Had Viper ever mentioned that they hated boats?
Yeah, they hated boats.
They get sea-sickness. Viper preferred traveling via Viper-express. So flying everywhere.
Unfortunately, Viper did not actually know how to navigate in the middle of nowhere, and also, have you ever been suspended above the deep, dark, endless ocean with all its hidden terrors and all you could think of was that one almanac about aquatic animals and why would anyone go through the trouble of illustrating nightmare materials like that for a children's book? Just why?!
(Viper did held a grudge against the author but they were long dead.
And no, of course they didn't bother to actually try and find them to commit petty revenge. Please.
What were they, twelve?)
They couldn't loose the blueprints so they couldn't afford storing it in one location for Delta to snatch back when they weren't looking.
Lugging the tube with them, Viper had the belt over their shoulder, feeling like an architect as they strolled through German streets in their jumper, hair tied in a manly half-up.
Viper had been blessed with a feminine set of features.
'Blessed', because then it was easier to present yourself as a feminine boy if you carried yourself right with a brush of contouring, and even easier a particularly dainty girl. However you wanted it, either way you get underestimated and even overlooked.
As for the unwanted attention... Viper found those easy to take care of. And justifiable too.
The information broker had no problem with being target of unsavoury eyes.
Because then Viper could take care of them before they bother others not as capable of retaliating. It was never a bad thing to rack up good karma.
Putting a hand in their pants pocket, Viper considered the official looking building across the street.
If Delta and Hitler really were in cahoots, then it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that he'd already been tipped. In fact, though they'd checked the papers thoroughly and found no bugs or trackers, they didn't think it as being too sci-fi if the papers themselves were the trackers.
Nevertheless, Viper kept their Flames minimal when handling the tube even as they weaved illusions over it. They'd rather risk being tracked than be sampled.
"Running an errand, boy?"
Viper glanced at an older man who'd stopped beside them, yawning as they both waited for the busy street to calm down so they could pass.
German, with a distinct southern accent, and lined with morning lethargy. A red band around his left upper arm, and a white eihwaz rune.
In this world, this was the nazi symbol.
Aspiration, inner strength, barrier, endurance, life and death.
Yew. 'A guardian of flame', as portrayed in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem.
Strongly associated with Yggdrasil. The tree that linked together the nine worlds.
"Yes, sir."
"Just came back from coffee. The cafe in the corner is a favourite of us collar workers now a days."
Ah, yes. Hitler's campaign was working the Germans. But at the same time, it seemed to simultaneously be giving them hope, and even more drive to pour into society.
Take this man for example, his country's economy was in the dumps and yet he could still small talk with some random runt. There were no rallies and the streets didn't seem like it would break into a riot any moment, no blatant figures of authority skulking around. There was no particular group of people being pushed forward to the gallows, just...
Really. It was such an eerily peaceful campaign, that seemed to speak to the civilians and actually improve living conditions.
So what was he using to entice the more violently inclined underworld?
Well no, that wasn't quite right. Every one of the famiglia he'd contacted had a particular kind of temperament and it wasn't exactly violent.
Viper continued the pleasantly casual exchange until they split ways and they turned the corner, gaining nothing they weren't already aware of and maybe a person to vouch for them in case something went wrong.
They slipped through the back door with a sheepishly meek explanation about deliveries and displaying the appropriate level of fear for the towering mass of muscles that stood guard.
"T-there's a package... um, today for Mrs. Müller, that is... I need to be quick..."
There was a package for a Mrs. Müller for today but the original errand boy had lost his way earlier -for some reason- and would take a bit longer to get here.
Twenty minutes.
They have twenty minutes before the alarms could be called.
Viper wondered if Delta also had any hand in this building. They decided that it couldn't be anything worse than in their base and identifications were really their main concern.
Viper had never gone on a mission before this that demanded them to operate without Flames as much.
There were uniformed people working around, some with the red armbands. The higher the floors they went, the more there were with clothes closer to military garb and the red was almost on everyone and on every wall. The strange looks shot at them also became more prevalent.
But Viper was very good acting like they belonged exactly where they were. They took everything in, the nonchalant conversations and the hushed ones.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Where is Mrs. Müller?" They inquired at a passing woman who looked presently unoccupied unlike everyone else, in a plain one piece black uniform without even anything to indicate her rank.
Viper chose her because of the regal and commanding air she had, playing the role of the civilian who couldn't know better about how easy it would be for her to kill them. Whoever she was, she was high in the power ladder by the way everyone collectively shuffled out of her way.
Which was a curious thing to note, as she looked barely in her twenties, blue green hair and chestnut brown eyes. Also, very prominently, she wasn't german.
Viper guessed her complexion to be from around south asia.
The woman cocked an eyebrow as she stopped and hummed in thought, regarding them not unkindly, "Müller... From P.R, I think. Down that hall, to the left, the first room. Though she might be on break so you'll have to wait a bit."
Really more of an office than a base, with citizens freely going and leaving.
But this was still head of operations, Hitler's office was at the top floor.
"Thank you, miss-"
"General! Ma'am!"
General? Someone to note then.
Though if she was the general, with her age and gender, it was actually quite suspicious how Viper didn't know about her until now.
She definitely met the prerequisites of being a person of interest-
"Ow!"
The screaming blonde just ran them over!
Falling on their behind, clutching the tube close to them, Viper inwardly cursed him out.
You'd have thought a trained soldier -because that muscle mass couldn't be from a desk worker and ow- would have the necessary balance and awareness to not bump a kid standing right there!
Viper fumed even as tears pricked the corner of their eyes at the pain.
Viper hated pain.
They bruised easily and this was going to stay with them for days.
"Conrad, you idiot!"
Viper got a vicious satisfaction when 'general' walloped him over the head. And it wasn't anything cute or friendly. They were pretty sure they heard his brain rattle around.
"Gah!"
They quickly found the reason why exactly Conrad had committed such a mistake, looking at his worn out form, his veins by the throat bulging that Viper determined must be caused from poison, bloodshot eyes, he was even bleeding in some places, especially his head -oh no he didn't! He did not just ruin Viper's clothes!
You couldn't get blood out easily from -anything!
Viper examined themself in worry, trying to find traces of blood that got on them.
"Hey, wait! General, listen to me! I think I got it!"
"You got nothing!" Oh she could scream.
A kick. Conrad wheezed, folded over on his hands and knees.
"No, wait- I understand now! I was being too cautious! I listened to you and I-"
"What the hell are you doing, soldier! You just knocked over a civilian while parading around half naked!"
That seemed to finally get into his head, as he blinked at the gawking people around him, and then at them, still on the ground. Viper arranged their expression into something more guarded than the amusement they felt.
General glared at him, cracking her knuckles menacingly, "Dedicating yourself into action... Didn't you learn it too well!"
Conrad met their eyes and ice blue eyes widened, a flash of remorse as he moved towards them in worry, fortuitously dodging the punch at the same time and now looking remarkably less manic, "Oh shit! I'm so sorry, are you alright?"
"... yes."
"Are you hurt anywhere? Here, I'll help you-"
Before Viper could even attempt to reject him, Conrad reached his filthy hand at them and-
Oh.
Warmth.
That's... really nice.
Viper had never felt anything like this before, it was akin to curling under the covers, the kind of warmth that lulled them to sleep, only seeping from the inside-
A flash of realization. And then horror and dread abruptly knocked them back into sense.
They froze, Viper staring up at the older man wide eyed, green and blue.
... Fuck.