Open No Kidding Around

[Salvatore Russo]

Friends in High Places:
No Kidding Around
OOC: Sal Russo is not a part of this thread.

​

The deal had been struck. Soygun York and the 5 Syndicates were in agreement. After some research, Senator Victola Maroo of Hambarine presented an interesting pressure point. Maroo has a reputation of stirring the pot and being a troublemaker of many different sorts. Somewhere on Coruscant, another team was working on planting evidence on his datapad that he was the source of the FWA leak. This job....well, this one was a little dirtier.

@Vri Nama and @Taldorak Trenessar were given a kidnapping assignment. For leverage to get a confession for Maroo after the Rangers were given a hot tip about his datapad, they would be kidnapping one of Maroo's three children back on his home planet of Humbarine. The younger the better. Not only do they need to do this job quietly so that the outside world was clueless, but they have to convince Maroo's wife to keep her trap shut.

Maroo lived a life of luxury one would expect from a senator of a fully developed core world. His penthouse suite apartment rested on the top floor of one of the tallest apartment complexes on the surface of the ecumenopolis. There were multiple ways of entry. They could use the landing pad which would put them very near to his apartment for a fast get in-get out job. It came with risks, however. Landing on top of the building, while fast, did risk exposure to eyeballs and cameras. The basement provided an interesting route as well. The service elevator went all the way top floor. It was the more stealthful approach, but would take considerably more time to get in and get out. Creative associates may see other routes in and out of the apartment as well.

But quiet, concealment, and intimidation would be golden rules this night.

 

[Vri Nama]

It was that time again, the Syndicates had credits to offer and Vri was eager to wreak come havoc bust some heads. Unfortunately, this time the job would involve neither havoc nor busted heads, as she and her old partner in crime Tal were assigned to kidnap one of the children of an influential Senator, apparently so he would take the blame for...well Vri wasn't really sure why they were doing this but she didn't need an excuse to make someone else's life worse. The only real hang ups she had with this mission was the need for subtlety and discretion, neither of which were really her strong suit.

She'd left the grenades and even her carbine at home, knowing that both would only tempt her to go loud and level the top floor of the complex. And having Tal with her on this op was already testing her restraint, as the man was delightfully volatile even by her standards. At the moment, she was sitting on a dumpster in a blind alley behind the building, trying not to look conspicuous as she eyed the maintenance door just a few meters away, their point of entry to the basement.

"Once we get into the basement, the service elevator will give us a straight shot to the top without cameras, but they'll have systems all over the top floor. Maybe we can find something in the basement to knock out the power to the penthouse, like a fuse box or a generator." Strategizing was unpleasant work, but unless they wanted their helmets plastered all over every Holonet channel in the Core, they would need to try and be a little quiet about this.

@Rhogar

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

Tal had made his way down the alley, large duffle bag in hand, and he'd set it down beside the dumpster. "Hey babe." He gave the view an appreciative whistle. "Figured we should do this a little incognito, yeah? Go in under the radar, take the lift and get ready in there for wanton bloodshed and killing. We likely won't be flagged in everyday clothes. Helmets, definitely."

He would then take out a cigarra and light it before taking a drag from it. One hand holding the cig between two fingers, the other hand would rest on her thigh. "We do the basement, cause a little innocent damage then we take the lift all the way up. Sounds solid to me. For exfil, we can go out a window, jet across to another building. Melt away there."

@The Captain

 

[Vri Nama]

"Easy Tal," Vri remarked, nimbly bumming the cigarra out of his hand so she could take a drag. "We're here to steal a baby, not make one."

Tal's enthusiasm for carnage, and other forms of physical entertainment, was what made him so fun in Vri's opinion, but the goal of this operation was to quietly steal the brat without setting off too many alarms. If this kidnapping became public the whole plan would be ruined, since it would be a little suspicious for the Senator to incriminate himself right after one of his kids vanished.

"Besides, we can't cause too much of a stir on this one. These shrak-stains just need to know that we can get to them anywhere, anytime, so they'll cooperate with the plan." She hopped off the dumpster, shooting Tal a sly look before handing him his smoke back. "So behave yourself, or I'll have to spank you later."

And on that barely subtle note, Vri turned to the maintenance door and approached the control panel as nonchalantly as possible. Unless Tal had a more subtle alternative, Vri intended to pull the surface panel free before hotwiring it to open for them, as this was their best option for getting in without immediately tripping an alarm.

At least she hoped so.

@Alejandrø77

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

Tal grinned at her as she pulled the cigara from his hand, she just had that energy about her. He even laughed at her first remark. "Nobody said anything about us being unable to do the latter after the op." he offered. "Yeah, I can keep an op quiet, babe. But, I don't know if you can when I'm around." he teased.

Taking the smoke back, he'd take a long drag before ashing it. "I'd rather you spank me anyways." he would then blow out the remainder of the smoke before tossing the butt into the dumpster. Following after her, he'd put a hand on her back, some casual looks back to make it look like nothing more than a couple trying to get frisky in an alleyway. "Work quick, we're gonna look sus no matter what we do back here."

@The Captain

 

[Sakas Zareen]

Sakas sighed a little bit as she brought her ship, in to land on the landing pad attached to the apartment complex. Making sure she had her rifle with her (and that she'd left her heavy pretty back on her starship), she made sure to lock and power down the ship so that only her activation chip would awaken it. There had been some embarrassing moments on Coruscant with some kids stealing a Ranger's Egg speeder because it wasn't locked but whatever.

Wandering down the steps off the landing pad, she would enter the access code she had been given for the penthouse level of the complex and step inside. With her full armor on and her rifle cradled in her hands, she probably was a bit too heavily armed for a security check up on a senator's family but whatever - she wasn't going to change because she'd been busy doing tougher police work before she got called in.

The old lady was already here too so she contacted her with the com built into her helmet.

"Hey Vee - just parked up."

Checking over the foyer area of the penthouse level, she eyed the cameras and the lifts both service and non as she lazily walked around the small area. There wasn't much need for a large foyer since theirs was the only apartment on the floor but none of the lifts went straight into the apartment for privacy's sake - they all had to go through the foyer area.

"Dibs on not checking on the family first."

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

With assaults from Sith to Senators, and the recent leak of Senator York all over the Holonet, no politician, nor their family, seemed safe. This was simply another routine security check; the wife of Senator Maroo was on the other side of the door, she knocked politely and just waited for affirmation of entry.

Not too far away, she could hear muffled sounds as the kids seemed to be playing; for a moment, it reminded her of Liann at that age, and she had to ignore the nostalgic tightening in her chest and focus on the task at hand. Just another boring, routine security check, and perhaps she could go back to spicy noodles and beer. But it was gonna take a little longer than that.

At Sakas' voice, she had to give a slight grin and chuckle. "Way ahead of you kiddo. And don't worry, already on with the chatting. Just let me know if anything's up."

Perhaps it was a little much to have two Rangers checking in for routine security, but these days you could never be too careful. And she trusted her partner to keep a sharp eye. She gave a few short raps to the entrance, and the door slid open to reveal a small, slender woman, staring up at her with a hand over her throat.

"Mrs. Maroo?" she asked politely, showing her badge. "Ranger Coulter, just checking in. May I come in?"

"Yes, yes, of course," the woman murmured, and she ducked in, Vera soon following. "Have there been any disturbances lately?" The apartment itself was tasteful, but clearly with the more feminine touch, and with toys strewn about. The noises of play were just in the other room, and she glanced over once, seeing three small shapes dart out of the corner of her eye and suppressing a smile. Cute little tykes.

@Nefieslab

 

[Rakiss Vano]

Rakiss had arrived on planet a few days ago, he wasn’t no hero and he wasn’t a villain, but he was a gun for hire the mandalorian was paid to help watch a family. Not by the family themselves but by a close associate even after being reassured they were fine the client persisted. Hell the only reason he agreed to watch them was for the fact he was offered Intel on his homeworld. Mandalorians either wanted to go back or could care less but the fact was the current ruler of mandalore others saw unfit to rule. Rankiss his clan and others who cared for their peoples well being would ban together to help liberate this lost home of theirs. The intel promised on operations connected that could help bring down his system of supporters he couldn’t pass up not knowing how they got it and didn’t care he would finish up his last day on watch until another hired gun took his place so he could be on his way. Under special request to not draw attention he wouldn’t be able to be in full kit as he would have liked but for what he was getting, it was with it even if he didn’t like it. He was in more “Less suspect” atire, having some of his gadgets to help but not to the extent he wanted. Settles in a lookout position not far he could observe the residence and monitor what was going on. Looking through his binos he saw the children of the family playing through small view points having fun. Rakiss remembers how it was like to briefly have a whole family, his parents were something he didn’t think of too often and why would he? They were dead and that was that, either way he pulls himself into the here and now and decides to just sit back for a moment it’s been quiet for days and this was his last one on world, his client made sure any “Real law enforcement” knew who he was if he showed up for any reason he had a pass phrase as to not confuse his for some rando with a blaster. “What could go wrong.” he whispered to himself before relaxing a bit running a hand through his short black hair in annoyance,oh how he wished he could wear his armor but client rules were to be followed or he couldn’t pick up the payment.

@The Captain

 

[Vri Nama]

It took her a few seconds, but eventually Vri managed to hotwire the back door controls, causing the doors to slide open without triggering an alarm. She carefully slipped the panel back into place before inching through the door, one hand on her pistol in case someone was waiting on the other side. Thankfully, the maintenance corridor was completely empty, as the building was probably running on a skeleton crew at this time of night. She also didn't see any cameras on the backdoor, but made sure to move quickly and quietly into the basement just in case.

"Here's hoping the rest of this op goes smoothly." Vri, oblivious to the concept of jinxing oneself, moved into the corridor before pivoting down the steps to the basement. Like the rest of Coruscant, the hotel was a pretty façade on the surface with a dingy underbelly underneath, in this case a tangle of duracrete slug traps, ancient power boxes, and flickering lights all held together by the maintenance crews.

"Alright, I'll look for a way to kill the power, you go find the maintenance elevator." Part of the trick to having this plan work would be killing power to the top floor without killing power to the elevator. Thankfully, most repulsor elevators ran separately from even the floors they came to, so all they'd have to do is open the door on the floor itself to get out.

@Rhogar @Nefieslab @Killa Ree @Alejandrø77

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

Taldorak would nod before breaking off from Vri. Sometimes it was located near a security desk, normally they were light or uninterested. As he searched the basement, he paused, locating the lift. "Now then, Tal.. Where is the security desk..." his gaze would drift around his surroundings before falling on a stairwell.

Taking the steps up, he moved cautiously, just in case. Hearing some voices, he would pause near a doorway, smirking as he caught sight of the security station. "There you are..."

Several guards at the station and they were already deep in conversation. "Hey Roger, what's the commotion up top?"

"Some kind of security detail just arrived for the Senator. Rangers, I think. Ranger HQ comm'd it in, some kind of routine sweep. And no, I don't know how long they'll be here. Either one hour or a day, who knows?"

"Kriff it all to hell. Planets going to shit. Got daily riots, Senators getting locked up for corruption."

"Shocker." one of the other guards cut in, only to be silenced by a look from the man he cut off.

"All I know is after this cycle, I'm getting Barb and the kids and we're moving to New Alderaan or Naboo. Somewhere nice. Somewhere safe. And then...--" the words would dissipate as Tal moved out of hearing range.

Tal would curse as he moved down the steps and into the basement. "Good thing I brought all my toys. Some cops are here, don't know why. But.. maybe we can lure them away with a distraction. Set some charges off in a nearby building, flush a response from them. Found the lift too. Guards look lightly armed, I only counted four but I'm sure they have a few more on rotations. What do you think?"

@The Captain @Nefieslab @Killa Ree @Alejandrø77

 

[Sakas Zareen]

Alright well if the old lady was sorting out the talking to the wife and kids bit then Sakas supposed she would have to pull her own weight during this security check. Couldn’t let Vee do all the work or she’d give HQ a bad report about her and she wasn’t having that.

“Play nicely, grandma.”

With that passing comment, she focused on checking over the security measures in the atrium. There was the door to the landing pad off to one side but that was a fire exit security door – and she was the only person parked on the landing pad right now. Neither of the lifts was at the penthouse level, both of them currently resting somewhere around the mid-to-low levels from what she could see.

Time to check in with the local security – she had the com-link pass-codes from the briefing that had sent her here after all.

“Evening security – this is Ranger Sakas. Up on the penthouse level with the senator’s family as per the communication earlier.” She sent out to the security below, “How’s it looking tonight?”

There was a pause before the security responded.

“No signs of trouble, Ranger. Looks like another simple security check for you guys.”

Sakas snorted, idly checking her rifle as she did so.

“Too true. You guys see the game last night? Dameron ain’t got kark on my boy Greggs.”

@Killa Ree @Alejandrø77
@The Captain @Rhogar

 

[Vera Coulter]

The woman rubbed at her throat nervously again, but then removed her hand, forcing herself to stand tall. "Everything's fine," she answered, managing to give the Ranger a thin smile. At Sakas' comment, Vee had to internally roll her eyes. I am nice, dammit.

"I'll be checking ports and datapad access points for bugs and viruses, that all right by you?" she asked quietly, and the woman nodded.

Three small bodies darted through the entryway just as she was beginning to walk in, and she staggered at one small form barrelling straight into her. Eyes wide, they scrambled back, and she offered a small smile.

"Scuse me, kiddo. You alright?"

The boy nodded once, and she grinned, patting him on the shoulder. "Good lad. Gonna check on security; wanna help?"

Hell, it would at least keep the kids from running into her full steam while she was working. And their mum seemed frazzled enough without them hanging off her skirt.

@Nefieslab @The Captain @Rhogar @Alejandrø77

 

[Rakiss Vano]

Rakiss and come back to his overwatch position and used his binos to look once again at the building he was watching, nothing new people coming and going and all generally quiet. Then a call coming through on his left wrist bracer. He looks at it and answers it, “yes?” The next moment a voice coming through distorted to keep an identity “How has your work progressed?” “Nothing to report, and soon I’ll be replaced by another poor soul and be on my way..... with what you promised me.” the voice replied back “If all runs smooth that is” “Don’t you say that..... hello? Hello?....” The line went dead and Rakiss sat back annoyed “Cut the deal he wouldn’t dare, I just wish I could leave I don’t like this place and I just want to be on my way.” He groaned slightly to himself, now sitting down and preforming a functions check on one of his blaster pistols to kill his boredom. Nothing had happened yet and to his knowledge nothing would, but with him he was never that lucky, he could only hope this would be different. But he wouldn’t put his faith in that not until he had payment in hand. But anything that came along the sector rangers could handle he shouldn’t need to make an appearance. So as he sat and watched he thought about those guys that called themselves (Sector ranger) a little silly to him but he couldn’t judge. Never caught on to the hype about them sure they were decent but Rakiss was never impressed by them from what he had seen in the past. Maybe that was just his mandalorian way of thinking, but regardless this job had been dreadfully boring and these rangers didn’t exactly cute that. So he sat there still just waiting for anything to become of interest to him, he hadn’t put a blaster shot on another person in a week or two and that was no fun to him.

@The Captain

 

[Vri Nama]

By following the power lines in the basement (and doubling back a few times after she found she was going in the wrong direction), Vri was able to locate the central power box behind a small security gate. Getting around this would take some time, and as Tal was quick to point out they had company in the building.

"No, we do something too big we might draw more attention. Help me get the power off, the guards might break off to check the power and we can ambush them in the dark." Hotwiring the door wouldn't take much longer than the door, but the real trick would be figuring out which switches controlled power to the upper and lower levels. It didn't take long for Vri to get the door open and she soon found, like all good electricians, whoever was in charge of the building's power had labeled the breakers by floor number.

"I'm gonna kill the top, the first floor, and the bottom, get ready." Vri put a hand on Tal's shoulder, less for support and more to keep track of him in the dark. Unless there were any objections or interruptions, she killed the power switches to the basement, the first floor, and the Senator's top-floor penthouse.

@Rhogar @Nefieslab @Killa Ree @Alejandrø77

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

Tal would sigh internally. he could have gotten behind some real mayhem. But... this was important. He'd help her search, pacing over the power cables until she found and located all the right ones. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense, babe."

He would draw his dagger and one of his peacemakers as she got ready to kill the power. "Kill the power to a floor somewhere in the middle, it might look like a real outage. Ready when you are." He would crouch low in the dark, close to some cover. Once the targeted floors had the lights turn off, he'd keep his gaze fixed on the stairwell where the guards would be coming down from to investigate. "Keep your eyes peeled on the service lift. Penthouse may send someone down to investigate."

@The Captain @Nefieslab @Killa Ree @Alejandrø77

 

[Sakas Zareen]

The power went out and immediately Sakas activated her com-link.

"Power's down - what's going on down there lobby team?" she demanded bluntly as she checked her rifle before banging on the door to the penthouse and shouting, not on the com-link, "Vee get the kids and missus together, prepare for Exit Plan Delta."

Exit Plan Delta was to avoid the stairs and lifts and make for the attached landing pad. Of course right now it was just a precaution but the security guards downstairs responded quickly as well.

"Penthouse, we have a blackout of the building." the guard on the desk reported as both he and his partner armed up, "Other buildings on the same street are unaffected; seems to be a local issue. Assume hostile until we can prove otherwise - we'll check in every thirty seconds as per protocol."

To blackout an entire building and only that building? It was either bad maintenance or a enemy action and the Sector Ranger motto was not, in fact, 'sit and wait'. She cut the com conversation to keep the line clear for them checking in after thirty seconds when they began their sweep.

Instead she opened the door to the penthouse.

"Miss, we have reason to believe that there may be enemy action occurring within your apartment complex. Please do not alert the kids - keep them calm and get ready to go. We have a ship ready should we need to make a break for it."

Spoiler: OOC

Sakas and security are under the impression the blackout is total because they have no way of knowing it's only three or four floors

@Killa Ree @Alejandrø77 @The Captain @Rhogar

 

[Vera Coulter]

At the shout, she nodded once, already closing down the display and rising. The woman within whirled, a hand over her throat, eyes huge. "What's going on?" At Sakas' words, she nodded once, hurrying forwards. "Come on kids. Short skylanes trip," she forced herself to say, and Vee nodded once. "Bet you guys have never seen the inside of a brig before, huh?" she teased and nodded to Sakas.

It wouldn't take them long to get their things together; she waited to hear any word from security every thirty seconds, poised to go if there was any additional risk. They would only need the word of the all-clear, but the room seemed to hum with intense energy.

Glancing at the mother, she nodded once, then stepped into the security closet, offering her one of the blast vests.

"Rather keep you safe, ma'am. Let's get ready to move. Good to go," she spoke over her shoulder, then began herding them for the closest exit as the woman pulled it around her. No reason to risk anything by using comms, Sakas was close enough.

"C'mon kids. You're gonna love this," she commented calmly, holding her stun blaster out of its' holster and at her side, safety off. She moved to the head of the group first, checking the pad. So far clear. She began leading them towards the ship, prepared to attack should anything strike while they were temporarily slipping out to the landing pad.

Somehow, it seemed too convenient that these certain floors shut down, and, like her partner, Vee wasn't willing to take any chances.

@Nefieslab @The Captain @Rhogar @Alejandrø77

 

[Rakiss Vano]

Sitting in a brief moment of false safety he Rakiss jumped up at the sound of coms going off that there may be trouble. He looked to the window and looked at the target building, some of the lights had gone out and no one could tell why. Rakiss couldn’t get a good view off all the surroundings of the building he was looking at “Get I got move positions.” He said to himself grabbing his second blaster pistol and holstered it just the same as the one he had been holding. He then goes to the open window he was at a moment before and sees a building not to far for a better vantage point. Looking below it would hurt if he fell, not giving a second thought he runs to the end of the room to get speed and turns back toward the open window and jumps. After catching a little air landing hard on the opposite room and tumbling for a moment “Damn, not my best landing.” grumbling to himself as he recovered the. Jogging to the edge of this building roof and crouched. He had a much better view here and would begin to survey the area, the moment things went south he would come closer only then he would reveal himself. Listening for anymore chatter on the coms system and watching the building he would stay put until the situation dictated otherwise. “Why now on the last day of my job shift here did someone have to mess with this family” he thought to himself, it was too late to back out now and not like he would, he gave his word to do this and he would die if that’s what it took. So he would have to sit and wait to see how things would play out.

 

[Vri Nama]

Vri only killed the top and lower floors, figuring the guards would suspect a power outage and send someone down to check on the power systems. She got her wish, in a sense, as she spotted a pair of flashlights moving in the darkness down the steps into the basement from her vantage point in the electrical alcove. But she also noticed these lights were moving quickly back and forth, up and down, like the fast-approaching figures were looking for more than just a bad connection.

"...checking in, no signs of hostile infiltration so far. Over."

Well Kriff, they were busted. Security was sweeping the building for one or more intruders, as apparently a little electrical failure warranted calling in the troops. Granted this was a senator's penthouse apartment, but still, it was inconsiderate of the guards not to just quietly go and fix the lights without radioing the cops.

"Tal, we're kriffed. Let's bounce." She grabbed Tal by the scruff of his jacket, dragging him with one arm while quietly following the wall with her free hand. She wasn't going to negotiate this issue, any chance to settle this issue quickly and quietly was out the window and it was now time for them to go. The only question now was whether Tal would walk on his own or whether Vri would have to haul him through the dark with one hand. Either way she made sure to keep an eye on the security team's flashlights so they could navigate around them, up the back stairs, and our the maintenance door onto the street just before the lights came back on.

"Looks like we'll be laying low for a while..." She grumbled, slipping off her helmet, hiking up her vest collar, and slipping into the Coruscanti alley shadows.

//exit thread

@Rhogar @Nefieslab @Killa Ree @Alejandrø77

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

Thankfully for them Vri had enough tact to tamper with the electricity in a way it didn't look tampered with. So as far as they knew, they'd be evacuating a family with taxpayer dollars over an electrical problem.

As she grabbed ahold of his jacket, his hand would move to grab hers. "Lead on." He whispered. As they moved around quietly and skirted the security lights he could see them stopping at the panel.

"Desk, call the electrician, a different one this time. Breakers are blown. All clear, just looks like a surge. Comm the Rangers, let them know it was an electrical short." One of the guards would say.

As they exited out into the night air Tal hugged the wall as they moved, duffel in hand. "Well, I got a place we can lay low.. and enough spice to entertain us."

//Exit Thread

@The Captain @Nefieslab @Killa Ree @Alejandrø77