Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Just because I don't like the prospect of jumping literally across the planet, doesn't mean I'm having issues. I've never done more than a block or two before, calm down." River shot back, a low growl slipping out as well.

"I'll ask around, see if anyone minds backing me up. Good luck with whoever you pissed off, see ya-" just before Claire hung up. Sighing, she flipped the phone closed and stood, getting dressed in her usual.

River paused to fire off a text to Corvinus, switching to her usual phone. [You awake? Claire's found her toy. Mind if I borrow a few others to come collect it with me?] She was expecting the response to take a moment, so she jumped to the floor she expected Jessica to be on. The vampire was fairly predictable after so long, it didn't take the Wraithling long to track her down. "Hey, got a bonus mission for ya. Ever been to the Colosseum?"

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River's phone chimed with Corvinus' reply around the time she caught up with Jessica, who was in the armory at this hour. Cleaning a large rifle this time. It was always amusing to see Jessica surrounded by guns, there was no explanation for it, but she was always smiling down here. Her sword was freshly cleaned and oiled as well, a sabre that looked as old as she was, though clearly well made and lovingly cared for.

[I could spare someone, just let me know who, and remember hervo is bound here, he can only go so far.] Was the reply she got from Corvinus.

Jessica however looked up from her cleaning and raised her eyebrow Hello River, aren't you supposed to be sleeping? And I'm interested, it's been awhile since I was at the Colosseum, or in Italy for that matter, but why go there? she asked, a little confused.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Eh, sleep is for the weak." River said with a smirk, leaning against the table Jessica was using. "Sounds like there's some sort of vault underneath it, we're after what's in it. If all goes well, we'll have our hands on the Spear of Longinus, but I have my doubts. You in?"

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

The Lance? You're fistfucking me, or Claire is jerking us both around. You're serious aren't you... Fuck it, Im in. Even if it's not there, it's still Italy, when do we leave? Jessica said, the surprise evident on her face that anyone had turned the thing up, let alone that it existed.

Still her excitement at the idea was plainly evident for River to see. The only thing that worries me is what anyone is planning to do with it. The thing is no joke River, and if we go digging around for it, the Angels are going to be involved, it's one of their trinkets...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"That's why I have my doubts. She seems deathly serious though. We plan to destroy the thing, and we leave pretty soon, Claire said she'd get Corvinus to jet us over." She explained, whipping out her phone to answer the man as well.

[Jessica's coming then. If ye want to send someone else, go for it. I assume Claire asked for a plane already? We'll meet them in the car lot out, if so.]

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

[Yes, everything's arranged. You and Jessica should be fine, if you're not, I'm sure Mouse will come flailing into my room in a wild panic again.]

Once River had gotten that reply, it was really just a short walk out to the company car and then the boring ride to the airport. Jessica seemed a little confused by the whole thing, but more deep in thought about Claire and the Lance then anything else. It was almost a full 15 minutes later that she bothered to break the silence. So it's underground, that makes sense... In a vault, that makes less sense. But if it's in Italy... The Vatican can't have it, if they did it'd be in their collection of shit they shouldn't be allowed to touch. The Lance is special though, I'm almost as curious to find out how Claire plans to destroy it, as I am actually seeing it. You know what it's supposed to be capable of right? Jess muttered to herself, before turning and asking River that question.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Only what I've seen in the movies. Supposed to be whoever holds it becomes invincible, right?" River answered, shrugging. "I don't really know how resistant it is, but I've seen the fox tear through pretty much anything, I think she could do it. As for the angels, do they want it kept intact? Not really sure why they would, if it's such a problematic thing."

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Invincible? No. Powerful and hard to kill? Yes and Very. It's one of the Fallen Weapons. Angels were waging their own wars around that time constantly, and it's one of the few remaining relics from that time. Lets see, if the Tower Intel and the Council were right, there's 4 in total. The Lance is one, then there was a shield. The other 2 were pieces of jewelry I think. And those were the 4 angelic ones. The demonic side of those had 2 left, both safely in hell where they belong. As for why the angels keep them here? I rightfully have no idea. Jessica answered, the car approaching the airfield.

Out the window, River could see they were passing the airport proper to head around to the private hangers, a sleek, black, G6 fueled and waiting on the runway, but otherwise unmarked.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Yeah well, I suppose passing it to them to keep it on their own turf would work nearly as well. John seems to have enough pull with them to manage it, if need be." River answered, shrugging as she watched them pull up to the unmarked plane.

Once the car stopped, she slipped out, heading forward to board the thing. "And I suppose if nobody trusts anyone else to handle it, could always try to hide it again. I'd say keep it for myself till someone agrees, but with how many people are such great fans of me, that'd probably start a war." She mused with a chuckle.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Bah, first things first, finding the thing. it took Claire two years to figure out where this thing was. That's a long time for anyone, that's a full odyssian epic for Claire. Jess said, shaking her head and laughing. You using a spear, can't see it

The plane was manned by an older man in a very well kept 3 piece suit, deep gray. And the pilot. There were 4 chairs in the cabinet. "Drinks and Snacks can be found in... Ahh, Miss Harper. Would you mind taking the liberty of showing Miss River the amenities? We must begin Takeoff now, the control tower is insisting." He said, scratching his clean face and smiling, before bowing deeply to Jessica.

Yea, I got it, let's get airborne. she said, dropping into one of the chairs and buckling in. Soon as we're completely up, there's drinks, alcoholic or otherwise in any of the lower cabinets, and meals in the upper ones. The tops of the cabinets spin out to act as tables. she said, waving her hands around as the engines kicked on.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Again, according to the movies, it's just a spear tip nowadays. You know I'm good with a knife." She said with a laugh, nodding to the man and following the vampire to buckle in. "I'm gonna stay away from the booze for sure. Might grab a snack, but almost definitely grabbing a nap. It's getting towards 4PM there right now, by the time we land, it should be safe for you to wander outside. I doubt getting into the place itself will be an issue, but yeah, finding the vault and spear might take a while."

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

We need to get you away from the cinema Jessica said with a giggle of her own as she reached down to pull out a proper bottle of something dark in a crystal decanter. Corvinus' plane, Corvinus' stock. she said, while River dug around for a snack.

What she found in the way of food inside the cabinets was what resembled a deli kitchen counter, bread in 4 different varieties and a veritable slew of ingredients for any sandwich she could imagine. Then there were various chips, nuts, jerky, and other snacks. There's a small kitchen between this cabinet and the captain's cabin with some more solid meals in it, but the sandwich bar was something our lord and master put in because he's usually in too much of a hurry to eat a large meal if he's on this plane, or he's hungover. Or both. Braun usually does the cooking as well, so there's that. Jessica explained.

What River decided to eat was up to her, but Jessica had already pulled out a small book and was reading, and a nap after the meal was easier to find then anything else, River able to get back to sleep with ease.

A nasty bout of turbulence shook the entire plane, jolting River out of her nap. Jessica was still reading, and from the sounds of things, they were descending into a thunderstorm, starting to make an approach. Italy didn't want to open their public airspace for us, so we're taking a bit of a detour to a private strip. Not where we wanted to be, but close. Claire should be waiting for us when we reach the ground. Don't look at the lightning. Jess said quietly, keeping her eyes firmly glued on her book as bolt of brilliant blue light lit up the left side of the plane.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Oh sweet, jerky." River muttered, taking the entirety of the stash of dried meats and a bottle of water, switching between the two until the had finished the former, taking her nap soon after.

The turbulence woke her, glancing around quickly for a moment until Jessica explained the situation. "Don't look at it? Why's that? I mean, apart from the usual 'you'll go blind' stuff." She asked. "As for distance, now that I'm at least in the same country, we should be fine for that."

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Remember what John's skin does when the lightning flashes? this isn't natural lightning. Jessica answered, remaining fixed on her book. They were getting lower, hell, River could probably jump them all down, pilots and all straight to the ground if there was a problem.

They were making final approach as River felt the plane turn sharply and start to drop, leveling out before rubber met ground and the plane bounced slightly before rushing along the ground, the hammering of rain and another thunderclap joining the mad rush of sounds from the plane and runway.

Blessedly, the Plane pulled into a free hanger out of the rain, and the door opened, the staircase folding out for them, Jess going first, sniffing the air slightly, before shrugging. Can't tell if anyone specific is here, I can hear people, sure, smell the blood, but I can't match it to anyone with all this burnt ozone and rain. she said, before hopping out. If River followed, she'd see there were people in Tower uniforms around them, all armed, and one already rattling off annoyed as hell in Italian to Jessica who was doing her best to reply in French.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

“Great, so we‘re already drawing attention.“ The other woman answered with a snort.

The landing went anything but smoothly, but they were all in one piece, the wraithling following Jessica down. “Nobody I recognize either. At least they look to be on the same team.“ she answered, glancing over the assembled security. She didn‘t speak Italian either, but there was a simple way to solve that.

Slipping past the vampire, River strolled towards the guards, hands up if they wound upp looking threatening. Stopping a few paces away from the one that appeared in charge, she gave him a short wave, then held her hand out to shake. “Hi there. Name‘s River, we‘re. Here on business.“ she said calmly.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

The man seemed a little confused, but his superior, an older man with slightly graying hair and a well kept mustache nodded. Taking her hand, he seemed to seize up a little, before pulling away and shaking his head. This got everyone's attention, but Jess was between her and everyone else. A simple explanation would sort the confusion out quickly before anything turned into open aggression, as well as an apology, since she had just done something fairly rude, not that it could be avoided. But she know had full understanding and control of Italian, French, and German, all the languages the man could speak soaking into her own language center swiftly.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River took a moment to shake her head and rub her temple as well, the information working it's way into her own language center fairly quickly.

"Sorry about that, needed to find a common language." She said slowly, her Italian a little halting, but understandable, and improving by the moment. "We're from the main tower facility, on our way to Rome. This storm made us put down here, wherever that actually is. Could we borrow a car, perhaps?"

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Yes, Languages. Yea, I'm fine guys, relax. No one told us a Telekine was coming, just Mistress Harper and a Special Case. River Faulk. That would be you then. Sir, if they've been forced to land at this branch and need to get into Rome, we should call the U.S. branch and get a confirmation. He answered, shaking his head like he was still trying to clear the cobwebs, his superior taking over.

Cmon then, mistress Harper, Miss River. We'll get you inside and after a short call, see about getting you a car at the very least. That way you can go about your day, and Mistress Harper can stop making my men nervous. We're just a small branch you see. The Vatican oversees this area exclusively, and violently. Jessica, you already are well aware, But miss River, should you see anyone wearing a large gold and red cross, you should make yourself scarce as quickly as possible. he said as they walked down a set of stairs and into a tunnel that spat them out into a small office. The entire place itself could be no larger then a small police station, and the main building was only 4 stories tall at best, maybe 100 yards from where they were. While their escort beelined it for the phone, Jessica dropped into a nearby chair and nodded at River.

He's completely right you know, I was going to wait for Claire to tell you, but apparently she's not here. Odds are the papal order here got wind of her being around. The population in Italy you see, it's almost entirely human, the Vatican doesn't act like the other orders do, they just ethnically cleanse, and they're very good at it. Some of the older vampires still live here, and Telekines, since they don't have much to worry about, they have advanced warning before an attack. They always have, but the other races find it almost impossible to get by here without being driven off or killed. Jessica explained, shrugging.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Yes well, just call me a woman of many talents. I'm guessing by 'They told you', that it was we'd be in the area, given your surprise at seeing us at this strip itself, eh?" She answered, letting the man take the lead as the conversation continued.

"Never much liked the religious types, i'll be sure to keep my distance." She answered with a nod, smirking a bit as she took a seat as well, turning to the vampire. "No passing as tourists to slip in under their watch then, I take it?"

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Not even a little, we'll be wandering around Italy completely illegally. No papers, no checkpoints or customs. Just trying to stay out of trouble. Very unfriendly, churches. Jessica said, shrugging.

They didn't have much longer then that to wait, the man returning and holding up a pair of keys, which he then very specifically handed to River. Apparently, it's a big deal that River do the driving, since keeping a low profile is important. The garage is out that door, the gps will do the rest. Apparently you're headed to the last place Claire managed to contact anyone. I have no idea where, but if I had to guess, it probably made the news. he said, pointing and grinning at Jessica, who had puffed out her cheeks before sighing, mumbling something about being able to drive safely if she had to. Though River specifically could have sworn that she heard more about humans driving too slow, and something else along the lines of a crash having never hurt anyone.