Open Carnival

[Contessa]

“There’s all this bull about diamonds being a girl’s best friend, but I think gold suits us classy ladies more.”

Having tilted her head upwards in order to match Eartha Brute's eyes, the Countess grinned before responding, "Gold, with uncharacteristically green turquoise," at this moment it was not certain if Adrianna was speaking of the Band of Flight or the Amazon's tresses, "I was told the organisation's best muscle was to be my aide, yet I did not expect them to be so... elaborate."

With much care, she extracted a pair of Chantilly lace gloves from her clutch and rolled them onto her hands. Her Valet, taking that signal, left the hotel's halls. Efficiently and discreetly he cut the electrical power which fed the party.

"My thanks," Adrianna whispered to her partner in crime, and with her laced hands retrieved the access tool. Using a move that would seem uncommon for a lady, if one did not know of her history as a big game huntress, Contessa shattered the thick glass. She worked dexterously to retrieve the Band of Flight from amongst the shards, barely having time to admire her prize before slipping the object around her own wrist.

 

[Chase]

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Guards: 9mm, tucked for convenience, light body armor under suit, no additional visible weapon. Normal.

Barbas Chuate: Winged lapel, ample suit, likely wearing body armor... Mont Blanc 144 in right breast pocket. Seemingly unarmed.

‘Business associate’ Paloma... black leather clutch, bracelet, angel hair pins, and belt chain... impressively disguised defensive tools.

Lee Jordan... clearing all check stops so far, but why is he constantly looking towards Mikal?

After assessing the current area, ‘Dominic Geiser’ made his first placid comment.

“You’ve invested in this event, Mr. Chuate.”

Barbas nodded almost on cue, “You know... my friends have told me much about your ways, Mister Geiser, that you chance the world for people in need.”

“I tend to change things when I can.”

“What if I give you incentive to work with me?”

Chase’s head reeled, ‘incentive’ was all they really needed. So he denied the offer.

“You know how I work, Mr. Chuate, I don’t like discussing business in the open.”

“Maybe you should!” Barbas pushed when ‘Geiser’ pulled away, “You’re gonna say yes to Pedro in Mexico but not to me? It’s for shame.”

Devineaux returned the comment with a suitably jaded facial expression.

“Twenty-five in cash before the World Cup, another twenty-five after, just for you.”

Lee Jordan heard the offer and immediately beeped Jason in the command center. They got what they needed, it was time to bring in the arrest team. But as soon as he hit the ‘okay signal’, the blackout happened.

---

Once the room fell dark, ‘Geiser’ began counting. Barbas was exposed, where was ACME? Then a singular, sudden action immediately interrupted his thoughts.

‘Paloma’ took his wrist tightly in her hand and pulled him under the table with her.

“Five seconds,” she whispered quickly, “Santo Anjo Uriel orfanato e futeboll escola para abandon de crianças no Brasil... that has to stay untouched.”

‘Dominic’ narrowed his eyes and cursed, “Christ... I’m not on this case.”

“No, but you’re thoroughly in it,” she jested, sprinting through speech, “Brilliant setup, I couldn’t have gotten him with less words.”

“You want the orphanage, you should start repaying those open arrest warrants.”

“And then what? You’ll give me a sweet deal putting me in jail and promising conjugal visits? Oh, I have missed your humour.”

Devineaux mirthlessly exhaled.

---

Lee panicked, not able to find the Asset immediately. He had the choice to try find Chase now or go after Barbas, and for Lee it would always be the bad guys first.

“Command,” he called to Jason, “Asset... I can’t see him. I need to go get Barbas.”

---

“Ah, time’s up,” Under the table, ‘Paloma’ continued in that paced whisper she perfected as Carmen Sandiego, “I’ll pay you back, of course, one good turn for another.”

“I only need Barbas.”

“You’ll find everything 'legally obtained' on him in the card I gave you,” she let go of his wrist, “the orphanage, Mr. Geiser, I never forget a favour.”

He paused to consider that, and she was gone.

Unconsciously, he put a hand on his watch and was glad to find she decided against the tradition of taking it whenever they crossed paths. He would also later find, in a jacket pocket, a red SD card.

 

[Ann Tickwittee]

"Adrianna Covrenzi," she nodded, "A pleasure to meet you Ann."

Appraising the young woman once again, Contessa tried to decipher her accent. "You mentioned Cairo and San Jose? Am I to believe you are American then?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," the anthropologist responded with the most reserved of smiles. "Indeed, I am American." That there was any doubt about that somewhat flattered Ann.

A green-haired woman suddenly inserted herself into their conversational dabbling, interjecting with rather crude speech. Ann bit her lip in slight annoyance before deciding to utilize the opportunity and take a sip of her burgundy drink.

And then everything was dark.

She gasped and dropped her cup when she heard the splintering of the glass next to her, feeling the patter of a few stray shards of what was once casing against her dress, followed by a splash and a grating crack as her wine glass made contact with the floor. The newcomer must have arrived to steal the Band. Blindly reaching into the open display, the ACME instructor's fingers failed to locate the treasure. "Larcenist!" she shouted, panicking.

 

[Jason West]

(Co-post with Derrin and Lee)

As the lights went out and the room instantly fell dark, Derrin quickly reached for her phone to turn the flashlight on. The bright light came on just in time for her to see her partner @Lee Jordan take off towards their mark. Derrin knew she had to follow suite in case Lee needed some backup.

“Poodle. I’m right behind you. Don’t let him get away. Bacon, Burrito, can you guys try to keep eyes on the Grub from your position?”

“Cobra, Poodle, I got eyes on the Grub. It looks like he is trying to find an exit. You guys need to snatch him as quick as you can. I’m going to try to remotely lock the exits and keep everyone inside.”

Derrin finally caught up to her much larger counterpart and began trying to get ahead of Lee and Barbas. She knew that if she could get to the exit before him, she would be able to hold him there until Lee caught up and was able to arrest him.

 

[Contessa]

With the lights out and the Band of Flight safely upon her wrist, Contessa sought to make a quick escape, though it was easier said than done. In the confusion she had lost her bodyguard. Then, her elaborate butterfly ballgown became an anchor as the fabric pulled down to the floor, trapped by the trampling of party goers' feet.

"Larcenist!" she shouted, panicking.

The accusation drove her to push remaining bystanders off of the couture fabric, and she made two strides before being stopped again. This time, it was by the wine-sipping American.

"Get away!" Adrianna demanded, certain to not let anything hinder her theft.

 

[Zack]

“Poodle. I’m right behind you. Don’t let him get away. Bacon, Burrito, can you guys try to keep eyes on the Grub from your position?”

Zack turned his eyes from @Eugene and @Sophie who were on their way to kick some bodyguard butt. It looked to him like @Lee and @Derrin were in some trouble with their mark.

“Cobra, Poodle, I got eyes on the Grub. It looks like he is trying to find an exit. You guys need to snatch him as quick as you can. I’m going to try to remotely lock the exits and keep everyone inside.”

"Wow, she's fast." Zack remarked, seeing Derringer run towards the exit to cut off Chuate, "Try to keep him there, we got a team to get the power back and it looks like they've already reached the generator."

 

[Nace Bilby]

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Nace had been doing two things at once, something the trained military sniper part of his mind would have been slagging him over. Part of it had been trying to keep an eye on Vic without drawing attention to him and Molly and the other was keeping track of Molly’s movements as he swayed to the rhythm of the music.

He couldn’t help but smile at the band’s rendition of Lady in Red, “I do think Chris DeBurgh would definitely appreciate this.”

He held Molly closer to him, his right hand holding her left and his left on the flair of her hip as they swayed together to the music. His eyes met hers, smiling as he looked into them.

"Molly, there's something I have been meaning to tell you..."

She arched her brow, trying not to assume too much, “Is this something we should sit down and talk about?”

"Perhaps, I just know that if I don't say it I am not sure I'll muster up the courage to say it again." Nace replied, as he took her hand, walking with her from the dance floor when the room went dark.

Nace’s first instinct was to draw Molly close to him, as several panicked people swarmed off the dance floor. At one stage Nace felt a body bump into him, causing him and Molly to separate. “Molly!” he shouted, not sure if she’d heard him.

If anything happens to her I’m never going to forgive myself. Nace thought as he pushed through the crowd.

 

[Molly]

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“Nace, slow down--” The ACME lab technician reached out for her date, but as her hands landed she immediately realized the arm belonged to a much thinner, older man. She had been following a stranger.

Turning back to the crowd, Molly’s focus darted about for anything that seemed familiar, but Bilby was no where to be seen. Crowds tended to blend together, the men especially so with their dark tuxedos, and by now there was no sign of the suspicious man in a leisure suit (@Vic). Making her way towards the dining room, where she heard music and an entertainer’s voice (@Joe Kerr) , she stumbled upon two bodyguards speaking in a coarse Ukrainian dialect. They at first sounded a bit like the ex-army veterans that lived by a train station she had to walk past to visit her grandmother, and though she was out of practice, Molly could make out the following words.

[“Boss says ACME is here, we need to get him out of the building,”] A large scarred man yelled loudly above the crowd, seemingly sure that no one could understand him,

His companion, who was smaller with a raspy voice replied, “[Tell the Brazilians to take him to the basement exit. We will for them there.”]

The duo seemed to acknowledge each other before starting to pace off. Molly wished she had a radio to call this in, but for now she would have rely on old fashioned trailing. Clutching her purse, she did her best to stay a few paces behind them, all the while keeping her eye on the back of the big scarred man’s head as it weaved through the room.

 

[Joe Kerr]

Joseph Kerr and his band of Carnival performers had briefly succeeded in placating the crowd but the audience had soon tired of their antics and demanded assistance in leaving the room.

With no other choice, the performers had used their torches and bright costumes to light a path out of the dining room.

When he was satisfied that the evacuation was proceeding smoothly and safely, the VILE Jester slipped away to where he remembered his VIP was supposed to be seated.

By the light of his costume, the Jester was able to make out the table and its now empty seats. Though somewhat disappointed, he wasn't surprised to see that she, along with the guest-of-honour, had disappeared from their seats.

Just as he was about to turn away, he noticed a familiar figure crawling out from under the table.

Smirking, the Jester walked over with an outstretched arm.
"Need a hand?"

 

[Jason West]

(Co-post with @Derrin @Lee )

Lee Jordan ran towards Barbas best he could in almost pitch darkness. The three men usually with the drug lord had signals they used between each other and in the time that Jordan was undercover, he learned these signals. In the dark, though, it wasn’t easy. He ended up guessing what the guards were doing.

One of Barbas’s details was in front of the kingpin throwing people out of the way while the other watched from the back. Then Lee saw it, both guys had their guns drawn. Worse yet, he suddenly saw Derrin heading right in their way.

Jason saw the two men with weapons drawn and quickly attempted to alert Derrin.

“Cobra, two incoming with weapons drawn. Check yourself and be careful.”

Derrin hated the tone that Jason had used with her but was appreciative of him telling her what was going on. She finally made her way to the door and drew the pistol from her garter. She hoped it would be enough to stop the thugs that were coming towards her.

“Burrito,”

That was the last thing Jason heard before the loud explosion that came from one of Barbas’s details in an effort to clear the way.

 

[Ann Tickwittee]

"Get away!" Adrianna demanded, certain to not let anything hinder her theft.

With normally uncharacteristic swiftness, Ann snatched at the Band, furious green eyes glaring into the blond woman's. She tugged and tried to wrench the artifact from the Contessa, but the archaeologist could not bring herself to risk damaging the treasure.

"How could you?" she seethed. "Let. Go."

 

[Ivy]

Conclusion to Carnival

===​

ACME, mainly aided by @Lee Jordan, @Jason West and Derringer Aragon (@Derrin) were able to arrest Barbas Chuate.

Chuate's henchmen were rounded up by @Sophie Conrad, @Eugene Grovington, @Nace Bilby, @Molly O'Sullivan, @Colleen Slate, @Deric Storm, Calina Corranos (@Cali), @Zack Monaghan and other members of ACME.

Carmen and V.I.L.E. members @Eartha Brute, @Vic the Slick, @Joe Kerr and @Acton Roux escaped to celebrate her birthday. The donation money from Santo Anjo Uriel orfanato e futeboll escola para abandon de crianças no Brasil went to saving the orphanage as per Carmen’s original plan.

@Contessa Coverenzi left Rio with the Band of Flight, but unfortunately found that she had only half of the jewelery item. The other half having been saved by ACME.