Scorpions and Magic [Dimitri and Alexiathefox]

[Alexiathefox]

He turned back to Darcez. "Agreed." The other grunted in response. They stood up to go, since they had no further business here. Varrick looked at the man when he glared up at him. He wasn't exactly short but Varrick had a good four inches on him. The liaison went off first followed by the military man. Varrick glanced at Darcez then headed for a different exit.

He was intercepted by a larger built male that grabbed his arm painfully. With all his senses alert as they were, it hurt worse than it should have. He had to fight to keep his expression calm so he didn't upset the people there. Walking out the door, he went up to a black SUV where they lashed electric blue cord around his wrists and pulled him in with more force than necessary. The man that had pulled him along even gave him a little kick to help him on his way. Varrick turned to him angrily. The cord flashed brightly. Pain spread over his body making him tense up and breath harder. He stared at the ceiling trying to ride it out. The man that ad kicked him smirked and got in the passenger side after closing his door. The cords stopped after a moment leaving him gasping for breath. He slumped over feeling exhausted. Driving off, a man took them back to NeoSOL where he was led back up to the lab again for more memorization for the mission. Instead of letting him go home, they kept him there.

The next day at nine, the military officer arrived and leaned against a fence post to wait. Varrick was a few minutes afterwards pale and still giving off too much magic. He looked so exhausted with blood shot eyes, pale skin and blood still visible from his nosebleed. The two looked at each other. Smirking, the shorter man mocked him. "Looks like ya've had a rough night. Boyfrien' not give ya enough lovin'." He laughed. Varrick rolled his eyes but didn't speak or give in to the baiting.

[Dimitri]

As if to completely contrast Varrick, Darcez looked to be vibrating with life, high energy emanating from his body as he made his way over to the industrial park. He was far from happy though, his usual scowl in its place as he moved to make his way over to the two other men, not giving them a greeting but simply standing by. He eyed Varrick warily upon noticing how much magic was rubbing off of him, but made no comments, silently waiting until the fourth man showed up. Once they were gathered, the brunet heaved a sigh, deciding it was time to work something out. He wasn't a planner by any means, he was just there to do the physical work, but to be honest he still had no idea on what he was supposed to do on this mission. This was the very meeting the information was supposed to be revealed, so he kept his mouth shut, glaring expectantly at the officer and expert in turn.

[Alexiathefox]

The liaison came over finally and put his hands in his pockets. "I'm just here to supervise. You three have to take care of this yourselves." Varrick looked between the two. "We should have call signs for the intercom system we are going to use." He reached into his pocket and pulled out three nodes. "With this we can communicate." Magic came from his mouth in clouds like it was too cold outside.

The officer looked less than impressed. "There is no way somet'in' like that is a com system." Varrick took on ignoring the man and put it behind his ear lobe. Taking another he handed it to Darcez and the other without looking at him. He took out a clear, non reflective node out of his pocket and placed it on his palm. He pushed his ring finger on it. "Now, you can hear me." He whispered inaudible except through the nodes that made it like he was whispering in their ears. "No matter where we are for up to three miles." He gave them the clear nodes. "My call sign has always been Gemini." The man scoffed and shook his head no believing this.

"Guess, mah name should be..." The man said as he put the node where Varrick did. It molded with the flesh so it was virtually invisible.

"Iniquitous?" Varrick said softly and smirked when the man gave him a confused look. It was hard to wipe it back off his face, but he managed after a moment. "It should be something easily remembered and not too long."

"Eh, jus' call me Fierce." The man looked up at them not caring at all. He definitely looked like he wanted to punch Varrick in the face. "When we doin' this job?" His eyes narrowed at the both of them.

Ignoring the venomous looks he was getting, he continued with what he was doing. "While this com system is secure, we have to be sure to use it only when necessary and never yell when using it. Everyone will get a migraine very quickly, though the system will adjust the volume based on the sound it is receiving. Since I'll be handling the intelligence side of things, there is no need to show you everything else. Just rest assure I'll get us in and out."

Fierce rubbed his head. "I hear this place is a labyrinth. Where's our map?" He asked them with an annoyed gesture. Gemini tapped his head, which confused the man more. "I need one fer mahself."

"The only reason we would separate is if we get caught. I don't plan on getting caught. You don't need a map unless you planned on leaving the group for your own agenda." The man blanched when Varrick turned his eyes to him and said that. "We can't have separate agendas. If we do, none of us will live. You have been in the marines long enough to know this." Fierce looked shocked but quickly hid it. "I have the compound memorized thoroughly. No need to worry your oversized jarhead." This didn't comfort the man at all. "So, with that out of the way. You each just need to concentrate on your own missions. Jarhead you need to supply him with the weapons he needs, as I won't be using any." Fierce looked angry at the new nickname he got.

"Why's that? Can't handle seein' a man die knowin' ya pulled tha triggah?" Fierce smirked as he watched Varrick close his eyes to that image.

"I've..." He started but stopped himself swallowing hard. With his magic activated, it pulled up the exact images he did NOT want. His pupils shrank liked he was watching a bright screened TV. His body tensed as he remembered. Taking a deep breath, he forced it to stop playing, though it hurt to do so. "That is not relevant to the current mission. Do you have the weapons?" The man laughed at him and nodded handing them over to Darcez.

"We will all take care of our own supplies. Tomorrow, there is transportation organized to take us to the compound. You will not be told where it is before hand in case someone has found out and you are compromised." Varrick looked between the two hoping his nose didn't start bleeding again from the effort to do all of this.

[Dimitri]

Really, their banter was both annoying and amusing, Darcez wasn't sure which he felt more as he observed the two speak silently, occasionally exchanging a look with the supervisor. He did get more agitated when Varrick declared they'd receive no map. Relying on someone for his safety, especially on a stranger, didn't sit well with him, and he couldn't help giving the male a cold glare. He'd definitely drop into a solo act if just one of them messed this up, no matter what anyone said. And he did consider following up Varrick's 'Gemini' with a nickname of Scorpio for himself, but he bit it back. Didn't want to be too obvious.

Accepting the weapons, Darcy glanced them over in his arms, already turning away from the rest of the group. "Where do we meet tomorrow?" he asked over his shoulder, having only caught a part of what Varrick was saying. He'd get to relax for one extra day, how lucky of him. He did eye the two men up as he gained a distance though. Honestly Varrick looked like he'd be shot at the first hurdle, and Fierce looked like the type who'd barge in uselessly and get himself killed, too. Were these guys really capable of carrying out this mission? Who chose them again? Ah, whatever. Darcez was sure he himself would survive, and he didn't really care whether the other two would.

[Alexiathefox]

"We meet up at the private sector of McKlair airport. A helicopter waits for us there tomorrow morning at seven. It will take a full day to get to the location." His head partially turned towards Darcez. He knew he had made no friends here, but that's not what he was here for. Even if that's one thing he seemed to be good at outside of work, when he wasn't in such pain.

With all of that taken care of, he turned around and walked off. All of them going their separate ways. He got into his car and drove away. How was it he got stuck with something like this? Shaking his head, he drove across town to his apartment with Lexa. Varrick parked and went inside. Lexa was up still, having waited for him to come back. She took him to the bathroom to clean him up concerned by this mission he was on. Varrick let her clean his face up before he went to bed.

He got up at six the next morning. His sister was up to try and care for him, but he refused. He made sure he had everything he needed before leaving. Varrick arrived at the private helipad at ten to seven. He checked over the helicopter to ensure that everything was as it should be. One thing that surprised him was the bomb that was positioned so carefully to blow up when it was started. He told the pilot not to do anything yet.

Fierce arrived a bit later not happy even still, but more neutral. He watched Varrick go over the helicopter with an expert precision. Shrugging, he leaned against the fence as he waited.

Varrick got out his tools and started to disarm the bomb. The world seemed to fall away as the schematics played through his mind on how exactly he would have to do this. The pilot did a more thorough check of the rest of it to see if there was anything else there. After the bomb was disarmed, he disengaged it from the helicopter. He stepped away with the world once more coming into focus. Someone stepped over to take it from him with a soft order to get inside now. There were a few other people with a small insignia of NeoTERRA on their clothes. Fierce was really uncomfortable with them, but there wasn't anything he could do now.

An agent went up to Varrick and rolled up his sleeve. He clenched his teeth and looked away from the man as he cleaned his arm then unceremoniously put the syringe of neon blue liquid in his arm. Taking a sharp breath, he held it to keep from making any other noise. The blue flowed through his veins bringing his whole body alive. Fierce watched as blue spread over his body. He made an off the wall comment about him joining the blue man group and laughed at his joke. Varrick let it go since he knew that the man didn't know just how painful the stuff was. After the searing pain stopped, he started breathing a bit more normally.

The pilot started up the helicopter and motioned for them to get in. NeoTERRA began outfitting Varrick with various things before they let him get on. While it would seem like they were giving him an advantage, they were only doing it so they could control him. He sat on one of the seats inside and grabbed one of the loops as he waited for the others to get in. Fierce jumped up with his things and sat down scowling at Varrick and his tech.

[Dimitri]

Darcez arrived at what he liked to call 'fashionably late'. Apparently it wasn't a big deal since the whole thing was delayed anyway due to them having found some bomb. Darcez tried not to snooze off as he waited for everything to be taken care of, mornings really weren't his thing. By now he was used to his own schedule, and he always made sure it didn't involve any work in the morning unless it was absolutely necessary. He scowled when someone poked his arm and told him to get inside the helicopter, and he stepped in after a few others, sitting down in the first free seat he saw. Instantly he let his head roll back and his eyes closed. The machine roaring into life was extremely loud, disrupting his attempts at another nap, and he began swearing under his nose, grumpily observing as they rose into the air.

Luckily when the thing was at a level speed some five minutes later, its noise wasn't as bad, a whooshing-buzzing sound that Darcez could ignore if he tried. Shutting his eyes again, he let himself relax into a sleep, sincerely hoping his precious nap time wouldn't be disrupted any longer. They apparently had the whole day to travel, right? And the brunet needed his energy, so he supposed he might as well do something useful and recharge.

[Alexiathefox]

They took off as soon as everything was loaded up. Fierce did virtually the same thing as Darcez folding his arms to sleep the whole trip. Varrick, unfortunately, couldn't. He stared out the window recording all the useless information. The trip took way too long, but finally at about twenty after ten at night they were told they were going to touch off. Varrick put his things on and readied himself for the jump. Fierce laughed at him as he grabbed his things calling him a rookie that was going to break his leg on landing. The insults didn't stop there, but Varrick wasn't responding at all. He put his com nodes on and waited. The pilot slow long enough for them to get out but would leave as soon as they had jumped.

Jumping out, Varrick tucked and rolled on landing. He stayed in his crouch looking around him, since he would have to lead the way. Recognizing the jungle like landscape, he started at a loping run that Fierce matched almost instantly, since it was a military gait designed for long distance travel. The man took whatever chance he could to mock everything Varrick did, even if he wasn't doing anything wrong. It seemed the man didn't know what keep the lines silent meant. As they approached the compound, he slowed and dropped down scanning for the place he had picked out to get inside. Fierce had finally gone silent when he saw the location they were trying to get into. He had sobered up rapidly and waited for his team, since the difficulty hadn't been exaggerated. Varrick was extremely grateful for the man's silence. It would make concentrating so much easier.

The compound had been an old prison that prisoners of war had been taken to. Most, if any, had died here tortured to death. It was supposed to have been shut down, but like so many lies told, it wasn't. The hundred foot concrete walls were build to withstand tank shells if possible. It was an old place, but it was fully secured with patrols on top and on the ground. Really made him wonder what was so worth protecting.

Putting his hand into his pocket, he pulled out three boxes. He turned around glaring at Fierce before starting to prep Darcez. "This is just to make you less visible." He whispered inaudibly normally but more so with the com system. He took out little dots and places them on various points of the man's body and on his clothes. After him, he put them on himself and then Fierce. To each other they had become more or less a chameleon to their surrounding. With that on, he started sneaking forward at a crouch freezing in the bush when a light would pass by. All they had to do was get to the backside. An old escape route was supposed to be there, or so he hoped. Varrick calculated the patrol routes and ran from the cover to the wall. Fierce followed suit and pressed his body against the wall. Varrick stayed utterly still as two patrol officers walked by looking around since they had heard them, but couldn't see them. After a few minutes, they passed on. He started moving again. This wasn't something he had ever done, but his brain had been programmed to think he had.

Reaching the back of the compound, he dropped into a crouch then flushed against the wall when a few men ran by alerted by something. He held his breath until they had passed. Relaxing, he exhaled softly. Though not able to be heard by others, it was to the other two. Fierce was trying not to laugh at him. It wasn't like Varrick had any training to handle this other than the logical things. He started moving things around carefully until he found the hatch. His hand motioned for them to go in. Fierce sneered and went down the ladder hoping it held up his weight. Varrick went after Darcez if he could then made it less apparent they had gone in.

It took a good five minutes to climb all the way down into the tunnels below. Fierce swore when he saw how many ways to get lost there were. "Now, you see why a map would have been useless." Varrick whispered and headed down a corridor confident in his choice.

"You sure-" Fierce started but followed after since he had no choice but to trust the man.