Maja watched as the bullet bounced off the rearview mirror. She blinked from the impact, and pursed her lips. They were comprised. Damn.

"Borrealis to Thorn and Coy, Borrealis to Thorn and Coy." Her chin lowered and she spoke into the microphone. She had dropped her habit of always putting "Mr. or Ms." in front of people's names when the situation was urgent. Her voice would crackle through the radios of her comrades.

"I have taken fire. I do not believe myself to be in any extreme danger. A male figure, clad in dark clothing, ski mask, wielding a lever action hunting rifle of some kind. Be careful. I will be postponing the mission for now. Over." She turned away from her destination, instead going left. If she was being tracked, the last thing she wanted to do was stand out in the open and make conversation with the Irish Mob.

@Kidd@Bombardier

Lucky was busy in the less glamorous portion of the location. Suited her just fine, didn't much care for niceties that didn't serve a purpose. The simple things in life were plenty enough.

The red light was flashing on that damn ear piece again, what had she gone and done now?

"Ah feck..i'm not so gran' wi' dees new fangled wireless set. I'm 'ere gran' so, got de gewds planted wi' a wee bit extra for sum kicks aye." She said much louder into the set than was required. "Ran across sum security types, 'ad ter bash dem somethin' gran' an' added ter me teet collecshun."

Pulling off her bandana she rubbed the blood from the stained reinforced metal stock of her Super 90 with care. Ol' Gus had been with her for most of her runs since she could remember, better start taking some care of him. Flicking the cap of her little device as she cleaned her blood began to pump, waiting for the fun to really began with a bang.

@TemplarKnight07 @Doc Doctor

@Sikako J
@Xandrya@Ciphra@Drifting Pollen @TemplarKnight07

Donny's turn to do his part. He walked past the rear of a Mercedes Benz right before it cruised off with a pair of yuppies and their driver inside. Five seconds later, the grenade he had smoothly slipped into the tailpipe went off. It hadn't even looked like he had touched the vehicle. That was some Criss Angel shit there. He then, just for good measure, turned on his heels and socked an old lady in the jaw. He whipped out his revolver and backed into the hotel, waving the weapon around like a dope as he proclaimed his intent with a fake Scottish accent.

"Oh aye, thus be a hawstage sitchyation! Drop yer' pants an' run iffin her not wantin' tah git shawt! I want three million dollars and a jet! ACH!"

He forced the hotel manager to lock every set of double doors with a key, and herded everyone inside to the top floor. By the time Donny had finished all of his business, virtually every freelancer in the area would have been alerted. Explosions, sirens, police chatter... There must have been hundreds of humans locked inside with Donny, this was the sort of thing that could turn into a national tragedy.

"Hello?"

"Melissa, it's Alison. Have you seen the news?

"No, I--"

"It's Jake, he's trapped in a hotel. They're holding people hostage and the police are not giving me answers. I need to know he's okay. Not in a while, or whenever they hostage negotiators get there. I need to know now!"

"Alright, alright, settle down," Mellie replied, trying to get the woman to calm down. With the phone in one hand, Mellie hurried to the desk in her bedroom to get online. She took her computer out of sleep mode and immediately went to work, securing the cell phone between her cheek and shoulder in order to get full use of her hands. The line went silent for a moment as Mellie attempted to bypass the hotel's network security in order to access the cameras. It took her a couple of minutes, but she eventually managed to get a live feed.

"Hmm..."

"Wha-what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Mellie said after a few seconds, her primary concern being what she was seeing on screen. She hadn't located the group yet as they weren't anywhere in the lobby, but there was a notification of another user currently viewing the live feed. Mellie wondered whether she should inform Alison, but then decided against it. The poor woman was worried enough as it is, and she would only pay her to find her husband, not to explain how the internet works.

"They aren't in the lobby, but I still have to search the entire building."

After Alison gave her a solemn "okay", Mellie quickly sent a private message through the server to whoever was viewing the feed as well.

>Are you police? What is the situation?

Mellie decided to keep it simple, ready to log off the moment she felt threatened. She wasn't too worried though, knowing all-too well that the cops weren't be able to access the cameras just yet, but there was always the small chance that they had a team fully capable of doing the same level work she did.

@Ciphra

As Zoe sat on her bed an alert had gone off. It seemed a bit early for it, but that wasn't too uncommon for the city. As the main screen pulled up a street cam showing the blown up car Zoe saw the man enter the hotel. What on Earth this nut was thinking was unclear just yet. Quickly she went to work taking over the hotels cameras taking only a minute or so to hack into the entire system. By this point everyone was being corralled to the top floor it would seem, or at least off the ground floor.

Zoe took another sip of her wine as she observed her cameras. The cops were already arriving, probably because of the explosion so the situation was quickly getting ridiculous. What still bugged Zoe was the fact that this man had literally screamed at everyone that he was there with that explosion. It just didn't feel right. So did he have back up? Was there a target? What was the purpose here? At the very least Zoe was intrigued. It only got more interesting when someone else hacked into the system. It couldn't have been the cops, not yet anyways.

When she received a message Zoe couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and giggle slightly. The thought of being asked if she was a cop was rather amusing to her given everything she'd done at this point. So was this just an amateur just trying to watch the situation unfold? Or perhaps they had a purpose here as well? In any event with a small smile on her face Zoe decided to send a message.

>If the police could get access to a system this fast I think I'd have to put them in there place for getting cocky. Besides right now despite a dramatic announcement of arrival everything seems to be going fine. They all seem to be moving up the stairs as you'll see when you cycle through the cameras. So do you think I should sprinklers on and piss this guy off or just leave things be?

With the message sent back Zoe included a littled personalized greeting card. Just a simple blue butterfly would follow and fly across the other person's screen and land in the corner and flap its wings before disappearing. Hopefully that would answer the question of who she was. As for the sprinklers she figured she would have fun making the joke, after all she could do it, but given the delicate situation it would probably be best to leave it as just that, a joke.

@Xandrya

Zeke was reclined against the ventilation unit he had his rifle aimed against, he was glancing around more than focusing on Donny at the moment. Mostly to make sure the cops who were on their way didn't come by his SUV, that the Irish Mobsters in the building just across the street didn't get any funny ideas while Lucky and Donny worked their magic, and that none of the reported "Freelancers" showed up. The cops weren't going to do nothing to Donny when he had that many hostages inside since he had shown that he was heavily armed and dangerous, so long as he kept the Mobsters and any other rogue elements in check and Lucky didn't run into any complications, phase two of the operation should proceed shortly.

Zeke put down his three spare clips of rifle ammo neatly next to him for quick reloading. Once things heated up, he didn't want to have to take more than a couple seconds to reload.

@Kidd@Bombardier

Miles stared boredly in Nobody's direction as he waved for him to join him in the van. "Alright, alright," he said finally after gathering more supplies. He eyed a sniper rifle and decided against it, but grabbed a small bag to slip over his shoulder. He locked his own vehicle and joined Nobody in his, further unimpressed by the kazoo spitting. "Why are you like this?" he asked simply, giving the other assassin a cold glare. Why couldn't he have been paired with someone normal? Maja was fine, but he wasn't stuck in a van with her.

After a moment he blinked and pressed his finger to the speaker in his ear. "We copy. Maintain as much radio silence as possible," he suggested into the mic. To Nobody, he furrowed his brows. "How the hell did someone already find us? Take us to cover." A braver man may have suggested meeting Maja, but she said herself: she's a big girl, she can handle herself. Especially with one shooter.

Still, he grew silent. From what she described, it didn't seem like the shooter had tried very hard to actually kill her. But it seemed a little risky for just a warning...

Mellie felt somewhat relieved when the other person messaged her back right away, which she assumed to be a woman by the way that they personalized their reply. The police would maybe take a minute or two to come up with the right message to keep Mellie engaged, avoiding spooking her away so they could get information out of her. But that wasn't the case here, not from what she could tell.

>No, don't do the sprinklers. It can anger him and I know someone inside.

As she went from camera to camera, Mellie saw a large group of people gathered upstairs. She did her best to try to identify the perpetrator, but then something else caught her attention.

>That's him in the lobby, right? With the little girl?

Mellie had been quiet for a minute, and Alison wasn't too patient.

"Mel, what's going on? Please tell me..."

"They're safe from what I can see. The guy is away from the all the hostages except for a little girl. I think he'll use her to negotiate."

"Oh my god. I hope she's okay--

"She seems fine, for now. Let me call you back, I need to figure something out."

Without giving her a chance to reply, Mellie hung up the phone and returned her attention to the screen. She was biting one of her fingernails at that point, nervously waiting for a reply from the mysterious user before making her next move.

@Ciphra

Whatever epic hype music he was trying to kazoo, it ceased, and Nobody deflated similarly. The assassin seemed legitimately hurt by Miles' words, stooping over in the chair and looking down. He just wanted to hype him and his partner up. "...!"
Reinflating, the man propped himself up with renewed confidence and took a cheap looking mp3 out of his coat before plugging it into the van. Looking back at Miles, his fingers made contact with the volume knob, and he cranked that shit to life.

A couple seconds afterwards Maja's report of a ski-mask wearing man came in, and the first thing Coy wanted to do was help her and go against Miles' command. How could she take fire and not be in a serious situation? He may have a job butchering people, but he wasn't soulless. If one of his own team died it'd be on him, but all of the reasoning the assassin had was really irrelevant. Maja could take care of herself. It was the person she was defending herself from...
"A male figure, clad in dark clothing, ski mask, wielding a lever action hunting rifle"

Only one.

Placing his not completely empty hands on the wheel, Nobody stomped on the gas. He knew the way to the construction site, and he knew how to kill another ski-mask wearing gunslinger. Somewhat fittingly, the music changed to his favorite song.

@Bombardier@Kidd

"Copy." She responded, her voice lowering in volume. Maja wasn't sure how many there were, and if they found her once, she had very little doubt they were still tracking her as she drove. She had to lose them. The first step, of course, was to break line of sight with the location of Nobody's kazoo-less doppelganger. She turned another corner, and the shooter's origin vanished around a building. Now, there were decisions to be made. If she hid herself in an alley way or narrow streets, it would limit her mobility and could potentially be a trap. If she were to go into a more open area, she would be vulnerable to more fire and could tracked easier.

After a moment of deliberating, she decided to head for a more open area. The last thing she wanted to happen was get tracked into and trapped in an alleyway. She had no idea how well organized her enemies were.

So, until then, she headed for more populated streets. She had no intention of engaging in a firefight, and her enemies would have to be very brave- and perhaps, stupid- to attack her in a very public area.

Zeke readied himself again as he watched Donny come down into the lobby with the girl. He gave the girl's chances 50/50 of coming out of this alive. Not strictly on account of Donny, Zeke, and Lucky's actions, but on how trigger-disciplined the cops were, and the aim of the Mobsters.

The cops themselves had done what he had expected them to in this situation, made a loose barricade with their cars, and had all their guns aimed at the lobby. SWAT was probably on their way but also weren't going to do anything right away when they got there, and Zeke was keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of snipers getting into similar positions to his. No sign so far.

No sign of any Freelancers either, though they could be anyone for all he knew. He just had to be watchful for anyone acting out of character. Any Civvies who weren't hostages shouldn't even be able to get close to the building, and no cops were going to be taking shots or moving in until they had a clear opening or got permission to go in blazing and casualties be damned. He glanced up to keep an eye on things away from his scope as he kept the rifle tight against his shoulder.

"This doesn't look the way to cover," Miles stated glumly, his gaze out the front of the van moving to Nobody. The crappy music pounded in his ears and he rubbed at his face. Well, he wasn't the driver. So, he shook his head and finally stepped up front to buckle into the passenger seat. As Nobody drove, he silently doubled checked his guns' ammo. Twelve rounds each, should be more than enough if he was dragged into a fight. Though, by the sound of Maja's description, he'd be fine with far less than that.

Sighing melodramatically, he leaned against the door, glaring out the window like a moody teenager who just lost the front seat to her younger brother. He didn't enjoy talking to Nobody and his abstract ways of communication, so he remained silent, trying to figure out where they had slipped up for the enemy to act so quickly.

>So it would seem...

It was a simple reply for the person Zoe was messaging but it was something. At the moment Zoe was trying to figure out what this man was thinking at the present time. Either way, holding a child hostage like that as a bullet shield was disgusting. He would pay for this. Quickly Zoe started getting to work, taking images of what the inside situation was and then emailing them to the police. This way they could get information much faster. Of course she had used 'AnonymousTip^^@Hotmail.com' an email in which she always sent her tips to the police or the FBI from. She found the joke to be pretty amusing herself, though perhaps not all would. It served its purpose however.

>Do you have a remote controlled car or two by any chance?

Zoe's plans tended to seem bizarre and a bit cruel occasionally, but when she had a plan she had a plan! And why not involve this person who was clearly concerned? It was only fair after all. Besides it was also good to establish worth. In the mean time she picked up her phone to make a couple of calls, and maybe a third to make this simpler. This man would die one way or another tonight if Zoe had a say in the matter.

@Xandrya

Mellie thought about the stranger's question for a moment, considering her options before typing up a reply.

>I do not...but I can find one ;)

All it took was a quick hack into the local Tesla dealership's software, knowing all too well that such brand of cars were her best shot at acquiring a vehicle at the last minute. She searched through the list of customers until she matched one with an address closest to her. Getting into the car's system was a bit more work, but eventually she managed to get through. She wouldn't drive the Tesla to her location per se, but to a destination two blocks away. After checking one of the internal cameras to make sure the vehicle was unoccupied, Mellie started it up and drove off, playing ghost pilot for the time being.

>Okay, found one. It'll be on standby in a few minutes.

She looked down at her phone, wondering whether she should release her contact information with the person whom she was communicating with. After giving it some thought, while simultaneously getting the Tesla from point A to point B in a safe matter, Mellie decided that working together would be advantageous not only for her customer, but for her as well. She didn't like talking to complete strangers, not when they were on her same level and she had no way of knowing their true intentions.

>I'm sending you a secured link with my info, btw. Easier to communicate. The name's Ella, and you can call that number if you wish to take this partnership any further.

After sending the message, Mellie tossed the phone aside and reached for her personal one. She was still waiting to hear back from Ivan, and she hoped she hadn't scared away him just yet.

@Ciphra