Back once more! This chapter is the biggest of the story so far! It clocks in at exactly 9101 words! I feel like it's worth mentioning that the average chapter word count for CTM is higher than the one for HTS. HTS had an average of 5315 words per chapter, while CTM, at the posting of this chapter, anyway, has an average of 6036 words per chapter! Yay for improvement!
Note: if you guys want to know what my internal soundtrack was while writing this chapter, I would recommend listening to 'Death by Glamour at 0.666 speed' on youtube. I found it on Tumblr and for some reason, I thought it was good heist music ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (It isn't but whatever)
RECAP:
- The girl pursuing Lovino and Feliciano is Inkar Akhmetov, a girl belonging to the family that was formerly Relusian royalty. She has intangibility, and the ability to control air.
- The planning for the heist at Xi Lan Ey went underway, and boy is it complicated (if you've forgotten pls re-read the section, I'm too lazy to recap it.)
- Alfred gifted Arthur two antique-style guns for his birthday, which Arthur loved.
WARNINGS:
I don't know if this counts and it's a mild spoiler, but just to be certain, there is a brief scene in here where an underage character kisses a legal adult. It's both consensual and necessary (for reasons). The age gap is about 7 years. I don't know if this would trigger anyone, but I want to be sure.
In addition to that, one character experiences a mild anxiety attack related to a phobia, but it is resolved quickly.
QUICK REMINDER:
A1- Ayshe, A2- Leon, B1- Gilbert, B2- Mei, C1- Tino, C2- Lukas, D1- Arthur, D2- Alfred
One click (O) = Part of the mission accomplished
Two clicks (OO) = I'm in a bit of trouble
Three clicks (OOO) = I'm gonna GTFO, sayonara motherfuckers
Also: obscene levels of USUK. It's COMING.
Xi Lan Ey Intelligence Centre,
Outside Priiko City, Reycass,
8th Jaune
1748 HRS
Lukas fidgeted as he and Tino crouched in the shrubbery of the woods surrounding the Xi Lan Ey Intelligence Centre. The plant life was thicker than Lukas had anticipated it being, and couldn't help but fear that the rustling of the branches would attract attention. Objectively speaking, he knew that there were no guards that patrolled these woods, but the fear was an old and persistent one. That wasn't to say that he was keen to go inside the centre, but he certainly wouldn't mind being out of this noisy and scratchy foliage.
Tino turned to him, brow furrowed ever so slightly in concentration. "You got everything?" he murmured, voice only barely audible. Though he had already done a personal inventory check twice before, he immediately set to checking, if only to have something to occupy his restless fingers.
He had dressed in a Unionist-style uniform, an oppressive thing made of stiff grey fabric. The jacket was double-breasted and held shut with gold fabric buttons, accented by a straight collar buttoned shut on the side. The pants were more fitted and straight-cut, transitioning smoothly into lace-up, black leather boots that came about halfway up his shins. His hands were, for now, ensconced in formal black gloves, and his hair was concealed under a military cap. He had been getting used to having his hair be it's natural colour on Nyma, but since displaying his ethnicity here would mean immediate discovery and capture, he had dyed it black and combed it neatly to sit under his stiff grey cap. Tino, given how infamous he had become, had also had to disguise his appearance a little. His normally bright blond hair was light brown for the time being, and a pair of useless glasses sat on the end of his nose. He was dressed in the same thing as Lukas.
He forced his attention back to himself. He was wearing a large, loose fabric coat over his uniform, hoping to not get it dirty or ruined by climbing up the side of the building. Underneath the grey uniform jacket, he wore a simple black singlet, and had a small knife strapped to his upper right arm, just in case.
In terms of weaponry, he was well-stocked. Lukas had a small, full waterskin strapped around his waist; due to the style of the uniform jackets, which flared out a little at the bottom, it was almost too easy to hide. Ayshe had warned that using his Vesi should only occur in an absolute emergency. Lukas prayed that he didn't need to use the water. He had a pair of sharp knives up each sleeve, strapped to his forearms, and also had a pair of brass knuckles concealed near his wrist. A backup disk drive was concealed in his shoe, as was an array of tools like a skeleton key, all-purpose key-card and a drive that could upload viruses to force doors open. He had a small flask of water hidden inside his uniform jacket, in addition to a small handgun with some spare ammo.
Lukas sucked in a breath. He was already sweating with nerves, and the operation hadn't even started yet. He felt a pressure on his arm, and turned to see Tino smiling comfortingly at him.
"Stay calm," he murmured, "we begin soon." Lukas nodded, fixing his gaze at the thin, flat strip of concrete that he and Tino would need to scale in less than 20 minutes. It was thick with vines and ivy, but Ayshe had provided them both with devices that would temporarily fuse with the brick to help them climb. It was stashed in the pocket of the fabric overcoat that Lukas wore over his uniform, as were some grippy climbing gloves and a small pair of climbing picks.
Lukas shivered as he checked the time on the small device locked around his wrist. 1756. They were set to begin soon. He glanced ahead of them, where the silvery colour of Gilbert's hair was only just visible in the thick darkness that filled the space around them. For the first time, Lukas blessed Reycass' early sunsets. If they had been in Lukas' birthplace of Oslaholm during the summer, night would have fallen only for a few hours each night. Lukas brushed his fingers over the water pouch strapped to his waist, feeling the slight movement that travelled through the liquid with every small way he adjusted his position.
Fixing his gaze on the white brick exterior of the centre, he took a deep breath and prepared himself. His signaller vibrated slightly. He looked down. 1800 hours.
And so it begins.
1800 HRS
Ayshe nodded at her wrist as she checked the time, beckoning to Leon as she cautiously straightened up from where she had been hunched in the foliage and crept forwards. She could hear the slight shuffling of young Leon behind her as they moved cautiously through the woods. They had camped far closer to the centre than all of the others had, since they had to set the schedule right for the mission to go smoothly. People underestimated the power and structure of having a basic timeline to go by. If all went well, they should all meet up at the blind spot on the north-eastern side by 2000 hours at the absolute latest. All of her subordinates understood that, should they not be present at the blind spot by that time, they would be left behind.
It was vicious treatment, but necessary. The mission was of vital importance – they couldn't afford to lose the information they would pry from this facility. Ayshe reached behind her slowly to grab Leon and make him be still as she gazed up at the wall. Security cameras were dotted around the walls at random intervals, and she quickly memorised their positions as she and Leon crept as close to the tree line as they dared. They waited in silence. The movement patterns of these cameras was one of the few pieces of solid information that they had about the intricacies of Xi Lan Ey, so she knew roughly how much time they would have to reach the side. Arthur and Alfred would have far more trouble than they would.
Of the two cameras that they were in range of, one swivelled to the side, pointing away from them. Ayshe waited, breathless, as the other slowly began to move in the opposite direction as well, even as the other slowly began to move back towards them.
"Now," she murmured, tugging Leon behind her as they silently bolted to the wall, pressing themselves up against the stone, where the cameras wouldn't be able to see them. They stood, motionless, for a moment as their hearts pounded, before Ayshe slid her hand into her pocket and withdrew the small skeleton key from her pocket. The name was somewhat deceiving, given that the device wasn't a key at all. It was a small, silvery cube, with one side dominated by a dark screen which analysed the shape of the keyhole, and the silver, ridged end opposite that, which rearranged itself to the shape dictated by the screen.
She pressed the black screen up to the keyhole for about ten seconds, withdrawing it when she felt the cube heat up a little. The other side clicked and whirred, parts shifting and compressing to form a peculiarly-shaped key. She slid it into the lock and twisted it, relief surging through her as the door clicked and swung open. She pocketed the skeleton key and slipped inside, Leon right on her heels. Ayshe closed the door carefully, and relocked it via the small latch on this side. She quickly surveyed their surroundings. They had entered the facility via a small maintenance room, which seemed to be filled with old pieces of equipment, dud electronic drives, spare radio parts and fraying cords and wires. She and Leon quickly shucked the camouflage robes which had kept them from sticking out in the woods, and she quickly unlocked the door which led to the rest of the facility. Ayshe raised her wrist and examined the small face of her signaller. 1808. Not bad. She quickly clicked the button on the side, signalling that she and Leon were inside, before motioning for him to do the same and then beckoning to the Yanish boy to join her by the door.
1808 HRS
Gilbert shifted a little as he felt the device clasped to his wrist vibrate slightly, blinking down at it as he saw Mei do the same in his peripheral vision. The little signal records had changed a little;
A1: O
A2: O
Ayshe and Leon were inside. Sighing a little, he shuffled on his feet, glancing back a little to where he could see Lukas and Tino almost completely concealed by the branches. He started a little when Mei gently touched his arm, tapping her device. He glanced at the time. 1810. It was their turn. He slowly straightened up, Mei doing the same, as they wove between the branches and bushes to the side of the brick building. They had been lucky to be assigned the north-eastern side. The blind spot was the safest place for them in the whole facility, and Gilbert didn't exactly misunderstand why he and Mei had been assigned it.
Of everyone here, Gilbert had been part of the resistance for the least amount of time. It was only natural that Ayshe would have reservations about him that didn't extend to everyone else. Mei was the youngest of the group, and though she was certainly capable, she had the least practical experience. Their job was based far more about subtlety than it was high-stakes sneaking like everyone else was. Normally, Gilbert would have felt indignant about not being trusted with a more important task, but in this case, he didn't mind so much.
They darted from the tree-line to the brick wall, even though it was unnecessary, and Gilbert withdrew one of the skeleton keys that Ayshe had distributed to them all, double-checking the room on the condensed map he had stowed in his pocket, before pressing it to the side of a closed window high on the wall. Though these skeleton keys were normally used for locks, it was also possible to use them to pry windows open. He watched as the malleable side of the key shifted into a very thin, metallic panel, and he switched it around, sliding and jimmying the thin end into the place where the windowpane met the wall. A small click reached his ears, and Mei reached up, pressing her gloved hands to the glass and sliding the window soundlessly open, checking inside carefully to ensure that the room was deserted before they attempted to enter.
Gilbert nodded to himself, stowing the skeleton key away as he clasped his hands together and bent down a little, an invitation for Mei. She lightly stepped onto his hand and hoisted herself up into the windowsill and leant down again, holding out her hand. He reached up and grabbed her hand, bracing his feet on the wall and grabbing a small, outlying stone as she helped him scramble up and inside. He slid down to the ground inside, much less gracefully than she had done, and quickly closed the window behind them, though he didn't lock it. They would need to get out quickly and quietly once they had all completed their respective tasks. They both quickly clicked their signallers and settled down a little, waiting for the others.
Mei had pulled her own copy of the floorplans from her pocket and was studying it. Gilbert sighed a little and straightened his uniform. Since their friends were still to enter the building, they couldn't redirect power from the firewalls into the cameras until everyone else was inside. Gilbert leant his head back against the wall, and began to wait.
1815 HRS
Lukas looked down at his signaller as it vibrated again.
A1: O
A2: O
B1: O
B2: O
Gilbert and Mei had obviously succeeded in getting inside as well. He quickly pulled off the thick, formal gloves which he had been wearing and pulled on the climbing globes, also withdrawing his climbing picks and fuser and stowing them on his belt so he could reach them quickly. Tino did the same, as they silently watched the clock, waiting for it to tick over to 1820. They had to make a five-storey climb in less than ten minutes, and even though they were both very fit, it was unlikely to be easy.
Lukas drummed his fingers against his leg as he surveyed the wall they were about to climb, trying to note the areas where the vines were thinner, and what would be an easier climbing path. Tino cursed under his breath and stamped one foot on the ground twice. Lukas glanced at him curiously. The sniper shook his head a little.
"I am not looking forward to this." He muttered. Lukas smiled, ever so slightly.
"And you think I am?" he breathed back. Tino chuckled quietly, pulling his own gloves on and ensuring that his pockets were all firmly closed.
"Let's go." Lukas checked the time as they approached the wall. 1819. By the time they reached the wall, it would be time for them to start climbing. Lukas swallowed nervously glancing from side to side through the thick branches as the white brick building loomed before them. The building was about 22 metres tall, meaning that he and Tino would have to climb up about 2.2 metres or more every minute to get to the top in time for Arthur and Alfred to enter. He exchanged one last look with Tino, pulling his climbing picks from his belt as the clock ticked over to 1820.
Tino moved first, quickly burying his pick into the thick mass of vines on the outside of the building, checking that they held before he stepped up and began to clamber upwards. Lukas shifted a little further to the right, to give him more room, and did the same. He didn't enjoy the feeling of climbing up the vines; their surfaces were a little too smooth and slippery, and didn't stick to the side as much as Lukas would have liked. Nonetheless, though he dragged himself upwards. They had a schedule to stick to, and Lukas was determined for this mission to go well.
He glanced at his signaller as he hauled himself just past the bottom of the windowsills of the second floor. 1824. Panic flooded through his veins. There was no way that they were going to make it to the top before 1830. Flattening his panic, Lukas shoved his heavy limbs into gear, picking up the pace until he had drawn level with Tino, who obviously had a lot more experience with climbing than Lukas did.
"Lukas." Tino's voice was quiet, but just audible. "Safety is more important than haste, alright? You do not want to fall from a height like this." Lukas slowed a little, nodding even as he continued to move. Even though Tino was right, Lukas knew that the sniper didn't want to be late either. He tried his best to keep pace with Tino, but couldn't make himself climb faster when he saw the sniper draw ahead of himself. Lukas forced his attention away from their rapidly diminishing time, instead focusing on pulling his body up the completely vertical face of the facility.
He stumbled only briefly, when a deceivingly strong-looking vine gave way under his hands, but he caught himself quickly, suppressing the yelp pf surprise that had almost left his throat. Pausing for a moment, he drew in a deep breath, glancing down at the more than 16 metres between himself and the ground, and forced his attention back to his task.
The vines were a lot thinner around the top of the building, but Tino had already clambered over the edge when Lukas started to struggle to find decent places to dig his picks in, and simply leant over the edge, grabbed his forearms and hauled him up onto the roof beside him. The pair took a minute to breath in and out sharply, before they remembered themselves and quickly clicked their signallers to indicate that they had reached the top. Scrambling to their feet, Lukas and Tino both ditched their loose overcoats, climbing picks, grip gloves and fusers by the edge of the roof and darted towards the open top of a ventilation shaft.
1835 HRS
Arthur and Alfred were already well into plotting their dash from the treeline to the wall by the time their signallers vibrated for the third time that night. Arthur pursed his lips, glad that Lukas and Tino had made it up, and had miraculously done so within their allotted time limit, as well, but he was simultaneously focused on how on earth he and Alfred were meant to get to the wall. The gap between the ranges of the security cameras was very brief – only a few seconds, which made sense, given that the basement windows they were meant to enter through were right across from them. They had arrived at their position earlier than the others, and been mapping out the camera's movement patterns for a while now.
"We'll have to go one at a time." Arthur muttered. "The camera on the left, when it swivels to face left, you need to sprint to the wall. I'll wait for the next rotation." Alfred blinked at him.
"But…Artie-"
"Just do it." Arthur said, ignoring the bundle of warmth that unfurled through his stomach at the sound of the nickname 'Artie'. "I can run pretty fast, anyway. Keep your eyes on the cameras. Remember, keep right to the middle. The blind spot is only very narrow." Alfred nodded, training his eyes on the cameras' movements. Arthur watched them too, moving to rest his hand on Alfred's forearm as he saw them moving to face in opposite directions. He pushed him gently, and Alfred darted to his feet, slipping across the stretch of green and pressing himself up to the wall faster than Arthur would have anticipated was possible. He shuffled slightly, raising himself from a squat into a crouch, ready for the cameras to move away again. He could see Alfred fiddling with the lock, undoubtedly using the skeleton key. The doorway was the one place that the cameras couldn't detect, but it only had enough room for one, so Arthur had to wait until Alfred had unlocked the door and gone inside to make his own run across.
Alfred got the door open and swung it open, carefully looking around inside. Good, know your surroundings. He turned to Arthur and nodded. The coast was clear. Arthur glanced at the cameras, training his sights on them. He saw them painstakingly slide sideways, watching as the small strip that constituted a blind spot widened.
He shot upwards and across like a cheetah, darting through the door and colliding with Alfred's warm, solid chest in his haste.
"Oof. Nice running." Alfred said as Arthur extricated himself and clicked his signaller. "I didn't know you could move so fast." Arthur shot him a grin.
"I was a sprinter in high school." He said by way of explanation. Alfred grinned, clicking his own signaller.
"That makes sense." Arthur smiled a little, then inclined his head towards the door.
"Shall we?"
1837 HRS
Everyone was inside. Gilbert and Mei picked themselves up, quickly looking over their uniforms before silently cracking the door open and checking that the coast was clear. Gilbert ushered Mei out first before following silently and closing the door. He drew a small knife from his sleeve and left the smallest of scuffs on the white paint of the door, near the handle. Most of the doors were practically identical, so it made sense to leave a small mark to distinguish this door from all others.
The hallway that the room opened into was free of security cameras, thankfully, likely due to the fact that they were mostly store-rooms and break areas. Gilbert and Mei slunk along the hallway, adjusting their caps to ensure that they were tilted as far over their faces as was acceptable before proceeding into the next hallway; this one was dotted with security cameras staring down at them. They kept walking, professional and straight-backed, down the hall and into another room. They skirted around the outside of it, both hoping and praying that no-one would pick up on how small and young Mei was, before finally tumbling into another empty hallway.
They wound though the hallways and little off-shooting rooms until they finally came across a glass door through to a completely abandoned room. Gilbert pulled out the all-purpose key-card that Ayshe had given him and held it over the scanner. He sighed in relief as the door buzzed and swung open, and he and Mei slipped inside.
The room was full of huge servers that looked like they should be hooked up to computers, with wires and plugs everywhere. Mei darted down the servers to the left, while Gilbert moved to the right. Gilbert raked his eyes along the labels on the servers, until he located the one connected to the manual firewall systems. They were the strongest firewalls in the Galaxy, but they required a large amount of electricity to operate properly. By diverting some of that power, they could weaken the server's ability to recognise threats – by which, of course, he meant their magical little drives. He heard Mei call out from the other side.
"I found the camera server!" she exclaimed. Gilbert nodded, and examined the screen on the server. Each server had huge, direct power cables connected to it that came from the floor. If they could divert the cables to the cameras, then they could easily weaken the firewall. They could just unplug them, because the facility had a failsafe system that would set off an alarm if any of the cables were unconnected for more than two minutes, but there was no failsafe to account for power being diverted from one server to another.
"The firewall server is over here." He called back, frowning at the thick cables before glancing back to where he could see Mei poking her head out into the aisle. The distance between the two servers was about eight metres or so. Thinking, he stood and crossed to the corner of the room, where he could see additional equipment stacked up in an orderly manner. He rifled through it and grinned when he found what he was looking for. A huge, industrial adaptor, which he could use to plug two of the huge cables into one server. He hauled it up and carried it back over to the firewall server. Mei frowned at the bulky piece of equipment momentarily before she realised what it was, and grinned.
Gilbert knelt down and studied the cables fuelling the firewall server. There were three of them, each about as thick as his thigh. Surely removing one would be enough? The firewall was already delicate, so removing a third of it's power source would undoubtedly make it slow down or work less effectively. He nodded to himself before ducking back to the corner to search through the pile again. The thick cables didn't stretch very far, but the facility stocked extender cables for that very reason. His grin only widened when he pulled one from the pile and darted back. There were so many cables lying on the ground that Gilbert doubted anyone would notice their little alteration for quite a while.
He hurriedly unplugged one of the three thick cables attached to the server and attached the extender cord, darting over to Mei. She pulled one of the cables on the camera server out, quickly plugging it, along with the other end of the extender cable, into the adaptor, and slamming the device back into the side of the server. They waited breathlessly. A light flicked on above the adaptor, indicating that it was working. Gilbert sagged with relief. Mei whooped quietly, grinning widely. They both clicked once on their signallers, indicating that they had disconnected some of the power from the firewall server. Their jubilant mood froze, however, when they heard footsteps approaching.
They scrambled to their feet, pressing their backs to the server. Mei looked around briefly, then turned to Gilbert.
"What's the time?" she murmured. Gilbert risked a glance at his signaller.
"1850." He whispered. Mei nodded.
"Some workers would be on their breaks by now." She breathed. "I have an idea. Do what I say."
She pressed her back to the server's surface and grabbed Gilbert, pulling him roughly so that he was standing right in front of her. Before he had time to ask her what was going on, she gripped his shoulders and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Taken completely off guard, he shifted his arms to support her. She shimmied back a little until she was once again pressed against the server, and he understood what she was doing.
"Play along." She whispered, promptly grabbing the back of his neck and kissing him. It was by far one of the strangest things he had done, not least for the fact that Mei was only 15 years old, where he himself was 22, but he went along with it anyway. The footsteps grew louder, until, through the peripheral vision of his slitted eyes, he saw a tall figure in a dark uniform turn the corner and pause.
He heard a deep sigh. "Do you mind?" Gilbert heard Mei yelp in surprise as they separated, and also jumped as though he had just been startled, very nearly dropping Mei but instead managing to dump her gracelessly on her feet. He whirled around, bringing to mind the most embarrassing moments of his life in an attempt to make his face go red. The person who had 'walked in on them' was a tall, straight-backed woman with light brown hair pulled into a tight braid, and dark eyes. Gilbert expected severe anger, but the woman didn't seem surprised; just exasperated.
"I understand that it is easy to become closely acquainted when working in close quarters as we do here," the woman said, pinching the bridge of her nose, "but why must all of you come to the server room? I'm sure that there are other nooks and crannies you can wedge yourselves into." Gilbert ducked his head, making himself the very image of embarrassed and flustered. Mei was hiding her flushed face in her hands. A good ploy, and it helped her to hide her age, as well.
The woman sighed. "Just get out." Gilbert and Mei both muttered quiet apologies as they verifiably booked it out of the room, not slowing down until they were down another camera-less hallway. They paused and exchanged a glance. A laugh bubbled up in Gilbert's throat, and though he suppressed the sound, he couldn't stop the disbelieving grin that spread across his face.
"Well…that happened." Mei said, which he thought summed it up pretty well.
1858 HRS
Ayshe smiled as she and Leon surveyed the camera room. The number of screens was innumerable, as was the sheer number of desks and people seated at them. The pair of them had managed to avoid detection by security cameras so far, and hadn't attracted any attention within the camera room either.
Since the uniforms that they wore denoted that they were part of a maintenance crew, they were generally allowed everywhere, and, as Ayshe had discovered from extensive research before the mission had begun, the camera room malfunctioned a lot.
Leon walked over the main server, going over the main functions as they mumbled technobabble to one another to avoid suspicion. While Leon was fiddling with the monitor that all of the screens were hooked up to, Ayshe dropped into a crouch under the pretence of examining the wires, and shuffled sideways, until she was almost completely underneath an abandoned desk. Sliding forwards a little, she located one of the rogue, heavy-duty wires that the drive needed to be hooked up to. Angling her body so that the pocket with the drive in it was concealed from outside view, she quickly withdrew it from her pocket, connected it to the wire and waited a breathless moment for the light that indicated it was functional to switch on. She carefully taped over the light and slid it to the back of the bundle of wires under the desk, hiding it from plain view but not trying overtly hard to conceal it.
Ayshe slunk back out from under the desk and subtly shuffled back along the length of the wires to where Leon was now adjusting the resolution on the security cameras. She gently touched his arm and watched as he stood, flicking a switch likely for dramatic purposes, nodded to himself, and then followed her out the door.
They clicked their signallers simultaneously, and Ayshe threw him a smile, which he tentatively returned.
Their part in the mission was, for now, over.
1900 HRS
Lukas cursed, slowly reorienting himself. He and Tino had gotten the signal that the power from the firewall had been redirected by Mei and Gilbert, but he and Tino were still quite a ways away from the file archive room. To be more specific, they were both cramped, confused, and very much so still stuck in the ventilation system.
He pressed his hands against the cool metal of the duct he was currently trying to quietly shimmy through, trying to keep his feet elevated enough that the rubber didn't squeak along the metal, but also not so high that they brushed the ceiling. Not to mention the small metal ridges that they had to carefully navigate themselves over, lest they cause the structure to creak and groan ominously. Lukas sighed. He would almost rather be back climbing up the wall than here right now.
Lukas slid forward a little, pressing his hands against the sides to control his speed. His and Tino's goal was the fourth floor, where they would find a room containing a database filled with files, plans, reports and photos of great importance to the Union. They needed to plant a drive that would copy every last file from the database, and somehow get back to the south-eastern side where Gilbert and Mei had gotten inside.
The problem that they were currently facing was trying to find a way out of the vents so they could explore the fourth floor. The last thing that they wanted was to have to bust their way out of the vents; their mission was one more of stealth than it was haste. Lukas slid around a corner, glancing behind him to make sure that Tino was still following him, and shuffled further a little more, grateful when the slim shaft opened up into a wider compartment. Lukas shimmied up against the wall, drawing his knees to his chest. The compartment was tall enough that, seated on the ground, his head only just brushed the top. He saw Tino grin when he saw the larger space too, and the sniper slid in next to him, also folding his legs against his chest.
"Okay, do we have any idea where we are?" Lukas murmured, being as quiet as possible while still making his voice audible.
Tino frowned. "We're still on the fourth floor, thank god, and if I haven't gotten completely turned around, we should be getting close." The blond pulled a small device from his pocket that Lukas saw was a compass. Tino nodded decisively as he saw it. "Yup, we're on our way."
"We need to speed up." Lukas murmured. "Gilbert and Mei redirected the power more than ten minutes ago, and every minute we wait makes it more likely that someone will find their changes in the server room." Tino nodded.
"Yeah. Let's keep moving. Take the left up here." He murmured. Sighing, Lukas slid back onto his stomach and started to shuffle through the next duct. They continued moving, Lukas taking Tino's muttered directions as they moved slowly but silently.
He paused when he felt Tino's hand close around his ankle. Looking back inquisitively, he saw Tino jabbing his finger towards a thin metal screen that closed off another section.
"That should lead almost directly to the database room." Tino mumbled. "Can you peel the grate open?" Lukas shuffled back a little, and examined the grate. The edges were already disconnected from the side, likely due to age, and frowned. They couldn't rip the whole grate off – it would indicate clear tampering. But if they made it look like the grate had started to come free on it's own, there would be far less suspicion. As it was, it's state of mild disrepair was already working in their favour. Lukas felt for the cap of the waterskin strapped to his wrist and unscrewed it, commanding a small stream of the water to slide out and curl around his palm. He could feel Tino's curious eyes on him as he forced the water to slide between the grate and the side of the chute, and let it slowly but steadily work a gap between the two. When he was about sure that the grate would appear to have loosened from age, he carefully pushed the loose side of the grate.
The thin metal bent easily under his hand, and he sucked in a breath and forced himself under it. He felt the sharper edges of the metal bite into his neck a little, and withdrew a little before sliding his body completely past the grate, shuffling far enough up the chute that Tino also had room to move past it. As he watched Tino gently ease the bent side of the grate into place, he pressed an un-gloved hand to his neck. His fingers came away with a few drops of crimson sliding down their lengths. Frowning slightly, he lifted his uniform jacket with his clean hand and wiped the blood away on the singlet he wore underneath.
"You all right?" Tino asked, looking concerned. Lukas shrugged.
"Accidentally nicked myself on the sharp edge is all. I'll be fine."
They continued to creep forward until they reached a slatted grate in the side of the vent. Peering out carefully, Lukas grinned when he saw the database room that they had been looking for. The room was completely devoid of security cameras. It was one of the Union's mistakes. Though these rooms were high-security, the information on display in the database room was highly confidential, and much too important to risk letting some average security guard watching the cameras pick up. Outside the room was about three different layers of security, but inside, there was nothing. There was no-one in the room either. They had well and truly struck gold, but they had to move quickly.
Lukas accepted the screwdriver that Tino handed him, and made quick work of the grate, pulling the metal piece into the ducts and placing it carefully to the side before he began to lever himself out. He hung by his hands from the outside of the vent, well aware that landing loudly would draw attention from the guards likely stationed outside the room. Thinking quickly, he reached out and located their minds. There were two of them, both female, and he gently eased his power into their minds.
You can't hear a thing. He gently encouraged them, sending a brief prayer to the old Fynknian saints he had been raised with as he dropped to the floor. He landed in such a way that the noise he made was minimal, but even that made him freeze up.
But no-one came, and the door remained firmly shut. The guards outside were calm, and giving off no indication that they had heard anything out of ordinary. Lukas redid the process as Tino shimmied out and also landed on the floor. The guards, once more, heard nothing. Tino grinned at Lukas, obviously aware that it was his abilities helping them keep their cover, before they both hurried over to the database screens. Their drive was a little more complicated to install than Ayshe and Leon's. As Tino bent down and began to sort through the wiring for an acceptable plug-in point, Lukas glanced down at his signaller.
A1: O-O
A2: O-O
B1: O-O
B2: O-O
C1: O
C2: O
D1: O
D2: O
Ayshe, Leon, Gilbert and Mei had completed the brunt of their missions already, which only made his anxiety rise. At the very least, he and Tino weren't lagging too badly; Arthur and Alfred were yet to attach their driver to the Confined Index server which held the profiles of everyone deemed 'of interest' by the Union. Lukas frowned. They had to go down, to the subterranean levels, which posed quite a danger, given that there were less exits, should they be found.
Tino tapped his leg, indicating that he had found a suitable port. Lukas ducked down next to him, forcing his attention to their task. Tino pulled out the drive they were meant to attach, while Lukas plugged in the small screen that would help them get through the firewall and copy the files.
He quickly tapped on the button that Ayshe had indicated to him during their briefing sessions, and waited impatiently as the machine worked to get through the tough firewall that protected the database. Relief surged through his system when a small notification, indicating that the firewall had been cleared, popped up on the screen. Gilbert and Mei had done their job well. Lukas sifted down the options, quickly setting up the drive and making sure that he had selected the 'copy and export all' option for the files in the database. He waited tensely as the progress bar on the screen slowly inched along, before a confirmation signal appeared. Nodding in satisfaction, he carefully stowed the drive away under the power servers. Due to the sheer amount of files to be copied, it would take about two days for the drive to have everything, which was part of why they had to come back to retrieve their equipment.
Tino stood, looking satisfied but also a little concerned.
"How do we get back up?" he murmured, frowning at the ventilation shaft. Lukas glanced over as well, before sighing.
"Ayshe can get pissed off at me for using the Vesi later," he grumbled. He had technically only been given permission to use the water he had been given to get through the grates, but he was sure that she would live. He summoned the water from the container on his waist with one hand, and beckoned Tino with the other. Tino approached, looking at the water suspended in the air with curiosity. It was odd, to watch water gently shift and undulate in the air. Lukas commanded it to spilt into two and wrap around Tino's waist and legs. He tipped his head a little. "Sorry."
He commanded the water to rise, and admired Tino's restraint when the sniper let himself be carried upwards without a single sign of alarm or shock. He gently shoved Tino through the open grate and then released him, summoning the water back down to himself. He forced the water underneath his feet and then made it surge upwards and freeze, giving him a nice spire to ice to stand on top of as he clambered inside as quietly as possible and returned the water to the container. Tino was grinning as they both clicked their signallers.
"Nice job, Your Highness." Lukas elbowed him as Tino carefully put the grate back into place.
"Shut up, let's go." He huffed, fighting back a grin even as he said it. They had barely begun to shuffle down the vent when their signallers vibrated. Lukas glanced down at it, feeling his stomach turn over as he registered the number of clicks.
That wasn't good.
1913 HRS
Well, this isn't ideal, Arthur thought as he dropped his hand from his signaller, glaring at the two small dots next to both his and Alfred's labels that indicated they were in a spot of trouble.
He couldn't help but glare at the small thing as he slid further back into the shadows. By the looks of it, the others were all going fine.
A1: O-O
A2: O-O
B1: O-O
B2: O-O
C1: O-O
C2: O-O
D1: O-OO
D2: O-OO
He and Alfred were the only ones who had sent out distress calls, and though he was glad that everyone else was operating smoothly, he couldn't help but be a little resentful. It just always had to be him that got in trouble, didn't it? Arthur bit back a curse as another guard marched past the place where he and Alfred had just managed to squeeze in together to hide. He could hear Alfred's breathing, rapid and shallow, and knew that the blond was panicking.
Adjusting his position a little, Arthur placed his hand on Alfred's chest, immediately feeling the younger man seize it in his own hands.
"We'll be fine, okay? Just stay calm, Alfred. I need you to stay calm." He saw Alfred nod in the low light, and gently shifted the position of his hand in Alfred's so that they were holding hands. Alfred took several quiet but deep breaths, grip on Arthur tightening as he finally started to calm down a little.
"I'm sorry." Alfred whispered, ever so quietly. Arthur blinked, frowning in surprise as he saw Alfred look away in embarrassment.
"Whatever for?" Arthur asked gently, not extricating his hand even though Alfred had calmed down considerably.
"It's…um…the…uhh, the walls are too…" he drew in another deep breath, struggling to speak, but Arthur understood what he was trying to say.
"You're claustrophobic?" he whispered. Alfred gulped, and nodded.
"I'm normally not, but in really small spaces like this…yeah." Arthur felt his heart melt a little for the sweet boy in front of him who thought he had to apologise for being afraid, and squeezed his hand tighter.
"It's completely alright, Alfred." He murmured. "I understand. There's nothing wrong with being afraid." He had to wonder why it was only very small spaces that made Alfred react like this, especially given that he had been completely fine when they had been travelling through the narrow mountain passes on Nyma, but he put the thought aside. It could wait. Alfred relaxed a little.
"Really? You…you don't mind?" Arthur shook his head.
"Not at all." He considered his next words for a moment, before deciding that he trusted Alfred enough to tell him.
"I'm afraid of needles." He murmured. Alfred shifted slightly, and Arthur could just see his surprise.
"But…all of your injections…"
"I hate every last one." He murmured. "I used to have to get Mei and Leon to help me every week when I needed an injection, and Kabeeta has started giving me mild sedatives before my doses so I don't lock up in fear when she comes near me with the needle." Alfred stared at him. "My point is," Arthur murmured, "everyone is afraid of something. Don't feel weak because of it." Alfred nodded, squeezing Arthur's hand.
"Thank you." He whispered, and Arthur could almost feel the gratitude in his voice. Arthur smiled a little.
"That's alright. Now, shall we think up our next move?" Alfred nodded.
They had been caught off guard by the sheer amount of people on the floor that their target was on, and had had to duck into smaller storerooms multiple times to avoid being detected. They were very close to the Confined Index database that they were searching for, but a large room close by seemed to be holding some sort of meeting, hence the larger number of people.
Arthur and Alfred murmured back and forth to one another for a few minutes, until they had a semblance of a plan that they felt might work.
Arthur pulled a bunch of papers with different coding mechanisms on them and slipped from their hiding place, sifting through them and mumbling in Pyndaphian to appear deep in thought. For perhaps the first time, he was grateful for the fact that the Union hired so many Pyndaphians, because he wasn't even spared a passing glance. He recalled something that one of his privateer friends had told him. Sometimes, looking like you know what you're doing is more important than actually being able to do it.
That principle certainly proved accurate here, and as Alfred also slunk out, looking distinctly more professional and composed than he had earlier, and joined him, pointing out random parts of the paper and murmuring a few Pyndaphian phrases that Arthur had just drilled into his head, they attracted absolutely no attention from the people weaving through the hallway.
They slowly made their way closer and closer to the door into the Confined Index room, and Arthur ushered Alfred forward, murmuring for him to meet him in there. Alfred had just slipped past the door when someone grabbed Arthur by the arm. He tried his best not to freeze, quickly tapping out a further two signals on his signaller as he turned around. The person trying to get his attention was a short, slender man with dark hair and brown eyes. He was Misori, judging by his appearance, and looked a little nervous.
"Uhh, excuse me, sir," he asked in heavily accented Common Standard, "do you know how to get to the refectory?" Arthur blinked in surprise, but relaxed, and nodded, quickly giving directions based on what he remembered from their maps. The man looked very relieved. "Thank you, sir." He said, bowing deeply. "I am new here, is all." Arthur waved a hand dismissively.
"It's no trouble. Hurry on now." He said, emphasizing his Pyndaphian accent. The young man nodded, looking a little embarrassed as he scurried off. Breathing out in relief, Arthur hurried to the door where Alfred had paused to wait for him.
"Directions." He murmured when he was at the taller man's side. "He wanted fucking directions." Alfred grinned a little at that, and they made their way towards the door, with Arthur smoothly pulling his adjusted key-card from his pocket and swiping it at the door. It opened (blessedly) and they hurried down a dimly-lit hallway towards the database room.
The door at the end of the hallway opened up into a circular room with a bench that curved all the way around it's wall, with computers and other devices located at random intervals. The main attraction of the room, however, was the huge screen that dominated the centre of the wall. Alfred hurried over to the screen as Arthur installed the firewall-breaker and watched it work it's way through the tough program.
He grinned when the program opened up the files, and he watched as random pictures and files started to blink across the screen.
The smile slipped from his face briefly as a familiar picture flickered across the screen, and he hurriedly backtracked, staring at the photo. He heard Alfred calling out to him.
"Arthur? What is it?" he looked up, and saw alarm cross Alfred's face; no doubt the other man could see how white his face had gone.
"Nothing." He said, quickly starting the copying process and sliding the drive out of sight. Alfred reached out and curled a hand around Arthur's wrist, and he couldn't help but seek the comfort, interlacing their fingers. "I…I'll tell you when we get out." He managed. Alfred nodded, and gently led him out of the room, carefully switching off the display screen and exiting the room quietly.
1920 HRS
Mei looked nervously at the signaller on her wrist. They only had forty minutes before Ayshe had instructed them all to leave, and yet she and Gilbert were the only ones waiting near the blind spot. They had returned to the server room and reset the cables the minute that they had gotten confirmation from both Teams C and D that their tasks were complete, and quickly returned to the small storeroom that they'd entered the facility through.
"They'll be fine." Gilbert reassured her. She sighed. She couldn't help it; she was seriously concerned, mostly for Arthur and Leon, of course, given that they were the ones closest to her, but she hoped that everyone got back safe and successful. Arthur and Alfred had obviously had a bit of a scare in the subterranean levels. She glanced at the current signal records, looking at Arthur's in particular.
A1: O-O
A2: O-O
B1: O-O
B2: O-O
C1: O-O
C2: O-O
D1: O-OO-OO-O
D2: O-OO-O
Arthur, being D1, had obviously encountered more trouble than Alfred, and she couldn't help but fear what was going on. They had gotten another signal from them both that signalled that the driver for the Confined Index had been set up and hidden, but she was still anxious. She heard Gilbert stand behind her.
"Why don't I go look for Ayshe and Leon?" he said. "You look a little too young to be an employee here." Mei looked over at him, hesitating.
"We're meant to stay in pairs."
"Yeah, but Ayshe and Leon also don't know the exact part of the south-eastern side that we're hiding by. They're probably nearby. If I can't find them by 1930, I'll come straight back, how about that?" Mei hesitated again, gnawing on her bottom lip with her teeth.
"…Okay, but please be careful." He nodded.
"If I send a three-click-signal, run, okay? Don't bother waiting." Mei sighed, but nodded. She would rather not abandon her friends, but she knew that he wouldn't appreciate her disobeying him. Nodding one last time and smiling reassuringly, Gilbert slipped out the door, leaving her alone in the dark.
1926 HRS
Ayshe had to move fast to clamp her hand over Leon's mouth to stop him yelping in surprise when Gilbert appeared behind them. The albino held his hands up bashfully.
"Sorry, sorry. Though you guys could use a guide to the blind spot." Ayshe glared at him. She had warned them all to stay in pairs, but she also couldn't deny that she and Leon hadn't been able to find the blind spot. She nodded, sighing deeply, and they followed Gilbert back to a small door to a storeroom. He gently swung it open, ducking away when a knife very nearly slit his throat open.
"I'm sorry!" Ayshe heard Mei whisper frantically to him. He waved his hands.
"It's alright, I swear. Good fucking reflexes that you have there." Gilbert complimented. Mei went a little red, but her embarrassment vanished when she spotted Ayshe and Leon as they slipped in the door. The slender Yanish girl was quick to dive on top of Leon and hug him, and smile widely at Ayshe, looking very relieved. Ayshe returned her smile.
"No sign of the others?" she inquired. Gilbert made a face and shook his head.
"Not yet, but they've all completed their tasks, so they hopefully shouldn't take long."
Gilbert was interrupted by an abrupt rapping on the window. They all jumped about a foot in the air as Gilbert slid the glass open, peering out at Lukas and Tino.
"Lukas! Tino! What on earth are you doing?" Ayshe hissed at them. Lukas shrugged helplessly.
"We thought that it might be safer to travel by the ventilation again, so we went back to the roof, grabbed our stuff and climbed back down." The Fynknian explained, frowning into the room. "Is everyone back?"
"We're waiting on Alfred and Arthur." Ayshe muttered. Lukas frowned, but didn't say anything.
"They have…22 minutes to get here." Gilbert murmured. "They'd better hurry up."
1942 HRS
Arthur had somehow expected that taking an elevator full of people up to the ground floor would mean the end of the mission, that they would automatically be picked out as not belonging, as being out-of-place or even straight up being declared imposters.
But…nothing happened.
They stood silently beside each other in the elevator, in which everyone else was also completely silent, and watched the numbers tick up.
-2, -1, 0…
When the doors opened, they stepped out, and Arthur had to almost physically restrain himself from grabbing Alfred's warm hands again in disbelief as they continued to move down the hallway, easily passing by employees and security guards alike, and carefully angling their heads downwards slightly whenever they moved past security cameras. It seemed like it should be harder than it was, as they followed the floor plan handed to them by Ayshe, and found themselves in the south-eastern wing.
They wandered down a few hallways before locating the one where Mei and Gilbert would have entered, and felt relief flooding their systems as they saw the lean figure of Ayshe casually leaning on one of the doors. She looked up as they approached, and straightened up immediately, gesturing to them as they darted over and slipped inside the room. Their entry was met by relief and joy from the others. Arthur laughed quietly as Mei ran to hug him and Leon lingered back for a moment, playing up the angsty teenager card before also moving to hug him. He could see Alfred grinning at Gilbert as they ensured that they were both okay.
"Alright," Ayshe gently interrupted, "I understand that we're all relieved to be okay and undetected, but we need to get out of here." They all snapped to attention, nodding seriously. They all carefully climbed back out the window, helped to the ground by Lukas and Tino outside before Ayshe relocked the window and stepped away. Moving one by one, they darted across the small stretch of green between the walls and the woods. Arthur reached out for Alfred and squeezed his hand before running across, pausing by the tree-line to wait for him.
When the grinning blond jogged up next to him, Arthur didn't even have to move before Alfred had reached out and grabbed his hand. Arthur smiled happily, entwining their fingers as he glanced back at the building they had just managed to bug, and turned away, following Alfred through the foliage.
How does one write a heist? I've read Six of Crows like 5 times but I still don't know.
