✧ 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]

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...

[takesitall]

[No one acknowledged them on the way out. They didn't even see Kakavasha and the brand on his neck didn't go off. What the hell.

He gets into Wing's car, instinctively making himself smaller.]

If you're sure. The IPC might track me down, though.

[quicksilverwings]

I'll talk to Denzel and he'll get things sorted. It isn't the first time we've had to help people evade the IPC and it won't be the last.

[Actually, he's pretty sure Denzel has everything already ready to go.]

[takesitall]

Denzel being...? The bear guy?

[quicksilverwings]

Yeah. He's the hacker on my team. He is very good at what he does.

[takesitall]

Well, if he can make a teddy bear have a cloaking device, he can't be bad. Is it just you two?

[quicksilverwings]

We've got a couple of other teammates--one's muscle and the other's a dedicated thief.

[takesitall]

And you're...what, the pretty face to get into people's places?

[quicksilverwings]

[Cheerfully:] Got it in one! Getting into people's places, talking them into doing some really stupid things with their money... Any face to face interaction with our marks is usually left to me.

[takesitall]

So what did you do with the bastard? How'd that go?

[quicksilverwings]

Well, he was greedy and thought he was smart, so honestly, he was kind of the perfect sucker for what we do. We talked a bit, I got him to believe I was there to offer a partnership with another company he'd been angling for for a long time... he didn't even realize what I was saying was too good to be true. Eventually I put a few papers in front of him and asked for his signature...

[He smirks a little.]

You'd think, for being an IPC guy, he'd have thought to read the fine print.

[takesitall]

For being a Cornerstone, you'd think he'd learn to read the fine print. But unless he was writing the contracts, he didn't care.

[quicksilverwings]

Well, now it's bitten him in the ass! I'd say maybe he'll learn from it, but I don't think he'll have the time for the lesson to sink in.

[takesitall]

What's going to happen to him?

[quicksilverwings]

I don't know exactly--I'd prefer not to know specifics, even. But... well, I know a couple guys who are more than fine with making sure he ends up dead. Given... everything, it'll probably be slow and painful.

[takesitall]

Think they'll let me help?

[quicksilverwings]

... I could ask, at least. You deserve to have that much.

[takesitall]

Please. The bastard loved to mock how cheap I was, how much I kept bringing in because of the fighting rings.

[quicksilverwings]

[Wing growls a little, but nods.]

I'll have a word with Akabane later, in that case.

[takesitall]

Thanks.

[He holds the small pile of things closer, looking out the window.]

[quicksilverwings]

[Eventually, the two of them get to Wing's place.

It's a bit on the smaller side, and while it shows signs of having been lived in for a while, there's still plenty of half-or-more-packed boxes, as if Wing expects to have to pack up and run on short notice.]

Well, here we are. I'll go make sure the guest room's set up for you, make yourself at home.