Wetwork

[Mara Kellarov]

Undisclosed Location​

[member="Evoros"]​

Breathe in.

Five...Four...Three...Two...One

Gasp. Breathe out.

Mara inhaled deeply as she felt her head get roughly pulled back out of the water. It had been a process that had been repeated for days now, which at this point was nothing more than one big blur for the Agent.

"Boss, I don't think we're going to get anything out of her..." The voice came from her left...or was it her right? It was impossible to be certain with how blocked up her hearing was right now.

"I don't give two karking chits! I want to know why she was skulking about my warehouses."

"It's been almost a week boss, she's already done."

"She ain't broken yet, not until she's talked." Mara could see a blurry image suddenly stand before her, then a set of rough fingers cupped her chin and tugged her up. "You hear that lass? You ain't leaving here until I've got what I want."

The temptation to spit in his face rose to the surface, but the first time she had done that days ago did not go over so well. Instead she simply hung her head when the man finally released it.

"Take her back to her cell, we'll resume again in a few hours." She felt the two others grab her by either arm, hauling Mara up until her feet were dragging across the ground. They took her out of the dingy lit room, out into the hallway and towards what had been her home for the past week. Along the way she managed to murmur out a short sentence.

"Wh-what day is it?" They didn't answer initially, and instead waited until they stopped and threw her into the cell, letting the forcefield come down.

Taungsday. One of them said, and didn't see the smirk that appeared on Mara's face.

She liked that day.

 

[Evoros]

When Agent Mara Kellarov had first joined the Collective's fight, she had instantly been labeled a wildcard.

Alias? Unknown. Ties? Unknown. Force sensitivity? Unknown. Every fragment of her past had been erased, and then the agent had gone through the HoloNet with a fine-toothed comb to make sure she left no traces. It had taken the Board remarkable effort to piece together the few scraps of history they currently had on their newest recruit.

Kellarov had gone to great lengths to remain a mystery. Truthfully, Yvonne appreciated that.

And now the agent had gotten herself captured (on purpose, but that was beside the point). Another operative was needed to extract her and deal with the captors. They always said deal with in such deliciously ominous tones.
Evoros had volunteered.

Finding the complex where they'd detained Mara Kellarov hadn't taken too long. The Collective was a resourceful lot, after all. Infiltrating it had been beautifully straightforward; slice this system, sneak through here, slicing this, air vents that. Nothing she hadn't done before. Really, after a time most things had become a matter of recalling past ops and working from there. Time was a wonderful teacher.

Much as she prized her connection to the Force, Evoros preferred not to use it when she had the chance (Ysalamir weren't hard to come by these days, after all - and what if something rendered her permanently without the Force? No, she honed her ability to its maximum, but she couldn't become reliant on it, ever); all the same, this time round the Force aided her stealth enough to merit necessity. When she first found her way to the cell holding Kellarov, she resembled the background. Her footsteps weren't silent, but they were too quiet to raise suspicion if they were heard at all. Her frame wasn't invisible, but every time you looked her way something just compelled you to keep looking past. Not undetectable, but damn well close enough.

She waited a while.
A while longer.
Then when she was entirely certain the mooks were well out of earshot with no plans to return, the shape of an amused Yvonne Evoros flickered into sight.

"You don't look like you're doing so badly," she decided. It was impossible to tell if that was praise or criticism. "Evoros. How bad's it been?"

| [member="Mara Kellarov"] |​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

"You have one week to find out everything possible. At that point, someone will come and extract you. If the situation permits it, you are both to go after the target."

That had been the message Mara had received, the specific sender was unknown. But it had come through Collective channels, and as such the agent could put some measure of trust in it. Although the irritating tick in the back of her mind told her no.

She had learned to ignore that as of late. If only at times when she knew it to be true, despite her mind fighting against it.

And it hadn't been easy, especially with the constant interrogation and torture day in day out. Thankfully the water hadn't been introduced until halfway into the week. All in all though, it fatigued both the mind and body. Even someone as well trained as Mara could be gradually overwhelmed by it.

Doubting anyone would come for her...It would probably be what led to the person breaking.

But Mara had been in the situation before, it had hardened her. And she knew ways of getting out of situations, if push came to shove.

It had been mere seconds after the two goons had left, that the agent looked ahead. And yet felt her vision swirl and shift off too the side. Mara shook her head each time it happened, persistant that something was there. But eventually she stopped and passed it off as her mind being addled from the recent bout she had gone through.

Then when Evoros had finally appeared, Mara simply blinked as she looked over and up at the woman.

An amused snort left her lips, hand reaching up and brushing her wet matted hair out of her face. Water was still dripping down her body.

Overall Mara was in quite a state. Sitting on the floor, back against a wall. Some of the more physical torture she had gone through were still evident in the small bruises that decorated her face. A couple cuts here and there too. There wasn't a piece of her clothing that wasn't torn, dirty and decorated with blotches of blood. That and the shirt was considerably wet and damp from the interrogation she had just returned from.

"Oh, you know..." Mara began, slowly standing up. "Just a bit of fisticuffs for the first few days, then decided to go for a dip for the rest." There was a hidden grimace in her words, tough as she was, no one could just brush off being knocked around.

"Good news is...the guy is a karking chatter box when he thinks you aren't going to see the light of day again."

| [member="Evoros"] |​

 

[Evoros]

She smiled, and she couldn't help but mean it. Yvonne Evoros went to great lengths to isolate herself. Operate alone. Rise highest. Avoid friends, avoid things that lasted. It was more convenient that way. But a part of her recognized Mara Kellarov. A part of her had to appreciate that this woman was an agent, one with experience, with skill. So used to interrogations that she could all but laugh them off as a regular Taungsday. She respected that.

Because she knew it.

"Funny that," she remarked, mirth flickering into her gaze. "Ones like these just love to brag." Pride before the fall. Pride made you want to share your genius, laugh at how you'd outsmarted your enemy. She was familiar with that, too. Little people were fun to laugh at.

The mistake was misjudging how little these people were. Their man had misjudged a Collective Agent. Now came the fall.

"Tell me everything useful. We'll work out what to do with him."

That smile held a trace of something deadlier than laughter, something rarer than companionship. The process of working out what to do with the people they brought in was always messy for those unfortunates. Always painful. Evoros enjoyed her job as a general rule, but the endings were often the most fun of all.

"Oh, and if you need to recover," the brunette added, an afterthought, "we can talk sitting down, I guess." At first it hadn't occurred to her, because the part of her mind that did nothing but read and analyze and decide how people worked had concluded that Kellarov would be as happy with a moment to rest as without. But Yvonne had been interrogated a few times before, and it got rough.

She respected that, because she knew it.

[member="Mara Kellarov"]​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara had already decided she liked Evoros.

Perhaps it was because her head was in several different places right now, still somewhat waterlogged and in general knocked around. But she saw several qualities in the other woman, ones that rang true in her mind.

Well, a different type of ringing than what was currently buzzing in her ears.

It was a strange perspective to have, mind sharpening while the body was aching. An Agent's mind was an equally deadly tool as their body was, especially when one was somewhat out of commission and the other had to make up for it.

Namely in this instance, Mara could recall everything their target had spilled during the interrogations.

"Oh please, I've been bundled in a small space for a week now. I'm practically giddy for a moment to stretch my legs, and kick some arse." Standing up to her full height finally, Mara let out a groan as she stretched. "Besides, I've been on my knees most of these days; and not in a good or pleasant way either." She smirked at that, her eyes meeting Evoros through the forcefield that separated them.

"Well to begin with what I've discovered, the guy has a wife and two kids. From the sounds of things either the woman is aware of what he does; keeps it away from their children, or is utterly clueless about the whole thing." Mara continued on in detail, it was almost an outright debriefing with how much she gave. It went so far as names, of the target's family, his trusted circle and additional lieutenants. "When I scoped out the warehouse, I discovered he's been in the process of moving all his product offworld." The contents of the building had never been the specific aim the Collective had been after, it was a simple means to an end for Mara to get her way into the target's clutches.

But now, it could provide its own benefit to the group, if they could capitalize on the moment at least.

"If my estimates are right, we have until tomorrow night before he empties the last of his warehouse and he's gone."

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Evoros]

"Yeah? Still time to make this the good way."

Behind a smirk she pretended to hide, her gaze swept up and down the other woman in a head-to-toe unabashedly before ticking up to meet Mara's. "Suit yourself. What've you got?"

Evidently, Kellarov also knew how to observe and report back on observations. Yvonne let the agent give her report, only interrupting to confirm one detail or another or to muse aloud on what to make of the facts. She wouldn't deny that she fell in with the sort who liked hearing themselves talk, but certain things had a time and a place. Evoros had made an art form of being what she had to be at any time or place. Right now she had to be the agent the Collective had employed. Conveniently, she liked that too.

"No wonder they hired you," she eventually decided. "Nice work, Kellarov." Complete matter-of-fact honesty, nothing more and nothing less. Fun as it was, she lied exclusively when it was useful (which, in fairness, was often).

Besides - unpredictability was an advantage.

"Well, we can do this two ways." Amber visage narrowed thoughtfully, as though her mind's eye was writing a plan into the lines of the air. "We can find how he's getting offworld and stake him out." Nine times out of ten, stakeouts were terribly dull, but somehow Evoros had a hunch they would find a way to pass the time.

"That, or I'll hide and you stay there until his goons come back. They bring you to their boss, we ambush." She shrugged. "You're the one who's been stuck here all week. Your call."

Yvonne was nothing if not fair.

| [member="Mara Kellarov"] |​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

She was always one to appreciate compliments, and there was no hiding the smile in response to Evoros'. Mara always put some measure of pride in her work, especially when it had been years since she had been able to properly make use of her skills.

After Evoros had voiced the two options, Mara began to think them over. She walked back and forth in her cell a bit, the cogs in her brain working away as she weighed out the pros and cons for both options.

That and she had liked the fact that the woman had given her the choice, rather than just simply taking it into her own hands.

How very considerate of her.

It only took a few minutes, but the agent was certain on her choice.

"The latter while simple, won't be nearly as beneficial. We could wait and ambush the target, but..." Mara began to grin, clear as day that she was plotting something. "By finding the location, staking it out and waiting. We could potentially throw a wider net and get both the boss and his top underlings."

Mara had a similar train of thought as Evoros. She had spent probably too much time staking out locations in the past, most dreadfully boring, but over time the agent had gotten use to them.

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Evoros]

"I like your style."

A smirk, then concentration tugged at her features and she frowned thoughtfully. Evoros operated through planning thoroughly, anticipating every move, staying steps ahead each time. She had never believed in luck - playing it by ear and relying on good fortune could get you through a handful of missions, tops. Then you got outsmarted. By this stage, for her that meant death.

"Alright, we'll need to find how he's planning to leave and then set up to catch him." Reconnaissance wasn't tricky once you'd developed a knack for skulking around. Evoros had. She was guessing Mara had too.

"But he can't get suspicious ahead of time or it'll kark things up quick. How often've you got mooks one and two on your case?"

Frown.​

"Hrm- maybe every two or three hours, give or take. It depends on how itchy the boss is for another go at interrogation. Other than that, I'm left alone in the cell, though."​

Well, chit.

"You really got him worked up, huh? Well, we can hunt for where he's leaving once they've given it up for the day, get into place same time tomorrow. Shorter stakeout." Her frown deepened, focus rather than frustration. "You got any idea what he'll do with you if he's got no information by the time he's leaving?"

She could distract his plans if she had to. She just had to know what they were.

[member="Mara Kellarov"]​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara cursed silently, she hadn't thought of that.

Of course, they would need to keep things quiet to avoid any suspicion until they were ready to go after the target. But they were currently in a bit of a dilemma. Both knew that Mara had the remain here for a time, if she were to suddenly up and disappear then it could potentially spook the crime boss and force him to flee a lot sooner.

There were various ways this could go, and Mara could number them on one hand. But the reality was the simple fact they wouldn't know until it actually happened.

"I can deal with another session, but the guy might end getting a bit antsy being so close to leaving." Not to mention he was paranoid over the fact she had been skulking around one of his warehouses. That said nothing about his constant fears that he had enemies around every corner. "I only hope it's late into the day, as they usually leave me alone for the night."

After all they were fairly deep in the facility, Mara hadn't seen the light of the outside for a week now.

"If he doesn't get any information? Well he might just kill me, or leave me here to rot." Nothing new to the former agent. "Ultimately he'll get fed up with me either way." Mara wasn't about to give him any information, especially given there really wasn't any.

"What we can do is...well what I can do is endure this last interrogation. Let them haul my arse back here and then break out. Hopefully in between that time we can suss out the location he's going to be leaving at, before they realize I'm gone."

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Evoros]

Drat.

"Alright, we can make this work."

Evoros paced as she thought, hands moving aimlessly. This wasn't a practiced mannerism, one facet of a carefully crafted persona; this was Yvonne, being how Yvonne was when she was deep in thought.

Her persona as an agent was in near every respect the real Yvonne Evoros, but she was a persona all the same - shiny, crafted, polished. Fragments of Yvonne could slip through to Agent Evoros, and it would cause no damage to the narrative she spun. But all the same, usually she tried not to let it happen.

Usually.

"It's evening now, they shouldn't come back 'til the morning. Plenty of time to have a look about, set up our trap. We get back in time to keep them in the dark. You handle the interrogation tomorrow, I'll keep an eye on it. If he does try and kill you it'll kark up a stakeout, but we can still ambush him and maybe catch a goon or two." She didn't elaborate on how she'd keep watch. Disappearing was a magic trick, and magicians never revealed their secrets.

"If he doesn't, we get into place while he's getting the last of his stuff ready to clear out. He gets there, we spring our trap. Mister Crime Boss goes down, we get our paychecks."

She exhaled, then stopped in her pacing to look back at Mara.

"You got all that?"

And then:

"I guess I need to jailbreak your ass, then."

| [member="Mara Kellarov"] |​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

She wasn't exactly happy with the fact she'd have to endure another session, but at this point she'd much rather stick it the target rather than letting him off easy with a quick death. Mara wanted to squeeze everything out of him; every last credit, break every bone. Wanted to see him quivering on the floor before she leveled a blaster at his head...

Mara sighed internally, forcing herself to calm down.

Her old SIS training kicked in, pushing aside the anger in favour of something more level-headed.

Ever since she had gone awol, Mara had found her emotions rising to the surface a lot more. It wasn't entirely surprising; she was human after all, but the agent training everyone went through made it paramount to smother those emotions. Especially when on a mission, which this technically was.

Opening her eyes, Mara took notice of Evoros pacing. Although it was the woman's hand movements that caught her interest. It seemed out of character for an agent, but it had drummed up a subject she hadn't thought about in a long while. Each Intelligence Agency had its quirks, and of course Mara was familiar with the ones associated with the SIS. But she could also identify others, namely One Sith mostly but there was something about Evoros.

Mara shook her head, it was hardly the most important thing to focus on right now.

She listened to Evoros answer, nodding along in some areas until the woman was finished. Mara did wonder how exactly Evoros was going to hide, she had seen the interrogation room plenty of times. Enough to know there really wasn't anywhere one could conceal themselves.

"Time might end up being a bit tight if we're not too careful, but yeah. I've got it." Then Mara smiled, stretching her arms a bit more. "And yeah, I suppose you should."

No denying that Mara was eager to get out of her cell, and not get hauled off to another dank, dimly lit room.

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Evoros]

She shrugged. "We'll be fine on short time. More fun. High stakes, high rewards." At least, when these were high stakes she knew she could handle - and she tended to. The uncertainty of success or death was not part of the fun.

Regardless, Evoros had a job to do.

"Alright..." her focus shifted off the agent, turned to the screen mounted on the wall that controlled the forcefield around Mara's cell. Slicing was hardly her favourite part of the job (oh no; that came at the end, when she had her target all to herself and the Board had said drag every scrap of information out - no matter the means) but it wasn't in her nature to neglect any aspect of a task. You needed some degree of skill in every part of the job to do it well; and Evoros liked doing a job well.

It could have taken less time to access the command that brought the forcefield up, but it could have taken a lot longer.
And then Kellarov was out of her cell in a handful of moments. Still right on schedule.

"Unless you need a minute," Evoros announced, appraising the agent's condition in between eyeing their surroundings, "we can take a look around right away. Any idea where he'd go to run off?"

| [member="Mara Kellarov"] |​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara found herself smiling slightly, liking Evoros more and more. Well, her mindset anyway...totally nothing else. Take the positives from the negatives, address the benefits and wrap it up with a tone of confidence. Although it wasn't much of a surprise to Mara, being an agent herself.

But it was always nice to see in another.

She watched quietly as Evoros got to work with getting her out. Mara knew it was a fairly simply task; slicing the terminal. But the simple part went out of the window when you were on the other side of a forcefield.

It didn't take too long for the forcefield to finally drop, and the agent immediately stepped out, walking up to Evoros but staying a fair distance away.

"Nah, I'm good." It was a partial lie. Mara was clearly a bit stiff and bruised, but it was equally as obvious that her mind was on getting the mission done - rather than fussing over minor details of her own injuries.

"He would've headed to his office further into the complex, which would be..." Mara's attention seemed to fade away for a few moments, mind working through the layout she had memorized before 'arriving'.

"At the north-western point, two floors up."

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Evoros]

She didn't expect that Mara would be entirely fine after a week of interrogation. She also didn't expect that the agent would want to delay the mission just to take a breather.

Naturally, Yvonne was pleased to be proven right.

Not that she said anything, of course. Evoros was without a doubt the sort of creature who liked talking, but she had long fallen back on all work and no play when it got to a mission (and taking your eyes off the objective, even a little . . . well, she knew very well that was dangerous). They could talk later, when the two were holed up safely at headquarters and the world was short one more crime boss. Her colleagues, after all - at least the ones she liked, which in itself was a slim list - were just about the only ones she had something to talk about with that wasn't highly classified.

Because really, when you ruled out work as a subject, there was nothing at all about Evoros that she wouldn't rather keep very secret.

"We'll start there, then, take a look about. There might be surveillance feeds I can tap to clear a route," and for the first time, her smile reached her eyes, "but don't rule out taking the air vents just yet."

| [member="Mara Kellarov"] |​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

She gave Evoros a small nod, a playful grin stretching across her face at the mention of vents.

"Ah yes, more tight confined spaces...my favourite." There was obvious sarcasm in her tone, but her eyes did linger as she followed behind the other Agent. "Although, I'm sure the view wouldn't be half bad."

They pressed on further into the facility, keeping close to the walls and keeping their senses sharp for any potential guards. Although there was a distinct lack of them, something Evoros likely would've noticed when she had initially infiltrated.

"He's got a skeleton crew running this place now. shuffled the majority of them to move his cargo and guard it until they leave." Words spoken, but not a moment after the hushed whisper left her lips, they turned a corner with a single guard standing before a door.

One that led to the stairway up.

"You got anything to take him down silently?" They couldn't afford to make too much noise right now, especially if the boss was still present in the building. That, and the fact Mara's equipment had been taken from her when she had been 'brought in'.

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Evoros]

"No need."

Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, but her grin widened.

Of course, she did have a way to take him down silently. Evoros tried to use the Force sparingly - relying on something that she could be robbed of was dangerous, and being showy about her ability to use it even more so - but sometimes it was undeniably the most efficient method, and she valued pragmatism highly. But the second point remained, and there was no way to take him down without being obvious about something she'd prefer to be discreet about.

Luckily-

Go that way. Yes, that way. There's something happening downstairs.
Oh, I shouldn't.
Go on, you've been standing guard all day. What if it's a problem?
...but....
You wouldn't want to be the one who overlooked something important to watch a door nobody cares about. Go.

"Easily distracted," was all she commented as the guard turned down another hallway. As though the distraction was something she'd foreseen but had no hand in. After all, espionage gave you remarkably good powers of anticipation.

Of course, she didn't really mind if the agent darting upstairs alongside her had an inkling. Like so many focuses in her career, it was a matter of principle.

| [member="Mara Kellarov"] |​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara's expression remained neutral for a moment, then slightly baffled as she watched the guard just wander off down the other hallway, disappearing around the corner.

"Well, what do you know."

She followed alongside Evoros, dashing towards the door, opening it and quickly ascending the stairway.

All the while, Mara was internally suspicious of what just happened.

Whether she saw them, fought with or against them, Mara had been around plenty of Force Users over the years.

Now sure, there was certainly something to be said about having a keen eye for anticipation, something that was drilled into operatives during their early training. Prepare them for stake outs, or in general just waiting for your mark through the scope of a sniper rifle.

And then there was always luck, but Mara never put faith in that having any effect.

She was certain Evoros had used the Force in that moment. There was no concrete evidence to back it up, but Mara always trusted her mind and training. Especially when there was very few she could put trust into these days.

All of this was kept within, masked away beneath a neutral expression of someone focused on the mission. The pair made it to the third floor, looking left and right before Mara led the way to the office. As they drew nearer, the sound of someone shouting reached their ears. The boss certainly wasn't happy it seemed.

"I don't give two chits if the guy doesn't want to sell the ship. We need it for the last of the cargo!"

Mara stopped by one side of the door, Evoros on the other.

"And how much of it is there left?...Two? Good, we're on schedule the-" Silence followed for a few moments, until the man began shouting again. "Then get the karking ship, you idiot. Do I have to come down there myself, is a little bitty dock master getting the better of you?"

There was a sudden thud, probably from the boss slamming his fist against something.

"Fine, I'll come there myself then. Stop your incompetency from costing me any more credits!" The two agents quickly moved away, feet light as they jogged down the hallway and darted behind the corner, just as the boss departed the office and headed the other way.

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Evoros]

She wouldn't have guessed by her own powers of deduction that Kellarov was suspicious. She guessed it simply because she was, in fact, acting suspicious. Now, Evoros liked to misguide and leave uncertainty, to leave a blank space where a definite answer should go and question marks at every turn, but for once she wasn't revising her subtlety, calculating the odds of this or that outcome. Cold hard facts were always safest. But you learned when to trust your instincts.

A voice cut through the air--brash, loud, displeased--and Evoros seemed to sharpen. Not more alert, because she was never less alert, but prepared, a knife ready to cut. Now she was calculating every outcome, drawing out every possible path. Yvonne Evoros never rested, and she wasn't starting now.

Pause.

A heartbeat.

She had to be sure he was out of earshot.

Another pause, just to be sure.

"That's what you've been dealing with all week, huh?" Evoros turned the corner after Mara and slipped into the office, eyes still on the doorway. "I don't envy you."

She may or may not have been smiling again, but it disappeared then and she was silent as she surveyed the room. Thoughtful - and wary. She knew they'd done everything right. That the odds of something going wrong at this stage were low. But it paid to expect the unexpected.

The office was nondescript, but it didn't need to be anything special to have what they needed. The desk at the side of the room, for example, had the best starting point there was - his computer. Closed, locked unless he was as stupid as he looked. Nothing wrong with a challenge.

"Reckon you can get into the computer?"

| [member="Mara Kellarov"] |​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

The temptation was there, itching away beneath her skin as Mara watched the man walk away.

A week spent under his 'care', tortured every day and repeatedly throughout.

She could've followed him, snuck up behind him and snapped his neck. It wouldn't have taken that much, even with his bigger size. Kick his legs out from beneath him, then wrap her arms around his neck and just...squeeze.

But Mara would wait, she had done so for a week now; another day tops was nothing.

"I've had worse weeks before." This one didn't even rank that highly, although that didn't detract from experience; the pain that had been dealt to her.

The duo slipped into the office, eyes lingering around for anything specific. For the most part, everything was very run-of-the-mill, making it apparent that the occupant was never intending to make this a permanent place. The only thing that looked used; with the least amount of dust covering it, was the desk and computer terminal.

Mara's immediate move was to check it, and she strode across the room booting it up. It was locked of course, not even their target wasn't that dumb to leave it unprotected.

"I know I can." A playful smile appeared as the Agent typed away. "Fortunately for us, while our guy has a nasty bite and bark, the latter is particularly chatty."

Who still used their loved one's as their password these days?

After a couple attempts; his wife, then his daughter - that was the correct password.

"Okay, looks like there's nothing too substantial. But we've got some emails...seems the majority of them are from a dock master."

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Evoros]

"Really now?" She laughed lightly, eyes glancing over to the brunette. "Sounds like a story there. You'll have to tell me sometime."

Talking about work was a predictably rare opportunity. Secrets and deceit surrounded everything when it came to intelligence work--and the Collective, who lived in the shadows, took that principle extremely seriously. Besides, Evoros didn't devote a great deal of time to socializing. Or to anything outside of her work, really. She didn't like making it easier to let her guard down.

But when she had the opportunity--when she was sure the risk was manageable, sure it was worth the reward--she'd take her chances.

She caught up with Mara and studied the screen over her shoulder, a seriousness suddenly on her face as she scanned the text. And then a faint trace of smugness with it. He'd afforded some leniency in covering his tracks for knowing he'd be gone soon. Not enough, never enough - she'd know.

"There's our lead, then. May I?" Gesturing at the computer, she waited for Mara's indication before taking a closer look, eyes narrowed. She was sure the docks in question would be busier than the complex they were in, even at night, and Kellarov wouldn't be a target. In theory, this would be simple.

Of course, sometimes it was the simplest missions that could fail the hardest. But Evoros felt optimistic.

"Okay, I've got coordinates for the docks. Seedy-looking place, but it ain't far away," she said absently, still tapping away at the keyboard. "He just left to go curse at the dock master some more, so we'll have to be careful, but if we're fast and nothing goes wrong he'll lead us right to what we need. Now!" Evoros brought up a window of surveillance feeds. "I'm going to make sure all the footage here shows nothing out of the ordinary, but get a good look first, it makes things so much easier if we don't have to take anybody out."

It had become clear by the time she was done just what a good time the agent was having.

| [member="Mara Kellarov"] |​