poly_chromatic | one fallen star

Entry tags:

darker than black - mao

one fallen star

[action]

MREAAAOW!

[Splash! That, my friends, is the sound of one unhappy cat landing in the fountain.

Mao claws his way out, looking drenched and miserable. He shakes himself off and looks around, the fur on his back sticking out like porcupine needles. It's clear that this is no ordinary cat, even before you see his purple eyes.]

Hei?

[His voice is soft. There are too many people around for him to risk speaking louder, but if the other Contractor is around, Mao is certain he will hear.

Nothing.]

Damn it.

[some time later]

[voice]

[Wherever he is, he's cut off from the Syndicate's network. Not a good sign. Even worse, he can't find a way into whatever network exists here, except through this extremely cat-unfriendly device. He's going to have to do reconnaissance the inefficient way…once he figures out how. Keyboards weren't designed for cat paws in mind. Sigh.

But eventually he figures out how to turn on the audio function.]

Where is this place?

[Not very smooth. He's spent so long pretending to be a cat, he's no longer sure how to pretend to be human. But it's a start.]

[ooc: Action for anyone near the fountain! Keep in mind that he will pretend to be an ordinary cat, except over the network where people can't see him.]

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[ Information is a commodity in their world. And reconnaissance is Mao's specialty. Hei offers only the basics as a semblance of professional courtesy. ]

Those in control of the City call themselves 'Deities'. You can trade with them for anything -- tangible, intangible. They may be able to solve your problem.

[ At a price. But Contractors are already familiar with that concept. ]

[Mao appreciates. But...a trade with beings who consider themselves gods. An extremely risky proposition. Mao has always made it a point to deal with people in power as little as possible. He learned very early on in the Syndicate that the more you attracted the attention of people in power, the more danger you placed yourself in.

He would rather find another way. Fortunately, he still has some time.]

Have you dealt with them before?

I haven't. [ For the same reasons that govern Mao's caution. Paranoia can be useful in the correct doses. Especially with an enemy you know nothing about. ] The City has its share of hackers and techs, also. [ In case Mao prefers an alternative. Most of them are so fucking helpful. It's ridiculous. ]

Hnn.

[Mao makes note of that. He has the technological know-how to fix the problem himself, but he lacks the hands. It'd be better to have hands with a brain attached. Using them has its disadvantages as well, of course. Exposing vulnerabilities to strangers.

It'll require time to plan. In the meantime, he still hasn't broken through the styrofoam to the clams. Trust Hei to make things more difficult than they had to be.]

[ Sigh. Haven't the goody-goody Citizens fed you, Mao? Hei sets his book aside and opens the styrofoam container, picking out a handful of steamed clams. Usually you'd have to pry food from his cold dead hand. But it's a special occasion of sorts. ]

You arrived at the Fountain, right? [ Getting access to a server is, primarily, Mao's problem. Hei will lend a hand if necessary. But the rule, Every Man For Himself, holds true for all Contractors. There's a more pressing issue of cover in the meantime. ] Did anyone talk to you? [ More importantly, Did anyone have reason to suspect you're more than a cat? ]

[Canned tuna and a bite of a hamburger don't count. Just because he has the body of a cat doesn't mean he wants to eat like somebody's pet.

He spends a moment eating delicately before he answers.]

A few people. The lonely cat lady who runs the Welcome Center. Two teenagers. [His tone indicates that these people are not a problem. All they saw was a sad, wet cat.

But...]

There was a man with silver eyes and a pet rat. He seemed to think I was a fairy cat.

[His tone is both scornful and irritated. It had been a brief encounter, but the silver eyed stranger was potentially trouble.]

Lonely cat lady? [ Oh. ] Penny. She's harmless. [ The stranger with silver eyes, though... That rings bells. ] Theodred Sammeth. He's a necromancer. Magic is normal in his world. [ For his own interest, Hei keeps close tabs on Citizens with supernatural abilities. Each one is filed away into the part of his mind that does these things on trained instinct. He pulls his Network device from his jacket, casually angling it so Mao can see the usernames. ] Do you want a run-down of which individuals to be cautious around? [ Expect a neat list. ]

No, I want to walk into potentially dangerous situations unprepared. [What a stupid question.

He licks his paws to disguise the fact he's watching the screen.]

The City works on no logic and often teaches no lessons useful for another time. You'll be facing danger regardless of preparation. [ Their professional realm comes with a certain degree of predictability. But the City's full of reckless amateurs. A Contractor's nightmare in some ways. A walk in the park in others. ]

Be careful around this particular pair. They're Satans back in their world. With some spying [ and lost temper on Hei's part ] they were able to break through my cover. But that's the extent of it. [ They still don't know he's a Contractor, or the full range of his abilities. ]This one has a tendency to spy as well. He's a vampire. He seems neutral, but he's best avoided. Be on high alert with that woman. She's dangerous. And not human. I've clashed with her often. She has abilities similar to that Contractor from MI6. That boy is a Norse God. Loki. He -- most of his companions -- have special abilities. They're friendly, but keep your guard up. [ A moment's hesitation. ] This one is a fallen angel. Affiliated with the Satans. She has a gist of what I am, and wants to start a revolution in the City. [ And to recruit Hei as a participant. ] As for her -- she's seen through most of my cover also. But she's more bored than dangerous from what I've determined. [ He's charging her for lessons in hand-to-hand combat. Yes. Really. ]

[ He exhales through his nose. Now comes the tricky part. ] There's one person who has connected my mask with my face. She's just a child. But a risky element. [ One he's not sure how to deal with. It's not a professional dilemma but a personal one. ]

[Mao notices the hesitation, slight as it may be. It's unexpected. He teases Hei for being emotional, but sentimentality has never been one of his faults. He's killed children before who have posed a threat.

Besides, judging from the size of her chest, "child" isn't a very accurate description.]

Do you need help disposing of her?

[He's curious to find out why you haven't done so yet.]

[ Child is the most accurate label. To Hei. He may have only a handful of years on Korra. But their priorities and mindsets are eerily disparate. His gaze shoots up -- briefly, calmly, before he looks away. It's odd for Mao to offer help. But Hei knows the decision is based on nothing more than cool logic. You're only better than your enemy if you kill him first. That's the code they live by. Hei's foolish vacillation with Korra is just that -- foolish. And a grand testament to how ass-backwards his life has become. ]

That's part of the problem. People don't die in the City.

Eh?

That's right.

Within 24 hours, you're revived. The term is City Dead. Many of the City's curses result in death. This is often a side-effect. [ But not always. There are certain exemptions. Arbitrary or not, Hei has yet to determine. ]

Interesting. [Mao's tail swishes as he considers this. A world without death. He can't imagine it ending well for the world as a whole, but it makes his life considerably easier.

And it's a piss-poor excuse. There's more than one way to skin a cat, after all.

Not that he wants you to.]

But there are other options.

There are. [ This is neither an easy talk nor a logical one. Hei sighs. His life has devolved into nothing more than a series of difficult options. It's what he gets for being so damn discreet. ] So far, I've used her friends as bargaining chips. For her silence. If they leave the City, I'll resort to a full memory-wipe. [ One that erases practically everything she knows about the City. It's a lethal but effective solution. Damaging for Korra's mind but perfect for Hei's problem. ]

[ That's all he should be concerned with. ]

[ He's not. ]

[Mao doesn't understand why Hei won't do the memory wipe now. Relying on her to both remain fond of her friends and to have perfect control over her tongue is an absurd risk.

If you're sure.

[Obviously this is another one of Hei's emotional decisions. The foolish choices that make him so interesting to be around. Mao doesn't push the issue; the security of Hei's cover has very little impact on his own. Best to let Hei be Hei. If he watched carefully enough, he might even figure out what about this arbitrary gir could be causing this.

But first, he has more pressing concerns. Namely, dealing with the server issue. It will require some thought and reconnaissance. He yawns and stretches in preparation.]

Is there anything else I should know?

[You may not have seen him in months, Hei, but he just saw you a few hours ago. Y'ain't that close.]

[ Why not now? It's a question Hei is asking himself. Leverage can turn against you. Ultimatums are useless unless you hold all the aces. To play the situation as it is, is an umbilic torus. Round and round with no end in sight. He suspects, secretly (so secret he won't admit it, even to himself), that this owes largely to those faultlines that begin and end with Pai. ]

[ He puts that aside. ]

Just one. [ A tidbit. ] To avoid curses, the best option is to disappear Underground. [ Hei's set up two safe-houses there. The location of one, he'll share with Mao. The second, he'll keep to himself, as he always does. His primary lookout is his own well-being. ]

[Of course. Mao himself will establish his own safe-houses.

He nods to Hei; they'll meet up again later.

And then he's off.]

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one fallen star

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