Meia Williams's Story

Nathan was still questioning how he'd actually managed to end up in college. Okay, sure, it was only the local community college, and was only an hour, tops, from his parent's house. But it was something, and it had given him an excuse to move into the city. Before that, he'd been limited in what he could do with Black Cat, because he relied either on bus times or getting a lift. Lucky for him, his parents thought it was good and healthy that he was going out with friends. They liked Kit and Audrey and even Xandru. And once Nathan had gotten good enough to avoid punches to the face, the questions about what exactly they were doing had stopped.

But now, he had total freedom. Well, whenever he wasn't in class. And even then, it turned out that none of his lecturers were overly sticky on attendance. As long as he knew his stuff when it came to the final exams, that would do them. It suited him right down to the ground. And, being a college student, nobody blinked an eye at him going into a bar at five in the evening.

"Nate," the bartender called as he entered. Nathan made his way over to him, glancing around. No cops- or, rather, no uniformed cops. "There's someone waiting for you guys in the back. It sounds urgent, but he also stinks of money. I wouldn't keep him waiting. Are the others coming in?"

"Yeah, as far as I know. I'll text some of them and tell them to hurry up," he replied, glancing down at his phone. No messages yet, but there probably would be before long.

"Good. Usual, yeah?"
"Yeah. Drop it into me, I'd better go see to whoever this is," he said, already heading into the back room. It was just big enough for the whole team and perhaps two other people, as long as those two other people were standing. It served all of their purposes, though. They had access to the bar's WiFi, it had decent lighting, and the table was plenty big enough for the occasional poker game, or for a makeshift treatment room for small wounds if necessary.

There was already a guy leaning against the wall, holding a glass of whiskey and glancing at his phone urgently. His suit alone looked looked like it cost more than the group's yearly bar tab. Even his nails were perfectly manicured. "Is this it? Some kid who looks like he couldn't bench press an empty bar, let alone anything heavier?" The man demanded. Nathan, who had only just started to type out the text to the group chat, raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I am the entirety of Black Cat. I have, single-handedly, dealt with all of the cases you have undoubtedly heard about. I also get all of the money, which is why I'm so clearly rolling in it. Chill, the rest of the team is coming," he said, sliding into his usual seat and finishing the message.

To: Black Cat Group Chat
Guys, we have a client. He's rich and impatient, so I'd get your asses here ASAP.

Sitting in the back of his van, Lucas surveyed his supplies. The van looked rather normal on the outside, but the interior was decked out with several shelves, and a small worktable complete with a soldering iron and a few other handy tools. He sat, hunched over the desk, putting the cover back on a small, sleek, black box he had been slaving over the last few days. The box itself wasn't anything too special, but it was able to almost perfectly guise itself as a cell tower, allowing Lucas to connect to nearly nearby phone, with them being none the wiser.

At least, that's what it was supposed to do. Right now, all it did was sit around in his van and look useless. It couldn't mimic a paperweight, and the damned thing seemed to have lost all functionality. He owed the recent 'malfunction' to Jae's joyride last night. She had demanded he come along for a simple little job, and worse yet, she drive. She certainly was in driving the car, but it wasn't traditional driving as any normal person would dare do. Jae had seemed content on slipping through every little nook, cranny, and back alley, nearly getting them stuck in several places.

Thankfully the van survived the collisions fairly well, but the equipment inside, was a different story. His own personal laptop had made it own unscathed, so did his exclusive CD collection, but nearly anything else, was either damaged or completely broken. Hacking wasn't really all that hard to him anymore, the problem was keeping his tech together. And with friends like Jae...

Lucas pushed the box away, picked up his phone, and turned off the overhead light. Checking that everything was secured in place, (he didn't feel like risking any more damages), he stepped out into the street. Checking both ways for anything suspicious, not even really sure what he was looking for, he walked back into the apartment building.

Just as he reached the reached the the door to their apartment, his phone hummed in his pocket. Walking inside, he whipped out his phone. A message from Nathan on the group chat. Fantastic. A message from Nathan meant a client, an important one. And clients that required the whole team, tended to pay rather, favorably. Lucas smiled lightly as he opened the message.

"To: Black Cat Group Chat
Guys, we have a client. He's rich and impatient, so I'd get your asses here ASAP."

"Jae!"

The words were out before he even looked up from the phone. "Jae? I hope you're home, we've got work!"

A quick search of the apartment however, revealed that she wasn't home. Not only that, but Lucas stumbled across her phone lying on her unkempt bed. Groaning in impatience, he was about to leave without her when the smell of pine wafted into the room. It was such an odd, yet strong fragrance, he was compelled to draw upon it further. Now that he had stopped moving, he swore he could hear the jingling of bells too. Ascending from somewhere beyond the front door.

Unable to stand the mystery any further, he opened the door, coming face to face with Jae Maltrai, and a Christmas Tree. Lucas' mind broke for a moment. "What the hell!? Jae?"

"Yeah, who were you expecting?"

"Why in the nine circles of hell do you have a Christmas tree?"

"Uh... magic?" She offered a weak smile.

Asking several more concerned questions about the fully decorated Christmas tree she had in tow, Lucas watched her pull it inside, into the center of the living room. She refused to divulge any information, and soon refused to respond at all to further questioning.

"Whatever!" Lucas held up his hands. "I don't wanna know."

"That's fantastic, cuz' I'm not telling."

"Look, we have a client-"

Jae shushed him. She was walking between drawers and cabinets, pulling things out, and heading to her room, only to return to repeat the process. "I'm busy."

At this point, Lucas was getting just a little tired with Jae's antics. Sure, they didn't live the furthest away from the bar, but they certainly lived far enough away that it would still take a long enough. Especially if the client was already waiting for them. Giving up, Lucas dropped her phone on the couch, grabbed his laptop, and said goodbye.

He took the van, hoping that whatever it was that needed done wouldn't require all of his skills. Luckily, he still had his laptop and phone, so he wasn't completely out of any tricks. Security systems would bend to his will, and all he needed to do was touch a few buttons. Because he didn't drive like Jae, he felt late, even though he had made it to the bar relatively fast, thanks to the minor road traffic. As he stepped through the bar door, he zipped up his jacket, waving at the bartender with his phone in hand. The bartender waved back, giving a silent, almost unseen gesture towards their spot in the back. A private understanding that the room was clear. He walked straight towards the room, opening the door, and stepping in with little more than a mild nod at the rest of the team gathered already.

As he walked past the man in the horribly rich suit that just seemed to bleed money, he pressed a button on his phone, instantly seizing as much information as his few key systems could. The information was rather dull, but the one thing that definitively stood out to him was his yearly income. The man made well over 500,000 and had enough of a gross income and capital to likely buy the bar. Whatever it was he wanted, it was serious business.

Falling into a chair at the corner of the room, Lucas discreetly texted the rest of the group the info he'd grabbed, making sure to highlight the financial section. Looking up at the rest of them, he prepared himself to tell the group that Jae wasn't coming, when she slipped through the door last minute, flashing him a smile. Lucas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Something was up, and he was starting to wonder what.

Brianne Carter, another member of Black Cat, turned towards Nathan, asking quite flatly, “What’s the target, and do I get hazard pay?”

Jae giggled, "Isn't working with me enough of a 'Hazard' for you B.?" Jae laughed at her lame pun for a moment more, before settling down into her own chair next to Lucas.

He watched as everyone came in, offering the usual greetings. Mostly, though, he was watching the guy across from them. As everyone else came in and began to interact with him, his reactions were... interesting. At times, he seemed to be relaxed. However, there was a moment or so of tension through some interactions.

Once everyone was in, he leaned forward a little. "Alright, so, Mister...?" He started, raising an eyebrow. The guy matched his stare. "I don't see how my name is relevant," he replied, causing Nate to grin. "Smart. Alright, so, tell us the details. What you want us to do? Give us a starting amount, and we'll tell you our estimate. It'll depend on exactly what you want," Nate said, leaning back and folding his arms.

"I've just discovered that my... colleague has been using intimidation tactics to swing our buyers in his favour. So, I want him to swing in my favour. I want you to intimidate him. It's relevant to safety, so... hack his phone, jump him in the streets, break into his house. Make him feel as unsafe as possible. Price-wise, I'm willing to give three thousand. Each. For everyone involved in the attack. I don't care if it takes all of you, I want a good job done."

Nate had to make a conscious effort to stop his jaw from dropping. For a seemingly simple job, one with little obvious risk, that was a good, if not excellent, wage. He took a sip from his drink.

"What's the catch?" He asked. "Does he walk around with bodyguards or something?"
"Nope. He walks alone, in some of the worst parts of town. It should be easy for you," the man replied. Nate swallowed hard. The thought of jumping somebody who was walking alone was... too close to home. He'd been having more nightmares than usual lately, and even at the thought of it, his heart was starting to pound. Without looking at his phone, he sent a text to the group chat.

To: Black Cat Group Chat
Guys, you're gonna have to count me out of this. Little too familiar for comfort. I'm gonna stay here and keep an eye on things.

"We ask for half now, half when the job is done," he continued. "So, guys, c'mon, call. Who's in?"

As soon as the talking in the room fell to a lull of silence, Jae immediately responded with an almost cheerful"I'm in!" before pulling out a stick of cinnamon gum and devouring a piece.

Of course. Lucas thought. Why should she think to hesitate? She's probably imagining bright, flammable new ways to burn down an apartment. Then he pursed his lips. Someone's gonna have to keep an eye on her... Then, checking his phone, Especially if our 'fearless' leader is out.

"Guess I'm in too. And, I know you don't need another warning. . . Three is already pushing the limit, but with a skillset like mine, I could drain all of your accounts, ruin your commutes, and turn every piece of hardware with your name into nothing more than a paperweight. And that's if I'm feeling kind."

"Oh, and one more thing," Lucas sat forwards, staring at their client while gesturing at Jae. "They don't call her Firebrand' for nothing. I'd watch for burn marks."

"Oooh, that's right." Jae looked up with a fire in her eyes, that seemed to make her look all too happy. "If you can't handle the heat..." She let her half-hearted threat drop.

The prospect of money and fire, especially if she was getting paid to light said fires, had put her in a good mood, and Jae had always been terrible at hiding her emotions. If she was happy, she glowed, and in the Black Cat meeting room, she fit right in. Sure, she had a stern expression on, but her eyes danced with the possibilities, until the very possibility that it might actually be too good to be true finally, and painfully hit her.

Her eyes shifted, and she was no longer glowing, but burning her eyes through the man's head. Though Lucas likely knew that the man was legitimate. People like him, lot's of money, a single problem, and almost like an involuntary reflex, they toss as much money at the problem as they can, grabbing the best tools at their disposal.

Luckily tonight those tools were the assembled team of Black Cat.

But, the man's presence did indeed force Lucas to continue to wonder about a problem he'd been mulling over for a while. If Black Cat's name had reached all the way to the highest districts and social circles that bore the likes of this man, how long until the police began to catch wind, and one of the few, duty-bound cops place a target on their backs? Once spotted, the police will see a huge chance for publicity, and even others will see a new source for bribes and power-plays. In short, the kitten would be hunted, and staked in front of Town Square, 'proving' that the authority of the system was enough to quell most issues, and a petty theft or burglary would be overlooked once again.

Lucas sighed, beginning to type out another message on his phone. "Alright moneybags, I'm in."


To: Black Cat Group Chat
Whomever else want's to work on the tech side of things here, focus on the actual target, I'll play data-collection, oversight, and see whatever dirt we can dig out of Deep Pockets over here.

The interactions between the Black Cat members and the client had been rather... Humorous to say the least. Threats had been made to the man offering much more money than was needed for a simple task though the members that made the threats were well placed. They didn't know anything about the man or his colleague. While his fellow members were loud with their thoughts, Derek was quiet with his own as he began to weigh in the mission. Senselessly torturing a man for stealing clients wasn't exactly something Derek signed up for. He preferred going after real criminals but there was a lot of money at stake here and with that much money there had to be a precise plan in order for it to go well so they could get played. The absence of their leader also meant someone had to set a concrete plan into motion and of course Derek already came up with a plan during the time he sat quietly as always.

Derek began to move through his team mates like the shadow that he was. He was careful not to bump any of them and really the only way any of them would have known he was there was the slight breeze he made as he passed them. Once again he went unnoticed by the client as he stood behind him with his arms folded staring blankly at his team. His arms began to unfold as he finally began to sign to the group only those who understood him when he signed would know what he said but that wasn't his entire concern right now. "I'm in." He finished signing and dropped his hands onto the clients shoulders with a tight squeeze startling him once more. Derek easily could have hit a pressure point on the man or do something more but that was enough to get the point across his other team members didn't... The client would never see Derek coming if he did anything to put his teammates at harms way.

With his point made, Derek walked away from the group and towards the door but not before stopping at Kit to tap her shoulder and get her attention. He nudged his head to point at the door indicating he was ready to leave and left with his phone out to send a group text: Let's regroup at headquarters. I have a plan. He moved through the bar area avoiding knocking into people and pushed the door open though he was kind enough to hold it open for Kit to walk out behind him. Once at her car, Derek began to show off a little as he ran and slid over the hood before jumping in through the window he left open for himself. He sat in the passenger seat with a huge grin directed towards her ready to enjoy their ride back to headquarters.