thisavrou_log | The trick is this: don't get caught

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The trick is this: don't get caught

Who: Nathan Drake, Harry Flynn and Chloe Frazer
When: March 7th
Where: Region 5
What: Chloe and Nate get hired to do some thieving. Little do they know, Harry's been hired for the same job. This worked out so well the last time they all took on a job together what could possibly go wrong?
Warnings: language, theft, tiddies and arse.

[There's something strangely comforting about being out in the dead of night, dressed all in black and waiting in the shadows for a contact. If you weren't concentrating too hard on the hotch-potch of architectural styles, the unfamiliar constellations and the odd, distinctly inhuman noise from the distance, it would be easy to believe that this scene is happening somewhere on Earth.

But, as Chloe's all too aware, it's not Earth. A client's a client though, and getting herself established is all well and good but it's no good putting herself forward as one of the best drivers in the business if there's no business.

Fortunately, opportunity knocks in mysterious ways.

In this case, the opportunity happens to be a four foot seven alien going by the name Vinnie. She had been frequenting some of the shadier bars in the area, seeking out contacts and looking for work, when she'd been tapped up by a nervous looking client called Jibjerneen who'd filled her in on the job.

The target was a very striking fellow who was was as wide as he was tall, liked to speak with the same clipped accent as a 1940s news broadcaster and had a penchant for wearing garishly coloured velvet smoking jackets that could easily double for a small tent in the case of an emergency. He went by the name Vinnie vin Goth (and it was a struggle for Chloe to keep a straight face when that nugget of information came out). Her contact informed her that he was a self styled 'collector', a connoisseur of off-world artefacts, and who happened to live in a suitably ostentatious pad right in the heart of Region 5.

"He's got somethin' of my buddy's," Jibjerneen had told Chole. "And I need you to help my break-in guy get it back."

What Chloe needed to do, as driver, was to provide a getaway vehicle and her services behind the wheel, and ideally some muscle to help the break-in guy get into Vinnie's heavily fortified domicile. Break-in guy had the plans and the brain power to mastermind it all, apparently. Chloe hadn't met him yet and wasn't exactly thrilled that he was an unknown quality, but in case of emergency it's always best to have a specialist at improvising, blowing shit up and stealing at hand and luckily she knew just the guy.

Which is why she and Nate are making their way through the dark streets to the rendezvous point where they're meeting their third man. Chloe's behind the wheel of a small, dark car - an open-top Jeep type- and she's grinning from ear to ear at how silently the engine's running. Alien technology rocks, no one will be able to hear them in this baby.]

So what's the official party line for Elena on this one? She knows we're on a job together, right?

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[It's a different world and a different set of circumstances, building up a reputation and clientele for himself here, but at least he's got his skills and someone he trusts at his back. That's something. Nate grins at Chloe as they go, looking not-at-all like thieves on the job. They're just...fashionable.]

Yeah, of course. She's probably happier this way—you're the person she probably trusts to watch my back the most, now that Sully's gone home.

[And how frustrating is it that the Ingress people had found his best friend's way back but not theirs? Incredibly. But there's nothing to be done.]

After everything that happened with Iram, I'm being more careful about the kind of work I take, but this should be fine. As long as the guy we're meeting holds up his end, it'll be an easy night.

Edited 2017-03-08 13:09 (UTC)

We've had harder nights' work to get through. One little trinket? Piece of cake. We'll be in and out and you'll be in bed with the missus before she misses you.

[She smiles across at him as she pauses the car at an intersection, scanning for traffic before continuing on to the meeting point. The reminder that Sully's gone is a sobering thought, one that saddens her. If Victor Goddamn Sullivan had been there, she would have made a far stronger argument for ditching the unknown third man and just having the three of them work the job.

Oh well. No use crying over spilt milk.]

Okay, what time do you make it? We're supposed to be meeting this guy at 10:45.

[He knows she's probably jinxing them with those words—he's done the same thing himself—but really, this isn't a trip across the world with side-stops for backstabbing. It should be fine.]

Uh... [He checks his watch.] Just about then. He should be ready to meet us when you pull up, unless he's not a stickler for time.

[Which is entirely possible. It's not like theft operates on a strict schedule.]

[Jinxing? What is this jinxing of which you speak, Nathan Drake? Surely you jest.]

Well he'd better be. Sooner we get this party started the sooner we get to reap the benefits.

[Those nice, jingly, money benefits.]

[If it's one time Harry Flynn gave a damn about punctuality, it was when it came to his work. And while his work is fun, he does think of himself as a professional. Professionals meet on time.

So he loiters at the rendezvous point, leaning against a wall, playing with his lighter while he waits for the rest of his crew to arrive, whomever that may be. That's as important as the take tonight, at least for him. It would be nice to have new contacts.]

Well, you're the driver. Better get us there faster, then.

[He's joking. Hopefully they won't need a daring car ride courtesy of the best driver in the business, but if they do, it needs to come after the heist, not before.

Still, it's not long before they pull up at the appointed place. Nate's the first one out of the car, scanning for their contact, and when he sees him he does a double-take. Oh. Oh no.]

[Chloe hops out of the driver's seat and is a few steps behind Nate when she clocks who their third man is and-

Oh what are the odds?

So much for a nice straightforward evening's work.]

[The sound of an approaching vehicle snaps Flynn out of his own head. He'd been retreading the plan over and over again. It shouldn't be a hard job, provided everything goes smoothly and he's working with competent people.

And it's on that thought that he takes notice of the people filing out of the car.

Shit.]

Are you two lost?

[Oh, for fuck's sake. What are the odds indeed? Nate's expression shows exactly what he thinks of this.]

No. Are you? We're supposed to meet someone here.

[Yeaaaaaaah, he's not under any illusions that this isn't exactly what he thinks it is. Be nice if he were wrong, though. Goddammit.]

[Okay. Chloe can handle this. She can deal. She can be professional. She can keep a cool head.

The boys on the other hand?

Jury's out.

So she opens with a little civility.]

And fancy seeing you here where that's supposed to happen.

Yeah, fancy that.

[Flynn takes a deep breath and sighs, pursing his lips into a thin line.]

Right then, let's cut the crap. You two are here for the Jibberjabber job, yeah?

Yeah, we are.

[And unless they want to abandon the job entirely...

He strides over, looking Flynn up and down.]

Should I bother asking if you're up for working together, or should I just assume you'll screw me again and stick me in space jail?

[Chloe hangs back as Nate strides over. Having both of them round on Harry isn't likely to win them any cooperation points and she really does want to get this job done. Money is a nice thing to have after all.

Seriously. It couldn't have been anyone else?

She folds her arms and leans against the bonnet of the car.]

That's not going to be an issue this time round, is it, Harry?

[He gives them each the once-over, and grimaces. He doesn't have a brilliant plan to let them take the fall, because letting someone take the fall wasn't on the table. This was just an easy job to establish himself and make some new contacts.

Besides, if he had a plan, it'd be pretty well shot now. No element of surprise.]

It's two against one, I think the odds are against me on that, don't you think? What about you? Plan on leaving me in the lurch while you two run off with the take?

That was never a plan and there are fewer places to run off to here anyway, so no. We're not.

[He doesn't have to look at Chloe for confirmation. Even when they'd been screwing around behind Harry's back, something that's certainly not an issue here, they'd planned on leaving him his share. If he's completely honest with himself, that had allowed him to feel even more self-righteous about getting screwed over instead.]

I don't want to make a bad impression with the client, so yeah. Let's get it done and go our separate ways.

[He also doesn't have to look at Chloe to know that they will absolutely be watching each other's backs.]

Edited 2017-03-23 23:06 (UTC)

[The fact that Chloe sighs audibly when Harry makes his suggestion gives a pretty clear indication of exactly what she thinks of that idea.]

Okay look. At the end of the day we're all bloody good at what we do and we're even better when we work together. Istanbul proved that before it all went to shit-

[No Harry, you're not imagining it, that is a pointed look in your direction.]

-so let's just agree to behave like grown ups here and get the job done without anyone screwing over anybody else. Pay split equally three ways, no one takes the fall and Jibjaneen gets his bauble. Right?

[Flynn crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. At the time he didn't know Chloe would've actually cared that he set Nate up for a fall.

Well. It wouldn't have changed much; maybe he would've grazed him with a bullet for funsies.]

Fine. We'll keep this professional and just get it done. But I'm keeping my eyes on you two.

[He uncrosses his arms and uses the "I'm watching you" gesture at her.]

Yeah, yeah, try not to get 'em crossed.

[With that resolved, he's able to marginally relax. Flynn's got skills—if he can keep his grudge to himself, this might actually work out well. Nate that he's taking anything on faith.]

We sticking to the plan, then, or do you have more surprises for us?

[Chole's eyes would roll all the way to the back of her head if she could roll them any further at that particular gesture from Harry and she sighs as she steps away from the car.

Then something occurs to her.]

Wait, is this why you were begging for underwire on the network the other day? Is that your master plan for the job?

You really have no faith in me, do you? I'm not Drake, for God's sake.

[The idea that he'd set up a job with little more than improvised lockpicks is quite possibly the most insulting thing he could hear from her. He's always—well, usually more prepared than that.

He drops his shoulder, letting the rucksack he's wearing fall loose and slide into his hand. He unzips it and takes out a hand-drawn map with guard details, known security measures, and points of entry. It's not a work of art*, or drawn to scale, but it'll do.]

I did do my homework on this.

[*The guards and Vinnie are absolutely represented by stick figures.]

[It's Nate's turn to roll his eyes, but he refrains from commenting. If Harry wants to think he's Mr. Prepared Thief, ready to break into anywhere at a moment's notice, whatever, let him. They both know he'd needed him to get into the museum years ago.

Besides, Nate doesn't use lockpicks, improvised or otherwise.]

Then show us what you've got and let's get ready to move. In and out, quietly. I want this to be simple. In from above, out before they know we're here.

[Stick figures.

Stick figures, really?

Chloe would snort at that but she'd really rather not poke a hornets' nest. This is going to be tough enough as it is now.]

Fine by me. But if I get one sniff of any funny business I'm not staying put in the car. I want my money just as much as you do.

[And she returns the 'I'm watching you' gesture back at Harry with a pout.]

Let's get moving.

[His lips purse into a thin line, what little wind left in his sails knocked out, even though it's no surprise that Drake worked out the gist of the plan with a glance. It's not exactly the museum job they're working here and well, there was a reason he used to run at the mouth about his mate Nate Drake. He's good at what he does.]

Right then, Drake's got the gist of it. Looks like there's a blind spot in the security along the south wall, so we climb up there and then drop in through a window. Provided, of course, that somebody shorts out the alarm.

[He looks pointedly at Chloe.]

[This isn't his first time at the theft rodeo, Flynn, it didn't take a lot of time.]

She can handle it.

[It's not driving, but just because that's what Chloe's best at doesn't mean she doesn't have plenty of other skills.

There's not much more to talk about unless they want to start taking jabs at each other again, which would be mildly satisfying but unhelpful, so he turns and starts moving toward the south wall, ready to climb up and take out some stick figures.]

Damn right I can handle it.

[See, this is why she keeps you around, Nate. She peers at Harry's map to get the lay of the land and commits as much of it as she can to memory. Not a particularly detailed or scaled memory, but it's enough to go on.]

And I bet I won't even need to wreck a bra to do it either.

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The trick is this: don't get caught

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