The motel room was cheap. Cheap was probably too kind of a word to use, now that he thought about it. It had two beds, a TV that didn't get any channels, a bathroom with a stained floor, and a sink that was rusting out. It was lucky that Frank wasn't picky.
Sitting on one of the beds and wiping a few grease spots off of his FNX Tactical, Frank laid it out with the rest of his armament. He did this once a week. Emptied his pockets and his belt to make sure everything he carried was in working order. He didn't have much else to do, while he waited.
He'd been in town for a week. Not sure what he was going to do. He'd idly thought of going to the local Company outpost and destroying it. Files, equipment, so on. But he'd been the one to set up the security. He wouldn't have made it far.
And then, dropped right on him, Fiona. It was as close to an act of God as he could ever remember happening to him. And he couldn't think of a more worthy use of his time than trying to help someone that he'd also helped wrong in the past.
Post by Fiona Kingsleigh on Jan 22, 2016 3:13:39 GMT -5
Three months ago, she would have turned and ran.
The elevator descending the Ark Tower was seemingly the slowest it had ever travelled. Fiona thought she had been careful, just enough to leave no traces behind. But there she was, caught red-handed in the very rich cookie jar. And now, a Company agent had asked her to meet eye to eye, so he could explain everything. The old Fiona would see this as what it logically would be: a poor excuse for a trap. She would naturally just hide at one of the most secured buildings in the world, and send someone else to take this man in. It was the safe thing to do.
Fiona was just a few yards away from this Frank Rook's location. She made no attempts to hide her approach. A part of her was even hoping it was a trap. The brunette patted the side of her jacket, making sure that her butterfly knife was still there, just for some insurance. It probably wasn't necessary anyway, now that all of her powers were back, but... who knows?
A real agent, after discovering someone accessing top secret information, would sound the alarms and their servers would be physically disconnected within minutes. As far as Fiona knew, Frank made no such attempts. The files... they were still available, and Fiona hastily made quick but incomplete copies before leaving her office.
Taking a deep breath, she walked up to Frank's motel room, and knocked.
Post by Frank Rook on Jan 22, 2016 22:28:45 GMT -5
The sharp knock on the door made Frank snap his head in it's direction. Without looking, and without hesitation, he grabbed his pistol and it's suppressor. Sliding the threads into the port, he twisted several times until the silencer was in place. Standing up and making his way to the door, he looked through the peephole and eyed Fiona. As far as he could see, she was alone. But he knew better than a lot of people that her trap could be hiding anywhere.
Deciding that if it were a trap, he'd have to spring it to move forward, he pressed the tip of the suppressor to the door and reached for the handle with his left hand. The door didn't have a chain, a deadbolt, or any kind of security device. Just the lock in the knob. To top it off, he was sure he'd be able to break it down with a shoulder.
Cracking the door open, he eyed her for a moment before scanning the parking lot outside the door. Still nothing out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean anything.
"Inside," he said plainly, stepping back and to the side to usher her in. He kept his right hand behind the door, hiding his pistol from view.
When she was finally inside, he closed the door and kept the gun at his side. "Were you followed? Are you bugged?" he asked her. He doubted she would know if someone knew what they were doing, but he could gauge her reaction to the question well enough.
Post by Fiona Kingsleigh on Jan 23, 2016 22:01:53 GMT -5
The way Fiona was greeted really took her back to the days when she was locked away. She couldn't help but to smirk at the thought of seeing a Company agent's paranoia first hand once again. They love knowing that they were in control, and they hated surprises. Fiona didn't blame them. Agents without that mentality didn't last very long. She could hear Frank moving close to the door, and she could hear that very light tap on the other side of it, where no doubt he would've placed his gun, around where her head was.
Almost mockingly, Fiona held up her hands to the sides of her head, to show she was holding no weapons. Shaking her hands slightly at the wrist, the sleeves of her jacked rolled down her forearm, assuring there wasn't anything hidden there either. Finally, the aging veteran cracked open the door.
She rolled her eyes when Frank stared her down before scoping out the rest of the parking lot for hidden SWAT teams. Once the surveying was to his satisfaction, Frank stepped aside and ordered Fiona to enter. She did so, playing the obedient pup for the moment which the Company loved so much.
"I brought no one. I came alone... to the best of my knowledge," she teased, casually but carefully taking out her butterfly knife before taking off her jacket and leaving it crumpled on the floor. It was only fair, since Frank was holding a gun in his hand. Surely he would let her keep a little something for protection. "But who knows? Every camera in Ark Towers saw me leave. The Company network knew that you were accessing some very old but very sensitive files. Maybe we don't have that much time to talk, after all."
Fiona took a quick inventory of the motel room, as she strolled about like the tiny space was a museum exhibit. There was a lot of military hardware on the bed, more than the average agent would utilize under normal circumstances. It gave her the impression that he was indeed waiting for Fiona to send an Ark escort team to get him. This would be fun.
"But, if you're still unsatisfied..."
Fiona closed her eyes, feeling all the electronics around her that were operational. Tilting her head up, all electronic devices in the room began to sizzle and crackle, including the television, and the plugged-in telephone, along with everything else, such as Frank's laptop, and Fiona's cellphone. Every electronic device was disabled by her powers.
"Bill me for the laptop. You know where I work. Now, you were about to make amends..." Fiona said, leaning against a side wall close to the bed with all the weapons, crossing her arms but still gripping onto her knife tightly.
Frank looked at the knife she was holding, smirking for a moment. He applauded that she carried something for self defense, but almost scoffed at her choice. A balisong was a toy with a sharp edge.
"If you plan on stabbing someone, lose the toy. Get a fixed blade with a full tang," he said. Walking over to the bed, he laid down the gun and looked at the laptop. It didn't even show a blue screen, she'd done such a good job at frying it. "Don't bother, I don't keep them around very long, he said. He didn't have a cell permanent cell phone and he didn't have a permanent computer either. They were too easy to track. Although, with her help, maybe that would change.
"Your sister, I'm sure you know she's under Company surveillance. Everyone who's ever been kept or investigated by them is. It may not be around the clock, but someone checks in on them. You too, whether you know it or not. Agents, and people like you two, are most likely chipped. I cut mine out, so they can't find me anymore, but they'll always be able to find you and her. Unless we find her and disable it. That's what I'm offering. Help. In return... I might need help giving the Company a black eye. I was in charge of security, a long time ago. I did such a good job, even I can't breach the place anymore." he said. Laying everything out right now would probably do more to get her to trust him.
Idly, he went to the pile of gear and started to put everything away. Slowly but surely, the dozens of implements disappeared into pockets and pouches on his body. Then, he went ahead with digging up everything from the room that he'd hidden. A small revolver under the pillow, a grenade between the mattresses, so on and so forth.
Lastly, from inside a nylon messenger bag of sorts, he pulled out a black block. It was actually a magnet, quite a powerful one. And when he peeled the back layer of the laptop off, it did the job of wiping everything from the hard drive.
Post by Fiona Kingsleigh on Jan 30, 2016 3:37:15 GMT -5
Fiona grinned to herself when Frank lectured her on her poor choice of weapons. Did every Company agent have the Asian-Parent-Syndrome? Nothing was ever good enough for them.
"It's not the size or build that matters," Fiona remarked, her tone silky and oddly seductive. "It's the way you... well, you know where I am getting at." And indeed, she was excellent at using bladed weapons. Agent Vayne was as gung-ho about swords and knives as this old soldier about firearms, and it wasn't hard to believe that the handlers of the Program unintentionally passed down many personal traits to their assets.
Fiona was visibly concerned when Frank brought up Miranda, but smiled again when he suggested the possible tracking method. Fortunately, electronics was her speciality, both as an engineer and an Evo. She had already scanned Miranda from head to toe a month ago (and she commented about never doing the creepy stare on her ever again), and there wasn't a single piece of chip on her sister's body. Fiona kind of wished there really was a chip in her body, so she could trace the signal back to wherever the secret part of the Company was hiding.
Still, Frank was not useless. He had immense insight in regards to the workings of the Company, as well as everything she needed to know about the Program. The one both he and Moretti was a part of. Seemingly acting on his own accord, Moretti unsealed the safeguard placed on her by the Company. If he could do this to Fiona, he could do this to Miranda, or any others out there, blessed by the mental seal that was still in place. The man needed a cyber-ally, and he had just found the best.
"Such crude tracking devices would have been detected by me long ago. If they were to keep an eye on me, and the others, then they must have alternative methods. Either way, if they wanted to know where we are, I'm sure they have their ways, but it certainly won't be with any known technology... not when I am near. Still, we best not stay in one spot for too long."
Seeing Frank packing his belongings away quickly and efficiently, Fiona moved from the wall and towards the door, getting ready to leave. She twirled her butterfly knife about playfully, demonstrating a certain degree of skill.
"What is your current status with the Company anyway? Depending on the answer, we may or may not have a very long and hard road ahead. Thankfully, two heads are better than one, especially two that were in charge of security for some very large organizations. Oh, and please grab my jacket on your way out. We shouldn't leave any evidence behind."
As soon as Frank bends down to retrieve her coat, Fiona threw her knife at Frank with all her might with extreme accuracy, straight for the hand that held the pistol.
"Say that when your knife isn't big enough," he said, tossing his briefcase on the bed. He slipped the magnet back into it and piled the now useless laptop and cellphone on top. He'd toss them into a dumpster somewhere. Might take her up on replacing it. He would often wipe it and start with a new operating system, to save on hardware.
"The chips weren't all that crude, and they stopped implanting them a while back. But when I was with them, the people who had them kept them. I can't say if they've been removed since then or not." He heard the clink and clank of her playing with the knife and rolled his eyes quickly. Toys...
Reaching for her jacket to toss to her, he could almost hear the slight slide of metal against flesh when the blade left her hand. His eyes turned in time to see the knife in mid-air.
Turning his left hand slightly, he put it in the path of the knife and closed his fingers around it when he came into range. The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion, but it didn't take more than a second.
Tossing it into the air a few inches, Frank flipped the knife around to hold it by the swinging handles. Flipping it a back and forth a few times, he closed it and looked at Fiona.
"I'm not with them anymore. After the battle with the Dominion, and the retreat of everyone that was still alive, and the things that came next... I couldn't abide by that. I'm not sure what they qualify me as, but I know my position has been filled," he said.
"Looks like your knife wasn't big enough," he said, tossing the closed knife back to her. Such an obvious non-threat, he could feel his paranoia subside. When someone was trying to kill you, or otherwise cause you harm, things were so much simpler. It was one of the few times he could relax. Reaching to the back of his belt, he pulled out the snub nosed .357 and opened the cylinder. He tilted it toward her and showed her the five live rounds inside before snapping it closed. Tossing the gun to her, he slipped his own into the holster at his right side.
"You want to try again, you have five shots to kill me. But trust me when I say that five wont be enough. I'll wait," he said. He wondered if she'd pull the trigger. He'd have to shoot her and leave her here if she did, but he didn't get that vibe from her.
Post by Fiona Kingsleigh on Feb 1, 2016 4:24:27 GMT -5
Even though Fiona wasn't shocked that her little knife throw act didn't disable the man, she was very impressed by the way he avoided getting his hand pinned to the floor. Like she was taught to do, the easiest target was one that was distracted with their guard down. She wanted to know more about this man, the one that said he wanted to make amends, of his capabilities. One could tell a lot by someone's reaction to being suddenly attacked. He had trusted her enough to break eye contact with her, and there was no telegraphing of her move. For a big man, Frank Rook sure moved fast.
In all honesty, she really thought the knife would hit Frank's hand. She was aware that he was listed as "One of Them" in his login's profile, and expected the knife to bounce off his skin, or caught in some kind of force field, or he'd just pull the knife out of his hand casually, or something else. She didn't expect his reflexes to be this incredible. Fiona watched with a big smile on her face as Frank demonstrated his own skills with the butterfly knife.
"If your position has been filled, then we don't have much time to get you back into the database. But, since I've fried every piece of electronic in the room, and you ran your computer through with a magnet, I'm willing to bet neither of us will get a crack at the Company files again. Luckily, I... oh damn it..."
In her haste to fry everything in the room, she forgot that her thumb drive would've also been affected. Fiona shook her head... their only lead of finding the others was gone. When the knife was closed and tossed back, the woman casually caught it, but didn't bother keeping it out. She slipped it into her pant pocket instead, having no need for it any more. Fiona didn't expect Frank to tell her to try again with a gun when he tossed the firearm her way. She grabbed it out of the air, and examined it briefly.
"We were all taught armed and unarmed combat at a young age. I can kill any untrained man with my bare hands in seconds. You have seen what I can do with a knife. But not once was I ever allowed near any weapons used by agents. This would be one of them, and I don't intend to start today. If you want me to take another shot at you, then buy me a bigger knife. Until then, take this back."
Fiona hurled the gun back to Frank gently before picking up her own jacket, preparing to leave. This was enough information for the agent to figure out while her and Alice came from the same Program, Alice's continued involvement with the Company gave her proper military training (which she used in the Battle of Kingston, and later on Battle of DC), while Fiona had none during her civilian life after her release. It could also be questioned whether Fiona was even physically fit to kill a man with her bare hands at this moment. She was not one to hit the gym, and while she had shown concern for her physicality in the past couple of months, she had not been able to work her way back to the strength and stamina she had when she was 18.
"The only way I can get back into that database is if I'm physically in front of the server. As great as you are, I don't think you alone can take on the entire Company. So, what do you propose, Mr Rook?"
"I don't know yet. If I had a plan, I'd have acted on it by now. The Company and all of it's operations are sealed up too tightly for me to breach. I designed them all, and I purposefully left no weak points or back doors. We should probably build up our forces and our resources," he said. A few more bodies, and skill sets, and they might be ready to carry out some plans.
"Your sister, and the other kids. We might be able to start by rounding them up. They were trained by the Company for a reason. They're powerful. Dangerous. All they need is a purpose," he said.
Catching the gun when she tossed it back to him, he slipped it back into the holster at the small of his back. "We'll fix that problem later. Knives fell out of use for a reason," he said. "And don't worry about the Company files. I've been reading those files for years. Memorized every single one of them. The important ones, anyway," he said, giving his left temple a small tap with his finger to illustrate his point. He never forgot anything anymore. Not since his abilities awakened.
"We should go. I'll find a staging area, somewhere safe. You get your sister and meet me there when I contact you. We'll see how apt she is to go along with our plans," he said.
Picking up his bag, he walked outside and stopped at the door. "Don't let your guard down. Coming here was a risk. Anyone could be watching from anywhere," he said before walking away. He went around the building, the side that couldn't be seen from the street that ran alongside the motel, and to his car. Slipping the briefcase into the passenger seat, he reached down and flipped the hidden killswitch under his seat. This car had as many secrets as he did. Starting the motor, he shot away from the parking lot and on his way to his next encounter.