The Dead Savant

[DeletedUser]

Renekan withdrew his hand when he saw no one wanted to shake it. Understandable, because you cant trust a guy whom you knew nothing about and who just comes out of the shadow and speaks for the first time as if they had been friends for a while. Simply not the way it worked, and he knew he had much to work on his socialising skills. Well, they can't say I didn't atleast try this time. The blonde girl who was called Harper (he had picked up some of the conversation that was going on between her and the green guy, whose name was Giles in the subway train) had made a comment about the soldier guy biting off his hand to which he replied, "Guess I have to watch out for more than my hand here, apparently he is still pissed off at Dmitri to have too much love for the Eldar folk."

At this point Quill walked in from behind the scanners and explained to them about the shimmering hologram of the young woman they had seen before, it was an advanced AI central to the system who had a certain level of control on the HQ, though not full control as Quill mentioned, some switches could still override her commands when in an emergency situation. They were then given some cellphones that Ash (How can you call an AI who ran a top secret underground facility like this Ash?) explained was connected to her. She monitered those closely and also they would serve as a valuable piece of tech for communication among the group. He wondered how it would expose them to cyberpaths. His suspicions were put to rest immediately when Ash asked Quickflash to stop trying to hack her phone. This meant that there was some sort of a countermeasure against cyberpaths set in the phone, but it didn't mean that a stronger cyberpath might not be able to hack it. Anyway, he put it in his pocket and followed Quill through the corridor into the main hall of the HQ.

The main hall was huge, leading into numerous passageways and rooms and staircases. It looked like a maze from here, like the soldier guy said, "the batcave." Quill decribed them in short about the various facilities in the HQ and how it was all there in the map included in their cellphones. With this he walked out, leaving them to spend the evening as they liked. Dinner was still an hour and half away, so Renekan had a chance to explore this underground monstrosity to bide the time. He browsed the map in his cellphone to locate the library - it would be a great place to start. His stuff was already in his room as Quill mentioned, so he didn't need to visit it right away. As he walked up the various staircases and along the various hallways and passages he couldn't help but feel amazed at the technology in place and the various stuff going on around the facility. It was a welcome change from that dark damp apartment in the suburbs he had been living in for a while. A large door at the end of another hallway lit by UV lights led into the library. The word 'LIBRARY' was etched in gold letters upon the fancy wooden door. There was a scanner beside it which he had to place his palm upon and it gave him clearance.

The inside of the library was beautiful. It was one of the most cleanest and organised libraries Renekan had seen in his life, everything here was in perfect harmony with the surroundings. There were 5 levels to the cylindrically shaped room with each level having several doors on the circumference that presumably led into reading rooms. The overall lighting of the place was a change from the UV lights outside and it was soothing on the eyes. There was a desk in the middle where a woman was seated, managing various accounts. On the desk were written the words, 'PLEASE MAINTAIN SILENCE'. He walked around the first level and took a book off the rack, a little something to spend the evening. The reading room to the right was just as beautiful as the main room, with lounges and chairs and tables in place and well lit too. As he sat on a chair and placed his book on the table, it reminded him of the library at the Eldar Mansion. It was a lot smaller than this, with poor lighting as well, mostly candlelight. But he remembered the number of hours he had spent there as a child because there wasn't a lot of things in the Eldar Mansion that could be considered as entertainment. Still, the outside environment was something he missed while reading although the comfort here far outweighed that. As he proceeded to turn the first page of The Last of the Mohicans, Renekan knew this would be an enjoyable hour before dinner, just the kind of quiet he wanted. There was a lot of time to think about the case later.

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Giles suggested heading to the dojo once they were done with the kitchen, which Harper had mixed feelings about. She'd been trained in hand to hand combat when she'd first started working with the feds, though with Giles working out against dummies, her not being the greatest fighter probably wouldn't come into play. He would probably even be showing off his power, something that she really wanted to see, if only to see one of the few that she hadn't yet. ...And then the greenie almost spoiled it by suggesting that he could take a day off if she wanted a drinking partner. With a quick waving motion dismissing his concerns, Harper said, "I can drink on my own for now, but let me know when you're done playing with fire or whatever you use. I'll save some for you."

Shifting the conversation around to the facilities they were walking by, Giles noted that they were quite nice, and that not even his family had something like that. Unusually for him, he paused a little when saying "family" and then was brief and... off afterward. For Mr. People Person, that was actually a fairly big slip, plus the fact that it had thrown him off like that meant that he had something big with his family that he didn't want to talk about. They were apparently quite wealthy, for him to have tailored clothes, for them to have facilities even close to rivaling these, but something told Harper that asking about that would get her a lot of conversational dodges and irritation. Enough to simply jot down a mental note about this whole thing and leave it at that.

Picking up a bottle of wine wasn't especially hard, though the cook who pointed out where to find the decent white she picked out gave her an odd look when she simply plucked the bottle from the shelf and grabbed a corkscrew to go with it. Probably because the intent for this particular one was cooking instead of drinking, but Harper thumbed her nose at wastes of good alcohol like that. There were, of course, better wines up there, but she wasn't about the waste a really good one when she just wanted to get drunk. With practiced hands, she had the cork out and the bottle open in time to take a swig and leave the opener on the counter on her way out. Definitely not a great wine, a little too dry for her tastes, but more than enough to get drunk with and certainly not a bad one. Harper pushed Giles a little to help them out the door and to their next destination, saying, "Alright, time for you to show off a little! Let's get you to the gym." She wasn't drunk yet, not even tipsy, but just having a bottle with her could put a smile on her face. Besides, she really was looking forward to watching Giles practice.

 

[DeletedUser13682]

Well, it looked like they had a regular little party going on here. It seemed that the cigarette had the power to bring people together. Well, at least those that smoked, which seemed to be only the soldier Dante, at least for now. People just didn’t feel like being relaxed anymore for some reason. Why didn’t anybody like to have relaxation? Stress wasn’t bad in small quantities, but if one had stress for weeks, it could cause them major health problems down the road, eventually resulting in an untimely and way too early death. “Well, I’m glad someone knows how to distress,” Markus told Dante, as he himself tapped a cigarette out of the soft pack and pulled out an IMCO. “Hey, nice Zippo there, Dante. I prefer the old Austrian ones myself; slightly more capable in my experience. Not that Zippo doesn’t make a good lighter. They’re a close second in my books. Better canvas for images and decals, but the IMCO has the better base designs.” Markus took a pause to light his cigarette and moved on to a different subject. “What do I call a name I’ve known since I was five? I call that a nickname, a stage name. My real name is the one on my birth certificate, the one my parents gave me. That’s my real name. But, if you want to go about using that handle. It’s your choice.” Markus put his cigarettes away and listened to the other conversations a bit. The only other thing of note that Markus cared about was Dante’s question about their powers. Giles was intentionally vague about what he could do, only stating that it was probably the most offensive based of the bunch. “Now, here’s something that might surprise you,” Markus said as he flicked his spent butt away from him. “What if I were to say that I actually didn’t have any powers? I’m just here to act as liaison between the Savants and the rest of the world? Or maybe I’d rather not have my powers revealed just yet. Could wait for the right time to reveal them.” Markus shrugged and waited for the conversation to advance, or for Quill to return to pick them up.

Speaking of the man, Quill showed up right around that time, telling them so much more of the facility that they should have been explained earlier on, but better late than never. The projected woman was the representation of their AI called AIWCA. It was an acronym worthy of a facepalm, but luckily they were allowed to call her Ash. After a bit of explanation about the AI, who had constraints placed on her to prevent a Terminator scenario. The aforementioned AI then continued to explain the facilities as Quill handed out cell phones that, along with normal functions, allowed the user to connect with Ash, regardless of their location in God’s green earth. Apparently, she was also the operating system system of the phones, hence no airplane mode. Well, it was a novel concept, cloud OS, but it didn’t seem like the best idea for someone wishing to not be tracked. But that was the price to pay to help figure out this case, which was all but solved in Markus’s eyes. As Markus pocketed his new phone, they were all led by Quill for a tour of the rest of the facilities. The place was very impressive, having been carved out of the New York bedrock. The UV lights were a bit interesting; did nobody get any sun in this organization? Well, from Quill’s explanation of the facilities and all that they contained, it seemed like that there was no need for anyone to ever leave. Luckily for Markus, he was now released to go pick up his car. “Thanks uh… Yeah. I don’t know your name. I’m Markus, just so you know. Don’t know about anyone else, but that’s my birth name. Anyway, thanks.” Markus, with help from his PDA’s map, managed to find the front entrance, where a taxi was waiting. “26 Federal Plaza, please.” As the taxi sped away, Markus took out his new PDA and pressed the A button. “Alright, Ash. What all can this thing do? Well, more specifically, how’s access to some various archives?”

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Harper obtained her wine, though the cook who'd pointed them at the wine seemed a little put off by her taking the whole bottle. Ah well, Quill had said the place was their home, the guy could live with it…it wasn't like he paid for the stuff himself. The shapeshifter popped the cork out and took a drink, her expression saying it wasn't bad, but wasn't amazing either. She then playfully pushed Giles out the door, telling him it was time for him to show off. He couldn't help but grin…he could do that. He could most definitely do that.

They had just about reached the dojo when another room caught Giles' eye…it said simply 'simulation training'. "Well now…if this is what I think it is, it'll beat dummy practice any day…let's check it out!" The room was empty save for a small terminal. A bench that ran around parts of the walls was clearly for spectators, so Harper would have a place to watch from. He approached the terminal and laughed aloud. "Ohhh, I've heard of these things…they aren't supposed to be for commercial use yet! I'm going to guess Ash has something to do with there being one here. Let's see…" scrolling through the options, he selected a simple 'beat them all' simulation…best to start small and work up to the more complex ones. According to the information, there'd be a blend of weapons being used against him, and if he was hit a buzzer would sound and the simulation would potentially end, depending on where the supposed injury was. Perfect. A box in front of the terminal lit up, clearly where to start. With a grin at Harper, the former aristocrat simply stated, "showtime."

Stepping to the other side of the terminal, Giles carefully avoided stepping into the start box. Instead, he held his arms out diagonally, deciding since Harper had told him to put on a show he'd do just that. With a flick of his wrists the hilts of his swords appeared, bladeless for the moment. As always, the world seemed to slow slightly as he activated his power…he knew that his reactions had simply sped up, rather than anything happening to the rest of reality, but still, it was nice to hope. He began spinning and tossing the hilts, attempting to obscure just what it was he was messing with from the shapeshifter's perspective. He slowly moved into the glowing rectangle, and as the course flared to life, a flash of emerald heralded the blades deciding existence wasn't something to be shy about after all. As enemies appeared he was already moving, dashing at the nearest one. Bullets began to fly, still moving rather fast, but slow enough he had a split second to react. He dodged a couple, but most he raised a sword to block. As he moved through the simulation, cutting down the holographic enemies as he did, the former aristocrat was graceful, each move precise. Wasted movement was not in his lexicon, adding an element of the surreal to the performance. Within a minute, he had advanced to the final couple of enemies, and with that, the simulation was over. Standing where he'd stopped, out of breath slightly, he didn't move aside from his heaving chest. When he recovered, he simply uttered, "That…was awesome." He retreated to the terminal again, selected a new program, and continued.

He kept this up for about an hour, choosing more and more complex scenarios. From the simple 'kill 'em all' simulations, to reaching an objective, to stopping an imaginary bomb from going off (no complex wiring system involved, just a button he had to press), and ending with a hostage situation. This one was the closest he came to failure…the hostage was on the roof of a three story building with one guard. The simulation had explained how to handle stairs, but until he got to the roof a small section of the wall showed what people at ground level could see. When Giles started moving in and showing he was a clear threat to the operation, the simulated guard had moved to cut the hostage's throat. The swordsman almost didn't see it in time, and with a snarl he chucked one of his blades at the man, cleanly hitting him despite the distance and height and keeping the target safe. He then proceeded to finish the mission with one sword, only allowing himself to resummon it when he'd reached the roof, as if he didn't have the option to do so until then. This final simulation complete, he staggered over to Harper, swords gone and arms hanging loosely, dropping onto the bench next to her. "That…was a lot more…intense…than any dummy training is…I like this place…" he gasped between breaths. His face and lower arms were covered in sweat, but his hair and clothes didn't have even the slightest hint that he had perspired. If anyone looked close enough they'd see sweat directly on his scalp, but that was it. Giles knew better than to prevent his body from doing a cooling method, but he wasn't going to let himself look gross…nope, not a chance. "I hope…that was entertaining for you?" he grinned tiredly at her. "All I know is I'm starving now…who knew exercising that hard worked up an appetite?"

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Harper continued to be impressed with the quality and extent of the facilities as she walked with Giles to the gym. The place itself was extensive, with a dojo that caught Giles' eye immediately, right up until he saw a simulation training room, something she'd heard of, but never seen before. It would be wonderful to get to see one in action, plus she'd get to see pretty boy in action as well. Win-win, with a bottle of wine to boot. As they walked into the place, she saw it was simply an empty room, except for a terminal and a bench around the walls. Taking her place on a bench as Giles walked up to the console, Harper took another swig from the bottle and settled down to watch the spectacle. Greenie decided not to start up right away, instead juggling a pair of objects, faster and faster until he stepped into the square and a pair of green blurs sparked into life.

Sitting up with interest, Harper started just sipping from her bottle as Giles flew around the space, holographic enemies dispatched with an ease and economy of movement that was honestly beautiful to watch. She could see why he'd advertised his power as the most offensive of the bunch, and it was one she'd never seen before. Bullets, knives, fists, nothing could touch him and wherever the green touched, holograms fell to pieces. It was only as he finished that she finally saw that it was a pair of swords he'd been wielding, single edged and looking like they'd been carved out of emeralds. Quite beautiful, really. The room itself looked like a fun place for a combat oriented power like that and Giles wasted no time diving in again. Forcing herself to be analytical, Harper watched him complete various scenarios without much trouble, his combat ability showing itself to be such that he was near untouchable for normal people, regardless of the number or how well armed they were. If she ever needed to take him on, a fair fight wasn't going to be an option.

It took him about an hour before he was finally tired enough to stop, and even then if not for his body language, Harper wouldn't have guessed he was even tired. As Giles got closer, the sheen of sweat on his forearms showed that he really was physically exhausted, only his clothes and hair refused to show it. An... interesting ability, and apparently one that wasn't linked to his swords... something she should probably take note of. Pretty boy himself appeared to be over the moon, despite his condition, asking whether she'd been entertained and saying he'd worked up an appetite. Grinning back at him, she offered him the bottle, saying, "Whelp, I know I enjoyed watchin' ya get all worked up like that." She had continued sipping from her bottle, and now was well within the area she knew as "buzzed," though the bottle still had at least a quarter left, from her estimates of the sloshing sound within. Impulsively, she reached forward and touched his nose with her index finger to make sure that he'd really been sweating and that this wasn't some sort of illusion. Her finger made contact with smooth skin and... yep, that was sweat, alright... as she pushed briefly, with a "Boop," and a giggle. She might have been acting a little more drunk than she was, but she was relaxed and enjoying herself, plus Giles wouldn't judge her. Or if he did, darker thoughts changing her smile to more of a smirk, he'd probably make sure she enjoyed it. In fact, she almost wanted to get something going right here... but dinner would be in a half hour and Giles was tired. Better to let him recover a bit before trying any... gymnastics.

The only problem left then, if fun-time was out of the question, was how to kill the last half-hour of their time before dinner. She wasn't going to be able to put on a show like Giles in the simulation room, though she'd probably be back here soon to practice a little unarmed combat. She was tempted to dial Ash, and had her new phone out before she thought through why that would be a bad idea, a computer probably having very little idea what "fun" was. Sitting in the messy would be tacky... "D'ya wanna shower before din-din?" she asked, her eyebrows coming together in concern. "I mean, if ya don't, I'd be happy to just walk around and exploratoratificationatifa... I dunno where I was going with that. If ya still feel fine, we could go say hi to soldier boy or that Eldar kid or someone and just hang out until eaty-foody time." Another giggle bubbled out, telling her if she kept talking, she'd probably just dissolve into laughter or something... it was really nice being in a body that got drunk easily. She'd never have managed this with less than a bottle if she were Alice, that girl could drink most people she'd met under the table.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Giles took the proffered wine bottle, blinking in surprise as he felt how little was left…it would appear that Harper was an accomplished drinker. Her speech was a bit slurred as well, which only made sense. He took a mouthful, agreeing with the analysis he'd seen her give it earlier…good, but not amazing. After a second swallow he passed it back…it was her wine, despite the fact she'd offered, he didn't want to be greedy about the rest of it. It was as he did so that Harper pressed a finger against his nose, uttering the word 'boop' as she did so. He paused for a moment, considering. She had most of a bottle of wine in her, and on an otherwise empty stomach…odds were she was just more impulsive than usual…though then again, this wasn't the first time she'd done something unusual…her actions on the train returned to the forefront of his mind…perhaps there was something there? Regardless, the former aristocrat grinned and let the moment pass, instead snagging onto Harper's question of what to do before dinner. "If you don't mind, I'd like to shower…it'd be bad for my image if I showed up all sweaty and gross, right? You're welcome to hang around my place in the meantime if you've got nothing to do." With Harper giving an affirmative, (cleared with Autumn), he lead the way to his quarters, relying on his phone to get him there. The interior was quite nice; bed, table, fridge, TV…it felt like a hotel room, not bad at all. He checked the bathroom to see it was a shower/tub combo, standard as well, though it seemed a bit more luxurious than in a hotel. Perfect.

After grabbing a change in clothes from his suitcase which had been laid out, Giles nodded to Harper before he disappeared into the bathroom, stripped, and got in the shower. The water was crisp and warm, which was wonderful. He let it soothe his worked body, reflecting over the situation. He didn't have much new to go on, but the fact this state-of-the-art facility existed and they didn't know what was going on…that was troublesome. He also let his thoughts stray to the shapeshifter, a little concerned that she'd drank that much as quickly as she had, but figured she wouldn't have if she wasn't comfortable with it…she certainly had still seemed mostly like herself, aside from the whole word-slurring…and the nose booping. Still, he liked her attitude, and she'd certainly been the friendliest person on the team…sticking with her seemed like a solid plan for now.

After he finished his cleaning session, Giles quickly dressed, his hair drying itself and snapping back into place. He could've worn the same clothes again if he wanted, but it made more sense to wash them…and besides, his other sets of clothing were identical to the first…made the choice easier. He left the bathroom and tossed his old clothes in the general direction of his suitcase before glancing at Harper. "Should be about time for dinner now…ready to head out?"

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Pretty-boy took a couple good swigs from the bottle, which was pretty nice, though she felt like he was probably restraining himself out of courtesy or some crap like that. He was just too nice, which made her feel a little bit guilty about the advice she'd given him back in the meeting room, the whole "trust nobody" thing. It was still good advice, but innocence and inexperience were like bright, shiny pennies, rolling along on a dirty sidewalk until someone picked them up and spent them on something nice, like alcohol or clothing or... Harper couldn't remember where she was going with that metaphor, so she pulled her attention back to taking back the bottle and registering that he'd suggested a shower in his room. She was about to be disappointed and lonely, but then he suggested that he could come with him, a suggestion that was all sorts of interesting and that she replied to immediately with a bad word followed by a "Yes!". He probably hadn't meant it in the fun way, unfortunately, but there was time to get him around to that, probably after dinner. The thought made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside, she'd been sleeping alone for the last month or so, with nobody to cuddle with or snuggle against, hopefully Giles would be able to help her with that. If he refused... well, maybe Dante would help. Or maybe Markus or Renekan. Or Kasumi. If not any of them, then at least the kitchen would have another bottle.

Harper jerked herself out of her reverie to find that she had apparently followed Giles to his rooms and sat down while Giles started his shower, placing the wine on a bedside table. He'd probably have to show her the way back, she had no idea where she was within the sprawling facility. Ash would probably help her if she needed, but greenie probably knew where he was anyway. No need to consult miss artificial runway model. And while she was here... Harper took the opportunity to leaf through Giles' suitcase, looking through the clothing he'd brought. A few sets identical to what he'd brought, some lightweight pants, probably sleep wear, all rumpled up as if they had been thrown in without care... Impulsively, Harper grabbed a pair of the sleep pants. With a glance at the door to make sure that he wouldn't be finishing his shower quite yet, she dropped her own pants, unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it down with her pants, and changed. It was a little harder than earlier, the wine muddling her thoughts and the unfamiliarity of the form adding a touch of difficulty, but she still managed it in under a second, slipping into the pants over his wonderful one-size-fits-all undies he'd found in a department store and immediately bought a bunch of. So useful when he needed to swap forms on the fly.

Rummaging for his mirror from the slacks he'd worn earlier, he looked at his reflection in anticipation... and found disappointment. Whatever magic allowed Giles to keep his outfit flawless apparently did his hair as well, the colors not quite as vibrant as Harper remembered and the style not quite perfect. Looking down, he still had the stickers on, though he should probably keep those, it wouldn't do to go to dinner looking like Giles, after all, regardless of the looks on their faces... suddenly going as Giles seemed like a great idea. But then, he'd have to ask permission and... He'd ask the man when he got out. But the worst part caught his eye as he moved the mirror downward and caught sight of the horribly rumpled pants he was now wearing. Seriously, there had to be sorcery at work if Giles' outfits all started like this. He'd ask the man when he got... wait, wasn't there something else he wanted to ask him...? Eh, couldn't have been important, not as important as the relative silence that now filled the room for some reason... had Giles finished his shower? Giles lay down on the bed and looked at the bathroom door, unsure of exactly what to do when it opened and pretty boy himself came out, dressed exactly as he had before, tossing his old clothes towards his suitcase and asking Harper if he wanted to head out for dinner, giving him a glance. Unable to restrain himself, Harper replied with a, "Yep, ready to go!" then promptly broke down into a fit of giggles.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Giles looked over at Harper…to find…himself, in his own sleep pants, looking at him. The scene froze for a second, a look of total confusion on Giles' face. The shapeshifter then began giggling, and Giles found himself laughing rather hard himself. "Ok…ok, that was a surprise. Well done, wow…" He approached himself, examining his appearance. "Huh, yep, that's definitely me…" he left out the fact that he noticed that Harper didn't get his powers when he shifted, as his hair wasn't perfect…something to keep in mind, surely. He debated asking the shapeshifter go as him…then decided against it…there'd be time enough for that later…especially if it was once they'd gotten to know each other fairly well, and he could emulate Giles better, especially if he didn't start closer to drunk than not. No, best keep that gag for later. Still grinning over the surprise, he grabbed Harper's suit and tossed it to him gently, attempting to account for his inebriated state. "I guess that's what I get for letting you come over, right?" he asked, chuckling. "Alrighty, let's get ready and head over to the mess hall…sound good?" The former aristocrat turned around so as to let Harper keep his modesty as he shifted into whatever form he was planning on doing…no sense in being impolite…and the fact he'd noticed some strategically placed stickers implied he'd be going back to the form he'd been in last, so all the more reason to not leer. Nope, polite was the way to go.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Taking a drag on his freshly acquired smoke, Dante listened as Markus rambled on about... something; he wasn't really paying too much attention. The guy seemed nice enough but Dante had already gotten him pegged as a fount of knowledge that could ramble on about a subject all day if you let him; however when the subject turned back to that of names Dante visibly perked up again.
Having not grown up in a Savant household Dante was always interested to hear different peoples take on the whole two name situation along with various other pieces of so called Savant etiquette. In this instance Markus used his non-Savant name, considering his other on to be a nickname; which was fine, Dante didn't agree but he wasn't about to get offended by it. Taking a final drag of his cigarette he drops and crushes the but with a boot heel as he spoke "My parents named me David, my adoptive parents called me Alexander...When I worked in the Ukraine I was called Grigor, in China I was John and in Iran I was Richard, get my drift? Names change but Dante is forever" his Savant name made for a pretty good anchor that and he'd always felt that Dante was a way cooler name than Alexander.
With neither the Professor or Captain Emerald being particularly forth coming with their powers; one being vague and the other using sarcasm, Dante simply gave up using a fine forget it hand gesture deciding that he would have to find out the hard way. He could have explained how it would be helpful to know so that jobs and partnerships could be better assigned but he wasn't the team leader so why the hell should he care?
It was at this point that Quill re-emerged in order to hand out their brand new cell phone / government tracking device as well as introducing them to the hot if goofily named AI although he could always pretend that Ash was short for Ashley as opposed to some kid’s idea of a joke.
With the Professor leaving to retrieve his car the rest of them took the guided tour of the bat cave; the sheer scale of the place causing Dante to give a single whistle of appreciation as he looked around.
After being told that they had the night off it didn't take long for the team to go their separate ways which was fine by Dante as he had plans of his own.
Stalking off down the corridor Dante brings up the map on his shiny new phone and after a few quick swipes of his finger he heads for the tech department on one of the lower floors.
A smile, the correct attitude and a forged signature should get him the items he would need and then it would just be a matter of some quick leg work to get everything done before he was missed.
Strolling up to the man behind the counter as if he owned the place Dante gave him a smile before speaking in a vaguely Ukrainian accent "I am here to requisition a set of electronic surveillance devices, Japanese as a preference, If there are any problems then I am sure that a quick call to Agent Quill should sort it all out... though I see no reason to disturb him on his afternoon off do you?" assuming of course that the guy bought his little charade and that Quill was a big enough fish to name drop, Dante would sign the devices out under the name of Grigor Ivanovich for an Operation Genesis; both were legitimate if archived and heavily redacted though Dante was hoping that the guy would lack the curiosity and security clearances to do more than check their existence... if he even bothered to do that, though there was always the chance that he would encounter a jobsworth in which case he would have to try something else.

 

[DeletedUser37114]

The look on Giles' face before he realized what was going on was absolutely priceless. The grin after he realized what Harper had done wasn't much worse, either, which told him that pretty boy wasn't offended. Then he tossed Harper's earlier set of clothing to him, saying they should head over to the mess hall... oh yeah, lasagne. That sounded absolutely delicious, and maybe he'd grab some more wine, probably not another bottle... why were his clothes from before sitting here? It took Harper a moment to put together that Giles was politely requesting that he change back to before, though the turned back really should have been a dead giveaway. "Spoilsport," Harper mumbled under his breath before shifting back to the same blonde form he'd had earlier with a grunt of effort. It was getting a little difficult to shift, she probably wouldn't be doing so again tonight unless she really needed to, though it had been worth it for that little prank. She shimmied into her pants and shoes quickly with minimal fuss, picked up her shirt... and had a thought.

It wasn't like she wanted to delay their arrival at dinner any further, she really was hungry, but this would be something to tell her exactly how interested Giles was, how much was attraction and how much was him just him being polite and friendly. With a rustle of clothing caused by waving her shirt around a bit and rubbing it against her skin, Harper pretended to put her shirt on, saying, "Almost finished, dontcha worry your pretty little head about me being improp- impra- ...improper. I'm the queeeeen of proper-ness. ...Aaaaaand all done." She'd just left her shirt in her lap, sitting up on the bed and arms crossed under her chest, making a fine show for anyone who happened to look. Which, of course, Giles probably would. If she were Alice, it would have been even better, but of course, she didn't want to exhaust herself shifting over and over again and Alice didn't fit into the shirt. Besides, Harper had noticed that people often got attached to the first form they saw her in... wait, that would mean she should be Richard... first form compatible with their orientation that they saw her in... heck with it. Giles was probably attached to her looking like she had during the majority of time he'd known her. And that would help her figure out... something about Giles... she'd already figured out that her almost certainly wasn't gay... how interested he was, maybe? Yep, that was it.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Harper began to make sounds that coincided with getting dressed, meaning they'd be out of here soon. Supposedly she'd already shifted back, as Giles figured he wouldn't be able to fit in the clothes she had been wearing. As she worked, and her voice confirmed she was back to her previous form, she confirmed she didn't want to be improper, though her inability to get the words out cleanly showed the alcohol had indeed done a number on her. She announced she was done cheerily. Turning around, the former aristocrat began, "Excellent, I have to say I'm looking forward to the lasan…" he froze, eyes widening. He found himself unable to move for a moment, locked in place by what he was seeing, the only thought running through his head being stupid stickers. "Um…" His brain tried to reboot, failed, and tried again. "Harper…" he began slowly. "I…I…" dammit, look away so you can think like a rational human being. With a great effort, he managed the feat, looking instead slightly above her and to one side. As his thoughts cleared, his course of action became clear, and disappointment flooded him…but it was the right thing to do. "I don't want to take advantage of you while you're a distance from being sober…if it, ah…weren't for that…then…" Dammit, be a good person Giles, you won't forgive yourself otherwise. "I don't want to take advantage of you." he said a little more firmly, apparently trying to convince himself as much as Harper. Feeling slightly miserable, he turned away from her again, hoping that would be enough to get her to finish dressing. Dammit, if only she hadn't drank most of the bottle already…dammit, dammit, dammit. He knew he'd done the right thing, but try telling that to certain parts of his psyche. The room was too warm all of a sudden…not that he had to guess why. Welp, at least there was always the lasagna to look forward to…like that was an equal tradeoff. Dammit.

 

[DeletedUser37114]

The look. On Giles' face. Was absolutely priceless. Harper grinned, shrugging her shoulders a couple times for extra fun as she took the opportunity to "flirt" as hard as she could before he looked away. Which he did, unfortunately, with apparent great effort. And then he showed himself to be an absolutely appalling gentleman by insisting that she was drunk, that she wasn't in control of herself, blah blah blah, and she gave him a glare to his back. She'd decide when she wasn't in control of herself, and trying to dismiss her passes as her just being drunk while he took advantage was simply insulting. Silently, she yanked her shirt on, buttoning it up with the speed of someone used to changing in and out of clothes like this, grabbed the wine, and marched herself over to the door, putting her hand on the knob and getting ready to turn it. Once she was there, though... maybe he really was trying to be nice. Maybe he was... crap.

Taking the time to enunciate as clearly as she could, with all the skill of someone used to being fairly drunk and trying to pass themselves off as not, Harper asked, "Giles, are you already taken? Is there some girl back home who has your heart? Because if there is, I apologize and I'll stop. If there isn't, I would recommend stopping about whether it's really the wine talking here. Because everything I've done tonight, I would have been happy to do while sober. Sure, my libido gets a little more... dangit, I almost made it without messing anything up." With a frustrated sigh and a deep breath, Harper turned, grabbed Giles' shoulder and looked him in the face. "I'd like to come back here tonight. Nothing has to happen if you don't want it to, but I want you to know that I really want something to happen. If you aren't already taken, I'll be more than happy to take you. And if not... I hope I can stay anyway." It hurt her little bit to say everything plainly like that and it hadn't exactly come out the way she wanted. Harper had been rejected more times than she was comfortable admitting and even the memories of those rejections hurt. But she was a big girl, she could take a little sting for the chance of something more there... and even if he rejected her, she really didn't want to spend the night alone. A bottle really didn't make for good company.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Harper dressed in silence and stormed over to the door, clearly frustrated with how things had gone. Giles felt bad, but knew he was doing the right thing…nothing good would come of taking advantage of someone while they were inebriated. The shapeshifter stopped at the door before slowly turning around. She asked if he had anyone back home, claiming that she would've done the same thing if sober. She got close to him, hand on his shoulder, adding that she wanted to come back here tonight. That if he wasn't involved with someone she wanted to step up. That even if he was, she wanted to at least be in his room. And she said it all with almost no slipups, nothing to imply that she was anything but serious, despite the alcohol.

This…changed things. The fact Harper'd made such a herculean effort to act as though she was sober, and had succeeded…she wasn't kidding. Giles processed this for a moment before stating softly, "There isn't anyone back home, no…I…Harper…you…" his words seemed to have completely failed him, a novel concept in and of itself for someone who claimed to be a people person. His eyes gleaming slightly with a blend of emotions, the former aristocrat bent and kissed her, briefly and softly. "I…would very much like for you to come back here tonight. I…thank you, for explaining. I didn't want to assume too much, but…yes. I…yes." He smiled a bit, his expression showing he was a bit overwhelmed at the prospects and implications of the last couple of minutes, but ultimately he was on the same wavelength as the shapeshifter. "So…uh…I guess we should go to dinner then?" He wasn't entirely sure how to recover from a conversation like THAT, but figured that a poor transition was better than none. He…needed a moment to process this. Out of all the things he had expected to get out of today once he'd boarded the plane, a romantic partner was NOT one of them. He…wow. He guessed it was a good thing he'd taken the job. This was certainly turning out to be an excellent day, and he had a feeling it was only going to get better…once he could think straight again, anyway. For the moment, he was still somewhere in the clouds.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Markus
The cabbie nodded as he got in. The drive was smooth as they pulled through the streets, the cabbie always moving about twenty seconds before an event actually occurred. At one point he gently braked into what seemed to be nothing only for a bike to shoot past, the rider going much too quickly for the busy city centre, and the cabbie pulled off again. As Markus spoke to Ash, he could have sworn he saw the cabbie grin in the rearview mirror for just a second but it was probably just his imagination. Ash's face popped up on the screen and spoke to Markus. "This phone is equipped with my software and acts as a local port. Therefore, so long as I am connected to the internet, I can perform any function as I would from the New York base. If local connection must be used then I can either do pre-downloaded functions or I can attempt to use my base processing power to achieve a task though it will take significantly longer. As for access to archives, we have full and unregulated access to almost all worldwide archives. I have all of the access codes and you can get anything through me. If we do not have access to an archive then I will attempt to gain access to it but I forsee this as being an unlikely eventuality." At this point, the cab pulled around a corner and the driver called back in an Australian sounding accent "Your stop's just around the corner mate." The cab pulled around the corner and the taxi driver stopped and waited for Mark to exit before he spoke again. "Here you are. This one's on the house, I'm sure Ash will reimburse me. Be seeing ya tomorrow, if you're who I think you are." With that the driver winked at Markus, if the pieces hadn't already fallen into place then they should have by now as the door slid shut and he pulled away, leaving Markus to collect his car and have a fairly uneventful, if much longer, drive through the city centre. Though it had taken the cabbie barely five or ten minutes to do the journey, it took Markus nearly an hour and by the time he returned and found the carpark, it was time for dinner.

Dante
As Dante walked up to the counter and began to list off his demands to the "man" it slowly began apparent that the man he was talking to was in fact... not a man. Ash turned round from the things that she had been cataloguing and spoke to the Savant. "Hello Dante, apologies, I will have to deny your request. I see no such permissions granted on your account by Agent Quill and I am..." Ash paused for a second and then spoke again. "If you would like to ask for permission then I suggest you do so now. He is coming this way." If Dante turned round in time he'd see Quill slip in through the door, with a slightly worried look on his face. He held a tablet in his hand which he locked before turning his attention to the telekenetic man standing in front of him. "I said we needed to talk. I meant it. I got an update on the situation. This isn't a very good place to share information, follow me." Quill exited the room and beckoned for Dante to follow him. When Dante did so, he would set off down the corridors at quite a pace and began talking to Dante. "What were you intending to do in the stores by the way? No particular reason for asking, I'm just interested. So long as it's nothing to untoward, I'll happily grant you permission. Either way though, I figure this comes first... unfortunately." Quill stopped in the corridor for a second and turned round to look at the figure. "Look. I know you don't want to be here. I know you'd be much happier had the FBI vanished out of your life forever and you had died alone in peace. I'd be happier not having you here as well. Your record is immaculate but after Singapore... I've got a very easy time understanding why you have a very hard time trusting any of us spooks ever again. I meant what I said though, a promise is a promise. You do this case and I'll have Ash go through every database and erase your name from every list. I've cleared it with higher ups but even if I hadn't, a promise is a promise. As for why you're needed here... I'm beginning to suspect that there's something we're missing." Quill resumed walking but carried on talking to Dante, expecting him to keep up and to listen at the same time. "I got it as a feeling whilst I was contacting everyone. I had been given your file but I didn't want to. Then I saw what I'm about to show you and I felt that mandated your presence here. I feel like there's someone in the background that we can't see. I fully intend to stop that and that's why you're here. I'm the one who does the hiding." Quill, at this point, stopped and placed his hand on a scanner. It checked his fingerprints and DNA material and then the door slid open. It was a small office, with a desk with a chair and a computer. It had a bookcase in the far corner and two other chairs nearer the door. Quill sat down on one of them and motioned for Dante to take the other. Once Dante had stepped through the door it would slide shut again. Quill spoke to Dante one last time. "I'm going to open a mental connection between us now. It's the simplest and fastest way to tell you everything you need to know. You'll feel my presence but try not to resist because that just makes it more strenuous on me." Quill finished and closed his eyes, concentrating. Dante would feel a probing at the edge of his consciousness and then suddenly there was another presence in his mind. Hi. Quill's voice was in Dante's head now, talking to him. This is what you need to see. A series of images streamed through Dante's head, one after another. Feelings, emotions and memories jumbled up with cold hard fact, a literal stream of consciousness. Eventually it faded. Quill pulled back from his mind and breathed deeply for a few seconds. "So. That's the situation." Quill checked his watch. "Any questions? If not, then I think it's nearly time for dinner, that took longer than I thought it would, sorry."

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Harper had thought Giles was attractive before, but... damn. Single, stuttering, trying to keep them on task with an effort of will, not to mention the obvious pretty factor, if he kept this up, she wasn't going to let them go to dinner, just stay here in his room, have some fun... Why wasn't she locking the door again? ...Oh yeah, the hunger pangs currently lighting up her stomach. Greenie was probably looking for food too after his workout. So instead of tackling Giles to the floor and starting the evening early, Harper let go of his shoulder, dashed over to the table to set the mostly empty bottle of wine there, ran back, and opened the door, dragging... wait. As she left the room, looking down at her hand revealed that she'd apparently grabbed Giles' own and was now holding it as she dragged him to dinner. She had no recollection of doing so, but... the contact was really nice. She squeezed his hand tighter and led him out into the hall, laughter bubbling its way out of her chest. First, lasagna, then back to the room, then... fun.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

As the man behind the counter turned to face him, shimmering into the form of Ash as he did so, Dante tried his best to hide his irritation at finding the AI by plastering a broad smile on his face “Well aren’t you the proverbial bad penny” he joked, whilst swearing loudly and proficiently in his head. Tricking the AI was going to prove problematic if not downright impossible however it would appear that luck; good or bad depending on your point of view would have it that Quill would enter the room at that very moment. Dante hadn’t been ordered to follow Quill but he knew from experience that such suggestions amounted to as much and so with one last smile at Ash he moves to follow his new boss “You asked me to watch someone, so I thought whilst they were all taking advantage of the free booze that I’d get to work” he replied bluntly to Quill’s enquiry over why he’d wanted the bugs.
Following his boss into an office that was as extravagant as you could get in an underground facility Dante took the proffered chair; hooking his legs over the arms and playing with the lid of his lighter as he listened to what Quill had to say, having just enough time to return the lighter to his pocket before he went all Spock on him.
He watched as the images flashed through his mind like some kind of crazy History channel acid trip, the spook gritting his teeth with growing anger as he connected the dots “So what you’re telling me...is that you’ve assigned me to a team that I cannot trust, with members that are just as likely to kill me than help me, before then sending me on a potentially violent assignment by myself!?...gee...thanks pal...thanks a bunch” he growled with a look on his face that said he was giving serious thought to punching him in the jaw “OK...you want me to play witch hunter general, fine! But I want the full military pension and severance package appropriate to my former rank upon the investigations completion and full access to the people and resources I require or I walk” he stated firmly and fully intending to follow through with his threat if his demands weren’t met, though somehow he had the idea that Quill would be more than capable of meeting his demands, in fact he’d be surprised if Quill hadn’t been expecting this.
With the meeting having reached its conclusion Dante left the office and made his way towards the cafeteria quietly wondering to himself why history had a habit of repeating itself and why it was always him that kept getting bitten by it.
Collecting a plate of what looked to be pretty good lasagne Dante found himself a table and sat by himself; none of the other members of his team seemed to have arrived yet and he had no desire to mingle with any of other staff members currently eating their dinner.
Later he’d go in search of what passed for a bar in this place and have a skin full as he tried to decide which of his colleagues he could trust enough to join him on his little field trip; the final piece of good news given to him during Quill’s little psychic briefing...God he hated Spooks.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Harper reacted quite positively to Giles' words, which made sense as she was the one who had approached him in the first place. She hurried to put the wine back down, then grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. She seemed as surprised as he was that the last had happened, though it seemed neither of them were going to complain, the shapeshifter going as far as to laugh, prompting the former aristocrat to grin. He still couldn't really fathom what had just happened…they'd moved into this rather quickly, but damn it if she wasn't fun to be around. Relationships had been formed on far less, and he wasn't going to complain. The job would be that much more enjoyable with someone to spend time with outside of investigations and crime scenes. After they got out of his room, Giles took the lead, as he wasn't sure Harper would know the way back…even he had to guess a couple times. Fortunately, before too much longer they were at the mess hall again. He spotted Dante sitting alone and nodded in his direction. "You can go sit down, I'll grab us both food, ok?" he asked before letting go of her hand and proceeding to do just that.

Setting the two plates of lasagna down across from Dante, Giles slid into the seat next to Harper. "Hello again, Dante," he said cheerfully, grinning at the telekinetic. Harper was going to be great company throughout, but certainly no harm in getting to know other members of the team as well. "There's a great simulation training room here, I'd highly recommend it if you feel like working out…worked up a massive appetite going at it. How'd you end up occupying the time between now and dinner?" As he listened to the response, he took a bite of the food…Quill hadn't been lying, it was solid. Not quite Italian restaurant amazing, but he wouldn't mind eating food like this while he was here, not at all. He realized after he'd taken a couple bites he'd forgotten to grab drinks. Whoops. Oh well, he'd grab 'em during a lull in the conversation, and this way he'd be able to ask Harper if she had any preferences as to beverage. For now, just enjoy the company and the food.

(OOC: Cleared Harper's actions with Autumn prior to posting)

 

[DeletedUser13682]

It took a second for Ash to come on the line, but once she did, she gave Markus all the information he had requested, and more. Much, much more. Listening to Ash rattle on about connectivity and off network functions, other things that really didn’t make much sense, almost convinced Markus to ask her to stop. But then she got to the good stuff and explained how she could access near any archive Markus desired with no effort at all; the rest could be accessed with a minimum exerted effort. This was great news for Markus; he’d be able to gather up any research materials he needed, whenever he needed. Maybe he’d be allowed to keep this PDA after this mission was all said and done; if so, not only would he get more materials to work with, he’d get more and better clues on what things should be further investigated with his touch to the past. “That sounds great, Ash. Let’s see. There’s a few letters I’ve been wanting to read. They’re correspondence between Alfred Nobel and one of his brother. It’s about his early experiments. Uh… let’s see…” Before he could go any further, the cabbie called out that they had arrived. “Thanks for the lift,” Markus replied, as he got out of the vehicle. “Yeah, probably. I expect not even Google’s autocars can beat your driving. Have a good night.”

Markus walked through the parking garage, the dim and burnt out lights giving the place a horrible atmosphere. Markus’s hand was never farther than an inch or two away from his IPSC holster and the Glock it held. Luckily, the walk to his Supra was uneventful, and the firearm was unnecessary. But, as the saying went, better to have and not need then need and not have. As he pulled out of the parking garage, Markus called up Dr. Preston. “I’m sorry for calling you during dinner, Dr. Preston, but I’ve got some important news. I’m doing some work for the government, something about early American history. I don’t know all the details yet, sorry. But from the sound of it, it’ll be a while before I can get back. I’ll have long hours, too. I won’t get that paper done until I’m back. I’m sorry. I’ll keep you updated as often as I can. If I don’t call by tomorrow night, send a rescue party after me. I don’t really believe that’ll be needed, but who knows? Yeah, I’m outside of NYC. I’ll email the coordinates tonight if I don’t forget. Ok, have a good dinner. Good night, Dr. Preston.” The rest of the drive was uneventful, though it did take much longer for him to return to site than it did for the cabbie to get to the federal building. After Markus parked, he made his way to the cafeteria where it seemed he had already been beaten by Dante, Giles, and Harper, who appeared to be slightly inebriated. “Yeah, I’ll take a lasagna, please. With an asparagus, some peaches, and a bottle of Stella Artois. Thanks.” Markus headed over to the occupied table, and joined the others. “Evening, everyone. You two sure look sweet on each other,” Markus said, looking at Giles and Harper. “Evening, Dante. Hope they haven’t been annoying you too much. Did I miss anything important while I was gone?”

 

[DeletedUser37114]

As they made their way down the hallway, Harper began to realize that she really had no idea where they were going, as she'd completely missed the initial finding of Giles' room. She'd been to the messy, of course, but their detour over to the gym, combined with the detour to Giles' room left her with little idea where she was in the compound. Of course, if she really needed to, Ash could probably help her, but she didn't really want the inevitable flak she'd get for being drunk. So she got to follow Giles, still holding onto his hand and appreciated the view while she was there. If the trip took a little longer than it probably should have, well, she wasn't going to complain. Dante was sitting all by his lonesome as if he didn't want anyone's company, the poor guy. He would definitely benefit from human contact, help rub some of that abrasiveness away. Harper giggled at the image of someone taking sandpaper to Dante's face and waltzed her way over to his table, calling, "'Eeeeeey, soldier boy! How's it going? How's Fort Solitude?" She sat down with a grin across from him, all the better to throw verbal jabs back and forth.

Giles had apparently dropped by and gotten food while she was busy paying attention to Dante, which was really sweet of him. He forgot drinks, which was kind of unfortunate, but she wasn't about to badger him about it. She could go pick them up after they were done eating. Harper dug into her food... she'd had worse, but that had mostly been at faux Italian chain places that wouldn't have known lasagna from a calzone. This was actually surprisingly delicious, though she guessed that it was mostly Quill's doing, clever, manipulative g-man. If they were well fed, it would be easier for them to get the job done, not to mention that if the food was good, they wouldn't spend time eating out. Easier to keep an eye on them. But no use worrying about that now, especially with Markus strolling up to their table with a loaded tray and a bottle of beer, remarking how Giles and her appeared to be an item now. "We had fuuuuuun," Harper said as a way of explanation. "We spent tiiiime with each other." A giggle slipped out and her thoughts slipped to thinking about what kind of time they might be spending together later... Back on topic, Harper, no ripping Giles' clothes off in front of everyone. Rising abruptly and shaking her head to try to clear it a little, she stuttered, "D-drinks! I'll go get some, what would you like, Giles? Drunky-drinky for you Dante?"

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Dante hadn't long started his meal when Harper sat down at his table and looking like she was already three sheets to the wind "well hey there Barbie aren't we merry" Dante drawled with a roguish grin as Captain Emerald arrived carrying a pair of plates; talking about some kind of VR training room before then asking him how he'd spent his off time "ah you know, this and that...our illustrious leader wanted to have a little chat with me, he seems to have gotten it into his head that I have an issue with that Eldar guy and wanted to make sure I wasn't going to do anything unwise" he said downing his knife and fork in order to mime inverted comma's in the appropriate place with a look on his face that just oozed innocence or so he hoped.
It was around about that time that Markus; the only other member of the team that he didn't have a beef with joined them with his own plate and cheery greeting "Nah don't sweat it Prof, Barbie here is a hoot...yeah I was just telling these two about the rocketing I got from he who must be obeyed over my threatening behaviour" once again the cutlery was grounded to perform the appropriate hand gestures as he spoke with rolling eyes and sarcastic tones "...say help a guy who grew up outside of the Savant circle of trust...what do you guys know about this Eldar bunch? I mean aren't they from your neck of the woods Emerald?" Dante asked using his best dumb Redneck routine, phrasing the question so as to ask the whole group whilst simultaneously directing a questioning look in Emerald's direction. He had just about enough time to hear part if not all of a reply before Harper asked what people wanted to drink “Sure darlin' I’ll have a bourbon, make it a large one it seems I need to catch up” he said flashing her another roguish grin as he does so.
He would wait patiently for any more information on the Eldars was given and more importantly until Harper was out of earshot before flashing Captain Emerald a grin “Emerald you dog I didn’t think you had it in you…getting with a drunk chick is more my style, though…how much has she had? It’s like you’ve slipped her a micky or something” he said leaning over the table to clap him on the shoulder in a show of camaraderie, although he may have done it just a touch too hard…oh well he’d live, well assuming that he didn’t need to use that arm any time soon “well one thing is for sure, she’s no Tonya…that girl could drink”