Heloise stayed silent. She had already put a slight wedge in any friendship with Selena, so she decided that she just wouldn't draw attention to herself, something she was extremely good at. Although, that had never worked with Hector. She stayed close to Hector, using him like a security blanket as they followed this Duncan into the city. She was out of her comfort zone, better at the silent, listening and sneak skills then actually talking with people.

Given that they dispersed, it was easy to stay with Hector, and Heloise assumed Selena. She stood, waiting for them, Heloise despised large crowds, although it was easy to get lost in them. She would do her job, and that was it, and hopefully be back home soon, although...She gave a soft sigh. It was nice being with a friend.

She glanced to Hector, and surprised herself by smiling, just slightly. Hector could be foolish, but he was a good friend. "Come on, we should move on out" She said after a moment, shifting her bag over onto another shoulder

"I ain't no sober prissy boy, drunk lips are loose lips. And besides, the way you're talking, you're eager for The Genderbender part two." Jericho snickers and ducks the slap Gracelyn sends his way and then dances back a bit to avoid a swift knee to the groin. "We can drink, but you get drunk, I'll knock your ass out and carry you to the rendezvous point. Now then..." Looking around, he tries to get a feel for the area. It would be a bad idea, but he ultimately decides on a random street and starts down it, leading the way. After about a ten minute walk, they came across a food joint and went in. "Right then, I'm getting a burger and drinking smart. You feel free to drink however you want, but if you're about to get us shot I'll club you."

Hector blinked a few times when no one even addressed them. Ok then. One thing he did notice was a woman following them...reason he noticed was she looked familiar. He didn't do anything maybe it was a woman he met while here a few years ago...he knew alot of people. But as she came closer and Duncan used the code words she turned and he finally saw her. Rachel. Great. Perfect. She was always his kill joy. Moreso than Heloise. Don't get him wrong he loved the both of them. He wondered how he was going to deal with an anti social and a rule nazi at the same time.

Another thing he didn't get a chance to say hello, and she was totally ignoring him. Oh great she was probably pissed at him...or just keeping to her style of Business first....and business second. Actually probably both of those together.

Duncan told them to meet up at a certain place and he made a mental note of it, and as the parties dispersed he was left with Selena and Heloise. At which Selena looked over to Heloise and noticed she was sticking to Hector like glue. At this point she saw her smile and look at Hector "come on, we should move on out." That she agreed with...but she was smiling. Narrowing her eyes as she grew suspicious of the girl she decided to say, "Well what should we do..."

Hector thought for a moment before grabbing the bag off Heliose and Selena's and said, "Well there is a bar that has some great food...and music, very classy place. But first...I got to get some chocolate..."

Heloise noticed Selena watching her, and her suspicious look. Heloise just smiled sweetly. The girl probably thought Heloise herself actually liked Hector, liked liked him. Should she reassure Selena? Heloise didn't know. It might just make it worse. Or she could have a bit of fun, but that might hurt Selena, as well as Hector.

She blinked as Hector took her bag, then smiled. "Food sounds good. Chocolate sounds better" She said, "As long as there isn't another sauce incident, I'm happy" She said with amusement.

She looked over at Selena, to see if the girl was still giving her a suspicious glance. She tried a reassuring look, but Heloise was never too sure how her looks looked. She was sure it looked more condescending then reassuring. Perhaps she should try a condescending look. Maybe it would be reassuring. "It's hard enough to maintain friendships, selena. You have nothing to worry about"

She nudged Hector, "Come on! I don't know where this "classy Place" is! Show us!"

“Between here and the Imperial hights? There are a couple that follow that route.” Rachel replied with a nod.” Well Duncan and Eika, nice to meet both of you. Though Duncan, you I remember seeing when I’ve been on visits to your branch.” Rachel finally said, revealing to him that she is in fact from Garden.

“Right this way then. The patrols on this road are significantly lower than the others. So we should be moving somewhat faster.” The woman said as she led the way.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they approached the mansion, Rachel thought what exactly were the preparations done for the mission. Using her work as undercover agent for weeks, she had prepared a reserve hideout in case the operation goes terribly wrong. When the guard asked their papers, at first Rachel tensed for a moment, ready to pull out the small hidden in her dress gun, but then Duncan revealed that he knew the guard… hell from what she guessed his father probably owned the place. Relaxing her hand from the hidden pistol, she once again assumed her role.

“That shouldn’t be much of a problem…” Rachel said, as they were finally away from the roads and the relaxed and friendly smile quickly disappeared from her face, replaced by her usual serious expression. In general her guard was up at all times. Part of the reason why many people disliked the idea of having her on a mission despite her excellent medical and crowd control skills, they disliked having her to nag them about rules and regulations.

Having gotten away from everyone else, especially Rachel, Xerox and Rue started to wander the streets. S/He was anxious, quite anxious. Still he had yet to turn back into a guy. Heaving a heavy sigh, they looked for a place to eat. A couple of guys came to hit on Xerox in his female form, and all he did was shrug them off. It was quite annoying for him, right now especially. When they got aggressive, they would suddenly succumb to a falling metal object, having been 'dropped' by something above, on top of their head.

Right after his meal, he felt a change in his body. FINALLY he thought, jumping to the restaurant's restroom. Having returned to his original body, he changed into his usual clothes, minus the lab-coat for now. He left his female clothes inside his ESS. Such a handy dimension to have. Much easier than trying to make a quantum storage device from scratch. his re-appreciated the ability of his GF granted to him.

After some more wandering around, Xerox and Rue entered a Junk Shop inside a shopping arcade. Most people, usually, sell scrap parts, exchange parts or upgrade weapons at these stores. Xerox was different, buying scrap parts instead. He has found many interesting parts before in these Junk Shops. Having looked around and made his purchases, Xerox and Rue left to head to the meeting place.

Like all stately homes in Galbadia, the Lerwick estate was a tribute to its owners past glories. As the three of them passed through the foyer they were flanked on both sides by a dozen suits of armour, ranging from chainmail hauberks and full plate to the steel and crimson uniform that Duncan's father had worn in Timber. On one wall hung a series of broken shields, each bearing the family crest of an ancient nobleman who fell to a Lerwick's blade and on the other was mounted the severed heads of a shocking range of monsters. Duncan privately believed the dragon trophies to be fake, but had never fount sufficient motivation to inspect them closely. The conference room was little better; a large oval table dominated the room, its marble top etched and lined with gold inlay and again the walls were coated in miscellaneous junk. On the far side of the table stood a rather short man, with rakishly good looks despite the grey that streaked his hair. 'Duncan, Duncan... It has been too long son. Why, if it wasn't for this nasty business, I expected the next time I saw you would be at the wedding.' He walked swiftly around the table to gather Duncan up in a bearhug, laughing happily. What he said was true enough, Duncan admitted. If he had it his way, he would have never returned... 'Good evening Father. I trust that you are well... and Mother, of course.' Anyone who had known Duncan's laxness at Balamb would be shocked to see the change in his bearing. His voice had taken on a decidedly upper class air and he stood as straight as a soldier on parade. 'But please, treat me as a professional asset, at least for now. There will be time for pleasantries later, I am sure.' Not bloody likely, Duncan added mentally. He continued speaking, hoping to deflect his father's attention away from himself. 'I would like to introduce two of my team; Eika Munashii, a former student of mine at Balamb Garden, and Rachel Zoran, a comrade from another Garden. Both are fully trained SeeDs, as are the rest of my team.' His father bowed elegantly to each of them, before offering them a glass of wine from the table. 'Honoured to make your acquaintances, my ladies. I am Field Marshal Constantine Ruthane Lerwick, commander of the 3rd Army Corps and vice-leader of the most enigmatic Faction. It is my pleasure to welcome you into my home.' His gaze drifted slowly from one girl to the other, stopping to stare deep into their eyes... and beneath the pompous geniality, it was easy to see the cold hardness in that gaze. Constantine had made his name on a dozen battlefields over the years, having worked his way up from a lowly Lieutenant to being the commander of one of Galbadia's most decorated military formations, a feat achievable only through supremely skilled leadership and a certain degree of ruthlessness. Duncan stayed silent as his father chatted with the girls, trading small talk over their training and equipment as the hours wore on.

---

Finally at 2300 hours, once the entire team had assembled and were seated around the marble table, Duncan cleared his throat. 'Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow SeeDs and patriots of Galbadia.' Once again he spoke in a clipped upper class accent akin to his father's and addressed everyone at the table, including a pair of purple-clad soldiers, senior members of the Faction according to Constantine. 'Tonight, SeeD will carry out the final act required of us in our contract with the Faction. In short, President Vinzer Deling of Galbadia is to be publicly assassinated in such a manner that does not cast blame on either of our institutions.' He paused for a moment, casting a wary gaze across the faces of his team. He doubted any of them would be surprised by the announcement, as they were all smart enough to understand how deep they were in by now. The two purple soldiers were unfazed, sitting to attention beside the Field Marshal. The opaque steel visors on their helmets hid their features perfectly, but Duncan didn't need to see their faces to know who they were. The Presidential Security Agency was an army unto itself and a major political force in its own right; how the Faction had managed to tame Galbadia's dreaded intelligence agency was a mystery to him and he wasn't sure if their presence boded good or ill for the success of the plan. While his father had assured him that it was Deling's own extreme polices that had driven the PSA into the arms of the Faction, he couldn't help but wonder if the Mauve Shirts had an ulterior motive.

'To that end, I would like to propose two potential plans, each to be weighed up on their merits and a decision made by my team of SeeDs.' That was likely to ruffle a few feathers, he suspected. The Faction had thus far been quite specific in the way their orders were to be carried out; indeed, the Timber raid was almost a carbon copy of the attack plans they had outlined to him. Of course that hadn't stopped Duncan from making a few changes to suit his own needs, but they needn't know every little detail... However the expected interjection from his father never came, which made his job easier at least. 'The first plan involves engineering mass civil unrest as a distraction, allowing a small team to assault the President during the planned parade tomorrow evening. This plan has a good chance of success as the President's close protection team will be isolated from the main body of troops at the parade, allowing that team to achieve their aim without undue bloodshed.' He didn't add that there would be plenty of bloodshed going on anyway, as the Galbadian soldiers guarding the parade took on the rioting mobs. 'Mass unrest is traditionally rare in Galbadia, but a combination of badly written propaganda in the wake of the Sacking of Dollet and a growing number of outspoken liberals being arrested over the last few months have disillusioned the people. A few doses of psychogenic gas in grenade form would create paranoia and mass hysteria in the crowd, a tinderbox ready to be sparked off by a few SeeDs in the right place.' The plan essentially called for a mass riot in the middle of the city, a situation that would spiral rapidly out of control for the government. The effects of the gas would fade after a few hours, long enough for the Faction to seize power in a fairly believable manner and for SeeD to escape the city. The major drawback was the inevitable loss of life in both the Galbadian Army and the civilian population, although Duncan personally felt that it was the lesser of two evils.

'The second plan... the second plan is to destroy the Presidential float during the parade. Conventional explosives would be unreliable, both due to the military-grade construction of the vehicle and the presence of strong paramagic generators shielding the President's seat.' He silently praised the Faction for their highly detailed intelligence reports, most likely compiled by the PSA. Hell, they had probably built the damn float in the first place. 'The only option is to coat the vehicle with thermite gel and firebomb it. The float, along with all of its passengers will be melted in minutes, allowing little chance of survival. It is not a pleasant way to die, but it is... thorough. This plan also gives us the best chance of avoiding additional casualties and would allow for easy exfiltration; operatives can simply blend into the crowds as they flee the scene.' Duncan took a deep breath after he finished the brief, wondering just what he had done to earn this assignment in the first place... After Timber, he had expected to be demoted or turfed out of SeeD altogether. Ironic really, how he had gotten the exact opposite and now found himself outlining plans for the most ambitious - and risky- operation that SeeD had ever undertook. He forced himself to meet the eyes of his team as they mulled over the decision they had to make, fighting down a sudden desperate need for nicotine. His voice returned to normal Duncan as he addressed the SeeDs. 'So... you lot, opinions. Do we lynch Deling in front of a mob, or do we burn him alive?'

Selena noticed Heliose blink and then smiled. "Food sounds good. Chocolate sounds better" She said, "As long as there isn't another sauce incident, I'm happy" She said with amusement. Knowing Hector it might happen, Selena thought to herself. At which Hector chuckled and Walked lazily with Heliose bag flung over his shoulder. "Can't make any promises."

She looked over at Selena, then gave a smile which was confusing in it's self, mixed between condescending and reassuring . "It's hard enough to maintain friendships, selena. You have nothing to worry about" Riiight. She though to herself knowing that the girl infront of her knew exactly what she was thinking...She would need to be more careful.

Heliose nudged Hector, "Come on! I don't know where this "classy Place" is! Show us!" At which he nodded. He stopped by newspaper...well propaganda stand and quickly browsed the candy section. "Ah..." He said with a smile grabbing a handful of chocolate bars, paying the man and sticking them in his bag, but leaving one in his inner jacket chest pocket. He glanced at Selena who was giving him an odd look. "Just in case of an emergency" He said with a smile, he then gave one to Heliose but none to Selena, she hated the taste of chocolate.

---------------

Sitting around the marble table now Hector massaged his Jaw, which was sporting a nice bruise on the left side of his cheek. His clothes which were normally pristine, pressed and well kept could show signs of a scuffle and an attempt of straightening. He still sported his usual carefree smile, but Selena on the other hand held a scowl on her face as she sat up proper with her arms crossed, legs crossed and face looking away form Hector. All signs she was very displease with him.

As Duncan began to speak...rather differently, Hector hung one arm over the back of his chair and lounged in his chair as Duncan revealed the two plans.

When asked what they thought, he spoke up. "I say We do the riot. It's more risky with assaulting the Float But it would be better for the faction to take over the government and have support after that then people seeing the president and those close to him go so gruesomely in the fire." He sat up and lazily crossed his right leg over his left, and continued. "I know we are all SeeD's and all but I would be more comfortable with the older generation be the Assault team. You know I've been through hairier shit than this."

He knew he wouldn't score points with the recently new SeeD's but he was also thinking of their safety, also with the foul up in timber that he was briefed over on the train. He also wanted to make sure the job got done right.

Heloise spotted some bruised knuckles. Anyone, she thought, would probably think that she had punched Hector, but this wasn't the case. It seemed that Hector could no more go to a classy place then anywhere without getting into trouble. She had had to step in and stop things before they got too far.

She hadn't punched anyone in a good long time. It wasn't her favorite way of fighting. You could always hurt yourself when hitting someone else. She sighed softly, and shifted.

Heloise became thoughtful when asked for their opinions. She sighed heavily, and after Hectors speech for the more rash plan, she said softly "I agree with Hector. A less messy assault will result in a concentrated look for any of us, whereas a riot will just result in, most likely, a result of the riot itself and nothing more. It will also be harder for the more conservative attack to actually be able to pull it off."

She gave a shrug after she finished speaking, and looked down. She hated drawing attention to herself, but sometimes it was needed. Still, it always made her feel awkward and out of place. And most of all, like she was being judged.

Jericho and Gracelyn had enjoyed their time in the little food joint and, despite his best efforts, probably had more to drink than they should have. He himself didn't even get buzzed, but after last night, he wasn't certain how well she could hold her booze while still recovering. However, he stayed focused on the briefing until one of the new arrivals essentially said that the other seeds had no place in the assault. "Sorry to bust your bubble, Foxy Bingo, but you're additional support. Did you see the razing of Dollet first hand, almost become a part of it? Did you watch your fellow SeeDs ripped apart by one man who's entire life had been programmed into him? Did you coordinate with the rest of this team to shut down the same man so that he could be brought in and questioned to get us to this point? Did you coordinate with the rest of this team, a couple of them aside, to escape the bombardment that wiped a city off the map? No? Then don't judge the abilities of the newer SeeDs on how recently they graduated." Jericho had never been one to pull any punches when the abilities of himself or those who proved themselves capable in the field and most of the men and women here had done just that.

"Unfair assessments aside, the riot is our best chance. Even using thermite gel, there's a chance Deling could escape and go into hiding while we would risk being exposed with no success. And if the assault fails, then we're all dead anyways. Though perhaps some...preemptive sabotage to stop Deling's float before the rioting begins."

In the light of no further objection, Mei turned to Syrus and tugged his arm playfully. "Hey Syrus, wanna come explore the city with me?" It would only be a few hours until they had to rendezvous back at Mansion 47, but Mei was determined to make those hours count. Out of the group of SeeD that she had travelled with so far, Syrus was the one she was closest to. And right now, that was important to her. "You're not going to make me wander off all alone are you?" She added with a teasing gleam in her innocent blue eyes.

She waited no longer than a second for Syrus to nod his approval, before dragging him off into the blinking lights of Deling City, a renewed vigour in her step.

---

"Phew, I forgot how huuuge this city was. Especially compared to Timber or Balamb..." The two teens had just stepped off the bus circulating the route to Imperial Heights, where they would meet up with the others for the debriefing. The first port of call had been the shopping centre that populated the centre of the city, and although they hadn't purchased much, Mei still expressed how nice it was just to look at such things anyway. "The things worth getting in life can't be bought with money," she had told him with a cryptic grin, threading her fingers behind her back before bounding off to the next destination.

The only other activities that their schedule had really allowed was a leisurely walk in the park, and some sightseeing of some Deling landmarks, such as the Gateway Arc that had been built long before Galbaldia and Dollet were independent. It only seemed like minutes before they had to return to the others, and the disappointment was evidently painted on her face.

"Hey, Syrus?" They had come to a stop outside the Mansion doors, having informed the guards they were 'Union Inspectors' as Duncan had instructed. "Umm...thanks for tonight. After everything that happened back in Timber...with my brother, and how hurt you were..." Mei's words cracked slightly under the emotional strain she was clearly under, but her face put on a brave front before her companion. "I guess...I've been really unhappy for a while. But just for a few hours, I felt light again. Even though the fighting is far from over...I'll cherish the time we spent together." A simple, sweet smile adorned her lips at that moment, and no more needed to be said as she stepped into the building where Duncan and the others were beginning their meeting.

As the SeeDs discussed their plans, the rest of the meeting broke up into a handful of hushed discussions. Field Marshall Lerwick leaned in close to one of his soldiers, whispering what sounded like detailed orders while the two PSA agents tapped away at PDAs. Duncan assumed that the Faction was adapting their own post-Deling plans to suit the team's decision, but his trust of the rebel's sincerity didn't go far enough for him to leave them unobserved. The bug he had planted on his father earlier relayed the details of the orders and to his relief, they pertained mainly to ensuring that the soldiers on duty at the parade were issued with non-lethal weapons. Constantine may have been a ruthless bastard, but at least he cared about his own people enough to try minimizing casualties among the soon-to-be rioters. Duncan only wished he had had the time to set up cameras to keep an eye on what the spooks were doing, but it was water under the bridge at this point. Even if the PSA made their own rogue move at the eleventh hour, they wouldn't be able to derail the assassination with a whole team of SeeDs on hand. Still, he made a mental note to assign one or two of the more experienced team members to keep an eye on them. 'While I appreciate where you're coming from Hector, Jericho is right. These men and women have more than proven themselves since Dollet and their teamwork is coming along nicely. Besides, I may have a special task for you.' Not that I'd blurt out all the details in present company.

He sipped from the wine set before him, listening intently as the others made their points. So far the majority seemed to support the riot and despite the dangers of setting a mob loose on the city, he was inclined to agree. The firebombing plan was by far more reliable, but it could cause a violent backlash among Deling's supporters. At least with the riot, the Faction would be able to pretend that it was the people who removed the President from power and not an outside force. 'Sabotaging the float will be difficult since it's kept locked away securely on the presidential palace grounds, but if a small team could infiltrate the site without setting off any alarms, it would be a great help.' Xerox was the obvious choice on that note, if only because he could deactivate the palace security and sabotage the float without it being too obvious. Duncan turned to him with a raised eyebrow. 'What do you think, Xerox? Can you whip up a way to shut down those generators without the guards realising? Maybe something with a time-delay on it?' Someone raised a hand nervously and to his surprise, Duncan found himself nodding to Kein to speak. 'Uh, I think I could help. These paramagic drives use a biological core, like a... a genetically engineered computer. If you guys can get me in and past the security cams, I could poison them, stop 'em working properly.' Kein swallowed nervously, his eyes flicking between Jericho's and Xerox's.

„It will take more time if we go only for the float.” Rachel said after listening to the two proposed plans.” More time it takes, bigger the chance something to wrong. The unrest is a lot better option with bigger chances of success. Additionally even if the assassination fail for some reason, we could then use the deaths of civilians that will certainly occur to undermine the standing of the ruling government or in this case Deling.” Rachel stated with a nod.” Besides we can use magic on the masses to deal with the army guards... a few mass berserks will certainly cause huge losses on the escorting army force.” She said in completely calm voice.

“We could use the sewers...” Rachel said at the mention of sabotaging the float.” Aside infiltrating the palace, it should be possible to sabotage the float from below. It's movement speed is rather slow, and what's more it will make some pretty slow turns. Using the sewers it should be possible to come directly from below the float while it's taking a turn on one of the crossroads. We will have to be fast, but that doesn't have the risk from the infiltrating of the palace.”

It was time, Xerox and Rue waited for the last moment to arrive at the meeting place. Xerox was doing everything in his power to avoid Rachel. He hoped that he could casually talk to her after the meeting, making it seem like a coincidence and hopefully avoid any sort of lecturing.

---

At the marble table, the meeting was held. Rue, however, had to sit in another room, seems like they wouldn't let "animals" into that room. It seemed that everyone that was with them that had changed genders had changed back. Duncan spoke like he was upper class, almost snobby. It was quite different from his usual demeanor. Probably cause of his father Xerox thought, deciding against making fun of Duncan's way of speaking.

Two plans, have a riot and kill Deling in the chaos, or burning Deling and the float. Everyone had been putting in their thoughts, with everyone agreeing with the riot. "The riot would be most appropriate, less likely to lead back to anyone. Meaning it won't trace back to SeeD." Xerox put his opinion in. A small quarrel occurred, questioning the usefulness of the newer SeeDs. Both Jericho and Duncan defended the abilities of the newer SeeDs which would include Xerox.

Duncan proceeded to the next stage to discuss, sabotaging the float. A question was directed to Xerox, "Hm... infiltrating and then a time-delayed shut down ..." Xerox closed his eyes putting his hand over the bottom half of his face. The construction of paramagic drives, it was something that Xerox knew quite a bit about, but the problem was, they were quite various. Country vs country, mass-produced vs specially made. Kein spoke, talking about poisoning the device. "You mean they are biocomputers." Xerox corrected him. "If it was a mass-produced version, that would be fine, but it's most likely a special make. It's quite possible it would cure the poison or sound an alarm if it is programmed well-enough."

Well, it was only recently that any news of the drives could do anything like that. Other ways of shutting it down ... destroying it ... Destroying it would be too obvious. Sabotage ... reprogram? Possible but the time it takes to decode it ... Disconnect it from the rest of the circuit, a bypass. That would probably be best. Paramagic devices require a similar circuitry. It should be possible to create a bypass so it won't trigger any possible alarms if there are any. Xerox was deeply thinking about the approach, when Rachel mentioned the sewers.

“We could use the sewers...” Rachel said at the mention of sabotaging the float.” Aside infiltrating the palace, it should be possible to sabotage the float from below. It's movement speed is rather slow, and what's more it will make some pretty slow turns. Using the sewers it should be possible to come directly from below the float while it's taking a turn on one of the crossroads. We will have to be fast, but that doesn't have the risk from the infiltrating of the palace.”

"No. Given the nature of the paramagic drives generating a shield, there is a chance they will shield the generators themselves. In fact it is likely. Infiltration shouldn't be too hard. If I can get access to the security grid, we can bypass the security cameras. Patrols ... I hope we can get through it fine. Taking down any guards to the float should be no problem. The only problem might be the sabotage. If we were to just destroy it, they would find out. Any delayed destruction might be shielded. There's not enough information to know how advanced the paramagic drives used are. Although delayed destruction would be easiest, I might need to go with a delayed bypass system." Xerox explained the unknowns that were involved.

"Duncan, is it possible to get the blueprints of the float? If we had them, that could simplify the whole operation." Xerox looked over to Duncan. It was possible that Xerox was overthinking the whole situation, but it was better to be careful.

Heloise didn't know why she bothered speaking up. No one seemed to have even noticed that she had spoken, and no one seemed to care that she was even there. A curse, no one seemed to even be aware that she was apart of this, expect Hector and Selena. She gave a sigh, and said softly to Hector "Let me know what the plan is. I'm going to go keep a watch" rising, she moved smoothly out the room, but she looked back and said to Jericho, "Just because someone hasn't had the same experiences as you, doesn't mean you must need be resentful of them. playing the high and mighty role when you are ignorant yourself just makes you seem like a jerk."

She would do what she was told, and that was all that mattered to her. She could tell herself that until the world ended, but it didn't mean that it was true. Heloise might be socially awkward, and might push away more people then she drew close, but that didn't mean that she didn't crave to be accepted. Acknowledged. Appreciated.

She leaned against the outside wall of the building, arms crossed, looking about her and once more she seemed to easily blend, as she let her thoughts swirl about in her mind. Was there something wrong with her? She knew that everything could stem from her father, the way he treated her, but Heloise didn't find any resentment of him within herself. There were times when her father could be the greatest, sweetest person in the world.

No, she hated her mother not that she knew who she was. Heloise sighed heavily, and crossed her arms over her chest, and placed once foot against the wall, the other in front of her. Heloise was still quite new to this, but she thought she had been making some progress, but obviously when her words weren't heard that assumption was wrong.

Heloise frowned, and after a moments hesitation, she headed back in, in time to hear the discussion about sabotaging the float. She looked about at them all, as they discussed to her what she thought of as complicated plans for something simple. A dagger threw through the air to land embedded in a wall.

Heloise walked across to retrieve it, ensuring, she hoped, the attention on her, even for a few moments so that she could speak.

"I can do it. All I need is a new dagger and a disguise. People don't notice me that easily and I know how to blend" She might not be able to get close to the target, but she could cause the float to malfunction easily enough. She rocked back on her heels, slightly nervous "I can do it just as the riot starts. That way, they won't have time to fix the float, won't be aware of anything happening"

Heloise skill with daggers was exceptional, and she was more then confident in her abilities then in anything else. She was sure that their target would be heavily guarded, and that her dagger would get close to him, but the wheels, maybe...

She looked down at her feet, frowning again. Chances were, they wouldn't accept what she wanted to do. still, it was worth a chance, and maybe it would be a stop to a long, lengthy boring discussion.

"Sometimes, simple is best"

Jericho snorted when the girl spoke to him before going out. There was a difference between high and mighty and defending those that others were putting down just because they hadn't seen them in action. But whatever, she wanted to be that way, nothing he could do. "I'm going to vote we go with a combination of Xerox's and Kein's plan. Xerox sets up a delayed release on the poison and any alarms. Odds are they don't expect an attack on the capitol with all the increased security. But, blueprints would make this easier."

He noticed the girl from before come in and plant a dagger in the wall to try and get people's attention. He looked her way and listened to her idea and had to shake his head. Sometimes things were too simple. "That's just a little too simple and too risky. If you get identified, this whole thing goes down the drain. Besides which, blending into the masses and sneaking around sparsely populated palace grounds are two different things."

Hector rested his chin on his hand and his elbow on the arm of his chair as he listened to the one named Jericho go on a rant about all he's been through. His face showed no expression...well perhaps boredom. He looked down before the guy was finished and started petting Shadow as he jumped up into his lap. He said nothing while Duncan also defended the group and their abilities.

He sighed, he wasn't questioning their usefulness or their abilities, but their experience. He had more field experience than most of the SeeD's in the room put together. He was surprised with their last failure with Dollet they were up in arms, the capture of one cybernetic officer did not make up for a raising of an entire city in his book. Though he would say nothing because he didn't want to challenge Duncan in front of the others. That would be bad questioning the squads leaders ability to lead in front of everyone. He would do that in private IF he had to.

When mentioned he was probably having a Special assignment he sighed. Greeeat. Usually meant two things...well three. He then said,"It better not be what I'm thinking. I said I would never do that again." He then remained silent listening to everyone agree on the riot. Including Heliose. As she stepped up and left she asked to be filled in later. He nodded. She always had a hard time not being listened to, or taken seriously.

He looked to Rachel as she gave her two cents. Funny she still hadn't even looked at him since he arrived. She must be really pissed at him.

Suddenly Heliose threw a knife to get everyones attention and gave her idea. Which wasn't bad in his book. But Jericho said it wasn't a good idea, and obviously didn't listen to her fully.

closing his eyes he had to speak up again. "Quite honestly Simple is probably a great choice. Think about it. This is the president, they've already made his float military grade and have it secured within the palace walls. If they are being so careful with this float they will most likely check it over a few times before the parade, run diagnostics on the generators and check for any modification. They are trained to think three steps ahead of us to protect their president. Now even though i agree it will be harder to get in a palace, Heliose would be my pick to go in and plant this device. She's small and has gotten into and out of places just as tight in security with out even spooking a pigeon."

He looked at Jericho while scratching Shadow's chin. "Also if you payed attention she was referring to planting the device or what ever to sabotage the float just AFTER the riots started, Meaning it will be in the city not at the palace. She is a tiny girl and lets face it, if we have us looking big and mean, the soldiers will focus on us and ignore a..." He looked at Heliose. "Excuse me for saying this. " He looked back to the group. "...a little innocent girl. who might just be running for her life. Then while they are distracted she places the Device and Xerox can do his thing remotely or have it set off within five to ten seconds giving time for Heliose to get away. Also she could use the sewers Like Rachel said to come up from under it and sneak to the generator from below, while dealing with a Riot they wont think of looking under the float. They also wont think of Sabotage as easily if they checked the float beforehand. As for how Advance the Generators would be..." He looked to Xerox. "If we can't get the plans, plan for most advanced version you can think of. "

He looked to Duncan. "Honestly if we were to sabotage the float we have to make sure it gets destroyed no matter what even if we fail the mission. Killing the Generators with what ever Xerox will do is bound to tie the 'riot' to someone behind the scenes and instantly the Gardens will be put in the targets. I say we ignore the float and stick with the riot. Being too complicated can bite us in the butt."

"An innocent looking girl moving directly towards their president's float. Because that won't stick out like a sore thumb either, riot or no. Especially since during a riot, the people running away tend to AVOID the armed soldiers lest they get shot for being in the streets." Jericho shook his head and leaned back. "As for Xerox's abilities, from what I've seen of them he has to be real close to the object to do his thing, meaning remote isn't an option. Our best bet, in all honestly, is separating-" At this point, Jericho facepalmed as he realized that they could use an even better idea than sabotage. "We replace a couple of guards, just a small number, probably no more than three of us, act like we got orders to move Deling away from the float. Then we kill him once we're out of sight and make it look like rioters caught us and overwhelmed us. The only tricky part would be replacing the guards."

He stops and thinks a moment. "Meaning the guards would have to have avoided being ID'd in Timber. I know I wasn't and the people who have joined us haven't been. Though, and no offence to you guys, I'd rather work with those I've done work with before if I have to."

Heloise gave a heavy sigh, annoyance clear in her demeanor. Hector was trying to help, but seemed to have misjudged her attentions. Hector was sweet, and clearly terrified that saying she appeared to be an innocent girl would earn him a beating. She knew what she looked like and had used her appearance many times.

Now though she turned to Jericho. And her look was deadly. "two things. You. Can't always get what you want, so stop trying to get everything your way. And secondly, I am what you have so tough luck trying to work without me, or anyone else you haven't worked with before. I was chosen for this mission, just like the rest of you. Which mean my abilities just like yours must be trusted, and vouched for. So clear your damn judge mental bias opinions out of your mind, wash the ear wax out of your ears and actually listen to me. All of you" she looked around at them all, eyes narrowed, the dagger she had thrown still in her hand.

"I don't need to be close. With a dagger, I have an excellent aim. If I have to be close, then I want a disguise. Nothing much. A change of skin tone, a change of hair color. People see what they want to see. If they get a good description of me, I can easily change my appearance back. Beyond that, I know how to blend. I can be the most average person, someone that you could see a hundred times a day, and still not be able to describe. I don't need plans of the float I just need to know where to hit so it will be the most damage given. And if you don't believe I can do it..." she glanced around the room, and then muttered a silent sorry to Hector.

The dagger flew through the air fast, and hit the wall behind Hector with a thud. She had aimed just perfectly, so that as it flew, it scrapped across Hectors head, harmlessly cutting a few hairs.

"my daggers go where I mean them to. A less skilled user would have; most likely, killed Hector. He may be short a few hairs, but he is fine. All plans have risks. But I've been hiding since I could walk. I am the girl for this job. Of course, if you don't agree then I'll just do what I'm told to do. But you'd be foolish to go for the more conplicated ideas. because it took a dagger for any of you to actually notice I was here, except for Hector, and Selena. If my own comrades don't notice me, then no one else will"

Jericho narrowed his eyes. "Congratulations, you can leave behind a piece of evidence that Deling's supporters can link to you. Look, normally, I don't work with people at all, and like it or not, I have to this time. The only people I know the abilities of and trust here are those I helped evaluate at Dollet. The incident afterwards was no fault of leadership, it was a revenge stab at the people who stopped Galbadia from getting their hands on one of the long range communications towers. Regardless, we don't need daggers, guns, swords, hell, even my scythe. All we'd need is a couple Galbadian uniforms, someone official, like Duncan's father, to call in orders at the right moment, and then give the assassination team some shivs, broken bottles, things a group of rioters who didn't plan ahead today would use in place of proper weapons like a real knife or a pistol or a dagger. The less professional we make it look, the easier on the client it is to ease into power."

Jericho took a deep breath, Glaciem doing her best to keep him from lashing out. He'd never realized it until recently, but he'd inherited his father's temper and now wasn't the time to get angry. "Whatever gets decided, I'd rather we be smart about it and not make it look like someone was hired to do it. I'm going for a walk." And with that, he left the conference room and headed outside, his pistol holstered at his side and his scythe on his back. As he exited through the front doors, he inhaled deeply, letting the crisp night air help curve his anger. He didn't know why he grated against everyone like that, but it was for that reason he usually avoided a group setting. Gracelyn was the only person who'd ever been able to synchronize with him before, get him to not grate against her. Maybe in enough time, he wouldn't do it with the rest of the team, but for now, he needed to be alone.