forum Mission of A Lifetime (Closed)

Started May 27, 2020 by @MusicElle-is-here

tune

Kate studied the five people before her, her clever green eyes roving about them. One thing about Kate that seemed to make some people uncomfortable was her intense stare, like she was seeing right through you into your soul. Kate couldn't actually see anyone's soul, of course, though that would be cool. Instead she was just trying to decide whether everyone gathered here was right for the job. Kate was mostly certain of her choices for this, but now she was beginning to second guess herself, something that she didn't often do when it came to picking crews for a job. However, this was worth more than any other job she had taken, and she didn't know any of these people very well, having only spoken to most of them in passing.

After a couple moments more of silence, Kate realized that she should say something. The silence had started out as intimidating and confusing, but would only get more awkward and unprofessional the longer she waited. She cleared her throat, so that all eyes would be on her (assuming they weren't already) and began her little speech. She didn't usually do this, either, so she hoped that she wouldn't seem like a nervous nineteen year old girl and instead seem like the same mysterious, dangerous young woman that they had probably seen in the news.

"I bet you all wonder why I've brought you here today," she mused, with an enigmatic smile. It was more the hint of a smile than a genuine smile, designed to seem rakish and put people slightly on edge. "Well, the answer is simple, more or less. I have been offered a job, worth a lot of money, and I realized that I couldn't do it alone, so I put together a team, as it were. As for how I know what you are all capable of, I have my ways." Here she flashed another grin, this one almost wolfish in nature. "In case you don't remember, the name's Kate Raikov, and I would like you all to accept my business proposition. The money is the main incentive, but should you choose not to accept my offer, then I suppose the world as we know it could come crumbling down around us, probably. You know, if you care about that shit. So I'm sure by now you're all wondering what exactly this mission entails." Kate blew a stray curl out of her face, letting the suspense build.

"Well, as we know, things between our lovely Valeria and the neighboring Ilso have been tense for quite some time," Kate added after a moment or two. "Nova City has seen some messed up shit, being the capital of Valeria, as I'm sure you all know. Anyway, this rich businessman, who has requested me not to mention his name, is going to pay us six billion dollars to go to Ilso, get into their labs, steal the records of their experiments, and delete their data. We're also supposed to bring him back one of the experiments in question. I'm assuming I don't have to add that none of you can tell anyone about this, or your guts will be spilled. And I will know if you so much as breathe a word to your boyfriend or whatever, so keep your mouths shut." Her gaze darkened at this, eyes narrowing and perfect brows arching testily. "So, back to the mission. It's not going to be easy, but it will be worth it. Any questions?" Kate's gaze slid over the ragtag group, her hand now placed firmly on her hip.

Maybe he should've not picked up a stranger's call. What if he didn't? Or the guy should've changed his number. But what if Raikov had other ways to get him?

Nevertheless Malachi found himself in a room with five other people; one of them is the most wanted in Nova City most importantly. He's just another hitman in the city, nothing really special. Well you could say that good old Mal is a great at reading people, but nothing extravagant.

His right hand kept tugging at the sleeve of his suit jacket. Those black eyes slowly capturing the images of each person while the silence hung in the air. Every other second, Malachi keep his sight fixed on Raikov. It could be possible there's targets on they're heads and she's going to knock them down. Quickly, he turned to take a small glance behind looking for anything fun.

A light beam overshadowed the bleakness on his face as Raikov began to speak. Was it finally time to start the show? A boring start if you ask me. Malachi licked his top lip while he traced the phrase "one billion" on his thigh. He did the same with all the other details he found, splendid. Malachi's gaze stuck; he looked up and down, straight into her eyes, how she held her shoulders, where her feet pointed. Wasn't really necessary to have a further reading yet.

In an instant, his hand shot up. Malachi wasn't sure if he was going to waste time with a useless question or actually get something out of his own words, but why the hell not? "Do you trust this businessman?", Malachi asked,"If he has six billion to throw at someone like you, wouldn't he have some a numerous amount of other idiots to take care of this?" Is the anonymous part supposed to keep us motivated?

“Valid question,” Kate responded, looking the man who had asked in the eyes. She smirked, once again brushing away a stray curl. “It’s hard to know who to trust in this business. I trust him to pay us the money and not swindle us out of the deal, if that’s what you’re asking. I trust him to honor his part of the bargain.”

The guy’s eyes were dark, and Kate held his gaze for a moment longer before looking around at the rest of the people assembled in the room. He was dressed impeccably, which Kate found she quite respected, though she’d never admit it. He wasn’t bad looking either, but Kate knew that she noticed these kind of things during jobs sometimes. For her black mock neck crop top and dark purple cargo pants outfit, she could be quite vain herself, even if it might look like she had just thrown on some clothes.

She wondered if anyone would ask a question. Of course she’d never admit to this, but Kate didn’t have a lot of options for her team for this mission, and it was more important than she would deign to admit. Not only that, but she didn’t know what she would do if any of these people walked away. However, Kate stayed unreadable, deliberately clearing her mind as well. She had a reputation to uphold, after all.

Fray wasn't sure why she had agreed to this. Well, actually she did. It was because she was bored. A life of crime and shit and whatever was all great and dandy, but it got so boring after a while. It was all the same searching, hacking, stealing, killing, and running away. It got kinda dull. She had hoped that this would be a change, that this opportunity would be different, more exciting, but it didn't seem to be. The girl in front of her was obviously trying to be tougher than she really was.

Or maybe that was just what Fray saw. She spent too much time in front of a computer, anyway, much more than she did around people.

After Kate was done talking, she mockingly raised her hand. "Very pretty speech. Do you say that to all your partners?" She asked, and then before Kate could have time to answer, she was talking again. "What if we don't have boyfriends to run off our mouths to? Then what? Do we find someone else to talk to and tell about this super-secret mission or whatever?" She snorted. "And will we get paid? I'd at least like to know if my death would be worth something."

She smiled winningly at the room, an amused curve to her lips, as if this was all a joke. Her eyes, though, were different. They promised death, promised terrible things to come. She seemed at ease in a room full of what seemed to be criminals, which, to be fair, she was. She was used to hanging out with people like this and worse.

Lika has listened quite intently to the speech, though he didn’t appear to be paying attention until money was involved. No sooner had that incentive been spoken, his eyes had drifted to the girl whom he both admired and somewhat hated.
While it was true, Lika knew and was a fan of Kate’s work, he wasn’t so much as keen on her as a person as one would have thought.

He leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling with closed eyes as people asked their questions. He knew each and every one of them. He didn’t want to, but he did. In his line of work he needed to dig up dirt on a lot of individuals, most of whom were of the unsavoury type.
The first who spoke, Malachi Song. The Animga. The boy without a father who became a serviceman for a criminal organisation. Maybe he and Lika would get along, but Lika didn’t get his hopes up. The second, Mercury Frayne. The Shifter. The egotistical brat who doesn’t have a filter. Already, Lika knew, he couldn’t trust her.
Putting it in perspective, he couldn’t trust anyone, especially those present.

That woman was saying something, her voice was as snarky as a child going through early puberty, and it drilled into his brain. Not a pleasant experience by any means. So he kept his head back and waited for someone to say something worth his time. He didn’t care what the job was, not now that he knew the sum of money he would receive. That was enough to pay his siblings’ school tuition, right?

How can you trust anyone in this fantastic field of profession? Easy, just be a few steps ahead of the others. Trust is less common than money when you think about it. Sure, Malachi does not really know everyone in the room, but he can guess they're all on the same boat now with a mission and an anonymous businessman looming over them. This mission is starting to sound enjoyable for now. "Alright then dear, perfect.", he beamed.

Malachi clasped his hands then rested his head in front of them. Reclining back, he kept gazing back at Raikov then broke the staring. She has this look in her eyes that give off the strength and aura of an intelligent convict with the reputation. He found it to be alluring in a way that it'd keep others pulling themselves in then get too close for their luck. Everyone else obviously has a certain charm that has lead them to be involved in this. Oh how exciting it will be to learn!

There wasn't much else to say for himself, well, will my white shirt get bloody? If so, I have my leather gloves in my inside jacket pocket. The Animga is expecting bloodshed as much he's waiting for mind reading. Sadly, he couldn't assume anything else besides what the mission entailed; so who knows what the gray area will be.

A small sigh managed to leave his lips, he wasn't sure if it was of the pondering or listening to the girl's questions. Malachi hid the almost forming gleam on his lips with a hand. "Yeah and can you make sure the bullets go through my heart? I wanna take my beauty and brains with me to hell.", he mumbled.

"What beauty?" Fray shot back at him. There was silence for a while, and she was itching to move, to leave. This guy right here was talking, and so naturally she directed her impatience at him. "I don't see any beauty." She rolled her eyes, looking him up and down with a slow, practiced eye, before looking into his eyes and smirking. Smirking. "And you most certainly don't seem to have brains, either."

She hadn't come expecting to make friends. She had come knowing full well that she would be making some enemies, which she was perfectly fine with. She was a lone wolf, through and through. She hated being around people. Plus, in this mission, it sounded like they were only supposed to work together, not be best buddies.

And if there was anything Fray hated, it was the overly-clingy, best-buddy-best-friend-type mindset. It was gross. None of these people here seemed like they'd be that way, but she couldn't be sure. You never could, not really.

She twirled a strand of hair through her fingers and tapped her knee repeatedly. Sometimes, people could be annoying. No, all the time. It was why she had taken up hacking. She didn't have to deal with people, and still got paid, which suited her just fine.

Now this is where it's going to get good! At first, the response made the black pool of his eyes pop for a second; he hadn't prepared for something like this really. Malachi bit his bottom lip trying to hold in any laughter that could've slipped out. His lovely new friend looked a little bit tense to him. What could he do to make things better?

Out nowhere, a great idea appeared! Malachi gasped as his hand slapped over his heart grabbing his ebony suit jacket. He brought shoulders up while having his eyes still wide. "Oh sweetheart, you hurt Oppa's feelings.", he whined before winking with a sneer,"And that's okay, cause just being near a mesmerizing flower like you makes me feel like I do have some beauty."

Using his pointer finger, he traced the shape of a heart in the air. He couldn't help himself as a trail of giggles softly left him. But still, how will Malachi return the second gift of words she'd given?

"Sweetheart I must have at least a few brain cells to do this, but besides that, can I query you on something?", he telepathically asked,"If computers acted like humans and were annoying, would you hate being around them too?"

"Oh, I do apologize for hurting your feelings," Fray said, widening her eyes innocently at him. "I didn't know you would be so delicate and sensitive. If I had known that, maybe I wouldn't have said those things. I apologize deeply and hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." She smiled. "You think I'm beautiful? How sweet of you."

This was fun! She hadn't expected to find anyone interesting here. Usually, when she insulted someone, they would just back off. But this guy here…

When his voice entered her head, ringing through her mind, she flinched. Actually flinched. It was as if it had flipped a switch for her, and memories threatened to rise to the surface of her mind, memories better forgotten, best destroyed. She slammed the door of her mind shut on them, with such force that it felt like her brain would burst. Her entire face transformed, eyes narrowing, flashing the gold of the animal she turned into. Her teeth sharpened, and she had such an angry, terrifying expression on her face that a lesser man would have trembled at it.

"Stay the fuck out of my head," Fray snarled, voice low and full of warning. "Or you might not have that little head of yours much longer."

Then, in the blink of an eye, she was back to normal, a pleasant expression on her face. It was as if none of it, her outburst and loss of composure, had ever happened. It was frightening, to say the least, and something she was very good at. She had to be, with her line of work.

"To answer your question, yes. If computers were like humans, I would pitch myself off a cliff and kill myself," she said smoothly, none of her previous anger evident on her face.

Kate watched the exchange with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. The way the girl, Fray, talked heated Kate’s temper a bit, but she was used to that sort of reaction. Of course, that didn’t make it any more pleasant to deal with. However, this girl was supposed to be not just strong, but also amazing at hacking. That could come in handy, and possibly mean the difference between success and failure.

Kate did want her team to get along, but that wasn’t her first priority. They’d get used to working together even if they loathed it. At least this proved that the Amigna, Malachi, was as capable as he seemed, if he was in Fray’s head. What an odd nickname, Kate mused, waiting until their little spat was over to try and convince these idiots that this job was one to take.

As Malachi and Fray argued, Kate’s gaze flicked to Lika. He seemed intelligent, at least, if judgmental. Kate studied him. Some people might dismiss the Technologi one of the weaker classes, but Kate didn’t like to underestimate people. After all, people’s underestimation of her used to be one of her best tricks. They would never expect a little girl to do what she did. It was true that she didn’t look like she could control shadows, but that was nature.

Malachi just casually leaned back in the chair with a smile. This interaction is really fun and enjoyable to him. Is he making new friends? Who knows, he sure doesn't right now. Besides, the Amigna is getting way off topic with the mission; probably will again even in the most dangerous parts. He didn't expect someone to flinch out of their seat after talking to them telepathically. Well, it's the first time he's "seen" anyone do it. The inch of anger in her voice made him sneer again.

"Alright then.", he replied while loosening his tie. Malachi pulled out a little dagger before leaning his head back. "Okay, so I want you to get something like this and then press right here in the middle.", the blade lied gently above the skin as he kept explaining,"Right after I want you to press really hard so then some blood comes out. And after give it the best slice you could ever give; make it a clean one too." Sitting up, he put the dagger back in the little pocket in his sleeve and fixed his tie. Malachi dragged his pointer finger across his neck while staring at the young lady; he happily gave her a thumbs up. "Got it, sweetheart?"

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to do that again so quickly. Oh well, she'll be fine. In any case, the hacker did answer his question. "Aw don't say that.", he pleaded,"Then there wouldn't be a lovely computer genius like you in this team."

Lika’s eyes immediately shot open at Malachi’s remark, and slowly turned his head to look at the man. Perhaps he was wrong by initially thinking they could get along.
“I wouldn’t say being able to hack makes you a computer genius. Hacking is nothing in the grand scheme of things.” he gave the man a very bored shrug before looking back up at the ceiling, this time keeping his eyes open. Now came the question of why was he there when another had hacking abilities. Surely Kate didn’t need two people to do that, especially when Lika himself could produce better results than an entire team of qualified professionals——that’s a story for another day, but it proved to Lika that he wasn’t as ordinary as he thought he was even with his technological abilities.

Alexander's finger was tapping on the side of his seat. He wasn't paying attention to what the other people in the room were saying. He looked up and stared at Kate. He wasn't in the mood of chit-chat. He was there for something better. The Money. He would do anything for it. Of course, he'd have barely anything to do in this. All he had to do is get a glance of the future, see if everything is alright, and if not? They'll make a plan and go with it. He barely had a play in this. He knew how to combat fight but that won't be necessary.

He looked at Kate with a smirk. He raised his hand as a joke and said, "Im sorry for the late with the question but… What role do I play in this… 'game' of yours?" Alexander asked, looking at all the other's. He was just a pawn in a game of chess. Not needed, always discarded in the end.. He sat quietly, waiting for his answer.

Fray smiled sweetly, venom leaking from her tone. "I'm sorry, but I don't need to know how to use a knife to take your head from your shoulders," she said, acting as if she was talking to a very small child. "I have other methods, that are much more painful, and way less clean." Her nails slid into sharp claws, and she tapped them on her legs, smiling innocently at him, although her eyes flashed.

She was more prepared for his telepathic words in her head this time, and so when her memories threatened to rise to the surface and give her a panic attack, she shoved them down again and acted as if he had spoken out loud. "Oh, no, I don't think I understand. Please explain to me again. Your description was a bit too complicated for my delicate tastes."

"But you have the Technologi," she said, motioning to Lika. "He may not have as pretty a face as I do, but he's probably about as smart as me. Maybe." She snorted.

“Beauty is subjective, and frankly you’re far from my taste.” Lika whisper chuckled to himself, sitting up straight. He pushed his hair from out of his eyes and pushed himself up from his seat—he’d been sat down for too long and his long legs were in need of a stretch.
Lika glanced down at the short woman, eyeing her up skeptically. Upon closer inspection, he could see that she would perhaps be attractive in some eyes, but quite frankly, he wasn’t into animals or self-obsessed half-pints.

Lika turned away from Mercury and stretched his arms behind his head, wandering away from the group to stretch his legs. “Can we skip the small talk and get to work, please, Kate.”

Malachi's head swiftly turned to glance over Lika. Yesh, how dramatic can tech people be? Rolling his eyes, he brought his hands up in defense. "Okay well my utmost sincere apologies then, my friend. There's defiantly more grander things to make you a computer genius yet I wouldn't know.", he conceded.

His black eyes widened a bit in surprise to seeing the claws. Malachi tried to hide the dumbfounded look on his face. Now that was something he did not expect at all. Should he be scared or excited? It did catch him off guard; he'll gladly admit that. Honestly all he thought was that she's just a hacker or something, impressive. "Woah, now that is something.", Malachi nodded enthusiastically,"We should talk more about killing me after this; it'd be fun, I'm thinking of some restaurants already!"

He laid his elbows on top of the arms of his seat glancing away. In a matter of seconds, his attention went elsewhere. Malachi rolled his sleeve back to check the time before shooting a look at Rikov. Resting his chin on his hand, he listened to what everyone else was saying out loud and internally.

Kate glanced at the two men who had addressed her directly, smirking a bit. Good, people who didn't waste their time bickering. "It's not my 'game', Alexander," she addressed the first one with a bit of an eye roll. "I'm merely the one recruiting everyone, though I do like that you think I'm the boss here. I'm only in charge of you idiots. Anyway, I don't know your role, besides having someone who has visions of the future or present would be extremely helpful, especially with the little information we have. I'm sure you can find a way to make yourself useful in that area. Do you need anything else?"

Kate glanced at Lika next. "Cutting to the chase, nice. As soon as these two morons stop arguing, then we can get to work. If you want to try and shut them up, I can't say I'd be sorry." She laughed, the sound sharp, like metal on metal. She was getting a bit annoyed the two who were arguing. Kate raised her voice a bit, looking at them. "So, are you two done yet?"

Fray ignored the Technologi. Frankly, she didn't think she was good-looking, and so his comments didn't affect her a bit. "But where's the fun in working?" She asked, a smirk curling her lips. "Nothing. You're right. So why do it when you could be an asshole instead?" She shook her head in mock disappointment. "Some people."

She turned to the Amigna… Malachai, was his name? Something like that. "We should, I agree. It would be a very fascinating topic to discuss, especially if you let me kill you afterwards. I would love that." She lowered her eyes and looked at him through her eyelashes. "Would you really do that? For me?" She snorted.

"I prefer the term asshole, thank you very much," Fray said, her voice matching Kate's, sharp and cold, although her eyes sparkled with amusement and disdain. "And I don't know. If we aren't, will you try to kill us? Because then we might not be done. I don't know." She jerked her thumb at Malachai. "Is he done? I can't speak for him now, can I?"

Alexander shook his head and laughed. "Kate, Kate, Kate. It isn't that simple. Do you know that? Once I see into the future I won't be…Very active. Usually, I would-" He stopped and looked down. "Nevermind that. What If I see that something will go wrong…Usually, you can't change the future. Listen to me…I've tried several times." He shook his head.

Alexander sighed, shutting himself up. He leaned back with his chair and yawned. I got no time for this… He thought. "Ill just wait till those Dumb asses stop fighting." He rubbed his head.