The Masquerade Troupe (REBOOT)

[OverconfidentMagi]

Aaron Massimo





"Honey I'm home!" Aaron called out as he swung into the room. Seeing the others all gathered, his playful demeanor missed a beat. What was this, some kind of planning meeting that he had not been made aware of? Even in this new wonderful world, Aaron's mind still sought every reason to sabotage his happiness. His mind likely wold have explored farther tangents of mistrust towards his peers had it not been distracted by some much more pressing concern.


"Angela, is that what I think it is?" He was of course referring to the grenade launcher. "You have to let me try that out sometime." Since Angela had taken the couch, he leaned against its back, where he could stare at the marvel of destructive fun she'd somehow gotten her hands on. "So the place looked a lot more legitimate than I'd imagined it to be. Could pass for a perfectly normal bank in fact. Not that our mission would change at all if we were to be robbing a regular bank as opposed to this morally gray villains stealing from other villains type of work. Pay is pay at the end of the day, or something like that." 


"So how are preparations on your end going?" He paused and looked at Ryan, then at Angela's bag, then at the cigarette between Angela's fingers, and back to the bag. He knew what was supposed to be in that bag. We're all going to die, he thought as an uncaring grin set itself on his face. His eyes flicked towards Bird.


@TheGossipLink


@Nooguy


@Tarmagon

 

[Nooguy]

Eyes flitting to the apartment door as it swung open, Angela gave a casual wave as Aaron came into the gang's hideout. "And our emotional puppeteer arrives at last." She quips, taking another puff of her cigarette before glancing over to Aaron when he threw his question her way. "Damn straight it is, and it'll be a cold day in hell when I let anyone else use Charlotte." The mercenary remarked as she admired her grenade launcher one last time. "She's not like the original, but I think the first Charlotte will understand." Angela added as she flicked a bit of ash from her cigarette before holding it in her mouth and reaching back over to the duffel bag. "Missing something though, coulda sworn I also bought some..." The brunette's words trailed off as she dug through a few side pockets in the bag, her mood growing more irritated as she searched more. "Oh come on don't tell me that little spit fuck gypped me!" She growled, somehow managing to keep that glowing tip of her cigarette from depositing any ember into the volatile bricks of thermite within the bag. Eventually though, a relieved sigh came from Angela as she retrieved a brown leather bandolier/holster followed by two rectangular, olive drab ammunition cases. "There we go, aaaaand-" As she opened the ammunition cases a delighted chuckle that any normal person would consider disturbing left Angela as she gazed down at a numerous collection of 40mm shells within. "Let's seeeeee.......HE.....solid rubber rounds,heh, those'll hurt like a bitch...fragmentation.....tear gas....oooooh white phosphorus." Angela once again began to display that twisted sense of glee of hers as she went through the assortment of rounds. By the end of it the mercenary had counted out enough types of explosives to make one think she was preparing for war. "Got a grenade for every occasion, even nonlethal just for you Bird brain." She stated, already loading a selection of the cartridges into the bandolier of hers which held about twelve rounds before eventually relaxing back, apparently completely at chaotic bliss. "I'm good to go on my end with the equipment. Managed to get bricks of thermite clay which'll allow me to mold them onto anything I need to burn, and anything else I'm pretty confident I can break through. So once you two give the green light I say we light this bitch." Angela remarked, zipping up the bag of thermite before she relaxed back on the couch and began casually tossing a grenade cartridge between her hands, Charlotte laid across her lap as she waited for Ryan and Aaron to give their two cents.

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Aaron Massimo





"If we've got everything we need, I don't see any reason to keep putting the fun part off." A dangerous grin broke across Aaron's face. "Tomorrow," he said. "Let's check everything over one last time tonight, and tomorrow we'll wake up all well-rested and perky ready to rob a bank!" It felt so surreal to say it out loud. It was so exciting. Rob a bank? Who did that? It was like something from a movie! This was his life now, and he loved it.


*tick* *tick* *tick* *tick*


Aaron checked his watch. It still wasn't time. He was anxious, but hopefully it didn't show. He took a sip of tea from the cup he'd ordered. Tea. Nasty stuff, and this one tasted even more piss-like than usual. But he'd had to order something to blend in, and coffee was out of the question. That was the last thing his nerves needed right now. Oh, he could have ordered hot chocolate, that might have been better. Maybe next time. 


He checked his watch again. Only ten seconds had passed. Was time actually moving right now, or had it gotten stuck? The first-time failure of an otherwise ceaseless movement. No, the minute hand clicked forward. Since he would be inside the bank during the heist, he'd opted not to have anything that might possibly incriminate him on his person. That also meant nothing to communicate with Angela and Ryan during the actual robbery. He had a cellphone hidden in the alley behind the shop he was currently in, in case things went south following the job and they needed to change the rendezvous plans, and he had an... idea of a way to signal to Angela and Ryan if things went bad while he was still inside the bank, but for the most part he wasn't going to be in contact with them while they had their way with the contents of the safe. And that was why his eyes kept flicking back and forth between watching people move about outside the window to his watch as the second hand ever so slowly made its lap around the watch face.


Ryan and Angela had to get things ready and then get into position, so he had to wait a bit before he entered the bank. It wouldn't do if he was done with his business inside before they made their way to the safe. That would defeat the whole point of him being there, and as it was he already felt useless enough by not being down in the vault with the others. And he'd been the one to suggest he be in the bank instead! He maintained it was the best course of action, but that didn't change the fact that he was a little upset with himself.


He checked his watch. "Showtime," he said under his breath as he stood up and walked out. He'd left a little surprise for the waitress under his cup. Who knows, maybe that would get him the extra drop of good karma to make everything go smoothly. He didn't believe in any of that, but it certainly couldn't hurt. Aaron whistled softly as he walked down the street towards the bank, focusing on evening his breathing and calming himself for the performance. With one final deep breath, he entered the bank. A few eyes turned to see who had entered, but most went back to whatever they'd been looking at before his arrival interrupted them. Not a single person knew that his heart was racing with nerves and excitement. They didn't even know that they were about to be robbed, right from under their noses! The excitement was almost overwhelming, but he forced himself to appear calm and collected. Step zero: infiltration, check.


@Tarmagon


@Nooguy


@TheGossipLink

 

[Tarmagon]

Ryan checked his watch, thankful that it was a simple mechanical mechanism. He rather doubted that anything more modern would have survived being in close contact with him.The final seconds to the kick-off were ticking away, and he closed his eyes, letting the odd sense that allowed him to sense electrical flows expand outwards.He could sense the sub-station through the concrete and asphalt above him, and the massive feeder cables lay close at hand. Laying a hand on one of the cables, he let the power begin to fill him. It happened quickly, and he began to feel the tell-tale tingling on his skin that let him know he was approaching his limits. Holding the power with an effort, he began to bargain with the power still flowing through the lines. As it began to surge, he released the power that he was holding, multiplying the flow into the transformer  exponentially. He heard a tremendous boom, and concrete dust rained down on him from the ceiling. He could sense the massive jolt radiating outward, and he quickly gathered what power he could as a series of spikes raced through the cables.


"Bet those are from the individual transformers blowing," he thought, as the lights in the utility tunnel flickered and died. "Okay,  we're on the clock . "


Cracking a glow stick, Ryan began to jog down the tunnel, heading to where he hoped Angela  was ready with her toys. 

 

[Nooguy]

So this was the day, the big day, heist day. Things were in motion now, serious face on, no messing around. If their group messed up here things likely wouldn't be pretty. Angela casually puffed on a cigarette as she made her way toward the entrance point which would gain her entrance into the sewage tunnels running beneath the bank in question she and her group were to steal from. Her attire was minimalistic, consisting of a light grey jacket, a black tank top, and a pair of jeans along with her preferred black boots, duffel bag slung over her shoulder which carried the thermite and various other tools to work with accessing the vault of the bank while a few of her personal effects were also brought along in case things truly went south. Were she younger, and bereft of any form of experience in the field, Angela likely would have been shaking in her boots with her heart hammering in her chest even if she put up a tough girl facade. A slight grin washed over the brunette's face as she turned down an alleyway, glancing around to ensure she had no tails before coming to a manhole cover, actually looking forward to getting things in motion. That familiar sensation of tension tingled within her body, Angela taking a breath as she dipped into the reserves of energy within her before hooking a finger underneath the manhole lid and, with a light 'flick' of said finger, flipped the heavy metallic lid over and to the side which she helped to keep from clanging as much as possible. Slipping down the worn metallic ladder, Angela tugged the heavy metal plate back over the circular entrance, descending the rest of the way down to the sewage tunnel below. The acrid scent of waste stung her nose, but years of worse aromas hardly gave the scent purchase to draw reaction as Angela crouched down to slip the duffel bag from her shoulder and unzip it before retrieving a simple flashlight to illuminate the dark passage. Zipping the duffel bag back up, Angela jogged off toward the location she'd memorized from the city municipal schematics. The distance wasn't terribly far, taking a minute or two to reach before arriving.


Angela sighed as she knelt beneath the area she needed to tunnel upward at. Hopefully Ryan and Aaron both weren't encountering too much trouble. For the most part dealing with the brickwork was as simple as smashing through it, a small sledgehammer and her kinesis serving to smash through a sizable portion of the tunnel without compromising the structure's integrity. It wasn't until after a few feet of dirt that something much more solid became encountered. Sure enough upon inspection with the help of her flashlight Angela discovered more recent concrete construction, an indicator she'd reached the bank's foundation and was getting close to the vault. A bit more hammer work through the concrete barrier eventually was met with solid steel. "Great, that's gonna be a bitch to ge through." Angela grumbled to herself, reaching into the duffel bag which hung against her back and retrieving a few bricks of thermite clay. "Let's see how effective this stuff is then." The brunette said as she molded the dark red substance against the metallic surface in a large circular shape before retreating Pausing in her advancement and retreating down the hold she'd created. As she came down Angela heard a series of footfalls, a moving light approaching before the familiar face of Ryan soon arrived. "Bout time ya got here, guessing things have gotten a bit darker up there then? Well then let's go ahead and let ourselves in." Angela remarked as she triggered the electrical detonator to the thermite, a small remote with a wire leading up to the volatile substance. A sudden hiss filled the air before an intense light glowed from the hole Angela had created, slag soon dripping down as the steel flooring was melted with surprising efficiency.. A soft whistle left Angela as she heard groaning metal, more ropes of slag and melted metal dropping down through the hole onto the floor below. "I brought a few industrial grade fireproof blankets. Once the thermite's done I'll lay them over surface of the hole we'll be climbing up to avoid getting burnt." She spoke as she retrieved a few rolled up pieces of red fabric. Another minute or so and a resounding 'CLUNK' rang forth before a series of heavy bangs came from the hole, a massively thick piece of glowing steel banging onto the small walkway of the sewage tunnel. "Damn, always knew they built vaults strong, but that's some thick steel." Angela remarked, glancing up the now smoking passage as she unrolled the thermal blankets provided, spotting the group's destination. Thankfully the hole didn't rise at a straight angle, Angela smart enough to have tunneled at a slightly steep angle to allow one to climb. Prior to climbing the smoking passage, Angela quickly tied a piece of synthetic rope around the handles of her duffel bag before preparing her ascent. Laying the thick red fabric down over the surface of the smoking hole, Angela slipped up first, lining the way with the thermal fabric before laying it over the now smoldering hole of the vault's floor. Hopping up into the dark interior of the vault, the mercenary quickly tugging the duffel bag up after her. Coughing slightly from the sharp sting of the thermite on the air, Angela waved a hand in front of her as she activated her flashlight and shined it about. "Shit, not even any emergency lights, way to fry the place." She quipped, kneeling down by the floor's hole to offer a hand to Ryan as he climbed.

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Aaron Massimo




"..."


"..."


"..."


"So this is the item?"


"Hey, I did say it wasn't my taste either. Thing's weird."


"Very well, it will be stored in the vault. Assuming you are able to cover the fee."


"Yes yes, right here," Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of bills. "I assume paying in cash won't be a problem."


"No sir," the other man said in his dry monotone voice. "Cash is fine."


If there was anything positive to be said about dealing with this boring little man, it was that his dullness was doing wonders for Aaron's nerves. He'd planned on subtly pushing the emotions of the people inside the bank before the power went out, but once inside he'd come to the conclusion that doing so would be simply too difficult. Without any stimulus to react to each would have a completely different emotional state. He had to wait until after it happened to act. Thankfully, Angela didn't keep him waiting long.


Silence. Not true silence, no, as there was still the sound of people talking and moving about. But all of that white noise, the gentle hum of energy flowing through florescent lights, of cool air being pumped out of the AC unit, of screens displaying various combinations of important information, social media pages, or solitaire games, was suddenly and unmissably absent. Also, all of those previously mentioned things were no longer happening. Blackout. Showtime.


Aaron smothered the surprise and suspicion before it had a chance to take hold within the bank, and replaced it with mild irritation. One part anger, three parts apathy. Assuming he hit the mark, it would be the perfect recipe to make people...


"What the hell? Fucking power's out!" As if on cue, a man sitting behind one of the now black computer screens began complaining. Bingo.