[235/237, Friday and Beyond: Clue Search Central for Finding Not as Cute as Nemo]
D shoved her key into the lock on her door and turned it until she could fling the sucker open. She switched on the lights in 235 with a flick of her hand and waved Mac and Rory on in.
"This is it. Just set your stuff anywhere." She waved a hand at some counter tops and two tables. Most of which were covered in photo equipment and supplies she'd had out earlier. She stalked forward and stuck her rucksack in a free corner. "I'll have things straightened up in just a few."
She began to toss stuff into cabinets here and there, less haphazardly than it looked, and slamming doors as she went. She motioned toward the two doors on the right leading from the room. "Bathroom's through that door over there. Mind the closets," she said as she tossed something into one and pillow fell out and hit her on the head. She growled a bit and tossed it back in.
Turning back to the other girls, not having lost her train of annoyed thought,"and the fridge, coffee pot, beds and the like are through that door there. I sleep on the bottom bunk but top's open and so's the sleeper-sofa. My laptop's in there, but there's hook ups in here for just about thing. Any questions?"
Mac
Mac just shook her head mutely, clutching her laptop to her chest. She decided that it was probably for the best not to aggriavate with excess questions.
Rory
"I'm not sleeping," Rory said. "And I call the couch."
D'anna
"Suit yourself." D said with a shrug to Rory, not much interested. "Mac, you get tops when you're ready to zonk out then. Need a hand setting up?"
Mac
"I think I'm good," Mac said sliding her laptop onto some newly freed counter space and flipping it open. "Not like I have a whole heap of kit or anything. So long as there's a free plug and an internet connection, I'm set."
D'anna
"Good." D nodded sharply then turned, "Rory? Need anything?"
Rory
"Coffee," she said, pulling out her highlighters and shoving a pen into her hair. "But I can make a pot for everyone if you'd like."
Mac
"I'll second that request," Mac said raising a hand briefly as she logged on. "You want an efficient workforce, that's a key ingredient."
D'anna
"I'll make the first one. I know where everything's at." D nodded toward the door and raised an eyebrow at Rory. "Wanna come with?"
Rory
"Sure," Rory said, setting her things aside and getting up to follow D.
D'anna
D took down filters from a cabinet above her sink and asked over her shoulder. "Have a preference between mild, medium and dark?"
Rory
"Strong as we can get it," she said, "but if you guys want it lighter I'll be fine."
D'anna
"Good. Cause I've got French Roast and uh, French Roast." D took the canister down and set it by the coffee pot. "I think there's cream in the fridge. Sugar and mugs are up there too." She waved at the cabinet next to the one she'd just shut.
Setting up the machine to brew, she asked as conversationally as she could manage. "Think they'll find him?"
Rory
"I think they have to," she answered, wringing her hands.
D'anna
D smirked. "Yes, rather."
She sighed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, that's all set up and going. Know how Mac takes her brew?"
Rory
"Well, she's the co-leader of the coffee club," Rory pointed out, because coffee was always a safe focus. "Black, I'd imagine. Though that's not true of Jake, of course."
Yes, she was babbling.
D'anna
"No, I've heard he likes his with rather more junk in it." D pursed her lips into a tight frown and took down three large coffee mugs. Large as in, they could easily be used for soup or oddly fragile head-gear. "How do you like yours?"
Rory
"Black," she said. "I need to be awake. I like your mugs."
D'anna
"We all do." D gave her a tight smile. "Thanks."
Rory
"They remind me of the ones at my stepdad's diner," Rory added. She studied her feet. "I hope wherever Jake is, they're keeping him caffeinated."
D'anna
"Been there a few times. They've excellent fries." D said before the tension and Rory's comment about caffenation got to her. Her lips started to twitch.
The twitching lead to jerking shoulders and finally laughter choked its way out passed the hand she'd pressed to her mouth as soon as it began. Great whooping peels of laughter that lasted much longer than they should have.
Rory
Rory stared at her, letting out a giggle and wondering what she had missed.
D'anna
D wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she caught her breath. "Caffeinated? Who gives a frak if he's caffenated? All that matters is that they come back alive."
Because D was nice and sensitive like that right now. If Krycek returned in one piece, she'd probably regret this moment.
Rory
Rory flushed a dark, dark red. "I know, I just - it's easier to focus on that rather than consider the possibility that they might not, okay?" she said, her voice developing an edge she hadn't intended.
D'anna
D sniffed softly. "That's all I'm able to focus on. I..." 'don't like this' sounded ridiculous even to her so she didn't say it. Instead, she took a deep breath, picked up the coffee pot, filled the first mug and handed it to Rory. "One mug, black."
Rory
"Thanks," Rory said, softening a little. "We're all tense. They'll be fine."
D'anna
"I hope." D poured two more mugs full, doctored hers with just a touch of cream and sugar, and set the pot back up to brew again. Then she picked up the mugs and gestured to the door back to where Mac sat, "shall we?"
Rory
Rory nodded. "I'm all set to highlight for another eight hours."
Mac
Mac glanced up at Rory and D when they came back in, a brief acknowledgement before she turned her attention back to the screen. "I think we have a potential opening," she said.
"Nothing concrete yet, and even if the crack is there, it'll take time to work around." Mac managed a weak apologetic smile at the other two. "They've got some pretty serious safeguards."
Rory
Rory nodded, handing her the coffee cup. "Put me to work. I'm nothing but the basics on computers, but I can go through stuff and I brought my supplies."
Mac
"I'll try and get you something," Mac said, pausing momentarily to take a sip of the coffee. "I'm just hoping they weren't on the ball enough to cover themselves. If their PHP calls a program from the command line for this, I might be able to get access to at least part of their file system."
Yeah, she's in full on geek mode, and hasn't even registered the fact that this whole thing probably means next to nothing to the rest of the room.
Rory
"...I understand at least the basics of a dozen languages, and I have no idea what you just said," Rory admitted.
Mac
Mac smiled awkwardly. "I should have something for you to start on in a minute."
D'anna
D set down the extra coffee she was carrying on the main worktable for Rory then went over to a cabinet and began taking various bits of small telecommunication equipment out of it.
She set her coffee and all her gear out on the second worktable and began to hook up bits and wires until she had something she thought would function well.
She went briefly back to 237 for her laptop and brought it back to complete her workspace. "Alright, now we hurry up and... wait?"
Mac
"Uhh," Mac held up one hand, to indicate that she might be getting somewhere, eyes still firmly trained on the screen. "I think, I have a way in... maybe," she said slowly. "But, it looks like there's gonna be a lot of stuff to get through before we get near what we want. A lot."
"The file structure, it's organised," she shook her head slowly as she scanned through. "But... there's just a lot of it, and I don't want them finding me, so we'll have to be careful what we take."
Rory
Rory chewed her lip, going to look over Mac's shoulder. "Okay. How long should it take?"
Mac
"I should be able to print you something right now," Mac replied after a long moment. "I just don't really know what it is, yet. It might be useful, might be totally unrelated."
She went silent again for a while, still working intently. Then, apparently randomly pointed to the printer. "See what you make of that," she said finally.
Rory
Rory scurried over and grabbed the pages, scooping up a pink highlighter on the way. She chewed her lip and started slowly reading through. "...it's just a matter of figuring out the holes," she said, her eyes lighting up as she started going through it line by line.
Faithful
Faithful trotted out of Rory's bag, yawning, and went over to an empty part of floor. "Meow?"
D'anna
"Need anything, Faithful?" D asked from where she was fine-tuning the command central for communication between Clue Search Central and ZOMGPLZDUNDIE Team the others.
Faithful
"Tuna and thumbs. But I doubt you can help me with the later."
D'anna
"You would look funny with robotic thumbs, but tuna I can do, I think." D made another trip back into 237 and cam back with a plate of shrimp and half a lobster tail and bowl of moddable liquid such as water, milk, etc. She didn't tell him the seafood had been left-overs from dinner a week or so ago that she'd kept in the freezer since. Hotplates were totally for thawing, right? "It not tuna, but it's all I had."
Faithful
Faithful looked way too happy as he carefully poked at the lobster. "You eat well. I like you." He paused. "Who are you again?"
D'anna
"Thanks Faithful" D laughed and teased him. "You can't remember one little letter? See if you get the other lobster tail half!"
[ooc: Pre-played with imac_kenzie, rory__gilmore, and threeweapons. Code gakked from the most awesome needsaparrot. Closed. Thanks.]
"This is it. Just set your stuff anywhere." She waved a hand at some counter tops and two tables. Most of which were covered in photo equipment and supplies she'd had out earlier. She stalked forward and stuck her rucksack in a free corner. "I'll have things straightened up in just a few."
She began to toss stuff into cabinets here and there, less haphazardly than it looked, and slamming doors as she went. She motioned toward the two doors on the right leading from the room. "Bathroom's through that door over there. Mind the closets," she said as she tossed something into one and pillow fell out and hit her on the head. She growled a bit and tossed it back in.
Turning back to the other girls, not having lost her train of annoyed thought,"and the fridge, coffee pot, beds and the like are through that door there. I sleep on the bottom bunk but top's open and so's the sleeper-sofa. My laptop's in there, but there's hook ups in here for just about thing. Any questions?"
Mac
Mac just shook her head mutely, clutching her laptop to her chest. She decided that it was probably for the best not to aggriavate with excess questions.
Rory
"I'm not sleeping," Rory said. "And I call the couch."
D'anna
"Suit yourself." D said with a shrug to Rory, not much interested. "Mac, you get tops when you're ready to zonk out then. Need a hand setting up?"
Mac
"I think I'm good," Mac said sliding her laptop onto some newly freed counter space and flipping it open. "Not like I have a whole heap of kit or anything. So long as there's a free plug and an internet connection, I'm set."
D'anna
"Good." D nodded sharply then turned, "Rory? Need anything?"
Rory
"Coffee," she said, pulling out her highlighters and shoving a pen into her hair. "But I can make a pot for everyone if you'd like."
Mac
"I'll second that request," Mac said raising a hand briefly as she logged on. "You want an efficient workforce, that's a key ingredient."
D'anna
"I'll make the first one. I know where everything's at." D nodded toward the door and raised an eyebrow at Rory. "Wanna come with?"
Rory
"Sure," Rory said, setting her things aside and getting up to follow D.
D'anna
D took down filters from a cabinet above her sink and asked over her shoulder. "Have a preference between mild, medium and dark?"
Rory
"Strong as we can get it," she said, "but if you guys want it lighter I'll be fine."
D'anna
"Good. Cause I've got French Roast and uh, French Roast." D took the canister down and set it by the coffee pot. "I think there's cream in the fridge. Sugar and mugs are up there too." She waved at the cabinet next to the one she'd just shut.
Setting up the machine to brew, she asked as conversationally as she could manage. "Think they'll find him?"
Rory
"I think they have to," she answered, wringing her hands.
D'anna
D smirked. "Yes, rather."
She sighed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, that's all set up and going. Know how Mac takes her brew?"
Rory
"Well, she's the co-leader of the coffee club," Rory pointed out, because coffee was always a safe focus. "Black, I'd imagine. Though that's not true of Jake, of course."
Yes, she was babbling.
D'anna
"No, I've heard he likes his with rather more junk in it." D pursed her lips into a tight frown and took down three large coffee mugs. Large as in, they could easily be used for soup or oddly fragile head-gear. "How do you like yours?"
Rory
"Black," she said. "I need to be awake. I like your mugs."
D'anna
"We all do." D gave her a tight smile. "Thanks."
Rory
"They remind me of the ones at my stepdad's diner," Rory added. She studied her feet. "I hope wherever Jake is, they're keeping him caffeinated."
D'anna
"Been there a few times. They've excellent fries." D said before the tension and Rory's comment about caffenation got to her. Her lips started to twitch.
The twitching lead to jerking shoulders and finally laughter choked its way out passed the hand she'd pressed to her mouth as soon as it began. Great whooping peels of laughter that lasted much longer than they should have.
Rory
Rory stared at her, letting out a giggle and wondering what she had missed.
D'anna
D wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she caught her breath. "Caffeinated? Who gives a frak if he's caffenated? All that matters is that they come back alive."
Because D was nice and sensitive like that right now. If Krycek returned in one piece, she'd probably regret this moment.
Rory
Rory flushed a dark, dark red. "I know, I just - it's easier to focus on that rather than consider the possibility that they might not, okay?" she said, her voice developing an edge she hadn't intended.
D'anna
D sniffed softly. "That's all I'm able to focus on. I..." 'don't like this' sounded ridiculous even to her so she didn't say it. Instead, she took a deep breath, picked up the coffee pot, filled the first mug and handed it to Rory. "One mug, black."
Rory
"Thanks," Rory said, softening a little. "We're all tense. They'll be fine."
D'anna
"I hope." D poured two more mugs full, doctored hers with just a touch of cream and sugar, and set the pot back up to brew again. Then she picked up the mugs and gestured to the door back to where Mac sat, "shall we?"
Rory
Rory nodded. "I'm all set to highlight for another eight hours."
Mac
Mac glanced up at Rory and D when they came back in, a brief acknowledgement before she turned her attention back to the screen. "I think we have a potential opening," she said.
"Nothing concrete yet, and even if the crack is there, it'll take time to work around." Mac managed a weak apologetic smile at the other two. "They've got some pretty serious safeguards."
Rory
Rory nodded, handing her the coffee cup. "Put me to work. I'm nothing but the basics on computers, but I can go through stuff and I brought my supplies."
Mac
"I'll try and get you something," Mac said, pausing momentarily to take a sip of the coffee. "I'm just hoping they weren't on the ball enough to cover themselves. If their PHP calls a program from the command line for this, I might be able to get access to at least part of their file system."
Yeah, she's in full on geek mode, and hasn't even registered the fact that this whole thing probably means next to nothing to the rest of the room.
Rory
"...I understand at least the basics of a dozen languages, and I have no idea what you just said," Rory admitted.
Mac
Mac smiled awkwardly. "I should have something for you to start on in a minute."
D'anna
D set down the extra coffee she was carrying on the main worktable for Rory then went over to a cabinet and began taking various bits of small telecommunication equipment out of it.
She set her coffee and all her gear out on the second worktable and began to hook up bits and wires until she had something she thought would function well.
She went briefly back to 237 for her laptop and brought it back to complete her workspace. "Alright, now we hurry up and... wait?"
Mac
"Uhh," Mac held up one hand, to indicate that she might be getting somewhere, eyes still firmly trained on the screen. "I think, I have a way in... maybe," she said slowly. "But, it looks like there's gonna be a lot of stuff to get through before we get near what we want. A lot."
"The file structure, it's organised," she shook her head slowly as she scanned through. "But... there's just a lot of it, and I don't want them finding me, so we'll have to be careful what we take."
Rory
Rory chewed her lip, going to look over Mac's shoulder. "Okay. How long should it take?"
Mac
"I should be able to print you something right now," Mac replied after a long moment. "I just don't really know what it is, yet. It might be useful, might be totally unrelated."
She went silent again for a while, still working intently. Then, apparently randomly pointed to the printer. "See what you make of that," she said finally.
Rory
Rory scurried over and grabbed the pages, scooping up a pink highlighter on the way. She chewed her lip and started slowly reading through. "...it's just a matter of figuring out the holes," she said, her eyes lighting up as she started going through it line by line.
Faithful
Faithful trotted out of Rory's bag, yawning, and went over to an empty part of floor. "Meow?"
D'anna
"Need anything, Faithful?" D asked from where she was fine-tuning the command central for communication between Clue Search Central and ZOMGPLZDUNDIE Team the others.
Faithful
"Tuna and thumbs. But I doubt you can help me with the later."
D'anna
"You would look funny with robotic thumbs, but tuna I can do, I think." D made another trip back into 237 and cam back with a plate of shrimp and half a lobster tail and bowl of moddable liquid such as water, milk, etc. She didn't tell him the seafood had been left-overs from dinner a week or so ago that she'd kept in the freezer since. Hotplates were totally for thawing, right? "It not tuna, but it's all I had."
Faithful
Faithful looked way too happy as he carefully poked at the lobster. "You eat well. I like you." He paused. "Who are you again?"
D'anna
"Thanks Faithful" D laughed and teased him. "You can't remember one little letter? See if you get the other lobster tail half!"
[ooc: Pre-played with imac_kenzie, rory__gilmore, and threeweapons. Code gakked from the most awesome needsaparrot. Closed. Thanks.]