✧ unexpected complication

[quicksilverwings]

[This was supposed to be an easy con. Well, easy-ish.

Taking down the entire IPC is a bit of a far-off pipe dream for Wing and his team (he's still marveling that he's ended up with a team, some days), but particular nasty individuals within or working with them is fair game. Just, you know, make sure picking them off is few and far between.

This was supposed to be a relatively routine takedown of a shithead of a mark. But there's been a wrench thrown into the works--one that the mark refuses to refer to by a name, and it leaves Wing seeing red. A slave.

This fucker has a slave.

Wing maintains his perfectly polite facade, the one meant to lure the target in, so that Wing can lure him into acting against his own best interests, too blinded by what he has to offer. Wing's all smiles, but for anyone really paying attention, he's seething.

Once the mark has left the room--he'll be out for a while, if a couple of Wing's teammates have anything to say about it--Wing makes his way over to get a better look at that slave.]

Comments

[quicksilverwings]

Everything just went to hell in a handbasket for your now former owner, buuuuut that probably won't matter since he'll likely end up dead in a matter of days.

[As he carefully works at getting those cuffs off.]

I'm almost done with these. What's your name?

[takesitall]

[Does he trust this guy?

More than the asshole.]

Kakavasha. Yes, I'm Avgin.

[quicksilverwings]

Kakavasha... That's a nice name.

[And off come the cuffs, which Wing discards. He'll fiddle with the clothes he brought for a moment so Kakavasha can have that moment.

He'll offer the clothes shortly after.]

[takesitall]

[...alright. He takes them and starts to strip. He had the shyness beat out of him.]

And you are?

[quicksilverwings]

[Wing at least turns his back while Kakavasha strips.]

My teammates and clients call me Wing. You probably guessed as much given all of... this the past few days, but I'm a con artist. [A pause.] Well, one part con artist, one part vigilante, of sorts.

[takesitall]

And what did you con my owner out of? A slave?

[quicksilverwings]

[All too cheerfully:] Oh, we ruined him financially. And trashed his reputation. Let the public see the evidence of all his wrongdoing. He'll probably end up dead within the week, but I specifically requested to not be given detail there, for the sake of plausible deniability.

[His expression and tone turn a little softer.] Most of the money's going to the people he hurt, or their families. The ones we can find, anyway. [There's a pause.] The reason I got so pissed off when we first met... well. I was furious that he was keeping a slave, furious that I'd been blindsided with that... but I was already trying to rearrange the plan to make sure you wouldn't be hurt in the aftermath or end up in a situation that was just as bad or worse.

[takesitall]

...why? You don't even know me.

[quicksilverwings]

[A shrug.]

Nor do I know most of the people I set out to help. Does it really matter? [He turns his head to glance at Kakavasha.]

... After all of this, it would've felt--would've been wrong to simply abandon you to whatever fate would have awaited you otherwise.

[takesitall]

[Kakavasha doesn't look at Wing as he changes.]

Probably death. The IPC tends to just dispose of slaves, once they can't deny that their people have them.

[quicksilverwings]

[Looking away again while Kakavasha finishes changing! The mention of the IPC simply earns a growl.]

Jackasses.

[He'd love to dismantle them someday, but his team doesn't have the resources for that. Or really, enough manpower, if he's being honest. It's why they have to settle for singling out the worst individuals once in a blue moon.

Once Kakavasha's done changing, Wing fully turns back around, looking him over. The shirt's collar is too low to hide the mark on Kakavasha's neck, huh... Well, he's wearing a jacket with a high, stiff collar. After a moment or two, he shrugs off that jacket, then drapes it over Kakavasha's shoulders.]

There.

[takesitall]

[This is the nicest thing he's ever felt, he's pretty sure. Holy shit.]

There's a few things the bastard took from me that I know he still has. Can we get them?

[quicksilverwings]

Of course. If you know where they are, lead the way?

[As he scoops up the bear again.]

[takesitall]

It's in his office. I think had as a bio-lock---okay, I have to ask. The bear?

[quicksilverwings]

Damn, a bio-lock? Getting in there's going to be a pain in the ass-- Bears have been a thing with my hacker teammate since I met him. Something went down in one of his prior jobs and they kind of became a thing with him. I haven't asked.

[A beat.]

Unless you mean this specific bear, in which case: it's got a cloaking device strapped to its back.

[takesitall]

[Kakavasha leads Wing to the office. Sure enough, bio-lock.]

And why does it have a cloaking device?

[quicksilverwings]

It'll keep you from being tracked until we can get that shit disabled.

[Wing leans forward a bit to examine the bio-lock...

Oh. Pfft.]

Please, he called this a lock? And to think I was worried... [He shakes his head and holds the bear out to Kakavasha.] Here, could you hold this for me for a moment?

[takesitall]

Huh?

[He takes the bear and looks at the lock. It looks intimidating to him, with the lasers and the flashing buttons.]

What do you mean?

[quicksilverwings]

Here, watch carefully, but don't get too close.

[As he cheerfully sets about to work...]

The thing about these particular bio-locks is that for all they look fancy and intimidating...

[He chuckles as he shorts out the lock.]

... this model is really just an expensive piece of junk. Laughably easy to circumvent just by shorting them out.

[And with that, he opens the door.]

[takesitall]

...seriously? It's that easy?!

[The door opens and it's easy to find Kakavasha's things. They're kept in a box labeled "Taunt Thirty-Five". Not that he can read that.]

Idiot.

[quicksilverwings]

That easy, yes.

[He narrows his eyes as he gets a look at what the box is labeled and he hisses a little.]

"Taunt Thirty-Five"? That piece of shit--

[... It's tempting to wreck that box now that Kakavasha has retrieved his belongings, to turn this entire office upside down, but there's no point. Deep breath.]

Anything else before we leave?

[takesitall]

[He digs out a ratty old shirt, a bracelet, and what might be a shawl.]

No. Not unless you want to destroy everything.

[quicksilverwings]

Tempting, but I'd rather not potentially get caught, since that'd put you in danger.

[Inhale. Exhale. Okay, he's good now. He carefully tucks the bear away, ensuring the cloaking device won't be visible.]

Let's get out of here.

[takesitall]

Lead on, oh savior. You know where to go.

[quicksilverwings]

[Discomfort flickers across Wing's expression at "savior".]

... Please don't call me that.

[But he does lead on. It's a couple of blocks to get to where he parked his car, but it's not much longer before they're driving away.]

We'll be headed to my place for now--it'll be a good place to lay low, since we're going to be needing to do that for a while...