Private Why now?

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Denon, Malevolence highrise complex
Objective: Steal the credit chip from the CEO
Attire: Disguise / Heist attire
Tag: Xan Deesa

In the malevolence highrise complex, a bored security guard was busy looking at the bright holo screen in front of him. People had been coming out throughout the day, but now it was midnight there was going to be a long night ahead of him. He was still figuring out what was going to keep him awake when the automatic doors of the complex opened up. At the entrance, a brown haired teen walked through the doors wearing a backpack and smart clothes. From the looks of him, it appeared to be one of the owner's kids who had just come back from a day out. However, that really wasn't the case.

As of late, Cartri had been making use of the 24 hour hair color spray he had gotten off the black market, using it to hide his distinctive black hair and disguise himself to be unrecognisable. Coming up to the desk, the guard nonchalantly looked up at him "ID kid..." the man grumbled, something which was answered with a slight roll of the eyes and the showing of his ID card. Cartri had spent a few days researching the owners of the highrise apartments. There were loads, too many to remember by face or name. That in itself was going to be used as an advantage. After forging a first name and adding the last name of an owner, he wasn't going to know a thing.

The guard sighed and compared the two pictures before handing it back to him "I didn't realise Jace had a son, you visiting from somewhere?" the man questioned as he leaned back in his seat "Yup, and straight into the dump of a planet he calls home" Cartri replied as he placed the card back in his pocket and began walking away "Tell me about it..." the old timer grumbled before turning his attention back to his screen. That was close, at least he had gotten past the hard part now.

Stepping foot in the elevator he pressed the button to head up to the top floor, the one that contained his target as well as others that were with him. Since there were no cameras, he quickly raised a hand to his tie and was about to get changed into his heist gear. Cartri had better protection in it after all, and with his gloves, he'd be able to dispatch the guards and all those that were present in the apartment.

It wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

 

[Xan Deesa]

For the past few years, she kept a low profile. She analysed, watched and intervened when necessary, but she kept her face hidden and her presence unknown. Only those closest to her knew about her existence in the form of aid such as money or a convenient system working in their favour. A guardian angel, as some might call it. But for all intents and purposes, she went into hibernation.

But the galaxy was changing once more, a new war was brewing with new participants. It was time for her to wake up again. The Corpos were acting up in the wake of profits to be made, and in the midst of it all there was one she never took her eyes off. Her little brother. The little ginger she would burn the galaxy for. Which was why she acted immediately when she lost sight of him. No amount of cameras and recorders, no amount of screens and data feeds could locate him. She could only get a few leads to locate him, which made it more concerning to her when her leads led her to the same location as a target she had her eye on.

She did her homework and took a more conventional approach by slicing into the building's scanners and crawling through the ventilation ducts until she found the level she was looking for. What caught her by surprise, however, was not her little brother entering the level through a turbolift, but a complete stranger. No amount of scanning could identify him. Her own appearance was more unorthodox, dressed as a corpo executive in a fine black dress with tasteful modifications lining certain places of her body, primarily her neck and face. But the rest of her appearance was not Xan Deesa, the Demon of Denon, but that of Alexa Damascus, a high rolling investor and DireX member. She took careful preparation in her appearance to be unnoticeable for any guard or security system that picked her up. Even her outfit and makeup was only donned once she got the chance to slip into a jannitor's closet.

"Oh? You lost, kiddo?" She asked the boy with a calm voice and a warm smile and a voice that was a far cry from her own. More formal and with a completely different tone. She studied the boy with her cybernetic eyes for a moment. "Building's closed up by now. You here to see someone?" She continued as she turned to face him, maintaining the surprised look on her face.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Denon, Malevolence highrise complex
Objective: Steal the credit chip from the CEO
Attire: Disguise / Heist attire
Tag: Xan Deesa

Things seemed to be going smoothly up until the lift began to slow down "Chit..." the teen grumbled as he quickly redid his tie and threw on his backpack just before the doors reopened. Looking in front of him he saw a well dressed woman, someone who appeared to be going somewhere important. Waiting for her to step in, he casually hit the top floor button once more and kept his gaze ahead of him. Yet, it seemed like the newcomer was more talkative than he was.

"I'm here to see my father actually. Believe it or not, I actually live here" he replied in a calm tone, his head turning to look at her with a curious look "I don't remember seeing you around actually, are you visiting one of the owners?" the teen asked in a voice that was different from Cartri's which was more strange and distinct. Whoever she was Cartri just hoped she got off on one of the floors so he could prepare for the heist. If she didn't, he'd just have to do things the old fashioned way without his gear.

As they got closer to the top floor, Cartri was starting to get unsettled as to where the woman was going "If you don't mind me asking, what floor are you getting off? I haven't seen you touch the panel yet..."

 

[Xan Deesa]

Without skipping a beat, Alexa entered the turbolift and held her hands in her lap as she stared idly at the door, listening to the annoying music playing over the surprisingly good speakers inside. The boy finally gave his answer as to why he was there at such an odd time, though she didn't buy it. The fact that he was heading for the top level, same as her, merely added to her suspicion.

"Visiting? Kiddo, I'm one of them." She remarked with an amused smile. "I'm surprised you haven't seen me around all that much. Come to think of it, I can't recall seeing you here much, either." She glanced at him with a cold, piercing gaze for a moment. He finally asked about where she was going, to which she smiled a toothy, cold grin. "Oh, I'm heading for the top floor as well. I got some last minute work I need to wrap up before month end." She replied calmly. Yeah, this kid was after the same thing as her. She was sure of it. And if he wasn't... an apology will have to do.

The moment the lift stopped, she grabbed hold of him and hurled him through the opening doors with strength much greater than one would expect from her lithe build. Exiting the lift, she took a wide stance as her forearms separated to reveal two long blades. "I dunno who the hell you are, kiddo, but you picked a bad time to look for trouble." She hissed in her more typical voice. She hoped that the blades and her threatening appearance would be enough to scare him into submission. The last thing she wanted to do was beat up a kid, or worse.

Cameras around them began to stutter and alter trajectory as part of Xan's consciousness breached the security systems. For all the guards knew, there was nothing happening on the secure floor. She wasn't going to let this little drip of a kid jeopardize her plans.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Denon, Malevolence highrise complex
Objective: Steal the credit chip from the CEO
Attire: Disguise / Heist attire
Tag: Xan Deesa

"Is that so?" Cartri said with a raised brow as he felt the woman's suspicious stare pierce into his back. The teen could tell she was starting to get a bit suspicious, especially if she truly came to the apartments on a regular basis. To hide any indication, all he did was keep staring ahead of him at the doors "I come and go, my father doesn't like me hanging around here for too long" he said calmly as the turbo lift began to come to a stop on the top floor "Well... I hope you can wrap up whatever business you have. Time doesn't stop for anyone after all"

Waiting for the doors to open, Cartri was hoping to make a swift exit. However, a tight grip from behind had other ideas. Opening his eyes wide, Cartri was thrown into the quiet corridor with force which he didn't expect from a woman of her stature. Landing roughly, he rolled and managed to prop himself on one knee with a wince.

"Who said this was the wrong time?" Cartri finally said in his usual bravado, knowing that his cover had been blown and there was no point putting up an act. As he got up and readied himself for a fight, he couldn't help but realise she sounded familiar. It was a voice he hadn't heard in a while, but for now, that was the least of his worries. Cartri couldn't help but feel uneasy about the blades that were going to be used against him. They were no joke, the sooner he got rid of them the better.

"You think I'm going to run away with my tail between my legs because you've brought out your fancy knives? no chance" the teen spat before readying himself for an attack. Due to him leaving his gear inside the bag, he'd have to do this the old fashioned way and make use of the force "You'll know who I am by the time I'm done" he grunted before suddenly gripping a chair with the force and flinging it straight at her. Using it as a distraction, he ran straight at her swiftly and kicked his leg off the wall to jump at the intruder when he was close enough. Rotating his body, the former darkwire kid swung his leg to try and knock one of her knives out of her hand.

 

[Xan Deesa]

Glaring at the kid as her eyes turned back to their normal technicolour state, Xan glared at the arrogant kid as he got up and readied himself for a fight. "I said 'bad' time, you cupcake." She corrected him. Sparks flew as she dragged her mantis-like blades against each other as she prepared herself for the fight. "Certainly not the wrong time, though." She continued with a toothy, daring grin.

How the hell was she supposed to scare someone like this?

"You think I'm going to run away with my tail between my legs because you've brought out your fancy knives? no chance"

"You'll know who I am by the time I'm done"

"Yeah, actually, that's what I was hoping for. Clearly you don't know who I am." She hissed as her eyes narrowed. What she wasn't expecting was a chair to fly into her from the other side of the corridor. It did a stellar job at knocking her clean off her feet, though she was quick enough to recover just in time as the kid jumped off the wall to swing a kick at her. Xan quickly adjusted her arm to block with the flat part of her blade to avoid amputating his leg. This wasn't going to work.

The blades retracted into her forearms and allowed her to fight more conventionally as she dropped to try and sweep his legs out from under him. Not taking any chances, Xan moved with blistering speed to hurl a few punches at the kid. A simple test to see how good he was. "You think I'm some karking slumdog dreg who got lucky?" She practically growled as she retreated, just to kick at his head and charge in again. Around them, holoscreens and projectors lit up to reveal her true appearance all around them. Without uttering a word herself, her voice projected all around them. "I'm a karking god, baby!"

Cartri Keswoll