FourtyTwo

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Max smirked as he saw Silverwind approve the requests, as he put his head back against the wall, sighing. He had to think to himself of what the last op had been like, and how much it had come to haunt him a little how intense it had gotten. They'd gotten into some serious scrapes before, but Anna getting wounded like that was pretty fucking bad. For her too, Max felt guilt, guilt that he hadn't been there for his own team. A good leader shouldn't have cared, especially not one as hardened as him. But for all the lack of empathy that him and Anna sometimes showed each other, they did care, a considerable amount. It was almost as if the two odd pieces fitted together well, as he sighed, shutting his eyes for just a moment.

---

In the same time the lion was sitting in reflection, Anna was running through her equipment list, one that from the first glance of the Pebble's listing seemed very short. The jaguar wasn't thinking about the wound, or even how she'd gotten into that situation. Only to never let it happen again. And to focus on what was next.

The M23 rifle was already in her posession on a table across from her, the hexagonally camoflaged grenadier version odd for an infiltrator- but exceptionally useful to destroy things if shit went to pot. Adjusting her cuffs, the jaguar's night-black hex-camo infiltration gear was more like a wetsuit, fitting tightly from the top of her head to her toes, reducing her profile in the dark even more immensely- and even more specficially, the special weave allowed her thermal signature to be concealed. In a nutshell, she was nigh invisible to a thermal imaging camera, given that almost every surface of her skin was covered from her paws to even her eyes, covered with the NVGs, which were equipped with a thermal imaging mode. Whilst she had forgone armour to have that advantage, the main reason she didn't always use a piece of equipment like this, the infiltration suit allowed her breathing room to run, climb and vault with total ease, as well as hide in shadows far easier than in an alternative uniform. It did also show her...athletic form off too. A pair of quad-optic NVGs made her already astounding night vision even more laser-like, and the modified Corvid wingpack sat across from her, this time, with two hydrogen-powered jets attached to the semi-rigid wing structure. If there was one thing that the new intiative had given her, it was priority on the coolest equipment list that the SIS had access to. She took the rifle as she finished up with her tactical equipment, taking a range of smart 40mm grenades, her grappling hook, and a pocket-sized laser designator, as well as shouldering the Covid pack as the last piece of the puzzle. With only a wry smile, Anna silently took confidence in herself that while she wasn't in a GEAR, Spectre was going to make the Silent Line afraid of the dark.

---

Sitting inside the command centre, Anna and Max had settled in early, bags and equipment all settled down. Anna only had a small hex-coloured pack, containing her explosives and other supplies, while Max had taken a slightly larger bag, knowing he was probably going to carry his and Anna's various kit across. The gear getting loaded in the background was a sight to see, as the gray-haired fox turned up, slinging himself into place and strapping himself in. Anna had pulled back her balaclava and hood, clicking her hands as she seemed almost disengaged for the moment.

"Good to see you again, Silverwind. Hopefully we're going in a bit." Max commented, sighing as he looked around at the command centre, nodding approvingly.
"This is fancy. I like this an awful lot. Proper support, nice." He added, feeling like he was breaking the silence, already strapped in and wearing a GEAR pilot's standard fatigues, in his usual reconaissance pattern. The jaguar didn't seem too interested, as Max looked across to her, then back to Silverwind.

"As I said, Anna can get her hands on some proper secret agent shit. It's impressive kit she's got herself. I seriously don't know how she made friends with the SIS though to get it. Killing people in cold blood is really anti-social."
"It's best I don't tell you how I get things done, Maxwell. Just you leave me to it." Anna cuttingly replied, Max chuckling in response to her frank reply.
"Alright, alright. Feeling good to go?" He asked her, the jaguar nodding in reply.
"Just about as good as I can be. Colonel, I've got a camera hooked up to the NVGs here, and a whole bunch of RDX with me too. I know infiltrators are a weird unit to manage- basically, just tell me what you need done and I'll figure it out."

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max walked on through, wading through the crowd, the sight of exotica to tuner a sight to behold. While Nordic was a predominantly McLaren and Porsche specialist, the fact all sorts came here said volumes, perhaps even lengths about what sort of a car culture was bred here in this carpark. Somehow the Brit wondered how the fuck this was still going, given that there were so many people, but then again, that wasn't his thought to comprehend. There was something brewing here, more than just a car meet. And Max really wanted to get stuck in.

"Yeah, but there are a fucking lot of people here....and a tall Nordic bloke is gonna be fairly average for LA. It's weird here, right? Glad we have a mutual friend though." Max said, a laddish but wholesome comment as he chuckled, the sight of the cafe inside filled with fewer cars, yet more people.

Going inside, the tall Faroese man could be seen across the bar, heartily chuckling as he stood by his McLaren 720S, the blue and gold coloured car an archetypal example of what Nordic could produce. Whilst it looked not too dissimilar, it had a bodykit that made the already glued together supercar look even more gorgeous, with a power map and customisation inside making the interior even more...homely, warm, and tight fit as a supercar like this could be. It was an incredibly difficult modification to pull off on an ultimately desgined machine, yet Magnus was showing it could be done with taste, class and exotic design. The zero-alcohol can of beer in his hand probably told him he was socialising, staying sober for the fact that he may have been involved in something logistical.

"There he is." Max said, walking across and past a few groups of other owners, waving over to the Norseman. Magnus waved back, Max chuckling as he felt he'd finally come across a more familiar face now, someone a little more known.
"Hey, Magnus! Pleasure to meet you mate, Max Parker, one of Simon's mates....holy shit, this is a party..." Max said, Magnus laughing, the Faroese viking sipping the rest of his can, as he crushed it in his hand, yeeting it towards a bin in the distance.

"Yeah, well, what did you expect, welcome to Nordic! Uhh, you're Kaitlyn, right? I didn't think you two were a pair, unless I'm wrong...?" Magnus asked, the Brit looking perplexed for just a second, happy to meet him but a bit awkward. Ah yeah, they had mutual friends, but not in that way! Max blushed, chuckling, looking to Kaitlyn with a gentle look, almost to say "Oh Shit", as if it was a little awkward.

"Uhh...nah, we just met outside. You know, tuners and all haha!" Max sheepishly replied, Magnus chuckling, shaking his head.

"Alright, if you say so, Mister Parker. You're both probably wondering what's going on- I mean, this is the quarterly meet, but someone in the crowd, pst, not me, has something going. No pink slips- people here are way too attached to their cars to even dare gamble them, but $1000 gets you a buy in. Man over there, in the black hoody is doing something. Trying to get numbers together, but again, half the fucking people here won't dare put a scratch into their cars now they souped them up....crazy, right?

"Now as a reputable business owner, I have absolutely nothing to do with street racing. Nooothing at all. Just a guy running a party that keeps most of these people from racing, but hey, if they decide to it's up to them. Up to you guys though if you're all in. Feel free to grab a Monster before you go though!" Magnus said, Max chuckling in response to Magnus's antics, knowing full well he was playing it quite cleverly, somewhat balancing the buisness in here with the straight up illegality someone else organising a street race would have.

"If you say so too, Magnus...thanks man. Kaitlyn, what do you think? Up for some shenanigans?"

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

A bit exhausted tonight- short post of exposition, just setting up the team and what Max is up to. I'll post again hopefully on Sunday night!

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Max nodded, happy that they had a strategy, and the briefing now petering out to an eventual close, one Max and Anna could take away as a bit of forward information. Blowing the place apart, and using Anna as the quick hit and runner to get the tech would work nicely in their favour, if executed correctly.
"Long flights are becoming a regular now, what can we say. We'll get our stuff sorted. Glad to have you in the sky, Cat....I'll take safer!" Max said, Anna nodding silently to confirm too, as they wrapped up their assessment and got going.

Heading for their quarters, Max and Anna went their seperate ways. Sitting on his bed in the living quarters, Max took his Pebble and got to work, already using the digital system to begin assigning equipment, tools and gear. While the specifics weren't hollowed out, it gave a vague idea of the wider things and tools involved.

Loadout:

Warrant Officer Maxwell Fitzroy "Actual" Bastion
"Marksman"
M23 ISS, Magnified Thermal Optic/Holographic, Angled Grip+Bipod, Silencer, IR Laser
M8A PDS
Reconaissance GEAR Pilot Fatigues

Corporal Anna-Marina "Spectre" Caldeira
"Versatile Infiltrator"
M23 Rifle w/ Grenadier Module, Magnified Holographic, IR Laser, Silencer
2x M8A PDS
Infiltration Fatigues

--

Ticking off that, Max went to the next screen on his pad, just confirming his loadout for his GEAR. It had a slightly different manifest tab, given the Falcon's different specs, but it was all something he could toy with.

Manifest Tab

Request: Warrant Officer Bastion, Maxwell Fitzroy

GEAR Designation: 042-005, FLK-4CN Falcon
User Name: "Flying Rampant"

All standard GEAR weaponry and features have been inspected/maintaned as per SOP

Requesitioned Loadout:
Package Designation: Combined Assault

-Head-Mounted 2x LMG

-20mm Rifle

-40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher, Left Shoulder Hardpoint
-Rocket Anchor, Right Shoulder Hardpoint

-Anti-Armour Missiles, Left Leg Hardpoint
-Personal Equipment and Utility Pod, Right Leg Hardpoint

-UAV charging and Quadrotor mount point, Back
-3x Limpet Mines, Shoulder

Wing Hardpoints:
Laser Guided Bombs

Content in the knowledge that his and Anna's kit was set, he took a moment to dust off his pilot's equipment, slowing setting his fatigues up and getting the rest of his equipment set.

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max chuckled, shaking Kaitlyn's hand, looking across at the grey Evo, a smile forming on his face as he looked at the intricacy of the build. Yeah, his insticts were right, he mused internally to himself.
"Pleasure to meet you, love. Damn, Kaitlyn, that Evo is something. Nothing beats four-wheel drive, right? That and the amount of aero on that thing, shit it probably stays glued t' tar through corners!" He added, chuckling as he looked across, giving a sweet whistle.
"So I guess you're a built, not bought sort of girl. I'm sorta the same, but well....I ran out of ideas and money for now."

Looking across, more cars were coming in as a Supra's turbo whine interrupted the two, more people joining in, and while Max wanted to talk cars all night long, he knew they had other things to be getting on with right now.
"Shit, tell you what. Magnus himself actually invited me down, I sort of know him through a friend of a friend thing deal....wanna come wtih and see if we can find him?"

The music was blaring from the soundsystem of one of the converted VW Camper vans that had turned up, the empty shell of the warehouse containing the bit of Nordic Customs that had come with the lease, yet Magnus hadn't actually needed for any workshop at all. Instead, it was empty, and filled with people grabbing light beer at a long bar, this basically being a giant cafe of sorts for street racers. A weird atmosphere, but given the crowds that came here, it only made sense, as Max could only smirk at the sight of it all, knowing somewhere inside would be the mad Faroese tuner that'd made his fortune out here.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Max whistled, listening intently to Silverwind's brief. They both recognised the serious tech, and the unparalleled

"Questions, comments, insults.....none, that's fucking mad, and see my previous comment." Max only said, chuckling as he took a breath.
"Seems good to me, Silver. Deep behind enemy lines again, but more hit and run, with a little intelligence gathering. Oh, and it's good to have you back, Cat. It'll be good to have an extra pair of eyes watching. I guess anti-armour is the flavour of the day, with a little versatality beyond that too. Advanced kit means stuff that can punch through a bit more." Max commented, just starting for now, already seeing the burning look in the jaguar's eyes next to him.

Anna nodded to Silverwind, sighing at the other feline's remark.
"I have a few, Silverwind. Maybe I'm already overthinking, tell me if I am..."
"Always, Anna. But go on?" Max added, with only a hint of a chuckle.

Looking on at the 3D oversight, Anna looekd closely at the perimeter fencing, and the other.
"Right, so the site is in the middle of nowhere. Works good for heavy-hitting work, but means there is absolutely no way you can fuck up an insertion if you go to the wrong LZ as it'll get you hit on arrival. Makes my job in particular spicy, heh. Hmm....okay, looking at it, we might be able to pull something.

"I'll take the laser pointer, and if you bring laser-guided munitions, one of you can bomb the absolute hell out of a couple of those GEARs. Put me in twenty minutes early, and I'll have the base warmed for your arrival. I might be able to identify the sensitive parts, the bist we don't want to bomb too. And, I can probably take some explosives and create some serious boom on that motor pool and cylindrial hydrogen tank there, where those light vehicles are all parked. Right amount of RDX, before you bring the big guns and half the base will be up in smoke for us to start our work. If their advantage is armour, let's fucking level it with shock and awe.." Anna said, very calculated and stern, as Max shrugged, sighing.

"If the boss agrees to it, Anna. I've got nothing against it, but if you can do that without turning the absolute entire place into a powder keg and just little bits, go ahead. That's gonna be one hell of an infiltration though..."

"The SIS sent me some new toys on requesition, Max. You two aren't the only ones who gets prototype tech around here."
"Alright, Anna "I'm basically a Secret Agent" here, I get you want to also show off...we just gotta play it careful."
"Says the guy who's gonna fly a GEAR into a Sinal base."

Max shrugged, looking to Silverwind, almost as if to say "can you believe this shit", just how stern and absolute Anna was in that moment. Most people really couldn't work with her- but you couldn't doubt her wired up mind, absolute and total in how she got shit done in the field, and eventually, she would always relent down to authority when she had to get that in her head.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

It's no issue to me- so long as it's played straight (they aren't dominant in either field, just more a jack of all trades that's really difficult/unwieldy in most combat operations)- Max is a guy who fits that ethos well, and I think Anna might have something up her sleeve too haha.

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max nodded, turning around to see the sight of the girl adoring his Skyline, stopping him right in his tracks as he looked back, tilting his sunglasses up and chuckling.

"You know how it is, same way they do overnight parts shipping from Yokohama. Straight off the boat. She's still a work in progress but....I just had to get it out here. This is all a bit insane!" Max said, his soft northern English accent blending with the Manx, a hearty and wholesome accent that wasn't like Ross's, a hearty Scots one- but a more English, clear and concise accent that didn't hide the cheekie-chappie that Max was. On another note though, he had to just take the girl in, her demeanour inquisitive, clearly someone who wasn't just here to oggle at cars but drove one. Nerding out, but understanding the machinery. Something just said that to him, it just came naturally, as he smiled, patting the bonnet, as he sighed.

"Glad to hear someone appreciates Japanese tuners too. Nothing like a well oiled machine made by people who know their engineering. Don't get me started on the last BMW I had....what about you?" Max added, chuckling as he looked across to another pair of Porsches coming in, sighing.
"Damn, this really is Magnus's haunt alright....sorry, I haven't introduced myself at all. I'm Max Parker, and yeah, "he's from England"..." He said, in a sarcastic American tone right at the end, a little self-aware of the fact that he was a Brit in the streets of LA, and he was always gonna stick out like as sore thumb. She seemed cute, whoever she was, very pretty, and had a charm, a mechanical interest that wasn't of some dumb random girl who saw a Skyline once- but actually took notice. Whoever she was, Max was piqued, but hey, plenty of women were getting into cars these days- so probably another one of those, he reminded himself before jumping to conclusion.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Haha, no worries! Really liking the new design introduced- it's a little more versatile/cool to work with! I see it in Max's eyes as basically a dream machine- but something very experimental/odd to the use. Thinking through some loadouts already!

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Max and Anna headed into the hangar for a brief moment, the look of the two felines a sight to behold. Fierce, driven, yet contrasting somewhat, the black jaguar against the golden lion just the skin-deep differences to start. Max's mew toy had replaced his "Lion Rampant" which had been re-allocated, and the "Fly-on Rampant" was potentially the punniest name he had ever come up with for a GEAR that has actually gotten painted onto the gold and navy coloured, next-generation, flight-capable GEAR. It felt like a fucking space-age technology to Max, an experimental, starnge and odd machine- lighter and slightly smaller than the Hargun, yet far more impressive for its flight capability. It was Max's dream- it suited him almost perfectly, and even Anna had to admit, the tech had leaked into her kit too.

The jaguar looked to Max, signing as she looked up to him, then the Falcon.
"You know, this is a big fucking excuse not to use a wingpack."
"Hey, I'd do it like the best of you. Besides, that's your domain now. Wait, shit...briefing's in five."
"We better go then." Anna replied, nodding to Max as he led the way, the confident lion taking the lead. Max had recovered well from the last op, but he still felt tired, out of it from what had happened. Anna getting hurt, and a lot of good rebel soldiers dying for nothing felt like a blow. While aloof, he wasn't like Anna- he felt what they felt, and knew that shit like that just couldn't keep happening.

Heading to the briefing room after their brief excursion out to the hangar, it felt like a breath of fresh air to be seeing both Silverwind and Catriona once again. Looking across to Silverwind, Max and Anna looked almost like opposites attracting, the dark grey hexagonal winter-like stealth fatigues of Anna contrasting with the almost summery golden-brown hexes of Max's GEAR pilot's fatigues.

"Colonel Silverwind....looks like our last excursion couldn't kill Anna, nor Miss Burner over there neither. So, what insane shit have we got next, boss?" Max asked, chuckling as Anna looked up to him, sighing as he took a seat, putting his feet onto the chair in front, aware that this was a little more chilled out- and well, if you weren't laughing, you were tearing your ears out from what happened last time. Anna wasn't so easy.

"I swear, the only thing that keeps us as friends, Max, is that maybe you're just about as crazy as me, but honestly, I'm not sure what else..." She quietly mused, Max getting a chuckle out of Anna's sark.