Description: After a long time away from her boss, Mary is called back by Urien to help him begin his own machinations into the goings on in Southtown. Sensing a possible way to weaken NESTS, Shadaloo, and the Southtown Syndicate, if he plays his cards right, as well as get his hands on all sorts of useful knowledge and technology, how can the hopeful up-and-coming deity resist the opportunity? The pair catch up, share champagne, and discuss business. All whilst en route to the heart of the storm itself. With very little idea about what it is they are actually walking into.
Japan. A nation at war, against forces that it cannot even begin to comprehend. From the outside, it looked chaotic enough. From the inside, it was even worse. But. Where most people saw a global disaster of titanic proportions, Urien saw only one thing. An opportunity.
True enough, he had clashed with NESTS in the past, and come off sore from the experience. And he had been surprised by the level of strength that Shadaloo could muster, having assumed- perhaps naively, in retrospect- that Thailand had been the last true show of force that Vega would make.
But Urien is not one to be discouraged easily, and so it is that Mary has been contacted, and instructed to meet Urien, not in the comfort and safety of the main base, but instead on the outskirts of a nondescript Japanese village, some way away from Southtown proper.
There, Urien waits, wearing his usual, impeccably tailored suit. The head of the G-Project is currently sat inside a large limousine, all tinted windows and bullet proof glass, with a driver, and the air conditioning keeping the leather interior pleasantly cool. He has helped himself to a glass of champagne, the bottle chilled in a bucket of ice.
Now, he was just waiting for his operative, and things could begin to swing into motion.
She was getting a bit sore, anyways. So much sitting on her tuffet. Too much curds and way.
The cycle had to end somewhere.
Returning from her little excursion with NESTS, due to the slight loss in touch with Urien being fixed, she was more than happy to continue for the group that gave her everything. That crafted the weak shell of a girl, due to suffer her poor parents same fate of mortal coils, and be born again.. a woman, ageless in appearance. Away from that inevitable end.
She believes.
As Urien waits, Mary does not keep him waiting too long. It would just be rude! She doesn't believe in such a thing - Not in this case. A tree, nearby the outskirts. Nearby the limousine, suddenly gains a chain, wrapped around one of the higher branches.
The line goes taut, as the white clothed woman shoots upwards, following the chain, before swinging up and into the air, the branch being released as she launches up, and over the limousine.
The parasol opens, and Mary slowly floats down, holding of all things, a briefcase this day.. and lands right before the door. "Dreadfully sorry, darlin'... There was a bit of a hassle in findin' my way around these here parts..." She 'curtsies', before closing the Parasol, the bonnet on her head, obscuring a bit. "Hope I didn't keep ya'll waiting too long..." She notes. "M'leader."
Urien allows himself a little smile at that. Taking the time to note her features, and voice. He was glad, at least, that NESTS hadn't changed her at all from how he remembered her. The man nods, the door opening for him. Well. There were a few advantages to his powers, and being able to open the door without deigning to raise from his seat was one of the smallest. "Of course, Mary." He replies, easily. Gesturing to the seat next to him, "Please. Get in."
When she has gotten in, he waves his hand to the driver, and the soundproof glass raises between them. A glass of champagne soon poured for Mary as well, he seems quite relaxed, in jovial spirits. A rarity, perhaps, for Urien. But, then, it had been a long time since he had anything to be happy about. "It is good to see you again, Mary." He says, simply. "It has really been too long. A small hitch necessitated that I take some time to ... consolidate our resources. But, I assure you, all that is over with. I trust that you have been well?"
"Oh, why I'd love to, darlin'!" Mary agrees with Urien's little gesture, as she takes her dress, and holds it upwards, sliding into the seat of the car door.. that is rather easily opened by Urien. "Quite the gentleman." She happily says, as she slides within the seat, the suitcase over her legs, and the parasol, closed, above that as well. It's rather.. large.
And heavy. On closer inspection, it's a bit of reinforced steel to put it lightly - certainly not something normal that one would take out just for rain. But then, Mary has .. a bit of this and that.
The glass raises.. and the other glass does as well, Mary sitting across, or perhaps nearby, Urien. The glass is raised and put to her lips, the woman sipping, some color, given by the wine, returning to her lips. "Oh! It's a pleasure bein' here, m'leader.." She responds, before listening onwards. "And ya'll don't have ta worry about that.. I've had plenty a' time ta take care of a few loose ends.. and slip away while they weren't a watchin'." She comments about NESTS, "They.. just didn't have what I really looked for in long time relationship, sugar."
She slips the bonnet backwards a bit, as she lays back. "Ya'll know how to treat a lady round here."
Urien's smile grows into a full smirk at her words, and he gives a short nod. "This, is nothing." He states, calmly. "Just a taste of things to come." He sips his drink, before setting the glass down, and the car rumbles into life. All but inaudible, thanks to the amount of emphasis placed on comfort in the design, it glides out, and heads off. The driver knows better than to wait around. For all that Urien wanted to get an impression of utter confidence across, there was no time to lose. Every moment wasted was another where opportunity risked slipping through his grasp.
"No doubt." He continues, "You are aware of the difficulties facing Southtown at current. Shadaloo and NESTS have both made their move, but they are finding the natives just a touch more resilient than they had expected." Quite suddenly, Urien's humor has dropped. His eyes focused on the pale woman with absolute seriousness.
"Suffice it to say, there are things from both sides which could be very useful to us. Ordinarily, I would be wary of interfering in a situation like this without more information than we have. But. Time waits for no one. Not even a God."
Straightening, he sets himself back against his seat. "Therefore, I am centering our operations in Southtown, for the moment, and I have some work that requires your special touch. For the duration, you will be reporting directly to me. I dare say we will have to sacrifice some comfort to make certain our presence is as subtle as possible. But I'm sure that with your assistance, we'll have everything we need in short order."
"Oh you're such a tease," Mary responds, kicking her legs up a bit, grinning. "Ya'll know just how to push a woman's buttons, dont'cha." She adds, listening to him. The car begins to move - and she barely can feel it herself. It's really lost to her that they are in motion, mainly due to the notion of it all. They are in car.. of course they would be, shortly.
But he continues. "Oh, yes I certainly know! Southtown's bein' torn up by somethin', but I'm only sure that NESTs is involved, ain't it? Why, I'm not quite certain of that other fellow-Ah, Shadaloo is it?" She smirks, hands running against the seat. "One hell of a storm they found themselves in, y'know. Somethin's in the eye, but..hmm?" Her idea of the situation stops, for a moment, as Urien gets all serious.
"So you want lil' ol me to help out with that.. Well I'll be .. just delighted to help out, darlin'." She doesn't joke either. It's rather serious, to her. "Subtle y'say.. I think I can make do with that.. just a dash of make-up and they ain't gonna be able to see me comin'.. and maybe a little change of wardrobe."
"Ya'll can trust me." She notes, sitting back, hands folding about her lap. "I'm more than interested in seein' .. just where this rabbithole leads. .. Just going to take a lil' diggin'. I have no qualms about dirth, neither."
Urien listens carefully. Judging her response, silently, he finds himself nodding. "Very good." He states, "I knew you wouldn't let me down." Reaching underneath his seat, Urien produces a small file, which he hands over towards Mary. When it is taken, he leans back. Gesturing for her to open it. Inside, there are numerous photographs. All members of the Young Fighters Community Center, and the more prominent members of Gedo high school. Names are, of course, provided on the back.
"Your mission for the moment is simple enough. Before I can begin to capitalize on the situation, I need to know precisely what it is. I would like you to find out which individuals- local fighters, particularly, and those who have been most directly effected by the attack the most- intend to fight back against the invaders, and what, if any, cohesive leadership they have. Insinuate yourself amongst them as a representative of a higher power. Find out what there is to work with, and try to make yourself trusted. Feel free to attack the enemy forces in the area. Any ... good feeling that might have existed between myself and NESTS has dissolved. And I'm sure that you will be more than capable of making a favorable impression upon these frightened children."
Urien's smile returns. Though this time, it isn't as pleasant as before. Predatory, even. "When we have a measure of how much there is to work with in the area, we can begin to nudge them in the proper directions. There is, however, one caveat. In amongst those pictures, you'll find information about one 'Gabriel'." There is just a moments hesitation, before he concludes. "Frankly, the girl is dangerously unstable, and I have little idea how she will respond to this environment. However. For the moment, consider her to be acting on my behalf, and if she is involved in any fighting, try to make sure that she doesn't get herself killed. Unless doing so would jeopardize your cover."
Grasping the file, Mary .. files through it. "Everything that has a place.. in it's place, I see." She acknowledges the file and the very interesting line of fighters and school students. Gedo.. YFCC. "Oh that place.." She notes. "Why, I'll have to really put on a nice disguise and promise I've changed.. I do believe NESTs assaulted it once before.. oh dear."
She notes, but smiles. "But perhaps.. they will accept me on those terms, that I ain't with them anymore, and am more interested now in helping them - Why yes," She goes on, pulling up a picture of Frei. Hotaru. Etc. "I do believe.. I may be able to win some trust. They, after all, seem to accept any old scraggly mutt.. this should be quite easy."
".. And that one boy did talk about making amends - Oh how perfect that such naive folks are there for the pickin'." She smirks, closing it, finally.. but the smile she looks up to see. Ooh how exciting! "Ya'll don't worry about her.. I won't either.. but an eye on 'er ain't a bad idea.. oh? Get herself killed y'say? Now that would be a problem, wouldn't it.
And pathetic, if she has the chance to run away.. why not? "Nudge them then.. Perhaps this .. information I'll come bearin' may be enough to help them - I'll just have ta' play it safe.. and smart."
Urien nods slowly, relaxing as he does so. "I have every confidence in your abilities, Mary." He says, smoothly. He kept his own thoughts on the people that he intended to manipulate private. They were, indeed, a rather mongrel lot. But, he'd learned first hand that judging fighters by their appearance was not a good idea. Even the smallest animal could become surprisingly dangerous when backed into a corner. But. So long as things went smoothly, he would be directing that danger, rather than having to face it down himself.
Yes. If all went according to plan, the G-Project could gather an incredible amount of valuable information on the capabilities of Southtown's many and varied residents. The prospect was almost intoxicating.
Plucking up his glass, he raises it. "To your return. I'm glad that you are, finally, back where you belong." He toasts, as the car speeds to its destination. "Of course. I will be making my own arrangements... but my number is in there, and soon, Francis will take us to the base of operations."
It wasn't perfect, of course, but, from the small condo on the outskirts of Southtown Village, Urien could be close enough to the action to be able to respond quickly... whilst being far enough away that he was unlikely to risk immediate detection.
The limousine rumbles on, bearing the pair to their destination... and, for all Urien's attempted subtly, most likely into the heart of danger itself.
The smaller the dog, the larger the fight, at times. It's not something Mary truly keeps to heart, but she's seen quite a bit she normally wouldn't have. Something to remember, she thinks, as Urien goes on.
She raises the glass, towards Urien, before sipping another drink from it. "Like I said before.. ya'll just know how to treat a lady." She quips, before going back for another sip. "It wasn't home sickness, but m' heart really does belong here.. Ya'll just have no idea how heartless some o' NESTs are.. or how brutish. Me oh my - Just brutish." She smirks, as she speaks, before nodding to Urien. His own arrangements, and the number. "I'll remember that. Ya'll shouldn't have ta hear from little 'ol me though..no crying wolf, y'hear?"
At least, for now, she has something more to live for once again - A lovely feeling, of purpose, that has evaded her since.
Log created on 10:27:06 02/20/2009 by Urien, and last modified on 14:09:23 02/20/2009.