"The building is seven stories tall not counting the floors that extend underground. The front door is easily entered but once inside you must pass through a security checkpoint that checks ID, retinal, and hand prints; none of which we will have," Seraph paused a second to let the obstacles sink in. "Once past that point, movement within is relatively unhindered but there are guards patrolling the building at all hours and the shifts overlap by fifteen minutes so there is no down time. There are also security cameras on every floor, every hallway, every staircase, elevator…you name it, it's monitored." Seraph took a moment to take in the expressions of the two bounty hunters. Jet seemed rather distraught while Faye's expression still hadn't changed from sheer determination. I'd better give them the bad news… "The holding cells are located on the lower floors, the basements. Now the basements house all the sensitive material: espionage, advanced R&D, et cetera. That means that the lower levels have an extra measure of security.
"Now here's the trick. In order to get into the lower levels, you must be buzzed through by security. Security is located on the seventh floor. In order for one of us to get in, another must take and hold the security room until the other can get in position.
"Once you are in the lower levels, the holding cells are on the third floor down. Now, luckily there is an emergency exit on the lowest floor. It leads to a parking structure three-hundred yards away from the building and it's where the Brotherhood keeps all their modified vehicles."
"Wait a minute, back it up," Faye broke into Seraph's little monologue. "First, how exactly do you know all this? And second, you just spent the last five minutes explaining the air-tight security of this place, how the hell are we going to get in?"
"Well, number one, I know because I've been there as an ISSP agent. I was privy to some of the dealings the Brotherhood had with the ISSP. Second, we'll get in through a HAHO."
"You've gotta be shitting me," Jet's mouth fell to the ground. Seraph grinned.
"Hey wait a minute! What the hell are you two talking about? What's a hey hey or whatever you guys called it," Faye burst in, annoyed at the sudden use of acronyms that she didn't understand.
"A HAHO is a High Altitude, High Opening," Jet began to explain. "It's a parachute jump a few miles off the ground and you float in onto your target. The special forces use 'em."
"A parachute? You're telling me that we're gonna parachute in? Won't they see us?" Faye's determination seemed to be slipping.
"Not at night."
"But I've never even parachuted before!"
"You'll be going in tandem with me."
"Uhh…not trying to throw a kink in the works, but I've never done it either and won't it be kinda…uncomfortable for three people at the same time?" Jet seemed extremely apprehensive about the entire plan.
"You're not going," Seraph replied.
"What?"
"The only way we'll even be able to get near the building is if the Bebop is on approach…and I'm pretty confident that this ship can't land itself."
"Well…no, it can't."
"So you'll have to stay on the ship in order to land it. They monitor all incoming and outgoing ships so it has to be a by the book landing," Seraph gave the two bounty hunters a quick glance before he continued. "Here's the plan: the Bebop will head into Aruba City to land. As the ship is descending, Faye and I will go over the side and parachute in. Once we land on the roof, we'll make our way into the duct system and move to the security room. After disabling the guards, I'll hold the room as Faye makes her way down to the basement entrance-"
"Why the hell do I get the risky job?" Faye piped in, voicing her disapproval of her position in the plan.
"Because you don't know how the security system works and I can also give you information from that point about guard positions," Faye didn't seem to thrilled with Seraph's answer but she decided it'd be best to let the man finish. "As I was saying, I'll ring you in through the door and then you'll make your way down to the holding cells. Once there, you'll head for the emergency exit. Any questions?"
Silence filled the room, the steady whirring of the fan above their heads filling the void. "One last thing, if you hear an alarm, no matter what, abandon the plan and make for an exit. We're no good to Spike dead or captured."
"How soon?" Faye's voice echoed the sentiments of all there.
"As soon as possible, but there are a few things that we need to obtain first."
- - - - -
"Alright, you're about to get a crash course in Stealth 101," Seraph gave his sister a slight grin before continuing. They were in the so-called rec room, Faye retaining her position on the couch and Seraph sitting opposite her. Gadgets and gizmos of various sorts, however, had covered the table. Seraph reached into the pile and pulled out a small earpiece, "When you put this on, it's nearly invisible. There is no metal used within it so metal detectors won't pick it up. On and off, little green light means on." He reached back into the pile and pulled out the matching microphone, a small, round disc designed to be pinned to clothing, "You merely put this on your collar, when you apply pressure to the back it turns on and sends a signal. Once again, no metal."
Pulling out a gun, he handed the weapon to Faye. She looked closely at the weapon; it looked like any normal weapon except that it was much lighter than any gun that size she had ever used. "Beretta M9 Special, built specifically for covert operatives. The silencer is built into the gun to limit noise so it can't be removed. It's made of advanced synthetic materials so the pistol itself will not set off a metal detector. The bullets might. Faye," she turned away from the pistol and back to him, the look in his eyes displaying the seriousness of what he was about to say. "The pistol is a last resort. It's silenced, but it leaves a mess, try to find other ways of getting past the guards."
Faye nodded and Seraph continued to explain the rest of the items on the table…
…The plan…the plan made sense. It wasn't overly complicated and it didn't rely entirely on luck. What I was afraid of however, is that it relied on me…on my skills at getting through the building without tipping anybody off. I have trouble making it from my room to the kitchen without getting into an argument with a certain poofy-haired bounty hunter. And then there's all this stealth stuff, I'm not exactly the "subtle" type. Spike, if we all make it through this, by skill, luck, or the help of some deity (I'm a non-denominational type of gal) who just happens to be watching over our collective butts, then every time you saved my ass in the past has been paid in spades and I've get bragging rights from here till doomsday.
- - - - -
"We're on approach, we'll be reaching the drop point in forty seconds!" Jet's voice came through loud and clear over the miniscule earpiece. The deck of the Bebop was surprisingly calm for the speed they were traveling at, nearly the speed of sound and no wind whatsoever. But then the sky above them didn't seem quite right either, in place of the serene blue skies and lazy wisps of clouds was a black sea filled with small pinpricks of light. The eerie sea of black instead the calming of blue, it almost seemed odd. And it would seem odd, if we were in atmo.
Faye Valentine merely shook her head, bringing her mind back on the matter at hand. That matter being the impending penetration of the Bebop through Aruba City's outer atmospheric walls followed by their subsequent jump off the Bebop and into the comforting hands of a large piece of nylon…which is stronger than the ones I wear…I hope…
"Ten seconds!" Ten? What the hell happened to the other thirty? Stay calm Faye, this isn't gonna help. Can't lose your cool now…gotta stay focused…there's nothing to worry about…all we have to do is break into a highly-secured facility operated by a shadow government that kills anyone who gets in their path.
"Five seconds!" Wait a minute…we're gonna get in their path!
"Four!" That means they'll go after us!
"Three!" We can't do this it…it's is suicide!
"Two!" Crap, crap, crap…
"One, go!" Oh shit…
A flood of air rushed across the ship as the Bebop slipped through the atmospheric walls and into the airspace of Aruba city. And before she could register a complaint Seraph had stepped forward pulling her off the safety of the deck and into free fall.