Night 46: Main Hallway, 1-West

[quickdrawbkiddo]

[from here]Beatrix had walked this path to the Sun Room so many times, she could do it in complete darkness. Which was exactly what she was doing. Knowing the way, there was little need for light as it would only draw creatures and other unwanted attention. Silently counting her steps, at the right number, the assassin headed left and down the

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[sixtyeighth]

[ from here]

Luckily for Teresa, Giovanni was even more punctual tonight than was expected of him. He made his way through the halls, finding the stairwell with relative ease - at least in comparison to the confusion he'd faced during his first night. As he approached, his flashlight caught a glint of something metal, and when he saw more clearly what it was, he couldn't help but let a smile pass over his face.

A sword taller than the both of them? Fascinating. It must have taken a great amount of strength to wield. If this was indeed his assigned partner, Giovanni couldn't wait to fight alongside her. Aah, or even against her, he mused. The thought was appealing, but he couldn't let himself get carried away when there was clearly business to attend to.

He stepped closer to her, shrinking the gap between them to about three feet, and turned his flashlight off, for the light given off by hers was more than enough. Keeping his face neutral and his body language friendly, he opened his mouth to speak.

"'Envision the stairwell we use to reach the second floor' - wasn't that what was written on the bulletin? I do hope I haven't failed the task already."

[number1smiley]

If only the length of bed frame was a sword. Soon enough, though, Teresa would have her claymore.

She'd been watching the passage of others through the hallway, alert for any that would be this Giovanni she was ti work with, so she noted the man when he approached. Her lips turned up in the faintest of smiles as he spoke.

"It seems your ability to visualize has not failed you," she said, her silver eyes assessing him. "Giovanni, I presume?"

[sixtyeighth]

"Yes ma'am." His eyes, hidden behind thick orange lenses, regarded her as well; he couldn't say he wasn't pleased at her demeanor and apparent strength. "May I have the pleasure of learning your name?"

[number1smiley]

Whereas she did not understand the point behind the lenses given the darkness, she didn't mind their presence. She didn't need to see his eyes to know he was evaluating her.

"Only in this place would it be considered a pleasure," she replied with a bit of a chuckle. "I am Teresa."

[sixtyeighth]

"Teresa, then." Giovanni bowed his head in an indication of respect that may or may not have been facetious, and then lifted his gaze back up to her face. "What can you tell me about our task tonight?"

[number1smiley]

Whether Giovanni respected her or not was of little concern to Teresa. All she cared is that he would be efficient and accepting of their mission, as much of a waste of her talent as it was. Important, yes, but there were better tasks to apply her strength to.

"A blanket, as Homura indicated, is the name for a weapon to be crafted for one of the members. Our mission," she conveyed, "is to gather the metal needed and any other useful items we may come across."

[swornandbroken]

[from here]

Close to the pharmacy seemed like a reasonable place to start looking for the good shit. Mello's first goal was, of course, reclaiming his gun, but he was also on the lookout for any other useful information or items he might run across. There had to be paperwork about the 'patients' and the running of this nuthouse somewhere. With an inward sigh of irritation at having to concede he couldn't see well enough to navigate to the second floor, he turned the flashlight on. As he did, he overheard a snippet of conversation, and was pinged by the mention of Homura.

He let the flashlight beam play up the people he'd zeroed in on: both tall, both blond, the woman striking, and not just because she was notably well-armed. Mello tried to sound disinterested. "You on assignment for the History Club?" he asked, pretty sure the answer was 'yes.' It was one of the 'patient' organizations that interested him, even if he was much, much less than thrilled with the idea of taking orders from anyone.

[sixtyeighth]

"Understandable," he said, in response to Teresa. The assignment didn't seem like a very desirable one, but it was important nonetheless. He couldn't wait to get his hands on some real weapons.

When Mello's flashlight grazed over his and Teresa's bodies, Giovanni turned halfway, hand hovering over the switch to his own flashlight in case he needed to temporarily blind whoever was approaching. The newcomer didn't appear hostile, though; all he had was a question. Without thinking about it, he turned the rest of the way around, fully facing the man in front of them. With the beams of Mello and Teresa's flashlights combined, it was easy for Giovanni to scrutinize him.

"Why do you ask?"

[number1smiley]

Indeed, it was not a desirable task, but one that would be carried out regardless. The fruits of such a mission far outweighed her personal feelings on the matter. As it was, Teresa would be far more effective with a real sword than without one.

The man that approached Giovanni and herself was human and her night's companion addressed him, so Teresa felt no need to say anything herself nor be concerned with any potential hostilities. If there was, she'd simply make this man regret his decision to interrupt them. Her facial expression did not convey any of this, though, as she silently looked the man over and waited to hear his answer.

[swornandbroken]

"I might be interested in freelancing," Mello said, lowering his flashlight now that he'd gotten a decent look at them. "I'm Morgan." That was the name he'd given to Homura, and he assumed the man's followers, or fellow soldiers, or however they cared to think of themselves, would have read the exchange on the bulletin board. If they hadn't, let them size him up and make of him what they would. Stupid damn makeshift weapons aside, he was sure it was still more than obvious that he was a force to be reckoned with.

[sixtyeighth]

"Morgan? Giovanni." He almost held out a hand to shake, but decided against it. Such gestures seemed to be largely unnecessary here - and besides, all three of them had their hands full. Instead, he settled for a slight tilt of his head, just as he had given Teresa.

"I'm not any more familiar with the History Club than you are. My companion for the night," he said, motioning towards Teresa, "is much more eligible to answer questions."

Even if having Mello as an ally would clearly be an advantage, Giovanni was wary; he didn't want to give any information about their assignments away until he was sure that Mello had no ill intent - or rather, no ill intent towards the organization that could be helping Giovanni. Teresa would know more about what information to give out, and what to keep secret, and so he decided to let her give an introduction to Mello.

[number1smiley]

Teresa did indeed recognize the name from the board posts.

"If you are interested in working with the History Club, you had the opportunity to lend your aid to Homura when he asked if there were interested parties. You chose not to," she replied. "What makes you change your mind now?"

Her lips curled up in the faintest of smiles. "This is nothing more than simple supply acquisition."

[swornandbroken]

Mello gave Giovanni a brief, but polite, nod before turning his attention to Teresa.

"I'll collaborate. I won't take orders. Especially not from someone I haven't met." He did intend to speak to Homura if and when the opportunity presented itself. A chance to see what the History Club actually did before then was simply serendipitous. He decided to let the implication that he was only up for kid stuff--if that was indeed the woman's intent--slide this time, and shrugged. "I'm out for supply reclamation myself. We might as well stick together."

The History Club had information he wanted, their goals seemed to dovetail nicely with his own, and he'd made himself indispensable to tougher crowds. With any luck, this group would be smarter than Rod and his gang.

[sixtyeighth]

For a moment, Giovanni bristled as Mello spoke. Acting as a free agent? It reminded him too much of Haine - and if Mello was anything like Haine, he couldn't be trusted to do his part. It was too early, though, to make any harsh judgments. Mello had plenty of time to prove himself.

Before speaking, he turned his head and scanned the hallways around them, already beginning to make a mental map of where they needed to go. Even if it didn't sound like a challenging task, Giovanni couldn't wait to get his hands on something dangerous.

"Then shall we set out for the night?"

[number1smiley]

Teresa was silent for a moment, her silver eyes focused on Morgan. So, he didn't take orders from someone he hasn't met? She could identify with that, but the tone he used suggested that he was resistant to the idea of orders at all. A petty little human, playing petty little power games. So be it.

"If that is your wish," she replied, turning away from both men to enter the stairwell. "Try not to get eaten along the way."

[to here]