[h2]Ruby's extraction squad, part 3 (Warning, lengthy)[/h2]
[b]"You know, I find it really hard to believe that you're 32,"[/b] Alto said, [b]"You act like you're 17."[/b]

Even as he said that, he tapped out a final combo to finish off Sefia's health bar.

"K! O!" the announcer voice said. Sefia looked like she was about to throw the controller, but she instead grudgingly put the controller down and went back to sipping her coffee which Theo had topped up. At that moment, Theo was preparing some dinner for the three, and Sal had taken Con somewhere to do something or other. He wasn't really sure, but it was probably fine.

[b]"Our job's probably going to be a stealth mission,"[/b] Alto said, also putting his controller down. [b]"Someone asked me to bail them out of the underground movement."[/b]

"I'll take that as a compliment on my youthful aura, thank you very much." Insomnium replied flippantly, eyebrow raised as his employer told him the basics. "Normally, I'd tell you off for giving me a mission like this before accepting it begrudgingly, but like I said before, if you need all of us for it, it must be something big. So I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on this one." He took a breath, closing his eyes for a second. Suddenly, his whole demeanor changed from playful and mischievous to serious and professional. Unknown to Alto and Sefia, Insomnium had switched places with Damien, as he'd likely be more help with this kind of mission.

"What can we expect to go up against, who are we extracting, where are we breaking into, and what's our exit strategy?" Damien asked in rapid-fire, sitting up staright with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together in front of his face.

[i]Good. He's getting serious,[/i] Alto thought.

Alto turned off the games console and got up from the couch. He turned to face Sefia and Damien as he switched the TV to his briefing slide-show.

[b]"First up, our target."[/b] He switched to a slide showing a picture of a young looking blonde girl. [b]"One Ruby Greenfoot, 23, 5 foot 6, A class technopath, maybe S by now, and also our client."[/b] Next, he switched to a slide showing her in her power armor from 5 years back.

[b]"She's very capable, she can manipulate pretty much any kind of technology to her will."[/b] He switched a slide to the picture of the ruined FBI building that Ruby had destroyed in the past. [b]"You may remember her from the bombing of the LA FBI branch, and if you do, you'll realise how powerful she is, and how big of a deal it is that she needs us to bail her out."[/b]

Sefia looked up at him, mildly confused. She most certainly didn't know Ruby, but it hardly mattered, she got the picture.

[b]"She can assist us from the inside, but communicating with her inside may or may not be a problem."[/b] He said, [b]"If you don't have any questions, I'll move on to the plan."[/b]

Damien made a gesture for Alto to move on, having no questions at the moment. He did take a second to think about the person they were rescuing. 'Insomnium, you might get to play after all, as who ever can keep that powerhouse under house arrest in the middle of a city is definitely not someone you should take lightly.'

'Hmmmm, I can't wait. I wonder, should I complete wreck the place when you let me out, or just the area I'm in?'

'Neither, if we're lucky we won't have to use you.'

'But we're never lucky.'

'Don't remind me.'

[b]"Alright then."[/b] Alto said, [b]"The plan."[/b]

He moved on to the next slide, keeping an eye on Damien all the while. He looked fine, but he could see there was something behind his eyes. Judging by Damien's powers, it was probably another personality. Maybe it wasn't, but Alto had seen enough evidence for it to be more than likely. His power, for example, was pretty much S-class. And one of the defining characteristics about S-class heroes and above with his kind of powers was the tendency to become psychotic or form multiple personalities.

Still, as always, it didn't matter so much.

[b]"In terms of planning,"[/b] Alto said, [b]"I've got a few options, but no definitive best plan."[/b] He switched to a slide showing a flow chart of their potential plans. [b]"I only did get this job today, actually, and I had other stuff to do, and this slide show also took time."[/b] He switched to the next slide, which showed some important dot points.

[b]"There are three main times which would be optimal for our attack; as soon as possible, in two weeks, or just after two weeks."[/b] Switching to the next slide, he told them the reason. [b]"As soon as I found out we were dealing with the Underground movement, I immediately searched the Reformists' council database for anything they might be doing in the near future that concerned the Underground movement."[/b]

The next slide showed a few pictures of some important looking files. [b]"I found out that the Reformists' Council is mounting an offensive to capture an asset from the Underground movement."[/b]

[b][color=orangered]"Wait,"[/color][/b] Sefia suddenly said, [b][color=orangered]"What are they after there? They wouldn't risk such a politically dangerous move unless it was something big."[/color][/b]

Alto stopped to think for a second.

[b]"If I were to summarise in three words, it would be tree baby Jesus."[/b] Sefia looked up at him, well and truly confused. [b]"It doesn't affect us too much. All I need to know right now is whether or not you two will be available for the following two weeks."[/b]

[b][color=orangered]"Well..."[/color][/b] Sefia said, [b][color=orangered]"All of my university classes are early on the weekdays. Friday night and the weekend would be good."[/color][/b]

He mentally noted the information, also noting he actually didn't know much about Sefia. They didn't talk much outside of mercenary work, the only time they ever really did talk was when he was re-attaching her arm. He wasn't sure whether that was mainly his fault or hers.

[b]"What about you, Damien?"[/b] He asked, [b]"You got anything planned?"[/b]

"The only thing I have that's of any importance in the next couple of weeks is my weekly visit to my psychologist. I skip them almost all the time, so I'm basically free." Damien had been stuck with his shrink for the last 6 years, ever since he escaped from that terrorist cell in the middle east. Just thinking back to that time in his history made him shiver, he had been locked in complete darkness for 3 years and it had given him an intense of the dark for a while. He'd gotten over it, but he was still was uncomfortable in any type of darkness. "So, what kind of resistance should we expect to run into to, and is there any of of note we should steer clear of?"

[b]"I didn't find much in terms of membership, but I do know they have a lot of A class metas."[/b] Alto said, [b]"And one particularly annoying one which I'll have to deal with."[/b]

Sefia looked up at him yet again. She may as well have been staring at him the whole time, he was probably going to fill her in later.

[b]"Well, you two won't have to worry about her."[/b] He said to them, [b]"She won't bother us directly. Her troops however,"[/b] He switched to a slide showing several varieties of monsters. [b]"You will have to deal with those."[/b]

The slide showed all the creatures that were known from the Aperture battle, the Succubi, the Naga, the Ophanim, the Behemoth and a couple of other basic units.

[b]"I'll send you both a file later listing their strengths and weaknesses."[/b] He said, switching to the next slide. [b]"For now, I'll tell you about the only part I've really thought about, the exit strategy."[/b] The slide showed a small part of the compound. It was really only there because he felt awkward when he was briefing them without a slide behind him. [b]"After we retrieve Ruby, I want us to come back separately. Sefia, you can leave one of your swords home and teleport back when we're done."[/b] He switched to a picture of one of the hallways. [b]"I'll have Ruby turn up the lights in the facility and you can bust out the hard way if you want."[/b] He said to Damien. He turned off the presentation, having run out of slides. [b]"I'll be carrying Ruby because Sefia can't teleport multiple people and you'll attract too much attention."[/b]

[b][color=orangered]"Uh,"[/color][/b] Sefia said, [b][color=orangered]"How are you getting out?"[/color][/b]

[b]"I'll probably be going out the front entrance."[/b] Alto said. [b]"I've got something else to deal with first..."[/b]

He saw Sefia vaguely nod. She was still confused, but she trusted that Alto knew what he was doing.

[b]"I'll send you an entry strategy when I have one, we'll be going in in two weeks,"[/b] He said, [b]"Any questions?"[/b]

Damien could feel Insomnium's excitement, and energy which showed in his thoughts. [i]'You bust in, deal with the annoying sneaky crap, Bossman gets the techno-chick boost the lights, and I get to wreak havoc on the way out. This is my kind of plan.'[/i] Damien gave a mental sigh, not looking forward to the coming weeks. The only thing worse then dealing with Insomnium, was dealing with him when he's excited about something. It was like having a kid hopped up on seven tons of sugar buzzing around in your head.

"Nope, exit strategy works for me and I can formulate my own ways of dealing with what we know. Just tell me where we're set to meet up and I'll be there."

[b][color=orangered]"It's good on my end as well."[/color][/b] Sefia said.

[b]"Alright, I'll send out the info for when we'll meet when I send out the plan."[/b] Alto said. [b]"Hey Theo! Is dinner ready!"[/b] He called over his shoulder.

Theo appeared from the kitchen.

[b][color=thistle]"Yes, Emperor. Dinner has been prepared for mistress Sefia and master Damien as well."[/color][/b]

[b]"Ah, good."[/b] He turned towards the duo on the couch. [b]"It's time for dinner."[/b]

"Don't mind if I do, what are we having?" Damien was never one to turn down a meal, especially a homemade one. He was the type who was so bad at cooking they could burn water, so he lived off of mostly microwave meals and canned goods. Not the healthiest of lifestyles, but it was better to do that then burn his apartment complex to the ground trying to make something himself.

The trio walked over to the dining room. [i]Hopefully this all goes well.[/i] Alto thought.

((TL;DR Damien and Sefia are briefed on the plan, and then go and have dinner with Alto.))