Mable: What if you said: "I'm going to try to post on the 30th" and then God said: "There is no 30th"?
Within Reach
Chapter 18: Vykker's Labs 13
Toby was used to manning the blimp for long periods of time, so he didn't have a problem piloting for the hours it took to reach the designated spot on the map. Especially since it meant staying out of the bonding going on in the rest of the cockpit. Or the attempt to assimilate a Slig into a group like theirs which consisted of someone as paranoid as Alf. Not that Toby wasn't also wary of the Slig, but he could just focus on the clear skies ahead.
Things had been quiet at first, but then someone had unfortunately suggested another card game. This led to the first integration into the group with a quick-
"You playin' for moolah?" from him, and a following-
"You got any?" from Alf.
With that, a card game commenced. It wasn't much of a bonding activity as to get Daggle acquainted with the group, but at least nobody was killing each other. Even though the tension was so thick with the small amounts of cash being slung around. Abe smartly decided to stay out of it and spent a good chunk of the trip sitting on the floor beside Toby, with the two occasionally chatting but mostly enjoying quiet company.
But Toby was watching through the window alone when they crested that last ridge, a peak of rockery that wouldn't have looked too out of place back in Sorrow Valley. Just over that last reach of deadland was a vast section of surprisingly healthy forest and plains broken up by a few wide rivers. Much of it was bathed in the warm glow of early sunset.
It would've been a gorgeous site if not for the monstrosity looming above it. A craft so massive that it could've cast miles of shadow hanging in the air dead ahead.
Toby felt his mouth dry out as he saw it and turned his head to call back to the others. "I-I think we made it."
Distracted trying to break up some budding disagreement in the back, Abe turned around and got an eyeful of what Toby had seen and his heart almost stopped. He hadn't expected it to look like that, he hadn't expected it to stretch across that much of the sky. It dwarfed even RuptureFarms and its stockyards, a massive oblong-shaped flying contraption hanging in the air. It could've been big enough to be a city.
The moment of silent, jaw dropping awe was broken by a voice from the back.
"I don't know, guys, it doesn't look THAT big," Daggle called sarcastically through cupped hands.
"That's because it's miles away, ya moron," Alf snapped back. Slig silenced, he turned back to Abe. "Okay, now you've seen it. Sure you want to go through with this? It ain't too late to turn around and go do the Raisin's plan."
Abe swallowed thickly as he stared at the structure that was Vykker's Labs. Even in a world like this it seemed so foreign and bizarre, and he could only imagine the inside was just as bad.
"…N-No, I'm going in," he said, unsurely and unsteadily. Alf quirked a brow as Vesper's ears twitched back, but Abe didn't say anything more.
Alf sighed. "Whatever you say. We'll be right behind ya," he said. He then turned back to the pilot and gave the go-ahead. "You heard him, Toby. Bring us in."
"Oookay…" Toby said, his reluctance apparent in his voice but unwilling to say anything more. He continued to push the blimp forward towards the other, much larger and luxurious blimp.
Vesper really wanted to say something at this point. He could tell that Abe wasn't as sure of this decision as he was letting on, and he certainly wasn't either. He thought he knew a good deal about Vykker's Labs due to their investment portfolios, but seeing their massive structure was enough to make him second guess it. It was going to be just like with the Sligs, he was sure of it.
But he just kept standing there watching Abe's face, trying to think of a good way to start the "we need to turn around" conversation. That was, until someone else spoke up.
"Hey, guys? I think something just came outta the bottom of the labs," Toby said cautiously. He leaned forward and squinted through the glass before pointing off towards the bottom. "See that thing flying around down there?"
Alf leaned over the control panel at the front to look. "Huh… Yeah, you're right. Looks like some kinda little, uh… Well, I don't know what it is. Some little flying machine."
It sort of looked like a saucer with a dome on it though was hard to see with how far away it was. That was, until it turned course and started to creep closer. It took at least thirty seconds of staring at it before the two realized that it was getting bigger and flying right towards them. The two looked at each other.
"Uh oh," Toby squeaked.
"Ah, geez," Alf hissed.
"What's up?" Abe asked worriedly, looking between them.
"That thing's coming towards us!" Alf said, pointing out the window. "They sent out some kinda drone and it's heading here!
Abe choked and Vesper's eyes popped open. "Oh Odd. Okay, let's not panic. If we panic, we're as good as caught," he said, trying to get a handle on the situation while the blue Mudokon floundered a little beside him. "…Is there any possible way we can outmaneuver them?" Alf sent him a disbelieving look and Toby peeked back over his shoulder. "…Obviously not, ignore that… Better idea. Is there a way we can defend ourselves?"
"Defend our- This is a cargo blimp, not some kinda warship! It ain't like we've got…" Alf trailed off as he noticed Daggle standing off to the side with his gun in his hands. Like a lightbulb popping on, the Mudokon stepped in towards him. "Hey, lemme borrow that."
"What?! No way! This is my only line of defense!" Daggle defended, clutching it to his chest. "When's the last time you've used a gun anyway?!"
"It ain't that hard to learn! All you do is point and shoot."
"You'll shoot someone's eye out! And then you're gonna blame it on me!"
The two continued arguing, even as Abe tried to break them up.
"Wait, wait! If we go shooting at it, they'll call for backup and we'll get swarmed! There's gotta be more than one of those things in there!" Abe defended. Though he was partially ignored with how fired up the two were.
"You've got a point…" Vesper murmured thoughtfully. Abe turned back to see him rubbing his chin and narrowing his eyes out the window before looking back. "If they thought we were a real threat they would've send more than one."
"So, they don't think we're a threat," Abe said.
"So, they don't know you're on board," Vesper clarified. The Mudokon got a look of realization followed by relief. Though it was short lived as the sound of another ship skirted by the blimp.
"They're pulling up beside us…" Toby quietly warned. This got Alf and Daggle to quiet down too as they listened through the hull. There was a thunk-ing noise from somewhere. "I think they're trying to board…"
Vesper gave a hum of agreement, ears up and forward as he listened to the sound of something moving around outside the door. He could hear each movement of shifting and clattering from outside before his ears flinched back at the sound of a heavy banging on the metal door. Everyone else heard it too and nobody was spared of the impending dread.
The knocking stopped after a few moments. Everyone looked to Vesper who shook his head. They were still out there, and they weren't leaving.
Alf now looked down at the Slig who was now hunched into himself with fear. "Hey," he whispered, causing Daggle to jump and look up. Alf held out his hands. "…Give me the gun." This time Daggle was too freaked out to argue and reluctantly handed his gun off to the Mudokon. Alf gave an approving nod. "…Now go out and talk 'em down."
Daggle's eyes widened behind his visor, which somehow actually showed in their illuminated, red frames. "Wh- Are you kiddin' me?!" he barely managed to whisper. Alf's face was unflinching and Daggle looked around desperately to the others. His eyes affixed on Vesper, and he pointed at him. "Why can't he go?!"
"…I could, maybe," Vesper agreed. He didn't want to, but he managed to swallow down his dread. If anyone here was good at feigning a harsh tone, it was him. "I can do it. I'll go see what they want and lie ourselves out of search… Though just in case, Abe, you may want to hide in a cabinet."
He got as far as straightening his vest, giving a simple, "Here I go," and started towards the door in an intimidating stride before he was grabbed by the arm and pulled back. Almost pulled straight off balance and looking back to see that it was Abe who pulled him back, to very little surprise.
"No, wait. That's not a good idea. You could've been spotted running with me in Nolybab. You could be wanted too," Abe quietly warned. Vesper visibly tensed at that. "And it's going to look awful strange if we're some run-of-the-mill cargo ship with a Chiromor on board…" Abe slowly looked to the floor, followed it along, and then back to Daggle.
"Oh no," Daggle squeaked.
"Daggle-."
"Oh no, no. You ain't gettin' me out there," he adamantly shot down. He point back at the door. "You know that ain't gonna be a Slig out there!"
"Daggle, please! You're the only one who can do it," Abe half-pleaded.
"Anybody else is going to raise alarm. Literal alarms blaring all around us. You are the only one who is going to look normal," Vesper agreed.
Daggle groaned and ran his hands down his mask before grabbing at his tentacles.
"I don't wanna do this!" he whined. No longer even having his gun to cling onto.
"You're gonna have to do it," Alf firmly insisted. More banging rung out on the door, with the Slig flinching at every thump. "And you're gonna have to make it quick or they're comin' in here!"
At that point Daggle knew there was no backing down. He dramatically dropped his arms and dragged himself over to the door as slowly as possible. Abe was quick to follow.
"It's going to be okay. If it starts going south, I've got your back," he assured him. The Slig looked back at him once he reached the door and Abe affirmed, "You're not alone."
"You promise?" Daggle asked, pointing at him. Abe nodded sincerely. "Eesh… A'right. You all sit tight and shaddup."
He straightened up his back and tried to take on a less defeated look as he stepped out into the hall. There was another found of heavy banging on the door, and he managed to roll his eyes.
"Keep yer pants on! I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Daggle yelled. He strode over and opened the door. "Whaddya- yiiikes…"
The faux-annoyed act dropped the second he saw that was standing right outside the door was leaning in right over him.
It was of a species much taller than any Slig with most of its body wrapped in clean white and black armor. The thick plating likely impenetrable by even his gun. There were a few holes and slots where wrinkly, grey skin could be seen peeking through. Including its hands. Its massive hands. Its extremely long fingers, nearly as long as Daggle's forearm.
By the grace of the odds, it was wearing a helmet. It looked like it had a gas mask built into the bottom and an antenna sticking on the top, stretched across its long, slender face. Its face matching its fingers much too well. Goggles with blue lenses stared down at him like large spotlights. The whole thing so stretched and contorted, like a distorted version of a Slig swat member. It was disturbing beyond all reason.
Which meant that it was an Intern.
It didn't help that Daggle's first impression was that the Intern was hovering in mid-air. After a moment of staring, he looked down enough to see through its bowlegs and look at the weird, almost saucer shaped blimp with a glass-domed top that it was leaning out of. That explained why it was leaning so far in, though it didn't make things much better. The pod easily kept up alongside their own, admittedly languidly moving, aircraft.
Thankfully, the second Intern had stayed in the little pod, elsewise it too would've been crowding over him instead of bopping its head back and forth and seemingly staring out into the empty sky.
A loud click made Daggle's head snap back up to see the Intern pressing something on his wrist. A quick look showed it to be something like a wrist communicator. Usually, standard fair though this one was much more high-tech, and the shrill voice that came through was crystal clear.
"Good afternoon. You are trespassing on Vykker's Labs airspace. Give us a good reason not to haul you in and fine your ass," the voice hissed. None-too-friendly, so it was likely a Vykker. Daggle heard they had squeaky voices.
He went into immediate defense mode. "Whoa, whoa, let's not get crazy here! We just got a little turned around is all. We didn't even know you guys were over here til we came up over the ridge."
"You came up over the ridge and continued a dead-on approach- which you are STILL continuing- for over four and a half minutes. You had plenty of time to see we were over here!"
"Th-That ain't my fault! Look at this thing! This thing turns around slower than an Allidillo!" Daggle snapped back. He still found the Intern's leer a lot worse than the voice yipping at him over the line. "What am I supposed to-?!"
"I'm done talking with you. Where's your superior?"
"Wh-What?" the Slig said a little more meekly.
"Your boss, you ignoramus! I want to speak with your boss!"
"Uh…" Daggle's heart began to pound, and he could feel sweat beading up in his neck and belly. "That's… That ain't gonna really work out… See, my boss is in there taking a nap-."
"Then wake his ass up!"
"I would… buuuut there's this… thing. He's got this fiery temper. Blazing temper. If I wake him up, there's a good chance he's gonna throw me overboard," Daggle tried to excuse. "So, I would looove to help ya out, but-."
"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE?! I TOLD YA TO SIT DOWN AND SHUDDAP!" an abrasive voice bellowed from behind.
"GAH!" Daggle jumped so violently that he almost bumped into the Intern, only barely swinging himself back enough to dodge that mistake. He then looked back over his shoulder and frantically searched for the source of it, then realized it must've come from the open door into the cockpit. He didn't know how though because it sounded dead-on like a Glukkon.
"WHAT?!"
"Err, uh, Boss! You, uh… You woke up!" Daggle said awkwardly. "Turns out, get this, we flew into Vykker's Labs airspace! Ain't that somethin', heh."
"WELL, HOW IN THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN?!" the "Glukkon" called back. "GET OUTTA HERE!"
There wasn't, in fact, a Glukkon in the cockpit. Instead, right around the corner of the door, just where he couldn't be see, was Abe doing his best Molluck impression. He had always been pretty good at replicating voices and in this case the results came out believable enough to be a Glukkon and off enough that it didn't sound exactly like Molluck. He listened in for the response.
"No joke, Boss! We're really in for it now!" Daggle called back.
The Vykker on speaker was starting to run out of patience, evident by him interrupting Daggle before he could continue. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go in and get him! It's him I want to talk to, not you!"
"D-D'you hear how ticked he is?! I can't do that! He'll chew my arms off!" the Slig tried to argue.
"For Odd's- GO IN AND GET HIM," the Vykker snarled.
For a moment Daggle thought that he was talking to him, but then the armored Intern leaned its body to the right and swung up a long, crooked leg to step into the doorway. The Slig choked as he started to lean in further.
"Hey! Whoa, whoa! Ya can't come in here!" he argued. He boldly reached tried to shove the Intern back, causing it to wobble. Though this didn't succeed in anything except having the Intern suddenly get offended enough to backhand him. It felt like being hit by a club, causing Daggle to stagger back and barely recovering enough to hop back forward to wrestle the Intern. "I need a little help out here?!"
Now Abe was starting to panic. Words alone weren't working; the Intern was likely going to get in here. They could take out one, probably both of them, but then the alarm would go off and they would be swarmed. Or worse, shot down on sight, which would kill all of them in one fiery inferno. Still, he was finding his hand reflexively moving back towards his bag to grab something to fight with.
When he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders.
"Say exactly what I tell you to," Vesper hissed out. He leaned in until he was right behind Abe's ear.
Daggle was still fighting the Intern. Though fighting was a bit of an exaggeration. More like, the Slig kept trying to block the Intern and the Intern kept knocking him aside. The last time Daggle managed to duck and dodge, taking a swing at the Intern's middle and bruising his fingers on the plating. The Intern responded by yelling down at him. Or, at least, that muffled grumbling sounded like suffocated yelling.
That was, until one loud call interrupted the whole event: "HEY, LISTEN UP!"
It wasn't the yell, but the abrasive blare from the blimp itself that suddenly snapped them all to attention. It sounded like the blimp itself had just erupted in noise. It was more than likely just Toby shoving his hands on the controls until every warning, whistle, and alert noise exploded at once. It was now silent, save the Vykker's barely noticed mutter of, "What in all of…?"
"You tell them," the 'Glukkon' began in an icy tone. "That I've dropped fourteen grand on Vykker's Labs… B-4… Mutual Funds… and I ain't seen a cent since! These chumps are makin' me look like a fool! And if I don't get SOME RESPECT RIGHT NOW, I'M PULLING OUT FULLSTOP!"
At this point, it wasn't clear if the silence after the outburst was a good thing or a bad thing. Either way it was eventually broken by Daggle.
"…Did you catch that?" he asked.
Apparently the Vykker did as after that question he began to fumble his words so hard that they could already tell he was backpedaling. Apparently, the babble of random words actually came out to something.
"Oh, well, that changes things! I-I had no idea I was speaking to an investor! My apologies, profuse apologies for being so abrasive before," the Vykker apologizes in a voice so smarmy that it seemed to ooze bittersweet cough syrup. "Vykker's Labs always puts their investors first. After all, they are funding the future!... But, err, the future's further out then you may think. Progress takes time- but you should be expecting a check anytime in the next three to four business years."
"I've been on for six," the 'Glukkon' gruffly retorted.
"…Perhaps it was lost in the mail! Ah, but no need to worry over such petty numbers. Have you considered upgrading to our gold investor program? For a measly eighty-six thousand more, you will be granted perks such as daily updates, a two percent increase in returns, and a lovely gift basket!"
Apparently, the only reason he changed his tone was not the fear of losing an investor, but the possibility to squeeze more moolah out of this one. Abe wondered if Vesper was used to this. A quick glance back showed a stony expression, but not one of overt surprise of disgust. The Mudokon turned back ahead and rumbled lowly through his chest.
"Yer holding up my blimp." The cold emptiness from that tone was the closest Abe had gotten to Molluck himself. It nearly sent a chill through Alf and Toby would've grimaced- if he hadn't been already.
"Oh… Oh yes! Very well. We'll just get out of the way so you can get yourself turned around. And if you change your mind, feel free to reach us phone! Investors get a twenty-five percent discount on calling charge and the first three minutes are completely free! Thank you for trusting Vykker's Conglomerate with your future." There was an awkward pause as the Slig and Intern just stood there. "…Hello?! Are you listening?! Get back in the pod and back here!"
The Intern finally snapped to attention- from the motions, Daggle was pretty certain that the Intern had just been turning him out- and shot the Slig a look that was probably dirty before turning to climb back into the pod.
"Ya'll come back sometime! We'll shoot the breeze over a brew 'er two!" Daggle mockingly called after them. He waved his fingers at them before shutting the blimp door.
He then proceeded to stand there for a brief moment before collapsing onto his backside in the walkway. His hands were shaking, his face hurt, he was sweating profusely, and he only pulled himself together long enough to turn towards the open door and yell through, "I ain't never doin' that again!"
Abe peeked his head into the doorway. "You okay?"
"Do I LOOK okay?! I got smacked around by that stitch-lipped freak!... No offense."
Abe just gave a sort of nonchalant wave and turned back to the others who were all still looking shellshocked. "Well… That didn't go too bad, right?" he dared to ask.
"What in the heck was that?!" Alf blurted out.
"A really pathetic attempt to convince us to buy stock," Vesper hissed. He crossed his arms and scoffed. "As though a gift basket is going to convince anyone to sink thousands into a company with a price-to-earning rate that dismal."
"Not that! Obviously not that! That- That thing Abe was doing!" Alf said. The other Mudokon was startled by the sudden attention being directed back at him. "Abe, when didja learn how to do that?!"
"Umm, uh, it just sort of came to me? I don't know, I just do voices pretty well," Abe said with a shrug. "Guess it's from all those times I've possessed people. I've got to stay in character or someone's going to notice I don't sound right."
"Whatever it was, it was freaky. You were giving me flashbacks… Good job." Alf finished with a thumbs up and Abe got a somewhat relieved, shy little smile. "You see them heading back, Toby?"
"Y-Yeah, they're making their way over there," Toby said. He sounded thoroughly shaken, though more at the close call and less at the Glukkon impression. Abe came over to lean on the pilot's chair, one hand affirmingly on the other Mudokon's shoulder, and looked out through the window before them. He could see the speck of the pod in the distance. "…So… What do we do now?" Toby asked as he looked up at him.
"Do you think they're going to send out any more of those things if we get any closer?" Abe asked.
"Dunno," his friend said with a shrug.
"It depends on how well they bought the investor ruse," Vesper volunteered. He came up to the other side of the pilot's seat, a hand resting on it and the other on his hip. "They might get suspicious if we get closer and send more. Or they might be so eager to schmooze that they watch from a distance."
"…We don't have to get close for long. Just long enough for me to jump out," Abe suggested. Vesper huffed with exasperation.
"We are not doing that," he dragged out. "If you can't get in and we're driven off, you're going to be stuck out there in high altitudes with no protection from- well, anything."
"Got another plan?" Abe asked. The wording was challenging, enough that Vesper glanced over with a befuddled look, but the expression, tone, and intent was all straight. Unfortunately, it did catch him with his pants down because he didn't have any alternative plans. He raced to think up one quickly but was beat to it.
"What if we keep playing up this schmoozing scheme? We could dock at one of them… docks and stall long enough for Abe to get in. That way he don't get stuck outside and they don't think it's weird that we flew by and are just circling out in airspace," Alf suggested. This actually seemed like a relatively good idea, save that it put them in higher risk of getting caught. Abe was hesitant, but then nodded after he saw Toby and Vesper do so.
"One thing though. We can't keep doin' the whole fake-Glukkon thing if Abe's not here, so we're gonna have to get someone else to distract," Alf said thoughtfully. He and Vesper shared a long look before both found their way looking back at the Slig who was now standing in the doorway again. Daggle noticed their stares right away.
"Wh- AGAIN?! I almost just got beat up by some long faced, creepy-fingered psycho and you want me to go hang out with more of 'em?!"
"It's not like we're asking you to buy 'em a round of drinks! We just need someone to go out there and tell 'em some reason why we're still here," Alf said, less than enthused by the Slig's 'overdramatics'. "Look, you can always say no… but if we get caught, you're goin' down with us. I don't think those Vykker guys are gonna go any softer on a Slig."
"…Where's my gun?! I want my gun!" Daggle looked around until Alf pointed him towards a crate which it was resting on. The Slig hustled over to snatch it up and clung to it like his only means of security.
"Be nicer to him. He saved us back there," Abe whispered back.
"I'll give him some credit, but you saved us."
"They would've never bought it if nobody was out there."
Alf knew he was right, he just seemed so stubbornly determined when it came to giving credit to some random Slig. Abe didn't push him for it, just wanting instead for him to be a little less abrasive with him. Easier said than done.
Toby coughed a little and pointed towards a locker on the right. "Vesper, could you grab the communicator? It's right in there. It looks like a… like a bracelet."
Vesper hummed curiously and went over to get it, finding exactly what Toby pointed him towards. He had seen Sligs using communicators like this before but comparing it to a bracelet was a bit of an exaggeration.
"How did you get ahold of one of these?" he asked as he brought it back, passing behind the pilot seat and up to Abe, who looked at the communicator for a second before offering his arm. Vesper fumbled with it a moment before figuring out how to tighten it on. It was an awkward fit- not made for a Mudokon's arm shape- but it didn't feel like it was going to slip. Though Abe did test it to make sure.
The whole time, Toby had been explaining, "It wasn't that hard really. Most of these blimps have one in them so that lookouts on the bird's nest can relay what they see back here." He looked over and, seeing Abe had it on, beckoned him over. He then leaned over and started to point to the buttons. "Press this to talk through. This button mutes it. So, if you're hiding, we won't say something and give you away."
"This to talk, this to mute. Got it," Abe said. He then looked towards the back of the blimp where Daggle had now started pacing. "Daggle?"
"I'm thinking," he muttered.
"Thinking about what?"
"Whaddya think?! About this story I gotta come up with that doesn't get us all shot on sight!" Daggle snapped. That clamped Abe's mouth shut and the Slig returned to a circle of pacing. "What in the hell am I gonna be up there for? My boss ain't leavin' the ship, I'm on my own with no other Sligs, and I need somethin' from Vykker's Labs… Huh… Slig on my own wanting something from Vykker's Labs…"
He sounded the calmest he had since this whole thing started and it was clear from how he lifted his head that he had an idea. He suddenly turned heel and hustled over to the group.
"I need moolah. Like, a lot of it," he said, sticking out a hand. He seemed to already know who it was coming from too as he stuck it out towards Vesper, who narrowed his gaze in befuddlement while Abe quirked a brow.
"You're going to… bribe them?" Abe guessed.
"Somethin' like that, but I'm gonna need moolah. A lot. In fact, I'm gonna need all we got," Daggle insisted.
"You want me to hand over every cent to my name so you can bribe the security," Vesper said flatly. He might've sounded suspicious if he didn't sound so unimpressed. "…And you don't think they won't find that strange?"
"It's not a bribe! It's like a bribe, but it ain't. Just work with me here, this is the best we got goin' for us!" the Slig argued. "So unless you got a better plan, cough up the dough."
Vesper rolled his eyes with a sigh and languidly pulled out his wallet. He counted the bills with his claws and fished out three of them. "Three hundred," he offered.
"More," Daggle said.
With a sigh, he pulled out two more bills. "Five hundred."
"More."
Seeing where this was going, Vesper- while looking directly at Daggle- pulled out the rest of the bills. "One thousands."
"More."
"I don't have more," Vesper hissed, eyes narrowing now in annoyance and grimacing. When Daggle cringed back, he quickly tightened his lips and softened his expression. "Find me an ATM and I can get you more."
"Eh, this'll do," the Slig agreed. He took moolah, counted through the bills to make sure it was all there, and then looked to Abe. "How's about you, Stitches?"
"Okay, now you're just robbing us," Alf complained.
Daggle yanked up his gun. "EVERYBODY FREEZE! THIS IS A HOLDUP!"
Abe's hands shot up in defense while Alf's mouth dropped open. "Are you shittin' me?!"
"Well, duh," Daggle said, lowering his gun. He snickered a little, getting a little glee at seeing all the flustered faces- Vesper looked especially shaken, which he considered quarma. "What would I do? Grab the moolah and jump off the blimp? Yeesh, you guys got no sense of humor. Ain't like you're the ones going out there, screwin' around with-." He hadn't noticed Alf scooting around him until he got a smack upside the back of his head. "Oww! HEY!"
"You were asking for that! Don't even act like you weren't!" Alf snapped. He pointed at the Slig as he returned back to behind Toby. "Toby, if the coast is clear then bring us in." Toby gave a thumbs up and began to do so.
Abe watched as they slowly crept closer to the dock. It wasn't shaped for a blimp like theirs, but all Toby had to do was loop to pull up sideways and he would be able to hop down onto it and make a run for the loading dock door, which he was finally able to see once they got a little closer. There had to be cameras somewhere, so he couldn't loiter once he got out there.
"You already went into Vykker's Labs once… sort of," he reminded himself. "It's just gonna be like that!... Kind of. It's a lot bigger, a lot higher up…" Despite himself, he imagined falling the impressive distance between the labs and the ground and swallowed thickly. He wasn't afraid of heights; he was afraid of dying. "…But maybe you'll find her." That mix of nerves and ache pulled at his chest. "Maybe."
"You look sick," Vesper said quietly. Quiet enough to try and hide it from the others. "Nobody's going to be angry if you have to tap out."
"I'm okay," Abe said. He didn't sound convincing as he was clutching his bag's straps for dear life.
Vesper had to force himself to bite his tongue, instead resulting in a disapproving hiss as he tried to fight his better judgement on this idea. It couldn't be just him, even the Mudokon beside him didn't seem confident in what was about to happen, and yet he was still driven to go through with it. All he could do was hope that this was the usual way of going about plans and that Abe was always this nervous. That he was the one overreacting.
Soon Toby pulled the blimp up in front of the dock and turned it sideways so the door would face it. Readjusting his bag, Abe turned and headed out of the cockpit with little more than, "I'm off!"
"You be careful in there! Things start getting hairy and you get out," Alf reminded. Toby called back with a "Be safe!", Daggle was still bracing himself for what was coming, and Vesper quickly followed after Abe.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" he offered. Before Abe could decline, he hastily added in, "I know I'm not as skilled at this as you are and I know you're worried about me cracking under pressure, but you don't have to do this alone. I move quickly, I have a gun, and I have very little attachment to Vykkers. I can help you!"
"You are going to help me! I need you to be the little voice whispering in my ear when I need help," Abe assured, tapping on the wrist communicator. He smiled a little. "And if anyone's going to crack under pressure, it's gonna be me, and I don't want you getting in the line of fire when that happens."
Thankfully, Abe's voice and face never faltered to show sincerity, so it felt less like a brush-off. Vesper gave a solemn nod, "Alright… I trust you. Call if you need me."
Taking one last, deep breath, the Mudokon opened the blimp door and after seeing it was clear, hastily jumped out and ran across the dock. His eyes quickly searched around to make sense of the area. No other doors, no accessible vents, the docks didn't connect to each other; just one large door that was currently sealed shut. It was the only way in and out, and he quickly got his back against the wall beside it, hiding behind the frame of the doorway.
Daggle was looking a lot shakier as he came out to the door and stepped out, dropping onto the deck. He had his gun hugged under one arm. As much as he wanted to have it up and ready to fire, he had to play it cool and causal.
…He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. Though at this point if he didn't do this he was screwed. He stole a glance at Abe before slowly walking towards the loading dock door.
Before he could get there, there was a loud clang and deep metal groan, and then the door started to raise open. Daggle had to force himself to stay cool as he counted the numerous pairs of legs being revealed under the sliding door. Six fully armored Interns were revealed to be waiting inside and stepped out together, though not in unison. It didn't take long for all of those sets of goggles to be on him.
"What up?" he greeted in a very uncomfortable way. He strode up to them with a wobbly saunter, watching for them to make any aggressive moves, but they did not. Their posture screamed 'bored' more than anything.
"You're prob'ly wonderin' why we're docked here, so lemme give you the skinny. Turns out my boss is an investor in your bosses' business, and we got turned around somewhere, yadda yadda, and now we're here. But I thought, 'hey, since we're here anyway, why not put some use to this little detour?' Am I right or am I right?"
While Daggle was rambling, Abe slipped around the edge of the door and behind the line of Interns. He watched them carefully as he backed into the empty hallway and soon disappeared out of sight.
"See, the thing is: my boss ain't really the nicest guy. If he ain't runnin' his mouth about somethin', he's chewing somebody out, and that somebody's usually me. He's got a lot of enemies and his security? Yikes! It's also just me. But I ain't enough Slig to be watchin' a guy goin' off that crazy on people!... Hey, are you listening? 'Cause I ain't gettin' any feedback here," Daggle said, gesturing between him and the Intern he was talking to.
It stared at him blankly and he realized that the dull sound of techno music was coming somewhere from its head. So, no, it wasn't listening in the slightest.
"Hey!" Daggle said loudly. He pointed towards his own head where his ear would be. "ARE YOU LISTENING?!"
The Intern groaned and tilted its head back like it was rolling its eyes. It reached up to tap a button on the side of its built-in headphones, then gave a muffled hum that he assumed was some variation of "What do you want?"
Why the Interns just came out here to stare at the blimp was beyond him, unless this was some lackluster show of force. Though finding out that everything he said had gone completely ignored didn't help his mood.
"My boss is an investor in your company, he's got a lot of enemies, and I can't guard him on my own! I'm just one guy and I'm supposed to replace a whole security team! One Slig can't do that!... Unless…" Daggle flexed the muscles on his free arm. "I get a little something to help give me an edge." He smoothly reached under his arm and pulled out the moolah, fanning it in his hand. "And I'm willing to pay top dollar for it."
That caught the Intern's attention right away. It eyed that spread of hundreds and contemplated it before signaling the others with its hand. It made two motions, one bending two fingers and the other tapping its arm, humming as it did so. They seemed to understand what it was saying, with another making an 'okay' signal back, and the Intern turned back to Daggle.
It pointed an uncomfortably long finger at him and then pointed down at the dock, likely telling him to wait there. He made the same 'okay' signal and watched as it turned around and headed back into the hall that Abe had just stepped inside. Thankfully, Abe must've already moved on because the Intern didn't immediately open fire. That was almost a relief- if he wasn't stuck standing out here with five armed and loaded onlookers.
Plus two more back in the blimp, being Vesper and Alf who had been watching the scene play out from a port hole from the back room. Neither was able to hear what was being said, so the best they had to go off of was what they saw. Including seeing Abe creep out around the edge of the door and slip inside. Both tensing up in unison before realizing he got in safe. Vesper released a breath while Alf wiped off his forehead.
"Looks like he made it in," he said. There was no celebration in his voice though, just a lingering solemness.
Even though Vesper knew he was concerned about Abe, it wasn't until this moment and that tone that he realized how uncertain he was about this. He offered Abe a way out but hadn't pushed it, so Vesper had just assumed there was a degree of confidence to let it go. Maybe there was, but Alf definitely wasn't sweating from the heat, and if he listened closely, he noticed his pulse quickened just as much as his own had.
"Yeah," Vesper agreed. His own voice sounding dry and uneased. "…Now it's just a matter of getting him back out."
Alf got a twitch of a smile at that.
It was good to be on the same page for once.