Job Training

[mordredeschain]

 *Once Mordred has a bit of time to spare he walks through his Door into the Nexus and finds his way to the warehouse. He's been getting awful hungry again, and this seems the best way to keep from hurting anyone he likes.*

Is sai Shadow in? I could stand to chat with the fellow jin-jin, I'm sure that he kens why.

*He sits down to wait for the other's arrival.*

Comments

[feathers_in_wax]

Elec nods. "Calling him now." Internal comms were good for that. He remembers Mordred from when he and the other Alphas were notified for some building construction... and also the webbing-wrapped dead bodies that Ice had hidden under snow to avoid things getting awkward if certain people saw.

Shadow floats up out of Elec's shadow as if there was a hidden elevator in it, arms around Eirlys and already negotiating via comm with Elec over who can be found as a babysitter.

Elec sighs. "Metal's due to replace me on door duty soon. I'll watch her."

Shadow nods agreement. He has a short list of those he finds acceptable babysitters, even - perhaps especially - among the other Wilybots. He didn't want Eirlys injured, or influenced by someone with too few morals... or too many.

[mordredeschain]

*Mordred nods to them, though mainly his focus is on Shadow.*

I'd learn ta hunt for thee now, iffen it do ya fine. I imagine ya saw what my huntin' be like?

I've been an unhappy, unlucky child. Sparing others from such fates would be a pleasin' way ta get what I need, for all that some small part o' me resents my not being saved 'til 'twas too late. *A moment of thought.* Or praps not too late, after all, as any time after my Mia died be as late as any other in a way.

[dwn_kagemusha]

Shadow nods, and motions for Mordred to walk with him a bit so that they don't discuss the stickier details of this in front of Eirlys, leaving her with Elec. Once out of the tot's range of hearing, he says. "I remember the webbed bodies Ice had to conceal. If this is something you need, I can think of few that deserve it more than the adults on that list. But remember that most do not see it as hunting the parents, but safely retrieving the children. The Arcadian officials do not want to hear of what happens to the parents. It lets them allow... whatever should be appropriate, without having to admit to those too sensitive that they are allowing it. Do you understand?" He's making comm calls as he speaks. "I have arranged for Marino to meet us there. She was already intending to take a case today." And he'll be heading in the direction of a familiar medical clinic that sits near the Wilybot Warehouse.

[mordredeschain]

Aye, I've been told such. *A moment of thought.* How much o' the need be physical an' how much in my own head be sommat I'm not sure of myself, sai, but . . . I take the memory of what I eat. I'm thinkin' that I'd know what to avoid around any o' the children I save, kennit? Without trial an' error, sai, an' without havin' ta ask the poor bah-bos.

[stealandsurvive]

Shadow nods. "That is good, but it is still best you work with someone the first time. Marino is one of my students and will be able to show you the other steps to be taken, to confirm the target family isn't a mirrorverse case or other oddity, and to cause as little disruption as possible to the timeline."

He's headed towards a side room of the clinic where an Arcadian secretary he's never bothered to learn the name of is working the desk. Few of them work this job for long, trading off after the stress of all the horrible things in those files get to them. Techno and Middy have already correlated and released the day's cases, going by dates and times of accessable timelines provided by Quint's explorations. A few of the more discrete - and sometimes more vicious - Wilybots have dropped by to pick up a few. And some others that aren't Wilybots. Not all of these kill on the job. Some never even encounter the parents, in cases where children were left abandoned somewhere, and others... others prefer more lasting punishments. But they and the Arcadians have a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy about the details, so it all works so far.

They're met by a green-haired woman wearing dark grey pants and a dark red sweater. Marino glances over Mordred and what he's wearing, a good a starting place as any in teaching him how to remain unnoticed and unremembered by any potential bystanders before they get into the home in question, without having to resort to mind control. After all, sometimes the more mundane ways are easier, once you have the hang of them.

[mordredeschain]

*Mordred has managed to throw together a light outfit, suitable for living in the desert: a silk shirt, cotton pants and open-toed sandals, with a small rucksack for holding essentials. He looks like a college student, if you don't look into his cold blue eyes.

*The fact that his shirt reads 'We Down to Eat the Rich' just adds a slightly counterculture vibe.*

[stealandsurvive]

Not bad. One of us might be over or under-dressed for the weather, wherever we end up, but we should manage. Marino thinks. I've heard you read minds. That's going to help with communications, and possibly other things as well. Now, there are four sub-types when it comes to this job. There are 'pickup' cases with no contact with associated adults, usually because a child was abandoned somewhere and parents were never identified. 'Hard contact' cases are where the parents will be present and the situation there is simple enough, though the legal authorities and pacifists like to be able to ignore the details. 'Complex' cases are just what they sound like, whether it means siblings in different locations, having to work around a public setting, or one of the parents not being scum. It's best to leave those to people who are willing to spend half a month plotting things out and another half cleaning up loose ends. And while I respect the people who can do the 'deep cover' jobs, I doubt I could without losing sanity or killing the people responsible... and in those cases... Well, enough said on that for now. I think only one of those will really suit your needs, so how about you go ask the woman at the desk for an unclaimed 'hard contact' file for today, and we'll get this started?

As she thinks this, Marino's tucking most of her hair up under a cap to make it less attention-getting, but with just enough wisps free to show that her hair is green. Having one 'outstanding' feature could sometimes be even better than being completely nondescript, as that detail would actually block people from remembering other details of how someone looks. Though, if they did things right, they wouldn't be seen by too many people anyway.

[mordredeschain]

(Say thankya for the lesson. I hear thee very well and shall obey thee like a dinh today.)

*He walks over to the desk, considering her thought about appearance. His eyes have always been quite striking, if he could add a it of Glamourie to them . . . hmm.* Might ya be so kind as ta give me a hard contact case that I might work on? I've been in need of something to do, and saving a child seems a worthwhile venture.

*Once a file is given to him he returns, holding it out for his guide.* Thankee sai for this trip; thankee much.

[stealandsurvive]

"We'll see if you still want to thank me when this is over," Marino says, having seen some pretty horrible things on these cases, and they can head out of the building to discuss this one while on their way to the hill that has most of the doors and portals. Shadow seems to have quietly vanished - normal behavior for him.

Marino looks over the case on the 2010's era tablet PC. "They put the case files on something that matches the time period, so no one looks too out of place checking things. Though they have to get a little creative with early dates." Mostly by embedding tablets in hollowed out books. "Cover page has the basics... portal, PIN coordinates if known, address, date, persons of interest..." She snorts at it and shakes her head. "This one sounds way too familiar. 'Babysitting' scumbag of a 'boyfriend' ended up cracking an 18-month-old baby's skull because she kept waking up when he wanted to play x-box." She shakes her head and gets back to reviewing the layout, "After the summary there are police reports, news articles, and all the stuff that won't get printed in at least one timeline if we get the job done right." She's disgusted, but not surprised, that the guy made sure to save his game before calling paramedics. She's seen some cases where they would have waited until the next morning, or hid the bodies. Time enough to do something with the anger later, for now she wraps it up and gets professional. "After that, there might be additional notes from anyone who's followed the same case in another timeline before."

"We try to keep collateral damage down. The first part goes like a basic B&E... get access to the house, and try to avoid any neighbors seeing or getting curious. That's trickiest in apartments, when you don't want anyone overhearing things they shouldn't get involved in. More remote houses are easiest, but also more likely to have burglar alarms. This case is a trailer park, so it's somewhere in the middle. As long as no one spots us going in a window we should be clear. Second step is to confirm that we haven't stumbled into some mirrorverse timeline that doesn't match the case." She sighs. "So far, I never have... and they make confirming that all too easy. It'll be even easier for you, with the mind-reading."

"No other kids in the house, so after that things get really simple for a bit... just have to make sure the noise doesn't get to where someone calls the police. Then some cleanup so we don't give the local cops migraines trying to work out what happened. Some cases get staged as murder-suicides, or they'll loot and set fire to the house afterward." Some of the more violent Wilybots couldn't resist a little 'raiding', though most liked it best when they could make sure the would-have-been-killer's reputation ends up as destroyed as the rest of them.

[mordredeschain]

I can make the man open the door for us, if you'd like. Most humans have no protection at all against that sort of thing. *A nasty smile.* I can even march him home to my table, where no one will care that he's screaming.

Would you like that? Seeing him caught in my web, hearing him beg and scream in vain? *He licks his lips.* It's not as bad a crime as some, but that just means I won't prolong things very much. The really cruel bastards will go through worse, but his death won't be enviable by any standard.

And what of the mother? Or was she too broken to care?

[stealandsurvive]

"Just be sure to confirm first, and that we should still keep a low profile. If people start noticing aliens, androids, demons, and whatever else might show up out of nowhere it could cause mass panic, and more people would be hurt than we ever save doing this. So if you can get him to walk right into your web, well, that just makes things that much easier for you... but don't make a parade out of it." She winks, hoping the meaning gets across. They could pretty much do what they wished, as long as it ended with a safe kid, and as little notice or panic as possible for the uninvolved members of the timeline.

"If he can hang around there and contemplate his future long enough for us to drop the baby off, I wouldn't mind joining you... If we're taking him out of the timeline instead of dealing with him here, we should stick him somewhere and make sure she's safe before finishing him off... we can't drop her off with him in tow." She looks the mother's information back up while thinking over the logistics of that. It's not that there's a problem killing him in front of baby, especially at that young age when they probably won't even remember it in the long run, but it just doesn't feel right to her to go back to the nexus and the first priority being anything other than delivering the kid so she can have a full medical checkup. Sticking the guy in a web and then dropping off the kid meant Mordred could take as long as he wanted to play with the guy if that was his thing. Marino usually killed them quickly, so as to get the kids help as soon as possible.

"There were previous injuries, so the police were almost certain she knew of or maybe even took part in earlier abuse... but she was quick to throw the guy under the bus when it came down to possible jail time. She won't be home during this... and she's noted as a later separate Hard Contact case. When they do that, it usually means dealing with both the same trip would bump it up to Complex..." There was usually a reason. "Ah, there's why... she's currently pregnant. Finish her off now, and the baby we're picking up loses out on the only family she might get to keep."

[mordredeschain]

I'll come back for the other when it's born, if no one else does first. *He thinks for a moment.* I think I'll take him back. Leavin' him in his world means he might get found while we're away, after all, so I'll just order him ta make a trip to my world while the dear child gets a lookin'-over.

Are you sure that you'd not mind watchin' me feed, though, sai? 'Tis anything but pretty, even if you're not afraid o' spiders.

[stealandsurvive]

He's probably right to ask that, given the small knot of uncertainty in the back of Marino's mind. She knows these scum deserve it, but her own kills have always been quick... partly from the necessity of handling things swiftly and quietly so she could get the target child to safety. But partly because, despite some of her past, she's not sure she has it in her to be truely vicious, even to someone she thinks deserves it. Turning them over to someone who can do that sort of thing might be as close as she can get. And while she's still mostly determined to watch - as much for the sense of closure as to get a measure of her own tolerance - she isn't really sure how she'll react. "I... don't know," she admits, "But I think I'd regret not being there more than I'd regret going, if that makes sense." It eases her mind to know the abusers from these cases are ended, the rest - at least so she tries to tell herself - is all just details.

She checks the datapad one more time. "This is the right door, and then we can local PINpoint to these coordinates... they're for a secluded corner near the trailer park." And then a thought occurs to her. "Normally we'd head to the house... but with your abilities... Could you find him from there, and make him bring the little girl to us? Then, if anyone should happen to see anything... they'll have last seen him walking off with the baby." The authorities would probably write it up as a kidnapping that would stay unsolved. Nice and neat, so far as these things went. True, it would mean she couldn't loot the house - her own usual M.O. was to make it look like a burglary gone wrong, including faking the child's death - but this trip was about finding the best methods for Mordred's skills, not her own.

[mordredeschain]

*He nods.* I ken regrets, I ken them very well. And aye, I can pick out a mind from that close with ease. Take it an' control it, say true.

Ladies first, iffen ya like.

[stealandsurvive]

Marino nods. "And being able to read minds would also let you know right off if the timeline matches the record." She'd never run into a 'mirrorverse' case or anything of the sort yet, but they did take care to check. He'd be the first person she knows who wouldn't have to go right to the house to do that!

"Let's go get your dinner to deliver itself, then. And bring the little prize with him." She'll step through the door.

It leads to a very secluded area deep in a forest. After checking her PINpoint one last time to verify the multiversal identification, she'llhe ready to PIN from there to the coordinates in the file.

[mordredeschain]

*Once they're close enough, Mordred reaches out and leads the two of them over. Both are rather confused and the child's heartbreakingly shy, but Mordred expected that much--not that he isn't glaring at the man already.* Where should we take them, sai? Somewhere in this world, or back ta the place between?

[stealandsurvive]

Marino considers the options, not entirely successful in her attempts to curb her own impulses to glare at the adult human. Though she's trying, if only so not to disturb the child while they might see. "The longer we stay in this world, the more ripples we risk making in a timeline that isn't ours." Not that there was a strict rule against that, but they tried to keep things on the down-low. It just seemed more polite. "But I don't know what the Nexus's anti-violence field would do to your abilities."

A solution quickly crosses her mind. "There are some areas the field doesn't extend to... the back alleys and deep parts of the forests. I have PIN coordinates for a few spots in each." They were useful for training, after all.

[mordredeschain]

That would be most appreciated, sai. Best bring the little one elsewhere, though, so they don't have ta see.

*There's a sort of tug on the shining mental wire leading to his prey, and the man follows along placidly enough. Mordred brings him through the door, then follows her lead.*

[stealandsurvive]

Marino's thinking about how best to proceed at this point. After all, it'll need to be something Mordred can do again later. They've arrived in an abandoned building in the Back Alleys of the Nexus, where the anti-violence effect doesn't quite reach. "Hmm... can you stick him to a wall long enough for us to drop little Ali off with the nurses?"

[mordredeschain]

I can, aye.

*A moment later the spider is webbing the man up like it's nothing and hiding him in the shadows. A few more lines of web anchor him down, and then the boy returns.* Come-come-commala, dear Ali.

[stealandsurvive]

She'll use PINpoint travel to hop back to the Nexus Clinic, so as to keep the trip as short as possible. It's Mordred's job after all, she's just training him, so she'll smile and go to hand over the mission file they were given at the start. "Just take the kid and the file up to the desk."

He'll find when he does, the clerk will check the file, make sure the kid is a match, motion a nurse over for little Ali - who has stayed confused but very quiet the whole time - and then hand over payment in form of small gold and silver coins. Precious metals tended to be more easily convertable between timelines, after all, and had become the standard payment method for this.

Then they can PIN back to the prey...

[mordredeschain]

*It's quite simple, really, although the coins aren't useful to him except here. He gives the kid an encouraging smile and they head back to where his meal is waiting.*

I be a-hungry, Mordred is a-hungry--and you, my friend, look plump. No, no, don't bother struggling. It hasn't helped you so far, has it? *Then the spider's back again, rushing up the wall to where the food is stashed.*

[stealandsurvive]

Marino's armor reappears at a quick mental trigger. The need for street-clothes was past and, just in case, armor was a lot easier to clean.

"What's the matter?" she snaps coldly at the squirming wrapped bundle. "Don't like it so much when you're facing someone who isn't a tenth your weight class?"

[mordredeschain]

(Apparently not. But that's alright, he won't be likin' much of anything soon.) *And with that his fangs sink in. The man gives a muffled scream.*

[stealandsurvive]

Marino nods, expression stern, as she thinks it also means he'll never hurt another child.