ic Knock on the Door Job(IC)

[Fox]

"You have to save petty vengeance for bigger things," Alice agreed, folding her arms across her chest, leaning back against the wall with one foot up in an attempt to keep herself from tapping it. Being awake in a jail cell was almost okay when she could steal things and try to antagonize Lou, but the charm was rapidly wearing off. "Like getting clubbed in the back of the head. Or having to find a new place to live. Or having to find a new place to live because someone showed up and clubbed you in the head."

 

She hadn't survived this long as a professional thief in a hostile city by taking entirely rash decisions, but she was memorizing as much as she could about her antagonists for later...purposes. Just in case. "Petty vengeance is only foolish when it can be traced back to you."

[alderwitch]

Sofía pulled a face at Lou's chastisement. "I didn't dredge up dirty secrets from his past. in my experience, folks that are using false identities like to know what could make 'em better." She grumbled as she flipped the phone over and began wiping any of her virtual fingerprints from it. Despite her clear disgruntlement, she was careful and complete in ensuring that nothing was left of her misappropriation. Huffing she cleared it and then dropped the phone to the ground with a rather nasty *clunk* outside the bars. "Hope he got the full insurance for his smart phone."

 

She quirked a curious brow at the idea of vengeance before taking a seat on the cot that Lou had abandoned restlessly. 

[Gizmo]

"It's about respect," Lou repeated as though that provided an airtight rebuttal to both Xavier's pleas for caution and Sofía's rationale. It had the cadence of a phrase oft-repeated, suggesting that 'it's about respect' encompassed a considerable share of the ex-cop's day-to-day decision making process.

 

Since he clearly wasn't asking for the taller man's permission and wasn't invested enough to press the issue with the computer expert he instead took up a position leaning against the wall nearby Alice with his arms crossed. After a pause he tilted his head toward her without looking and in a lowered voice that was gruff even by the standard he'd set in their brief acquaintance, "I'll get you their names." No one had ever accused Lou of being a peaceful man but striking an unarmed young woman from behind didn't sit well even with him. It was probably about respect.

[angrydurf]

Xavier merely shrugged noncommittally about his past which like as not confirmed more than it refuted of their speculations, "It has been said the best revenge is to be not like your enemy."  he posited quietly moving on quickly to more relevant matters to their present predicament, "I don't suppose your efforts turned up what they plan to charge us with?"  he inquired softly.  Looking pointedly to the phone he frowned, "It occurs that contacting counsel might ave been more in our favor for the use of his mobile."  Sighing softly he leaned back against the wall to await whatever fate was theirs it seemed.

 

The faint sounds of the police going about the day to day abuses of power in central booking could be faintly heard through the doors though it seemed for the time being at least they were left to their own devices.

[Fox]

"I'm nothing like them," Alice defended, with a bit of fire in her eyes - though with the same breath, she'd given Lou an acknowledging nod for his offer of assistance. "They're thugs hiding behind badges; they aren't even fun. When I get revenge, it's....graceful."

 

She didn't seem to be happy with her own word choice, the dead end taking the wind out of her sails a bit. Righteous indignation gone, she opted to gesture at the phone, then Sofía. "She reads faster than I do, I guess. I don't think they've got anything on us, though. Just....Bedlam police justice."

[alderwitch]

"They've filed a writ of habeus corpus on us - some fancy, shmancy stationary too. At least someone's done it," Sofí volunteered from where she was sitting on Lou's abandoned bench. She lifted her fingers to make the quotation marks before she flopped back fully, leaving one arm across her eyes. Her multicolor curls spilled down the bench. Her voice was only slightly muffled when she continued, "Means that they're gonna cut us loose sooner rather than later cuz they gotta make up some charges or admit they got nothing."

 

Sofí's voice came out muffled as she draped her arm up over her face, "Either one of you's got a friend in high places or there's gonna be a huge bill from some shady-ass law firm when we get out. Yaaaay." She twirled one finger on her free hand before slumping back to lounge on the bench. "I still think having Crankypants McGee fake a Fed call would have been cheaper."

Edited January 8, 2017 by alderwitch

[Gizmo]

"What, for all of you?" Lou asked with surprise that bordered on wary alarm. His ex-coworkers knew perfectly well who was currently employing him without any paperwork being filed. If they wanted to push their luck and let him stew for a while that wasn't likely to ruffle any feathers so long as he was back on the street before he got a work call. This sounded like something else entirely. Between the sticky fingers and whatever computer business the other one had done he was beginning to see why somebody might be interested in putting the two women in a position where they owed a favour; stood to reason the poindexter with the fake identity was just better at playing it cool and keeping his useful talents under his hat. "Listen, none of my business but this is maybe you getting in over your heads, y'know? That doesn't sound like the kinda bill you're gonna be paying cash or credit."

[angrydurf]

"What luck we have perhaps a benefactor."  Xavier concluded crisply and regarded Lous response with a slight shrug, "Perhaps."  he agreed though seemed as unconcerned as before with what fire they may have escaped the frying pan into.  He shook his head to Sophias concerns of billing to explain, "They actually can't bill if they were not contracted."  he pointed out though Lous point still held, there were other ways to be made to pay than billing.  "Really it's grossly unfair, most of these matters are not even handled by the partners or junior associates even but some poor paralegal burdened with the filing tasks for the firm."  he expounded with pedantic zeal.

 

Moments later the door at hte end of the short hall swung open and a rather sour looking sergeant Boyle led a waifish young blond in as he, "See not a hair on his head harmed."  he sneered and opened the door to the cell grimacing as the jerk on the door sent his phone skittering across the floor.  "The hell?"  he grumbled having a worse day than usual now he sighed and fetched it back to a pocket.  Upon getting a better look at the young woman it was clear she was not the expected high powered lawyer waiting to take the police to task.  She tried, certainly but to eyes as trained as those in the cell to detect, and when the mood struck abscond with, wealth her clothes were not quite up to style and while quality had the fit of someone who took in by hand the best clothes from a charity drop box.  

 

"And you had best see to it none of his personal effects have gone missing."  she scolded in her best imitation of power.  Boyle rolled his eyes, "Don't push yer luck."  he grumbled as he jerked his head toward the exit, "Alright you lot you're free to go but don't even think of skipping town we got our eyes on you." he growled and shooed them out of the cell.  "You too lubrano, I figure I don't need whatever goomba holds yer leash breathing down my neck if you're late."  he added with a grimace and saw too it they all were ushered through to retrieve their belongings mostly intact if clearly not handled with care and unceremoniously dumped out a side gate of the precinct building.

 

To her credit the young woman held it together showing only strain that might be mistaken for impatience until they were out of the door.  She let out a breath she'd held through the last several steps and stepped in to hug Xavier, the older man awkwardly patting her back, "Sorry I missed our breakfast appointment Sharon."  he rumbled with a patient smile before extracting himself, "And after I had to reschedule on you already."  he lamented with a sigh.  Sharon stepped back looking uncomfortably at the others for a long moment, "Oh uhm, yes."  she replied and shook her head, "Nothing you could have done clearly."  she murmured wilting under the weight of the small groups combined gaze.  She thrust a hand at Alice, "I'm Sharon... Presley."  she introduced awkwardly.

[Fox]

The young thief hesitated, as if unsure what the gesture meant, before finally putting her own hand forward to accept the offered shake. Her hands were a bit rough and one got the impression that they were awfully strong for someone her build, but she seemed to handle the handshake with a certain level of delicate control. "Alice," she said, with no smile on an openly curious face.

 

"You aren't a lawyer," she added, finally letting the woman go. It was a statement, not a question. "And you're too huggy with him -" - Xavier, apparently, from her head-bob - "- and too shaky to be really deep in a gang or one of the families, unless you're new or just dragged in. Not that I'm not grateful or nothing, but what's the deal?"

[alderwitch]

"Man... good thing its just the case," Sofía looked up from where she was lamenting the scratches on her smartphone's case. She huffed a sigh and set about restoring her things to her pockets once more. "Oooooh, looks like a story." She agreed with Alice's assessment before adding, "I owe you one, Ms. Presley, I was not looking forward to explaining a twenty four hour hold to mi abuela at Sunday dinner."

 

She prodded Lou's elbow with what was probably entirely too familiar a fingertip, mostly to forestall the man from wandering off if he decided that was that. "We all do, don't we, Lou?" She suggested then.

[Gizmo]

"Sure sure, you really got us out of a jam there, Miss Presley," the bearded man agreed much more easily than expected, engulfing the small blonde's hand with both of his own to shake it. Lou was suddenly a very different person than he'd seemed in the cell, warm and almost avuncular. It wasn't too hard for the less law abiding of the group to infer the shark's teeth just below the surface, however.

 

"Sofí was sure worried but me, I said, 'hey,' I said, 'if Xavier here says it's gonna get worked out, it's gonna get worked out, right?' And was I right? 'Course I was, here you are, large as life and all." He produced a pair of cheap looking sunglasses from their returned affects and placed them on his face with a toothy smile. "And I wasn't going to say nothing on account of being polite but since they mention it anyway, you do have me curious about the whole business." In truth he wasn't one to open unmarked doors if he could help it but if he got the feeling this was a mess he was going to want to be able to explain in detail later on.

[angrydurf]

"Oh no." Sharon shook her head, "No no, I'm in classes,"  she volunteered eagerly, "but pay the bills as a paralegal for Chatham and Howe."  she murmured the last bit as while the ostentatious mob lawyers paid well the firms ties to organized crime were deep enough to embarrass or worry the rare honest citizen in Bedlam.  She blinked rapidly and blushed at the vague insinuation about her and the much older Xavier, "Oh uhm."  she stammered slightly and shrugged, "I was worried when he missed our breakfast meeting."  she explained and glanced to Xavier, "And don't think this gets you out of accepting this months payment."  she scolded good naturedly.  

 

Xavier watched the interactions with much the same keen detachment he had the reactions of his cellmates inside.  He did however offer explanation, "Her father was being framed and I was able to prove his innocence."  he offered and looked over to her, "While recovering the stolen items for my actual client Ms. Presley."  he pointed and added in an tone that told much about this being an old argument, "for which I was generously compensated by said client."

 

Sharon shook her head ruefully at Xaviers explanation, "He was the only one who didn't think my father took that statuette."  she countered, "No telling what those Gor..."  she trailed off as she realized badmouthing even teh weaker ofht eremaining crime families in front of what may well have been actual criminals may not be a good plan and shook off her fit of impotent fury.  "It's no trouble."  she explained easily to Sophia, "I was worried when Xavier was late, he's never late, so I went up to his office and his neighbors told me about the police."  she explained simply.  "So I knew there had ot be a mistake and when I got here they mentioned they were holding all of you." she demurred slightly and offered a quiet explanation, "I have legal filing rights on behalf of the firm here, it's not cost to file a writ and I guess they really had nothing to hold you all on."  she offered with a weak smile to lou's question, "They probably won't even know they were ever filed really, just go in a box in that warehouse on rook island."  she shrugged.

 

Xavier stepped forward, "I do appreciate it Ms. Presley."  he offered with a hint of a smile, "However unless I miss my guess you'll be late for work if you don't leave directly and I'd hate to be responsible for that."  he said with what might have been genuine concern though his dry affect made it somewhat difficult to pin down.  Sharon cursed quietly and checked her watch before taking a step back, "Oh he's right, sorry to run but you're all free and clear,"  she paused as she started to turn to hustle to the nearest bus stop, "Well you're all persons of interest but I'm sure they'll find the real thieves in no time."  she said almost as if she mostly believed it then turned to rapidly make her exit.

[Fox]

Alice's mood was downright cheery at 'free and clear', but became more and more dour at an almost cartoonish rate as Ms. Not-a-Lawyer got further and further toward the end of her piece. "But they're dumb," she intoned, one hand at her forehead. "They'd only know a picked lock from a broken one if they stubbed their toe on a fallen bolt. They're never going to find these people, and I'm going to have them breathing down my neck even more than normal. Forever."

 

"Someone's going to have to find the thieves for them," she said, turning a thousand-yard stare toward the others. "Or for us, I guess. Someone like...oh." Her stare gained a bit more distance, hand dragging down her face in despair. "....oh, no."

[alderwitch]

Sofía's attention had been sidetracked briefly by Lou's transformation. "My god, you do have other modes than surly." She commented with one eye slightly squinted as if she didn't entirely buy it. She probably didn't. Still, the hacker kept a faint ear towards Alice as she worked towards their reluctant solution. "Well, you're not wrong."

 

She agreed with Alice's assessment and gave a little shrug of her shoulders, "Look, think of it as a one time job, y'know, no encores. We'll get these guys off our back and figure out who riled them up in our general direction... and maybe make THOSE guys think twice about trying pull that kinda thing a second time."

[Gizmo]

"Yeah, I'm a real complicated guy," Lou drawled back at Sofía from behind his sunglasses, the effusively friendly manner vanishing the moment the paralegal was out of earshot. His brows lowered as he studied Xavier in light of the little anecdote about the statuette. In his experience private eyes concerned themselves with cheating partners and personal injury lawsuits, not putting their necks on the line by getting on one of the Families' radar over a frame-up job. After all the talk about discretion and caution it was sounding like the other man was a little more complicated than he'd let on, too.

 

With a grunt he decided that he didn't actually care enough to press the issue. "Well, you kids have fun with all that. It's been a treat but I got a car to deface, among other things." With a casual wave turned about and began walking away... only for the phone that had been returned to him upon their release to ring from inside his jacket pocket. Pulling the simple burner out and placing it to his ear he curtly greeted, "Lubrano."

[angrydurf]

Xavier raised a brow the first hint of emotion beyond the blandly paternal he'd shown that morning as Lou prepared to take his leave and as the big man's phone rang those nearby might have heard the detective let out a slow breath as he settled back against the wall, ostentiously to allow the man some privacy on his phone call.  "It's more likely than not it's merely stellar police work rather than any intention on the part of the true criminals."  He pointed out quietly with a small shrug, "Other than your skills in the area it seems there is little to bring this group together, certainly not enough to target us en mass."  he countered stoically.

 

On the other end of the line Lou heard the raspy tones of one of the Scarpia higher ups, "Loubrano."  the gangster growled into the phone, "Where the hell are you?  We got problems and you're out sleeping one off?"  he grumbled testily.  "Fugitaboutit."  he spat and rolled straight on to business now that Lou had picked up.  "Our out of towners for that job I mentioned just got pinched running some kinda side gig."  The distain in his voice made it clear why he did not approve of getting outside tallent.  "Got picked up spending lard with the methheads and truckers out interstate way."  There was a long pause, "We need talent and we need it quick,"  the sigh on the other end of hte line told volumes about how serious this job was.  "Can't be our guys, we need outsiders, freelance see?"  he rasped with a sinister tone that said volumes about the utility in disposable talent on a rough job.  "Maybe see if the cops liked anyone else for that bank gig our boys screwed the pooch over, I don't care where you find em but we need you to get em and soon."  Without waiting on Lous response he hung up.

 

Xavier stood as Lous phone went quiet, "Well then clearly you're a busy man we wouldn't want to keep you."

 

 

 

 

[Gizmo]

Lou got through the entire conversation with nothing more than a few non-committal grunts; O'Malley wasn't what one would call an active listener. He snapped the archaic looking flip phone closed and regarded it stoically for a moment before slipping it into his jacket and producing a crumpled package of cigarettes in its place. "Alright, so listen," he began in a tone that was equal parts resigned sigh and irritated grumble, "I maybe got a line on the asshats from the bank job." With a few vigorous shakes he freed a single cigarette from the package and place it in the corner of his mouth to free his hands up. "Also, unrelated, I maybe got a thing that needs doing, short notice and all, see? So maybe you three give me a hand with that, get a standard cut and as a bonus for the unusual circumstances and all I make some call, make sure nobody's got any lingering questions 'bout who robbed what bank. Nice and tidy." His lighter looked like it hand been picked up at a convenience store cash register and took the better part of his pitch to produce enough flame to do its job. "How's that sound?"

[Fox]

Alice's eyebrows went up an inch, and she took a minute to size Lou up; as far as she was concerned his offer was concerningly well-timed and way out of left field, but it was an offer, none the less. Besides, she needed the money, after having her place raided.

 

And she'd worked for worse.

 

"Better'n what we have already," she observed, her distress replaced with purpose. "Still not super happy about working on a crew I don't know, but for the right price it's doable. And a shot at keeping the police off our backs?" Her face split into a grin. "I'll make my rates real reasonable, just for you."

[alderwitch]

"Hunh," was Sofía's dubious comment about the job offer before giving a slight shrug of her shoulders. She survived, in general, with a relatively suspicious nature but short of pestering for more information that Lou seemed unlikely to give, nothing but to jump in with both feet. Fortunately, Sofía was also good at that sort of thing, "Convenient." She teased the large man before bumping Alice's shoulder companionably with her own. "I assume the 'thing that needs doing' is within our respective skill set."

 

With one last glance towards Xavier, she accepted the proffered hand. "So, what's the job?"

[angrydurf]

Looking around at the small group Xavier finally offered his own small nod of assent.  "I suppose I have little choice."  he lamented though flatly, "I'll do this."  he agreed and glanced to Lou, "But we do it clean and no guns."  he insists and nods as if it was decided then.  A good man in Bedlam rarely could work purely within the law after all but there were standards he kept clearly.  "I may know of a secure location we can meet."  he offered and distributed the address deep in the dilapidated remains of Bedlams industrial sector.

 

***

Once they all had had a chance to assure loved ones, people and goods alike, they were safe and free, they each were able to pick up or retrieve whatever of their usual kit they had been missing in the rush of being detained for 'questioning'.  When they arrived Xavier was already in place a small well worn laptop balanced atop a somewhat rickety card table. in the middle of the dusty factory floor long since stripped of any remnants of even mild value.  The job itself as laid out by Lou from his contacts was simple.  The city library was modernizing on a fat federal grant. All of the libraries surprisingly extensive documentation of the early days of Bedlam and other rare items of the special collections were being scanned and indexed on a shiny bank of new computers in down in the special collections vault.  There was evidence therein of a convoluted but legally actionable claim for the gorganzolas to make that much of the land around the newly revitalized airport was part of holding of their family or associates.  Of course Bedlam Being Bedlam this would not do for the Scarpia's, so it was necessary for such evidence to go away, or better yet put the trail back to Scarpia holdings instead.  There were of course a few wrinkles.  While the grant had modernized the libraries ageing central servers the money for broadband infrastructure had mysteriously gone walkabout.  Despite an impressive array of data storage solutions in the vaults beneath the library there was literally nothing connecting them to even the meager dial up connection the public terminals used to serve up pornagraphy to the more brazen homeless.  Also the special collections ad long held the cities wealthiest families records, and as such actually had been supplied top notch security that was still daunting if not impassible even today.  Added to this was of course the generous lease of Wolfram Aerospace security personnel to oversee security during the modernization, and perhaps give Wolfram Access to records it could put to use in its own endeavors.

[angrydurf]

Xavier briefly met each of their eyes as the skilled group of thieves each quickly planned and discarded how they would alone enter such a surprisingly secure location.  Despite their not insignificant skills no one of them would be able to get in and out alone.  A bare hint of a smile touched the stately PIs features as the puzzle began to whir in their collective minds, "And here's how we get in."  He began.

 

***

To even a good thief the free climb descent through the duct-works of the aging library would have been near impossible.  Luckily Alice was not merely a good thief, she was the best.  As she dropped silently into the former supply closest that now housed the central security systems hardwired feeds her earbud fed Xaviers voice to the team, "We're on the clock."  he announced his terminal sparking to life with the live feeds she patched through and she cut the alarm.  The systems checks would uncover the break in time but if all went to plan they would be long gone by then.  "You're clear for entry."  he informed Sophia and Lou as the door they waited at flashed the green pass code at a wave from the hackers phone.  Between guard patrols they made their way into the basement of the Library and approached the secure rare collections.  

[Fox]

With her primary job done and a moment's peace to wait for the others to head through doors, Alice started to stretch as best she could in the comparatively confined space of the closet. The security feeds gave her something to watch, at least; she could even count off the guards with the pull of each muscle in her vent-crawl-inflicted back. One-two-three, four-five, six-seven...wait.

 

She stopped, running her eyes across the cameras and trying to map it against her knowledge of the library's layout. That's too many.

 

"Heads up," she said, putting a hand to her ear to contact the rest of her team. Her team! What the hell. "We got a few more guards than advertised. I'm counting plus four...maybe a plus half-dozen, the camera coverage here is awful, they oughta be ashamed. I've known a lotta guards to sleep on the job or skip the night shift, but how many d'you know who work extra, and for somebody else's crap to boot?"

[alderwitch]

"Yay, more friends," Sophia muttered as she turned her attention to cracking the much more difficult security on the rare collections. She spared a glance upwards, halfway to make sure that Lou was still right there before she turned her body in towards the door, "Cameras might be crap but they're not kidding around with the lock on this door. Probably less than a half dozen places in the city that have this sort of security. Guess I can scratch another off my bucket list though."

 

Her smile was self-satisfied as the door gave way to her cracking skills. "We're in and bypassed the silent alarm. You're wel-come." 

[Gizmo]

While the others had taken time to change and properly equip themselves Lou was clearly wearing the same rumbled suit in which he'd spent the night in the holding cell. It looked like he'd at least taken a shower at some point and ditched the sunglasses but evidently his specific area of expertise didn't require a lot of specialized tools. Grimacing, he fussed with his earpiece for the third time since putting it in but his attention continued to swivel between monitoring the hallway and Sofia's hands as she worked on the lock.

 

"Numbers don't add," he grunted, his voice low and eyes narrow. "Extra muscle and a new lock don't just say you've got something worth taking; says you think somebody's coming to take it specifically." Addressing Sofia directly he added, "Only door to the room. In and out quick and if things go wrong duck down and let me worry about it. Too good a spot to ambush somebody trying to leg it." With that he took a last look down the hall before opening the door.

[angrydurf]

"Or multiple someones."  Xavier intoned flatly across the encrypted earpieces as he zoomed in on the exposed wrist of one guard.  "Wolfram has a strict dress code."  he explained as he confirmed his suspicions.  "And these extra guards all have tattoos in violation of that regulation."  He shook his head as he did a headcount on the guards to corroborate Alice's supposition.  "From what's exposed at the wrist, full sleeve in at least three cases."  the PI sighed as the possibilities and probabilities spun through his mind.  

 

"There is another player in motion." he finished his count and shook his head, "They're on the move, they won't follow the normal patrol route, probably targeting your area."  he warned as his mind rolled the problem like hte tumblers of a lock, "Alice, We'll need a delay on the alarm put in place."  he ordered succinctly, "Then to your fallback at the north vent shaft."    He was already on his feet the timing was already too close.  "Sophia we need to jam their coms.  Lou fade to the hallway, use Sophia as bait."