2014.06.16 - Total Victory

When Kilroy began asking amongst the military about who their most experienced infiltrator was, there were a few names that kept popping up, but the one that caught his attention the most was a name he already knew. Gambit. Kilroy contacted him in a small coffee shop outside of Hammer Bay. "Here's the situation. My father is dead. But he isn't staying that way. He's into crazy stuff...and he's a threat to the whole planet. I've been working to take his network apart before he gets back from the dead, but the last chunk is legally his property...and I'm his heir. I need him declared legally dead, so I need someone not connected or connectable to me to break in...find proof that he is not 'on an extended vacation' and publicly expose the information so I can initiate death proceedings. I want my father legally dead when I get back."

He slid the folder to Gambit....

Flashing forward, homework was done, and it turned out the details on the files were quite comprehensive. Blueprints, names of guards, shifts, the works. It had obviously taken months to gather, but Kilroy was flat out sure there were things not mentioned. He mentioned 'alternate timelines' and 'hypertech' Things he couldn't find out about through contacts or under cover agents. It was a law office in Davros Switzerland. The files were in the office of Ascot Conneticut's lawyer's office, one Gilbert Snorinzer. The job paid well. Very well, in the kind of bond that Gambit knew couldn't be traced. Pretty straight forward.

The weather in Switzerland is sunny, and a balmy 18 degrees (Celsius, obviously). So there's really no reason for Gambit to be wearing a heavy brown overcoat over his normal black turtleneck/action pants combo. But there he is, wearing the coat anyway. Combined with the sunglasses and the belt full of infiltrator tech, he really couldn't look any more like someone who was about to break into a building.

This would be problematic, if he had any intention of ever being seen. As it stands, he's barely even been glanced at since suiting up in a hotel less than a quarter of a mile from his target. Nor is he likely to be seen, clinging to the bottom of a delivery van as it casually slides through the gates surrounding the office complex. Before it parks, he drops off into an obliging sewer grate, remaining there until the coast is clear, and allowing the darkness of the early morning to mask his presence.

The surveillance he had been given indicated a sensor grid around the building of almost maximum efficiency this side of SHIELD, and that was just outside, hidden as window panes, but there were holes that an experienced thief could find, and fine them he did. The delivery van is one of them, since the thing sets off the grid on a regular basis. Still, they check underneath with mirrors before it enters. But by the time they look, Gambit is gone.

The sewers also have sensors, but not as well checked. And if you know the maintenance code, which Kilroy obtained for Gambit, they are an excellent way into the building.

Making it into the building is usually the easy part. Setting up the zipline that will allow him to shimmy above all of the laser sensors and cameras with no instructions (and in the dark) is a more complicated process. However, it's not long before he fires the line all the way down the hallway and attaches it at his end. Soon he's pulling himself along by his arms with one leg hooked over the thin wire, nearly touching the ceiling. Fortunately, he remembered to tuck the billowy back of his trench coat out of the way for this portion of the infiltration.

He has a close call halfway down the corridor, as a pair of security guards cross into his field of view during their normal patrol. However, they're too engrossed in conversation about which celebrities are hotter than others, and don't spot the unfairly-lucky mutant thief.

Kilroy didn't include it in the folder, but he did mention the last time he visited one of his father's facilities, that they were attacked by phasing ninjas with a wide range of abilities and tools. That was the primary reason he needed Gambit instead of just a regular team.

The guards are utterly clueless but Gambit knows that while they are not particularly observant, they are moderately skilled at combat and there is a heavy arsenal in the basement. If an alarm is sounded, time will be short.

None of Gambit's missions ever go quite as planned, but at least they usually start out as planned. Which is why Gambit finds himself in the actual office of Gilbert Snorinzer, flipping through the various files on his heavily-encrypted computer. Thank god for the tech provided by his friend Fence, or Gambit might have had to drag the entire computer out of the office complex. In like, a duffel bag or something.

But as it stands, he quickly skims through the file headings, letting the device he has plugged into the computer's USB port do all of the difficult hacking work for him. Muttering under his breath as he skims, the frustration is evident despite the whispering "Merde. No time to download all of this, got to figure out what's what."

"Knew I shoulda stayed in school.'

As Gambit starts sifting through the headlines, its obvious that each subsection is encrypted. One client at a time. Highly annoying and Kilroy had nothing that would help with this. A hunch though, call it intuition, tags at him as he looks at the file cabinets along the way.

Which is also what saves his life as a large Katana comes utterly silently through the floor, slicing at his leg and just giving him enough time to dodge it. Apparently that bit about the ninjas was right.

Right on schedule, the entire plan falls to shit. Fortunately, Gambit had the presence of mind to set the insta-hacker to begin downloading the entire database. It's fast, but he's going to need a miracle to get everything he needs.

So in the meantime, he runs interference for the little computerized doohickey. Out comes a small metallic rod, which telescopes into a much longer metallic rod with a deft flick of Gambit's wrist. From his semi-crouched position behind the desk, his glowing eyes look menacing enough to chill the blood of an ordinary attacker. Unfortunately, this ninja seems to have seen worse.

The Cajun has his hands full deflecting a series of almost impossibly fast sword strokes. If it weren't for his kinetically-accelerated speed and superior reaction time, he'd have been toast within seconds. But because he is, after all, a mutant martial arts master, it's the ninja who is quickly calling for backup after she's been cracked across the head a few good times.

There is, fortunately for the Ninjas backup immediately as two more appear, phasing through the wall. They engage in offensive stances of an almost suicidal nature, working as a perfect team but willing to let one or the other receive harm to take their advance. The third is stunned and slowly working to come up from the floor.

The decrypter is marked at 45%.

At this rate, Gambit will soon have tied his previous record for 'most phasing ninjas fought at once.' It takes a great deal of patience on his part to allow the timing to line up correctly in order to strike his opponents when they are solid. They tend to only solidify right before attempting to chop him to bits, so the patience on Gambit's part is running out very quickly.

He gets in very close to one of the ninjas, tapping him briefly on the shoulder before parrying. The ninja immediately phases back out of solidity, but doesn't realize until it's too late that his body armor has already been kinetically charged. The ensuing out of phase explosion takes out all three of the ninjas, but leaves absolutely everything else in the room unharmed.

"Holy shit! I can't believe that actually worked. I'ma have to write that shit down in my memoirs."

The smoldering corpses of the ninjas appears to be quite finished. Their gadgets and armor were not enough to save them. There are many explanations for this, the most likely of which is, Gambit didn't use his power until he needed it, and did so in a rather final fashion.

Whoever they were, they foolishly were NOT tied in to the rest of the building, and no alarm is sounded. The encryption protocol rapidly reaches 100%.

Twelve hours later...

"... and just for you personal peace of mind, I'd like to point out that I've got no clue what all's on this hard drive, so you won't have to worry about me telling anyone. The way I see it, whatever you're after isn't something that I want rattling around in my head." Having delivered the promised information (even if he's not entirely sure where to find it, or how to access it), Gambit has made himself comfortable in an obliging chair, and begun to empty the contents of a jewel-encrusted flask that he apparently carries with him everywhere. The flask is far more valuable than the liquid within it, simple Remy Martin cognac.

"Course, if you need a computer expert to crack open all those files, I can personally recommend a half-dozen of 'em."

Twelve hours later...

"... and just for you personal peace of mind, I'd like to point out that I've got no clue what all's on this hard drive, so you won't have to worry about me telling anyone. The way I see it, whatever you're after isn't something that I want rattling around in my head." Having delivered the promised information (even if he's not entirely sure where to find it, or how to access it), Gambit has made himself comfortable in an obliging chair, and begun to empty the contents of a jewel-encrusted flask that he apparently carries with him everywhere. The flask is far more valuable than the liquid within it, simple Remy Martin cognac.

"Course, if you need a computer expert to crack open all those files, I can personally recommend a half-dozen of 'em."

Kilroy nods, "Believe me, I'm very conscious of the dangers of having too much in my head from state secrets too. I appreciate the candor. The real trick is how to go through this for secrets that are rightfully mine without looking at those belonging to others." He sits at the table, sipping a cup of coffee. He is curious about the flask, "That's a uniquely interesting object. Was it made for you or did you er...." he drops off.

"No, I can find someone to crack it. I happen to know an expert or two. But it looks like your man did the most important job. There is an email right at the top that says they have no idea what happened to him. One leak of this, and they're done. They'll have to produce a person, whereas I have eye witness testimony of him falling into the Atlantic and NOT getting picked up by the coast guard. I appreciate this. More than money, I owe you a favor. Redeem it any time you need it."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something. But for now, I've got something planned for the money." Standing up, he takes the promised attache case filled with bearer bonds but apparently doesn't feel the need to inspect it. He must not have any doubts regarding Kilroy's ability to make good on a promise.

"It's been interesting. But it's high time I got back to Genosha. Place is liable to fall apart without ol' Gambit there to keep everything running smoothly." The flask is recapped, and repocketed, and with his coat billowing dramatically behind him the red-eyed mutant heads out the door.