VILE I assure you, We're Open! (VILE only)

[Ken U Belevitt]

Ken used Charlet's reappearance to conveniently turn away from the crowd. "Don't worry about it, little missy, I was just leaving, for real this time. Just as Doc suggested, I won't be vacating with the goods." Ken turned in his wheelchair and entered the storage room once again, picking up the tower CPU where he got it the thumb drive from. He paused, looked aside, and taking one more small object from his old equipment, he turned back to the crowd. "Hey, listen. I'm sorry that my being here got you in trouble. I see you like toys. This was my old fidget toy from when I used to be in VILE. At least it won't go to waste." He handed Charlet a jet black aluminum yo-yo with a pristine white piece of thread.

 

[Acton Roux]

"He expresses a want to leave, mes amis," Acton voiced from the hallway, "shall we give him something for his journey?"

The doctor handed to Ken a red first aid kit.

"If you are not staying, may you find this useful."

 

[Joe Kerr]

Behind his mask, Joseph smiled at the interaction between Ken and Charlet; it was nice to see that Ken hadn't totally lost his softer side.

Given the man's erratic emotions, Joseph decided against telling Ken that he had been caught on the newly installed security cameras before he ever entered the building.

Instead, he moved forward and pushed a small class ring into Ken's hands.

"I know you don't like the idea of anything that could be used to track you, but...if you're ever in trouble again, just turn the symbol on the ring anti-clockwise to send us an SOS."

 

[Neb]

Neb looked confused. "Wait, leave? Why? You just got here! Aren't you going to say hi to Carmen or anything?"

 

[Charlet]

Charlet looked at Ken with puppy eyes

“Stay a while.” She begged

 

[Ken U Belevitt]

"Is she even here....? I don't....I, no...." Ken strained. "Listen Kid.....kids...I-I can't....I can't depend on Carmen and be of any use to her at the same time. She's had to move on from a lot of things concerning me, and it's time I at least tried to do things in kind."

 

[Claire Yeon]

It was nearing three o'clock in the morning, but the urgency of her errand and a circadian rhythm not yet adapted to the new time zone kept exhaustion at bay for Claire Yeon. Late as it was, the hour didn't bother her nearly as much as the rain. She could remember being this cold and wet only once before, about a year ago. Now, at least, she was spared that incident's additional discomfort of being covered in mud and shot at. Take the victories, she told herself. It could be worse.

And if she didn't hurry, it would be.

She turned on to the dirt road that made up the home stretch of her journey, and her face bunched into a scowl as she saw that "being covered in mud" was going to be an inevitable part of tonight's events as well. Still not being shot at, she thought, with a glance over her shoulder. She was confident that she had not been followed, but she did not want to risk growing complacent. The mud splattered her coat and sucked at her shoes, holding on to them with enough determination to dislodge them from her feet on three separate occasions, but she pressed on. It could not be far now.

The spark of relief she felt at reaching the rusted metal door was extinguished by the sight of two scooter-sized wheels and a handful of nuts and bolts. A thick layer of mud coated the wheels, fresh enough to have not yet been washed away by the rain. She could not, realistically, have expected to be the only one here, but if this wayward traveler was not one of theirs... She tucked the thought away to another corner of her mind, to revisit later if the occasion called for it. There were enough real problems to be getting on with just now; imagining more would do no good.

Claire raised a fist to the door, and attempted to knock, but her fingers were so cold all it did was shoot spikes of pain through her hand and make hardly any noise. Sighing, she took off one of her sodden, mud-covered shoes, and, holding it as tightly as she could, banged it against the metal three times. If anyone was home, and awake, she would know soon.

 

[Ken U Belevitt]

Ken heard the knock first. From where he was sitting, he was the closest to the door in the hallway, and he took up most of the hallway. "I'll get it," he added an exasperated sigh. Then he turned to open the door. The woman on the other side was unknown to Ken. Wet, mud covered, and positively ordinary. As usual, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"You know, this is VILE right? You could least have a summer derby on...or maybe a cape?"

 

[Joe Kerr]

Walking over, Joseph placed a hand on Ken's shoulder and addressed the newcomer.

"Please excuse Ken here, he's a little grouchy at the moment. My name is Joseph," he accented with a slight bow.

"You must be Claire; we had received word that you were enroute. Please do come in,"

Turning aside briefly, Joseph pressed a neatly concealed earbud and whispered,
"Tara, the pacakage has arrived safely. Be on the lookout for potential hostiles in the area. Execute 'wonderland' protocol if necessary."

Turning back to the group, he addressed Claire once again.
"I apologize for not giving you the grand tour right now, but it is a rather ungodly hour. If you'd like, I'm sure Neb will be happy to help show you to the guestrooms where you can get out of these muddy clothes and attempt to salvage some rest. Acton, our physician, is also available if you happen to have any injuries you'd like to have looked at. Welcome to VILE."

 

[Ken U Belevitt]

"Wonderland protocol? That's cute, Kerr. You know, I used to manage the subterfuge around here. Nice to know you're around to take who knows how much of my past work and give it a corny name while you're a-"

Ken paused when he heard an audible siren. A cop car. As near by as the next street over. He made sure the door was sealed before he backed his chair away and pivotted to the assembled group. "Well, whatever you were planning to do. You'd better do it, because they're close."

 

[Claire Yeon]

An angry retort to the fat man’s comment was on the tip of her tongue, but a timely intervention from the smooth-talking, well-dressed man who introduced himself as Joseph stayed it - for now, at least. She expected there would be time enough to exchange quips with Ken later on; he struck her as the type who would never hesitate to stir the pot. The offer of a guest room and freedom from the dirty clothes was a welcome overture, and certainly preferable for everyone involved over continuing to drip mud and water on the floor. Before she could accept, though, a more pressing matter demanded the attention of everyone crowded into the hallway: the shrill ring of a police siren, much too close for the comfort of those who operated at the edge of the law.

Ken, after checking the door, turned his chair to face the ragtag group assembled in the hallway. “Well, whatever you were planning to do. You’d better do it, because they’re close.”

“Don’t look at me,” Claire said. “I didn’t invite them.”

 

[Contessa]

The police car in question pulled over and stopped just outside the main gates of Stone Habour. Behind it was a glossy black BMW 7 series saloon.

Both cars made the slow entry into the fairgrounds. Once the BMW stopped, its driver exited to open the door for Adrianna Covrenzi. As she stepped out, her butler was already removing the first of 14 travel bags from the trunk.

"Yes, thank you so much, officers!" Adrianna greeted with a wave to the police car, emphasizing very clearly the word 'officers', "Getting through the countryside in this rain would have been terribly sluggish without your help."

"Please," a comically large attendant handed the police a round box that looked tiny in his oversized hands, "accept this tin of assorted cookies for your generous service"

The British Highway Traffic Officers, in their checkered Volvo station wagon, saluted and waved in return. Then they made a U-turn and headed out.

Once they were gone, the countess noted that lights were on in the labs, storage and henchmen housing facility; and she briefly wondered what her people could possibly be doing this time of night.