So sorry I wasn't able to update yesterday. I had a power outage and when there's no power there's no Internet. This chapter is a little on the short side but there will be a major development at the end. Hope you all enjoy it!
Chapter 14
Eight
As the shock of what Five wants us to do settles in, we all look at each other trying to so if anyone has an idea how to pull off these heists. Five notices our distress and says "Guys don't look so glum, have you forgotten the amazing Legacies we all have? Trust me; this will be much easier than fighting off a horde of Mogs." I smile at the last bit and put my arm around Marina as we examine the details about our target. Joyeuse is currently on display at the Louvre which is staffed twenty four hours a day. The building is equipped with all the latest and best cameras, alarms, and motion detectors money can buy and from the pictures, I can see there is no easy way to run in a just grab the sword.
Five puts her hands together and says "I know this is a lot to take in so instead of training today, you have the whole day to start planning how to steal your item with your teammates." My group consists of Marina, Ella, Crayton, and Captain Reese and we decide to start laying out a plan in Marina's room. Nine and Five decide to stay in Five's office while Six, John, Adam, Sam, Hawk and Malcolm head over to the dining room to start planning.
When we reach Marina's room, we lay out all the pictures in our file on the floor and pull out pens and paper to start sketching ideas. Ella suggests that she could use her gift from Five to make the staff give us the sword. I nod my head thinking that it's a good idea but Marina breaks the idea when she asks "But how are we going to control everyone in the museum into letting us walk out with the sword?" "We can do it at night" I respond. Marina pauses and then asks "But how many guards will be at the Louvre when we strike? We can't risk someone calling the police and I don't think Ella can control more than a few people at a time." We sit in silence as we are forced to evaluate Marina's point. Ella might be able to control three to six people at the most but if the police are called, there's no way she can control all of them and we'll all be trapped inside.
"What if we go through the roof, grab the sword and I teleport us out to a helicopter that can wait in the air" I suggest. Captain Reese shakes his head and says "That's way too risky. Going through the roof will attract way too much attention and I don't think we can have a helicopter hover above one of the most famous buildings in France without raising an alarm." I sit back in my chair and rub my head. All this planning and debating is giving me a headache. I look at a picture of the exhibit. The sword is sitting in large glass case and is surrounded by other weapons. The room that it's located in has two entrances and a floor to ceiling window allows sunlight to enter the room and visitors to view the outside. Suddenly, after examining the pictures more closely an idea pops into my head. I turn to Reese and ask "Captain Reese is there any way we can hack into the security system and shut off a few of the alarms?"
"Please" he says "Call me Will or Reese, being called Captain makes me feel old. But to answer your question, we do have some equipment that will allow us to hack into the Lourve's security system. What did you have in mind?" I hold the picture of the exhibit room and stand up to face the group. "If you and Crayton can disable the alarms in this room Marina and I can break in through the window and then I'll teleport inside the case and grab the sword." Crayton thinks about what I've said and asks "What about the guards?" I nod and having anticipated the question I look towards Ella. "This is where Ella comes in. She can distract the guards and use her mind control to keep them busy." I look around and see everyone is smiling as they go over my plan. After a minute, Reese stands up and says "It sounds like a solid plan Eight. We're going to have to work out some of the finer details like our escape, but it's a great start." I beam with pride and take a seat next to Marina.
Reese gathers up the photos and says "I'm going down to the lab to gather some of the necessary equipment. You three can either work on the plan a little more on the plan or head outside to test your new weapons. It's completely up to you but whatever you decide, make sure to be in the dining room by seven." He places the last photo in the folder and leaves after giving us a curt nod he leaves the room with Crayton. I turn to Marina and take her hand. "So what do you want to do? Plan or practice?" She takes out one of the arrows from her quiver and spins it around with her telekinesis. Ella pulls out her caduceus which causes the Loralite on the tip to glow and when I pull out Kusanagi, the surrounding temperature rises a few degrees as though the environment can sense the sword's power. "Practice it is then"
Nine
"Ahh… That's it…. Lower… Oh Nine" says Five. I pull away for a moment and stretch my arms. "Why are you stopping? Keep going" she says. "Sorry" I say. "I'm getting a bit tired. I've been at it for the last fifteen minutes." "Less talking, more massaging" says Five. I flex my arms one last time and resume Five's massage. "Remind me again why I'm doing this." I ask Five as I rub her shoulders. "Well, as my boyfriend you have to do whatever I tell you" she says. 'And if you don't I'll just use my mind control to make you do what I want." I pause before I ask "You would do that to me?"
"Well I would prefer not to do that to you Nine, but I will."She turns around to face me and we glare at each other. Five then breaks the tension by hitting me playfully on the arm. "Just kidding" she says. I pretend to be hurt by crossing my arms and starring daggers at her. Five sighs and says "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I promise to make it up to you later." "How?" I ask.
Five gives me a wicked smile and says "I'm sure I can think of something." She then turns back around and says "If you're that tired you can help me plan the rest of our assignment." I use my telekinesis to float a chair over and take a seat next to Five. Her plan of the Tower of London is actually a three dimensional holographic image of the entire complex that allows us to examine the inner view of the buildings in addition to the outer view. The Tower is actually multiple buildings that are enclosed by thick walls and is situated on the banks of the River Thames. Despite the age of the complex, it is an impressive fortress and is proving to be a rather difficult target. Sandor and Lestrade tried helping out in the beginning but left to get a drink after an hour of unsuccessful planning. Nymeria has also lost interest in the planning process and is fast asleep in the corner of Five's office.
So….any ideas?" I ask Five. She remains silent for a moment but then says "The crown jewels are located in the Waterloo Barracks which is right here" she points to a building located a little behind the building in the center which is called the White Tower. "The main security center is located on the third floor of the White Tower over here" she points to the center. "If we can get inside without tripping any of the alarms, I can use my control of technology to take over the security terminal and disable the alarms to the Waterloo Barracks. The only downside is that I have to stay on the roof of the White Tower in order to maintain my control over the security system. So I can't go into the barracks with you."
"How will we get inside?" I ask her. "Oh that's the easy part. I can just fly over the walls and onto the necessary buildings." As Five's plan comes together, I finally see where I can help. "What if I went in through the roof? This window on the top of the barracks leads right into the room where they keep the jewels. If you can shut the alarms off, I can break in, grab what we need, and we can just fly out together." Five consults her plans and asks "How are you going to break in without alerting any of the guards?" I pull out Clarent from its scabbard in response. "Oh. I get it. You want to cut through the window with Clarent. I'll have to feed the cameras some false images but I'm very confident it will work. Nice job."
I sit back in my chair and feel a satisfied smile spread across my face. Five then uses her telekinesis to pull my chair closer to her's. "Now" she says "I believe I have some apologizing to do." She then stands up and places herself on my lap as she strokes my face. Five close proximity starts making me feel a bit uncomfortable but I ignore it. She gives me a deep and lingering kiss that leaves me begging for more, but when I start to kiss her back a loud rap at the door causes us to pull apart and Nymeria to wake up. "Talia, Nine" I hear Hannibal say from the other side. "Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Wrap up whatever plans you've made and head over to the dining room."
I sigh loudly to express my displeasure and straighten my clothes. Five glances over at me and she uses her telepathy to say Patience Nine. Good things always come to those who wait. Then again she says, We still have a few minutes. "Five..." I start. She puts her index finger against my lips and says "I prefer Talia" before placing her lips against mine. Her kiss fills me with desire that makes me wish it would never end but she pulls away and whispers "Wait until after dinner." I grin in anticipation and we head to the dining room hand in hand.
Five
During dinner, I ask the others to tell me about their plans. Eight's group has come up with a bold plan to use Ella as a distraction while the rest grab Joyeuse. While this plan is rather impressive, Six's plan blows it out of the water. Six's group consists of John, Sam, Adam, Malcolm and Hawk and they have decided the best way to grab the Hope Diamond involves "borrowing" a fire truck in order to pose as firemen so they can activate the fire alarms within the museum and steal the diamond while everyone is distracted. "How do you intend to disable the security system?" I ask. "Hawk said that you could give us an EMP" Sam responds. "What's an EMP?" Marina asks. "It's a type of bomb" I reply. "Minus all the destruction that a bomb causes." Marina looks at me with a confused expression so I explain further.
"When certain bombs like a nuclear bomb are dropped, they send out an energy wave called an electromagnetic pulse which disables any electronic systems within its blast radius. Only with a nuclear bomb everything in the blast radius tends to be vaporized. An EMP however will just shut down everything electronic rather than causing total destruction." Everyone sits back rather impressed and congratulate Six's group on their brilliant plan.
Once everyone's plate is cleared, I stand up to address the group. "First of all, I'd like to congratulate everyone on their fantastic plans." The rest of the Garde applaud and when they stop, I continue. "Tomorrow we will fly out to our designated locations and wait five days before striking. I suggest you gather whatever equipment you need tonight and get a good night's sleep. We all have a long day of traveling ahead of us. I know that you will all succeed and want to tell you that tonight is the beginning of the end for the Mogs. They took our home, our families, and our friends but now it's our time to take what is ours. Once we return with the last Loric objects, we will be ready to strike against every Mog on Earth. And I guarantee that vengeance will be ours." I sit back down to a thunderous applause and Nine holds my hand under the table.
Moments after I give my speech, dessert is rolled out of the kitchen and Sergei reminds me that I need to speak with him and Hawk. I nod in agreement and tell him to meet me in my office. As soon as I finish, I give Nine a quick kiss and promise to meet him in his room after I speak with Sergei and Hawk. He smiles back at me and tells me not to take too long. I watch him walk up the stairs and once he reaches the first floor, I head to my office. Hawk and Sergei are waiting for me and stand at attention when I enter. I ask them to sit and we wait a few minutes for Eddard and Tywin. When they arrive, I am finally ready to begin the meeting.
"Thank you all for coming" I begin. "What we discuss tonight will remain between us, Hannibal, and the men that you choose to go on the mission with you." I pull up an image of Ashwood Estates on my holographic projector, courtesy of Adam and the bugs we have in the Mogadorian defense system and commence the briefing. "This is the complex you will be infiltrating. Although it may look like any other American suburb, this is actually a well disguised Mogadorian community and there is a massive network of labs and tunnels under the homes. Your primary target will be here" I point to one of the larger homes on the surface that is located near the entrance if the gates community. "According to intel, he is an early riser and doesn't have any bodyguards with him. Use tranquilizer to pacify him and I also want you to take his wife and daughter." I pause for a moment to pick up a folder with pictures of the targets and hand them out.
"Your secondary but equally important targets will be found here." I point to a large lab that is approximately eight floors down from the house. "Adam has told me that the house has an elevator that has direct access to floors below. The targets will be found in the freezer and security will be light. This is where Eddard comes in. He will assist Sergei transport the three targets into portable cryogenic chambers that will be loaded on to the chopper Tywin will fly to get you there and lift you out. Hawk, I want you to stay with Six, Sam, John, Adam, and Malcolm while they take the diamond but you are all to regroup at the airport when this is over. Sergei, take forty of our best men and as many droids as you want. Make sure to disable all the security systems once you're inside. Any questions?" Sergei raises a hand and asks "Who is the primary target exactly?" I pull out a picture from my drawer and place it on top of my desk. "This is General Andrakkus Sutekh, the commander of the Mogadorian forces and Adam's father. He has valuable information we need to continue Project Astral and intel on how to strike critical blows against the Mogs. I want the four of you to take him down and bring him in.
So Five is going after the General. Do you guys think the heists will be successful? What do you think Project Astral is? Hope that was worth the wait and don't forget to review.