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Neon Shadows. (Alpha and Touch Of Temperament)

AlphaZero

AlphaZero

Dracula's not an Avenger? That lying fuck!
Joined
Aug 4, 2013
Max still felt groggy from the cryo nap. The tech said it was a common side effect of long term deep freeze. He had been sentenced to two hundred and fifty years in a dark, cold cube, according to what he had been told in the small, cramped holding room it had been half of that. That his sentence had been purchased by Deltaware Cybernetics and that he was now property of the company, an agent of their corporate warfare branch. The skinny bastard in the I'll fitting suit had smiled through his teeth when he'd explained the terms the contract to Max, that in exchange for his service he could earn his freedom, that once the company had decided the terms of his contract had been fulfilled he would given the option to stay on as an agent of Deltaware with a competitive salary or he would be free to seek employment elsewhere. If at any point prior to the completion of the contract he was to act in anyway not befitting of an anger of the Company he would be terminated through the small explosive implanted in his skull. Part of him had wanted to reach across the table right then and there to throttle the life out of the sleezy little salary man, see if the implant could be triggered before he chocked the life of him.

He decided against it.

As much as slavery rubbed him the wrong way it was better than going back on ice.

In the day and a half since then he had done his best to catch-up with the rest of the world and adapt to the cybernetic modifications they had plugged into him before he was revived, part of the contract stated the company didn't need their consent to start plugging shit into his body. The Augmented Reality HUD took him the longest to adapt to, information cosntantly being streamed across his field of bison, information on the people he was passing, reviews for stores he passed. Once he figured out how to control what info he saw it made his life much easier.

History had been a whole different kettle of fish. Trying to gleam even a fraction of everything that had happened since he had gone under was a dizzying experience, one Max decided was best left til he needed to do it.

It had been a whirlwind after leaving the prison, being dragged off to a tailor for fitting on several suits before being handed a duffle bag stuffed with clothing and shoved onto an expensive star crusier and given little intel beyond a trip itinerary on a sheet of paper telling him where do go once the cruser reached it's destination.

He leaned against the railing of his suits balcony, staring out past towering hotel blocks framing a sky cast purple by the setting sun. A warm breeze ruffled his dark hair, carrying the sent of salt water as it stole away the trail of smoke from his cigarette towards the horrizon.

An envelope icon blinked to life in the corrner of his HUD, a message from whoever was pulling his strings with further instructions.

Hotel lounge. 15 minutes. Reservation under Jones.

He rolled his eyes and snuffed out the cigarette into crystal ashtray sitting in a low tabe of some expensive looking wood and turned on his heels to stride back into the lavishly decorated room.

The suits he had been fitted for had been waiting in the room when he arrived, two light coloured linen ones and one proper tuxedo with a selection of shirts that he had to admit looked very good on his tall, broad frame. He selected the tan suit with a light blue shirt to wear to the bar, for going a tie and leaving the top button open before catching the elevator down.

One of the locals, a stalky grey skinned humanoid greeted him from behind a podium as he entered the bar, a forest of brilliant marble colloums filled the space behind him, mingling with the tables.

"Welcome sir. How may I help you?"

"Reservation for Jones."

The host nodded and collected two menus from his stand before gesturing to Max to follow him, leading him through the tables and collums into a high domed amphitheatre ringed with private booths and setteled the menus atop a pristine white table cloth.

"I will bring your companion once they arrive." He said, proving what Max assumed was his species version of a smile but looking more like a pained grimice.
 
Niamh had spent the day outside. Aside from housing a rather secret branch of Quint Enterprises, this planet was also a holiday destination for the elite. At the boulevard she had been pretending to sip her cocktail as she scanned the faces of those present. It was quite the hotbed of power and wealth. She'd seen both government officials and corporate bobo's, accompanied by glitteringly beautiful men and women. Many a lucrative deal was undoubtedly made here. The Quint compound was masquerading as an exclusive resort, but behind that pretty facade lay something much more interesting if her intel was correct. They had nothing definitive, only snippets of information, mere hints of something. It could be anything from something as mundane as a weapon or software for fighterships, to new biological augmentation. Deltaware cybernetics had sent her in to find out what it was, and steal it. Anything to hold on to their lead position in the market.

She'd been planetside for a couple of days now, staking out the Quint compound, chatting up the locals. Generally getting a feel for her surroundings and the best way to inflitrate Quint.

Today would prove interesting, not just because of her information gathering, but also with the arrival of her new partner. She was about to meet him now as she strode into hotel lounge, high heels clicking on the marble floor. She was still dressed for mingling amongst the wealthy, a white sundress that hugged her body. Her brown hair fell in soft waves over one shoulder. Coming to a halt by the podium for the bar, she smiled at the host and took off her sunglasses. "Hi Saba, how are you today?" The grey creature inclined his head. "I am well miss, thank you. Your guest has already arrived."

She let Saba lead the way to her booth, finding herself rather curious for the man she was about to meet.

It was a first to meet someone fresh out cryogenic stasis. Other than the way he was recruited, she was given preciously little data on the man by Deltaware. Niamh could only hope it was someone remotely capable. He would simply have to keep up.

He was seated in her booth, partially hidden by shadows. That was a good start. Niamh slid into her seat, angling herself so that she had her back to the wall and could oversee the room. She asked Saba to bring the both of them some sparkling water. Once they were left alone, the charming facade melted away as her blue eyes took him in. She found she liked what she saw. He looked good, tall and fit. Her HUD scanned him, noting he'd been augmented with same version HUD as she was. They'd be able to link if the situation called for it. She'd have to ask him later which other modifications he'd undergone. It was important to get a good measure of him, to know what to expect.

"Hello partner." Her voice was a little husky naturally and she knew how to amp up the vixen vibe. She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table. "How was your journey?"

Saba returned with the water and she dismissed him with a charming thank you, returning her attention to the man in front of her. "Are you adjusting well to life in the 36th century?"
 
Max looked up at the woman who approched, taking the time to appreciate what he saw of her, his eyes following the curves framed by the simple yet someone elligant sundress she wore. He suddenly became very aware that his body had been pumping certian chemicals and hormones through his system the entire time he had been under and was reacting to the presence of a gorgeous woman. If there hadn't been a table between them he may have been embarrassed, but he had work to do here, with any luck it would be over with quickly and he'd get a chance to enjoy the luxury accommodations in the company of this bombshell for a few days before the company decided to whisk him off somewhere else.

The Company. It was the same term that little bottom feeder had used back in the prison, he didn't care for it at all, made it sound like they where doing something for someone worthwhile, not some greedy corporate shill. Or at least as he understood the modern political landscape he was working to better corporate interests, not the betterment of some downtrodden group of farmers or some other shit like that. Ideals where something for other people to worry about, Max Archer had always dealt in cold hard cash.

The pleasent huskiness of her vocie sent a shiver down his spine, those excess hormones doing their damnedest to derail his train of thought. A cold shower. He would need a cold shower after this meeting.

"Deltaware certainly has impressive human resources." He replied as he brought his glass to lips, noticing as his HUD began to flash chemical information across the display before showing a green notification that declaired it was safe to drink.

"Hopefully your as good at your job as you looks."
 
One perfectly shaped eyebrow lifted at his remark. A smile curved over her lips and she leaned back in her seat, glancing at him sideways.

"Oh trust me, I'm better." There was no vanity or cockiness in her remark. She'd said it as if stating a fact. Niamh was absolutely serious about it too. She was a lot less delicate than she looked. This job was her life and she enjoyed being good at it. Everything she had done in the past years had been done to make herself the best possible agent Deltaware had. Being smaller than most agents, she had to be stronger, faster, smarter, prettier than anyone else on the job. It took discipline, dedication and money for biological augmentations. It was not about Deltaware, it never had been. But it was about the job, the thrill, the adventure, the adrenaline.

Her blue eyes studied him again. She liked him, he knew how to play the game. He was ridiculously handsome for someone who'd been on ice for who knows how long and she hadn't missed him checking her out either. Her body leaned forward again, as she held out her hand. "I'm Niamh. Though on this planet I go by Ms. Nina Jones."

"Now, that we are properly introduced, tell me about you. I have not nearly enough data about you." A fact that irked her immensely. She'd been unable prepare for him. After the death of her last partner, she preferred to operate alone. Not that she minded working in a team. But being a team required two vital things in her opinion, knowing what to expect of the other and trust. She had neither yet in him, and they would have to catch up quickly.

There would be a party at the Quint resort the next day. She could get them both in. It would be their first opportunity to snoop around. They would have to make a gameplan first. But that could wait until after dinner, in a more secure and private setting.
 
She didn't lack for confidence that much was abundantly clear to Max. Whether that confidence was earned or just miss-placed arrogance was yet to be seen. But for the time being he decided working with her wouldn't be so bad, not like he had a choice in the matter. For a moment he simply watched her, eyes the colour of a TV tuned to a dead channel meeting her blue ones as he wondered if she knew about the bomb in his skull and would be the one to set it off if he made a misstep.

He quickly stamped those thoughts down knowing that if he let them take root he'd never be able to trust her, and if there wasn't some level of trust there was no way this would work.

Absentmindedly he swirled the contense of his glass around before reaching for her offered hand, her skin smooth and soft against his calloused palms sent a jolt of electricity up his spine, "Max Archer." He introduced himself. He wasn't interested in handing out whatever fake name it was they had plastered on his travel documents, it had served its purpose getting him around so for the time being he'd put it out of his mind.

"Not much to tell. I do what they say or the blow up my skull."
 
Niamh's eyes widened for a fraction, before she controlled her reaction to his statement. She pursed her lips gently as she considered him. She knew what he was talking about. To ensure the compliance of their new acquisition, the company had taken no chances. He was after all a convicted felon. So as they dangled the carot of freedom in front of him, the stick was the implant in his skull. Not a practice she personally agreed with, especially as she now was confronted with it. She had never had this kind of measures used against her. Of course they hadn't needed to with her, she'd enrolled in Deltaware's recruitment program at seventeen all too willing to take what they were offering.

She could practically taste the anger in the air, even as he kept it in check. He would be unpredictable in the field. A man with nothing to lose. Her sympathy wouldn't do him any good and she didn't think he'd accept it. She didn't control the trigger, although she was linked with the person who did, a safety precaution.

"We are on a tropical island inhabited by the rich and powerful. Tomorrow we will attend one of their parties and try some B&E. You are here, you might as well make the most of it." Her index finger traced the rim of her glass slowly. She glanced at him from under her eyelashes and her lips curved into a smile.

"This will be fun."

She sent her information to his HUD so that he could get up to speed. They might as well get to business. Niamh rose from her seat.

"Let's continue this upstairs. We can have dinner sent up."
 
The indentured servitude that had been hoisted upon him sat wrong with Max for more than a few reasons, the biggest one being less a matter of the bomb nested in his grey matter and more of a matter of ethics. Wars had been fought more than once during the course of human history to abolish slavery and here they where in the 36th century where humanity had spread out to inhabit countless worlds and live amoung alien races, and some rat bastard had figured out a loophole to make slavery legal again. He had to stop and wonder about the locals working the resort, where they willing employees of this place? Or where they chained to it against their will? He made a mental note to investigate that further, a disgruntled local populace was always useful, he'd destabilized enough governments to know how effective a distraction they could be.

"Well, making the most of it right now would mean enjoying all the things I haven't been able to enjoy for the last hundred and twenty five years." He said with a slight suggestive smirk on his face as he took another sip from his glass.

"Are we going to your place or mine?" He asked as he drained the last of his glass before standing and offering her his arm in a manner that seemed fitting of someplace so high class.
 
"Like I said.. This one will be fun." A single eyebrow lifted at his flirty remark and she didn't hide her amusement. He would be fun. "Do you have a list?" Her face cocked slightly to the side, her tone light and playful. Her hand slid into the crook of his arm as he offered it. She could feel the powerful muscle of his biceps. His bodyheat seemed to radiate through the fabric of her dress.

Together they made their way to the elevator. "Mine. I've got our kit and intel. Though I've already sent you most of it."

As they walked, she pondered what he said. A hundred and twentyfive years. A long time to be under. Everything and everyone he'd known was gone by now. That might either be devastating or liberating. Thinking on that, her eyes scanned the room out of habit. Her hud alerted her to something the face recognition software picked up. If the reading was correct, she'd just sighted the president of one of Deltaware's suppliers. She needed to be sure and needed a better look. Slowing down, she turned into Max. Her face tilted up to his.

"Play along." She breathed, her hand cupped his cheek and she brushed her lips against his, before glancing away shyly. To any onlooker, they seemed like two lovers. But it gave her the opportunity to look at her target and confirm. It could be pure coincidence for the supplier to be here. But she didn't really believe in those.
 
"Do you want that alphabetically or in order of importance?" He replied with a chuckle before striding away from the table with her on his arm. Her warmth was liberating, refreshing, feeling it for the first time in so damned long it was like he was feeling it again for the first time, and he did his best not to loose himself in the sensation of human contact he had been deprived of for so long. Max let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, suddenly becoming hyper aware of his body's every moment, the shifting of muscles under the skin, the raise and fall of his chest with each breath. It was a strange feeling, like for the last day and a half he hadn't truly setteled into his own skin again. This sudden hyper awareness was invigorating, sounds suddenly seemed sharper, colours brighter, even the air-conditioning on his skin felt colder.

Something pinged on his HUD, something he didn't quite catch. Something from the Intel dump Niamh had given him. He didn't have time to think too hard on it because next thing he knew he was tasting her lips, soft and sweet and the hormones started boiling up in his blood again. He caught her quickly, returning the quick kiss, wanting to try and savor that feeling again.

"Planning something other than dinner when we get upstairs?"

His HUD pinged again, a quick flash of Intel, a profile on a Deltaware employee, a supplier for the company and he followed her gaze to find the man highlighted in the crowd, "Friend of yours?"
 
"Work before play, Max."

Niamh wrenched her gaze back to Max, she didn't want the supplier to notice them. Staring at someone would be a bad way to go about that. So, she turned her back on the man and focused all her attention back on Max. The sultry smile she wore wasn't completely manufactured. It had felt a little too good to be kissing him. She would have to do it again. It hadn't escaped her notice that he'd liked it too. He'd returned the kiss and there was a hunger in his eyes that had nothing to do with food. In that moment she decided to something about that before they had to leave this planet.

Her hand was on his chest and she was still leaning into his body, her eyes on his lips. She liked the way he felt, all strength and power. Her whispered words were all business though. "He's not supposed to be here. It may be nothing, a simple coincidence." Her voice trailed off. "I wasn't made aware beforehand that he'd be here. I think it's suspicious. Something we'll have to look into."

She had to be careful in keeping up the illusion she'd created, but he made it very easy for her. "Let's get out of here." Her hand trailed down his arm, to clasp his hand.
 
The way she pressed into him was almost torture she just felt so good, so warm and soft and it took almost every ounce of self control for him not to loose himself in the moment. He had to keep his head in the game, keep his focus, there was work to do and of he wanted the bomb out of his head needed to do get it done. He sucked a breath through gritted teeth, forcing his thoughts away from Niamah and her spectacular body, away from the generous swell of her breasts crushed against his chest and the smooth feeling of his skin against his palms.

He glanced past her towards the supplier, keeping her between them to try and watch the man's movements, he didn't seem to be trying to hide at all, not any kind of nervousness or anxiety in his body language that Max could pick up on. HUD or no HUD he had learned to read people a lifetime ago, considering it a nessessary skill in his line of work.

"Maybe he was sent to covertly keep an eye on us. Keep an eye on me. After all I'm the one who's an expendable asset to them."

He allowed her to grasp his hand, fingers intertwining with hers and took the lead as he lead her towards the elevator bank with their frosted crystal doors and gold fittings, the kind of opulent designs that screamed that this place was meant for the elite.
 
This whole hotel was built in the way of old world extravagance, and it worked in the luxurious setting of this planet. Although the locals might think differently about that one. Niamh enjoyed the class and luxury of their setting. Definitely not every mission she went on, had her working in these circumstances. It was much better than some frozen backwater planet that never caught enough sun. Her eyes studied her surroundings, while she considered Max' theory. She didn't like the idea of someone keeping an eye on them. She had done nothing to warrant that. And it didn't make sense to her, but she wasn't going to dismiss it right out of hand. The man hadn't been observing them, she would have noticed if he had. It was more likely he was vacationing here and someone failed to notify her. Besides how was a supplier supposed to keep an eye on two trained corporate spies. The elevator opened to let them in and thankfully, they had it to themselves. As the doors closed she turned to Max and released his hand.

"Maybe. But if so, I should have been notified. Besides, I'm one of their top agents and I don't need any help keeping an eye on you." She flashed him a grin, eyes sparking. "I can take care of you just fine by myself."

Still she was going to keep an eye on that man. Even if it was a coincidence, she didn't want him messing up their operation. It wasn't called paranoia in their line of work. It was being prepared for contingencies. She was thoughtful as she traced her lower lip with her index finger. Back to the plan. "So dinner first. And then I'll give you some time to go over the information I sent you. We need to prepare for that party tomorrow."
 
The elevator soared upwards, lifting them away from the ground. Expense and elevation where two things that always seemed to go hand in hand, the higher from the ground you where, the more expensive things got, there was a metaphor in that for the way the wealthy and elite viewed themselves in comparison to everyone else. There was an ingrained dislike Max had for the elite of soceity, he had spent more than his share of time around them, largely wile on someone's payroll and developed a disdian for their way of life and way of thinking even if the money had been good. It had been one of those jobs that had lead to his incarnation in the cryo prison.

Food sounded refreshing, wile another hunger was stirred up in him he could ignore it for the being. Actual hunger, that was something he needed to deal with. And for the first time since he had woken up he realized he hadn't eaten anything, a little light snacking in the bar on the crusier, but not an actual full meal.

"I'm sure you'd be able to take care of me just fine." He said with a wink, "though the last woman I was with insisted that there was just too much and she needed help."

He was sure of it now he'd need a cold shower later.

"So food, intel, and you mentioned gear. Other than clothes I wasn't provided much before I left, I'm starting to feel naked walking around a possibly hostile environment without a gun. Gonna be able to help with that."
 
Her chin dipped as he flirted with her and she shot him an amused look through her eyelashes. "Sounds like she was unprepared."

The elevator dinged to indicate they were at the right floor. Niamh turned to the doors as they opened. Flipping her hair back, so she could look at him over her shoulder, she added softly. "I am never unprepared." She strode into the hallway, leading the way to her room. Coming to a halt at a door the far end of the hallway, she opened the door with the identity chip in her arm. It wasn't her personal identity chip, but the one she used for work. This one contained the identity she was using on this planet. The door swung and she went in, surprising herself by the fact that she trusted him at her back. That was a promising start to their partnership.

"No worries Max, I've got the fun stuff."

Inside he found a room much like his own, except she had travelled with quite a bit of extra luggage. Niamh handed him the room service menu and told him to order for the both of them, while she busied herself with opening a pair of cases. Inside the first were several guns; stun guns and blasters in different sizes. In the second case was an arrangement of other fun gadgets. Bracelets and watches that generated shields that could, to some extent, deflect stuns and energy bolts. Knives, garrotes, and other weapons. She'd brought enough to arm a whole team.

"Have your pick." She told him with a flourish of her hand.
 
The menu was extensive but he kept things basic, a burger, medium rare with a side of fries and a cold beer, the perfect meal on a hot night in his mind and after several moments of consideration decided to order a second one. No sense in faffing around trying to over complicate food when he hadn't really eaten anything in over a hundred years. It was a odd notion to think on, that for the last century he'd been hooked up to machines that kept him alive and providing what nutrition his body needed wile he under. It gave him a different aprication for things like food and drink, knowing that humanity had advanced to the point where they could easily survive without food but chose to continue refining the art that came with prepping it.

The weapon cases laid out drew his attention and he drifted over to where Nimah had busied herself, taking a moment to admire the view and her shapely rear end as he did, "Should be a crime to sit on something so pretty." He muttered under his breath, just loud enough so that he knew she'd hear him.

The tools of the trade had changed since he had been away, his HUD quickly scanned and provided readouts on the unfamiliar, giving him enough of an idea of what would and would be useful based on his experience. The guns on the other hand where something he knew, point and shoot, tech could change as much as it wanted but at the end of the day the science of firing small peices of metal at high speeds into people would always be the same.

Max selected a pistol from the case and as he lifted it a progress bar flashed across his HUD before a notification sync complete flared and a targeting reticle appeared in the middle of his field of vison. Down in the corner a small notification pulsed red, No Magazine present.

Max blinked several times, "The hell...." He muttered as he set the weapon back down, the display clearing.
 
Niamh chuckled softly, arching her back a little deeper. A move that pulled her dress even tighter over her ass, meant to give him an even better view. "I don't just sit on it, you know." Straightening up, she turned to look at Max. Her hands resting on her hips as she watched him go over the weaponry.

She didn't know him yet, but what he selected from her little arsenal would give her a little more information.
Personally she had a thing for technological gadget, tools that appeared to be some harmless thing, but in truth were rather something else. Whenever she visited their head offices, she'd make sure to go by their R&D department. Flirt or annoy the researchers until they let her try another new toy. Whatever Deltaware developed, the corporate warfare branch had it at their disposal.

His wonder and surprise at some of thing she'd brought amused her. he was obviously most at ease with the guns. He handled one like he knew what to do with it, which was a comforting thought. She decided to let him browse for a bit and turned away to take off her shoes. As comfortable as she was in heels and a dress, she wanted to change into something a bit more casual. She was about to slip into the bathroom to change, her arm already twisting to her back to undo her zipper when she heared his soft curse. She looked up. "You alright over there?"

Frowning a little she stepped back towards him, picking up the gun he'd been holding. Her HUD synced with it without trouble. She couldn't find anything wrong with it. "What's wrong?"
 
Max blinked several times before hefting the peice up again. There was no progress bar this time but the same red notification pulsed in the corrner of his display and the reticle sprung to life. He tilted his head to one side and raised the weapon, watching the cursor trace back and forth as he swept it back and forth before setting it down. His hand hovered above several other peices before coming to rest on a submachine, the progress bar quickly sprung to life before he lifted the weapon, once again getting the same ammo notification.

Apparently gun tech had changed wile he'd been under, if this was going to be a change he thought was for the better, he wouldn't know until the time came. He settled the SMG back into place and picked up the pistol again, "Do you also get that thing where the HUD is displaying info on any gun you pick up or is that just me?"

He didn't wait for a response, instead setting the pistol aside and lifting a three inch knife from the case that the HUD quickly detemrined was coated with some kind of nurotoxin. It was amazing how much time and effort the human race put into figuring out new and creative ways to kill each other. Once it had been rocks and sticks, now it is fast acting nerotoxins and guns that linked to someone's brain. Killing didn't need to be complicated, it just needed to happen.

"So what's this party tomorrow you mentioned? We going to go rub elbows with the rich and powerful?"
 
"Of course." She said, completely unfazed by his question. "What else would it do?" Guns linked with your HUD, that's what they'd always done. Niamh had had training without the HUD link, but it was one of her contingency plans in situations where her HUD might disfunction. She'd never encountered any situation where she needed to do that. Belatedly she remembered the HUD was new to him. Man, this was tricky. Everything that was perfectly normal to her, could be new technology to him.

"Yes, we are. The Quint resort is hosting some kind of event tomorrow for all of their most loyal, or wealthy, customers. Word is they might even present some new products." Niamh brushed her hair out of her face. "I've gotten us on the list. Getting inside isn't the problem. Once we're in, we can chat up some key players, and.. More importantly. We can break into part of the resort that's off-limits, snoop around, see what they've got. Please tell me they gave you a tux."

She pulled up the floorplan of the Quint resort on her HUD and flagged it for him so he could find it easily.

"You have a look at this. I want to know what you think. Same thing with these.." She flagged a few other files that contained profiles of Quint's chain of command. "I'm just going to change very quickly." Niamh went back to the bathroom, zipping down the back of her dress. The white fabric opening to show him a tantalising glimpse of her lean back and soft golden skin. Before she went into the bathroom, she looked back at him over her shoulder, grinned and closed the door.

She truly didn't take long, emerging after a few minutes in a pair of loosefitting black pants and a tanktop.
 
Part of him wanted to try and follow her into the bathroom, the glimpse he got of the beautiful Golden skin as her dress opened was tease that would stay with him for the rest of the night. He sighed and walked away from weapons cases, picking up a watch from one of them and dropping it onto the coffee table as he settled onto the plush couch. The blueprint Nimah had sent him sprung to life from it, streaming from his on board implant to the watch. The Qunit resort was almost a city in and of itself with three towering monolths of glass and steel arranged in a triangle with a glass floored ballroom suspended between the three of them using some kind of anti-gravity tech that Max couldn't understand. Smaller biodomes surrounded the main buildings replicating different environments from snowy mountains to airred deserts and each containing a half dozen bungalows for rent and for even more privacy a cluster of small man made islands could be accessed by a private dock, each with their own single place to rent.

Security was bound to be tighter when the party was in full swing and wile they might have access to the resort getting into whatever hidden labs that may be on site might not be doable.

He shrugged off his jacket and folded it nearly over the back of couch before rolling how his sleeves to expose lean, musular forearms then setteled back on the couch, "Tommorow might be good for recon, but acting might now be doable. There a time limit on this?" He said over his shoulder when he heard the bathroom door open.
 
Niamh shrugged a little. "It's big, so the company wants to know what it is and they want to know it pronto." She pulled her dark locks up into a ponytail, while making her way to the couch. "At the same time, they don't know what it is, which makes our job much harder. Quint has something, something that gives them an edge over Deltaware. Or at least it could be. But you know, that's enough. It could be anything. Both companies operate in a wide range of branches. That makes ASAP a somewhat more fluid concept."

Her blue eyes settled on him as she reached the coffee table. His assessment sounded reasonable. "You'd be up for going in tonight?" She'd settled for the party, because she hadn't known what she could expect of him. One of the reasons the lack of data on him had annoyed her. She considered him as she settled on her knees in front of the coffee table. Her fingers manipulated the hologram of the blueprint, rotating here and there. "You stealthy enough for this?" So far he'd seemed more of a direct confrontation type of guy, but she could be wrong. And she had a few fun gadgets to help them along the way.

Her head cocked to the side and she leaned forward over the coffee table, her elbows resting on its glass surface. It would be good to head in tonight. The resort was huge. And though on the floor she could distinguish the areas that were reserved for guests and therefore uninteresting to their task, it still left a whole lot of ground to cover.
 
"No. Not tonight. Too many holes in what we know about this place. Floorplans can only show so much. We need physical, boots on the ground Intel before we do anything. So we go in tomorrow as planned, get the lay of the land ourselves." Max drummed his fingers against the table top lost in thought as he tried to peice together a further plan. A knock at the door cut short his train of thought and he got up, rightly assuming that dinner had arrived, thanking the local waiter and using his ID chip to tip the man before wheeling the cart into the living room.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted so I kept it basic." He said dropping the burger and fries infront of her on the coffee table along with a tall frosted beer glass before dropping back down on the couch, flipping the display back up to show a list of names.

"We can use your VIP list, determine people we could use to access those restricted areas, nab some biometrics here and there, pick pocket a key card. Then formualte based on what we can find."

Max leaned back, a smug grin on his face, "or is that not a sneaky enough idea for you." He said before taking a bite of his food.
 
He set the food in front of her and she had to smile. "This is great. Thanks."A typical man's choice for dinner. Not that she'd be complaining. She liked it and the kitchen of this hotel was fantastic. She reached for the beer first, taking a long drink from the cold drink and savouring it. When he had gone to get their food from the door, she had already started to scroll through her list of profiles, starting to separate it in two sections. So far his summary of the plan sounded good to her and was much the same as what she would gone for by herself.

She glanced up as he taunted her. She liked that cocky expression on his face. This playful side was wildly attractive. Her eyebrows lifted as if she was completely unimpressed, although her eyes sparked with amusement. "Actions speak louders than words, partner. We'll see how you do tomorrow."

Before she could completely break into a grin, she glanced down again, refocusing her attention on the job at hand. She showed him the two lists she had been making. "Already way ahead of you. I've divided the list in two, targets that are more suitable to be approached by you and the other for me."

Her hands easily shifted the hologram of the floor plan to pull the picture profiles. Her two index fingers made a diverging motion and the pictures divided in two sections. His lists contained the women from the list. Before he could ask, she explained her thought proces. "While I can seduce women" She shot him a pointed look. "Or do the whole friend thing with them. It makes much more sense for you to charm them. One look at you and they'll have no objections about you coming very close to do those sneaky things you were talking about."

She enlarged one picture, which showed the portrait of a handsome redhead woman, somewhere in her early forties. "This is Francesca DiFiori and she heads up their R&D department. Very smart, very ambitious, but as far as we know single. Get her stuff and we're set." Niamh shifted to the next picture from his section. This one a man. "And this is Jack Vanderberg. I don't know his exact position within Quint, but it is something shady and connected to their security. Also, he hates women. If I approached, he would either dismiss me directly or want me to bow to him. So he's yours too."
 
"I think" he said around a mouthful of beef before taking a deep pull from the frosty glass, enjoying the feeling of the food and drink mixing together in his mouth before he swallowed, "I'll take the red-head, she looks like more fun than the prick in the suit. I get a feeling I'd probably clock him one before the night was over. Her on the other hand....."

Max leaned forward, studying the image of the woman, it wasn't hard to read his thought process on the best way to approach it, even if his hormones weren't out of whack he'd probably be having the same thought process. There where some ways to do things that just didn't need to change, "who knows, maybe she'd be interested in more than just me joining her" he said with a suggestive wiggle of his brows as he took another deep pull from the beer, "Sides someone heading home R&D is likely to have higher access than some unknown security asset. Someone like that is gonna have unlimited access to every facility they have. We should crack the hotel guest book wile we're there, figure out how long the VIPs are staying for. If we start using her access when she's off world it's gonna cause red flags and possibly lock us down."

Details where what mattered in a business like this, and Max had a mind for details,"So, that an impressive enough plan for you?"
 
Niamh chuckled, listening to his assessment of the two targets. There was an ease to the way they were planning out their approach for tomorrow. Whatever he had done to warrant that stasis sentence, he knew what he was doing right now. And it was fun, as they refined and reworked, adding detail to the plan.

Swallowing a fry, she traced the length of the glass of beer. "You never know. It's always the smart, nerdy ones that have the wild sexual appetites." She winked back at him and having had enough to eat she pushed her plate away. "I think the plan will do for now." She'd go over the files some more tonight, to make sure there wasn't anything they'd missed up till now.

Her arms lifted over her head, arching first left and then right as she stretched the kinks out of her back. Then she got up from the floor, to set her plate out of the way. As she walked away she asked him. "Do you want to set up our neural link now, or wait for tomorrow?" He'd probably never done a neural link before, so she figured it'd be good for him to experience it now. On the other hand he was already agitated because the way the company had coerced him, sharing a mind link might spook him.

Returning to him, she perched on the arm of the couch next to him.
 
The confusion at her question was evident on his face, just when he thought he was getting a handle on what was going with his own body and whatever they had jammed into it something new came along to leave Max confused. He was desperately staring to wish they had handed him an owners manual or a quick start guide or something to help him understand exactly what the company had put in his body, he still wasn't completely sure of whatever system link between the gun and his HUD would work when he needed it, and if he'd be able to compensate for if it didn't.

And now here Niamh was talking about some kind of uplink between them. It wasn't something he was sure he liked the sound of, unless it wasn't at all like what it sounded like.

"Is that some kind of slang term or something for sex these days?" Trying to play off his own unease about the idea of anything else being done to his brain with a joke, "because if it is I'm more than up for Neural Linking for the rest of the night. If it's not, you're gonna need to explain it to me."
 
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