DAY :048 | DO THE CREEP

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: Concordia, Misc.
WHEN: Day :048 - :050
SUMMARY: Seek and destroy; the hosts follow up on the three suspects identified at Saffit's fundraiser. One of the three eventually leads somewhere significant...
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary.

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((OOC NOTES: This is the catch-all log for characters following Aytac Devin, Kusuma Ming and Kalup Aquila. Feel free to use these characters however they suit your threads - we'll jump into modjack when and where we can! At some point, we'll highjack one of your threads to direct it toward plot relevant information, but until then don't hesitate to go wild.

If you have any questions, drop them over HERE at the calendar questions post.))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

ILDE | MING & FAHIMA

[erbier]

See Here For Planning

Feel free to ping me for any plot points you want, and to comment under this header with anything you want to thread out.

Petre

[erbier]

[ After the party, after yet another run around of not quite reaching their goal, her heart is filled with acid once more. Frustration and determination. The loss of Sam Anders does her no favors. She wants even more so than before to return to the Station, to place her fallen broodmate in the nesting deck where he will be save, preservered. Where she can mourn in peace without all the interruptions of Concordia. She is so tired of this place. Of these people, of this mission. With little preamble beyond asking one of the tech savvy for some assistance in locating her target, she heads out to see if she can finally make some kind of headway in this increasingly futile mission to enlighten a world.

She follows Pidge's directions towards a quiet cafe in the afternoon, intent to charm her way into the good graces of one woman or the other. She is almost there when she feels the tug of another host, looking around with a frown. She knows exactly who it is, her disgust for him makes him unmistakable but-- ]

( Petre. )

[howtoget]

[ And there he is, hat and sunglasses on, sipping away at Fahima's favorite drink. The dress he has on is as fake as the skin and hair he wears, as is his composure, as is the look of inconvenience he shoots at Ilde, rather than the sneer she would normally get from the demon brat.

Bringing the cup back to his lips, he simply answers, ]

( Ugh. Why am I not surprised. )

[erbier]

[ A small tilt of her head, following the vibrations of his thoughts to the figure that looks like Fahima. No, no, that is not helpful at all. ]

( That is the woman I am here to speak to. )

[ She purses her lips. ]

( I did not realize you had such control over your choice in shape. )

[ Really she'd assumed he was either the child or the monster. It chills her to the bone to realize it's otherwise. ]

STALKING AYTAC DEVIN @ THE PARK

[decommission]

( NOTES: Leaving the day/time up in the air for now to account for any timeline wonkiness. Consider this a free-for-all thread, no strict tag order! Plotting was here but anyone is free to jump in via action and/or mental link, people can spread out across the park and stuff. I've made up the park stuff, so feel free to add in whatever other details you like! )

THE MARK

FROM THE MOD POST: AYTAC DEVIN - ...was one of the names in Ngozi’s list of slush cases. Devin (late 50’s) is one of those old money Concordian elite who makes money off money and increases that income by buying up and managing property (something of a commodity in a city like this one). In the aftermath of the Royal Parlor bombing, one of Devin’s investment properties suffered some minor vandalism as he demanded that Public Security patrols in the area be increased - conveniently at the same time that the investigation into the bombings should have been drawing on most of Public Security’s workforce; for some reason (as of yet uncovered, though we’ll update this if Pidge gets into Ngozi’s private data partition), Ngozi bowed to the demand. All that said, Devin seems to largely be the affable grandfather type and quite the family man. The Devin family is one of those traditional, sprawling Concordian families and it’s clear that Devin puts a lot of time into doting on them. He has a slew of nieces and nephews and is still celebrating his first grandchild even though the kid’s six years old. Devin regularly attends any activity this his grandchild is participating in, though at the moment that usually amounts to days in the park and baby’s first martial arts classes. Find one and you’ll likely find the other. That said, Devin does seem to often travel with two body guards - a slim man by the name of Leoban Vurwal, and a bruiser-type woman named Alani Amir.

THE PARK

The gossip and lifestyle sections lead to a large park in the Alpha Block, all fancy statues with placards dedicating or attributing their placement to long deceased high society folks. Off the regular path and near the man-made lake Devin can be found seated on a bench, watching a boy clumsily practice Zero Ball with a fit young man. A pair of woman stop to watch, followed by another lone bystander that keeps shifting from spot to spot, likely taking pictures. It's the young man that's capturing their attention, some big name player from a favored Zero Ball team. Devin's bodyguards are quick to move - the slim man remains close to Devin, while the large one approaches the voyeurs. Her murder-walk is enough to get the young woman to move along, but the man stands his ground and the two can be watched arguing.

The boy seems oblivious to all this.

[howtoget]

( So?

I'm waiting for the other chick. So you can go now. )

[ He doesn't care what Ilde thinks. Except when she's offending him, then he just gets irritated and acts out elsewhere. ]

[erbier]

( No. )

[ A simple answer, not so much authoritative as impregnable, there will be no other response. ]

( Either of our methods divides them. You should assist me so that we are able to corner them both. )

[howtoget]

[ Petre, perfectly disguised as a woman who would not permit her emotions to show through, sneers only in thought. Ilde should be able to receive the sentiment without being even slightly bothered by it; Petre gives her a look of contempt through dark sunglasses and calmly reaches for the drink again. One sip, and it clacks lightly on the saucer again.

One would never guess this was a demon without any control whatsoever on his impulses. Such were the advantages of a shape-shifting ability that allowed him to be someone else in more than just appearance. ]

( And how the fuck do you suggest we do that. )

[erbier]

( Kusuma Ming's business is security. We must make her feel secure. Slip in amongst her guards, and then she will think there is nothing to fear when we have Fahima Hanne introduce me. We can remove all the other guards, with your protective watch, and the women won't know how alone they are. )

[ Ilde pushes it aside how much using the shapeshifter for her own means horrifies her, instead focuses on something equally as terrible: preying on a pair of women as if they are mice and she is a falcon. Leave them nowhere, nothing, no one to hide behind. Strike. ]

[howtoget]

[ It's bad enough that Petre does not like to be told what to do, but having it come from Ilde of all people makes him seethe. The only comfort is Ilde's own reluctance, her fear. A spoonful of sugar does make the medicine go down. ]

( She's supposed to come meet me here. How do you propose to organize this shit without the real Fahima. )

[erbier]

( We have time. )

[ If they need to try again tomorrow with a revised plan, then Ilde doesn't care. She's going to take care of these women and then maybe, just maybe, they can finally return to the Station with all their comatose companions. ]

[howtoget]

[ Another purse of Fahima's lips, bringing out a device that she'd use to stay updated. Perhaps contact Ming. ]

( So, what. I just blow her off? )

[erbier]

( Something silly. You've met a friend, you're going shopping together.... )

[ It comes to her idly, but then she realizes something else and stops. ]

( No, stay here. Tell Ming that is your plan, for later, or for tomorrow. Then she will not be surprised when I am introduced. )

[howtoget]

[ There's a pause. For once, Petre is considering rather than just sticking to whatever he feels like doing.

He supposes he can compromise with that. ]

( Fine. I'll talk to you once I figure it out. Bye. )

[erbier]

[ Ilde backs off then, her coordinates from Pidge had led her near to here, so she is going to make sure she keeps the real Fahima out of the way. Keep them separate while the ropes are wound around them, a trap that will abruptly pull tight when all the pieces are in place... Maybe she will kill two birds with one stone and begin this game of introductions, pull Fahima away to talk about some private content for her feed. When she mentions it to Ming, the story will be familiar already. Yes... She's beginning to see the shape of it.

But first, Kusuma Ming and a Petre in disguise have a date for drinks. Ming is an imposing woman with a stern face, and even for this outing she has at least one guard following along after her. At least one that can be readily seen, anyway, there may be others lurking up and down the street... At least one is good, Ilde would approve. It lets Petre see what their uniforms look like well in advance.

Ming is frowning down into a small datapad as she approaches, greets her partner in a distracted manner. ]

What are you drinking?

[ More an idle tone of maybe she too could use a drink, rather than one of accusation. ]

[howtoget]

[ There is absolutely nothing to be nervous about. Maybe if someone less arrogant than Petre were doing this job, worried they wouldn't be able to follow through as soon as the first mistake was made. Petre doesn't remove the glasses when Ming sits down. They are both quite cold with each other, it looks like, because they know well what a private relationship looks like. That's why Ming chose Fahima, because Fahima doesn't need her. They simply fit together, in more ways than one.

There's no empathy from Petre. Just instinct, one that he follows through with. ]

The same thing I always drink at this hour.

[ A fondness that only these two women would read in one another. ]

[erbier]

[ Kusuma gives a faint, sharp little smile, the distracted amusement of familiarity. It's a good answer on Petre's part, leaves the answer to her imagination, and in fact she replies, ]

Of course. [ A few more taps on the data pad before it is set aside. Kusuma straightens her hair absentmindedly as she gives the Fahima lookalike a long thoughtful stare. They're together for a reason, the appreciation for the form is not unexpected. ] No, I'm not ready for a drink.

[ Drinking in public could hardly be such an icy, controlled entrepreneur's favored past time. Too many things to go wrong, privacy to invade, mistakes to make. She reflects somewhat irritably on how uncharacteristically drunk she had gotten at the fundraiser and it makes her brows pinch, a brief expression of annoyance, exasperation. ]

Have you eaten?

[greentech]

[ Pidge is willing to lend her expertise to their mission - tracking down potential leads. Which really means she gets to sit back at the base and try to track pings via the computer. It's not that exciting, but it's better than not doing anything. Besides, she could use something a bit more sedate after smooth-talking an AI. ]

( So, what's the plan once you actually find them? )

[erbier]

( I believe I can convince Fahima Hanne to invite me to their shared living quarters. )

[ Ilde is not trying to be vague on purpose, to her it just seems that simple. ]

[headinjuries]

[ It's a park, people are playing ball, and that's all Sam needs to look like he has every reason in the world to be there. He's tossing around a ball of his own, still a distance away from the commotion, watching from the corner of one eye, but looking mostly focused on what he's doing. ]

( So I'm guessing I won't be able to get away with asking for an autograph, huh. )

[ A shame, considering he's actually been watching Zero Ball, and the guy is good? ]

[greentech]

( OK... )

[ Pidge watches as something pings. ]

( And... then what? Knock her out? Go through her stuff? Ask her leading questions? )

[erbier]

( No, it will have to be a more reliable means. Where I know what I am being told is the truth... )

[ Idle contemplation, ]

( I have a potion to garner control over her with... And perhaps once we are alone I may press on her with my powers. )

[greentech]

( You're going to drug her? )

[ Pidge pauses. There's confusion and anxiety hovering on the edges of their link. Her mental ocean is storm-tossed. ]

( Isn't there another way? )

[erbier]

( I may, it is dependent upon the situation. )

[greentech]

( You never mentioned that part of the plan! I don't thim I'm comfortable wit hhelping you basically roofie someone. )