You hope you know what you're looking for.
You look through all the gizmos and doodads and find a core looking thing. It is a sphere of metal with a motherboard look to it.
You rip the doodad from the machinery, frayed wires and all. If anything has got to be what this Vinokian guy is looking for, this is it.
"I've got our ticket outta here, Dave, let's go!"
Dave looks up, from his bleeding. He really hopes this Nav fellow has somewhere to patch up. "Found it? Alright, uh. Looks like we're walkin, for a little while, less you wanna risk holdin on for a teleport."
You grab Dave's arm. "Damn straight, I'm up for a teleport! Now get while the getting's good!"
Dave winces. "Mind the blood then, bossman. I think I can only manage one, but I'll try to get us at least further away from this."
The teleport fails completely. You both teleport into a wall and are forced back to whence you came. You are both shaken. Dave is now at exhaustion level of fatigue. Luckily. Dave /can/ walk on his own, but for how long? Who knows.
"F&$#... I'm sorry bossman... he says between breaths, black blood dripping from his mouth. "I'm not gonna be able to teleport us... outa here..."
No dice for Dave, he's still shaking and breathing rather heavy.
You shake your head as space bends around you. Something isn't right. You feel like there's a lead weight in your stomach. Dave still looks pretty shaken up. Lifting him over your shoulder, you try to book it before you end up drawing unwanted attention.
"I gotcha, kid. I gotcha. Don'tcha worry."
You head the way back where you came, trying to find for any alleyways to duck into or hidden passageways to your base.
"Second time walkin like this in like two weeks... The v'sori can go f!@* themselves." He grits his teeth as he's helped along by Alan.
You smirk. "Heh, ya can say that again. I got the feelin' we'll be hittin' em hard with whatever's in this core, though. Things are gonna look up for us, I know it. Just gotta get ya patched up and good as new, right?"
All things considered, you do feel pretty optimistic over a job well done.
Dave manages a more forced smile, if only because everything skill hurts like hell. "Hey, least the only thing I've lost this time around is blood. Better this then going full Ray Charles on you." He tries to keep up as good as he can, but he can tell that it's still slow going. Least the bleeding stopped leaving a trail.
"Heheh, wouldn't mind that as long as ya could play half as good as him. Course, it'd take some gettin' used to, what with how long it takes to learn piano and how not to trip over everythin'." You smirk again.
"Naw man, I'll just be the Ray of the disk-jockey world. I'll go along to all the hot underground clubs, teleport outa the shadows all cool, crack some jokes about how dark it is, then bam. Before ya know it everyone's loosin their mind over my sweet tunes, I'm gettin infamy perks, money everywhere, and all this 'fore the v'sori burst in long after I left shoutin' for MC Shadows to show what's left of his face." Seems he's starting to feel better, at least.
"When ya put it like that, I'm almost lookin' forward to it. Hell, I'd want in on that action. That is, if I didn't need my eyes and if I could stand those sorta clubs ya like so much."
You readjust your grip on Dave. It's a good thing he's not exactly a bulky guy, but you're stumbling as it is trying to carry him. You contemplate telling him to lay off the fast food, but it may be better yet to just slip whoever Nav's surgeon is a few bucks and take some handfuls of fat out with the bullets.
Dave feel insulted somehow, and though he can't put a finger on just why, he considers punching the man helping him move. Instead Dave just feels a lovely buzzing in his ears as he considers how nice it'd be to get some rest right about now.
"It'd be rad as hell, I tell ya... Ugh, I hope we get back to basecamp soon."
"I'm workin' on it, just takin' longer than I'd like. I ain't built for heavy liftin'." You stumble about making your way towards the home base.
"I'd puncha ya for that if it wouldn't send us both tumblin'." He tries to suck it up though, keeping pace as best he can as they get a move on.
With how much you end up smirking, you sometimes wonder if your face is going to freeze like that one day.
"Ya don't have the guts, Dave. Or the depth perception. Ya know how tough it is to take me down. I ain't no squidy death machine, here."
Eventually you hear the sound of a car, and then two men in suits and sunglasses find you relatively easily.
"Alan McGregor and David S. Wavaski?
You look up at the two well dressed gentlemen. However, you're not entirely inclined to trust them, especially with the covert information you've got stashed in you.
"Who wants to know?" You deliver the line with a scowl. These could be Nav's, but you didn't hear anything over the comm. Almost sounds fishy.
Dave raises a brow at the car, and glances at Alan. 'Navolik's guys?'
'Dunno. Could be. In your condition, I dunno if we can hold out too long. Plus, the squiddies wouldn't know it was us that pulled the robojob.'
You adjust your bearings and your tie. "Yeah, that's us. Ya two are our ride, I'm assumin'. Well, don't just stand there, we got a hurt man over here." You make your way to the car, Dave in tow.
The two men give you an odd look but let you into the car. Both get into the back with you, the car is something like a limo. When the doors close and everyone is inside, the guards produce two black bags. They toss them to Alan.
"Put one one over your friend's head and the other over your own. We don't move until it's done."
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You know this is a bum deal. You know this is sketchy. But you also low the Doc said this guy was secretive. You affix your bag and get into the limo. Hopefully, your faith pays off.
Dave grumbles something under his breath, but accepts having the mask put on. With that done he climbs in after. "Car's gonna need dry cleaned after this, good luck with that." He notes, as black blood is smeared into the cushions.
Once the masks are on, make a vigor roll.
The first few seconds of having the masks on is.... seemingly normal. You hear hushed whispers from the two guards, the sound of somethign extending....
Both of you make Vigor rolls at -2, having just been hit by a stun wands and the effects of the mask.
You both feel your muscles tense up and at the same time, woozy feeling. Everything blacks out.
The next thing you know, you are waking up.
Alan is in a room that looks to have been made specifically for him.
Dave is in the medilab, after having his wounds treated. The doctor with you states that you should not get up, and rest for a bit.
Dave feels inclined to agree, and simply lays his head back down to go back to sleep. He doesn't have enough blood to deal with this shit yet. He numbly requests to be woken up when September ends, as he blacks out again.
You know a setup when you see one. You're not fond of getting drugs and stunned up. The room reminds you of your penthouse from back in New York. It's fairly nicely furnished, or at least for what you'd expect from a semi kidnapping force. You knock at the door, hoping that someone realizes you're finally awake.
Alan will find no answer when he goes to knock. The door is unlocked, so when he goes near it, it slides open like some fancy future door.
"Not a bad trick. I would've him with mahogany and a brass knob, but..."
You're relatively certain a squidy isn't going to fix you up in a swanky room with an unlocked door. If anyone has you, it's the Vinokian. You decide to wander the halls looking around the rooms. "Anyone home? Dave?"
Some time later, Dave pulls himself awake again, hopefully feeling more rested then before. Being more awake by now, he looks over himself, noting the places where he was previously shot. "There goes my last good suit, that'll be a pain to dry clean."
You Wander through the facility. For all the pomp and circumstance of getting you there, it's not exactly as well staffed as you'd think it to be. It's quite likely that most of the operational personnel are on some sort of job. Or the Vinokian is pulling some sort of power play in making you wait. Though that could be more of an outside chance, you remember it was effective when you pulled it before meetings with opposing mobheads. Something to think about.
Eventually, you wander into a white room with antiseptic smell, various sizes of drawers, and one David who looks significantly less worse for wear than when you were stumbling through those alleyways. You smile at the tough little bastard.
"Still in one piece, huh? Told ya I had a good feelin' about the creepy drug-laced hood slingers."
Dave stretches himself a little, trying to get an idea on just how well much he's recovered. He gives a short wave when he hears Alan, and starts to get out of bed. "Couldn't just go leavin' ya hangin', so I had to stick around a bit longer. And I'm pretty sure it was the stun-batons that did us in, rather then the chloroform. I'd say it was overkill if that wasn't what helped do our cell in last time." He grimaces.
You let that one go. "Just glad to see yer doin' okay, kid. Don't go pullin' that sorta thing too often. Looks like whatever that thing was, it's tough as hell."
Dave sighs, leaning back on his hands. "Let's just hope we don't run into those things again." He looks around the room, squinting his eye some. "Seen my shades? Really bright in here.
You almost forget Dave's got eyes under those shades.
"Sorry, Dave. Must've got smashed in the bust-up. I'll see what I can do to hook ya up with a new pair. Not that there's near as much a selection these days."
He grimaces. "That's gonna be rough for a few days. Maybe we'll luck out and the next mission will take place at night." He looks around, noting that he hasn't seen the medical personal since he woke up earlier. "Kinda quiet around here isn't it."
The door to the medbay opens and in walks a figure you have never seen before. Standing at 6'5", the figure walks in. If you guessed that the strange figure in the doorway looked like a roman centurion, well... You are right. Once it walks into better light you can see a rather advanced looking suit of armor, even has a touchpad screen on its wrist. The armor covers his entire body, head to toe. The armor is angular and looks flexible enough to fight with a near full range of movement. It is gunmetal gray, and has the classic centurion shoulder pauldrons and of course, the helmet. The helmet has what looks to be an armored gasmask with a Centurion helmet on top of it, complete with a crest of metallic hair. The first thing, other than the armor, that you notice, are the weapons. It carries what looks to be a high powered pistol in a holster on its waist, a round shield at least as big as its torso, and a spear. Other than the weapons, the helmet has no holes for eyes, all you can see are orange optic lights.
The figure walks as far into the room as about 3 feet, then it motions to both of you with its spear that you are to follow. After waiting two or so seconds for what it motioned to sink in, it turns and leaves the room, walking down the hall away from the direction Alan would know as the direction to the sleeping quarters.
"...Well that's something." Dave mumbles, as he stares at where the suited guy just was. He hops off the medical bed cringing slightly, wearing his normal street clothes, a white tee with some jeans. "After you bossman."
Someone likes to make an entrance. With how done up this guy is, you can only think he's either in charge or he's second in command to someone peacocking even harder. There's no way that's the case, though, you would have heard the squawking ages ago. However, the Christmas tree getup doesn't quite mask the fact that your comrade had earlier taken a hail of gunfire and would find it plenty tough enough to walk under the best motivation. You offer a hand to Dave. Might as well go together on this crazy train.
"Come on, kid, think that Tin Man here wants us to follow the Yellow Brick Road down this here rabbit hole. Mixaphorically speakin'."
You lead Dave to wherever the armored guy was heading.
Dave waves off the hand-holding, saying he can walk just fine for the moment, though running'll be an issue for a little while. He follows closely behind, taking time to observe his surroundings, get an internal map going of the place.
You will both find yourselves in a command post type area. In it are some lackeys who cant even fight, they are just there to run the base. Though there are two guards in the room. The figure has put his spear and shield down against a table. once you get to the table the figure speaks, and it is then you recognize the voice of The Vinokian. "I was not very impressed by your show of abilities against the drone, perhaps one drone was expecting a bit much from you two."
The Vinokian is looking Dave in the eye with his optics as he says that, as if what he said was directed at him. "Fortunately for you two, this mission should not involve much fighting whatsoever. If you can keep yourself hidden, that is. I want you to infiltrate the manufacturing plant for these drones. From there, you are to find the meeting room and listen in on the manufacturing reports being given. ONE word of warning to you two gang banging idiots. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT deviate from the plan. I don't care if the manufacturing and programming specs for the drones are right in front you begging to be taken, is that understood?"
Dave raises the brow over his missing eye, shifting his feet while having his arms crossed. He sends a message to Alan through his link. 'Well f#&# him too. I don't like this guy.