Grand Theft

Cetus crawled about the wall of the building. Lacri-Cars had rather lax security the higher up its grey bland building you went. Not to be blamed on them. Most people wouldn't be crawling around on the thirtieth some floor. That was why they kept their records here. All their design blueprints were here as well. While it went well above what the perimeters of his mission were, Cetus wanted to take everything from Lacri-Cars. Their blueprints, conceptions, everything that kept the company afloat. Their backups would need to be destroyed as well. The assassin wasn't so sure he could pull that off however. The security around their backups was much higher than here.

A single finger was all he needed to open up a hole in the glass. He caught the cutout to prevent it from shattering on the ground below. No better way to announce your presence. Slipping inside, the assassin put the cutout on the ground. Wind blew through the new hole. An unfortunate side effect. Cetus slipped toward a nearby plant. He needed to survey the floor. It was as the plans had shown. A great vault consuming the center of the room. Cubicles on the east and west sides of it. Offices in the corners while normal hallways accompanied the remaining space. There was no restrooms or free space on this floor. There wasn't any on the floors above or below either. It was truly insulated to protect their ideas.

There was a single glaring flaw. No cameras or guards on this floor. Access was restricted sure but a charismatic thief could easily make their way up here. The employees on this floor numbered about twenty four. He could kill them all. There was nothing preventing it that was for sure. Dead bodies tended to raise an alert though. Better to knock them all unconscious. Done the right way, they'd wake up with a headache and think they simply drifted off. Cetus crept from his hiding place. No point in waiting. Lunch had just ended. Now was the time to strike.

The first three came easy. He snuck into their cubicles, grabbed hold and waited until they passed out. The fourth one turned around as he stepped into her cubicle. "George? What are you doing here?" She whispered urgently, her hands going to Cetus' chest. Well someone was dating an assassin. Either that or she was insane. "I 'ad ta come see ya" Cetus whispered framing her face with his hands. She leaned into them. Yeah she had to be completely nuts. Spinning her around, Cetus wrapped his arm around her neck. Nestled against his body, there was no way for her to fight back. The assassin carefully placed her back in her seat after she was unconscious. Crazy brood. He might need to come back to visit her. See if this 'George' was real.

WC: 479

The progress from cubicle to cubicle was slow. Cetus was beginning to be thankful he'd brought along his explosives. Even if he hadn't, there were several supplies around that would easily substitute. There wasn't anything in the cubicles. He'd suspected that much but it was disappointing to do all that work for no reward. There were several ideas in the works that Cetus carefully tucked away in his cloak. Those would continue development under him. Lacri-Cars wouldn't need it anymore. With the cubicles completed, the search turned toward the offices.

Cetus wasn't sure how he would approach this part. The offices were locked but designed to make sufficiently loud things happening inside to echo around the floor. Kept the officers from doing inappropriate things with their time. He'd have moments to grab the higher ups. Or he could kill them. That was an option of course. Given his plan to explode this floor... that might be the better option. For good measure, he'd also set off the explosives that'd been set earlier. That would knock out the support for the building and cause it to collapse. Hundreds of people dead, all the evidence buried in the rubble. Good times.

The assassin approached the first office. Taking his time, he picked the lock. Inside, the man was doing something at his desk. Cetus sent a knife into his forehead. It didn't take long to realize there was nothing in this office. The assassin retrieved his knife. There were pictures on the desk. He decided not to look at them. There was no interest or curiosity or any other emotion pushing him to peek either. He briefly wondered how others would go about their jobs with those distractions. Probably not well. Or they learned to deal with it. Something like that.

This process was taking too long. Nearly an hour had passed at this point. Even with lunch having just ended when he entered, that was too long. Someone would come for something. It was unavoidable. The best plans always had to be malleable anyway. Cetus hurried across the floor. A spartan kick splintered the lock. It echoed around the floor. "Who are-" Knife. Looking across the floor, the other officer was stepping from their office. "What are-" Bang. A neat third eye in the middle of the forehead. A scream echoed from the other side. Cetus leapt into motion. "Henry! Oh Henry! Are you alri-" The final higher up was silenced. That was all he needed. Now to quickly search the offices.

His search turned up the code for the vault plus a few goodies. Cetus created a makeshift bag quickly. He didn't have enough space in his cloak to hold everything. The vault was filled with many blueprints and plans. He took everything he could before setting a charge directly inside. The rest of the explosives were set quickly. Cetus set them to explode in several minutes. That would be long enough to reach the ground. From there, he could head to the backup sites. Gauging their security before going to the labs. Unless he could destroy the backups. Then he would do that before going to steal the requisite engine.

Cetus climbed back out the way he had climbed in. Unlike his careful climb up, his descent was done in leaps and bounds. He reached the ground in about a minute. His hands burned from the strain he'd placed on them. Security had noticed his descent. "Hey! Hey you! Stop! Put your hands-" The assassin took care of the annoying guard. The others reached for their weapons. "Don' mova muscle!" Cetus shouted unclipping something from his belt. "Orin I'll blow da whole thing!" He held up the detonator clutched in his fist. A few of the guards continued for their weapons. Cetus knew where their thoughts were at. "An' no funny buisness. Is designed ta go off in if my hear' s'ops."

The guards scowled. They were stuck. Cetus checked his timepiece quickly. Two minutes to the thirtieth floor detonation. Once it blew, he needed to blow the rest of the building. "Ya'll a' gon le' me ouwa he'e wif no issha go' i'? Move ta da buildin'" They did as he commanded. They were slow, cautious. Smart but they were doing exactly what he needed them to. Cetus saluted them as his explosions went off. They ducked, taking their eyes off him. He clicked the detonator and vanished. That was one problem dealt with. Lacri-Cars would be reeling from this. The assassin would need to hurry to the other sites. Security would likely tighten around those areas. Unless they pulled security to help here. That was a possibility. Cetus would appreciate it if that was the outcome. It made his job easier.

WC: 794
TWC: 1,273

The assassin made sure to crush and get rid of the detonator. He didn't need anything linking him back to the destruction of Lacri-Cars HQ. It was sloppy. The bombs themselves were destroyed by activation. No traces left. Even if pieces of the bombs survived, they were buried under tons of rubble. Job done, tied into a neat bow. As he moved through town, Cetus went over everything twice. It never hurt to be extra careful.

The laboratory containing his prey had many guards. Twice as many as his initial count. Someone in the company had a brain. Beefed security was usually a deterrent to most criminals. Cetus wasn't your average criminal. His original plan was to blow up the laboratory, hit the warehouse in a drive-by. Now it looked as if he'd have to amend that plan. Hit the warehouse first, escape exploding lab second. Not too big of a deal provided he was able to hit the warehouse quietly. Going loud would increase the security here even more.

As he hung upside down, Cetus checked the time. Two hours to a shift change. Too long to wait. The assassin debated his options. The warehouse was five minutes away. Get there, deal with the warehouse, run here. Given his plan to make the warehouse implode, most likely go loud into the lab. Cetus frowned. It was unpleasurable going all out on jobs. It meant he hadn't done something correctly. He could set the timers on his explosives to detonate when he reached the lab. It would provide a distraction. However, the guards would also be on higher alert. There was a chance of being backed into a corner in that situation. Not something he wanted to do. There was always the option of his new toy. The White Court had offered him the Tome of Basilisks on his last excursion. Cetus also played with using the ring of disguise provided to the members of Hidden Blades. That would provide an access point of merely walking through the front doors.

The point was moot if he didn't start moving. The assassin crawled up to the roof. He'd need supplies in any case. Hitting both buildings without stopping wasn't ideal. Without supplies, it was near impossible. Cetus kept caches of weapons and gear in near every city. His nearest one was a little further away than the warehouse. Though, if he wanted, there was a gang hideout nearby. Gangs always provided supplies. Even if it was unwillingly. After some internal debate, the assassin decided to do a little hunting. The world didn't really need gangbangers. They only served to muddy everything up. Might as well profit off their inability to support themselves.

The hideout wasn't anything special. An abandoned run-down warehouse retrofitted to be a little more defensible. Cetus caught sight of a large Lacrima cannon. Impressive. Perhaps this gang wasn't as bad as he thought. The perimeter of the warehouse held five guards. No way to tell how many were inside. Not that it mattered. Even if his formidable skills failed, he could fall back on his magic or run away. Nothing to it. There was also a massive hole in the roof. Perfect entrance point for an assassin.

Cetus leapt onto the roof of the hideout. His landing was silent. At least as silent as he could make it. The assassin found a few guards on the roof. They weren't sleeping either. Each of them was standing upright and alert. Their weapons were held at the ready. Not stupid. Not stupid at all. If only they had been positioned on this side of the roof. He pushed off, darting across the open space. His hands grabbed throats. "Issa too ba' ya's go' caugh' up hea. Ya's unluhkay. Hope's ya din have na family." Cetus watched the fear grow in their eyes. Yet he didn't feel anything. He had the power. Held their lives in his hands. Was tormenting them with no fear of repercussion. Nothing stirred in his breast. A pity.

He twisted his hands to tear out the throats. The gangbangers fell to the roof. Blood sprayed across the gravel. Cetus turned his back on the dying men. He had better things to do. The next guards he came across were unprepared. They were leaning against the walls. Their weapons sat well out of reach. The assassin didn't take mercy on them. Like a shadow, he dropped between them. Swipe, swipe. Both collapsed. This time Cetus collected their weapons. Two large lacrima rifles, two pistols, about five knives between them all. Not a bad haul. He could potentially assault the warehouses with this. The assassin stepped up to the wall.

The warehouse hideout wasn't well guarded. Not to the extent the Lacri-Cars warehouse would be. There was probably an armory within the walls. A single mistake would bring all the gang on his head. That might alert Lacri-Cars which in turn beefed its security again. From there, they might even move the target of this whole operation. While that had its merits, the idea was to steal it directly from Lacri-Cars. Not from a convoy of theirs. Cetus rubbed his chin. On the other hand, leaving now, the dead gang members would be found before long. The gang raises the alarm. Same schtick. Cetus realized they might move the engine anyways given the local HQ had been destroyed. It would have to be a speed run then.

Cetus drew out two of his new knives. Peeking around the corner, the assassin didn't see anyone else. Excellent. Time to deal with the 'trash'. The assassin spun around the corner. Pulling upon his natural speed and that granted by the White Court, Cetus went hunting.

WC: 956
TWC: 2,229

The first thing Cetus found was a magic drug lab. There were two drug makers in the room. Giving only a quick glance, Cetus saw several unstable magical materials. Excellent. Time for a little magic. Cetus reached for power. The White Duke answered, flooding the disciple with his power. Fur like snow spread across his visible skin. His eyes became a vibrant blue color. His face pushed outward. The magic of his mask spread it over his new snout. Ears shifted toward the top of his head. When the transformation was finished, a humanoid tiger stood in Cetus' place. His tail swung slowly behind him.

His magic had drawn the attention of the gang members. Their fear filled his nose. Cetus' lips pulled back over sharp teeth. Weaklings. The assassin's form blurred. Before either man could react, the assassin had rendered them unconscious. A plan had formed in his mind. Cetus could reasonably take a few things from here before causing the entire warehouse to explode. No one would think to look for missing materials. The explosion would be blamed upon these two men. The bodies he'd already created would be stacked near the explosion. That would incinerate the evidence of his presence.

The tiger shark stalked through the warehouse. Two women, three children, and eighteen men were rendered unconscious. Not one of them painted the assassin with guilt. Everything living died. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time wasn't an excuse to show mercy. After double checking the building, Cetus visited the armory. Two pistols and three extra magazines for each were tucked into his belt. He strapped on a fair amount of knives as well. A short sword was belted onto his waist. Several incendiary devices were also taken from the armory. That would be adequate. Anything extra could be taken from corpses in the Lacri-Cars' buildings.

Cetus took the original four bodies to the lab. They were stacked against a barrel. "An' dey say I don' do nuffin goodly." Cetus muttered under his breath. It didn't take long to whip up a few explosives. Most would be going with the assassin. Two, however, would be placed here. They would ensure the destruction of the building. Another drug maker putting himself out of business. No one would be any the wiser. The assassin set the timer and slipped away. He was only a short distance away when the warehouse went up. Cetus didn't need to look to know the result. There was a mushroom cloud that would transform into a magical storm. That storm would ravage the surrounding area until local or official mages took care of it. By the time they found the warehouse at the center, it would be nothing but rubble. There would be nothing to find. There would be collateral damage of course but that didn't matter. All living things died eventually.

Next up was the Lacri-Cars' warehouse. Thanks to the explosives recovered, Cetus could forgo his original plan. The materials were powerful enough to eliminate the entire building. All that was required was proper placement. Cetus found a building nearby that let him survey the warehouse. It was merely a refresher. The dossier Blanche had given him was fairly thorough on this building. Two guards placed at a gate. A deceptive chain link fence set to fool amateurs. Security measures to keep thieves well away from the building. There were several weaknesses.

The first was a lack of sealed waterways. The sewers went directly under the building. Someone could swim their way into the facility. The second lay in the changing of the guards. They did a patrol around the entire perimeter of the fence. Five minutes of uninterrupted access. Provided one had the proper skills or magic. The third lay in the pattern of thief deterrents. There was no randomness. Once someone figured out the pattern, they could steal across the grounds without issue. That was the route Cetus planned to take. Once finished, he'd hope the fence and head for the laboratory. The timers would be set to coincide with Cetus obtaining the engine.

The assassin made his way toward the fence. Bunching the muscles in his legs, he launched himself over the deceptively simple links. He did everything to avoid brushing against them. The contact spell and poison upon the metal would render him paralyzed for eight hours. Not something he had time for. The Duke's power provided a smooth silent landing. There was little effort from there forward. Cetus had to dodge a single guard while he was placing the explosives. It actually made disappointment well within Cetus. The laboratory had beefed security. Why hadn't this building gotten the same treatment?

Cetus got his answer as he was sneaking toward the fence. The ground rumbled. The sound of heavy trucks filled the air. The assassin risked a look over his shoulder. A convey was coming through the gates. It appeared as if an extra complement of guards and several experiments were being placed in the warehouse now. Cetus cocked an eyebrow. That had worked out well for him. The extra guards would be destroyed with whatever Lacri-Cars wanted to protect. Turning back to the task at hand, Cetus continued toward the fence.

WC: 876
TWC: 3,105

Things were going smoothly. There was only one Lacri-Cars building left to destroy. Cetus launched himself over the fence. Once again, he avoided all contact with the fence. There were rather nasty protections lacing the whole thing. His feet hit the ground silently on the other side. The mushroom in the distance was rapidly expanding. It seemed to be on course form what Cetus had predicted. Now that it was visible from the Lacri-Cars properties, the tension was bound to be high. Security would get tighter. A challenge the shark-man could look forward to- What was that?

The warehouse behind him went up in a violent orange plume. Cetus cursed. He momentarily forgot his training upon recognizing his explosive power. One of the extra guards must have tripped one of his fail safes. That was the only way the explosives could be set of prematurely. What idiot had tried to disarm them? Without raising the alarm at that? Cetus wished he could kill the idiot again if only to make it slow and painful. Alarms began to blare within the laboratory. The assassin bit back another curse. They were encouraged to keep entirely hidden on their missions. The revelation of himself right now would link everything to him.

Security measures began activating within the building. Cetus had little choice. There was no time. Metal grates were already slamming shut. Wards were rising quickly around various parts of the building. He needed to get the engine out now. Time to improvise. He ran forward, drawing forth his explosives. One was thrown at a fortified window. The resulting explosion blew a hole in the wall. Cetus didn't enter yet. He waited for the guard that came running around the corner.

A chop to the throat killed the man instantly. Cetus stuck an explosive in his mouth before letting him lie. The other guards would find him soon. Any jostling of the body would cause the explosive to detonate. Another few taken out of the equation. Bolting through the hole in the wall, the assassin orientated himself. The engine was one floor up, three rooms over. The prototype cars for the engine were straight ahead. Cetus decided to check there first. If he was lucky there would be an engine already installed. Then he merely needed to boost the car.

"Halt! Put your hands in the air! You're trespassing on private property!" A guard yelled. His weapon wasn't even out. Cetus shook his head at the sloppiness. With only a flick of his claws, the man stumbled back. Red poured between fingers desperately trying to maintain his life. The tiger shark left him to die. Incompetent guards shouldn't be putting themselves on the line. Not when faced by those vastly more capable than themselves.

Cetus' luck held firm. There was an engine already installed in one of the cars. With time rapidly running down, Cetus satisfied himself with throwing his explosives about the room. He made sure the blasts would take out the remaining prototypes and likely collapse the second floor. Mission accomplished. He slid into the car. As the explosion roiled around him, Cetus took off into the night. The burning lab reflected off his rear window before he vanished into obscurity. No doubt or guilt clouded the assassin's mind.

WC: 549
TWC: 3,654