Chapter Two: The Meeting

[logan]

Patriot

He never turns from the window, his thoughts far away and in desolate lands potmarked by bombs and mortars. He can still hear the screams and the explosions. Not feeling the need to be diplomatic anymore, he speaks without looking away. "That's right, Irish. I forgot. You know it all. That's why you get to crack wise."

[shiivster]

* Jeckle says nothing as Shroud and Patriot continue to butt heads. she then pulls out a note pad with a bunch of names. the fact that they are followed by her own 'code' is something else, but she scans the names, wondering if any of them might be here in Century Station.

'code-names only. that wont help. makes you wonder if any of them might be here, oh well .. they're Heckle's contacts, not mine ... ' *closes the notepad and then its away into the inner pockets of the coat covering her. then adjusts the gloves while waiting, before settling them on the lap, the picture of utter patience

[tag]

[dakota]

" Never said I know it all, Patriot." Khris set the helmet down on the table with a thud, his teeth still grinding. " But then again I guess it's fine for you to go freelancing all you want because you're a flagwaving goodie two-shoes. I wouldn't be surprised if Alexander sent his favorite pet here to make sure I kept it together."

Annoyed at himself for letting Patriot get to him, he took a deep breath and pulled the flask from his pocket and took a mouthful of scotch to calm himself. He looked at the others, expecting someone to say something as he replaced the cap.

[tag]

[logan]

Patriot

He continues to look out the window and doesn't turn to face him. "No, he didn't. But then if you had your own doubts about keeping it together you should have bowed out of the mission. Especially since you've taken to drinking just before an op now it would seem." He looks away from the window long enough to regard Shroud. "And you can try and throw my patriotism in my face all you want and talk about it like it's a flaw. I know better." He looks back out the window. "And I think you do to."

[shiivster]

*in Jeckle's mind, the following is seen. a battered and scarred alley cat comes out to howl at the moon. on a fence, under the glare of a streetlight, is the highly beribboned pampered fuzzy cat. Each of the two have a name that coincides with Shroud and Patriot. The two are busy jockeying for position to fight and scrap over a tidbit of food or something else as the howling is redirected at each other.

Jeckle sighs as she stands up to move out of the way, and leans against a wall with crossed arms .. watching and now actually waiting for the two to actually come to blows and get it over with.

[tag]

[ooc - she's TRYING to be good and stay out of it ... and its hard .. sorry Dante. that just might be a bit much for you to handle, if it is ... many apologies. but IF they come to blows over it, it just might be the best thing. the alpha male will win - and jeckle isn't taking sides or bets ]

[albatross]

[Tiger]

After she gets off the phone with Mr.Alexander….

She nods to Patriot. “We can save discussion of our next move until after the meeting,” privately she doubts the Centurians will be able to help them, but new information could easily change her mind.

As the melodrama unfolds, she watches for a little before speaking up, “We went over some details while Patriot was working on our other assignment so I will keep the briefing short. Patriot, Shroud and Jeckle will stay outside, and the rest of us are going to be inside. If the outside team needs to abandon its backup role, which I would hope would only happen to pursue the lifesaving assignment I gave you, then all three of you go together- no one goes alone. Be sure to inform Cerebrum that you left. He can subtly let me know I’m sure. Also, if we need you inside, I want you all to go in.”

She pauses aware that her instructions are painfully simple, yet she doesn’t want to give elaborate orders that won’t apply later. “Everything else can wait until after the meeting with Tribe.” She looks around at everyone. “Lets roll,” she says calmly.

She grabs a tiny purse, containing her cell phone, a wallet with fake identification and a wad of cash, as well as the inconspicuous explosives and detonators Jeckle gave her. She waits for the rest of the team to head out.

[tag: any]

[shiivster]

* Jeckle moves to the door and then out of it, pausing long enough to pick up her phone and slipping it away into a pocket. she says nothing as she makes her way downstairs .. but has one single thought.

...o0( great. i got the toms. hope they settle it shortly, i really do )

[tag]

[logan]

Patriot

Pushing himself off of the window, ignoring anything anybody else has to say other than Tiger, he grabs his case and heads for the door. "I'll change on the roof. I'll contact you when I'm in position." With that, he's out the door and up the stairs. He changes into his uniform on the roof and then leaps off of the building sending a line out to catch a nearby building using the momentum of his fall to increase his speed to the nightclub. He sticks to the dark streets as best he can and avoids the city lights.

[shiivster]

*jeckle is waiting in the lobby doors heading out by the time the others show up. as she exits and head to the car she stops long enough to extend the one toe blade to check under the car before the blade slides out of sight.

*when the others show up she just nods and once the vehicle is open gets in with the others, still saying nothing. she then exchanges the glasses for ones with a pale blue-gray lens instead of the classic black.

*while the others enter the bar to do the meeting, Jeckle does the simple thing and vanishes once the vehicle stops, taking directions from Shroud or Patriot to HER post.

[tag]

[dakota]

Not finished with Patriot by a long shot, Khris backed off when Tiger gave instructions. He watched him bail out and then gave Tiger a scowl. " Guess thaht means I'll get Jeckle in position when we get there. Stay on your toes in there, we've got alot of unknowns inside." He was one of the last ones outmade his way to his waiting cycle.

Once they left, he followed at a safe distance, using his abilities to lock onto Cerebrum's powers to stay with them despite traffic. when they arrived, he pointed to the rooftop he had pointed out to Patriot on their first visit. " Up there, kiddo. I'll be up there and Patriot will be over there if you need us." with that, he made his way into his position.

[tag]

[shiivster]

' .. right ... ' *her only word, then as Shroud vanishes to his lookout spot, so does Jeckle. Once there, she takes out a pair of binoculars and starts scanning the area about the area.

...o0( if we're up here watching. i wonder if anyone else is watching us watchers? ) *she keeps to the darkest part of the spot and actually barely moves a muscle. this time, she's dressed for the assignment and the weather. ...o0( don't really wanna be here, could have stayed behind and gotten some work done. yeah, right ... oh well i guess things co ... ) *the direct thought dies out as she gets back to watching.

[tag]

[logan]

Patriot

Not needing to stop for lights along his route due to his mode of transportation, Patriot made it quickly to his observation spot well before the others arrived making sure that he wasn't spotted or followed along the way. If he was at least spotted and even momentarily followed, it would keep prying eyes away from the others. He used his time to observe anybody entering or exiting the club and kept a count of each adding or subtracting those numbers from the number of people who were inside the night he and Shroud were there. Once he was in position, he sent a simple text message to Tiger. "In position. Keep your earpiece in so I can hear." Crouching in the dark, he blocked out the bitter exchanges with Jeckle and Shroud and pushed away the memories of his last mission concentrating on his assignment.

[albatross]

[Tiger]

After driving the team to the club (except for those who made their own way), she shrugs off her coat and gunbelts, leaving her guns on the front seat and covering them with her armored coat. She grabs the tiny purse, and slips the small bluetooth earpiece into her ear to keep in touch with the team. She pays attention to Shroud and Jeckle's movements and turns to make the short walk to the entrance.

Wearing a simple, short, off-the-shoulder black dress with low, sturdy black boots, and a set of black leather sleeves on her forearms, which hook over her thumbs like faux gloves. Within the sleeves and the small bag are her only weapons, with no room to conceal anything with her dress. She strides confidently towards the entrance, and she doesn't shiver despite the evening chill.

She flashes the bouncer at the entrance a brilliant smile and winks playfully to avoid paying any cover charges....

[tag: any]

[shiivster]

* Jeckle stays where she's been set. content to be 'out of the way' .. and only a small part of her wishes to be behind her tools, and building things *

[tag]

[thagema]

The bouncer at the door doesn't return her smile and asks for her ID in very business-like tone. The tall American Indian man, dressed in a dark t-shirt and jeans, is an impressive figure standing at least 6'5". His dark hair hangs in a braid about midway down his back. From the information provided, this man is the one known as Tribe.

Techno music is blaring from the inside of the club. As if to reinforce the sign next to the door which reads "Mutants Are Happily Served In Beneath Hades", a few obvious mutants can seen just inside the club. The scales and odd appearance easily identifies them as mutants, even in the low light.

Those outside the club take up their positions unnoticed, as far as they can tell. The night life of Century Station is out and it is obviously engaged in numerous illegal activities. Ladies of the night walk the streets, drug deals take place in dark alleys and a few gun shots can be heard in the distance. Being this close to a Dread Zone it's obvious how bad the crime is. Fortunately, none of it is taking place in the immediate vicinity.