2022-04-16: Dangerous Safehouse

• Log: 2022-04-16: Dangerous Safehouse
• Cast: Sousuke Sagara, Kaname Chidori, Teletha Testarossa, Celise Reneaux, Sayla Mass, Athrusa Hsieh, Garrod Ran
• Where: Sousuke Sagara's Apartment, Nouvelle Tokyo
• OOC - IC Date: 7:09PM, 24 April, 0096
• Summary: A message goes out to Shuffle Alliance forces in the vicinity of Nouvelle Tokyo: A Situation has arisen at Sousuke Sagara's safehouse in Jindai and they need anyone who can show up to lend a hand.

---

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

It's an hour or so after school in Nouvelle Tokyo - dark is starting to settle over Japan for a long, quiet night.

That dream will not come to pass. The Shuffle Alliance receives a notice along encrypted channels, brief but urgent: Serious Event, U7 Safehouse, Assistance Required, Come at Once.

The U7 Safehouse, it turns out, is Uruz 7's personal apartment in Jindai ward. Tiger's Mansion Apartments isn't a terrible spot, but it's visibly cheaper than the apartment building across the street, with a narrow, dark hallway leading to the location in question. And upon opening the door...

The hallway in is narrow and dark, with what one would expect for an entry into a Japanese single-occupant apartment. It's Sousuke Sagara who opens the door, the young man with the brown hair and the gray eyes and a scar on his cheek, still in his school uniform shirt but with a look in his eyes balancing precariously between exhausted and strained. This is the face of someone who has been forced into On unexpectedly, and it's unusual for him to show it this clearly. He glances through the door, briefly, ensuring you're an ally, and then opens the door and leads you through the inner door to the main apartment.

It looks more like a military camp than a personal apartment; a few cheap tables, a few cheap chairs. There's been some recent attempts to make it look more homey, a few cushions and such recently bought and placed, but the whole place is in disarray right now.

The room has three other occupants, already putting it at a bit cramped. One, slender and silver-haired; Tessa Testarossa, for those who know Mithril's commanders.

One, more athletic and with blue-hair cascading down her back. Unknown to most here.

And one, a young man with black hair parted down the middle. Japanese, by the look of him. He scans the room with a terrible interest and boredom both.

That last one is handcuffed to Sousuke's bed frame.

Sousuke says, once people are in: "There's been an incident. The young man is a captive. Be careful what you say in front of him. This room should be secure."

Due to the structure of the apartment - the bed nook is in a curtained-off section - it's easy to conceal one's face if anyone's worried about being seen by whoever this guy is.

<Pose Tracker> G-Stone Shard has posed.

**A note is written into the playbill. It reads: "For tonight's performance, the part of Kaname Chidori will be played by a sapient fragment of green crystal."**

TWO DAYS AGO

Kaname Chidori and Sousuke are walking off-campus along with Kaname's friend Kyoko; Sousuke is carrying a boom microphone. Forcing a smile, Kaname leans into him, murmuring through gritted teeth, "If I catch you outside with that microphone tonight, I'm gonna kill you."

THAT NIGHT

Kaname catches him with the microphone outside her apartment building. The result is a Sousuke-shaped imprint in the ground near the bushes, a broken boom arm, and--the next day--a bruise on the back of Sousuke's head where Kaname nailed him with a softball base.

TONIGHT

Thanks to Sousuke, Kaname has spent most of the day fuming and cooking. Now she's got way more food than she can eat, so now that the anger's mostly out of her system, she figures a gastronomic gift is in order as an apology. It's gotta be better than those Calorie Mates and MREs she always sees him eating...

Not that listening in on her apartment at night wasn't creepy and weird, but... she's gotta give him a little credit. He's trying his best, and... it's kinda nice to be protected...

NOW

"So you're not bullshitting me, then."

Kaname sits at the fold-out table in Sgt. Sagara's spartan apartment, upon which lie several empty bento boxes. She's wearing a red shirt with long, black sleeves, short jean-shorts, athletic socks, and sneakers. "This isn't some weird... kink thing? You're actually Sousuke's commanding officer? Not his girlfriend?"

She crosses her legs, leaning back in the chair and looking between Tessa and Sousuke--and then over at the young man cuffed to the bedpost. "And he's a terrorist."

"It's still pretty hard to believe you're the captain of a submarine. A submarine captain should be, like... an older man, with a salt-and-pepper beard, you know, like in the movies! Not a girl my age!"

As the others enter, Kaname's shoulders drop, and she releases about half the tension she was carrying. (The other half is a mix of 'a guy is cuffed to the bed' and 'sitting in a fold-out chair'.) "Thank God. Sousuke's friends, right?" She casts her eyes over toward the captive. "This guy's been giving me pretty bad vibes..." She stands up. "Buuut, now that you're all here, I can go home, right? Situation handled?" She looks at them, then at Tessa and Sousuke, with bright and hopeful eyes.

The boy, meanwhile, glowers silently at her.

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

Things have gone bad before.

This was arguably worse.

The strained face of a silver-haired commander flicked over to the handcuffed boy. The one she dragged over to the apartment. The safest spot to be within a few miles on such short notice. Granted, a side of her was not particularly invested in dragging Kaname into this. Not on such short notice. But, it'd have to do.

"I don't think I was ever trying to." A small smile of levity before returning to situation at hand. "I am who I said I was, and I wasn't lying about a single bit of it." Followed up with the smallest of sighs, glancing over at each and every face filtering in with an acknowledged nod that carried the aura of someone far, far more senior than she could ever physically be in this moment.

"For the time being, once everyone is here...We can discuss our next steps. We don't have much time, so let's do what we can, how we can/"
POT: Sho Utsumi is now set observer.

<Pose Tracker> Celise Reneaux has posed.

The Shuffle Alliance called for backup.

And as it happens, Celise was able to get her pretty quickly. It comes with being a freelance reporter; she can get to most places pretty quickly. She told her new traveling companion that she would be out for a bit, then she took off.

Now, she makes her way to the safehouse. She isn't a Mithril operative, but being in the intelligence division of the Shuffle Alliance, she works with the military force often enough. She has her black-and-white windbreaker on, a knit cap pulled over her green hair, and she seems unarmed.

But, she's a Gundam Fighter.

She knocks on the door once -- then steps into the room. "Sorry if I'm late," she says. "I got the message just a bit ago."

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        When the call reaches Shuffle Comms, Heart-2 orders it redistributed to agents in the area- the difficulties of reliably having messages reach . Conveniently, Heart-2 is in the area.

        Well, she WAS in Area 11, but when you don't have time for Britannian Customs, that's what smugglers are for. And she's not risking calling in favours there this early.

        Sayla doesn't knock, sending Sousuke a message on his phone. Preapproved emergency code included. One might be surprised to learn that this precaution is one of hers, and not his, but Sayla prefers not to have a gun in her face when entering a room. She's wearing a long brown coat, over black slacks, a business shirt, flats, and dark sunglasses.

        Sousuke's warning gets a grim nod, as she walks in. Her sidearm is, as always, close to hand. Still, she imagines Sagara taking appropriate precautions with the prisoner.

        There's precious few people who've seen Sayla Mass serious these past few years, even within the Alliance. She is nonetheless a little surprised to see the daughter of the Federation's Councilor in Charge of Environmental Remediation sitting in a living room with Sagara and Captain Testarossa. Fortunately, she doesn't have to explain that one.

        Tessa, on the other hand. "Captain. Sergeant. Miss Chidori." Sayla takes off her glasses, fixing everyone a look. "We got your alert. What do we need to know, here and now? Is there anything we need to do now?" She can ask questions about the rest of the situation later.

        But there *will* be questions later.

<Pose Tracker> Athrusa Hsieh has posed.

        Athrusa is a recent addition to the Shuffle Alliance, a precarious ally that's decided to contract out of necessity after a rescue in REA territory some months ago. That said, her rather anonymous nature, and the way she seems to ghost in and out of places is quite useful... and she is a top-notch surgeon, too, which always comes in useful.

        Athrusa herself is 5'6", pale-skinned and white-haired; by normative standards, she's extremely beautiful -- if somewhat eerie and a little uncanny, as if she goes a little past human and into doll-like territory. Her expression is neutral and muted, her gray eyes scanning the room as she enters.

        She's wearing a white suit with white boots and has a doctor's coat on top. No, she hasn't been informed of what 'colour' is for a fashion ensemble.

        "Affirmative," she answers Sousuke. She scans the captive, and also looks at Captain Testarossa and Kaname, answering the latter first. "Uncertain. Please explain the situation."

        She pauses as she looks at Celise, once she realises who she is. ... wait, what IS she doing here? She keeps her surprise under control, though.

<Pose Tracker> Garrod Ran has posed.

"The captain said you needed whatever help you could get," Garrod says to Sousuke on his way in. He's edgy, even cagey, as he takes in the apartment - if you can actually call it an apartment; his quarters on the Freeden feel more like a domicile than this set of rooms. Heck, actual Spartans would probably allow themselves a little more comfort than folding tables, folding chairs, and a couple of stray cushions.

As for the people who are occupying the apartment? He at least sort of recognizes Sousuke's voice from a couple of fights, and he knows full well who Sayla is, but that's the extent of his knowledge except for maybe one or two more code names - which he's not going to use, especially not when Sousuke mentioned the captive boy.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Sousuke is not relaxing one micron in response to all these people shuffling into his freakin' house, but he put out the call. For now, he's stressed, but not... 'the enemy is directly outside', stressed, because they don't seem to be. He takes a quiet peek out through the blinds, before turning his face back to the room. "Thank you for coming," he says to the room. He recognizes Sayla of course, he's spoken to Garrod, but...well, now it's time to see how helpful the Shuffle Alliance can be.

"The Captain has the operational details," he says. "For now...we need to get this captive out of the Nouvelle Tokyo area as soon as possible. Preferably, out of Japan completely."

He glances briefly to Tessa, silently asking for further information; and then, beyond, to the handcuffed boy, a tension entering his jaw.

Then Kaname speaks. "Don't leave, Chidori," he says, simply. "It's not safe yet."

<Pose Tracker> G-Stone Shard has posed.

The fact that Sayla Mass just showed up at the door is... a surprise, to say the least. Not a particularly pleasant one, either, going by the shift in her mood from 'happy to be done' to 'oh goddammit'.

One degree of separation from her dad, again. Now she's even more eager to get out the door.

The only outward sign of it is a wayward twitch of her eyebrow.

"Oh. Dr. Mass, I didn't know you worked with Sousuke! Hi." She smiles. "Hhhhow's. Dad."

Smooth.

To the others, she gives a brief bow. "Uh, hi. I'm Kaname. Sousuke's classmate. And I was juuuust about to..."

Dammit, Sousuke.

She lets out a sigh, and flumps back down on the chair. "Ugh. I'm gonna miss my shows...!"

The boy--Takuma--chuckles, pulling himself up by his handcuffed wrists to sit up straighter against the bedframe. He's looking over the assembled group.

Kaname glares over at him. "What, you think this is funny?"

There's a small grin plastered across Takuma's face, and he looks back at her. "Kind of, yes. Sorry, Miss Chidori."

Kaname clicks her tongue, eyebrows low and flat. "Yeah. If you were sorry, you'd wipe that smile off your face."

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

A deep breath in. A deep breath out. On closer inspection, Tessa was just the slightest bit, teeniest bit, smallest bit harried. The world hadn't done her any favors, what with this dumped onto her lap; That military uniform the slightest bit stained with soot, wrinkles, and dust that betrayed something distinctly non-office.

A nod at each and every person coming in, flicking over at Takuma to check on his emotional state before returning to matters at hand. A Gundam Fighter. Heart-2. And a Mobile Suit pilot. Perfect for now, and it would have to do. She had the minor decency to wait for a few minutes for anyone else, glancing over at Sousuke all the while.

A deep breath in. Think. Process. Plan. A deep breath out. Okay. "It seems that everyone who can respond has responded at stage. As Seargent Sagara has said, what needs to be done is just that. We have a Person Of Importance that necessitates being taken out of the country at the quickest pace possible." A gesture over at Takuma. "Put simply, he has a drug inside him we need to investigate." Deep breath. Deep breath. This was the first time she's been thrust into a live situation.

"...Let me start from the beginning. Takuma is a terrorist that needs to be evacuated as soon as possible. We're aware that there is a group wanting him back." Think. Think. Most relevant information. "They attacked earlier today, around midday." Think. Think. Think. Process. Think.

The hot seat was burning.

<Pose Tracker> Celise Reneaux has posed.

Celise glances sideways at Sayla, and then she looks at Athrusa -- and her eyes widen. There is a surprised look on her face; part of what makes her a good reporter is that she can be expressive and react sincerely, and she can't hide her surprise. But, she manages to control it for the moment. She tilts her head to the side.

"So I guess we ended up at the same place?" she says, in a quiet whisper to Athrusa.

The ex-Gundam Fighter's eyes turn towards Sousuke, and considers for a second. She nods, but then she looks back at Kaname. She puts it together, at 'dad.' Oh, she thinks, my mother might know her father. "Celise Reneaux," she says. "Hope you've read some of my articles!"

Then she looks at Takuma, and she frowns for a second. She frowns more as Tessa explains more. "Out of the country... all right. We can make that happen," she says. "There's a couple bases I can think of."

She glances at Sayla. That probably falls on her.

"I can help escort him," she says. "And I've got a few changes of clothes -- some should fit him -- and we need to make sure no one recognizes him when we leave here." She reaches into the bag at her side, and pulls out a bottle. Then, two bottles. "Hey, kid. Wanna be a redhead or a blonde?"

<Pose Tracker> Garrod Ran has posed.

For the most part, Garrod isn't even sure why he's here other than that there was an emergency which needed warm bodies in person from the Shuffle Alliance specifically. It's not a giant monster running amok, and they're in the middle of a fairly well-populated urban area, so it's not like they need his Gundam. One of the more experienced mercenaries on the Freeden would have been a better fit, from the sound of things - somebody who's used to dealing with an on-foot crisis, not just a situation to handle from inside a mobile suit's cockpit.

Kaname mentions shows she's going to miss, and while Garrod's not quite sure what that means, he does give the blue-haired girl a sympathetic look. (And he has to admit, she's kind of gorgeous ... but that doesn't mean as much to him as it might to, say, Roabea.)

He doesn't muster the nerve to offer help before Captain(?) Testarossa starts explaining the situation. The drug *might* explain why the captive boy - Takuma - is acting so weird, but why does that mean getting him as far from Japan as possible as quickly as possible?

'Wanting him back,' however, is an entirely different set of variables - and whether by luck or by knowledge, Testarossa just said the key words that actively get Garrod's full attention. "When you say 'want him back,' do you know what they want him *for*?" the green-haired boy speaks up, almost brusquely.

Then again, nobody said Takuma was any kind of Newtype. So that's probably not it ...

<Pose Tracker> Athrusa Hsieh has posed.

        Celise whispers the amusement that they ended up at the same place -- and she nods in turn. "It would... appear so." She had an inkling, but... this confirms it.

        Athrusa's eyes scan over Garrod for a moment as he enters, then back towards the situation at hand. Sousuke explains that they're here for an extraction mission, this boy being the captive that needs to be removed from the area.

        Dr. Mass... Athrusa looks towards Sayla as she enters as well, with a nod. Kaname introduces herself, but...

        Was this okay? The captive is conscious and even taunting, and they know a lot of their identities.

        One aspect of Tessa's explanation stands out to her. "I am a doctor and a surgeon. I should have the necessary pathological expertise to perform an analysis," she intones. That's not relevant right now, though. The extraction comes first.

        A group that wants him back... "We should anticipate interception and resistance during this exfiltration, then. A disguise would be helpful, yes," she nods at Celise. "Extraction by mobile suit or other mobile weapons would draw too much attention. An ordinary civilian vehicle may be the best course of action."

        Even as she speaks, though, she's inwardsly finding this weird. Why does she know what to do in this kind of situation? It's like something's just telling her... in her mind. Was it always there?

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        She looks at the other arrivals. Celise- Spade-5- who... she still doesn't fully trust but Sayla has strong feelings about DG Cells and people who use them. Athrusa- no codename yet- who she was still getting a read on, but... having a specialist is handy in these situations. And Garrod- Circle Blue- one of Jamil's pilots. They'll do.

        Honestly, seeing the situation, Sayla's glad the Gridman Alliance couldn't make it. This might be too messy for them. Sayla notices Chidori's change in mood quickly. She's a little surprised she remembered. Not the time. "Haven't seen him in eight months, but now's not the time. If you really want to discuss it, we can do so after the extraction." Sayla's voice is hard, but not harsh. "Or we can not, if you prefer."

        Sayla's mind switches to Tessa, feeling her harried state. Something twigs at the back of her mind. A drug they want to study. "...Do we have blood samples yet? If not..." ...Damnit. Sagara might have a bloodbag on hand, but collection equipment she doubts? Not even she carries that on her person at all times. "...What about you? Do you have the equipment handy?" She's talking to Athrusa, trying not to give too much information. But we can do extraction, as she says. The people after him are locals?" She starts running through possibilities. Area 11 would be most difficult, but most likely to make pursuit difficult.But that means Mithril can't, which means-

        "Yours can't get close enough?" She asks, looking to Tessa. Yours meaning the TDD-1. That raises further concerns. Her eyes look to Celise. Bleach and dye, hm... "A wig would be quicker, but we'll take what we can get." Takuma giggles, and taunts. "...Miss Chidori, he's trying to get a rise out of you. Don't bother. It's a typical tactic to throw you off your game. And whatever's in that system likely has him unhinged." Sometimes you don't need to be a newtype to see through someone. "And presumably, they want him back because of the drug our friends want to investigate, am I correct?"

        Sayla sighs. "What do we know about his affiliations, what to expect?" She pulls out her secure device, and quickly taps in. "You're right. I'll see what we can get our hands on. Some taxis would be ideal, but..." Options are running through her head. Potential outcomes. Planning routes...

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

'I'm gonna miss my shows' flies fully over Sousuke's head. He might normally comment, it's the kind of thing his weird golem brain usually catches, but...not now. Not with the state he's in. This is a live situation, a place he thrives; but it's one he hasn't ever really faced before: One where his priorities aren't clear. Even if they should be.

Sagara's attention flits between the captive and Kaname, and it only gets worse as she engages the boy.

Sousuke glances to the Captain. She'll know the disposition of TDD-1, but the fact that they're in this situation at all means some obvious things. He explains his own part: "I've signaled for help from HQ but they indicated the delay would be hours. The rest of my team are on the way, but that's support, not evac." Best not to specifically mention Uruz 2 and 6.

Sayla chides Kaname, and Sousuke...should move to check the windows. He knows he should.

He finds himself hovering near Kaname, instead, hand on his weapon. Just in case.

<Pose Tracker> G-Stone Shard has posed.

There's a sigh of relief from Kaname. "Right. Uhhh, probably not," she concludes. Thank God.

She grumbles to herself at Sayla's warning, and she nods. "Yeah. Real charmer, this one." Her foot gives the side of the bed a nudge.

Takuma's still smiling, despite being surrounded by enemy operatives. "Unhinged, huh?" He stops a second, and thinks. "Well. Maybe a little, but I feel pretty good right now. If you want anything out of me, you'd better be quick about it..."

"Because *my* friends are coming, too."

It's not a ruse--at least, for the most part. There's some distress, and a simmering agitation, but he's confident. He's *sure* that he'll be found and saved--and not particularly worried about what his captors might get out of him in the meantime.

"Really?" asks Kaname. "Do guys like you even *have* friends?" She pauses, and adds, "I wonder what your parents would think right now. Your mom's gotta be *so* disappointed..."

Takuma sees red. That agitation rises from simmer to boil. His pupils constrict. "I don't... have a mother."

That gives Kaname pause, and she stops joking around. "... Really? Huh, me neither... well, even if you're making it up, I guess you must be in *some* kind of situation like that."

Takuma grits his teeth, and his foot thumps down on the floor. He rises to his feet with a roar, pulling the bed up behind him as he lunges clumsily toward Kaname. "rrrRRRGH!"

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

Tessa couldn't help but give a small sigh of relief. Good, Shuffle's not full of people who aren't...out of their depth. This is good, she can work with this. Stay calm. Take it piece by piece. Remember who you are, what voices are swimming about inside your head, and focus up.

"We're not exactly sure ourselves." The internal debate of the Need To Know of the situation. Mouth opening. Closing. Deliberating. If only Kalinin...Kalinin...! "...! What we think he has is something related to what Mithril is seeking out." A glance over at Sousuke. "Something related to Sousuke's machine. If we know what's in his bloodstream, it could help us overall." In. Out. How much could she say? How much could she speak with the person right over there, listening to their every sentence? This was the most delicate of situations; How much to allow others to know, versus how much Mithril wanted to keep their actual secrets hidden.

"As for what he has, specifically...I'm not sure anything but a specialized analysis of his blood will do."

"My- Our ship is currently hours away. Over the horizon, at the bare minimum." A glance at the blinds covering the window. Even if they are in Nouvelle, that still had the problem of getting out in the first place. "As much as I'd love to say 'it'll be here soon'..." A shake of her head. Those eyes of glazed steel flickering over to Sayla. "I can't say that right now. We're not sure about who, exactly. Just that they're willing to resort to violence."

Deep breaths. "He was attacked at a local military base. I...was there with Lieutenant Commander Kalinin. He's..." Trailing off. A shake of her head. Focus. FOCUS.

"He's currently MIA. That's the severity we have to deal with." She let that hung in the air while listening to Kaname's conversation, glancing over at Takuma. "...That's possibly the drug in effect. Keep an eye on him." Granted, she jumped the slightest bit at that. Even after all that training, all that time, and this is the first test. The self-deprecation could come later.

<Pose Tracker> Celise Reneaux has posed.

"This is kind of huge," Celise replies to Athrusa with a whisper -- and a quick grin -- and then she looks back at the others. Her nose wrinkles, for a moment. She is a little surprised how much Athrusa seems to know what to do -- the best way to get him out.

She agrees, of course. She puts a hand on the back of her neck. "Yeah, quicker, but... there's only so m,uch room in this thing," she says, tapping the bag with her other hand that has the two bottles pinched between her fingers.

She looks at Tessa. "I understand. So we'll work with what we have," she says. "We'll grab a nearby vehicle, first."

Those two bottles are dropped when Takuma lunges forward.

And it moves the bed with him. Celise brings up a hand and grabs at Kaname's shoulder. She tries to yank her back, maybe roughly. She trusts Sousuke, Garrod, or (to her surprise) Athrusa to get in front of the guy.

"Hey! Step back!" she says, her voice low but heated, to Takuma. "Whoever you work for isn't here yet."

<Pose Tracker> Athrusa Hsieh has posed.

Celise says that this is kind of huge news, and Athrusa nods in turn. "We should... speak of it more later, in private."

        "... I do," Athrusa answers Sayla, as she procures an attache-case. "It may be prudent to extract a blood sample now, in case the enemy retrieves the captive, if drug analysis is the ultimate objetive. It will not take long, with your permission, Captain."

        'Something related to Sousuke's machine'. Cybernetic linkup within the bloodstream?

        She listens to Sousuke, and nods. A delay of several hours... that'll certainly complicate things. "Affirmative. It may be prudent to locate additional safehouses on the way to the rendezvous point."

        The way she just... intones everything, the mission-focused language certainly makes her as much of a golem as Sousuke is. She seems... trained, and focused.

        Still, she has a role at the moment, so she opens the attache-case and fetches her phlebotomy tools. Tourniquet, collection tubes, tube holder, gloves, needle and syringe...

        At that point, though, Kaname keeps engaging in conversation with Takuma -- she's not certain if this is wise, but perhaps this is part of the ploy to extract more information from him... indeed, they've gotten information. 'His' friends are coming.

        But then, suddenly, he lunges with enough force to shift the bed. "Tsk--" She reaches for the nearest heavy thing she can wield, but she's not exactly in the correct position to respond.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sagara goes to Chidori... interesting. The unease in the room is getting bigger, and Chidori is getting more impulsive. She doesn't actually back off. That's frustrating in and of itself.

        And then Sayla tenses. He's confident, and not concerned. "Get back." Sayla says, firmly. "He believes it." Okay. Fuck. Back to the drills Jimba gave her and her brother, so long ago. She points at Celise, and points to the windows, next Garrod to watch the door. Athrusa pulling out her medical tools gets an affirmative nod. Sousuke is already on Chidori, so that leaves the captive to her. This is how she takes command. Quietly, quickly, and overriding commanders too shaken to command. On the upside, Sousuke's apartment was chosen for defensibility, the roominess is just a bonus.

        "...I see." Kalinin, from her brief meeting, seemed a reliable man- and one of Tessa's pillars. She must be feeling like they did when Captain Cassius died... "...Understood." And that bloodwork analysis means Mithril needs him alive. She wants to do more but...

        And then Takuma lunges forward and in a swift motion Sayla's pistol is out, safety off, finger on trigger, and aimed at Takuma's left shoulder. For the truly alert- it's an old gun, made in Side 3 before it became the Republic of Munzo. Moderate stopping power, vacuum capable, but loud out of vacuum. If she fires that, and there ARE friends, they'll come charging in.

        But she WILL drill two into Takuma's shoulder if no one else stops him in a less damaging way. They have a doctor and a surgeon. The joint may never work properly again... but that's arguably a plus here.

<Pose Tracker> Garrod Ran has posed.

On the door? Garrod wonders why, but he just nods to Sayla and turns to stand guard. She's the boss, she knows what she's telling people to do, and she probably knows more about the whole of the situa--

And then Takuma lunges with a nigh-feral roar, making Garrod jump in startlement. His own compact pistol is out from under his jacket, in his hand, and the safety thumbed off even before Garrod can finish thinking about it - and then he wavers for a split second. Okay, Sayla's already got Takuma covered.

Garrod does not re-holster his pistol as he turns his attention the rest of the way to the apartment's door. He'd almost rather be in the GX's cockpit right now, at least then he'd have a good solid chassis between him and the crazy boy.

(The fact that Garrod himself probably flags as "crazy" to some people fails, mercifully, to come anywhere near crossing his mind.)

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

The bed itself screeches, metal on the wooden floor, as Takuma puts his whole body into a fierce lunge. The bed - a simple light-frame affair - lifts entirely off the ground from the strength he puts forth.

Sousuke blurs forward like a shot, driving his hand into the back of Takuma's head and putting his weight into forcing the young man back down. When that doesn't stop his shouting, Sousuke brings his other hand up and drives it firmly into the back of his neck. He falls unconscious.

Sousuke takes two, three, four breaths, and then looks down at where Takuma's arm has moved.

That calming breathing stops. "Captain," he says. "Doctor."

With Takuma unconscious, Sousuke can move his hands to force Takuma's sleeve back to where a lump is visible in his arm. His attention is first on Captain Testarossa. "I've found something," he says.

<Pose Tracker> Celise Reneaux has posed.

"Non peut-etre," Celise says, slipping into her native (Belgian) French, with a smile at the white-garbed doctor. "When we're done here."

'Done' here got a lot more exciting in the span of a few moments.

There is surprise from Celise at how ready Athrusa is -- and it's quickly rendered as moot as her hair dye. She moves closer to the windows -- and stands where she can see both.

She weighs her options, for a second. If Sayla's gun goes off, it will draw attention. Mercifully, Sousuke handles it -- knocking Takuma unconscious. She blinks her eyes once.

"Okay," she says. "9 out of 10 for form, 10 out of 10 for effectiveness."

G-Stone Shard says, "Ugh... sorry," Kaname admits, face flushing pink as she stands. "Couldn't help myself. He was just so... so..." She holds out her hands in front of her in a strangling motion.%r%r"Anyway, uh. Thanks."%r%rAt least they found something."

<Pose Tracker> G-Stone Shard has posed.

Kaname startles a bit as Takuma lunges, and lets out a squeak as Celise yanks her back, directly onto her ass. "Agh!"

She immediately regrets her impulses as everyone in the room lunges--but thankfully, they're on top of it. Especially Sousuke. She's thankful.

Takuma's out cold with Sousuke's strike. The lump on his arm is hard and unyielding--bone? or something artificial?

"Ugh... sorry," Kaname admits, face flushing pink as she stands. "Couldn't help myself. He was just so... so..." She holds out her hands in front of her in a strangling motion.

"Anyway, uh. Thanks."

At least they found something.

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

Right. There's people here. People to depend on as she sat back up, face shifting back into an attemepted veneer that she knew what she was doing. ...She did. Really. Kinda. "We can commandeer a taxi. Worst case, we can hotwire a car and use that as a getaway car for now." Another breath. She can feel the gears turning in her head. Nouvelle Tokyo. Lots of cars. Lots of places to hide in. Check the internal map. Think. THINK.

"The main street below doesn't have any high-tech cars. Are any of you good with driving? We head towards the coast. Head for the port, and then we hide in one of the nearby warehouses until TDD-1 can rendezvous with us. Best case scenario, we can hole down. Worst case, we keep moving until contact, and perform a hotdrop under strenuous conditions." Another deep breath. Another. Tessa, for all the non-Newtype anxiety she was radiating, was calming down. Bit by bit.

"...Sagara." Scooting in, a wary glance over at Sayla and Garrod, giving a small motion to pull those guns down. Unconscious people weren't worth pointing guns at. Not in her fresh mind. Moving in, staring at that lump. "It is something. Athursa. You're a doctor, right? Check it." Grabbing at the arm, holding it straight.

<Pose Tracker> Athrusa Hsieh has posed.

        Sousuke addresses the immediate threat before it becomes a danger. Good. Sayla instructs Celise and Garrod to cover the exits -- wise move. She stops, as Sousuke alerts her attention to 'something' on his arm -- she can spot it from here too. "Hm," Athrusa frowns. "Affirmative, Captain."

        She senses Tessa's nervousness. She reflects, in turn, on her own complete lack of nervousness. Should she be more nervous? She doesn't feel... 'normal', in that sense...

        She moves her equipment closer and begins extracting blood, first of all; as she works, she inspects the lump as Tessa directs. "The texture of this lump is solid and contiguous -- a bone deformation, or... foreign artificial matter injected into the body?"

        She might not have the right tools for this right now. If needed, she has her scalpel and a tray ready for excision... but it's possible her scalpel won't be able to cut it.

        "I can drive, but I cannot say I am skilled at combat driving, should it come to it," Athrusa explains as she works.

<Pose Tracker> Garrod Ran has posed.

"I can handle a car if the roads are fairly clear," Garrod offers from where he's watching the door. "And I've driven under fire before. Hotwiring too, if it comes to that." He seems to be on less of a hair-trigger now that Takuma's been subdued, but he's curious about what Sousuke just noticed on the boy's arm.

Not so curious as to stop watching the door, though - and he actually steps into the entryway for a moment, taking a careful peek outside. Things did get slightly noisy; it'd be good to see if the commotion actually drew any attention or not ...

He does pick up on Testarossa's unspoken instruction, and after making sure the hall outside is vacant, he re-safes and re-holsters his weapon.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        A few people move the same way Sayla does, but the WAY Sousuke moves. Celise may give a less than perfect, but as far as Sayla is concerned, a result that works is good enough. She reholsters her pistol- inside the coat, at a slightly awkward concealed position. "Good work."

        "That was what I was warning you about." She says to Kaname, rather tersely. Athrusa is working on the prisoner. Good. "I gather this isn't the first time something like this has happened," Sayla looks to Kaname. She's TOO calm about this. And Sagara hasn't chloroformed her. "I'll need you to follow instructions, and keep your head down." Sousuke probably gave her the speech already. "I've been the civilian thrust into a combat operation role. I don't envy you it now. But if we're being watched, and you leave, it's likely they'll assume you're involved." Sagara seems way too nervous- the little, tiny tics. But he's focused.

        "I can drive. I assume Sagara can, if Garrod can get us two vehicles, that should be enough. A van, maybe." Still, she waits, looking to the results of the lump. "Cut it open. We need to know what's there. But be careful, for all we know it's a some sort of suicide switch."

<Pose Tracker> G-Stone Shard has posed.

"You'll have to count me out there. I can't drive," Kaname shakes her head. She rubs her tailbone lightly, righting her chair and taking her seat just a little gingerly. She sighs a little and nods to Sayla. "Yeah. I sorta figured at this point..." She is, in fact, too calm, all things considered--but when you spend every day with Sergeant Sousuke Sagara, and have already escaped at least one attempted abduction in a warzone...

Kaname's eyes brighten up suddenly. "Mmm... hey, he was *really* sure his friends would find him. You don't think it's a--"

"... Right. Hold on. We don't need to cut him open." She points over at the microwave above the stove. "If it's a transmitter, we can knock it out with this." She moves over underneath it, looking for the screws holding it in place. "Sousuke, I need a screwdriver... uhhh, let's see, who's gonna help me get this down?"

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

The hall outside is quiet. People are used to weird sounds in Sagara's room.

Sayla says the words 'I don't envy you it' and something in Sousuke's mask of a face cracks, a thought washing through him like a ghost.

He says nothing on the subject, instead loking as Athrusa comes over. She's got supplies, so his own first aid kits won't be needed, but...cleaning this place afterward will be difficult. Compose yourself, Sagara. Think. What do they need?

"We should assume it's mechanical. A transmitter, likely." This is more or less the same train of thought Sousuke regularly takes, a familiar paranoia to Kaname. In a case like this, where it could be life or death - assume the worst. And as Kaname notes - he seemed SURE his friends would find him. "And if it is, do we have time for surgery?" That's a question, to Athrusa, whose answer is a pretty solid 'wow that's such a good question' kind of response.

Then Kaname...has an idea.

Sousuke accepts this advice with literally no thought in his head. He nods, and reaches into his pocket to produce a simple multitool, flipping out the screwdriver. "Here," he says. Of course he has one of those, how else do you think he assembles all the ACME radio antennas he buys?

"I'll help. Garrod! Give us a hand! We need to get this on the floor."

<Pose Tracker> Celise Reneaux has posed.

"Sorry for yanking you so hard," Celise says to Kaname. She smiles at her. "And don't worry about it, hm? We've got him handled, now. Or... the Sergeant does, really."

She looks down, watching as Athrusa gets to work -- extracting blood and finding something else. A lump. She makes a face and glances away. "I can drive, too," she says to Tessa's question. "But I think we've got it covered. And I haven't driven a car under fire."

Besides, if mobile weapons do get involved, she can call on her Gundam. She stretches out her arms -- cracks her knuckles -- and pointedly doesn't watch Athrusa's work next, based on what Sayla told her. "A transmitter?" she asks Sousuke, and her brow furrows.

Then, she looks at Kaname. She blinks -- and then nods. "Good idea," she says. She walks over; she can help with that, if she needs to. "Athrusa, hold on for a second, okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

Blood. A transmitter. Gears kept on turning inside her brain, disparate things coming together. The thoughts of civilians in a combat zone, of this being a place with civilians in the first place, of anyone here not being involved...They all faded to the wayside. "Foreign matter?" Brain sparking. "Those are most common with trackers of some sor- Find a vehicle. Now."

Her voice had taken on the steel edge of someone who brought themselves into a conclusion of warranted merit. "We don't have much time, if any. Sayla. Athrusa. Clear a route from here to a car. Any car." Think think think think ignore the voices think. How could she be here, be the cause of this, be so useless.

Shifting on Kaname's note, she moved as if the instructions were telepathic. As the crew worked to pull the microwave from the juncture, she was already tapping at the front; Cooking. High. 10 seconds. Microwave waves at the highest density. Slipping away right after, heading to the window and taking stock of the vehicles outside.

"There's a minivan we can use. Garrod, I'm trusting in you." Kid trusting kid, what more could there be.

<Pose Tracker> Garrod Ran has posed.

There's a very, very brief look of 'are you kidding me?' on Garrod's face, but he shakes it off; nobody's kidding right now, and if that Takuma kid *does* have a transmitter stuck in his arm, then the faster it's fried, the better. Of course, shorting out an electronic implant won't do the guy any favors, but it's not like the gathered Shuffles (or civilian) *owe* him any favors.

"I'll hold it, you unscrew it?" he asks Sousuke. "Or other way around?" He's sizing up the microwave oven, estimating its weight, but ready to work.

And even before they get the microwave down, Testarossa is taking the next steps - configuring the oven, then scouting for vehicles. He hasn't even known the ash-haired captain ten minutes and he's already starting to like her, in a way.

"This thing needs power from the wall, right?" it occurs to him to ask. "There a plug closer to Takuma we can plug this back into to fry that implant?" He'll worry about 'commandeering' a vehicle after they kill the suspected transmitter.

<Pose Tracker> G-Stone Shard has posed.

With a bit of effort, and several hands, they pull the microwave down. "Ugh-- heavy..." she groans, as they place it down on the floor.

"Uh, I saw one over there," she tells Garrod, scooting the microwave over toward it and putting Takuma's arm in.

"Okay, five seconds oughta do it..." She pauses a moment, waiting expectantly to hear if any of the mmedical professionals in the room protest.

Met with silence, she sets the timer for 0:05, wedges the screwdriver in the door catch, and presses the start button.

...

BEEP.

"Right. That should've fried it!" She grins triumphantly, looking rather happy with herself for someone whose location was just being transmitted.

<Pose Tracker> Athrusa Hsieh has posed.

        Garrod and Sayla both vouch their driving skills. Two vehicles is a good idea. A decoy to confuse the enemy. Then, people come to the conclusion that it's likely a transmitter.

        "An emergency surgical procedure is possible, but it may be difficult to remove all traces from this apartment," Athrusa muses. Then, Kaname has an idea. Athrusa seems to catch on quick.

        "I see. You wish to expose the transmitter to electromagnetic radiation to interfere with the device's own transmission. Yes, that would be more time-efficient."

        Athrusa nods at Celise, when she asks her to hold on. ... something inside her warns of the dangers of exposure to the exposed microwave, though, so she plucks the collection vial out and nods to Sousuke and Tessa. "I'll keep this in my attache-case for the time being, in case we are exposed to gunfire."

        Tessa has also come to the inevitable conclusion. She packs her case quickly, and then the microwave is employed--

        "Ngh--" Athrusa flinches for a moment. Fortunately, she's well out of the way of direct exposure, though she wonders why for a moment she feels particularly odd.

        "Right. Let us quickly procure our means of escape. Shall we, Heart-2?"

<Pose Tracker> Celise Reneaux has posed.

"That did the trick," Celise says, scratching at her cheek. She assumes so, at least. The reporter glances at Kaname. "Good thinking!"

There is a quick glance at Athrusa, though. Why did she wince? She doesn't point it out -- she just observes her, for a second. This little piece of information is filed away, for the future. Celise hefts her bag, then, and glances out the window.

She is already scoping out nearby cars that are parked on the street.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        There's a lot going on but.... that crack in the mask is something. But Tessa catches her off guard first- Sayla, not Dr Mass, hm? But she's also taking charge again. She'll take that, too. "Got it." She nods to Athrusa, and moves out with her, hand on her pistol. Still... this could be a bigger problem. Hopefully, more are on their way. "We'll have our route secured. Circle Blue, as the Captain said, get after that minivan ASAP."

        She heads out the door with Athrusa. She has to trust the captive to Mithril. And a civilian.

        It's not fine, but it is what it is.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Between Garrod and Sousuke and Tessa and Kaname they get the microwave figured out. Team work makes the dream work! Is what Kurz would say!

Sousuke gives Kaname a thoughtful look before saying, "Good thinking, Chidori," and then he hauls Takuma up by the shoulder. "Let's go. We have to leave at once. A device like that won't have had frequent check-ins, but they'll move as soon as it misses one."

[[Category:Plot]