2013-01-21 Mutually Beneficial Destruction

Organitech. A multi-national corporation with offices in nearly every major city worldwide. They're a cutting-edge organic research conglomerate, and are known for being ruthless both in the laboratory and in the boardroom. They're led by a mysterious CEO who very rarely makes public appearances or statements and is known to the public as only as 'Deacon.' On the rare occasions that he is seen by the public, he is invariably accompanied by his similarly mysterious and very imposing sidekick, Boone. Deacon is best known for spreading his personal motto: "Anything for the cause."
The local facility is housed in the sort of tall office building that's a thief's dream. Lots of elevator shafts, stairwells, and utility areas. There are many cameras, but other security measures are minor. At least they appear to be, aside from the occasional electronic lock or infrared detection beam.
Deacon's personal offices are on the top floor, and are where any desirables are likely to be located. One thing's for certain. Informed sources have revealed that a new safe was recently installed in Deacon's office. A safe with a factory defect in the locking mechanism.
Bad man, bad safe, bad money. What's not to love?
'Jobs' like this do not come often enough for Catwoman. Compared to this the rest pale in comparison. Are cakewalks. Lack in excitement and challenge. It's a big part of what motivated her to try it, knowing it'd be fun to test her mettle after so many days and weeks of laying low. Behaving oneself is so over-rated, after all, and Selina has never been one to don a halo for more than a few days.
The trip up was 'fun', making Selina have to exercise quite a few of her 'talents'; security systems carefully turned off or somehow diverted and silent alarms circumvented, the stealthy felinesque thief winds her way through vents and elevator shafts, the ascend taking about fifteen minutes all together. By the time she enters the office through a duct that required a little shimy-shake to get through she's grinning Cheshire-cat like, just about ear to ear. She doesn't dare speak but her expression says it all. -It is showtime-.
The safe is approached after a quick look insures her that she is indeed alone, the fingers upon her right hand flexed. This entire venture has been stupid-easy so far...
... what could possibly go wrong?
Despite having a defective part, the safe is a complex model. It has a numerical pad, requires a keycard, and also has a small, red light in the upper-right hand corner of the access panel, presumably to indicate that it's locked down.
The rest of the office manages to be elegant and opulent without being overstated. The furniture is stylish and modern. There are relatively few ornamentals or bits of artwork, but those that are present are pleasantly understated and completely priceless. Deacon's computer borders on unique, being extremely powerful and mounted into the top of an ultramodern metal desk with sweeping curves. All in all, it serves a useful purpose while saying very little about the man who inhabits it.
Too bad this isn't an old tumbler-based lock like those she cut her proverbial teeth on when just a fledgling but technology does progress and such things fall to disuse. But she does know that there's something wrong with this safe which makes it a bit less frustrating for her to think about.
Having to deal with it is of course another matter entirely as her 'employer' has said nothing beyond the fact that something is not working properly, leaving Selina to have to play guessing games. The claw that caps the tip of her right index finger extends and is ran along the face of the door, the woman clearly looking for something, it taking a moment before a notch is found. It is one used to pry the thin sheet of metal off when there is need for repairs, it taking no effort on her part to get it to fall free from it once it's discovered. "Now, let's see..." she mouths, her brow creasing. This type of safe isn't one she's as familiar with as others but she has enough general knowledge to know what is what... now for the puzzle. Which part is broken, damnit!
Cooks refer to this as "missing your salt and pepper." When you examine a dish so closely to find an imperfection, you miss the most basic of elements. The safecracker is so caught up looking for a warped rod or a cracked tumbler that at first the obvious isn't so obvious.
The lock isn't engaged. A simple tug on the handle should open the safe. With the access panel removed, that much is easy to see.
Okay. So the wires and everything do make sense to Catwoman. She can tell the ones that are part of the electric system and others that are parts of other bits and... oh hell, who is she kidding? She really finds herself thwarted! This is not something she's used to and it reduces the normally calm woman into a frustrated bundle of annoyance in no time flat.
"Oh... to hell with this," she hisses while slapping at the handle, more than hard enough to get it to move. "I should just... this is too much." Yes, she's angry and feeling like she lost her carefully-honed edge, the time spent at home ruining her in her opinion. Yet another reason to hate Joker.
The outburst elicits a number of responses. First, the safe's handle swings smoothly and the door opens on silent, well-oiled hinges. Second, the contents are revealed. No gold or silver, but slips of platinum and palladium in flat, vacuum-sealed packs of twelve. Around a hundred thousand dollars in cash. A stack of bearer bonds. Priceless documents, like trade agreements or proprietary formulae. Also, two tiny velvet bags.
Then, after a five-second delay, the entire room is filled with a blaring alarm. There are metallic snapping sounds as grates and shutters start to slide into place across the doors and windows. Opening the safe has triggered a complex counter-intrusion system, the first stage of which would appear to be containment.
"... oh."
Not exactly brilliantly put but that's all Selina can get out as the alarms are activated but while she's dumbfounded verbally she is still swift when it comes to going into action and she's quick to bolt towards the windows that are being locked down tight. Unfortunately she hesitated for half a second too long and her egress point is closed off to her much to her ire.
"Right. Can't go out... we go up instead." Leaping up onto the tallest piece of furniture in the office, Sel reaches up, trying to push one of the ceiling tiles to the side. She can't use her emergency escape plan she'll just try to get out the way she came in.
The tiles move, and the subceiling is open, but it doesn't lead to anywhere. All that's up here is ventilation ducts and electrical equipment. Like the office itself, any obvious exit points were locked down when the alarm was activated. All that remains is the obligatory large, circular fan with very sharp blades that spin at alarming speeds.
Below, shouting can be heard as security converges on the office. Though individual words aren't audible, it sounds as if they're debating a course of action.
Think... think... damnit! Things are snowballing, going from bad to worst in no time flat, giving Sel very little in the way of options. At first she believes that all she will be able to do is try and fight her way out but then she moves the right way and something pokes her in the right hip. At first she's under the mistaken impression that it's the handle of her whip but then she remembers the small pouch upon next to that clasp and the small device held within it.
The homing becon One gave to her several months ago when she became a client of his is yanked hurriedly from it and activated, whatever button or switch needed to turn that puppy on manipulated.
In a matter of seconds, One's clear, cold voice comes through the tiny speaker on the coin-sized transmitter: //"Organitech, eh? That's bold. And you've set off the alarm, too. Looks like you're in the penthouse, just below roof access. Found somewhere to hide while the rent-a-cops figure out what to do, I bet? Sit tight. I'll be there as fast as I can. When I get there, be prepared to move. I'll do this one for free, but only if you do exactly what I say."//
The transmission ends abruptly, but not before the wash and roar of a huge engine spinning up can be heard.
Below, there are enough sounds to indicate that at least one person has entered the office, but there's no stomp of many booted feet to indicate a full-scale pursuit. This is a scouting run. There are still voices, but now the conversation is hushed and hissed from ear to ear.
Oh, wow. That was not expected. Catwoman expected it to be a silent device and lookie here. He can talk to her. As much as she would like to snark in a sarcastic reply she just doesn't have it in her to do it, too relieved to be bitchy. "Fine... just hur..."
And then she's cut off, the abrupt manner in which One turns off the transmission getting her to curse under her breath. At least she doesn't have to tell him to be quiet when she realizes she's no longer alone in the office but it causes a shock of panic to hit. No, no... don't panic. It'll be alright. Selina ducks under whatever is 1) close to her and 2) looks like it'll provide enough cover, not daring to move just yet.
It takes almost exactly seven minutes for One to arrive. Luckily, the guards don't think to check the subceiling in that time. With the building locked down from the ground up, he does the only sensible thing he can think of. He calls in a helicopter to drop him off on the building's roof.
Moments later, he's found his way to the narrow roof access space above the sealed office. In addition to his overcoat, body armor, doctor's bag, and firearms, he's brought along a few extra items. A backpack. A single grenade that's clipped to his vest. A detonation charge that was carefully crafted en route. And last but not least, a curious piece of hydraulic equipment.
When he's in position, his voice crackles through the transmitter once again. "I'm making a door. Wherever you are, move as far south as you can."
Thanks for the heads up..." A mad dash for the other side of the room is made for and the far wall is pressed against, Selina curling up and around herself, arms held over her head. "Please... do it quickly, I'm not alone," she adds, her voice quivering. Damn adrenaline's starting to kick in over-time.
//"I know,"// One replies. //"Brace for impact."//
He can't just go blowing holes in things willy-nilly. Not without knowing exactly where Selina is. However, he can do something that's just as good and almost as fast. He narrows his eyes, chooses a spot, and attaches his demolition charge. When it detonates, rather than creating a gaping crater, the blast is focused to bore a narrow hole in the concrete that's keeping Selina contained. His floor is her ceiling, and it's a barrier for both of them.
Now the tips of a hydraulic spreader are forced through the hole. The equipment's already formidable cutting and crushing power is augmented by One's enhanced strength. It only takes him a few seconds to create a much larger hole. Rather than boosing Selina out and making good their escape, he climbs in next to her. "Hello," he whispers. "Are you injured?"
The odds have vastly improved in no time flat once an entry point is made with and One slides in beside her, Selina now able to crack a bit of a smile once she realizes there's a way out now, most likely, and she isn't having to face this alone. "No, I'm fine. Thanks for the save. We need to go now... wait a second."
She's not about to leave without what she came for and the contents of the safe are quickly pulled into a bag, the item she puts the money and everything else into pulled from yet another pouch. Once she's sure she's got it all she turns to One, her head angled slightly to the left, one hand settled on a hip while the other's busy slinging it over her shoulder. "Shall we?"
"Not yet. I'm going back in. I want something off the computer." One meets Selina's eyes and shrugs his broad shoulders. "The price of passage, I'm afraid."
That said, he lifts the corner of a ceiling tile and peeks under it. Then, after a thoughtful hum, he frees his grenade from its clip, pulls the pin, and drops it down into the office. "Ahem. That's just a flashbang, but you might want to plug your ears."
Below them, there's the skitter and scuttle of alarmed feet, followed by a low, loud *THUMP* and a light so bright that some leaks through cracks in the ceiling. When it subsides, One lifts the tile up again. "Be right back," he promises.
"Wait... no, you..." Selina closes her eyes just in time, her hands pressed to her ears as well. The sound of the grenade-like device is muted and the light dulled but even then it can still be seen and heard despite her best efforts to drown them out. "Well, can't say you didn't give me warning."
She still has her hands held to either side of her head when One speaks, his voice not able to be heard over the faint ringing in her ears. Imagine her surprise when she finally looks and he's nowhere to be seen. "Oh for... what the hell?" Somehow she manages to instinctively obey him, Selina staying put while she looks around, baffled as fuck.
What follows can't even be called a fight. There are shots fired, but the security force that occupies the office has been effectively disabled by the flash grenade. One moves through efficiently, knocking each of them unconscious with a single, precise blow and occasionally avoiding the wavering tip of someone's pistol. He doesn't even have to draw his own weapons.
Unfortunately, all the explosions have started to attract more security guards. One glances around for a few moments, then fixes his gaze on a fire alarm. Smiling coldly, he pulls the alarm, dropping the metal shutters back in place over the doors and windows. "That ought to buy us some time," he calls out. "I'll only be a tick."
The desk-mounted computer, sturdy as it is, has survived with only minor damage. One doesn't hesitate; he immediately pulls aside his false ear and plugs his data storage unit into the computer via a double-ended USB cable. His eyes flicker rapidly to and fro as he battles with counter-intrusion software, peeling away firewalls and encryptions like layers of an onion. Once he's broken in, it takes less than a second to download the file he's after. Then he disconnects himself, snaps his ear back in place, and brushes his hands off briskly.
Moments later, he's climbed back up next to Selina. "//Now// we can go. We're headed for the roof. If you'd care to lead the way, I'll make sure we aren't followed."
Thankfully Selina is not being made to see the thing One thing does with his ear as that'd surely wig her out and right now that'd be a bad thing, seeing as how she needs to be on her A-game. "A tick," she snorts while waiting, that said to herself although the coms device is left on, her voice more than loud enough for her to be heard. "Just what the hell is a tick? A second? A minute? Don't speak in military jargon... wait. It is something the military says and isn't just something Hollywood made up for those big-budget war movie actors to say to sound cool, right?"
The lesson of just how long a tick is is given when One sidles up beside her it getting her to blink when she realizes he's back. "Right. Follow me." The climb for the roof is made via whatever crawlspaces and such she has access to without having to rely on One's destructive tactics, her body easily slipping under pipes and such. "Keep up."
Though One's frame is considerably bulkier, he makes up for it by muscling open areas that would appear, at a glance, to be too small for him. When he's unable to fit through a narrow cut-out in some drywall, he simply smashes through the flimsy interior construction with his boots and elbows. A final punch widens the hole enough for him to step through. "Here. Up here."
He gestures to the small set of stairs and the door where he made his initial entry. Once they're on the roof, he checks his pack, cinching the straps tighter around his shoulders and waist. "I hope you're not afraid of heights," he says, a smile tugging at his thin lips.
Selina stretches once they're out, arms over head, back arched. "Holy crap. Never thought I'd get out of there. Thanks for the save, One. I owe you." When questioned about whether or not she's afraid she merely smirks, a brow cocked slightly when she regards him. "I'm positively horrified of them," she deadpans, "but I'll suck it up just for you."
Not sure what's slated for them next, Sel falls quiet, her attention kept firmly on the roof, letting One take point again. The show is back to being his.
One's smile widens. "Good, because we don't have time to wait for a pickup. In fact... Yeah, there they are."
The biological construct huffs out a sigh, draws his enormous revolver, and snaps off a shot at the doorway that buys them a few seconds. Then he turns back toward Selina and clears his throat, a sure sign that something interesting is about to happen. "You're going to hate this," he promises, holding both hands out in a warding fashion. "But I find the fastest way to get it done is to just... do... this! Hang on!"
A few running steps closes the distance between them. Rather than slowing, One picks up speed, tackling Selina and carrying her over the edge of the roof. Together, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, they plummet toward the ground.
The subject of the rescue really is not afraid of heights but even then Selina finds her heart in her throat at first, her eyes going wide when the familiar feeling of freefall takes hold. Not an unfamiliar sensation at all but it's a bit different when you do it by your own doing, the fact that she had little time to brace herself getting a momentary bout of fear to kick in. A hand reaches down to her hip out of habit but with how she's held his body is too close to her, One having done a damn fine job of impeding her range of motion.
"Shhh...." she tries to swear but the wind rips the word away from her mouth, the rest of it left unsaid. Ohboy. As if almost being happened upon wasn't bad enough. This is just the icing on the cake.
There's a jerk as the parachute in One's pack deploys, suddenly slowing their fall. Once he's ensured that Selina is holding on tightly, he frees his shooting arm and fires on the guards to keep them at bay.
When he's empty, he stows his weapon and holds his client more securely. "I arranged to have a motorcycle parked in the lot. Let see... There it is. Just remember to tuck and roll when we land and we'll be home free."
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