Simon fixed the cuff of his white pressed shirt, tugging at it as he walked down the hallway to the presenation room. Alec was fiddling again, not that he minded. It usually resulted in an even tighter security on the Domicile which relieved the new leader, but only a little. Nothing could penetrate the Domicile, deep in the bowels of the earth, although Ellis' presence was everywhere. The stark steel design, the smooth walls and sometimes, he thought he could still smell her perfume.
Suddenly his perception senses tingled in his mind. Alec has implemented his changes but that's all they registered as...something different, something new. Taking a deep breath, Simon looked up and with a slight push on the door, entered the presentation room. His perception went off almost like an alarm clock in his head. Alec was already there, in the dark room.
'Alec,' slipping his hands into the pockets of his trousers, 'Show me the fruits of your paranoid labor.'
Paranoia (Attn: Simon, invite only)
Alec checked, and rechecked his lists. He'd tightened the security to lethal levels within his and Ginnie's living quarters when the locks were engaged and had an external activity notice installed when either of them came home. If anyone was waiting, there'd be a pleasant chime. Enough warning for either of them to take appropriate actions. In Ginnie's case, lobbing in incendiary grenades and destroying their living quarters and everything in it. In his case, closing the door, removing the opening mechanism and running like hell to go get his woman. The changes had meant that they had to bus their own messes, laundry, trash and whatnot, but he felt it was worth it. Besides, washing dishes together was almost always as rewarding as watching movies together.
The hallway motion sensors had been overhauled for the entire Domicile. Rather than the wide zone motion sensors, he'd also instituted periodic net sensors that would be tripped whenever their plane was broken. He'd set them up in triplicate, so that anyone who even had the knowhow to look for them would pull their fangs out in frustration trying to disable it without breaking any of the three planes, arranged so that each protected the other. Carol's installation techs had rolled their eyes a bit, but it made him feel better.
Finally, he'd scheduled a meeting with Simon. With the wave of quiet following Ellis' death, Alec had become more paranoid about ensuing assault on the Domicile and on Simon rather than less. That meant they would just be LESS sloppy and MORE prepared. SOMEONE out there had to think that they could make a bid for power. Simon was a bad ass, sure, and an organizational mastermind, but what had kept Ellis in charge, primarily, was fear. Alec just couldn't see that aura transferring onto Simon, even if they credited him with the kill. Of course, he knew the man. Drank blood across from him from time to time. Saw him make goo goo eyes at his girlfriend. That kind of took the edge off. Outside of Nachton, people would just hear the rep, and the rep was stone cold. To be fair, Simon was...but that wasn't all he was. Like anyone, he had weak spots, and Alec wanted to shore those up as much as possible.
As had been his habit recently, he blended his way through the Domicile to the lobby. Continuing on, he wound through the floors, making sure all was well before heading to the presentation room. He'd shown up a bit early to check for bugs, and there were none that he hadn't expected. Brushing his blended gloved hands down his blended gray clothing, he sat and waited in the darkened room, his senses extended to warn him of any approaching individuals.
Simon Huntington
17 years ago
Alec Devereaux
17 years ago
Sighing, Alec leaned forward in his seat.
Yes, but paranoid because you might want to be a tidge more concerned for your own safety, boss. Someone with my skills can still get into your Abattoir office undetected...but we'll cover the more recent fruits first.
Sliding somewhat bonelessly from his lightly reclining seat, Alec walked up onto the stage, not turning up the lights. It'd be better for this portion of the display.
Here's the new motion sensor that I've been...um...rolling out. Sorry for jumping the gun on it, but it worked so well in conjunction with the ones in place that we've been testing them. The normal motion sensors work in a field coverage...like this.
Flipping on a slide projector, Alec had a photo from one of their hallway security feeds. Hand drawn over the slide were dotted lines showing the field's boundaries.
Now, normally, these are adequate. Normal intruders, infantry, people not concerned with stealth and whatnot. But a patient body can walk right through them, and a...um...securities minded individual like myself can just go around.
Clicking again, two short clips played - one of Alec walking painfully slowly through the motion sensor's field, the other of him using suction cups on the ceiling and skirting the barely visible sensor.
Now...with these new arrays, it adds planar detectors as well as the field sensors. Anyone crossing the plane of the device is registered. I've installed them on three cross covering origins so that in order to disable one, you'll trigger one or both of the others. The bonus is that the planars are almost invisible when installed in electronics or the field areas around doorways. Pretty cool, huh? On the downside, they are a bit...warm, so people with sensitive skin like myself might be able to feel them when they get close. Also, a fine enough dust will show a slight sparkle at areas where the field overlaps. Kind of like spider silk in moonlight, I guess.
Flipping on the next slide, it revealed the original slide with three colored planes, showing the area of coverage. Climbing on the ceiling or slow movement were covered. No one could sneak in or out now.
Oh, I also installed them in the air, water and waste lines. The waste ones will have to be maintained a bit more frequently, but I thought it might be a good idea anyway. Ah! And I finally cracked that optical scanner, but you probably already heard about that. Still not within reliable time frames, but a step.
Leaning over the desk, Alec flipped a switch, turning the lights on low, then fading upward. He hated the jarring sensation that immediate electrical light had on his eyes, so he avoided it whenever possible. Gradual was good. Smirking, Alec asked
Any questions before I...um...tactfully and politely insist that you increase security at your Abby office?
Yes, but paranoid because you might want to be a tidge more concerned for your own safety, boss. Someone with my skills can still get into your Abattoir office undetected...but we'll cover the more recent fruits first.
Sliding somewhat bonelessly from his lightly reclining seat, Alec walked up onto the stage, not turning up the lights. It'd be better for this portion of the display.
Here's the new motion sensor that I've been...um...rolling out. Sorry for jumping the gun on it, but it worked so well in conjunction with the ones in place that we've been testing them. The normal motion sensors work in a field coverage...like this.
Flipping on a slide projector, Alec had a photo from one of their hallway security feeds. Hand drawn over the slide were dotted lines showing the field's boundaries.
Now, normally, these are adequate. Normal intruders, infantry, people not concerned with stealth and whatnot. But a patient body can walk right through them, and a...um...securities minded individual like myself can just go around.
Clicking again, two short clips played - one of Alec walking painfully slowly through the motion sensor's field, the other of him using suction cups on the ceiling and skirting the barely visible sensor.
Now...with these new arrays, it adds planar detectors as well as the field sensors. Anyone crossing the plane of the device is registered. I've installed them on three cross covering origins so that in order to disable one, you'll trigger one or both of the others. The bonus is that the planars are almost invisible when installed in electronics or the field areas around doorways. Pretty cool, huh? On the downside, they are a bit...warm, so people with sensitive skin like myself might be able to feel them when they get close. Also, a fine enough dust will show a slight sparkle at areas where the field overlaps. Kind of like spider silk in moonlight, I guess.
Flipping on the next slide, it revealed the original slide with three colored planes, showing the area of coverage. Climbing on the ceiling or slow movement were covered. No one could sneak in or out now.
Oh, I also installed them in the air, water and waste lines. The waste ones will have to be maintained a bit more frequently, but I thought it might be a good idea anyway. Ah! And I finally cracked that optical scanner, but you probably already heard about that. Still not within reliable time frames, but a step.
Leaning over the desk, Alec flipped a switch, turning the lights on low, then fading upward. He hated the jarring sensation that immediate electrical light had on his eyes, so he avoided it whenever possible. Gradual was good. Smirking, Alec asked
Any questions before I...um...tactfully and politely insist that you increase security at your Abby office?
Simon Huntington
17 years ago
Simon listened to Alec's demonstration and was silently pleased. He was glad Alec had found his niche within the clan and his skills were definitely welcomed. Alec's last comment made him grin, just a little.
'My office has all the security it will need, Alec. I'm hardly there as it is.' With a slow shrug he nodded, consenting to the young one's insisting. 'Make your upgrades, Alec. We wouldn't want you to get bored.' Simon doubted seriously Alec ever did, especially with Ginnie at his side now. What was it about the women in Tacharan who were borderline crazy, yet sexy at the same time.
'There is one thing I'd like you to look into. There was a recent rash of murders at Hillman's warehouse ruins. Fairly obvious what had done it...I want to know who had done it.'
Simon was going to follow up with his Medical Examiner groupie, not quite familiar, down in the city morgue. He figured more information wouldn't hurt.
'My office has all the security it will need, Alec. I'm hardly there as it is.' With a slow shrug he nodded, consenting to the young one's insisting. 'Make your upgrades, Alec. We wouldn't want you to get bored.' Simon doubted seriously Alec ever did, especially with Ginnie at his side now. What was it about the women in Tacharan who were borderline crazy, yet sexy at the same time.
'There is one thing I'd like you to look into. There was a recent rash of murders at Hillman's warehouse ruins. Fairly obvious what had done it...I want to know who had done it.'
Simon was going to follow up with his Medical Examiner groupie, not quite familiar, down in the city morgue. He figured more information wouldn't hurt.
Alec Devereaux
17 years ago
Grinning at the proverbial "blank check" that Simon'd given him on the Abby office, Alec nodded. Yeah...when I get bored I turn to architecture, apparently, and that's a lot more expensive than security.
At Simon's next request, Alec cocked his head and frowned a bit. He'd heard that there was an excavation scheduled for the site to research the causes, and that some craziness had gone down. That meant that upon the extraction of the Hillman compound that the crew had missed something of significant value - something worth butchering one's way in for.
The other possibility wasn't one Alec wanted to think about.
Nodding, he asked
Sure thing. Anything that we can get hacked in advance - autopsies, statements, news clippings, film feeds and whatnot...I'd love to take a look at them. Especially the excavation blueprints since that'll tell us a lot about the situation...but I'm guessing I'll have to steal those...so addresses too for related parties and locations.
If you like, I can also layer this as a smear operation - make it look like someone is involved that you want to squirm some. Let me know within a couple of days and I'll be happy to plant evidence, too. Assuming that you want all of the information on the lowdown and with no trail, right?
That was an easy one...Simon wouldn't have asked him if it were a series of interviews. Nothing like stupid questions to get the boss confident in your abilities.
At Simon's next request, Alec cocked his head and frowned a bit. He'd heard that there was an excavation scheduled for the site to research the causes, and that some craziness had gone down. That meant that upon the extraction of the Hillman compound that the crew had missed something of significant value - something worth butchering one's way in for.
The other possibility wasn't one Alec wanted to think about.
Nodding, he asked
Sure thing. Anything that we can get hacked in advance - autopsies, statements, news clippings, film feeds and whatnot...I'd love to take a look at them. Especially the excavation blueprints since that'll tell us a lot about the situation...but I'm guessing I'll have to steal those...so addresses too for related parties and locations.
If you like, I can also layer this as a smear operation - make it look like someone is involved that you want to squirm some. Let me know within a couple of days and I'll be happy to plant evidence, too. Assuming that you want all of the information on the lowdown and with no trail, right?
That was an easy one...Simon wouldn't have asked him if it were a series of interviews. Nothing like stupid questions to get the boss confident in your abilities.
Simon Huntington
17 years ago
Simon shook his head. 'Right now I just want information. We'll go from there.' His decision was final. They weren't interested in shirking the blame, in fact no one had come out and directly accused the clan of the slaughter, but he knew it was out there. They would evaluate first...then destroy. Patience was everything and even Ellis knew when not to strike...when to wait and choose her time. That's what made her so dangerous.
'Do you have anything else to report? Murmurs of anything?' Then Simon gave Alec the smallest of smiles. 'How is the fair Ginnie?'
'Do you have anything else to report? Murmurs of anything?' Then Simon gave Alec the smallest of smiles. 'How is the fair Ginnie?'
Alec Devereaux
17 years ago
Blushing to his ears, Alec responded a little unevenly. Talking about girls with the boss was somewhat outside of his worldview, but he couldn't see a reason not to. He'd go on and on about her to anyone else that'd listen...might as well moon to everyone, not a select crowd.
"Uh...well, yeah. Nothing to complain about on that front, that's for sure! Its odd, man...like all of the stops and tension just disappear when she walks in a room. Normally I'm a bit...uh...bad...at the whole conversation thing. With her it just comes naturally...like I'm talking to myself or something. Ok, talking to a sexy female version of myself that could kill me as easily as she ma...um...does other things to me. Course, there's that whole 'Do-not-look-at-her-ass-when-trying-to-walk-through-a-doorway' issue, but some bruises are worth it, I think."
Glowing for a moment, Alec realized there'd been other portions to the question as well.
"Um...just a little bit of squirming in the ranks, I guess. A lot of the more hands on types seem to be spoiling to get back in business. Also a sense of relief - those still around assumed that Something Bad was gonna happen again after the raid...that whole 'Bad Luck comes in Threes' theory. Now most of them are writing it off...so you've got a lot of folk ready to get back in the mix. Just a matter of pointing the cannon at something."
Grinning, he realized he didn't fall into either category - he'd kept busy and still thought Something Bad was going to happen. It sucked being different, sometimes.
"Uh...well, yeah. Nothing to complain about on that front, that's for sure! Its odd, man...like all of the stops and tension just disappear when she walks in a room. Normally I'm a bit...uh...bad...at the whole conversation thing. With her it just comes naturally...like I'm talking to myself or something. Ok, talking to a sexy female version of myself that could kill me as easily as she ma...um...does other things to me. Course, there's that whole 'Do-not-look-at-her-ass-when-trying-to-walk-through-a-doorway' issue, but some bruises are worth it, I think."
Glowing for a moment, Alec realized there'd been other portions to the question as well.
"Um...just a little bit of squirming in the ranks, I guess. A lot of the more hands on types seem to be spoiling to get back in business. Also a sense of relief - those still around assumed that Something Bad was gonna happen again after the raid...that whole 'Bad Luck comes in Threes' theory. Now most of them are writing it off...so you've got a lot of folk ready to get back in the mix. Just a matter of pointing the cannon at something."
Grinning, he realized he didn't fall into either category - he'd kept busy and still thought Something Bad was going to happen. It sucked being different, sometimes.
Simon Huntington
17 years ago
Simon nodded. Descension in the ranks didn't surprise him. They had laid low for far too long and with his Council meeting approaching quickly, it was time to get back to doing normal clan activities.
'Well then,' he clasped his hands behind his back, 'with Gaia's disappearance, there is no one to run the Mercs...or what is left of them. Reassemble and train a new crew. Report to me your progress in 2 weeks.'
Turning, Simon headed towards the exit of the Stadium. 'Requisition anything you need from Carol and Ginnie.' He stopped as he reached the door and opened it with one hand. 'We're killers, Alec. We should probably kill something.'
((Not quite out but heading there - pending response from Alec))
'Well then,' he clasped his hands behind his back, 'with Gaia's disappearance, there is no one to run the Mercs...or what is left of them. Reassemble and train a new crew. Report to me your progress in 2 weeks.'
Turning, Simon headed towards the exit of the Stadium. 'Requisition anything you need from Carol and Ginnie.' He stopped as he reached the door and opened it with one hand. 'We're killers, Alec. We should probably kill something.'
((Not quite out but heading there - pending response from Alec))
Alec Devereaux
17 years ago
Alec had already began cleaning up the remnants of his presentation when the bomb dropped.
Oh...shit.
'Um...ok. That'll...certainly be an unusual team if they're learning my skills, but you're the boss. I can use the Hillman Compound research as training exercises, I guess.'
Swallowing, Alec wondered what HE'D learn as a...a Merc Squad Leader. Hopefully 'hollow-point friendly fire' wound care wasn't on that list. Well, that heaped a pile of things to do onto his plate. Get drunk, finalize will, make merc list, requisition supplies, get drunk, research Hillman compound, gather mercs, start their training, get injured during training session with said apes, research Hillman compound while recuperating, have second training session, send out squad on first mission, lose half of the squad to friendly fire over confusion when spotting each other, bury Clan Tacharan as they die from watching his bungling, etc..
Yeah...it was going to be a long two weeks.
((Alec out for step one - Get Drunk))
'with Gaia's disappearance, there is no one to run the Mercs...or what is left of them. Reassemble and train a new crew. Report to me your progress in 2 weeks.'
Oh...shit.
'Um...ok. That'll...certainly be an unusual team if they're learning my skills, but you're the boss. I can use the Hillman Compound research as training exercises, I guess.'
Swallowing, Alec wondered what HE'D learn as a...a Merc Squad Leader. Hopefully 'hollow-point friendly fire' wound care wasn't on that list. Well, that heaped a pile of things to do onto his plate. Get drunk, finalize will, make merc list, requisition supplies, get drunk, research Hillman compound, gather mercs, start their training, get injured during training session with said apes, research Hillman compound while recuperating, have second training session, send out squad on first mission, lose half of the squad to friendly fire over confusion when spotting each other, bury Clan Tacharan as they die from watching his bungling, etc..
Yeah...it was going to be a long two weeks.
((Alec out for step one - Get Drunk))