Scene #1925: Acquisitions and Mergers

Owner	Pose
Polite Words	Violence Behind Polite Words had sent out a follow up message to those who had helped her in her previous investigation, along with other trustworthy sorts, offering double the previous pay for a mildly more dangerous mission to acquire new manufacturing facilities owned by her competition. She had provided an address, but had not explicitly spelled out that the competition in question was the Department Of National Defence of Canada, possibly because as a semi-proud American, the Sidereal refused to spell Defense that way. In any case, it's going to be pretty obvious why the pay is quite so high upon arriving to the location in the midst of the frozen wastes of Canada; it's a literal fort, though they don't seem to be noticing where Polite Words is sitting in a parking lot just outside the perimeter fences, the address she'd given for meeting up.
Material-D	Okay, money is good. Seikou is the main breadwinner in the family, mostly by virtue of 'continually beating people up' so well that she makes money off it. This means that Yami, the silver-haired little girl who has showed up, has no real NEED to be here. She is though, wearing a black hoodie and pants, and rubbing her hands together with little huffs of breath to keep her hands warm. She's not really doing anything special. She just showed up and sat on one of the cars, swinging her legs lazily. "What a strange place to have competition."
Metal Man	Polite Words had been a long time fed for one, and it's always better to be on Sideral's good side than bad, in his experiance. Still picking a fight with Canada? He half expected Blizzard Man to show up and punch them while saying sorry for each blow. Also the money to help fund the Wily Army wasn't bad either. Oddly Metal Man had brought some less letal armroments with him as after all his primary weapons don't give him much in the way of options if the situation called for it. "Canadians, don't seem like much. Get them into a corner? That's a whole other story."
Souji Murasame	Pay isn't a major factor in the assistance of Souji Murasame, but it is a good cover story. He arrives onsite in an unmarked vehicle once again, stepping out from the nondescript car and approaching Polite Words, Metal Man, and Material-D with his usual level expression. "Greetings." He says in his polite, businesslike tone. He then glances over to Polite Words. "Your 'compeition' is part of the local governmental structure?" He says, with only a slight sharpness to his tone. "I trust you have a plan?"
Eliot Ness	Eliot Ness, despite his continued discomfort with the overtones of this mission, is still here out of Syndicate obligation and an amount of pride in seeing this job finished. He is dressed in his normal attire: Brown suit and vest, hat, long coat. But this mission was already far more complicated than just roughing up a fireworks factory. This was a government building with a not-insubstantial amount of protection, most likely. Because of this, Ness stands mostly silent and waits to hear the game plan.
Polite Words	"This is just a branch of them, of course. But it's the primary manufacturing facility for high explosives, anti-aircraft weaponry, and some experimental weapons, things I sorely need, now, to fulfill outstanding orders before my reputation gets completely trashed. And of course I have a plan." She doesn't exactly have a reputation, but she doesn't want to get into the technicalities of that for the moment. "This mission will need to be run without my being directly present inside. You are going to be escorting Brigadier General Deloris Fleming - who will arrive shortly - to a meeting with the current commanding officer of this base, Brigadier General John Price. At this meeting, one way or another, General Price will be relieved of command, and General Fleming can see that what I need immediately is achieved, as well as setting the baseline for my ultimate goal."
Souji Murasame	"Depending on who you are supplying, perhaps in the future you might be interested in developing some additional supply contacts through my own companies." Souji comments. "This, of course, does not solve your current supply issue." He nods to Polite. "So our job is to make sure that Brigadier General Fleming meets with Brigadier General Price. Do you expect any hostilities?"
Metal Man	Metal Man listens as the plan is laid out, he nods a little bit. He's glad he's got the extra kit ready to go should he need it. He doesn't have much more to ask save one thing. "Got any information on the base's layout? Or otherthings? I'd half expect cyborg Yeti in there." A joke? Serious? It's hard to tell but it's clear he's ready.
Material-D	Yami nods and waves a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, fine. WE suppose that We will keep an eye on things in case matters turn... violent. That is Our specialty. Though unless you want this fortress destroyed, that limits Our options." She peers at Metal Man. "Cyborg Yeti? Is that another of these 'Reploids' We hear about?"
Eliot Ness	To Polite Words, Ness tilts his head, "I have no idea if this will help the matter at all, but I do have these..." He reaches into his coat and pulls out his ID card and badge from the US Treasury. Authentic government identification, if slightly dated. "Otherwise, I am copacetic with the plan and ready to follow along with it."
Polite Words	"There are two ways it can go. I have managed to obtain some.. compromising information on Price. It is possible that he will react well enough to that to just go away." She'll offer over a folder; if one looks through, there are some very, very personal pictures within, though she hasn't explained who the people featured are. "One of you should present that and offer to allow him to vanish with it and a resignation, though there are copies. It's better if General Fleming comes through this looking clean; it will make it easier for me to make this assignment official post facto." She'll glance at Eliot, in particular, her crimson-specked eyes emotionless as she continues. "If he doesn't disappear on his own with the opportunity to get away from these.. make him disappear, please, along with any witnesses. I can cover it up as an AWOL situation, with him being responsible for the missing weapons, either way, but I know some of you may prefer the less bloody path, and I mostly worry about results."
Metal Man	Metal Man says "Just speaking from experiance in the multiverse when magic gets involved in a world? What are normally myths tend to be real. Also I'm no reploid, I'm something else, something older." He listens to the plan and nods for a moment ht thinks a bit harder. "Get someone into the base's systems cut the feeds or plant something else? I should have brought Shadow Man on this..." He seems ready enough as it is.
Souji Murasame	Souji nods, taking the folder and flipping through it. If the contents seem to matter to him or not, it does not show on his features. "Useful." He comments, and offers the folder along to Ness if he cares to see. He, notably, keeps it away from Material-D. "Protect Fleming, remove Price. The most efficient method would have him leave with little fuss. Causing trouble here would result in endangering the ongoing operation." Souji looks over to the others. "I believe er have the ability to ensure this." His eyes shift to Metal Man. "Should we need to compromise local systems we will put you on point. In the meantime, we will meet with our priority escort and prepare to handle the operation. I believe we will be able to process this without much trouble... If Price is reasonable."
Eliot Ness	"I understand," Ness says to her at least vaguely. When she fixes her gaze on him, he adjusts the brim of the hat he wears and then lets his gloved hands fall into his pockets. He moves to stand behind and to the right of, specifically, Souji. This is because last time, he posed as the young man's hired muscle and that cover seemed to work well enough. The private security act tends to be a universally accepted occupation between worlds, he finds, "I am ready to proceed."
Material-D	This leaves Yami with nothing to do but... keep watch! She stays... right where she is. That's right, she's just sitting on the hood of a car and staying right there. "Unless you want Us to hand him the evidence, We think that Our best place would be watching from afar, where Our abilities are best-utilized." Which means she can stay here and be lazy and not do anything for her money. At least, that's what it would seem like.
Polite Words	"The General will be here soon. She can't be allowed to actually see me, so I must go." Polite Words explains. It's a paper-thin excuse, but whatever keeps her from exploding with paradox will keep her happier. Also, less exploded. Either way, she'll rush off, vanishing around the corner of a building. It's only about a minute later, from the opposite direction, that a woman of seemingly indistinct middle age, in the uniform of a Canadian Brigadier General, with identification to match will turn up, with only the hair color really seeming to match Polite's. She does have on non-uniform sunglasses, though. "Are you my escort, then?" She'll ask, moving with precision towards the front gates of the camp. "Lead the way, those of you coming." Of course, Polite Words hadn't actually given directions to Price's office. Perhaps something to ask the various guards within the fort's fences.
Souji Murasame	Exploding is a terrible thing. Souji looks to Material-D and nods. "Very well. We will trust to your overwatch." He says to the girl, then turns to the Brigatier General as she arrives. He doesn't make the connection, naturally. He beckons to Ness and Metal Man, taking point as requested. Ness will be on his right, Metal Man on his left, all of them moving in with the General towards the Gate at a brisk pace. They belong here, after all. Or they will, when they're done.
Metal Man	Metal Man looks to the office a nods for a moment. "Right." Metal Man at least has his combat armor left undeployed, this at least allows him while clothed to be a bit off rather than blade covered death bot, right? SO he falls in step with her and makes ready to follow along.
Eliot Ness	If Ness can make money in the most passive and least hand-bloodying way possible, he will. So he has no complaint towards following along behind Souji. The General gets a nod of his head, "Yes, I shall be your escort for the short duration that my presence is necessary," He notes formally. Mostly quiet, though, at the moment.
Material-D	Hmm. Yami has no invisibility spells, unless 'turn everyone else into stone so they don't see her' counts. Yeah, she's... probably going to be pretty conspicuous in there. Too bad, in the end, subtlety just isn't really part of Yami's vocabulary. She said she'd watch, and she will! So she offers a lazy wave to the 'General' arriving, then finally hops down and just wanders after, trailing behind the group in that casual set of clothes. Hey it's cold out here, she'd rather be inside.
Polite Words	"Halt and identify yourselves." Comes the warning from a rather bored seeming guard to the group that approaches. They seem remarkably unconcerned about the majority of the group. This probably isn't really a surprise, given the nature of this particular world; if anything, it might be a surprise that the guard smiles a bit upon seeming Yami. "Oh, one of you bringing your daughter to work? One moment." He'll lean back into the guardpost, then come out with a cheap looking green lolipop. Which he'll offer down to Yami, with a rather patronizing smile, while allowing the group through if they just want to wonder forward without directions.
Material-D	A lollipop?! Seriously! "Do-" Oh, Yami manages to stifle her natural inclination to rant at the man about how that's her sister who would get along with him for that. She clenches her jaw, takes a deep breath, and forces a smile on. "Thank you, sir." Yeah, she'll take it. And start suckling on it, despite the clear insult. Everyone else, when she gets a chance to do so without getting spotted, gets death glares from the small child.
Souji Murasame	The group is passed through without even checking their identification. Sloppy, or something preplanned? "We require directions to the office of Brigadier General Price. We are to be meeting with them and do not want to be late." Souji asks of the guard. They don't really have an alternative at this point. They can't afford to just wander around, and Souji has no idea how these weird Canadian people lay out their buildings. Souji does not concern himself with the moment of anger from Yami. They have a job to do. She can do something horrible to him /later/ if it makes them feel better.
Metal Man	Metal Man moves on with the group heading in he gives the soldier a nod. He figured the soldier honestlt thought Yani was a kid and he does not press it as he presson. AS he goes he's already crunching battle plans and tatics should things go badly.
Polite Words	"General Price? Really?" The guard asks, looking suddenly much more weary. "He's in the office building over there, just outside of the main production floor." He won't explain just why he suddenly looks like he's being faced with a poisonous snake, though, and seems much more eager to allow for the group to get on their way. Price's office will be obvious within that building, if they head in. It's the one with the star and the Commanding Officer nameplate on it. The general with the group seems more amused than anything, but she stays silent. This is because she hasn't had time to really get that Canadian accent down, eh.
Souji Murasame	Souji nods, and leads the way to the office of Brigadier General Price. Souji knocks first, before opening the door and entering with an implacable air around him. He doesn't need to give Price more time to prepare anything.
Material-D	Knowing this world, Price could be a Dragonblooded or something. That's why Yami... hangs out just outside the door, suckling her lolipop and fingering something in her coat. It's nothing major, just a little plastic toy. Unlike 'real' mages, the Material doesn't need an object for her Device, since it's a part of her.
Polite Words	The general is sitting behind a desk that is visible through a rather large window in the wall, over the shoulder of his secretary. His secretary has a passing resemblance to one of the younger women in the pictures, in point of fact, and will look up at the knock. "Yes? Do you all have an appointment?" Comes the question; she doesn't seem to look to General Fleming, and upon inspection that will be because General Fleming has stayed behind Yami, allowing the group to do the dirty work. If the General is a dragonblooded, he doesn't really look the part - slightly gone to seed, balding, with bags under his eyes, he looks every bit like a man whose foundations are beginning to crumble, in spite of the obvious power he has. He'll look up, curiously, as his secretary tries to stop the group intruding on his important paperwork time.
Material-D	Ah, so the General is not alone! That means the secretary will need... dealt with. And Yami knows just how to do that, from careful observation of her sisters and various other reactions to their kind. "WHERE IS THE BATHROOOOM!?! GOTTA GOOOOOO!!!" She may be demanding that VERY LOUDLY as she peers into the room.
Souji Murasame	Souji, as professional as ever, takes in the situation in a moment. He prepares to deal with the problem of not actually having an appointment, opening his mouth. "Of cour-" And then Yami uses what she has to their advantage. Souji affects a slightly irritated stance, sighing for a moment, glancing at the secretary and then the girl with that wordless look used by upper management the world over: This is /your/ problem. Deal with it.
Metal Man	Metal Man is going to do something nice for Yani later, seriously that was well timed. He sighs seemingly moving to pass the kid off, right? Seriously he's going to do something for Yani later. He just has this sigh kids look on his face. Seriously he's had to babby sit actual kids before long, long ago. Robot procreation was so much less stressful.
Polite Words	The secretary will look at Yami, then at Souji expectantly, then at Yami. Finally, she'll sigh and say "Wait RIGHT HERE." to Souji, before heading out to grab Yami by the hand and lead her down to the nearest restroom. Which isn't really all that close, so there may be a minute. The General will stand up from behind his desk, leaning on it and looking through the window of his door at Souji. There is a pistol on the desk, noticably.
Material-D	Yami fights down a smug look as she takes the Secretary's hand. She hurries off with her, and the rest of the events shall be glossed over for Yami.
Souji Murasame	Souji moves the moment the secretary is out of the way, turning to look at the door to the General's office. It will be locked. He uses the same setup in his own building. But there's more than one way to open a door. Souji walks over to the secretary's desk and writes something on a post-it note, then heads to the window of the General's door. He puts it up against the window, text facing the general. 'Your desk or hers?' Beneath it is one of the photographs from the folder featuring said secretary.
Metal Man	Metal Man had a plan to get in but the Souji does it with far more style than Metal Man had planned. He watches Souji play it out and just stands there flanking the young business man. The guy certainly had a style that Metal Man could respect and quite a bit of style. He's muscle today and he doesn't mind it, even though all tyhe while he's still crunching battle plans.
Polite Words	The General's eyes go wide, and he'll pick up that pistol as he marches over to the door, flinging it open, where it slams into the wall. "Where did you get that?" He demands, with a deep, booming voice, one that shows the confidence of a time when he'd been worthy of respect.. "Put that away. Who are you people?" He'll ask, accusatorily, giving a glance between Souji and the metalic man. He seems pretty confrontational about it, though, and that gun isn't going to ease tensions.
Souji Murasame	This is exactly the reaction Souji was expecting. He's off balance, now. Without missing a mark, Souji puts the photograph and the note back into the folder, which he taps against his free hand. "Close the door. This will be a... private discussion." he says to Metal Man. Over his radio using subvocals, however, Souji gives the Robot Master another order: <<Protect Fleming. Do not worry about me.>> Souji's voice is level, not allowing himself to appear to be buffaloed by the man's volume, presence, aggression, or the possession of a firearm. Souji, after all, can kill this man with his pocket change should he deem it necessary. He moves like a man who is utterly in control of the situation. The truth might not be the case but his belief and behavior seems to be an attempt to make it so. "Those are not the relevant questions you should be asking, Brigadier General Price." Souji replies. "I am a representative. Nothing more, nothing less. I would recommend that you refrain from violence. It would lead to a... regrettable situation." He taps the folder again. "Your work at this location is quite... appreciated. However, the time has come for you to engage in a change of posting. In exchange for your cooperation and resigning from your post," He tosses the folder on to the General's desk. "Your dishonorable actions will not be revealed. Please, review the contents if you wish. But you already know what is within. I would like to give you an opportunity to be a reasonable man and take the most honorable path left to you." There is a thin smile. There are a couple meanings in that...
Polite Words	The General will look at the folder, flipping through a page or two of it. "All lies. These are clear forgeries, made by you to try to intimidate me." And partway through that sentence, the man will raise his voice and his gun both, quicker than it might have seemed possible, trying to squeeze off a shot at Souji. How he believes - if he believes - he can get away with it, is hard to tell, but it seems he's attempting to take Souji down with him, regardless. It almost makes it selfdefense, rather than blackmailing.
Metal Man	Metal Man watches as everything plays out and nods to Souji as he moes to close the door and now moves to barr the way, he's not huge but he carriers himself in such a fashion? He does seem to give off the vibe of you don't wnat to go through me. He has faith Souji can settle this problem one way or another. But then he hears the gun shot go off things are about to get crazy. He also know his job is to protect Fleming which is just what he's going to do, he moves from the door at this point and moves to be in such a stance he can move to cover the other officer.
Souji Murasame	The man is a fool. A brave fool, but a fool nonetheless. Souji turns as the man raises his gun, allowing the man to shoot him in the left shoulder. There is an explosion of pain as the bullet punches into him, the blood running out and soaking his suit, as well as causing his arm to drop to one side, hanging in pain. The pain is evident on Souji's face, but he is already hissing out a response. "Slow-1." His right hand extends, directing the temporal distortion as blue energy washes over the man, slowing his responses dramatically. Souji then walks over and grips the man's wrist, exerting surprising strength to suddenly pull it up towards the side of the man's head. Should he have this timed properly, the general's second shot will go through his own skull. "You had a chance to be reasonable. Now you will simply be dead."
Polite Words	The general is not prepared for any kind of time techniques; he's quite upset enough about not properly killing with the first shot as he starts to rattle off a second. This one is much less well-fated, and there is a splatter throughout the office. Silence will fall upon it, as the former General falls to the ground, and the Sidereal in disguise will step up, a slight smile on her face. "Aah. Yes. Thank you, that will be quite satisfactory. Let your patron know that I should be in position to make those deliveries for her now, but for the moment.. I will have some paperwork to do to handle that. You should leave, before the investigation unit gets here." She'll suggest.
Souji Murasame	Souji takes a moment to collect one (and only one) of the bullet casings from the floor, further making the waters murky on any subsequent investigation. He nods to Polite Words, and turns to leave. Not as clean as the operation could have been, but the rest can be dealt with in its own way. This is as close to a perfect 'suicide' as one can arrange without extensive preparation. "We need to go." He agrees. He doesn't want to have a lot of (or any) people asking questions about the dark spot ant the bullet hole in the shoulder of his suit.
Metal Man	Metal Man does not feel any guilt after all from what he knew the dirt they had was legitmate right? Either way this mission is over and they managed it seems that well? They didn't have to catch up anyone else in their mission. So all ends well more or less right? Also he needs to find out what Material-D would enjoy as a repaument for having to pull the little kid stunt. "Right, we best depart then." Metal Man also makes some notes about Souji. The man will go for a goal one way or another and woe to be anyone in his wy. He is also quite the profession and he starts to think he should follow more of what Polite Words is up to. He's curious to see where she's going with this plan of her's.