One More Job

Bruce walks out of the cell, ignoring the snacks and the others he's working with. This was going to be his last job, regardless of how things turned out, so he felt no need to be anything more than a damn good driver to these people.

Instead, he heads towards the display case full of tech. He picks up what looks like an ordinary car key fob, having used something similar to this before. It's a modern skeleton key that can change configurations to fit any physical lock, not least of which being car ignition locks. In addition, the fob part could open electronic locks, although this required pressing it against the lock for a not insignificant amount of time. Overall, a useful tool.

Tom pokes his head out into the common space. He's a light sleeper so as soon as that first buzz came through he was wide awake.

Stepping out into the space, he's 5'10" with an athletic if not powerful build. Whatever clothing he's wearing is put together very sharply and is impeccably pressed. He's smiling and as soon as he sees the other guy in the room looking at the display case he goes over and says "Hey. Tom. Nice to meet you." and puts a hand out to shake.

Bruce looks over at Tom, and cautiously returns the gesture.

"Bruce."

Linus sits up from his cot, adjusting his red hair that had become tussled from his short, interrupted nap. Nothing a little gel can't fix, he thought to himself. Or at least gel would have been more useful than this off-brand sugar water. How's a guy supposed to make a good first impression with a drink the color of radioactive lipstick?

Upon hearing a pair of voices from the next room over, Linus moves to the doorframe of his cell and gently leans on it. "Strange venue for a cocktail party. And don't even get me started on the hors d'oeuvres. How did you fine lads land an invitation to such a prestigious gala?"

Tom walks over and introduces himself, hand out to shake. "Hey. Tom. You know the old game... They call, browbeat and blackmail me, and I come running. You?"

Tom takes the guy in, trying to figure out what his role would be. Tom knows he's good at tech. The other guys is very terse but maybe not their biggest gun... He's sure he'll find out later.

Linus's Irish accent was subtle but unmistakable. He might have been second or third generation, or just grown up in Boston. "Oh I'm out on loan. Bit of a cultural exchange program you might say. Not that I had any say in it, otherwise I might've sprung for better accommodations." He took in Thomas's put-together outfit at a glance. "Sharp fit you've got there. Armani, right? Modern Masters collection if I'm not mistaken. Such a timeless look."

Donnie wiped the droll from the side of her mouth as the intercom rang out.

Blah blah blah...whatever, whatever… Oh, munchies!

She snagged a power bar while raking her fingers through her dark black hair.

"First impressions mean a lot," she said to no one, spraying crumbs of granola as she spoke. She did her best to straighten her clothing to look presentable. This was gonna be the biggest score yet how could anyone not be excited. She took a deep breath and made her way into the common room

Please be fun and like-minded individuals ready to take on the wor--- her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the three men.

Well, at least they might have experience!


"Oh hi," She gave a small wave her large black eyes making their way to the floor. "I didn’t mean to interrupt, guessing we’ll be working together."

Bruce simply nods in acknowledgement of Dominique's greeting.

"Sharp eye, my man. Looks good and feels good." Tom has the most basic American accent out there, like he just walked out of a TV show. "And depending on where you're at, could fit in a lot of places. Maybe not where we're going though."

Tom goes over to the woman and introduces himself. "Tom. How are you?"

Dominique brightened at the man's introduction.
Better now
She thought to herself a red hue coloring her face.

"Dominique," She responded, her voice carried a light playful tone "Pleasured to make your acquaintance Mr. Tom. Although I do feel a bit underdressed for the occasion."

Tom chuckles a bit to himself. "I doubt any complains about your look, anywhere you go." He flashes Dominique a smile then changes the subject.

"He and I were just talking about how we wound up... assigned to this little group, I'm sure you heard. How did you wind up here?"

"The short answer is money. The longer answer, you would be amazed at how quickly you can burn through jail time when Agent 115 has a crush on you."

The young woman gave a quick glance around; there was no doubt the whole room was bugged- as if Agent 115 would let them talk without supervision. The idea of her fuming at the very hint of a relationship between them brought a smile to Donnie’s face, which she promptly covered with her hand to stifle any laughter before continuing,

"This job is the rest of my sentence plus enough padding in the ol’ bank account to never need to work again."

"You don't mean to tell me you're a criminal type? We don't take too kindly to folks who get caught around here," Linus winked playfully. "Not to go bragging or anything, but some of us here are known for, and undoubtedly hired for, our unmatched discretion. What did they manage to pin you for?"

"What can I say," Dominique returned the playful tone "Every family has their problem child. Surprisingly enough ours wasn’t me. Rest assured love, I’ve never been caught for something I’ve done."

Tom nods. "That actually is pretty reassuring. It almost seems like they've tried to frame me for more than I've ever done..." He gets thoughtful and pensive for a moment before brightening back up.

"So what are you alls specialties? We're obviously all here for a reason. I'm a... I guess hacker is the most straight forward term." He wiggles his fingers in front of him like their on a keyboard. He's subconsciously typing out the opening few lines of code needed to start his specialized software.

Linus perks up at the opportunity to talk about himself, addressing the room at large. "I've worn a great many hats in my day: diplomat, negotiator, coordinator, maître d', arbitrator, interrogator. Why I even worked as a cheese monger for a time. For lack of a better term, you could say I'm something of a people person."

He turns to Thomas in particular, "I read people the way you read a line of code. Everyone has constants and variables, limits and controls - and everyone's got bugs. I'm not in the business of troubleshooting, I'm just the one that makes sure those bugs don't soil the rest of the program."

Bruce nods, understanding the value of a people person in their line of work, especially given his own introverted nature.

"I drive. Enough to get through tough situations."

A bit of an understatement, but Bruce wasn't one for telling frankly outrageous stories about himself, even if they were true.

"Well, aren’t you all an interesting bunch?" Dominique was practically bursting at the seams as excitement coursed through her. "A hacker, a smooth talker," She gave Linus a quick wink "and an ‘alright’ driver. Consider me a ringer then, if you can't hack it, talk your way through it, or drive a car into it. I’m your girl."

Shadow Scream, now there's a name I've not heard in quite a while... Linus thought to himself, heard they were out of the game. Should have guessed they'd find the perfect hiding spot right under the fed's noses. Credit where it's due, I suppose.

Linus turned to Agent 115, "Not to go ruffling any feathers prematurely, but doesn't it seem like this is an affair more suited for the State department or Interpol? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a night on Big Dog just as much as anyone, but perhaps you should be courting a group more concerned with...legal adherence. After all, a few compromised first-world governments just sounds like more business for me and the lads back home. Likewise, I imagine we're slightly more expensive than your local representative. What precisely is the quid pro quo here?"

Bruce could care less about the politics behind the mission. He is here for one reason, and it isn't patriotic duty.

"As long as you keep your promises."

Before leaving, Tom had grabbed whatever equipment was available to him then piled into the back of minivan. Took him back to sweet memories of the family.

A hacker huh? I hate tracking down and getting rid of my cousins like this, but I've got to do what I've got to do to get out of this situation. "Do you know anything about this hacker? Who they are or what they're doing there? And are you asking us to grab them and bring them in or work our way into the organization and get to the top of Shadow Scream?"

Dominque shoved a few of the power bars and drinks into her bag and raided the equipment cabinet. She lit up as her eyes landed on her special tools. The very same one’s Agent 115 had so rudely confiscated from her at the beginning of their relationship. Knowing she had kept it all this time gave Donnie a warm fuzzy feeling.

Agent 115 and the boys went back and forth as she found her seat, she strategically picked the one behind Agent 115. She swayed her body, dancing along to music that no one else could hear.

Before the Agent could respond to Tom, Dominque leaned forward against the Agent’s seat and now clearly invading her personal space.

"You always seem to have your hands filled with something and yet still find time for me." she finished with an exaggerated swoon placing her hand over her own heart.

Linus carefully weighed the options Thomas mentioned before adding his two cents. "For what it's worth, I doubt a full-fledged infiltration is our best line of play. The sheer amount of time required to properly earn their trust, set up a patsy, run the scam and execute an exit strategy would be monumental, and likely outside our price range. Moreover, we don't need to take the whole organization, just their intel. I suspect this is a smash-and-grab operation: go in, get the goods, get out, don't get captured. Though I am curious as to the nature of our target hacker and their relation to the Shadow Scream bosses."

The corner of Bruce's mouth rises a bit as Dominique's provocation strikes the agent's nerve. To be honest, he liked Dominique's bubbly nature more than the agent's openly condescending demeanor. However, he was still undecided on Dominique's competence at being "a ringer". It wasn't like he had much choice in the matter of teammates though. He'd just have to believe in the discerning judgement of Agent 115.

Speaking of the agent, he holds out his hand towards her.

"Keys."

Obviously the team was going to need a vehicle for him to drive. Even if he had his skeleton key gadget, he would like to get what support he can get from.

Hmmm... The recruitment bait and switch, aye... His heart sinks a bit more seeing 115s utter disregard for this hacker, but that's why they're a spy master and Tom is just collateral damage.

Thomas pulls out a laptop and starts typing. "While the old go in as married couples play works, if we're trying to recruit him and get him on our side, then maybe we should try to pull off a bait and switch. I can try to hack into the system from a secured site that they will have to personally investigate, bringing them into the open physically. Once there, we can convince them that they should help out on our gig since they are so... "talented". And that will allow 115 to spring the honey pot. If they don't fall for it, then we can nab them and 115 can do their convincing. What do you all think of that?"

Tom's pulling up the blueprints and networking diagrams of the casino to try to figure out what would get the hacker out and where they may be set up at.

Bruce personally didn't see the difference between the two plans if they were going to find and "recruit" this person anyways.

"I don't get the point."

His hand is still open towards Agent 115, waiting for a key to fill it.

Oh Bruce, don't overexert yourself on this one, Linus thought to himself.

"It comes down to coercion, Bruce. Everyone has a price, but not everyone accepts the same currencies. Threaten two different persons with the barrel of a gun and one will turn tail while the other fires back at you. The point is that we don't know what our mark's currency is. We'll start with the universal language, and work our way out from there. Sure he ends up dead regardless, but don't we all? It's what happens in the interim that makes all the difference."

Linus gives Thomas's strategy a moment of consideration. It's a better plan than Thomas probably realizes. He addresses the team as a whole, but tends to linger longer on Thomas than the others. "If there's one thing I know about these mid-tier types it's that they're egomaniacs, the whole lot of 'em. The ones at the top don't respond to recognition or praise - they don't have the patience for others reiterating what they already know. But for middle-tier talent, it's their kryptonite, scraps from a feast they haven't been invited to, yet still feel they are entitled to attend."

Linus turns to 115 deliberately. "We'll start with a honey pot. It's a more discreet point of contact and harder to trace back to us, especially if Thomas is as good as you say he is. If the mark doesn't take the bait, we escalate and apply further pressure. Either way, you'll have your man shortly."

Dominique fell back into her seat with a playful pout at the Agents comment. "Our-friend-of-few-words is right. We don’t really need to recruit a low-level hacker. We just need information on his boss… And then to make sure he doesn’t tell anyone we know. Right? Although, you catch more flies with honey I supposed" She tapped a finger against her chin. "Either way, its a free day at a resort. I can only assume you have ‘blend in’ money for us not to blow on gambling and drinking?" After all if she was going to be forced on this stage of the mission she was at least going to have fun with it.

Linus chuckled at Dominique's assertion. There were far worse places to run a job. "On the contrary, blowing money on gambling and drinking is the best way to not draw attention to ourselves. It's simply a business expense at this point, part and parcel with disguises. After all, when in Rome..."

Bruce nods as Linus explains the nuances of Thomas' plan. As expected of the smooth talker, he was not only quite informed about the psyche of someone who he's never met before, but was adept at explaining it to someone who usually didn't care about that kind of stuff.

Her early comment was cheerfully sarcastic. No matter what her instructions were, most of that money was going to be lost letting it ride on Roulette and the rest was going to ensure she was just drunk enough to do whatever needed to be done. Maybe a few shots of tequila would get Silent but deadly here to open up a bit. Although it seemed like watered-down-savor-the-flavor whiskey was more his speed. She flashed Linus a quick wink "Oh hear that Agent? We basically need it to do our jobs. No expense is too much for a job done right."

Bruce looks up at the front of the casino.

"...By the way, why is the hacker here?"

"So what do we feel the play is here? Just go in and butter him up? Or try to draw him out into a more weakened position and get him? Either way can work for me?"

Thomas looks up from his computer and polls the group. He just did a cursory check, and hadn't started anything yet, but has an idea of what he could do to the systems if needed.

Linus muttered to himself, "Naturally. Not that we need a physical description or anything. Lousy, good-for-nuthin', HR speakin', messenger-bot. We'll see who gets the last laugh when automation puts you on food stamps." He turned to the rest of the team, composing himself quickly, "I'm sure the target will make themselves evident shortly. We'll have a better grip on the situation once we see them in action. Until then, well you heard 115. Make merry! We rendezvous at the $100 blackjack tables in one hour. Don't be late." And with that Linus made directly for the taproom.

Big Dog wasn't too different from any other high end resort. Tourist traps immediately inside the main entrance, pretty women who clearly worked for the resort sitting at the roulette table "gambling" the house's money back into its own pocket, themed food stations for every race and nationality under the sun, flashy bartenders who could chat the ears off Satan himself but couldn't make anything more complicated than a pre-mixed margarita to save their souls. What a classless sham, Linus thought to himself, how the mighty fall. It almost made him nostalgic for the illegal makeshift back-alley joints he used to frequent. Almost. Security around here was more discrete after all, no pat downs or strip searches, no possibility of gang violence, no random beer bottles to the head. Just good old-fashioned people-watchers, teched out in the latest and greatest gear for certain, but such gadgets were nothing more to a half-witted guard than a nuclear bomb was to a lesser ape. They were no match for professionals.

Luckily, Big Dog also played by the convention of keeping the quiet bartenders in the back. They were the ones smart enough to work daylight hours at a cash cow like Big Dog, but not ambitious enough to make the jump to the culinary arts. Savvy enough to make a proper Manhattan, but not nosy enough to ask why you didn't order an Old Fashioned instead. Linus quickly sidled up to such a bar and ordered a Sazerac. This would make as good a perch as any from which to scout the field, he figured.

Bruce was never one to gamble at casinos, not liking the smell of smoke and the presence of a lot of people. He'd rather spend a weekend fishing on a lake or something peaceful like that.

But he could handle this much. Considering that the hacker was likely here to game the system, Bruce decided to look around the one armed bandits, seeing as the slot machine was one of the few games that relied on the use of technology. Walking through the rows of oversized, flashy machines, he picked a bass fishing themed one to sit in front of, which had a good view of the rest. Internally sighing, he puts in his card and pulls the arm. Casino Royale my ass.

Bruce sighs internally, and keeps an eye on his belongings, including the casino card in the slot machine.

"No ma'am, I'm not with security. I can help you look for your glasses though."

He pulls his card out of the machine. Might as well get a little walk in, since he'd already spotted the hacker.

"Now then, where did you last remember having your glasses on?"

"Matter of fact, there's a slight favor I would ask of you. You see that man over there?" Linus gesticulates to the...unseemly man at the blackjack table as the bartender nods in acknowledgement. "That sorry excuse of a man is my brother-in-law. Or rather was until my dear sister discovered his penchant for making excessive acquaintance with her lady friends. This weekend was meant to be a pleasant affair, but the sod's gone and taken it literally!" The bartender gives an amused chuckle as Linus grabs a pen from his jacket and a spare order sheet from the bar to write a short message on the back of it. "Could you kindly have someone bring this and a martini on the rocks to his royal loathsomeness?"

The bartender takes the finished note from Linus before neatly tri-folding it and producing a martini glass. "I'm sure we can make that happen. My condolences, sir." Linus leaves a sizable tip and nods in gratitude before leaving to find the others and inform them of the developments.

"...They're on your head, miss."

Bruce quietly folds the dollar bill up, and puts it in his pocket. Damn agent. Can't even catch what's under her nose.

"I doubt you would present a better deal...But I'll stop by for a minute. Just to see her."

Thomas has been holding up at table at one of the bars on the casino floor. He's trying to pass himself off as a business man who has to send an email. That old story.

While Bruce and Linus are making contact with the Target, Tom is working on Plan B until they call him. A digital honeytrap to help lead the man where he can more easily be nabbed.

He has total faith in the Team and Plan A, but it never hurts to have a backup plan.

Bruce drifts around the different games, and checks out Table 17 briefly. Tired of gambling, Bruce decides to spend the time up to the meeting eating ox tail soup at the casino's restaurant. He keeps an eye and ear out for anything interesting.

The long hand of Linus's watch clicks to perfect vertical. He looks up and smiles at the fact that everyone has managed to find their way back together without having to be babysat. "Well everyone, let's not keep our guests waiting. Who's got the best poker face?" The group stands silent in front of him, faces unwavering. "Hilarious, you're a load of comedians. Now enough of the cockamamie, who's it gonna be?"

"...Can you draw the target away from that table? I recognize one of the other players from an old job. They...will not take kindly to our mission."

A distraction? Well, this calls for something special... Linus turns to the only obvious choice, "Dominique, I believe this is your time to shine. Our portly hacker over there is expecting a guest, but the other players at the table are in the way. I need you to either scatter the others while leaving our mark alone, or get the poor lad to a more agreeable location unaccompanied."

"Easy peasy."

"Oh, and just to make things easy for your first assignment, I've already gone ahead and gotten you an alibi. He probably suspects that you sent him a note about 45 minutes ago saying that you were a secret admirer of his, and that you'll make it worth his time if he can impress you. Figured you might want some levers of power to exercise for a warm-up."

Dominique skipped over to the table. Linus seemed pretty smart which meant he must have remembered her ringer comment; if he was unable to talk his way through something she would make it work. Linus tapping her on the shoulder must have been his nice way of saying handle him.

As she approached, she looked at the heavyset man. She could probably "escort" him easily enough, probably didn’t even have to show a weapon, hacker types were always very receptive to the idea of physical violence.

Maybe Linus jumped the gun on this whole thing I mean he hadn’t even tried talking to him yet and threatening someone at a table would most likely result in a bit TOO much fun at this point in the job. It was probably smarter to at least try a subtle approach, even if stubble wasn’t really her thing.

The woman sitting next to the man saw another pretty face approaching as an easy way to excuse herself, and Dominique slipped right into her place. She glanced over the man’s chips then up at him.

"So, this is you trying to impress someone? Or did you not get my note?"

Bruce nods as the target is drawn away successfully.

"...I'll keep my acquaintance busy, so that they don't hear any discussion we have with the target."

He then fills up the vacant spot at the table left by the target.

Linus cracks a grin, "Peachy. Now that our mark is free of the chains that bound him, I believe it is Thomas's turn to educate our friend in how we deal with hardened criminals."

He then turns to Bruce, quickly losing the grin for a glaring, almost threatening scowl, "And I believe it is Bruce's turn to take care of the [through gritted teeth] loose ends he's neglected to tie up. Make it snappy." Linus disappears for the upper balcony, half a Sazerac in hand, to watch over both exchanges.