Ask Money Talks

[Cipher Three]

Per my new OP template, thread is death enabled​

Outside the ten major spaceports of Bonadan, everything else was pretty much a desert wasteland. He had taken a civilian transport under the name "Garret Malichos" complete with fake IDs, cover story, the works. He'd followed his instructions to the letter and arrived at the safehouse at the edge of the wastes without difficulty.

The ISB contact on-world had procured supplies for he and his partner - one of the other Ciphers - and he hit the button for the door. It slid open, and he quickly cast his gaze around the room, seeing no sign of his partner yet, and he quickly looked through the room. It was an empty hotel room apart from a pair of duffel bags hidden behind a loose panel that he wedge free of the wall. He pulled both out and set them on each bed, opening his own and pulling out the blaster pistol and knife to slide under his leather jacket.

A check of his chrono told him that his partner should be here any moment, and he slipped several hundred worth of credit chits into his pocket just in case. In this part of the galaxy, money spoke a whole lot louder than anything else, and he had no idea what they would be up against.

 

[Cipher Six]

She appeared a moment later, dressed crisp and neat. Her method of operating was pure discretion. She gave a curt nod to her partner, “Afternoon, Three,” She said politely, “Six.”

The agent walked over to her own duffel bag. She pulled out several different knives that she stashed under her coat. She replaced her buttons with ones that were armed, along with her usual fusion cutter cuff links. She also swapped out her heels with lethal ones. Last but not least, she took out a small pistol that she stashed in a purse. And of course, credits.

She began to read about the mission brief. From the looks of it, their target was a VP of a fuel distribution company that supplied to all corners of the galaxy. Except certain corners, of course.

“Come on, cowboy,” Six said as she popped a blaster pack in, “Don’t want our handler to get the wrong idea if we spend too much time in here,” She flashed him a wink before walking out of the hotel room.

 

[Cipher Three]

It was his first time meeting another Cipher agent, and he had no idea what to expect, but it wasn't her. She was attractive, but he wasn't stupid enough to let that fool him. He had no doubt that her looks could be lethal, and it was a reminder that you couldn't trust anyone outside the bureau.

Good to meet you, he said politely in return, grabbing the last few items from his bag before stashing it once again.

He couldn't help but notice that she had a lot more... gadgets than him. Things designed to blend in and he wondered how it had come about that she developed such an unusual style. He shook the thought from his mind as he reviewed the mission brief. It was a professional target package, of course, but he couldn't help but notice it seemed a bit... sparse. He frowned as he looked down at it, normally preferring a lot more reconaissance on his targets than this.

Little sparing with the details, isn't it? he said, flipping through and knowing she would also note lack of details about the man's schedule, regular daily routes, normal activities. Either some neophyte had put this together or else the man was particularly difficult to track.

Bold of you to assume there isn't someone listening anyway, he said deadpan before heading out after her and locking the door behind them. He turned and made his way down the strip of hotel rooms. The sun began to drop and the temperature with it, leading to people just beginning to emerge now that the heat of the day had passed. Perfect opportunity to not be noticed by anyone around them.

He continued on until he reached the small cantina on the first floor, already beginning to come alive with patrons as well. His eyes flicked around for any signs of cameras, but the only one he saw looked as if it was out of commission and had been for some time if it ever worked at all. He had no doubt that it was only there to make patrons second guess anything stupid. Even so, he kept his face away from it as much as possible before sliding into the booth at the back across from a man who he knew from the briefing would be filling out the rest of their mission for them.

The handler clicked a small device in his pocket and a low-amplitude interference field enveloped them, scrambling any would-be remote listening devices. Three knew the device would only last a few minutes, so the conversation would have to be like everything in this world: quick and to the point.

Glad you both made it. You've received your target package already. We need him either on our side or out of the way. Your call how to get it done, but he's blocked multiple votes to open his company to our investments. Without that open door, we have no route into this sector, he said.

 

[Cipher Six]

Six noticed his flat response to her joke. How people responded to quips was a good indicator of personality. She made a mental note that this one was the serious and work only type. No other exchanges were shared as she packed up the rest of her items and made her way to meet the handler.

She listened to the briefing, realizing that all the weapons to remove the VP out of the way if needed. That was far from her preference and not how she operated. Six nodded to what was said, looking around to ensure no one else was listening, “We can meet with him posing as a small business partner company offering to distribute the fuel. We give him a personal margin. I think he has been profiled as a greedy type so he’ll likely take the bait.”

She really hoped it wouldn’t have to come to violence. Violence was just so exhausting. However, did this mean that she and Three would quickly have to adopt some cover identities.

 

[Cipher Three]

Six spoke up about posing a business partners to approach him, and C3 nodded. While it wasn't his typical MO, it certainly wasn't outside his wheelhouse either. His mind started churning quickly through options, and he thought back to the information they had been provided in the briefing. Truthfully, the Ciphers got all the glory, but over time he'd come to realize just how much of the work was done by the analysts and support personnel. Getting cover identities on short notice, reconnaissance, and target packages was all a lot of work that often went unthanked. C3 had figured out a long time ago that being nice to and keeping those people happy usually paid off.

I'm sure Command can get us the necessary cover identities, he said. And if we can get a look at his books, we might even uncover some shady dealings we could use to turn his investors against him. Leverage him out, he said. Whether the "look at his books" was through legitimate means or a bit of sneaking around, C3 didn't really care.

I'll leave you both to your planning. I'll relay back the need for cover identities, the handler said before reaching into his pocket to slide a comlink into the center of the table. They both knew that it was a burner device for them to contact him directly with pre-paid funds loaded onto it.

Keep in touch if you need anything, the man said and stood to rise and leave, leaving the two agents alone.

Seems we still have our work cut out for us. Husband and wife duo for covers? he said, the statement being made seriously enough that it was difficult to tell if he was flirting, being serious, or a bit of both.

Want to go scope the building out just in case? Before we go in there. Get a lay of security and the like, he said.

 

[Cipher Six]

Six stepped out and drew out a cigarra, pausing for a smoke before they dove into the mission. She scoffed at 3’s idea, “Sure, but I wear the pants,” She said with a wink before ashing the cigarra. She checked her chrono when he asked his question, “Yeah, why don’t you go do that, doll. I’ll pull together our business backstory. Woman-owned small business distinction ought to get our foot in the door. I’ll meet you by the building later this afternoon - I need to talk to a slicer about getting us on the calendar.”

With that, she gave him a playful salute and walked off, humming to herself as she smoked. He wouldn’t hear from her again until it was close to rendezvous time.

As agreed, Six arrived a block away from the building. She waited until she spotted him, giving him a smile, “What did your scoping around reveal?”

 

[Cipher Three]

Are you implying I shouldn't wear pants? he asked, face completely deadpan once again and yet there was no question that it was, in fact, a joke of sorts.. She would no doubt begin to pick up on the fact that his sense of humor was about as dry as the Tatooine desert, and yet still present.

Her suggestion about splitting up the work they had to do sounded good to him. She was probably better at the deception side of the business anyway, and he certainly had plenty of experience with dealing with security teams.

Sounds good, he said with a nod, handing over his comm code so they could stay in contact.

The rest of the day went about as he expected. He'd lost count of the number of times he had cased buildings for work like this, and it had become so second nature that he often found himself doing it without even trying to do so. He supposed it was the side effect of the job.

When she saw him again, she would find that he was now dressed far more for the part of a business meeting. She greeted him with a smile, and he momentarily wondered if that smile was genuine or - like his scouting places out - simply a byproduct of the job. As much as he'd like it to be the former, he wasn't convinced.

And yet he found himself smiling back anyway. Wait, that wasn't right. Too late.

Our gentleman's wound tighter than a drum. Security desk with three armed guards out front, a half-dozen security droids on level, and cameras. The good news is the guards look bored and the droids are clone wars-era old, he said. Their boss may be wound up tight, but they didn't get the memo. If it comes down to it, things could be worse, he said. Though, of course, he understood that the goal was that it wouldn't "come down to it."

How'd things go on your end? he asked.

 

[Cipher Six]

She loved when the job called for dressing nicely. For this one, she was adorned in a crisp dress shirt and form fitting skirt, her favorite lethal stilettos complementing her attire. She almost didn’t recognize Three in a suit, pleasantly surprised at how well he cleaned up. Six wasn’t entirely surprised that the target was wound up and had a small militia protecting him.

“The slicer got us in the books to meet with him in about thirty minutes,” She explained, “We are a fuel reselling company. I’m Tahina Grimm and you are Val Grimm. I’m the CEO of this small business and you are the Head of Product,” She gave him a datapad with the details, “I expect to do most of the talking. With luck, he will buy in and we will get a fuel supply set up going to the Empire.”

Six glanced at him for a moment. She stepped a bit closer, reaching over to straighten up his tie. Her gaze met his, “I really don’t want this to escalate to combat, so let’s keep this clean,” She said. Six stepped back and walked towards the building, strongly hoping this wouldn’t go to hell.

 

[Cipher Three]

C3 nodded silently as she explained their covers and the situation, committing to memory the details of his name, title, and their company. With her having done the background on the company, he was more than happy to let her do all of the talking. He couldn't even say that he was just here to be good looking because he was pretty sure she had that covered as well.

She straightened up his tie, and he looked down at her, giving a disarming smirk. Wouldn't dream of shooting anyone, he said, though they both knew that wasn't true. He thought about shooting people all the time: it was part of his job.

I'm sure we can talk our way out of whatever, he said, and that was true. Unless they immediately saw through the ruse, they should be able to get in and out without violence. Whether they actually got what they were after, though, was another story.

He made his way to the building and the doors slid open to let them come inside. From the inside, C3 got an even better view of what was going on security wise. He couldn't keep his face from being seen by the camera, but he did his best to be caught by as few as possible anyway as they made their way up to the front desk.

A protocol droid sat at the front, seemingly surprised by their arrival despite the fact that all it did all day was greet people. He had a feeling - for some unknown reason - that it was programmed to constantly act surprised. Maybe to make it seem more human.

Oh! Why hello, and welcome! Can I have your names please? And who you are here to see! the droid greeted them excitedly.

 

[Cipher Six]

“Tahina and Val Grimm of DistroFuel,” She said with a nod, “We’re here to meet with Mr. Avos.”

“Ah yes! I see you on the schedule,” The droid chirped, “Take these visitor passes to the 10th floor.”

Six did as asked, grabbing the passes and taking the repulsorlift. She said nothing, but she wondered how Three’s skills were when it came to diplomacy. Agents were either excellent at combat or smoothtalking. There were very few that could do both. She herself had her shortcomings when it came to fighting, but she could use words to get her way most of the time.

They arrived on the 10th floor and were led to Mr. Avos massive corner office. He glanced at them both, offering them a smile and shaking their hands. Fortunately he appeared to be in a great mood.

“I must confess, I’ve never heard of DistroFuel, but I love your business case so far,” He said as he sat back down, “And gotta love it when businesses keep it in the family,” He said as he looked between the two of them.

Six flashed her own smile back, “We hope with the deal we strike today it will become a legacy,” She said as she drew out a datapad. She connected it to a holoprojector in the room, popping up a presentation she had prepared.

“DistroFuel is a designated 9(b) small business,” She explained, “We specialize in reselling and distributing fuel from the corporate sector to all corners of the galaxy. The benefits are that we meet the small business criteria and we provide a competitive margin. Now, this is where there is room to negotiate to both our liking, Mr. Avos.”

It was standard rambling and presenting, but the VP hung onto every word.

Dice: 13/20

 

[Cipher Three]

C3 saw his job here as twofold: first was to make sure that if things went sideways, he could fight his way out and second was so that if they needed to break back inside later, he had already scouted it out.

While he was happy to let her do the bulk of the talking, he could still put on a smile and shake hands with the best of them. So that was exactly what he did. He let her do the presentation while he held an understated smile on his face. His eyes flowed occasionally but smoothly across the office and then back onto the man of the hour.

He hung on Six's every word, and it made it all the easier for C3 to do whatever he needed. His gaze traveled down the man's outfit. Everything was in place. There wasn't a fold or wrinkle in the man's clothes, and even through the glass desk he could see that the man's shoes were immaculately polished. The desk didn't have a single paper out of place. In other words this man was obsessive and/or anal in the extreme. It fit with exactly what he had seen on the security side of things as well.

In other words, if he had to break in here and paw around, everything had to go exactly back into place or risk that it was discovered there had been a break in.

Excellent. How much fuel is you company able to move? We have massive mining and distribution quantities available to us, he said.

 

[Cipher Six]

Six loved when missions went smoothly. In her line of work these days, it was difficult to stick to the script. It helped that Avos was a crook and would see the benefits of a margin for himself. She nodded at his question.

“We would scale to demands,” She explained, reviewing the data over the Holo presentation. Six stuck to the rehearsed story, the shell company a perfect means of getting fuel back into Imperial space. It wouldn’t cover all of the demands, but it was a big start.

After the meeting, she shook hands with Avos and stepped outside. She took out a cigarra once they were out of the building, “Told you violence is exhausting,” She said with a grin, “The greatest danger in there was you falling asleep during my presentation.”

 

[Cipher Three]

Despite his constant study of the environment around him, there was no question that C3 wasn't exactly a fan of the "business" side of things. Still, sometimes there were easier routes than breaking in and killing people. Less exciting, but easier.

They wrapped up the meeting with him barely having said more than a few words besides a basic interjection here and there.

As they left, she popped out a cigarra and he did as well, lighting up and blowing out a small stream of smoke straight into the air above him. He snickered as she mentioned him falling asleep during her presentation.

I think you mean violence is "stimulating," he said. It certainly got the blood pumping more than a business meeting.

Oh, I'd never dream of it. A job well done, it seems, he said. Yes, as it turned out things had been very easy for him, but that wasn't always a bad thing. Sometimes not being shot at actually was the better option.

//Thread