thedudeabides | dank memes? on MY computer? (otherwordly meme)

[Tackling crime isn't as simple as it used to be, if it ever was simple to begin with. It is no longer confined to the neighborhood, the city, or even the country. It crosses borders, aided and abetted at every turn by shell and front companies, dark web actors, agents both witting and unwitting, and paperwork doctored in just the right way to lend an air of legitimacy to organizations that spread their influence across the world like the tentacles of an octopus.

Being dead - that is, listed as dead - at once simplifies and complicates things. There is no protocol to abide by, no procedure to bind you - but there is also no backup, and "resources" can often be limited to the clothes on your back, the cash in your pocketbook, and the gray matter between your ears. That's just fine by Ana.

A raid on a Talon front in Tobruk had manifests and spreadsheets for sealed cargo and cryptocurrency transactions coming out of one Vertigo Holdings, LLC, chartered and incorporated in Star City. Thirty minutes later, that office was in flames, and Ana was on her way to America.

It was easy enough to smuggle what she needed past customs and security, easier still to secure it in the cheap-as-dirt hostel where she was staying. But although tonight will be busy, the day is decidedly not, affording Ana a small - and cheap - bit of reprieve along the waterfront.

The woman who ducks into Dinah's flower shop today is - well, unique, and it's neither her sun dress nor her purse slung over one shoulder that draws attention. She's old, sure - the shock of snow-white hair styled neatly into a braid that rests over one shoulder shows as much - but she moves as easily as a woman a third her age would. There is a small tattoo of what looks like some ancient Egyptian symbol beneath her left eye, and the eyepatch covering her right is visible whenever she brushes her hair out of her face.

For now, she seems content to browse, to simply look at pretty things. Buying them will come later, perhaps.]

Edited 2021-03-30 22:29 (UTC)

She's interesting, is what she is.

Dinah watches her with the practised unobstrusive eye of the experienced retailer, sitting behind the counter as eye finishes her coffee. It's enough to get the eye about the kind of browser she's dealing with - the person who wants to look at first, not hunt for a specific thing - and also to let her other eye do a leisurely assessment.

Uh huh.

She's interesting. It's just the way she moves.

Eventually Dinah offers a smile, and the usual greeting of the store proprietor.

"Do you see anything you like?"

[At Dinah's question, Ana looks over and smiles. She's not hard of hearing, either, it would seem - so many health problems that plague her demographic seem to have simply passed her by.]

Oh, quite a bit, dear.

[She offers a broad sweep of the store with one arm - even in such a casual motion, her muscle tone shows, speaking of a lifetime of strenuous labor.] But I could use your help, if you don't mind a silly question or two.

[She moves over to a row of chrysanthemums, careful not to touch, only observe, to admire their crowns. They've been well cared-for.]

Do you ship internationally? I'm only in town for the week, and-

[A small, almost apologetic shrug of one shoulder.]

-I'd hate to crush any of these in my luggage.

[All quite true. The lies, her cover story - those will come later, if they need to.]

"Sadly I don't have the capacity for international shipping," Dinah says.

She comes out from behind the counter and joins the customer at the 'mums, absent-mindedly rearranging the display so some of the choicest blooms are more visible, picking out one head that is coming past its peak.

"Flowers just don't survive the trip. But if you wanted a bouquet of the older flowers, ones that will only be at their best a week, I can do you a discount."

[A soft click of her tongue that signals simultaneous disappointment and understanding.] That's a shame. But I'll take you up on that offer. Thank you kindly, dear.

[Then, almost as an afterthought as she opens up her purse:] Before I forget - where can I go for some good photographs of the harbor?

[The smile crinkles the corners of her eyes.] My grandson is...well, it was trains last month, ships this one. [She chuckles, shakes her head, and years of practice in such little deceptions make them as natural as breathing.] I don't suppose you know a place?

[Vertigo Holdings LLC, owned and operated by one Count Werner Zytle, is headquartered downtown, though they've an annex down at the port. If she blows it tonight, she might not get another chance - best to recon the area and check out the security before she commits herself.]

Edited 2021-03-31 21:37 (UTC)

"Great."

Dinah turns just slightly to start gathering the flowers - starting with the Chrysanthemums and then, with a few of them selected, uses her own eye and a few choice questions to her customer - what colours do you like and how do you feel about this for texture? - to pull out a few more blooms as she talks.

"To see the ships? There's a vantage point up the hill to the South," she says conversationally.

"It's poorly signposted so doesn't get much foot traffic, but you will need a good zoom. If you want close ups you can walk down that road," she gestures with the woody stem in her hand to a junction just visible out of the shop window," and get right down next to the loading docks. Take a right and it will go up to a higher level and you can get some good shots there."

It's really good for stayong out of sight while waiting for illegal shipments to arrive if you're planning on intercepting them.

[Ana soaks in all this information like a sponge, using it to refine the map of the city she's drawn in her head. She nods along, exchanges a little more small talk with Dinah, playing the part of the absentminded grandma as she digs into her purse.]

Wonderful, wonderful. [When the bundle is to her satisfaction, she slips Dinah a bill that is a few dollars over the amount owed.] Do keep the change, dear.

[And with that, she walks out, hair flowing in the late morning breeze coming in off the ocean.]

[It's a new moon tonight. Not that it particularly matters with the electric lighting all around the port and harbor, but every little bit helps.

The Vertigo Holdings annex is tucked in a far corner of the port. Ana is perched up high, near the viewpoint near the docks Dinah pointed out to her earlier, dressed for her work tonight. Her rifle is slung across her back, the scope pressed up to her eye as she plans out her final approach. An integral infrared laser microphone picks up conversations among the dockworkers as she makes a final languid sweep of the area, then-

-she feels - or thinks she feels - something move in the darkness behind her. Her free hand comes to rest on the tranquilizer pistol holstered across her chest as she coils up her legs beneath her, ready to spring up in defense at a moment's notice.]

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The movement becomes a boot, planted firmly down on the edge of the roof, a good few yards away and well within her sightline.

The boot is of soft black leather with flexible rugged soles, and is attached to a leg clad in fishnets which leads to a leather bodysuit and jacket. Dinah has her forward leg bent at the knee and is leaning her elbows on it as she peers forward over the docks.

"You were really planning on going in alone, huh?"

[She isn't quite sure what to make of this.

They've both made the other, of course - the mild-mannered florist and her customer from the morning - but beyond that, Ana isn't sure who she's talking to. She takes her eye from the scope, raising her eyebrow as high as it'll go.]

I was. And I am.

[She places the scope back onto her rifle, securing it to its mounting rails as she stands back up. Her demeanor is guarded as she gives her web gear one last putdown. Call it professional paranoia, call it an abundance of caution - it might be best to call it a little bit of both.]

I don't work with people I don't know.

"Okay."

Dinah tucks a strand of her bleach blonde hair behind her ear, arranging it so it doesn't get tangled in the back of her bird shaped earrings. She grins cheerfully, as if she didn't quite hear that she'd been turned down.

"See, here's what I'm up to tonight - there's a shipment due to arrive that Werner has a high personal stake in. The kind that requires his personal security detail. You know who that is?"

Edited 2021-04-02 12:01 (UTC)

[For Ana, it's a bit like she's a major league shortstop being accosted by an overly enthusiastic tee-ball player - Dinah's persistence is somewhere between "endearing" and "irritating". Still, she's stone-faced, not letting a bit of emotion show as she takes a mask from one of her equipment pouches and puts it on, the heads-up display inside lighting up.

As Dinah drops Werner's name, she pauses.]

I do.

[She opens one of the pouches on her chest rig and takes out a magazine full of biotic darts. She slides it into the magazine well and works the bolt with the same practiced repetition a journeyman might affix a particular bit to his drill. She's quiet, hoping the silence will be enough prompting for Dinah to elaborate on her plan.]

Dinah looks away from the gun, back at the docks below them. She talks conversationally, as if this is nothing more than water cooler chat.

"Then you'll know how hard it is to hit him with ranged weaponry. Anyway, my partner and I, we've been monitoring this shipment for a while, and we don't want anyone taking hold of it who hasn't been personally vetted by... okay, by my partner."

Oracle has arranged for Star Labs to take possession of the venom formula at the end of the night.

"And we also really want to catch the Count red-handed to hand the police the appropriate evidence."

[If any of that was supposed to sway Ana over to Dinah's side, it didn't work. Talk of a partner she hasn't met? Involving the police? The more on-the-radar she operates, the less she likes it.

(Though, she'll admit, the fact that Dinah knows something she doesn't - namely, the fact that Werner has a shipment inbound tonight - gnaws at her. She should've done more recon, spent more time digging through the paper trail. Lessons for next time - even now, she's still learning.)]

That sounds very noble of you.

[That might come off as condescending, even if it wasn't Ana's intention. She gets to her feet, producing a carabiner and a length of static rope before she begins to tie a rappelling knot to the railing. She clips in her carabiner, takes the rope in hand - and then pauses.

The enemy of her enemy is her friend, right?

Her shoulder slump with a soft sigh. She looks at Dinah.]

If I help you - you mustn't involve the police. Not until I'm out of the country.

Dinah plays with her earring for a second. How do you feel about that, O?

After a pause which may be her thinking about it, maybe just drawing out her answer, she eventually nods.

"Okay," she says. "But you'll have to leave the flowers. The noise I'm planning to make is going to attract attention whether we like it or not. But I can buy you time."

She grins again. "I'm Dinah, by the way."

In case she didn't get that earlier.

Ana.

[She undoes the knot with sure-handedness before clipping the carabiner back onto her web gear and securing the rope. As she does so, she looks over the port, her one good eye more than enough to scout out potential lines of approach and potential sites for her to provide overwatch from.]

I can hold my own up close, but I'll be more helpful to you at range. [She works the bolt of her rifle and catches the dart that's ejected in one smooth motion. After a brief inspection, she nods, reinserting it back into the chamber and returning the bolt.]

Get down there and do what you need to. [She gives orders cleanly, crisply, as though she's used to commanding, to calling the play.] I'll move up high and cover you as you work.

[She reaches behind the small of her back and takes what looks like a grappling gun out of a holster. It's not as slick as something you'll see coming out of WayneTech, but it looks like it works.] What happens to Werner, I leave up to you. I've only ever missed one shot.

[She presses two buttons on the side of her mask, broadcasting a signal for Oracle to lock onto and hook into the network.]

It'd be best to hook me into your communications.

"You okay, O?"

Dinah turns her head a little to the side to listen to Oracle, and when she has confirmation Ana is patched in, she rocks back on to a bent leg behind her.

"Alright, catch you later, Ana."

She slips forward, one hand on the edge of the roof, and swings herself over, using fire escapes and ledges to lower herself swiftly to the ground. She has no tech with her, beyond a lockpick or two in her gloves, and is clearly planning to take them on bare-handed.

"Actually, this works," she says as she runs. "Eyes on high, tell me what you see."

[The port of Star City is never quiet, but it's even busier during the night than it is during the day. Global trade never stops, and terminals across the port are working to unload cargo from the towering ships that loom in the night like monoliths.

Still, even in this maze of activity, there are ways to spot things that don't belong, things that are conspicuous...like an entire berthing area full of what look like armed guards. They're not cops - their kit is unmarked, and looks too expensive, besides. Likely a PMC.]

Berthing 1 looks to be it, [she radios Dinah.] Multiple armed guards high and low with rifles and body armor.

[A beat.]

Two coming your way.

[They're rounding a corner, one of them night-blind from the cigarette in his mouth. His buddy squints, perhaps catching sight of Dinah-

-and then, in the space of a breath, they're each hit by a dart apiece, crumpling them to the ground in shadow.]

They're down.

[Casual inspection will reveal they're still breathing, but just barely. The dart contains a powerful cocktail of chemicals - much in the way someone hit by a taser loses control of their muscles for a short while, someone hit by the dart has no choice but to drop where they are and focus all their energies on simply breathing for the next hour or so.]

"Thanks."

Dinah doesn't need to relax because she never really un-laxed. She does crouch and pull the two guards out of sight from the berthing, though, hauling as gently as you can when you're a woman with no super strength manhandling two prone fully buffed men.

"Oh, stop complaining you big babies," she mutters at one of them.

"Can you see enough to let me know when they've noticed their buddies missing? I don't want to play my hand too early."

You're in the clear so far.

[Ana's hood and jacket work as intended, breaking up her outline - Dinah would have to squint to see her sitting atop one of the stacks in the distance, but she's out there, legs crossed at the ankle, arm braced atop one knee, and rifle braced atop the arm. Every so often there is the gentle, suppressed pfft of her rifle on the wind, taking down another unlucky guard whose patrol route took him into a shadowed spot.]

I count ten left on shore. More aboard.

[Most of them are either up high or standing guard in well-lit spots, chit-chatting with the stevedores as a small container ship - perhaps carrying no more than 50 or so containers, unmarked and with lights off - slowly makes its way into the berthing. There are more armed goons aboard, equipped with the same kit as their pals on land.]

You'll want to move quickly. [Another soft pfft as she drops one of the goons aboard ship, and his gear makes a loud CLANG as he drops, stunned. A few heads jerk up in surprise at that, searching for the source of the noise.]

Edited 2021-04-04 18:50 (UTC)

Confirmation, good.

Dinah nods, her hair catching the light of the floods on the berthing. Then she steps put into the exposed berthing with a casual sway, adjusting the fit of her gloves.

"Hi gentlemen," she says. "I don't suppose you're going to make this easy and just hand it over?"

As the gun barrels turn towards her, she moves quickly. The nearest two men don't get enough time to complete the aim, as one is tossed bodily into the other. Dinah slips between the men, silent andd quick, and if Ana would count to ten, she'd find the ten men on shore down by the end of it.

She's not stopping.

[Hm. Impressive. Not how Ana would've handled it, but she can recognize talent when she sees it.

Evidently, so can the security guards remaining on the ship. Gunfire aimed at Dinah erupts from the dozens of nooks and crannies aboard, from the rounded pops of the pistol-caliber submachine guns to the sharp cracks of the semiautomatic rifles. One by one they fall silent, the soft pfft of Ana's biotic rifle barely audible on the wind.]

Foredeck and bridge are clear. More on the way.

dank memes? on MY computer? (otherwordly meme)

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