[a week before the heist.]

Samson would receive a voicemail on his phone.

[code]Heyyya, Pestilence. You like money, right? I like money too. Why don't we see how we can make more of it together, eh? Why don't we meet up? Say, the Gem Nightclub. The noise and lights make it reeaal discreet. 10:00 PM, tomorrow? You'll want to say you have a reservation under Masked Solaris. See ya then.[/code]

Samson was in his lab's storage room going through his stock of chemicals and stored experiments when he heard his phone go off. He ignored it thinking that if it was important they’d leave a message. It was about an hour later once he was done going through what he had and what he needed that he finally got around to checking his messages. It seemed whoever this Solaris person was they wanted to make some sort of deal. He thought about it for a while before deciding to go, even if he wasn’t tempted by whatever deal was being offered he still had to figure out how this person got info on him. He set an alarm and went back to work, after all if this was some sort of trap he’d have a surprise ready.

[hr]

The music was thumping in a pumping, well-polished nightclub in the ritzier area of Nova City. Ethan was sitting in one of the VIP booths in the back, away from the dance floor. The neat thing with these VIP boxes was that, once the door was shut, it was essentially sound-proof. Perfect to discuss heinous topics. 

He leaned back against the plush lounge seat, dressed in a dress shirt, tie, and slacks. There was already a smoke to his lips, making the room slightly hazy. His eyes slid to the door, waiting.

Samson was finishing up the final touches to his ‘surprise’ should this meeting turn sour. Obviously he couldn't bring a weapon into a club as if this man was smart he’d have him checked beforehand, so Samson had injected a couple dozen leeches with a special chemical compound that caused nausea, blurred vision, and impaired balance in mammals. If it came to it he could have them crawl unseen and deliver their payload. It was around 9:15 once he was finished and headed out.

It took him about 30 minutes to find the club as he didn’t get out of the lab much unless he was ‘working’. He was wearing a black suit with a dark red under shirt, the dozen leeches unseen as the lay flat against his back. After a quick conversation with the door man, and after being checked for weapons, he was led to the V.I.P booth and ushered in. 

Once the door had closed and they were left in silence he looked at the man who’d apparently wanted to meet the infamous Pestilence. “Well you say you want to talk, lets talk.” He said in a low gravelly voice. “You know who I am may I ask what your name is?”

Ethan stood as Samson entered the VIP booth, grinning as he bit softly on his cigarette. He extended a hand for a handshake. [color=6666ff][b]”Masked Solaris, or Ethan Smoke. I'm not one for hidden identities, personally. Bit old-fashioned.”[/b][/color] His voice was light and clear with a humorous lilt.

He gestured to the seats, [color=6666ff][b]”Please, make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you a drink? Their scotch here is to die for.”[/b][/color]

He took his seat on the lounge again, reaching for the untouched glasses and flipping them right side up, opening a bottle of scotch sitting on the table and pouring for both Samson and him. Then he set the glass closer to Samson, picking up his own glass and swirling it slightly in his hand.

[color=6666ff][b]”Times are ‘a changing, Pestilence. We used to be able to survive alone, but with the recent movements of the cops, and those damn ‘heroes’, it's getting riskier and riskier to score big. 

“That's why I'm proposing an alliance. Your enemies become my enemies. You help me with my heists, you get a cut of the take-away. Say… 70/30?”[/b][/color]

Samson shook Ethan’s hand as he spoke and listened as the man gave an offer he wasn’t expecting. An alliance, a way for them to be safer from this world's so called guardians. He thought it over as he looked at the man over his fingers tapping on the side of his glass, which he’d accepted but has yet to even take a sip.

 Samson could see the pros to such a deal but there were risks as well. This man could leave him high and dry if something went wrong, but he wasn’t wrong about the hero’s being a pain in his side, yet more people clinging to the weakness of humanity like it was something they needed. 

“That is an interesting offer but 70/30 is a steep cut.” He asked as he leaned forward, his face devoid of any expression and his grey eyes cold.  “60/40, in your favor of course.”

Ethan held his smoke in his hand, taking a sip of the scotch, face scrunching up reflexively at the strong taste. [color=6666ff][b]”Mm. Pestilence, ya twisting ma arm here,”[/b][/color]

He shot Samson a smirk, [color=6666ff][b]”You know I got overhead, men to pay. Everyone's got a hand in my pocket, damn.”[/b][/color]

He leaned back in his seat, breathing in a deep inhale from his cigarette, before he shrugged, chuckling. [color=6666ff][b]”Alright. Just for you, 60/40. Actually got a heist planned for next week, if you want in on it. The Nova City Bank.”[/b][/color]

Ethan waggled his eyebrows at Samson, a mischievous glint in his violet eyes. It was the biggest branded bank in the city, with the highest security. To even attempt it was a suicide mission waiting to happen.

Samson was a bit shocked by the acceptance of his counter offer so quickly though he didn’t show it. This shock was deepened by the next words out of Ethans mouth, to rob The Nova City Bank was a bold if reckless move. He wanted to deny him right away but something in the back of his mind kept him from denying it out right. With funding like that he could further his experiments by leaps and bounds. Despite his better judgement he nodded towards Ethan and said. “Maybe but before I commit I’d need to see a plan. If I’m going to take such a big risk I need to know we’re not going in there half cocked.” 

He continued to tap the glass of untouched scotch as stared at Ethan trying to figure the aloof man out. The leeches under his shirt shifted slightly as he said. “And on the off chance I agree I’ll even pitch in and help arm us. I have a few experiments that need a field test.”

[color=6666ff][b]”A field test, huh?”[/b][/color] Ethan mused, before he took one final drsg of his cigarette before sinking it in a crystal ashtray. He pulled his phone from his pocket, scrolling through it for a moment before setting it on the table, allowing Samson to see a floor plan of the bank. He leaned forward in his seat, widening the map and pointing to the lobby area.

[color=6666ff][b]”So, after we've killed the power to the city block, We storm the front lobby area. The cameras will be down, so don't need to worry about that. Don't have to worry about the silent alarm either. After the front lobby is secure, I'll sear through the lock to the underground vault area. The hallway to the vault is coated in motion sensors that are hooked up to a generator, so they'll alert the police if they aren't deactivated. However, destroying them with a little star-power will let us take the hall. Then, we set some C4 on the door of the vault, take cover, and bam! It's ours. Faster than if I were to try and melt through it. Go through to the offices on the main floor, smash the window, our getaway driver will be on the other side.

“All in all, it should take about four minutes to do.”[/b][/color]

Ethan cocked an eyebrow at Samson. [color=6666ff][b]”So? I'm curious what kind of field tests you wanted to do, I might have to adjust the plan so it all fits.”[/b][/color]

“Hmmm, I see. I could probably send a few of my little ‘friends’ ahead to take out any back up generators they have.” He said as he looked over the map. “This way we don’t have to stop to deal with the motion sensors and they can scout out in case there's any surprises.” 

This plan actually wasn’t half bad and with his help it might just work. “Well, three things to be exact. The first is a chemical agent that when breathed in by warm blooded creatures causes temporary blindness. I have that put in a gas grenade. The second is a fast acting virus I’ve been cooking up, it’ll cause any injected by it to have their joints stiffen making it harder to move. I have a few auto injector bolts and back up crossbows for that.” Samson said as he looked from the plan to Ethan. “ The third is actually a way to make sure no one follows us. A dirty bomb laced with an airborne virus I’ve been working on the last few years. We plant it in the lobby and then if any hero shows up they either see it or we tell them and they have to deal with that first. Oh, and don’t worry about yourself or your men, just have them wear a gas mask and shower after.”

Ethan smirked at that, his eyes glinting mischievously. [color=6666ff][b]”You are a master at your field, my good sir. Yes, I can fit that into the plan real easy, and we'll be sailing outta there with the dough before anyone can say anything.”[/b][/color]

He chuckled, tapping his drink on the table to emphasize his point, before tossing the rest of it back in one fell swoop. His face scrunched up reflexively, before that grin was back on his face.

[color=6666ff][b]”Well, we'll definitely want to keep in touch and work out the finer details before the big day, yes? Here's my contacts.”[/b][/color] And he passed an embossed business card to Samson. Solaris Consultants was the name of the company, an obvious front for what [i]really[/i] went on behind the scenes.

[color=6666ff][b]”Now, was there anything else you wanted to discuss before we wrap this up? You can take the bottle home, if you like.”[/b][color] He said, gesturing to the scotch. 

“No, I think we have discussed all there is for now.” He said as he got up leaving his still full glass on the table. He stopped right before exiting and said with a very faint smile. “No thank you, I'm not much of a drinker, but thanks anyway. I do have a piece of advice for you though, since we’re allied and all now.” He held up a hand and allowed one of the leeches to slip from his sleeve to wrap around one of his fingers. “You should really get better security, I have a few dozen of these guys on my person. I wouldn’t want this partnership to end so quickly.” He then turned and left just as quickly as he came.

Ethan's eyebrows raised up, before amusement flickered across his face. [color=6666ff][b]”I'll keep that in mind…”[/b][/color] He mumbled slyly to himself.