Very Late Week 93: A Job Offer

It was early afternoon, and those watching Swa's security footage noticed some unusual. A tall woman dropped of the roof of a nearby building. Judging by the hight of the drop and how she was now casually striding up to the front gates, the tattooed lady must be an Agent. The newcomer adjusted the bow and quiver on her back, wiped her hands on her urban camo cargo shorts, and stepped up to the intercom. "Sosie? I'm Fenris, I'm with Oracle. I'm here to speak with Sumiko, I have a job I need her help with." She stepped back from the intercom, while continuing on the Standard Oracle frequency, Or if you'd rather, we can do this over Smeaker.

There was a long pause before Sosie responded, over smeaker. "Excuse me, but who the fuck are you? Just stick to the intercom, gimmie a minute." There was no way her German was machine-made; it flowed with Eden cadences, posh and urban, a touch of Korean around the more slurred consonants.

It was much longer before there was any kind of response. The intercom clicked as a notification, before a soft feminine voice said in utterly perfect, regionless German, "Please enter the courtyard. We will request you remove your weapons and place them on the ground."

Fenris paused for a moment, if some Agent turned up at 6768 then Sakura would have let her know by now, but then maybe SWA had a lot more visitors. She shrugged to herself and made her way inside. After removing her bow and quiver, and placing them carefully on the ground, she stood looking at the nearest camera. "What now?" This did seem a bit ridiculous, hell, Phoenix was easier to get into than this. Though Han wasn't some crazy recluse, so maybe that was it.

The durasteel doors closed behind Fenris, and at once she was aware of how quiet it suddenly was. The walls, 20 feet high and very thick, blocked out a lot of the sound of the city. There was a factory not three blocks away, but the distant clanging was muted. It was almost peaceful.

Those thick walls were covered in thick ivy, that looked strong enough to hold the weight of an Agent, if Fenris suddenly, say, wanted to escape, for some reason. There were small bushes as well, with glossy green leaves. They seemed very out of place, very EI, to have growing and lush greenery in such an industrial place. The building itself was just a block of cement with no windows and a flat wide roof. There were cameras and scanners everywhere, but there were not as intimidating as a the masses of turrets that populated the corners, that were sitting there prickling at seemingly random from the walls. This was a very well defended place.

There was movement, down the far end of this courtyard, along the side of the building. Something moving, walking, slowly, back and forth, just at the edge of Geosonar feeling. It was hard to make out, with the factory close, but it was.. lithe and light on its limbs. And large.

And then there was another movement; ahead of her were two doors. One big enough for a truck to unload, and a smaller one. The smaller one opened, and out stepped a young girl, no, a robot... No, a small replicant. She had silvery skin and pink and purple hair, and eyes far too huge to be even remotely human. Like a child sized doll. When her hands moved, Fenris could see small black lines, demonstrating points of articulation, along her fingers and wrist. She was wearing a brown skirt and purple shirt, and was barefoot. Her silver feet were covered in white dust. "Agent Annika Mittleider, also known as Fenris... Welcome to Seoul Waste Away. You want to see my mother?"

Fenris looked down at Sumiko's "child". She sighed, picking up her weapon and slinging it over her shoulder. At least she didn't have any replicants like this back home. " Let's stick to Fenris." She took another glance round as she headed towards her. The vines were an obvious trap, there is no way they would be that careless. But the walls weren't that much of an issue anyway, the only problem would be clearing them before the turrets took her down, and that was what Tac Ass shields were made for.

Child replicants had always struck Fenris as a little unhealthy, unless you were a kid yourself. She hoped it didn't say too much about Sumiko's state of mind. "I need a combat capable neurostatician, Sumiko seems to be the best option I've found so far. Is she here? And can you tell your friend to stop skulking in the shadows? If I was going to try anything, I wouldn't have walked trough the front door." She was starting to sound a little impatient.

Bell's perfect brow furrowed for the briefest second over her large green eyes. "Friend..? Oh! Oh no, she's not out here for you." She blinked once. Her expression cleared and remained neutral. She looked Fenris up and down before tilting her head. Then she nodded. Her movements were very natural, as if she really was a person... But when she was still, she was too still to be truly believable. "Sumiko may take a moment to... rouse. You can come inside... Once you hand me your bow. " She took the bow with ease, as if she had been handed a book or cup of tea.

The replicant turned her back to Fenris, and walked inside the open door. The first room was a garage; there were a handful of cars here. There was a very standard looking Mungo, a fancy looking Wildcat, and very souped up Kalari X50. (The licence plate read "BLEED".) Before the agent could take a good look, the little replicant was already going into the next room. There were two walls of mirrors facing each other, and for a moment she was reflected into infinity as she passed over the padded floors and the punching bags. A training room. She was close enough to hear Fenris' questions, if she asked, but didn't seem overly concerned. Perhaps that was because of all the cameras that studded the ceiling, or the turrents that were hidden in the walls and ceiling. It was strange; the doors opened before the replicant without even waving her hand; they all had chiplocks and seemed very secure, but that didn't seem to bother her.

The prowling figure was obviously there for someone. "Expecting someone else?" She asked, as she handed over her weapon.

Fenris didn't have any other questions for the small replicant, she was here to speak to her "mother", they could wait until then. She followed her through the building, looking round, taking it in. She did pause briefly to look at the Kalari, it was a nice car, but obviously not as good as her Lombrati. As she noticed the "house"'s AI opening the doors for them, she wondered why they hadn't got anything like that for 6768 yet, it would make things more convenient.

"We don't get much in the way of visitors." The replicant's voice was relaxed, and for all intents and purposes sounded honest. Indeed, the doors had closed behind Fenris as she walked through them, urging her forward and preventing the moving in the courtyard from following them inside.

The main room was dominated by two large technological marvels. One was a holoscreen that was projected in front of a massive computer; it's many boxes of drives and processors stacked like haphazard building blocks. There was room for a person to plug into it at the bottom, but if it was made for research or or secuirty of cobbled together from scraps, it was hard for Fenris to tell. The other side of the room featured a massive... Something. It was mechtronic and electronic, computer and more, with a chair in the middle. There were wires going into it; whatever it was took a lot of power. It seemed almost like a VR machine, with a place to relax when it happened, and a helmet that went over your head.

The doll replicant ignored it, and instead moved for the stairs upward. The whole building was made of simple and thick concrete, with durasteel and turrets thrown in. She paused to gesture to Fenris upstairs...

Where there was a totally understated living space. There were six rooms off a main space that housed a couch and holoscreen, a full kitchen, and a sparsely decorated dining table made of faux wood with chairs thick enough to support agent weight. There were two people sitting at the table; one was more than a little unhinged seeming. Dark haired, olive skinned, and tall, she was utterly beautiful, with purple eyes and a shotgun even Han would be a little impressed by... And the other was an older looking Seoul native, in a Smork branded knit sweater several sizes too large, MultiMeat sweat pants, and white hair. She coded as reasonably feminine, though any curves and any other equipment were hidden under her sweater. There were dark circles around her eyes. There was a dark colored cyberwolf at her feet, covered in synthfur and watching Fenris with some degree of canine interest. The white haired woman looked down at a tablet before looking up. "Fenris, eh? What do you want Sumiko for?" This was definitely the person who spoke before on Sosie's frequency, and so, must be Sosie.

The taller, younger woman looked Fenris over with a feral grin - this new Oracle agent looked... interesting. She was dressed in an orange dress, lengthy and covering but form-fitting with tiny illuminated crystals embedded in it sending waves of light gently running across her body in elegant patterns. Her long dark hair reached down past her shoulders, and her pink eyes had an unsettling glow to them. She was quietly polishing a gun. It was an AMS plasma shotgun, but it took some examination to work that out because of the amount of customisation that had been thrown at it. Clearly the weapon was of world-class craftsmanship, but more immediately noticeable was that it was much larger than a standard tactical weapon, plated in platinum with an artistic swirling design cut into it and precious stones inlaid throughout... was that real fur on the grips? To add to the extravagance of it all, there was a smaller kinetic shotgun underslung on it, perhaps in case one shotgun wasn't enough.

Oh, wait, clearly one wasn't enough, because as she shifted in her seat a little another plasma shotgun, with all the same ridiculous enhancements, was holstered at her side. Seeing her weaponry made it clear - this had to be inactive Oracle agent Ida Salcedo.

When Fenris made eye contact, Ida stared straight back, and for the briefest of moments her videoskin showed tears of blood and blink-and-you'll-miss-it frames of unsettling imagery, the bloodlust practically pouring off her. This was a dangerous agent for certain. (Beat Fenris on Pr+Attitude by 11) "It'd better be good," she added after Sosie spoke. Her German sounded natural, with an accent most couldn't quite place, though Fenris recognised the distinct Vastaag twinge to it.

While her interest was piqued by the strange contraption, Bell didn't give Fenris a chance to ask about it. And she had to follow before she could get a decent look. Before she knew it, she was face to face with two of Oracles old Agents. Sosie and Ida. They weren't exactly the most stable people since Pinkie died, and the look Ida was giving her made her very aware of the fact that her bow was half way across the room.

There was a long pause as Fenris tried to work out just how much she should tell them, as she subconsciously thumbed the activation stud for the Tac Ass shield hanging off her belt. She had to tell Sumiko, and she'd probably tell them, so there wasn't really much of a choice. Eventually, she took a deep breath and replied, her voice had an edge of determination, or anger, it was obviously something important. "There's someone I need dead. He has a back up. So I need it gone. I'm going to hit Itoma, and I need Sumiko to do it."

"You want to hit Itoma?" Ida burst out laughing - not, as Fenris might think, in derision, but because it sounded like a brilliant idea. "You're... going to break into Itoma's base. On the moon. The only confirmed backup facility. With all its security. You do realise how crazy that sounds, right?" She leant in towards Fenris with a smile. "So, who do you want dead that much, and why not just leave the backup so you can keep on killing him?"

Fenris was slightly taken aback by just how eager Ida seemed to be. It didn't help that she hadn't really talked about this. With anyone. And doing now with a couple of strangers was far from ideal. But there wasn't really a lot of choice. Sumiko would want details. Fuck. She had to give the answers they asked for, but she obviously wasn't comfortable discussing it with these two. "My old boss. He's high enough rank, and is gonna have enough protection, that I doubt I'll get a second chance. I need to make it stick the first time." The infiltrator looked around the living area, but could see no sign of anyone else. "Where is Sumiko?"

"Nearby." Sosie tilted her head thoughtfully. Her eyes narrowed a little, but she didn't seem shaken or even surprised. Just... consumed in her own thoughts. She adjusted in her seat, tucking her feet under her body. She seemed at ease, drowning in her oversized clothes. "Mm. You're with Oracle alright."

She clenched her jaw for a moment, before speaking in a louder, more authoritarian voice, "You have a guest, Sumiko. She wants to know if you want to destroy Itoma." Her Japanese was natural as well, Korean accent heavy in the words.

A few moments later, Sumiko smeakered a message back to Sosie. Destroy Itoma? Who is she?

The tone was suspicious, but Sosie could hear an undercurrent of hungry curiosity.

Sosie gestured to her face with a finger, her eyes on Fenris, to gesture that she was smeakering. Her voice, when delivered over smeaker, was much more gentle and.. hesitant. "Some Oracle agent. She hunted you down here. Come out and talk to her with us." There was a sad plea in her voice, almost, though her expression didn't reveal this. As an afterthought, she added, "If she's not legitimate, you and Ida and Pinkie can kill her."

There was a long pause and then Sumiko replied. She can come to me, if she wants. And you three can come and listen, if you want. And if she's a fraud, try not to kill her. Yet.

During the long pause, Sosie sat with a relaxed expression on her face, dropping a hand down to the cyberwolf at the base of her chair. The wolf sniffed and licked at her fingers while still keeping her head turned toward Fenris. There was a fair bit of menace in the dog's eyes... And then Sosie suddenly pointed to a door off the main room. "She says you can go see her... And we can follow as well." The last bit was to Ida. She moved to her feet, giving a little glance to the wolf which danced upwards, excited at the movement. The wolf's mouth parted, revealing shiny, sharp metal teeth. "Go on, knock."

Fenris waited as Sosie smeakered, it would have been nice if they'd actually told Sumiko when she'd arrived, but of course she had to act all paranoid. Fenris was clearly growing impatient by the the time Sosie gave the go-ahead, and she quickly strode over to Sumiko's door, not really paying much attention to the wolf, since it wouldn't really affect how any fight turned out anyway. She knocked on the door, hoping that it was finally Sumiko she was talking to, and not another intermediary. For many reasons, Fenris was kind of stressed right now, and her voice made that kind of obvious. "Sumiko? I'm Fenris, from Oracle. I need a combat trained neurostatician for a mission against Itoma, and Hui sent me to you. Can I come in and actually discuss this?"

"Sure." The voice from the other side of the door was female and assertive. Then the door opened and Fenris got her first look at Sumiko.

She was a young-ish looking Japanese woman and the eye was immediately drawn to her face. It wasn't a particularly remarkable face, but one side was mottled with what looked to be a blotchy red birthmark. The other was covered in a glowing blue geometric tattoo, creating a very strange effect.

Her face was framed by hair that looked as though it should be blonde, but it was dark and matted from weeks of neglect. The rest of her showed the same lack of concern for hygiene and her eyes were bloodshot. Her clothes, while reasonably good quality, were rumpled as though they had been slept in. She was also smiling and pointing a well-used but lovingly maintained fire rifle at Fenris.

The room behind her was almost as odd, if not more so. The walls were covered in sheets of paper, which in turn were covered with a strange pattern - a sort of giant spiderweb, with each strand made up of multiple intertwined threads which fed into clumpy-looking nodes. There were a few items of furniture dotted around and a sack full of rubbish in one corner, but very little to indicate someone lived here.

For a moment, Sumiko just regarded Fenris down the barrel of the gun and then she raised it and took a step back.

"Come in. And don't touch anything. If you want to go after Itoma...I want to talk to you." She smiled wider at that - and not a pleasant smile, either.

Really? A gun? This was getting a bit ridiculous. Disarming her, fair enough, but Fenris was stood in a building full of turrets, and they'd all made a point of threatening her. So either they're just dicks, or they were really that paranoid. Neither of which boded well for a difficult mission. The Agent stepped into the room and leaned back against the wall. "Well, there's one thing Sosie didn't get right. I don't give a shit about destroying Itoma, there is a particular backup I need you to sabotage. And with the exception of any secrets Oracle could sell or other information we could use, that's what we're going in for. No wide scale mayhem, we need to be subtle." The part of her that wasn't keeping tabs on Ida was watching the ex-merc carefully, to see how she took the news.

While Fenris paid attention to the people with menacing guns, Sosie took the opportunity to move close to Sumiko's door, and pass through if the press of bodies allowed her. Sumiko was in worse shape than Sosie had ever been, but in this case, there was no.. willingness to even engage with anyone on the outside. Her aggressive interest in Fenris was a change. The little cyberneticist, dropped her hand to pet the cyberwolf, but looked at Ida. If there was a case to change Sumiko's living situation, surely Ida would see it now.

At first, Sumiko didn't seem to listen to Fenris, instead grabbing her by one arm and pulling her forward, away from the wall that Fenris was leaning on. "Careful!" she snapped, her smile vanishing. "You'll misalign it. I told you not to touch anything." She adjusted the paper that Fenris had shifted with her touch, which she could now see was some sort of printout, and glared at the Oracle Agent.

"Right...no big destruction." She sounded disappointed with that and held up her rifle - although not in a threatening way, just as though she was examining it. "I know, I know, that's a shame. But we'd still get to plunder their secrets...and you never know, maybe we could do a bit of damage...nothing wide-scale, she says, but I'm sure there'd be a little bit of small stuff on the way." She turned her attention back to Fenris. "I mean, I know you want subtle, but your chances of getting in and out totally undetected? Not gonna happen. And if you want to start messing with backups...you need someone trained, yeah. Not just trained, but good. Someone crazy enough to do that kind of shit. Yeah, you need me." She smiled again, confidently.

Great. Hui failed to mention that she was a fucking nuke! That or just plain crazy! Well, she was here now, so she might as well see how functional Sumiko was. She studied Sosie briefly, trying to figure out if it was normal for the Neurostatician to have conversations with her gun. "I need a combat trained Neurostatician." This was not a sure thing yet, Fenris would be able to find others, it was worth making sure Sumiko understood that. "We need to give them more to worry about than a single backup, so this will be an Oracle mission. We will be stealing their secrets to sell, but that means you have to be able to keep up. What experience do you have? What missions have you been on? We can't afford to carry you." She should probably have talked to some of the mercs, to see how well Sumiko could actually work with a team.

"I can do combat," Sumiko replied with a shrug. "I'm guessing you know I used to be in Phoenix. You can ask them how good I was. But I was at Keelung and if not for me, it would have fallen." She didn't sound like she was boasting, just stating a fact. "Killed an Agent - maybe two - and a whole bunch of Ai-Jinn soldiers." One hand stroked her fire rifle and she smiled once again. "And that was before I became a telepath." She frowned and jerked her gaze back to Fenris.

"Anyway, point is - you want a combat trained neurostatician? You're not going to get better than me. Most of them can't even hold a pistol straight. I'm going to be your best shot, even if I am crazy." She chuckled, mirthlessly. "You shouldn't let that prejudice you, you know. Insanity makes me better and it isn't too much of a distraction."

At this point, Sosie muttered a brief, "Better at everything except science." but her tone was more sad than dismissive. The whole conversation, the cyberneticist watched with... Well, if Fenris could read her face, she would be able to see the concern. But it was masked by interest in what was being discussed, and weird, tentative looks at Sumiko.