Questions and codes

Ugh. Madrid. That meant Spaniard Spanish. Of course, she knew the language, and was still relatively fluent in it, but her accent...Her accent was pure Argentine, which was very, very different from the Latin American countries,let alone Spain.

She'd have to watch her vocabulary closely, as well. Oh, gods, it would be just like her to slip up and use "Ustedes" instead of "Vosotros".And conjugation was going to be hell...

She could totally do this.

She took the the device and slipped it...well, let's just say away. "And you expect us to get separated?" she asked, not with worry but with curiosity. If she was going to be on her own, she wanted to be prepared. Facing a challenge by yourself in a lot different than facing it with a partner.

Victor smirked. "No. Well, maybe. It would depend on the security of this organization. Now, if we are this will work as a communication device, or a tracking signal. If you are in danger, adjust your dress and as you do so press firmly on the case, it will emit a frequency that will distract the others and giving you three minutes to get out of there. Now, any questions?" Victor asked as he tucked the handgun under his jacket and was looking more like a bodyguard than his usual attire. Black, and sunglasses without a hat he seemed much more dangerous, but not as cunning. More....brutal.

Athena couldn't help but give a smirk at the glasses. It made him look slightly more bad-boy than he could ever achieve. "Nah, I've got it. Adjust the dress, don't do anything too stupid. I'm ready when you are," She replied, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her plait.

If she was even slightly nervous, it didn't show. She definitely wasn't amazing at hiding her motions, but nerves were something that she'd had plenty of practice with. Before, it had been either do this or I'll break your arm.She'd found that hiding nerves had helped subdue them.

Then again, it might just be that she was hardly nervous at all. She didn't have a good sensitivity as to what was dangerous and what wasn't. In fact, her sense of direction was probably ten times better than her sense of risk. And that was saying something.

Victor stood from the table with ease, the dark clothing hiding those scars and tattoos underneath, and whatever knowledge he had in his brain underneath of his hat. He led her through the streets and towards a parking complex, where hundreds of cars were parked. Subaru, Toyota, Honda, fords....you wouldn't expect so many of the American brands in Hong Kong, but one would never know. "This way" He said simply, patting his chest where the gun they consistently kept between them was secured and loaded in the makeshift chest holster, modified from a belt holster, a Swiss Army knife and a few strips of a leather belt. Incredible what so simple tools could be used for.

They approached a black sedan, one of those fancy ones with the works. Not a limo, because those for too much attention, but the size of a normal car. Of course inside was a mini bar, and a comfortable lounging area for up to two passengers, although it would only hold Athena. The front seats were reinforced, the glass was all bulletproof and under the car had additional armor plating, in case of land mines. Besides that, a built in hotspot, mini fridge, high class leather seating, high performance engine and a solid metal frame were all natural for the vehicle. Opening the door for her, victor smirked "remember, don't let your guard down" He told her, shutting th door after she had gotten inside and going around the car to the drivers seat, where he got in and began to drive them towards the target.

It was a relatively quick drive, only about half an hour until they approached a large mansion on the outskirts of the town, showing off both the traditional Asian design and modern extravagance with the large circular driveway which they were current advancing over. Upon stopping at the front gates, victor turned to face her. "Madam, we have arrived" He smirked, morphing fully into the role of the bodyguard, as anything they would do from now on would be under video, audio and infrared surveillance. A mistake was not allowed now, as any improper move would put a bullet through the both of them, and this time it would be fatal.

Ooc: I don't feel like translating English into Argentinian Spanish into spaniard Spanish, so I'm not going to xD

BiC:

Athena slipped into the leather seat, resisting the urge to kick back and lay across it. She wasn't going to mess up, and even hesitation could end terribly.

She went most of her time in the vehicle reciting over all the words that would be different and practicing her accent (if you've ever heard someone from Argentina speak, you know how distinct and horrid their accent is. Honestly, sometimes it's like its not even English...er, Spanish).

When she wasn't correcting her disgusting accent, she was redoing her hair, her makeup, or her sandals. She wasn't nervous, per say, she just needed to look the part.

"Well, that took long enough," she replied when they arrived, gathering her confidence and sitting up considerably straighter. "I suggest you open the door. I haven't got all day," she snapped a few seconds after, giving him a rather convincing glare.

Victor nodded and exited the vehicle, walking over to her door and opening it. "This way seniorita" he told her and led the way up to the door, briefly speaking to the guard in Chinese before they allowed them inside. Being escorted down the hall they entered a large and spacious living area where an elegant woman, Eastern European, sat along an elegant couch, watching the local news. Of course this woman straitened up and cleared her throat. "Ah. Madam, you had an appointment didn't you? What was your name?" She purred in English, accented, but English.

Victor glanced at Athena and nodded, taking a stand nearby to the door and the other bodyguard, staying silent. Of course he was observing and watching all, making notes and keeping an eye on Athena. Things could go good, bad, ugly. It was all in the hands of Athena now, she held all the cards and all the power in the room between them.

"Madam Lucile. It can't be too hard to find. I doubt you receive many visitors in a place like this one," She replied, keeping her head high and resisting the urge to smile. Oh, gods, her accent hadn't failed her. Now, she just had to hope it would hold out.

She didn't have to wait long for an escort. After a few minutes, she heard the click of a door closing and the sound of footsteps. She turned towards the front of the room, where a large, finely dressed man stood, staring straight ahead, as if the wall before him were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

"Madam Lucile. Please, follow me," He stated in fluent, yet unaccented Spanish, still not breaking his staring contest with the wallpaper. Athena did so, not even looking to see if Victor would follow.

The man led them down a thin hallway, lined with luscious red wallpaper, before stopping at a brown oak door and opening it.

The interior of the room was glorious, like the presidential suite of a hotel. The carpet was a soft, light-brown shag wool, and a neat array of red and off-white chairs surrounded a dark brown wooden table, on which sat a single bottle of wine and two wine glasses, each filled halfway. In the center of it all sat a blazing stone fireplace burned, filling the air with smells of...was that cherry wood? She'd once read an article that some celebrity refused to burn anything but cherry or apple. Now, she could see why.

She stepped lightly across the threshold, sliding into the chair closest to the door, then turning around quickly when she heard the door slam shut. The man had left.

She didn't move, however, as she was certainly being watched at that very moment. She slowly turned back around and took the wine glass, faking a sip. She wasn't taking any chances. She'd read enough mysteries to not trust a drink from a stranger--especially one from a group connected to some major conspiracy.

Victor stayed in the corner of the room besides the other bodyguard who was working for the duchess, obviously. The duchess herself stared at this Lucile figure and smiled, sipping her own wine and setting it besides her.

"Hello Miss Lucile, I understand that you are interested in my company? The biological technology I would assume, as that is the pride jewels of my own company....are you a company shareholder? Or just someone with money who needs something? What is this meeting about..." She mused kindly, but like a panther. Deadly, yet sleek and attractive as she allowed one hand to brush through her own dark hair.

OOC: sorry it's short!

"Yes. Well, I would like to know a bit more of this...biotech. I haven't heard much, and what I have heard is mostly speculation. Please, would you explain the technology and potential for me?" She replied, placing the glass back along the table as she carefully monitored her eye contact.

Most people don't realize the significance of a constant staredown versus a relaxed glance down at a drink. One showed competition, and that the two parties involved were on even ground, while the other showed a dominance between the two.

She went with the second, keeping her eyes down as she talked, but flicking them back up to her opponent's face on important phrases. "You can understand that, yes? Its not safe to take everything at face value. It is hard to know what is truh these days." She added, returning the smile with an innocent, yet curious one.

The duchess paused or a moment, although noticed the more...submissive behavior of her guest and nodded after a moment. "Indeed. At current, my projects for the most part are a co-op. but the things my company can produce, can create for this world could be anything from a simple chip implanted within the brain that could block out certain emotions and feelings, or regrow brain damage. Although on the other spectrum, subliminal messages. I'm sure you use them yourself" She smirked and selected a black tablet, unlocking it "your a model?" She smirked, raising an eyebrow knowingly as she showed her a website all about this supposed Lucile, a famous model and heiress and such. A cleverly designed and uploaded website, created by victor to further sell their story as something real and authentic.

"Quite attractive I might add, and a lovely collection" She grinned and smiled, relaxing along her couch. Obviously she was at ease, as this was her own home, surrounded by her own guards. Here she was the lioness, and Lucile as she was somewhat convinced, was her prey. She did not see her as an equal yet, and doubted she ever would.

"Yes. Though I much prefer the designing, I've accomplished my share of both. I believe that fashionnis more than a hobby. It can help people...and, of course, the profit is an added benefit," She explained, with perhaps a bit too much emotion, though she wanted it to seem like an act. No one would honestly be earning that much from helping people.

"Are there any others who might be making an earning off of this? Currently, of course. I wouldn't want my name associated with and negative connotations or companies."

Ooc: blech short. Skype is bugging out, BTW, so I cant reply, but I saw ur message ^.^ I'll tty about it later, when Skype decides to stop being mean.

"My company makes profits for itself, and working either the partner company we are amassing such inventions that I cannot speak about so publically. I'm sure your name will be used in the positive, if the board of directors excepts you into this group, our last model for us....well she snuck into one of our research labs....was found trapped in the reptile department, bitten to death by see real of the snakes we were dealing with. So, our trust isn't easily given" she chuckled.

This was mostly a scare tactic, to test this Lucile.

OOC: ok!

Athena tried not to show any doubt or fear at the mention of the other girl, especially the snakes. She took a second to gather herself, taking another false sip of the wine. "You seem to underestimate me. I may be pretty, but I'm certainly not stupid. Betraying the trust of a company such as yours...Well, it wold most assuredly have career-ruining consequences. I'm sure you have much influence, which you can certainly use to destroy me if I were to betray you. My reputation would be dead, and you would move on unaffected. Unless your company isn't as successful as I presume?" She asked, assured in what the answer would be.

It couldn't be this easy. There was no way. So far, everything had gone surprisingly well. Could these people really believe the act? No. Nothing was ever this easy. Something was going the happen, it had to. She could almost feel it. The duchess's body guard seemed slightly tense, and the duchess herself was giving off too much information. There was no way she trusted her enough to be telling her this. Of course, it wasn't necessarily the most sensitive information, but it was still pretty revealing.

As Athena placed her drink back down on the table, she shifted her arm so it was closer to her anklet, which lay on her wrist. She wasn't going to be unprepared.

The duchess smiled comfortably at her when it happened, to what actually happened was not know but seemingly from no where smoke clogged the air, eliminating all sources of light, all ways to see out into the room. What had really happened was victor, quite simply. He had noted not only that this duchess was revealing too much, too soon, but also that her guard was checking his weapon time and time again, as if nervous of the sudden moments. All and all, it did not add up and he took it upon himself to act.

Step 1: Discharge the makeshift smokebomb he had created in a rush, causing the dark smoke to quickly fill the room and cloud the visions of all, including himself. However, he knew where the guard was and punched in that direction, his fist finding contact with the guard, who he heard crumble to the ground. Kneeling down he selected the automatic from the downed man and initiated the change from himself, to the oh so mysterious Question (Which he made note to rename). The mask secured upon his face and the ridiculous security forces clothing he made his way towards where the duchess was a moment before, but of course she wasn't there.

The smoke began to clear, and the room was empty. Only himself and Athena left within the confines. "Fancy seeing you here" He smirked and stepped closer. "Your plan wasn't going well, you had a sniper shot between your eyes if you kept asking the questions you were. Now, are you alright?" He asked.

He didn't face her while speaking, but felt along the soft couch where the duchess was sitting before his sudden movement.

She coughed a bit as the smoke cleared. "Yeah, fine. But if we don't get out of here, it won't stay that way. I'm guessing you've got an escape plan?" She answered, tying her hair up and unfurling her whip, wincing a bit as it rubbed against her wrist. She'd built up a bit of a resistance to the pain, but the skin on her wrist was now raw. She twisted it around a few times, before giving up and just deciding to deal with it.

"Still on our trail, I presume. Funny, you always seem to be right behind me. You wouldn't be doing that on purpose, would you?" She asked, searching around the room for anything they could use, any information they could gather.

"Perhaps I am, perhaps I'm not...." He smirked and pulled back the cushion on the couch revealing a chute, that obviously slid for quite some distance. Taking a note of the obvious choices and the terrain around them he turned back to face her. "She escaped, an underground tunnel system, bomb shelter, or just a way to escape. Now, you have two choices you...hmmm Lucile is it now?" He smirked and looked around.

"Find the office, it should be around here somewhere..." He tossed her the automatic. "Meet your victor wherever it is you arranged when time, I shall go down this chute and...flush them out if I can" he nodded and revealed the sidearm within his jacket. "Call of help is needed, my number is within your phone after all. Speed dial 3, I believe. After your father and this alley cat. Now go!" He told her.

Athena took the automatic, not questioning what he said. At this point, she was almost certain she trusted both Victor and the masked vigilante, but she wasn't entirely sure. After all, one could never be completely sure of anything. But that is a discussion for another time.

She took a moment to stand at the door, listening for the loud bang of footsteps in the hall. Of course, it was present, and from what she could tell, coming from both directions. She could ward off half or so, but not all of them. She'd have to find another way out.

She shoved the lightest chair she could locate under the door knob, though the jam would no doubt last more than ten seconds. She had to find a way out of the room, such as an air vent or a dumbwaiter or...

She circled the room, checking every corner she could find. The room had to be air conditioned somehow, but no vents were anywhere is sight. Dumbwaiters were no where to be seen. As a last effort, she checked behind the thick red curtains, and dropped to her knees in front of the extremely slim vent. She pried it open and squeezed inside as soon as the bangs on the door reached their climax, hurriedly shooting out the lights before the door collapsed forward.

The passageway was extremely tight, which reminded her uncomfortably of the device given to her by Victor. She pulled it out, pressing on it firmly before slipping it back to its original position. The passage took a sharp turn towards the left, grew graciously larger, before taking another turn straight up. Judging by the location of the vent, she'd been at floor level, and judging by the height of the change in direction, it would move her up to ceiling level. The only problem was how to get up there.

She cursed slightly as she removed her sandals, throwing them over the edge of the curve before pulling her self up and bracing the weight between her legs and arms, shimmying up the distance until the reached the top.

Victor followed the tunnel for a few moments, looking around but finding nothing. It was a maze, obvious by the tunnels and tunnels, offshoots and bypasses, maintenance entrances and wiring. No doubt that this somehow led into the cities underground, and that would be nearly impossibly to track down. Also was the fact that Athena had been left back within the manor, which in itself could cause so many problems. Backup alarms, security, gas sensors, and perhaps even the cliche super villain self destruct button or whatever.

Making his way back towards the manor, sneaking out and to the black car to which they had arrived he pealed off the mask from his face, allowing the colors to change and all. After doing so, he simply sat in the front seat, dialing in with his blackberry smartphone and waited for her to return. This may take some time to figure out, but he knew well enough now that they were indeed, deep in a thick plot.

She crawled through the tight area, until finally reaching a vent. Looking down through the slats, she saw a dimly lit room with five or so computers and some very organized files. People sat typing below her, though no guards were present. She removed the top of the vent, sliding down and hitting the floor below her hard, not taking too long to subdue the men.

She searched through the office, finding a key to a filing cabinet and the drawers inside one of the men's coats. She gathered anything she could, including two flash drives and a folder, before beginning to look for an exit.

Before long, she noticed shadows moving in front of the door. They weren't chasing her anymore, they were trapping her, trying to block all her ways out. The vent was too high for her to reach, and there were no other doors. The only way out was a window, no doubt one laced with alarms.

She remembered that the room from before had been second story, meaning this one had to be, as well. She could survive a two story fall, but as she looked out the window, she noticed thorny rose bushes lining the brick wall. And as soon as she broke the window, the guatds would be in here, and there was no way she could escape that fast. But she really didn't have another option.

She picked up one of the standard black office chairs and hurled it at the glass, shattering the window. She jumped out just as the door flew open, landing painfully in the prickly flowers. Not wasting any time, she ignored the cuts and scrambled under one of the bushes, flattening herself to the ground and watching as the guards peered down, searching the bushes for any resemblance of life.

After a few moments, she heard some orders barked and the guards disappeared. She hurriedly straightened back up, and rushed to the front of the building, diving into the black vehicle and slamming the door behind her.

Victor was in the car waiting for her, ignoring her as she entered the car. No, he was deep in though, deep in a megabyte of code from just another file, a project he had been working on to connect one of the most interesting conspiracies in world together. John F. Kennedy. Marilyn Monroe. Magic bullet. Illuminati Mystics. There was a link, there was always a link in these things. Marilyn Monroe, born 1926, died 1962 of drugs...although it wasn't drugs! It was a murder. Of course most people didn't see that it was a murder. She had an affair with Mr. President, which connected her with him. Now...the magic bullet. Of course the magic bullet, it was what eliminated the Kennedy in Dallas....and the same mystics that made that bullet had killed the other Kennedy's as well. Yes, everything was connected. He was bringing up a popular conspiracy page on the topic of the famous assassination when finally he turned his head slightly to the side.

"I see you made it back in one complete entirety of your body. Now, what have you learned?" He asked, turning back his attention to the road ahead. Shoving his laptop to the side, grasping the stick shift of the car and sliding it into drive he pressed his petal to the metal and grunted as the car shot off, racing down the street. "You may want to buckle up." Victor told her simply as he rounded a right curve, and it wasn't long before the all too familiar sound of sirens pierced the air around them.

She keeled forward with the car, muttering a small curse under breath as she tossed the file and flash drives into the passenger seat, opening her bag and pulling out some running shoes, shorts, and a tee. She pulled on the shorts under her dress as well as her shirt (which isn't an easy task to begin with, but not to hard once you get the hang of it). "I didn't have much time. I took a flash drive from one of the computers, some files from some locked drawers, and the flash drives with those files," she explained, with a small drop of guilt, though not much. She shimmied the dress off, stuffing it back in the bag along with the sandals.

She quickly began to brush through her hair, trying to remove as many thorns as possible before pulling it back in a high pony tail. She took a second afterwards to notice the siren. "Dammit, we won'the be able to outrun them. We've gotta get them off our trail."

Victor wasn't paying her an ounce of attention as he kept his eyes on the road before eyeing something. A service tunnel, one to an underground train circuit or something of that sort. Smirking, he drove right into it, ignoring the grinding sounds the tired made across the rails. Lucky for them the rubber insulated the car Fromm that dangerous third rail, allowing them to race along the tracks to escape, if not for the cops following them along the rails and into the tunnel.

Of course being in an active train tunnel, there would be trains...and it would so happen that one decided to charge right down onto them. He heard Athena mutter something, but he could only reply with the first thing that came to mind, his hands gripping onto the steering wheel. "I see it..."

"Victor..." Athena nearly whispered when she noticed the bright lights of the train heading directly for them. Her voice had dropped volumes, and she knew that even if she tried to yell, it would barely be audible. The authorities continued their chase behind them, tight concrete walls hugged the sides of the car, and impending doom raced towards them. So, yeah. Things weren't so bright.

"Victor!" She said again, only slightly louder, her blue eyes growing wide despite the sudden burst of light. "Victor, its getting closer!"

If he responded, she didn't hear it, as the rumbling of the train grew louder. All of this, all the cigarettes, all the near-death experiences she'd had and she was going down because of a train. A train. She'd never even been inside of one before, and it would be her last sight. The train was no more than ten seconds away now. Though she was a Roman, her deep Catholic roots took over as she began to mutter the prayer she'd been forced to memorized by the idiotic Sunday school teachers. "Pater noster, qui es in cœlis; sanctificatur nomen tuum..."

Unlike most people, though, she didn't shed a single tear. She'd always found crying very self-centered, unless it was focused on someone else's pain, and had often thought of her death as an end to other's pain. Sure, she would be mourned, but it would be easier, long-term, for those who did mourn her. So, in the one moment when death seemed inevitable, she completely accepted her fate, for once in her life not fighting against something that seemed set in stone.

Victor smirked and saw a secondary rail track, swerving hard to avoid the train at the las second. Unfortunately the cops weren't so lucky and their cars were hit dead on, causing several large explosions behind them while they raced down the other tunnel in safety. "I told you I saw it" he muttered and pulled the emergency brake, swerving the wheel and performing a tight turn that blew a tire. He didn't care about that though after he slammed the gas and disengaged the brake, sending them along a road back up to the surface, daylight.

He was silent from then, driving across town towards the hotel to which they had been staying at. He would have several hard drives to go through, and she would just do whatever she did. Hmmm, he would have to look into that. "While you were escaping the stronghold I noticed you had left your phone in here. You've recieved seersl messages from one of our comrades in camp, since you have her number and she is on speeddial" Victor told her emotionless lot as he pulled into the hotel parking spot and stepped out of the car, picking up the hard drives and files.

Athena stopped in the middle of her prayer, after realizing that the sound of the train was becoming more and more distant, and being replaced by the sound of a crash. She didn't lose feeling or any other crazy crap that might signify that their vehicle had been the one hit, though, and she even heard Victor make his comment. Which meant...

She opened her eyes, which she hadn't even realized were closed, to see sunlight breaking through the windshield. "Gods dammit..." She began, throwing her head against the window as she allowed her heart a few seconds to slow its racing beat.

As they pulled back into the hotel's lot, she opened her car door, taking her bag and rushing up to the room, where she immediately began scrolling through her messages, though she already knew who they were from. She hastily dialed her comrade, and waited for her to pick up as she put the phone on speaker and began to wash the remainder of the makeup off or her face.