Glass House

[Aila Roas]

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The details down and their pursuers escaped, Aila and Devrim had plotted out their next moves over the next couple of nights. The Alliance didn't have the gear on hand one would need for the kind of slicing they had in mind, and neither did Aila given her position. They'd need to liberate a bit of technology from people who wouldn't be missing it anytime soon. And the only place on this planet seemed to be the police.

Scouting it out over the days, they got a sense of its size, layout, security and, most importantly, where they stored their goodies. Third floor, central to the rest of the building if anything ever went wrong they'd all have quick access to what they needed. And that made it much, much harder for this pair of outsiders to find their way into it. Hopefully they'd find a way to cut themselves in.

And out again, for that matter. The thought of getting caught mid heist in a police station didn't particularly appeal to her. Looking to Devrim, she began,

"Alright, if we can get near the back I should be able to slice into the rear entrance, though how we sneak by once we're inside, I'm not too sure. Uniforms perhaps? So long as no one looks too close" as much as they'd prepped, you still needed to be flexible. But with that figured out they could get straight into the op.

@Vosrik

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

Not liking the idea of sneaking into the headquarters of the local police, Devrim had remained mostly silent up until now. At least Aila was somewhat familiar with New Cov and their security force, being the place where she lived currently. Though the Galactic Alliance had been the ones to hire her for the job, now the slicer had the reigns for the mission at hand. Devrim consoled himself with the knowledge that the force was so huge, members of the police on New Cov most certainly didn't know everyone who worked there on a daily basis. Hopefully the security through obscurity would keep them from getting caught if they ever ended up in a tight spot tonight.

Listening to Aila as she laid out the basics of her plan, Devrim peered toward the Police headquarters at the other end of the street. "I'm sure we'd be able to find something in there. Janitor overalls, morgue suits, evidence gloves — or hell we could go for the classic good cop, bad cop," he mused. Devrim knew with his dark complexion and fairly large figure, he'd be able to pull off an excellent bad cop impression. He smiled at the thought, gesturing to Aila as he began walking toward the back of the police station. For the time being, they had no reason to act discreetly until they actually got inside. For the time being, they were just innocent citizens taking a stroll through the streets of New Cov.

Seeing the back door, Devrim took a look up and down the street. Nobody was nearby or watching the two bystanders, so he approached the back door and inspected it. It was fairly simple — no bodyguard, no camera. Just a pretty high-tech looking security panel next to the door. At least, to Devrim it looked high-tech. He wasn't very experienced in the world of slicing. The door could have the most simple encryption on it and he would never have know. Up until now, he had gotten by well enough by simply blasting the locks or sticking his vibroblade into them. "You're up," he whispered, turning his back to the door and panel to cover Aila while she worked and keep a lookout for any patrols.

@Nightfall​

 

[Aila Roas]

"Oh I'm sure there'll be something, you'd suit a uniform" she fired back playfully before heading with him to the door. Time enough for jokes again later, this was her first showing, and she needed to make it go alright or else this job was going to sink before it even started to swim. She kept her eyes on a swivel as they edged round to the rear of the building, taking in as many faces as she could in case any started looking a little too close, though as the closed in there was no one around. Safe enough, for now.

Coming to the rear she took a look at the door locking system. Strong enough, not a system she'd specifically went against before, but one she was confident enough she'd be able to figure out. This she kept in her head, anyhow, she didn't want to exactly give off the impression she didn't know what she was doing. Heads down, tools out, get to work. And quickly she did, though not as perfectly as she'd hoped. Getting the door open proved more of a struggle than she'd expected, Aila hadn't been ready for the bust it threw her way. She kept it down, but it fried the circuit, causing the door to slide open with a crash. She glanced back up at Devrim, a faux smile on her face that said something like 'whoops' as she pushed herself from the panel and threw herself inside,

"The door will pick up, I'm sorry about that, but via the panel I got through to the camera in here too. We'll register for a second, nothing more, it'll be a dead hallway after that. Hopefully they won't notice anything wrong unless they're being particularly attentive" she said, trying to keep her own confidence up, let alone Devrims' own in her. If they'd asked her to do this than she damn well meant to impress,

"Anyway" she bit her lip and flicked her eyes to the side "we should keep moving, you know, just in case"

@Vosrik

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

Peering sideways to his companion upon hearing Aila's remark, Devrim tried imagining himself in a uniform — and after a moment of self-reflection, he agreed. Nodding in appreciation, Devrim simply replied, "Thanks!" The dark-haired rebel wasn't much for wordy replies, but at least he was genuine. Hopefully the slicer wasn't one of the many who took his brevity for rudeness. Maintaining his watch on the dimly-lit streets of New Cov, thankfully nobody even bothered looking their direction as Aila worked diligently on getting them inside. Only a few moments passed before Devrim heard the panel spark and the telltale noise of the door sliding open. Peering over his shoulder, he returned her smile with a slight nod of his own before following Aila inside. Giving the slicer his undivided attention as she debriefed him on the current situation, Devrim looked further down the hallway. "Sounds good to me. No security guard has their eyes glued to a camera feed every waking moment."

She had a solid plan thought — keep on moving. Just sticking in one place would end up with them getting caught. Eyeing the menacing mechanical eye of the camera positioned atop the corridor, Devrim straightened up and walked confidently past it into the next room. Whether he was right and the security guard wasn't watching or simply didn't care, no alarm sounded at the appearance of the two intruders. ♦ Peering around the hallway they had just entered, Devrim knew they needed to find some sort of disguise to stay here. Looking at one of the doorways, he decided to walk inside — there must be something useful inside. The room simply had a number affixed to the door with no indication of what was inside, and so he stepped in and flicked on the light. What met his eyes made the rebel's heart skip a beat. ♦

Rushing inside and closing the door quickly as soon as Aila followed him in, Devrim whispered to her with urgency laced in his voice. "This has to be the chief's office. We won't be able to find uniforms here, but some of the tools you need might be in here. Do you think it's worth a look?" Looking at an incredibly old-style clock monotonously ticking on the wall, he continued in a low voice, "I don't think we'll have much time before he comes back. Most chiefs I know do most of their work in their offices, not in the field."

@Nightfall​

 

[Aila Roas]

And so far, so good, just as she liked it. Though, now she thought about it, that probably wasn't peculiar to her, surely everyone liked it when things went well? Why was she even thinking that, she had bigger things on her mind anyhow. Yes. Yes she did. Force why couldn't she get her mind to settle. Because it was all very exciting, wasn't it?

Even on the run her particular talents hadn't come in handy as often as she had expected, instead she was making money taking any dang job that had come her way to keep her in the air and away from Imperial space. Now here she was, accepting an offer to fly right back in there and paint an even bigger target on her if things went wrong, and yet, she couldn't help but smile. There something to the idea, something to doing what she knew best that kept her steps light, and her eyes lit.

Safe inside the station so far, she shook her head back into focus as Devrim waved her quickly inside the next room, a sudden feeling of urgency. Had she missed something? Had they been spotted?

Not so.

Her mind snapping back she looked round the room. The Chiefs office alright, papers and datapads covered the table, a set of medals lining the side wall. It was a big wig alright and no mistake,

"Everythings worth a try" she replied quickly, diving into the mans drawers, her hands moving deftly through so as not to disturb too much. Though there she was having no luck. The stuff she needed wouldn't just lay around like that. Following her gut, she flitted over to the rear wall, an enormous painting covering it. As much as she didn't want to believe the holos that there might be a secret compartment behind there, she peered behind just in case, taking the chance to search andywhere and everywhere, lifting the image from the wall. That was the wrong move. Shifting it just slightly, the thing came off its hook, nearly falling to the ground. She could scarcely hold it up by herself,

"Kriff" she said, straining under its weight. She looked around quick, so far she didn't see or hear any signs of the chief coming back. But if he found them here like this it was game over.

@Vosrik

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

Drawing his DH-7 and setting it to stun, he peeked out the door and down the hallway to see if anyone was coming their way. Seeing nobody, he pressed the control panel and the door slid shut. Meanwhile, Aila rifled through the chief's desk to see if she'd be able to find the equipment she needed for the job. Devrim decided to do some searching too, moving over to a shelf and flipping through the various things he found there. Unfortunately, it was mostly books and other nick nacks. "This guy sure does like his souvenirs," the rebel commented absent-mindedly, eyeing something that clearly came from Zeltros. His concentration was shattered upon hearing a little pop and Aila's strained swearing. Turning his head, Devrim holstered his pistol and immediately came to her aid.

"Now this thing's kinda heavy," the broad-shouldered man chuckled as he helped Aila set it down gently on the floor. Looking back where the painting was once positioned, Devrim was stunned to see that there was indeed a little square compartment in the wall. ♦ "How much do you wanna bet what we need is in there?" he said, pointing at the compartment. Unfortunately, it was locked by yet another control panel. It was time for Aila to work her magic once again.

"I'll see if he's got a keycard or something," Devrim commented, turning to the chief's desk. Opening up the top drawer, he quietly exclaimed as he found a data key laying atop a pile of papers. ♦ "Here, use this," Devrim stated as he picked it up and handed it over to his companion. Despite their success, the hairs on the back of the rebel's neck began to raise and his heart beat quickly. He never liked sneaking into places — he was never sure if someone would catch them in the act. At least he had a stun blaster in case they were found by the chief, who was still absent from the room for now.

@Nightfall​

 

[Aila Roas]

"Oh just a lot" she smiled back. With Devrim's help they managed to get the painting onto the ground quietly to the ground, giving them a proper look at the wall. Sure enough, there was something there, a smooth little compartment cut into the wall, a control panel next to it. Devrim's comment made her laugh, though she managed to keep it under her breath as she pulled out her little datapad to try and slice into the thing.

Not that she needed to. Devrim was showing his worth more and more as the night progressed. Turning to him and taking the card, she was curious. It was all working out nicely for them so far,

"Lets see, if I just slide you in here..." she spoke to no one in particular, as she passed the keycard through the slot, a moment of terror passing before a satisfying little beep and its accompanying green light signaled that they'd found the right one. A click at the base of the compartment saw the door open slightly, unlocked and ready to go. Swinging the door open she stuck her head inside. Bigger on the inside it seemed, a collection of the Chief's more valuable technology and souveniers. An odd collection, all things considered, but who was she to judge what the person found valuable. What mattered is that they shared some idea of what was.

Reaching in, she pulled out a pair of smaller devices, nicely palm sized, one that could chase down signals and access holo ports from a distance. Something she'd desperately need if they were going to be making a move on the Empire. If she could keep some distance between her and danger.

"Gotcha" to another eye they might seem like trifles to go to so much effort to obtain, but to Aila, well, they put a smile on her face.

A smile that, within moments, would be cut short by a rattle at the office door. Someone was coming, and they didn't have long till they were in.

@Vosrik

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

It seemed Aila's hunch about the compartment behind the wall had certainly paid off. The fact that the two of them had managed to find the equipment in such a way so close to the back entrance was beyond what Devrim thought possible. He let his eyes wander across the currently quiet office, the only noise being that of his companion shuffling through the police chief's special collection of personal things and contraband taken out of the evidence locker. The rummaging stopped, and from Aila's exclamation it seemed she had found what they came for. "Is that all you need?" Devrim asked quietly while replacing the painting, though his words were cut short by the rattling of the office door behind them.

Drawing his DH-7 once again, the broad-shouldered rebel double checked to make sure the pistol was set to stun. Although he was a rebel, Devrim certainly didn't want to cause any unnecessary casualties, especially not the chief of police that was likely doing some good here on New Cov. Gesturing with his head for his companion to get behind him, the rebel slid up next to the wall beside the sliding door. Whoever came through wouldn't see either of the intruders — not immediately, at least. However, the rattling strangely stopped and the door did not open. ♦ An eyebrow raising in curiosity, he pressed an ear flat against the wall to see if he could hear anything beyond it.

What met his ears were the muffled sounds of a discussion being had just outside. Clearly the chief was currently occupied with speaking to one of his subordinates or officers before making his way back into the office. This was advantageous for the two, but only for a brief moment. "This door is the only way out of here," Devrim whispered, just to state the obvious. "I'm going to open it and take out whoever's out there. Then we'll make a run for it." While stealth had gotten them this far, it was highly unlikely they were going to make it out now unnoticed. However, they had what they'd come into the station for — all the two needed to do was get out of the station and make sure they weren't being followed while they escaped.

Mouthing a 1..2...3, Devrim tapped the control panel and the door slid open smoothly. What met his gaze was the unprotected back of the chief, and the rebel immediately squeezed two stun rounds point-blank into the man's spine. Without even seeing the attack coming, his muscles immediately tensed up and the police chief crumpled to the floor in an unconscious heap. However, the chief was talking directly to another officer who saw the whole thing take place right in front of him. ♦ "FREEZE!!" the man shouted, drawing his own blaster pistol at the two intruders. It was unlikely his own weapon was set to stun, and Devrim certainly didn't want to take any chances. Without missing a beat, he simply adjusted his aim and fired twice more into the officer's chest, landing direct hits. ♦ The second unconscious body hit the floor.

"Alright, let's get out of here before anyone else shows up," Devrim stated with a hint of satisfaction in his voice from the quick dispatch of the police officers. No alarm had been sounded, and all remained quiet. All that was left was for them to escape into the streets of New Cov, where it would be nigh-impossible to be found and arrested.

@Nightfall​

 

[Aila Roas]

Office back to normal, Aila froze, taking position behind Devrim. Their astounding luck seemed to continue, as the door failed to continue rattling. A hubbub behind it instead, a moment of freedom to think through their next move. And, as much as Aila wanted to help, Devrim seemed far more capable of taking on whatever was out there than she was. Violence, in any form, was not something she'd had to teach herself yet. So far all she'd had to do was run, and so far it still worked. Whether she could do it forever, that was another question.

And one for another day at that, for now, as Devrim said, they were going to run and they didn't have an option. Watching his mouth as he counted down, she drew her holdout blaster, possible more to feel safe than to actually assist. She needn't have anyhow. In the moment Devrim burst through the door the two soldiers went down without a fight, and hardly a word said between them. With the headache they had she doubted they'd even remember Devrim's face, let alone hers. It felt like they were home free, so long as the station didn't hold any more surprises,

"Oh I'm more than ready to" Aila replied as she swung out the office behind him and took a glance down the hallway, back the way they came. Clear. Tapping him on the shoulder she started moving rapidly to exfiltrate the place and get the kriff out of there. And, despite her expectations, they seemed to. There exit was as clear as their entrance, her little camera trick from earlier meant there wouldn't be much evidence of them ever having been there. The two were in the clear.

A quick wiring of the back door to slam it back closed, and Aila and Devrim were back in the alley, safe and sound. Time now to slip into the crowds and fall back into the streets, just as they had when they'd arrived,

"That's the gear ready. Which means... just the job now, right?" she joked, as they folded back into the streets. The easy part was behind them. It was the hard part that was about to begin.

It had been good, to work alongside someone again. It was a feeling she had missed, so long only relying on herself, too many close calls she'd only managed to make it out of by the skin of her teeth. There was something to be said about not going it alone. Perhaps that time was growing near.

@Vosrik

Spoiler: OOC

/EndThread unless you wanted a post to wrap things up on Devrim's end?

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

A long history with the rebels of Dxun and being born into the rebellion had certainly helped Devrim's use of force. While most children had the opportunity to play with other kids and with little toy starships, Devrim had few such luxuries and instead was taught how to clean guns from a young age. While many would consider it a tragedy, on the contrary the rebel considered it a necessary evil. Such experiences made him the brutally efficient man he was today, and it allowed him to shoulder the burden so that others wouldn't have to.

Allowing Aila to take the lead as they made their exit, Devrim pulled his cloak hood over his face as they passed the camera. Not that he expected to be followed by the inattentive or non-existent security guard — but he didn't want to be recognized if or when the footage was reviewed later. A few seconds later and both were in the clear with the cool night air brushing against their faces as they left. Disappearing into the crowds that roamed the streets of New Cov was easy, and they followed the flow of traffic for some time before allowing themselves to speak once again. Aila broke the silence first, noting that they had all the gear they needed for the job. "Excellent," Devrim replied. "I'll get in contact with another of my associates, and we will meet you at the rendezvous point on Mimban." Giving the slicer a nod of thanks and farewell, they parted ways and slipped off into the night. The hard part certainly was yet to come.

Fin​

@Nightfall​