wing. Hahh... If they're filtering into the gang war, it's going to get a lot bloodier than it already is. ... Or end a lot faster. Depends where they end up." ''That just means I matched your wits this time and you lost. So there.'' Chance wrinkles his nose as if he's frustrated but he can't stop himself from grinning. Petra is kind of buying into his bullshit even while stopping Chance from getting the answers he wants, and really--for Chance--it's as much about his bullshit as it is about getting his answers. "...Fine...! You win this round... But you won't be so lucky next time...!" ''Mud-stained boots that could not be polished with a thousand years of effort.'' Gamble pouts a little. "...Okaaaayy..." She says with her mouth open wide, showing her missing tooth. "...They really look like they've been through a lot." Sonya frowns. "A few dozen... Even if they're not great fighters there's only so many members of the Lineage. Especially if they have some maner of elite with them using a super powerful weapon." Sonya looks to Saya. "What do you think?" "If they wish to harm us with an EGO they to strike us first, with Petra and our Outsider friends...It could be doable." She exhales a shuddering breath and turns her head away after a moment, taking a long look at Berislav--but says nothing.
Veronica	"Right. I used to have a place in the Nest."     "Mm. Your sister's dad must've been a real big shot. And a piece of work, sounds like, but if he's a big shot from a Nest those go hand in hand. I..." A brief trail-off as Veronica considers whether she wants to say she's glad someone's parent is dead. "It's good he's done causing you two trouble."     Not finding anything extraordinary among the echoed rumors about Blood Diadem, Veronica decides to keep quiet on what their deal is for the moment. When the ratbot projects an image of the bank, she can't help but 'ooh' at the showy tech, then nods in acknowledgement of what she sees. "That looks like the sorta fools who call themselves 'Blood Diadem', alright. Got folks on the roof, means they're not total amateurs. Not great news for us, but explains why you need us types in the first place."     "We don't have to take 'em on from the front. I dunno about the vault but Baker and Seventh can make an entrance into the building pretty much wherever." A glance around the room as Veronica remembers that not everyone knows what that name means. "Baker and Seventh's my... that Moses lady called it a Distortion? It's a... walking building that I'm in charge of. Yeah." She folds her arms like that is a) sufficient explanation and b) something to be exceptionally proud of.     Thinking a little more, Veronica continues. "Although, if these EGO things can go after stuff other than just the physical, I'd still have to be careful. Glad I asked."
Odette Raskins	"And it sounds like you're giving us the CHANCE--" "...My name's Chance..." Once the gag is explained, Odette snorts and looks off to the side for a moment to compose herself. Apparently, even a delayed joke works on her. "But I can't have journ-a-listic in-teg-ri-ty if I don't ask pushy questions!" "J.. Just make sure not to reveal your sources too much, okay? Hard to stay anonymous and move the way we'll need to if too much gets out there." Odette cautions Chance with a light giggle, reaching up to tug the front of her cap down just a little bit. "Which Corp did you say you work for?" "Oh. Um. The Company!" Odette repeats with a quick nod, pausing for a moment longer before realizing that the Company's name might not actually be known out here even with her wearing their stuff so often. "It's.. Um. Outside the City entirely, if that helps...?  It's The corporation where I'm from, so they just.. Um. Call themselves that, I guess." A beat, and then Odette purses her lips slightly. "Kind of...  Pretentious, huh?" "Miss Odette..." The look Tamiel gives Odette stabs her right in the heart, and the EMT slumps in place a bit while grasping at Tamiel's arms weakly. "Aaah... I'm sorry, Miss Tamiel! I-I know, but even if we gave half of our half to the people in the City along with all those boxes..." She whines, struggling with her general desire to be a do-gooder and her other desire to actually be able to buy things. "That'd be half of my training and tuition all at once..." "You're Playbrick cuck!" Odette looks at Berislav when he coughs, then at Tamiel when she actually recoils from being called that. She flinches briefly at Tmaiel's halo and hair going wild, staring in abject confusion and concern before hurrying over to pat Tamiel's wings like she's trying to soothe a cat or something. "M.. Miss Tamiel? What does that mean? D-do you need a minute, or a... Something to drink?" Odette takes a can of room temperature energy drink out of her bag and hesitates for a moment before offering it to her anxiously. "But understand that I'll be bringing the tools necessary to lay siege to this 'castle' they've made." "The District is being left to rot, so it's not likely there will be an *official* response unless it threatens a Nest, which is..." "These guys have probably already pissed off everyone in a multi-mile radius, so if anything, we might-- you might earn more *friends* by kicking them out." "That makes things a little easier, then... I-if we don't have to worry about any bigger responses, we can afford to..." Odette's expression turns a little more distant at that point, and her hands squeeze against the outside of her bag as she tries to fight off some of that discomfort she's feeling. "This could be a.. A good chance to show people how to be better, yeah. We dig out the rot so there can't be more... Um. To discourage more of those gardens of sin from taking root somewhere else, right?" She looks towards Berislav hopefully, like she's looking for confirmation there. "And instead, we'll replace that.. Um. That kind of behavior by making people look towards us as role models! O-or something." "... Nah. I mean, I'm fine, and if I wasn't, there's... other people." "Are you sure? I mean..." Odette looks over at Berislav as well, then back at Petra with a light chuckle. "We're already here, you know? Not like I'm using my hands for anything else besides..." She suddenly feels self-conscious about moving her hands at all to emphasize anything. Instead, she keeps them fixed right on the bag, ready to pull bandages and the like out to start treating those wounds.
Odette Raskins	Twopence presentation Odette narrows her eyes at the presentation, and she lets out a troubled noise before long. "Wait, does this mean they've got hostages, too? That... That could make things harder, especially if they've got the numbers advantage. Even though we're going loud, we'd need to get the drop on them to whittle that down, and..." She bites her lip as an idea starts to form in her head. "How.. Um. How long ago was this from? If those people they're aiming at are still alive in there, maybe... S-some of us could get in as a medical team? And... Surprise them from inside while everyone else comes in from the front?"
Hibiki Tachibana	...so Hibiki especially can detect the wince of guilt and air of exhaustion hanging around Petra, despite the little movie-perfect heist planning setup she's arranged. She might even be able to intuit that this sort of stage preparation is exactly something Petra does when she's particularly stressed, which means something's happened even after the war.     Rather familiar with Petra's mannerisms by this point, on top of the first-hand experiences with her stress behaviors both recent and not so recent, no real surprise there's a grimace on her face. For her to be this on edge even right now... it probably goes deeper than she has knowledge of right now, limited to listening in on scattered radio chatter as she does.     Likewise, Petra likely can recognize the way the corner of her mouth curls down and how she finds a corner of the warehouse more interesting than eye contact as a sign she has something on her mind she's turning over and over. What comes out however is still mission focused for the moment, "'Blood Diadem'...? That sort've name makes them sound more like a cult than a street gang..." Which 'pride, bloodthirsty, and resentment' and making a castle sort of isn't off the mark of.     Scratching the side of her cheek, Hibiki turns her head, although it's to look over the numbers on the whiteboard. She stares. She processes them.     Yep, she has no actual fine mental image of how much ahn that is, other than the fact that 'a billion' is 'a lot'. If you peered inside her head, it'd likely be on the same tier as how much money she assumed Gilgamesh owns, which was also 'a lot'. As far as she's concerned, it only matters for one thing. "...A lot of energy, and a lot of money. Yeah. We can figure out things to do with all of that."     Beat. "...Berislav can figure out things to do with all of that, and I'll help where I can."     Glossing right over 'playbrick cuck' with all the grace of one who has no idea what those words even mean, Hibiki laser focuses in on the fact that a working plan is being put in order now, lightly punching a hand into her palm. "So we're going loud, and we're going to need a vehicle anyway... then just like in the movies, the best thing to do would be to crash right through the front door and take them out before they know what's hit them. I bet a bus would work great."     What movies does she watch to say all of that with utmost seriousness, exactly? "Three to one odds is fine by me, too--" She starts with the same energy, then stops with all the gravity of someone who has to forcibly slow their roll, frowning. "...R-Right, though I still shouldn't push it too hard... and if they have EGO, better safe than sorry..." She mumbles almost dejectedly with glancing aside again.
Tamiel Luxis	Petra's bursting into outright laughter certainly doesn't HELP Tamiel's attitude, her hands clenching to fists at her side. It's Sonya's voice, more than anything, that helps temper her reaction. "Doesn't feel like an honor," she says, halfway through her teeth. She busies herself with plucking her hair free from her propped-up halo, snatching the energy drink from Odette's hand, mostly to just give her something else to busy herself with.     "That'd be half of my training and tuition all at once..."     Tamiel flinches, reminded that other people working alongside her do need things and direly need them. "Well...That does help the Watch's work...Maybe something..." She trailed off, without any actual power to make such promises herself.     She becomes very interested in the twopence presentation. "Guess it depends, they might be captives, or just...visitors." She pursed her lips. "People being shaken down for a protection racket, like some other Syndicates try." She does NOT look at Veronica. "...But if they're captives, I can probably get to them."     "Whether there are or not, when the way's clear, I've never found a vault that can keep me out for long." A rare show of confidence, from a cripplingly self-effacing angel.     "So we're going loud, and we're going to need a vehicle anyway... then just like in the movies, the best thing to do would be to crash right through the front door and take them out before they know what's hit them."     "Um..." She started, buying time to find a way to phrase her thoughts that wouldn't sound like an insult. "Unless you know some really strong buses, I think most would be just be broken ramming through. I wouldn't count on it holding together, you know...?"     "Veronica said she could crash through if we needed her...But maybe the front door isn't the place?"
Father Berislav	...Berislav can figure out things to do with all of that, and I'll help where I can.     "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Hibiki. Developing a head for these sorts of things takes practice, and if you're interested in learning, I'll gladly show you what I've learned over the years. The most important part," he says, with a gentle sweep of his palm towards the City residents in attendance, "Is taking counsel from the people *in* the place you're helping, and taking them at their word when they tell you what's wrong." I could give you a list of the standard issue gear they had, if you really care.     "It would help. We're all working on different levels and types of resilience, experience and ability. Thank you," he adds, with a gracious nod. Watch out for them as if they'd kill you instantly if they touch.     "I see. Well, if they're as visually distinctive as these Distortions have been, it should be easy to spot them, at least. If any of you are particularly hard to kill, or to mentally influence, now would be the time to speak up so we can have an idea of how to breach." I'd guess three to one, or so, with the people here. Maybe four to one. Probably three. Some of us are trained to deal with multiple opponents at once. If they wish to harm us with an EGO they have to strike us first, with Petra and our Outsider friends...It could be doable.     "Not the worst odds we've faced, I agree," Berislav says, returning his hands to a clasped position before him. "And Saya is skilled even by the standards of the Lineage."     "Do you have any information on the interior, Petra? It's highly likely those ridiculous banners are only the tip of the iceberg, but I doubt they would have had time to radically alter the floor plan." We don't have to take 'em on from the front.     "That's also a consideration," he says. "I carry explosives on me that could do the same. Even with just two points of entry, we could thin them out into more manageable groups." To discourage more of those gardens of sin from taking root somewhere else, right?     "That's right," smiles Berislav, putting a reassuring hand on Odette's soldier. "Which is why I'm glad to have people *from* the City working here alongside us," he says, nodding towards the present Yurodiviye, Veronica, and Saya. "We're not here to be some kind of untouchable folk legends, but to help them build the conditions for their own emancipation. Having people that they can see themselves in, doing that with us, is invaluable."
Petra Soroka	"...Makes sense if it came from a Wing."     "Mhm." Frankly, Petra isn't too worried about the general political landscape of EGO making its way out into the City, though Saya's analysis of it is entirely correct by Petra's standards. It's something she *should* be concerned with, probably, but if Petra starts trying to really analyze all the stress factors in her life right now and plan for every little political maneuverin she needs to be aware of, she would get distracted thinking about Audrey and then decide that actually none of those things matter because she is going to imminently kill herself. So she doesn't think about it. "A few dozen... Even if they're not great fighters there's only so many members of the Lineage."     "Yeah. There's some mitigating factors, though."     Rather than writing them on the whiteboard, Petra holds up her fingers and counts those factors on them. "Probably, they're not all going to be there at once. I'm not even sure if half would be, if we make sure to strike at a time where they're busy. Second, uh," Petra tries to figure out a delicate way to phrase this and fails. "I'm pretty good at killing people. And I'll be in there with you; I gotta get my access codes in there. Lastly, EGO varies a ton in how threatening it is, and I'll be able to identify it once I see it." "...They really look like they've been through a lot."     "You don't need to look at my feet," Petra tells Gamble, insistently. "I've got a whole presentation going on." "It's good he's done causing you two trouble."     "Well, he didn't really get a choice in it." On account of being murdered. Honestly, no one *ever* tells Petra that they're glad someone's parent is dead. Everyone is so mean to her! She works hard, you know?? "Not like I'm using my hands for anything else besides..."     "Okay, like, I said. I'm fine." Petra sours a little bit at having to repeat herself, leveling her eyes at Odette with an intensity to make her squirm, especially when she's already hyperaware of her own motions. "Do you need me to say it again? I'll heal when I heal. If you do it wrong, it might not even stick with me, anyways." "We don't have to take 'em on from the front. I dunno about the vault but Baker and Seventh can make an entrance into the building pretty much wherever."     "Oh-- a Distortion? You?"     Petra evidently recognizes the term, but she's taken aback by Veronica's self-identification with it. She looks her up and down, glances at Berislav, and then drops her eyes to Veronica's arm again. "Well, you turned out pretty healthy for one. What'd she say?"     "Anyways--" After letting that hang for a few seconds, Petra moves on to addressing Hibiki's incredible perfect plan. "Crashing right through the wall is kind of the loudest of loud ways, and I don't necessarily disagree with it. A bus is like-- Hibiki, are you familiar with, like, vehicles? Like the types of them that there are? A bus is really good at carrying forty to sixty small children, but not really good at driving through walls, getting stuffed full of P.E. boxes, and then driving away. I'm thinking, like, maybe, a truck?"     "Or Veronica's thing, or the Isaiah. Honestly I could do it too-- we're not really lacking 'large things to smack into a wall'. Though if we're not doing it from the front, then I should mention that--" Petra, finally, uses the whiteboard to draw two rectangles. One represents the bank, and one represents some other unlabeled building that is close behind the bank. "If you need a lot of momentum, there might only be navigating room from the front. Or from above, but I wouldn't recommend that, since it might draw eyes from the Beholders even."
Petra Soroka	"Wait, does this mean they've got hostages, too?"     "That's... a good point, and I'm not sure." Petra flicks Twopence's screen back to the picture in front of the bank with the crowd-- it's taken by someone who's behind the crowd, but probably isn't Petra, or a ratbot. "This was about a week ago. I don't know if any went in or out; I think this was some sort of... protection racket thing, yeah. 'Establishing territory', or getting people in the area to work for them, or... something. I can try to confirm whether they've got innocent people in there before day-of, but, like, no promises." "...R-Right, though I still shouldn't push it too hard..."     Petra's lips twist into a frown, and she folds her arms while looking Hibiki over for a second. After a bit, she breaks her gaze, rolling her head a bit dramatically to 'dismiss' the probing stare, because she sooooo doesn't care at all and she's so cool and disconnected.     "Don't do anything on an operation I'm planning that would make Miku angry at me." "Doesn't feel like an honor,"     Petra, who has only had the multiverse's best influences in the past several years, closes her eyes and scoffs. "Pity. You'd have a lot more fun being amazed than being sweaty." "Well, if they're as visually distinctive as these Distortions have been,"     "Maybe a bit less than that. Though--" Her eyes go to Veronica's arm again. "I guess there's a range. They'll look like 'weapons', at the very least, except for a few weird cases. For what it's worth, I can take down anyone who's using a borrowed EGO as long as I can get to them, but the risk's in before I do." "Do you have any information on the interior, Petra?"     "Naw. It'd be great if I did, though." Petra sighs, then goes to the whiteboard again and rubs away the two rectangles, adding in their place one big rectangle.     "Unfortunately I didn't really think to look for floor plans until the apocalypse already happened, and then everyone was like 'sorry! that got destroyed in the apocalypse!'. I know it's three floors, at least, and they extend down, not up, so no jumping out of windows with big bags of money in our arms, or whatever. That many P.E. boxes take up a lot of floor space, so my bet is that it's front-facing stuff first floor, offices the next one down-- probably the computers I need to get the liquid ahn too-- and then the last one's all dedicated to the Reserves vault. That's just a guess, though, and no clue what those idiots have done with it. You can see from outside that there's at least two sets of stairs down too, so that could be a point for splitting."
Angela	Chance bobs his head at Odette. He probably won't reveal his sources, but he is also an actual child. Albeit, a child whom Sonya seems to trust to come to places like this so he must have some resilience to just blabbing everything he hears to everyone who hears it. ''You don't need to look at my feet.'' "I'm not," Gamble says logically. "I'm looking at your shoes." But she does, at least, stop looking at them. She honestly, despite saying so, can barely stand to look at them. She takes some proud in her work it's all she's got, she certainly doesn't have MONEY. ''What's she say?'' Sonya taps his left cheek thoughtfully. A lot of terms have been thrown around, a lot of ominous statements, but he isn't commenting on them which is, in of itself, unusual. "Father, after this mission, I might need to step away for a bit. But I'll get this done for you. I'll make sure Jack sticks around to lend a hand-- "We don't want to go back to--" Chance begins. "Well, if you promise to listen to whatever the good Father says, I don't mind you sticking around in the Faded Print. It is a safe place, but you'd have to remain there unless he needs your help." Sonya points out before he looks back to Petra. "I'll instruct everyone to be careful. A new weapon in reckless hands can be more dangerous than a samurai's blade." "We'll see about that." Saya says.
Odette Raskins	Tamiel's continued irritation at Petra's laughter has Odette struggling to find a way to help ease her mind, and the best she can manage (aside from giving her that drink) is just sort of awkwardly patting her shoulder. "Come on... Sh-she probably didn't mean anything by... Um. Whatever that means...?" "We're not here to be some kind of untouchable folk legends, but to help them build the conditions for their own emancipation." "Being untouchable sure would be nice, but... A little impossible." Odette admits with a light chuckle, grinning more brightly at the patting. "But.. Being able to leave and know they can take care of themselves without... Um. Without us getting involved as much would be great, too. I-it'd be a step in the right direction for... Everyone? Everyone." "Okay, like, I said. I'm fine." The staring definitely gets the expected flinching and fidgeting reaction out of Odette, and she relents by keeping her hands firmly at her sides instead of anywhere near the opening of her bag. "N-no, that's. Um. Sorry! If.. Okay." She swallows and nods quickly, somehow looking guilty at the same time for making Petra repeat herself. There's still too much of a difference in her own abilities and the supernatural healers she's worked with to even think about doing anything about that now. She glances at her bag once, then sighs softly. "I'll.. Make sure I can get it right whenever I ever have to." ENTRY PLANS "Going from the.. Um. Front is probably better than the top, then. If something goes wrong, we can always... Jump out from the sides? If we're coming from above, then we'd have to deal with gravity and landing and..." Odette remembers all those long falls she's had to go through, and she shivers uncomfortably. "... Front's better. What if we got a truck and a bus? Like..." She points at the white board with both hands, one making a circle shape and the other making a longer shape. "Truck to.. Um. Hit the walls first, a-and then the bus to get out with all the stuff?" She pauses for another moment, then frowns afterwards. "Oh, but leaving the truck sounds expensive... And if there really are hostages, we'd risk hurting them if we just smash right through. The P.E. boxes... If they take up a lot of space, they might even be all over the place. And if that's the case..." Odette scratches the back of her head, looking a little more troubled than before. Overall, moderate trouble levels! "Would it be a problem if they got hit by the truck on the way in? Like.. I-if they can power so much, then I'd be worried about them blowing up or something..."
Veronica	"Well, you turned out pretty healthy for one. "Thanks, I work ou--" What'd she say?"     Veronica stops dead, letting her barely-unfinished brag fall away. "How-" 'How do you know about her,' Veronica wants to say. 'Do you know the woman who saved my life, my town?' But she doesn't say it. "Maybe later," she says instead, half to Petra and half to herself. This is getting *really* strange.     "I can take down anyone who's using a borrowed EGO as long as I can get to them, but the risk's in before I do."     "You have some sort of anti-EGO weapon, or something? You sound pretty confident that they're not a threat to you specifically."     Veronica listens to Petra's best guesses about the bank's interior. "Three floors going *down*, huh. Baker and Seventh might have to be an outside tool, then. Unless I can make it smaller? I'll try to figure that out between now and then, otherwise it may just only be a way to get in. Unless there's a point after which the whole place can come down." Note to self: Baker and Seventh, but small? Investigate further. "Maybe I could draw some of them away from the building, Baker and Seventh can be big and REAL loud when I wanna."
Hibiki Tachibana	Thank you for the vote of confidence, Hibiki.     "Well, I said before that I do respect you a lot... especially for being able to put the work in on all the things I'm not good at." Even if not perfect, she gets along with better than someone like Liza solely because she /is/ very used to seeing his communal efforts slowly work their magic.     At the offer of being taught however, she rubs at the back of her neck. "I don't think I'd keep most of it in my head. ...But that much, I can do." She follows his sweeping gesture towards the City residents they're allied with, ending on Veronica. It feels evident when he says it out loud and plain like that., but it's still advice that's important to always keep in mind...     Unless you know some really strong buses, I think most would be just be broken ramming through.     "Ah..." She pauses a moment.     A bus is like-- Hibiki, are you familiar with, like, vehicles?     "...Well..." She scratches at the side of her cheek. Again.     A bus is really good at carrying forty to sixty small children, but not really good at driving through walls, getting stuffed full of P.E. boxes, and then driving away.     "...Alright, no bus then," she says, perhaps now trying to downplay how strong her mind's eye image of a very lengthy motor vehicle smashing through a wall is, furrowing her brow with a wavy-mouthed frown. "Yeah, Baker and Seventh or the Isaiah or a lot of other options would be better for that... or a truck, since we need to carry cargo, yeah..."     Under her breath, "It works in the movies just fine though...?"     Catching up mentally on a slight delay, she doubles back to the 'mitigating factors' deal, and her expression grows a little more mixed as she quietly intones, "...Not going to get through this one with no casualties, huh. Too many people, hopefully no hostages... and especially if they have EGO we don't know about..." Hard to tell if she has their end in mind, or Blood Diadem's. Knowing her, probably both.     Don't do anything on an operation I'm planning that would make Miku angry at me.     "...Ah. I won't," Hibiki says automatically, in her usual way, before catching herself and closing her eyes with a sigh. "...It's not like I want to worry her, either. I'm practically forcing myself to watch it a lot more..." After a second, figuring there'll be no more natural segue to get out what she's been dancing around, she just sort of (tries to) casually add on, "Actually, I was thinking maybe after this is over, we could... eat out somewhere or something. Not really a celebratory thing, just-- hanging and chatting. A lot's happened."     This is the smoothest request to check in and talk with a friend who's going through it of all time. She didn't even clarify if she meant Miku being there or not either. Absolute disaster girl. Equally smoothly and a little too quickly, "But-- job first. You know me. I'll get us-- /help/ get us to where we need to get down there."
Father Berislav	"Momentum for a breach won't be a problem in my case, but I'd prefer to be absolutely certain of any presence of hostages or otherwise unrelated people first. I can have the area watched as well--I'll coordinate with you and we'll cover as many angles as possible." Father, after this mission, I might need to step away for a bit.      "I know you have your reservations about the militant side of our work," says Berislav, turning fully to face him. "And that you have people you're trying to protect. That you're here today means a lot to me, but please don't feel obligated to push yourself. I hope I'll see you at the Print again after the heat from this operation fades."     For Chance. "There are plenty of things around the Print that I could use your help with," he says. "So don't worry if there are times when it'll be safer for you to stay there. You can stay, as long as you understand that sneaking out like you did today is a thing of the past. Okay?"
Petra Soroka	"... Front's better. What if we got a truck and a bus?"     "Huh? I feel like listening to Hibiki too much made you stupid. Why do we need a bus? What point does the bus serve?" Petra gestures at Berislav and Veronica, annoyed.     "We have a thousand ways to break down a wall. I could do it myself with the Beauty of Ash and not even need to bother with piloting there. We have *bombs*. Are you stupid? This is the sort of thing that makes people not treat the Watch seriously. And also--" Petra whirls on Tamiel too, just catching strays because she's close enough to Odette to be included in her weird scolding tangent. "And also because you can't finish sentences to save your life! I clocked you two as Watch *instantly* because you keep trailing off all the time and mumbling like a bunch of middle schoolers getting scared of a public speaking assignment! Try to speak up! Seriously!"     This is coming from Petra, whose entire 'failure to enunciate speech' arc was contained within her time in the Watch. --For that matter, she never even *went* to middle school. It's impossible to tell why she's acting like their mom now. "Would it be a problem if they got hit by the truck on the way in?"     Grumpily, Petra shrugs. "Well, it'd be a problem if you buried a truck three stories underground, yeah. But also, that is a good point-- P.E. boxes aren't *super* volatile, but Lobcorp loves to cut corners. They won't explode, like, into fire, but the Enkephalin gas is pressurized and is *super* bad for you if it gets out. It's, like, hallucinogenic brain poison shit." "How-"     Honestly, Petra was kind of gambling on mentioning Carmen at all. It's still not a 'sure' thing that Carmen is involved in every distortion, or if the distorted even remember her, or if the Pianist was some kind of specific freak event-- but *that* reaction tells Petra a lot before even getting to a 'later' conversation. Petra's eyes flick over Veronica's expression to make sure she really studies it, and then she looks away. She mumbles something inaudible to herself, which is a habit that she got into over the course of ten thousand years of conversations between Angela and Carmen."Baker and Seventh might have to be an outside tool, then."     "I dunno how big you're talking, and I dunno how big the floors are-- I'd guess a little bigger than average, height-wise, because banks. But I couldn't say for sure. Actually-- I don't even know what Baker and Seventh *is*. Like it's straight up a building?" "Actually, I was thinking maybe after this is over, we could... eat out somewhere or something."     Petra is about to let this pass without comment, assuming that Hibiki is just wondering aloud about her date plans with Miku for some reason. Several seconds later, she belatedly furrows her eyebrows and points to herself. "Wait-- wait, you mean me? We?"     At first, Petra is kind of taken aback by Hibiki Tachibana wanting to talk with her in a neutral-friendly capacity, not just after the war, but after... everything else, too. Then, a different kind of cold dread seeps in, rolling down Petra's spine and coalesescing in tense strings around her chest, forcing her eyes to look down and away in what kind of seems like 'guilt' at an abstract nothing.     Without any justification, Petra herself suggests, "Sure, alright. I can find time. Mind if Miku comes along, too?" ". . . but I'd prefer to be absolutely certain of any presence of hostages or otherwise unrelated people first."     "I mean, I can try, but that does sound like more of a Watch thing to solve than a me thing. It's not really what I'm specialized in."
Hibiki Tachibana	Several seconds later, she belatedly furrows her eyebrows and points to herself. "Wait-- wait, you mean me? We?"     Hibiki nods, expression a little hard to right but maybe slightly apprehensive as to the answer. It is rather out of left field for she, Hibiki Tachibana, to actively ask Petra Soroka to do anything. Even after their relationship upgrade to sort-of-kind-of-friends-again and perhaps double as much after... everything else.     Seeing that telltale sign of guilt, she's not sure what to think. Until...     Sure, alright. I can find time. Mind if Miku comes along, too?     There's a sigh of relief(?) that she doesn't know she was holding, and when she looks back to Petra, there's... not quite a smile, but maybe the beginnings of one, and she looks like there might be some weight eased off her shoulders.     "...I think she'd be happy to, actually."