[Open] No Time to Reflect on Operation WESTSIDE

[Katrielle Layton]

The Broken Mirrors (name recently changed due to... new management) was something between a street gang and a mafia-- mostly the former, considering that the leader of said group wasn't exactly mafia material. Sure, he wore the fancy suit, walked the walk and could charm most muggles around his finger, but deep down, he was just as thuggish and erratic as the rest of them. Something about the illicit dealings of Coruscant's underbelly just got his blood pumping, especially when he was personally involved.

That would probably explain why he was totally and utterly bored today. In his attempts to emulate the organized crime syndicates and keep his underlings in control, he had unwittingly delegated himself to a desk job, sending out members to do whatever dirty work was necessary as he managed his resources. Frankly, it didn't suit him one bit. He would have to change that at some point, although the subsequent loss of control that would follow had left him procrastinating on that decision.

And so he was left with looking over things in his office. Normally he would've kept the charade of patience, playing around with the little collection of desk toys he had summoned a while back when no one was watching, but today was awfully slow. Eric and Razor were currently out, smuggling some high-tech guns to a shady engineer in Tier 3, and the rest were attending to their own lives. Well, except maybe one person, although "person" wasn't really the right word.

Leaning over, the slinky man pressed down a little red button hidden on the back of his desk. "Daisy? I would like to speak with you," he said, his words carrying to where it was needed thanks to the little headset he had created. He intended to outfit more of his top mooks with the devices, but he wanted to test it a little further. Having said those words, he leaned back in his leather chair and waited.

Tor was in the middle of seeing how many times his chair could spin around in one go when the door opened. A yellow hoof was curled around the edge of the door, followed by the technicolor pony it belonged to. "You wanted me, Tor?"

As soon as he noticed the equine waiting for him, he swiftly placed his hands on the armrests and pulled his chair to a squeaky halt. "Yes, I did," he replied, pretending that he had never been twirling around in the first place.

Oopsie Daisy was somewhat of an oddball amongst her friends-- after all, the rest of the gang was at least humanoid, while she was a lemon-colored unicorn. The Distortionist had no idea why she was even in the Broken Mirrors in the first place, but when he asked around, the general consensus was that she had arrived thinking that it was her new workplace and never realized that she was mistaken. And since she was helpful for team morale (and had surprisingly good accounting skills), they never bothered to tell her.

The pony trotted up to the desk and nodded, pushing away her curly, rose red hair. "So... what'cha want?"

"Well, I need to take today off. Would you mind taking my place until I come back?" Even though he didn't really want to relinquish his hold, he figured Daisy wasn't going to try and backstab him.

"Run the place? For a whole day?"

"Yes!" He reached out to place a finger under her chin. "Think of it like... a temporary promotion. You get to be the boss today!"

The equine blushed and glanced away. "Really? Why, I'm honored! ...What do I do?"

"It's real simple," he began, rising out of his chair and making his way around the desk. "You sit here and make sure make sure everything is in order." He pulled her over to where he had been sitting and set her down. "If anyone wants something from us, let them know that I'm out for the night." He shifted over to the door, opening it. "And if one of our members have any work-related problems, help them however you can. Oh, and make sure everything is being done on time. Got that?"

"I think I do," she murmured her hooves rubbing across the wooden desk like it was an ancient treasure, "but-"

But he was already gone.

He took a moment to preen himself in the bathroom, brushing his white hair until it was nice and smooth. Unfortunately there wasn't anything he could do about his skin-- it was also white, like a piece of paper, and the two black circles on his cheeks made him look almost like a deranged doll. But his razor-like smile and expressive eyes (despite his frayed, gray irises giving the pupils a swirling, almost hypnotic look) helped to stymie the eeriness somewhat. Figuring he did all he could do to make himself look better, he paraded outside and summoned his signature bat, as well as a little pouch filled with money, and waltzed off into the night.

If there was one thing that Tor could say he liked about Tier 5, he would say "because it was dark." Something about the black abyss that was effectively 5's sky reminded him of home. And not in a bad way, either-- there was plenty of things he could do in the night. It didn't matter that his entire body was the color of ivory; if you have enough darkness, you can hide anything.

After about 15 minutes of wandering the slums, he came across a building that caught his eye. A bright, neon sign announced that it was a pub, the "Blac 'n' Blu Bar," in fact, complete with a lady laying provocatively across the letters with a glass in her hands. The sight brought a smile to the reflection's face. This sounded like a good time to him. Without breaking his stride, he turned to enter the establishment. He pushed the door open as he stepped in with confidence. 

Techno music blared out of speakers surrounding the dance floor, setting the stage for a dance-off between an elf in robes and a heavily-scarred troll. This, however, didn't interest him in the slightest. Not unless he was participating. But he didn't feel like strutting his stuff at the moment-- he wanted a few drinks in his system first. He made a beeline for the bar, sitting down in the first unoccupied seat he could find.

The bartender was admittedly impressive, juggling bottles between customers as he served them in front of a display of multicolored ice. Instead of a typical shelf, all of the drinks were placed into the holes of a giant block of ice. Endless arrays of lights flashed behind the frozen barrier, giving the impression that it was changing colors. That... was actually pretty clever; the drinks were always cold and the customers would have front row seats to a little light show. Even the monochrome man found himself enthralled by the display.

But not enough to be unable to order a drink when the opportunity came his way. He said nothing, instead pointing at a bottle with a rainbow sheen. The bartender was swift, pulling it out and pouring it in one motion. He garnished the glass with a tiny umbrella, then slid it the reflection's way. Tor caught it eagerly, giving the man an appreciative nod as he started to drink the bubbly, purple liquid.

The only thing that could make this better, he thought, was if he found a pretty woman to woo. Or if a bar fight broke out. Either was acceptable.

[Luci]

A beautiful woman rendered in shades of grey saunters through the crowded nightclub. The rainbow lights flashing on her body give the strange illusion that her white skin and grey dress are shifting colors constantly. She wears long black gloves up to her elbows, a pearl necklace, as a devastating smile that would show a pair of sharp white fangs.

Her name is Audrey.

The crowd seems to part before her as she approaches the dance stage, smiling coyly as she watched the dance battle between the elf and the scarred troll. The elves long eared friends cheered him on from the sidelines and he pop, locked, and dropped, respectively. The troll’s friends, a motley group of bridge trolls and dwarves, roar as the troll begins to break dance wildly. The elves begin to hurl insults, and Audrey walks away.

The music is blaring when she sidles up to the bar, next to an ivory skinned stranger. Audrey flashes him a dangerous smile and leans forward on the bar, pouting cutely until the bartender notices her. The bartender smiles and shouts something, but nothing can be heard. He walks over to her, spinning a bottle on the back of his hand, chatting his head off although he can’t be heard over the crunchy beats.

Audrey nods, smiles, and even laughs at one point, seemingly so overcome with mirth that she has to hold onto Tor’s shoulder for support. The gang leader rolls his eyes as the vampire lays it on thick.

The two recognize each other, if not by sight at least by reputation.

The bartender pulls out a gothy looking bottle from under the bar, and Audrey gets on her knees classily and grabs the hose on a beer bong. The bartender’s eyes flicker for a moment as he uncaps the bottle, but then his smile is back and his pouring the dark red liquid down the tube. Tor’s eyes follow the blood down the clear tube a Audrey greedily swallows the entire bottle. She stands up, her pupils dilated and her fangs extended, her bright red lips clashing oddly with otherwise grey-and-white body. With lightning speed she closes in on Tor, pressing her lips almost to his ear, but he does not flinch.

Audrey whispers something in his ear. Tor does not hear her over the music, but he nods. Audrey grins, her white teeth flecked with blood.

***

The next few hours are a blur. Tor and Audrey dance and drink and flirt, neither of them hearing a single word the other said. At one point, a fight breaks out between the trolls and the elves, somehow Tor and Audrey end up involved, and the fights ends with security dragging away the troll and elf bodies while Tor and Audrey laugh and take over the dance stage. Tor also seems to recall Audrey licking blood from his navel; he might even have had a sip too.

They stumble out the back door, laughing and holding each other up. Tor presses Audrey against a wall in the alley behind the bar, but the classy lady giggles and steps to his side.

“Have you heard a word I’ve said, darling?” she asks in her strange accent. Tor grins.

“I didn’t have too. Lemme guess; you wanna rob somebody?” the reflection replies.

Audrey grins back. “Good guess.”

[Katrielle Layton]

Tor woke up the morning after to a splitting headache and an annoying ringing sound. The former was because of the bender he pulled yesterday; the latter was due to his alarm clock. Silently he wondered to himself why he bothered with such a thing as his hands fumbled around to mute the machine blaring on his dresser. After a few pathetic attempts, his hand finally hit its mark and the noise died down. A few minutes passed as he worked up the will to pull himself out of his plush, twin-sized bed. ...What happened last night? He couldn't remember.

His room, complete with a bathroom, was situated in a side room only accessible from his office, locked behind a door only he had the key to. It was basically the epitome of at-work privacy, just the way he liked it. He had chosen to forego windows, instead using realistic murals with little lights installed to simulate sunlight-- the ghetto that was Tier 5 was not at all pleasing to wake up to, especially when you had the option of making it look like you live at the beach.

He made his way to his private washroom, which, while not all that different from the public one, proved to be more convenient to use now that he was back in his own room. He rubbed his eyes, pausing as he noticed something black on the palms of his hands. He yanked them back in panic, staring at the mirror to see if anything else about him had changed. Thankfully the answer was no, and when he examined the markings further, he realized that it was just something written on his hands in Sharpie. Even though things had gotten a little smudged, the message was still readable-- and it was in his handwriting too, if the all-caps font was any indication.

"AUDREY WANTS TO SEE YOU. BRING A COUPLE FRIENDS." Following that was an address in Tier 5.

Suddenly the events of last night came rushing back to him; the bar, the black-and-white lady he had recognized there, the plan to rob someone and Tier 2, and the agreement that they were way too drunk to organize it that night. He even recalled frantically scribbling on his hands because he didn't have any paper, electing a laugh from the vampire.

He needed to get ready.

The building they had decided to group up in was fairly ruined by Tier 5 standards. It used to be an asylum, but apparently a maniacal villain had taken it over a long time ago. They said the inmates had run rampant with chainsaws and various other types of heavy weaponry, and the workers there had been so stressed then that the incident had caused several of the staff to snap and join the massacre right then and there. The establishment was originally full of maniacs, but now that the person leading the revolt had vanished, so too did the group that once called the place home.

Tor kicked the door open, sending the rusting piece of metal careening into the wall with a loud *THUNK* as he and his two crew members entered. To his left was an anthropomorphic panda, with reddish and white fur, pacing along in oriental clothing. She carried a bag over her shoulder, a laptop sticking out of the opening. Her blue eyes flickered around, scanning the area. To his right marched a man in a black shroud hoodie, hiding the entirety of his body. The light of a laser-sight peeked out of his robes. Their leader, of course, marched in the middle, bat in hand.

They found Audrey's group waiting inside the reception area.  Aside from the woman herself, the rest of her team was human, and the two were dressed as if they had a hot date or something. Not that the reflection had the right to say anything, given that he wore similar things everyday (although he only did that because he thought it made him look extra-charming).

"Well," the lady began, lacing her fingers together, "that's quite the motley crew you got there."

Tor shrugged. "Hey, as long as they can do their jobs right, my doors are always open. Anyway, this is Lin Bao." The pandaren glanced up from her computer screen and nodded in acknowledgement. "And this is... um... okay, I can never pronounce your name."

"Oxr'klk'rt," answered the robed man.

"Yeah, that. What about your guys, doll?"

She gave them the introductions, and then they entered the planning phase. The target? Eric Clapton, inventor of the camera system that the police currently use. He definitely had to have a boatload of moolah tucked away somewhere, or even some valuable items. But even though they had the location, they needed to figure out how to break into the inner workings without landing themselves in jail. Suggestions flew about the room, roaming all over the place until one of them finally landed.

"Vacuum salesmen!" Tor shouted, slamming his hands on the table. The others stared at him, confused at his sudden outburst. "Audrey and I will pretend to be vacuum salesmen!" In his excitement, he hopped on top of the table, pointing at his hacker buddy. The panda didn't react, given that this was pretty normal behavior for the gang leader.  "Lin! Remember that prototype you were working on?"

She nodded, digging into her bag and pulling out a tiny device that resembled a spider covered in blusish-black plating. After plugging a USB device into the computer, she pressed on the keyboard, manipulating the machine to the other side of the table. It looked up to stare at Audrey, whereupon the panda turned her laptop so the group could see that she could see what the bug could see.

"We're gonna smuggle this in, right?" Asked the vampire, tapping on the portable camera. Lin Bao frantically gestured for her to stop touching it.

"Right! Most of us will pose as the salesmen, offer a demonstration..."

"And then you'll drop off the ArachCam somewhere safe and I'll case the place," added the panda. "Plus I can use it to connect to whatever systems are available in the house. Definitely a lot easier to hack into a place if you own one of the nearby connections."

"But what about Unpronouncable over here? Doubt he'd fit in."

"I'll. K'keep. Watch. Back'kup. Fire."

"So are we ready?!" Tor cheered, raising his fists in the air.

"Ooh, we're gonna get so many simoleans!"

[Luci]

Eric Clapton (no relation), creater of the most modern Imperial Survelliance system, is reclining in his hoverchair in his mansion in Tier 2, sipping scotch and watching several floating screens at once.

Many of the screens show the most mundane things; empty streets or apartments. Some of them show people having sex. Some of them show crimes being committed.

One of them, a new hyper accurate x-ray echolocation heat sensing camera, is positioned directly in front of Eric’s massive driveway, and it is this camera that has his attention. In this camera, he can distinctly see five individuals, and a bear, packed into a large white van. After about twenty minutes, a strange black and white duo emerge. They are holding vaccums and smiling brightly as they push open Eric’s electronically locked gate with superhuman force and begin walking up his driveway.

He watches them step up to his doorbell, creepy eager smiles on their faces, and watches his butler answer the door, and then close it.

He watches his butler on the way up to his room on the third floor. He watches the butler knock on his door.

“Come in,” Eric calls, a friendly and youthful tone to his voice, despite his greying hair.

The butler enters. “Sir,” he says in a voice dry enough to parch the voices of other butlers. “There are criminals at your doorstep again. These ones claim to be selling vaccum cleaners. Shall I invite them to dinner?”

“Yes, please, Mortimer,” Eric says offhandedly, his eyes on his screens. “I’ll be down shortly.”

“Ineeeeeeeed,” Mortimer says, as he bows so low his stupid mustache touches the floor, and exits.

Eric watches Mortimer descend to the dining room and invite his excited guests inside.

After a moment, he turns his hoverchair around and glides after his butler.

***