Archived La Vie de Luxe

[Flag]

((I apologize for the lag in response. I just started my maternity leave and it's been rather tough to prepare for. ))

Flag had backed away from the table when Vic started snapping pictures of the blue prints, using the opportunity to un-braid his long silver hair so that a few short minutes later he could cram virtually all but some of it up under the uniform cap. At one point he undid the clasp that had pinned his elven-like felinoid ears against the back of his head so that he could also tuck them up under what strands remained.

With some slouching, the end result of his disguise was that of an old man who apparently was unable to retire and took up simple janitorial work.

"Use the cash on the hacker, " He paused to affix the stolen name patch to the front of his uniform "A third of whatever you agree upon up front, the rest we'll deliver after the heist."

He paused to consider the rest of the money that was in the checking account. Occasionally it occurred to him that VILE shouldn't have access to this kind of wealth as the criminal organization had a tendency to steal absolutely ridiculous things - like their current target. There was not a sole on the black market that would purchase anything from them because of high profile issues that ultimately ended in a lack of permanence. Flag looked at Vic "the Slick," understanding that there was a deeper, darker side of VILE that may actually be hidden even Carmen herself. How else would could they fund themselves?

"Likely, we won't need anything more for the rest of the mission. I do however, wish to be compensated ten grand when all is said and done."

Overall this was not a large amount to ask for and Flag did not go into detail as to why he would ask for so little. Curiously enough, he also did not answer Vic's question as to when he spoke with their employer last.

"Get your disguise on. We've not much time before the shift change."

 

[Eugene]

"Still on he-Hey guys... lost the Ducati. I think I've found something else. Only partial identification, of course, but 'I think' is going to have to do for now."

Missy had lost the alleged thief, leaving Euge as the sole persuer. The outcome was inevitable. If the biker didn't lose Euge in the city center, he would have to break off in less than five minutes anyways to return to the airport. ACME had lost this one. Euge dropped a GPS tag noting his last contact with the target before radioing back. "This is Euge. Fuel status is bingo plus two. Breaking off pursuit and returning to base. Sorry guys." Hope you're having better luck down there, he added mentally, and swung the helicopter back around towards the airport.

 

[Carmen]

((OOC: Ladies and gentlemen, we've established some concept of time throughout this game, but I would like to clarify. Flag and Vincent are in San Francisco, the time for them is evening. In Luxembourg, we are in the morning hours. To sum, three in the morning for San Francisco is noon in Luxembourg. Since ACME landed during morning twilight, Chase has suggested that it is now 9 a.m. in Luxembourg, giving us approximately three game-hours until the climax. Mm, having established that, let us move on.))


The thief on her red Ducati had just purchased valuable time using a very expensive commodity, the field director's abducted falcon. Both bird and BMW successfully distracted the only ACME agent keeping Carmen from the heart of Luxembourg, a place that not only contained her target, but one that would provide significant cover.

Without any hesitation, she veered straight into the city centre. It was now late enough in the morning hours for the commute to shield her.

The BMW, fitted with a metal cage, was still a match to the police Yamaha carrying ACME Agent Melissa Wayward. Somewhat easily, it led the agent through roads and alleyways. Its driver, 'Gresser', was a young architect and part time student at Université du Luxembourg. He understood the streets and was a member of VILE only when Carmen had business in the city.

Choosing a busy spot in one of Luxembourg's classical neighbourhoods, Gresser stopped to park the blue motorcycle perpendicular to a decorated wall and left the keys; he then ran on foot into the nearest opened shop.

Carmen looked to the skies and found, to her expectation, that the helicopter was no longer in pursuit. The clock on her wristband warned that time was running out. Her San Francisco team required darkness for their part of the operation, and with the time differences, she would have to acquire her target at exactly noon in Luxembourg... in broad daylight.

It was, in two understated words, rather audacious.

 

[E. Mayhew]

((Morning is good in Luxembourg mate, much better we got that established.))



Lee Jordan glanced back at Sophie Conrad and wondered what she wanted to get out of asking him those questions. He thought about not saying anything, but then again, she definitely didn't sound like she was taking sides. "I'd probably trust my own agents a little more," he answered, "But hey, don't matter what I think. When this is over, his is the face you're going to see taking all the credit for ACME on the news." "I was in VILE once, and he's got me keeping tabs on VILE agents like that's all I can do."

Missy said: "Hey guys... lost the Ducati. I think I've found something else." she said clearly into her mouthpiece as she gave the throttle a hearty twist, then added with a lightly snarky tone, "Only partial identification, of course, but 'I think' is going to have to do for now."

Lee laughed, that little jab at Chase from Missy made him feel better for missing a lot of the game. At least she was on his side, even if it wasn't direct. Then the helicopter a few minutes later reported that it was out for fuel. Well, they tried. Lee shrugged. "Have you done a lot of cases with ACME?" he asked the medic, "You don't look familiar at all."

 

[Vic]

((OOC: Evening in San Francisco, got it. We’re workin towards 3 am, like you said.))


“10 grand, all yours,” he said, “I guess you hadn’t talked to Carmen recent or she’d arrange it already. I’m getting about the same myself.”

Vic followed his partner’s instructions and put on the uniform, hiding his face under a cap. He was a human and needed less disguise than the alien, a fact that he didn’t notice until tonight.

While Vic was gathering his things, a message popped up from his hacker, it said: “I want 50, transferred, Pick me up at the church.”

The conman, knowing he wasn’t here to keep any secrets, showed the message to Flag.

“Do we need an extra uniform?” he asked, “or can we shove him into a trash can and bring him in?”

 

[Flag]

The trash can comment made Flag smile a bit and shake his head. He liked the idea of throwing a pampas kid into a trash can, but realized that it was not practical. Three janitors running around in a rush wasn't exactly practical either.

"Actually, he should be fine in whatever he's wearing. could provide a further sense of authenticity for us."

While Vic was talking Flag had packed a bucket, containing the required spray bottle and a towel in addition to a few other things that they might be able to use. He also tossed Vic a set of what, upon further inspection, appeared to be a set of "bump keys." After that Flag grabbed a steel-handled mop and made his way out the door.

 

[Chase]

Chase hardly heard Missy's report about losing the Ducati and finding something 'partial' to pursue. On his communicator was a list sent by Chief Weller of stolen items so far linked to VILE.

A bronze statue, The Angel with the Broken Wing, was taken from Notre Dame des Neiges cemetery in Montreal, Canada by Vincent Fumigalli. Some blonde took the stone gargoyle 'Little Dedo' from Notre Dame de Paris... and at least a dozen churches worldwide were missing the cross at their spire; all of them with the title of 'Notre Dame'.

ACME Control was still processing new thefts and sending agents as necessary. Making the connection wasn't difficult, but it felt empty to think Carmen Sandiego would go through all this trouble -- a crime spree across the globe -- only to make her next target extremely obvious. The case was practically rookie-level if all she wanted was Notre Dame de Luxembourg.

Euge's notification that the Ducati was officially lost came through and the field director decided to continue... even if it made little sense given VILE's past methods. Looking at the last aerial map feed from the helicopter, Chase saw an opportunity to better guard Notre Dame de Luxembourg.

The Bock Casemates in Grund was a hilltop position with full view of the city once used to defend Luxembourg from invaders. With Euge's helicopter in that position, they would be seconds from an airdrop on to the cathedral.

"Right, everybody finish what you're doing and regroup at The Bock. Euge, see if you can't find a good spot for the helicopter above the Casemates -- overlooking Notre Dame de Luxembourg," Devineaux voiced his commands as he changed directions, turning Normandy towards the cliffs, "We need to strategize."

 

[Lee]

((Co-post by Scarlet and Lee))


With gravity, Sophie listened to Lee’s opinion of the Field Director. She knew neither men well enough to either agree or disagree with any of their opinions of each other and she was never one to encourage dissent - though, opinions, as they were, were always worth a listen to.


When Lee addressed her again, asking about what she supposed could be described as her length of service in ACME, she smiled: “This is my first case with ACME.”


Lee smiled back, since his return to ACME, he hadn't dealt with many people who didn't know his past mistakes. Chase was one of those people, but for what ever reason, the Field Director must have read Lee Jordan's files. Lee was the kind that believed his files made him, instead of depending on second chances or changing his behaviour. Why bother changing if people already had their minds set?


"Welcome to the agency then," he said and stood up on one leg, "I don't think I need an x-ray, seriously, but you'd know best, doc. You're a real doc, right? Not just a Para?"


Sophie stood up immediately after Lee, instinctively reaching out a hand in case he should lose his balance. However, he appeared to do well on one leg.


“Thank you,” she said as she let her arm fall slack beside her. She laughed: “Yes, I am a real doctor...” Whatever that meant...


“Well, you may not think you need an x-ray, but I’m sure ACME needs one,” she smiled and shrugged, “and we both know what the Director thinks about thinking.”


"I never know what the Director thinks," Lee joked, "nobody knows anything about that guy."


Sophie carefully nodded to that comment but made no other reply to it. A movement across the stream caught her attention. “Here comes your ride,” Sophie nodded towards the three uniformed men who were approaching them. Two of them carried a stretcher between them, and, in front of the party, an energetic blond-haired young man came jogging over.


“All right,” Sophie turned to Lee, “there’s Caleb.” She waved and smiled at the young man as he greeted her with gusto. “He’s ACME and he’ll be your company to the hospital....”


Lee made a hop to the stretcher. Nothing bothered him about being carried around, or it didn't this time because he was thinking about his position. Being an informant gave him nothing. Should he have caught up with Carmen today, he'd have to wait until a real agent arrived at the scene. Chase was his only way in, and Lee was now willing to negotiate.


Sophie exchanged jovial greetings with the French-speaking paramedics and condensed her diagnoses of Lee into one sentence. The uniformed men then turned their attention to Lee, strapping him safely onto the stretcher. Before they could leave with their charge, however, Sophie stepped up beside the ACME informant.


“I’ll meet you at the hospital and...” she gave a quick glance to the Suzuki that still stood in the stream, remembering how she had first met Lee and his passionate concern for his two-wheelie, “I’ll arrange for your motorcycle to be picked up, okay?”


She paused for awhile and was almost going to give the all-right for Caleb and the paramedics to leave with Lee when something occurred to her. She frowned.


“Don’t take the Field Director’s words to heart, Mr. Jordan,” she finally said. “His intentions are good - even if his methods are debatable. He does care and he wouldn’t have had you here if he didn’t, at least, trust you.”


Lee Jordan listened to Sophie's words and immediately formed an opinion about the doctor. She was probably like the rest of them. Everybody and their siblings at ACME had told Lee about Chase Devineaux. The TV was exaggerating everything too, all that Chase might be missing was a shiny halo and he'd be Archangel Michael himself.


Lee shrugged. "Thanks, doc," he muttered as the stretcher took him away to the hospital nearby. To Lee, Chase doesn’t care about anyone, and it’s a mistake to think he isn’t pretending. The guy’s an intelligence officer, he’d do anything, and to anyone, if it makes him look good.

 

[Eugene]

"Right, everybody finish what you're doing and regroup at The Bock. Euge, see if you can't find a good spot for the helicopter above the Casemates -- overlooking Notre Dame de Luxembourg. We need to strategize."

The change of plans had Euge at a disadvantage, as he usually knew exactly where he was going and the best route there. Slowing the forward speed of the chopper, he called up the tac-map on the communicator, now serving as the 5th MFD in the cockpit. Thankfully, Chase had marked the rally point on the Casemates, about two minutes away from his current position.

Swinging the helicopter back around, Euge radioed for the watch officer at the airfield and had her send the fuel truck to the meeting point Chase had designated. Hovering slightly above treetop level, Euge spotted what looked like a vehicular pull-off on top of the walls and set the chopper down. The position would allow him to be on top of almost any location in the city center in less than a minute. Turbines winding down, Euge checked the communicator; most of the operatives and the fuel truck were several minutes out. Euge drafted a quick text, "Chase, I'm groundside less than 30 feet from the rally point." and sent it off. Euge suspected what Chase had in mind, and began pulling the appropriate gear from the bins while he waited for the party to arrive.

 

[Vic]

Flag said: "Actually, he should be fine in whatever he's wearing. could provide a further sense of authenticity for us."

Vic grinned as he took the 'bump keys' and joked about the hacker, "He can fake looking like an ACME agent, got a baby face an' all."

When he was ready, he checked everything again, and looked at himself on the reflection on the glass to make sure he looked and acted like a janitor. Of all the times he's played janitor for a heist, this was going to be his best performance ever. They were going into ACME building, there won't be second chances.

"You lead," Vince said with security, "I'm going to the church down the block to pick up this kid, where do we meet after?"


((OOC: Sorry for being late, ah? Computer completely busted, spilled coffee on a Mac.))

 

[Vic]

Was asked to write the first of 4 posts that's going to end this here RP, so everybody play along, ah? If it's all botched up, and I need to fix, msg me.


Vic picked up the hacker, then the trio (Vic, Flag, and the hired hacker) made it up to ACME's Dome, the security area on the 16th floor. Here, layers of encryption made hacking in virtually impossible, but this step was already taken care of. Earlier today, when Carmen Sandiego waltzed into the ACME building and sat in Chase Devineaux's office for a little chat, she had done plenty of ground work on site. The security card of an employee was swiped, modified, then granted additional clearance all within the time required. If they did not use this card today, right now, the employee would report it missing by the morning, and all modifications would be reset.

First step, the card worked, identified them as Mitch Balley, one of Chase Devineaux's security dogs. It gave them basic access to the network. Mitch's "contact phone number" was switched to Vic's phone by VILE's tech guys hours ago when Carmen gave them the card, so his mobile blinked to show an SMS confirming the security password.

"So far so sweet," Vic muttered as he put in the security password. There was bound to be some personnel still working in the ACME control center, those would have to be taken out "without injury" like Carmen said. So far, that's been the hardest of her instructions to work around.

As soon as the password worked, Vic signaled to Flag. The alien's job was to make sure sensors were working around the corners of the building that they planned to steal by C-5-ing it to a different location. Sounds like a big plan, ah? Impossible, even.

Then Vic put on a gas mask for the next part of the plan, taking out ACME control. A huge bit of carbon dioxide against the gas sensor valve should do the trick.

A chemical alarm went off, signalling everyone to evacuate floors 16 and 15 for possible CO2 leakage. Both Vic and the hacker hid as personnel left the control room, leisurely. "It's probably a surprise drill," he heard one of them say to another.

When Vic and the hacker got access of the control room, he hit the announcer button. With a synthesizer in front of his mouth to disguise his voice, he asked ACME employees to leave the building.

"This is ACME Control to all remaining personnel," said a nasal, high-pitched female voice from the central speakers, "there is a minor gas leak in sectors 12 and 16, please evacuate the building immediately."

Then the hacker busily punched away at the keys. Soon, they were going to make this place sing.

It was 3:10 A.M. and few people were in the building, but this was the easiest way to get rid of witnesses and extra baggage. At about 3:20 A.M., Flag came into the security room indicating that the sensors were all a-go. Then the hacker hooted, showing that he was ready. Vic did a scan of the security cameras and heat sensors. Except for the three people in the control room, not a soul was inside the 16-and-a-half-story tower.

It was time to do some damage. He pulled out his phone and connected via a PTT system, "Truffles to Wraith," Vic reported to his leader, "ready for the rain!"

 

[Carmen]

(Thank you for your post, Vic, my contribution follows.)

By the time her subordinate was ready for her command, Carmen had reached the famous Bock of Luxembourg. The Ducati Multistrata easily provided quick escort, but as she rose among the stonework, the motorcycle's volume increasingly resonated against the walls. To not attract attention, she parked the bike, removed her helmet, and wound her way up the casemates on foot.

In the stillness, the impact of a horse's hooves echoed hauntingly. Her instincts labeled the intruding noise as a threat. Because no city officer or tourist would ride up to the Bock alone at this speed, the rider was clearly someone with purpose; presumably an ACME Agent. This could only mean the enemy had deducted her plans to take Notre Dame de Luxembourg too soon for her liking. She would decide later if this was a good challenge or a minor setback, but she preferred to be optimistic.

Navigating quickly through the stone vaults, the thief dodged both the horse and its rider by climbing to a level above. They would pass her Ducati soon, and without time to discard of evidence, Carmen reviewed her limited options. The vantage point she thought to secure was now a surveying position for ACME's malicious helicopter. Her remaining exit was the fabled Melusina's chambers and the River Alzette below. Should that be barred, she would have to call in her own helicopter and pray for the best, or face the anonymous horse and rider in an altercation that should end with a hasty retreat to her abandoned Ducati.

Vincent's voice crackled in her ear and she tapped the radio, broadcasting a message to both her team in San Francisco and the one in Notre Dame de Luxembourg; "We're ready. Start."

Outside, a construction team situated near the cathedral began to drill loudly. That should be sufficient distraction for ACME; while to Melusina's chambers, rushed Carmen Sandiego.