Stage Two.

[Maxwell Conner]

<OOC note: This thread is primarily for Kaida and Nate. For ease of understanding, this thread will start here, then move to the Cells, under the same thread name "Stage Two"

I'll be giving Kaida and Nate NPC resistance, since there are no PC DPS characters in the building. NPC resistance will be written in italics >

Of course. They'd travelled through the sewer systems. They were never monitered, and it was a rare event that they ever came across anyone in them. Every task was operated by machinery down here, that was controlled from a remote computer.

Max walked along the gangways above the sludge and slime that this city produced, in silence. It was a contimplative silence, and he walked with one hand gun already readied, just in case. It wasn't that he'd have difficulty drawing quickly, Max was just very, very aware that this wasn't the usual kick about that he liked to engage in. For a start, the game was starting to turn serious. For a second he glanced over his shoulder at Kaida.

Then, without GPS or satellite navaigation, Conner knew where he was. Shifting and using one hand he climbed up the small ladder to a manhole cover. For several moments he listened quietly, tongue flickering over his lips. No-one. Complete silence, which was great.

Twisting Max slotted his handgun into the holster strapped to his thigh, reached into his back pocket and flicked on his signal jammer. He indicated Kaida to do the same with hers, and pull down her balaclava. Ok, so their jammers were primitave and only worked outside the DPS building, but for now it would do.

Pushing the cover up and to the side Maxwell pushed himself out in one, slow easy motion. They were in an allyway, the DPS building looming two buildings down. Max had explained the plan, they'd be going over the rooftops and through a window. 6th floor window, that was.

Once again having the cold metal of his gun nestled in his hand, Max kept his eyes on the opening of the allyway and reached into the hole, offering Kaida his hand to help her out.

[kaida]

Despite their over-growing use and their silent advantages, Kaida HATED going through the sewers. Call it a female thing. Not that this one was anything like the rest of her sex, but the feeling of being down there alone gave her the chills. Though none of it affected her performance. Nor did she show her feelings out loud. Things like that stayed mind-based.

Kaida kept a close eye on Max. Mainly to watch for any sign of mood change or perhaps a switch in posistion. Anything to let her know what he'd be doing next. She stopped when he did below a manhole that lead God knows where. She'd never gone this far using the sewer systems. She took note of his gesture and switched on her signal jammer as well, pulling her balaclave down with the other hand as she did. The medic thought for a second as Max ascended onto the surface. Thought of how she was to get Nate out of the building and back to base. She'd have to take note of where the manhole was in comparison to the DPS building. Shouldn't be hard. Kaida shook out of it in time to take max's hand only enough to get a good hold on the groud to pull herself up on her own. Proving herself wasn't a major priority, but it sure as hell helped.

Once on the top, she gave a quick look to Max, grinning under the cover of her balaclave then took a step towards the fire escape they should be using.

[Maxwell Conner]

His hand flicked out and caught her shoulder. Naturally enough it was a signal to stop her proceeding. Foot flicked out and gently slid the manhole cover back into place and he paused and moved over, eyes still on the entrance to the allyway incase some curious indivdual decided to duck in for a smoke, or a horny pair of teenagers for a quick copulation.

He leant over just a fraction, whispering before they turned on their comms. "When you've got Nate out, don't bring him back the way we got here. Take route your used to. You'll be quicker, and faster. Don't hang around waiting for me either. If we're followed they're much more likely to chase after me. Remember, don't move forward until my signal, and always duck into shadows or something that'll cover you, ok?"

With that he nodded, flicked on his comm and twisted, climbing up the fire escape and glancing around the rooftop. Still ducking down low and relying on his hair and clothing to help him at least blend into the tar roof he gestured for Kaida to come up on.

[kaida]

Kaida's head stayed foward as Max reached out and stopped her. Hazel eyes watched the shadows intently as they flickered under the fire escape. Stay in the shadows. Right. She'd actually forgotten. How that was possible was beyond her reason and comprehension. Though it happened. The medic turned half-worried that Max would be frustrated with her for almost going on without his direction. Though no anger came her way. Just instructions.

Don't wait for him? What!? Kaida had no intentions to leave Max behind though neither did she have any intentions on disobeying him. She figured that it would be more dangerous to not leave him. Then and there it was decided. Get Nate out and back to base. HER way.

"Understood, Max." It was more a whisper then anything. Her gaze followed him up the fire escape and she waited below it with semi-patience. He motioned for her to come up and she did so accordingly.

It was time to put her mind into the hunt.

[Maxwell Conner]

He watched her climb with half an eye. There was one thing to be said about Max:- he was an amazing judge of character. He formed his opinon of a person in about thirty seconds and he was normally right. There was a way to tell from even the way someone just walked, looked at a room. Constant eye contact, it was believed, was a sure fire way of telling someone's character. This is a lie. When your busy watching someone's eyes, you're not watching their hands. The trick is to keep one eye on the face, and the other on the rest of the body. Some people like Kaida did this naturally. Some people did it out of habit because they were trained to do this, like Latner. Then you had people who didn't do it at all, like Nathan. They were too busy staring at crotches and drooling over asses.

Shifiting as she clambered onto the roof they made a quick yet careful progress along it, Max directing Kaida to various places to lurk when the coast was clear voa hand signals, the two of them appearing for fleeting moments and perhaps seeming nothing more than a bird flickering across the camera's view. Eventually, they reaced the edge of the buidling and Max peered over the barrier, glancing down at the window of the DPS he was planning on entering through.

Reaching around into his pocket he pulled out a tear gas grenade. A bandana was produced and tied over his nose and mouth, Max indicating to Kaida she should pull her bandana down. That was all the protection they could get their hands on. It was a case of staying near the floor and crawling out the room while everyone else coughed and felt like their eyes were liquidfying.

He hurled it. It crashed through the window and cursing was heard. The next bit was a leap of faith that Maz just assumed Kaida would take. They were angled downwards slightly rather than directly horizontal, so the jump would be that little bit easier. Max took three steps back, bolted forwards and with one foot pushing off from the barrier about the edge of the building made the jump of about 10 foot.

Gravity helped his body apply the force which his feet needed to crash through the rest of the glass window, scattering it, and what two offciers were working late. Leaving them to argue with the tear gas Max twisted semi-upright and crouched, he began to swiftly make his way across the open plan offices. With the window open the tear gas would diffuse quicker.

If Kaida decided against the jump, Max would be dissapointed in her and rescue Nathan himself. Probably implanting his boot somewhere firmly up the exploisive experts rear end in the process. But, despite rationality he was hoping she'd make in that professional cold way of hers. Less work for him, and Max's theories about her would be true.

Max hated being proved wrong.

[kaida]

The night was a perfect shield against prying eyes. Beautiful night. The young medic followed Max every way he went. Knelt when he said, ran when he said. It was all a matter of respect and trust, and Kaida trusted Max. Respected him and trusted him.

It took her a second to realize what he had just pulled from a pocket and thrown. It wasn't until the Max's bandanna was quickly applied before she figured it was tear gas. Without any hesitation, she did the same. Can't as well do the job if you're attempting to stop the sensation the gas causes all the while, now can you? She hadn't seen anyone do it. She sure as hell wasn't about to try it. Kaida casually watched Max jump for the window.

Sure, she'd jump. Heights didn't bother her one bit. This was the easiest part of the entire operative. In fact, she wasn't scared of all that much. Unless it came to Nate. HE was a different story. And her fear was definitely psychological. A phobia if one must call it.

The medic waited till she was sure Max had landed and moved from the *landing spot* in front of the window. Adrenaline pumped fiercely through her veins, stimulating the movement of her muscles. Having taken a few steps back, Kaida launched herself forward and off the ledge. Out of instinct, her body straightened forward into a dive not 5 feet from the window, curling herself inward as she went through it. Kaida rolled as her body made impact with the floor and managed to pull the blade from her boot as she did. Call it a movie stunt, but it was just the way she got things done. Any issues, take it up with the sharp side of her blade.

Kaida turned and followed the crouching figure that headed off in one direction, staying as low as she could while still being able to move in the speed she needed. In all honesty, the jump had brought goosebumps all about her flesh and left her heart with a frequency rush. That long a jump had been scarier in the process of jumping it than watching someone else jump it. Max had made it look so easy. A grin formed in the mind of the young medic.

She'd do it again any day.

[Maxwell Conner]

Max left the people behind him spluttering and coughing, heading straight for the door to the office and reaching out with one foot to kick it open. His aim, was the elevator shaft. Because from there, he could cut the cables and from there Kaida should be able to clamber on down to the basement. It was the quickest way around the building for someone who didn't have a mental map in their head.

Max did. This was the building he'd had his education in.

Leaning out into the corridor, Max began to straighten up so he wasn't so much as hunched over, as bent forward slightly. Just as he opened the door he twisted to glance up and down the corridor, alarms went off.

Inwardly he cursed. Something must've been updated and he hadn't paid attention. So now the main object of his mission was distraction, so Kaida could go and get that fucktard from the cells. He'd find his way to a computer terminal soon enough and plant what he needed to plant. It wasn't hard. Max had always been able to run circles around these guys. Stepping into the corridor in one swift movement, Max fired, shot and killed an officer responding to the alarm and running down the corridor, before bringing his gun across to shoot one coming the opposite direction. Then he stepped over to the elevator, inserted the knife he'd drawn into the crack and wedged it open. The advantage, of course, was that when the alarms went off the elevators locked down and were stuck in the basement.

The door open now he glanced up and down the corridor, which was still ominously quiet. This had all taken about thrity seconds. Max pulled his bandana off his face and gestured for Kaida to get her ass into gear and down the elevator. "Just open the hatch into the actual carriage and then get the doors open. You'll be directly into the cells so it should be simple."

He spoke softly, his voice probably coming in crystal clear through their communicators. Then he shot out the lights, simply because it was easier to hide two people in the dark than it was to hide two people in the light.

[kaida]

Everything seemed to be going as planned. Then the alarms went off. Didn't provide much of a shock, just a small confusion that passed as quickly as it came. Shots drew her attention to Max and off of the direction that the alarm in this section was coming from. He'd just shot and killed a guard. Joy, not five minutes into the mission and someone was already dead. She couldn't wait to get to the basement. Guards should be enough to have fun with, yet less than what would cause her delay. Of course, if there was a way to get by the guards and get Nate out, she'd take it. If there wasn't, well, mind as well make it fun while it lasts.

Kaida adjusted her balaclava and placed the knife back into her boot. Descending the elevator shaft would have no cause for weapons. Stepping out of it was a different story. Upon reaching Max, Kaida nodded and quickly reached around the corner of the elevator doors and caught hold of the ladder that lead down to the basement. It was a long way down. Thank god the elevator was dysfunctional. Last thing she wanted was to have to dodge the damn thing every time some DPS goonie wanted to move their lazy-ass selves up and down the building. That's what stairs were for.

The medic got her last look of Max before the doors shut and left her alone in a relatively dark shaft. Only lights were so maintenance lights at the other side of the shaft. It worked. Kaida started her way down the ladder.

One, two, three floors passed in no time. Anxiety pumped the adrenaline that kept her moving and moving quick. Thoughts of how badly she wanted to kick Nate's ass all the way back to base surfaced as did a few other, less violent ones. These kept her concentration while she managed to reach the elevator itself. Wasn't as bad as she thought, nor did it take as long. As long as the guards didn't give her much trouble, she and Nate would be out before the 45 minute mark. But, out of instinct, her hands reached for the pocket that held the cyanide capsules and they patted it slightly. She really did not want to have to use them. Poor way to die, really.

Kaida stood on the opposite side of the hatch and bent over, taking the handle into her hands. Using her legs as a foundation force, she pulled as hard as she could, the hatch coming up with a rather loud noise. Though she was sure that no one, other than herself, had heard it. The young medic lowered herself down the hatch and dropped into the elevator.

<<Will continue in STAGE TWO in The Cells section>>

[Maxwell Conner]

There was the sound of running feet shortly after Kaida managed to get down the elevator shaft. The gas would've started to disperse by and the officers were beginning to get their barings.

Bollocks. Two stepped out of the room where they'd entered, and another three came along the corridor. They spotted Max. They spotted the dead bodies. And as many people do in these kind of situations, they went straight for the guns. Turning on his heel without a sound Maxwell bolted down the corridor, shouldered his way through a door and around the corridor.

"He's headed for the stariwell!" One of them shouted, and another barked out commands that someone should call in the reinforcements. It was a skeleton staff that was on in the evenings.

Maxwell knew that this would change, but he wasn't planning on coming back here any time soon. Great big hulking creature that the DPS was. Changing it's security plans at the most obvious times.

Max opened the door to the emegency stair well and only set off more alarms. He startedup them, not even breaking a sweat as he took three stairs at a time. The officers chased him, of course. But all he was aiming to do right now a distraction. After all, who would trundle on down to the cells if an alarm went off down there while the chance of catching Conner was real?

Every single one of them wanted to advance their careers. Which is why the chased after Maxwell. There would probably be medals or something for the bloke that caught him.

Maxwell stopped on the stairs, and leant down over the bannister to peer down. There was about six officers on his tail that he could see. One of them shot at him. Max returned fire, before climbing onto the bannister and jumping.

"Jesus Christ what's the bastards doing?!" A few shouted more obscienties as Maxwell 'fell' down the center of the spiralling stair case. Three levels went past before Max reached out with his hands, gaining purchase on the bannister and thunking heavily against it. His fall had come to a halt, but the point was he'd been winded with the impact.

Max wasn't exactly short, but he was pretty well built. He was heavy, and the crack against the metal bannister had hurt. Shaking it off he swung just a little to get a better purchase before clambering back onto the stairs and heading through the door onto the eight level.

They still chased him.

Over to the elevators Max pried them open with his knife and slipped through, hauling the doors shut behind him before climbing up the ladder. It would take them several seconds to figure out where he'd gone, which was fine by him. Being as big a distraction as possible was always fun, but Max still had his objective to carry out too.

By the time they'd figured out was in the elevator shaft Max was already heading to the 20th floor, and the OB offices.

<<concluded in the OB offices.>>