[b][center][h2]Paige Kennedy[/h2][/center][/b] Paige plopped a bag of buy-one get one burger specials on the slick metal table and tossed the handcuff keys into CT’s lap. The orange-jumpsuit clad computer hacker exhaled a breath of thankful astonishment and quickly fumbled with the key before vigorously tearing into the bag. “These are from the same diner?!” He questioned anxiously pulling the paper wrapping away and taking a very large bite. He leaned back and chewed happily rocking in place as his jaws worked through the massive chunk of greasy delight he’d bitten away. “Oh my God…” He proclaimed, still chewing on a mouthful. “You are the best… the food here is shit.” She handed him a large soda to wash it down and took a seat across from him. He immediately sucked down several gulps and for a few moments the small conference cell in SCPD headquarters was quiet save for CT’s voracious eating. She didn’t need to check the clock again. She’d already looked several times before entering the room. The weather outside was shit and turning worse by the moment. If she didn’t get out of downtown soon, she knew she would likely be spending her day at City Hall for at least as long as it would take for Milo to come pick her up, if he could make it, in which case if he couldn’t, she would be spending her [i]night[/i] at City Hall on a rock-hard bench in the courtroom. [i]Fuck that[/i]. Uncle Sam had thankfully seen fit to at least supply her with a nice four-wheel drive Suburban, not that it would do a lot of good. According to the weather, nothing short of a tank would be suitable once the storm set in fully. Still, being from Florida, she hadn’t done [i]too[/i] badly driving in and only had to lay on the horn one time when someone refused to let her cut them off at the ramp coming from the freeway. Putting a cup of coffee down in front of her, also from the same diner across from Club Aether, Paige retrieved a small folded paper from the inside of her jacket pocket and placed it on the table as well. She let him enjoy his meal a bit longer and savored the warmth of the room. Still only being a few weeks into Sol, she wasn’t adjusted to the cold and kept her headband on while inside. “So, you won anything yet?” CT asked. He had already completely scarfed one burger and was licking his fingers before lining up another one. “Maybe…” Paige said looking him in the eyes. Unlike when she glared at him before, he seemed intrigued and accepted the small piece of folded printer-paper with one hand while holding his second burger in the other. Taking a bite, he unfolded the note and started reading. Paige watched as his mouth stopped while his eyes narrowed and continued to scan. [hider=Contents of Note][color=1ec503] <2shad4u>>> online >> online <2shad4u>: been watching the wires out of Sol lately? : just had that race, nothing special <2shad4u>: sure about that? : chump change <2shad4u>: look at this one <2shad4u>>> file uploaded. : somewhat interesting : Luxembourg, HSBC, Credit Suisse, someone's busy <2shad4u>: attack map is off the scale : little fish gotta eat too : what's the container traffic like? <2shad4u>: way up, airways up too <2shad4u>: for winter <2shad4u>: place is crawling with federals though : i knew thats where you were going <2shad4u>: art expo coming up too <2shad4u>: easy money : better be careful : detroit took a swing at a federal : hard kill <2shad4u>: stupid <2shad4u>: all over a little gun shop : they have their pride <2shad4u>: feds all be looking down <2shad4u>: not up <2shad4u>: perfect timing : maybe [/color] [/hider] “How did you get this?” CT said looking up at her over the crease. He was no longer amused. “Like you said,” Paige replied nonchalantly folding the plastic tab back on her cup. “[i]I’m a pro[/i].” CT’s eyes returned to the paper despite him knowing [i]exactly[/i] what it said and his mouth began moving again like the slow wheels and cogs of an old machine restarting as he dealt with some conflicting emotions. What she uncovered could mean a significant amount more time behind bars for him, but at the same time her quick use of the few skills he’d taught her was about the most insanely attractive thing he could imagine. The room was quiet again as he sucked air through the straw and shook his cup to rearrange the ice. “Just tell me what you know about this, particularly the art show.” Paige said. There were a whole range of questions she had based off the transcript, but being pressed for time against the snowstorm, she had to cut to the chase. Ever since Monday, she couldn’t shake the sure-feeling that Shannon had got the better of her and she was hellbent on finding a way around having to rely solely on the gangster-queen for information. It felt like a wall that she and Milo couldn’t get around, like they were pieces being placed on a chessboard, which was just the way she knew Shannon intended it. She’d thought about it near constantly, often unable to sleep until Milo jokingly suggested they use the hacking skills CT shared just to see what came up. She wasn’t going to tell him the “Federal” in the chat transcript was her and based on his reaction, she was sure he didn’t know either. CT shifted nervously, but resumed his rapid-chewing. He took another big bite before speaking: “Look, I’m not trying make things worse for myself here.” He looked around the bleak room, empty and clean save for the table bolted to the floor. “If I tell you, are you gonna be able to protect me here?” Paige smirked a little. “This is just the city lockup, [i]you haven’t even made it to the pen yet[/i].” She said with some amusement. Seeing his terrified reaction though, she knew she would have to relent a little. In order to talk, CT had to be made to feel smart and important. Two concepts that were not entirely lost. “The more you can tell me, the better I can make things for you, CT. Now what were you going to do at the art show?” “Nothing at the show, that stuff is boring as hell.” He was nearing the end of his second sandwich. “But it’ll be full of stuck-up pricks with lots of money looking to buy crap that looks like somebody threw-up on a canvas.” “And that’s where you come in?” Paige said giving him a very practiced look of false intrigue. She had to agree with him about modern art so it was easy to add an empathetic tone. At least what Sio created [i]looked[/i] like actual art and she was regarded as a bit of an outcast. “Like clubbin’ baby seals.” He said with growing, smug grin. “These idiots have so much money, they don’t even realize it when I skim off 20-30k? You follow? I just add it in as processing fees on their bank statements.” “What’s with all the bank stuff?’ She asked. She had to admit, he was crafty and the more she could pad his ego, the more he would spill. “Oh that?” CT said looking back up towards the top of the page. He leaned back and rubbed his stomach contemplating a third burger, but thinking better of it. “That was just me talking shit,” He admitted though feeling his oats, he was ready to do some boasting: “See, I had this idea, back in high school actually, about how you could rob all three major banks in Sol and get away with it. It was beautiful.” Paige’s eyes widened slightly and her gaze snapped up from the paper between them. “Wait, what did you just say?” “About what?” CT said facetiously. “Me in high school?” He shook his head in theatrical reminiscence playing off her sudden concern. “Man, I was such a player, you would have loved me back then-” “No, about the banks, you fool.” Paige snapped cutting him off. “Oh,” He was surprised slightly how the playfulness had so quickly evaporated from her tone reminding him that he was indeed [i]in prison[/i] and she more or less had control over nearly every facet of his meager comfort level. “I mean, I just cooked up this plan where you could rob all three and get away with it, it’s not as hard as you think, [i]dīvide et imperā[/i].” “StarBank, Millennium and First National.” “Yeah, that’s it.” CT confirmed. “Except I think Millennium was called something else back then, Century 22 or 55 or something like that...” He sat his styrofoam cup on the table slightly deflated at how the conversation was going, but a little intrigued himself at her intense interest in his old bank robbery fantasies. “That was years ago, you couldn’t get away with it now.” “[i]Why not?[/i]” “Well for one thing, SCPD is double what it used to be.” CT said matter-of-factly. He’d lived in Sol most of his life. “Haven’t you seen those guys? They’re like friggin football players now.” He turned his gaze away from her towards the ceiling considering the logistical puzzle again. He rather liked the mental exercise. “You could still probably do it I guess, but you would have to be willing to sacrifice a few flunkies to pull it off, like pawns on a chessboard, ya know?” “Yes, I get that CT, but how would you actually [i]do it?[/i]” Paige asked barely able to mask her impatience. She was leaning forward slightly and glanced up to see an SCPD officer giving her a concerned look through the small window in the entrance. The weather was getting worse. CT thought back about his original plan briefly. “Well the first part is easy,” He said, still thinking. “You just gotta get them moving, classic-style, like blow up a car or call in a bomb threat at a school, preferably on the west side, that way you can get the bridge traffic between you.” He scratched at the stubble on his beck a bit. “The next part is the hardest, you would have to hand the teller a note at each separately [i]and at the same time[/i], but no guns needed. Just a note. All three have a silent alarm the teller can trigger so they’re definitely gonna hit that so no need to come in all wild west style and scare everybody.” He finished off his soda and shook the ice again looking for the last few drops. His tone became slightly more methodical than playful as he envisioned his plan. “You only want to take as much as you can carry, so one person, one bag, big bills and you get away on a bike… or a moped.” He glanced up at Paige with a smirk. “How do you get out of the city?” “Daedalus seaplanes can land in the harbor,” CT continued. “You’d just have to have a wheelman that could fly a plane.” “Or your own plane...” Paige said. Her thoughts drifted to Marlin and their conversation from Monday. “Yeah, well you’re gonna need that anyway for the last bit, a business jet or something.” “What do you mean?” Her glance narrowed inquisitively. “Your crew isn’t gonna get away on that little prop-powered, tourist plane, not enough range,” He said. “You fly it out to Catalina Island where there’s a long runway, ditch the seaplane and you’re out of this hemisphere in less than an hour. They’d never catch you.” “Catalina Island?” “It’s basically this big rock in the middle of the ocean a couple miles off the coast.” CT said crossing his arms and considering the final parts of his brainchild. “It was like an army-air force base back in the day, couple people tried making it into a tourist thing, but it never really caught on, runway is still useable though.” Paige shook her head and glanced away at nothing in particular. She was working it out for herself having never heard such a scheme concocted seemingly out of pure boredom. “What’s got you so hemmed up on that?” CT asked. “I figured you’d want to know more about the art show-” “How many people have you told this to?” “Oh, I dunno.” CT shrugged. “I used to bring it up at parties back when I was a kid, chicks really digged it, just like you are now.” “Yeah…” “Like I said, you just couldn’t do it nowadays.” He pursed his lips slightly. “There’s just too many cops in Sol, you’d have to be willing to settle for just one score to really have a statistical chance of success and on top of that you’d have to make the hit on the day before the armored truck runs.” “What do they publish the bank runs here?” Paige cocked an eyebrow of disbelief. “No, they’re not quite that careless, but they are predictable.” CT said. “What people don’t realize is that the armored truck is mostly for [i]taking money out[/i], not bringing it in. Once the physical deposits hit a certain level, the system automatically puts in a pickup request.” A firm knock reverberated on the hard metal door. Paige looked up seeing the guard giving her a more than slightly concerned look. She glanced around the table again. There was nothing but CT’s trash and the singular printed transcript. She stood up, but hesitated slightly in her thoughts. Her legs defiantly stayed with the broad section of her churning mind that wanted to keep asking questions even if it meant a night on a hard bench in City Hall. “Hey is all this gonna help me at all?” CT pleaded. “I mean, I really laid it all out there. I should get something, right?” Paige looked hard back at him knowing she had to go. Her legs relented and she moved around the table swiftly and rocked him by the shoulders with a firm grasp, looking him firmly in the eye with her blazing olive orbs. She planted a large kiss squarely on his forehead. “CT, you have no idea.” She said and ruffled his hair before opening the door and took off down the hallway. Tags for those mentioned: [@PrinceAlexus][@RoccanIronclad][@Almalthia] Team tags: [@MissCapnCrunch][@Rodiak]