Setup & Target's
Tenth chapter of Grave reality, time flies. Anyway, to be clear, when a character says something that does not mean it's true, they could be lying to further their own goals, or just giving suggestions based on what they know. With that out of the way here is the chapter.
Italy, Wednesday October 11th 2000
Alexander waiting for the actually landing is seated in the back of the plane, doing some last-minute reading of his target to pass the time. Not putting too much effort into hiding what he's reading since he's separated from the pilots.
Elias Erikson, second generation magnus originally from northern Scotland. Relocated to a small town in Italy with a lighter church presence after a supposed succession dispute. Has since remained in the town for the past decade.
Under and around the words in any space available are notes in the margin's written in Alexander's handwriting.
Specializes curses targeting magic circuits, and debilitating od production. Should have shot him from range.
Recent inquires have determine his research into Reality Marbles, as credible. Unknown reasons for research, due to studied behavior there may be a potential of him working with a group. Unlikely presence of group with him.
Taking the time to reread the notes.
He eats at the same table every month, on the fifteenth day of the month, unknown reason for specific date. It would have been better to arrive earlier and plant non-magical recording devices.
Order's preferred alive, for interrogation about potential partners. Dead acceptable bring body.
Their was a bell tower with amazing sightlines, better to scale it and snipe target, than to fight close quarters. Should have shot him.
"Hey we're landing soon" Greg shouts from the cockpit. Hearing this Alexander closes his file. And puts it away. Bracing for the landing. After a few minutes of silence the plane rocks slightly, indicating a safe landing. "Silver, you can get up." Esther shouts from the cockpit, Alexander unbuckling the various seatbelts. Gets up from his seat. Grabbing his bags from their resting place, he grabs a bag and slings it over his shoulder.
Alexander going into the cockpit. "Hey Silver what you need?" Esther asks not fully turning back to him. "I'm going to be staying for a few days so you guys can take off as soon as you're ready." Nodding Greg says "Got it, you can get off now, pleasure doing business with you" leaving the cockpit Alexander gathers the rest of his things and disembarks the plane. Waving at Alexander through the window, Esther smiles and says "He's going to kill someone isn't he?"
Grimacing Greg says "We don't know that for sure... but yeah." he says looking out as Alexander walks out of sight. Alexander entering a parking lot sees a nondescript sedan. With a familiar envelope sitting between the wiper and windshield. Grabbing the envelope he rips the seal, and opens it. Unfolding the letter, he reads it.
Hello Alexander, I realized that you might have difficulty getting to your target from where you will be landing. So I'm lending you this car, don't worry about being pulled over, you'll find a false license inside the glove box.
So despite of this being your first official target, I do hope you take the time to enjoy the beauty of your current location and take the time to relax. That being said please do not pull off another Aidenfurge and make me save you, I do have paperwork.
Sincerely your legal guardian Kischur Zeltretch Schweinorg.
P.S there are a few tools you might find use for in the trunk.
Taking out the keys from the envelope. going around to the back of the car, and opening the trunk. Taking the time and risk to use structural analysis to find what tool's Zeltretch mentioned. Finding several smuggler hatches hidden inside the trunk.
Grabbing his bag's he loads them in, before closing the trunk and going back to the driver's side, and entering the car. Making sure to Check the glove box, making sure the papers are actually there. Before sticking the key in the ignition.
Alexander turns the key, only to have the engine sputter and die out. Alexander looking down sees a clutch, and precedes to slam his forehead into the steering wheel causing the horn to blare out. Sighing to himself he says "Of course Zeltretch gives me a stick-shift."
Alexander lifting his head off the wheel, presses the clutch in and turns the keys. Before slowly going in reverse. For about ten feet then the car stalls. Repeating this process a few more times before slowly getting the hang of it, enough to attempt driving on the actual road.
Italy, Friday October 13th 2000
Alexander having spent the entirety of yesterday, and most of the day before that, driving and dealing with the slight language barrier. Slight since while he did think about him not understanding Italian. And fix that issue with help from Luvia, and the Ansuz rune. What he did not account for is it's one way. So, he can understand everything anybody's saying as long as has the large topaz, but no one that can't speak English can understand him.
So, after some difficulty with gas, and lodging Alexander arrives to the small town, and after parking the car somewhere where it won't draw attention. Is looking for the exact location of the café where Elias goes to every month, and from there the tower with good sightlines. All while attempting to not leak any prana, a difficult task when it isn't possible to stop producing it.
Walking to the patio of the small café Alexander catching the attention of the women cleaning the area, smiles as she asks "We're currently closed, if you want to come back in thirty minutes we'll be open by then." Pulling out the book he bought after realizing the translation wasn't two way opens it and reads, in very broken Italian, English to him. Says "Excuse, myself, did you, witness him." he says taking out the picture of Elias.
The women nodding slowly says equally slowly. "Yes, he comes by every month and sits in that table." she says pointing over to a table in the corner. "Why are you looking for him?" she asks. Looking back at the book he says. "Courting, sister, want to surprise. Him, don't tell? Apologies for sentence new, language." nodding the women looking down to the book says "I can speak English."... Alexander taking a moment before slamming his hand into his face and sighing.
"Okay that would have been good to know, anyway I'm dating his sister and they're not on good terms so I wanted to see why. I'm sure he will not see me if he knows I'm here so can you not tell anyone." nodding with a bright smile she says "Sure thing kid, I'm a sucker for young love."
"Thank you." he says memorizing the table she pointed out. Before walking away from her. Reaching the car, taking the keys and opening the trunk. He grabs his bags, and starts stealthily moving towards the tower with sightlines. Quickly reaching the tower's base with a surprising lack of compactions, Alexander picking the lock, without prana, closes the door behind him, and goes around the building. Seeing no doors, besides the one he came in, on the first floor. He climbs up the stairs.
Seeing two doors up the first flight, he quickly checks them. Finding a janitor's closet and, an old office. After checking around the office making sure it's empty. he closes and relocks the door. Repeating this process, after clearing the tower. Alexander hides his bags in case anyone comes in. And heads back to the car. Making sure to keep an eye out for better spots to hide it along the way. Reaching the sedan, and opening the trunk, Alexander opening the compartments inside it, starts unloading the item's contained within them.
Making sure to hide them along the way back to the tower, with only having to change paths to avoid people twice. Slightly worried at how easy his mission's been so far. Shaking his head to clear his head, he refocuses, on moving the gear to a higher floor Now at the top of the tower, Alexander taking some binocular's start's looking in the direction of the café Eilas will go to. Finding it fairly quickly. Alexander sets the binoculars down and taking out a knife, starts to carve runes in the pillars.
Finishing with Thurisaz, he moves on connecting it to Ihwaz, making sure to leave them inert only placing them just in case. And repeats this on the other pillars. Grabbing the bag of parts. He starts to screw and piece them together. Slowly putting a M40A3 together.
Taking the scope Alexander looking through it at the table, slowly scopes the sight in. And after finishing attaches it to the rifle. With the rifle fully built, Alexander starts taking it apart again. Taking out the barrel, he starts doing maintenance on it. Making sure to clean any fingerprints off the rifle. Finishing with that he pulls on some gloves and reattaches the barrel. Before heading down the tower, making sure to grab a small microphone hidden within his hunting shotgun.
Heading to the now open café. Alexander upon reaching it enters, and is immediately greeted by the same woman who he spoke too earlier. "Welcome back, is there anything you'd like to order?" she asks in English. Alexander walking up to the counter, takes a look at their various pastries "Can I get one sfogliatella, and a cup of black coffee, please."
Nodding the women rings him up and says "That'll be fourteen sixty-two." handing over the euros. Alexander wait's less than two minutes before grabbing his pastry and coffee. Heading outside Alexander sits in the table he was told was Elias's, and drinks his coffee, while discreetly bugging the table. Eating his pastry, Alexander just sits their taking a moment to rest, and prepare himself for what he's going to do.
Time skip, Italy, Sunday October 15th 2000
Alexander having finished setting up his surveillance equipment, including a camera with a lens good enough to see the table despite the around two hundred and seventy yards from the table and its position. Looking through his rifle's scope keeping note of everyone arriving to the café, as a way to pass time till Elias arrives. Till after an hour, he spots Elias entering the café. Alexander setting the rifle down, grabs an earpiece and puts it on, making sure to flip a switch on the small box it's connected to. Before getting on the camera.
Watching Elias moving with a cup of something directly to his table, taking several pictures. Alexander waiting the person he's meeting to arrive is surprised when Elias's voice rings through his ear piece. "I think they've found out what I'm researching." hearing him talk to himself, Alexander looks closer to see if he talking to a phone. "The problem is that an Enforcer could be after me any moment." he says looking around wearily. Realizing what's going on, Alexander moves the camera's focus off the blonde man and starts looking at all the patrons sitting alone.
"I don't expect you to help me, but we had a deal." he hears just as he catches a dark-haired man with slight beard and red eyes lips moving. Taking as many pictures of the man as he can. Alexander picks up his rifle and trains his sights just a bit above and to the right of Elias's head. "Okay I'll start packing, and hold out till then." he says as Alexander takes a deep breath, preparing himself. Before releasing his breath with an "Sorry." as he pulls the trigger, sending the rifle kicking into his shoulder.
Quickly pulling his sights back to Elias. Alexander sighing in relief seeing the blood splatter and the downed body of Elias. As the people around the humble café, excepted the dark-haired man start freaking out, and ducking behind cover. Pulling the bolt back, releasing the spent casing. Alexander pushing it back in loading another round. Aims again, shooting the head once again. Once again pulling the rifle sights back on the body, and seeing the extra blood splattered on the ground and the hole within his head. He sighs in relief once more, glad that the plan went off without a complication.
Needing to act quickly Alexander dropping the rifle. quickly starts taking the camera of the its stand, and places it into its bag, after taking out it's memory card. Before grabbing the rifle and unscrewing its barrel, and taking off its scope. Placing it into the bag as well. He slings the bag along with anything else linking him to the tower, and climbs down the hatch leading into the building. Going down two flights of stairs, Alexander goes to the door that leads into the office and opens it.
Going through the office and down the stairs leading to it. Heading to the back door, Alexander opens it and goes into the alley way. Calmly walking making sure to stay hidden, he makes his way to his hidden car, without being spotted.
Alexander knowing not to test his luck quickly throws the bag into the trunks hidden compartment. Placing his hand onto the trunk, Alexander taking a risk says "Mend" sending prana into the trunk, causing the golden lights on his arm to brighten. "Bend, Rend, End." he says quickly finding and filling the cracks in the trunk and using Alteration to permanently lock the compartment.
Closing the trunk, and getting in the car, Alexander opens the glove box and puts the memory card in, before shutting it. And taking a moment to breath, and attempt to ignore once again how familiar killing felt. Starting the car, he slowly starts driving to Elias's workshop. Needing to deal with the evidence before anyone finds anything related to mage-craft. Taking a longer route to avoid the area around the crime scene.
Once arriving at Elias's workshop, Alexander uncaring of subtly, due to its owner's death. Places his hand on the front door of Elias's workshop, and says "Depend, rend, end." quickly identifying the anchoring points of the bounded field and destroying them. Taking a few deep breaths from the strain of using prana in his current state. He pushes past it and opens the door to the workshop, quickly dodging the trap triggered by opening the door he enters, and gets to work looking high and low for any research materials.
Omake, Home intruder.
Waiting to arrive at her destination in the back seat, Luvia is reading one of Alexander's books on notes, which surprisingly has nothing to do with actual notes. Engrossed in her reading is only snapped away at her driver's voice saying "We've arrived." nodding she says "Wait here." Exiting the car, and going up to the gate of Alexander's abode. She pushes it open, and goes past the bounded field to the front door and using her key enters. Once inside she starts going towards her room.
*crash*
Before halting at hearing a crash upstairs. Knowing no one should be at the residence at this time, she checks her pockets to make sure she has a few gems on her. Before slowly going up the stairs with a gandr at the tip of her finger prepared for anything. Going first to the library since that holds the most valuable items she looks through it making sure no one is hiding there and noticing that nothing is out of place, she moves on to Alexander's room of the same outfit, seeing as their engraved with long forgotten runes.
Once again seeing that it's been left untouched, she exits it. Thinking of other possibilities of the noise.
*Crash*
Hearing the noise again, and being much closer to its origin, she pins points it to a door she's never entered before, which means a lot considering she's been in the attic which is hidden behind a false wall. Walking towards it she grabs the door knob with one hand her gandr up with the other. Turning the knob, and pushing it open slowly, not seeing the fallen sign that was hanging upon the door. Entering the room, checking every corner with gandr aimed and ready to fire. Ignoring the opened case with a slight impression in it. She instead focuses on a small black box sitting behind it.
While focusing on it she does not notice the flying object behind her till it slams into her hand. "Aww, I though Alexander would be the one to enter. Oh well I'm Kaleido-stick Quartz would you like to become a magical girl?" Luvia startled by the object that launched itself into her hand, shifts her attention from the box to the stick now in her hand, and quickly after finding out it's stuck to her hand slams it into the table. "Get off!" she screams
"OW! That hurts, how would you like it if someone slammed you against a table!" Quartz shouts back.
And that's it, And if you're thinking that the plan went off too easily, you'd be right if not for this being the second time an Alexander has dealt with Elias. He has the notes of his other self who has a made a habit of thinking of many different ways something could play out better. Sometimes things don't need to go wrong, while rare sometimes things do actually go how you planned, so despite Alexander's luck not much can go wrong with sniping your target from 270 yards, using imperial since Alexander does, so yeah, the guy didn't even have a chance. And since Alexander got here much sooner than the original he has information he didn't, mainly a suspect for the group Elias might be apart of, hint it's an actual character from Type-moon that gets killed at his own party.
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