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OPERATION: THE LINK

Link // Initiated // Comply

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Action Thread #2: Making the Connections

"Hn." Evelyn glanced up from her notebook, then, blinking a few times, as if realizing that Russell probably wanted something other than a guttural noise from her. "Is that a rhetorical question?" she intones with a dry smile. "Let's get to work." She's left most of her weapons in the car, not wanting to be busted carrying weapons into a city hall. But she keeps the chaos focus on her pocket. You never know when you need to manifest a crossbow and punch someone really fast.

"So: Ideally, what sort of dirt are we trying to dig up here? Their origins? Prior scandals? Knowledge on their CEO?"
 

HikariKenzaki

New Member
With a safety check on House personnel complete, Hikari and Natalyia set out on the next part of their investigation.

They sent messages to the Connecticorp location in New York requesting a meeting regarding the facility and exchange program as well as a request to talk to Justine.

Desiree stayed on location in Portland to assist Freya and the House team there. She was already dug in to that location's Ops and the additional support of their techie Olivia would continue to make that the ideal staging point.

Desiree sent updates on the House finding to Russell and Astrid regarding their investigations so far. ((OOC Note: This is not a full transcript. It's been edited by Desiree to remove some internal matters)) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OTl1_yDwJ4eyJxnd1IyiPkuMg-piStd7N23Kalp0_uk/edit?usp=sharing

A general call to all allies would advise that House Masters and Staff are at their disposal and a request to be careful if they run into the missing Justine.
 
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Russell K. Kobayashi

Senior Investigator, Council of Venice
Moderator
"Maybe," Russell answers, answering her dry smile with one of his own. The need to enter City Hall without a piece is leaving him feeling fidgety, something he's trying to suppress, though the tiny crystalline elemental focus worn 'round his neck means he won't be unarmed.

"I'll take all of the above," he adds after a moment to think. "Right now, though, what I'm looking for is information on who owns the property that the facility is under. And the names of those who've owned it within the last... let's say, twenty years. That place almost definitely wasn't built yesterday. I'm betting some kind of evidence has been left in the public records, even if it's just building permits or reports about violated noise ordinances."

He disembarks the car, and looks at Evelyn again. "Once we're done here, then we'll start directly digging deeper into Connecticorp's known board members."
 

Amal Al-Chania

New Member
Amal is returning from her meeting with Traveborn. She looks relieved but scared too. Her hands are still slightly shaking. She finally got some answers. Amal is holding a paper with one name written on it. She should contact this one supertalented person as soon as possible. After arriving London, she crabs something hot from Scarlet tearoom with extra-honey. She have been talking far too much and she knows she need to drink hot honey a lot before she is able to speak without pain. She sits down at the corner of park's makeshift stage and starts to write a message.

" Dear Master of Kimchi, mutual friend of ours gave me your contact-info..."
 

colts450

Active Member
The woman looked down to his neck and then looked back to the man. She reached out, taking it with a firm, tight shake and a warm smile. Maybe it was even a bit painful. “Welcome! Would you like a tour of our facility? Are you here for the EduConnect Student Exchange program? I see that you a member of the Council of Venice! Are you wanting to leave your faction, in search of your true calling?” She asked with that big grin.



“Well of course that depends on what you are offering What you offer that is better than the Big Three?" He said referencing the factions. Not knowing the woman's affiliation if any, he was just trying to size her up and see what he could gauge. Even in broad daylight it wasn't very smart to go off into some corporate back office in such a time as this. He figured this corporation was behind much more than just the regular hedge funds and speculation careers.
 

A dangerous game...

But Freya didn't really have any other choice. Already several students had left to join Connecticorp on their own. At least this way, they would be able to keep control over who was going, and when.

But if the story of mind control chips was true...

Using her own students as pawns did not sit well with her. Not at all.

But the only alternative was to reveal to everyone why Connecticorp was bad news. That wouldn't go over well, after all the hope the dojo population had invested in their cooperation with the firm. Some wouldn't believe her, would assume she was just slandering Connecticorp to prevent students transferring to a rival organisation.

And their game would be up...


"Finley, did you ask for a Connecticorp representative to come to our dojo, yet?"

"Yeah, I just sent the message. Hoping to get the same woman who gave us the tour."

Freya nodded and let the young man go on his way.

Finley, one of her most trusted friends in the House... and she couldn't trust him on this. Both he and Jayden had visited the Connecticorp offices, and she had to assume they had both been implanted with a chip.

If so, then telling them the truth would also mean their game was up. Connecticorp would know they were onto them.

They had to keep appearances up. As long as Connecticorp didn't know they were onto them, they would keep appearances up too.

And as long as Connecticorp kept appearances up, they had a chance at scouting out their offices under the guise of getting a tour. They had a chance of luring Connecticorp employees to their dojo under the guise of the exchange program, and perhaps capturing one, or several, and checking them for mind control chips.



But Freya had no illusions that as long as they kept appearances up, Connecticorp would be spying on them as well. Trying to infiltrate them, trying to convert their students.

The Link had been active in the shadows for at least a year, she had heard. So there was no telling if any, or how many, of the dojo's inhabitants might already have been mind controlled, or implanted with control chips.

Some perhaps had already been plants for the Link from the moment they had joined the House of Light...

When fighting an enemy with mind control, you can never be sure who's really on your side.


So Freya kept her true plans - to capture a Connecticorp employee in their dojo - as secret as possible, even from her own staff. Only entrusting it to a select few; those she trusted the most, those whose skills she absolutely needed.

And the longer they waited, the more time and opportunity Connecticorp would have to gain the upper hand in this... spy game...

Yes, a dangerous game.

But Freya didn't really have any other choice.



 
((Phew. Ok - I have a lot of different things to reply to, so will attempt to connect with each one. But please, if I missed you - just pester me here or via twitter, because it was not on purpose! *fetches more caffeine*))

K sat back in his favorite desk chair - the one he'd recently modified with boosters so that he could rocket around like Professor X, only faster (despite earlier attempts being less than health-friendly) - and propped his sneaker'd feet up on the desk edge. Tonight it was korean bbq that currently dripped from the chopsticks he'd engineered, waiting his attention.

Things had gotten....busy. Not that K was a stranger to multitasking.

TAP TAP TAP went the keyboard in rapid machine-gun style.

<Looking for me?> he responded to a message sent by one Amal Al-Chania.

Another window was brought to the foreground on a different screen.

<Presents? For me?> he sent off to Astrid Archer, perusing some of the images. He sent the lot of them to a different screen, letting the computer run programs to dissect the images, looking for anything in particular. The image of the man he set to a different program, letting it run facial recognition using active cams in various locations.

Finally, he brought up a third report that had found its way to his peripheral vision (so to speak). He started to scan...

[ALERT! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! ALERT!]

Well. He hadn't heard that particular system alert in a while. WHIIIRRRRRVROOOOOMMMMM went the desk chair as it sailed on over to the cluster of computers by the wall. TAP TAP. He brought up the screens to take a look.

Hm. Someone was trying to hack his system.

In the dark of the dim-lit warehouse, MasterOfKimchi smiled.

He scanned the scrolling data, noting with some small bit of pride that the security protocols had already kicked in, as they were set to do the moment a hack was detected. Already, the compromised system had been isolated, severed, from the rest of the cluster. Though, it would seem to the outside hacker(s) nearly unchanged. They would be unaware that the system they were attempting to hack had already been cut off from the rest of the network, like some unwanted limb. But it was still online. The connection had not been severed.

Now, time to play.

K went to work, creating new pathways and changing the game at every turn, leading the hackers on a wild chase through a changing rubik's cube of coding. He made it seem extremely challenging, but -just- possible enough. Just hackable enough. Enough, to bide some time.

As K played, in the background he moved the more important bits of data off of the system by tossing a strange sort of metallic cube next to the hardware. As it gleamed and drew in the necessary data streams, K continued to open and close different pathways and doorways for the hackers. To them, it would seem like they were making progress hacking a passively changing security protocol.

Follow the white rabbit, Connecticorp. But watch out for the Jabberwock.


K checked on the progress of a little icon in the lower right corner of the screen. A little reverse upload that had automatically kicked in while the connection was being maintained. A little bug to plant in a little subsystem.

Once the upload progress was complete, K severed the connection, shutting down the system and wiping it clean.
 

Markel

New Member
Markel's trip to Seoul had produced some interesting results. More importantly, it had produced a prisoner. After his meeting with the Korean gangster Miss Cho, Markel went over to the fight pits to investigate rumors of unusual activity taking place. There he witnessed a heavily-augmented individual, called Fullmetal by the crowds, vanquish his opponent with speed and ferocity. Markel also witnessed a suspicious man documenting Fullmetal's performance -- his handler perhaps?

Markel followed the handler into the underbelly of Seoul but was intercepted by Fullmetal. A fight ensued, but when it was over, Fullmetal's blood was on the ground and a chip on the back of his neck was blinking strangely. After licking his own wounds from the battle, Markel enlisted Edith Kemp to help carry Fullmetal to the tender, loving confines of the Labyrinth.

They now await the green light to interrogate him.
 

Astrid Archer

Former HG Caretaker / Owner of Light & Dark Bakery
Astrid looked around. People were in place. Good people. Powerful people. People far more dangerous than she was, and right now, she was very, very dangerous. She slowly rolled her head, letting it crackle slightly. Her movements took on an almost leonine grace, and her eyes shifted a glowing, electric blue. She triple-checked Gossamer's ammunition and safety, then looked to those would had come to help.

Astrid smiled. Not the comforting, supportive, unconditional-friendship smile most people in the Secret World knew. Today, her smile featured two sharp fangs.

"Are we ready?"
 

Yukiko Yoshida

Templar Exorcist, Unlikely Shrine Maiden
Astrid. Russell. Willow. Evelyn.

Yuki makes a bored pretence of checking her text messages, doing her best to blend into the crowd of applicants in the lobby. She's running out of time, and she studies Astrid’s files carefully for a moment before tapping a quick reply to the group.

Answers inside, searching. Will update.

A moment's pause, and she sends another text.

See you soon. ^^
 
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Draysek

New Member
Draysek had been concerned, while on a job for the Illuminati a couple weeks ago, that he'd gotten into more than his usual amount of trouble. A seemingly minor, isolated errand to locate, move, and then hide an artifact in another place had gone awry due to his general clumsiness in battle. A spectral mummy-type monster launched a bolt of shadowy energy at him. He dodged, the bolt missed, and hit the artifact instead. He knew it wouldn't be the end of the world, that he'd inadvertently made much larger mistakes on much more important jobs in the past. That didn't change the fact that every time he screwed up, he'd begun to wonder what would be the last straw. Draysek had his past family connection to the secret society--as he understood it to be, being that they picked him up before the Templars or the Dragon once he'd become a bee based off that connection.

Fear of possibly needing a new job, coupled with Rylie McCormick's tweets extolling the benefits of his new position within Connecticorp made him curious. Draysek doesn't enjoy working in any capacity, however he recognizes a need to pay the bills. If he does suddenly find himself without his current form of "employment," he's not going to be able to do that. He's also not going to have a place to live, since the apartment he keeps in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn isn't one he stumbled into by happenstance as he'd once thought. It's owned, maintained, and magically warded by an unassuming elderly woman who also is affiliated with the Blue team.

Rylie's tweets concerned Draysek, and he had a private conversation with another person regarding their suspicious nature. Draysek met his friend for lunch, and while their conversation may not have entirely dissuaded him from thinking something sinister was afoot, it did provide a distraction. Rylie dropped a huge bomb in the form of a folder containing information on Draysek's father, a murder-suicide cover-up, and the introduction of a half-sibling and fellow Illuminati agent in Emil Axlesson. This information was also interestingly timed, as just days prior, Draysek's father had made one of his ultra-rare reappearances in Draysek's life since he disappeared some 17 years ago. Draysek had been dismissive at the time, but he hadn't completely ignored his father's insinuations that Connecticorp operate with some morally gray and unethical business practices.

Draysek isn't really sure what's going on, he just knows he's got some investigating to do.
 

colts450

Active Member
“We offer to take you places you could only dream, sir. We offer to show you a whole other world than what they promised you.” She grinned widely. “It’s why I left the Council! Connecticorp showed me not only how to tap into who I really am? But how to connect with the vast world that awaited me! I took the future of my life? Back into my own hands! We do that daily, once person at a time!”



“Well then, would you mind if I took a look around and saw the different departments that you have working with you to make the lives in the world better?" He asked cautiously, always remaining on guard and making sure that he was able to reach his pistol quickly if need be.
 

Russell K. Kobayashi

Senior Investigator, Council of Venice
Moderator
Russell is glancing at his phone, looking at the latest exchange of messages between himself and the House of Light. He looks up, wearing the slightly strained smile of someone who's figuring out how the deal with a new complication. "One more thing we need to keep in mind. The House of Light has someone here. She's supposed to be an infiltrator, but the House thinks she's compromised. They're asking that we try are best to bring her out alive." He taps at his phone. "Hikari and Natalyia sent me her description, and what she's capable of. I'm shooting copies to you guys."

Russell is girded for battle, in his own way. Some paladins wear full plate and carry a broadsword. This one straps a bulletproof vest over his shirt and tie, and is double-checking his P220s. A Cop Raiding the Bad Guys' Hideout, as he still thinks himself.

He looks towards Astrid, offering a slight smile. "Well, if it were easy, we wouldn't be doing it," he says philosophically. "We're ready to go when you are."
 
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Astrid Archer

Former HG Caretaker / Owner of Light & Dark Bakery
"If she's down here, where the interrogations are held... then it's bad news either way."

Astrid straps on her butterfly mask, covering her mouth and facial tattoo, and heads for the door leading to the basement.

"Either it will be nothing, or it will be nasty. We'll learn more if it's nasty. Let's go."
 

Olivia pressed her lips together as she clicked the 'Send' button, sending Russell Kobayashi a summary of what the House of Light knew about Justine's abilities. (Link) Had she done the right thing? She didn't know this Russell, only that he was leading an attack on a Connecticorp facility, and with this info, his team could kill their missing magus far more easy, if it came to that.

And if the info got out... anyone who had it could much more easily harm her, wherever she was. And if it reached Connecticorp somehow, their whole game would be up. The dangerous game...

But... with this info, there was less chance a mind-controlled Justine could end up killing one of the good guys. And the assault team might be more likely to subdue her non-lethally. Olivia had to believe increasing those odds was worth the risks. But it remained a difficult call.

Finally letting her breath out in a sigh, the young student sunk back in her chair. A small blinking icon alerted her of a new message. Holding her breath once more, she opened the message. And with open mouth watched the hacked security camera footage Master of Kimchi had sent her. "That's Justine?!"​
 

Yaeltra

New Member
Sitting down at the computer terminal in front of her at a random internet cafe she had decided on, back towards a wall and no she works about typing a message. Holding backspace several moments, she tries once more, the words finding themselves quickly deleted again. After staring at the screen, eyes darting sideways quickly and then back, she breathes in deeply, exhaling slowly so as to concentrate before picking up the message anew, typing in the email address given to her, to contact one 'Master of Kimchi.'

Got this email from someone that said I could go here looking to help...
 

Yukiko Yoshida

Templar Exorcist, Unlikely Shrine Maiden
“Think I’ve heard about them,” Yuki says to the receptionist, perking up a little at the mention of the Action Bars, and she gives a dismissive glance back down at the box of regular snacks in her hand truck. “Certainly sound healthier than all this rubbish, anyway…”

The young Japanese woman takes off her baseball cap for a moment, shaking her head and running her fingers back through her bright dyed-pink hair, and then quickly readjusts it as the Connecticorp representative asks her about her route.

“I just go where they send me, luv,” she quips with a shrug. The voice she uses may sound British, but it's still an impersonation: a rough Cockney inflection, a snarky punk rock girl rather than her own cultured accent. Still, it’s one that she’s heard often enough.

“But I do love the decor,” Yuki adds, and she gives a cheerful wink. “Perhaps I’ll come back and see if I can find a better job.”

Is she flirting with the receptionist? Yuki isn’t the least bit interested in other women that way, but the impromptu character she’s invented for infiltrating Connecticorp seems to be, and she doesn’t dare try to change the performance and risk losing its authenticity as it develops. Still, as much fun as she's having with the role, time really is running out, and she has the information she needs.

“Eighth floor,” she affirms with a nod. “That sort of sounds right. Suppose I’ll start there...”

Yuki grabs the handle of her cart, tilting it onto its wheels and moving towards the elevators, and then she flashes a quick smile.

“Izzie Nakamura,” she offers the teller with a parting wave. “Maybe we’ll see each other again, yeah?”
 
K settled back in his desk chair. Flashing screens reflected in the circular lenses of a strange pair of goggles he always seemed to wear.

Surveying the different monitors, there seemed to be several things happening at once. Multiple messages via twitter and email on one. Different reports and hacked footages on another. Another system somewhere in the background ran different facial recognition programs, sifting through different video feeds so fast it would be dizzying to actually watch. A strange set of schematics, layouts, comm channels, satellite images and....weather patterns? - for a rural location somewhere in ... Siberia.

He sipped his cocoa.

An alert popped up for another few messages. One from a Yaeltra.

K seemed to be feeling lazy today, as he didn't bother this time with the TAP TAP TAP. Though, strangely enough, words started appearing on the screen anyway in the form of a reply.

<Greetings. You have reached Mr. Wizard's emporium for all things Mischievous and Outside the system. Kindly respond with general area of effect and skill set for proper use of your time. Thank you for your interest.>

The message was signed with a simple K.

He sipped his cocoa again and turned his attentions to Russia.
 

colts450

Active Member
“Look around? Do you mean you would like a tour of our facility before you connect with our vast network?” She asked with a slight tilt of her head, still keeping her big smile.

“Yes that's exactly what I would like to do Miss”, he said politely with an air of caution.

“Oh! Then without further adue! Welcome to LA! I’ll be your host for your tour, Miko Tokashi.” She smiled and gave a light bow and gestured them towards the doors. “Here at Connecticorp, HR loves to make sure you remember the new network you’ve joined, yet still look back onto the network you took your future back from. Not all of us have one, but I wear my Council of Venice pin to remind me, that I took charge of my future!” She smiled and gave a light laugh. She then greeted the two men in white suites that opened the doors for them, and walked inside.

Once inside, they would see a white lobby with stairs leading up towards the higher floors. There would be three elevators behind the main desk, which was a semi circle of representatives on standby. There were about 4 of them. Two on the phones, and two typing quickly on their computer stations.

There would be people of white suits and black suits walking about the lobby, and many came from the elevators, to the stairs, to the desks, to other side doors, and even past them. A few of them were snacking on what looked to be called “Action Bars” and there was a poster of a man named “Action Man” in the lobby, posing with Action Bars as well.

Miko would then turn to them and nod with a smile, “This is Connecticorp’s, US Corporate Office! Here, we manage all three of our major Connecticorp branches: Seoul, London, and New York!” She grinned to them and nodded, “We have started the ‘EduConnect’ programs at our London and New York branches!”



“"May I have one of those bars, I'll be saving them for later." He was thinking of having them delivered to an Illuminati laboratory possibly straight to Xern. There was no way he was going to be eating one. As they continued his to her he asked, "what kind of jobs are you offering in New York.?"
 

Yaeltra

New Member
AREA:
-London
-Can travel as needed


She starts the message, replying as impersonal as possible, murmuring to herself underneath her breath. "Business only... no telling who's reading what emails."

SKILLSET:
-Localized...


The message starts, holding the backspace key once more. "No, no, not localized... Extensive. Extensive background? No, Extensive knowledge in biology- no. Life sciences..." she mutters, nodding after a bit, filling in the rest of her meager skillset and then checking and re-checking her words several times before sending the messages. Blinking a moment, the responses coming quickly, she reads to herself in the corner of the room after assuring herself nobody was nearby. Moving to her phone and opening a notepad document, she jots a few things down from the responses:
-"Genesis Pharmaceuticals," Any and all information as available.
-"Tamera Ross," location unknown. Missing. Search & Rescue?
-"Ramon Sanchez," Held in Custody: Templars. Ties to Genesis Pharmaceuticals.
-"Action Bars," await unscheduled delivery.

A bit more back-and-forth emails leaves her frowning, not much information about Tamera Ross available to be given. "Ramon Sanchez seems a good enough start... might be able to ask about Tamera while in the Hall." Nodding again afterwards, she then exits out of the proxy she was using to send the emails and signs out of the provided computer, shutting it off and making her way to Temple Hall.
 
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