The Heist

[crypddyd]

They had been investigating for weeks, planning and setting up for what seemed like forever. But now was the time for everything to go into action. One team dressed up and settled into various undercover positions in the casino- including Lion himself over at the slots, in case he needed to call Greta and let her know someone was calling her out. Though hopefully, word of mouth would find her first.

Another at the bank, Mona using her Executor weapon to prove they could break-in at any time. It was all or nothing now- either way Greta was about to learn there were way more Executors than she previously assumed.

That is, if the Executors were right in their assumptions. But after last time who knows what might happen...

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The Casino

[crypddyd]

[Ruin is set up at the high roller table like usual, the others heading to their positions to start funneling money to him. Surely if he makes enough of a scene it will get her attention... but just in case Lion looms by the slots, ready to call her with 'concern' later if needed.]

[heir_to_ruin]

[He's being extra obnoxious tonight, chatting up the younger guy at the table with proclamations that it's been long enough.]

It's not just dreaming, anymore my friend. Time to start scheming.

[Gosh where in the worlds could he have gotten that idea from? But he is in full schmooze, epic flirt mode. So much so that he even went and bought new clothes for this~ Including a fair amount of leather. just toeing the line between classy and trashy.

Come at him.]

[schardynfreude]

[Chiron isn't dressed any differently than his usual loud(ly mismatched) outfits so as to not draw...any more undue attention than he already gets. He's been around the casino, in and out and about, ever since they landed on this level, so his appearance should gain no strange attention. A little poker, a little blackjack, occasionally tries his hand at more luck-based games but always drifts back to the surefire cards. Buys drinks, for himself and for others, either to get on their good side or to annoy them. Strolls by the high roller table to watch, now and then.

Just a bystander having fun. Definitely not involved, no sir.]

[daughterofthemark]

[You'd think this was literally Royal Veil's first day not only in the casino, but in Avaritia. She seems to just wander in, marveling at the decor, at the people, at the games, at the high rollers whom she clearly has never met in her life.

It's not at all long before she gets suckered into a game of poker.

It might be a little longer before her opponents realize their mistake. Veil is having fun, and she's not worrying too much about whether she wins or loses, and she doesn't have a damn clue how to strategize in this game, and the result of all this is that nobody has any idea what she's going to do at any time. Her expression goes from :> to :> to :> regardless of her situation, and she bets, folds, discards, and draws based on mysterious criteria known only to herself, if that. To make matters worse, she is also undeniably extremely cute. It's like playing against a puppy, except puppies don't occasionally proudly proclaim that they have a full house.]

[crypddyd]

[Lion is over by the slots, playing for a little bit (losing, mostly) while keeping an ear out for Ruin. Once people really start talking he takes out his phone and texts Greta]

i hope this isn't a bad time, but I am at the casino and there is a man winning at the highbroller table and... he has said he is going to clean out the table. I am not sure but I believe I even heard your name used?

The Bank

[crypddyd]

[The larger group gathers, with Mona leading the plan- but can they really manage this without being caught? Or even break-in at all...?]

[ourtomorrow]

This is Monarch.

[ Monarch is hiding in the shadows between buildings, not yet Executored up - after all, he has a pass to get into the bank tower, he just needs an excuse for why he's at work after hours if security inquires. Anyone else who's come with him....well, "divide and conquer" is the theme, isn't it? If security is busy with others, perhaps no one will notice, or be ready, to stop Monarch from emptying Greta's account until it's too late.

So here he is, on his cell phone, letting team heist know: ] Ready to enter.

The Heist

[alcahest]

[ two weeks before the date they're going to strike, a Phantom Thief puts out a heist notice across the city, a shower of papers scattered from rooftops all bearing the same message: tomorrow night, I will steal from the Mona Lisa herself. the next night, Mona's ranseur "disappears" from her vault, mysteriously and with no known culprit.

she makes a fuss — as politely as she can, but enough of a scene to draw attention to it. a lot of hand-wringing and concern about the security of the vault, how she just doesn't feel safe leaving her items here if they can be stolen so easily... "that Phantom Thief is definitely a threat," is what she wants people to be thinking. "what else are they going to take right from under our noses?"

one week before the plan, another heist notice goes out: one week from now, I will steal all the wealth in Invidia.

Mona gets the other Executors to discuss it in public, in the week leading up to the night it will happen. the excitement and anticipation surrounding this night has to be built up as much as possible; a lot of did you hear and what do you think conversations had on the streets, at a louder volume than strictly necessary. the infiltration at the Bank depends on her plan's success here, and she doesn't want to let anyone down. there's not a lot to prepare for the actual heist itself — they're causing a scene, more than anything, and they don't actually need to succeed in anything themselves. they're just the set-up so that if— when Greta loses, it really feels like she's been robbed.

getting into the vaults is easy. Mona has an account. one of the employees kindly takes her to the back of the building where the first floor of vaults is located, unlocks the doors, and Mona freezes the employee in place with a Chronolock.

everyone hurries inside, and the doors close behind them. Mona is looking significantly more nervous now that this is actually happening, although she does her best to appear determined and not extremely rattled. ]

Right — so, the more important vaults are on a deeper level, if we want to try and find our way down there. I think we're already causing a scene, at least... and the longer it takes for security to actually subdue us, the more of a threat we'll seem, I suppose.

( a note that HEIST TEAM DOESN'T NEED TO BE RESPONDING TO MONA HERE branch off into your own top levels and threads in replies to this header and cause some chaos...!! i just wanted to establish the context around the heist since Mona was the one planning it. )

[emberserker]

Very well. [A shimmer, and she's in Executor mode.] So we've just got to break through the doors, or has someone got a key or spell for that?

[swordofajerk]

[Well.

This was a Lot. And Sword is discovering that, when things are a Lot, all he wants to do is go around and beat something up with his sword or train until he can't move anymore.

But he can't do that right now, and the relief of this heist apparently working doesn't last very long for him. Now he's just antsy and frustrated and pacing like a caged lion, back and forth away from most people.

This entire stupid deal was a great distraction from that stupid ass memory he got the other day. Now what?]

[mementomoritz]

[Did someone say distracting?]

Oh- here, you have a little something on your face! [Medic is apparently unalarmed by the fact that Sword is lightly spattered in someone's former vital fluids. She's just cheerfully holding out a handkerchief for him, motioning to her own cheek to indicate the offending smudge.]

[discutio]

Sword--

[Phoenix, meanwhile, was acting far calmer than someone who removed someone's hand without hesitation had any right to act.]

Are you wounded? I only heard the gun fire, nothing of what it might have struck.

[phantasmagorial]

[ Rei hangs back a bit as she watches him pace – she doesn't know Sword as well as some of the others but even she can tell when someone's projecting No Talk Me Angy vibes. But she's not going to not check up on him. ]

Sword... how did things go?

[discutio]

[Once they were safely away from all dramatically enclosing walls and...everything else that the vault had been, hoenix first made sure Sword and Wolfsbane were unhurt--he'd heard the gun go off but hadn't quite caught if the shot hit anything. Better to ask just to be sure.]

[After that...he just sort of quietly excused himself, looking for whatever passed for a quiet corner in this gods-awful layer. He was probably going to need a bit to collect himself before whatever inevitably came next.]

[mementomoritz]

[After a little while, Phoenix may hear quiet footsteps leading up to his corner, followed by:]

How are you?

[She may not be the most socially adept person, even in this group, but by now even she's figured out that "brooding silently in a corner" is a sign that something happened to someone, which may or may not result in an injury that needs to be looked at.]

[Besides, it's her job to fuss. Doctor's prerogative.]

[schardynfreude]

[Bad enough for Phoenix to be down here, but at least traversing bank vaults would have been, in theory, quieter. Chiron finds him eventually. Hear the frown, Phoenix.]

Should someone escort you back up?

[emberserker]

[Wolfsbane sighs audibly and detransforms, dissipating her weapon.]

I'm perfectly fine. Far better than we can say about that would-be Authority.

[phantasmagorial]

[ What a coincidence – not long after he's settled in, he'll hear a little "oh!" of surprise from Rei, who was evidently coming to hide try and decompress in the same place. ]

Phoenix... I–I didn't expect anyone to be here.

[heir_to_ruin]

[He's pretty sure, technically, that they could waltz into whatever restaurant or bar or whatever they wanted and he could ask for the banquet room and the specters would trip over themselves to accommodate his request. All he really wants, though, is to go back to his and Lion's apartment and just... process everything that just happened.

He can't do that though, everyone needs to know what the hell is going on, people are going to have to touch base, discussions need to be had.

But instead of a bar or anything of the like Ruin ends up dragging Lion along to the shelter of the little pavilion tucked along between the casino and the theater where they've been meeting for lunch. Something that might have been a beer garden or outdoor venue for street performances once upon a time before the rain became a constant feature. It's a little bit quieter, the lights less glaring, the air a little less stifled.

And then he throws himself onto a bench and shoves his hands through his hair, offering a shaky laugh and glancing back down the street toward the fissure.]

Does.... anyone wanna tell me what the hell just happened??

[Y'all he was supposed to be the distraction! BAIT!! Why is he in charge now!?!?]

[phantasmagorial]

[ Did you want an explanation? Little an exposition, as a treat? USUALLY, Rei would be exactly the girl to provide that but right now she's entirely too stressed to be of use/ So instead, she's pelting down the street as fast as her little legs will carry her and the instant she lays eyes on Ruin, she all but tackles him. HUG INCOMING. ]

Ruin! Are you alright? How did everything go? N–nothing went wrong, did it?!

[ SHE WAS SO STRESSED!! ]

[swordofajerk]

All I know is we were down in the vault and the previous authority tried to kill us.

[mementomoritz]

Oh! [Medic looks delighted on catching sight of Ruin.] So you are the Authority now!

I wonder if that makes us like coworkers?

[daughterofthemark]

You've become the new Authority, have you not?

[Veil has no actual information she didn't have before. She actually still hasn't checked any of the phone messages. But that's what happened when she and the others beat Esme at her game, so it must be what happened when Ruin beat Greta at hers, right?]

[twibeast]

[ As soon as it looked like the account transfers all worked, Achilles got the kids out of there as fast as possible and waited around for everyone else to return. He seems to be... hanging back more? Not greeting everyone as immediately as he might usually following a success? Even though there's definitely a look of relief on his face when he realizes everyone got out of this safely.

...He looks like a dog who knows he did something bad. His tail is even between his legs.

Dad knows he hecked some stuff up. ]

[schardynfreude]

[Hi dad, as far as wine dad is concerned, nothing got hecked up at all and it all went swimmingly! Chiron is perhaps less exuberant than he might be at such a success, but it hardly means he's in a bad mood.]

Ah, Achilles! Good to see you well. How are the children?

[emberserker]

[Wolfsbane is not a happy person on an average day, so her state of annoyance as she detransforms and marches away from the bank is nothing new. She goes to the casino, looking down into the abyss path to the Underside, and shakes her head.]

It worked, naturally. But what a disaster.

[Later, you can find her back in the Invidia mansion, because did you really think she was going to hang around in the slum even if Lion's been fixing it up? She's got the door to Random Bedroom X open and is staring at the ceiling, though she'll sit up and glare if someone comes in.]

What?

[mementomoritz]

[Medic sighs ruefully and looks down into the hole.]

One day we're going to find an Authority that doesn't actually want to fight us and we're just going to have no idea how to deal with it. [Statistically, it just feels like it has to happen at some point.] But it's definitely not today.

[After a moment, she looks over at Wolfsbane and adds:] I'm glad you all came back in one piece- it sounded like the bank got pretty nasty.