Private You spy with your little eye

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Corrox City, Mahporeem - N&Z Regional Headquarters
OBJECTIVE: not my objective
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Evan Kade

The N&Z Headquarters at Corrox city looked like a massive middle finger to the trials and tribulations the Mahporeem Remnant was dealing with, yet at the same time it actually represented those same issues. Unlike most of the usual N&Z offices or headquarters, it was a monolithic structure, without the usual beautiful details or craftwork visible on the outside. In stead it was a massive skyscraper erected out of thick duracrete and small glasteel windows, reaching several hundreds of meters into the sky, with only the branding of the N&Z on the outside making it clear as to which power, which galactic entity held sway in those parts.

Anyone who had an inkling of who was who within the Mahporeem Remnant was keenly aware of those who walked out of the building through the main entrance, surrounded by several highly armed and armored enforcer droids built and designed by the company itself. As they walked out through the revolving transparisteel doors the two; a man and a woman seemed to talk to eachother, waiting for their ride. The man was tall of stature, with blond, slicked-back hair and shades, impeccably dressed in a white suit adorned with a cape and epaulets which betrayed a certain degree of wealth and understanding of using fashion to impress others. The woman on the other hand was smaller, with a slender and athletic build, dressed in what could be described as a fashionable work uniform with black trousers, waistcoat and boots, with a purple overcoat to top it all off. Her long black hair seemed to be swept up by a gust of wind, making her move her hand to prevent the strands of raven black hair to cover her face in an unsightly manner, to which the tall man seemed to respond by gently reaching for the side of the woman's face and sliding his gloved fingers through her hair in order to put a few of those rebellious long strands behind her ear in a strangely loving and somewhat fatherly fashion.

After several moments, a long, exquisitely built and maintained limousine-landspeeder arrived, opening its back doors to allow the tall man and the woman to step inside of it before it began to speed off towards the depths of Corrox City's very heart...​

 

[Evan Kade]

Evan had learned long ago that appearances could be deceiving. It was one of the first lessons worth learning in his line of work.

The pair emerging from the N&Z headquarters certainly looked important enough. The security detail alone suggested that much, and the limousine waiting to collect them only reinforced the impression. But important wasn't necessarily the same thing as target. Until Evan had something more substantial than a description and a security recording, he wasn't about to assume that the first well-dressed pair leaving the building were the people that he had been asked to investigate. He watched the limousine pull away before slipping into the flow of traffic a short distance behind it.

Taking the driver's place would have been simpler in some respects. Had he already known where they were going, which routes they favored, or what their usual routines looked like; Evan might have preferred it. But he didn't. He had no interest in getting himself into the front seat of a limousine with two strangers only to discover that he'd picked the wrong people. Or worse; that he'd been noticed before he had learned anything useful. So he simply followed.

A small drone, deliberately made to resemble little more than another piece of Corrox City's ubiquitous traffic, slipped into position above the limousine. It maintained a comfortable distance, it's sensors quietly tracking the vehicle while feeding information back to Evan's helmet. Another drone remained near the N&Z headquarters. That one had a rather different purpose.

Evan adjusted the helmet resting over his head as a voice came quietly through his commlink. "Still with them?"

"Yes." His eyes remained on the limousine several vehicles ahead. "Keep the cameras ahead of me open. I don't need the entire city's feed, just enough to know what I'm driving into."

There was a brief pause. "Already working on it."

The slicer he'd hired was good. That was why Evan had hired them. Somewhere else in the city, they were working their way into the security network, feeding Evan whatever information they could gather while also helping guide the second drone near the N&Z building. It wasn't elegant, but Evan had never believed that good espionage had to be elegant. It simply had to work.

His gaze flicked toward the small display mounted inside his helmet. The limousine's position remained steady. The drone's feed showed it's rear profile from above, while another window displayed the surrounding traffic. "Any change?"

"Nothing yet."

Evan settled back into his seat. "Good." He wasn't impatient. The target's destination mattered. The route mattered. Who they met along the way mattered. Even the places they didn't go could prove useful later. For now, he was simply another driver in Corrox City traffic. Nobody paid attention to him. That was precisely how he liked it.

His fingers tapped lightly against the steering controls as he watched the limousine ahead. "Let's see where you two like to go."

Tag: The Lord of Hunger

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Corrox City, Mahporeem - N&Z Regional Headquarters
OBJECTIVE: not my objective
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Evan Kade


The Limousine speeder would find itself traversing through the deeper parts of Corrox, until it stopped at a large land development area, where the two people who had gotten in, would get out. There were several other people greeting them, amongst which were several higher ranking military officers, several people from the IMF which acted as a semi-autonomous investment firm controlled by the N&Z and several members of the city's own political elite.

The area which was being prepped for demolition, seemed to be part of the busiest and wealthiest part of the major city's trading hubs, a prime piece of property.

"How soon can the demolition be completed," The man dressed in the white three piece suit spoke up, their commanding aura dominating the talks, while the woman stood besides him like a coiled viper, ready and waiting to strike when given the chance. "We managed to get it all for cheap, but the actual process of developing this area is anything but cheap. I want the bureacracy to work as efficiently and as smoothly as possible...if I hear any word about commitees or the likes having to review our plans, I will have heads rolling within a forthnight."

"Lord Visconti, I can assure you that Corrox' planning commitee has already reviewed your plans and given their approval," One of the political officials quickly pointed out, sweating slightly when feeling the pressure radiating from the man who dominated the conversation. "Our department may be run mostly by Merzoidians, but they are dilligent in their job."

"And Lieutenant Colonel," The man in the three-piece suit turned his attention towards one of the military attachés present, all the while seeing how the woman he had brought suddenly seemed to be distracted by a call on her datapad, leading her to turn around for a moment and take some distance from the talks by stepping aside a bit. "I can't stress too hard on the fact that you have yet to increase the overall security around the industrial and commercial districts of Corrox. If you do not increase the security by your own accord, I will have to petition the High Council to give the N&Z leave to pursue their own security to handle the matter properly. So, either you make sure that the local garrison is increased to provide the adequate number of men to ensure the safety and security of what are arguably the most economically vital pieces of Mahporeem proper, or I will handle it myself..."

"Milord, there's a message from KRONOS," Amalia suddenly interrupted the talks as she had come back from her call. "It has found some...irregularities in regards to the security of the N&Z Headquarters..."

"Have KRONOS trace these irregularities, but have them refrain from acting just yet," The tall, elegantly dressed man reacted, a soft, yet somehow insanely twisted and gleeful smile appeared on his face. "This is a daily occurance when you are located within a busy hub of commerce and industry... however, should the irregularities prove to be troublesome...have KRONOS retrace the intrusion's steps."

​

 

[Evan Kade]

Evan didn't follow the limousine all the way to the development site. That would have been unnecessary. Instead, he slowed several blocks away and let the vehicle disappear from sight before turning down another street. The drone overhead continued tracking the area from a safe distance, it's sensors feeding a quiet stream of information back to him.

Evan parked soon after that, and for a moment, he simply sat there. "Well..." he murmured.

The voice in his commlink answered almost immediately. "We have a problem."

Evan glanced at the display. "The interesting kind?"

"Someone is snooping around the N&Z security systems. It's not us. Something automated. I'm seeing traces of a security intelligence moving through the network."

Evan considered that for a moment. "KRONOS?"

There was a small pause. "Likely."

Evan smiled faintly. "Then let's not give it anything interesting to find." He stepped out onto the sidewalk. A few minutes later, Evan no longer looked particularly like someone who had been following a limousine. His helmet was tucked beneath one arm. His utility jacket had been replaced with something considerably more casual. And in his other hand was a bouquet of flowers.

He checked the reflection in a nearby window, adjusted one of the stems, and looked almost convincingly like a young man who had been stood up. Almost.

His datapad chimed. Evan glanced down at it. Several messages appeared on the display. I'm here. Where are you? A second followed. You said this was the place. And then, after a moment's consideration: I'm beginning to think that you're not coming.

Evan stared at the messages with an expression of mild irritation.

"Convincing?"

"Very."

"Good."

He slipped the datapad into his pocket and began walking.

His drones were already repositioning. One settled behind a large construction barrier overlooking the development site. Another found a position behind an abandoned cargo container with a clear line toward the gathering. Neither needed to hover in plain sight. Their microphones and sensors could do their work from concealment while Evan remained well outside the most obvious perimeter.

He stopped near a public access point, close enough to look as though he might have been waiting for someone, but far enough away that nobody involved in the meeting would have any reason to pay attention to him. The bouquet rested loosely in one hand. He checked his datapad again. Then looked toward the development site.

There was Lord Visconti, several military officers, political officials and representatives of the IMF. That was already more useful than he'd expected.

Evan's expression remained mildly disappointed. Internally, he was cataloguing everything. Names where he had them, ranks, associations, who stood beside whom, who appeared to defer to whom, who spoke and who remained silent.

The Lord in the white suit clearly enjoyed having authority. The military officer seemed considerably less comfortable with it being exercised in his direction. The political official was sweating before the conversation had even finished.

And the woman; Amalia, she had separated herself from the others when the call came through. Evan had noticed that immediately. Now his attention shifted subtly toward her. "Anything from the slicer?"

"Still monitoring. KRONOS is tracing the intrusion into the headquarters network. It hasn't connected it to us."

"And the drones?"

"Clean. Nobody has noticed them."

Evan gave the smallest nod. "Good." He didn't need to hear every word being spoken. Not yet. The conversation itself could be reconstructed later. What mattered was getting the people, the connections, the patterns, the little things that never appeared in official reports.

Evan lifted the bouquet slightly and glanced down at it with theatrical disappointment as a passing pedestrian moved nearby. He even sighed for good measure. To anyone watching, he was simply a young man waiting for a date who had apparently decided not to show. It was a rather unfortunate evening. Nothing more.

His eyes briefly returned to the development site. "Actually," Evan murmured into his commlink, "I think I may have just found something considerably more interesting than our original target."

The slicer was silent for a moment. "What?"

A faint smile touched Evan's lips. "People who don't know they're being watched." He slipped his datapad back into his pocket while the flowers remained in his hand. And somewhere behind a construction barrier, one of his drones quietly listened.

Tag: The Lord of Hunger